Critical analysis paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Critical analysis paper - Essay Example l innovations, which have been made to enhance communications such as use of Skype, cell phones, internet, cable television and text messaging, have isolated the young generation from the adults instead of bringing them closer. He believes that communication technology has highly confused the young adults. Throughout his book, Bauerlein argues that technology has stupefied the young people, who are using these devices to learn pop culture instead of searching important information on civil values, history and philosophy. Bauerlein explains the alarming trends, which the American youths have adopted because of technology. For instance, he uses statistics to show the increased levels of college and high school dropout cases, which have increased because of communication technology. Additionally, he explains that the levels of illiteracy have risen, with young adults disregarding traditional values and knowledge. Bauerlein explains that these trends have been caused by advancements in technology, which have seen the introduction of the digital era. He, however, blames mentors and educators, whom he claims to be advocates of technology to be the chief facilitators of the changes that are experienced among the young adults. He claims that teachers have betrayed the young generation because they do not emphasize the significance of traditional values and knowledge. â€Å"Blame also, the teachers, professors†¦ who will not insist on the value of knowledge and tradition, who will not judge cultural no velties by the high standards set by the past†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Bauerlein 65). Bauerlein tries to explain how teachers have facilitated to societal failures by bringing up undisciplined learners. He argues that the form of education that teachers are offering and the teaching of digital media in schools is not sufficient to sustain the future of the young adults because it opposes traditional values. Additionally, Bauerlein claims that most educators encourage learners to establish their

Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and Huck Essay Example for Free

Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and Huck Essay Sometimes in literature, authors will use minor characters to highlight important qualities of another character. This approach helps the reader better understand the character since character foiling helps to identify their strengths and weaknesses. Mark Twain uses several character foils, each of which have a different impact on Huck’s moral growth. Throughout the classic American novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Huck’s friends help to bring out the best of his traits and morals: Buck, Tom and the King and the Duke. ! For example, Tom Sawyer serves as a character foil for Huck Finn. Tom and Huck’s religious beliefs con? ict since Tom believes in genies, and Miss Watson tries to teach Huck what she thinks is right. Huck comes to the conclusion Tom doesn’t know what he is talking about; â€Å"So then I judged that all the stuff was only just one of Tom Sawyer’s lies† (14). As a result, Tom’s ideas lead Huck to form his own beliefs and challenge the majority of peoples’s way of thinking. Tom also foils Huck at the end of the book when he uses his imagination and knowledge of books to corroborate a plan to free Jim. His unrealistic plan aggravates Huck; â€Å"Good land why, there ain’t no necessity for it† (239). Tom’s foolish childish behavior didn’t bother Huck until now but since Tom is fooling around with Jim’s life and freedom, it makes Huck question his relationship with Tom. Tom’s actions affect Huck is a positive way that help him grow religiously and in maturity. Just as Tom foiled Huck, Twain uses Buck to do the same Buck Grangerford’s lifestyle is not similar to Huck’s which highlights the differences in Huck’s up-bringing. Buck’s home life is much different than Huck’s speci? cally in regards to Buck having someone to wait on him hand and foot: â€Å"My nigger had a monstrous easy time, because I warn’t used to having anybody do anything for me, but Buck’s [slave] was on the jump most of the time† (106). This example shows that Huck is independent and doesn’t need someone to wait on him. Buck can relax and be free of any responsibility. In addition, Buck has â€Å" a might nice family, and a mighty nice house, too† (99). Buck was raised without the worry of when his next meal was going to be put on the table, or if his father would die from his alcoholism problem. Buck is raised with a fair amount of money, an education, and freedom which Huck lacks. Huck’s lifestyle is the opposite of Buck’s and Twain does this on purpose to express the struggle Huck has with his own life. Not only does Twain use Buck and Tom to foil Huck, he uses the king and the duke to contrast Huck. ! The outlandish, inconsiderate Duke and King affect Huck with their remorseless theft and sel? shness. The con-artists’ plans to take money from the innocent townspeople rub Huck the wrong way but when they want to steal from Mary Jane and the Grangerford’s, Huck won’t stand for it. Huck decides to tell Mary Jane that her â€Å"uncles of yourn ain’t no uncles at all: they’re a couple of frauds- regular dead-beats†, because they just want land and money from the Grangerfords (187). The King and Duke’s actions compel Huck to be mature and tell Mary Jane what is actually going on. Later on in the book, Huck sees the King and the Duke tarred and feathered being chased from the town because of what they have done. Huck realizes he is â€Å"sorry for them poop pitful rascals, it seemed like I couldn’t ever feel any hardness against them any more in the world† (230). Huck thinks back on how he hated them and thought they were scumbags because of what they had done to innocent people. Now he feels bad for them even thought they deserved it. Huck has grown as a person who can forgive instead of keeping a grudge. ! Twain artfully uses Tom, Buck, and the King and the Duke as character foils that help Huck grow morally throughout the book. All three sets of foils are different on purpose because Twain wanted to show the readers the affects other characters can have someone. It does not the age or intelligence of the minor character. Twain’s logic is that using character foil gets his point across because the reader may not have picked up on traits or morals a character has since it was not directly stated. Not only do people affect others in literature, in the real world people’s actions affect others. A small kind gesture can change someone’s mood or attitude for the rest of the day. Or even something someone says might change another person’s outlook on a problem they are having or even larger, their life. The use of character foil is very important in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and more importantly the real world today.

Philosophical Anthropology, Human Nature and the Digital Culture :: Philosophy Philosophical Papers

Philosophical Anthropology, Human Nature and the Digital Culture ABSTRACT: Within contemporary Western philosophy, the issues of human nature and our place in the cosmos have largely been ignored. In the resulting vacuum, the various subcultures that have grown up around the digital computer (the so-called "digital culture") have been actively defining and shaping popular conceptions of what it means to be human and the place of humanity in the digital era. Here one finds an implicit view of human nature that includes recurrent themes such as: an emphasis on mind as information independent of the physical body, the obsolescence of the human body, the elimination of human particularity, the malleability of human nature, and the logic and orderliness of the computer as a metaphor for the cosmos. This view of human nature shares important characteristics with Cartesian and Christian views of human nature long rejected by philosophers. A renewal of the philosophical anthropology movement — devoted to the issues of human nature and humanity's pl ace in the cosmos — permits us to see the inadequacy of the conception of human nature implicit in the digital culture. What am I that I am a human being? What is my place in the nature of things? At the close of the twentieth century, facing the dawn of a new millennium, the goal of paidea or philosophy educating humanity might best be achieved by philosophy recovering and reaffirming its interest in these two anthropological questions. In this essay I defend this claim through an analysis of the view of human nature implicit in the digital culture. For the past several decades, while philosophers have largely ignored anthropological issues, the sub-cultures swirling around computers and other digital technologies have been busy shaping and defining the way in which human nature will be conceived in the next millennium. More often than not, however, these views of human nature are produced in a philosophical and critical vacuum with little thought given to what we as human beings are and what we might become. Philosophers must address this vacuum by renewing their responsibility to speak to these iss ues, once again taking up the work of articulating a philosophical anthropology and providing the guidance on these issues that they once did. Reflection on our nature as human beings and our place in the cosmos has a long tradition in philosophy throughout the world and has surely been a central concern in the history of Western philosophy.

