Catcher in the Rye Psychological Analysis Essay

J. D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye portrays Holden Caulfield, a New York City teenager in the 1950’s, as a manic-depressive. Some critics of Salinger’s novel assert that Holden is too whiney and annoying as a character. What these critics fail to realize is that Holden’s actions throughout the novel perfectly exemplify that of a depressed teenager. Manic depression, compulsive lying, and immaturity throughout the novel characterize Holden. Holden’s depression finds its roots with the death of his brother, Allie. Holden is expelled from numerous schools due to his poor academics brought on by his depression. The manner that Holden sees himself and how he sees others leads him to be expelled from school. According to Michael Martin’s book titled Teen Depression, â€Å"depressed teenagers can struggle with depression for month or years. â€Å"It is a mental disorder which†¦ includes†¦ feelings of worthlessness, hopelessness, guilt, problems with concentration† (Teen Depression). Throughout the novel, Holden exhibits these symptoms quite frequently. In fact, Holden makes his depression clear when he expresses how, â€Å"packing depressed me a little,† (51, Catcher). Holden expresses these feelings when he packs his bags after being notified that he is expelled. Holden leaves school and heads for New York City, where he finds himself to be more lonely and depressed than ever. When alone, Holden laments that â€Å"what I really felt like doing was committing suicide. I felt like jumping out of the window. † (104, Catcher). Too ashamed to return home, knowing his mother will be upset and his father will be angry with him, Holden turns to thoughts of suicide. He also adds that â€Å"I wasn’t feeling sleepy or anything, but I was feeling sort of lousy. Depressed and all, I almost wished I was dead,† (90, Catcher). Critics tend to describe Holden as being just an angst riddled teenager, whose perspective of the world around him is warped. While these critics may view these attributes as annoying, they actually serve to provide an emotional depth onset by Holden’s depression. For example, Negativity and hopelessness is often a symptom of depression, so when Holden narrates, â€Å"I’m pretty sure he yelled â€Å"Good luck! † at me. I hope not. I hope to hell not. I’d never yell â€Å"Good luck! † at anybody. It sounds terrible, when you think about it. (78, Catcher) Salinger is simply channeling the thoughts of a depressed teenager. Depression is a disease which causes the victim to enter this pessimistic state of mind, so naturally outside observers may be irked by Holden’s actions. However, this excerpt clearly illustrates the warped mindset of a depressed teen. Depressed teenagers tend to believe that their situation is entirely hopeless, and cannot possibly be rectified. The utter hopelessness which accompanies depression is not a rare phenomenon and is perhaps the most troubling aspect of the disease. Holden’s actions in the novel could easily be attributed to these symptoms. According to Teen Depression, depressed teenagers tend to look for relief in sex, drugs, or alcohol abuse. In the short time frame of the novel, Holden sought out 2 out of the 3 aforementioned items. These actions could be attributed to his desire to seek out a temporary form of relief in his life. Drinking allows Holden to escape from his heavy, pessimistic mentality. While Holden was with the prostitute, he was able to rid himself of his overwhelming isolation. Eric Lomazoff summarizes Holden’s situation best when he says that Holden was simply â€Å"trying to make the best of his life, though ultimately loosing that battle† (Lomazoff). Holden Caulfield is not a bad person, as so many critics make him out to be. In fact, Lomazoff goes as far to say that Holden is â€Å"a good guy stuck in a bad world†. The main reason why The Catcher in the Rye is so revered is because Salinger is able to embody the perspective of a troubled teenager so seamlessly. Holden’s depression is perhaps the most critical component of Salinger’s story. It is clear that upon closer examination, one would discover that Holden is not just a troubled teenager, but a clinically depressed one.

Tuskegee Syphilis Study

Clinton Kopas Susan Gabriel English 102 December 1, 2011 The Goal of the Tuskegee Syphilis Study Research studies are constantly being conducted in order to improve certain aspects of human life and knowledge. In many cases, these research studies involve human test subjects. One of the more famous studies involving human test subjects was the Tuskegee Syphilis Study that began in 1932. Most have heard of this study, few would ever claim that any good came of it.What had originally been a research study aimed at improving knowledge dealing with syphilis in the black male, turned into an extremely long and detrimental study that damaged hundreds of lives. Considering the damage that was done to the subjects and their families, it is easy to wonder if this study actually provided any real advances in medicine or medical knowledge. The origin of the study had good motives, being that it was to promote the health of blacks in the South. The U. S. Public Health Service collaborated with t he Julius Rosenwald Fund to conduct demonstration programs to control syphilis in southern counties.This failed due to funding issues, and the project had to be scrapped. However, the PHS was anxious â€Å"to salvage something of value from the project† (Thomas). So in 1932, a group of doctors recruited a total of 399 syphilis infected black men from Macon County, Alabama to participate in a study concerning the study of â€Å"bad blood†. The organizers took their initial idea and converted â€Å"the original treatment program into a nontherapeutic human experiment aimed at compiling data on the progression of the disease on untreated African-American males† (Herried; Fourtner; Fourtner).This study became formally known as the Tuskegee Study of Untreated Syphilis in the Negro Male (Herried; Fourtner; Fourtner; Thomas). The formal name that was applied to this study may imply the true motives of the researchers behind it. The study was not necessarily meant to fi nd major breakthroughs in medicine, but to simply study the effects of untreated syphilis. The researchers attempted to justify what they were doing by saying it was going to be for a greater good, and that these men got more treatment than they would have gotten otherwise.This may be true in a sense, but the men in the study were still intentionally withheld from treatment once penicillin was known to cure syphilis. By 1948, penicillin was known to be the most and best effective cure for syphilis. The study went on for 22 more years even though a cure had been found. There is no point in attempting to learn anything more about an infection when a cure has been found. The only treatment that the infected men received was treatment involving arsenicals and heavy metals.This type of treatment was not nearly as effective and researchers knew it would not cure the men entirely, just keep them from being infectious (Reverby). It might not be going too far to even say that the researchers were conducting this experiment on the basis of pure curiosity. After all, there could not be much advancement made just studying the effects of syphilis in blacks compared to whites. Much about syphilis had already been known prior to the beginning of the Tuskegee Study. German scientists had already discovered most of what there is to know about syphilis over 20 years before the Tuskegee experiments had begun. The cause of syphilis, the stages of the diseases development, and the complications . . . . were all known to medical science in the early 1900’s† (Herried; Fourtner; Fourtner). It has been stated by many journalists and even some that were involved in the experiment, that nothing was gained from this long and drawn out experiment. All signs begin to point that it truly was an experiment based solely on curiosity. The black men that participated in the study were poor sharecroppers that would do and believe anything that the doctor told them. Most of these men had never even seen a doctor before in their lives.These men were promised free medical care for their bad blood, and drawn in by signs that claimed â€Å"last chance for treatment†. The doctors and scientists conducting the research had church leaders and other respected members of the community help to enlist people to participate in the study. The researchers even enlisted the help of a black nurse and admired her ability to help them gain the trust of the participants. If the researchers needed to lie to a group of people in order to conduct their experiment, these men would have been some of these easiest to fool (Infoplease; Thomas).The researchers that were involved in the Tuskegee Study are said to have been fairly liberal for the time and open to the education of blacks. However it seems that there was some sort of racist mind set involved in this scheme. The researchers seem to have had no regard to other human life and treated the men like lab rats. The researcher s even made sure that their goal would not be interrupted by others. They went to great lengths to make sure all medical professionals in the area participated in the study and gave orders not to give treatment to the men.The black men were even excluded from the draft during WWII to keep their research from being interrupted (Herried; Fourtner; Fourtner; Thomas) As the years went by, the study did not become less organized and forgotten. There were meetings held and new people were added to the project. The experiment was constantly reviewed throughout the years as the focus changed. Ethical issues were not brought up until halfway through the 1960’s, over 30 years after the experiment had begun. During the 1950’s, the focus turned to the aging of syphilis and the negative impact it had on the body.It was quite clear that syphilis caused great damage over time and would shorten the life span of the host. Even at this point in the study, when so many men had passed awa y and others had gone unaccounted for, the study continued. The researchers believed that the study had gone on for so long that the men were untreatable anyways, even with use of penicillin (Herried; Fourtner; Fourtner). To continue a research study like this and deny men treatment just on the basis of curiosity seems too unethical to be true. But all signs point to this especially when considering another research study that took place during the same time period.From 1946 to 1948, the American government performed research in Guatemala that involved intentionally infecting Guatemalan subjects with syphilis. The idea was to test the effectiveness of penicillin on different stages of syphilis. A very interesting detail is that a man by the name of Dr. John C. Cutler was involved not only in the Guatemalan study, but the Tuskegee study as well. It is strange that although Dr. Cutler was involved in both experiments, he did not choose to test the effectiveness of penicillin on the me n who were already infected with syphilis in the Tuskegee Study.Instead, he and his colleagues chose to allow syphilis infected prostitutes to sleep with Guatemalan prisoners. This truly shows the ethical value that the researchers held and what their true motives were (Villaroasa). Dr. Cutler and the other men involved in the Tuskegee research had no interest in any kind of advancement with the prevention of syphilis. A kind of bureaucracy was formed that helped fuel this unethical study. Men who were involved in the Tuskegee study would be promoted to surgeon general of the U. S. Public Health Service. Dr.Cutler even obtained the position of assistant surgeon general in the PHS. Dr. Cutler defended the integrity of the study up until his death (Thomas; Villarosa) It is hard to imagine that an idea that began with such good intentions could have turned into the catastrophe that was the Tuskegee Syphilis Study. The men who conducted this study seemed to have been fueled by a strange curiosity that they masked with the idea of medical advancement. It is clear that the researchers did not view people with darker skin colors as equal, as they treated them like lab animals.It is evident and even admitted by some involved in the study that there were no advances in medicine because of the study. The Tuskegee Study of Untreated Syphilis in the Negro Male only came to a close because of a national press release in 1972. By this time, over 370 men that had been used for research were either dead or believed to be dead. If the researchers had any true notion to help them, that number would have been much smaller. Not only had this study affected the men directly involved in it; it affected the men’s wives and their children as well.There is no questioning the goal of the experiment being to see what would happen to someone if syphilis was left untreated. The doctors could have only continued this experiment based off of some strange curiosity. It is possible tha t some of them may have believed what they were doing was for the better, but that is hard to imagine. Nothing was gained from the experiments in the Tuskegee Study. The only possible advancement would be the understanding of ethics for future research. Works Cited Fourtner, A. W. , C. R. Fourtner, and C. F. Herreid. â€Å"†Bad Blood†: A Case Study of the Tuskegee Syphilis Project. Philosophy. tamucc. edu. Texas A&M University. Web. 15 Nov. 2011. Reverby, Susan M. â€Å"Listening to Narratives from the Tuskegee Syphilis Study. † Lancet 377. 977B (2011): 1646-647. TheLancet. com – Home Page. Web. 28 Nov. 2011. Thomas, Stephen B. â€Å"The Legacy of Tuskegee. † Thebody. com. HealthCentral Network, Jan. -Feb. 2000. Web. 15 Nov. 2011. â€Å"The Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment. † Infoplease. com. Pearson Education, 2007. Web. 15 Nov. 2011. Villarosa, Linda. â€Å"The Guatemala Syphilis Experiment's Tuskegee Roots. † Theroot. com. The Slate Gro up, 02 Oct. 2010. Web. 28 Nov. 2011.

