Surrealism

Surrealism Surrealism started as a revolt against the intellect of Cubism, Formalist art, Art for Arts sake (Dada) and abstraction. It is an attitude to life and society rather than a style of art. It was a painting style that trapped the dream into physical existence. Individualism and isolation was a core value of the movement. They investigated the mind for artistic inspiration.Origins of Surrealism: Andre Breton: Was dissatisfied with DADA Wanted a more organized and realistic He explored automatic righting and discussed the irrational and the accidental Hough process in painting He published a manifesto in 1924 (statement of ideas about the movement) Was based on Freud the idea of the conscious mind struggling against the irrational and the unconscious Implemented the idea that the individual is free to express their personal desires Definition of Surrealism: Thought is expressed with the absence of reason, aesthetic (visual), moral concerns.Surrealism emphasizes words more than the image and was dominated by the written works and ideas. The influence of Sigmund Freud: Worked with Psychoanalysis, and how hypnosis allows an individual to remember motional experiences that have been forgotten. The importance of memories and experiences in the subconscious is core to Surrealism Hypnosis liberates the imagination Through the dream, reality is solved.Political situation of the time: Breton was a communist The surrealists were anarchists like the Dadaists of WWW Surrealist thought that non-government was better(irrational vs. the rational) Russian revolution Tribal art Dada : chance, irrational, illogical Art of children and the mentally ill Freud and Jung (importance of dreams and the symbols used to understand dreams) Sub Themes:The human condition: Surrealism deals with the subconscious, dreams and irrational thought Influence of technology- Meaning in media: Surrealism involves symbolism, meaning through the use of paint Reflection of society: comment on ant i war etc Two Schools of Surrealism Bibliographic Surrealism Ray, Dali,Yves, Migrate Detailed Automatic Organic surrealism Mirror, Manson Recognizable objects in different contexts Images of the mind Precise reproduction Juxtaposition (placing next to each other) Transposed (placed over) Displaced(put out of place) Mutated (altered) Visual pun/ double meaning Hidden Meaning Chance Close to abstract

A Comparison of Attitude, Personality, and Knowledge Predictors of Service-Oriented Essay

The research design that was used in this study was correlational non-experimental. The variables that were studied included confirmatory factor analysis, item-to-total correlations, improvement in the Cronbach’s alpha statistic, and attitudinal and personality antecedents. With the use of antecedents, the job satisfaction measure incorporated seven items on a variety of extrinsic and intrinsic work related aspects and one global job satisfaction item. Two studies were conducted to investigate the attitude, personality, and knowledge antecedents of service oriented OCBs. It consisted of participants, whose responsibilities included answering customer service inquiries, responding to customer problems, and selling and recommending services over the phone. There were 325 employees who agreed to participate in the study in exchange for 1 hour of overtime pay. With the second study, the participants included staff and part-time employees of five libraries at a university who had customer contact as part of their daily responsibilities. They represented several departments that have customer contact including circulation, document reserves, and government publications. The relationships proposed were that job satisfaction would be positively related to the service-oriented OCBs of loyalty, service delivery, and participation. Also it expects POS to be positively related to contact-employee loyalty, service delivery, and participation OCBs. They also expected the following: a positive relationship between service orientation and loyalty, no relationship is expected between empathy and loyalty OCBs, the trait richness will be positively related to contact employee loyalty, service delivery, and participation OCBs, and lastly that strategy richness will be positively related to contact employee loyalty, service delivery, and participation OCBs. The study concluded that the results in both studies were virtually identical. The hypotheses in this study were proven after the information was gathered and evaluated. There are no recommendations that I would change within this study, however, I would have applied the study to other employee types. The Influence of Motivation to Attend, Ability to Attend, and Organizational Commitment on Different Types of Absence Behaviors Journal of Managerial Issues James P. Burton, Thomas W. Lee, Brooks C. Holtom This study used the experimental design to conduct data. There were three types of variables that were used in this study which included independent, dependent, and controlled. The dependent variable was a time lost measure of absence that was used where the total number of days absent per employee was observed for a period of ten months following the administration of the survey that was used on 214 employees. The independent variable was the motivation to attend work which was measured by three items that assessed the degree to which an employee is motivated to go to work every day. Also the ability to attend was measured by four items along with organizational commitment which was measured by the items from Meyer and Allen’s. The controlled variables were age, gender, tenure, and level of education. There were five hypotheses that were proposed: 1) Ability to attend will be positively related to the frequency of absenteeism that is attributed to family issues, 2) Ability to attend will be positively related to the frequency of absenteeism that is attributed to transportation problems, 3a) Motivation to attend will be negatively related to the frequency of absenteeism that is attributed to illness, 3b) Ability to attend will be positively related to the frequency of absenteeism that is attributed to illness, 4) Motivation to attend will be negatively related to the frequency of absenteeism that results in failure to notify the organization, and 5) Motivation to attend will mediate the relationship between affective, normative, and continuance commitment and absenteeism. Hypothesis 1 was proven to be accurate, hypothesis 2 and 4 failed to gain significant R2 when the various absenteeism variables were regressed onto motivation to attend and ability to attend. Hypothesis 3a was supported after data was conducted, and Hypothesis 5 could not be conducted because motivation to attend was not significantly related to overall absenteeism. I was unable to find any flaws with this study and do not have any recommendations to change.

