Innovation Definition Essay Example for Free

Innovation Definition Essay Innovation is about bringing ideas into life. Innovation is linked to performance and growth through improvements in efficiency, productivity, quality, competitive positioning and market share. Innovation takes place at different levels from modest improvements on an existing product or process to dramatic and even historically significant breakthroughs in how we relate to the world. In all cases, the capacity to innovate will be a function of our commitments, what we want to accomplish and our relationship with the circumstances we perceive we are in. If we are resisting or coping, we see no innovation and whatever change we generate will be as a reaction to the circumstances and part of the process by which those circumstances persist. When we are responding or choosing we are in a position to innovate and will do so naturally and consistently as a function of what we observe to be possible or what we observe is missing in our perspective of the world.Change based on this view is likely to be an improvement on what already exists. INNOVATION AND PERFORMANCE A successful organisation that turns its focus to innovation is looking for achievements. Innovation shows up in the quality and quantity of ideas and the efficiency and effectiveness of implementation of those ideas. These two parameters are independent, however, when combined they form the definition of innovation performance. IMPORTANCE Innovation is not only about technology, but is also about understanding and exploring untapped user needs that require to be addressed in an efficient manner. It must occur at every stage of a product or solution development and release cycle. Thus, managing innovation is fast becoming priority in a global business environment. Firms which innovate tends to survive and grow to a greater extent. The most successful individuals, managers and team leaders in latest business world are the ones who are not only innovative in their own work, but who encourage and assist others to be innovative in every aspect of their work. Some of the key innovation areas are: product development and improvement; manufacturing processes; creating entirely new set of products; etc. In area of supply chain management, innovations help in making the supply chain more responsive, flexible and efficient. Supply chain innovation can be used to reduce costs, offer better assortment of customer centric products, decreasing time to market and driving growth. INNOVATION SYSTEM The concept of the innovation system stresses that the flow of technology and information among people, enterprises and institutions is key to an innovative process. It contains the interaction between the actors who are needed in order to turn an idea into a process, product or service on the market. Systems of Innovation are frameworks for understanding innovation which have become popular particularly among policy makers and innovation researchers first in Europe, but now anywhere in the world as in the 90s the World Bank and other UN affiliated institutions accepted. BENEFITS OF INNOVATION Technology has a vital role to play in any modern workplace and can make a huge difference to the way your business operates, and how well your staff carry out their tasks. These days, an online presence is also expected by customers and therefore is an essential component for businesses. In order to understand whether a new technology could help your business, you should review the technology you are presently using and assess how well existing systems work with your current and future business requirements. INNOVATION TYPES A number of frameworks have been used to look at types of innovation. Generally these approaches for categorizing innovation consider the sources of innovation from past successes or attempt to identify where to look for new innovation in the future. The variety of innovation types demonstrates that the benefits of innovation are not limited to new product development. Categorization also helps in the measurement of innovation, allowing for performance comparison and evidence based choices that can guide where improvements or advances might generate the most return for a given investment. This is sometimes referred to as the Return On Innovation. The ‘4Ps’ model developed by John Bessant and Joe Tidd provide a powerful tool for such analysis. It builds on the hypothesis that successful innovation is essentially about positive change, and puts forward four broad categories where such change can take place. Product innovation’ – changes in the things (products/services) which an organisation offers. Process innovation’ – changes in the ways in which products and services are created or delivered Position innovation’ – changes in the context in which the products/services are framed and communicated Paradigm innovation’ – changes in the underlying mental models which shape what the organisation does.

