A Good Leader Influence a Group of Individuals Essay

Assignment of â€Å"a good leader influence a group of individuals to achieve a common goal and perform well, without having to watch over them† Introduction Leadership is always considering as an important managerial topic because a good leader does not only able to guide behaviors from followers, but also leads individuals within an organization to achieve their common objectives (Morrill, 2010). The commonly accepted definition of leadership is contributed by David and Vince (2008, p2), who defined leadership as a person has â€Å"abilities of leading a group of people, and also has abilities of supporting group of people to achieve common objectives†. More specifically, Bass (1990) defines leadership as the ability to adapt the setting so everyone feels empowered to contribute creatively to solving the problems. The primary aim of this assignment is to critically discuss the topic of â€Å"a good leader influences a group of individuals to achieve a common goal and perform well, without having to watch over them. In order to answer this question well, the author selects Steve Jobs as the leader, and then with reference to Apple Inc to discuss why a good leader as Jobs influences group of individuals without watching them. As an essay based assignment, the author organizes this paper in three main parts, including introduction, main body and conclusion. In introducti on section, the definition and importance of leadership are briefly discussed along with primary aim of this assignment. In the second part, the author discusses principles of a good leader; stages of leadership research, employee motivation and organizational culture in detail to discuss why Jobs influenced group of individuals in Apple Inc without watch them. Finally, in conclusion section, the author summarizes findings of this paper and explains how the primary aim of this assignment has been fulfilled. Main Body After reviewing wide range of leadership literatures, the author found that the debate on principles of a good leader is never stopping. In many researches, such as Alexander and Buckingham (2011); and Weidemeyer (2004) commonly argue that a good leader does not only need strong leadership skills and competences, but also needs to behavior morally and ethically. However, this argument has intensively been argued by many contemporary leadership researchers. For example, Ciulla (2004) argues that great leader is morality magnified. In addition, Jennings (2006) also argues that great men are always and almost bad men. In order to provide evidences to support these arguments, Jennings (2006) points out the seven signals of ethical collapse to describe misbehaviors from leaders. In recent dark side leadership researches, a mutual argument can be summarized as â€Å"it is not necessary for a good leader to be a good person†. For example, Conger (1990) argues that different leaders have different dark personalities in their leadership style. Even many very great leaders cannot avoid these dark personalities because they are unconscious. Furthermore, Liu et al (2012) argue in contemporary environment, in order to achieve organizational objectives and motivate individuals, leaders need to behavior unethically and unmorally to ensure the benefits of their organizations. In order to support this argument, Liu et al (2012) use Sir Alex Ferguson and Hafner of Playboy as examples to explain in some extent why misbehaviors from leaders are acceptable. In summary, there is no doubt that leaders should behave morally and ethically to provide positive guidance for society and followers. But ethics and morality are not basic principles to measure a good leader. Instead, the strategies used by leaders to motivate individuals and to achieve organizational objectives are principles of a good leader (Shear et al, 2012). On the other hand, there are five stages of leadership approaches have commonly been discussed in leadership literatures, including trait approach, behavioral approach, situational/contingency approach, creative approach, and post-charismatic& post-transformational approach of leadership (Parry and Bryman, 2006). Information of each stage is summarized in below table one. Table one: stages of leadership theory and research (Parry and Bryman, 2006)| Trait Approach:Dominant until late 1940s assumes leaders born, not made| Style (Behavioral) ApproachHeld sway until late 1960s- effects of leadership on those led| Contingency/Situational ApproachPopular to 1980s-situational factors are focus for understanding leadership| Creative Leadership ApproachSince 1980s, leader defines organizational reality through articulation of a vision| Post-Charismatic or Post Transformational Emerged late 1990s, distributed leadership, cooperative community, ship and spirituality| As table one illustrated, the research of leadership can be summarized in five leadership stages. In this paper, the author briefly introduces first three stages of leadership approaches, and then discusses creative leadership approach in detail because creative leadership is used as basis of this paper and will be applied with reference to Jobs and Apple Inc in later sections. Trait approach of leadership is considered as the first stage of leadership research and dominates in 1940s (Northouse, 2003). In this leadership approach, people believe characters of leaders are born from nature. So that they use physical traits, personal attributes, intelligence, values and self-confidence these factors to distinguish leaders and non-leaders (Bass, 1990). Style (behavioral) leadership approach is recognized as the second stage of leadership research, and it is emphasized on what a leader does rather than identifying who would be an effective leader (Bass, 1990). As table one demonstrated, the behavioral leadership approach was appeared in later 1960s. The most important progress from trait approach to behavioral approach is that behavioral approach attempts to answer the question of what leadership style is most effective. In order to answer this question, researchers such as Kurt Lewin assumes behaviors from leaders can be observed more objectively than traits and behaviors can be measured and taught (Lussier and Achua, 2010). Thirdly, situational and contingency leadership approach argues that leaders are not born from nature (Lussier and Achua, 2010). Situational and contingency approach points out that main reasons for people to be leaders are because they suitable with the working situations (Oostrom et al, 2012). As a result, a person probably be a leader in one situation, but not be a leader in another. In situational and behavioral approach, Oostrom et al (2012) point out that personality, style and behavior of effective leader are dependent on the requirements of the situation. Thus, there is no one best way to lead. Traits and behaviors from leaders can all be effective in different situations. Similarly, the best leading style or behavior are determined by situational or contextual factors (Bass, 1990). There are many real life examples can be seen as evidences to prove the accuracy of situational and contingency leadership approach. For example, Alex Ferguson and Jose Mourinho are all great football coaches, but they are not leaders in their player career. In addition, Lionel Messi performed as a god in the team of Barcelona, but also provides rubbish performances in Argentine National Football Team. Thus, these real life examples can fully indicate that successes of leaders are dependent on situation and contingency. Creative leadership approach is emerged in 1980s, and has wide applications even in today’s business environment. According to Bass (1990), there are three different approaches are contained by creative leadership approach, including transformational approach (Bass, 1985), Charismatic approach (Conger, 1989) and visionary leadership (Mintzberg, 1989). In addition, the biggest different between creative leadership and previous leadership researches is that in creative leadership approach, leaders focus on intellectually motivate employees, and then to earn performances from them beyond expectation (Chuang et al, 2011). However, previous leadership researches focus on an exchange between leaders and followers. Leaders provide rewards (e. g. extrinsic and intrinsic) to employees, and in return they contributed their compliancy and labors to leaders (Liu et al, 2012). In this paper, the author focuses on discussing transformational approach and charismatic approach, and with references to Jobs and Apple Inc to see why a good leader influences group of people without watch them. According to Bass (1985), transformational leadership approach focuses on inspiring and motivating followers. It can be defined as leaders have abilities to inspire and motivate followers to achieve goals greater than originally expected. In case of transformational approach, internal rewards are important to followers rather than external rewards (Bass, 1985). General speaking, it means that followers or individuals within an organization treated intrinsic rewards more important than extrinsic rewards. In motivational theories, many scholars contributed different ways to distinguish needs and expectations from individuals of an organization. For example, Maslow (1987) points out the famous hierarchy of needs to describe different expectations from individuals at the workplace. The hierarchy of needs include physical needs (e. g. sex, food), security needs (e. g. working condition), love and belonging needs (e. g. family), esteem needs (e. g. respect), and needs of self-actualization. In addition, Maslow (1987) argues that needs from individuals are always changing. Once needs from lower layers of the hierarchy are satisfied, needs from individuals would be turned from higher level of the hierarchy. In addition, McGregor (1960) also contributes the theory x and theory y as basic theories to recognize nature of human being. In McGregor’s the human side of enterprise, the scholar (1960) argues that the nature of human being can be classified in two different categories, including theory x and y. In theory x, McGregor (1960) argues that people are naturally lazy and dislike work. Money is the only factor to motivate them at work, so that they need to closely be directed and supervised. In the opposite theory y, McGregor (1960) argues that work is a natural experience of human life. Most of them are self-motivated and self-controlled, and focused on intrinsic rewards rather than extrinsic rewards. There are four factors commonly described as transformational factors of transformational approach, including idealized influence, intellectual stimulation, inspirational motivation, and individualized consideration (Morrill, 2010). Idealized influence describes that leaders use admiration, respect, and trusts and put needs of others before personal interests to motivate employees. In addition, inspirational motivate means that leaders motivate and inspire others by providing meaning and challenge to them (Bass, 1990). Thirdly, intellectual stimulation refers to leaders encourage innovation and creativity at workplace, and motivate individuals and followers by approaching old things in new ways. Lastly, individualized consideration means leaders attend to individuals needs for growth and achievement, and create new learning opportunities, accept individual difference and avoid close monitoring (Bass, 1990). In case of Apple Inc, Jobs is a leader who uses transformational factors to motivate individuals within the organization. According to Mayo and Benson (2006), as a leader of Apple Inc, Jobs firstly trusts and respects individuals of the organization, especially to the group members. In addition, Mayo and Benson (2006) also express in Apple Inc, Jobs never closely direct and supervise individuals. In order to encourage their creativity and provides excellent working condition, Jobs even not set any HR department in Apple Inc. Thus, it does not only satisfy with the principles of idealized influence in transformational approach, but also satisfies with the principles of previous stated motivational theories. Steve Jobs uses respects and trusts to others as basis to motivate and influence group of people in Apple, and without watch them. In addition, Jobs also focuses on providing meaning and challenges to group of people in Apple to motivate and influence them. According to Jobs â€Å"if you do something and it turns out pretty good, then you should go to do something else wonderful, not dwell on it for too long. Just figure out what’s next†. It is a famous Quotation from Steve Jobs. In this Quotation, it is easy to carry out that Jobs is a person who likes perfect. Steve Jobs does not dwell on the current successes. Instead, he focuses on providing meanings and challenges to himself and group of individuals in Apple, and motivates them to complete tasks beyond expectations. It is useful to achieve the common goal of Apple Inc which is described as â€Å"to provide best technological products to customers around the word† (Apple. com, 2013). Many individuals in Apple Inc are become as passionate to deal with highly challenging tasks that they have been done before. It does not only mean Steve Jobs has transformational factors to influence a group of people, but also understands how to use goal setting theory in motivating employees to achieve challengeable, but possible goals. Thus, there is once again indicates that a good leader influences a group of individuals without watch them. On the other hand, Steve Jobs is also a charismatic leader in Apple Inc. According to Michaelis et al (2009), charismatic leadership is defined as a leadership based on leader’s abilities to communicate and behave in ways that reach followers on a basic, emotional way to inspire and motivate. General speaking, charismatic leadership refers to a process of establishing self-images and charms by leaders rather than using authority and external power to motivate and influence people (Tuytens and Devos, 2012). In case of Apple Inc, there is no doubt that Steve Jobs is a charismatic leader. Firstly, even though Steve Jobs was passed away in 2011, Apple Inc still uses Jobs’ quotations, pictures, and other stories to motivate individuals of the organization (Apple. com, 2013). Innovation, focused on detail and perfection and creativity are recognized as both important characters of charm from Jobs. Until today, these characters of charm are seen as important cultural characters in Apple Inc. According to Morrill (2010), organizational culture is defined as the values and behaviors that contribute to the unique social and psychological environment of an organization. It bases on an organization’s experiences, philosophy, values and expectations. It expresses the self-image of an organization, the ways of individuals work in the organization, and how the organization interacts with external word and its expectations (Morrill, 2010). It is unique to any organization, and can be influenced by many factors. For example, the characters of leaders, working methods are all important factors to influence the cultural characters of an organization (Northouse, 2003). In case of Apple Inc, Steve Jobs is a charismatic leader and deeply injected his charms of focusing on innovation, adventure and creativity in culture of Apple Inc. According to Apple. com (2013), the culture of Apple Inc is described that innovation and adventure, focused on group work and details. Thus, there is no doubt that as a charismatic leader, Steve Jobs puts charms in establishing the cultures of Apple Inc, and uses charismatic factors to influence group of individuals in Apple even he was passed away. Individuals in Apple Inc are working with a common goal, which is to achieve the commitment of delivering great technological products to customers around the world (Apple. com, 2013). As a result, there is also no doubt that a good leader as Steve Jobs influences a group of individuals to achieve a common goal and without watch them. Even he passed away; the charms and personal characters of Steve Jobs are still driving individuals to work with the common goal of Apple Inc. Conclusion The primary purpose of this paper is to answer the question of â€Å"a good leader influences group of people to achieve a common goal and perform well, without having to watch over them†, the author selects Jobs as the leader and Apple Inc as the case company. In order to achieve the primary purpose, this paper firstly discusses the principles of good leaders as background. The findings of this section indicate that it is not necessary for a good leader to be a good person because there are conscious biases as well as unconscious favors of people. Therefore, it is impossible to avoid personalities from many leaders to against the ethical and moral issues. In the second part, the author introduces five stages of leadership researches as basis, and then discusses why Jobs is a transformational and charismatic leader in case of Apple Inc. In order to answer the essay question in comprehensive way, the author also introduces employee motivation and organizational culture synthesizes with leadership theories in the second part. Findings of this section indicate that a good leader understands how to use leadership skills as well as motivational skills to influence group of individuals to work with a common goal, and perform well. In addition, it is also not necessary for leaders to watch them because in this context, leader always used intrinsic motivation or injected charismatic characters in an organization’s cultures to influence individuals of the organization. With reference to Jobs and Apple Inc, there is no doubt that Jobs influenced individuals of the company to develop and create new products in achieving the common goal of delivering best technological products to customers. In addition, Jobs also establishes a culture of focusing on details and perfection of their products from his personal characters. It is also influenced group of people from Apple Inc to deliver the best products to customers and is one of the principal reasons to Apple Inc’s success of today.

