O-Town free essay sample

In the spring of 2000, MTV and Lou Pearlman (creator ofthe Backstreet Boys and *NSYNC) set out to create yet another boy band. Only thistime, instead of bringing them into the public eye out of nowhere, they wouldshow their lives before they became famous. The show was called Making theBand, and it was an instant hit. The band called themselves O-Town,after Orlando, Florida. Soon O-Town was making appearances on TRL, on which theirLiquid video premiered. Their album debuted at #21 on the BillboardHot 100 and their video was a success. It may well be thought that they wereaccepted into the already over-populated music world because of the show and nottheir music. O-Towns songs range from overemphasizing sex and physicalappearance to unrealistic romance. In Liquid, the guys name everycharacteristic they want in a woman. Here is where the obsession with physicalappearance comes into play; they describe their dream woman as a dominatrixsupermodel beauty queen. We will write a custom essay sample on O-Town or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page The song The Sexiest Woman Alive needsno explanation. Lines like I like the way we touch in the night andYou know you got a lot in your Calvin Jeans are repulsive. Suddenly, though, they decide to change their outlook toward women and inSensitive explain how deep they are: See Ive given youeverything thats inside What can I say, girl, Im sensitive. It seemsthis band has a split personality when it comes to choosing material. Obviously O-Town is targeting teens, as do the other boy bands, but ifthey are going to keep their sex-obsessed image, they should target an olderaudience.

buy custom Organization Downsizing essay

buy custom Organization Downsizing essay Introduction With the issue of ineffective personnel being a critical issue in business environment, many organizations are resolving to a trim of their workforce. The following research focused on downsizing with regard to its advantages and disadvantages to both the employer and employees within an organization. During the study it was assumed that individuals who maintained their jobs after the downsizing had a conviction that their organizations were doing so in the best interest of all stakeholders. Organizational downsizing can be defined as an organizations strategy of permanently reducing the number of employees so as to improve on its efficiency or effectiveness. While layoffs are concerned with the analysis at individual level, downsizing deals with other levels of analysis other than at the individual level only. Whereas leadership is vital to any organization, it can be a great disappointment to employees if no good rapport is developed between all the stakeholders. The management may view it necessary to inspire subordinates to do more work with less labor. Downsized employees seldom find new jobs with a comparable pay. A study by Daft and Richard showed that average hourly wages in the United States fell from $11.37 in 1973 to $0.34 in 1991, while the annual working hours increased from 1,683 hours to 1,781 hours in 1973 and 1990 respectively. Research Materials and Methodology A five-point Likert survey instrument was used to examine data pertaining to downsizing and its implications to both the organizations and the laid-off individuals. A study by Weber in regard to business ethics showed that there are six major considerations that have to be given appropriate attention while downsizing. These include: a)Making of the critical decision to downsize. b)Communicating the criterion to be used for downsizing employees. c)Opportunities for transition and transfer within the organization. d)The process by which employees are laid off. e)Motivation of the remaining employees to ensure that production and performance of the organization are not compromised. f)General relations of the employees and the management after the downsizing. Methodology Question surveys among remaining employees and the downsized employees were used to investigate the degree of fairness during the process and also seek their views in regard to the fate of each stakeholder. The main objective of the survey was to obtain precise information on the impact of the downsizing process. Reasons for Downsizing Although organizations justify their cause of action by citing involuntary loss of resources, employees view it as an intentional move to take away their jobs. However, there are varieties of reasons as to why organizations may result to downsizing their employees. These include: To reduce expenses being incurred by the business organization so as to ensure that it remains competitive and in operation for a longer period of time. The management may consider it an informed decision to trim costs by getting rid of some jobs with an aim of maximizing their profits. Technology obsolescence leading to elimination of some of the products produced by the employees. This is an often excuse cited by many employers to terminate and reduce the number of employees. Incompetence of the employee in the evolved technology with the organizations claim of having eliminated the product being produced by a particular employee and consequently, eliminating their job. The organizations claim of running short of funds thus forcing it to lay-off some of its employees to avoid financial crises that would bring it down on its knees. Causes of Downsizing A report by Twentieth Century Fund (1995) indicated that the major cause of downsizing within organizations was as a result of short-term investments. Since corporatemanagers operate under pressure from financial markets, they are forced to focus more on quarterly profits rather than long term investment. An organization is made up of three pertinent stakeholders, namely: board directors, corporate managers and investors, all of whom give little priority to long term investments. Instead, they pay attention on how fast they meet their short term objectives of which are the basis used by others to judge their performance. Primarily, downsizing is attributed to the problem of an organizations budget especially in regard to personnel expenditure reduction. Therefore, with a great quest for maximizing profit by making significant budget changes, organizations result to firing personnel to reduce the cost incurred in paying out wages. Various discussions which have taken place indicate existence of three levels of organizational downsizing, namely: global, industrial and at individual level. At the global and industrial levels mergers and acquisitions characterize downsizing within an organization. Advantages of Downsizing It reduces expenses and costs incurred in paying out salaries and wages to a large number of employees within an organization thus maximizing on profits. For example, Oracle Corporation laid-off about 5,000 employees on acquisition of PeopleSoft Company. In addition, Jamaica Air also reduced its number of employees by 15 percent in an effort aimed at trimming the cost of operation. Improves in economic growth in the long term within organizations when overall job availability outweighs the lay-offs as argued by economists. As such, economists are always optimistic and criticize those opposed to the idea of downsizing. In addition, they suggest that employees who lose their jobs do so due to the effect of outsourced jobs. It gives laid-off employees the advantage to utilize their skills in other technological fields which are growing at a fast rate. Economists often argue that such moves enable organizations to maintain their competitiveness in a fast growing domestic and global economy. Disadvantages of Downsizing It disrupts an organizations ability to incorporate new ideas since it breaks down entrepreneurial networking within the organization. Due to loss of personnel, organizations end up losing the skills that had been gained by the employees during their stay at the company. Leads to disappearance of skills within the working environment thus compromising on the quality of the production process. Consequently, creativity diminishes as employees who are left out during the process of downsizing shift attention to meeting short term objectives in time to secure their jobs. This renders the products of a business organization to be at the risk of becoming obsolete with the fast growing technology. It creates lower team performance as employees begin to adapt to the new changes and diverse areas of work allocated to them to cater for the lost personnel. As such, the management finds itself engaged in many formal controls to ensure that quality is not compromised. Little control can have great implications on the future of the organization since the products may lose out to the competitors. At the individual level, it reduces an employees opportunity to implement his or her creative ideas and consumes a lot of time as the project is being developed. Production process would also consume a lot of time as individuals working together struggle to achieve integration and coordination between them. At the project level, an organization suffers from a shortage of information and ideas since a communication breakdown occurs between the project managers and members from other functional areas. Diversity of information is critical for any organization to realize its goals and objectives. With a downsized labor, information diversity and innovative ideas for improving on the organizations development process are often lost. Information greatly affects process performance and enhances team tenor thus improving on the efficiency of the production process. In addition, the organization loses many informal contacts which might provide it with the opportunity of learning from other organizations thus improve on the quality of its production process. Leads to loss of highly-skilled labor aand extra expenses being incurred in training new workers as well as the increase of overtime wages for workers since they are forced to perform more duties. An increase in the number of lawsuits filed in court by employees who feel aggrieved by the move to lay them off. This leads to loss of time by the organization while trying to defend their course of action. In addition, efficiency in production may take quite a long period of time as new employees adapt to new roles and responsibilities. Results Considerations while downsizing No. of respondents in % Decision making 60 Communication of criteria used 76 Possible transition and transfer 55 Process used to downsize 68 Motivating employees 70 Employer-employee relations 82 Interpretation of Results The survey sampled the response of 100 respondents, all of whom were employees drawn from different organizations and who still maintained their jobs and others who lost it after the downsizing process. The survey was based on the analysis of six considerations made in the process of downsizing as proposed by Ambrose and Delorese. From the table above, 60 percent of the interviewees argued that the decision to lay-off the organizations workforce was as a result of economic recess. In regard to communication criteria used, 76 percent of the respondents agreed that the reasons given to them to justify the organizations course of action were not convincing enough. When asked whether the laid-off employees would consider a possible move to other places of work within the organization, 55 percent of them said that it was almost impossible and not an option in the circumstances. Further still, 70 percent agreed that the organizations would suffer huge losses while motivating the remaining workforce. 82 percent doubted whether the normal employer-employee relationship would remain after the lay-offs. The above results from the survey indicate that employees are not in support of the downsizing trend growing up in many organizations today. Conclusion From the results of the survey its evident that many employees are not for the idea of downsizing as opposed to the management who think that the move is in the best interest of the company as well as the employee. Many of the employees appear to be of the fact that such moves cannot be justified and that they are only aimed at oppressing them financially. All in all, organizations continue suffering from loss of skills and innovative ideas and their reasons for lay-offs cannot be justified in the eyes of the employees. The reason behind this can be due to the fact that the management and other stakeholders put more focus on short-term returns other than the long-term investments. As such, they result to laying-off their personnel so as to achieve their goals and objectives. As organizations compete with each other and struggle with the issue of personnel reduction in an increasingly competitive world, cooperate managers, executives and investors should put more focus on long-term investment rather than shot-term solutions. Strategic planning should also be implemented so as to ensure that downsizing is the last alternative to the organization. Buy custom Organization Downsizing essay

