What Caused the Current Economic Crisis Term Paper

What Caused the Current Economic Crisis - Term Paper Example This meant the very foundations on which our principles and understanding of the whole economic system was based on were shaken and jolted to an extent that people lost confidence in its integrity. It raised questions that directly pointed fingers on the functioning of the global financial markets. The whole crisis began when the US investors lost confidence in the value of sub-prime mortgages resulting in an adverse liquidity crisis. In fear of the effects of the looming liquidity crisis, the US Federal Bank injected huge sums of capital, liquid money, into financial markets in an attempt to prevent several hundred thousand businesses and individuals from declaring bankruptcy. By the end of September of the following year, the economic crisis had worsened as its negative effects started to crash stock markets on all the continents. This made investment highly volatile and investors lost millions of dollars overnight as this continued to spread further. A pinnacle was reached where c onsumer confidence was at its lowest in fear of the inevitable outcomes. Analyses reveal that at a more fundamental level the economic crisis could be attributed to the diligence of massive global imbalances. These imbalances were the outcomes of long periods of excessively loose monetary policy in the major advance economies during the early part of this decade. A major factor in this was the significant increase in the budget deficit of the United States, while at the same time the accumulation of huge amounts of surpluses in Asia, particularly in China and the oil exporting countries of Middle East. The current account balance of US in 2008 as a percent of its GDP was -4.7%, and for China, Saudi Arabia, Russia and UAE was 10%, 28.9%, 6.1% and 15.8% respectively. This showed that even after billions of revenue for the Western Giant United States, the global net flow of money was directed towards the Eastern part. This imbalance was ever growing as the Economic power was slowly and gradually shifting from the West to the East. Experts stated that these imbalances were seen as the consequence of the relative inflexibility of the currency regimes in China and other such countries. According to Portes (2009), prevailing global macroeconomic imbalances were the major underlying cause of the crisis. The gap between the saving-investment function was extensive and this gap was only widening with time since developing countries started relying more heavily on developed economies to provide for their development expenditures. The immediate impacts of these huge cross-border financial flows were seen on the financial intermediation process. (Mohan, 2009) As stated earlier the monetary policy of US was also a contributing factor to the financial crisis of 2008. To understand this we have to visualize the dot com bubble burst in the early 2000’s. This resulted in a reduction of the interest rates and consistent ease in the monetary policy of US and other advanced economies. These rates maintained as low as 1 per cent in US during the period 2003-2004. This gave ample opportunity for new businesses to thrive in the country and huge investments were made during the first half of the decade. Figure 1 clearly demonstrates that during 2008 the effective federal fund rate in the US was around 1 per cent margin. This relatively loose monetary policy meant that transactions were being done on a credit basis more than ever in the history of the country. The effects of this were visible in the credit crunch of 2007 that eventually combined with other factors to bring about the economic crisis. The growing demand from the US consumers and its increasing reliance on cheap consumer goods being imported from Asian countries, mainly China,

Aquarius Case Analysis Essay Example for Free

Aquarius Case Analysis Essay 1) Analyze Aquarius in terms of the five contextual variables: * Goals: Aquarius has realized a huge problem in regards to the rapid turnover of their major accounts. An agency reorganization would be a realistic goal in changing their competitive techniques. This reorganization might be able to set them apart from the other agencies by reducing their response time and increasing the communication between the different departments to boost efficiency. * Culture: In my opinion I believe that Aquarius has a very low and undefined organizational culture. It seems like the employees are all looking out for themselves and trying to get ahead of everyone else. These values although unwritten provide the glue to having everyone on the same page and are absolutely essential in providing clients with top of the line work. * Size: Since Aquarius is a mid-sized firm with various specialists on the professional staff of the operations and marketing divisions I would say they have anywhere from 1000-1500 employees. With this many employees it is critical to have effective communication between the different departments. This would in turn increase flexibility in this unpredictable environment. * Environment: Changes in the environment is the main reason why the agency is considering the need for reorganization. It is typical for advertising agencies to gain/lose clients quickly, this is why is it so essential to have everyone in the organization effectively communicating with each other in order to satisfy their clients and reduce turnover. * Technology: Aquarius has a number of different specialists on their team that work together in assisting their clients, but there is always room for improvement in regards to better communication. It would seem to me that Aquarius would have a number of different programs and internet sites to assist them achieving their services. 2) A new organizational structure that takes into consideration the contextual variables in the case and the information flows is the divisional structure. This structure is suited to fast change in an unstable environment and provides high product or service visibility. A major problem that occurs in Aquarius is that each client account is coordinated by an account executive who acts as a liaison between the client and various specialists. Unfortunately this isn’t followed because sometimes the account executives don’t even know what is going on until a week later. The divisional structure leads to customer satisfaction because product responsibility and contact points are clear. This in turn involves high coordination across functions which will make everyone check with the executive first to get approval before contacting the client. Coordination across functions will allow their services to adapt to the requirements of the individual clients and perform beyond their expectations. This structure would allow Aquarius to achieve their goals while increasing their organizational culture as a whole and being able to adapt more quickly to this unstable environment. 3) Would a matrix structure be feasible for Aquarius? I my opinion I believe that a balanced matrix structure would be hard to implement and maintain. This is due to the fact that account executives as one side of the authority structure would often dominate over the specialists. In order for the account executive to do their job correctly they need everyone on their side and in coordination to run important information by them first. Perhaps a better alternative would be a product matrix where the executives have primary authority and the specialists assign technical personal to the projects and provide advisory expertise as needed. With dual authority I feel that it would be frustrating and confusing for everyone, there needs to be a clear contact points. There would always be a need for frequent meetings to resolve any conflicts between the different authorities, it would simply just require to great of an effort to maintain the power balance.

The Stone Angel Essay -- English Literature Essays

The Stone Angel Self-Inflicted Isolation and Loneliness â€Å"I never realized until this moment how cut off I am.† (Laurence, 1988, 294) In the novel The Stone Angel, author Margaret Laurence portrays a lonely old woman by the name of Hagar. Over the course of the novel, Hagar reflects back on the memories that have created the story of her life. Hagar is a deeply lonely woman, and much of that loneliness is self-inflicted. This mental isolation is caused by her stubbornness, her pride, and the blindness that she has towards any opinion other than her own. Hagar Currie-Shipley is a very stubborn woman at the age of ninety. She is very set in her ways, and does not appreciate being told what to do. The reader is introduced to this stubbornness when Hagar is brought to Silverthreads nursing home to view the location. Upon this discovery, Hagar attempts to run away, only to find herself lost in a forest. However, this stubbornness is not a new characteristic of Hagar’s, for she has been this way since early childhood. I wouldn’t let him see me cry, I was so enraged. He used a foot ruler, and when I jerked my smarting palms back, he made me hold them out again. He looked at my dry eyes in fury, as though he’d failed unless he drew water from them. He struck and struck, and then all at once he threw the ruler down and put his arms around me†¦ â€Å"You take after me,† he said, as though that made everything clear. â€Å"You’ve got backbone, I’ll give you that.† (Laurence, 1988, 9-10) This passage shows Hagar’s ability to hide her true emotions, which is a tool that she uses a lot later on in life. She later talks of making love to her husband, Bram, stating that even when she did enjoy it, â€Å"He never knew. I never let him know. I never spoke aloud, and I made certain the trembling was all inner.† (Laurence, 1988, 81) Also, early on in life, when her brother Dan was dying of pneumonia, she could not bring herself to perform his final wish. He cried for his dead mother, and Matt had asked Hagar to wear an old shawl, to act as their mother, and hold Dan, but Hagar could not bear the thought of portraying someone as weak as her mother. Her heart seems to be made of stone, much like the stone angel that her father had imported from Italy for her mother’s grave. Hagar kept all of her emotions bottled up inside. After Bram died, she did not allow herself to cry. It w... ...d to send Arlene to Toronto. When John tells Hagar about the move Hagar pretends to know nothing about it. John informs her that she â€Å" ‘always bet on the wrong horse,’ John said gently. ‘Marv was your boy, but you never saw that, did you?’† (Laurence, 1988, 237) it really opens Hagar’s eyes. She realizes that she has been wrong in her favoritism, although she will not admit it until later on after John is dead. When she is lying in her hospital bed many years later, she lets this realization be known, telling Marvin â€Å" ‘You’ve not been cranky, Marvin. You’ve been good to me, always. A better son than John.’† (Laurence, 1988, 305) Sometimes these realizations come too late. The self-inflicted isolation that Hagar feels is a result of her stubbornness, pride, and blindness towards other views. Her past has shaped her to become the bitter, stolid, rigid old woman that she is in the novel, also greatly contributing to her mental isolation. This isolation is a result of the personal decisions and actions that she has made throughout the course of the novel. â€Å"Every last one of them has gone and left me. I never left them. It was the other way around, I swear it.† (Laurence, 1988, 164) The Stone Angel Essay -- English Literature Essays The Stone Angel Self-Inflicted Isolation and Loneliness â€Å"I never realized until this moment how cut off I am.† (Laurence, 1988, 294) In the novel The Stone Angel, author Margaret Laurence portrays a lonely old woman by the name of Hagar. Over the course of the novel, Hagar reflects back on the memories that have created the story of her life. Hagar is a deeply lonely woman, and much of that loneliness is self-inflicted. This mental isolation is caused by her stubbornness, her pride, and the blindness that she has towards any opinion other than her own. Hagar Currie-Shipley is a very stubborn woman at the age of ninety. She is very set in her ways, and does not appreciate being told what to do. The reader is introduced to this stubbornness when Hagar is brought to Silverthreads nursing home to view the location. Upon this discovery, Hagar attempts to run away, only to find herself lost in a forest. However, this stubbornness is not a new characteristic of Hagar’s, for she has been this way since early childhood. I wouldn’t let him see me cry, I was so enraged. He used a foot ruler, and when I jerked my smarting palms back, he made me hold them out again. He looked at my dry eyes in fury, as though he’d failed unless he drew water from them. He struck and struck, and then all at once he threw the ruler down and put his arms around me†¦ â€Å"You take after me,† he said, as though that made everything clear. â€Å"You’ve got backbone, I’ll give you that.† (Laurence, 1988, 9-10) This passage shows Hagar’s ability to hide her true emotions, which is a tool that she uses a lot later on in life. She later talks of making love to her husband, Bram, stating that even when she did enjoy it, â€Å"He never knew. I never let him know. I never spoke aloud, and I made certain the trembling was all inner.† (Laurence, 1988, 81) Also, early on in life, when her brother Dan was dying of pneumonia, she could not bring herself to perform his final wish. He cried for his dead mother, and Matt had asked Hagar to wear an old shawl, to act as their mother, and hold Dan, but Hagar could not bear the thought of portraying someone as weak as her mother. Her heart seems to be made of stone, much like the stone angel that her father had imported from Italy for her mother’s grave. Hagar kept all of her emotions bottled up inside. After Bram died, she did not allow herself to cry. It w... ...d to send Arlene to Toronto. When John tells Hagar about the move Hagar pretends to know nothing about it. John informs her that she â€Å" ‘always bet on the wrong horse,’ John said gently. ‘Marv was your boy, but you never saw that, did you?’† (Laurence, 1988, 237) it really opens Hagar’s eyes. She realizes that she has been wrong in her favoritism, although she will not admit it until later on after John is dead. When she is lying in her hospital bed many years later, she lets this realization be known, telling Marvin â€Å" ‘You’ve not been cranky, Marvin. You’ve been good to me, always. A better son than John.’† (Laurence, 1988, 305) Sometimes these realizations come too late. The self-inflicted isolation that Hagar feels is a result of her stubbornness, pride, and blindness towards other views. Her past has shaped her to become the bitter, stolid, rigid old woman that she is in the novel, also greatly contributing to her mental isolation. This isolation is a result of the personal decisions and actions that she has made throughout the course of the novel. â€Å"Every last one of them has gone and left me. I never left them. It was the other way around, I swear it.† (Laurence, 1988, 164)

