VI. Material Culture Essays - Food And Drink, Cuisine,

VI. Material Culture Food and Economy Food in Daily Life. The national dish of Algeria is couscous, steamed semolina wheat served with lamb or chicken, cooked vegetables, and gravy. This is so basic to the Algerian diet that its name in Arabic, ta'am, translates as "food." Common flavorings include onions, turnips, raisins, chickpeas, and red peppers, as well as salt, pepper, cumin, and coriander. Alternatively, couscous can be served sweet, flavored with honey, cinnamon, or almonds. Lamb also is popular, and often is prepared over an open fire and served with bread. This dish is called mechoui.Other common foods arechorba, a spicy soup; dolma, a mixture of tomatoes and peppers, and bourek,a specialty of Algiers consisting of mincemeat with onions and fried eggs, rolled and fried in batter. The traditional Berber meal among the poorer people is a cake made of mixed grains and a drink mixed together from crushed goat cheese, dates, and water. Strong black coffee and sweetened mint tea are popular, as well asapricot or other sweetened fruit juices. Laban also is drunk, a mixture of yogurt and water with mint leaves for flavoring. Algeria grows grapes and produces its own wine, but alcohol is not widely consumed, as it is forbidden by the Islamic religion. Food Customs at Ceremonial Occasions Religious holidays are often celebrated with special foods. For the birthday of Muhammad, a holiday called Mulud, dried fruits are a common treat. During the month of Ramadan, Muslims refrain from food and drink during the daylight hours. Each evening, the fast is broken with a family meal. Eid al-Fitr, the final breaking of the Ramadan fast, involves consuming large quantities of foods, sweets, and pastries in particular. Basic Economy Algeria's economy is based primarily on oil and natural gas. The nation has the world's fifth-largest reserves of natural gas and is the second-largest exporter. It also has the fourteenth-largest reserves of oil. At independence, the economy was primarily based on agriculture, although since then other industries have eclipsed the importance of farming. Currently 22 percent of the population are farmers, but their production accounts for only 6 percent of the country's economy. The agricultural industry is plagued by droughts, encroaching desert, poor irrigation, and lack of machinery as well as by government policies that favor industry over farming. Most food produced is for local consumption; the most common crops include wheat, barley, corn, and rice, as well as fruits and vegetables. However, Algeria is able to produce only 25 percent of its food needs. Thirty percent of the labor force is employed by the government; 16 percent in construction and public works; 13 percent in industry; and 5 percent in transportation and communications. The country has a serious problem with unemployment, with a rate of 30 percent. This has lead a number of men to migrate to the cities in search of work. There also are a significant number of Algerians who have immigrated to France to find jobs. Many of them return home in the summer to see their families. L and Tenure and Property When the country was under French rule, the colonizers owned the best farmland, while the Algerians were forced to work the less fertile areas. In the southern plateau and desert regions in particular, many people are nomadic tent-dwellers, who lead their animals from one pasture to another and lay no claim to any land. At independence, the government set up cooperative farms and made some attempt to redistribute land under a socialist model. Under Ben Bella's March Decrees of 1963, which allowed the takeover of property abandoned by French colonists, the government itself became the owner of the best farmland, as well as factories, mines, banks, and the transportation system. However, economic inequality has remained a pressing problem and has lead to riots and violent outbreaks. Commercial Activities The center of commercial life in Algeria is the souk ,large, open-air markets where farmers and craftspeople sell their products. One can buy locally produced meat, fruits, vegetables, and grainsoats, barley, grapes, olives, citrus fruitas well as woven rugs, jewelry, baskets, metalwork, and other crafts. Souks are held regularlyin regional centers, as well as in the old districts of major cities. Traditionally things were

