Saturday, December 28, 2019

Agency Profile Paper - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 2 Words: 718 Downloads: 4 Date added: 2019/06/24 Category Management Essay Level High school Tags: Profile Essay Did you like this example? There are numerous companies that provide leisure services to consumers. One leisure service provider in the Bryan/College Station Area is Powersports. This company was founded in 1998 and started out as a small company renting out space in the back of the Grandstation bowling alley here in College Station, Tx. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Agency Profile Paper" essay for you Create order (D. Alvarado, personal communication, November 10, 2018). Once the company gained support, they got their own 30,000 square foot facility in College Station (Powersport, n.d). Some leisure programs that Powersports provide are gymnastics, cheerleading, dance, mixed martial arts, ninja warrior, jump to learning preschool, after-school care, and special event parties (D. Alvarado, personal communication, November 10, 2018). All these programs are geared towards engaging kids and providing them leisure opportunities. The limitation to these programs, however, is that parents must be willing and able to pay for their children to enjoy these leisure programs. Powersports operates under the private sector because they do business for profit. All their programs require a registration fee and monthly fee for kids to attend (Powersport, n.d). These fees vary based on the number of times kids attend the program a week, the number of kids per family, and the program the kids are partaking in. The biggest program that Powersports has is their gymnastics program. There are numerous classes that teach different things and work with various age groups. There are some classes that work with toddlers and range all the ways up to high school. One career path within the company is set within the gymnastics program. The lowest level in the gymnastics plan is a gymnastics instructor (D. Alvarado, personal communication, November 10, 2018). While this is an entry-level position, applicants must still have extensive knowledge of gymnastics and how to teach it to others. Other requirements needed for the position is CPR certification, first aid certification, and annual USAG Training (D.Alvarado, personal communication, November 10, 2018). If someone were to advance within the gymnastics program, one could become a team coach, which is people that coach competitive teams, or gymnastics directors, which are people that create the curriculum for all the gymnastics classes (D. Alvarado, personal communication, November 10, 2018). I choose to interview a gymnastics instructor from Powersports because I am interested in working with kids as a leisure service provider. I would not want to personally work at Powersports, because I do not have the knowledge or training to teach any of the programs offered. In the future, however, my kids might attend a program like those at Powersports. It is reassuring to know that these instructors have background knowledge of the classes they are teaching, and there is curriculum structure to the classes. The instructor I interviewed loves working with kids and seeing their skills grow over time (D. Alvarado, personal communication, November 10, 2018). She also likes empowering girls to pursue their dreams and teach them that they can do anything they put their minds to (D. Alvarado, personal communication, November 10, 2018). This is something that would motivate me to work with kids in this capacity because I like empowering people at a young age. The most interesting thing about the company is that they have such as wide variety of programs to choose from. This is smart on their part, however, because they have a little bit of something for everyone. Each program has different age groups starting at a very young age and has classes for both boys and girls to enjoy. Overall, I found this interview to be very eye-opening about working with kids and how leisure services are provided to them. After this interview I am less inclined to work specifically for Powersports, however, I am more inclined to work with kids in the leisure industry. It would be rewarding to empower kids to learn new things yet challenging because everyone engages in leisure differently. Therefore, it is important to provide kids with different opportunities to express themselves and help them engage in leisure services. References Powersports. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://powersportskids.com/ Interview information: Dominque Alvarado Gymnastics Instructor at Powersports [emailprotected] 972-765-6655 November 10, 2018 @ 12:30 Original Questions What is the most rewarding part of your job? Why did you choose to work for this company? Why did you choose to work in the recreation and leisure industry? What is the hardest part of your job?