Fluids And Hydration :: essays research papers

How important are fluids? Fluid replacement is probably the most important nutritional concern for athletes. Approximately 60% of your body weight is water. As you exercise, fluid is lost through your skin as sweat and through your lungs when you breathe. If this fluid is not replaced at regular intervals during exercise, you can become dehydrated. When you are dehydrated, you have a smaller volume of blood circulating through your body. Consequently, the amount of blood your heart pumps with each beat decreases and your exercising muscles do not receive enough oxygen from your blood. Soon exhaustion sets in and your athletic performance suffers. If you have lost as little as 2% of your body weight due to dehydration, it can adversely affect your athletic performance. For example, if you are a 150-pound athlete and you lose 3 pounds during a workout, your performance will start to suffer unless you replace the fluid you have lost. Proper fluid replacement is the key to preventing dehydration and reducing the risk of heat injury during training and competition. How can I prevent dehydration? The best way to prevent dehydration is to maintain body fluid levels by drinking plenty of fluids before, during, and after a workout or race. Often athletes are not aware that they are losing body fluid or that their performance is being impacted by dehydration. If you are not sure how much fluid to drink, you can monitor your hydration using one of these methods. 1.Weight: Weigh yourself before practice and again after practice. For every pound you lose during the workout you will need to drink 2 cups of fluid to rehydrate your body. 2.Urine color: Check the color of your urine. If it is a dark gold color like apple juice, you are dehydrated. If you are well hydrated, the color of your urine will look like pale lemonade. Thirst is not an accurate indicator of how much fluid you have lost. If you wait until you are thirsty to replenish body fluids, then you are already dehydrated. Most people do not become thirsty until they have lost more than 2% of their body weight. And if you only drink enough to quench your thirst, you may still be dehydrated. Keep a water bottle available when working out and drink as often as you want, ideally every 15 to 30 minutes. High school and junior high school athletes can bring a water bottle to school and drink between classes and during breaks so they show up at workouts hydrated. What about sport drinks? Researchers have found that sports drinks containing between 6%

Peace Versus War Essay

A war cannot achieve what peace can. The forces of peace can rule over ignorance and superstition, over illiteracy and immorality, over disease and physical suffering, over poverty and governmental oppression. The conquests of peace are non ­violent and bloodless. They cause no grief to humanity and do not damage life or property. War causes streams of blood and untold havoc. Only the victories of peace leave no maimed limbs or mutilated bodies, no ruined cities or scorched fields. Even a superficial glance at the course of the two world wars will tell us that their victories were gained at an incalculable cost. The triumph of the First World War proved to be of a short duration. The victory itself sowed, in fact, the seeds of the Second World War. Who knows that the victory of World War- II may also prove to be of an equally short duration and a third global war may even now be in the offing. The victories of Peace, however, are everlasting. They do not rankle in the mind of any nation and their fruits are enjoyed by all people. The victorious in war exploits the conquered people. The example is the occupation of Germany and Japan by the forces of the allied countries. If the axis powers had won the war, they would have exploited the Allies in the same, if not in a worse way. Thus, victory in war is gained at a heavy cost of life, and also implies the annexation and enslavement of many territories and the exploitation of many more. The victories of peace, on the contrary, involve no butchery of human beings and are, besides, of value to the entire world. Only peace social reforms. During war men are too busy in militaristic activities to think of social improvement. It is only during peace that a literacy campaign can be started, that the standard of living of the masses can be raised, that better houses can be built for the poor, that more schools and colleges can be opened, that prisons can be reformed, that crime can be effectively checked. Even the proper working of democracy itself is possible only in times of peace. There can be no elections, no government of the people when a country is in the throes of war. Peace promotes democracy. In short, it is during peace that a general improvement is possible in cleanliness and decency, in refinement and taste, in habits and morals, in manners and speech. In peace, too, lies the opportunity for sports, for horse-racing, skiing, tennis, cricket, football and hockey tournaments and athletic contests of all kinds. It is often said in favour of war that it brings out the best in man by creating opportunities for human beings to display their great powers of endurance, their courage, their capacity for self- sacrifice, their patriotism. This is true enough. In times of peace, people do tend to become lethargic and indolent. Too much ease begets idleness and an indifference to work. But to applaud war because it stimulates men into activity would really be preposterous. So grim are the horrors of war and so devastating its effects that no defence of it on any ground whatsoever is possible.