Outcome Unit

A task like this would usually take me 10 minutes in the morning to do a cash count up and an hour in the afternoon in which I set myself from pm until pm to get this completed on Monday- Thursday.On a Friday however I set myself 2 hours (pm -? pm) as I have to go back over the week, input all outgoings on to the petty cash spreadsheet, calculate how much of our float we have spent and how much needs to be requested, make sure all figures equalize, photocopy everything so that the originals go to our head office and the photocopies stay in the centre for our records, package and get ready to send second class recorded to Head-Office that afternoon. See evidence ‘Ross Handwriting – Witness Testimony. 3. – It is ally important that I priorities my time throughout my working day to ensure that I get as much done as possible and use my time effectively. At the beginning of each day I like to make myself a ‘to do list' on Outlook. I do this so that know exactly w hat need to get done and I can also set myself targets on time slots to get the task done in so that all my time is used efficiently. If I was to be given another task throughout my working day would add this to my to-do list amending it depending whether the task is high-priority or not.This is extremely helpful and helps me keep on top of all of my tasks as can rack how much of the task I have completed and what is still yet to complete. When click in to the task I have set myself specific tasks which help me to break down my job even more: like to keep both an electronic check list as well as a hard copy to make sure keep on top of my tasks. The hard copy is useful for me as I can physically see what needs to be done however the electronic copy notifies me on my desktop in case am involved in other tasks to keep me from losing track of time.See evidence To do list – Outcome 3. 2 Evidence' & ‘Ross Handwriting Witness Testimony'. 3. – am able to confirm effectiv e working methods with my colleagues and managers. For example, when planning my diary and allowing myself time to complete my apprenticeship/NV work I was concerned that wasn't allowing myself enough time to complete my work in the time that my assessor had asked and expected. I expressed my concerns to my line manager and together we confirmed a more effective way Of working in order to complete my NV coursework.See evidence ‘Unit 201 Outcome 3 – 3. 3 Email Evidence'. 3. 4 – I am able to indemnify when I have made a mistake or there has been a problem with my own work. As well as this, can also report these concerns to others and go to them for support when needed. An example of this would be when dealing with petty Cash; there was a time when calculating and finalizing petty cash, the balance in bank and tin and total weekly outgoings didn't add up to equal our weekly float.This meant that we were ‘missing' money is somewhere or something that we have pa id out during the week was not accounted for. Expressed my concern to my line manager and together we found the ‘missing' deficit of money. See evidence ‘Unit 201 Outcome 3 – 3. 4 Email Evidence Reporting Problems occurring in own Work'. 3. 5 – It is important to keep other people informed of your progress. For example, recently I was given the opportunity to oversee the creation and contact a printing company for our Kennedy Scott 25th Anniversary company invitations.The task was given to me by my Business Manager and it was important that I kept her informed of the progress of the creation, quotations and completion dates from the printing company as we was both working to a deadline. See evidence '25th Anniversary Invites Evidence'. 3. 6 -? I am able to complete tasks to agreed deadlines and re-negotiate timescales and plans in good time. As explained in 3. 5, when carrying out the task of having the KS Anniversary invites created, printed and sent out m anaged to keep to the time scales given and complete all tasks to my deadlines.However, when creating the design for the invitations, needed extra time to do so and also different resources (Photos). Because of this, after discussing with my business manager, we negotiated timescales and plans in which she let me go home an hour early to work on the invites at home on my laptop which had Photos. See evidence ‘Employers Fair Mudstone 24th September 2014 Re-Negotiate Timescales Evidence'. 3. 7 – I am able to take responsibility for my own work and accept responsibility for any mistakes that I make.By writing myself an Individual Learning Plan this shows that I am able to take responsibility for my own work. In my II-P have set myself short, mid and long term SMART targets to complete over the course of my apprenticeship. My short term target has now been completed as this was to sit online tests for my technical certificates; originally I wanted to achieve this by mid-Aug ust 2014 however I only completed 3 of my Technical Certificates by this time after failing one.

Poverty in the United States Essay

In the United States, poverty is mainly classified into two categories, absolute poverty and relative poverty. It is measured in terms of poverty threshold which comprehend poverty as a lack of those goods and services that most of conventional people in the society take them for granted. Absolute poverty is defined as the lack of least amount of food and shelter indispensable for maintaining life. On the other hand, relative poverty exemplifies how income relates to the median income and not necessarily that a person is lacking anything. The results from the statistics indicate that approximately 20 percent of the American population lives in poverty. One main cause of poverty in America is existence of culture of poverty which passes from generation to another generation (Mink, O’Connor, 2004). Based on the conception that anything is possible in America, the poor are thus said to be the source of their poverty. They always prefer to live life for the moment and show less interest about the future. As a result, poverty continues to increase as the underprivileged people feel lesser, unreceptive, desperate and incapable. Fluctuations of economic performance in U. S have necessitated the high rate of poverty. For instance, during recessions, the rate of unemployment increases, working hours are abridged and family incomes stagnates thus leading to poverty. Various aspects of educational system can play a major role in curbing this problem. For instance, teachers need to be tuned in to the culture of poverty and be sensitive to the enormous assortment of needs that children of poverty bring to the classroom (Mink, O’Connor, 2004). Educational systems operate in various rules and norms that will allow harmonious relationship between the cultural values of the affected children and values of prosperity and wealth emphasized in schools. References Mink, G. & O’Connor, A. (2004). Poverty in the United States: An Encyclopedia of History, Politics and Policy, Volume 1. London: Routledge

Hamlet1 essays

Hamlet1 essays Hamlet one of Shakespeare's greatest plays, where the young prince of Denmark must uncover the truth about his fathers death. Hamlet a play that tells the story of a young prince who's father recently died. Hamlets uncle Claudius marries his mother the queen and takes the throne. As the play is told Hamlet finds out his father was murdered by the recently crowned king. The theme that remains constant throughout the play is appearance versus reality. Things within the play appear to be true and honest but in reality are infested with evil. Many of the characters within the play hide behind a mask of falseness. Four of the main characters that hid behind this mask are Polonius, Rosencrantz (Guildenstern), the king Cluadius. From behind this mask they give the impression of a person who is sincere and genuine, in reality they are plagued with lies and evil. There appearance will make it very difficult for Hamlet to uncover the truth, the characters hide behind. Polonius the kings royal assistant has a preoccupation with appearance. He always wants to keep up the appearance of loving and caring person. Polonius appears like a man who loves and cares about his son, Laertes. Polonius speaks to his son with advice that sounds sincere but in reality it is rehearsed, hollow and without feeling. Polonius gives his advice only to appear to be the loving caring father. The reality is he only speaks to appear sincere as a politician, to look good rather then actually be good: And borrowing dulls the edge of husbandry. This above all: to thine own self be true, And it must follow, as the night the day, Thou canst not then be false to any man. Farewell; my blessing season this in thee! Act 1 Polonius gives his son Laertes his blessing to go away, he sends a spy to follow him and keep an eye on him. This shows his lack of trust for anyone, he gives the appearance of a confident father who trusts his son to go off on his own...

