Nursing Students As A Nurse - 1545 Words

Question In nursing schools around the world, nursing students, in particular, are known for being pushed to the brink. It’s a simple technique, considering that you’re preparing them for careers where they are on their toes day-in and day-out, catering to the needs and well-being of others all the while managing the high demand of a post-secondary education. Sure, we all have deadlines and things to do in a day, but are we pushing them too far? Are nursing students becoming too stressed? Why? And how do we fix this? Or are we just weeding out those that can’t handle the stress and are not prepared to handle a career as a nurse? Rationale This is an important question in our society as the world is gradually needing more and more nurses present in hospitals, emergency crews and long-term care facilities. Not everyone, though they think that they are able, can handle the stressful day-to-day challenges of being a nursing student and, eventually, a nurse. As described in our online class, biological stress is a â€Å"physiological reaction to stressful events.† For many students, especially around the months of November and December, as well as March and April, the amount of homework begins to pile up as midterms come to an end, and, final exams grow closer and closer. As such, our brain perceives the accumulation of essays, final exams and deadlines as stressors. I believe that this is an important question to answer as though there are stressors in the everyday working livesShow MoreRelatedNursing Reflection as a Student Nurse642 Words   |  3 Pagesa reflective account on an event that I, a student nurse encountered whilst on my second clinical placement in my first year of study. The event took place in a Fountain Nursing Home in Granite City. 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Leadership The Truth About Leadership - 1443 Words

OUTLINE TITLE I. Introduction Leadership has had some changes since 1980. The Truth About Leadership by James Kouzes and Barry Posner describes some of the changes workers and leaders have faced over time. Generational changes, increased marketplace and diversity. Leaders can be anyone that has had an impact on our lives that we look up to and want to model ourselves after. The leader I choose was President Ronald Reagan. Reagan penned his memoirs in 1990. II. Review of The Truth about Leadership The authors describe a brief history of leadership over the years focusing how some changes have occurred but that the â€Å"content† of leadership has remained the same. The changes they spoke of are increased marketplace, technology and political affects such at global terrorism and scarcity of natural resources. With the introductions of the Millennial into the work force, leaders have shifted their leadership to meet their demands. Kouzes and Posner wrote on â€Å"10 truths about leadership†. They believe that â€Å"the context of leadership has changed, the content of leadership has not changed.† The first truth is â€Å"the truth is that you make a difference†. Simply explained, the truth is you can make a difference. You have to believe in yourself if you want to make changes and be a leader. Within that truth they speak of the â€Å"five practices of exemplary leadership.† These are 1) model the way 2) inspire a shared vision 3) challenge the process 5) encourage the heart.Show MoreRelatedCritique Of The Truth About Leadership1358 Words   |  6 PagesRunning head: CRITIQUE OF THE TRUTH ABOUT LEADERSHIP 1 CRITIQUE OF THE TRUTH ABOUT LEADERSHIP 5 Critique of The Truth about Leadership Renan Daghistani MAX ELLZEY, Ed.D, MBA, M.Div BSCI 635.25 LEADERSHIP and ETHICS Spring2016? Critique of The Truth about Leadership Introduction Kouzes and Posner provide ten universal truths of leadership. 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Social Class and Inequality Free Essays

string(217) " French the distinction of being a charter group that entitled them to a power, prestige \(and of course wealth\) that other groups were automatically denied unless they displayed a similar pedigree Driedger, 2001\)\." Social Class and Inequality Social inequality has been defined as a conflicting status within a society with regards to the individual, property rights, and access to education, medical care, and welfare programs. Much of society’s inequality can be attributed to the class status of a particular group, which has usually been largely determined by the group’s ethnicity or race (Macionis Gerber, 2006). The conflict perspective is an attempt to understand the group conflict that occurs by the protection of one’s status at the expense of the other. We will write a custom essay sample on Social Class and Inequality or any similar topic only for you Order Now One group will resort to various means to preserve a ideal social status through socioeconomic prestige, consolidation of power (political and