Dont Judge A Book By Its Cover Essay Example for Free

Dont Judge A Book By Its Cover Essay He may be looking corny by wearing bulky goggles or a lab coat, but Dr.Horrible isn’t what he seems. Dr.Horrible is, for one, determined. He has set a plan on how to get himself into The Evil League of Evil by assembling his Freeze-Ray and defeating his nemesis, Captain Hammer. But before he is able to assemble the Freeze-Ray, he has to steal the final â€Å"ingredient†, the Wonderflonium. Which leads me to Dr.Horrible’s second characteristic, jealous. After bumping into Captain Hammer having to save Penny’s life, both his nemesis and love falls in love, which is the reason why he has the characteristic of being jealous. The end is where Dr.Horrible receives his final characteristic, evil. He not only defeated Captain Hammer, but he has killed Penny. Because of these acts, he is finally accepted in The Evil League of Evil. Dr.Horrible may look corny, but he definitely lives up to his name, horrible.

Integrating Leadership into Professional Practice

Integrating Leadership into Professional Practice Every organization requires good leadership to ensure successful team building (Marquis Huston, 2003) and effective management of the organization (Perra, 2000) as well as personal fulfillment. In the past, health care system was a bureaucratic organization that was locked by hierarchical models type management (Thyer, 2003). However, due to advanced in technology, information and communication; changes in politics, demographic, social economics status and patients expectation toward health care system, traditional task- orientated, routine and habitual nursing management style no longer able to meet the evolving health care system. Therefore, it is crucial for current health care worker especially nurses to integrate leadership in health care management to meet the needs of contemporary professional nursing practice and consumers requirement and expectation (Sofarelli Brown, 1998). As senior medical assistant with 10 years working experiences. Currently I am practicing at a hospital based orthopeadic department in Northern Hospital. Our unit comprises four units, orthopeadic wards, Trauma operating theater, Orthopeadic clinic, Rehabilitation unit and emergency observation room. In fact, through our professional background, as a health worker, we are well trained for the decision making skill to deal with immediate patient care, such as dislocation, polytrauma, polyfracture, fat embolism, compartment syndrome and etc. Leaders have, for the most part, been concerned with orientating the profession to focus upon developing nursing practice (Salvage, 1989). As a senior Medical assistant other than giving services to the client who came to hospital to seek the treatment , I also assign to manage newly qualify staff nurses and medical assistants to makes sure that all the job done by them is following Standard Operating Procedures and helping them to get their opport unity to upgrade their knowledge. These are our new government policy and know as monitoring internship programme. According to Chua (2006) newly graduated nurses are now required to undergo a one year practical before they can earn their Annual Practice Certificate and this is part of the efforts to arrest the decline in nursing standards in public hospitals as health centers. This paper discussed about leadership quality in my organization when mentoring newly qualified staff nurses and medical assistants. As mention by Charnley (1999) the transition from student to staff nurse has always been seen as a challenging and stressful time in the working life of a nurse. In my view to lead and contributes to the development of an organization and provides professional leadership to the practice nursing team, we must have good knowledge, attitude, skills and capability. As a mentor I have to facilitate personal and professional development through identifying gaps in knowledge and skills, encouraging reflection and providing structure feedback to enable the newly qualified nurses develop and expand their practice with safety and confidence and improve standards of care. According to Clancy (2004) although employers can influence the quality of patient care, it is the qualities of individual nurses which have a more direct effect on the way patients are looked af ter. There are numerous texts providing definitions of leadership. Marquis and Huston (2003) defined leadership as a process of empowering beliefs, moving, persuading and influencing others toward a goal mostly without any force or threat. According to Yulk (1998) leadership is commonly defined as a process of influence in which the leader influences others toward goal achievement. Meanwhile Cohen (2004) stated leadership is the best tactic that one can use to motivate others and renew interest in others in attaining goals that are for the good of all. There are three style of leadership which are autocratic, democratic, and laissez-faire, as cited in Kelly-Heidenthal (2003). Autocratic leadership involves centralized decision making, with the leader making decisions and using power to command and control others. Democratic leadership is participatory, with authority delegated to others. The third style, laisser-faire leadership, is passive and permissive and the leader differs decision making. These approaches are still apparent today (Carvey, 1999), and can be used interchangeably to response to various situations. (Marquis Huston, 2000). The autocratic style can be seen as high power tactics over the group leaving very little for others to actively become involved with process