Prior to enrolling in my Leadership 101 course, I was naive and never questioned the different answers as to what makes a good leader. The image that came to mind of a “good leader” was someone who had resources and was able to influence others. Throughout this course I have come to learn that the term “leadership” has different meanings to different individuals. I have searched to find what is my definition of being a leader and understand the concept of leadership. By exploring this concept, I challenged my initial beliefs of leadership and practiced leadership skills through various activities. William Cronon’s essay on being a leader sparked the skill of critical thinking to define leadership and group presentations induced teamwork and public speaking to embody leadership.
In William Cronon’s essay, “Only Connect…,” he lists ideal human characteristics that demonstrate the values that he believes liberal education should aim to instill in its students. Cronon believes that students who have the opportunity to receive a liberal education should acquire the skill of being able to connect to people and the world around them through writing, listening, problem solving, and viewing their surroundings as an environment they wish to grow with and grow in. When reading this essay, I was eager because the aspect of connecting with others was an overarching theme that was consistent within my initial thoughts that a leader should possess the traits of being respectful, passionate, and persevering. The more connections are formed and knowledge is shared through interactions, the more awareness and open mindedness is gained. By analyzing Cronon’s paper and practicing critical thinking, I was able to understand that an effective leader’s ability to connect with the people around them is the way that they are able to influence others.
With media and technology being one of the main focuses of LDR 101, each group was given advancement in technology and was to make a group presentation explaining the importance of the technology. My group was given the invention of the telegraph. The purpose of this project was to practice public speaking and teamwork, and those were two skills that an effective leader consistently practices. Before working on this project, I believed that a good leader is one that takes charge and has complete control of the situation. As we all began to work, I was exposed to the different styles that people have and all the different things each person has to offer. This exposure showed me that though a good leader knows how to step up, they should also know when to step down and allow others to grow. I was also able to practice public speaking in a comfortable environment. This allowed me to display more confidence in conveying information and emphasized the importance of speaking with a purpose in regards to leadership.
As the course is now coming to an end, a major take away point has been that everyone has the ability to lead. Leadership goes beyond the politics and hierarchical positions, but it is about the ability to practice the skills that enhance one’s ability to form connections.
Month: December 2018
Gallo Pinto
Citation: Gallo Pinto (Costa Rican Beans and Rice). Digital image. Striped Spatula. Striped Spatula. Web. 4 December 2018.
Gallo Pinto is the national dish in Costa Rica. This dish consists of a mixture of rice and beans and is garnished with cooked bell peppers, chopped onions, and garlic (Teahupoo, pars. 3). Due to the vibrant mixture of beans and vegetables, the rice gets a multicolored appearance, and as a result, Gallo Pinto has the nickname “spotted rooster” (“Gallo Pinto (Costa Rican Beans and Rice)” pars. 4). Though this dish can be eaten at any time of the day, Gallo Pinto is commonly served as part of a traditional Costa Rican breakfast with eggs, queso, tortillas, and sweet plantains (“Gallo Pinto (Costa Rican Beans and Rice)” pars. 5). The reason I chose this dish is because rice and beans are staples across many cultures, and I wanted to explore its origins and compare it to the plethora of variations that are available around me today.
Culturally, the ingredients in this dish play a large part in the identity of Costa Rica today. Rice is the main ingredient in this traditional dish from Costa Rica. It plays an important role in the cultural aspect of Gallo Pinto because it gives insight into the history of how the meal came to be. The preparation and introduction of the rice was heavily influenced by African Americans (Howard, pars. 2). A part of the duties of the African slaves in Costa Rica was to cultivate the rice that was served in the Gallo Pinto to the natives. It is believed that African slaves brought the recipe of this dish to Costa Rica, which explains the reason why there is a large African influence on the island (Howard, pars. 2).
Gallo Pinto reveals important clues about the structure of the Costa Rican government. With rice and beans being necessary ingredients in Gallo Pinto and staples in the diets of Costa Rican citizens, the government strives to maintain and regulate the inflation rates on them (Christa, pars. 1). This is due to the fact that the people of Costa Rica have struggled with poverty in the past, and the government wants to provide the necessities at an affordable price for its residents (Christa, pars. 1).
