Around the world in eighty days- plot summary Essay

The story starts in London on Tuesday, October 1, 1872. Fogg is a rich English gentleman and bachelor living in solitude at Number 7 Savile Row, Burlington Gardens. Despite his wealth, which is  £40,000 (roughly  £3,020,000 today), Fogg, whose countenance is described as â€Å"repose in action†, lives a modest life with habits carried out with mathematical precision. Very little can be said about his social life other than that he is a member of the Reform Club. Having dismissed his former valet, James Foster, for bringing him shaving water at 84  °F (29  °C) instead of 86  °F (30  °C), Fogg hires a Frenchman by the name of Jean Passepartout, who is about 30 years old, as a replacement. Later on that day, in the Reform Club, Fogg gets involved in an argument over an article in The Daily Telegraph, stating that with the opening of a new railway section in India, it is now possible to travel around the world in 80 days. He accepts a wager for  £20,000 (roughly  £1,510,000 today) from his fellow club members, which he will receive if he makes it around the world in 80 days. Accompanied by Passepartout, he leaves London by train at 8:45 P.M. on Wednesday, October 2, 1872, and thus is due back at the Reform Club at the same time 80 days later, Saturday, December 21, 1872. Fogg and Passepartout reach Suez in time. While disembarking in Egypt, they are watched by a Scotland Yard detective named Fix, who has been dispatched from London in search of a bank robber. Because Fogg answers the description of the robber, Fix mistakes Fogg for the criminal. Since he cannot secure a warrant in time, Fix goes on board the steamer conveying the travellers to Bombay. During the voyage, Fix becomes acquainted with Passepartout, without revealing his purpose. On the voyage, Fogg promises the engineer a large reward if he gets them to Bombay early. They dock two days ahead of schedule. After reaching India they take a train from Bombay (now Mumbai) to Calcutta (Kolkata). About halfway there, Fogg learns that the Daily Telegraph article was wrong—the railroad ends at Kholby and starts again 50 miles further on at Allahabad. Fogg promptly buys an elephant, hires a guide, and starts toward Allahabad. During the ride, they come across a procession, in which a young Indian woman, Aouda, is led to a sanctuary to be sacrificed by the process of suttee the next day by Brahmins. Since the young woman is drugged with the smoke of opium and hemp and is obviously not going voluntarily, the travellers decide to rescue her. They follow the procession to the site, where Passepartout secretly takes the place of Aouda’s deceased husband on the funeral pyre on which she is to be burned the next morning. During the ceremony he rises from the pyre, scaring off the priests, and carries the young woman away. Due to this incident, the two days gained earlier are lost, but Fogg shows no sign of regret. The travellers then hasten on to catch the train at the next railway station, taking Aouda with them. At Calcutta, they can finally board a steamer going to Hong Kong. Fix, who has secretly been following them, has Fogg and Passepartout arrested. However, they jump bail and Fix is forced to follow them to Hong Kong. On board, he shows himself to Passepartout, who is delighted to meet again his travelling companion from the earlier voyage. In Hong Kong, it turns out that Aouda’s distant relative, in whose care they had been planning to leave her, has moved, probably to Holland, so they decide to take her with them to Europe. Meanwhile, still without a warrant, Fix sees Hong Kong as his last chance to arrest Fogg on British soil. Around this time Passepartout becomes convinced that Fix is a spy from the Reform Club trying to see if Fogg is really going around the world. However, Fix confides in Passepartout, who does not believe a word and remains convinced that his master is not a bank robber. To prevent Passepartout from informing his master about the premature departure of their next vessel, Fix gets Passepartout drunk and drugs him in an opium den. In his dizziness, Passepartout still manages to catch the steamer to Yokohama, but neglects to inform Fogg. Fogg, on the next day, discovers that he has missed his connection. He goes in search of a vessel that will take him to Yokohama. He finds a pilot boat that takes him and Aouda to Shanghai, where they catch a steamer to Yokohama. In Yokohama, they go on a search for Passepartout, believing that he may have arrived there on the original boat. They find him in a circus, trying to earn the fare for his homeward journey. Reunited, the four board a steamer taking them across the Pacific to San Francisco. Fix promises Passepartout that now, having left British soil, he will no longer try to delay Fogg’s journey, but support him in getting back to Britain as fast as possible to minimize the amount of his share of the stolen money that Fogg can spend. In San Francisco they get on a transcontinental train to New York, encountering a number of obstacles (and a Mormon missionary) along the way: a massive herd of bison crossing the tracks, a failing suspension bridge, and most disastrously, the train being attacked and overcome by Sioux warriors. After heroically uncoupling the locomotive from the carriages, Passepartout is kidnapped by the Indians, but Fogg rescues him after some American soldiers volunteer to help. They continue by a wind powered sledge over the snowy prairies to Omaha, where they get a train to New York. In New York, having missed the sailing of their ship the China by 45 minutes, Fogg starts looking for an alternative for the crossing of the Atlantic Ocean. He finds a small steamboat destined for Bordeaux, France. However, the captain of the boat refuses to take the company to Liverpool, whereupon Fogg consents to be taken to Bordeaux for the price of $2000 (roughly $38,519 today) per passenger. On the voyage, he bribes the crew to mutiny and make course for Liverpool. Against hurricane winds and going on full steam all the time, the boat runs out of fuel after a few days. Fogg buys the boat at a very high price from the captain, soothing him thereby, and has the crew burn all the wooden parts to keep up the steam. The companions arrive at Queenstown (Cobh), Ireland, in time to reach London via Dublin and Liverpool before the deadline. However, once on British soil Fix produces a warrant and arrests Fogg. A short time later, the misunderstanding is cleared up—the actual robber had been caught three days earlier in Edinburgh. In response to this, Fogg, in a rare moment of impulse, punches Fix, who immediately falls to the ground. However, Fogg has missed the train and returns to London five minutes late, certain that he has lost the wager. In his London house the next day, he apologises to Aouda for bringing her with him, since he now has to live in poverty and cannot support her financially. Aouda suddenly confesses that she loves him and asks him to marry her, which he gladly accepts. He calls for Passepartout to notify the minister. At the minister’s, Passepartout learns that he is mistaken in the date, which he takes to be Saturday, December 21, but which is actually is Friday, December 20, because the party had travelled eastward, gaining a day by crossing the International Date Line. The book page containing the famous dà ©nouement (page 312 in the Philadelphia — Porter & Coates, 1873 edition)[3] He did not notice this after landing in North America because the only phase of the trip that depended on vehicles departing less than daily was the Atlantic crossing, and he had hired his own ship for that. Passepartout hurries back to inform Fogg, who immediately sets off for the Reform Club, where he arrives just in time to win the wager. Fogg marries Aouda and the journey around the world is complete. On their trip around the world, Fogg and Passepartout carried only a carpet bag with two shirts and three pairs of stockings each, a mackintosh, a travelling cloak, and a spare pair of shoes. The only book they had was Bradshaw’s Continental Railway Steam Transit and General Guide, which contains timetables of trains and steamers. Fogg also had a large roll of English banknotes, about half of his wealth or  £20,000 (roughly  £1,510,000 today), and 20 guineas (roughly  £1,588 today) won at whist, which he donates to a poor woman on the way to catch his first train.[4]

Air Quality and Climate Change as Integrated Policy – 1

Environmental policies largely influence the way humans interact with the environment. Policies targeting air quality, namely the Clean Air Act, have been effective in lowering the emissions of pollutants; however climate change is still something that concerns some scientists, citizens, and policymakers. As such, the need for further progress is necessary. In order to make such progress policymakers may need to develop air quality and climate change policies through an integrative approach. Doing this, however, does not come without political, social, and scientific obstacles.Although there are obstacles to recognizing integrative approaches for policymaking, air quality and climate change may be addressed simultaneously, less costly, and more effectively by using such an approach. Air quality and climate change are interrelated and, as such, policies should be developed through an integrative approach. The federal government’s approach to climate change policy has included o nly voluntary measures thus far. This conservative approach has failed to address climate change effectively (Dale, 2011).Policy making is both time- and cost-extensive. Therefore addressing air quality and climate change separately prolongs the policymaking process and increases the costs associated with that process. As greenhouse gas emissions affect air quality and climate change, an integrative approach to developing policies may result in timelier, less cost extensive policies that better address both issues. Air quality and climate change are interrelated, thus policies that address both issues simultaneously may provide better health, economic, and environmental benefits.Air quality and climate change are influenced by common air pollutants. As such, focusing on one pollutant to improve air quality may increase or decrease other pollutants that affect climate change (Thambiran & Diab, 2011). The complex interaction between air quality and climate change makes it nearly impos sible to create a win-win situation. If a policy addresses air quality, but the impacts of the policy on climate change is overlooked, the desired benefits may vanish.Air quality management emission standards are designed to decrease anthropogenic sources of air pollutants, and it is expected that the emission decreases will lead to better air quality. Such policies are aimed at improving air quality, assuming that climate will remain constant. But scientists suggest future climate change is likely to impact meteorological factors that affect air quality, thus making it necessary to consider air quality and climate change to avoid unexpected outcomes (Thambiran & Diab, 2011).An integrative approach to air quality and climate change policy making may generate better health, economic, and environmental benefits. The benefits of an integrative approach to air quality and climate change may seem obvious, but realizing such an approach does not come without political, social, and scienti fic obstacles. Politicians hold differing views about how to manage air quality and climate change. Not all politicians believe that climate change is an issue, despite scientific evidence, but most agree that air quality is an issue.Socially, citizens are divided much like politicians, but often rely on the media for information about the reality of climate change. To further complicate the issue, scientists are in disagreement about the validity of climate change. In every layer of society, agendas and motivations heavily influence the support or opposition to a given piece of legislation. The many political, social, and scientific obstacles come as a result of such a controversial issue, which makes it difficult to develop an integrative approach to air quality and climate change.Maintaining a fragmented approach to air quality and to climate change causes problems for everyone. As with any successful system, all parts must function properly and simultaneously in order to achieve maximum performance. Fragmented is defined as existing or functioning as though broken into separate parts; disorganized; disunified (IAC Companies, 2012). Maintaining a fragmented approach to air quality has delivered successes, but a united effort is necessary to ensure everyone is equally protected from air pollutants.Climate change, however, cannot be maintained with a fragmented approach. Global uniformity is imperative to mitigate climate change, and if cannot be addressed globally, it cannot be managed at all. Attempts locally will not provide adequate results, thus anything less than a global effort creates a problem. Because air quality and climate change are interconnected, maintaining a fragmented approach to either issue creates problems for everyone. Policies that target individual behaviors can be effective in addressing climate change and air quality.Incentives provided by local, state, and government actors are good examples of how policies influencing individual be havior can help mitigate climate change. Individuals are beginning to voluntarily change behaviors that contribute to poor air quality and climate change. These changes are making a difference, so it is rational to believe that policies targeting individual behaviors will effectively address air quality and climate change. Air quality and climate change policies should be developed through an integrative approach.The benefits of this approach include saving money and providing timelier, more effective results. Political, social, and scientific obstacles must be dealt with to realize an integrative approach to managing air quality and climate change. Fragmented approaches to air quality and climate change pose problems for everyone. Voluntary measures being taken by individuals are yielding positive results. It is therefore rational to develop policies that target individual behaviors.Although there are obstacles to recognizing integrative approaches for policymaking, air quality and climate change may be addressed simultaneously, less costly, and more effectively by using such an approach. Reference Dale, L. (2011). Environmental Policy. San Diego: Bridgepoint Education, Inc. IAC Companies. (2012). Retrieved from Dictionary. com, LLC: http://dictionary. reference. com/ Thambiran, T. , & Diab, R. D. (2011). The case for integrated air quality and climate change policies. Elsevier Environmental Science & Policy, 1008-1017.

