Essay Cancer - 1081 Words

Cancer Cancer is a group of diseases characterized by an uncontrolled growth of abnormal cells. If the spread of these abnormal cells is not controlled, cancer can cause death. Most cancers take the form of tumors, although not all tumors are cancers. A tumor is simply a mass of new tissue that serves no physiological purpose. It can be benign, like a wart, or malignant, like cancer. Benign tumors are made up of cells similar to the surrounding normal cells and are enclosed in a membrane that prevents them from penetrating neighboring tissues. They are dangerous only if their physical presence interferes with bodily functions. A malignant tumor, or cancer, is capable of invading surrounding structures, including blood†¦show more content†¦These symptoms are not always warning signs of cancer. They can also be caused by less serious conditions. It is important to see a doctor if any of these symptoms occur. Only a doctor can make a diagnosis. A person shouldnt wait to feel pain beca use early cancer usually does not cause pain. Observation is the most widely available examination for the detection of cancer. It is useful in identifying suspicious lesions in the skin, lip, mouth, larynx, external genitalia and cervix. The second most available detection procedure is palpation. It is particularly valuable in detecting lumps, nodules, or tumors in the breast, mouth, salivary glands, thyroid, subcutaneous tissues, anus, rectum, prostate, testes, ovaries and uterus and enlarged lymph nodes in the neck, axilla or groin. Internal cancers require an extension of observation through endoscopes, x-rays, magnetic resonance imaging, and ultrasound. Laboratory test, such as the Pap smear, and occult blood testing of the feces have also proven helpful for some of the cancers. However, concerns regarding effectiveness and yield play a particularly important role in decisions to screen for cancers not easily responsive to earlier detection through physical examination. The performance of these tests is usually measured in terms of sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values. The type, periodicity, andShow MoreRelatedCancer : Cancer And Cancer1673 Words   |  7 PagesCancer Cancer is one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide, with approximately 14 million new cases in 2012.2 The amount of new cases is expected to rise by about 70% over the next 2 decades. Cancer which causes nearly 1 in 6 deaths, is the second leading cause of death globally, and was responsible for 8.8 million deaths in 2015. Approximately 70% of deaths from cancer occur in low- and middle-income countries. In 2012 about 14.1 million new cases of cancer occurred globallyRead MoreCancer And Cancer1309 Words   |  6 Pagesmanuscript was indicating how a particular gene is connected to how tumors/cancer are suppressed and how tumors/cancer also grow and multiply. When the codon is manipulated and mutated, the point in which the codon becomes altered, or the point in which the p53 gene is stimulated, forms reactions that may be harmful or can be non-threatening. The reaction that could be harmful could generate destruction to the gene and therefore form cancer. A non -threatening reaction may cause a reconstruction in the mutationRead MoreOvarian Cancer : Cancer And Cancer988 Words   |  4 Pages Ovarian cancer is a disease in which malignant or cancerous cells are found in the ovaries. The ovaries are two small organs that are located on each side of the uterus. The way cancer develops is when cells begin to grow out of control. Cancer cells are different from normal cells because they continue to grow and instead of dying, they create abnormal cells that form into a tumor. Woman around age 35-74, ovarian cancer is the fifth leading cause of death. The earlier this cancer is treated theRead MoreCancer : Cancer And Cancer1998 Words   |  8 PagesAbstract In women, one of the most common cancers of course is breast cancer, in men prostate cancer and in men and women, lung cancer and colon cancer are common cancers. It is important to understand that the cancer that occurs in one individual is very different from the cancer that occurs in another. Everyone is different; a lung tumor in one person will be different from a lung tumor in another person. Once a diagnosis of cancer is made, the next obvious question is what do you do? ThereRead MoreCancer And Cancer705 Words   |  3 PagesI would refer a family friend or colleague to the American Cancer Society (ACS) website where a huge selection of support programs is offered throughout treatment and recovery (ACS, 2017c). There is an entire section dedicated to assisting with finding resources in whatever area someone is in or near and different programs from which to choose (ACS, 2017c). Visitors of the website can also filter their search based on an array of different choices ra nging from, but not limited to, advocacy, assistanceRead MoreBreast Cancer : Cancer And Cancer1341 Words   |  6 PagesWhat I chose to research on my cancer project was breast cancer, since breast cancer is one of the second deadliest cancers among women I felt like I should research into this topic more in-depth. Anyone, no matter male or female, we are born with some breast cells and tissue. Even though males do not develop milk-producing breasts, a man s breast cells and tissue can still develop cancer. Male breast cancer is very rare, yet more fatale because they are less likely to assume the lump is possiblyRead MoreOvarian Cancer : Cancer And Cancer1577 Words   |  7 PagesOvarian cancer is also one of the cancer that is affecting millions of women in today’s world. The previous researches were claiming that ovarian cancer comes from ovary cells. However, studies have found that ovarian cancer could be coming from fallopian tube. Dr. Burdette’s lab researched how fallopian tube can be contributing to ovarian cancer, and her research shows strong evidence of how does it occurs. It is very important to find a cure for ovarian cancer, otherwise deaths due to ovarian cancerRead MoreBreast Cancer : Cancer And Cancer1115 Words   |  5 Pagesaround the world develops the most common disease called Breast Cancer. In the United States, about 200,000 women suffer from this disease and it causes more than 40,000 death each year. Breast cancer is a cancer cell (malignant tumor) that forms in the breast. The cancerous cells grow in the breast and then invade the healthy cells and the surrounding tissues of the breast and it can also spread into other parts of the body. Breast cancer is more common in women but men can also get it too. One of theRead MoreBreast Cancer : Cancer And Cancer896 Words   |  4 PagesBefore going in depth, let us first define what breast cancer is. According to the National Breast Cancer.Org â€Å"Cancer is a broad ter m for a class of diseases characterized by abnormal cells that grow and invade healthy cells in the body. Breast cancer starts in the cells of the breast as a group of cancer cells that can then invade surrounding tissues or spread (metastasize) to other areas of the body.† Cancer begins in the cells which are the basic building blocks that make up tissue. Tissue isRead MoreBreast Cancer : Cancer And Cancer1831 Words   |  8 PagesBreast Cancer Studies shows men are diagnosed with breast cancer contrary to the perception that this disease is solely diagnose in women. What is breast cancer in men? Breast cancer is a malignant tumor that starts from cells of the breast. A malignant tumor is a group of cancer cells that may grow into (invade) surrounding tissues or spread metastasize to distance of the body (Article 1).Women Manly have breast cancer but men can get it also. Some people doesn’t realize that men have breast tissues

