Financial groups Essay

Today, Barclays is one of the most powerful financial groups in the world. But its origins can be traced back to a much more modest business, founded more than 300 years ago in premises close to the Group’s global headquarters in the heart of London’s financial district. In the late 17th century, the streets of the City of London were filled with goldsmith-bankers, who provided monarchs and merchants with the money they needed to fund their ventures around the world. One such business was founded by John Freame and his partner Thomas Gould in Lombard Street, London, in 1690. The name Barclay became associated with the company in 1736, when James Barclay – who had married John Freame’s daughter – became a partner. Private banking was common in the 18th century, bankers would keep their clients’ gold deposits secure and lend to credit-worthy merchants. By the 1890s there were some 100 private banks. In 1896, 20 of these companies came together to form a new joint-stock bank. The leading partners of the new bank, which was named Barclay and Company, were already connected by a web of family and business relationships. The new bank had 182 branches, mainly in the East and South East, and deposits of i 26 million – a substantial sum of money in those days. It expanded its branch network rapidly by taking over other banks, including Bolithos in Cornwall and the South West in 1905 and United Counties Bank in the Midlands in 1916. In 1918 the company – now Barclays Bank Limited – amalgamated with the London, Provincial and South Western Bank to become one of the UK’s ‘big five’ banks. By 1926 the bank had 1,837 outlets in its own name. The development of today’s global business began in 1925, with the merger of three banks in which Barclays held shares, the Colonial Bank, the Anglo Egyptian Bank and the National Bank of South Africa. The new Barclays Bank had businesses in much of Africa, the Middle East and the West Indies. Its name changed to Barclays Bank DCO in 1954, in response to changed economic and political conditions. It became Barclays policy to decentralise, away form London setting up locally-established banks, and 1985 called Barclays Bank. Today’s Barclays has tremendous global strength and a reputation for being first with innovative products and services. As of 30 June 2000, staff worldwide consisted of 70,300, of which 52,300 were in the UK. Today, Barclays has five business groupings that are managed as international businesses, reflecting changing customer needs and the developments taking place in global financial services. Barclays Barclays makes a direct and significant contribution to the well-being of the UK economy. The banking sector accounts for approximately 4. 2 per cent of the UK’s national output. In 1998, the financial industry contributed i 4. 6 billion to government revenues in mainstream corporation tax. Barclays alone paid a total of i 533 million in taxes in 1998. Around 30 million transactions are processed every day through UK clearing systems. The number of ways it is possible to access financial services is dramatically increasing for the benefit of customers. Telephone banking, increased accessibility to cash machines, means that millions of customers can use banking services 24 hours a day. Demand for these services is rising as an alternative to branch-based banking and, as a consequence of this the number of traditional branched will continue to decline. Due to the closure of branches there has been a decline in the number of jobs across the banking sector. Reasons for Change and Actions Taken The main reason for the change is the changing needs of the consumers. More people are working know, leading busier lives with longer days and travelling more and needing instant access to money without having to queue and wait. Customer tastes are becoming increasingly diverse, whilst some people want the immediacy of 24 hour electronic access to their money whilst others still prefer personal, face to face service from cashiers. Having seen that people want more instant access to their money Barclays have set up over 25,000 ATM’s, expanded their telephone banking service and offer the worlds leading internet banking service. They boast statistic of: â€Å"One million customers have signed up for our telephone banking service. Our call centres receive 25 calls every minute. † â€Å"The number of cash machined available to customers had more than trebled in the past five years. † â€Å"Barclays online banking has attracted more than 450,000 customers since it was launched in1996† Barclays has to keep its services in the public interest as they face serious competition from multinational banking corporation, supermarkets offering cash back, and even car manufactures can offer banking services. In the last six years the total number of credit card issuers has more than doubled. The recent advances in technology, particularly digital information, mean that many of the new competitors in the financial market do not need to maintain a nationwide chain of branches. It is possible, and much cheaper, to provide financial services over the telephone, PC or internet. Due to the increase of competition it has been important for Barclays to aim to lead the way for banking in the future, and also for them to be careful that they handle their customers needs and expectations. One of the biggest challenges for all financial services providers is to develop a new generation of more sophisticated, flexible products and services. Customers want and require straight forward easy access to their cash, whether it be through a cash machine, over that phone or the cash desk. At Barclays it is possible for customers to chose what kind of accounts they want, for example all in one accounts, such as those offered by Virgin One and Mortgage Trust or they can opt for savings accounts from building societies and insurance companies. Traditional banking providers are offering more advanced current accounts. The number of customers choosing Barclays more advanced current account is increasing. Services such as internet banking unheard of ten years ago, are now offered as standard by most banks. Barclays has a long history of innovation. They were the first bank in the world to install the cash dispenser, this was located at their Enfield branch in 1967 having previously launched the first credit card in Europe in 1966. In the 1980’s they introduced the UK’s first debit card. In October 1998, Barclays became the first bank to introduce instant banking, and to allow the credit card to offer customer access to their current account and credit card details over the phone. Barclays realises that to keep up with competition that they will have to continue their long history of investment in production and service innovation, increase the use of the technology available to them, ie the internet, e-commerce and telebanking. They also propose to provide business customers with full euro capabilities and offering their personal banking customers an even broader range of flexible savings, mortgage and loan plans. Barclays has spent over i 10 million on customer research programmes in 1999 to ensure that they have an in depth understanding of the needs of their customers and their expectations. In total they surveyed more than 1. 7 million personal customers during 1999. They found that customers were generally satisfied with their financial service provider. Customers said that they regarded Barclays as solid, safe and reliable in terms of the funds and business they entrusted in them. However it was noticed that customers wanted an improvement in the one to one service and for individual circumstances to be well received. Having heard this Barclays responded by launching a series of initiatives, many of these involved better use of customer data allowing them to anticipate customers needs and allowing them to pre-approve loans, overdrafts and mortgage arrangements. Barclays aims to make a contribution to the community, in September 1999 they announced proposals to contribute i 100 million to a new regional Venture Capital Fund, offering loans to growing businesses that are unable to gain conventional bank funding, this was part of Barclays aim to promote economic regeneration. Barclays has also developed three national sponsorship programmes, these include, Barclays New Futures, this is the largest educational sponsorship scheme worth i 8 million over eight years, run in conjunction with Community Service Volunteers. Barclays Sitesavers, this is the largest environmental regeneration sponsorship worth i 3 million over six years, this is a partnership scheme with Groundwork, they are aiming to turn derelict land into in to parks, gardens, play areas and sports grounds. Barclays Stage Partner aims to allow people who otherwise could not afford to go to the theatre, it will cost Barclays a total of i 4. 5 million over six years. However for Barclays to keep up with competition in the millennium it was necessary for them to widen their market and a merger with the Woolwich was proposed. Both the chief executive of Woolwich and Barclays realised that they had a shared philosophy, strategy and vision, as well as their views on the future of banking being similar. A deal between Woolwich and Barclays would double Barclays’ share of both the mortgage and savings market, provide access to the country’s second largest team of independent financial advisers and give it Open Plan, Woolwich’s all-in-one bank account, which was adding a further 8,000 customers a week. However, due to the merger taking place over 100 Woolwich branches were located within 100 metres of a Barclays, as these were now unnecessary these 100 Woolwich branches were closed, leaving the group with a combined total of 2,000 branches. Barclays said that the Woolwich name would be kept and would become the mortgage brand for Barclays products. The newly merged group now had more than 16 million customers, with both sets being able to attain the advantages from both Barclays and Woolwich. However Barclays continued closing banks, closing a further 171 branches across Britain. It was argued that to keep up with their plan and to advance in this world with new improved technology it was no longer necessary to have so many branches. If the bank was not to realise this and change its methods of banking it would go out of business. However as Britain’s second biggest bank it was still difficult for them to justify the closing of so many branches with little pre warning leaving 7,500 people with no job and over 40,000 customers, most from rural communities without there local banking service. Barclays said that even after the closure of the rural branches people living in those areas would still have a local branch within three miles. This however was not true as now many customers face round trips of twenty miles to alternative branches and fears have been raised for the safety of people carrying cash to be cashed into their accounts. In one case a 79 year old woman staged a sit in at their local Barclays Bank to protest against plans to close it. The locals were said to be ‘devastated and worried to be losing their local bank and the effect it would have on businesses. ‘ Protest groups across the country are planning sit ins and other forms of disruption to try to deter Barclays from closing their local branches. Barclays quickly picked up on the negative atmosphere towards them in the areas they had closed the branches and announced that they had agreed a deal allowing customers to pay cash and cheques and withdraw cash from their local post office. The bank arranged this in 155 of the 171 areas were they had closed the banks. Barclays said that they hoped that the deal with the post offices would help to keep them open in areas they were they too were under threat. However locals complained that the new service was no substitute for full time banking facilities. It is not just Barclays facing these problems, most banks have been closing their local branches and been changing to more modern methods of financial services and issuing money. With more people working, with less time to go to the banks it is necessary for them to be able to withdraw cash at any time of day of night. In the past, when less woman worked it was possible for the woman to go to the bank and to cash in cheques and withdraw money, however now, often with both members of the family working it leaves little time to get to the bank, thus the need for instant services, ie. Telephone, Internet banking and twenty- four hour cash dispensers. Though many jobs have been lost through the closure of all the branches a vast number of jobs have been opened up through telephone banking, with Barclays alone boasting more than twenty- five calls minute. It is often the people who are scared of change who resist to it, though it may inconvenience them at first, in the long run it will benefit them allowing them easier access to their money.

