Monday, September 30, 2019

Friedrich Nietzsche Philosophy Essay

Friedrich Willhelm Nietzsche, a German Philosopher of the mid 1800`s was Born 1844 and died after a long medical condition that was thoroughly investigated but with no found result in 1900. Nietzsche is most renowned for challenging the moral integrity of Christianity in the late 1800’s despite having grown up with a background and family history of Lutheran ministers; where his Father, Uncles and Grandfathers were all Ministers. This philosopher was the most outspoken on topics such as power, pain, culture and moral acts, and from that has influenced some of the most commonly known philosophers we know of today; such as Sigmund Freud. Nietzsche viewed evil or immoral acts as â€Å"self-consciousness, free will and either/or bipolar thinking† (Curry, B. (2008). The Perspectives of Nietzsche. Retrieved from http://www.pitt.edu/-wbcurry/nietzsche.html). Nietzsche believed that Evil is within and dependant upon the determinants that affect ones moral perception. Nietzsche view on evil came from a very passionate outlook on his world, on culture and of rights and freedoms. Nietzsche put it quite plainly when he said†¦ â€Å"Some moralities are more suitable for subordinate roles; some are more appropriate for dominating and leading social roles. What counts as a preferable and legitimate action depends upon the kind of person one is. The deciding factor is whether one is weaker, sicker and on the decline, or whether one is healthier, more powerful and overflowing with life† (Brandhorst, M. (2010). Naturalism and the Genealogy of Moral Institutions: Journal of Nietzsche Studies. Issue 40, p 5-28, 16p). Nietzsche particularly critiqued Christian and Kantian morality, related to these 2 moral components of which express cultural out casting of freedom of speech and natural free will. i. Presupposes three particular descriptive claims about the nature of human agents; pertaining (connecting) to free will, the transparency of the self, and the essential similarity of all people (â€Å"the Descriptive Component†); and/or ii. Embraces norms that harm the â€Å"highest men† while benefitting the â€Å"lowest† (â€Å"the Normative Component†) In this Nietzsche is explaining that (1†²) Hold agents responsible for their actions (2†²) Evaluate and â€Å"rank† the motives for which agents act (Brandhorst, M. (2010). Naturalism and the Genealogy of Moral Institutions: Journal of Nietzsche Studies. Issue 40, p 5-28, 16p). These views help support and defend Nietzsche’s logics on moral and psychological action: these precise opinions and views influenced one of the most famous Psychologists, Sigmund Freud. In Nietzsche’s first historical writings during the early 1870’s he was merely a student studying and exploring philosophical logic and legislations of his time. With an opinionated and different perspective of immoral acts than the culture surrounding him he took initiative in making his own decisions of what was right and what was wrong. In his first published writings The Birth of Tragedy (1872) it showed his advocating view for cultural adversity; though it was deeply put down by other scholars renowned for sharing Christian based opinions of that era, Nietzsche continued to express his abrasive view against unethical stringent laws (Robertson, S. (2009). Nietzsche’s Ethical Revaluation: Journal of Nietzsche Studies; Issue 37, pp 66-90). This philosopher indulged himself in cultural adversity, interacting with music, nature, sciences and exploration of other cultures and religions. Nietzsche counter acted with the book Human, All-Too-Human (1878) (Robertson, S. (2009). Nietzsche’s Ethical Revaluation: Journal of Nietzsche Studies; Issue 37, pp 66-90) that gave him a name and furthered his career, this book touched on health and the idea of hedonistic ideas in regards to pleasure and pain relevance amongst cultural and physiological phenomena. Nietzsche is a naturalist expanding on views related to animals, earth, air, wind, fire, body touching on illogical ideas of, especially, the Christian based religion. Nietzsche was very passionate and outspoken towards Christianity however that was not his only passionate topic. The power behind Germany in the late 1860’s due to wars prior and present were a huge influence for him as the shift of legislations due to new authority was erratically changing Germany, most notably, Politically, Economically and Culturally (Osborn, R. E. (2010). Nihilism’s Conscience: On Nietzsche’s Politics of Aristocratic Radicalism. Modern age; Vol. 52 Issue 4, p 293-308). Therefore the idea that Germany could be altered so quickly not only enraged Friedrich Nietzsche but empowered him in his righteousness as an open minded scholar and as the next generation of Germany. This shift in Germany’s political system greatly affected Nietzsche’s era, and as a passionate advocate for freedom in culture Nietzsche felt compelled to speak out against the evil of which was the becoming of Germany. In conclusion Nietzsche’ views on evil were that to have bad moral or to act in an evil way, it is an act of conscious natural behavior. He believed that Evil is within and dependant upon the determinants that affect ones moral perception. Friedrich Nietzsche was in his prime during the change of an era in Germany’s political, societal and religious systems and was compelled to stand for what he believed in. It is extremely interesting that during the early 1870’s the new King Otto von Bismarck introduced healthcare, social security and a rise in socialism to promote the economic deficit and reduce potential hierarchy, however advocated anti-socialist laws (Palante, G. (2009, June 1st). Historical Philosophical Forum. Vol. 40 Issue 2 p265-273, 8p). The anti socialist laws were created to shift the power of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) which stood for Civil and Political rights in an open society. Bismarck also reduced the affiliations and influence of the political system on Catholics; making Catholicism a growing religion that was before the early 1870’s mostly Christian based. This seems to have been a huge influence on Nietzsche as his first book, The Birth of Tragedy (1872) was based upon open society and cultural adversity. This history of Germany is so significant due to the shift in power of the church, beginning at the attempt to stop the SDP after they had just begun in 1875 in the German Parliament as a Christian based society; immediately shifting the change from Christian to Catholicism (Palante, G. (2009, June 1st). Historical Philosophical Forum. Vol. 40 Issue 2 p265-273, 8p) this provoked outrage as this meant less freedom of choice for citizens. Although Friedrich Nietzsche far from advocated Christianity, the shift of religion affected him as this meant a cultural change amongst his peers. It greatly fuelled further writings based upon honest questions surrounding concepts that drain life’s energies. These strong views are now known as ‘Nietzschean affirmation’ expanding on Nietzsche profound writing based around existentialism; Friedrich Nietzsche along with Sà ¸ren Kierkegaard (1813–1855) were the two philosophers renowned for doing so in the late 1800’s (Palante, G. (2009, June 1st). Historical Philosophical Forum. Vol. 40 Issue 2 p265-273, 8p). Existentialism is a term used by philosophical thinkers expressing that one’s life affirmation, one’s existence is determined by ones self. Despite life’s distractions and obstacles it is ones choice to live passionately, with sincere moral integrity as best as possible. This further supports how Nietzsche’s opposing thoughts towards empiricism of which means ones moral integrity is derived from senses and experience, however socially prevalent those views might have been by Germany, Nietzsche still profoundly opposed them. In books such as Daybreak: Reflections on Moral Prejudices, 1881 (Morgenrà ¶te. Gedanken à ¼ber die moralischen Vorurteile) (Osborn, R. E. (2010). Nihilism’s Conscience: On Nietzsche’s Politics of Aristocratic Radicalism. Modern age; Vol. 52 Issue 4, p 293-308), Nietzsche’s most memorable, clearest, and intimate volumes, expressing many social-psychological insights and cultural relativity using Christian Based moral evaluations as reflections on good and evil. There were several books to follow Daybreak in the late 1880’s, Thus Spoke Zarathustra (1883–85) and Ecce Homo (1888); this volume expressed the deepest of understanding power, humans and moral behaviors. Friedrich Nietzsche’s crusade against morality had begun and he followed up with The Gay Science (Die frà ¶hliche Wissenschaft, 1882) (Osborn, R. E. (2010). Nihilism’s Conscience: On Nietzsche’s Politics of Aristocratic Radicalism. Modern age; Vol. 52 Issue 4, p 293-308) a book in which Nietzsche becomes famous for his existential ideas pertaining the existence of life. In this book I believe Nietzsche was encouraging the citizens of Germany to speak out against the injustice towards freedom and lack of moral integrity that the German political system was advocating. As Nietzsche’s world changed around him he felt more and more compelled to change it, standing by his own philosophical views and taking his life into his hands; becoming a martyr for the freedom of speech and cultural adversity that he so dearly believed in. Nietzsche felt very patiently towards open culture as well as freedom and this era of Germany was a huge influence on his work as it was a significant shift in decisions set by the new acclaimed authority. The Battle of good and evil is a constant in a world with no balance and a constant struggle of power. Friedrich Nietzsche so profoundly advocated freedom and cultural adversity, in which has inspired leading figures in all walks of cultural life, including dancers, poets, novelists, painters, psychologists, philosophers, sociologists and social revolutionaries; however there is always a power working against that and thus the problems that were his era are still amongst us. Until people accept others and are willing to live with respect to cultural adversity then there will always be evil immoral versus good moral. Throughout the history of any sovereignty there is a constant battle for power, beliefs and cultural relativity. Friedrich Nietzsche stood for freedom of choice and through his passionate writings did so very well; however as Nietzsche has expressed so dearly it is within ones choice to act with moral integrity based upon there perception of good and evil. These are the choices that affect us daily and round us as individuals; personally I have faced immoral decisions and it is in those moments, that you do not always realize at once, the affect that decision can have on another. In agreement with Friedrich Nietzsche, to recognize and feel remorse in your conscious or subconscious decision is what differentiates good and evil. For instance, contemporarily when you are in a delicate discussion of religion amongst peers of various cultural background I have to think open-mindedly with conscious acceptance to the reasoning behind cultural and religious background before making a judgmental statement. As well as Politics in Canada is directed for different groups of people, as politics usually is, so immediately there is a divide in Canada’s cultural, ethnic, and working class; because it is in the current political power to protect Canada’s Economic, Environmental or Social well-being. There is no balance and I believe without balance in a person, country or cultural group there cannot be a sustainable approach to good and evil; there is always a stretch for that much more power on any side, affecting moral. References Brandhorst, M. (2010). Naturalism and the Genealogy of Moral Institutions: Journal of Nietzsche Studies. Issue 40, p 5-28, 16p. Curry, B. (2008). The Perspectives of Nietzsche. Retrieved from http://www.pitt.edu/-wbcurry/nietzsche.html. Osborn, R. E. (2010). Nihilism’s Conscience: On Nietzsche’s Politics of Aristocratic Radicalism. Modern age; Vol. 52 Issue 4, p 293-308. Palante, G. (2009, June 1st). Historical Philosophical Forum. Vol. 40 Issue 2 p265-273, 8p. Robertson, S. (2009). Nietzsche’s Ethical Revaluation: Journal of Nietzsche Studies; Issue 37, pp 66-90.