financial), and control of resources. In Canada, even though its impact is frequently minimized, social inequality exists, but because the majority of citizens associate exclusively with members of their own class, they are often unaware of the significant role social inequality continues to play (Macionis Gerber, 2006). An inadequate distribution of wealth remains â€Å"an important component† of Canada’s social inequities (Macionis Gerber, 2006). Wealth can be defined as the amount of money or material items that an individual, family, or group controls and ultimately determines the status of a particular class (Macionis Gerber, 2006). Canada’s social classes can be divided into four, and the wealth is not distributed equally between them. First, there is the predominantly Anglo upper class, in which most of the wealth has been inherited; and they comprise of approximately 3-to-5 percent of the Canadian population (Macionis Gerber, 2006). Next, there is the middle class, which is made up of the greatest number of Canadians, nearly 50 percent with ‘upper-middle’ class subdivisions generating white-collar incomes of between $50,000 and $100,000 while the rest are earning reasonable livings in less prestigious white- collar jobs or as skilled blue-collar laborers (Macionis Gerber, 2006). The working class represents about 33 percent of the Canadian population, and their lower incomes leave little in the way of savings (Macionis Gerber, 2006). Finally, there is the lower class, which is represented by about 20 percent of the population (Macionis Gerber, 2006). Among these are the so-called working poor whose incomes alone are not sufficient enough for adequate food or shelter (Macionis Gerber, 2006). Their living conditions are often separated from the mainstream society in concentrated ethnic or racial communities (Macionis Gerber, 2006). The most impoverished members of this class are unable to generate any income and are completely reliant upon government welfare programs. One of the primary deciding factors as to what determines wealth, power, and social status is occupational prestige (Macionis Gerber, 2006). For example, in Canada, physicians and lawyers continue to reside at the top of the social ladder while newspaper delivery persons or hospitality staff rank at the bottom (Macionis Gerber, 2006). The growing disparity in income is beginning to resemble that of the United States with approximately 43. percent of the Canadian income being concentrated within the top 20 percent of social spectrum while those in the bottom 20 percent are receiving a mere 5. 2 percent of that income (Macionis Gerber, 2006). Nearly 16 percent of Canadians were categorized as being â€Å"below the poverty line† in the mid-1990s, and every month, close to a million people rely upon food banks to feed their families (Macionis Gerber, 2006). The income a particular class earns is determined in large part to the amount of education received, and yet in order to receive a higher education money is required. There is also a strong correlation between income and healthcare. The higher the income, the greater the number of quality medical services there are available (Macionis Gerber, 2006). The wealthy or upper middle classes can afford specialized care that isn’t typically covered by a provinces general health care plan, thus widening the gap of equality between the social classes. Within the boundary of the Canadian border we can see the separation between ethnicity, and wealth which determines class. Studies show that predominately the British and French Canadians earn the highest levels of income whereas the Africans, certain Asian groups, Latin Americans, and Aboriginals consistently rank near the bottom (Macionis Gerber, 2006). In recent years, there has been an increase in income inequality with the 14 percent of impoverished Canadians in the lower social classes of families headed by single mothers, female senior citizens, indigenous peoples, and the recent influx of immigrants (Reutter, Veenstra, Stewart, Raphael, Love, Makwarimba, and McMurray, 2006). Because of social exclusion, poverty is perpetuated with certain groups consistently shut out of the opportunities that might better equalize the social scales (Reutter et al, 2006). Canadian sociologist John Porter’s focused nearly entirely on power and class, his breakthrough research was published as The Vertical Mosaic: An Analysis of Social Class and Power in Canada in 1965 (Driedger, 2001). Porter explored the impact of race and ethnicity upon social mobility and noted that Canadian social history has been determined by ‘charter groups,’ mainly the English and the French situated in Ontario and Quebec, while the English were widely dispersed in both rural and urban locales, becoming increasingly urbanized as a result of industrialization and the fortunes being made, the Quebecois group was nearly exclusively rural in geography and