Invitational Leadership Essay

Introduction Leadership, and the study of it, has its commencement in the early civilizations. Ancient rulers, pharaohs, emperors and biblical patriarchs have one thing in common – leadership. Although scholars have been studying this phenomenon for almost two centuries, numerous definitions and theories abound throughout. However, enough similarities exist so as to define â€Å"leadership† as an effort of influence and the power to induce compliance (Wren, 1995). Leadership is a process through which an individual influences others to accomplish an objective and directs the organization in a way that makes it more cohesive and coherent. This definition of leadership is relatively similar to that of Northouse’s (2007,p.3) And the definition of a leader stipulated by Peter Drucker is someone who has followers. The capacity to influence others is dependent on the power detained. The leader’s attitudes would definitely determine the level of productivity from his employees. A Task Orientation or Directive Behaviour reflects the concern of a leader for the actual task at hand whereas Employee Orientation or Supportive Behaviours reflects how much a leader is concerned for the people around him, providing support and encouragement for them. Concurrently, different theories have been developed for the field of leadership but we would be showing more attention to the Invitational Leadership theory. The research on the effects of Invitational Education Theory (IET) in the educational administrative process is relatively new as compared to other theories pertaining to leadership. Invitational Leadership has a different dimension from the standard theories of leadership that emphasized the process of influencing others through the use of power to an alternative leadership style that promotes collaboration and show consideration and respect for individuals in the educational system. This study comprises of two parts. Firstly, we would see the theoretical introduction of the Invitational Leadership, followed a brief comparison of the theory with other leadership theories possessing more or less the same characteristics and finally, in what ways the Invitational Leadership is more suitable to the educational community. Secondly, we would focus on what the invitational style provides in response to the demands of the school sector. Besides, we would see to what extent the invitational leadership is applied to my profession through examples drawn from my past experiences. ————————————————- 1. Theoretical part Invitational Theory Purkey (1992, p.5) defines Invitational Leadership asa theory which â€Å"is a collection of assumptions that seek to explain phenomena and provide a means of intentionally summoning people to realise their relatively boundless potential in all areas of worthwhile human endeavour† Invitational Theory is a mode of professional practice that summons the environment and all relationships formed in educational and human service organizations. It is a process for communicating caring and appropriate message intended to invite forth the realisation of human potential. It is also a way for identifying and changing those institutional and relational forces that defeat and destroy potential. Communication is vital for all social relationships or integration. Schools, as a social institution, send out complex message systems that continuously inform people of their worth, ability, and power to direct themselves. The concept of â€Å"invitation† derives from the effort provided by those who seek to communicate ideas. This involves shaping, moulding and changing. The word invite is a derivation of the Latin word invite. It probably began as vito, which means to avoid or shun. In early Roman society, vito was used to express fear of encroachment by other tribes, and to forbid their entry into Rome. As Rome became a dominant force, its citizens felt more secure and opened their borders to the world. In time, the prefix in- meaning â€Å"without† or â€Å"not,† was added, and the word invite, meaning â€Å"to receive politely,† became common and developed into invite. So by definition, an invitation is a purposive and generous act by which the invit er seeks to enroll others in the vision set forth in the invitation. From this we derive the term Invitational Leadership (Purkey & Siegel, 2002, p212). From an invitational viewpoint, individuals possess the characteristics of being able, valuable and responsible. As such, they are to be treated accordingly. Conversely, we observe a transformation from the appellations used: from â€Å"motivate,† â€Å"shape,† â€Å"reinforce,† â€Å"make,† â€Å"enhance,† â€Å"build,† and â€Å"empower† people to that of â€Å"offer,† â€Å"propose,† â€Å"present,† â€Å"encourage,† â€Å"consider,† and â€Å"summon cordially.† Similarly, in the school context, the invitational leader is the one who summons associates to higher levels of functioning and presents them with the opportunity to participate in the construction of something of mutual benefit. Ultimately, we find that this â€Å"something† is a procedure to create a better environment and a way to eliminate inequalities. Invitational Leadership offer a new perspective, an involvement for positive social change. It acknowledges our potential, our integrity, our interdependence and our responsibility to do good. Moreover, a central element in many definitions of leadership is that there is a process of influence. Leithwood et al (1999, p.6) say that â€Å"influence †¦ seems to be a necessary part of most conceptions of leadership.† Yulk (2002, p.) explains this influence process: â€Å"Most definitions of leadership reflect the assumption that it involves a social influence process whereby intentional influence is exerted by one person [or group] over other people [or groups] to structure the activities and relationships in a group or organisation.† Yulk’s use of ‘person’ or ‘group’ indicates that leadership may be exercised by individuals as well as teams. Additionally, this opinion is shared by Harris (2002) and Leithwood (2001) who both advocate distributed leadership as an alternative to traditional top-down leadership models. Invitational leadership as a model of influence It can be agreed that leadership involves influence and that it may be exercised by anyone in an organisation. In addition, Cuban (1988,p.193) points out to leadership as an influence process. â€Å"Leadership then refers to people who bend the motivations and actions of others to achieving certain goals; it implies taking initiatives and risks.† This opinion demonstrates that the process of influence is focused as it is intended to lead to specific outcomes. Furthermore, this notion is reinforced by Fidler (1997, p.25) : â€Å"followers are influenced towards goal achievement.† Eventually, a similar concept is used by Stoll and Fink (1996), that of ‘invitational’ leadership explaining how leaders function in schools. â€Å"Leadership is about communicating invitational messages to individuals and groups with whom leaders interact in order to build and act on a shared and evolving vision of enhanced educational experiences for pupils.† (p.109) At this point, I agree to what Stoll and Fink (1996) said; the role of the leader, in the school, is to work together with his collaborators towards making the institution an inclusive school which provides a good education to all pupils, irrespective of their varying abilities. Further to this, communication should be at the base of all decision making to arrive at a consensus between the different stakeholders. As it is stated in the School Management Manual, the Rector should â€Å"run the school in close collaboration with the Deputy Rector.† The Rector or the Deputy Rector, should be open to new ideas put forward by staff or pupils. The internal communication (morning assembly, form period, meeting with students’ representatives, teaching staff, head of Department etc.) of the school should be an open platform where leaders create a conviviality atmosphere among each individuals, therefore, inviting others to get engaged in the progression of the school. As we have compared the close relationship of Invitational Leadership as being a model of influence, equally, the Invitational Leadership Theory reflects a transformational dimension. Transformational Leadership enhanced the motivation, morale and performance of follower’s through a variety of mechanisms. These comprise connecting the follower’s sense of identity and self to the mission and the collective identity of the organization; being a role model for followers that inspires them; challenging followers to take greater ownership for their work, and understanding the strength and weaknesses of followers, so the leader can align them with tasks that optimize their performance. Similarly, the invitational leader invites the followers by communicating to them the mission and goal of the organisation and by accepting the individual personality. As the leader himself is a role model in displaying invitational qualities, he reinforces these qualities among his/her followers. Becoming an Invitational Leader necessitates that a leader become more consciously aware of his or her self and, by so doing, takes responsibility of how he or she defines that self. If we distinguish ourselves to be lacking in some fundamental leadership quality, then assuredly we will fail to influence others to join our cause. Furthermore, the invitational leadership enclose these servant types of values : excellence, caring, justice, and faith. Review of current literature supports the need for a change in leadership in order to adequately meet the needs of current educational institutions. Becoming an invitational leader â€Å"How can I gain the cooperation of those in my environment so that effectiveness and productivity increase and that our group function more smoothly and effectively?† The only way is by inviting, showing trust, understanding and respect (Purkey, Siegel, 2002). Intimidation and coercion, commonly used approaches, are not effective and eventually will prove to be counter-productive. They believe that there is only one motivation inside humans and that is an internal drive and desire to realise one’s own potential. In short we all want to be more, to self-actualise and to put our talents to good use by committing to something beyond ourselves. This can only be achieved by volunteered and not by pressure. Hence, I can affirm the more leaders are viewed as caring, respectful and supportive, the greater their chances of emancipating the talents and energies of their associates. Those in authority must first begin by making others feel valued if they hope to gain respect and cooperation in return. The first stage toward effective leadership is a wise, rooted sense of self. This means a commitment to find one’s own core values. The authors, Purkey & Siegel (2002) put forward that one cannot empower others without first empowering oneself. These two scholars present various ideas for cultivating all aspects of life from physical and psychological to the spiritual and intellectual. Furthermore, the leader has to present a vision of what a successful organization looks like, to set the proper environment in order to move people to embrace the organisation’s vision and to take on the individual and collective responsibility for the successes and failures of the organization. This would result in a group of self-actualizing individuals, each committed to the purpose and to one another in a supporting environment. Likewise, the school’s atmosphere should be conducive enough so as to inspire people connected to the school to be committed among themselves. Like indicated initially, the leader, that is the Rector or headmaster of the school, is the one to establish the point of contact between the administration, teaching and non-teaching staff and the students, to create avenues that the personnel would follow. Consequently, the opportunity given to each individual would unleash the potential that reside in them. Similarly, each one would adopt an invitational approach as they are constantly exposed to it in their everyday situation at school. The ability to challenge the people you lead to perform high quality will only continue over time if the leader has developed his invitational side as well. As stipulated in the School Management Manual of the Ministry of Education, Culture & Human Resources, the Rector, as the leader â€Å"builds and accompanies his teams, providing them with the required support and motivation, listening to their views and their problems and valuing their effort, support and contribution.† Walter Bennis, one of our more dynamic thinkers on leadership, has defined a leader is one who is guided by an â€Å"exciting and specific dream and who enrols others in his or her vision.† (Purkey, Siegel; 2002) thus, by providing support and motivation, school’s leaders enroll others by summoning them cordially to realise their potential. Furthermore, support for the importance of values was provided by Stoll and Fink (1996) in their study of leadership in education. They affirmed that successful leaders rely upon a strong set of values to guide their decision-making. We can contrast the decision-making process to the Participative Leadership which is defined by Leithwood et al. (2002) as a leadership style which â€Å"assumes that the decision-making processes of the group ought to be central focus for leaders† (p.12). Invitational Education Theory (IET) As stated by the author of Fundamentals of Invitational Education, the focus of Invitational Leadership in education is on the message transmitted by people, places, policies, programs, and processes (Purkey, 2008, p.7). Invitational education is based on three fundamental ideas Purkey, W.W., & Novak, J.M. (1996).: the democratic ethos, the perceptual tradition, and self-concept theory. The democratic ethos put emphasize on â€Å"deliberate dialogue and mutual respect as people work together to construct the character, practices and institutions that promote a fulfilling shared life.