A neo-slave narrative Essay

Often, man resorts to story-telling as a way of reconciling with a formidable incident in the past. By re-telling the story to another party, he comes to accept that this is a reality to be faced. He realizes that acceptance, rather than denial, is the best way of going about this trouble. Aside from the rehabilitating ability of story-telling with its contributory effect in dealing with a painful memory, others simply do this as a way of remembering. Concretizing the past as a piece of literature would ensure that the incident would not just be buried in the recesses of the memory; that it would be kept alive and the pains and suffering would not be without significance. In this light, it would come clear for readers how and why the proliferation and the presence of slave narratives came about. One may think that with the end of the painful era of slavery, all dialogues and discussion about the subject would also desist. For the African-American slaves and their descendants, this was not the case. The words of Robert Crossley of the University of Massachusetts rerated the thought: â€Å"First-person American slave narratives should have ceased being written when the last American citizen born into institutionalized slavery died. But the literary form has persisted, just as the legacy of slavery has persisted, into the present. † To be more specific, the birth and popularization of the slave narratives started in the nineteenth century. James Olney stated that each narrative â€Å"a unique production† as an autobiography, and â€Å"is not every autobiography the unique tale, uniquely told, of a unique life? Therefore, the uniqueness of each narrative from the others is a trait of this genre, as it narrates the experiences of the writers which are unique to another’s. However, certain characteristics are evidently similar in the work to be considered a part of the genre. For one thing, it has to tell the story of a black slave’s struggle for literacy and freedom, while testifying against the â€Å"peculiar institution/’ which in practice meant human bondage and humiliation (Gates, â€Å"Introduction† ix). By the second half of the twentieth century, a sub-genre of the slave narrative has arisen; called the â€Å"neo-slave narrative,† it is a fictional mutation of the slave narratives of nineteenth-century Americans (Crossley). This sub-set of the slave narrative genre is very similar with its umbrella genre in the sense that it presents personal accounts of slavery. However, the difference lies in the choice of the author to fictionalize existing accounts, and not his own personal experiences. The authors base the structure of their fictional work on the oral histories and existing slave narratives to make sure that the story would still echo true events in the historical sense. The birth of this sub-set of the slave narrative genre may be attributed to the void that it fills, or attempts to fill. Anita Wholuba in her paper said that the chasm which is attempted to be explored and filled is the ironic presence of silence in slave narratives, despite of the voice earned by the slave narrative writers. Wholuba said that â€Å"while a significant number of scholars have established that certain silences exist in the traditional narrative of history, neo-slave narrative authors have committed themselves to the task of identifying and sounding those silences where the representation of the American slavery era is concerned. † A novel titled Kindred, penned by Octavia Butler, is among the body of neo-slave narratives published in the last century. It was published in the year 1979, and speaks of an African-American woman’s sojourns to the past. The character Dana, lives in contemporary California, but is transported back in time to the antebellum South. In her involuntary travels to the past, she understands how difficult the situation for people before her ancestors actually was. As I was reading Kindred, I had the initial impression that it was just to be appreciated for its science fiction values. Although the science element in this novel was not so much as it was felt in other novels from the same genre, her meshing of science fiction and history was an innovation that should be noted and lauded. In any case, what caught my attention more was the similarity Kindred has with other novels we have read subsequently in the class, which were the Narrative of the Life of Frederic Douglass, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, and Up from Slavery. Evidently, there were characteristics of a slave narrative in the novel Kindred. However, the text didn’t meet the five criteria for it to be called a slave narrative, the genre which the other works fell under. As Kindred is a work of fiction, it would naturally be categorized as a neo slave narrative, a concept I came to be familiar with after research. Kindred as a neo-slave narrative With the plot and simple and direct language employed by Butler, Kindred could not be missed as a neo-slave narrative. Characters that are actual African-American slaves and Caucasian American masters and violence inflicted on slaves are presented in the novel. On a deeper sense, on the other hand, the novel follows the same pattern present in other slave narratives. Wholuba in the same paper added that although the text refers to other slave narratives such as the work written by Douglass’, in an effort to explore existing themes, the novel still manages to introduce new themes. The new themes that this novel presented, according to Wholuba still, include a more blunt â€Å"analysis and depiction of the slave’s struggle for sexual autonomy, the experience of middle passage, and the concept of memory. † As was mentioned, the novel Kindred follows the typical pattern for a slave narrative, and this will be the thesis of the paper. It will attempt to discuss and prove the characteristics of a slave narrative present in Butler’s popular piece of art. Another writer mentioned some of the other patterns commonly found in neo-slave narratives. Lysik mentioned in her essay that neo-slave narratives portrayed the â€Å"vital slave culture† in a positive light as it could serve as a means of surviving the brutal reality they are subjected to (Lysik). What this implicates is that the writers of the neo-slave narratives provide a new perspective in terms of viewing the arduous tasks and obligations slaves have to fulfill. Most authors show how slaves then turn this otherwise appalling condition to something that they could actually seek refuge in. First and foremost, the novel carried a prefatory statement by a person from Caucasian American race attesting to the authenticity of the author. The second criterion which has to be satisfied is the movement from slavery to freedom. Kindred has been classified under slave narratives by critics as leans toward the freedom narrative category. This concept will be further discussed in the following paragraphs. Aside from this, the most obvious criterion which the novel has to satisfy is that the story should portray the physical, emotional, and spiritual deprivation of slavery. Kindred, undeniably, does not fall short on this end. As the journey through time and space allows Dana to witness the events during the period of slavery firsthand, the novel is rich with narration regarding the struggles of the African-American slaves. Through Dana’s experiences, the tales of the different forms of deprivation and coercion were regaled to the readers. James and his contemporaries talked of this in a paper, saying that many forms of violence and intimidation were observed to be used to maintain white dominance in the slave economy through the eyes of the character of Dana. These â€Å"preservation† measures, so to speak, included the sexual violence against black women that was common during slavery, the assault on black families, the difficult choices that black people were compelled to make in acts of love, survival, and resistance, and the outcomes of internalized oppression (James, et. al). A specific scene in the novel would be that time when Dana personally witnessed the beating of a slave. The slave was hunted by white patrollers because of a crime that would seem absurd for people of the modern times: the slave was found spending time with his wife in their own bedroom without the slave master’s permission. The following text is lifted from the novel: I could literally smell his sweat, hear every ragged breath, every cry, every cut of the whip. I could see his body jerking, convulsing, straining against the rope as his screaming went on and on. My stomach heaved, and I had to force myself to stay where I was and keep quiet. Why didn’t they stop! â€Å"Please, Master,† the man begged. â€Å"For Godsake, Master, please †¦Ã¢â‚¬  I shut my eyes and tensed my muscles against an urge to vomit. I had seen people beaten on television and in the movies. I had seen the tored blood substitute streaked across their backs and heard their well-rehearsed screams. But I hadn’t lain nearby and smelled their sweat or heard them pleading and praying, shamed before their families and themselves. I was probably less prepared for the reality than the child crying not far from me. (p. 36) What made the scene worse than it was already is the fact that the daughter of the slave was also witnessing what was happening. She was situated a few yards away from Dana, but as the character said, â€Å"I was probably less prepared for the reality than the child crying not far from me,† we can surmise that the child could better deal with the situation than Dana for this was not a phenomenon for her any longer. It had become part of her reality that it is possible for her father to be punished for doing something, however trivial it may be, which is against their master’s will. The horror of the situation in antebellum South of America then was clearly depicted in this specific scene. Dana’s reaction to what she witnessed represents the reactions of her fellow African-Americans and of people from different nations who oppose such inhumane violent inflictions. As Butler effectively mixed fiction and narrative in this novel, the outcome of the story-telling was as much effective as it was sincere. Another trait that must be found in the text is the element of a triggering event that pushes the slave to escape to be considered a neo-slave narrative. For this particular novel, there were many instances which depicted this. The many times when the protagonist Dana feels the need to escape can be included here. However, what would be the more fitting example here is Alice, the woman who was going to give birth to Dana’s ancestor. Being a slave who was forced to bear and mother a ruthless master’s children, she was a character who was forced to the point of brokenness of the spirit. At some point, readers will also see her desperation because of the situation. There was a time, however when Alice was determined to run away with her husband, Isaac. What triggered this was the series of beatings she had to go through and the physical assault made by Rufus on her, â€Å"when Rufus who has torn Alice’s dress and raped her,† (Butler, 117). Isaac beat their master to death because of this event, but because of Dana’s pleas, decided to stop and run away with Alice. However, their escape was to no avail. They were eventually recaptured, which led to more unacceptable punishment for them from the patrollers. Isaac’s ears were cut off and he was sold to another family. Alice on the other hand, had to survive attacks by hunting dogs. While the desire for escape was a theme discussed many times in the text, it must also be noted that success did not always come with it. Isaac and Alice were not the only characters who had to endure unsuccessful escapes. Two other women characters in the novel were recaptured and were subjected to more physical abuse when they attempted to leave. According to Wholuba, these failed attempts are important as they reveal to readers how the slaves had to find other ways to resist or survive, when liberation is impossible for them to attain. Despite of this, there was one character who was able to manage a successful escape. Though she had lost her arm in the process of going back to the real world she belonged in, she was able to acquire freedom from Rufus nonetheless. As another trait of slave narratives is that there is a situation which depicts liberation, or escaping to freedom, which is often followed by a renaming. In Dana’s case, changing her name did not transpire after the escape. The shift that took place in this context was the shift in her attitudes and understanding. Her character can be actually accused of being too oblivious to the events in her people’s past, which can only be a good thing to an extent. She is married to Kevin, a white American, who may also be guilty of the same thing. The blissful marriage between the two despite their racial differences should not be the main point of discussion; whereas, it should be set on the seemingly it-happened-so-long-ago-it-should-not-affect-us-anymore attitude of the interracial couple. However, after her numerous trips back to antebellum Maryland, she was forced to open her eyes and mind to what her ancestors had to go through. The situations had forced her to remember, to understand from the viewpoint of a slave who endured the slavery period. With this, she was able to connect what used to be different for her: her current life as a modern woman engaged in an interracial relationship, and the history and experiences of her ancestors. Looking at it, the couple Dana and Kevin may be representing the African-Americans in the modern times, who do not look back anymore at what happened in the past. This novel then, may serve as a reminder for them that the past should not be forgotten, but rather should be immortalized for the lessons that have been begotten from it. Impact of the novel Clearly, Butler was able to evoke positive reactions and was actually able to initiate change on the part of her readers. The most palpable change that she was able to make is to remind her fellow African-American readers of their past and have a change of heart and attitude toward their past. Crossley also observed this change that Butler facilitated with this novel. According to him, Butler â€Å"has deployed the genre’s conventions to tell stories with a political and sociological edge to them, stories that speak to issues, feelings, and historical truths arising out of African-American experience. † As I have mentioned in the preceding paragraph, she makes the readers understand that the past should not be forgotten because of the pains that it may rekindle. The novel reinforces that remembering the past would not the allow struggles of their ancestors to be left to disintegrate in vain. The purpose that their sufferings serve would be kept alive, and that is to comprehend the mistakes of the past to prevent any similar event to happen again. Another interesting point that Crossley raised in his essay was that Butler, through the novel Kindred, was able to reveal the connection between history and the current diseases of the society. She boldly exposed different forms of chauvinism and explained how these are â€Å"enriched by a historical consciousness that shapes the depiction of enslavement both in the real past and in imaginary pasts and futures, and enact struggles for personal freedom and cultural pluralism,† (Crossle). In conclusion, Kindred is a novel that goes beyond satisfying the extrinsic values of a science fiction novel. The words expressed by James and his fellow authors can best summarize what the novel does to a reader: â€Å"Readers can recognize many parallels in our own search for truth about this painful history, and we are moved to consider: how powerfully and inextricably we are bound to the lives of our ancestors; how racism, denial, myth-making, and racial stereotypes have influenced our understanding of our cultural heritage; how the past shapes our present reality; how revisiting a painful past can lead toward healing; and how we can best use our historical memory to move forward (James, et. al)†. Summary: Neo-slave narratives, which is a sub-genre of the slave narrative, proliferated by the second half of the twentieth century. The neo-slave narrative genre is very similar with its umbrella genre, which is the slave narrative, in the sense that it presents personal accounts of slavery. However, the difference lies in the choice of the author to fictionalize existing accounts, and not his own personal experiences. The authors base the structure of their fictional work on the oral histories and existing slave narratives to make sure that the story would still echo true events in the historical sense. A novel titled Kindred, penned by Octavia Butler, is among the body of neo-slave narratives published in the last century. It was published in the year 1979, and speaks of an African-American woman’s sojourns to the past. Evidently, there were characteristics of a slave narrative in the novel Kindred. However, the text didn’t meet the five criteria for it to be called a slave narrative, the genre which the other works fell under. As Kindred is a work of fiction, it would naturally be categorized as a neo slave narrative, a concept I came to be familiar with after research. With the plot and simple and direct language employed by Butler, Kindred could not be missed as a neo-slave narrative. Characters that are actual African-American slaves and Caucasian American masters and violence inflicted on slaves are presented in the novel. On a deeper sense, on the other hand, the novel follows the same pattern present in other slave narratives. As was mentioned, the novel Kindred follows the typical pattern for a slave narrative, and this will be the thesis of the paper. It will attempt to discuss and prove the characteristics of a slave narrative present in Butler’s popular piece of art. First and foremost, the novel carried a prefatory statement by a person from Caucasian American race attesting to the authenticity of the author. The second criterion which has to be satisfied is the movement from slavery to freedom. Kindred has been classified under slave narratives by critics as leans toward the freedom narrative category. Aside from this, the most obvious criterion which the novel has to satisfy is that the story should portray the physical, emotional, and spiritual deprivation of slavery. Kindred, undeniably, does not fall short on this end. As the journey through time and space allows Dana to witness the events during the period of slavery firsthand, the novel is rich with narration regarding the struggles of the African-American slaves. Through Dana’s experiences, the tales of the different forms of deprivation and coercion were regaled to the readers. Another trait that must be found in the text is the element of a triggering event that pushes the slave to escape to be considered a neo-slave narrative. For this particular novel, there were many instances which depicted this. The many times when the protagonist Dana feels the need to escape can be included here. Aside from this, another trait of slave narratives is that there is a situation which depicts liberation, or escaping to freedom, which is often followed by a renaming, was also present in the novel. In Dana’s case, changing her name did not transpire after the escape. The shift that took place in this context was the shift in her attitudes and understanding. In conclusion, Kindred is a novel that goes beyond satisfying the extrinsic values of a science fiction novel. More importantly, Butler was able to evoke positive reactions and was actually able to initiate change on the part of her readers. The most palpable change that she was able to make is to remind her fellow African-American readers of their past and have a change of heart and attitude toward their past.