Feminist and Womanist Criticism of African Literature a Bibliography Free Essays

string(273) " be labeled as feminists because of the overtones of westernization the term carries, but they also point out that most African women writers are committed, in the words of Omolara Ogundipe-Leslie, â€Å"as a writer, as a woman and as a third world person† \(339\)\." Feminist and Womanist Criticism of African Literature: A Bibliography By Sharon Verba July 20, 1997 Those women who struggle without giving up hope, herald the impending change†¦ : change in attitude for both men and women as they evaluate and re-evaluate their social roles†¦. -Rosemary Moyana, â€Å"Men Women† Rereading, willful misreading, and de- and re-coding are tools used in African literature and womanist or feminist discourse to challenge â€Å"canonized ‘literature'† that tends to black out Black and blanch out Woman. -Kofi Owusu, â€Å"Canons Under Siege† T]he collective effort has to emerge from the ranks of those whose life is theorized. We will write a custom essay sample on Feminist and Womanist Criticism of African Literature: a Bibliography or any similar topic only for you Order Now -Sisi Maqagi, â€Å"Who Theorizes† Feminist criticism of African literatures is a steadily growing field. The following bibliography includes articles and essays in English and French which examine African literatures (fiction, poetry, drama and oral literature) from a feminist or womanist perspective. It does not include, unfortunately, criticism in other languages — such as Wolof, Xhosa, Zulu, Portuguese, German, or Arabic — due to my own inability to read those languages. Also, authors whose works are originally written in languages other than French or English, such as Ngugi wa Thiongo’s plays and the novel, Devil on the Cross, and Nawal al Sa’dawi’s works, may be under-represented in this bibliography, as criticism often tends to be written in the language of the work being addressed. The first sections of this essay will present overviews on two key issues for those interested in both feminism and African literatures: the current ebate over the role of feminist criticisms in addressing African literatures, and an examination of the changes which have developed over the past decade in the ways feminist criticism approaches African literatures. This examination will trace these changes from 1985-1996 by considering articles which represent the ongoing evolution of feminist criticism in this field. Finally, this essay also includes a section which explains my methodology and sources in compiling the bibliography, and a section off ering hints for future searches, especially of online indexes. Feminist Criticism and African Literature Many issues of concern to feminist/womanist thought are raised and addressed in these articles. (1) Among the issues taken up in the state of feminist theory and criticism are the importance of feminism as a literary critical method; the representation and mis-representation of women in literary texts; the education of women; the access of women to the economic means of survival; motherhood; women in the domestic sphere; women as part of their communities; women’s role in politics and revolution; sexuality; and the direct treatment of women by men, and men by women. Underlying this array of specific interests are questions of gender in representation and of the reality or realities of life for women in Africa–past, present, and future. The arguments found in the articles in this bibliography present a multiplicity of views, a few of which may even be anti-feminist, but all of which make gender a basis of discussion, and all of which offer much for the consideration of feminist thought with respect to African literatures. The state of feminist literary criticism/thought in Africa â€Å"now† is the direct focus of several of the articles, although all of the articles could be said in some degree or another to be a part of this particular debate. I put â€Å"now† in quotations, because these articles cover a broad range of time–1980-1996– and those which focus on this particular topic present an evolving discourse. Two collections of essays in particular are noteworthy for their presentation of a range of ideas on feminism and literary criticism in Africa: Ngambika: Studies of Women in African Literature (1986) and South African Feminisms: Writing, Theory and Criticism 990-1994 (1995). Ngambika includes twenty articles which focus on the representation of women in African literature. Taken together the articles provide an invaluable overview of the types of feminist criticism being applied to African literatures in the mid 1980s, although most do not focus on the issue of fem inism as a critical method. One essay in this collection proves a notable exception. In the collection’s introductory essay Carole Boyce Davies(2) does write of the tension found in the works of many critics of African literatures, especially female critics. These critics, she says, work out of a growing awareness of the requirement to balance both â€Å"the need to liberate African peoples from neo-colonialism and other forms of race and class oppression, coupled with a respect for certain features of traditional African cultures,† and â€Å"the recognition that a feminist consciousness is necessary in examining the position of women in African societies† (1). Davies then outlines the issues of women writers in Africa (including the relatively small number of women writers) and the presentation of women in fiction written by African men, as well as the development of an African feminist criticism. In her treatment of the latter concern, she lists four major areas which African feminist critics tend to address: the development of the canon of African women writers, the examination of stereotyped images of women in African literature, the study of African women writers and the development of an African female aesthetic, and the examination of women and the oral tradition (13-14). While Davies acknowledges the objections African women writers and critics have to the term â€Å"feminist† and discusses womanist theory, she focuses on the idea of a developing African feminist theory which will not only perform the balancing act mentioned at the beginning, but continue to address the major issues she has outlined. Seven years later, in the 1993 publication A History of Twentieth-Century African Literatures, Davies and Elaine Savory Fido contributed a chapter entitled â€Å"African Women Writers: A Literary History. In it, they examine African women writers and their writings, focusing especially on the styles and genres used by these writers. Included is a brief segment on â€Å"Feminism and African Women Writers† as well as a separate section on â€Å"Criticism and African Women’s Writing. † In the section on feminism, they note the continued reluctance of many African women writers and critics to be labeled as feminists because of th e overtones of westernization the term carries, but they also point out that most African women writers are committed, in the words of Omolara Ogundipe-Leslie, â€Å"as a writer, as a woman and as a third world person† (339). You read "Feminist and Womanist Criticism of African Literature: a Bibliography" in category "Papers" This triple commitment encompasses much of the politics of African feminism, as well as womanism, whether the labels are accepted or not. Fido and Davies conclude: â€Å"The role and history of feminist politics or activism on women’s rights in Africa is a discourse which African women are studying and clarifying for themselves† (339). One of the places in which this discourse can be seen is South African Feminisms: Writing, Theory and Criticism 1990-1994. South African Feminisms presents a collection of articles on feminist literature and criticism, including and expanding the debate on feminist criticism of African literatures which was part of the special issue Current Writing: Text and Reception in Southern Africa 2 (1990). M. J. Daymond’s introduction gives a good overview of the issues raised in the collection, including the debate over feminist criticism and the development of an African feminist theory. The section â€Å"Theory and Context† includes eight articles originally published from 1990-1993. Taken together, these articles constitute an excellent sampling of some of the issues and trends in African feminist criticism, including Sisi Maqagi’s â€Å"Who Theorizes? † in which she questions the ability of white critics, African or non-African, female or male, to develop a theory which will adequately address the issues of black African women, rather than appropriating those issues, and the voices which raise them. Jill Arnott, in an article entitled â€Å"French Feminism in a South Africa? Gayatri Spivak and the Problem of Representation in South African Feminism,† contends that difference, which can often lead to misrepresentation, can also at times lead to accurate and insightful work: â€Å"to power a genuinely dialectical interaction between two vigilantly foregrounded subject-positions,† but only with an awareness of the position of ifference and a consciousness of the act of representation (87). Desiree Lewis, in â€Å"The Politics of Feminism in South Africa,† counters that such a conscious and effective use of difference may well be impossible, as long as there is a political climate in which white female academics are attempting to hold on to their power within the academy, at the expense of black women. In the same article she also points out that unless black working class women can make their statements about the current â€Å"oppressive orthodoxies† and do so without creating, as she argues Western feminism has, another oppressive orthodoxy, there may be no way out of the current impasse. Changes in Feminist Criticism of African Literature Although some of the articles included in this bibliography, like those above, examine feminist literary criticism as a topic, most focus on literary concerns: texts, authors, or issues. In the seventeen years this bibliography spans there are shifts in the coverage these concerns are given. Critical analyses of individual authors naturally both broaden and deepen over the years, especially as an individual author’s body of work grows or is reclaimed from obscurity. In general, in the 1990s there are fewer works of criticism that examine several authors and more which focus on individuals and their work than there were in the 1980s. Also, the topics focused upon subtly shift over the years. Images of women in the works of†¦. † could be the subtitle for many of the articles written in the 1980s as feminist critics examined representations, or misrepresentations, of African women in literary texts. At the same time these critics raised the question of the role of African authors, male and female, in expanding and/or correcting such representations. These concerns are still addressed; indeed, the feminist criticism on these topics is, like the criticis m of specific authors, expanding and deepening. To highlight these changes, I shall examine here some of the collections and representative individual articles which have been produced over the years, beginning with the landmark collection Ngambika, which was published in 1986, followed by Women in African Literature Today in 1987, articles by Kofi Owusu and Elleke Boehmer in 1990, the 1990 issue of Current Writing: Text and Reception in Southern Africa, Essays on African Writing 2: Contemporary Literature published in 1995 and The Marabout and the Muse: New Approaches to Islam in African Literature in 1996. All of the articles in the first section of Ngambika overtly tackle the issue of the representations of women in the works of African authors. Carole Boyce Davies writes one of these articles: â€Å"Maidens, Mistresses, and Matrons: Feminine Images in Selected Soyinka Works. † In it, she argues that Soyinka often offers only stereotyped images of women which fall into one of three categories: the foolish virgin in rural settings, the femme fatale in urban settings, and the masculinized matron. Those characters which fall in the latter category, in Davies’ opinion, come closest to being non-stereotypes, but even they are drawn with â€Å"no depth† (81). The â€Å"foolish virgins† and the â€Å"femme fatales,† Davies argues, fill only the roles of stereotypes and symbols, possessions or trophies to be won away from Western influences by African traditions, or, more threateningly, these women are seen as dangers which can distract and destroy. Davies acknowledges that Soyinka sometimes shows women briefly in a positive light but notes that â€Å"throughout Soyinka’s works one finds the kernel of positive portrayal of the female image which is never fully realized† (85). Davies concludes with the argument â€Å"that the artist has the power to create new realities;†¦ women as neither victors nor victims but partners in struggle† (86). Davies’ article is representative of the criticism which examines the image of women in African literatures. That is, she carefully addresses the concerns of the author (i. e. he need for recognizable symbols) as she argues against the relegation of women solely to symbolic roles, asking for characterizations which do not â€Å"[reinforce] a negative perception of self to the female viewer/reader and, concomitantly, a condescension in the appraisal of women on the part of the male† (78). In the years following the publishing of Ngambika, several journals and monograph series devoted to African literatures published issues on women as authors of or characters in African literatures. One of the first was the Women in African Literature Today issue of African Literature Today (Vol. 5). Like Ngambika, this issue contains many excellent articles, almost all of which are written from a feminist perspective. I would like to discuss two of these articles as representative not merely of this particular collection, but of the feminist criticism on African literatures being published at this time. In â€Å"Feminist Issues in the Fiction of Kenya’s Women Writers† Jean F. O’Barr list three main categories of feminist concerns in the fiction of Kenyan woman writers: â€Å"how female children become women; †¦ what marriage means for women;†¦ here women’s work fits into their lives† (57). O’Barr notes that the women authors she analyzes â€Å"all write from the woman’s point of view, shar ply underscoring the idea that the female perspective †¦. may be different from the male perspective on the same topic† (58). O’Barr analyzes the works of Kenya’s female authors from a sociological approach, hoping to establish a stronger image of the social lives of Kenya’s women than is possible from the works of male authors. She concludes that Kenya’s women find themselves in a quadruple bind: â€Å"they see themselves performing traditional roles†¦ ithout traditional resources†¦ while at the same time they are undertaking modern activities†¦ while being denied access to modern support systems† (69). While O’Barr looks at the fiction of Kenyan women in order to locate the reality of women’s lives, Katherine Frank attempts in the controversial article â€Å"Women without Men: The Feminist Novel in Africa† to find a radically feminist future for African women. Frank endeavors to place African women w riters into the Western feminist mold by speaking of their work as a more radical extension of the Western feminist tradition. In speaking of â€Å"the contemporary British or American novel† she claims â€Å"our heroine slams the door on her domestic prison, journeys out into the great