Bioinformatics Lab Report free essay sample

Using a cladistic approach, we constructed a hypothetical phylogenetic tree of many different plant taxa by comparing their morphologies. We first decided to sort the various types of plants into groups based on morphological features. After sorting these plants into five different groups we began to determine how the plants differed from eachother in the group and what features set them apart. From this we started to create the hypothetical tree and decided to put aquatic plants at the start of the tree, as its most commonly believed life orginated in the ocean. We then put the other plants into various categories on the tree based upon the morphologies that set them apart from the others. A comparison of the hypothetical phylogeny and the calculate phylogeny: Many of the plants we put into groups using the cladistic approach were similarally matched from the phenetic approach. From our hypothetical tree we had one main branch and then subdivided the plants into five various groups. We will write a custom essay sample on Bioinformatics Lab Report or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page In the calculated tree it had two main branches and many subdivided categories for the various morphologies. Most of the groups we used to seperate the plants from morphological features when creating the hypothetical tree could still be applied for grouping methods in the calculated tree (such as whether the plants were aquatic, could produce flowers, etc ). The only two plants that we mistakenly grouped together (from the cladistic approach) was Polypodium and Equisetum believing they both had spores and put them in the same group. However this was not the case and using the phenetic approach we could follow it back and see that Polypodium is land based and that Equisetum is water based and that both were in their own groups. Cladistic vs. Phenetic approach (advantages and disadvantages): One of the main advantages of using the cladisitic approach is that it can asily be created just by the sorting of various morpoholigcal features and can give a quick sketch for recreating pylogenies. However from this approach it can be prone to any errors made and is not as accurate as the phenetic approach. The main advantage of the phenetic approach lies in its accuracy and can more accurately sort organisms into groups based on data for their phylogenies. The disadvantage from this is that it requires alot of data and can not be as easily produced in the field like the cladistic approach.

Il Postino General Vision and Viewpoint Essays

Il Postino General Vision and Viewpoint Essays Il Postino General Vision and Viewpoint Essay Il Postino General Vision and Viewpoint Essay Postino stands out in contrast to both the previous texts as its vision is quite optimistic. Mario is able to rise above the limitations of his world to realise his potential and become happy. The film does begin in a gloomy manner as Mario struggles to communicate with his withdrawn father – their relationship is strained. When Mario shows his father a postcard from America, his father tells him to get a job – he is ‘not a child anymore. ’ Mario’s father earns a meagre living as a fisherman, similar to the Mundy’s house, his home is sparsely furnished and they have just run out of water.Family life here resembles Lughnasa more than Lies of Silence. The relationship between the two men is problematic while Mario is living at home but it noticeably improves when the son marries the love of his life, Beatrice. We are presented with an uplifting image of joy when she becomes pregnant and Mario listens to the sound of his baby’s beating hea rt. Contrasting sharply to Lies of Silence, the relationships in Il Postino are very positive – the most important being between mario and Pablo Neruda, the Chilean poet and communist living in exile in Capri.They grow closer when Mario asks the poet to help him win the heart of Beatrice (Neruda had a reputation as a ladies’ man). Mario wins Beatrice’s love by reciting lines from Pablo’s poems. Mario remarks that ‘poetry doesn’t belong to those who write it, but to those who need it’ revealing a deep understanding of poetry. This sparks his interest in poetry and Mario discusses this art with his new friend in Neruda’s home and on the beach, beginning with a discussion on metaphors (being able to relate to ‘I am tired of being a man’).Mario expresses gratitude to Neruda by asking him to be his best man but he is also interested in Neruda’s communist philosophy (aware of social injustice). Mario grows in confi dence through this relationship: the new, assertive Mario takes issue with members of a local politician’s posse who are trying to buy fish at a knock-down price (unfortunately the fishermen become visibly angry at his intervention). Mario also challenges the cynical politician Di Cosimo when he announced that the water works (before the elections he had promised would be built) would not be built.Mario is sad when Neruda leaves the island and is dejected when Pablo fails to keep in contact with him but we can see the impact that the poet left on him as Mario begins to write his own poetry. He is invited to read a poem that he dedicated to Neruda at a communist rally on the mainland and we can see the personal development and change he has gone through as he addresses such a large crowd. Mario’s other relationships are also positive: he achieves happiness when he marries Beatrice, who loves him deeply and is impressed with his poetic achievements.Both his father and Ro sa (Beatrice’s aunt) come to respect him as a man. The relationship between Mario and Giorgio the Postmaster is also uplifting. These friendships help Mario following Neruda’s failure to stay in touch – this support network is similar to the family unit in Dancing at Lughnasa. The Society of the text is similar to the other two texts – depressing. It is a world of poverty and hopelessness, the differences in wealth is obvious; seen in the sophisticated Pablo and the cynical Di Cosimo. Once again we are met with a patriarchal society – authority figures are male.Mario’s death may suggest that the film ends on a gloomy note – it is tragic and random but it does not take away from the optimism that his life created. Il Postino differs from the other two texts (where the harsh circumstances crushed the main characters) as Mario was able to rise above the problems of his world to realise his own potential and be truly happy with his love. The painful reality of life reverberates in the ending but we can also see a sense of realism as Neruda fails to keep in touch with Mario and the fact that Mario never saw his son (Pablito – named after his friend).Naturally Beatrice is angry at her circumstances when Neruda and his wife return after a five-year absence. One of the final images of the film is of Neruda alone on the beach evoking a sense of loss for an inspiring life that fills one with hope. Il Postino’s viewpoint is much more optimistic Lies of Silence Il Postino open in a gloomy manner – Lughnasa begins in nostalgia Lughnasa Il Postino portrays a positive family life Relationships are also positive in Lughnasa Il Postino

Organizational Behavior Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 5

Organizational Behavior - Essay Example In order to answer the objectives previously mentioned, the study reviewed job satisfaction-related literature in defining what job satisfaction is, its intrinsic and extrinsic factors, and other elements that can either increase or decrease it. The study used published peer-reviewed articles in scholarly journals from year 2000 and onwards. All articles included in the study are empirical and have used questionnaires as methodological approach. Job satisfaction has been the topic of various researches for the past few decades, focusing on the factors that affect job satisfaction, how it can be achieved, and how it can be enhanced (Hoppock, 1935). It has also been said that job satisfaction can determine the quality of performance and productivity of an individual (Patterson, et al 2004). By definition, job satisfaction can be feelings, attitudes and emotions that employees feel towards work-related aspects (Lock, 1976). These can be their relationships with their co-workers, wages, workload, and working environment (Jackson and Corr, 2002). This implies that if an individual employee is satisfied with his/her working environment of the amount of salary and compensation that he/she receives, his level of job satisfaction will correspondingly increase. However, if an individual suffers from over workload or stressful environment, it can contribute to his/her dissatisfaction. It also implies that job dissatisfaction can lead to poor level of performance and absenteeism of an employee. Job satisfaction also consists of intrinsic and extrinsic factors. Intrinsic factors are an individual evaluation of the quality of work performed; how the work was handled professionally; individual development of skills and expansion of horizon; and intellectual growth and maturity. Extrinsic factors, on the other hand, include the kind of work environment; salary provided and bonuses; rewards and promotions in return for excellent performance;

Comunication Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Comunication - Essay Example In the process, the students learn to be relevant critical thinkers in their everyday lives (Boss, 2015). Women often use communication to find out feelings and what the persons they are addressing wants to say. As opposed to men who prefer face to face when communication comes to closeness, women are more contented besides a man. Women have a tendency to make more eye contact when communicating with men (Boss, 2015). They do this due to their nature to be psychologically connected. Women as well make use of facial expressions to express feelings. The body language of a female is exceedingly different from that of a male. Women frequently operate at extremely high intensity. In addition, their faces are active with expressions along with hands being in sync with voices ("Research paper peer review example - DeckStarter," n.d.). It all occurs when a woman is on her feet however if she is sitting, her concentration drops thereby bringing her legs and arms close into her body. Actions of women focus on sustaining a relationship, giving attention, and heartening participation. They desire t he dialogue to have an moving nonverbal association to it. Boss, J. A. (2015). Think: Critical thinking and logic skills for everyday life : why do you think the way you do? : discover in think, how emotion affects judgment, when evidence is vaid, how to recognize faulty

Case22 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Case22 - Assignment Example This division should be based on incomes (Bister M et al, 1990). After the division, one needs to consider the roles of the various groups in creating a good relationship. This relationship should be aimed at creating value between consumers, producers and clients. As a result, marketing concepts of price, promotion, place, product and target market research has to be done by the company. These concepts; are meant to meet the goals of the company and at the same time focusing on customer satisfaction. Consumers will always prefer products of good quality and performance and those with innovative features. The products should be of affordable prices and easily available. It is the role of managers to ensure that promotion is also done, and products designed to meet the needs of the customers. There are four pillars that must be taken into account while doing this, these include; target market, customer needs, integrated marketing and profitability. Serving the bottom of the pyramid will need innovations in technology, products or services and even the business models. Local governments and civil society organizations have to work hand in hand with corporations to ensure that the needs of these low level groups are met. Satisfying these low income group and at the same time meeting company requirements at times may be hard for the company. It calls for lowering the cost of production. This is hard for many companies since they have to produce high quality products at the same time. High quality products mean that the companies have to get raw materials at low prices, which is hard. At times, managers fall in love with their products that they do not realize what these low income groups need. They feel that their products are so superior that they fail to market them. Consumers, on the other hand, need these products and at affordable prices at their convenience. Extensive reach and coverage of

