Wallace Stegners Wilderness Letter Essay -- Nature Conservation Essay

In Wallace Stegner’s â€Å"Wilderness Letter,† he is arguing that the countries wilderness and forests need to be saved. For a person to become whole, Stegner argues that the mere idea of the wild and the forests are to thank. The wilderness needs to be saved for the sake of the idea. He insinuates that anyone in America can just think of Old faithful, Mt. Rainier, or any other spectacular landform, even if they have not visited there, and brought to a calm. These thoughts he argues are what makes us as people whole. The wilderness can be used to measure against the man made world, a â€Å"scientific yardstick.† Throughout the entire piece he is arguing that the importance is not what we can actually see or touch, but what we think of and how we think of the wild. This letter is being written to inform them of what would be missing without the wilderness. Those who think fondly of the Grand Canyon or the Everglades and have never been there are merely working from the idea, but those who have been there know what it has to offer and therefore receive the calming and sobering state of mind Stegner refers to. He believes that the wilderness has helped form us and that if we allow industrialization to push through the people of our nation will have lost part of themselves; they will have lost the part of themselves that was formed by the wilderness â€Å"idea.† Once the forests are destroyed they will have nothing to look back at or to remind them of where they came from or what was, and he argues everyone need to preserve all of what we have now. In Stegner’s perception, humans are the only wild species left. Humans are the only ones who have survived genetically unchanged. They are the ones who create the technological advan... ...rt of life as it once was and the acres of land to run on are few and far between, but losing that hasn’t made people bitter. Humans make themselves bitter when they fill their days and the days of their children with activity after activity and don’t stop and take time for each other. The entire letter was written on the premise that nature should be saved for the sake of the thought, not for what it could tactilely do for people. If you are going to have a clear-cut, concise idea about what nature is, enough of one for it to be a sobering idea, you would have to be out there in it at some point. You may have a thought but you don’t know and therefore it isn’t what is holding you together as a whole. The letter has some genuine concerns for the wildlife and forests and the wilderness itself, but it is just that, a letter voicing Wallace Stegner’s concerns.

British “Raj” in India

British Raj is associated with British rule in the Indian subcontinent. The period embraces 1858-1947. The region which we call India nowadays was under the rule of the United Kingdom and was called the British Indian Empire. Great Britain started to expand its power in India in the beginning of the 1800s and in the middle India was under the full control of the British Empire. Nevertheless, India tried to rebel against expansion and the Indian Rebellion of 1857 appeared to be a turning point in the British history in Indian region.India tried to resist British rule as Britain provided their life standards which contradicted Indian way of life. For example, the British Empire provided cow fat and pork which were unacceptable for Hinduism being practiced in India. Nevertheless, the rebellion had failed and the British Empire provided a number of reforms which included recruitment of Indians into the civil service and tolerance of religion. The reforms aimed at preventing further refor ms through conciliation and to strengthen the British military.Many historians argue that the British Empire didn’t try to take full control over the Indian region, but when rebellion started to threaten British interest, it had to step in. McNamara writes that â€Å"resentment toward the British had been building for some time and new policies which allowed the British to annex some areas of India exacerbated tensions†. (McNamara, 1998) The office of the Viceroy became the first embodiment of the new British Raj in India. When Prime Minister Disraeli proclaimed Queen Victoria as â€Å"Empress of India† in 1876, the affection the British crown felt for its colony.Throughout the remainder of the 19th century the British Raj continued and was characterized by unpopular policies caused emergence of series of Indian nationalist movements. Only after 1947 India had managed to gain certain independence and sovereignty from the British Empire. In 1947 the British India n Empire was divided into the union of India and the Dominion of Pakistan. Bibliography McNamara, Robert. 1998. â€Å"The British Raj Defined India Throughout the 1800s†. Database on-line. Available from http://history1800s. about. com/od/thebritishempire/tp/indiatimeline01. htm