Team Development Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Team Development - Coursework Example The duo proposed that a small group passes through five stages to get fully matured (Tuckman & Jensen, 2010). They proposed the paths to include; forming, storming, norming, performing and finally the adjourning stages. It is for this reason that any team leader should endeavor to know the characteristics of each stage so that he/she can find and adopt the necessary skills to deal with the members challenges. The following essay is about the stages passed through by the sales team formed by Barclays Bank to increase their market share by selling loans and other products to which I was a member. This stage was characterized by a lot of curiosity and excitement as many of us were not yet sure of the real purpose of the team. Most people at this stage did not know each other and their ability/skills. However, the team members were polite and receptive to each other. The team leader was very initiative and more result-oriented. He introduced us to major tasks in a bid to maximize friendly atmosphere to see tasks adopted and completed in time. He was very directive at this level and walked through the team giving directions. Here we had several disagreements and conflicts amongst ourselves as other members realized the tasks were quite challenging. Some colleagues became totally incorporative with each other, even questioning the authority of the team leader and his roles other thereby fuelling the conflicts. This, however, is expected at this stage according to (Eyre & Mind Tool Team, 2014). They suggest that the leader should be assertive and more positive to the main goal, skills that were absent in our team leader. They recommend that He/she should even consider training members on conflict resolution and explain to them that whatever was happening at that stage was normal (Eyre & Mind Tool Team, 2014). This was not the case with

Government 2 Dissertation Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Government 2 - Dissertation Example They are the ones that set the goals within the commission or the panel that is if it does not involve the public. If the commission involves the public, then they are in a better position to ask for redirection. The fact still remains that the members are the ones who handle that. The influence that controlling a government has is to possess more power and influence. However, an effective legislature is beneficial in different ways. This is because power calls for the completion of tasks thus assists only those who are powerful. An effective legislature allows quick response to some new developments that go to an extent of preventing terrorism. It is a system that allows rapid change that will benefit different people. This is different with the government power that only benefits those who are in power. They are also the system that forms laws; therefore, it is more important having an effective legislature. Without laws, the government power would be useless at any sense. Part tim e legislators mean that they have full time jobs and might not give their all in the practice. Looking at the long time legislators, we realize that they are those that practice those jobs as full time. They however incur much more costs than the work that they are engaged in. A smaller legislature body may be a way of opening up a more transparent legislature system.

