Grants Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Grants - Essay Example Grants from funding agencies to help promote literacy in primary schools: SAMPLE GRANT NO. 1 . Summary Information : Government Education Grant. Supplemental Education Service Providers’ Program: Study Center. The subject area is: Reading K-4. One on one tutoring: one student for every one instructor. Maximum cost: Rs. 32/- per hour. Target group: Students living on the South side of District Hometown or attending school there. Following the standard elements of a proposal, the main guidelines: First, The Title Page. Then, The Abstract: Regular and consistent classes for improving the reading skills of economically backward children, to make a difference in their lives in all areas. Lesson plans include CIERA (Center for the Improvement of Early Reading Achievement) strategies through guided reading. The over-all focus is on the six dimensions of reading instructions: phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, text comprehension, and motivation. Introduction: Statement of the problem: Poor academic performance of non-native English speaking children, from poor families. Purpose of the work: To improve young children’s reading skills before they are caught in a cycle of failure.

First Amendment Protection of Journalists Essay Example for Free

First Amendment Protection of Journalists Essay The First Amendment of the US Constitution has special provisions for freedom of expression speech and press. It has clearly defined that The freedom of speech and of the press, and the right of the people peaceably to assemble and consult for their common good, and to apply to the Government for redress of grievances, shall not be infringed† (FindLaw, 2004). There were several instances of debates and discussions on the protection of journalism under the provisions of the First Amendment. Constitutionalists agree on the point that the liberty of the press is essential for the well-being of a free state. Every person has the right to express his feelings before the public. Journalists do the same thing. They investigate on their own and provide the information regarding the policies of the government and other agencies to the public. If a journalist is not allowed to express his opinions, then it is a clear infringement into his rights. Journalists always have always used anonymous sources to gather information. It has become a part of investigational journalism. However, several times in the past, press has been subjected to castigation for reporting about the secret policies of the government quoting anonymous sources. There was always pressure on the journalists to reveal their confidential sources. Need of the First Amendment Protection of Journalists The recent incident involving former New York Times reporter, Judith Miller has unleashed a debate on the protection of confidential sources in journalism. Pulitzer Prize winner Judith Miller had to spend 85 days in jail for refusing to identify confidential sources during the investigation into the disclosure of a CIA agents identity. Eventually, she was forced to step down after working 28 years at the Times (The New York Times, 2005). It is always believed that a journalist has the right to protect the identity of a source. It may be true that this right is not absolute. There should be a limit on that to prevent any misuse of journalism expression. However, punishing the journalists for their reporting is not a right solution. The identification of anonymous sources may lead to suppression of information. The Times believes that First Amendment right to speech includes a right for the journalists in which they are not supposed to speak during the testimony in a criminal investigation. The freedom of the press to publish without any limitation is one of the fundamental aspects of the First Amendment. However, recent incidents such as the detention of Miller raised serious questions. If the journalists will be forced to reveal their sources of information, then it is unlikely that they would get more information in future. Persons, who reveal the secrets anonymously, will never provide useful information to the journalists if their identities are disclosed before the investigation agency. They would be forced to conceal the information to themselves. As a result, the public will never know the truth. If we look at the history, the First Amendment supported the freedom of press and the journalists in some instances. â€Å"In the Pentagon Papers case in 1971, the US government attempted to prevent the New York Times and the Washington Post from publishing classified documents about the Vietnam War. The government claimed that publication of such documents would jeopardize the foreign policy and prolong the war. However, the Court did not buy the arguments and dismissed them as speculations† (Powe, 1991). However, in most of the cases, it has been noticed that the First Amendment do not provide adequate protection to the journalists. Even the judges expressed their concern in some cases. In a 2002 judgment, Supreme Court Justice Anthony M. Kennedy said, First Amendment freedoms are most in danger when the government seeks to control thought or to justify its laws for that impermissible end. The right to think is the beginning of freedom, and speech must be protected from the government because speech is the beginning of thought† (ALA, 2002). The International Federation of Journalists has accused the United States administration of suppressing the freedom of expression by forcing journalists to disclose confidential sources of information. They believe that this is a violation of the First Amendment. In most of the cases, journalists are bullied by judges and investigating agencies. A number of high-profile legal actions against journalists have sparked a national campaign among press freedom campaigners and journalists. Journalists feel that they have stood up firmly for the First Amendment principles (IFJ, 2004). The identification of sources has become very common in the US history. Several judgments in the recent past, asked the journalists to reveal the identity of their sources. Also, in some instances they ruled that it is the right of journalists to protect their sources. The differences of opinions have made one thing clear that there is a need for a clear and visible law that would protect the rights of journalism and journalists. It is to be remembered that by protecting their sources, the journalists are just saving the whistleblowers from facing retribution. If the confidential sources are exposed, common people will be deprived of their right to know the truth. Need of a National Shield Law Earl Caldwell, a correspondent for the New York Times, was the only journalist at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis when Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in 1968. He established a rapport with the Black Panthers and had access to their confidential conversations with them. When FBI asked him to provide the notes, Earl Caldwell, a correspondent for the New York Times, was the only journalist at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis when Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in 1968. He established a rapport with the Black Panthers and had access to their confidential conversations with them (Montiel, 2005). When FBI asked him to provide the notes, he declined and took the mater to the Court. In 1970, the U. S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit recognized the existence of a protection for the journalists under the First Amendment. It rules that Caldwell did not have to identify his sources unless the government could show the real need for his testimony and the proof that such information could not be obtained elsewhere. The government appealed against this order in the Supreme Court. After long discussions, the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 against Caldwell. This is an example how the judges themselves were not sure about the provisions of the First Amendment. His fight against the government led to the expansion of state shield laws protecting journalists (Montiel, 2005). The Caldwell case became the most famous one related to the First Amendment and freedom of press. It stressed on the need for federal law to protect the journalists from indictment and harassment. The state shield laws were expanded and associations were formed. â€Å"After the Caldwell case, the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press was formed, which worked for preservation of journalistic rights under the First Amendment† (Montiel, 2005). It has been noticed that in the cases related to the protection of journalists under the First Amendment, judges expressed different opinions. Hence, it is very much important to have a common law which bring all of them into a common platform and provide relief to the journalists who often suffer for no fault. It is their compulsion and responsibility to protect the confidentiality of sources as they obtain the information on that promise. Contradiction in federal court rulings forced many state courts and legislatures to interpret the First Amendment from different angles. To protect journalists from unjustified testimonies, 31 states and the District of Columbia have passed laws known as shield laws (First Amendment Center, 2004). However, state shield laws often fail to guarantee the protection to the journalists. In todays digital world, most of the journalists work through television and Internet, thus securing a good name on the national and international stage. Without a national shield law, it will not be possible for them work independently without any prosecution for concealing their sources. A national shield law will not only benefit the journalists, but also it will do justice to the public. If the journalists fail to protect their private communication with people who provide useful information anonymously, it will be an infringement into their personal rights. Nobody can expect the common men to stand up openly and divulge the secrets that public should know. They would definitely be concerned about their own safety and security. Hence, such people, called as whistleblowers depend on journalists to air their grievances against the system and corrupt authorities. If their identities are not protected, it will deter others from providing useful information to expose the corrupt officials and leaders. Recently, Senator Christopher J. Dodd, D-Conn proposed the legislation for protecting the journalists under the First Amendment. If the law is passed, journalists would not be forced to reveal their sources. Their notes, photographs and other materials would be protected from the federal courts, government and investigating agencies. The bill says that a court could force a journalist to disclose the sources only if that cannot be obtained anywhere else and are related to public interest (First Amendment Center, 2004). In the past few years, there have been several instances of judges threatening the journalists with fines or jails if they fail to reveal sources. The state shield laws will not serve the purpose of freedom of press. It is necessary formulate a national shield law to deal with such issues. The above bill introduced by Senator Dodd could be an important step on this regard. Conclusion In the wake of the current debate over the protection of journalists under the First Amendment, we have to look on this issue with a humanitarian approach. The press is always called as the mirror of the society. Journalists are the true soldiers of the press who always intend to uphold its value and ethics. Protecting their rights is very important for the wellbeing of the society. Prosecution of journalists for a no-crime may not augur well for people’s belief in constitutional rights. Adequate steps should be taken to pass a strong law that would protect the journalists and the confidentiality of their sources. They are well within their rights not to disclose their sources and they should not be compelled to do that. It should be kept in mind that whatever they are doing is for the benefit of the public and the society. Bibliography Allen, David S. , Jensen, Robert, editors. (1995). Freeing the First Amendment: Critical Perspectives on Freedom of Expression. New York: New York University Press. American Library Association (ALA). (2002). Retrieved 15 November 2005.

Women in Chaucers Canterbury Tales Essay -- The Canterbury Tales Essay

The only two women most significant and described in great detail in The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer who provide the greatest insight into contemporary medieval society are the Wife of Bath and the Prioress. These two women appear similar in the General Prologue of the poem but, as we see through their tales, they are quite unique women and most importantly very different from one another. By examining both the Wife of Bath and the Prioress's tales, we are able to see the stark contrast between their social standards and behavior. However, in spite of the fact that these two ladies belong to two different social spheres, they surprisingly share some common characteristics. The initial similarity between these two women lies in their appearance but as the poem continues on we see that their life experience and their manner and personality are different from one to another. Chaucer's description of the two characters clearly describes the Prioress as a better nun. The Wife of Bath is the only woman, beside the Prioress and her companion Nun, on this pilgrimage. Chaucer discussed each of the two generally in all aspects beginning with their outer physical look, behavior, beliefs etc. Despite the first impression that Chaucer's description makes the Wife of Bath and the Prioress contradicting as day and night, a deeper look to it makes one observe their intersecting minor characteristics. As weird it may sounds as true it is to some extend. The first thing we come across is their physical look. The Wife of Bath even gap-toothed or a bit deaf she is pictured to have a rich tasteful dressing with her gorgeous distinct gown and fine scarlet red stockings and soft, fresh, brand new leather shoes. This description tells us ... ...rench of Paris was unknown to her. All of these characteristics show how the nun Prioress was focused on things that should not be important for a nun. Among her minor things, the nun in the tale actions was cautious and splendid. Her manners were unique, and practiced with perfection. Her table manners were admirable: she never let a morsel fall from her lips, nor wet her fingers too deeply in the sauce: daintily she carried a morsel to her lips, taking care that no drop should fall on her breast: she took much pleasure in proper etiquette. Her manners and being educated gave her joy, something that is wrong for a nun. Having manners for her was like giving a candy to a little boy. Also the author describes with a lot of details her manners to show us how important her behavior was for herself, an a nun's behavior should be reflected on other people not on herself.

