California, a Place, a People, a Dream

California, A Place, a People, a Dream In â€Å"California, A Place, a People, a Dream,† James J. Rawls gives his version of the California dream, and describes the paradoxes that are associated with that dream. According to Rawls, the California dream is a love affair with an idea, a marriage to a myth, or fantasy. (Rawls 22, 23) Everyone has their own version of the California dream. It might be something, or nothing at all. As I began reading Rawl’s essay, I found it interesting how the world views the environment that you live in, and how different they think your life is from theirs. The California dream is often viewed in the imaginations of Americans and immigrants as the optimal land of opportunity, sunshine, jobs, and Hollywood glamour. â€Å"Founded on expectation and hope, the California Dream promises to fulfill our deepest longings for opportunity and success, warmth, sunshine and beauty, health and long life, freedom, and even a foretaste of the future,† says Rawls. (Rawls 23) For many people, they think of California as their own perfect world. According to Rawls, one paradox for California is a land of great expectations and disappointment. The gold rush experience was forged on this paradox of expectation. (Rawls 26) For many people their expectations of California came from what they heard: California is the land of great opportunity. Another paradox is growth. In 1962, California became the most populous state. Land was being quickly developed into track homes, and twisted freeways. By 1973, cities across the state 1. were passing ordinances to limit growth. The land of dreams and opportunities was quickly turning into a land of nightmares. The paradox of plenty and getting rich is what immigrants and people from other parts of America believed California was all about, and part of the California dream. Many argue that the dream that once was is no longer a reality with all of the social, political, and environmental issues. This morning I read a blurb on the internet that named the ten most expensive cities in the United States to live in were located in California: Palo Alto, San Francisco, Pasadena, and Newport Beach were a few of those named. I have often read about the American dream, but not the California dream. Being a native Californian, perhaps I have taken for granted all that California has to offer, as it just seems part of my every day life. I could never understand why my in-laws would always say how lucky I was to live in California, and so close to the beach. Why did they make such a big deal when they visited? There were beaches in New Jersey where they were from. They always insisted on going to Santa Cruz or Monterey each time they came to visit. They live three hours away from the beach, or shore as they called it. Until I visited the east coast, little did I realize at the time how living on the east coast was very different from living on the west coast. It is hot and humid during the summer, and cold and wet during the winter. At least in the bay area the seasons are not so drastic. I do not believe there is a California dream. I have always felt that people make their own dreams. For some it is the roll of the dice, and luck. For others it is the way things were meant to be. Promise and paradox are at the center of the California dream. † (Rawls 29) â€Å"In spite of the withering analysis of the past, the promises of California remain undiminished, bringing 2. new generations of newcomers from around the world. † (Rawls 29) There are new perceptions and new dreams. Everyone dreams. Whether it is a life in a different place – or where they currently live people have been dreaming since the beginning o f time – and will continue to dream. What one perceives as the California dream, another may perceive it as something entirely different. 3.

“Gift Of The Magi” And “The Necklace” Essay

The two short stories, â€Å"The gift of the Magi† written by O. Henry and â€Å"The necklace written by Guy de Maupassant are both composed of two young, beautiful women Mathilde and Della. Even though they are in different composed stories that have similar characteristics that convey throughout the story such as, they are both emotionally and financially depressed, have loving husbands, and both want to achieve something in an extreme manner. Throughout much the stories there similarities interact with each other, however there differences shine as strong as there will to survive through the depths of life. For example, Mathilde expresses her repetitive unappreciative remarks on life little pleasures. â€Å"She grieved over the shabbiness of her apartment, the dinginess of the walls, the worn-out appearance of the chairs, the ugliness of the draperies† is an example of recessive comments in which she complains that she should be treated like gold (de Maupassant 202). Her comments create the fact that her caliber of royalty should not be mistreated. Though she lives in a filthy cottage, which she calls home. Her emotions on life have gone in a realty world where she should be treated like a king. Her envies of better quality life style have turned into a disease, where she must have the finest jewels, tapestries in the world. Her cravings of excessive attention have made her gone into a state of addiction. Mme. Loisel was greedy, dishonest, and did not love her husband. She was a huge complainer who was always looking for attention, and often used people. In addition, Mathilde Loisel is a character that has much pride in her. It is her motivation to act throughout the story, and it is the key to her downfall. Mathilde downfall comes into place when she does not tell Mrs. Forrestier that she lost her necklace. Mathilde does not gush out confessions and prostrating herself while pleading for forgiveness, she takes the responsibility for her mistakes by replacing Mrs. Forrestier’s necklace. De Maupassant shows her qualities in the introduction, the incident, and the poverty she endures. At the beginning of the story Mathilde pride is so strong that she does not want to face reality. Reality meaning the husband she has and the small household she resumes in. So in order to reject reality she turns to her dreams in which she has the life of ease and riches. Pride comes to place when she is complaining to her husband  about the way hey live and how she deserves more than this. When they discover that they have been invited to a big party, she feels she must live up to her pride. Knowing without a doubt that they have no money, she wants to have a beautiful dress and along with the dress she gets a radiant necklace from Mrs. Forrestier. The incident in which Mathilde loses the necklace plays an active role in Mathlide’s pride. Mathilde refuses to endure embarrassment by telling Mrs. Forrestier that she lost her necklace, so she goes and replaces the necklace. Her pride will not let her stoop so low into apologizing, pleading for forgiveness for nothing, instead her pride tells her that she is capable of replacing the necklace, and so she does. Her pride dreadfully leads her into destitution lifestyle, something she is not most proud of. The reality of her life becomes more realistic than ever. She is plunged into poverty, and drudgery that will take away her prized youth and beauty, never to return, but yet she still has her pride. At the end after all the debts are all paid, she sees Mrs. Forrestier, who by the way does not recognize her, tells her about the incident and what she had to do to pay the money, and discovers that the necklace was nothing more than a fake. Mathilde is a character that has a pride so strong that she doesn’t notice until her pride hits her with retribution, by leading her to poverty. She sees her responsibility for losing the necklace, and she had enough sense of self-sacrifice to pay for restoring it. She sacrifices â€Å"with pride† not only her position, but also her youth and beauty. Pride plays a crucial role in Mathilde life, role that stands strong and proud, but yet its so crucial that it drives Mathlide’s fate. Furthermore, Mathilde had begun to change. Physically, â€Å"she had become the strong, hard, rude, woman of poor households. † (209). But also there was a change on the inside, too. Sometimes she still sat and thought about her moment of glory and then thought about what her life would have been like if she would have never lost the necklace. She realized that her selfishness and desire to be â€Å"on top† had caused her to experience the major down fall that she did. She also realized that she was at rock bottom now, her and her husband both, and she had put them there. A Mathilde dream of unattainable wealth and comfort yet, fails to see that her dream life ends up harming her real life. Maupassant does and excellent job of showing the transformation of Mathilde’s character from a person who is selfish and ungrateful to a person who realizes that  her mistakes and pays for it the rest of her life. Even though the story is fiction, Maupassant has made it believable and lifelike. Someone reading this story could benefit greatly from it. We all must deal with selfishness at some point in our lives. W hy not learn from other people’s mistakes, fiction or not. On the other hand, Della is a thoughtful person, sacrificed their most prized possessions for one another. They did this in order to buy each other nice Christmas presents. Della’s most prized possession was her beautiful hair that she cut off and sold for the money. For example, she uses her time and patience to give a thoughtful present to her loving husband. She is very much appreciative of her husband and is willing to accept him as her confidence and with this time of financial depression she uses him as a guide through the dark times and does not complain at all (203-204). Also, Della does the imaginable by cutting her long, beautiful hair to please her husband so that he can have a Christmas to remember (203). She is a person who will not let a little downfall get in her way for her husband and her to a have a wonderful and joyous celebration. She a not a selfish person, instead she is magnanimous, and considerate to the fullest extent. Even though her beauty is lost, she gained love and compassionate feeling from her husband, and it what counts more than gifts. Finally, Della is chivalrous and an honorable being. Instead uses all her might and strength to create the best Christmas ever. Lately, she is much deprived of many of her daily things, however her cutting her hair makes her to care for her husband more than she cares for herself. She would rather have her husband have a Merry Christmas, likewise for the husband. In conclusion, the short stories, â€Å"The Gift of the Magi† and â€Å"The Necklace†, deal with two women’s struggles to make someone else happy and how fulfilling your own wants can hurt you. The difference between these stories is how when push came to shove, the way the characters chose to spend their money. These two interesting and ironic stories revolve around one main character. They both try to make their lives or someone else’s life better by using money.