Friday, December 20, 2019

Early Civilizations Ancient Civilizations - 830 Words

LeAndra Reed Dr. Houck, History 2311 September 18, 2015 Early Civilization All civilizations, whether old or new, strive for advancement. In order to advance, certain techniques and characteristics have to be combined and manipulated to achieve this progression. â€Å"A civilization is a complex culture in which large numbers of human beings share a variety of common elements.† Examples of these early civilizations that used similar characteristics to flourish were the Sumerians in Mesopotamia and the Egyptians in Egypt. A civilization is formed by several characteristics. The most important being the need for a sufficient group of people. Next would be a central place for these people to congregate. These structures typically would be used for religious purposes as well as a place to delegate how the societies would operate. People in these early civilizations would typically live closer to the central structure. This is turned led to the creation of writing to record and communicate between people of these early societies. In these early civiliz ations, people relied heavily on their neighbors and would work together to keep prospering. Early examples of these characteristics forming a civilization would be in Mesopotamia and Egypt civilizations. Mesopotamia was an area between â€Å"the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in Southwest Asia.† Mesopotamia received little rainfall yet lands were plentiful and rich. The overflow of the bordering rivers would bring in â€Å"fertile silt† toShow MoreRelatedThe Roots Of Hypnosis And The Early Ages Of Ancient Civilizations Essay911 Words   |  4 Pages Speech 101 Ani Hovhannisyan All about Hypnosis Ancient Greek fabulist Aesop once said, â€Å"Persuasion is often more effectual than force.† Persuasion, particularly altered state of mind, can be achieved by utilizing mind-control and hypnotic techniques. 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The two civilizations thrived in their ancient environments which eventually led to a large amount of wealth within these two cultures. It is because of this that these ancient cultures were able to make a variety of advancements in literature, architecture, art and many other fields. These two civilizations also produced some of the ancient world’s greatest leaders andRead MoreThe Impact of the Egyptian and the Hebrew Civilizations on Humanity1459 Words   |  6 PagesIntroduction Throughout history, great civilizations have existed in various parts of the world. The cultural, economic, political, and/or intellectual achievements of these civilizations contributed to the advancement of humankind. Civilization is a term that has various meanings. 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In examining the trajectory of modern historyRead MoreReflection of Humanities807 Words   |  4 PagesBlackmon Western history and civilization is of vast importance to understanding the great story of humanity. The study of the ancient civilizations has shown itself to me to be a new found interest as the journey of the course had lead me to see the magnificent accomplishments of mankind, and the possibilities of our potential; both in glory and darkness. In this reflection paper, I will look back upon the beginnings of our studies of the development of the early civilizations from the Sumerians to the

Thursday, December 12, 2019

Cuba The Plight Of A Nation And Its Revolution Essay Example For Students

Cuba: The Plight Of A Nation And Its Revolution Essay Cuba: The Plight of a Nation and its RevolutionWhile the isle of Cuba was initially discovered on October 27, 1492 during one ofColumbus first voyages, it wasnt actually claimed by Spain until the sixteenth century. However, its tumultuous beginnings as a Spanish sugar colony provides an insightful backdropinto the very essence of the countrys political and economic unrest. From its earlyrevolutionary days to the insurrectional challenge of the Marxist-Leninist theories emerged thetotalitarian regime under Fidel Castro in present day Cuba. Cuban colonial society was distinguished by the characteristics of colonial societies ingeneral, namely a stratified, inegalitarian class system; a poorly differentiated agriculturaleconomy; a dominant political class made up of colonial officers, the clergy, and the military; anexclusionary and elitist education system controlled by the clergy; and a pervasive religioussystem.1 Cubas agrarian monocultural character, economically dependant upon sugarcultivation, production and export severely restricted its potential for growth as a nation, therebyfirmly implanting its newly sprouted roots firmly in the trenches of poverty from the verybeginning of the countrys existence. In 1868, Cuba entered in to The Ten Years War against Spain in a struggle forindependence, but to no avail. Ten years of bitter and destructive conflict ensued, but the goal ofindependence was not achieved. Political divisions among patriot forces, personal quarrelsamong rebel military leaders, and the failure of the rebels to gain the backing of the