Abnormal Psychology Film Project-Girl Interrupted

Film Project-Girl Interrupted (Borderline Personality disorder) Borderline Personality disorder-a Personality disorder, which is under the large umbrella of Metal disorders. According to medicine. net, BPD is a serious mental illness characterized by pervasive instability in moods, interpersonal relationships, self-image, and behavior. This instability often disrupts family and work life, long-term planning, and the individual's sense of self-identity. However, according to Susanna Kaysen, doesn’t everyone go have some of these symptoms every once in a while? Everyone experiences mood swings, family, and work life issues.Everyone experiences job changes, or even change in their self. Why then would these symptoms mean that someone has a mental illness? This was Susanna Kaysen’s argument throughout her memoir â€Å"Girl interrupted†. In this paper, I will provide a summary of the movie â€Å"Girl interrupted†, Identify BPD and its causes and symptoms, as we ll as provide the lasts findings about the disorder. Girl interrupted was primarily based on the two years that Susanna Kaysen spent at McLean Psychiatric hospital. After being referred to a family friend who was a doctor, Susanna was told that she needed to seek help.She was strongly urged to â€Å"Take a rest† at McLean Hospital after attempting to commit suicide. Along with many promiscuous relations with men, and self harm, her family grew concerned. However, Susanna did not think that she had an issue. Reluctant to believe that she has an illness, she still checked herself into the hospital where most of the movie takes place. Upon being admitted into the hospital, Susanna was given drugs throughout the day consisting of laxatives, sleeping pills, etc. At first, she denied them, and was still forced to take them. She eventually went to not taking them at all. Read also Memory – ForgettingAfter being introduced to Lisa Rowe, one of the main characters, she learned how to â€Å"tongue† her medication. This meant that the nurses would stand around the client to ensure that they swallowed their medication, when in fact they were just hiding it beneath their tongue, and making gestures as though they were taking them. Practicing â€Å"Tonguing† as a method to not take their medication prolonged Susanna’s stay at McLean. In the movie â€Å"Girl interrupted†, Susanna grew very fond of Lisa Rowe, who was client at the hospital, placed their due to her being diagnosed as a Sociopath. Rowe had a way of controlling the other women in the facility to point where they were scared, intimidated, and easily persuaded by her. Susanna was no different upon entering the facility. Susanna eventually found herself under Rowe’s spell. Rowe’s character, was very heartless, and seemed to take pleasure in her abili ties to control the women, as well as breaking the rules at McLean hospital. Due to her behavior, the women were often intrigued by her. This type of behavior from Rowe as well as witnessing how cold hearted she was once Daisy committed suicide caused Susanna to realized that she could not stand up to Rowe, and she did not like that.I believe that at this point is when Susanna started to build on her esteem as who she was. She realized that she did not like what Lisa did, and that she did not want to continue to play accomplice to her any longer. I believe that Susanna started to form an opinion as far as what she likes and what she did not like and she did something about it. Previously, she was not able to do that. Upon returning back to McLean, is when Susanna’s behavior started to change. She no longer â€Å"tongued† her medication. She started to take them, she started to see Doctor Vick more often, and she began to heal from her disorder.Throughout her healing, R owe was admitted back into the facility, and underwent extreme care for her conditions. This was habitual for Rowe at this point. She thrived off of constantly turning things upside down where ever she went. It almost seemed that as Rowe was digressing more and more into her illness, Susanna was healing more and more. Most of the women there seemed to be getting better, but was constantly taken a step back by the behavior and influence of Rowe. However, I’d like to believe that it was Susanna who truly helped to heal many of the women that were in that facility, including Rowe.Upon her last night at McLean facility, after taking a sleeping pill to drown out the noise and sleep peacefully, Susanna noticed her cat Ruby was not in her room. She followed the noises leading to the downstairs tunnel that the girls would go to at night, to find Rowe, Georgina, and Polly, reading aloud Susanna’s Journal. The journal included Susanna’s truthful thoughts of the women at t he facility. Rowe read these thoughts aloud to try to stir malice in the hearts of those that she was reading aloud about. After reading it, Susanna began to run, and the ladies chased her.After no other place to run to, Susanna finally broke down and told Rowe how she really felt about her. This manifestation, I believe, led to the healing of not only Rowe, but of Georgina, Polly, and Susanna. Borderline personality Disorder contains a large array of symptoms. However, the most common symptoms according to WEBMD. com are having patterns of difficult relationships caused by alternating between extremes of intense admiration and hatred of others. Having an unstable self-image or be unsure of his or her own identity.Act impulsively in ways that are self-damaging, such as extravagant spending, frequent and unprotected sex with many partners, substance abuse, binge eating, or reckless driving. Having recurring suicidal thoughts, make repeated suicide attempts, or cause self-injury throu gh mutilation, such as cutting or burning himself or herself. The last most common symptom is to have frequent emotional overreactions or intense mood swings, including feeling depressed, irritable, or anxious. These mood swings usually only last a few hours at a time. In rare cases, they may last a day or two.Susanna demonstrated at least two of these symptoms in the movie being that she attempted suicide at least once, as well having a lot of casual or promiscuous sexual relations. These both contribute to struggling with self identity, or having a low self esteem. Susanna felt that she was not socially accepted in her society, or that she was considered out of the norm, and because of this she lashed out in these types of behaviors. It is said that Borderline personality disorder may begin to onset in the teenage years; however, they tend to not diagnose someone accordingly until they are 18 years old and older.Due to the ever changing personalities in adolescents, they feel that it is more valid to wait for a child to stop going through these biological changes before they diagnose them symptoms that cannot be triggered biologically but more so neurologically. Studies show that although low self esteem, and not feeling accepted are symptoms of BPD, the cause for it are complex. Causes of BPD can be genetic, biological, or environmental. BPD can also be caused by traumatic events, child abuse, or simply by changing events happening in young adulthood.Although, the movie â€Å"Girl interrupted† was based on Susanna’s time spent in McLean in the late 60’s, there are late findings concerning the disorder Borderline personality disorder that suggest that this can be more of biological and neurological disorder than anything else. It is appearing that brain functions, or the lack thereof, are the main reasons for this disorder. â€Å"NIMH-funded neuroscience research is revealing brain mechanisms underlying the impulsivity, mood instability , aggression, anger, and negative emotion seen in BPD.Studies suggest that people predisposed to impulsive aggression have impaired regulation of the neural circuits that modulate emotion. The amygdale, a small almond-shaped structure deep inside the brain, is an important component of the circuit that regulates negative emotion. In response to signals from other brain centers indicating a perceived threat, it marshals fear and arousal. This might be more pronounced under the influence of drugs like alcohol, or stress. Areas in the front of the brain (pre-frontal area) act to dampen the activity of this circuit.Recent brain imaging studies show that individual differences in the ability to activate regions of the prefrontal cerebral cortex thought to be involved in inhibitory activity predict the ability to suppress negative emotion. † Researchers suggest that there are drugs that can counteract the buildup of these fluids in the brain in the following: â€Å"Serotonin, nor e pinephrine and acetylcholine are among the chemical messengers in these circuits that play a role in the regulation of emotions, including sadness, anger, anxiety, and irritability. Drugs that enhance brain serotonin function may improve emotional symptoms in BPD.Likewise, mood-stabilizing drugs that are known to enhance the activity of GABA, the brain's major inhibitory neurotransmitter, may help people who experience BPD-like mood swings. † What I find interesting about this disorder as well as many mental disorders is that a lot of them are controlled or not, by neurotransmitters, fluids, and just everyday functions of the brain. The brain is such a powerful body organ that it can control you mentally, which can very well lead to controlling you physically as well. In conclusion, this project, through film, shined a light on many mental disorders in one.Many of these disorders are illnesses that I cannot help but agree with Susanna when she asks if they really are illnesses . I can’t help but question if one illness is truly more extreme then the next, when many of them contain a lot of the same symptoms. Finally, looking at the character of Rowe form the beginning, she initially came off as one on the sanest people there. Although, she always went against the rules, that mainly came off as jolly good fun to the other women in the facility, making her the most likeable. However, Rowe didn’t not truly realize her illness until she was called out by one of her peers.It truly makes me wonder if the magnification of our symptoms in society as not being the norm is what truly makes us then go crazy. Otherwise, we would all be secure in the lunatics that we are. There are many sociopaths, walking this earth today that are highly regarded. According to Wikipedia, Princess Diana was considered to have BPD, but was one of the most beloved people in the world. This project gave a full descriptive of how someone who has Borderline personality disord er behaves through observing the movie â€Å"Girl interrupted†. I also paired examples from the movie as well as research to identify the symptoms, and cause of BPD.Finally, I provided some latest findings on the disorder. Although there is still no set cause of the disorder, psychological and psychiatric help, alongside medications is still strongly encouraged the disease. However, with this specific disorder, could it just be someone liking them self for who they are regardless of what they could have gone through in life? References: citations from 11Davidson RJ, Putnam KM, Larson CL. Dysfunction in the neural circuitry of emotion regulation – a possible prelude to violence. Science, 2000; 289(5479): 591-4. Wikipedia. com Webmd. com NIMH. com

Death Penalty Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 3

Death Penalty - Essay Example Examining the use of the death penalty, historical attributes and the different viewpoints shows that there are controversies that allow the penalty to continue to be practiced within society. The concept of the death penalty is one which continues to remain questionable, specifically because of the moral implications which are associated with this. Despite the debates, the penalty continues to be practiced within this time frame. The problem which is now arising is based on the intent of murder as well as the question of whether a life should be taken from an individual. The several debates show that there isn’t a way to justify the death penalty and the reason to kill an individual because of the crimes committed. The questions that arise from the debates as well as the problems which are continuing to arise with the circumstances within the death penalty are some of the many reasons that the death penalty is one which can’t be attributed or practiced in society. The death penalty first began in the United States in the 17th and 18th centuries when colonialism was still functioning as the main structure in society. The most common reasons for the death penalty ranged from treason to murder, burglary, counterfeiting or arson. The American colonies justified this because of the smaller communities which were trying to build and the several problems which arose when the communities were hindered by the difficulties which arose. The punishment system was also not in place, making the death penalty a reasonable option to stop the crimes in the community and to ensure that there were controls on those who committed crimes within the region. It was also known that the political and religious traditions were developing in a more conservative manner, which led to little debate over the death penalty and the approaches which many took when looking at the purpose used for this type of punishment. It wasn’t until the development of the United States at later time frames and in relation to the growth of prison systems that the alterations were made within the system (Banner, 2003). The death penalty is currently practiced by 34 states and is prohibited by 16 states. Out of these states, there were 1260 executions which were performed between the years of 1976 to 2011. It is noted that there are racial differences with those who are tried with the decision to face the death penalty with 56% being white, 7% Hispanic, 35% black and 2% other. It was also noted that there were frequent patterns between the race and the death penalty with the race of the victim and the race of the defendant making a difference in the number of executions which were performed by each state. Other demographics which are associated with this are inclusive of juveniles, which include 22 youth that have faced the death penalty, as well as several which have faced the death penalty while being diagnosed with mental illness. It has also been found that an av erage of 130 individuals was released from prison since 1973. They were tried for the death penalty and were later found as innocent (Death Penalty Info, 2011). The complexity with the death penalty first comes from the other facts that are based on the penalty and its effectiveness. The penalty was first used as a control for prisoners and as a way to stop individuals from causing complexities

Disneyland Success and Failures in the international business market Research Paper

Disneyland Success and Failures in the international business market - Research Paper Example The theme parks and resorts of Disneyland provide a major source for the culture and brand of the company that the Disneyland Company has to protect. However, the management in 1990 nearly led to the collapse of the international company, due to poor management that affected the brand of Disneyland. Disneyland is a company that forged forward into the international business market a few years after its establishment in the year 1955. The company managed to establish itself firmly in the international market after it gained the favor of the public and the customers in its original situation in California. Walt brothers started the company that includes an amusement park, a theme park, and park resorts in several countries. The demand for the park grew that Disneyland had to expand to a bigger area in the United States. The motivation and determination of the company to expand into the international market could not have any deterrent, especially due to the intense demand by their potential customers in other countries (Chase & Apte, 2007). Disney land acts as a major tourist attraction. Its choice for a country to expand into had to have the consideration of the strength of the country to attract visitors and tourists into the country in large numbers. The company started with a strong concept, where the amusement parks had the integration with the famous children stories especially about fairy tales and other fantasies. The company has managed to sell the American idea of the fairy tales to all its customers, who find Disneyland an exciting and satisfying experience. The following research concentrates on the performance of Disneyland in the International business market. The company that offers exciting experiences to people of all ages has managed to expand to several countries. The performance in these countries

