The Problem of Old Harjo by John M. Oskison Article

The Problem of Old Harjo by John M. Oskison - Article Example The new generation of Native writers themselves was just as critical of missionary efforts. In 1907 John M. Oskison's story â€Å"The Problem of Old Harjo† explored the dilemma of a well-intentioned Christian missionary who believes she can convert an elderly Native. The difficulty is that Old Harjo is happily married to two wives, and forcing him to renounce either one would be â€Å"cruel and useless.† Though Harjo fervently seeks church membership, the missionary is sensible enough to doubt that demanding a separation â€Å"would in the least advance morality amongst the tribe, but I'm certain that it would make three gentle people unhappy for the rest of their lives.† In this instance at least, when Indian custom and missionary certainty come into conflict, the missionary must back down.   The problem of having to choose between two wives and two sets of values is not unique to the rising class of freed slaves. Native Americans commonly had more than one wi fe; this presented a problem for Native Americans as they were converted to Christianity and expected to conform to the rules of American society. Although the government would not honor such a marriage, they were emotionally and economically binding for the spouses.   In â€Å"The Problem of Old Harjo,† John Oskison, another Native American, addresses this issue. Harjo, like Old White Bull, has two wives. While this is the tale of conflict between Christianity and native traditions, it still offers tremendous insight into the emotional bond of marriage, even when more than two people are involved. Oskison builds credibility for the institution by first portraying the missionaries as superficially religious but not concerned with Harjo’s well-being—they are representatives of a church of â€Å"scandalized missionaries† (Oskison 967). While the missionaries are sarcastic with one another and worry only about sin, ignorance, bigamy, and moral rehabilitati on, Harjo is sincere in his acceptance of Jesus (ironically, the only truly crucial part of the missionaries’ teachings) and is sincere in his love and responsibility for both of his wives.   

Financial Independence and the Single Woman Essay Example for Free

Financial Independence and the Single Woman Essay Most, if not all of Jane Austen’s renowned novels feature the trials and tribulations of single women—from Pride and Prejudice, to Sense and Sensibility, to Emma. The focus is specifically on the concept of marriage as the only viable choice for a single woman, if she wished to live substantially in her later years. However, while the subject of being wed to a suitable gentleman is present in Emma, the main character possesses a quality different from those in the other stories mentioned—Emma Woodhouse is financially stable. Therefore, this discussion of Austen’s Emma will be done through a different angle, which runs contrary to the author’s quote above. Matrimony in Emma is thoroughly explored and its nature as a solution for an unmarried woman’s future, yet it apparently does not apply to the story’s protagonist. Further arguments will expose the same logic as it is perceived today—after all, Austen wrote most of her work during the mid- to late 19th century. II. Emma Woodhouse and Matchmaking The penchant of the title character for matching her women friends with possible grooms composes the running narrative of the story. Because of a previous success, Emma decides to do the same for her friend Harriet Smith, an innocent but socially-inept young woman. Emma pours all of her efforts in setting Harriet up with the pompous Mr. Elton, and cut all possibilities of Harriet’s consideration of a marriage proposal she had received from Mr. Martin, a young farmer. Eventually, after many plot twists and turns and appearances of more characters, her plans backfire as the arrogant Elton reveals his true desire for Emma, and not for Harriet. Harriet happily ends up with Martin, and Emma admits to her own affections for her longtime friend Mr. Knightley. It is obvious that Emma’s obsession with matchmaking does not cover merely attraction; she chose Mr. Elton for Harriet mainly because of his financial stability, being the local vicar. Compared to the income of a regular farmer, a vicar would ensure a better life for Harriet. Clearly, the era’s societal norms and economic potential for women are at play, for woman were generally not entitled to many occupational choices; the most common would be as a family teacher or governess, both which are not financially rewarding. But the biggest bane of women then was the possibility of being single until they reach an age unacceptable for marriage—which would be around the mid-20s. For Emma, born into a wealthy family and allowed to make her own decisions, the best way to make sure her less fortunate women friends would have good lives ahead would be to marry a rich man. This is not explicitly implied in the story, as Emma’s designs were disguised as just a bored, rich girl’s newest hobby. However, in analyzing her own conditions as well as her initial rejection of the poor Mr. Martin for Harriet, it is obvious that she subscribes to the concept of marriage being the only solution for women other than herself.