†(p.9) In this democratic style of leadership, it implies that whoever is concerned or affected by decisions should have a say in those decisions. The perceptual tradition states that events are always seen through the individual and cultural filters people use. Thus an important aspect of the inviting approach is to understand and validate the meaningfulness of people’s perceptions and to w ork with these perceptions to construct shared purposes.(p.10) Self-concept is the image people construct of who they are and how they fit in the world. â€Å"This system of personal beliefs is maintained, protected and by the choices the individual makes.† (p.10). Invitational education is a mode of functioning by which people are cordially, creatively and consistently summoned to realise their potential. As mentioned earlier, its focus is on the messages transmitted. However, the messages that are exchanged are never on neutral basis as they carry positive or negative, inviting or disinviting connotation. There are four fundamental values, what we call principles, which give Invitational Leaders direction and purpose. Together, these four principles form a basic set of guiding beliefs. These are respect, trust, optimism, and intentionality. Therefore the four principles take the form of propositions that offer a perspective for addressing, evaluation and modifying the total school environment. Purkey, W. W.& Novak, J. M.; (2008) testify that this standpoint allows Rectors or educators to assume an â€Å"inviting stance,† which is a focused frame-work for sustained action. Respect People are valuable, able, and responsible and should be treated accordingly. Respect is an important aspect in Invitational Leadership. It provides a new vision based on the process of summoning people cordially to move in more democratic, creative, and productive directions through non-coercive means. A democratic society emphasizes the inherent worth of all people, believes in their self-directing power, and stressed the importance of personal and social accountability. Invitational schools do the same. Purkey, W. W.& Novak, J. M. (2008) stipulates that responsibilities that are shared based on mutual respect and expectations of positive outcomes results in a cooperative relationship that recognizes each â€Å"person’s ability to accept, reject, negotiate, or hold in abeyance the messages sent to them.† (p.12) Respect is demonstrated in courteous behaviours as civility, politeness and common courtesy. Waterman and Peters (1988), in their book In Search of Excellence, reported that a special characteristic of highly successful companies is the courteous and respectful behaviours of their employees. They are â€Å"good listeners, pay attention to their customers, are courteous and treat people as adults. Respect is one of eight major characteristics that distinguish excellent companies.† Summing up, respect is important in Invitational Leadership because it is the quality that enables leaders to be a beneficial presence that has the ability to take a respectful stance toward colleagues – literally inviting others into a mutually beneficial relationship. Trust Education is a cooperative, collaborative activity. Invitational education is based on the fundamental interdependence of human beings. To establish trustworthy pattern, time and effort are necessary. Trustworthy patterns of interaction depend on people who demonstrate the following quality: reliability, genuineness, truthfulness, intent and competence. Intention The process is the product of making. A decision to purposely act in a certain way, to achieve and carry out a set of goals (Day et.al, 2001, p.34). Is defined as knowing what we intend to bring about as well as how we intend it to happen gives clarity and direction to our work (Stillion and Siegel, 2OO5, p15). Optimism People possess untapped potential in all areas of humans endeavour. Invitational educators are committed to the continuous appreciation and growth of all involved in the educative process (Day et. al, 2001, p. 34). ————————————————- 2. Invitational Leadership in practice in the educational community The focus of this study is to examine the invitational leadership style to verify if it provides the necessary skills needed in today’s educational organisations. In response to the increased need for excellent management and guidance, many leadership models have been planned and implemented to meet the demanding needs of the educational sector. Following this emptiness in the educational community, the invitational leadership was introduced in 2002 by Purkey and Siegel. Stillion and Siegel (2005) summed up the idea behind this new leadership style, â€Å"Purkey †¦ having studied human behaviour for four decades, proposed that leaders must take an invitational stance in dealing with others and in developing themselves† (p.4) According to Purkey and Novak (1996), IET is a model of practice: it adopts a systematic approach in the educational development and it provides policies and strategies for making schools more inviting. Major challenges that the school staff usually face on daily basis are issues pertaining to the students’ welfare such as indiscipline, From my observation at school, lack of guidance and clarified direction has served as a tremendous reduction of energy, time, effort and resource. It would prove difficult to delegate authority to individuals or self-managed groups when â€Å"followers do not trust each other, because they will not share information or cooperate in trying to solve mutual problems† (Yulk, 2002,p.109). The lack of invitational characteristics in a leader would slow the effective pace of work. An effective leader will work to bring about positive and long lasting change, when change is necessary within organisation. By doing so, he would invite staff into collaboration, will work carefully to bring about change in a way that the school’s member will not only be involved but would be pleased with the eventual outcome of the change. Schein (2000) disc ussed, â€Å"change programs fail because they do not take into consideration the underlying culture.† In order for an organisation to survive, it is imperative that strong and healthy relationships are formed. Likewise, these carefully formed relationships can help to formulate a culture of acceptance and desire to achieve excellence. Schein (1996) defined culture as the â€Å"set of shared, taken-for-granted implicit assumptions that a group holds and that determines how it perceives, think about, and react to its various environments† (p.236). At the school, the Rector is a vital component in creating the culture. However, the administrators’ role in understanding that culture is equally important. This creates a sense of ownership and a shared leadership. Respect and trust thus serve as a primary component of an organisation’s healthy culture. To illustrate this idea, it is important that the Rector, educators and administrators understand what takes place within the school. Invitational Leadership argued that leader cannot create a climate of empowerment and participation if the underlying belief of culture is that everyone must do whatever the boss says they should do. I firmly agree that leadership through coercion and fear is not effective when attempting to create a productive team. Additionally, as stipulated by Purkey & Siegel (2002), messages communicate to people which inform them that they are able, responsible and worthwhile. These messages should be made accessible to every person in the school, conveying the intention of the leaders, so making everyone part of the institution. These messages are corresponded though â€Å"inter-personal action, but also through institutional policies, programmes, practices and physical environments† (Day et al., 2001, p.34). Furthermore, Purkey and Siegel (2003) postulate a specific framework by which schools can become â€Å"invitational† by concentrating on the five areas contributing to success and failures. Each one of these elements contributes to the creation of a positive school climate and ultimately a healthy and successful organisation. The Starfish Analogy by Purkey Invitational leadership focusses on five areas which contribute to the success or failure of individuals. Purkey refers to it as the Starfish Analogy: The starfish lives to eat oysters. To defend itself, the oyster has two stout shells that fasten tightly together and held in place by a powerful muscle. The starfish finds the oyster and places itself on top of its intended victim. Gradually, gently, and firmly the starfish uses each of its five points in turn to keep pressure on the oyster’s one muscle. While one point works, the other four rest. The single oyster muscle, while incredibly powerful, gets no rest. Inevitably, and irresistibly, the oyster is opened and the starfish has its meal. By constant, steady pressure from a number of points, even the strongest muscle (and the biggest challenge) can be overcome. These five areas â€Å"exist in practically every environment† and serve as a means to invite others professionally (Purkey, 1992, p.7) 1. People – Purkey (1992) affirmed that â€Å"nothing is more important in life than people. It is the people who create a respectful, optimistic5 visibility. 2. Places – refers to physical environment of an organisation. It has been suggested that places are the easiest of the five areas to change due to their visibility. 3. Policies- â€Å"policies refer to the procedures, codes, rules, written or unwritten, used to regulate the on-going functions of individuals and organizations† (Purkey, 1992,p.7) 4. Programs – play an important role in invitational leadership â€Å"because programs often focus on narrow objectives that neglect the wider scope of human needs’ (Purkey, 1002, p.7) 5. Processes – The â€Å"how something is accomplished† (Purkey & Siegel, 2003, p.125). It can be defined as the way that people, places, policies and programs are evident in schools. Purkey and Siegel (2003) refer to these five areas as a means to invite others professionally. They affirmed that â€Å"the combination of these five areas offers an almost limitless number of opportunities for the Invitational Leader, for they address the total culture †¦ of almost any organisation† (p.104) Conclusion This study was to investigate in what ways and to what degree, if any, an invitational leader impacts the overall effectiveness of the school setting. We focused in the first part on leadership qualities and characteristics which lead to success. We arrived at a common consensus that invitational leadership characteristics do influence the development of successful organizations. The invitational leadership model seeks to invite all interested stakeholders to succeed. As noted by Day, Harris, and Hadfield (2001) invitations are â€Å"messages communicated to people which inform then that they are able, responsible and worthwhile† (p.34) To conclude, it is believed that the invitational leadership model should serve as a practice to emulate in order to achieve positive results in effective leadership in schools. The active use of invitational leadership was proven to be a leadership model that should be considered effective when trying to create a healthy, positive and successful organization. ————————————————- References 1. Asbill, K. (1994). Invitational leadership: Teacher perceptions of inviting principal practices. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, School of Educational Management, New Mexico State University. 2. Day, C., Harris, A., & Hadfield, M. (2001). Grounding Knowledge of Schools in Stakeholder Realities: A Multi-Perspective Study of Effective School Leaders. School Leadership & Management, 21(1), 19-42. 3. Peters, Tom J. & Waterman, Robert H. (1988), In Search of Excellence – Lessons from America’s Best-Run Companies, HarperCollins Publishers, London. 4. Purkey, W. W & Siegel, B.L (2002). Becoming an Invitational Leader. Atlanta, USA. Brumby Holdings, Inc. 5. Purkey, W. W.& Novak, J. M. (2008). Fundamentals of Invitational Education. Kennesaw, Georgia: International Alliance for Invitational Education. 6. Purkey, W. W., & Novak, J. M. (1996). Inviting school success: A self-concept approach to teaching, learning, and democratic practice (3rd ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Publishing Company. 7. Purkey, W., & Schmidt, J. (1990). Invitational learning for counseling and development. Ann Arbor, MI: ERIC Counseling and Personnel Services Clearinghouse. 8. School Leadership: Concepts and Evidence; Full Report/Spring 2003. National College for School Leadership: http://dera.ioe.ac.uk/5119/2/dok217-eng-chool_Leadership_Concepts_and_Evidence.pdf 9. Schein, E. H. (1996). Culture: The missing concept in organization studies. Administrative Science Quarterly, 41, 229-240. 10. Schein, E. H. (2000). Sense and nonsense about culture and climate. In N. M. Ashkanasy, C. P. M. Wilderom, & M. F. Peterson (Eds.), Handbook of Organizational Culture & Climate (pp. xxiii-xxx). Thousand Oaks, Ca: Sage Publications 11. Stanley, P.H. A Bibliography For Invitational Theory and Practice. RadfordUniversity; http://www.invitationaleducation.net/journal/v11p52.htm 12. Stillion, J., & Siegel, B. (November, 2005). Expanding Invitational Leadership: Roles for the Decathlon Leader. Retrieved January 31, 2006, from http://www.kennesaw.edu/ilec/Journal/articles/2005/siegel_stillion/expand_leadership/exp†¦ 13. Wren, J. T. (1995). The leaders’ companion: Insights on leadership through the ages. New York: The Free Press. 14. Yukl, G. A. (2002) Leadership in Organizations, Fifth Edition, Upper Saddle River, NJ, Prentice-Hall.