College is worth Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

College is worth - Essay Example In addition to that, these protagonist claim that college graduates have got advanced interpersonal skills, have children who are healthier, live longer and have even proved their capacity to accomplish key milestones (Richard, 2012). On the other hand individuals against college contend the fact that debt arising out of college loans is very high and therefore hinders graduates from starting early savings for their retirement, getting married and purchasing a house. They further argue that several successful people never finished their college education and that several jobs particularly trades jobs, necessarily do not need college degrees (Bennett, 2013). Those are not only the underlying issues though. Thus the presence of highly successful individuals who dropped out of college such as Steve Jobs, Bill Gates and most recently Mark Zuckerberg weighs heavily on young individuals’ decisions on whether or not to attend college education. Similarly some experts make arguments that going to college have literally become less about studying actual skills and more about basically paying to get a degree. Meanwhile the debate about college education is quite controversial and is on many forums of the American Society and expected to go on in foreseeable

Human Resource Management Thesis Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 8250 words

Human Resource Management - Thesis Example With the aim to study how trust and loyalty enhances performance, three objectives were laid out in the first chapter. After extensive literature review of the theories and principle of the different HR programs that organizations adopt, a qualitative study was conducted to determine the employment relationships post economic recession 2008. The research was based on data from secondary sources as collection of primary data was not possible due to certain constraints. All the objectives have been achieved. The study concludes that open and honest communication enhances loyalty and trust, enhances the employment relationship which ultimately results in better performance. Long-term relationships between employers and employee can be established when open communication exists in the organization. The findings suggest that after the economic downturn employers realize the value of maintaining employee relationship. They also recognize that while financial incentives have limitations, du ring downturn, this should not be cut back as this could go against the interests of the company. This has prompted the companies to reverse their decisions. Overall, intrinsic motivation alone can lead to sustained relationships and this can happen only when the worker enjoys what he does. The study concluded by suggesting further areas of research and the limitation to the study were provided. Internationalization and globalization have caused labor market changes as the socio-economic environment of business has changed. Labor market changes have brought about changes in the employer-employee relationship. The employer-employee relationship cannot be generalized as it would differ across nations, cultures. The interaction and communication between employer and employee would also depends upon the on the industry and the size of the organization. The economic downturn has a direct impact on the employer brand and employee loyalty. Employer brand has become important to attract the

Peculiarities of Community Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Peculiarities of Community Analysis - Essay Example Recently, however, I have seen a change. I have seen the things I once read of, slowly materializing. I have seen women go from being a household commodity, to being equal to sons in our male chauvinistic culture. Now, working women are accepted rather than shunned like ten years ago. There is a lot more freedom in all aspects, be it dressing, travel, education, lifestyle- almost any aspect one chooses to describe, women are now more liberated than ever before. People now take it as a matter of pride to send their daughters to school, and most of the conservative elements are moving towards modernism and liberalism. This is the change I see around me. What remains to be seen is whether it really is happening, or whether it is just an illusion- a mirage, ‘window-dressing’ in accounting terms. Also, is it just limited to sprawling metropolises, or has the effect permeated to the as-yet-un-westernized rural areas? Another aspiring ray that has developed in females in recent times is their strength. Their robustness to stand change, their robustness to accept change, their robustness on being the change. This has taken the course of action to move to better, positive horizons. â€Å"Whether we like it or not, one of our tasks on this Earth is to work with the opposites through the different level of consciousness until body, soul, and spirit resonate together. Initiation rites, experienced at the appropriate times in our lives, burn off what is no longer relevant, opening our eyes to new possibilities of our own uniqueness.† (Miss Morian Woodman: â€Å"The Pregnant Virgin: A Process of Psychological Transformation†. Page 26 Chrysalis) Using the concept of the process of psychological pregnancy (the virgin forever a virgin, forever pregnant, forever open to possibilities), Woodman examines ways of restoring the unity of body and soul, suggesting that how and what a woman goes through in a man’s world. Drawing on her Jungian analytic practice with its analysis of hundreds of dreams, she explores the search for personal identity and relationships, including the celebration of the feminine both in women and men. She begins with the symbolism of the chrysalis, and then discusses abandonment in the creative woman, psyche-soma awareness, the ritual journey, further thoughts on addiction, and yin, yang, and Jung.

Lab report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Lab report - Essay Example The observation of the embryo showed significant deformation and mortality percentage in the total population. Mortality percentage was 75% (9 out of 12 are dead) among the examined embryos. The percentage of deform was 100% (12 out of 12 are deform embryos). The deformation endpoint that had been observed included stunted, pericardial edema, yolk sac edema and axis problem. For chloroceboria aregonacen strand (CA7615), strong evidence that the green pigment extract was different than controls in terms of its toxicity after a time frame of 5 days was recorded. The observation of the embryo showed significant deformation in the subject population with an increase in the population mortality as well. Both the mortality and deformation of the subjects was found to be 100 % (12 out of 12 are dead). For scytaliduim cuboduim strand (SC11517), there was strong evidence that the toxicity of the red pigment extract was different from the toxicity recoded in the controls, after a period of 5 days. 25% of the embryo were observed to be dead (6 out 24), and 46 % (11 out of 24) were deformed (the deformation endpoint recorded, included pericardial edema, yolk sac edema and axis problems). For scytalidum Ganodermopthorum strand (SG10320), there was no evidence that the toxicity of the extracted yellow dye was different from the toxicity of the control, after a 5 day period. 100% of the embryo were observed to be normal with zero mortality (24 out of 24 embryos were normal). For chloroceboria aregonosa strand (CA11657), strong evidence that the toxicity of the green pigment extract differed from the recorded toxicity of the controls after being treated for 24 hours, was found. 49% of the embryos were observed to be dead after the 24 hpf (35 out of 72 embryos). 36% of the embryos showed delay in progression (26 out of 72 embryos). For chloroceboria aregonacen strand (CA7615), there existed strong

Case Vignettes in Acid-Base Balance Essay Example for Free

Case Vignettes in Acid-Base Balance Essay Choose three of the four vignettes and BRIEFLY answer the questions that follow. Normal Levels of Substances in the Arterial Blood: pH 7.40 + 0.05 pCO2 (partial pressure of carbon dioxide) 40 mm Hg pO2 (partial pressure of oxygen) 90 100 mm Hg Hemoglobin O2 saturation 94 100 % [HCO3-] 24 meq / liter Vignette #1: A 14-year-old girl with cystic fibrosis has complained of an increased cough productive of green sputum over the last week. She also complained of being increasingly short of breath, and she is noticeably wheezing on physical examination. Arterial blood was drawn and sampled, revealing the following values: pH 7.30 pCO2 50 mm Hg pO2 55 mm Hg Hemoglobin O2 saturation 45 % [HCO3-] 24 meq / liter Questions: 1. How would you classify this girls acid-base status? 2. How does cystic fibrosis cause this acid-base imbalance? 3. How would the kidneys try to compensate for the girls acid-base imbalance? 4. List some other causes of this type of acid-base disturbance. Vignette #2:  A 76-year-old man complained to his wife of severe sub-sternal chest pains that radiated down the inside of his left arm. Shortly afterward, he collapsed on the living room floor. Paramedics arriving at his house just minutes later found him unresponsive, not breathing, and without a pulse. CPR and electroconvulsive shock were required to start his heart beating  again. Upon arrival at the Emergency Room, the man started to regain consciousness, complaining of severe shortness of breath (dyspnea) and continued chest pain. On physical examination, his vital signs were as follows: Systemic blood 85 mm Hg / 50 mm pressure Hg Heart rate 175 beats / minute Respiratory rate 32 breaths / minute Temperature 99.2o F His breathing was labored, his pulses were rapid and weak everywhere, and his skin was cold and clammy. An ECG was done, revealing significant Q waves in most of the leads. Blood testing revealed markedly elevated creatine phosphokinase (CPK) levels of cardiac muscle origin. Arterial blood was sampled and revealed the following: pH 7.22 pCO2 30 mm Hg pO2 70 mm Hg Hemoglobin O2 saturation 88 % [HCO3-] 2 meq / liter Questions: 5. What is the diagnosis? What evidence supports your diagnosis? 6. How would you classify his acid-base status? What specifically caused this acidbase disturbance? 7. How has his body started to compensate for this acid-base disturbance? 8. List some other causes of this type of acid-base disturbance. Vignette #3: An elderly gentleman is in a coma after suffering a severe stroke. He is in the intensive care unit and has been placed on a ventilator. Arterial blood gas measurements from the patient reveal the following: pH 7.50 pCO2 30 mm Hg pO2 100 mm Hg Hemoglobin O2 saturation 98% [HCO3-] 24 meq / liter Questions: 9. How would you classify this patients acid-base status? 10. How does this patients hyperventilation pattern raise the pH of the blood? 11. How might the kidneys respond to this acid-base disturbance? 12. List some other causes of this type of acid-base disturbance.

