Application Essay for Lehigh University

I am currently an undergraduate at Syracuse University in the United States studying Bachelor of Science majoring in Finance and Accounting. I must admit that for many years I have had an interest in studying Finance as it falls within my career path. I would like to further my studies by majoring in Statistics. Lehigh is among the best universities in the world that offer the statistics course and it is therefore my best choice where I would like to study the course in pursuit of my career job as a financial analyst.

I have gained a lot of experience in financial management through internships. In the last summer, I took part in an internship with China CITIC Bank and China Construction Bank. My attachment at the China CITIC Bank enabled me to acquire plenty of experience in financial analysis. I understand that statistics is a demanding course that requires sacrificing of personal time and reading widely. While working at the CITIC Bank, I interacted with various employees who were experienced in the fields of finance, accounting, and statistics. They guided me in my work and were more than willing to respond to any questions I presented to them. I particularly remember one of the financial managers who advised me to be keen on figures. He noted that working in a bank requited great attention to detail since omission of any information would affect financial analysis.

While working at the CITIC Bank, I was also involved in financial planning and analyzed capital restructuring. I gained a lot of skills by working in other departments such as accounting, treasury, and tax. Financial analysis requires exposure to various fields. The tax and the accounting departments were the most interesting for me as I dealt with large figures where accuracy was vital. In the accounting section, I was trained on how probability could be applied while doing specific calculations. The knowledge I gained from this internship will be applicable in statistics course where calculus and algebra have to be used.

My internship at the China Construction Bank was also very helpful to me.  In this bank, I was trained on how to interpret financial reports on whether the bank had a positive financial performance. The managers were willing to help me gain the relevance skills that I seemed to lack at the beginning of the internship. To help me internalize the financial management concepts, the managers requested me to formulate some daily financial reports where they guided and corrected me. At the end of the attachment, I could write weekly financial statements without any assistance.  Working in the bank required self- discipline and determination. I strongly believe that the virtues I acquired in this internship will be applicable in the statistics course in Lehigh University.

In applying for this course, I am guided by my career objectives that I wish to accomplish. One of the objectives is to become an expert in financial analysis. This will be achieved by enrolling for courses that are related to this field. By doing statistics, I will have the practical skills that will enable me apply for work in the leading banks in the world as a financial analyst.

I would also wish to work for a multinational financial institution that will offer me a variety of tasks and provide challenging opportunities in the field of capital budgeting, financial instruments, and investment appraisal. As a straight forward and strong-willed person, I believed I would be able to handle the pressure associated with financial analysis. I will also endeavor to make decisions based on my knowledge that I will have acquired from your institution. With positive attitude and the relevant skills in statistics and financial analysis, I believe I will be an important resource to the financial institution I will be working for.

As I advance with my career as a financial analyst, my long-term career objective that I would like to accomplish is to become a chief financial analyst for a leading bank. In this position, I will have the responsibility to advise the bank on how to invest its capital. I will also be advising the bank to make wise decisions while investing in stock exchange or in other businesses such as real estate. The principle that will be guiding me in this career is to always make a positive impact in the organizations that I work for and to respect all other stakeholders. To become a chief financial analyst requires many years of experience. This may however be achieved within a short period if I remain result-oriented and focused to my ambitions.

To achieve all my objectives, it will be of significance to have the latest skills in financial management, accounting, and statistics. While I was working in the banks during my internship, I realized that I lacked analytical skills. For instance, when the accountants showed me the balance sheets and the monthly statements, I did not know how to interpret the numbers. I need a deeper understanding of financial analysis in order to make informed decisions for the organizations I will be working for in future. Lehigh University is the best for my academic growth in statistics. I am also aware that department of statistics in Lehigh University has some of the brightest students. This will prepare me for any challenges I will face in future as I pursue my career, and I look forward to my experience as a student there.

Personal Identity

Personal identity is a strenuous topic to comprehend yet very interesting when one understands it. There are many questions that help an individual to define his or her identity. These questions include “Who am I” and “What it is to be a person”. The question “Who am I” is often asked to understand what makes one unique from others. It defines the network characteristics, values, and personal traits that structure one’s life. The question “What it is to be a person” helps one to understand what differentiate a person and non-person. The two mentioned questions are important in the subject of personal identity. Often, people know that an individual is the same over time, but the question that bothers many is why an individual is the same in different circumstances. This essay presents different circumstances that make a person remain the same person over time. In doing, this essay highlight why the new circumstances may appeal better despite the person remaining the same over time.

Circumstances That Makes a Person Remain the Same

A perfect example of a circumstance that a person remains the same person over a time is the following. First, a circumstance of evaluating whether the person that existed in a foetus or embryo is the same person as he is now after twenty years. This is a question that helps one to understand an account of identity over time. In this case, a person would be the same person he was in a foetus because of the same body he had during that period. To illustrate this point, one would consider that a person who existed in the foetus is identical with the personal that exists today if both have similar bodies. At this point, one may need to understand that a body does not change. Although time may change, the body remain the same from stage of foetus to adulthood. The continuous bodily existence that lies in two scenarios are based on the biological approach such as DNA and psychological criterion that requires one to have similar memory and experiences.

In a different circumstance, a person who was in class eleven days ago can only be the same student if he has the memory and experience from the past. This is because, the psychological continuity criterion claims that an individual can only be the same if his past psychological parts resemble his present psychological part. In this case, one needs to distinguish what a student actually remembers and what he seems to remember. One needs to distinguish the two concepts to define the psychological continuity criterion of the person. A student cannot be an identical to a student who was in class eleven days ago if he only seems to remember or recall his experiences. He must actually remember his experiences for him to be termed the same person over time. A person who actually remembers is one who is similar or identical to the person in the past who did past uttering and thinking. With this in mind, a student who was in class eleven days ago survives the single person if only his psychological stretch contain actual memories of past experiences.

In response to the above circumstance, a student who was in class eleven days ago can only be the same student today, if he has the same Psychological Continuity Criterion (PCC). PCC requires the same memory and experiences. The actual memory is one caused by earlier experiences and employed as the same person. Still, one can argue that the student is the same person because he has the same body, which is similar to that of eleven days ago. Additionally, he is the same person because he has the same memory and experience from the past. These aspects provide a strong path to understand the combination of the bodily criterion and psychological continuity criterion in defining the same person.

 

In this case, questions may be raised for an individual who does not believe in the possibility of the soul or mind. Some people may wonder whether or not it is the persistence of the body that makes him the same over time. Now, suppose that body was sick and some body cells were replaced with new ones. Will the individual still be the same with the new body? The individual would be the same since the body has psychological continuity criterion that consists similar memory and experiences from the past. Although an individual may change in terms of his health status, an individual remain the same over time because of the same bodily criterion that obliges one to have the same body and psychological criterion that regards one to have similar memory and experiences.

A Comparison of this analysis with other discussed subjects

The bodily criterion of Personal Identity

Some philosophers believe that a person remains the same over time because of the bodily criterion of the personal identity (Perry, 2008). Philosophers believe that bodily criterion is a significant aspect that anyone thinking about or defining personal identity should put into consideration.  The bodily criterion is an important aspect or the thesis of the personal identity. It is an account of what an individual takes to persist over time. Specifically, this means that an individual cannot survive without a body and this explains why individuals go where their bodies go. Being a person or an individual implies that one should have the same body over time. In this case, regardless the health status of an individual the body does not change. From the mentioned circumstances, one can affirm that it is possible for a person to remain the same person over time. The concept of the bodily criterion of a personal identity underline that an individual can only survive if the matching body survives. This implies that, the death of personal body is the end of him or her.

Although philosophers believe that bodily criterion is an important aspect that defines personal identity, some people believe that there are misconceptions about the subject. As argued by Catterson (2008), one does not need to understand the bodily identity to understand personal identity as it changes over time. For instance, the bodily criterion may change in various instances such as the following. The case of a Julia North whose body is ruined over by a car. After the accident, Julia’s brain is transferred into the nearby woman who had a stroke. In this case, the question that lingers in many is on who is the survivor of the operation? The concept of having the same memory and experiences would not guarantee Julia’s survival. Although Julia’s bodily criterion is necessary to define her identity over time, her memory is not sufficient to define her identity since her brain has been transplanted into the woman. This explains why it is possible to judge ones identity without examining one’s body criterion. Still, it explains why it is possible to explain ones identity without examining ones psychological continuity criterion just like in the given case study.

The psychological continuity criterion

Most philosophers believe that the past or future being can only be a person if there are similar memory and experiences (Perry, 2008). On this subject, philosophers believe that personal identity is not a mere substance rather a matter of psychological parts being related. Although it is difficult for a person to distinguish what he actually recall and what he seem to recall, one need to distinguish these aspects to enhance a continuity of psychological criterion. There is a difference between an individual who seems to remember and one that seems to be actually remembering. A person who actually remembers is identical with an individual who did the past uttering and thinking. Nevertheless, a person who seems to remember is not identical to the person in the past.

Although psychological continuity criterion creates a solid path to understand and define personal identity, some people disagree with its concept. This is because an individual cannot be similar or identical to two different people. This shows that, if Julie’s brain was transplanted into the woman he cannot be the same person since Julies’ memory is different from the woman. When transplanted, it is obvious that both will have different memories and experiences.  Although there may be a difference in psychological continuity criterion, the person who in this case is Julie has not changed the identical since he has the same bodily criterion.