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Racism in Football (soccer) - Essay Example Basically race and football presents itself in several forms. Since the early years of the last century, many fans have used their football matches to express their racial chauvinism though it has been discovered that these were just a minority of the population but causing great trouble. It's very critical how the minority groups could become very dangerous to coaches, players, and fans. Basically the problem could be worse than implied because many respondents perceive not to give bad impressions. This research will study the extent of racial discrimination in football especially at international and professional levels, and the strategies to alleviate this problem. Racism is a big concern in the world of football all over. In essence, racism is not simply aimed at undermining or intimidating football players because of the colour of their skin (Russell 1997). In recent times, coaches, officials and even fans have fallen victims of racial discrimination particularly based on their nationality, ethnic origin and religion. Some people are targeted because they are associated by their opponents rather than the colour of skin and ethnicity (Back & Solomos 1998). There have also been cases where people have been individualized and insulted by their own fans, the most notable incidence was that of John Barnes. Racism is a major problem especially in the European nations and a very critical factor in the cases of hooliganism in football. The real degree to which racism is practiced is virtually difficult to measure since there is no detailed information as evidence or important data and statistical analyses are non existent (Russell 1997). Nonetheless, the activities of disorders in football are particularly on the international level are often referred to as racists or they are perceived to be perpetrated by a groups of racists and currently even some clubs are being considered as being inherently supporters of racism. Types of Racism Racism in football takes a variety of forms and some of them are not clearly seen as discriminatory. However chanting against a team, player, coach, football official or fans has been a common form of racist activity. This was very common especially in the English football in the period around 1970s and 1980s. A crowd of some fans usually made some funny noises at players; in England, fans made monkey noises to intimidate black football players on the field. Some other cases included even more personalized abuse and insults (Back & Solomos 1998). A outstanding case is that of Deptford fire where thirteen black players in their youthful ages were burnt by a mod to death, while chanting insulting songs- ' niggers burning better than petroleum' could be heard even as far as Milwall. There have been anti-Semitic songs targeting for instance the Tottenham Hotspurs fans. Other songs are patriotic and connected to country's national anthems. Due to the increasing number of cases of racist chanting during football matches, a law was enacted in 1991 termed as the football offences act which made these chants during soccer matches an illegal activity but this law is still inadequately effective in its definition of chanting; chanting is defined as 'utterances of any words made repeatedly or making of some sounds in unison with one or a

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Argument paper - Essay Example I know I am educated and that my understanding of material presented in the course work is good, my ability to write about it well is not. However, I am at a unique disadvantage because the majority of the students in the class have been speaking, reading, and writing in English since they first began going to school. College is about learning and I have learned a lot in this course; more than many I would suspect. There are, clearly, people in this class who have attended less lectures turned in less assignments and have overall shown far less interest or participation, but in class may have a higher grade than I do because they were able to write a properly structured English sentence better than I can. I do not mean to say that this is an excuse, but shouldn’t it be a consideration. According to current research this situation is not uncommon in the United States today. Many students who are ESL learners feel that they are not receiving the grades that they feel they deserve (Solomon 5). In many ways, I have to work a little harder and a little longer than the other students; but I keep trying my hardest to do better the next time. This has been a problem since I began attended English speaking schools. I take many classes with a heavy work load. I do not quit. I do not give up. I put in twice as much effort and never stop trying to improve my writing skills. I think that a grade of â€Å"B† fits the effort, energy, and commitment I have shown in this course. My written work may not be the best, but my work ethic and desire to understand the course is deserving of far more than a grade of â€Å"D.† Solomon, Erin D.. "Issues Surrounding English as a Second Language Students and Exams." Saint Louis University. Saint Louis University. Web. 11 Dec 2013.

