AOL Project GSB Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

AOL Project GSB - Essay Example The CEO Sally Smith, a mother of two, is a graduate of the University of North Dakota and holds BSc in Accounting and business administration. She held the position of chief financial officer at Dahlberg Inc. for 11 years before she was hired by BWLD in 1994 as a CFO and promoted to CEO in 1996. The strategies that Buffalo Wild Wings put forward in 2013 accomplished its goals to remain a high-growth, category-leading concept. It has significantly funded new strategic plans, invests in growth and imperatively distributed its earnings to shareholders. Its gross margin over the period 2013 was 27.0% and the operating margin was 9.6%, percentages that are above industry average. The company’s net margin stood at 6.5%. The company is fuelling its growth by increasing demand for its products and services. BWLD’s gross margin is inching upward implying that the company is continuously beating competitors and acquiring domination in the restaurant industry. The company continue s expanding through mergers and acquisitions and the dividends and its payout ratio upsurge. The risks and uncertainties involved in investing in the company are highlighted to caution investors against potential market failures and impending indecisions. The stock price increased by 52% and the company provided substantial value to its shareholders with a EPS $3.80, DEPS of $3.79. Revenue increased and was used to offer a salary increment to its directors. Apparently, its impressive stock performance acted as a momentous factor that fascinated investors. The 10k annual report reveals that the latest earnings that enable it to actively acquire a chain of restaurants that are small to reduce the acquisition cost. The buffalo wild wing company is in a position and determined to expand its base to targeted North American. This started as a result of

Hinduism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 2

Hinduism - Essay Example are many aspects of their religious beliefs and practices that provide the necessary common ground to bring under a single political classification, if not a theistic one. While the predominant deity may differ from one faction to the other, all deities are taken from the more than 300 million divine entities that form the cosmos. While no one scripture is considered to represent the religion in all its complexities, a few historical scriptures are widely circulated, read and referred across the various denominations. These are the Vedas (some of which date back to 2000 years B.C. and beyond) and Upanishads (a later-day invention of the Brahman classes). Some form of religious practices, beliefs and rituals that derived from Brahmanas, Aranyakas, Upanishads and Vedas are being used by the Hindus even today. This is the strongest argument in favor of a unifying Hindu theology (Van Horn, 2006). Hinduism places emphasis on worship of nature. Indus Valley was the cradle of the religion. Hence, the way of life afforded by its geography holds religious significance as well. The Indus River was vital to the survival of its surrounding inhabitants; so worship of river god is a basic tenet. This also explains the reverence accorded to river Ganges, the dependents of which refer to it as Ganga Mata (Mother Ganga). The plains on either side of these rivers provide the necessary fertile grounds for growing subsistence crops. And at the time of composition of the Vedas, domesticated cattle was the only means to plough the land. Cows also provide other necessary nutrients in the form of its milk. What started as reverence had evolved into devotion and worship. This social aspect of life in the two millennia before Christ explains why Cows are regarded as sacred animals even today. So, at the time of its formation, Hinduism was little more than a practical means of livelihood. But the religion’s links to every day life became weak ever after making it an abstract

Wellness, Fitness and Longevity Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Wellness, Fitness and Longevity - Essay Example Physical activity varies from formal exercise, as it is basic human movement for example climbing the stairs. Its benefits are far-reaching and more so for people who do not undertake planned exercises, or those that would like to start doing planned exercises. These benefits include weight control, minimizing risk of cardio-vascular diseases, type 2 diabetes and some cancers, strengthening one’s muscles and bones and improving one’s mental health and mood (â€Å"Physical Activity and Health†, 2011). To achieve these benefits fully, one is encouraged to graduate their physical activities to a moderate level where a common chore such as washing a car should be done continuously for 40 minutes before taking a break; and they should be carried out more frequently. Therefore, this means a moderate activity is aimed at reaching a targeted heart rate first and then resting (Your Guide to Lowering High Blood Pressure). The federal strategies of physical activity in adults, as stipulated in the 2008 Americans Physical Activity procedure should include aerobics and muscle-strengthening activities. All of which should take 150 minutes per week, spread out between the two groups where aerobic activities would include brisk walking and muscle-strengthening includes weight-lifting and should be done less often. The aerobic activities vary as either moderate or vigorous where the more vigorous an activity, for instance jogging, less time should be taken to avoid injury. On the other hand, muscle-strengthening activities should involve each main muscle groups; on average, the latter group of activities should be carried out on at least two days each week. However, as one goes along and adapts to a routine of these activities, the time may be increased in order to attain even greater health benefits (â€Å"Activity for Adults†, 2008). In children, the guidelines state that they should undertake at least 60 minutes every day of aerobic activity such as running. For the