Unilever Is A Multinational Company Economics Essay

Unilever Is A Multinational Company Economics Essay 1.0)Introduction Globalization can be known as the integration of economics and societies all over the world. In the globalised world because of the countries highly interdependent on economies economic crisis in a part of world affects the whole world. Because of the great depression the whole world is facing a worst financial and economic crisis which is affecting social and environment in a negative and positive ways. This crisis is negatively effecting all the countries and the businesses especially the developing countries.Respnding to this Crisis is a challenge for businesses. How the selected company that is Unilever as been affected by the crisis, how it should respond will be discussed in this report 2.0)Introduction to the Company Unilever is a multinational company which operates in 190 countries with 400 brands. It is the worlds 3rd largest FMCG (Fast moving Consumer Goods). Around 2 billion consumers use Unilever products every day. Around the world more than 171000 employees works. In Europe Unilever owns 38% of its business. In America 33% and in Asia and Africa its 29%. Unilever is a most culturally diverse company for example Unilever top Management is from 21 countries.30% of unilever managers are women. Product portfolio of Unilever includes Personal care, Home care, Water, food and beverage. Some of the global brands are knorr,lifebuoy,lipton,Reona,dove which brings more than à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬1 billion revenue for the company. 3.0)Global Economic crisis Current global economic turmoil is slowing down growth of advanced economies. Major economic crisis held in United states and Europe. This crisis will be explained briefly as follows. 3.1)United States crisis United states financial crisis is one of the global economic crisis. It happened because of the high demand for personal and corporate investment many people borrowed money from the government and bought properties which they cannot afford. At last because of the high demand Banks started lending money using the customer deposits. Later moved to lend money where mortgages were being issued on the bond market. When the US borrowers started defaulting on their mortgages they lost their houses as well as the investors lost their investments including banks. Banks from many countries specially form UK continental also made loans in these markets where the banking crisis affected the whole world. This crisis led to the global recession which affected the whole world. 3.2)European sovereign-debt crisis European sovereign-debt crisis is an ongoing crisis which has made difficult for some countries in the euro zone to pay their government debt. Countries like Greece, Portugal, Ireland, Italy, and Spain failed to achieve the target economic growth in order to payback bound holders the guarantee it was intended to be. In Greece debt increased because of the public sector wage and pension commitments. To finance the expenditure Greece went of borrowing. The result was they exceeded the size of the nations entire economy .Investors responded by demanding for higher yields for the bonds by increasing the burden .European union and European central bank necessitated a series of bailouts. European banks own a considerable amount of sovereign debt which is negatively reinforcing. Bankers were reluctant to lend money because of bad debts which led to credit crunch. Although the above mentioned five countries are in immediate danger the crisis has effects the whole world. How it has effected will be discussed in the next topic. 4.0)Effect of crisis The world economy has been affected by financial crisis. Many emerging economies are affected a lot. Due to the interconnection of the financial systems a bank failure will be a start to the failure of series of banks. For example in US financial crisis series of small financial institutions collapses resulted in the failure of lehman brothers. Customers of lehmann brothers pulled out their money in order to invest in more secure way. This laid to 10000 of job cuttings around the world. Once the financial system weakness the recession began. A recession is a situation where the economy stops growing. Recession has the effect on global trade. European debt crisis affected the financial market as well as the US government budget. International Monetary Funds (IMF)40% of capital comes from the United States. So if the IMF has to commit cash to bailout initiatives US taxpayers have to pay more tax. This will lead to the decline in the world economy at market exchange rates. Many countries facing negative impact such as trade balances and balance of payment, lack of public confidence in financial institutions, Collapse of housing markets, decrease revenue from tourism, reversal of private capital inflows, reduced ability to maintain social welfare such as health and education, reduction of fiscal space, falling tax revenues, growing budget deficit, reduced demand for imports. This financial crisis led to many social crisis and challenges which are inter related. In the recession companies makes less profit and Unemployment rates increases along with the low consumer confidence. Consumer spending is less because of the unemployment. People loose their homes ,their incomes, their savings. In the recession consumers use credit cards less and businesses also dont borrow money to expand the business. With the lower demand for loans interest rates become low. When the interest rates become low investment of foreigners goes down. Therefore local value for currency depreciates. For example when the rupee value goes down exchange rate goes up. For example if 1 US dollar is equal to Srilankan Rupees 114 during the recession it might become 135 Rupees. Which means exchange rates goes up. This will result in increase oil price. Oil is a very sensitive thing. If the oil price goes up lots of social issues comes into paly.Increase of food prices, energy cost, and poverty effects the social progress. Between January 2002 and August 2008, oil price changed from $19.7 to $133.4 a barrel. As a results of the crisis over 50 million people specially women and children had driven to extreme poverty according to the world bank. According to the food and agriculture organization of the United Nations says that crisis will effect in increase number of hunger and undernourished people worldwide. This economic crisis does not affect only the economic and financial sector. It effects the environmental protection such as clean and renewable energy, climate change because of the companies wont be able to focus more on these areas. How these crisis will impact Unilever will be discussed next. 5.0)How Economic Crisis impact Unilever IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde said that the three different crises on economic, environmental, and social fronts feed off each other and cannot be addressed each in isolation.When there is an economic crisis Social problems and environmental problems arises automatically. PESTEL analysis is a framework which reviews a situation which gives a strategic direction for the company. PESTEL also ensures that companys performance is aligned positively with the powerful forces of change that are affecting business environment (Porter, 1985).This analysis is carried out to Unilever Global because when there is a change in the macroeconomic environment company have to look forward implementing strategies in order to overcome the challenges. 5.1)Political and legal Unilever is a multinational company which has to obey the operating country and regional rules and regulations. These rules cover trademarks, health and safety, patents, employment and taxes important regulatory bodies. For example Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has prohibited alcohol and pork contained food. Breach of these rules will damage the reputation of the company as well as according to the law company has to pay fine. Government changes in taxation policy to reduce unemployment will affect the company economic performance. Taxation for the imports and raw materials will affect the business negatively by increasing the price of the products. 5.2)Economical When it comes to Europe Unilever market is full of competition. Because of the crisis explained in the previous section macroeconomic environment is highly uncertain .Due to the economic crisis consumers are looking for cheaper product. In countries like France and Nederland competition for unilever is high. Customer and supplier default was resulted in the economic downturn. Customers purchasing power reduction has resulted in the company profits. 5.3)Social and economical environment Unilevers vision is to help people feel good, look good and get more out of life with brands and services that are good for them and good for others. Unilever has a strong reputation for the focus on employees safety, environmental protection and sustainability. It focuses on utilization of renewable resources as well as producing products which are safe for consumers. Company uses environmental friendly materials for packaging. Even all the governments are focusing on green economies and forcing the companies for that. More than developing countries developed markets focus on this. In order to increase the living standards of people Unilever Srilanka focuses on Saubhagya project which helps rural children for studies, For women job opportunities. Unilever is working on safe drinking water project in India in order to make people aware about the hygiene factor. 5.4)Technological Unilever is spending more on IT in order to improve the brand image and minimize cost through e-business.Unilever invest on research and development about à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬1 billion a year which will help to develop new product which meets the consumer needs. Lack of innovation will affect the reputation as well as will increase the competitor market share. 6.0)Challenge and threat for the company Because of the crisis customers look for cheaper products.Unilever marketing channel is mainly Modern trade and General trade.Modern trade includes the supermarket chains and general trade includes retailers.Unilever has challenge because the supermarket chains comes up with their own brands. For example In srilkanka Cargills food city although it is a main retailer of Unilever Cargills has its own washing powder, jam and so many products. For them it gives big profit margin 7.0)Unilevers response to the Challanges When responding for the global crisis focusing on economical, social and environmental factors are important. 7.1)Economic Recession offers a lot of opportunities in the market by creating new gaps. In order to respond to the crisis around the world Unilever offers products with small packages, sachet, affordable variants of global brands for low income consumers. For example in Spain, Greece, United States small packs of knorr, dove, lipton brands are sold. In Greece mashed potatoes, mayonnaise is sold in small packages. Launched low cost tea and olive oil brand for the euro market to face the euro crisis. In Europe, Because of recession consumers are focusing on packed lunch and home baking. Therefore stoke baking liquid is introduced in packs where customers can re-use as lunch boxes and as an alternation for the expensive butter. In Indonesia 2-3 cents value of shampoos are sold for profit. By all these strategies Unilever trying to position some brands as a value for money. All these strategies are initially started from the emerging and underdeveloped markets. To respond to the global crisis restructuring the functions is also a strategy of the company. To reduce the staff is reduced from 223000 from 171000.This is because of the local country labor rules which increases the cost. Company planning to reduce the number of factories from 300 to 250 by merging the country operations into the region. For example in Saudi Arabian region Dubai is working as the main branch. This will save about 1 billion a year. Brands are reduced from 1600 to 400 which dont work well. This is also a way to face the crisis. This would increase the efficiency of the company rather than focusing on less performing brands. Focusing on innovation is also a best way to meet the global challenge. For example knorr has launched a product line in concentrated fruit and vegetable juices and ice-cream made out of yoghurt. 7.2)Social Unilever increase the livelihood of people by 3 main ways.Sustainabel sourcing, better livelihood and through people. Sustainable sourcing- Helps for better living and income for farmers.Unilever sustainable sourcing is applicable for palm oil, sunflower oil, Vegetables and fruits, cage free eggs. Better livelihood-By giving fertilizers, high quality seeds and training for the small farmers Unilever gets quality inputs as well as it helps to increase the living standards of the farmers. Shakthi door-to-door selling in India provides works for pure people in India which helps to reduce the poverty. People-Unilever focus on health and safety in order to reduce work place injuries. Lamplighter employee programme helps to be mentally free sand physically fit. Focusing on heath and hygien by improving the nutrition is Unilever practicing. Through lifebuoy brand hand wash it reduced the disease diarrhea, through signal brand tries to improve oral health, pure it water filters provide safe drinking water ,through dove brand it helps people to increase the self esteem. As a company which focuses on well being of the consumers has a nutrition strategy which tries to reduce the fat, salt and suger level and to increase the essential fatty acids in the products. Unilever introduced hellmanns myonise with 5% fat focusing the hygien of the consumers. This would make the consumer delight. Responding to country and social needs is also a factor where unilever focus on. For example an Indian woman uses more oil where western shampoos dont wash it away. Therefore company adopted its shampoo according to the Indians need. 7.3)Environmental In order to reduce the environmental impact company focuses on green house gasses, water and waste management Green house gas-Unilever tries to reduce green house gas emission from shampoos and shower gels when using and from washing clothes. Company is reformulating the products to achieve this. By reducing truck mileage company tries to reduce the Gas emission from transport. Water-Company focuses on reducing water consumption in all the stages of production and by making easier rinsing products. Comfort One Rinse fabric conditioner reduces the water consumption from 3 buckets to 1 when rinsing clothes. Washing powders like surf excel need less water .Company focuses on water reduction in the shampoos and hand wash when using. This helps in reducing the water consumption. Waste Management and Packaging-eliminating unnecessary packaging and using lightweight material is way to protect environment. In the personal and home care products using refill will also reduce the consumption of plastics for example lifebuoy hand wash is using this strategy. 7.0)Conclusion In this report current economic crisis is explained and its impact globally is discussed. It reveals that because of a crisis in a country for how far it has impact the lives of people all over the world positively and negatively. This shows how far the globalization plays a major role in peoples lives. Through PESTEL analysis how the Macroeconomic environment is effecting the company is discussed. Through this analysis some conclusion can be made. In order to maintain the market share and the consumers always company should be sensitive for the macroeconomic environment. If there is a regulatory issues in the local country, financial crisis quickly company respond to it. Company should always focus on market research and consumer behavior pattern. Although Unilever is a multinational company it should localize its operations according to the country it operates. Innovation and new product development plays a major role in the business. In the last part with example reports shows that how Unilever responded in the time of crisis.Even in the developed market it had to use the emerging market strategies like small packed products which is a new thing. 8.0)Recommendation In order to achieve a sustainable economic situation as mentioned above focusing on Social and environmental in very important. As discussed above as a leading multinational company Unilever focuses on these matters a lot. But in order to respond to the changing environmental condition following are some recommendation. When focusing on Environmental factors managing waste is very important. Although unilever focus on factory waste management it has to focus on post consumer waste management also. For this having good relationship with operating country government is important. Focusing more on green economics and promoting that would bring more environmental friendly customers into the business. This segment although the price is high because of the environmental friendly products they wont think twice to buy. Focusing more on health and hygien by introducing new products such readymade green tea,energy drink and focusing targeting young generation would bring advantage.