How far does the development of children s theory of mind contribute Essay

How far does the development of children s theory of mind contribute to their ability to manage emotions - Essay Example Many branches of psychology do exist but our major concern here is the branch called developmental psychology. When one talks of developmental psychology, he is referring to the systematic study of the psychological changes that occur in humans as they grow and throughout their entire life span. At its inception, the field of developmental psychology targeted mainly infants and children. However, with time, the field has evolved to embrace the adolescents, adults, aging and the entire life span to be precise. The changes studied under developmental psychology range from motor skills to psycho-physiological concerns. Similarly, cognitive changes especially skills such as problem solving, ethical and moral perceptions are also considered (Louw, 2003). Other developmental areas considered include but are not limited to emotional development, conceptual understanding, self-image formation (basically called self-concept) and identity formation. It is important to note that developmental p sychology is concerned with growth as per the gradual accumulation of knowledge and mostly considers individual stages of development such as infancy, childhood, adolescence, adulthood, late adulthood and aging. Each developmental stage has its psychological developments analyzed, compared to the general norm and hence identify anomalies in development. This paper seeks to explain how the development of children’s theory of mind contributes to their ability to manage emotions (Richardson, 2000). The distinction of the age range within each stage of development or within a single stage say childhood or adolescence varies from one community to another. These distinctions are not fixed and they vary greatly depending on the culture and the social orientation of the society doing the distinction. For instance, the age at which an individual is seen as a juvenile varies from one state to another and therefore it is automatic that the age of at which one converts to an adult

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Strategies for Responsible Business - Essay Example A number of strategic management theorists argue that, for an organization to be continuously successful the most important requirement for it is to develop an understanding of the strategic implications of CSR.  This report analyses this claim with the help of the principles of corporate social responsibility and strategic management. The phrase Corporate Social Responsibility or CSR was first used in the 1953 publication of Bowens Social Responsibility of Businessmen. In the 60’s and 70s, many scholars tried to provide a comprehensive definition of CSR. However, the term CSR has attained more popularity and acceptance in the corporate world only in 1984, when management consultant Peter Drucker stressed the importance of connecting social problems with economic opportunities. Since then, companies have started to accept CSR as a liability rather than a principle. The first company that actually publishes a social report was Ben and Jerrys in 1989, and the first major company was Shell in 1998 (Corporate watch, n. d.). Even though corporate social responsibility or CSR is accepted as one of the major topics in the corporate world, everywhere in the world, a standard definition or universal definition for this topic is still unavailable. In other words, CSR has been defined differently by different scholars and perceived differently in different countries or regions. According to Nexen (2009) Corporate Social Responsibility is â€Å"a commitment to behave ethically and contribute to economic development while improving the quality of life of our workforce and their families as well as the local community at large†. Ethics and morality are rapidly disappearing subjects from the corporate world at present. Even though organizations speak volumes about ethics and morality, they do less to adhere to the principles of ethics and morality. CSR reminds

Radical feminist vs Liberal feminism Research Paper

Radical feminist vs Liberal feminism - Research Paper Example According to these feminists as discussed by Joy, all their problems emanate from men and patriarchy (James 78). When it comes to liberal feminists, Joy explains that they blame the source of their inequality and unfair treatment in society as a result of them being viewed by society as less intellectual and also not being physically strong enough in comparison to the men. It is this societal view that makes the liberal feminists want to emancipate themselves and want to gain equality. These feminists advocate for equality through rights to work and fair compensation. They also advocate for an end to domestic violence and sexual exploitation which has been the common thing women go through. An example of radical feminism that really needs to be changed is the issue of social class accorded to women and men. For a long time, men have been the ones accorded the upper social class in society as a result of the patriarchal system in society. This upper social class status has made the men be seen as the superior beings and women as the inferior in all sectors other than in home matters or domestic affairs like house-keeping and rearing children (reproductive roles). This is the notion and concept the radical feminists want to remove and show that women too can work in productive roles the same as men (Hannam 54). The liberal feminists on the other hand advocate more about reproductive rights which as a result of being seen as the gender whose roles are reproductive are not accorded the necessary reproductive rights they deserve. The need to advocate for these rights is because in as much as they directly involve women, they are ignored when it comes to planning or even implementation of reproductive laws for example the abortion laws. Women were initially not consulted or asked their views on abortion and whether they would like it to be made legal to avoid

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Socialism and Division Between the Public and the Private Domains - Essay Example Countless dilemmas surfaced initially through socialism that was later replaced by the socio economic structures in the later years. Karl Marx explains that socialism can be attained through community effort and grassroots revolution forming a free enterprise that is referred as the Dictatorship of the proletariat. Hann (1993) states that the congregation of the anthropology and socialism can exhibit numerous dividends for the society and at the same time assist in helping to understand the term socialism. When one studies the issues created by ethnographic accounts of the era post communism one comes to comprehend the significance of studying history; as it assists in emphasizing and understanding such issues that surfaced since the end of Soviet Union and communist ascendancy in Eastern Europe. Prior to the formation of socialist societies the communal apartment was a common feature of everyday life that was devoid of any seclusion forcing distinct families to live together, sharing the domestic habitat. This fact practiced by the Soviet citizens has been elaborately highlighted by Gerasimova (2002) and Buchli explaining the alterations in the configurations of the private and public residents in the Soviet history as well as the correlation of their living spaces in prevailing housing schemes. The domestic duties lay in the hands of women alone while men were submissive to more technical work whether outside or inside the house. New social guidelines eradicated the private ownership of housing schemes thus giving rise to public spheres. The revolutionary Great Retreat in the 1930 brought main transformation, when the communal hierarchy resolutely recognized the cultured way of life and changed the boundaries between the private and public life. Besides Eastern Europe the People's Republic of China, the largest country in East Asia developed itself as a socialist state in 1949 while the Republic of Cuba, a country in the Caribbean witnessed the Cuban Revolution that led to the overthrow of the Dictator government of Cuban President Fulgencio Batista on January 1, 1959 by the 26th of July movement and other revolutionary organizationsin 1959, and was declared a socialist state in 1961. Foucault (1991) observes the concept of government practices and the role of criticism; that acts as an important element to bring about a change in approach and achievements as a result. He states that governmental activities whether at present or in the past records have been altered to be more realistic and sensible over the years declaring it as an inventive and cultured objective not an instinctive one. Various phenomenons occurred in the socialist and post socialist Eastern Europe as well as the capitalist West namely the privatization, the growth of the neo liberalism or the weakening of the welfare state which were later replaced by the socio economic structures. Each member of the society from the likes of bureaucrats and elites, to that of ordinary workers, and entrepreneurs and peasants faced individual issues as a result of such powerful revolutions. As accordingly

Sunset Boulevard by(Billy Wilder, 1950) and Northwest by( Alfred Essay

Sunset Boulevard by(Billy Wilder, 1950) and Northwest by( Alfred Hitchcock, 1959) - Essay Example The 1920s were known as the Jazz Age and Americans prospered due to the zooming of stock markets and the flourishing of the arts. At the turn of the decade, the Great Depression set in, precipitated by the biggest crash in Wall Street history. The country went into a period of great introspection. As politicians and economists were grappling with finding solutions to pull through the economic depression, similar efforts are being made to improve the standards of the film industry. The Hays Code, introduced in 1934 was one such outcome. Although the United States Motion Picture Production Code of 1930 came ahead of Hays Code, it was not taken seriously by filmmakers, making it necessary for government authorities to introduce and implement a more comprehensive set of guidelines (Friedrich, 1997). The agency given the responsibility of enforcing the code is commonly referred to as the Breen Office (after administrator Joseph Breen). In this context, it is interesting to see how the content of popular movies such as Sunset Boulevard (1951) and North by Northwest (1959) were possibly influenced by the code. Both the movies were produced years after the introduction of the code. Hence by the time the movies were conceived and written, the story writer, screenplay writer and the director would have inherently known what is acceptable and what is unacceptable with respect to the Hays Code. There is also documented evidence that the first scripts of the two movie submitted to the Breen Office were not approved immediately. The production team had to modify a few dialogues and change certain aspects of the film that were deemed to violate the code (Harris, 2008). To take the case of Sunset Boulevard, the story depicts an unusual relationship between a fading Hollywood writer and a former Hollywood leading lady. As the fortunes of both the former stars are fading away, they happen to develop an opportunistic

Business Strategy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Business Strategy - Essay Example This will range from an individual to an organisation. A contractor of a construction project can subcontract the electricity wiring to the subcontractor. Recommendation as a subcontractor or main contractor The amount of resources available would determine whether a company or an individual can be the main contractor or the subcontractor. The private family owned company would be better off operating as a sub contractor rather than a main contractor or even carrying out both the activities of the main contractor and the subcontractor. The operations of the company as evidenced by the financial statements indicate large amounts of sum that has been used to transact the liabilities. As much as the liabilities still run lower than the assets, the margin is very small and would not guarantee that the company will not incur losses soon. A company would consider being a main contractor or a subcontractor depending on the balance between the assets and liabilities. This financial statement is important to determine the profitability and the liquidity of the company. A subcontractor may decide to operate so not only because of the limit of resources but because the subcontractor is more specialised in a given section of the contract than the main contractor. The company’s decision to become a main or subcontractor should be based on the health and safety of the employees and workers of the organisation which would have been provided to give a judgement that is based on all the factors that affect the operation of the compan

