7 Interesting Facts About Labor Day That Will Surprise You

7 Interesting Facts About Labor Day That Will Surprise You This Monday, September 3rd is Labor Day, in the United States. Families across the country will celebrate with barbecues, picnics, sporting events, and activities on the beach. It’s our last opportunity to enjoy the summer  before  it ends. This is what Labor Day has traditionally been known for. However, the history of Labor Day is a little more complex than  picnics and barbecue celebrations. Here are some interesting facts about Labor Day that you might not have known were true. Fact #1The first Labor Day occurred on September 5, 1882 in New York City.Fact #2Oregon was the first state to make Labor Day an official holiday in 1887.Fact #3The holiday’s origins stem back to the 1800s when the average American worked 12-hours a day, 7-days a week. Children ages 5-6 worked in factories and mines.Fact #4People avoided wearing white clothing after Labor Day as it unofficially marked the end of summer.Fact #5Labor Day began in Toronto, Canada in 1872 but quickly made i ts way to  the United States.Fact #6Labor Day began as a demonstration for workers rights but is modernly seen as an opportunity to celebrate the last day of summer.Fact #7In other countries, May 1st (May Day) is the day working people are honored. The majority of Europe celebrates May Day.Sources: [Forbes,  DoSomething.org,  CNN]

Why is Food Exchanged with Hindu Gods Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Why is Food Exchanged with Hindu Gods - Essay Example This is known as Prasad, which means mercy or the divine grace from god. The food offered to the deities is said to bestow religious merit, purifying body, mind and spirit. One of the rituals performed in Hinduism is known as puja. It is an offering done to various deities or special guests. It is done in variety of occasions and settings, but it is mainly performed at home or in public temples. However, Puja has different ritual performances, which basically, exhibit the same structure. Pitar pak, a family rite consisting of simple rituals andinvolves a few participants (Babb 34). The matar festival in whichtheparticipants’ number are in hundreds unlike the pitar Pak. Singing Bhajan and a domestic puja called saptashati path. These ceremonies are performed to persuade deities to grant favors that the worshipper is seeking. Food offering is the central feature of the rituals Hindus perform. Otherwise, without food offering, the ritual would simply not be Puja in the convention al sense of the term. Food is offered to the deity and in turn, the deity in some way partakes of the offering. Sometimes, the consumption of the food is symbolized physically, like in homa where the food is consumed by the fire. Other times the food is set before the god often behind a concealing cloth. In both cases, it is assumed that the deity actually partakes of the food. If the deity does eat the food placed on the altar, the leftover is then taken back for distribution. Upon eating this food, the participants are giving the most profound honor to the god. Therefore, the exchange of food in puja is in consonance with general principles that order Hindu life. More so, it shows that the food exchange that takes place in puja is a necessary pattern of human interaction with the gods. In presenting the food, the deities are paid for the past of future favors. Apart from the food, offering of clothing, money, and precious metals are used to pay the deities. The deities are suppose d to be given expensive type of foods, and if simple, they are usually prepared under stringent conditions of purity, which is the universal rule of Hindu ceremonialism (Babb 47). Rituals should be performed to honor god and at the same time to pay the god for all the favors. Several rituals in Hinduism are associated with food. For example, when a child feeds for the first time, it is celebrated as Samskara known as annaprasana. The funeral rite involves offering food to the departed soul. Devout Hindus observe some rituals before eating it. They sprinkle water around the food to purify it and make it worthy to the gods. In addition, they clean the place first because Hindu law books proscribe eating food in dirty places. They offer food to their personal gods before eating. In doing so, one’s body becomes a sacrificial alter. It is also believed that offering the gods food is a mark of self-devotion. As stipulated in the Hindu scriptures, anyone who offers food to gods befo re eating it come to no harm as the qualities in the food are neutralized by their positive energies. Therefore, it is important that the food is presented to â€Å"temple† where the gods are waiting on their altars (Yalman 293) The Hinduism community in honor of the gods holds different festivals, for example, the Annakuta festival. Annakuta literally means, â€Å"A hill of food†. On this day, worshippers offer Krishna great varieties and large quantities of vegetarian food. It is a celebration of an event in Krishna’s life. He lifted the mountain of Govardhan for seven days to protect people against the deluge of rain sent by the god of heavens and rains, and that is why Hindus celebrate this day (Toomey 123). They prepare hundreds of different food and take them to the

