The Black Hills Of South Dakota - 1242 Words

This paper provides a brief background of how one man’s idea of attracting tourist to the Black Hills area in South Dakota, transformed into an iconic National symbol that attracts over 2.5 million visitors a year. Similarly, we will also review the combination of ingenious and primitive engineering techniques used to remove almost 450,000 tons of granite during the 14 year project. We will also explore the background of the artist, Gutzon Borglum, a renowned sculptor and artist, who made carving Mount Rushmore his last and final life’s passion. Together, with the help of his son Lincoln, they overcame critical design changes, setbacks, and the ever present financial deficits to make an American monument that will stand the test of time. ENGINEERING MOUNT RUSHMORE Nestled in the Black hills of South Dakota sits one of America’s most iconic national landmarks. There, carved into the granite face of what the Lakota Sioux once called â€Å"six grandfathers† mountain, are the faces of four U.S. Presidents, who are credited with great contributions to the country and westward expansion. Few Americans know of the tremendous engineering required to accomplish the sculptures, nor do they know the arduous conditions the laborers endured to give America one of its most treasured landmarks. The original idea of creating a tourist attraction in the Black Hills area came from South Dakota State Historian Doane Robinson. After reading about an artist’s work on Stone Mountain in theShow MoreRelatedThe Black Hills Of South Dakota1015 Words   |  5 Pages1884 in the Black Hills of South Dakota. A New York lawyer had just traveled there to inspect mining claims in that region. The man s name was Charles E. Rushmore. Rushmore was curious by one of the mountains and asked a towns person what the name of the mountain was. The towns person replied saying it had no name. From then on Charles Rushmore started calling it Rushmore Peak. Over time it became known as Mount Rushmore (history.com). During the following years the area of the Black Hills decided theyRead MoreThe Black Hills Institution Of South Dakota831 Words   |  4 PagesThe Black Hills Institution in South Dakota has the rights to own Sue. They found her, claimed her, and even paid for her, meaning that the g overnment should have nothing to do with who the owns her. In 1990, at the Ruth Mason Dinosaur Quarry in South Dakota, paleontologist Susan Hendrickson Ph.D., discovered some fossil bones on the side of a cliff. Her co-worker and one of the founders of The Black Hill Institution, Peter Larson, a paleontologist, helped uncover what was known as a TyrannosaurusRead MoreThe Lakota Sioux Of The Sioux Nation1599 Words   |  7 Pagesgroup’s identity as a people. One such group is the Teton Lakota of the Sioux Nation in South Dakota, an area that has been home to them for hundreds of years and, while their entire homeland is precious to them, of particular importance are the Black Hills, or Paha Sapa as they are called in Lakota. The Black Hills are an isolated mountain range rising 3000 to 4000 feet above the surrounding plains of South Dakota, Wyoming, and Montana (Sundstrom et al. 1996). The importance of this land to the SiouxRead MoreAmerican Environmental History : The Great Sioux Nation1384 Words   |  6 Pagesmain groups speaking different dialects: the Lakota, Dakota and Nakota. The Lakota, also known as the Teton Sioux, were the most western and largest of the three, as they occupied lands in both North and South Dakota. The Dakota, otherwise known as the Santee Sioux, lived throughout the regions of Minnesota and Nebraska. The smallest of the three, the Nakota, resided mostly in the Montana area, but also occupied lands in South and North Dakota. As stated previously, these people remain some of theRead MoreThe United States And Native Americans Essay1300 Words   |  6 Pageseven if they made them leave by force.This treaty was to basically stop the expansion of Native Americans more westward. By establishing this act federal officials were sent thought out the nation to negotiate this treaty with the tribes through the south, and getting most of the tribes to sign it. The next big treaty that basically everyone remembers is the Trail of Tears treaty. This treaty was brought up because of the Cherokee in Georgia were fighting against leaving their land. President JacksonRead MoreThe Outrageousness of The Battle of Little Bighorn1286 Words   |  5 Pagesbiggest blunders in American military history. It is also believed to be one of the most unfair decisions made by the military because of the fact that it was extremely discriminatory to the Native Americans that lived in the region of the Black Hills in South Dakota. The rights of Native Americans has been an ongoing issue ever since the pilgrims started making their settlements on Indian land. Indians had finally had enough of the Americans taking their land and in June of 1876, a bloody battle tookRead MoreLakota Sioux Tribe : The Lakota Tribe1200 Words   |  5 PagesThe Lakota Sioux primarily located in North and South Dakota â€Å"are one of three main subdivisions of the Great Sioux Nation † (â€Å"Lakota†, n.d). Prior to the 1900’s, â€Å"The Lakota tribe consist of seven bands that lived throughout the Great Plains, the largest and most famous of being the Oglala Sioux Tribe† (â€Å"Lakota†, n.d.). In the late 1800’s the Lakota were relocated to several reservations, with the majority of the tribe living on the Pine Ridge Reservation and the Rosebud Reservation. In additionRead MoreThe Mental Model Of Donnie Vincent s Life1383 Words   |  6 Pagesand hunting. 