changes or improvements. (Mintzberg, 1979) this style is use when the leader tells her subordinates what she want to be done and how she want it done, without getting the advice of her followers. Subordinates behavior is closely controlled through such means as punishment, reward, arbitrary rules and task orientation. According to Fieder (1967) the autocratic leadership style is based on the assumption that the leader knows everything and what is best for their organization. Subordinates cannot be trusted to do what is right for the organization. Because of this, autocratic leadership usually leads to high levels of absenteeism and staff turnover. The democratic method of leadership style is seen as the most productive within a group setting because this offers chances for their group to become one in decision making with the leader identifying individual strengths or weakness and guides the group with motivating questions and suggestions. However, the leader maintains the final decision-making authority. Using this style is not a sign of weakness; rather it is a sign of strength that your subordinates will respect. According to (Kelly, 2003) the democratic leadership style encourages subordinates participant and professional growth and promotes greater job satisfaction and improved morale. The laissez-faire style allows the subordinates to make the decision. This French phase means leave it be and is used to describe a leader who leaves her colleagues to get on with their work ( Kumar, 2006). It can be effective if the leader monitors what is being achieved and communicates this feed back to her team regularly. However, the leader is still responsible for decisions that are made. This is used when subordinates are able to analyze the situation and determine what needs to be done and how to do it. According to Daft Marcic (2001) unfortunately, the laissez-faire leadership style can also refer to situations where managers are not exerting sufficient control. Mentoring the mentorship programmed had given me the opportunity to use several of leadership style to lead the newly qualified staffs to achieve their goal and to enhance the quality of the patient care. Continuous Professional Development activities definitely improved knowledge and skill to assist newly qualified staffs in patients health education effectively, to encourage the newly qualified staffs to attend Continuous Professional Development program I use the democratic leadership style. The democratic leadership style encourages each individual to give suggestion and new ideas, and let them to decide whice the activities in Continuous Professional Development they want to attend, each individual feel valued and motivated. I also practice the autocratic style of leadership but on rare occasions especially in maintaining the Standard Operating Procedure. I will guide and coach them to develop their skills and gives them motivation to influence productivity and will provide the good quality of care to the patients. The current type of leadership is transactional leadership. Transactional leadership categorized as traditional leadership which concernig day-to-day operation in unchanged organizational system (Marquis Huston, 2003; Lindholm et al., 2000). Transactional leader represent by efficient managers that focus at on hand task, solve immediate problems, communicate clear expectation to their staff and give reward to good performance (Tatum et al., 2003). In transformational leadership, leaders and followers are able to raise each other to higher levels of morality, motivation and productivity (Marquis Huston, 2003; Lindholm et al., 2000; Spitzer- Lehmann, 1994). Transformational leader value organizational culture (Marquis Huston, 2003).Therefore, effective communication is crucial for leader and follower to share the goals and culture of the organization (Marquis Huston, 2003). The transformational leadership is the preferred model to manage todays complex and rapid ever changing healthcare environment. Transformational leadership is an empowering leadership style and one which is highly suited to the profession of nursing. Burn (1978) as cited in Kelly-Heidenthal (2003), described a transformational leader as one who empowers others. Empowerment is the process by which we facilitate the participation of others on decision-making and power sharing. Graetz, et al. (2006) described empowerment as redistribution of decision-making to involve employee or worker participation. By educating and motivating staff to practice transformational leadership, eventually the team will mature and create strong team building and high performing working culture. Hence increase health care service standard and promote cost effectiveness for the organization (Thyer, 2003). A leadership style that is empowering nurse in decision-making enable nursing practices to shift from traditional boundaries to new and effective practices. This is because health care professionals are continuing facing great challenges in dealing with patients with complicated problems. This means that nurses and nursing leaders have to be good decision-makers. However, many nursing leaders in Malaysia are adopting the hierarchal models of leadership styles which limit nurse empowerment in decision-making. This model makes it difficult for nurses to gain confidence in decision-making and skills in assertiveness and negotiations, hence prefer to adopt a submissive approach towards those who control the organizations. What is the difference between leadership and management? It is a question that has been asked more than once and also been answered in many