Mexican American War - An Overview

Mexican American War - An Overview Mexican-American War Summary: A conflict that occurred as the result of Mexican resentment over the US annexation of Texas and a border dispute, the Mexican-American War represents the only major military dispute between the two nations. The war was fought primarily in northeastern and central Mexico and resulted in a decisive American victory. As a result of the war, Mexico was forced to cede its northern and western provinces, which today comprise a significant portion of the western United States. When was the Mexican-American War?: Though Mexican-American War was occurred between 1846 and 1848, the majority of the fighting took place between April 1846 and September 1847. Causes: The causes of the Mexican-American War can be traced back to Texas winning its independence from Mexico in 1836. At the end of the Texas Revolution following the Battle of San Jacinto, Mexico refused to acknowledge the new Republic of Texas, but was prevented from taking military action due to the United States, Great Britain, and France conferring diplomatic recognition. For the next nine years, many in Texas favored joining the United States, however Washington did not take action due to fears of increasing sectional conflict and angering the Mexicans. Following the election of the pro-annexation candidate, James K. Polk in 1845, Texas was admitted to the Union. Shortly thereafter, a dispute began with Mexico over the southern border of Texas. This centered around whether the border was located along the Rio Grande or further north along the Nueces River. Both sides sent troops to the area and in an effort to lower tensions, Polk dispatched John Slidell to Mexico to begin talks regarding the United States buying territory from the Mexicans. Commencing negotiations, he offered up to $30 million in exchange for accepting the border at the Rio Grande as well as the territories of Santa Fe de Nuevo Mexico and Alta California. These attempts failed as the Mexican government was unwilling to sell.   In March 1846, Polk directed Brigadier General Zachary Taylor to advance his army into the disputed territory and establish a position along the Rio Grande. This decision was a response to new Mexican President Mariano Paredes declaring in his inaugural address that he sought to uphold Mexican territorial integrity as far north as the Sabine River, including all of Texas. Reaching the river, Taylor established Fort Texas and withdrew towards his supply base at Point Isabel. On April 25, 1846, a US cavalry patrol, led by Captain Seth Thornton, was attacked by Mexican troops. Following the â€Å"Thornton Affair,† Polk asked Congress for a declaration of war, which was issued on May 13. Causes of the Mexican-American War Taylors Campaign in Northeastern Mexico: Following the Thornton Affair, General Mariano Arista ordered Mexican forces to open fire on Fort Texas and lay siege. Responding, Taylor began moving his 2,400-man army from Point Isabel to relieve Fort Texas. On On May 8, 1846, he was intercepted at Palo Alto by 3,400 Mexicans commanded by Arista. In the battle that ensued Taylor made effective use of his light artillery and forced the Mexicans to retreat from the field. Pressing on, the Americans encountered Aristas army again the next day. In the resulting fight at Resaca de la Palma, with Taylor’s men routed the Mexicans and drove them back across the Rio Grande. Having cleared the road to Fort Texas, the Americans were able to lift the siege. As reinforcements arrived through the summer, Taylor planned for a campaign in northeastern Mexico. Advancing up the Rio Grande to Camargo, Taylor then turned south with the goal of capturing Monterrey. Battling hot, dry conditions, the American army pushed south and arrived outside of city in September. Though the garrison, led by  Lieutenant General Pedro de Ampudia, mounted a tenacious defense, Taylor captured the city after heavy fighting. When the battle ended, Taylor offered the Mexicans a two month truce in exchange for the city. This move angered Polk who began to strip Taylor’s army of men for use in invading central Mexico. Taylor’s campaign ended in February 1847, when his 4,000 men won a stunning victory over 20,000 Mexicans at the Battle of Buena Vista. Taylors Campaign in Northeastern Mexico War in the West: In mid-1846, Brigadier General Stephen Kearny was dispatched west with 1,700 men to capture Santa Fe and California. Meanwhile, US naval forces, commanded by Commodore Robert Stockton, descended on the coast of California. With the aid of American settlers and Captain John C. Frà ©mont and 60 men of the US Army who had been en route to Oregon, they swiftly captured the towns along the coast. In late 1846, they aided Kearny’s exhausted troops as they emerged from the desert and together forced the final surrender of Mexican forces in California. Fighting was ended in the region by the  Treaty of Cahuenga in January 1847. Scotts March to Mexico City: On March 9, 1847, Major General Winfield Scott landed 12,000 men outside of Veracruz. After a brief siege, he captured the city on March 29. Moving inland, he began a brilliantly conducted campaign that saw his army advance deep into enemy territory and routinely defeat larger forces. The campaign opened when Scotts army defeated a larger Mexican army at Cerro Gordo on April 18. As Scott’s army neared Mexico City, they fought successful engagements at Contreras, Churubusco, and Molino del Rey. On September 13, 1847, Scott launched an attack on Mexico City itself, assaulting Chapultepec Castle and capturing the gates of the city. Following the occupation of Mexico City, the fighting effectively ended. Scotts March on Mexico City Aftermath Casualties: The war ended on February 2, 1848, with the signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. This treaty ceded to the United States the land that now comprises the states of California, Utah, and Nevada, as well as parts of Arizona, New Mexico, Wyoming, and Colorado. Mexico also renounced all rights to Texas. During the war 1,773 Americans were killed in action and 4,152 were wounded. Mexican casualty reports are incomplete, but it estimated that approximately 25,000 were killed or wounded between 1846-1848. Aftermath of the Mexican-American War Notable Figures: General Zachary Taylor– Commander of US trops in northeastern Mexico. Later became President of the United States.General President Jose Lopez de Santa Anna – Mexican general and president during the war.General Winfield Scott – Commander of the US army that captured Mexico City.General Stephen W. Kearny – Commander of US troops that captured Santa Fe and secured California.

