A Horrid Memory Essay Example for Free

A Horrid Memory Essay My sweaty palms ran through-out the thin strands of my hair as I tried to comfort myself for just a single moment. I felt scared, almost terrified as the screams of my nightmare echoed in my ears and made my head throb. Almost never did I have such vivid dreams, and when I did, I never remembered them the next day. Nevertheless, I dont think that Ill ever be able to make amends with my darkest memories and reliving situations that scarred my childhood and eventually my life, can never be forgotten. All I can do is go back and ask what this version of myself could have done to avoid or even confront the situations and events. Around me, there were four chairs, each one with a primary colors: blue, red, green and yellow, around the circular, light wooden table, and of course, I was in one of them. In front of me, was my mother, who had a slim and petite figure, dark brown hair, as well as matching brown eyes and tanned skin; she was feeding the birthday girl, who was a 1 year toddler. Next to me was my six year old sister, and she had pale skin with orange colored freckles, almond shaped eyes and chestnut hair. On the right side of the table, was my stepfather, who was visibly, a few drinks from drunk, and you could notice it by the scent coming out of his mouth and his blood shot eyes. He was also pale, freckles everywhere and bold eyes that made little statement thanks to his glasses. I was about thirteen years old, and I can still recall the smell of a hot and cheesy plate of macaroni, and each bite that I took of it was better than the one before. But I was so focused in my delicious food, that I hadnt realized the silence that crept over the entire table. Feeling like there was an absence of a healthy family conversation, I tried to create a conversation â€Å"So.. What did you guys do today? † I said, feeling my eyes were full of excitement and content, food always had that effect on me. Four pairs of eyes were staring at me, and I began to drop my fork as I saw my stepfather placing a knife against his five-o-clock shadow. Everyone in the table stared at him, and I immediately started to feel uncomfortable. â€Å"Is it true what Isabel told me? † His voice was cold, dark and had a sense of hidden humor, it felt like a horror movie. Our eyes then shifted towards Isabel, my little sister, and she looked like she had just fallen into a hole and had no idea how to get out of it. â€Å"She told me that you guys didnt love me, you guys didnt want me. † He spoke once again with the same tone, and at first, I thought he was joking, so I laughed but then I was rewarded with a deadly glare, which let me know that he wasnt joking. The air around the room got thin, and I could feel the walls trying to suffocate me. My mom, knowing he was drunk, had an annoyed expression planted on her face. â€Å"No, we never said that, now finish up your plate. I think its time for you to go to bed. † She usually had pretty low tolerance with drunk people, and her husband was no exception. I think that the only one that wasnt in tension, was my 1 year old sister, Dianelle because she couldnt understand dialogue, what we were saying. He shoved the plate from the edge of the table, and soon after, I heard it smash against the ground. After being well aware about what was going to happen next, I took Dianelle into my arms and let my mother handle the situation before I said anything that would make him angrier. Nelson, my stepfather, got up from his chair and went to the kitchen cabinets to get something and when he turned around, he had a jalapeno mixed with DonQ spice in his hand. â€Å"You know what happens when you lie to me? You get jalapeno in your mouth. † He must have been mentally sick, because he was actually laughing. As a result of the emitted screams, yells and pleading for him to stop, the police came and took him away, right after he took out the butcher knife. In those three months that he wasnt around, it had probably been the most peaceful moments that my mother and my sisters spent together, we were even closer. The house was calm, the flowers smelled better and I didnt feel in danger or threatened while he was gone. But he eventually came back, and my mom accepted him, with the excuse of a face that he always made, opening his eyes widely and puckering his lips, trying to make a puppy dog face and he always got everyone to laugh. Ive learned that no matter how much you love someone, theyre never worth hurting the rest of the people around you, that love you.

Study On The Olmec Culture

Study On The Olmec Culture The Olmec culture has been the focus of intense discussion and archeological exploration in recent years. It is considered to be one of the most interesting and also one of the mysterious ancient civilizations. The Olmec civilization is considered to be the first known ordered civilization to arise in Mesoamerica. It was also the first civilization in the region to build huge monumental temple mounds and building. In the Pre1classic Period, the period when this civilization flourished, the following Gulf Coast sites were occupied in overlapping succession; Firstly, San Lorenzo Tenochtitlan, which was occupied between 1450 and 400 BC., then at La Venta from 2250- 500 BC And Zapotes from 1000-50 BC. One of the most remarkable relics that we have of this culture is seventeen enormous stone heads. The stone used to carve the statues was transported from a great distance which implies the reach and extent of this civilization, as well as its spread and influence. These and other aspects of the culture will be discussed in more detail below. The Olmec culture and society has been described as extremely well organized with à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦complex calendar and hieroglyphic writing system as well as unique art objects of a very high standard. However, scholars also admit that there is a great paucity of archeological and other evidence and knowledge about this mysterious and complex civilization.We know far less about the Olmecs than we do about, for example, the Aztecs and Mayans. There are very few written records to tell us about the culture. The Olmec culture and civilization is estimated have begun in about 1200 B.C. and ended around 600 A.D. During this period the Olmec were the main group or culture in Mesoamerica. What is certain about this culture is the importance and centrality of religion, shamanism and religious ritual in their daily lives. There is as general consensus that religion and belief in the supernatural influenced every aspect of their lives. Olmec sites are characterized the prominent position of the ceremonial mounds and later by elaborate pyramids that were erected for worship and possibly for sacrifice. As one study on this aspect notes; As the clock tower often defines the center of Western town squares, a central raised mound signaled the center of Olmec cities. These mounds were used for religious ceremonies and around 900 BC, they were replaced with pyramids. The following discussion will refer to the various aspects of the culture, as well as their art and religion in an attempt to provide a comprehensive overview of what is known about the mysterious and influential Olmec. Origins The term Olmec means rubber people in Nahuatl, the language of the Aztec. It was the name that the Aztecs used to refer to those people and the culture that had existed in the area of the Olmec Heartland during the fifteenth and sixteenth century. Simply stated the name means à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦those who live in the rubber land, which refers to the à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦practice of extracting latex from Castilla elastica, a rubber tree in the area. There is a general paucity of solid data and information about the origins and the life-world of the Olmec culture. Our understanding of the civilization is made even more obscure by the fact that they did not appear to have a system of writing that would have provided records of their culture. As one commentator states; If the Olmec ever had a written language, all traces of it have disappeared. Even their bones are gone, rotted long ago in the humid rain forest. Virtually everything that scholars know about them is based on the remains of cities and on comparisons between their artifacts and imagery and those of later civilizations. It isnt surprising, therefore, that while the experts have plenty of theories about the Olmecs origins, social structure and religion, few of these ideas are universally accepted. Therefore, it is difficult to make incontrovertible and conclusive statements about the Olmec. In terms of what Historians and archaeologists know about the Mesoamerican Pre-Classic period, which extended from 1200 BCE-400 BCE, the Olmec civilization was the most dominant and influential during this time. The centre of this civilization at its peak was situated in La Venta in Tabasco, and San Lorenzo Tenochtitlan and Laguna de los Cerros in Veracruz. There are many theories and views about the origins of the Olmec. One theory that is often referred to is they were part of the immigration of Asiatic hunter-gatherers to the region after the ice-age. Another view that has achieved some credibility is that they were of African origin. The view that the Olmec civilization was of African origin seems to be partly substantiated by the large carved heads that possibly depict various rulers and which have African features. Some writers claim the Olmec were related to peoples of Africa based primarily on their interpretation of facial features of Olmec statues. This viewpoint is also allegedly supported by genetic and osteological evidence. This was a theory that was first put forward by Josà © Melgar, who discovered the first colossal head at Hueyapan. Some researchers such as Winters link the early origins of the Olmec with the Mandà © people of West Africa. However, this theory is very contentious and the proposed evidence has not lived up to modern scrutiny; for example, research during the past two decades has à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦failed to yield evidence of pre-Columbian African contributions to the indigenous populations of the Americas. Another factor that goes against the view of an African origin to the Olmec is that the people of the region were very susceptible to diseases brought by the Europeans. This means that the Mesoamericans of the region has been isolated for a considerable time, which in turn goes against a theory of origins that would include contact with the African continent. There are numerous other theories, including the contention that the Olmec were of Chinese origin. This view states that the original Olmec were Chinese refugees who came to the region during the Shang dynasty. However, this view is not supported by the majorly of researchers. Most researchers are of the view that à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦the Olmec and their achievements arose from influences and traditions that were wholly indigenous to the region, or at least the New World, and there is no reliable material evidence to suggest otherwise. This view suggests that the Olmec and the subsequent cultures that developed in the region had their own specific and indigenous character and heritage and that they were independent of any outside influences. The study of the origins and development of the Olmec culture is steeped in mystery and doubt. Another issue that is debated is the transformation of the possible hunter-gatherer origins of the Olmec into a highly successful agricultural society. As one pundit comments; à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦archaeologists dont know what transformed a society of farmers into the class-based social structure of the Olmec, with their leaders and commoners, bosses and laborers, artisans and priests. Spread and Influence The mysterious Olmec civilization is estimated to have reached its peak a thousand years before the great Mayan civilization of Central America and twenty-five centuries before there Aztecs. This ancient civilization was extremely influential and affected many other cultures and tribes in the region, as one article states; Starting in 1200 B.C. in the steamy jungles of Mexicos southern Gulf Coast, the Olmecs influence spread as far as modern Guatemala, Honduras, Belize, Costa Rica and El Salvador. They built large settlements, established elaborate trade routes and developed religious iconography and rituals, including ceremonial ball games, blood-letting and human sacrifice, that were adapted by all the Mesoamerican civilizations to follow. Therefore, the Olmec were influential on a number of interconnected levels, from trade and economics to religion and cultural practices. David M. Jones ( 2007) states that the art and the architectural styles of the Olmec were influential in the region. The Olmec art style and architectural organization of ceremonial spaces were exported in the early stages of long-distance trading networks and, possibly, empire-building. What is clear from research into the spread and influence of this culture is that it influenced Gulf Coast as well as spreading inland to the Basin of Mexico and to the states of Morelos, Guerrero and Oaxaca. The Importance of Olmec Culture The importance of the Olmec culture lay in their inventiveness and their discoveries which influenced later civilizations that arose in the area. They à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦developed many things culturally and religiously that were later used by the Mayans and Aztecs and many other cultures. Many of their ideas spread throughout the region. In terms of farming and agriculture, for example, there there is strong evidence that the Olmec were responsible for the invention of a method of irrigation that was to influence the agricultural techniques of the Maya and Aztecs. This also applies to the water system that archeologist have found at the sites of Olmec cities. This refer to the finding that the à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦most important features of an Olmec town center was a buried network of stone drain lines long U-shaped rectangular blocks of basalt laid end to end and covered with capstones. Social and Political Life There is a general paucity of information about the actual societal and political structure of the Olmec. While there is not much evidence to build a comprehensive picture of the daily and social life of these people, there is enough available data from certain archeological sites to provide some reasonable speculations. One of the assumptions that is derived from the excavation of sites at San Lorenzo and then at La Venta is that the society was very centralized. This in turn has led to the view that the society was highly structured, with a hierarchical basis of order and class stratification. This also implies the existence of a ruling elite and a system of power and control, which was possibly based on religious beliefs. This view of the structure of the society is summarized as follows: Olmec society was à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦highly centralized, with a strongly hierarchical structure and elite that was able to use their control over materials, such as monumental stone and water, to exert control over the people and legitimize their regime. There is also clear evidence of a class structure in Olmec society. This is the view for example of Olmec scholars like Ann Cyphers. She states that there is evidence of elaborate houses for the elite or upper classes, while there are simpler housing structures for the middle and lower classes. As one study notes, The architecture of the Olmec was complex. Structures in Lorenzo, for example, included public-ceremonial buildings, elite residences, and houses for commoners (a clear separation of the classes). Cyphers also makes the important point that archeological research indicates that the society was extremely complex in structure and stratification; All these things show a society of great complexityà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Scholars are also of the opinion that the society was possibly a complex unity of various chiefdoms. These groups interacted on a religious and cultural level. Agriculture and farming played as vital part in the culture of these people. Besides the obvious fact of sufficient foods and nutrition it has also been seen by experts and being as tool in the politics of the society. As a study by Amber M. VanDerwarker (2006) indicates, the increase in the size and complexity of the society coincided with the development of village agriculture, which à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦has led scholars to theorize that agricultural surpluses gave aspiring Olmec leaders control over vital resources and thus a power base on which to build authority and exact tribute. Central to the society and social life was religious ceremony and ritual. This is evident in the large and centrally situated ceremonial centers. There are however some views that suggest a slightly different social structure. This refers to the view that as a result of the slash-and burn agriculture and crop-rotation that was practiced, most of the people would have lived in smaller villages and hamlets. Although the river banks were used to plant crops between flooding periods, the Olmec also likely practiced swidden (or slash-and-burn) agriculture to clear the forests and shrubs, and to provide new fields once the old fields were exhausted. The development of an agricultural economy also had a number of social implications. With the increase of an agricultural economy more people were needed to manage and administer the resources which led to a division of labor and a class structure in the society. The ones who controlled the rich farm land would naturally have been the ones who would rise up as the Elite of the community because they controlled the food supply, and as part of the management of resources, a central center had to be established. A number of theorists are of the opinion that the development of agriculture was the impetus which led to the expansion and development of the Olmec civilization. This would also have led to its influence through trade on the surrounding regions. As one study o0n this aspect notes: A new elite class probably asserted its leadership through charisma, control of trade networks and control of people, all of which led to the evolution of a complex society and, eventually, the art style we call Olmec. 5. Art There is as general agreement among scholars that the Olmec civilization producedà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦the earliest sophisticated art in Mesoamerica and that their distinctive style provided a model for the Maya, Aztec and other later civilizations in the region. There are also certain changes in Olmec art over time that should be noted. One is that before 900 B.C. most of the art tend to be ceramic, while later objects were made form jade and serpentine; which were rare materials that required considerable skill to fashion. However, what has fascinated people for centuries is the subject matter and the significance of the figures in Olmec art. There are a number of subjects that are often repeated in Aztec art. These include dragons, birds, dwarfs, hunchbacks and, most important, the jaguar or more correctly the were-jaguar that is part human, part jaguar. It should also be made clear that art in this culture, as in many other ancient cultures, cannot be separated from the spiritual and religious underlying life of that culture. The art and shamanic and spiritual aspects of the society are inextricably intertwined. Olmec art is essentially an expression of the religious beliefs that permeated the entire society. A case in point is the image of the jaguar that is so dominant in Olmec art. The jaguar represents a belief system that was deeply involved in the supernatural and the shamanic vision of reality. The jaguar figure in Olmec art is similar to a number of other figures in that it shows a combination of or transition between human and animal. It must be remembered that in many ancient worldviews there is no distinction between the human and natural world. In other words, many ancient belief systems do not adhere to the more modern distinction between man and nature. The jaguar figure in Olmec art is possibly therefore a representation of this belief system where the barriers between humanity and nature and between man and animal is seen as illusionary or has been broken down. The above refers particularly to the shamanic perception of reality, where transformation of man to animal is seen part of the ability of the shaman. The shaman has the facility to change his or her form in order to achieve certain supernatural ends. Linked with this was the belief that was prevalent among the Olmec that, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ each individual has an animal spirit. This refers as well to the general shamanic views about power animals. Shamans believe that everyone has power animals animal spirits which reside with each individual adding to their power and protecting them from illness, acting similarly to a guardian angel. Each power animal that you have increases your power so that illnesses or negative energy cannot enter your body. The spirit also lends you the wisdom of its kind. A hawk spirit will give you hawk wisdom, and lend you some of the attributes of hawk. The above quotation provides some insight into the way that the Maya possibly understood the link between man, nature and the supernatural. This shamanic aspect can be seen in the important figure of the jaguar. It is also worth reiterating the fact that Olmec art, like many ancient cultures, cannot be considered in isolation from the religious and spiritual beliefs of the civilization. This is an aspect that will be explored in more detail in the following section on religion. The jaguar was also very important for Olmec culture in that it was linked to one of their central gods. The jaguar was also referred to as nahual, which is an animal that is so closely related to a certain man, that if the animal dies, the man will also die. From another angle, jaguars were also seen as the alter ego of the shaman. The following provides insight into the reason why the jaguar figure was revered and why it was so prominent in Olmec art To the ancient Indians the jaguar was a symbol of supernatural forces-not a simple animal, but an ancestor and a god. In order to understand the significance of the jaguar figure one has to suspend the modern dualistic view of the world and reality that makes rational distinctions between man and nature and between the known and the unknown. The Olmec lived in a world where such distinctions were seen as illusionary and the jaguar was a symbol of this belief and a conduit between this world and the supernatural. As we explore the literature on Olmec art the references to the jaguar image also become more complex and intertwined when we enter further into the often confusing world of Olmec myth and religion. For example, in Olmec imagery we also encounter a werejaguar baby. This refers to the offspring of a jaguar mother and a human father. This mating à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦resulted in a race of infants combining the features of the jaguar and man in varying degrees. These are usually shown as somewhat infantile throughout life, with the puffy features of small fat babies, snarling mouths, fangs, and perhaps even claws. These werejaguars were deities of thunder, lightening, and rain. This in turn can be linked to depictions of an Olmec God who was half jaguar, half serpent. 