world, slays the dragon of her patriarchal society, and triumphantly discovers the grail of feminism by ‘finding herself,'† (14). She argues that in comparison African novels by women go far beyond their Western counterparts, refusing to â€Å"dabble in daydreaming about enlightened heroes or reformed, non-sexist societies,† (15). Frank finds that the â€Å"feminist† writers of Africa portray women not only as taking on active and shared roles with men, but as finding â€Å"a destiny of their own. †¦ destiny with a vengeance,† (15). Frank contends that Mariama Ba, Flora Nwapa, Buchi Emecheta and Ama Ata Aidoo’s novels are, in their feminisms, â€Å"more radical, even more militant, than [their] Western counterpart[s]† (15). But Frank’s interpretations place Af rican heroines on a path which is not different, but rather the same, if more intense, than the one taken by the British and American heroines she notes above. Frank stresses that in these novels women find only pain and degradation in their relationships with men, but on their own and in their relationships with other women they find â€Å"female solidarity, power, independence† (33). In her interpretation, Barr neglects to note examples in which the future is shared by men and women. For example, when she speaks of Mariama Ba’s So Long a Letter, she focuses on Ramatoulaye and Aissatou’s friendship and the â€Å"world they create apart from men,† (20). While this in itself glosses over the complex (and by no means completely negative) relationships these women have with the men in their lives, she also does not speak of Ramatoulaye’s daughter and son-in-law, and the hope Ramatoulaye finds in their relationship. In this article, Frank does not acknowledge a difference between demonstrating that a woman’s worth is not inextricable from her relationship with men, that a woman can take care of herself, as Ramatoulaye discovers, and an actual desire to live a life without men. However, controversial as some of her interpretations are, her essay effectively outlines the some of the subtle feminisms of African women novelists. Katherine Frank’s stance is one which falls into the category of â€Å"radical, feminist-separatist ideology† which Kofi Owusu defines and rejects in his article in Callaloo entitled â€Å"Canons Under Siege: Blackness, Femaleness, and Ama Ata Aidoo’s Our Sister Killjoy†(1990). While Frank sees Aidoo’s character Sissie as moving towards an autonomous, self-determining life without men (Frank 32), Owusu finds Aidoo to be â€Å"in tune with the ‘old’ (Achebe’s ‘vast corpus of African traditional stories’) and the ‘new’ (‘modern feminist theory’) (357). Owusu sees Aidoo, and other female writers, not as bridging a gap between Western and African thought but creating something new out of both and challenging the canons that would ignore either black or female concerns. Much of Owusu’s article analyzes â€Å"the discontinuities as well as continuities between womanist-feminist perspectives, on the one hand, and African literature, on the other† (342), allowing Owusu to regard Aidoo’s work as one which â€Å"give[s] a sense of structural and linguistic irony which is functional. †¦ signify[ing] a couple of things: the need for, and very process of, revamping† (361). Here, the canons need to be reformed in recognition of both race and gender, not one or the other, or one without the other. While Kofi Owusu focused on Aidoo’s linguistic and textual manipulations, the question of the image of women in African literature continues to be a highly examined topic. Elleke Boehmer explores the construction of women as mothers, whores, representations of national pride, or finally, as spiritual advisors and supporters, but not as individuals actively and crucially involved in political activity. In â€Å"Of Goddesses and Stories: Gender and a New Politics in Achebe’s Anthills of the Savannah,† Boehmer analyzes Chinua Achebe’s efforts to include women in his re-vision of the future and questions whether women remain a â€Å"vehicle† of transformation rather than actual women with an active role in the future of the country, that is, whether â€Å"woman is the ground of change or discursive displacement but not the subject of transformation† (102). She concludes that Achebe has still idealized women but that his creation of a female character with an important yet undefined role for the future has opened up space for women to have active and involved roles, side by side with men, in the building of the future. Like Davies’ article on Soyinka from Ngambika discussed earlier, Boehmer’s work recognizes Achebe’s literary prowess and commends his willingness to make women positive symbols, but in the end laments the lack of depth in his female characters. Although South African Feminisms was published in 1996, many of the articles in it come from the 1990 issue of Current Writing: Text and Reception in Southern Africa, which was dedicated to â€Å"Feminism and Writing. † This issue continued the trend of publishing articles debating not only the appropriateness of feminism in an African context but also the challenges of applying it to African literatures, as well as articles focusing on women writers or women’s images in literature. In â€Å"A Correspondence Without Theory: Tsitsi Dangarembga’s Nervous Conditions,† Brenda Bosman addresses the psychological dislocation forced upon the women of the heroine’s family by â€Å"Englishness,† the term used by her mother to describe the process of assimilation which various members of the family undergo. However, one of the most interesting aspects of the article is Bosman’s explicit attempt to find a position from which to speak, as a white South African woman, to –not for, or of– Dangarembga. She writes her article in the form of a letter to Dangarembga, and acknowledges that she might not have succeeded in finding a legitimate position: â€Å"you may find†¦ despite all my conscious efforts, I have nonetheless submitted to the voice of my education†(311). Considering the problematics of education in Nervous Conditions, this could be seen as a double entendre, but her article shows a conscious attempt to find a place from which to speak comfortably, an increasingly difficult matter for some African feminists. The last two articles I will discuss reveal change in the field of feminist criticism of Africa on two levels: both are located in collections of essays on African literature which can be considered â€Å"general,† and both are examples of the further increase in variety in the forms of feminist criticism of African literature. Although very good collections of critical essays focusing exclusively on women and African literature are published, it is important to note that few, if any â€Å"general† collections are now being published without the inclusion of at least one, if not several essays which address feminist concerns. In Essays on African Writing 2: Contemporary Literature (1995), there are three articles which are written from a feminist perspective. One of these is Belinda Jack’s â€Å"Strategies of Transgression in the Writings of Assia Djebar. † In it she explores the means by which Djebar writes for Arabic women of Algeria in the language of the colonizer. Jack distinguishes Djebar’s writings by arguing that her â€Å"texts are not written in the French language but a French language† a language which no longer belongs to the colonizers because of the deliberate shifts Djebar makes (23). Jack also notes that Djebar also transgresses against Islam in her choices of subject matter, especially sexuality, again firm in the knowledge that while such speech may be a transgression, it is only a transgression because with speech (or writing) comes power. The last article I wish to discuss also focuses on Assia Djebar and her concerns with Islam. The Marabout and the Muse: New Approaches to Islam in African Literature (1996) contains four articles which approach literature from a distinctly feminist perspective: one on Somali women’s Sittaat (songs sung for and to notable women in Islamic history), one on the tradition of female Islamic writers in Nigeria, and two which examine Djebar’s Loin de Medine. In â€Å"Daughters of Hagar: Daughters of Muhammad† Sonia Lee argues that through her early fictional exploration of women in Islam, Djebar is attempting to make a space for Islamic women â€Å"to reclaim the true law of God† (60). Lee finds that Djebar’s historical training combined with her literary skills allow her to â€Å"[oscillate] between the actual and the probable, thus underlying the real subject matter of the novel, †¦. the problematic of Islamic collective memory with regard to women† (51). The above articles typify the growing expansion of feminist approaches to African literatures. While feminist criticisms continue to broaden the literary canon by bringing literature by African women to critical attention and continue to address the representation of African women in literatures, the methods used by such criticism in relation to African literatures continue to evolve. As feminist critics, both African and non-African, use sociological, linguistic, psychoanalytic, historical and other approaches to broaden the examination of African literatures, at least some Western feminist critics are also trying to incorporate a heightened awareness of their own positions with regards to the authors and literatures they discuss. Methodology This bibliography is, in every sense of the word, selective. African authors were included if an article (in English or French) could be located which discussed him or her from the angle of feminism, womanism, or the treatment of gender. Authors were not excluded or included on any other basis, including race and gender. Interviews were included for many of the female writers because such interviews often are a main source of feminist thought (their own) on their works. The sources I used to find these articles were the bibliographies of African literature located in the journal Callaloo (1987-89 and 1990-93), the MLA Bibliography, the African studies bibliographies for the years 1995-96, the CD-Rom resource Women’s Resources International, 1972-August 1996, as well as various library catalogs for monographs, whether collections or single-authored. In addition, I scanned the bibliographies of articles and books to find other relevant citations. There are several good bibliographies which focus, at least in part, on feminist criticism of African literatures from the 1970s through the mid 1980s. Brenda Berrian’s Bibliography of African Women Writers and Journalists, Carole Boyce Davies’ â€Å"A Bibliography of Criticism and Related Works† in Ngambika, and Barbara Fister’s bibliography on criticism in Third World Women’s Literature in combination cover this earlier period very thoroughly. I did not use these bibliographies to compile this one; to avoid excess duplication, I have focused on criticism published from 1980 on and simply cite these earlier bibliographies at the end of this one, although I am sure some duplication has occurred. This bibliography is organized by authors and also includes a section on general works, which is organized first by those which cover African literatures without focusing on a specific country, region or author, then by region, and then individual countries. Works of criticism are placed in this section if they refer to several authors/works from the continent, a particular region, or country. If an article focuses on four or fewer authors, it is included under the name of each author. The bibliography includes articles on eighty-seven individual authors, as well as general articles on Africa, East Africa, North Africa, West Africa, Algeria, Egypt, Kenya, Nigeria, Senegal, Somali, South Africa, and Zimbabwe; it cites more than four hundred articles and monographs. It is interesting to compare the authors found in this bibliography with the ninety-five authors found in the biography section of Hans Zell’s A New Reader’s Guide to African Fiction (1st ed. , 1971; 2nd rev. ed. ,1983). The authors in Zell’s work are often considered the early canon of African literatures. Only twenty-five authors appear in both the current bibliography and Hans Zell’s Guide. There may be several reasons for this difference. Many of the authors included in my bibliography were not then considered a part of the canon of African literature; and a few had not even published at the time Zell’s work appeared. Carole Boyce Davies also offers an insight which may explain the lack of overlap. She notes in her introduction to Ngambika that one of the priorities of African feminist literary criticism is â€Å"the development of a canon of African women writers and a parallel canon of critical works with the final aim of expanding the African literary canon† (14). The Guides were compiled in the early years of this expansion, and it is quite possible that today the lists would be more reflective of each other. At the same time, many African women writers actively rebuke attempts to place African men on the defensive, arguing that a critical approach to literature (as well as other social, political, and cultural expressions) must explore the strengths of both African women and African men. While feminist criticism does focus on male authors, it more often strives to bring to the forefront of literary discussions the works of female African authors and the strong, individualistic portrayals of women they offer. Future Search Hints The issues discussed above make feminist criticism of African fiction an exciting and dynamic field. They also make it a very complex field to research. There are several issues to keep in mind when beginning research in this area. One of the most difficult to overcome is the lack of coverage of this area in mainstream indexing sources, such as the MLA, especially when one looks for early works, which were often carried in journals not then indexed by the MLA. Other sources which do cover these journals, such as the excellent bibliographies periodically offered by Callaloo on studies of African literature, do not offer separate sections for feminist criticism, and it is necessary to assess which ones are relevant by the titles or, at times, the authors, of the articles. For my own part it should be noted that it is entirely possible that I have missed articles which should appear in this bibliography. Many of the best sources are only available in print, such as International African Bibliography, Current Bibliography of African Affairs, and Cahiers d’etudes africaines, which are more time-consuming to search, but well worth the effort. As the discussion above indicates, the term â€Å"feminism† can be extremely limiting when it is being used as a descriptor in either online or print indexes. For this reason, it is advisable to keep other terms in mind when searching for articles, whether in print or electronic resources, such as the keywords/descriptors â€Å"Gender† and â€Å"Womanism/Womanist†. It is important, as well, not to limit searches to the term â€Å"African. † While some articles are indexed with this descriptor, those articles which deal with a specific author may be listed under that author’s country instead, as of course are those which deal with the literatures of a specific region or country. Finally, especially when searching for articles in online indexes, it is useful to keep in mind specific topics, such as â€Å"sexuality,† â€Å"motherhood,† and â€Å"politics† combined with â€Å"women† or â€Å"female. â€Å" How to cite Feminist and Womanist Criticism of African Literature: a Bibliography, Papers