The threat of cybercrime is rising sharply, experts have warned at the Essay

The threat of cybercrime is rising sharply, experts have warned at the World Economic Forum in Davos. Online theft costs $1 tril - Essay Example The final section is the conclusion and recommendations, in which the issues are wrapped up and the recommendations are put forth. The recommendations are basically that more countries need to be a part of the treaty, the countries that are a part of the treaty need to have their law harmonized, and businesses need to take security measures more seriously. Introduction The advent of the Internet has brought a variety of threats, and the biggest threat is that of cybercrime. Cybercrime can be anything from hacking to copyright infringement to possession of child pornography. The European Council has attempted to address the threats by implementing a treaty that was signed by some 22 countries and ratified by 23 more. Known as the Convention on Cybercrime, this treaty sought to harmonize domestic laws for the member states, while making prosecution of cybercriminals ostensibly easier, as the offenses became extraditable and the nations agreed to work together to help one another fight these crimes. While this treaty has done some good, in that it has served as a model for other countries that were not signatories to the treaty, it has its flaws as well. One of the major flaws is that it does not encompass countries that have the most problems with cybercrime. Another flaw is that the countries that have signed the treaty or ratified it have not implemented the provisions in a uniform fashion, or at all. What this means is that cybercrime is still a problem. How much of a problem it is will be examined by looking into the UK, and assessing the damage that cybercrime has done to its economy. As the UK is a developed country that should be able to combat cybercrime better than most countries, it is a good bellwether as to how serious cybercrime still is. And the numbers are not good. 1.0 The Council of Europe Convention on Cybercrime – What it is, what it does, and its limitations 1.1 What it is The Council of Europe Convention on Cybercrime (hereinafter â₠¬Å"treaty†) was a treaty that was signed in 2001 that essentially internationalized cybercrime law.1 The treaty was necessitated by the fact that computer crime was not pursued vigorously by many countries, and this treaty attempted to address this problem by harmonizing criminal law regarding cyber crimes and commits the signatories to use their domestic laws to more vigorously pursue these crimes. 2 The provisions of the treaty were enacted in 2004, with 22 countries signing the treaty and another 23 countries ratifying it.3 While it was prepared by the Council of Europe, it was prepared with the participation of the United States, Japan, Canada and South Africa.4 It has also served as a model law for countries that are not signatories to the treaty, as these countries are using the provisions of the treaty as a guidelines for their own legislation.5 Title I of the Act essentially forces the member states to use their domestic laws to make certain actions criminal. It requir ed the parties to the convention to use their domestic laws to criminalize an individual accessing a computer without having the right to do so. It also stated that a member may require that the individual accesses the computer by breaching security with the intent to steal data or another dishonest intent.6 Hence, the treaty left it open to the signing countries – if they wanted to make their laws state that any kind of unauthorized access is

Research based behavior management system Paper

Based behavior management system - Research Paper Example Belvel (2010) argues that teachers should transit their roles from classroom managers to classroom leaders as the first step in adopting a new, better approach to classroom management. Before going any further, the importance of and need for classroom behavior management should perhaps be highlighted. According to Oliver & Reschley (2007), positive educational outcomes are better achieved in a trouble free environment. Climate of a classroom may not ensure the achievement of all educational goals, but it definitely helps in the process (Belvel, 2010). 1.1 Behavior Management in classroom Behavior management of students is today’s biggest challenge faced by teachers, especially at levels K 3-7(Partin, 2009). Teachers have the ability to influence student’s behavior both, positively as well as negatively (Partin, 2009). Research has shown that interventions in management strategies especially at K 5 and K 6 Level are very effective in behavior management and academic achievement is enhanced as a result (Abbott, et al; 2010). ... Changes need to be inducted in the teaching practices within classroom settings to ensure smooth running of any classroom (Abbott, et al; 2010). Belvel (2010) argues that teachers should transit their roles from classroom managers to classroom leaders as the first step in adopting a new, better approach to classroom management. Before going any further, the importance of and need for classroom behavior management should perhaps be highlighted. According to Oliver & Reschley (2007), positive educational outcomes are better achieved in a trouble free environment. Climate of a classroom may not ensure the achievement of all educational goals, but it definitely helps in the process (Belvel, 2010). 1.1 Behavior Management in classroom Behavior management of students is today’s biggest challenge faced by teachers, especially at levels K 3-7(Partin, 2009). Teachers have the ability to influence student’s behavior both, positively as well as negatively (Partin, 2009). Research has shown that interventions in management strategies especially at K 5 and K 6 Level are very effective in behavior management and academic achievement is enhanced as a result (Abbott, et al; 2010). 1.2 Reinforcement (and consequences) Research over the past few decades has shown clearly that reinforcement helps in maintaining class control, managing behavior of the students and yielding academic achievement (Porter, 1961; Hall, et al; 1968). Basic explanation of the process of reinforcement is one that follows a behavior, making the behavior more likely to occur again. Agents with whom reinforcement is brought about can be in many forms (Peters, 2010). Partin (2009) has suggested a hierarchy of reinforcers. The