Saturday, September 28, 2019

Rationalist Approaches Essay

International relations (IR) are ‘the diplomatic strategic relations of states, and the characteristic focus of IR is on issues of war and peace, conflict and cooperation’ (Brown and Ainley, 2009). Many different theories exist within IR to define and analyse certain situations. Rationalism is classified as the major in IR analysis theory (Baylis, et al, 2011). The study of IR according to a comprehensive and scientific methodology became a key demand after the First World War, resulting from a desire to clarify international politics. Following the First World War, international relations were initially taught in different fields, such as international law and diplomatic history and international organisations. The importance of studying international relations as an independent rapporteur emerged after the Second World War, precipitated by unprecedented US involvement in global affairs (both during the war and in the subsequent Cold War) and the decline of the European empires in the post-war political situation (Hook and Spanier, 2007). International relations seeks to interpret the phenomena of international reality and reliably and realistically conceptualise and analyse international events for the purpose of building theory and prediction and the study of IR itself. IR aims to reach analytical exact facts of the international situation by recognising the power that controls the formation of various approaches of States with each other and by determining how they dynamically interact, and their consequent impact on the conditions of the international community (Burchill, 2011). International relations are changing constantly under the influence of international politics and pressure, which affect the content and characteristics of IR. The problem of correlation between domestic and foreign policy of the most complex and controversial problems precipitates debate in many theoretical trends in the science of international relations, such as neo- realism (Baldwin, 1993). The theory of international relations is a homogeneous group and methodology of assumptions that seeks to clarify relations, which we call internationalisation. This essay will demonstrate critically some of international relations theories and the interpretations of some key concepts, for example power, state and world order, by using historic and contemporary examples in terms of: firstly, realism and neo-realism; secondly, liberalism and neo-liberalism; thirdly, decision-making theory; and finally, to evaluate the extent to which the rationalist approaches are appropriate in the study of international relations and to illustrate the weaknesses and the strengths of rationalist approach in the study of IR, to bring out the essence of various social entities through epistemological approaches grounded in rationality and interpretation based on the event goal finding forms of social organisation. The events of September 11th, 2001 (hereafter referred to as ‘9/11’) and the subsequent invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq in 2001 and 2003 respectively have alerted researchers in international relations to the role of ideological factors in the behaviour of states, something that contributed to the enrichment of the debate and opposed some fundamental assumptions of Western sociology, especially those relating to humanitarian actions based on rationality and social councils, and the associated view that the world is moving towards a common destiny of liberal democracy and market economy, overriding the self-specificities of peoples and cultural differences (Baylis, et al, 2011). Many researchers have tried possible analyses of reality and built theories from to enable a preview of variable events in international reality, and others used these models for intellectual and contemplative purposes in an attempt to extrapolate theoretical exchange, leading to a different understanding of reality and perception and overcoming the impact of the analysis of external behaviour with proposed forms and formats of relations and international transactions; this is the so-called war of paradigms. In addition, the most important reasons for the differences between these paradigms are due to the complexity of the field of international relations and the complex nature of these relations on the one hand, and the difference in perspectives and ideological motives from which each approach on the other. There is no doubt that the selection of work by the term â€Å"paradigm† is the most effective and beneficial, as the hallmark of this field is relative to these paradigms that do not live up to many researchers’ level of theory, but there are poles of paradigms to serve the interests and certain objectives which sometimes may not be available in scientifically objective conditions, and which facilitate the ideological framing of the general orientation of groups or individuals. Firstly, the theory of realism called for overcoming differences among nations through the international rule of law. The most prominent representatives of this trend, such as Morgenthau, considered that the international system is by nature chaotic and driven by a single law (Schuett, 2011). Realism has interests and is supported by historians. However, the theory suffers from uncertainty because it lacks universally supported definitions for example â€Å"power†, and it assumes that state officials act for national interests in accordance with the interests of power; if this is true, this indicates that the state is in a constant struggle (Brown & Ainley, 2000). Morgenthau was mostly concerned with his concept of power. The policy is determined in relation to the power, and aims to own and keep them and their development. The power is always the ultimate goal of the policy. For Morgenthau, sovereignty is authority over the thought or actions of other human beings; he accordingly rated different countries depending on their political objectives (Cozette, 2008). This category consists of four sections: rated countries seeking to adopt the status quo with any exposure to the existing arrangement; rated countries seeking to develop their strength, practicing a policy of imperialism; and states seeking fame. Three forms of power parallel these categories: to retain power, power development, and highlighting power. The classification uses Morgenthau’s concept of power in a relative sense, a classification that lacks rigour in terms of the definition of terms and reference problems posed by the application of this classification (Turner & Mazur, 2009). However, he also warned that common errors can occur when assessing power, resulting in the following recommendations: first, one should not deal with the power as an absolute concept, and should use a relative analysis; second, power should not be regarded as something acquired; and third, one should not restrict focus to one of the power components, rather all should be carried by the dimensions of this concept. Kenneth Waltz diverged from the realist school and added the experience of new realism in his development of the theory of international relations in his book Theory of International Politics (1979). His new concept of foreign policy is based on the understanding of the system and systemic dynamics, and not of peoples or countries, Waltz pioneered realistic visualisation alongside his focus on the study of manifestations of international economics, with the development of the theory of stability to maintain the status quo, when superpowers impose their concepts that are antithetical to some parties such as the initiative to establish neoliberal international financial institutions to support imaginable ideological outlooks (Waltz, 1959). According to Waltz, the main actors that unite on the basis of securing their survival are states. Neo-realism is an alternative vision. Waltz tried in his book to refine the theory of realism by searching for â€Å"essence.† The theory concerns the international system, and maintains this level of analysis as the only way to understand the actions of the actors who make up the elements of this system, which impose specific restrictions on acts. In this sense, Waltz does not have any hostile vision of international relations. The only issue of importance is the system; albeit other factors such as religion, psychology and internal politics and the economy are considered to some extent in a secondary capacity, he believes that the essence of international relations is located above the other factors. Moreover, the appreciation that the chaotic situation of international relations obliges states to pursue policies that are realistic renders the theory of Waltz a revolutionary one that abrogates a number of factors to permit a general theory of international relations. Waltz stresses on properties that are analysed at the level of the base units and conducts classification systems for example (Islamic, democratic) to enable the interpretation of international relations. Waltz claimed that the foreign policies of states are not the most important elements in the interpretation of international relations; opponents say that the g lobal system is the sum of the states and mutual decisions and actions (Waltz, 1959). The most famous example of the new realistic analysis was conducted by Mearsheimer (1990) on the future of Europe. The baseline of the scenario for analysis was the assumption that the end of the Cold War was absolute, and that the complete withdrawal of Soviet influence from Europe was imminent. It is noteworthy that in 1990 the dismantling of the Soviet Union could be a potentially destabilizing danger that could exacerbate the crisis situation and prospects of major wars for two main reasons: first, because the multi-polar system was less stable due to the increased diodes and the growing relations between states in the international system and the lack possible symmetry authorities, and miscalculations tensions and power; and second, because there was a change in conventional military force. Mearsheimer identified four scenarios based on nuclear deterrence: nuclear disarmament of Europe, which was not expected because of the fundamental role of nuclear deterrence in consolidating international relations; to maintain the status quo, which would raise a number of countries such as Germany or Eastern Europe, and could also precipitate an escalation reaction to their possession of nuclear weapons, and resorting to internal action against threats to other countries owning nuclear weapons; nuclear proliferation in the hands of bad management, which could cause an increase in the potential for conflicts in Europe; fourth, nuclear proliferation in the hands of a good management policy associated with the balance of power led some key countries (Mearsheimer, 2007). The latter was the solution proposed by Mearsheimer. This entailed the provision of nuclear weapons to Germany, based on a balance of power engendered by the United States and Britain transferring powers to Europe. His argument was based on the proviso that nuclear weapons are a stabilising factor and that Germany was seeking to consolidate its security. The criticism of Mearsheimer that can be addressed by specialists in the affairs of the institutions is that the policy of maintaining the status quo through organisations such as the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) was entirely possible. The counterpoint to the realist theory is the liberal approach, which is thought to be the dominant paradigm capable of producing dimensional explanation essential to international relations, with the evolution of scientific and technological progress and economic shifts, which laid the foundations of the liberal intellectual paradigm, which emerged with the seminal pioneers of international law such as Jean Bodin (1552-1608) in his book The Law of War and Peace (1625). Pioneers of liberalism glorified personal freedom and inflated the status of the individual within the state and society and the rule of law against the caprice and tyranny they associated with states, a trend which continued into the era of Classical Liberalism during the 19th century, epitomised with regard to states by Richard Cobden’s argument that Free Trade engendered peace in international relations, and with regard to the individual by John Stuart Mill’s On Liberty (1869) (Grey, 1995). Modern neo-liberalism has outgrown the narrow framework