Modern Communication Essay

As our modern generation continues to build and discover new ways to make life easier, the USPS (United States Postal Service) is having trouble adjusting. They still go by traditional ways which is time consuming. People may no longer need their services because of the newly developed way called â€Å"emailing†. The internet has provided a faster and cheaper way to send messages. Regardless, the USPS is an essential and simply needs to update their postal service. The USPS has been delivering for over two centuries and has greatly expanded their service across the country. They provided job opportunities and a big success with the cross-country rail system. The USPS has made it this far, so they should keep providing services everywhere in the United States. The world may be changing, but we adapt to it. So can the USPS. There are many ways the USPS can meet the needs of the people. Source A (Stone) As listed and explained, people today prefer to email. So the USPS should get into the emailing trend so their services could run a lot better. They can increase their services, advertise with coupons, and reorganize/motivate staff. The USPS should rebrand their company or come up with a catchy slogan that reflects on their company that it is up to date and reliable. A new slogan can make a great difference today. Source C (O’Keefe) The USPS talks about a projection that will confirm change for the business. Customers are leaning towards the internet and other standard-mail options rather than USPS’s first-class mail. The USPS effort to gain what they had loss includes no Saturday deliveries, longer delivery times for letters and packages, higher-stamp prices and potential future layoffs. There will be flexibility and only changes that are necessary will be made. The article, â€Å"Sending, Getting ‘Real’ Mail Still Magic.†, Source F (Cullen) Kevin Cullen talks about his opinions on the plummeting business of the USPS and how he prefers old-fashioned delivery. According to him, emailing is fast and simple, and fast and simple is what we’re all obsessed with. It gets things done faster and makes life easier. Regardless, Cullen reveals the value in receiving handwritten documents and letters, because people care less about â€Å"snail† mail. He mentions that it simply costs 44 cents to send a thank-you card from Danville to Sandybeach, Hawaii, or Alaska. A genuine bargain! Cullen explains that written documents, letters, and records would last much longer. Emailing is efficient, but electronic records wont last forever. They aren’t as valuable as a solid document, on real paper. The USPS has been going through difficult times since they had stopped making profit in 2006. Thanks to Cullen, there is hope t hat there’s someone out there who believes in old-fashioned delivery. Although we encounter faster ways to deliver our letters and send messages, I personally believe in hand-written letters. They have value and effort put into them. The USPS may be facing difficult problems due to vast technology; but I believe they can make a comeback. There are many other people who probably have letters years ago, and can’t be taken away by a simple, â€Å"delete† button. There are no faulty complications when it comes to documents. Anyways, the USPS can improve their business in many ways and increase their services.

Boon Rawd Brewery Company Essay

Throughout the years, Boon Rawd has diversified into an award-winning brewer and beverage maker, exporting its globally recognized products worldwide. The key to success and also be a mission statement is â€Å"Transparency! We do the right things. We live as a good citizen and don’t cut corners.† This principle is one of many that have helped Singha obtain the largest market share for beer in Thailand. Domestically, the company sees strong growth in the beer segment dominated by Singha. It expects local demand to grow 6 percent next year to 1.2 billion liters by inaugurating a new facility in 2009. Aside from Singha, Boon Rawd sells other beer varieties, soda water, drinking water, ready-to-drink fruit juices, ready-todrink coffee and tea beverages under various brands, such as Thai Beer, Leo, Moshi and B-ing, a flavored vitamin functional drink. Although Boon Rawd got many awards in â€Å"beer capitals† such as Brussels, Osaka, America, Australia and New Zealand but in the word of president â€Å"you have to dare to challenge the outside world† which makes them still not to  stop expanding their market and find new opportunities over time. Consequently, we decide to analyze and evaluate them for the purpose of getting insight in their international management plans, their competitive advantages, and their human resource management. Besides, this study is also included with countries analysis, industry analysis, and international market too. For the courses of action, we begin with SWOT analysis of Boon Rawd including with providing the company background. Then we do the countries analysis such as GDP, population size, inflation and business environment in those countries. Next, we also find the information that can be fit to Boon Rawd products by studying from primary and secondary sources and do PEST analysis. Lastly, we would examine the marketing strategies of Boon Rawd such as how they trained their employees, how they developed their products, how they could make and retained the international customer relationship in order to penetrate those international markets and find the best way that can make them success in long-term future. Corporate BackgroundWhich industry or industries is the firm operating in?†¢Define the company ´s industryBoon Rawd Brewery Co. Ltd. is the largest and the oldest brewery in Thailand. It was established in 1933 by Boonrawd Srethabutra, on whom HM King Prajadhipok Rama VIII bestowed the aristocratic title of Phraya Bhirom Bhakdi. In that time Thailand was called â€Å"Siam† until 1939 it was changed to Thailand. Nowadays the brewery is still under the Bhirom Bhakdi family management. At first the company produced and sold only beers like Singha, Leo and Thai beer, which Singha is the most famous and popular beer. Later when the company had grown to produce over 800 million liters of beer they started to producing soft drinks as well. They are producing drinking water, soda water, ready-to-drink juice, ready-to-drink green tea, B-ing â€Å"lifestyle functional drink† and some other soft drinks also. So The Boon Rawd Brewery specialized to Brewery and soft drinks industry. Today they have over 2000 employees in nine factories across the Thailand. They produce annually over  one billion liters of beer and much more other drinks. Who are the customers?†¢Identify and segment target customersThe Company has a versatile range of goods and that ´s one of the reasons to succeed. They sell necessary product like simply drinking water and everybody has to drink water to stay alive. Beer is also popular among adult and young adult nations and they have both quality and cheap beers so they can reach most of the customer, who drinks beer. Juice and that kind of soft drinks are for everybody as well, but especially children and teens like to drink juice a lot. Green tea and coffee are more for adults. So they can sell products to huge part of the population. Where does the company serve?†¢Define company ´s geographic scopeThe company primarily operates in Thailand, where it is headquartered in Bangkok. Network of The Boon Rawd Brewery Co. includes three breweries and six soft drinks factories all over the Thailand. Other factories located in strategic regions across The Thailand, in Chiangmai, Khonkaen, Singburi, Ayutthaya, Pathum Thani and Surat Thani. The Boon Rawd Brewery Co. Ltd. owns two breweries in German. The first one located in the town of Mittweida, that brew Mittweida beer and the second one brews Gerand Hartmanndorf beer in the town of Gerand Hartmanndorf. Nowadays their products are exported to over 25 countries around the world. The largest export country is neighbor country Cambodia; followed markets are in United State, United Kingdom, Singapore, Malaysia and Japan. In addition they sell their product to China, Philippine, Laos and Vietnam. Sometimes they sell product to some other neighbor countries as well, but sales are sporadic. What needs are being satisfied by the company ´s goods or services?†¢Define the company ´s core products/servicesBoon Rawd brewery has regained its market leader of beer in Thailand. Singha beer is the leading product of the Boon Rawd Brewery Co. Singha beer has been Thailand’s most popular beer for many years. Leo is also famous beer brand, but they have another strategy with  Leo, when Singha beer is high quality, good and nice beer, Leo is cheap and less quality beer. The company sells Thai beer as well, and lot of different soft drinks, like ready-to-drink juices, ready-to-drink green tea, drinking water, soft water and something like that. What are the company’s distinctive competencies?†¢What resources does the company have?†¢What capabilities does the company possess?As previously was mentioned, Boon Rawd Brewery has 2000 employees in 9 factories in various parts of Thailand. This eases the distribution in the country internally, but it also facilitates the company to respond to the already widespread demand throughout the world. If the demand will grow even further, it is necessary to add resources so that supply will keep up with demand. Boon Rawd Brewery has a ready customer base and especially Singha has been received positive welcome also widely outside of Thailand. Thus, if the company desires to internationalize to the wider world, it is a smaller problem, because it is already well underway and the groundwork for potential follow-up measures have already been made. Boon Rawd Brewery provides and offers different kind of products to different kind of customers and their needs. As previously mentioned, the Boon Rawd Brewery has a wide range, which includes various drinks from beers to juices and from energy drinks to soda water. This kind of range, which has planned with widely thinking, provides a more stable support for the company’s activities. So, if the company’s some of their individual product’s sales might drop surprisingly, the company is not so vulnerable. Which generic strategy in currently used by the company?†¢Based on the value-chain analysisCurrently, Boon Rawd Brewery invests to the visibility of company and making products more familiar among consumers. The company also makes its share of supporting important societal issues. It invests to sport, culture and environmental. It has brought to use A Waste Water Management System, which is designed to minimize the environmental impact on the Chao Phraya River. Boon Rawd Brewery has its own factories in Thailand and in addition, it currently owns 2 other factories in Europe. The company is expanding slowly but with certainty around the world. So far, customers are widely from different parts of the world, so it seems to be only a matter of time before the company decides to buy or set up new factories in other countries. The fact that the company has won several awards over the years in relation to the quality of beer, says that the company invests a lot of resources in the actual beer making process. Country analysis and attractiveness assessmentBrazil PEST analysisPolitical:1.Brazilian citizens are free to relocate throughout the country. In addition, all citizens are free to engage in any business activity, as long it is a legitimate activity. It’s a positive policy for us to take a share of Brazilian market. 2.Citizens or non-citizen, are allow owning private properties in Brazilian territory. Governmental offices issue a title of property, which guaranty one’s ownership of a real, personal, or intellectual property. The process of issuing a property title can be somewhat time consuming; however, when the process is due, the owner is protected by laws, and enforced by judicial system. In addition, some Southern cities had successfully settle negotiations over public land in order to help low income citizens to own a private property. This kind of law and political environment can ensure the safety for our intelligent property of beverage and ownership for brewery and all the assets we owned. 3.Brazil has no yet achieved institutional stability. Government, courts, school, business, and specially law enforcement are struggling to bring solid bases of stability for Brazil. Fernando Henrique Cardoso, former president, did a good job in recognizing the state’s responsibility for the injustices during dictatorship. On the other hand, violations of human rights still an issue in Brazil, Inflation seems under control for now, but Brazilians had experienced inflation as high as 5,000 percent a year, during late 80’s. Most recently, the revocation of rules, and addition of new  provisions are still happening in Brazil. Therefore, skepticism is among Brazilians, and international observers. 4.The banking system in Brazil has been improving over the past few years; however, more than 50% of the Brazilian population has no means to ever get a bank loan, neither open a bank account. The first problem is that millions of Brazilians have low income. The second problem lies on the credit bureau, which has a deficiency on tracking one’s credit history. Most Brazilians prefer to use the direct financing system, in other words, a store finances one’s purchase, breaking it in small monthly payments, and charging very high interests. If the individual do not pay his or her bills, then the store can confiscate the product, and report his or her name to the credit bureau. 5.Brazilian legislators are far from calling themselves effective in work. Brazilian economy still has non-satisfactory fluctuation, more than 40% of the population lives in total poverty, infant mortality is high, transportation and educational system have big issues to be solved, and crime and corruption are a huge problem. After Fernando Henrique Cardoso, former president, first year in office, several denounces came about some Brazilian legislators being involved in scheme and corruption scandals. Such news did not surprise most Brazilians, except for the fact that someone had the courage to speak out. 6.Brazilian government has a long history of resisting the increase of minimum wages. Its main reasons are: a) if minimum wages increase the Brazilian government will not have enough money to pay for all the social security pensions, and governmental employees; b) factory companies say that if minimum wages are increased it would be catastrophic for the companies growth, since their budget for wages and benefits will increase tremendously. In addition, companies claim that if the minimum wages are increase some companies will be force to file for bankruptcy with leads to lay-offs, and increase of national unemployment rates. Our company should be much careful about this. 7.Brazil has some of the most strict environment protection laws in the world; such laws are design to protect citizens, the fauna, and flora of Brazilian territory. Despite of the governmental efforts, the process of reinforcing such laws has not been successful; part of it is due to the inefficiency of some governmental agencies. For example, the Instituto Brasileiro do Meio Ambiente e dos Recursos Naturais Renovaveis (IBAMA) is an the governmental agency responsible for the formulation, coordination, execution, and reinforcement of environmental laws. 8.Any country must protect and promote national enterprises; however, Brazilian government is being over protective. It causes an unbalance cycle of dependency among Brazilian enterprises, which have more to lose because free market would promote competition, and consequently it promotes the development of new technology and money flow. Brazilian government has a long history of being over protective toward its national enterprises. The means in which the government uses as protection strategies vary and it changes time to time. For example, Brazil has an extended list of shipping requirements for imported goods; these requirements cause a difficult time to foreign enterprise, and the process of shipping a nightmare. In addition, the import taxes are high, restrictions on foreign-produce advertising is a strict, and complex bureaucratic process–all make foreign enterprises less capable to compete with Brazilian enterprises in Brazilian territory. Economic:1.Brazilian government requires that all business transactions be made in Brazilian currency (reais), and all foreign currencies must be converted before any business transactions. 2.Brazilian government requires that only one currency be use inside the country, and the Brazilian currency is called the â€Å"real†. However, many businesses will accept dollar or euro as form of payment for good or services. Many Brazilians will save the foreign bills as form of investment because they believe that such currencies will rise in value, and if they not, at least it will not devalue as reais would. In addition, some fortunate business people prefer to be paid in dollar because it, later, will be transported outside the country. 3.Brazilian government has been consistently causing a budget deficit in its domestic budget. In other words, the Brazilian government has been spending more than it collects from taxes each year. 4.Many Brazilian citizens dream with the idea of opening their own business; however, due to high taxation, and labor benefits Brazilians are skeptical about the risks of opening a small or median enterprise. Nerveless, Brazilians citizens welcome new business enterprises because it generates jobs for the citizens. On the other hand, there is a popular believe that if one opens a business enterprise he or she must dodged taxes. Brazilians often avoid paying taxes, as much and as long as they can, because they not believe in the socialist system. 5.Between the years of 2001 through 2003, Brazil shows minimal signs of vulnerability to outside forces. Brazil’s foreign trade impact ratio was gradually increasing during the period from 1999 to 2008. It is likely that Brazil could create more wealth to its citizens by increasing its foreign trade impact. Social:1.In Brazil, one’s ability to create wealth is filled with barriers, especially for low background citizens. It is important to say that if one’s will is strong, he or she might have a chance to advance economically; however, such dream is not a reality to millions of young Brazilians. First, Brazilian education system does not embrace the minority groups. Ironically, the public universities, free education, are primarily composed of elite youth, and private universities are composed of poor or middle class youth. Several philanthropic entities focus on helping Brazilian kids to develop some kind of skills, in order to help them to get a job, but these entities mistakenly forget to encourage and educate kids to pursue an academic life. In general, Brazilian society believes that if one has born poor, he or she will never make a good living. 2.Crime rates in Brazil have been increasing, and many are not reported. This perception frequently can compromise one’s decision of opening a small or  media enterprise. Police fails to assure safety for citizens as well for business. Into the large corporations such fear is reduce due to fact that large companies can afford to pay for an team of security guards. These are what our company should focus and pay a attention to what will hurt our line of business. 3.Protection of public health and safety in Brazil is quite bad, because infant mortality and mal-nutrition are the leading reasons fo1r death among children between ages one to five. Mal nutrition still kills children and adults in Brazil. In addition, the Brazilian government has poor management of waste, and food inspections. The Brazilian government has a long way to go before infant mortality rate decreases to worldwide standards. Technological:1.Brazilian communication system is good. Cities and countryside are equipped with many means of communications (phone, cell phones, fax, television, radio) with exception of computer. The use of computers as a mean of communication is a process that has been growing in Brazil, but due to the high cost of computer hardware it stills a slow growth. The most popular mass communication is television, and Brazilians love soap opera. TV networks strategically start the TV news between the hours of the most popular soap opera, seven to eight p.m. In addition, house and cell phones became more affordable for Brazilians since the Brazilian government had privatized its telecommunication corporation. There is a real potential growth for computer in Brazil. It is believe that soon, the Brazilian government will facilitate and lower taxes for import of computers, which will make computers much affordable item to Brazilians. These infrastructures can ensure that our local communication and promotion can be done efficiently and effectively. 2.Brazilian transportation system is reasonable; it has some good and bad sides. Brazil has roads, rail, air, and ships, but not all works efficiently. Brazil is fortunate because it has south to north regions connected by the Atlantic Ocean. Therefore, the navigation system is good for transporting large volume of goods throughout the Brazilian coast, but it is not good for transporting people due to long journey. The Brazilian  air system excellent, and recently it is becoming more affordable to Brazilians, but still not cheap to many. The railroad system is, with exception of urban rails, in precarious condition. It requires a great amount of capital investment, mostly for repairs of rails, newer and faster trains, more employees, and newer distribution of rails throughout the country. In similar situation are the roads of Brazil. Highways and interstates are in great need for repair and expansion. Many enterprises have difficulties in transporting goods among states because the highways are very dangerous. Brazilian highways and interstates are filled with dangerous fissures on the road, not enough roads, and damaged bridges. To make things worse, highway pirates are a big problem in Brazil. Often, the news channel announces the robbery of a loaded truck, and the death of the truck driver. High rates of lost, employees and goods, forces enterprises to reevaluate the company’s expansion due to high costs and risks of transporting goods. This base can help us to which transportation tools we should focus and which we should avoid to use. India PEST analysisPolitical:1.slow-down in government decisions due to political instability2.adverse changes or unpredictability on foreign investment, import, ownership, pricing or tax issues3.unexpected delays and cost-overruns due to overlapping governmental jurisdiction4.In recent years, successive Indian Governments have sought to improve the performance of these programmers by decentralizing their administration, vesting village governments with greater responsibility for their monitoring and oversight. An academic literature hypothesizes that socioeconomic divisions within villages and the weak political strength of the poor reduces the effectiveness of decentralized programmers since, under these conditions, elites are able to ‘capture’ funds intended for the poor. This paper argues that the effect of administrative decentralization of poverty programmers and local public goods on the magnitude of benefits to the poor depends not just on their political strength but also on the incentives the non-poor have to improve the welfare of the poor. The design of policy pays insufficient attention to such incentive issues. Empirical analysis provides support for this belief. The regression analysis of the paper reveals that welfare receipts affect the labor supply decisions of the poor and that the  implementation of welfare programmers under control of village governments takes these effects into account.