5.1. Olmec Heads ( Source: http://www.theancientweb.com/explore/content.aspx?content_id=19) Another predominant characteristic of Olmec art are their distinct human heads and faces. As one commentator notes, Olmec-style human figures typically have squarish facial features with full lips, a flat nose, pronounced jowls and slanting eyes reminiscent (at least to early travelers in the region) of African or Chinese peoples. . There are seventeen of these massive heads and they are presumed to have been sculpted between 1200 B.C. and 900 B.C. The stone used is volcanic basalt and the height ranges from 5 ft. to 11 ft. and they weigh as much as 20 tons. The heads have been located at the following places; ten heads at San Lorenzo, four heads at La Venta , two at Tres Zapotes and one at Rancho La Cobata. One of the fascinating and intriguing aspects of the heads is that experts do not know how these large stones were transported over such long distances. Archaeologists still have not determined how the Olmec transported the basalt from quarries to various settlements as far as 80 miles awayand, in San Lorenzo, hoisted it to the top of a plateau some 150 ft. high. However it is the meaning of the heads that has made them such a source of interest and mystery. Experts conjecture that the heads were possibly representations of well- known and revered citizens or leaders. This however does not explain the facts that many of the heads have been intentionally defaced. There are two possible explanations for this. The one is that they were damaged when the leader or prominent figure depicted in the statue fell out of favor. However, taking into account the shamanic and religious nature of the culture, the second explanation is more likely. This refers to the sacrifice of the gods in order to replenishment and renewal of the earth and the relationship between man and the universe. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦the Olmecs did this themselves after a ruler died as a sacrifice to the gods or animal spirits. This form of sacrifice is also encountered in other ancient cultures and might explain the damage to the statues. Innovations The Olmec are credited with a number of major innovations in Mesoamerican history. However, there is still a great deal of speculation and debate about these innovations. They include the origins of the Mesoamerican ballgame, as well as aspects such as bloodletting and sacrifice, as well as writing and the invention of Zero. There is little doubt that the Olmec civilization had a far-reaching effect on the region one needs only refer to the complex political and social structure that was developed. Their political arrangements of strongly hierarchical city-state kingdoms were repeated by nearly every other Mexican and Central American civilization that followed. They are also credited with providing the basis for religious mythologies that were imitated in other civilizations. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦the Olmec formulated the forerunners of many of the later Mesoamerican deities. There is considerable debate among scholars as to whether the Olmec invented a writing system and whether they were first civilization in the Western hemisphere to do so. Many are of the opinion that there is no evidence to suggest that there was a writing system among the Olmec. However there are more recent indications that a writing system was developed by the Olmec. These include, Symbols found in 2002 and 2006 date to 650 B.C.E. and 900 B.C.E. respectively, preceding the oldest Zapotec writing dated to about 500 B.C.E. The 2002 find at the San Andrà ©s site shows a bird, speech scrolls, and glyphs that are similar to the later Mayan hieroglyphsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ The discovery of the Cascajal block near San Lorenzo in 2006 seems to suggest that the Olmec were one of the first cultures in this part of the word to develop a writing system. The Cascajal block à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦showed a set of 62 symbols, 28 of which are unique, carved on a serpentine block. This find has been hailed as the earliest pre-Colombian writing. However, this is by no means considered to be conclusive proof and many archeologists remain unconvinced that this block is representative of the Olmec culture. One of the reasons for this skepticism is that the Cascajal blockà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ bears no apparent resemblance to any other Mesoamerican writing system. However the debate also includes a view the Olmec may have developed a system of signs that was to lead to the writing systems of the Maya. This refers to well-known Epi-Olmec, hieroglyphs. There is a view that the Epi-Olmec may represent a à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦transitional script between an earlier Olmec writing system and Maya writing. In this regard it is also important to note that, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.Even less is known about the spoken language of the Olmec. Since the Mixe-Zoquean languages still are, and historically are known to have been, spoken in an area corresponding roughly to the Olmec heartland, it has generally been regarded as probable that the Olmec spoke a Mixe-Zoquean language. Many of the innovations ascribed to the Olmec are much less controversial; for example the view that the compass could have an Olmec origin. Various archeological discoveries have led to view that, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦the Olmec may have discovered and used the geomagnetic lodestone compass earlier than 1000 B.C.E. The Olmec are also considered to have discovered the concept of zero. This refers to the Long Count calendar that was developed by cultures after the Olmec but which probably had its origins in the Olmec civilization. The Long Count calendar required the use of zero as a place-holder within its vigesimal (base-20) positional numeral system. Many archeologists are convinced that because of various objects found in the Maya homeland, the Long Count Calendar most probably had its origins in the Olmec civilization. However, as with most of our knowledge about the Olmec, this view is also mired in doubt and controversy because of a lack of substantiated evidence Religion and mythology Figure 2. Olmec holds a half human-half jaguar baby. ( Source: http://www.crystalinks.com/olmec.html) The Olmec civilization was immersed in religious and spiritual significance. It is often stated that the supernatural and religion was the formative factor in this culture. It is also conjectured that the Olmec were essentially shamanistic in their religious activities and outlook. One of the central myths and beliefs of the Olmec people was the view that there were different but interlinked planes and dimensions to reality and not just the world of ordinary sense experience. They also believed that the human body, and especially the body of ruler or king, was divided into to correspond with the main cosmic levels in their mythology. These were the celestial or heavenly, the terrestrial, the earths surface and the watery underworld. This cosmology therefore had the following implications. The head represented the celestial realm and hence the colossal heads found in Veracruz and Tabasco were probably ancestral portraits depicting the seat of the mind and the most exalted part of the most important rulers. The bodies, standing, sitting or kneeling, represent our environment in different aspects. And the lower parts, like the limbs and feet, as the roots of a tree, penetrate into the underworld and contact its forces. The priest or the shaman enters into these different regions and levels of reality at will in order to achieve balance between the different realms of existence and to bring about healing and other effects. Furthermore, as noted in the above discussion on art, The ruler or the shaman could do this through ritual transformation into his nagual, his animal spirit companion. There are many different types and categories of Olmec gods. They also have different attributes and powers and different relationships to the human world; while some of the gods have healing powers, others represent dark forces. However, as there are no written records no names can be given to the gods and they are usually designated by a number. Another interesting fact is that à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦No Olmec deities can be categorically defined as male or female. What is clear is that they influenced later Mesoamerican cultures and civilizations. The Olmec deities and Gods were a à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦source of many aspects of pan-Mesoamerican mythology and religion, and as prototypes of later gods and goddess. There are at least ten gods in the Olmec pantheon. The following is a brief overview of some of the central gods and deities and their major characteristic and influence on humanity. God 1: Olmec Dragon This is also referred to as Earth Monster. it has à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦flame eyebrows, a bulbous nose, and bifurcated tongue. This is one of the most commonly depicted gods or deities. God 2: Maize God This God has plants growing from as cleft in his head. God 3: The Bird Monster This God has both Mamalis and reptilian features and is linked to ruling and kingship. God 4: Rain Spirit and Were-jaguar It is not clear if this god is one or two separate entities. Other gods include, God 7, The Feathered Serpent and Fish or Shark Monster (God 8). There is as great deal of confusion about the exact nature of these gods and many are combined by some experts. In order to make list of Olmec gods more comprehensible, the following is a selection of the best known of these gods and the ones that have had the most influence on subsequent civilizations. The Jaguar God The Jaguar God was a principle deity in the Olmec mythology. It was seen as an Earth god as his power was limited to the terrestrial plane. This god represented the forces of life and was linked or the water and earth. The Feathered Serpent The plumed serpent or the feathered serpent is a mythological figure that is found in many cultures in Mesoamerica and it is believe that this figure originated with the Olmec culture. This god is linked to time and calendars and is seen as the provider of maize to humanity. It is also very strongly associated with the concepts of death and resurrection, which were primary factors in the Olmec religion, as is evident in their emphasis on ritual sacrifice. Man of Crops. This is an important fertility figure. The Man of Crops à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ was a human man or boy who chose to give his life so that his people might grow food. The heroic Man of Crops is sometimes mentored or assisted by a god figure from the other world. The Rain Spirit. This god plays an important role in Olmec mythology and was also carried into the civilizations that came after the Olmec. This god often had many helpers. As has already been referred to, the idea of sacrifice and making an offering to the gods in order to maintain harmony and peace was central to the Olmec culture. This involved a continuous succession of rituals and ceremonies where, it is suggested by some, that there were human