Cultural Erasure Essay

The Caribbean can be many things to many people: a geographic region somewhere in America’s backyard, an English-speaking outpost of the British Empire, an exciting holiday destination for North Americans and Europeans, a place where dirty money is easily laundered, and even an undefined, exotic area that contains the dreaded Bermuda Triangle, the mythical lost city of El Dorado, the fabled Fountain of Youth and the island home of Robinson Crusoe. Enriched by the process of creolization, the cosmopolitanism of the average Caribbean person is also well recognized: ‘No Indian from India, no European, no African can adjust with greater ease and naturalness to new situations’ (Lamming 1960, 34). As a concept or notion ‘the Caribbean’ can also be seen to have a marvellous elasticity that defies the imposition of clear geographic boundaries, has no distinct religious tradition, no agreed-upon set of political values, and no single cultural orientation. What, then, is the Caribbean? Who can justifiably claim to belong to it? Of the various peoples who have come to comprise the region, whose identity markers will be most central in defining the whole? For not all citizens of a nation or a region will be equally privileged and not all will have equal input in the definition of national or regional identity. In other words,  because power implies a process of social negotiation, and because power is unequally distributed in social groups, some parties to the process will be more represented than others. This is where the notion of erasure is tied to any appreciation of identity, and played out in the history and politics of colonization and decolonization in the Caribbean. As might be imagined, the colonially-conditioned divisions of race and gender figured (and continue to figure) prominently in the entire process and bring to mind Bob Marley’s advice to Caribbean people: ‘emancipate your minds from mental slavery’ (Redemption Song). Erasure is in large part the act of neglecting, looking past, minimizing, ignoring or rendering invisible an other. Rhoda Reddock (1996) examines the academic and political consequences of erasure at the level of ethnicity, and draws attention to four (among many other) neglected minorities in the Caribbean: the Amerindians of Guyana, the Karifuna or Caribs of Dominica, the Chinese in Jamaica, and the  Sindhis and Gujaratis in Barbados. Although some of these are indigenous and some have lived in the Caribbean for hundreds of years, they are commonly overlooked, even by those who today claim ‘authentic’ Caribbean roots and a commitment to the region as an integrated whole. In this essay I focus on three recent studies that address the ways in which identity and erasure have come dialectically to embody several erased peoples and groups of people in the Caribbean. I begin with the contributions of Sandra Pouchet Paquet, who focuses on the heyday of colonialism, slavery and women in Caribbean history, and laments the fact that ‘The female ancestor is effectively silenced if not erased’ (Paquet 2002, 11) in the writing of that history. To this end she cites Carole Boyce-Davies and Elaine Fido, who, in assessing the literature and historiography of the region, also spoke of ‘†¦ the historical absence of a specifically female position on major issues such as slavery, colonialism and decolonization, women’s rights and  more direct social and cultural issues’ (1990, 1). Next I examine the contributions of Geert Oostindie and Inge Klinkers (2003), who move from the slave period and colonialism proper and begin to discuss the uneven dismantling of colonialism in the various Caribbean countries, and its persistence in others. In the process they focus on erasure at the wider sub-regional level of groupings of countries. Thus, Oostindie and Klinkers protest the common academic and political tendency to assume that the Caribbean is principally an English-speaking group of countries; a tendency that simultaneously erases or minimizes the presence and contributions of other Caribbean peoples. These authors charge that while this erasure is undeniable in the cases of the Spanish- and French-speaking Caribbean, it is particularly evident with regard to the Dutch Caribbean. For while much has been written on the wider region generally, it is ‘seldom with serious attention to the former Dutch colonies of Suriname, the Netherlands Antilles and Aruba’ (2003, 10). And as they go on to argue, most general histories ‘tend virtually to neglect the Dutch Caribbean’ (p. 234). This ‘neglect’ is synonymous with erasure and constitutes a major obstacle for anyone wishing to develop a truly comprehensive understanding of the entire region. Finally, there are Smart and Nehusi (2000), who invoke the idea of erasure and the attempt by African-ancestored people in the Caribbean, but especially in Trinidad, to resist erasure and reclaim their identity. Smart and Nehusi look at efforts of Afro-Trinidadians to forge a diasporic identity in which culture (Carnival) is the centrepiece of African, ancestral lore. Thus, in describing the trade in African slaves and the institution of New World slavery as ‘the largest crime in human history,’ Nehusi speaks of the Maafa, or the African Holocaust, as a terror that has been hushed up: ‘one part of that crime has been the attempt to forget, to pretend that it did not happen and to present a history ethnically cleansed of all traces of this genocide †¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ (Nehusi 2000, 8). Very much in line with the thinking of Smart and Nehusi, Paquet views slavery as a crime and speaks of the ‘depravity of the slave owner’ (p. 42) as she applauds the efforts of Mary Prince to expose the horrors of the system: ‘Prince lays bare for public scrutiny the criminality of slave owners and the legal system that endorses their conduct’ (Paquet 2002, 41). In developing his argument Nehusi hints at a conspiracy or historical hoax which witnessed the abandonment of  black Trinidadians and their treatment as ‘non-persons by a continuing Eurocentric system which refuses to recognize them and their traditions as valid and refuses to recognize the history of struggle, mainly by Afrikan people.’ (Nehusi 2000a, 11). To this Ian Smart adds that ‘Africans all over the globe who have been subjected to white supremacy must be engaged unremittingly in the struggle for liberation in order to be made whole again’ (Smart 2000b, 199). This notion of being ‘made whole again’ speaks directly to the idea of erasure and the recapture of lost identity. Sandra Pouchet Paquet is principally concerned with two things: (a) finding the Caribbean identity and (b) autobiography as a literary genre. She uses the latter to pursue the former. Autobiography does not only tell a story of the biographer, but of the very society and community that shaped and nurtured her/him. So it is not simply a personal recounting of episodes that have shaped one’s life; but if properly written, autobiography can give valuable insights into the social worlds of the various storytellers. To this end Paquet exposes the ‘historical silencing of the female ancestor’ as evidenced in the ‘discovery and republication of the nineteenthcentury narratives of the Hart sisters (Elizabeth and Ann), Mary Prince, and Mary Seacole between 1987 and1993’ (2002, 13). These women bring to light what an inadvertent male scholarship had previously buried: a strong female culture of resistance both before and after emancipation. Unlike similar approaches, this work is careful not to essentialize women. Instead it is sensitive to their individual differences while weaving together common strands in their biographical experiences and narratives to produce a common story of erasure, resistance and strength. In her words they ‘throw light on the idiosyncrasies of a female culture of resistance in the Caribbean before and after emancipation’ (Paquet 2002, 13). Focusing on the signal contributions  of strong women like Elizabeth and Anne Hart, Mary Seacole and Mary Prince, who prepared the way for future leading male Caribbean writers such as C.L.R. James, George Lamming, Derek Walcott and V.S. Naipaul, Paquet does not mince words. In fact she openly acknowledges the unconscious impact of patriarchy, even on those men, and the ways in which they too contributed to the alienation, erasure and misrepresentation of women in Caribbean literary culture (p. 73). Clearly reflecting different social trajectories and individual strengths, the narratives of these four women nevertheless contain and speak to essential elements in the forging of a Caribbean identity. Dialectically, their efforts to reverse erasure through resistance culminated in a powerful story of struggle, setback and triumph of the human spirit. The Hart sisters, whose father was a free black, a plantation owner and a slaveholder, both married white men of influence. This gave them an important measure of social capital and they were able to use their religion (Methodism) and social status as the bases from which to promote ideas about racial equality and the empowerment of women. Mary Seacole was a unique woman for her time. The child of a free black Jamaican woman and a Scottish officer, she always set her sights on the wider world beyond Jamaica, and in time she became a creole ‘doctress’, a traveller and adventurer, entrepreneur, sutler and hotelier. The idea is not to romanticize her accomplishments for Seacole was human and vulnerable, and she betrayed all the contradictions of a woman placed in that age and time: resistance, accommodation and admiration for imperialism which contained ‘the civilizing values she professes to honor’ (Paquet 2002, 56). For while she railed against the injustices of race and sex discrimination she did not directly chal- lenge the idea of a British empire as much as she struggled ‘to redefine her place in it’ (p. 56). Seacole could thus be seen as a prototype of the modern-day Afro-Saxon. Then there was Mary Prince, a slave woman who did not have the privileges of the Hart sisters or of Mary Seacole, and thus has a  different take on the colonial situation. Comparing the two Marys (Seacole and Prince), Paquet writes that Prince embodied ‘an embryonic nationalism formed in resistance to slavery’ while Seacole reflected ‘an acceptance of colonialism after slavery’ (p. 52). Mary Prince was a rebel in spirit and action, and her life story is partly a struggle against erasure that illuminates another dimension of the contradictions of the time: Mary Prince was a ‘West Indian slave marooned in England by laws that made slavery illegal in England, while it was still legal in the colonies’ (p. 31). And as Paquet reports, the erasure and contradiction continue even in the twentieth-century male texts referred to above that are ‘devoid of reference to her resistant, militant spirit’ (p. 32). Though generally muted (erased) the voice of the black woman becomes audible in the narrative of Prince whose ‘individual life story establishes and validates a slave woman’s point of viewâ€⠄¢ while simultaneously serving as the foundation for ‘selfidentification and self-fulfilment in anticipation of the historical changes’ that would later follow in the wake of emancipation (p. 33-4). Thus, viewed together, the autobiographies