of national sovereignty, focussing instead on the building blocks for international cooperation such as organisations and regional institutions supporting this ethos (Baldwin, 1993). One more recent development is that of the notable neoliberal Karl Doetsch, who moved from inside-loop integration to the role of communication and information between individuals and groups. However, other theories calling for a different vision about international reality cannot be overlooked, such as the theory of dependency developed by some thinkers concerned with Third World countries, in parallel with which political theories and academic attempts to explain changes in the international situation after the end of the Cold War emerged, which predicted the type and nature of upcoming global conflicts such as the notion of the end of history (Francis Fukuyama) and the clash of civilisations (Samuel Huntington), which reduced future conflicts to the spheres of religion and culture (El Anis, et al, 2010). In fact, no single claim has the rigour to encompass and comprehend all dimensions of the complex characteristics of world politics, and a wide range of ideas compete away from the traditional theoretical paradigms, and this competition between theories exposes the strengths and weaknesses of each, and identifies the necessary modifications to be made. In the process of decision-making in a rational manner, one of the logical operations follows a path that starts by defining the problem until a solution is reached, and revolves around the idea of ​​the role of individuals’ ability to increase their own personal benefit; this self-interest of individuals is held to collectively produce the public interest. (Cuban) Rationality is restricted to a basis dependent on personal impressions as well as control methods that are followed in making and implementing decisions. Before turning to the theory of rational choice, studying each of the conditions of the emergence of the concept and definition of the theory of decision-making is necessary. Decision-making theory scrutinises the comprehensiveness of the various elements that must be taken into account when analysing a specific policy, whether in general or in a particular moment; the theory works between these variables, but hypotheses do not necessarily require the decision maker to work on this basis, and it is perhaps more appropriate that the latter consider the decision theory of partial theories rather than the theory of a school if they are focusing on the political system as a whole or specifically on certain private units. Decision-making as an attempt to develop a systemic study of international politics began in the 1950s, led by Richard Snyder and Graham Allison, inspired by the international circumstances then prevailing. At the time, other theories appeared circumstantial and contingent to Cold War policies in the context of the international standoff between the Soviet Union and the United States of America and their allies. The Cold War was at one of its peaks during the 1950s, and led to the emergence of numerous critical scenarios worldwide, which erupted into proxy wars between the USA and USSR in numerous instances for instance the Korean War during the 1950s, and the Vietnam War during the 1960s, fuelled by the competition for military, economic or ideological influence between these two states. This led theorists of international relations in that period to find theories that kept pace with the tense reality of life, and thus came the theory of decision-making in order to determine who makes the decision taken and what frameworks affect relationships between states, and how crises can be managed. Richard Snyder focused his search of international relations on attitudes and reactions and interactions between states, and this theory converged with the theory of realism in some dimensions due to its common identification of the state as the main determinant in international relations (Krasner & Stephen, 1976). Finally, rational analysis has an important place in the analysis of strategic traditionalists who deal with the actors’ behaviours according to the data and plans calculated (military school) that deal with states as the actors seeking to achieve the greatest benefit at minimal cost ( ). This perspective of rationality was enhanced by Hans Morgenthau’s study of rationality aspects relating to the behaviour of states. Morgenthau stressed that countries collide externally and internal variables do not contribute to the external behaviour. The theory is linked in some forms to the stream of the political right, but the 1980s saw the emergence of a school of Marxism espousing the theory of rational free choice, which constitutes an example that there is no necessary link between theory and the political situation. It is clear that the theory of rational choice in the social sciences in general, which first appeared and grew up in sociology, but later separated into different fields of knowledge in the social sciences, had room for application in all the social sciences, particularly political science, and in particular relations in international decision-making foreign policy, and in the profit and loss theories, specifically game theory (Myerson, 1991). This means that the options for each of the parties to the game options and priorities, and in front of opportunities to choose alternatives available to them. However, every alternative is open to each party to affect the value achieved by the other players. If these choices are available for any player, they are available to all other players. This theory helps researchers, especially as they deal with the international strategic situation, in clarifying the alternative options before the decision-makers and helps them understand the problem and the ability to solve systematic analysis more deeply. Rationality in decision-making theory is based on determining rational behaviour, intended behaviour of decision-makers and which player can win. It does not address what route people actually take, and individuals may behave contradictorily and irrationally at times. The advocates of this theory used rational behaviour on the basis that it is most able to make the fittest theory of inte rpretation, and rational behaviour means that each player in international politics has a set of values ​​and goals and decides its policy accordingly, without errors. This is analogous to the analysis of sports, but this game theory is a method of analysis that provides evidence to choose the best route to work; states are required to look for the best ways to work and the attitudes and the results of this appear in the actions of others. The goal is to identify potential irrational acts that can and do lead to decisions and the most convenient work in order to achieve goals. Rational decision links the objectives and means thinking about the results, and rational analysis analyses the relationship between means and goals. Rationality provides full information in advance, so actors are able to stop their analysis when the results they expect are produced. However, the results of rational decision-making are not necessarily useful. It could be argued that one of the signs of an irrational decision is not using the information available. But we experimentally note that the decision is a rational decision in terms of the integration of the goals and objectives, including any tuning account of costs and benefits for explicit values ​​given, and states should take into account the various means at their disposal and also analyse and evaluate the results. In conclusion, neo-realism along with neoliberalism can be categorised as rationalist approaches in IR. While neo-realism is a concept of foreign policy based on understanding the system not the individual states, neo-realists cannot explain change in the system or in some circumstances predict potential dangers (Keohane, 1986). Neoliberalism refers mainly to economic liberalisation, and the facilitation of trade throughout the globe, with the onus on the development of the private sector. To this fundamentally economic programme, a vague concept of political freedom is appended much less forcefully than in Classical Liberalism (Doyle & Michael, 1986). However, the reforms of neoliberalism focus on increasing competition and achieving high economic growth and ignoring the influences that could affect such activities. Although they differ in many aspects, they both look to determine phenomena requiring explanation, for instance, the new realistic analysis conducted by Mearsheimer about the future of Europe, and both approaches identify the key actors. It is clear that they are demonstrating how the findings would be under given conditions if the actors function rationally. References Baylis, J. et al. (2011), The globalization of world politics an introduction to international relations, 5th edition, Oxford University press, New York. Baldwin, David A., (ed.) (1993) Neorealism and Neoliberalism: The Contemporary Debate. (New York: Columbia University Press) Brown, C. Ainley, K. (2009), Understanding International Relations [online], PALGRAVE MACMILLAN, New York, Available from: http://www.coursesmart.co.uk/understanding-international-relations-4th/chris-brown-kirsten-ainley/dp/9780230213104 [Accessed: 22.12.2012]. Burchill, Scott (2001) â€Å"Introduction,† in Theories of International Relations, Hampshire, Palgrave Cozette, M. (2008) ‘What Lies Ahead: Classical Realism on the Future of International Relations’ International Studies Review, Vol.10, No.4, pp.667-679 Doyle, Michael W., (1986) ‘Liberalism and World Politics’, American Political Science Review, Vol. 80, No. 4, pp. 1151-1169 El Anis, I. et al. (2010), An Introduction to international relations theory perspectives and themes , 3rd edition, Pearson Education Limited , England. Grey, J. (1995). Liberalism. 2nd ed. Buckingham: Open University Press Hook, S. W. & Spanier, J. W. (2007). American foreign policy since World War II. 17th ed. Washington, D.C.: CQ Press. Keohane, R. (1986), Neorealism and its critics, New York: Columbia University Press. Krasner, Stephen D., (1976) ‘State Power and the Structure of International Trade’, World Politics, 28(3): 317-47. Mearsheimer, John J., ‘Structural Realism’, in Tim Dunne, Milja Kurki and Steve Smith, International Relations Theories: Discipline and Diversity (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2007) pp. 71-88 Myerson, R. (1991), Game Theory Analysis of conflict, President and fellows of Hravard College, United States of America. Schuett, R. (2010) ‘Classical realism, Freud and human nature in international relations’ History Of The Human Sciences, Vol.23, No.2, pp.21-46 Turner, S., and Mazur, G. (2009) ‘Morgenthau as a Weberian Methodologist’ European Journal Of International Relations, Vol.15, No.3, pp.477-504 Waltz, K. (1959) Man, the State and War, New York: Columbia University Press. Waltz, Kenneth, (2000) ‘Structural Realism after the Cold War,’ International Security, Vol. 25, No. 1

Friday, September 27, 2019

Depends on the movie Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Depends on the movie - Coursework Example The most crucial query is your comfort and preference, disregarding common stereotypes and prejudices. This main idea is set forth in rather extraordinary movie The Kids are All Right by Lisa Cholodenko, which tells the story about untraditional married couple. With a help of artificial insemination, Nic and Jules have managed to build full and amicable family, raising two children, eighteen-year-old Joni and fifteen-year-old Laser. The stated movie shows the availability of alternative ways of reproduction, implying today’s solutions and possibility to have kids in same-sex union. The statement of Paul Hatfield, a donor that appears in family’s life so abruptly, saying, â€Å"I loved the idea of helping people, who were in need† (Horowitz, 2010), accentuate mutual assistance and support, which people have to give each other more frequently. Though in nineteen-year-old age Paul’s intentions, obviously, could be called mercenary, because he admits the role of maternal factor, however, being a grown-up person, Mister Hatfield realizes the importance and nobility of his deed, calling to follow his example. Relationships within the family seem to be quite ordinary. Being too serious and demanding all the time, Nic plays the role of the head that makes decisions and gives pieces of advice.