1b. The social hunters were the second largest group of the Black Hills deer hunters. They value social time with friends and family when participating in hunting. These hunters have similar emotions and values to Donnie, but can differ as well. Although Donnie enjoys the social part of hunting, as he is seen with one or two other people, he really seems to value the nature and meat aspects of the hunt. The hills social hunters have these reasons to hunt as well, but the time spent withRead MoreThe Life of Sitting Bull1014 Words   |  5 Pageswith both white men and Indians. Sitting Bull was regarded as both one of the most powerful and one of the most famous Native American Chiefs to have lived. Sitting Bull was born in 1831 in an area along the Grand River in what is now known as South Dakota. His father was a Sioux warrior named Returns-Again (Biography.com) and his mother was called Her-Holy-Door. They originally named him Jumping Badger and was given the nickname Hunkesi which stands for â€Å"slow†. The reason for calling him HunkesiRead MoreAnalysis Of The Book Days Of Destruction By Chris Hedges And Joe Sacco870 Words   |  4 PagesDestruction written by both Chris Hedges and Joe Sacco offers a first hand account into some of the United States most impoverished areas, some not only the most impoverished towns in the U.S. but also in the western hemisphere. The town of Pine Ridge, South Dakota acts as an example of the long-standing marginalization of Native Americans conducted by the U.S. government, which has been taking place for over a hundred and fifty years. The ramifications of the policies put into effect by the U.S. government

The Fuel Behind the Rapid Spread of Islam During Free Essays

The religion of Islam is the second largest belief system in the world with over one billion believers. As of 2009, almost one quarter of the world’s population follow after Islam, second only to Christianity. But roughly 15 centuries ago, this was not true at all concerning Islam. We will write a custom essay sample on The Fuel Behind the Rapid Spread of Islam During or any similar topic only for you Order Now The populations that now embrace Islam have roots in a polytheistic society where Islam did not yet exist. Christianity was clearly the dominant religion of that time period and the wide influence of the Byzantine Empire ensured the continued influence of the Church. Some historians have noted that nothing substantial seemed to stand out culturally or militarily concerning the emerging Muslim population when compared with Europe. Simon Barton of the University of Exeter writes in his book review concerning the work, The Great Arab Conquests: How the Spread of Islam Changed the World We Live In: â€Å"Why did Islam prove so conspicuously successful in galvanizing the energies of its adherents? Why was it, given that the Muslims achieved no significant breakthrough in military technology that the well-established great powers with which they came into conflict – notably the Byzantine and Persian empires in the east – or the Visigothic kingdom in the west proved unable to halt their advance? † (Sidelko 2009, 466) The fact that the emerging Muslim society didn’t appear to have an overwhelming advantage in the years leading up to the seventh century growth explosion of Islam begs the very question that Simon Barton just asked. In this paper, I will attempt to discuss some of the conditions that help account for the rapid spread of Islam during the 7th century, such as the political conditions surrounding the Byzantine Empire, conditions surrounding Orthodoxy and Catholicism, and conditions surrounding the introduction of Islam as a religion. From the 6th century leading into the 7th century, the Byzantine Empire became locked in a series of wars with the Persian Empire. These conflicts began around 500 A. D. , and lasted nto the first decades of the 7th century. These disputes brought about a great strain upon resources for both empires. Both lands were diminished and did not have enough time to lick their wounds before raids from Muslim groups started becoming more and more frequent. Although the Byzantine Empire seemed to have some form of victory over the Persian Empire, that notion became meaningless when Persian Empire under the rule of the Sasanian dynasty began to fall to the Arabs raiders who were becoming more organized as time progressed. Eventually, the Persian Empire was completely absorbed– just