Ad Proposal for Apple 2014 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Ad Proposal for Apple 2014 - Essay Example EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The principle intention of the paper is to analyze the present marketing strategy of Apple Inc (Apple) and depict the strengths and weaknesses of the same, which would further be considered for strategizing future campaigns. Contextually, keeping in consideration the strengths and loopholes of advertising in Apple, a proposition has been made to the company, aiming at its launch of an ad campaign in the succeeding year, i.e. 2014. This proposal has been based on the analysis of the past records of the advertising strategies adapted by Apple, which were further assessed from a critical point of view in order to identify its strengths and weaknesses, with respect to the ad campaigns. Observably, the main strength of advertising approach of the company is its simplicity and its ability to ensure emotional connectedness with the targeted customers. However, the company is seen to be somewhat reluctant towards targeting the non-competitive market with the help of its adv ertising, which has remained to be a debatable topic in the recent years. Contextually, a proposal has been made planning the future advertising campaigns of Apple, which has focused on enhancing the appeal of the advertising on the competitive and the non-competitive markets along with insuring maximum innovation of the same keeping the company’s strengths and weaknesses into account. ... It is worth mentioning in this context that Apple has also been focused on applying competitive brand imaging strategies, taking the approach of year-on-year ad campaigns. COMPANY OVERVIEW Being a renowned global Information Communication Technology (ICT) company, Apple is principally engaged with the designing, manufacturing and marketing of innovative ICT products of high quality. The company is famous worldwide as an innovative brand and a pioneer in advancing the quality features of ICT devices to deliver utmost conveniences to the customers. The success of the company worldwide can also be regarded as a byproduct of its effective marketing and product strategy. Notably, the current marketing strategy of the company is based on the notion of simplicity and on the intention of developing a direct connection with the customers. Contrastingly, there are certain loopholes in the marketing section including lack of innovation and targeting non competitive markets that the company stra tegically desires to overcome in its future campaigns (Hoovers, â€Å"Apple Inc. Company Information†). CURRENT MARKETING STRATEGY OF APPLE INC (ADVERTISING) As discussed above, Apple is one of the biggest consumer electronics companies of the world. The success ratio of the company is currently observable at an uprising path, owing to its effective policies and approaches to satisfy the customers. Among the major approaches of the company, it marketing tactics has a pivotal role in its success worldwide. For instance, the company believes that simple marketing campaigns are much better and effective in delivering favorable results. The marketing approach of the company, which works according to the changing market trend, can be stated as its major strength. In all its ad campaigns till

Federal Wolves at the Door Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Federal Wolves at the Door - Essay Example The federal Endangered Species Act however protects a threatened or endangered species throughout its breeding range. The second reason for the preference of national legislation is that state’s regulations may be inadequate to protect the endangered species. For instance, the regulatory mechanisms in Idaho, home of the northern Rockies gray wolves, are considered inadequate for two key reasons (Alderman 1232). One, the wolf management plans of the state are non-binding in nature and thus difficult to enforce because state residents are not bound to comply with them. Two, unregulated killing of wolves is allowed under the Idaho defence of property laws if it is for the protection of domestic animals. Further, an upper limit has not been set for the number of wolves that can be killed in defence of domestic animals (Alderman 1222). Although opinion is divided on whether the states should be allowed to regulate and administer endangered species that inhabit their jurisdictions, the Endangered Species Act remains the reference point for the protection of endangered species. Alderman, Jesse. â€Å"Crying Wolf: The Unlawful Delisting of Northern Rocky Mountain Gray Wolves from Endangered Species Act Protections.† Boston College Law Review 50.2 (2009): 1195-1241. Web. 3 Nov.

Will Ethical Abuses Cripple Republicans in the 2006 Mid-Term Elections Essay

Will Ethical Abuses Cripple Republicans in the 2006 Mid-Term Elections - Essay Example Democrats like to point out that the Republican scandals, such as the one involving Rep. Randy Cunningham, have tended to involve defense contractors. Republicans like to point out that Democrat scandals, like the one involving Rep. Alan Mollohan, have tended to involve special "earmarks" for local districts. This is irrelevant. Whether the corruption is benefiting Group A or Group B does not somehow de-legitimize the underlying ethical breaches. A breach of trust is a violation. Congress, in its current state, seems overdue for a makeover. That such powerful figures, such as Rep. Tom Delay, have been able to abuse positions of public trust is intolerable. It is perhaps an indicator that it is time for a change. That said, how do we accept, at face value, the Democrats' assertion that the Republicans have created a "culture of corruption" when they themselves are not without skeletons in their own closet Should we choose the lesser of two evils Should we keep score and vote for the party least likely to abuse its power I believe the FBI should set up a Congressional Ethics task force. People that abuse their power should be indicted and imprisoned. What Congress does is too important for a hypocritical partisanship. This essay topic is timely. As I write these words, the Prime Minister of Lebanon, Mr.

Solectrica car as a New Product Development Essay

Solectrica car as a New Product Development - Essay Example The market industry is indicated by a well-documented five forces analysis that well states the position of the company. The marketing development is described by the marketing mix policies that define the segmentation of the car. This leads to the required launch of the car in the effective UK and EU market. Solectrica car is a new brand of cars from Pessan Motors Ltd. This is a car that develops sufficient use of energy as different governments strive to reduce the rates of pollution to the environment. Industrialized countries have increasingly polluted the environment and with time, there is bound to be less sustainability to the environmental issues that are coming up (FÄ ±rat, 2013). There has therefore been a constant call to shift to energy saving machines especially the machines that are continuously done. Factual information shows that a single car generates half a ton of carbon dioxide within a very short time span. It is also estimated that there are 500 million cars in the world. The number is bound to double to more than a billion by 2030. This also means double pollution. There is rampant knowledge about use of environmentally friendly cars in the UK and therefore sensitization about the need to generate this type of car to capture this rapidly growing market. Solectrica cars are supposed to aim for this high reduction and there is even hope that some governments will effectively create regulations that will reduce manufacture of cars that are either using solar power or electric energy.  

The effect of the recent financial crises on the UK investors psyche Literature review

The effect of the recent financial crises on the UK investors psyche - Literature review Example Theories are provided to guide the behaviours and investment strategies of the investors. The theories give emphasis on the psyche of the investors and their way of thinking and reacting to the financial market changes. The individual decisions are cognitive while investments are made. The paper also highlights on the risk measurement capacity of the investors. The risk is associated with the changes that are brought in the stock prices by the companies during the crisis period. Key Words: financial behaviour, financial crisis, Investment psyche, decision making Critical Review (Background) It is quite understandable when people ask how the crises could have happened after the disaster had struck, but given that market players are irrational, it can be said that people, including experts and laymen alike, play a psychological role in financial decision making. According to Sahi and Arora (2012) it is hardly ever heard that investors make wrong decisions who buy when they have to sell and vice-versa, despite possessing the correct information. This is in complete non-conformity with the efficient market hypothesis theory, which states that people behave rationally and maximize their utility by accurately processing all the available information. This highlights that prices remain at true values of the stock and reflect all essential information about investment (Phansatana et al., 2013). However, Shiller (2013) argues that the behavioural finance disproves the theory stating that individuals are impacted by more factors than just objective figures, including all kinds of subjective factors like, human biases and inconsistency in behaviour, thought and irrationality, when they are faced by market uncertainties. The paper analyses how the recent financial crisis has supported the idea that investors behave irrationally when faced with the financial meltdown and offers interesting observations on post crisis behaviour of investors. Investigations of the recent fina ncial meltdown in 2007 reveal that the lessons to be learnt are plentiful. The crisis investigations done by (Adrian and Shin, 2009; Taylor, 2008; Greenlaw et al., 2008) give general view of the affairs proceeding the crises and they all to some extent agree it was due to a conglomerate of macroeconomic factors like, interest rates, high market liquidity and booming rates of securities market and household. This market crisis also emphasized on the fact that financial sector was unable to predict risk specifically in US mortgage lending segment (Ferguson, 2013). This is the reason why the communication between financial sector and stakeholders was faulty and that the stakeholders had made investments without proper investigation. Ulkua and Weber (2013) firmly believe when recession occurs at the business cycle it brings in a general slowdown in the economy. A general trend of reduced spending is observed. Governments play their role by adopting policies that have an expansionary imp act on the economy like, increasing supply of money and reducing taxes. As a result of the financial crisis, Mehl (2013) examined that the equity markets had also shown a lot of volatility and this had instilled unpredictability among the investors. Investors rely on the efficient markets and expect rational behaviour, but this efficient market hypothesis had seen anomalies in the recent past. According to

An analysis of an ad campaign of your choice Essay

An analysis of an ad campaign of your choice - Essay Example Just like every other seller in the market, jewelers also rely on Christmas to make huge sales. They have achieved this by giving out some of the best Christmas campaign advertisements to persuade people to invest in Jewells specifically their jewels. This paper is going to do a comparison of two globally renowned reputable jewelers Christmas advertisements. The jewelers are Cartier and tiffany and co. and their Christmas advertisements which appeared across a range of platforms that is on TV, online on YouTube and billboards. In addition, this paper is going to analyze tiffany and co and Cartier with the consumer buying process. The consumer buying process can be defined as the process the consumer goes through before deciding on what product to buy. This process is a very crucial process in that it determines whether a consumer is going to buy ones products or another brand. It includes five known stages which are product recognition, information search by consumer, evaluation of a lternatives, purchase decision and post purchase behavior. Tiffany and co and Cartier both have a campaign adverts which means a series of adverts with the same target. They both recognize the consumer buying process in their adverts in that in tiffany and co. Christmas advert the name of the brand is first shown to tell the customer what products is being advertised and even at the end the name is put on the screen solely which is product recognition (Pride & Ferrell, 2006, 235). The same applies to Cartier whose name is printed in all the products shown on the advert as small inscriptions on the jewel boxes. The end of the advert is also dedicated to the brand name solely on the screen thus both companies have produced product recognition in their adverts. Color has been utilized by the two reputable jewelers as their main form of communication as the colors are synonymous with these brands. This showcases the jeweler’s knowledge on the

