Second Amendment to Reduce Gun Violence Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Second Amendment to Reduce Gun Violence - Essay Example This means that although this right is regulated, people still have a right to have a gun. Policies at the federal, local and state levels have attempted to address gun violence through a variety of ways, including restricting firearm purchases by youths, setting waiting periods for firearm purchases, enforcing of laws and community policing strategies, strict penalties for gun law offenders, education programs on gun safety for parents and children and community-outreach programs. Federal legislation also aims to prevent the sale of weapons deliberately to criminals domestically and people involved in uprisings abroad through prohibition of ATF. The legislation also prevents the local law enforcement from accessing digital databases for identification purposes of weaponry sale places for weapons recovered at the scenes of crime. The second amendment should not be revised since it protects the people from despotism from their own government or invasion. The amendment removes the powe r of the government to regulate firearms and also prevents the president or whoever is in charge of authority from restricting the freedom of the people of the United States in case a martial law was declared. The second amendment also emphasizes that citizens have to possess enough arms and ammunitions in order to maintain a status of independence from any authority that might attempt to abuse them including their own government. The second amendment gives private citizens the right to have knives, swords, pistols, rifles or anything else they want to defend themselves from others or the government. The second amendment does not have the constitutional authority to work against the wants of... Second Amendment to Reduce Gun Violence Gun violence is one of the leading causes of premature deaths in the United States because young victims are usually involved. Gun violence in the United States is highly extraordinary, and the homicide rate in the country is seven times higher than the combined homicide rate of 22 other high-income countries. There is a high prevalence of gun ownership in the country and less restrictive gun laws that are crucial contributions to the rates of violence as a result of crime in America compared to other countries with the same revenue levels with it. The American government is caught up in the firearm issue. Millions of American citizens own guns and use them responsibly but a few thousand gun owners on a yearly basis do not. There are huge economic costs associated with gun violence in the U.S because violent crime reduces tax revenues that local governments require to cater for the broad range of citizen needs. In order to reduce gun violence without revising the second amendment, new legislation and regulations that preserve the basic freedoms contained in the Bill of Rights must be made. The legislation must hold the view point that the privilege to possess weapons is only for life, property and liberty protection than any other selfish means. To be even, technology should be adapted to improve response times and stop intruders of any kind since regulating firearms alone cannot keep schools, streets and the public safe.

Collective Consensus Theory Essay Example for Free

Collective Consensus Theory Essay Social norms can be defined as The rules that a group uses for appropriate and inappropriate values, beliefs, attitudes and behaviors. These rules may be explicit or implicit. Failure to stick to the rules can result in severe punishments, the most feared of which is exclusion from the group. A common rule is that the some norms must frequently be displayed; neutrality is seldom an option. Here I include other norms, which are as follows: a. ) Injunctive Norms – These are behaviors, which are perceived as being approved of by other people. b. ) Descriptive Norms – The perceptions of how other people are actually behaving and whether their behavior is accepted or not. c. ) Explicit Norms written or spoken openly. d. ) Implicit Norms not openly stated (but you find out when you trespass them). e. ) Subjective Norms How we will behave with others who valued us. f. ) Personal Norms – Knowing our standards about our own actions. By exploring social norms and inequalities, let me be more specific, about the Americans Inequalities in American society have become so institutionalized that we rarely recognize most of them on a daily basis. Some are glaringly obvious: the privileges of the elite, the boss ability to come and go as he pleases- but these inequalities are sustaining, obvious, and dont hurt as much because we are conditioned to accept them Some inequalities change as certain circumstances change. The type of social stratification I wish to discuss is ever changing, weve all experienced it, but have we all noticed it? We like to think we live in a classless, multicultural society where everyone is treated equally. Frankly we are deluded. Of course there are classes, and not everyone is treated equally. The classes in our world are based on race, ethnicity, education and politics. Of the phenomenons of social stratification is social inequality, which is the distribution of resources dividing society into rank, grades, family, religion and education. These divisions should not occur in our society, but it is the sad truth that it does. Ethnicity is different to race as ethnicity is a distinct cultural definition which people identify with as customs, family patterns and religion. The sociologist, Max Weber, defines ethnic groups as human groups that entertain a subjective belief in their common descent because of physical type or of customs or of both or because of memories of colonialisation or migration. The biggest problem that arises in race and ethnic relations is prejudice, which is born out of pre-judgment and lack of knowledge. The Sociological causes of prejudice are: 1. It draws together people who share it; superiority is important. This is an element of Emile Durkheims Collective Consensus Theory. 2. Competing for resources. It is easier to get things if you can write others off as less deserving. 3. We can project onto others, who we think are lesser than us, those parts of ourselves that we dont like. The prejudices against those we think are different have negative consequences such as limiting our vision of the world. But far worse is its effect on society; it leads to discrimination and the consequence of discrimination is inequality. For Karl Marx, inequality was seen as a dichotomy based on the relations of production and the concept of class is the basic indicator of inequality. Weber saw inequality as three abstracted mechanisms of power; class (economic power), status (social prestige power) and party (political power). Whichever way it is described, inequality is found everywhere, between class, in education, health, occupations and power and within classes with sex, age, ethnicity and religion. However, there is hope in the end, for people can be socially mobile, which is the movement of people between social classes. Societys idea is that if you work hard enough you will move up in society, but this is not always true. People can move downwards in the social scale, or may start on the bottom and stay there because they do not have the same access to education as others may have. These people have less opportunities than others yet they are looked down upon because they are not upwardly mobile. How can people move up socially if they are not on an equal playing field to begin with? As long as people continue acting the way they do, inequality and racism will exist. Education is the key, and while older people may be set in their ways and may not be willing to change their views, we must educate the children, who are are future. Children must be taught that all people are equal and that thinking otherwise is wrong. For it is wrong. We were all created equal. Man made us not so. As per my view, when we live in a society were abiding by social, personal, or subjective norms, which are laid out for social and societal living is of utmost significance; I tend to stick to those norms and also inculcate the same things to people who are not aware of them. Man is a social animal, who needs to be trained to adapt different changes in societal environment. He has to abide by the norms laid out by the society to be accepted socially and morally, or else he/she is treated as a aborigine or uncivilized.

