Gang Development And Control Essay

Below are descriptions of gang development theories. Copy and paste the correct description into the table below next to the appropriate theory. There are five descriptions and four theories. One description is not valid. Theory Gang members are violent and rarely show remorse or feelings regarding their violent and criminal actions. Members may join a gang because it provides them a release for their personal problems, which may include drug abuse, low self-esteem, and family problems. Gang members typically come from low income areas and may even be considered to have been â€Å"forced† into gang life in order to survive. The gang provides a sense of belonging in a world where members may lack positive role models and the ability to attain status in a way considered acceptable by society. Joining a gang is a way to obtain money and protection. It is often seen as a personal decision to gain success. Members who join for this reason feel pride when they get away with a crime and were most likely committing illegal acts long before joining a gang. Members join a gang to have a safe social circle and to learn techniques to communicate through graffiti. Gang members use those techniques to display their gang’s strength and power in their neighborhood. Members who join a gang for this reason are typically involved in drug use and truancy but rarely violent acts of delinquency. Individuals who join gangs for this reason may have an older family member who is a gang member. They may go through distinct hazing rituals before they can join. The hazing rituals offer assurance that the individual is capable and ready to start his or her new life as a gang member. Description: Anthropological †¢Individuals who join gangs for this reason may have an older family member who is a gang member. They may go through distinct hazing rituals before they can join. The hazing rituals offer assurance that the individual is capable and ready to start his or her new life as a gang member. Sociocultural †¢Gang members typically come from low income areas and may even be considered to have been â€Å"forced† into gang life in order to survive. The gang provides a sense of belonging in a world where members may lack positive role models and the ability to attain status in a way considered acceptable by society. Psychological †¢Gang members are violent and rarely show remorse or feelings regarding their violent and criminal actions. Members may join a gang because it provides them a release for their personal problems, which may include drug abuse, low self-esteem, and family problems. Rational Choice †¢Joining a gang is a way to obtain money and protection. It is often seen as a personal decision to gain success. Members who join for this reason feel pride when they get away with a crime and were most likely committing illegal acts long before joining a gang. Gang Control In the table below, describe the gang control methods in your own words and use the Internet to provide an example of a program based on each type of gang control method. Include the name of the Web site and the working URL address in the table. Gang Control Methods Descriptions Examples Law Enforcement Efforts Law enforcement is looked at for gang control and it takes three forms. Youth service program where they are given responsibility for gang control. Gang details are assigned exclusively to gang control work. Gang units are to deal solely with gang problems. Chicago officers have an intelligence unit that will use the gang members name in the computer to see if they have gotten arrested or picked up for anything. Gang Awareness https://portal.chicagopolice.org/portal/page/portal/ClearPath/Communities/Gang%20Awareness Community Control Efforts They used to have the YMCA where there were people there to work with gangs. Now they have prevention services for kids to prevent them from joining a gang. Like counseling and parent kid activities. They also want to find a way to involve programs into the schools. Gang Free http://www.gangfree.org/who_index.html

Poem Comparison †Telephone Conversation Essay

The context of this poem is of a black man from Africa trying to find accommodation, it is based on his experiences as a student in the 1960’s. The poem is written from the perspective as a phone discussion between him and a landlady. The main problem in this poem is that there is a huge amount of racism show by the landlady to the African – ‘How dark? Are you light or very dark?’ This shows immediately that the landlady has something against coloured people and can’t have a conversation without knowing the skin colour of the man. It also seems that the landlady would prefer the man not be coloured than to rather receive money for the accommodation. The impression we get from the landlady tells us that she is a very racist and ignorant woman. She first shows this after the man mentions he’s an Africa, which she doesn’t reply to – ‘Silence, silenced transmission of pressurised good breeding.’ The silence shows us her simple summary of her response of having to think twice about accommodating the black man. She shows that she has a sense of racism in her – ‘Considerate she was, varying the emphasis – Are you dark? Or very light?’ This tells us that the landlady is trying to imagine all the colours he could be and shows she judges people totally on colour. We also see that she is wealthy and cares about her image a lot – ‘Lipstick coated, long gold – rolled cigarette holder piped.’ From the view of the man he would think she is also a snob due to the way she is speaking to him and her questions. When the conversation starts it begins normally but is changed completely when the man says he is African – ‘Self confession – I am African.’ This suggests that the mans skin colour is a sin which he is guilty of. He also feels that he needs to defend himself even before the woman has started to ask any questions. Then after the landlady asked him how dark he was he didn’t know how to respond to her – ‘Button A, Button B,’ this shows us that the man is shocked and confused to answer the question just asked. After the man realises that the landlady has a sense of racism in her, he begins to become angry and compares it to the environment he is in – ‘Red booth, red pillar box, red double tiered.’ The red that he is describing represents his feelings which means he is angry and the environment seems repulsive to him. When the man says – ‘Like plain or milk chocolate’ he is talking about his skin colour and at the same time making a clever joke out of it. He is also mocking the landlady and showing her that he is not going to put up with the racist questions anymore. This shows that he is beginning to twist the conversation and is now the person who is asking the questions. He shows this when he says his colour is ‘West African Sepia’ and then asking her if she knew his skin colour. But as ‘West African Sepia’ isn’t a colour it tells us that the man is using his knowledge to make a fool of her. This makes him feel better due to the fact that he is now criticising her. Also, he feels he wants to make her feel the same way he felt when he had to answer the racist questions. The attitude of the man changes at the end of the poem from being a polite and respectful to an angry and rude man. But he changes his attitude because of the landlady’s judgement of him and decided to show his angry and rage to show that he is not a weak person. The man is now making fun of her and is mocking her at more length when he speaks about his colour – ‘Don’t you know what it is? That’s dark, isn’t it?’ He then starts to be rude by offering to show his bottom under the pretence of suggesting she meets him before judging – ‘My bottom raven black, wouldn’t you rather see for yourself.’ He does this to make her feel uncomfortable as he was before and tried to put her in a complicated position. The control of power in the beginning of this poem was in the hands of the landlady as she owns the house and is offering the accommodation to the man. As the poem continues her power begins to decrease as the man reverses the situation as he starts to mock her. By the end of the poem the man has gained all the power from the landlady and is so powerful the landlady talks but only when she is asked a question. I think the poet wrote this to show that people who seem to be weak like the African man could be clever enough to gain power. Also, people who are foreign to a country still believe they have rights to fight back to unpleasant comments. You Will Be Hearing From Us Shortly The context of this poem is based on an interview for a position at a company. The interview includes the ‘interviewer’ and ‘interviewees’. The poem is written from the perspective of the interviewer asking questions to the candidates. The main problem in this situation is that there is a sense of prejudice shown by the interviewer to the candidates. Also, the candidates are not being treated fair to even be considered the position at the company. Another problem is that in the poem people are judged on looks and appearance instead of their knowledge and potential. The impression we get from the interviewer is that she wants the interviewee to know that she is in charge and is the only person asking the questions. This is shown in the first stanza when she immediately asks her questions, which shows she has a much more superior attitude than the interviewees – ‘You feel adequate to the demands of this position’. This shows from the start-off that the interviewer is in control and doesn’t show any manners to wait for a response but instead asks the next question. The character of the interviewer develops into being rude and also she doesn’t pay attention to the interviewee’s emotions or feelings. She shows that she is rude when she questions their looks and abilities – ‘Find your appearance, disturbing?’ She also is more direct in asking questions and doesn’t hesitate of their reaction this is show hen she questions their accent – ‘And your accent that is the way you have always spoken, is it?’ This gives us the impression that she is insulting the speech of the interviewee. The poet makes us think that the candidate is really weak and doesn’t show any sign of defending herself. Also, whenever the interviewer finishes asking a question she also replies for the candidates – ‘So glad we agree, Quite so.’ This shows that they are so powerless they can’t be able to answer for themselves. It also shows us that the interviewees seem that they don’t care about receiving criticism and do not have the power to stand up and respond. The character of the candidate develops into being more weaker than she is already. She receives more and more criticism from the interviewer and never has the chance to respond due to the interviewers power – ‘What of your education? Where were you educated?’ This shows the interviewer is now not even giving the courtesy of a response and instead goes straight onto the next question, showing the interviewee’s lack of importance to her. The control of power in this poem was in the hands of the interviewer in the beginning. As the poem continues her power gets stronger and stronger and becomes so strong that at a point you’d forget that the candidates are even present. By the end of the poem the interviewer still has all the power possible in the interview and uses it to great effect against the interviewees. I think the poets reasons for writing this poem is to show people that a person who is in a powerful enough position to make judgements of people can have even more power by showing it and using it to their advantage.