as the Oxford Islamic Studies Online article states, â€Å"The surprising speed at which the conquests took place can be attributed to the weakness of countries debilitated by long external conflicts (the Sasanian Empire) or by the fragility of internal structure (The Spread of Islam). † The Byzantine Empire lost much of their territory that they had claimed from the Persians. They simply were not ready for a fresh, new challenger after dealing with a century long war. This is one of the conditions that accounts for the rapid growth of Islam. Many Arabs had become fervent followers of Islam at this point and Muslims had gained established, strong leadership which was directing their growing forces despite Mohammad’s death. With the gaining of new territory, the message of Islam would no doubt follow along. Without successes from the likes of Charles Martel, the Byzantine Empire could have ended up like the Persians. Again, the Oxford Islamic Studies Online article writes, â€Å"The eighth century saw further expansions eastwards as far as the river Indus and the Sind region and westwards through northern Africa to Spain and France where the over-stretched army was stopped at the battle of Poitiers by Charles Martel†. (The Spread of Islam) The Byzantine Empire was greatly diminished, but still managed, however, to stay intact enough to prevent total assimilation of the Arab conquest. During the time of the 7th century, Christianity was largely split into two main groups– Orthodoxy and Catholicism. These two counterparts of Christianity often times were at odds because of discrepancies over where the true source of Church authority actually resided within the Byzantine Empire. As a result, Christian fringe groups in countries such as Egypt or Palestine would be easily labeled as heretics and would find themselves disassociated from the Church. When the Arab conquest claimed these lands, they tended to show more tolerance for non Muslims in exchange for good citizenship within he new Islamic environment. Also, Islam was fresh and hadn’t begun to suffer from its own power struggles from within the belief system. As Shenk writes, â€Å"One wonders what parallels to Muslim Spain might be found in the rise of an Islamic presence in the heart of the European Balkans. Bosnia’s capital Sarajevo adds the intrigue of its location along the historic fault line between the two major branches of the Christian heritage in the region, Orthodox and Catholic. In any number of centuries since the arrival of Slavic peoples in migrations dating from the sixth and seventh centuries (C. E. ), recruitment efforts based both in Rome and in Constantinople (Istanbul today) were zealous to secure the allegiance of the newly arriving tribes for their respective church orbits. † (Shenk et al 2006) This tolerance is described as a sort of legacy that some regions of the Muslim world have left behind. Many oppressed throughout history after the seventh century could flee to certain parts of the Muslim world for refuge. Muslims believed in one true God, and they determined that the rule of the land and Islam should be the same– one people, one government, and one religion without any distinctions. This characteristic, along with Muslims early tolerance of fringe Christian groups seems to have given Islam a subtle, but unique advantage over the appeal that Orthodoxy and Catholicism had towards other Christians. As a result of this, Islam was better able to retain more territories and perhaps even convert more people over to their faith. These conditions also help account for the rapid spread of Islam during the 7th century. Paul Sidelko s remarks in his review of Hugh Kennedy’s book, â€Å"Whether it was demographic decline and internal political divisions that sapped the morale of many of Islam’s rivals, or the motivation, leadership and mobility that characterized the Muslim military machine, Kennedy wisely concludes that in the final analysis timing was everything. If Muhammad had been born a generation earlier, it is unlikely that he or his successors would have achieved what they did. (Sidelko 2009, 466) One cannot know for certain what would have happened if Muhammad started spreading Islam a generation earlier. But, I would tend to agree with Sidelko (and Kennedy’s) notion that if Muhammad had lived to spread Islam in 300 A. D. rather than in 500 A. D. , Islam may not have spread so well. Also, nothing really stood out about early Muslim culture or technology during the times leading up to their conquest. â€Å"The main reason the early presence of Muslims is difficult to find in the archaeological record is not because we don’t know where or how to look for it; it is because it isn’t there. Outside of Arabia, Muslims have been a minority of immigrants at first and have tended to assimilate to the local material culture. Local converts to Islam have tended to keep their own material culture. † (Morony 2006, 437) Early Muslims simply didn’t stand out even with the archaeological record. To me, this suggests that Byzantine Empire would