Rasmussens Encephalitis Essays - Encephalitis, Immune System

Rasmussen's Encephalitis Keyur P. Biology...Science Rasmussen's Encephalitis The human immune system is an amazing system that is constantly on the alert protecting us from sicknesses. Thousands of white blood cells travel in our circulatory system destroying all foreign substances that could cause harm to our body or to any of the millions of processes going on inside. Now imagine a condition where this awesome system turns against the most complex organ in the human body, the brain. Deadly as it is, this condition is known as Rasmussen's encephalitis. The meaningful research on Rasmussen's encephalitis was begun (unintentionally) by Scott Rogers and Lorise Gahring, two neurologists, who were at the time measuring the distribution of glutamate receptors in the brain. Later on when more provocative information was found they enlisted the help of James McNamara and Ian Andrews, epilepsy experts at Duke University Medical Center. The details on Rasmussen's encephalitis were very bleak at the time when the men began their research. All that was known is that Rasmussen's encephalitis was a degenerative disease of the brain that caused seizures, hemiparesis, and dementia normally in the first ten years of life. The seizures that were caused by Rasmussen's encephalitis were unstoppable by normal anti-seizure drugs used conventionally. What the worst part of the disease was that the pathogenesis for it were not known and even worse was how it developed. The first clue was delivered when Rogers and Gahring were trying to register the distribution of the glutamate receptors using antibodies, that tag on to the receptor itself. The proteins that make up the glutamate receptors(GluR) are only found inside the blood brain barrier(BBB). Glutamate and a few related amino acids are the dominant form of excitatory neurotransmitter in the central nervous system of mammals. If one of these GluRs happens to wander into the actual bloodstream, that is outside the BBB, it would be considered an outsider and destroyed immediately. So if these GluRs were put into the normal blood stream then the immune system would produce antibodies which could then be used in the searching for the glutamate receptors. In order to test this theory the researchers injected the GluRs into the blood stream of a normal healthy rabbit hoping to produce good results. At this point the experiment took a dramatic turn, after receiving a few doses of the protein two of the three rabbits began to twitch, as though they were suffering the pain of an epileptic seizure. Now the help of McNamara and Andrews was enlisted. When McNamara and Andrews examined the brain tissue of the rabbits, they saw what seemed to be a familiar inflammatory pattern, clumps of immune cells all around blood vessels. This description exactly matched the description of persons suffering from Rasmussen's encephalitis, moreover something as this would never be found in a healthy brain. A healthy brain has its blood capillaries enclosed in the BBB membrane, so such a case as the one mentioned above would not be possible. As protective as the BBB is, it can be breached by something like a head injury. What was happening was that the antibodies which were out to get the GluR proteins were somehow finding a way into the brain and directing an attack towards all GluR receptor proteins in the brain itself. After some more examinations Rogers and McNamara decided that these attacks were the cause of the seizures that are often experienced by sufferers of Ramussen's encephalitis. Then if the case is of antibodies in the bloodstream, than sufferers of Ramussen's encephalitis should have them in their bloodstream and healthy normal peoples shouldn't. When this was actually tested the results were positive that Rasmussen sufferers did have these antibodies in their bloodstreams and healthy people did not. These were not only the right kind of antibodies but, the very antibodies that caused the seizures in people and rabbits. Thus when these antibodies were removed by plasma exchange(PEX) it caused a temporary relief from the seizures but soon the body starts making more antibodies of the type and the seizures start once again. After all the examinations two questions remained, why does the body mount an immune response against one of its own brain proteins, and

Which Delphi Files to Store in a Source Control System

Which Delphi Files to Store in a Source Control System Delphi employs a number of files for its configuration, some global to the Delphi environment, some project specific. Various tools in the Delphi IDE store data in files of other types. The following list describes the files and their filename extensions that Delphi creates for a typical stand-alone application, plus a dozen more. Also, get to know which Delphi generated files should be stored in a source control system. Delphi Project Specific .PAS - Delphi Source FilePAS should be stored in Source ControlIn Delphi, PAS files are always the source code to either a unit or a form. Unit source files contain most of the code in an application. The unit contains the source code for any event handlers attached to the events of the form or the components it contains. We may edit .pas files using Delphis code editor. Do not delete .pas files. .DCU - Delphi Compiled UnitA compiled unit (.pas) file. By default, the compiled version of each unit is stored in a separate binary-format file with the same name as the unit file, but with the extension .DCU (Delphi compiled unit). For example unit1.dcu contains the code and data declared in the unit1.pas file. When you rebuild a project, individual units are not recompiled unless their source (.PAS) files have changed since the last compilation, or their .DCU files cannot be found. Safely delete .dcu file because Delphi recreates it when you compile the application. .DFM - Delphi FormDFM should be stored in Source ControlThese files are always paired with .pas files. A DFM file contains the details (properties) of the objects contained in a form. It can be view as text by right clicking on the form and selecting view as text from the pop-up menu. Delphi copies information in .dfm files into the finished .exe code file. Caution should be used in altering this file as changes to it could prevent the IDE from being able to load the form. Form files can be saved in either binary or text format. The Environment Options dialog lets you indicate which format you want to use for newly created forms. Do not delete .dfm files. .DPR - Delphi ProjectDPR should be stored in Source ControlThe .DPR file is the central file to a Delphi project (one .dpr file per a project), actually a Pascal source file. It serves as the primary entry point for the executable. The DPR contains the references to the other files in the project and links forms with their associated units. Although we can modify the .DPR  file, we should not modify it manually. Do not delete .DPR files. .RES - Windows Resource FileA Windows resource file generated automatically by Delphi and required by the compilation process. This binary-format file contains the version info resource (if required) and the application’s main icon. The file may also contain other resources used within the application but these are preserved as is. .EXE - Application ExecutableThe first time we build an application or a standard dynamic-link library, the compiler produces a .DCU file for each new unit used in your project; all the .DCU files in your project are then linked to create a single .EXE (executable) or .DLL file. This binary-format file is the only one (in most cases) you have to distribute to your users. Safely delete your projects .exe file because Delphi recreates it when you compile the application. .~ - Delphi Backup FilesFiles with names ending in .~ (e.g. unit2.~pa) are backup copies of modified and saved files. Safely delete those files at any time, however, you might want to keep the for recovering damaged programming. .DLL - Application ExtensionCode for dynamic link library. A dynamic-link library (DLL) is a collection of routines that can be called by applications and by other DLLs. Like units, DLLs contain shareable code or resources. But a DLL is a separately compiled executable that is linked at runtime to the programs that use it. Do not delete a .DLL file unless you wrote it. Go see DLLs and Delphi for more information on programming. .DPK - Delphi PackageDPK should be stored in Source ControlThis file contains the source code for a package, which is most often a collection of multiple units. Package source files are similar to project files, but they are used to construct special dynamic-link libraries called packages. Do not delete .dpk files. .DCPThis binary image file consists of the actual compiled package. Symbol information and additional header information required by the IDE are all contained within the .DCP file. The IDE must have access to this file in order to build a project. Do not delete .DCP files. .BPL or .DPLThis is the actual design-time or run-time package. This file is a Windows DLL with Delphi-specific features integrated into it. This file is essential for the deployment of an application that uses a package. In version 4 and above this is Borland package library in version 3 its Delphi package library. See BPL vs. DLL for more information on programming with packages. The following list describes the files and their filename extensions that Delphi IDE creates for a typical stand-alone application   Ã‚  Ã‚  IDE Specific.BPG, .BDSGROUP - Borland Project Group (Borland Developer Studio Project Group)BPG should be stored in Source ControlCreate project groups to handle related projects at once. For example, you can create a project group that contains multiple executable files such as a .DLL and an .EXE. .DCRDCR should be stored in Source ControlDelphi component resource files contain a components icon as it appears on the VCL palette. We may use .dcr files when construction our own custom components. Do not delete .dpr files. .DOFDOF should be stored in Source ControlThis text file contains the current settings for project options, such as compiler and linker settings, directories, conditional directives, and command-line parameters. The only reason to delete .dof file is to revert to standard options for a project. .DSKThis text file stores information about the state of your project, such as which windows are open and what position they are in. This allows you to restore your project’s workspace whenever you reopen the Delphi project. .DROThis text file contains information about the object repository. Each entry in this file contains specific information about each available item in the object repository. .DMTThis proprietary binary file contains the shipped and user-defined menu templates information. .TLBThe file is a proprietary binary type library file. This file provides a way for identifying what types of objects and interfaces are available on an ActiveX server. Like a unit or a header file the .TLB serves as a repository for necessary symbol information for an application. .DEMThis text file contains some standard country-specific formats for a TMaskEdit component. The list of the file extensions you see when Developing with Delphi continues .... .CABThis is the file format that Delphi offers its users for web deployment. The cabinet format is an efficient way to package multiple files. .DBFiles with this extension are standard Paradox files. .DBFFiles with this extension are standard dBASE files. .GDBFiles with this extension are standard Interbase files. .DBIThis text file contains initialization information for the Database Explorer.   Ã‚  Ã‚  CautionNever delete files with names ending in .dfm, .dpr, or .pas, unless you want to throw away your project. These files contain the applications properties and source code. When backing up an application, these are the critical files to save.