Essentials of Business Law Essay Example for Free

Essentials of Business Law Essay There are many types of contracts made between people, however there are several guidelines to follow for the contract to be valid. A contract is defined as an official agreement which can be written or an oral agreement. A contract is a promise that is made between two or more people and can be formal or informal. There are six elements that make the contract valid, if these elements aren’t present in the contract then it is not considered to be valid. The first element of importance would be that the two parties must have an offer. An offer is the actual promise or agreement that needs to be decided upon because this is what makes the whole contract exist. In order to make a valid offer, there should be at least two people or more so that they can create a legal contract. Then the offer must be accepted by the other party/parties to be a legal valid contract. Both parties must fully be aware of what is being offered as well as what the other party must do in return. Once the offer is made in a contract, the other party must accept the offer. The contract cannot be official without the other party accepting the offer. The other party can accept the offer that is being made by writing or verbally. The next important element in the contract is consideration. Consideration is when the other party gives something back in response to the offer being made. Consideration is anything of value that is given in exchange for goods or services, and is used to induce the other party to enter into a contractual agreement. This makes the contract similar to an exchange between the two parties. In order for a contract to be legally valid, there must be a consideration. Although the Contracts Act 1950 does not state anything on the necessity of the intention to create legal relations, it is considered very important to have this element when making a valid legal contract. This element is an agreement that is not a contract unless it is in the common intention of the parties that it should be legally enforced. Such as an agreement made between two people about belongings that should be inherited after a person’s death. Certainty is another important element in the contract, the guidelines and rules that are made in a contract must be clearly stated and understood by both parties involved in the contract. The agreement must be certain or the contract will no longer be valid. Capacity in the contract is described as the parties in the contract having the legal capacity to carry out the contract. The parties must be at least of the age of 18 or older. Minors or people below the age of eighteen do not have the capacity to enter into a valid contract legally. All types of contracts are different, for example some are long and contain a lot of legal termination while others are written in simple English and are only a page long. Contracts are also used for many different reasons such as for large corporate businesses to personal matters. The many different type of contracts are created for many different purposes such as fix-price contracts, labor contracts, and time- material contracts to name a few. These contracts are created different but they are still required to meet all the expectations of a legal valid contract. References Rogers, S. (2012). Essentials of Business Law. San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education, Inc.

Analysis of Pearl Harbor Address to the Nation Speech

Analysis of Pearl Harbor Address to the Nation Speech The Day of Infamy On the seventh of December, 1941, the lives of many people drastically changed. In that particular afternoon, all American radio broadcasts were interrupted with important news. Pearl Harbor had been attacked by an unforeseen Japanese air raid. The results of the attack were devastating and, according to the National WWII Museum, killed 2,403 U.S. personnel, including 68 civilians, and destroyed or damaged 19 U.S. Navy ships, including 8 battleships (A Pearl Harbor Fact Sheet). The following day, December 8th, 1941, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the president at the time, gave an address to the distressed nation regarding the attack. His speech consisted of an explanation of what had taken place at Pearl Harbor, evidence that the attack was in fact predetermined, and a request for the United States of America to wage war against Japan. Currently neutral in regards to the second world war, the United States of America was close to entering the war but was hesitant. In his speech entitled the Pearl Harbor Address to the Nation also known as the Infamy speech Franklin D. Roosevelt persuaded the government and the people through word choice, design, and appeal, to declare war against Japan. One of the most important parts of any speech is how the speaker structures it. The ingenious way that Roosevelt structured his speech held a major part in how it, as Braj Mohan reflects, proved a turning point in the course of the Second World War (68). Roosevelt used various methods in structuring his speech in order to form a better argument. A method that Roosevelt utilized when structuring his speech was repetition. For example, when reporting the various places that had been attacked by Japan on December 7th, he says: Last night, Japanese forces attacked Hong Kong. Last night, Japanese forces attacked Guam. Last night, Japanese forces attacked the Philippine Islands. Last night, the Japanese attacked Wake Island (Roosevelt). The use of repetition in this paragraph of Roosevelts speech proved to be very clever and useful, as it provides a much greater emphasis for the point being made. Throughout Franklin D. Roosevelts speech, he structures his argument by first stating that what happened at Pearl Harbor was evil and unpredicted. Then he goes on to state how the United States of America needs to secure itself and provide defense. Finally, he completes his argument with a call to action in response. Another, and probably just as important, part of a speech is word choice. The speaker has the ability to portray many different emotions and meanings to the audience, if the words are chosen in a clever way. When analyzing his speech, it is evident from the beginning that Roosevelt was careful when choosing his words. Roosevelt opens his speech by immediately delivering the devastating news about Pearl Harbor: Yesterday, December 7th, 1941 a date which will live in infamy the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan (Roosevelt). In this opening phrase, there are multiple strong words that were chosen to describe what had taken place. Roosevelt used the word infamy very wisely in the beginning of speech when he describes December 7th as a date which will live in infamy. The word infamy literally means being well known for some bad quality or evil deed, and Roosevelt picked it precisely to portray how evil the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor was. Continuing on in his opening, Roosevelt couples the words suddenly and deliberately to describe how Pearl Harbor was attacked. These words were used by Roosevelt to portray that the bombing of Pearl Harbor was definitely no accident, and that the United States of America was in no way prepared for it. Throughout the speech, Roosevelt utilizes two rhetorical modes of ethos and pathos, in order to further complete his argument as a whole. Looking at the speech in a larger context, it is evident how Roosevelt uses these appeals when writing his speech to the intended audience. Since he is speaking mainly to the citizens of the United States of America, one of the main appeals Roosevelt uses is Pathos which is the appeal or evocation of emotion. For example, Roosevelt mentions in his speech that the Japanese government has deliberately sought to deceive the United States by false statements and expressions of hope for continued peace (Pearl Harbor Address to the Nation). By stating that the United States, which implies the nation as a whole, was deceived by Japan into thinking that the Japanese had similar goals of peace in mind, Roosevelt awakens the feeling of betrayal by Japan in the hearts of the American citizens. Roosevelt also backs up his argument with the use of ethos, the ap peal to ethics or morals. Towards the ending of his speech, Roosevelt assert that, in regards to Japan, the American people in their righteous might will win through to absolute victory (Pearl Harbor Address to the Nation). In this phrase, Roosevelt incorporates religion into the argument which further inspires the audience, and assures them that it is morally right to wage war against Japan. In Summary, the impact of Franklin Delano Roosevelts Pearl Harbor Address to the Nation was enormous. At the time that the speech was given, the USA had been recuperating from the first world war. Since the United States of America was trying to uphold a stance of neutrality in the second world war, it was hesitant to engage in any warfare. Because of this, Franklin D. Roosevelt formulated his speech in such a way, with particular word choice, design, and appeal, to not only reveal the evil of Japans deeds but also to persuade the nation to declare war. The USA was at its tipping point, and after the shocking news broke out that Pearl Harbor had been attacked, the United States of America finally entered the second world war. Works Cited A Pearl Harbor Fact Sheet. National WWII Museum. www.nationalww2museum.org/assets/pdfs/pearl-harbor-fact-sheet-1.pdf. Accessed 24 Mar. 2017. Mohan, Braj. A Demonstration of the Discourse Dissection Model (DDM) with an analysis of FD Roosevelts Pearl Harbour address to the nation. SKASE Journal of Theoretical Linguistics, vol. 13, no. 1, 2016, p. 62+. Academic OneFile, db06.linccweb.org/login?url=http://go.galegroup.com.db06.linccweb.org/ps/i.do?p=AONEsw=wu=lincclin_dbccv=2.1it=rid=GALE%7CA469757333asid=311032f9663020836acc9d055f4f8632. Accessed 24 Mar. 2017. Roosevelt, Franklin D. Pearl Harbor Address to the Nation. American Rhetoric. Web. 23 Mar. 2017. .

Purification of Fructosyl Transferase (FTase)