Effects of Caffeinated Beverages on Attention Performance

Effects of Caffeinated Beverages on Attention Performance Caffeinated Beverages and their Effects on Attention Performance Tasks Cory Jones Methodology As per the requirements of the study, we will try to understand how the consumptions of energy caffeinated drinks affect the Attention Task performance for participants. We will conduct this test on 20 participants (10 male and 10 female) selected randomly from the University of Michigan- Flint campus. Since the participants in the experiment will be college students, we expect them to be within the age range of 18-25 years. From the initial group, participants will be screened to meet the requirements of the test. The selected 20 participants will be asked to take the Conner’s Continuous Performance Task (Conners, 2004). The Continuous performance test is considered one of the best ways to measure attention and vigilance behavior of participants. This test is also used to identify patients with Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorders. The Continuous Performance Task measures the attention and impulsivity level of the participants. In this particular experiment we will use the computerized version of the Conner’s Continuous Performance Test III. We will use 20 computers and run this test twice to ensure all participants undergo the process. In this version of the test letters of the alphabet are presented in front of the participants for 250ms, the respondent will be instructed to press the keyboard every time they see the letter ‘X’. There will be six blocks for this test; each of these blocks will contain three sub blocks with 20 letters in them. Therefore there will be eighteen sub blocks and the inter stimulus intervals (ISI) for each sub block will vary from 1-4 seconds, so that the participants will not get used to the pattern of the test. The order of the ISI will be mixed and participants will have no inkling about the order in which the letters will appear. The letters presented to the participants will be large and approximately 1 inch in size. The instructor will ask all participa nts to read through the test procedure on the computer screen. A small trial of 20 letters will run twice to help participants get used to the procedure. The test will take approximately 15 minutes per participant; therefore we will collect the baseline data for 60 participants in one hour. In the next phase of the experiment, the participants will be asked to consume 300ml of a caffeinated energy drink that will be given in an unmarked opaque plastic cup. Participants will be given the drinks separately, so that they do not discuss or try to guess the contents of the drink. 30 minutes after consumption of the caffeinated drinks the participants will be again asked to take the Conner’s Continuous Performance test. All subjects will be paid for participating in the experiment. The data collected from the 60 participants will be on two aspects, the test performance score on Inattentiveness and omission, and reaction times. The data collected will be the dependent variable, while the presence or absence of caffeine in the system will be the independent variable or the repeated measures for the related groups. Analysis We will first run normality tests on the data obtained from the study using IBM SPSS v 22 software. Since the sample size is above 50, we will use the Shapiro Wilk test to understand the distribution of the data since we have sample size of less than 50 individuals. If the data has a single peak, we will use parametric tests like paired sample T-test or repeated measures ANOVA to see how the test scores differ between the two conditions. On the other hand, if the data is not normally distributed, we will use Wilcoxon Signed Rank test to see if there is a difference between the attention performances scores before and after caffeine consumption from the baseline. Participant screening The participants will be asked to fill up an information questionnaire; they will be selected based on the results of the questionnaire. Participants who have a history of psychological disorders and who are presently or have in the last few months consumed psychotropic medication or medication that affects CNS will be excluded. Participants, who have a familial history of violence, domestic abuse, divorce or mental disorders, will also be excluded. Participants will be asked if they are presently feeling depressed or stressed due to any circumstances, those who respond in the affirmative will be removed from the experiment. The remaining participants will be asked to stay away from alcohol or caffeine (tea, coffee, chocolates, ice cream etc.) for 48 hours and the experiment will be performed on the second day of screening. This will be done because serum caffeine has a half-life of 5-6 hours (Statland Demas, 1980). All participants will be asked to consume the same recipe of salad and water before appearing for the experiment. On the day of the experiment participants will be allowed to ease into the experiment setup for 5 minutes and after a brief instruction video the study will commence. Data Collection The responses of the participants will be measured in terms of accuracy and response times. Accuracy will be measured in the percentage of ‘X’ detected vs. presented, so the participants will be exposed to different number of ‘X’s at each computer in both trials. The reaction time will be automatically measured by the computer in milliseconds. Data will be generated for each of the 20 partcipants, which will be presented in the form shown in figure 1 and figure 2. The numerical scores as shown in figure 1 will be copied into SPSS software and exploratory and frequentist statistical analyses will be run. Hypothesis For this experiment, we hypothesize that the caffeine trials will improve the test performance of the participants (n=20). The null Hypothesis for this study (Ho) is that there will be no significant difference in test performance between the two trials. Predictions Over the course of years, a number of studies have tried to ascertain the effects on caffeine on bodily functions. Studies show that in subjects exposed to small amounts of caffeine, the level of alertness increased(Zwyghuizen-Doorenbos, Roehrs, Lipschutz, Timms, Roth, 1990). Various other studies also looked at the effects of caffeine on the driving alertness of the subjects(Brice Smith, 2001). There is a significant corpus of literature that exists on the effects of caffeine on the alertness level of human subjects; however we plan to conduct the tests in a more controlled environment. Based on the existing literature review we can predict that the test group will show significant improvement in attention task performance compared to the control group. References Brice, C., Smith, A. (2001). The effects of caffeine on simulated driving, subjective alertness and sustained attention. Human Psychopharmacology: Clinical and Experimental, 16(7), 523–531. Conners, B. C. K. (2014). Conners ’ Continuous Performance Test III ( CPT III V . 5 ). Michael, N., Johns, M., Owen, C., Patterson, J. (2008). Effects of caffeine on alertness as measured by infrared reflectance oculography. Psychopharmacology, 200(2), 255–260. Statland, B. E., Demas, T. J. (1980). Serum caffeine half-lives. Healthy subjects vs. patients having alcoholic hepatic disease. American Journal of Clinical Pathology, 73(3), 390–393. Zwyghuizen-Doorenbos, A., Roehrs, T. A., Lipschutz, L., Timms, V., Roth, T. (1990). Effects of caffeine on alertness. Psychopharmacology, 100(1), 36–39. Supporting Information In the below figure we see that in a study by Michael, Johns, Owen, Patterson, (2008) it was found that the reaction time of participants treated with caffeine dropped within 30 minutes of consumption and stayed lower than the control group even 4 hours after the treatment. Therefore we can see that the caffeine increases alertness and reduces latency in behavior response times in subjects. Budget .

Public Schools in America :: Argumentative Persuasive Essays Education

Public Schools in America To respond to the statement made by Kozol regarding the nature of public school in America, one must consider the question of what exactly education is for in this country; what is it's purpose. I believe that education is used to produce what Kozol refers to as "good citizens:" "defeated, unprovocative" people that will fill the necessary jobs, pay the necessary taxes, and perform all the other duties put forth by the government such as voting and jury duty. This is why the situation in America's public schools has not changed since the time Kozol wrote The Night Is Dark..., and why things will probably not change without a revolution within the public school system. For my part, I do not think that schools are the places for children to learn morals and ethics. I believe that those are things someone must learn on their own. The method of authority, described by Charles Peirce in his writings, has no place in the formation of anyone's beliefs. Beliefs are totally subjective--that is, there are no "right," or "wrong" beliefs to hold. Therefore, why should the teaching of morals and ethics, which fall into the category of beliefs, be condoned. According to Kozol, "the first act of an ethical child... might well be to start the demolition of a manifestly anti-ethical structure like a public school," and "no institution goes about the conscious task of subsidizing it's own demolition." If public schools are inherently unethical, why would we want them teaching America's children ethics? The answer, of course, is that we would not want them to. If, for arguments sake, the schools were ethical, then teaching ethics to children would not result in "it's own demolition," just a change in how it teaches. Obviously, though, to change the way the public schools teach, the people in power, who currently run the schools, must be removed. They are the ones who will not "subsidize" their own demolition. One of the problems with America's public school system, as well as democracy, is human nature. Once someone is in a position of power, they generally do not want to leave, even if their act of staying is detrimental to the organization they are involved in. The problem of the "lack of morals and ethics" in this country is a large one, however, and is continually growing. It is understandable that some, or maybe a majority of the people, look at the state of the country, and think that reform of the public schools is the answer.

Empire of the Sun

Love and Compassion The final scene of Empire of the Sun demonstrates the gathering between the separated children and their parents. Everyone seems very happy to finally reunite with their loved ones and realize how much they have missed them. Jamie, the boy in the movie, seems to have forgotten what his mother looks like because they have been separated for so long. This final scene demonstrates the importance of our loved ones, and how we should always cherish them because you may be separated from them without notice. Jamie illustrates that even though he was separated from his mother for so long, their love for each other remains.This scene demonstrates the compassion and care we have for our families, and how meeting someone after so long creates a special feeling. It reminds us how strong love can still remain after a long period of time, even so long that you forget how they look. This scene also demonstrates the special feeling when we reunite with your loved ones. At the be ginning of the final scene, there were children playing inside a building when a nurse comes along and says â€Å"gather in children, come along† to organize the children. The parents then walk into the building and line up across from them, looking around for their loved ones.One mother cannot contain her love and rushes out from the line calling out, â€Å"Julie. † This demonstrates the mother couldn’t wait any longer to see her daughter and this shows she has great care, compassion and love for her. They reunite, and begin hugging illustrating their affection, and how they feel. The mother of Jamie walks toward her son and he stares at her. Jamie seems as though he doesn’t remember her appearance, and begins to feel her lip, takes of her hat to feel her hair, and feels her clothing. He then remembers his mother and hugs her. This shows that even after this long period of time, the love for each other remains.While they are caressing, Jamie closes his e yes suggesting he feels safe and comfortable in his mother’s arms, perhaps after a scary situation. In conclusion, in the final scene of the Empire of the Sun, there is recognition of the compassion between the loved ones in the film. This scene reminds me of love and compassion as watched this because it reminds me of the important people in my life, and the special feeling the children received once reuniting with their loved ones. Overall, this scene symbolizes love, compassion, care, and the importance of family, due to my response to this scene.