Prelude to Foundation Chapter 15 Undercover

DAVAN-†¦ In the unsettled times marking the final centuries of the First Galactic Empire, the typical sources of unrest arose from the fact that political and military leaders jockeyed for â€Å"supreme† power (a supremacy that grew more worthless with each decade). Only rarely was there anything that could be called a popular movement prior to the advent of psychohistory. In this connection, one intriguing example involves Davan, of whom little is actually known, but who may have met with Hari Seldon at one time when†¦ Encyclopedia Galactica 72. Both Hari Seldon and Dors Venabili had taken rather lingering baths, making use of the somewhat primitive facilities available to them in the Tisalver household. They had changed their clothing and were in Seldon's room when Jirad Tisalver returned in the evening. His signal at the door was (or seemed) rather timid. The buzz did not last long. Seldon opened the door and said pleasantly, â€Å"Good evening, Master Tisalver. And Mistress.† She was standing right behind her husband, forehead puckered into a puzzled frown. Tisalver said tentatively, as though he was unsure of the situation, â€Å"Are you and Mistress Venabili both well?† He nodded his head as though trying to elicit an affirmative by body language. â€Å"Quite well. In and out of Billibotton without trouble and we're all washed and changed. There's no smell left.† Seldon lifted his chin as he said it, smiling, tossing the sentence over Tisalver's shoulder to his wife. She sniffed loudly, as though testing the matter. Still tentatively, Tisalver said, â€Å"I understand there was a knife fight.† Seldon raised his eyebrows. â€Å"Is that the story?† â€Å"You and the Mistress against a hundred thugs, we were cold, and you killed them all. Is that so?† There was the reluctant sound of deep respect in his voice. â€Å"Absolutely not,† Dors put in with sudden annoyance. â€Å"That's ridiculous. What do you think we are? Mass murderers? And do you think a hundred thugs would remain in place, waiting the considerable time it would take me-us-to kill them all? I mean, think about it.† â€Å"That's what they're saying,† said Casilia Tisalver with shrill firmness. â€Å"We can't have that sort of thing in this house.† â€Å"In the first place,† said Seldon, â€Å"it wasn't in this house. In the second, it wasn't a hundred men, it was ten. In the third, no one was killed. There was some altercation back and forth, after which they left and made way for us.† â€Å"They just made way. Do you expect me to believe that, Outworlders?† demanded Mistress Tisalver belligerently. Seldon sighed. At the slightest stress, human beings seemed to divide themselves into antagonistic groups. He said, â€Å"Well, I grant you one of them was cut a little. Not seriously.† â€Å"And you weren't hurt at all?† said Tisalver. The admiration in his voice was more marked. â€Å"Not a scratch,† said Seldon. â€Å"Mistress Venabili handles two knives excellently well.† â€Å"I dare say,† said Mistress Tisalver, her eyes dropping to Dors's belt, â€Å"and that's not what I want to have going on here.† Dors said sternly, â€Å"As long as no one attacks us here, that's what you won't have here.† â€Å"But on account of you,† said Mistress Tisalver, â€Å"we have trash from the street standing at the doorway.† â€Å"My love,† said Tisalver soothingly, â€Å"let us not anger-â€Å" â€Å"Why?† spat his wife with contempt. â€Å"Are you afraid of her knives? I would like to see her use them here.† â€Å"I have no intention of using them here,† said Dors with a sniff as loud as any that Mistress Tisalver had produced. â€Å"What is this trash from the street you're talking about?† Tisalver said, â€Å"What my wife means is that an urchin from Billibotton-at least, judging by his appearance-wishes to see you and we are not accustomed to that sort of thing in this neighborhood. It undermines our standing.† He sounded apologetic. Seldon said, â€Å"Well, Master Tisalver, we'll go outside, find out what it's all about, and send him on his business as quickly-â€Å" â€Å"No. Wait,† said Dors, annoyed. â€Å"These are our rooms. We pay for them. We decide who visits us and who does not. If there is a young man outside from Billibotton, he is nonetheless a Dahlite. More important, he's a Trantorian. Still more important, he's a citizen of the Empire and a human being. Most important, by asking to see us, he becomes our guest. Therefore, we invite him in to see us.† Mistress Tisalver didn't move. Tisalver himself seemed uncertain. Dors said, â€Å"Since you say I killed a hundred bullies in Billibotton, you surely do not think I am afraid of a boy or, for that matter, of you two.† Her right hand dropped casually to her belt. Tisalver said with sudden energy, â€Å"Mistress Venabili, we do not intend to offend you. Of course these rooms are yours and you can entertain whomever you wish here.† He stepped back, pulling his indignant wife with him, undergoing a burst of resolution for which he might conceivably have to pay afterward. Dors looked after them sternly. Seldon smiled dryly. â€Å"How unlike you, Dors. I thought I was the one who quixotically got into trouble and that you were the calm and practical one whose only aim was to prevent trouble.† Dors shook her head. â€Å"I can't bear to hear a human being spoken of with contempt just because of his group identification-even by other human beings. It's these respectable people here who create those hooligans out there.† â€Å"And other respectable people,† said Seldon, â€Å"who create these respectable people. These mutual animosities are as much a part of humanity-â€Å" â€Å"Then you'll have to deal with it in your psychohistory, won't you?† â€Å"Most certainly-if there is ever a psychohistory with which to deal with anything at all.-Ah, here comes the urchin under discussion. And it's Raych, which somehow doesn't surprise me.† 73. Raych entered, looking about, clearly intimidated. The forefinger of his right hand reached for his upper lip as though wondering when he would begin to feel the first downy hairs there. He turned to the clearly outraged Mistress Tisalver and bowed clumsily. â€Å"Thank ya, Missus. Ya got a lovely place.† Then, as the door slammed behind him, he turned to Seldon and Dors with an air of easy connoisseurship. â€Å"Nice place, guys.† â€Å"I'm glad you like it,† said Seldon solemnly. â€Å"How did you know we were here?† â€Å"Followed ya. How'd ya think? Hey, lady†-he turned to Dors-â€Å"you don't fight like no dame.† â€Å"Have you watched many dames fight?† asked Dors, amused. Raych rubbed his nose, â€Å"No, never seen none whatever. They don't carry knives, except little ones to scare kids with. Never scared me.† â€Å"I'm sure they didn't. What do you do to make dames draw their knives?† â€Å"Nothin'. You just kid around a little. You holler, ‘Hey, lady, lemme-‘ † He thought about it for a moment and said, â€Å"Nothin'.† Dors said, â€Å"Well, don't try that on me.† â€Å"Ya kiddin'? After what ya did to Marron? Hey, lady, where'd you learn to fight that way?† â€Å"On my own world.† â€Å"Could ya teach me?† â€Å"Is that what you came here to see me about?† â€Å"Akchaly, no. I came to bring ya a kind of message.† â€Å"From someone who wants to fight me?† â€Å"No one wants to fight ya, lady. Listen, lady, ya got a reputation now. Everybody knows ya. You just walk down anywhere in old Billibotton and all the guys will step aside and let ya pass and grin and make sure they don't look cross-eyed at ya. Oh, lady, ya got it made. That's why he wants to see ya.† Seldon said, â€Å"Raych, just exactly who wants to see us?† â€Å"Guy called Davan.† â€Å"And who is he?† â€Å"Just a guy. He lives in Billibotton and don't carry no knife.† â€Å"And he stays alive, Raych?† â€Å"He reads a lot and he helps the guys there when they get in trouble with the gov'ment. They kinda leave him alone. He don't need no knife.† â€Å"Why didn't he come himself, then?† said Dors. â€Å"Why did he send you?† â€Å"He don't like this place. He says it makes him sick. He says all the people here, they lick the gov'ment's-† He paused, looked dubiously at the two Outworlders, and said, â€Å"Anyway, he won't come here. He said they'd let me in cause I was only a kid.† He grinned. â€Å"They almost didn't, did they? I mean that lady there who looked like she was smellin' somethin'?† He stopped suddenly, abashed, and looked down at himself. â€Å"Ya don't get much chance to wash where I come from.† â€Å"It's all right,† said Dors, smiling. â€Å"Where are we supposed to meet, then, if he won't come here? After all-if you don't mind-we don't feel like going to Billibotton.† â€Å"I told ya,† said Raych indignantly. â€Å"Ya get free run of Billibotton, I swear. Besides, where he lives no one will bother ya.† â€Å"Where is it?† asked Seldon. â€Å"I can take ya there. It ain't far.† â€Å"And why does he want to see us?† asked Dors. â€Å"Dunno. But he says like this-† Raych half-closed his eyes in an effort to remember. † ‘Tell them I wanna see the man who talked to a Dahlite heatsinker like he was a human being and the woman who beat Marron with knives and didn't kill him when she mighta done so.' I think I got it right.† Seldon smiled. â€Å"I think you did. Is he ready for us now?† â€Å"He's waiting.† â€Å"Then we'll come with you.† He looked at Dors with a trace of doubt in his eyes. She said, â€Å"All right. I'm willing. Perhaps it won't be a trap of some sort. Hope springs eternal-â€Å" 74. There was a pleasant glow to the evening light when they emerged, a faint violet touch and a pinkish edge to the simulated sunset clouds that were scudding along. Dahl might have complaints of their treatment by the Imperial rulers of Trantor, but surely there was nothing wrong with the weather the computers spun out for them. Dors said in a low voice, â€Å"We seem to be celebrities. No mistake about that.† Seldon brought his eyes down from the supposed sky and was immediately aware of a fair-sized crowd around the apartment house in which the Tisalvers lived. Everyone in the crowd stared at them intently. When it was clear that the two Outworlders had become aware of the attention, a low murmur ran through the crowd, which seemed to be on the point of breaking out into applause. Dors said, â€Å"Now I can see where Mistress Tisalver would find this annoying. I should have been a little more sympathetic.† The crowd was, for the most part, poorly dressed and it was not hard to guess that many of the people were from Billibotton. On impulse, Seldon smiled and raised one hand in a mild greeting that was met with applause. One voice, lost in the safe anonymity of the crowd called out, â€Å"Can the lady show us some knife tricks?† When Dors called back, â€Å"No, I only draw in anger,† there was instant laughter. One man stepped forward. He was clearly not from Billibotton and bore no obvious mark of being a Dahlite. He had only a small mustache, for one thing, and it was brown, not black. He said, â€Å"Marlo Tanto of the ‘Trantorian HV News.' Can we have you in focus for a bit for our nightly holocast?† â€Å"No,† said Dors shortly. â€Å"No interviews.† The newsman did not budge. â€Å"I understand you were in a fight with a great many men in Billibotton-and won.† He smiled. â€Å"That's news, that is.† â€Å"No,† said Dors. â€Å"We met some men in Billibotton, talked to them, and then moved on. That's all there is to it and that's all you're going to get.† â€Å"What's your name? You don't sound like a Trantorian.† â€Å"I have no name.† â€Å"And your friend's name?† â€Å"He has no name.† The newsman looked annoyed, â€Å"Look, lady. You're news and I'm just trying to do my job.† Raych pulled at Dors's sleeve. She leaned down and listened to his earnest whisper. She nodded and straightened up again. â€Å"I don't think you're a newsman, Mr. Tanto. What I think you are is an Imperial agent trying to make trouble for Dahl. There was no fight and you're trying to manufacture news concerning one as a way of justifying an Imperial expedition into Billibotton. I wouldn't stay here if I were you. I don't think you're very popular with these people.† The crowd had begun to mutter at Dors's first words. They grew louder now and began to drift, slowly and in a menacing way, in the direction of Tanto. He looked nervously around and began to move away. Dors raised her voice. â€Å"Let him go. Don't anyone touch him. Don't give him any excuse to report violence.† And they parted before him. Raych said, â€Å"Aw, lady, you shoulda let them rough him up.† â€Å"Bloodthirsty boy,† said Dors, â€Å"take us to this friend of yours.† 75. They met the man who called himself Davan in a room behind a dilapidated diner. Far behind. Raych led the way, once more showing himself as much at home in the burrows of Billibotton as a mole would be in tunnels underground in Helicon. It was Dors Venabili whose caution first manifested itself. She stopped and said, â€Å"Come back, Raych. Exactly where are we going?† â€Å"To Davan,† said Raych, looking exasperated. â€Å"I told ya.† â€Å"But this is a deserted area. There's no one living here.† Dors looked about with obvious distaste. The surroundings were lifeless and what light panels there were did not glower [but] did so only dimly. â€Å"It's the way Davan likes it,† said Raych. â€Å"He's always changing around, staying here, staying there. Ya know†¦ changing around.† â€Å"Why?† demanded Dors. â€Å"It's safer, lady.† â€Å"From whom?† â€Å"From the gov'ment.† â€Å"Why would the government want Davan?† â€Å"I dunno, lady. Tell ya what. I'll tell ya where he is and tell ya how to go and ya go on alone-if ya don't want me to take ya.† Seldon said, â€Å"No, Raych, I'm pretty sure we'll get lost without you. In fact, you had better wait till we're through so you can lead us back.† Raych said at once, â€Å"What's in it f'me? Ya expect me to hang around when I get hungry?† â€Å"You hang around and get hungry, Raych, and I'll buy you a big dinner. Anything you like.† â€Å"Ya say that now. Mister. How do I know?† Dors's hand flashed and it was holding a knife, blade exposed, â€Å"You're not calling us liars, are you, Raych?† Raych's eyes opened wide. He did not seem frightened by the threat. He said, â€Å"Hey, I didn't see that. Do it again.† â€Å"I'll do it afterward-if you're still here. Otherwise†-Dors glared at him-â€Å"we'll track you down.† â€Å"Aw, lady, come on,† said Raych. â€Å"Ya ain't gonna track me down. Ya ain't that kind. But I'll be here.† He struck a pose. â€Å"Ya got my word.† And he led them onward in silence, though the sound of their shoes was hollow in the empty corridors. Davan looked up when they entered, a wild look that softened when he saw Raych. He gestured quickly toward the two others-questioningly. Raych said, â€Å"These are the guys.† And, grinning, he left. Seldon said, â€Å"I am Hari Seldon. The young lady is Dors Venabili.† He regarded Davan curiously. Davan was swarthy and had the thick black mustache of the Dahlite male, but in addition he had a stubble of beard. He was the first Dahlite whom Seldon had seen who had not been meticulously shaven. Even the bullies of Billibotton had been smooth of cheek and chin. Seldon said, â€Å"What is your name, sir?† â€Å"Davan. Raych must have told you.† â€Å"Your second name.† â€Å"I am only Davan. Were you followed here, Master Seldon?† â€Å"No, I'm sure we weren't. If we had, then by sound or sight, I expect Raych would have known. And if he had not, Mistress Venabili would have.† Dors smiled slightly. â€Å"You have faith in me, Hari.† â€Å"More all the time,† he said thoughtfully. Davan stirred uneasily. â€Å"Yet you've already been found.† â€Å"Found?† â€Å"Yes, I have heard of this supposed newsman.† â€Å"Already?† Seldon looked faintly surprised. â€Å"But I suspect he really was a newsman†¦ and harmless. We tatted him an Imperial agent at Raych's suggestion, which was a good idea. The surrounding crowd grew threatening and we got rid of him.† â€Å"No,† said Davan, â€Å"he was what you called him. My people know the man and he does work for the Empire.-But then you do not do as I do. You do not use a false name and change your place of abode. You go under your own names, making no effort to remain undercover. You are Hari Seldon, the mathematician.† â€Å"Yes, I am,† said Seldon. â€Å"Why should I invent a false name?† â€Å"The Empire wants you, does it not?† Seldon shrugged. â€Å"I stay in places where the Empire cannot reach out to take me.† â€Å"Not openly, but the Empire doesn't have to work openly. I would urge you to disappear†¦ really disappear.† â€Å"Like you†¦ as you say,† said Seldon looking about with an edge of distaste. The room was as dead as the corridors he had walked through. It was musty through and through and it was overwhelmingly depressing. â€Å"Yes,† said Davan. â€Å"You could be useful to us.† â€Å"In what way?† â€Å"You talked to a young man named Yugo Amaryl.† â€Å"Yes, I did.† â€Å"Amaryl tells me that you can predict the future.† Seldon sighed heavily. He was tired of standing in this empty room. Davan was sitting on a cushion and there were other cushions available, but they did not look clean. Nor did he wish to lean against the mildew-streaked wall. He said, â€Å"Either you misunderstood Amaryl or Amaryl misunderstood me. What I have done is to prove that it is possible to choose starting conditions from which historical forecasting does not descend into chaotic conditions, but can become predictable within limits. However, what those starting conditions might be I do not know, nor am I sure that those conditions can be found by any one person-or by any number of people-in a finite length of time. Do you understand me?† â€Å"No.† Seldon sighed again. â€Å"Then let me try once more. It is possible to predict the future, but it may be impossible to find out how to take advantage of that possibility. Do you understand?† Davan looked at Seldon darkly, then at Dors. â€Å"Then you can't predict the future.† â€Å"Now you have the point, Master Davan.† â€Å"Just call me Davan. But you may be able to learn to predict the future someday.† â€Å"That is conceivable.† â€Å"Then that's why the Empire wants you.† â€Å"No,† Seldon raised his finger didactically. â€Å"It's my idea that that is why the Empire is not making an overwhelming effort to get me. They might like to have me if I can be picked up without trouble, but they know that right now I know nothing and that it is therefore not worth upsetting the delicate peace of Trantor by interfering with the local rights of this sector or that. That's the reason I can move about under my own name with reasonable security.† For a moment, Davan buried his head in his hands and muttered, â€Å"This is madness.† Then he looked up wearily and said to Dors, â€Å"Are you Master Seldon's wife?† Dors said calmly, â€Å"I am his friend and protector.† â€Å"How well do you know him?† â€Å"We have been together for some months.† â€Å"No more?† â€Å"No more.† â€Å"Would it be your opinion he is speaking the truth?† â€Å"I know he is, but what reason would you have to trust me if you do not trust him? If Hari is, for some reason, lying to you, might I not be lying to you equally in order to support him?† Davan looked from one to the other helplessly. Then he said, â€Å"Would you, in any case, help us?† â€Å"Who are ‘us' and in what way do you need help?† Davan said, â€Å"You see the situation here in Dahl. We are oppressed. You must know that and, from your treatment of Yugo Amaryl, I cannot believe you lack sympathy for us.† â€Å"We are fully sympathetic.† â€Å"And you must know the source of the oppression.† â€Å"You are going to tell me that it's the Imperial government, I suppose, and I dare say it plays its part. On the other hand, I notice that there is a middle class in Dahl that despises the heatsinkers and a criminal class that terrorizes the rest of the sector.† Davan's lips tightened, but he remained unmoved. â€Å"Quite true. Quite true. But the Empire encourages it as a matter of principle. Dahl has the potential for making serious trouble. If the heatsinkers should go on strike, Trantor would experience a severe energy shortage almost at once†¦ with all that that implies. However, Dahl's own upper classes will spend money to hire the hoodlums of Billibotton-and of other places-to fight the heatsinkers and break the strike. It has happened before. The Empire allows some Dahlites to prosper-comparatively-in order to convert them into Imperialist lackeys, while it refuses to enforce the arms-control laws effectively enough to weaken the criminal element. â€Å"The Imperial government does this everywhere-and not in Dahl alone. They can't exert force to impose their will, as in the old days when they ruled with brutal directness. Nowadays, Trantor has grown so complex and so easily disturbed that the Imperial forces must keep their hands off-â€Å" â€Å"A form of degeneration,† said Seldon, remembering Hummin's complaints. â€Å"What?† said Davan. â€Å"Nothing,† said Seldon. â€Å"Go on.† â€Å"The Imperial forces must keep their hands off, but they find that they can do much even so. Each sector is encouraged to be suspicious of its neighbors. Within each sector, economic and social classes are encouraged to wage a kind of war with each other. The result is that all over Trantor it is impossible for the people to take united action. Everywhere, the people would rather fight each other than make a common stand against the central tyranny and the Empire rules without having to exert force.† â€Å"And what,† said Dors, â€Å"do you think can be done about it?† â€Å"I've been trying for years to build a feeling of solidarity among the peoples of Trantor.† â€Å"I can only suppose,† said Seldon dryly, â€Å"that you are finding this an impossibly difficult and largely thankless task.† â€Å"You suppose correctly,† said Davan, â€Å"but the party is growing stronger. Many of our knifers are coming to the realization that knives are best when they are not used on each other. Those who attacked you in the corridors of Billibotton are examples of the unconverted. However, those who support you now, who are ready to defend you against the agent you thought was a newsman, are my people. I live here among them. It is not an attractive way of life, but I am safe here. We have adherents in neighboring sectors and we spread daily.† â€Å"But where do we come in?† asked Dors. â€Å"For one thing,† said Davan, â€Å"both of you are Outworlders, scholars. We need people like you among our leaders. Our greatest strength is drawn from the poor and the uneducated because they suffer the most, but they can lead the least. A person like one of you two is worth a hundred of them.† â€Å"That's an odd estimate from someone who wishes to rescue the oppressed,† said Seldon. â€Å"I don't mean as people,† said Davan hastily. â€Å"I mean as far as leadership is concerned. The party must have among its leaders men and women of intellectual power.† â€Å"People like us, you mean, are needed to give your party a veneer of respectability.† Davan said, â€Å"You can always put something noble in a sneering fashion if you try. But you, Master Seldon, are more than respectable, more than intellectual. Even if you won't admit to being able to penetrate the mists of the future-â€Å" â€Å"Please, Davan,† said Seldon, â€Å"don't be poetic and don't use the conditional. It's not a matter of admitting. I can't foresee the future. Those are not mists that block the view but chrome steel barriers.† â€Å"Let me finish. Even if you can't actually predict with-what do you call it?-psychohistorical accuracy, you've studied history and you may have a certain intuitive feeling for consequences. Now, isn't that so?† Seldon shook his head. â€Å"I may have a certain intuitive understanding for mathematical likelihood, but how far I can translate that into anything of historical significance is quite uncertain. Actually, I have not studied history. I wish I had. I feel the loss keenly.† Dors said evenly, â€Å"I am the historian, Davan, and I can say a few things if you wish.† â€Å"Please do,† said Davan, making it half a courtesy, half a challenge. â€Å"For one thing, there have been many revolutions in Galactic history that have overthrown tyrannies, sometimes on individual planets, sometimes in groups of them, occasionally in the Empire itself or in the pre-Imperial regional governments. Often, this has only meant a change in tyranny. In other words, one ruling class is replaced by another-sometimes by one that is more efficient and therefore still more capable of maintaining itself-while the poor and downtrodden remain poor and downtrodden or become even worse off.† Davan, listening intently, said, â€Å"I'm aware of that. We all are. Perhaps we can learn from the past and know better what to avoid. Besides, the tyranny that now exists is actual. That which may exist in the future is merely potential. If we are always to draw back from change with the thought that the change may be for the worse, then there is no hope at all of ever escaping injustice.† Dors said, â€Å"A second point you must remember is that even if you have right on your side, even if justice thunders condemnation, it is usually the tyranny in existence that has the balance of force on its side. There is nothing your knife handlers can do in the way of rioting and demonstrating that will have any permanent effect as long as, in the extremity, there is an army equipped with kinetic, chemical, and neurological weapons that is willing to use them against your people. You can get all the downtrodden and even all the respectables on your side, but you must somehow win over the security forces and the Imperial army or at least seriously weaken their loyalty to the rulers.† Davan said, â€Å"Trantor is a multigovernmental world. Each sector has its own rulers and some of them are themselves anti-Imperial. If we can have a strong sector on our side, that would change the situation, would it not? We would then not be merely ragamuffins fighting with knives and stones.† â€Å"Does that mean you do have a strong sector on your side or merely that it is your ambition to have one?† Davan was silent. Dors said, â€Å"I shall assume that you are thinking of the Mayor of Wye. If the Mayor is in the mood to make use of popular discontent as a way of improving the chance of toppling the Emperor, doesn't it strike you that the end the Mayor would have in view would be that of succeeding to the Imperial throne? Why should the Mayor risk his present not-inconsiderable position for anything less? Merely for the blessings of justice and the decent treatment of people, concerning whom he can have little interest?† â€Å"You mean,† said Davan, â€Å"that any powerful leader who is willing to help us may then betray us.† â€Å"It is a situation that is all too common in Galactic history.† â€Å"If we are ready for that, might we not betray him?† â€Å"You mean, make use of him and then, at some crucial moment, subvert the leader of his forces-or a leader, at any rate-and have him assassinated?† â€Å"Not perhaps exactly like that, but some way of getting rid of him might exist if that should prove necessary.† â€Å"Then we have a revolutionary movement in which the principal players must be ready to betray each other, with each simply waiting for the opportunity. It sounds like a recipe for chaos.† â€Å"You will not help us, then?† said Davan. Seldon, who had been listening to the exchange between Davan and Dors with a puzzled frown on his face, said, â€Å"We can't put it that simply. We would like to help you. We are on your side. It seems to me that no sane man wants to uphold an Imperial system that maintains itself by fostering mutual hatred and suspicions. Even when it seems to work, it can only be described as meta-stable; that is, as too apt to fall into instability in one direction or another. But the question is: How can we help? If I had psychohistory, if I could tell what is most likely to happen, or if I could tell what action of a number of alternative possibilities is most likely to bring on an apparently happy consequence, then I would put my abilities at your disposal.-But I don't have it. I can help you best by trying to develop psychohistory.† â€Å"And how long will that take?† Seldon shrugged. â€Å"I cannot say.† â€Å"How can you ask us to wait indefinitely?† â€Å"What alternative do I have, since I am useless to you as I am? But I will say this: I have until very recently been quite convinced that the development of psychohistory was absolutely impossible. Now I am not so certain of that.† â€Å"You mean you have a solution in mind?† â€Å"No, merely an intuitive feeling that a solution might be possible. I have not been able to pin down what has occurred to make me have that feeling. It may be an illusion, but I am trying. Let me continue to try.-Perhaps [then we'll] meet again.† â€Å"Or perhaps,† said Davan, â€Å"if you return to where you are now staying, you will eventually find yourself in an Imperial trap. You may think that the Empire will leave you alone while you struggle with psychohistory, but I am certain the Emperor and his toady Demerzel are in no mood to wait forever, any more than I am.† â€Å"It will do them no good to hasten,† said Seldon calmly, â€Å"since I am not on their side, as I am on yours.-Come, Dors.† They turned and left Davan, sitting alone in his squalid room, and found Raych waiting for them outside. 76. Raych was eating, licking his fingers, and crumpling the bag in which the food-whatever it was-had been. A strong smell of onions pervaded the air-different somehow, yeast-based perhaps. Dors, retreating a little from the odor, said, â€Å"Where did you get the food from, Raych?† â€Å"Davan's guys. They brought it to me. Davan's okay.† â€Å"Then we don't have to buy you dinner, do we?† said Seldon, conscious of his own empty stomach. â€Å"Ya owe me somethin',† said Raych, looking greedily in Dors's direction. â€Å"How about the lady's knife? One of 'em.† â€Å"No knife,† said Dors. â€Å"You get us back safely and I'll give you five credits.† â€Å"Can't get no knife for five credits,† grumbled Raych. â€Å"You're not getting anything but five credits,† said Dors. â€Å"You're a lousy dame, lady,† said Raych. â€Å"I'm a lousy dame with a quick knife, Raych, so get moving.† â€Å"All right. Don't get all perspired.† Raych waved his hand. â€Å"This way.† It was back through the empty corridors, but this time Dors, looking this way and that, stopped. â€Å"Hold on, Raych. We're being followed.† Raych looked exasperated. â€Å"Ya ain't supposed to hear 'em.† Seldon said, bending his head to one side, â€Å"I don't hear anything.† â€Å"I do,† said Dors. â€Å"Now, Raych, I don't want any fooling around. You tell me right now what's going on or I'll rap your head so that you won't see straight for a week. I mean it.† Raych held up one arm defensively. â€Å"You try it, you lousy dame. You try it. It's Davan's guys. They're just taking care of us, in case any knifers come along.† â€Å"Davan's guys?† â€Å"Yeah. They're goin' along the service corridors.† Dors's right hand shot out and seized Raych by the scruff of his upper garment. She lifted and he dangled, shouting, â€Å"Hey, lady. Hey!† Seldon said, â€Å"Dors! Don't be hard on him.† â€Å"I'll be harder still if I think he's lying. You're my charge, Hari, not he.† â€Å"I'm not lyin',† said Raych, struggling. â€Å"I'm not.† â€Å"I'm sure he isn't,† said Seldon. â€Å"Well, we'll see. Raych, tell them to come out where we can see them.† She let him drop and dusted her hands. â€Å"You're some kind of nut, lady,† said Raych aggrievedly. Then he raised his voice. â€Å"Yay, Davan! Come out here, some of ya guys!† There was a wait and then, from an unlit opening along the corridor, two dark-mustached men came out, one with a scar running the length of his cheek. Each held the sheath of a knife in his hand, blade withdrawn. â€Å"How many more of you are there?† asked Dors harshly. â€Å"A few,† said one of the newcomers. â€Å"Orders. We're guarding you. Davan wants you safe.† â€Å"Thank you. Try to be even quieter. Raych, keep on moving.† Raych said sulkily, â€Å"Ya roughed me up when I was telling the truth.† â€Å"You're right,† said Dors. â€Å"At least, I think you're right†¦ and I apologize.† â€Å"I'm not sure I should accept,† said Raych, trying to stand tall. â€Å"But awright, just this once.† He moved on. When they reached the walkway, the unseen corps of guards vanished. At least, even Dors's keen ears could hear them no more. By now, though, they were moving into the respectable part of the sector. Dors said thoughtfully, â€Å"I don't think we have clothes that would fit you, Raych.† Raych said, â€Å"Why do ya want clothes to fit me, Missus?† (Respectability seemed to invade Raych once they were out of the corridors.) â€Å"I got clothes.† â€Å"I thought you'd like to come into our place and take a bath.† Raych said, â€Å"What for? I'll wash one o' these days. And I'll put on my other shirt.† He looked up at Dors shrewdly. â€Å"You're sorry ya roughed me up. Right? Ya tryin' to make up?† Dors smiled. â€Å"Yes. Sort of.† Raych waved a hand in lordly fashion. â€Å"That's all right. Ya didn't hurt. Listen. You're strong for a lady. Ya lifted me up like I was nothin'.† â€Å"I was annoyed, Raych. I have to be concerned about Master Seldon.† â€Å"Ya sort of his bodyguard?† Raych looked at Seldon inquiringly. â€Å"Ya got a lady for a bodyguard?† â€Å"I can't help it,† said Seldon smiling wryly. â€Å"She insists. And she certainly knows her job.† Dors said, â€Å"Think again, Raych. Are you sure you won't have a bath? A nice warm bath.† Raych said, â€Å"I got no chance. Ya think that lady is gonna let me in the house again?† Dors looked up and saw Casilia Tisalver outside the front door of the apartment complex, staring first at the Outworld woman and then at the slum-bred boy. It would have been impossible to tell in which case her expression was angrier. Raych said, â€Å"Well, so long, Mister and Missus. I don't know if she'll let either of ya in the house.† He placed his hands in his pocket and swaggered off in a fine affectation of carefree indifference. Seldon said, â€Å"Good evening, Mistress Tisalver. It's rather late, isn't it?† â€Å"It's very late,† she replied. â€Å"There was a near riot today outside this very complex because of that newsman you pushed the street vermin at.† â€Å"We didn't push anyone on anyone,† said Dors. â€Å"I was there,† said Mistress Tisalver intransigently. â€Å"I saw it.† She stepped aside to let them enter, but delayed long enough to make her reluctance quite plain. â€Å"She acts as though that was the last straw,† said Dors as she and Seldon made their way up to their rooms. â€Å"So? What can she do about it?† asked Seldon. â€Å"I wonder,† said Dors.

