The Sociological Imagination Essay - 838 Words

The Sociological Imagination The human attitudes have always been a curiosity that captivated most of the great social theorists like Karl Marx, Engels and Durkheim. One of the most unhumble attitude of the humanity was Racism and stereotyping. The racial issue even in the 21st century continue to be a subject that still is present and significant even though we tend to say that racism and other forms of discrimination are prohibited by law and illegal still even in the US the country of all freedoms people face everyday racism, discrimination and humiliation The Sociological imagination, a concept brought by C. Wright Mills basically states that a person lives out a biography and lives it out with some historical†¦show more content†¦First my country was settled by France and this gave to French an important position in our country: second language thought in schools, and spoken widely second attitudes of the French especially regarding Arab immigrants from Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco that once had been brought to France after world war 2 to rebuild the country because the French would never accept to do the dirty work and now they want them back to their countries. Let me stop a second here and talk about these guys that moved to France, contributed to rebuilt what it is now considered a powerful country. These immigrants had kids in France that are considered by the French government as being French. But now heres where comes the racist attitudes: the French never considered these kids as being one of them they even gave them a name Beure which exact translation is Butter. These kids had always faced racism and afflicted to humiliation and prejudgment and stereotyping. The most important stereotype about Arabs in France is that their kids are thefts. These kids that were born there and didnt had the choice (neither their parents) to be there, they never felt home because of peoples attitudes. Home a place that makes you feel comfortable, secure and serene. No this wasnt these kids reality. In fact when they come back to their home country and they didnt spoke their family language and that they spoke only French everybody considered them as French and notShow MoreRelatedSociological Imagination636 Words   |  3 Pagesproblems, family problems or an individual just may not be happy. Although, if this person uses their social imagination it may be a little easier for them to cope with their depression. Looking at their problems in a more general perspective helps them realize they are not alone and these are daily problems everyone faces. Sociologist C. Wright Mills quotes â€Å"The sociological imagination enables its possessor to understand the larger historical scene in terms of its meaning for the innerRead MoreThe Sociological Imagination And Me Essay1343 Words   |  6 PagesThe Sociological Imagination and Me Charles Wright Mills was a writer, a researcher, a teacher, a scholar and a well known sociologist. He was the author of the 1959 book, The Sociological Imagination. This book was poorly received by the sociological community at first, but it is one of the most widely read sociological texts today. The Sociological Imagination and Mills’ other works have had an immense impact on sociology, as he influenced many other scholars and the â€Å"New Left† movement of theRead MoreSociological Imagination Essay703 Words   |  3 Pagesï » ¿ Tierra Hodge Dr. Ngeo Boon Lin Intro to Sociology October 1, 2014 Sociological Imagination What is sociological imagination? According to C. Wright Mills sociological imagination is the ability to see how individual experiences are connected to the larger society. Sociological perspective enables one to grasp connection to history and biography. History is the background and biography is the individual’s specific experiences. C.Wright Mills came up with the idea that in order for one to understandRead MoreC. Wright Millss Sociological Imagination1301 Words   |  6 PagesThe sociological imagination, a concept coined by C. Wright Mills, is defined as, â€Å"the awareness of the relationship between personal experience and wider society.† The sociological imagination is not an innate way of thinking, therefore its inverse is commonly referred to as the ordinary way of thinking. People who think ordinarily, do not make connections between what is happening in their own milieu and what is happening in the larger society they live within. The memoir of Michael P atrick MacDonaldRead MoreSociological Imagination By C. Wright Mills942 Words   |  4 PagesSociological imagination according to C. Wright Mills (1959) â€Å"enables its possessor to understand the larger historical scene in terms of its meaning for the inner life and the external career of a variety of individuals† (p.5) Mills in this book of The Sociological Imagination explains how society shapes the people. Mills wants people to be able to use sociological imagination to see things in a sociology point of view, so they can know the difference between personal troubles versus personal issuesRead MoreThe Sociological Imagination By C. Wright Mills Essay1970 Words   |  8 Pagesmay not be within our control, and it takes a toll on our lives. As a person experiences something that is out of their control, it is related back to social forces; this is what the sociological imagination is. C. Wright Mills, author of â€Å"The Sociological Imagination†, explains how the sociological imagination plays a part in human development, and how certain social forces affecting the lives of those who are constantly facing hardships. He explains that the problems that we face as human beingsRead MoreThe Sociological Imagination : C. Wright Mills1822 Words   |  8 PagesC. Wright Mills defines the sociological imagination as, â€Å"what they need, and what they feel they need, is a quality of mind that will help them to use information and to develop reason in order to achieve lucid summations of what is going on in the world and of what may be happening within themselves†. Mills also says that the sociological imagination enables us to grasp history and biography and the relations between the two within society. When I read Chapter One: The Promise from C. WrightRead MoreThe Sociological Imagination : C. Wright Mills907 Words   |  4 Pageslimited to their day to day life and personal experiences that are directly related to them, they cannot see the bigger picture. They do not yet know that the sociological imagination can set them free from this trap and as C. Wright Mills said, In many ways it is a terrible lesson; in many ways a magnificent one.. The sociological imagination is truly an incredible thing. Most people go through life indeed feeling trapped by the personal troubles that plague their lives and some never even considerRead MoreThe Sociological Imagination As Described By C. Wright Mills930 Words   |  4 PagesThe sociological imagination as described by C. Wright Mills is â€Å"the ability to understand the intersection between biography and history or interplay of self and the world.† (13) Mills also describes the sociological imagination by saying, â€Å"we have come to know every individual lives, from one generation to the next, in some society; that he lives out a biography, and that he lives out within some historical sequence. By the fact of his living he contributes, however minutely, to the shaping ofRead MoreSociological Imagination Coined By Sociologist C. Wright Mills1138 Words   |  5 PagesThroughout our lives we encounter numerous personal troubles, no matter big ones or trivial ones. H owever, one may seldom relate their problems in a sociological level rather often try to ascribe the blame to their personal wrongs. In this essay I would introduce the topic of sociological imagination coined by sociologist C. Wright Mills, describing how personal matters have all sorts of interwoven relationships with social issues. It is also important to realize that there are distinctions between