Purification of Fructosyl Transferase (FTase) Introduction Food products are formulated for taste, appearance, cost and convenience of the consumer. The composition of food products that confer a health benefit is a relatively new trend, and recognizes the growing acceptance of the role of diet in disease prevention, treatment and well-being. It is thus becoming increasingly clear that there is a strong relationship between the food we consume and our health. Scientific knowledge of the beneficial role of various food ingredients (nutrients) for the prevention of specific diseases is rapidly advancing. Functional foods, pharma foods and nutraceuticals are synonyms for foods that can prevent and treat diseases. Generally, a functional food can be defined as ‘any food that has a positive impact on an individual’s health, physical performance or state of mind in addition to its nutritional content’. Functional foods in addition to their basic nutritional content and natural being, will contain the proper balance of ingredients which will help to improve many aspects of human lives, including the prevention and treatment of illness and disease (Goldberg, 1994). So far, a large number of functional foods in various forms have already been introduced into the market. Many of them contain a number of characteristic functional ingredients. They include dietary fiber, oligosaccharides, sugar alcohols, peptides and proteins, prebiotics and probiotics, phytochemicals, antioxidants and polyunsaturated fatty acids (Stark and Madar, 1994). Oligosaccharides are very well recognized as ‘functional food ingredients’ because of their positive effects on human health. This research work focuses on the microbial production and purification of Fructosyl Transferase (FTase) and the production of Fructooligosaccharides (FOS) by transfructosylation using this enzyme. Oligosaccharides Oligosaccharides are usually defined as carbohydrates with a low degree of polymerization (DP) and consequently low molecular weight. They are composed of 3-10 simple sugar units linked together.The main categories of nondigestible oligosaccharides include carbohydrates in which the monosaccharide unit is fructose, galactose, glucose and xylose. Chemical differences among commercially available oligosaccharides include chain length, monosaccharide composition, degree of branching and purity. They are found naturally (small amounts) in many plants.. Plants with large amounts of oligosaccharides include  chicory root, from which most commercial inulin is extracted, and so-called Jerusalem. They are also found in onions,  leeks, garlic, legumes, wheat, asparagus, jicama, and other plant foods. Oligosaccharides are functional food ingredients that have great potential to improve the quality of many foods. In addition to providing useful modifications to food flavor and physicochemical characteristics, they possess properties that are beneficial to the health of the consumers. In general, food grade oligosaccharides are not pure products, but are mixtures containing oligosaccharides of different degrees of polymerization, the parent polysaccharide or disaccharide and the monomer sugars (Roberfroid and Slavin, 2000). The production and application of food grade oligosaccharides are increasing and their major uses are in beverages, infant milk powders, confectioneries, bakery products, yoghurts and dairy desserts. FRUCTOOLIGOSACCHARIDES FOS are chain polymers of the sugar fructose that are found in a variety of foods. The sugar units can be linked in a single straight chain or can be branched. In many cases small amounts of glucose are also contained in the chain. Chemically, FOS is difficult to define, because the length of the fructose chains can vary from source to source. Therefore a FOS analysis of a food may report the total of several closely related compounds. Inulin is an example of a longer chained compound that is considered as FOS. The shorter (lower molecular weight) compounds tend to have a sweet taste. The size and complexity of the FOS molecule desirable characteristics. Although the simple sugars fructose and glucose are quickly absorbed into the body by the intestines, FOS for the most part is indigestible and therefore acts as a non-digestible fiber in the diet. This is because humans does not have the enzymes to break down FOS as it travels down the digestive tract. When the FOS reaches the large intestine and the colon, the bacteria that are found there start to break down the FOS. These bacteria have the enzymes needed to break down FOS. Bifidobacteria have been reported to use FOS. It is believed that foods that promote bifidobacterial growth are good for the health. Of all the oligosaccharides known so far, FOS has attracted special attention. FOS is a common name for fructose oligomers that are mainly composed of 1- Kestose (GF2), 1 Nystose (GF3) and 1F – Fructofuranosyl nystose (GF4) in which fructosyl units (F) are bound at the ÃŽ ² 2, 1 position of sucrose (GF). Structure of Fructooligosaccharides Occurrence FOS derived from sucrose occur in many higher plants as reserve carbohydrates. They are found in a variety of edible plants, including banana, barley, garlic, honey, onion, rye, brown sugar, tomato, asparagus root, Jerusalem artichoke, wheat and triticale (Fishbein et al, 1988). The concentration of FOS in these foods is diagrammatically represented in Figure 1.2 (derived using data from the Environmental Protection Agency’s Dietary Risk Evaluation system EPA, 1984). FOS like 1- kestose, neokestose, 6- kestose and their derivatives have also been isolated from the plant Agave vera cruz (Satyanarayana, 1976). FTase producing organisms FTase by transfructosylation activity helps in the production of FOS. The enzyme source of FOS synthesis can be divided into two classes; one is plants such as asparagus, sugar beet, onion, Jerusalem artichoke etc; the other consists of bacteria and fungi such as Arthrobacter sp., Fusarium sp., Aspergillus sp., Aureobasidium sp. Functional properties of FOS Low calorific value The ÃŽ ²- configuration of the anomeric carbon, C2 in their fructose monomers make FOS nondigestible by human digestive enzymes which are mostly specific for ÃŽ ±-osidic linkages and hence they are not utilized as an energy source in the body. However, due to colonic fermentation, they have an energy contribution to food of about 1.5 kcal/ g. This property makes them suitable for use in sweet, low-calorie diet foods and safe for consumption by individuals with diabetes. In the case of very sweet foods, they may be used as bulking agents in conjunction with intense artificial sweeteners such as aspartame, phenylalanine or sucralose, thereby masking the aftertaste produced by some of these intense sweeteners (Crittenden and Playne, 1996). Non cariogenicity Unlike starch and simple sugars, FOSs are not utilized by oral microflora like Streptococcus mutans to form acids and insoluble ÃŽ ²-glucans, that serve as a matrix for plaque formation and are the main culprits in causing dental caries (Oku, 1994). Hence, FOSs are presently used as non – cariogenic sugar substitutes in confectionery, chewing gums, yoghurts and drinks. Dietary fibre effect ‘Dietary fibre is the edible part of plants or analogous carbohydrates that are resistant to digestion and absorption in the human small intestine with complete or partial fermentation in the large intestine’ (AACC Report, 2001). The nondigestible quality of FOS makes them act similar to dietary fibre, and thus prevent constipation. However, excessive consumption of FOS may cause flatulence or diarrhea, the minimum dose being 40-50 g/day. The advantages FOS has over dietary fibre are that they have a smaller daily requirement, do not cause diarrhea in recommended doses, are slightly sweet, have neither bad texture nor bad taste, are completely water soluble, do not build viscosity, do not bind minerals, are physically stable, and are easier to incorporate into processed foods and drinks (Tomomatsu H, 1994). Prebiotic effect In recent years, the ability of FOS to promote the proliferation of bifidobacteria in the colon has been recognized. These intestinal bacteria metabolize FOS readily and produce large amounts of short chain fatty acids resulting in an acidic pH in the lumen of the large intestine. The beneficial bacteria such as Bifidobacterium sp. and Lactobacillus sp. are resistant to the acidic pH, whereas the harmful bacteria such as Clostridium sp. are sensitive to the acidic conditions. Therefore the proliferation of useful bacteria is stimulated and that of harmful bacteria is suppressed. Subsequently, FOS has been described as one of several prebiotics, which can be defined as ‘a nondigestible food ingredient that beneficially affects the host by selectively stimulating the growth and / or the activity of one or a limited number of bacteria in the colon and thus improves host health’ (Gibson and Roberfroid, 1995). FOS have been demonstrated to increase bifidobacteria numbers in the colon at doses of Lipid lowering effect FOS in diet has been found to decrease the levels of triglycerides, serum cholesterol and lipids. Hypotriglyceridemia is due to decrease in the hepatic synthesis of triglycerides and hypocholesterolemia is likely to result from the antagonistic effect of short chain fatty acids, especially propionate on cholesterol metabolism. Propionate has been found to be an inhibitor of HMG CoA reductase, an important enzyme in cholesterol synthesis (Roberfroid and Slavin, 2000). Effect on mineral absorption FOS have been found to enhance the absorption of Ca2+ and Mg2+ ions and maintain balance of iron and Zn2+ ions. This has been found to be due to the osmotic effect, acidification of the colonic content due to fermentation and production of short chain carboxylic acids, formation of calcium and magnesium salts of these acids and hypertrophy of the colon wall (Roberfroid and Slavin, 2000). Anticancer effect FOS has an indirect effect on prevention of cancer in human beings due to its prebiotic properties. This is due to immunity enhancements by the cells, cell wall components and extracellular components of bifidobacteria (Tomomatsu H, 1994). Production of nutrients The presence of a good colonic environment with high bifidobacterial count leads to the production of Vitamins B-1, B-2, B-6, B-12, nicotinic acid and folic acid. Bifidobacteria – fermented dairy products also improve lactose tolerance, calcium absorbability and digestibility (Tomomatsu H, 1994). Antidiabetic effect FOS have been claimed to have no effect on blood glucose levels in patients with type 2 diabetes, possibly due to effects of short chain fatty acids produced during fermentation. (Luo et al, 2000). PROBLEM STATEMENT Normally, pure sucrose is expensive and the cost to produce FTase by using sucrose is high. There are some by-product like cereal bran, corn-products, sugarcane molasses and by-products of coffee and tea processing industries were used as a substrate to produce FTase from microorganism (Sangeetha et al., 2003). This by-product can lower the cost of production of FTase. Before FOS can be produced, the enzyme FTase must be undergone a series of purification. The purification of FTase must be done in order to get high yield of FOS. Many researchers have reported the purification and characterization of FTase from various sources and FTase has been found to differ in their molecular weight and properties from one source to another (Lateef et al., 2006, Sangeetha et al., 2003). FTase exhibits hydrolytic activity which can dominate the process (Delphine et al., 2007). This fact will lead to lower production yields and to a contamination of the final product with glucose and fructose (Delphine et al., 2007). Purification of FTase is important for batch production of FOS. By doing so, the nature of its hydrolytic activity can be studied, improve the understanding its mode of operation and be able to classified which type of enzyme should it belong to (Là ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¸Hocine et al., 2000). RESEARCH OBJECTIVES The main objective of this research is to purify FTase enzyme from microfungi Aspergillus oryzae isolated from CFTRI. To enhance the production of FOS as a food additive. SIGNIFICANCE OF STUDY In Malaysia, the FTase enzyme used to be imported from other country such as Japan, India and United States (Sangeetha et al., 2005). Normally, the cost for production of FOS from commercialized enzyme is high, so by producing and purifying the enzyme, we can reduce the cost. Normally, crude enzyme will produce lower yield of FOS than purified enzyme. In order to fulfill high customer demand on the functional food such as FOS, the production of FOS must be increased. In order to produce high yield of FOS, the enzyme need to be purified. By doing this, the activity of enzyme will be increased and so do the production of FOS. Purification and characterization of the enzyme (FTase) are necessary steps to obtain the product (FOS) rapidly, with high purity, to improve our understanding of its mode of action and the nature of activity. Efforts have been made to purify the FTase enzyme to get high specific activity and fold of purification but the reaction mechanism involved in FOS production does not lead to higher yields than the theoretical maxima of 56 – 58 % due to inhibition caused by accumulation of glucose. Nevertheless, the time involved in obtaining maximum FOS yield has been considerably reduced by using the purified FTase in comparison to the crude FTase. The product FOS formed has also been characterized for its physicochemical properties and structure using HPLC or LC-MS. Studies on the prebiotic effects of FOS are required to establish its functional properties and to demonstrate its use in product development. The present research work has also focused on the scaling up of both the produ ction of FTase as well as FOS.