Driving Force of Regionalism Essay

To what extent and in what ways have the driving forces of regionalism in South-east Asia changed since the end of the Cold War? Regionalism has become a trend in many regions of the world. Among them, Europe, North America and Asia (Asia Pacific region) are crucial ones. Some observers argue that the world order have been divided between these three regions with the existence of the European Union (EU), the North American Free trade Agreement (NFTA) and The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). This divergent part of the world requires comprehensive realization to make sense of how they have developed throughout history. In particular, writing the history of Southeast Asia remains a challenge as it involves the understanding of ‘societies that often took quite different view of the past †¦(and) a region where the implications of that historical tradition may have a political significance’[1]. Clapham notes that it is even more challenging to analyse foreign policy making in Southeast Asia region[2]. The early 1970’s was a significant period for the states in this region as i t was during this time that five countries decided to join together and define their position in the Cold War between two superpowers and claimed their neutrality. The fact that ASEAN has come up with such a policy is interesting to look at as it gives not only an insight of the driving forces of regionalism in Southeast Asia but also how these developing states saw themselves and formulate their foreign policy in the post-Cold War period. This paper aims to analyse ASEAN’s behaviour in order to access to what extent regionalism has changed since the end of Cold War in Southeast Asia. In that, regionalism would be conceived as ‘a state-led or states-led project designed to reorganize a particular regional space along defined economic and political lines’[3]. The discussion is divided into four parts. The first part discusses the useful theoretical insights of security community to explain why ASEAN states cooperate in the midst of new security challenge in the region. The second part identifies the diplomacy of ASEAN during the post-Cold War period. Given the confine of this paper, the discussion specifically examines the event of the Spratly Islands and the creation of ARF. In the concluding section, achievements and prospects for ASEAN will be addressed. The central argument that this paper advance is that regionalism in Southeast Asia has changed and the changes have been  driven and constrained by the security condition during the post-Cold War era where a regional power vacuum is found. ASEAN emerged from the Cold War as a regional organization in 1967. With the accession of Cambodia, it seemed to be fulfilling the aspirations of its founding fathers to expand membership to include all ten Southeast Asian countries. However, with the end of Cold War and the settlement of Cambodian conflict, ASEAN is facing a new challenge related to issues of security and stability in the post-Cold War regional environment[4]. According to the Bangkok Declaration of 1967, the goal of ASEAN is to ‘accelerate the economic growth, social progress and cultural development in the region; to safeguard the political and economic stability of the region against big power rivalry; and to serve as a forum for the resolution of intra-regional differences’[5]. The formation of ASEAN should be seen as a means of maintaining peace and stability by providing a forum for the discussion and resolution of regional issues relating to security. There are indeed a number of incidents to show that security issue is the major concern of ASEAN such as the call for a Zone of Peace, Freedom and Neutrality (ZOPFAN), the 1976 Treaty of Amity and Cooperation and ASEAN’s role in the Cambodian conflict in the 1980s. However, with the end of Cold War, ASEAN faced a new challenge to its goal when the security environment of South-east Asia was transformed by the change from the old bipolar Cold War security system to the new emerging multipolar system. The new power pattern in the region forced the ASEAN states to cooperate as they realized the security could be in danger if they do not collaborate to improve the situation. This kind of behaviour of the ASEAN states can be best explained by Deutsch’s discussion of security communities. This was especially evident in the study of regional integration and some scholars argued that the concept of security community provides the most useful framework to analyze ASEAN regionali sm. According to Deutsch, a security community is a group that has become integrated and accompanied by formal or informal institutions or practices in order to assure peaceful change among members of a group over a long period of time[6]. Essentially, members within the community retain their independence and sovereignty. The two attributes of such a community are marked by the absence of war and organized violence. To be more specific, as  Yalem notes, a regional security community is a group of states which have ‘renounced the use of force as a means of resolving intra-regional conflicts’[7]. Deutsch further adds that there should be no contingency planning or war-oriented resource mobilization against other members within a security community. This could be acted as an