It has to be a article on english language learners Essay

It has to be a article on english language learners - Essay Example The article pointed to some literature about semantic processing between monolinguals and bilinguals and the assumption that bilinguals are as adept as monolinguals when it comes to conceptual processing of tasks such as picture naming. The study conducted an experiment by recruiting 31 English-speaking monolinguals and 31 Spanish English bilinguals from the University of San Diego. One hundred eighty pictures were shown to the participants to determine which group performed better at naming pictures. The method for interpreting the data used ANOVA analysis. The authors proposed that bilinguals primarily differ from monolinguals when they name pictures in their dominant language due to the â€Å"degree of experience that they have had with picture names particular to that language† ( p.8). Nevertheless, the study is not that conclusive since repetition and attenuation must be thoroughly considered in further experiments. In conclusion, the author’s ideas may be considered by early education teachers of the English language to bilingual students . This study can be helpful in understanding the learning needs of bilingual students specially those who belong to marginalized groups. There is no need for a change in policy but a better orientation for English teachers. I highly suggest that this study be a required reading for English teachers so that curriculum would be attuned to the needs of the learners. The second article is titled Assessing the Advantages of Bilingualism for the Children of Immigrants1 by Tanya Golash-Bolza. The article was published in the journal Internal Migration Review in 2005. The purpose of the study is to : â€Å" examine whether or not children of immigrants in the United States benefit from being bilingual. These analyses reveal whether there are costs to resisting linguistic assimilation or if it makes no difference at all so long as students attain English proficiency. More specifically, this study addresses whether

The Food that Makes People Heed Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

The Food that Makes People Heed - Assignment Example The power that he has is based from the craving for good food the customers want to sate. It is actually the power of knowing that giving the best service in exchange for people’s money to satisfy them that the book possesses. As he portrayed with his words, he is not satisfied by just the things he already knows but also enriches himself by reading many books. His hard work is not concentrated in his kitchen but also in the kitchen of others through their books. Moreover, he considers the nutritional value of his food so that even doctors and nurses approve of his cooking, therefore, making them regular customers as well. The article was well written to present the positive and negative attributes of Mr. Yeganeh but not to the effect of putting the man down. Instead, his negative attributes present logical reasons which make readers appreciate the cook even more.

Still Life Art Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Still Life Art - Research Paper Example Still life painting is ubiquitous in historic Egyptian tombs. Egyptians are considered one of the oldest civilizations of the world and the existence of still life is an indicative of its historic nature. The concept behind Egyptian still life was that these pieces of art would turn into real life in the afterlife and would be available for use for those who have deceased. The Greek civilization also shows the presence of still life art. Sticking to its own norms and rules, academic reflections tend to lag behind developments in the art world. The word still life was used as late as the 17th century and was first discovered in Dutch inventories (Slive). Other terms which were considered for defining the aforementioned art included fruytagie, bancket and ontbijt. In the 17th century the Parisian Academy of art helped in the foundation of the first schools of art in Europe. A specific set of rules were laid down that explained which forms of art will be taught on a hierarchical basis. Still life was struggling at the bottom of that list because they were considered as mere recordings of inanimate objects or things that were considered to be there without much thought to how they came about in existence. Still life, however, was later acknowledged as a true form of art and gained repute with every additional contribution. Several artists used it as a starting point and often considered the results of still life to be much more appealing than what they thought they would be (Schneider). The earliest forms of most medieval still life were designed in an era that was struck with economic turmoil as well as the dissolution of feudalistic cultures. The motifs of these paintings, hence, were indicative of the changes in economic and social conditions taking place. There were changes in agricultural situations and status quos as well. Some of the art was aimed to depict those changes. Two of the primary scenes depicted in the era were market scenes and kitchen scenes (Eb ert-Schifferer). The 16th Century: The 16th century was the tipping point for still life art as there was an enormous increase in interest in nature and the creation of botanical encyclopedias that informed of the discoveries of the new world and Asia. These areas of interest were subject to significant use by still life artists as their paintings and artistry moved towards their depiction. While the first half of the 16th century did not recognize still life as an autonomous category of art, by the latter half of the century autonomous still life was evolved. Slowly but surely, religious content started to diminish from paintings and artists started to focus more on still objects. The key contributors of still life in the 16th century include Alberceht Durer, Maarten van Heemskerck, Annibe Carraci and Joachim Beuckelear. The 17th Century: The 17th century saw the growth of Italian still life art. Despite its growth, however, it was considered inferior to art that focused on histori cal, religious and mythological subjects. Many prominent contributors and artists thought that still life art was lacking something and had some way to go before any piece of the art could be considered as great. This is one of the reasons why there were considerably lesser number of people who dedicated their work to still life. Some of the prominent artists who contributed to still life include Caravvigo and Jan