Essay examples --

Most startups that raise money do it more than once. A typical trajectory might be (1) to get started with a few tens of thousands from something like Y Combinator or individual angels, then (2) raise a few hundred thousand to a few million to build the company, and then (3) once the company is clearly succeeding, raise one or more later rounds to accelerate growth. Reality can be messier. Some companies raise money twice in phase 2. Others skip phase 1 and go straight to phase 2. And at Y Combinator we get an increasing number of companies that have already raised amounts in the hundreds of thousands. But the three phase path is at least the one about which individual startups' paths oscillate. This essay focuses on phase 2 fundraising. That's the type the startups we fund are doing on Demo Day, and this essay is the advice we give them. Forces Fundraising is hard in both senses: hard like lifting a heavy weight, and hard like solving a puzzle. It's hard like lifting a weight because it's intrinsically hard to convince people to part with large sums of money. That problem is irreducible; it should be hard. But much of the other kind of difficulty can be eliminated. Fundraising only seems a puzzle because it's an alien world to most founders, and I hope to fix that by supplying a map through it. To founders, the behavior of investors is often opaque—partly because their motivations are obscure, but partly because they deliberately mislead you. And the misleading ways of investors combine horribly with the wishful thinking of inexperienced founders. At YC we're always warning founders about this danger, and investors are probably more circumspect with YC startups than with other companies they talk to, and even so we witness a... ... the way their sites are organized that they don't really want startups to approach them directly. Intros vary greatly in effectiveness. The best type of intro is from a well-known investor who has just invested in you. So when you get an investor to commit, ask them to introduce you to other investors they respect. [7] The next best type of intro is from a founder of a company they've funded. You can also get intros from other people in the startup community, like lawyers and reporters. There are now sites like AngelList, FundersClub, and WeFunder that can introduce you to investors. We recommend startups treat them as auxiliary sources of money. Raise money first from leads you get yourself. Those will on average be better investors. Plus you'll have an easier time raising money on these sites once you can say you've already raised some from well-known investors.

Why Hamlet Needs To Die Essay -- Literary Analysis

Hamlet's view of death morphs through the course of the play as he is faced with various problems and troubles that force him to deal with life differently. This holds particular significance for a modern audience who, unlike the predominately Christian audiences of Shakespeare's time, contains an assortment of perspectives on the subject. For the majority of the play, Hamlet yearns for death, but there are different tones to his yearning as he confronts death in different circumstances; from his encounter with his father's ghost to the discovery of his beloved Ophelia dead in the ground, Hamlet feels an irrepressible urge to end his life. There are obstacles that get in his way, both internal and external, and Shakespeare's play is an account of Hamlet's struggle with them. When we first meet Hamlet, he is moping around Elsinore Castle on account of his father's recent death and his mother's more recent marriage to his uncle. In the first act of the play, it has been two months since King Hamlet was laid in the ground—a fairly short time ago in terms of grief, but not so long that family members could not conceivably begin their lives again, as Hamlet's mother has done in marrying her late husband's brother. Hamlet is still in mourning clothes, is wholly fixated on the loss of his father, and is positively mortified and revolted by his mother's apparent indifference. In the play's first conversation between Hamlet and his newlywed parents, they chide him for his "obstinate condolement" for his father (1.2.93). They believe that "Hamlet's long mourning for his father is against not only the rule of nature, grace, or grace, but also heaven" (Hassel 612). Thinking of death makes Hamlet an unpleasant person for the newlywe... ...zlw4MBx3Rc3yxAK4i00QEjo#v=onepage&q=&f=false>. Gottschalk, Paul. "Hamlet and the Scanning of Revenge." Shakespeare Quarterly, 24.2 (1973): 155-170. JSTOR Database. 13 Nov. 2009 . Hassel, Chris, Jr. "Hamlet's 'Too, Too Solid Flesh." The Sixteenth Century Journal, 25.3 (1994): 609-622. JSTOR Database. 13 Nov. 2009 . Russell, John. "Dust and Divinity: Hamlet's Fractured World." Hamlet and Narcissus. Cranbury, N.J.: Associated University Presses, 1995. 39-50. Rpt. in Shakespearean Criticism. Ed. Michelle Lee. Vol. 92. Detroit: Gale, 2005. 39-50. Literature Resource Center. Gale. 14 Nov. 2009 . Shakespeare, William. Hamlet. The Bedford Introduction to Drama. Ed. Jacobus, Lee A. 6th ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2009. 340-393.

Outline and evaluate psychological explanations for OCD Essay

The cognitive approach assumes that OCD is a consequence of faulty and irrational ways of thinking taken to an extreme. Patients with OCD have different thinking patterns and more intrusive thoughts. The cognitive explanation stresses that everyone has unwanted thoughts from time to time, but OCD sufferers cannot ignore these thoughts and they are often misinterpreted, leading to self-blame and the obsessive symptoms of OCD. So that the negative thoughts and concerns associated with a particular anxiety do not come to pass, compulsions arise in an attempt to ‘neutralise’ the anxiety. The sufferer becomes more wary of having intrusive thoughts and their fear of them increases. As these ideas are constantly thought about, they become obsessive and a pattern of ritualistic, repetitive behaviour begins. A strength of this theory is that there is supporting evidence. For example, Wegner found that a group of students asked not to think of a white bear were more likely to do so than a group allowed to think about it. Salkoius found that when asking participants to suppress thoughts and on other days not to, the participants kept a diary of more intrusive thoughts when they had to be suppressed these findings support the idea that a deliberate attempt to suppress thoughts leads to an increase in these thoughts; supporting the main ideas of the approach. This is a strength because the two studies have found similar findings and are therefore externally reliable. This makes the cognitive approach reliable as a whole because it can be checked and verified and the theory has sound foundations for further research. However, a weakness of this theory is that there are problems with the evidence. For example, Salkoius used self-report methodologies in order to measure the thoughts of the participants. This means that the results may have been subjected to social desirability bias. For example, the amount of intrusive thoughts may not have all been recorded in the diaries in order to please the experimenter; they may not want them to know how bad their symptoms are due to feelings of embarrassment. This is an issue because it means the study lacks internal validity; the intrusive thoughts in the diary are not caused solely by supressing them, but there are other extraneous variables such as embarrassment. We therefore cannot prove cause and effect to show that suppressing thoughts lead to symptoms in OCD, so there are other factors the cognitive approach needs to consider in order to offer a causal explanation. However, although there are issues with self-report methodologies, they can provide a greater insight into the participant’s thoughts and a greater level of detail. They are allowing the participants to describe their own experiences rather than inferring this from observing participants. It therefore provides access to a high level of quantitative data.

My Significant Other

Art is composed of many different elements. There are many different styles of art that can be taught. Art has been used for thousands of years. Art is a way of expressing life. My favorite kinds of art are expressed through drawings and paintings. In Expressionist Art the artist tries to show strong certain feelings about something important. This can be done through sculptures, paintings, drawings, etc.When I am drawing I tend to draw people and things that relate to a person or multiple people. My sketches are complete with shading. Shading is to show shadows and contrast. My paintings are always outdoors and have to do with animals, plants, and scenery. Painting the sky and ocean have a lot of patience to be dealt with because It takes a right mixture of colors to make It feel lively. Pop art Is the most common art. It has to do with very popular seen people, places, or things.My favorite pop artist is Andy Warhol. The way he deals with the colors and shapes are amazing. I really enjoy the piece he did with Marilyn Monroe and the Campbell soup piece too. Surrealism is a type of art enjoy doing. When I have a strange dream I will take the most particular thing about my dream and turn it into art. I make it very mysterious and lifelike so everyone can witness what I saw in my sleep. I like to leave wonders and thoughts in others minds. Abstract art is also a favorite of mine.I will get a whole munch of random objects and glue them together and make another random object out of all these other pieces. It is very fun and creative. I once went outside and collect things to make a birds nest. Leaves, sucks, and other outdoors objects were collected and my masterpiece was finished. I received an excellent grade. Art Is different for everyone. Some use music as an art form, others use dance as an art form. Any way art is used it is still expressed through the artist. Art has and will always be around.