The Evolution of Baseball Technology 1884-Present

The Evolution of Baseball Technology: 1884-Present I. Introduction From the United States to Japan, every athlete who has ever played the game of baseball has used the basic â€Å"tools of the trade†: a baseball, a bat, a glove, protective equipment, and a uniform. Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb, Ted Williams, and Sammy Sosa have made a living out of using these tools to play baseball, but there are also a great number of people who play baseball as a source of enjoyment. The crack of the bat connecting with a fastball, the slap of the ball on the mitt, and the roar of the crowd after a homerun are all common sounds of a baseball game. The thing that many people may not realize, however, is that the bat, ball, and glove that make those sounds possible†¦show more content†¦Hillerich went into business selling the highly popular bats shortly thereafter (Wanner). Before Hillerich began selling his Falls City Slugger bats, players had their bats handmade by any local carpenter without any specific instructions on the size and weight of the bat. Base ball bats today are constructed using a pattern guide from a template instead of being carved by hand because hand carving was too time consuming and expensive (Oldham). Although there have been baseball bats of all shapes and sizes throughout the ages, all bats have traditionally been made out of ash (Oldham). Modern players prefer lightweight, thin handled bats, as opposed to the heavy, thick handled bats used by players in the Dead Ball Era (Good Wood: Premium 76-79). Aiding in making today’s bats as lightweight as possible is the cup, invented in 1972 by Jose Cardinal. A cup in a bat scoops away an area of the bat two inches wide by one inch deep from the end of the bat, resulting in a much lighter weight. Over half of the wooden bats sold by Hillerich and Bradsby, the parent company of Louisville Slugger, are cupped (Wanner). One of the biggest changes in the making of a wooden baseball bat occurred in 1999 when Sam Holman, a Canadian carpenter, introduced maple bats to Major Leaguers (Cannella 86-87). Maple wood is much harder and more durable than ash, but it does not weigh much more. Many Major Leaguers such as Albert Pujols and Paul Lo Duca insist that the increased densityShow MoreRelatedThe Evolution Of Baseball Technology2329 Words   |  10 PagesThe Evolution of Baseball Technology: 1884-Present From the United States to Japan, every athlete who has ever played the game of baseball has used the basic â€Å"tools of the trade†: a baseball, a bat, a glove, protective equipment, and a uniform. Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb, Ted Williams, and Sammy Sosa have made a living out of using these tools to play baseball, but there are also a great number of people who play baseball as a source of enjoyment. The crack of the bat connecting with a fastball, the slapRead MoreEssay about Anthro Final6421 Words   |  26 Pagesreproductive technologies. d. systems remain unchanged through contact with external forces such as colonization and cultural diffusion. e. is a growing network that has become more and more vital to our ability to survive in the global economy. 50. The Iroquois system of kinship is associated with which form of descent? a. unilineal b. ambilocal c. bilateral d. avunculocal e. virilocal 51. New reproductive technologies challenge: Read MoreOne Significant Change That Has Occurred in the World Between 1900 and 2005. Explain the Impact This Change Has Made on Our Lives and Why It Is an Important Change.163893 Words   |  656 PagesThe New Left Revisited David M. Scobey, Empire City: The Making and Meaning of the New York City Landscape Gerda Lerner, Fireweed: A Political Autobiography Allida M. Black, ed., Modern American Queer History Eric Sandweiss, St. Louis: The Evolution of an American Urban Landscape Sam Wineburg, Historical Thinking and Other Unnatural Acts: Charting the Future of Teaching the Past Sharon Hartman Strom, Political Woman: Florence Luscomb and the Legacy of Radical Reform Michael Adas, ed., AgriculturalRead MoreProject Managment Case Studies214937 Words   |  860 Pages777: From Design and Development to Production and Sales 81 AMP of Canada (A) 105 AMP of Canada (B) (see handout provided by instructor) AMP of Canada (C) (see handout provided by instructor) Lipton Canada 118 Riverview Children s Hospital 124 The Evolution of Project Management at Quixtar 145 3 PROJECT MANAGEMENT CULTURES 151 Como Tool and Die (A) 153 Como Tool and Die (B) 157 Apache Metals, Inc. 160 Haller Specialty Manufacturing 162 The NF3 Project: Managing Cultural Differences 163 AnRead MoreFundamentals of Hrm263904 Words   |  1056 Pages389 Company Index 395 Subject Index 398 v Contents PART 1 UNDERSTANDING HRM Chapter 1 The Dynamic Environment of HRM 2 Learning Outcomes 2 Introduction 4 5 Understanding Cultural Environments 4 The Changing World of Technology What Is a Knowledge Worker? 6 How Technology Affects HRM Practices 6 Recruiting 7 Employee Selection 7 Training and Development 7 Ethics and Employee Rights 7 Motivating Knowledge Workers 7 Paying Employees Market Value 8 Communications 8 Decentralized Work Sites 8 SkillRead MoreMarketing Mistakes and Successes175322 Words   |  702 Pagesbooks. I hope you all are well and successful, and I truly appreciate your contributions. I apologize if I have missed anybody, and vi †¢ Preface would be grateful to know such so we can rectify this in future editions. I welcome updates to present affiliations. Michael Pearson, Loyola University, New Orleans; Beverlee Anderson, University of Cincinnati; Y.H. Furuhashi, Notre Dame; W. Jack Duncan, University of AlabamaBirmingham; Mike Farley, Del Mar College; Joseph W. Leonard, Miami University

Internet Has Done More Harm Than Good in the Society. Free Essays

Yes. It had allowed a large amount of criminal,offensive and Discriminatory information to be easily accessed This sort of information would not usually be widely published via offline channels, but with the advent of the Internet it is very easily accessible by anyone like never before, and this is a dangerous president. This is dangerous as vulnerable people could easily be taken in and exploited if the discovered this material. We will write a custom essay sample on Internet Has Done More Harm Than Good in the Society. or any similar topic only for you Order Now It is quite often found that ‘lone-wolf’ terrorists, for example, have gotten their information and inspiration from the Internet. The Internet has caused more problems than it has done good, because it has made people lazy, among other reasons. The Internet has made people lazy. They can pay their bills online and shop online, so they do not have to leave their homes. It has created problems through social networking sites, because people are spending all their time on them, instead of time with their family and friends. Also, these social networking sites have created problems for kids, because it gives people another avenue for bullying and harassing. The Internet can be useful for information, but it has led to a whole new kind of criminal I believe the Internet is useful, but the very negative effects it has had on society far outweigh the usefulness. It now allows all kinds of criminals, from pedophiles to terrorists, the ability to accomplish their crimes easier and more efficiently. With the Internet, any pedophile can lure a child far easier and far quicker than in a real life situation. Violent criminals can stalk any prospective victims. The worst impact the Internet has had is it allows terrorist groups to be much more organized. The information super-highway can do so much good, but until society figures out how to regulate it better, the negatives outweigh the positives. The internet has not brought real knowledge, per say I am beginning to see that the internet is neither good nor bad in itself but those who create videos and web pages are not required to be responsible in an academic sense. Often, statements can be made up and believed by many as real. But, are not really the case. Some research estimates that adults in the US spend about 13 hours and teens about 31 hours online each week. Yea, I don’t think this is good. I don’t think 13 hours is bad, but 31?!?! That is too much time spent socializing online which takes away from socializing in person, family time, homework, etc. My friend is in law enforcement and she just had a seminar taught by a psychologist who was talking about the generations of people who are growing up with the internet and how more and more of them are lacking in major social skills because they are so used to communicating via the internet and not person-to-person. This lack of social skills can include lack of empathy, manners, etc On the flip side this has been a big problem. Sometimes we are overly informed. Why go to a real doctor when you have WebMD (not serious here but I know people who use that website as their doctor). Additionally, the sources on the internet are not always the most reliable. Anyone can put information out there that is misleading, uneducated and biased/hate filled. I also think that it is leading to lack of social skills especially since you can now go online to find a date. No human interaction needed before hand, the computer will find your perfect mate. -it’s dangerous: cyber stalking, etc. it’s bad for us: people spend hours staring at the screen instead of outside. The result is eye strain, headaches, obesity†¦ -spelling, grammar, etc. is ignored on the Internet and proper English is dying out. Science and technology have done more harm than good. There is no doubt that science and technology affected our lives. There are a lot of scientists who are working on different science and modern technology projec ts these days. However, with the new science and technology developments most people underestimate the damage it gives us. First of all, I would like to say, that with these new science and technical appliances people became to be lazy. They rarely go out to work on foot or by a bicycle. Now there are a lot of modern cars in the cities, which are said to be emitting less gas. But still their emitted gasses damage the environment, so to my mind, that is why pollution of our environment is increasing. Secondly, it seems to me, that technologies are throwing away our free time. For example, these new laptop computer or those touch-screen devices are full of entertaining programs, which are attracting people effectively. Then people forget how to communicate with others in real life, not through international communication systems like â€Å"Skype† or â€Å"Facebook†. On the other hand, my opinion is that science and technology has far increased by the past few decades. New medical treatment, new computer technologies and other useful technical appliances are helping people to solve variety of problems more easily than it used to be. Overall, these new science and technology inventions harm not only our environment, but even us. So in my view, we should start thinking what technologies we use. How to cite Internet Has Done More Harm Than Good in the Society., Essay examples