The Official Language of the United States

Do you know what the official language of the United States is? If you answered English, guess again. But don’t feel bad, the vast majority of people would answer that English is the official language of the United States of America. English is the de facto language since, at this point, it is the most widely spoken language in the nation. But Spanish is catching up millions Hispanics speaking their native language at home, at work, and on their daily lives. This brings another point: Why is the U. S. an English-speaking country (or so you think), catering not only to the Spanish language, but to many others that you don’t even know about? Because the U. S. as a nation has never declared an official language. Many people have tried it with no success. In 1780, John Adams proposed to the Continental Congress that English should be declared the official language of the United States. His proposal was deemed â€Å"undemocratic and a threat to individual liberty. † This type of debate has been going on for years, with people on both sides of the fence. And yet, the issue isn't any closer to a resolution than it was 200 years ago. This doesn’t mean that the individual states have not declared an official language because many already have. Twenty-seven states, to be exact, have officially declared English as their language. U. S. English . gov Let’s not forget that since 1776 we have been—and continue to be—a multilingual nation. Back then, it wasn’t uncommon to hear up to 20 different languages spoken in daily life. Today, those numbers are more staggering. According to U. S. English Inc. an advocacy group that supports declaring English as our official language, 322 languages are spoken in the country, with 24 of those spoken in every state and the District of Columbia. California has the most languages, with 207, while Wyoming has the fewest with 56. So why won’t Congress declare an official language? Because we are a nation of immigrants and these numbers prove it. Because declaring an official language would abridge the rights of individuals with limited English proficiency, individuals who are paying taxes and who are entitled to the same rights as those who speak English. To protect those rights, there is something called Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Although twenty seven states have declared English as their official language, in order to receive federal financial assistance those states still have to comply with Title VI, which requires that vital materials be available in the language of everyone receiving benefits subsidized by the Federal Government. Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the 2000 Executive Order No. 3166 require that public entities receiving federal funds must have all vital documents available in every language that their clients speak; every language, not just Spanish. Why? Because the U. S. has never declared an official language and as such, the Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 still applies. Basically, Title VI was best described by President John F. Kennedy in 1963: â€Å"Simple justice requires that public funds, to which all taxpayers of all races [colors, and national origins] contribute, not be spent in any fashion which encourages, entrenches, subsidizes or results in racial [color or national origin] discrimination. †

Planning and Recruitment Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Planning and Recruitment - Coursework Example In your opinion which one is more effective? Justify your answer. (200 words) Q7: Explain, at least 4 different ways to Attract and Retain Great Employees. (200 words) Q8: Explain the types of compensation are available in organizations (Mention at least 4 types). (200 words) Importance of effective Planning for future organizational staffing requirements Human resources planning simply refer to the classic HR administrative functions, along with the evaluation and the identification of human resources requirements for meeting of organizational goals. Human resources planning should be a vital component as it provides competitive advantage in the marketplace. (www.wisgeek.com) Effect planning for the future organizational staffing would result in sufficient staff, with the right mixture of talent, who can perform appropriate functions when needed. In today’s corporate environment, it is viewed as a valuable component for augmenting value to an organization. Both the employees and the company will many times realize many benefits of planning over the long-run. In the uncertain business settings, the significance of this strategic human resources planning can become more obvious. A company that reacts to the circumstances by cutting staff as their measure to reduce the short-term overhead can simply create unwanted repercussions. What initially was like a smart and the necessary move to economize in the lean times can then end up costing the company much more in its long-run. The resources that would require to subsequently recruiting, hire, and train fresh employees may well exceed any short-term cost savings but ultimately lead to longer term benefits. It’s a fact that many of us work for earning money yet these monetary benefits are not the only sole criteria while selecting any job. Great emphasize on the good HR system in organization is to sort people who are much job contented and love what is their four offer on sale. Construct a Job Adverti sement of Human Resources Manager vacancy taking into consideration the below fields: EAT JET 004 is a new passenger travelling plane with passenger seats equivalent to 300. It is looking for candidates between the ages of 25 – 35 years old as Human resource manager of its airline service EAT JET 004. All applying candidates must have an experience in the field human resource experience of at least eight years and in the field of airplane specifically two years. This is to ensure that the human resource manager is well aware of the latest breakthroughs with which the EAT JET airline service faces All of the interested candidates should apply at the official website of EAT JET airline service candidates fulfilling the eligibility criteria would be entertained first with a short list interview followed by a finalizing candidate to fill the applied post. Internal and External Recruitment Strategies The Internal Recruitment is just like recruiting from inside of the organization, this can build a strong loyalty within the organization as the employees have chance to change their position after a much longer period of time. The employees are not pressed to look

Marketing Analysis Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Marketing Analysis - Case Study Example Other grocers inquired about using Texmati in their private blend program. This product has been marketed with promising results, but has also contributed to an increase in overhead and the final market price. The product line is at five million annual retail sales, and this is below that of dominant brands, however, this is also a result of a thirty percent increase in sales, the growth is also due to an influx of immigrants and growing popularity of ethnic foods. Andrews and market team are in process of setting the marketing and distribution strategy for new aromatic rice that developed called Kamati, and would be a different in appearance and have superior taste, good US market potential, and international sales potential is even better, especially in Middle East and UK where consumption of basmati rice was high. There are several factors which influence the development of a marketing strategy for Rice Select. The first is the company brand and product lines that are currently on the market and in half of the national grocery stores. This is the baseline for marketing research and is used to establish what has or has not worked to further the business goals. As new product lines are integrated with the company brand, RiceSelect will want to envision marketing and distribution strategies that encompass the product goals. The competitive market analysis assists the business in understanding what other company's levels of engagement are. Marketing strategy also looks at the methods of exchange amongst various entities as well as the projected or perceived values of those exchanges, and the manner in which advertising and promotional strategies have affected commercial exchanges. The main brand is Texmati rice under the Master Choice label, which was traditionally sold in Texas markets. Texmati brand of rice was developed and marketed as aromatic and flavorful basmati rice, and local Texas marketing began in 1978, where sales were mostly bulk to natural health food stores. Volume, however, remained low until marketing efforts concentrated in Texas with the eventual goal to direct retailer sales. Movement into the national markets took off in 1991, when Texmati was added to a Loblaw, a leading Canadian grocery retailer, that controlled almost forty percent of Canadian grocery rice sales. Their licensed President's Choice branding was distributed to Northeastern US retailers. Supplying Texmati to the President' Choice brand allowed for more visibility of Texmati on a national scale. In 1991, Jasmati, jasmine aromatic specialty rice, was added to the Tesmati product line. This rice was ideal for oriental cooking and rated very high in taste tests, which led to the addition of Jasmati as an accompaniment to the Texmati Master Choice labels. RiceTec had developed a new umbrella brand, RiceSelect, product line by 1994 designed to convey high quality and attract attention on the store shelf. This is expected to bring different tastes to consumers as aromatic rice. The product line expanded to include Italian specialty rice blends and basmati rice. These new products needed to receive facing on the grocer's shelf, which increases shelf space for RiceSelect products and billboard marketing. New marketing tools were directed at

Organization Development and Change Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 8

Organization Development and Change - Essay Example lly taking into consideration are the content of the agreement (contract) as well as the inter-personal relationships that may occur in the process of organizational development. It is usually imperative that certain issues, specifically the content of the contract are mentioned and comprehended at initial stage of the contract. One of the issues that is usually addressed by many organizations making efforts to engage into contract is clarification of the specific terms of the agreement: This is usually undertaken in order to ensure that the two parties do not engage in future conflicts by improving the level at, which they understand the terms of the contract. Another main focus in regard to content-oriented issues that are usually exhibited during contracts in organizational development process is the essence of addressing complex issues that may arise among professionals and stakeholders engaged in making the contract. That is, it is imperative to set terms that basically indicate the role of each stakeholder for instance: Who is responsible for solving any form of conflict that may arise in future; indicating issues to be addressed by the contract; ways by, which the overall goals of the contract will be achieved and the specific phases/stages of the organizational development process. The process of organizational development also involves the engagement into contract that basically leads into development of relationships. The process of organizational development usually begins with a scenario where one of the stakeholders in the organization contacts other organizational development practitioners in order to engage into a contract. The stakeholder may be the Chief Executive Officer or even a project manager that is facing challenges in regard to certain issues of organizational development. The process of determining whether the two parties should engage into any form of relationship is usually guided by a clear statement of the specific functions of the

Medium is the Message Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Medium is the Message - Essay Example In considering the overarching nature of the song medium there are a number of reasons I chose this as my primary area of investigation. The primary reason I chose this medium relates to the subject matter embodied in the song. While the song is well over a decade old, when one examines the current political climate they recognize that there is great strife. For instance, one can consider the conflict that has arisen between the United States and the Middle Eastern states. While America has been progressively withdrawing forces, it goes without saying that there continues to be significant emotional conflict. In addition to this, I recognize that the medium of music is extremely powerful in its visceral appeals and this made me excited to investigate the medium. The song itself was recorded by Michael Jackson on his Dangerous album in 1991 (Michael Jackson: Dangerous’). It can broadly be categorized as pop, or soft rock and gospel. When one considers the target audience for th e song, it’s clear that while it has mainstream appeal, it is also intended for a more specific audience. In these regards, it seems that the song indicates that earth needs everyone to be as one in order to make a better world, especially the ones who creates war such as dictators or terrorist, as well as children because they are the new generation who can give hope for the future. Indeed, the song is open to the public sphere and encourages them to end the deterioration that is occurring as a direct result of war and conflict. Ultimately, the ideology that is being advanced is simply that it’s time to heal the world. In considering the reason that Michael Jackson wrote the song it’s clear there are a number of possible interpretations. From a cynical perspective one can argue that Michael Jackson was primarily interested in releasing a pop song that would sell to a mass audience. In considering the song it’s clear that the themes and message relate to a broad audience. The song’s can be listened to by individuals across the globe and they can equally relate to its message. In these regards, t