Gestational Diabetes Essay Example for Free

Gestational Diabetes Essay Gestational Diabetes is high blood sugar (diabetes) that starts or is first diagnosed during pregnancy. It is a condition in which women without previously diagnosed diabetes exhibit high blood glucose levels during pregnancy, especially during third trimester. There is still the question whether the condition is natural during pregnancy (Serlin Lash 2009). Causes, Incidence, and Risk Factors Pregnancy hormones can block insulin from doing its job. When this happens, glucose levels may increase in a pregnant women’s blood. You are at greater risk for gestational diabetes if you: are older than 25 when you are pregnant, have family history of diabetes, gave birth to a baby that weighed more than 9 pounds or had a birth defect, have high blood pressure, have too much amniotic fluid, have had an unexplained miscarriage or stillbirth, or were overweight before the pregnancy (Benjamin Pridijan 2010). Symptoms Usually there are no symptoms, or the symptoms are mild and not life threatening to the pregnant woman. The blood sugar (glucose) level usually returns to normal after delivery. Symptoms may include: blurred vision, fatigue, frequent infections, including those in the bladder, vagina, and skin, increased thirst, increased urination, nausea and vomiting, and weight loss despite increased appetite (Benjamin Pridijan 2010). Signs and Tests Gestational diabetes usually starts halfway through the pregnancy. All pregnant women should receive an oral glucose tolerance test between the 24th and 28th week of pregnancy to screen for the condition. Women who have risk factors for gestational diabetes may have this test earlier in the pregnancy (Serlin Lash 2009). Once you are diagnosed with gestational diabetes, you can see how well you are doing by testing your glucose level at home. The most common way involves pricking your finger and putting a drop of blood on a machine that will give you a glucose reading (Serlin Lash 2009). Treatment The goals of treatment are to keep blood sugar (glucose) levels within normal limits during pregnancy, and to make sure that the growing baby is healthy (Cohen-Almagor R. 2000). Watching the baby The health care provider should closely check both mother and baby throughout the pregnancy. Fetal monitoring will check the size and health of the fetus. A nonstress test is a very simple, painless test for the mother and baby. A machine that hears and displays the baby’s heartbeat (electronic fetal monitor) is placed the the mother’s abdomen. The health care provider can compare the pattern of the baby’s heartbeat to movements and find out whether the baby is doing well (Cohen-Almagor R. 2000). Diet and Exercise The best way to improve the diet during pregnancy is by eating healthy foods. The expectant mother should talk to her doctor or dietitian if vegetarian or on a special diet. In general, when diagnosed with gestational diabetes the diet should be moderate in fat and protein, provide carbohydrates through foods that include fruits, vegetables, and complex carbohydrates such as bread, cereal, pasta, rice. Foods that contain a lot of sugar, such as soft drinks, fruit juices and pastries should be avoided. If managing the diet does not control blood sugar levels, then the physician may prescribe diabetes medicine by mouth or insulin therapy (American Diabetes Association 2008). Prognosis Most women with gestational diabetes are able to control their blood sugar and avoid harm to themselves or their baby. Pregnant women with gestational diabetes tend to have larger babies at birth. This can increase the chance of problems at the time of delivery, including: birth injury (trauma) because of the baby’s large size, delivery by c-section. The baby is more likely to have periods of low blood sugar (hypoglycemia) during the first few days of life. Mothers with gestational diabetes have an increased risk for high blood pressure during pregnancy. There is a slightly increased risk of the baby dying when the mother has untreated gestational diabetes, controlling blood sugar levels reduces this risk (Serlin Lash 2009). High blood glucose levels often go back to normal after delivery. However, women with gestational diabetes should be watched closely after giving birth and at regular doctor’s appointments to screen for signs of diabetes. Many women with gestational diabetes develop diabetes within 5-10 years after delivery (Serlin Lash 2009). Prevention Beginning prenatal care early and having regular prenatal visits helps improve the health of expectant mother and her baby. Having prenatal screening at 24-28 weeks into the pregnancy will help detect gestational diabetes early. If overweight, decreasing BMI to a normal range before getting pregnant will decrease the risks of developing gestational diabetes (Benjamin Pridijan 2010).

Theories Definition Essay Example for Free

Theories Definition Essay This essay discusses theory in a general perspective and some related concepts underpinning it. Kuhn is also presented as an example of an alternative theorist. Theories, according to Littlejohn (1992) are abstractions or frameworks for speculating, interpreting, guessing, understanding, evaluating, rationalizing, explaining or predicting complexity of phenomena, events, ideas, mathematical or logical discussions, human relations, and communication through observation and critical thinking. The basic elements of theories are (1) concepts, which are usually categorized, and (2) explanation, which identifies patterns in the relationships among variables and can be casual or practical. Theory, in a traditional perspective, is based on the premise of â€Å"knowledge as discovery†. It is modeled on the experimental natural sciences through hypothetico-deductive method that includes four processes: (1) developing questions, (2) forming hypotheses, (3) testing the hypotheses, and (4) formulating theory. This method can be done through variable analysis and it is based on the concepts of hypothesis, operationism, control and manipulation, covering laws, and prediction. Littlejohn cites Robyn Penman in describing alternative paradigm through the following five tenets: (1) Action is voluntary. (2) Knowledge is created socially. (3) Theories are historical. (4) Theories affect the reality they are covering. (5) Theories are value laden. The concept of metatheory is used in discussing the criticisms of the work of Kuhn because it describes and explains the similarities and differences among theories. The critics of Kuhn have also their own set of ideas or theories in explaining why Kuhn’s ideas are not accepted. Metatheory issues are grouped into three Major themes – epistemology (questions of knowledge), ontology (questions of existence), and axiology (questions of value). Thomas Samuel Kuhn (1992-1996), an American natural scientist and contemporary philosopher who contributed in the evolution of science principles, has contributed much in the history of and issues on science, culture, and policy in the academic, political, and business fields. Kuhn’s SSR provides his antithetical views in the philosophy of science in which, like Imre Lakatos and Paul Feyerabend, Kuhn emphasized the role and nature of â€Å"rationality† in the processes of science. Kuhn contends that â€Å"science operates as a social structure rather than as an impersonal entity advancing toward epistemological commitment† (Mackie, 1998, p. 25). He contradicts the concept of logical positivism which states that scientists choose between competing theories in a purely rational fashion (Philosophy of Science, 2004). Like William Whewell, Kuhn denies the overly systematic approach to science or the scientific method as the framework for inquiry (Prosise, Miller, Mills, 1996; Mackie, 1998; Roberts, 2000; Nickles, 2003). In SSR, Kuhn presented issues on the nature of and the role of community in scientific development. Thus, paradigm depends on the community to which a practitioner belongs (Roberts, 2000). He interprets the history of science based on the development of â€Å"paradigms,† which are not just simple theories but also â€Å"accepted examples of actual scientific practice [that] provide models from which spring particular coherent traditions of scientific research† (Kuhn 1970, 4, 10). Paradigms provide new information about the world and people’s behavior (Swirski, 1996; Mackie, 1998; Roberts, 2000). Kuhn argues that scientific thought advances through intellectually violent revolutions (Copulos, 2001). This asserts Kuhn’s statement the evolution of science is characterized by alternating periods of â€Å"normal† and â€Å"revolutionary† scientific activity, with the periods of normal science being far more common (Mackie, 1998, p. 27). For instance, a paradigm shift can be seen in the practice of medicine since alternative medicine has been discovered to be also a promising way of treating diseases but it remains a controversy (Copulos, 2001). It appears that the paradigm cannot be fully developed and evaluated solely in a rational manner based on the verification of facts. This approach impacts on the philosophy of science since it is accepted that a paradigm becomes a prerequisite to â€Å"understanding why revolutionary science occurs and why periods of normal science persist† (Mackie, 1998, p. 28). Kuhn is criticized in his vision of scientific revolution which was seen as maligned for its seemingly inconclusive historical perspective; his description of normal science because it implicitly redefined scientific activity; and his ambiguous usage of the term â€Å"paradigm† in different ways (Mackie, 1998). Specifically, Israel Scheffler (1967) argued that Kuhn is a radical irrationalist, subjectivist, irrealist, and relativist because he denies that science provides the basis for objective truth about reality at the perceptual-phenomenal level. Nickles (2003) adds that: â€Å"†¦Kuhn as a principal source of postmodern relativism and of culture-theoretical treatments of science generally†¦Other critics view Kuhn as intellectually conservative in important ways. ..Kuhn differed rather little from the logical positivists on crucial issues, especially assumptions about language and meaning. †¦Kuhns work is also politically conservative and elitist, so much so that, owing to its great influence, it has destroyed any attempt to develop a more democratic science policy for the foreseeable future† (p. 3). Despite the criticisms he received, Kuhn was able to defend his theories by defining his terms more carefully. His second edition of SSR (1970) made amendments and used â€Å"disciplinary matrix† to substitute for â€Å"paradigm† (Mackie, 1998). In the third edition of SSR, Kuhn denied the accusation of relativism and he further clarified his views to avoid misinterpretation (Dyson, 1999). The changes made by Kuhn in SSR shows development from ambiguity to a clearer explanation. As Littlejohn (1992) notes, theories are constantly evolving and they need to be mastered. As an alternative-paradigm theorist, Kuhn did the process of â€Å"fine-tuning interpretive framework for understanding the flow of events† (p. 25). Although Kuhn was criticized for his theories in his SSR, it is undeniable that his theories played significant role in describing, although not accurately, the development of science principles. Kuhn’s theory focused on rational assessment of ideas and it suits disciplines outside normal science because it is irrelevant to philosophy of science but is significant in the analysis of human behavior. References â€Å"Philosophy of Science.† (2004). The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th edition. New York: Columbia University Press. Dyson, F. (1999). The Sun, the Genome, and the Internet: Tools of Scientific Revolutions. Oxford University Press, Inc.. Kuhn, T. S. (1970). The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, 2d ed. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Littlejohn, S. (1992). Chapter 2: Theory in the process of inquiry, Theories of Human Communication. Wadsworth Publishing Co, 25. Mackie, C. D. (1998). Canonizing Economic Theory: How Theories and Ideas Are Selected in Economics. Armonk, NY: M. E. Sharpe. Milton R. Copulos, (November 12, 2001). A Shift in Thinking about Medicine. Insight on the News 17(42), 46. Nickles, T. (ed.) (2003). Thomas Kuhn. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press. Prosise, T. O., Miller, Greg R., Mills, Jordan P. (1996). Argument Fields as Arenas of Discursive Struggle: Argument Fields and Pierre Bourdieus Theory of Social Practice. Argumentation and Advocacy 32(3), 111+. Roberts, L. J. (2000). Thomas Kuhns the Structure of Scientific Revolutions. ETC.: A Review of General Semantics, 57(1), 59. Swirski, P. (1996). Game Theory in the Third Pentagon: A Study in Strategy and Rationality. Criticism 38(2), 303+.