 

Why the New Circumstances may be better

The new circumstances may be better since they create a strong ground to understand why a person may remain identical or not. Based on the presented case study of Julie who had an accident and her brain was transplanted into a woman who suffered from stroke, it is true that an individual may remain the same but differ in psychological continuity approach. In other words, a person may be identical to who he was in the past despite changing her memory and experiences.

Conclusion

To sum up, this essay provides a comprehensive analysis of the subject personal identity. This paper has brought into attention that personal identity is vital as it defines ones personal traits, character traits, and habits among others.  This subject of personal identity is the philosophical confrontation that creates questions of human being’s existence, who they are, and define their life after death. In distinguishing these elements, the criterion of the personal identity from time to time is discussed. To create insights on the subject, this paper has presented different circumstances that an individual may remain the same over time. From this analysis, one can argue that bodily continuity criterion and psychological continuity criterion are important factors that one needs to understand to fully comprehend the concept of identity. The fact that human beings have unique bodies with different personality traits, character traits, and habits, one would then affirm that a person may remain the same person over time.

 

References

Catterson, T. T. (2008). Personal identity. Dordrecht: Springer.

Perry, J. (2008). Personal identity. Berkeley: University of California Press.

 

NEW DAY HOSPICE CASE

Introduction

New Day Hospice, a nursing organization faced several issues that threatened its existence. The main issue was controlled communication that prevented employees from communicating freely. The Chairman of the organization planned to effect change in the organization in the wrong way by sacking the executive director while providing no explanation to the other employees. The organization had a well-established culture where people interacted freely and shared ideas. Therefore, they enjoyed and valued communication. Any change to the organization that was touching on communication and their relation was likely to elicit tension and instability. To prevent such occurrences, the change should have been communicated in advance and an explanation given, supporting the importance of the change. The other issue that was imminent was the continued intimidation of employees by the chairman if they dared talk about the unpopular change that the director was effecting by sacking the organization’s executive director. Workers were intimidated that they would be sacked if they discussed the sacking of their executive director. The behavior of the organization’s chairman was against the current accepted practices of bringing in change and relating to employees. Therefore, there is need for analyzing the case study to find out the reasons that prompted the chairman to behave the way he did. To gain this understanding, it is important to utilize already established theories, which may provide insights to the behavior of the chairman. Theories represent past assumptions based on research and may act as a basis for analysis of the New Day Hospice case study.

Issues Caused By the Management

Communication is very important in an organization because it articulates the organization’s objectives to the employees and how to meet them. Moreover, communication provides employees with a channel to convey their concerns to the management of the organization. Therefore, effective communication is an indispensable aspect of any organization. Social presence theory of communication asserts that effective communication is achieved when the medium of communication provides the appropriate social presence that is needed for interpersonal involvement among parties in the communication process (Mortensen, 2009). Recognizing the presence of both parties involved in the communication channel and involving them can create an understanding and reduce tension. The actions of the management of the New Day Hospice led to the breakdown of communication between the management and employees and prohibited communication among employees. Therefore, communication was only one way-from the chairman to the employees. Although the communication medium was face-to-face, the chairman used an autocratic leadership style that did not involve employees (Igbal, 2011). Consequently, there was communication breakdown and loss of motivation by employees. Communication in different people has been linked with their personality trait. Introverts may take time before responding in any communication channel because they internalize the information before providing a response. On the other hand, extroverts are mostly spontaneous and may act impulsively and subjectively during communication (Anolli, 2006). The chairman of the Hospice organization acted impulsively and subjectively. He did not consider the consequences of his action on the employees who had worked with the sacked executive director for more than a decade. Prohibiting employees from discussing the issue showed that the chairman thought that only his actions and decisions were important and disregarded employees. The result of the controlled communication was informal communication that took place in a bar. Such communication could only fuel tension since it could not solve any problems. Problem-solving required both the employees and the chairman to be involved. The stalemate that was created killed the motivation and morale of the employees, making them to dread going to work on the week that followed the dismissal of the executive director.  Tami is a good example from the case study of employees who did not have the motivation to go to work.

Communication Problems

Media richness theory assumes that the best medium of communication is that which provides the widest possibility of reproducing information sent through it (Lievrouw and Livingston, 2006). For instance, face-to-face communication is regarded to be the best because the information relayed through it can be expressed through a variety of techniques such as verbal, facial expression and other body gestures. This is evident in the effectiveness of communication among employees when they were prohibited from talking about the dismissal of their director. They were able to use minimal verbal communication and gestures to effectively communicate about their meeting at the bar. The problem with communication at New Day Hospice was that it was one way. Communication was only from the chairman to the workers. The workers were afraid to raise any concerns for fear of being victimized and losing their jobs. Effective communication requires feedback to ensure that the intended meaning was received by those receiving the message (Adair, 2011). However, the chairman of the New Day Hospice was not concerned with feedback from employees since he simply dictated and demanded cooperation from them. The intimidation directed at those who would talk about executive director’s dismissal acted as a communication barrier. Communication between the chairman and the employees could be enhanced by mutual appreciation of each other’s contribution to the success of the organization. However, the chairman called the organization a failing institution, in spite of all the appreciation the organization had received from the society. Employees felt unappreciated and became demoralized and lost incentive to communicate to the chairman. The sudden change of leadership without involving employees also contributed to the breakdown in communication. When employees are not involved or at least informed of changes that affect their work, they may assume that communication to the management has no effect and, therefore, decide to remain silent (Horowitz and  Strack, 2010).

What Employees Should Have Done

By failing to initiate communication with the management, employees remained oppressed and gagged. They could not even raise other concerns about their work because the attitude of the chairman had already discouraged them. Despite the challenges they faced in establishing a formal communication with the management, there are ways through which they should have resolved the problems. First, they should have utilized the unity they had created during the good days before the chairman took over the management of the organization. They should have chosen a spokes person to talk to the chairman on their behalf. Because of the possible disciplinary action against their representative, they should have stood firm and received the disciplinary action as a team. They had bargaining power by acting as a group. Any mistreatment should have led to a go slow to force the chairman to listen to their pleas. Upon being listened to by the management, they should have demanded involvement in the running of the organization through regular updates of all its activities. Another means of resolving the deadlock that existed should have been involving external stakeholders to act as mediators between them and the management. Since it was a communal organization, they could invite people like the mayor of the city and his commissioners who were conversant with the organization.

Recommendations

The main problem was on the leadership style employed by the chairman of the organization. From the information provided in the case study, it seems that the biggest motivation for people to work in this organization was their love to serve their community and not money. Therefore, they should have been treated with respect, the same way volunteers would be treated. New Day Hospice is a service organization, taking care of people who are nearing their death and their families. To provide the best care, it must first experience good treatment from the management. When service employees are treated well, they are able to provide excellent service to those who use their service. To enable the current management to achieve this objective, the previous culture of a closely-knit workforce should be reinstated through dialogue between the management of the organization and the employees. Through mutual respect for each other’s contribution to the organization, each party should have unrestricted access to the other through a two way communication system. The management needs to show appreciation for the achievements that employees have attained through pointing out and rewarding them (Keyton, 2010). When employees feel appreciated, they are motivated to cooperate with the management to attain further achievements. Since cooperation involves effective communication and feedback, barriers of communication are likely to be eliminated in the quest of good cooperation and achievement.

 

Reference List

Adair, J. 2011. Effective Communication: The Most Important Management Skill of All. London: Pan Macmillan.

Anolli, L. 2006. From Communication to Presence: Cognition, Emotion and Culture towards the Ultimate Communicative Experience: Festschrift in Honor of Luigi Anolli.  Dusseldorf: IOS Press.

Horowitz, L.M., & Strack, S. 2010. Handbook of Interpersonal Psychology: Theory, Research, Assessment, and Therapeutic Interventions. New York: John Wiley & Sons.

Igbal, T. 2011. The Impact of Leadership Styles on Organizational Effectiveness: Analytical Study of Selected Organizations in IT Sector in Karachi. New York: GRIN Verlag.

Mortensen, C.D. 2009. Communication Theory. New York: Transaction Publishers.

Keyton, J. 2010. Communication and Organizational Culture: A Key to Understanding Work Experiences. California: SAGE.

Lievrouw, L., & Livingston, S. 2006. Handbook of New Media: Student Edition. California: SAGE.

 

Sports Tourism

Table of Contents

Sports Tourism.. 3

Active vs. Passive Sports Tourism.. 4

A Growing Industry. 4

Attractions. 5

Resorts. 5

Cruises. 5

Tours. 6

Events. 6

Recent Trends. 6

Economic trends. 7

Political trends. 8

Social and demographic trends. 8

Technological trends. 9

Implications for the future. 9

Conclusion. 10

References. 11

Sports Tourism

Sports tourism has precipitated much discussion in the recent past. Indeed, the greatest challenge has been to come with a conclusive and an all-encompassing definition of the terminology. The definition for sports tourism has been visited on different ways and approaches by various authors and scholars. Sports tourism is the movement of people from one place to another of the purpose of taking part in sporting activities, either actively or passively (Ritchie & Adair, 2004). The other component of this definition is that such events are conducted either for commercial or non-commercial purposes. The other feature that is inherent in this definition is the element of active or passive participation in sports (Ritchie & Adair, 2004). This means people could travel to take part in sports or to be spectators. Other varied definitions carry similar approach, although with slight variations. For instance, some researchers have introduced the concept of hard and soft tourism in sports (Ritchie & Adair, 2004). The Hard sports tourist is someone who travels with the aim of actively taking parts in sports (Ritchie & Adair, 2004). A soft sport tourist is one who travels for recreation and leisure (Ritchie & Adair, 2004). However, recent definitions have incorporated the concept of infrastructure development (Meriwether, 2013). Indeed, infrastructural expansion is indispensable in the development of sports tourism in any country. Other scholars argue that these definitions look at the economic aspect and ignore the social cultural aspects of sports tourism (Ritchie & Adair, 2004). However, the focus of this paper will not necessarily be pegged on the right definitions or not (Homafar, Honari, Heidary & Heiday, 2011, Hudson, 2008). Indeed, the spotlight is on the totality of the gains of sport tourist and related activities might bring to an economy. In this aspect, the paper will focus on the simple definition of travelling outside the normal places of inhabitance to get involved passively or actively in competitive sports (Ritchie & Adair, 2007, p 254). Principally, the key theme to travel here is sports, which of course brings in the issue of tourism or leisure in the process.