Print Directly to Printer With JavaScript

Print Directly to Printer With JavaScript One query that turns up a lot in the various Javascript forums asks how to send the page directly to the printer without first displaying the print dialog box. Rather than just telling you that it cant be done perhaps an explanation of why such an option is not possible would be more useful. Which print dialog box displays when someone presses the print button in their browser or the Javascript window.print() method runs depends on the operating system and what printers are installed on the computer. As most people run Windows on their computer, lets first describe how the printing setup works on that operating system. The *nix and Mac operating systems differ slightly in the details but overall are set up similar. Print Dialog There are two parts to the print dialog box on Windows. The first of these is part of the Windows API (Application Programming Interface). The API is a set of common code pieces that are held in the various DLL (Dynamic Link Library) files that are part of the Windows operating system. Any Windows program can (and should) call the API to perform common functions such as displaying the Print Dialog box so that it will work the same way in all programs and not have different options in different places the way the print option did back in DOS program days. The Print Dialog API also provides a common interface allowing all programs access to the same set of printer drivers rather than printer manufacturers having to create driver software for their printer for each individual program that wanted to use it. The printer drivers are the other half of the print dialog. There are several different languages that different printers understand that they use to control how the page prints (eg. PCL5 and Postscript). The printer driver instructs the Print API as to how to translate the standard internal print format that the operating system understands into the custom markup language that the specific printer understands. It also adjusts the options that the Print dialog displays to reflect the options offered by the specific printer. Operating the Printer An individual computer may have no printers installed, it may have one local printer, it may have access to several printers over a network, it may even be set up to print to PDF or preformatted print file. Where more than one printer is defined one of them is designated the default printer which means that it is the one that displays its details in the print dialog when it first appears. The operating system keeps track of the default printer and identifies that printer to the various programs on the computer. This allows the programs to pass an extra parameter to the print API telling it to print directly to the default printer without displaying the print dialog first. Many programs have two different print options - a menu entry that displays the print dialog and a toolbar fast print button that sends directly to the default printer. When you have a web page on the internet that your visitors are going to print, you have next to no information about what printer(s) they have available. Most printers around the world are configured to print out on A4 paper but you cant guarantee that the printer is set up to that default. One North American country uses a non-standard paper size that is shorter and wider than A4. Most printers are set up to print out in portrait mode (where the narrower direction is the width but some may be set to the landscape  where the longer dimension is the width. Of  course, each and every printer also has different default margins at the top, bottom, and sides of the page even before the owners go in and change all of the settings to get the printer the way that they want. Given all of these  factors, you have no way to tell whether the default printer with its default configuration will print out your web page on A3 with negligible margins or on A5 with huge margins (leaving little more than a postage stamp sized area in the middle of the page). You can probably assume that most will have a print area on the page of approximately 16cm x 25cm (plus or minus 80%). Printing Needs Since printers vary so much between your potential visitors (did someone mention laser printers, inkjet printers,  color  or black and white only, photo quality, draft mode, and lots more) you have no way to tell what they will need to do to print out your page in a reasonable format. perhaps they have a separate printer or a second driver for the same printer providing totally different settings specifically for web pages. Next, comes the matter of what they may want to print. Do they want the whole page or have they selected just a part of the page that they want to  print?  If your site uses frames do they want to print all of the frames the way they appear on the page, do they want to print each frame separately, or do they just want to print a specific frame? The need to answer all of these questions makes it just about essential that the print dialog  appears  whenever they want to print something so that they can make sure that the settings are all correct before they hit the print button. Most browsers also provide the ability to add a fast print button to one of the browser toolbars to allow the page to be printed to the default printer using default browser settings as to what is to be printed and how. Javascript Browsers do not make this multitude of browser and printer settings available to Javascript. Javascript is primarily concerned with modifying the current  web page  and so web browsers provide minimal information about the browser itself and next to no information about the operating system available to  Javascript  because Javascript doesnt need to know those things to perform  those  things that Javascript is intended to do. Basic security says that if something like Javascript doesnt need to know about the operating system and browser configuration in order to manipulate the web page then it should not be provided with that information. It is not like Javascript ought to be able to change the printer settings to appropriate values for printing the current page because that is not what Javascript is for - that is the job of the print dialog. Browsers  therefore  only make available to Javascript those things that Javascript needs to know such as the size of the screen, the  available space in the browser window  to display the page, and similar things which help Javascript work out how the page is laid out. The current web page is  Javascripts  one and only concern. Intranets Intranets are of course an entirely different matter. With an  intranet,  you know that everyone  accessing the page  is using a specific browser (usually a recent version of Internet Explorer) and has a specific screen resolution and access to specific printers. This means that it makes sense on an intranet to be able to print directly to the printer without displaying the print dialog because the person writing the web page knows which printer it will be printed on. The Internet Explorer substitute for Javascript (called JScript) therefore has slightly more information about the browser and operating system that Javascript itself does. The individual computers on the network running the intranet may be able to be configured to allow the JScript  window.print()  command write directly to the printer without displaying the print dialog. This configuration would need to be set up individually on each client computer and is well beyond the scope of an article on Javascript. When it comes to web pages on the internet there is absolutely no way that you can set up a  Javascript command  to send directly to the default printer. If your visitors wish to do that they will have to set up their own fast print button on their browser toolbar.

Definition and Examples of Dialect Prejudice

Definition and Examples of Dialect Prejudice Dialect prejudice is discrimination based on a persons dialect or way of speaking.  Dialect prejudice is a type of linguicism. Also called dialect discrimination. In the article Applied Social Dialectology, Adger and Christian observe that dialect prejudice is  endemic in public life, widely tolerated, and institutionalized in social enterprises that affect almost everyone, such as education and the media. There is limited knowledge about and little regard for linguistic study showing that all varieties of a language display systematicity and that the  elevated  social position of standard varieties has no scientific linguistic basis (Sociolinguistics: An International Handbook of the Science of  Language and Society, 2006). Examples and Observations Some native-English speakers have had rich and/or school-like language experiences at home, and others have not. They bring dialect diversity to our classrooms. Dialects that vary from Standard English, such as Appalachian or  African-American Vernacular English (AAVE), are often stigmatized as improper or inferior English. However, professional linguists do not consider these varieties inferior because they conform to consistent rules, and speakers are fully able to express ideas using the dialect. Nevertheless, conscious or unconscious dialect prejudice is widespread, even among individuals who speak the variation.(Deborah G. Litt et al.,  Literacy Teacher Education: Principles and Effective Practices. Guilford, 2014)Responding to Dialect PrejudiceLanguage prejudices seem more resistant to change  than other kinds of prejudice. Members of the majority culture, the most powerful group, who would be quite willing to accept and champion equality in other social and educational d omains, may continue to reject the legitimacy of a dialect other than their own. . . . The high level of dialect prejudice found toward vernacular dialects by both mainstream and vernacular speakers is a fact that must be confronted honestly and openly by those involved in education about language and dialects.The key to attitudinal changes lies in developing a genuine respect for the integrity of the diverse varieties of English. Knowledge about dialects can reduce misconceptions about language in general and the accompanying negative attitudes about some dialects.(Carolyn Temple Adger, Walt Wolfram, and Donna Christian,  Dialects in Schools and Communities, 2nd ed. Routledge, 2007) Dialect Prejudice in British Schools- Language use is one of the last places where prejudice remains socially acceptable. It can even have official approval, as we see in attempts to suppress slang and dialects at school. . . .Banning words is not a sound educational strategy. As Michael Rosen points out, schools have been trying this for more than 100 years to no avail. Research shows that gradual transition towards standard English works better. But because dialect prejudice is so prevalent, this must be done in such a way that children understand there’s nothing inherently wrong with their natural expression. . . .There’s nowt wrong with regional dialects, nothing broke ass about slang. They’re part of our identities, connecting us to time, place, community, and self-image. They needn’t be displaced by formal Englishwe can have both.(Stan Carey, There’s Nowt Wrong With Dialects, Nothing Broke Ass About Slang. The Guardian [UK], May 3, 2016)- Soci olinguists have been fighting dialect prejudice since the 1960s, but negative and uninformed views about non-standard English are regaining currency in media and  educational  debates. Most recently, Carol Walker, headteacher of a Teesside primary school, wrote a letter to parents asking that they help tackle the problem posed by their childrens use of local dialect by correcting certain words, phrases and pronunciations associated with Teesside (including gizit ere and yous).Naturally, I support the schools aim of  teaching  pupils to use written standard English so that they can progress in future education and employment. However, focusing on speech will not improve their writing. . . .Ultimately, it is not the presence or absence of non-standard forms in  childrens  speech that raise educational issues; rather, picking on non-standard voices risks marginalising some children, and may make them less confident at school. Silencing pupils voices, even with the best inte ntions, is just not acceptable.(Julia Snell, Saying No to Gizit Is Plain Prejudice. The Independent, February 9, 2013) Variationist Sociolinguistics[William] Labov and [Peter] Trugdill were seminal figures in the emergence of a sub-field of sociolinguistics that has come to be known as variationist sociolinguistics. Variationist sociolinguists focus on variation in dialects and examine how this variation is structured. They have shown that linguistic difference has regularity and can be explained. Scholars in this field have been central figures in the fight against dialect prejudice. Speaking from a position of scholarly and scientific detachment (Labov 1982: 166), variationist sociolinguists have been able to show that the grammar of non-standard dialects is not wrong, lazy or inferior; it is simply different to standard English and should therefore be respected. Some of these researchers have worked directly with teachers and teacher trainers and have designed curriculum materials on language variation for use in the classroom.(Julia Snell, Linguistic Ethnographic Perspectives on Working-Class Chi ldrens Speech. Linguistic Ethnography: Interdisciplinary Explorations, ed. by Fiona Copland, Sara Shaw, and Julia Snell. Palgrave Macmillan, 2015) The Beginnings of Dialect PrejudiceIt is in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries that we witness the  beginnings of dialect prejudice; an early instance can be traced in the writings of a chronicler named John Trevisa, who complained  that the Northumbrian dialect was so scharp, slitting [biting] and frottynge [grating] and unshape [unshapely] that southerners like himself were unable to understand it. In the early seventeenth century, Alexander Gill, writing in Latin,  labelled Occidentalium (or Western dialect) the greatest barbarity and claimed that the English spoken by a Somerset farmer could easily be mistaken for a foreign language.Despite such remarks, the social stigmatization of dialect was not fully articulated before the eighteenth century, when a provincial  accent  became a badge of social and intellectual inferiority. In his Tour Thro the Whole Island of Great Britain (1724-27), Daniel Defoe reported his encounter with the boorish country speech of Devonknow n to the locals as jouringwhich was barely comprehensible to outsiders.(Simon Horobin,  How English Became English. Oxford University Press, 2016)