of the Hart sisters, Mary Seacole and Mary Prince afford us an insight into the practical and intellectual worlds of very different women, and into their multifaceted struggles whether as slaves, as women, as free coloureds, as rape victims, and finally as silenced products of colonial brutality. In humanizing themselves through their autobiographies these women are able to expose the dehumanizing conditions under which so many millions were erased. Another key motif in Paquet is that of home and its relationship to errantry, travel, departure and return. These are central themes in Caribbean literature and reflect the post-colonial condition where the forced migrations associated with slavery and indentureship are the backdrops against which post-colonial peoples now seek to establish diasporic existences and to fashion a new ‘way in the world’. The initial trauma of forced removal from their ancestral lands has led to a spirit ual yearning for rootedness and symbolic return to home. Further, the yearning in question is best represented in the notion of primordialism, for it is only at home that one supposedly finds the acceptance and security from which to begin to negotiate one’s way in the world. Thus, ‘travel as exploration and transforming encounter turns on the quest for El Dorado, the lost world, the aboriginal landscape, identity,  origins, ancestry psychic reconnection, and rebirth’ (Paquet 2002, 196). Viewed in this way the Caribbean is both home and an African diasporic home away from home, and to this end Paquet invokes Wilfred Cartey, Carole BoyceDavies, Claude McKay, George Lamming and Edward Kamau Brathwaite to make the case for a ‘holistic Caribbean’ that comprises ‘a culturally diverse yet traditional’ culture block that stresses ‘the genealogical connection with Africa’ (p. 745). While departure could be non-voluntary or forced (slavery), Paquet also focuses on voluntary departure, as in the Caribbean migrant to England or some other metropolitan centre. Often for economic reasons, it is a sort of voluntary exile in Lamming’s thinking, that has given rise to scores of Caribbean diasporas in various Eu ropean metropoles. London, Berlin or Toronto is really a twice-migrant; first from Africa and second from the Caribbean. The connection to an African home is the centrepiece of much contemporary Afrocentric politics, but that connection is largely mythical and imagined, although many commentators seem willing to forget this fact. This speaks directly to the idea of home and belonging as articulated by two unapologetic Afrocentrists, Ian Smart and Kimani Nehusi (2000). For example, there is Nehusi who sees home as ‘a nurturing place, a space of spiritual, psychological, social, and physical comfort, freedom, security and satisfaction, and ultimately confidence, because we know that we will be understood there †¦ humans feel at home only when they can be themselves in culturally familiar ways. Home is therefore †¦ a space that not merely permits but encourages us to be our own selves and in which we are ‘easy’ – not merely familiar, but comfortable too (Nehusi 2000a, 1-2). This essentialist and romantic theme of ‘Africa as home’ is picked up by  Smart who treats all black people as Africans and affirms that the ‘African mind is one that deals with the big picture. The African mind is fundamentally driven by and towards holism’ (Smart 2000a, 51). And apparently unmindful of the process of creolization, Smart goes on boldly to assert that ‘[t]he core of Caribbean culture is the African heritage’ (2000a, 70). All of this is by way of setting the stage for the claim that Trinidad is an African country whose central cultural marker is the Carnival. According to Smart, Nehusi and several of the contributors to the volume in question, Carnival is an African festival that has become the national festival of Trinidad: ‘Carnival is â€Å"a black thing†, a Wosirian (Osirian) mystery play that was celebrated annually in Kemet (Ancient Egypt) from the very dawn of history’ (Smart 2000a, 29). Lamentably, however, the African origins and the signal contributions of Africans are bring erased by a class and colour conspiracy to wrest the festival from its original African founders. In essentialist language, these authors assume that Trinidad means African, that African means black, and that black means poor or working class (Smart 2000a, 63). Thus, the non-black presence in the Carnival, whether as masquerader, bandleader or owner, or costume designer, is all part of the Eurocentric (which is code for white and upper class) attempt to silence and erase the African. For one contributor, Pearl Springer, the consequence is that the Carnival has been reshaped in such as way that the African presence in the national festival is erased or reduced to that of a street vendor and ‘hired hand’ that does the physical labour in making the mas (Springer 2000, 22). Nehusi is in full agreement with this take on erasure of the black person: ‘Afrikan Trinidadians have been abandoned, declared nonpersons by a continuing Eurocentric system which refuses to recognize them and their traditions as valid and refuses to recognize the history of struggle †¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ (2000a, 11). Another contributor, Patricia Alleyne Dettmers, invokes the universal African and has no difficulty speaking of ‘Africans †¦ born in Trinidad and Tobago’ (2000, 132). Of particular significance here is the fact that these Afrocentric commentators who rail against the erasure of Africans and the suppression of African identity, simultaneously engage in their own erasure of the East Indian, the Chinese and other ethnic groups in  Trinidad (Allahar 2004, 129-33). Thus, in the same volume, Patricia Moran, affirms that ‘the Caribbean woman is basically African’ (2000, 169). As is clear, like the wider Caribbean region as a whole, the books and authors under review here are not free of contradiction and ambivalence. For the Afrocentric case put forward by writers like Smart and Nehusi (and their five co-authors) clearly looks past the well known erasure of the East Indians’ presence and contributions they have made to such countries as Trinidad, Guyana and Suriname. For this reason David Trotman wrote sarcastically of Trinidad’s supposed multi-racial paradise on the eve of independence (1962) and the racially coloured anticipation that filled the Trinidad air at the time: ‘it was a multi-racial picture from which the Indian seemed strangely absent’ (1991, 393). Trotman speaks of the privileging of African traditions to the neglect of Indian ones, and takes issue with one calypsonian, whose calypso titled ‘Portrait of Trinidad’ only identified the Afro-associated elements of steelband, calypso and carnival as national cultural achievements. This led Trotman wryly to observe: ‘In this portrait the Indian is painted out’ (p. 394). Paquet also laments this erasure as it is articulated by George Lamming and V.S. Naipaul (2002, 176, 189-90). The authors of the studies contained in Smart and Nehusi (2000) speak ideologically to what supposedly binds the community together, for example, common blood lines, common ethno-cultural experience, common collective memory, common African origins and so on. I say supposedly for much of this idea of community cohesiveness is rather mythical or fictional. It is part of the essentialization of Africa and Africans that is common among Afrocentrist commentators, and in the process all others are erased. Further, in the move to homogenize and essentialize Africans, they conveniently ignore those social and structural features that divide the community. I am thinking here of internal, class, colour, economic, and  political inequalities within, say, the so-called African diasporic community, not to mention ideological cleavages related to religion, inter- and intra-ethnic rivalries. Given the role played by myths of ethnic descent in the invoking of national unity and cultural identity, Smart and Nehusi problematize the political dimensions of cultural nationalism as it applies to the Trinidad carnival. They give cultural nationalism a colour – black – which means there are major implications for those who are defined out of the societal culture, for example, those who claim East Indian, Middle Eastern, Chinese, etc., descents. To affirm that Carnival is Trinidad’s national festival implies that the so-called Indo-Trinidadians, who, for whatever reasons, do not see carnival as their national cultural marker, are somehow less than full Trinidadians. In the minds of black nationalists, then, the carnival, which was born in Africa, is the supreme African festival and belongs entirely to black people, who, regardless of where they were born, are Africans! Africa is home for all Africans. This is why Smart depicts the Trinidad carnival as ‘the quintessential African festival’ (2000a, 72), and Nehusi sees the street parade segment of the celebration as symbolic of the Africans’ reclaiming their physical, spiritual and cultural freedom: ‘Possession of the streets was a sign of Afrikan possession of self, a spiritual re-connection with ancestors through millennia of cultural practice, a liberation through expression of impulses carried in genes for uncounted generations †¦.’ (2000b, 96). Some critics have charged that the foregoing constitutes part of the larger racist agenda of those black nationalists who want to define carnival in ethno-racial terms: ‘Trinbagonians can then rightly claim their festival as â€Å"we thing† only because it is a â€Å"black thing†Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ (Smart 2000a, 72). The loose invoking of the royal ‘we’ must not be taken as referring to all Trinbagonians, however, for it is tied to the deliberate erasure of the East Indian. Thus, the contributors to the volume in question can be seen as endorsing the myth of merry Africa and spinning tall tales of racial identity and solidarity among Africans the world over. They are unequivocal in their claim that Africa is the cradle of human civilization and the source of ancient human history. In spite of these facts, however, contemporary history is said to be written and produced by white supremacist barbarians bent on erasing the major contributions of Africans. Thus, Alleyne-Dettmers essentializes ‘barbaric Europeans’ (2000, 139), and both Smart (2000b, 199) and Moran (2000, 174) condemn what they refer to generally as ‘European barbarism’, while Olaogun Adeyinka speaks more specifically of the ‘heroic struggles of Africans’ to liberate themselves ‘from Spanish, French and British barbarism’ (2000, 111). Patricia Moran wants to rewrite history for she fears that there is a conspiracy on the part of what she calls ‘white bandits’ and those ‘Aryan marauders’ (p. 175), who, even today, would steal ‘we thing’, which is carnival and steelband! In the assertion of an absolute African identity there is the absolute erasure of the East Indian and other ethnic groups that comprise the society. As the foregoing assessment of Smart and Nehusi (2000) suggests, in the public’s mind, the term Caribbean brings immediately to mind the English-speaking countries of the region and their African-descended populations. Somewhat less immediate are the Spanish-speaking countries of