sacrifices. In these rituals the priest or shaman would à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦cut himself to produce blood, which would be presented to the gods. Certain animals, such as turkeys, dogs, squirrels, quail, and iguana, were also considered as acceptable sacrifices. Some claim that there is strong evidence that the Olmec indulged in human sacrifice. However, others state that this is pure speculation. No Olmec or Olmec-influenced sacrificial artifacts have yet been discovered and there is no Olmec or Olmec-influenced artwork that unambiguously shows sacrificial victims (like, for example, the danzante figures of Monte Albà ¡n) or scenes of human sacrifice à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Conclusion: Decline of the Olmec In about 300 B.C. the Olmec civilization suddenly seemed to disappear. What is known is that à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ between 400 and 350 BCE, population in the eastern half of the Olmec heartland dropped precipitously, and the area would remain sparsely inhabited until the 19th century. It is not clear why this occurred. One possible reason is that some natural catastrophe occurred. The depopulation could also have been the result of radical environmental changes in the area. Archeologists also suggest that à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ these changes were triggered by tectonic upheavals or subsidence, or the silting up of rivers due to agricultural practices. While the Olmec civilization still remains shrouded in mystery and conjecture, what is very clear from the literature is that this culture had an enormous impact on the region and on the modern word. The Olmec left behind some examples of the most enigmatic and thought-provoking art that the world has seen. The Olmec also very possibly provided agricultural as well as economic models that were influential in the region and which led to the advanced Aztec civilization. What is also clear from the lite

Leadership Capabilities Of Steve Jobs Commerce Essay

Leadership Capabilities Of Steve Jobs Commerce Essay The main goal of this report is to examine and evaluate leadership capabilities of Steve Jobs. Jobs is the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Apple and nowadays possibly one of the most successful businessman on the world. Despite of many critics about his leadership. The fact that he is an effective leader is not contestable. Therefore, the main objective of this study is to examine the leadership qualities that have brought Jobs to the top of business World. CONTEXT AND BACKGROUND OF STEVE JOBS Steve Jobs was born on 24 February 1955, in San Francisco, California, United Sates. Clara and Paul Jobs adopted him shortly after birth. He was growing up in two with his sister Patty. In 1961, whole Jobs family relocated from San Francisco to Mountain View in California, which, was at that time the heart of electronics industry called Silicon Valley (Butcher, 1987). During his childhood, he was an individual who liked making things alone. He liked to compete with others, but definitely, he was not attracted in group sports or other team games. However, from the early age he demonstrated an intensive interest towards electronics field. He devoted all of his spare time observing and working together with neighbor who was employed at Hewlett-Packard (HP) that was an electronics producer. Moreover, at that time young Jobs joined to HP Explorer Club. This gave him possibility to observe engineers working on new products. When he was twelve, he could see and touch HPs first computer. Th is was huge milestone in his life, because then he thought that he wanted to work on this field (Stross Randall, 1993). While in high school, Jobs participated lecture at the HP factory. Once he asked directly William Hewlett CEO of HP, for some specific part, which, he required to finish a school project. Therefore, Hewlett was so dazzled he not only donated Jobs the parts, but most of all he proposed him a holiday job at HP. After High school, in 1972, Jobs joined to Reed College in Portland, Oregon. However, after one semester, he left and in summer, he decided to go to India and take a course of eastern religions. This is because Jobs was a contradictory, trifler young recluse with an inclination for problems. He liked hippie way of life, narcotics and Zen philosophy (Butcher Lee, 1987). After a few months in India, he came back. In 1975, Steve Jobs enrolled to the Homebrew Computer Club. There he met Steve Wozniak, a technical maniac who was designing a small sized computer. Steve fell in love in this idea and started exploring marketing possibility of such a product. Therefore, in 1976 together with Wozniak established their own company, which they named Apple. Initially they had no money to invest, thus to gain same resources for a startup Jobs sold his microbus and Wozniak his calculator which gave them $1,300. The first products they sold were circuit boards, which keep the inner parts of a computer. However, while selling these boards they were working on their core products that were personal computers (Norman, 2009). While doing marketing research Jobs realized that there is huge opportunity for them to expand on the market. This is because in that period time all computers available on the market were huge size that could hardly fit in the large room. What is more, at that time computers were so expensive that potential customers were not able to afford to purchase them. In response to the market needs, Apple designed its computers in this way in order to be able to sell its products to large number of users. Finally, in 1977 Apple II released to the market personal computer (PC) which in first year generated extraordinary sales of $2,7 million. The Apples sales rose to $200million within following three years. Apples example became the most unusual situation of corporate development in whole United States history. Throughout this implementation of PC Steve Jobs and its Apple permanently inscribed on the pages of history, because initiated completely new era era of personal computers (www.referenceforbusiness.com). In eighties, era of PC was progressing rapidly. Because of appearing competition on the market, Jobss and Wozniaks company was constantly pressed to develop its computers to remain a market leader. Jobs as a head of marketing of Apple in 1983 officially presented new computer called Lisa. That was created for users having smallest computer knowledge. However, mostly because of its high price this PC was not to o successful. For example, IBM, Apples biggest competitors (50% of PC market share) sold its PC at the lower price (Landrum Gene, 1993). In 1984, Jobss company issued pioneering model of computer on the market, called Macintosh (Mac). This PC differs from others in term of its usability (very easy to use). However, once again the sales level of Mac was poor. This is because; it did not have attributes that competitors had, for instance an adequate high tech printer. The catastrophe of the Mac initiated the start of Jobss collapse at Apple. Jobs retreated in 1985 from the company he had established; however, he kept the title of Chairman of the board (Norman, 2009). Short after this, Job employed several of his previous workers to establish another computer company named NeXT. Then in San Francisco in 1988, Jobs presented his new company. Preliminary feedback was good, because new PC was very easy to use, equipped in very fast processor, had great graphics, and an excellent sound sy stem. Unfortunately, no matters on the initial response from the users, the NeXTs PCs had never been released on the market. This was because once again these new computers were too expensive, possessed a black-and-white display, and were no compatible with other computers or could not work on universal software (Stross Randall, 1993). Definitely, NeXT was not the last one word of Jobs. Because in 1986 Steve bought from moviemaker, George Lukas a small-sized firm named Pixar. The core activity of Pixar was computer animation. Consequently, in 1995 this company issued famous Toy Story, which was a huge success of Pixar. Furthermore, in following years they released most successful animation movies ever such as Toy Story 2, A Bugs Life, and Monsters. After long time of failures, Pixars success was not the only one. Jobs privet life got better as well. Because in the same year, he got married and shortly he had, a baby girl named Lisa (www.referenceforbusiness.com). In the meantime, A pple wrestled below a sequence of six CEOs that had no vision and were not able to inspire the firms unmotivated engineers. Morale was down and so Apple was facing profit lose and poor financial liquidity. Then in following year, Jobs came back to Apple as consultant to the CEO. Right after this Apple bought NeXT Software. In 1997, Apple and its main competitor Microsoft became partners. In the same year, Apple started selling its products directly to customers both by internet but as well by telephone. Right after this, Apples web store went into the top three most successful e-shops worldwide (Butcher Lee, 1987). In following year, Steve publicly declared the issuing of the iMac that possessed great computing capability at the reasonable price. Additionally, in 1999 Apple released laptop available on whole plateau of colors called iBook. In 2000, Steve Jobs became once again permanent CEO of Apple (Norman, 2009). After 2001 has came a period of splendor for Apple and for Jobs tha t continues to these days. Consequently, in 2009 Forbes listed Jobs on the 43 position wealthiest people on the globe, with $5,100 million fortune. LEADERSHIP CAPABILITY OF STEVE JOBS Numerous academics have claimed that proper management of knowledge can bring to organizations crucial and essential competitive advantage. Leadership is foundation of the process of managing information efficiently and effectively (Bryant, 2003). The recent studies show that most successful managers, uses a set of different styles of leadership (Goleman, 2008). What is more Golemans survey identified the following role: leaders who have mastered at least four styles of the leadership especially the authoritative, democratic, unifying and coaching create the best atmosphere at work and have the best results. (quotation translated, 2008). Based on the leadership theories, in term of specific traits the most effective leaders are calm, innovative, confident and challenging (Belbin, 2008). They have a vision and charisma (Goleman, 2008). They have ability to convince and motivate others to act effectively, while encouraging personal development (Kouzes Posner, 2002). They uphold wid e picture, while delegating details to the others (Coutu, 2008). In case of Steve Deutschman stated (2001) that his most significant leadership feature was creativity and being innovative. We could easily state that innovation was a base on which he built his empire. Until these days, we can observe that innovation is still key factor, which brought Apple to the market leader position in information technology industry. Jobs understood that being innovative and providing permanently new ideas to meet customers needs is essence in effective leadership (Quittner, 2004). Some of us can joke that Jobs has no education background, because he has not finished any college. However, undoubted fact is that devoting his life to his passion, new solutions in IT branch achieved more than almost every human being could ever dream about. Despite of many critics towards his behavior and styles of leadership such as Jobs is perfectionist with tendency to intimidate others (Harvey, 2005), there are a few important facts: In 1976, he co-founded