Things Fall Apart: An Analysis :: essays research papers

Things Fall Apart: An Analysis The culture of the Umuofia society before the colonial infiltration, may be hard to understand but we are forced by Achebe to realize it has traditions and customs that make it work. Although, looking at it from our Judaeo-Christian point of view we may be appalled by some of their practices. We also have to realize that they have strengths. Things Fall apart is the idea of balance and interdependence, earth and sky, individual and community, man and woman or different perspectives on the same situation. The central image of this balance is contained in the Ibo concept of "chi," which occurs throughout the novel. A persons "chi" is their destiny, his inner self, "you wouldn't challenge your "chi" to a wrestling match," as did Okonkwo when he assisted in the killing of Ikemefuna, whom he loved and who called him father. Okonkwo sins not only against the earth goddess, protector of family relations, but also against his inner most feelings or his "chi." Any bad luck that occurs, people of this culture would say that you have a bad "chi." Okonkwo's destiny is marked by bad luck, one reason may be that he is so driven by the fear of resembling his father that he struggles to repress part of his personality with predictably afflicted results. This was a society where a man was judged by his own achievement and not that of his fathers. Yams were the primary crop of Umuofia. A sign of manliness was if you could farm yams to feed your family. Okonkwo is respected because of his hard work. The complex patterns of Umuofia's economic and social customs materialize throughout this novel as we see Okonkwo compelled to rid himself of any similarities that his father had. Unoka had no titles, was lazy and when he died was greatly in debt. Some may wonder how a society like the Ibo's functioned, how they enforce

Organization’s Cost and Profitability and Performance Indicators Essay

The emergence of the internet and other information technology has been hailed by the business world as one of the drivers of growth and profitability. It revolutionized the relationships between businesses and their customers; between and among businesses; and between customers, too. Implementing e-business, however, is not easily implemented. Apart from the monetary costs, there are also integration and transition issues that an organization needs to face. Quan (2008) argues that in spite of the heavy investment in e-business activities and platforms, there is no conclusive proof that demonstrates significant returns from e-business. When profitability is measured, leaders demonstrated success. In terms of cost measurement, however, they did not. I agree with Quan that too many executives and IT practitioners have joined the bandwagon of e-business because of success stories of some internet businesses. It is easier to join the bandwagon and duplicate what other organizations have done than to take a look at one’s own situation and peculiarities to really determine, which approach would work. If this were followed, the impact of e-business would have been more salient. In my own experience, the integration of information technology and e-business framework has mixed results. It helped the way that the business connects with its customers and clients. In terms of customer relationship management and the way that the business manages its inventory and its communication needs. The investment on e-business is significant. The business has to employ additional individuals so as to manage the elements of e-business and spend on additional equipment and gadgets that could make the system work. The returns on this investment, however, cannot be felt right away. There are several areas of business operations rendered more efficiently such as reporting, accessing information, savings on materials such as paper that are no longer used extensively. In the short run, e-business platforms and elements tend to be more on the cost side of the business. For managers, this is a rather alarming situation. Profitability is of course the ultimate goal of any business. Yet, e-business tends to be unprofitable in the short run. Quan agrees with such an observation. To maximize the impact of e-business profitability, the timeline of the implementation should be clear and there should be clear guidelines as to the implementation of the project. In our case, we managed the expectations of stakeholders by informing them of the process that the organization will go through while e-business platform is being integrated into the system. Managers and organizations, in general, should be able to manage expectations as to the situation of e-business integration. Yet, management should not be afraid to take risks because of the benefits that e-business could bring to the organization as a whole. Several months might not be enough to see the results of e-business integration. Yet, if the organization will really follow through on its investment, the results will be seen in due time. The challenge, however, is planning and mapping out these results. With deft management and effective communication within and without the organization, e-business will succeed and become integrated into the operations of the business in the long run.