Death penalty Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Death penalty - Research Paper Example People have the natural fear of death, even if one is not thinking consciously about it. Criminologists have been studying on the matter to see whether the death penalty can influence the murder rates. In the early 20th century the results were inconclusive. Later in 1973, Isaac Ehrlich put forward a new method of analysis through which he displayed more reliable results. From his studies he describes that for every inmate who was executed, seven lives were spared because others were pulled back from committing murder (â€Å"Arguments†). The death penalty can also become a deterrent to crime. The early societies had always used punishments to discourage the would-be criminals from committing any crime. As it is a matter of great importance to prevent crimes, we should use the strongest method of punishment available to deter crime, and the death penalty suits to that. If the execution of the prosecuted criminals are carried out at pace, the soon-to-be murderers will be forced to think twice before killing somebody. The legal system of Singapore can be an example for how death penalty becomes a deterrent to crime. Singapore has one of the lowest crime rates in the world. In Singapore, â€Å"carrying over 30 grams of heroin† will result in the same punishment as murdering a human being (â€Å"Singapore†) so criminals will have to think before breaking the law, whether it is really worth their lives. There is a wide gap between the legal policies of Singapore and the United States. The US system of justice is very lenient to the criminals. â€Å"A murderer even with physically powerful evidence against him has the chance to appeal† against the death penalty. Contrary to the United States, in Singapore there will be no twenty year old trials or governors scooping into for supporting the convicted and the execution will be carried out swiftly (â€Å"Singapore†). It is advisable for all nations to adopt this policy. When compared to other forms of punishment such as â€Å"incapacitation†, a form of lobotomy or punishing a criminal to solitary imprisonment for 30-50 years, the death penalty is more humane. A person sentenced to life without any parole will never again see the daylight. He has to ponder over the consequences of his crime until his death. Looking through an emotional perspective, this type of lengthened, extreme level of suffering for a prisoner could be avoided. A widely spread definition of justice describes, â€Å"Let the punishment fit the crime† perhaps the best one ever existed and ever will. All the human beings have the innate tendency of craving for justice. It is the justice that prevents the society from falling into a tyrannical confusion where a normal person is always subjected to anger, violence, and stupidity of criminals. The law and the justice of a society secure the lives of its citizens. The Death penalty and justice are bilaterally connected. For the solidity o f the society, fair and fleet justice must always exist. The people who would obliterate the society through crimes should be completely detached. No other punishment serves this purpose better than death punishment. Looking through the perspective of justice, death penalty, in a society performs the function of wiping away its worst subject; the criminal one. As the governments change as do their policies too. A person imprisoned for life without the possibility of getting parole does not always mean that

Indian Family Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Indian Family - Essay Example Here, it is clear that regardless of who will ultimately dominate the seed (which here is the child) the field is the mother and the father, being the tender of the field owns the wife. The wife is his field to do with as he see fit but he must always remember that the seed will only be as good as the field has been tended. The field not only refers to the woman but to her womb. The womb, like a field is where something is harvested. Meaning, on a field, vegetables and grains are harvested and in a womb, a child is harvested. The child is the seed in the womb of a mother and ultimately takes great priority over the womb, meaning the mother. Ultimately it is clear that the wife and mother rank lowest. Indeed, it is women who rank lowest in the system of life and ironically they are the givers of it. Women are viewed as vacant fields waiting to be planted by their owner/husbands. When there is a relationship between the husband and wife without infidelity, the seed (or child) will be at its' best. Thus it is somewhat difficult to see how the womb or seed would win where there is obviously no contest between the two. It is apparent that the seed, or the man wins every time and that this is not to be seen as the weakness of a woman but rather her glory.

Credit Crunch Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Credit Crunch - Essay Example During a credit crunch, also known as a "liquidity crisis" or a "credit squeeze", the banks won't or can't lend. Investors can't or won't buy debts. Suddenly it's very difficult to borrow money. There is a lack of easy money. Consumers and businesses have less to spend. There could be serious ramifications for an economy. Even if the credit crunch is narrowly define as something that affects just banks, private equity and hedge funds, there is little out there to suggest that the British economy is out of the woods. Around the world, banks remain reluctant to lend to each other - or anyone else, for that matter, except blue-chip corporations or mortgage customers who can afford to furnish lenders with large up-front deposits. House prices are down 13 per cent year-on-year and rising; the boss of Countrywide, the country's biggest lender, says one in 11 borrowers are falling behind on their home loan payments; house repossessions were up 57 per cent in March compared to the previous year; consumer confidence has hit a 26-year low Almost 7,000 has been wiped off the value of the average British home since October 2007, after house prices dropped for a fifth consecutive month, according to latest survey figures. Britain's average house price fell by a further 0.6 per cent, or just over 1,000, in March, on the heels of a 0.5 per cent decline in February, the Nationwide Building Society's most recent snapshot of market conditions shows (The Times March 2008). Impacts on Interest Rates: in the past few weeks 10 mortgage lenders, including the Royal Bank of Scotland, Alliance & Leicester and the country's biggest building society, the Nationwide, have increased some of their rates, despite the Bank cutting rates from 5.75 per cent to 5.5 in December. Bank of England data shows that the average mortgage rate has been inflated. When interest rates were previously 5.5 per cent - in May last year - the average mortgage rate was 5.66 per cent but when rates moved back down to that level in December the average was 5.93. Credit CRUNCH IN the United States For more than half a century, Americans have proved staggeringly resourceful at finding new ways to spend money. But now the freewheeling days of credit and risk may have run their course in the United States - at least for a while and perhaps much longer - as a period of involuntary thrift unfolds in many households. With jobs shrinking, housing prices plummeting and debt levels swelling, the same nation that pioneered the no-money-down mortgage suddenly confronts an unfamiliar imperative: More Americans must live within their means. For the 34 million American households who took money out of their homes over the last four years by refinancing or borrowing against their equity - roughly one-third of the nation - the savings rate was running at a negative 13 percent in the middle of 2006, meaning they were borrowing heavily against their assets to finance their day-to-day lives Employment and credit crunch in UK Indications of the severity with which the credit crunch is likely to hit working people in Britain are contained in a number of recent reports and press articles. These focus, firstly, on the impact of credit becoming more difficult to obtain and, secondly, on the cost of mortgages. According to the National Institute of

Carbonated Drinks Industry Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Carbonated Drinks Industry - Case Study Example It is in this aspect that Coke is differentiated. Unlike other products intended for a specific market niche, Coke targets a wide market range - from the mass market to the high end segment. This is in line with the vision of former company president Robert W. Woodruff, that everyone on Earth consumed Coke. To limit the scope, this paper assesses Coke in the context of the carbonated drinks segment in the UK. It evaluates the supply conditions given the prevailing market structure and competition among softdrink suppliers. Furthermore, this paper discusses the barriers to entry and political or social factors impacting the industry. It also considers the factors that drive demand, prospects in the carbonated drinks segment given changing demand trends and potential entry of new players. The 5-billion UK carbonated drinks market has more than adequate supply of carbonated drinks (The UK Softdrinks Market 2004). Notable colas include Coke; Pepsi Cola, Coke's major rival; Zamzam Cola, which is named after Mecca's holy spring; Virgin Cola, which is marketed under Sir Richard Branson's company; and Mecca Cola, which is promoted as Muslim people's alternative to US-made softdrinks. (McCaffrey 2005) In terms of market structure, the UK carbonated drinks sector may be character... Although there are numerous players in the industry, the cola drinks offered are differentiated depending on the preference of the market niche targeted (Gans, King, Stonecash & Mankiw pp.76-8). For instance, Mecca Cola is differentiated as it is advertised as the cola for Muslims. Bearing the catchphrase "No more drinking stupid, drink with commitment," (McCaffrey 2005) supplier creates a different brand that appeals to Muslim communities and their sentiments on Western culture. On the contrary, the UK carbonated drinks market may be classified as oligopolistic since it is dominated by few major suppliers. Quantitatively, oligopoly is derived by using the four-firm concentration ratio, measuring the percentage market share of the four largest firms in an industry (Samuelson & Nordhaus 2001 pp. 89-93). A ratio of beyond 40% generally renders the market as oligopolistic (Tirole 1988). According to Canadean, Coca-Cola Company alone has captured 45.3% of the market share of the UK carbonated softdrinks category in 2004. This indicates that the total market share of the two giant suppliers have gone above the threshold, thus, the industry may be deemed oligopolistic. Competition Unlike other oligopolistic industries wherein collusion of firms to raise prices is observed (Samuelson & Nordhaus 2001 pp. 89-93), Coca-Cola and Pepsi continue to battle each other in the marketing arena. Albeit their rivalry has spanned for almost a century, non-price competition has prevailed. These firms utilise extensive media mileage to compete with each other and foster brand loyalty. This is evidenced by the substantial allocation of firms for advertising cost. Instead of pricing, though the retail prices of Coke and Pepsi Cola do not substantially vary, they are observed to