Apple, and until n owadays, he has successfully led company, which now has 15K employees. This can prove that Jobs possesses great leadership qualities. In period, from 1977 to 1985, Apple had in total six CEOs. Within this time company was losing money, management had not vision for the future and stuff was not motivated. Right after this, Jobs came back as a CEO and by implementation of a few innovative products in very short time Apple returned to the prosperity (Young, 2005). Moreover, additional capability of Jobss leadership is product passion and deep-seated consumer orientation. Jobs was judged for his approach to leadership, however his accomplishments were never negated, because all of these were world shattering. Another important of trait of Jobs leadership is ability to see big picture, thus not only PCs, but also long distance ahead (Landrum Gene, 1993). Consequently, many times people working with him did not understand choices of Jobs concerning new products implementation, or his lon g-term vision. For instance, shortly after he came back to Apple, he decided to stop most of running production lines. Instead of this, he focused only on four products. This soon after turned out to be a huge success (Deutchman, 2001). Steve is very challenging both his towards his employees, but first of all for himself. Thus, tasks he delegates to workers are very likely not fully SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time-framed). However, from the other hand, which is good thing, Jobs is permanently working to improve all fields of his job (Erve, 2004). Furthermore, there is crucial feature of Jobs leadership style that is his capability to connect passion and respects of his workers. Business Week (1997) argued that Jobs is a great example of transformational leadership (TL). This is leadership, which causes that workers devote all their energy in the companys strategy. TL takes place when, employees interact one on another, by which increase their morality a nd motivation (Kouzes Posner, 2002). Jobs as a transformational leader, was able to make its employees to do things that were in line with his vision of the companys development. Jobss best-known gift is his capability to charm and convince others. That is an extremely powerful trait, which, he uses often to persuade anyone of everything (Siracusa, 2007). Bennis and Thomas posted in their article that great leaders are born in the crucible of harsh experience (quotation translated, 2007). Furthermore, they added that: what makes a great leader is a resistance to adversity, and perseverance in the pursuit of goals. This is definitely significant capability of Jobs as a leader. As demonstrated above (leaving Apple in1985) Jobs life was full of failures. Most of the people in a similar situation would leave for good. However He did differently. Having a look on the Steves biography, we can also state that he has additional trait which good leader need to have, to perform effectively. Namely, this is self-confidence and ability to experiment and take a risk. These, according Kouzes and Posner are necessary (2002). All his live Jobs was confident, he deeply believed in all what he has been doing. He profoundly believed in his success, in success of companys strategy and so success of its products (Erve, 2004). This self-confidence and courage led him on the top. Many Journalists suggest that Jobs is egoist (Norman, 2009). Very likely he is indeed. However, this could be perceived also as crucial trait of effective leader, especially here in this case of company founder. Possibly Jobs has dreamed to be billionaire, and so egoism helped him to make this dream come true. Possibly egoism was a driving force which convinced him to create successful teams of employees that were able to develop such a revolutionary products. Jobs possesses also ability to create and develop great teams, consisted of star talents (Young, 2005). This is crucial trait, which is essential i n effective leadership (Kouzes Posner, 2002). This skill combined with great ideas, its vision and capability to manage and motivate his team could be key factors of his overall success. Summarizing the core features of Jobs success as leader are the following: being visionary, innovative and charismatic confidence and trust in: himself, success, his strategy capability to recruit, develop and motivate effective teams built of star talents persistence and resistance for defeats product zeal huge consumer devotion skill to transmit his ideas to the teams for realization; LEADERSHIP WEAKNESSES OF STEVE JOBS There is undoubted fact that overall performance Jobs has to be considered as a successful, because numbers on his bank account do not lie. He is extremely victorious businessman who achieved great financial status. However, there are also numerous of weaknesses, which, Steve Jobs possesses. Here based on the statements of people who have had direct contact with him, we could have a feelings Jobs represents typical for Belbins Shaper weaknesses, such as emotionality, the tendency to irritation or aggressive behavior (Belbin, 2004). Moreover, research performed by Belbin in 2004 to identify behavior of most effective manager indicated shaper team role as a least effective. Jobs represents also autocratic style of leadership. This approach has a tendency to weak decision-making process on the middle management level. Recently Apples management team gives the impression of being more motivated by dread of Steve than by their own inherent aspects (Siracusa, 2007). Webber from Washington Post said (2009) that Jobs had became a living legend in term of leadership style. Since his behavior discredits all existing best practices of leadership. He demonstrated long list of less than advisable behaviors, from public rebuking his employees to disrupting practices within meetings to the time consuming overview of every detail in product designing process. However in contrary experts and academics from leadership area state: Never reprimand your subordinate publicly! Rather, If necessary do it face to face (Walasek, 2010) The most effective leaders maintain wide focus, while leaving details to the others (Belbin, 2004) The most effective managers are calm and they are able to control their emotions (Rzyska, 2010) CONCLUSIONS This hard task to indicate weaknesses of the one of the biggest leaders ever CEO of decades (Fortune Magazine, 2009), whether to indicate the room for improvement in his leadership. Numbers do not lie he had no money when he started making business. Now he is billionaire. In 2009, Forbes magazine listed him on the 43 position wealthiest people on the globe, with $5,100 million fortune. Many traits that Jobs possesses seems to be completely opposite in relations to these indicated by leadership experts as an essential in order to be effective. However, those that he has, such as being innovative, self-confident, persistent for defeats or capability to make its ideas come true seem to be sufficient.

The Process of Obtaining a Home Mortgage Essay -- Business

To begin this executive summary, we first look at the issue of research. In our semester project we are discussing the steps one would take in order to get a home mortgage. The reason we have chosen to do this project is to see how one goes about not only becoming approved for a loan but also how to service your mortgage and keep it up to par. The sources that we used in obtaining this information were sources that were able to help educate us on home mortgage and also help us further understand the entire process. The web-site www.mortgage-x.com was to me the most useful in our research. This site provided thousands of articles on the issue, a glossary and dictionary to help us in our search, and also provided a number of links to other sites that could elaborate on a certain subject. One of the links that we visited was www.fanniemae.com, this site helped us further understand Fannie Mae and apply it to our research. With this extensive research we came across a number of main findings. The first was how one went about getting a home mortgage. We found that when applying for a mortgage the borrower must give a credit report, prove sources of income, show proof of any assets, and proof of any debts, i.e. credit card payments, car loans, ect. After the application process the applicant is either accepted or denied the loan, then the terms of the mortgage are decided upon. Terms of the mortgage can include length of the loan or interest that will be charged on the mortgage. Then a mortgage agreement is signed by the borrower and the borrower receives receives the mortgage and the financial institution begins to service the loan. Upon the closing of the mortgage, the financial institution begins to service the ... ...lue of the house and other factors. Sources 1) Gasper, Juli-Ann Ph.D, â€Å"Mortgage Securitization,† Power Point presentation— copyright 2002. 2) Hayes III, Samuel L., Mortgage Banking Harvard. 1992. 3) Home Buyer’s Guide. Omaha State Bank, 2001 4) Kidwell, David S., Richard L. Peterson, and David W. Blackwell. Financial Institutions, Markets, and Money. Harcourt College, 2000, Chapter 10. 5) Managing Your Mortgage. 18 Feb. 2002 http://www.mortgage- x.com/library/managing.htm. 6) Peterson, Doug. Personal interview. 18 Feb. 2002. 7) Mortgage Application. 18 Feb. 2002 http://www.mortgage- x.com/library/application.htm. 8) Transfer of Your Mortgage. 18 Feb. 2002 http://www.mortgage- x.com/library/loan_transfer.htm. 9) Understanding Fannie Mae. 15 Feb. 2002 http://www.fanniemae.com/aboutfm.

My Band :: essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I used to be in a band called Deft. There were five of us. Brandon, 19, was our singer, Rob,16, was lead guitarist, Kevin, 18, was the drummer, his little brother Jason, 16, was the bassist, and I played rhythm guitar. Kevin and I had been working together for four or five years, ever since he moved to Watertown. We had been in and out of several bands, but always stuck together. My dad came home one day and told us about a friend of his whose step-son played guitar. We called him up and had him come over to audition. He was amazing especially considering his age, 15, so there was no way we could pass him up. A week later, the three of us a played a county fair Battle of the Bands and lost. This was no big deal, since we had been together for exactly a week. Over the next couple months we searched high and low for a singer and a bassist, when we realized what we were looking for was right under our noses all along. Kevin’s younger brother Jason had played upright bass in middle school so we recruited him for the low end. A close friend of their family, Brandon, stayed with them every summer. We got to thinking and realized that he had a great â€Å"choir† voice, so we brought him to a practice and had him audition. He was the best vocalist we had ever played with, so there was no doubt in our mind he was the one.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  After being together for well over a year and playing various gigs, we began to get on each others nerves. Jason was immature and always acted childish, Rob had an ego the size of Montana, and Brandon lived in Milwaukee depending on everyone else since he had no job and no ambition to get one. One night at practice, we were trying to learn a new song. I was playing around with some different effects to use on the song. Rob told me that he knew how to get the right sound. I calmly requested that he wait a minute because I wanted to try and get it myself. He insisted that he knew how to do it, so I asked him to show me and started handing him my guitar. Rob said â€Å"Well, I don’t know how to do it.