Biography of Ethnic Fashion Designer - Ritu Kumar Essay

Biography of Ethnic Fashion Designer - Ritu Kumar - Essay Example The paper "Biography of Ethnic Fashion Designer - Ritu Kumar" talks about the Ritu Kumar's biography. She completed her graduation from Delhi Irwin collage in 1964. She had the nature of keen observation in understanding the life. This quality further helped her to take keen interest in artistic work. She accomplished her higher education from USA in 1966. She started her career with hand block printers and two tables in a small village of Calcutta, to display her art. She enhanced her network with the passage of time in order to keep pace with the latest trends of fashion designing. She has also hit the European market by launching new fashion variety of indo-western range. This new trend attracted many foreign buyers. Her worth deserving achievements include wardrobe for Miss India for further participation in miss world and miss universe contests. Ritu’s work in the fields of garment and related accessories in silk, cotton and leather made her an eminent designer in India. The well-reputed designer launched Zardozi collection in Delhi in1985. Zardozi was introduced for the first time in India but response was exceptional. Now Zardozi technique is being widely used in India. She also proved that hand made products are more profitable than machine products. Evening gowns are one of the highly praised creations of Ritu kumar in European market. The designer was awarded with the lifetime achievement award by national institute of fashion technology in 1998. A lady naming famina participated in Miss India contest 2002.

Management Planning Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Management Planning Paper - Essay Example The human resource function‘s main purpose would be to analyze the interviewing, recruitment and appraisal of staff within the company. Southwest’s human resource policy (prior to the acquisition of AirTran) showed that the company hired a low number of staff within its organization; this number was such that Southwest operated with an average of 62 employees per plane as compared to Delta’s 114 employees per plane. On acquiring AirTran, this number gradually increased the number of employees because of the fact that Gary Kelly (CEO of Southwest Airline) did not want to lay off any of the staff of AirTran and make them redundant. The Human resource function would need to get active in this case so as to combine different cultures of the organization concerned. Financial management within Southwest airline would require proper analysis of the financial functions within the organization such as preparing the financial statements, keeping up with the budgets, etc. St rategic management would require proper strategies to be build so as to keep the company growing in the long-run, an example of strategic management within Southwest airline is the decision made by its CEO of acquiring AirTran, Scientific management would involve aspects reading improvement of labor and economic efficiency. It can be identified as the policy of not offering expensive snacks during flights, nil baggage costs, etc (Whelan, 2011). These four departments would need to be linked effectively in order to make any strategy successful. The basic idea would be that the Strategic management department (at the top of the hierarchy of an organization) would make up strategies and communicate them to other departments down the line. Later, these departments would be highly involved in properly understanding and implementing the strategies in such as way that organization’s growth would become the motto of each and every personnel within the organization. Communication with in the department would be made in such a way that knowledge sharing would be appreciated. The Human Resource department would only hire employees based upon the vacant job description i.e. efficient recruitment. The Finance department would be involved in preparing proper budgets and other financial statements for the organization. The strategic management division (which would involve top level employees e.g. CEO, Directors, etc) would be involved in formulating, evaluating and monitoring the policies and procedures within the organization. The four main areas of growth and change for each of the departments mentioned above would be: Human Resource department: i) Proper induction of employees, ii) Proper training for new and former employees, iii) Effective and efficient measure being put up for employee appraisal; iv) Dealing with redundancy issues Strategic Management Division : i) Strategies made should be have long term effect, ii) Company’s objective should be properly considered while such strategies are made, iii) Growth of the division would be possible when experienced directors/senior manager would be hired e.g. experienced non-executive directors, iv) Proper competitor analysis as a basis of not committing error being committed by them Scientific management: i) Proper training, ii) elimination of wastages, iii) learning through