Significance of Effective team in Project MGMT Free-Samples

Question: Critically Discuss the role of teams and team development in Project Management utilising appropriate theoretical models to identify how teams can be created, Managed, led and Damaged. Answer: Introduction The work of the effective team is important for the successful operation to the organization and the strong team will create it with the hard times. This is very necessary that organization should know who they can build the blocks that are having high performing teams. There are conscious efforts that are required for helping the work of individual or group together as the team. There are times when team finds difficulties in working all together, but this type of things is considered as general organizational or group aspect of the life. Positive relations within team and good performance of team required get maintaining and developing and there are building blocks or few features that enable the teams for working well together. In this research report we are providing details about 11 types of the building blocks that are necessary for developing the teams. building blocks Below are the building blocks that are needed for developing the plan which builds on the strengths and enhances the weakness areas of the project team: Objective should be clear Mutually agreed objectives and aims and each member of the team has clear understanding for the goal. For developing this: Write the brochure that is publishing team work, user-friendly plan for the team is produced, the day for team planning is hold and always review the objectives and the mission of the project. Balanced roles Good balance of the aspirations, abilities and skills should be there. Each individual in the team should have clear understanding for each others role so that they can achieve the overall objectives of the team. For developing this: While creating the development plan contain the roles of the team, Give development opportunities like leadership, rotated chairing, work of the project, rotation of job and delegation. (Agarwal 2003) Effective processes Good processes are there for reviewing, implementing, communicating and making the decision. There are resource co-ordination and systems for effective information. For developing this: Create the reference list that is easy for team procedures, Team process should get linked to personal development and individual appraisal, Clear minutes will be there which act as reminder, Set the team agenda as agreed and finally review the existing process. Good communication Effective communication in meeting and they are very productive also. For developing this: From different team invite people, always keep informed about the important problems to the team, In team meeting always include the information slot, at team meeting include the section of briefing the meeting and discuss how team can make full use of the various communication methods such as team meetings, phone, notice board, message books and electronic. (Ahearn 2004) Appropriate leadership Team leader is the one whom whole team trusts and believes. For developing this: Adapt the style of leadership and assess the team development stages, give feedback to each team member as per leadership style, encourage various members of the team for taking lead on some of the tasks or small projects and on understanding of the leadership hold the discussion within team. Trust and support Employees support each other by providing help, encouraging the experimentation, offering various ideas, evaluating and listening. For developing this: build achievements of the team, show appreciation for the people who share their achievement and encourage them, for social contact find various opportunities, for the join issues provide opportunities, create the open communication and permit time for discussing about developed shared values and various individual perspectives. Conflict and Openness Honestly and openly people express themselves Mutual co-operation Individuals experience, knowledge and abilities are pooled and utilize them by team. Within team there should be acceptance for each others weakness and strengths. (Albrecht 2003) Individual development Openly mistakes are faced and they are treated as vehicle for the learning. Opportunities are provided to individual for developing the new experience and skills. Reward and identify the achievement, in the team plans make sure there is an inclusion of development and training. Sound relations inter-group There is good relations of the team with agencies, departments and other teams and respecting and values them. There should be a open day for the team, create joint plan and projects that is very helpful. Regular review The team reviews the goals and performance and practice and priorities. For developing this: bring third party comment to observer on the performance of the team, create procedures for reviewing the achievement for team standards and aims. (Anderson 2004) Team Roles Individual's diverse qualities will imply that are preferable in a few capacities over others. One of the biggest strength for the effective team lies in blend of abilities and talents. Leader This is the leader of the project team and makes basic reason |provides correspondence and vision | illuminates goals | ensures everyone is included, committed and spurred |coordinates the endeavors of the gathering | guarantees that choices are gained and the gathering makes ground Thinker There the one in the team who are responsible for creating ideas and gathers and examinations data | tunes in to what is being said and watches what is happening | is once in a while calm before contributing thoughts | thoroughly considers the issue | sees arrangements envisions issues. Achiever They are the ones who will turn the ideas from thinker into action and needs to succeed and takes a stab at results |wants to advance towards the objective rapidly |becomes anxious with postponements | challenges presumptions and proposes upgrades | has heaps of excitement | questions lack of concern (Aub 2011) Carer These are the ones who work as resource investigator who explores various contact and opportunities and is worried that everyone is fitting in |contributes amusingness and fabricates connects around the group |works to build up a solidarity |is quick to get everybody to concur |watches out for emotions and demeanors |eases pressure furthermore, encourages a positive soul. Doer They are the specialists who have technical skills and knowledge and continuously needs to be dynamic |is arranged to get required to help other people |wants to see improvement and adherence to plans |gets exhausted with excessively dialog |hates time squandering |works difficult to complete the assignment Team Leadership Leadership things and style help in thinking about the skills that are developed for the leader of the team. Leadership for the team plays crucial role in the success or failure of the team. Leading the small team of operators might not compare the challenges for leading the large and complex company. Skills for team leader Below are the things which the team leader requires to have: Optimism and preserve the spirit of the team in resource time scarcity rapidly join a group/association around reconsidered or new objectives in the quick changing condition accept differing and frequently emphatically held perspectives among partner agencies, service users, staff, trustees and funders in creating methodology create inventive groups who can rapidly exploit new open doors (Barrick 2009) There are various ways to deal with leadership that connection group improvement with elite. Three major functions of the leadership are building the team, developing an individual and achieving the task. Leadership style The style received by the pioneer will majorly affect the execution of the group. The Situational Leadership model of Blanchard's and Hersey show proposes that pioneers ought to embrace an alternate style contingent upon each given circumstance and the improvement level of the group. Groups experience phases of improvement as they move from "shaping" to development. A noteworthy part for the pioneer is to help the group create through stages until they achieve elite. Helping groups through these stages incorporates adjusting your leadership style. In the early stages a more order approach manufactures security, trust and trust in the pioneer's capacity. As groups turn out to be more powerful, a more participative style of leadership ends up noticeably proper. Duty and leadership can be shared among colleagues. (Bunderson 2003) Lao Tzu defined leadership as: "With respect to the best pioneers, the general population doesnt see their reality. The following best, the general population respect and acclaim. The following, the general population fear; and the following, the general population detests. At the point when the best pioneer's work is done the general population say 'we did it ourselves'.'' Skills need for leadership Below are some of the skills that are required for the leadership: Effectively communicate within team, with customer and senior management Focus should always be on the project goal and motivate team members about the aim Always help team members by taking challenges and risks in the project Courage should be demonstrated in the project Within team trust should be build and all members should trust the leader of the team (Bryman 2006) Team development stages The understanding of the group dynamics support that lead the team through development stages. Change is a progressing highlight of most non benefit associations. As new activities and regions of work grow, new groups shape and disband, and new individuals go back and forth. Groups might be continually evolving. As they do as such they will experience diverse phases of improvement. A comprehension of gathering elements can help you lead your group through from early phases of shaping to high performing group. (Carton 2012) Group Dynamics Dynamics of group are the concealed strengths that impact the way a group relates and carries on. Every individual in a gathering brings singular needs that they need the gathering to meet. Specific elements happen as people attempt to fulfill these necessities in the gathering. The way group demonstrations can in this way be viewed as the interaction of at least one individuals needs. The vast majority of this happens unwittingly, so individuals don't know about the fundamental needs administering their own particular or the group's conduct. In any case we can impact the way a group acts on the off chance that we perceive the requirements propelling people. (Fisk 2002) Individual and group objectives are frequently working couple. In any case, in some cases they can be experiencing some miscommunication, producing concealed motivation. Here and there people know that they have a shrouded motivation. Regularly they are not intentionally mindful but rather their conduct demonstrates that all is not well. Stages of Team Development Tuckmans created the theoretical model for the development of the team and it contains 4 phases: Forming In this stage there is high dependency for the direction and guidance from the leader. Storming - Colleagues compete for position as they endeavor to set up themselves in connection to other colleagues and the pioneer, who may get challenges from colleagues. Norming - Understanding and agreement to a great extent shapes among the group, who react well to help by pioneer. Parts and duties are clear and acknowledged. Performing - The group is all the more deliberately mindful; the group knows unmistakably why it is doing what it is doing. The group has a common vision and can remain all alone feet with no obstruction or investment from the pioneer. Adjourning For the teams of the project, temporary committees, at end tasks are forces, there will get finalizing the phases as they identify and celebrate the achievement of the group. Stages of Team Stage 1 Inclusion This is the yearning to interface and connect with other individuals. Right off the bat in a gathering, people need to cooperate and manufacture connections. They have to get comfortable with each different as there seem to be, so far, no nearby ties. There can be a great deal of anxiety, pressure and versatility as people attempt to discover common interests, partners, and conceivable outcomes. (Halvorsen 2013) Four major tasks: For negotiate agreement for team working Create cohesion and trust Establish control and structure Foster members will desire to the team part Stages 2 Control This worries control, specialist, status, impact and basic leadership. The distress of making and acclimating to this new structure appears in specific practices. These can incorporate deviating from group, power struggles, sub-growing, withdrawal, scapegoating and hostility standards. It's not useful for the group pioneer to feel excessively in charge of this, to battle back or essentially overlook it. It's an opportunity to hold enduring, permit expression and urge the entire group to assume liability for determination. (Kozlowski 2006) For main tasks: Protect the standards Support team to get productive Maintain the well-being team Give good leadership without authoritarian Stages 3 Affection The "fondness" stage is about building enthusiastic ties and choosing the level of closeness inside the group. There is a feeling of personality and pulling together. Support and association increment, colleagues are touchier to each other. Relational connections balance out and an all the more trusting and steady condition creates. The group will probably be working agreeably. There is more noteworthy development and self-assurance. There is the potential for more prominent inclusion and association. This implies the group pioneer can embrace a less focal part and urge the group to accomplish its very own greater amount work. (Mach 2012) Role of the team leader: Creating the teamwork for choice, creativity, goodwill and co-operation The personal value for each member of the team by using the unique skills and qualities Group is enabled and be productive Modeling and providing the good leadership guiding What makes an effective team? The building blocks have effective team in place Objectives are clear: Mutually agreed on the objectives and aims Roles are balanced: Good balance for aspirations, abilities and skills Effective process: Good process for reviewing decisions, executing, communicating and making Good communication: Effective communication and meetings will be productive Appropriate leadership: Team leader should be trusted by all the members of the team Trust and help: People support each other by providing support, encouraging the experimentation, offering ideas, evaluating and listening (Mumford 2000) Conflict and openness: Honestly and openly express the people Mutual co-operation: Individual experience, knowledge and abilities are used and pooled by team Individual development: "Slip-ups" are confronted transparently and utilized as a vehicle for learning. People are offered chances to grow new aptitudes and experience. Sound relations for inter-group: The group appreciates great relations with different groups, offices and organizations, each esteeming and regarding the other. Regular review: The group consistently surveys its execution and objectives and changes its needs and practice in the light of audit. (Nielsen 2013) Steps for creating an effective team Consider every representative's thoughts as profitable - Keep in mind that there is no such thing as a dumb thought. Know about representatives' implicit sentiments - Set a case to colleagues by opening up to workers and touchy to their mind-sets and sentiments. Go about as a fitting impact - Search for opportunities to intercede and resolve minor question; indicate constantly the group's higher objectives. Be clear when imparting - Be mindful so as to clear up orders. Support trust and collaboration among representatives - Keep in mind that the connections colleagues build up among themselves (Ordery 2009) Urge colleagues to share data - Stress the significance of each colleague's commitment and show how the greater part of their occupations work together to draw the whole group nearer to its objective. Appoint critical thinking assignments - Give the group a chance to take a shot at inventive arrangements together. Encourage correspondence - Keep in mind that correspondence is the absolute most critical calculate fruitful collaboration. Encouraging correspondence does not mean holding gatherings constantly. Build up group qualities and objectives; assess group execution -Make sure to chat with individuals about the advance they are making toward built up objectives so representatives get a sense both of their prosperity and of the difficulties that lie ahead. Ensure that you have an unmistakable thought of what you have to fulfill; that you comprehend what your guidelines for achievement will be; that you have built up clear time periods; and that colleagues comprehend their duties. (Pinar 2008) Utilize agreement - Set destinations, take care of issues, and plan for activity. Set guidelines for the group - These are the standards that you and the group set up to guarantee proficiency and achievement. Build up a technique for touching base at an accord. You might need to direct open level headed discussion about the upsides and downsides of proposition, or set up research councils to explore issues and convey reports. Energize tuning in and conceptualizing - As administrator, your first need in making agreement is to animate verbal confrontation. (Zaccaro 2004) Conclusion Casualness and in addition Participation will keep in mind the end goal to manufacture a compelling group, the atmosphere must be casual, agreeable, and also casual. There ought to be no strain or any indications of fatigue. Groups appreciate getting together, they cooperate effortlessly. There ought to be heaps of genial joking and giggling. Have seating plans keeping in mind the end goal to encourage this. A circle is the best seating course of action for the most part, while a run of the mill classroom game plan is the most exceedingly bad. Tuning in provide exceptionally proficient group has the colleagues who utilize the powerful listening methods. These incorporate addressing, rewording, and also condensing so as to get out thoughts. Listening is the best element that recognizes successful groups from insufficient groups. The capacity to truly listen is an exceedingly imperative aptitude. Each colleague needs to have it. Listening gives you a chance to comprehend what the other individual is stating. In addition, it demonstrates the other individual that you're occupied with what he/she needs to state. In any case, every one of us experience normal listening issues. (Sundaresan 2012) References Agarwal, R. (2003) Teamwork in the netcentric organization, inInternational Handbook of Organizational Teamwork and Cooperative Working(eds M.A. West, D. Tjosvold and K.G. Smith), John Wiley Sons, Ltd, Chichester, pp. 443462. Ahearn, K.K., Ferris, G.R., Hochwarter, W.A.et al. (2004) Leader political skill and team performance.Journal of Management,30(3), 309327. Albrecht, S.L. and Travaglione, A. (2003) Trust in public senior management during times of turbulent change.International Journal of Human Resource Management,14, 117. Anderson, N. and Sleap, S. (2004) An evaluation of gender differences on the Belbin Team Role Self-Perception Inventory.Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology,77(3), 429437. Aub, C.; Rousseau, V. (2011). "Interpersonal aggression and team effectiveness: The mediating role of team goal commitment".Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology.84(3): 56 Barrick, M. R.; Stewart, G. L.; Neubert, Mitchell J.; Mount, Michael K. (2009) "Relating member ability and personality to work-team processes and team effectiveness.".Journal of Applied Psychology.83(3): 377391 Bunderson, J. S. (2003) "Team member functional background and involvement in management teams: direct effects and the moderating role of power centralizationAcademy of Management Journal.46(4): 458474 Bryman, A. (2006). Leadership in organizations. In Clegg S. R., Hardy, C. and Nord, W. R. (Eds).Handbook of Organization Studies, pp.276-292 Carton, A. M.; Cummings, J. N. (2012). "A Theory of Subgroups in Work Teams".Academy of Management Review.37(3): 441470. Fisk, P. (2002). The making of a digital leader.Business Strategy Review, 13 (1), 43-50. Halvorsen, K. (2013). "Team decision making in the workplace: A systematic review of discourse analytic studies".Journal of Applied Linguistics Professional Practice.7(3): 273296 Kozlowski, S. W.J.; Ilgen, D. R. (2006). "Enhancing the Effectiveness of Work Groups and Teams".Psychological Science in the Public Interest.7(3): 77124 Mach, M.; Dolan, S.; Tzafrir, S. (2010) "The differential effect of team members' trust on team performance: The mediation role of team cohesion".Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology.83(3): 771794 Mumford, M.D., Zaccaro, S.J., Connelly, M.S., Marks, M.A. (2000). Leadership skills: conclusions and future directions.Leadership Quarterly, 11 (1), 155-70. Nielsen, B.; Nielsen, S. (2013) "Top management team nationality diversity and firm performance: A multilevel study".Strategic Management Journal.34(3): 373382. Ordery, J. (2009) "Leading Parallel Global Virtual Teams:".Organizational Dynamics.38(3): 204216 Pinar; R., Kari; G., Odd E. (2008) "A multiagent framework for coordinated parallel problem solving".Applied Intelligence.33(2): 132143 Sundaresan, S.; Zhang, Z. (2012) "Parallel teams for knowledge creation: Role of collaboration and incentives".Decision Support Systems.54(1): 109121 Zaccaro, S. J., Kemp, C., Bader, P. (2004) Leader traits and attributes, In J. Antonakis, A. T. Cianciolo, R. J. Sternberg (Eds.)The nature of leadership(pp. 101-124)

