Religion in Africa- Explore how the Lemba cult of the Congo conforms Essay

Religion in Africa- Explore how the Lemba cult of the Congo conforms to the understanding of an ngoma-type cult of affliction - Essay Example Westwards, the rapids on the Zaire River required the trade to the coast to follow the routes on the land. For three centuries, all trade used the same inland routes. The Lemba controlled the trade on the north bank (Janzen, 1982). They kept the routes open and regulated the local markets (Janzen, 1982). In addition, they ensured that the rapid international trade did not destroy their local communities. The Lemba cult of the Congo conforms to the an ngoma type cult of affliction. By the mid-eighteenth century, a total of fifteen thousand slaves were shipped annually from the parts of Malemba, Cabinda and Loango (Janzen, 1982). The slaves were drawn from the inland societies which viewed trade as disruptive despite its economic advantages. The conflicts of interest between the social order and trade explain somewhat why the Lemba, a word meaning â€Å"to calm† (lembikisa) became associated with therapeutic affiliations- a â€Å"drum of affliction† (nkonko or ngoma) (Janzen, 1992). The Lemba’s illnesses are described in a variety of ways. For example, possession by Lemba’s ancestors, which is common in the drums as a mode of affliction to any illness affecting the heart, head, sides and abdomen, that is, the vital organs ofa human body, a typicalmiraculous recovery from a deadly illness, typical witchcraft symptoms and difficulty in breathing to mention but a few (Akombo, 2003). The erratic list of Lemba symptoms, however, tells little about it than it does the identification of the individuals who were afflicted in the Lemba community (Awanbor, 1982). Normally, it was the religion’s elite, chiefs, prominent healers, judges and especially the individuals engaged in mercantile work (Comaroff & Comaroff, 1993). The ability of such persons to harness success in commerce, as wellas their aspiration to wealth, is what made them vulnerable to the envy and evil thoughts by their kinsmen and thus in some sense marginal in the society and

Marketplace Structure Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Marketplace Structure - Research Paper Example Contrary, a monopolistic market emerges after a firm produces a product that is not similar to what others produce. The product is unique and there is no replacement. The organization enjoys being the only single producer of the product or service. Consequently, the organization controls the price and quality. Entry in the monopolistic market is challenged by economies of scale. Monopolistic competitive market consists of organizations selling similar products that are not identical. There are many organizations each taking a portion of the market. Baade (33) adds that, the organizations diversify the products so that they have a variety according to name, style and pricing. Movement in and out of the industry does not have a barrier. Oligopoly is a market structure where a few organizations with same or diversified product gain prominence in the market. Because the few large organizations are known to each other, decisions are made putting into consideration the competitor’s reaction. Decisions on advertising, output and prices are influenced by the rival organizations. There is a tendency to diversify or standardize the product. Entering the industry requires a large capital. Economies of scale are the major hindrance to joining the industry.   Manchester United fits into the oligopoly market structure. It is a football club featured in the premier league among other prominent and wealthy football clubs. Its rivals in the market include; Arsenal, Liverpool, Leeds United and Manchester City.

Managing Change Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

Managing Change - Research Paper Example These achievements however, have been coupled with various drawbacks but with the application of economic theories with an illustration of the Contingency Theory such hurdles are to be tackled. The study provides recommendations on the various aspects that require adjusting for the economies to thrive even more. With the onset of the financial crisis within the past decade, the financial markets in the Gulf region have undergone various changes and institutions and business entities have adopted new market strategies to counter the implications of the crisis. The Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf countries (GCC) - Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates (UAE) are keen to improve their economic competitiveness in the international market. From the early 1970s to the early 1980s the GCC member countries made significant developments in the financial front. The financial institutions were beneficiaries of the lucrative returns brought about by the abundant oil revenue. At the time up to the 1990s, the primary focus of the institutions was on short-term lending trade, building and construction and manufacturing. With the 1990s came global financial integration that entailed the carrying out of economic restructurings especially due to the effects of the Gulf war. Technological novelty and new market strategies centred on consumer-based services were adopted. Following the Gulf war was a variation of loan problems in banks across nations affected by it. The financial set-up of the GCC has overtime faced a number of challenges that revolve around the augmented role of the private sector in the financial market, the high demand for new financial services and the aspect of global participation. Efficiency and productivity are therefore a principal concern in this modern age. The countries in the GCC have links with banks that are expansively