America in Vietnam †1969-1973

Situation of Vietnam was no less then a mess, when Richard Milhous Nixon took over the reigns of President-ship in 1969. More than 500,000 troops were stationed in Vietnam and around 1200 American soldiers were being ambushed in action. In domestic front, no one was able to come to any consensus on any further course of action. Majority of the people was feeling that the war was a mistake and some were swayed by the notion that there won’t be peace for at-least two more years. And added to it, social complexities like the racism and skepticism for anti-war movement gave rise to the longstanding apathy toward Nixon among Democrats.Melvin Laird and Henry Kissinger were appointed as a defense secretary and National Security Advisor respectively. The whole of Nixon and Kissinger’s policy towards Vietnam was based on the pessimism and negativity. And the situation was deeply complex. Nixon had to face the burden at home front too. People would not tolerate continuation of wa r. Secondly Nixon could not afford withdrawal of the troops too as the withdrawal could shake his political roots. In this scenario, Nixon adopted four prolonged strategies, â€Å"Vietnamization, The politics of polarization, The Madman scenario and a Triangular diplomacy. †The process of Vietnamization involved efforts to reduce the casualty rates of American soldiers. The strategy he adopted was marginalized. He ought to reduce the combat forces and at the same time turn the voice of the people to the point that South Vietnamese had enough strength to gain control on war and they did not require any ground troops. Secondly, in the process of politics of polarization, he meant to keep his opponents silent and thirdly Henry Kissinger would imbibe in among the representatives of North Vietnamese that the rage Nixon could get into in case they resort to any military action or any obduracy in peace talks.Nixon also tried to follow geopolitical approach to the war. He attempted t o expand the trade relations with Soviet Union and People’s Republic of China and indirectly forcing North Vietnamese to resort to peaceful settlement to the war. By the end of 1972, U. S. Secretary of State, Henry Kissinger and the representatives of DRV, Xuan Thuy and Le Duc fashioned a peace draft, which Washington and Hanoi believed its southern allies would accept in Paris but this did not happen. As a result, the war got more intensified when in December 1972, Nixon threw deadly bombs on their the larges cities, Hanoi and Haiphong.These attacks were highly condemned world wide forcing Nixon administration to again reassess his tactics and change his strategy for negotiations. Since 1955, Prince Norodom Sihanouk of Cambodia had shown themselves neutral towards both agitating parties but PAVN/NLF took upon the opportunity to use Cambodia as a base of their activities and Sihanouk did not resist because he wanted to evade from being drawn into wider conflict. But when Wash ington pressurized him, he changed his policy in 1969 and he vehemently opposed.The PAVN/NLF and President Nixon grabbed this opportunity and unleashed secret bombings, over their sanctuaries located by the border areas, popularly known as Operation Menu. In a period of 14 months, more than 2,750,000 tons of bombs were secretly dropped. In 1970, supporter of America, General Lon Nol ousted Sihanouk and closed the borders of the country and along with that both United States and the ARVN entered into Cambodia attacking severely AVN/NLF bases taking more time for South Vietnam. These attacks weakened Cambodia and gained the support for the Khmer Rouge. 2His excursions over Cambodia created protests all over America. Ohio protests saw four students killed by National Guardsmen at Kent State University raising the public outcry. 3 The attitude of the Nixon government towards the incident was enough to raise furor among public against the War itself. _____________________________________ ______ 2 Bragg, Christine, Vietnam, Korea and US Foreign Policy, 1945-75 (Oxford: Heinemann Publishers, 2006) 3 Bragg, 162 In 1971, the papers showing United States involvement in War was leaked revealing top secrets of United States policies in Vietnam.Soon, ARVN took more offensive route by indulging in Operation Lam Son 719 with an aim to cut the Ho Chi Minh trail in Laos. 4 This was against the violation of Laotian neutrality but they were resisted from all fronts and their operation was total fiasco with number of ARVN soldiers scattered here and there and clutched themselves at the United States helicopter skids to save themselves. Half of the soldiers were arrested or killed In 1971, both Australia and New Zealand brought their soldiers back to their nations and slowly and slowly United States too was reducing their strength of soldiers.They were now only 196,700, with a promise to further withdraw other 45,000 troops by February 1972. As the peace protests increased, soldier s became quite disillusioned and the ranks saw the number of soldiers using drugs, adhering to racism and disobedience of their officers. 5 Easter Offensive of 1972 again tested Vietnamization. The PAVN/NLF went inside the northern provinces and with the help of other forces, gave forceful attack from Cambodia, posing the threat to divide the country into half.Soon American airpower launched Operation Linebacker to resist these attacks. Meanwhile, United States continued with withdrawing off troops. Hereby it was coming to the notice of every one that it was impossible for South Vietnam to resist their enemies without American’s air support. By August, all the remaining ground force was completely withdrawn except certain civilian and military advisers. At the same time, Henry Kissinger was forging the secret negotiations with Le Duc Tho.In October 1972, though they came to an agreement but South Vietnamese President Thieu wanted certain changes in the peace accord. When Nort h Vietnam went with the details of the agreement, the ___________________________________________ 4 Bragg, 163. 5 Bragg, 165. Nixon administration thought that the North Vietnam was trying to humiliate the President. Negotiations came to a dead knell but Hanoi asked for certain changes and to just show that how much Nixon supported South Vietnam, he again ordered Operation Linebacker II and threw bombs on Hanoi and Haiphong. 6Bombings however stopped by the orders of Nixon on 15th January 1973 against North Vietnam and finally the time arrived for every one to enter into the Paris Peace Accord of 1973. The Peace Accord of January 15 officially declared the end of United States involvement in Vietnam and a ceasefire was announced both in North and South Vietnam. Prisoners of War in United States were released. This agreement gave the territorial integrity of Vietnam and sought for elections in both North and South Vietnam. The Paris Peace Accord fixed sixty days for the United States to completely recall back their troops.And as said by Peter Church, only this agreement was carried out in true letter and spirit. 7 _________________________ 6 Bragg, 169 7 Church, Peter, A Short History of South-East Asia, (Singapore: John Wiley & Sons, 2006) Bibliography Bragg, Christine, Vietnam, Korea and US Foreign Policy, 1945-75,Oxford: Heinemann Publishers, 2006. Church, Peter, A Short History of South-East Asia, Singapore: John Wiley & Sons, 2006. Simon, Dennis, The War in Vietnam, 1969-1973, (18 March 2008)

Counselor Ethics and Responsibilities Essay

In this paper I will discuss Counselor Ethics and Responsibilities; to include my own personal thoughts and values concerning abortion and extramarital affairs and how I would personally provide ethical counseling to a client’s struggling with abortion and or extramarital affair issues. Next I will discuss client’s right to autonomy, nonmaleficence, beneficence, justice and fidelity in ethical counseling. Then I will cover the factors that must be considered in â€Å"duty to warn† and also â€Å"duty to protect† obligations as a counselor. Finally, I will discuss client record keeping; a client’s right to a professional standard of care, and counselor liability. Counselor Values: Abortion From my own personal experience and beliefs, abortion is wrong with few exceptions. My personal belief is that if a female is raped or there is danger to the mother abortion is acceptable to me. What I mean by acceptable is that it creates dissonance with my current operating beliefs of abortion being wrong to take the life of an unborn fetus. I have a 16 year old daughter whom was gang raped which resulted in a pregnancy not at the will or choice of my daughter. My belief says no abortion, but my rational side asks many questions like; is the mother ready to care for a child? Can she physically and monetarily care for a child? How will this affect her life in the long run? What about school? Are the any issues that might arise if the mother carries to full term? Am I ready in every fashion to become a grandparent? To me each answer was no and my daughter continued and had the abortion. Extramarital affairs In an article by Wagaman (2013), he point s out that Americans today are more tolerant to premature sex, divorce and gay relationships which was once considered taboo. He continues by saying â€Å"but there’s one exception: We condemn adultery like it is 1642.† (WAGAMAN, 2013) I follow suite and believe if you marry another person that is the one person you have devoted yourself to and should at any cost stick by their side no matter what and an extramarital affair is a deal breaker. I ask myself why I should punish my partner by going outside of the marriage seeking the puzzle piece that is missing, when my wife has already given me the key to her heart. In society today people have more control and freedom to explore premature sex and entering and leaving a relationship or marriage. But, with all this freedom and control there comes accountability and lying is the one vice most consider wrong. (WAGAMAN, 2013) Describe how you would counsel the client in each situation. In counseling a client in both cases of abortion and extramarital affairs I quote the ACA (2014) section A; A.1.a, Primary Responsibility, â€Å"The primary responsibility of counselors is to respect the dignity and promote the welfare of clients.† It is not uncommon for the counselor and client to have different values and beliefs at all. (2014 ACA Code of Ethics, 2014) First off, I will have to step back and look at my own personal area or areas of expertise. According to the NBCC Code of Ethics (2012), â€Å"NCCs (Nationally Certified Counselor’s) shall perform only those professional services for which they are qualified by education and supervised experience (NATIONAL BOARD FOR CERTIFIED COUNSELORS (NBCC), 2012) .† Addiction specialist shall seek out new/effective approaches which enhance their professional abilities such as; continuing education research and activities with professional in different disciplines. (The Association for Addiction Professionals, 2013) Some client’s many have already dealt with an abortion or affair and may be seemingly ok, but not in-line with my values. As the primary counselor in these cases it is my responsibility to avoid causing harm or imposing my values on to my client. As a counselor I must act accordingly to avoid harming my client or abate or remedy unavoidable or unforeseen harm. Counselors must be aware of their own values, attitudes, beliefs and behaviors and avoid imposing them on their client. For example, if I’m opposed to both abortion and affairs these are  my own personal beliefs and not those of the client. My client may have had an affair and became pregnant by someone other than their partner and had an abortion to hide it from their significant other. So if I were to voice my values to my client this could cause harm to the counselor-client relationship where the client shuts down and it causes irreversible damage due to me imposing my own values on my client. According to the NBCC (2012), from the point of view of an addiction counselor, the professional counselor refrains from using methods which seems coercive like threats, negative labeling or any means which causes shame or humiliation. In the case of abortion or having an affair, either could provoke shame and humiliation in the client based on counselor vs client values. Clients Rights: Autonomy Incorporating autonomy in its simplest form is supporting the clients’ right to make their own decisions and addresses the concept of independence. In order to support a clients’ autonomy, this means not imposing goals, agendas or values on a client. As a counselor I must understand, embrace and work with the client’s experiences; culturally, socioeconomically, this is supported in counseling through person centered style of counseling and communication. (Ryan, 2011) Nonmaleficence Incorporating nonmaleficence is supported by the number one rule in counseling, the concept of causing no harm to others our clients. This practice is tied with a clients’ autonomy and their right to independence and making their own choices. Implementing this means living by the laws of your state and follow the ACA, NAADAC or NBCC codes of ethics. (Davis, 1996) Beneficence Beneficence is simply doing what is good for the client, this is the counselors’ responsibility to be proactive and contribute to the overall health and welfare of their client’s. This means doing treatment planning with the client and listening to the clients’ input in the planning process. (Ryan, 2011) Justice According to Kitchner (1984), Justice is not doing what is right for the  client, but treating equals equally and unequals unequally. This means identify such things as ethnic background, socioenomic background, race and numerous others. (Kitchner, 1984) Fidelity Incorporating fidelity is me being loyal to my client, because clients’ must must have faith and trust in their counselor in the therapeutic relationship in order for growth to occur. This means being faithful and meeting obligations and commitments and not leaving with of these unfulfilled. (Ryan, 2011) Discuss the informed consent process and how it protects client rights including: Informed consent is an on-going process throughout the counseling process; it lets the client know that first they have the freedom to engage in or decline entrance into a therapeutic relationship and gives them sufficient information concerning the theraputic process and the therapist. Informed consent is an obligation placed on the counselor, which is reviewed both written and orally explaining the rights and responsibilities of the counselor as well as the client. Therapists explain to their clients the nature of all services, goals, purposes, techniques, limits, procedures, benefits and potential risk of services; counselor credentials and qualifications, relevant experience and counseling approach. Counselor explain fee and billing arrangements including non-payment of fees. Clients also receive rights and limits of confidentiality, information concerning records, refusal of services and consequences of refusal. (Gerald Corey, 2104) Billing When creating costs for counseling services, the counselor should take consideration the client’s locality and financial status so that the normal fees do not create an undue hardship on the client. Counselor may assist clients in finding comparable and affordable services or adjust fees when legally permissible. Right to Privacy As a counselor, each and every client has a right to privacy whether a prospective or existing client. Therapists only request confidential information from clients when it is determined advantageous to the therapeutic process. Counselor protect the privacy of clients and only disclose information with consent to release information or with sound  legal/ethical confirmation. At the initiation and throughout the therapeutic process counselors inform clients of confidentiality limitations and identify situations situation in which confidentiality must be broken; such as when disclosure is required to protect clients or keep others from serious foreseeable harm or when legal requirements require release. HIPPA compliance and Compliance with credentialing board requirements for incorporating informed consent into practice As a professional counselor we are bound by HIPPA to provide documentation to potential clients how the practice and you will handle the release of confidential information. This document describes how mental/medical information about you may be disclosed and used and how the client may get access to this information. This document must have a compliance date on it and includes information pertaining to; treatment, health care operations, payment and other disclosures and uses without the clients consent. (Association, Meeting HIPAA Requirements, Notice of Privacy Practices and Client Rights Document, 2014) Responsibility to Warn and Protect Duty to warm and protect refers to the responsibility of the therapist or counselor to breach confidentiality if a client or other identifiable person or persons are in clear imminent danger. When duty to warn and protect come into play there must be clear evidence of imminent danger to the client or other persons, then the therapist/counselor must determine the seriousness of the threat and then must notify the person in danger and other persons in a position to protect that person from harm. The best possible example is the Tarasoff Act, which imposed inherent duty on therapist/counselors to warn potential victims of intended harm by a client, stating confidentiality ends where danger begins. The implications of the Tarasoff Act indicate that only notifying the police is not sufficient action to protect the therapist/counselor from a lawsuit if the client threatens to carry the threat out. (University, 2014) Client Record-Keeping/the counselor from liability A client’s right to a professional standard of care Documentation in a client’s record serves many purposes including; clinical/ administrative accountability, and documentation of the counselor’s  protection of the clients’ rights. This documentation also provides protection for counselors in helping them refute any and all allegations of incompetence or misconduct by the counselor. A counselors’ responsibility to protect the clients rights is normally documented in a series of forms signed by the client to include; informed/parental consent, fee agreements, treatment forms, treatment plans, signed client rights statement and treatment team staffing notes, and release of information protecting the client’s privacy with specific parameters. Finally, documentation in a client’s record can be used to protect and defend the therapist/counselor from unwarranted allegations of misconduct. A client record containing a thorough assessment, treatment plan, progress notes consistent with the plan, supervisory notes, billing for services rendered, and documented clients rights represent sound evidence of the counselor’s efforts to practice within their professional scope and standard of care. (University, 2014) In conclusion, the ethical responsibilities of a counselor are both broad and complex. This paper describes and discusses many of the aspect that are at the forefront of client/counselor relationship and protection of rights for both counselor and client. The knowledge required to become an ethical counselor comes with time and practice along with consulting colleges and primary supervision. Bibliography Association, A. C. (2014). 2014 ACA Code of Ethics. Alexandria: AMERICAN COUNSELING ASSOCIATION. Association, A. C. (2014). Meeting HIPAA Requirements, Notice of Privacy Practices and Client Rights Document. Alexandria: â€Å"Author†. COUNSELORS, N. B. (2012, June 8). NATIONAL BOARD FOR CERTIFIED COUNSELORS (NBCC). Retrieved from nbcc.org: http://www.nbcc.org/Assets/Ethics/NBCCCodeofEthics.pdf Davis, H. F.-M. (1996). Moral Principles. A Practitioner’s Guide to Ethical Decision Making, 2. Gerald Corey, C. C. (2104). Issues and Ethics in the Helping Professions (9 ed.). (K. Mikel, Ed.) Stamford, CT, USA: Cengage Learning. Retrieved November 18, 2014 Kitchner, K. S. (1984). Intuition, critical evaluation and ethical principles: The foundation for ethical decisions in counseling psychology. Counseling Psychologist, 12(3), 43-55. Retrieved November 19, 2014, from http://www.counseling.org/docs/ethics/practitioners_guide.pdf?sfvrsn=2 NAADAC. (2013). The Association for Addiction Professionals. Retrieved from NAADAC.org: http://www.naadac.org/code-of-ethics#i Ryan, R. M. (2011). Motivation and Autonomy in Counseling. The Counseling Psychologist, 193-260. University, G. C. (2014, November 18). Lecture 4. Retrieved from gcu.edu: https://lc-grad2.gcu.edu/learningPlatform/user/users.html?operation=loggedIn#/learningPlatform/loudBooks/loudbooks.html?viewPage=current&operation=innerPage ¤tTopicname=Client Rights, Counselor Responsibilities, and Confidentiality&topicMaterialId=71 WAGAMAN, A. (2013, July 25). Americans grow increasingly intolerant of extramarital affairs. Star Tribune. Retrieved from startribune.com: http://www.startribune.com/lifestyle/relationship/216813271.html