Explain why the Philippines and California are affected by disasters in different ways free essay sample

They are both considered hazard hotspots and frequently experience natural disasters. A natural disaster is the realisation of a hazard. California is an MEDC, the 6th largest economy in the world with a GDP of US$65000 per capita. However, despite the high risk of hazards it is a very desirable place to live because of its relaxed lifestyle and natural beauty. The population is growing mainly due to immigration which means that cities such Los Angeles are becoming more vulnerable. The Philippines is a Newly Industrialised Country (NIC) and has low to middle income of US$5000 per capita. Their economy is mostly dependant on agriculture (because of the rich, fertile soils on the volcanic hills), manufacturing and tourism, which are all at risk from the natural disasters. Although it is only a small group of islands, the population is huge at 91 million (over twice the size of Californias). Both California and the Philippines lie on plate boundaries and therefore both suffer from tectonic hazards. As with all plate boundaries, friction often builds up between the plates also causing regular earthquakes which can sometimes result in tsunamis as well. In the Philippines earthquakes have multiple impacts. This is partly to do with the physical geography of the land. Being a group of islands means that the epicentres of the earthquakes are often in the sea, which increases the likelihood of tsunamis. It is also very mountainous inland which means many areas are vulnerable to landslides. One earthquake in 2006 triggered landslides, a flood and a local tsunami 3 feet high. Another relatively minor earthquake was one of the causes of a catastrophic mudslide, killing1150 people. The Philippines does not have the economic resources to deal with the aftermaths of hazards very effectively therefore they have a low capacity to cope. Also the tsunamis and mudslides destroy farmlands and crops which means that people lose their source of income and possibly their homes. It can be difficult to rebuild their lives after this. California also suffers enormously from as it lies on a conservative boundary between the Pacific and North American plate. The San Andreas Fault runs all the way down the coastline of California where many cities namely San Francisco lie right on top. Two high magnitude earthquakes struck California over 5 years. The second one, (Northridge earthquake) January 1994 in Los Angeles was of magnitude 6.7 on the Richter scale. There were also many aftershocks ranging from magnitude 4 to 5 which caused further damage. Because of the dense population in Los Angeles, human impacts were big considering the efficiency of the emergency services and aid available: 57 died, more than 1500 were seriously injured, 9000 homes were without electricity and 48,500 people had no access to clean water. The economic impacts were also big because California is an MEDC meaning that many people have expensive possessions and there is a lot of expensive infrastructure in the city. California does have, though, a high capacity to deal with the high hazard risk. Primarily, they have the money to invest enormously in hospitals, emergency services and high-tech hazard-resistant buildings. Both California and the Philippines have coast on the Pacific Ocean. This means that much of their weather is dependent on the El Nino and La Nina oscillations. For California, the El Nino oscillation means wetter weather as it brings sub-tropical winds carrying heavy rain and consequently increased flooding, storms and landslides. La Nina oscillations means that California receives dry winds from the Arizona and Mexican deserts causing dry, hot weather often resulting in drought and increased wildfires. For the Philippines this is the other way round. The Philippines is also within the Typhoon belt and so receives up to 20 typhoons every year, particularly in the north. Most floods in California are due to the overflowing of rivers, for example, in the Los Angeles and San Gabriel rivers where 390,000 people are exposed. Flooding is dependent on the EL Nino Oscillation so regular severe flooding only really occurs for a few years at a time. Economic losses can be huge. Many areas are also at risk to landslides after flooding, as deforestation and wildfires have made the hillsides vulnerable to soil erosion. Severe flooding undermined Californias flood defences as the December-January floods of 1996/97, one of the wettest seasons on record, destroyed hundreds of levees causing severe flooding and landslides, killing 9 and displacing 230,000 people. $2 billion worth of flood management infrastructure was also damaged. However, a lot of money has gone into channelising rivers away from high-risk areas. Because of the efficient emergency services only 9 people died and temporary shelter could be arranged for the people who were displaced. In the Philippines however, floods have a more severe impact  because of their incapacity to deal with the impacts. In 2009 Typhoon Ketsana, with winds of 100mph, dumped 16.7 inches of rain in just 12 hrs. 246 died and 2 million were affected in Manila where 80% of the city was submerged. The National Disaster Co-ordinating Council was overwhelmed and unable to provide sufficient aid for everyone, which accounts for the high death toll. The death toll in the Philippines was much higher than in California because they did not have the capacity to cope. Also as it is an LEDC the government can only spend so much on risk management as there are so many other more pressing matters that must be prioritised. Overall, the Philippines and California are affected by disasters in different ways because of the economic resources of the country, the country’s development and because of its physical geography. California has more money to invest in things like emergency services, temporary shelters and hazard defences e.g. channelising the rivers. Also because it is very developed there are less chances of landslides. The Philippines are not yet highly developed and much of the high risk coast is still made up of remote villages/regions which are very vulnerable. Also, deforestation in the area has reduced their once densely forested land to just 18.3% of the land cover which has considerable effects on the severity of flooding and landslides as there is nothing to soak up the excess water or to absorb the landslides.

