Personal Philosophy of Nursing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Personal Philosophy of Nursing - Essay Example Indeed, such image is what most people hold henceforth, no disagreeable reactions should be manifested in the presence of patients even though a nurse may be in trouble or is not feeling well. This makes it important for nurses to have healthy environments and strong support systems to enable them to accomplish their duties despite the challenges they go through in their personal lives. Being caring and patient are already difficult. However, having such attributes is not enough for a person to become a nurse. Nurses should have enough knowledge about various diseases and their managements that is why a person’s educational background is very important. Moreover he should also be well-trained in the matter. When a nurse is knowledgeable and well-trained, he will be able to perform his responsibilities efficiently but effectively. In addition, a nurse should also have effective communication skills. Since nurses deal with different people from different familial and cultural backgrounds, they should be able to express their thoughts well. Moreover, it is also essential that they understand what people convey through words and body language because it is a part of their job to make initial assessments of the patients and relay the information to physicians. When this is not well communicated, patients may not be given necessary

The outbreak of the cold war between the years of 1945-49 Essay Example for Free

The outbreak of the cold war between the years of 1945-49 Essay Question: Using sources A,B,C,D,E and F your own knowledge, who do you think was to blame for the outbreak of the cold war between the years of 1945-49? There is numerous numbers of arguments that blame the Russians for the Cold war this was by people with clear orthodox views. This is shown in sources A, B, C and D. But however many revisionists have also argued that USA was at fault, this can be seen in source E. However post revisionist argues that cold war was both Russias and the USAs fault this can be seen in source F. Source A is from a historian who talks about the need for American self interest. The importance of the American economy. I think that this source shows that Americas was not at fault for the Cold war and that they were only trying to stabilise their economy and avoid another depression. The source is clearly written by a person with orthodox views as it also say that post-war period was a perfect way of America spreading its idea of peace and prosperity. This source I feel clearly shows that Russia was to blame as it shows that America was only interested in self interest. Furthermore Source B highlights the point the point that Russia was to blame for the cold war this is because source B is a picture of a traditional Russian Bear smothering the world and crawling all over it. This shows that the Russians intended to spread their word of communism all over the world. The source is clearly drawn by a person with orthodox views and who believes that Russia was trying to bring the whole world under its sphere of influence. This again shows that Russia was to blame for the cold war. In addition Source D which was written by Arthur Schlesinger who was a key orthodox writer? Source D shows that after the war Stalin had a lingering hunger for world domination which was driven by his paranoia and also says that the cold war was a response by America which was trying to liberate the communist aggression. This clearly shows that the Russia was to blame for the Cold war this is because of when Schlesinger stated that Stalin wanted world domination this shows that America only countered to stop the world from falling into the hands of Stalin. Furthermore in Source C it firstly says that America provoked Russia but however it quickly moves to establish the point that the USA was responding to a range of dangers from the Soviets for e.g. the Iron Curtain which Churchill spoke about. Source C is also a clear orthodox view as it shows that USA only reacted to Russia initial actions. It also say that the USAs reaction was also a response to the results of the Second World War. Furthermore other facts that can be said that shows that Russia started the Cold war was the fact of its Salami Tactics and how it brought down many eastern European countries also the Czechoslovakian coup and the infamous death of Czech Patriot Jan Masuryk and also The Berlin Blockade. However Source E contradicts the fact that Russia was at fault for the Cold war this source shows that the Soviets only desired security in the form of friendly states and not in the form of invasion. But however instead of Russia paranoia the Americans paranoia that the soviets were planning to take over the world provoked them in taking an aggressive get tough with Russia policy. This is a revisionist view as it points the blame to the USA for the cold war. Furthermore during 1945-49 there was many things in which the Americans done to provoke the Russians such as in the infamous Iron curtain speech by Churchill also the Kennan Long telegram these are signs that America had started the Cold war because they started to provoke Russia first. However Source F contradicts both the Orthodox and the Revisionist view as its is a picture which shows that the Americans and the Russians trying to split the world in half. This post revisionist picture indicates that may be both the superpowers were at fault because they both seemed to want to bring counties into its sphere of influence the post revisionist view is what most neutral see as the correct view this is because if you weigh up all the actions between 1945-49 such as The Marshall plan, Truman doctrine and Berlin airlift vs. the Salami Tactics, Soviet pressure on Iran and the Berlin blockade then you can see that they just provoked each other. In conclusion I feel that the orthodox and revisionist view both highlight key points and show faults of the other sides but I feel that the post revisionist is the most accurate as it shows that both camps were at fault for the Cold war. This is because both the USA and the Russians had done things to accredit them with the blame of the cold war. Finally I believe that the cold war was a bilateral thing and only lasted so long because of both of the camps lack of negotiation.