Situations and styles of leadership | Free essay | Management essays

Situations and styles of leadership | Free essay | Management essays Introduction Leadership has been the topic of discussion and research in the Organizational Behavior literature. A great collection of different theoretical framework has been developed to make out elements of leadership. Incessant self assessment, learning, guidance, experience and never ending process of self-study develops good leaders in a society. Many companies are facing high turnover, absenteeism, low morale among employees and many other such issues related to the job environment. For all these problems companies need proper effective leadership. The purpose of this paper is to have an in-depth insight on the major research findings of an effective leadership styles and situations and their role in organizational performance by reviewing the research literature. In this review paper organizational performance is being judged by the motivational level of the employees and job satisfaction factor. So this review paper gives a clear insight concerning (the theories of leadership) factors that boost leadership among employees which is then linked with organizational performance. This review paper will help managers to look at the major concerns which lead to great leadership and how to handle challenges and unexpected situations occurring in an organization. Effective leadership can be expressed where leaders influence group members, followers or subordinates in a way that this will help them to achieve common goals. Leadership and its Meaning: As this world is changing so is the definition of leadership. Over the years leadership has been described according to the circumstances. Effective leader is the one who is able to match his level of skills to the maturity of the subordinates. The word has been defined in so many terms that giving a single definition will not be justified. In order to understand the true meaning of leadership one has to study the topic itself thoroughly. Todays world is so complex and fast changing that we cannot just stick to one definition of the leadership. As the competition from the other firms comes in the organization so the ideas, so they broaden the meaning of what leadership is. As described by Thomas B. Allen (1988); the word leadership refers to a process of social influence, in which one person can enlist the aid and support of others in the accomplishment of a common task. A more apt and inclusive definition with regard to followers comes from Robert J. House (1996) who states that lea dership is ultimately about creating a way for people to contribute to making something extraordinary happen. Another definition comes from literature which states that effective leadership is the ability to successfully integrate and maximize available resources within the internal and external environment for the attainment of organizational or societal goals. Kirkpatrick Locke (1991) suggested through their study that effective leader is an individual with the capacity to consistently succeed in a given condition and be recognized as meeting the expectations of an organization or society. The analysis suggests that effective leadership can have positive impact on overall performance. Effective leadership can be described as giving a vision to the team-members and developing the path for the followers to achieve the maximum output. In order to gain high level of organizational performance leaders have to adopt new, innovative and challenging techniques to guide, motivate and manage the subordinates. Leadership is all about performance of the subordinates, groups, and organizations; good leadership promotes valuable group performance which in turn leads to high growth and expansion of a firm. A leaders background, life experiences, and daily communications define his or her leadership style. The difference between a good leader and a great leader is his or her ability to adapt to change. In an organization usually leaders and subordinates work together to understand the behavior of each other and try to manage their behavior to produce more beneficial results, Davis RV Tim Luthans. F (1979). According to Avery, G.C. Jing F.F. (2008) due to the complexity of leadership it is broken into five different perspectives: competency, behavioral, contingency, transformational, and implicit. Leadership is a method by which an individual persuades other people in a group to achieve an objective and leads the organization in a way that makes the team members interconnected and coherent. Bass (1989 1990) explains three types of theories of leadership. According to him there is a trait theory which states that in some people have in born traits which lead them to become a leader. Se cond theory is great event theory which is related to the crisis or important event. It states that sometimes some major events or crisis leave their marks on an individual personality which may bring out leadership qualities in an ordinary person, making him an extraordinary leader. Third is Transformational leadership theory which is most widely accepted theory of recent years. In it people by choice prefer the path of becoming leaders through learning and proper education. Leadership has certain set attributes like values, ethics, belief, knowledge and skill etc., which if followed properly can make an individual a good leader. Robert D. Rossel (1970) in his paper argued that there are two kinds of orientations, instrumental and expressive, attached to the effective leadership in an organization. According to him, leadership orientation depends on the nature of organization. Different organizations require different kind of leadership orientation among supervisors and managers. He further stated, if we take an example of organizations like mental hospitals, prisons etc where the environment is more segregated and isolated, the most successful leadership will be informal and expressive. Whereas formal and instrumental leadership will be required in organizations dealing in production and service side. Author explained the instrumental orientation to leadership as one which is more task oriented, the main focus of such type of leadership in an organization is to motivate team members, to maintain product quality. While, expressive orientation to leadership is all about getting along with the group members and the conduct of perverseness, and inattentiveness in leadership may interfere with the goals of organization. Author stated that the orientation to leadership also vary depending upon the labor commitment required for any particular organization. According to the findings of this paper, this can be affirmed that organizations where there is a high labor commitment demonstrate a very definite instrumental orientation in top management (F-Ratio 2.39, Mean 1.25) and an expressive orientation in lower supervisors (Mean -0.17). In terms of superior performance, effective leadership leads to people who find fulfillment in their jobs, work with enthusiasm passion, and perform quality work, with innovation and creativity. Effective leaders need to be able to endorse ideas and concepts as well as promote ideologies. Another quality seen in efficient leaders is how they can shift their groups attention towards the goals and objectives at hand by providing strategies regarding how to achieve the desired goals. They not only provide the physical resources required for the job such as tools and administrative or technical assistance, but also the psychological ones such as motivation, education and understanding. The most efficient leaders can also adapt to different environments according to the need of the hour and provide their workers with all the support and attention they require in order to successfully fulfill the task at hand. Hogan Kaiser (2005) defined leadership as a process of team building in which every member work well according to the set rules defined by the leader to outperform the competition. They further elaborated regarding the conventional definition of leadership over time, which defined leadership as the person who has the ability to influence others can be a leader but according to the author group performance should be the measure of leadership. They stated that in order to judge and assess the leadership one should look at the team performance. Three implications of this view should be noted. First, leadership involves influencing individuals willingly to contribute to the good of the group. Second, leadership requires coordinating and the guiding group (by adopting the most appropriate way) to achieve its goals. Finally, goals vary by organization and their life cycles. Leadership is the most essential item required for creating a team out of a group of individuals. One of the most im perative qualities of a good leader is that they can make individuals on team a single unit leading to synergy. Effective leaders can convince their team members to concentrate on their role within the team rather than their individual goals. An indicator regarding the success of a leader is the success of his or her followers. The key difference in explaining the long term performances of the firms is mostly attributed to an exceptional leadership. Superior performance is achieved when an organization is generating the maximum level of profitability possible with the help of three key determinants; efficiency, adaptations, and human resources. A business environment is more likely to succeed when it has people with high levels of skills, commitment and mutual trusts. Many times leaders performance is constrained with respect to the nature and size of an organization. Each leader performs within the set limits of an organization, which actually hinder the real outcomes. In other wor ds, the structure and size of a firm basically depicts the extent of leaders performance. Organizational Performance In order to understand the meaning of organizational performance first we have to look at the definition of organization. Aldrich (1979) in his book organizations and environment explained organization in three ways a) goal oriented; b) boundary maintaining, and c) activity system. By goal directed he means that the end objective of all organizations is to earn profit and to maximize the wealth of shares holders. Members of an organization behaves as if they have some defined goal, all of them work to achieve some specified purpose. This means members of an organization are task-oriented do not merely work for social interaction. Goal-directed behavior and deliberate design of activity systems distinguish organizations from other groups, such as families, friendship circles, audiences and mass publics. By boundary maintain he meant that organizations have defined clearly among the members of an organizations and non-members. And all members of an organization work collectively under the supervision of some authority to obtain defined goals. Activity system can be described as a system in an organization where all members are assigned some activities to achieve some predefined goals within boundary of an organization. The major component of effective organization is having a talent management team, which will be headed by a leader. Organizational performance need to be studied in relation to the status of employee satisfaction to assess how good the firm is doing in the market. In order to evaluate the effectiveness and efficiency of an Organization one has to look at the performance of the workers. Employees perform best when they are highly motivated resulting in increased number of customers and high growth rate. Thomas. B. Alan. (1988) entailed through his study that organizational performance is highly variable term. He further argued that organizational performance depends on various kinds of factors such as leaders styles and behavior, leader-subordinate relation, firm size etc. which definitely has a great impact on the performance of a firm. One of the main reason behind this is that assets like leadership behaviors, organization culture, skill and know-how, and motivation are seen as the most important factors of strength in those firms which involve group, procedures and organizational performance, Avery, G.C. Jing F.F. (2008). Therefore, leaders and their leadership style influence both their subordinates and organizational outcomes. Organizational performance increases if the employees are highly motivated and satisfied with team leader and their work. As per Ohio State University research successful leadership has two behavioral dimensions which play very important role, a. Consideration: in this kind of behavior leader of a group is concerned about the team members. This aspect of leadership is linked with leadership traits of kindliness, discussion with subordinates, appreciation and respect of team members and supportiveness, b. Initiating Structure: this type of leaders behavior is more towards work done. They are more concerned about work and task. Leaders who fall into this category of style are much planned, coordinated, and clear about their goals, criticize poor work, and always pressurize subordinates to work more effectively. Leadership Styles Effective leadership involves the study of different styles of leaders. The literature suggests that some types of leadership styles are preferred over others. This is especially true under different working conditions as well as the subordinates relation with the leader. Rotemberg. J.J Saloner. G. (1993) concluded through their study that leadership style of a firm is selected by the stakeholders to maximize the ex ante profits. According to their study the leader of the group (team Manager) exercises his power in different ways. They considered leadership styles as; a) Locus of control, internal locus of control in which leader feels whatever happens is because of their own strategies and actions, external locus of control in which they feel environment is responsible for whatever happening in their lives, b) Flexibility, few leaders are flexible and they are open to new ideas and thoughts, whereas some leaders have been identified as rigid. CEOs whose style is more rigid tend to lead firms with fewer innovations and do not delegate easily. Leadership style includes not only motivating and providing direction to the people but also implementing the plans. The needs of the employees play an important