different ways. The huge difference between managers and leaders is the way they motivate the personal who work with them. Kotter (1990) describes the differences between leadership and management in following way, Leadership is about creating change and management is about controlling complexity in an effort to bring order and consistency. Stated by Bennis Nanus (1985) managers are people who do things right and the leaders are people who do the right things. Management is defined as the action to plan, organize, direct and control staff (Marriner-Tomey, 1996). According to Allen (1998) a leader used specific skills to inspire the work of others, all leaders are not necessarily managers and all managers are not necessarily leaders, however, to be an effective manager, one must have strong leadership quality and personality. A leader is differe nt from being a manager from the following categories their point of views, actions, goals, motivation and the extent of their authority (Fieder, 1967). According to Swansburg (1996) skill of both managers and leaders are needed for successful operation of any organization. It would easy, if indeed possible, for an organization to achieve their goals if a manager did not know how to lead as well as manage. According to Grohar (1992), newly qualified nurses have found mentoring to be a useful tool for career development especially at the beginning of their career and specific defining moments such as a change of work roll. Mentoring has been accepted as a guiding of inexperienced subordinates but not at all monitoring result in the growth of the mentee. According to Hanna (1999) the young leader will learn a lot on her own and not be spoon-fed to gain knowledge from someone past experiences. This topic has attempted to broaden the understanding of the subject of leadership in nursing and to develop the theme that leadership to bridge some of gap between theory and practice in nursing, the development of the leadership, the application of leadership skills is up to us. It can only be gained through actual experience and experimentation. Actualizing goals in todays health care arena requires nurse managers to be excellent change agents and role models. Effective leadership in nursing requires skills that are both taught and practically learnt Burns (1978). According to Fielder (1967) the leadership theory a nurse choose should reflect her ideals and be one she can most effectively use. Nurses who assume leadership and management roles need to be creative thinkers, in their work demand and have to oversee that everyone else is fulfilling their duties and the patient care is of the best. In my view a good management and leadership skills are very important in this current increasing awareness of organization to meet their demands and provide excellent nursing care practices. A good leader will be able to implement effective leadership which will help to achieve unit goal by involvement by unit staffs. (2006 words)

Essay --

The â€Å"Clashing† Life of Jorge Yao Many of us have heard of the online mobile game called â€Å"Clash of Clans†. The game concept is pretty simple – you manage a village and steal others’ resources in order to upgrade your base. Surely, we have seen dozens of these games roaming on the mobile app store. But the shocking fact is that the developer, Supercell, is making $2.5 million a day off Clash of Clans, from tens of millions of active players who are given the option to spend their own money in order to speed up their army troops and upgrades. Here’s a short history and game concept of this popular game. This game was risen from the ground to the app store in early August. This online-only, multiplayer game allows players to build their village, train army troops and attack other players to steal resources from them in order to upgrade their bases and defences, which protect from other attackers. Players can lower their trophy counts to â€Å"farm† for resources (eg. gold), or win battles to increase trophies to show off but at the same time meaning attacking and defending against harder bases. Players can join groups called â€Å"clans† which players can give advices and strategies on the private clan chat. And here’s where a user who called himself Jorge Yao comes in – a well-known hero amongst experienced and amateur player. He was the first player to break the 4,000 trophy mark and held the number one spot for a whole six months. These all came to an end when Jorge announced his retirement in May, after hundreds of dollars spend into this game each week. The Beginning George Yao – his real name – immigrated to Philadelphia from China. His dad taught at the University of Pennsylvania and his mother worked at a pathology lab. George himself w... ...n that there are many stories where couples get divorced or bankrupt because of Clash of Clans, or other online multiplayer game. This all finally came to an end when six months later, in June 2013, he put down his three iPads down and quit. However as it seemed, all of his addiction, efforts, patience and fortune didn’t go to waste. In his farewell speech he posted on his social media site, he accepted his side career as a gaming design consultant for Samurai Siege, similar to Clash of Clans, and relocated to London. He thanked his clanmates, friends and fans and said he was â€Å"going out on top like Mike†, referring to Michael Jordan. â€Å"Looking back, I think I must have been insane,† he said. â€Å"I was so immersed in it at the time. I knew it was abnormal, but never to the extent that I see it now.† â€Å"Nowadays I can’t even stand opening the app, the sight of it.† He said.