Matching Leadership Style to a Situation Essay

MATCHING LEADERSHIP TO A SITUATION Leadership Styles Choosing the Right Style for the Situation From Mahatma Gandhi and Winston Churchill to Martin Luther King and Steve Jobs, there can seem to be as many ways to lead people as there are leaders. Fortunately, businesspeople and psychologists have developed useful, simple ways to describe the main styles of leadership. By understanding these styles and their impact, you can develop your own approach to leadership and become a more effective leader and school head as well. We’ll look at common leadership styles in this article, and we’ll explore situations where these styles may be effective with your people. (Note: The leadership styles in this article are based on several core leadership frameworks.) Adapting Your Approach to Leadership Leadership is not â€Å"one size fits all† thing; often, you must adapt your style to fit a situation or a specific group. This is why it’s useful to gain a thorough understanding of other leadership styles; after all, the more approaches you’re familiar with, the more tools you’ll be able to use to lead effectively. Let’s take a deeper look at some of the leadership styles that you can use. 1. Transactional Leadership This leadership style starts with the idea that team members agree to obey their leader when they accept a job. The â€Å"transaction† usually involves the organization paying team members in return for their effort and compliance. The leader has a right to â€Å"punish† team members if their work doesn’t meet an appropriate standard. Although this might sound controlling and paternalistic, transactional  leadership offers some benefits. For one, this leadership style clarifies everyone’s roles and responsibilities. Another benefit is that, because transactional leadership judges team members on performance, people who are ambitious or who are motivated by external rewards – including compensation – often thrive. The downside of this leadership style is that team members can do little to improve their job satisfaction. It can feel stifling, and it can lead to high staff turnover. Transactional leadership is really a type of management, not a true leadership style, because the focus is on short-term tasks. It has serious limitations for knowledge-based or creative work. However, it can be effective in other situations. 2. Autocratic Leadership Autocratic leadership is an extreme form of transactional leadership, where leaders have complete power over their people. Staff and team members have little opportunity to make suggestions, even if these would be in the team’s or the organization’s best interest. The benefit of autocratic leadership is that it’s incredibly efficient. Decisions are made quickly, and work gets done. The downside is that most people resent being treated this way. Therefore, autocratic leadership often leads to high levels of absenteeism and high staff turnover. However, the style can be effective for some routine and unskilled jobs: in these situations, the advantages of control may outweigh the disadvantages. Autocratic leadership is often best used in crises, when decisions must be made quickly and without dissent. For instance, the military often uses an autocratic leadership style; top commanders are responsible for quickly making complex decisions, which allows troops to focus their attention and energy on performing their allotted tasks and missions. 3. Bureaucratic Leadership Bureaucratic leaders work â€Å"by the book.† They follow rules rigorously, and ensure that their people follow procedures precisely. This is an appropriate leadership style for work involving serious safety risks (such as working with machinery, with toxic substances, or at dangerous heights) or where large sums of money are involved. Bureaucratic leadership is also useful in organizations where employees do routine tasks (as in manufacturing). The downside of this leadership style is that it’s ineffective in teams and organizations that rely on flexibility, creativity, or innovation. Much of the time, bureaucratic leaders achieve their position because of their ability to conform to and uphold rules, not because of their qualifications or expertise. This can cause resentment when team members don’t value their expertise or advice. 4. Charismatic Leadership/ Pace-setting Leadership A charismatic leadership style can resemble transformational leadership because these leaders inspire enthusiasm in their teams and are energetic in motivating others to move forward. This excitement and commitment from teams is an enormous benefit. The difference between charismatic leaders and transformational leaders lies in their intention. Transformational leaders want to transform their teams and organizations. Charismatic leaders are often focused on themselves, and may not want to change anything. The downside to charismatic leaders is that they can believe more in themselves than in their teams. This can create the risk that a project or even an entire organization might collapse if the leader leaves. A charismatic leader might believe that she can do no wrong, even when others are warning her about the path she’s on; this feeling of invincibility can ruin a team or an organization. Also, in the followers’ eyes, success is directly connected to the presence of the charismatic leader. As such, charismatic leadership carries great responsibility, and it needs a long-term commitment from the leader. 5. Democratic/Participative Leadership Democratic leaders make the final decisions, but they include team members in the decision-making process. They encourage creativity, and team members are often highly engaged in projects and decisions. There are many benefits of democratic leadership. Team members tend to have high job satisfaction and are productive because they’re more involved in decisions. This style also helps develop people’s skills. Team members feel in control of their destiny, so they’re motivated to work hard by more than just a financial reward. Because participation takes time, this approach can slow decision-making, but the result is often good. The approach can be most suitable when working as a team is essential, and when quality is more important than efficiency or productivity. The downside of democratic leadership is that it can often hinder situations where speed or efficiency is essential. For instance, during a crisis, a team can waste valuable time gathering people’s input. Another downside is that some team members might not have the knowledge or expertise to provide high quality input. 