Strategic Management and Sustainability Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Strategic Management and Sustainability - Essay Example specifically. Political: Apple operates across multiple geographies, which imply that the organization is subject to political influence of multiple countries. When an organization operates in a particular nation, it is bound by the country’s predefined business policies. It has been found that in case of Apple, a majority of product sales had originated from countries outside the U.S. market particularly after the recession of 2008 (Apple, 2013). In order to utilize opportunities outside U.S., Apple has steadily spread its manufacturing operations in countries like, Korea, Czech Republic, Ireland and Cork. Diplomatic political relations of U.S. government with the governments in other countries benefits Apple’s operation in dissimilar regions (Hassan, 2014). Tax regulations are also an important determinant of profitability. For instance, introduction of taxes by the Chinese government against foreign companies had significant impact on profitability of the organization. Similarly, the U.K. government had raised VAT by 20%, which is expected to lower consumer spending on luxury items. So, a reduction in purchase of Apple products is likely (BBC News Business, 2011). Economic: There are mainly three important parameters that impact business prospects of Apple, namely inflation, value of currency and recessionary trends. The operations of Apple are subject to currency and exchange rate risks as foreign exchange market remains volatile after recession. One of the major trends since recession of 2008 was contraction in the demand for expensive electronic gadgets in countries of European Union like, Greece, Portugal and Italy (Berglof, E., 2011). However, the impact of recession on emerging countries has been lesser to an extent. It has been observed that rising rate of GDP and per capita income in the emerging countries like, Brazil, India and China, has been