The Industries Where People Are Most Likely to Quit Their Jobs

The Industries Where People Are Most Likely to Quit Their Jobs People threaten to quit their jobs all the time. That doesn’t mean they do. But it is a common enough refrain- and a common enough occurrence. Turns out, however, it seems to be more common in certain fields than in others. Here are 10 fields most susceptible to losing personnel.1. HospitalityYou try waiting on grumpy people your entire workweek. Food service employees and people in the travel industry work crazy hours and are paid relatively little, which can be difficult to sustain. Plus, this industry draws young people supplementing their income and often loses employees to their forever careers.2. HealthcareHigh stakes, high stress. It’s not easy having people’s lives in your hands. Sometimes this field can be too much to take long term.3. Real EstateIt’s easy enough to get your license and start practicing. But this job is actually incredibly difficult in terms of achieving actual success. Almost half of aspiring agents quit after failing to make the ir first sale. Without the right negotiation skills and sales prowess, it can be incredibly difficult to stick out.4. Non-profitHard work, personal development†¦ no money. Unless you’re in a top management position, this can be a frustrating and unrewarding venture. Lots of non-profit sector employees tend to migrate into the private sector to make more money.5. Mining/loggingTalk about grueling, hazardous work. There’s a very high risk of fatalities in this field and the earnings are comparatively low. So when miners or loggers get a shot out, they almost always take it.6. ConstructionThis career choice is not terribly well compensated, and can be extremely dangerous.7. RetailMuch like the service industry, retail attracts younger employees who can suffer the low hourly wage and unpleasant, inflexible hours. But very few stick around if they can help it.8. Arts and entertainmentLots of people have dreams to be performers, actors, musicians, magicians, you name it . But the career is exceptionally challenging and paid opportunities are scarce. Given the difficulty in finding a stable career path, lots of artists end up finding other work.9. Trades/transportMany workers who quit this field move onto better opportunities, considering the skilled labor involved. Some, however, don’t- such as taxi drivers, truckers, freight haulers, etc. The work can be taxing and the pay relatively low.10. Transportation warehousing/utilitiesWith an even higher fatality rate than mining and logging, these workers are at a very high risk for workplace injury. And, again, the pay is often hardly worth the risk.