Operation Barbarossa In WWII Essays (2695 words) - Adolf Hitler

Operation Barbarossa in WWII "When Operation Barbarossa is launched, the world will hold its breath!" - Adolf Hitler On the night of June 22, 1941, more than 3 million German soldiers, 600 000 vehicles and 3350 tanks were amassed along a 2000km front stretching from the Baltic to the Black Sea. Their sites were all trained on Russia. This force was part of 'Operation Barbarossa', the eastern front of the greatest military machine ever assembled. This machine was Adolf Hitler's German army. For Hitler, the inevitable assault on Russia was to be the culmination of a long standing obsession. He had always wanted Russia's industries and agricultural lands as part of his Lebensraum or 'living space' for Germany and their Thousand Year Reich. Russia had been on Hitler's agenda since he wrote Mein Kampf some 17 years earlier where he stated: 'We terminate the endless German drive to the south and the west of Europe, and direct our gaze towards the lands in the east...If we talk about new soil and territory in Europe today, we can think primarily only of Russia and its vassal border states'i Hitler wanted to exterminate and enslave the 'degenerate' Slavs and he wanted to obliterate their 'Jewish Bolshevist' government before it could turn on him. His 1939 pact with Stalin was only meant to give Germany time to prepare for war. As soon as Hitler controlled France, he looked east. Insisting that Britain was as good as defeated, he wanted to finish off the Soviet Union as soon as possible, before it could significantly fortify and arm itself. 'We only have to kick in the front door and the whole rotten edifice will come tumbling down'ii he told his officers. His generals warned him of the danger of fighting a war on two fronts and of the difficulty of invading an area as vast as Russia but, Hitler simply overruled them. He then placed troops in Finland and Romania and created his eastern front. In December 1940, Hitler made his final battle plan. He gave this huge operation a suitable name. He termed it 'Operation Barbarossa' or 'Redbeard' which was the nickname of the crusading 12th century Holy Roman emperor, Frederick I. The campaign consisted of three groups: Army Group North which would secure the Baltic; Army Group South which would take the coal and oil rich lands of the Ukraine and Caucasus; and Army Group Centre which would drive towards Moscow. Prior to deploying this massive force, military events in the Balkans delayed 'Barbarossa' by five weeks. It is now widely agreed that this delay proved fatal to Hitler's conquest plans of Russia but, at the time it did not seem important. In mid-June the build-up was complete and the German Army stood poised for battle. Hitler's drive for Russia failed however, and the defeat of his army would prove to be a major downward turning point for Germany and the Axis counterparts. There are many factors and events which contributed to the failure of Operation Barbarossa right from the preparatory stages of the attack to the final cold wintry days when the Germans had no choice but to concede. Several scholars and historians are in basic agreement with the factors which led to Germany's failure however, many of them stress different aspects of the operation as the crucial turning point. One such scholar is the historian, Kenneth Macksey. His view on Operation Barbarossa is plainly evident just by the title of his book termed, 'Military errors Of World War Two.'iii Macksey details the fact that the invasion of Russia was doomed to fail from the beginning due to the fact that the Germans were unprepared and extremely overconfident for a reasonable advancement towards Moscow. Macksey's first reason for the failure was the simply that Germany should not have broken its agreement with Russia and invaded its lands due to the fact that the British were not defeated on the western front, and this in turn plunged Hitler into a war on two fronts. The Germans, and Hitler in particular were stretching their forces too thin and were overconfident that the Russians would be defeated in a very short time. Adolf Hitler's overconfidence justifiably stemmed

More Than One Meaning for Poke

More Than One Meaning for Poke More Than One Meaning for Poke More Than One Meaning for Poke By Maeve Maddox One of my favorite country expressions is pig in a poke. For those unfamiliar with the expression, a poke is a sack. To buy something without first looking at it is to buy a pig in a poke. (As we do when we buy things online.) I once used the word with a group of eighth-graders and discovered that poke can be used with a sexual connotation. With that age group, just about any word can be. The OED lists six entries for poke as a noun and three for poke as a verb. Some of the entries have more than one definition, but Ill just list some of them. Poke as a Noun 1 A bag, now esp. a paper bag; a small sack; a beggars bundle (obs.). Also: a bagful. Now regional exc. in pig in a poke 2 A projecting brim or front of a hat or bonnet; the peak of a cap. Now hist. and Brit. regional. NOTE: My Southern grandmother told me that when she worked in the fields, she wore a poke bonnet, This was a cloth hat that tied under the chin. The sides of the bonnet completely protected her face from the sun. Nowadays women go out of their way to get a suntan, even paying to use use tanning beds. In my grandmothers day, girls did all they could to maintain their pallor. Tanned skin was considered unattractive. She said that another name for that type of bonnet was a kiss-me-quick. 3 A plant (of uncertain identity) used by North American Indians for smoking; the dried leaves of this plant. 4 Virginia poke, Virginian poke. Pokeweed, Phytolacca americana. Also (with distinguishing word): any plant of the genus Phytolacca. NOTE: My grandmother, no doubt wearing her poke bonnet, gathered this kind of poke to eat. She called it poke salat. She cooked and ate the leaves and used the red berries to dye clothing. Molly McBee, writing on the Garden Web edible landscapes forum, offers some helpful in-formation about poke salat and the extent to which it is poisonous: Poke salat, when it matures, develops purple colorations on its stalk, flower stem, and berries and seeds. It is the MATURE leaves, and purple stem and seeds that contain the poisonous sub-stances. Young plants are safe, as is the juice. 5 The action of poking (in various senses)An act of poking; a thrust, a push, a nudge. Also colloq.: a blow with the fist, esp. in to take (or have) a poke at. 6 The green heron, Butorides striatus. Also: the American bittern, Botaurus lentiginosus. Poke as a Verb 1 To jab or push (a person) with ones hand or finger, the point of a stick, etc., esp. so as to induce action or movement. Also (regional) (of cattle): to gore, jab with the horns. 2 trans. To put in a bag or pocket. Also with up: to stash away in a bag or pocket; to hoard. In quot. a1400 fig.: to suppress. Now rare. Chiefly Sc. in later use. 3 trans. To put a poke (POKE n.5 6) on (an animal). A few other expressions with poke Cowboys are known as cowpunchers and cowpokes. Children who dont move fast enough for the ones behind them are called slowpokes. One can poke around in an attic or at a garage sale. In mysteries amateur sleuths are warned not to poke their noses into matters that do not concern them. Poke is still taking on new meanings. For example, Facebook has a poke feature. Im not exactly clear as to its purpose. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Expressions category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:10 Rules for Writing Numbers and NumeralsAnyone vs. EveryoneContinue and "Continue on"

Custom Essay Help

Custom Essay Help Custom Essay Help Welcome to custom writing service! We are not the market leader in terms of the first positions; however, we are the leader in developing a very flexible system that brings together a professional approach to writing, adequate customer support, reasonable prices, and exceptionally high quality of every custom essay we deliver. Our writers complete custom essay orders for clients from any English speaking country. It is not a secret that English has already become a global language. Custom essay help is your chance to receive a professionally written custom essay which meets all of your requirements and expectations: Custom Essay Help Your tutor has told that you while writing term paper you have to organize your ideas. Many students prefer to create a traditional outline. By the way, every client is welcome to request free outline writing service while placing an order. However, there is another way of organizing custom essay writing. When you do have a sense of how events or things relate to each other and you can put them in a narrative structure or show cause-and-effect relationships, then you can illustrate these relationships by drawing a topic tree. The primary advantage of the topic tree is that it helps you determine whether essay ideas are related to each other and the overall topic. As with cluster diagrams, topic tree allows you to represent your thinking pictorially. However, rather than drawing essay ideas in a random, disorganized fashion, you can impose order on them, placing them from general to specific or vice versa. However, there is another way to get an essay you need - order custom essay help. Every time you place an order, you receive 100% plagiarism free custom essay written in accordance to your requirements. Every time we have an order, we assign only qualified writers to provide custom essay help. Custom Paper Writing is not a paper mill. We do not resell delivered custom essays and we do not have a database. Custom essay help is individuals. You can communicate with the writer directly, ask questions, request progress updates, and ask for free plagiarism report. We appreciate your trust and devote all of our efforts to meet your requirements. Our custom essay writers have access to libraries and can locate relevant publications very quickly. Moreover, we guarantee full and proper references and the issue of plagiarism is totally avoided. We deliver only 100% plagiarism free custom essays prior to deadline! Popular posts: Writing a Research Paper APA University Research Proposal Shakespeare Research Paper Topics Research Proposal Guidelines Research Paper Topics