Cuba, Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic. Even less immediate are the French countries (provinces) of Martinique and Guadeloupe, and the independent, French-speaking country of Haiti. Then there is the almost forgotten, erased, Caribbean: the Dutch-speaking Netherlands Antilles and Suriname. Although scholarship on the Caribbean has devoted considerable attention to the situation of East Indians in Trinidad and Guyana, and their erasure at the hands of both the colonial authorities and the various ‘black’ governments that inherited the seats of power following independence, not much is known about their counterparts in Suriname and other parts of the Dutch Caribbean. In fact, when addressing Caribbean studies generally, Suriname and the other countries of the Netherlands Antilles are usually an  afterthought; a curious appendage of the better-known English- and Spanish-speaking Caribbean. This leads to an incomplete picture of the region for if one were to assess the situation of the East Indians in the Caribbean, the Surinamese case seems to parallel that of Trinidad and Guyana, but the lessons learned in the latter were lost on the former. Indeed, in the years leading up to Suriname’s independence (1975), the East Indian population had the same fears and misgivings as their counterparts in Trinidad and Guyana a decade and a half earlier. And if political independence in these two countries was black in complexion, the social and political erasure of their East Indian populations could be expected to be repeated in Suriname. Thus, Gert Oostindie and Inge Klinkers wrote that: ‘quietly the Hindustani population were only afraid that those who would receive independence (i.e. the Afro-Surinamese) would use this for the enlargement of their own political power’ (2003, 112). As a consequence the East Indians generally opposed independence and opted for continued colonial dependence on the Dutch (p. 103, 112). For Oostindie and Klinkers (2003), then, this is only one reason why any comprehensive attempt to understand the history and sociology of the Caribbean must include the contributions that the Dutch countries have made to the shaping of the region’s wider culture and politics. Yet one must not homogenize all the Dutch countries, for Suriname and Aruba, for example, are quite politically, socially and culturally distinct. And whereas the sentiments of ‘black power’ informed the political sensibilities of Curaà §ao’s population, the ‘political elites of Aruba had always tended to emphasise the Euro-Amerinidian roots of their island as opposed to the African character of Curaà §ao’ (2003, 122). Indeed, as these authors point out, after losing Indonesia the Dutch lost most of their appetite for empire and appeared to retain their Caribbean possessions only reluctantly. And after the independence of Suriname, an  unusual situation was presented whereby the mother country seemed willing to free itself from the responsibilities of Empire, but the colonies in question would not let them off the hook (p. 116, 145). This is reminiscent of what Rosemarijn Hoefte and Gert Oostindie call ‘an example of upside-down decolonization with the metropolis, not the former colonies, pressing for independence’ (1991, 93). As Oostindie and Klinkers convincingly argue, whereas in the British West Indies (BWI) the sentiment for independence was strong in the 1950s and 1960s, this was not the case in the French West Indies and the Dutch West Indies (2003, 46-7). Suriname was the exception, but it was continental and not part of the socalled Antilles or Netherlands Antilles. In the case of the United States, Puerto Rico was a mixed bag with a significant proportion desiring statehood and an equal number preferring the continuation of the status quo, while an insignificant minority has always favoured independence. The US Virgin Islands, on the other hand, has never had any pretensions at independence of any kind. What is most striking about all these non-sovereign Caribbean states today (the remaining British Overseas Territories, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands, St. Martin, Martinique and Guadeloupe, Curaà §ao, St. Maarten, Saba, St. Eustatius, Bonaire and Aruba), is that they have a higher standar d of living than the independent states, which leads some to make the perverse claim for continued colonization. The fact of the matter, however, is that all the economies in question are almost totally subsidized by the mother countries so local or indigenous economic development is virtually nonexistent. The higher standards of living are thus quite precarious and artificial and could crash any time the colonial power decided to withdraw. This led to the obvious conclusion that because: ‘from the Dutch side, millions of guilders are pumped into the Antilles and Suriname on a yearly basis,’ it would be far more preferable that ‘today rather than tomorrow that the Netherlands would get rid of the Antilles and Suriname’ (Oostindie and Klinkers 2003, 116). But as noted by Paquet earlier, decolonization is intimately tied to identity, whether juridical or socio-cultural, and wrapped up in the complex Caribbean traditions of errantry, travel, migration and return. So following  the insights of Derek Walcott, after all the travel is over, return to home is on the agenda; but ‘home’ is a nuanced Caribbean with African sensibilities. Further, because finding self is the prerequisite to finding home (Paquet 2002, 171, 173, 186-7; Smart and Nehusi 2000), and because self- knowledge leads to self-realization (Paquet 2002, 184, 187, 191), identity and belonging are inextricably tied to (political) action. Thus, in the case of the remaining British Overseas Territories, there is the ongoing debate over citizenship, passports and legal rights that led to the clumsy creation of a category of ‘British dependent territory passport holders’. This has given rise to what Oostindie and Klinkers call a group of persons with ‘a form of paper identity’ that has turned them into ‘citizens of nowhere’ (2003, 195). The same applies to the Surinamers and other Antillean peoples, who want to retain their distinctive Caribbean cultural identities, but who, mainly for economic reasons insist on retaining Dutch passports, Dutch citizenship, and all associated rights and privileges. And just as growing economic problems (unemployment) and social problems (racial discrimination) led the British in the 1960s to restrict free movement of British subjects from the former colonies to the metropolis, the French sought to encourage economic development in Martinique and Gua deloupe in order to reduce the numbers of those emigrating to France, and The Hague has made similar attempts to limit the numbers of Surinamese and Antilleans who have claims on Dutch citizenship. Once more the parallels are compelling but the consequences of erasure prevent them from being fully grasped. Another instructive parallel that seems lost in the erasure of the Dutch Caribbean concerns the idea of regional federation or integration. When Jamaica decided to pull out of the federation of the ten British West Indian territories in 1961, Trinidad’s Eric Williams announced that 1 from 10 leaves naught, implying that the idea of federation was dead (Knight and Palmer 1989, 14-15). For their part the Dutch Antilles, which are composed  of six islands, were faced with an almost exact dilemma when Aruba was granted ‘separate status’ in 1996. With continental Suriname already independent, Aruba’s status aparte led to a virtually identical sentiment of ‘one out of six would leave nil’ (Oostindie and Klinmkers 2003, 122), and seemed to end all hope or talk of Antillean independence. Based on the forgoing it is clear to see how the Caribb ean, both historically and in contemporary times, is a political project subject to the power politics of entrenched interests, whether of a class, race or gendered nature. Further, as social groups strive to root themselves and to establish identity markers, such politics will see the erasure of some and the promotion of others. The three studies reviewed here highlight dimensions of the colonial period in the Caribbean as well as the politics of decolonization and the politics of nation building in the modern age. While recently the latter has tended to assume clear ethnic dimensions, considerations of class, race and gender are not to be minimized or ignored, for the modern Caribbean was constructed on the politics of social inequality that are directly tied their statuses as dependent capitalist satellites of imperialist centres in an increasingly globalized world. *** References Allahar, Anton L. (2003) ‘â€Å"Racing† Caribbean Political Culture: Afrocentrism, Black Nationalism and Fanonism’. In Holger Henke and Fred Reno (eds) Modern Political Culture in the Caribbean. Kingston, Jamaica: University of the West Indies Press, pp. 21-58. Allahar, Anton L. (2004) ‘Ethnic Entrepreneurship and Nationalism in Trinidad: Afrocentrism and Hindutva’, Social and Economic Studies (53)2: 117-154. Alleyne Dettmers, Patricia (2000) ‘Beyond Borders, Carnival as Global Phenomena’. In Smart and Nehusi (eds) pp. 131-162. Boyce-Davies, Carole and Elaine Fido (eds) (1990) Out of Kumbla: Caribbean Women and Literature. Trenton, NJ: Africa World Press. Hoefte, Rosemarijn and Gert Oostindie (1991) ‘The Netherlands and the Dutch Caribbean: Dilemmas of Decolonization’. In Paul Sutton (ed.) Europe and the Caribbean. London: Macmillan, pp. 71-98. Knight, Franklin W. and Colin S. Palmer (eds) (1989) The Modern Caribbean. Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press. Lamming, George (1960) The Pleasures of Exile. London: Michael Joseph. Moran, Patricia (2000) ‘Experiencing the Pan African Dimension of Carnival’. In Smart and Nehusi (eds) pp. 163-78. Nehusi, Kimani S. K. (2000a) ‘Going back home to the Carnival’. In Smart and Nehusi (eds) pp. 1-16. ––– (2000b) ‘The Origins of Carnival: Notes from a Preliminary Investigation’. In Smart and Nehusi (eds) pp. 77-103. Nehusi, K.S.K.; and Olaogun Narmer Adeyinka (2000) ‘A Carnival of Resistance, Emancipation, Commemoration, Reconstruction, and Creativity’. In Smart and Nehusi (eds) pp. 105-129. Oostindie, Gert and Inge Klinkers (2003) Decolonising the Caribbean: Dutch policies in a comparative perspective. Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press. Paquet, Sandra Pouchet (2002) Caribbean Autobiography: cultural identity and self-representation. Madison, WI: The University of Wisconsin Press. Reddock, Rhoda E. (ed.) (1996) Ethnic Minorities in Caribbean Society. St. Augustine, Trinidad: ISER. Smart, Ian I. and Kimani S. K. Nehusi (eds) (2000) Ah Come Back Home: Perspectives on the Trinidad and Tobago Carnival. Washington: Original World Press. Smart, Ian I. (2000a) ‘Carnival, the Ultimate Pan-African Festival’. In Smart and Nehusi (eds) pp. 2976. ––– (2000b) ‘It’s not French (Europe), It’s really French-based Creole (Africa)’. In Smart and Nehusi (eds) pp. 197-221. Springer, Pearl Eintou (2000) ‘Carnival: Identity, Ethnicity and Spirituality’. In Smart and Nehusi (eds) pp. 17-28. Trotman, David V. (1991) ‘The image of Indians in Calypso: Trinidad 1946-1986’. In Selwyn Ryan (ed.) Social and Occupational Stratification in Trinidad and Tobago. St. Augustine, Trinidad: ISER, pp. 385-98.