everything is illuminated thesis paragraph Essay Example

everything is illuminated thesis paragraph Essay Example everything is illuminated thesis paragraph Essay everything is illuminated thesis paragraph Essay Essay Topic: Everything Is Illuminated Paragraph Jonathan Safran Foers Everything is Illuminated challenges the readers assumptions about the structure of time by creating neither a start nor a stop in the continuation of life. Throughout the end of the novel Foer emphasizes this non-linear nature through. Eeach generation featured described from Safran to present day Alex to Safrans life during the war criss-crosses illuminating the nature of time. Everything Is Illuminated explores the paradoxical idea that the world is both beginning and nding at the same time, all of the time. Jonathan Safran Foers Everything is Illuminated challenges the readers assumptions about the structure of time by creating neither a start nor a stop in the continuation of life. Throughout the end of the novel Foer emphasizes this non-linear nature through. Eeach generation featured described from Safran to present day Alex to Safrans life during the war criss-crosses illuminating the nature of time. Everything Is Illuminated explores the aradoxical idea that the world is both beginning and ending at the same time, all of the time. Jonathan Safran Foers Everything is Illuminated challenges the readers assumptions about the structure of time by creating neither a start nor a stop in the continuation of life. Throughout the end of the novel Foer emphasizes this non- linear nature through. Eeach generation featured described from Safran to present day Alex to Safrans life during the war criss-crosses illuminating the nature of time. Everything Is Illuminated explores the paradoxical idea that the world is both beginning and ending at the same time, all of the time. Jonathan Safran Foers Everything is Illuminated challenges the readers assumptions about the structure of time by creating neither a start nor a stop in the continuation of life. Throughout the end of the novel Foer emphasizes this non-linear nature through. Eeach generation llnear nature tnrougn. teacn generation Teaturea aescrlDea Trom saran to present the time.

UMASS Graduate School MBA Questionaire

UMASS Graduate School MBA Questionaire Free Online Research Papers UMASS Graduate School MBA Questionaire 1.How do you compare this MBA Graduate Program to others you have seen? I’m not very familiar with other MBA programs. However, since the MBA at UMASS is offered through an accredited college of business, I assume that the curriculum is very similar to other accredited schools. 2.What are the specific problems you see here? Many students complain that the program does not offer a bigger selection of core courses during each semester, and that courses offered in the fall are not repeated in the spring. Also, classes fill quickly and are very large due to fewer professors. 3.What are the specific strengths you see here? I feel that being an accredited school is a definite strength. I also appreciate that UMASS offers a variety of electives to supplement the MBA. This allows students to concentrate in a particular area of study. Lastly, many resources are available to students, including an extensive library network. 4.How do you feel about web-based MBA’s? I feel that having some web-based classes would be a good experience for students, however I don’t think that it should be all web-based. I feel that you can still learn more in a classroom-setting, and I, personally, wouldn’t want to be at a computer for so many hours. 5.How do you feel about satellite campus for the MBA program? I think that would be an excellent idea because many students live far away from campus. It would be very convenient for them to go to class at an alternate location, perhaps closer to home, and still receive the same quality of education. 6.How do you feel about tele-video for the MBA program? Similar to web-based classes, I feel that some tele-video would be beneficial. It is an excellent way to transmit new concepts to students. 7.How do you feel about adjunct faculty? I feel that it would definitely be helpful in managing a large student volume, especially when the school’s own faculty is going through a transition period. For instance, as in the case of UMASS Dartmouth, professors will be in short supply after a series of retirements fails to be immediately succeeded by new faculty members. In this case, adjunct faculty could be used in the interim. 8.How many faculty took early retirement? I don’t know the exact number of professors who retired, but I do know that it was enough to cause a much higher capacity utilization among the remaining professors. To make matters worse, the school has also built new dorms and experienced an influx of new students. A now crippled faculty has to stretch its limited resources over a larger student body. As a result, faculty and students suffer, alike. 9.How would you resolve the issue of large class sizes in future years? A combination of adjunct faculty and satellite campuses would help prevent large class sizes in future years. Research Papers on UMASS Graduate School MBA QuestionaireStandardized TestingPersonal Experience with Teen PregnancyHip-Hop is ArtInfluences of Socio-Economic Status of Married MalesThe Spring and AutumnBionic Assembly System: A New Concept of SelfAssess the importance of Nationalism 1815-1850 EuropeOpen Architechture a white paperCapital PunishmentIncorporating Risk and Uncertainty Factor in Capital