indicator of whether states have developed ‘dependable expectations of peaceful change’[8]. Furthermore, whether a security community has been achieved can actually ‘be tested operationally in terms of the absence or presence of significant organized preparations for was or larger-scale violence among its members’[9]. When applying the concept of security communities into the study of regionalism, it is import ant to make a distinction between security community and a security regime. Buzan defines security regime as ‘a group of states cooperate to manage their disputes and avoid war by seeking to mute the security dilemma both by their own actions and by their assumptions about the behaviour of others’[10]. Although this seems similar to the concept of security community, there is a major difference in that a security regime refers to a situation where the interests of the actors are both not wholly compatible and competitive. Thus, the resulting relationship is rather hostile and the use of force is hindered only by a balance of power[11]. In comparison, a security community is based ‘on a fundamental, unambiguous and long-term convergence of interests among the actors regarding the avoidance of war’[12]. In this context, ASEAN regionalism is more likely to be conceptualized as the process of building the security community rather than the latter. Although a security community seems to be constructed on the ground of interests and identities rather than the idea of common threat, recent literature sketched by Adler and Barnett stress that a security community can actually be triggered by common threat such as ‘cataclysmic events’[13]. As Adler puts it, the concept of a community is ‘the idea that actors can share values, norms, and symbols that provide a social identity, and engage in various interactions in myriad spheres that reflect long-term interests, diffuse reciprocity and trust, strikes fear’[14]. Furthermore, Hurrell attempts to suggest a series of approaches to study contemporary regionalism. He notes that cooperative arrangements in regional cooperation could serve a number of purposes ‘on the one hand, they can serve as a means of responding to external challenges and of coordinating regional positions  in international institutions or negotiating forums. On the other, they can be developed to secure welfare gains, to promote common values or to solve common problems arising from increased levels of regional interdependence. In the security field, for example, such cooperation can range from the stabilization of a regional balance of power, to the institutionalization of confidence -building measures, to the negotiation of a region-wide security regime.’[15] The concept of security community can be applied to explain the creation and the behaviour of ASEAN. During the time of the Cold War, great power rivalries between the Soviet Union and the US in the region has turned Southeast Asia into a battleground with the regional states being used by the opponents with the attempt to create blocs which support their positions or ideologies in the war. Simultaneously, many states in the region have been oppressed by external powers for centuries and not being treated as a respectable actor in the international agenda. Facing with the same hardship, therefore, they came together and create a region free from external interference. However, with the end of Cold War, the security order in this region is characterized by new factors of conflict and instability and ‘regional policy-makers have expressed misgivings about the strategic uncertainties and conflict-creation potential of a post-Cold War order at the regional level’[16]. Among the regional powers, China, Japan and India are generally being seen as the three leading contenders for influence[17]. For some, the involvement of US in the region as the balance of power is still desirable and the possibility of its withdrawal remains a major worry of the region’s stability[18]. In fact, there are a number of unsolved tensions in the region and most of them revolve around China’s strategic ambitions such as its claims for the Spartly Islands. In responding to the new challenge, the ASEAN states have to reconsider and adjust some of the assumptions and principles underlying ASEAN regionalism in order to contribute to regional security and order embedded in the 1992 Singapore Declaration. In order to examine in what ways the driving forces of regionalism in South-east Asia have changed since the end of the Cold War, it is essential to look at some case studies of ASEAN’s post-Cold War diplomacy: China’s claims for the Spratly Islands and ASEAN’s response Situated in the South China Sea, the Spratly Islands consists of islets and reefs with suspected deposits of oil and gas[19]. The disputes involve China, Taiwan, Vietnam, Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei. Many worried that the dispute will turn into a potential source of armed conflict involving ASEAN members particularly because ‘the likelihood of any agreement on the joint development of the islands involving all the claimants, as proposed by some regional policy-makers and analysts, has limited plausibility’[20]. In view of this, other ASEAN members initiated efforts to address the security issue which was seen as a destabilizing force in the region