UnitedStates, coupled with stiff resistance from Spain and the Cubans inability to carry the war inearnest to the western provinces, produced a military stalemate in the final stages.2 The war hada devastating effect on an already weak economic and political infrastructure. The defeat, however, did not hinder the resolution of the Cuban proletariat for anindependent nation. In the words of one author, The Cubans ability to wage a costly, protracted struggle againstSpain demonstrated that proindependence sentiment was strongand could be manifested militarily. On the other hand, before anyeffort to terminate Spanish control could succeed, differences overslavery, political organization, leadership, and military strategy hadto be resolved. In short, the very inconclusiveness of the war left afeeling that the Cubans could and would resume their struggleuntil their legitimate political objectives of independence andsovereignty were attained.3The years following the Ten Years War were harsh and austere. The countryside,ravaged and desolate, bankrupted Spanish sugar interests in Cuba, virtually destroying theindustry. The Spanish owners sold out to North American interests, a process accelerated by thefinal abolition of slavery in Cuba in 1886.4 The end of slavery, naturally, meant the end of freelabor. The sugar growers, therefore, began to import machinery from the United States. Essentially, Cuba deferred its economic dependence from Spain directly to the U.S. Whatbecame known as the American Sugar Refining Company supplied from seventy to ninetypercent of all sugar consumed by the United States, thus mandating the dir ection of the Cubanagricultural industry and thereby controlling its economy. Moreover, the United States interventionism in the Cuban-Spanish war in 1898,motivated primarily by interests in the Cuban market, led the surrender of the Spanish armydirectly to the United States, not Cuba. This war later became known as the Spanish-AmericanWar. The leader and organizer of the Cuban Revolutionary Party, Jose Martis, goal of trueindependence was buried without honor in 1898.5In the years from 1902 to 1959, following the institution of the Platt Amendment, whichwas an amendment to the Cuban constitution, that stated that the United States had the right tointervene in Cuba at any time, a period which came to be termed the ?Pseudo Republic? ensued. In the words of General Wood:Of course, Cuba has been left with little or no independence by thePlatt AmendmentThe Cuban Government cannot enter intocertain treaties without our consent, nor secure loans above certainlimits, and it must maintain t he sanitary conditions that have beenindicated. With the control that we have over Cuba, a controlwhich, without doubt, will soon turn her into our possession, soonwe will practically control the sugar market in the world. I believethat it is a very desirable acquisition for the United States. Theisland will gradually be ?Americanized,? and in the due course wewill have one of the most rich and desirable possessions existing inthe entire world6The Great Depression however, had a immense impact on United States holdings of theCuban sugar industry. In the summer and fall of 1920 when the price of sugar fell fromtwenty-two cents a pound to three cents a pound, Cubans were left poverty stricken and starving,as their sugar market was totally dependent upon the United States. Additionally, Americabegan to disengage itself from the strangling hold it had over the Cuban economy by vastlydiminishing the amount of its imports from forty percent in previous years to eighteen percent. Inthe wak e of this massive monetary pull-out, a vacuum formed in which a basically leaderlessCuba (its current leader, President Machado, had lost the ability to govern after his promise of?tranquility of the government and the country? had not been delivered) became ripe for radicalstudent uprisings and the introduction of Marxist ideas. Thus was formed the Cuban CommunistParty, led by Julio Mella and Carlos Balino, the former an eighteen year old university basketballplayer and the latter, a veteran socialist and comrade of Jose Marti. In 1933, President Roosevelt sent Cuban ambassador, Sumner Wells, to Havana in anattempt to stop the ?political whirlpool in which an estimated $1,500,000,000 in U.S. investments was likely to drown?.7 Welles proposed the appointment of Carlos Manuel deCespedes, former Cuban ambassador to Washington, as president. Shortly thereafter, leaders ofa radical student organization ?transformed their rebellion into a revolt?, and informed PresidentCespedes that he had been deposed. Cespedes abandoned the presidential palace asinconspicuously as he had arrived.8From 1930 to 1935, Antonio Guiteras led the island on a ?revolutionary path? and formeda government that was ?for the people, but not by the people or of the people?9, which the U.S. refused to recognize. In 1935 Guiteras was assassinated by Fulgencio Batista who proceeded torun Cuban affairs for the next decade. It was a government that the United States recognized asthe ?only legitimate authority on the island?.10 Then in 1944, Batista, the ?American