The conflict with Nicaragua also plays a role in the cultural aspect of Gallo Pinto. The feud between the two countries stems from the question of which country gets claim to the dish’s origin. As a result the rice and beans combination is a nationally well-known dish in both countries, but there are variations amongst the recipes and ingredients (Nalley, pars. 3). Costa Ricans make them with black beans, while the people of Nicaragua make them with red beans (Nalley, pars. 4). The two countries competed in the Guinness Book of World Records as to who could make the largest amount of Gallo Pinto (Nalley, pars. 5).
Costa Rica has water surrounding the country on both sides. The abundance of access to water is beneficial because it allows for the mass cultivation of rice, which can be used to prepare Gallo PInto (Teahupoo, pars. 4). When cultivating rice, the people of Costa Rica chose to keep the process natural by using plants and insects to protect crops rather than pesticides (Arias, pars. 4). This shows that, unlike in America where we use artificial coloring in candies such as M&M’s, Costa Rica strives to promote natural living (Wollen, pars. 1). Farmers in Costa Rica practice natural efficiency by creating organic fertilizers by transforming farm waste (Arias, pars. 5).
Works Cited
Howard, Christopher. “Live in Costa Rica Blog.” Live in Costa Rica Tours, 23 Mar. 2017, www.liveincostarica.com/blog/2017/03/the-history-of-gallo-pinto-for-expats.html.
Stripedspatula. “Gallo Pinto (Costa Rican Beans and Rice).” Striped Spatula, 25 Mar. 2018, stripedspatula.com/gallo-pinto/.
Christa. “Costa Rican White Rice Recipe.” Pura Vida Moms, 29 May 2018, www.puravidamoms.com/costa-rican-white-rice-recipe/.
Nalley, J H. “The Gallo Pinto War Between Nicaragua and Costa Rica.” Made in Central America, 18 Mar. 2011,www.madeincentralamerica.net/2011/03/gallo-pinto -war-between-nicaragua-and.html.
Arias, L. “Costa Rica Promotes Pesticide-Free Rice Farming.” The Tico Times Costa Rica, The Tico Times | Costa Rica News | Travel | Real Estate, 17 Oct. 2016, www.ticotimes.net/2016/10/18/pesticide-free-rice-costa-rica.
Wollan, Malia. 2016. “Brand New Hue: The Quest to Make a Blue M&M.” New York Times, https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/10/09/magazine/blue-food-coloring -mars-company.html?_r=0
Teahupoo. “The Diet Of Costa Ricans And How It Keeps Them Healthy.” Singapore Travel Guide, www.streetdirectory.com/travel_guide/24531/food_and_drink/thediet_of _costa_ricans_and_how_it_keeps_them_healthy.htm
Gallo Pinto (Costa Rican Beans and Rice). Digital image. Striped Spatula. Striped Spatula. Web. 4 December 2018.
Horseshoe crabs (Limulus Polyphemus) are able to carry out a plethora of functions and are able to use their six set of appendages for for the purposes of feeding and walking. Specifically when looking at the structure of the multiple sets of legs, which stem from the second and last set of appendages, both male and female horseshoe crabs legs’ have various functions that go beyond just walking (“Horseshoe Crab Anatomy”).
Attached as the second set of appendages, the pedipalps are the first set of legs that are crucial to the survival of a horseshoe crab (“Crash: A Tale of Two Species Horseshoe Crab Anatomy,” 2011). Because the stomach and legs of a horseshoe crab are very close together, the pedipalps are structures that draw a connection between moving and feeding (“Horseshoe Crabs, Limulus polyphemus,” 2017). Amongst the pedipalps are two sets of legs that are called Chilaria (“What’s in a Horseshoe Crab?” 2012). The function of the chilaria is to help the horseshoe crab to catch food and guide this food towards their mouth and teeth (“What’s in a Horseshoe Crab?” 2012). When looking at the physical appearance of pedipalps, they bare pinchers on the ends of each of these legs (“Horseshoe Crab,” 2018) . As the horseshoe crab is walking, the movement of the pinchers pinchers help the horseshoe crab to tear up its prey before it is passed onto the its digestive tract (“Horseshoe Crab,” 2018).