Contributions of Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux

Contributions of Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux To what extent Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux have contributed to the professional practice of Landscape Architecture? Both Frederick Law and Calvert Vaux are actively participating in Landscape Architectural projects in the 19th century. Calvert Vaux was a young Architect in the year 1857. He collaborated with Frederick Law in the Central Park competition. Apart from landscape projects Vaux also committed himself as an architect designing various houses that harmonises with nature. Frederick Law Olmsted being known as the â€Å"Founder of American Landscape Architecture as well as a well-known park designer† by the National Park Service. Frederick Law Olmsted started the being a Landscape Architecture after experimenting and trying out many different career fields. From a newspaperman, social commentator and farmer. He had many interests in his early life. In landscape architecture, Olmsted combined his thoughts and interests in rural life and conditions and thoughts of autonomous glory to create a new form of civil engineering that not only focuses on its function but as well as beauty. The Urbanization Olmsted seen on the road with its interest in rural problems soon make him wanted to work as a Landscape Architect. As he was touring around in Britain in the 1850s, he visited England’s Birkenhead Park, which was an important and a catalyst in venturing into the landscape career path. In the year 1858, the city commissioners selected, out of the total thirty-tree designs being submitted in the competition for the new park (Central Park) the one chosen â€Å"Greensward,† which was the collaboration work of Frederick Law and Calvert Vaux. Central Park is the recognition of this design through its significant features. It was also one of the earliest examples of a park that is being referred as a well balance work of landscape architecture, as well as the first in any country to propose spacious relaxing grounds which have the beauty of minimalist natural scenery as it met the qualities of complete enclosure by a tightly built city. Central Park was a great success where both he and Vaux are able to closely towards each other. The use of hills, trees and curve walkways created a form of tranquillity and remoteness from the city. Both Olmsted and Vaux also formed a company and designed major parks in Brooklyn, Buffalo and more. Apart from the formed company, Olmsted also founded his own personal firm in the 1883 which led him to move his home to modernize Boston and created â€Å"Fairsted† known as the world’s first professional office for the Landscape Design. Vaux and Olmsted then started a long partnership with each other where they form the landscape ideas of the position that should be played in the life of cities. But individual inputs by each of them has always been unclear. Some also argued that Vaux must be leading in the project as he is more experience in landscape architecture as compared to Olmsted, thus there is no reason to misbelief Vaux’s design. Soon later, the park’s authorities had decided to make Olmsted the Head Architect with Vaux as an assistant. Although Olmsted had a lot of suffering in the later years in order to highlight Vaux important role towards the design as well as the development of the parks, Vaux had always felt that he did not had the fame that he should receive. Apart from the Central park project, Olmsted and Vaux also collaborated in 1865 after the Civil War on what many referred as their most successful design The Brooklyn’s Prospect Park. Not only that they also designed several other Brooklyn parks which includes the Carroll Park in Carroll Gardens , Washington Park and the Parade Ground and Tompkins Square. Olmsted and Vaux also created a new form of pathway that is able to solve the problem of inefficiency of Brooklyn’s Grid Street system. These landscaped pavements are used to connect various different neighbourhoods to different parks all around the queen’s border. Olmsted crafted various examples of designs which the Position of Landscape Architecture is able to enhance the quality of life in America. These include large urban parks being devoted to the contact and involvement of the scenery and designed to resist and balance out the bogusness of the city and the stress of modern life. One of the most important transports were the Private carriages a smooth road reserved for them that is able to connect parks and spread the advantages of public green space around the city. Olmsted and Vaux designed the park to be able to create ways and path for the pedestrians and carriages to enjoy and admire the park without having to annoy each other. The design of the roads is considered radical as it allows vehicular access to drive through the park without being divided from the park’s experience. It provides an array of public facilities for the residents and scenic preservation safeguarding areas of extraordinary landscape beauty from destruction as well as commercial uses. Garden / landscape design could improve both awareness as well as the self-reflections of occupants. With an increasing number in open-air apartments, it encourages outdoor activities where the garden space is a specified training ground for the citizens living around it. Governmental buildings would have been more efficient and do understand the importance of planning. Olmsted’s design approach showed the complexity of his perception and even paid attention to the slightest details for a resident in harmonizing green-space. Olmsted understands the reasoning behind his landscape work which is capable of affecting the emotions of others. This was quite noticeable throughout his park designs, where he designed the pavements of the scenery such that the visitors would be saturated. Able to experience the curative action of the landscape as what Olmsted would describe it as â€Å"Unconscious† process. In order to achieve this outcome, he overpowered all the elements of the design in making the land-art contacts more subtle. Olmsted always wanted to think ahead of the current trends and actions and being able to derive his designs based on the important principles of human psychology. In detail, he cross referenced from the analysis of earlier British Sophist of unsentimental landscape and their attention towards the special qualities of composition and attractive scenery. The essence of agrarian landscape was the English deer park, creating an emotion of an enlarged space and its delicately inflected ground and smooth, a cropped lawn. He was able to realise that this style is known as his special formula to cure the bad effects of an modern life. The â€Å"Picturesque† style was being used in deep and worn out terrain, and followed by planting with a thick layer of different ground covers , shrubs and etc. This eventually will result in a thought of charitableness, outpouring and secrecy. His extreme experience of this effect was on the Isthmus of Panama as he was passing through a journey to California. Where both forms includes the qualities of infiniteness, and the shortage of singular objects for a detail exploration. As Olmsted defined it , the term â€Å"scenery† is never applied to vision of any field that is seen as straight forward. Hence it should have a level of complexity in its shapes and visuals closer towards the eye, unimportant details when looked further away. These characters were important for the unknown motion of the scenery in mind. They were also an important element to his design as practicing benchmarks for exquisite understanding. The standard of elegance that includes a mixture, complexity and a fine series of surfaces, colours and tones were important to Olmsted creative and cultivating purpose. Although the site that Olmsted favoured needs a at least a rainfall in order to achieve its outcome, he understood that majority of the United States does have a different weather. Following that he sets out to develop a distinct landscape technique for the south, while in the west it requires a water-conserving technique. He applied the techniques of this approach with six projects in the San Francisco Bay and Colorado. During Olmsted career, he and his firm completed out over 500 commissioned projects. Which includes 100 parks and recreation areas, with over 200 private estates as well as numerous residential projects and campus design for a handful of academic institutions. Olmsted himself is a creative designer, even though he had trouble with expressing his ideas in words. With approximately six thousand letters were still around till this days, With its discussion with 300 design commissions. And at times he paid for the publications as well as public distribution of these letters which includes his experience in journeys and several documents by the United States commission. Calvert Vaux who is also one of America’s well-known architect / Landscape architect. He also shaped some of America’s most prominent landscape during the 19th century. He worked with famous landscape figures such as Andrew Jackson Downing and later with Frederick Olmsted, and hence Vaux’s style on the landscape architecture was ignored in the 20th century. Vaux was an optimist who worked hard throughout his career and life to improve the living conditions of the lower class and promoted art education for all. Calvert Vaux had been successful in Architecture before the age of twenty-four, where he came to America and met downing. And after the sudden death of downing in the 1854, the project of designing the grounds of the capitol and the Smithsonian Intuition has yet been completed in America. In Vaux private life, he was a man of singular purity, kindness and trustworthy. Although he lacked of socializing skills, which was able to allow him to have a better position. But he still had many accomplishments and practice of the best type. The career of Vaux was an inspiring one for those young artists who are struggling as well as citizens who are labouring and working in civic and village improvements. Although the 1870s were Vaux’s most productive years but he latter soon found out that his High Victorian Gothic Style against the rising popularity of Neoclassical style had soon made his worked looked dull and outdated. Even though he won the projects with the High Victorian architect, for the American Museum of History as well as the Metropolitan Museum of Art and building the first stage of each of them, he soon lost the projects for continuing the later parts, due to the multiple reviews that the buildings had. His ability to win over large projects soon drops, and he turned to designing lodge houses and other beneficial buildings for the Children’s Aid Society located over in New York City. Apart from that he also devoted his last few years of life in focusing projects on the New York Public Parks as landscape architect, which led him to design several small parks throughout the city and also being able to continue his work on the Central Park. At his death during 1895, Vaux did not lead the role in the developments of architecture in America but he had left a long and unforgotten projects. In their late 1880s both Frederick Olmsted and Vaux collaborated with each other on Special projects such as providing free design service to the city of Newburgh (New York) where they construct a park in memory of Andrew Jacks. Their final collaboration concerns the Niagara Reservation. An area the state of New York bought as to prevent any form of commercial development which will compromise the scenery. Both Olmsted and Vaux composed their plans that would revive the Niagara’s spectacular sceneries making it accessible to tourist. In conclusion I think that both Landscape Architects did way beyond their part in the professional practice of Landscape Architecture as they were very sensitive towards minor details such as the landform, climate changes, materials/surfaces and the thoughts / activities of the people. They did not neglect other points in its design such as transportation in which are widely used till this day where they are able to immerse themselves in to the landscape, rather than being separated and divided. They also tried to make roads and path efficient for both pedestrians as well as vehicles. And the landscapes that both men design had special qualities in them where it’s designed towards tranquil and peaceful emotions. These psychological design qualities are a huge advantage towards the users in terms of de-stressing themselves and being able to admire the elegant sceneries.

How Emotional Intelligence Contributes To Leadership

How Emotional Intelligence Contributes To Leadership The purpose of this report is to examine how emotional intelligence significantly contributes to effective leadership. Given the dimensions of emotional intelligence, the focus is made on how the current management can utilize the knowledge of emotional intelligence to steer organizations to sustainable growth. This is motivated by the fact that through emotional intelligence, leaders inspire and attract positive change by making people believe in them. When people believe in leaders, this is the departure for successful management. Motivation can give encouragement to everyone for their task. It also helps to motive peoples life that they can be active and enthusiastic that they can lead with their members as a leader who has a responsibility. Empathy describes a deep understanding according to emotional reaction of other people so they share their mind for others to understand as a leader who consider and care of members. Social skills are included in communication which indicates relationship with others so people can share their common ground and build their familiarity in society. It is clear that emotional intelligence has an effect in leadership. Emotional intelligence has five components to get benefits in leadership. Every dimension is based on peoples mind that leadership can be used with true mind of leader like self-awareness, self-management, motivation, empathy and social skills. Those components have different abilities which can lead others. Leadership is a way of harmony of organization. It is not forced and not passive. This paper has examined the role of emotional intelligence in shaping leadership and it is recommended that; good leaders know how to read and use their emotions positively to mentor and motivate employees. Table Contents Executive Summary 1 1.0 Introduction 3 1.2 Aim 4 1.3 Scope 4 2.0 Self- a weakness 4 3.0 Self-management 5 4.0 Self-motivation 5 4.1 Advantage and Disadvantage of motivation 5 4.2 Example of effect ion 5 5.0 Empathy Social skill 6 5.1 Way of ability 6 5.2 Understanding of mind 6 5.3 Benefits of social skill 6 5.4 Relation between social skill and motivation 6 6.0 Conclusions 6 7.0 Recommendations 7 Reference 7 1.0 Introduction The nature of the organization leadership plays a critical role in shaping the performance and sustainable growth of employees. Many schools of thought have therefore argued that leaders are born and made while others argue that leaders are only born and not made. However, looking at leadership in a holistic view, the concept of emotional intelligence comes into the fore (Payne and Huffman, 2005). The ability of one to be able to read and positively use the emotional attachments to influence, motivate and nurture people. The inherent character to attract people and command authority using feeling- is what defines leadership through emotional intelligence. In an attempt to examine the role of leadership through emotional intelligence, the paper will extensively assess the extent at leadership through emotional intelligence correlates with daily management issues and human resource development. 1.1 Background information Leadership is always a challenging role both at personal level and organization level. That why in major cases; intensive training to develop the acquired skills of stress management, sociology, and counselling is very vital. However, more importantly, it has been observed that naturally there are people who were born with very unique inherent traits that favour one to lead. These traits include but not limited to motivation, empathy, considerate, calmness, humility, command of authority among others (Goleman, McKee Boyatzis, 2002). Interestingly, these so called soft skills are centralized within the concept of Emotional intelligence. By example; one is said to be emotionally intelligent when is able to refrain from hunger when confronted; refrain from violence when confronted to; refrain from abusive language when pushed to- but instead in these entire scenarios act in a manner that will instead win the favour of the opponent. This is the nature of leadership that the world is urg ently in need for. Most organizations are very keen to acquire emotionally intelligent leaders. Leadership by emotional intelligence is the most desirable due to its key components of self-awareness, motivation, self-management as well as the social skills. These are key ingredients in attracting partners, managing people, skilful in decision making and ability to impact to the larger community as well as conflict resolution in work set up. 1.2 Aim The major aim of this paper is to report on how the traits of emotional intelligence (self-awareness, self- management, self-control, social awareness and empathy) significantly contribute to effective leadership in organizations. Noting that it imperative to appreciate the role and coexistence of an entire management team, it is the leaders who coordinates the team efforts to bear results. Through emotional intelligence leaders are able to balance between personal interest and conflicts with organizational objectives and draw rational objective decision that favour both parties. Additionally, this report will also recommend the best mode to shape individuals in developing emotional intelligence leadership (Mintzberg and Gosling, 2002). 1.3 Scope Leadership touches on almost all the areas of our lives. More importantly, is the question of whether there is deep entrenchment of emotional intelligence in the key decisions made. Management of organizations presents a key challenge to the real application of emotional intelligence leadership. As a leader (CEO) of a company, self awareness and social control is very applicable is achieving successful leadership. Touching on personal life is equally important aspect of achieving self-awareness, and self management. Socialization both within the organization and public fora is among the key ingredients that shape ones ability to develop emotional intelligence. 2.0 Self- a weakness This is the most important aspect of leadership since it is undoubtedly expected one should lead by example. It motivating employees and team to follow a particular management dimension, one is expected to be well versed and able to undertake the same. By example, most of corporate leaders take part in corporate social responsibility such as sports, giving day, donation programmes so that through that awareness leaders are able to motivate and attract people. If one is high tempered, the realization of the fact that he/she cannot withstand confrontation is a key step in managing ones emotions and thereby avoiding conflicts or practicing to be calm under confrontation (Raelin, 2004). This is a key step toward self- a weakness. If one realizes that through emotional speech, people respond and win over then this is key steps toward self- a weakness hence drive towards emotional intelligence leadership. 3.0 Self-management Leaders are expected to be organized and directive in their own life. Managers for example are expected to be neat, well dressed as a reflection of self ethic and organization. In this case, directing employees to adopt particular directive will be an additional motivation hence easy to execute. Is a leader able to manage time? For managers who report early in their workplace, it is a clear motivation among the junior staff to equally come earlier and automatically adopts the leadership style without formal enforcement. In simple terms, as a leader, the extent of self management attracts, motivates and nurture people around you. This is what emotional intelligence leadership is all about. 4.0 Self-motivation 4.1 Advantage and Disadvantage of motivation Motivation can lead leaders to expect better results than working without motivation because they can make an effort when they have their selected goal. By having a motivation, people expect their achievement when they go through conflicts and difficulties so it can be positive behaviour for them. 4.2 Example of effect ion If leaders are in negative mood, they will not be able to manage others, for example, people who just care of task which just assigned from others and just follow other people. They are lack of motivation because they do not practice spontaneously. If they get motivation, they will challenge for aiming to get their achievement. Anand (2010) states this factor is related to self-awareness because when leaders they realise their own personality they can recognize what they really need that motivation can be found in this situation. As condition of leader, capable leadership regards as the most important component. Clarke (2010) states emotional intelligence indicates some relationship with leadership. This ability can encourage others to achieve in their field. It also can adjust balance of mood. Well-managed performance can be influenced in task and it can enhance ability that it makes rational outcome so it causes effective mood and emotion at work. 5.0 Empathy Social skill 5.1 Way of ability Empathy is the ability to share their mind that can be done with deep understanding. Understanding other peoples mind will be concerned as a way of management. It is an important point to be a leader. 5.2 Understanding of mind Leadership is to lead others that they should realise thoroughly. They also should be enthusiastic and active because they can encourage and give energy when they feel positive, for example, sharing the true mind is important to sense how others are feeling. It is beneficial both of them. They can see what they need. Empathy is likely to be helpful for someone who feels sad and has negative idea. When other people cannot concentrate on work because of other problem, leaders can adjust their problem by handling together with them but leaders should not control whole thing because they cannot solve the problem independently. They will rely on leaders without any enthusiasm about their work. These all emotional intelligences are related to ability of leadership. 5.3 Benefits of social skill Social skills will be likely to get motivation. Social skill is based on communication because people can look for their result by discussion with others. In this process, communication will be allowed to use. Clarke (2010) states this social skill helps leaders to prepare for management so they can notice what they have to prepare by talking with others and they can lead others in appropriate way, for example, making friends is helpful for each one in society. People can share what they think. 5.4 Relation between social skill and motivation They can handle emotional reactions from others and can lead others to get effectiveness. If they do not have connection each other, they cannot be a good leader even though managers are outstanding and diligent because they have personality which is not good at social skill. Components of emotional intelligence are necessary for leadership effectiveness. 6.0 Conclusions In the ability of leadership, leaders need to manage and encourage others so emotional intelligence describes about five components which help leaders to prepare themselves. Self-awareness is the understanding of mind by people. Leaders can manage when they are completely able to recognise themselves. They also can realise the needs of requirement. Self-management is also related to self-awareness but management is the ability to control their mood that they can regulate themselves. Motivation is ultimately necessary for leadership because people usually think of their objective that if they select their goal they will focus on successful achievement. Ability of empathy is helpful to someone face with difficulties. Uncomfortable feeling prevent peoples task so leaders need to provide empathic mind to others for encouragement. Social skills are one of the important components. People usually open their mind when they think they have common senses and they are close. To solve this prob lem, managing and building relationship is important to understand others for leaders. 7.0 Recommendations The entire report has extensively reflected on the role of emotional intelligence enhances effective leadership. Given the nature of diverse leadership exposure within organizations, it is recommending that; In an effort to develop strong management team, organizations should invest in training and retraining of employees to ensure they acquire the additional skills such as financial risk management skills, information management technology so as to be able to adapt to the ever emerging challenges in organizations. Self expression is very important is shaping ones emotional intelligence. It is therefore important that senior leaders nurture future leaders (junior staff) through allowing self expression and socialization.