Napoleon and Snowball (Animal Farm) Essay Example for Free

Napoleon and Snowball (Animal Farm) Essay George Orwell’s Animal Farm is an allegorical novel that reflects events such as the Bolshevik revolution, the economic reform by Trotsky the Russian famine in 1921 and during the Stalin era before the Second World War. The pigs represent the communist leadership, and the rest of the animals on the farm symbolize the different parts of Russian society and how the communist takeover of Russia affected them. Two main characters, Snowball and Napoleon (who symbolize Trotsky and Stalin), engages in a political struggle, as both of them wanted to have the power to lead all of the animals. Although Napoleon wins the struggle in the end, Snowball’s political strategy is better than the corrupted leadership of Napoleon. Snowball cares more about the living condition of the animals. Compared to Napoleon, Snowball knows the meaning of â€Å"Animalism†, which is animals are equal and it should lead the animals to a better life. Snowball is interested in reading all kinds of books to enrich his scope of knowledge to make the animals work easier. For example, he declares the windmill idea from a book of the Jones. Also Snowball is very brave; he has studied the book of Julian Caesar and successfully led through the Battle of the Cowshed while Napoleon was hiding himself in the barn. Snowball has an intelligent and friendly character. Unlike Napoleon, Snowball never forces someone to agree with his ideas. Instead, he is good at explaining how his ideas work and persuades all the animals to believe and trust his ideas. Unlike Napoleon, Snowball does not need Squealer’s help, he can do the explaining part all by himself. Napoleon has his own ways to control other animals such as the dogs and Squealer but Snowball has different way which is the committees. Snowball seems to work better within the political system. Napoleon goes around it. Napoleon, for instance, he understands the role of force in political control and uses his attack dogs to expel Snowball from the farm. Napoleon seems to have a powerful, self-centered desire for control, while Snowball seems to think of himself as a genius who should be the one to guide the farm toward success. Snowball is the only one who knows the real meaning of â€Å"Animalism†, and he is putting out true effort to make the living standard of the animals better than before, and insists everyone is equal. After the expel of Mr. Jones, the Animal Farm is supposed to be democracy, all of the animals should decide how to do things together, any one animal to rise to greater power than any other would violate that ideal, and make Animal Farm indistinguishable from a human farm. On the other hand the only thing that Napoleon thinks about is how to gain more power and personal benefit from the farm. Snowball always comes up with some long-term plans and on the other hand Napoleon can only come up with some short-term plans. In conclusion, Snowball’s political strategy is better then the corrupted leadership of Napoleon.