philosophy (Driedger, 2001). Power examined how power relationships developed along social class lines and how the conflict among these charter groups influenced differences in social classes (Driedger, 2001). According to Hier Walby (2006), Porter presented the argument that â€Å"an ‘entrance status’ is assigned to less preferred immigrant groups (particularly southern and eastern Europeans†¦ that restricts collective gains in education, income, and membership among Canada’s elite† (p. 83). This entrance status was, in Porter’s view, strong enough to create a social barrier not unlike India’s caste system (Hier ; Walby, 2006). A decade later, Porter drew similar conclusions when he noted that his Canadian census job stratification study revealed, â€Å"Ethnicity serves as a deterrent to social mobility† (as cited in Driedger, 2001, p. 421). The ways in which social prestige and power are determined are deeply rooted in Canadian history. For instance, 1867’s British North America Act gave the British and the French the distinction of being a charter group that entitled them to a power, prestige (and of course wealth) that other groups were automatically denied unless they displayed a similar pedigree Driedger, 2001). You read "Social Class and Inequality" in category "Essay examples" The charter languages and cultures, though separate, would afford these members with exclusive privileges (Driedger, 2001). They would have automatic access to society, while other groups would have to battle for entrance and to secure status. Therefore, while a few managed to break through, most ethnic groups wer e consistently refused entrance. For this reason, they were forced to take jobs of low class status and their degree of assimilation into Canadian society would be determined by the charter members (Driedger, 2001). There is a sharp distinction between industry and finance in terms of ownership of financial resources. The bankers exert the most social control, and because they have been historically more interested in protecting their own interests, the indigenous industrialized groups have been discouraged (Panitch, 1985). Southern Ontario remains the wealthy hub of the Canada’s industrial sector, while the indigenous groups and other lower classes remain both regionally and socially isolated (Panitch, 1985). Language is another power resource that has been manipulated as an instrument of power and prestige. While the French have long been a charter of Canadian society, as in the United States, being culturally separate has not meant equality in terms of class status. In the years following World War II, the French Canadians of Quebec have sought greater independence (Driedger, 2001). Their discontent resulted in the establishment of the Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism in 1963, which emphasized the notion of an â€Å"equal partnership† (Driedger, 2001, p. 21). Even though charter dualism is not articulated in the Canadian constitution, the Quebec provincials believed that their one-third French-speaking status along with the growing number of languages spoken by non-charter members warranted a reclassification to at the very least bilingualism and at the most, an acknowledgement of multiculturalism that would remove existing cultural barriers and provide greater social access. These efforts have thus fall fallen short, and therefore Quebec annexation may one day become a reality. Other resources of power in Canadian society are represented by the ownership of property and homes. In Canada as in most parts of North America, homes represent wealth because of the â€Å"forced savings, investment appreciation, and protection against inflation† it represents (Gyimah, Walters, ; Phythian, 2005, p. 338). Owning a home offers â€Å"a sense of belonging† or inclusion for immigrant classes that is unlike anything else (Gyimah, Walters, ; Phythian, 2005, p. 338). But not surprisingly, Gyimah et al (2005) have discovered, â€Å"Rates of ownership have been found to vary considerably by ethnicity and immigration status† (p. 338). There is, interestingly, a structure among immigrant classes that impacts on the access to these resources with the immigrants who settled in Canada earlier enjoying much higher rates of home ownership than new immigrant arrivals (Gyimah et al, 2005). The lone exception is the Hong Kong business entrepreneurs that relocated to Canada when the Chinese regained control of the area (Gyimah et al, 2005). They had accumulated enough wealth in Hong Kong to bypass traditional barriers and secure housing usually reserved for charter members. On the opposite end of the spectrum, home ownership rates are lowest among the Blacks and Aboriginal classes (Gyimah et al, 2005). According to a study Henry, Tator, Mattis, and Rees conducted in 2002, â€Å"In spite of the historical and contemporary evidence of racism as a pervasive and intractable reality in Canada †¦ itizens and institutions function in a state of collective denial† (as cited in Hier ; Walby, 2006, p. 83). Throughout the history of Canada, â€Å"institutionalized racism† has been a part of the cultural landscape dating back to the indentured servants and slave labor of the African and Caribbean peoples that first arrived in the seventeenth century, and continued to be oppressed for the next 200 years in the Ontario, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Quebec provinces (Hier ; Walby, 2006). The fur trade justified this enslavement and the Federal Indian Act revisions of the mid-twentieth century continued to treat certain races in a subordinate manner (Hier ; Walby, 2006). Those deemed more primitive were oppressed because of social perceptions of their â€Å"savagery, inferiority, and cultural weakness† (Hier ; Walby, 2006, p. 83). Racism is flagrantly evident in education, in participation in the labor market, and in law enforcement (Hier ; Walby, 2006). When Ruck and Wortley studied the perceptions of high school students regarding school discipline through a questionnaire issued to nearly 2,000 Toronto students in grades 10 through 12, the ethnic groupings of Black/African, Asian/South Asian, White European, and Other revealed that their perceptions of discipline discrimination were significantly higher than those students of White European backgrounds (Hier ; Walby, 2006). Therefore, not surprisingly, these students were more likely to drop out of school and be denied any hope of receiving a well-paying job. Lower social classes were also relegated to low-paying jobs because of purportedly lacking â€Å"‘Canadian’ work experience† and a lack of English language comprehension (Hier ; Walby, 2006, p. 83). In a 2001 study by Austin and Este, the immigrant males they interviewed reported that because the power and resources are so tightly controlled by the White Canadian majority, their foreign employment experiences were minimized and they were blocked from taking the training programs that would have improved their language proficiency (Hier ; Walby, 2006). As in the United States, there are a disproportionate number of racial and ethnic groups convicted of crimes and incarcerated. This is believed to be due to racial profiling in law enforcement that tips the scales of justice away from people of color. According to a Royal Commission survey, the majority of respondents believe police are prejudiced against Black Canadians (Hier ; Walby, 2006). Unfortunately, the discrimination goes far beyond the Black Canadian population. The Aboriginal population provides a contemporary case study that reflects the impact of racism upon social inequality of Canada. The 2001 Canadian census lists a total of 976,310 Aboriginal peoples throughout the territories and provinces (Adelson, 2005). Of those, more than 600,000 are Native Americans – referred to as First Nations – and live mostly in the provinces of Ontario, British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan (Adelson, 2005). The Metis group live in the western sections of these provinces and total around 292,000 (Adelson, 2005). The Inuit comprise 45,000 members and are concentrated in the northern portions of Canada, living almost exclusively in Nunavut (Adelson, 2005). These peoples have been the victims of racist social attitudes dating back to 1876’s Indian Act, in which colonization was officially determined through First Nations recognition status (Adelson, 2005). This affects the Native Americans and the Inuit (as a result of a 1939 amendment to the Act), but the Metis are not forced to register to achieve a â€Å"recognition of status† (Adelson, 2005, p . 45). What this means is that those Aboriginal groups that live on government controlled reserves continue to receive government services while those who decide to venture off of these reserves do not (Adelson, 2005). Those groups are deprived of the education and basic skills that would enable them to improve their status. In comparison to non-Aborigines, the Aboriginal groups often fail to complete their education at every level, which further reduces their opportunities (Adelson, 2005). In a 2002 study of off-reserve Aboriginals, less than half percent of these children complete the twelfth grade (Adelson, 2005). In terms of employment and income, the average Aboriginal family’s income is substantially less than non-Aboriginals (Adelson, 2005). In 1991, the average Aboriginal income was $12,800, which was about half of the income of Canada’s non-Aboriginals (Adelson, 2005). Sociologists attribute the disparities in employment and income due to ethnic discrimination in the workplace, the lack of education accorded indigenous groups, the loss of property, and the â€Å"cultural genocide† they are forced to commit if they wish to assimilate (Adelson, 2005, p. 45). This â€Å"circle of disadvantage† results in the Aboriginals being mired in