How technologies can be used to make the border system stronger Dissertation

How technologies can be used to make the border system stronger - Dissertation Example The topic of research is based on the concept of border security. In the past, the researcher has worked in the Homeland Security Centers of Excellence and it is through his experience at the department that directed him towards basing his research project on border security. Homeland Security dispatches a range of resources and funds to the federal, state and the local governments, allowing the amalgamation of a number of individually-operating agencies into a collective whole. The agencies work in collaboration with each other for the achievement of shared objectives. These objectives aim to uphold the integrity and security of the country and subserve to provide the utmost protection to the US population. The Homeland Security Centers of Excellence operate under the Office of University Programs and aim to recruit and attract renowned researchers and enthusiasts for carrying out research programs. The research brings together professionals from various fields and uses their expert ise to come up with solutions for homeland security. Each research center is affiliated with a university and their research ventures are supported and collaborated upon by a number of agencies including think tanks, laboratories, and private institutions. The research work carried out at the Security Centers is in line with the research requirements of the divisions of the Department of Homeland Security  Science and Technology Directorate. The collaboration helps to deliver top-of-the-line technology solutions for the problems facing the Department as well as the country on the whole (U.S. Department of Homeland Security 2009). In particular, one of the Centers, National Center for Border Security and Immigration, is focused on the promotion and enhancement of border security. This was the Center that I was associated with. The Centre is led and supported by two universities: one being the research co-lead while the other is the education co-lead. The Center is committed to the development of technologies, tools and sophisticated procedures to regulate and monitor immigration and business across the borders. This involves the development of projects that promote border security and make it stronger and more effective. There are a number of aspects relating to borders security that the Center focuses on; these include risks and weaknesses, better surveillance and screening, analysis of immigration patterns and improvements in immigration law enforcement (U.S. Department of Homeland Security 2009). The conditions that have developed after the 9/11 have exposed many gaps in the security and surveillance mechanisms. These gaps and vulnerabilities have become yet more acute in light of pressing security demands after the rise in terrorism over the previous years. Besides the post-9/11 conditions and terrorism there are other factors that have necessitated a revision of the immigration and border security systems. These include greater security reviews, insuffic ient collaboration with NGOs and the government, disputed policy tensions etc (Kerwin 2011). My research question is how important is border security today and what measures can be taken to improve it? The research project focuses in particular on the development and enforcement of better surveillance mechanisms and advanced technologies for regulating the influx of immigrants as well as goods such as false documents, illegal medicines, drugs and other illegal items. The project focuses on various aspects associated with development of such technologies, including their pros and cons. One of the key features that guarantees the success of a research project is the amount of information collected regarding it. Keeping this in mind, the research objectives can be defined as follows: Revisiting the importance of border security Identifying the need to develop better methods of surveillance and border security Reviewing the available literature and successful technologies used

Philosophy - Human Freedom Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Philosophy - Human Freedom - Essay Example The essay "Philosophy - Human Freedom" states the human freedom. However, this formal agreement known as the law or the legal system and it is steadily and constantly developing and changing as the new circumstances and situations arise. (Sections of this law, normally those that deal with human rights, are actually less changeable and some times are referred to as constitutions.) Therefore, our constitution is defined and supported by the legal systems. A general fallacy the regard freedom is to automatically believe that it is a by-product of the modern democracy. The only freedom practically bestowed by democracy on its members is that they have the right, that is, every few years to cast their votes for one of a set of the representatives who will administer or run the nation on their behalf. Whereas modern democracy is an essential basis for free societies, it necessarily doesn’t guarantee freedom. The fact that job falls to the legal system, which isn’t greatly in fluenced by the periodic voting, is the reason why freedom campaigns always involve legal challenges. According to Wolf, nevertheless, democracy can only be considered an agent of freedom if grants the people meaningful voting choices, that is, not just a choice of two or three political parties which only have cosmetic differences, but if it ensure that the citizens have the undistorted and evenhanded information that is necessary in making a choice that is in their interest (similarly, a mass media and educational system. that is free from undue corporate and government influence. Sometimes, people may want to use their democratic rights in restricting freedom (for instance, in the places of gun ownership, GM foods, stem cell research, fox hunting or war against terror and pedophilia. This is due to the fact that freedoms normally conflict with each other: what freedom means for an individual or group of individuals is always a restriction for another. For instance, the freedom to breathe fresh air depends on the restriction of freedom for the factories to generate or produce as much pollution as the wish. Thus, the freedom support is usually a balancing act between the combined long-term interests and the short-term interests of individual or group people. Under law, we find that corporations are considered individual people and hence are afforded many of the same rights. Today, we are living in democracies that are greatly hostile to long-term and common freedom. The choice of political party during election time is rather restrictive, though still essential, and the mass media is nearly wholly corporately owned and thus influenced, which consequently opens up to influence by the government, recompense for political favors to those organizations. This implies that the people’s mind is strongly being manipulated in making voting choices that aren’t really in their best interest, but in the short-term interest of the corporations and politician s. Moreover, the other thing that tends to manipulate the people’s mind into undervaluating freedom is the fact that the adults much of their working hours working in the corporate environment. I don’t really think corporations are democratic organizations, but instead, they are dictatorial

Fluency Reading Plan Essay Example for Free

Fluency Reading Plan Essay Brief Synopsis- The story takes place on Manor Farm and has a third person perspective. The animals on the farm are unhappy with their current conditions. Led by a few pigs they revolt against the farmer that housed them. They hope to form a utopian farm for all animals. However, Napoleon (one of the pigs that started the revolution) starts to manipulate the animals and the humans around the farm. The farm starts to resemble its former self and Major begins to resemble the villainous farmer. This book is basically depicting communism in an interesting way. Overview of the Unit Reading fluency is an extremely difficult area to assess and instruct. In general, there are three areas that are addressed that make up fluency phonemic awareness (being able to say words and understand the construct of the letters that make up the word), grammar and comprehension. These three areas formed together help a teacher assess the students they have. However, it is still very difficult to classify since fluency seems to come natural to many students especially by grade 8 (Rasinski, 2004). Keeping all of this in mind there still needs to be a definitive gauge for assessment. This unit is based around some reading aloud in class. After the students have read on their own time, having them reread the various passages out loud will help to increase their fluency. According to the book Classrooms that Work, â€Å"repeated readings is a way to help students recognize high-frequency words more easily, thereby strengthening their ease of reading† (Addison-Wesley 1998). This will also allow for the next area of significance to become a link in the fluency chain-vocabulary. The student’s readings will provide opportunities to ask them about the various vocabulary words in this unit. The unit will stress various vocabulary words and a higher order of thinking to gain comprehension. As they read, the teacher can pick out these words and engage the students to see if they comprehend what is being said. If the students do not understand the words, the next step cannot happen which is comprehension. Comprehension and fluency are forever linked. One cannot happen without the other. The easiest way to label it is students must be able to understand what they read. That is why in many younger grades, grade levels are not simply based on the student being able to read the words, but to what degree they understand what they are reading. The main construct of the lesson is to expand the knowledge of the students and have them reading something outside of their normal realm. Students should always feel they are learning something new (Grabe, 2010). This book and unit will allow for that to happen. Reading aloud by the students, by the teacher, and discussions about various vocabulary and plot themes will make this lesson successful. The students will read a great book that is a classic and they will gain an understanding of some high school level vocabulary and thought processes. References Cunningham, P. M. Allington, R. L. Classrooms That Work: They Can All Read and Write. Addison-Wesley Educational Publishers Inc. 1999 Rasinski, T. (2004). Creating fluent readers. Educational Leadership, 61(6), 46-51. Grabe, W. (2010). Reading in a second language. Ernst Klett Sprachen.