The Tragedy of Human Nature in Shakespeares Othello :: GCSE English Literature Coursework

The Tragedy of Human Nature in Othello   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In the tragedy Othello, Shakespeare creates a mood that challenges the way a person sees his or her self and the world. Subjects like racism, sexism, love, hate, jealously, pride, and trickery are thoroughly developed in the play of Othello to enable the audience to view the characters and also themselves. The Shakespearean tragedy of Othello was written in a time of great racial tensions in England. According to Eldred Jones, in 1600 just three years before Othello was written, Queen Elizabeth proclaimed an Edict for the Transportation of all "negars and blackmoores" out of the country ("Othello- An Interpretation" Critical Essays 39). It is in this atmosphere that Shakespeare began the masterpiece of Othello, a drama about a noble black Arab general, Othello, who falls in love with and marries, Desdemona, a young white daughter of a senator. From the above knowledge one may conclude that Shakespeare wrote Othello to express that all people, of all ethnicity, are ba sically the same in human nature. Shakespeare borrowed the idea of Othello from an Italian love story by Giraldi Cinthio. However, Shakespeare focuses more on the differences in color and age between Othello and Desdemona than Cinthio. Shakespeare does this to escalate Othello’s isolation from the rest of Venetian society and to display Othello’s vulnerability due to his color. In the tragedy not only is Othello susceptible to weaknesses but so is every major character . The tragedy reminds humans that even one’s good nature can be taken advantage of for the worse. The drama Othello expresses, through relationships and emotional attitudes, a theme that all humans are vulnerable to destruction even if they are in positions of power and glory. All the relationships in the play are used to demonstrate the vulnerability of people when involved personally with other people. Each of the relationships in Othello portrays insecurities in each person, except Iago. In fact, all of the relationships with one character, Iago, are focused around him and his devilish plot for the demise of Othello. However, most of the relationships in Othello bring about unintentional frustrations and vulnerabilities. The marriages in Othello are the most important relationships in conferring vulnerability because they bring out the best hopes and attitudes, and the worst fears and emotions in each character. Shakespeare, in designing Othello’s marriage to Desdemona, shows that although one can truly love a person, the need for human control can destroy any relationship causing heartbreak and turmoil.

Panama Presentation :: essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Joshua Myers   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  HUM 215   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Spring 2005   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Bakhtiarova Ø  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Country: Panama Ø  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Capital City: Panama City Ø  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Geographic Location (region): Central America Ø  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Coordinates: 9 00 N 80 00 W Ø  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Boarders with Costa Rica to the West and Columbia to the East. Panama also borders with the Pacific Ocean to the South and Caribbean Sea to the North. Ø  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Population: 3,039,150 (July 2005 est.) Ø  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ethnic make-up: Mestizo (mixed Amerindian and white) - 70%; Amerindian and mixed (West Indian) - 14%; white - 10%; Amerindian 6% Ø  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Education rate: Over one million people (37%) live below the poverty line; over half a million (12.3%) live in extreme poverty. The difference between rich and poor in Panama is one of the highest in the world. Ø  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Major History Events XV – XX centuries: o  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The earliest known inhabitants of Panama were the Cuevas and the Coclà © cultures, but their numbers were decimated by disease and the sword when the Spanish arrived in the 16th century. After several forays along the country's Caribbean shore, the Spanish established a settlement, Nombre de Dios, at the mouth of the Rà ­o Chagres on the Caribbean coast in 1510. Panama's Pacific coast later became the springboard for invasions of Peru, and the wealth generated by these incursions was carried overland from the Pacific port of Panama (City) to Nombre de Dios. The transport of wealth attracted pirates, and by the 18th century the Caribbean was so dangerous that Spanish ships began bypassing Panama and sailing directly from Peru around Cape Horn to reach Europe. o  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Panama went into decline, and became a province of Colombia when the South American nation received its independence in 1821. o  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  A French attempt to build a canal in 1880 resulted in the death of 22,000 workers from malaria and yellow fever and bankruptcy for everyone involved. o  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Panama declared independent Nov. 3, 1903, with the full support of the USA. Columbia never agreed to their independence until 1921 when the USA finally paid Columbia $25,000,000.00 in compensation. o  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  USA began to build the canal again in 1904; in 1914 the first ship saled through the canal. Ø  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Major problems or conflicts that the country faced in the last 50 years: o  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The only big problem was with the USA. The two countries argued over the canal contract until a new treaty was signed in 1977.

Inside out by Larry Crabb: a book review Essay

Introduction For a lot of people, life seems to be simply a string of frustrations, broken promises, and disappointments. Somehow, people are looking for something better outside of themselves. This results to dangerous behaviors such as alcoholism, substance abuse and depression. The root behind this is the fear of looking inside oneself. This fear may be born out of frustrations strengthened by negative experiences in childhood and even in adulthood. In spite of these fears and these frustrations, most people desire change for themselves. They want to feel that they are truly alive and that they are empowered to do the things that they are passionate about. They want to get over the helplessness and the feeling that they are trapped in something they do not want to be in. The problem is most people do not know where to start. They start to plan to change and implement. However, after a few days, they go back to where they started from. For people who truly desire to change, what is needed is a change of perspective and a good understanding of their struggles, their personalities and their character. After all, self-analysis will only work if a set of criteria has been determined at the outset. The first step to change is to know exactly where one is located. Looking Inside Dr. Larry Crabb’s Inside Out is an attempt to guide people to look at themselves and help them evaluate their situation, their background, and how they can change for the better. Dr. Crabb’s outlook is hopeful and he seeks to help individuals find the courage to change and improve their lives and their overall person. Although the book is addressed to anyone who wants to change. Dr.Crabb specifically directed his book to those who want to follow the commands of God written in the Bible, but for one reason or another, they fail to do so. As such, Dr. Crabb’s main goal is to promote obedience to the Word of God. Inside Out is divided into four parts. The first part deals with the importance of looking beneath the surface. In the busyness and crazy schedule of today’s world, Dr. Crabb invites individuals to take a moment and take a look inside oneself. His initial salvo is the call to look beyond the surface and the importance of looking inside in order to effect change. However, looking inside oneself, especially if one is honest about it, is frustrating. We discover that what we think about ourselves is not the complete picture and that we are still miles away from what we want to become. Looking inside, however, will not be successful without knowledge of what to look for. In this regard, Dr. Crabb provides a criteria and a set of factors that one should look for The second part deals with the needs of people since deep down inside we are thirsty people. We do not always realize the nature of this thirst and that is why it is being slaked by things that do not really satisfy. Dr. Crabb also wrote about the source of living waters, which is Christ. Christ’s invitation to himself as the living water so that humans â€Å"would not thirst again† is clear. Yet, there is still a lot of pain in the world and lack of maturity because individuals are not able to partake of this living water. More than that, however, the urges and desires are mistaken for what they truly are—they are the manifestations of thirst and of the needs of individuals. If people would realize their thirst, they would have a better understanding of themselves and of their needs. The next part of the book deals with the process of looking into the different solutions and alternatives that people seek to fill their thirst with. There are a lot of wrong directions and wrong decisions that people make in order to quench their thirst. Yet, before long, they will realize that these alternatives are but broken wells that could not really satisfy their thirst. These broken wells are uncovered in Part III and in the last part of the book, Dr. Crabb describes the principles and the steps needed in changing from the inside out. Dr. Crabb said that defining the true problem is the first step in solving the problem. In this regard, he used psychological steps and techniques in order to help individuals in assessing their condition and helping them in solving their problems. He does not stop at psychology, however. He highlighted the power of the gospel in bringing about change to individuals. The good thing about his strategy is that he integrates psychology into biblical principles and practices to achieve maximum effect. Changing for the better is not only for pre-Christian individuals. Rather, Christians also need to change for the better in order for them to be in step with the will of God for their lives. As such, psychological tools and strategies in counseling and analyzing personal situations can also be used by Christians in addressing their personal issues. Although this integration may not sit well with other Christians across the spectrum, psychological strategies recognize that as humans, we do have a role in improving ourselves and seeking the will of God. The Holy Spirit ultimately helps us with our struggles and with our issues. However, without our willing participation, the work of the Holy Spirit will be limited. Conclusion A lot of people have their struggles, past hurts, past sins and other issues that undermine their quest for wholeness and sense of being. People want to change and enjoy the best that life has to offer. Too often, however, they are looking in the wrong places and they quench their thirst with what does not truly satisfy. Even Christians are not spared from this. There are a lot of issues in obeying Christ and in viewing Christian life as a duty and not as journey to enjoy. Dr. Crabb’s book integrates psychology, theology, and biblical principles in helping people deal with their issues and struggles. This he did in a comprehensive and helpful way throughout Inside Out. Perhaps the most contentious part of his book is his integration of psychological concepts and ideas, which for some Christians is not acceptable. The counter-argument to this line of thinking is that God ordained humans as His partners in working out his will on earth. Through the sacrifice of Christ, humans have been ushered into a relationship of friendship with Him. As such, this relationship, which is at the heart of Christianity, makes it possible for humans to also endeavor for best practices and strategies in enabling the Holy Spirit to work. After all, human wisdom and activities should be evaluated in light of God’s Word and as long as they do not contradict Scriptures, then using such techniques and strategies, as long as they are helpful and not inimical to the process of change, would be beneficial. Jesus, himself, said that â€Å"whoever is not against us is with us. † Perhaps, this does not only apply to people but also to ideas, concepts, and practices that could enhance our spirituality and well-being.