Death of A Salesman :: essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Biff / Willy - Turning Points   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  A major turning point in the story Death of a Salesman occurs on pages 1394 and 1395. The scene is Willy walking into Charley’s office and he sees Bernard (Charley’s son) waiting in the waiting room. Willy sits next to Bernard and starts to have a conversation with him. The conversation starts out casual, then Willy asks Bernard where did he go wrong with Biff (Willy’s son). Bernard tells Willy that Biff was prepared to attend summer school and Willy was surprised. Bernard asks Willy if Biff came up to see him in New England. Willy replied, â€Å"Yeah, he came to Boston. What about it?† He tells Willy that when Biff came back he wasn’t the same and it was then that Bernard knew that Biff had given up his life. When Bernard asked Willy what happened up there Willy got angry and said that nothing happened. After that conversation Willy started to play back in his mind the events that occurred the day Biff came to see him in Boston. On page 1407 Willy is in the hotel room with his mistress and they hear a knock at the door. The woman tells Willy, â€Å"Aren’t you going to answer the door? He’ll wake the whole hotel.† After trying to divert her attention Willy tells the woman to hide in the bathroom while he answers the door. Willy opens the door and sees Biff standing there. He asks his son why he came to Boston and his son replies that he flunked math and doesn’t have enough credits to graduate. They talk a little more then a laugh is heard from the bathroom. The woman comes out of the bathroom and Willy tries his best to get rid of her. He tells Biff that she just needed to borrow his shower. Tears begin to fall down Biffs face and Willy is still trying to come up with excuses.

The Caribbean’s Cultural History Essay -- Culture Caribbean History Ra

The Caribbean’s Cultural History Columbus’ discovery in 1492 set off a chain of events in the emergence of the Caribbean society, as Knight states in his book The Caribbean. "The first voyage of Columbus in 1492 fortuitously discovered a whole new world and set in motion a chain of events whose profound consequences gave new directions to the histories of Europe, Africa, the Americas, and Asia. It was the voyages of Columbus and those who followed him that brought the Americas into the consciousness of the Europeans"(Knight 28). Many people question whether the discovery made by Columbus was beneficial or deteriorating for the indigenous people of the Caribbean. It was the exploration and discoveries by Columbus that further led to the exploitation of the newfound colonies and its native people. But without this exploitation, the Caribbean would not be as rich in culture as it is today. For instance, Puerto Ricans, Jamaicans, and Dominicans would not be who they are today if Columbus would not have conquered the indigenous people of the island, and set off the proceeding sequence of events. Eventually during the slave trading period, the exploitation expanded into Africa, as Europe, and especially Spain, had high hopes and expectations for the Caribbean colonies. The Europeans saw these newfound colonies as trading posts, and many saw the discovery of these islands as a way to expand and convert the indigenous people of the islands into Christianity, and exploit their land in search of gold and other valuabl e resources. The history of the Caribbean is very unique and diverse. The progress and advancement of each island complied with the European country in control of it. One of the most common characteristics of the ... ...of the Caribbean would not be so rich in culture. It was the Caribbean’s unique chain of events, which helped to shape the culture and traditions of the area, and African slavery was just another major aspect. It was the slave experience then, which helped to further define what we characterize as Puerto Ricans, Dominicans, Haitians, and Jamaicans today. Bibliography Beckles, Dr. Hillary, Verene Shepard. Caribbean Slave Society and Economy, The New Press, New York, N.Y. 1991. Cliff, Michelle. Abeng. Penguin Group, 1984. Knight, Franklin W. The Caribbean, The Genesis Of a Fragmented Nationalism. Oxford University Press, New York, N.Y. 1990. Benitez-Rojo, Antonio. The Repeating Island, Duke University, Durham & London, 1992. Mintz, Sidney W. The Caribbean as a Socio-Cultural Area, Peoples and Cultures of the Caribbean, Garden City, New Jersey, 1971.