Leadership-Article Critiques Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Leadership- Critiques - Article Example These terms are used interchangeably to define the types of leadership. The article addresses several issues affecting leadership development. The contribution of literature based paper in defining the leadership issues is addressed in the article. Distributed leadership emerged in the education sector and has improved the performance of the students and the facilitators. It contrasts the team-based shared leadership literature. The article addresses gaps in the literature and illustrates the incompleteness of the study associated with shared or distributive leadership. In spite of the glaring difficulties of the study, it is evident that shared leadership is a complex process and a modern concept not understood by many leaders and managers. The article evaluates the assumption associated with traditional and shared leadership. Shared leadership is defined in the article as a simultaneous, ongoing and mutual influence process occurring within a team. Therefore, the work of shared lea dership is to develop the necessary interaction between the members of the team. The exploration of the fine grained dynamics of relationships within teams will produce very different research agendas based on the theory employed. In fact, the issues requiring articulation could not be addressed in the article because of the minimal literature present in the society. Critique The article is useful when addressing the leadership styles in the society. In fact, shared leadership has been used in the society to define then various issues associated with education, but the study of shared leadership has been minimal. The findings of the research are conclusive based on the number of participants and the nature of the leadership trends. I agree with the findings on shared leadership application. The role of the leaders in education is captured significantly in the process through the literature review presented. In illustration of shared leadership, the article evaluates the nature and a cceptability of shared leadership in other sectors of governance. Consequently, it addressed the application of shared leadership concept in business and organizational set-up. To illustrate change in leadership and management, the article addresses issues that affect management of teams and change of behavior. The impact of shared leadership in education is evident through the success achieved in the management of the teams. In spite of the challenges associated with the topic, the authors are able to develop a concise understanding of the leadership process and encourage the development of the necessary skills. The article is effective in describing the dynamics of relationships and the ontological debates of interest in the contemporary society. Therefore, leaders must be able to address the issues of shared leadership. Theorizing leadership should be undertaken based on extensive research carried out. Therefore, the article is vital in addressing shared leadership because it is conclusive and has diverse research work undertaken. Distributed and shared leadership articles are not less important for broader issues associated with human thinking and relationship. In conclusion, the article describes distributed and shared leadership conclusively. Article title: Exploring Distributed Leadership in the Small Business Context Article summary The article address

Generalized Anxiety Disorder Case Study

Generalized Anxiety Disorder Case Study Case Study: Anxiety Answer Sheet Diagnosing Tina Student Name: Robert Gianella Diagnosing Generalized Anxiety Disorder: 1a. Refer to the DSM-IV checklist for generalized anxiety disorder. Which of Tinas symptoms meet any of the criteria? (Be sure to match specific symptoms with specific criteria.) 1b. Based upon your review of Tinas symptoms and the diagnostic criteria, could Tina be diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder or not (and if not, why not)? Diagnosing Specific Phobia: 2a. Refer to the DSM-IV checklist for specific phobia. Which of Tina’s symptoms meet any of the criteria? (Be sure to match specific symptoms with specific criteria.) 2b. Does Tina have a specific phobia and if yes, what is the feared object? Diagnosing Panic Disorder: 3a. Refer to the DSM-IV checklist for panic disorder with agoraphobia and the checklist for panic disorder without agoraphobia. Which of Tina’s symptoms meet any of the criteria? (Be sure to match any specific symptoms with specific criteria.) 3b. Does Tina meet the diagnostic criteria for panic disorder with agoraphobia or panic disorder without agoraphobia or neither? Explain why you believe your choice is the most appropriate diagnosis. Understanding Tina’s Disorders: 1. How would the Socio-Cultural Perspective explain Tinas GAD? 2. Explain Tinas GAD from the Existential Perspective. 3. Explain Tina’s GAD from the Cognitive Perspective (please identify any basic irrational assumptions that Tina is making, even if they may be unspoken). 4. Explain Tina’s Phobia from a Behavioral Perspective (please use classical conditioning as a possible example). 5. Explain Tina’s Phobia from a Psychodynamic Perspective. 6. Considering the biological correlates or causes of Tinas panic disorder, what role does the neurotransmitter norepinephrine play in her panic disorder? 7. What does Tinas locus ceruleus have to do with her panic disorder? 8. What role might GABA play in her symptoms? Treating Tina 1. Which Psychodynamic technique has been found to be the most useful in the treatment of GAD? 2. Explain why a humanistic approach would be helpful in treating Tinas GAD. 3. How might you use Rational-Emotive Therapy to treat Tina’s GAD? 4. How would Systematic Desensitization be used to treat Tina’s phobia of bridges? 5. What medications have proven useful for treatment with panic disorder? 6. What role could cognitive therapy play in Tinas treatment for panic disorder? 7. Considering that Tina may be treated for comorbid disorders, how do you see the treatments for the various disorders complementing each other? 8. Is there any reason to think that any of the treatments would be contraindicated when utilized together? Explain why/how or why/how not.