Poetry Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Poetry - Essay Example The man has to pass through the narrow road, but in the presence of the doe, it could be difficult and might end up causing another accident. While throwing the doe in the river would mean killing the fawn inside the doe’s womb, it was certain that the fawn could not be born anyway. He could still ignore it, since was not his duty. It is a poem of love and compassion that causes the narrator emotional discomfort, between ignoring the situation and moving on, or acting responsibly. Even if doing the right thing is not his duty, even if doing the right thing would disrupt his journey, the heart still insists on doing the right thing. This is a complex real life situation, that presents a battle between the mind and the heart, where the heart insists on compassion, but the mind calls for making a decision based on the line duty. The sense of compassion is calling on him, but the sense of duty urges him to progress. The narrator has to act and stop ignoring the situation. He knows very well that leaving the doe still laid on the road, when it is dark, is likely to cause more accidents. Therefore, he opts to sacrifice his time and remove the doe from the road, for the benefit of other road users. This way, he drags the doe out of the street and into the river, thus clearing the road. This is a poem of responsibility, a poem of self-sacrifice, a poem of performing duty, for the benefit of all. A poem of human compassion for others. â€Å"My Papa’s Waltz† This is a poem of nice memories of a son who spend time with his drunken father waltzing around the house, messing up his mother’s kitchen and disorganizing the house in the name of fun. It is a poem expressing disapproval of the father’s drunkenness, but still expressing the unconditional love the son had for the father. This is a narration of a real life situation, where the relationship between parents and their children could go soar within a family, but one fact remains clear, they are one blood. Therefore, regardless of the bad blood and soar relationship, a child will still love his parents. It is a narration of a family setting where the father is irresponsible and uncaring, messing up the house setting notwithstanding the wife’s concern. It is a story of a father trying to engage his son despite being drunk, a fact that causes more harm than good to the son. Nevertheless, the son is still fond of his father, and has to continue clinging to him even when the dancing turns nasty and disorderly. For the love of his father, the son has to withstand the pain caused on his ears and his wrist as waltzing around the house continues. It is a poem narrating the lifestyle of a family made up of a father who does manual work, and takes alcohol to cool off the pressure caused by his hard labor, but still wants to spend a perfect evening with his children. It’s a poem telling the story of a not so well-to-do family in pursuit of balancing the nature o f their job and the family life. Achieving the balance is quite difficult. Nevertheless, the attempt made, though not wholesomely pleasing, is still worth appreciation. â€Å"Digging† This is a poem narrating the hard work of the old folks, who could do nothing else but sustain their families through tilling the land. It is a reflection of the changing times, when the

The Duty of the Employer to the Employee is the sole focus of Health Essay

The Duty of the Employer to the Employee is the sole focus of Health and Safety Law in Ireland - Essay Example Regardless of the post or position in an organisation each and every employee is protected by the law governing provisions on safety conditions in an organization. However, many organizations breach these laws. For this reason, employees have the responsibility of ensuring they receive the proper safety precautions from their organization. Additionally, employees should demand compensation in case of an accident in their organization2. On many occasions, many employees choose to sue their organisation in case of an accident. However, there are laws that protect an organisation from unnecessary law suits. In Ireland, employees are protected by the Health and Safety Authority (HSA). The body is responsible for the provision of guidelines under which employees and employers relate to workplace safety. The organisation also provides evaluation and analysis reports on the state of workplace safety in Ireland. The body also governs the way in which workplace safety disputes are solved. Workplace safety in Ireland is the creation of HAS since it has been functioning as a workers union in the country in terms of protecting employees from hazardous working environments3. The author further argues that the establishment of the organisation was a big step towards the global campaign of ensuring employers is responsible for their employees’ safety. As a nation, Ireland has large industrial market under which millions of human resources are employed across the nation. This number is also comprised of the self employed persons. Additionally, employers are also including both public and private companies4. Under the HAS all these organizations are governed by the rules and regulation provided by the organization. The large industrial market in Ireland greatly depends on the effort by the human resources and for this reason they have to be protected from hazardous working conditions. In a workplace safety report according to the HSA there was 7658 non-fatal accident