Professional Wrestling Proposal :: essays papers

Professional Wrestling Proposal Part I:Interest and Motivation The topic I have chosen to write about is the world of professional wrestling. There are many reasons as to why this subject has interested me. One major reason is that I grew up watching pro-wrestling on television. As a child, I was fascinated with the spectacle of the wrestling matches and wondered at the wrestlers themselves. At that age, I took wrestling for what it was. It was a full-contact gladiator sport filled with exaggerated and extravagant wrestlers, cocky commentators, and interesting "one-of-a kind" personalities which added up to a high entertainment value. As I got older and more aware of the sport, I did not just see it as another part of sports entertainment but also as a multi-million dollar business which catered to a wide audience. I began to wonder what was it that made this popular genere work and how it was able to attract the crowds of people, young and old. I also wanted to know the history of pro-wrestling. How did it get started and how it became a part of the American culture? As a fan for several of my childhood years, I now wanted to know the real deal behind wrestling. The professional wrestling sport is a very secretive business. It is on a "what you see is what you get" basis. Many of the fans take the sport for face value and enjoy it for what it is, even if many of them are uninformed on the inside workings of it all. Although many books have been published about wrestling, a high number of them are as cryptic and secretive as the business itself. That is why I am motivated to go into an in-depth research to answer and unravel the questions of the professional wrestling world.  Professional Wrestling. Part II: Knowledge and Preconceptions. After being exposed to professional wrestling for quite sometime, I became somewhat knowledgeable of the sport. I became familiar with most of the wrestling superstars it produced, notably Hulk Hogan which many consider the icon of pro- wrestling. I was also mindful of the wrestling maneuvers and techniques that were used. Although I knew all this, it was all common knowledge. Through personal experience, the people I know who are fans of the sport only know this basic ideology of its premise. I feel that one major reason for the scarce information on pro- wrestling is due to the lack of media coverage. Wrestling is infamous for blurring the lines between true sport and pure entertainment. Many major news, magazines, and articles rarely cover the wrestling world because of

Theories of Early Learning

This paper consists of early theories of learning and development. It starts out with the basics of learning and development and ends with the theories of a few scientists. The first theory is ACT, introduced by John Anderson. ACT is an acronym for Adaptive Character of Thought. The second theory is The Elaboration Theory, introduced by Charles Reigeluth. Jean Piaget’s Genetic Epistemology appears in this paper, along with the Gestalt Theory, introduced by Max Wertheimer. B. F Skinner’s well known Operant Conditioning is covered. Lastly, but not least, is Albert Bandura’s Social Learning Theory. All of these theories are different, and shows how each individual scientist believes the children in their community learned and developed. Theories of Early Learning People may learn in many different ways. Many scientists have their own thoughts of how children learn, develop, and perceive the world around them. There are a few basic principles to learning that most people and scientists would agree on, though. The first is that a person can learn through the context of what he or she is reading or experiencing (Driscoll, 2006). When a person reads a sentence by itself, it may not make as much sense as it would if it had other sentences around it or if the person knew background information. People will try to make sense of such sentences with other experiences in their lives or understandings they have made about something else that could pertain to the sentence they just read. The conclusions they come up with could be completely different from the true meaning of the