The Griot

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THE GRIOT PROJECT: SUBJECTIVE AND OBJECTIVE KNOWLEDGE.

During my last week class project, I learned very important concepts on objective and subjective concerning my family history. The two concepts are important because my story is a mix of facts from my Grandfather about the family and interpretation thereon.I was born a man in the family of great wealth is objectively but to determine how much that wealth comprises of is very subjective and need to know all the facts about what we posses.

My grandfather the sole serving elderly member of the family who holds the all the information and culture is objective.To determine  and confirm that all the information provided is subjective and has to verified  by checking the facts from other sources. Equally other members of the family holds some pieces of the information and needs to be pieced together to provide a concrete and useful information.

Objectively our family history comprises of of our culture i.e owning livestock as a source of great wealth, our family tree i.e all the family members from fathers and mothers side and their relatives and the Do's and Dont' of the family(Committing crimes like murder not allowed) The rules to be followed before and after every generation.

Subjectively the teaching is universal and what is taught is individual knowledge that keeps on changing overtime.Our source of wealth the livestock has evolved and now we  don't have the cows anymore but hols cash as a source of wealth.

From what i have relearned from the project  objective and subjective knowledge always overlap each other even if they are different.

Compiling the manuals and audio of the family history is in the process and will be available in a short while and will be available on the media houses or the next TELA class semester. 

 

SELF SURPRISE

http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=7420710n

Speech

Never had that self confidence in giving a speech, always feared that since English is a third language the audience will criticise or not approve  of me, but during a communication class I surprised myself, I made it happen. A job well done.
The self fulfilling prophecy i.e a person expectation of an outcome and subsequent  behavior makes the outcome more likely to occur because i told myself that if others do it i will make it too. I worked hard on my speech, revised it and rehearsed it before the presentation.
The results were amazing and I felt motivated to do more, The teacher was impressed and the students too and now i am destined for greater heights in college. I am very much interested in politics and you have to do a lot of talking and now i have the courage to speak to a big audience without any problem.

ENERGY DRINK

Peter Njau
0714950 Eng 114
Prof Henry

ABOUT

Made for hard working people

Finding the energy for work and family responsibilities is hard enough. Throw in a second job, go back to school, or simply have a sleepless night, and you’re bound to hit the wall. So what do you do? Run for the coffee? Grab a soda? But how long does that last before you need more? Try this instead – take one 5-hour ENERGY® shot. It’s quick, simple, and made to help hard working people.
What's in 5-hour ENERGY®?
The key ingredients in 5-hour ENERGY® are also available in every day foods – like broccoli, avocados, bananas and apples – or already in you. It contains zero sugar, four calories and as much caffeine as a cup of the leading premium coffee.

Why try 5-hour ENERGY®?

 Hot Last Friday evening, after a week of gruelling work, I was tired, exhausted and sleepy and had four and a half hours to go. But a 5- hour energy drink my friend had,  brought more harm than relief.

 There was a problem, a big problem. Could the energy drink last for five hours and be as effective when shared?

There was only one bottle of the drink and i really wanted to share but my friend would not give in.

His argument was "If we share then it will last for only Two and  half hours instead of the usual five" and he would not enjoy the drink because it would mean taking  half and would be too little.

My suggestion was it would last for five hours but not 100% effective and as team mates we had to share the little there was and see it as glass half full and not half empty.

Education

Do you want a better life?  Then education is the key. The doors open for you without struggle. it makes the life easier and smooth.

 I remember when growing up my parents used  to wake  me up early and  to go  to school. I used to think it like waste of time and money but they knew better. They taught me how nothing comes easy and perseverance pays.


The kids in the neighbourhood were missing classes, smoking  and doing drugs like the end of times. They were shooting their brothers and sisters hoping to satisfies their selfish greed.  If only they knew  what they were missing, I hope i was in a position to advice them. They missed the key to the new world and their future.

(A man who has never gone to school may steal from a freight car; but if he has a university education he may steal the whole railroad.)

(Theodore Roosevelt (1858-1919) American president) 

Today as i walk around and looking at what  i have gone through, the struggles from  my past,The bumpy road to the present and the bright future ahead, I say thanks to my parents for their  hard work and determination  to give me the right keys, I could not have asked for more. (Education).

WORKFORCE MOTIVATION

Most production based corporations emphasis on monetary rewards for good performance but does it really work?

If the task involves mechanical the higher the pay the better the performance, but if the tasks calls for higher skills the the rewards does not work.


 Experiment on other parts of the world shows that rewards can only work to a certain extent but after that, even worse performance  is obtained.The employees will give their best performance and the production will be of high quality. Good salaries are the key points when rewarding employees when high quality performance is expected.
The Experiment done in Australia is a good example, the employees were willing to give their best production performance in 24 hours for free, and the results were amazing



Based on research "rewarding something to get more or punishing something you get less" does not always produce the intended results.(Massachusetts institute of technology).

Identity

I am  from Nairobi, Kenya.. What does the world say about Kenyans? What do you know about Kenyans? Does being an African living in the United States make me an African American?

 I also have black Skin. Who- or what- do people think about people with black skin? About me?

How I am labelled depends on one who is making the label. Depending on who i interact with, I  am,

• African,
• Black,
• Kenyan, 
• African American,
• Negro. 

Quite often I am judged based on appearance and background. What people think about my Intelligence, my work ethic, my cultural tastes and values, and even my own humanity - is out of my control. This is true even for our President, Barack Obama. His patriotism, intelligence, and his leadership ability is often questioned because of his appearance and his Kenyan background.

But these judgements are not based on our character, not on what we do. Instead, those judgements are based on stereotypes and prejudice. I want to be seen as a person. A Kenyan person. But not better or worse. I want to be judged on how I lead my life, just Obama should be judged on his performance as a president.

I am not ashamed of being Kenyan. Oh no! I am quite proud. But that is only a label.

How I express myself in my body is what should be judged.

Voting Power for the Poor

 Should being a felon (a criminal) strip you your voting rights? This is a question i have been asking myself for long but without answers. Why should you be denied the voting rights just because of a  crime not related to voting?

The right to vote is enshrined in our constitution. it is your Constitution right to elect whoever you deem fit to run for the office without any discrimination.(Give our president Obama four more years).

The denial  to vote was imposed to limit the rights and powers of the lower class from becoming the advantaged (those who have) and be insignificant in the society.The upper class always tries to deny the lower class the entry to a better world this is confirmed by the fact that the lower class will commit crimes due to having less and once the crime is committed there is no "undoing". you are rendered powerless for ever.

I see it as it was a way to deny the African American the right to vote because they were more likely to commit crimes(from bureau of justice statistics(Black victims of violent crime Aug, 2007)

The disadvantaged(those who do not have) are denied their voice in the system and then always try to do their best to be like the advantaged. Its time to be allowed to vote for your choice.