Johnsonville Sausage Essays

Johnsonville Sausage Essays Johnsonville Sausage Essay Johnsonville Sausage Essay Johnsonville Sausage – Quality Improvement through Change Situation Post 1980, Ralph Stayer began to observe decline in quality due to inattention of the workers as well as ill-maintenance of the equipment in the production unit. With the help of Mr. Lee Thayer, Stayer has planned to implement a major change in the company’s philosophy. Transition from old philosophy purged Stayer’s responsibilities of decision making by decentralizing the power of decision making. The new philosophy was implemented to bring out changes in various departments of the company viz. management structure, personnel, compensation, manufacturing and also systems and controls. According to Thayer’s new philosophy, performance of the personnel and requirement of guidance to personnel to achieve their objectives were the key elements. Management structure was broken down by hiring experienced personnel for the new superior level management to oversee finance, marketing and operation s functions. Stayer emphasized people development as the core element of the new philosophy. Changes in personnel include development of list of responsibilities by the workers themselves and eliminating the performance review process. These changes in personnel function led changes in compensation with the implementation of â€Å"company performance share† program which increased individual responsibility of workers. However this transition was not in agreement among workers while some are excited about it. In terms of manufacturing changes, lead persons were installed at various departments, eliminating supervisors, to seek information and provide necessary measures to train and improve capacities of workers under designated group. Responsibilities of lead person also include development of budget planning and production requirement planning. Job switching and alternating works were practiced to enrich workers’ capabilities and enhance performance and also job satisfaction. System and controls changes included individuals to develop and be accountable for their own budgets and forecasts and also allow them to analyze performance data. In addition, subordinates were needed to self-evaluate their performance to respective managers. Problem The main issue of the case is the resistance shown by the personnel towards the company’s philosophy transition. According to Stayer, upon implementation of new philosophy, workers at all level were expected to embrace the change. Instead, the company faced issues related to the final goal of the implementation, unsuccessful organization structural changes, clash of responsibilities among the workers, participation of less number of employees in the company decision making process and finally lack of high job satisfaction. However, these issues were expected to expire once the transition is complete. Palmer Sausage offered its consolidated business to Johnsonville but the issue here was whether Stayer could handle an expanded Palmer contract. Stayer examined the situation by understanding that in order to run the contract the company would require to recruit and train a big set of people along with existing people acquiring new skills and retain high quality on both the in-house and Palmer products. In order to achieve this, Johnsonville needs to run the production six or seven days a week for more than a year until its new plant was ready. On the other hand, the company may need to run the business at risk i. e. , if Palmer canceled the contract with 30-day prior notice leaves Johnsonville not only with massive layoffs and but also huge inventory with no market for it. Analysis As the year 1980 folded, Stayer recognizes to restructure his management structure for the growing company. Stayer also realized that there was decline in the quality of the products and employees were also demotivated to work. Later on, in collaboration with Thayer Lee, Stayer has planned to implement new philosophy which is focused on performance and helps people accomplish their objectives through well-defined job descriptions, clear understanding on performance standards, and providing the required resources. Johnsonville’s new values are based on deep moral commitment to the individual. The main aim of the transition is to augment people capacities, rather than the business. Stayer changed view of his autocratic leadership to a role as a leader delegating his subordinates rather than directing them. Furthermore, the new philosophy also motivated each worker to commit to the company’s betterment. Upon full transition, Stayer expects to create an atmosphere of constant learning and development. The transition also supports creativity, encourages responsibility, and empowers employees to develop solutions rather than simply follow orders. Over the period of time, the company’s organizational structure was transformed in support to the new culture of worker empowerment. Autocratic management was decentralized in order to become more democratic. Conventional management position were replaced by lead persons and their teams who controlled their own compensation, hiring, firing, quality control, and near-and long-term company goals. Several ground-breaking solutions were instigated and evaluated and each member of the company was involved for the company’s success. Moreover, a rewarding compensation system was implemented to retain employees and hone their skills and performance. Over-the-time, Stayer had achieved a complete organizational transformation successfully. In terms of Palmer’s offer, Stayer has two recommendations – either he can accept or decline to take over the Palmer’s business. If Stayer had taken over the business, they might have the advantages of the opportunity for growth and additional revenue. On this regard, private label business offers a 25% return on assets. Contrariwise, the deal clashes with Johnsonville’s recent business strategy which prevents the company to push private label business over 15%. The company could compete for capital with the rest of the business once it crosses 15%. In addition to this, the company, while in contract with Palmer, is producing at huge capacity utilization. If the deal is on then the company might need to execute two long shifts for six or seven days a week in order to process the new business. Recommendation At this stand-off point, Johnsonville could be advised to accept Palmer’s deal which help the former to tap the revenue and growth opportunities. Stayer’s Johnsonville should continue to implement its new philosophy in a way that it does not affect the previous work-culture. During the agreement, Stayer should continue to involve employees in the decision making process to accept the private label business and planning to handle the additional workload as well. Apart from this, Stayer is required to motivate his teams to meet for evaluating staffing requirements, production and quality goals. With the involvement of workers and assigning responsibility for the important decisions, Stayer will help secure their buy-in for tackling the challenges ahead.

First Stand Essays - Homelessness, Humanitarian Aid, Socioeconomics

First Stand Essays - Homelessness, Humanitarian Aid, Socioeconomics First Stand Many issues plague the world today. Questions arrive about how people should live, who should control the most power, and many other questions that Americans have spent all their lives trying to answer. This isn?t an essay where I try to answer all those questions, but how I stand on certain issues like war, wealth, social status, education and finally technology. All those issues get even larger where even more questions arise. Those 3 sections are Political, Social, and Economical. War covers many issues of wars being prevented and how wars should be dealt with. Wealth is all about people who earn the money and people who just inherit it while social status is all about how people live their lives at different ranks. Education, everyone needs it to get a halfway descent life today. Technology will be the most important in the future because it could be the answer to most of our problems. The single word that most Americans know and sometimes fear is WAR. It hurts, maims, and kills millions of Americans. And why are wars started? Because some power hungry dictator wants more space, money or natural recourses. I think that a lot of the wars that we have had in countries could have been prevented. Especially with all the new technology we have today. Back when it was George Washington leading his troops there probably wasn?t anything that could have stopped that. I think most of the violence in wars can be prevented by just sitting down and looking at all the problems and what the different countries want. If two sides are at war I think it is the United States? responsibility to get between those two sides and stop them from going to war. If the two sides are stronger than the U.S then the U.S should stand down. Then and ONLY then. Some people say that God made us a violent species but I don?t believe that. If God made man a violent species, then how could we h! ave achieved peace and prevented many wars? How could we join in allegiances with our neighbors? If we could just set aside all the things that make us different, we could stop all the violence at once. The violence over the seas and the violence on the streets. Every country is always either preparing for war, having a war, or recovering for war. Some people that analyze wars say that war is a way of keeping the population down. I think this is a pretty dumb idea but it does have its good sides. Just like any other topic War has it?s ups and downs. Some people say that this next topic makes the world go ?round. Money, and the distribution of wealth. Most people in the U.S are middle class, and in the world most are lower class like in countries in Bosnia and Serbia where everyone is suffering. However a lot of people that just inherit all the gold and riches don?t do anything whatsoever to earn the money. Princess Diana for instance, she came from a poor family and just happened to get lucky that prince Charles liked her. Since some people are a lot better off than others I think that the people with more money should be taxed more heavily than the people with out a lot of money. If everyone is taxed the same, then the people with a lot of money will still live great but the people with no money are going to go even lower in the money status classes. A lot of the people that live in big industrial cities like San Francisco say that all the homeless people lying around in the parks and other places are very inconvenient.! It makes the city look trashier than it really is. People from out of state look at these great looking cities on postcards and want to go there but then once they are there they look around and see homelessness and trash littering the ground. I think that the homeless are on the street because they gambled their lives away. The government shouldn?t be giving them any extra tax dollars just for being homeless, they should

Difficult Communication Essay

Difficult Communication Essay Difficult Communication Essay Difficult Communication Improved communication technique is of vital importance in many aspects of personal life, business, and even the future of the whole world. Based on personal experience and knowledge of social sciences (esp. psychology), the authors introduce a series of methods and techniques to help readers understand the mechanisms of communication and learn how to improve its efficiency. The book starts by sorting out three conversations: The â€Å"What Happened†, Feelings, and Identity ones. In the following chapters, the authors explain in more details, triggering the final chapter for how to create a â€Å"Learning Conversation†. The whole book is written in an easy but analytic style, and the readers at different educational levels can understand the unfolded theories that the reader borrowed from other disciplines including social psychology, game theory, learning theory and so on. The aims of this book are mostly achieved in this strategy and ideas of the authors are cleverly delivered. The authors’ sorting out the three conversations is deliberate. The chapter for â€Å"What Happened† conversations is focused on objective factors, and the one for â€Å"Feelings† is rather focused on subjective issues, and the â€Å"Identity† one is from another interesting point view: how to identify self social position. Although such sorting activity is somehow effective for readers to understand the mechanism of communication, it can be confusing due to the entangled nature of these three â€Å"types† of conversations. And unfortunately, the authors didn’t point out that fact in this book, even though they by themselves well understand that cataloging in this way is not scientific approach but a technical trick. However, I actually stand up for the authors’ using that technique, for it will be very difficult to make the readers understand the natures of conversations using other methods, due to the complications involved. The highlighted part of this book is to raise a novel theory of how to create the so-called â€Å"Learning Conversation†. Obviously, the authors are familiar with learning theories regarding

How is technology helping our understanding of future architectural Essay

How is technology helping our understanding of future architectural space throughout film representation and use of mixed realit - Essay Example Previously, architecture was restricted to the simple two dimensional representations of drawings. Through film media, it is possible to create realistic and fathomable representation of architectural visualizations. The architectural designs create new avenues of creative thinking by analyzing the potential of the film depictions and the possibility of implementing the ideas in the real world (Hiller, 1996). Representing the experience of space Architectural designs are invariably communicated through representation. The link between the architect’s ideas and their implementation is through the process of representation. Traditionally, the most pervasive mode of representation has been through drawing of sketches to showcase the features that the architect wishes to express. In the final stages of architectural design, representation is done by technical drawings. However, these traditional representation methods are limited since they cannot allow one to fully experience spa ce. Film has immense potential to add visual elements into architectural design. Through the use of film media, an architectural design can be experienced in an augmented reality (Aroztegui, 2010). It is possible to append the notion of motion into the representation of architectural design through film. ... Through the use of advanced computer graphics, architectural designs can be represented in films creatively to an extent that one feels to be transported to another space. By using a scripted narrative, film cultivates the concept of space in a compelling space. The interconnection of all senses during a film representation of architectural design makes experience of space to be near reality (Henzel & Menges, 2009). Also, space and body are closely related and they can be tied together through experience. Thus, film can bring futuristic architectural designs into perspective and help in the progress of architecture. Filming and architecture: Filming space and embodiment The core purpose of a film is to create compelling scenes that are as close to reality as possible to keep the audience captivated. The best films are those that immerse their audience in their narration and representation: so much that the audience feels to be actually transported to another place and time as depicte d in the film (Awan et al, 2009). For true appreciation, architecture has to be experienced in the perspective of reality so that the audience can relate to it. The eye is primarily the means by which people relate and experience space. Architectural designs in film are sculpted through a combination of visual and audio narration. The audience identifies with the film’s representation first through the gaze of the camera and seeing architectural objects from a vantage point. As the audience is captivated by this vision, they are bound to engage other senses into the narration. Evidently, the narration and representation in the film can trigger the imagination of the audience