Terrorism Essay -- essays research papers

A gunshot, an explosion, and screaming heard. That is what is generally thought of when one hears the word "Terrorism". In most cases it is true, but there are many other types of terrorism. Most terrorist incidents in the United States have been bombing attacks, involving explosive devices, tear gas and pipe bombs. (Collins, B. 1)The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) categorizes terrorism in the U.S. as either; domestic or international terrorism. Terrorism is the use of force or violence against persons or property in violation of the criminal laws of the United States for purposes of intimidation, coercion or ransom. Terrorists often use threats to create fear among the public, to try to convince citizens that their government is powerless to prevent terrorism, and to get major publicity for their causes. (Hancock, L. 1) Terrorism has been around for many years. A recent mass act of violent terror occurred during WWII. Terror was released on Germany and many neighboring countries because of one mans belief in how people should be and how they should live. Hitler was elected chairman for the National Socialist German Workers (Nazi) party in 1920. Adolf climbed his way to power over Germany. An Enabling Act passed by giving legislature, allowed him to "Nazify" the bureau, and replace all labor unions with one Nazi-controlled German labor front, and not allow any political parties except his ...

Lenin had a greater impact on Russia’s economy and society than any other Ruler. How far do you agree with this view of the period from 1855 to 1964? Essay

Lenin had a greater impact on Russia’s economy and society than any other Ruler. How far do you agree with this view of the period from 1855 to 1964? Over the period from 1855 to 1964, Russia saw various reforms and policies under the Tsars and the Communist leaders that had great impacts on its economy and society both positive and negative. Lenin definitely implanted polices that changed society and the economy for example with war communism. However whether his policies had the greatest impact is debatable and in this essay I will be assessing the view whether Lenin had the greatest impact on Russia’s economy and society than any other ruler between the period from 1855-1964. The Russia economy in terms of industry fluctuated over the period from 1855-1964. It is key to note that under all the leaders, industrialisation and modernisation was always seen as an essential economic aim. Under Alexander II, with Reutern as his Minister of finance who adopted an approach t hat revolved around continued railway construction, attraction of foreign expertise and foreign investment capital. As a result modernisation and expansion occurred within the staples as well as newer industries which show the impact that alexander II made on industry. Reutern achieved a sevenfold increase in the amount of railway and the capacity of railway to carry break bulk at speed increased which gave a major boost to industrial output Russia seemed to be finally moving towards industrialisation and keeping up with the West. This approach was similar under Nicolas II who also managed to have a great impact on Russia’s industrial economy. This was through the work of Sergei Witte whom at the time of his appointment the Russian economy still resolved predominantly around agricultural production further showing that under Alexander II impacts was limited. Witte continued the idea of foreign expertise as well as taking out foreign loans, raising taxes and interest rates to boost available capital for investment in industry. Another major development was the placement of the rouble on the gold standard in 1897. The impacts of Witte’s policies were great. Coal production doubled and that of iron and steel increased sevenfold while the total amount of railway track opened rose from 29,183 km to 52,612 km in 1901. Much of this stimulated the stupendous growth in capital abroad. There was an indication that income started to even catch up with other industrialised nations seen and income  earned from industry rose from 42 million to 161 roubles by 1897. This period of industrial success has even been named the ‘Great Spurt’ and the increase in industrial production of 7.5% far exceeded Russian achievement for any comparable period before 1914 which shows that Nicholas II had the greatest impact on the industrial economy than any other Tsar. This focus on heavy industry was continued under Stalin who implanted his five year plans; industrialisation was to be stimulated through the settin g production targets. The effects were great increase in industrial output which hard to state specifically as much of the production figures were falsified. Khrushchev mostly continued Stain’s centralisation with greater diversion as he wanted to produce more consumer goods. There was however a slowdown in growth under Khrushchev but it wasn’t a huge impact and illustrates a negative impact. This however didn’t compare to negative impacts seen under Lenin. By November 1917 Lenin stated implemented War Communism by introducing state capitalism. This involved the state taking complete control over the economy until it could ‘safely’ be handed over to the proletariat. Nationalisation by itself did nothing to increase production; military needs were given priority so that resources to those industries not considered essential were denied. The situation was made more serious by the factories being deprived of manpower as a result of conscription. The problem for industry was deepened by hyperinflation. The government’s policy on continuing to print currency notes effectively destroyed the value of money and by the end of 1920 the rouble had fallen to 1 per cent of its worthin1917. Although Lenin’s NEP started to impact industry positively and indeed industrial output increased rapidly it only ever reached the level of output in 1914. Overall, the greatest positive impact on industry arguably is under Nicholas II. Industrial output over doubled under him, railway construction expanded rapidly and his policies impacted the people as well people saw living standards increase unlike under Stalin that despite growth living standards actuall y deteriorated and Russia could have seen to be on its way to true industrialisation. Whilst under Lenin it is clear that he had the greatest negative impact on the industrial economy. There was no industrial growth and Lenin only benefited through tighter control of Russia through the economy. As well as impacts on industry it is also important to consider impacts on agriculture. The issue of land ownership can be seen to  be handled differently under each leader. Alexander II, Lenin and Stalin all pursued that effectively had negative impacts on agriculture. With the emancipation of the serfs in 1861 the peasants were ‘free’ and no longer tied to the land. The impacts however were reversal. Peasants were allocated poor quality land and received less on average than they had been farming before emancipation. Furthermore peasants were forced to pay redemption dues that were higher than what they could achieve. In the end, the impacts