role in identifying the approach that a leader uses. An often overlooked quality within leaders is helpfulness. They not only need to encourage teamwork but also provide all sorts of support required to their team members. Studies also suggest that there is evidence that states considerate leaders tend to perform better. Leaders need to use multiple approaches while dealing with their subordinates, some of which include relationship development, training and professionalism of subordinates and time allotments. The three well known styles of leaderships are authoritative, participative and delegating, James D. Boulgarides William A. Cohen (2001). Authoritative: This is a style where the leader is in complete control and orders his subordinates regarding their duties without any consultation from them. This style is not very popular with the subordinates and is only effective if the leader has complete knowledge regarding the subject as well as definitive plans regarding how to execute the project. This style is looked down upon and should only be practiced on the rarest of occasions when time is of the essence. It can be used within certain limits if the subordinate is unfamiliar with the job in order to guide them more effectively. Participative: This is the suggested style of leadership within organizations as it makes sure all the involved parties are taken into account while making decisions. It is used when the leader knows about the final goal but wants to discuss the different options regarding procedures required to complete the goals. In this style the subordinates are informed of the goal by the leader and then an interactive discussion is carried out regarding how to achieve the stated goals. Even though all the subordinates are taken into consideration the leader remains in firm control and is the one who determines the plan of action based on the input provided by the subordinates. This style is mutually beneficial and ensures an environment of teamwork which leads to better performance. Delegating: This is when the leader leaves the decision up to the subordinates. This style is usually used when the employees are more informed regarding the subject than the leader and can analyze the situation better and come up with a better plan regarding what needs to be done. Even though the employee is the one taking the decision, it is still the leaders responsibility. The leader still has to delegate tasks in this style. This style is only suggested when the leader has complete confidence in the ability of his subordinates. Davis. R.V.Tim Luthans. F. (1979) envisioned a model consisting of four basic styles called the decision style model. These styles included Directive, Analytic, Behavioral and Conceptual. Directive: This is an autocratic style which is usually adopted when the leader has a need for power. Such kind of leadership style is more effective in situations where subordinates are ill informed or ill equipped for the task at hand. The model focuses on technical decisions and leaders do not consult and take very less advice from the subordinates. The leaders who practice this style are very performance oriented and therefore they operate with a lot of control. They tend to be aggressive and tend to achieve their desired results by hook or by crook. They also tend to have very dominating personalities. Analytic: This type of leader is a lot less authoritative than the directive type of leader and has more tolerance for ambiguity. They also tend to have more approachable attitude as they tend to want input from everywhere before reaching a decision. This style is best suited for the ability to cope with new situations which is why this system is an efficient problem solver. These leaders are usually not too hasty with decisions and take their time in evaluating all their options. Conceptual: This style uses data from various sources and analyzes all possible solutions with great details and looks at each and every alternative. It is quite similar to the behavioral style. The relationship between the leader and his team is one of openness and trust. The leaders are usually idealists therefore ethics and values play a key role. They have a long range focus and have high amounts of organizational commitment. They are usually understanding towards their team and adapt well according to different situations. They tend to like to have less control and tend to encourage a team effort and participation on an equal level. They want to see their team develop as a whole and even though they are achievement oriented they value independence as well. Behavioral: The managers who practice this style of leadership are highly concerned with their workers well being and tend to be a great source of support for their employees as they are highly people oriented. They are very open and easy to communicate with. They are also willing to compromise more and can be persuaded and welcome suggestions. All these qualities show that they tend to have lost control. They aim to be accepted and liked and avoid conflicts. They have a low data input. Hunt. J. G. (1971) discovered through his study that an ineffective leader leads to conflicts on multiple levels as well as a highly uninviting work environment both of which lead to organizational inefficiency. The overall environment becomes negative as employees do not take their managers seriously and through study it can be concluded that leadership requirement at different levels of management may vary markedly. It seems likely that when a leader has enough knowledge of two different types of management level then they perform better as compare to managers who have knowledge of only one management level, but definite kind of knowledge is likely to be dependent on various kinds of situations. Many managers use penalties which instill fear of mistakes within the employees. Authoritative leaders may cut days off, yell and demean their workers and abuse their power. They feel that intimidating their employees and increasing their authority will lead to more productivity however wha t happens is that there is more tension, employees become scared, morale falls and the organizational performance is affected. The autocratic style of leadership is greatly discouraged within organizations and should only be used when dealing with new employees who are unfamiliar with the organizational culture as it does not work well with the more experienced employees as suggested by research. A separate style of leadership is a laissez-fare style in which the leader does not manage his employees and only guides them. This happens only when the employees themselves select an informal leader for guidance. All these different styles of leaderships are suited to different environments. A behavioral style might be very successful in a certain environment yet might fail abysmally in another so a good leader adapts to these different environments with different styles. Therefore not all leaders are successful in all environments which is why certain leaders are chosen for certain situations. Spillane. J.P., Halverson R Diamond. B. J (2004) proposed this approach is not a viable option in the current day scenario as there is constant change. He suggests that leaders should now be chosen for their ability to deal with a wide range of tactics and that leaders should become more efficient in applying tactics rather than approaching different styles of leaderships. He also states that extremes of flexibility and rigidity are the least efficient styles. According to Fielder (1967) almost anything is easier to change than a managers style which is why a leader should not pretend to be something they are not. Leaders who act as facilitators are most liked among the followers and are most easy to understand. Flexible leaders also tend to adapt more easily to new situations compared to rigid ones. Efficient Flexibility doesnt mean a change in personality, all it is, is a change in tactics. Situational Leadership The objective of this review paper is to explain effective leadership in different situations and its role in a firm. It is essential to elaborate few theories which have substantial importance in Organizational Behavior literature. Situational leaders are those who can coordinate, guide, handle and direct his team members in all kinds of known and unknown situations (situational factors). There are few aspects which lead to situational decisions such as motivation and capability of followers. This, in turn, is affected by factors within the particular situation. Another factor which may affect leaders behavior is the relationship shared between followers and leader. According to the situational theory purposed by Hersey and Blanchard (1969) leader should be able to motivate his followers in order to make them perform their task efficiently and effectively. Leaders should work in a way that they will motivate their followers and increase their development level. On the basis of these lines they have come up with four leadership styles that are consistent with the four development levels for followers. 1) S1: Telling / directing: when in a team followers are unable to understand the task and afraid to perform their duties then the leader will guide and coordinate them properly. Leaders in this situation identify the real problem occurring to the follower and try to solve it. Leaders uphold the position of boss so that all assignments will be done properly within time. 2) S2: Selling / coaching: when the follower is able to understand his task to some extent and he looks confident in this, then telling him will be equal to discouraging them. So in this type of situations leaders have to guide his team members very carefully and instead of telling, the leaders have to sell the techniques of working, explaining and clarifying decisions. First two styles are more leader oriented. 3) S3: Participating / supporting: when followers can perform and they dont show the results then leaders have to be very patient and deal this situation with expertise. Leaders should find out different ways to motivate the followers and if reasons of not showing performance would have been found then leaders should tackle them properly. 4) S4: Delegating / Observing: in this type of situations followers know their jobs and they dont need any guidance but still its important for leaders to keep a check on the performance of the followers in order to ensure that everything moving according to the set plan. Bruno Leo F.C. (2006) explained the profile of leadership styles of Brazilian supervisors or CEO based on the situational leadership styles purposed by Hersey et al (1969). In his paper he elucidated that results showed that most of the executives are seen accepting the styles S2 (48.29% frequency distribution) and S3 (28.60% frequency distribution). So this shows that they have capabilities of working with followers of average level of willingness. Though they sometimes face problems regarding discipline and work with groups. Management theorists of the past tried to discover the best form of leadership for all situations however modern day researchers have realized that different environments lead to a significant impact on the effectiveness of a leader. Fielder (1967) carried out extensive research regarding how different situations affect leadership effectiveness. According to his research the relations motivated manager is most effective where the leader doesnt need much power whereas the task related manager performs well when his relations with his employees are good and when he has a strong control. In an unfavorable condition neither of the leaders would be effective so an alternative solution would be to replace the leader. In order to provide a solution for the style-situation issue Vroom Jago, Arthur. G (2007) found an approach that dealt with the interaction between the leader and his subordinates. The model suggested that situation played a great role for a style to be effective. It also concluded that subordinate motivation and technical effectiveness play a key role in sharing of leader power and if neither of these are important than the leader himself takes the decision. If motivation is low but technical difficulties are still important then the leader tries to gain more information and if technical difficulty is not important and motivation is high then delegation might be the answer. Lastly if the problem level is high and a need for acceptance is present then the decision is shared within the group. This shows that there is a consistency in the behavior in different situations. Sometimes interpersonal behavioral patterns are also transferred when work performances change in order to meet ne w requirements. Different task demands also lead to changes in leaders. Another point of view regarding styles of leaders is one of Fiedler (1974). Fenwick F Jing, Avery, G.C. (2008) found out trough their research that it is very difficult to define the relationship of leadership-performance. After doing concentrated research they accepted the four leadership paradigms as a tool of measuring the concept of leadership, (visionary, transactional, classical and organic paradigms).Avery (2001) identified 13 indices to measure these above mentioned leadership paradigms out of which 9 were used in the research of Fenwick F Jing, Avery, G.C. (2008). Many researchers who are constantly working on defining the leadership concept in groups have been able to link it with functional approach. In functional approach the main target of a leader is to get the job done and increase the level of performance. Thus, in such kind of approach leader ensures that every task should be completed in time. All team members actively participate in order to accomplish the task. The main objective of a leader behind this approach is to complete the functio ns, while leadership can be categorized as a way of problem solving achieved by common responses to social problems. In order to understand the functions four broad types of functions have been identified: 1) well informed and structured team, 2) proper use of information in hand to solve the problems, 3) managing and control human resources, and 4) proper usage of resources. Burke, C. S., Stagl, K. C., Klein, C., Goodwin, G. F., Salas, E., Halpin, S. M. (2006). Several studies show that the leader faces few obstacles regarding the organizational life cycle. There are five different