Growth Of Hospitality Industry In India Tourism Essay

Growth Of Hospitality Industry In India Tourism Essay CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW Introduction to Travel and Tourism Tourism is travel for leisure, recreational and business purpose. Tourists can be defined as people who travel to and stay in places outside their usual surroundings for more than twenty-four hours and not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes by the World Tourism Organization. Tourism is a known affair in human life. It has been an industry of vast dimensions and eventually supports economic and social growth. Tourism worldwide has experienced phenomenal growth. With more than 600 million people travelling annually, tourism is the worlds largest industry, with revenues of about half a trillion dollars a year, and averaging five percent annual growth. India, being a vast and diverse country has always something to offer, and its glorious traditions and rich cultural heritage are linked with the development of tourism. Its magnificent monuments attract large numbers of visitors from all over the world. Tourism is the largest service industry in India, with a contribution of 5.68% of the national GDP and 8.78% of the total employment in India. India witnesses more than 13.72 million annual foreign tourist arrivals and 650 million domestic tourist visits. The tourism industry in India generated about US$ 100 billion in 2008 and is expected to increase to US$ 275.5 billion 2018 at a 9.4% annual growth rate. Booming IT industry and outsourcing industry has led to growing number of business trips made by foreigners to India, who often add a weekend break or longer holiday to their trip. Foreign tourist spends more in India than almost any other country worldwide. Tourist arrivals are projected to increase by over 22% per year through till 2010. Tourism minister has also played an important role in the development of the industry, initiating advertising campaigns such as the Incredible India campaign, which promoted Indias culture and tourist attractions in a fresh and memorable way. This campaign helped create a colourful image of India in the minds of tourists all over the world and directly led to an increase in the interest among tourists. The tourism industry has helped growth in other sectors as diverse as horticulture, handicraft, agriculture, construction and even poultry. Both directly and indirectly, increased tourism in India has created jobs in a variety of related sectors. Almost 20 million people are now working in the Indias tourism industry. Growth Of Hospitality Industry In India The hotel industry in India is going through an interesting phase. One of the major reasons for the increase in demand for hotel rooms in the country is the boom in the overall economy and high growth in sectors like information technology, telecom, retail and real estate. Rising stock market and new business opportunities are also attracting hordes of foreign investors and international corporate travellers to look for business opportunities in the country. The hotel industry in India is going through an interesting phase. The industry has a capacity of 110,000 rooms. According to the tourism ministry, 4.4 million tourists visited India last year and at the current rate, the demand will soar to 10 million by 2010 to accommodate 350 million domestic travellers. The hotels of India have a shortage of 150,000 rooms fuelling hotel room rates across India. With tremendous pull of opportunity, India has become a destination for hotel chains looking for growth. Due to such a huge potential available in this segment, several global hotel chains like the Hilton, Accor, Marriott International, Berggruen Hotels, Cabana Hotels, Premier Travel Inn (PTI), InterContinental Hotels group and Hampshire among others have all announced major investment plans for the country. The Governments move to declare hotel and tourism industry as a high priority sector with a provision for 100 per cent foreign direct investment (FDI) has also provided a further impetus in attracting investments in to this industry. It is estimated that the hospitality sector is likely to see US$ 11.41 billion rise in the next two years, with around 40 international hotel brands making their presence known in the country by 2011. Simultaneously, international hotel asset management companies are also likely to enter India. Already, US-based HVS International has firmed up plans to enter India, and industry players believe others like Ashford Hospitality Trust and IFA Hotels Resorts among others are likely to follow suit. Niche Tourism The concept of niche tourism has emerged in recent years in counter-point to what is commonly referred as mass tourism. In a globalising world of increasing sameness, niche tourism represents diversity and ways of making difference. It plays on the pejorative connections that have accompanied the evolution of mass and package tourism and their, often cited, negative impacts in relation to environmental degradation and socio-cultural disturbance. For destination managers and planners seeking to utilise tourism as a mechanism for economic development, the niche tourism approach appears to often greater opportunities and a tourism that is more sustainable, less damaging and more capable of delivering high spending tourists. The term niche tourism is largely borrowed from the term niche marketing, which in turn has appropriated the niche concept from the language of the relatively recent discipline of ecology. Tourists, as consumers have developed increasing levels of expertise and experience of being tourists. Whilst this developmental pattern of tourists may not always be linear or simplistic. Figure 2: Niche Tourism Components Types of Niche Tourisms Niche tourism has broadly been divided into following components: Cultural Tourism: Cultural tourism is the subset of tourism concerned with a country or regions culture, specifically the lifestyle of the people in those geographical areas, the history of those peoples, their art, architecture, religions, and other elements that helped shape their way of life. Cultural tourism includes tourism in urban areas, particularly historic or large cities and their cultural facilities such as museums and theatres. It can also include tourism in rural areas showcasing the traditions of indigenous cultural communities (i.e. festivals, rituals), and their values and lifestyle. Environmental Tourism: Environmental tourism, ecotourism, or nature tourism provides an opportunity to visit undisturbed natural areas, scenic vistas, and observe plants and wildlife. Ecotourism is responsible travel to fragile, pristine, and usually protected areas that strive to be low impact and often small scale as an alternative to mass tourism. Its purpose is to educate the traveller and provide funds for ecological conservation, directly benefit the economic development and political empowerment of local communities and foster respect for different cultures and for human rights. Generally, ecotourism focuses on volunteering, personal growth and environmental responsibility. Ecotourism typically involves travel to destinations where flora, fauna, and cultural heritage are the primary attractions. One of the goals of ecotourism is to offer tourists insight into the impact of human beings on the environment, and to foster a greater appreciation of our natural habitats. Responsibl e ecotourism includes programs that minimize the negative aspects of conventional tourism on the environment and enhance the cultural integrity of local people. Rural Tourism: Any form of tourism that showcases the rural life, art, culture and heritage at rural locations, thereby benefiting the local community economically and socially as well as enabling interaction between the tourists and the locals for a more enriching tourism experience can be termed as rural tourism. Rural tourism is essentially an activity which takes place in the rural areas. The term rural tourism was adopted by the European Community to refer to all tourism activities in rural areas or as an economic activity, which depends on and exploits the countryside. Figure 1: Rural Tourism Approach Forms of Rural Tourism Agritourism: Agritourism or farm tourism refers to an organization working on farm or agricultural plant made for entertainment of tourists or visitors, thereby generating income for farm owners. This may help the farmers to interact with the visitors, thereby benefiting the visitors to enrich their knowledge regarding agritourism. Sports Tourism: It involves tourists to participate or observe rural sports. It teaches the local rural people how to get scope/chance in international game and to compete with opponents. It enables the people of different cultural background to mix with other people and exchange cultural activities between the parties and thereby they are culturally rich. Pro-Poor Tourism: Pro Poor tourism is set up in developing countries as a means to improve the local economy for local people. It enhances the linkages between tourism businesses and poor people; so that poverty is reduced and poor people are able to participate more effectively in tourism development. The aims of pro-poor ranges from increasing local employment to involving local people in the decision making process. Introduction to Rural Tourism in India Majority of India is among the rural category with the sanctity and subtleness intact in the very essence of the village soil. This pious environment of the rural India attracts lot of interest among the tourists in India and thus rural tourism is a fast emerging category. A national tourism policy was introduced in 2002, with rural tourism identified as a focus area to generate employment and promote sustainable livelihoods. The government in its 10th five year plan has focused on the subject of rural tourism. With a rich diversity in culture, heritage, food, crafts, and tradition, India has immense potential and opportunity. It has identified certain areas across the country, which can immediately be developed as the rural destinations. The government partnered with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) for an Endogenous Tourism Project. Some 30 rural sites were selected in 20 states to develop as destinations for rural tourists. The UNDP pumped in an initial US$2.5 million. Those proposals that were selected by the government were entitled to assistance up to US$100,000. Divining Forces in Rural Tourism Industry stakeholders define the rural tourism experience by what they offer as product. But they are simply responding to what they perceive as an increasing demand for experience of rural communities, and interpreting it via their own world views. This demand is driven by a range of forces that combine to create tourist interest in rural experiences. These forces have been identified by many authors and can be summarised as: Tourist generating regions for rural tourism are highly developed and urbanised. The stresses of urban living and the remoteness from the natural environment has created a desire for escape from the monoculture of city living. Baby boomers are driven to tourism experiences that yield increased self-awareness in their drive for longed for perfection that compensates for lives destabilised by uncertainty and insecurity (Mackay, 1997) Demand fuelled by media, over-familiarity and congestion with traditional tourist resorts and increased interest in alternative attractions with its voracious appetite for content and the resultant over exposure of many traditional tourist destinations. Increasing environmental awareness and interest in the relationship between humans and the environment. Green issues have raised the attractiveness of rural experiences as ecologically sustainable tourism. Transport, communication, and the removal of political and economic barriers to travel have facilitated accessibility of rural areas. Increase in number of free independent travellers due to the increased capacity, especially in long-haul transport modes. When combined with increasing discretionary incomes, greater awareness of the range experiences on offer, the accessibility and attractiveness of rural destinations has been dramatically improved. Changing work patterns have increased the popularity of shorter breaks that minimise the absence from work and the effect of absences on work flow and involvement. An increased interest in heritage can be satisfied through rural tourism as rural areas are often the repositories of remnant heritage. Rural areas are perceived as healthier, offering fresher air, cleaner water and the opportunity for outdoor recreation. Rural areas offer fresh and speciality food. (Bartmann and Baum, 1998) Issues with Rural Tourism The lack of statistical base: It is difficult to establish volume and value of rural tourism as a specific market sector in nations, even harder on an international scale. Many countries have different definitions of rural and will therefore collect different data. Data on rural tourism are not easily obtainable. Rural communities: These tend to be non-uniform for example remove versus accessible rural areas contain very different types of settlement, employment opportunities, socio-demographic characteristics. Different community structures with diverse responses to tourism exist. Tourism development strategies may not benefit all rural areas: Where there is an inadequate supply of attractions or accommodation, tourism may not flourish. However marketing strategies must be good to attract tourists. Likewise, development of tourism provision by local people may not be feasible in a depressed rural economy. Impact of Rural Tourism The aim of tourism development in rural areas is, in general terms, to provide opportunities for economic and social development. In some areas, tourism provides the main source of income and employment, as well as providing social and economic benefits. Inevitably, negative aspects of rural tourism are evident as well. (Gannon 1994) IMPACT POSITIVE IMPACT NEGATIVE IMPACT Economic Assists viability of existing tourism and non-tourism business. Encourages dependence on industry prone to uncontrollable change Creates new employment Creates part time, seasonal employment Attracts inward investment Incurs development costs and public service cost Socio-cultural Assists in viability of local service Creates feeling of invasion by tourists Creates sense of pride Increases crime Revitalises local culture, traditions, events and crafts Reduction in local services Environmental Leads in environmental improvements in settlements Increases wear and tear on landscape features Provides income for conservation of buildings and natural environment Creates need for new developments which may not be in keeping with local area. Fosters awareness of conservation as worthwhile activity Increases pollution and affects local biodiversity Table 1: Positive and negative impacts of rural tourism Niche Market: A Place in Rural Tourism If the importance of the products one buys lies largely in their potential as social markers, tourism marketers must focus both on tourisms social signification and on meanings attached to spaces in which these occur. Explanations of tourism consumption cannot be derived in isolation from the social relations in which they are embedded. New users of the countryside are redefining what constitutes rurality, and there is a need to take postmodernism and the construction of the rural much more seriously. Contemporary social construction often transcends the countrysides tangible characteristics and qualities of open space or fresh air by representing it as the setting for the achievement of a range of personal goals. The need for a wider sociological approach to tourism studies has been emphasised by Sharpley, who argues for the recognition of broader social and cultural influences that shape consumer behaviour as a whole and influence consumption patterns. In the interests of the rural environment, therefore, and of the small businesses trying to meet the needs of emerging markets, it is necessary to look beyond classical marketing theory to gain a useful understanding of rural tourism consumption and to evaluate the existence of niches for marketing purposes. The increasing need for analysts to focus on consumption as an improved means of understanding contemporary forms of rural tourism demand requires a dynamic framework within which the analysis can be conducted. A continuum to measure the relative importance of the countryside to the consumption of tourism in rural areas is proposed to indicate the importance of the countryside to the purpose of the trip and to tourist satisfaction. The significance of the model lies in its recognition of the primacy of neither tourism nor tourist types but the ways in which the countryside is consumed as a recreational resource. Challenges and Opportunities in Rural Tourism The major problem in rural areas is that there is not much scope for working. Most of the People are engaged in agricultural activities, some of them in forestry and others are artisans. Villages are struggling with large families with one or two earning members in the family and high consumption expenditure. Due to less scope in villages most of them started migrating to cities. There are 638,691 villages in India as per the Census Report 2001 and the rural population is 741,660,293 with average population of 1,161 per village. Many of these rural communities have the potential have the potential resources, ability to attract the growing tourism industry. The scenic beauty, historical importance may appeal the urbanites, caught up in todays fast pace of lifestyle. Challenges in Rural Tourism The major challenges are the need to preserve the environment and natural resources and the need for proper education. Legislation Problems Respondents have pointed out that there can be legal problems. Tourism is a part of entertainment industry. All hotels, motels and cottages having license pay taxes to government. Rural tourism should have a tax holiday or it should be tax free. The government should encourage rural tourism to grow. Lack Of Trained Man Power The ruler people require to be trained for discharging their duties, decorating the cottages and maintaining them, serving food to the visitors and to understand the taste of the costumers, either the local cuisine or different type of Indian cuisine. The success of rural tourism totally depends on the quality of service provided to the tourists. To develop the manpower government has to take initiative to open various short training courses for imparting knowledge and skills. Insufficient Financial Support To start rural tourism, sufficient fund is required to promote it in introductory phase. Rural tourism is still uncommon to many tourists. This is because the government has just started promoting rural tourism. Central and state government should encourage rural tourism by providing financial support to start the project. As it will create employment in rural areas and will help the inflow of funds from rural areas to urban areas. Lack of Local Involvement Since rural people do not have knowledge and skills to involve hem in different activities. They may get the job of unskilled workers. The rural people need to develop the knowledge and skills to have a higher involvement in rural tourism. The basic concept behind the rural tourism is the participation of rural people. But in practice local people are seldom involved in decision making, planning and implementing policies. Most of rural people do not have much knowledge of tourism, and are misled by outside investors who hope to take most of the economic benefits from rural area. Language Problem There are 16 recognized languages and 850 dialects in India. Although Hindi is an official language, in many parts of India people do not understand it. The rural people have to upgrade themselves to communicate with the urbanites. The villagers not only have to educate themselves but they have to understand hindi to interact with the Indian costumers and English to communicate with the foreign costumers. Opportunities in Rural Tourism The tourists look for quality environment and meaningful experience. Marketing of rural is a specialist job. For rural tourism, rural people have to surrender themselves to professional marketers who understand the complexity of their task. The business depends on the development of networks, creation of trust and loyalty and information system, all of which takes money and time to develop, which is beyond the resources of most individual. Tourists have become more educated, more aware of facilities available and more experienced, their expectation has also increased. People are interested in exploring new places. Rural tourism in India has great future, since it not only provides natural elements of beauty but also the indigenous local traditions, customs and foods. Direct experience with local people can be a unique selling proposition to attract tourists. Every state in India has unique handicraft, traditions and foods. The rural tourism not go for mass marketing, rather different strategies should be under taken for different segment to make it successful. Introduction To Laksh Farms, Mangar Village Situated in Village Mangar, off the Gurgaon-Faridabad Highway, Laksh Farms is just a 30 minutes drive from Chattarpur Mandir, Surajkund, Gurgaon and Faridabad. Spread over 15 acres, Laksh is located in a picturesque valley nestled in the Aravalli Hills, on the once-famous Dhauj Jheel. A unique example of the restoration of a degraded ecosystem, it offers a fulfilling experience in rural eco-tourism. With more than a few thousand indigenous and ornamental fruit trees and shrubs, Laksh is a naturalists delight, propagating organic farming using vermi-compost and bio waste. For animal lovers there are dogs, dairy cattle, goats, ducks, and geese, as well as an abundance of peacocks and deer throughout the area and also in the sacred forest around the Gudariya Baba Shrine. All in all, Laksh offers a magnificent rural experience with activities such as rock climbing, camping, organic farming, trekking, and nature walks, bird watching and cycling in the ancient and awe-inspiring Aravallis Khandavprastha of the Mahabharata.