have been stronger, and far more equipped to handle a growing adversary who was still a minority if Islam’s rise happened earlier in history. The Persian Empire may not have yielded so readily, perhaps keeping Islam contained even further. And the conditions in Arab society may not have been quite so receptive to Muhammad’s new religion. Muhammad faced opposition for many years before he was successful at gaining any traction for his Islamic teachings among the Arab people. One hundred years earlier may have been even more difficult to do– especially since the Arabs were polytheistic well before Muhammad started to spread Islam. There is also something to be said about how fervent the Muslims became about Islam once it finally started to become popular after Muhammad’s death. The Arabs took with them a fresh faith with a fresh sense of fervency that was not equally matched the war torn Byzantine and Persian Empires. â€Å"For the first five centuries or so since the earliest, and most traumatic, encounter between Christendom and Islam in the second quarter of the seventh century, Christian attitudes to Islam had been compounded of ignorance, misperception, hostility and fear. † (Fletcher et al 2003). Such hostility and fear may not have been aroused by a younger, stronger Byzantine Empire. So then, the mere timing of the introduction of Islam seems to account for why this faith spread so rapidly during the 7th century. When one considers how the present is interwoven with the past, it is amazing to consider how the teachings of one man could spread so quickly across the world hundreds of years ago, and yet still maintain a quarter of the world’s population as followers in present times. It is amazing to think that Islam perhaps wouldn’t be prevalent at all if Muhammad or his successors were born too early or too late for the Muslim message to catch on due to unforeseen cultural influences. What if Muhammad had been born elsewhere? And to think– what if somehow the Byzantine Empire had found a way to better manage their constant fighting with Persia, or if the Catholic Church had exercised more tolerance like the Muslims first did after acquiring new lands that had a noticeable Christian population? A change in these factors could have certainly changed the course of history. But as things are, these conditions of the past are the reasons why Islam spread so rapidly centuries again, and is still one of the largest religions in the world today. How to cite The Fuel Behind the Rapid Spread of Islam During, Essay examples

Entrepreneurship in International Emerging Markets

Question: Discuss about the Entrepreneurship in International Emerging Markets. Answer: Introduction The entrepreneurship is considered as a key for the purpose of improving the society, especially the developed countries (Drucker, 2014). The process of conceptualizing, planning, launching and functioning of a new business is known as entrepreneurship. It is a combined terminology that requires management skills as well as creative skills (Drucker, 2014). The entrepreneurs should experience a driving force which would motivate them to excel in their new business project. They should aim for the creation of value for the newly formed company. This report is based on the analysis of the profiles of entrepreneurs in 2016. It describes the driving force behind venturing into entrepreneurship, especially in the international markets. The personality traits of an entrepreneur are discussed along with reference to the emerging markets and BRICS. Definition of entrepreneurship A person who is responsible for the organization, management and success of an enterprise is known as an entrepreneur (Drucker, 2014). The phenomenon of planning, designing and implementing a business idea is known as entrepreneurship. The entrepreneur should have the capability of developing, organizing and managing a business venture with an intention of profit making (Barringer, 2012). He should also have decision making capabilities, including risk solving abilities. There can be several problems in entrepreneurship such as the paucity of funds, economic crisis, inappropriate business decisions and others. It is the inherent responsibility of an entrepreneur to manage such kinds of contingencies (Drucker, 2014). The entrepreneur should be able to identify the market opportunities and decide the means of exploiting them. The concept if high impact entrepreneurs are quite common now a day. The high impact entrepreneurs are the persons who initiate and expand the business based on parameters such as innovation (Sarasvathy, Menon Kuechle, 2013). They proliferate their business in a way which is based on creative concepts. They handle large opportunities and strive to grow rapidly. In this process, a large number of job opportunities are created that offer crucial economic impact. There are four important criteria that are considered in high impact entrepreneurship - innovation, job creation, societal impact and wealth creation (Sarasvathy, Menon Kuechle, 