Human resources management Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Human resources management - Research Paper Example Mayo Clinic is one of the top 50 companies in the United States. This position represents the success of the company in terms of employment, revenue, and profitability. The current number of employees at the company is estimated to be around 61,100 (Mayo Clinic). This number comprises staff physicians, scientists, residents, fellows, students, and allied personnel in clinics and hospitals. In terms of revenues and profitability, Mayo Clinic has revenue of around $8.8 billion, an estimated profit of $395 million, and benefactor contributions of around $245 million. On its part, NuStar Energy is a leading company in the energy sector. This company ranks in the second half of top 100 companies in the United States. NuStar Energy is headquartered in San Antonio, Texas, and undertakes business operations in at least six countries (NuStar Energy). The company’s progressive growth came after it went public over a decade ago. Today, NuStar Energy has at least 1,900 employees, and its revenue standings are in excess of $6 billion. In light of the above discussion, human resources are critical to the success of any given organization (Noe et al. 91). Mayo Clinic’s human resource policies are aligned with the organization’s objective of enhancing patient care, education, and research. To do this, the company employs diverse and dynamic human resource strategies. Notably, Mayo Clinic works with physicians, scientists, fellows, students, and allied health practitioners. This allows the company to diversify its human resource approach towards long-term effectiveness, efficiency, and success. Most importantly, the company understands that remuneration and employee rewarding are significant in the health care sector. The company’s benefits include comprehensive health benefits to employees over and above part-time or full-time pay. Work hours are divided into up to three shifts of around eight hours per shift. In terms of pay,

Surveying and mapping Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 7500 words

Surveying and mapping - Essay Example Designing an effective and efficient survey network is one of the essential aspects in the implement of field surveys. In contrast, the design of a survey network is a complicated and sophisticated task because a survey network needs to meet or exceed specified criteria for precision, reliability, sensitivity, and cost. Other pivotal factors must be taken into account in a feasible design, such as geological criteria, suitability for equipment measurement, long term safety, field time and access costs (Talaya, et al., 1999). Therefore, it is vital to implement the techniques and instruments of the design of the survey network to deal with a variety of current problems. For instance, deformation monitoring network of dam (Gà ¶kalp and TaÅŸÃ §Ã„ ±, 2009), precise levelling of the network (Shahrum and Azhari, 2009), and control the network of construction, have drawn intensive attention for surveyors. The aim of survey network design is understood as creating an optimal network configuration and observation plan that satisfies the postulated network quality criteria (e.g., error ellipses and redundancy numbers) with minimum cost (Amiri-Simkooei and Sharifi, 2004). In other words, survey network design has two aspects: using the current equipment and condition to imbue the layout of the survey network with a higher accuracy, sensitivity and reliability; the cost of the survey network is the lowest when the network meets the precision, sensitivity and reliability.... Increasing amounts of researchers have considered the very pivotal role feedback loops play in the overall progress of network design technology (Mishima 2009; Anderson, and Mikhail, 2003). With the growing need for increased feedback mechanisms to ensure accuracy and reliability, software such as Geolab has emerged to attempt to account for these measures through trial-and-error procedural least square adjustment. Still, the complete potential of such a system remains to be understood. This research advances with a context consideration of this theoretical understanding. 1.2 Classification of survey network design In accordance with Grafarend’s suggestions (Grafarend, 1974), survey network design can be decomposed into four smaller problems. 1) Zero order design (ZOD) The free network that is a known configuration and observation plan will select an optimal coordinate system for the coordinate of control points and their variance. In other words, to determine the coordinates of vector X and the co-factor matrix when the design matrix and weight matrix of observation P is known, so that X is an objective function to extremes. Therefore, ZOD is an adjustment problem. 2) First order design (FOD) Design matrix A will be determined when the observation matrix P is known, so that some elements of the survey network reach a predetermined value or the highest accuracy, or the best approximation to the Coordinate of a given matrix. 3) Second order design (SOD) To determine the weight matrix of observation P when the design matrix P is known, so that some elements can achieve the desired accuracy or the highest accuracy, or coordinate the best approximation of a co-factor matrix given matrix. 4) Third order design