Looking At Great Gatsby English Literature Essay

Looking At Great Gatsby English Literature Essay In Tom Burnam essay The Eyes of Dr. Eckleburg: A Re-examination The Great Gatsby, he puts forward his interpretation of the text. He believes that though the Great Gatsby was a great work of literature it is a flawed one. As it lacks something, he believes that the author, F. Scott Fitzgerald made the mistake of placing to much of himself, as the author and of his life into the characters. Tom Burnam, in his essay, also put forward a point about the novel being more about carelessness than illusion and integrity. Tom Burnam posits that there is little differentiation between the author and the character as he believes that not even the most skillful novelist could make us, the readers accept Nick Carrarway as fully responsible for composing the wonderful description in chapter iii. In his essay The Eyes of Dr. Eckleburg: A Re-examination The Great Gatsby, he believes that lack lies within stems from Fitzgerald placing himself in the novel, however unwittingly, stating that: The book, great as it is, still falls short of its possibilities because its energies are spent in two directions. If The Great Gatsby revealed to us only its protagonist, it would be incomparable. Revealing, as it does, perhaps a little too much of the person who created it, it becomes somewhat less sharp, less pointed, more diffused in its effect. Tom Burnam stated in his essay that The Great Gatsby was also a commentary on the nature and values, or lack of them, of the reckless ones, the reckless ones being the rich. My own interpretation of the text is in short, a commentary on the generation and society left after the First World War. This interpretation follows from F. Scott Fitzgeralds other novels and short stories as they all follow a similar theme. As I will show, there are multiple interpretations of the book however some are more logical than others. During the First World War thousands of Americans died, despite joining the conflicting April 1917 and this, quite understandably, created disharmony in society and also lead those returning from war to try to come to terms with their experiences. Although Fitzgerald himself never actually went to war he was called up to fight but the war ended before he was called upon to make the trip to Europe. This is in contrast to Gatsby who we are told tried very hard to die durin g the war and for that earned great honors from every Allied governmentà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦- even Montenegro, little Montenegro down on the Adriatic Sea. This romanticized expression of Montenegro is one of the things described as enchanted throughout including Gatsbys life and Daisy. It is here in chapter IV that we get the first impression that Nick does not wholly trust Gatsby and although it doesnt last long, it is evidence enough to suggest that there is something not quite right about Gatsby and the way in which Nick reveres him. Fitzgerald intentionally threads doubt into every account of Gatsbys past and Nick begins to wonder if there wasnt something a little sinister about him, after all. This lack of integrity is a running theme of the novel and although care is given as the reason for Jordan liking Nick earlier in the chapter she is described by Nick as incurably dishonest and although this is written in hindsight we, as readers, cant help but question everything she has said up to this point, until Fitzgerald reassures us by telling us [Nick is] one of the few honest people [he] has ever known. This self-justification that the reader is not entirely sure of is similar to that of Stevens in remains of the Day, when we suspect him of eavesdropping; he attempts to reassure us by saying I could not help but get the gist of what was being said. As we can see, there is a distinct difference between the authors voice and intentions and the narrators voice. Undoubtedly Fitzgerald intended us to be suspicious of Gatsby throughout the novel until we begin to feel genuinely sorry for him. After the atrocities that happened during the war it is easy to sympathize with those who lost their faith. It has been suggested the eye of Dr T.J Eckleburg were put in after the cover illustration had been finished and Fitzgerald added them in homage to it, however I feel that the symbolism is far too poignant for this to have been a mere after-thought. For me, these eyes are directly representing the eyes of God, a God that has been abandoned and left to decay such as his eyes, dimmed a little by many painless days, under sun and rain,[brooded] on over the solemn dumping ground. Burnam uses the examples of careless driving in support for his claim to the central theme of the text being the tragedy that this has brought to all affected by it and only[Gatsby] and he alone, barring Caraway survives sound and whole in character. I cannot accept that Fitzgerald wrote Gatsby in the sole purpose to put across the hazards of bad driving; I can, therefore, only speculate that this is a smaller issue than Burnam makes it out to be and instead would suggest that the references to driving are there simply as pointers or symbols of foreshadowing the accidents that occur later in the novel. The passage with the amputated wheel gives those who return to the book a pointer as to the ending, with the line: You dont understandà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦I wasnt driving. Afterwards, as a solution to the problem, the criminal suggests [putting] her in reverse to which the response is but the wheels off In a very abstract way this episode is a taste of things to come as Gatsby tries to beat onà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦against the current and reclaim the past which poverty and war robbed him of. While Burnams essay simply puts forward his alternative view of The Great Gatsby I cant help but feel he has taken the symbols at too deep-a-level. Burnam says the reason he does this is due to the confusion of themes and duality of the symbol-structure, of which Fitzgerald seems to have been unaware. The bookà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦falls short of its possibilities because its energies are spent in two directions revealing both the protagonist and author in great detail making it somewhat less sharp, less pointed, more diffused in its effect. By this, Burnam is simply saying he thinks Fitzgerald should have been more careful in allowing himself to come through in his work and stuck to telling the story of Jay Gatsby. Sometimes we must take a text at face value and not look too deep as not all novels have such unfathomable depths