Understanding Cultural Materialism in Sociology

Understanding Cultural Materialism in Sociology Cultural materialism is a theoretical framework and research method for examining the relationships between the physical and economic aspects of production and built society, social organization and social relations, and the values, beliefs, and worldviews that predominate that society. It is rooted in Marxist theory  and is popular in anthropology, sociology, and the field of cultural studies. History and Overview The theoretical perspective and research methods of cultural materialism emerged in the late 1960s and were developed more fully during the 1980s. Cultural materialism was first introduced and popularized within the field of anthropology by Marvin Harris with his 1968 book  The Rise of Anthropological Theory. In this work, Harris built on Marxs theory of base and superstructure to craft a theory of how culture and cultural products fit into the greater social system. In Harriss adaptation of Marxs theory, the infrastructure of society (technology, economic production, the built environment, etc.) influences both the structure of society (social organization and relations) and the superstructure (the collection of ideas, values, beliefs, and worldviews). He argued that one must take this whole system into account if one wants to understand why cultures differ from place to place and group to group,  why certain cultural products like art and consumer goods (among others) are produ ced in a given place, and what their meaning is to those who use them. Later, Raymond Williams, a Welsh academic, further developed the theoretical paradigm and research method, and in doing so, helped create the field of cultural studies in the 1980s. Embracing the political nature of Marxs theory and his critical focus on power and the class structure, Williamss cultural materialism took aim at how culture and cultural products relate to a class-based system of domination and oppression. Williams built his theory of cultural materialism using already existing theoretical critiques of the relationship between culture and power, including the writings of Italian scholar Antonio Gramsci and the critical theory of the Frankfurt School. Williams asserted that culture itself is a productive process, meaning it is responsible for making intangible things that exist in society, like ideas, assumptions, and social relations. The theory of cultural materialism that he developed holds that culture as a productive process is part of the larger process of how a class system is made and remade, and it is connected to the class-based inequalities that pervade society. According to cultural materialism, culture and cultural products play these roles through the promotion and justification of certain values, assumptions, and worldviews within the mainstream and the marginalization of others that do not fit the mainstream mold (consider the way rap music has been routinely vilified as violent by mainstream critics, or how twerking is often framed as a sign that someone is sexually loose or morally deficient, while ballroom dance is held up as classy and refined). Many scholars who followed in Williams tradition expanded his theory of cultural materialism, which was focused on class inequalities, to include the consideration of racial inequalities and their connection to culture, as well as those of gender, sexuality, and nationality, among others. Cultural Materialism as a Research Method By using cultural materialism as a research method we can produce a critical understanding of the values, beliefs, and worldviews of a period through close study of cultural products, and we can discern how they connect to the greater social structure, social trends, and social problems. Per the framework that Williams laid out, to do so one must do three things: Consider the historical context in which the cultural product was made.Conduct a close analysis of the messages and meanings communicated by the product itself.Consider how the product fits within the greater social structure, its inequalities, and the political power and movements within it. Beyoncà ©s Formation video is a great example of how we can use cultural materialism to understand cultural products and society. When it debuted, many criticized it for its imagery that appears critical of police practices. The video features images of militarized police and ends with the iconic image of  Beyoncà © laying atop a sinking New Orleans Police Department car. Some read this as insulting to police, and even as a threat to police, echoing a common mainstream critique of rap music. But apply cultural materialism as a theoretical lens and a research method and one sees the video in a different light. Considered in a historical context of hundreds of years of systemic racism and inequality, and the recent pandemic of police killings of black people, one instead sees Formation as a celebration of blackness in response to the hate, abuse, and violence routinely heaped upon black people. One can also see it as a completely valid and appropriate critique of police practices that desperately need to be changed if equality is ever to be possible. Cultural materialism is an illuminating theory.