The Medieval Education System

It seems evident that due to it's limited access via social castes as well as it's provincial ideology once attained, education before the 1800's played a limited role in the history of Education. From the rhetoric-based Greek age of Plato and Aristotle to colonial America, education was mostly an elitist institution that was inaccessible to most and, if one was so privileged as to attain it, full of hackneyed, non-progressive ritual; thus making its' impact evident mostly in history textbooks. In Greek times it is clear that true education was limited those with much free time and/or the means to pay for private tutors. Due to this, the vast majority of those who were educated were among the small upper class. Elitist â€Å"education† was largely based on the ability to speak and persuade; a tool only truly necessary to those who were socially powerful. The later Roman education system was, although theoretically more accessible due to more schools, very similar to that of the Greeks. Those who were â€Å"truly educated† were well versed in Latin and were able to speak efficiently. However, when the Roman power system shifted from political to military, the valued vocation changed in correlation with the valued focus of education. The role of the orator diminished as the role of the soldier increased. In the Greco-Roman times education as an institution was geared to those with time and money, therefore few were able to partake. Clearly if only a small percentage of the populace, in any culture or time-period, has access to information, the impact of that information on society and future generations, as a whole, will be limited. The medieval education systems' institutions have impacted Education comparably to those of the Greco-Roman period; which isn't saying much. This is due, once again, to the grossly exagerated social caste system that existed during this period. The immense majority of the population had no time for education their lives were consumed by a constant struggle to survive. With all wealth concentrated on the minute land owning populace as well as the Church, education for most was the passing down of a trade from generation to generation as well as basic communication skills. The only â€Å"institutions† were those that were established by, or in order to promote, the good of the Church. Parish, monastic, chantry, and cathedral schools were the extent of medieval education. With all four of these types of schools contributing to one common it is easy to see that the influence of education was limited. Although the ideas taught during the medieval period were, for the most part, rehashed tradition fueled by religious propagandists, highlights such as studium generale and universitas planted seeds for future growth. Once again, however, due to the exclusiveness of educational opportunities concentrated on those with status, power and, money, the impact on Education that the middle ages had was limited. In contrast to its' insular curriculum of the Greco-Roman period and its' monopolization by the church during the medieval period, education during the renaissance became â€Å"enlightened. † As religion was called into question, and the middle class began developing, the educational stagnation of the middle ages also evolved.