Reflection on Alternative Assessments Essays -- Education Assessment E

Reflection on Alternative Assessments   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Traditional and alternative assessments share some key elements, yet differ as well. All assessments, whether given as a test after a unit or alternative, should be measurable and be reliable and valid by having clear criteria to measure the learning targets. Traditional and alternative assessments generally differ in timing, feedback, student's involvement, and how the teacher uses the information.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The time in which traditional assessments such as after the unit tests are designed to provide feedback is at the end of a unit only. There is also generally a time limit to complete this type of assessment as well. These are not true of alternative assessments. A KWL or pre-test can provide feedback before a lesson or unit. Nearly all alternative assessments can also provide ongoing feedback during the lesson or unit as well as after it is completed. Also, many alternative assessments do not have a time constraint to demonstrate understanding of content.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The feedback given from a traditional assessment is a letter or percentage grade, which does not tell the content that the student knows, only a measure of quantity of knowledge from a scale of nothing to everything. This feedback is used to tell the teacher and/or school whether or not to promote the student and how they fall in comparison to the other students. With alternative assessments the feedback can be used by all parties (teacher, student, parent, and sch...

Slim Wave in Singapore

A number of diet pill manufacturers from China, such as Kunming Dali Industry and Guangzhou Shining Trading, are riding on Singapore’s â€Å"slim wave† to make money. In Asia, the idea of a slim figure has turned from a Hollywood-induced dream into an obsession. The glossy magazines geared toward women have covers adorned with slim, petite models. Local newspapers constantly feature advertisements portraying slim actresses and models who have transformed themselves from bloated balloons into sunbathing beauties.Slimming is increasingly seen as one of the panaceas for Singapore’s societal ills, many young women feel that being slimmer can change the way they feel about themselves. The obesity rate among young Chinese women in Singapore is only 4. 2 percent. However, Singapore is ranked fifth in per capita consumption of diet pills in the world. Even the women who are not obese are taking diet pills to be slimmer. This has led to a whole host of products claiming t o reduce weight with little effort flooding the market.Advertisements claim that they promote â€Å"the natural way to losing weight,† that they allow women to â€Å"lose kilograms without avoiding [their] favorite foods. † The idea they sell—that a natural product or method can reduce weight without exercise or diet—is obviously tempting. However, most of these over-the-counter diet pills have negative side effects, and often go to market without undergoing comprehensive clinical tests. The Health Services Authority of Singapore requires that all diet pills sold in Singapore should list ingredients visibly.Since most of these products use the natural herbal name, the exact nature of the chemicals used remains unknown to the user. In addition, the Internet offers the average Singaporean buyer another host of â€Å"slimming medicines† that are not bound by these regulations, and fail to list ingredients at all. 3 The tragic incidents in Singapore ca used by the Slim 10 pills created a wave of shock among the health professionals and authorities around the globe in 2002.Andrea De Cruz, a 28-year-old TV actress suffered a failed liver because she was on Slim 10 diet pills for two months, but her life was saved by her fiance’s kindness to donate part of his liver to her. A43- year-old woman, Selvarani Raja, was