Beautiful Evil Professor Ramos Blog

Beautiful Evil Moumita Milton English 102 24th July 2019 Whenever we hear the word â€Å"monster†, the very first thing that comes into our mind are images or werewolves, vampires, zombies, or even clowns luring kids into storm drains. These monsters can be as real as every child’s boogeyman. But should we be scared of monsters that only exists in movies and literature or should we rather be concerned with real-life monsters that are very much alive, disguised and poses a real threat. Serial killers. The truest monster in every sense of the word. They aren’t just any type of monster. They are classified into a specific genre because of the notoriety of their MO (modus operandi). Some of them functions very well in the society, some may be socially withdrawn, others may be academic achievers and others are even public figures. There is not one defining character or trait that can identify someone as a serial killer, but surely there are signs to look out for in people which we can use to determine the possibility of them being one. Theodore Robert Bundy(November 24, 1946–January 24, 1989). One of the most prolific serial killer in the United States; captured in 1975, tried in 1976 for kidnapping, which later led to trial for more than 30 counts of rape and murder of women from different states. In January 1989, he was sentenced to be executed, and later confessed to killing at least 100 women during his active years (Montaldo, C. 2019). In his work Monster Culture (Seven Theses), Cohen presented through Theses II that â€Å"Monsters must be examined within the intricate matrix of relations (social, cultural, and literary-historical) that generate them† (Cohen, J.J, 1996). The becoming of a monster is not something you just easily attribute to thin air. It is empirical that we examine some facts about Bundy’s childhood to fully understand how he became the most notorious killer in US history. Ted Bundy grew up without really knowing his father. He grew up believing that his mother, Eleanor â€Å"Louise† Cowell, was his sister, and that his grandparents were his real parents. There were speculations about his grandfather being his biological father, making him a by-product of incest, though this rumor wasn’t scientifically proven thru DNA testing. Growing up in a dysfunctional family, with his grandfather being abusive and oftentimes hostile, Bundy was perceived by many as a shy and timid boy with lack of social skills. Later in his teenage years, growing up not being able to socialize a lot with other teenagers, it would then be reported that young Bundy was caught peeping into ladies’ windows. During the later part of his incarceration where he had interviews with experts, Bundy claimed that he had a fondness to pornography as a child and later on influenced him in his series of rape and murder activities. Looking into the facts, we can say that Bundy surely had a perverted childhood. And yet we have to ask whether these factors really played a major role in his evolution to evil. Despite his aberrant childhood, Ted Bundy grew up to be a self-made man. He developed a totally different persona. He worked his looks and excelled in academics, and through time also enhanced his social skills. He was even involved in romantic relationships when he was in university. He studied psychology, law and has worked on campaigns for then Washington Republican Dan Evans. However, as progressive as his adulthood may seem, troubled Bundy did not fully develop until his adolescent years. It was around that time in 1969, that he discovered the truth about his parentage. Shortly thereafter, he underwent a relationship crisis with his then girlfriend, Elizabeth Kendall. All of these happened momentarily before his first killings began, reason why it was presumed that the pile-up of successive setbacks in his personal life triggered the monster in him that was only waiting to be unleashed. Bundy’s personality speaks that of intricacy and complexity. From a child with an unhealthy childhood, to a man with a potential for success, it is very difficult to understand why and how he chose to create a monster of himself. As Cohen explained in his Thesis III: The Monster is a Harbinger of Category Crisis on Monster Culture, the dangers of monsters are not in its ability to harm but in our incapability of understanding their nature. The complexity of their personal structure requires a different level of understanding, approach and perception other than what we are accustomed to. â€Å"For by refusing an easy compartmentalization of their monstrous contents, they demand a radical rethinking of boundary and normality† (Cohen, J.J. 1996). This is especially true for Bundy since, while he was incarcerated, many experts attempted to delve into his monstrous interior to possibly understand his development as a serial killer. However, there was never a precise diagnosis, only that majority of the evidence led him towards Anti-Social Personality Disorder. Not one of the best people in their fields who have dealt with Bundy could explain his Daedalian nature.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In aiming to understand the evolution of the serial killer in Bundy, it will be easy to look into the flaws in his life that could have easily become the trigger factor. Most people looking into Bundy’s life story, would readily attribute his actions to his unfortunate childhood. However, a lot of people grew up like Bundy, or even worse, and still didn’t end up becoming a serial killer. There are also documented serial killers who grew up with loving families, had everything they want in life, but still opt to do evil. There may be an undeniable correlation between the social upbringing of a person and how they will be in their adult life, but it does not necessarily follow that an unstable childhood will by default produce a troubled adult. However, in Bundy’s case, he may not have chosen at birth to be a psychopath but his childhood exploit surely played a significant part. During those times that he was plagued with un fortunate events as a kid, Bundy may could have possibly fabricated a fantasy as a means of escaping his real world. Since he lived a lonely and complicated childhood where he felt he did not fit in, young Bundy sought for ways to satisfy his loneliness (Dimitropoulos, S. 2018). This holds true for Cohens’s idea depicting monsters as an alter ego and projection of one’s self. â€Å"The monster awakens one to the pleasure of the body, to the simple and fleeting joys of being frightened or frightening† (Cohen, J.J 1996). This would explain why most experts would agree that Bundy was dealing with a similar case of multiple personality disorder accounting witness recollections of him being another version of himself in separate instances. Bundy wants us to believe what we want to believe regarding his personality. But he is the master of himself and he wear his mask so well it is hard to tell one personality from the other. In totality, Bundy’s life as a seri al killer, as a monster, was his own choice. It was not his mother’s nor his grandfather’s fault why he killed innocent women. It was not the fault of his ex-girlfriend who broke her heart, and definitely not the fault of the women who trusted him. â€Å"He killed for the sheer thrill of the act and the challenge of escaping his pursuers† (Moyer, J. 2015). Those unimaginable actions were his own, his craft, his own way out. Annotated Bibliography Cohen, Jeffrey Jerome. Monster Theory: Reading Culture. University of Minnesota Press. 1996 Monsters are complex creatures to understand. The book will outline theories in relation to the study of monsters and approaches the understanding of the monster nature in different constructs. This literature takes on the likes of Dracula, Frankenstein’s monster and Beowulf and attempt to dissect the reason behind their monstrosity. It is discussed how the intricacy of these creatures makes them more dangerous. The integration of monster in society attracts fear but at the same time its mysterious effect becomes appealing to people. We adapt and believe in creatures that we don’t even know is true but has not really look into the context of how these creatures came to be and the circumstances that surrounds their creation. It is an effective literature that gives the readers the pull into the mystery world at the same time giving them a realization that would lead them to believe that monsters do really exist. Dimitropoulos, Stav. â€Å"Ted Bundys Childhood: Lonely Boy to Window Peeper to Serial Killer.† 16 April 2018, Real Crime, Retrieved from https://www.aetv.com/real-crime/ted-bundy-childhood-turned-into-serial-killer This is a documented conversation with Psychologist Al Carlisle, who was only one of the few experts who tried and unravel the mind of Theodore Bundy. It mainly focuses on his childhood years and how his loneliness, his reclusion from the social world influenced his life as an adult. After multiple theories as to how Bundy turned into a killer, this interaction with Carlisle emphasizes on the highlights of his childhood including him being addicted to pornography. Carlisle also debunked some theories circling Bundy’s story specifically mentioning that it was all along Bundy’s choice to become a serial killer. Several articles and scholarly works on Bundy never fails to mention and include his childhood since it is, after all, considered as our formative years. Despite the argument that Bundy would have been a killer either way he was brought up, his story will never be completed without looking into the possibility of his corrupt childhood being the main contributor. Montaldo, Charles. â€Å"Biography of Ted Bundy, Serial Killer.† 23 May 2019, Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/profile-of-serial-killer-ted-bundy-973178 Montaldo, as a writer and a former licensed private detective, provides the basic information about Theodore â€Å"Ted† Bundy who was once the most notorious serial killer in the United States. He outlined the important events in Bundy’s life starting from when he was a kid in a dysfunctional family, up until his arrest, trial and execution. He established that Bundy was a functional adult regardless of his unfortunate childhood and presented some of the incidents in his life that may have contributed to his becoming of a serial killer. In the accounts of people who have worked on Bundy’s story, we always find details of him being, at some point in his life, a good person. This work gave us the idea that Bundy was not necessarily evil in the onset of his existence. Montaldo’s outlined work help us look easier into the transition of Bundy’s life to becoming a serial killer. Moyer, Justin Wm. â€Å"The twisted friendship of crime writer Ann Rule and serial killer Ted Bundy.† 28 July 2015. Retrieved from https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2015/07/28/crime-writer-ann-rule-and-killer-ted-bundy-were-friends-before-they-were-famous/?noredirect=onutm_term=.0db5c5dc313b   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   This article narrates briefly the life of Anne Rule as a writer, towards the presentation of the relationship that formed between her and Ted Bund. In her hopes of producing a phenomenal work on Bundy, Rule would frequent the prison to visit Bundy for interviews. It was established that the frequent visit formed a bond between the two that enable the writer to write best-selling works about Bundy. Rule confessed that although a serial killer, he instantly liked Ted the first moment she saw her. Even inside bars, Bundy’s personality still exudes charisma. It was known that he had a thing about women liking him and Anne Rule was no exception. It would seem that the intention of approaching Bundy for literary reasons blossomed into an unlikely personal connection between them, which have made it easier for Anne Rule to write about a person whose complicated nature she relatively understands. Cohen, Jeffrey Jerome. Monster Theory: Reading Culture. University of Minnesota Press. 1996 Dimitropoulos, Stav. Ted Bundys Childhood: Lonely Boy to Window Peeper to Serial Killer. 16 April 2018, https://www.aetv.com/real-crime/ted-bundy-childhood-turned-into-serial-killer Montaldo, Charles. Biography of Ted Bundy, Serial Killer. 23 May 2019, https://www.thoughtco.com/profile-of-serial-killer-ted-bundy-973178 Moyer, Justin Wm. The twisted friendship of crime writer Ann Rule and serial killer Ted Bundy. 28 July 2015. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2015/07/28/crime-writer-ann-rule-and-killer-ted-bundy-were-friends-before-they-were-famous/?noredirect=onutm_term=.0db5c5dc313b Google Search, Google, google.com/search?biw=1536bih=750tbm=ischsa=1ei=vCk5XfP4IeGU0PEPuKy9yAMq=ted bundy murders oq=ted bundy murders gs_l=img.3..35i39j0.1212.2295..26800.0..0.110.535.5j10.1..gws-wiz-img.0i24.-_wroOhtquMved=0ahUKEwjzxuXol8_jAhVhCjQIHThWDzkQ4dUDCAYuact=5#imgdii=7RqBzXMeYBh-0M:imgrc=2GTQ74y3-5JM: Google Search, Google, google.com/search?q=ted bundy picturessource=lnmstbm=ischsa=Xved=0ahUKEwi42ZbVl8_jAhWRsp4KHVZXA-sQ_AUIESgBbiw=1536bih=750#imgrc=1J2JMVkx15nSBM:

Cinco De Mayo and the Battle of Puebla

Cinco De Mayo and the Battle of Puebla Cinco de Mayo is a Mexican holiday which celebrates the victory over French forces on May 5, 1862,​ at the Battle of Puebla. It is often mistakenly thought to be Mexico’s Independence Day, which is actually September 16. More of an emotional victory than a military one, to Mexicans the Battle of Puebla represents Mexican resolve and bravery in the face of an overwhelming foe. The Reform War The Battle of Puebla was not an isolated incident: there is a long and complicated history that led up to it. In 1857, the â€Å"Reform War† broke out in Mexico. It was a civil war and it pitted Liberals (who believed in separation of church and state and freedom of religion) against the Conservatives (who favored a tight bond between the Roman Catholic Church and the Mexican State). This brutal, bloody war left the nation in shambles and bankrupt. When the war was over in 1861, Mexican President Benito Juarez suspended all payment of foreign debt: Mexico simply did not have any money. Foreign Intervention This angered Great Britain, Spain, and France, countries which were owed a great deal of money. The three nations agreed to work together to force Mexico to pay. The United States, which had considered Latin America its â€Å"backyard† since the Monroe Doctrine (1823), was going through a Civil War of its own and in no position to do anything about European intervention in Mexico. In December 1861 armed forces of the three nations arrived off the coast of Veracruz and landed a month later, in January 1862. Desperate last-minute diplomatic efforts by the Juarez administration persuaded Britain and Spain that a war that would further devastate the Mexican economy was in no one’s interest, and Spanish and British forces left with a  promise of future payment. France, however, was unconvinced and French forces remained on Mexican soil. French March on Mexico City French forces captured the city of Campeche on February 27 and reinforcements from France arrived soon after. By early March, France’s modern military machine had an efficient army in place, poised to capture Mexico City. Under the command of the Count of Lorencez, a veteran of the Crimean War, the French Army set out for Mexico City. When they reached Orizaba, they held up for a while, as many of their troops had become ill. Meanwhile, an army of Mexican regulars under the command of 33-year-old Ignacio Zaragoza marched to meet him. The Mexican Army was about 4,500 men strong: the French numbered approximately 6,000 and were much better armed and equipped than the Mexicans. The Mexicans occupied the city of Puebla and its two forts, Loreto and Guadalupe. French Attack On the morning of May 5, Lorencez moved to attack. He believed that Puebla would fall easily: his incorrect information suggested that the garrison was much smaller than it really was and that the people of Puebla would surrender easily rather than risk much damage to their city. He decided on a direct assault, ordering his men to concentrate on the strongest part of the defense: Guadalupe fortress, which stood on a hill overlooking the city. He believed that once his men had taken the fort and had a clear line to the city, the people of Puebla would be demoralized and would surrender quickly. Attacking the fortress directly would prove a major mistake. Lorencez moved his artillery into position and by noon had begun shelling Mexican defensive positions. He ordered his infantry to attack three times: each time they were repulsed by the Mexicans. The Mexicans were almost overrun by these assaults, but bravely held their lines and defended the forts. By the third attack, the French artillery was running out of shells and therefore the final assault was unsupported by artillery. French Retreat The third wave of French infantry was forced to retreat. It had begun to rain, and the foot troops were moving slowly. With no fear of the French artillery, Zaragoza ordered his cavalry to attack the retreating French troops. What had been an orderly retreat became a rout, and Mexican regulars streamed out of the forts to pursue their foes. Lorencez was forced to move the survivors to a distant position and Zaragoza called his men back to Puebla. At this point in the battle, a young general named  Porfirio Dà ­az  made a name for himself, leading a cavalry attack. â€Å"The National Arms Have Covered Themselves in Glory† It was a sound defeat for the French. Estimates place French casualties around 460 dead with almost that many wounded, while only 83 Mexicans were killed. Lorencez’s  quick retreat prevented the defeat from becoming a disaster, but  still, the battle became a huge morale-booster for the Mexicans. Zaragoza sent a message to Mexico City, famously declaring â€Å"Las  armas  nacionales  se  han  cubierto  de  gloria† or â€Å"The national arms (weapons) have covered themselves in glory.† In Mexico City, President Juarez declared May 5th a national holiday in remembrance of the battle. Aftermath The Battle of Puebla was not very important to Mexico from a military standpoint. Lorencez was allowed to retreat and hold onto the towns he had already captured. Soon after the battle, France sent 27,000 troops to Mexico under a new commander, Elie Frederic Forey. This massive force was well beyond anything the Mexicans could resist, and it swept into Mexico City in June of 1863. On the way, they besieged and captured Puebla. The French installed  Maximilian of Austria, a young Austrian nobleman, as Emperor of Mexico. Maximilian’s reign lasted until  1867 when President Juarez was able to drive the French out and restore the Mexican government. Young General Zaragoza died of typhoid not long after the Battle of Puebla. Although the Battle of Puebla amounted to little from a military sense   it merely postponed the inevitable victory of the French army, which was larger, better trained and better equipped than the Mexicans it nevertheless meant a great deal to Mexico in terms of pride and hope. It showed them that the mighty French war machine was not invulnerable, and that determination and courage were powerful weapons. The victory was a huge boost to  Benito Juarez  and his government. It allowed him to hold onto power at a time when he was in danger of losing it, and it was Juarez who eventually led his people to victory against the French in 1867. The battle also marks the arrival on the political scene of Porfirio Dà ­az, then a brash young general who disobeyed Zaragoza in order to chase down fleeing French troops. Dà ­az would eventually get a lot of the credit for the victory and he used his new fame to run for president against Jurez. Although he lost, he would eventually reach the presidency and  lead his nation for many years.

Policy Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Policy Analysis - Essay Example The most fundamental obligation of Homeland Security is to secure and protect the American people. It is the duty and policy of Homeland Security to guide the nation as they commit themselves to achieve a more protected Homeland, which can sustain the people’s way of life. George Bush outlined the range of homeland security threat based on the opening recommendations of National Strategy for Homeland Security. The document provided a good example of how to create public policy (Forest, 2006, p.132). The executive branch of government had to inspect and identify the weaknesses and strengths of Homeland Security. The strengths and weaknesses were identified based on prevention, recovery, protection, deterrence and response. After the identification, the formulated policies intensified the emerging problems leading to the creation of the strategy. The influences of such articles are crucial and should be guarded. It is a statement of purpose without the force of law. The strategy of Homeland Security points out to congress to put on more efforts to work together with homeland security. The congress should not depend on Homeland Security; instead, it should take steps to deliver its responsibilities with respect to protection of the American people and the Homeland. The statement has salient points and the powers required in turning policy into law. It also acts as a reminder on how the president’s powers are delivered to the zenith as they are channelled to legislative and executive branches at the same time. It is extremely valuable to look in detail the roles of the three branches of government in addressing homeland security threats like illegal immigration, street gangs, terrorism, gun ownership, and sale of illegal drugs. Global war on terrorism has triggered the acts relating to how the enemy combatants are treated by use of military operations, conducting local intelligence, and military tribunals. The congress passed a resolution as a respons e to the 9/11 attacks and the continued threat and attacks posed by terrorists (Forest, 2006, p.140). The resolution gave the president powers to apply and emphasize his powers as commander in chief. The president authorizes the use of the necessary force against organizations, persons who planned, committed, and aided the attacks, which occurred in 2001. In addition, under the law, the congress authorises and gives its formal and constitutional powers. In this regard, the United States Army plays the role of defending the national security. This is against continuing threats posed by Iraq and other relevant council resolutions. The president played a role in establishing Iraq’s support of national terrorism. The United States has a long history and valued tradition of welcoming visitors without restrictions. The attacks of 2001 made United States be more cautious because they realise that some visitors come to the United States to raise funds for terrorist activities, and co mmit terrorist acts. It is the responsibility of United States to prevent foreigners with the intent of committing the terrorist attacks. In addition, they should deport, detain, and prosecute other aliens with the same intentions but are residing in the country. After 9/11, the attention of United States enforcement and administration of immigration policy increased (Forest, 2006, 148). The legislation regarding enforcement and a

School shootings and active shooter and the media Research Paper

School shootings and active shooter and the media - Research Paper Example This act has obtained wide media attention and are frequent in the United State of America. They have resulted in countrywide change of schools’ rules concerning discipline and security. Among the reasons for this shooting are school bullying and psychiatric drugs. (Schechter DS February 16, 2011) Schools bullying public seems to play a big part in the lives of many of the school shooters. It consists of the criminal, casualty and one or more witness. This create public disgrace for the victim. The victim being disheartened develop depression, poor social skills and do worse in school performance. Psychiatric drugs has caused hostility, ferocity murderous ideation, and zone of high profile of school shootings. At least 41 school shootings are committed by those taking these drugs. (Schechter DS February 16, 2011). Apart from school shootings, there is also a rise in active shooters. The active shooters specifically engage in killings or try to kill people in a limited population area. They also use rifles. This act has raised up and results to pressure of insecurity to the student in the education institution and the country at large. (http://www.dhs.gov/active-shooter-preparedness) Media as the source of data has worked hard to eradicate the crime. The media have developed some refrains that inspires public perception of school violence. They include: social problematic frames (Evans, 2011) This common form incites fear by characteristic performances of school as wide spread wonders. It has taken information which suggests that school violence incidents are out of regulations and offer evidently support in the form of recent statistic to support the argument. (http://moralpanic.wikispaces.com/1.09.+Media+Portrayal+of+School+Shootings) Good news- Bad news frame. Although certain parts of an article may deliver the data that rates of school hostility have dropped, the frame

Urban Transportation Problems Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Urban Transportation Problems - Assignment Example ch activities close to each other and to residences, so that the shorter trip changes from what should have been an external trip by motor vehicle, to an internal walk, bike, or transit trip (Feldman, Ewing & Walters, 2010). Because the mixed use configuration is essentially internal and encourages pedestrian and non-automobile transportation methods, the forecasting of traffic patterns through trip generation and traffic projection utilised by practitioners tended to be similar to each other. The Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) have formulated a method by which trip generation can be performed. Feldman, Ewing and Walters (2010) describe the procedure in the following steps: The estimated figures are then multiplied by a set of per-unit trip generation rates that ITE has developed, to get a preliminary estimate of the number of vehicle trips that are generated by the site; The initial estimates of generated trips are then lowered by a certain percentage, based on lookup tables by the ITE. The reduction represents the internal capture of trips in the mixed use development. The share of internal trips as shown in the look-up table is multiplied by the total number of trips for each of the different uses, to arrive at a first estimate of internal trips for each use. For each pair of uses (production and attraction, or source and destination use) are reconciled, so that the number of internal trips produced by one use is equal to the number of trips attracted by the other use. The lower of the two estimates of internal trips is the limitation of the number of internal trips created by the other use (Feldman, Ewing & Walters, 2010). The traditional trip generation method developed by the ITE has some advantages when applied to mixed-use development areas. First, the process appears to be objective, because if two different analysts worked on the same data, they will arrive at the same result. The steps used for calculation are specific and do not

