Kanoa K. Essay

Kanoa K. is by far one of the most unforgettable characters of my life. He is not only my boyfriend, he is my best friend, someone I know would help me through difficult times, and someone who has helped me through tough times. If Kanoa were a fictional character, it would be very difficult to determine whether he is a believable character. He is one of the most perfect and awesome people I know, making him unbelievable. Kanoa is always helping his friends and me; he has a kind heart and is a good person, which is something I only truly find in a few individuals. Another thing that makes Kanoa an unbelievable character is his uniqueness. He is not your ordinary boy, Kanoa is masculine yet sensitive; he knows himself very well and is different from most. Kanoa is a â€Å"skater† but isn’t a jerk, punk or fool, I believe that this is because he knows what he is and what he’s not, he doesn’t let stereotypes get to him. It is not typical for a sixteen-year-old to know himself or herself so well. Some things make Kanoa Kruse a very believable character. He is a deep, complex individual who has hopes and dreams just as everyone else does. He has a direction in life; an idea of what he wants to do with his future, a notion of what he wants his lifetime occupation to be. Because Kanoa is a human being, he does make mistakes. Whenever Kanoa makes a mistake, he learns and grows from the experience. Kanoa has changed over the years, as anyone does. At first, he started of as a person I passed by in the hallways. The first day I saw him, I was eleven. I didn’t know who he was, not even his name, the only thing I can remember thinking was, â€Å"oh, he’s cute†. He was 13, an eighth grader. Since I was a sixth grader, the â€Å"lowest class†, I didn’t make a single effort to know him; he was just a pretty face. A year passed and I made some new friends, one of my friends was a fair-haired, English boy named Jacob. Jacob and I began to talk a lot; one reoccurring topic of our conversation was Kanoa. Jacob told me that I would get along really well with Kanoa; the three of use should hang out sometime. I didn’t remember whom Jacob was talking about, I only knew Kanoa by face and not by name. Kanoa and I did not get to meet each other that year. In December 2007, I cut out my horoscope for that month out of a fashion magazine. My horoscope stated that on the twenty-sixth of this month, one of my close friends would try to hook me up with one of their friends. At the time, I just rolled my eyes and tacked the clipping to my corkboard, I didn’t believe, even in my wildest dreams that this horoscope would come true. On December 26, I woke up to the buzzing of my cellphone, it was my close friend Jacob, He told me that his friend Kanoa wanted to be â€Å"hooked up† with me. Jacob had been telling Kanoa about me and Kanoa wanted to give things a chance and see how they end up, I decided to accept his offer and get to know him. Since then, Kanoa and I have been dating. At first, he started of as a pretty face, then he became a friend of a friend and now he is one of the most important people to me, I know he will always be here for me when I need him.

The Nature of Construction Problems: Past and Present

Abstraction: This paper aims at deducing a comprehensive apprehension refering to the different building troubles that have been faced in the yesteryear and are being faced now in the present besides. It provides a graphic analysis of why the jobs were faced, the nature of the jobs and how they were dealt with. It has been a long clip since the first origin of architectural thoughts that had crept into our ancestors’ heads. Right from the Stone Age, adult male has really been into this act of building material for doing his life easy. At the really occasion of the Metal Age, he got a farther encouragement with the coming of new stuffs and building techniques. Furthermore, came the times when architecture was at its extremum. Everywhere in the universe there was ardor to build constructions that non merely made life comfy for adult male, but besides soothed his eyes. The classical orders of the Greeks packed the clout of functioning as better structural members along with being a ocular dainty. The Romans had been articulate in building an efficient system of H2O supply in the signifier of a series of arches together being called as aquaducts. It still stands as an illustration people look up to plan urban infinites. Egyptians were no less. They were meticulously building pyramids and mortuary graves that were manner beyond the human graduated table. They had designed the first signifiers of conveyer systems in edifice building. Similarly, India saw the building of a batch of architectural admirations. Right from the building of the massive rock constructions of the Ajanta-Ellora caves and the temples of Mahabalipuram to the Islamic constructions of Taj Mahal and the Humayun’s grave it had been a fantastic spring in the signifier of architectural advancement. Finally came the times of contentions about architecture when Gustav Eiffel proposed the building of an all metal construction now called the Eiffel tower. There was a batch of noise about the fact that how it would eventually look when it was constructed in Paris. Many people said that it might turn out to be a cicatrix on the face of the metropolis. But, now fortuitously it is known as the first thing that helps us place the metropolis of Paris. There have besides been contentions about Zaha Hadidà ¢â‚¬â„¢s designs. She is one of the innovator designers every bit far as the usage of fluidic signifiers is concerned. Her designs have about ever been at the helm of unfavorable judgment by the senior designers of her times. But, she has been articulate in put to deathing her ain designs. Similarly, in the recent times Frank O’ Gehry had faced a batch of challenges in conveying up his work called Bilbao museum. He has been criticised like snake pit up to the degree of being called the mad designer. Now as we come up to the fact of such advancement in the field of building, can we deny that there have been no troubles in the building of these age old constructions? No will be the reply. As we go back to the times when the massive rock constructions of the Kailasa temple was constructed, we get to cognize that no good engineering was available at that clip. However, they have managed to really do it possible to organize a monolithic temple out of a individual stone. Imagine that how the individual who started the building, really merely used a chisel and a cock to construct such a immense temple. It is said that he started from the top and maintain on cheating till the underside. It is apparent that this fantastic building must hold taken a long clip to come up. But, it has non been constructed by a individual sculpturer. Imagine the trouble in go throughing on the same cognition about the construction to so many craftsmans over the ages. There might hold been several alterations made to this temple construction during the building. This must hold made it even more hard for the sculpturers. Now raises the inquiry of pull offing the waste that was generated in this pr ocedure. How were all the cut out rocks used? Yes, they were used to do roads and for pety buildings. But wasn’t it truly hard to pull off these heavy multitudes? Yes, it must hold been boring. A similar construction had come up antecedently. The Konark temple in Bhubaneshwar, Orissa had a immense part in raising the architectural gustatory sensation of the people of the state. In this building, they used the method of building sand inclines as it was being constructed towards the top terminal. This had really ensured that the construction didn’t acquire decayed during the building procedure. However, this construction had made usage of a immense pole at the Centre in the signifier of a magnet that gave the monolithic rock construction all its strength. This had been acquired by the British during their reign in our state. But, subsequently on what it was used for cipher knows. Just conceive of how that immense magnet was made to stand merely by the usage of really bas ic tools. This speaks of the trouble in building constructions belonging to the typology of rock temples. Now, when the importance of Constantinople came into being, there was a sudden demand for the building of several public edifices. At that clip there was a immense recession in the field of building in Europe. There was a deficit of resources, financess, designers and even laborers. This thing gave rise to a new signifier of architecture. This signifier of architecture came to be known as Polymath Architecture. In this signifier of architecture the bing edifices were used to construct several other edifices. The Roman basilicas were used to construct the Basilican churches that formed the footing of Christianity. The columns of the condemned edifices were really truncated to acquire a unvarying size. As a consequence, the edifices were holding a size really near to the human graduated table. Explicitly or intentionally, this signifier of architecture happened to be more close to people. Even the foundations of several edifices were used to run into the demands of the times. The rotun da edifices were used to used to construct baptismal fonts when the inquiry of kid baptism came into being. These infinites required a sort of radiating edifice program in order to suit the needed activity. So, the inaccessibility of resources at that clip was addressed in such a manner. Now, when we come to building of edifices that are built with the on public money, the inquiry of minimal art comes into being. The use of minimal sum of resource and financess comes into being. Taking the illustration of a instance, when an designer is given undertaking of planing a public edifice, he has to do certain that he does non raise the cost of the edifice to the tallness of doing it impracticable. Presents, in instance of building of public edifices, the factor of stamp dads up. The individual coming up with the most disposed design within the least of cost frame normally gets the undertaking. Such a instance can be taken up when it comes to the Bilbao museum. It was designed by Frank O’ Gehry. He had gone through the unfavorable judgment of the full universe because of his design. His design was so complex that it made usage of aircraft design package. He had really gone to the point of overdriving resources. The frames of the edifice were made utilizing thick stee l subdivisions. A big bed of cloth was used to cover the edifice. Above this a bed of Ti sheets were used. Around twenty four 1000 square metres of such were used. As a consequence of this, he was criticised over the fact that a similar functionality and aesthetics was accomplishable with lesser usage of resources. But, he had paid no attentiveness to what the people said. He has a construct of a fish merely because he had memories of traveling to a fish market with his grandmother. This obscure justification brought about a batch of negotiations throughout the universe. Fortunately, the Ti monetary values had gone down at that point of clip. So, he had the privilege of non acquiring the undertaking cancelled. When residential undertakings are taken into consideration, there are several pety issues that come up. Fundss remain limited in most instances. There have been instances when building of a individual house has gone through a ceasework period of more than a twelvemonth merely due to the deficiency of financess. Other spiritual issues play a critical function in our state when it comes to building of abodes specially. Several people really back out when the designer is loath to listen to his specifications about how the edifice should be. Industrial edifices have challenges that are wholly different as compared to other edifices. They should hold the ability to really warrant all the authorities norms sing the minute points like waste coevals and hazard safety factors. They should hold particular anthropometric specifications but they should non utilize excessively much of infinite. So, as we come to reason this, we can really see that several issues are acquiring solved in this context. Several designers are coming up with advanced thoughts to really provide to the thoughts of the authorities and the environmental impact assessment organic structures to do a statement sing this affair. So allow us trust for a hassle free and green hereafter in front! ! ! Mentions: History Of Architecture by Sir Bannister Fletcher Construction Delaies: Extension Of clip and protraction claims by Roger Gibson

Yourba Art . Formal Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Yourba Art . Formal Analysis - Essay Example As a point of departure, the Olumeye statue is long reputable among the artists of the Yoruba people. Majority of the Olumeye statutes are woodcarvings that depicts a woman kneeling holding a chicken (Sculpture, and I, 7). In these statutes, the basket shaped bowl substitutes for the chicken. It is realizable that, when the Olumeye is used during a welcome ritual, the carved woman brings reputation by attending to her guests by satisfying their hunger through kola nuts. The use of kola nuts in the image is a manifestation of the food provided to the visitors during special visits. The woman’s youthful body, the posture of her offering and stylization of her hair indicates her beauty, however, something with her fertility was in a mess but now it is solved. The kneeling is an indication of a relationship with a higher force, most probably a god of fertility. The divination of the kola nut bowl is in the shape of a chicken that is offered to the gods as a sign of appreciation. The chicken symbolizes the mother’s new state (Sculpture, and I, 15). According to the Yoruba, the carrying of babies indicated the mother’s long period of sexual abstinence and repressed menstruation, which suggest spotlessness and cleanliness, a satisfying female aspect. The image indicates the culture, origin and beliefs of the Yoruba people, who believe that they originated from the city of life, which is the present Nigeria. The Yoruba believes that Nigeria is the site of the Yoruba’s creation story. The manifestation of the kola nut in the image is a depiction that, the Yoruba community are farmers (Sculpture, and I, 8). On equal measure, the art itself indicate that the Yoruba people are fine artists and traders. The female forms in the Olumeye image manifest the ideal feminine beauty of the Yoruba. For instance, the image represents a nude woman with extravagant headdress and long graceful features, which depict the beauty, enclosed in the Yoruba women.