Paranormal Things free essay sample

In the world of full of verification, there are a lot of things that youve goanna believe In. An example of this is a paranormal things here In the world, that was been living for a long time aside from us. Most of the people rejecting the truth of It, some are believing, some are not, some are confuse but most of the time theyre all In behalf. They only believe if they can see but if you ask me if I do: well, I only want to believe but I dont want to see, but I see and I do believe. Everything happened whenI was year-two in grade school. It started when I saw a student standing and looking at me well, I think hes not a normal student whos have freedom to play, to talk to someone, to eat during recess time or not even to study during examination days. We will write a custom essay sample on Paranormal Things or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Because me, yes I am; only one in the school can see him standing and staring at me. At the first place I thought everybody can see him. So Im fearless to go near to him or even to talk to him. Though he didnt talk back to me I still keep on asking him why does he crying. But later on I caught some peoples attention on why am I talking alone.I remembered how they talked, stared, teased and laughed at me saying: That young girl Is talking alone look! Eve wondered at that very moment saying to myself, Every second had been done, is it all an Imagination or Is It the moment of truth The young boy never visited me again. Days, weeks, months and years passed by, all supernatural things for me are now simple natural things. Yes, after I saw that young boy, theres a lot of like him that I saw and will see in my life. Years been done and I am now in year seventh in high school.I do my best to do some normal stuff that normal teenagers do. Like to listen some songs of my favorite boy bands, I also try harder to go shopping, strolling, costume playing and bonding with my friends. Those things forgotten me in my past or even in my present experiences in my life. Im studying at Dry. P Camps College Dave campus Incorporated, near at my house In Torn City but far from my elementary school. As a transferred student- new life, new school, new environment, new teachers and new friends are waiting for me In this school.Im a shy type of student to be described by my classmates of me. I left myself off to them and Im afraid to join them. But later on Ive learned how to communicate to them and place myself for where it is, I also learned to do simple things what simple students do. I thought everything or somethings will be alright but, months passed by at that school, a time when Im listening to my teacher while discussing. Theres a shocking thing appeared, it actually tickling my nerves off, I thought its Just nothing, no big deal to see like him because I really do can see.But not because, he caught my attention while calling me then he suddenly walked away and I followed him. After all Im out of my mind seeing myself sitting on the side of speech vibratory talking by myself alone like such a stupid someone playing a fool. Until a teacher called me asking, Why are you there Fruit? It Is still a class hour. But why am I there? Me, myself dont even know why. I tell the whole story to my speech mentor Ms. Irish Torrance, the one who saw me slating on the side of speech laboratory.Thanks God he believed but the problem here is, the story scattered even not, some are confused but most of the time theyre all in behalf. They told me Im just over reacting, some said that Im going crazy and most of them said that Im seeking an attention but I Just dont mind them. My classmates find me weird, after that happened they gave me a distance, a distance that they could not even wanted to talk to me. And my schoolmates, when they look at me I felt like they giving me a way to Judge me.But still I Just dont mind them. Until I talked too priest and I share all my problems, then he gave me an advice. He told me that I should be true to myself and to my feelings because that can help me to set myself free, if they still dont accept me I should live my own life and Just dont mind all of them. That I should be happy and treasures every second of my life because its Just a small time to be a teenager. But if I will see some paranormal things again I should Just trust God and always remember that he always with me. After weve talked I realized how important life is; It is not worth to be dumped by regrets or by giving time to those nonsense things, but to live more enjoying and exciting. Right now the important for me is; If I believed to a supernatural thing I do believed more to God, I assume nothing, I work hard, I live a simple good live, I give a lot of space to them and I let them Join to my world where I lived in. But if you ask me if I still see them.