Coal impact on the environment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Coal impact on the environment - Essay Example They tend to have an effect on the air, water as well as the animals. It also harms the health of the human beings (Finkelman et al 1999; Hill 2010). The burning of coal results in the production of many chemical substances which mainly include carbon dioxide, sulphur dioxide and nitric oxide. Coal also does not undergo complete combustion and ash is a substance which remains after the combustion of coal. Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas and it is released in very high amounts by the burning of coal. This increase in the amount of carbon dioxide in the air results in increasing the temperature of the world and promotes the phenomenon of global warming. Sulphur dioxide is also a harmful gas and results in the formation of acid rain. Nitric oxide is also a toxic gas which can result in the formation of an even more unstable substance known as toxic and at the same time nitric oxide also has the capability of causing acid rain (International Labour Office et al 1994). The quantity of ash that is released during the process of mining and burning is extensively high. It has been analyzed in the United States on an annual basis approximately 100 million tons of ash is produced due to the combustion of almost one billion ton of coal. Forty percent of the ash can be reutilized for forming other products which include cement but a large proportion still remains. The ash has a tendency to accumulate on land as well as it can make its way towards the water reservoirs and contaminate them by forming acids and follow the process of further addition of metals. Ash is disposed off in areas under the land and it is also kept in ‘ponds’ so that it can stay moistened. If proper regulations are not undertaken underground ash can also enter the underground water. Ponds also need to be checked and regulated because an incident occurred in the year 2008 when there was a spillage of the moistened coal and it resulted in contaminating the water in the river and a group of Tennessee individuals (Hill 2010; Mackenzie et al 2005). The mining of coal also results in the production of radioactive substances; though the quantity of the released substances is not very high. It has been analyzed that the population residing near the coal plants receive a higher rate of contact with these radiations than do the people who reside near nuclear power plants. This is because of the fact that the regulations at the nuclear power plants are strict and hence they minimize the release of radiations into the atmosphere (Hill 2010). The procedure of the mining of coal also carries many environmental affects. The mining which takes place on the surface as well as underground mines result in the contact of the rocks which are made up of sulphur to air and oxygen. This results in the formation of sulphur dioxide. This acid further tends to worsen the effect by acting on the rocks and causing them to release metals. The acid plus the metals gain ways to the water reserv oirs. This results in contaminating the water reservoirs and it harms the life that exists in water. It is found to be harmful not only for the microorganisms in the water but it also results in the death of fishes. These contaminated substances also tend to impact the land as well (Hill 2010; Mackenzie et al 2005). The burning of coal can also result in many harmful effects on the health of the human beings. ‘Black Lung Disease’

Faith as a Comprehension of Nature and Reality Essay

Faith as a Comprehension of Nature and Reality - Essay Example   Angel Gabriel approached him and proclaimed him as Allah’s messenger to spread the faith among the Arabian people. Consequently, he openly announced to the people that he was Allah’s prophet commissioned divinely to guide the Arabians to a monotheistic faith. Muhammad condemned idol worshipping that was prevalent among the people but contrary to expectation, his own people turned against him and abused him. Some Arabs planned to kill him, prompting him to seek refuge in Medina. Surprisingly, he gathered more followers in Medina while he preached his religion. Apparently, Muslims believe in five pillars of Islam. The first statement is Allah is the only God and his messenger is Muhammad. Secondly, every person must pray five times each day while facing Mecca. The third is offering of alms and the fourth pillar is fasting during the holy month of Ramadan, which happens to be the ninth month in the Muslim year. The fifth pillar is making of the pilgrimage once in an individual’s lifetime (Lewis & Buntzie, 43). Muslims worship in a mosque and in every mosque, there is a place where individuals leave their shoes. However, the mosque has no furniture or statues because we believe that they are blasphemous. Women also go to worship in the mosque but sit separately from men as a sign of modesty and avoiding distraction, but mostly women pray at home. Moreover, Islam religion values and respects women highly. The Holy Quran depicts equality of both women and men before God.