Leadership Theories and Roles Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Leadership Theories and Roles - Essay Example Clearly, all true leaders have a high degree of intelligence, a great IQ, and above all, an outstanding level of technical skills (Early, 2005). This has caused the difference in the output of leaders within the same locality. However, for leaders to understand their full potential of intelligence they must also consider other people’s strengths and personal skills in an organization. Revival of concept in leadership has further explained different types of leadership theories. For example, there are those known as great man theories. They give assumption that, the capacity and length of leadership is inherent. It ascribes leadership as in-born but not made. Such explanation tend to picture leadership as heroic or mythic and those people destined to lead arise to leadership roles when needed or in due time. Giving into account, analysts use the term great man because there was a time when leadership was primarily a masculine quality, precisely in military leadership. As far as Richard Branson leadership is concerned, he depicts great man theory traits throughout his leadership. In his Virgin group, there are other great leaders but he surpasses them because he is a great man and above all, he was born a leader. Other potential theories that analysts use to define a leader are trait theories. ... Even though there are no articles explaining Branson’s line of decency, it is not arguable whether his ability to lead is inherent. Cognitively, in his organizational work, he addresses his ability to lead through interacting with all his employees, listening to their views and subsequently noting them in his notebook that he has at all times. With his ability to lead, he was able to form, manage, and lead the Virgin group that has more than two hundred companies. In addition, there is the contingency theory that focuses on variables that relate to the environment that help identify and choose the type and style of leadership that can best suit a particular situation. This theory explains that there is no leadership style is best in all environments or situations (Mclntosh, & University, 2007). However, it develops criteria that shows success depends on several variables such as leadership style, skills, and qualities of followers and aspects of the environment. In view of gre at leadership portrayed by Branson, I on the other hand would incorporate a different form of stages that would render his leadership best of all times. There is forming which is the first phase of leadership stages, then storming, norming and finally performing while in development of group model. These stages help in facing and tackling challenges, finding solutions and planning work as well as delivering results. Moreover, analysts have found it worth noting an arena that proposes the way leaders choose the most appropriate course of action based on situational variables surrounding a certain environment. In so doing, they termed this theory characterized by such actions as situational theory. With the evaluation of other

Fast Food Effects Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Fast Food Effects - Essay Example However, fast foods have been proven to have a myriad of effects both positive and negative, while the culture of fast foods is considered to have revolutionized the feeding habits of the American public, it has come under harsh criticism because of the detrimental health effects they have on health among them obesity and diabetes. However, being cognizant of this, the fast food outlets have become more sensitive to the nutritional needs of consumers and have included â€Å"health† fast foods in their menus and even going as far as regulating the amount of salt one can consume. Considering the low pricing, people are often encouraged to buy fast foods and consume them on a regular basis. However, regular consumption of fast foods often results in obesity especially in children, bearing in mind that many of eth foods are high calories such a fries and chicken, which is often deep fried, as result the may end up consuming more calories than their bodies can burn. As a result, their body fat will increase and this will lead to weight gain, and this often has detrimental health effect on the consumer. People with office jobs are more prone to this since they spend all day sitting down and eat packed sandwiches, fries and sodas, due to lack of physical activity, they quickly gain weight and in many cases, this portends health complications in posterity. Consumption of fast foods on a regular basis especially foods rich in simple sugars can lead to insulin resistance; this occurs when the pancreas is not transforming sugars into carbohydrates and energy. Insulin resistance is a precise to diabetes type 2 that occurs when the levels of blood sugar increases (Trembla). This often results to ill health, and one becomes prone to other health complications since diabetes weakens the body’s immunity. This is made worse if someone was already overweight, since it becomes hard for them to engage in

Linguistics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 2

Linguistics - Essay Example Wodak (1989) explores this opinion to reveal that language gains power in the hands of those who are powerful. According to the author it would be right to say that someone in power can even be represented by a specific language and fights about discrimination or status basically symbolize the fight for power. This study mainly purposes to explore some of the things that happen on the basis of linguistics which include politeness, gender-indexing, honorification, youth language and bilingualism more specifically amongst the Japanese community. Japan which happens to be one of the most industrialized nations on earth was ranked 105th out of 136 countries in terms of gender equality (The Bogen Project 2013). Under normal circumstances, most of us would think that a nation with the third largest economy as well as geographical power as Japan would have a positive gender index when it comes to equality. Surprisingly this is not the case amongst the Japanese. Statistics reveal that  "According to the Gender Gap Index, Japan has slid from 94th place in 2010 to 98th in 2011, to 101st in 2012† (The Bogen Project 2013). This indubitably depicts gender inequality with the affected gender being the feminine ender. Japanese women have been misrepresented both in the government as well as in the field of employment. Does this have anything to do with gendered language including politeness and honorification? Unlike most languages in the world, Japanese language has some language associated with men or boys and another section associated with women or girls.

Industrial Revolution in Britain Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Industrial Revolution in Britain - Essay Example England, having a profuse supply of laborers to mine coal and iron, meaning a good supply of industrial fuel, possessing colonies that serve as her sources of raw materials and as her markets, achieved a head start over its European equals in the phenomenon of Industrial Revolution. Most importantly, England's isolation kept her from wars bombarding other European countries, and allowed her to continue industrializing without disruption (Rempel). Industrial Revolution induced the widespread use of machineries for manufacturing. England went through the phenomenon beginning in18th Century. Soon, more things could be done quicker and labor costs became cheaper. The process changed England from an agrarian, handicraft economy into a machine-dominated manufacturing industry. This bought for England greater economic potentialities and urbanization. Urbanization as an effect of industrializing made England evidenced an increase in population, as well as the emergence of several new social classes (Rempel). An advent of factories in places where palpable resources of coal and other essential materials could be found was set up in the process of rapid industrializing and urbanizing. Concentration of work forces in these locations was then called for. Eventually, these areas were developed to great cities with established political centers. The problem was that these so called "factory" and "mining" towns became so crowded and swamped that no good living conditions were experienced. Sanitary provisions are found lacking, and diseases spread across these swamped areas. "The dreadful living conditions in these new towns can be attributed to lack of good bricks, absences of building codes, and the lack of machinery for public sanitation. Yet the more tenable cause was the fact that factory owners offered little regard to the laborers as they treat them as commodities and not as actually human beings with important needs" (Rempel). These towns then sprouted new categories of British social classes. Factory owners became the new bourgeoisie and the men, women and children became categorized as the new working class. The more alarming incident here was that women and child labor emerged prominently in this period. Yet, more and more people moved to these cities in search of the higher profits that was seem guaranteed in working for these industries. Unfortunately, the industry workers were not to become well-off despite having jobs. This is so because they play second fiddle to the sophisticated machines, and were often degraded to routine process laborers, working long hours yet receiving low compensations under quite inauspicious conditions (Rempel). Longer hours meant reduced leisure time even though their material consumption did not increased. It was apparent that the workers become concentrated on factories and mines, and less on agriculture, where half of the population was in a century earlier. Employment in agriculture as a percentage of the population declined rapidly. By 1850, only one in four British could be said to be working the land and as had been said, employment growth at this point in time took place mostly in traditional manufacturing service industries (Voth, 2003). Therefore, wage increases that would have been expected from

GROUNDING & BONDING Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

GROUNDING & BONDING - Essay Example It is done with the help of copper wire to establish connection between all parts. Bonding is concerned with the techniques and procedures necessary to achieve a mechanically resilient low impedance interconnection. Grounding is the process in which we connect the bonded equipment to the earth. It is a special form of bonding in which conductive equip ­ment is connected to an earthing electrode or to the building grounding system in order to prevent sparking between conductive equipment and grounded structures. Bonding and grounding do not rectify the source or cause of stray voltage instead it reduces the harmful effect of stray voltage to a level where it may no longer pose any threat or problem. In the absence of bonding the potential difference can cause damage to equipment when any two parts of sensitive equipment are connected to system which can acquire different potentials. Bonding and Grounding Principle Bonding and grounding are basically two separate concepts in which on e is the physical medium and the other one act as the method for creating that medium. It is a very effective technique for minimizing the likelihood of an ignition from static electricity.

Industrial Revolution in Britain Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Industrial Revolution in Britain - Essay Example England, having a profuse supply of laborers to mine coal and iron, meaning a good supply of industrial fuel, possessing colonies that serve as her sources of raw materials and as her markets, achieved a head start over its European equals in the phenomenon of Industrial Revolution. Most importantly, England's isolation kept her from wars bombarding other European countries, and allowed her to continue industrializing without disruption (Rempel). Industrial Revolution induced the widespread use of machineries for manufacturing. England went through the phenomenon beginning in18th Century. Soon, more things could be done quicker and labor costs became cheaper. The process changed England from an agrarian, handicraft economy into a machine-dominated manufacturing industry. This bought for England greater economic potentialities and urbanization. Urbanization as an effect of industrializing made England evidenced an increase in population, as well as the emergence of several new social classes (Rempel). An advent of factories in places where palpable resources of coal and other essential materials could be found was set up in the process of rapid industrializing and urbanizing. Concentration of work forces in these locations was then called for. Eventually, these areas were developed to great cities with established political centers. The problem was that these so called "factory" and "mining" towns became so crowded and swamped that no good living conditions were experienced. Sanitary provisions are found lacking, and diseases spread across these swamped areas. "The dreadful living conditions in these new towns can be attributed to lack of good bricks, absences of building codes, and the lack of machinery for public sanitation. Yet the more tenable cause was the fact that factory owners offered little regard to the laborers as they treat them as commodities and not as actually human beings with important needs" (Rempel). These towns then sprouted new categories of British social classes. Factory owners became the new bourgeoisie and the men, women and children became categorized as the new working class. The more alarming incident here was that women and child labor emerged prominently in this period. Yet, more and more people moved to these cities in search of the higher profits that was seem guaranteed in working for these industries. Unfortunately, the industry workers were not to become well-off despite having jobs. This is so because they play second fiddle to the sophisticated machines, and were often degraded to routine process laborers, working long hours yet receiving low compensations under quite inauspicious conditions (Rempel). Longer hours meant reduced leisure time even though their material consumption did not increased. It was apparent that the workers become concentrated on factories and mines, and less on agriculture, where half of the population was in a century earlier. Employment in agriculture as a percentage of the population declined rapidly. By 1850, only one in four British could be said to be working the land and as had been said, employment growth at this point in time took place mostly in traditional manufacturing service industries (Voth, 2003). Therefore, wage increases that would have been expected from