Slavery And Plantation In Trinidad And Tobago

Slavery And Plantation In Trinidad And Tobago Slavery and Plantations have always been linked, driven by economic objectives (Williams 1994), from the earliest period of sugarcane cultivation in the Caribbean. Despite the complexity of the events and circumstances that created this relationship, sugar growth and slavery both were booming during the relatively peaceful early years of the 18th century. The European need for sugar had been increasing, and Englands sugar demands led the pack. The British islands like TT were a mono-crop society, with few settlers growing anything but sugarcane The Business of Slavery The Triangular Trade is a term commonly used in discussions of the slave trade. Slaves would be brought from Africa to the plantations, which would send sugar and other local goods to Europe, who would in turn send goods to Africa. The goods usually sent to Africa were guns and other manufactured items because there was no industry in Africa. In the West Indian islands like TT, however, the selling of slaves was an important part of the economy. The need for more slaves was always greater than the market could provide, and the West Indian companies were opened up in the 1700s to outside trade to help provide additional slaves to colonies that produced sugar. The French encouraged this trade on their islands by exempting slaves from most import and export taxes. Life on Plantations Working Conditions: Slave Labour in Plantations the toughest season, a season of toil from sunrise to twilight, bare ankles and calves stung by cowitch, knotted muscles slashed by cane leaves that cut like straight razors, backs split open by the whip The plantation land consisted of cane-fields, provision grounds, woodland and pasture. Each planter preferred to have more than 200 acres of cane land. Provision grounds were used by the slaves to cultivate root crops, plantains and vegetables for food. The woodland provided lumber and firewood and the pasture was used for grazing cattle (Handler 1965). The cane fields had either newly planted canes or ratoons. The ratoons were new shoots growing from old cane roots which were left in the ground after a previous crop of cane was harvested. Usually a ratoon field was less productive. A typical sugar estate had factory buildings such as the mill, boiling house and curing house. Around these factory buildings there were other smaller buildings and sheds in which, blacksmiths, wheelwrights, carpenters, masons, coopers and other artisan slaves worked. There would also be a small hospital for sick slaves, and a small jail which kept slaves who were being punished. There were storage rooms for tools and supplies and sheds which sheltered livestock or stored cane trash or bagasse which was used as fuel. Not far from the factory buildings were small houses in which the European managers and supervisors lived. They were generally overseers, book-keepers, skilled craftsmen and office staff. In the biggest house lived the estate owner. The slave quarters were some distance away from the homes of the managers. A work day consisted of 15-16 hours a day, during harvest time and, could go on during harvest and milling for 16-18 per week 7 days a week and according to Stampp (1956) the slaves were given the task to prepare the land for planting. Their normal working day began before daybreak and ended after sunset. They cleared the grass and bushes by weeding and burning (children between the ages of six and ten might be active as water carriers while children between the ages of ten and twelve were organized into gangs and put to weeding). Cane holes were dug and into these cane tops were planted. As the cane grew, gangs of slaves manured the field and weeded bushes that sprang up around the cane plants. Female slaves did much of the weeding and the manuring. After 12 to 15 months the cane was now mature. The field was set afire to burn off the leaves from the cane stalks and at the same time to get rid of snakes which lived there. The field slaves, using cutlasses, then cut the cane stalks, packed them in bundles and loaded them on to ox-drawn carts which transported them to the mill. At the mill, the cane was crushed and the juice flowed through gutters to large metal containers. The cane trash was removed and stored for use as fuel for the boilers. The juice in the large containers was clarified by heating and the addition of a small quantity of lime. This clarified juice was then ladled into a copper boiler in which it was boiled. After a while, the juice from this copper boiler was ladled into a smaller boiler and was boiled again and then still further in a yet smaller boiler. By then, it had changed into sticky syrup which was allowed to cool, and then poured into wooden hogsheads standing on beams in the curing house. Through small holes at the bottom of the hogsheads, molasses seeped out and was collected in containers set below the beams. After about three weeks, the remaining syrup in the hogsheads crystallised to form sugar. The sugar remained in the hogshea ds which were later packed into ships for export to Europe. Some estates also manufactured rum by fermenting juice from the first boiling and about the same quantity of molasses. Almost all of this specialised work carried out in the manufacture of sugar and rum was done by skilled artisan slaves who were highly valued by their owners. During the milling season, slaves worked in shifts throughout the day and night. Even after the crop season was over, the estate owner did not allow his slaves to be idle. The fields had to be prepared for the new crop, weeding and manuring of the ratoons had to be done, and repairs to drainage and irrigation canals, fences and buildings had to carry out. Work was even found for children from the age of six years old. They collected firewood, cut grass to feed farm animals and fetched drinking water to slaves working in the fields. The plantation owners did not want their slaves to involve themselves in idle conversation since they felt that the discontented slaves may use the occasion to plot rebellion. Punishments While each plantation had its own set of social, religious, and labour codes, all had the basic format for an instilled hierarchy in which the slave master