Compare and contrast the impact of late-19th and early-20th century Essay

Compare and contrast the impact of late-19th and early-20th century industrialization with that of late-20th and early-21st cent - Essay Example Division of labour is a key element in industrialization as it is essential to economic growth. On the other hand, globalization refers to the international integration resulting from interchange of world opinions, ideas, products, and general aspects of culture and religion1. Specifically, developments in telecommunication and infrastructure, use of the internet are the core drivers of globalization. This paper will focus on both positive and negative effects of industrialization as well as globalization. It will seek to establish the level of similar effects at the two different phases. By 1750 industrialization introduced mass production as several products could be manufactured as a go. This is because machinery replaced human labour and machinery could not get tired as human nature2. Therefore, machines could work longer hours as well as executing work that were initially done by several workers. Within 20th century, the emergency of globalization, production was made mare effec tive and faster processes as high advanced machines could be automated and function without human interference. Globalization enables production of as particular product in a different location with same qualities. This is because processes are duplicable and franchises are common. Both industrialization and globalization provided education and civilization to people. Before 1750, people were illiterate and primitive as they did not know the importance of education, schools were a rear commodity, and there were no resource centers to educate people on the importance of knowledge. With the rise of industrialization, people were getting aware of education, schools were set up, and children sent to school. Though learning institutions were available, children preferred going to work at the farms than going to school. During 20th and 21 centuruy, schools were available to every individual willing to advance knowledge; schools introduced exchange programs as international students would go on exchange academic programs within different country or even continent3. In addition, people are willing to learn as it is general knowledge that only the well-educated people scoop top jobs. Concisely, people associate education with a successful career contrary to industrialization. Both industrialization and globalization have a negative impact on the environment. They emit pollutants to water, air, soil, and atmosphere in general. Industrialization exposed people to a lot of noise from machineries, as most of the machines were crude and produced a lot of noise. This resulted to either permanent or partial hearing impairment to workers. By 1800, Mining was a substantial business whereby miners left open trenches after the mining process. This was dangerous to children and even adults as could cause accidents and deaths. Chemicals used in farms polluted soil and were mainly disposed to rivers. This act endangered the life of fish and other aquatic animals as well as human bei ng because water treatment was rare and rivers were the only source of water. The machinery used during industrialization was crude and could produce a lot of smoke hence polluting the air as coal was the main source of energy. On the other hand, globalization had same pollution challenges although less damaging than during industrialization because machineries were more developed hence could emit small smoke, water treatment

Undecided Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Undecided - Assignment Example With the increased need of parking space in urban centers, U.S. has adopted diverse policies to ensure charging of fair prices on curb parking centers. Thus, this reflection paper offers a relative analysis of policies of parking reform in U.S. with interest in the imperious role played by urban planning to ensure sustainable development. Parking and curb reforms are among the critical features of transportation infrastructure in a developed country like United States. Therefore, the management and provision of curbs should be coordinated carefully with other elements of transportation and the government should ensure that curb customers are charged fairly. The author of the article â€Å"Yes, parking reform is possible† argues that urban centers should charge the right prices for curb parking. I think this is a policy that should be adhered to because charging either too low or too high prices bring many negative effects. If cities charge too high prices for curb parking, then the parking will lose many customers resulting to employees losing their jobs, and the cities losing tax revenue (Shoup 31). On the other hand, charging too low prices means there will be no curb spaces, thus, leading to traffic congestion, fuel wastage, and air pollution. Further, the writer of this article argues that the council should aim at setting parking policies and not parking charges. It is logical to support this statement because curb spaces are multi-billion dollar private or public investment in the United States. There is need of managing these resources, in a wise manner. The prioritization of the competing needs for curb parking in urban centers of the United States depends highly on the set prices. This is because the wise management of parking resources and curb spaces is important for achieving economic development and wider transportation goals. In addition, availability of parking spaces is one of the key contributors to the economic health and can aid

History of American Literature Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

History of American Literature - Essay Example In particular, Heman Cortes wrote the first letter of the American literature in the year 1519 to the Spanish Crown, followed by many letters written for similar purposes (WSU, 2009). In late 1500s, Thomas Harriot wrote a significant piece of literature, ‘A Brief and True Report of the New Found Land of Virginia’ that brought the American literature in the 16th century. In the year 1616, Captain John Smith wrote, ‘A Description of New England’, and he became the founder writer of the American literature as he later wrote some other pieces of work as well. Besides John Smith, some of the other authors of the earliest 16th century were John Cotton, Thomas Morton, and Roger Williams. It is an observation that all the works of this period related primarily to the Colonial arrangements of the British forces, as well as to the discovery of different regions of present-day USA (WSU, 2009). Besides prose, Anne Bradstreet was one of the earliest poets of the American literature that wrote ‘the Tenth Muse’ during this period. In the year 1661, John Eliot was the first person to carry out the work of Bible translation in the American literature. In 1662, ‘the Day of Doom’ became one of the best-selling poems written by Michael Wigglesworth that became the inspiration for many poets ahead. In 1666, John Eliot carried out another work, ‘the Indian Grammar’, and from then, theme of the American literature shifted from only Colonial to broad perspective, as some writers began to write on history, biography, sovereignty, God, fiction, etc. Interestingly, a number of authors in mid-1600s, as well as in late 1600s emphasized on the works regarding witchcraft, and in 1693, Cotton Mather wrote, ‘Cases of Conscience Concerning Evil Spirits’ on the similar theme (WSU, 2009). In the beginning of the 18th century, Judge Samuel Sewall began a new theme of anti-slavery that later became a revolutionary notion in the American literature, as he wrote, ‘The

Extream leader Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Extream leader - Essay Example Their main traits are their tenacity, positive attitude and humility. They welcome other people’s opinion and views. They are capable of turnaround strategy through sheer force of will, flexibility and desire to find the solution. McDonald’s, Apple, Citibank, Amazon etc. have extreme leaders at the helm. These companies not only have leadership position in the industry but their innovative ideas and subsequent high growth have made indelible mark in the corporate world. Leaders like, Ray Croc of McDonald’s, Steve Job of Apple, Charles Prince of Citibank and Jeffery Bezos of Amazon, have all been extraordinary in their vision which they had the guts to transform into success. They were all dynamic leaders who accepted challenges and saw opportunities in adversity. They relentlessly pursued and brought their company to the pinnacle of success despite adverse circumstances. Moreover, they were leaders who shared their vision with the workers and appreciated their input. Indeed, these traits are rare and therefore make them the most sought after leaders for companies who want to make a distinct place in the highly volatile

