Zora Neale Hurston’s Search for Identity in Moses, Man of the Mountain

Zora Neale Hurston, Afro-American writer of the 1920s and 1930s, has gained critical recognition for her novels and studies about the Afro-American masses. Hurston, also an anthropologist and folklorist, worked directly with southern Afro-Americans through her research in both of these fields. Her folklore collecting journeys enabled her to see and to capture the cultural traditions and oral heritage of Afro-Americans. It was her search into the cultural traditions, moreover, that led her to find her own identity. Hurston, therefore, depicted her protagonists as searching for an identity in most of her novels, with this quest especially apparent in Moses, Man of the Mountain (1939). In this novel she blends Afro-American traditions--voodoo, hoodoo, and folklore--to help Moses, the Egyptian version of the well-known Biblical figure, end his quest for self-identity. Hurston\u27s own life parallels Moses\u27s; and, in effect, when Moses gains his sense of identity and sense of community, Hurston gains hers also. Three stages of development exist in Hurston\u27s search for an identity: being raised in a southern but autonomous Afro-American community; studying under anthropologist Franz Boas, leading her to collect folklore and, eventually, to explore hoodoo and voodoo; and her final accomplishment, writing Moses, the novel that incorporates cultural elements from the first two stages in a successful attempt to fuse these elements into the foundation on which Moses\u27s (and Hurston\u27s) identity is based. Hurston spent much of her career fighting to overcome the obstacles that both white and Afro-American males set up; she fought against prejudicial stereotypes that labeled her derogatorily as an Afro-American woman novelist. She created her own esthetic with which to write, an esthetic that let her portray the masses as she saw them. She found a niche in society through which she could develop her identity by following her esthetic and by incorporating Afro-American traditions into her work. Moses, Hurston\u27s most significantly important book in which she portrays the search for her own identity, contains elements that are culturally traditional, namely elements of folklore, hoodoo, and voodoo. Hoodoo, furthermore, was intimately grounded in Hurston\u27s sense of community and sense of self, leaving her free to incorporate it into Moses. Hurston\u27s Moses, for example, was the greatest hoodoo master who ever lived, yet he still had enough human qualities so that Afro-Americans could easily identify with him. Since Hurston found her identity through Moses, then her writing of this novel was a way for her to find out who she was and to what community she belonged

Zora Neale Hurston’s Search for Identity in Moses, Man of the Mountain

Zora Neale Hurston, Afro-American writer of the 1920s and 1930s, has gained critical recognition for her novels and studies about the Afro-American masses. Hurston, also an anthropologist and folklorist, worked directly with southern Afro-Americans through her research in both of these fields. Her folklore collecting journeys enabled her to see and to capture the cultural traditions and oral heritage of Afro-Americans. It was her search into the cultural traditions, moreover, that led her to find her own identity. Hurston, therefore, depicted her protagonists as searching for an identity in most of her novels, with this quest especially apparent in Moses, Man of the Mountain (1939). In this novel she blends Afro-American traditions--voodoo, hoodoo, and folklore--to help Moses, the Egyptian version of the well-known Biblical figure, end his quest for self-identity. Hurston\u27s own life parallels Moses\u27s; and, in effect, when Moses gains his sense of identity and sense of community, Hurston gains hers also. Three stages of development exist in Hurston\u27s search for an identity: being raised in a southern but autonomous Afro-American community; studying under anthropologist Franz Boas, leading her to collect folklore and, eventually, to explore hoodoo and voodoo; and her final accomplishment, writing Moses, the novel that incorporates cultural elements from the first two stages in a successful attempt to fuse these elements into the foundation on which Moses\u27s (and Hurston\u27s) identity is based. Hurston spent much of her career fighting to overcome the obstacles that both white and Afro-American males set up; she fought against prejudicial stereotypes that labeled her derogatorily as an Afro-American woman novelist. She created her own esthetic with which to write, an esthetic that let her portray the masses as she saw them. She found a niche in society through which she could develop her identity by following her esthetic and by incorporating Afro-American traditions into her work. Moses, Hurston\u27s most significantly important book in which she portrays the search for her own identity, contains elements that are culturally traditional, namely elements of folklore, hoodoo, and voodoo. Hoodoo, furthermore, was intimately grounded in Hurston\u27s sense of community and sense of self, leaving her free to incorporate it into Moses. Hurston\u27s Moses, for example, was the greatest hoodoo master who ever lived, yet he still had enough human qualities so that Afro-Americans could easily identify with him. Since Hurston found her identity through Moses, then her writing of this novel was a way for her to find out who she was and to what community she belonged

¿Es la cultura organizacional de Call Center S.A un factor que favorece su proceso de innovación?