reigned as gad. He maintained the element of slave misery, by controlling the degree of pain (Starobin 1974). Treatments were given such as mutilation, branding, chaining, and murder which were supposedly regulated or prohibited by law. Whippings, beatings, drownings, and hangings were as unpredictable as they were gruesome. It was clear to plantation owners that slavery could not survive without the whip (even though owners were forbidden to deliberately kill or maliciously mutilate a slave). Males and females were whipped indiscriminately. The severity of whipping depended on the number of strokes to the type of whip. Fifteen to twenty lashes were generally sufficient, but they could range much higher. Other items used for punishments included stocks, chains, collars, and irons. It was also commonplace that women could be raped by the owner of the plantation, his sons or, any white male. Methods of Control The White plantation owners in TT used various methods to maintain complete control over their slaves. Their principal method was that of divide and rule. Members of the same tribe were separated on different plantations to prevent communication between them. The aim behind this was to prevent any plans to rebel if they were together. This separation, however, created a problem of communication, since the plantation would have different groups of slaves speaking different languages. Therefore, the planters had to find a way to communicate with their slaves. Soon a new language, known as Creole, developed and this became a common tongue among the slaves. When the British took control of the twin islands in the nineteenth century, English words were injected into the language and it became the basis of the Creolised language. Slaves were also prevented from practising their religions. Quite a few slaves were Muslims while many others had their own tribal beliefs. But since the Christian planters saw non-Christians as pagans, they made sure that the slaves could not gather to worship in the way they were accustomed when they lived in Africa. Later Christian missionaries were permitted on the plantations and they were allowed to preach to the slaves on Sundays. In time, many of them were converted to Christianity; it was the general feeling that the converted slaves became docile and was not willing to support rebellion on the plantations. Another means of control was the creation of a class system among the slaves. Field slaves formed the lowest group, even though some of them had special skills. The lowest ranking slaves, the backbone of the plantation economy, were the field slaves. The field slaves were divided into gangs according to their physical strength and ability, with the strongest and fittest males and females in the first gang. The incentive used to encourage hard work, was lashes of the cart whip, which were freely administered by the drivers, who were privileged slaves under the overseers supervision. Higher up the slave hierarchy were the artisan slaves such as blacksmiths, carpenters and masons, who were often hired out by the planters. These slaves also had opportunities to earn money for themselves on various occasions. Still higher up in this class system were the drivers who were specially selected by the White planters to control the other slaves. The domestic or house slave had a special place in this arrangement, and because they worked in the masters house and sometimes receiving special favours from the master, they held other slaves in contempt. Usu ally, the slaves in the lowest rung of this social ladder were the ones who rebelled and often domestic slaves were the ones who betrayed them by reporting the plots to their master. Then there were divisions based on colour. In the early days, it was relatively easy for a pure African to rise to the level of a driver. But mixtures occurred through the birth of children as a result of unions between White men and black women (mulatto), White men and mulatto women (mestee) and mulatto men and black women (sambo). Some slaves of succeeding generations thus had lighter complexions, and the White planters discriminated in favour of them. These slaves with White fathers or White relatives were placed in positions above those of the field slaves. This was the beginning of colour discrimination in the Guyanese society. Of course, in all of this, the Europeans the Whites occupied the highest rung of the social ladder and they found willing allies among the mixed or coloured population who occupied the intermediate levels. The pure Africans remained at the lowest level Women and Slavery in the Plantations According to Bush (1990; 33) the primary reason for the presence of women in TT during the time of slavery was due to their labour value. In the early days of slavery, plantation owners attempted to produce healthy patterns of reproduction and encourage marriage, but found it was economically illogical to do so. Instead, it was more profitable to purchase new slaves from Africa (until the continued supply of female slaves being delivered from across the Atlantic was threatened by abolitionist pressure in the eighteenth century). Girls worked on estates from the early age of four. Occupations for girls between the ages of 12-19 varied from field work, to stock work, to domestic work, to washing e.g. clothing, dishes, etc. ( Reddock 1985 pg. 64 ), . Other forms of work for mature women included midwife, doctoress, and housekeeper. European plantation owners generally regarded most slave women as suitable for field work, which consisted of jobs such as digging holes for canes, weeding, and hoeing. In Jamaica, the majority of women between the ages of 19 and 54 were working in the fields. By the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century, there were more women working in the field than men due to their lower mortality rates. Despite the common stereotype whereby men are stronger and more physically capable than women, it can be argued that women were as important, if not more important, to field work during the period of slavery in TT. The importance of women in the plantation economy is reflected in the price of female slaves between 1790 and the end of the slave trade. The price for a new male slave was approximately  £50- £70, while the price for a