The role of human resources management in employee motivation The WritePass Journal

The role of human resources management in employee motivation Introduction The role of human resources management in employee motivation IntroductionHow Human Resource Management plays an important rule in employee motivation?Employee motivationLeadership Skills and Leadership BehaviorsEffective Leadership BehaviorsCONCLUSIONThe PurposeThe MethodThe ImplementationThe Considerations – Communication SkillsThe Considerations – Listening SkillsReferencesRelated Introduction Human resource management (HRM) is a strategic and coherent approach for the management of an organizations most precious assets the employees working there who individually and collectively contribute to the achievement of the objectives of the business. The term human resource management and human resources (HR) have strongly replaced the term personnel management as a description of the processes involved in managing people in organization. In very simple words, HRM means employing people and developing their capacities and utilizing and maintaining and compensating their services in tune with the job and organizational needs and requirements. Human resources management includes several processes and stages. Both Together they are supposed to reach the above mentioned targets and goal. These processes can be carried on in an HR department, but some of the tasks and jobs can also be outsourced or performed by line managers or the other departments. When effectively performed they provide significant outstanding economic benefits to the organization. Human resources management presses and stages are: Workforce planning Recruitment (sometimes separated into attraction and selection) Induction, Orientation and Onboarding Skills management Training and development Personnel administration Compensation in wage or salary Time management Travel management (sometimes assigned to accounting rather than HRM) Payroll (sometimes assigned to accounting rather than HRM) Employee benefits administration Personnel cost planning Performance appraisal Labor relations How Human Resource Management plays an important rule in employee motivation? Employee motivation To be able to have a good effective workforce and to encourage and motivate them to give and do their best while at work it requires attention to all of the financial and also psychological and even physiological rewards offered by the organization as a non stop continuous exercise. The Basic financial rewards and conditions of service example working hours per week are determined externally by the national bargaining or government minimum wage legislation departments in many occupations but as much as 50 per cent of the gross pay of the manual workers is often the result of local negotiations and details example which particular hours shall be worked of conditions of service are often more important than the basics. Hence there is scope for financial and other motivations to be used at all levels. As the staffing needs will vary with the productivity of the employees (and the industrial peace achieved) so good personnel policies are desirable. The latter can depend upon other factors (like environment, welfare, workforce benefits and so on but unless the pay rat is accepted as a fair and just there will be no good motivation. Also the technicalities of payment and other systems may be the concern of others; the outcome of them is a subject of a great concern to human resource management. Increasingly the influence of behavioral science discoveries is becoming important not merely because of the widely acknowledged limitations of money as a motivation factor, but because of the changing mix and the nature of tasks example more service and professional jobs and far fewer unskilled and repetitive production jobs. So the situation demands a better educated mobile and multi-skilled workforce is much more likely to be influenced by other things like job satisfaction, involvement, participation and so on. than the economically dependent workforce of the past. Human resource management are suppose to be acting as a source of information about and a source of inspiration for the application of the findings of behavioral science. It may be a matter of paying the attention of the senior managers to what is being achieved elsewhere and the gradual education of middle managers to new points of view on job design, work organization and worker autonomy. Leadership Skills and Leadership Behaviors A good leader must develop their leadership skills and work to demonstrate and improve many positive leadership behaviors and to eliminate all of the negative leadership behaviors. These positive behaviors must be demonstrated at all times in all situations so that it is simply how the good leader works on. Leadership development is a continuous nonstop process of personal development. Effective Leadership Behaviors So many Different leadership studies highlight the importance of effective leadership behaviors, whether they are based on under-graduates or commercial managers at every level in an organization. In short words, there are commonalities that emerge from this research time and again, which characterize positive behaviors and negative behaviors. Whilst there may be significant differences at the detailed level there seems to be a broad consensus of positive leadership behaviors: Effective project planning and management Conducts regular, effective meetings to set objectives, allocate tasks and review performance Identifying the right person for the right role Appropriate delegation of responsibility whilst retaining accountability Consults and includes others in decision-making Shows an interest in others and responding to their needs whether that is for more information, guidance, support, personal development, positive feedback or reward and recognition Takes ownership and shows commitment for solving problems or difficult/sensitive issues Direct, clear, open style of communication Considers impact before action Leads by example, showing a contagious passion and enthusiasm, engaging and motivating other CONCLUSION In conclusion Leadership behavior can help motivate team members of the workforce for the better or worse. Subordinates look to leadership for guidance, support and direction. If leadership’s behavior does not match their words of encouragement, morale and motivation can be lost. Leadership’s behavior is just as important as the words used to inspire subordinates. Motivation is the force behind what drives people to work more efficiently and go the extra mile. The Purpose The purpose and the reason of motivation are to inspire the workforce to take positive actions. What a leader does can motivate the workforce to respond with a desire to work harder and more efficiently. For example, if the leader is appreciative and demonstrates it with the use of words, gifts and rewards, her followers will be more motivated to remain dedicated to their work on her behalf. Leadership behavior that wins the trust from followers promotes a positive corporate culture and spurs people toward being motivated. The Method In order To be able to motivate employees the leadership behavior must expose a need in the followers and a proper solution for that need. For example if the leaders recognized that his or her followers are using outdated equipments that’s frustrating to work with and replace it the followers will feel more respected and more taken care of. In turn, this makes the loyalty and dedications to the leader. The leaders who use his behavior to respond to his followers needs will result in motivated followers. The Implementation Any kind of a leader needs to perform some actions and personal behavior to inspire his workforce to motivation. This can be done by participating in a democratic leadership style where followers are included in decision making processes by encouraging comments, asking the employees some questions and taking the their suggestions and ideas with seriously and consideration. Rewarding subordinates is another behavior that leaders use to produce motivated employees. The Considerations – Communication Skills The way a leader communicates has the ability to empower or discourage the workforce. Communication is the process of using spoken words (verbal) and nonverbal messages such as body language, facial expressions and tone of the voice to receive and send messages so The more effective a leader’s communications are, the more his workforce are provided direction, purposes and satisfaction. The Considerations – Listening Skills The leader who demonstrates an effective listening skill is able to send a strong message that he or she cares and is leading with the best interest of the team in mind. Listening skills include making mental actions, asking questions, recall the information back to the sender and responding the message. Effective listening also are able use nonverbal cues, such as body language and nodding the head, to let the other person know she is listening. References Armstrong, Michael (2006). A Handbook of Human Resource Management Practice (10th ed.). London: Kogan Page. ISBN  0-7494-4631-5. OCLC  62282248. personnel management. The Columbia Encyclopedia (Sixth Edition Ed.). Columbia University Press. 2005. bartleby.com/65/x-/X-personne.html. Retrieved 2007-10-17. personnel management see industrial management. Encyclopà ¦dia Britannica (kl ed.). Personnel administration is also frequently called personnel management, industrial relations, employee relations. Encyclopà ¦dia Britannica. Towers, David. Human Resource Management essays. towers.fr/essays/hrm.html. Retrieved 2007-10-17. Golding, N. (2010) Strategic Human Resource Management in Beardwell, J. and Claydon, T. (2010) Human Resource Management A Contemporary Approach, FT Prentice Hall Storey, J. (2007) What is strategic HRM? in Storey, J. (2007) Human Resource Management: A Critical Text, Thompson Paauwe, J. (2009) HRM and Performance: Achievement, Methodological Issues and Prospects Journal of Management Studies, 46 (1) Pfeffer, J. (1994) Competitive advantage through people, Harvard Business School Press Becker, B. and Gerhart, B. (1996) The impact of human resource management on organizational performance Academy of Management Journal 39 (4) 779-801   Kochan, T. and Barocci, T. (1985) Human Resource Management and Industrial Relations, Little Brown