The Hughes H-1 racer Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Hughes H-1 racer - Essay Example Hughes, Jr.1 In 1934, Hughes formed the Hughes Aircraft Co., a division of the Hughes Tool Company. Their mission was to build the best racing planes in the world. Hughes Aircraft did just that when it built its first internally designed airplane in 1934: the H-1 racer. Howard Hughes, along with Richard Palmer and a small team of engineers, designed the H-1 racer and Glenn Odekirk, together with his team, built it.2 The wood and metal single-seat monoplane was streamlining at its very best, designed for speed, pure and simple. Designing, building, and extensively testing the plane took the team 18 months but it was well worth the effort. On September 13, 1935, Hughes himself piloted the H-1 to a record-breaking 352 miles per hour at Martin Field, near Santa Ana, California. The previous record was 314 miles per hour. The H-1 was not only the fastest plane, but it was the fastest plane that could fly from standard runways, had practical flight characteristics, and had an almost unimaginable range of nearly 4000 miles (Parker, 2002). The H-1 had two sets of wings. The wings Hughes used to break the landplane speed record were of a low aspect ratio and shorter than those which he used for high-altitude transcontinental flight. The former was originally intended only for short flights at low altitudes; in the latter, Hughes set a new transcontinental record on January 18, 1937 for long-distance, high altitude flights when he recorded an average speed of 332 miles per hour over a course of 2,490 miles.3 The H-1 was powered by a Pratt and Whitney Twin Wasp Junior radial piston engine rated at 700 horsepower at 8,500 feet but which could deliver 1,000 horsepower for high-speed flight. According to Hughes (as cited in Michel, n.d.), â€Å"the H-1 racer was fast because it was clean and yet it attained its speed with a Pratt and Whitney engine of perfectly

Economy of Brazil and Russia Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Economy of Brazil and Russia - Essay Example This paper is divided into two sections which look at Russia and Brazil individually. The main goal of this report is to answer two questions. First, whether the Russian and Brazilian governments have been successful in running their economies from 2003-2005. Secondly, it will conduct an identification and evaluation of the different policies implemented by both governments within the time frame and their effects on the overall economic performance. According to the United State's Center Intelligence Agency World Factbook, Brazil is the ninth largest economy in the world based on purchasing power parity. Recovering from its inflationary problem in the early 1990s, Brazil has now emerged as a stable economy owing from the Real Plan implemented since 1994 (Economy of Brazil 2006). In order to fully assess the economic performance of Brazil during the past three years, this paper will look at various economic indicators which include nominal GDP (Gross Domestic Product), GDP growth rate, per capita GDP, and inflation growth from 2003-2005. This paper will utilize the data provided by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Figure 1 shows the GDP and GDP growth rate in Brazil from 2003-2005. ... All in all, the Brazilian economy recorded a 7.32% increase in GDP during the three year period. It should be noted that nominal GDP is in an upward trend, albeit at a decreasing rate. Figure 2. GDP per capita (Real) and Inflation (%) in Brazil (2003-2005) Figure 2 shows the GDPO per capita and inflation rate of Brazil in from 2003-2005. Consistent with the upward trend in nominal GDP, per capita GDP is also increasing at a decreasing rate. There is a huge drop in the growth of inflation rate from 2004-2005. However, the economy was not able to sustain the 2004 level. Inflation slightly mounted by 0.3% in 2005 relative to what is recorded in the previous year. Compared to the previous years, the Brazilian government has been highly successful in fostering economic growth. World Bank reports that the country "has succeeded in reducing poverty to some extent and stepping towards attaining the millennium goals" and "for the first time in three decades, Brazil is experiencing an internal and fiscal equilibrium and low inflation." These improvements has been directly attributed to the government's active role in alleviating the economic situation. The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) stresses that the development of the Brazilian economy in the past three years is a result of its notable macroeconomic policies including the inflation targeting model and the Fiscal Policy legislation. Economists refer to these policies as the "main institutional pillars for macroeconomic management and consolidation" (Economic Summary of Brazil 2005) in Brazil. The inflation targeting framework has been adopted by Brazil in 1999 after putting in place a floating exchange rate regime. This requires the

Roman and Egyptian Technology Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Roman and Egyptian Technology - Research Paper Example Horses and donkeys were domesticated roughly between 3000 BC and 4000 BC, while camels were domesticated between 2000 BC and 3000 BC, with the exact dates unavailable. By 3100 BC, Egyptians had invented sailing boats made of papyrus reeds tied together. However, the sails were weak and only useful when sailing unidirectional. Around 2700 BC, Egyptians made wooden ships for trade in the sea. They were steered using a long oar. On the other hand, the Romans built networks of roads in the empire for easy movement of the Roman army from one part of the empire to the other. The wealthy members of the empire used covered wagons on long journeys or horses (Olson 13). The Romans also had merchant ships famously called cortia, which had the ability to over 1000 tons of cargo. They had a single mast that carried the rectangular sail, though some others had small sails at the stern and bow. Similar to the Egyptians, the ships used oars for steering, though they had lighthouses for guidance. The fall of the Roman Empire was a blow to the transport system. Major roads in Europe became dirt tracks and mud in winter. The rudder was a European (earlier, the Roman Empire) invention that went a long way in the steering of ships. In addition, ships became advanced with the rudder and compasses, with three masts in addition by the 15th century. Turnpike roads opened in 1663, with the Bridgewater canal completion at the end of the 18th century. The nineteenth century saw the invention of the railways and steam locomotives, followed by horse drawn omnibuses in 1829 and the first car in 1886 by Karl Benz and Gottlieb Daimler (Danver 265). At the same time, steam turbines by Charles Parsons improved sea transport. Another interesting ancient technology is that of braces. According to archeologists and the American Association Orthodontists, there have been several discoveries of mummified ancients bearing metal bands around individual teeth. The Etruscans (Roman precursors) buried the ir dead dental appliances used to maintain dentition and space. In addition, a Roman tomb discovered in Egypt had a mummy whose teeth were bound by gold wire (Archwired). Additionally to note is the recordings of finger pressure treatment of teeth by Aurelius Cornelius Celsus during the time of Christ. Nonetheless, there were no significant orthodontic events occurring before the 17th century. The first publications on teeth straitening were in 1792. Astronomy, the natural science dealing with celestial objects, also dates back thousands of years ago. In ancient Egypt, people believed that the universe was an enormous rectangular box with Egypt at the center and huge lamps hanging down as the stars (Nicholson and Shaw 321). Similarly, most other cultures held the same concept with their cultures at the center of the world. Nonetheless, the ancient cultures, especially in Egyptian and Roman, were held back from technological development for investigating the cosmos by their beliefs i n their many unpredictable gods. The Jews, which was the only culture that worshipped God, had a positive influence on the science through the bible. The Greeks were the first ancient culture to become aware of their surroundings. In fact, the word astronomy is a derivative from the Greek words â€Å"law and order†. However, the Greeks were not the only culture to try their hands on astronomy, but

Applications and ethics of genetic engineering and biotechnology Term Paper

Applications and ethics of genetic engineering and biotechnology - Term Paper Example Biotechnology traces its roots as early as two thousand years ago. In this depiction, commonly referred to as traditional biotechnology, practices of bread baking, alcohol brewing, food crops breeding were evident. However, the recent advancements in molecular biology have provided a new meaning to biotechnology. This is called modern biotechnology and has provided opportunities and challenges to the public. Modern biotechnology can bear significant impacts on the society and the entire world economy. A distinct example of modern biotechnology is genetic engineering (Keener, Thomas and Rekha 2011). Genetic engineering is defined as the process of transferring selected genes of interest between organisms. Additionally, it can refer to the modification of genes within organisms. It can be achieved by addition or deletion of a desired trait. It is through this technique that genetically modified crops or organisms, commonly referred to as transgenics are formed. It has been at the epicenter of public attention and concern to consumers with regards to ethical issues. The objective of this paper is to clearly elaborate the gains made by modern biotechnology in applications such as human gene therapy and genetically modified organisms. With equal measure, these paper discuses the ethical concerns surrounding biotechnological applications (Gifford, 2000). Research advancements in genetic engineering and biotechnology achieved over the last twenty years have had worldwide impacts in a number of ways. Generally, a larger percentage of the public has warmly embraced the technology. Furthermore, the same group has termed it as being beneficial with minimal challenge. However, there is a growing comprehension that new technologies harbor risks, costs and benefits. For example, in 2000 the U.S government increased its funding towards development of biotechnology and genetic engineering. This was a strategy to fight hunger in

Development of database security Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Development of database security - Essay Example The database security is concerned with the unauthorized access or misuse of the authorized user which leads to the leakage of personal or potential information. A database is said to be a reliable data storage source if it does not compromise on confidentiality (data security), integrity (the correctness of data) and availability. The integrity of data is dependent on the data gathering and storing process, moreover, if the database could be accessed by unauthorized users can influence the correctness of data. Therefore, it can be stated that the database security is one of the critical factors to be achieved in developing a dependable database. There are many techniques could be utilized for developing a secured database (Kayarkar, n.d) includes the access control (implementing data access rights to the users), database monitoring (to review the actions performed on the database), authentication (identifying the accurate user) and encryption (data encoding). Moreover, the data can be made secure by the application security and database integrity controls. The Elmasri and Navathe in 2004 a methodology have been introduced for developing a database design. The database designing methodology has following three (3) main phases include the Conceptual database design, Logical database design, and Physical database design. As the objective of this document s to present a review of the database security concerns for avoiding illegal access, therefore, the document limits the discussion to the logical database design phase.