Business Decision Making

The methodology for this report will focus upon both primary and secondary research methods which will be used to obtain the opinions of the asked passer. Needled et-al (2003) states that primary research mainly consists of data collected by an organization, or individual, for their own purposes and are generally collated first hand from ‘the horses mouth'. Needled (2003) offers the opinion that the main methods of collating primary research are through conducting face to face Interviews, telephone interview, questionnaires and through direct observations.Primary data can be either qualitative or quantitative. Qualitative research data tend to be more explanatory whereas quantitative is generally more descriptive. The main part of the research for this project will consist of one primary method, survey. The survey questioned passers within Princess to determine what they think about the Princess. This method has been chosen as it is easy method to collate considerable data and it is a relatively cheap method of collating the data.To ensure response rates were high, the passers were asked face to face. I have chosen to opt against a paper based System as Needled et-al (2003) offers the argument that response rates to costal systems are often as low as 30% and I feel this method may introduce bias to the overall conclusion. There the alternative option of personally distributing and collecting the surveys for which Sweeten (2002) claims can increase the response rate to almost 70%.However given the short timescales for the project I only intend to sample the views of 20 people. Questionnaires are quite popular when collecting data, but are difficult to design and often need many drafts before having a final questionnaire. These drafts are called pilot questionnaires. Again because of the given short time call I was only able design one pilot. It emerged that the questionnaire was too long. The final questionnaire was then amended by the KISS theory'- keep i t short and simple.Random sampling was used as non random sampling is impracticable and often very costly in terms of time. After collecting the primary data, the data was then exported into Microsoft Excel to provide a more professional presentation for this document in providing professional graphs and findings. Secondary research All methods of data collection supply quantitative data (numbers, statistics) or qualitative data (usually words or text).Secondary data is data that has already been collected by someone else for a different purpose as the investigator. Main methods that is used to for the collection Of secondary data: Data supplied by a marketing organization Annual company reports Government statistics / surveys Academic surveys Company data (payroll details, minutes of meetings, accounts of sales of goods or services) Whilst theory is a crucial factor in academic learning and organizational success leading academics offer different views on it effectiveness.Saunders et-al (2003) explains that secondary research, especially academic journals, re the most important source for any research because they are evaluated by academic peers prior to publication therefore generally of good quality. Gharry (1995) offers the opinion that secondary research is has there are major advantages of secondary research mainly through savings in time, money and resources as academic literature from various sources is widely available and easily obtainable.However Needled et-al (2003) warns that the information may not always be of good quality, may not represent the whole picture and the research could be out of date. These opinions were considered whilst conducting the literature review. After having contacted the Princess press department the result was that due to the fact that the Princess is a new development, secondary data was not available. Rest Its The layout of the questionnaire was divided in three parts – introductory questions, main questions and final questions.Topic: What do you think of the Princess development? Number of questioned people: 20 Introductory questions The introductory questions are of assistance to find out general information about the questioned person. 1. Gender 2. Age group 3. Employment status 4. Marital status Main questions Main questions are in place in order to gather information about the topic of the question naira. 5. Purpose of the visit 6. Preferred time to visit 7. Does it meet expectations? 8. What were the expectations? 9. Affect on Setter's other high street retailers and restaurants 10.Overall affect of the Princess Shopping Centre to Exeter Final questions The final questions help to calm down and relax from the main part. It can also seen as fun part. 11. Favorite new shop 12. Favorite new restaurant/cafe The Upper Crust Memo To: Quality Control Manager From: Tugboat Vic Sicken c: Date: January 31, 2015 Re: Result of samples 65 loaves of bread with a weight range of 780-830 g Average w eight (mean) of loaves 804. 74 g The middle loaf (median) weighs 804. 9 g The most common (mode) loaf weight is 804. 9 g The Standard deviation of each loaf is 9. G The weight of the lower quartile is (IQ) is 798. 48 g Q = Median = 804. 9 g The weight of the upper quartile is (Q) is 811. 1 g The intrauterine range is 12. 62 g Box + Whisker plot Due to wastage we lost 805 loaves Task 5 Correlation The correlation is one of the most common and most useful statistics. A correlation is a single number that describes the degree of relationship between two variables. If points in scatter diagram cluster close to the line then there is a strong correlation in place and if points are more widely scattered the correlation is weak.Positive correlation If an increase in one variable tends to be associated with an increase in the other then this is known as a positive correlation. An example would be height and weight. Taller people tend to be heavier. Negative correlation If an increase in one variable tends to be associated with a decrease in the other then this is known as a negative correlation. An example would be height above sea level and temperature. As you climb the mountain (increase n height) it gets colder (decrease in temperature).No correlation A zero correlation occurs when there is no relationship between variables. The picture below shows a guide to the strength of correlation Strengths of correlations 1 . Correlation enables the researcher to examine naturally occurring variables that perhaps unethical or impractical to test experimentally. For instance, it would be unethical to carry out an experiment on whether smoking causes lung cancer. 2. Correlation enables the researcher to clearly and easily see if there is a relationship between variables. This Can then be displayed in a replica form.Limitations of correlations 1 . Correlation is not and cannot be taken to imply causation. Even if there is a very strong relationship between two variables we cann ot assume that one causes the other. For example suppose we found a positive correlation between watching violence on T. V. And violent behavior in teenage years. It could be that the cause of both these is a third (irrelevant) variable – say for example, growing up in a violent home – and that both the watching of T. V. And the violent behavior are the outcome of this. . Correlation does not allow us to go beyond the data that is given. For example suppose it was found that there was a relationship between time spent on homework (112 hour to 3 hours) and number of G. C. S. E. Passes (1 to 6). It would not be correct to conclude from this that spending 6 hours on homework would be likely to generate 12 G. C. S. E. Passes 5 A + B. Rest It: The older the car gets (increase) the less is it worth (decrease). The scatter diagram above shows that the correlation is stronger after the first two years.There is no straight line relationship. The points on the graph with couple of exceptions form a curve which suggests it is not a linear relationship. The explanation of partial in the correlation result means that it is not 100% correlated because of other factors that influenced it. Coefficient of determination: 65. 61 % of the behavior of y is determined by x + 34. 39 % by other factors. The aim of regression analysis is to find out the values of parameters for a function that cause the function to best fit a set of data observations that it's provided.In linear regression, the function is a linear (straight-line) equation. The equation and the table above show that the value of the car decreases by a constant amount each year after its purchase. The following linear function loud predict its value Value = price + departed*age Value, the dependent variable, is the value of the car, age is the age of the car. The regression analysis will determine the best values of the two parameters, price, the estimated value when age is O (I. E. , when the car was new ), departed, the depreciation that takes place each year.The value of departed will be negative because the car loses value as age increases. However as we can see in the table after 12 years the equation gives a negative value. This would be not possible in reality. A car cannot be worth E-340. 06. The problem with the equitation is that it is not realistic. The equation is only correct in terms Of figures. E. The equation does not include the factors that can influence the price of a used car. It only considers the age of the car. However there can be several other factors that can influence the price of a used car.Mileage Color- In other words, some colors, like â€Å"ROI Yellow Pearl†, appeal only to a small segment of the population and brings down the car's worth in many eyes Fuel type Engine size Transmission Number of doors Private or trade seller – Trade seller are always more expensive as trader adds profit on the actual value of the car. Previous owner †“ For example if a elderly person was the previous owner it is very likely that the car was only used for short distances (shopping, doctor consultations) On the other hand if the car was used at a driving school then it is very likely that the car was not treated well from the learners. F. Business decision makers need to find out very often the casual relationship between two variables. For instance, the relationship between interest rates and consumer expenditure. Furthermore a financial analyst may use regression and correlation to help understand the relationship of a financial ratio to a set of other variables in business. Correlations can be helpful in business. Once a correlation is identified, organizations can determine if the correlation indicates causation. With this information, the company can develop methods to influence the correlation to the organization's benefit.Task AAA. Total float The longest the start of an activity can be delayed from its earliest start tim e (EST) without delaying the project. Free float The longest an activity can be delayed from its EST without delaying the EST of any immediately following activities. By looking at the table, those tasks without a total float' (I . E. Zero) are considered ‘critical' and coincidentally are mound on the critical path. It is therefore important that these tasks are not delayed in order to complete the project on time as planned.Recognizing and integrating float is very important. For example, those tasks that do carry float may have resources (labor, capital, equipment, etc) that could be used elsewhere to complete other tasks quicker. Also, for those tasks that do carry float, any delays can be accepted. As the resource diagram below shows, 6 assistants are required for the job. Furthermore the whole procedure will take 25 days. After rescheduling the activities only 4 assistants are required. Apart from this the whole procedure will take 21 days. 70.Critical Path Analysis (CPA) is a planning and project management tool. It can help make sure a project is completed as quickly as possible, and resources used as efficiently as