Masterful Management of the Atmosphere in Macbeth :: Free Macbeth Essays

Masterful Management of the Atmosphere in Macbeth      Ã‚   Shakespeare in his tragedy Macbeth shows himself to be a playwright who can manipulate the atmosphere at every turn in the road. The atmosphere of this play is a choreographic work of art which is synchronized with the action of the play.    Blanche Coles states in Shakespeare's Four Giants that he agrees with G. B. Harrison, that this play contains one of the finest examples of atmosphere ever created in drama:    Macbeth is overwhelmed with the significance of his filthy deed. His wife is concerned only with the details of what must be done next - with facts. She has no imagination. The passage between Macbeth and Lady Macbeth after the murder is one of the finest examples of atmosphere ever created in drama."(62)    Lily B. Campbell in her volume of criticism, Shakespeare's Tragic Heroes: Slaves of Passion, explains how the atmosphere of terror and fear is built up:    Macbeth is, however, not only a study of fear; it is a study in fear. The sounds and images in the play combine to give the atmosphere of terror and fear. The incantation of the witches, the bell that tolls while Duncan dies, the cries of Duncan, the cries of the women as Lady Macbeth dies, the owl, the knocking at the gate, the wild horses that ate each other, the story, the quaking of the earth - all of these are the habitual accompaniments of the willfully fearful in literature. (238-39)    Charles Lamb in On the Tragedies of Shakespeare comments on the atmosphere surrounding the play:    The state of sublime emotion into which we are elevated by those images of night and horror which Macbeth is made to utter, that solemn prelude with which he entertains the time till the bell shall strike which is to call him to murder Duncan, - when we no longer read it in a book, when we have given up that vantage-ground of abstraction which reading possesses over seing, and come to see a man in his bodily shape before our eyes actually preparing to commit a muder, if the acting be true and impressive as I have witnessed it in Mr. K's performance of that part, the painful anxiety about the act, the natural longing to prevent it while it yet seems unperpetrated, the too close pressing semblance of reality,give a pain and an uneasiness [.

Khat: Ethiopia and Somali Youth

Khat is a green-leaved plant grown predominantly in the Horn of Africa, and consumed in the diaspora by emigrants from the region – Ethiopians, Kenyans, Yemenis and most notably Somalis – who report a mild, amphetamine-like high. Khat is legal in the UK, as are mafrishes, but spirited campaigns to outlaw it on health and social grounds have been galvanised in the past year by claims that terror cells are operating wherever khat is chewed, and that al-Shabaab is focusing its recruitment efforts on disenfranchised Somali youth with khat-addled minds.CNN said that reporters have been attacked while trying to enter mafrishes; the Huffington Post said that it had been advised not even to attempt access. A reporter with Vice magazine said he tried khat, washed it down with beer, and â€Å"got all hyper and threw a chair†. My sources were less certain of the dangers. â€Å"The most radical thing I've ever seen at a mafrish is a group of old men watching porn on the tel ly,† said one anthropologist.And apprehension dissipates rapidly in Peckham, despite a finger jabbed into my chest on the street outside, accompanied by the question: â€Å"What are you? † Hastily abandoning a flimsy cover story, I admit that I am a reporter with this magazine. My interlocutor appears baffled. â€Å"But what football team are you? † he says. I tell him, he rolls his eyes, grabs me by the forearm and hauls me inside. During the next month visiting mafrishes in south London, I will be scorned often for being a Tottenham Hotspur supporter.Issues of my nationality (British), ethnicity (white) and profession (journalist) pass without comment. No one attempts to recruit me to al-Shabaab. According to most recent figures, there are close to 110,000 Somalis in the UK, around 35 per cent of whom admit to consuming khat on a regular basis. Although some women indulge in the home or with female friends, khat chewing is most commonly regarded as a male pasti me, particularly in the mafrishes, which are frequently referred to as â€Å"Somali pubs†.The analogy is obvious, even though Somalis, as Muslims, tend not to drink. In Africa, khat's stimulant properties make it the product of choice for long-distance lorry drivers, night-watchmen and students cramming for exams. But in the diaspora it has come to be regarded as a cheap luxury, known to be an aid for relaxation and conversation. Men congregate to network, discuss politics and family or work issues. They watch the news or football matches, chew the fat – and chew khat.