on the peasants were they were worse off and able peasants had no incentive to produce surpluses and were reluctant to improve the land as decisions about what was to be produces and how crops were to be cultivated were decided by the village Mir, which resulted in a slight fall in grain overall. These effects however were more severe under Lenin and Stalin as they sought to increase grain production by coercion. While Lenin under War communism used grain requisitioning to forcefully collect peasant surpluses from them Stalin used collectivisation to force peasants to collaborate to produce as much food as possible. Similarly in both cases the peasants refused to conform; knowing that any surplus would be confiscated the peasant produced the barest minimum to feed themselves and their family and even less food was available for Russia. One of the greatest imp acts were the famines that occurred in 1921 under Lenin where the grain harvest produced less than half the amount gathered in 1931 and Russia had international help from countries such as the USA. However these impacts were the greatest under Stalin. The amount of bread produced fell from 250.4 (kilograms per head) in 1928 to 214.6 in 1932. The impacts of collectivisation were at its worst in 1932-32 when occurred what many people describe as a self-made national famine. Stalin’s ‘’official silence’’ of the situation meant it wasn’t addressed and thus collectivisation killed between 10-15 million peasants and failed to increase agricultural output. Though a similar devastating famine occurred under Alexander III in which he adopted the Peasant land banks to try and alleviate the impacts and encourage farming again and in fact famines occurred over Russian history its severity was the worst under Stalin. Alexander II’s attempt to pacify the peasants to increase agricultural levels was similarly adopted under Nicholas II through the reforms of Stolypin and further under Khrushchev. Stolypin’s ‘wager on the strong’ saw that in that period peasants were paying increasingly higher taxes a sign  that their new farming was producing higher profits. The provision of land backs, abolition of redemption dues and being urged to replace inefficient strip system created a wealthier group of peasants later labelled the kulaks by communist leaders signifying that Nicholas II enjoyed higher agricultural profits. The schemes for larger-scale voluntary resettlement of peasants are a continuation under Khrushchev whos e Virgin Land Campaigns encouraged the increase in the amount of land being cultivated. In 1950, 96 million acres of land were given over to the production of wheat and by 1964 this increased to 165 million acres. His policies seem to have even impacted citizens as urban dwellers started to feel that their food requirements were at last being adequately met. Thus Khrushchev can be seen to have the greatest positive impact on agriculture as the Russian people had finally felt that the food was enough for them and the amount of land and grain cultivated increased. While the greatest negative impact was prominently under Stalin, his collectivisation was met by peasant unrest and grain and livestock destruction that lead to a damning national famine. Both the Tsars and the Communist leaders had their impacts on the Russian society. Religion and the idea that the Tsar was Gods own appointed continued under all three Tsars, so there was no real impact by any on the tsars on religion as they sought to keep this religious through the aid of the Russian Orthodox Church; the Russian people truly believed that the Tsar was appointed by God and referred to him as their ‘little father’. Despite Lenin coming into power and issuing the’ decree on the separation of the church and state’ which meant that the church was no longer to have central organisation with authority over local organisations, religious teachings in schools being forbidden and the attempt to eradicate religion Peasants continued to pray and worship as their forebears had but they could no longer risk doing it so publicly. Hence showing the Tsars had a greater impact in terms of religion than the communist leaders as all their efforts to eradicate religion and enforce atheism effectively failed. Both the Tsars and the communist attempted to expand the provision of education at all levels. Alexander II is seen to make attempts that increased the number of Russians in education. In 1864 Alexander II introduced a major education reform. This had an immediate impact in the number of available school places, especially in more isolate places and raised the quality and variety of provision which  improved. Such continuation can be seen under Khrushchev who scrapped school fees and the creation of specialist academies and the spread of correspondence courses sought to increase the quality of education in Russia. Nicholas II and Stalin’s educational policies can be seen as similar in that they both impacted society similarly by raising the number of students attending school. The number of primary schools rose from 79 thousand in 1896 to 81 thousand in 1914 under Nicholas II ( work of the fourth duma) while in 1929 only 8 million pupils were attending primary school and in 1930 this rose to 18 million pupils. Furthermore under Stalin emerged the cult of personality that aimed to control all aspects of Russian life. Censorship and propaganda increased drastically under Stalin; however whether Stalin truly had an impact on the culture and the way of thinking is debatable. The applause that greeted his every appearance in public is more likely to have been a matter of prudence than o f real affection. In comparison to the leaders already mention Alexander III sought to limit university autonomy. Under him elections to the university councils were scrapped and placed by an appointment system but nevertheless universities continued to flourish. Overall although Alexander II can be seen to have stimulated educational growth participation the greatest impacts were seen under Nicholas II and Stalin which participation increased immensely. Although the Communist leaders tried to eradicate the church from society many of the Russian population remained orthodox but secretly illustrating the strong impacts the Tars had over religion. In conclusion, it can be seen that different rulers had various impacts on many parts of the economy and society. Industrially Lenin did have the greatest negative impact as the Russia didn’t see any real economic growth and saw a great famine. However under Nicholas II Russia enjoyed the great Spurt which arguably could have seen to have a greater positive impact as it even filtered to the Russian citizens that enjoyed better standards of living and many historians express that Russia was well on its way to industrialisation. Lenin again had a great negative impact on agriculture but that of Stalin was more severe and was worse on agricultural produce. Overall, though Lenin had great impacts of different aspects of life other rulers can be seen to have had a greater impact whether positive or negative and Lenin never truly managed to have a true impact on Russian society and culture though attempted.