poverty and forced to take low- paying migrant jobs that are often seasonal and provide nothing in the way of employment security (Adelson, 2005, p. 5). Solely on the basis of their ethnicity, these peoples are relegated to the social periphery and are deprived of anything remotely resembling power, prestige, or wealth. In terms of their living conditions, many of the Aboriginal peoples are overcrowded, with 53 percent of the Inuit peoples and 17 percent of the Aborigina ls living off-reserve living more than one person per room (Adelson, 2005). This is in comparison to 7 percent of white Canadians of European origin (Adelson, 2005). In addition, Aboriginal homes are; twice as likely to be sorely in need of major repairs; about 90 times more likely to have no access to safe water supplied by pipes; five times more likely to have no type of bathroom facilities; and ten times more likely to have a toilet that does not flush (Adelson, 2005, p. 45). The Aborigines that do not live in government housing are exposed to appalling threats to their health and hygiene resulting from inferior housing, which has adversely affected their life expectancies (Adelson, 2005). Despite their high adult mortality, the aboriginal population also has a high birth rate (Adelson, 2005). However, this also means their infant mortality rate is also higher than the national average. According to 1999 statistics, infant mortality rates were 8 out of 100 among First Nations’ peoples, which is 1. 5 times higher than the overall Canadian rate of infant mortality (Adelson, 2005). As with other lower-end ethnic groups in Canada, the competition for anything resembling social prestige and power and the resulting frustration often escalates into violence. Within the Aboriginal groups, substance abuse, physical and sexual violence, and suicides are all too Common place (Adelson, 2005). Domestic violence statistics are high, with 39 percent of this population reporting such instances (Adelson, 2005). According to the 1999 published statistics 38 percent of reported deaths between young people ages 10 to 19 are due to suicide caused by the hopelessness of poverty and lack of social power (Adelson, 2005). Although the Aboriginal groups that still live on-reserve are receiving government healthcare services, these services are not necessarily of the quality the rest of the population is getting due to the government’s inability to control First Nation treaty resources and the seemingly endless â€Å"bureaucratic maze† regarding Aboriginal healthcare policy and insufficient funding (Adelson, 2005, p. 45). Within the past three decades, there has been a notable shift in the Canadian population. While the charter groups still comprised about 50 percent of the population, numerous other non-charter groups were rapidly combining to represent about one-third of the overall population (Driedger, 2001). Immigration pattern changes that began following the Second World War are largely responsible for a greater number of Southeast Asians and Latin Americans to relocate to Canada (Driedger, 2001). By the 1980s, the number of British Canadians began to rapidly slip and by 2001, while the British ranked ninth in population, 73 percent of immigrant settlers were either Asian, Latin American, or African (Gyimah et al, 2005). Meanwhile, despite Canadian policymakers’ best intentions, social inequality persists because many of these immigrant classes are being denied their rightful participation in society. Although the French charter remains strong albeit geographically and culturally segregated and the British majority is floundering, the class determinants of charter membership and its perks that enable social inequality to continue are still in place. The British population decrease has in no way adversely impacted their prestigious position or political influence. English is still the dominant language and European ancestry determines esteemed class status. Unfortunately, as long as access to prestige, power, and wealth remain limited to the charter few at the expense of the multicultural many, Canada’s social classes will sadly remain unequal. References Adelson, N. (2005). The embodiment of inequity: Health disparities in Aboriginal Canada. Canadian Journal of Public Health, 96(2), 45-61. Driedger, L. (2001). Changing visions in ethnic relations. Canadian Journal of Sociology, 26(3), 421-451. Gyimah, S. O. , Walters, D. , ; Phythian, K. L. (2005). Ethnicity, immigration and housing wealth in Toronto. Canadian Journal of Urban Research, 14(2), 338-363. Hier, S. P. , ; Walby, K. (2006). Competing analytical paradigms in the sociological study of racism in Canada. Canadian Ethnic Studies Journal, 26(1), 83-104. Macionis, J. J. , ; Gerber, L. M. (2006). Sociology (6th Canadian Ed. ). Retrieved May 21, 2008, from http://wps. pearsoned. ca/ca_ph_macionis_sociology_6/73/18923/4844438. cw/index. html. Panitch, L. (1985, April). Class and power in Canada. Monthly Review, 36(11), 1-13. Reutter, L. I. , Veenstra, G. , Stewart, M. J. , Raphael, D. , Love, R. , Makwarimba, E. , ; McMurray, S. (2006). Attributions for poverty in Canada. The Canadian Review of Sociology and Anthropology, 43(1), 1-22. How to cite Social Class and Inequality, Essay examples