Roman and Egyptian Technology Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Roman and Egyptian Technology - Research Paper Example Horses and donkeys were domesticated roughly between 3000 BC and 4000 BC, while camels were domesticated between 2000 BC and 3000 BC, with the exact dates unavailable. By 3100 BC, Egyptians had invented sailing boats made of papyrus reeds tied together. However, the sails were weak and only useful when sailing unidirectional. Around 2700 BC, Egyptians made wooden ships for trade in the sea. They were steered using a long oar. On the other hand, the Romans built networks of roads in the empire for easy movement of the Roman army from one part of the empire to the other. The wealthy members of the empire used covered wagons on long journeys or horses (Olson 13). The Romans also had merchant ships famously called cortia, which had the ability to over 1000 tons of cargo. They had a single mast that carried the rectangular sail, though some others had small sails at the stern and bow. Similar to the Egyptians, the ships used oars for steering, though they had lighthouses for guidance. The fall of the Roman Empire was a blow to the transport system. Major roads in Europe became dirt tracks and mud in winter. The rudder was a European (earlier, the Roman Empire) invention that went a long way in the steering of ships. In addition, ships became advanced with the rudder and compasses, with three masts in addition by the 15th century. Turnpike roads opened in 1663, with the Bridgewater canal completion at the end of the 18th century. The nineteenth century saw the invention of the railways and steam locomotives, followed by horse drawn omnibuses in 1829 and the first car in 1886 by Karl Benz and Gottlieb Daimler (Danver 265). At the same time, steam turbines by Charles Parsons improved sea transport. Another interesting ancient technology is that of braces. According to archeologists and the American Association Orthodontists, there have been several discoveries of mummified ancients bearing metal bands around individual teeth. The Etruscans (Roman precursors) buried the ir dead dental appliances used to maintain dentition and space. In addition, a Roman tomb discovered in Egypt had a mummy whose teeth were bound by gold wire (Archwired). Additionally to note is the recordings of finger pressure treatment of teeth by Aurelius Cornelius Celsus during the time of Christ. Nonetheless, there were no significant orthodontic events occurring before the 17th century. The first publications on teeth straitening were in 1792. Astronomy, the natural science dealing with celestial objects, also dates back thousands of years ago. In ancient Egypt, people believed that the universe was an enormous rectangular box with Egypt at the center and huge lamps hanging down as the stars (Nicholson and Shaw 321). Similarly, most other cultures held the same concept with their cultures at the center of the world. Nonetheless, the ancient cultures, especially in Egyptian and Roman, were held back from technological development for investigating the cosmos by their beliefs i n their many unpredictable gods. The Jews, which was the only culture that worshipped God, had a positive influence on the science through the bible. The Greeks were the first ancient culture to become aware of their surroundings. In fact, the word astronomy is a derivative from the Greek words â€Å"law and order†. However, the Greeks were not the only culture to try their hands on astronomy, but

Development of database security Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Development of database security - Essay Example The database security is concerned with the unauthorized access or misuse of the authorized user which leads to the leakage of personal or potential information. A database is said to be a reliable data storage source if it does not compromise on confidentiality (data security), integrity (the correctness of data) and availability. The integrity of data is dependent on the data gathering and storing process, moreover, if the database could be accessed by unauthorized users can influence the correctness of data. Therefore, it can be stated that the database security is one of the critical factors to be achieved in developing a dependable database. There are many techniques could be utilized for developing a secured database (Kayarkar, n.d) includes the access control (implementing data access rights to the users), database monitoring (to review the actions performed on the database), authentication (identifying the accurate user) and encryption (data encoding). Moreover, the data can be made secure by the application security and database integrity controls. The Elmasri and Navathe in 2004 a methodology have been introduced for developing a database design. The database designing methodology has following three (3) main phases include the Conceptual database design, Logical database design, and Physical database design. As the objective of this document s to present a review of the database security concerns for avoiding illegal access, therefore, the document limits the discussion to the logical database design phase.

Planning Assessment Essay Example for Free

Planning Assessment Essay When planning assessment you need to gauge a clear idea of what level the candidate is at to see if they are ready to complete your planned assessment. There are many ways of achieving this knowledge. One method is observation in performance or another by taking an initial assessment test which have seven levels with the basic entry level 1 being the first. Once this knowledge has been gained, further knowledge is needed to suit their needs. What is their preferred learning style, is it part of a group or on a one to one basis. You will need to find out their strengths and weaknesses to get the most out of their abilities but also to work around and improve on different area that need to be worked on. When this has all been achieved the learners will need to be given information about the planned assessment. First of all they will need to have an understanding of what they are about to study, explaining what they need to do to meet the criteria set by OFQUAL – the governing body of the qualifications. They will need to understand what is expected of them when attending the course by giving them the code of conduct for them to follow. It is important that the health and safety procedures are explained to ensure their safety throughout their assessment. After this has been completed, the learners will be given the folder to look through and their assessment plan to see how they will complete it. 3. 3 EXPLAIN HOW TO PLAN A HOLISTIC APPROACH TO ASSESSMENT By taking a holistic approach to assessment, it can provide the learner with a more in depth report on their progress by covering all the different methods – observations, session plans, witness testimonies, knowledge evidence and professional discussion across all the units in one go. This allows me to understand the different kind of approaches each individual learner feels comfortable with to achieve the highest possible grade. 3. 5 EXPLAIN HOW TO MINIMIZE RISKS THROUGH THE PLANNING PROCESS It is the responsibility of the assessor to minimise the risks by making sure all of the health and safety procedures are covered such as risk assessment of the facilities. The assessor needs to gather information that is personal from the learner in order to adapt and provide special needs that they might have. Also the assessor will need to treat all learners equally, ensuring that equality and diversity issue are met. Once this information has been gained, the assessor can then produce an action plan for the learner which is both realistic and achievable so they are comfortable to achieve the best possible results. 4. 1 EXPLAIN THE IMPORTANCE OF INVOLVING THE LEARNER AND OTHERS IN THE ASSESSMENT PROCESS Peer and Self Assessment is an effective way to get the learners involved and it gives a clear idea of what the learner is currently at and what action is needed to meet the standards and criteria. This can be done through feedback. Feedback is a vital part of the assessment process as it gives the assessor an idea of if the learner has met the criteria set and if they haven’t, what action is needed to achieve the criteria. If there is a disagreement with the assessments carried out then the learners can follow the organisational procedures that are set in place which include grievance procedures, systems for appeals and confidentiality procedures. 4. 2 SUMMARISE TYPES OF INFORMATION THAT SHOULD BE MADE AVAILABLE TO LEARNERS AND OTHERS INVOLVED IN THE ASSESSMENT PROCESS. The first thing that should be made available to the learners and those involved in the assessment process is what the reason is for assessment. The NVQ award is structured for a candidate to provide evidence through practical assignments and portfolio evidence that is gained throughout the qualification. They will also need to know how long they have to complete the course which is up to the assessor. By giving them information on deadlines then it will ensure tasks are not left until the last minute which could affect the standards of the work. One other type of information that they will need to know is what the criteria is for them to achieve the grade. Each qualification has a minimum requirement needed to be met and once they learner knows this, they can work towards meeting it and gaining the qualification. 4. 3 EXPLAIN HOW PEER AND SELF ASSESSMENT CAN BE USED EFFECTIVELY TO PROMOTE LEARNER INVOLVEMENT AND PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY IN THE ASSESSMENT OF LEARNING Peer and Self-Assessment can be used effectively within the learners when one of the group has difficulty within a task. Learners can interact with each other and help each other out which would be a lot less intimidating and in some situations embarrassing for shy and insecure learners than an assessor telling them they are right or wrong in front of the rest of the group. 6. 3 SUMMARISE THE PROCEDURES TO FOLLOW WHEN THERE ARE DISPUTES CONCERNING ASSESSMENT IN OWN AREA OF PRACTICE If there are disputes concerning assessment in own area of practice then the procedures to follow are as follows: First of all the assessor has to be available to discuss the problem as it could be sorted out quickly and effectively through discussion. If the learner feels they want to take it further then they can take the steps to show their disagreement which will be listed in their ‘Student Handbook’ given to them at the beginning of the course. This includes a formal written complaint to the assessor’s superior which they will then deal with in an efficient and non-discriminatory way, treating the claim with upmost confidentiality where they will decided whether to uphold or overturn the assessor’s original decision. 7. 2 EXPLAIN HOW FEEDBACK AND QUESTIONING CONTRIBUTE TO THE ASSESSMENT PROCESS Feedback and Questioning can help learners improve on a specific task. Feedback provides correction and improvement on a piece of work. Not only can it correct or improve the work but it can be used as encouragement or motivation to a learner especially when they are doing well or think they are not doing well.