The Difference Between Un- and Dis-

The Difference Between Un- and Dis- The Difference Between Un- and Dis- The Difference Between Un- and Dis- By Maeve Maddox A reader asks about differences between the prefixes un- and dis-. The question is not easy to address. The prefix un- has been in the language longer than dis-. The Old English prefix on- (now spelled un-) was added to verbs to indicated a reversal of the action: wind/unwind bind/unbind fold/unfold do/undo This prefix has remained alive, giving us such verb opposites as: fasten/unfasten buckle/unbuckle cover/uncover wrap/unwrap Old English also had the prefix of negation un- that was added to adjectives, such as unborn and unburied. We continue to form negative adjectives in this way: unhappy unknown unwanted unavailable unconventional uncool unputdownable Dis- came into English during the Middle English period, along with many Latin and French words. The prefix dis- is related to bis, (two), and can be used in the sense of separation: disjoin disable In the course of centuries, distinctions between un- and dis- have blurred. Sometimes the prefixes are interchangeable. Sometimes not. Sometimes a perceived difference may exist only in the mind of the individual English speaker. Many speakers distinguish between disorganized and unorganized. Disorganized applies to the sort of person who stuffs receipts into the sock drawer and can never find the car keys. Unorganized applies to things which have not yet been arranged in an organized manner. By this reasoning, a person would be disorganized, but an office would be unorganized. At one time, unease and disease (first syllable stressed) could be used interchangeably with the meaning state of anxiety. Now disease (second syllable stressed) has taken on the meaning of illness. Angry arguments are waged over the differentiated meanings of uninterest and disinterest. The argument is that uninterested should be used with the sense of indifferent, lacking in interest, while disinterested should be used only when the intended meaning is impartial. Some argue against the distinction on historical grounds, but the perceived difference in modern usage is a useful one. When it comes to language, those who value logic above all else are just asking for elevated blood pressure. For example, the noun discontent is matched with the adjective discontented, but the adjective that corresponds to the noun discomfort is uncomfortable. About all one can safely say about the use of the prefixes un- and dis- is that their correct use is often a matter of idiom. The best way to master them is to read, listen, and look up questionable forms in a trustworthy dictionary. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Misused Words category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:When to use "on" and when to use "in"List of 50 Great Word Games for Kids and Adults10 Varieties of Syntax to Improve Your Writing

Identify and explain the main causes of economic growth. b) Look at Coursework

Identify and explain the main causes of economic growth. b) Look at the country rankings of the UK, South Korea, Qatar and Equat - Coursework Example In the recent past years, the initiative of sustainable development intensification has led to development of additional factors such as environmentally sound process, which ought to be considered in the growth of an economy (Erikson & Stimson, 2002. p. 56). A factor that leads to an increase in total demand is one of the key causes of economic growth in any country. This can occur due various sources. However, an increase in total demand is a short-term cause. This is because whenever an economy of any country is at its full capacity, that country cannot produce any additional products or services to improve her economy. However, improvements or advancements in the labor forces, and quantity and quality of products and services will give room for the long-term economic growth through a heightening in productivity (Nordhaus, 2001, p. 23). Progression or advancement in technology has been one of indicators of economic growth in various states. Technological advancements in any country lead to a high and more productive economy of that given country, and this will accelerate economic growth. Every developing country and developed states have invested heavily in the technology industry in order to see their country economy grows quickly. According to Erikson and Stimson, advanced technology has improved service delivery and encouraged both local and foreign investments (Erikson & Stimson, 2002, P.56). There are few cases of unemployment in all countries with improved technology. This is because technological improvements have led to creation of job opportunities that see their citizens securing jobs and improving their living standards. Consequently, these local and foreign investments will accelerate economic growth despite the fact that the fresh capital goods or assets for example, machines, will be the exact source of the growth (Friedman, 2005). Deepening and widening capital is one of the causes of economic growth of a country. Capital widening takes place w hen investment rises and increases with the strengthening of the labor force. On the other hand, Capital Deepening takes place when capital increases while the labor force remains constant. Economists usually say that capital deepening is one of the most significant and necessary forms of investment (Nordhaus, 2001, p.23). Uses of land and mineral resources are the major causes of economic growth in both developed and developing countries. Proper utilization of mineral resources of a country depends heavily on government policies and regulations. Most of citizens in countries that have implemented strict policies have utilized their resources well, including land. Countries with double-digit economic growth have recorded proper utilization of their resources. In the economic growth globally, various countries have different situation and circumstances that are facilitating economic growth. For instance, the UK has a robust economy (Nordhaus, 2001, p.23). In the end, economic growth can take place due to increased capital, raised investment in new infrastructure, factories, increased labor productivity, and augment the working population or the discovery of fresh raw materials. Technological improvements can also facilitate or hinder economic growth (Friedman, 2005). Economic growth relies on investment and productivity, using available resources more efficiently and

Influence of physical attractiveness and personality on relationship Essay

Influence of physical attractiveness and personality on relationship formation - Essay Example (Gonzales, 2008). Some uses physical attractiveness as factor to consider in choosing the person to have a relationship with. Simple observations like clothes he wears, the way he talks, the way he walks and others may lead to the interpretation of a variety of other characteristics. In the literature review the paper presented researches and study done on physical attractiveness and personality on relationship. One of the study was done by Gonzales, Casey of Department of Psychology in Loyola University of New Orleans (2008). In 2001 Yela and Sangrador of Univeristy of Madrid releases their article, "Perception of Physical Attractiveness throughout Loving Relationship". In the article they try to verify various hypotheses about the importance of physical attractiveness (PA) in loving relationships, based on known psycho-social processes. Also included in the review are the researches done by Gilles on 1994. In this article the writer presented two useful and complementary models of relationship development: the Social Penetration Theory and Attraction. At the end of this letter the writer will show his own view about the topic. In the study done by Casey Gonzales of the Department of Psychology in New Orleans presented three characteristics that affect interpersonal attractiveness across a range of social relationships these are: warmth, competence and physical attractiveness. (2001). Warmth is described as a positive outlook and positive attitude towards people and things. Competence matters mostly when it depends on the nature of the relationship that he/she has with a person. Physical attractiveness according to Gonzales (2001) is the most difficult of the three characteristics because it is hard to avoid forming impressions of people based on their appearance. This implies that if a person is physically attractive he/she also has other positive qualities as well. Also in the article written by Gonzales (2001) when choosing someone to have a relationship with the characteristics of warmth, competence and physical attractiveness are important influences. Many studies showed that although both sexes view a partner's physical attractiveness as an asset, men placed greater value on the physical attributes of a partner than women did (Feingold, 1990; Jackson, 1992; as cited by Taylor et. al). In a national survey of Americans, women were more willing than men to marry someone who was not "good looking"(Sprecher, Sullivan, & Hatfield, 1994). Women also prefer older partners while men prefer younger partners. Women place greater emphasis on a partner's economic resources than men do. Men were more willing than women to marry someone who was not likely to have a steady job, earned more, and had more education. These sex differences have been found not only in the United States but in a wide range of other cultures as well (Buss, 1989). Yela and Sangrador (2001) presented scientific study on the importance of physical attractiveness and personality in forming a relationship. Using variables and measurement technique they evaluated how physical attractiveness greatly influences the person to pursue to have a relationship. Social psychology emphasize that the role played by physical attractiveness in our social cognition, behaviors, and interpersonal relationships is

Sound and Music in Films Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Sound and Music in Films - Research Paper Example Filmmaking has transcended a challenging and colorful artistic journey. The fast pace of technological advancement profoundly influenced the growth of filmmaking from its crude origins of silent and black and white films to the intricately three dimensional movies of contemporary times. Kay, Ghent, Chumney & Lutkins presented the history of sound in films and traced its origins before the 1920s when Thomas Edison was quoted to say in 1925 that â€Å""My plan was to synchronize the camera and the phonograph so as to record sounds when the pictures were made, and reproduce the two in harmony. . . We had the first of the so-called "talking pictures" in our laboratory thirty years ago" (Kay, et.al., n.d., par. Edison’s persistent intent to invent the kinetoscope, granted patent in 1897, paved the way for the introduction of sound in films. In this regard, this essay aims to proffer relevant issues and perspectives of sound and music in movies and films. The discourse would initia lly present significant events from the origins of sounds and music, together with the people who were instrumental in making the discoveries. Likewise, the role of sound and music in films would also be discussed before presenting the characteristics of these elements in contemporary filmmaking.