Impact of the new English as a Second Language Curricula Research Proposal

Impact of the new English as a Second Language Curricula - Research Proposal Example The school district has recently implemented new English as a Second Language curricula in its elementary, middle, and high schools. Implementation has been quite expensive, involving the purchase of instructional materials and computer software, teacher and staff training, and the use of consultants to guide implementation. The district would like to study the effectiveness of the new curricula, looking at issues such as the impact on student English. language proficiency, student academic progress overall, student, family, and teacher satisfaction with the curricula, and implementation issues. This investigation will attempt to answer the following research questions: 1. Is there student satisfaction with the new ESL curricula in Eastside District high schools? 2. Is there family satisfaction with the new ESL curricula in Eastside District high schools? 3. Is there teacher satisfaction with the new ESL curricula in Eastside District high schools? 4. Is there overall satisfaction wi th the new ESL curricula in Eastside District high schools? 5. Which aspect/s of the new ESL curricula provide the most satisfaction? 6. Which aspect/s of the new ESL curricula provide the least satisfaction? In order to answer these research questions, this study will test the following research hypotheses: 1. It is hypothesized that students are satisfied with the new ESL curricula. 2. It is hypothesized that families are satisfied with the new ESL curricula. 3. It is hypothesized that teachers are satisfied with the new ESL curricula. 4. It is hypothesized that a number of aspects of the new ESL curricula need to be focused on and improved. II. Research Design This research study will use a descriptive survey approach in order to determine the level of satisfaction of teachers, students, and families utilizing the new ESL curricula. A descriptive research design usually answers the question â€Å"what is† and is, therefore, appropriate research design for the investigation at hand since the investigation is interested in finding out what the level of satisfaction is among stakeholders of the new ESL curricula (Creswell, 2003). III. Setting and Sample The research study will be conducted at six randomly selected Eastside District High Schools, High School A, High School B, High School C, High School D, High School E, and high School F. These high schools will be chosen using stratified random sampling. First, a list of all High Schools from the Eastside District will be acquired.  

MARKETING Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

MARKETING - Essay Example Market trends, market environment analysis, competitor analysis has conducted to understan the market situation. Based on these analysis a SWOT analysis on Grameenphone (GP) has done. And to the end some recommendation has given with indicating the appropriate strategy. Access to the Internet is creating a new distinction in society. Those who have access to the Internet have access to all kinds of information. This puts them into an advantageous position in society, vis-Ã  -vis others who do not have such access. Internet access is built upon the basic telecom network. While the telecom infrastructure in advanced countries is well developed, allowing them to move rapidly towards universal telecom and Internet access, the infrastructure in Bangladesh is very poor and inadequate. Like other developing countries, Bangladesh is facing the question of how best to develop its telecommunications and information infrastructure to provide access to "advanced" telecommunications and information services in order to remain competitive in the world of information technology. There is a tremendous amount of potential for growth in areas like fixed wireless networks, optical fiber networks, cable networks, Internet telephony, etc. (to name a few) in Bangladesh . This paper addresses the concerns and prospects of growth in telecommunication infrastructure in Bangladesh. Bangladesh, future targets and methods of attracting finance. The sector, particularly which of mobile phones, is one of the fastest growing areas of the economy. The growth potentials will continue to remain robust for the foreseeable future. The existing Cellular phone companies in Bangladesh are CityCell (Pacific Bangladesh Telecom Limited), GrameenPhone Ltd., AkTel Ltd., Banglalink and TeleTalk. Among these company GrameenPhone, AkTel, Banglalink and TeleTalk adopted GSM technology and

Homework Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Homework - Assignment Example 4. What are some reasons you will use to prove your thesis? How will they be proven? will you compare contrast, look at cause/effect, evaluate the worth, define something in a new way, etc? (you can create an informal list here) 1) Web 2.0 promotes interaction and this process leads to student content creation and sharing. Sharing of quality ideas can lead to greater learning. This can be proven through studies that provide evidence for this relationship. 3) Web 2.0 supports critical and reflective participation as long as structured guidelines are provided and instructors place high value on critical thinking and use of scholarly references to support claims and ideas. This can be proven through studies that provide evidence for this relationship. In the first essay, we only worked with Lanier and Keen, but in your second essay youll be required to utilize the sources youve found for your annotated bibliography. Now that you have multiple viewpoints on your topic, its important to cover the issues of fairness and objectivity when working with outside sources.   *Fairness: I expect all of you to represent each authors point of view accurately and fairly--this means not changing the context in which ones words were said or changing the meaning. There should be no unfair distortions. *Objectivity: When you argue for your thesis, youre out to prove your point. However, this doesnt mean that you need to attack every viewpoint you disagree with. Each body paragraph that contains a source, whether or not you disagree with the source, should be represented objectively. This means introduce all sources in the same manner, then when you engage with the source in your analysis, you can obviously not only express your opinion but also prove it.   If we want to convince others to believe in our claims, we should respond to the strongest arguments of our opponents. In addition, objectivity is important because we

Cerebral Palsy Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Cerebral Palsy - Research Paper Example f disorders that affect a person’s ability to move and keep their balance and posture as a result of an injury to parts of the brain, or as a result of a problem with brain development.† There are several types of cerebral palsy which are usually classified according to how the movement is affected, or which part of the body is affected (Peacock, 2000, p. 13). There are 5 types when classifying according to the effect on movement. Spastic cerebral palsy is the most common type of the condition, characterized by poor communication between the nerves from the brain to the spinal cord (p. 13). Spinal nerves act independently and thus command muscles to contract, most of the time inappropriately, giving the patient difficulty in moving his or her extremities (p. 13). On the other hand, athetoid cerebral palsy causes the head, extremities, face, and other parts of the body to move uncontrollably (p. 14). Ataxic cerebral palsy disrupts the patient’s balance causing him or her to easily fall when walking. Hypotonic cerebral palsy results to weak and floppy muscles, while the hypertonic type is characterized by rigid muscles (p. 14). The affected parts may be described in the following: 1.) monoplegia, only one arm or leg is affected; 2.) diplegia, either both arms or both legs are affected; 3.) triplegia, three limbs are affected; 4.) quadriplegia, both arms and both legs, including the trunk are affected; and 5.) hemiplegia, one arm and one leg on the same side of the body are affected (p. 15). Over the years, experts have put efforts to determine the causes of cerebral palsy. It has been presented that the condition is caused by insults on the developing brain occurring before, during, or after pregnancy. Specific reasons why cerebral palsy occurs during pregnancy are not yet identified, but possible causes are a defect in the brain structure, infections risking the mother like German measles or herpes, maternal exposure to toxic chemicals, current maternal

Significance of Chaco Canyon Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Significance of Chaco Canyon - Research Paper Example Archeological explorations began at Chaco Canyon at the end of the 19th century by the archeologists Richard Wetherill and George H. Pepper. Since then, increasing interest in the site led to the undertaking of several excavation projects in both small and large sites in the region under the sponsorship of national organizations like the American Museum of Natural History, the National Geographic Society and the Smithsonian Institution. Further, the imminent southwestern archeologists who have conducted projects at Chaco Canyon include Stephen Lekson, Jim Judge, Neil Judd, Gwinn Vivian, and Thomas Windes (Fagan, 2005). Chaco Canyon was a multi-site community dating from A.D. 900-1150, and believed to originate from earlier times. The archeology of the canyon has been interpreted in different ways by various archeologists and investigators. Taking into consideration the limited arable land in the region of Chaco Canyon, its population size and the consequent implications on Puebloan s elf-sufficiency have been debated. According to Nelson (1995), arguments related to local socio-political organization and the extent to which Chaco Canyon settlements played a dominant role in the region are based on the archeology of the ancient historic site. Thesis Statement: The purpose of this paper is to investigate the significance of Chaco Canyon, the ancient archeological site which had dominated the region at that time. The Significance of Chaco Canyon Chaco Canyon is a circular, saucer-shaped depression approximately one hundred miles in diameter. The canyon’s relatively flat landscape inclines at the mountains bordering the region on the north, east, and west, while the south did not have a well-defined edge to the San Juan Basin and has a series of uplifts. â€Å"The San Juan River and its tributaries carry runoff from the basin to the Colorado River to the west† (Lister & Lister, 1981, p.179). Chaco Canyon: Unique Features Chaco Canyon is one of Americaà ¢â‚¬â„¢s richest archeological zones. The region is subjected to great extremes in temperature, it is devoid of trees and year-round running water, and the canyon’s sandy bases are cut deep by an arroyo or rift. At present, the terraces above have saltbrush, snakeweed, prickly pear cactus, and stunted grasses. In this forlorn region the canyons have walls of â€Å"treacherously spalling tawny sandstone† (Lister & Lister, 1981, p.3) apparently uninviting to farmers from settling down in the canyon. This is reiterated by Roberts (1929), who states that the canyon itself is quite narrow, less than a mile wide at its widest point. Its walls are of red sandstone, and the mesa tops above are almost barren, with a few stunted cedar and pinon trees, sagebrush, and scanty grass; but with pines smaller trees near its upper end. â€Å"In all directions, the region is marked by shifting sand, great dry washes, deep arroyos, and a lack of vegetation† (Roberts, 1929, p.9). Re markably, this was the chosen site for the early Puebloan people, as indicated by the eleven large pueblo ruins and the countless numbers of small houses spread over the canyon. Although today there is no settlement in Chaco Canyon, Navajo herdsmen eke out a bare living in the perimeters of the area.