stages of an organization and the changes which include, changes in management focus, organizational structure, top management style, control system and reward emphasis. Things that added to these changes and made the decision process harder included the size and age of the organization, its stage of evolution and the growth rate of the industry. Substantial numbers of management scholars have debated the effectiveness of leadership styles, behaviors and situations when selecting measurements of performance there is a correlation between financial performance and customer satisfaction. Several reasons indicate that there should be a relationship between leadership and performance. The first reason relates to practice. Todays intensive, dynamic markets feature innovation-based competition, price/performance rivalry, decreasing returns, and the creative destruction of existing competencies therefore effective leadership behaviors can facilitate the improvement of performance when organizations face these new challenges. Lumijà ¤rvi.I. (2007). Understanding the effects of leadership on performance is also important because leadership is viewed as one of the key driving forces for improving a firms performance. The Contingency Model of Leadership Effectiveness In this section contingency theory has been described which was actually originated by Fiedler. Fiedler. E. Fred (1972). Contingency theory helps executives and leaders to motivate and guide their followers in order to get better results for an organization. This theory is all about how leaders lead their groups in different situations, which predict followers capabilities and behaviors. There are few similarities between Contingency theory and situational theory. Former deals with the ability of leaders and see how they handle their followers to achieve high organizational performance in all kinds of situations. Also there is an important difference between the two theories. Situational Theory is more focused towards the behavior of the leader, depending upon the situations (often about follower behavior); whereas contingency theory talks about the bigger picture and it embraces group aspects about leader competence and other variables within the situation. This model was purposed by Fiedler in (1964) and (1974). According to this model they have explained two categories of motivational oriented leaders i.e. one is the task-motivated leaders and second category is relationship- motivated leaders. Author described that whenever some unexpected situation occurs in an organization both types of leaders react or respond to the situation differently. Many researchers have worked on this model and proves that leaders with task-motivated orientation mostly perform effectively in all types of situations, whereas leaders which fall into the second category (relationship-motivated) perform best in situations in which their control and influence is moderate. They further elaborated that leaders performance is l Management Leadership Styles: Tesco Management Leadership Styles: Tesco Executive Summary The retail organisation whose management and leadership styles will be investigated is ‘Tesco PLC. One will be analysing the management and leadership styles that are currently used by Tesco and whether these styles are effective, and also recommend if they could change or adopt any new styles which may be of more benefit to them. 1.0 Introduction Tesco PLC is one of the leading retailers in the United Kingdom and one of the largest food retailers in the world. Tesco has diversified by also selling non-food goods, such as electrical and also clothes in their stores. The initial size of the company indicates that the types of management and leadership styles and the way these are handled are crucial for the success of this firm. Similar to most companies, the management and leadership styles adopted within Tesco are likely to have continuously been adapted in correlation with the growth of the company over the years. Although the current management style has evidently been successful here in the UK, it is highly likely that they would not be able to use this same management style in certain countries overseas, namely Japan and China. The primary reason for this is due to the different cultures and values which have been adopted by these respective countries and this is something that will be taken into account. The management and leadership styles analysed below, are approaches which are likely to be implemented by Tesco. 2.0 Management Leadership definition Management is the organisational process that includes strategic planning, setting; objectives, managing recourses, deploying the human and financial assets needed to achieve objectives, and measuring results (Stuhlman Management Consultants, 2007). Boddy (2005) defines management as ‘the activity of getting things done with the aid of people and other recourses. Mintzberg (1973) makes this definition even simpler by stating, ‘if you ask a manager what he does, he they will most likely tell you that he plans, organizes, coordinates and controls Hannagan (1995) states that ‘Leadership can be seen as performing the influencing function of management, largely involved with establishing goals and motivating people to help achieve them. Leaders decide ‘where we are going rather than describe ‘how we are going to get there. House (2004) states that leadership is ‘the ability of an individual to influence, motivate, and enable others to contribute toward the effectiveness and success of the organizations of which they are members. For a manager to make his/her subordinates work effectively, the have to be motivated. Motivation is a key factor that must be held by a manager or a leader because; a de-motivated workforce leads to lower productivity. A manager keeping his workforce motivated is ensuring that his/her subordinates are working at a high level of productivity. Masterson and Pickton (2004) define motivation as ‘†¦the complex relationship between needs, drives and goals†¦ It is therefore ideal for a manager or leader to identify the needs, find out what drives workers, and subsequently, set them goals. 3.0 McGregors Theory X and Y One of the most influential theories on the understanding of leadership is created by the work of Douglas McGregor (1960) in developing theories X and Y. He believed that managers took two different views of their subordinates and conducted practices that would best suit their assumption of the workers they were in charge of. Theory X managers, take the thinking that people dislike work, and only work as it is a necessity for survival. They perceive workers to be lazy people who want to avoid responsibility, who lack ambition and would prefer to be directed, rather then use initiative to take roles of responsibility. Mainly, these managers believe people want security from there jobs, therefore the managers take a very directive approach to leadership and are very strict and controlling with their subordinates. Organisational goals already established and workers are pushed in a certain direction so that these goals can be fully achieved. On the other hand, Theory Y managers take an immensely different view to the theory X style of management. Theory Y managers believe that people see work as a daily occurrence and actually accept and strive to have some responsibility. They believe that if workers are in the right conditions, they will work hard their own will, helping the organization achieve the set out goals, and in return, being rewarded for this hard work and effort. In this scenario, managers will work together with subordinates, deciding work objectives and by developing strategies designed to achieve these goals. They will encourage team working and also delegate decision making when and were possible. In relation to Tesco, the management are likely to take a theory X approach in running their organisation. Due to the enormity of the number of subordinates a manager is likely to be in supervision of, it would be almost impossible to use the latter approach. Furthermore, the tasks needed to be carried out by workers do not require many skills, for example shop floor duties such as shelf stacking, checkouts and sales assistants carry out basic duties. As a result, these workers would need constant supervision and direction to ensure consistency and continuity in order to achieve the firms goals. Therefore, for Tesco, a theory X approach to management in their stores is the most effective management style. 4.0 Ohio State University Model The initiating structure is the pattern of leadership behaviour that emphasises the performance of the work in hand and the achievement of production or service goals. Boddy (2005) states ‘This behaviour involves the managers concern for directing subordinates in order to achieve production targets. It is a task-oriented approach, where managers tend to be highly directive and emphasise completing a task according to plan. This behavioural approach to leadership relates to Tesco in that, managers at Tesco are more concerned with getting the job done and reaching store targets rather then taking a ‘consideration dimension which involves more the concern for people. Boddy (2005) states that typical behaviours included: Allocating subordinates to specific tasks Establishing standards of job performance Informing subordinates of the requirements of the job Scheduling work to be done by subordinates Encouraging the use of uniform procedures 5.0 Blake and Moutons Management Grid ‘The management grid identifies a range of management behaviours based on various ways that task-oriented and employee-orientated styles can interact with each other. When looking at Appendix 1, in relation to Tesco, the management would identify themselves mostly to an Authoritarian management style (also known as produce or perish style), which has a high concern for production and efficiency and concentrates less on people. They take a task oriented approach which takes in hand the needs of the task in hand rather then the wants of subordinates. This is again, similar again to the Theory X approach stated approach, and is effective to Tesco where there is a larger amount of lower-skilled employees. 6.0 Herzberg Two Factor Theory Herzberg was interested in discovering how need satisfaction occurs in a workplace and the impact of motivation on behaviours and attitudes. Fincham and Rhodes (2005) stated that Herzbergs two factor theory involved, firstly the ‘motivators and secondly the ‘hygiene factors. Hygiene factors involved supervision, salary, work environment, company policies and relationship with colleagues. The absences of these were seen as dissatisfying aspects of a job which can affect the morale of workers. Herzberg stated that this is followed by several motivators, which include; responsibility, achievement, promotion and recognition. In relation to Tesco, subordinates of the managers such as shop floor employees, are unlikely to achieve the motivators stated by Herzberg, therefore are likely to be dissatisfied and de-motivated in their jobs. This can be very negative for a firm like Tesco as a de-motivated workforce is obviously more unproductive then a motivated workforce. Taking thi s into thought, it is vital for managers to tackle motivational issues of the workforce and see that the hygiene factors of employees are met, making it an effective approach to adopt. 7.0 Conclusion and Recommendations All in all, the evident success of Tesco shows that the management and leadership styles they are using are immensely successful. Management styles used such as the Theory X approach and authoritarian management are undoubtedly operating well. However, a 2007 DataMonitor Company report based on Tesco states that Tesco are looking to diversify into foreign countries such as Japan and China, and as a result, they may well have to reconsider the management and leadership strategies which they have in place. The reason for this is that the world of work differs in Japan and China compared to that of the UK as they place a large amount of emphasis on Total Quality Management (TQM), also know as Kaizen. This is a well renowned strategy in these countries and has become some what of a norm for workers there. As a result, it maybe wise for Tesco to implement a similar strategy to adopt and emulate already successful strategies used in Japan and China. Total Quality Management ‘is an op erational philosophy that stresses commitment to customer satisfaction and continuous improvement, TQM is committed to quality and excellence and to being the best in all functions. Hunger Wheelen (2003) state that in order for TQM to succeed in a company, ‘the program usually involves a significant change in corporate culture, requiring strong leadership from top management, employee training, empowerment of lower level employees (giving people more control over their work), and teamwork. In order for Tesco to implement such a strategy, they may have to discard the autocratic management approach and may have adopt a more democratic style of management, in which the ‘wishes and suggestions of the members are incorporated into those of the leader, as stated by Huczynski and Buchanan (1991). Although it may be hard to change from a management style which has been ever so successful for the firm, it may be crucial to adopt a new strategy in order for Tesco to be successful in their foreign ventures. 8.0 References Academic Textbooks Boddy, D (2005). Management: An Introduction. 3rd Edition. Essex: FT Prentice Hall. House, R; Hanges, P; Javidan, M; Dorfman, P; Gupta, V. (2004) Culture, Leadership, and Organizations: The GLOBE Study of 62 Societies, SAGE Publications, Thousand Oaks Hannagan, T (1995). Management Concepts and Practices. 2nd Edition. London: Pitman Publishing. Hunger, J; Wheelen, T (2005). Essentials of Strategic Management. 3rd Edition. Essex: Pearson Education Inc. Huczynski, A; Buchanan, D (1991). Organizational Behaviour. 2nd Edition. Hertfordshire, Cambridge University Press. Fincham, R; Rhodes, P (2005). Principles of Organisational Behaviour. 4th Edition, Oxford, Oxford University Press Mintzberg, H. (1973) The Nature of Managerial Work, Harper and Row, New York Masterson, R; Pickton, D (2004) Principles of Marketing, Berkshire, McGraw Hill Lecture Notes Meyer, M: CORP 2463, Week 4 Lecture Notes: Leadership, Influence and Power (2007), De Montfort University