Informative Speech Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 2

Informative Speech - Essay Example It is reported that during the time, over million people gathered at the Square in protest of the Hosni Mubarak’s government (Mohyeldin, 2011). Even though the uprising was generally a non-violent protest, there were numerous instances of violence and it is reported that around 800 have been and 6000 have been injured. Often there were clashes seen between the protestors and pro-Mubarak demonstrators. This revolution was termed as the victory of the youth who took part in great numbers in the protest. Finally, after 18 days on 11 February 2011 President Hosni Mubarak was ousted after 30 years in power (Parks, 2011). The revolution achieved what intended to achieve what baffles many is that such a revolution occurred in Egypt. Governments, academics, pundits accept that none had expected a revolution of such scale and magnitude in Egypt. This is best summed by the statement from Hillary Clinton, US Secretary of State, on the day protests began: â€Å"Our assessment is that the Egyptian government is stable and is looking for ways to respond to the legitimate needs and interests of the Egyptian people.† (Sowers, 2012). This is because Hosni Mubarak’s regime was a good example of durable authoritarianism and its rulers were smart authoritarians. Media was not controlled and relatively free; civic associations, parties and elections were allowed; the government smartly managed the country as compared to other autocratic rules in the region or anywhere else. But then they were ousted in 18 days (Sowers, 2012). There are 3 explanations that have been put forward to make sense of the situation. First is technology. Technology played a great role in the uprising. For the first time young people participated in the protest in great numbers employed new mediums made available by technology to keep the protest alive. Mediums like Twitter and Facebook were greatly utilized to gather crowds and spread the word about what

An Elephant Vanishes Essay Example for Free

An Elephant Vanishes Essay Explain the role of the kitchen in â€Å"Like Water For Chocolate† by Laura Esquivel and â€Å"The Elephant Vanishes† by Murakami. In Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel, food and the kitchen is a means of expressing a range of human emotions. Like Water for Chocolate opens with its most important central setting, the kitchen. Onion-induced weeping quite literally sweeps the protagonist, Tita, into the world, as she is born in the kitchen, crying, amidst of flood of her mothers tears. Her mother, Mama Elena, is unable to produce milk (due to shock at the recent death of her husband) and Mama Elena gives Tita almost immediately to the house cook, Nacha, who rears the child in the kitchen. Surrounded by the colours, smells, and routines of Nachas kitchen, Tita grows up understanding the world in terms of food. She enjoys her isolation in the domain of the kitchen. â€Å"Thanks to her unusual birth, Tita felt a deep love for the kitchen where she spent most of her life from the day she was born† page 10, paragraph two. The story of Titas entry into the world marks the first fantastical image of Like Water for Chocolate, initiating the reader into the novels magical realism and illustrating the intensity and improbability that characterise the events of the story. The image of Tita flowing into the world in a flood of tears prefigures the sadness and longing that will pervade her life. After Titas birth, the flood of tears dries to leave ten pounds of salt to be collected and used for cooking. The practical attitude with which the characters greet this surreal happening helps to establish the supernatural as an accepted part of the characters lives. â€Å"Nacha swept aside the residue the tears had left on the red stone floor, There was enough salt to fill a ten-pound-sack- it was used for cooking and lasted a long time† page 10, paragraph two. Outside the kitchen, Tita follows the demanding regime that Mama Elena sets for her daughters. Life is full of cooking, cleaning, sewing, and prayer. This routine is interrupted one day by Titas timid announcement that a suitor, Pedro Muzquiz, would like to pay her a visit. Mama Elena greets this announcement with indignation, invoking the De La Garza family tradition that the youngest daughter is to remain unmarried so that she can care for the matriarch in the matriarchs old age. Tita is dismayed by this rigid tradition. Outwardly, she submits to Mama Elenas wishes, but privately she questions the family tradition and maintains her feelings for Pedro. â€Å" you don’t have an opinion Tita and thats all I want to hear about it. For generations, not a single in my family has ever questioned this tradition and no daughter of mine is going to be the one to start† page 15, paragraph 3 This cold hearted appraoch to Titas yearning for marriage is what makes Tita retreat into the safe realm of the ktichen, I think the reason why magic realism was applied to food is because of how universal it is. Whereas music and art only apply to some of us, food is in all of our lives. Since magic realism is all about mixing the magic with what’s real, food is the ideal choice. We’ve all heard of metaphors exaggerating the taste of food, but Laura Esquivel’s descriptions of the effects of food are much more elaborate. It’s so descriptive that sometimes we doubt our ideals of what’s real by reading the effects of the recipes. By using food as the medium the author was able to smoothly meld together the magical and real aspects of each chapter. Her isolated childhood in the kitchen gives Tita an outlook on life different from that of her sisters, Gertrudis and Rosaura, and she comes to develop different ideals for herself as she matures. As a young woman, Tita rebels against the family tradition that confines her to a life without love. Her insistent questioning (even though she does not petition Mama Elena directly) of her lot in life can be identified as one of the feminist impulses in the novel. This refusal to accept an assigned and undesirable social role marks the beginning of Titas path to self-assertion and freedom. Her love for the kitchen and cooking is a rebelious action against her mother, her realm of the kitchen is the only thing that her mother can not control or do, the kitchen is what keeps her sane from the depressing sitution on the other side of the door. it wasn’t easy for a person whose knowledge of life was based on the kitchen to comprehend the outside world. That world was an endless expanse that began atthe door between the kitchen and the rest of the house, whereas everything on the kitchen side of that door, on through the door leading to the patio and the kitchen and herb gardens was completely hers-it was Tita’s realm. † This quotes proves my point above, the kitchen door acts as a safe guard to the oppressive realm of her mother’s. In an Elephant vanishes one of the major themes of the story is the idea of things being out of balance. This theme is introduced when the narrator tells the editor about the importance of unity in kitchen design, as he states, Even the most beautifully designed item dies if it is out of balance with its surroundings. The narrator later emphasizes the importance of balance between a creature and its environment when he talks about witnessing the change in the elephants size in relation to the keepers size. He states that the balance in size between the two has become more equal, because the elephant has shrunk or the keeper has gotten bigger, or both. Following the disappearance of the elephant and the keeper, the narrator again expresses the idea that things around me have lost their proper balance. He is no longer able to take action on his own behalf, as he is haunted by this sense that the urban world is out of balance, and he feels that a kind of natural balance has broken down inside him. The imbalance between Tita’s kitchen and outside the kitchen can relate to the elephant vanishes. Tita fells safe in the kitchen and at peace with the â€Å"old† kitchen keeps her in balance. Related to the theme of imbalance is the difference between appearances and reality. The narrator points out that the article covering the story of the elephants disappearance is strange, because the reporter tries so hard to maintain that the elephant escaped, when the facts indicate that the elephant had to have almost magically vanished. The characters in the story try to maintain an appearance of normality in the face of an event that defies logic, leading to pointless acts that do not address the nature of the situation. The discrepancy between reality and appearances also arises in the narrators job as he basically just goes through the motions, trying to maintain a professional, pragmatic approach although he does not personally believe that a kitchen has to have unity or any of the other maxims his company invokes to sell its products. The narrator finds that he cannot reconcile the differences between appearances and reality, and as he questions his own perceptions, he experiences a sense of disorientation and confusion. Throughout the story, Murakami subtly reveals how the vanishing of the old ways leaves people feeling disoriented and how the new ways of being create a sense of disconnection and unease. This can be said about Mama in â€Å" Like water for chocolate† as she is does not like the idea of Tita marrying . She is scared of modern society perhaps, and is insecure about her future. Mamas death The narrator, for example, performs his job as a public relations executive successfully by espousing the commercial viewpoint that things you cant sell dont count for much. Because in truth he does not necessarily believe this statement, saying it and operating from this pragmatic mode seem to confound the narrator, confusing him about his purpose in life. Like other Murakami characters, he is also a loner, a single person, living alone with no apparent ties to family or friends also this can be said to Mama Elena, she has distanced herself from her loved ones through the death of her grand c hild and of the cruelty committed to Tita . The narrator watches the elephant and the keeper and marvels at their closeness, their special bond. In the wake of the elephants disappearance, the narrator feels despondent, more isolated and alone than ever. As is Tita at the end of the novel after Pedro dies. â€Å" Now it would never again be possible to see that light, because she could no longer feel anything. She would but wander through the shadows for eternity, alone, all alone. †