The pedipalps of female and mature male horseshoe crabs differ in structure and function. The structure of pedipalps for females remains consistent their whole lives; they keep pinchers at the ends of their legs and mainly use their pedipalps for walking (“What’s in a Horseshoe Crab?” 2012). However, when male horseshoe crabs being to mature, their pedipalps begin to develop hooks (“What’s in a Horseshoe Crab?” 2012). These hooks resemble to appearance of “boxing gloves,” and they are used to grab females during spawning (Fredericks, A. D., 2012, p. 87).
A horseshoe crabs last set of appendages are referred to as “pusher legs” (“Topographic Characteristics”). The first four pusher legs have claws, and the last pair of pusher legs have a leaf-like structure (“Crash: A Tale of Two Species Horseshoe Crab Anatomy,” 2011). Similar to pedipalps, pusher legs also serve the purpose of walking; however, they mainly help to push sand and sediment out of the way while a horseshoe crab is walking (“Horseshoe Crab,” 2018). After the spawning between male and female horseshoe crabs, female horseshoe crabs use their pusher legs to form a shallow nest between high and low tides (“Atlantic Horseshoe Crab,” 2017).A horseshoe crab’s pusher legs also contain an organ called flabellum (“Topographic Characteristics”). Because flabellum has one million sensory cells, it is used by a horseshoe crab to test the composition of the water that passes through the animals’ gill chamber (“Crash: A Tale of Two Species Horseshoe Crab Anatomy,” 2011).
Horseshoe crabs are a part of the arachnida class, and there are similarities and differences between horseshoe crabs and spiders when comparing their legs (Culin & Goodnight, 2018). Similar to horseshoe crabs, spiders also have pedipalps (Culin & Goodnight, 2018). Instead of being used for walking and grasping, spiders use their pedipalps for insemination. A male spider loads his pedipalps with sperm before encountering a female (Buffet & Viera, 2016, p. 97). Though there is a slight parallel between the pedipalps in horseshoe crabs and the pedipalps in male spiders both being used to assist reproduction, spiders use their pedipalps as a copulatory organ (Buffet & Viera, 2016, p. 97).
Works Cited
Horseshoe Crab Anatomy. In Maryland. Retrieved from https://dnr.maryland.gov/ccs/Pages/horseshoecrab-anatomy.aspx
Crash: A Tale of Two Species Horseshoe Crab Anatomy. (2011, March 13). In PBS. Retrieved from http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/crash-a-tale-of-two-spec ies-horseshoe-crab-anatommy/593/
Topographic Characteristics. In The Horseshoe Crab. Retrieved from http://www.horseshoecrab.org/anat/anat6.html
What’s in a Horseshoe Crab? (2012). In Janice Petrie. Retrieved from https://janicepetrie.com/the-horseshoe-crab-anatomically-speaking/
Horseshoe Crabs, Limulus polyphemus. (2017). In Marinebio. Retrieved from http://marinebio.org/species.asp?id=281
Atlantic Horseshoe Crab. (2017). In Tybee Marine Science. Retrieved from https://www.tybeemarinescience.org/naturalist/atlantic-horseshoe-crab/
Horseshoe Crab. (2018). In Virginia Institute of Marine Science.Retrieved from http://www.vims.edu/research/departments/fisheries/programs/multispeci
es_fisheries_research/species_data/horseshoe_crab/index.php
Culin, J,. Goodnight, M. L., (2018). In Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved from https://www.britannica.com/animal/arachnid#ref494977
Fredericks, A. D. (2012). Horseshoe Crab : Biography of a Survivor. Washington, DC:Independent Publishers Group. Retrieved from https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=ip.shib&db=nlebk&AN=454198&site=ehost-live&scope=site&custid=asc1
Buffet, C., Viera, C., (2016). Loading the male pedipalps: sperm induction in a subsocial spider. Journal of Arachnology.44:96–98. 96. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/297892414_Loading_the_male_pedipalpalps_Sperm_induction_in_a_subsocial_spider