INTRODUCTION TO EDUCATIONAL AND SOCIAL RESEARCH Essay

INTRODUCTION TO EDUCATIONAL AND SOCIAL RESEARCH - Essay Example 3. Focus/scope The focus is comparing rationalistic and naturalistic paradigms in evaluating student teachers’ reflective practice held at Utrecht University and Trondheim University. 4. Location & Duration The locations of the study are Utrecht University and Trondheim University. The duration is a period of two to four months at the end of the teacher education programme. 5. Research Design & Methods Naturalistic (qualitative) method and mixed methods are used. The researchers have moved away from traditional research methods towards a concern for story-telling. 6. Key Concepts and Ideas The REFLECT project is linked to the postmodern period characterised by Guba and Lincoln or post-experimental enquiry. It involves two paradigms, rationalistic and naturalistic, in which the reflections of student teachers are compared through the Utrecht study and Trondheim study. 7. Key Findings, Recommendations, & Implications for Your Enquiry Interactions between communicating persons â €“ student teacher, teacher educator, and researcher -are the one creating â€Å"voices†. The researchers are part of the story they are telling. The researchers’ interpretation is the true voice of the refection in the study. The shift from a rationalistic perspective towards a more naturalistic one is mirrored in the Trondheim study. No recommendations are provided. The implications for my enquiry are that the paradigms can aid in evaluatinghow misbehavior of students may be affected on the teacher performance in classroom? Admiraal and Wubbels’ (2012) have focused on comparing two research approaches of reflective practice of two different modes of tele-guidance. This comparison is seen herein as an essential stance for the study in providing a clear view of the methodologies and approaches used. The purpose of this critical evaluation is to lay down the similarities and differences between two approaches in reflective thinking, aiming to draw inferences on how these approaches may be adopted to my own study, which is how misbehavior of students may affect the teacher’s performance in the classroom. The direction of Admiraal and Wubbels’ (2012) study to take on a storytelling method from the traditional research methods is congruent to its purpose and nature, being focused on comparing two research approaches of reflective practice of two different modes of tele-guidance. The position of the study is highlighted in the fact that it resulted in two different reports on student teachers’ reflective stances despite the fact that they share some perspectives on educational practices and reflections. Admiraal and Wubbels have emphasised that the different analyses and results are where the differences in beliefs in the Utrecht and Trondheim studies lie, apparently to see any alternatives to viewing the same phenomenon through two different lenses. This direction of the studies apparently seeks to adopt replicability by employing mixed methods and qualitative method respectively, called ‘convergence’ by Gorard and Taylor. Similarly, my study on how misbehavior of students may affect the teacher’s performance in the classroom shall take on a qualitative method and a case study design, which can be drawn from in-depth interviews and participant observation. The Utrecht and Trondheim studies are focused on adopting two different paradigms to seeing two student teaching practice environments, contrasting each other

Private Takeover of Data Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Private Takeover of Data - Essay Example The process of democratization is inherent in the multidimensional and multifaceted interaction of the masses with the environmental factors that have a significant impact. Indeed, history is witness to the fact that they are capable of influencing any future recourse to the formation of a new political equation. Â  The system typically represents social conditioning of the people which may express their values, interests and general behavioral pattern, in given setting. But there is increasing the tendency of collective representation of the group that may be in a position to consciously influence a susceptible audience towards a set course thus explaining the restructuring of the social fabric in a more rational manner that is deliberate and pre-determined. The last fifty years have seen the deteriorating authority of the government control through various processes like privatization, deregulation, and decentralization of power has promoted increasing commercialization of jobs that were hitherto confined to the government agencies for confidentiality and security reasons. Â  The deregulation and de-centralization have brought in private players to the national arena where they are able to bargain with the government. In fact, media has been one the most powerful private player which wields considerable influence over the people and the government. They have become strong advocates for power games. Vested interests now dominate the overall goals and objectives of the media owners. Citizens’ welfare has taken a backseat and manipulation of public opinion has become the norm. With their specific political leaning, they back their own candidates for legislative seats, thereby influencing policies and plans which may make them more powerful. Public representatives are bought by these media giants so that they may advocate the cartel’s dubious aims and objectives.

Original Classroom Assessment Essay Example for Free

Original Classroom Assessment Essay Over the past few years, there have been many debates and theories made regarding the concentration of world popular culture on Western – particularly, American influences. American consumer symbols such as McDonald and Mickey are among the most popular manifestations of the tremendously increasing sway of the U. S. on various countries all around the globe. As American consumer culture continues to embrace a worldwide cultural sphere, the issue of globalization through cultural imperialism also rises. Cultural imperialism refers to a whole new form of colonialism. Basically, it is the act of invading a country at a cultural level, thereby gradually replacing the predominant local culture with a foreign culture through commercial influences. Undeniably, American consumer culture does not only pervade worldwide commercial ventures. It also permeates everyday life as worldwide consumers continue to patronize American cultural commodities. The term â€Å"cultural commodities† refers to a wide range of products and services that can potentially alter or affect culture in varying degrees. Cultural commodities can be in the form of technological products, scientific procedures, learning systems, educational services, and media merchandising. Among all these, the media commodities are regarded as the most effective vehicle for transmitting lifestyles, values, and ideologies. In this paper, the research focuses on a particular medium of cultural transmission – films. Film, as a popular form of entertainment worldwide, is regarded as an important venue for cultural transmission as it reaches a massive amount of audience. Hollywood’s worldwide dominance has raised concerns about the erosion of local film industries, as well as the themes and resources that it involves. In an attempt to critically examine what effects does globalization through media-based cultural imperialism pose on local cultures and industries, this research centers on the British film industry. Since the British nation once had the same cultural dominance that the US enjoys nowadays, it is only fit to examine how the cultural commodity of a once-powerful nation can possibly withstand the challenges posed by today’s dominant culture. In this research, the status of the British film industry in a highly US-dominated field will be explored based on the theoretical explanations of why Hollywood continues to prosper amidst supposed local competency and resistance. As the manifestations of cultural imperialism in the British film industry are described, this research will also involve an exploration of what qualifies as a British film in a cultural sense. Moreover, the study also presents some steps on how the British film industry can thrive in today’s free trade setting. Pondering on the debates of free trade and dependency theories, this research works on the argument that although the British film industry is much propelled by globalization and US cultural imperialism, the most appropriate marketing proposition for it remains to be the nation’s local creative resources and utilization of overseas investment, not the application of US-patterned strategies on a domestic level.

Double Indemnity :: essays research papers

Double Indemnity   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Before I start my paper I would just like to say that it was the best film yet! In this movie Walter Neff went through a huge transformation. He went through one that would change his life dramatically.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Walter Neff at the start of the film was an honest hard working man. He spent eleven years selling insurance and loved every minute of it for the most part. While Walter was going through his papers he must of noticed that Mr. Dietricson’s auto insurance had run out. After trying to contact him several times he decided to drive over to the house. As he stood in the door way there she was, a beautiful blonde standing in a towel. This was the beginning of his problems. The two sat down in the living room where they went over the insurance. Eventually, Walter started to hit on her, but that didn’t last to long. Mrs. Dietrichson said that it would be better if he cam back another day to settle the insurance problem when her husband was around. Walter returned to his office and a message was left from Mrs. Dietrichson asking if he could come by tomorrow afternoon. This is where her plan went into action. Mrs. Dietrichson flirted with Walter and acted like she had feelings for him. After they see each other a few times Mrs. Dietrichson talks about how she is hit and how she wishes her husband were dead so that Walter and she could be together.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Since Walter was an insurance sales man he knew a lot about the business and cases. Walter planed out a perfect death that could never be considered murder. He would kill Mr. Dietrichson before his trip on the train. Then he would have Mrs. Dietrichson meet him down the tracks where he will jump off. Quickly Mr. Dietrichson’s body will be placed on the tracks to make it seem like he fell off and died. This went very smoothly except for one thing a man was sitting in the back of the train before he jumped off so there was a witness. Mrs. Dietrichson manipulated Walter just so she may be able to get rid of her husband and get a lump sum of money.

Organ Donation essay/ not finished Essay

Source 1: Rainbow raw author of the Organ Donation Should be Compulsory article, created on 30th May, 2012 discusses the forever asking question that all citizens should be made to donate their organs once deceased. The author addresses the topic with the use of statistics from the Australia’s organ donations site. Rainbow raw has no known qualifications or expertise; although the information provided is true and I believe reliable even though it is not from a registered site e.g. gov, edu. The author presented the information in exposition form with facts and their own personal opinion which outlines the science and religious sides of organ donation. Source 2: The site Debate ORG is presented in a debate form, created and written by anonymous writers, debating whether organs should be compulsory. This site holds no qualifications or expertise but shows the different opinions and beliefs behind organ donation. Source 3: Samuel Walker is a Politics undergraduate at the Universi ty of Warwick whom is the author of the article Why Organ Donation Should be Made Compulsory. Walker explores and outlines the science and religion behind organ donation throughout. Walker uses rhetorical techniques to discuss the topic. Part B: Should all citizens be made to donate their organs? The science behind organ donation is simple, one whom has died has the opportunity to save another’s life by donating their organs, but there are religious aspects that need to be looked at, many religions and cultures do not believe in giving one organs as they are a part of them, they need them for reincarnation, many believe that once you die they must be kept whole. It is an ethical issue as thousands of people are put on waiting lists to receive and organ. There are Why is it though that if we let the government have this control of our organs we lose our freedom of choice when what we are doing is saving other’s lives, theres a saying ‘ if you don’t want to donate your organs then you should not receive one when in need’ why should you have access to a new liver when you wouldn’t give up your own? What about our freedom rights? You can’t force someone to give up their organs even when their deceased, you can’t ask a grieving mother to have permission to cut her  child up, well with this law just do what you please, that child’s organs may save a life but the mother will never see it that way, her child just died, her baby’s gone, forever and the thought of them being poked and prodded adds to the grieve and loss. But it’s a life we’re talking about, you have the power, the opportunity to save someone, how can you let that go, your gone why should perfectly usable organs be buried with the deceased to rot in the ground, and become food for worms and bugs. Religious expectation play into hand with this argument, many religions such as blah believe that you should never give out ones organs as Throughout this essay the following ethical issue will be discussed, Should all citizens be made to donate their organs? citizens of the world have rights, individual freedom rights, why should that be taken away from them? The government has so much control alreadly over our chocies why should we give up our organs, the government doesn’t own them do they? Personal property, I was born with them, I should have control of what happened to them even after death. It’s my choice; don’t take that away from me. Everybody wants to be some type of hero in their life, why not save someone with your organs that will be useless in the ground with your body; you could save at least 10 people’s lives, children’s lives, a mother, a brother, why wouldn’t you want to make that choice? Are you scared would it become easie r if it was to become mandatory?