in the post-Cold War period. Finally in 1989, it was Indonesia alone launched the South China Sea Workshop (SCSW)[21] to promote peaceful settlement of the dispute by emphasizing the lessons of Cambodian conflict and the lessons from ASEAN regional c ooperation. Although the workshop has been extended to include China, Vietnam and Laos in 1991, there were no collective ASEAN position or action on the dispute. The irony lies on the fact that ‘the Spratly seminars are a unilateral Indonesian initiative, resulting from diplomacy not by ASEAN or even a group within ASEAN but by one member country’[22]. The regional community sense was missing in this incident particularly because Malaysia and the Philippines feared that multilateral forum could lessen their negotiating ability thus making bilateral settlements impossible. As a result, they were not willing to support ASEAN to settle the dispute involving other member states[23]. This indicates their determination to uphold national autonomy and also their perspective to view ASEAN only as a confidence-building forum rather than a regional community[24]. Consequently in 1992, China passed a Law on the Territorial Sea and the Contiguous Zone of the People’s Republic of China. The aim of this legislation is for China to formalize far-reaching claims in the South China Sea. The assertiveness of China caused doubt over the effectiveness of the previous launched workshops and made ASEAN members realized that China insisted on unilateral means to solve the problem. ASEAN responded to China’s claims with the ‘ASEAN Declaration on the South China Sea’ issued in the same year. The Declaration emphasized the need to ‘resolve all sovereignty and jurisdictional issues pertaining to the South China Sea by peaceful means  without resort to force’ and it urged all parties ‘to exercise constraint’[25]. It has been pointed out that ASEAN has claimed some success by placing the dispute on the agenda of the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) with the support of intense lobbying[26]. At the same time, ASEAN has been criticized for failing to negotiate codes of conduct in that China continued to carry on its bilateral agreement with Vietnam in 1993 and Philippines in 1995[27]. However, in a bigger picture, it made clear that all AS EAN members has developed a respect for the codes of conduct enshrined in the 1976 Treaty of Amity and Cooperation on issues relating to peaceful settlement of conflicts and the non-use of force. Evolution of the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) The ASEAN Summit of 1992 declared that ‘ASEAN shall seek avenues to engage Member States in new areas of cooperation in security matters’, therefore, the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) was established in 1993 which ‘serves as a multilateral consultative forum aimed at promoting preventive diplomacy and confidence building among the states in the Asia-Pacific region’[28]. Through the ARF, ASEAN hoped to create regional order based on its own norms as well as the new norm of inclusiveness which is essential to cooperative security[29]. In this content, the ARF provided a test of ASEAN’s norms as the membership of ARF included all the major powers of the international system whereby the regional order in this region would also base on the inclusive approach meaning that the major powers would engage in the management of regional order. In 1995, the Philippines discovered the incident of Mischief Reef by China while ASEAN responded by issuing a joint statement criticizing China[30]. It seems this stand of ASEAN fulfils the idea of community, however, it is only a partial fulfillment due to the fact that the ASEAN members have different interpretations of the conflict. ASEAN consensus is always revolved around the norms of peaceful settlement of conflict which is being seen as the guarantee for stability. However, they did not identify with the position of the Philippines, for instance, Thailand considered the dispute as bilateral and not a dispute between ASEAN and China. Again, the event actually put a test on the ASEAN member’s ability to come up with a collective position. As Malik comments on the future of the Southeast Asia regionalism, he points out that to maintain  peace in the region, it is ‘not only founded on the stability of a balance but is sourced in a sense of shared aspirations and common destiny’[31]. In view of this, the lack of consensus among ASEAN member states indicated their unwillingness to demand standards of behaviour from China which only reinforced the ASEAN’s partial fulfillment as a community. In general, the post-Cold War period has posed unleashing of conflicts in the Asia Pacific region which were effectively suppressed during the colonial era and the subsequent period of superpower rivalry[32]. With the end of bipolarity, there is a greater potential of conflict. This paper has examined ASEAN’s behaviour in security affairs during the post-Cold War ear with the objective of assessing the validity of the idea of community. Many scholars have widely acknowledged ASEAN’s potential to become a regional security community from both within and outside the region. Snitwongse notes that although ASEAN may not be able to fully achieve self-reliance, its most striking achievement has been community