2013). Qualities of a successful entrepreneur The startup companies must possess some basic skills in order to be successful in their business skills. The skills may range from sales, marketing, product development, capital raising, leadership, law, product development and others (Putta, 2014). Some of the identified skills of a high impact entrepreneur are listed below- Product Development- The entrepreneur should possess new product development skills by gathering knowledge based on consumer feedback and market survey (Putta, 2014). The product offering should satisfy the needs of the consumers. Financial Management- The entrepreneur should be able to manage the expenses of the company (Putta, 2014). He should have knowledge of financial statements, creation of financial forecasts, management of cash flows and others. Sales and marketing- The start up firms should know how to market their products or services (Putta, 2014). It should have in-depth knowledge of the target markets. Innovative thinking- The entrepreneurs should use business models, innovation tools such as Lean Canvas, Business Model Canvas and Validation Board (D'Hauwers, Rits Schuurman, 2015). This is required for testing and validating the proposed business idea. Legal management- The knowledge regarding the legal guidelines of the particular country is important for the purpose of smooth operations of the business. Capital generation- An entrepreneur should be aware of the investors from whom they can generate capital for their business (Putta, 2014). Factors leading to entrepreneurship The fact that people are born with necessary entrepreneurial traits is a fallacy. There are both external as well as internal factors that influence entrepreneurs (DeMartino Barbato, 2015). The factors decide whether an individual is inclined towards entrepreneurship- Individual personality- The personality traits of an individual decide if he is able to shoulder the responsibilities of an entrepreneur. Practical skills- The skills acquired from the educational institutions enhance the competency of an individual, thereby reducing the fear of failures (DeMartino Barbato, 2015). This makes the individuals to accept challenges and venture into entrepreneurship. Support of local regulatory bodies- People assess the level of support from the local regulatory bodies before they decide to start up their own firms. Role models- The young role models inspire the potential entrepreneurs. Cultural attitudes- The attitudes of a particular culture are important for shaping up the attitudes of an entrepreneur (DeMartino Barbato, 2015). Social exposure- The close friends, acquaintances, family members and others influence the decisions of an individual if he is eager to embrace entrepreneurship. Fig: Factors leading to entrepreneurship Source: Created by the author BRICS- Emerging market The country is said to be an emerging market when it displays few characteristics of a developed economy, yet unable to meet the preset standards of a developed market. The markets of India and China are considered to be the biggest emerging markets. The BRICS countries are the largest emerging countries with nominal GDP (Babu, Hariharan Srinivasan, 2016). They are- Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. The second largest emerging countries are Mexica, South Korea, Turkey, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Indonesia. The creation of new firms without the intervention of formal institutions is concerned with a high degree of complexity and risk (Hakim, Hamid, Meera, 2015). The formal institutions may involve regulatory bodies and formal legislations. The entrepreneurs should be able to develop appropriate institutional arrangements within the concerned field. They may consider strategies such as institutional brokering, spanning organizational voids, bridging organizational distance a nd others. Benefits of entrepreneurship in BRICS The entrepreneurship is a vital component of both the emerging countries as well as the developed countries. The different countries present different opportunities for the entrepreneurs. China presents a huge market while Brazil has large natural resources (Quinones, Nicholson, Heeks, 2015). The new addition in the BRICS, South Africa, is the new face of global trade and a profitable place for investments. The emerging countries enable the entrepreneurs to open up new avenues of investment. The different cultures in different countries give ample opportunities to the entrepreneurs. They can offer unique products that suit the needs of the local customers. The most appropriate entry to an emerging economy is by the means of strategic alliance (Woodside, Bernal Coduras, 2016). There should be a mutually beneficial and enriching relationships between the strategic partners so that the new business firm can experience greater success. Advantages of entrepreneurship over employment There are significant advantages of entrepreneurship over traditional employment. The entrepreneurs are able to set the companys mission as well