Los mercados son cada vez más competitivos y el ciclo de vida de los productos ha disminuido ostensiblemente debido a la imponente irrupción de la tecnología, por esto se hace indispensable contar con la innovación como estrategia competitiva. Para que la innovación surja en Call Center S.A como conducta recurrente y sostenida, es necesario entender como su cultura organizacional puede facilitar que esta sea promovida y adoptada en función sus valores y comportamientos. Este trabajo aborda las variables de la cultura organizacional de forma holística a través del estudio de diferentes arquetipos de cultura. Parte de un punto de vista teórico y se contrasta con un trabajo de campo basado en el modelo de valores en competencia, aplicando entrevistas y encuestas, para determinar si la cultura organizacional de esta compañía favorece la innovación. La teoría y los resultados del trabajo de campo muestran que la cultura organizacional tiene efectos distintos sobre la innovación, en concreto que. Luego en los hallazgos se identifica que la cultura organizacional se ve influenciada por los tipos de cultura, clan y jerárquico, los cuales, no favorecen la innovación, debido al estilo de liderazgo y énfasis estratégico, que inciden negativamente sobre la cultura organizacional. Además, se observa un mayor efecto sobre la innovación cuando todos los rasgos que componen dicha cultura son internamente coherentes. Los resultados obtenidos contribuyen a la literatura centrada en la relación entre cultura e innovación y tienen implicaciones para la práctica empresarial.Markets are increasingly competitive and the life cycle of products has decreased significantly due to an impressive emergence of technology, therefore it is essential to have innovation as a competitive strategy. In order for innovation to occur in Call Center S.A as a recurrent and sustained conduct,it is necessary to understand how organizational culture can facilitate promotion and adoption to function its values and behaviors. This method takes into consideration the variables for organizational culture in a holistic manner through the study of different cultural archetypes. It commences from a theoretical point of view and contrasts with fieldwork based on a model of values in competition, interviews,and surveys, to determine if the organizational culture of the company promotes the innovation. The theory and results of the fieldwork show the different effects with innovation. After the findings, it has been discovered that the organizational culture is influenced for the types of culture,clans and hierarchical that does not go in favor for innovation due to the style of leadership and strategic emphasis that affects it in a negative manner. Also a greater effect has been observed when all the traits that make up this culture are internally coherent. The obtained results contribute a centralized literature in relation between culture and innovation and have implications for business training.Os mercados são mais competitivos e o ciclo de vida dos produtos tem dismuido aparentemente devido ao aparecimento da tecnologia, portanto é essencial ter a inovação como uma estratégia competitiva. Para gerar inovação no Call Center S.A como conduta recorrente e sustentado, é necessário entender como a cultura organizacional pode facilitar que este seja promovido e adotado de acordo com seus valores e comportamentos. Este artigo aborda as variáveis da cultura organizacional de uma forma holística através do estudo de diferentes arquétipos da cultura. Parte de um ponto de vista teórico e contrasta com o trabalho de campo com base no modelo de valores concorrentes, por meio de entrevistas e pesquisas, para determinar se a cultura organizacional da empresa favorece a inovação. A teoria e os resultados do trabalho de campo mostram que a cultura organizacional tem efeitos diferentes sobre a inovação. Após nas descobertas identificou-se que a cultura organizacional é influenciada pelos tipos de cultura, clã e hierárquica, os quais, não favorecem a inovação, devido ao estilo de liderança e ênfase estratégica que afecta negativamente a cultura organizacional. Além disso nota-se um maior efeito sobre a inovação quando todos as características que compõem esta cultura são internamente consistentes. Os resultados obtidos ajudam a uma literatura centrada na relação entre cultura e inovação e tem implicações para a prática de negócios

Developing a commercial strategy based on product mix

La variedad de artículos ofrecidos a los consumidores es cada vez más amplia. A su vez, los espacios disponibles para exhibirlos dentro de un formato de tienda de venta al por menor son cada vez más reducidos, escasos y por tanto costosos, lo que genera incertidumbre acerca del portafolio adecuado que genera mayor dinamismo en ventas. Con el propósito de asegurar el éxito en rotación de la mercancía que ofrece un almacén, este artículo propone una estrategia para identificar la mezcla de producto adecuada que garantice la mayor eficiencia técnica en un punto de venta determinado.the variety of items offered to consumers is widening. In turn, the space available for display within a store format retail are shrinking, scarce and therefore expensive, creating uncertainty about the appropriate portfolio generates sales dynamism. In order to ensure success in rotation merchandise featuring a warehouse, this paper proposes a strategy for identifying suitable product mix to ensure the most efficient technique in a given outlet