Active vs. Passive Sports Tourism

From the above definition, sports tourism can then be broken into two categories. First, we have travel that is directed related to taking part in the sporting activities (Ritchie & Adair, 2004). In this category, the spotlight is on the people who are directly involved in the sports, and not casual observers. The second category is spectatorial travel. The focus of spectatorial sports tourism is for one to go with the only purpose of watching the games or sports (Ritchie & Adair, 2004). It is from this perspective that the focus can ideally shift to the visualization of the economic, social, as well as the cultural implications of each component. Indeed, this is not an extension of the definition, but rather a close look at the overall effects of sports tourism.

A Growing Industry

As highlighted above, sports tourism is a fast growing sector. It is estimated to be an industry that rakes in over $600 billion annually (sportstourismexpo.com, 2012). Those involved in sports tourism spend highly and stay for long than other types of tourists and for this matter; they propagate other forms of tourism. The sports tourism has its effects depending on which level it is hosted, be it regional, national, or international level. The effects may be direct or indirect; direct from the competitors or spectators and indirect from marketing of the host country whereby the tourists starts coming in, leading to the host benefiting from their presence.

Sports and tourism are the worlds leading industries where sports industry is mostly the feeder industry for tourism (Ritchie & Adair, 2004). The sports tourism has therefore emerged as a big international business, raking in billions of dollars. In addition, it has played a big part in attracting investors (Dodds & Graci, 2009) and those interested in political agendas to travel and participate or spectate. Some of the world famous sport tourism attractions are the soccer FIFA World Cup, Olympics and the European Football Champions. Estimates show that the international annual trip turnouts are about 12 million, though the figure is likely to depreciate depending on the season and events of the year. According to Simon Hudson (2008), five major areas have influenced the growth of the industry. These include attractions, resorts, cruises, tours, and events (p. 445).

Attractions

Under this category, development comes from the perspective of the industry offering attractive things to see which are sports-related. These attractions are either naturally occurring or created by man. Such destinations are characterized by sporting facilities offering events in sports, museums designed for commemoration of heroes (Hudson, 2008).

Resorts

These centers offer sports facilities to tourists, which include amenity and destination spas (Hudson, 2008); golf and tennis resorts; water and snow sport resorts (Hudson, 2008).The resorts are of varying sizes and at times conferences and meetings are held in them because of their conducive and attractive environment.

Cruises

These offer boat like trips with sport facilities and activities. Arrangements to transport tourists with ships fitted with sporting facilities can be made to cater for and satisfy the customers’ needs. There is also wide range- use of watercrafts for competition or recreation sports (Hudson, 2008).

Tours

Tourists can make their own arrangements or be arranged for to travel to various destinations in the world for sport activities. Some private tour and travel institutions have emerged to provide these services for a fee. Such tours may be aimed at visiting stadiums or arenas where the games are being hosted (Hudson, 2008).

Events

Most sports coverage is through media such as TV and radios; however of late fans have developed the urge of experiencing live coverage of the sports (Gammon and Robinson, 2003). This has created and increased the demand for travelling to the specific destinations where the sports are hosted owing in mind that most travelling costs have been slashed by most regional and international airlines. This has therefore made the sports tourism market to expand to meet the increasing demand for customers (Hudson, 2008).The highest catchment areas of this industry are from the UK, US, Germany, France, Spain, and South Africa among others. It is projected that the sports tourism market will grow by about 6% in a span of less than 10 years. Indeed, this calls for increased facilities to cater for the increasing number of customers in this industry. It is evident from this analogy that most regions, cities and to a far extend countries all over the globe have there economies relying on visitors for players or spectators of golf, football and rugby among other events (Hudson, 2008).

Recent Trends

The development of the sport tourism industry is actually sports oriented since the entire urge for travelling is passive or active participation in sports (Ritchie & Adair, 2004). Unlike other tourism-oriented industries, which suffer slow growth, the sports tourism is experiencing a hefty growth despite low attention from advisors. It is so clear from the two sectors that their impact is vast in terms investments, growth of economies, creating job opportunities and generation of funds (Hudson, 2008). For a politically stable country like Canada, the sector attracts over 3 million tourists between July and August annually (Statistics Canada, 2000). In most third world countries, unemployed and high population growth in widely pronounced and the development of sport tourism sectors has minimized this anomaly (Homafar, Honari, Heidary & Heiday, 2011). It has also boosted social cultural interactions in the host regions. Sports tourism requires some analysis to equip us with general knowledge on future uphill in this industry. The sport tourism industry is likely to lead and be influenced by a number of trends. The underlying trends to sports tourism can be examined under; the economic, political, societal, and technological trends which form the context in both sports and tourism (Homafar, Honari, Heidary & Heiday, 2011).

Economic Trends

Increasing income calls for increased tourists, while decreasing income degenerate its growth. Positive outcomes associated with flourished sport tourism are increase in trade and deregulation among others while negative ones are economic downturns and protected trading. The most dominant economic trend that has emerged from the latter part of the 20^th century is globalization (Homafar, Honari, Heidary & Heiday, 2011), which has brought about commodification in this industry. The introduction of man made sporting sites like snowmaking and cloud seeding has provided opportunities for businesses to flourish like constructing indoor skis. Pollution is on the increase altering climate due high emissions of carbon dioxide coming from tourism activities (Hudson, 2008), mainly from the transportation industry, food and beverage and the attraction sectors (Hinch & Higham, 2011) and if these are not checked the industry is likely to face problems with regulatory agencies.

Political Trends

For this sector to face expansive development, political stability is vital. The developed countries like Europe and US are better placed in political stability and pose a big influence on global politics, which brings about imbalances in power among states where the result is driving of political trends (Hinch & Higham, 2011). Terrorists have also become increasing and widespread and this poses threats to sports tourism activities and development. This calls for increased and advanced methods of combating terrorism both in minor and major sports areas. Counter checking on this issue may increase the number of people in this sector. This is because people would be less concerned about terrorist attacks.

Social and Demographic Trends

There is likely exertion of pressure on this industry from the social and demographic front. Because of the increasing urge to discover, participate and learn about the places tourists visit, the sports tourism industry is challenged to come up with methods to address and meet the challenges posed by social needs of the citizens. There is however, a big change in the sporting activities due to immigration patterns in the world. Most sports tourism fanatics are aging and there those involved in this industry need to change some of their products to suit the consumer (Hinch & Higham, 2011). This may involve changing from tough activities to less tough outdoor activities that might not require much energy to perform with a theme of helping the customers maintain their health and not risking it. The desire to move from modern to postmodern lifestyle has contributed to the change in sports tourism (Homafar et al, 2011). In addition, the interaction between people from diverse origins can lead to mutual appreciation of other people’s social lives, bonding, and liking for others. Tourists promote social infrastructure such a schools and cyber cafes, among others. However, it can negative effects on social lives as well as culture. Indeed, tourism can lead to cultural dilution or its destruction (Mirbabayev & Shagazatova, 2007).

Technological Trends

These have helped in improving performance and experiences of tourists. Technology has played a big role in this industry, such as the development of the internet (Ritchie & Adair, 2004, which give people the information they need quickly and easily. Indeed, it might be that in future people will not need to travel to sporting destination if they can follow every proceeding in the comfort of their homes.

Implications for the future

From the above discussion, it is apparent that sports tourism will continue to explode in the coming years. The indelible potential of sports tourism can be measured by the current trends in the industry. Indeed, possibilities are pegged on ingenuity, new discoveries, as well as technological advancements. Moreover, countries will continue to dig deep into their coffers to build infrastructure that can attract sporting activities into their home countries (Meriwether, 2013). A well-developed infrastructural framework is critical in deciding which country will host certain events. In doing so, host nations will have to invest heavily, thus boosting their overall economic latitude (Ritchie & Adair, 2004, Hudson, 2008). However, in spite of such phenomenal and anticipated economic growth, there is cause of alarm for countries because of the cultural and social degradation that might result. The avalanche of social-cultural values from different corners of the world can significantly influence morals in host nations. It is indubitable that social and economic factors play an indelible part in every. Therefore, it is imperative that countries take cognizance of the benefits as well as potential threats posed by sports tourism (Ritchie & Adair, 2004).

Conclusion

In summary, this discussion has defined sport tourism as the movement of people from their habitation to another place for sports activities, either actively or passively. This paper has looked at the simple definition without necessarily contextualizing the social, social, economic, and cultural definitions as advanced by several authors. However, the proclivity of sports tourism towards the three facets has been dealt with, albeit on a different perspective. On the economic front, countries as well as business stand to benefits a lot. However, there are unforeseen negative effects of sports tourism, which can be projected in the light of recent trends. Indeed, technological advancements can potentially limit travel. However, the desire to visit diverse ecosystems could quintessentially influence cultural and social norms in host countries. It is therefore imperative that host countries take note of these critical issues to avoid the erosion of social and cultural values in pursuit of profits.