Al Capone: The American Gangster

Al Capone: The American Gangster Al Capone was an American gangster who led a crime syndicate dedicated to smuggling and bootlegging of liquor and other illegal activities during the Prohibition Era of the 1920s and 1930s. Capone began his career in Brooklyn before moving to Chicago and becoming the boss of the criminal organization known as the Chicago Outfit; although, his business card reportedly described him as a used furniture dealer. He was, and still is, the most recognized and influential Mafioso in American history. Both hated and loved by the public, he shared a common dislike with many people in American society at that time; a strong disdain for the temperance movement. Alphonse Gabriel Al Capone was born on January 17, 1899 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City to Italian immigrants Gabriele and Teresina Capone. They landed in New York just in time for the Panic of 1893, which would wrack the countrys economy for years. Gabriel who was a skilled barber and Teresina a seamstress, wisely chose Brooklyn as home in preference to the even greater squalor and density of Mulberry Bend, Manhattans Lower East Side Italian colony; not that the depression spared Brooklyn. Unemployment would soon idle one quarter of the boroughs workforce, making it no time for the unskilled.  [1]   The Capones lived better than most. Though Gabriel could not ply his trade at first, he avoided the drudgery and extreme low pay of manual labor because he boasted another skill that went with his trade; he could read and write. In Italy, as well as in America, the illiterate expected their barber to read them any letters that came their way. Gabriels learning earned him a job in a grocery store until he could gather enough of a stake to open his own barber shop; a storefront in a tenement at 69 Park Avenue.  [2]   Little Al, as he was called, had started school at John Jay, P.S. 7, at 141 York, near the Navy Yard. After the family had moved, he transferred to William A. Butler, P.S. 133, at 355 Butler Street; seven blocks away from Garfield. Until he reached sixth grade, he maintained a B average. He devoted much time and energy to his favorite extracurricular activity, playing hooky. He attended class only thirty-three days of the required ninety. A red-haze temper that would occasionally overmaster him all his life exploded one day, and he hit a teacher who was lecturing him. Sent to the principals office, he got a whipping and quit school in embarrassment. He was fourteen at the time, but he was ready to quit anyway as it was practically a family tradition.  [3]   Al made a stab at an assortment of honest jobs; clerk in a candy store and pin boy in a bowling alley. For a while he earned twenty-three dollars a week working in an ammunition factory. He also worked as cutter in a book bindery, following his older brother Ralph, who had worked in the print shop of a newspaper. Apprenticeship for Al Capones lifes work, though, arose on the streets. The streets Capone traveled as a young boy was ruled by gangs, or more precisely kid gangs. Members of these kid gangs could not be called gangsters; by todays standards they would barely qualify as delinquents. Excepting petty pilferage and occasional lunch-money extortion, few engaged in activity anyone would consider downright criminal.  [4]   Al was heavily influenced by gangster Johnny Torrio whom he considered to be his mentor. John Torrio was the thinking mans criminal. Torrio owned a bar on James Street at the corner of Water. He soon expanded, leasing a rooming house down the block which he filled with prostitutes and a nearby store he converted into a pool hall. Young Al could hardly have avoided absorbing the lesson of someone who had attained money and power without the drudgery that were typically weighed on others.  [5]   Al eventually joined the South Brooklyn Rippers, a junior gang that inducted kids as young as eleven. No reliably authentic details about Als activities in his late boyhood and early teens have survived, but he evidently did not stand out or apart. Not many years later, a former Brooklyn kid-gang member remembered him as something of a nonentity, affable, soft of speech and even mediocreà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.  [6]   Al had caught the eye of someone who could exert the most portentous influence possible at that stage. It was Frankie Yale, six years older, who had ushered Al into the Forty Thieves Juniors gang. When Al entered his mid-teens, Yale welcomed him exclusively into the adult gang Five Points headed by Johnny Torrio. Membership in this Manhattan gang showcased his tough scrappiness. Capone learned all there was to know about extortion and slugging and the rest on the banks of the Gowanus Canal, says William Balsamo, Brooklyn native and historian of New York crime. Yale was fashioning a complex of enterprises beyond the Harvard Inn: a mortuary; racehorses; prizefighters; another nightspot, the Sunrise Cafe; a line of cigars-all based finally on his main line, strong-arm terror.  [7]   Capones job as bartender and bouncer at Yales Harvard Inn demanded a certain finesse. The trick was to bounce without alienating, and only to do so after considered efforts to calm and subdue had failed. Ideally, the bounced would recognize themselves as out of line. Capone combined the mass to bounce authoritatively and the intelligence to do it with tact. Capone became Yales pupil, favored by invitations after a hard night at the Harvard Inn to sleep over at Yales house. That happened frequently enough that Yales daughters would show visitors Als room. Yale had the swagger of a young man, already boss yet still a comer. Inevitably, Capone viewed Yale as a model and a teacher.  [8]   One summer night in 1917 resulted in scarring consequences. Frank Galluccio Galluch, a merchant seaman, barbers assistant, and spear-carrier in the Genovese crime family strutted into the Harvard Inn with his date, Maria Tanzio, and his kid sister, Lena. The sight of Lena set Capones glands exploding. Every time his rounds took him past her table he would try to chat with her; Lena snubbed him. Her brother who was half drunk and did not know Capone assumed from his familiarity that Lena did. His kid sisters growing anger penetrated Galluccios alcoholic fog stating, You know that guy? Lena then responded: I never saw him before. Hes got a lotta nerve. He wont give up, Frank. He cant take a hint. But I dont like him; he is embarrassing me. Maybe you could ask him to please stop-in a nice way.  [9]   Capone headed their way again and Galluccio was ready to take him aside like a gentleman: Hey, mister, please do me favor, okay? Shes my kid sister, you knowà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Before Galluccio could speak, Capone leaned over to Lena, and whispered-loud enough to startle the party at the next table with heads swiveled in amazement-You got a nice ass, honey, and I mean it as a compliment. Believe me. Her brother sprang to his feet. The insult was bad enough; the fact that strangers had plainly heard made it insupportable. I wont take that shit from nobody, Galluccio shouted. Apologize to my sister now, you hear? At a moment, Capones brain reasserted itself, perhaps kicked in by sister. Family meant everything, and its evocation put this customer unarguably in the right. With his most ingratiating and placating smile, Capone turned to Galluccio arms spread wide and palms up and open: Hey, whatsa matter, pal, a little misunderstanding, a joke, no offenseà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ This is no fucking jo ke, mister, cried Galluccio.  [10]   Galluccio stood five-foot-six and weighed under 150. Capone looked like a mountain avalanching toward him. The Galluch knew he could be badly hurt unless he struck first and quickly, but his punch would never do the job. He clawed his knife from his pocket and lunged as the streets had taught him. One slash started two inches in front of mid-ear, curved four inches down the left cheek to just below the corner of Capones mouth; the other two each measured two and a half inches, one on the left jaw, and the other on the neck under the left ear. Galluccio grabbed his sister and date and ran out the door. Someone rushed Capone to the Coney Island Hospital where doctors applied thirty stitches to his face.  [11]   Soon Galluccio heard that Frankie Yale had been asking around for him. Galluccio appealed to Joseph Masseria, overlord of all New York for justice. Joe the Boss decreed a sit-down at the Harvard Inn where they agreed that Capone had indeed been wrong and would not be allowed to seek vengeance, while Galluccio had to apologize for his disproportionate reaction-which he readily did, contrite at sight of how he had disfigured Capone. Capone also recognized the justice of the settlement and the dishonor of his scars. He later put out the story that the scars had happened to him in service with the Lost Battalion of World War I. In fact, he had never been called up in the draft. This notable scarring had given him the infamous nickname Scarface.  [12]   In 1918 Capone met an Irish girl at a dance and fell in love. She was pretty, slim and tall with a round piquant face and large eyes framed by a helmet of blond hair. Baptized Mary, she would be known all her life as Mae, daughter of Michael Coughlin, a construction worker, and the former Bridget Gorman. On December 4, 1918, Mae gave birth. Eighteen days later, Maes sister, Kathleen, and James DeVico, an otherwise obscure friend of Capones, became godparents to Albert Francis Capone, also known as Sonny. Mae had almost two years on Capone, perhaps an embarrassment to them because each fudged a year of age on their marriage registration. Capone appears in the church records as Albert, maybe a mistake, or maybe a typical bit of criminal obfuscation.  [13]   Members of the Anti-Saloon League, founded 1893 in Oberlin, Ohio, sincerely believed everyone would be better off without alcohol. They looked forward, one historian has observed, to a world freeà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦from want and crime and sin, a sort of millennial Kansasà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦. Their campaign, which quickly enveloped the nation, combined such animating idealism with the most brutal brass-knuckles politics; the league terrorized Congress. In the words of a popular song of the era: What Have They Got on You, Mr. Congressman? Weve heard just how those drys, Keep cases on you Congress guys. One wrong vote and reports would wing back home broadcasted by the leagues fifty thousand field workers.  [14]   Americas April 6, 1917, entry into the war sanctified the dry cause as patriotism even for the doubting majority. The liquor trade gobbled up enough grain for eleven million loaves of bread a day. The league insisted drunken workers could not turn out war materiel any more than drunk soldiers could shoot straight. Caving in to these pressures, Congress passed a resolution calling for a prohibition amendment to the Constitution and sent it to the state legislatures for ratification in December 1917. On January 16, 1919, Nebraska provided the necessary three-fourths majority by becoming the thirty-sixth state to approve the resolution. The Eighteenth Amendment would become law in one year.  [15]   Meanwhile, the league rammed wartime Prohibition through Congress. Until the Eighteenth Amendment kicked in at midnight on Friday, January 16, 1920, the interim law forbade anyone in the United States to make, sell or transport-without a permit-any beverage containing more than one half of 1 percent alcohol. The ban-both permanent and interim-cunningly did not include owning, drinking or buying liquor. The league had been careful not to offend voters or members of Congress; many were notoriously wet in habits no matter how dry they voted.  [16]   Capone was a suspect for two murders in 1919 and was seeking a safe haven and a better job to provide for his new family. Capone relocated to Chicago to help out his Five Points gang mentor Johnny Torrio. Torrio had gone to Chicago to resolve some family problems his cousins husband was having with the Black Hand. Torrino had also been summoned there to help out his uncle, Big Jim Colosimo, the citys leading whoremaster to run his empire. By the time Capone arrived, Torrio was in dispute with Big Jim. Seeing the major financial opportunities that came with Prohibition, Torrio wanted Colosimo to shift his organizations main thrust to bootlegging; Big Jim was not interested. He had become rich and fat in the whoring trade and saw no need to expand. He forbade Torrio to get into the new racket. Torrio realized that Colosimo had to be eradicated so that he could use Big Jims organization for his criminal plans. Together he and Capone planned Colosimos murder and sent Frankie Yale and his men from New York to carry out the job. Capone and Torrio meantime would act out airtight alibis  [17]  . One of Capones duties was to buy trucks for Torrios operation-which those in it called the outfit-especially after Capone took over. Members used it casually when talking among themselves about their group-I joined the outfit two years ago-as they would say Im with Capone, when talking about their affiliation to an outsider. Many in the outfit were involved in transporting beer. For most of them, being part of a gang meant little more than being a truck driver; that was the entry-level job for most. Possible promotion led to muscle and racketeering work. But Torrio relied on few to buy new and used trucks; one was Capone. By mid-1922 Capone already ranked as Torrios number two.  [18]   The election of reform mayor William Emmet Dever led to Chicagos city government putting more strain on the gangster agenda within city limits. Devers biographer called him a dripping Wet who enforced Prohibition. He would tell a meeting of beer-guzzling Germans, I have never pretended to be, and am not now a Prohibitionist. But he would have law and order stating, He would enforce the law to the limit. Within a month, authorities were raiding places citywide with, wrote a reporter, unabated enthusiasm, arresting five hundred in one sweep, 450 in another. Within six months his men had closed over four thousand blatant saloons and some five hundred soda parlors-notoriously fronts for selling beers. A significant amount of license revocations were set forth.  [19]   To put its headquarters outside of city jurisdiction and create a safe zone for its operations, the Capone organization muscled its way into Cicero, Illinois. This led to one of Capones greatest triumphs; the takeover of Ciceros town government in 1924. Capone made it clear that he wanted an all-out conquest of the town. He installed his older brother Frank (Salvatore) as the front man with the Cicero city government. Ralph was tasked with opening up a working-class brothel called the Stockade for Ciceros heavily blue-collar population. Al focused on gambling and took an interest in a new gambling joint called the Ship. He also took control of the Hawthorne Race Track.  [20]   For the most part, the Capone conquest of Cicero was unopposed, with the exception of Robert St. John, the crusading young journalist at the Cicero Tribune. Every issue contained an expose on the Capone rackets in the city. The editorials were effective enough to threaten Capone-backed candidates in the 1924 primary election. On election day things got ugly as Capones forces kidnapped opponents election workers and threatened voters with violence. As reports of the violence spread, the Chicago chief of police rounded up seventy nine cops and provided them with shotguns. The cops, dressed in plain clothes, rode in unmarked cars to Cicero under the guise of protecting workers at the Western Electric plant there. Frank Capone, who had just finished negotiating a lease, was walking down the street when the convoy of Chicago policemen approached him. Someone recognized him and the cars emptied out in front of him. In seconds, Franks body was riddled with bullets. Technically, the police c alled it self defense, since Frank, seeing the police coming at him with guns drawn, had revealed his own revolver.  [21]   Al was enraged and escalated the violence by kidnapping officials and stealing ballot boxes. One official was murdered. When it was all over, Capone had won his victory for Cicero. Capones temper stayed under control for about five weeks. But then, Joe Howard, a small-time thug, assaulted Capones friend Jack Guzik when he turned him down for a loan. Guzik told Capone and tracked Howard down in a bar. Howard had the poor judgment to call Capone a dago pimp and Capone shot Howard dead.  [22]   While only twenty-five, Al Capone became a prominent figure in Chicagos organized crime. He wasnt the only one though. Dion OBanion owned a thriving florist shop, but was also one of the biggest names in the bootlegging business. Flamboyant but untrustworthy, OBanion became a thorn in Capones side. In one instance, OBanion killed a man outside of Capones Four Deuces gambling joint and the ensuing trial dragged Capone into unwanted attention. OBanion also set up Torrio to be arrested by the police. He had promised Torrio he would move to Colorado if Torrio agreed to buy OBanions Sieben Brewery. OBanion took the money and left while the police were waiting to raid the brewery. Torrio went to jail and OBanion kept the money. The Brewery was eventually shut down permanently.  [23]   OBanion met his end while preparing a floral arrangement in his shop on November 10, 1924. He was a consummate hand shaker and on that day three known gangsters came in the shop. Thinking they were there to pick up flowers for the funeral of another prominent gangster, he went to shake their hands. One of them pulled OBanion off balance and six shots rang out. While there was a great deal of speculation concerning the triggermen, no one ever went to trial over the murder. It did leave OBanions territory wide open for Capone to move in, but also made powerful enemies of OBanions friends. These friends included Hymie Weiss and Bugs Moran.  [24]   Over the next two years, Moran and Weiss would fail in over a dozen assassination attempts against Capone. On January 24, 1925, Torrio was returning to his apartment at 7106 South Clyde Avenue from a shopping trip with his wife Anna. Walking from his car towards his apartment building, Weiss and Moran opened fire. They shot Torrio in the chest, neck, right arm and groin, but miraculously the elderly man survived. The true miracle came about when one of the men-reportedly Moran-held his gun to Torrios head and pulled the trigger only to hear the click of an empty firing chamber. This incident made Torrio consider quitting the game. After recovering, Torrio pleaded guilty and was sentenced to nine months in jail for the Sieben Brewery raid. During his jail sentence Torrio informed Capone he was planning on leaving Chicago and turning his vast empire over to Al stating, Its all yours Al. Me? Im quittin. Its Europe for me. Torrio then moved to Italy with his mother and wife.  [25]   Shortly after he took over Johnny Torrios empire, it was clear that his new status had changed Al Capone. He was a major force now in the Chicago underworld. To underscore his rise in the world, he moved his headquarters to the Metropole Hotel. His luxurious suite of five rooms cost $1,500 per day. He went from near obscurity to cultivated visibility. Capone became visible at the opera, at sporting events and charitable functions. He was an important member of the community: friendly, generous, successful, supplying a throng of thirsty customers. In an era where most of the adult population drank bootleg alcohol, the bootlegger seemed almost respectable.  [26]   In the spring of 1926, Capones run of good luck hit a snag. On April 27, Billy McSwiggin, known as the young hanging prosecutor who had tried to pin the 1924 death of Joe Howard on Capone, met with an accident. A bootlegger named Jim Doherty picked McSwiggin up by car at his fathers house. Dohertys car broke down and they hitched a ride with bootlegger Klondike ODonnell, a bitter enemy of Capone. The four Irish lads went on a drinking binge in Cicero with ODonnell and his brother Myles and ended up at a bar close to the Hawthorne Inn where Capone was having dinner. ODonnells cruising around in Cicero was a territorial insult.  [27]   Capone and his henchmen, not realizing that McSwiggin was in the bar with Myles ODonnell, waited outside in a convoy of cars until the drunken men staggered out. Then out came the machine guns and McSwiggin and Doherty were dead; Capone was immediately blamed. Despite the blot on McSwiggins integrity for keeping company with bootleggers, sympathy was with the dead young prosecutor. There was a big outcry against gangster violence and public sentiment went against Capone. While everyone in Chicago knew that Al Capone was responsible, there was not a shred of proof and the failure of this high-profile investigation to return an indictment was an embarrassment to local officials. Police took out their frustrations on Capones whorehouses and speakeasies which endured a series of raids and fires.  [28]   Capone went into hiding for three months. Reputedly some 300 detectives looked for him all over the country; in Canada and even Italy. He initially found refuge in the home of a friend in Chicago Heights and then, for most of the time, with friends in Lansing, Michigan. Those three months in hiding made an indelible mark on Al. He began to see himself as much more than a successful racketeer. He believed he was a source of pride to the Italian immigrant community; a generous benefactor and important fixer who could help people. His bootlegging operations employed thousands of people, many of whom were poor Italian immigrants. While much of this was just his ego getting larger, Capone had real leadership abilities and was very capable of extending those talents into areas that were beneficial to the community. He seriously thought of retiring from his life of crime and violence.  [29]   On July 28, 1926, he returned to Chicago to face the accusations of murder. It turned out to be the right decision because the authorities did not have sufficient evidence to bring him to trial. For all the public uproar and efforts of the law enforcement groups, Al Capone was a free man. The people of Chicago were tired of reading about gang violence and the newspapers fanned their anger. Capone held a highly publicized peace conference in which he appealed to the other bootleggers assembled there to tone down the violence. He made his point stating, There is enough business for all of us without killing each other like animals in the streets. I dont want to die in the street punctured by machine-gun fire. At the end of the meeting, an amnesty had been negotiated which accomplished two key things; first, there would be no more murders or beatings and second, past murders would not be avenged. For more than two months thereafter, nobody connected with the bootlegging business was kil led.  [30]   In May of 1927, the Supreme Court made a decision that Manny Sullivan, a bootlegger, had to report and pay income tax on his illegal bootlegging business. Just because reporting and paying tax on illegally-derived revenues was self-incrimination, it was not unconstitutional. With the Sullivan ruling, the small Special Intelligence Unit of the IRS under Elmer Irey was able to go after Al Capone.  [31]   Unaware and uninterested in Manny Sullivan or Elmer Irey, Capone became more compulsively extroverted and expansive. He indulged heavily in his two big passions; music and boxing. He became close pals with boxermJack Dempsey, but given the concern over fixed fights, the friendship had to be very discreet. Always an opera lover, Capone expanded his patronage to the jazz world. With the opening of the Cotton Club in Cicero, Al became a jazz impresario, attracting and cultivating some of the best black jazz musicians of the day. Unlike so many other Italian gangsters, Al did not seem to have the deep-seated racial prejudice and he gained the trust and respect of many of his musicians. Al extended his generosity and personal concerns to everybody who worked for him, black or white. Al spoke to reporters: Public service is my motto. Ninety percent of the people in Chicago drink and gamble. Ive tried to serve them decent liquor and square games. But Im not appreciated. Im known all over the world as a millionaire gorilla.  [32]   Capone biographer Laurence Bergreen described the way Capone inserted himself into the lives of those he knew: He came to dominate them not by shouting, overwhelming, or bullying, although the threat of physical violence always loomed, but by appealing to the inner man, his wants, his aspirationsby making them feel valued, they gave unstintingly of their loyalty, and loyalty was what Capone needed and demanded; in the volatile circles through which he moved it was the only protection he had from sudden death. The highest compliment other men could pay Capone was to call him a friend, which meant they were willing to overlook his scandalous reputation, that he had never been a pimp or a murderer.  [33]   The exposure was becoming a real nuisance. When he left for a trip to the West Coast, he had police surrounding him at every station. Los Angeles toughest detective said We have no room here for Capone or any other visiting gangsters whether they are here on pleasure tours or not. When Capone came back from the West Coast he found himself surrounded by six Joliet policemen with their shotguns aimed at him. Capone stated, Well, Ill be damned. Youd think I was Jesse James. Whats the artillery for? In Chicago, the police made things as uncomfortable as possible by surrounding his house and arresting him at the slightest provocation.  [34]   Capone left for Miami where the weather was much better than the Chicago winter, but the reception by the local community was chilly. He, Mae, and Sonny rented a house for the season and started to look for a permanent residence. Over the coming months he would invest a small fortune in redecorating his new palace in Miami, securing it like a small fortress with concrete walls and heavy wooden doors.  [35]   The Palm Island estate came to the attention of IRS Intelligence Unit watchdog Elmer Irey. He chose Frank J. Wilson to head up the job of documenting Capones income and spending. The job was monumental; despite Capones lavish spending everything was transacted through third parties. Although Capone had incredible wealth, every transaction was on a cash basis. The major exception was the very tangible assets of the Palm Island estate, which was evidence of a major source of income.  [36]   George Emmerson Q. Johnson, a member of the Scandinavian old boys network in the Midwest, was appointed U.S. attorney for Chicago. Johnson targeted Capone with unbridled passion. In the spring of 1928, the violence preceding the April primary election began to escalate out of control. It was not clear who was orchestrating all of this violence, but this time the targets were not gangsters, but U.S. Senator Charles Deneen, a reformer and a judge. The unabashedly corrupt Mayor Bill Thompson was presumed responsible since the victims were people who opposed him, but Al Capone who was still in Florida, was the scapegoat. While Mae Capone spent the spring of 1928 on an extravagant decorating spree Al dedicated himself to establishing himself as a legitimate citizen of Miami. In spite of the outward show of respectability, Al quietly made plans to solve pressing problems caused by his old boss Frankie Yale. The liquor supply deal that Capone and Yale had negotiated was experiencing too many