Analysis of Computer Use in Developing Country Education

Analysis of Computer Use in Developing Country Education Abstract This study identified the extent to which Iranian secondary school principals used computers and explored the relationship between a numbers of variables related to ICT use. These factors included high level of computer access, strong perceptions of the attributes of ICT, high level of computer competence, as well as the high level of transformational leadership behaviours, all contributed significantly to the level of computer use by principals. All four constructs are equally important but have varying impact on computer use. Therefore, all four constructs should be viewed in an integrated manner in accordance to the conceptual model proposed in this study. Keywords: ICT, Secondary school principals, Computer use Introduction One developing country that is currently pursuing the technological track in education is Iran. Irans National philosophy of Education calls for developing the potential of individuals in a holistic and integrated manner, so as to produce individuals who are intellectually, spiritually, and emotionally balanced and harmonious. The catalyst for this massive transformation will be technology which will improve how the educational system achieves the National Philosophy of Education, while fostering the development of a work force prepared to meet the challenges of the next century. With respect to this vision, Ministry of Education provided ICT related workshops and courses for principals and teachers. The plan emphasized that they should acquire seven fundamental digital computing skills (Kousha Abdoli, 2004). Although several institutions have completed the training programmes of their staff, research studies have not been done on the efficiency of this plan, knowledge, skills, and attitude that principals and teachers acquire during these courses. In fact, national programmes in developing countries are not based on research. Hence, successes of these programmes are limited (Albirini, 2006a). In addition, the Ministry of Education in Iran has invested much more fund to facilitate integration of ICT in schools. In spite of this large expenditure of funds, the potential for ICT to alter how principals use computers for instructional and administrative purposes, how teachers teach and how children learn in Iranian schools has not been fully realized since many Iranian schools do not use ICT in their teaching and learning and administrative purposes (Jahangard, 2003). It displays that computer was provided with no supplementary measures to enable principals and teachers to develop positive attitudes toward ICT in education and to use them. Also, in exploring the literature about the implementation of ICT in schools, an area which is noticeably absent in research on ICT implementation and integration is the role of the school principals as technology leaders. Although, some research studies have demonstrated that ICT has a huge impact on the ways in which principals work (Yuen , Law Wong, 2003; Schiller, 2003), the ICT research literature has tended to overlook the role of the principal as technology leaders (Schiller, 2003; Michael, 1998; Riffel Levin, 1997). This gap in the research literature is rather strange because there is considerable literature relating to school effectiveness, school improvement and change which identifies the school principal as a key factor in bringing about successful change in schools (e.g. Hall Hord, 2001; Fullan, 2002). According to Schiller (2003), school leaders are key factors in implementation ICT in schools. They have a main responsibility for creating school change through use of ICT and facilitate complex decisions about integration of ICT into learning and teaching. Although the role of the principal in supporting technology integration is very important there are little Iranian researches on the role of the principal in the implementation of ICT. Also, little is known about the use of ICT by principals and factors that are related to their level of computer use. This article will report on these issues from an analysis of data gathered from secondary school principals in Tehran, Iran. Review of the literature Effective leadership is an important element in the success of schools seeking to implement change (Calabrese, 2002). Anderson and Dexter (2005) reported on the analysis of data from the 1998 Teaching, Learning, and Computing survey of more than 800 schools in the USA and concluded that although technology infrastructure is important, for educational technology to become an integral part of a school, technology leadership is even more necessary (p. 74). Without the support of school leaders the educational potential of information and communications technology may not be realized. They play various roles such as change agent, lifelong learner, main supporter, and resource provider in relation to ICT implementation in schools (Han, 2002). If principals want to lead effectively their school in technology integration, they should embrace technology and realize the role that technology can play in the teaching-learning process. In fact, it is difficult to imagine a leader who does not us e technology trying to convince teachers that it is important (Cafolla Knee, 1995, P.3). Therefore, principals need to understand the capacities of the new technologies, to have a personal proficiency in their use, and be able to promote a school culture which encourages exploration of new techniques in teaching, learning and management (Schiller, 2003). According to Albirini (2006a), access to computer resources has often been one of the most important barriers for the integration of technology in both developed and developing countries. Norris, Sullivan, Poirot and Soloway (2003) reported on the analysis of data from the snapshot survey of more than 4,000 K-12 schools in the USA and concluded that there was a significant and substantive correlation between level of access to computer and level of computer use. Also, Rogers (2003) stated that the perceived attributes of an innovation are one of the important factors in explaining the rate of adoption of an innovation. A large amount of the variance in the rate of adoption of innovations, from 49 to 87 percent, is explained by five attributes: relative advantage, compatibility, complexity, trialability, and observability (Rogers, 2003). The five attributes refer respectively to: (1) the degree to which an innovation is perceived as better than the idea it supersedes; (2) the extent t o which an innovation is perceived as consistent with the existing values, past experience, and needs of potential adopters; (3) the degree to which an innovation is perceived as relatively difficult to understand and use; (4) the extent to which the results of an innovation are visible to others; and (5) the degree to which an innovation is experimented with on a limited basis. Regarding the relationship between perceived innovation characteristics and computer technology adoption, Al-Gahtani (2003) conducted a quantitative research in Saudi Arabia and found that relative advantage, compatability and observability were positively related to the adoption of technology, whereas complexity was negatively correlated. Hence, innovations that are perceived by individuals as having greater relative advantage, compatability, observability, and less complexity will be adopted more rapidly than other innovations (Rogers, 2003). Principals attitudes toward ICT have been recognized as an important factor for the success of technology integration in education (Han, 2002; Mooij Smeets, 2001; Rogers, 2003). Attitude is defined as a positive or a negative feeling associated with performing a specific behaviour (Ajzen Fishbein, 2005). In fact, an individual will have a favorable attitude if he or she believes that the performance of the behaviour will lead to mostly positive results and vice-versa (Ajzen Fishbein, 2005). Ajzen and Fishbein (2005) indicated that attitudes consist of three elements: affect, cognition, and behaviour. The affective element refers to the individuals emotional feelings or liking of a person or an object. The cognitive element refers to the persons knowledge about a person or an object. The behavioural element refers to the persons overt behaviour towards a person or an object. A complete description of attitude requires that all three components be assess by obtaining measures of all the three response classes (Ajzen Fishbein, 2005). Han (2002) conducted a case study on pre-school leaders practices in the use of ICT and found that principals who have positive attitudes toward technology are very helpful and supportive in introducing these new technologies into the school. For example, they encourage their colleagues to have ICT training, equip the school with sufficient computers and ensure staff has access to relevant technology. Apart from that, Liaw (2002) stated that no matter how capable the technology is, the effective implementation of technology depends upon users positive attitudes towards the technology. According to Noraini Idris et al. (2007), individuals with positive attitudes will have positive feelings about people and situations; have a sense of purpose, excitement, and passion; approach problems in a creative manner; make the best out of every situation; realize that attitude is a choice; feel that they have control of their thoughts; and feel that they are making a contribution through their wo rk. Therefore, principals who have positive attitudes toward ICT feel more contented using it and regularly incorporate it into their tasks (Kersaint, Horton, Stohl Garofalo, 2003). According to Rogers (2003), innovation-decision process consists of five steps which are knowledge, persuasion, decision, implementation, and confirmation. These five steps usually follow each other in a time-ordered manner. Knowledge is the first stage of the successful adoption of computer technologies and it is essential for other steps in the innovation-decision process. If principals do not have enough competent in computer use, they cannot be expected to adopt computer technologies into their instructional and administrative tasks. Without the knowledge and skill of computer technology, principals might have a high level of uncertainty that influence their opinions and beliefs about the innovation (Rogers, 2003). In line with this idea, Felton (2006) stated that competence is a key to the use of computers by principals on a daily basis. In fact, competence in operating a computer and in utilizing software may improve the quality and efficiency of administrative performance in s chools. Improved quality could lead to improved decision-making. In order to achieve high levels of principals competence in ICT, there is a need to provide training, and perhaps unsurprisingly, there is a great deal of literature evidence to suggest that effective training is crucial if principals are to use ICT effectively in their work (Kirkwood, 2000). If training is inadequate or inappropriate, then principals will not be sufficiently prepared, and perhaps not sufficiently confident, to make full use of technology. Hence, lack of principals competence and lack of quality training for principals can be barriers to principals use of ICT. Many technology experts have indicated that the integration of ICT in education should occur in the light of the cultural conditions of the country and the prevailing school culture (Albirini, 2006b; Govender Govender, 2009). In fact, cultural barriers, either societal or organizational, are very important among the barriers to the adoption of technology. Societies and organizations can overcome most of the technical barriers through different means of support, but cultural barriers are harder to deal with. It is widely accepted that culture, within a society or an organization, shapes individuals perceptions of innovations. In the field of education, it has been noticed that principals reactions to technology innovations are mediated by their cultural perceptions (Felton, 2006). According to Rogers (2003), a cultural perception is a very general idea of social system norms. Also, it refers to the cultural suitability of computers (Thomas, 1987). Furthermore, Albirini (2006a) carrie d out a study examining the factors relating to the teachers attitudes toward ICT. He collected evidence from high school English teachers about their perceptions of computer attributes, cultural perceptions, computer competence, and computer access. The sample consisted of 63 male and 251 female teachers. The results showed that computer attributes, cultural perceptions, and computer competence are factors that explain the greatest amount of variance in computer attitudes. Also, he stated that cultural perceptions toward different computer-related technologies are key factors related to both the initial acceptance of these technologies as well as future behaviour regarding their usage. Similarly, Lee, Choi, Kim and Hong, (2007) conducted a study on the relationship between users cultural profiles and technology adoption in the context of the mobile Internet. Their findings of large-scale on-line surveys in Korea, Hong Kong, and Taiwan indicate that cultural factors have a significa nt influence on users adoption perceptions of mobile Internet services. So, they concluded that cultural differences are a contributing factor in the adoption of technology, particularly in third world countries. According to Flanagan and Jacobsen (2003), leadership plays a key role in the success of technology utilization in education. Thomas (2001) stated that there is a strong link between educational technology and school leadership. Leadership style is exhibited by the leader could help or hinder technology infusion (Flanagan Jacobsen, 2003; Thomas, 2001). One of the best styles of leadership that can change and transform individuals is transformational leadership (Northouse, 2001). Transformational leadership occurs when one or more persons engage with others in such a way that leaders and followers raise one another to higher levels of motivation and morality (Bass Riggio, 2006). In other words, transformational leadership is a process that both the manager and followers should change themselves (Northouse, 2001). Although the transformational leader plays an essential role in precipitating change, followers and leaders are inextricably bound together in the transformation process (N orthouse, 2001). This type of leadership is becoming more and more important to organizations, as workforces become more diverse, technology improves and international competition heightens. Transformational leadership is comprised of four distinct dimensions: charismatic leadership or idealized influence, inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation and individualized consideration (Bass Riggio, 2006). Idealized influence (attributed) demonstrates attributes of principals that motivate respect and pride and display a sense of power and confidence; idealized influence (behaviour) refers to the principals behaviour to communicate values, purpose, and importance of mission; inspirational motivation refers to leaders that motivate and inspire others by challenging them to exert effort; Intellectual stimulation stimulates followers efforts to be innovative and creative by questioning assumptions, reframing problems, and approaching old situations in new ways; and individualized consideration focuses on development and mentoring of followers and attends to individual needs(Bass Riggio, 2006). Beatty and Lee (1992, as cited in Thite, 2000) conducted several case studies of the implementation of CAD/CAM systems in numerous British and Canadian companies in an effort to investigate the linkage between leadership and technological change in organizations. Through semistructured interviews and using a critical incident