Society likes to put us into little boxes. Male, female, black, white, Essay

Society likes to put us into little boxes. Male, female, black, white, homosexual, heterosexualeverything exists as a binary opposition, with no room for the - Essay Example Using a broad explanation, binary opposition is often a hierarchical tool that is used to pit one social group against another. It is generally a pair of theoretical opposites (Wikipedia.org) that justifies human thought tendencies, such as heterosexual-homosexual opposition, which often allows one side to label the other using stereotypical guidelines. Whenever you have a binary opposition, one of the definitions is usually marked in a negative kind of way. In the case of the hetero-homosexual binarism, invariably homosexual is the one that is marked (Fairyington, 2004). Across the nation, lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender communities are facing the challenge of advancing civil rights on the local and state levels (Otis, 2004), often finding small successes in legal battles while still plagued with societal binary opposition. For those individuals with a minority-based sexual identity, such as the homosexual, finding a middle ground within society poses more of a challenge. Sexuality research currently needs to reexamine critically its constructs of sexual orientation and identify for theoretical inconsistencies and simplistic assumptions about the nature of sexual desire continue to plague it (Paul, 1985). To highlight this statement, the "simplistic assumptions" are often driven by societys lack of education or exposure to the homosexual group and become markedly opposed to them based on conformity issues (peer to peer), misconstrued religious connotations, or falling victim to long-running, historical prejudices based on speculation rather than facts. Sexual identity is defined as an organized set of perceptions that an individual maintains about the meaning of their sexual attractions and desires, directed toward forming a sense of self within existing social categories (Frankel, 2004). With this in mind, recognizing

Drilling in the ANWR Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Drilling in the ANWR - Essay Example This may be financially much more feasible to the country in general, but in the long term it can have some negative effects. This is because the drilling can cause a lot of problems to the natural habitat. The drilling will cause a damaged environment, one which can not be cured easily. Because of scarcity, choices have to be made on a daily basis by all consumers, firms and governments. For a moment, just have a think about the hundreds of millions of decisions that are made by people in your own country every single day. Take for example the choices that people make in the city of London about how to get to work. Over six million people travel into London each day, they have to make choices about when to travel, whether to use the bus, the tube, to walk or cycle – or indeed whether to work from home. Millions of decisions are being taken, many of them are habitual (we choose the same path each time) – but somehow on most days, people get to work on time and they get home too! This is a remarkable achievement, and for it to happen, our economy must provide the resources and the options for it to happen.† (Tutor 2 u) As the excerpt suggests that the government had the chance and job of making decisions and at times this can get very difficult. The government should have probably allowed for the exploration and the exploitation, however, should have also made sure that the habitat is preserved in the best way possible. These situations are pretty common for governments throughout the

Nursing research Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Nursing research - Essay Example To improve overall service at BTGH, so that every patient who wants to can get the highest quality of care. To improve patient-provider relations at BTGH, by improving the quality of the service which patients receive. In order to accomplish these goals, each objective in the practicum learning agreement was to be designing in a manner that helped me achieve the overall goals of my practicum project. Nonetheless, I achieved the following four objectives as per my practicum learning agreement. I carried out an effective analysis of the need to improve the low HCAHPS scores at BTGH. I learned how to develop an action plan based on the following approaches: Conducting a staff survey that identifies the needs for a healthcare facility. An effective process of conducting the literature review for the need of improving HCAHPS scores I learned the effective approach of implementing an action plan in order to improve HCAHPS scores and the importance of a mentor. Finally, I learnt the process of conducting an effective evaluation of the overall project. Effective Analysis Based on the practicum learning objective, I achieved the objective of carrying out an effective analysis on the need to improve the HCAHPS scores in a facility. ... d a crucial role in ensuring that I gained experience in conducting literature review that supported the goals of a project that I wanted to implement. On the other hand, this learning objective has played a crucial role in ensuring that I gained experience in conducting surveys that identified the needs of a healthcare facility. In this case, not only have I gained experience from the practicum project on how to identify the needs of a facility as an effective way of ensuring that I focused on achieving the overall objective of my project, but I have also gained the experience of structuring the survey questionnaire in order to obtain results that will help me develop an effective project. In addition, this learning objective has helped me gain experience on the approaches to use in order to conduct surveys from my respondents. Overall, in the process of achieving this learning objective from my practicum learning agreement, I have achieved experience that will be crucial in my futu re engagement as a nurse, and especially in the process of engaging in projects that changed practice. Developing an Action Plan The experience learnt during the preparation of the action plan is crucial in enhancing my future nursing career. In achieving this learning objective, I developed the action plan using the findings from the literature review that I conducted from the peer-reviewed journals and the survey I conducted among the nursing staff and patients admitted at Ben Taub General Hospital as represented in Appendix 1. These two activities were essential in developing the objectives of the action plan and identifying the areas that required attention in order to achieve the overall practicum’s goal of raising the HCAHPS scores at BGTH. On the other hand, it is crucial to point

Leadership Style Adopted in Petroleum Development Oman Dissertation

Leadership Style Adopted in Petroleum Development Oman - Dissertation Example Singed _______________________ Date _________________________ Word Count: Preface Petroleum Development Oman is the leading oil exploration and production Company in Oman which contributes to majority of the country economy as a result of producing oil and gas. The author being an Omani is concerned about the sharp decline in oil production of Petroleum Development Oman from 831,000 bbl/d in 2002 to 560,000 bbl/d in 2008. The reason why the author decided to research the subject of analysing leadership style adopted in Petroleum Development Oman derives from his great interest to analyse the Company leadership which is currently facing major challenges in sustaining oil production. His long term desire is to become a future leader in his organisation. During the initial research process, the author experienced difficulties in having access to information about the Company. However, access fortunately to information and relevant people at a later stage of the research were less problematic than previously assumed. This research approach had some limitations which must be recognized. The main objective of the research aims to analyse the leadership style adopted by Petroleum Development Oman. The study also extends to analyse the obstacles that women face as they aim to progress in higher leadership positions. A combination of secondary and primary researches are undertaken to achieve objectives proposed. The completion of this research owes thanks to a number of people. The author would like to express his gratitude to all those who supported him to complete this dissertation. In particular, PDO employees who responded to the survey... The author being an Omani is concerned about the sharp decline in oil production of Petroleum Development Oman from 831,000 bbl/d in 2002 to 560,000 bbl/d in 2008. The reason why the author decided to research the subject of analysing leadership style adopted in Petroleum Development Oman derives from his great interest to analyse the Company leadership which is currently facing major challenges in sustaining oil production. His long term desire is to become a future leader in his organisation. During the initial research process, the author experienced difficulties in having access to information about the Company. However, access fortunately to information and relevant people at a later stage of the research were less problematic than previously assumed. This research approach had some limitations which must be recognized. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ The main objective of the research aims to analyse the leadership style adopted by Petroleum Development Oman. The study also extends to analyse the obstacles that women face as they aim to progress in higher leadership positions. A combination of secondary and primary researches are undertaken to achieve objectives proposed. The completion of this research owes thanks to a number of people. The author would like to express his gratitude to all those who supported him to complete this dissertation. In particular, PDO employees who responded to the survey are gratefully acknowledged for their full cooperation and assistance in providing the data associated with this study.

Social Media Marketing in the European Football Industry Dissertation

Social Media Marketing in the European Football Industry - Dissertation Example The paper operates mainly based on research question which can be stated as follows: Do European football clubs that engage fans through e-marketing techniques generate more revenues than those who do not? Most of the large clubs are known to many around the world, showing a positive relationship between fan base and revenue generation. This relationship is strengthened through innovative e-marketing techniques by the clubs. Football is one of the most popular sports not only in Europe but also around the globe. There are billions of football followers and fans. Since the world is changing to become a global village comprised of an online community, the concepts of e-commerce, e-business and e-marketing are very common. The traditional boundaries are no longer hindrances in the frequent communication of people who live thousands of miles away from each other. E-marketing is a growing phenomenon which is based on the most recent and innovative marketing tools such as social media and mobile phones. It is equally beneficial for all industries, producers and investors to get engaged in income generating activities. All of the European football clubs have a large number of fans and followers who attract investors and sponsors to finance the clubs so that their products and services are maximized. The analysis of data collected for this study through primary and secondary sources, shows that the clubs which engage their fans through e-marketing techniques are generating solid revenues even in times of recession. Contents Abstract 1 Contents 2 Football as an Industry 5 Marketing and Sports Communication 6 Role of Branding and Brand Awareness in Marketing 9 Marketing through Social Media 13 Types of Social Media 16 Viral Marketing 19 Web 2.0 Marketing 21 Web 3.0 Marketing 22 Social Media and Online-Social Networking 24 Marketing Football through Social Media 26 Demand and Supply Chain: 27 Publicity and Popularity: 27 Direct Interaction between Football Clubs and Fans: 28 Reward for Fans 28 Engage and Expand Fan Circle: 28 Set up Campaign 29 Procure Content 29 Update Content 29 Track Metrics 29 Analyse and Review 30 Effective E-Marketing 30 Social Media and European Football Clubs 32 Research Question 41 Methodology 41 The Rothschild Study 41 Sampling 42 Data Collection 42 Questionnaires 42 Interviews 43 Online Surveys 43 Types of data 43 Rate of Response 43 Triangulation 44 Length of the Study 44 Findings 44 Clubs’ Personnel Preferences 44 Nexus between E-Marketing and Increase in Revenues 46 Benefits of Common Age Groups 53 Increase in Number of Fans for Increase in Revenues 54 Income Generation by the Clubs through Fan Engagement 55 Discussion 59 Intensify Use of E-Marketing Strategies 59 Enhance Relationships with Fans 60 Establishing a Dedicated Communications Department 60 Leverage Experts to Boost Interaction with Fans 61 Design Interactions Based on the Stimulus-Response bond 62 Explore the Potential of Social Media 62 Exploit New Strategies Made Possible by Web 3.0 63 Train the Ordinary Users 63 Development of a Marketing Strategy for the Club 63 Economic/Financial Aspects 64 Social Aspects 65 Technological Aspects 66 Limitations 66 Future Research 67 References 67 Appendix A 77 Appendix B: New technology for Football Fans â€Å"Apple TV† 80 List of Tables and Figures Figure 1 Clubs’ Revenues 2010/11 5 Figure 2 Annual Progress in Social Media Comments 14 Figure 3 60 seconds on Facebook 23 Table 1 Social Network landscape as of August, 2009 16 Figure 4 Social Media Workflow 27 Table 2. Popular Social Networks as of July 2009 32 Fig. 5 The Fan Engagement Spectrum 34 Figure 6 Facebook’s March to a Billion 37 Fig 7: Clubs’ Personnel Preferences 42 Fig 8: Nexus between E-Marketing and Increase in Revenues 43 Fig 9: Clubs’ Revenues 44 Fig 10 Facebook Share of Time Spent Online 44 Fig 11 Role of Social Media in Revenue