 

References List

Dodds, R.  & Graci, S. (2009). Sustainable tourism in Island Destinations. Routledge, New York.

Hinch, T. & Higham, J. (2011). Sports Tourism Development, 2^nd Edition. Channel View Publications, London.

Homafar, F., Honari, H., Heidary, A. & Heiday, T (2011). An Investigation of the Factors Influencing Sports Tourism Development. Retrieved from http://www.academicjournals.org/jhmt/pdf/pdf2011/Jan/Homafar%20et%20al%20%20pdf.pdf

Hudson, S. (2008). Tourism and Hospitality Marketing: a global perspective. SAGE, London.

Meriwether, K. (2013). New York City Cashing in on Sports Tourism. Retrieved from http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/united-states/new-york-city-cashing-in-on-sports-tourism-363123.html

Mirbabayev, B. & Shagazatova, M. (2007).  The Economic and Social Impact of Tourism. Retrieved from http://www.grips.ac.jp/alumni/UzbekistanTourism%282%29.pdf

Ritchie, W. B & Adair, D. (2004). Sport Tourism: interrelationships, impacts, and issues. Routledge, New York.

sportstourismexpo.com. (2012).  Sports Tourism. Retrieved from http://www.sporttourismexpo.com/sport-tourism

Statistics Canada (2000).Canadian Travel Survey. Retrieved from http://publications.gc.ca/Collection-R/Statcan/87-212-XIE/0009887-212-XIE.pdf

 

 

Reasons for undertaking graduate studies. Why MS in Cyber-security.

Different people have varying reasons for undertaking a particular graduate Study/Program. This paper presents some of the reasons that explain why I chose to undertake a Master’s degree in Cyber-security and Management (network engineer and architect option). In addition, the paper shows how I plan to use my selected program to meet my future goals especially working on my Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert (CCIE) certification in Security.

My main reason for choosing to study MS in Cyber-security and Management program is to get an opportunity of building a career that puts a greater focus on technical innovation while bringing positive change to my profession and to the community. Specifically, I am interested in finding out how I can make good use of technology to come up with innovative, advanced, and long-lasting solutions to the various problems that relate to Cyber-security. It is my hope that the University environment will enable me to develop the necessary knowledge and skills, intellectual rigor, and the desired confidence to put into practice my abilities that include solving real-world and complex problems.

My first goal is to become a professional architect and network engineer such that I will be in a position to design, implement, and manage networks together with their security. During my high school days, I had a lot of interest in computers and always wanted to learn new things in technology. I used my Dell computer to undertake research that mainly centered on cyber security. Ever since, my persistence and commitment has paid off in different ways including increasing my computer proficiency. In addition, the school selected me as a computer technology assistant, and a consultant in other activities that relate to computer technology. For a very long time, I have always focused on high academic excellence and this has made me to consistently remain the best student in the various technology-based institutions where I have studied so far. It is my wish that I will continue maintaining high levels of achievement standards by making maximum use of different resources available at the University.

The learning resources and opportunities, an outstanding faculty, and well motivated students are my other reasons why am interested in undertaking graduate studies. I believe that the set of activities found within the University will be part of the experience that I will gain after completing my MS in Cyber-security and Management program. Being an active and hardworking student, I am optimistic that I will be in a position to contribute and utilize my unique perspectives, time, knowledge and skills especially in maintaining cyber security. Apart from my interest in technology, I also enjoy participating in other activities such as drama and debate. This can be explained by the numerous honors and gifts awarded to me during my high school days.

My main future goal is to work on my Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert (CCIE) certification in Security. It is my hope that I will establish a research and development center to increase my ability of discovering and developing effective ways of increasing cyber security and addressing other problems that relate to technology. I am also very sure that my career as a network engineer and architect together with my varied interest and accomplishment in technology will go a long way in bringing and creating an appropriate approach towards my future goals and plans.

 

Effective Process Improvement in the American Hospitals

Chapter 1

Introduction

The purpose of this chapter is to present the current findings on the improvement made in the health sector in the United States in regards to productivity, cost, and efficiency. This chapter focuses on how technology has promoted effective health care delivery. To fully explore on this topic, the research utilized various questions. The first question is whether the health strategy in the United States maximizes the patient’s well-being, whether the current methods for delivering health care maximize the patient welfare, and what hospitals have done to maximize patients’ welfare. This research underlines the effective process improvements hospitals in the United States have made in regards to productivity, cost, and efficiency.

In the article entitled, Enabling Effective Nurse Communications 2010 Avaya Company argues how the health care industry faces increasing pressure from different aspects such as communication. The study demonstrates that, for healthcare professionals to be effective, they need to have access to information technology that facilitates effective communication (1). This study indicates that effective communication saves time, avoids costly errors, and allows health professionals to deliver quality health care that patients deserve. Further, the study highlights the situation of how different hospitals in the United States function. The study investigated how most hospitals in the United States have demonstrated the importance of effective communication in day to day health practice. Moreover, the article reveals that nurses have embraced the tools and technology that facilitates effective communication in the health care environment (Avaya Company 2). Although the article reveals that there has been a challenge in the health care industry in that nurses spend more time at the nurse’s station than they do with patients, nurses need access to mobile communication to improve quality care. Despite the challenges of communication technologies available to many nurses, nurses have worked to deliver the quality care that patients’ need (Avaya Company 3). Based on this research, one can affirm that effective communication in the hospital boosts staff productivity as well as operational efficiency. In turn, this improves patient care and reduces operating costs. Additionally, this improves nurse satisfaction since it allows them to spend more time on activities of direct care, which define their profession.

According to Alexander, Weiner, and Griffith (1007), there has been a widespread involvement of hospital staff in multiple units. Their article indicates that, this has strengthened the efficiency of Quality Improvement (QI) by promoting a strong learning culture. This has promoted shared values and increase better organizational performance. The involvement of medical staff across multiple staff has been crucial in that it has created a strong path to implement solutions that improve the well-being of patients. Hospitals that have demonstrated medical guidelines for multiple procedures and conditions have demonstrated improvement in their organizational performance. With increasing pressure to improve and maintain healthcare quality in the face of economic crisis, the American government has encouraged hospitals to emphasize more on process improvement as the mechanism to offer high quality care while reducing the healthcare costs (1008).  After conducting a study on Quality Improvement and Hospital Financial Performance, Alexander, Weiner, and Griffith (1022) found that hospitals in the United States operate on the postulation that boosting medical processes through QI increases financial performance. This increases the efficiency and improves the competitive position for hospitals to provide best services that attracts payers and patients. Patient/customer satisfaction, quality of medical care, and service improvement are some of the values added by the QI programs.

To Carroll, Alteras, and Meyer (7), hospitals in the United States have improved in their operation over time. Their research reveals that more effort has been done to improve and measure quality hospital care. Much improvement has been done in developing risk-adjustment mechanisms and quality indicators to compare quality across different institutions. Based on the case study analysis of four hospitals, this research indicates various factors that have enhanced positive change or quality improvement sequence. First, this article reveals that most hospitals have emphasis more on quality improvement, leading to organizational changes. Secondly, most hospitals have empowered their staff members to improve quality healthcare. Still, many have invested in technology and infrastructure that ease clinical operations and procedures. Hospitals have made organizational changes that nurture and reflect on a strong culture of quality. Most have created processes and structures to identify deficiencies, monitor performance, and implement solutions. Thirdly, as organization and structural changes, hospitals have been able to investigate and implement major changes such as nurse empowerment, nurturing champions,

Improved training materials for medical staff on various aspects such as infection prevention, and investing on information technology that diminishes medical errors and increase data collection. Still, hospitals have provided clinical guidelines, care maps, and protocols for specific procedures and conditions (7).

The mentioned practices have improved outcomes for hospitals and patients. Typically, this has improved work environment and its reputation in that the outcomes have increased staff and patient satisfaction, improved a strong status in the community, reduced medical complications, costs, and reinforced a strong commitment to change. These have resulted to practice changes such as clinical guidelines, new protocols, procedures, and pathways. Most importantly, Carroll, Alteras, and Meyer (10) affirm that most hospitals in the United States have empowered their staffs to coordinate quality medical care for patients and identify possible areas to improve quality standards.

Typically, hospitals have improved on how they compile, retrieve, and access patients’ information. Currently, patients do need to stay for long periods waiting for the results. With the help of Electronic Medical Records, hospitals have been able to compile and retrieve information more efficiently and effectively. According to Brooks and Grotz (74), American hospitals have utilized electronic medical records to improve efficiency, productivity, and cost. The authors highlight how Electronic Medical Records (EMRs), the latest form of documenting patients’ medical record, have been used by hospitals to improve efficiency in service provision (Brooks and Grotz 74). Although the implementation of the EMRs has been slow, the article reveals that the government has taken actions to encourage implementation in all hospitals across the U.S (75). The study provides a review of how hospitals in the United States manage various challenges such as documenting patients’ record with digital facilities. In essence, the healthcare field has experienced a transformation on how records are used and kept. Hospitals in the United States have utilized electronic medical records, which in turn has improved the way records are reviewed and kept, making a tremendous saving on the time that health professionals use to access patient information and thus enhancing cost efficiency (76). This research is further supported by Richards, Prybutok, and Ryan (121) and Silow-Carroll, Edwards and Rodin (1) that, EMRs have played a significant role in improving productivity and efficiency.