possible. The business is able to give the customer exact information such as finish date, required assistants. Furthermore, most projects come across with delays or something unexpected, so managers need to use tool such as CPA to monitor the project and take quick action to resolve any problems. This enables the business to avoid any delays and the consequential customer complaints. Business Decision Making Leadership in today's organizations is a tough business. Organizational leaders face a number of significant challenges as their jobs, and the world around them, become increasingly complex (Zaccaro & Klimoski, 2001). Trends such as organizational â€Å"delayering, † rapid technological advances, the proliferation of teambased organizations, and increased employee empowerment require that leaders adapt their techniques and styles of leadership to meet these new challenges.In the face of all these changes, researchers and management education specialists are working to find methods to develop more effective leaders. Old techniques of development are criticized and questioned, and new techniques are created—often before they are adequately tested and thoroughly understood. New techniques can become instant â€Å"fads. † In recent years, there has been an explosion of interest in leadership.The bulk of research efforts has gone into trying to understand leadershipâ €”how it operates— and into identifying the characteristics of effective leaders. Although interpersonal relationships have always held importance within the organizational literature (Blau, 1964), a focus on relational perspectives is recently experiencing renewed interest in organizational behavior and leadership research (Day, 2000). According to Hunt and Dodge (2001), relational perspectives are at the forefront of emerging leadership thrusts.A relational focus is one that â€Å"moves beyond unidirectional or even reciprocal leader–follower relationships to one that recognizes leadership wherever it occurs, is not restricted to a single or even small set of formal or informal leaders, and in its strongest form, functions as a dynamic system embedding leadership, environmental, and organizational aspects† (Hunt & Dodge, 2001, p. 448). An area of research that speaks directly to leadership development, as defined by Day (2000), is Leader–Member Exch ange (LMX) theory.Researchers working with this leadership model have been investigating the value of developing effective work relationships between managers and subordinates for the past 30. During this time, LMX has shown the value of high-quality relationships and the problems associated with lower quality relationships. The purpose of this work is to discuss LMX theory, research, and practice on leadership development. The paper begins by briefly reviewing the value of relationships from a social capital perspective and then defines leadership relative to relationships.Leadership is engaging in behaviors that create change, and creating change requires influence. To be leaders, therefore, individuals need to have and effectively use influence. Influence is the power to affect others: the ability to produce outcomes due to some personal characteristic that gets others to follow. By definition, influence is inherently interpersonal. Influence takes place within the context of int erpersonal relationships. According to relational leadership theories, influence comes from relationships.Relational perspectives in leadership view leadership as generated through mutual influence that results from the development of trust, respect, and obligation among dyad members. LMX theory describes this influence as being created through stages of relationship building. Individuals begin at a â€Å"stranger† stage, get to know one another through testing processes, and as a result of the testing process, either progress to an advanced stage of leadership development (e. g., partnership) or remain at lower levels of relationship development (e. g. , acquaintance or stranger). Those who attain more advanced stages of relationship building—and thus develop more effective relationships with interdependent others (e. g. , managers and other higher-ups, subordinates, peers, clients, external constituents)—are able to more effectively perform their roles. More e ffective, or high-quality, leader– member exchanges are described as leadership rather than as supervisory relationships.High-quality relationships are considered mature partnerships based on respect, trust, and mutual obligation for one another (Graen& Uhl-Bien, 1995). These relationships go beyond the formal contract and generate personal power (i. e. , influence given by the other), rather than position power or authority. They are also characterized by willing followership, meaning employees are driven by intrinsic as opposed to extrinsic motivation. As a result, dyad partners (i. e., individuals engaged in an exchange) act because they want to, not because they have to. Research on LMX shows that more effectively developed relationships have significant and positive associations with performance, organizational commitment, employee citizenship behavior (i. e. , extra-role behavior), job satisfaction, delegation and participation in decision making, and enhanced career de velopment opportunities. These relationships are negatively related to turnover, job problems, and role conflict and ambiguity.The benefits of high-quality relationships come from relational resources they create. Such resources include durable obligations (e. g. , arising from feelings of gratitude, respect, and friendship), network contacts and connections (including privileged access to information and opportunities, social status, and reputation of influential others), and the ability to have open information exchanges with those around them (Nahapiet & Ghoshal, 1998). Relationships that do not develop so well are considered lower quality.These relationships are not as beneficial for the individuals involved or for the organization as a whole. Lower quality relationships are described as contractually defined, formal exchanges based on limited trust and in-role interactions (Uhl-Bien et al. , 2000). These types of relationships generate management rather than leadership. They ar e characterized by lack of mutual respect, formal downward communications, little mutual understanding, limited support and commitment for one another, and no mutual obligation (i. e. , a â€Å"stranger† relationship).Findings have shown that lower quality relationships are negatively related to satisfaction, organizational citizenship behaviors, and commitment, and are positively related to turnover. Thus, based on relational leadership theory, effective relationships may generate mutual influence and understanding that allow leaders to more effectively perform their roles. In contrast to hierarchical and leader-dominated perspectives on relational differentiation, the goal and responsibility of leadership should be to work to develop effective relationships more broadly with interdependent others, rather than with only a group of â€Å"trusted assistants†.Drawing from the foundations established by Day (2000), leadership development needs to be considered (a) beyond hierarchical notions of manager–subordinate relationships, (b) as the responsibility of both members of the dyad (rather than leader-controlled), and (c) with allowance for more variability in what is considered a high-quality, or effective, relationship.A high-quality exchange is characterized by positive leadership processes that are indicative of a social exchange, such as increased subordinate job latitude and influence in decision making, more open and honest subordinate communication with the supervisor, and greater trust and loyalty among dyad members (Cogliser & Schriesheim, 2000). Low-quality LMX relationships are more economic or transactional in nature, and dyadic behaviors rarely progress beyond what is specified in the employment contract.With regard to leadership development, those subordinates interested in leadership development receive it as part of the relationship contract. Those that are not interested in becoming leaders do not receive leadership developm ent as part of their psychological contract and receive a different allocation of on-the-job training. Effective organizations have units that are tied together, through â€Å"linking-pin† positions, where members in these organizations become more aware of problems at lower levels in the system and coordinate activities efficiently through accurate flows of information, influence, and resources among the units involved.The persons occupying these linking-pin positions are integrated members in two or more groups and play the role of both supervisor and subordinate. Graen and his colleagues explored the effectiveness of the LMX relationship between incumbents of linking-pin positions and their supervisors and the behavior, attitudes, and treatment of lower level members (Graen, Cashman, Ginsburgh, & Schiemann, 1977). They found that the quality of LMX of the linking-pin incumbent was related to the quality of working life of the followers who reported to the linking pin.When subordinates develop high-quality exchanges with their bosses, they receive greater influence, latitude, support, and attention from their bosses, and they experience a more desirable situation overall. These researchers continued by pointing out that the quality of members in a higher dyad (hierarchically) contributed to the quality of life of members in hierarchically lower dyads. The LMX model clearly has utility for its application to leadership development.Empirical studies have supported the relationship of high-quality exchanges with positive organizational outcomes, and the broader leadership literature supports the cascading or waterfall effect of the supervisor's leadership behavior impacting the subordinates. There is a clear need for methods that more effectively socialize junior managers for executive positions. Dyad-level coaching may be one of the most effective means for transmitting organizational culture, thereby promoting the organization's core values.Dyad manage ment development has not been utilized to the full extent possible to leverage the potential of the pool of executive talent. The LMX literature says that LMX differentiation, in which leaders have higher quality relationships with some subordinates and lower quality relationships with others, occurs because leaders do not have time (or the need) to generate highquality relationships with everyone. Therefore, they develop a group of trusted assistants to help them perform the work of the unit.These trusted assistants would supposedly be the best or most reliable employees in the unit. Twenty years after the inception of the theory, Graen and Uhl-Bien (1995) argued that the creation of â€Å"in-groups† and â€Å"out-groups† within work units is not beneficial, and that instead leaders should strive to develop high-quality relationships with all subordinates. They do this by â€Å"making the offer† of high-quality relationships to all and then through testing proc esses, different quality relationships result (Uhl-Bien et al., 2000). This perspective allows for the fact that all relationships may not (and likely will not) reach high quality, but at least the dyad members both take part in how the relationship develops (rather than the leader determining who will be the trusted assistants) and have the opportunity to create a high-quality relationship. This perspective also recognizes that a focus on differentiation rather than on high-quality relationships offered to all creates tremendous opportunity for lost potential in organizations.When individuals are not fully committed (or are dissatisfied), they will withdraw discretionary behaviors that benefit others or the organization (e. g. , helping, altruism, civic behaviors). These discretionary behaviors are beneficial to the organization, and as