Politics, Policy, and Change in Nigeria Essay

Volumes have been written on the subject of politics, policy, and social change. In this section, I will offer nothing more than simple facts, plain arguments, and ‘common sense. I will emphasize the important roles of leadership and group cohesiveness to effect change. Because the direction of change in a society depends on the manner in which resources are mobilized by the leader, and the attitude of the people toward change. The ruler must be concerned with the needs of the ruled, and must strive to gain their support. But with long-standing ethnic prejudice in a multi-ethnic society such as Nigeria, this has not been very easy. The concept of politics is diverse. Aristotle and Plato defined politics as a concern with general issues affecting the whole community. This involves the pursuit of the public interest, the operation of the state, and the formulation and execution of public policy. Contrasting public concern with private matters, they viewed the public concern as morally superior. Thus, political leaders have the responsibility to conform to constructive ideas and actions with â€Å"perfect goodness† (Andrain 1975, pp.12-20). In addition, It is the art or science concerned with winning and holding control over a government. It involves competition between various interest groups (parties) or individuals for power and leadership in a government or other group. The winning party guides or influences policies, and the distribution of resources in that polity (Dike (forthcoming) August 1999). In other words, politics does involve the struggle for power and wealth – that is, the production, distribution, and use of scarce resources. Historically, some leaders have sought the common good and others a private good. But without the ‘politics of virtue’ (that is, doing what is right), a leader may not bring about the necessary changes that would benefit the general public. How does one differentiate actions that are for common from those that are for private? The effects of a particular policy decision are the determining factors. The process of making and implementing decisions involves cooperation and competition, both of which may lead to social change. As many writers have noted, many factors are involved in social change; no single factor can adequately account for it (Lauer 1982, p. 37). And as a society, our needs can be fulfilled only through the cooperative efforts of everyone. Change or social change is defined as â€Å"significant alteration of social structures.† And social structures here mean the â€Å"patterns of social action and interaction,† which include norms, values, and cultural phenomena (Moore 1967, p.3). Others have defined change as â€Å"variations or modifications in any aspect of social process, pattern, or form;† it is also â€Å"any modification in established patterns of inter-human relationships and standards of conducts† (Fairchild, ed. 1955, p.277, as cited in Lauer 1982, p.4). As we have seen, change can start anywhere. In fact every system is to some extent altered by changes in any of its parts. Given our leaders’ penchant for corruption, Nigerians are cautiously optimistic about the positive changes that are presently taking place in Nigeria. And since what has been on the minds of the world is that Nigeria is bad, we have to get our act together. After that we can say to the world, ‘You held me in contempt, now look at me. Am I so contemptible?’ (Allport 1979). Can the present political leadership maintain the tempo of positive social re-engineering going on in the nation? For any intended change to occur in a society the people must be convinced by the leaders that such a change is both possible and desirable. Hence the need for systematic set of ideology that reflects the feasibility and desirability of particular change. Ideology interprets the past, make meaningful the present, and portray an ideal future. Lack of political ideology is a serious problem in Nigerian politics. Strangely, some politicians are known to have discounted the importance of ideology in politics. And since some of them are not committed to politics or democracy ideologically, they tend to waffle on issues. Consequently, nobody is held responsible for any policy failure in the society. For our politicians to behave, we should device means to hold them responsible for their actions or in-actions. In an educated and politically mature society the vote is the ultimate weapon of the people. But we must positively change our personal attitudes to be able to change the social structure. â€Å"For in part, at least, the structure is the product of the attitudes of many single people† (Allport 1979, p.507). Why is good value and virtue essential for the survival of a polity such as Nigeria? Can a leader successfully govern a vibrant society without an ideological compass? Policies and decisions constitute a crucial part of political leadership. Usually when the majority of a population refuse to accept certain policies as binding, this would move committed leaders to make changes in the various parts of the system: the content of the policies, the ruling personnel, the governing structures, or even the society over which the policies have jurisdiction. This is a democratic process that Nigeria should strive to adopt, if it needs to survive as a democratic nation. In a democracy there is no room for arbitrariness. Policies must be debated, and exhaustively too before implementation. To underscore the feelings of many well-meaning Nigerians, we cannot afford to fail this time around. Policy represents a set of decisions taken in response to specific problem. Some good examples are the recent actions of President Obasanjo: the setting up of a panel to probe the human rights abuses since 1993; to probe abandoned projects since the mid-1970’s; the termination of the contracts and the major appointments made by the Abubakar military regime. Justice Chukwudifu Oputa is the chairman of the human rights panel, while Alhaji Iguda Inuwa is the chairman of the committee on abandoned projects. Let’s not neglect the present favorable and inviting period in Nigeria. Instead of gazing at each other with ‘suspicious or doubtful curiosity,’ let’s unite and expose those who have dragged us to the mud. The civil rights panel will identify the persons involved in the various abuses, the nature of the abuses, and the policy responsible. It will also recommend measures to ameliorate the problems and formulate strategies to forestall incidence of human rights abuses in the society in future. All these policy actions have drawn praises from within and outside Nigeria. However, all these probes will not have the desired effects if their recommendations are not implemented. Legal action, proper reparation, and exposure in the press may be the better ways to curb corruption, and moderate social discontent. Perhaps nothing frightens politicians more than chastisement in the press. President Obasanjo’s boldest policy decision so far has been the retirement of 149 political-senior military and police officers – an apparent purge of those who participated in the autocratic and atrocious regimes of Generals Babangida and Abacha. His spoke person, Doyin Okupe, was quoted as saying that â€Å"In future, all officers of our armed forces must recognize that the ultimate reward for participating or benefiting from coups will be premature or forced retirement from service in the minimum† (Cindy Shiner, June 16, 1999). Nevertheless, I would recommend death sentence as the minimum punishment for benefiting or participating in military coups in future, and for the politicians who should conspire with other government officials to loot the national treasury. There should be no sacred cows here. Any person found guilty after a due process should be given the stated punishment. The consistency and enforceability of this consequence will ensure discipline and professionalism in the Armed Forces. It will also guard against the excesses of our civilian politicians – many of whom are in office to acquire wealth illegally, and not to serve the public. In particular, this will ensure the survival of democracy, and an antidote to corruption in Nigeria. For the actions to be legitimate, the Congress should haste and insert the appropriate provisions in our constitution. Corruption is widely known as the bane of Nigeria. This construct, corruption, has been defined as â€Å"†¦a behavior which deviates from the formal duties of a public role because of private [gains] – regarding (personal, close family, private clique [cohorts], pecuniary or status gains; or violates rules against the exercise of certain types of [duties] for private [gains] – regarding influence†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Nye 1967, p.419). In fact, many writers have noted that it is probably the only viable industry in the society (Dike, forthcoming, August 1999). This covers â€Å"grand† corruption, at senior levels, and â€Å"petty† corruption, when junior officials take facilitation payments. The abysmal failure of military rule and our previous civilian administrations is associated with huge corruption in the state and the economy. Like other problems in the society, this essay cannot fully address the problem of corruption because of its limited focus. As Kofo Awosika pointed out in his recent piece â€Å"A President’s responsibilities†: â€Å"People are poor because they are being denied access to opportunities. People steal because they are hungry and destitute. People are hungry and destitute because they cannot earn wages. They have no wages because they have no work. They have no work because they have been retrenched. They have been retrenched because industries cannot cope with their wage bills. Industries can not cope with their wage bills because production costs have increased. Production costs have increased because our infrastructures have died. [The infrastructures have died because the funds meant for their upgrading, repairs, maintenance and installations of others meant for the common good end (up) in private pockets]† (The Guardian, June 17, 1999). President Olusegun Obasanjo must not stop at his first salvo. The people’s enthusiasm and interest in the administration should not be allowed to die down. He should establish a forum for people to voice out dissent on controversial issues in the society, and procedures under which ordinary citizens can sue for any infringement on their civil rights. More importantly, a general public sector reform is apropos. Reform here refers to large-scale and comprehensive change in the role, structure, values, staffing, or size of the public sector. This should also involve privatizing our ill-managed government corporations, and contracting out services in the domain of inefficient and corrupt corporations to the private sector for greater efficiency and accountability. International blueprint in the process could be adopted, but it should be adjusted to meet local conditions. The struggle for survival As psychology has noted, to redouble one’s efforts is a healthy response to an obstacle. For Nigeria to survive as a nation, we have to remain vigilant and intensify our efforts in areas of deficiency. And our ‘value-violators’ should be punished. In addition, our negative frame of references (e.g. the advance fee fraud – â€Å"419†) that are anchored in our social environment should be dismantled. We should be realistic in our struggle for survival, because the world is watching. President Obasanjo should wage war on ethnicity and nepotism, which are inimical to the unity of this great nation. This does not mean that groups would not retain their identity and work for their progress. But this should not be carried out in a manner that would undermine the unity and stability of the nation. And in future politicians who are pandering to ethnic interests should be rejected at the polling boot. It is imperative that Nigeria is re-structured into a mobile society; a nation where one could live in any state of his choice, secure employment at the state and local levels without limitations, and participate meaningfully in the affairs of the community of his abode (see Umez June 11, 1999). And ‘hard work, good skills and intelligence’ should be rewarded strictly on merits, without regard to ethnicity and religion. This will help to tame the dangerous trend of ‘brain-drain’ in the nation. It will also motivate people to give their undivided loyalty to the central government. At last, this will mean unity and the establishment of a common identity for Nigeria. But given Nigeria’s cultural diversity, this may not be an easy undertaking. Instead of setting up programs to encourage national unity, our leaders are dismantling or weakening the few programs that are in place. For instance, the recent reduction of the age group for prospective ‘youth service members’ from 30 years to 25 years by General Abubakar is a step toward scrapping the program. The National Youth Service Corps program was designed by General Yakubu Gowon after the civil war to foster national integration and reconciliation (The Post Express, June 11, 1999). One problem with our leaders is policy instability. We need more programs like the NYSC to facilitate and encourage inter-cultural interaction in the nation. President Obasanjo and his civilian administration should not allow this program to die. However, the program could be redesigned if it has not been achieving its purpose. The problem of secret cults or youth gangs in our tertiary institutions is a serious threat to the survival of Nigeria. Our universities have been turned into killing fields, instead of places of learning. The most recent incident was the killing of the principal assistant registrar at the Delta State University, Abraka (The Guardian of June 13, 1999). The congress should institute appropriate and enforceable laws against cult activities on university campuses. It is recognized that there are laws around to this effect. But these laws have either not been enforced, or they have not been effective. Unenforceable laws are only good on the book. The leader who can only give orders but cannot enforce them is not a leader by the standard of many societies. And to restore quality education in our educational institutions, the Congress and Prof. Tunde Adeniran (the recently appointed education minister), should increase funding for education and institute policies that will improve the low moral and motivation of professors and the support staff. Sound economic policies should also be instituted to diversify the nation’s mono-product economy. The diversification of the economy would help reduce Nigeria’s dependence on the outside world for her basic needs (food, etc), and lend credibility to claims that the country could someday join the ranks of superpowers. In particular, it will create employment for our burgeoning population. Among other measures to stimulate employment in the society is to give aid to state and local governments and accelerate public works. Our social problems (poverty, diseases, illiteracy, prostitution, crime, etc), are in one way or another related to the sour state of the economy. These things can all be done with proper leadership in Abuja. Economic development or growth (increase in an economy’s capacity to generate more goods and services) requires changes in human skills, attitudes, values – and people have to be formally educated; construct an economic infrastructure – basic transportation, communication, irrigation, and other power facilities; maximize agricultural productivity; increase capital accumulation – that is, tangible physical goods that will serve as means of production. These include machinery, technological innovations, buildings and equipment (Andrain 1975, pp.284-288). Therefore to survive, we need a strong ethic – to save and invest, not simply to consume; to develop sophisticated skills, with an educated and a highly motivated work force. As John Stuart Mill has said: â€Å"What a country wants to make it richer is never consumption, but production. Where there is the latter, we may be sure that there is no want of the former†¦Ã¢â‚¬ (Mill, as cited in Bartlett 1981, pp.1-2). A democratic political system seems best suited to achieve this. Nigeria has been doing poorly in these areas, despite her enormous oil wealth. For our economic revival efforts to be successful, the civilian administration should axe those corrupt and inefficient managers of our public utilities and facilities – NEPA, NNPC, NIPOST, NITEL, the Refineries, the Ports, and other establishments that are the hub of our economy. How does one justify the payment of monthly salaries to the executives of these corporations that are not performing? No serious society can afford to do that. The salaries of our executives should be tied to their productivity – that is, the effectiveness of their policies. It is imperative to understand that the â€Å"underdevelopment of a country is the result of its deficient value system and economic structure† (Chirot 1977, pp.2-3). It is equally important to understand that the key social forces that have fostered democracy in the United States and other stable democratic nations are not yet in Nigeria. Our deficiencies are many; but we must have to give democracy a chance to survive in the society. For this, the present socioeconomic re-structuring in Nigeria should be pursued with speed and sincerity. Summary Leadership commitment is essential to the survival and progress of Nigeria. The people have an important role to play too. But the people’s commitment would be difficult to secure if the leaders who are calling on them for sacrifice do not themselves make any sacrifices. To stamp out corruption in the country, Nigerians should always elect or appoint people of probity to manage the affairs of the nation. This group must analyze each situation in the society critically, in order to determine appropriate target of change, who should be involve in the effort, and what method will most likely lead to the desired outcome. The majority of Nigerians are pleased with the initial policy actions of the civilian administration. Nevertheless, we should keep an eagle’s eye on the legislature, because some of them are corrupt. Nigeria still lives in the history of the future. The way our history will be written depends upon the extent to which and the manner in which we – leaders and the people – strive to shape our future. There is a lot of unknown in the society. But since we cannot foresee what the remote future has in store for us, we can only hope for a better tomorrow. Nigeria, the world is still watching! References Achebe, Chinua (1983);The Trouble with Nigeria, Enugu, Fourth Dimension Publishers, 1983, p.1. Akintoye, Seth, et al (June 13, 1999); â€Å"Cultists At Work Again In Varsities;† the Guardian, June 13, 1999. Allport, Gordon W. (1979); The Nature of Prejudice; 25th Anniversary Edition, Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, p.507 Andrain, Charles F. (1975); Political Life and Social Change: An Introduction to Political Science, 2nd Edition, Duxbury Press, Belmont, California (1975); pp.284-288. Apter, David (1960); â€Å"The Role of Traditionalism in the Political Modernization of Ghana and Uganda,† World Politics, XII. Awosika, Kofo (June 17, 1999); â€Å"A president’s responsibilities;† the Guardian, June 17, 1999. Bienen, Henry (1993) â€Å"Leaders, Violence, and the Absence of Change in Africa† Political Science Quarterly Bartlett, Bruce (1981); Reaganomics: Supply Side Economics in Action. Arlington House Pub., 1981, pp.1-2. Bretton, Henry L. (1967); The Rise and Fall of Kwame Nkrumah. London: Pall Mall Press. Chirot, Daniel (1977); Social Change in the Twentieth Cenry; Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Inc., New York, pp.2-3. Dike, Enwere (1990); â€Å"Nigeria: The Political Economy of Buhari Regime,† Nigeria Journal Of International Affairs, Vol. 16, No.2, pp.94-95. Dike, Victor (Forthcoming, August 1999); Leadership, Democracy, and the Nigerian Economy: Lessons from the Past and Directions for the Future.(Forthcoming) August 1999.