A research conducted by Kohli, Devaraj and Ow (1149) investigated patients’ managers’, and clinicians’ perceptions of technology in the health sector. This research indicates that a large number of hospitals in the United States have significantly invested in IT. Additionally, the study indicates that IT has had a positive impact of improving performance, accuracy, and efficiency, which in turn have increased the firm’s competitiveness (1154). To deliver better health care, hospitals have embraced IT in the communication process. IT has allowed health care providers to communicate effectively with other health care providers resulting in improved and quality care that patients need. A research by Bandyopadhyay and Haves (179) supports this conclusion indicating that many hospitals in the U.S are taking steps to provide quality care at the lowest cost. Hospitals have embraced quality management approaches such Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) and Total Quality Management (TQM) to boost health care quality. Top hospital management have enhanced patients’ satisfaction by ensuring that healthcare providers have the information they need to improve patient care. Still, hospitals have provided health care at an affordable cost to meet the needs of patients in the low-income bracket.

Hospitals have also adopted a medical-surgical safety checklist that has improved the quality of care and saved money (Semel et al. 1593). The checklist is a two-minute tool similar to the checklist used by pilots before takeoff. This tool is designed to enhance quality care and safety processes during surgery. The study by Semel et al. also highlights that use of such a checklist ensures that patients receive suitable antibiotics to prevent infection after surgery process (1593). This has eliminated the rates surgical complications, which increase the cost of providing such procedures through aspects such as prolonged hospital stay (1595).

Hospitals in the United States have also promoted cultural competence in their staff to improve productivity, efficiency, and cost (Wilson-Stronks, Amy, Sunita, and Joseph 339). In the study by Wilson-Stronks, Amy, Sunita, and Joseph most Hospital CEOs are argued to have embraced cultural competence in their management, which has helped them attain the organization’s priorities, mission, and the capacity to meet the needs of patients (339).  Many have created an organization’s culture that understand patients’ needs, and that encourage staff in improving quality care. Hospital CEOs have ensured that patients’ needs are met  for instance according to the nursing code of ethics. Additionally, managers have constantly allocated resources on critical areas needed to augment health care services (Marley, David, and Meyer    350). As indicated in this study, managers have worked hard to improve standards of patient care through medical diagnosis, treatment, and improved physiological and psychological care (353).

Lastly, hospitals in the United States have embraced a philosophy of a continuous improvement linked with providing care that exceeds patients’ expectations (Alexender, Weiner, and Griffith 1003). To accomplish this, most CEOs have empowered their employees to understand and respond to patients’ needs accordingly. Although the issue of how hospitals spend less resources empowering their employees is contentious, this article affirms that hospitals’ management has have enhanced the empowerment in an effort to provide patient care that aligns to the standards of patient care suggested by various professional bodies (1004). In this respect, many hospitals have put in place measures to improve their operations, management, and communication.

Thus far, this discussion underlines that there have been many changes and improvement made in the health sector. U.S hospitals have improved in their operation, organizational structure, and have effectively used advanced machines to carry their medical operations. The development of healthcare has had a great impact on the U.S population. Hospital staffs have been helpful in promoting efficiency healthcare and reducing mortality rates. U.S hospitals have been on the lead to implement medical care processes that improves patients’ well-being. They have identified IT systems and tools that alert health care providers to provide high quality and safer care. Additionally, hospitals have promoted the adoption of promising QI strategies that in turn improves efficiency and productivity. With this, U.S hospitals have implemented and evaluated strategies that boost quality care for people. With the help of information technology

Healthcare providers have been able to respond to critical conditions on time.

This chapter has reviewed current findings on effective process improvements that hospitals in the United States have made in regards to productivity, cost, and efficiency. Many have utilized EMRs to enhance information retrieval, record keeping, and compilation of patients’ information. Many hospitals have invested heavily in Information Technology in medical care and this has facilitated effective communication between health care providers and patients and health care providers with other providers across the U.S. Through electronic data systems, health care providers can easily record and retrieve patient information. With information being easily available on how to carry out different diagnosis, health care providers have improved in their operation and this has resulted in efficiency and productivity. Additionally, most hospitals CEOs have promoted effective management and leadership that focus on providing quality care to patients. Most hospital CEOs have ensured that their employees understand the needs of patients and respond to them accordingly.

This research has outlined how hospitals in the United States have embraced best facilities that facilitate patients’ well-being. For instance, most have used medical surgical safety checklist that has in turn eliminated the rates and costs of surgical complications. Thus, this research has revealed that hospitals in the United States have invested more in terms of resources and human efforts to improve patients’ well-being. Additionally, the American government has significantly helped hospitals to invest heavily on electronic records that improve accuracy and reduce medical errors. Through technology, hospitals have saved time used in compiling, retrieving, and obtaining patients’ records. Patients do not need to stay in long periods waiting for their medical records to be retrieved. The innovation of technology has enabled healthcare providers to research and obtain information at ease. Technology has created a strong path for healthcare providers to search information at ease in regard to patient’s diagnosis, treatment, and prevention strategies. This has enabled clinicians to learn from other experts in the field of health care. As a result, this has promoted productivity and efficiency in hospitals in that many have adequate information on how to respond to patients’ needs. This research would recommend many hospitals from other nations to learn from the United States where many hospitals have emphasized more on quality health care. This has significantly increased the health population of the United States. Therefore, this research has focused on the effective process improvements hospitals in the United States have made in regards to productivity, cost, and efficiency.

Works Cited

Alexander, Jeffrey, Weiner, Bryan, and Griffith John. “Quality Improvement and Hospital Financial Performance “. Journal of Organizational Behaviour 27. 10 (2006): 1003-1029.

Avaya Company. “Enabling Effective Nurse Communications” Avaya Intelligent Communications (2010): 1-7. Retrieved from http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:O08U8HAE3GEJ:www.avaya.com/uk/resource/assets/factsheet/Enabling%2520Effective%2520Nurse%2520Comm%2520LB5027%2520(4).pdf+&hl=en&gl=ke

Bandyopadhyay, Jayanta K., and Gary Hayes. “Developing a Framework for the Continuous Improvement of Patient Care in United States Hospitals: A Process Approach.” International Journal of Management 26.2 (2009): 179-185.

Brooks, Rochelle, and Courtney Grotz. “Implementation of Electronic Medical Records: How Healthcare Providers are Managing the Challenges of Going Digital.” Journal of Business & Economics Research 8.6 (2010): 73-84.

Carroll, Sharon, Alteras, Tanya, and Meyer, Jack. “Hospital Quality Improvement Strategies and Lessons from U.S. Hospitals”. Health Management Associates. (2007): 1-34.

Kohli, Rajiv, Sarv Devaraj, and Terence T. Ow. “Does Information Technology Investment Influence A Firm’s Market Value? A Case Of Non-Publicly Traded Healthcare Firms.” MIS Quarterly 36.4 (2012): 1145-1163.

Marley, Kathryn A., David A. Collier, and Meyer Goldstein Susan. “The Role of Clinical and Process Quality in Achieving Patient Satisfaction in Hospitals.” Decision Sciences 35.3 (2004): 349-69.

Richards, Rhonda J., Victor R. Prybutok, and Sherry D. Ryan. “Electronic Medical Records: Tools For Competitive Advantage.” International Journal Of Quality & Service Sciences 4.2 (2012): 120.

Semel, Marcus E., et al. “Adopting A Surgical Safety Checklist could Save Money and Improve the Quality of Care in U.S. Hospitals.” Health affairs 29.9 (2010): 1593-9. ProQuest. Web. 5 Apr. 2013.

Silow-Carroll, Sharon, Jennifer N Edwards, and Diana Rodin. “Using Electronic Health Records To Improve Quality And Efficiency: The Experiences Of Leading Hospitals.” Issue Brief (Commonwealth Fund) 17.(2012): 1-40.

Wilson-Stronks, Amy, Sunita Mutha, and Joseph R. Swedish F.A.C.H.E. “From the Perspective of CEOs: What Motivates Hospitals to Embrace Cultural Competence?/PRACTITIONER APPLICATION.” Journal of Healthcare Management 55.5 (2010): 339,51; discussion 351-2.

 

Teachings of Islam Culture and How They are Interpreted/Practiced in Different Countries

 

Teachings of Islam Culture and How They Are Interpreted/Practiced in Different Countries

Islam is the second largest religion in the world after Christianity. It is partly based upon the teachings of Prophet Mohammed recorded in the Hadith, and for the most part on the Koran, which Muslims believe to be the word of the one true God – Allah, handed down to the prophet (Pipes, 2008). The purpose of this paper is to discuss the teachings of Islam and how they are interpreted and/or practiced in different countries and cultures, including Great Britain, United States, the Middle East, Pakistan, India, and Malaysia. The paper discusses how Islam is understood in each of these countries’s culture and how it is contrasted with Judaism and Christianity. How these understandings impact the ways that non-Muslims and Muslims interact and communicate with one another is also discussed.

There are several claims about who Muslims are, and what they actually believe in, such that it can be confusing sometimes to know what is real and what is not. With regard to the teachings of Islam, Shirazi (2007) stated that Muslims have seven main beliefs and they are as follows: First is a belief in only one, unitary God who is all-knowing, omnipotent and does not have any family or children. Secondly is the belief in angels made of light, and who can take any form, they so wish. Third, a belief in revealed scriptures – written or oral, which are given to the prophets, and they include the Psalms of David, Torah of Moses, the Qur’an of Muhammad and the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Fourth is a belief in the prophets who are contacted by God himself and given a mission to lead and/or teach. Fifth, a belief in a final day for the world when everything will end and all souls will be brought back to God for an assessment of their record of actions and beliefs. Sixth; is a belief in the foreknowledge of God about the future, and finally, a belief in the next life where the spirit shall live on after the Day of Judgment and exist either in Hellfire or Paradise. Souls with minor sins will be allowed to leave Hellfire and to enter Paradise after they have served their punishment (Shirazi, 2007). These fundamental teachings of the Islamic faith together with many others are interpreted differently in different countries.