a result, much attention has been given in the literature to determining when and how individuals engage in these behaviors. Instead of LMX differe ntiation, therefore, goal should be for individuals to strive to have influence with one another (and with higher-ups).With the support of a relationship, individuals are freer to open up and provide one another with more accurate and complete information (Avolio, 1999) so they can provide the â€Å"real† information (the â€Å"real† story). This goes both ways: with a good relationship comes reduced filtering (holding back) of information, both up and down the hierarchy. It allows individuals to share with one another the hard truth. Too many leaders do not have good information, and too many hold back in being truthful with their subordinates.If to extend this beyond managers to leaders more broadly, then organizational members need to be comfortable with providing information to one another, and this comes with having effective work relationships. Remembering that effective leaders are defined as those who use influence to create change, individuals' abilities to be effective leaders are directly related to their ability to have influence in the organization. Since effective work relationships can extend individuals' influence networks, those who have more effective relationships with others will likely have more opportunity to gain and use influence.Therefore, leadership effectiveness is likely enhanced by the ability to build effective work relationships with a broader range of interdependent others. In a study of communications within Leader-Member Exchanges, Schiemann ( 1977) found that those members with relatively higher quality LMXs communicated more frequently with their managers about administrative and technical matters than did members with relatively lower quality LMXs. These results were cross-validated on a holdout sample of managers.Apparently, there is much more communication in higher quality LMXs than in the lower quality LMXs. Thus, effective communications are an important aspect of the development of high-quality LMXs. Fla uto’s (1999) study is in response to the global question, â€Å"How are communication and leadership linked? † This study drew subjects from a variety of organizations in Ohio, eastern Indiana, northern Kentucky, and western West Virginia. Twenty to fifty subjects were drawn from each of nine organizations.Organizations participating in the study were two financial service organizations, a retail sales organization, a military unit, a subsurface coal mining organization, a suburban police department, a rural bank branch, a local post office, and a food service organization. Transactional and transformational leadership were measured using subscales of the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ). A six-item, three-factor subscale was created for the transformational leadership dimension and a four-item, two-factor subscale was created for the transactional leadership dimension.Subjects responded to each of the behavioral anchored items by selecting one of five respon ses that applied to their leader. The leader-member exchange dimension was measured by a subscale consisting of the six items of the LMX-6 scale. The LMX-6 scale contains items that measure the three factors of leader-member exchange. Responses are on a five-point Likert-type scale. The relationship is the highest among all of the variables in the study. This finding supports the conclusions of Day (2000) that communication attributes can distinguish between levels of leader-member exchange quality.The finding also fits into the theoretical framework of the leader-member approach to leadership that requires successful communication exchange in order to form the â€Å"in-group† relationship that characterizes high quality leader-member exchange. The communicative competence of the leader, and its affect on communication effectiveness as evidenced by member perception of leader-member agreement, appears to be a necessary precondition for a high quality leader-member exchange re lationship. At the lower levels of communication competence, high quality leader-member relationships do not exist.The leader displays charisma by communicating enthusiasm and providing a model, shows individual consideration by direct interaction and providing tailored assistance, and stimulates intellect by communicating ideas. Day (2000) defines transformational leaders as leaders who use rhetorical skills to establish a common vision. Not surprisingly, members report a high relationship between transformational leadership and communication competence. In the least squares hierarchical multiple regression analyses, transformational leadership is the best single predictor of communication competence.Transformational leadership is of high quality when the leader exhibits high communication competency. Dyads with high communication competence and low transformational leadership and dyads with low communication competence and high transformational leadership do not exist. Leadership, however it is theoretically or operationally defined, is a social process and involves a relationship between individuals. This social process and this relationship are enacted through communication. These sessions were conducted with all participants in the treatment group.Before and after results, in terms of performance, were compared for this group and for other groups from the department, which were not exposed to the LMX treatment. Productivity increases measured in terms of the quantity of cases handled showed a significant advantage in favor of the group that was trained in LMX. Furthermore, this gain was primarily a function of effects that occurred in a high–growth need group of subjects. This latter index was included in the study because a job enrichment treatment based on job characteristics theory was introduced, along with the LMX treatment.Any job enrichment effects per se, however, were negated by certain policy changes that were introduced by the organizati on unknown to the experimenters; thus job characteristics theory was not, in fact, tested. A subsequent publication, based on data from the same context, was aimed at determining whether low or high initial LMX subjects were most responsive to the treatment effects. The results clearly indicated that the low LMX subjects responded most positively to the treatment in terms of both the quality of their leader–member exchanges and the quantity of their productivity.Another report on this project substantiates the moderator effects of growth need strength, but makes no mention of the finding that low– quality leader–member exchange translates into greater productivity with the appropriate training. This latter result is most consistent with theory in that it means that dyadic partnership building applied across the board should result in both low– and high–quality dyads initially moving with training to high–quality relationships. However, if gr owth need strength is a moderator of the training effect, one would anticipate that it would also moderate the initial dyadic choices as well.In such an event low–quality dyads would not contain many high– managed strength people and thus would offer little potential for upward movement. This seeming contradiction is neither explained nor even confronted. Growth need strength is not a component of the theory as stated in comprehensive forms. Research on LMXs illustrates the importance of leader-follower relationships. The point here is simply that 30 years of research on LMXs has conclusively demonstrated the effect of exchange quality on a number of important organizational outcomes.Specifically, in a meta-analysis of this area of leadership research, Gerstner and Day (1997) found that the quality of the LMX was significantly related to job performance, satisfaction with supervision, overall satisfaction, commitment, role conflict (negative relation), role clarity, me mber competence, and turnover intentions (negative relation). After reviewing the extensive LMX literature, Gerstner and Day's conclusion was â€Å"we view the relationship with one's supervisor as a lense through which the entire work experience is viewed† (p. 840).However, although LMX offers evidence to support the value of relational approaches to leadership, many questions still remain about key issues related to leadership development. In particular, a question that needs to be addressed in LMX research is: what leads to development of higher and lower quality work relationships (e. g. , antecedents to LMX)? Although past research has investigated antecedents to LMX, a clear picture of what these are and how they operate still has not emerged. References Avolio, B. J. (1999). Full leadership development: Building the vital forces in organizations.Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Blau, P. (1964). Exchange and power in social life. New York: Wiley. Cogliser, C. C. , & Schriesheim , C. A. (2000). ‘Explori ngworkun itcontex tand leader-membe rexchange: A multi-level perspective. ’ Journal of Organizational Behavior, 21 (5). Day, D. V. (2000). ‘Leadership development: A review in context. ’ Leadership Quarterly, 11. Flauto, Frank J. (1999). ‘Walking the Talk: The Relationship between Leadership and Communication Competence’. Journal of Leadership Studies. Graen, G. B. , & Uhl-Bien, M. (1995).‘Relationship–based approach to leadership: Development of leader-member exchange (LMX) theory of leadership over 25 years: Applying a multi-level multidomain perspective. ’ The Leadership Quarterly, 6. Hunt, J. G. , & Dodge, G. E. (2001). ‘Leadership d? eja vu all over again. ’ Leadership Quarterly, 11 (4). Nahapiet, J. , & Ghoshal, S. (1998). ‘Social capital, intellectual capital, and the organizational advantage. ’ Academy of Management Review, 23 (2). Zaccaro, S. J. , & Klimoski, R. J. (2001). The nature of organizational leadership: Understanding the performance imperatives confronting today's leaders. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Letter to the editor Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Letter to the editor - Essay Example The students are up in arms because they claim the university president’s position suggests that deaf individuals â€Å"need to be fixed† and are in some way deficient, inferior, or second-class to other students. The university president’s position, on the contrary, is that all individuals should have access to any avenue of coping with deafness; she claims that the university should endorse freedom of choice with regard to cochlear implants. She states that no one option or approach with regard to surviving as a deaf student should be mandated universally by the university. My own opinion on this issue is that the deaf students protesting at Gallaudet are wrong and that they are trying to impose one perspective: deafness is a personal identity similar to sexual orientation, for example. I believe the students’ position is restrictive, defensive, and inappropriate for a university to uphold. The students’ position is restrictive of personal freedom in that it seeks to limit the choices that a deaf student and his/her family face with regard to the student’s coping strategies. The Gallaudet protestors claim that there is only one righteous way to manage deafness, namely by accepting one’s deafness and committing to living with the disability as a kind of personal destiny. While I am totally supportive of any pride that deaf individuals may feel about their strengths and virtues in managing the disability while living in a deaf community, attending a deaf university, and communicating in American Sign Language at high levels of proficiency, I find their attempt to force all deaf persons to follow a similar path highly dogmatic and obstructive. Vermeulen, Bon, Schreuder, Knoors, and Snik completed a study on reading comprehension with two groups of 16 children. Pre-lingual deaf children with cochlear implants were