approach to assessing leadership abilities, the researchers tracked managerial involvement throughout the implementation process. The outcome of their qualitative research suggests that a transformational approach to leadership is likely to be more effective in overcoming barriers to change than a transactional leadership approach that concentrates on technical problem solving to the neglect of people and organizational issues. According to Burns (2003), transactional leadership involves exchanging one thing for another. In fact, the effective transactional leaders are expert in giving and taking. This style is useful for stable situations but is less useful for organizations that are faced to environmental turbulence or rapid change (Kirkbride, 2006). Transactional leadership was measured by contingent reward and management-by-exception ­ (active and passive). Contingent reward leaders explain the expectations of followers and the compensation they will receive if they meet their performance expectations. Management-by-exception-active leaders attend to followers mistakes and failures to meet standards and management-by-exception-passive leaders react to correct action after problems become serious enough (Bass Riggio, 2006). Regarding the importance of transformational leadership as an influence on principals use of technology, Christopher (2003) conducted a study at the University of Virginia. A self-designed instrument was used in this study. Leadership items were taken from Bass and Avolios Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire Leader Form. Surveys were sent to a random sample of 397 principals throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia, and 185 principals participated in the survey. Her analysis indicated that the overall extent that principals used decision support technologies was significantly correlated with their perceptions of all four transformational leadership behaviors (individual influence, inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation, and individual consideration). Also, she suggested that educational leadership programs should be provided to train principals to use technology as a management tool. If principals do not use technology on a consistent basis; the principal should not expec t the faculty to use technology regularly. Modeling the use of technology provides an affective method for exposing teachers to new strategies and demonstrating to the staff that it is acceptable to take risks and make mistakes, without the fear of retribution (Dawon Rakes, 2003) The study The purpose of this study was to identify the extent to which secondary school principals use computers in Tehran (a large province in Iran) and to explore factors related to level of computer use by principals. Selected factors used in this study were based on Rogers (2003) diffusion theory, Technology Acceptance Model, and previous researchs which include perceived computer attributes; computer competence; computer access; principals attitude toward computers; leadership style of principals; and cultural perceptions. Principals profiles (gender, age, and administrative experience, type of school, and academic degree, as well as information regarding background in computer training) were also included in order to ensure maximum possible control of extraneous variables by building them into the design of the study (Gay Airasian, 2000). More specifically, this study addresses the following questions: What is the level of computer use by secondary school principals? What are the principals attitudes toward computers? What are the principals perceptions of: Computer attributes? Their level of computer competence? Cultural relevance of computers to Iranian society and schools? Their level of access to computers? What is the leadership style (transformational and transactional leadership) of principals? What is the relationship between the level of computer use by secondary school principals and their perceptions of each of the above variables? What is the proportion of the variance in the level of computer use by secondary school principals that can be explained by the selected independent variables and the relative significance of each independent variable in explaining the dependent variable? Methodology This was a descriptive study of an exploratory nature. Creswell (2003) stated that exploratory studies are most advantageous when not much has been written about the topic or the population being studied (p. 30).The target population in this study was Iranian secondary school principals in the province of Tehran during the 2007-2008 school years. The list of principals was based on the secondary principals Directory. The Directory is maintained and updated on a quarterly basis by Tehran Department of Education. The total number of secondary school principals was 1312 in the Directory of the Department of Education in Tehran. Furthermore, a set of questionnaire was used to obtain the required data for this study. The questionnaire was divided into two parts. Part A measured the perceived level of computer use by principals. Factors that were related to it were measured in part B. Questionnaires were distributed to 320 sample principals selected randomly from the population. In this study, stratified sampling was used because Tehran is one of the biggest cities in Iran and consists of 19 educational areas. Also, the population to be sampled was not homogeneous but, in essence, consisted of several subpopulations (Wiersma, 1995). When sub-populations vary significantly, it is advantageous to sample each subpopulation (stratum) independently. Researcher used this stratified sampling method to have less variability in selection. Two indispensable characteristics of measurement that must be considered in establishing the appropriateness and usefulness of measurement instrument are reliability and validity. Although theses instruments were valid, face and content validity of these instruments were established again by a panel of expert. To ensure that Iranian secondary school principals had a complete comprehension of the instrument used in the study, the survey was translated from English into Persian using the double back translation method to ensure the accuracy of the Persian version. Furthermore, Cronbachs alpha was used to measure internal consistency and calculated via the SPSS 15 statistical package. Cronbach alpha is the most common form of internal consistency reliability coefficient. The Cronbachs alpha coefficients for these scales were: Computer Access Scale=0.867, Computer Attributes Scale =0.909, Attitude toward ICT Scale =0.92, Computer Competence Scale=0.97, Cultural Perceptions Scale=0.611, Transformational leadership style Scale=0.812, Transactional leadership style Scale=0.596 and Level of computer use Scale=0.917. To carry out this study, first, approval was obtained from the Ministry of Education and also contact was made with the research department of Tehrans Ministry of Education A meeting was arranged to discuss the proposed study. Furthermore, a letter of introduction and a questionnaire packet were delivered to the superintendent in the research department for review. Finally, approval was received from the superintendent and permitted the researcher to attend the principals meeting in each educational area of the Ministry of Education. A total of 350 pockets were distributed among all members of the sample in these sessions. In the packet, there were materials. These materials include a cover letter, the questionnaire, and a stamped, addressed return envelope was enclosed for some respondents convenience in returning the completed questionnaires. The completed questionnaires were collected at the end of these sessions. Principals who could not fill their questionnaires completely were given approximately three weeks from that date to return the questionnaires by mail. In all, 350 surveys were distributed, 320 were returned, resulting in a return rate of 91.4%. All of the returned surveys, a total of 320, were used in the analysis. In this study descriptive statistics were used to describe and summarize the properties of the mass of data collected from the respondents (Gay Airasian, 2000). Correlation analysis was used to determine the relationship between each of the independent variables and the level of computer use by secondary school principals in Tehran. Furthermore, multiple regression was used to measure the degree to which the independent variables would explain the proportion of variance in the dependent variables and to identify the relative significance of each independent variable in explaining the dependent variable. By convention, an a level of 0.05 was established a priori for determining statistical significance. Findings and Discussion The findings indicated that about 51.6% of the respondents were males and more than half of the respondents (50.3%) were within the 45-54 age range. About 44.7% of the respondents had 21 or more years of experience. More than half of the respondents (53.1%) worked in private schools, and approximately 60.3% of the respondents held bachelors degrees. Moreover, the majority of the participants (95.5%) reported that they had computer training, and 83.8% of them had more than 60 hours training. In terms of the type of training, more than half of the principals participating in the study (52.8%) reported that they received their training through in-service training. Computer Use by Principals The dependent variable, level of computer use, was quantified by the score of 39 items using a five-point Likert scale. Each item was rated by respondents from 1 (Never use) to 5 (use daily). This scale was developed by Felton (2006). According to this questionnaire, four domains of computer use such as Internet use, hardware and software use, instructional use, and administrative use were measured. Table 1 Distribution of Mean Scores on the Computer Use Scale According to Table 1, the principals perceptions of the level of computer use were moderate; with an overall mean score of 3.32 (SD= 0.76). Also, findings indicated that principals spent a few times a week working on their computers. It would seem that Iranian principals need effective and extensive trainings to raise their proficiency in computer use and integrate technology into their schools. Moreover, analysis of collected data on the computer use scale showed that among the subscales of the level of computer use, Internet use had the highest mean (M = 3.49). Also, findings showed that nearly all the respondents used the Internet at home and at school , and the most frequent use of Internet was for sending and receiving e-mail (46.9% 2 or 3 times a week). It would seem that e-mail was the most accepted application among principals who were surveyed. In fact, there may be several reasons for this—e-mail is efficient, widely available, and effective. Thus, it is not surprising that email was accepted and used far more by the sample population of this study. Principals can increase their professional knowledge in the form of knowing current research, new technologies, and best teaching practices through the use of the Internet. Findings of this study showed that most of the respondents used a web browser a few times a week to explore professional and educational resources. Three reasons may underline the obtained results. The first possible reason is that low telecommunication density and very low bandwidth during peak hours sometimes makes it impossible to download files or software. Furthermore, most of the principals have little Internet experience; it was not comfortable for them to spend time on uses other than e-mail or some sort of urgent browsing. Lastly lack of knowledge and skill for searching and downloading the valuable professional and educational resources also limit the use of the Interne. In fact, the Internet can be an avenue for researching information and data. It helps principals to find information regarding their pr ofession and educational subjects in order to develop processes for effective decision-making and problem solving which result in better accountability (Felton, 2006). Therefore, trainings should be provided for principals to learn all possible Internet resources with underlying techniques of strategic browsing to enhance their Internet literacy (Atkinson Kydd, 1997). As for the hardware and software use subscale, the main use for computers was in word processing, whereas construction of spreadsheets, databases and presentations (such as Powerpoint) was used never or a few times a month. Only 2.5 percent of principals stated that they read spreadsheets daily at work with 20.0 percent indicating use 2 or 3 times a week, while 56.9 percent indicated that they had read never or a few times a month a spreadsheet. These results are consistent with Schillers (2003) study. He found that the word processing was the most frequently utilized software among the principals and they used it to create documents and slides. Regarding the instructional use domain, the majority of participants indicated that they two or three times a week used computers for recording observation; monitoring student achievement for specific objectives and grades; creating master schedules; recording discipline referrals; writing up classroom observations; monitoring achievement test data; locating curriculum resources; developing or write curriculum; and creating graphs and charts. Plomp and Pelgrum (1992) stated that one way in which computers might work their way into the school is through administrative use and that this might lead to the use of computers in instruction. An examination of data showed that mean score of the administrative use subscale was lower than another subscales, and computer use for instructional purposes was generally ahead of administrative uses. Moreover, findings indicated that within the area of administrative uses, communicating with staff, and members of the wider school, initiating and sust aining collaborative activities with colleagues within and outside their school were the areas of greatest use, while financial matters, maintaining of administrative records about students, using a programme to analyze information for solving problems, using technology to support levels of professional collaboration, and using technology to participate new kinds of professional development were the areas of least use. Therefore, the early assumption that the introduction of computers into schools for administrative purposes would spread to their use for instructional purposes was not supported by the data. Principals Attitudes toward ICT in Education Attitude scale contained 23 items that asked respondents to describe their attitudes towards ICT. This scale was developed by Albirini in 2006a and comprised of three subscales: affective domain; cognitive domain, and behavioral domain. Respondents attitudes were measured on a 5-point Likert-type scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). Higher scores indicated positive attitudes towards ICT while lower scores indicated less positive attitudes. Table 2 Distribution of Mean Scores on the Attitude toward ICT Scale As Table 2 illustrates, principals attitudes towards ICT were positive, with an overall mean of 4.05 and a standard deviation of 0.44. Principals positive attitudes towards ICT exhibit their initiation into the innovation-decision process (Rogers, 2003). It seems that Iranian principals have already gone through the Knowledge and Persuasion stages (Rogers, 2003) and are probably proceeding to the Decision phase. As many theorists have indicated, attitudes can often foretell future behaviours (Ajzen Fishbein, 2005). Thus, it can be concluded that principals who have positive attitudes towards ICT in education, use computer in their administrative and instructional tasks once computers become more available to them. At this stage, principals exp