What Economic Factors are the Reason for the Decline of Retailers and Term Paper

What Economic Factors are the Reason for the Decline of Retailers and Department Stores such as JC Penney and Staples - Term Paper Example It is evidently clear from the discussion that external economic factors have often been argued to influence operational efficiencies of contemporary organizations that further cause negative implications for the organizations’ competitive sustainability within the industry context. In this regard, the economic factors can be considered as one of the major influencing factors having strong negative impacts on the organizations while performing business operations in the overseas markets. For instance, the business decline of few leading retailers and departmental stores such as J.C. Penney Company Inc. (JCP) and Staples Inc. (Staples) has been witnessed as the recent illustrations of impacts caused by economic factors on business stability and sustenance. Emphasising the influence of economic factors, the primary objective of this report is to identify and critically analyze the key economic factors responsible for the decline of retailers and department stores such as JC Penn ey and Staples. In this regard, the report also tends to assess each key economic factor to have a major influence on the multinationals while performing their business functions in the overseas locations. In addition, the report also critically discusses the negative scenarios faced by these widely renowned retailers and departmental stores owing to the economic factors operating in their external business environment. The emergence of globalization has been observed to improve the business performance of the firms irrespective of their inhabiting business industry.

Personal project and Scoop management plan for my personal project Assignment

Personal project and Scoop management plan for my personal project - Assignment Example I would like to urge the management of the company to consider investing in Dream Chaserâ„ ¢ Vehicle. It is a new project that if adequately supported, will make the company to go a step further. I propose that a lot of funds should be allocated so as to enable me and my team to conduct a thorough research so as to ensure that the new brand of vehicle will be the best one in the market. If it is equipped with all the necessary features, it will become so comfortable to the users. For this reason, they will do all that they can to purchase it. By this, the company will not only rebuild its reputation, but increase its revenues. This demonstrates that even if the project has been created by me, it will not succeed if not supported by others. In order for the Dream Chaserâ„ ¢ Vehicle project to be a success, well-thought feasible and manageable plan need to implement. This plan will include strategies that can enable the project to achieve its objectives. First, I would like to suggest that the project should be executed by a team of professionals. In order to cope up with the stiff competition in this field, Sierra Nevada Corporation needs to come up with novel ideas. Meaning, it should incorporate the input of well trained professionals to carry out all the activities. The other strategy to be adopted is the production of high quality products. As already hinted, the auto industry has become so competitive. So, for the company to succeed in this project, it needs to manufacture exceptionally high quality vehicle that will appeal to the target clients and win their confidence. Besides, producing high quality vehicles will help in making the company to stand as outstanding manufacturer in the midst of others. Lastly, I would like to suggest that the project should be given enough time, finances and resources. As a new product, the company should be ready to incur all the expenses it requires. Apart from allocating

In what ways did 20th century conflicts, however broadly defined, Essay - 1

In what ways did 20th century conflicts, however broadly defined, change the nature of Western introspection - Essay Example Many writers, philosophers and thinkers in general were disillusioned and this was reflected in their art and writings. In this paper, I would be discussing how conflicts in the 20th century affected Western introspection with the main idea being conflicts made people focused more on the darker side of the human soul particularly in the inherent desire for violence. As a result of this investigation, there was a profound desire to expose it and make people realize that these events occurred but should never be repeated. An increasing sense of national awareness and nationalism led to many events that eventually culminated into two world wars having the intensity and scale never seen before and claimed millions of lives. The Germans, proud of their race and superior technology and eager to replace the United Kingdom as the dominant global power, precipitated the two world wars. France, Britain, United States, Italy, Russia and other nations were to become involved in the wars that would eventually change the notion of violence and inhumanity. (p. 61) The intensity of the fighting and the efficiency of armaments exposed many people to scenarios replete with violence and inhuman tendencies. ... Auschwitz and many other concentration camps provided many macabre scenes of death. Jews and other non-Aryan races were made to undergo experiments, forced to do labor and eventually exterminated by different methods in the hope of determining which is the most efficient (p. 63). The darker side of humanity made its presence fully known. Nevertheless, the prisoners of concentrations were not the only one severely traumatized. Soldiers and civilians alike saw their comrades and loved ones lose their life and limbs by efficient bombs, bullets and knives all directed to them by living and breathing humans also. Randall Jarrell painted a picture of how dehumanizing the war was with the death of a gunner by flak and the washing of his remains out of the turret like nothing happened (p. 62). Through the writings of survivors, we come to know of a world where violence prevailed and where humans plunged themselves into the darkness of their soul. What the world wars were able to do was to destroy any preconceived and romanticized notion of prosperity, justice, humanity and equality. Nevertheless, it became a catalyst for individuals like Jean Paul Sartre (p. 71-73) and Erich Maria Remarque (53) to take a more proactive role in exposing the evil capacities of human beings and to make them remember the atrocities of war. The crucial experience of war and captivity enabled Sartre, Remarque and other writers of this period to build a positive moral system and express it thru literature. The stage in human history where the two wars occurred changed Western thoughts about armed conflicts and made them appreciate on diplomacy. Many nations became more conscious of the need for peace and strived to achieve some semblance of it. More importantly, it made thinkers ponder

Personal project and Scoop management plan for my personal project Assignment

Personal project and Scoop management plan for my personal project - Assignment Example I would like to urge the management of the company to consider investing in Dream Chaserâ„ ¢ Vehicle. It is a new project that if adequately supported, will make the company to go a step further. I propose that a lot of funds should be allocated so as to enable me and my team to conduct a thorough research so as to ensure that the new brand of vehicle will be the best one in the market. If it is equipped with all the necessary features, it will become so comfortable to the users. For this reason, they will do all that they can to purchase it. By this, the company will not only rebuild its reputation, but increase its revenues. This demonstrates that even if the project has been created by me, it will not succeed if not supported by others. In order for the Dream Chaserâ„ ¢ Vehicle project to be a success, well-thought feasible and manageable plan need to implement. This plan will include strategies that can enable the project to achieve its objectives. First, I would like to suggest that the project should be executed by a team of professionals. In order to cope up with the stiff competition in this field, Sierra Nevada Corporation needs to come up with novel ideas. Meaning, it should incorporate the input of well trained professionals to carry out all the activities. The other strategy to be adopted is the production of high quality products. As already hinted, the auto industry has become so competitive. So, for the company to succeed in this project, it needs to manufacture exceptionally high quality vehicle that will appeal to the target clients and win their confidence. Besides, producing high quality vehicles will help in making the company to stand as outstanding manufacturer in the midst of others. Lastly, I would like to suggest that the project should be given enough time, finances and resources. As a new product, the company should be ready to incur all the expenses it requires. Apart from allocating

A Small-Scale Empirical Study Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

A Small-Scale Empirical Study - Essay Example A pertinent question that deserves attention is whether it is the nature of the economies of these nations, or is it the profitability of certain industries and services that draw in the capital inflows. The present report seeks to analyze the growth of FDI in India over time and to examine whether these inflows have exhibited any preferences towards specific sectors thereby reflecting the features of these particular sectors to be attractive, or whether they have flown in and spread in uniform patterns thereby reflecting the overall economic features of the emerging markets in India to be lucrative. If it is found that the direct capital inflows do exhibit some fondness for some given sectors then the implications would be strong, particularly for the emerging market economies themselves. The significance of this result would lie in the possibility of identifying the structural features which make the particular sectors worthy of investments so that similar or equivalent features an d structures could be then developed for other sectors as well to improve their potential as FDI destinations. Given the purpose, a large time series panel with cross sections would be adequate. However given the constraint of the scope, and given the objective of the present endeavour, the time period has been chosen to be from 1992-2005. The availability of data in this case was found not to be any significant problem. However due to the constraints of time and resources the analysis has been simplified to include only the top ten FDI securing sectors. India has been chosen as a representative of an emerging market that is presently a profitable FDI destination. First, we shall undertake some basic descriptive analysis by looking at the changes in FDI inflows in India over time. India under took economic reforms in 1991. Before, it used to be under heavy regulations and trade restrictions. Post 1991,

Instant Coffee Essay Example for Free

Instant Coffee Essay Everyone will not believe that coffee is the second people income in the world. There are 30 millions people who gain their income from growing coffee. As the article which had been read by Bob told that coffee has been grown by a lot of farmers in different countries. The type of coffee are Robusta, Arabica, and labarica . Usually, Robusta coffee use to make instant coffee. The first country which grows robusta coffee is Uganda and Indonesia is the second producer of this coffee. Generally, Indonesia is the fourth country which grows coffee in the world. The height of robusta coffee is below 6 meters .The next type coffee is Arabica. That is the coffee which Bob was drunk. It usually uses to make premium coffee. The height is between 600-2000 meters and the largest producer is Brazil, followed by Columbia and Kenya. The last is Labarica coffee. This coffee grows in few areas which has below 2000 high meters. It uses to make blended coffee. Based on the article there are also 3 style of coffee that is instant coffee, espresso coffee and brewed coffee. Brewed coffee is usually drunk by the European country. But, it was strange that U.K mostly choose instant coffee. Britannia supposes to choose espresso coffee while American chooses instant coffee. In Asian, Japan drink more brewed coffee. There is also institution which maintains market price of coffee, is called ICO who was made up by United Nations in 1963. They act as mediator between producing countries and consuming countries.