Islamic Rites of Passage Study Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Islamic Rites of Passage Study - Essay Example The hope is that the person will die with the Shahada on their lips; Washing and Shrouding of the body in a clean white cloth (kafn), is a tradition passed down from Abraham and symbolizes not only purity, cleanliness and simplicity, but adherence to the Quran. As Muhammud said, "When one of you shrouds his dead brother, he should shroud him in the best of manners." All Islamic rituals demand purification before performance. The absence of color, the cleansing of the body, also signify a transition from worldly contamination, and preparation for a better, holier place. A variant on this practice is that those who die as martyrs may be buried in their own clothes, and some sects will use three sheets, while others only one. Performing such rituals on the body not only reaffirms faith, but allows comfort for the bereaved, who are caring for and helping the lost loved one. Funeral Prayers (Salat-l-Janazah) are said outdoors, with the Imam standing in front of the body. These are similar to the five daily prayers, with the first said aloud, the others silently, and known as Takbirs. The time, place, language, objects and actions provide a continuity, yet a transition from life to death, and allows individuals to add their own silent intentions for the person. Burial, which takes place quickly after death, to avoid worldly contamination, is always facing Mecca, and in a simple grave.

I'va attached the file Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 3

I'va attached the file - Essay Example For instance, it is said that one percent of the total United States population own a total of forty percent of the wealth. The other form which inequality takes is the income inequality. Income inequality refers to the fact that some people earn so much while others only earn a very small salary which is hardly enough to support then and their dependents. For instance, in a typical organization, the lowest ranking employee has a salary so low that his month’s salary equals the hourly income of a CEO. This wealth and income insecurity is not good for the economy and has been attributed to the economic recession in the United States. As the wealth disparity continues to widen, the United States is lacking a middle class, becoming a nation of very few extremely rich people and very many extremely poor people. This is not good for the economic and for the economic well being of the

European Court Of Justice and Free Movement of Persons Essay

European Court Of Justice and Free Movement of Persons - Essay Example The move from the European Community to that of European Union was reflected in a number of specific EC Treaty provisions, including the enlargement of competence in the fields of education and culture, and of course the launch of the sacred status of citizenship of the Union2. The Treaty on European Union (here after referred to as TEU or Treaty of Maastricht) has introduced for the first time a systematic concept of citizenship in the Community ambit through Articles 17 to 22 (renumbered after the Treaty of Amsterdam). Article 17 states that Citizenship of the Union is hereby established and that every citizen holding the nationality of the Member State shall be a citizen of the Union. Following the Amsterdam amendment citizenship of the Union shall complement and not replace national citizenship. The rights and obligations emanating from the citizenship of the EU are then specified in the following articles 18-22/ ex-art. 8a-8e. They include the right to free movement and residenc e (art.18), active and passive electoral rights in the municipal elections and elections into the European Parliament (art. 19), right for diplomatic protection (art. 20), petition rights to the European Parliament and right to refer matters to Ombudsman (Art. 21). The actual TEU provisions are contained in a new Part Two of the EC Treaty devoted solely to this topic. However, it is the right of free movement and the right of residence which, as they have been right through the debate on European citizenship, form the foundations of Union citizenship. ... Article 17 states that Citizenship of the Union is hereby established and that every citizen holding the nationality of the Member State shall be a citizen of the Union. Following the Amsterdam amendment citizenship of the Union shall complement and not replace national citizenship. The rights and obligations emanating from the citizenship of the EU are then specified in the following articles 18-22/ ex-art. 8a-8e. They include the right to free movement and residence (art.18), active and passive electoral rights in the municipal elections and elections into the European Parliament (art. 19), right for diplomatic protection (art. 20), petition rights to the European Parliament and right to refer matters to Ombudsman (Art. 21). The actual TEU provisions are contained in a new Part Two of the EC Treaty devoted solely to this topic. However, it is the right of free movement and the right of residence which, as they have been right through the debate on European citizenship, form the fou ndations of Union citizenship. 2 Article 18 EC provides for freedom of movement and residence within the territory of the Member States. Ivo Shlosark refers to the Maastricht Treaty introducing the concept of citizenship into community law as something of a new phenomenon3. Despite the introduction of formal provisions on citizenship the concept itself was hardly a policy innovation of the Treaty of Maastricht4. The concept of citizenship itself was considered from a very early stage in the development of the Communities. Indeed, since the Treaties of Rome (1957) the Community has legislated fundamental rights and provisions inherent in freedom of movement. Historical steps on the way to European citizenship include the Tindemans Report (1975)5, the introduction of direct Parliamentary

Modern sheet-metal forming processes used in the automotive industry Essay

Modern sheet-metal forming processes used in the automotive industry - Essay Example Parts that are made using sheet metal have numerous attractive qualities, which include excellent accuracy of dimension, adequate strength, light weight, and a wide range of possible dimensions ranging from miniature parts in electronics to the large parts of airplane structures. All sheet-metal forming processes can be divided into two major groups: cutting processes that include shearing, blanking, notching, piercing, and so on; and plastic deformation processes, which include bending, stretch formation, deep drawing, and other various forming processes. The cutting group of processes involves cutting the material by subjecting it to sheer stresses between punch and die or between the blades of a shear. The punch and die may be any shape, and the cutting contour may be open and closed. Parting: this consists of cutting the piece into several pieces or removing pieces of scrap of various shapes from deep drawn pieces. The operation of parting results in production of some scrap, unlike cutoff. Bending; this consists of straining flat sheets or strips of metal uniformly around a linear axis. Metal on the outside of the bend is stressed in tension beyond the elastic limit. Metal on the inside of the bend is compressed. Bending is a process by which metal can be molded into any shape through plastically deforming the material. It usually refers to deformation about one axis, and the material is stressed above its yield strength but below it’s ultimate tensile strength. The surface area of the material is not altered much. It is a flexile process by which a wide variety of shapes can be produced using standard die sets. The material is placed on the die, then positioned in place using stops and gages, and held in place with hold-downs. The upper part of the press, which is the ram with the desired shaped punch descends and forms a v-shaped bend

Market Search in Turkey Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Market Search in Turkey - Essay Example   From the research undertaken, Sabra Hummus sells at different prices depending on the quantity and the ingredients. For instance, a seven-ounce Sabra roasted red paper hummus sells at 36. 75 dollars and contains 12 sachets. A seventeen-ounce Sabra Classic hummus sells at 4.49 dollars. A ten-ounce Sabra hummus with Roasted Pine nuts sells at 4.99 dollars (Sabra Hummus). From the market analysis, the client base is focused on receiving value for the amounts spent on any product. To capture, the needs of the student population that has minimal disposable income, Sabra should focus on repackaging its products into smaller quantities. This would enable it to have products that sell at highest $ 4.5, which is an amount of money that most students can expand on a snack. The quantity will play a vital role, especially when targeting the student population. Sabra should undertake all cost-cutting measures, especially when manufacturing the low quantity products. For instance, where possib le, the plastic contains may be replaced by well-branded polythene wrappings which would reduce the cost significantly. Sabra can subsequently pass on the cost reductions to the consumer by lowering prices. Since the organization is largely targeting the student population and the middle class, who constitute a large proportion of the consumers, it cannot charge excessive prices. For instance, it will charge lower prices in universities due to the low level of disposable incomes among the student population.  

Race Relationships in US Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Race Relationships in US - Essay Example This necessitated former confederates and the southern legislatures to pass laws called black codes, which greatly limited African American rights and segregated them from the whites. In 1877, recontruction was ended when Democratic parties reclaimed control of the south, which was very devastating for blacks since all the gains they had made such as forming political parties, voting rights as well as participation as equal entities were reversed. Thus the south, slowly reinstated laws that were racially discriminating and whose agenda was to segregate as well as disenfranchisement. The Democratic Party started stopping African Americans from voting so as to take away the power African Americans had gained. There were several ways to prevent blacks from voting and they included; poll taxes, literacy tests as well as charging of fees at voting booths. Additionally, in 1883, the civil rights case saw the Supreme Court declare that Congress lacked power to stop private acts of prejudice. The police and legal system supported segregation. Thousands of blacks were murdered by the Ku Klux Klan as well as other terrorists groups such as Knights of White Camellia. Thus prominent black land owners, community leaders as well as politicians. The Jim Crow laws entrenched discrimination. This was a system of customs and laws that imposed racial discrimination and segregation throughout the US, particularly in the south, beginning from the late 19th century to the 1960s.These laws did not particularly mention race, however they were written and applied in a manner that prejudiced African Americans. These laws ensured segregation in stores, libraries, entertainment as well as stores. This really fuelled an atmosphere of racial discrimination and there was a rise in rioting, Ku Klux Klan and lynching. Blacks, mostly in south were discriminated against in housing and jobs and frequently deprived of their constitutional

Iliad as a war literature Essay Example for Free

Iliad as a war literature Essay Homer’s epic poem, â€Å"The Iliad,† is probably one of the best stories that tell us about war. In this poem, we see humans fighting with humans, gods fighting with humans, and even gods fighting with gods. Even though it was made some time around the 7th century BC, we can associate with our modern warfare. In Homer’s â€Å"Iliad,† we see how the gods manipulated the people in fighting their own wars, just like how political leaders of different countries manipulate their army to fight another country. We can also see that modern wars, just like the Trojan war in â€Å"the Iliad,† can be caused by small matters which were just blown up to huge proportions by those who manipulate these wars. The book can be seen as Homer’s perspective of war. It is somewhat an anti-war literature because it showed how wars usually end. Both sides lost great lives, including some of their respected heroes. In the Greeks’ side, they lost Achilles’ best friend, Patroclus (23. 1-7). On the Trojans’ side, they lost their prince, Hector (24. 21-23). Achilles eventually died some time after, when he was shot by Paris, Hector’s brother in the heel of his foot which was his weakness. It showed that no one really reigns victorious, even after winning the war. This is because both sides suffer great losses, not only in properties, but also the lives of those who are involved in the war, both armies and civilians. Some attitudes towards war that Homer depicted in Iliad were the possible motives of engaging in wars. The most evident motive in the Trojan War was to retrieve the wife of Menelaus, the brother of the Greek King Agamemnon. They decided to launch an all out war, deploying a fleet of more than a thousand ships in order to retrieve Helen (of Troy) who was abducted by a Trojan prince, Paris (3. 29-31). Another attitude towards war shown in this epic poem was the intervention by higher powers. With the intervention of the Olympian gods and goddesses, the war to regain Helen of Troy was blown up to greater proportions. It became a personal war for these gods and goddesses, especially when they chose to take sides between the Trojans and the Greeks. The gods and goddesses who took the side of the Greeks include Hera, Athena, Poseidon, and Hermes (4. 37-49). On the other hand, the gods who took the side of the Trojans include Aphrodite, Apollo, Artemis, and Leto (1. 10-15). They backed up the soldiers whenever they fight and are usually the ones who decide on how the fight would end. Only Zeus remained in the middle, wherein he forbade the intervention of these gods in the war. Homer was able to depict a war which is similar to our modern day warfare. His depiction of gods was like the political leaders of various nations who would encourage their people to engage in wars against other nations. These are the leaders who are not physically in battle, but are the ones who actually dictate how the wars would go. Also, the wars that they often start would usually mean great losses for both warring sides. The reasons for these wars were very much the same like that of Homer’s â€Å"the Iliad. † These are usually small things which could be solved by negotiations, but the pride of the leaders is usually the ones that fuel the war. Leaders like Menelaus and Agamemnon are the same as the political leaders that we have today, who prefers violent negotiations rather than peaceful means to solve conflicts. This usually leaves the country with great problems, like loses of lives and property and a bad economy. Works Cited: Homer. The Iliad. 2006. Spark Notes. October 15 2007. http://pd. sparknotes. com/lit/iliad/section2. html. Sienkewicz, Tom. The Gods in the Iliad. 2002. October 15 2007. http://department. monm. edu/classics/Courses/CLAS210/CourseDocuments/Epic/gods_in_the_iliad. htm.