Summary of "The Syrian Bride" Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Summary of "The Syrian Bride" - Essay Example This film is plotted at an Arab- Israeli conflict with a family whose life is divided by the harsh political situation. The film’s budget was $18.3M. However the critical reception of the film was a bit of favoritism of one of the sides, that is Syria. The films was nominated for Awards of the Israeli Film Academy alongside other 7 awards and 15 nominations (imdb.com). The Electronic Intifada (1) explains: The film is a well thought story that brings out the plight of families in war region of Syrian border with Israeli. It gives the dilemmas that people are confronted with in situations of war. Mona is challenged between the option to join the unknown man who is to marry her in Syria and never see her family again, or stay with her family. The husband Tallel is a Television comedian in Syria but the situation of the Golan Heights makes it difficult for her to leave. She needs to get married and hence must meet Tallel but this has the challenge of her losing the unidentified nationality status which implies she will never reunite with her family at this place. Further the fact that they have never met one another makes us realize the dire situation that those in Golan Heights are in. the insane bureaucracy that they experience during her movement out of Israel to go out to Syria presents to as the challenges and problems that Golan Heights dweller s were exposed to. This makes it even harder for their family to gather for Mona’s wedding putting her marriage in crisis. The political position of Syria and Israel makes the lives of Golan Heights occupants unbearable. The passport standoff at the border paints the situation that is unimaginable with the intended Family of Mona waiting on the other end as her family too is stranded with her. With the film narrating the ordeal that the political stalemate presents to the people of these two countries, it serves to create a gradual relaxation of tension. It opens up the

Customer Decision Making and Brand Personality Essay

Customer Decision Making and Brand Personality - Essay Example Branding is done for particular objectives chief among them helping in the delivery of the message to the potential clients with clarity and precision. A great brand also confirms the viability of a product and the company that presents the brand and also connects the target market with the product emotionally. A good brand also motivates buyers and gives them more reasons to identify with the product has made specifically for them. Wanting cannot be done in isolation without understanding the needs and desires of the customers. A brand should therefore integrate the emotions and desires of potential clients with the identity of the product to increase the magnitude of the product (Schiffman et al, 2011). Brand Personality Brand personality is described as a set of human features that can be identified in a product, good or service that is available in the market; it is a feature that customers and potential clients can easily relate with due to its consistent traits and features. Br and personality is considered as a value added trait that makes a good more visible and imposed to the clients. A product with good brand personality has the ability to excite, is competent, sincere, rugged and sophisticated. A customer feels free to buy a product whose traits and characters can be related to their own behaviors and lifestyle. A carefree, youthful, elegant, rough, and thoughtful personality identifies easily with a product that has the same pool of features. The market is like a crowded room full of different products shouting to be seen and recognized by the buyers or potential clients. A good brand personality stands out in a crowded market and does this without standing or being more conspicuous. The brand trait and personality alone is enough to make all the customers recognize it and make an effort towards buying it. Great brands are believed to go beyond â€Å"transactional loyalty† which is the negotiated sales and frequency points to create a real con nection that can create emotional royalty (Schiffman et al, 2011). Before a customer can understand and recognize a brand, there is need for the marketer to understand his/her brand personality. The marketer and the organization must put itself in the shoes of the customer by first analyzing the impact that the brand may create. An organization must therefore identify an object, personality or even animal that they feel suits their image or the image of their product. For example, which car brand or animal does an organization feel it can be associated with? Can the analogy of a convertible or a Volvo, or even a lion or a given sport or movie celebrity fit into the services they offer? (Sung, 2010) Understanding a brand personality is like taking a look at the mirror to see what your reflection looks like in your face and in the face of the customers. Clarity and confidence in a brand personality is also essential for organizations and marketers for it enable them to identify the st rengths and weaknesses of the brand (Russell and Emily, 2011). Implementing a brand personality is an important aspect of marketing as it requires in depth analysis of the nature and impact of that the brand may create. Implementing a brand personality require the complete adopting of three steps which are attributed to the strength and ability of a brand to impress.

Intertwined Bodies with Separate Hearts Essay Example for Free

Intertwined Bodies with Separate Hearts Essay In a world of wild modernity and sophistication, it is almost impossible for man not to connect with a single soul. Be it a friend, a loved one or a lover, these technologies conspire to feed the hunger in all of us and that is the need to be with someone. Others refer to that need as loneliness but the story â€Å"Strangers When We Meet† says its emptiness†¦The relationship of Florence and Rob can be looked at as a typical affair between a married woman who’s bored with her current relationship and a man who seeks adventure. He dazzles her with his youth and passion for life and for a brief moment she’s caught up in a trance of sharing the life that she could have, but chose not to live. That choice rest solely on the truth that her husband was a foundation that offered security. As she said at the end of the story, she equated security and strength to love. She realized in the later part that she was wrong. The fact that Rob is younger than Florence depicts a conventional extramarital affair in our society. However the story goes beyond the cheap pleasures of lust and adventure as it delves deep into the intricacies of emotion and relationship. A relationship can be defined. One can dare as the question â€Å"what kind of relationship? † In the story, Florence and Archie is in a relationship that is recognized by society and back up by the law. A union, a vow, a social contract that’s written on paper and flaunted out to the world. That is marriage. They share a partnership that may seem flawless in society as he was a responsible husband with secure income bounded by law to take care of his wife. Florence herself is a thing of beauty and it is a stereotype in our society that she is to be taken care of by a man who has the means to do so. He is in fact capable of doing just that. He was well aware that he had the woman that most men would fell for, and that’s why though he knew that they had an affair he wanted to see it for himself before he makes judgments. He went with her in the Vacation though he knew that she was to meet her lover. And when he came face to face with the man who stole his wife, he remained composed and even started conversations with him. He exhibited what most men don’t, the decency to be civil to the man who covet their wife (Kureishi). What exist between Florence and Rob on the other hand is a relationship that’s not accepted by society and condemned by law. It ought to be discreetly dealt with to save both parties from public humiliation. The fact that she is a married woman who happens to have a lover may seem offensive to the male supremacy. However, what ought to be looked at is not the act itself but the question on what made her commit such act. Perhaps at the beginning of their affair she simply wants to escape the world that Archie lived in or the lack of attention from her husband who is very much consumed in his work. But at the later part of the story it shows that she is deeply in love with Rob since she is willing to leave everything, even her child if only he says the word. Why did he not say the word? Why did he not take the chance to be with the woman who takes up much space in his heart to the point that he needed a psychologist to deal with his depression? It was a shot at happiness, to have the very thing that he wanted so badly but when it was his for the taking he did not take it. Here lies the complexity of human emotions. Their affair goes beyond the Holiday Vacation. Though the timeline of the story skipped a couple of years before their paths crossed again, it cannot be denied that in each encounter, the dying flame of their affair is fanned once more. A line in the story clearly points out their connection â€Å"Helen (Robs wife) looks across conspicuously. Florence and I are standing close to one another; perhaps one of us touching the other. † Though they were both contented with their lives and stopped seeing each other, both their spouses knew that there is something special between Florence and Rob†¦. perhaps a love story that should have not ended. That Holiday Vacation was of great importance to Florence, Archie and Rob. It was perhaps the climax of their lives. The moment that set the path upon which they will take. They were separate entities brought about in that place to clearly define the relationship that existed in the three of them. It was a chance to change their lives and redefine their connection, but such requires great courage that only Rob had at that time. Florence was, at that moment, scared to let go of the security that she had with Archie. In their marriage she had stability and he had a wife. It was ideal and accepted by society. Before the affair she was contented, but contentment if a far cry from happiness. At the end of the vacation she asked him not to leave, but he chose to do so. This is because man cannot stand the torture of having the woman that you want wrapped in somebody else’s embrace. Rob said that he longed for that vacation since it was the first time that he can have her the entire evening without having her rush home to her husband at dawn. It was a chance to feel that he owned her but that moment never came. It was a chance that she was too scared to take, and now that she wanted him desperately, it was him who chose not to be with her. She wanted him to say that he wants her but he never did just that. Though deep within his soul he knew that she still holds a place in her heart, it was his choice not to give in to that feeling. This proves the fact that in human relationships certain factors are to be taken into considerations before a person makes his decision (Layton-Tholl). Life is made up of choices, and maybe for Rob he already made the choice the moment he left the Hotel. It was to live a life that’s uncomplicated. Though the intensity of their connection cannot be denied, it was by choice that they lived separately. They have fulfilled the human need to connect with someone, they have their spouse. But just like how their affair started, they were just intertwined bodies with separate heart.