building[33]. Simon claims that ASEAN is perhaps a security community in which no member would consider the use of force against each other to settle disputes[34]. In the aftermath of the end of Cold War, the absence of war among the ASEAN members is indeed being recognized by many as a great achievement. Based on the discussion of this paper, it has proved that ASEAN has developed some of the attributes of what Adler and Barnett call it as a ‘nascent security community’ where a number of triggering mechanisms including threat perceptions, shared identity and organizational emulation are present. After three decades of progress in promoting peaceful intra-regional order, ASEAN faced its greatest challenge since the end of Cold War as the current regional security environment remains in a state of uncertainty. Nonetheless, the prospect of a regional power vacuum implies the possibility of ASEAN’s further progress while the question remains whether ASEAN itself can fill the security gap by mobilizing its collective diplomatic and political resources. Bibliography Acharya, A., A New Regional Order In South-East Asia: ASEAN in the Post-Cold War Era, International Institute for Strategic Studies, Adelphi Paper 279, London, 1993 Acharya, A., Constructing a Security Community in Southeast Asia: ASEAN and the problem of regional order, London, 2001 Adler, E & Barnett, M., ‘A framework for the study of security communities’, in Adler, E. & Barnett, M (eds.) Security Communities, Cambridge, 1998 ASEAN Secretariat, ASEAN: An Overview, Jakarta, 1995 Buszynski, L., ‘Declining Superpowers: The Impact on ASEAN’, Pacific Review, 3/3, 1990 Buzan, B., People, States and Fear: An Agenda for International Security Studies in the Post-Cold War Era, New York, 1991 Catley, B. & Keliat, M., Spratlys: The Dispute in the South China Sea, Aldershot, 1997 Deutsch, K.W., ‘Security Communities’, in Rosenau, J (ed.) International Politics and Foreign Policy, New York, 1961 Dewitt, D.B., ‘Common, Comprehensive and Cooperative Security’, Pacific Review, 7/1, 1994 Haacke, J., ‘Seeking Influence: China’s Diplomacy Toward ASEAN After the Asian Crisis’, Asian Perspective, 26/4, 2002 Hill, C., ‘Theories of Foreign Policy Making for the Developing Countries’, in Clapham, C. (ed.) Foreign Policy Making in Developing States: A Comparative Approach, Farnborough, 1977 Hurell, A., ‘Explaining the Resurgence of Regionalism in World Politics’, Review of International Studies, 21/4, 1995 Leifer, M., The ASEAN Regional Forum, Adelphi Paper 302, London, 1996 Payne, A. & Gamble A., Regionalism and World Order, London, 1996 Simon, S., ‘The Regionalization of Defence in Southeast Asia’, Pacific Review, 5/2, 1992 Snitwongse, K., ‘Meeting the Challenges of Changing Southeast Asia’, in Scalapino, R., Sato, S. & Han, S.J. (eds.) Regional Dynamics: Security, Political and Economic Issues in the Asia Pacific Region, Jakarta, 1990 Tarling, N., Southeast Asia: A Modern History, Oxford, 2001 Tow, W.T., Asia-Pacific Strategic Relations: Seeking Convergent Security, New York, 2001 Whiting, A.S., ‘ASEAN Eyes China: The Security Dimension’, Asian Survey, 37/4, 1997 Yalem, R.J., ‘Regional Security Communities’, in Keeton, G.W. & Scharzenberger, G. (eds.) The Yearbook of International Affairs, London, 1979

New Amer. Importance of Washington, Hamilton, and Jefferson. essays

New Amer. Importance of Washington, Hamilton, and Jefferson. essays After the American Revolutionary War had been one, the colonies were left alone and rather unorganized. By 1789, a constitutional government begins to take shape but the nation was still very new, and still unorganized. During the formation of this new nation, three figures played a key role to the formation of this new nation. The wise leadership of Washington was essential to the nation at this time because without a strong head, the rest of the nation wouldve surely fallen apart. With Washington at the head, he had to set about basically making the entire nation because at the time, there was nothing but a state of disarray. The organization of the government was no small task and congress quickly created departments of State and of the Treasury. Washington appointed Jefferson as Secretary of State and Hamilton as Secretary of the Treasury. Even though Washington played a key role in the formation of the skeleton of the nation, it was Hamilton and Jefferson who truly played in this era. These two politicians were constantly clashing, each with their own very different ideals of Americas new policies. Hamilton aim was to give the country a more efficient organization; whereas Jefferson aimed to give individual men a wider liberty. Basically Hamilton feared anarchy and thought in terms of order; Jeffers on feared tyranny and thought in terms of liberty. The still young United States needed both influences and the guidance of Washington to grow. To be able to say that one of the three people had more of an impact in the policies of the new nation would be like saying that one corner of a triangle is more important than the other three. Its impossible, because without the three of these figures; Hamilton on one end, Jefferson on the other, and Washing finding an equilibrium between the two, the country would simply not have formed the way it did. One of the first things Hamilton did was propose a bil...