Free Essays on Edgar Allen Poe

In Edgar Allan Poe’s poems he writes about death and darkness. Throughout his poems, â€Å"The Raven† and â€Å"The Bells†, Poe writes of death, darkness, and evil. Many say he writes about this because of his childhood problems. (Slovey p. 15) As you continue to read, it will show how others feel about his writings and his desire to write about death. In Edgar Allen Poe’s poem, The Bells, Poe tells how bells can play a part throughout death and this causes readers to dislike the poem but it also has a positive effect on readers when Poe tells of bells being used as symbols of love. For example, some feel that Poe’s desire for death makes the poem less interesting. W.M. Auden tells how the Bells was less interesting but was more successful because the subject is nothing but an excuse for onomatopoeic efforts. Also, some feel that Poe writes about death and darkness because of his drinking problems he had. (Slovey p. 22) Anthony Caputi feels that thi s poem marks the high tide of Poe’s ineffectuality and also bears testimony to his immense gift for poetic conception and thereby confronts us with the peculiar problem of Poe. (Poetry Criticism). In addition, some feel this poem has a sense of good and beauty to it. Floyd Stovall writes how Poe defined poetry as music combined with a pleasurable idea and the poets truth is an excitement of the soul and it is the product of the contemplation of beauty. So in Poe’s poem, The Bells, he writes of death and evil but also of good and love that leaves a positive and a negative effect on readers. In Edgar Allen Poe’s ,The Raven, Poe uses a sense of darkness and evil throughout the poem by using the black bird as a symbol of evil. Some readers cannot understand how this poem has became so popular considering the evil that was used throughout the poem. Allen Tate says he can add very little to criticism of The Raven written in many passages that are wonders how it can be a great poem and how... Free Essays on Edgar Allen Poe Free Essays on Edgar Allen Poe Edgar Allen Poe Edgar Allen Poe, a great 19th-century American author, was born on Jan 19, 1809, in Boston, Mass. Both his parents died when he was two years old, and he was taken into the home of John Allan, a wealthy tobacco exporter of Richmond, Va. Although Poe was never legally adopted, he used his foster father's name as his middle name. After several years in a Richmond academy, Poe was sent to the University of Virginia. After a year, John Allan refused to give him more money, possibly because of Poe's losses at gambling. Poe then had to leave the university. In 1827 he published, in Boston, Tamerlane and Other Poems. This was the first volume of his poems, and was published anonymously. The book made no money, and next Poe enlisted in the United States Army under an assumed name. After he served two years, his foster father arranged for him to be honorably discharged and to enter the United States Military Academy, also known as West Point. But, within six months, Poe was dismissed because of neglect of duty. Poe then began to write stories for magazines. In 1831, he published Poems by Edgar A. Poe, which he dedicated to the cadets of the U.S. Military Academy. In 1833, he won a cash prize for the story MS. Found in a Bottle. In 1835, he jointed the staff of the Richmond Magazine, Southern Literary Messenger. Within a year, the circulation of the magazine increased seven times thanks to the popularity of Poe's stories. Soon, however, Poe lost his job with the magazine because of his drinking. In 1836, he married beautiful Virginia Clemm, the 13-year-old daughter of his aunt. The following year he lived in New York City and the next year he drifted to Philadelphia. There he became associate editor of Burton's Gentleman's Magazine. He contributed literary criticism, reviews, poems, and some of his most famous stories to this magazine. In 1840, Poe published Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque, a two-volume set of his stories.... Free Essays on Edgar Allen Poe Poe is unquestionably one of the great American writers of all time. He was far ahead of his time with his vision of a special area of human experience the "inner world" of dream, hallucination, and imagination. There is a distinct connection between Poe's nightmarish life and his works. His fictional works resemble a distressed individual who has a pattern of dreams night after night with the same repeating tone of terror. Critics interpret his works as being a search going deep into himself and arriving at the unplumbed mystery of his innerself. He has accomplished himself with that search and characterized the twentieth century with his art. Few poets followed their own theories more completely than Poe. His popularity is due to his consistency in producing a universal appealing effect. "A Poe setting, atmosphere, or situation is instantly recognizable." All of his poetry is based on carefully thought out principles of artistic creativity, and his biggest concern as a poet was the effect he could produce on the reader with those principles.Poe's poetry covered these themes in a way that they all compliment each other. The theme most revolved around by the others is ideal beauty. In using marshalling verse, imagery, rythym, rhyme, and subject matter a poet tries to capture the impression of beauty. Poe's simple definition for beauty was this: "The pleasurable excitement of the soul as it reaches for a perfection beyond this earth." When attaining the unattainable, supernatural beauty a poet cannot use ordinary logic or reason, he must grasp it only aesthetically, not rationally. Poe felt that for a poet to seek appropriate images for ideal beauty he should avoid concrete, ordinary objects of everyday life. Realms of dream, fantasy, the subconscious, and glimpses of life after death are more appropriate images. Poe's simple task in poetry was to induce a state ... Free Essays on Edgar Allen Poe Edgar Allan Poe was born in Boston, grew up in Richmond, Virginia, and lived in six Eastern cities. Edgar went to the University of Virginia. The student life of the University was more social than academic. The young men drank too much, gambled too much, fought for the sheer enjoyment of violence, and rampaged over the campus at all hours. This was the worst possible environment for young Poe with his emotionally unstable temperament. He was unusually susceptible to alcohol; one mild drink sent him into a state of wild excitement. He gambled recklessly, incurring debts he could not begin to pay. He went to Boston, where he managed to publish a collection of his poems in pamphlet form, Tamerlane and Other Poems. Desperate for money, he joined the army under the name of Edgar A. Perry. In 1833 The Saturday Visitor of Baltimore announced a literary contest with prizes of fifty dollars for the best short story, and twenty-five dollars for the best poem. Poe submitted a gr! oup of stories. One of the stories, MS. Found in a Bottle, won the story prize, and his poem would have won the poetry prize except that the judges decided not to award both prizes to the same contestant. John P. Kennedy, took an interest in Poe and befriended him by helping him sell a story to the new Southern Literary Messenger of Richmond. Poe joined the editorial staff of the magazine and soon became its editor. He has many problems with drinking and therefore his job was on and off. Soon after moving to New York, his poem, The Raven, was published in the New York Evening Mirror. It was reprinted in a number of magazines, and at once became extremely popular. The Raven is not by any means Poe's best poem. The best of his poetry is pure magic.... Free Essays on Edgar Allen Poe Edgar Allan Poe was born in Boston, grew up in Richmond, Virginia, and lived in