The Brain and Violence: An Unhealthy Combination :: Biology Essays Research Papers

The Brain and Violence: An Unhealthy Combination "Jack was walking down the street enjoying a snack he had just bought at a convenience store. Feeling good, he smiled at the stranger coming toward him while continuing to eat. The stranger suddenly pulled out a knife and began stabbing Jack. Bystanders pulled the knife away, but too late." "After the killing, the attacker said that he was deeply sorry. He had sensed a strange aura, then experienced a flashback of having been bitten and of having a hernia operation under local anesthesia. That was followed by hallucinations about Jack cutting off his flesh, testicles, and heart to eat them" (6). Everyday on the news one hears stories of crimes and murders such as the one above. Murders are committed every day; stores are robbed every hour; crimes are committed constantly. The truth is that violence has sadly become a common and prevalent occurrence in society today. In essence, one must ask himself whether or not these violent tendencies have any biological relation whatsoever. Is violence caused by disruptions or damage to the brain? Is there a genetic correlation? Or is violence brought about by something else, such as economic difficulties or social or cultural differences? And one must ask himself an even broader question-whether a cause for violence even exists. In 1848, a railroad worker, Phineas Gage, was working when an explosion caused an iron rod to impale his skull, damaging the front part of his brain. Although Gage miraculously survived, his behavior severely changed in that the intelligent and respectful man everyone knew suddenly because fitful, impulsive, and rude (2). This case is one of the first indications that violence may be related to some kind of damage or abnormality in the brain. Researchers have found correlations between violent and aggressive tendencies to damage or abnormalities to a specific part of the brain. Gage's accident probably resulted in damage to the prefrontal cortex. The prefrontal cortex is the brain's foremost outer position, located behind the eyes. This area of the brain is especially important because of it's importance in the orchestration of emotion, arousal, and attention. The prefrontal cortex seems to be the part of the brain that enables people to restrain themselves from acting on all of their impulses and is extremely vital for a child's ability to learn to feel remorse, conscience, and social sensitivity (5). However, although the function of the prefrontal cortex is known, why, or how, would prefrontal deficits cause violent tendencies or a more aggressive character?

Enviornmental Catastrophes :: essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Many people throughout the world deal with environmental destruction. Whether it is natural or man created, both end in sudden calamities.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  An example of a natural catastrophe is the 1997 Red River Flood in Grand Forks, North Dakota. One of the unique aspects of the Red River is that it flows North and empties into the lake Winnepeg in Canada. However, since temperature tends to get colder the farther north you get, ice-jamming is often a concern of the Red River during the spring season. The National Weather Service began putting out warnings as early as February that a flood due to the spring melt was likely to occur. Due to Grand Forks harsh winter that consisted of a cruel blizzard, the amount of snow melts exceeded. In an effort to prevent the flood, the North Dakota National Guard dumped sand on the river in hopes to use the suns’ thermal energy to speed up the thawing and eliminate the ice-jams. Unable to control the excessive water the flood of the century began. On April 18, 1997, the Red River’s water level was at 52.19 ft high and had risen at a rate of an inch each hour follo wing. The flood began to take out areas of the city one by one, and people with what little possessions the could grab had to evacuate immediately. After six days of flooding the river finally began to recede and people were allowed to return. The amount of filth left behind from the flood was incredible. Much of the property had been destroyed and basically everything else had been contaminated by the water. Everything that was washed out by the water turned into trash and many had to start all over again. The post-flood clean up that was taken to the dump totaled 224 million ton, which is usually nine months of garbage.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  An example of a man-created catastrophe is the Tragedy of the World Trade Centers. September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on America had a big effect on New York City environment, and the political and emotional landscapes of the United States. This will be remembered as one of the most shocking days in American history. Armed terrorists hijacked four passenger jets and used them as weapons against the U.S.. The attacks destroyed the World Trade Center, damaged the Pentagon and killed three thousand people. The cleanup was a very emotional and strenuous effort by fire fighters, policeman and many volunteers.

An Analysis of The House on Mango Street :: House Mango Street

An Analysis of The House on Mango Street In the novel, The House on Mango Street, Sandra Cisneros describes the problems that Latino women face in a society that treats them as second class citizens. A society that is dominated by men, and a society that values women for what they look like, and not for what is on inside. In her Novel Cisneros wants us to envision the obstacles that Latino women must face everyday in order to be treated equally. In the Book women are looked upon as objects by men whether they are boyfriends, friends fathers or husbands. The girls in the novel grow up with the mentality that looks and appearance are the most important things to a woman. Cisneros also shows how Latino women are expected to be loyal to their husbands, and that a husband should have complete control of the relationship. Yet on the other hand, Cisneros describes the character Esperanza as being different. Even though she is born and raised in the same culture as the women around her, she is not happy with it, and knows that someday she will break free from its ties, because she is mentally strong and has a talent for telling stories. She comes back through her stories by showing the women that they can be independent and live their own lives. In a way this is Cinceros' way of coming back and giving back to the women in her community. The Latino women and girls in the novel are extremely concerned about their appearances, because they feel that if they aren't attractive then they won't be noticed by men, and they are raised to believe that they need a man to fulfil their life, and that they need a husband to support them, and if they don't look attractive then they are not going to be noticed, and if they are not noticed, then they think they won't end up getting married. A good example of this is Marin. When Marin talks about a real job Marin says that the best place to work is downtown, not because of the work that is there, but because "you always get to look beautiful and were nice clothes." She also tells the girls that the only thing that matters is if your skirts are short, and your eyes are pretty, so that you are noticed by guys.

The Portrayal of Father to Child Relationship in Robert Hayden’s “Those Winter Sundays”

Marcella English 10 Period: 5 The portrayal of Father to child Relationship in Robert Hayden’s â€Å"Those Winter Sundays† According to photographer and designer Anne Geddes, â€Å"Any man can be a father but it takes someone special to be a dad. † Being a father is not a simple task. â€Å"Those Winter Sundays† exemplifies how difficult fatherhood could be, and how parent to children affection could be hidden by certain circumstances, such as hard living. Through the poem Robert Hayden shows how the speaker is ashamed in believing that his father did not love him, and how now he understands that love is not only shown by words but also by actions.Robert Hayden uses imagery, symbolism and irony of situation to carry the main message of the poem which is about fatherhood. Imagery is the formation of mental images, figures, or likenesses of things, or of such images collectively (dictionary. com). The reader is given mental pictures about the things that occ ur in the poem. First, the reader can imagine a father figure waking up early morning to get wood to make the house warm. It is also implied that the father woke up in the darkness and that he is a ward worker from the first stanza.Readers can also imagine the child’s position in the house, how the child respects his father (stanza 2). The next imagery is the father polishing the child’s shoes, which implies that he takes care of his child/family, placing himself second. Through these imageries, the author has illustrated the fatherly love to his child even in hard circumstances. Another major literary device used in this poem is symbolism. Symbolism is an image or a word that represents something beyond the literal meaning. There are four significant symbols in Those Winter Sundays. The first symbol is winter, which symbolizes misery.It could be in the form of death, old age, sorrows, or regrets. In general, winter means unpleasant or hard times. In this poem the word winter describes the overall mood of it, which is sad and challenging. The next major symbol is Sunday, which in western culture represents the day of rest. It is commonly known as the day of pleasure. Therefore, winter Sundays could symbolize a paradox, describing the contradictory elements of the poem to give more dramatic and ironic effect, because as it is mentioned in line 1 to 3, and the father keeps on working even though it is Sunday.In the same way as winter, cold also represents pain and discomfort. In contradictory to cold, there is fire, which seems to be the solution to the discomfort. Fire can also symbolize love. In this case, all this four symbols are used to build a story of fatherly love. That unfortunately was not clear enough to be noticed by the son at the time. Irony of situation is the difference between what is likely to happen and what actually does happen. Throughout the poem the speaker mentions the Sunday routine of the father, showing how the father wor ked hard for the family’s well being.However, just as the speaker mentions: â€Å"No one ever thanked him† (Line 5). This illustrates how the father worked for the family and its well being, proving that he indeed cared and loved them, as he never waited to be recognized for his actions. Hence never being thanked after all the work. However in the last stanza it is shown how the speaker regrets treating the father indifferently for not verbally showing his love, â€Å"What did I know, what did I know† (Line 13) proving how the speaker has indeed grown more mature, and has finally understood the meaning of sacrifices, and an alternative way of showing love.In conclusion, the poem Those Winter Sundays is a poem of regret and understanding as the speaker finally has understood his father’s love to him. This poem was intended to be personal, from child to father, as an apology for his attitude as a child. Through this poem, the reader could reflect about the sacrifices done by parent. Sacrifices that are often dismissed but that will soon after have an effect in our life.