Cultures of Pakistan Essay

Culture is the characteristics of a particular group of people, defined by everything from language, religion, cuisine, social habits, music and arts. Culture may be defined as behavior peculiar to human beings, together with material objects used. Culture consists of language, ideas, beliefs, customs, codes, institution, tools, techniques, works of arts, ceremonies and so on. According to Allama Iqbal: â€Å"Culture encompasses all the mental, Spiritual and Physical activities of a Nation. It includes the basic beliefs and faith, values and literature, art and architecture, music and mode of dress, manners and customs prevalent in a given Society.† PAKISTANI CULTURE IS A ISLAMIC CULTURE Pakistan is an ideological Islamic State. Its very existence is due to Islam, so the Pakistani culture is primarily based on the Islamic way of life. All other ingredients of culture are inspired by Islam. Pakistani culture is highlighted by its grandeur, simplicity, firm convictions and noble deeds and ideas. If we study the cultures of Pakistan there are four different types of cultures at provincial level. They are different from each other in some aspects and similar in some aspects. Punjab People: Punjabi people are very warm hearted and fun loving. Punjabis are heterogeneous group comprising of different tribes, clans, communities and are known to celebrate each and every tradition of their culture. Some popular casts of Punjabi’s are; Jats, Maliks, Mughals, Arains, Gujjars, Awans, Rajputs, Gakhars, Khokhars, Sheikhs, Aheers, Kambohs, Niazis, Legharis, Khosas, Dogars, Thaheem, Mirani, Qureshis, and Syeds. Languages: Punjabi is the provincial language of Punjab. It is spoken as the first language by majority people in Punjab, even spoken and understood in areas beyond the confines of Punjab. Facts and figures show that Punjabi language is spoken as first language by 44% of Pakistanis. Urdu language is also commonly spoken in this region. Key Punjabi languages/dialects are: Dresses: Costumes of Punjab are an indication of the bright and vibrant culture and lifestyle of the people. The costumes are a mix of colours, comfort and beauty and Punjab is well known for the use of phulkari(embroidery) in its costumes. In most of the villages of Punjab men wear Pagri(turban), dhoti/lacha, kurta, khusa. Women wear gharara, or choridar pajama or colorful shalwar kameez, paranda, choli/duppata, khusa, kola puri chappal or tillay wali jutti. Whereas in urban areas of Punjab men and women follow latest trends and fashion, generally they wear different styles of shalwar kameez. Cuisine: The extensive cuisine of Punjab can be vegetarian and non-vegetarian. Most Punjabi food is eaten with either rice or roti. There are some dishes that are exclusive to Punjab such as Mah Di Dal, Paratha, Makai ki rotti, Saron Da Saag, and in cities Choley, Haleem, Baryani and other spicy dishes are popular. In beverages, tea is consumed in all seasons and as a custom most of Punjabis serve tea to their guests. Punjabis are also fond of Zarda, Gulab-Jamuns, Kheer, Jalaibi,Samosy, Pakorey etc. During summers people drink lassi, doodh-soda, aloo bokharey ka sharbat, lemonade etc. Sports: Punjabi people have fanatical interest in sports. Punjabi’s are fond of kabaddi, and wrestling. Other games being played in Punjab region include Gilli-Danda, Khoo-Khoo, Yassu-Panju, Pitho-Garam, Ludo, Chuppan-Chupai, Baraf-Panni, Kanchy and some major sports include cricket, boxing, horse-racing, hockey and football. Cultural Festivals: There are numerous festivals which are celebrated by Punjabi people including some religious festivals such as Eid-Milad-Un-Nabi, Jumu’ah, Laylat-ul-Qadr etc. Urcs (devotional fairs),which are held at the shirnes of sufi saints, Melas and Nomaish (exhibitions). Lahori’s are famous all over the country for their celebrations particularly for Basant festival (kite flying) in the spring season. Dance and Music: Bhangra is most commonly known Punjabi music genre and dance style. Punjabis passionately love folk songs/music, Qawali and Punjabi music  is recognized throughout the world. The Tabla, Dhol, Dholki, Chimta, Flute and Sitar are all common instruments of this delightful culture. Different forms of dance in Punjab are: Loddi, Dhamal, Sammi, Kikli, Gatka, Bhangra, Giddha and Dandiya. Customs and Rituals: Some of the customs followed in Punjab have no foundation in Islam. However, the Punjabi culture has adopted those ceremonies and traditions from Hindu culture. Birth Rituals: Punjabis celebrate birth of their child with great enthusiasm. Grandfather or grandmother or some respected elder member from the family puts honey with their index finger in child’s mouth called Ghutii. Sweets