Can Tourism Be Sustainable En the 21st Century

CAN TOURISM BE SUSTAINABLE IN THE TWENTY FIRST CENTURY  ? Tourism industry is one of the largest industry of the world in the 21st century, before the oil industry and the automobile industry. It is a vital sector for a lot of countries as it generates jobs and wealth. Nevertheless, Tourism can also engender environmental, social, and cultural degradations as more and more people travel all around the world. There was roughly 935 million of tourists in 2010, and there will be 1. 6 billion tourists in 2020 according to the World Tourism Organization.This enormous flow of tourists has undoubtedly a lot of impacts on the environment, on the local populations or on the economy. Furthermore, the global population is increasingly growing and the question of resources available is crucial and has become a matter of global concern when development occurs in a time of globalization. Because tourism keeps increasing, this is necessary to find ways to make tourism more sustainable. The questi on of sustainable development has become a major issue of the 21st century notably due to the climate change.While the original call for sustainable development in Bruntland Report (which goal was to unite countries to pursue sustainable development together) discussed the application of the principles, tourism was not specially discussed’ (Hall, 1998) Yet, there has been an increasing recognition of the role that tourism could play in sustainable development. As it is a driving force of the economy and a powerful instrument of development, it has a role to play to limit its negative impacts whether they are cultural, environmental or economic.That is to say, adopting the principles of sustainable development to tourism. ‘Sustainable tourism is an extension of the concept of sustainable development† (J. Swarbrooke, 1999). The sustainable development is defined in the Bruntland Report as’ a development which meets our needs today without compromising the abi lity of people in the future to meet their needs’. Therefore, sustainable tourism also deals with long-term viability. The goal of sustainable tourism is to conserve natural heritage and biodiversity, so the future generations will enjoy the environmental resources.It also has to respect the cultural heritage and traditional values of host communities and enable them to benefit from the advantages created by tourism, to make an equal distribution of benefits from tourism possible. The challenges are to reconcile tourism and respect of the environmental, economic and social dimensions to minimize the socioeconomic negative externalities of tourism. So can tourism be sustainable in the twenty-first century? I Successful initiativesSustainable tourism is a complex notion which is part of a global system and cannot be tackled in isolation specifically, economically or temporally (Munt2003), it requires the implementation of different measures and initiatives. We can achieve susta inable tourism if different actors are aware of the situation and ready to take measures in order to improve things. Several summits and codes of conduct carried out show the growing interest in sustainable tourism and efforts made to achieve it. Rio Summit in 1992 ,The Global Code of Ethics for tourism or AGENDA 21 for the Travel & Tourism Industry Towards Environmentally Sustainable Development†¦) They give recommendations on the application of sustainable development to tourism. The support and cooperation of the private and public sector are required to make sustainable tourism possible. All relevant stakeholders have to work in partnership to develop a common sustainable tourism strategy (Hall, 1998). All actors involved in the process have to participate for each level: local, regional, national.As tourism is part of a global system, sustainability has to be achieved in all sectors because they are interdependent. (Hall, 1998) â€Å"Since the 198Os, there has been a grow ing interest in the ethical standards of businesses. Public and political pressure has been growing for companies to behave more ethically in relation to a range of issues† (J. Swarbrooke, 1999) For instance, the ‘Club Med’, a French corporation of vacation set a charter of sustainable tourism to guarantee environmentally friendly practices and to take part to the local economic development in an ethical manner.To address the negative impacts of tourism, new alternatives to mass tourism are developed such as green tourism or ecotourism which is a responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the environment and improves