Claude McKay & Jean Toomer Essay -- essays research papers

Claude McKay was born on September 15th 1890, in the West Indian island of Jamaica. He was the youngest of eleven children. At the age of ten, he wrote a rhyme of acrostic for an elementary-school gala. He then changed his style and mixed West Indian folk songs with church hymns. At the age of seventeen he met a gentlemen named Walter Jekyll, who encouraged him to write in his native dialect. Jekyll introduced him to a new world of literature. McKay soon left Jamaica and would never return to his homeland. In 1912, only 23 years old, Jekyll paid his way to the United Sates to study agriculture at Tuskegee Institute. Before leaving Jamaica, McKay had gotten a reputation as a poet. He had produced two volumes of dialect poetry, Song of Jamaica and Constab Ballads. His work is said to always echo both the British colony’s musical dialect and the sharp anger of its subject race. McKay moved to Harlem, New York in 1914, during a very discriminating time. His first American poem appeared in 1917. Of all the Renaissance writers, he was one of the first to express the spirit of the New Negro. By 1921, McKay had become the associate editor of a magazine called, The Liberator, a socialist magazine of art and literature. In 1922, Harcourt, Brace and Company published a collection of seven poems called, Harlem Shadows. This made him receive the status of being the first significant black poet. Even though he was considered an African-American icon, McKay said he still considered himse...

The house of Seven Gables Analysis Essays -- essays research papers

â€Å"The love of money is the root of all evil.† This basic proverb it the foundation that Nathaniel Hawthorne builds upon in The House of Seven Gables. Like all of hawthorns works he exploits the evils of the puritan heart in is 1851 Romantic Fantasy. Hawthorne tells the story of the Pyncheon family’s struggle to overcome the inherrated problem caused by the sins of their ancestors. The Pyncheon family, however, thinks the problems come from an inherrated curse that was placed on the family. The House of Seven Gables shows Hawthorne’s opinion of the puritan heart (Gioia and Kennedy p. 196). He believed that their hearts were full of sin, and that they were blinded by the sin and evil so much that they could not even see that the problem lies with themselves. Hawthorne believed that the inherrated evil of the heart could only be overcome by true love. To understand the family history, you must first meet the family. The Pyncheon family history starts in 1692 with the introduction of Colonel Pyncheon. He was a strict puritan whom everyone thought was a good godly man. However, his heart was greedy and evil. He had a man put to death so that he could gain the man’s property. These sins and evils are passed down through several generations of Pyncheon’s. In some generations the evil is stronger or weaker. The traits are passed until the later 1900’s to an elderly woman named Hephzibah Pyncheon. Hephzibah, the great grand niece of the Colonel, did not inherit all of his evil traits. Her heart was not greedy or full of hate, but she feels that she is better that everyone else because she is a Pyncheon. By the time the novel focuses on her however, she is nearly seventy and she realizes that she must open up a penny shop to survive. Hephzibah’s brother, Clifford, lives with her in the house of the seven gable s. Clifford is an emotional man who has spent most of his life in prison for the murder of one of his uncles. Clifford, however is the only male Pyncheon who is not full of hate, he killed his uncle to stop his uncle from killing others. Clifford and Hephzibah live in the house and are occasionally visited by their cousin, Phoebe Pyncheon. Because Phoebe moved from another town, she is unaware of the supposed curse and the inherrated evil that is supposed to dwell in her. Phoebe is perfect in every way. She is beautiful, happy, and she has a good heart. She is ... ...razy and others to become more powerful or richer to cover the feeling of grief (Anthony Trollope p 308). The ghost is also the on who resolves the conflict. Once the Pyncheon’s realize that all they have to do is confess their sins and come to terms with themselves and the Mauls then the conflict will end, and they will live happily ever after. The novel as a whole was excellent. The plot and the theme were excellent, and the novel should be converted into a movie because it has all of the things a good thriller and horror movie should have. The only drawback was the language and the style in which it was written. Nathaniel Hawthorne is a master of words and the human language, but describing a half-dead chicken does not need a two-page description. If someone could re-write the novel in today’s English, without loosing the quality of work, this could easily be the best novel ever. The theme of the novel is perfect for Hawthorne as well as everyone in every time period. It describes Hawthorne’s views as puritans as evil hypocrites, as well as showing every generation that just because you inherrated a bad family, it doesn’t mean you have to relieve the inherrated experience.