Media Violence Causing Social Violence Sociology Essay

Media Violence Causing Social Violence Sociology Essay The above statistics alone should immediately indicate that the negative effects of media violence on the minds of young people cannot help but be substantial, and may in fact lead to social violence on the part of those exposed. However, the fact is that even after decades of ongoing research, there remains a debate as to whether media violence substantially contributes to social violence (Haugen Musser, 2008). To provide context to the ongoing debate, it is helpful to first define the two key terms discussed in this essay, namely media violence and social violence. As noted by North, Wallis and Weingast (2009), the term social violence technically refers to violent activities engaged in by people as a group. This would include violence associated with riots, revolutions, and gang warfare. However, for the purposes of this essay, the term is defined far more broadly as behavior that is aggressive and/or abusive and which results in, or has the potential to result in, some form of injury to one or more others. This is the definition used in most of the existing studies of media violence and social violence. Haugen and Musser (2008) note that there are differing views as to what precisely is meant by the term media violence, but that typically it refers to various gradations of violence presented by differing forms of electronic or film media such as television programs, computer games, and movies. The gradations considered to be within the domain of media violence can and do differ from research study to research study. However, the authors inform that a good deal of the decades long debate over media violence and social violence is more political than scientific. Specifically, Haugen and Musser (2008) state that there are two schools of sociopolitical thought as to whether or not media violence actually causes real-life violenceand these are both trying to use research on media violence to advance their particular perspective. One school of thought blames media violence for social violence and wants to censor certain content in order to protect children. The other side views censorship, even if relatively weak in scope, as a slippery slope to increasingly levels of censorship not only of violence but many other types of expressions within society. It is important to keep this in mind when evaluating the existing research. It can be noted here that the central thesis of this paper is that there is sufficient evidence of a substantial relationship between media violence and social violence; however, social violence is multi-causal and media violence is likely to exert maximal effects if additional causal and contributory factors are operative. This thesis is supported in this paper by an extensive review of the existing research on media violence demonstrating exposure to be followed by engagement in antisocial behavior and aggression. The Connection Between Media Violence and Social Violence Effects on Children and Adolescents Browne and Hamilton-Giachritsis (2005) compiled a comprehensive review of the literature on the effects of media violence on the social violence and aggression of both children and adolescents using the findings of five meta-analytic reviews and one quasi-systematic review, all of which were from North America. The studies covered television violence, film violence, and video and computer game violence. Some of the most important of their findings were: 1. In the average home, childrens television programming exposes a child to 20 to 25 violent actions each hour; moreover, violent offenders in childrens programming sometimes go without punishment and the offenders themselves seldom show any remorse for the violence. 2. During both childhood and adolescence, the amount of time watching television violence is positively related to several antisocial behaviors such as threatening aggression, assault or physical fights resulting in injury, and to robbery. In general, the review presented by Browne and Hamilton-Giachritsis (2005) led the authors to conclude that violent images in the media can substantially affect children and adolescents thoughts and emotions in a manner that makes them both more fearful and more aggressive. Browne and Hamilton-Giachritsis also reported that several other factors figure into the commission of social violence which makes the link between social violence and media violence significant but small. However, they point out that the effect sizes observed in meta-analytic studies of media violence and subsequent social violence show that even this small relationship exerts a substantial effect on the general public health in terms of the consequences of social violence to the victim and to the families of both the victim and the perpetrator of the violence. Regarding the point made by Hamilton-Giachritsis (2005), it is helpful to briefly look at the statistics associated with social violence. In this regard, Santamour (2008) reports that acts of violence are associated with heavy human and economic costs. In his study, Santamour examined violence-related hospitalizations in the United States. He observed that hospital costs as a result of social violence totaled $2.3 billion dollars per year and were primarily the result of assaults and/or physical and emotional abuse. A clear gender difference was also noted which Santamour reports as follows: Boys and men accounted for 82.4 percent of hospital stays resulting from assaults; girls and women accounted for 63.9 percent related to maltreatment and 58.5 percent resulting from self-inflicted violence. Young adults, 18 to 44 years old, made up 68.3 percent of assault-related stays and 62 percent associated with self-inflicted violence. (p. 1) When considering that media violence contributes to statistics such as these, it is difficult to think of any connection between it and social violence is weak. In another study of media violence and social violence, Bushman and Huesmann (2006) found that exposure to media violence was positively related to aggressive behavior, anger, and aggressive ideas in children, teens, and adults. It was also found that media violence had a negative effect on the helping behaviors of all groups, making them far less likely to help others in need. However, it was also found that the group most vulnerable to the effects of media violence were young children. This was said to be because young children were more easily impressionable; also, they had a harder time telling the difference between fantasy and reality. In addition, young children learn best by observing and then imitating behavior, making them more apt to engage in violent behavior. Adding to the idea that media violence is directly related to social violence, Haugen and Musser (2008) report that the connection between media violence and social violence has already been accepted as fairly substantial by six major medical groups. These groups are the: American Academy of Pediatrics, American Academy of Child Adolescent Psychiatry, American Psychological Association, American Medical Association, American Academy of Family Physicians, and the American Psychiatric Association. Further, the authors also noted that each of these medical organizations hold that media violence leads children to increase their levels of antisocial behavior and to become less sensitive to violence as well as victims of violence. Haugen and Musser (2008) also states that these medical groups warn that children exposed to long-term and frequent media violence are likely to develop a view of the world as violent and mean and to become more fearful of being a victim of the worlds violence than children who are not exposed to frequent/long-term media violence. Even more alarming is that the children who are exposed to frequent media violence over a lengthy period of time often show a desire to see yet more violence in their entertainment as well as in real life, and they come to see violence as a legitimate way to settle conflicts. These desires and attitudes, in turn, make them more likely to engage in social violence both as children and as adolescents and, in some cases, even as adults. The foregoing literature provides fairly strong support for the idea that even a weak causal contribution between media violence and social violence can be viewed as substantial in terms of its costs and its escalating effects on people over time. However, this effect does have to be considered in light of all of the factors that drive people to commit violent acts against others. The next section of this essay considers the effects of media violence in relation to the other contributors of social violence. Multifactorial Nature of Social Violence and Contribution of Media Violence Kirsh (2006) reports that many factors are involved in the commission of social violence and as just demonstrated in the above review, one of these factors is media violence. However, its effects can vary depending upon the manner in which the violence is presented. If the violence presented in the media lacks consequences and/or is justified, and/or is associated with reward, it can have a very negative effect on children and teens, making them more likely to engage in such behavior. However, if the presented media violence shows that the offender is punished for the violence, then it can lessen childrens tendencies toward aggressive behavior. In addition, the type of character or personality that engages in the presented violence can also have an effect. According to Kirsh (2006), if the violence is undertaken by an attractive person or by a charismatic heroand the child or adolescent identifies with the perpetratorthen it is likely that the negative effect of the violence will be stronger, making the viewer more likely to engage in similar behavior. Furthermore, Kirsh reports that if the childs full attention is focused on the screen presenting the violence with minimal or no distractions breaking this focus, the impact will be greater. Finally, if the child views the show and its violence as realistic and reflective of real life, then the effects will be stronger. In what is now considered a seminal study of media violence, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Surgeon General (2001) concluded that there is a relationship between media violence and some social violence including homicide, forcible rape, aggravated assault, and robbery. However, it was also noted that there is a problem with the research that makes knowing whether there is a causal connection between media violence and social violence difficult to scientifically report. Regarding the nature of the problem, it is stated that: Although there is clear scientific evidence of a correlation between exposure to media violence and some violent behaviors, randomized experiments-the research methodology best suited to determining causality-cannot ethically be used in studies of violent behavior. (p. 1) It was stated that the best that could be done is to study the effects of media violence and how it affects certain aggressive behaviors in children and adolescence. These studies were said to provide at least indirect evidence of causality. For example, the Surgeon General (2001) reports that longitudinal studies reliably show that if children are exposed to media violence, as they grow older they become more likely to exhibit aggressiveness due to the increase in the amount of media violence exposure. This connection makes it seem very reasonable to believe that there is also some causal contribution of media violence to social violence in various forms of violent antisocial behavior and crime. But if there is a causal connection, how strong is it and what other factors also contribute to social violence? According to the Surgeon Generals (2001) early study of youth violence, as well as a more recent study by Coyne (2007), what makes media violence likely to impact on any given child is its relationship to a host of several social violence risk factors. These risk factors include: individual risk factors; family risk factors; school risk factors; peer group risk factors; and neighborhood and community risk factors. Specifically, to the extent that one or more of these factors is present in a childs life, they are likely to make the child more prone to both violent behavior as well as the negative effects of media violence. The social violence risk factors discussed by both the Surgeon General (2001) and Coyne (2007) can be delineated as follows: 1. Individual factors A child and/or adolescent is most likely to be at risk for the negative effects of media violence and social violence if the child is male, if there is substance use, if the childs personality or temperament is already somewhat aggressive possibly as a result of a health condition such as hyperactivity, if the IQ is low, and if the child is generally antisocial in attitudes and beliefs. One point that can be noted here is that the Council on Communications and Media (2009) states that individual factors can also protect a child from the negative effects of media violence. These protective factors include the child having a high IQ, and a positive social orientation. Further, if the child shows a low tolerance for deviance and views transgressions as usually punished, this also would reduce or even eradicate any negative effects of media violence. 2. Neighborhood and Community Factors Living in a deteriorating community or neighborhood can put a child or adolescent more at risk for the negative effects of media violence. For example, poor neighborhoods where drugs and gangs are present increase the risk. High crime areas also place a child at risk for social violence that is exacerbated by exposure to media violence. 3. Family Risk Factors If the childs family is poor, he or she is more at risk for the negative effects of media violence. If his/her parents are antisocial and/or have a poor relationship with the child, these factors can also increase the risk. Other family factors that place children at risk for the negative effects of media violence include: parental separation (broken home), abusive parents, neglect, harsh discipline and/or a lack of discipline, poor mental health of parents, and the presence of a good deal of conflict in the home. As with individual factors, there are some familial/parental factors that can give the child some protection from the negative effects of media violence (as well as other forms of violence). According to Ferguson, San Miguel and Hartley (2009), these protective family factors include having good relationships with parents, and positive evaluations from peers. Steady and consistent, but not overly harsh, parental monitoring and discipline can also be protective. 4. School Factors How a child feels about school can also affect the impact of media violence on the child. If his or her attitude is positive, the child will be less likely to be impacted; but if the attitude is negative, the risk is increased. Academic performance operates in a similar manner. School failure and low grades make a child more vulnerable to the negative effects of media violence, while good school performance has the opposite effects. Lee and Kim (2004) points out that one of the strongest school risk factors is bullying. If a child is bullied, he becomes very vulnerable to seeing some form of retributive violence as the answer to his problem and this tendency can be strongly exacerbated by media violence. 5. Peer Risk Factors The nature of a child or adolescents peers can have a significant impact on the effects of media violence. If the child has strong ties to antisocial peers, then the impact is more negative. However, if most of the childs friends behave in prosocial ways, then this will act as a protective factor. Media Violence and Crime The foregoing section of the review indicated that media violence operates conjointly with other factors to elevate a childs risk for social violence. However, there are many forms of social violence, one of which is violent crime. This section of the essay examines the question: Is media violence directly related to the commission of violent crime? According to Coyne (2007), while many studies of media violence and violent crime do show at least a weak connection, they suffer from the fact that they are, in large part, laboratory-based investigations. Furthermore, such studies primarily rest on studies of aggressive urges or tendencies rather than examining real criminal behavior to see if those engaging in it have a history of watching violence in the media. Coyne (2007) attempted to remedy the forgoing problem by examining longitudinal research with offender populations. It was stated that, When integrated with other long-term studies on the development of crime, it is concluded that the link between media violence and crime is weak after other environmental factors are taken into account. However, the fact remains that until there can be some good control for other contributors to criminal violence, it will remain difficult to know the extent to which there is a direct causal relationship between media violence and criminal violence. Failure to definitively establish a causal link is due to the fact that in studies which are significant statistically, these other factors often act as confounding variables. Nonetheless, it seems reasonable to state that the ongoing, now decades long, findings of elevations in aggressiveness in relation to media violence strongly suggest that there may be more than a weak connection. Conclusions The central thesis of this essay was that media violence substantially contributes to social violence where social violence was defined in the broad sense of aggressive and/or antisocial behavior that results in or can result in injury to one or more others. The key question that must be asked is whether the reviewed literature on media violence supported this thesis? The answer to the above question is somewhat complex. The literature clearly indicated that media violence can lead to children and adolescents engaging in aggression and violent behavior. Moreover, it also showed that the degree to which said behavior is engaged in can differ depending on length of media violence exposure. The reviewed literature also demonstrated that the nature of the violence presentation and the strength of distracted focus can both operate to make it more likely that social violence will be engaged in by children and/or adolescents. This indicates that there is a real effect being exerted by media violence on children. However this conclusion needs some modification. Social violence, as defined in this essay, is multi-determined which means that there are many contributors which, taken together or in part, operate to make a child and/or adolescent engage in social violence. Media violence is one of these and indications are that it can substantially contribute to social violence in the sense that it exacerbates the effects on social violence caused by other factors such as having conflict in the family, living in a gang ridden and poor neighborhood, doing poorly in school, and so forth. Media violence not only exerts a substantial contribution to social violence in this manner, it also exerts an effect in terms of the negative outcomes of social violence on the lives of the people who are involved in it. Thus, it seems reasonable to conclude that based on all of the reviewed findings, media violence does exert a substantial effect on social violence even though it is not the only contributor.