A Poison Apple Essay

In the poem ‘ A Poison Apple ‘, poet William Blake illustrates that how a person, angry with another. Through a variety of tropological element, Blake paints a picture of the angst of one individual directed toward his friend. First he uses hyperbole to emphasis the effect he has created. This is evident when he writes that his tears are causing the anger to grow between him and his friend. As written on line five and line six of stanza two, ‘And I watered it in fears Night and morning with my tears, ’. In reality, tears do not make things grow. In the poem though, Blake’s despair is growing more and more with each and very tear he sheds. The hyperbole continue with ‘ I told my wrath, my wrath did end. ’ and ‘ I told it not, my wrath did grow. ’ Wrath is something inside a person that cannot be grow like a tree. It is an emotion that people cannot always control. In the poem, Blake is showing that he can control it but in reality he cannot. That was the start of the anger to his friend. Last but not least, the way he grows the tree is a strong hyperbole to the way people do normally. ‘ And I sunned it with smiles ‘ and ‘ And with soft deceitful wiles. in line seven and line eight of stanza two, it described the way the author grow his anger and wrath. Trees should be grown in mud but Blake’s ‘ tree ’ was bombastically grown in soft deceitful wiles which is impossible to happen in real life. The anger of him was becoming more and more. William Blake does a masterful job of comparing the growth of a tree in garden to the growth in life. Unfortunately the tree that Blake is growing is a â€Å" poison tree †. If thrives on the anger and wrath of a friend, rather than on the love that should be considered. Most things grow better with love.

Joan Miro and Dutch Interior Essay

Joan Miro created a surrealist painting, a style that expresses the subconscious using imagery in the subject matter, Dutch Interior shows a man playing the guitar at a table. There are animals and a women sitting around him listening to the beautiful sound. Miro used a wide array of colors especially green and white to emphasize a happy day. He uses complementary colors to allow the colors to clash and have things stand out and be unified from the rest of the canvas. Joan Miro created this painting by observing another painting called The Lute Player. He painted, distorted, simplified and abstracted it by drawing only what he thought was important of the object and using the colors he thought best represented the figure. Miro feels that it is not important to show every little detail because doing that gives your imagination no room to imagine. To him abstracting his images is the best way for him to express his inner feelings. In this painting the Dutch Interior he feels the most i mportant thing is the fact that a man is playing a guitar and so he paints that. He does not think the painting was painted to show the mans velvet hat so he leaves that out. Miro puts a happy warm feeling into his work by painting soft but brilliant colors onto his canvas. He puts soft whites into his painting to emphasize that warm mood of joy. Miro uses the color white also to show important areas of the canvas. Miro also uses some principles of design to try to give this feeling. He uses movement to lead your eye around starting from the man playing the guitar and ending in the lower left hand corner at the place where the dog is sitting. The central focus is the man playing the guitar because he is what the whole painting is basically about. One other important principle of design he uses is asymmetrical balance. There are the same amount of things happening on both sides of the musician. On the left you have a dog starring up at him and listening to the comforting music while on the right side the cat is doing the same thing. Although the central focus is the musician things are happening through out the canvas. Such as out the window there are people sailing boats and inside there are many different animals listening. I get the feeling of a happy day and all is going well and there is nice soft music in the background. The day is calm and nothing can go wrong, everything is just perfect. This painting was painted for the one reason to make people warm and happy inside and to tell people every where that detail is not needed in a painting as long as you have your imagination leading you through it. Miro wants to tell you that there is more to art than recognizable subject matter. You don’t have to know what your looking at.