What made peace hard in the Arab-Israeli conflict

The peace treaty between Israel and Palestine was signed by the two presidents, Yitzhak Rabin (Israeli president) and Yasser Arafat (Palestinian president) in 1993. The peace treaty didn't last for very long because the two countries as a whole didn't like the peace treaty because lots of different groups didn't agree with it. When the Israelis were given land in Palestine by the US, They were outraged. They had owned it for almost the last 2000 years. The Palestinians didn't see why they had to give up their land to the Israelis. What made it worse was the fact that the Israelis took over Jerusalem (sacred place to both Israelis and Palestinians) during the war in 1967. The Israeli Jews wanted Jerusalem because that is where the Wailing Wall is (the last standing wall of their ancient mosque). The Palestinian Muslims wanted Jerusalem because they believe that their prophet Mohammed descended to heaven there. The fact that both sides wanted Jerusalem made peace difficult because they wanted a place that is holy to both of them, and were willing to fight for it. During the wars, seven hundred thousand Palestinians were forced out of the country by the Israelis. They had to become refugees and they had really poor living conditions because most of them lived in makeshift huts and tents. Also, they had poor water supply and a lack of food. They were living in poverty, and this made the situation even worse because they all hated the Israelis even more because they had driven them out and made them live like this. This made peace more difficult because the Palestinians have no quality of life and they hate the Israelis even more. When reporters from Britain and America went to the refugees over there to get some news, they found out that their life was awful for them and then Britain and America started feeling sorry for them. The PLO thought because the fact Britain and America were feeling sorry for them, that they should stop using terrorism. The HAMAS however, didn't stop using terrorism. This made peace more difficult because there was sti ll terrorism and people dying from this. HAMAS are a Palestinian group who do not accept the state of Israel. They are terrorist organisations who use suicide bombings to try to get what they want, which is to destroy Israel and establish an Islamic state of Palestine. They are worse than the PLO ever were. They think terrorism is the answer because if they use terrorism they will be able to scare the Israelis so much they will eventually surrender. HAMAS challenged the PLO and Arafat for support so they would be able to get bombs and weapons. The Israelis didn't like HAMAS because they were terrorizing their citizens and they were killing lots of people. This made peace more likely because if the Israelis didn't like what HAMAS were doing, they would try to make peace to make HAMAS stop. Israel is a small country of less than 5 million people but there are still many different views on how the country should be run. The Labour party is one of the two most powerful parties in Israeli politics. They believe that peace is an important for the wellbeing of their country. The other one is the Likud party. The Likud believe that there should be no Palestinian state and if the Palestinians do something to them they will hit back even harder. Likud won every election in Israel since 1977 up to 1992 which is when the Labour party won. This helped make peace possible because the politicians in the labour party were willing to sign a peace treaty with Yasser Arafat of the PLO. Israel however still had their super power, the USA. When USA heard that Russia had collapsed at the end of the cold war, they didn't support Israel so strongly because there was no Russia to compete with because they were not helping Palestine anymore. When Russia collapsed, the Arab countries had no support. This was because Russia (USSR) and they had no money from them or weapons. Because of this, other countries felt more sympathetic towards them. Because lots of the Arab countries were looking to the US for money and weapons now, the US had more influence over them. This made peace easier because if the US had more influence over them then they could make them make peace. The gulf war was the war between Iraq and the UN when Saddam Hussein tried to take over Kuwait. The USA went over to Kuwait and stopped him from invading. Lots of Arab countries supported the USA when they were trying to stop Saddam Hussein. Then the Arab countries asked USA why they were on Israel's side because they did the same as Saddam Hussein in taking over land that was not theirs. The Arabs thought this was very hypocritical of them because they weren't stopping the Israelis from something that Saddam Hussein had done. Bush (USA president) wanted to keep the Saudi Arabia and Egypt on his side so the other countries would be more sympathetic towards the Palestinians. This made the peace treaty more likely because then the Palestinians would be more willing to make peace because this put pressure on the Israelis to make peace. The members of Likud believe that the entire country of Israel should be theirs, and there should be no form of division of it for the Palestinians. They are not willing to make peace and share their land with the Palestinians at all. The Labour party thought that Jerusalem should still belong to the Jews, but they still thought they should give some land back to the Palestinians in return for peace. When Arafat and the PLO heard of this proposition, they accepted this resolution, and they had high hopes at the prospect of peace after nearly 40 years of constant negotiating. The PLO gave up using terrorism and their plan of trying to drive the Israelis into the sea because they now knew it wouldn't work. This made peace more possible because they were no longer killing people unnecessarily. Another reason why this made peace more possible was because no one would have sat down at a table if Yasser Arafat was there, because he was the leader of the PLO, which was the terrorist group. Another reason why peace was more possible was because reporters went over to where the refugees lived and found out how they had to live. They found they lived in horrible makeshift tents and they had little food and little water. They realised that people had been born and had died as refugees and had no quality of life. The PLO realised that using terrorism wasn't getting them anywhere and they needed to stop to be able to get peace. Palestinian civilians aged around fourteen in the Israeli streets started to rebel against the Israeli soldiers by throwing stones at the tanks. The soldiers became irritated and started to shoot them. People were outraged on both the Palestinian and the Israeli sides. These were just kids they were shooting and they weren't doing any harm by throwing stones at the tanks. This made peace more likely because the people on the Palestinian side were angry that the Israeli soldiers were just shooting their children dead, and they wanted it to stop. This would have made them want to sign the peace treaty. People started to feel sorry for the Palestinians and not blame them for the fact that peace was not possible. When the PLO stopped using terrorism, peace was more possible because they were not trying to kill people to try and get what they wanted. However, HAMAS had not stopped using terrorism and were using suicide bombers and promising people would go to paradise if they died for their country and their religion. Arafat (leader of the PLO) was losing popularity to them and people started listening to HAMAS instead of Yasser Arafat. This made peace more likely because Yasser Arafat needed some sort of victory against HAMAS, so he signed the peace treaty. In 1993, when the two countries of Israel and Palestine signed a peace treaty, Clinton was there as the peacemaker. He wanted to be seen like this because it made him look good to everyone else and also may have helped him win a next election because he has done something really good. One of the reasons Yasser Arafat agreed to the peace treaty was because he needed some sort of success against HAMAS. He wanted to have some more popularity again amongst his people so they would listen to him and not HAMAS. Yitzhak Rabin wanted to make peace because his country was facing economic problems and the government was spending far too much on the army and weapons. Also Yitzhak Rabin wanted peace because the Intifada was making Israel look bad because of their occupation and control of Palestinian territories. The first Intifada ended when Israel granted limited autonomy to the Palestine national authority in the 1993 peace agreement. Lots of things were really necessary to change on both sides for peace between Israel and Palestine. There were lots of things each side did that the other hated. Lots of things did change and made peace possible. First of all, one thing that changed was the new winner of the general Israeli elections in 1992. The Labour party won the next election which made Yitzhak Rabin the president. The labour party were in favour of making peace with Palestine, unlike the Likud who had been in power since 1977. The Likud who were against making peace in Israel were not in power any more so they could not stop the peace treaty. Because the labour party was in control, lots of other people in Israel thought that the peace treaty was a good idea. This was a really important thing to happen because if the Labour party had not been elected there was not going to be any chance of Yitzhak Rabin and Yasser Arafat signing a peace treaty. Also in Palestine lots of things changed. The PLO stopped terrorism because people found out how the refugees were living, which made peace possible because they weren't killing loads of the opposite side. This was quite an important reason because if the PLO hadn't given up terrorism, no one would have sat down at a table with Yasser Arafat and tried to make peace if he was the leader of a terrorist group. Also the fact that HAMAS were becoming more popular in Palestine made Yasser Arafat want to do something good so he would be more popular again, and people would listen to him and not to HAMAS. This was not as much an important reason as the other reasons because Yasser Arafat would have wanted peace anyway, no matter whether HAMAS was going to carry on with terrorism. Also this was not as important because HAMAS didn't originally sign the peace treaty, so they were not really part of the agreement. They only made peace more difficult after the treaty had been signed. Overall both the Israelis and the Palestinians had something in their society that changed to make the peace treaty work. Some things still didn't work out though because although the PLO stopped terrorism, HAMAS still used it. Also, even though the labour party won in 1992, the Likud party won the next election. The Likud were not in favour of peace so this did not work out because the Likud spent vast amounts money on the army again.