Thursday, September 26, 2019

What does advertisement tell us about America before and after Essay

What does advertisement tell us about America before and after capitalism - Essay Example Perhaps, this is why Washington, Mary and their two children were escaping from the subscriber with who the family had lived for the past 15 years. During the closing stages of nineteenth century, industrial revolution aimed at substituting massive manpower as well as animal with mechanical power in the production process. With industrialization gaining popularity, specialization became more dominant with factories producing goods and service in large batches. Despite the fact that artisans together with small shops were never absolutely eliminated by factories, they were largely reduced to insignificant players in the economy of major nations. With rising modern working class and increasing popularity of production mechanization, production tools became concentrated on a few hands. Workers had insignificant property and had to sell their labor to the capitalists for cash. Capitalism was spurred by private property ownership and economic boom and bust brought about by industrialization. As workers continued to exchange their labor for cash, factory owners accumulated huge amounts of wealth, increasing private ownership and mono poly tendencies (Tomka 195). Even though there were outcries for the abolition of such tendencies, capitalism thrived in the phase of industrial revolution in the nineteenth century crossing over to the twentieth century. In the ad on lecture 8:31 â€Å"GREAT WHITE FLEET: CARIBBEAN CRUISES,† the replacement of animal power by mechanized transportation modes is evident. Unlike previous experiences, where farm products were ferried by animals, industrialization led to emergence of the â€Å"Great White Fleet† with higher carriage capacity. This promoted increased production as more goods could be transported with ease to the market. The ships only carried first class passengers, probably capitalists, providing them with comfortable ride to their destinations. The ad also features workers taking farm

Medea (video) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Medea (video) - Essay Example She defies the prevalent male chauvinism by murdering Glauce and the society abhors her. Additionally, although the book clearly indicates that Medea loved her children, the video portrays her as a jealous irrational woman whose appearance scares away even her own children. This is a conscious move by the director to expose the perceived animosity of Medea. It portrays her as a brutally proud woman who is reluctant to let her opponents succeed. Although the book portrays Medea as a typical traditional woman fighting against social ills, the video portrays her as a cunning and cold schemer. It gives her the ability to see through the deceitful values and false pieties of her enemies. The video portrays Medea as loving and caring. This is evident through the actions that she did to Jason when they first met. However, one keeps on wondering whether Medea had ever experienced love before she met Jason. Although the book portrays Medea as an abnormal person, the video portrays her as a normal human being with feelings. Her heart turns into vengeance upon discovering that Jason was planning to marry another

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

Assignment 4 Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Assignment 4 - Research Paper Example The African American employees filed a class action suit in which they argued that these practices were a violation of Title VII. This is because neither possessing a high school education nor passing the tests was a necessity for successful performance on the jobs in question. In the suit, they argued that the practices were illegal since a higher proportion of the African Americans did not have high school educations. On its part, the company put forward the argument that the requirements were based on its judgment and that they would generally improve the general quality of the workforce, and that the company had no discriminatory intent in instituting these requirements. Further, the company argued that its lack of discriminatory intent was demonstrated by its efforts to assist uneducated employees by financing two thirds of the tuition cost for high school education, (Rue & Byars, 2008). The Court Ruling However, the Supreme Court made a ruling in favor of the African American e mployees, (Rue & Byars, 2008). Meaning of the Ruling The ruling meant that the Duke Power Company could not use the two tests as the criteria for transferring incumbent employees from an outside job to an inside job. Based on the Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, businesses, including the Duke Power Company, should adhere to the several key provisions stipulated by Section 703. These provisions outline unlawful employment practices for businesses and companies. It is an unlawful practice for any employer to refuse or fail to hire or discharge any person, or otherwise to discriminate against any person with respect to his terms, privileges, compensation, or terms of employment, based on the person’s color, sex, race, religion, or national origin. It is also unlawful to segregate, limit, or classify employees or applicants for employment in any manner that would tend to deprive or deprive any person of employment opportunities, or affect his position as an employee adv ersely, due to the person’s color, sex, religion, race, or national origin, (Rue & Byars, 2008). According to Rue & Byars (2008), it is also unlawful for an employment agency to refuse or fail to refer for employment, or otherwise discriminate against any person based on his or her color or race, or to refer or classify for employment any person based on his color, race, sex, or religion. Also, a labor organization can not expel or exclude from its membership, or otherwise discriminate against any person on the basis of his color, race, sex, or religion. The organization can also not cause an employer to discriminate against any person. The labor organization can also not classify its membership or applicants in a way that is deemed discriminatory. Therefore, the provisions stipulate that an employer, a labor, organization, and a joint labor-management committee that controls apprenticeship or training, to discriminate against another person. This ruling, as well as the provi sions listed above, has major implications on the Duke Power Company and other businesses in general. First, a violation of any of the provisions results in an unlawful employment practice. Such unlawful employment practices are quick to attract lawsuits. According to Hersh (1991), lawsuits are costly and time consuming, and many companies try to avoid them. Lawsuits also might be a stain to the company’s image and reputation. Therefore, the ruling would go a long way in ensuring that companies and businesses strictly adhere to the

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

Australian taxation law Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Australian taxation law - Assignment Example According to the above definition of Australian resident for taxation, the Indian consultant does not qualify to be a resident, since the period of stay during the year of income is only five months. The financial year begins on 1st July to 30th June. In this respect, income earned by the Indian IT consultant between 1st July 2012 and 30th June 2013 will be taxed in financial year ending 31st July 2013. Further, according to provisions of the same section, income earned in July 2013 will be assessed for tax in July 2013. Section 6-5(3) of ITAA 97, income according to ordinary concepts states that income derived by a foreign resident directly or indirectly from all Australian sources is assessable for income taxes. 2. An Australian born viticulturist (wine maker) who accepts seasonal contracts in Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and France. The Australian born viticulturist is a resident for taxation purpose. Even though the wine maker accepts seasonal contracts from foreign count ries, by birth and stay qualifies as a resident. According to ITAA 97 section 6-5(2), income according to ordinary concepts, assessable income includes all incomes derived directly or indirectly from all sources whether in or outside Australia during the year of income. Therefore, the Australian Viticulturist will be taxed on income derived from seasonal subcontracts in the stated countries. In Malayan Shipping Co Ltd v FCT, the court held that even though the company engaged in foreign trade, the management was Australian resident and therefore income derived from foreign income was assessable for tax purposes. 3. An Italian born tradesman who migrates to Australia on 30 March 2013. According to the definition of Australian resident, an individual qualifies to be a resident by among other things moving to live in Australia. Therefore, the Italian tradesman qualifies to be a resident by migrating to Australia. Based on ITAA 97 section 6-5 (3), Income according to ordinary concepts, the income of the Italian tradesman to be assessed includes that part derived directly or indirectly from Australian sources between 30 March 2013 and 30th June 2013 when the year of income ends. 4. An Australian born bank employee sent to a Singapore branch for 6 months. The bank employee is a resident by birth. According to ITAA 97 section 6-5(2), income according to ordinary concepts, assessable income to Australian residents includes income derived directly from all sources be it local or foreign sources during the year of income. Therefore, the income earned will be assessed in the financial year within which it falls. 5. A person of Australian domicile living in Sydney. The fact that the person is a domicile and lives in Sydney, Australia is sufficient qualification for residency. According to ITAA 97 section 6-5(2), income according to ordinary concepts, assessable income for Australian residents includes income derived directly and indirectly from all sources. This means tha t income for Australian domicile will be taxed in the year of income it falls. PART B CALCULATE the minimum amount of net capital gain which is to be included in his assessable income. You must indicate how every item mentioned above

Monday, September 23, 2019

Mystery religions of the Hellenistic era Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Mystery religions of the Hellenistic era - Essay Example Although the religions were present several years before the Hellenistic era, their popularity increased significantly during this period and even spread through the entire Mediterranean region (Ferguson, 1980, p. 157). The mystery religions were created in several diverse geographical areas including India, Iran, Egypt and Greece, yet all of the mystery religions were based on myths that were very similar to each other. Although they were diverse in geographical origin, heterogeneous in historical development, and theological orientation, during the Hellenistic period the various mysteries shared a similar response to the religious needs of the day, and they resembled each other sufficiently to warrant being classified and discussed together† (Meyer, 1987, p. 4). This paper will mainly focus on the Greek mystery religions in the Hellenistic period. The mystery religions, which were often considered cults, promised their followers good things although most of these promises wer e never fulfilled. Examples of the mystery religions were the worship of single deities like Demeter, Kore, Orpheus, Isis and Cybele (Grant, 1962, p. 98). These figures were taken from ancient myths and legends, telling stories of Demeter, the goddess of grain, and her daughter Kore, also known by the name Persephone, Orpheus and his lute and other major figures. (Tripolitis, 2002, p. 17) They mingle stories about the world of men and the home of the gods on Mount Olympus, relating natural events like the passing of the seasons to myths about the underworld. By attaching stories to these things, people gave meaning to their lives, and through rituals and gifts, felt that they could have some influence on how their crops would turn out, or how they would get through the darkness of winter. Although literature and history do not always recognize the importance of the mystery religions in the Hellenistic era, they were a significant part of the Greek culture and without a doubt influen ced many aspects of life. As a result of this they also affected history and there is plenty of evidence in the form of statues, ritual objects, paintings and other relics which show how these divine figures were part of daily life. Of further importance is the legacy the mystery religions left, and how they affected subsequent religions. It appears that the mystery religions had great similarities with early Christianity. This paper will therefore discuss what the mystery religions were during the Hellenistic era, how much we can find out about them and what they had in common with early Christianity. The background of the mystery religions In comparison to the previous Hellenic culture the Hellenistic society was multicultural, open, and tolerant (Mathews and Platt, 2008, p.87). Before, and during the Hellenistic period the Greek citizens worshiped the Olympian gods and goddesses. Greek religion was an indispensable part of private and public life and the polis and religion could not be separated (Mathews and Platt, p.43). The Hellenistic period, from the time of Alexander the Great through the Ptolemaic, Seleucid, and Antigonid Kingdoms established by his successors, witnessed the transformation of the polis (city-state). It can be argued that Alexander the Great’s conquest of 336-323 B.C.E. was a main factor that initiated the profound changes to the values of the old Greek polis and the Olympian gods and goddesses linked to the polis (Meyer, 1987, p.2). These changes most likely began because of the growing contact with other civilizations, including Egypt and the New East. During this time Macedonia overtook and philosophy, religion and every other aspect of life began to change. Although heirs of the