Spatial Patterns Of Tropical And Temperate Deforestation Environmental Sciences Essay

Spatial Patterns Of Tropical And Temperate Deforestation Environmental Sciences Essay Global deforestation has become a major concern of human society. Belonging to the last untouched and pristine terrestrial ecosystems on earth, tropical forests in particular are a central issue of many conservation movements. Safeguarding global biological diversity has been widely approved as a political goal throughout the global community with forests playing a major role. Large and rare animals and pictures of burned forests have strengthened the belief in the moral and ethic injustice currently taking place in the tropics. Yet, we have to consider that this point of view originates in western society and mainly remains widely accepted in the developed world where for the most part no tropical forests exist. In contrast to the (partly) intact and less degraded forest ecosystems of the tropics, in the highly developed countries of the northern hemisphere large parts of temperate forest ecosystems have long vanished and been replaced by anthropogenic landscapes. This change in lan d use has resulted in the creation of severely transformed ecosystems fundamental for the economic and social development. These include, for instance, agricultural, pastoral, industrial and urban landscapes. The long time that has passed since their clearance often leaves temperate forests out of the current investigation on deforestation patterns. Rather, scientists concentrate on patterns of tropical deforestation, which is currently the most alarming regarding the net loss of forest cover. Generally, land degradation occurs to a great extent in forested areas since about 25% of total land degradation is associated with broad-leaved forests and 17% with boreal forests (UNEP 2007). With the severity of the consequences of global deforestation becoming evident, environmental and economic science is increasingly addressing the issue. Just recently, beginning in the late 1980s, environmental economists have been publishing new thoughts on valuing the environment and considering its ecological functions in economic decision-making (see de Groot 1987, 1992; Daily 1997; Costanza et al. 1997; among others). Nowadays, the interdependence and importance of forest ecosystem functions and services is widely accepted throughout scientific and economic literature. This development has raised the general awareness of the importance of well functioning and sustainably managed forests and has augmented the acceptance of forest conservation movements (at least in western societies). Supp orted by new technologies, such as satellite imagery and remote sensing methods, the study of deforestation processes and spatial patterns of deforestation has been facilitated at various levels and different scales at affordable costs. By using new technologies and approaches, many studies have been conducted in an attempt to estimate the extent of deforestation and to explain its causes. A great amount of studies focuses on the processes of tropical deforestation which is doubtlessly most alarming at the moment. However, other studies have approached deforestation from a global perspective and also for temperate forest ecosystems in particular. In light of the ongoing debates on deforestation, this paper first defines forest degradation and deforestation and then explores potential misunderstandings of such definitions. This discussion is followed by an analysis of the causes of global deforestation process and concludes with some key findings for tropical as well as temperate deforestation patterns. 2 Defining forest degradation and deforestation Drawing on the publication by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) (2009), the following section will shortly present the debate on the definition of forest degradation and deforestation in a global context. As the number of studies and policy instruments concerning forest degradation and deforestation are numerous it is necessary to establish a common language in order to draw mutual conclusions and to find applicable solutions. Being a serious environmental, social and economic problem, forest degradation and deforestation are issues of major concern discussed at various political levels as well as by the public. As consequences of deforestation become evident not only on the local but also on the global scale, finding consensus among different parties is of great importance for responding adequately to a daunting challenge. The definition of forest degradation and deforestation, however, is technically and scientifically difficult to define because it is viewed and perceived differently by various stakeholders who might have different objectives regarding forest use or conversion. Furthermore, discrepancies in the definition can have implications on forest related policy making processes as well as on the monitoring and enforcement of policies (FAO 2009). The FAO report argues that forest-related definitions [à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦] which are outcomes of international processes are policy tools and can have major economic, social and environmental implications (FAO 2009, p. 8). Besides monitoring purposes, forest-related definitions also determine financial flows and the allocation of financial incentives for various purposes (e.g. restoration or improvement measures, projects under the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) or the Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD) program) (FAO 2009). 2.1 Deforestation Deforestation describes the process of land use change from forest to non-forest (FAO 2009). However, this quite simple definition based on certain thresholds of deforestation has the potential to cause conflicts when the individual factors are evaluated. Different nations, international organizations or ethnic groups might have differing perceptions and definitions of forest or non-forest. Drawing on the definition provided by the FAO, forests are defined as land spanning more than 0.5 hectares with trees higher than five meters and a canopy cover of more than ten percent, or trees able to reach these thresholds in situ (FAO 2005, p. 16). This definition does not include land that is predominately under agricultural or urban use (FAO 2004). Furthermore, deforestation can occur on different spatial and temporal scales which will be discussed later in the following section. 2.2 Forest degradation While deforestation is relatively easy to define, much more effort is required to define forest degradation. In 2002, a symposium of international forestry-related organizations consisting of the FAO, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), the International Union of Forest Research Organizations (IUFRO) and the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) agreed on a common definition of forest degradation, defining it as the reduction of the capacity of a forest to provide goods and services (FAO 2009a, p. 9). This process occurs within the forest and negatively affects the characteristics of the forest, which can be of structural or functional nature and which determine the capacity to provide goods and services. Defining the latter two terms well is a challenging and demanding task. The definition can be comprehensible for one party but could be understood very differently or be misunderstood. For instance, with r egard to the REDD mechanism, forest degradation considers particularly the reduction in carbon stocks within a forest (FAO 2009b). However, there is still a lack of practically applicable approaches to measure the extent of forest degradation because the existing definition is not an operational formulation due to different perceptions of what forest degradation furthermore entails (FAO 2009). Therefore, the United Nations Forum on Forests (UNFF) has called for greater harmonization of internationally applicable definitions related to forests to facilitate monitoring and reporting on progress towards the achievement of the global objectives on forests and sustainable forest management [à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦](FAO 2009, p. 8). 3 Processes of deforestation As described above, deforestation is a process of change in land use. Although it is currently being addressed widely at different political levels as well as by the public, it is not a new phenomenon. Since humankind began to control fire and to domesticate animals, forests needed to be cleared for various purposes. However, among great parts of western society forests nowadays are being valued very differently than even a hundred years ago. Scientific progress, environmental awareness, technical innovations and deliberative policies have made clear that deforestation has become an important and global issue. The following section shortly depicts the process of deforestation after which the underlying causes for this development and typical observable spatial patterns of deforestation will be presented. In general, it can be distinguished between natural and anthropogenic disturbance processes. Natural interferences occur naturally in the environment, in contrast to anthropogenic interferences which are human induced. While natural stresses occur rather on a small to medium scale and are of relatively short term, anthropogenic disturbances often occur on a medium to large scale and are long term processes. The former include forest clearances by natural wildfires, wind (storms), extreme weather events or changing climatic conditions (though being argued to be human induced). The latter includes timber extraction, pastoral uses, small shifting cultivation plots, induced forest fires and large scale forest conversion activities. Anthropogenic disturbances can either be intentional (direct), e.g. logging or land conversion, or unintentional (indirect), e.g. introduction of invasive species (FAO 2009). However, forest disturbance regimes become less predictable once natural and anthropo genic factors combine (FAO 2009). The two factors are often dependent on each other and combinations can be complex and take various forms. For instance, anthropogenic impacts on forest structure and dynamics in tropical mountain regions can have severe consequences for downstream areas during naturally occurring storm events in the form of floods and landslides. Further, human impacts influence the vulnerability of forests to degradation from natural causes, can negatively affect the successional regeneration process in naturally disturbed forests, and naturally occurring drought periods can be the cause for large scale forest fires ignited by escaped land clearing fires (Goldammer 1992). Moreover, global ecological feedback mechanisms can have far reaching impacts on anthropogenic forest interferences (Goldammer 1992); this will be addressed later in the paper. Usually, forest degradation is associated with a reduction of the vegetative cover (Lund 2009 in FAO 2009). Considering forest degradation as a continuous internal process caused either by natural or human induced disturbances, various thresholds can be defined, for example, in terms of percentage of canopy cover. Thus, when passing a certain threshold, a forest can be classified into various levels of degradation and eventually, when reaching a high level of openness, the forest cannot longer be defined as a forest (i.e. 10% canopy cover), although administratively it still might be considered forest land (FAO 2009). Deforestation can occur abruptly in a very short period of time by simply removing the lands tree cover. Under those circumstances, the forest is usually cleared for the purpose of land conversion for other forms of land use or for the substitution by monoculture plantations of exotic tree species. This form of deforestation, if sufficiently large, is easily detectable by remote sensing (FAO 2009). However, deforestation can also occur over a longer period of a subsequent forest degradation process caused by disturbances which vary in terms of severity, quality, origin, extent and frequency. The impacts occur on varying spatial and temporal scales and are dependent on the type and specific characteristics of the forest (FAO 2009). Its detection and measurement is relatively difficult as it implies a long-term loss of biomass, productivity or species composition that is difficult to assess, especially the impacts on soils, water, nutrients, biodiversity and the landscape. (FAO 2009, p. 13). Yet, forest degradation is not inevitably a prerequisite for deforestation. Forests can also exist as degraded forests for a long period of time without reaching the level of deforestation (Angelsen et al. 2008). 4 Causes for deforestation Various direct and indirect causes for tropical deforestation exist (Geist and Lambin 2002). Drawing on an earlier publication by the two authors (2001), the results are based on the analysis and interpretation of 152 subnational case studies within the tropics. Direct or proximate causes are human activities or immediate actions at the local level [à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦] that originate from intended land use and directly impact forest cover (Geist and Lambin 2002, p. 143). Indirect causes or underlying driving forces are fundamental social processes [à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦] that underpin the proximate causes and either operate at the local level or have an indirect impact from the national or global level (p. 143). In other words, direct causes for deforestation are the actual physical impacts on forest cover that degrade the forest or convert it to other forms of land use. Indirect causes, on the other side, are institutional arrangements or socio-demographic forces which facilitate the existence and emergence of the direct causes. At the proximate level, the results clearly show that deforestation in the majority of cases is caused by multi-factorial terms, that is, a combination of direct causes rather than by a single variable. The four single causes are (decreasing in relevance): agricultural expansion, infrastructure extension, wood extraction and other factors (land characteristics, biophysical drivers and social trigger events). The most frequent combination of direct causes is the agricultural wood extraction infrastructure expansion combination that ultimately leads to deforestation (3-factor term of causation) (Geist and Lambin 2001). However, it is questionable to just project this result to the entire tropical forest biome. Each individual case of (small to large scale) deforestation can have a distinct history of the cause or need to change the land use form and might statistically not be represented in the current literature. Likewise, at the underlying, institutional level tropical deforestation is associated with synergetic driver combinations rather than individually operating forces. The five single driving forces are (decreasing in relevance): Economic factors, policy and institutional factors, technological factors, cultural factors, demographic factors (Geist and Lambin 2001). Here, the indirect factors are in the majority operating at the 5-factor term of causation, that is, all underlying factors together are argued to be driving deforestation in more than a third of all cases. In Lambin and Geist (2003), the two authors discuss regional differences in tropical deforestation in more detail. In fact, they argue that the processes of humid tropical deforestation in the three most important areas, namely Latin America, Southeast Asia