Robert frost- the road not taken Essay Example for Free

Robert frost- the road not taken Essay Life is full of obstacles that have been throw our way to see who is the strongest to survive, some make it to the end and some suffer more in the process. When people open up to different opportunities, it is the initial response by human nature to pick the opportunity that will give you the most benefit. The concept of having to pick between two paths has been identified in the poem â€Å"The Road Not Taken† by Robert Frost. There have been times when a person had to choose a specific path that they though they should take but the truth of the matter was it ended up being the wrong choice. In life it is normal for people to make mistakes because we were not created and put in this world to be perfect. Nothing in life can be prefect because there is sadness along side happiness. When reading this poem it is as if I am in this poem and I was watching from the sidelines but I can read into the poets mind. Poems like this are rare; the way they are told with such vivid imagery sets the scenery up in the readers mind. The diction Frost uses to describe the fall season so adequately and imbeds it in the poem to run it more smoothly. In the first stanza, Frost says â€Å"And looked down one as far as I could / To where it bent in the undergrowth†, with such poetic significance that he is looking as far as he can into the two roads on one autumn day. He implies that he is sorry in the second line because he has a form of regret that he cannot travel both of the roads laid ahead of him at once. Not only are these the paths to another day but also they are the paths to his future. That is when Frost freezes and has to decide which one would most benefit him. Now he is forced by his own willpower to stumble upon the second road to which he continues to talk about. By using play on words such as â€Å"just† and â€Å"fair† he confuses the reader. Frost has a powerful way of making a poem become a story line by having the reader interpret his thoughts. Frost has the power of using similes when he compares the roads to being fair. Moving through the second stanza he explains that he chose the second road only because he thought it was the rode less taken by any other human. He uses vivid phrases like â€Å"it was  grassy and wanted wear† which makes it known to the readers of this poem that the path he chose to take was the path that not a lot of other people took because it looked fresh without any footsteps. Right when the reader thinks he has figured the poet out, Frost goes and complicates our understanding by comparing the two paths and declaring them equal to one another. Like every great poet, the reader finds everything out line-by-line, which makes his writing more of a mystery than a straightforward poem. In the beginning of the third stanza we learn that it is in fact morning when Frost decides to take the road he has chosen. We figure that out because he writes, â€Å"And both that morning equally lay.† Does he realize that the reason why the road does not look used is because he might be the first person that day to take that path down to success or failure? Frost uses more fancy words in the poem to confuse us but really when he states â€Å"In leaves no step had trodden black.† he mentions the leaves haven’t turned black because people haven’t stepped on them or crushed them. Just like how the leaves survive the night, he compared it to himself in hopes that he will survive as well. Including an epiphany in the writing by saying â€Å"Oh, I kept the first for another day!† not only shows us regret but also shows us some hopes he has in going back one day and taking the road he did not choose the first time around. The next two lines where Frost wrote â€Å" Yet knowing how way leads on to way, / I doubted if I should ever come back.† really explain the chances of being able to go back are one in a million. It would be foolish of him to think he would have a chance at something that can change in a second. In the final stanza of this great and powerful poem, Frost changes the tense of this poem to where he is in the future looking back to his choices. He uses the word â€Å"sigh† that can portray many meaning as if he said it from happiness or sadness or he is just reflecting upon his experience. But when Frost states â€Å"Somewhere ages and ages hence:† it is obvious that this story he tells us, he will keep telling it many years from now. With a neat way of repeating the first line of the poem he brings his story to an end. The form repetition is used to help put emphasis on the importance of the poem and  with that he says â€Å"Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—â€Å" in which he compares himself to the road where he is standing. Frost reflects on his decision of taking the one less traveled in confidences that it has made him more unique. And he ended the poem by expressing his experiences and looking back into his decisions. Frost realizes that if he were to take the road not traveled he would not have experienced all that he did. This ending of the poem shows ambiguity because he wants the richest experience possible. Thinking back on this poem helps us understand life much more, the fact that life is full of irony. In particular to this poem, the title of the poem itself is ironic because it is called â€Å"The Road Not Taken† where in fact he puts more emphasis on the road he DID take. This whole poem has been based around dreams, choices, hopes, and plans for the future. The fact that he uses nature as his surrounding he is metaphorically comparing it to life itself. If you were to dissect this poem further, you would realize that the poem is contradicting the way it is set up. While reading a poem about paths and choices it really it only leads you to think of your own struggles you have been through. I never realized how much I have regretted some of the choices I have made in my life. The only difference between my life and this poem was that I had to choose between not one or two paths but three. It also gets harder to distinguish which path you want when all the paths give you exactly one thing you treasure most. This poem connects to me personally because when I was starting high school I had to make a decision whether I wanted to stay with the crowd of friends I had that included some friends my parents didn’t like or to make new friends which meant I had to open up to people, or initially take it one day at a time even if it meant to hurt my parents and go against their decisions. Ultimately it was somewhat of a loss to me because in any choice I made I lost something that was most important to me. I value friendship so much but I value my parents and their opinion so much more. Until this day I think about how my life would have been different if I didn’t make the decision I did. Life is honestly too short to live with regret but that does  not mean that there won’t be moments where you wish you had done something differently. I am proud of the path I chose and made new friends because in the end I was able to make my parents proud because they liked my new group of friends and I became apart of a new social circle. I never had anything handed to me in my life, whatever I wanted and wished for I was the one in charge for it. Just like Robert Frost I had to stand there and look as far as I could into my future to be able to make the choice that would be most right for me. Even though I lost so many friends that I was once close to, it helped me mature and also became a strong person. In this world we live in, we have to lose certain things to be able to gain more challenges that become second nature to us. The outcome of my choice of choosing to make new friends was that I gained more of my parents’ trust, attention, and love. Love is the most important thing other than health for a family to share. Frost showed me that in order to move forward in life, no matter how uncertain, you just have to give it a try and see what the outcome is. Sometimes it won’t be the outcome in which you wanted to acquire but it wont necessarily be one that you dread for the rest of your life. There will be moments where you will dwell on the past and hoped you had taken another road but you have to focus on the future. Looking back now, I do not regret the choice I made even if it involved losing some friends that had turned into family. Not everything in life is meant to be regretful. There are so many wonderful aspects of life we never figure out because we are too busy worrying about how difficult an obstacle may be. God and life itself puts obstacles in our way to show us we can overcome any hardships. I knew by making my choice to make new friends I myself would become a better person. Just like the ending of Robert Frost’s poem â€Å" And that has made all the difference.†