Adoption of Information and Communication Technology Essay

Abstract Nigerian banking industry has become highly ICT-based and is reaping the benefits of technological revolution as evidenced by its application in most of its operations. The objective of this paper was to determine if the Nigerian banks have failed or succeeded in the adoption and use of ICT (see table 2.1). An evaluation of the adoption and use of ICT infrastructures from the periods between years 2000 to 2008 indicated steady growth. It is presumed that as of today, the Nigerian banks may have attained their ICT potentials in their operations, though with some challenges. The paper concludes that the adoption of ICT has influenced the content and quality of banking operations. This paper recommends that investment in information and communication technology should form an important component in the overall strategy of banking operators to ensure effective operations. Keywords: Information, Communication, Technology, Banking & Industry. INTRODUCTION Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is the automation of processes, controls, and information production using computers, telecommunications, software and other gadget that ensure smooth and efficient running of activities. It is a term that largely covers the coupling of electronic technology for the information needs of a business at all levels. ICT has surpassed the role of support services or only electronic data processing; its fields of applications are slightly global and unlimited. Its devices especially the Internet and modern computer email facilities have further strengthened early modernizations like the telephone and fax. Other ICT devices include data recognition equipment, factory automation hardware and services, telecomputing and teleconferences using real time and online system (Adeoti, 2005). The application of information and communication technology concepts, techniques, policies and implementation strategies to banking services has become a subject of fundamental importance and concerns to all banks and indeed a prerequisite for local and global competitiveness. Information and Communication Technology (ICT) directly affects how managers decide, how they plan and what products and services are offered in the banking industry. It has continued to change the way banks and their corporate relationships are organized worldwide and the variety of innovative devices available to enhance the speed and quality of service delivery. Harold and Jeff (1995) contend that financial service providers should modify their traditional operating practices to remain viable in the 1990s and the decades that follow. They claim that the most significant shortcoming in the banking industry today is a wide spread failure on the part of senior management in banks to grasp the importance of technology and incorporate it into their strategic plans accordingly. Considering ICT to ensure banks survival, Woherem (2000) claimed that only banks that overhaul the whole of their payment and delivery systems and apply ICT to their operations are likely to survive and prosper in the new millennium. He advices banks to re-examine their service and delivery systems in order to properly position them within the framework of the dictates of the dynamism of information and communication technology. The banking industry has witnessed tremendous changes linked with the developments in ICT over the years. Nigerian banks have undergone changes in their operations since the consolidation process of 2005, when some banks were forced to merge with others to meet Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) recapitalisation fund necessary for operation. Until then, most of the banks operated paper based systems at inception and later adjusted at the dawn of ICT revolution. In recent times, ICT, which basically involves the use of electronic gadgets especially computers for storing, analyzing and distributing data, is having a dramatic influence on almost all aspects of individual lives and that of the national economy – the banking sector inclusive. The increasing use of ICT has allowed for integration of different economic units in a spectacular way. This phenomenon is not only applicable to Nigeria but other economies of the world, though the level of their usage may differ. In Nigeria, ICT usage especially in the banking sector, has considerably improved, even though it may not have been as high as those observed for advanced countries (Adeoti, 2005; Adeyemi, 2006). The use of ICT in the banking sector became of interest to this study due to the significant role it plays in the economy. It helps in stimulating economic growth by directing funds to economic agents that need them for productive activities. This function is very vital for any economy that intends to experience meaningful growth because it makes arrangements that bring borrowers and lenders of financial resource together and more efficiently too than if they had to relate directly with one another (Adam, 2005; Ojo, 2007). In essence, the banking sector acts as a bridge that connects lenders and investors in the economy. The bank reforms (especially the recapitalization that specifies a minimum capital base of 25 billion naira for commercial banks), are pursued with a view to making the sector realize its objectives in advancing the economy (CBN, 2006). It is expected that the impact of these reforms will be enhanced with the use of ICT because it will create some form of competitive advantage and improve banking services through accuracy and efficiency in their transactions. In other words, it will change the nature of banks’ services in terms of quality which will culminate in greater service delivery and productivity. This is in tandem with the findings made by Adeoti (2005) that the use of information technology has the ability of improving the competitiveness of Nigerian manufacturing industries. In fact, ICT has had an impact on the Banking Industry as its emergence allows banks to apply credit-scoring techniques to consumer credits, mortgages or credit cards. Hence, products that used to be highly dependent on the banks ´ evaluation of its customers have now become more standardized. Other examples of ICT impact on the Banking Industry include the increased process efficiency, which can reduce costs in banks. This has also produced changes in the structure of bank income. As a result of increased competition that has lowered margins in lending operations (the banks’ traditional business), banks have diversified their sources of income and rely increasingly on income from fees services rather than interest rate spreads. Fees charged for services include typical banking activities like payment transactions, safe custody and account administration. Data storage and retrieval is another wonderful innovation brought into the Banking Industry, where specialized software is engaged to create database to be manipulated by Database Management Software (DBMS). A single database created could be used for several purposes within the system in order to eliminate data redundancy. From the above discourse, this paper seeks to determine whether or not the adoption of ICT enhances the operations of Nigerian banks. To achieve this, the introductory part of this paper after defining what ICT is, clearly established that to remain viable in the current age as financial concerns, banks must adopt ICT. In the succeeding sections, the paper will review relevant literature and identify the types of ICT infrastructures used in Banks; the benefits and effects of ICT on banking industry will be discussed, after which an evaluation of its success or failure will be done; then, the conclusion and recommendations will be made. LITERATURE REVIEW The Concept of ICT and a Perspective in Nigerian Banks Technology can be referred to as the application of knowledge for the execution of a given task. It entails skills and processes necessary for carrying out activities (works) in a given context, while ICT encompasses computer systems, telecommunication, networks, and multimedia applications (Frenzel, 1996). It came into use in the late 1980’s replacing earlier terms like Electronic Data Processing (EDP), Management Information System (MIS), although the latter terms are still in use (Frenzel, 1996). ICT has transcended the role of support services or only electronic data processing; its fields of applications are somewhat global and unlimited. Its devices especially the Internet through the World Wide Web (www) and modern computer email facilities have further strengthened early innovations like the telephone and fax. Other ICT devices include data recognition equipment, factory automation hardware and services, tele-computing and teleconferences using real time and online system (Adeoti, 2005). It is a concept that is having a remarkable effect on almost entire aspects of the human endeavours. This connotes that it involves the application of principles to engage physical component in achieving an intended goal. The convergence of computer and telecommunication after about four decades of applying computers to routine data processing, mainly in information storage and retrieval, has created a new development where information has become the engine of growth around the world. This development has created catch-up opportunities for developing countries such as Nigeria to attain desired levels of development without necessarily ‘reinventing the wheels’ of economic growth. This new technology has brought far-reaching revolution in societies, which has tremendously transformed most business (banking) scenes (Ovia, 2005). With respects to the banks in Nigeria, the first established bank was in 1892 (then African Banking Corporation). However, there was no banking legislation until 1952 when three foreign banks (Bank of British West Africa, Barclays Bank, and British and French Bank) and two indigenous banks (National Bank of Nigeria and African Continental Bank) were established, with a total number of 40 branches (Iganiga, 1998). As at 1988, the Nigerian banking system consisted of the CBN, 42 commercial banks and 24 merchant banks (Iganiga, 1998; Adam, 2005). From 1970, the banking sector grew significantly in terms of number and coverage as a result of increase in economic activities. However, between 1970 and 1985, the growth of the sector was relatively slow due to predominant government regulations but the period 1986-2000 witnessed a phenomenal growth of the sector as a result of the financial deregulation policy, that is the Structural Adjustment Program-SAP of 1986 (Iganiga, 1998). This brought about the liberalization of bank licence leading to a rapid change in the sector. Some of the banks were characterized by paper oriented methods, rather than technological based systems and this resulted to slow pace of their operations vis-à  -vis their employees’ productivity cum general performance. The use of computers and other ICT gadgets in their operations were limited. This was one of the reasons adduced by Ojo (2007) as factors responsible for the Nigerian financial sector malaise. To mitigate the shocks experienced in the system, the Federal Government of Nigeria came up with the financial sector reforms through the CBN. The policy thrust on bank reforms encompasses the sum of the variations that occur in the direction of a comprehensive banking system. The bank reforms agenda, among others, specified a minimum capital base of 25 billion naira for the commercial banks that took effect in December, 2005 (Diamond Bank, 2005; CBN, 2006). This has reduced the number of commercial banks in Nigeria from 89 to 25, which was done via the processes of mergers, acquisition and the stock market (CBN, 2006; Ige, 2007). The major aim was to make Nigerian banks vibrant and resilient, clothed with efficiency and financial strength to absorb possible shocks, thereby instilling public confidence as well as global relevance (Soludo, 2004). ICT and Nigerian Banking Sector The revolution in ICT has made the banking sector changed from the traditional mode of operations to presumably better ways with technological innovation that improves efficiency. ICT can enhance efficiency via its use and in recent times banks have been encouraged by the rapid decline in the price of ICT gadgets. This has perhaps increased the bank level of ICT usage (Ovia, 2005).The increase might have also be attributable to business environment that became relatively flexible to accommodate new forms of technological change as a result of reforms in the country. Banking is becoming highly ICT-based and because of its inter-sectoral link, it appears to be reaping most of the benefits of revolution in technology, as can be seen by its application to almost all areas of its activities (Akinuli, 1999). It has broadened the scope of banking practices and changed the nature of banking as well as the competitive environment in which they operate. A broad opening has been experienced around the world for banks and they are currently taking due advantage of these innovations to provide improved customer services in the face of competition and faster services that enhance productivity (Akinuli, 1999; Ovia,2005). Technological advancement facilitates payments and creates convenient alternatives to cash and cheque for making transactions. Such new practices have led to the development of a truly global, seamless and Internet enabled 24-hour business of banking. ICT revolution both in terms of innovation rate, speedy operation, and cost per unit (portraying reduction in average total and marginal costs) has made a good number of banks embrace the use of ICT infrastructure in their operations (Akinuli, 1999). The technological innovation that is being witnessed currently in the Nigerian banking sector is possible of impacting on the banks’ mode of transactions especially in their payment systems. The payment systems are made feasible by ICT gadgets such as Automated Teller Machine (ATM), Electronic Fund Transfer (EFT), Clearing House Automated Payments (CHAPs), Electronic Purse (E-PURSE), Automated Cheque Sorter (ACS) and Electronic and Transfer at Point of Sale (EFTPOS), which have made transactions easy and convenient. This phenomenon is capable of bringing about speedy operations and enhanced productivity (Adeoti, 2005; Ovia, 2005). Though there may be little interruptions at times due to network failures, which may make customers unable to carry out transactions at that point in time. This little shortcoming is not in any way comparable to the days when banking halls were characterized by long queues mainly as a result of delays in the traditional banking operations. Now banks can provide comprehensive services to their customers by making them access their accounts via online services. These instruments have an edge over the traditional payment instruments because it is safer, more efficient, convenient and cost effective. Before the introduction of these ICT services in the banking industry, manual processing of documents were in use. The bankers were made to cope with this onerous task, and the process made business transactions minimal. Besides several hectic procedures, people had to contend with, banks’ customers were inevitably made to spend several hours in the congested banking halls in carrying out their transactions (Ovia, 2005). The present situation The ICT culture in Nigerian economy can be said to be on the increase. Nigeria is the largest Internet subscriber in Africa with about 100,000 Internet users as at 2000, which was estimated to have grossly increased (Balancing Act, 2007). It has also been observed that Nigeria’s telecommunication density had remarkably increased by more than 2,550% from 0.35% in 1992 to 9.3% in 2004, thereby greatly exceeding the International Telephone Union’s (ITU) benchmark of 1% (Ndukwe, 2005). This phenomenon has helped banks keep substantial information on-line which reduces the cost of marketing their products. Being a competitive tool, it enhances the creation of customized services, reduces the cost of operation, and improves productivity as well as profitability. More interestingly, almost all the banks in Nigeria have internet and on-line real time banking facilities which has improved the scope of Nigerian banking. It has aided transfer of funds from one location to another without any involvement of facial transactions thereby reducing the incidence of loss of funds to stealing and the likes. Another recent one is the telephone banking technology that allows customers to have transactions on their accounts by calling a particular telephone number, through voice activation, and using a tone pad. All of these improve the comfort of banking transactions. THE TYPES OF ICT SUBSTRUCTURES USED IN BANKS Ovia (2005) opined that ICT adoption will improves three critical domains which are efficiency, quality, and transparency in any organisation. Agboola (2001) discussed the dimensions in which automation in the banking industry manifest in Nigeria. They include: Bankers Automated Clearing Services: Automated Payment Systems, Automated Delivery Channels. In the analysis done by Alawode and Kaka (2008) on ICT infrastructures used in Nigerian banks between the periods of 2000 to 2008, found a proportionate increase in adoption and use. The specific ICT infrastructural use within year 2000 to year 2008 include Internet Access; Internal Network; SMS Alert; Substitution of Postal Mail; ICT Security Measures; Authentication and Automated Payment System. The tabular presentation of the ICT structures and the analysis are presented below. This analysis and other recent literature will form the basis for evaluation of ICT adoption success or otherwise, and informs its inclusion in this seminar paper. TABLE 2.1:SURVEY DATA OF SOME SELECTED BANKS IN NIGERIA AND THEIR UPTAKE IN SOME ICT INFRASTRUCTURES Serialnumbers| ICT infrastructures| Percentage of Nigeria Banks that use a particular ICT infrastructure within year2000 to year 2008.