Sonnys Blues (An Insight) Essay -- essays research papers

Baldwin’s â€Å"Sonny’s Blues†, set in Harlem in 1957, was largely about the struggles of an ethnic minority and the stagnation they feel, but moreso how two brothers come to understand each other due to their struggles and from years of living their own, very different lives.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Baldwin’s constant, detailed, reflections helped me immensely in understanding this story. I feel that they served as a constant reminder of the social context in which this story takes place. It helped to have those incessant reminders because I kept thinking it takes place in recent years, versus the 1950s, before the Civil Rights Movement was in full swing. The biggest idea that I had to keep in mind was that the racism (ultimately leading to stagnation/oppression) presented in the context was â€Å"accepted† at this point in time. By â€Å"accepted† I mean that there were not yet any written laws in place to protect blacks against these acts, not that the actions were morally correct or acceptable.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Sonny’s side of the story represented one perspective of the African American experience in this time period. He accepts his status & tries to live within the black culture and deal with it distress that goes along with it, just to keep his dignity. At first, he channels his afflictions through music. There eventually becomes a time in his life when can no longer deal with the pain or suffering and Sonny takes the well-beaten path of turning to heroin, t...

Lifespan Development and Personality

Oprah Winfrey’s development as an individual has a very unique and interesting perspective in terms of Psychological development. Ms. Winfrey is a product of an â€Å"accidental conception† by her parents. Her mother was a house maid and her father was a coil miner. At the age of 6 and 14, she was raped and sexually molested by her uncle and cousin. Her mother was often not around to help her and guide her. Ironically, even though she was having a hard time at home, she still excelled in school and had scholarship to support her education. As a growing child, she was used to poverty and hardships.After the incident of sexual molestations, she was forced to live with her dad. During these times, Oprah was helped by her dad to focus on her studies. At an age of 18 she won the Miss Black Tennessee Beauty pageant and then later on was given a job at a local radio station. Her exposure to media later evolved as she aspired to become a prominent figure in American Television years later. The forces that made big differences in her life are her childhood experiences and family as well as her experiences in her late adolescent years. The mixture of her bad memories and her successful life can be accounted on how she managed the anxieties and problems in which she might have encountered in the process of her maturity as a person.Oprah can be said to have a bad environment growing up. The way of life she lived in the poverty stricken places she grew up on might had opened her eyes on the realities of life even on   a tender age. She was not nurtured well also because her mother was irresponsible. Her father helped her to focus on her studies in her adolescent years but still had missed out a lot of important years in the childhood days. Fortunately, she overcame all adversities with her innate ability to be diligent in her goals.Even though she underwent a depressing phase in her childhood, she was also compensated later on by good education and support f rom her father. Emotionally, she might have chosen to become depressed and angry at life. In fact, she showed signs of rebellion at age 14 when she got regnant but eventually lost her baby. You can see the transition of her life as she was guided by her father. She became more focus and determined in life.There was less hostility in her environment as she entered the late adolescent and it helped her to become the person she is today. Today Oprah is known to be the good moral type of person. She is a philanthropist and helps the needy people in America as well as other parts of the globe. Her view of morality can be traced back to how she saw the injustices in her society in her childhood. The oppression of black people, the life her parents lived, and the way her classmates made fun of her due to her poverty opened her eyes on what’s right and wrong. Her ability today to empathize and sympathize is really a product of her first hand experience with the good and bad experienc es her had.Going back to her moral and emotional development, I want to focus more on the negative experiences she had in her childhood. We can see that Oprah went through a lot in her childhood. In Erik Erikson’s theory of development, she was at around stage three when her sexual molestation experiences happened. This stage is important since this is a stage where a crisis in a person’s development happens (initiative-guilt). The fact that family plays the biggest role in this stage makes her more vulnerable to level on more guilt than initiative. Instead of helping her feel purposeful and learn new skills, her family at that time mistreated her. In her next stage of development (industry and inferiority), she might had leveled on more inferiority than industry.This is where she was having troubles in school and starting to rebel on her family. She might have a sense of â€Å"inertia† or inferiority complex due to the fact that she had not strong support syste m in her family. When â€Å"inertia† happens, the child usually avoids doing something she was not able or failed to do properly (Boeree, 1997). In Oprah’s situation she might had given up on building good relationship with her family. Fortunately she was able to over come it as time went on and she stayed with her father. As she progress on to the stage five (ego-identity and role confusion crisis), she looked like she was successful in balancing out the crisis due to the fact her father offered social support for her and she was excelling in her studies.This might had giver her good amount of confidence to share herself to others and to be comfortable to be oneself. Her excellence in school and constant exposure to media might led her to develop a good social support system. Together with her father’s guidance, she had a healthy support system that helped her achieve many goals in her life. A good social support system of friends and family is vital in everyon e’s growth and security in life. After a turbulent childhood, she was able to find good connection to the world by her achievement. Later on in her life, she was one of the most powerful women in television and Hollywood. She helped people who needed help. She influenced politics. President Bill Clinton even singed an â€Å"Oprah bill† for the creations of a database of child abusers. She opened schools for people who can’t afford to go school. She directed her passion of helping other children and victims of catastrophe. She is said to be one of the most credible and influential Americans in history.Two theories of personality best apply for Ms. Winfrey. Abraham Maslow’s theory of heirrachy of needs can help us understand how Oprah’s traits and actions develop through her career and as a person. In her childhood, she was stuck on surviving on the first level of needs (physiological needs). As she grew older, she was given more and more support by her father, colleagues and friends. She was able to climb up the hierarchy of needs. By the time she was in her 20’s, she had already fulfilled the safety, belonging and esteem part of the hierarchy of needs. Today, she is seen to help others and use her past dispute in life as her tool to help and change other people’s lives.She is on a level in which she is self-actualizing and reaching out to help other since she had already fulfilled her own needs. Being in this self-actualization state, people who reached this usually has the continuous desire to fulfill his potential to become more and more of what you want (Boeree, 1997). In connection to this theory, Viktor Frankl’s theory of transcendence is a good approach in her case. Ms. Winfrey’s painful past could have destroyed her internally and made her a depressed person throughout life but instead she was able to transcend her experience to something useful to the world.She channeled her pain and suffer ing to counseling others in her show. She gave moral support to women who were abused and children who were in the same situation as her.   In comparing the two theories, Viktor Frankl stated that self-actualization is the side-effect of transcendence. In conclusion, the theory of transcendence of Frankl best accounts her behavior. Oprah’s actions and behaviors towards finding meaning in her life and helping others can be seen more of a spiritual and self less acts rather than Maslow’s theory in which people satisfy their own self-actualization needs thus resulting to helping others. Oprah over came a lot of adversities and trial in life and was able to overcome many â€Å"noogenic anxiety† that might have come in her way. She can be said to have found meaning in what she does today. She transforms her life’s experiences and lessons to something for the betterment of others.ReferencesBoeree, C. (1997). Retrieved on 24 April 2008 fromhttp://webspace.ship .edu/cgboer/perscontents.htmlBoeree, C. (1997). Retrieved on 24 April 2008 fromhttp://webspace.ship.edu/cgboer/erikson.htmlBoeree, C. (1997). Retrieved on 24 April 2008 fromhttp://webspace.ship.edu/cgboer/frankl.htmlBoeree, C. (1997). Retrieved on 24 April 2008 fromhttp://webspace.ship.edu/cgboer/maslow.htmlDinh, M. & Murphy, J. (2008). Retrived on 24 April 2008 fromhttp://people.com/tag/oprah-winfrey/Unknown. (2008). REtrived on 24 April 2008 fromhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oprah_Winfrey