The Concept of Charismatic Leadership theory

The Concept of Charismatic Leadership theory The study of leadership has been important to humans since the dawn of civilisation, the concept of leadership; leader and follower were represented in Egyptian hieroglyphics written 5,000 years ago. Between 400 and 300BC the Greek philosophers Plato and Aristotle wrote about leadership and the requirements, characteristics, and education of leaders (Paul, et al. 2002). Leadership is central to the human condition (Wren, 1995) and has found to be important to all societies, although specific patterns of behaviour vary overtime and across cultures (Bass, 1990). Leadership theories have evolved in the last century to the point where they began to be the basis for models that accurately describe the activities of leaders with good correlation to their success in some situations (Antonakis House, 2002), (Yukl, 2006a). Meindl (1990) leadership can best be understood as a perception that plays a key role in peoples efforts to make sense of organisational phenomena. According to his view, organisational systems, activities, and events are hard to comprehend because they are ambiguous and complex. Nevertheless, organisational members and observers have a need to make sense of their environment to preserve an illusion of understanding and control. Because leadership provides a convenient and plausible explanation for important, but causally ambiguous outcomes, it is overused as an explanatory category. Essentially, attributers romanticise leadership as a causal determinant of organisational processes and performance. In a sense, supervisory theories of leadership are about leadership in organisations. Strategic theories of leadership are concerned with leadership of organisations, see (Hunt, 1991) and are marked by a concern for the evolution of the organisation as a whole, including its changing aims and capabilities (Selznick, 1984). Strategic leadership focuses on the people who have overall responsibility for the organisation and includes not only the titular head of the organisation but also members of what is referred to as the top management team or dominant coalition (Cyert March, 1963). As (Mintzberg, 1989) argues, strategy can be understood as a pattern, that is, consistency in behaviour over time. In the strategy process, there may be intentions that are fully realised as well as fully unrealised strategies. In addition, the strategy may emerge. 2.1 General Leadership Theories 2.1.1 Phases of leadership theories The earliest modern literature on leadership appeared in the nineteenth century. This earliest generation of leadership research was set out from the assertion that the emergence of leaders must be connected with certain inherited endowments. There was even a book named Hereditary Genius (Galton, 1970). A comprehensive review of leadership research, published in handbook form, was produced by (Stogdill, 1974). In this handbook, he provided evidence that leadership traits vary not only from situation to situation, but also from time to time. Only a few components remain comparatively consistent over time. Subsequent editions of this handbook were revised by Bass, who is Stogdills successor (Stogdill Bass, 1981) and (Bass, 1990a). In the later edition Bass drew further evidence from later research and identified traits which were steadily relevant to leadership effectiveness. These included activity level, task competence, interpersonal competence, authoritarianism, power orientation and Machiavellianism, value, needs, well-being, accorded status and esteem, and charisma. (Locke et al. 1991) produced a similar list. Since then, the pace of development has mounted as the need for its application intensified following the development of society especially in business management after World War II. In terms of classifying this evolution, a widely accepted view was suggested by (Hunt, 1999a). According to his argument, this evolution can be divided into three generations; namely: trait theory, situational-contingency theory and transformational leadership theory In all it was later accepted that the trait approach failed to prove that there was a set of gifted traits, which made people become leaders. Researchers then mostly turned to the new assumption that leadership can be taught and learned under a proper set of principles according to (Lee Thomas, 2007). Bass also added an extra chapter to the handbook, and this was dedicated to charismatic and inspirational leadership style. Charismatic leadership is actually one of the most important areas in leadership theory since it has the longest acknowledgement in the literature and actually spans across all the three generations of leadership studies. (Weber, 1924, 1947 1968) was the first to mention the concept of charisma. He saw charisma as a special kind of leadership trait that can lead organisations to get through periods of crisis successfully. Since the mid-1970s, research interest in charismatic leadership was shifted from Webers view of crisis rescuer to an emphasis on those leaders who could effect extraordinary influence continuously. It was found that charismatic leaders could usually improve organisational performance through their own behaviour and that this could have a powerful effect on the morale of their followers. This kind of leadership is referred to by the situational-contingency school of researchers as charismatic leadership e.g. (Adair, 1973), (Kets de Vries, 1984) and (Conger Kanungo, 1987a), transformational leadership e.g. (Burns, 1978a) and (Bass, 1985a), inspirational leadership e.g. (Yuki Van Fleet, 1982) or visionary leadership e.g. (Bennis Nanus, 1985a) and (Sashkin, 1988a). Later, researchers in the generation of transformational leadership also classified it as change management (Bass, 1990b). The first author to differentiate between charismatic and inspirational leadership was (Downton, 19 73). He pointed out that the followers endorsement of charismatic leaders is based on blind faith in the leaders, whereas the endorsement of inspirational leaders is based on the rationale that the followers believe and share the leaders vision and strategy. 3.1 The Concept of Charismatic Leadership (up to 1992) and how it fits in to the general leadership theories 3.1.1 Theoretical background of charismatic leadership The term charisma, whose initial meaning is a gift in Greek, has been frequently used in politics and religion to adduce legitimacy to power. (Weber, 1968) defined it as an individuals personality quality (or at least, specifically exceptional powers or qualities) by virtue of which he/she is set apart from ordinary people and which thus legitimises his/her exercise of influence. (House, 1977a) developed a theory of charismatic leadership which is among the first attempts to build a comprehensive theoretical basis for studying the topic. Leadership theory, alternatively referred to as charismatic, transformational, visionary, or inspirational, has emerged in the organisational literatures of (House, 1977b), (Burns, 1978b), (Bass, 1985b), (Bennis Nanus, 1985b), (Tichy Devanna, 1986), (Boal Bryson, 1988), Conger Kanungo, 1987b), (Kuhnert Lewis, 1987), (Sashkin, 1988b). Relating to this new genre of leadership theory, such leaders transform the needs, values, preferences and aspira tions of followers from self-interest to collective interests. Further, they cause followers to become highly committed to the leaders mission, to make significant personal sacrifices in the interest of the mission, and perform above and beyond the call of duty. Theories of charismatic leadership highlighted such effects as emotional attachment to the leader on the part of the followers; emotional and motivational arousal of the followers; enhancement of follower valences with respect to the mission articulated by the leader; follower self-esteem, trust, and confidence in the leader; follower values; and follower intrinsic motivation according to (Shamir, House Arthur, 1993a). The integration of charismatic leadership theory with the upper echelons perspective in an attempt to better understand the leadership role of chief executive officers (CEOs) was reviewed by (Waldman, Javidan Varella, 2004). They proposed that emerging charismatic leadership theory and research may provide new possibilities for the upper echelons perspective. In the past, leadership theory has been seen as the domain of organisational behaviour and micro-oriented perspectives. (House, 1999) organisational behaviourists are generally more psychologically oriented and define charisma as one of the following: a relationship between an individual (leader) and others (followers) based on deeply held shared ideological (as opposed to material) values; an individual who accomplishes unusual feats through the efforts of followers who are exceptionally loyal to the leader, have a high degree of trust in the leader, and are willing to make personal sacrifices in the interest of the leaders vision and the collective led by the leader; a complex set of personal characteristics and/or behaviours of an individual that leads to the above outcomes. The specific traits and behaviours are defined somewhat differently among the organisational behaviourists theories. Organisational behaviourists have used all three of the above definitions, none of which are incompatible with the others. Charismatic leadership is assumed to have three core components: envisioning, empathy, and empowerment according to Conger (2006), increasing attention has been directed during the past several decades toward charismatic leadership. Charisma represents a potentially key construct relevant to strategic leadership (Pawar Eastman, 1997). Apparently, a recent theoretical perspective has begun to link charisma to strategic leadership. For example (Finkelstain Hambrick, 1996) acknowledged that charismatic leadership could affect firm performance in one of several ways. First, the values of such leaders could influence strategic choices through their impact on their field of vision, their perception and interpretation of information, and their strategic decision making. Furthermore, the day-to-day actions and behaviours on the part of charismatic chief executive officers could also affect organisational functioning and performance. Unfortunately, in their view, they did not make potential linkages between charisma and performance especially clear and, indeed, devoted little attention to such linkages in their consideration of strategic leadership. Conger Kanungo (1992) developed a model that focuses on several behavioural dimensions of charismatic leadership within organisations. According to the model, charismatic leadership is an attribution based on followers perceptions of their leaders behaviour. The leaders observed behaviour is interpreted by followers as expressions of charisma in the same sense as a leaders behaviours reflect that individuals participative, people and task orientations. Charismatic leaders differ from other leaders by their ability to formulate and articulate an inspirational vision and by behaviours and actions that foster an impression that they and their mission are extraordinary. As such, individuals choose to follow such leaders in management settings not only because of formal authority but out of perceptions of extraordinariness. Thus any measurement of charismatic leadership must be based on followers perceptions of the specific behavioural attributes of the leader that engender such outcomes . The Conger-Kanungo model proposed several distinguishing behavioural components in three distinct stages of the leadership process. A number of different behaviours may lead to perceptions of charisma (Bass Avolio, 1993), (Conger Kanungo, 1987c) and (Shamir, House Arthur, 1993b). Following earlier experimental research by (Yorges, Weiss Strickland, 1999), they demonstrated that a leader making personal sacrifices to achieve the collective vision rather than personally benefiting from his or her action was perceived as more charismatic. The more recent psychological and organisational behaviour literature has dealt with these variables rather extensively, arguing that charismatic leaders strongly appeal to the values and self-concepts of followers by articulating radical solutions to their problems (Shamir, House Arthur, 1993c). 4.1 Development of Charismatic Leadership (post 1992) In the past decade, the bulk of leadership research has focused on transformational and charismatic leadership (Judge Piccolo, 2004). In sharp contrast to the rational nature of the transactional leadership paradigm of the 1960s and 1970s (Bass, 1990e), transformational and charismatic leadership theories (Bass, 1985c), (Burns, 1978c), (Conger Kanungo, 1998a) and (House, 1977c) recognised the affective and emotional needs and responses of followers performance, placing more emphasis on the emotional, inspirational, and symbolic aspects of leadership influence (Shamir, House Arthur, 1993d) and (Conger Kanungo, 1998b). Attempts to integrate the multiple theories of transformational and charismatic leadership reveal many commonalities, including leader vision and a charismatic communication style (House Shamir, 1993) and (Kirkpatrick Locke, 1996). Newer frameworks that can be applied to leadership theory include meso-level paradigms that attempt to provide an integration of micro and macro organisational behaviour (House et al. 1995) and (Hunt Dodge, 2001). Concurrent with the development of meso-level paradigms, the field of leadership has witnessed an infusion of theory dealing with charismatic and inspirational leadership. 