6. Laissez-Faire Leadership This French phrase means â€Å"leave it be,† and it describes leaders who allow their people to work on their own. This type of leadership can also occur naturally, when managers don’t have sufficient control over their work and their people. Laissez-faire leaders may give their teams complete freedom to do their work and set their own deadlines. They provide team support with resources and advice, if needed, but otherwise don’t get involved. This leadership style can be effective if the leader monitors performance and gives feedback to team members regularly. It is most likely to be effective when individual team members are experienced, skilled, self-starters. The  main benefit of laissez-faire leadership is that giving team members so much autonomy can lead to high job satisfaction and increased productivity. The downside is that it can be damaging if team members don’t manage their time well or if they don’t have the knowledge, skills, or motivation to do their work effectively. 7. Task-Oriented Leadership Task-oriented leaders focus only on getting the job done and can be autocratic. They actively define the work and the roles required, put structures in place, and plan, organize, and monitor work. These leaders also perform other key tasks, such as creating and maintaining standards for performance. The benefit of task-oriented leadership is that it ensures that deadlines are met, and it’s especially useful for team members who don’t manage their time well. However, because task-oriented leaders don’t tend to think much about their team’s well-being, this approach can suffer many of the flaws of autocratic leadership, including causing motivation and retention problems. 8. People-Oriented/Relations-Oriented Leadership With people-oriented leadership, leaders are totally focused on organizing, supporting, and developing the people on their teams. This is a participatory style and tends to encourage good teamwork and creative collaboration. This is the opposite of task-oriented leadership. People-oriented leaders treat everyone on the team equally. They’re friendly and approachable, they pay attention to the welfare of everyone in the group, and they make themselves available whenever team members need help or advice. The benefit of this leadership style is that people-oriented leaders create teams that everyone wants to be part of. Team members are often more productive and willing to take risks, because they know that the leader will  provide support if they need it. The downside is that some leaders can take this approach too far; they may put the development of their team above tasks or project directives. 9. Servant Leadership This term, created by Robert Greenleaf in the 1970s, describes a leader often not formally recognized as such. When someone at any level within an organization leads simply by meeting the needs of the team, he or she can be described as a â€Å"servant leader.† Servant leaders often lead by example. They have high integrity and lead with generosity. In many ways, servant leadership is a form of democratic leadership because the whole team tends to be involved in decision making. However, servant leaders often â€Å"lead from behind,† preferring to stay out of the limelight and letting their team accept recognition for their hard work. Supporters of the servant leadership model suggest that it’s a good way to move ahead in a world where values are increasingly important, and where servant leaders can achieve power because of their values, ideals, and ethics. This is an approach that can help to create a positive corporate culture and can lead to high morale among team members. However, other people believe that in competitive leadership situations, people who practice servant leadership can find themselves left behind by leaders using other leadership styles. This leadership style also takes time to apply correctly: it’s ill-suited in situations where you have to make quick decisions or meet tight deadlines. Although you can use servant leadership in many situations, it’s often most practical in politics, or in positions where leaders are elected to serve a team, committee, organization, or community. 10. Transformational Leadership/Visionary Leadership Transformational leaders are inspiring because they expect the best from everyone on their team as well as themselves. This leads to high  productivity and engagement from everyone in their team. The downside of transformational leadership is that while the leader’s enthusiasm is passed onto the team, he or she can need to be supported by â€Å"detail people.† That’s why, in many organizations, both transactional and transformational leadership styles are useful. Transactional leaders (or managers) ensure that routine work is done reliably, while transformational leaders look after initiatives that add new value. It’s also important to use other leadership styles when necessary – this will depend on the people you’re leading and the situation that you’re in. Conclusion: Three factors that influence which leadership style to use 1.The school head’s personal background: †¢What personality, knowledge, values, ethics, and experiences does the school head have? †¢What does he or she think will work? 2.Teachers being supervised: Teachers with different personalities and backgrounds; The leadership style used will vary depending upon the individual teacher and what he or she will respond best to. 3.The organization: The traditions, values, philosophy, school vision and mission, concerns of the organization and all situational factors influence how a school head acts No one style of leadership fits all situations. All situations are different. What you do in one situation will not always work in another. There are many leadership styles from which to choose. Different styles were needed for different situations and each leader needed to know when to exhibit a particular approach so it helps to have an understanding of other styles. A leader must use his or her judgment to decide the best course of action and the leadership style needed for each situation. For example you may need to confront a teacher for inappropriate behavior, but the confrontation is too late or too early, too harsh or too weak, then the results may prove ineffective. By learning about the pros and cons of each style, one can adapt an approach to a situation. Also note that the situation normally has a greater effect on a leader’s action than his or  her traits. This is because while traits may have an impressive stability over a period of time, they have little consistency across situations. As a school head he or she must be a Task-oriented Leader to perform best in situations of high and low control, and a Relationship-oriented Leader to perform best in moderate control situations. Behavior is a mirror in which Everyone shows his image.