darling?,lost the presidential election to Grau San Martin, who had recently returned from exile. TheGrau presidency has been described as such:The Autentico administrations of Grau (1944-1948) and Prio(1948-52) had failed to curb the political corruption and theassociated gangster violence; more importantly they had failed tosatisfy popular aspirations for independence and social progress. here were still disruptive protests against U.S. control andexploitation of the Cuban economy; and when Prio agreed to sendCuban troops to support the U.S. invasion of Korea in 1950, theoffer was backed by a successful campaign around the slogan, ?Nocannon fodder for Yankee imperialists. The general politicalinstability, the gro wing unpopularity of the Autenticos, therampant corruption and violence all were again setting the scenefor political upheaval.11On January 1, 1959 unable to withstand the burden of both a politically and economicallyfailing nation, and under pressure from the Cuban Communist Party led by Fidel Castro and hisMarxist-Leninist revolutionary followers, Batista fled Cuba. Paradoxically, the breakdown ofthe authoritarian regime in Cuba illustrates the fragility of presumably reliable clientelisticarrangements, insofar as these cannot substitute for strong central authority.12 Foreigninvestment in the economy was substantial once again in the late 1950s, with U.S. capitaldominant in the agricultural sectors.13 Having gained a substantial amount of support from the Cuban people, Fidel Castro wasquick to move into power as the countrys most prominent leader. Shortly thereafter, Castroallied his nation with the Soviet Union and denounced the United States as an imperialistic andcapitalist a ggression. In essence, the U.S.S.R. became Cubas new ?lifeline?. Naturally, theCuban relationship with the Soviet Union made for inevitable tensions with its neighbor.14 TheUnited States belief that the ?Cuban leader had allowed his country to become a Soviet satellite,and that Castros regime might produce a spate of revolutions throughout Latin America?15 leddirectly to the Bay of Pigs invasion of 1961, a failed attempt to overthrow Castro. The Bay ofPigs invasion combined with the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962 sufficiently set the stage for thepresent day political tensions between the United States and Cuba. Due to the isolationist mood in the United States in the years following the failed CubanMissile Crisis and then the Vietnam War, Fidel Castro was free to rise to power and create thecommunist island he so desperately endeavored to achieve. Without the U.S. to interfere, Castrocould be likened to a ?kid in a candy store?. Because Cuba had historically always been inpolitical t urmoil, it was not difficult for Castro, for all his charm and charisma, to win thepopular vote of the people. Traditionally, in a nation as oppressed as Cuba had been, citizenstend to fall easy prey to totalitarian or authoritarian rule due to their need to be led by agovernment, any government, that may possibly facilitate any kind of economic growth. The endof the Cold War, however, left Cuba isolated when it lost its Soviet Patron.16 It has been arguedthat there are two schools of thought on how to deal with Castro in the post Cold War era:One school, championed primarily by the exiled Cuban communityand Senate Foreign Relations Chairman Jesse Helms, wanted a fullcourt press to bring Castro down. They assumed further economicdeprivation would push the Cuban people to rise up and ridthemselves of the Castro dictatorship at last. The United States,with new laws penalizing countries, corporations, or persons doingbusiness with Cuba, would compel the international community tojoin i n the strangulation. This strategy received no internationalsupport. Essay On Colonies Essaypolicymakers. Although Russia and the former eastern bloccountries have undergone widespread democratic and free-marketeconomic reform, Cuba remains one of the only communistdictatorships in the world. Removing Castro from power andimplementing reform in Cuba are top U.S. foreign policy priorities,but lawmakers disagree on the best course of action. While someargue that the U.S. trade embargo has proved ineffective andinhumane, others respond that the United States should continue toapply pressure on Castro until he is toppled from power. As thelawmakers debate, the misery in Cuba is worsening, and somecountries are now beginning to blame U.S. policy. Time will tellwhether the United States continues its present course or revises apolicy that is increasingly unpopular with even its most loyalallies.21Every now and again Castro allows a thaw in relations, but when the United States getsoverly friendly he arranges a provocation, such as the drowning of two smal l planes piloted byCuban exiles in 1996, which led to the passage by the United States congress of theHelms-Burton Act a month later.22 Presently, Cuba is in the process of developing an advanced telecommunications systemwith the help of communist ally China. Cuba was visited recently by Chinese delegate WuJichuan and Fidel Castro claims that relations between Cuba and China have