4.1.1 Realisation of Vision content and organisational performance Drawing from the communication literatures, (Holladay Coombs, 1993 and 1994) invoked the concepts of message content and delivery to explain the two-step process whereby charismatic leaders initially craft and then articulate an idealised vision. An idealised vision is generally considered to be a prerequisite for a leader to become transformational or charismatic e.g. (Bass, 1988). Once formulated, the vision must be articulated to mobilise followers to pursue it. Studies in the past decade have identified six behaviours exhibited more frequently by charismatic leaders than by non-charismatic leaders. These include: vision and articulation; sensitivity to member needs; environmental sensitivity; unconventional behaviour; taking personal risks; and not maintaining the status quo as defined by the Conger-Kanungo scale (Conger Kanungo, 1994a). Envisioning involves creating an overall picture of a desired future state with which people can identify and which can generate excitement. In addition to formulating a vision, they are adept at communicating the vision and infusing day-to-day work with a larger sense of purpose and greater intrinsic appeal (Conger, 1989a). Most charismatic leaders, therefore, are known as persuasive speakers. They often rely on various rhetorical techniques such as metaphors, analogy, and stories to inculcate key ideas into the followers minds, so that their message would have a profound impact on followers (Conger, 1989b). (Awamleh Gardner, 1999) suggested an agenda for research to clarify. In particular, the joint effects of vision content, delivery, organisational performance cues, and generalised leadership beliefs on perceived charisma and leader effectiveness warrant empirical attention. Accordingly, in their study they projected three key objectives: to explore the combined effects of vision content and delivery on perceptions of leader charisma and effectiveness; to investigate the relative effects of performance outcomes on these perceptions; and to examine the effects of generalised beliefs about leadership (i.e., romance of leadership disposition) on leadership perceptions. To put the results in perspective, they reconsidered (Lord Mahers, 1993) definition of leadership as the process of being perceived by others as a leader. Accordingly, when people use prototypes to infer leadership, strong delivery of an idealised and well articulated vision will lead to perceptions of charisma and leader effectiveness. These perceptions, in turn, provide the leader with an attentive audience of followers who will be highly receptive to the leaders influence attempts. On the other hand, when followers use organisational outcomes to assess leadership qualities, high performance appears to similarly enhance the leaders image of charisma and effectiveness. Importantly, such perceptions will in turn provide the leader with greater leverage in influencing others. Their point is that the recognition and inferential models are not mutually exclusive. To maximise their influence potential, leaders must provide a strongly articulated and idealised vision, and successfully at tain high performance outcomes. 4.1.2 Charismatic leadership and followers outcomes (Conger, 1999a) over the last decade and a half, highlighted that the topic areas of charismatic and transformational leadership in organisational settings have undergone a significant evolution in terms of both theory development and empirical investigations. Both the greatest amount of theory development as well as empirical research on charismatic and transformational leadership has been in the area of leader behaviours and, to a lesser extent, on follower effects. This was due largely to the backgrounds of the most active researchers, almost all of whom have had a strong behavioural orientation. While there have been a number of individuals studying either transformational or charismatic leaders e.g. (Bennis Nanus, 1985c) and (Kouzes Posner, 1987).Kouzes, J.M. and Posner, B.Z., 1987. . The leadership challenge Jossey-Bass, San Francisco. Three principal leadership processes are involved (Bass, 1985d)Bass, B.M., 1985. . Leadership and performance beyond expectations Free Press, New York. in achieving such outcomes: these leaders heighten followers awareness about the importance and value of designated goals and the means to achieve them; they induce followers to transcend their self-interests for the good of the collective and its goals; and they stimulate and meet their followers higher order needs through the leadership process and the mission. Bass was the first organisational scholar to operationalise the transformational leadership model into a measurement instrument. As a result, more studies employ his scale than any of the other models proposed to date. As such, today four behavioural components make up the dimensions of transformational leadership: charisma or idealised influence; inspiration; intellectual stimulation; and individualised consideration. In contrast to the other theories, charisma is a separate component and is defined in terms of both the leaders behaviour (such as role modeling) and the followers reactions (such as trust, respect, and admiration for the leaders ability) (Conger, 1999b). (Bono LLies, 2006) suggested that positive emotions play a role in the charismatic leadership process in an extensive literature linking positive affect to the same outcomes achieved by charismatic leaders (e.g., cooperation, task performance, motivation, creativity). Their aim was to examine the effects of leaders positive emotional expressions on follower mood and perceptions. They discovered that charismatic leaders express more positive emotions than do less charismatic leaders and that leaders positive emotional expressions have a direct effect on follower mood. Furthermore, they argued that both leaders emotional expressions and follower mood had independent effects on perceptions of leadership effectiveness and attraction to a leader. First, (Isen, 2004) has demonstrated that positive change is associated with task performance, particularly on creative tasks, though these effects are not universal, as (George Zhou, 2002) demonstrated that under certain conditions positive mood was negatively associated with creativity. Other studies linked group affective tone (i.e., positive group mood) to group effort and coordination (Sy, Cote Saavedra, 2005), improved cooperation and decreased conflict among group members (Barsade, 2002), and subjective assessments of performance (Totterdel, 2000) and (Fredericksons, 2003) broadened-and-built theory posits that positive emotions broaden the relationship between thought and action, leading to increased novelty and exploration of ideas on the part of employees who experience them. (Rousseau, 1998) suggested the possibility that high-quality relationships may develop even when only a few well specified and important resources are exchanged, such as hard work for high pay. In the recent work of (Cicero Pierro, 2007a), they reviewed that leadership and work outcomes are associated to social identification processes, referring both to recent developments of charismatic leadership models and to the recent developments of the social identity analysis applied to the workplace, e.g. (Abrams Hogg, 2001). Two field surveys were conducted using 200 Italian public and private sector employees (two different working organisations). Two questionnaires were designed in order to collect data. They included different measures of charismatic leadership derived by the literature e.g. the Conger-Kanungo Charismatic Leadership Questionnaire; (Conger Kanungo, 1994b and 1998), for Study 2), a scale to assess the degree of identification with the work-group (Van, K.D., Van, S.E.C.M., 2000) and some scales to measure the different outcomes considered e.g., (Brown and Leighs effort measure, 1996) and (Mobleys turnover intention measure, 1977). As they predicted, results o f Study 1 revealed that charismatic leadership was positively related to work-group identification, and employees work effort was positively related to work-group identification. Work-group identification also mediates relationship between charismatic leadership and work effort. Results of Study 2 replicated the positive association between charismatic leadership and employees work-group identification; work-group identification is also associated with their job involvement, job satisfaction, performance, and turnover intention. (Cicero Pierro, 2007b) admitted that their research has some limitations. The first one to note was that a causality relation cannot be inferred due to the cross-sectional nature of the data, although it was one of the most-used methods in applied and field psychological research. They suggested that future investigations, then, should adopt an experimental or longitudinal design. A second one was represented by the fact that the criteria variables had been assessed by paper-and-pencil self-report measures, which may reflect participants perceptions rather than objective realities. However, some of the analysed variables (e.g., work-group identification, turnover intention, job involvement, etc. pertain exclusively to individuals perceptions and feelings, so only a few of these measures (for instance leadership style and performance) should be assessed through actual behaviours and more objective measures in order to substantiate the results obtained. They concluded that their resul ts enlarged the knowledge of the dynamic that may affect work outcomes and underline the tangible relevance of social identification processes and, in particular, the relevance of employees identification with the work-group to the organisation life. 4.1.3 Concept between Instrumental, transformational and transactional leadership Research on leadership started with a concern for identification of leadership traits, so that this might be used to as a basis for management selection and training. When the relationship of such traits to organisation effectiveness proved weak, researchers sought to emphasise specific leadership behaviours, starting with participative management, and the later behavioural research on social/task and instrumental leadership behaviours, revealed the complexity of leadership and showed the futility of simple answers according to (Vasu, Stewart Garson, 1998). Current notions of leadership in particular, transformational leadership perspectives see (Hunt, 1999b), (Lowe Gardner, 2000) fail to address the strategic and task-oriented developmental functions of leaders (referred to as instrumental leadership by (Antonakis House, 2002), see also (Yukl, 1999). Theoretically, these instrumental leader functions are essential for ensuring sustainable organizational and follower performance. Instrumental leadership is not included in transformational leadership theories (e.g., the full-range leadership theory of (Avolio, 1999), (Avolio Bass, 1991), (Bass, 1985e), (Bass Avolio, 1994, 1997), an omission that might limit: the extent to which the full-range theory is able to predict effective leader functioning and our understanding of the contexts in which different types of leadership are important. (Antonakis House, 2004) defined instrumental leadership as a class of leader behaviours concerning the enactment of leader expert knowledge toward the fulfillment of organisational-level and follower task performance, see also (Nadler Tushman, 1990). Instrumental leadership is distinct from transformational (i.e., ideals, inspirationally based, etc.) and transactional (i.e., exchange-based) leadership and encompasses two subclasses of leader behaviours. Each of these subclasses, in turn, consists of two factors: strategic leadership leaders actions centered on environmental scanning strategy formulation and follower work facilitation leaders actions focused on facilitating follower performance. On the other hand, transformational leadership is associated with strong personal identification with the leader, the creation of a shared vision of the future, and a relationship between leaders and followers based on far more than just the simple exchange of rewards for compliance. The ability of the leader to articulate an attractive vision of a possible future is a core element of transformational leadership (Hartog Verburg, 1997). Transformational leadership goes beyond the cost-benefit exchange of transactional leadership by motivating and inspiring followers to perform beyond expectations (Bass, 1985f). As (Hater Bass, 1988) pointed out, contrasting transactional and transformational leadership does not mean the models are unrelated. Burns (1978d) thought of the two types of leadership as being at opposite ends of a continuum. However, here we follow (Bass, 1985g) who viewed transformational and transactional leadership as separate dimensions. This viewpoint implies that leaders could show both transactional and transformational behaviours. Bass argues that transformational leadership builds on transactional leadership but not vice versa. Thus, high-quality relationships have more in common with a transformational kind of relationship than with a purely transactional one (Gerstner Day, 1997). 5.0 Conclusions Each of the theories under consideration has evolved over time by different intellectuals and is still being studied and used today to explain modes of leader behaviour (Harris, Harris Eplion, 2007), (Yukl, 2006b), (Sagie Koslowski, 1994). Each of the theories considers both the leaders effect on followers and the interaction between leader and follower. According to (Summary Report of Accomplishments: 2003à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ 2008) reported that one measure of a journals influence on a field is Impact Factor and Citation Data. To calculate the impact factor, Thomson Scientific records the number of citations in a particular year to articles published in the two previous years, divided by the number of articles in the same previous years. For The Leadership Quarterly, the Impact Factors (and ranking within the categories of Management and Psychology, Applied) for the last 5 years as reported by its publisher, Elsevier, is illustrated in Appendix 1. Another measure of journal impact is the number of full text downloads between 2003 and 2008. The number of downloads for The Leadership Quarterly increased as summarised is shown in Appendix 2. The summary of the Impact Factor, it shows there has been a substantial increase in this index between 2003 and 2007 is shown in Appendix 3. I disagree with (Houses, 1992) article that charismatic leadership was a new genre of leadership theory. For the fact that in the past and the present, several publication have shown significant contribution by scholars in the study and practice of charismatic leadership. Researchers have played a key role in shaping and nurturing the fields of leadership and management to generate new knowledge and insights into leadership theories. Appendices Appendix 1. Year Impact Factor Management Rank Psychology Rank 2007 1.763 20/81 12/57 2006 1.720 16/78 12/54 2005 1.750 9/71 7/49 2004 1.769 10/67 6/50 2003 1.315 20/67 13/49 Appendix 2. 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 *Jan-Jun 83,528 125,417 162,583 213,027 260,948 185,627 Appendix 3. 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 .511 .333 .778 .456 1.338 Source: ISI Web of Knowledge.