and Africa, can vary to a great extent. Reasons for the regional differences are derived from three sets of factors: the environmental and land-use history, the particular combination of causes triggering and driving land-use change, and the feedback structure, that is the social and ecological responses to land-cover changes (p.24). Though, Rudel (2006) distinguishes more precisely the most important tropical forest areas (Central America the Caribbean, South America, West Africa, Central Africa, East Africa, South Asia, and Southeast Asia) and depicts a detailed image of the relevant agents of deforestation (road builders, corporate loggers, forest managers, reserve advocates, urban enterprises and consumers). He argues that wh ile the size of the forest area decreases, the agents of change adjust their behaviour and act differently in respect to the actual forest size. The authors main conclusions can be shortly summarized as follows. As forests decline in size roads are ceased to be built, corporate enterprises stop exploiting the forests, community forest management becomes more effective, protected forest areas become less applicable for conservation measures, and degraded sites are reforested by urban consumers (Rudel 2006). Thus, the causes for deforestation and land use change are not static and since all factors are interdependent it is difficult to assess causes in a biome wide or global perspective. However, the quite general conclusions that are drawn by Geist and Lambin for the three major tropical forest areas (Latin America, Southeast Asia, and Africa) must be viewed cautiously. For instance, an extensive and diverse area such as central and western Africa is reviewed by means of only 19 case studies from eight countries. The results then are treated non-exclusive, are thus assumed to be comparable (although being quantitative as well as qualitative) and are used for drawing representative conclusions on the entire tropical Africa (Geist and Lambin 2001). Furthermore, the definition of deforestation that is used by the authors must be viewed critically since they use a broad and inclusive (Geist and Lambin 2001, p.17) definition which considers not only forest conversion (à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦) but also different types of [forest] degradation (p.17). Nevertheless, Geist and Lambin (2001, 2002, 2003) provide a good overview of the existing causes for deforestation in the tropics an d relate underlying and direct causes (as well as accompanying occurrences) before they conclude with a quantification of the causative linkages. Also, they discuss the strengths and weaknesses of their chosen methodology and address potential biases and ambiguities to the reader adequately (2001, p. 17 ff). Also, it is important to stress the importance of roads or access in general to (remote) forest areas, which is a prerequisite for large scale anthropogenic interferences. This is true not only in the tropical forest biome but also in the temperate forest biome. In many logistic regression models for the assessment of deforestation patterns, the distance to roads is a major factor and closely related to deforestation processes (Mertens and Lambin 1997; Altamirano and Lara 2010; Echeverria et al. 2008; Wilson et al. 2005; among others). Although agricultural expansion is mentioned to be the most significant cause for deforestation, it should be mentioned that the intensification of agricultural practices, however, can have a positive effect on remaining forests since productivity increases and the pressure of expansion thus is reduced (cf. Barbier 2001). As the global human population and the demand for food and agricultural products increase, the importance of agriculture must not be neglected and should be incorporated into policy responses. In his book Logjam Deforestation and the Crisis of Global Governance, David Humphreys (2006) shortly describes the European deforestation process from an institutional economics perspective. He argues that, in contrast to Garret Hardins theory of the tragedy of the commons, common property regimes are crucial for the conservation of forest public goods (such as watershed protection or climate regulation) as long as land tenure rights and legal ownership are secured. Likewise, Elinor Ostrom (2002) argues similarly in her essay Reformulating the Commons and identifies several requisite attributes for the resource system and the appropriators in order for efficient self-governing associations to form. The most important attributes mentioned are the spatial extent of the resource system, the salience or dependence of the appropriators on the resource for a major portion of their livelihood, trust and reciprocity and autonomy, among others (Ostrom 2002, p. 5). Common property regimes can be defined as institutional arrangements for the cooperative (shared, joined, collective) use, management, and sometimes ownership of natural resources. (McKean 2000 in Humphreys 2006, p. 4). Humphreys (2006) states that in Europe the common use of forests under public ownership was widely respected until the Middle ages when the aristocracy and political elites organized the systematic and widespread displacement of commoners from common land, and the subsequent enclosure of this land by fencing (p. 6), thus, changing the property regime from public to private. Then, with the rise of the centralized state during the 16th to 18th century, forests were further enclosed and exploited with timber as a steady revenue source. In central Europe soon only few species were considered economically profitable. By conserving only economically valuable species, this instrumental, utilitarian and abstractionist logic eroded biodiversity in the forest and promoted the development of scientific f orestry [à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦] (Humphreys 2006, p. 6). This socioeconomic development, an increasing demand for timber and fuel wood and a steadily growing population promoted the exploitation of temperate forests across Europe and lead to the degradation of the forest public goods which were considered unproductive in economic terms. The practices of enclosure and scientific forestry were later also brought to the European colonies in Africa, Asia, Australia and the Americas (Humphreys 2006) where currently remaining pristine tropical forests are experiencing a similar trend. To sum up this paragraph, again I use the words of David Humphreys since they convincingly make a point and cannot be formulated better. Enclosure during the medieval and colonial eras degraded and destroyed forest commons across the world. Forest degradation in the 20th and 21st centuries has rarely been due to poorly functioning common property regimes. It is invariably the result of the enclosure of commons by s tate and private interests, who overexploit the forests for economic gain and who have a totally different relationship to the forest than the commoners whom they displaced. (p. 7). 5 Spatial change patterns Only as recent as the last 150 years have tropical forests experienced a drastic human induced change in terms of forest cover and species composition in contrast to many temperate forest ecosystems which have experienced severe and large scale changes for much longer. While vast areas of tropical forest were still without anthropogenic pressure, temperate forest landscapes (in Europe i.e.) were, in relation to available land area, highly populated and forest ecosystems largely impacted and altered (Potapov et al. 2009). Today, it is estimated that over one half of the temperate forest biome has been fragmented or removed by humans, in comparison to nearly one quarter of the tropical forest biome (Wade et al. 2008) Tropical forests have recently experienced a constant loss of forest area. Achard et al. (2002) estimated a loss of tropical forest of 0.52 % for the period 1990-1997 and Hansen et al. (2008) estimated that 1.39 % of the total tropical forest area were lost between 2000 and 2005. Temperate forests, however, recently experience neither large net gains nor losses in forest area and some areas even show an increase in forest cover (FRA 2010). For the tropics, six general spatial patterns of the forest/non-forest interface were developed by Husson et al. (1995) which were used for example in Mertens and Lambin (1997) or Geist and Lambin 2001. The six types of patterns are: geometric, corridor, fishbone, diffuse, patchy, and island. Geometric patterns are related to large-scale clearings for modern sector activities, corridor patterns to roadside colonization by spontaneous migrants, fishbone patterns to planned resettlement schemes (yet limited to the Brazilian Amazon), diffuse patterns to smallholder or traditional subsistence agriculture, patchy patterns to high population density areas with residual forest patches, and island patterns to (peripheral) urban areas (Geist and Lambin 2001, p.66). Such spatial patterns are easily detectable once the deforestation process occurs quickly and when the connectedness of the forest area was large hitherto. These characteristics are more likely to be found in the tropical moist bro adleaved forest type (especially in South America and Africa (Wade et al. 2003)) and thus the spatial models depicted here are more adequate to be used in the tropical forest biome. Source: Geist and Lambin (2001), p. 66 For the temperate forest biome (here: Europe) Estreguil and Mouton (2009, p. 6) present four different and typical patterns of forest loss. Drawing on publications by Forman (1995) and Bogaert et al. (2004) they characterize local spatial forest loss by a) attrition (the disappearance of patches), b) shrinkage (decrease of the size of remaining patches), c) perforation (cleared holes within forest patches), and d) fragmentation (braking up of forest areas). Source: Estreguil and Mouton (2009), p. 7 6 Consequences of deforestation The consequences of deforestation can cause local scale and far reaching ecological feedback mechanisms such as atmospheric, hydrological and climatic changes (Goldammer 1992) and can furthermore have implications on the socio-economic environment. This, in turn, affects the whole forest ecosystem at large scale and in the long run. Regarding the current debate on a changing global climate, forests are of major concern since they serve as a great sink for atmospheric carbon. The wooden and photoactive biomass as well as forest soils sequester large amounts of atmospheric carbon. In comparison, forests store and sequester more carbon than any other terrestrial ecosystem (Gibbs et al 2007). A great amount of the total human induced global carbon emissions is argued to be released from forest degradation and deforestation; a great amount in tropical regions since here deforestation rates are currently most striking. Calculations that not even include tropical forest fires estimate the amount of carbon released at 10-25% of the total human induced carbon emissions (Santilli et al. 2005; Houghton 2003). The proportion of carbon released by forests fires and burning of biomass is still difficult to determine but is practically responsible for great amounts of carbon and other harmful substances released into the atmos phere (Goldammer 1992; Houghton 2003). While tropical deforestation processes are estimated to significantly add to global carbon emissions and act as a source, temperate forests of the northern hemisphere are considered a carbon sink (Heath et al. 1993 in Potapov 2009; Goodale et al. 2002 in Houghton 2003). 7 Forest rehabilitation At any level of degradation, forest conditions can be improved and the process of degradation halted or even reversed. Essential for the rehabilitation of degraded forests are silvicultural or protection measures on degraded forest land or reforestation measures on non-forest land. These rehabilitation measures must be adapted to the specific ecological conditions of each individual area. If successful, those measures might eventually lead to a level of non-degraded forest (FAO 2009). In general, tropical forest rehabilitation is more complicated and requires more efforts than in temperate forests. From an institutional perspective, the implementation of rehabilitation or conservation measures by corporate enterprises is seldom achieved on a voluntary basis because (tropical) forests are mostly characterized by open access conditions and forest ecosystem services are public goods. Only if secure property rights are allocated, monitored and enforced and incentives for action are being provided are such measures more likely to be realized. Moreover, forest degradation and deforestation can be argued to be negative externalities that are often neglected by forestry or agricultural enterprises or even small-scale users. David Humphreys (2006) puts it as follows: While corporations are effective in supplying private goods, their efficacy in public good provision is highly questionable. Corporations have one overwhelming responsibility, namely to maximize shareholder value. This is a fiduciary responsibility in private law in most countries [à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦] (and) rationalizes both t he internalization of monetary benefits and the systematic externalization of social and environmental costs. (p. 11). For those ecologically negative externalities to be considered during decision making processes adequate policies and governance structures are required. In our current capitalist system of neoliberal economic policies, an ecologically and socially sustainable economy will be very difficult to achieve, if not impossible. 8 Conclusion The scientific progress towards an understanding of ecological forest processes and deforestation patterns has recently fueled the debate on the true value of intact forest ecosystems. With the recent tendency of accelerated anthropogenic forest conversion into other land uses, the impacts of considerable small-scale disturbances along with large-scale conversions accumulate to such an extent that they become measurable on a regional and even global level. Although forest ecosystems are of central importance regarding the economic development especially in humid tropical countries, Hansen et al. (2008) argue that forest governance is still impaired by a lack of timely information on forest cover change. They conclude that a mixed strategy for monitoring should include data at multiple temporal and spatial resolutions (p. 9443) providing a feasible and cost-effective methodology to produce timely, precise, and internally consistent estimates of biome-wide forest clearing (p. 9443) (Hansen et al. 2008). However, global governance on forest ecosystems is currently not sufficiently developed. A biome-wide assessment of the forest development must therefore be viewed critically. Rather, a decentralized assessment of the causes and processes of deforestation should be aimed at to find appropriate political answers to halt deforestation and promote a socially and environmentally sustainable forest management. Goldammer (1992) points out that a reliable assessment of tropical forest development requires detailed knowledge of interacting ecological processes, namely the consideration and connection of small-scale impacts with large-scale feedback mechanisms. Thus, not underestimating the social importance forests play, a comprehensive understanding of deforestation processes and patterns requires an interdisciplinary approach from an ecosystem perspective that considers ecological, economic and social sciences. Word count: 4558 (list of references excluded)