Sunday, September 22, 2019

Three-Phase Induction Motors Essay Example for Free

Three-Phase Induction Motors Essay Three-phase induction machines account for the great majority of applications that call for motors with power ratings over 5 hp. They are used to power pumps, fans, compressors, and grinders, and in other industrial applications. Rotating Stator Field. The stator of a three-phase induction machine contains a set of windings to which three-phase electrical power is applied. The stator field can be visualized as a set of north and south poles rotating around the circumference of the stator. (North stator poles are where magnetic flux lines leave the stator, and south stator poles are where magnetic flux lines enter the stator. Because north and south poles occur in pairs, the total number of poles P is always even. The direction of rotation of the field in a three-phase induction machine can be reversed by interchanging any two of the line connections to the electrical source. We will see that this reverses the direction of mechanical rotation. You may find the fact that interchanging two of the electrical connections to the source reverses the direction of rotation to be useful in working with three-phase motors. Squirrel-Cage Induction Machines. The rotor windings of a three-phase induction machine can take two forms. The simplest, least expensive, and most rugged is known as a squirrel-cage rotor. It consists simply of bars of aluminum with shorting rings at the ends. The squirrel cage is embedded in the laminated iron rotor by casting molten aluminum into slots cut into the rotor. In the squirrel-cage induction machine, there are no external electrical connections to the rotor. The other type of rotor construction is known as a wound rotor. Torque is produced in an induction motor assuming purely resistive impedances for the rotor conductors. However, the impedances of the conductors are not purely resistive. Because the conductors are embedded in iron, there is significant series inductance associated with each conductor. The rotor slows down from synchronous speed, the stator field moves past the rotor conductors. The magnitudes of the voltages induced in the rotor conductors increase linearly with slip. For small slips, the inductive reactance of the conductors is negligible, and maximum rotor current is aligned with maximum stator field, which is the optimum situation for producing torque. Thus, the torque tends to level out as the motor slows. Because the poles on the rotor tend to become aligned with the stator poles, the torque decreases as the motor slows to a stop. The torque for zero speed is called either the starting torque or the stall torque. The maximum torque is called either the pull-out torque or the breakover torque. The motor designer can modify the shape of the torque speed characteristic by variations in the dimensions and geometry of the motor and by materials selection.