Stop Poaching! Essay Example for Free

Stop Poaching! Essay Introduction My purpose for composing this proposal to solve a problem analysis is that I want to create awareness to the problem I am writing about because it is a very serious problem. The problem has increased drastically throughout Africa for the past decade. I place a very high value on its intellectual, social, psychological, economic, and physical significance towards this certain world problem. If I am increasing my comprehension and recognition of proposal writing; I will improve my critical reading and thinking ability exceptionally for future papers. Plan When I start the plan section of the metacognitive analysis I need to manage my time when reading the article: so I can better understand the article and what it is about. I have to plan very distinctively for the plan section of the metacognitive analysis. To write my paper I am going apply A2OC2 to write the paper. This process will help me access information, retrieve certain facts that are accurate for the paper, and make sure that the article I am using is excellent quality. This process will make the article I used to write my paper credible. To get all that information and the process to understand the article requires time. I estimate that I will need two hours to completely locate the right article for my paper, retrieve important information to write the paper, read and annotate the article. Also add an hour to complete a summary and genre analysis for the article. I expect the vocabulary to be difficult for the proposal to solve a problem metacognitive analysis. There is a great amount of medical words in this article and I do not know what most of them mean. I need about a few hours of sufficient time to integrate the above tasks into the metacognitive  analysis for my paper. During Reading II: Transferring Cognitive and Critical Reading Skills to Discourse Community Selection The way to use my newly acquired knowledge about proposal to solve problem arguments: is by managing my time better with my daily duties for a day. I can also have my resources ready around me when I need them for real-life situations in my chosen field. Another new skill I improved is critical reading and thinking: this skill will be very handle for my daily life actives. These skills will help me get prepared for my daily on-the-job tasks and real-life situations in my chosen field. That’s why managing my time and being prepared with necessary resources and having a critical reading and thinking about certain situations will help me understand them much better. Transfer Gobush, S.K., Mutayoba, M.B., Wasser, K.S. (2008) in â€Å"Long Terms Impact of Poaching on Relatedness, Stress Physiology, and Reproductive Output of Adult Female African Elephants† claims that poaching of elephants has left a lasting effect on the reproductive output of adult female elephants. The authors talk about how great the impact of poaching has left on the elephants physically and psychologically. The poaching has reduced elephant populations from 1.3 million to fewer than 600,000 in less than a decade and that psychological damaged the remaining elephants. Elephants live in group settings especially females; but the elephants that their Matriarch has been killed because of her tusks, do not live in group settings anymore. The young elephants suffer the most because they have no matriarch to teach them. There are more elephants now that live separately from other elephants because that is what they know. They did a study on the female elephants that lived in the isolated area that there was a high rate of poaching and it showed that those elephants had a higher fecal glucocorticoid values than the elephants that lived in an area that had a low rate of poaching. The elephants that lack an old matriarch have a higher physiological stress and a lower reproductive output (low chance of having children). The proposal  that has been presented to solve this problem is in 1989 an ivory ban was set up in this part of Africa. This ban is to prevent poaching of elephants for their tusks; which contain ivory. The authors have proposal to help move those isolated elephants out of the areas that have high rates of poaching to areas that there is a low rate of poaching. (Gobush et al) solutions to the problem are that they move the isolated elephants out of the poaching area and to the areas that is more heavily protected and more elephants that live in group settings. Ethically this proposal is excellent because it is help those elephants that have been scarred by poaching heal and getting them out areas that are conflicted by poaching. The time is a little too late because poaching has actually gotten worse through the years; but so has the protection in certain areas in Africa. Economic sense the proposal will take a lot of money to act on because Africa’s economy has been inadequate for the past decade. The practicality of the proposal is agreeable because it can be done if there is planning. (Gobush et al) used an extensive amount of outside sources to support their argument about poaching. The type of outside sources they used for the article is Statements from authorities, experimental data, statistics, and government documents. The authors used quotes from authors that are experts on the subject and facts from other scientist’s experiments on the same problem to support their argument. When (Gobush et al) did their experiments on the elephants they also had to check data from other experiments by other scientists to compare their on data and see is a difference had occurred. The way they integrated this information into the article is when they talked argued against poaching and effects it has taken on the elephants; they support that information from another article or use statistics from experimental data done by another scientist. (Gobush et al) does not seem to use any other outside sources other than these four types. (Gobush et al) (2008) support for their arguments reflects the A2OC2 information literacy formula: 1. Authoritativeness example: â€Å"Poaching dropped significantly across Tanzania following the ban; poaching mortality in Mikumi was reduced to a few elephants per year on average (Siege Baldus 2000: Ereckson  2001; J. Shemkunde, personal communication).†(Gobush et al, 2008, p.2). 2. Accuracy example: â€Å"Demographic disruption associated with poaching of African elephants (Loxodonta africana) is potentially long lasting because of the species long generation time. Poaching reduced populations from 1.3 million to fewer than 600,000 elephants in less than a decade (from 1979 to 1987).† (Gobush et al, 2008, p.2). 3. Objectivity example: â€Å"We hypothesized that adult female elephants that lack an old matriarch, close adult female, strong adult social bonds, or reside in an area with historically high risk of poaching maintain higher physiological stress and lower reproductive output than females from groups possessing these elements or that reside in areas of low poaching risk.† (Gobush et al, 2008, p.2). 4. Currency example: This article was submitted to Society for Conservation Biology in October 23, 2007 and accepted on March 13, 2008. (Gobush et al, 2008, p.1). 5. Coverage: This article has an extensive amount of information on the poaching of African elephants and the drastic effect poaching has left them through the years. The article has countless data from the experiments that (Gobush et al) conducted on the elephants. The data supplies information on how long poaching has been going in certain areas of Africa: also it provides the physical, psychological and physiological ef fect it has on the elephants that reside in those certain areas. The article is 11 pages long including the references that take up two pages. The information presented in the article that I learned can function in a future professional setting in my chose field. The way I will apply the information is that I and my co-workers will do an experiment on elephants in our time and still see if the effects of poaching are as drastic as they were years ago. Poaching by then should have slowed down; but if it has not then I predict that the trend would have gone up. So that where my co-workers and I come in and we are going to work together and get the data for proof of how tragic poaching has been on the elephants. We then take the data to the government and present it to them with facts about how bad the effects of poaching are to the elephants. An example is if I am writing a paper I would know how to use my newly acquired proposal writing strategies to communication. The proposal structure I would use is the Transferring Cognitive and Critical Reading Skills to Discourse Community Selection. The  evidence I would employ is web site, professional journal articles, non-print media, and a statement from authorities. These types of evidence meet the standards of my discourse community because they will help me to locate information that is important and select the best quotes to help me understand it better. After Reading: Evaluate and Reflect on What You Have Learned The metacognitive reading process can be difficult sometimes; I think I handled the process exceptionally well. There were moments that I did not understand how I was to apply the metacognitive process into my paper; but I eventually figured it out with a little research. So, technically my opinion on how well I engaged in the metacognitive reading process is that I did excellent engaging the process into my reading process. I have to say I need to improve on my planning when I start to read an article: I forgot my resources for example a highlight when I found an important piece of information. I had to reread again that area of the article. Evaluate The planning part of the metacognitive reading process was unsatisfactory because I did not plan very nicely. I was all over the place when I started the paper: I constantly had to go back to the article to find more information that made sense and connected to my main topic of the essay. Everything else was not as hard; annotating helped me understand the article incredibly well. I achieved all my reading goals for this paper; last time I said I was going to work on my time management and I did when I did this paper. I set a time for how long I would read the article and for writing my paper; I was surprised that I actually followed the time schedule. I was very realistic I chose sections that I knew I would understand quickly and finish them. I did not try to go for the whole metacognitive analysis paper when I knew very well I would have the time to finish it. That is not very realistic of me; but I plan to try for the next time I write another paper. The two ways that I can integrate the new reading strategies that learned in this unit is by establishing credibility to author of the articles I read. So I can know if what I am reading is credible. I will also counter argue with the author while I am reading; this will help me understand the subject  the article is on a critical reading and thinking level. My metacognitive reading goals have been met as I was writing this paper. My reading strategies have improved greatly through this writing process; especially my annotating and analysis on the article. I had to work on my analysis a few times because the first time it was not as good as I expected; but I have great confidence in my annotations of the article. These improvements will help me tremendously on my next paper. The one learning approach that I have made into a habit is I have become a critical reader and thinker and that has helped me a lot on this paper. That’s how will approach my futures article that I read and papers that I will write. Revise There are not many changes I can make to plan for future writing assignments because the planning I did for this paper was nearly perfect. I planned my time management and followed it through; but I think the one thing I would change having my resources a lined and close by. I chose a loud place and it was not comfortable for me. So I had some trouble getting comfortable and getting to work; there was too much distractions. To improve my awareness and recognition of the genre is that I will work on my presenting the subject; that part of the essay I believe was not as strong. Becoming a critical reader and thinker has gained me great confidence in my ability to read and understand information from the article. Also annotating has helped me tremendously and given me so much confidence. I think I can read any article and apply these skills and ended up understanding the article in the end. Conclusion Writing this paper has helped me improve my critical reading and thinking ability; but it has also improved my comprehension and recognition of proposal writing skills for this genre. These skills have helped me understand the article; it also helped me learn something new about how the world desperately needs our help. This article has made my desire to work with animals stronger. Poaching has a very high value of intellectual, social, psychological, economic, and physical significance. I hope this  world wide problem can be stopped soon. References Gobush, K. S., Mutayoba, B. M., Wasser, S. K. (2008). Long-Term Impacts of Poaching on Relatedness, Stress Physiology, and Reproductive Output of Adult Female African Elephants. Conservation Biology, 22(6), 1590-1599. Doi:10.1111/j.1523-1739.2008.01035.x Gettleman, J. (2012, September 3). Elephants dying in epic frenzy as ivory fuels wars and profits. The New York Times. Retrieved from http:/ www.nytimes.com/

Plato v.s. Aristotle Essay Example for Free

Plato v.s. Aristotle Essay Plato was a very intelligent philosopher and teacher. Platos most famous student was Aristotle, who regardless of his education by the great philosopher has different views and opinions that Plato. The ideas of Plato and Aristotle would battle constantly. Platos metaphysics and epistemology split the world into the everyday perception of the world and into forms. These forms are best identified as ideas that are just out in the atmosphere. For example, there are so many different designs for creating a table which exist in the real world. However, Plato states that there is somewhere out in the atmosphere, the idea of a perfect table in which all creators of a table base their crappy tables off of. Plato talks about the allegory of the cave cast his beliefs on metaphysics and epistemology. First, he describes people who are forced to sit and watch shadows on a cave wall for the entirety of their lives. The shadows represent how regular people see objects in everyday life. If one of these people, who has only watched shadows, were set free to see what was casting these shadows, and then was demanded to leave the cave they would then see the true forms of objects. To Plato these forms are reality because of their perfection. and that only enlightened philosophers are able to truly comprehend these forms. But, the philosopher with this unique knowledge of the world must preach it to all of the people who dont have the knowledge. Aristotle did have some similar ideas with Plato because he too also believed in forms. However, Aristotle does not see eye-to-eye with Plato that their are ideas floating in the atmposhphere. Aristotle has the thought that these forms exist inside of the objects themselves. So, rather than having the idea of a perfect chair floating in ones imagination the chair would be discovered inside of any chair. Aristotle expresses this idea with the thought of the sould and the body being one, but in perspective they are their own pieces of a being. Basically, the soul represents the forms and the body represents reality. These two philosophers diverge extremely in their ideas also. This can be noticed in how the two philosophers determine what is true and what is not. Aristotle believes that what he has seen and knows to be true is the only case where something can be true. But, Plato would believe anything that he could create reasons to be true. Therefore, Aristotle would rather use scientific method to prove a truth before stating them as true. But, Plato would use common knowledge and intuition to determine the truth of something. Reasoning is definitely not comparable to visually seeing, and therefore Aristotle and Plato differ in their methods of finding truth.