Chopping Off Syllables

Chopping Off Syllables Chopping Off Syllables Chopping Off Syllables By Maeve Maddox Heres a fab app for keeping track of your lab info docs, vocab lists, and rehab meds. English speakers have been lopping syllables off words for centuries. And thank goodness for that when it comes to such mouthfuls as taximeter-cabriolet and streptococcus. Id much rather call a cab or a taxi and talk about avoiding strep-throat. I cant help wondering, though, if the English spoken a generation or two in the future will consist of staccato sentences in which words of one and two syllables predominate. Here are some shortenings already in common use: doc document. exam examination fab fabulous graph paragraph info information lab laboratory meds medications op opinion/operative/opportunity promo promotion (with meaning of advertising) prep preparation rehab rehabilitation sax saxophone vac vacuum (Ive also seen it used as a shortened form of vacation, but I dont know how that vac is supposed to be pronounced.) vet veterinarian or veteran vocab vocabulary Some of these shortenings, even the ones I use in my own speech, bother me when I see them in formal writing. Others dont faze me because Ive grown used to them. Thats the way of change in language. What infuriates one generation of speakers is mothers milk to the next. I recall reading a novel written in the early 20th centuryby Booth Tarkington (1869-1946) I thinkin which a young man is chided by one of his parents for using the slangy word lunch instead of luncheon. Nowadays lunch is the common word for a meal between breakfast and supper. The word luncheon has not fallen completely out of use, but has acquired an altered meaning. My associations with luncheon include fussy repasts provided by and for ladies in flowered hats, and SPAM luncheon meat. Is the shortening of words a bad thing? Not necessarily, butdepending upon the intended audiencewriters should probably give some thought to which shortened forms they promote by committing them to print. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Vocabulary category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Avoid Beginning a Sentence with â€Å"With†Select vs. SelectedHow often is "bimonthly"?

10 Tacky Terms

10 Tacky Terms 10 Tacky Terms 10 Tacky Terms By Mark Nichol The English language teems with terminology for referring to ostentation or bad taste, or both. Here are ten words that help readers imagine imagery that they perhaps would rather not think about: 1. Flashy The connotations of this adjectival form of flash are of fleeting, superficial attractiveness and showy, tasteless fashion and/or fashion accessories. 2. Garish The origin of this word meaning â€Å"vivid, bright, flashy† is unknown; it may come from a word meaning â€Å"to stare.† 3. Gaudy This term, with a disputed etymology (perhaps from the Latin word gaudium, meaning â€Å"joy,† or from a reference to trickery from the same source), means â€Å"tastelessly or extravagantly showy, outlandish.† 4. Kitschy The direct borrowing of kitsch from German, as with the acquisition of many other loanwords, met a need: Although other terms are this list are near synonyms of kitsch, it’s difficult in English to capture the essence of kitsch without using the word. The term originated in response to efforts of the German middle class in the nineteenth century to emulate their social superiors through art and architecture; in many cases, they succeeded only in inferior imitation. That sense has persisted intact for 150 years with the additional connotation of consumer items produced under the pretense that they are artistic creations but treated as commodities. (People who embrace the irony of appreciating kitsch and collect kitschy products are in effect partly legitimizing the items as art.) 5. Meretricious This word has an etymological connection to merit, but its meaning is diametrically opposite. It stems from the Latin word for prostitute and, like merit, means â€Å"to earn.† It refers to a relationship based solely on exchange of value, and because of the superficial and ostentatious nature of practitioners of the oldest profession, it has acquired the additional connotation of cheap showiness. Meretricious is also sometimes used as a synonym for pretentious. 6. Purple There’s an interesting line of connotation for this word: Because of the difficulty of obtaining purple dye from a certain shellfish in ancient times, it was reserved for royalty, and later was long limited to use by aristocratic classes. Thus, it came to be associated with those with very high social standing and, naturally, their attendant sophistication. But the resulting association of the color with ostentatiousness led to a connotation of overbearing effort, especially in writing hence, â€Å"purple prose.† 7. Sleazy Two early meanings of this word are â€Å"hairy or fuzzy† and â€Å"flimsy,† but only the latter sense has survived, while still other connotations have come to dominate. The primary meanings now are â€Å"sexually provocative† or â€Å"of low quality,† the latter referring to both character and construction. 8. Tacky This nineteenth-century slang term for a low-class person was extended to describe anything that is ill-bred, shabby, in poor taste, or cheaply constructed. It most often refers to a cheap taste in fashion or decor. 9. Tawdry As is the case with purple, this term has made a downwardly mobile trajectory. According to tradition, Audrey, queen of a kingdom in what is now England, found religion late in life when she surmised that her vanity led to a deadly condition. The Catholic Church canonized her, and at an annual fair commemorating Saint Audry, cheap lace necklaces were sold in her honor. These came to be known as â€Å"’t Audrey’s lace,† later altered to â€Å"tawdry lace.† Now, tawdry is a synonym for cheap or showy. It has, however, also acquired a sense of â€Å"base, low, mean,† as in the clichà © â€Å"a tawdry affair.† 10. Two-Bit This adjective meaning â€Å"cheap† comes from the slang term for a twenty-five-cent piece. The reference originates with the real, a Spanish coin that could be divided into eight pieces (hence â€Å"pieces of eight† in pirate lore). Each bit was worth one-eighth of the coin’s value; transferred to American currency, two bits is worth a quarter. In either currency, two bits ain’t worth much. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Vocabulary category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:50 Idioms About TalkingConnotations of 35 Words for Funny People15 Idioms for Periods of Time