The Aztecs A case study Essay Example For Students

The Aztecs A case study Essay The Aztecs are an ancient culture that had many customs and rituals that by modern standards are considered barbaric. Their culture was made up of different social classes, and was primitive yet very advanced. They were located in the mainland of Mexico, and their empire was quite vast over that area. Their culture began around 1100, and ended around 1520. The exact numbers of the Aztecs is not known due to the age of their culture, but judging by the size of their empire it was quite large. The only figure I could find was that in 1519 there were more than 1,000,000 people living in the civilizations boundaries. The reason that I was drawn to this culture was some of the practices that they had. The most interesting being the human sacrifices to the gods, and the large ball game that they played that sometimes went on for days without a stop. The Aztecs lived primarily in a fertile volcanic valley of Mexico where they built their capital city named Tenochtitlan. The land in which th ey lived was a plateau seeing that most of the surrounding was mountainous. The soil in the settled areas was very rich and good for growing crops, due to the volcanic eruptions that occurred. The valley of Mexico was the heartland of Aztec civilization. It is a large internally drained basin surrounded by volcanic mountains that are as high as 9,000 ft in elevation. Thousands of years of soil erosion had produced deep, rich soils in the valley and a system of shallow, swampy, salt lakes in its center. This gave the Aztecs a diverse variety of foods that could be available. The salty lakes made available fish, turtles, insect larvae, blue-green algae, and salt. The food that was eaten by the Aztecs varied by social classes. The peasants lived mainly on corn and beans, except for a duck or a crow that they may have trapped in their garden. Their only domesticated animals were rabbits, dogs, and turkeys which were fattened and eaten on special occasions. Corn was the main food of The Aztecs and many foods were made fresh daily from it. Every morning the woman of the family would grind up fresh corn, and make bread for the day. The higher classed people, however, enjoyed eating turtles and crabs imported from the coast. It was odd to the Spaniards to find that one of the delicacies of the Aztecs was dog. Aztec homes also differed by social class, peasants built their huts around the edge of the city. While handymen lived nearer to the center in mud-brick houses. In each of these homes there was normally a mudbrick tub, and they all consisted of a single room. Nobles that were higher in society lived in palaces built of whitewashed stone, and with over a hundred rooms, and were built around the main plaza. Inside of all houses the rooms were almost bare, light came in from wooden torches and round the room were stored the familys possessions and objects of daily use. Even palaces had no doors but instead had cloth hung over openings, this allowed for cool air to c irculate throughout the house. For the Aztecs clothing was way of showing social status, so there were very strict laws about who could wear what. An ordinary citizen wore a loincloth and cloak, which had to be made of plain undyed maguey-fiber cloth. And if they were caught wearing sandals in the palace they were put to death. Nobles wore cotton cloaks with borders of precious stones. Craftsmen were able to dye the cotton green, and other colors; they also wove geometric designs into their cloak to symbolize their status in the culture. The Aztecs loved to wear jewelry, but there were also strict laws about this. Most people pierced their ears to hold plugs of shell or polished stones. Nobles were allowed to wear gold and carved precious stones in their lower lips to show their high rank. Farmers were among the lowest in the dress, they slept in their loincloth, and in the morning he got his blanket and tied it around his shoulder and he was dressed. Women wore a woven blouse with an embroidered skirt that held it in place. Every class also had their own haircuts varying from highest to lowest for the most festive style. Through my studies of the Aztecs I was shocked to find out how much dress, and appearance had to do with social status. The economy of the Aztecs was largely one of bartering (trade). The trading was of many goods; this is how the large open air markets operated. In the central market there were 4 hierarchal levels or marketplaces. These marketplaces were an area of bustling activity while they were open. The