Human Resource Management Essay -- Gender Roles, Work Place

This essay will discuss the roles of men and women in the workplace. As roles of men and women have changed in today's context, unlike the past, it was caused by cultural and sociological. According to (free dictionary) Roles can be defined as the characteristic and expected social behaviour of an individual. For example when you see a car commercial for a mechanic most of the time the mechanic is a man. But when you see a commercial about cleaning products for the house normally a woman is the face you see. In other words, the media can help break the barriers on how gender roles are portrayed in society. This essay will focus on, the roles of men and women at work, education, pay gap between them, vertical and horizontal segregation, part time job, afterwards before going to conclusion will explain the reason of the difference between men and women, within context of biological, socialisation and structure, and finalising with conclusion. Many companies at present express desire of promoting diversity within organisations. For many years, the dominant group in the workforce always were men. According to (statistic) show that the employment rates for men have been rising since the second quarter of 1971, levelling off in more recent years. ( ??????) Stated that this culturally-installed male dominance can be explained in many ways and from a variety of perspectives. The statistic shows that, in second quarter of 2008 the employment rate was 79 per cent for men and 70 per cent for women, unchanged since 1999; this show the clear evidence of the men was the group dominant. (Hearn and Parkin, 1987) stated that 'Organisation' and 'sexuality' occur simultaneously, in a way that reinforces patriarchal power of men over women." W... ...ease of the women at education and workforce, in some of the men workforce dominant, women who are in that position to retain they have to behave like men. Givens does not want to blame women, but rather make them change their thinking to achieve their aims. The law is not much use for woman in power as there is so many males above them in any company. The usefulness of the law can be seen however in the fact ofprecedent' where any previous case of a woman taking a company to court for sexual discrimination or equal pay and winning may be considered in a similar court case. The glass ceiling is a major obstacle preventing woman from achieving high status professions. However since the law has been in power I believe that the glass ceiling is cracking but it's going to take a lot more years to see any kind of noticeable improvements in woman's careers.

Constitutional Law Paper

Constitutional Law Paper BY ctndoee_272 Constitutional Law Mid Term Paper It is evident that over the past few years, American Democracy has been loosing its power. The causes toward this effect are many. Some amongst the many are decreased political participation and the minimum quality of functioning of government. Before understanding that these are some of the effects that has caused the waning in American Democracy one must understand what Democracy is and its measures as well. Democracy is a system of government by the whole population or all the eligible members of a state.It is equal access to power where the people are the supreme source of that power. There are rights, laws, and policies that reflect the will of the people, consent of the governed, and popular sovereignty. Amongst the government, there are 6 basic principles within the democracy. They are Popular Sovereignty, Rule of Law, Separation of Powers, Checks and Balances, Judicial Review, and Federalism. The U. S C onstitution is built upon these basic principles. It is logical that by having these 6 principles to abide by, the U. S Democracy would have the highest ranking hen it comes to measures of Democracy.It would make sense that American Democracy would have a high rank in the following categories: Electoral process and pluralism, civil liberties, functioning of government, political participation, and political culture; but, in reality it isn't that way. According to the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIIJ), the United States has a world rank of 19 as opposed to Norway who has a ranking of 1 . The Democracy Index developed by the Ell-J shows that the U. S is has the lowest ranking for political participation. This is one of the factors that are causing our government to lose power.This political issue is caused by the voting requirements set. Under California law, you must meet several requirements in order to be able to vote in state and local elections. You must be a U. S. citizen, and a resident of California, who is eighteen years of age or older, or who will be eighteen years or older on the date of the next election. Additionally, you must not be in prison or on parole for a felony conviction. Finally, you must not have been found to be mentally incompetent by a court. With these voting requirements set, we are limiting the amount of people who can vote and participate in elections.Democracy, as a system of governance, is supposed to allow extensive representation and inclusiveness of as many people and views as possible to feed into the functioning of a fair and Just society. â€Å"Limitations to the amount of people who can vote, voter apathy, disenfranchisement, parties not representing people, and voter intimidation are all reasons for a low voter turnout† . The common criticism leveled at those who do not vote seems to be to blame them or being apathetic and irresponsible, noting that â€Å"with rights come responsibilities. There is often some tr uth to this, but not only are those other reasons for not voting lost in the assumption of apathy, but voting itself isn't the only important task for an electorate. Being able to make informed decisions is also important. In a local voting survey conducted by the class the question that followed if the person was eligible to vo e † Then why don't you vote? † was asked t . I was discovered that the reason many people do not vote is because they are not informed correctly or there is the bservation that the leading parties are not that different from each other and they do not offer much said to the voter.The media not being much help or being biased sometimes also make it harder for the electorate to make an intellectual decision. In addition, the other percent of the people surveyed responded that they have little or no time to vote. A solution to this political issue is to make voting easier and more convenient. With this said, establishing no excuse absentee ballots w ould introduce an early voting system that would allow thousands of voters to vote at their onvenience. Currently, registered voters can only obtain absentee ballots if they are unable to be in the polling place on Election Day due to illness, travel or religious reasons.By doing away with these restrictions, registered voters could apply for the ballots and vote without having to fgure out when or how to get to their polling place. As our world has been more fast-paced and as California residents are busier trying to hold on to their Jobs in this difficult economy, our voting system needs to catch up. If voting is made easier, more people will vote increasing our political articipation. The Democracy Index provided by the Ell-J also shows that the United States has a score of 7. 5 in functioning of government.This data ultimately corresponds to the score the U. S has in political participation. The United States, as a form of democracy utilizing the â€Å"First Past the Post†(FPTP or FPP) system and gerrymandering results in a government, would ultimately yield a relatively moderate two party system. Additionally, the United States Government doesnt function according to the will of the people. The United States Government as a representative government means that the representatives in its political office represent the people but function based on their own beliefs and opinions.Thirdly, the average person has no direct impact on who the president is. â€Å"That Privilege falls to the Electoral College, under the 23rd amendment of the constitution. â€Å"00Ultimately, this government â€Å"of the people, by the people, for the people†, fails to truly recognize the power and worth of those on the outskirts of society, those who can't fend for themselves, those who don't conform to he status quo, those who are not well off or better, and those who â€Å"fail to contribute† to society.Again, attempting to increase the voting rate will ass ist our ranking score for the functioning of government, as it will be more accurate toward what the people want. Over the past few years, American Democracy has been loosing its power. One of the main causes is that there is not enough political participation amongst its citizens. ‘As their responsibility our government has to find a way to facilitate the voting process for electorates and that way increasing our political participation that ill then establish a more democratic functioning of government.The best action to revitalizing democracy in the United States is to change the voting system itself – the method that determines how we cast our votes for candidates and how the winners are decided. Our current winner-take-all voting system is one of the least representative and least democratic of all forms of elections. Adopting a better voting system could go along ways toward enhancing the political power of average citizens, and this would help to blunt the influe nce of private economic power.