new female slave was approximately  £50- £60. (Bush, 1996:33) Apart from occupations such as doctoress, midwife, and housekeeper, which were considered to be higher employment positions for slave women during the time, the slave elite was nearly entirely made up of men. Women were confined to fighting for lower positions in the socio-economic hierarchy and were always excluded from the more prestigious and skilled jobs (i.e. carpentry). Among the limited amount of occupations available to Trinbagonian slave women, the most prestigious job was found to be nursing. One way in which women slaves would occasionally amass income and resources for themselves was through sex trade (Morrissey 1989 pg. 69). This was a common way for women slaves to save money for freedom, particularly in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries in TT. The majority of enslaved domestic workers in towns were expected to support themselves through prostitution. Culture of Slavery and Plantation life Home Plantation slaves were housed in slaves cabins. Small, rudely built of logs with clapboard sidings, with clay chinking. Floors were packed dirt. They were leaky and drafty and the combination of wet, dirt, and cold made them diseased environments. On the plantation, the slaves were housed in buildings which were some distance away from the masters house. Most of these slave houses had thatched roofs and walls of old boards or of wattle and mud. The floor was the earth itself and there were no furniture except some rudimentary pieces that the slaves managed to make. Clothing Slaves were not well-clothed; they had inadequate clothing for people engaged in heavy labour all year. Children would dress in long shirts. Men possessed little besides with two shirts and two cotton pants. Women were provided with an insufficient amount of cloth and made their own clothes. The cloth was cheap material, produced in England that was dubbed Negro cloth. The slaves also obtained a clothing allowance roughly every year. The men received a coarse woollen jacket, a hat, about six yards of cotton, and a piece of canvas to make a pair or two of trousers. Women received the same allowance as the men, but children received none. The children remained naked until they were about nine years old, or were given cast-off clothing that their parents managed to find or were able to purchase. Food The food was generally adequate in bulk, but imbalanced and monotonous. Typical food allowance was a peck of corn meal and three to four pounds of salt pork or bacon per week per person. This diet could be supplemented by vegetables from their gardens, by fish or wild game, and molasses (not usually). The slaves prepared their own food and carried it out to the field in buckets. While the slaves were provided with certain foodstuffs by the master, they raised their own subsistence crops of vegetables, plantains and root crops on small garden plots that the master allowed them to use. However, they could only do their personal farming on Sundays when they had no work on the plantation. They also took the opportunity to fish on Sundays in the nearby canals, the rivers or the ocean. Each adult slave was given one pound of salted cod fish every Sunday by the plantation owner. The salted cod fish was imported from North America. A child slave was given a smaller allocation. On special Chr istian holidays, there was an additional allowance of about a pound of beef or pork, some sugar and a quantity of rum. Religion The general view held by the plantation owners was that the African slaves did not hold to a system of beliefs that could be described as a religion (Mbiti 1969). At best so the members of the plantocracy and the church that served them felt their beliefs amounted to nothing more than heathenish superstition. Not a few of them, perhaps, felt that the Africans were incapable of religious sentiment. But the Africans held religious beliefs derived from their homeland. It may be useful to note that some of the slaves, particularly these who came from the Fula-speaking area of Senegambia, were Muslims. The practice of the planters of separating tribesmen from one another, and of discouraging the assembling of slaves for any purpose whatsoever, was not calculated to allow Islam to survive. Again, the small number of African Muslims that came to plantations in TT lacked the leadership of Imams and the possession of the Quran. Then, too, the plantation life did not lend itself for long pra yers at fixed times, worship on a set day, fasting at prescribed periods, or feasting on holidays which did not coincide with those observed by the plantocracy. On the other hand, indigenous African religious beliefs, which became labelled as obeah, survived the difficulties of estate life. But these beliefs underwent significant changes although they remained clearly African in structure (Saraceni 1996). Three factors were mainly responsible for these changes. In the first place, African religious ideas were capable of modification in response to the new circumstance of estate life. Secondly, the practice of African religion was frowned upon by estate authorities. This meant that the religion could only be practised secretly and irregularly. The result has been that some aspects of African religious practices withered away while others lost their nationality and language and became garbled. Thirdly, the exposure to Christianity led not only to the conversion of Blacks to that religion, but also to the overlapping of African and Christian beliefs. Free Time Except for earnings enjoyed by the artisan slaves, most of the slaves depended on obtaining money by selling surplus produce from their provision grounds and also the sale of livestock that they reared. On Sundays, village markets were held and the slaves seized the opportunity to barter or sell their produce. On these occasions the slaves made purchases of a few pieces of clothing and other items for their homes. The Sunday markets were also occasions when slaves from different plantations were able to socialise and to exchange news and pieces of gossip. There were also times of recreation. These were usually at the end of the crop and at Christmas and on public holidays when the slaves were allowed to hold dances which had to end by midnight.