are distributed among friends and relatives and people bring gifts for the child and mother. Generally on 7thday child’s head is shaven and Aqiqa ceremony is held, also sheep/goat is slaughtered. Punjabi Weddings: Punjabi weddings are based on traditions and are conducted with strong reflection of the Punjabi culture followed by several pre-wedding customs and rituals (dholki,mayun,ubtan etc.) Traditional customs and the ceremony generally lasts for 3days, Mehndi, Barat (Nikkah+Ruksati) and Walima, followed by Chauti (bringing the bride back to her parents’ home the next day). Funeral Rituals: At funerals after namaz-e-janaza it is customary to offer lunch to people who came for condolence. On 3rdday of the funeral, Qul is held and every following thursday the Quran is recited (jumah-e-raat) followed by prayers for deceased and after 40days the chaliswaan is held. Literature: Punjab is very rich with literature and Sufis adds more in its literature. Punjabi poetry is renowned for its extremely deep meaning, beautiful and hopeful use of words. The large number of Punjabi poetry is being translated throughout the world into many languages. Some famous poets of Punjabi are Sultan Bahu, Mia Mohammad Baksh, Baba Farid, Shah Hussain, Anwar Masood etc. Waris Shah, whose contribution to Punjabi literature is best-known for his seminal work in Heer Ranjha, known as Shakespeare of  Punjabi language. Bulleh Shah was a Punjabi Sufi poet, a humanist and a philosopher. The verse from Bulleh Shah primarily employed is called the Kafi, a style of Punjabi. Some other popular folk tales of Punjab include Sassi-Punnu, Sohni Mahiwal etc. that are passing through generations. Arts and Crafts: Punjab is the major manufacturing industry in Pakistan’s economy and here each art enjoys a place of its own. The main crafts created in the highlands and other rural areas of Punjab are basketry, pottery, bone work, textile, cloth woven on handlooms, cotton, silk etc. embroidery, weaving, carpets, stone craft, jewelry, metal work along with truck art and other wood works. Baluchistan Baloch culture is opposite to the general perception about it. Though Balochistan is an area of barren lands, deserts and mountains, the Baloch culture is full of traditions, arts and crafts. Balochi embroidery is one of the most popular arts and crafts which are done by the females. Baluchistan is also known for its tribes and festivals. Another distinct feature of Baloch culture is the storytelling tradition. Poets and story tellers are highly respected in Baloch culture. Language: The people belonging to Baloch tribe speak balochi language. Marriages: In Baloch culture marriages are different and unique than in the other provinces of the country. The marriages are according to Islamic principles in presence of a Mullana along with the presence of witnesses. Every member of the family takes part in the marriage; they express their joy and happiness by following the traditions of their culture. Usually the marriages are done in young ages (teenage) but are arranged in early childhood or at birth. Dressing : Like all the other provinces of Pakistan the national dress shalwar kameez with distinct additions and modifications are worn in Baloch culture. Turban is the common headwear of Bloch men along with wide loose shalwar along with knee-long shirts. Females dress consists of a shirt  having a big pocket and embroidery and embedded round mirror work in front. A big Dupatta/ Chaddar is taken to cover the head and shoulders. Festivals : Both religious and social festivals are celebrated by Baloch people. The religious festivals are same as across the country like Eid-ul-Azha and Eid-ul-Fiter. Baloch culture is full of many social festivals like Sibi festival which has folk music performance, cultural dances, handicrafts stalls, cattle shows and a number of other entertaining activities showing the colorful side of Baloch people. Music: Baloch culture is rich in folk music dances and songs. Famous wedding songs of Baloch culture are Nazenk and Salonk. The instruments used are mainly a flute, locally called Nal, Tamboora and Soroz. A common Baloch folk dance is known as Dochaap. Women also move in a circle clapping their hands on certain occasions. Other dances include the Lewa, Latti and Hambo. Food: Usually Baloch people have meals in morning and evening. Men and women eat separately. Wheat, millet and rice are part of the Baloch meal. Meat is also an important part; â€Å"Sajji† is the favorite dish of most people. Sajji is the food eaten with knife other than that Baloch people usually eat with hands. Milk, butter and vegetables are also part of Baloch cuisine. Sports: Popular games include chauk, and Ji. Also games like