Review of Hamlet, performed in the lowry, salford quays Essay

On Wednesday 3rd of November, the A-level drama groups from Queens Park High School went to see a version of Hamlet performed in the Salford Quays Lowry theatre. Directed by Japanese Yukio Ninagawa, he has added Japanese influences into the traditional Shakespearean tragedy. The design of the set used artistic impressionism: The barbed wire represented the conflict present within his mind. As well as this it was a useful medium to cordon certain areas of the stage. The light bulbs also representing conflict, which are regularly used in Shakespearean plays; in this case used (as with the barbed wire) to evince the conflict beginning in Hamlet’s mind. The light bulbs would alight and sway to signify a monologue, and were also a type of imagery demonstrating the mind- the light bulb is commonly used to mark an idea. The doors around the edge of stage were used to replicate the idea of an open space, and gave the stage an incredible sense of vastness. By using these doors and certain lighting, the director was able to indicate different times of day: during the scene with Hamlet and the ghost, the light gradually moved around all of the doors and successfully created the feeling of a rising sun. The costumes worn by some characters appeared unusual; the ghost king (although written to be Norwegian) wore a Samurai costume, and the entertainers wore costumes relating to the native kabuki or no theatre of Japan. Shakespeare would probably have used clowns or a similar type of act to demonstrate the murder of Hamlet’s father. The reason for this stems from the Japanese director, Ninagawa, who used his own culture to influence some aspects of the play. This was interesting when it came to the setting of the play, as it did not tie with the written adaptation which -as mentioned earlier- was supposed to be based in Norway, and there were no references to this. Other costumes were used well to represent different circles within the play- royalty and those associated were dressed in red: a royal colour. Ophelia and her family originally dressed in white, possibly symbolising purity and truth, until Polonius joins the King and Queen and also dresses in red. Horatio dresses in similar plain black clothing to Hamlet, but wore a blue scarf that could have been used to differentiate him from the royal family. The two scholars that appear at the King’s request both wear grey, high-class outfits and look very much like scholars. The final groups of people to explore are the Polish army, the leader of which wore a very modern leather coat- a mark of high status and power. The major costume changes that occur are when Gertrude asks to speak to Hamlet- at which point she wears a light blue, flowing gown, representing her purity and innocence, and the underwear worn by Ophelia, showing her in a dishevelled and unkempt state. The main sound effects occurred at the beginning of each act; rolling thunder, which accompanied the swaying lights. Music was used namely in the performance by the Kabuki theatre. During Ophelia’s madness, she vocalises some sonnets written by Shakespeare. Songs are also sung by the gravediggers, although they feature only for a short while and do not contribute much to the play as a whole. Overall, the design of the play was well thought out, and the director was able to use the space, lighting, sound and costume to create a well-devised and creative atmosphere. In comparison the setting and design of the play, the acting did not contribute in such an involving way. All characters were able to project their voices, which made the audience able to competently hear what the characters where saying. But emotion and expression were lacking in many of the characters e. g. one of the most well known lines of the play ‘dear Jochum, I knew him well’ -spoken by Hamlet- was rushed and miscued. In a similar way, the characters of the King and Gertrude were greatly over-acted. The actors who demonstrated the best character development and realism were Polonius and Horatio. During the scene where Polonius ‘forgets what he was going to say’, many members of the audience believed that he had forgotten his lines, inducing laughter and amusement; exactly the reaction that Shakespeare intended. Horatio gave an excellent performance at the end of the play, producing ‘real tears’ and a very convincing sadness at the death of his best friend Hamlet. The performances of both of these characters were consistent throughout the play. Due to the barbed wire on the stage, some of the movement seemed restricted, such as the sword fight between Hamlet and Laertes, where it appeared that they accidentally knocked the wire causing it to shake and distract the attention of the audience. The body language of each character was questionable: Gertrude and the King both had over-exaggerated arm movements, whereas Hamlet appeared not to over-use large movements such as pointing and flailing arms. Polonius had an interesting twitch in his right arm, which at first appeared to be nervousness of the actor, but on further investigation, was an intentional manoeuvre used to depict his slightly psychotic character. Ophelia created madness in her character after the death of her father by moving in a lyrical fashion, as though not really aware of her motion – a successful tactic. Directors will use the versatility of the Hamlet script to create different relationships between characters, either successfully or unsuccessfully. Ninagawa made the following choices: The relationship between Polonius and Ophelia was interesting, because although at the beginning of the play Polonius chose to treat his daughter with disdain, Ophelia was quite obviously very disturbed and depressed about his death. This was perhaps conveying the true to life concept that one will love family no matter what the situation. Another relationship including Ophelia is the intimacy between herself and her brother – without knowing the characters, the audience may have been fooled into thinking that Ophelia and Laertes are lovers, as they kiss. The kiss appears to have a romantic nature rather than the kiss the audience would expect within a family kiss. This could result in the audience being ambivalent about the relationship between Ophelia and Laertes. Ninagawa does not pursue the romantic relationship between Ophelia and Hamlet or Claudius and Gertrude, which the audience would expect to see some evidence of- at one point, the actor of Gertrude tried to embrace Claudius who pushed her away, and there was very little contact between Hamlet and Ophelia. Hamlet is an interesting character within himself, showing signs of contempt towards other characters, being indecisive and uncaring. It is within the monologues that the audience is exposed to the real Hamlet, which Ninagawa has chosen to portray as acting madness, as opposed to becoming crazed. The final relationship being considered is that of Hamlet and Gertrude. At the beginning of the play, the actors did not express sort of bond, and the first contact they appear to have is in Gertrude’s closet, where she is moderately sexually harassed by Hamlet. This could have been executed in a much more perverse way, which fortunately the director did not choose to do. The acting in this version of Hamlet leaves a lot to be desired as lines were forgotten, words were misused and the some actors seemed lacking in direction. I feel that having heard the story of Hamlet after having seen the play, there was much that I misunderstood from watching and listening to the characters. Although true to the text, some of the words were spoken without expression and misinterpretation became easy attention lapsed. Having spoken to other audience members, certain key characters became easy to listen to – despite the difficult context – and even enjoy. The set and costume was admired for the provocative nature and was a success in almost all aspects. Overall, the play captured most moments that were significant either with the use of design or the skill of the able and talented actors.