Fatigue in Aviation Maintenance Environments

Fatigue in Aviation Maintenance Environments Free Online Research Papers Fatigue in the aviation maintenance workplace is a long standing issue according to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). Since 1997, the NTSB has maintained this issue on their Most Wanted List. The NTSB’s most wanted list is comprised of the most critical aviation safety improvements necessary in the eyes of the Board. The item was added to the list after a few accidents ended with fatigued mechanics or inspectors as one of the contributing factors. The Most Wanted List item # A-97-71(FAA) specifically demand the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) â€Å"review the issue of personnel fatigue in aviation maintenance; then establish duty time limitations consistent with the current state of scientific knowledge for personnel who perform maintenance on carrier aircraft†. (NTSB 1999) According to the NTSB, the FAA’s response and actions taken are not acceptable to mitigate the risk of aircraft accidents due to technician or inspector fatigue. What Has the FAA Done? AAR-100 is the FAA’s Human Factors Division. This division has a sub-division focused solely on human factors in aviation maintenance. In 1998, after an agreement with the FAA, Galaxy Scientific spearheaded an effort from industry experts to publish Human Factors Guide for Aviation Maintenance. In 1999, the division issued a report titled Study of Fatigue Factors Affecting Human Performance in Aviation Maintenance. From the human factors guide by Galaxy Scientific, the FAA determined that more research was necessary to understand how fatigue affects the safe performance of aviation maintenance. It was decided the best approach would be to employ the services of an outside entity to have independent research in the subject. In the mean time, the FAA revised its Advisory Circular (AC) 120-72 Maintenance Resource Management Training to include information that should be a part of the training to cover the risk of fatigue. The study was completed in 2001 by a team from Embry-Riddle and Galaxy Scientific. The document titled Evaluation of Aviation Maintenance Work Environments, Fatigue, and Human Performance provided great insight into the issue. The results of the study will be discussed further later in this paper. The FAA took the actions recommended in the study, which will be discussed further also. Presently, the NTSB is not satisfied with the FAA’s approach since no regulatory action has been made in the matter. What is Fatigue? We have all experienced fatigue. There is sometimes confusion in distinguishing fatigue from tiredness. The two are not interchangeable. One definition of fatigue is ‘Decreased capacity or complete inability of an organism, organ, or part to function normally because of excessive stimulation or prolonged exertion’. (Orlady Orlady 1999) The excessive stimulation and prolonged exertion in an aviation maintenance environment can be due to many factors. Lighting, vibration, extreme temperatures, and the mere tediousness of a task are some of the factors. It is the NTSB’s contention that the resulting fatigue from these factors have been contributions to some accidents and will certainly be in future accidents. The 2001 Study As stated previously, Aviation Maintenance Work Environments, Fatigue, and Human Performance was undertaken to provide insight to just how fatigue might play a role in an accident. In this study, one-hundred randomly selected aviation maintenance personnel agreed to wear monitoring devices for a two-week period. These devices measured temperature, lighting, sound levels, and sleep conditions. The second half of the study was done in the form of a questionnaire filled out by five-hundred aviation maintenance personnel; also selected randomly. The study covered more areas than just fatigue related issues. This paper will attempt to stay in line with fatigue causing factors only. Sleep Patterns The results concluded that the subjects slept on average of five hours per night. The researchers utilized the results of a Gallup poll conducted on the general public in 1997 as their measure of how much sleep an individual needs to feel alert. The optimal time according to this poll was just over seven hours. Participants selected a button on the device when they went to bed to indicate they were going to sleep. The device only counted one as actually sleeping if the instrument was not moving; meaning the person must be totally still in order for the measurement to be accurate. Otherwise, the time was counted as pre-sleep, or a falling asleep period. There were differences between the amount of time subjects reported they were sleeping versus the amount of time the device reported they were sleeping. Lighting In general, the participants answering the questionnaire felt they worked with inadequate lighting. They also felt that poor lighting has a negative impact on their job performance. The study concluded that the survey data was likely more accurate than the monitoring equipment because the survey was based on people’s perception. It was noted that the study could not conclude how inadequate lighting affects performance. Shift Work The survey portion of the study revealed that a very large percentage of participants who work the night shift indicated that they feel frequent fatigue at work. Those who work the day shift did not report feeling fatigued as often at work. This suggested to the researchers that those on the night shift were at greater risk of degraded performance than those working during the day. Most of the participants themselves did not feel that the fatigue they felt affected their work performance at all. The largest population indicating their work was affected were those on the night shift. Temperature and Sound Pressure The data was listed in the study, but no analysis was given. It was only indicated that Phase 3 of the study would attempt to identify how this data correlates to fatigue. Study Observations/Recommendations The researchers determined that the lack of sleep is a cultural issue that can only be addressed by training. They concluded that it is likely that the personnel are simply unaware of the recommended sleep needed to function properly. The training would educate the workforce on how fatigue can put them at risk for making a mistake and how to recognize signs of fatigue. Although the data on temperature was not analyzed, the recommendation was made to educate the workforce on how temperature can affect job performance. The training should also include mitigation strategies, such as having water available to those who are working in high heat environments. For sound and noise levels observed, the recommendation was to refer to the Human Factors Guide for Aviation Maintenance, as this publication addresses mitigation strategies for those working in high noise environments. Writer’s Evaluation This study conducted appears to be faulty in many ways. It was evident that the data collected by the sleep monitoring device was likely inaccurate if the device only counts one as sleeping if they are not moving. It would also seem that the researchers could have utilized a more scientific based set of standards for sleep than a Gallup Poll. Some of the data collected in the research was not even analyzed in the study, only reported. This data on things such as sound and temperature levels would seem to be very valuable in providing a complete assessment of fatigue levels. With the information collected and the way in which it was analyzed, the only recommendation the researchers could make was training. Another factor working against them attempting to make any other recommendation than training is the fact that there has been no research done to measure how and when fatigue of maintenance personnel has attributed to failures in the system. That information would need to be available to substantiate any type of regulatory action by the FAA on duty time limitations. The researchers acknowledge this in their closing remarks. Phase 3 of the study has yet to be conducted. It is not known why the FAA has not funded this activity. Pilots versus Mechanic Duty Limits The NTSB feels that mechanics should be held to duty time limitations the same as pilots. The writer disagrees with this. Pilots flying an aircraft cannot go take a break. They are literally stuck in their work environment. Weather changes constantly create challenges. Pilots also must be alert enough at all times during flight to implement any one of hundreds of contingency actions in a split second. Duty time limitations are warranted easily if these circumstances are taken into consideration. Mechanics, on the other hand do have the option to take a break at any time. They normally are not working in conditions where contingency actions are required instantaneously. Mechanics need an awareness and education about how fatigue can potentially lead to inadvertent unsafe acts. Industry Culture Change The Centre for Applied Behavior Research as the University of Southern Australia is known for being a world leader in the study of how fatigue affects safety of job performance. The Centre contends that a lack of sleep and shift work are the two most important causes of fatigue. Based on research done in the university’s Sleep Centre, it was discovered that fatigue can be most closely compared to being under the influence of alcohol beyond legal allowable limits. One’s judgment is affected as well as the ability to react and reason logically. The Centre worked with the Australian Rail Industry and the Australian Air Force to develop a comprehensive fatigue management program. The program consists of education, fitness for work testing, and a software based fatigue modeling and management system. Currently, the aviation industry and others are working with the Centre and following suit with the same types of programs. Conclusion The issue of fatigue is seen as one that needs to be addressed by the employer and the employee. Legislation will not change the lifestyles of individuals. Employers must have the flexibility to arrange schedules to meet production requirements. Employees have the responsibility and the right to stop and ensure they are fit to perform the safety sensitive functions for which they are employed. The FAA’s Aviation Safety Team is in full force educating mechanics, as are the Professional Aviation Maintenance Association along with many other industry groups. The key is finding a balance between the mechanic’s and employer’s needs. The risk can be managed without federal laws. This is obviously the conclusion of the FAA and other experts in the field of human behavior and human factors. References Folkard, S. (2002). Work Hours of Aircraft Maintenance Personnel Civil Aviation Authority, CAA Paper 2002/06 Dawson, D. (2001b) Field Based Evaluations of a Work Related Fatigue Model Based on Hours of Work Transportation Research Part F Orlady Orlady (2005) Human Factors In Multi Crew Flight Operations Chapter 9 NTSB (1997) A-97-71 FAA (2003) AC120-72 Maintenance Resource Management Training FAA (1999) Study of Fatigue Factors Affecting Human Performance in Aviation Maintenance Galaxy Scientific (2001) Human Factors Guide for Aviation Maintenance Research Papers on Fatigue in Aviation Maintenance EnvironmentsOpen Architechture a white paperThe Project Managment Office SystemIncorporating Risk and Uncertainty Factor in CapitalStandardized TestingEffects of Television Violence on ChildrenResearch Process Part OnePersonal Experience with Teen PregnancyInfluences of Socio-Economic Status of Married MalesBionic Assembly System: A New Concept of SelfAnalysis of Ebay Expanding into Asia

Make a tipic for me Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Make a tipic for me - Essay Example This term post colonial is a loose definition. For example: the United States might also be described as a postcolonial country, but it is not perceived as such because of its position of power in world politics in the present, its displacement of native American populations, and its annexation of other parts of the world in what may be seen as a form of colonization. The term post colonial means a native people breaking free from an oppressor. America is not post colonial, because the Native Americans never conquered the settlers from Europe. However, in America’s defense, an attempt to create a melting pot has been attempted, although this has not been completely successful. The European empire is said to have held sway over more than 85% of the rest of the globe by the time of the First World War, having consolidated its control over several centuries. The sheer extent and duration of the European empire and its disintegration after the Second World War have led to widespread interest in postcolonial literature and criticism in our own times. (Deepika). When a country is liberated, either by force or peacefully, from colonists, some colonists remain. Not only do some colonists remain, but the traditions the native country endured remain. The European colonization of many nations transformed the native culture, and the colonizers actually living in these countries irrevocably. In a post colonial community a division exists between the natives and former colonists. Colonists want to control natives, to civilize them. The text book states Westerners see, â€Å"former colonial subjects as Others; as people different from â€Å"us†; as those in need of Western guidance, expertise, and guidance† (George and Trimbur, 522). An example of trying to civilize natives in a post colonial community is India. Robert Young writes: In

Scotland, the Stateless Nation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Scotland, the Stateless Nation - Essay Example Many attempted to settle in Central America through the Scottish sponsored Darien project with a hope of establishing the same success as the English. There they were fated to die, abandoned by both the Scottish and English government. The Scottish government and investors lost huge amounts of capital that contributed to the later depression of the 17th Century3. Large numbers of Scotsmen and their lassies relocated to Canada, North American Colonies as well as Australia and New Zealand. The motivation for leaving their homeland varied over the 18th, 19th and first decades of the 20th Century. However, the main causes of this startling Diaspora arose from the blunt fact that Scotland as a nation had lost as a rival to England. This process began much earlier than the era of colonization at least six hundred years earlier. England, the poor leadership from the aristocracy of both lands, the European wars of the 18th Century and the Imperial expansion of Great Britain in the 19th proved the death of the nation of Scotland. The conquest of England by the Normans brought about a six hundred year war between England’s’ new masters and Scotland, which culminated in 1688. Malcolm Canmore, Malcolm III, and William the conqueror hated each other at first sight. However, William the Conqueror forced Malcolm III by the Treaty of Abernathy in 1072 to surrender his son Duncan to the Norman court as a hostage. Malcolm III received in exchange for this fealty land in England4. The very use of hostages was a weakening stratagem because it influenced indirectly and directly the youthful heirs of one’s opponents, in a positive manner, towards the ways of their captor (host). Herein, the English turned the Scottish laird and chieftain to their purposes and ultimately through them destroyed the Scott ish nation. The Normans and the Scots continued in a never-ending battle between each other until after the middle of the 18th century.