Senior Trip :: essays research papers

On Wednesday, April 6th, I woke up from a deep sleep just like every other ordinary school day, but this particular day was going to be much more fun! I got to school around 7:15, dropped off my luggage in the conference room, and went off to class. In my next 3 classes I waited excitedly until the enouncement was made for all seniors going on the Senior Trip to head down to the office. And this is where the great trip began.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  We all got on 2 busses and headed to the airport where we dropped off out luggage and got through security rather quick. Then we all anxiously waited for our plane to arrive. When the plane finally arrived we all got on board and before we knew it we were in Orlando Florida. The bus from there to Walt Disney World eventually arrived and within 30 minutes we were in our rooms and getting ready to go to Downtown Disney for the first day.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Downtown Disney was very large, with lots of stores, arcades, and restaurants. The arcade was free, which was very cool and convenient because I really didn’t feel like paying for anything. Walking around this place was fun in itself, just seeing all the sites and seeing all the people. There were many good looking girls, everywhere! One thing I will remember for a long time is Jason buying a very large cigar, and after his first puff Mrs. Vanderhoff rushing up to him and taking it away.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  MGM was a great park. This park had the best rides out of them all, which include the Tower of Terror, and the Roller Coaster. The park was very nicely kept and was also fun just walking around. All of the rides had so much detail to them, even after going on them numerous times I still saw things I hadn’t seen before. This was great because it made it just as interesting as the first time.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The nights were always fun and entertaining. From phone calls from girls in other rooms, to Josh sleeping in the corner. Everything seemed to make it fun. Spying on the guard outside was fun, as well as joking about sneaking out and going into other peoples rooms. We didn’t end up going to bed until very late†¦ or early.