Student achievement gap Essay Example for Free

Student achievement gap Essay Introduction A study achievement gap is considered to be the observed partiality and bias of educational measures between the working effectiveness of group of students (Lee, 2002). This group is described and identified on basis of gender, race, competency level and financial status. The race gap in educational accomplishment is an old issue. Several children are most likely to drop out of school. They are with or without school diplomas, cannot read or write or do simple math (Lee, 2002). The proof and data for the gap has been recorded which include drop out rates, number of students who have taken higher placement examination, top students and are admitted to higher-status secondary schools, colleges and other professional programs. This paper concentrates on the general question and then independently on the statistical gap in standardized test scores. The aim of this paper is to analyze and evaluate the differences between the two groups. Achievement Gap: Literature Review. In accordance to National Assessment of Educational Progress report, more than thirty percent of Asian-American students performed at proficient level whereas only ten percent of African-Americans did so in fourth grade reading exam. Disparities subsist in the student’s module-taking outline as well (Jansen Bruinsma, 2005). Researchers believe that disparities in achievement occur because of socioeconomic factors. In accordance to data of U. S Census Bureau, twenty seven percent of black children are living in poverty as compared to twelve percent of Asian-American children. Studies have also suggested that dropout rates are higher for children who do not have any access to proper housing and finance facilities and benefits. Another study indicates the boundaries and restrictions of economic and social mobility in African Americans and argues that their drop out rate is higher in schools in New York City. However, Asian Americans make up large portion of all the city’s elite magnet schools because they have good family background (Jansen Bruinsma, 2005). Case Study The case study selected to analyze the academic achievement gap study conducted in Cherry Creek School District in Colorado at high school level. The findings indicated that Asian American students performed at better levels than black students. The case study of Cherry Creek School District School lays out the causes for achievement gap. According to the research, they can be classified in to two main groups. They are the factors which are associated with financial status, societal ambience in which they live and their family background. The other factors are associated to student’s schools. Financial status is the main reason which shows low student achievement. Research shows has compared the living conditions of African Americans and Asian Americans and have reached to the conclusion that black students are living in poor conditions and they lack facilities. It also demonstrated that African Americans come from unstable family background which hinders in their learning process (Lee, 2002). Asian-Americans live in better conditions and come from stable family structure which allows them to perform better at school as compared to African-Americans. Achievement gap studied at Cherry Creek School District in math indicates that the gap exists because of lack of parent involvement. Educators have shown that parental involvement and cultural values play an essential role in school achievement among children of Asian Americans. Other factors which influence achievement gap are cultural attitudes and racism. A total of 72 blacks and 72 Asian Americans were interviewed. The number of low achieving students was higher in blacks as compared to Asian Americans. In the same school, Facts and figures collected suggested that about sixty percent of whites, Asians and blacks were high school students who were registered in an Algebra 1 course. However, the pattern changed for higher level math courses (Lee, 2002). Records indicated that sixty percent of Asian-Americans took Algebra 2 whereas only fifty five percent of black students were enrolled in it. The report showed that black students are behind their Asian-American counterparts on general knowledge and math skills. It showed that high percentage of Asian American students scored at proficient level while black students performed poorly in their math test. Conclusion This study demonstrates that Asian-American parents talk extensively to their children on the importance of customs, values and how to work in society. Whereas African American parents are not involved in their children school life. By comparing the two groups in the lights of economic and school contexts, it can be concluded that the gap between the black and Asian American students is wide because of socioeconomic backgrounds, family backgrounds and school contexts. This shows that culture plays an essential role in school achievement and demonstrates that culture interconnects with class, race and schools. References Lee, J. (2002). Racial and ethnic achievement gap trends: Reversing the progress toward equity? EDUCATIONAL RESEARCHER, 31(1):3-12. Jansen, E. P. and Bruinsma, M. (2005). Explaining achievement in higher education. Educational Research and Evaluation, 11(3):235-252.

Discrimination And Empowerment Mental Health Social Work Essay

Discrimination And Empowerment Mental Health Social Work Essay This essay will firstly define what discrimination is and what it means to discriminate. Examples will be used to demonstrate what discrimination may look like. A definition of empowerment will also be used. The essay will then critically explore theory and ideas around power and how power manifests between groups. This part of the essay will touch on the idea of othering. The essay will move on to focus on mental health, race and racism. The essay will use the idea that mental illness is a social construct and look at how mental illness can be open to influences of racism from society (Bailey 2004). The essay will make links to institutional racism in mental health and psychiatry. In a basic sense to discriminate means to: differentiate or to recognise a distinction (Oxford Dictionaries 2012). In this basic sense it is a part of daily life to discriminate. For example, a baby will often discriminate between a stranger and their caregiver. Discrimination becomes a problem when the difference or recognised distinction is used for the basis of unfair treatment or exclusion (Thompson 2012). Anti-discriminatory practice in social work concerns itself with discrimination that has negative outcomes; whether this is negative discrimination or positive discrimination. Both are equally as damaging. Thompson (1998) defines discrimination as a process where individuals are divided into particular social groups with an uneven distribution of power, resources, opportunities and even rights. Discrimination is not always intentional (Thompson 2009) and there are various types of discrimination (EHRC 2012). Discrimination can be direct, indirect, based on perception or on association (EHRC 2012). The Equality Act 2010 is legislation that protects individuals and groups against discrimination. The Equality Act 2010 brought together several pieces of legislation to protect several protected characteristics: age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, race, religion or belief, sex and sexual orientation. Discrimination does not just occur on a personal level, according to Thompson (2012), discrimination occurs on three levels; personal, cultural and structure. This will be explored more later on. Empowerment is a term that often comes in to play when examining discrimination; therefore it is important to have an understanding of both. Empowerment is the capacity of individuals or groups to take control of their circumstance and use their power to help themselves and others to maximise the quality of their lives (Adams 2008: xvi). Empowerment is then not an absence of discrimination and power but an individuals capacity to own or share that power and take control. Therefore empowerment is an anti-oppressive practice not an anti-discriminatory one. They are linked but not the same. Social workers act as mediators between service users and the state. Social workers are in a role that can potentially empower or oppress (Thompson 1997). For this reason Thompson (1997: 11) argues that good practice must be anti-discriminatory practice, no matter how high the standards of practice are in other respects (Thompson 2012). Thompson (1997) reminds the reader many times throughout his book that If youre not part of the solution you are part of the problem. I choose to include this because it reinforces that social workers need to challenge discrimination and take action against it. Discrimination is political, sociological and psychological (Thompson 2012). To accept and tolerate it and to not to challenge it does indeed make social workers part of the problem. Discrimination has links with power which the essay will move on to explain next. As defined by the Oxford Dictionary (2012) power is the ability or capacity to do something; the capacity or ability to act in a particular way to direct or influence the behaviour of others or the course of events; or physical strength or force exerted by someone. From this definition power could be seen as a coercive force or authoritarian. However, some theorists would argue that there is more to power than just coercion and authority. Parsons (1969 cited Rogers 2008) took a different view on power. He saw power as a way of maintaining social order instead of a force for individual gain (Rogers 2008). Parsons (1969 cited Rogers 2008) believed that to be able to enforce coercive action and justify it, there needs to be a collective interest from the social system as a whole (Rogers 2008). Lukes (1974) would disagree with Parsons definition on power. Lukes argues that power is less abstract (Rogers 2008) and that exercising power is the decision to exert control. Lukes (1974:74) illustrates this point as: A exercises power over B when A effects B in a manner contrary to Bs interests. Dominelli (2008) focuses more on the idea of competing power; which group has more power than the other. This splits people to either be in the dominant group or the minority. A dominant group tends to be deemed superior, and with superiority comes privilege (Dominelli 2008). As a result the other group is deemed inferior, the minority and disadvantaged. It is this compound of dominance and oppression that discrimination derives from (Rogers 2008). It is a groups perceived superiorly over another group (Thompson 2012) that justifies coercive action, control and discrimination. When people form oppressive relationships the tendency is to make a strategic decision that excludes a particular group or individuals from accessing power and resources (Dominelli 2002). Othering can be experienced as multiple; multiple oppression. People can be othered simultaneously due to a number of social divisions (Domenelli 2002), for example, being a black woman who experiences mental health issues. Social workers need to recognise power and its links to discrimination. Not to could further oppress (Thompson 2012). It can feel uncomfortable to be in the privileged position; whether this is as a white person or a man and so on. The privileged group need to engage in the fight for equality (Corneau and Stergiopoulos 2012). White people need to engage with the fight against racism and accept responsibility for racism as it is a problem of white society and therefore involves white people (Strawbridge cited Corneau and Stergiopoulos 2012). This explanation can be applied to any other groups that are considered to be the other. Rogers and Pilgrim (2006: 15) suggest that superiority is a social construction: a product of human activity. Dominelli (2002) goes further to say that oppression itself is a social construct as oppressive relations are not pre-determined but they are reproduced between social interactions and routines. Language is often used as a key part of social interaction and is also a very powerful tool. This relates heavily to social work as social workers are responsible for writing reports/care plans/assessments. Depending on how social workers word written pieces of work can indeed paint a very different picture of the service user they are working with. I was once told that words are the bullets of prejudice, this illustrates that labels and language can be powerful, damaging, potentially discriminatory and oppressive. Although labels can be damaging they are a part of social interaction. Labels help us to construct our social world and we use them to find similarities and differences to process the world around us (Moncrieffe and Eyben 2007). Although the process of labelling is fundamental to human behaviour and interaction (Moncrieffe and Eyben 2007:19) social workers need to be aware of when these labels have the potential to be damaging, oppressive and rein forcers of discrimination. Social workers need to reflect and consider what labels they give people and what impacts this may have. Labels can be used to change or sustain power relations which can have an impact on prejudice and on achieving equality (Moncrieffe and Eyben 2007). This essay will use the themes discussed so far to focus in on mental health as an area of practice and critically explore institutionalised racism within mental health practice and psychiatry. To begin I will briefly return to Thompsons (2012) PCS analysis in relation to mental health and race. The P level is our own individual attitudes and feelings (Thompson 2012). Although it is important to examine our own beliefs we do not live in a moral and political vacuum (Coppock and Dunn 2010: 8). For this reason Thompson (2012) also refers to the cultural (C) and structural (S). P is embedded in C and C and P in S which builds up interlocking layers of discrimination; personal, cultural and structural. The C level is where we learn our norms and values. Individuals learn these values and norms through the process of socialisation which occurs through social institutions such as the family, religion and the media (Haralambos and Holborn 2008). These institutions can produce ideas about what is considered normal or right (Coppock and Dunn 2010). From this it is not surprising that there is an attitude in society that people who experience mental health issues are violent and a danger to society; even though there is no relationship between mental health and violence (Rogers and Pilgrim 2006). However, the general media uses terms like psycho (Ward 2012) or crazed gunman (Perrie 2011) in relation to acts of violence creates prejudice. This prejudice can then be used to discriminate. For example, a community may not want a mental home to open near them as the mental people will cause a threat to their community. The S level is the level of institutional oppression and discrimination. Ideas that Thompson (2012: 34) refers to as being sewn in to the fabric of society. Western psychiatry is laden with cultural values and assumptions that are based on western culture (Coppock and Dunn 2010). This suggests that western and white is normality and anything that deviates from this is abnormal (Corneau and Stergiopoulos 2012), or as previously discussed; other. It is the C and S level which the essay will focus on more. Institutional racism explains how institutional structures, systems and the process embedded in society and structures that promote racial inequality (Jones 1997). It is considered to be the collective failure of an organisation to provide an appropriate and professional service to people because of their colour, culture or ethnic origin (MacPherson 1999). Jones (cited Marlow and Loveday 2000: 30) goes further than this definition to also include laws, customs, and practices which systematically reflect and produce racial inequalities. Institutional racism is believed to be a more subtle and covert type of racism (Bhui 2002) and often said to be unintentional (Griffith et al 2007). BME groups are differently represented in psychiatry (Sashidharan 2001). People of African-Caribbean heritage are over represented yet people of Asian heritage underrepresented in mental health settings (Sashidharan 2001). As BME groups deviate from the white norms they appear to receive either too much attention or too little (Sashidharan 2001). This would suggest that the systems which operate within psychiatry are institutionally racist. Both race and mental illness are social constructs (Thompson 1997; Bailey 2004). Thompson (1997) argues that despite the lack in biological evidence for the explanation of racial categories it is still a widely common way of thinking. Bailey (2004) argues that mental illness has always been a social construct therefore open to racism and other forms of discrimination. The declassification of homosexuality in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) illustrates Baileys (2004) point. Race immediately brings up issues around power and the relationship between what is seen as natural and social (Westwood 2002). Historically it was viewed that inequalities around race had a natural explanation (Westwood 2002). Race could be traced back to anthological tradition (Rogers 2006; Craig et al 2012) and colonial discourse with the belief that white identity is superior (Westwood 2002) and that black people are lacking civilisation, savages and a subhuman species (Bailey 2004: 408-409). According to Bailey (2004: 408) the effects of racism on psychiatry can be directly linked to the early stereotypes about black people arising from pseudoscientific racism. It is this pseudoscience racism (science which lacks scientific method or evidence) that underpins racism in mental health services today (Bailey 2004). Racism has many different sides and is a multidimensional form of oppression and discrimination (Corneau and Stergiopoulos 2012; Thompson 2012). Racism is widely known to be the cause of disparities in health and mental health (McKenzie in Bhui 2002; Griffith et al 2007; Craig et al 2012). BME individuals find themselves navigating their way through a system that works from the dominant discourse of the medical model (Corneau and Stergiopoulos 2012). This allows a small amount of room for different and alternative frameworks to challenge racism which is already ingrained in the system. To illustrate this point I will use an example from my practice. I work with a black woman who experiences mental health issues. She has spiritual beliefs and usually openly takes about her beliefs at home. She fears one resident as he is very religious and she feels that he has special powers. I supported her to an appointment with her psychiatrist as she had begun to feel mentally unwell. He did not enquire about any social, cultural or structural factors that may impact on her mental health. I tried to advocate the experiences she had shared with me and reiterated what she was saying. However, he advised her that the tugging she experienced in her stomach was physical and to see a doctor and increased her anti-psychotic medication. Her spiritual experiences were not validated, he individualised the cause of her illness and used a medical intervention. Western psychiatry tends to separate the mind from the body and spirit (Bailey 2004). According to Bailey (2004) many BME service users find this approach unhelpful and irrelevant to their experiences of mental distress. This is because for many BME the mind, body and spirit work in union and the feelings and behaviours behind this is woven into peoples wider existence (Bailey 2004). Kortmann (2010) believes that these types of clinical intervention are often ineffective due to service users non-western origin and tend to quit treatments earlier. For example, some African cultures can believe that seizures are cause by evil spirits (Kortmann 2010) and therefore do not take medication prescribed as they do not believe it to be an illness. Westwood (2002) writes that the negative impact of racism can have a significant impact on an individuals mental health. However in a recent piece of research Ayalon and Gum (2011) concluded that black older adults experienced the highest amount of discriminatory events but there was a weaker association with this and experiences of mental health issues. To account for this it was concluded that BME groups experienced more events of discrimination over their life course and as a result have become more resilient to it (Ayalon and Gum 2011). Some writers argue that to construct institutional racism as the explanation to the disparities in mental health can add to the debate and effectively alienate BME groups even further (Singh and Burns 2006). Singh and Burn (2006) state that, the accusation of racism within psychiatry will give service users the expectation that they will receive a poorer service and this will encourage service users to disengage with services or offer voluntary admission. What Singh and Burn (2006) are speculating is presented by Livingstone (2012) as self-stigma; the stigma that is present on an individual level rather than on a cultural or social. It is the stigma that is internalised that can prevent people from access services (Livingstone 2012) and thus, actively discriminating against ones self. Therefore, Singh and Burns (2006) argue that individuals to stay away from needed services until it is too late and there are few alternatives but to detain them and enforce treatment. Although Singh and Burn (2006) make a logical point they fail to recognise BME service user experiences of Mental Health Services. Bowl (2007) conducted a qualitative research to gain the views and experiences of South Asian service users as most literature is through the lens of academics and professionals. The experiences of this South Asian group would certainly suggest the presence of institutional racism within Mental health Services. The main areas identified were their dissatisfaction in not being understood in the assessment process due to language barriers and cultural incompetence (Bowl 2007). This misunderstanding led to misdiagnosis and refusal of services (Bowl 2007). Racism is often not the only form of oppression that people face. Disadvantage can occur from several areas (Marlow and Loveday 2000). BME groups experiencing mental health issues are already subjected to multiple oppression. There is not enough words in this essay to explore this further but wanted to acknowledge that forms of oppression are not experienced in isolation of each other. For example, links have been made between individuals lower socio-economic status and experience of mental health issues and how black people can face the added stress of earning less and experiencing higher levels of unemployment (Chakraborty and McKenzie 2002). This begins to illustrate the complexity and how oppression is inextricably intertwined. Institutional racism has been highlight in a number of Inquiries in practice. It was firstly highlighted in the Stephen Lawrence Report in 1999; a black young person who was murdered in a racist attack and yet again in the David Bennett Inquiry in 2003; a black man who died in 1998 after being restrained faced down by several nurses for nearly half an hour. Lord Laming (2003) also identified issues around racism in his Inquiry into the death of Victoria Climbie. There is not enough words to go into any of these inquiries in any detail but they have been included to demonstrate institutional racism in practice in the police, mental health service and social work. It may seem that whilst mental health services operate within the medical model that is catered towards the white majority things will not change. Institutions and systems are indeed difficult to change, however social workers can work with service users to empower, advocate, challenge and expose discrimination in services and bring about social change. Empowerment is complex in general but becomes more complex in relation to race and ethnicity (Thompson 2007). Social workers need to firstly be aware of institutional racism before they are able to challenge it (Thompson 2007). For social workers to challenge institutional racism they need to challenge policies that do not address the needs of BME groups. To do this, social workers need to be aware of the complex power relations and deeply ingrained racist patterns in society (Thompson 2007). In my practice in a mental health setting I have contact with medical professionals and often support services users to appointments. I find that I must hold onto my social work values and not get drawn into the medical model way of working but to remain holistic in my approach. To conclude, this essay has demonstrated that discrimination is far more complex than treating someone differently. It has focused on a more subtle, covert and indirect form of discrimination: institutional racism. The essay has examined the links between discrimination, racism and power and introduced the idea that mental illness and race are both social constructs. It is this subtle and covert form of discrimination that can be damaging. It can be hard to recognise as it is woven into the very fabric of society (Thompson 2012). However, the message in this essay is that social workers need to recognise power relations, how they operate, on what level they operate at and to challenge discrimination (anti-discriminatory practice) and work with service user to empower them to overcome these obstacles (anti-oppressive practice). Social workers must swim against the tide and not collude with these attitudes no matter how deeply ingrained and embedded they are in society. For the social workers that fail to do so will ultimately become part of the problem. Word count: 3281