wrestling, horse racing, shooting and hunting pastimes among the wealthier people of tribes. Card games and gambling are also popular among groups of some tribes. Sindh Sindh is one of the four provinces in Pakistan located at the Southern border. The province of Sindh has been named after the famous River Indus. In Sanskrit, the province was dubbed Sindhu meaning an ocean. Language: Sindhi language is an ancient language spoken in Pakistan and many other parts of the world. Government of Pakistan issues National Identity Cards to its citizens only in two languages; Sindhi and Urdu. Festivals: The people of Sind love their religion and the two festivals of Eid-ul-Adha and Eid-ul-Fitr are celebrated with zeal and enthusiasm.  Different domestic festivals are arranged by the local people to provide people with new things they buy on Eid’s occasion. On different occasions, the Folk dance of Bhagat is also performed by professionals to entertain the visiting people. Hence, a Sindhi Cultural Festival is a compound of folk dances, music and cheap entertainment for local people. Lifestyle: People of Sindh are more inclined towards an agricultural based lifestyle. The fertile Indus Plains provide a valuable source of income for the local people who practice farming on these lands. Inland fishing is also practiced along the Indus River in Upper Sind providing further opportunities for local people. Itinerant way of lifestyle is commonly seen in the desertic regions of Thar where people move from place to place in search for drinking water sources along with their animals. Arts and Music: Sindhi society is dominated by great Sufis, the mystics and the martyrs. It has always been the land of peace, love, romance, and great cultural and artistic values. There were the great theologians of the Naqsh bandi order in Thatta who translated the fundamentals of the religion of Islam into their mother tongue. There were the great Sufi (mystic) poets like Shah Abdul Latif Bhitai who was the cherisher of truth and spent all his life in its propagation, pursuit and quest. Bhitai was also an excellent musician. He invented a new type of musical instrument, Tambura (drone instrument), which till today, is a primary source of music in rural Sindh. The beauty of Shah’s verses is enhanced by his blending of traditional Indian rag with the Sindhi folk songs and music. Cultural character:The ancient Sindhi civilization was the place, where the aesthetic utilization of leisure was freely indulged. There has been evidence, that the excavations of sites dating back to 3000 B.C. (all over Sindh) is also true, around 1200 years ago when Jaina Dakshiniya Chihna (778 A.D.) described the distinguished features of Sindhi’s in this way: â€Å"Elegant, with a lovely, soft and slow gait, they are fond of the art of harvas (that is, songs, music and dancing) and full affection towards their country.† Sindhi’s celebrate Sindh Cultural day worldwide on 6th December by wearing Ajrak & Sindhi Topi on that time. Pashtun The history and the origins of Pathans has been a controversial debate however not much of a consensus could be formed . There were theories ranging from Pakhtuns having an Aryan, Jewish, Arab or mixed origin. None was convincing enough to form a conclusion. Patahns are extremely obsessed and curious to know about their origin of their race, however it might not be a major concern for many other races. Holidays , special events and Traditions: Gham khadi,Wada Koidana,Topak tamacha,hujra,kat bistara along with those is the arrival of Sparlay or Spring, known as Nava Wroz (New Day), is also celebrated by some Pashtuns. It is an ancient annual Pashtun festival which celebrates both the beginning of spring and the New Year. Amongst some Pashtuns, Sheshbeeyeh, a prelude festival to Nava Wroz is also celebrated. Food: One of the most famous dishes includes tikkah,serge,sugi ka halwa,kawa,chapali kabab,kabala palao,special long naans. And many more Poetry: Pathan are very famous for their poetry ,they are very passionate and patriotic which is obvious from their poetry. Some of the famous poets are include Amir Kror Suri, Khushal Khan Khattak, Rahman Baba and many others. Dances Attan: In this dance, the dancers perform to the music.This dance is performed by both the genders involving 2-5 steps, ending with a clap given while facing the center, after which the process is repeated again. This dance is typically performed with the musician dictating the duration and speed. Khattak dance: The Khattak Dance is performed by the Khattak tribe. Mahsud dance: A unique dance routine using rifles performed by the Mahsud tribe of Pashtuns. Originally it was used to dance at the time of war, but later on became a cultural