Reflection Discussion

What do you wish you would have learned? The Africa Map project was an extremely enjoyable and educational experience. I learned a lot about my country relation to the U. S. , African countries, and other continents. It was also eye-opening and altered my once stereo-typical view of Africa. African countries have functional governments and economic systems similar to the United States.Of course some governments are more â€Å"dictating† than others, but it is important to remember that Africa is not a completely disease filled, desert/jungle like land. I learned a lot about the central region of Africa and how African regions can generally be identified by the European powers that ran them during the time of colonialism. The amount of land that the Europeans ruled over is somewhat ridiculous, but I guess It all shapes Africa Into what It Is today. I also learned that colonial rule has had a big Influence on culture.National languages of the countries are many times that of the European power that once ruled It. For example In the central region, common languages are Spanish and French. Spain, France, and Portugal ruled many of the countries in this region. Current government and economic standings were fun to research. I feel more confident on my knowledge of Africa and feel that I can speak more politically correct about the continent. I do wish I could have learned more about the other regions of Africa.It understand we have to know some general things about all the countries by reading the interactive map, but f there were more assignments that blended region relations I'd be very interested. Important to remember that Africa is not a completely disease filled, desert/Jungle important to remember that Africa is not a completely disease filled, desert/]Engle ridiculous, but I guess it all shapes Africa into what it is today. I also learned that colonial rule has had a big influence on culture. National languages of the countries are many times that of the European power that once ruled it. For example in the

Using Grounded Theory Methodology and Rich Picture Diagrams in Analysing Value Creation in Houses of Culture Projects in Sweden

The Built & Human Environment Review, Volume 3, Special Issue 1, 2010 Using Grounded Theory Methodology and Rich Picture Diagrams in analysing Value Creation in Houses of Culture Projects in Sweden Laurell Stenlund, K. Kristina. [email  protected] se Lulea University of Technology, Lulea, Sweden Abstract What kind of value does a public building for cultural activities create for clients, construction professionals and users? One approach to understand the complexity of ongoing processes over time is by identifying value-adding activities in building processes.However, value added activities are difficult to analyse especially when related to resources that have an immaterial character, e. g. knowledge, know how and social relations. Based on an indepth case study of stakeholders’ evaluation of a construction project, grounded theory methodology (GTM) and rich picture diagrams (RPD) were used in analysing stakeholder and end-user value. Data was collected by semi-structured interviews with actors, public client, project manager, architect, contractor, employee and visitors of the building and during a workshop with representatives for different stakeholder groups.The results from the analysis show that building a house of culture creates stakeholders’ and end-users’ value that can be categorised into human, organisational and social capital. The strength of combining GTM and RPD is demonstrated in its ability to study complex organisational structures and relations between different actors, and specific as shown in this case, when analysing value creation in a construction project with many stakeholders with different interests and value. Keywords: case study, grounded theory method, intellectual capital, rich picture diagramsIntroduction Discussions during the last few years (e. g. Egan 1998; Finch 2000; Spencer and Winch 2002; Saxon 2005) have shown that integrating design and construction potentially delivers better value for money as well as better buildings, particularly when attention is paid to the full costs of a building over its whole lifetime. Research on how buildings deliver better value for money during their lifetime involves complex data analysis of activities and processes. Value-adding activities consist of complex building processes performed over time.A condition for activities to be value-added is that they are supported by resources that are utilised and developed in a positive way (Laurell Stenlund and Horte, 1999). According to the resource-based view, the resources that are difficult to imitate and replace create a competitive advantage to companies (e. g. Penrose, 1959; Grant, 1991; Hamel and Prahalad, 1994). The characteristics of these resources are described as dynamic organisational capabilities (Dosi et al. , 2008). However, value-added activities are more difficult to analyse. Resources that are immaterial, e. g. knowledge, know-how and social relations (e. g.Sveiby, 1997; Edvinsson a nd Malone, 1997) are difficult to 17 The Built & Human Environment Review, Volume 3, Special Issue 1, 2010 describe and measure. Sutrisna and Barrett (2007) argue that rich picture diagrams are tools suitable for analysing complex building processes. The purpose with this paper is to describe how grounded theory method (GTM) and rich picture diagrams (RPD) were used in analysing stakeholder and end-user value when developing and constructing houses of culture. Empirical evidence is developed from a single in-depth case study where data was collected by interviews, archives, documents and during a workshop.In the next section GTM and RPD methods are discussed in relation to the case study. The results from the analyses are finally presented and concluded. Theories and General Conclusions from Case Studies A researcher’s choice of methodology is not only a matter of strategy. Researchers argue that their â€Å"Weltanschauung† (ontology, i. e. our view on how the world is constructed) and opinion of how knowledge is developed (epistemology) are behind the planned or unplanned choice of methodology and research methods.Management studies involves people’s decisions and activities and are thus influenced by rules and structures built in society as well as in the specific organisation. The industry and the context of the studied processes are therefore important to consider (Chroneer and Laurell-Stenlund, 2006). The specific structure of construction industry, mainly project oriented organisations must find other solutions and concepts for improving performance and efficiency according to Segerstedt and Olofsson (2010).Inter-firm processes in construction industry could be identified by the supply chains and networks consisting of different supplying construction companies, e. g. architectural offices and contracting firms, engaged in the early phases of the construction project (Brochner and Kadefors, 2010; Segerstedt and Olofsson, 2010). In th e early phases of a construction project, these inter-firm processes may create a creative chaos developing new ideas of buildings and constructions. According to Gray and Hughes (2001), the collaboration between individuals is a part of the wider collaboration between firms in the construction sector.Describing and developing a deeper understanding of these networks also requires new research methods. Case studies are commonly accepted in management studies. Yin (1994) argues that a case study with one or more cases and with different methods for data collection, both quantitative and qualitative, can be theorised and generalised. A single case study makes it possible to capture different angles and perspectives in depth based on an inductive research strategy open for analytical generalisation and implications from a theoretical perspective rather than comparison with other cases (Eisenhardt, 1989).Selection of the Case The case presented in this study is selected by the uniquenes s of the building itself according to its special functional design and conditions of combining different cultural activities in one building involving art professionals with different goals. The House of Culture in Lulea was selected due to the researcher’s access to data as well as to the interest from the public client and the construction professionals. Previous studies (for example Short et al. 007) have discussed how arts clients require additional commitment from construction professionals. Building a house of culture is in this sense an interesting cultural construction project to study. Qualitative Research Based on GTM Qualitative data analyses with GTM are here applied to describe regularities and sequences (Glaser and Strauss, 1967) for certain building projects in a given situation creating common knowledge within a specific area. 18 The Built & Human Environment Review, Volume 3, Special Issue 1, 2010Grounded theory was developed in the 60s by Glaser and Strauss in social medicine (Bryant and Charmaz, 2007). After a couple of years, Glaser and Strauss went in two different directions. Strauss revised the methods where data was interpreted by the researcher (Alvesson and Skoldberg, 2000). Glaser, on the other hand, continued to develop the ‘classic’ grounded theory with analytical methods for qualitative data coding with an inductive approach but also including methods for deduction and abduction, i. e. methods for developing and testing theories (Glaser, 1992).Grounded theory refers to the result of using grounded theory method according to Bryant and Charmaz (2007). The results should be traceable back to the empirical data and the studied phenomena (Sutrisna and Barrett, 2007). In this paper GTM is applied with an inductive approach (Miles and Huberman, 1994). The purpose of using GTM in this study was to investigate what kind of stakeholder value is created when building a house of culture. Stakeholder value is the key vari able in this study with the purpose of visualising stakeholders’ different value in the building process.Data collection and data analysis based GTM Both quantitative and qualitative data collection methods were used in the case study. The total data collection was broad and open based on several methods, i. e. integrative focus groups, participatory observations, archive data, documents, semi-structured interviews and a survey (Yin, 1994, p. 80). According to the Swedish principle of free access to public records all archive data from the construction project was available and could be analysed.The analyses presented in this paper are mainly based on 17 semi-structured interviews with actors with different interest in the construction project, building documents and data from a workshop with internal and external stakeholders (Table 1, Appendix). The interviews were recorded and transcribed. After transcription, the interviews were analysed by coding the respondents’ activities chronologically in building processes. The interviewed respondents were belonging to different stakeholder groups with different roles in the construction sector as well as in society.Internal stakeholders, active in the construction sector may on the one hand act as clients, financiers and users, on the demand side, and on the other hand act as architects, engineers, contractors and materials suppliers, on the supply side, in the specific construction project (Winch, 2002, p. 67). External stakeholders also have a direct interest in the project and can be broken down into private actors (e. g. local residents) and