Personal Response to Cold Comfort Farm

Cold Comfort Farm By Stella Gibbons What was a main theme in the novel and how can it be applied to my lifestyle? Cold Comfort Farm is a novel centred around recently orphaned Flora Poste who goes to stay with her cousins living on a farm. I thought that a reoccurring theme in the novel was shown in the way in which Flora got people to look beyond their horizons and imagine a more realistic lifestyle. Thanks to Flora’s encouragement and manipulation the characters living at Cold Comfort Farm look beyond their horizons and become much more interesting people.Like Aunt Ada Doom, I have come to realise that I lead a very routine lifestyle only occasionally leaving Karori and barely ever venturing outside of Wellington. I can admit right here that I am not a enthralling person but I am not living a lifestyle which requires as dramatic a change as flying to Paris and living the High Life like Aunt Ada Doom does after reading an issue of Vogue. So really this theme didn’t pro voke any reaction in me at all other than how I hope I don’t see anything too nasty in the woodshed that would make me live in a bedroom for the rest of my life.How did I identify with the protagonist, Flora Poste? Throughout the novel I found myself comparing my attitudes to Flora’s as she is a practical and sensible young woman completely ready to take on any medieval, melodramatic family that she feel the need to â€Å"tidy up. † Flora is like a catalyst; she is the baking soda of the hokey-pokey, Flora shakes up delayed reactions and causes unusual emotions. I typically find this happening whenever I walk into a room as I normally end up saying something embarrassing that causes total controversy and many shocked expressions.Flora does the same thing by suggesting that Adam, a farm hand, uses a scrubbing brush to clean the breakfast dishes rather than a twig. Adam said: â€Å"’I don’t want a liddle mop wi’ a handle. I’ve used a t horn twig these fifty years and more, and what was good enough then is good enough now. ’† Seeing the logical and practical side is something I have in common with Flora however I do not consider myself quite as cunning or manipulative as Flora proves herself to be throughout the novel. â€Å"’But,’ suggested the cunning Flora†¦Ã¢â‚¬ If you had a little mop and could wash the dishes more quickly, you ould have more time in the cowshed with the dumb beasts. ’ Adam stopped his work. This had evidently struck home. † While getting changed after Ballet two weeks ago a girl I dance with stated how she ‘didn’t read. ’ I was disgusted and replied ‘I can see it is cool to be illiterate these days’ the response ‘What does illiterate mean’ could only result in an astonished silence from me. I then took it upon myself to help her with her homework every Tuesday before ballet. I think that Flora and I a re both modern for our times and have little tolerance for unnecessary ignorance.What was a device used by Gibbons to hold my attention throughout the novel? Stella Gibbons was a poet before she became a novelist with her first publication being a book of poems The Mountain Beast, and her melodramatic insertions of landscape descriptions are proof of this. â€Å"**Dawn crept over the downs like a sinister white animal followed by the snarling cries of a wind eating its way between the black boughs of the thorns. The wind was the furious voice of this sluggish animal light that was baring the dormers and mullions and scullions of Cold Comfort Farm. Gibbons warns us whenever she starts this by placing a couple of asterixes in front of the paragraph. The reader is then snatched from this world and back into the sensible yet cynical views of the young protagonist, Flora Poste. I thought this made the book ahead of its times as it was only written in the 1930s when it just wasn’t the done thing for women to write comedy. However, sometimes this would confuse me and I would have to go back and read the paragraph again as a beautiful description of rugged landscape would switch to how Graceless the cow’s leg fell off.Bizarre occurrences like these made me do something that can only be described as a double take to make sure I had read the passage correctly. I couldn’t leave the cow-leg incident alone and spent my lying-in-bed-pondering-before-sleep-time speculating over how a cow’s leg simply falls off. Did I find the novel relevant or interesting to me as a reader? I was highly recommended to read this book by my parents, knowing I like a laugh, they told me it was hilarious and then proved how little they know about my sense of humour.Despite having interesting characters, poetic techniques and a solid theme I found the novel as a whole: disappointing. I didn’t learn anything of great epiphany significance, and no valuable life l essons, there was no exciting climax but the most disappointing thing was the lack of humour. The only thing I really laughed at being Aunt Ada Doom unable to get past how she ‘Saw something nasty in the woodshed when she was a little girl,’ and then spending the rest of her life sulking about it in her bedroom.Maybe I didn’t understand the humour so much because I am only fifteen and have not experienced enough of the world and its literature to understand the adult humour within the story but I did not react to the novel at all, in fact I thought that the setting was rather dull, and reminded me of a rainy day on a farm only more bleak, the events in the story were unrealistically rushed and happened much too quickly and the perfect solutions to each problem that arose were idealistic and cliche, however I am sure it is a classic for a reason and maybe I need to live a little before I revisit it in a few years time. Personal Response to Cold Comfort Farm Cold Comfort Farm By Stella Gibbons What was a main theme in the novel and how can it be applied to my lifestyle? Cold Comfort Farm is a novel centred around recently orphaned Flora Poste who goes to stay with her cousins living on a farm. I thought that a reoccurring theme in the novel was shown in the way in which Flora got people to look beyond their horizons and imagine a more realistic lifestyle. Thanks to Flora’s encouragement and manipulation the characters living at Cold Comfort Farm look beyond their horizons and become much more interesting people.Like Aunt Ada Doom, I have come to realise that I lead a very routine lifestyle only occasionally leaving Karori and barely ever venturing outside of Wellington. I can admit right here that I am not a enthralling person but I am not living a lifestyle which requires as dramatic a change as flying to Paris and living the High Life like Aunt Ada Doom does after reading an issue of Vogue. So really this theme didn’t pro voke any reaction in me at all other than how I hope I don’t see anything too nasty in the woodshed that would make me live in a bedroom for the rest of my life.How did I identify with the protagonist, Flora Poste? Throughout the novel I found myself comparing my attitudes to Flora’s as she is a practical and sensible young woman completely ready to take on any medieval, melodramatic family that she feel the need to â€Å"tidy up. † Flora is like a catalyst; she is the baking soda of the hokey-pokey, Flora shakes up delayed reactions and causes unusual emotions. I typically find this happening whenever I walk into a room as I normally end up saying something embarrassing that causes total controversy and many shocked expressions.Flora does the same thing by suggesting that Adam, a farm hand, uses a scrubbing brush to clean the breakfast dishes rather than a twig. Adam said: â€Å"’I don’t want a liddle mop wi’ a handle. I’ve used a t horn twig these fifty years and more, and what was good enough then is good enough now. ’† Seeing the logical and practical side is something I have in common with Flora however I do not consider myself quite as cunning or manipulative as Flora proves herself to be throughout the novel. â€Å"’But,’ suggested the cunning Flora†¦Ã¢â‚¬ If you had a little mop and could wash the dishes more quickly, you ould have more time in the cowshed with the dumb beasts. ’ Adam stopped his work. This had evidently struck home. † While getting changed after Ballet two weeks ago a girl I dance with stated how she ‘didn’t read. ’ I was disgusted and replied ‘I can see it is cool to be illiterate these days’ the response ‘What does illiterate mean’ could only result in an astonished silence from me. I then took it upon myself to help her with her homework every Tuesday before ballet. I think that Flora and I a re both modern for our times and have little tolerance for unnecessary ignorance.What was a device used by Gibbons to hold my attention throughout the novel? Stella Gibbons was a poet before she became a novelist with her first publication being a book of poems The Mountain Beast, and her melodramatic insertions of landscape descriptions are proof of this. â€Å"**Dawn crept over the downs like a sinister white animal followed by the snarling cries of a wind eating its way between the black boughs of the thorns. The wind was the furious voice of this sluggish animal light that was baring the dormers and mullions and scullions of Cold Comfort Farm. Gibbons warns us whenever she starts this by placing a couple of asterixes in front of the paragraph. The reader is then snatched from this world and back into the sensible yet cynical views of the young protagonist, Flora Poste. I thought this made the book ahead of its times as it was only written in the 1930s when it just wasn’t the done thing for women to write comedy. However, sometimes this would confuse me and I would have to go back and read the paragraph again as a beautiful description of rugged landscape would switch to how Graceless the cow’s leg fell off.Bizarre occurrences like these made me do something that can only be described as a double take to make sure I had read the passage correctly. I couldn’t leave the cow-leg incident alone and spent my lying-in-bed-pondering-before-sleep-time speculating over how a cow’s leg simply falls off. Did I find the novel relevant or interesting to me as a reader? I was highly recommended to read this book by my parents, knowing I like a laugh, they told me it was hilarious and then proved how little they know about my sense of humour.Despite having interesting characters, poetic techniques and a solid theme I found the novel as a whole: disappointing. I didn’t learn anything of great epiphany significance, and no valuable life l essons, there was no exciting climax but the most disappointing thing was the lack of humour. The only thing I really laughed at being Aunt Ada Doom unable to get past how she ‘Saw something nasty in the woodshed when she was a little girl,’ and then spending the rest of her life sulking about it in her bedroom.Maybe I didn’t understand the humour so much because I am only fifteen and have not experienced enough of the world and its literature to understand the adult humour within the story but I did not react to the novel at all, in fact I thought that the setting was rather dull, and reminded me of a rainy day on a farm only more bleak, the events in the story were unrealistically rushed and happened much too quickly and the perfect solutions to each problem that arose were idealistic and cliche, however I am sure it is a classic for a reason and maybe I need to live a little before I revisit it in a few years time.

Black Leaders Essay

Booker T. Washington and William Edward Burghardt Du Bois were influential black leaders. Their leadership strengthened the minds of the black race. During the decades of Reconstruction following the Civil War, African Americans struggled to be assimilated into the new American society. To do this African Americans required social and economic equality. Two great Negro leaders that emerged for this cause were Booker T. Washington and W. E. B. Du Bois. With these two strong-headed men, another problem arose. They both sharply disagreed upon the strategies needed to gain these equalities. Washington preferred a gradual, submissive, and economically based plan. On the other hand, Du Bois relied upon a more agitating and politically aggressive plan. They worked for the advancement of African-Americans in American society, but their methods of achieving this goal and their leadership style differed greatly from one another. It is hard to fathom that two men, who helped to strive for the great goal of racial fairness, could have been such opposites, but it is true. Booker T. Washington, a former slave and the founder of the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama, believed that African Americans needed to accept segregation and discrimination for the time being and concentrate on elevating themselves through hard work and material prosperity. The eventual acquisition of wealth and culture by African Americans would gradually win for them the respect and acceptance of the white community. This would break down the divisions between the two races and lead to equal citizenship for African Americans in the end. Also he urged blacks to accept discrimination for the time being and concentrate on elevating themselves through hard work and material prosperity. He believed in education in the crafts, industrial and farming skills and the cultivation of the virtues of patience, enterprise and thrift. This, he said, would win the respect of whites and lead to African Americans being fully accepted as citizens and included into all strata of society. Washington wanted blacks in the south to respect and value the need for industrial education both from a vantage of American and African experience. Booker T. Washington was born a slave on April 5, 1856 in Franklin County, Virginia. Once the slaves were emancipated, his family moved to West Virginia. There, his family was poor, and he had to work in a salt furnace and then a coal mine. In school he named himself Booker Washington. Only later did he find out his name was Booker Taliaferro. So he combined both names to form his now famous name, Booker T. Washington. He went to school at the Hampton Institute, which was an industrial school for blacks. Later on, he based his educational theories on his time at Hampton. He founded the Tuskegee Institute, which was a Negro school, which eventually became known for its hardworking, reliable graduates. William Edward Burghardt Du Bois was born into an affluent family on February 23, 1868 in Great Barrington, Massachusetts. Bois took college preparatory classes while in high school. He was also a column writer of a newspaper, the New York Globe. While still young he attended town meetings to listen to people discuss concerns of the town. He spoke about Wendell Phillips at his high school graduation. Du Bois’s mother unexpectedly died in 1884. After high school, he attended Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee. He was the first black person to obtain a Ph. D. from Harvard. He taught at Atlanta University. At Fisk he took part in public speaking and debates. He edited the Fisk Herald, the school’s paper. At Fisk he realized that his goal was not for his own happiness, but for the advancement of the black race. He graduated from Fisk in 1886 with an A. B. degree. After Fisk he was accepted into Harvard. In 1895 Du Bois became the first African American to get a Ph. D. from Harvard. Even with a Ph. D. from Harvard he did not feel he was ready to deal with the problems that African Americans faced. He then spent two years at Berlin University. This gave him an extended outlook on the race problem. In the south, African Americans received segregated and unequal education established by white Americans. Du Bois was confident that he could get white Americans to give up discrimination. Du Bois was motivated to lead African Americans out of the disadvantaged position they seemed to be in. He believed the key to their advancement was in education. Near the end of the 1800’s African Americans occupied unskilled jobs in southern cities. Their economic situation was not good. Du Bois felt compelled to work to improve this situation. He initially wanted to dedicate his life to education. In 1909 he contributed to the development of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). According to Gerald Hynes, Du Bois was not pleased with the group, due in part by it being under the leadership of whites. He agreed to work with them and became the editor of â€Å"The Crisis† (1909-1934), a publication from the NAACP. He also led the Niagara Movement. The Niagara Movement was an organization founded by black Americans to racial discrimination. The movement placed most of the blame for America’s racial problems on whites. It opposed the view of Booker T. Washington. He later became a Marxist and a Communist. Washington and Du Bois were alike in few ways. They were both black leaders. They were both teachers and authors. They were also both subject to discrimination from whites. They were both spokesmen for their separate ideologies. Du Bois and Washington were polar opposites of each other in every aspect except for the reasons previously stated. They were so much so that Du Bois published a book named The Souls of Black Folk, which contained many essays criticizing Washington’s views. Du Bois went on to write many other essays and speeches opposing the viewpoints of supposed â€Å"Uncle Tom’s. † The author believes that Booker T. Washington developed a leadership style based on the model of the old plantation house servant. He used humility, politeness, flattery, and restraint as a wedge with which he hoped to split the wall of racial discrimination. His conciliatory approach won the enthusiastic support of the solid South as well as that of influential Northern politicians and industrialists; their backing gained him a national reputation and provided him with easy access to the press. Members of his own community were filled with pride to see one of their own treated with such respect by wealthy and influential leaders of white America. Du Bois assigned Washington of giving the black race the â€Å"distinct status of civil inferiority. † Washington was for surrendering basic human rights and dignity for economic advancement. Du Bois thought that was detrimental to the black race. Washington thought that a vocational education was far more important to blacks than higher education. Du Bois thought that the really important things in life laid in the realm of the mind. The term â€Å"The Talented Tenth† was the trademark of his educational philosophy. To him, this was, â€Å"The Talented Tenth of the Negro race must be made leaders of thought and missionaries of culture among their people. No others can do this work and Negro colleges must train men for it. The Negro race, like all other races, is going to be saved by its exceptional men. † In the author’s opinion, there’s any question that Booker T. Washington did accept segregation. Booker T. Washington was an accommodationist. And his program was to accommodate the social and political situation of the South. â€Å"Du Bois was not in complete disagreement with Booker T. Washington. Du Bois referred to Booker T. Washington as the greatest black leader since Frederick Douglass. And also referred to Washington as the most distinguished man, black or white, to come out of the South since the Civil War. So it wasn’t as though Du Bois disagreed with Washington’s program, but Du Bois felt that there was room for more than one solution to the problem. And just as Washington advocated vocational education for the majority of African Americans in the South, Du Bois felt yes, there were African Americans in the South, perhaps the majority who at that point in their historical development were better off with vocational education. But there were others among the race who needed to be the individuals who were at the top, the individuals who did the training, the individuals who were the intelligentsia. And that you needed this group of people. And I think that was the basis of their disagreement. Not that Du Bois felt that Washington was completely wrong, but that Washington needed to have more than just one way of approaching the problem. And then of course the other issue on which they disagreed was Du Bois did not feel that you could accommodate injustice. And he felt that Washington was placing upon his shoulders an extremely heavy responsibility by advocating that African Americans accommodate the social and political system in the South. Washington stated that blacks should work hard and become economically prosperous before they should ask for racial equality from the whites. Du Bois thought that this was absolutely preposterous. Blacks shouldn’t have to ask for equality from whites, it is God’s gift to them and every human being deserved it. Du Bois believed that the whites were responsible for keeping the black men down and that the black man should cry out and declare his independence. Washington wanted to please the whites, because he thought that was the only way anything good could happen. Even when he was a child, he made his name Washington, whom was a well-known white historical figure of prominence. Du Bois was more radical, whereas Washington was very moderate. Washington was a realist, Du Bois was a romantic. Du Bois wanted to stir men’s hearts, Washington wanted to stir men’s minds. Washington was loyal to his country, Du Bois was loyal to his race. Washington was possessed humility, and could relate to the common man, Du Bois was arrogant, egotistical, and imperious. Since he could not believe that the average Southern white man had any desire to help the Negro, Du Bois could see no future in the South for the ambitious young people of his race. Directly contradicting Washington’s counsel, Du Bois urged them to go North for freedom and advancement. He encouraged urban migration at every turn, believing that the â€Å"country represented oppression and serfdom,† while the â€Å"city represented opportunity. † It is very clear to see that their experiences were different and this is very important in understanding how they saw the future of the race. But it’s also important to keep in mind that for both of them, race uplift was the central key. Despite all of Du Bois attacks on him, Washington still managed to be more popular at the time, and more famous today.