Heavy Metal Music

Imagine, if you will, being surrounded by millions of people, waiting in anticipation for the band to come on. You can't breathe because the people are being squeezed into you by their neighbors. You are sweating, trying to catch every bit of oxygen you can from the air, while others are jumping up and down, hitting you as they wait for the band. Finally, the band comes on stage and you are excited, and they start with: (play music here). This, is what heavy metal music is all about. I have been listening to heavy metal music since I was an infant. My first CD was Metallica's Master of Puppets CD that my dad let me have. I have researched many heavy metal bands as the years have gone by. I know what you are thinking, what does heavy metal music have to do with me? Well, metal music is all around you. You can walk down the street and hear someone's radio playing it. You can hear it in some rap songs, like; â€Å"Bring the Noize† by Public Enemy with Anthrax, and â€Å"Let's Go† by Trick Daddy who took the intro of â€Å"Crazy Train† by Ozzy Osbourne, and put a beat over it. You can even hear it in country music from Cross Canadian Ragweed as they took a solo by heavy metal guitarist Dimebag Darrell and put it in their song, â€Å"Dimebag.† Heavy metal music is one of the most copied genres of music out there. Today I am going to tell you about what heavy metal really is, the beginning of heavy metal, and the impact that heavy metal has had on today's society. First, what is heavy metal music? Dee Snider, the spokesman of all that is heavy metal, defines metal as, â€Å"Drum-pounding-, bass-booming-, guitar-distorted-, and singer-belting-music.† That is the worldwide definition of heavy metal. Heavy metal brings together three genres of music, blues, psychedelic rock, and classical music. Early bands included keyboards, or organs, into their music, but recent bands have gone away from using the keyboard. Heavy metal usually, but not always, contains a single formula. A drummer, a bassist, a rhythm guitarist, a lead guitarist, and a singer, who may or may not play some kind of instrument. With this formula, it is obvious that their music is purely based on the instruments. A heavy metal drummer uses a larger drum setup than most other rock genres. The singer of the heavy metal band is very important, equally important as the guitarists. The singers can have a large vocal range, like that of Ronnie James Dio of the band Rainbow, or they can be mellow like that of James Hetfield of Metallica. The guitarists' high distortion is the key to metal music. This gives it the heavy metal â€Å"sound.† Also, unlike many other genres of rock, the bassist is important to the band. It is not uncommon to hear a bassist throw in his/her own solo into the song. As a whole, the band uses very high volume. The louder the music, the better. Now that you know what heavy metal is, I will tell you about the beginning of it. The start of metal can be very confusing. For instance, Deena Weinstein, in her book, Heavy Metal: The Music and Its Culture, credited Black Sabbath with the start of heavy metal, but this is not entirely true. Carlos M. Pozo, in his book Caucasion Power Blues, wrote, â€Å"Blue Cheer's cover of â€Å"Summertime Blues† by Eddie Cochrane, is the first heavy metal song.† â€Å"In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida† by Iron Butterfly is another one of the earliest heavy metal songs. Then, in 1969, came Black Sabbath. At about the same time as Sabbath, another big metal band emerged. This band went by the name of Led Zeppelin. Even though these two bands did not start heavy metal, they brought it to the public. Sabbath and Zeppelin are two of the most popular rock, let alone heavy metal, bands of all time. They faced much criticism at first, but as more people hated them, others started loving them. These people were the â€Å"rebels†, the ones that did not want to listen to their parents because it was their lives, not their parents'. Because of these â€Å"rebels,† heavy metal's popularity has grown drastically over the years. Regardless of what their parents said, they continued buying heavy metal albums, sometimes they even bought more than usual, in spite of their parents. This sparked rise of heavy metal in later years. That is how heavy metal began, now it is time to learn about the impact it has had on society. Heavy metal has had a drastic impact on society today. According to Encyclopedia Metallica, which is an online website that displays news about Metallica, â€Å"All Metallica albums are banned in Jordan because newspapers called them â€Å"satanists† and â€Å"devil-worshipers.† People were listening to Metallica and destroying things around town, so they had to ban Metallica. During the '80s, parents disliked the heavy metal music so much, they decided to try to get some kind of warning on the albums. This resulted in the Parental Advisory sticker on every explicit CD you see today. This is not the only impact that heavy metal music has had. In 1990, heavy metal band, Judas Priest, were sued because the parents of James Vance, and Ray Belknap believed that Priest's music contained subliminal messages that forced these two men to commit suicide. It was found that these two men were highly suicidal before finding Judas Priest, therefore, Priest were found innocent. This is, yet, another situation where the parents dislike heavy metal so much, that they blame the bands for the death of their children. Sadly, this is a recurring action taken by the parents that will not stop until the hate of heavy metal music is gone, which will not happen any time soon. This is the impact that heavy metal has had on society. Heavy metal music has been alive since the '60s. Even though Black Sabbath are credited with being the first worldwide popular heavy metal band, they did not start it. Heavy metal has become quite popular since it began, and has changed society from day one. So, today you learned what heavy metal music is, about the beginning of heavy metal, and it's impact on society. So, I leave you with a quote from AC/DC, â€Å"For those about to rock, we salute you!†

Planning To Meet Customer Requirements Essay

1(a)This assignment is based on organization called the Better business bureau located in North America. The fundamental aim of this organization is to ensure that business men achieve high standards and maintain them. The vision of the organization is an ethical market place where buyers and sellers can trust each other. The mission of the better bureau is to be the leader in advancing market place trust. The better business bureau is able to accomplish its mission by ensuring   that it works in a community of trustworthy businesses since the main aim of the business is to train its members on how to maintain their business ,hence it is easy to motivate business men to be trustworthy to each other. To accomplish its mission the better business bureau has set standards for market place trust. The main objective of the better business bureau is to setting up good standards in the market that promote trust. To fulfill its mission the better business bureau encourages and supports best practices. As being a good role model in the market place the better business bureau is main target is encouraging and supporting practices among businessmen. (b). one of the main objective of the business is celebrating market place role models. As a mentor that is encouraging good business practices the better business bureau acts as a good role model among business men. Another other main important objective for the better business bureau is denouncing substandard market place behavior. The organization is against bad business behaviors and untrustworthy business men practices. (c). Denouncing substandard market place behaviors has encouraged the organization to work closely with its members. Through the internet the better business bureau is always in contact with its customers thus encouraging good business behaviors among them. To ensure that high standards are set and maintained the better business bureau offer affordable education to all its members. The better business bureau also promotes the standards set by its members. To celebrate market place role model has been achieved by the better business bureau because the organization accepts only competent business to its system. Any qualified businesses do not qualify to becoming members of the organization. 2.(a) Stake holders The better business bureau has got many employees, customers and shareholders. The main stakeholders for the better business bureau are businessmen. i. Customers: The main customers for the better business bureau are businessmen. The better business bureau is an international organization for 133 better business bureaus across North America. The better business bureau has got 380, 000 business members that range in size from local enterprises to multinational corporations.   The better business bureau offers many services to its customers, like the better business bureau military line. This is mainly designed to meeting specific consumer needs of military personnel. The organization also has an international students ethic award where scholarships are offered to competent students.   ii. a).Employees: the better business bureau has got many employees. The main ones are accountants, managers, web designers, clerks, and the junior staff. The accountants are mainly involved in maintaining and ensuring that the better business bureau offers its services to standard, they oversee the day performance of the business. Also the web designers have been working hard in ensuring that the organization is well networked, with it business members by developing and ensuring that updated computer programmes have been designed that meet the requirements of the company. b) The employees of the better business bureau ensure the smooth running of its operations. For example the web designers ensure that the business is well networked with all its customers globally. The accountants of the better business bureau ensure that its records are well maintained and updated. The accounts also regularly countercheck the performance of the business members of the organization.   The customers of the better business bureau determine its performance. When many businesses join the bureau its performance improves. Quality: The quality of a product is the degree of the production perfection. Every product has to be manufactured to a particular specification regarding dimension, surface finish and hardness. Quality services: means offering of services that meet and fulfill the requirements of the customers. Quality management: This is a system that a company lays down in ensuring that it achieves its objectives. Quality management involves procedures and means involved in measuring and maintaining the quality of products or services offered by a company. c) Quality standards. The better business bureau has set up quality standards that monitor the daily performance of its duties. The better business bureau has been putting some measures like introducing online services that are set towards improving the quality of services the company offers. To promote the quality of services the company offers it has promoted the public trust in advertising. The better business bureau does its advertisement in order to foster truth and accuracy in national advertising through voluntary self-regulation.   To improve the quality of services the better business bureau offers it the business has been using online services to report its operations. d) Quality audit. The better business bureau offers quality services to its customers. The better business bureau meets the needs of its customers by enabling its customers to be using an online reporting and evaluation system. Through the internet customers make their requests to the company and they get the necessary feed back through the internet. Only competent and trustworthy businesses are member: The better business bureau encourages quality in its services by registering only qualified businesses as its members. The organization does not encourage illegal business practices among its members. The organization also supports many other good programs. The business offers other community services like scholarships to need students within the community. 4) Information review: To create a healthy, safe and productive working environment some information are essential. First information about a particular company is crucial. To understand its objectives, mission and vision. After understanding the objectives, mission and vision of the company then its possible to create a conducive working environment. To create a conducive working environment there should be a well laid down organizational structure for the company. The employees should understand their duties well. A good relationship should also exist between the junior and senior staff. To create a safe working environment all the employees should understand the necessary safety precautions, they should follow in performing their duties, they should also understand other necessary rules to be followed in performing their duties. For encouraging a productive working environment employees should be well conversant to their work. They should understand all the procedures of performing a specific task. b) The guidance that is in our work place that creates a healthy, safe and productive work environment is through regular training of employees. The better business bureau offers regular training to its employees on how to, have a heath work environment by encouraging employees to co-ordinate and network among themselves in ensuring that the required standards of working are achieved at the work place. The organization promotes a save working environment by encouraging its employees to observe safely measures like how to control emergence situation like fire in case of an emergence. The company also encourages a productive working environment by training its employees adequately. The better business bureau has trained its employees to be at a better position of offering recommended services to its customers. Training: The better business bureau trains its business managers on how to encourage many businesses to join the organization. The business managers are taught on how to face business men and how to promote good business practices in their businesses. For the better business bureau to create a healthy and productive environment among its members it usually monitors on their performance. Only businesses with performance, that is according to the required standards that the better business bureau serves. Risk analysis: (i)Political situations:- The political situation of America and other countries can affect the smooth running of the better business bureau. The political situation of countries that have member businesses registered with the better business bureau affect the smooth running of the organization. (ii)Exchange rates:-Due to high prices of oil and food, the global economy is performing poorly thus affecting the strength of the dollar particularly to poor countries. Thus the better business bureau being an international organization will be greatly affected. Potential business: -It becomes difficulty for the better business bureau to determine genuine businesses. Since the better business bureau deals only with competent business it becomes difficulty to know the trustworthy once. iv. Facing competition: the better business bureau faces competition from other international organization. Hence it is likely to lose some of its potential customers.