Social Networks among Teachers

Social Networks among Teachers CHAPTER 1 The Social Fabric of Elementary School Teams: How Network Content Shapes Social Networks [1] ABSTRACT Background. Social networks among teachers are receiving increased attention as a vehicle to support the implementation of educational innovations, foster teacher development, and ultimately, improve school achievement. While researchers are currently studying a variety of teacher network types for their impact on educational policy implementation and practice, knowledge on how various types of networks are interrelated is limited. Moreover, studies that examine the dimensionality that may underlie various types of social networks in schools are scarce. Purpose. The goal of this chapter was to increase our understanding of how network content shapes social network structure in elementary school teams. The study examines the extent to which various work-related (instrumental) and personal (expressive) social networks among educators are related. In addition, we explore a typology of social networks in schools and investigate whether the common distinction between instrumental and expressive social networks could be validated in the context of elementary school teams. Method. Social network data were collected among 775 educators from 53 elementary schools in a large educational system in the Netherlands. The interrelatedness of seven social networks was assessed using the Quadratic Assignment Procedure (QAP) correlations. Multidimensional Scaling (MDS) was used to discern underlying dimensions that may explain the observed similarities. Finally, we describe and visualize the seven networks in an exemplary sample school. Conclusions. Findings suggest small to moderate similarity between the social networks under study. Results support the distinction between instrumental and expressive networks in school teams and suggest a second dimension of mutual in(ter)dependence to explain differences in social relationships between educators. The social fabric of elementary school teams; How network content shapes social networks INTRODUCTION The rapidly growing interest in social networks can be characterized as one of the major trends in social science research. According to scientific databases (ERIC, Picarta, and Web of Science), the number of publications in social sciences using the word ‘social network(s) in the title, keywords, or abstract, has increased exponentially over the last two decades (Borgatti Foster, 2003) (see 1). Evidence of this trend in education is exhibited by an increasing number of articles focusing on the intersection of social networks and education in a growing variety of settings and areas of emphasis. The thesis that ‘relationships matter is currently inspiring educational researchers around the world to study social networks in school teams (Daly, in press; Daly Finnigan, 2009; Daly et al., in press; McCormick, Fox, Carmichael, Procter, in press; Penuel, Riel, Krause, Frank, 2009) (see also 1). An important prerequisite for gaining insights in the potential of social networ ks for schools is the emergence of social network studies that provide a deepened understanding of the structure and content of teachers professional relationships (Coburn Russell, 2008). Social network scholars emphasize that social networks are shaped by the content or purpose of the social resources that are exchanged in the network (Burt, 1992; Coleman, 1990; Lin, 2001; Putnam, 2000; Scott, 2000; Wasserman Faust, 1997). Studies suggest that the distribution of resources in a network may depend on the content of the network (Haines Hurlbert, 1992; Raider Burt, 1996). For instance, a social network that is maintained for the purpose of exchanging work related knowledge and expertise may look significantly different from a social network that is created for personal support. Even though both social networks contain social resources that may be accessed and leveraged, both networks may be shaped quite differently. Several scholars have therefore voiced the need to examine multiple relationships simultaneously (Friedkin, 2004; Ibarra Andrews, 1993; McPherson, Smith-Lovin, Cook, 2001; Mehra, Kilduff, Brass, 1998; Monge Contractor, 2003; Pustejovsky Spillane, 200 9; Wasserman Faust, 1997). Yet, few studies have been conducted into the ways in which social networks are shaped differently depending on the content of their ties (Hite, Williams, Baugh, 2005; Moolenaar, Daly, Sleegers, in press). The goal of this chapter is to examine the extent to which multiple social networks among educators are shaped differently depending on their content. We will address this goal by exploring the similarity between multiple social networks in school teams and working towards a typology of social networks in school teams according to underlying dimensions. Our enquiry is guided by social network theory and the social network concept of ‘network multiplexity. In short, network multiplexity is concerned with the ‘overlap between social networks that transfer different content among the same individuals. With this chapter, we aim to contribute to recent knowledge on the nature of social networks in school teams by comparing and contrasting different networks (e.g., friendship, advice) in 53 Dutch elementary schools located in a single district. We will start with an overview of social network theory and network multiplexity as these provide the conceptual background to the stud y. THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK Social network theory A growing body of educational research points to the potential of social networks to affect teachers instructional practice, and ultimately, benefit student achievement (Coburn Russell, 2008; Daly et al., in press; Penuel, Frank, Krause, 2007; Penuel Riel, 2007). Building on social network theory, these studies examine the extent to which the pattern of relationships among teachers and the exchange of resources within these relationships may support or constrain school functioning and improvement. An important feature of social network theory is the focus on both the individual actors and the social relationships linking them (Wasserman Galaskiewicz, 1994). Through social interaction among educators, social relationships develop into a patchwork of ties that knit the social fabric of school teams (Field, 2003; Putnam, 2000). Social network theory argues that the quality and denseness of this social fabric eventually determines the speed, direction and flow of resources through a social network (Burt, 1992). In turn, it is through the flow and use of social resources that collective action may be facilitated and organizational goals may be achieved (Lin, 2001; Lochner, Kawachi, Kennedy, 1999). For instance, strong social relationships are suggested to facilitate joint problem solving, lower transaction costs, and support the exchange of complex, tacit knowledge among network members (Hansen, 1999; Putnam, 1993; Uzzi, 1997). Studies into social networks among educators have focused on various types of social networks that connect teachers within and between schools, such as discussion about curricular issues (content, teaching materials, planning), communication around reform, seeking advice, and friendship among teachers (Coburn Russell, 2008; Cole Weinbaum, 2007; Daly Finnigan, 2009, Hite, Williams, Baugh, 2005; Pustejovsky Spillane, 2009). While some studies focus on a single relationship (Coburn Russell, 2008), others include and contrast multiple relationships (Cole Weinbaum, 2007; Pustejovsky Spillane, 2009), although not for the purpose of explicating their similarities or differences per se. Therefore, what is less clear is whether educators social networks are shaped by the content that defines their ties (Hite, Williams, Hilton, Baugh, 2006; Podolny Baron, 1997). Insights in the way network content shapes collegial relationships is important for understanding the extent to which teach ers professional relationships may affect educational practice. As Little (1990) marks: ‘It is precisely such â€Å"content† that renders teachers collegial affinities consequential for pupils. This insight can be provided by investigating network multiplexity and exploring a typology of social networks in school teams. Network multiplexity In social network terms, multiplex relationships are relationships that serve multiple interests or are characterized by a multiplicity of purposes (Gluckman, 1955, 1965). In other words, multiplexity focuses on the extent to which there is overlap between different social relationships, for instance advice and friendship. Many studies focus on multiplex exchanges within a single relationship, for instance, whether a relationship between two individuals is characterized by the exchange of both work related advice and friendship (De Klepper, Van de Bunt, Groenewegen, 2007; Hansen, Mors, Lovas, 2005; Hite et al., 2006; Hite, Williams, Baugh, 2005, Koehly Pattison, 2005; Lazega Pattison, 1999; Lomi, 2002). Less attention has been paid to the issue of multiplexity in regard to whole networks. To advance social network theory in this direction, this chapter therefore focuses on multiplexity of whole networks. Meaning, we will examine the overlap between whole networks among the same s et of individuals that are characterized by a multiplicity of purposes. Multiplex relationships that serve multiple purposes are suggested to be stronger than relationships that only serve a single purpose, and individuals who are connected through multiplex networks will have greater success in accessing and mobilizing resources (Kapferer, 1969; Doreian, 1974). Multiplex, or multi-dimensional social networks have been studied outside education to validate name generator questions (Ruan, 1998), to examine the pattern of relationships among lawyers (Lazega Pattison, 1999), to differentiate between different types of support networks (Bernard et al., 1990) and advice networks (Cross, Borgatti, Parker, 2001). Yet, knowledge on the extent to which social networks in school teams can be differentiated is scarce. Towards a typology of social networks in school teams Teacher-to-teacher exchange can be captured by a variety of references that all refer to some form of collegiality (Little, 1990; Rosenholtz, 1989), such as sharing, giving advice, discussing work, and collaborating. Little (1990) argues that these exchanges are not just a straightforward collection of activities, but rather ‘phenomenologically discrete forms that vary from one another in the degree to which they induce mutual obligation, expose the work of each person to the scrutiny of others, and call for, tolerate, or reward initiative in matters of curriculum and instruction (p. 512). Little (1990) places various collegial forms on a dimension of mutual interdependence, with storytelling as an example of collegiality that entails low mutual interdependence, and joint work as an example of collegiality that involves high interdependence. She poses that a shift on this dimension toward increased interdependence relates to changes in the frequency and intensity of teachers in teractions and the likelihood of mutual influence. Moreover, increased interdependence poses rising demands for collective autonomy and teacher-to-teacher initiative (Little, 1990). While this dimension of mutual interdependence could serve as a valuable guide in typifying various forms of social relationships in school teams, it has not yet received much empirical attention. Given the popularity of social network studies in education, the question in which forms the amorphous concept of ‘collegiality permeates teachers daily practice is more relevant than ever before. Another useful dimensionality of social relationships that has become common practice in social network research is the distinction between instrumental and expressive relationships (Ibarra, 1993, 1995). These distinct relationships are believed to provide different kinds of support and transfer unique knowledge and information (Erickson, 1988). Instrumental relationships encompass social interactions that are ultimately aimed at achieving organizational goals, such as work related advice or collaboration. Instrumental ties are believed to be ‘weak ties through which work related information and knowledge is exchanged between experts and people who seek information (Granovetter, 1973). Expressive relationships are formed through social interaction that is not directly aimed at work related issues, that often places the individuals interest above that of the organization (Burt, 1997), and that is mostly characterized by an affective component, such as personal support and friend ship. In general, expressive ties are believed to be stronger, more durable and trustworthy, and offer greater potential to exert social influence (Granovetter, 1973; Ibarra, 1993; Marsden, 1988; Uzzi, 1997). Increased understanding of a typology of social networks in school teams is indicated as social network studies often examine various types of networks without specifically addressing differences between the social networks under investigation[2]. By exploring multiple social networks this chapter not only aims to deepen our insights in the social fabric of school teams, but also addresses the validity of the common instrumental-expressive distinction in the context of education. The boundaries between instrumental and expressive relationships are fuzzy and often tend to overlap (Borgatti Foster, 2003). In addition, recent research has suggested that one type of relationship can in part determine or reinforce another type of relationship (Casciaro Lobo, 2005). Since a systematic investigation of multiple networks in school teams is missing, this chapter is one of the earliest to explore a typology of social networks in school teams. In addition to advancing social network theory, t he study thereby offers a unique insight in the social fabric of Dutch elementary schools. METHOD Context We conducted a survey study at 53 elementary schools in south of The Netherlands. The schools resided under a single district board that provided the schools with IT, financial, and administrative support. The schools participated in the study as part of a district-wide school improvement program focused on school monitoring and teacher development. The 53 sample schools were located in rural as well as urban areas and served a student population ranging from 53 to 545 students in the age of 4 to 13. While the schools differed slightly regarding students SES and ethnicity, the schools student population can be considered as rather homogeneous in comparison to the Dutch average. Sample All principals and teachers were asked to participate in the survey study. A total of 51 principals and 775 teachers responded to this call, reflecting a return rate of 96.8 %. Of the sample, 72.9 % was female and 52.5 % worked full-time (32 hours or more). The age of educators in the sample ranged from 21 to 63 (M = 45.7, sd = 10.7). Additional sample characteristics are included Table 1 and 2. Instruments Social networks. To discern common types of interaction among teachers in elementary education, we interviewed seventeen elementary school teachers, two principals and one coach[3] who volunteered in reaction to a canvas call