Relationship Between Vocal Technique, Classification, and Appropriate Repertoire for the Tenor Voice

Within the training and career of a lyrical singer, it is necessary to approach a question: Why is it important to know the vocal classification and the technique for the correct assignment of the repertoire? Although the answer forces us to delve a little deeper into the history of the classification of voices by sex, we will also focus on characteristics that section lyrical voices by their tessitura, timbre and intensity, with a special emphasis on the tenor voice

A text message intervention for quitting cigarette smoking among young adults experiencing homelessness: study protocol for a pilot randomized controlled trial.

BackgroundCigarette smoking is much more prevalent among young people experiencing homelessness than in the general population of adolescents and young adults. Although many young homeless smokers are motivated to quit, there are no empirically-evaluated smoking cessation programs for this population. It is important that any such program address the factors known to be associated with quitting-related outcomes among homeless young people, to provide ongoing support in a way that accommodates the mobility of this population, and does not rely on scarce service provider resources for its delivery. The objective of this project is to develop and pilot test a text messaging-based intervention (TMI), as an adjunct to brief cessation counseling and provision of nicotine patches, to help homeless young people who want to quit smoking.Methods/designThis pilot study will utilize a cluster cross-over randomized controlled design with up to 80 current smokers who desire to quit and are recruited from three drop-in centers serving young people experiencing homelessness in the Los Angeles area. All participants will be provided with a minimum standard of care: a 30-min group-based smoking cessation counseling session and free nicotine replacement. Half of these smokers will then also receive the TMI, as an adjunct to this standard care, which will provide 6 weeks of ongoing support for quitting. This support includes continued and more intensive education regarding nicotine dependence, quitting smoking, and relapse; does not require additional agency resources; can be available "on demand" to users; and includes features to personalize the quitting experience. This study will investigate whether receiving the TMI adjunct to standard smoking cessation care results in greater reductions in cigarette smoking compared to standard care alone over a 3-month period.DiscussionThis study has the potential to address an important gap in the clinical research literature on cigarette smoking cessation and provide empirical support for using a TMI to provide ongoing assistance and support for quitting among young smokers experiencing homelessness. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier NCT03874585. Registered March 14, 2019, https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/record/NCT03874585

Metodologías para diseño de circuitos ladder con base en sistemas secuenciales y combinacionales

Los automatismos a través del tiempo han alcanzado un tamaño y una complejidad considerables debido a la industrialización del mundo moderno que busca realizar rutinas de producción con mayor eficiencia y en condiciones óptimas de seguridad tanto para las personas como para las máquinas, lo que ha llevado a buscar herramientas para el diseño de circuitos automáticos que logren satisfacer dichas necesidades. Con el pasar de los años se han logrado implementar circuitos automáticos que realizan funciones básicas con la interconexión de pulsadores, interruptores, contactos, temporizadores, bobinas; y lo que se busca es que estos sirvan como punto de partida para el diseño final de los automatismos requeridos, lo que los ha convertido en un estándar. Cabe anotar que el ser un estándar no significa que se puedan utilizar en todo tipo de aplicaciones, por lo que se hace necesario acondicionar los circuitos dependiendo de la aplicación que se quiera, de ahí la dificultad de los diseñadores para encontrar el circuito que cumpla con los requerimientos exigidos. En la actualidad las metodologías de diseño se han visto representadas en la prueba de circuitos sim ples a los cuales se le adicionan ciertas características que van siendo probadas para encontrar fallas e ir corrigiéndolas hasta encontrar el funcionamiento deseado, pero no se cuenta con una metodología que guíe al diseñador paso a paso, es decir, si se busca un circuito que permita implementar una ac ción, el encargado de su implementación se enfrenta a un problema que sólo podrá superar por medio de su habilidad y experiencia en el campo

Logistic Q-Learning

We propose a new reinforcement learning algorithm derived from a regularized linear-programming formulation of optimal control in MDPs. The method is closely related to the classic Relative Entropy Policy Search (REPS) algorithm of Peters et al. (2010), with the key difference that our method introduces a Q-function that enables efficient exact model-free implementation. The main feature of our algorithm (called QREPS) is a convex loss function for policy evaluation that serves as a theoretically sound alternative to the widely used squared Bellman error. We provide a practical saddle-point optimization method for minimizing this loss function and provide an error-propagation analysis that relates the quality of the individual updates to the performance of the output policy. Finally, we demonstrate the effectiveness of our method on a range of benchmark problems