Article Critique on Sikolohiyang Filipino Essay

As normative concept, psychology study differs across because of different cultural backgrounds and basis. As Sikolohiyang Filipino evolved and continues its study, it makes a mark on the world psychology as it become a breakthrough to it. Despite of its greatest oponent The American Psychology. This will extensively support the study of Virgilio G. Enriquez about Pagkataong Pilipino- The Value System of Philippine Psychology. Because I always wonder what value or values we should practice inorder to have a non-violence living? If ever, we could identify this values, how could we imply this equally? Without any doubts after implementing it? BODY As stated earlier Sikolohiyang Filipino has become a breakthrough to world psychology. Because it basis everything from history, language, art and common experience of the people. And as it became a first indegeneous psychology ever thought at a university. We psychology students who have been studying some of this values and how thus this affect fillipino culture. On our study we encounter lots of write-ups about Sikolohiyang Filipino. That the basis of sikolohiyang filipino has been influenced by lots of cultures from other countries some from Western the others from Eastern and ither Asian countries. Because of the colonialization brought to our country by other countries long time ago. That it become an breakthrough for world psychology. Culture. For me it plays a lot in the study of sikolohiyang filipino, because it refers to the practices and traditions that have been handed down from generation to generation. But then Change is the only permanent thing in this world. And what it trying to prove is that culture changes. It was not very difficult to prove on the generation right now. Lets start from the clothes they wear from the baro’t saya before influenced by the spanished colonial. Right now we had this skinny jeans, mini skirt, spaghetti strapped dress and lots more influenced by the american. And since we all know that we are know on the age of global technology where typewiters has been changed by computers and laptops, where snail mail evolved to electronic mails and cellular phones. That before it was just a WANT and now it became a NEED. Filipino culture is no exception. Filipino culture have indeed have changed through time. The Philippines is now the text capital of the world because we are the country that sends the most number of text messages per day. Like how our culture did. That the before basis: Three Core Concept of the values of the Phillipine Personality Theory: the Kapwa, Pakiramdam and Kagandahang loob that has been interpreted as share identity, shared inner perception and shared humanity must be change. And its greatest winning oponent Kalayaan. That this basis was just now only a part of the history of Sikolohiyang Filipino. That it may be remembered again. Because like technology and lifestyle, sikolohiyang filipino must evolved too and join the new generation. We may erase or preserve and just add another basis. But before this happen we need a lot of studies to conduct of what are the factors of having this kind of culture or behaviorism. But now is for us to prove that Sikolohiyang Filipino still present and existing, that maybe some ways of filipino living may change but then we can preseve some of its importance. Value the contributions of this. And implement it again slowly and one by one. Maybe it needs a hard work angd a long time before having it back again but then we need to do it. To prove that we have our own. Originally our OWN !!! REFERECE Indegeneous Filipino Values: A Foundation for a Culture of Non-Violence by Paper prepared for the forum: Towards A Culture of Non Violence,by Katrin de Guia, Ph. D. , author of â€Å"Kapwa: The Self in the Other†, 2005 , Anvil Publishing Inc. , pasig, M. M. Virgilio G. Enriquez â€Å"Pagkataong Filipino-TheValue System of Philippine Psychology† (From Colonial LiberationPsychology† (U. P. Pree, C. C. , 1992) Nemzky â€Å"Rethinking of Filipino Values† (August 2012)from study mode. com IreMae1, â€Å"Filipino Psychology† (U. P. , November 2012)from study mode. com Kai0990, â€Å"Understanding Filipino Psychology: A Thought Paper† from study mode. com Cracken, â€Å"Filipino Psychology† (July 2012) from study mode. com Andrea M. Bautista, â€Å"Filipino Psychology† (March 5, 2012) from study mode. com.

Naturalized Citizen Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Naturalized Citizen - Essay Example The USA is the land of opportunity. I will now tell about the process of naturalization in this country. In order to become a U.S. citizen one has to file a petition for naturalization - the various forms for this purpose are Form N-400 if your age is above 18 years; Form N-600 if less than 18 years and Form N -643 for an adopted child - with the appropriate USCIS Service Centre. Such persons should have a good moral character and should have been lawful residents of the U.S. for more than five years , of which, at least six months should have been in the state from which the petition is being filed. They must have been physically present in the U.S. for at least two and a half years of this five year period. Petitioners are required to read, write and speak English. They must have knowledge of the history and government of the U.S; they should be attached to the principles of the U.S. Constitution and should be favorably disposed towards the USA. Such petitions must be signed by the applicant and must be attested to by two credible witnesses who are citizens of the U.S and who are personally acquainted with the applicant.

Employment At Will Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Employment At Will - Essay Example Many people including Werhane and Radin have contested EAW. Proponents of EAW agreement argue that it does not violate respect accorded to employees since it is a free will agreement (Allhoff, & Vaidya, 2008). However, EAW interferes with respect of human rights. For instance, an employee at free will contractual agreement will find it extremely difficult to fight for basic human rights or even responsibilities such as whistleblowing (Werhane and Radin, 2004; Repa, 2010).EAW poses a threat of violations of moral obligations for both parties. It is a moral obligation for the employer, for instance, to treat the employees with dignity when at work and during termination. Explanations for termination should be morally justified and explained on humane grounds to maintain respect (SAGE, 2011). The case of Pugh v. See’s Candies, Inc., demonstrates perfectly how respect can be absent even when there is free will (Miller, & Jentz, 2010).The list of reasons is endless. The same way em ployers value and respect corporate social responsibility so should they value employees in EAW contracts. Additionally, arbitrary financial and managerial actions are not endured, why should human resource actions be arbitrary? (Pozgar, 2010)ConclusionAlthough the employees act at free will on EAW contracts, good business ethics demand that they are treated in the humane way to prevent issues of ethical and moral concerns. Only then can it be claimed that respect has been accorded to the employee.

Organisational Leadership and Performance Essay

Organisational Leadership and Performance - Essay Example Leadership is essential for any organisation to become successful. In today’s knowledge based global economic environment, the topic of leadership has become more important and debated. Leadership has emerged as a subject almost inseparable from the basic concepts of organisational behaviour at the various levels of an establishment. Characteristics of a Leader What does a leader need to have? In other words, what does an individual need to emerge as a leader? Robbins et al (1998: 395) think that the following traits are important for an individual to become a leader: †¢ â€Å"long term vision; †¢ people and team-building skills; †¢ decisiveness; and †¢ self-confidence† In today’s dynamic world, the factor of long term vision has become more important since resources are limited and demands are increasing. Soft skills are important for people management and essential team building. Decisiveness and self-confidence helps the leader to decide his/her course of action. These leadership traits are necessary at the management level of a given organisation so that it can remain dynamic to stay competitive and survive. Leadership Development Leadership development must begin at the level of staff development and the related realm of education management is utterly concerned with the behaviour and training of the human resources of the organisation.... and team-building skills; decisiveness; and self-confidence† In today’s dynamic world, the factor of long term vision has become more important since resources are limited and demands are increasing. Soft skills are important for people management and essential team building. Decisiveness and self-confidence helps the leader to decide his/her course of action. These leadership traits are necessary at the management level of a given organisation so that it can remain dynamic to stay competitive and survive (Brown and Eisenhardt, 1995). Leadership Development Leadership development must begin at the level of staff development and the related realm of education management is utterly concerned with the behaviour and training of the human resources of the organisation (Bhindi, 1996). Thus education management becomes an integral part of the operations. Prospective staff members should be educated in the direction of becoming leaders at their levels. Definitely, the policy of leadership development, if implemented in a right way, can make a big difference to the organisation. Both the intra-organisational and inter-organisational behaviouristic patterns can be maintained, tuned and improved if leadership development programmes are initiated within the organisation (Boaden, 2006). According to Robbins et al (1998), leadership development has the phases of conceptual understanding, skill building and coaching. A feedback process and a development centre are also required. Conceptual understanding of leadership should be imparted to as many staff members as possible, especially those who belong from the young generation so that they can correlate their personal growth plan to the leadership practices that are productive, sensible and sustainable. (Robbins et al, 1998)