How to Solve Equations With Exponential Decay Functions

How to Solve Equations With Exponential Decay Functions Exponential functions tell the stories of explosive change. The two types of exponential functions are exponential growth and exponential decay. Four variables- percent change, time, the amount at the beginning of the time period, and the amount at the end of the time period- play roles in exponential functions. This article focuses on how to use an exponential decay function to find a, the amount at the beginning of the time period. Exponential Decay Exponential decay: the change that occurs when an original amount is reduced by a consistent rate over a period of time Heres an exponential decay function: y a(1-b)x y: Final amount remaining after the decay over a period of timea: The original amountx: TimeThe decay factor is (1-b).The variable, b, is percent decrease in decimal form. Purpose of Finding the Original Amount If you are reading this article, then you are probably ambitious. Six years from now, perhaps you want to pursue an undergraduate degree at Dream University. With a $120,000 price tag, Dream University evokes financial night terrors. After sleepless nights, you, Mom, and Dad meet with a financial planner. Your parents bloodshot eyes clear up when the planner reveals an investment with an 8% growth rate that can help your family reach the $120,000 target. Study hard. If you and your parents invest $75,620.36 today, then Dream University will become your reality. How to Solve for the Original Amount of an Exponential Function This function describes the exponential growth of the investment: 120,000 a(1 .08)6 120,000: Final amount remaining after 6 years.08: Yearly growth rate6: The number of years for the investment to growa: The initial amount that your family invested Hint: Thanks to the symmetric property of equality, 120,000 a(1 .08)6 is the same as a(1 .08)6 120,000. (Symmetric property of equality: If 10 5 15, then 15 10 5.) If you prefer to rewrite the equation with the constant, 120,000, on the right of the equation, then do so. a(1 .08)6 120,000 Granted, the equation doesnt look like a linear equation (6a $120,000), but its solvable. Stick with it! a(1 .08)6 120,000 Be careful: Do not solve this exponential equation by dividing 120,000 by 6. Its a tempting math no-no. 1. Use order of operations to simplify. a(1 .08)6 120,000a(1.08)6 120,000 (Parenthesis)a(1.586874323) 120,000 (Exponent) 2. Solve by dividing a(1.586874323) 120,000a(1.586874323)/(1.586874323) 120,000/(1.586874323)1a 75,620.35523a 75,620.35523 The original amount to invest is approximately $75,620.36. 3. Freeze -youre not done yet. Use order of operations to check your answer. 120,000 a(1 .08)6120,000 75,620.35523(1 .08)6120,000 75,620.35523(1.08)6 (Parenthesis)120,000 75,620.35523(1.586874323) (Exponent)120,000 120,000 (Multiplication) Answers and Explanations to the Questions Woodforest, Texas, a suburb of Houston, is determined to close the digital divide in its community. A few years ago, community leaders discovered that their citizens were computer illiterate: they did not have access to the Internet and were shut out of the information superhighway. The leaders established the World Wide Web on Wheels, a set of mobile computer stations. World Wide Web on Wheels has achieved its goal of only 100 computer illiterate citizens in Woodforest. Community leaders studied the monthly progress of the World Wide Web on Wheels. According to the data, the decline of computer illiterate citizens can be described by the following function: 100 a(1 - .12)10 1. How many people are computer illiterate 10 months after the inception of the World Wide Web on Wheels? 100 people Compare this function to the original exponential growth function: 100 a(1 - .12)10y a(1 b)x The variable, y, represents the number of computer illiterate people at the end of 10 months, so 100 people are still computer illiterate after the World Wide Web on Wheels began to work in the community. 2. Does this function represent exponential decay or exponential growth? This function represents exponential decay because a negative sign sits in front of the percent change, .12. 3. What is the monthly rate of change? 12% 4. How many people were computer illiterate 10 months ago, at the inception of the World Wide Web on Wheels? 359 people Use ​order of operations to simplify. 100 a(1 - .12)10 100 a(.88)10 (Parenthesis) 100 a(.278500976) (Exponent) Divide to solve. 100(.278500976) a(.278500976)/(.278500976) 359.0651689 1a 359.0651689 a Use order of operations to check your answer. 100 359.0651689(1 - .12)10 100 359.0651689(.88)10 (Parenthesis) 100 359.0651689(.278500976) (Exponent) 100 100 (Okay, 99.9999999†¦Its just a bit of a rounding error.) (Multiply) 5. If these trends continue, how many people will be computer illiterate 15 months after the inception of the World Wide Web on Wheels? 52 people Plug in what you know about the function. y 359.0651689(1 - .12) x y 359.0651689(1 - .12) 15 Use Order of Operations to find y. y 359.0651689(.88)15 (Parenthesis) y 359.0651689(.146973854) (Exponent) y 52.77319167 (Multiply)

The Importance of Companys Management Assignment

The Importance of Companys Management - Assignment Example The company took a different direction after Zhang Ruimin took over as the CEO. The company is now regarded as one of the fast developing and aspiring Chinese brands in the International Market. Before Zhang came to the rescue of the company, the Haier Group had a group of undisciplined and low-skilled employees and suffered from low productivity and reduced product quality. Zhang faced difficult times while trying to rescue the company from management mayhem and financial turmoil (Lau & Han 1-2). In order to liberate the company, Zhang instituted an organizational philosophy and rules and overhauled the business strategy to establish an incentive-oriented management control system. As the company continued to grow, Zhang was proud of its growth. However, one of the hurdles facing the company was how to fine-tune its processes and structure to face transformations in the current competitive global market. In order for the company to sustain growth in the future, it needs to consider how it will motivate its workers in the future to attain high performance goals, and how it will revolutionize the management control system to adjust to the organization’s internationalization stratagems. ... However, as the organization’s operations grew, it shifted from a process to people oriented approach. This led to the implementation of OEC management system, which aroused the employee’s sense of responsibility (Lau & Han 4). This management system grouped people into small groups with different standards and targets. This required every group to ensure that it attained the targets. This made the groups repeat the processes in order to find means of improving their process the same day (Lau & Han 5). The fact that the employees were required to come up with ways on how to improve their process within the same day would have acted as a less motivating factor. Notably, most of the processes in an organization require a considerable number of hours if the process fails or does not meet the target result then the employees will have to redo the process and will spend more time and will have overworked within that day. It is imperative to note that overworking of employees is one of the factors that contribute to low levels of motivation among employees. This may make the workers feel overburdened with huge work that can make them stressed and less motivated. Therefore, it is significant to recommend an OEC management system with a longer timeline such as two days or a week, or a management system that gives few processes to be accomplished within a given time. For instance, an OEC management system that gives three tasks that can be accomplished within five days. The reward system adopted by Haier is based on the performance of each product division recorded by the product manager (Lau & Han 7). Though this seems to be an

Islam in America Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Islam in America - Essay Example To begin with, it must be noted that there are several scenes when Muslim inmates are shown praying. Indeed, a prayer is an important element of Islam: the believers are supposed to start praying as soon as they hear a spiritual leader. However â€Å"if they are too far from a mosque to hear the call to prayer, they have to rely on a time table† (Wood 12). This is quite peculiar since it shows that even in prison the Muslims were willing to follow their spiritual tradition. In other words, the people who violated rule and regulations that were imposed by the society want to adhere to the religious rules instead. Some might suggest that this shows that spiritual law has more power for some people than secular. In addition to that, there is a peculiar scene at the end of the movie. One of the supporting characters, Javed, was shot and agreed to sacrifice himself so that the main characters would escape. When he is finally defeated and is about to be killed, he looks straight in the eyes of his future killer and says â€Å"Allahu Akbar†. What is surprising is that â€Å"’Allahu Akbar’ a phrase that many Americans associate with Muslim terrorists†. Nevertheless, this movie shows that even a criminal who is a Muslim is willing to make these words his last. Therefore, the movie wanted to imply that people may be wrong while thinking of it as a chant of terrorism.So, the movie in question also makes some important remarks about the role that religion plays in the American society.

Opera Report Carmen Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Opera Report Carmen - Essay Example The walls were painted in dark or pale shades of grey. The whole set seem to have leaped out of an antiquated book whose pages have turned brittle and its colors have faded with age. I could almost see the book settled quietly on a dusty shelf on the back portion of the library. If set designer John Conklin’s and lighting designer Gary Marder’s intentions were to give a hint to the opera’s tragic ending, then they have been successful in this part. But a story is not just about a happy or sad ending. A story has a beginning, a complicated plot and an ending. In this view, I think the stage could have made use of better lighting. There were some parts where the actors almost disappear into the shadows, especially when they move towards the wall or the back portion of the stage. On the story itself, I give its director, Sonja Frisell, the liberty to make her own interpretation of Prosper Merimee’s novel. I believe that the director should be given enough room to exercise her artistic skills and decide on the details of the story. I think Frisell did a very good job at telling the story of Carmen and her daring adventures on love. I especially love Carmen, both the character and the actress. I like the character Carmen’s go-getter attitude. Although she was a gypsy, she did carry herself well in the crowd and commanded everyone’s attention with her larger-then-life presence. She does not mind how she rank compared to others. She just wanted to live her life to the fullest. And I believe that Nino Surguladze gave justice to Carmen’s colorful lifestyle. She was pretty with an equally captivating mezzo soprano voice. For me, Surguladze and her portrayal of Carmen was the highlight of the show. Finally, the three and a half hours of musical bliss was a great experience. The actors did deliver their pieces quite well. The soprano music is a welcome break from the rock and pop music that floods my senses in