the well-being of local people† (International Ecotourism Society, 1990) Besides some successful measures are taken to limit touristic flow. For instance to see orang utans in parks in Tanzania, visitors have to pay a high price: 235 pounds which enable to control the stream of travellers. Moreover, money generated by tourism will help t o preserve parks as it is invested in the parks for the preservation of the orangs utans .II Yet even some successful initiatives exist, some progress remain to be made First, more and more operators are using those terms ‘sustainable tourism’ as a new trend. It is a way to differentiate themselves from competitors with only commercial motivations. (Munt, 1998) Sustainable tourism has to adapt to each environment’ as each locality is totally different in terms of geography, ecosystem, social structure and economy, it is unlikely that the carrying capacity will be the same in any two places, so its application in any place is very different to forecast’. J. Swarbrooke, 1999) Besides, when an action is implemented it is not easy to judge if it is really sustainable. An action can be judged sustainable or not after a long period of time when it is proved that the development of the activity ‘has not prejudiced the needs of what were future generations w hen the development began ‘(Hall, 1998) The majority of commentators agree on the fact that intervention is needed to achieve sustainable tourism .Nevertheless, public sector regulation is not easy in a time when there is a lot if privatization We generally oppose mass tourism to some alternative forms of tourism. For example, ecotourism is not necessarily more sustainable if ecotourism â€Å"grows to a mass scale† it will show all the characteristics of mass tourism. (J. Swarbrooke, 1999) â€Å" We have seen that a partnership is required to achieve sustainable tourism but the tourism industry and local communities can have conflicting requirements.And the host communities are usually not enough strong to make their voice heard compared to the power of the tourism industry. The Maldives is representative of both positive and negative impacts engendered by tourism. Tourism accounts for 30 % of the Maldives GDP. Every tourist products an average of 7. 7 pounds of waste each day. With the development of the tourism, the government has decided to sacrifice one of the island and to make it the bin of the archipelago. The island grows of a square meter per day.For tourists, the rubbish remains invisible. Pollution is becoming worst and everyday the seabed is altered. Ships unload 3OO tons of rubbish everyday, which are dumped on the floor with no waste sorting. There are some toxic waste material which pollute the sea but also endanger the life of dustmen. Sustainable tourism is a complex task because key concepts are interrelated, it is about stakeholders whose interests have to be balanced. To lead to great social, economic and environmental benefits, sustainable tourism is required.A tourism bad managed can have negative consequences and have a prejudicial effect or even destructive on the social and environmental dimensions. And the complete set of impacts has to be measured at a global scale or we cannot hope to achieve complete sustainability at anything less than this scale† (Hall, 1998) Furthermore, to be truly sustainable, tourism has to pay more attention to the social dimension because we usually focus more on the environmental dimension. Touristic activities have to contribute towards the economic development and improves the quality of life of local populations.Tourism creates some negative impacts, but the role of the sustainable tourism is to try to limit them. So that the consequences tourism has on biodiversity, natural resources or the amount of waste keep acceptable. Maybe â€Å"truly sustainable tourism can probably never be achieved but it remains an ideal that we must thrive to attain† (Hall, 1998) BIBLIOGRAPHY Books C. Michael Hall & Allan A. Lew, 1998, Sustainable Tourism a Geographical Perspective, Pearson, Essex M. Mowforth & I.Munt, 2003, Tourism and Sustainability, Routledge, London W. Peter ,H. Rob, G. Tonny, , 2002, Sustainable Tourism a Global Perspective, Elvesier Butterworth-Heineman n, Italy J. Swarbrooke, 2005, Sustainable Tourism Management, Cabi Publishing, Cambridge Web site † http://www. unep. fr/scp/tourism/sustain/ http://www. alpesolidaires. org/tourisme-solidaire-la-rencontre-avant-tout http://www. globalsustainabletourism. com/Events/48-2012-World-Tourism-Day-WTD-Tourism-and-Sustainable-Energy-Powering-Sustainable-Development. html