A detailed assignment examining Leadership style management

A detailed assignment examining Leadership style management Leadership is the behavior of an individual when he/she is directing the activities of a group towards a shared goal. A leader is seen as someone who sets the paths in an effort to influence people to adhere to those paths. Leadership is an action and not just a position. It can be shown via different people in various situations. A person is not born to be a leader but cultured through the upbringing and environment. A leaders personal characteristics are also vital for the developments and motivations of the organizations. True leaders such as the teachers who illustrated that leadership is an action (teaching and leading the students) and not a position. Touching the lives and affecting the outcome of many different expectations, a teacher is the epitome of a leader. A leader has his or her own style of motivating the people in the organizations. A leader must find the best skills in order to provide directions, motivations and purposes. Effective leaders are flexible. Organizational Leadership Model The effective leadership influence is not the same for everyone. It depends on their ranks in the organization and abilities which are required in leaders. The three basic leadership roles identified: initiation, speech, and management. 1. Initiation Initiation refers to planned decision making on policy formulation or structural change. These vital decisions are the determinants of the organizations culture and mission. 2. Speech Strategic decisions and methods designed for implementation within the establishment. It includes adjusting or adding on to the present structure towards new policy demands. 3. Management Management is putting into practice the policies and measures that are available to maintain the operations of the organization efficiently. These three kinds of Leadership are naturally executed at diverse ranks in the company with different abilities and skills. The top level management would initiate new policies that involve a change in the businesss structure or understanding the companys mission. An understanding of the entire organization, culture, mission, vision and how it correlates with the external parties is mandatory for these top level individuals. They represent the organization and what the business stands for. Understanding the policy decisions and practicing them to the existing organization via utterance or speech is usually made by the intermediate-level managers. They must uphold a two-way point of reference by taking orders from the above management and adapting them for the lower groups of people in the organization. Type of Leadership Process Typical Organizational Level Cognitive (Knowledge) Affective (Emotion) Initiation: Change, creation and elimination of structure Top echelons System perspective Charisma Speech: supplementing and piecing out of structure Intermediate levels: pivotal roles Subsystem perspective: two-way orientation Integration of primary and secondary relations: human relation skills Management: use of existing structure Lower levels Technical knowledge and understanding of system of rules Concern with equity in use of rewards and sanctions EXHIBIT 16.1 Three Leadership Patterns, Their Location in the Organization, and Their Skill Requirements The companys policies and procedures will be administered by the Lower-level supervisors. These personnel must possess both the technical knowledge and a clear perception of the organizations rules in order to be successful. They have to continually deal with issues such as equity, rewards and punishments in leading others. Therefore, leadership plays a crucial role in an organization because the it has direct impact on the effectiveness of the organizations. Leadership is when a person manipulates others to perform a task at their own will which they would not normally do. Leadership is a vital process to an organization and it can be deliberated on three different stages; i.e. the individual, group and organization. Analysis at the individual stage: the leadership studies have paid attention on the successful leader personalities. Behaviors of both formal and informal leaders are focused at the group level. The effectiveness of an organization is decided by the relations between the leader, follower and circumstances. The studies have caused an emergence of different theories of leadership, namely situational and contingency. In Search for Leadership The requirements in selecting and training efficient leaders were emphasized during the World War I and the quarter century between World War l and World War II; numerous studies were made to examine the personal characteristics of good leaders. These studies are usually referred as characteristic studies since the primary goal was to classify the traits and personal characteristics of successful leaders. The diverse methods used to study these leadership traits could possibly be the reason in the irregularities of the results. The manner of studies was not consistent in identifying the leaders. A majority of the studies was in comparing efficient with inefficient leaders or leaders with non-leaders. Some were identified by external observers, others selected by the group by way of recommendation or voting, nominated by observers such as teachers while some were chosen because they are already in leadership positions. The studies conducted were in conflict as to the way they deliberated on the traits. Some traits were measured by mental tests; others relied on viewers to spot the traits they have seen while some depended on the persons to report their own personality traits. The trait studies were quite unsatisfactory as a whole especially since they had hoped to develop an accurate measure of leadership effectiveness. The spotlight on the leadership research moved because of the flimsy results, to contingency studies which investigated more than just traits of a leader. Numerous traits formed an important divergence in leadership effectiveness and they interrelated with other conditional variables to stimulate the effectiveness of the leader. Physical Behaviors Physical attributes including height, weight, health and appearance are also examined in the studies. It was concluded that there is a relationship between the above features and leadership. Apparently leaders have the tendency to be taller, heavier, better fitness, greater physique, higher energy output and more attractive in appearance. However, these types of results were not always reliable and consistent. The results neither are too weak in general and not consistent to be effective in selecting leaders nor are they helpful for training functions since not much can be made to alter most of these physical traits. Intellect It was generally agreed that leaders are more intellectual than non-leaders and the relationship was shown in the various studies. The relationship could probably begin from the reality that leadership functions depend mostly on success in problem solving. Leadership roles such as initiation, speech and management necessitate great mental ability. In general, it is safe to assume that leaders seems to be more intelligent than non-leaders but the relationships are small. Many other variables other than intellect inspire leadership effectiveness. It was also suggested that leaders should not be too intelligent than the group because associates who are notably brilliant than others are rarely chosen as leaders since the other members tend to snub them. Individuals with high IQs are inclined to have different sets of vocabulary, networks and aspirations that would create communication and inter-relations problems. Leaders do extremely well generally at school/college/university and score better grades. It is important for effective leadership to know how to do things. Thus general and practical knowledge are essential for leaders to make better decisions. Characteristic Traits Only a partial of the characteristic traits seem to be related to leadership and most are not especially convincing. It was suggested that the average leader is more used to social displays, greater initiative, persistent, knows how to get things done, self-confident, are more cooperative and adaptable, and possesses excellent communication skills. Leaders were found to be more emotionally mature than non-leaders in the personality integration or emotional adjustment. It can be concluded that personal characteristics are related to leadership. Effective leadership does not depend on a mixture of personality traits only because situational variables are also important since they always decide whether a character was associated with effective leadership either positively or negatively. Therefore, it can deduced that effective leadership depends on the leaders characteristics, his subordinates and the nature of the task at hand. Many leadership styles were based on studies of leaders behaviors. The finest researches on the styles of leadership are made together at the same time; i.e. The Ohio State University and the University of Michigan. Researchers acknowledged two leader behaviors that were similar although the investigations were conducted separately. As a result, a two dimensional aspects of leadership have been to used to form the Managerial Grid. Authoritarian, Democratic, and Laissez-faire Leadership Due to the diverse political systems in the US and Germany before World War II inspired studies of leadership which evaluated three leadership styles: authoritarian, democratic, and laissez faire. In the democratic leadership style, decisions were made by vote of majority; equal participation encouraged; criticism and punishment minimal. In the autocratic leader, the leader made all the decisions and others must follow the set procedures strictly. In the laissez-faire leader, there was minimal actual leadership and others were permitted to work and play as usual without proper directives. Initiating Structure and Consideration The two leadership factors were initiating structure and consideration which include leadership behaviors in organizing and defining the tasks to be performed and goal achievements. A leader who assigns people to do specific jobs, expected workers to follow set routines and meet deadlines. The consideration factor is showing friendship, mutual trust, warmth and concern for subordinates. Production-Centered and Employee-Centered Leader Behaviors Production centered behaviors were akin to initiating structure in which leaders would establish targets, gave directives, checked on operations and planned the group Employees work. Centered behaviors were similar to the considerations dimension in which the leader would develop a caring personal relationship with the subordinates and encouraged a two-way communication with them. The relationship between production-centered and employee centered behaviors are found to be independent scopes of leadership. A leader with strong production orientation does not mean that he is disinterested in the employees. Managerial Grid Robert Blake and Jane Mouton had created a framework which combines a concern for task accomplishment and a concern for people called the Managerial Grid. They both assumed that concern for production and concern for people would produce the most effective leadership style. There are leaders primarily more concerned with accomplishing the production and task not concerned about people. This person wants the job done and schedule followed at all costs. There is also individual who is not concerned whether the group produces anything but concerned more about the personal needs and interests of the team members. Ideally, leaders should be concerned about meeting schedules in order to get the work done and simultaneously are concerned about the team members interest and feelings too. The Managerial Grid is popular among managers. It is extensively used by organisations as part of their training program to assess leadership style. However, the effectiveness of the Managerial Grid is not consistently supported. The factors which are considered in determining leadership styles interact in complicated ways which resulted in various leadership styles. SITUATIONAL LEADERSHIP In assessing leadership effectiveness, there are many factors that must be combined. Paul Hersey and Ken Blanchard developed a situational leadership model which considers three variables: (1) guidance and direction provided by the leaders (task behavior) (2)emotional support given by the leader (relationship behavior) (3) the maturity level exhibited in performing the task As a result, four potential leadership styles have been created using a combination of the above factors : S1: Telling Give instructions and supervise performance closely. Suited for followers who are unwilling but of low maturity. S2: Selling Decide and provide opportunity for explanation. Appropriate for followers who are not able but willing. S3: Participating Sharing ideas in making decisions. Suited for followers who are able but not willing. S4: Delegating Responsibility handed over for decisions and performance. Appropriate for groups who are able and willing. Contingency Theory of Leadership Fiedler studied the interaction of leadership style and situation. He identified and developed ways to measure leadership orientation of the leader and situational factors which influence leadership. Leader Orientation Two types of leaders were identified, i.e. relationship-oriented or task-oriented. Leaders who are relationship-oriented tend to look at others as coworkers and look upon interpersonal relations as a requirement towards accomplishing the task. However, for task-oriented leaders, they react strongly against people whom they could not get along with in performing a task. Situational favorableness (1) relationships between leader and member can be good or bad; (2) the task is relatively well planned or not; and (3) the leaders authority is relatively strong or weak. The task structure becomes the second most important situational variable as evaluated by judges who examined four aspects of the task structure. Clarity: whether requirements of the tasks are stated clearly, Multiplicity: which the problems encounter can be solved. Verifiability: which the correctness of the decisions can be ascertained. Specificity: which there are generally more solutions involved in performing the task. Group effectiveness Relationship-oriented leaders perform excellently well in situations where concern for the team members is apparently necessary in order to motivate them to perform well. People naturally prefer leaders who care about them and their welfare. However, task-oriented leaders are clearly more effective in impossible situations. Path-Goal Model Directive leadership: subordinates are told what to be expected. Specific guide, standards