Imperatives for Developing My Transformational Leadership Potential: Some Plans Essay

The word â€Å"leader† first appeared in the English language in the 1300s; it stems from the root â€Å"leden† meaning â€Å"to travel† or â€Å"show the way.†   The term â€Å"leadership†, however, followed only some five centuries later.   One can sift through many definitions of the term â€Å"leadership† and fail to find a single ‘common denominator’ that will unite all of them. This may be because there are so numerous, varying usages of the term in equally numerous and complicated situations.   However, for purposes of this paper, the following definitions used in many leadership studies were adopted: Leadership was broadly defined by Yukl (1989) as â€Å"influencing task objectives and strategies, influencing commitment and compliance in task behavior to achieve these objectives, influencing the culture of an organization.†Ã‚   In simpler terms, leaders influence the actions and behaviours of their followers to obtain a shared vision or aim.   According to Deming (1992), leadership must come from top management and leaders must possess profound knowledge. By profound knowledge, Deming meant that one must have knowledge of systems, variations (statistical thinking), theory, and psychology. Leadership is quite different from management; leaders grow from mastering their own conflict which arises during their developing years using internal strength to survive. On the other hand, managers tend to perceive issues as positive progressions of events which must be planned, organized, scheduled, and controlled.   In order to create the proper thinking perspective, leaders must aggressively investigate and act on the current market to create opportunities.   Effective leaders are those that are capable of assisting their organization/country manage change and steer it towards success. Past Work Experience I have had the opportunity to work with a local company; at peak work periods, I am tasked to manage a small team of 4 staff. Some of the responsibilities involved in this role are delegation of work; prioritizing tasks based on urgency and importance; reporting regularly to my superior for updates and new directives; and updating my superior at the end of the day for concerns and accomplishments. Moreover, it requires me to plan and manage my own time. Effective people skills are as critical as the management of tasks in a team leader’s role. It is necessary for me to create and manage smooth working relationships with line managers, colleagues, and team members. I am also expected to manage their performance by clearly explaining to them standards of work and behavior. An Assessment of My Leadership Style I personally want to develop a transformational leadership style that is more dynamic, innovative and accepting of change than that espoused by a management role. Tichy and Devanna (1986) assert that managers engage in very little change but manage what is present and leave things much as they found them when they depart. Transformational leadership, they declared, focuses on change, innovation, and entrepreneurship. They assumed that transformational leaders begin with a social fabric, disrupt that environment, and then recreate the social fabric to better reflect the overall business climate (Bass, 1990). They argue that there are four suggested personal characteristics of a transformational leader: (a) dominance, (b) self-confidence, (c) need for influence, and (d) conviction of moral righteousness. These are the traits that I have to focus on in undertaking my development plan. Transformational leaders are expected to deal with the paradox of predicting the unknown and sometimes the unknowable.   These leaders change and transform the organization according to a vision of a preferred status. Leaders then are change makers and transformers, guiding the organization to a new and more compelling vision, a demanding role expectation. Studies have been carried out in many different countries, and research in this area also shows that transformational leadership is closer to perceptions of ideal leadership than transactional leadership.   As Hartog et al (1999) note, being perceived as a leader is a prerequisite for being able to go beyond a formal role in influencing others.   They hold that leadership perceptions can be based on two alternative processes.   First, leadership can be inferred from outcomes of salient events, and attribution is crucial in these inference-based processes. For example, a successful business ‘turnaround’ is often quickly attributed to the high quality ‘leadership’ of top executives or the CEO.   Leadership can also be recognized based on the fit between an observed person’s characteristics with the perceivers’ implicit ideas of what ‘leaders’ are (Hartog et al., 1999). This again points to the fact that an effective manager is not only focused on delivering tasks, but on handling his people well. This is especially true among people in the organization who put high premium on a manager’s interpersonal skills. The first step I will consider in my developmental plan is to maintain my enthusiasm and motivation of my team towards their work. Concurrently, I will also aim to develop my leadership potential. I will concretely undertake this by developing a strong mentoring relationship with my superior. Empirical research from both educational and industrial settings suggests that students and employees both have increased probability of success if they have had a mentor. While mentors are effective for everyone, sometimes organizations implement mentoring programs to support particular parts of their populations, often newer employees. And while mentoring programs are always established with the best of intentions, their results are often mixed (Werner, 2004). To make the most of my work exposure, I hope to establish a strong mentoring relationship with my superior or with an expert in my field to develop my competence further. Coaching and mentoring is a very effective way of developing my leadership potential because it does not only develop me in terms of technical expertise, but it will also allow me to actually experience how these experts undergo the coaching and mentoring exercise. Skills Acquisition Skill acquisition acknowledges that proficiency and expertise are a function of the exposure to a variety of situations. These circumstances become experiences for the learner to elicit apt responses. Bandura (1977) emphasized that most learning transpires by observing and modeling behaviors. Information is then stored and coded cognitively and utilized as guide for action. He further noted that the development of a realistic learning setting incorporating environment, behavior, and thought promotes the acquisition of complex skills. Moreover, simulation can help in providing this realistic exposure for neophyte professionals (Bandura, 1977). Because I have gone past beyond being a novice, now is the perfect time for developing strategic leadership skills. I will also be able to add on to my networks by attending conferences related to my field to be able to build and establish peer contacts. I will also endeavor to build relationships with members and managers of other teams within the organization. The following soft competencies have been recommended areas for leadership development by the Development Dimensions International website (2005): master at managing through ambiguity; inspires confidence and belief in the future; have a passion for results; are marked by unwavering integrity; set others up for success; have strong rather than big egos; and have the courage to make big decisions. Mastery at managing through ambiguity. Build a culture that embraces change; constantly set clear goals and expectations; are able to manage across boundaries (and lead others to do the same); show connections between individual accountabilities, team goals, and organizational vision and strategies; sets out a clear course even though it may change frequently. Inspires confidence and belief in the future. Are able to articulate a vision depicting what they want their organization; exudes calm and projects optimism in the face of uncertainty; can engage and inspire employees in their work connecting their needs and values with those of the institution. Passion for results. Set clear accountabilities and high expectations for themselves and for others; hire, promote and reward high performers; keep themselves and their employees focused on the top two or three customer-driven priorities; take action on those who do not fit or who are consistently not performing; establish critical measures of success and make sure they are visible to others. Marked by unwavering integrity. Serve as a â€Å"moral compass† for others; keeps promises and commitments; â€Å"walks the talk†; gives straight, honest feedback; leads through values; acts promptly when their own or the integrity of their organization is compromised.    Set others up for success. Coaches others to succeed before they have the opportunity to fail; truly enjoys seeing people learn and grow; rewards and recognizes success; views failures as learning opportunities; shares (rather than hordes) talent for the good of the organization. Have strong rather than big egos. Humbly shares credit with others; never shoots the messenger – they encourage the sharing of bad news; are always asking â€Å"how can we do things better?†; blame themselves before pointing a finger at others; knows themselves and are guided by strong personal values; listens to understand; recognizes that they, more often than not, are not the ones with the right answers.    Have the courage to make big decisions. Addresses issues or problems quickly; takes actions that are right, even when they are unpopular – they act on conviction; stands by their decisions once they make them – even if circumstances cause them to change course later; takes a longer term view consistent with a future vision (www.ddiworld.com, 2005). Soft skills are as equally if not more important than technical skills, in the development of leadership potential. These competencies must also be integrated into my success competency profile and adequately addressed through formal classroom or on-the-job training. Naturally, to be able to identify which leadership areas I need to focus on, I need to use reflection. The main approach is to develop fully into a transformational leadership role. With transformational leadership, the followers feel trust, admiration, loyalty and respect towards the leader and they are motivated to do more then they originally expected to do. Leaders transform and motivate followers by: (1) making them more aware of the importance of task outcomes, and (2) inducing them to transcend their own self-interest for the sake of the organization or team and activating their higher order needs. In contrast, transactional leadership involves an exchange process that may result in follower compliance with leader requests but is not likely to generate enthusiasm and commitment to task objectives. Therefore, my staff need to feel that I can empathize with them, are able to give them feedback while maintaining their self-esteem, and also solicit their ideas on important issues. Transformational and transactional leadership are distinct but not mutually exclusive processes. Transformational leadership increases follower motivation and performance more than transactional leadership, but effective leaders use a combination of both types of leadership.   Such is the argument of   Gary Yukl (1989).   He defined transformational behavior as idealized influence, individualized consideration, inspirational motivation and intellectual stimulation. Yukl theorized that transformational leadership probably involves internationalization because inspirational motivation includes the articulation of an appealing vision that relates task objectives to follower values and ideals, it therefore also involves personal identification.   