public actors (e. g. local government) (ibid. ). In Table 1 the respondents are presented together with their stakeholder classification and role in the project by their title.Table 1: Data collection the House of Culture Semi-structured interviews, no 17 Internal stakeholder/Public client-Municipality: Municipal commissioner (Cmc080401) Municipal employee (Cme 070905) Project manager (Chp080117) Participants, Workshop 20090331 Client: Municipal commissioner (Cmc) Client/End-user: Municipal Culture Chairman (CEcc) Secondary data Feasibility study A 2002-08-15 19 The Built & Human Environment Review, Volume 3, Special Issue 1, 2010 Project leader (Cpl080220)Client/End-user: Cultural manager (CEcm) Client/End-user: – Municipal Technical chairman (CEtc) Client: Project manager (Chp) Designer: Architect (DA) Constructor: Manager construction company (Com) Constructor: Project leader in construction company (Cop) Industry: The Swedish Construction Federation, Region North (BI) End-user: Concert Hall manager (Echm) End-user: Art Hall manager (Eam) Feasibility study B May 2003 Internal stakeholder/Municipal and cultural organisations: Cultural manager (CEcm070601,080117,080925) Library manager (Elm081006) Concert Hall manager (Echm081005) Art Hall manager (Eam081015) Planning document 2003-12-22Project directive 2003-10-20 External stakeho lder/Contractor: Manager construction company (Com071004) Project leader in construction company (Cop080930) Brief for architectural competition 2003-12-22 External stakeholder/Designer: Architect (DA081002) End-user: Tourist manager (Etm2) End-user: 2 Peoples Parks and Community Centres (Eppc) End-user: Orchestra member (Epo) External stakeholder/ End-user: 2 citizens (Eci) Commercial organisations : Tourist manager (Etm081022) Business manager (Ebm081023) End-user/Citizens, public and visitors: Orchestra member (Epo070905), Public (Eci, 2090330) Reference Group MeetingsThe public client as well as the construction professionals participated in the process of evaluating the effects of the construction project and the use of the building. They participated in so called reference group meetings and focus group interviews. During the research project four reference group meetings were carried out with two representative from the public client; one initiating the project and one intern al end-user of the building, one representative from the construction company, two representatives from construction industry and one representative from a non-profit cultural organisation together with three academic researchers.During these meetings the first evaluation results were presented and discussed. The relevance of the results was discussed and new questions developed for further investigations. 20 The Built & Human Environment Review, Volume 3, Special Issue 1, 2010 Focus Group Interviews The empirical data was first coded and summarized and then confirmed and discussed by the practitioners. The focus group interviews were conducted more specific regarding a subject where the participants were asked a question that was answered individual in the group, by each of the respondents and then discussed within the group.The five focus group interviews were performed in accordance with the reference group meetings and one at another time. Workshop A workshop was performed with respondents representing the stakeholders of the construction project as presented in Table 1. The workshop consisted of two parts. The first was to present the results from the descriptive analysis of the construction project to implement the results back to construction industry. The second part was to develop a story line of the construction project based on the stakeholders’ successful factors describing the success of the building.Open coding – First Level From the data analysis based on the interviews, a story of the building process emerged. This story was built by the respondents and confirmed by all respondents when summarized in a case study report (Laurell Stenlund, 2010). Within this story different activities were specifically mentioned by different actors due to their significant influence on the performance of the construction projects as well as on the effects of the final building according to the respondents. These activities were confirmed by archive data and found in the construction projects documentation.There are different views about how categories emerge from the analysis, e. g. let the data ‘talk’ or if the researcher is shaping the categories (Bryant and Charmaz, 2007). In this study, no specific and objective theoretical frameworks were ready to pick. They were instead developed during analysis. Coding was in the first step based on a preliminary theoretical framework consisting of different phases of the building process. The activities were then categorised, based on their empirical characteristic, first in relation to the different stages in the construction project, e. . communication during design between architect and library manager and secondly in themes due to their organisational belonging, i. e. the content of the activity, for example, communication regarding specific functional solutions within the library between the architect and the library manager: strategic briefing during the design phas e. The resulted value-adding activities are presented in Table 2 below. Table 2: Value-adding activities in building houses of culture Activities in the briefing process related to strategic briefing The feasibility study 2002 and 2003 a. he rejection of the first proposal consisting of private and public investors in the construction project b. the development of the second proposal of combining different cultural activities in one building The political decisions 2003 a. political agreement on building a new house for the existing public library, the public art gallery and a new concert hall 21 The Built & Human Environment Review, Volume 3, Special Issue 1, 2010 b. political initiatives of starting the construction project The development of the project directives with requirement regarding a. ost b. time c. responsibilities The development of the strategic brief a. overall vision and goals for the building and building performance b. end-users’ functional requirements, ne eds and desires c. qualifying criteria for participating in the architectural competition d. order-winning criteria for the architect The client’s procurement decision a. design-bid-build based on a architectural competition b. architect creating a design team with client c. contractor’s relation to client during construction Open coding – Second LevelThe second analysis was based on a preliminary theoretical framework (Values surrounding the House of Culture, developed from Boyd and Chinyio, 2006:80) where the client’s requirements were coded to different stakeholder groups, and stakeholders’ value were coded in relation to project and product (Laurell Stenlund et al. , 2009). Coding into rich picture diagrams and general themes The third categorisation was an analysis of the value-adding activities performed by actors within the construction project as well as by end-users in the final building.Here the general themes developed by Sutrisna and Ba rrett (2007) were applied when coding the data into the rich picture diagram for further analysis of developed intellectual capital. This analysis is presented in the following section. Intellectual capital in rich picture diagrams Sutrisna and Barrett (2007) found that the use of the multiple case study approach was in agreement with the principles of GTM, i. e. that it relies on multiple sources and constant comparison of empirical data for the purpose of theory building.However, when using multiple case studies and GTM, the cross-case analysis can be found overwhelming and difficult to grasp all at once, according to Sutrisna and Barrett (2007). Therefore the rich picture diagram is suggested by Sutrisna and Barrett (2007) as an analytical tool in data analysis and here applied when analysing the development of intellectual capital in construction projects. 22 The Built & Human Environment Review, Volume 3, Special Issue 1, 2010 Rich picture diagrams Firstly, the value-adding act ivities of the ‘successful’ construction project, were used as a basis to develop a rich picture diagram.The activities were coded in accordance with the general themes developed by Sutrisna and Barrett (2007). Secondly, the results from the workshop were included into the rich picture diagram. During the workshop, each stakeholder representative presented their three most important success factors, written on ‘post-it’-notes in four dimensions, namely strategic with external (market) perspective; strategic with internal (vision and financing) perspective; operational with external (customer) perspective and operational with internal (organisational and cost) perspective.For the purpose of the workshop, the four dimensions were related to the general themes developed by Sutrisna and Barrett (2007). The notes were then transformed into the same rich picture diagram as the story line of the construction project. Intellectual Capital The intellectual capital m odel consists of identifying financial, human, social, customer and organisational value (Sveiby, 1997). Identifying and visualizing intellectual capital are problematic and discussed for many years. Research with focus on intellectual capital started intensively during the 90s within the field of accounting.The Balanced Scorecard, developed by Kaplan and Norton (1993), The Intangible Assets Monitor, developed by Sveiby (1997) and The Skandia IC model with the world’s first public intellectual capital annual report, as a supplement to the financial report (Edvinsson and Malone, 1997), are examples of management models categorising, measuring and valuing companies’ tangible and intangible resources and assets. Edvinsson and Malone (1997) describe the company’s intangible assets as â€Å"those that have no physical existence but are still of value to the company.Typically, they are long term and cannot accurately be valued until the company is sold. † Measu rement of intellectual capital is thus difficult. According to Mouritsen (2009), it is not possible for an organisation to copy its intangible properties in a number; yet it is necessary because it allows intervention to happen since it develops a wholly new set of dimensions to manage. Measuring size, value and effects of intellectual capital does not yield definitive measures, yet the measures are comforting because they help develop the actions that can be made in the name of intellectual capital (Mouritsen, 2009).Analysing Intellectual Capital in Rich Picture Diagrams In the rich picture diagram value-adding activities in the building process together with stakeholders’ value of the construction project and building in use are pictured in a story line of building a house of culture as presented in Figure 1. In Figure 1, number 1 describes activities creating human capital in the municipality. Here the municipal commissioner played an important, entrepreneurial client role . This is seen as a distinctive feature in the case.Human capital was developed in a creative process of finding a new solution to an old demand, the need of a concert hall, and also driving the political process to a building decision of building a house of culture by combining the library, the hall of arts and the concert hall. The decision was a result of a more than 60-year-long discussion in the municipality, where special interest organisations argued for and against a new concert hall in the city. Human capital