Saturday, September 21, 2019

Family And Gender Roles Changing Attitudes Sociology Essay

Family And Gender Roles Changing Attitudes Sociology Essay From this point of view, female employment can be seen as a necessary means of family income and support. But the question remains whether and in which way family life and children will be affected by employed womens temporary absence from the household. Gender has been an important principle of stratification throughout Japanese history, but the cultural elaboration of gender differences has varied over time and among different social classes. After World War II, the fixed image of the Japanese woman has been that of the young office lady, who becomes a housewife and a stay-at-home mother after marriage. But a new generation of educated women is emerging, who are seeking a career as a working woman with a family at home. They continue to have nearly total responsibility for home and children and often justify their employment as an extension of their responsibilities for the care of their families (Molony, 2000). But how are the views on that commitment compared to women in a much more liberal country, such as the Netherlands? The subject of gender equity and working women in the Netherlands is often viewed by known two-tier societies (such as Japan, Austria, Italy and Venezuela) as progressive, maybe even too liberated for the tastes of some governments. Japan generally constitutes a case of low gender equity and low female labour market participation while the Netherlands has moderate to high gender equity and high part-time female labour market participation. This bachelors thesis will therefore attempt to identify whether a link exists between asymmetrical gender division of household labour and low gender equity. Gender equity is the process of being fair to women and men. To ensure fairness, strategies and measures must often be available to compensate for womens historical and social disadvantages that prevent women and men from otherwise operating on a level playing field. Equity leads to equality. Japan and the Netherlands will be very interesting countries to compare, because inequality between men and women in the Netherlands is relatively small compared to the other countries. As you can see, the Netherlands has a relatively high score on the Gender Empowerment Measure (GEM):Arbeidsdeelname vrouwen in de EU, 2009 It comes fourth behind Sweden, Finland and Denmark. Despite anti-discrimination laws and a steadily growing number of employed women, Japan is falling behind the rest of the world on gender equality. Widespread discrimination persists, and has only grown more subtle over the past years. According to the United Nations Development Programme, Japan has consistently ranked as the most unequal of the worlds richest countries. Our means for above endeavor will be the Multidimensional Unfolding technique; can this technique be applied successfully to the large dataset of the ISSP 2002 survey programme: Family and Changing Gender Roles III? This large annual cross-national survey includes questions about attitudes towards gender role distribution, the attitudes towards employment of mothers and married women and management of marriage or partnership. I will also try to give a practical explanation of unfolding and the procedures that are used for this. The first phase of the project will involve an analysis of the ISSP data with SPSS PREFSCAL. With this programme we will try to find a common quantitative scale that allows us to visually examine the relationships between our two sets of objects/countries; Japan and the Netherlands. The main issue of this study is to show how attitudes towards marriage, motherhood, and the morality of family behavior differ across nations, both in the Netherlands and in Japan. What is the difference in attitudes about the changing gender roles in two different cultures? Theory 2.1 Attitudes towards gender equity in Japan and the Netherlands In the beginning, woman was the sun. An authentic person. Today, she is the moon. Living through others. Reflecting the brilliance of others (Sievers, 1983). It was Toshiko Kishida (1863-1901) who said: If it is true that men are better than women because they are stronger, then why arent our sumo wrestlers in the government? (Kishida, 2007) This famous Japanese woman used clever phrases such as this to attack the view that men by nature were superior to women. She became a talented and exciting public speaker and the first woman to travel all over Japan, addressing huge crowds. She was imprisoned for her beliefs, but continued to speak out. She said that a civilized country such as Japan should be ashamed to respect men and yet despise women. When after this the Meiji-Taisho era (1868-1926) began, Japanese leaders were open to new ideas; male nationalists argued that improving the status of women was essential if other technologically advanced nationals (such as the Netherlands) were to accept them. This opened the door for a small group of women who called for new rights and freedoms. The phrase good wife, wise mother was coined, meaning that in order to be good citizens, women had to become educated and take part in public affairs (Sievers, 1983). But even after this, the dominant male-breadwinner family model, accompanied by tax and state benefits for families that favor one-earner couples, and a lack of available or affordable institutionalized childcare make it difficult for Japanese women to combine work and parenthood. When they do attempt this, they take on not only the role of paid worker, but also remain the largest contributor to housework and child-caring tasks (Kreyenfeld Hank, 2000). I dont interfere with my husbands business, not with my mouth, hands or legs. (Jordan, 2002). This statement, made by Kumiko Hashimoto, the wife of former Japanese Prime Minister Ryutario Hashimoto, underlines the traditional role of women in Japan. After this we can conclude that traditional gender roles in Japan are characterized by a strong sense of patriarchy in their society, which accounts for the bifurcation of the productive and reproductive spheres, with a distinct separation of gender roles. In the family, this refers to the idea of the man as the primary breadwinner of the family, and the woman as the primary caregiver in the family (Iwao, 1994). But all this is completely different in the Netherlands. After being oppressed by men in the 19th century women started the first feminist wave here around the year 1870. Wilhelmina Drucker and Aletta Jacobs were the two main women of this wave and both meant a lot for the position of women nowadays. At the end of the first feminist wave women obtained the right to vote and were able to attend college and universities, and had the right to work outdoors. In the 1950s and early 1960s it seemed that the emancipation of women in the Netherlands was completed. Formally, women had the same rights and possibilities to work outdoors as men. Though in practice, married women did not work outdoors and the public opinion was that both men and women had both different competences; women were the ones to take care of the children and men had paid jobs outdoors. In 1980 the law for equal treatment for men and women was finally ratified. Nowadays, the amount of part time jobs has increased massively over the last twelve years. Though, women work much more in part time jobs as men. The government wants to stimulate more women to work more hours a week. Furthermore, men should have the chance to work in part time and take care of children for example as well (Van de Loo, 2005). Most women in the Netherlands today continue to work after the birth of their children, and compared with Japan the employment rate of mothers in the Netherlands is high. The majority of women in the Netherlands do however reduce their working hours after the birth of their first child. This fits in with views in the Netherlands on looking after children; the fact that a mother is working is no longer an issue, but a mother having a full-time job still goes too far for most Dutch people. The majority feel that it is best for children to be looked after exclusively by their own parents, and they are very reserved about formal childcare. In addition, a third of women and more than half of men believe that women are better suited than men to looking after small children. Working part-time offers mothers an opportunity both to participate in the labour market and to look after their children largely or entirely themselves (Versantvoort, 2008). Multi-dimensional Unfolding Technique Unfolding is a data analysis technique that was invented in 1950 by Clyde Hamilton Coombs and his students in one dimension and is later extended to multiple dimensions (Busing, 2010). The unfolding model is a geometric model for preference and choice. It locates individuals and alternatives as points in a joint space, and it predicts that an individual will pick the alternative in the choice set closest to its ideal point. It is perhaps the dominant model in both scaling of preferential choice and attitude scaling. By scaling we refer to the process following data collection, by which numbers are assigned to entities such as items or individuals. Coombs proposed a joint scale for preference data: his J scale positions both judges and items on a single continuum such that an item is located closer to the judge the more it is preferred. Unfolding  is the name he coined for the operation of deriving the joint scale from the individual preference rankings (Coombs, 1950). Coombs ideas were later extended by Bennett and Hays (1960) to the multidimensional case: multidimensional unfolding  becomes then the operation of representing both individuals and preference items as points in a low-dimensional space such that the distance orders re ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å¡ect the rankings. This multidimensional unfolding model, which relies on distances and that is also known as ideal point model, is a very attractive one: it gives a geometric representation of nonmetric data in a sparse way, and with a distance model that is easy to grasp. This statistical method is explorative in the sense that it can identify latent dimensions in a given dataset. The model will find coordinates in a low-dimensional joint space, in the particular case at hand both for respondents and statements about gender equity and inequity. The resulting configurations are very easy to interpret and give a quick first insight into the overall structure of the data and its particularities (Van Deun, Marchal, Heiser, Engelen, Van Mechelen, 2007). The multidimensional unfolding technique computes solutions to the equations of unfolding model. It can be defined as multidimensional scaling of off-diagonal matrices. This means the data are dissimilarities between n row objects and m column objects, collected in an n ÃÆ'- m matrix 1. An important example is preference data, where _i j indicates, for instance, how much individual i dislikes object j . In unfolding we have many of the same distinctions as in general multidimensional scaling: there is uni-dimensional and multidimensional unfolding, metric and nonmetric unfolding, and there are many possible choices of loss functions that can be minimized (De Leeuw, 2011). Unfolding also finds an optimal solution by minimizing what is called a stress function. (To be continued) 2.3 Data This research is a secondary analysis based on the study monitoring survey conducted by ZUMA for the ISSP on the 2002 Family and Changing Gender Roles module. Thirty-four member countries archived the 2002 Family and Changing Gender Roles module; all of them have completed the monitoring questionnaire. The ISSP 2002 module contains 362 variables and 60000 cases. The cases are a multi-stage stratified sample of the (adult) population of thirty-four countries worldwide. The data was essentially collected through face to face interviews, self-completion (with interviewer involvement) or, in some cases, telephone interviews. But these telephone interviews were later on not permitted in the ISSP, so they are not included in the data. Nine countries had advance letters, including Japan; while the Netherlands had a telephone pre-contact. The Netherlands also made use of an incentive (a gift token of 15 euros), while Japan did not use any incentive. With the exception of Japan, countries using interviewer-administered modes back-checked interviews (proportions ranging between 3%-95%). Japan and the Netherlands both had an age cut-off point at 16 years. The Study Monitoring Questionnaire (SMQ) has been modified from year to year. Questions on fieldwork, translation, and sampling have, for example changed and questions on documentation been added. Some countries used old versions of the SMQ, which they had kept. This means that some information for these countries is missing in the report. While the statements in the ISSP questionnaire are about different aspects of family and work life of women, they generally imply that an unequal burden of homemaking activities should lie with the female and/or that a females activities in the labour market are of secondary importance to her role as a homemaker and her husbands role in the labour market. Method The multidimensional unfolding technique usually runs with small datasets with a maximum of 100 subjects. Not much research is done yet on how well PREFSCAL handles larger datasets like the ISSP set with 2341 subjects (only Japan and the Netherlands) Im about to use, so this will be an interesting and instructive endeavor. To investigate whether or not unfolding can be used to make sense of the relations between the different gender-related items (i.e., statements) a first analysis will be done on a restricted sample from the dataset with respondents from the Netherlands and Japan only. Choosing only two countries turned out to be a wise decision, because PREFSCAL cant run smoothly with all thirty-four countries in one data-set, it is simply too much data for SPSS to handle; you will get an error about having insufficient memory to complete the procedure. After that the execution of the command will come to a halt. The next step was making a choice selection from the many variables; I chose seven variables which can best represent the construct of gender equality, these variables are given in table 1. The variables are comparable because they all measure subjects attitudes towards gender equality. V4 A mens job is work, a womans job is the household. V6 When a woman works, the family life suffers. V7 What women really want is a home and kids. V8 Work is the best thing for a womans independence. V9 A working woman should get paid maternity leave V11 Working in the household satisfies just as much as a paid job. V27 If a mom works she can still have a warm relationship with her children. The above questions were presented to each of the subjects, who were asked to indicate their degree of agreement on a 9-point rating scale. This scale goes from Strongly agree to Strongly disagree with an added Cant choose and No answer refused. I chose a (wide) variety of questions from my data; some are very positive about women in the workplace and household and some are very negative about women in the workplace and household. Entries in the following models indicate average similarities and dissimilarities between the Japanese and Dutch people across seven different points of view. The term similarity is used to indicate the degree of agreement between two objects, while dissimilarity indicates the degree of disagreement. I filtered the thirty-four countries with Select-Cases and using the option If condition is satisfied. My variable for country is called v3, with Japan having code 24 and the Netherlands having code 11; so I put in v3=24 OR v3=11. When I wanted to write the cases to a whole new data-set I chose the option copy selected cases to a new data-set in the first tab of Select Cases. Having done this, I had a whole new data-set with only the data from Japan and the Netherlands to work with. When I tried to make some models with PREFSCAL I got a missing data error: Row with only missing data found. This is not allowed. This means that at least one person in my data-set hasnt given a valid answer to the variables/questions Im using for this project. That is why I chose to use only persons that have given a valid answer to at least 50 percent of the questions in my analysis. I did this by going to Compute Variable and creating a filter-variable with Include if case satisfies condition: NVALID (v4, v6, v7, v8, v9, v11, v27)>=4. I simply took the amount of variables I had (7), divided them by two and rounded off upwards to four. Four being the minimal amount of valid answers I wanted in my analysis. After this I filtered my Japan-Netherlands data-set on this new variable (Valid Answers) via Select Cases. SPSS will then filter all the cases that have too little valid answers. When I had finally solved all the problems with my data-set I got the following error: Invariant part of the data found, check, depending on conditionality chosen, your data for constant parts. To solve this problem I made the decision to analyze my data with the option matrix-conditional and transforming the input data row conditionally, whereby tied observations were untied for each row separately. This means that the model was allowed to transform like-wise item scores into different values, as long as the overall order of the item scores was not altered. To better distinguish the difference between males and females on other variables, such as education and religion, I used Select Cases again to create two different data-sets, one with 1106 males and one with 1235 females after correcting for invalid answers again. The first two-dimensional unfolding model of Japan and the Netherlands was created. Its Normalized Stress level was a fair 0,1027924, which is an excellent stress-level for an unfolding model. This stress is intended to be a measure of how well the configuration fits the data. Stress is defined as a Standardized Residual Sum of Squares which should always be positive, and the smaller the better. Kruskal himself suggested the following benchmarks for measuring stress: .20 = poor, .10 = fair, .05 = good, .025 = excellent, and .00 = perfect. These benchmarks are based on experience with experimental and synthetic data (Kruskal, 1964). By adding more variables into my model I wanted to get a better grasp of the cultural differences between Japan and the Netherlands on the subject of gender equity, family life and marriage. I did this by adding these five questions to the seven I already had: V10 Both men and women should attribute to the household income. V12 Men should do a larger share of child care. V13 Men should do a larger share of household work. V19 A bad marriage is better than no marriage at all. V26 People without kids lead empty lives. These questions are aimed more at a mens responsibility in the household and add some more cultural information about attitude about marriage and having children. Before using the Prefscal method in SPSS, first the Correlation Matrix was analyzed. As can be seen in the above matrix table there are quite a few significant correlations between the twelve variables. The highest correlations can be found between questions about working mothers and questions about mens household duties, and also between questions about having children and questions about family life. So there are strong correlations between the variables. This is as expected, because the variables represent unique characteristics of two cultures about gender equity. Since Prefscal itself doesnt give a three-dimensional graphical representation in the SPSS output automatically, I wanted to see if I could find three different dimensions in my data, instead of two (see Figure under construction). Results I will hereby present the results of an attempt to classify 2341 Japanese and Dutch citizens using the unfolding model. The result of the SPSS PREFSCAL unfolding model for the sample from the Dutch and Japanese citizenship values data from the 2002 ISSP Citizenship Programme is a two-dimensional joint plot based on a classical initial scaling configuration, which shows points for 1241 Dutch respondents, 1100 Japanese respondents and twelve statements about gender-equity and inequity. This solution resulted in a great two-dimensional graphical representation which looked very interpretable in terms of the possibilities of interpreting the differences between the two countries in the data set. As you can see, the gender equity positive variables are all on the bottom of the Column Objects model. The negative variables are all at the top, and the one neutral variable is in the middle. The Joint Plot shows the separately derived two-dimensional spaces for the red (Japanese respondents) and blue (Dutch respondents) dots. The twelve statements are represented by black dots. The axes represent the primary and secondary dimensions, shown in normalized units. The interpretation of this unfolding solution is done intuitively. It will be investigated whether the dimensions can be given meaning. A good modeling solution will locate a subjects opinion about gender equity according to the most dominant cross-reference proximities in their answers. By first inspection, it can be readily seen that Prefscal indeed located points corresponding to similar objects close together, while those corresponding to dissimilar objects far apart. This is consistent with our intuition that the countries within the groups havent got much in common. To understand these different contexts, we can again turn to nation-specific contextual explanations. (Insert interpretation of the above model) The highest level of education for the respondent is represented by five comparative categories, not included No answer, dont know. Lowest formal qualification and above lowest qualification represents those who have not completed primary school to those who have completed this level or the first stage of basic education. Higher secondary completed refers to those who have completed higher secondary school or technical training. The above higher level of secondary education group includes those who completed higher secondary school theoretical training up to the last and highest level of tertiary education, University degree completed (i.e., PhD). Van Wel Knijn (2006) maintain that the part-time labour market participation of Dutch mothers is primarily caused by cultural factors and not economic or institutional constraints. They contend that a culture of care dominates, as does the one-and-a-half earner model where the man works full-time and the woman part-time. This model is particularly dominant among people with a lower education. For those with higher education, the tendency is for both partners to attempt to work part-time, although this is only achieved within a very limited group. Based on these institutional and cultural differences, we anticipate that women in Japan will face higher institutional and family constraints than in the Netherlands. As outlined in the main hypothesis, we expect that these constraints will be particularly poignant for Japanese working women who engage in both substantial paid labour combined with a heavy load of household duties. (Insert education model with only females). Conclusion Discussion