sentence. People need other information to make sense of what they are reading and learn what they should be learning. The second principle is that people learn by being active in what they are learning. If a person tells a child something, the child will most likely forget it. If a person shows a child something, the child is more likely to remember it. If a person involves a child, however, the child will understand it (Driscoll, 2006). The third principle is that people learn by working in groups. It tends to be easier for a child to work through something if that child has someone else’s perspective. Different strengths can be brought to the activity because each child has a different point of view and a different thought about what is happening with the activity. The fourth and final principle is that learning is reflective. Students do better the second time a situation is revealed to them if they get feedback from the first time they encountered the situation. If students know they spelled a word wrong on a spelling test, they most likely will not repeat the same mistake (Driscoll, 2006). Scientists have been studying the way they believe children and students learn. A scientist named John Anderson introduced ACT (Kearsley, 2011). ACT suggests that learning comes from three types of memory. The declarative memory stores information that is factual and what the child associated with that information. The procedural memory reminds children of how they behaved to the conditions or actions that they have stored in the declarative memory. The child’s mind thinks that if something happens, there is something specific to be done because of what happened. The working memory is the memory that the child uses every day. In this learning theory, children are generalized, making them use the responses in their procedural memory in other events or experiences. The responses are discriminated, to make them more specialized. The responses are later strengthened, to make it easier for the child to recall them. Research shows that facts are retrieved more easily and quickly if the responses are repeated many times (Cooper, 2009). A scientist known as Charles Reigeluth introduced The Elaboration Theory (Kearsley, 2011). The Elaboration Theory suggests that a child most easily learns a subject if the subject is broken down into smaller subjects that are less complex. This theory suggests that a person must teach a child to add before the child can be taught to multiply because the child must understand that multiplication is adding numerous times. The Elaboration Theory is a step-by-step process (University of South Alabama, 2009). Jean Piaget is a scientist who introduced Genetic Epistemology (Kearsley, 2011). Genetic Epistemology suggests that an infant has specific skills, known as schemas, which guide the child through the child’s environment. An example of a schema is that children know how to pick up their rattle and stick it to their mouth. When a child finds a parent’s watch, that child will transfer the schema to the new object. This is assimilation. When the child finds something too large to fit inside the child’s mouth it will develop a new schema. This is called accommodation. All these actions put together signify adaptation. When a child can adapt to its environment, it is easier for the child to understand it (Boeree, 2006). The next theory is the Gestalt Theory, introduced by Max Wertheimer (Kearsley, 2011). The Gestalt Theory revolves around shapes, patterns, and whole pictures. Wertheimer believed that for people to learn, they must use their brain intensely. He made pictures that were actually two pictures meshed into one. It made the brain of the person look more deeply into the picture to find each picture inside. These activities made it easier for children to problem solve in school (Atherton, 2010). B. F. Skinner introduced Operant Conditioning (Kearsley, 2011). Skinner believed that everything a person learned was from experience. Skinner thought that he could change the way a baby reacted to a rat, and it worked. He showed the baby a rat. The baby played with the rat and did not fear it. When Skinner gave the baby the rat a second time, he