Clinical Governance overview

Clinical Governance overview A framework through which NHS organisations are accountable for continuously improving the quality of their services and safeguarding high standards of care by creating an environment in which excellence in clinical care can flourish (1) The term Clinical Governance (CG) was first introduced by the Labour government and underpinned by a statutory duty of quality set out in the Health Act 1999.The new government established for the first time a national framework, within which the NHS at a local level, can work towards realising consistent and systematic improvements in the quality of patient of care. Clinical Governance places a clear responsibility upon NHS organisations for the delivery and continuous improvement of patient care. In practice this means implementing principles that will result in a high quality of care for patients by a highly motivated and qualified workforce. The introduction of the contractual framework of community pharmacy in April 2005 laid out specific requirements for CG consisting of principles which were to be integrated into each pharmacy by a nominated clinical governance lead.(2) The contractual framework makes clear the role of community pharmacy and its contribution to the achievement of the targets for the health sector. Primary Care Trusts will support pharmacy contractors in implementing the new framework and monitoring compliance was only to begin in October 2005. For the introduction of CG to be successful it is essential that there is of mutual benefit to community pharmacy and the rest of the local NHS, while improving quality service to patients. Clinical Governance is composed of seven principle elements, Education, Clinical audit, Clinical Effectiveness, Risk Management, Research and Development, and Openness. The principles above are all extremely important in their contribution to clinical governance and I will discuss in detail some of the above in this essay. As part of the CG requirements, pharmacies have to participate in a clinical audit of their services and have the necessary arrangements in place to verify the quality of advice given to patients. Clinical audit involves the pharmacist and their staff participating in one practice based audit and one PCO determined multidisciplinary audit each year. Patient involvement entails the public to complete Community Pharmacy Patient Questionnaire to express their level of satisfaction at the services provided by their local community pharmacy. The pharmacies should review the surveys and consider changes to improve their services. Risk management ensures pharmacists provide sufficient evidence of recording, reporting, monitoring, analysing and learning from patient safety incidents. Clinical effectiveness programmes ensure the correct operating procedures are in place for the management of repeat NHS prescriptions, medicines use reviews and standard operating procedures. Staffing and staff management ensure that the people operating within the pharmacy have all the necessary training skills related to their role in the pharmacy and up to date with the legality issues surrounding confidentiality procedures, health and safety issues etc. Pharmacy operators must also ensure that there is an induction and written operating procedures for locums, who will be undertake the role of responsible pharmacist at different pharmacy premises. Pharmacists must also demonstrate their commitment to continuing professional development (CPD) through a CPD record, acquire information via up to date reference sources and comply with regulations. (3) Pharmacists have been implementing many of the aspects of CG in their roles as front line carers for patients on a day to day basis for many years. The structures put in place for the development of a CG framework; build upon the existing strengths possessed by pharmacys and highlights areas where improvements can be made. For CG to be successful and for processes to become embedded in pharmacies, pharmacists must be able to recognise the compelling nature of it outcomes. They should be clear on the intended benefits and understand that CG is an opportunity for them as individuals to adapt to change, generate new knowledge and continue to improve in their professional performance. (4) Clinical Governance activities can raise awareness of learning needs for example through audit and also for the continuing development of the services they provide within their organisation to provide the best form of patient care possible. Adverse incident reporting is an important element of CG but in general incident reporting to external bodies is at an early stage in community pharmacy and will require considerable culture change. The development of the No blame culture is essential and is important for pharmacists to realise that incidents and mistakes do occur but as long as the necessary procedures are taken to prevent dispensing errors and near misses through examination of these errors in an objective way to prevent the same problems happening over and over again. (5) Clinical effectiveness is made up of a range of quality improvement activities and initiatives including evidence, guidelines and standards to identify and implement best practice. Clinical Governance invites pharmacists and their working team to perform at very high professional level, which improves the quality of patient care and helps improve patient trust. This generates a feel good factor for the pharmacist and his team, in the services they are providing to the public and gives them the confidence and makes them better equipped for issues which present themselves in their pharmacies. Risk management is key part in CG, as the safety of patients is the main priority for all the healthcare team. The reporting of dispensing errors to an external board could minimize the risks of potential hazardous situations caused by dispensing errors, by effectively setting motions in place to reduce or remove risks. The principles of CG applies to all practitioners, including community pharmac ists, who have an important contribution to make to the development of a coherent strategy for assuring and improving the service provision across the local health community. (6) This involves working and communicating as a multi-disciplined team across primary care but also between primary and secondary care, to improve the overall quality of patient care. Clinical Governance also has systems in place to identify poorly performing pharmacists and provides retraining and other support at an early stage for pharmacists but the onus is on them to acquire the necessary skills to act as professional pharmacists and build on their existing knowledge. There is no doubt that Clinical Governance is a positive driving force behind improving patient care but there are questions of how practical it can be in the day to day running of busy pharmacies. Many pharmacists especially the older generation have found it particularly difficult to come to terms with the massive impact of paperwork associated with clinical governance and finding time to implement everything is a problem and many feel that time filling out forms would be better fulfilled advising patients. Cost is another problem, training staff to be effective in CG and employing locums, buying CG packs and having to close the pharmacy to attend PCT meetings are certainly not cheap. There are numerous other problems which could be mentioned which pharmacists find challenging and wrong with CG. In conclusion, the concept behind Clinical Governance has been put forward to undoubtedly benefit the entire health system. It is therefore important that systems are in place to maintain a high standard of clinical care. Pharmacists have been at the forefront of patient care and have been providing dependable services to the community for many years. The system of CG brings together all the elements which seek to promote quality care and the challenge of it shouldnt be underestimated. The cultures involved will need to be understood and greater sensitivity shown to pharmacists to help them review and justify their performance. Many pharmacists are apprehensive about CG and feel the changes involved could be an unnecessary intrusion and many will only be won over when they can see that its in their interest and that of their patients. (Word Count 1196) Clinical Governance; Quality in the new NHS (HSC 1999/065) Department of Health, London, 1999 Department of health, 28/4/05 Implementing the new Community Pharmacy Contractual Framework www.psnc.org.uk/pages/essential_service_clinical_governance.html PSNC, Essential service 8- Clinical Governance Requirements in the New Community Pharmacy Contractual Framework Continuing Professional Development: Quality in the new NHS. (HSC 1999/154) Department of Health, London, 1999. Doing Less Harm. Department of Health 7 national Patient Safety Agency, London, 2001. Pharmacy in the Future-Implementing the NHS plan. Department of Health, London,2005

Good Advice :: Psychology Advising Essays

Good Advice Good advice has a different meaning for everyone. For me, good advice must be given by someone I trust. They need to be honest and sincere in what they tell me. They must lay the facts down in front of me and tell me what they would do in my situation. In the end the adviser must let me decide to use their advice. If it is good advice what they told me will change my view or action for the better. As I looked back to the notes I had, I made the observation that good advice involves people we trust. Sometimes the people we trust and turn to advice for is our friends. Take for example that, Luke, John, Mike, Cale, Joe, Kristi, and myself choose to use our friends to illustrate good advice. They seem to tell you the truth no matter how it will make you feel because they love you. Others choose their parents. Nate, Jeanne, Rebecca, had their mothers being the advisor. Chris, Nate Hilson, Douglas, and Andrea had their fathers. It seemed to me that they choose for the most part to have the advice come from the parent of the same gender. Sons had their dads and daughters had their mothers as advisor. Maybe this was so because they could relate more with them and had more of a closeness. Still others in the class illustrated good advice from teachers or counselors. Amanda, Lee, and Jackie Brooks took advice from those. Advice works when it is taken or not taken, but is clearly the right way to go. Advice that works doesn’t have to be deep or inspirational. Take for example when a mother gives her children the advice to but a jacket on because it is cold outside. It is nothing new, it is just because she is concerned about her children and knows from experience that when it is cold you need a jacket. Also, in my example, the friend that gave me good advice wasn’t being pushy or saying you have to do this or else. She left it up to me. This means for good advice to work that it must be left up to the person to follow. Nobody likes to be told what to do. They resent it when they are and probably won’t go back for advice again. I know I wouldn’t. Advice that doesn’t work is simple, it doesn’t have a good outcome when followed.