as determine the key strategies of the company (Autio et al., 2014). There is flexible schedule and one can work on his personalized job timings. The control over the work timings also increases the productivity and willingness to work. The entrepreneurs enjoy the power of making decisions regarding business matters. They can reap the outputs of their own work. The advantages of entrepreneurship are listed below- FACTORS ENTREPRENEURSHIP EMPLOYMENT Flexibility Design personalized work schedule Fixed duty timings Excitement Start up to development- Exciting job Monotonous and boring Decision Making Authority to take decisions Done by senior management Compensation Enjoys the whole share of profit Salary- Small chunk of profit Delegation Own boss with no superiors Supervising bosses Fig: Advantages of entrepreneurship over employment Source: Created by Author Personality attributes of an entrepreneur The interviewed entrepreneur has demonstrated the following personality traits (Muoz-Bulln, Snchez-Bueno Vos-Saz, 2015)- Self confidence- The entrepreneur is confident about his capabilities and can effectively control the diverse situations. He is confident enough to handle difficult problems in a smooth manner. Intellectual ability- He possesses the ability to adapt new skills quickly and become an expert in the concerned subject area. Autonomy- The interviewed entrepreneur prefers to choose the direction of his own work and lead his team towards the organizations goals. Persistence- He can tackle the obstacles that come on his way towards success (Muoz-Bulln, Snchez-Bueno Vos-Saz, 2015). He is willing to overcome the barriers on his journey. Innovative- He is creative and has out of box thinking ideas. He can give innovative solutions to the problems. High tolerance levels- The entrepreneur can quickly adapt to the working environment. He is not afraid to work in a high risk environment (Muoz-Bulln, Snchez-Bueno Vos-Saz, 2015). He can adjust himself in any kinds of situations. Good communication skills- He can articulate the strategy of the company in a lucid manner. His speech is convincing and can attract the investors, subordinates and the customers. Conclusion The entrepreneurship is a wide subject which has fascinated the whole world. It is the new trend in the emerging markets. An increasing number of people are opting to entrepreneurship. This is because of the advantages associated with it. This report broadens the knowledge regarding entrepreneurship. It discusses the qualities of a successful entrepreneur which are required to excel in the business venture. The different factors that lead to a person to start his own business firm are discussed. The international emerging markets and BRICS are discussed in brief. The significant advantages of entrepreneurship over employment are discussed. The interviewed entrepreneur displayed certain personality attributes that are discussed in detail. References Autio, E., Kenney, M., Mustar, P., Siegel, D., Wright, M. (2014). Entrepreneurial innovation: The importance of context.Research Policy,43(7), 1097-1108. Babu, M., Hariharan, C., Srinivasan, S. (2016). Efficiency of Emerging and Emerged Capital Markets: An Empirical Study on BRICS and G7 Nations.Research Bulletin,42(1), 61-77. Barringer, B. (2012).Entrepreneurship: Successfully Launching New Ventures, (2012). DeMartino, R., Barbato, R. (2015). An analysis of the motivational factors of intending entrepreneurs.Journal of Small Business Strategy,13(2), 26-36. D'Hauwers, R., Rits, O., Schuurman, D. (2015). A hypothesis driven tool to structurally embed user and business model research within Living Lab innovation tracks. InOpen Living Lab Days 2015. Drucker, P. (2014).Innovation and entrepreneurship. Routledge. Hakim, S. A., Hamid, Z., Meera, A. K. M. (2015). Combining local and global markets in asset pricing in emerging markets: Evidence from three BRICS nations.The Journal of Developing Areas,49(3), 365-378. Muoz-Bulln, F., Snchez-Bueno, M. J., Vos-Saz, A. (2015). Nascent entrepreneurs personality attributes and the international dimension of new ventures.International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal,11(3), 473-492. Putta, S. S. (2014). Improving Entrepreneur's Management Skills through Entrepreneurship Training.Journal of Commerce and Management Thought,5(3), 459. Quinones, G., Nicholson, B., Heeks, R. (2015). A Literature Review of E-Entrepreneurship in Emerging Economies: Positioning Research on Latin American Digital Startups. InEntrepreneurship in BRICS(pp. 179-208). Springer International Publishing. Sarasvathy, S. D., Menon, A. R., Kuechle, G. (2013). Failing firms and successful entrepreneurs: Serial entrepreneurship as a temporal portfolio.Small business economics,40(2), 417-434. Woodside, A. G., Bernal, P. M., Coduras, A. (2016). The general theory of culture, entrepreneurship, innovation, and quality-of-life: Comparing nurturing versus thwarting enterprise start-ups in BRIC, Denmark, Germany, and the United States.Industrial Marketing Management,53, 136-159.