Analysing The Significance Of The Treaty Of Westphalia Politics Essay

Analysing The Significance Of The Treaty Of Westphalia Politics Essay The 350th anniversary of the Peace of Westphalia in 1998 was marked by a flurry of conferences and publications by historians, but it was largely ignored in the discipline of international relations (IR). This oversight is odd because in IR the end of the Thirty Years War is regarded as the beginning of the international system with which the discipline has traditionally dealt. Indeed, the international system has been named for the 1648 peace. Firstly, for some time now, this Westphalian system, along with the concept of sovereignty at its core, has been a subject of debate: Are the pillars of the Westphalian temple decaying? or Are we moving beyond Westphalia?  [1]   In this debate, Westphalia constitutes the taken-for-granted template against which current change should be judged.  [2]  We contend, however, that the discipline theorizes against the backdrop of a past that is largely imaginary. We show here that the accepted IR narrative about Westphalia is a myth. Then we cover the introduction, theoretical aspects of the Westphalia states, the arguments if the elites actually enjoy substantial autonomy in both domestic and foreign affairs of third world countries or not,( it effects) how it is misleading and then the conclusion. Introduction Westphalia is a term used in international relations, supposedly arising from the Treaties of Westphalia 1648 which ended the Thirty Years War. It is generally held to mean a system of states or international society comprising sovereign state entities possessing the monopoly of force within their mutually recognized territories. Relations between states are conducted by means of formal diplomatic ties between heads of state and governments, and international law consists of treaties made (and broken) by those sovereign entities.  [3]   The term implies a separation of the domestic and international spheres, such that states may not legitimately intervene in the domestic affairs of another, whether in the pursuit of self-interest or by appeal to a higher notion of sovereignty, be it religion, ideology, or other supranational ideal. In this sense the term differentiates the modern state system from earlier models, such as the Holy Roman Empire or the Ottoman Empire.  [4]  We define both domestic and foreign affairs because these are key words to understanding our question and why these two key words are important to third world countries and their elites as below: Domestic policy, also known as public policy, presents decisions, laws, and programs made by the government which are directly related to issues in the country.  [5]  It is a set of laws and regulations that a government establishes within a nations borders. It covers a wide range of areas, including business, education, energy, health care, law enforcement, money and taxes, natural resources, social welfare, and personal rights and freedoms.  [6]   Domestic policy decisions usually reflect a nations history and experience, its social and economic conditions, the needs and priorities of its people, and the nature of its government. Domestic policy is a frequent source of disagreement among people of different backgrounds and philosophies. People who hold conservative beliefs, for instance, will likely stress order, security, and traditional values in domestic policy. People who hold more liberal beliefs, on the other hand, will likely emphasize equality and government efforts to help the needy, and many broad domestic policy issues are similar for nearly all countries of the world. For example, all governments are expected to provide education, law and order, and other basic services for their citizens. However, the specific goals and objectives of domestic policy vary depending on each nations needs and capabilities. Most wealthy democracies, for instance, spend substantial sums of money on domestic programs. Many poorer countr ies have difficulty devoting resources to such essential areas as education and health care. A nations form of government largely determines how its domestic policy is formed and implemented. Under authoritarian governments, a ruling group may pursue its domestic policy goals without the input or consent of the people being governed. But in democratic societies, the will of the people has a much greater influence. However, a countrys foreign policy, also called the international relations policy, is strategies chosen by the state to safeguard its national interests and to achieve its goals in international relations. The approaches are strategically employed to interact with other countries. In the recent time, due to the deepening level of globalization and transnational activities, the states will also have to interact with non-state actors. The aforementioned interaction is evaluated and monitored in attempts to maximize benefits of multilateral international cooperation. Since the national interests are paramount, foreign policies are designed by the government through high-level decision making processes. National interests accomplishment can occur as a result of peaceful cooperation with other nations, or through exploitation. Usually, creating foreign policy is the job of the head of government and the foreign minister (or equivalent). In some countries the legislature also has consider able over sigh.  [7]   The Theoretical Approach to theWestphalia State System. Does a discussion of the Treaty of Westphalia, promulgated in 1648, rightfully fall under the parvenu of a social science journal? The question arises because of the rather uneasy relationship between historians and social scientists. If one were to search the various history departments across the United States, for example, some are organized under colleges of social science and others under humanities. This ambiguity stems from the belief that there are fundamental assumptions in the modern practice of history that are largely incompatible with the tenets of social science but historians are certainly not adverse to borrowing liberally from their theories and practices, and vice versa. (1) Nearly despite themselves, however, historians have much to offer current debates about the future of the modern state system and its alleged origins in the Treaty of Westphalia.  [8]   The Treaty of Westphalia is used by social scientists as the foundation of several theoretical schools. Both realist and neo-liberal theories of international relations use the Westphalia state system as one of their most fundamental assumptions (though, of course, with different intentions). (2) Theorists of nationalism also consider the settlement of some significance. By linking religious identity to state identity, they argue, Westphalia was part of a long-term process that led to the ideology of nationalism in the nineteenth century and the primary identification of most ordinary Europeans with their nation-states. (3) The term has been used so often that most introductory political science texts treat its use as axiomatic. (4) The historical origins and context of the term, on the other hand, are generally not deemed of sufficient import to convey.  [9]   Historians view Westphalia quite differently. The Treaty of Westphalia itself was not the only agreement concluded at the peace negotiations held in the town of Muenster in 1648. In addition, the Treaty of Muenster, recognizing the independence of the United Provinces of the Netherlands and ceding territory to France, and the Treaty of Osnabruck, granting Sweden its spoils of victory, also came out of what is more properly called the Settlement of Westphalia. Many of the precepts ascribed to Westphalia, such as state sovereignty and enforcement and regulation of international law, come from these two treaties rather than the Treaty of Westphalia itself. (5) The treaty ended the Thirty Years War, which had physically devastated much of the Holy Roman Empire, and marked the twilight of the power of the Holy Roman Emperor and the rise of powers such as France, the Netherlands, and, briefly, Sweden in the latter part à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ã‚  [10]   Arguments that state elite of third world countries enjoy substantial autonomy in both domestic and foreign affairs are misleading are below: Land is one of the most fundamental components of agriculture, urban and industrial development. In sub-Sahara Africa just like the rest of the third world, ambitious land reforms have become commonplace over the past three decades as one government over the other have sought to free up land resources to meet national priorities. Whatever form it has taken, land reform often signifies only a single element in a large trend involving the expansion of the state at the expense of others, oftentimes competing of social authority.  [11]  State intervention in policy arena like land tenure is just one aspect of a large trend involving the wholesale expansion of the state in Africa. In past research, attempts have been made to connect this development to a coherent class or bureaucratic authoritarian strategy, with a primary focus on emergency of an autonomous. However, most evidence seems to confirm that the extension of the public sector has consisted of patchwork on initiatives desig ned primarily to satisfy the desperate interests of well placed individuals, called the state elites, their families and other favored groups. There has been little coordination, accounting, or planned use of resources and the state has been described as predatory rather than productive.  [12]  For example, the land question and Zimbabwes current crisis of governance appear to be intimately related. However, an extensive survey of the population in the mid-1990s ranked land access very low on the list of priorities when compared to employment creation.  [13]  Please show how the African elite are limited in implementing land policies that are their own by giving examples of Zimbabwe, where land reforms aimed at indigenous Zimbabweans also owning land was met with resistance and blackmail from UK etc. In south Africa big chunks of land still owned by white minority while the Black are crowded in Soweto slums. In Kenya the ahigh lands most fertile for commercial agric owned by the white settlers. In Uganda the land tenure system inherited from the British colonialists still pose a night mare, big chunks of land to the few royals (mailo akenda) 900,000 sq miles to the king and a few royals, the lost counties land of Banyoro being freely given to Buganda as reward for cooperation and punishment to Bunyoro etc. Collecting taxes, policing and administering justice are among the most basic functions of government and its elites. Historically, states were in large part formed around interactions between government agencies and subjects/citizens over these issues.  [14]  It is around the same issues that public officials have the greatest license to exercise coercion against citizens. There are powerful sensitivities about the character of the agencies that perform these functions, and strong reactions against any hint of commercialism in their governing principles. Tax-farmer, like mercenary, has long been a term of disparagement.  [15]  It is then no surprise that suspicion has attended the rapid spread of (semi-) autonomous revenue agencies (ARAs) in Latin America and in Anglophone Africa over the past two decades.  [16]   The task of collecting taxes has been taken from ministries of finance and given to revenue agencies that have some autonomy from central executive power and from rules governing public service recruitment, remuneration and procedures. In consequence, tax collectors, who are anyway often perceived as corrupt and privileged, generally have achieved very substantial increases in their formal salaries. Popular reaction has sometimes been adverse. President Museveni was probably speaking for many Ugandans when, in 2000, he described the Uganda Revenue Authority as a den of thieves.  [17]   However, in the eyes of a few academics and external observers, the introduction of revenue agencies has been seen as a step on the road to privatization of the revenue collection process. The establishment of an autonomous revenue authority, with staff paid at rates similar to those in comparable private sector jobs, does indeed seem to parallel the process of putting state agencies on a commercial footing as a prelude to privatization. In Anglophone Africa, and most third worlds, revenue raising will remain a core state function, controlled by the top political leadership. The creation of ARAs has improved relationships between tax authorities and larger corporate taxpayers, and increased, at least marginally, the capacity of governments to raise revenue.  [18]   Several African states have implemented democratic and liberal constitutional reforms during the last two decades. Regime change, the ending of decades of autocratic rule, and the emergence of independent courts are among the important changes produced by these reforms. Yet Africas constitutional moment has not received the scholarly attention it deserves. With the notable exception of South Africa, African nations continue to lie largely outside the mainstream of contemporary comparative constitutional discourse.  [19]  In Uganda for example, the first constitution of Uganda was abrogated in the year 1966 by state elites just after the independence of the country. In 1995 the Republic of Uganda promulgated a new constitution. The powers of the president which were initially limited are further increased by these amendments. The constitution of this African country declares Uganda as a Presidential Republic. A number of National Objectives and Directive Principles of State Policy are included in the constitution of Uganda. The constitution is the ultimate rulebook for all operations of the State and its various agencies. The president in directly answerable to the parliament that is indirectly responsible to the people.  [20]   Domestically, there are threats from the state, institutional bureaucrats and academics themselves to academic freedom and to the institutional autonomy of universities in most Third world countries especially in South Africa. The situation is more complex than is often perceived. The generally disappointing post-independence history of academic freedom and autonomy in Sub-Saharan Africa is drawn upon to illustrate the perils that may accompany too eager an embrace of the state by intellectuals in South Africa in confronting persisting racial inequities in institutions of higher learning.  [21]  We must say here that these are purely domestic policies enjoyed by state elites autonomously. A case study of Tsinghua University, one of Chinas most influential universities, which has special national significance and strong political ties to the state. Recalling three chapters in the past century of Tsinghuas history, gives an interpretive understanding of how the intertwined relationship between academia and officialdom has acted as a double-edged sword in shaping the Universitys autonomy. It shows an interesting interplay between the university and the state, revealing the mechanisms of the states control over the university, and the strategies adopted by the university to gain relative freedom. In the context of China, an individual university can contend with the states power to strive for its own autonomy.  [22]   To bring understanding closer, the intertwining of academia and officialdom is often perceived as a threat to university autonomy. In the modern Western university system, the concept of university autonomy emphasizes the power of a university or college to govern itself without outside controls.  [23]  Autonomy, along with academic freedom, is defined as intrinsic to the nature of the university, and a precondition if a university is to best fulfill its role and responsibilities toward society.  [24]  The intertwining of academia and officialdom, however, implies external political influence being brought to bear on education. A great deal of research has addressed diverse aspects of the relationship between academia and officialdom, including, for example, the use of the educational system as a channel for the socialization and circulation of elites. The development of school networks by political elites for recruitment purposes, the involvement of political forces in the a ppointment and promotion of professors, and the political alliance between the university leadership and government officials, including alumni in powerful governmental positions.  [25]  Hence this clearly shows that state elites enjoy autonomy of their domestic policy in Third World Countries. Poor leadership of state elites and bad knowledge generation are behind the illusion that African developmental challenges are exotic and difficult to resolve, an illusion exploited by paternalistic outsiders who talk about us as if we were infantile and incapable of the simplest tasks of self-government.   The default cry of Africas political, intellectual and business elite is to assert that when faced with the complexity of achieving social, economic and political transformation is to call for a continental government to rule all of Africa, a so-called United States of Africa.   It is the religion of the African intelligentsia, the rainbow-over-the-horizon promise of the politicians. Uganda, the third big East African partner, has been an autocracy since independence; the voices of Obote, Amin and Museveni have displaced the voice of the Ugandan people.   They purport to act in the name of the people, but no one can know what the policy leanings of the people are, because th ey have never had a chance to express their thoughts through politics. Something is broken in Africa, something that has been broken for a long time now, something we need to fix, something our elite are avoiding by misdirecting our attention to the daydream of a single continental government.   We will not get to our dream Africa by creating a continental platform for the relentless rent-seeking that hobbles us in our local and national communities.   We need to unleash the entrepreneurial energies, political and economic, of the varied peoples of Africa.   We cannot continue this way, not if we want to actualize all of our aspirations and our domestic policies. Industrialization by state elites in Third World Countries domestic policy is the process of social and economic change that transforms a human group from a pre-industrial society into an industrial one. It is a part of a wider modernization process, where social change and economic development are closely related with technological innovation, particularly with the development of large-scale energy and metallurgy production. It is the extensive organization of an economy for the purpose of manufacturing. Countries in Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and Latin America and the Caribbean in the late 20th century found that high levels of structural differentiation, functional specialization, and autonomy of economic systems from government were likely to contribute greatly to industrial-commercial growth and prosperity. Amongst other things, relatively open trading systems with zero or low duties on goods imports tended to stimulate industrial cost-efficiency and innovation across the bo ard. Free and flexible labor and other markets also helped raise general business-economic performance levels, as did rapid popular learning capabilities. Positive work ethics in populations at large combined with skills in quickly utilizing new technologies and scientific discoveries were likely to boost production and income levels and as the latter rose, markets for consumer goods and services of all kinds tended to expand and provide a further stimulus to industrial investment and economic growth. By the end of the century, East Asia was one of the most economically successful regions of the world with free market countries such as Hong Kong being widely seen as models for other, less developed countries around the world to emulate. A similar state-led developing programme was pursued in virtually all the Third World countries during the Cold War, including the socialist ones, but especially in Sub-Saharan Africa after the decolonization period. The primary scope of those projects was to achieve self-sufficiency through the local production of previously imported goods, the mechanization of agriculture and the spread of education and health care. However, all those experiences failed bitterly due to a lack of realism: most countries didnt have a pre-industrial bourgeoisie able to carry on a capitalistic development or even a stable and peaceful state. Those aborted experiences left huge debts toward western countries and fuelled public corruption. However, in this discussion, we still hold the view that the elites in third world countries do not enjoy their full state autonomy to make independent domestic policies and are misleading. Developed or powerful countries of the world like America, Britain, France among others who were at times colonial powers, continued to influence both the domestic and foreign policies of third world countries because they are poor, dependants, weak, underdeveloped among others. In this view, matters of trade, finance, investment, foreign aid among others have been shaped by developed countries making it worse for less developed countries in the face of the current globalization and the evil empires (Multinational) which are normally stronger than third world countries, international organizations, global institutions of the IMF, World Bank and the IMF. Globalization concerns have taken a far more positive path since the 1999 Seattle protests. Activists have begun to realize that it is the world governments who are the backbone of international organizations such as the G8, the World Bank, and the IMF and that efforts must be directed toward both the organizations and the member governments in order to achieve policy objectives. In July 2005, on the eve of an important G8 summit in Scotland, a massive music festival was organized to express public support for issues such as debt relief, aid for Africa and cooperation on cutting greenhouse emissions. Almost as if in response, the G8 heads of state announced important initiatives in these areas.  [26]   With respect to trade issues, many of the third world countries have created the greatest recent resistance to the global pressure to reduce trade barriers through World Trade Organization (WTO) agreements. The main problem relates to agricultural products. Many of these countries have experienced a severe downturn in their domestic agricultural acreage because local producers cannot compete with agricultural exports from major countries such as the United States. They have persuasively argued that it is not a fair playing field because in Europe, Japan and the United States, agriculture receives sizeable government subsidies. Third world countries cannot afford to similarly subsidize their own domestic agricultural industries.  [27]  The matter came into focus at the WTO summit in Cancun, Mexico in September 2003. Mid-level developing countries such as Brazil, South Africa, India and China objected to any progress on reducing tariff barriers in general until the agricultural pro blem was resolved and the talks collapsed. At the subsequent WTO summit in Geneva, Switzerland in July 2004, a breakthrough was reached. The deal, approved by all 147 members, will cut rich countries farm subsidies in return for developing countries opening markets for manufactured goods. The implementation of the agreement presents obvious internal political challenges in the developed countries.  [28]   In matters of loans, the World Bank is an organization affiliated with the United Nations for the purpose of making loans to developing countries which are guaranteed. The bank is self-sustaining and has maintained a profit on its lending activities. The bank is owned by the member nations which include virtually all nations with the exception of Cuba and North Korea. Voting on bank policy is based on capital subscription. Seven countries, United States, Germany, Japan, Great Britain, Canada, Italy and France, have 45% of the voting power. The United States is a 17% shareholder. Many loans now issued by the World Bank involve structural adjustment conditions which generally require countries to devalue their currencies against the dollar; lift import and export restrictions; balance their budgets and not overspend; and remove price controls and state subsidies.  [29]   International Monetary Fund (IMF), The IMF is closely affiliated with the World Bank. It is also owned by virtually the same member nations as the World Bank and has a similar shareholder and voting arrangement based on the size of each members economy. The IMFs primary responsibility has been to maintain stable currency exchange rates between countries. The IMF also issues loans designed to help countries restructure their economies to increase exports and draw foreign investment. Countries that take out such structural adjustment loans give the IMF influence over their economic policies and foreign affairs as well.  [30]   Structural Adjustment Policies are economic policies which countries must follow in order to qualify for new World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) loans and help them make debt repayments on the older debts owed to commercial banks, governments and the World Bank. Although SAPs are designed for individual countries but have common guiding principles and features which include export-led growth; privatization and liberalization; and the efficiency of the free market.  [31]   SAPs generally require countries to devalue their currencies against the dollar; lift import and export restrictions; balance their budgets and not overspend; and remove price controls and state subsidies. However, anyone must remember that evaluation makes their goods cheaper for foreigners to buy and theoretically makes foreign imports more expensive. In principle it should make the country wary of buying expensive foreign equipment. In practice, however, the IMF actually disrupts this by rewarding the country with a large foreign currency loan that encourages it to purchase imports.  [32]   Balancing national budgets can be done by raising taxes, which the IMF frowns upon, or by cutting government spending, which it definitely recommends. As a result, SAPs often result in deep cuts in programmes like education, health and social care, and the removal of subsidies designed to control the price of basics such as food and milk. So SAPs hurt the poor most, because they depend heavily on these services and subsidies. SAPs encourage countries to focus on the production and export of primary commodities such as cocoa and coffee to earn foreign exchange. But these commodities have notoriously erratic prices subject to the whims of global markets which can depress prices just when countries have invested in these so-called cash crops.  [33]   The term Structural Adjustment Program has gained such a negative connotation that the World Bank and IMF launched a new initiative, the Poverty Reduction Strategy Initiative, and makes countries develop Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSP). While the name has changed, with PRSPs, the World Bank is still forcing countries to adopt the same types of policies as SAPs. SAPs has caused a lot of protests and strikes around the world for example in December 1990 students at Makerere University protest cutting of stationery and travel allowances arising from a World Bank-imposed SAP. Police fire into a crowd of protesting students, killing two. Other countries are Sudan, Benin, Jamaica, Trinidad, Venezuela,Russia, Nigeria, Niger, Mexico, Jordan, Zaire, Zambia among others.  [34]   Globalization and Competitive Markets in Third World Countries. Nowadays, globalization is playing an important role in the worlds economy. There are many viewpoints involving the concept of globalization but a common one is that globalization is the integration of national markets through international trade an