An Apolitical Blues Essays -- Economic Systems, Capitalism, Problems

An Apolitical Blues Ever since the dawn of the Industrial Revolution in the 19th century, capitalism has had both positive and negative effects on society and its people. With Capitalism’s goal to amass as much wealth possible comes technological change. Moreover, as wealth accumulates and technology becomes increasingly more sophisticated, this allows nations to become more advanced. However, with advancement comes unrest, for all the progress capitalism seems to cause, it also comes with criticisms for the effects it has on society. In their books, Michael Baumann and Tony Judt both find that capitalism has been a culprit in the problems that society faces today. Capitalism causes problems in society, because it creates labor issues, individualism, mistrust and isolation. The reactions to these problems are different from each other in both books, raising questions about history’s role in the changing attitudes of society and how people in society deal with problems in response to capita lism. In both accounts, the authors blame capitalism for the labor issues it causes. Baumann expresses frustration towards the decreasing value of craftsmanship in society. He explains that work is able to give one a sort of satisfaction, writing that the ability to â€Å"create something with your hands that serves a purpose† is the way one can find satisfaction in their work (Baumann 23). Working as a carpenter to avoid working in a factory, Baumann explains that even carpentry has been reduced to mindless screwdriver operation, making it no different from working in a factory (Baumann 23). Therefore, Baumann’s frustration is a result of him becoming an unskilled worker. Baumann’s eventual participation in terrorism links to the frustration he fel... ...unities, still benefit and use services which fall into the public sector, such as highways, police, and schools (127). This leads to a contradiction, Judt explains, â€Å"people who live in private spaces contribute to the dilution and corrosion of the public space.† What he means by this is that the very problems that people try to avoid through isolation actually cause the problems to persist, creating a cycle that seems inescapable to Judt, unless the mindset of the people changes (129). In conclusion, the actions of Baumann in response to capitalism and the inaction of the people in today’s society that Judt describes stem from the labor issues, individualism, mistrust and isolation that capitalism causes. The different reactions towards the same problem expressed in both accounts illustrate that as times change, methods for addressing conflict change as well.