Description of the US Citizenship Process

Description of the US Citizenship Process   Jacob Hill   Citizenship isnt as simple as residence. There are many requirements beyond residence to qualify as a citizen of the United States. Some people have lived here for years and still arent qualified to vote because they are not yet citizens. Specific criterion have been set to acquire citizenship that involve things such as knowledge of basic United States history, fluent english, and many other things that will be discussed throughout this paper. Overall, as a born-in citizen, I will be discussing the other end of the spectrum and the advantages that citizens have over aliens. To become a citizen, there are a few processes an individual can take. One way is to be born in the United States, though you cant really choose this option. The other way is through naturalization. Naturalization is the established legal process that allows an individual to acquire citizenship in a new country. The naturalization process is different for every country, but in the United States of America, we like to make the process simple and overall easy. Whether this is a good thing is up to each person on their own to decide. To discuss the naturalization process, we first have to draw the lines as to who is a born-in citizen. Any person born in Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, or Guam is also a citizen from birth. There are a few more rules though. Children born on an American embassy anywhere in the world are also citizens; however, a child born on a foreign embassy on United States soil isnt a citizen. This means that in America we look at both where and to whom you are born to define your citizenship. Therefore, anyone born outside of those boundaries set has to go through the naturalization process before they can enjoy their life as a citizen of the United States of America. To begin the naturalization process an applicant needs to be qualified to apply. This requires a few extra boundaries. First of all, for any of this to matter, the applicant needs to be at least eighteen years of age. This is because before a person is eighteen their citizenship is based on their parents. If a person of age is wanting to file, they need to find out if their are eligible due to their residence or spouse. A person is eligible if they fit under any of these categories for qualification by residence. An applicant must: Have lawfully been admitted for permanent residence, have resided in the states for a minimum of five years with less than one full year of absence (or only three years if married to a citizen), have been physically present in the states for at least 30 months out of the last five years (they cannot be absent for more than 6 months at one time), and have lived in a single city or state for at least three months continually. If someone has achieved any of these, they are eligible to apply for citizenship by residence. To apply based on spousal qualifications, a person needs to follow similar guidelines. They need to have lived on United States soil for at least 3 years while married to a citizen. They need to have a legal union, and the spouse had to be a citizen for the full three years, minimum. They do not have to follow the residence laws if the applicants spouse is employed by any of the following organizations: The United States government (this includes all army, navy, marine corporations, or air force employees), American Research Institutes (must be recognized by the attorney general), a recognized religious organization, or certain public international organizations involving the United States. If an applicants spouse fits any of these requirements, then they are eligible for naturalization. Once they have found out whether they are eligible or not, they need to follow the steps to complete an application for citizenship. These can be acquired through a local courthouse or a public government building. This application needs to be accompanied by two photographs of the applicant, these pictures need to meet the standards set by the USCIS (The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services). There are a few documents that are required as well as a fee for application and another fee for fingerprints. After an applicant completes all of these steps, they will receive an appointment letter from the USCIS. This is to get your fingerprinting done. Once this is done, they will set up an appointment for an interview. This interview includes a few questions about your background and about you as a person, to test the good moral character required. If the applicant is passed on, they will be given an English test to see how fluent they are. After completion of that test, they take a civics test. This is a general knowledge test of simple American history, things such as war knowledge, what wars we were involved in and why, what presidents were major models, and other questions along those lines. When the applicant has gone through all of this, they are still a few steps away from becoming a citizen. They first receive a decision. This decision comes from a member of the USCIS looking through the applicants profile and criminal history and seeing if they meet the standards for moral character. Upon examination, if there are any flaws, these will be brought up to the applicant for potential clearing up. After this, the member will look through the answers on the test, grade them, and see if they are qualified to receive a ceremony date. If they pass all tests and their moral character is in tact, they will be scheduled for a ceremony date. The ceremony is where the applicant finally officially becomes a United States citizen. This ceremony usually happens at the nearest courthouse, and includes a few more applicants. These dates are usually spread out so that there can be as many people as possible receiving their citizenship cards at the same time. When the applicant arrives at the courthouse, they are required to turn in their Permanent Resident Card. This is simply because once they are citizens they will not need it anymore. Once they do that, court is in session. In the court, they will all line up, pledge their allegiance to the United States, the usual way, and sit with the other applicants. Each individual will get up and give a speech for those in the court, usually family and friends are there to support them. They will discuss what they have been doing since they found out that they are eligible to receive their citizenship, and why they desired to be citizens of this great country. After everyone is done with their speeches, they move on as a group to the floor. They will all take the Oath of Allegiance. This is the final step to naturalization. It is the last leap to becoming a citizen, and after it is done, there is only one thing left to do, celebrate. It may be a simple process, but it is incredibly lengthy, not including the time that you have to have lived in the States. This process can really take a toll on a person, so it is a glorious time when the applicant finally receives that card. They can finally vote, and gain a United States passport. Above all, they have all the freedoms that a citizen has, and they are protected by the constitution. They can finally get a high end job, and will be respected as any other worker would be. It is difficult to get a job that isnt fast food or shelf-stocking when you arent a legal citizen, so that is a bonus. They finally gain the freedoms listed out in all of the Bill of Rights, and will be tried in court just the same as a born-in citizen would. There isnt any backlash for being a citizen in America, like there would be if you became a citizen of Cuba. The only thing that is an issue is the impossibility of dual citizenship. Here in America, there is a sort of moral code that says we believe a citizen in our country considers us their home, and having dual citizenship doesnt reflect that very well. Of course, in any case that a person truly does want to become a citizen, the process is a little bit more involved than it has been told in this paper. When a person wants to become a citizen, they dont already have the knowledge of what wars America has been in, and they surely dont know all of the presidents. There is studying to do, and along with that, the process nearly requires a lawyer who majors in legalization and immigration. The legal steps to becoming a citizen like finding out whether you are eligible, and how to display yourself to the interviewers. Also getting into the system takes a fine-tuned approach, so the best way to attack that is through someone who truly knows the system. Overall though, being a citizen of this amazing country is worth all the trouble, and the freedoms we have are the greatest we can expect from any country.

Macbeth is Not Well-intentioned Essay example -- William Shakespeares

Macbeth is Not Well-intentioned "Macbeth is a well-intentioned character whose downfall is caused solely by the evil advice and influence of other characters." To what extent do you consider this statement to be true? In William Shakespeare's, Macbeth, Macbeth is a character whose downfall is caused by a number of factors. Despite Macbeth being portrayed as a brave, masculine soldier, he is easily persuaded by his wife, Lady Macbeth and the witches who deliver prophecies to Macbeth. Macbeth, while being a victim of this influence, constantly hides his inner ill-intentions and makes tragic and consequential decisions that result in his subsequent downfall. Macbeth is not well-intentioned and his downfall is not caused solely by the influence and evil advice of other characters. Thus, we can say that the opeing statement is not true.  Ã‚   Throughout the text, evidence that Macbeth is well-intentioned is far outweighed by contrasting evidence that Macbeth is ill-intentioned. Perhaps the sole example of Macbeth being well-intentioned is when he states, "I chance will have me King, why, chance may crown me, without my stir." From perhaps only a brief moment in the text, Macbeth is displaying some good intent by stating that he hopes that without him having to force the prophecies to come true they will indeed eventuate. In blatant contrast however are clear examples of Macbeth's ill-intentions motivated by his fatal flaw, vaulting ambition. Macbeth surely reveals his true intent when he states, "Stars hide your fires! Let not light see my black and deep desires" and further convinces that he is ill-intentioned. Another definite example of Macbeth's inner struggle to deal with his ill-intentions that he must ... ...hether or not they were influenced by other characters, were his decisions and the way he perceived and interpreted the prophecies was his error. Thus, Macbeth's downfall was not solely the evil advice and influence of other characters but the impact of his decisions and his perceptions of the witches' prophecies.   Macbeth is a tragic figure whose downfall is caused by a combination of his ill-intentions, the influence of other characters and his consequential decisions and interpretations. Therefore, one cannot say that Macbeth's downfall was caused solely by the evil advice and influence of other characters and that this reason for his downfall is only a small part of his eventual downfall. Thus, the statement, "Macbeth is a well-intentioned character whose downfall is caused solely by the evil advice and influence of other characters" is not true.

Fear Factor :: essays research papers

Fear Factor Journal   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  H. P. Lovecraft once said â€Å"The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear.† Everybody has or has dealt with some sort of fear in their life. For some, fear only manifests itself in some form of mild discomfort, but for others it can be so great that it creates an emotional vice-grip and holds it victim captive. I have my share of fears in life. One of these fears, which I have had since childhood, is my fear of supernatural and evil spirits. I am Christian and I believe in God, therefore I must also believe that there is a devil. As a Christian I am also aware of the contest between good and evil, so I am no doubt afraid of Satan and the infections of evil that he has brought to this earth. In the Bible it says that God allows Satan and his fallen angels a limited amount of power on earth. When I was younger I began hearing stories of people practicing witchcraft and worshipping Satan in a nearby town called Cassadaga, Florida. I was frightened at the thought of people that would deny God and follow Satan. This fear is commonly known by many as satanophobia. To confront this fear I must be prepared to possibly be in the presence of people that worship the dark prince and possibly demons or spirits.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  One September day I decided to go out to Cassadaga and confront my fears of the stories that I had heard. I told myself that there should be no place where I may go that God will not be with me to protect me. With that in mind, I found the directions to this town of only 55 residences. I began driving and soon enough saw a sign that said â€Å"Cassadaga 1 mile†. Once I entered the city limits I realized that my surroundings looked like the setting of a modern day horror film. There were tall trees that were dead with no leaves, rundown houses, broken fences, dirt roads, and rotted wooden signs. The main road was paved and as I drove through the town I saw signs everywhere out front of houses that read â€Å"Spiritual Readings, Psychic Readings.† This didn’t really bother me, because I kept thinking of funny old people like Miss Cleo from paid programming on T.V. I decided to drive down some of the narrow dirt roads.

The Cancer of Ebonics :: Expository Exemplification Essays

The Cancer of Ebonics        Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   American society has made concessions for many groups of people with special interests, such as animal activists, environmental activists and a host of ethnic groups. Tough animal rights laws have been passed to ensure the safety and future of a variety of species ranging from the domestic cat to the bald eagle. The development of Wetlands has been curtailed in an effort to protect our swamps and forests from extinction. Our educational system has implemented a program known as, English As a Second Language, which lends itself to the special needs of immigrants in our school systems. This program offers extra tutoring and extra time on tests for immigrants who primarily speak a language other than English. Dudley Scholarship and Bethel Foundation Scholarship, along with over twelve-hundred others, have been created exclusively for minorities in an effort to encourage furthering their education. A list of these scholarships can be found in Directory of Financial A ids for Minorities, 1993-1995. In an effort to promote equal opportunity in the work place, the United States Government adopted the Affirmative Action program, which forces companies to place a certain number of minorities within their work force. Now, some politicians and educators in this country want to make concessions for those Americans who have grown up learning to speak what some people call street slang, as opposed to speaking standard English, which at last I heard was still America's primary language. According to Caroline Boarder, a political columnist, a program known as Ebonics has been introduced in Oakland, Ca., as a way to bridge the gap between black English or bad English-speaking students and standard English-speaking students in an effort to raise reading and writing test scores of African Americans. She also states that the Oakland school board contends that this bridge is necessary because the speaking of Ebonics is genetically related to African Americans. ( Educators Sound Off on Ebonics, Washington Post, Jan 97) This hypothesis suggests that black students are incapable of learning the English language through conventional teaching methods, and we must devise an easier way to teach them. I encourage every tax paying American citizen to take a close look at this program; after all, it is you who will be paying the bill for its implementation. I agree with politicians and educators who have at least acknowledged the fact that our education system needs an effective way to instill proper English in all students across the country regardless of their race, but is Ebonics the answer?