produced a loud noise that startled the baby. When Skinner showed the baby the rat once more, the baby was scared of it because the baby had associated the rat with the noise that startled him (Levine, 1999). Albert Bandura proposed the Social Learning Theory (Kearsley, 2011). Bandura thought children learned by observing, imitating, and modeling what other children do. He tested his theory by placing a child in a room alone, with toys and games in the room. He told the child he could play with anything that was in there. When he left the child did not move. Later he sent another child in the room. That child began to play with the toys and the games. When the second child left, the first child began to play with the toys. The first child observed the second, and then imitated his actions (Learning Theories, 2008). Many people have different ideas and perspectives about how people learn, develop, and behave. Everyone is involved with other people. Everyone spends time observing other people. People develop their own thoughts as to why the human race acts the way it does. All these theories are common because they all suggest that people’s environment, peers, and resources are the main contributions to how they learn and understand what is going on around them. References http://webspace.ship.edu/cgboer/piaget.html http://www.ericdigests.org/2003-3/learn.htmSocial Learning Theory (Bandura)

The Flight English short story

The Flight â€Å"This is gonna be so cool† Ryan said, staring at the 12inch model aircraft his twin sister, Beth got him for his Christmas. â€Å"Come on Ryan, you've never stopped staring at that since I got you it and you still haven't even said thank you† Beth said. â€Å"Oh yeah,† he grinned â€Å"thanks.† Ryan was 17, well built and his jet-black hair was nearly always spiked up with gel. Beth was 17 and looked exactly like Ryan apart from the obvious fact that he was a boy, probably what you would expect if you had a twin. â€Å"When's Jack coming?† Beth asked. Jack Forrest was Ryan and Beth's best friend from school and they had been friends ever since they had started school. â€Å"He said he'd b here at 10pm, Ryan said, looking at his watch. â€Å"its ten-to ten now sp we better put these suitcases in the car, that way we can head to the airport as soon as Jack comes.† They wheeled the cases out the door and put them into the boot of the car. â€Å"I still can't believe we won those tickets to Canada on the new 5 star luxury plane.† Ryan said as he lifted his suitcase and positioned it on top of Beth's massive holdall, â€Å"it's always been a dream on mine to fly in one of those planes, and it even has a restaurant!† Just as Ryan said that, Jacks taxi pulled up and he got out of the back with a giant suitcase and a rucksack. â€Å"Hey Ryan,† he grinned, â€Å"Hey Beth!† â€Å"The flight's gonna leave with out us if we don't get to the airport by eleven so we better get a move on, its already five past ten,† Beth said, pointing to the car. They all piled into the car and Ryan pulled out of the driveway. It took about half an hour to get to the airport and about an hour to go through the check-in and passport control, so when they got to the welcome lounge they all headed straight to the gate. â€Å"Here we go† Beth smiled as they reached gate 22, â€Å"Our plane's gonna be boarding in a minute so I'm gonna quickly get a pack of smarties from that vending machine.† Just as a packet of smarties dropped out of the vending machine, a woman's voice came up on the tannoy, â€Å"Flight 2780 is now boarding from gate 22† They all went up the steps and boarded the huge plane. It had four floors, a bar, restaurant, widescreen TV and loads more extras. â€Å"Whoa,† Ryan gasped as he took his first step into the newly built luxury jet, â€Å"This is amazing!† There was fancy lighting, a bar in the middle of the 1st floor, a huge red carpet stretching the whole length of the plane, and recliner seats. â€Å"This is nothing I ever imagined,† Jack joined in with the dazed expressions on both Ryan and Beth's faces. They all found their seats and buckled up their seatbelts. * Once the plane levelled off in the air all of the seatbelt signs went of. â€Å"I'm gonna go and get a coke from the bar,† Ryan said, â€Å"you two coming?