Autobiography of Rugby Player Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Autobiography of Rugby Player - Essay Example I was so afraid that I did not want to be at fault and be blamed by my teammates if the play fails. I feared to take the responsibility of helping the team because I feared to make a mistake and these were just practices. This aspect of my behavior defined all my first-year life at high school life. I stayed away from asking any question in class for I thought other students and the teacher could consider them too stupid and laugh at me. Nevertheless, I practiced daily and by the time I was home I was so exhausted. My fearful anticipation continued as I continued to be afraid to be given some playing minutes even in a situation that a player is injured even if there was daylight between the opponents and us on the scoreboard. The creams from the coaches and my colleagues made me scared how they could scream at me in the event I make a mistake. Sometimes I was the only option left for the coach at the bench and these fears came true as the scream that was coming from all sides of the pitch were so loud and many that I lost my concentration and these led me to make many more silly mistakes. But thanks to God, most of the time my mistakes did not have big impacts to the game outcome for I doubted I could ever go back to playing if another team beat us because of my mistake. Yet I often got a lot of blames and verbal lashing whenever we practiced for the mistakes I made. These situations did not help much as the only compounded my fears of playing. Luckily, I was not at fault all the times for on s ome occasions I made great plays that I was congratulated for. As I dawned on senior year of rugby, I was faced with starting positions and that made me felt like a whole changed person and helped in raising my confidence a lot. Rugby has taught me a lot over the years and the most important thing is that it taught me what it takes to succeed.     

Sustainability issues in providing Healthcare Services at Nicaragua Research Paper - 1

Sustainability issues in providing Healthcare Services at Nicaragua Canal Project - Research Paper Example However, the healthcare project in Nicaraguan canal and its rated issues has provoked Sustainability and Corporate Social Responsibility expertise to design health management program that proactively identifies its associated issues. Therefore, marketing, environmental management and human resources issues are identified within the organization Capacity Building, Corporate Social Responsibility and Sustainability in order to initiate and implement mitigation measures. Analysis presented in this paper is helpful in understanding sustainability and health care services in relation to Nicaraguan canal development. Further analysis in this paper uncovers the entire organization dilemma, issues and concepts or approaches used to tackle in tackling all the related issues in relation to HCSS developers, locals and Federal Government agencies. In details, the paper explores and explains the Nicaraguan environmental issues exposing out the significance of the government structure and the corporate social responsibilities and the theories generated to support the arguments. Based on international context for sustainability, capacity building and Corporate Social Responsibility the paper critically evaluates the impacts of environmental implications in relation to the Nicaraguan environmental issues as well as business growth. As Nicaraguan healthcare program experiences foundational dilemmas from different components of marketing, environmental management to human resources dilemmas, environmental or operational management dilemmas are most critical dilemma that faces the Health care services program. The organizational dilemmas are identified as the core corporate responsibilities that function against the sustainability role in a government structure or non-profitable business providing a reliable tension between environment benefits and the societal deliveries. Conversely, as the