Complementary and Alternative Medicine

The number of Complementary and Alterative medicine (CAM) consumer is constantly increasing. According to the National Health Information survey in 2004, nearly 40% of American adults used some form of alternative therapies and spend around 30 billion dollars per year on unconventional medicine (Kayne 2008, p. 93). The term â€Å"alternative medicine† refers to all the therapeutic practice that is not part of the conventional medicine such as: herbal medicine, acupuncture and yoga (Hirsch, 2009).Allopathic medicine is based on scientific knowledge that has already been proven efficient whereas most of homeopathic treatments are based on tradition and beliefs in spiritual energies. It will be argued that although logical issues and concerns dealing with the unconventional therapy, the various advantages of homeopathic methods outweigh any potential inconveniences if it is well practiced and complementary.This is essay will examine the various drawbacks and benefits of this ther apeutical approach. First of all, on the disadvantage side alternative medicine usually does not heal the patient instantly. Indeed herbal treatments for instance can take weeks before a real improvement appeared. Sometimes numerous acupuncture sessions or massages are required for a long lasting result. As a consequence the one concerned can get impatient and decided to switch to a more conventional healing.Moreover, according to Dr. Hirsch (2009) to adopt CAM it demands to invest a considerable amount of time, energy and money (as it is rarely covered by health insurance). Furthermore, doctor denounces the fact that some people choose to treat some severe disease primarily with alternative therapies whereas it should only be in addition to conventional medicine. Under those circumstances, damage can be done beyond repair by the time the patient realize that the treatment do not work at all.Besides, CAM practices can meddle with conventional medication, for example herbal supplemen ts can interfere with treatments like birth-control pills. Above all, Dr. Hirsch (2009) states that CAM users must keep in mind that contrary to conventional medical doctors, there is only few trained and licensed CAM practitioners. As an illustration, practice such as yoga can be dangerous if the movement are not done properly with a professional. Finally few scientists like Kaptchuk. (2002) note that placebo effect may enhance results from alternative remedy.As the CAM users believe for instance, that healing ritual such as acupuncture is good for their mind and body it will then have true benefits on the patients for some specific illness as emotional state can influence the immune system. Although this may be true that CAM practice must be done with carefulness and awareness it is not true that the demerits brought by CAM prevail over the merits. First thing to remember in the advantage side, as stated by Buzescu (2011, p. 130) alternative therapies have almost no side effects a s it works with the body instead of eliminating symptoms like the conventional medicine.The scientist also holds the views that it is a green friendly practice; natural substances are applied and the modus operandi is quiet simple. In the same way this searcher believes that users may feel reassured that they will probably not found dangerous and polluted chemicals in their products. In addition, it is important to realize that millions of underprivileged families heal themselves and rely only on unconventional medicine thanks to the fact that it not expensive, contrarily to the modern drugs.Moreover the complementary healing approach is becoming increasingly successful for its aptitude to diagnosticate and focus on the real nature of the disease. It pays more attention to the mental and emotional symptoms. As a matter of fact practitioners have the knowledge and are engaged to encourage the mind-body connection. Consequently they give to others the aptitude to bear their sickness t hrough various resources, techniques and natural remedies. Buzescu (2011, p. 30) goes on to say that the main goal of complementary medicine is to â€Å"help or complete classical treatment methods†. In other words CAM is used in addition to conventional healing treatments, to deal with symptoms or side effects that had not been yet cured. In this case, it has been suggested to patients to discuss with the conventional doctor about their intentions to add complementary healing techniques to their previous treatment and more especially if it involves herbal therapies Malbley(1998).Likewise, this practice is becoming more accepted and approved by the conventional doctors, but keep in mind that it can only works as a complement and not as an alternative, a complement should not lead to a total replacement Dawson (2008). Indeed there is finally a theory that CAM treatment can be use for disease like cancer, as it procures some reliefs from signs and symptoms (Tovey, Chatwin and B room, 2007). To conclude, in recent years CAM healing approach have risen in popularity among industrialized countries.One the one hand, it shows some disadvantages as it may be a long-term treatment that demand a lot of personal investment and which is sometimes taken without a full knowledge of the facts that it may only rely on the placebo effect. On the other hand it merits such as the fact that there is no side effect, it is a cost effective and green approach that focus on the core of the disease to heal, largely compensate the demerits if it is used as a complement. However it is obvious that in order to avoid any abuse, governments should implement laws and regulations toward CAM practice.

Baking Powder Versus Baking Soda

Baking Powder Versus Baking Soda Are you planning some holiday baking? If so, you can use your knowledge of kitchen chemistry to save a trip to the store if you run out of ingredients. One substitution that can be confusing is whether or not you can use baking powder and baking soda interchangeably. Both baking powder and baking soda are used to help baked goods rise, but they arent the same chemicals. The Deal With Baking Soda Baking soda is sodium bicarbonate. If you dont have baking soda, you can use baking powder, but you will need to add about twice as much because baking powder contains baking soda, but it also contains other ingredients. This substitution may affect the flavor of the food, not necessarily in a negative way. If the recipe calls for salt (sodium chloride), you may want to use slightly less. The Deal With Baking Powder Baking powder is sodium bicarbonate and potassium bitartrate. If you dont have baking powder, you cant substitute baking soda, but you can make baking powder using two parts cream of tartar and one part baking soda. For example, two teaspoons of cream of tartar plus one teaspoon of baking soda would give you three teaspoons of baking powder. Unless the recipes states otherwise, begin baking as soon as you have finished mixing the ingredients, since the chemical reaction that causes the rising starts as soon as wet and dry ingredients are mixed. Tell me more...

Food Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Food - Essay Example Visiting the streets of down town Chicago demonstrates a cultural variety of foods. As you walk down the street the various smells hit you. But the question still remains what types of foods are safe to eat? However, this question extends past the Chicago land area but to the whole United States. Visiting the United States brings a large variety of different foods. Yet many of the differences in the cultural foods are associated with the use of different spices, not necessarily the actual food. Skeptics may choose not to eat a certain type of food due to stereotyping. This behavior is often seen after a mass recall is publicized on the media. Unfortunately, food associated pathogens do not discriminate to one specific type of food group. From eggs, cows and vegetables these different groups represent may of the variety of foods found in the United States. Visiting this country can bring the eater great satisfaction to find such a vast variety of foods. But these foods are never really free E. Coli, Salmonella or Listeria. Still many individuals exhibit preferences when grocery shopping towards organic or hormone free choices. According to Newsweek (n.d.), â€Å"Buying organic or local doesn’t necessarily mean you’re protected from diseases† (3). This is evident as many of the nations foods come from a few growers located in different regions of the country. Yet visitors may not be aware of the potential illnesses that could affect them as they get lost in the aromas of foods while walking down a street late at night in the United States. As a visitor you associate the smell of food with a great vacation. However, the smell of food and safety may contradict each other at times. Still as you visit this country you cannot help but enjoy the vast amounts of foods from different cultural

Business Economics Referred Coursework Assignment Essay

Business Economics Referred Coursework Assignment - Essay Example Middle East suffered a decline of wheat production of 7.4 million tons or about 19 percent because of the worst drought the country had experienced in 2008. (Commodity Intelligence Report, 15 December 2008) China and Iran, had each, reported worse effects of droughts to wheat crops. Drought in China as of October, 2010 had affected 7.73 million hectares of wheat plantation (China Daily). Iran estimated a decline of their 2008 production by 20% due to effects of drought (USDA Foreign Agricultural Service. 15 December 2008). A decline in production would mean a gap in supply and demand that raises price. The price of wheat is also affected by the weakening US dollar because this will mean a decline in the purchasing power of a dollar. The U.S. dollar is a world trading currency; meaning all prices of commodities are linked to its price, and devaluation would have a great impact to international trade. In anticipation of devaluation, all countries will immediately raise their prices. Co mmodities such as wheat, oil, coffee, etc. will now set their price records to protect their investments. Farmers know that the dollars they are receiving for the wheat is declining in purchasing power, so they have to adjust their prices in anticipation for the devaluation; that is why we have a higher price of wheat now. As an example, if the US dollar declines by 30%, and the farmer has $1 million in wheat, his million dollars will now be able to buy $700,000 worth of goods or services, so he lost $300,000 in purchasing power. 2. Identify the factors that determine the demand for goods and services in general? Consider how these factors affect the demand for wheat. In general, determinants of demand are income, tastes, prices of related goods and services, expectations and the number of buyers. We know that if we lower the price of a good without altering its quality or quantity, people will flock to you to buy as this the law of demand. We will illustrate the law of demand by ex ample in demand for wheat. The law of demand applies to a well defined good – the wheat. Then the second phase indicates that people must not only want to purchase the wheat but must be able to purchase the wheat in order to be counted as part of demand. But although willing, consumer is not able at the price of $111.00, so buyer thinks of something else to replace the need for wheat. The next step is to think of the price and quantity demanded; that is as the price rises, the quantity demanded falls, and as the price falls, the quantity demanded increases. 3. What are the major factors increasing the demand for wheat? [Make sure you use the concept of income elasticity of demand for wheat (Ardy, 2010, p. 5). The factors that increase demand for wheat are price, price of substitute goods; preferences, population and income. These factors are discussed in the following paragraphs. Price. As the price of wheat increases, assuming that all other factors remain equal, less people would demand for wheat. The demand slope is downward looking . As the price of wheat increases, people would naturally avoid consumption and look for substitute products that they would value more. The price of substitute goods. A substitute product is a good or service which may be bought instead of another when the price of the latter changes or if it becomes unavailable. For instance, the increase in wheat price will increase in the demand for corn,

Production and Operation Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Production and Operation Management - Essay Example Based on these, the owner selects particular designs to be made on a weekly basis. Ms. Brown also selects the kind of clothing material to be used for the particular chosen design. She employed 10 female workers to work on the rest of the process. Pattern design is done manually by one worker before grading, measurement of fabric, cutting and finally, sewing and assembling. For clothes requiring intricate designs such as patching or needlework, one female worker, Karen Smith, who specialize on this area does the final touch and inspects the garments made prior to pressing and packaging. The first few months of production have been smooth and productive. On the seventh month, there had been returns sent by the shopping mall due to defects. Apparently, some garments were not inspected thoroughly and exhibited the following defects: â€Å"open seams, wrong stitching techniques, non- matching threads, missing stitches, improper creasing of the garment, erroneous thread tension and raw e dges† (Ahmad, 2011). Ms. Brown questioned Karen Smith and was determined to investigate the cause of increased defects. If not corrected immediately, the garment company faces a greater dilemma of revoking their contract to supply garments with the shopping mall. Statement of the Problem There were apparently high levels of returns for garments that have been delivered to the shopping mall. The person authorized to inspect, Karen Smith, also tasked with doing the intricate final designs of patching and needlework. Likewise, no other person counter checked the quality of the garments prior to packing and delivery to the shopping mall. Research Objective The objective of the research was to investigate the cause of the surge of defects on the garments that was already delivered to the shopping mall. The contract to supply garments was usually based on the agreement that no significant defects should be exhibited that would cause returns. Defects of more than 20% in one batch of deliveries would be subject to full return and refund. If the next batch would contain defects of more than 10%, the contract would be revoked. Another objective was to review the manufacturing process to determine ways of minimizing the defects noted and to ensure high quality of garments are consistently delivered. Comparative Key Processes in the Manual to the Actual Practice The process manual clearly indicates that after sewing, Karen Smith, is tasked to inspect the garments prior to packing. Upon closer inspection, Ms. Brown discovered from interviews with the sewers that most of the time, Karen Smith was overloaded with final details of patching and needle work demanded from the chosen designs. As such, with full confidence, she delegated the sewers to closely inspect their works. In this regard, the following flaws in the operations process were noted: (1) The inspector and the person doing final touches on the garments are the same. Increased volume of work to be done leave s little time for inspection. (2) There was no clear policy in the procedures manual regarding any sanctions for violating adherence to high quality standards of the product; (3) There were no clear policies on inspection for the garments or in accurately identifying accountability (which sewer creates the most mistakes and defects); (4) All designs and pattern making are still done manually; (5) Roles and responsibilities for employees