            In the United States – Here, the teachings of Islamic faith and culture are often viewed with suspicion, and to some extent, fear. Issues of Islam are very serious and several leaders in the United States and many citizens at large hold the view that the Islam culture/faith promotes violence. This largely comes about as a result of terrorist activities carried out against the United States and/or its allies mainly by people of the Islam faith, for instance the 9/11 terrorist attacks by Al-Qaeda terrorist organization. Guabli (2010) observed that of all the faiths in America, Islam is the fastest growing, the least understood and the most questioned. Certain aspects of Islam faith such as the conservative Muslim dress code, especially the Muslim women dress raises several questions from the American public. Such questions include; why is it important for them to wear them in today’s time?  A vast majority of Americans find the Muslim dress code as posing barriers to integration in society, and hinders effective interaction and communication with the rest of the population (Guabli, 2010).

The events of the past decade, particularly the 9/11 attacks carried out by radical Islamists have painted a bad image of Muslims in the minds of many American citizens. This has made Americans to generally view people of the Islam faith with suspicion and at times, hatred, and this hinders effective interaction between Muslim and non-Muslim Americans. Furthermore, due to the media coverage of Muslims throughout the world, American Muslims are seen to have lifestyles and views somewhat dissimilar to the widely accepted American values. In turn, this clashes with the American way of life. Commonly, American Muslims face unique challenges unlike the challenges faced by the rest of the society, largely because of their beliefs and practices. In some instances, Muslims in the United States are targeted for no other reason apart from being Muslims; practicing and believing in a religion associated in the minds of many Americans, with terror, confiscation of human rights and people from the Middle East. In the United States, Islam is contrasted with Christianity in the sense that whereas Islam promotes polygamy, Christianity believes in monogamy. Moreover, they are both monotheistic religions and believers of both faiths believe in life after death (Guabli, 2010).

In Great Britain – The number of people converting from Christianity to the Islamic faith has been rising in the recent past in the United Kingdom, and this is fuelled largely by an increase in young white women assuming the Islamic faith (Wright, 2013). Nevertheless, the country has experienced some violent Islamist extremism and terror plots, for instance the July 7 bombings. Suicide bombings also occurred on London Transport and all these are attributed to people of the Islam faith. As a result, most people in Britain tend to fear people of the Islam faith since they associate them with acts of terror. This has made British Muslims to face serious challenges. Studies indicate that British Muslims have the poorest health, highest unemployment rate, the most disability and the least educational qualifications of any faith or religious group in the country (Wright, 2013). In general, people of the Muslim faith are often victimized and they are treated unfairly in the media, politics and even on the streets. Moreover, they are not treated with tolerance and decency. This kind of treatment is largely attributed to the perception of the British public regarding Muslims, whom they associate with terrorism and extremism (Wright, 2013).

In Great Britain, Islam is contrasted with Christianity in the sense that Christianity promotes peace and is tolerant to other religions, while Islam does not really promote peace, and it justifies killing through Jihad – a holy war that is waged on behalf of Islam as a religious duty. Moreover, Islam is not tolerant to other religions. In United Kingdom, Islam contrasts with Judaism in the following ways: they are both strict monotheistic religions, both have strict dietary rules, they prohibit against eating blood and some species of animals. In addition, they both believe that God cannot father a child/offspring with a human woman the way Christians believe Jesus was born (Heggy, 2009).

In the Middle East – The Middle East consists of the Muslim-majority countries such as Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Qatar, among others. In this region, the prevailing interpretations of Islam are the main factors that influence and affect Arab environments and Arab Culture (Pipes, 2008). There are tens of interpretations of Islam in the cultures of countries in the Middle East and there is a huge difference between the word Islam, and the understanding of the interpretation of Islam. These differences in interpretations can be seen for instance in the activities and behaviors of Sunni and Shiite Muslims, the Radical, Moderate, Liberal and Progressive Muslims. Islam in the Middle East has many sects and diverse schools of thinking, but is represented solely and fully by the prevailing Wahhabi, petrodollar and anti humanity Islam. Others think that Islam could be presented in a manner that is well-matched with the all the values of civilized and modern societies. Moreover, there are those Muslims who have open views on diversity, equality, human rights, modernity, pluralism and coexistence (Heggy, 2009). In the Middle East, Islam is contrasted with Judaism and Christianity in the sense that Christian and Judaism adherents are not tolerated particularly by the radical Islamic sects who often target Christians and Christian churches, as well as Jews. This makes the status of being Christians and Jews difficult, and the coexistence and interaction with people of Islam faith more problematic, hence impacting on how non-Muslims and Muslims communicate and interact with one another. Nevertheless, some Muslims in this region consider Christians and Jews as spiritual sisters/brothers, and as such, they try to be nice to them (Pipes, 2008). Both the Islam and Judaism religions teach about the existence of Satan and Angels – although the Muslim views of Satan are very much different than Jewish views.

In Pakistan – Pakistan is an Islamic country and 96% of the total population are Muslims and deeply divided between the Sunni and Shiite Muslim groups. Just like in the Middle East, Muslims in Pakistan belong to different groups/schools referred to as Madhahib. The small non-Muslim groups among others include Christians (1.6%) and Jews (0.5%). Because of their strong Islamic beliefs, Pakistanis often react violently to perceived anti-Muslim events in the world. Some of the violent reactions were as a result of the controversial Danish cartoon of Prophet Mohammed, and the 2012 video by a Coptic Christian Egyptian in the United States, who released the infamous video depicting Prophet Mohammad as fraud (Heggy, 2009). Most adherents of the Islamic faith in Pakistan do not tolerate other religions, particularly Christianity. Christians are perceived as a threat to the spread of Islam faith and as such, are often attacked by Islamic radicals (Shirazi, 2007). Christians and Jews are often murdered when they disagree with Islamic faith. In turn, this negatively impacts on the way Muslims interact and communicate with Christians in Pakistan, as Christians tend to fear Muslims. In comparing the faiths as practiced in Pakistan, dietary laws for Muslims are more strict compared to that of Jews and Christians, for instance with regard to alcohol.

In India – In India, Muslims make up roughly 12% of the entire population. Generally, the Indian Muslims, just like those in the Middle East, Pakistan and other parts of the world are divided into the two main sects of Shi’a and Sunni (Heggy, 2009). In India, Islam is commonly seen as an invaders’ faith/religion, and Hindus are at times reminded about the Somnath temple which was raided by invader Mahmud Ghazanavi. In the Muslim Indian community, there is utter confusion regarding the proper definition of Shariah, and in this democratic nation, there are still some misgivings and misconceptions with regard to the Islam faith. Many Muslim Indians hold the view that the Koran does not in any way entitle an accused person or a violator getting away with interpretations that suit his/her convenience. The anti-Islam and pro-Islam trajectory ripples in the Indian media illustrates how the Islamic faith attracts many interpretations. Some interpret and understand Muslims as people who are anti-national and who show solidarity with Islam only, to the point of supporting the enemies of the country who are right across the border. Judaism and Christianity particularly contrast with Islam in the sense that they do not recognize Muhammad in any way. However, the similarity between the teachings of Islam and those of Christianity and Judaism is that they share the same prophets for instance Moses and Abraham (Shirazi, 2007). Typically, adherents of the Islamic faith in India are not as radical and hard lined as many in the Middle East or Pakistan. They tolerate other religions particularly Hinduism which is the dominant faith. These understandings have significantly helped to enhance communication and interaction between Muslims and non-Muslims in India, and incidences such as attacks on Christians are very rare.

In Malaysia – In this country, Islamic law plays an important role in the legal system. Some different Islamic groups such as the liberal Muslims in Malaysia are very concerned with this trend, while other Islamic groups such as the progressive Muslims are not. This clearly illustrates how the Islam faith is understood and interpreted by different Muslim groups in the country. State laws in Malaysia are strictly Islamic laws, and there are limited religious freedoms given that Islam is the dominant faith. As such, non-Muslims are often subjected to Islamic laws that are typically more exclusive to Islam (Shirazi, 2007). Consequently, this has negatively impacted on the interaction and communication between Muslims and non-Muslims in Malaysia.

            In conclusion, the interpretation and understanding of Islam is different to some extent in different countries around the world, and this difference is much wider especially between Western and Muslim countries. A vast majority of people of the Islam faith feel there is an immense gap between how they perceive themselves and their faith, and the way the rest of the world perceives them. Most of them blame this discrepancy on Western media, accusing it of distorting what is fundamentally a tolerant and peace-loving faith. Nevertheless, the gap in discrepancy has grown considerably since the 2001 9/11 attack in the United States as well as other Islamist radical attacks on Western targets. Palestinian suicide bombings in the name of Islam have served to reinforce the connection between Islam and violence in Western perceptions. Ordinary Muslims are concerned that western media often presents images of adherents of the Islam faith as violent, but most of them believe this to be incorrect. These ordinary, moderate Muslims know they can never kill anyone, and tragedies unfolding in Palestine or the suicide bombings in Pakistan make them equally troubled and angry just like Christians. What these ordinary Muslims want is simply for Allah to allow peace to prevail among all humanity, between non-Muslims and Muslims alike. They have the thought that Muslims can be a force of peace, not violence.