A Comparison of Watching a Movie at Home and Watching a Movie at a Essay

A Comparison of Watching a Movie at Home and Watching a Movie at a Theater - Essay Example A Comparison of Watching a Movie at Home and Watching a Movie at a Theater The Drive-in Theater has provided new dimensions in the movie-world. Don Sanders and Susan Sanders (2003) in their book, â€Å"The American Drive-In Movie Theatre,† elucidate, â€Å"The Drive-in theater idea virtually transforms an ordinary motor car into a private theater box†¦The younger children are not permitted in the movie theatres †¦. Here the whole family is welcome regardless of how noisy the children are apt to be and parents are further more are assured of children’s safety because youngsters remain in the car†(12). Watching a movie at home or at the theatre are thrilling experiences. It is an antidote to one’s weariness. It renews and provides new dimensions to friendship. The snacks that you share at home or at the theatre have a special meaning and taste, and one will remember such experiences forever. Comfort: Home An individual can make optimum use of the family time by watching the movie at home. One has the choice to watch. The family-members enjoy their private time, share the ideas, and comment on the acting, apparel, and the overall talents of the characters. The family relationship is improved. The family is in a secured environment, free from tensions. If one does not follow the theme of the story, one can consult other family members and get their versions. One can get rid of the tedious songs and sequences with the facility to rewind and fast forward. One can view the movie in causals, and need not follow and dress code. Comfort: Theater In the theatre, the atmosphere is dazzling and an individual or family member are surrounded by people and can engage in interesting conversations. If one attends the night show, the excitement is all the more. Experience in the movie theatres is always memorable and sometimes, one happens to meet the important personalities that have come to watch the movie. One disadvantage is that one does not enjoy privacy and does not have the freedom to scream, shout and expre ss emotions in loud overtones. The aggressive laughter may be considered as an indecent gesture. The posture of sitting has got to be disciplined and one cannot lie down on a cozy sofa. One cannot stretch the legs beyond the permissible limit and one is not expected to distract others by loud remarks. There are persons sitting in front and behind. No facilities for rewind and fast forward, in the group-viewing system. If one wishes to see a particular part of the movie that interests much, one has to patiently bear it. If one does not like the movie, one may walk out, with no entitlement for refund of the amount paid for buying the tickets. Also, be ready to shell out some good amount fort the food, soft drinks etc. If one gets the wrong seat, meaning a tall person is sitting in front, sitting in a slanting posture may be problematic. Price: Home The price and time factors are of utmost importance. No journey time is involved; no gas expenses are incurred, no waiting for the traffic jams, and one need not buy tickets for the show. Watching movie with low volume and through small screen is advantageous. Now, with the availability of the bigger screens one can have big or small screens. With the one-time investment on a big screen, one can watch the movie as if in a theater. Price: Theater The decision to view the movie at the theater means spending more, sometimes lavishly. Movie going is followed by the family dinner and such exercises for a

The Incorporation of Immigrants in Growing Urban Areas in Saudi Arabia Annotated Bibliography

The Incorporation of Immigrants in Growing Urban Areas in Saudi Arabia (Style is Annals of the Associatio n of American Geographers , AAAG) - Annotated Bibliography Example The organization is among the leading immigration law firms in the USA. The article provides detailed information on the rights of an immigrant in the USA. This information is useful in comparing and contrasting what happens in Saudi Arabia and hints at how Saudi Arabia may integrate immigrants physically and culturally. This popular website lists down a number of rights that are related to immigrants such as, entitlement to pay for full time work and overtime for every extra hours taken, this is regardless of the employees legal status. Other rights listed by this website include upholding o fair treatment at work without detention against someone’s will, no confiscation of documents as the employee retains the right to keep their documents and even right to refuse unlawful search and arrest that is without warrant signedby a judge. This website is relevant as it aids in comparing immigrant status between the two countries (Immigrant rights in USA). This website is designed to give detailed statistical information of countries and cities. It gives the population of Saudi Arabia in a clearly and provides up to date information. It also details the percentage of immigrants in the land. This popular website estimates immigrant population in Saudi Arabia to be about 31 percent of the total population with a migration rate of 0.59 for every 1000 people. It lists countries with highest immigrant in Saudi Arabia to be India, Pakistan and Egypt respectively. Quoted in the article is the significant decline of Yemenis in the country as about 800 thousand were thrown out of the country. Exposed also is that certain nationalities are forbidden from entering the country these include Palestinians and Israelites (population of foreigners in Saudi Arabia). Both Simon and Lynch are professors at the Department of Justice and society at the American University. The book gives an insight into

Will be writing about the impact of recent technology in breast cancer Annotated Bibliography

Will be writing about the impact of recent technology in breast cancer - Annotated Bibliography Example hnologies, the study indicates that superior imaging techniques show promise for postoperative specimen evaluation and have helped improve breast cancer screening. Further, the study shows that digital mammography has helped improve the sensitivity of mammography especially for women aging 50 years and below and that it may help improve the specificity of tomosynthesis. This source contributes to the collection of Annotated Bibliography (AB) by highlighting the role that the improved technology has played in the treatment of breast cancer. The specific technologies highlighted in this article clearly shows how improved technology has contributed towards the treatment of breast cancer. Joann, G. Elmore, MP, Armstrong, K., Constance, D., & Fletcher, S. (1997). Barclay J. Increase in ductal carcinoma in situ of the breast cancer in relation to mammography: a dilemma. Journal of Natl Cancer Inst Monogr. 22:151–6. In this article, Elmore et al. demonstrates that the increased utilization of screening mammography has had a remarkable change in detected ductal carcinoma, in situ cases of breast. The articles show that, in 1993 alone, there were about 23,276 newly diagnosed DCIS cases in the U.S. Of these 4,675 were in women aging between 40 and 49. The authors indicate that DCIS accounted for about 14.7 percent of newly diagnosed breast cancer cases among women aging between 40 and 49, and 40 percent of the mammographically detected breast cancer cases in this group were DCIS. In women aging between 40 and 49, an approximate 2,707 lumpectomies and mastectomies were conducted for DCIS. This source contributes to the AB collection by demonstrating the use of screening mammography, one of the current technologies, in the detecting ductal carcinoma, in situ cases of breast. Glass A, Lacey J, & Carreon J. (2007). Breast cancer incidences, 1980–2006, combined roles of menopausal hormone therapy, Estrogen Receptor Status, and screening mammography. Journal of Natl Cancer

The Incorporation of Immigrants in Growing Urban Areas in Saudi Arabia Annotated Bibliography

The Incorporation of Immigrants in Growing Urban Areas in Saudi Arabia (Style is Annals of the Associatio n of American Geographers , AAAG) - Annotated Bibliography Example The organization is among the leading immigration law firms in the USA. The article provides detailed information on the rights of an immigrant in the USA. This information is useful in comparing and contrasting what happens in Saudi Arabia and hints at how Saudi Arabia may integrate immigrants physically and culturally. This popular website lists down a number of rights that are related to immigrants such as, entitlement to pay for full time work and overtime for every extra hours taken, this is regardless of the employees legal status. Other rights listed by this website include upholding o fair treatment at work without detention against someone’s will, no confiscation of documents as the employee retains the right to keep their documents and even right to refuse unlawful search and arrest that is without warrant signedby a judge. This website is relevant as it aids in comparing immigrant status between the two countries (Immigrant rights in USA). This website is designed to give detailed statistical information of countries and cities. It gives the population of Saudi Arabia in a clearly and provides up to date information. It also details the percentage of immigrants in the land. This popular website estimates immigrant population in Saudi Arabia to be about 31 percent of the total population with a migration rate of 0.59 for every 1000 people. It lists countries with highest immigrant in Saudi Arabia to be India, Pakistan and Egypt respectively. Quoted in the article is the significant decline of Yemenis in the country as about 800 thousand were thrown out of the country. Exposed also is that certain nationalities are forbidden from entering the country these include Palestinians and Israelites (population of foreigners in Saudi Arabia). Both Simon and Lynch are professors at the Department of Justice and society at the American University. The book gives an insight into

Poem Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Poem Analysis - Essay Example Love grows in the hearts of the lovers in all directions like the octopus. A fire-walker walks on the fire for a few seconds but a lover walks for life with his heart afire. In one of the poems discussed, the lover mentions about love even after death. The interaction with the beloved and her words keeps millions of hopes of the lovers alive! The beats of the hearts of lovers are mutually controlled and the lovers respond accordingly. The bird of love moves with tantalizing speed within the hearts of lovers. Love is the eternal call that keeps the hearts of the lovers ever engaged. If God has to condemn someone, he does so by giving the lover a broken heart. After the first tremor of love, the heart is never the same forever. All such thoughts engulf my mind when I read the poems. The silken thread of love runs through the poems The Folly of Being Comforted (W. B. Yeats), My Last Duchess (Robert Browning, 1812-1889), Sonnet 116 (William Shakespeare) and Sonnet 43 - How Do I Love Thee (Elizabeth Barrett Browning). To live through the pangs of love is a great experience and the one who has gone through that process alone can understand how invaluable those moments of suffering are. True love goes on multiplying and passion diminishes with time. Love is the precious raw material for the man-woman relationship and the gift of God to humankind. In the poem â€Å"The Folly of Being Comforted† by W.B. Yeats, the speaker makes a sincere effort to describe through intellect on a subject which is the domain of heart. In the war related to love, mind and heart can never come to terms. The wise saying goes— there is a beauty in the sunrise and also in the sunset. The theme of the poem is â€Å"love transcends the physical changes in the body and, thus, it conquers time†. The poet gets upset and in an effort to find through the mental condition of unrequited love, enumerates the physical changes that happen with time, and how the body of his beloved sur renders to the demands. He pleads with the heart to be satisfied and accepts the state of beloved’s ebbing beauty. The lover is unwilling to agree that the waning beauty of his beloved is the cause for concern. The poet employs euphemism to express sympathy. He sees her hair â€Å"threads of grey† and â€Å"little shadows come about her eyes† that indicate darkened skin with small wrinkles. But they are inconsequential and the lover is still fascinated by her beauty. The lover’s intellect comes to his rescue and supports his arguments, that with the passage of time, the heart will respond better and will be able to accept the realities related to the body, the loss of beloved’s beauty and her apathy towards him. The flush of passion, in spite of beloved’s age, is emphasized by the poet in the words â€Å"fire that stirs about her, when she stirs.† This is a beautiful metaphor for fire. In the ultimate analysis, heart wins and Yeats re fuses to accept the argument of the intellect relating to the advancing age of his beloved. This poem is an unusually formed sonnet. The poet has employed simple words to produce a good sonnet, which tenders an eloquent argument against the argument that women become less beautiful with advancing age. â€Å"Sonnet 116† by William Shakespeare expresses more or less the same sentiments as expressed in â€Å"The Folly of Being Comforted† by W. B. Yeats, but with more emphasis. The first five lines indicate the true definition of love and the