among the personal social network contacts of the principal researcher. We asked the educators to describe a regular work week and give examples of the types of social interaction they had with their colleagues. The hour-long interviews were audio-recorded and conducted using a semi-structured interview guide (Patton, Table 1. Sample demographics of schools and educators (N = 53, n = 775) Individual level Gender Male 210 (27.1 %) Female 565 (72.9 %) Working hours Part time (less than 32 hours) 368 (47.5 %) Full time (32 hours or more) 407 (52.5 %) Experience 1-3 years 152 (19.6 %) at school 4-10 years 256 (33.0 %) > 11 years 367 (47.4 %) Grade level[4] Lower grade (K 2) 353 (45.4 %) Upper grade (3 6) 422 (54.5 %) School level Team experience 6 months to 2 years More than 2 years 20 (37.8 %) 33 (62.2 %) Table 2. Sample demographics of schools and educators (N = 53, n = 775) N Min. Max. M Sd Individual level Age 775 21 63 45.7 10.7 School level Gender ratio[5] 53 57.0 100.0 76.8 10.7 Average age 53 35.4 52.8 45.3 3.7 Number of students 53 53 545 213 116.6 Team size 53 6 31 14.8 6.8 Socio-economic status (SES) [6] 53 0.4 47.3 7.9 9.5 1990; Spradley, 1980). We analyzed the interview data using a constant comparative analysis method (Boeije, 2002; Glaser Strauss, 1967). We compared perspectives of educators with different formal roles and at different grade levels, grouped different forms of social interaction mentioned by the educators, and checked and rechecked emerging types of social interaction (Miles Huberman, 1994). From this preliminary analysis, we deduced seven social networks that capture the forms of social interaction as described by the interviewed educators. As a member-check procedure (Miles Huberman, 1994), these social networks were then shared with a new group of educators. This group comprised eleven principals and six teachers who formed a pilot sample to establish face validity of the social network questions. Based on their comments, slight adjustments were made that resulted in the final questions to assess social networks of educators in elementary school teams (see Table 3). We include discussing work as social interaction concerning the discussion of work related issues. The nature of teaching requires the accumulation, transfer and exchange of ideas, experiences, expertise, and knowledge, all which can be shared through the discussing of work with colleagues (Monge Contractor, 2003). Discussing work can be regarded a general form of resource exchange related to work and can pertain to various topics, such as instruction, planning, or use of teaching materials. Collaboration refers to joint work among educators who are collectively responsible for the product of collaboration, and as such, collaborative relationships address collective action among teachers (Little, 1990). Interaction through collaboration may offer valuable opportunities for the exchange of knowledge and ideas, and the alignment of shared goals and expectations. Given the nature of schools as ‘loosely coupled systems (Weick, 1976) and the relative autonomy that teachers have in their classrooms (Lortie, 2002), collaboration in Dutch elementary schools often follows formal task hierarchy and is prescribed by formal roles, such as coaches or social support specialists. However, collaboration may also be voluntary, such as participating in a committee for a specific event. Asking for advice is of interest to the study of teacher networks since receiving advice may be part of ongoing teacher development and may facilitate the adoption and implementation of reform and innovation in schools (Moolenaar, Daly Sleegers, in press). Asking for advice addresses the issue of ‘who seeks out whom for work-related advice and thereby, in contrast to the previous types of instrumental interaction, implies an interdependence of knowledge, expertise, or information between the advice-seeker and the advice-giver. For the advice-giver, advice relationships are a powerful tool to gain social control as they convey information and disclose vulnerability and risk-taking on the part of the advice-seeker. Research has indicated than advice-seekers often seek advice from people with a higher status than the advice-seeker (Blau, 1964; Lazega Van Duijn, 1997). Table 3. The seven social network questions to assess social networks in Dutch elementary school teams Social network questions (in Dutch) Met welke collegas kunt u goed over uw werk praten? Met welke collegas werkt u het liefst samen? Aan welke collegas vraagt u meestal advies over uw werk? Met welke collegas brengt u graag pauzes door? Met welke collegas heeft u wel eens meer persoonlijke gesprekken? Met welke collegas spreekt u wel eens buiten het werk? Welke collegas beschouwt u als vrienden? English equivalent of the original Dutch question Whom do you turn to in order to discuss your work? With whom do you like to collaborate the most? Whom do you go to for work related advice? With whom do you like to spend your breaks? Whom do you go to for guidance on more personal matters? Who do you sometimes speak outside work? Who do you regard as a friend? Network Discussing work Collaboration Asking advice Spending breaks Personal guidance Contact outside work Friendship The interviewed educators mentioned spending breaks as another important form of social interaction. During breaks, teachers may exchange many types of resources, both work related and personal. Relationships based on spending breaks may be seen as mostly expressive since, according to the interviewed educators, breaks imply ‘off the job moments in which teachers may discuss personal issues or social conversation more easily than during formal meetings. Another social relationship among educators involves going to a colleague for personal guidance and to discuss personal matters. This form of interaction explicitly addresses the informal, personal nature of relationships. A relationship around personal guidance and the discussion of personal matters implies a certain level of trust between the people involved in the relationship. Such a personal bond is believed to be more strong and durable than work related relationships such as work related collaborative exchange (Granovetter, 1973). Whereas ‘spending breaks and ‘personal guidance may be described as ‘friendly relationships, the next two relationships tap into interaction that more specifically addresses ‘friendship (Kurth, 1970). The next social relationship, according to the interviewed educators, entails having contact outside work. When teachers have frequent contact with one another outside school, this may indicate a relationship that is built on more personal grounds than work. Therefore, having contact outside work may be a good indicator of some sort of friendship or strong bond, even though both individuals may not define the relationship as a friendship relationship (Ibarra, 1992; Zagenczyk, Gibney, Murrell Boss, 2008). The final social relationship addresses friendship. Friendship is included in many social network studies as the prototypical expressive relationship (e.g., Cole Weinbaum, 2007; Lazega Pattison, 1999) as friendship expresses personal affect and social support (Gibbons, 2004). Individuals depend on friends for counseling and companionship (Krackhardt Stern, 1988), and friendship ties facilitate open and honest communication that may boost organizational change (Gibbons, 2004). These seven social network questions were included in a social network survey to assess social relationships among educators. Respondents were provided with a school specific appendix that contained the names of the school team members of their school, accompanied by a letter combination for each school team member (e.g., Mr. Jay Hoffer[7] = AB). They were asked to answer each social network question by writing down the letter combination(s) of the coworker(s) they would like to indicate as being a part of their social network as specified by the question. The number of colleagues a respondent could answer was unlimited. Data analysis Social network analysis. The data were examined using social network analysis. Social network analysis is a technique to systematically analyze patterns of relationships in order to understand how individual action is situated in structural configurations (Scott, 2000; Valente, 1995). We first constructed matrices for each network question for each school. The matrices were compiled following the same procedure, namely if educator i nominated educator j as an advice relationship, a 1 was entered in cell Xij. If educator i did not nominate educator j, a 0 was entered in cell Xij. This procedure resulted in an asymmetric matrix that summarized all directed relationships among the educators within a single school. To explore and describe the networks, several social network properties at both the individual and school level were calculated based on the matrices using software package Ucinet 6.0 (Borgatti, Everett, Freeman, 2002; Borgatti, Jones Everett 1998; Burt, 1983). Individual level properties include raw and normalized scores for out-degree and in-degree, and ego-reciprocity. Out-degree depicts the number of people nominated by the respondent, and can therefore be interpreted as a measure of individual activity. In-degree represents the number of people by whom the respondent was nominated, and can be read as a measure of individual popularity. The raw scores of in- and out-degree encompassed the actual number of educators that were named by the respondents. Because the average in-degree is the same as the average out-degree (each out-going relationship for one educator also implies an in-coming relationship for another educator), we only report the average in-/out-degree. The standard deviations of the out- and in-degrees reflect the variability among educators in the amount of out-going and in-coming relationships, and may thus be different for the out-degrees and in-degrees. For instance, educators may vary greatly in the number of relationships they indicate to have, but there may be less variability in the number of relationships that educators receive. The range of the average raw scores varies from 0 to 14.8 since this is the average team size of the sample schools. Besides these raw scores, we also report normalized scores for out-degree and in-degree to facilitate comparisons among schools with different team sizes . The normalized scores can be interpreted as the percentage of relationships of the whole network that an educator maintains. The normalized out- and in-degrees range from 0 (the educator has no relationships) to 100 (the educator has a relationship with all of his/her team members). Again, the average percentage of out-going relationships is the same as the average percentage of in-coming relationships. The standard deviations of the normalized out- and in-degrees mirror the variability among educators in the percentage of relationships that are sent (out-going) or received (in-coming). Ego-reciprocity is a measure of reciprocity at the individual level. Ego-reciprocity is calculated as the number of reciprocal relationships in which in educator is involved, divided by the total number of his/her relationships. Ego-reciprocity thus reflects the percentage of ties of an educator that is reciprocated. Ego-reciprocity ranges from 0 (none of the individuals relationships are reciprocated) to 100 (all of the individuals relationships are reciprocated). At the school level, we calculated the network measures of density, reciprocity, and centralization. Density represents the concentration of relationships in a social network, and is calculated by dividing the number of observed relationships by the total number of possible relationships in a given network. This means that the greater the proportion of social relationships between school staff members, the more dense the social network. The density of a schools network may range from 0 (there are no relationships in the school team) to 1 (all school team members have indicated to maintain a relationship with each other). The density of a network can be thought of as a measure of cohesion (Blau, 1977). A dense network is believed to be able to move resources more quickly than a network with fewer ties (Scott, 2000). Reciprocity captures the extent to which the relationships in a social network are reciprocal, and is calculated as the number of reciprocal relationships in a team, divided by the total possible number of reciprocal relationships. Higher levels of reciprocity have been associated with complex knowledge exchange and higher organizational performance (Kilduff Tsai, 2003). The reciprocity of a schools network may range from 0 (none of the relationships in the school team are reciprocated or mutual) to 1 (all of the relationships in the school team are reciprocated or mutual). In-centralization was included to examine the central tendency of the social networks. This measure assesses whether the relationships in a given network are evenly dispersed in a network, or whether the relationships are centralized around one (or a few) very central people, who receive many nominations. In-centralization is based on the variability of in-degrees within a given team. High in-centralization reflects a high variability in the school team between educators who are often nominated and educators who are seldom nominated. As such, centralization of a social network refers to the difference between one or a few highly central person(s) and other (more peripheral) people in the network. Centralization ranges from 0 (no variability all members of the network are chosen for advice as frequently) to 1 (maximum variability every educator in a network only nominates a single person in the network, while these educators themselves are not nominated at all). The more centralized the social network is, the more resources are disseminated by a single or a few influential people to the rest of the network. In contrast, relationships and resources in a decentralized social network are much more evenly shared among all school team members. Examining multiplexity To determine the similarity between the seven social networks within each school, we estimated a series of Quadratic Assignment Procedure (QAP) correlations in Ucinet (Borgatti, Everett, Freeman, 2002; Hanneman Riddle, 2005; Krackhardt, 1987). The QAP is a procedure to calculate correlations between social networks. When conducting social network research, statistical assumptions of independence are violated because relations between individuals are nested and embedded within the same network. Social network data are often interdependent, thus limiting the use of ‘conventional statistical techniques such as Pearson correlations. The QAP was designed as a variation on conventional correlational analyses for the use with social network data. The QAP follows a specific process. First, a Pearson correlation coefficient is calculated for two corresponding cells of two matrices that contain network data. Then, it randomly permutes the rows and columns of one of the matrices hundreds of times (each time computing a new correlation coefficient), and compares the proportion of times that these random correlations are larger than or equal to the original observed correlation. A low proportion (p