Winter Holiday Activities for Grades 5-12

Winter Holiday Activities for Grades 5-12 How can teachers, especially in public schools, use the December holidays to their advantage? One way is to celebrate customs and holidays from around the world with students using a variety of activities.   Here are some ideas for meaningful and educational activities for students ahead of their winter break, making use of holiday themes celebrated near the end of the year. Christmas According to Christian belief, Jesus was the son of God born to a virgin in a manger. Countries around the world celebrate this holiday in various ways. Each of these customs as described below are ripe for investigation by students. Christmas Around the World Costa Rica: The weather is warm at Christmastime. Trees are popular. Tamales and Empanadas are traditionally eaten.England: Santa Claus is known here by the name Father Christmas. Christmas trees are decorated and stockings are hung. A drink called  Wassail  is served. Boxing Day is celebrated on December 26th which is also the feast day of St. Stephen. On this day, it is traditional to give alms to the poor and less fortunate.France: A popular dessert called the buche de noel or Christmas Log is consumed on Christmas. Often, a feast occurs after Midnight Mass on Christmas eve called the rveillon. Gifts are given by pere noel which means Father Christmas. He travels with a man called Pre Fouettard who tells pere noel how the children behaved during the previous year. In some parts of France, gifts are given on both December 6th (St. Nicholas feast day) and on Christmas. Adults give gifts on New Years.Italy: Christmas is celebrated with a large feast after a 24-hour fast before Ch ristmas. Children usually do not receive their presents until January 6th, the day of the Epiphany. These gifts are brought by Le Befana, a woman who flies around on a broom. Kenya: Lots of food is prepared, especially goat. They serve a flatbread called chapatis. Groups often go singing house to house and receive gifts of some kind from the occupants. On Christmas, these singers give any gifts to their church.United States: Christmas trees, real or artificial, are put up in homes early in December. They are usually decorated with multi-color lights and various ornaments. Stockings are hung, often on the fireplace mantel. On Christmas eve, children set out cookies or other goodies for Santa Claus. On Christmas morning, children rush to the tree to see the gifts there and in their stockings. Ideas for Christmas-Themed Projects Investigate the legend of Santa Claus.Investigate different aspects of the Christmas celebration including the tree, the decorations, the stockings, the carols and more.Perform Christmas songs in either English or other languages.Investigate traditional foods for each culture and create them for the rest of the class to sample.Present skits representing each cultures customs.In many countries, Christmas celebrations are becoming more like those  in America. Debate whether the loss of the countries traditional celebrations is good or bad.Read O.  Henrys The Gift of the Magi and discuss its meaning.Students could write in their journals about numerous topics including:Worst Christmas experienceBest Christmas experienceFamily traditionsWhat Santa Claus means to themIs Christmas too commercial? Winter Solstice The Winter Solstice, the shortest day of the year when the sun is closest to the earth, occurs on the 21st of December. In ancient times, this was celebrated in various ways by Pagan religions. Groups ranging from Germanic tribes to the Roman populace celebrated mid-winter festivals during our month of December. Of course today, three major holidays are celebrated in America during the month of December: Chanukah, Christmas, and Kwanzaa. We can create our own festival allowing us to experience how other cultures celebrate these holidays. Method of Presentation Many methods exist for creating this festival atmosphere. These range from simple classroom stations presented by groups of students about each culture to schoolwide activities that take place in a large auditorium/cafeteria and allow for more than just static presentations. Students can sing, cook, give presentations, perform skits, and more. This is a great opportunity to have students work  cooperatively  in groups to gather information about holidays and customs. Chanukah This holiday, also known as the Festival of Lights, is celebrated over eight days beginning on the 25th day of the Jewish month of Kislev.  