not so lucky, and she died of liver failure from taking Slim 10 pills. Unfortunately, these tragic cases have been all but forgotten, and the Singapore market for such drugs is more flooded than ever before. Pharmacies sell these pills in their main aisles, in plain sight.Diet pill advertorials constantly air on radio stations; many blogs claim to provide positive information on the new medications and their supposed effectiveness. The Singapore government has initiated a number of programs to promote healthier diet and regular exercise to control obesity, through community organizations. In spite of this, the usage of diet pills is increasing. With good weather year-round and well laid-out jogging and cycling tracks throughout the islands, what is stopping Singaporeans from sweating it out, and choosing quick-fix, hazardous medication instead? Slim Wave in Singapore A number of diet pill manufacturers from China, such as Kunming Dali Industry and Guangzhou Shining Trading, are riding on Singapore’s â€Å"slim wave† to make money. In Asia, the idea of a slim figure has turned from a Hollywood-induced dream into an obsession. The glossy magazines geared toward women have covers adorned with slim, petite models. Local newspapers constantly feature advertisements portraying slim actresses and models who have transformed themselves from bloated balloons into sunbathing beauties.Slimming is increasingly seen as one of the panaceas for Singapore’s societal ills, many young women feel that being slimmer can change the way they feel about themselves. The obesity rate among young Chinese women in Singapore is only 4. 2 percent. However, Singapore is ranked fifth in per capita consumption of diet pills in the world. Even the women who are not obese are taking diet pills to be slimmer. This has led to a whole host of products claiming t o reduce weight with little effort flooding the market.Advertisements claim that they promote â€Å"the natural way to losing weight,† that they allow women to â€Å"lose kilograms without avoiding [their] favorite foods. † The idea they sell—that a natural product or method can reduce weight without exercise or diet—is obviously tempting. However, most of these over-the-counter diet pills have negative side effects, and often go to market without undergoing comprehensive clinical tests. The Health Services Authority of Singapore requires that all diet pills sold in Singapore should list ingredients visibly.Since most of these products use the natural herbal name, the exact nature of the chemicals used remains unknown to the user. In addition, the Internet offers the average Singaporean buyer another host of â€Å"slimming medicines† that are not bound by these regulations, and fail to list ingredients at all. 3 The tragic incidents in Singapore ca used by the Slim 10 pills created a wave of shock among the health professionals and authorities around the globe in 2002.Andrea De Cruz, a 28-year-old TV actress suffered a failed liver because she was on Slim 10 diet pills for two months, but her life was saved by her fiance’s kindness to donate part of his liver to her. A43- year-old woman, Selvarani Raja, was not so lucky, and she died of liver failure from taking Slim 10 pills. Unfortunately, these tragic cases have been all but forgotten, and the Singapore market for such drugs is more flooded than ever before. Pharmacies sell these pills in their main aisles, in plain sight.Diet pill advertorials constantly air on radio stations; many blogs claim to provide positive information on the new medications and their supposed effectiveness. The Singapore government has initiated a number of programs to promote healthier diet and regular exercise to control obesity, through community organizations. In spite of this, the usage of diet pills is increasing. With good weather year-round and well laid-out jogging and cycling tracks throughout the islands, what is stopping Singaporeans from sweating it out, and choosing quick-fix, hazardous medication instead?