Olympic Country Codes

Olympic Country Codes Each country has its three-letter abbreviation or code that is used during The Olympic Games to represent that country. The following is a list of the 204 countries that are recognized by the  IOC (International Olympic Committee) as National Olympic Committees. An asterisk (*) indicates a territory and not an  independent country; a listing of the independent countries of the world is available. Three-Letter Olympic Country Abbreviations Afghanistan - AFGAlbania - ALBAlgeria - ALGAmerican Samoa* - ASAAndorra - ANDAngola - ANGAntigua and Barbuda - ANTArgentina - ARGArmenia - ARMAruba* - ARUAustralia - AUSAustria - AUTAzerbaijan - AZEThe Bahamas - BAHBahrain - BRNBangladesh - BANBarbados - BARBelarus - BLRBelgium - BELBelize - BIZBermuda* - BERBenin - BENBhutan - BHUBolivia - BOLBosnia and Herzegovina - BIHBotswana - BOTBrazil - BRAThe British Virgin Islands* - IVBBrunei - BRUBulgaria - BULBurkina Faso - BURBurundi - BDICambodia - CAMCameroon - CMRCanada - CANCape Verde - CPVCayman Islands* - CAYCentral African Republic - CAFChad - CHAChile - CHIChina - CHNColombia - COLComoros - COMCongo, Republic of the - CGOCongo, Democratic Republic of the - CODThe Cook Islands* - COKCosta Rica - CRCCote dIvoire - CIVCroatia - CROCuba - CUBCyprus - CYPCzech Republic - CZEDenmark - DENDjibouti - DJIDominica - DMAThe Dominican Republic - DOMEast Timor (Timor-Leste) - TLSEcuador - ECUEgypt - EGYEl Salvador - ESAEquatorial Guinea - GEQ Eritrea - ERI Estonia - ESTEthiopia - ETHFiji - FIJFinland - FINFrance - FRAGabon - GABThe Gambia - GAMGeorgia - GEOGermany - GERGhana - GHAGreece - GREGrenada - GRNGuam* - GUMGuatemala - GUAGuinea - GUIGuinea-Bissau - GBSGuyana - GUYHaiti - HAIHonduras - HONHong Kong* - HKGHungary - HUNIceland - ISLIndia - INDIndonesia - INAIran - IRIIraq - IRQIreland - IRLIsrael - ISRItaly - ITAJamaica - JAMJapan - JPNJordan - JORKazakhstan - KAZKenya - KENKiribati - KIRKorea, North (PDR of Korea) - PRKKorea, South - KORKuwait - KUWKyrgyzstan - KGZLaos - LAOLatvia - LATLebanon - LIBLesotho - LESLiberia - LBRLibya - LBALiechtenstein - LIELithuania - LTULuxembourg - LUXMacedonia - MKD (Officially: Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia)Madagascar - MADMalawi - MAWMalaysia - MASThe Maldives - MDVMali - MLIMalta - MLTMarshall Islands - MHLMauritania - MTNMauritius - MRIMexico - MEXFederated States of Micronesia - FSMMoldova - MDAMonaco - MONMongolia - MGLMontenegro - MNEMorocco - MARMozambique - MOZMyanmar (Burma) - MYA Namibia - NAMNauru - NRUNepal - NEPNetherlands - NEDNew Zealand - NZLNicaragua - NCANiger - NIGNigeria - NGRNorway - NOROman - OMAPakistan - PAKPalau - PLWPalestine* - PLEPanama - PANPapua New Guinea - PNGParaguay - PARPeru - PERPhilippines - PHIPoland - POLPortugal - PORPuerto Rico* - PURQatar - QATRomania - ROURussian Federation - RUSRwanda - RWASaint Kitts and Nevis - SKNSaint Lucia - LCASaint Vincent and the Grenadines - VINSamoa - SAMSan Marino - SMRSao Tome and Principe - STPSaudi Arabia - KSASenegal - SENSerbia - SRBSeychelles - SEYSierra Leone - SLESingapore - SINSlovakia - SVKSlovenia - SLOSolomon Islands - SOLSomalia - SOMSouth Africa - RSASpain - ESPSri Lanka - SRISudan - SUDSuriname - SURSwaziland - SWZSweden - SWESwitzerland - SUISyria - SYRTaiwan (Chinese Taipei) - TPETajikistan - TJKTanzania - TANThailand - THATogo - TOGTonga - TGATrinidad and Tobago - TRITunisia - TUNTurkey - TURTurkmenistan - TKMTuvalu - TUVUganda - UGAUkraine - UKRUnited Arab Emirates - UAEUnited Ki ngdom (Great Britain) - GBR United States - USAUruguay - URUUzbekistan - UZBVanuatu - VANVenezuela - VENVietnam - VIEVirgin Islands* - ISVYemen - YEMZambia - ZAMZimbabwe - ZIM Notes on the List The territory formerly known as Netherlands Antilles (AHO) was dissolved in 2010 and subsequently lost its status as an official National Olympic Committee in 2011. The Olympic Committee of Kosovo (OCK) was established in 2003 but as of this writing, remains unrecognized as a National Olympic Committee due to Serbias dispute over Kosovos independence.

Human behavior in social work practice Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Human behavior in social work practice - Article Example Providing moral support falls under the theory of systems perspective. Systems perspective insists that. Without a doubt, social work adopted functionalist sociology, a theory that states social elements stay consistent throughout time. From my perspective, it is important to rectify with these issues. Social issues plague individuals because they are the key source of problems with interpersonal communication. Most women are unable to read and challenge their analytical skills at a higher level. The lingering social norms that plague the existing in the system has undoubtedly have limited the potential of women to excel in this society. Hence, this theory must be utilized to disregard these notions. I agree with the approach of the social worker. I think it is crucial to harness the development of young female workers. Female and close knitting group obviously helps Manesha with loneliness. As social workers, it is cognizant to have this in mind to help these young women gains self-confidence back. Additionally, it empowers individuals to harness self-growth confidence in order for them to be successful. As a social worker, I find it imperative to implement social cognitive theory in this issue. One element that I disagree with is the fact that was to assimilation and co-ethnic communities. I think there should be balance of understanding the social needs of women struggling to immense themselves in this environment. There should be more emphasis undoubtedly on the methods to conquer this assimilation. One of the biggest challenges that women immigrants and minority business owners face is assimilation, in case of Manesha. Imagine coming to a country with different trends, customs, and not understanding how protocols work? This is one of the biggest challenges for women and business owners that are immigrants. Assimilation and penetrating a customer base really does create many barriers for new entrepreneurs. This

Ethical Standards Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Ethical Standards - Essay Example The new code of conduct will act as a guideline for all the employees to follow, when confronted with a dilemma (Roth, 2005). The devised code of conduct will try to cover all the business aspects where any predicament can arise. Thus, code covers the matters of business conduct, marketing and sales practices, business gifts, relationship with colleagues and clients, insider trading, reporting measures and the use fo company or clients’ resources. Therefore, it is very important for every ECG employee to fully understand and abide by the code of conduct. A company’s image is affected by the manner the employees, within and outside the workplace. With ECG’s plan of venturing into international business market, acquiring rival firms and launching an IPO it is essential for the company employees to be on their finest behaviour. This will affect the company’s representation and in turn affect the planned investments (Johnson, 2006). The purpose of developing a code of conduct and policies is to ensure through mutual consent and understanding that these policies are implemented in order to achieve the ultimate target of integrity. The role of all the HODs is very crucial in this regard. The HODs have to become an example for their subordinates. Until the HODs follow these codes of conduct, it is very unlikely for the members of that department to do so. In order to ensure that these policies are adhered to at all times, the HODs should adopt the â€Å"lead by example† approach in this regard (Roth, 2005). The code of conduct clearly specifies the kind of behaviour which is expected from all the employees, irrespective of their stature in the company. Emphasis has been placed on integrity, honesty and trust which should be the foundation of any ethical code. The general business code of conduct lays down the rules for the employees, for the business practices and for the overall business as well. The code of conduct outlines the cul ture of the organization and provides the employees with a framework which will help them in their daily activities. The code also provides the employees with a framework by which they can judge their own behaviour and also learn how to interact with other colleagues and clients. A successful and positive relationship with our clients is essential for the success of ECG. We as a company have been proud of the fact that all out business activities are dealt with honesty, integrity and fairness. Since the relationship with our clients is so vital for our success, care should be taken with the information we provide to our clients, which is always accurate and never misrepresented. Even though client servicing is important, care should be taken when the company is incurring expenses on account of client entertainment or other benefits. These expenses should not exceed a reasonable limit and should always be approved by the finance department. This is made mandatory in order to increase transparency within the system (Lagan & Moran, 2005). Special attention needs to be paid to the marketing and sales department in particular. The marketing department is the department that directly interacts with the consumers. Therefore, the working of the marketing department is a reflection of the company’s image and policies. Documentation of the transactions is an essential part of the code of conduct. Employees are required to document every transaction which takes place between ECG and its clients. This not only makes audit very easy, but also helps