A Comma (or Its Absence) Can Change a Sentences Message

A Comma (or Its Absence) Can Change a Sentences Message A Comma (or Its Absence) Can Change a Sentence’s Message A Comma (or Its Absence) Can Change a Sentence’s Message By Mark Nichol Writers are divided in opinion about punctuating introductory words or phrases- and often, they are at war with themselves with the topic. Even adherents of open punctuation will generally insert a comma after an adverb, whether it is transitional, like however, or descriptive, like suddenly, and will follow even a brief modifying phrase such as â€Å"according to the study† or â€Å"contrary to popular belief† with pausing punctuation. But somewhere in between- in the case of a short opening phrase like â€Å"last year† or â€Å"in retrospect†- many people believe a comma setting the phrase off from the sentence’s main clause is unnecessary. For consistency, I advocate generally using a comma regardless of the phrase’s length, but even though I am a close-punctuation adherent, I realize there are exceptions. Consider the use of please, for example. Read this sentence: â€Å"Please sit down.† Now, read this one. â€Å"Please, sit down.† Did you read them differently? I hope so. The intent behind each statement is distinct: â€Å"Please sit down† is an imperative barely tempered by a courtesy term; the person to whom the statement is delivered is expected to comply. By contrast, â€Å"Please, sit down† is an entreaty; the speaker sincerely hopes that the other person will accept the invitation. There’s a difference, too, between â€Å"Of course you would say whatever you thought I wanted to hear† and â€Å"Of course, you would say whatever you thought I wanted to hear.† The first sentence is delivered with some heat; the speaker’s tone is wounded and derisive. The second statement, by contrast, is more measured and reflective. These examples are more subtle than when one decides whether one should punctuate, for example, â€Å"In time you will understand why I acted as I did†: You either agree with me that if one is to punctuate a more extensive introductory phrase (â€Å"When you have time to reflect, you will understand why I acted as I did†)- and most writers will choose to do so- it’s only logical to treat a more concise opening phrase the same way (otherwise, where does one draw the line?), or you don’t agree. But sometimes, what a sentence communicates changes with the mere insertion or omission of a comma, and the writer should be sensitive to such nuances to help the reader read between the lines. Todays video: Calls to Action Pluralizing Compound Nouns Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Punctuation category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:4 Types of Gerunds and Gerund PhrasesYay, Hooray, Woo-hoo and Other AcclamationsEnglish Grammar 101: Sentences, Clauses and Phrases