Fear and Loathing On the Campaign Trail 821772 :: Essays Papers

Fear and Loathing On the Campaign Trail 821772 I knew I was in for something different before even opening the book. On the cover of the book was a skull colored by the American flag, with swastikas in its eye sockets. I wasn’t quite sure what to expect, as I had no idea who Hunter S. Thompson was. I opened the book and began to read through the author’s preface. Throughout were numerous references to drugs, sex, and politics. I began to get a picture of who HST was and about his style of writing. HTS revolutionized modern journalism with a style all his own. He evolved a new style of journalism called â€Å"Gonzo† journalism. This bold and brazen style of journalism is the telling of the blatant truth with no thought of consequence. According to Thompson "The true Gonzo reporter needs the talent of a master journalist, the eye of an artist/photographer and the heavy balls of an actor.† A gonzo journalist does not proofread his work, because that would take away from the spontaneous of the event. A Gonzo journalist will witness an event, and either at the time of it, or shortly thereafter completely write about it. When written at an event, "The reporter works his fingers to bloody nubs trying to capture all that is happening around him, and then sends it off to the editor without a second look.† Bill Cardoso a close friend of HTS’ coined the term "gonzo" in a letter regarding an article written about the Kentucky Derby in which he wrote: "The Kentucky Derby is Decadent and Depraved", and was more about white trash than horses. Cardoso wrote, "I don't know what the f*** you're doing, but you've changed everything. It's totally gonzo". Cardoso, himself a journalist, claims that "gonzo" is actually a corruption of a French Canadian word, "gonzeaux", meaning, "shining path". Gonzo journalism is also highly subjective. When a Gonzo style article is written, it is clearly known where the writer stands on the topic of the article. You become immersed in the writer’s feelings, thoughts, and views on whatever is being written about. HST is constantly extremely critical and scrutinizes every situation he ends up in with a sarcastic, humorous and/or vulgar twist. I enjoy this part of his writing because it makes everything more interesting to read.

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Essay examples -- Behavior Dis

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder According to the National Institute of Mental Health, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, or ADHD, is the most commonly diagnosed disorder among children (1). The disorder affects approximately 3-5 percent of children of school age (1), with each classroom in the United States having at least one child with this disorder (1). Despite the frequency of this disease in the United States, there still remains many discrepancies about the disorder itself, starting from the diagnosis and frequent misdiagnosis of ADHD, as well as the question of whether or not ADHD is an actual medical condition, or just a "cultural disease" (3). According to the NIMH, frequent symptoms of ADHD include inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity (1). Examples of these three patterns of behavior can be found in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, which, summarized by the National Institute of Mental Health, states that signs of inattention include * Distraction by "irrelevant sights and sounds" (2) * Failure of attenti...

My Philosophy of Education Essay -- Educating Educational Teaching Ess

My Philosophy of Education Generally when you compare twins you find that they are different in many ways. Even if they are identical and they look exactly alike they usually have different personalities. Normally they are extreme opposites; one takes up the more dominant outgoing personality while the other is shy and more of a follower. Ever since my sister and I were little I have taken on the more dominant role. From the time of playing school when I was little I have always loved being in control. Of course, I was always the teacher and got to boss everyone around. Even into my high school years I took pride in being captain of my basketball team and my teammates looking to me as the leader. I have never shied away from people; I love interacting and talking to people. From playing school and being the teacher until the present I have had many chances to interact with people of all ethnic groups and backgrounds. I love helping people and knowing that I have touched someone’s l ife, touches my heart. That is how I always knew I wanted to be a teacher since my childhood years playing with my friends. I took great pride in being the teacher and now I take even greater pride knowing my dream will soon come true. I will no longer have to pretend because my students will be real and they will be looking for me to lead them to success. When I was little I was the All-American tomboy. I have always adored sports of all kinds. I was one of the kids my mom would shout for me to come in for dinner and call me back in for bedtime. I was one of the neighborhood guys playing everything from football to basketball. At age five when my dad told me that he played sports everyday at work I decid... ...y class and some not so athletic kids in my class. If I want all my students to reach their potential I will have to use positive reinforcement to make all my students feel equally talented. By using behaviorism they will all have fun, feel good about themselves, and be learning at the same time. My dominance has helped me shape my future and hopefully I can shape the future of my students. By incorporating the different teaching methods and philosophies I can hopefully keep my students interested and they will develop into their own with a unique personality. I will feel that I have successfully done my job as a teacher if my kids walk out of my classroom knowing more than when they walked in. If I can teach them one new thing daily that is one more thing they can put into their suitcase of knowledge for their travels into the future.