never been better. Additionally, Cuba is seeking to end the 40-year United States trade embargo against the island. Should this occur, it would greatly enhance the countrys currently sagging economy. There isincreasing pressure from United States business and agricultural communities to begin brisktrade with Cuba and take advantage of a new and potentially highly profitable market.23 If Cubais successful at expanding its monocultural economy the country should experience remarkablyauspicious results in the event of a lifting of the U.S. embargo. More importantly, Castro wouldno longer have an excuse for the deficiencies in the Cuban economy. Additionally, housing for Cubans, which is guaranteed in the constitution, or the recentlack thereof, has reached epidemic proportions in Havana, the islands capital. Reportedly, thegovernment admits the country does not have nearly enough building materials or manpower togive everyone the home they have been promised.24 For a socialist society dedicated to takingcare of its people, the country seems to have fallen short in this arena, as well. Another recent political Cuban event overshadowing most other important Cubanpolitical events, if only due to the extensive media coverage than the actual quality ofnewsworthy content, is the ?tragicomedy? of the custody battle of near Cuban defector, ElianGonzalez. In what should have been nothing more than an international custody battle over thesix year old Cuban child, an all out political battle between the United States and Cuba ensued. In my opinion, the incident had been seemingly spawned mainly from harbored resentment byCuban-America ns over the failed Bay of Pigs event, in addition to their hatred of theauthoritarian leader. Again, they fought and lost to Castro. This time, however, Fidel Castrowas legitimate in his reproach and used the situation to portray the United States in an extremelyunfavorable light. He succeeded, as the rest of the world looked on wondering what all the hypewas about. What is extraordinary about Fidel Castro, however, is that he is still here at all. Morethan 40 years after coming to power, he survives. He survives in the face of the unremittinghostility of a superpower only 90 miles away. He survives in spite of the fact that his mainpatron, the Soviet Union, has disappeared, his ideology, Marxist-Leninism, is discredited, and hiseconomy is less than perfect. Despite the fact that an inordinate number of common citizensprefer to chance death at sea rather than remain in his nation, Fidel survives.25 BibliographyNOTES1 Juan M. del Aguila, Cuba: Dilemmas of a Revolution (Colorado: Westview Press, Inc.,1984), p. 9. 2 Juan M. del Aguila, Cuba: Dilemmas of a Revolution (Colorado: Westview Press, Inc.,1984), p. 12. 3 Juan M. del Aguila, Cuba: Dilemmas of a Revolution (Colorado: Westview Press, Inc.,1984), p. 13. 4 Terrance Cannon, Revolutionary Cuba (Toronto: Fitzhenry Whiteside Limited, 1981),p. 30. 5 Terrance Cannon, Revolutionary Cuba (Toronto: Fitzhenry Whiteside Limited, 1981),p. 37. 6 Terrance Cannon, Revolutionary Cuba (Toronto: Fitzhenry Whiteside Limited, 1981),p. 38. 7 Terrance Cannon, Revolutionary Cuba (Toronto: Fitzhenry Whiteside Limited, 1981),p. 44. 8 Terrance Cannon, Revolutionary Cuba (Toronto: Fitzhenry Whiteside Limited, 1981),p. 46. 9 Terrance Cannon, Revolutionary Cuba (Toronto: Fitzhenry Whiteside Limited, 1981),p. 46. 10 Geoff Simons, Cuba: From Conquistador to Castro (New York: St. Martins Press,1996), p. 254. 11 Geoff Simons, Cuba: From Conquistador to Castro (New York: St. Martins Press,1996), p. 257. 12 Juan M. del Aguila, Cuba: Dilemmas of a Revolution (Colorado: Westview Press, Inc.,1984), p. 38. 13 Juan M. del Aguila, Cuba: Dilemmas of a Revolution (Colorado: Westview Press, Inc.,1984), p. 40. 14 Sandor Halebsky and John M. Kirk, Cuba: Twenty-Five Years of Revolution, 1959 to1984 (New York: Praeger Publishers, 1985), p. 358. 15 Mark J. White, Missles in Cuba: Kennedy, Khrushchev, Castro and the 1962 Crisis(Chicago: Mark J. White, 1977), p. 12. 16 Michael G. Roskin and Nicholas O. Berry, The New World of International Relations(New Jersey: Prentice Hall, Inc., 1999), p. 190. 17 Michael G. Roskin and Nicholas O. Berry, The New World of International Relations(New Jersey: Prentice Hall, Inc., 1999), p. 190. 18 Sandor Halebsky and John M. Kirk, Cuba: Twenty-Five Years of Revolution, 1959 to1984 (New York: Praeger Publishers, 1985), p. 375. 19 Sandor Halebsky and John M. Kirk, Cuba: Twenty-Five Years of Revolution, 1959 to1984 (New York: Praeger Publishers, 1985), p. 375. 20 Sandor Halebsky and John M. Kirk, Cuba: Twenty-Five Years of Revolution, 1959 to1984 (New York: Praeger Publishers, 1985), p. 421. 21 World Wide Web, U.S. Policy Towards Cuba, (www.closeup.org/cuba, 1997). 22 World Wide Web, Boston Globe CubaNet News, Inc., (www.cubanetnews.com, 2000). 23 World Wide Web, China Helps Cuba Get Current on Communications Technology,(www.cubanetnews.com, 2000). 24 World Wide Web, Despite Guarantess, Homelessnes Creeps Into Cuba,(www.cubanetnews.com, 2000). 25 World Wide Web, Government and Politics of Cuba, (www.cubapolidata.com, 2000). Political Science