John Locke vs. Thomas Hobbes Essay Example for Free

John Locke vs. Thomas Hobbes Essay During the seventeenth century, Great Britain produced Thomas Hobbes and John Locke, two of the greatest political philosophers of all times. Both men are known for their great philosophical ideas that help to explain the role of government in man’s life. Their explanations are based on the description of their understanding of man’s state of nature. While both men do have opposite views on many of their political arguments, the fact that they are able to structure the essence of their conflicting ideologies in to the shell of what they define as the state of man in nature, is the link that relates them to each other. Both man share there desire in an establishment that provides order to ensure not only the protection of the individual, but also the security of the state. In Hobbes philosophy, the state of nature is a very unwelcoming, dull place. His theory is that individuals in their true nature are guided by their innate primal, animalistic instincts, rather then reason. Hobbes’ concept of the state of nature is based on his believe that morality such as the ideas of good and evil do not exist in tis state. He claims that with out guidance, man will use any power at his deposal, to defend his life and positions. In his book Leviathan, Hobbes describes this condition as war, in other words, it is every one against every one. (Hobbes) In addition, he depicted the state of nature as a state in which individuals are without any of the benefits that are taken for granted in modern society. Hobbes describes the lack of these benefits as: â€Å"No commerce, no agriculture, no account of time, no arts, no letters, and no society. (Hobbes)† Hobbes believes that without proper structure, man is in constant state of war. A state where an overbearing sense of fear and grief, triggers men to be on a constant defense in order to protect themselves, and their belongings. Hobbes relates man’s desire to escape from the state of nature and war by seeking peace, which allows man to end his unremitting feeling of fear. In order to obtain peace, Hobbes claims that it is the use of reason that enables man to respond the laws of nature. It is through reason, that man transfers all rights to a higher power, according to Hobbes, which in turn allows man to receive man’s natural right to all things, providing that others will do the same. Hobbes labeled this mutual transferring of rights contract. Hobbes knew, however, that there has to be some collective authority in place to enforce the laws. He believed that human’s appetite for power would be a constant threat to the contract. To prevent this threat, Hobbes saw a necessity for government. He concluded that there aught to be some sovereign authority that could enforce laws and would be authorized to punish anyone who broke the rules; an authority that is endowed with the responsibility to uphold the rights of every individual, as a part of the social contract. Hobbes believed that the best form of government to fulfill this role is in form of an absolute monarch as ruler over the people. He named the role of the absolute sovereign Leviathan. The role of the monarchic ruler was to be successful because it helped to create a endless circle that reinforced the social contract. The sovereign was to control the masses through fear, as he had the power of the threat of punishment bestowed upon him. This power helped to reinforce the mandates that the laws of nature provided, thereby ensuring the continued operation of the social contract that was in place. In turn for turning the responsibility to protect and serve over to the ruler, the people essentially gave up all of their own personal rights to govern themselves to the sovereign. The concept was that people are able to maintain their right to self-preservation by granting the sovereign all of their other rights. Hobbes titled this idea of a system of sovereignty the Commonwealth. It is through this social contract that is upheld between the people and the sovereign in the commonwealth, Hobbes states, that â€Å"man is able to get out of the state of nature and into society. (Hobbes)† Being a philosopher of political theory in the seventeenth century, John Locke understood and believed in the social contract and the state of nature as much as Hobbes. The positions he took on them, however, were most of the time on the polar opposites of the spectrum. Locks interpretation of the state of nature becomes evident in his publication Two Treaties of Government, where he states, â€Å"while there were no civil societies yet formed, people basically were able to live in peace, because the natural laws that governed them were an innate quality which everyone had. (Locke)† In other words, is Locke’s believe that in the state of nature, all people are equal, and have executive power of the natural laws. One of the major clashes between Locke’s and Hobbes’ theories was the interpretation of the state of nature. Hobbes was a firm believer in the state of â€Å"war† as a natural part of the state of nature. Locke on the other hand, alleged himself with the thought that the two states were not the same. Locke’s philosophy states that the human nature is characterized by reason and tolerance. He believed that in the state of nature all men where equal and independent. Further more Locke believed that it is every ons right to protect his rights of life liberty and property. He states that people govern to govern their lives by using reason, and do not need a common superior, or leader. The state of war occurs when people try to force things on others, and it was Locke’s belief that when this occurs, people have the right to wage war because force without right is an adequate basis for the state of war. In order to transition from the state of nature into a civil society, Locke believed that people would innately want to give up their natural freedom in order to assure protection for their lives, liberties, and property. Locke claimed that the most efficient form of government for a civil society would be one that is run by the majority of people with common views, and that the individual, when entering into this society would submit to the will of the majority and follow the rules set forth by it. In transitioning from the state of nature to a civil society, Locke stated that the state of nature differed from a civil society because it lacked â€Å"an established, settled, known law; a known, and different judge; and power to back and support the sentence†. In order to complete this transition into a civilized society, the individual has to relinquish certain natural rights. These rights include the right to do what they wanted within the bounds of the laws of nature, and the power to punish the crimes committed against natural law. Both rights are given up in order to put oneself under the protection of the executive power of the civil society. According to Locke, it is a transfer of these rights to the civil society. Lock states that there will be â€Å"a law, a judge, and [an] executive working to no other end, but the peace, safety, and public good of the people. † Locke’s ideals were considered to be very progressive at the time of their creation and based on the principles of equality and government working to the advantages of the people. After entering into a civil society, Locke stated that the government of the commonwealth, using the element of a majority, should have a single legislative body that was used for the creation of laws. Locke suggests many types of governments such as Democracy, or Oligarchy, but he never states that one is better then the other. This again is another difference in the views between Locke and Hobbes. While Hobbes favored one single person to have the divine power to rule, Locke stated that the power to create law should rest within a majority legislative body and that the law created by it should be absolute. No other body could create laws of its own, and every member of society and the commonwealth must abide by the laws that were created by the legislative majority. While the legislation is an absolute governing body, it does in fact have limits as well. Locke states that the legislative body must govern by fixed laws that apply equally to everyone, and that the laws that are designed are to be done solely for the good of the people; lastly, the legislative body cannot increase taxes on property owners with out the people’s consent. John Locke and Thomas Hobbes ideas about common law governments help to explain, at least from a philosophical ideal, the evolution of man from the animal age to the enlightened seventeenth century in which they resided in. While I believe the critical difference between their views is the amount of power they each placed in the idea of a sovereign power, they also shared many other different ideals, such as the state of nature in which people resided, and their ideas of how people living in the commonwealth should relinquish their rights. However, one crucial element of commonality should be noted that existed between Locke and Hobbes. Even though many of their ideals differed their end result was the same; the common good of the people. Though they both may differ on how this plan works, they are able to base at the crux of each of their arguments, the essential need for reason in man’s life, and how we as a race are able to better ourselves through the tools of reason and government. Work cited: Hobbes, Thomas. Leviathan. first edition . Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1909. Print. Locke, John. Two Treatises of Government . 22/04/2003: n. pag. Web. 18 May 2011. http://epublish. biz/pdf/Two_Treatises_of_Government. pdf.