Business Models and Planning Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Business Models and Planning - Assignment Example In addition, development in e-business and its associated effects that caused transitions in business models identified periodic challenged in existing business models and established the need for improved models. Efficiency and effectiveness needs towards optimal profitability in e-business models facilitated this. the e-business revolution was therefore important because it identified needs transition in business models.1 Strategy and structure are supplementary elements in implementation of business models to achieve objectives. While strategy forms the basis of a model through development of objectives, structure establishes a framework though which the strategic objectives can be achieved through a business model. Dell’s strategy of direct sales is an example. Based on the strategy, the company develops its model around information technology and formulates its structure to focus on the technology-based strategy. Consequently and from a business model persoective, strategy and structure have a suplimentary relation in which structure facilitate success of a

Current theories and Models of leadership

Current theories and Models of leadership The topics of leadership and organizational culture have attracted considerable interest from both academics and practitioners. In modern World Leadership is taken as the most influencing factor of an Organization. Leaders are those people who make the organization move through definite path towards the success. As the other topics in the field of Organizational Environment, there are numerous numbers of studies and very relative theories on Leadership. The established study of Leadership includes. Trait Theory Group and Exchange Theory Contingency Theory Path-Goal Trait Theory This theory is all about the traits present in a person. The main objective is to recognize those traits which can produce a good leader. As per the ancient scholars The leaders are born not made. A theory called The Great Person Theory gave the right way to more realistic to the trait approach. This says that these traits are not totally in born but a mixture of nature and nurture means that the factors like Physiology, Society, and Economics have a great impact on the trait of a person which can make him a great leader. Group and Exchange Theory These theories have its root in social psychology. It says the leaders must have followers. And they must have some positive exchange between them i.e. Benefits, Rewards and Costs. A recent study indicates that the leader and followers both affect each other in a great impact. Relevant to the Exchange view an approach are there, Leader-Member Exchange approach is in discussion, these says that Leader treats subordinate differently. In precise the both develop a dynamic relationship which affects the behavior of the both. Contingency Theory This can be treated as the extension of the trait theory which deals with the situational aspect of leadership. Numerous situational variables were identified but no solid theory could be formulated. Fred Feeler test the hypothesis, he had formulated from the previous data findings. He develops a contingency model of leadership effectiveness. This contains the relationship between Leadership style and Favorableness of the situation. There are some dimensions: The Leader Member relationship. The degree of the task structure. The Leaders position and power. As per this theory the trainers is taught to diagnosis the situation to change it at optimization leadership style which match the situation. Some of the ways are as follows: Spending more informal time with the follower. Discuss task structure with them. Raise the position power Path Goal Theory This theory has been derived from the motivational theory. The path goal theory attempts to explain the impact of the leader behavior has on subordinate motivation, satisfaction and performance. These are of four major types. Directive Leadership Participative Leadership Achievement oriented Leadership Using these for types on the situational factor the leader attempt to influence subordinates perception and motivation. In other word the leader attempts to make the path to the goal for the subordinate as smooth AS possible. But the leader must depend on the situational variables present. We were been discussing the traditional theories there are some other theories which has immerged most recently: Charismatic Transformational Autocratic Transactional Are some important of theories which are in discussion. Charismatic The sociologist Max Weber described charismatic authority as resting on devotion to the exceptional sanctity, heroism or exemplary character of an individual person, and of the normative patterns or order revealed or ordained by him. Charismatic authority is one of three forms of authority laid out in Webers tripartite classification of authority, the other two being traditional authority and rational-legal authority. The concept has acquired wide usage among sociologists. Charismatic authority is power legitimized on the basis of a leaders exceptional personal qualities or the demonstration of extraordinary insight and accomplishment, which inspire loyalty and obedience from followers. As such, it rests almost entirely on the leader; the absence of that leader for any reason can lead to the authoritys power dissolving. However, due to its idiosyncratic nature and lack of formal organization, charismatic authority depends much more strongly on the perceived legitimacy of the authority than Webers other forms of authority. For instance, a charismatic leader in a religious context might require an unchallenged belief that the leader has been touched by God, in the sense of a guru or prophet. Should the strength of this belief fade, the power of the charismatic leader can fade quickly, which is one of the ways in which this form of authority shows itself to be unstable. In contrast to the current popular use of the term charismatic leader, Weber saw chari smatic authority not so much as character traits of the charismatic leader but as a relationship between the leader and his followers much in the same way that Freud would transform Gustave Le Bons crowd psychology through the notion of identification and of an Ideal of the Ego. The validity of charisma is founded on its recognition by the leaders followers (or adepts A hanger). This recognition is not (in authentic charisma) the grounds of legitimate, but a duty, for those who are chosen, in virtue of this call and of its confirmation, to recognize this quality. Recognition which is, psychologically, a completely personal abandon, full of faith, born either from enthusiasm or from necessity and hope. No prophet has seen his quality Charismatic leadership is leadership based on the leaders ability to communicate and behave in ways that reach followers on a basic, emotional way, to inspire and motivate. We often speak of some sports and political leaders as charismatic (or not) an example being John F. Kennedy. Its difficult to identify the characteristics that make a leader charismatic, but they certainly include the ability to communicate on a very powerful emotional level, and probably include some personality traits. Developing charisma is difficult, if not impossible for many people, but luckily charismatic leadership is not essential to be an effective leader. Many other characteristics are involved in leading effectively, and there is significant evidence to indicate that it simply is not necessary to have this elusive charisma to lead others well. Relying on charisma to lead also can be problematic. For example, there have been many charismatic leaders who lack other leadership characteristics and skills (e.g. integrity) and lead their followers into situations that turn out horribly think political leaders such as Stalin, Hitler, and even business leaders (Enron). Finally, in organizations lead by charismatic leaders, there is a major problem regarding succession. What happens when a leader who relies on charisma leaves? Often the organization founders because the ability to lead rested with one persons charisma. Transformational Transformational leadership is defined as a leadership approach that engenders change in individuals and social systems. In its ideal form, it creates valuable and positive change in the followers with the end goal of developing followers into leaders. Enacted in its authentic form, transformational leadership enhances the motivation, morale and performance of his followers through a variety of mechanisms. These include connecting the followers sense of identity and self to the mission and the collective identity of the organization; being a role model for followers that inspires them; challenging followers to take greater ownership for their work, and understanding the strengths and weaknesses of followers, so the leader can align followers with tasks that optimize their performance. James MacGregor Burns (1978) [1] first introduced the concept of transforming leadership in his descriptive research on political leaders, but this term is now used in organizational psychology as well. According to Burns, transforming leadership is a process in which leaders and followers help each other to advance to a higher level of morale and motivation. Burns related to the difficulty in differentiation between management and leadership and claimed that the differences are in characteristics and behaviors. He established two concepts: transforming leadership and transactional leadership. According to Burns, the transforming approach creates significant change in the life of people and organizations. It redesigns perceptions and values, and changes expectations and aspirations of employees. Unlike in the transactional approach, it is not based on a give and take relationship, but on the leaders personality, traits and ability to make a change through example, articulation of an energizing vision and challenging goals. Transforming leaders are idealized in the sense that they are a moral exemplar of working towards the benefit of the team, organization and/or community. Burns theorized that transforming and transactional leadership was mutually exclusive styles. Now 30 years of research and a number of meta-analyses have shown that transformational and transactional leadership positively predicts a wide variety of performance outcomes including individual, group and organizational level variables The transformational leadership introduces four elements of full range of leadership: Individualized Consideration Intellectual Stimulation Inspirational Motivation Autocratic An autocratic leadership style is one of domination and repression, similar to a dictatorship. This type of leadership maximally founded in an administration of a country. There are historical examples of the disadvantages and oppression of an autocratic leadership style. Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin and Fidel Castro are examples of the autocratic leadership style. Hitler and his administration were accountable for the deaths of millions of Jewish people. Stalin killed more than 3 million people through famines, executions and forced labor. Castro has total control over Cubas resources, resulting in food rationing and attempts by numerous residents to flee the country. An autocratic leader tells people what to do, issues orders and expects them to be abide by. It is said to be suitable to use an autocratic leadership style in definite situations in an urgent situation and when only the leader can make the decision. For example, only the leader can decide who to hire fire and promote. If the substitute to being autocratic is participative leadership, then it is clear that employees in most organizations dont have a say in how much the salary should be after getting promoted. Today, leadership still has some ancient and paternalistic fundamentals. We now expect people in charge of us to respect our opinions and to engage us in making important decisions. But we still generally prefer only one person to be in on the whole charge and we want that person to live up to certain paternalistic ideals. This form of leadership, however, is breaking down because there is a clash between the desire for leaders who know what they are doing and the realities of modern complexity and rapid change. The regular way to cheat this predicament is to say that leadership no longer means calling the shots, to say instead that it means being a good facilitator and coach. When leadership is defined as promoting fresh directions and is not connected with position, then there is no longer any such thing as autocratic leadership. Yes, the person in charge of a group can make independent decisions but this is decision-making action, not leadership. On this view, leadership is always based on unofficial pressure or influence. Leadership can also be shown by example. The allusion of this move is that any time an executive makes a decision that affects the groups interests or direction, the executive introduced as a manager but not showing leadership. In other words, leadership cannot be shown by telling people what to do. Still managers need to be autocratic at times, such as emergency and to decide conflict that cannot be resolved in any other way Transactional Transactional leadership is a term used to classify a formally known group leadership theories that inquire the interactions between leaders and followers. A transactional leader focuses more on a series of transactions. These people is interested in looking out for oneself, having exchange benefits with their subordinates and clarify a sense of duty with rewards and punishments to reach goals. Transactional leaders believe that people are motivated by reward or punishment. These leaders give clear instructions to followers about what their expectations are and when those expectations are fulfilled there are rewards in store for them and failure is severely punished. They allocate work to subordinates whether resources are there or absent. Transactional leadership is based in contingency, in that reward or punishment is contingent upon performance. Despite much research that highlights its limitations, Transactional Leadership is still a popular approach with many managers. Indeed, in the Leadership vs. Management spectrum, it is very much towards the management end of the scale. The main limitation is the assumption of rational man, a person who is largely motivated by money and simple reward, and hence whose behavior is predictable. The underlying psychology is Behaviorism, including the Classical Conditioning of Pavlov and Skinners Operant Conditioning. These theories are largely based on controlled laboratory experiments (often with animals) and ignore complex emotional factors and social values. In practice, there is sufficient truth in Behaviorism to sustain Transactional approaches. This is reinforced by the supply-and-demand situation of much employment, coupled with the effects of deeper needs, as in Maslows Hierarchy. When the demand for a skill outstrips the supply, then Transactional Leadership often is insufficient, and other approaches are more effective. The transactional leader works through creating clear structures whereby it is clear what is required of their subordinates, and the rewards that they get for following orders. Punishments are not always mentioned, but they are also well-understood and formal systems of discipline are usually in place. The early stage of Transactional Leadership is in negotiating the contract whereby the subordinate is given a salary and other benefits, and the company (and by implication the subordinates manager) gets authority over the subordinate. When the Transactional Leader allocates work to a subordinate, they are considered to be fully responsible for it, whether or not they have the resources or capability to carry it out. When things go wrong, then the subordinate is considered to be personally at fault, and is punished for their failure (just as they are rewarded for succeeding). The transactional leader often uses management by exception, working on the principle that if something is operating to defined (and hence expected) performance then it does not need attention. Exceptions to expectation require praise and reward for exceeding expectation, whilst some kind of corrective action is applied for performance below expectation. Whereas Transformational Leadership has more of a selling style, Transactional Leadership, once the contract is in place, takes a telling style. Transactional leaders must understand what motivates their employees. Ensure employees understand the reward system and how they can achieve the rewards. Ensure that both reward and punishment systems are in place and are consistently exercised. Provide constructive feedback throughout the work process. Ensure that rewards and recognition are provided in a timely manner. Situational Leadership Theory Paul Hersey and Kenneth Blanchard developed the situational model of leadership relates four different leadership styles to the followers confidence and ability to carry it out. Most of the leadership training programs offered today attempt to help you discover the leadership style you exhibit and make you aware of its strengths and weaknesses.   However, a situational leadership style is not dictated by the leadership skills of the manager. The idea of situational leadership  is more closely tied to using the style needed to be successful given the existing work environment being managed or the specific needs of the business. The effective manager is able to utilize multiple leadership styles as conditions change.   This is the theory behind the concept of situational leadership.   Implementing situational leadership in an organization then becomes a matter of training managers to recognize the current work setting or employee situation and using the most effective leadership style given that specific challenge. For example, delegating work to an employee that is ill prepared to accept that responsibility may result in the impression that the worker is incompetent.   This can lead to frustration for both the manager and worker.   Ironically, in some situations it is actually the managers inability to recognize the most effective leadership style, or refusal to switch styles, that is really the cause of an ineffective workforce. Importance of the Leadership-Performance Relationship During the past four decades, the impact of leadership styles on organizational performance has been a topic of interest among academics and practitioners working in the area of leadership. The style of leadership adopted is considered by some researchers to be particularly important in achieving organizational goals, and in evoking performance among subordinates Despite the widespread recognition of the significance and value of leadership, when studying the leadership literature, it is remarkable that the concept of leadership lacks consistency and agreement. Most of the leadership literature confuses the definition of effective leadership by failing to make clear distinctions in some definitions, such as between leaders and non-leaders, effective and ineffective leaders, as well as overlooking the definition of the levels of leadership Further, there has been limited research that has specifically addressed the relationship between leadership behavior and organizational performanc e. Despite these oversights, it is widely believed that leadership creates the vital link between organizational effectiveness and peoples performance at an organizational level Substantial numbers of management scholars have debated the effectiveness of leadership styles and behaviors In addition, much prior research has examined the assumed leadership-performance relationship, but it has examined a restricted number of leadership paradigms. This implies that different leadership paradigms could affect performance differently, depending on the context. Thus, when researching the leadership-performance relationship, the context needs to be taken into account and more paradigms need to be considered. Moreover, there are methodological problems with most existing studies. The majority of field studies have been cross-sectional in design, and the common-method bias often has been a problem when performance has been Measured Link between Leadership and Organizational Performance Several reasons indicate that there should be a relationship between leadership and performance. The first reason relates to practice. Todays intensive, dynamic markets feature innovation-based competition, Price/performance rivalry, decreasing returns, and the creative destruction of existing competencies. Scholars and practitioners suggest that effective leadership behaviors can facilitate the improvement of performance when organizations face these new challenges Understanding the effects of leadership on performance is also important because leadership is viewed by some researchers as one of the key driving forces for improving a firms performance. Effective leadership is seen as a potent source of management development and sustained competitive advantage for organizational performance improvement. For example, transactional leadership helps organizations achieve their current objectives more efficiently by linking job performance to valued rewards and by ensuring employees have the resources needed to get the job done . Visionary Leaders create a strategic vision of some future state, communicate that vision through framing and use of metaphor, model the vision by acting consistently, and build commitment towards the vision. Some scholars suggest that visionary leadership will result in high levels of cohesion, commitment, trust, motivation, and hence performance in the new organizational environments. According to Mehra when some organizations seek efficient ways to enable them to outperform others, a longstanding approach is to focus on the effects of leadership. This is because team leaders are believed to play a pivotal role in shaping collective norms, helping teams cope with their environments, and coordinating collective action. This leader-centered perspective has provided valuable insights into the relationship between leadership and team performance. Some researchers have started to explore the strategic role of leadership, and investigate how to employ leadership paradigms and use leadership behavior to improve organizational performance. The reason for this is because intangible assets such as leadership styles, culture, skill and competence, and motivation are seen increasingly as key sources of strength in those firms that can combine people and processes and organizational performance. Previous research leads to the expectation that leadership paradigms will have dir ect effects on customer satisfaction, staff satisfaction, and financial performance. However, in general, the effects of leadership on organizational performance have not been well studied, according to House and Adytas review. House and Adyta (1997) criticized leadership studies for focusing excessively on superior-subordinate relationships to the exclusion of several other functions that leaders perform, and to the exclusion of organizational and environmental variables that are crucial to mediate the leadership-performance relationship. A further problem with existing leadership research is that the results depend on the level of analysis. House and Adyta (1997) distinguished micro-level research that focuses on the leader in relation to his or her subordinates and immediate superiors, and macro-level research that focuses on the total organization and its environment. Other scholars also suggest that leaders and their leadership style influence both their subordinates and organizational outcomes. Selection of Leadership development Initiatives The models and competency frameworks detailed in the previous section are, in most cases, used as a basis for the development of leadership and management development provision within organizations as well as appraisal and performance review. It is beyond the scope of this report to offer a detailed review of the associated programmers and the range of leadership and management development initiatives available, however, we would like to introduce a number of approaches that we feel are particularly interesting in the manner in which they seek to develop the behaviors, skills and attitudes of leaders. National and International Learning Experiences: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Development Assignments (Lancaster University Management School) à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Transformational Thinking (Manchester University) à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Study Tour to Canada (Kings Fund) à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Duality Leadership Programmed (University of Birmingham) Action Learning Sets (Nelson and Peddler) Modular Programmes: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Experienced Chief Executives Development Programmed (Kings Fund and Lancaster University Management School) à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Drive for Results (Manchester University) Findings Prior to the examination of associations between leadership style, organizational culture, and performance, a phase of data reduction was necessary. The construction of meaningful indices was initiated by the use of principal components analysis with Varian rotation. Factor analysis was deemed necessary since it was considered prudent statistically to ascertain whether the adopted measures of organizational culture and leadership style captured differing dimensions of culture and style. The principal components analysis of items pertaining to organizational culture and items relating to leadership style were conducted individually. It was not necessary to delete items from the analysis due to lack of variation or because of problems of interpretation. Leadership Styles with Examples An autocratic leader is the one who believes in taking all the vital decisions himself. It is the leader who decides how the work has to be done and by whom. Once the decision has been made, there is no scope of any modify. The subordinates simply carry on with the works assigned to them. They are not allowed to give any input on the topic of how they should do their work or perform daily behavior. Every detail is pre-decided by the leader himself. In case some changes in the work agenda have to be made, they are made by the leader without consulting any one else. Autocratic leadership style works well if the leader is proficient and knowledgeable adequate to decide about each and every thing. Reliable is considered one of the most effective leadership styles in case there is some disaster situation and quick decisions need to be taken. If there is no time left for discussion or weighing various options, then this type of leadership style gives the best results. Authoritarian leadership styles examples can be found in the real world in people like Bill Gates and John F Kennedy. Bill Gates followed the authoritarian leadership style and steered Microsoft towards enormous success. According to Bill Gates, he had a vision when he took reins of the company and then used all the resources available to make that vision a reality. His success can be judged from the way personal computers industry has advanced in America today. Participative Participative leadership style involves the leader taking into consideration the opinions of some of his employees before arriving at the final decision. This leadership style earns the leader immense respect and loyalty among his subordinates, as they feel that their opinions matter too. This leadership style is useful for the leader as he gets to see a given situation from all directions, before deciding on the final course of action. This leadership style works really well in situations when the leader does not know everything and he relies on his subordinates knowledge for taking decisions. The biggest advantage of this leadership and management style is that it helps in ascertaining and identifying future leaders among the subordinates. Also, it keeps a teams spirit and morale high, as the team members feel that their opinions are valued by their leader. Heres a participative leadership styles examples An advertising manager approaches his team members on how to promote a particular product of a company. The team members brain storm over the issue, some suggest print media, and others suggest direct mails to the prospective clients. The participative leader takes all these suggestions, weighs their pros and cons and then takes the final decision after considering his team members opinions. Case Study This case is about the charismatic and controversial former captain of the Indian national cricket team, Sourav Ganguly. The case outlines the emergence of Ganguly as a leader, his stunning rise and later fall from grace. Ganguly became the captain of the team in 2000, when it was in a deep crisis. Over the next few years, with the help of the coach John Wright, he soon turned the team into a combative unit. His team building skills, impartiality and, guts displayed in supporting his team members through thick and thin, endeared him to the team. Experts credited him with instilling a sense of aggression in the team. Ganguly soon became the most successful captain in the history of Indian cricket. The case also discusses the fall of Ganguly in 2005 and his public spat with Coach Greg Chappell (Chappell) which led to his exit from the team. Since age was not on his side, few felt that Ganguly could make a comeback into the team. But Ganguly refused to announce his retirement and contin ued to fight to win back his place in the team despite all the odds. In 2000, when Ganguly took over as captain, Indian cricket was at its nadir. The match fixing scandal had taken its toll with some senior players including former captain Mohammed Azharuddin and cricketer Ajay Jadeja being banned from the game. The morale of the team was at an all-time low. The team, considered tigers at home, had just lost its first home series in many years to South Africa. In fact, Ganguly was not the first choice for the captaincy. He got the job as Tendulkar was reluctant to take on the additional responsibility of captaincy. Gangulys problems were compounded in the end of September 2005, when Dalmiya was defeated by Pawar in the BCCI elections. On the same day of winning the elections, Pawar axed the selectors who had been sympathetic to Ganguly. It was widely believed that Gangulys era was over. The selection committee led by more appointed Dravid as captain. In October 2005, Ganguly was dropped from the ODI squad. In November 2005, Ganguly was sacked as captain of the Indian test squad. With the doors to the team being shut, Ganguly was forced to spend time playing domestic cricket. Experts felt that while his audacity and habit of speaking his mind had earned him respect in cricketing circles, they had also served to make him a lot of enemies w The Fighter Refuses to Quit. Despite all the criticism, when Ganguly was dropped from the squad, many Indian fans, especially fans in his home state West Bengal were upset. There was also a sympathy wave for Ganguly. Gangulys fan following knew no national borders. Even in Pakistan, he had a huge fan following though he performed exceedingly well against the archrivals. Whenever I ndian journalists went to Pakistan, the fans asked about Ganguly and expressed their displeasure at how he had been treated by his countrymen. Despite all the criticism, when Ganguly was dropped from the squad, many Indian fans, especially fans in his home state West Bengal were upset. There was also a sympathy wave for Ganguly. Gangulys fan following knew no national borders. Even in Pakistan, he had a huge fan following though he performed exceedingly well against the archrivals. Whenever Indian journalists went to Pakistan, the fans asked about Ganguly and expressed their displeasure at how he had been treated by his countrymen.