reason that these were so busy was that they were only open for and Aztec week (which is 5 days). While the market was open there were many stands set up where merchants paid a small fee to operate a stand to sell their goods. At the market products were monitored for quality, and if a product was found of bad quality they were shut down.At the same time anyone caught shoplifting was taken to the court at the market, and found guilty. The punishment was being beaten to death on the spot. The currency that was used was cacao beans for small purchases, for larger purchases the Azt ecs used quachtli (cotton capes of standard sizes). The economic level of the Aztecs was quite high, and was considered as more sophisticated markets that several other civilizations. Even though there was no official currency they did use objects as money ranging from beans to capes. The only unique feature that I could pick out is how well the market was monitored by the people looking for quality products. This shows an amount of sophistication on their behalf, by regulating trade in a way. The economy was very complex, in the way that all aspects of it were tied together, which made the Aztec empire unified. The economy was highly commercialized and dynamic, but it was not a capitalist economy. There was no paid labor, land was not a commodity to be bought and sold, and there were no chances for investment. The markets and the economy were embedded in a rigid system of social classes, and no amount of economic success would enable one to cross class barriers. Breaking Down The Metamorphosis EssayThe Aztecs used many different mediums in the art that they made, the most popular being stone sculptures, and paintings. Almost all of the art depicted religious symbols that were very important to the culture. The style of art is referred to as the Mixteca-Puebla style. The art that they did reflected their religious beliefs, and everyday life. There were collaborations by many carvers on projects for kings, which were mainly large temples, and pyramids. The use of music and dance was mainly reserved to religious rituals and ceremonies. Drums were the main instruments mentioned in written works, and in drawings. Some other instruments were trumpets on conch shells, pottery flutes and whistles, and rattles. Dances were both with men and women, in which they moved in a circular pattern around the musician in the center. Young people in the culture were especially proud of their ability to dance. Song and dance were not widely used outside of cer emonial purposes, unless in celebration. These were parts of the culture, but as most things were it remained mainly a religious practice. The Aztecs were also one of the cultures of the world that built pyramids. The pyramids were not built as a burial chamber like the Egyptians though; they were built as pedestals for temples. The temples that were atop these structures were very well decorated, with statues of the deity they were dedicated to in the center of the temple. Although no statues still exist there are written accounts from the Spanish conquerors journeys to the region. In closing the Aztec culture was a very complex culture, with many rituals and ceremonies. Their culture is a very interesting one to study especially in the realm of human sacrifice, and the brutality that took place. They lived in a polytheistic society where there were many gods, and the number continued to grow. That was the downfall of the Aztecs and many other great Mexican cultures. For the Aztecs Cortez came to explore for Spain, and destroyed and stole a lot of elements from their culture.Cortez came at the end of a 52 year cycle of the calendar at which the god Quetzalcoatl would return to destroy them. So the Aztecs received the Spanish very well, at that time the Spanish attacked and destroyed the culture. It is funny to think that a culture was destroyed by its own religious beliefs. In the end the strong belief in gods led to the end of a great early civilization of the Mexican country. A complex culture as well, which as time progressed became more sophisticated and we althy. The Aztecs were very interesting to study, and they are also an example how beliefs can be a hindrance to a culture, and maybe lead to its demise. Bibliography:Bibliography1. Bray, Warwick 1968. Everyday life of The Aztecs. G.P. Putnams Sons, New York, NY2. Crosher, Judith1976. The Aztecs- Peoples of the past. Silver Burdett Company, Morristown, N.J. 3. Hooker, Richard 1996. HTTP://www.wsu.edu:8080/dee/CIVAMRCA/AZTECS.HTM4. Stuart, Gene S. 1981. The Mighty Aztecs. National Geographic Society5. Townsend, Richard F. 1992. The Aztecs. Thames and Hudson Inc., New York, NY6. Smith, Michael E. The Aztecs- The Peoples of America. Blackwell Publisher Inc.Cambridge, Massachusetts7. Vaillant, George C. 1998. HTTP://northcoast.com/spdtom/a-dress.html8. Microsoft Corporation 1999. Encyclopedia Article