† â€Å"Ok,† Beth and Jack said in unison and they all headed towards the bar. Just as they were about to sit down a guy came barging through and knocked Jack over. He was middle-aged and was bald. He was the type of guy that you didn't want to mess with. â€Å"Watch it!† Jack shouted back at him but he didn't even turn around to look at him again, he just kept walking purposefully. Jack was about to shout back at him â€Å"Are you gonna say sorry or what?† but he changed his mind when he saw a vague outline of something bulging from his trousers – a gun – â€Å"Oh my God† Jack said, â€Å"Ryan, Beth, that guys got a gun†. They looked round and saw it too. â€Å"We'll have to do something† Ryan decided. â€Å"What if he hijacks the plane?† The three kids all came to a decision to follow him. If they stopped and told a stewardess about the gun, it would cause panic and they would lose him. They walked quickly and followed the mysterious man. The three kids all went to karate and judo classes when they were about 10 so they all knew how to defend themselves. The guy led them down to the basement of the aircraft, three floors down from were their seats were. He opened a hatch, which was concealed by a bin and stepped down some stairs into the very bottom of the aircraft. Here there were all sorts of controls like lighting, radiators, fridge temperatures, fuel, and all sorts of controls for everything. Ryan, Jack and Beth all sneaked down the ladder and hid behind a huge metal board. The man went of to the other side of the room and looked closely at a set of labelled toggles and controls. He flicked a switch and suddenly the lights went out. â€Å"Whets happening† Beth whispered, with a touch of panic in her voice. â€Å"I haven't a clue but it's definitely something serious if he's turning the lights out, it could be the fuel next.† â€Å"What if he's going too hijack the plane?† Beth asked. â€Å"We cant take that risk, we all know how to take him down and its one against three so I bet we will be better off than him when its over† Jack said. They sneaked behind another metal divider but Beth tripped up and fell over, giving the man a warning and he reached for his gun. Before he could reach it, Jack and Ryan lunged forwards and kicked him to the ground. Beth had twisted her ankle from the fall but still managed to haul herself up and grab the man's gun. â€Å"What are you doing here?† Beth asked, pointing the man's own gun at him. â€Å"Do you seriously think I'm gonna tell you?† The man replied, unable to get away from Jack and Ryan's powerful hold. She was about to boot him, but she heard the sound of another man in the doorway and looked around to see him standing with a gun pointing towards them. â€Å"Let him up† he ordered, still pointing the nozzle of the gun at them. Ryan and Jack released their grip on him and he stood up. They both looked around but they realized that Beth was missing. Just as the man got up she launched herself at the guy in the doorway. He was caught by surprise and he crashed to the ground, sending his gun sliding across the floor. â€Å"Don't move† She said to the other man who was about to make a gab for it. Ryan and Jack ran forwards and grabbed it before he got the chance. â€Å"I'll go up and tell someone† Jack said, â€Å"You two keep them on the ground. It wasn't long before the whole crew were in the basement, including the captain. It turned out that the captain was an old enemy of the two hijackers and they were going to crash the plane and parachute out before it hit the ground. â€Å"Well done† the captain said as he shook Ryan, Beth and Jack's hands. â€Å"You should have seen the faced of everyone when the lights went out,† one of the crew members said, â€Å"Some people said they were going to die!† * Ryan, Beth and Jack all wore their bravery medals and the flight was still showing on the news. â€Å"This has been the best holiday ever† Beth grinned, â€Å"The snow here in Canada is great!† The all got on a taxi to take them to the airport. â€Å"To the airport please† Ryan said to the taxi driver. â€Å"Ok he said and turned around to give them an evil grin. It was the man who had tried to crash the plane . . .