Midwestern Art Museum Essay

Background The present paper reviews a case study as written by Lewicky, Saunders and Barry in the text Negotiations titled Midwestern::Contemporary Art, case number 6. Its focus is on a financial crisis that the museum is facing due to a donors failure to pay a five million dollar pledge. The donor was the museums previous president of the board of directors who had a falling out with the museum director over financial matters and felt minimized by the lack support by board members. The museum is in the process of completing a major capital project and faces the near term possibility of bankruptcy if the pledge is not fulfilled. Results Legal counsel for the museum recommends suing to collect the funding but that strategy presents several negative outcomes. First is that there are very few cases where a museum has sued a donor successfully so this is not a tested option and even if they were successful, collecting the amount awarded by the court may prove very difficult. Secondly, it raises the likelihood of creating negative public relations that could adversely affect future contributions. Lastly, some of the board members are opposed to this idea. Another course of action is to enter in to negotiations to secure the funding. The current president of the board must decide on a course of action to obtain the necessary funding and unite the board in a functional manner. Conclusions A renewed focus on the future relationship between this donor and the MCA needs to be forged through skilled negotiations in a way that will benefit everyone involved. The legal route should not be the first course of action for the MCA to obtain the five million dollar pledge. The board should first try to implement a well planned negotiation strategy to include the legal option as the BATNA. Situation. The Midwestern Contemporary Art (MCA) Museum opened in 1976 and is devoted to modern art. In January of 1989 the MCA hired Keith Schmidt as executive director, and due to his extensive experience much was expected of him. That same year a reputable lawyer from the area named Peter Smith was selected as the board president. He had been a board member since 1981 and was an avid collector of contemporary art along with his wife. Together they had acquired the largest art collection of this type in the Great Lakes area. Peter Smith and Keith Schmidt had very different leadership styles and it led to disagreements on how to expand and grow the MCA. These arguments often became personal and led to animosity and mistrust. Most of their arguments had to deal with the speed of MCA’s expansion, which was pushed by Keith Schmidt. Peter Smith was more concerned about the finances and did not trust that Schmidt could operate the museum in the black. Smith presented his concerns about Schmidt to the other board members but they didn’t share the same feelings of mistrust since Mr. Schmidt’s performance had not proven deficient so far. Due to problems between the two men, Peter Smith resigned from the board in December 1991. The Smiths disappeared from the art scene at the end of 1991 and missed all payments on their $5 million pledge to the MCA. This became a problem because the MCA was planning on constructing a new building. The Smiths’ pledge was a significant amount and the new MCA facilities completion depended on their pledge. Also, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) required all non-profit organizations to record pledges as income so the MCA had already accounted for the money. This caused an even more financial hardship on the museum, and in late 1997, MCA found itself in a financial crisis due to high debt resulting from the construction and the Smiths’ unfulfilled pledge. The current board director is Peggy Fischer and she has just finished a meeting with the board to discuss the possibility of suing the Smiths for the five million dollar pledge. Although she is uncomfortable with several aspects of the legal route, she knows the museum may face bankruptcy without the pledge. She must decide if the MCA should try to pursue negotiations with the Smiths or legal action. It is a big decision to make and the boards’ next meeting is in five days. Who is in Charge? Let’s consider the leadership crisis that got them in the situation to start with. First of all, Keith Schmidt as the executive director should be able to answer the board chairman’s questions in a clear and logical manner and should not expect an â€Å"unsigned check† regardless of how he was treated elsewhere. Beyond that, Peter Smith as the board chairman is clearly micromanaging the director and as a result, both men have let the business relationship become personal. If you insist on micro-managing, you have a problem; if you believe you must check on every detail, your style is symptomatic of insecurity or paranoia. Your style is based on a lack of faith and trust in other people. And, it is repressive. It leads to little growth, it discourages any human resource development, and it focuses on problems of detail, and discourages teamwork. If you don’t trust your manager or his judgment, and you are unwilling to allow him to assume any responsibility, you are cheating yourself of the talent you are paying for. As much as you may want to, you can’t build a one-person organization that will succeed in the long run. Micro-managing may work for a while, but in time, it acts as a brake on all progress. In this case, it is stifling the expansion and growth of the MCA. Mr. Smith doesn’t realize that he is working against himself by discouraging new ideas, new art exhibits, new talent and the push to move forward has been imprisoned in the mind of one person. The two men are experiencing a competitive conflict based on different viewpoints or perspectives. I think that they have the same goals; they just disagree on how to go about obtaining them. Also, this organization is experiencing growing pains with the hiring of the director. Consequently, the roles and expectations of the organization’s members should be clarified. This one area of conflict can be the trickiest because when you are in charge, often perspectives different from your own are misunderstood or pushed aside. Managers and leaders must remember that at least some of their employees will likely have different perspectives. In fact, often different perspectives are where creative solutions are developed. There are ways to structurally reduce conflict in an organization. The ost common and effective way is to provide people with a clear definition and understanding of their role, function, and responsibilities in the workplace. This will provide them with a good understanding of the job and tasks they are to perform as an individual and within any teams they are a part of. It also provides information on where they fit within the organization and who they report to, helping to avoid disputes and misunderstandings over authority. Failing to define workplace roles and responsibilities can create tension, miscommunication and inefficiency within your business (Bulleit, 2006). People may be unsure as to what jobs are their own and who they are required to report to. Mistakes and omissions can also occur where people are unsure of what is required of them, therefore creating inefficiencies which cost time and money. If Peter Smith and Keith Schmidt understood this at the beginning of their relationship, much of the dispute would have been avoided. Once you have defined each person’s roles and responsibilities, you can record this in a â€Å"job description†. This can be as formal or informal as you prefer, however it is important to record the key information. Job descriptions provide the opportunity to clearly communicate each individual’s roles and responsibilities and also serve as a way to measure performance. With the role of each individual in the organization defined, you can also create an organization chart. This chart is a tool that helps to define the inter-relationships between the board, the director and staff. It defines reporting structures and lines of authority and responsibility, providing a picture of how the organization functions. It can be very helpful when creating a new position in an organization to have people write their own job description. This gives you insight in how that person views his responsibilities and creates buy-in on their part. People like to be part of decisions that affect their life as opposed to being told what to do. In this situation, the board of directors and its members should define their roles as well as the executive director and the staff since they are all very different. At MCA the roles are different since it is a not-for-profit organization and there are no shareholders to report to. The role of the chairman is to provide vision and outline the goals of the MCA. The role of the director is to develop a plan of how to achieve those goals and the role of the staff is to execute or put the plan in to action. I’m not sure how large the staff is at MCA, but the structural organization should extend beyond Mr. Schmidt. When defining roles and responsibilities in the workplace, you may need to create a list of all of your staff and a list of all of the tasks and roles within your business. You can then assign the roles to each staff member. It is important to remain flexible and be prepared to modify your plan in consultation with your employees. Peter Smith acted poorly when his advice was not followed by the board. It is his inability to â€Å"pass the torch† thinking that only he can win the race to success and that is largely what caused the whole situation. He is willing to â€Å"take his toys and go home† if he doesn’t get it his way. When Peter Smith’s advice was not followed by the board and he resigned he should have either withdrawn his pledge so the MCA could plan accordingly or honored his commitment. The Decision. Peggy Fischer as the current board chairman has some hard decisions. She needs to consider any alternative approaches to collect the unfulfilled pledge as opposed to a direct approach of just calling and demanding the money. She should also consider what alternatives the Smiths may have. For any successful negotiation, there is a significant amount of homework involved. The legal option may not work out since it is largely untested as pointed out by legal counsel. If that doesn’t work, the MCA will be in even deeper financial trouble with no options left with the Smiths. Ms. Fisher should first clearly identify the goal. I think that the goal should be to establish a positive relationship with the Smiths that will secure the five million dollar contribution soon and create a positive relationship that has future benefits. In addition to this goal, a Best Alternative To a Negotiated Agreement (BATNA) needs to be established. BATNAs are critical to negotiation because you cannot make a wise decision about whether to accept a negotiated agreement unless you know what your alternatives are. Your BATNA is the only standard which can protect you both from accepting terms that are too unfavorable and from rejecting terms it would be in your interest to accept. For example, the Smiths may agree to assist in finding another source of money to make up the pledge. This is not what is expected, but it may be enough to meet the financial needs of the museum. There may be several options to consider in an agreement that would accomplish the goal without strictly adhering to only two possible outcomes. Get the five million now or sue. In the simplest terms, if the proposed agreement is better than your BATNA, then you should accept it. If the agreement is not better than your BATNA, then you should reopen negotiations. (Fisher & Ury 1991). Along with establishing the negotiation desired outcome or goal and the BATNA, you need to determine the bottom line. A bottom line signifies the worst possible outcome that a negotiator might accept. Maybe it would be acceptable to obtain half of the pledged money with the idea that MCA could come up with the rest elsewhere. The bottom line is meant to act as the final barrier where a negotiation will not proceed further. It is a means to defend oneself against the pressure and temptation that is often exerted on a negotiator to conclude an agreement that is self defeating (Lewicki, Saunders & Barry, 2009). Then the next step in this situation requires her to select a negotiation strategy based on the type of relationship MCA wishes to achieve with the Smiths if any. If the importance of the relationship is high and the importance of the outcome is high, then a collaborative style of negotiation is in order. Do they want to re-establish a long term relationship? If not, then a more competitive strategy is more suitable. In this situation the board members seem to be split on their strategy. Some of the board members have made it clear that they have reservations about using the legal course, or competitive strategy, and at least one supports the chief counsels’ recommendations. If the MCA determines that they do not expect to deal with the Smiths ever again and they do not need their goodwill in the long term, then it may be appropriate to â€Å"play hardball†, seeking to win the negotiation while the other person loses out. Similarly, since there is a great deal at stake in the negotiation, it may be appropriate to prepare in detail and legitimate â€Å"gamesmanship† to gain advantage. Anyone who has been involved with large sales negotiations will be familiar with this. Neither of these approaches is usually much good for resolving disputes with people with whom you have an ongoing relationship: If the MCA plays hardball, then this disadvantages the Smiths and may, quite fairly, lead to reprisal later. Similarly, using tricks and manipulation during a negotiation can undermine trust and damage teamwork. Attempting to manipulate the Smiths in a negotiation may backfire. Here, honesty and openness is the best policy. So let’s consider the basic strategies available. The avoiding strategy is obviously not going to work since there is no clear way to obtain the funds elsewhere. The competitive strategy in this situation is comprised of the legal option that is recommended by the chief counsel and supported by at least one board member. The accommodating strategy would also require that MCA finds another source of funding since they are facing a short term crisis. A collaborative strategy is ideal but is difficult given the short time frame. The best alternative method to seek the cooperation of the Smiths and to collect the unfulfilled pledge is to use any existing relationships among the board member’s. If this is not apparent, she may consider hiring a consultant even if it is only for mapping out a strategy. It may be well worth the money because some research needs to be done to determine the network of contacts which exist around the Smiths. I think that involving a third party at least initially is a good idea to break the ice. In order to collect the five million dollar pledge, the MCA clearly needs the help of influential people to ‘open doors’, make reintroductions and even to ‘make the ask’ when appropriate. Someone is needed who will focus on reinforcing collaborations and partnerships and build on those strengths. Now is the time to put the right people in the right position to both grieve the loss of the Smiths relationship and honor their contributions. Since the Smiths were very involved in the community, the involvement of influential people from outside the museum that may be best to use in a networking and personal approach. The negotiator must be able to avoid focusing on the past and skilled at guiding the discussion to a positive view of the future. Pointing fingers or histrionics are clearly inappropriate because they undermine the rational basis of the negotiation and because they bring a manipulative aspect to them (Phillips, 2011). The smiths need to be convinced that the MCA is important to them and the best person to do this is someone that they trust. Not lost in this situation is the fact that the Smiths are facing a significant life changing event; it may cause them to re-evaluate their relationship with MCA. If the Smiths are approached in a positive manner, they may choose to reclaim the part of their life that they invested so much time and money in as a legacy to Peter. Leaving bequests to museums has a long history. The board should be involved in further discussions leading to a decision about whether or not to file a lawsuit and to this end, Peggy Fisher has some negotiations of her own to accomplish with the board members. The style of the negotiation is important because emotions are high due to the critical situation. Keep in mind that for a negotiation to be ‘win-win’, both parties should feel positive about the negotiation once it’s over. There are those on the board who want to sue and those who are in opposition and this has potential to evolve in to a destructive division. Peggy has to unify the board in a way that will maintain good working relationships afterwards and also govern the style of the negotiation. Emotion can be an important subject of discussion because people’s emotional needs must fairly be met. Usually, emotion is best left out of negotiations but Peter Smiths terminal cancer should not be ignored. If emotion is not discussed where it needs to be, then the agreement reached will be unsatisfactory and temporary. I don’t think the museum should sue the Smiths as a first approach to this situation primarily because the relationship between a foundation and its donors is precious. Suing the people paying the bills is not good public relations and this will definitely generate a lot of attention in the community. Even if MCA wins the lawsuit there is still the big question of how to collect. Will they have to hire a collection agency? Is there one that will even take the job? If for some reason the Smiths don’t have the money it is going to be very difficult to collect. Before going any further with this as the debt collection strategy, the MCA needs to look at this from a clear perspective. Have they given the debtor enough time and notice to repay the debt that they owe? It is crucial that they attempt to contact the debtor directly before starting any legal procedures and suing for money owed. When the Smiths missed their payments, did anyone attempt to collect? This may be an issue in court. It is important to find out exactly why the Smiths have not paid because there could be some fairly legitimate reasons for the shortfall. The legal process may not produce results in the timely manner needed in this situation because it may lead to mediation anyway. Mediation is another debt collection strategy that uses mediators instead of going to court so you are back to a negotiating strategy. A mediator is a professional, hired in order to settle a dispute outside of court. They may make it easier for an agreement to be reached, however this must be reached voluntarily between the two parties (Bailey, 2010). There is a better way for the MCA to attempt the collection of the money pledged by the Smiths however, I think that the sue option is a good BATNA and should be used in this manner as part of a well planned negotiation. Having a good BATNA increases your negotiating power and the trick in this situation is determining when to make that option known to the Smiths in order to strengthen your negotiating power. The negotiation should be well thought out and executed properly. Care should be taken that the BATNA is not seen by negotiators as a safety net, but rather as a point of leverage in negotiations and again, determining when to bring it in the negotiations is a key part that a skilled negotiator must determine. In conclusion, the leadership dispute between Peter Smith and Keith Schmidt and the resulting parting of ways on supposedly bad terms should be put to rest. A renewed focus on the future for the Smiths and the MCA needs to be forged through skilled negotiations that will benefit everyone in the very different situation that both parties now face. The legal route should not be the first course of action for the MCA. The board should first try to implement a well planned negotiation strategy to include the legal option as the BATNA. Peggy Fischer has some negotiation work of her own to accomplish with the board members in order to unify everyone and focus all their resources and efforts in accomplishing a collaborative, long term relationship with the Smiths that will benefit everyone.