and work schedules are provided to ensure that task are performed as expected. Supportive leadership: subordinates are treated equally and show concern for their needs and well-being; develop pleasant interpersonal relationships among the group members. Achievement-oriented leadership: challenging goals are set and subordinates are expected to perform at their highest level, improvement in performance always. Participative leadership: subordinates are consulted on suggestions and ideas in making decisions. Situational factors Situational factors characteristics of the followers and environmental factors which affect leadership style. Significant characteristics of the followers which have been identified as determinants of leadership style are: (1). Followers with internal locus of control believe that they are rewarded for their own effort. Meanwhile, followers with external locus of control believe that external forces have a control on their rewards. (2). Authoritarianism: an individuals willingness to accept the influence of others. (3). Abilities: The followers ability and experience influence a leader whether they are able to work with an achievement oriented leader or a supportive leader who are patient enough to provide encouragement and instruction. The path-goal model recognises three environmental factors which effect leadership styles: the nature of the task to be performed, the existing organisations authority system the organisational norms and dynamics The above factors may influence the effectiveness of different leadership styles in a many ways. Normative Decision-Making Model of Leadership Based on the contingency theory of leadership, this leadership model does not assume any leadership style as appropriate for all situations. Leaders must develop a range of leadership styles and take on the most appropriate style depending on the situation. Leaders are required to know in which circumstances they need to consult others and vice versa. Even though the leader may be the chairman of the group, he is just one of the group members and does not try to influence the group to adopt a particular solution. Criteria for selecting a leadership style. Two criteria used for assessing the efficiency of a leadership style are quality and acceptance. The quality of the decisions made refers to the accurateness of the actions taken and the extent which some objectives are achieved. The quality of decisions depends on accurate and relevant information Conferring with other group members often provides additional information. Diagnostic decision rules. In order to save time and minimize costs, some managers choose the lead autocratically. If the aim was to further the subordinates personal development, the participative style is selected. In some strategies, the manager decides alone. At times, the manager decides on his own after earlier consultations with his subordinates. Comparing the leadership models. All situational leadership models emphasize on the effect of external factors on a particular leadership style. Different leadership styles suggest styles that are determined by various situational factors. The models focus on different methods, which are situational factors and criteria for selecting the best style: task-oriented versus relationship-oriented. The normative decision-making model ascertains three leadership styles, namely autocratic, consultative, and participative. In each model, situational factors which influence the effectiveness of leadership are somewhat different. A significant reason being that normative decision- making model equates leadership with making decisions and looks at only this leadership function. The models also use different criteria for evaluating leadership effectiveness. DETERMINANTS OF LEADERSHIP EFFECTIVENESS Although identifying what makes an effective leader seems like a simple task, however, individuals who are in leadership positions are often faced with a dilemma on deciding which leadership pattern to practice. Choosing a Leadership Style Choosing the most appropriate leadership style to adopt depends largely on the context of the organisation. A successful leader must be capable of assessing the situational forces in the organisation and respond accordingly to the needs. The forces include the organisation culture, business goals as well as the organisations strategic plans. Effective leaders must understand themselves, the group, company and social environment. Strategies for Improving Leadership One of the main variable to improve leadership relates largely to the organisations reward system. Leaders should not overlook his capacity to reward his followers accordingly since followers will respond otherwise. For instance, the managers of high- performing groups generally are compensated according to their achievements. Considerate leaders manage to create satisfaction among their performing subordinates while at the same time, changes in the behavior of the leaders could be caused by the performance of the subordinates. Constraints on leader behavior. Leaders have limited opportunities to influence others. Leadership effectiveness is inhibited by a variety of factors. For example, the managerial decisions are planned ahead because of the law, structure, technological specifications and the absence of alternatives. Many other organisational factors can impose limitations on the leaders capability to either communicate with or to reinforce the behavior of the subordinates. For example, organisational policies, nature of task, skills and abilities of available resources and other external factors may impede the capacities of organisational leaders. External factors. In terms of external factors, leaders are constrained by factors that they have no control on such as state and federal laws. Other external factors include the world economy and global issues. Irrespective of their leadership style, leaders with unskilled resources will face great challenges in leading. The availability of skilled followers is subjected to the external labor market. Organizational policies. The organization may limit a leaders effectiveness by hampering the amount of communication between leaders and followers. The existing company policies may also pose restrictions on the ability of leaders to reward or punish followers. Group factors. Leaders may find it hard to penetrate or influence group members who are highly unified. This will create difficulty for leaders to demonstrate his true capabilities in performing tasks for the organisation. Individual skills and abilities. The leaders own skills and abilities may act as constraints since leaders can only possess so much expertise, energy, and power. Some situations may simply require greater skills and abilities than the leader may possibly hope to possess. Substitutes for leadership. While some situations constrain leaders other situations make leadership unnecessary. These variables are referred to as substitute variables because they substitute for leadership either by making the leaders behavior unnecessary or by neutralizing the leaders ability to influence subordinates. Leadership is an extremely important function. It has an enormous influence on the value of groups and organizations. The complexity of the situation, however, may prevent us from knowing in advance which will be the most effective leadership behaviors. SUMMARY 1. Leadership refers to increasing influence which occur when an individual manipulates others to do tasks voluntarily which they would not do otherwise. The basic leadership roles include initiation of policy and structure, speech, and management. A need for leadership within organizations stems from the incompleteness of the organization design and the dynamic nature of the internal and external environments. 2. The studies of leadership were mainly studies on traits that tried to identify the characteristics of effective leaders. The studies focused mainly on physical traits, intellect and characteristic. The results were usually weak and inconsistent although some personal characteristics were always related to leadership. Most studies concluded that the characteristics of the subordinate and the nature of the task were as important as the characteristics of the leader in determining success. 3. Another approach to studying leadership set on leader behaviors; i.e. how leaders actually behave. One of the studies compared three leadership styles: authoritarian, democratic and laissez-faire. Although democratic leadership produced the greatest satisfaction, autocratic leadership had the highest levels of productivity. 4. Research conducted simultaneously at two universities identified two similar leadership behaviors. At The Ohio State University the researchers labeled these two leader behaviors initiating structure and consideration. At the University of Michigan the same two factors were labeled production-centered and employee-centered leader behaviors. These two leader behaviors appear to identify leadership functions essential to the effectiveness of a group. The two Factors have been used to form a matrix called the Managerial Grid which places a concern for production on one side of the grid and concern for people on the other. The research evidence does not support this conclusion consistently. 5. The unsuccessful research to identify leadership traits or universally superior leader behaviors caused an emergence of development of four situational theories of leadership. The theories suggest that the most effective leadership style depends upon situational variables particularly the characteristics of the group and the nature of the task. 6. A situational leadership model that matched different combinations of task behavior and relationship behavior with the maturity of the followers. As the followers increase, the appropriate leadership style is telling, selling, participating, and finally for highly mature followers, delegating. 7. The most appropriate leadership style was determined by assessing three situational variables: whether the relationships between the leader and the members were good or poor, the task was structured or unstructured, and the power position of the leader was strong or weak. When these three situational variables created an extremely favorable or extremely unfavorable situation, the most effective leadership style was a task-oriented leader. However, where there were intermediate levels of favorableness, a leader with a high concern for interpersonal relationships was more effective in these situations. 8. The path goal model theory is derived from expectancy theory. It suggests that effective leaders must clarify the target paths and increase its attractiveness for followers. Four distinct leadership styles are proposed in the model: directive, supportive achievement-oriented and participative leadership styles. The style most appropriate depends upon two types of situational factors: the characteristics of the follower and characteristics of the environment. Three of the most important follower characteristics include the locus of control, authoritarianism, and personal abilities. The three environmental factors include the nature of the task, the formal authority system within the organization, and the group norms and dynamics. 9. The three leadership styles include autocratic decision making, consultative decision making, and group decision making. The decision titles determining which style is most appropriate include such questions as whether the leader has adequate information to make the decision alone, whether the subordinates will accept the goals of the organization, whether subordinates will accept the decision if they do not participate in making it, and whether the decision will produce a controversial solution. 10. The influence of the group upon the leader should not be overlooked. The relationship between the leader and the group implies a reciprocal influence. Groups have the capacity to influence the behavior of their leaders by responding selectively to specific leader behaviors. The influence of a leader can also be constrained by several external factors, such as organizational policies, group norms, and individual skills and abilities. Other variables have been found to neutralize or substitute for the influence of a leader, such as the skills and abilities of followers and the nature of the task itself. POSITIONING ON LEADERSHIP CRISIS There are many leadership theories. Arthur G. Jago (1982) had proposed a framework that organizes leadership theories based on each theorys focus and approach. Focus refers to whether the leadership is seen as a set of traits or actions. There is a universal formula of traits or behavior for an effective leader. However, effective leadership also depends on specific situations. The kinds of behaviors that leaders can actually perform in a group. The two leader behaviors that have been consistently observed including task-related activities, called initiating structure or production-centered activities, and interpersonal relations activities, sometimes called consideration or employee-centered activities. The incremental influence that one individual exerts upon another and that causes the second person to change his or her behavior voluntarily. Three leadership roles include origination of the structure by top-level managers, interpolation or adapting the structure by middle-level managers and administration or implementation of the policies and procedures by lower-level supervisors. I concur with A. Ange on the presence of leadership crisis but I also foresee the resolutions taken and are still being taken to resolve the problem. Many organizations are spending money in sending their employees to be groomed and trained for future growth of the company whereby they are exposed to different methods of management and how to be great leaders. Leaders are born to leaders but in some circumstances, situations and environments also play a huge role in creating a leader. Leaders come and go and new ones are always on the threshold to take over the empty space. The qualities of the leaders and their leadership styles vary but they are vital in the development and motivation processes of the organizations. There is a crisis in good leadership but it is not at a critical point. Big organizations would have everything in place for the future growth of the company and would have in line the replacements for all aspects of the management. Even is small to medium sized organizations have planned their management line-ups for the future. The ongoing programs and trainings that are conducted by organizations to produce capable leaders and groom them further showed that companies are aware of the could be crisis and had taken steps to overcome the situation. Yes, there is a crisis but the severity of the crisis is not huge enough to cause panics throughout the organizations.