Theories and concepts in leadership

Theories and concepts in leadership The term leader is defined as a person initiating interaction with other members of a group, a person who moves the group towards group role. To be called a leader, one must be performing leading roles repeatedly under varying conditions (English dictionary 1987; Gibb 1965) (leaders and leadership roles in relation to effective management of human resources by John Domingo) Social psychologist define leadership as the process through which one member of a group (its leader) influences other group members towards the attainment of specific group goals (Yukl,1994).Leadership however is essentially a process of mutual stimulation which by successful interplay of relevant individual differences controls human energy in pursuit of a common cause. (Ekong, 2003) Leadership calls for certain qualities or characteristics firstly on the part of the individual who want to become a leader and secondly on the part of a group who want to respond favorably to the individuals leading acts. In the first place, a leader must have the ability to influence others. This may be derived from his personal characteristics such as height, handsomeness or some general personal appeal, abilities to speak and win the crowd, the possession of specific skills known to and desired by the group, being wealthy and or generous, having known connections with external sources of power or occupying known official positions , and so forth. Studies in Nigeria have also shown that among other characteristics, age, being married, honesty, humility and industry are highly valued in being accepted as a community leader (Adeogun, 1976). Second, a leader must have the ability to identify with the group he leads. This entails the ability to place oneself in anothers position; consideration for others, emotional stability, readiness to delegate tasks, love for and constant identification with the group, selflessness, and loyalty to group ideas and goals, etc. A person may also assume leadership because of the innate conditioned need in him to lead and or dominate others. However, for his leadership to be accepted by the people he must have other desirable characteristics, which he would have to project it to the group In certain instances, people have assumed leadership on the assumption that they have a divine call or revelation to lead others. A number of self appointed prophets and religious leaders fall into this group. Apart from their claims to divine call, such people still have to develop other personal qualities mentioned earlier, and or show extraordinary power(e.g. healing, fortune telling, making of very po tent charms,etc)to be accepted by others. In all several types of leaders can be identified according to the following criteria: Path of attaining leadership position, power, authority, scope of influence and orientation. It must be noted before hand that these are not mutually exclusive categories. One leader can fall into all or most of these classifications which leads to types of leaders and path to leadership the first being situational leader this refers to one who foresees crises or the needs of a group and takes initiative in either rectifying the situation or mobilizing others to meet such a situation. And that is why it is argued that leaders are not born but made by situations. Situational leaders however persist as long as the condition which brought them into the forefront lasts. They can last longer only if the condition becomes institutionalized or else, by imposing themselves as leaders on the group. Then comes the dictatorial leader generally when a situation brings up a leader , there is the tendency for this individual to either feel that he has the obligation to remain at the head to watch over the interest of that group perpetually irrespective of their wishes ,or that the only befitting gratitude which the group he has helped could render him is to allow him to rule over them .In the absences of such expectations being voluntarily fulfilled , the individual then uses his initial advantage to paralyze initiative amongst his followers and subdue all manner of opposition. He would want to control all phases of life in the community and takes no suggestion from his subordinates except when such suggestions are in his own favour. Generally they succeed in antagonizing others to their disadvantage and so they never last for too long before being toppled. Military rulers who come in through coup Detat and do not want to return to the barracks are e.g. of dictatorial leaders. Traditional or hereditary leaders: this is one born into a hereditary leadership position which custom and tradition recognize. His leadership status is therefore ascribed rather than achieved. In othe r words, he has authority by virtue of the tradition of the community (Moss 1970). Charismatic leader charisma means a divine or spiritual power .it also means a personal character or quality that enable an individual to influence his fellow men. A charismatic leader is therefore a type of person who has such personal type of qualities like good looks , high level of intelligence , ability to speak, fearlessness and commitment to a certain idea which when taken altogether make people follow him almost without questioning his authority . He has a more or less magical appeal to the people and they may infact, come to regard him as their saviour. He himself may, as time goes on, begin to feel that he has been divinely inspired to lead. This type of leader tends to thrive most in crises situation where he can display or exhibit his qualities. A number of political leaders can be look upon as charismatic leaders. Professional leaders this is one who earns his leadership position by virtu e of his expertise or technical competence. His leadership is therefore not based purely on personal charm, although good personal characteristic can enhance his acceptability to the group he is leading. The community workers, the agricultural extension officer, the medical officer, the organization executive are all professional leaders. In their interaction and leadership roles they control their actions and direct these to conform to the expectations of the organizations they represent, the expectations of their peers within the profession, the expectations of the client population which they serve and to what they expect of themselves as individuals. Now comes the question what is the base of leadership, this was given by Cartwright and Zander Leadership involves the ability to influence, director control others which means that leadership involves the use of power. Weber (1961) defined power as the ability to affect ones own will against resistance from others. Power may be exercised by using force, we tend to think of power in relation to government, it is well to remember that it is exercised in many other context as well: in family, schools, hospitals and businesses wherever it is possible to manipulate conditions so that people must obey. The leader must have a recognized power, the sources of which may be within or outside the group led. When his power is from the group, this is spontaneously accorded him by his followers, whereas where the sources of powers is located externally there may be some elements of coercion. Cartwright and Zander (1960) have identified five bases of power of a group leader. These include reward p ower: Which derives from the belief on the part of the followers that they will be rewarded in some way for complying , in this instance ,power is exercised effectively whenever one party can grant or withhold what another party needs but cannot get elsewhere ; Coercive power: Which arises from the belief that non compliance will result in punishment, expert power: In this case when a person is evaluated to have needed knowledge , information or skill which cannot be obtained readily elsewhere ,that person holds expert power over the group., referent power : This is the power the leader has as a result of his having qualities which the group members like , admire and want to identify with. They submit to him because they identify with him. Legitimate power: this derives from the office or official position which the individual occupies and which gives him the right to cont5rol others and equally compels others to comply. The tax collector, the police all have legitimate powers to do their work. Power is usually conceived in terms of authority and of influence. Authority and influence are not synonymous as an individual who has influence may not have any authority. Authority is derived from official position and is the power attached to that office whereas influence resides within the individual on the basis of his possession of certain characteristics or qualities which make other people want to submit to him (Ekong, 2003).The basis on which authority is used affects the nature of the organization and of the society of which the organization is the part.(Leaders and leadership roles in relation to effective management of human resources by John Domingo in yang) (www.academicleadership.com) Discussion on leaders power and influence leads us to think of the styles of leadership. Leadership style is concerned with the behaviour of the leader towards his followers. .Ideally there is three leadership styles: Autocratic leadership style, in this all policies and procedures are determined by leader. The leader should take considerable responsibility for assigning the activity task and companions of each group member. Democratic leadership style, wherever possible the policies should be a matter of a group decision and discussion with active encouragement and assistance by the leader. Wherever, technical advice is needed the leader should try to suggest two or more alternative procedure from which choice can be made by the group members. Laissez-faire leadership style, in this leader should play a rather passive role in social participation and leave complete freedom for group or individual decisions in relation to activity and group procedure. Here the leader does not make any attempts to control the behaviour of the group members. He tends to relinquish his responsibility for most decisions in the organization to his subordinates.( Koehler . anatol and applbaum, 1976) The function of any leader is to guide his group members. He leads in so far as he is ahead of his group goals. The role of a leader as a guide connotes a person devoted to helping the group move effectively in the direction it chooses to move. The leader as a guide must assist the group to choose this direction judiciously based on his expert knowledge or other advantages. The leader is a group spokesman. The leader is a group harmonizer and an enabler. In other words he is the one who keeps interpersonal relations pleasant, arbitrates disputes, provides encouragement, gives the minority a chance to be heard and increases interdependence among members. He focuses discontent and enables group members verbalize such discontents, encourages organization and emphasizes common objectives of the group. As an enabler he strives to make the group realize its potentialities and strength in cooperative work. He stimulates insight rather than provides all the answers and provides support for o thers who may want to share in the responsibilities of group organization and action. He is also a group educator or an expert. People submit to him because he is capable of bringing them to see the solutions to their problems. As an expert he provides research data, technical experience, and resource material, advises on methods and assists in evaluation. This may also imply expertise in knowing the traditions and customs of the people and being able to act as a resource person on traditions and cultural issues. The leader is the symbol of is the groups ideals and an agent of control. People submit to control of a leader because he is able to discern their underlying and inarticulate aspirations and to give them expression. He has the passion for the cause he represents and can crystallize this within mens hearts. He is loyal to the ideals and aspirations of the group so members look up to him for direction. The leader exercises control over his followers and not necessarily by usi ng sanctions but by exhibiting certain qualities which nourish and maintain favourable sentiments e.g. courage, self sacrifice, hatred of vice, contempt for folly, a sense of national or community destiny, and so forth (Ekong 2003) (Leaders and leadership roles in relation to effective management of human resources by John Domingo in yang) Historical background of this topic shows us that research on leadership and has been a part of social psychology since its very earliest days: and in recent decades, this research has spilled outside social psychology to the closely related fields of industrial/organizational psychology and organizational behaviour .(Fiedler,1994;GreenbergBaron,1995).leadership is an inherently subjective subject with many definitions associated to it (Zaharah Hassan 2004) .most of those definitions found in the literature agreed that leadership is mainly concerned with a person who tries to influence groups or followers to achieve certain objectives .the literature also indicates that there are various theories describing leadership such as the traits that leads to successful leaders (Stogdill,1950),and the roles that a leader needs to perform (Mintzberg,1973;Yukl1994). Early researchers viewed leadership in terms of `great person theory-according to this theory ,great leaders posses certain traits that set them apart from most human beings ;until 1890 research designed to test the theory generally failed to yield positive findings(Geier,1969,Yukl1991). In recent years ,however this situation has changed greatly more sophisticated research methods ,coupled with a better understanding of basic dimensions of personality ,have led researchers to conclude that leaders do indeed differ from other persons in several important ways(Kirkpatrick locke,1991) specifically ,recent findings(e.g. JudgeBono ,2000) suggest that several of what psychologists often term the Big Five Dimensions of Personality may play an important role in leadership(Barrickmount/;1991). Still we question what characteristics do these leaders have? Leaders are known to have their own leadership style and can be said to be unlike any other leader which is to a great extent true .Literature points to the styles and approach that leaders need to adopt such as shown by early studies conducted by Lowa university ,Ohio university and Michigan universities (Nahavandi,19770)leadership theories also takes into account of the contingencies and situations they face(Fielder,1967; Hersey and Blanchard ,1988).more recent research includes transformational (Burns,19780) and servant leadership (Greenleaf ,1998).Recent writings also noted that there are notions of leadership that are assumed either implicitly or explicitly linking leadership to gender (Zaharah Hassan 2004).Further in this field of study ,studies have shown that people in leadership positions are thought to be or characterized more as men over women ,gender stereotypes ,( Myres 2002) are peoples beliefs about how men and women behave .A major concern dealing with gender stereotypes, are the effects they may have on leadership. Some research shows that these stereotypes may present obstacles for women who wish to compete for a leadership position .Hosoda and Stone(2000) found that the actual stereotype of men and women have remained relatively unchanged from 10-20 years ago, and also found that masculine stereotypes was evaluated less favorable and the feminine stereotype was evaluated more favorab ly over a period of 21 years ,this was done through studying seventy eight attributes of which twelve were `key masculine attributes and rest were associated with feminism .This suggest that people believed that men and women generally behave differently from one another at the same time there were research