American Civil War - Battle of Oak Grove

American Civil War - Battle of Oak Grove Battle of Oak Grove - Conflict Date: The Battle of Oak Grove was fought June 25, 1862, during the American Civil War (1861-1865). Armies Commanders: Union Major General George B. McClellan3 brigades Confederate General Robert E. Lee1 division Battle of Oak Grove - Background: After constructing the Army of the Potomac in the summer and fall of 1861, Major General George B. McClellan commenced planning his offensive against Richmond for the following spring.   To take the Confederate capital, he intended to sail his men down the Chesapeake Bay to the Union base at Fortress Monroe.   Concentrating there, the army would advance up the Peninsula between the York and James Rivers to Richmond.   This shift south would permit him to bypass Confederate forces in northern Virginia and would allow US Navy warships move up both rivers to protect his flanks and help supply the army.   This part of the operation was shelved in early March 1862 when the Confederate ironclad CSS Virginia struck Union naval forces at the Battle of Hampton Roads. Though the danger posed by Virginia was offset by the arrival of the ironclad USS Monitor, efforts to blockade the Confederate warship drew off Union naval strength.   Slowing marching up the Peninsula in April, McClellan was fooled by Confederate forces into laying siege to Yorktown for much of the month.   Finally continuing the advance in early May, Union forces clashed with the Confederates at Williamsburg before driving on Richmond.   As the army neared the city, McClellan was struck by General Joseph E. Johnston at Seven Pines on May 31. Though the fighting was inconclusive, it resulted in Johnston being severely wounded and command of the Confederate army ultimately passed to General Robert E. Lee. For the next few weeks, McClellan remained inactive in front of Richmond allowing Lee to improve the citys defenses and plan a counterattack. Battle of Oak Grove - Plans: Assessing the situation, Lee realized that McClellan was forced to divide his army north and south of Chickahominy River in order to protect his supply lines back to White House, VA on the Pamunkey River.   As a result, he devised an offensive that sought to defeat one wing of the Union army before the other could move to provide aid.   Shifting troops into place, Lee intended to attack on June 26.   Alerted that Major General Thomas Stonewall Jacksons command would soon reinforce Lee and that enemy offensive action was likely, McClellan sought to retain the initiative by striking west towards Old Tavern.   Taking the heights in the area would permit his siege guns to strike at Richmond.   To accomplish this mission, McClellan planned to attack along the Richmond York Railroad in the north and at Oak Grove in the south. Battle of Oak Grove - III Corps Advances: The execution of the assault at Oak Grove fell to the divisions of Brigadier Generals Joseph Hooker and Philip Kearny from Brigadier General Samuel P. Heintzelmans III Corps.   From these commands, the brigades of Brigadier Generals Daniel Sickles,  Cuvier Grover, and John C. Robinson were to leave their earthworks, pass through a small but dense wooded area, and then strike the Confederate lines held by the division of Brigadier General Benjamin Huger.   Direct command of the forces involved fell to Heintzelman as McClellan preferred to coordinate the action by telegraph from his headquarters in the rear.   At 8:30 AM, the three Union brigades commenced their advance.   While Grover and Robinsons brigades encountered few problems, Sickles men had trouble clearing the abatis in front of their lines and then were slowed by the difficult terrain at the headwaters of White Oak Swamp (Map). Battle of Oak Grove - A Stalemate Ensues:               Sickles issues led to the brigade falling out of alignment with those to the south.   Recognizing an opportunity, Huger directed Brigadier General Ambrose Wright to advance with his brigade and mount a counterattack against Grover.   Approaching the enemy, one of his Georgia regiments caused confusion among Grovers men as they wore red Zouave uniforms which were thought to only be used by some Union troops.   As Wrights men halted Grover, Sickles brigade was repulsed by Brigadier General Robert Ransoms men to the north.   With his attack stalling, Heintzelman requested reinforcements from McClellan and informed the army commander of the situation.    Unaware of the specifics of the fighting, McClellan ordered those engaged to withdraw back to their lines at 10:30 AM and departed his headquarters to inspect the battlefield personally.   Arriving around 1:00 PM, he found the situation better than anticipated and ordered Heintzelman to renew the attack.   Union troops moved forward and regained some ground but became entangled in an inconclusive fire fight that lasted until nightfall.   In the course of the battle, McClellans men only managed to advance about 600 yards. Battle of Oak Grove - Aftermath: McClellans final offensive effort against Richmond, the fighting at the Battle of Oak Grove saw Union forces suffer 68 killed, 503 wounded, and 55 missing while Huger incurred  66 killed, 362 wounded, and 13 missing.   Undeterred by the Union thrust, Lee moved forward with his planned offensive the next day.   Attacking at Beaver Dam Creek, his men were ultimately turned back.   A day later, they succeeded in dislodging Union troops at Gaines Mill.   Beginning with Oak Grove, a week of constant fighting, dubbed the Seven Days Battles, saw McClellan driven back to the James River at Malvern Hill and his campaign against Richmond defeated.       Selected Sources Civil War Trust: Seven Days BattlesCWSAC Battle Summaries: Oak GroveHistory of War: Battle of Oak Grove