Friday, September 20, 2019

Comparison Between Democratic And Autocratic Nursing Essay

Comparison Between Democratic And Autocratic Nursing Essay Its being a long time I have been working in New Zealand. After working within groups and under influence of different leader I learnt many things about Leadership, before working experience I got basic knowledge from books and lecturers about leadership. From experience I gained from working under and working as leader I can mark myself as Democratic Leader. My style of leading is Democratic, the survey I conducted on internet helped me to figure out me and make me sure about the Leadership style I Inherited within myself. According to this survey this style suits my character and is helpful in my career. Sometime its also important to be Autocratic leaders because sometime some situation occurs where u have to take lead and enforce authority to achieve your goal. In my career I also faced some situation where it became necessary for me to use my authority and enforce it on my team members to achieve the target. Democratic The Democratic leadership is an ideal style of running a team successfully. Democratic leader are most efficient leaders. They know how to achieve the goal with support of their team. This style proves very vital role in dynamic and rapidly changing environment. These leaders knows importance of each and every member of their team, they take advice and suggestion from their team while making decision. (Sanajy) Autocratic- The leaders with autocratic style are also known authoritarians. These leaders took control on decision making; they dont take advice from their team members. Autocratic leaders are concerned about their targets and they dont care about the interest of their colleagues or their team members. They rarely accept advice from their team members. (Leader) According to my point of view Democratic style of leadership is most efficient and successful style of leadership in a restaurant. I have experienced that this style is also used by my seniors as they know that this style gain them respect, colleagues trust and also to achieve the target. Couple of time I faced situation in which my manager autocratically deals with the situation and it was necessary at that time. I can say that both of these two styles are efficiently helping the leaders in day to day activity and are also being used by different leaders in New Zealand. I can say that where democratic style helps to achieve target and employees satisfaction, whereas in some situation autocratic leaders prove efficient to achieve the target. After having experience in different workforces I also found some minus points in my leadership especially in term of anger management. I see it as a barrier in way to be a successful leader so I decided to deal with it and solve this problem as soon as possible. I read some anger management books and also saw some videos related to anger management, but I had very good communication skills and the understanding level within my time. My team members share their personal views as well as issues with work with me. I see myself as a good leader in future if I overcome my problems. 1. B Leadership Theory Transactional Theory Democratic theory suggests that Democratic theory is an ideal theory to run a team successfully. The leaders with democratic style are known as most efficient leaders. They took advice of their team members which helps in generating of more ideas and more solutions for the problem. These leaders encourage participation which boosts the confidence of the team and motivate to work more efficiently. Involvement of group members improves mutual understanding and ignores competitiveness between group members. Taking advice and increasing participation of group member result in better result and increase in group effort because some time outcome by group effort is much better then singles effort. (Sanajy) Transformational Theory Transformational Leadership encourages the motivation, morale and performance of followers by using different practices. These include interacting with the followers and other team members. The leaders set example for the followers, encourages them and giving them difficult task and motivates to achieve that. Leaders convey the clear vision of group goals. These leaders energize the team and leads to positive aspects. They are not only concerned about their own task but also approach to other members of their group and ask if there any problem and try to help them. Under transformational theory not only leader but the followers also with leaders make each other advance to a high level of helping and motivating. Transactional Theory The transactional leader promotes the performance of followers both by punishment and rewards. These leaders supervise the work of their followers in order to point out faults and mark their efforts so that the faults can be eliminated and the good work can be promoted. Under transactional leadership leaders supervise the work of their colleagues and keep check so the quality of work should be maintained and the work should be carried out in a specific fashion. The followers should obey the orders and guidelines of the leader and have to carry out what exactly is demanded, otherwise there are punishment if the work is less than satisfactory level. This leadership can be explained as management by expectation. Delegative Theory Under this type of leadership there is least productivity. Under this leadership group members are more demanding to the leader and leaders are less cooperative with team members and leave decision making on other group members. This leadership might prove beneficial in those cases where the group members are highly skilled and knowledgeable. (Leader) Comparison between democratic and Autocratic Transformational Theory Under this theory leaders are more concerned about the team performance rather than day to day activities. The leaders motivate and encourage group members to take team performance ton next level. These leaders are more concerned about team comfort. These leaders motivate and encourage the group members by setting up targets and push them to achieve it. They provide opportunity for their personal growth. Transactional Theory More concerned about maintaining the flow and quality of project. Uses disciplinary power and rewards or punishment system to motivate the member. These leaders make sure everything goes smooth and in direction toward the goal. These leaders motivates the staff by exchanging the rewards, supervising and providing regular feedback Role Model http://www.allamericanpatriots.com/files/images/barack-obama-minnesota.jpg Brack obama is 44th and current president of America, begun as a democratic leader and won trust of enough delegates to be nominee of president. From the beginning of his political culture he leads to a democratic thinking and as President of USA he not even try to bring democracy nationwide but also in thinking of the citizens. Reason why he is successful to achieve his goals is that he knows that running a country is not to easy and is not possible to be controlled by an individual so he always move with his team. He takes advices and suggestions regarding situation this he also mentioned during the press conference after he was re elected as president of America in2012. He said that it was not the success of an individual but victory of a team. His views and they way of working proves him as a democratic leader and this helps him to be a successful leader. He is making his best by putting all his efforts to make country better and move on the path of prosperity. He also encourages the general public to take part in political activities as its important for them. (Democrats) New Zealand leaders JOHN KEY HE is 38th Prime minister of New Zealand, elected on 8th November 2008. From being a foreign exchange office dealer to Prime minister he struggled and also became one of the richest persons in New Zealand. He is the Leader with Democratic leadership style. His point of views, plan and policies are aligned with his own team members. He took several steps and made efforts to stop social destruction like stopping binge drinking. In 2008 he suggested to raise the drinking age limit 18 back to 20 but that attempt was failed due to refusal by the Law Commission. He is also aware about environmental issues he believes that Global warming is a real phenomenon to be worried about and he said that the government will implement some actions and will reduce this global warming by 50% in next fifty years. (John Key) John keys targets Building Brighter Future. Builder Better Public service. Building world class Infrastructure. Building safer New Zealand. Rebuilding Christchurch. Less Debts More jobs. Each of his vision is categorized in small missions as this could lead to his desired future. It has also been seen that to make things go right he is making overseas trips in relation to finding job opportunities for New Zealanders. The screen industry in New Zealand supports over 2700 businesses, over 95 per cent of which are involved in production and post-production work. We need to keep New Zealand front of mind for those individuals who can bring further investment to New Zealand. (john) Phil Goff He is an autocratic leader of NZ. He is a current leader of Labour Party. He was a determined person with great political knowledge through his studies and was a great achiever with an positive attitude. He is self motivates as he believes in himself that he can create a better society for New Zealand. Should a smack as part of good parental correction be a criminal offence in New Zealand? His idea is that it is not wise for parents to discipline their children through corporal punishments. GST increase will hurt families that are already struggling to make ends meet. (wikipedia) It is also seen that he opposes on John keys decision as he is a person who is social minded too. It seems that he wants incremental changes rather than radical as it affects at current situation. He has a strong belief in himself and does not lose hope. He also went to investigate further on the oil spill issue that arose recently to find answers. This also shows that he has great care for the environment. As an opposing leader it is hard to maintain trust and confidence of the people but somehow the other he is trying his best to cope up with this. Evolution:- Both leaders have opposite styles. John Key is a Democratic leader whereas Phil Goff is a leader with Autocratic Leader. Both leaders are doing well in their own ways and styles. Both have some similarities in their goals and their views. It seems that I have some characteristics of both the leaders and their thoughts inspire me and guide me to improve my leadership tactics. Even my goal is not to be a politics but their leadership qualities guide me to achieve my goal to be a good and successful leader. These two personalities are great models to look at and to take as example and learn how they deal with different situation and learn their ways and strategies to fight with our problems. Benchmarking Tools These are the tools which help to evaluate how efficient is leader and his leadership style. There many leaders everywhere, at home, offices and etc. In same way the student is also a leader when they work in a group one of them is a leader of the group. Following are some tools. Setting Goals- Setting of goal is the primary step to be taken. Its necessary to be goal oriented any task without goal is like a Race without end. If you know your goals and target you what you want to achieve and you can make plans according to that and setting up policies to achieve that target. Influencing- Influencing is vital part of communication. Being a good communicator you should know how to influence others. To make other work for you or to make them work with you, its necessary to influence them and convince them to follow you and for that its necessary to know how to influence others. Planning- planning is the next step after setting up the goals. To achieve target one have to make plans and strategies. Without plan one cant implement any action or cant take any step. If you what you want but you dont know how to get it then you cant reach your target. A sound plan results in achieving of target and completion of target. Conversation- conversation opens the doors of mind which results in more ideas. If there is conversation between the group that helps to create mutual understanding and avoid misunderstandings. Benchmarking criteria This helps to measure the performance by knowing actual and current situation. Analysis Benchmarked Figure Actual (My Own) Deviation self-confidence with high-level 3 2 1 Social responsibilities (awareness) 4 3 1 Positive thoughts 5 3 2 Practical approach 2 2 0 RESULTS 14 10 4 I noticed that I am ambitious wit positive attribute. I have positive thinking and also aware to my social responsibilities, which I have toward my society. I am a good communicator and I know how to influence other with my views. I stay focused on my target and make efficient plan to achieve the target. Reflection- I have a strong vision of helping other and this helps me to make good relation within or outside my workplace. I have mutual understanding with my colleagues, whic helps me to maintain the quality of work and result in maximum output. I always want to be well educated and to be a well civilised person. It was my dream from childhood to do management in studies and also as profession. Currently working in Indian restaurant as front staff I am struggling to achieve my goals and to achieve the target which I want to achieve. I know I can handle whatever the situation is and can overcome from those problems. I just want that if I am following someone as my role model so I want that someday I would be role model for someone. I with my hard work and with my discipline will do well in this country and will make myself and my family proud. I believe that with democratic and autocratic leadership style I will prove myself worthy at my workplace, being democratic will help me to achieve trust and faith of others whereas being autocratic it would help me to deal with some typical situations. Obstacles Computer skills- Now days technology has conquered all the fields, in offices the records are maintain in computers and in restaurants the bills and the orders are also putted through computers. I had problem while dealing with till in restaurants, sometime I got confused about different payment system and some time in Chinese orders Anger management- Its very important to control your anger. When you are working in a team, it became necessary to maintain your anger because at that time we are working with different personalities of different individuals. Sometimes there are situation which create irritation and raise anger but being a good leader or a good employee it became necessary to control the anger. Sometime it happened that I lose my patience during busy days, sometime due to my colleagues mistake or sometime by irritation. Time Management- Main problem I face is lack in time management, sometime I mix two tasks and in result I am not able to give proper time to each task and results in low quality outcome. Rationale- Computer skills- I have to practice more on till handling so that I can easily handle it even on the busy days and that will also help me to work efficiently and achieve my target. Anger management-I should control my anger otherwise that may result in loss of trust and mutual understanding Time management- Its necessary to be punctual and completion of task on time for better results. Time management is vital for good leadership. Measurement Computer skills- To improve my Till handling i increase mu practice time on till and i take advice and instruction from my manager to know how to handle till easily and manage different bills and orders in busy time. I even go and practice on my day offs and that is proving helpful to improve my skill I getting my grip on till. Anger management- To control my anger I am taking help of different articles and books for anger management. This is helping me to control my temper and to avoid the risk of conflicts and loss of mutual understanding between me and my colleagues Time management- I know importance of time. Its well said that Time is Money. I cant let lack of time management to affect my work quality so I am taking advice of my manager and also taking advice from some articles regarding time management so that i can overcome this obstacle between my Targets. Resources- Reading books and articles. Taking advices from Manager Practicing practically as well as theatrically.