on effect of perceived attractiveness on leadership of women .a study conducted by Sigel man (1986) found attractiveness a plus for males running for political office ,but not for female candidates. Women were not discriminated against for being pretty but they were not helped by attractiveness as were the men (Sigel 1986). In recent years, transformational and transactional leadership construct has become a popular theme in leadership studies in the general management domain. Unlike task versus relationship oriented leadership, the transformational -transactional leadership notion is viewed as a continuum allowing for individuals to employ transformational and transactional qual ities at the same time (Bass 1985, 1990;Bryman,1992) .Bass furthered Burns view of transforming leadership to be a leadership style that gives insight into the importance placed on certain outcomes and promotes development and vision in subordinates .Bass also identified five main components to transformational leadership-charisma ,inspiration ,intellectual stimulation, individualized consideration, and extra effort . Burns (1978, as cited in Mher, 1997) suggest that transactional leadership emphasizes exchanges between leader and follower and how needs of subordinates can be fulfilled. Recent research (Hack man, Furniss, Hills Paterson, 1992) implies that to be effective leaders must display both feminine and masculine behaviour. Hack man et al (1992) found that transformational leadership requires a gender balance of strong masculine and feminine characteristics. Transformational leadership is generally held to be a superior form of leadership, built on transactional leadership, b ut not vice-versa .there is a line of argument in leadership literature contending that female leaders tend to be more transformational than male leaders (Rosener, 1990), since transformational leadership emphasizes on nurturing of subordinates and on the process of socialization, the nurturing qualities of women are particularly well developed in comparison to men. A cross cultural study by Gibson (1995) involving Norway, Sweden, Australia and the US, found that male leaders were more likely to emphasize goal setting than female leaders and female leaders more likely to focus on facilitating interaction then male leader this trend among women leaders who also emphasized in the Malaysian public sector leadership (Raffia Salim 2007, Halipah Esa 2007). However, other scholars such as Butterfield and Powell (1981) Campbell et al (1998) and Ron K (1993) all have concluded that leadership style is independent of gender and that they exhibit similar amounts of task oriented and people ori ented leadership behaviour. Kolb (1999) has asserted that two decades of research indicates few, if any, leadership differences in the leadership behavior of male and female. Leadership in community: Moving from Gender the research on leadership has moved on to study of communities, organization and defence forces. The word community is an umbrella term that is defined and applied in a myriad of ways. For instance, it may be used to refer to refer to geographic communities where members are based on region (lfe, 1997; Maimunah Ismail, 2001); unit of social organization such as worker and community associations (Maimunah Ismail, 2001); cultural Groups that can be identified through religions or races (Maimunah Ismail, 2001); or virtual communities, where members main form of contact is through electronic media (lfe, 1997). Communities of circumstances constitute another possible form of community such community or Group might emerge, for e.g. when floods occur across different regions and those most affected feel connected to one another (Marsh 1999). Finally there are communities of interest, where identity groups form to lobby Government for some kind of policy change or sponsorship various definitions of community development and organization are available in literature. One of the early definitions that were widely accepted was developed by the U.S.international cooperation (1956) as cited by Maimunah Ismail (1999).It emphasized the process where individuals in the community joined forces to plan and take actions regarding community problems. They identify community problems and needs plan and conduct activities together using available resources. They also sought outside help from Government and private organization. On the other hand, the United Nations (1975), indicated that community development is a process whereby the efforts of individuals in the community were combined with efforts of Government and no bodies to bring about improvement socially and economically. These efforts should lead to national development (Jones, 1982). Kirk and Shutter (2004) suggested a community development model that is more collaborative and co mprehensive in nature that comprises of three components leading change through dialogue, collective empowerment and connective leadership. It is said that children are the future of a country and they are the ones who will be leading the nation tomorrow, therefore it is really a matter of great concern that how should these young generations be groomed, what should be the crux of their positive development? It is here where the role of developmental psychology is needed .development after all is a process of growth and increasing competence. In the important sub domain of social and emotional development, however we are often more articulate about how things go wrong than how they go right. We have a burgeoning field of developmental psychopathology but have a more diffuse body of research on the pathways whereby children and adolescents become motivated, directed, socially competent, compassionate, and psychologically vigorous adults. Corresponding to that we have numerous researc h based programmes for youth aims curbing drug use, violence ,suicide, teen pregnancy, they lack a vigorous applied psychology of how to promote positive youth development. The place for such a field is apparent to anyone who has had contact with a cross-section of American adolescents. In such a group one encounter a surprising number of youth who appeared to be bored, unexcited about their lives it is in this article of towards positive youth development Reed W. Larson focused on extra co curricular activities helping in positive development of youth. Here when the samples of self report on 16000 moments in the daily experience of a representative sample of white, working and middle class young adolescents-a group that seemingly has everything going for them. These youth reported feeling bored for 27 %.( 4300) of these random moments (Larson Richards, 1991). Of course these individuals differed in these rates ,but what was surprising was that honor student were as likely as those involved in delinquent activities ,in many cases for more than 50% of random moments . The litany of explanation for this boredom -theres nothing to do in life, the odyssey is boring, and they communicate ennui of being trapped in the present, waiting for someone to prove them that life is worth living. a central question of youth development is how to get adolescents fire lit ,how to have them develop the complex disposition skills needed to take charge of their lives .this calls for development of initiative in them .The construct initiative is closely related to capacity for agency or for autonomous action that others have discussed (Brandst-idter,1998;Deci 1995;Ryan1993). It consist of the ability to be motivated from within to direct attention and efforts towards a challenging goal , initiative is the core requirement for other components of positive development, such as creativity ,leadership, Altruism and civic engagement. Reed W.Larson argues that western adolescents life do es not provide abundant daily opportunities for the development of initiative and it is in these activities such as participation in sports, hobbies, arts and in any youth organization opens the door of initiative within. positive youth development however has had not a strong base of research and theory (Brown 1988;Dubassnider 1993,Murray foster).the anthropologist Benedict (1938) observed that many traditional society provide a progressive set of steps that socialize youth into the roles and responsibilities of adulthood, whereas adults are required to be independent and suddenly take charge whereas in western society there is marked discontinuity between what we expect of adults , especially with regard to initiative. Benedict pointed out that children in our society are treated as dependent and given few responsibilities ,whereas adults are required to be independent and suddenly take charge of all parts of their life9et Sampson,1988) ,thus in order to develop initiative youths need a series of experience opportunity(1938).participation in extra co curricular activity and community youth organization has been fond to be correlated with higher self-esteem ,control over ones own life etc .(Holland Andre1978) the problem with these relationship is that participation in these activities is selective ,participation is greater in among higher socio economic status along with parental support(butcher,1985, Holland Andrà © 1987) once these factors are controlled the relationship participation and positive outcomes are reduced .(AgnewPeterson1989) this claim however is more adequately tested by longitudinal studies .number of studies have fond association between higher school and adult participation in political organization (Dematrini 1983);the arts (blom1985) sports (HowellMeckenzie,1987) but do not adequately control for the possibility that prior unmeasured third variables .studies that control for some of the variables that effect high school participation s uch as SES ,grade point average(GPA)still finds effect.(Hanks and Eckland 1978) found that youth who participated in activities were more likely to be involved in voluntary associations at age 30,even with controls for initial SES and academic aptitude .Eccles and barber (1999) fond that participation in structured youth activities in 10th predicted positive changes .(Marsh 1992) too found a positive change with respect to self concept . Classic sociological theories recognizes that joining a group leads to socialization (Berger and luckman,1966).the most extensive and most psychological discussion about the process of social integration are provide by Youniss ,Yates who have focused on how participation in service activities provide a context for civic participation (1997). This opens another avenue to the study of leadership .How far specific training in a particular field can help in mastering and developing a polished skill in the concerned field. (Toward a psychology of positiv e youth development by reed w. Larson) The construct of youth leadership and life skills development is a complex arrangement of experience, backgrounds and attitudes. In the measure of leadership skills of agriculture students leadership and life skills development were defined as skills in communication ,decision making, interpersonal relationship, learning and resource management, understanding self and working with group .participation in FFA leadership activities in combination with the variables after school jobs, years in the FFA .self reported cumulative grades and gender accounted for 22.3% of the variance in youth leadership and life skills development scores. As an addition to the body of knowledge surrounding youth leadership and life skills development this study has revealed an increase in the overall amount of variance explained for this concept, with less than 25% of the variance explained in the phenomenon known as leadership development.(journal of agricultural education24 volume.38, 3,1997 Garry J Winge nbach Alan A Kahler) . The hypothesis of this study is that, the leadership quality is higher in the students who undergo NCC training than regular students who do not take NCC training. Today NCC is second largest youth organization in the world and the largest in India (a hand book on NCC) .it is one of the major second line defence force which is known for imparting training in military aspects, it has now expanded its horizon and now aims at developing character qualities amongst cadets and making them into good leaders of tomorrow as well as useful citizens so that they can take their appropriate place in all walks of life in the service of the nation. The qualities of leadership, discipline, spirit de coups, courage and confidence with secular outlooks, which are hallmark of a leader are inculcated in the cadets through a well conceived programme of institutional training combined with adventure, sports and outdoor activities plus many other community development programme -such as disaster managemen t ,adult literacy ,traffic control, village adoption ,tree plantation, blood donation are taken up which gives youths a comprehensive and a very good platform to take initiative in almost aspects of life. not only this the camps are conducted which constitutes the most vital part of national cadet corps where cadets get the thrill and joy of outdoor and community living stay together no matter how rich or how poor they are and thus teaches socialization, team spirit, unity in diversity through its motto of unity and discipline. (www.ncc.org.sg) The present study not only aims at adding more knowledge to the existing body of researches in past but it is also trying to go beyond the normal theories of styles, approaches and is focusing on a universal organization that aims at instilling leadership amongst youth .in todays world we have large number of organizations where we need leaders to lead the team to achieve the organizational goals ,whether its the field of scientific research ,the corporate ,the defence, the political world the non governmental organizations etc. thus, it would be interesting to know how far it has been successful in this endeavor. Method Participants In this study there were two groups consisting of total 60 subjects of which there were thirty NCC students who had participated in various training camps of NCC and few also had an opportunity to attend the prestigious national and international camps like republic day camp and youth exchange programmes, many have also attended mountaineering and parasailing courses, horse riding cum show jumps. These Students were taken from camp in Bison polo grounds Secunderabad. The non NCC students were the other regular college students taken from colleges like St. Anns, Bhavans, CBIT, St.Francis, etc. all the sixty subjects were in the age group of (17-22) years. Material The research instrument used for the study was the Leadership Characteristics and Skills Survey questionnaire. The first section of the survey consisted of a small section on personal information like name, age, category (NCC and non-NCC), and gender. The second part of the survey contained thirty questions which focused on individuals behaviour in a team. Leadership Characteristics and Skills Survey was assessed on five point Likert scale ranging from a score of (very weak-1, moderately weak-2, adequate-3, moderately strong-4, very strong-5). The purpose of this research was to find reliable information. Design In this study the students both from NCC and NON-NCC category formed the independent variables. The leadership qualities which was assessed was the dependent variable for this research .the age group from 17-22 was chosen for assessing the leadership qualities because the experimenter was keen in knowing whether a special course or training helps in enhancing ones managerial skills and also does it really makes a leader out of an ordinary human being. The other reason behind taking this age group was that the youngsters are the future leaders of tomorrow, so how far a youth organization like NCC has been successful in this endeavor of grooming future leaders, since NCC students basically fall in this age group and that is the reason this age was chosen for the study. Procedure In order to