Offreds Narrative Technique in The Handmaids Tale Essay -- Handmaid

Offred affects every single aspect of "The Handmaid's Tale", so, in order to understand her narrative technique better, her character must also be considered.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Offred is nostalgic, she longs for her pre-Gilead past with which she still identifies very strongly. She is, however, realistic in her longing; she knows that the past was not perfect, that it was no utopia, but she just longs for a situation preferable to her present one, "...We lived, as usual, by ignoring...". Another strong reason for to long for the past is that she was basically happy there, she had a daughter and a lover, both of which she was removed from by the Gilead regime. Her longing for the past is bittersweet, although it has many memories for her, not all of them are happy. Also, whenever she thinks of the past, she is reminded of how awful her present situation is, she is reminded of what she has lost. Perhaps that is why she refers to the past as "...the other time...".   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   She is also a fighter. She is determined to survive, to "last" through Gilead, no matter what it takes. The important distinction here is between survival and rebellion; Offred will only go so far in defiance of the regime, while she is prepared to stretch the rules with an insignificant Guardian on the road into the town, she limits herself, describing it as "....a small defiance of rule....like the candy I hoarded, as a child..". When it comes to serious defiance, she draws a definite line, " "No. I can't" " she says when the doctor offers to impregnate her, "The penalty is death". Perhaps that is what Offred is really afraid of. Death is her real fear.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In order to keep herself sane, Offred has invented several survival mechanisms, games w... ...ve technique.    Works Cited and Consulted Atwood, Margaret. The Handmaid's Tale. Anchor Books: New York, New York, 1985. Conboy, Sheila C. "Scripted, Conscripted, and Circumscribed: Body Language in Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale." Anxious Power: Reading, Writing, and Ambivalence in Narrative by Women. Eds. Carol J. Singley and Susan Elizabeth Sweeney. Albany : State U of New York P, 1993. 349-62 Fitting, Peter. "The Turn from Utopia in Recent Feminist Fiction." Feminism, Utopia, and Narrative. Eds. Libby Falk Jones and Sarah Webster Goodwin. Knoxville : U of Tennessee P, 1990. 141-158. Garlick, Barbara. "The Handmaid's Tale: Narrative Voice and the Primacy of the Tale." Twentieth-Century Fantasists: Essays on Culture, Society and Belief in Twentieth-Century Mythopoeic Literature. Ed. Kath Filmer. New York : St. Martin's, 1992. 161-71.

Murder Must Advertise :: essays research papers

When advertising executive Victor Dean dies from a fall down the stairs at Pym's Publicity, Lord Peter Wimsey is asked to investigate. It seems that, before he died, Dean had begun a letter to Mr. Pym suggesting some very unethical dealings at the posh London ad agency. Wimsey goes undercover and discovers that Dean was part of the fast crowd at Pym's, a group taken to partying and doing drugs. Wimsey and his brother-in-law, Chief-Inspector Parker, rush to discover who is running London's cocaine trade and how Pym's fits into the picture--all before Wimsey's cover is blown. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Leserrezensionen Durchschnittliche Leserbewertung: Zahl der Rezensionen: 4 Eine Leserin oder ein Leser aus New York City, USA , 1. Dezember 1999 Bravo! Knock-out Mystery! I must preface this review by confessing a bias - I'm a huge fan of Dorothy Sayers and consider it a tragedy that she did not write more detective fiction. This is definitely one of the strongest entries in the Lord Peter Wimsey series, both for mystery and entertainment value. An interesting tactic used by Sayers is to point in the direction of the culprit about three-fourths of the way through the book and then lead the reader through the detection process that actually leads to his/her unmasking. We saw this used in "Unnatural Death", also in "Whose Body?" Surprisingly, the resulting lack of suspense at the end does not deter from the mystery at all as it is fascinating to see the patient unraveling of clues and pulling together of threads that lead to evidence against a killer. It is also a better reflection of what usually happens in reality, as opposed to a lot of detective fiction where the most unlikely person did it! While we all find whodunits interestin g, the reality is that the police and private eyes are usually smart enough to figure out the most likely candidate fairly early and thus narrow their investigations. In this book, the fun is added to by the setting in an ad agency. Sayers had worked in an ad agency at some point in her career and you can see that she really knows her stuff. The interplay between the various characters is very funny and surprisingly not dated in feel, considering the book was written 70 odd years ago! I found the cricket match scene to be the most fascinating part as well the sense the reader gets that with every page, the hangman's noose is slowly closing around the killer. Murder Must Advertise :: essays research papers When advertising executive Victor Dean dies from a fall down the stairs at Pym's Publicity, Lord Peter Wimsey is asked to investigate. It seems that, before he died, Dean had begun a letter to Mr. Pym suggesting some very unethical dealings at the posh London ad agency. Wimsey goes undercover and discovers that Dean was part of the fast crowd at Pym's, a group taken to partying and doing drugs. Wimsey and his brother-in-law, Chief-Inspector Parker, rush to discover who is running London's cocaine trade and how Pym's fits into the picture--all before Wimsey's cover is blown. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Leserrezensionen Durchschnittliche Leserbewertung: Zahl der Rezensionen: 4 Eine Leserin oder ein Leser aus New York City, USA , 1. Dezember 1999 Bravo! Knock-out Mystery! I must preface this review by confessing a bias - I'm a huge fan of Dorothy Sayers and consider it a tragedy that she did not write more detective fiction. This is definitely one of the strongest entries in the Lord Peter Wimsey series, both for mystery and entertainment value. An interesting tactic used by Sayers is to point in the direction of the culprit about three-fourths of the way through the book and then lead the reader through the detection process that actually leads to his/her unmasking. We saw this used in "Unnatural Death", also in "Whose Body?" Surprisingly, the resulting lack of suspense at the end does not deter from the mystery at all as it is fascinating to see the patient unraveling of clues and pulling together of threads that lead to evidence against a killer. It is also a better reflection of what usually happens in reality, as opposed to a lot of detective fiction where the most unlikely person did it! While we all find whodunits interestin g, the reality is that the police and private eyes are usually smart enough to figure out the most likely candidate fairly early and thus narrow their investigations. In this book, the fun is added to by the setting in an ad agency. Sayers had worked in an ad agency at some point in her career and you can see that she really knows her stuff. The interplay between the various characters is very funny and surprisingly not dated in feel, considering the book was written 70 odd years ago! I found the cricket match scene to be the most fascinating part as well the sense the reader gets that with every page, the hangman's noose is slowly closing around the killer.