In 165 BCE, the Jews led by the Maccabees defeated the Greeks in war. When they arrived to rededicate the Temple in Jerusalem they found only one small flask of oil to light the  Menorah. Miraculously, this oil lasted for eight days. today, Chanukah is traditionally observed in the following ways: Every night for the eight days of the festival of Chanukah, lights are lit on a  Menorah  to commemorate the miracle at the Temple over 2000 years ago.While work is not prohibited, people generally refrain from work while the Chanukah lights are lit.The  dreidel  is used by families to play a game. The history behind this game played during Chanukah is believed to relate back to a ban on work while the Chanukah candles are lit.Those celebrating the holiday eat traditionally  Ã¢â‚¬â€¹oily foods to commemorate the miracle of the oil.Children are given presents and money during the holiday. Many families give out presents each day of the holiday. This relates to rewarding children for Torah study.Many different traditions exist around the world for this celebration. Ideas for Chanukah Presentations In addition to adapting the ideas listed above for Christmas celebrations, here are some ideas for Chanukah-themed projects. Students can: Research the background to ChanukahPlay  dreidel  gamesPerform Chanukah songs Kwanzaa Kwanzaa, meaning the first fruits, was developed in 1966 by Dr. Maulana Karenga. It gives African-Americans a holiday dedicated to preserving, revitalizing, and promoting African-American culture. It focuses on seven principles with emphasis on the unity of the black family: Unity, self-determination, collective work and responsibility, cooperative economics, purpose, creativity, and faith. This holiday is celebrated from December 26th through January 1st. On each of the seven days of Kwanzaa, greetings are exchanged in Swahili. The question, Habari gani? is asked and each day the principle for that day is the answer. For example, the first days answer would be Umoja or unity.Gifts are given to children and include a book and a  heritage symbol.  The colors of Kwanzaa are red, black, and green.Seven candles in a Kinara are lit, one for each day of the holiday. One is black and represents the people. This candle is lit first. Three red candles are placed to the left of the black candle representing the struggle for African Americans. Three green candles are placed to the right of the black candle representing the future and hope. These candles are lit from left to right, one for each day. Ideas for Kwanzaa  Presentations Have students discuss each of the seven principles and why they are important.Students can discuss the necessity of holidays in making up group identities.Speakers can come in to discuss Kwanzaa and how it is celebrated.Students can create a  traditional Kwanzaa celebration in the classroom.The Civil Rights movement can be discussed in the context of the Kwanzaa celebration.

Enjoying the Hobby of Collecting Machineguns Essay

Enjoying the Hobby of Collecting Machineguns - Essay Example The machine gun has had a checkered history and was invented in the mid nineteenth century by Dr. Richard Jordon Gatling, whose weapon came to be known as the Gatling gun. He patented his invention in 1861. The Gatling gun was the first rapid firing gun and can be rightly called the ancestor of the modern machine gun. Dr Gatling said â€Å" it occurred to me that if I could invent a machine-a gun- which could by its rapidity of fire, enable , one man to do as much battle duty as a hundred, that it would to a large extent supersede the necessity of large armies and consequently , exposure to battle and disease would be greatly decreased.†2 People have been collecting guns all over the world for decades. It is akin to people collecting swords. But now a new hobby has emerged of collecting machine guns. In most countries in the world, owning a machine gun is illegal, but in the United States 34 states of the union, it is legal for citizens to own and shoot with machine guns. In case you wish to start a hobby as a machine gun collector than please insure that the state you reside allows you to own a machine gun as many states like Delaware, Hawaii, Iowa, Illinois, Kansas, New York, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Washington State and the district of Columbia, have a total ban on privately owned machine guns. However despite the above a quarter of a million Americans own machine guns. The National Firearms Act 1934 is the nodal act that governs collection of Machine Guns for any purpose or as a hobby. Before 1934, there was no bar on owning machine guns, but the NFA passed in 1934 made it mandatory to register the weapon with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Fire arms (BATF)3.. Machine guns by and large have never been used in a crime as the procedure for owning a machine gun is very stringent. It must be noted that machine guns cannot be purchased across the counter and a lengthy period from 60to180