| | | 2000 – 2002| 2003 – 2005| 2006 – 2008| 1| Internet Access | 27%| 88%| 91%| 2| Internal Network| Wire based| 68%| 82%| 92%| | | Wireless| 08%| 19%| 28%| 3| SMS Alert| NIL| 22%| 98%| 4| Substitution of Postal mail | 18%| 38%| 88%| 5| ICT Security measures| 62%| 81%| 94%| 6| Authentication| 33%| 76%| 85%| 7| Automated PaymentSystem| 1%| 28%| 87%| Source: Alawode and Kaka (2008) Internet Access: An important indicator of the general uptake of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in the Banking Industry relates to the use and availability of Internet. Internet access is a precondition for e-Business, as this is the main channel for e-banking. The general availability of Internet allows for the analysis of overall ICT-readiness in the Banking Industry. The Table shows that 91% of Banks studied in Nigeria have access to the internet within year 2006 and 2008, While 27% and 88% from year 2000 to 2002 and from year 2003 to 2005 respectively. The drastic change that occurred from 27% to 88% from year 2000 to 2002 and from year 2003 to 2005 respectively was as the result of ICT awareness competitive products introduced by some the so called â€Å"new generation banks†. Virtually all other banks also braced up to satisfy their customers and there was general improvement in the services and products of Banking Industry. Use of Internal Network: The application of networks is a vital part of an effective ICT-enabled system, which is especially true in the case of banks with a branch network. Local Area Network (LAN) may also be seen as a basic indicator of the minimum infrastructure required to enable companies to conduct e-banking at a substantial level. Wire-based LAN is currently the dominating technology. The survey shows that 92% banks surveyed use wire-based LAN from year 2006 to 2008. The fact that LAN is a relatively low-tech and easily attainable ICT solution, would to some extent explain the wide coverage of this technology from year 2000 to 2008. Wireless LAN is a relatively new technology in the Banking Industry, and is used to permit bank employees to access network resources from nearly any convenient location. The fact that, wireless LAN is relatively new technology accounts for its low percentage uptake in Banking Industry. Use of SMS alert: Instant notification of transactions made was another innovation brought by ICT through the use of smart phone in conjunction with the internet facility in the Banking Industry. Virtually all banks studied in Nigeria use SMS-Alert, except some of the Micro-finance Banks. It was an ICT infrastructure that recorded no patronage between year 2000 and 2002. Substitution of postal mail: The Banking Industry is currently being renewed in many areas. One of these areas relate to the digitalization of formerly paper-based processes. Electronic mail is increasingly being applied for especially non-legal correspondence like account statements, marketing and sales. More than 80% banks surveyed have substituted electronic mail with old postal mail within year 2006 to 2008. This outcome shows that, efficiency gains from electronic mail are yet to be reaped and indicates that the Industry is a bit fragmented in its uptake of electronic mail as means of communication. ICT security measures: The security issue is of special concern in the Banking Industry, as banking is highly based on trust from its customers. Hence, the risk of hackers, denial of service attacks, technological failures, breach of privacy of customer information, and opportunities for fraud created by the anonymity of the parties to electronic transactions all have to be managed. Depending upon its nature and scope, a breach in security can seriously damage public confidence in the stability of a financial institution or of a nation’s entire banking system. Hence, by introducing the appropriate security measures and putting security concerns at ease, the BI might be able to attract the segments among consumers who previously were not inclined to use e-banking. Furthermore, it is also in the banks’ own interest to improve security, as digital fraud can be costly both in financial losses, and in terms of the damage it does to the brand of the bank in question. Authentication: The common concern among users of e-banking is related to the authentication of users and data connections. The use of digital signatures is not as common as PIN codes or encryption, and reason is the fact that digital signature is relatively new technology. The research even shows that none of the studied banks uses digital signature as the form of authentication, but the up-take in other types of authentication is generally high, up to 85% within the year 2006 and year 2008. Automated Payment System: Devices used in Automated Payment Systems include Automatic Teller Machine (ATM) and Electronic Funds Transfer. ATM still ranked higher in its spread than Electronic Funds Transfer, Low rate of spread of this technology might be due to cost, fear of fraudulent practices and lack of facilities necessary for their operation. But generally speaking, the adoption of Automated Payment System increased dramatically. The table shows the increase from 28% to 87% within the range of 3-years. BENEFITS OF ICT ADOPTION ON BANKING INDUSTRY Many researchers have agreed on some benefits that accrue to ICT adoption and use in the banking industry. These include among others: Enhanced operational efficiency. The use of ICT in the banking industry enhances the operational efficiency of the banks (Madueme, 2009). For example, the use of SMS alert, an ICT infrastructure that recorded no patronage among Nigerian banks between year 2000 and 2002, has presently aided instant notification of transactions. Improved quality of service delivery. Many researchers (Ikechukwu, 2000; Madueme, 2009; Fenuga & Oladejo, 2010) confirm that the application of ICT to banking operations has undoubtedly enhances the quality of customer service delivery in the banks. The uses of ICT-based payment systems such as Automatic Teller Machine (ATM) and Electronic Funds Transfer have actually improved the service delivery of Nigerian banks to its customers. For example, a money transfer transaction that used to take me days to transact has been reduced to a matter of few minutes. For a case in point, last week, I sent money to my brother through UBA bank and before I got to the gate after the transaction, I got a call from him confirming that his account was credited through a message alert. Increase in customer satisfaction. This benefit derives from the one above. According to Fenuga and Oladejo (2010), the adoption and use of ICT in the banking industry has increased customers’ satisfaction due to improved quality of banking services. Referring to the above case of personal experience, it is unequivocal that customer satisfaction has markedly increased as a result of adoption and application of ICT in Nigerian banks. Improved profit performance. Another important benefit of the adoption and use of ICT in the banking industry has to do with improved profit margin. Many studies (Baba & Harker, 1997; Ikechukwu. 2000; Madueme, 2009; and Oladejo & Adereti, 2010) have shown significant and positive correlation between ICT adoption and profitability of organisations. Increase in market shares. When ICT is successfully adopted and applied to banking operations, the overall performance of the banks is improved and this manifest in the corresponding increase in market shares, profitability and other indicators of performance (Oladejo & Adereti, 2010). Enhanced competitive advantage. Researches by Ikechukwu (2000) and Oladejo and Adereti, 2010 have lent credence to the fact that application of ICT to the operations of the banks has boosted their operational efficiency and brought about greater competitive advantage in the industry. EFFECTS OF ICT ON BANKING INDUSTRY Agboola (2001) studied the impact of computer automation on the banking services in Lagos and discovered that Electronic Banking has tremendously improved the services of some banks to their customers in Lagos. The study was however restricted to the commercial nerve centre of Nigeria and concentrated on only six banks. He made a comparative analysis between the old and new generation banks and discovered variation in the rate of adoption of the automated devices. Aragba-Akpore (1998) wrote on the application of information technology in Nigerian banks and pointed out that ICT is becoming the backbone of banks’ services regeneration in Nigeria. He cited the Diamond Integrated Banking Services (DIBS) of Diamond Bank Limited and Electronic Smart Card Account (ESCA) of All States Bank Limited as efforts geared towards creating sophistication in the banking sector. Ovia (2000) discovered that banking in Nigeria has increasingly depended on the deployment of Information Communication Technology and that the ICT budget for banking is by far larger than that of any other industry in Nigeria. He contended that On-line system has facilitated Internet banking in Nigeria as evidenced in some of them launching websites. He found also that banks now offer customers the flexibility of operating an account in any branch irrespective of which branch the account is domiciled. Cashless transactions were made possible in our society of today. The mover of the economy (Banking Industry) is now well positioned to meet-up with the new challenges from the costumers, competitors and even from the nation’s economy with right tool in their hand to reach limitless point of success. The Industry is now growing on daily basis with respect to new innovations that are coming out in the world of technology. Evaluation The banking business in Nigeria today can be assessed as being highly ICT based. The analysis of Alawode and Kaka (2008) ICT infrastructures used in some selected banks between year 2000 to year 2008 as earlier presented in table 2.1 clearly indicate the steady growth of ICT application in Nigerian Banks. Internet access usage, for example, rose from 27% between years 2000-2002 to 91% between years 2006-2008. SMS Alert that was nonexistent between the periods of 2000-2002 rose from nowhere to 98% between years 2006-2008. Similarly, Automated Payment System that was barely 1% between years 2000-2002 rose dramatically to 28% in years 2003-2005 and sky rocketed to 87% between years 2006-2008. The research, which provided the above analysis, is over 5 years old now. Considering the rate of growth reported in the analysis, it is obvious that most of the infrastructures may have reached their full potential. Drawing from above background, one could reasonably accept Akinuli’s (1999) viewpoint when he observed then that it appears Nigerian banks were reaping most of the benefits of revolution in technology, as can be seen by its application to almost all areas of its activities. Adeoti (2005), Ovia (2005) and Osabuohein (2008) in separate remarks affirmed the fact that the technological innovation witnessed in Nigerian banking sector is possible of impacting on the bank’s mode of operations especially in their payment systems. It is indeed unequivocal to state that ICT adoption in Nigerian banks has broadened the scope of banking practices and changed the nature of banking as well as the competitive environment in which they operate. Such new practices have led to the development of a truly global, seamless and Internet enabled 24-hour business of banking. In summary, the adoption of ICT in Nigerian banks can be said to be a success though not without some challenges. Challenges The automation of banking operations is really posing challenges to the Consumers, the banks themselves and Regulatory/Supervisory authorities in Nigeria. Among the issues concerned are: Infrastructural deficiencies: It is obvious that the use of ICT in the banking industry require minimum level or basic infrastructure such as electricity, telecommunication and motorable roads. Yet all these remain great challenges even as they feature as manifestos in all political campaigns. Ineffectiveness of telecommunication service providers and epileptic supply of electricity have often times cost people to spend days suffering to recover trapped cards in ATMs. For example, there was a day my friend’s card got trapped for only God knows the reason, but on a Saturday when the banks staff could not be accessed to recover neither the card nor alternatively withdraws money at UBA Aliade road branch. He had to wait until Monday morning to recover his card. Whatever his purpose for wanting to access money must have been defeated. Consumer Awareness and capacity: A major challenge of ICT banking to many illiterate and semi-literate population of the country who reside in rural areas is lack of awareness of how the systems work and their inability to access the services which mostly exist in cities and high populated work areas or institutions. Access to ATM and GSM Telephones: There are inadequate banking facilities to cover for the growing population of Nigerians who can access the services. Many households are unable to afford terminals and all accessories required for operating in today’s banking system. The recent Federal government’s 60 billion naira telephone project for 10 million farmers (Olatunji, 2013) is one exemplification that majority of Nigerians are too poor to afford a telephone, a necessary accessory for accessing ICT banking services. Consumer Protection: Another major challenge of adoption of ICT is the absence of statutory or regulatory provisions to protect the consumer of the products/services. Fraud: So much fraud has been reported within and outside banks due to ICT adoption. The high exposure of the system to fraudsters, hackers and other criminally minded persons who could access, retrieve and utilize confidential information from the system if security measures are weak; to checkmate unauthorized intrusion is another challenge to the authorities. Systems Operational Risks: Bank IT rests on computers and telecommunications which could be susceptible to system failure, internal manipulations and inconsistent regulatory policies (Etim, 2000). Conclusion Concerns about ICT role in attaining effectiveness, efficiency and productivity were raised in the late 1980s. Since then a large number of studies have emerged both at the industry and firm level that have substantially improved our understanding of the relationship between ICT and firm performance. This paper has clearly defined what ICT is and presented a review of relevant literature to aid understanding of the historical antecedents or reforms that necessitated its adoption in Nigerian banks by assessing the benefits and effects, and the journey so far. The paper further evaluated the success of ICT adoption as well as addresses the challenges it has posed to banks, consumers of services and supervising authorities. The paper concludes that the adoption of ICT has influenced the content and quality of banking operations positively. From all indications, ICT presents great potential for business process reengineering of Nigerian Banks. 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