six Eastern cities. His father was David Poe, a Baltimore actor. His actress mother, Elizabeth came to the United States as a kid. The parents were not that talented; they played small roles in rather third-rate theatrical companies. Because they both had small parts they barely managed to make a living. Edgar was the second of their three children. When the third child was born, the father died, or disappeared, and Mrs. Poe went to Richmond with the two youngest children. The oldest boy, William Henry, had already been left with relatives in Baltimore. Mrs. Poe was in the last stages of tuberculosis. Weakened by the disease and worn out with the struggle to support her children, she died. Edgar, two years old, and the infant, Rosalie, were left as orphans. It was pure luck that Mrs. Frances Allan, the wife of a merchant in Richmond learned about the Poe babies. She had no children of her own and liked ha ndsome little Edgar a lot more than his sister. She took him home with her, and another family took his little sister Rosalie. Mrs. Allan would have liked to adopt Edgar, but her husband was unwilling to commit himself. At that time people thought acting was immoral. John Allan could not help regarding the little son of actor parents as a questionable person to inherit his name and the fortune he was busy accumulating. He was willing however, to support the child, and in time came to be proud of Edgar's good looks and intelligence. When Edgar was six years old, Mr. Allen's business took him to Scotland, the country from which he had come originally. The family stayed in Scotland and England for five years. Edgar was eleven when the Allans returned to Richmond. Richmond in back then in the 1820's was a good place for a boy to live. It was still a small enough town for the fields, swamps, and woods to be close by. Boys swam in the river and in the little creek... Free Essays on Edgar Allen Poe Poe: The Darkness Edgar Allen Poe is the most well-known author of his time. Edgar Poe’s ancestors were agriculturists and artisans on one side, and actors on the other. Poe was born on Jan. 19, 1809, in Boston ( Encyclopedia Americana Pg. 274). Edgar’s future mother was performing in Virginia, where she was being observed by a young man by the name of David Poe. Soon Eliza Arnold, a young actress, fell in love with David, and he with her. Only six months after the death of her first husband, Eliza and David were married. Edgar’s father joined Eliza’s acting troupe and was greatly criticized by an 1806 notice. â€Å"The lady is young and pretty, and is blessed with both singing and acting talents. Her husband is literally nothing.† This was not the only time that David was badly criticized. (Soon enough, the same types of criticism would plague Edgar later during his first literary disputes) (Meyers Pg.3). Edgar was born in a humble lodging house near Carver Street, south of Boston Common, on January 19,1809. On the back of a watercolor sketch which Poe treasured, his mother wrote: â€Å"For my little son Edgar, who should ever love Boston, the place of his birth, and where his mother found her best, and most sympathetic friends.† Later in adulthood however, Poe had a strong dislike for the city. He hated its ruling literary class-their stuffy morality, vague transcendental philosophy, abolitionist movement, and sterile domination of the American literary scene. After becoming extremely poor, the Poe’s left five week old Edgar in Baltimore with his paternal grandparents, David and Elizabeth continued their theatrical jobs. David Poe made his last stage appearance in October 1809. By July 1811-when Edgar was two and a half years old, his dad deserted the family, and was neither seen nor heard from ever again. After being deserted, Eliza was left with overwhelming demands from her job, constantly having to move, taking car... Free Essays on Edgar Allen Poe In Edgar Allan Poe’s poems he writes about death and darkness. Throughout his poems, â€Å"The Raven† and â€Å"The Bells†, Poe writes of death, darkness, and evil. Many say he writes about this because of his childhood problems. (Slovey p. 15) As you continue to read, it will show how others feel about his writings and his desire to write about death. In Edgar Allen Poe’s poem, The Bells, Poe tells how bells can play a part throughout death and this causes readers to dislike the poem but it also has a positive effect on readers when Poe tells of bells being used as symbols of love. For example, some feel that Poe’s desire for death makes the poem less interesting. W.M. Auden tells how the Bells was less interesting but was more successful because the subject is nothing but an excuse for onomatopoeic efforts. Also, some feel that Poe writes about death and darkness because of his drinking problems he had. (Slovey p. 22) Anthony Caputi feels that thi s poem marks the high tide of Poe’s ineffectuality and also bears testimony to his immense gift for poetic conception and thereby confronts us with the peculiar problem of Poe. (Poetry Criticism). In addition, some feel this poem has a sense of good and beauty to it. Floyd Stovall writes how Poe defined poetry as music combined with a pleasurable idea and the poets truth is an excitement of the soul and it is the product of the contemplation of beauty. So in Poe’s poem, The Bells, he writes of death and evil but also of good and love that leaves a positive and a negative effect on readers. In Edgar Allen Poe’s ,The Raven, Poe uses a sense of darkness and evil throughout the poem by using the black bird as a symbol of evil. Some readers cannot understand how this poem has became so popular considering the evil that was used throughout the poem. Allen Tate says he can add very little to criticism of The Raven written in many passages that are wonders how it can be a great poem and how... Free Essays on Edgar Allen Poe Best known for his poems and short fiction, Edgar Allan Poe deserves more credit than any other writer for the transformation of the short story from anecdote to art. He virtually created the detective story and perfected the psychological thriller. He also produced some of the most influential literary criticism of his timeimportant theoretical statements on poetry and the short storyand has had a worldwide influence on literature. Poe's parents were touring actors; both died before he was 3 years old, and he was taken into the home of John Allan, a prosperous merchant in Richmond, Va., and baptized Edgar Allan Poe. His childhood was uneventful, although he studied (1815-20) for 5 years in England. In 1826 he entered the University of Virginia but stayed for only a year. Although a good student, he ran up large gambling debts that Allan refused to pay. Allan prevented his return to the university and broke off Poe's engagement to Sarah Elmira Royster, his Richmond sweetheart. Lacking any means of support, Poe enlisted in the army. He had, however, already written and printed (at his own expense) his first book, Tamerlane and Other Poems (1827), verses written in the manner of Byron. Temporarily reconciled, Allan secured Poe's release from the army and his appointment to West Point but refused to provide financial support. After 6 months Poe apparently contrived to be dismissed from West Point for disobedience of orders. His fellow cadets, however, contributed the funds for the publication of Poems by Edgar A. Poe...Second Edition (1831), actually a third editionafter Tamerlane and Al Aaraaf, Tamerlane, and Minor Poems (1829). This volume contained the famous To Helen and Israfel, poems that show the restraint and the calculated musical effects of language that were to characterize his poetry. Poe next took up residence in Baltimore with his widowed aunt, Maria Clemm, and her daughter, Virginia, and turned to fiction a...