Servant Leadership

When we talk about leadership, we refer to people who motivate, influence, and build up relationships, based on trust, respect, and integrity. Servant leaders are people who serve first. So what is Servant leadership? Servant leader ship is â€Å"when people lead at a higher level, they make the world a better place, because their goals are focused on the greater good† (Blanchard, 2010, p. 261). For example, educators are visionaries who help attain goals, instill value, and develop potential leaders.Educators assist in strengthening and developing the mind and body, so individuals an apply their talents and become great servant leaders in the areas of healing, educating, and inspiring. Around two thousand years ago, Jesus, an educator, exemplified the fully committed and effective servant leader (Blanchard, 2010, IPPP). John C. Maxwell (2007) mentions that Apostle Paul used Jesus as the ultimate example of servant leadership (p. 1472).The book of Philippians, chapter two vers es two through eleven (Philippians 2:2-11, New King James Version), discussed how Paul encourages his audience to be humble and live selflessly; he reminds them of how Christ was the ultimate leader who made the ultimate sacrifice (Maxwell, 2007, p. 1473). Maxwell (2007) goes on to say that Jesus stepped through six levels as He moved downward toward us; he gave up His divine form, He emptied Himself of any rights, He became a man, He became a servant, He was obedient to the point of death, and He died a terrible kind of death (p. 473). Basically, one could say that Jesus relinquished the glory that He had due to the fact that he was deity and He lacked recognition and glory to/by unbelievers while He was on earth. He also took he form of a servant by becoming as a servant to man and He appeared in the form of man so that He could die for our sins. Jesus illustrated true humility in action by humbling himself and becoming obedient unto death which resulted in the humility that He di splayed in willingly going to the cross to accomplish the will of our Father. According to John C.Maxwell (2007), Jesus displayed humility in coming to earth, emptying Himself and assuming the position of a man, taking the form of a abandonment, and by becoming mortal and dying (crucifixion) (p. 1470). Apostle Paul lams that all effective leaders must live such a selfless life and that Jesus is an example of what servant leadership actually is (Maxwell, 2007, p. 1470). In a 1970 essay Robert Greengage states that servant leaders are servants first and leaders later (Degrade, Tillie, & Neal, 2001). Ken Blanchard states leadership has two parts, â€Å"vision and implementation. The visionary role is the leadership aspect of servant leadership and implementation is the servant aspect of servant leadership (Blanchard, 2010 p. 262). In the visionary role, leaders must communicate the session values and beliefs the organization stands for and how organizational values encompass the indiv idual value of its members (Blanchard, 2010, p. 262). Once people are clear on where they are going, the task of implementation kicks in. It answers the question, â€Å"How do you make the vision happen† (Blanchard, 1991)?The biggest thing leaders need in order to become a servant leader is to get their egos out of the way. Leaders who are self-serving see themselves as the center of the feel good about their self and will either hide and hope that no one notices them ND/or overcompensate and go out to try to control their environment (Blanchard, 2010, p. 274). On the other hand, servant leaders usually have high self-esteem and have no problem giving credit to others. They want to help their people achieve their goals through teaching and coaching individuals to do their best; they achieve this through developing certain characteristics.The ten major characteristics of servant leadership are: listening, empathy, healing relationships, awareness, persuasion, conceptualization , foresight, stewardship, commitment to human resource placement, and commitment to building community (Nab, 2011). Without being knowledgeable of your talents, you cannot move forward without failure. Knowledge is control and great leadership starts with direction. Strengths of Servant Leadership The strengths of servant leadership includes self-awareness, morals, concern for others, and simplicity (Four Needed Strengths, 2011, p. ); all of which has its contributions to organizational development. Self-awareness is vital to servant leadership. Individuals already have the influence of cultural concepts of leadership resent in their lives so being self-aware of those influences will help the individual to combat them. According to Four Needed Strengths (201 1), servant leaders need to take the time to listen not only to themselves but to others as well; they must take the time to peel the layers back of their character to know who they are and what they stand for (p. 1) which takes me to the next strength, morals.Morals tie heavily with self-awareness and any leader needs to have morals and a strong sense of ethics (Four Needed Strengths, 2011, p. 1). The ethics, morals, values, creditability, and integrity that one possesses should drive their actions and how they lead but without them, large shadows will impact how they lead. The next strength is concern for others. Having concerns for others is about putting the need of others before your own needs. Servant leadership is about serving others over self-interest so servant leaders are less likely to practice self-serving behaviors which are behaviors that hurt others.Four Needed Strengths (2011) noted, â€Å"If you want to take servant leadership seriously you must first have concern for the needs of those that you lead with a servant's heart (p. 1). The last strength that I'm going to discuss is simplicity. Since the goal of servant leadership is to serve others that should be the main shared vision for ev eryone who is doing it. According Four Needed Strengths (201 1), by keeping it simple you can navigate back to the shared vision goal; keeping the aim simple and focused (p. 1).Instead of the traditional leadership style of dominating subordinates, servant leadership empowers subordinates and inspires them to perform; it places great importance on teamwork and building relationships. It also contributes to the all-around development of the employees. The servant leader remains patient, is forgiving, and always looks for the good in others (Nab, 2011). Again, this contributes to the all-around development of the employees. Weakness of Just as we have strengths in the belief of servant leadership, there are also weaknesses that we should stay away from.To be a servant leader and have no sense of direction or integrity is purposeless and a weakness. Sadly, a servant leader doesn't always lead by example, and many people are not influence by their purpose, of being a servant leader, you want understand the direction in which you must go as leader. The decision to act with selfishness, in fear, or without compassion is another weakness. It remains to be seen whether mankind can avoid the negative impact of rebellious individuals who refuse to be servant people.Some critics would argue that servant leadership has a too soft approach and unsuited for a competitive environment. They feel that serving leads to a situation where accountability or responsibility gets diluted. Others feel that when the company is faced with issues of downsizing, servant leadership would fall flat on its face because servant adhering thrust on human resource development. All members may not be on board with the commitment to building community among the team members and would prefer personal lives and work separate (Nab, 2011). Servant Leadership Servant Leadership What is it? The phrase â€Å"Servant Leadership† was coined by Robert K. Greenleaf in The Servant as a Leader, an essay he first published in 1970 (â€Å"What is servant,† ). The servant leader serves first, while aspiring to lead second. The servant leader serves the people that he or she leads, implying employees are an end in themselves rather than a means to organizational purpose or bottom-line. Servant leadership is meant to replace a command and control, top-down, model of management. Servant leadership encourages collaboration, trust, foresight, listening, and the ethical use of power and empowerment.A few famous examples of servant leaders are George Washington, Gandi and Caesar Chavez. Key Principles In a publication released by Nova Southeastern University, 10 principle characteristics were identified of servant leadership (â€Å"Leadership development -,† 2007). 1. Listening Listening skills are vital for all leadership styles. Serv ant leaders make a deep commitment to intently listen to others. They seek to identify the will of a group or individual and listen to what is being said. 2. Empathy It is important to understand and have compassion for others.People need to feel accepted and recognized for their unique qualities. Leaders must assume the good intentions and not reject them as people. 3. Healing Learning to heal is a powerful force for transformation and integration. A greatest strength of servant leaders is the potential to heal one’s self and others. 4. Awareness General awareness, especially self-awareness, strengthens the servant leaders. 5. Persuasion Leaders rely on persuasion rather than positional, authoritative, decision making. Seeking to convince others, rather than coerce, is a goal of the leader. 6. Conceptualize Dreaming great dreams† is an ability that must be self-nurtured in a leader. The ability to look at a quandary from a conceptualizing perspective means a leader mus t think beyond everyday realities. Leaders must seek balance conceptualization and day to day focus. 7. Foresight Foresight enables a leader to capitalize on lessons learned from the past, realities of the present and a likely outcome of a decision. 8. Stewardship Greenleaf’s view of all institutions was one in which CEO’s, staff, directors and trustees all play significant roles in holding institutions in trust for the greater good of society. . Commitment to the Growth of People Leaders believe people have an intrinsic value beyond tangible contributions as workers. As a result, genuine interest in the spiritual, professional and personal growth of all employees is demonstrated. 10. Building Community Leaders seek to identify a means for building a sense of community among those who work in a given institution. Differences from Other Styles In the approach on general leadership characteristics, the fundamental difference is authentic leaderships strive to be â€Å"r eal†, whereas servant leaders strive to be â€Å"right. Servant leadership is a style that lays down a set of characteristics that all leaders are supposed to emulate to attain success, and tries to shape the character and personality of the leader. On the other hand, authentic leaders tend to rely on their own unique set of experiences and style that has been learned and developed throughout their career. The main difference between servant and authentic styles, when applying into practice, is the serving of others. One of the primary applications is to give priority to the interest of others.Servant leaders exercise their duty by fulfilling needs, aspirations and duties of those in their organization. Authentic leaders don’t put much emphasis in responding to the needs or desires of others. Servant leaders’ style recommends listening, persuading, and empathy when approaching difficult situations, even in times of crisis. Authentic leaders are proactive and ada pt their style to the situation. These leaders can be inspiring in one situation and tough about people related issues in another (Nayab, 2010). Strengths/Weaknesses (Nayab, 2011) Strengths 1. Contribution to organizational development.Leaders proactively set the way, and will inspire subordinates to perform by empowering them to follow. Such inspiration leads to collective efforts, creating a synergy. 2. Contribution to the all-around development of the employee. The leader helps employees attain physical and intellectual vitality and fitness, allowing them to lead balance lives. 3. Servant leadership’s value based approach helps organizations in the business environment where values, empowerment, and commitment play a big role in success. Weaknesses 1. The soft approach does not fit well into a competitive environment.Servant leaders may lag behind those other styles better suited for a competitive environment. Accountability and responsibility may get diluted. 2. Does not always work or resolve issues related to employee-organization fit. A primary function of all leaders is to match candidates with organization objectives. Servant leaders put the individual’s goals/needs as the primary concern. 3. Building a sense of â€Å"community† among team members may not fit well for all members. Many wish not to share personal lives or aspirations with others at work. Personal ReflectionServant leadership may apply best in certain situations such as politics or association management. But in its purest theory, I am not convinced servant leadership is a practical leadership style 100% of the time, for any type of business. It does have many qualities that I agree with, and practice a large extent of the time. For example, I view everyone I work with as a customer. I see it as my responsibility to help them achieve success in their role. It is my duty to provide them with every resource needed in order to succeed, and it is their duty to tell me w hat they need.Sometimes, that includes a holistic approach, and sometimes it is as simple as acquiring a printer for them. I tread lightly when personal life problems present themselves, however. I will assist in providing direction for an employee to get the help they need, such as an EAP program, or a Pastor in our ministry development initiative. On the other hand, it is also my duty to provide corrective action, redirection, or other forms of performance feedback when employees stray from goals, objectives, vision, mission or values. As I mentioned, a part of my management style is to serve the needs of subordinates.I can’t deny it isn’t entirely for unselfish reasons. I use it as a motivational tactic to achieve positive outcomes. However, I am sincere in my communications in order to build trust. Good managers put the needs of others ahead of their own. However, good managers cannot put subordinate needs ahead of customers, organizational needs or stakeholder nee ds. Blending all styles of leadership and adapting to unique situations or people will produce positive outcomes in the long run. However, it is my opinion holding true to only one style of leadership may cause problems for the organization, or an individual manager.References: 1. What is servant leadership?. (n. d. ). Retrieved from http://www. greenleaf. org/whatissl/ 2. Leadership development – Servant Leadership. (2007, August 1). Retrieved from http://www. nova. edu/studentleadership/development/servant_leadership. html 3. Nayab, N. (2010, June 8). Servant leadership vs. authentic leadership: What are the differences?. Retrieved from http://www. brighthub. com/office/home/articles/73574. aspx 4. Nayab, N. (2011, May 25). Servant leadership theory – strengths and weaknesses. Retrieved from http://www. brighthub. com/office/home/articles/73511. aspx? cid=parsely_rec Servant Leadership Servant leadership is both a leadership philosophy and set of leadership practices. Traditional leadership generally involves the accumulation and exercise of power by one at the â€Å"top of the pyramid. † By comparison, the servant-leader shares power, puts the needs of others first and helps people develop and perform as highly as possible. While servant leadership is a timeless concept, the phrase â€Å"servant leadership† was coined by Robert K. Greenleaf in The Servant as Leader, an essay that he first published in 1970.In that essay, Greenleaf said: â€Å"The servant-leader is servant first†¦ It begins with the natural feeling that one wants to serve, to serve first. Then conscious choice brings one to aspire to lead. That person is sharply different from one who is leader first, perhaps because of the need to assuage an unusual power drive or to acquire material possessions†¦The leader-first and the servant-first are two extreme types. Between them th ere are shadings and blends that are part of the infinite variety of human nature.† â€Å"The difference manifests itself in the care taken by the servant-first to make sure that other people’s highest priority needs are being served. The best test, and difficult to administer, is: Do those served grow as persons? Do they, while being served, become healthier, wiser, freer, more autonomous, more likely themselves to become servants? And, what is the effect on the least privileged in society? Will they benefit or at least not be further deprived? â€Å" Advantages †¢This concept is seen as a long-term concept to live and work and therefore has the potential to influence the society in a positive way.†¢The exemplary treatment of employees leads to an excellent treatment of customers by employees of the company and a high loyalty of the customers. †¢There is a high employee identification with the enterprise. †¢An excellent corporate culture is develo ped. †¢Leaders of a company define themselves by their significance to the people. †¢Servant Leadership can be used as a principle to improve the return on investment of staff, in all economic sectors. Managers who empower and respect their staff get better performance in return. Disadvantages†¢Servant Leadership is seen as a long-term application and therefore needs time for applying. †¢Lack of authority: Servant leadership can actually lead to a minimization of the authority of the subject manager and the overall management function in the business. When employees see their manager catering to their needs in an extreme manner, they are less likely to view him as an authoritative figure. If top management wants front-line mangers to push employees to better performance, it is difficult for the servant manager to step back into this role as a more dominant figure.†¢Demotivating: Servant leadership may lead to demotivation of employees, who then produce fewer results over time. It is comparable to a parent-child relationship in which the parent bails the child out of trouble by constantly stepping into to fix things or to do the work for the child. When employees believe their manager will step in to take care of any needs they have or to resolve issues that arise, they are more tempted to sit back and exert less effort in producing quality and put less thought into resolving issues or conflicts.†¢Limited vision: Leaders at all levels of a business are distinct from regular employees by their role of developing vision and providing direction. A manager needs to have some level of detachment from his employees so he can explore new opportunities, brainstorm ideas, resolve problems and formulate a picture on where his department, store or business is headed. Only by having this separation from employees can managers focus on vision and then step in to articulate the vision by providing direction to employees. Servant Leadership Servant Leadership What is it? The phrase â€Å"Servant Leadership† was coined by Robert K. Greenleaf in The Servant as a Leader, an essay he first published in 1970 (â€Å"What is servant,† ). The servant leader serves first, while aspiring to lead second. The servant leader serves the people that he or she leads, implying employees are an end in themselves rather than a means to organizational purpose or bottom-line. Servant leadership is meant to replace a command and control, top-down, model of management. Servant leadership encourages collaboration, trust, foresight, listening, and the ethical use of power and empowerment.A few famous examples of servant leaders are George Washington, Gandi and Caesar Chavez. Key Principles In a publication released by Nova Southeastern University, 10 principle characteristics were identified of servant leadership (â€Å"Leadership development -,† 2007). 1. Listening Listening skills are vital for all leadership styles. Serv ant leaders make a deep commitment to intently listen to others. They seek to identify the will of a group or individual and listen to what is being said. 2. Empathy It is important to understand and have compassion for others.People need to feel accepted and recognized for their unique qualities. Leaders must assume the good intentions and not reject them as people. 3. Healing Learning to heal is a powerful force for transformation and integration. A greatest strength of servant leaders is the potential to heal one’s self and others. 4. Awareness General awareness, especially self-awareness, strengthens the servant leaders. 5. Persuasion Leaders rely on persuasion rather than positional, authoritative, decision making. Seeking to convince others, rather than coerce, is a goal of the leader. 6. Conceptualize Dreaming great dreams† is an ability that must be self-nurtured in a leader. The ability to look at a quandary from a conceptualizing perspective means a leader mus t think beyond everyday realities. Leaders must seek balance conceptualization and day to day focus. 7. Foresight Foresight enables a leader to capitalize on lessons learned from the past, realities of the present and a likely outcome of a decision. 8. Stewardship Greenleaf’s view of all institutions was one in which CEO’s, staff, directors and trustees all play significant roles in holding institutions in trust for the greater good of society. . Commitment to the Growth of People Leaders believe people have an intrinsic value beyond tangible contributions as workers. As a result, genuine interest in the spiritual, professional and personal growth of all employees is demonstrated. 10. Building Community Leaders seek to identify a means for building a sense of community among those who work in a given institution. Differences from Other Styles In the approach on general leadership characteristics, the fundamental difference is authentic leaderships strive to be â€Å"r eal†, whereas servant leaders strive to be â€Å"right. Servant leadership is a style that lays down a set of characteristics that all leaders are supposed to emulate to attain success, and tries to shape the character and personality of the leader. On the other hand, authentic leaders tend to rely on their own unique set of experiences and style that has been learned and developed throughout their career. The main difference between servant and authentic styles, when applying into practice, is the serving of others. One of the primary applications is to give priority to the interest of others.Servant leaders exercise their duty by fulfilling needs, aspirations and duties of those in their organization. Authentic leaders don’t put much emphasis in responding to the needs or desires of others. Servant leaders’ style recommends listening, persuading, and empathy when approaching difficult situations, even in times of crisis. Authentic leaders are proactive and ada pt their style to the situation. These leaders can be inspiring in one situation and tough about people related issues in another (Nayab, 2010). Strengths/Weaknesses (Nayab, 2011) Strengths 1. Contribution to organizational development.Leaders proactively set the way, and will inspire subordinates to perform by empowering them to follow. Such inspiration leads to collective efforts, creating a synergy. 2. Contribution to the all-around development of the employee. The leader helps employees attain physical and intellectual vitality and fitness, allowing them to lead balance lives. 3. Servant leadership’s value based approach helps organizations in the business environment where values, empowerment, and commitment play a big role in success. Weaknesses 1. The soft approach does not fit well into a competitive environment.Servant leaders may lag behind those other styles better suited for a competitive environment. Accountability and responsibility may get diluted. 2. Does not always work or resolve issues related to employee-organization fit. A primary function of all leaders is to match candidates with organization objectives. Servant leaders put the individual’s goals/needs as the primary concern. 3. Building a sense of â€Å"community† among team members may not fit well for all members. Many wish not to share personal lives or aspirations with others at work. Personal ReflectionServant leadership may apply best in certain situations such as politics or association management. But in its purest theory, I am not convinced servant leadership is a practical leadership style 100% of the time, for any type of business. It does have many qualities that I agree with, and practice a large extent of the time. For example, I view everyone I work with as a customer. I see it as my responsibility to help them achieve success in their role. It is my duty to provide them with every resource needed in order to succeed, and it is their duty to tell me w hat they need.Sometimes, that includes a holistic approach, and sometimes it is as simple as acquiring a printer for them. I tread lightly when personal life problems present themselves, however. I will assist in providing direction for an employee to get the help they need, such as an EAP program, or a Pastor in our ministry development initiative. On the other hand, it is also my duty to provide corrective action, redirection, or other forms of performance feedback when employees stray from goals, objectives, vision, mission or values. As I mentioned, a part of my management style is to serve the needs of subordinates.I can’t deny it isn’t entirely for unselfish reasons. I use it as a motivational tactic to achieve positive outcomes. However, I am sincere in my communications in order to build trust. Good managers put the needs of others ahead of their own. However, good managers cannot put subordinate needs ahead of customers, organizational needs or stakeholder nee ds. Blending all styles of leadership and adapting to unique situations or people will produce positive outcomes in the long run. However, it is my opinion holding true to only one style of leadership may cause problems for the organization, or an individual manager.References: 1. What is servant leadership?. (n. d. ). Retrieved from http://www. greenleaf. org/whatissl/ 2. Leadership development – Servant Leadership. (2007, August 1). Retrieved from http://www. nova. edu/studentleadership/development/servant_leadership. html 3. Nayab, N. (2010, June 8). Servant leadership vs. authentic leadership: What are the differences?. Retrieved from http://www. brighthub. com/office/home/articles/73574. aspx 4. Nayab, N. (2011, May 25). Servant leadership theory – strengths and weaknesses. Retrieved from http://www. brighthub. com/office/home/articles/73511. aspx? cid=parsely_rec