is measured in the individual’s knowledge and experiences creating a capability within the organisation (Sveiby, 1997; Laurell Stenlund, 2004).The development of construction industry, with advanced technol- 23 The Built & Human Environment Review, Volume 3, Special Issue 1, 2010 ogy put a pressure on actors’ capabilities to adapt to these new technologies. However, construction industry also relays on actors’ capabilities to create new ideas, new technologies and new types of buildings, as shown in this case were the public client was using his competence, based on political experience as well as on his skills from construction industry.Figure 1: The story line of a successful construction project visualising created intellectual capital Number 2 in the figure describes the activities related to the development of the brief for architectural competition, based on the vision of the building together with the transformation of the public client’s requirements into building programmes, e. g. functional and technical specifications. The public client's role during the development of the building programme was important.Different employees in the client's organisation were involved in the development of the feasibility studies taking political decisions and developing the project directives with requirements regarding cost, time and responsibilities. In the brief for architectural competition, the public client formulated the overall vision and goals for the building and the end-users’ functional requirements. People from the artistic organisations were partly involved in this strategic briefing process.The process, in the figure illustrated with dotted arrows, illustrates how the client’s representatives, foremost the project manager together with the architect, worked together with actors responsible for art and library activities. This work should also be seen as a strategic briefing process performed in the project during the design phase. The public client’s procurement decisions regarding the architectural competition made it possible for the architect to create a â€Å"dream-team† of consultants working together with designing the building.The bid-to-build procurement decision engaged a contractor, with the ambition to develop new knowledge within their own construction organisation concerning technical solutions in the building of concert halls. Here the municipali ty created organisational capital in measures of communication, trust and business relations (Sveiby, 1997) between actors in the local construction industry. The organisational capital belonging to the public client has created new construction projects in the community, even during recession, when normally no construction projects should have stated.Finally number 3 in the figure describes how the public client's decisions had an impact on creating social capital in the community. This is closely related to the client’s ambitions to create a building with symbolic value and also to the distinctive feature of having created future beliefs in the city. Social capital is described in terms 24 The Built & Human Environment Review, Volume 3, Special Issue 1, 2010 of change in attitudes, but also in terms of economic value regarding new job opportunities, development of organisational and business activities.End-users participating at the workshop expressed their view of the buil ding in use in terms of social value. They valued the multitude of cultural activities in the building as well as the building is easy accessibility, aesthetics, comfort, safe with a central location in the city. The social capital developed by building a house of culture in the community is described by the public client as valuable for the cities development in the future, not only because of its cultural activities, but also because of the buildings architecture and location. DiscussionFrom the results of analysing value-added activities and stakeholders’ value in a story line, the distinctive features for this specific construction project illustrates three key competencies generating human, organisational and social capital; firstly the human capital based on the public clients political and construction knowledge and skills in the pre-phase of the construction project; secondly the organisational capital based on the actors competencies of interacting when developing th e strategic brief involving internal and external stakeholders goals and visions, during the onstruction project; and finally the social capital based on the building’s multifunctional activities, its architectural design and its central location in the city, when building in use. From the results, one could determine certain success factors and key competencies that should be maximized. These success factors and key competencies could in turn be grouped into a number of distinct areas of focus such as financial, human, customer, process, renewal and development. Within each of these areas of focus, one could identify numerous key indicators to measure performance.Previous research studies have shown that companies and organisations have to identify their own relevant key indicators and success factors and relate them to their specific activities and resources when making the tools usable in management decisions (Laurell Stenlund, 2004; Anumba et al. , 2005; Roos et al. , 200 5). Measuring size, value and effects of intellectual capital does not yield definitive measures, yet the measures are comforting because they help develop the actions that can be made in the name of intellectual capital (Mouritsen, 2009).Conclusions Stakeholder value is the key variable in this study with the purpose of visualising stakeholders’ different value in the building process. From the results of the study, intellectual capital developed during the construction project has been visualised in terms of human, organisational and social capital. Houses of culture, public buildings for cultural activities, enable meeting places for citizens as well as they provide places for cultural events and spaces for creativity as well as they contribute to the development of new cultural activities.The outcomes were found useful when implementing the results back to the studied client organisation and the actors in the project team as well as they can be used to better understand t he situation, formulating improvement as well as a platform for future research. The strength of combining GTM and RPD is demonstrated in the ability of the methodology in studying complex organisational structures and relations between different actors, and specific as shown in this case, when analysing value creation in a construction project with many stakeholders with different interests and value. 5 The Built & Human Environment Review, Volume 3, Special Issue 1, 2010 References Alvesson, M. and Skoldberg, K. (2000) Reflexive methodology: new vistas for qualitative research, London: Sage. Anumba, C. J. , Egbu, C. and Carrillo, P. (2005) Knowledge Management in Construction, Oxford: Blackwell Publishing Ltd. Boyd, D and Chinyio, E (2006) Understanding the construction client, Oxford: Blackwell Publishing Ltd. Bryant, A. and Charmaz, K. (2007) The SAGE handbook of Grounded Theory, London: SAGE Publications Ltd. Brochner, J. and Kadefors, A. 2010) Varden och vardekedjor inom samha llsbyggande, forstudie. [Values and value chains in building societies, prestudy], Stockholm: KK-stiftelsen. Chroneer, D. and Laurell-Stenlund, K. (2006) Determinants of an effective product development process: Towards a conceptual framework for process industry. International journal of innovation management, 10(3), 237-269. Dosi, G. , Faillo, M. and Marengo, L. (2008) Organisational Capabilities, Patterns of Knowledge Accumulation and Governance Structures in Business Firms: An Introduction. Organization Studies, 29(08&09), 11651185. Edvinsson, L. and Malone, M.S. (1997) Intellectual Capital, The proven way to establish your company’s real value by measuring its hidden brainpower, London: Harper. Egan, J. (1998) Rethinking Construction, Report of the Construction Task Force to the Deputy Prime Minister, John Prescott, on the Scope for Improving the Quality and Efficiency of UK Construction. Department of Trade and Industry, HMSO, London. Eisenhardt, K. M. (1989) Building t heories from case study research. Academy of Management Review, 14(4), 532-550. Finch, P. (2000) Better public building, a proud legacy for the future, The Better Public Buildings Group.Department for culture, media and sport, London. Glaser, B. G. (1992) Basics of Grounded Theory Research. Sociology Press, Mill Valley, CA. Glaser, B. G. and Strauss, A. L. (1967) The Discovery of Grounded Theory. Aldine, Chicago. Grant, R. M. (1991) The resource based theory of competitive advantage: Implications for strategy formulation. California Management Review, 33(3), 114-135. Gray, C. and Hughes, W. (2001) Building Design Management, Oxford: Elsevier Ltd. Hamel, G. and Prahalad C. K. (1994) Competing for the Future. Boston, Massachusetts: Harvard Business School Press. Kaplan, R. S. and Norton, D.P. (1993) Putting the Balanced Scorecard on work, Harvard Business Review, (SepOct), 134-147. Laurell-Stenlund, K. (2004) Three perspectives on measuring and valuing losses of key competence. (Licen tiate thesis in Swedish), Lulea: Lulea University of Technology. Laurell Stenlund, K. (2010) Effekter av byggandet av Kulturens hus i Lulea, [The Matter of Culture], Research Report, Lulea: Lulea University of Technology. Laurell Stenlund, K and Horte, S-A. (1999) Competence accounting – methods for measuring and valuing keycompetencies. Managing Operations Networks, EurOMA Conference, Venice, Italy, June 7-8. 26The Built & Human Environment Review, Volume 3, Special Issue 1, 2010 Laurell Stenlund, K. , Ryd, N. and Vennstrom, A. (2009) Client's decisions in strategic briefs and their impact on user values. Proceedings 25th Annual ARCOM Conference. Nottingham: Association of Researchers in Construction Management, 361-370. Miles, M. B. and Huberman, A. M. (1994) An Expanded Sourcebook, Qualitative Data Analysis (2nd ed. ), California and London: Sage Publications. Inc. Mouritsen, J. (2009) Classification, measurement and the ontology of intellectual capital entities. Journal o f Human Resource Costing & Accounting, 13(2), 154-162. Penrose, E. 1959/1995) The theory of the growth of the firm. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Roos, G. , Pike, S. and Fernstrom, L. (2005) Managing Intellectual Capital in Practice, Butterworth-Heinemann, Elsevier Ltd, Oxford. Saxon, R. (2005) Be Valuable: A Guide to Creating value in the Built Environment Construction Excellence, London. Segerstedt, A. and Olofsson, T. (2010) Supply chains in the construction industry. Supply Chain Management, 15(5), 347-353. Short, C. A. , Barrett, P. , Dye, A. and Sutrisna, M. (2007) Impacts of value engineering on five Capital Arts projects. Building Research and Information, 35(3), 287-315. Spencer, N. nd Winch, G. (2002) How buildings Add Value for Clients, Construction Industry Council, London. Sutrisna, M. and Barrett, P. (2007). Applying rich picture diagrams to model case studies of construction projects. Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management, 14(2), 164-179. Sveiby, K . E. (1997) The Intangible Assets Monitor. Journal of Human Resource costing and accounting, 2(1), 73-97. Winch. M. G. (2002) Managing Construction Projects, UK: Blackwell Science Ltd. Yin, R. K. (1994) Case Study Research: Design and Methods, Newbury Press, California: Sage. 27 The Built & Human Environment Review, Volume 3, Special Issue 1, 2010 28