Yukl (1989) described transformational leadership as a process of micro-level and macro-level influence. At the macro-level, transformational leaders must take charge of the social systems and reform the organization by creating an appropriate power situation. At the micro-level, transformational leaders must attend to the personalities in the organization to facilitate change at an interpersonal level. One other way of developing my leadership potential is by regularly reflecting on areas for improvement. In this area, the feedback of my superior would serve as critical input. There is now broad agreement on four key attributes, therefore, known as the four i’s of Transformational Leadership (Avolio et al., 1991; Bass & Avolio, 1994b). Inspirational leadership means ‘the arousal and heightening of motivation among followers that occurs primarily from charismatic leadership’ and individualized consideration is evident when subordinates are treated individually according to their needs. Intellectual stimulation refers to the leader’s influence on followers’ thinking and imagination (Bass, 1985, pp. 62,82 and 99). And, finally, idealized influence is the identification with and emulation of the leader’s mission and vision. Apart from focusing on my own leadership needs, I would also like to assist in the drafting of Career Management plans of the members of my team. I would also like to ensure that I continuously serve as a model and inspiration for them in terms of giving support, praise and encouragement to all team members. Moreover, I will work for the implementation of retention strategies among the team members I work with through career development,   flexible work, induction, partnership and staff involvement, and pay and rewards. Some Comments on the Transformational Leadership Framework / Theory In contrast with leader emergence which deals with the likelihood that a person will become a leader, leader performance involves the idea that excellent leaders possess certain characteristics that certain leaders do not. For example, an excellent leader might be intelligent, assertive, friendly, and independent, whereas a poor leader might be shy, aloof, and calm. Research on the relationship between personal characteristics and leader performance has concentrated on three areas: traits, needs and orientation. In relation to transformational leadership framework, I do agree that the leader must possess certain characteristics to transform the organization. But this is not all – there must also be ample consideration of other factors such as subordinates’ ability and organizational climate. Traits. The idea that certain traits are associated with effective leadership is appealing, but in 1964, a review by Heslin and Dunphy indicated that only two traits – intelligence and interpersonal adjustment – have consistently been related to leadership performance. More recently, it has been proposed that good leaders need to possess only one stable trait – adaptability or self-monitoring (Cohen & Bradford, 1990). Thus, good leaders will constantly change their behaviors to meet the demands of the situation or person with whom they are dealing. Support from this theory comes from a study by Caldwell & O’Reilly (1982), who found that field representatives who dealt with many different types of people were more effective if they were high self-monitors. Similar results were found with Zaccaro, Foti & Kenny (1991). The concept of self-monitoring focuses on what leaders do as opposed to what they are. For example, a high self-monitoring leader may possess the trait of shyness and not truly want to communicate with other people. He know, however, that talking to others is an important part of his job, so he says hello to his employees when he arrives at work, and at least once a day stops and talks to each employee. Thus, the leader has the trait of shyness but adapts his outward behavior to appear to be outgoing and confident. An interesting extension of the trait theory of leader performance suggests that certain traits are necessary requirements for leadership excellence but that they do not guarantee it (Simonton, 1979). Instead, leadership excellence is a function of the right person being in the right place at the right time. The fact that one person with certain traits becomes an excellent leader while another with the same trait flounders may be no more than the result of timing and chance. Needs. A personal characteristic that has received some support to a leader’s need for power, need for achievement, and need for affiliation. Research by McClelland and Burnham (1976) and McClelland and Boyatzis (1982) have demonstrated that high-performance managers have a leadership motive pattern, which is a high need for power and a low need for affiliation. The need is not for personal power but for organizational power. This pattern of needs is thought to be important because it implies that an effective leader should be more concerned with results than with being liked. Leaders who need to be liked by their subordinates will have a tough time making decisions. A decision to make an employee work overtime, for example, may be necessary for the organization’s survival, but it will probably be unpopular with employees. Leaders with high affiliation needs may decide that being liked is more important than being successful, causing conflict with their decision. Needs for power, achievement and affiliation can be measured through various psychological tests. The most commonly used is the Thematic Apperception Test (TAT). The TAT is a projective test in which a person is shown a series of pictures and is asked to tell a story about what is happening in each picture. The stories are then analyzed by a trained psychologist who identifies the needs themes that are contained in the stories. Obviously, this technique is time consuming and requires a great deal of training. Task vs. person orientation. Over the last 45 years, three major schools of thought – Ohio State studies (Fleishman, Harris & Burtt, 1955), Theory X (McGregor, 1960) and managerial grid (Blake & Mouton, 1984) – have postulated that differences in leader performance can be attributed to differences in the extent to which leaders are task versus person oriented. Person-oriented leaders (country club leaders, theory Y leaders, leaders in high consideration) act in a warm and supportive manner and show concern for their subordinates. Person-oriented leaders believe that employees are intrinsically motivated, seek responsibility, are self-controlled, and do not necessarily dislike work, Because of these assumptions, person-oriented leaders consult their subordinates before making decisions, praise their work, ask about their families, look over their shoulders, and use a more â€Å"hands-off† approach to leadership. Under pressure, person-oriented leaders tend to become socially withdrawn (Bond, 1995). Task –oriented leaders (task-centered leaders, theory X leaders, leaders high in initiating structure) define and structure their own roles and those of their subordinates to attain the group’s formal goals. Task-oriented leaders see their employees as lazy, extrinsically motivated, wanting security, undisciplined, and shirking responsibility. Because of these assumptions, task-oriented leaders tend to manage or lead by giving directives, setting goals, and making decisions without consulting their subordinates. Under pressure, task-oriented leaders tend to produce humor (e.g. tell jokes and stories) whereas person-oriented leaders tend to appreciate humor (e.g. listen to others’ jokes) (Philbrick, 1989). I feel that the best leader who may undertake transformation in the organization ought to be both person and task-oriented. In effect, in being a transformational leader, I should put premium on both person and task orientations, exhibiting each one with equal strength or emphasis. Interaction between the Leader and the Situation Apart from just focusing on the leader, I feel it is equally important for him to consider the complexities of his situation so that he may have a better grasp of how it is to transform the organization. In line with this, I should also be able to focus not only on developing myself but also consider the characteristics of the situation which I find myself in. One of the more recent research on this area is the situational theory of Geier, Downey and Johnson (1980) who believed that the leader has one of six behavioral styles, namely, informational, magnetic, position, affiliation, coercive or tactical. Each type is only effective in a particular situation, or in what researchers call an organizational climate. These researchers further say that based on the organizational climate, a leader with an informational style is best fit in ac climate of ignorance; those with magnetic style in a climate of despair; those with a position style in a climate of instability; affiliation style in a climate of anxiety; coercive style in a climate of crisis; tactical style in a climate of disorganization. This suggests that as a transformational leader, I should be able to adjust myself on the basis of my assessment of my organization’s climate. Relationship with Subordinates One other facet of transformational leadership which I intend to integrate into my personal development plan is my relationship with subordinates. This is consistent with the vertical dyad linkage theory. Vertical dyad linkage (VDL) theory was developed by Dansereau, Graen, and Haga (1974) and is a unique situational theory that makes good intuitive sense. Some situational theories concentrate on interactions between leaders and situations and between leaders and employees with differing levels of ability. VDL theory, however, concentrates on the interactions between leaders and subordinates. These interactions are called leader-member exchanges (LMXs). The theory takes its name from the relationship between two people (a dyad), the position of the leader above the subordinate (vertical), and their interrelated behavior (linkage). VDL theory states that leaders develop different roles with different subordinates and thus act differently with different subordinates. Dansereau et al (1974) believe that subordinates fall in one of two groups, the in-group or the outgroup. In-group subordinates are those who have developed trusting, friendly relationships with the leader. As a result, the leader deals with in-group members by allowing them to participate in decisions and by rarely disciplining them. Thus, in-group membership is thought to increase performance. Out-group subordinates are treated differently from those in the in-group and are more likely to be given direct orders and to have less say about how affairs are conducted. In general, research on VDL theory has been supportive (Grestner & Day, 1997). There are, however, relationships between leaders and subordinates that probably can be categorized into types other than in-group and out-group. In relation to transformational leadership, I should increase my self-awareness in treating my subordinates such that there is no rigid classification of whether they are members of the in-group or the out-group. Under the transformational leadership framework, all subordinates are encouraged to participate in decision making. As such, I should try my best to gather input from all of my staff to be able to come up with the most optimal solution to a problem or an issue. Subordinate Ability Apart from self-development, the transformational leader must also be wary of his subordinates’ abilities in carrying out his plan for change or transformation. According to House’s (1971) path goal theory, a leader can adopt one of four behavioral leadership styles to handle each situation: instrumental, supportive, participative and achievement-oriented. The instrumental style calls for planning, organizing, and controlling the activities of employees. The supportive style leader shows concern for employees, the participative style leader shares information with employees and lets them participate in decision making, and the leader who uses the achievement oriented style sets challenging goals and rewards increases in performance. Each style will only work in certain situations and depends on subordinates’ abilities and the extent to which the task is structured. In general, the higher the level of subordinate ability, the less directive the leader should be. Likewise, the more structured the situation, the more directive the leader should be (Schriesheim & DeNisi, 1981). In conclusion, I feel that the transformational leadership framework is wanting of some considerations. Apart from just focusing on the leader himself, the plan should include a grave consideration of other important factors, such as his subordinates’ ability and the organizational climate in which the leader operates. My transformational leadership development plan, in summary, will equip me with the necessary technical and leadership competencies towards effectively taking on a management role, whilst seriously considering my subordinates’ abilities and the culture of the company I am working for. Ultimately, this will reflect in being able to lead and motivate a team – who in themselves are competent, goal-driven and are able to contribute to the organization’s bottomline. References Bandura, A. (1977). Self-efficacy: toward a unifying theory of behavior change. 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