Beyond Romantic Ecocriticism: Toward Urbanatural Roosting Essay

One of S. T. Coleridge’s many passions was â€Å"the Science of Words, their use and abuse and the incalculable advantages attached to the habit of using them appropriately†¦ † (Aids to Reflection 7). This passion drove Coleridge to coin over 600 words, including â€Å"psychosomatic,† â€Å"romanticize,† â€Å"supersensuous,† and memorable phrases like â€Å"the willing suspension of disbelief. † (In fact, the new electronic edition of the Oxford English Dictionary lists Coleridge as #59 in the â€Å"Top 1000 sources for quotations,† only a few slots behind the Bible). He also coined the word â€Å"desynonymize† in the belief that clarity in language went hand in hand with clarity in thinking. The importance of words, and coining new ones where necessary, is precisely where Ashton Nichols begins his intriguing book. Nichols invents a word — â€Å"Urbanature† — in order forge a new understanding of our relationship to the natural world. This term (which, as Nichols helpfully points out, rhymes with â€Å"furniture†) â€Å"suggests that nature and urban life are not as distinct as human beings have long supposed †¦ ll human and nonhuman lives, as well as all animate and inanimate objects around those lives, are linked in a complex web of interdependent interrelatedness† (xiii). Likewise, Nichols refashions the term â€Å"roosting† to describe â€Å"a new way of living more self-consciously on the earth† by creating more temporary, environmentally sensitive homes in the surrounding environment (3). By engaging these terms, and examining their eighteenth and nineteenth century antecedents, Nichols hopes to renew our views of nature at a time of increasing peril for our urban, suburban, rural, and wild environments. Nichols interweaves several types of sources and methodologies in this project: Romantic and Victorian poetry and prose, the history of science, ecocriticism, and personal memoir. In taking an ecocritical approach to Romanticism, Nichols aligns his work with Jonathan Bate’s The Song of the Earth (2000); Kate Rigby’s Topographies of the Sacred: The Poetics of Place in European Romanticism (2004); and James McKusick’s Green Writing: Romanticism and Ecology (2003). But besides conversing with these earlier studies, Nichols’ book features something unusual for a scholarly monograph: personal memoir -not just in the preface and afterword, which is more common — but interleaved in the chapters themselves, where–bit by bit–Nichols reconstructs a full year spent roosting in a rustic stone cabin and select urban spots. In both idea and text this interfusion (to use a Coleridgean coinage) levels the barriers between nature and culture, city and country, academic and personal. While Robert Macfarlane’s wonderful book Mountains of the Mind (2003) also alternates between an intellectual history and personal narrative, Nichols pushes even further by fusing these genres with a manifesto for environmental action. At the heart of this book is a reevaluation of the concept of nature, a project that began, according to Nichols, â€Å"not with the environmental revolution of the 1960s and 1970s, but with a new definition of ‘Nature’ first offered by Romantic writers in the late-eighteenth and early-nineteenth centuries† (xvi). In Romantic Natural Histories: William Wordsworth, Charles Darwin and Others (2004) and a fascinating website called Romantic Natural History, Nichols has already displayed his admirable command of the period’s literature and science. In this new, deeply interdisciplinary book, he examines conceptions of nature in the poetry of Wordsworth, Shelley, Erasmus Darwin, Keats, and Tennyson; in the prose of Thoreau and Hardy; and in the science of wonder cabinets, natural history museums, and zoos. Nichols finds a precedent for â€Å"urbanature† in the science and poetry of the eighteenth and nineteenth century, which both relied upon metaphors. In science and poetry alike, he shows, â€Å"the mind makes metaphors from the nonhuman (‘natural’) world as often as it does from human (‘urban’) world† at a time when â€Å"poetry (in fact all art) and natural philosophy (in fact all science) were more closely linked than they often seem today† (10). He reminds us that when Coleridge was asked why he attended so many lectures of human physiology in London, he replied, â€Å"I attend Davy’s lectures to increase my stock of metaphors. For Nichols, â€Å"the poetic-scientist needs imagination buttressed by facts, or facts fired by imagination, to make new metaphors† (142). Nichols cites Stephen Hawking’s visualization of a black hole as a contemporary example of the poetic-scientist, and the double-helix shape of DNA arriving in a dream came to my mind as well. Nichols examines the legacy of Romantic poetry through an ecocritical lens, exploring the ways in which the Romantics represent the natural world. Ultimately, however, he aims to go â€Å"beyond Romantic Ecocriticism† because â€Å"one element of Romanticism has contributed to the problems that urbanature seeks to resolve† — namely, a view that â€Å"nature is somehow opposed to urbanity, the wild is what the city gets rid of, human culture is the enemy of nature† (xxi). The goal of urbanature is to remove these harmful divisions: A look at the legacy of Romantic natural history will move beyond the word â€Å"nature† as it has been employed since the Enlightenment — and beyond the nature versus culture split — toward the more inclusive idea of â€Å"urbanatural roosting. Finally, I will argue that Romantic ecocriticism should now give way to a more socially aware version of environmentalism, one less tightly linked to narrowly Western ideas about the self, the â€Å"Other,† and the relationship between human beings and the natural world. Urbanatural roosting says that, if all humans are linked to each other and to their surroundings, then those same humans have clear obligations to each other and to the world they share. (xvii) Moving beyond Romantic ecocriticism, Nichols seeks to dissolve entirely the opposition between â€Å"nature versus culture, the natural versus the artificial, man versus nature †¦ ne of the last great Western dualisms that needs to be bridged or dissolved† (203). For Nichols, these dualistic categories are â€Å"old lines of arbitrary separation† that prevent us from seeing both city and country as â€Å"locations equally worthy of human care and concern, all equally serving of the attention needed to sustain them† (200). Despite their anthropomorphism and anthropocentrism, the Romantics did succeed in envisioning a dynamic, vital force at work in both the human and natural worlds. In certain poems by Keats and Coleridge, Nichols posits that â€Å"one unified power causes all of these natural effects [of the wind, the bird, or the frost], but this power is nothing more than a series of physical processes contained in nature, what John Locke and others had called a ‘natural law'† (27). In Shelley’s â€Å"Ode to the West Wind† Nichols finds a similar merging of the human and natural in an â€Å"autumnal and naturalistic paradise† (124-5). But rather than finding transcendence in the oem, he writes: â€Å"I want to forget about Shelley’s sentimentality (â€Å"As thus with thee in prayer in my sore need†) and set aside his characteristic overstatement (â€Å"I fall upon the thorns of life! I bleed! â€Å") and think instead about precisely what he achieves in these justly famous lines of poetry. The wind here is not merely moving air; it represents the life force itself; the elan vital, the chi, a vital energy that pervades the universe† (125). For Nichols, this world is purely material: â€Å"the prophecy itself is nothing more complex that a simple truth of material nature: spring always follows winter†¦ Shelley produces a resurrection poem without any link to the supernatural. He offers a promise of natural power and organic efficacy without any reference to a world beyond the physical world, beyond the world I can see and hear and feel outside my window every day†¦. † (127). But can this naturalistic reading of the poem account for its wealth of secularized biblical imagery? For its references to prayer, the thorns of life, apocalyptic showers of black rain, fire, and hail, and most especially the prophetic stance in the concluding lines? These are, I think, spiritual and supernatural motifs that possibly engage a transcendent third category beyond nature and culture. Nevertheless, abandoning this idea of the transcendent may be the very first step necessary for realizing â€Å"urbanature. † Nichols highlights the inherent cultural bias that shapes our conceptions of nature: â€Å"what we observe when we observe nature,† he writes, â€Å"is not some Platonically pure nature in itself, but a nature that is always changing, always determined by specific circumstances, by my consciousness, and by precise conditions in each contextual instance† (188) . Our cultural context today is more variegated and includes a greater familiarity with atheistic, agnostic, and non-Christian spiritual traditions as well as wider gaps between science, literature and religion. Nichols is consistently forthright in his desire to refashion the term â€Å"nature† for our times. Towards the end of the book especially, the manifesto-like rhetoric gains strength: â€Å"Like ecocentrism, urbanatural roosting will not be so difficult. All it will require is that every one of us should think about, care about, and do something good about every place, every person, every creature, and everything that each of us can effect on planet earth† (206-7). Nichols calls for nothing less than a new ethic, an â€Å"ecoethic† that recognizes the intrinsic value of both animate and inanimate nature. Nichols has a gift for writing about the history of science: the best chapters in this book elucidate emotional responses to science in the eighteenth and nineteenth century. He sees pleasure â€Å"as a concept that links Romantic poetry to Romantic science in significant ways. Pleasure located in the nonhuman world, and pleasure taken by humans in the natural world, are concepts that comingle in a whole range of Romantic metaphors and writings: anthropocentric, ecocentric, and otherwise† (88). Nichols salutes the galvanizing force of wonder in Romantic science, a topic also brilliantly explored by Richard Holmes in The Age of Wonder (2008). â€Å"Zoos and other forms of live or dead animal displays,† writes, Nichols, â€Å"-as I have already suggested in my reflections on natural history museums — emerged out of precisely the combination of scientific curiosity and fascination with spectacle †¦ To see something new and amazing is often to learn something new, but the experience is also about being excited, titillated or amazed†¦ (153). But he also charts darker terrain. For colonizing scientists, he notes, â€Å"it was ethically acceptable to cage other creatures, even human creatures, as long as the knowledge thus gained could be codified or organized as part of the great encyclopedic project† (154). He gauges too the sheer volume of death implicit in Darwinian natural selection and the horror of deep time, necessitated by new geological and fossil evidence, that demonstrated â€Å"how insignificant human life — and all of human civilization -seemed in the face of the timeline required for these incremental biological changes to occur† (61). These are riveting pages. There is no question that Nichols has written a wondrous book, innovative in its merging of genres, richly veined with intellectual history, literary criticism, and a passionate vision for the future of environmentalism. I read it with great pleasure and wonder, and wrestled with the questions it presented for many days. Indeed, taken as a whole, the book resembles two metaphors Nichols draws from the history of science: Darwin’s famous â€Å"entangled bank, clothed with many plants of many kinds, with birds singing on the bushes, with various insects flitting about† and all of its â€Å"endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful† (16) and wonder cabinets, a subject dear to my heart. In both the entangled bank and the curiosity cabinet, a sense of wonder leads to a deeper engagement with nature. Nichols’ best nature writing — including chronicles of intense I-thou encounters with a bobcat and dolphins — also resonate with wonder. Perhaps cultivating this sense of wonder is the Romantics’ greatest legacy for modern environmentalism, one that could help heal the divisions that imperil our world today.