Nisa essays

Nisa essays In this paper I am going to discuss the book Nisa The Life and Words of a !Kung Woman, by Marjorie Shostak. In doing this I will describe the culture of the !Kung people, a small hunter-gatherer tribe in Africa. Then I will go on with telling about their sociocultural systems that I have read about in this book. To rap things up I will tell my prediction where the !Kung population is headed into the future. I will use explanations from the book to help me describe my prediction. !Kung culture is a very simple culture. The norms in this society are hard to define; norms are shared rules that define how people are supposed to behave under certain circumstances. Take marriage for example In the book Nisa explains how a women can marry more than once in her lifetime, a !Kung girl is actually married several times before she stays with one man. These appeared to me as trial marriages, the women are too young to want the marriage and usually are the ones to end it. Even after long marriage involving children things such as death and divorce/ separation occur and a woman finds a new husband. So as you can see the norms in the !Kung culture are much different than that of our own norms. Even when marriage is involved the idea of having lovers was not shunned. Although some women do not engage in this act, it is a very common thing among the !Kung. The norm here is to have a lover to keep that young playful and loving attraction alive with someone, even after things have began to settle with your husband. Nisa explains, Even my mother had lovers. Id be with her when she met them. But my father, if he had them, I didnt know... She recalls many situations like this, as do most !Kung children. I remember, when I was still small, seeing my mother with one man. He met her, took her, and made love to her. I sat nearby and waited. When she came back carrying firewood, I thought, I am going to tell! The...

Understanding Practical Business and Organizational Research Assignment

Understanding Practical Business and Organizational Research - Assignment Example The study elucidates the huge problem of poor performance, accountability, and transparency in the government institutions such as municipalities. The Americans have expressed their dissatisfaction of the delivery of services in the government institutions. On the other hand, the purpose of the study was to evaluate the contribution of performance measure to the sustainable improvement, accountability, and transparency of the government organization (Sanger, 2012). The research hypothesized that cities that had sophisticated performance measurement systems would have a high likelihood of using the performance data to improve performance. However, the research did not have research questions. The study used an analytic approach to collect quantitative data from a sample of 190 cities. The researchers searched the cities with a high likelihood of measuring performance with the intent of improving service delivery (Sanger, 2012). Fundamentally, the researchers selected a sample from four service areas namely police, parks and recreation, fire, and public works. The study used quantitative approaches to analyze the data and present it in tables. The study findings are important for the city mayors and officials who hold leadership positions to implement the information gotten from performance measurement for the betterment of services. In summary, the researchers established that government institutions rarely implement the information from performance measurements for the improvement of services. The data analysis indicates that few organizations use the information to improve service delivery. The analytic approach used in this study can be applied to solve performance problems. The researchers have analyzed the problem by seeking the primary data of the various cities. Primary data establishes the main cause of a problem, and thus provides a platform for selecting the best solution (Zikmund, 2013). For

Female Gangs Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Female Gangs - Research Paper Example However, researches in the past two decades by the United States Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) indicate that the existence of female gangs can be traced back to the 1800s (Moore & Hagedorn, 2012). Their roles have evolved from being alibis, sex toys, drugs and weapon holders to full gang membership. Studies have been conducted on gangs because gangs are of social concern. This paper will research on and discuss female gangs in three aspects. First, it will discuss the origin of female gangs and what drives females into forming or joining gangs. Secondly, it will discuss different types of female gangs and thirdly, how they play into male gangs. Although some of the earlier generalizations about female gangs still apply, there have been tremendous changes in their activities with their growing numbers. The OJJDP noted a police report from Boston that described a female gang as a growingly autonomous organization that plans and commits crime without any help from males (Moore & Hagedorn, 2012). It was feared that in Boston young girls were quickly adopting gang life rituals in the early 1990s. To integrate into gangs or form their own, females imitate the behaviors of male gangs (Moore & Hagedorn, 2012). In a bid to be like the males, they coordinate and take part in criminal activities, wear tattoos and clothing related to gangs. They borrow characteristics and styles of the dominant male gangs including patterns of violence, preferred weapons and use of graffiti to pass a message or declare their existence and presence in neighborhoods. Becoming a member is either by choice or forced initiation (Moore & Hagedorn, 2012). Forced initiation is in the form of being jumped-in by gang members. On the other hand, females who opt into gangs by choice offer themselves to be used sexually by gang members in exchange of climbing up the hierarchy. However, those who are