 

Reference

Guabli, B. (2010). Islam and America: After the Tempest, Time to Reflect. Crescent City, CA: Cengage Learning

Heggy, T. (2009). Interpretations of Islam. Gatestone Institute

Pipes, D. (2008). Islam and the Middle East. New York: McGraw-Hill

Shirazi, I.M. (2007). What is Islam? Beliefs, Principles and a Way of Life. London: Fountain Books

Wright, O. (2013). Baroness Warsi: Fewer Than one in Four People Believe Islam is Compatible with British Way of Life. The Independent.

A critique on Philip Auslander’s ‘Digital Liveness: A Historical Philosophical Perspective’

Introduction

Auslander’s article talks about the concept of digital liveness. The article also reviews various ideas forwarded by other writers on digital liveness apart from stating Auslander’s thoughts on the issue. Auslander argues that our experience with digital technologies as being live is because of the function of the technologies’ capability to react to us in real time.⁵ He claims that liveness is an effect of mediazation that takes place in various fields of technology. Auslander states that recording technologies led to the idea of perceiving representations as being live.¹ This is with a claim that there was no need for a live category in performances before the advent of recording technologies.

The author argues that the origin of live performance ranges between the last 100 to 150 years. The author claims that live and mediatized forms of performance have a relationship that is historical and dependent and cannot undergo absolute differentiation. The author notes that necessity is always the cause for any creation and thus there was a need for liveness. He tries to extend Winston’s notion of generating ideas as the reason behind any creation. The author argues that media technologies arise because of a “supervening social necessity”. ¹²For instance, he states that sound recording as an aspect of liveness developed in the nineteenth century due to the institutionalization of radio broadcasting.

Scholarly discourse

The author borrows attali’s concept that the earliest forms of sound recording served as resultant adjuncts to live performance, and this was to preserve it. Therefore, these technologies preserved the existing forms of performance. There was also no need of distinguishing between live and recorded performance, as they were discrete in their existence. Live music has a superior production in terms of sound than recorded music. This is why the Department of Commerce allowed licenses to stations that used live music.⁹ However, listeners were unable to distinguish between recorded and live sound because of sensory deprivation. The author argues that currently, use of the world live does not follow conditions for it to be referred as live. There is a need for performers and audience to be present. ¹⁰This is not the case with live broadcasts. He states that listening should have liveness that gives one the experience of affection. However, he adds that there has been an expansion of the meaning of ‘live’ with time.

The author uses Gadamer’s discussions of aesthetics for his argument in the way we interact with machines. Gadamer states that a work of art involves a demand for it and acceptance by the audience.¹¹ Therefore, Auslander uses this to argue that operations in real time claim upon us to interact with them. Only when we claim and respond to them do we interact with them in a live way. Moreover, he uses Nass’ idea that our interaction with computers is parallel to the interaction with other human beings. ⁸He says that we respond to an activity in a social interaction way in relation to its value.

Relation to Music Performance

There has been a drop in the value of live performances due to the increase in recording technology.² For instance, most people view the idea of buying specific recording media for a successful music career than to struggle yearly performing in bars. Mediatized performances have made music production take a different course.⁷This is with the introduction of high-tech musical instruments that are computerized. Over the recent past, music videos tried to imitate live performances. Therefore, there is a close relationship between mediatized performances and music performances.

Values

The author argues that any work of art is crucial and, therefore, there is a need to consider it as something of a greater value. In order to experience the liveness of interactive technology, we must take claims that need liveness and presence. ³ Additionally, we should engage with technological tools with enthusiasm so that we are familiar with them. This argument shows the need for consciousness for us to better mediatized performances. This is from the author’s statement that consciousness helps us construe the works of art from the past as contemporary and technology as live.

Success of the Author in Making Point

The author is extremely successful in his arguments. He is able to convince the audience that our interaction with technology becomes live when we engage with them in the right way. He states that in order for liveness to happen, we must accept the technologies’ claim as binding on us. ⁴ Moreover, we should take it seriously and hold on to the object with consciousness.

In conclusion, I do not disagree with the points that the author gives. It is particularly true that liveness comes up due to our interaction with objects in a willing way apart from accepting the claims of the objects. It is upon one to give himself to experience technology in the way they wish. Digital liveness comes about as a relationship between oneself and the technologies.⁶

 

 

Bibliography

¹ Peggy, P. “Performance, Live Culture, and Things of the Heart.” Journal Of Visual Culture 2, no. 3: 2003. 291-302.

² Shaffer, T.S. “Music as Performance Method: “The Score” in Experimental Performance.” Cultural Studies/Critical Methodologies 10, no. 4: 2010. 320-325.

³ Phelan, P. “Renewing the Ado: Blau and Beckett.” Modern Language Quarterly 70, no. 1: 2009.11-18.

⁴ KORNHABER, D. “‘The Art of Putting Oneself on Stage before Oneself’: Theatre, Selfhood, and    Nietzsche’s Epistemology of the Actor.” Theatre Research International 36, no. 3: 2011. 240-253.

⁵ Davis, S. “Liveness, mediation and immediacy – innovative technology use in process and performance.” Research In Drama Education 17, no. 4. 2012: 501-516.

⁶PHELAN, P. “Just want to Say”: Performance and Literature, Jackson and Poirier.” PMLA: Publications Of The Modern Language Association Of America 125, no. 4. 2010.: 942-947.

⁷ McLaughlin, S. “If a tree falls in an empty forest : Problematization of liveness in mixed-music performance.” Journal Of Music, Technology & Education 5, no. 1.2012: 17-27.

⁸ Auslander, P. “DIGITAL LIVENESS.” PAJ: A Journal Of Performance & Art 34, no. 2012. 3: 3-11.

⁹ Mazumdar, R. “Film stardom after liveness.” Continuum: Journal Of Media & Cultural Studies 26, no. 6: 2012. 833-844.

¹⁰ Barker, M. “Crash, theatre audiences, and the idea of ‘liveness’.” Studies In Theatre & Performance 23, no. 1. 2003: 21-39.

¹¹ Causey, M. “Digital Practices: Aesthetic and Neuroesthetic Approaches to Performance and Technology.” Contemporary Theatre Review 19, no. 2. 2009.: 237-239.

¹² Nelson, B. “Opera on Screen (Book).” Opera Quarterly 17, no. 2001.4: 718.

 

Violence, Punishment and evil behaviours in relation to the theories

Introduction

Since time immemorial, humanity has been dogged by incidences of extreme violent behaviour. At times people react with disdain and anger to the mere thought that humans can consciously go out of their way to commit grievous harm towards one another. In conventional legal systems, the only justification for violence is in self-defence and even then, one’s motives still come into question. Today violence is being experienced virtually in all parts of our life. There are issues such as school shootings, muggings, terror attacks, gang violence, domestic violence, war crimes and many other atrocities that dominate mainstream news. The best video games and movies have the heavy emphasis of violence in common. Despite all these examples, violent behaviour is still a subject of debate by law- makers and psychologists alike(Gross, 2008).

To some extent evil behaviour in humans can be termed as normal and part of our nature. The only reason why it still shocks us is the fact that most people learn front an early age how to restrain themselves. This is why those who engage in evil acts are sometimes termed as backward. It is as they somehow failed to evolve to a level where they can rein in their violent thoughts.  Evil behaviour in humans often needs a trigger for it to be seen. In relatively ‘normal’ conditions, most people manage to keep their cool. However, if conditions change, they can be unpredictable.

In the context of a prison environment, cruel punishment is that which is not equitable to the offence that has been committed. Cruel punishment has a more malice than rehabilitation as a motivation. It is meant to injure the prisoner rather than reform the person’s behaviour. Cruel punishments leave both physical and psychological injuries on the victims.

If one is to change status from a prisoner to a correctional officer, there is a very high likelihood his or her behaviour will change. The change can however be for the better or for the worse depending on the experience he or she had as a prisoner. If the person was extremely deprived of his or her right to self-determination, such a person may over-compensate by being overly dominant over the prisoners. This is what may cause one to become cruel and become extremely abusive, violent and generally cruel towards the prisoners. At times however, the same person may be determined to correct the situation and now over-compensate on the correctional officers’ behalf. This may make the person overly lenient on the prisoners (Gross, 2008).

In the maintenance of peace and order, one may adopt violence in a bid to assert his or her dominance over those who are being monitored. As long as this domineering activity is maintained, the prisoners or civilians will have to remain submissive to the one who is in authority and also any symbol of that authority such as the police officers. This is motivated by the premise that any empowerment of those being ‘ruled’ will make them violent.

From the above it is clear that the issue of violent and cruel behaviour is highly subjective depending on the people involved, the situations they are in and the goals that they have in those different places. In prisons for instance, majority of the inmates are incarcerated for deviant behaviour. It is therefore only logical for the prison authorities to rule with an iron fist, though at the same time, this power needs to be regulated.

 

 

References

Gross, B. (2008). Prison violence: Does brutality come with the badge? Forensic Examiner, 17(4), 21-27

 

Zulu

Introduction    

The Zulu people inhabit the KwaZulu-Natal Province in South Africa. The culture has an ancient history that dates back to many centuries. It was a developed tribe that had complex systems in social organization, economic organization, beliefs and values, and gender relations. The Zululand is fertile and hence the primary mode of subsistence for the Zulu is emerging agriculture. They grow foods such as yams, corn, millet, vegetables, and millet that are only enough for their own consumption. In addition, the Zulu people raise cattle as an economic activity where they get milk and meat. Men play the dominant role in the Zulu culture with women being domestic workers. This paper will mainly focus on Zulu being emerging agriculturalists and how this affects other factors in their lifestyle such as economic organization, beliefs and values, kinship, social organization, sickness and healing, and gender relations.