dance. The dancers dance empty handed and require only large drums. Nowadays though it is danced with the guns in the dancers hand. Waziri dance: Two drummers and a flute player play a particular tune. Two persons leave the circle; go dancing towards the drummers, and come back  dancing in the same manner. During performing both the persons turn around two times at a time once towards each other facing face to face and once keeping faces in opposite direction. After doing this separately they march while dancing to the assembled crowd. Clothing: Pashtun men usually wear a Partoog-Korteh in Pashto(salwar kameez is Urdu)with a pakul (Pashtun hat). In the Kandahar region young men usually wear different type of hat similar to a topi and in the Peshawar region they wear white kufis instead. Leaders or tribal chiefs sometimes wear a karakul hat, like Hamid Karzai and others. Women and girls wear traditional long dresses with a light piece of cloth used to cover their hair.They also wear beautiful hand made jewellery. And beautiful pakhtoon frocks. Sports: Some Pashtuns participate in buzkashi, which is a sport introduced in the region during the Mughal era.. The word â€Å"buz† means â€Å"goat† and â€Å"kashi† means â€Å"dragging† or â€Å"pulling†. Not a team sport, it is every man for himself and that becomes apparent as soon as the game starts. Although buskashi is primarily an individual sport, alliances are built up between various players. Between the alliances, the strongest players finally take control .This is very similar to polo. Football is another sports very enjoyablely played by pathans of Khyber pahktoonwar.

Blue Cross

When several Blue Cross Blue Shield programs in upstate New York merged, each organization brought its own business processes and IT systems to the new entity. Because they were so different, yet had to be consolidated, the new entity, Excellus Blue Cross Blue Shield, wanted to first implement a strong business analysis process to clearly identify company functions and processes. They wanted to be able to inventory and visualize their current state architecture in support of system modernization and SOA efforts. Problem Excellus Blue Cross Blue Shield is part of a $4 billion family of companies that finances and delivers health care services across upstate New York, including the major cities of Syracuse, Elmira, Rochester, Utica, and Buffalo. As New York State’s largest nonprofit health plan, the organization provides health insurance to more than 2 million people, and employs more than 6,000 New Yorkers. It is the result of a merger of several health organizations serving upstate New York. Following the merger, Excellus found that there were few enterprise architecture (EA) standards embraced by all of the previously independent entities. The company formed a group within the IT department to focus on EA as it consolidated business and IT systems and reduced the amount of technical diversity within the organization. With multiple platforms and environments, it was extremely challenging to create smoothly running, cohesive business procedures, without a clear understanding of what processes and systems were serving each organization. Many of these legacy systems, some in place for 30+ years, didn’t have adequate documentation, so there were parts of the systems that were completely unknown. â€Å"Before making sweeping policy or platform decisions, we recognized the importance of identifying all company functions and the processes used to implement them,† explained Eric Stephens, enterprise architect, Enterprise Architecture and Integration Team at Excellus. â€Å"This was the first step in our effort to reduce duplicate processes that were a normal result of the merger. We had to develop single systems for claims processing, provider contracting, member registration, and more, but could not do that until we fully understood and mapped the existing processes. † Excellus recognized that a key success factor would be a service-oriented architecture (SOA) approach, offering the ability to devise flexible architectures that rely on smaller parts (services), rather than larger monolithic solutions. Being able to implement the architecture in parts gives the company more choices (buy vs. uild) and allows for variation in particular components to adapt to a shifting market demand for products. It was clear that going forward with big systems implementations would drive both risks and financial resources to unacceptable levels. In addition, the organization established a goal of standardizing practices so that customers and others outside the organization would feel like they were dealing with a single company, rather than multiple entities in a loose federation.