Economic Organization

The economic and the labor patterns of the Zulu culture are based on agriculture. The wealth of the families is determined by the number of properties possessed by men who are the sole bread winners of their families. Cattle are the main domestic animals and the main source of nutrition for the Zulu and those with many cattle are considered to be wealthy. Cattle are the main source of food as people get milk and meat from them (Ngwane, 1997). They are also used for trade where people sell them and use the proceeds to buy other substitute commodities. Cattle are also used in the payment of bride price and for sacrificing to the ancestors. Cow hides are treated to make clothing for the Zulu people. The system of cattle rearing was adopted when the Zulu culture was established but the families have been changing to modern styles.

Zulu have small gardens where they practice small-scale subsistence farming. In the gardens they plant vegetables, tubers, grains, and fruits for food. Planting is done in the rainy season while pit-holes are dug under cattle kraal during winter to store grains. The staple food for Zulu is maize that can be cooked or prepared in various forms. Legumes, porridge, sour milk, grains, vegetables, and tubers form the Zulu diet. During special occasions such as weddings, burials, and births, traditional sorghum beer and beef are used.

Kinship

The members of the Zulu culture practice a kinship system where they are governed by a king. In the past the king had the responsibility to distribute land to the Zulu people. Previously the Zulu culture had traditional housing methods where the homes were circular and surrounded by tamboti wood to keep off animals and insects. A chief called ‘Induna’ was in charge of ‘umuzi’ homesteads that consisted of 800 homes (Gleimius, Mthimunye, & Sibanyoni, 2003) The King remains as the head of the Zulu community and is responsible for the restoration and safeguarding of the Zulu culture. The Zulu Kingdom continues through inheritance with the eldest son from the King’s family taking up the leadership if the king dies or is unable to rule due to sickness. In the current setup, little protection is needed around the homes since there are fewer wild animals than in the past.

 

 

Beliefs and Values

The Zulu believe that when people die they become spirits that move in the atmosphere in different forms. All misfortunes are associated to evil spirits that are said to be revenging by punishing people. In the Zulu culture, it is believed that the dead have the ability to see and hear what the living people cannot (Ngwane, 1997).  In order to appease the spirits, cattle are offered as sacrifices. Nowadays, Christianity is also practiced along the Zulu religion.

Sickness and Healing

The dead ancestors are believed to solve family problems. One of the main problems attended by the ancestors is healing the sick. In the Zulu culture, there are medicine-women called Sangomas who have the powers to speak to the dead ancestors for the sick. The ancestors may request for a goat to be sacrificed before they perform the healing (Gleimius, Mthimunye, & Sibanyoni, 2003). In other instances, the Sangomas use dry bones to determine the cause of the illness after which they use traditional herbs to accelerate the healing process.

Gender Relations

Although men are traditionally the head of families, they often have too many wives and children to provide for. This challenges the men as they are at times not able to provide enough food for their families. As a result, the wives are forced by situations to leave their families in search of field work where they use the earnings to buy extra food or clothing. Men are in charge of the planting of crops while women look after them and are involved in the harvesting process.

In this culture, more attention is paid to the boys since they inherit their fathers’ kingdoms and carry on the family name. The eldest son for the king is the heir of the kingdom and hence he is groomed when still young in preparation for the kingdom. It is the desire to have boys that makes the Zulu culture to have a strong belief for the polygamous family (Chidester, 2008). To maintain respect among the different age groups in the Zulu community, the Zulu avoid eye contact with elders regardless of gender, age or blood relationship.

Traditional gender roles are significant in the Zulu culture. Girls are referred to as maidens in reference to their responsibilities. Men are referred to as warriors to embrace the stereotype of confidence and inheritance (Jolles & Jolles, 2000).  Men are also supposed to protect their families against intruders or during wars. This requires men to be brave, respectful, and strong-willed. As the head of families, men are the main decision makers for their wives and children. As a sign of respect for their families, men take of their hats while in their homes.

Children from both genders are raised together and are taught to have family values and responsibilities at a tender age. The women are responsible of training their children on the importance of house chores and self-discipline. When the children reach maturity age, traditional circumcision ceremonies are held for celebration.

Social Organization

The language spoken by the Zulu people is also referred to as Zulu. The language has its origin from the Bantu languages and combines words and sounds. In a conversation, the words are accompanied by clicking sound which is a main characteristic of the Zulu language. In the Zulu culture, the word Zulu means ‘heaven’ which has made the Zulu people to be nicknamed ‘the people of heaven.’

Marriage is an important aspect in the Zulu culture. Unmarried women are seen to be of little value since they cannot have children. Their value of marriage is emphasized by their disgrace for the women who get children out of wedlock. It is possible to identify single women in the Zulu culture because they are supposed to remain bare-breasted. The courtship process is complex as the girl is supposed to seduce the man by sending some colored beads through a friend (Jolles & Jolles, 2000).  The choice of color for the beads communicates the love message to the man. In the Zulu culture, color is symbolic. Red represents love, white is a sign of faithfulness, blue is for loyalty and loneliness, and black is a wish for marriage or a symbol of anger. During courtship, some grey-blue beads are used by a girl when she expects a response from a man.

When a man chooses a girl to marry, he pays the bride price or ’lobola’ to the girl’s parents. This is the compensation that a father gets for losing his daughter. The bride price can either be in cash or in form of cattle as it may be determined by the woman’s parents. It can be paid through installments that may continue even after the wedding until it is fully settled (Ngwane, 1997).   All the marriage preparations are done without involving the woman and she is only informed of the date to move in with the husband. In relation to this, a woman may not even be aware of how many other wives are married to her husband.

In the preliminaries of the marriage preparations, a virginity test is conducted by some experienced elderly women. The tension between the two families is usually high as they await the results of the test. If the results are positive, the girl is confirmed fit to be a Zulu wife. This is followed by celebrations where two heads of cattle are slaughtered and the two families exchange meat as a show of unity.

Wedding ceremonies are conducted at night when the moon is full and bright. The bride’s parents are not allowed to the wedding ceremonies to avoid sad emotions in this occasion. Celebrations may continue for more than two days and only end when the bride takes her sleeping mat and proceeds to her husband’s house.

Women participate in beading and clay-making where they make interesting artistic designs. During special occasions, beaded jewelry is worn by the young girls who participate in community celebrations. Women make clay pots for the holding of flowers and wooden trays for serving food. The traditional Zulu homes are built by the men for their wives (Martin, 1984).  The wives however assist in weaving the material for roofing and in preparing the solution used to apply on the floors. The plastering of the floors is done by women using a mixture of anthill soil and cow dung.

In the Zulu culture, the dressing code defines the status of the person in the society. Young unmarried girls wear beaded necklaces and short skirts that are heavily beaded. They are not supposed to cover their chests and walk around bare-chested. Married women wear black-pleated leather skirts that are decorated with beads (Gleimius, Mthimunye, & Sibanyoni, 2003). The Zulu men wear two stringed pieces of cowhide with one covering the front and the other covering the back. Little children stay naked with only some few bead strands tied around their waists.

Zulu music is used during celebrations for entertaining guests. The Zulu music involves vigorous dancing for portraying emotions. The music genres for the Zulu rhythms are the Maskanda and Mbaganga. In addition, the Zulu music is also used to reveal the ethnic identity of the Zulu culture.

One of the most important festivals in the Zulu culture is the annual Royal Reed Dance Festival that is referred to as Umkhosi wo Mhlanga. This festival is held in September where thousands of Zulu maidens participate in the ceremony. After the virginity test is done, the girls were guided by a royal princess to pick reeds from the river (Chidester, 2008). The first girl to return to the royal palace and present the king with the finest reed became the king’s youngest wife. Currently, the festival is only used as a celebration for the Zulu culture where the king also advocates for sexual morality and informs people on the dangers of HIV/AIDS.

The Zulu respect their history by holding celebrations on the Heritage Day every year in commemoration of King Shaka who is a legend in Zulu history. Shaka Zulu is considered to be among the greatest South Africans to have ever lived. The Zulu language has become common in South Africa with the emergent of some TV programs that use the language.

The traditional Zulu culture encourages people to survive on subsistence farming and casual labor as a source of their daily income. This was further enhanced by the apartheid racial policy that denied Zulu people access to modern education. Although the traditional Zulu lifestyle is on the decline, the Zulu people who lack basic education rely on casual jobs for survival. This culture will also remain one of the most stable cultures in history in terms of social organization and gender relations.

 

References

Chidester, D. (2008). Dreaming in the Contact Zone: Zulu Dreams, Visions, and Religion in         Nineteenth-Century South Africa. Journal of the America Academy of Religion, Vol. 76           (1), 27-53.

Gleimius, N., Mthimunye, E., & Sibanyoni, V. (2003). The Zulu of Africa. London: Lerner.

Jolles, F., & Jolles, S. (2000). Zulu ritual immunization in perspective. Journal of the          International Institute of African Languages and Cultures, Vol. 70 (2), 229-248.

Martin, H. (1984). The myth of the Zulu homestead: archeology and ethnography. Africa Journal, 54 (1), 65-79.

Ngwane, Z. (1997). Zulu. New York: The Rosen Publishing Group.