History of Hate Crime Essays

History of Hate Crime Essays History of Hate Crime Essay History of Hate Crime Essay his father Louis Till and the date Emmett Till was born. In the sasss this case was seen as disgusting and the white officials pledged to have all men involved punished. His mother Miami Bradley would bring it to the nations attention how bad her son was beaten and wanted every to see how bad this really was. Have you ever sent a loved son on vacation and had him returned to you in a pine box, so horribly battered and water-logged that someone needs to tell you this sickening sight is your son. She would later get an open casket for her son, and many people wanted the state of Mississippi to file charges against the two men involved. We cannot afford the luxury of self-pity. Our top priority now is to get on with the building process. My personal peace has come through helping boys and girls reach beyond the ordinary and strive for the extraordinary (Novice). We must teach our children to weather the hurricanes of life, pick up the pieces, and rebuild. We must impress upon our children that even when troubles rise to seven-point- one on lifes Richter scale, they must be anchored so deeply that, though they sway, they will not topple-Miami Bradley (Emmett Tills Mother) When the case was brought to court they asked for witnesses to stand up against the white men involved. Some of the best defense lawyers were involved in this case. Emmett Tills uncle stood up in trail against the men saying they had kidnapped Till sometime late in the night. Even with a case this horrifying racial segregation stood stronger than ever (Novice). The Jury was made up of all white members. One of the most famous sayings from this case was the closing statement from Defense Attorney John C. Whiten inform fathers will turn over in their graves if [Mila and Bryant are found guilty] and Im sure that every last Anglo-Saxon one of you has the courage to free these men in the face of hat [outside] pressure. With that in mind the Jurors took a recess to discuss the outcome of the case and the men were found not guilty. The Jury foreman would later say that the prosecutors could not identify the body of the young boy so odometer teen couldnt prove It was actually Emmett Nonviolence Is a powerful Ana just weapon. It is a weapon unique in history, which cuts without wounding and ennobles the man who wields it. It is a sword that heals. -Martin Luther King A year later Mila and Bryant would admit to the murder of Emmett Till since the law of double Jeopardy they couldnt be tried again. In 2004 they dug the grave site up and didnt an autopsy on the young boy and would later prove that he was actually Emmett Till. The two men who actually committed would actually succumb to cancer (Multiform). Roy Bryant lived in fear for the rest of his life that he would have to serve time but ended up dying before he had too. Its a sad day in history to know that no one served time for this senseless crime. The African-American community was so angered and this triggered the means for the civil rights movement which had already been taking place. The last hate crime I have brought to attention was the ruder of Matthew Sheppard. On the night of October 6, 1998, Matthew Sheppard went to a bar for a few drinks. At this bar he met two men Aaron McKinney and Russell Henderson both 21 at the time. The two young men intended to rob Sheppard but instead brought him to a location Just outside Laramie, Wyoming. They tied Sheppard to a fence posted and pistol whipped him so bad he was put in a coma. He was found about 18 hours later, and was spotted by a cyclist that was riding around the area. He went sent to the hospital but was not able to survive the incident. Sheppard ended up dying about 6 days later. The two men involved McKinney and Henderson were put under arrest after police discovered they had Sheppard wallet and shoes in their truck. They case made national news not only because of the horrifying murder that was committed but Sheppard was a homosexual. They noticed this when Sheppard had arrived at the bar earlier. Mckinney and Henderson would act liked they were into the man and would lure him into riding back home with them. That is exactly what they did, but instead of dropping him off they brought him to a remote area and beat him with the butt of the pistol. The two men were taking to trial. Henderson agreed to cooperate with the authorities and agreed to testify against McKinney. Henderson wouldnt end up getting the death penalty but would get 2 life sentences without parole. Mckinney would have received the death penalty but his lawyers worked it out and he is serving two life sentences without the possibility of parole. The arc of American history almost inevitably moves toward freedom. Whether its Lincoln and the Emancipation Proclamation, the expansion of womens rights or, now, gay rights, I think there is an almost-inevitable march toward greater civil liberties. -James McGreevy Henderson and McKinney were not charged with a hate crime because there was no statue in Wyoming that woul d fall under sexual orientation as a hate crime. This brought rage to country where we wanted people to be equal and stop the over hate (Multiform). Wyoming would later raise a new law trying to pass the hate crime of someone of a different sexually orientation. In Wyoming that would later fail when it came to house. Well later that year the federal government took into their hands to pass a new bi-law adding to the hate crime law. This would include: (1) the rime was committed because of the actual or perceived race, color, religion, national origin of any person or (2) the crime was committed because of the actual or perceived religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or TTY AT any person Ana ten crime affected Interstate or Torrent commerce or occurred within federal special maritime and territorial Jurisdiction. As you read this law they added the gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability of any person. This new law would be called the Matthew Sheppard and James Byrd Jar, Hate Crimes Prevention Act. James Byrd was brutally murdered in a hate crime that took place in 1998 where he was dragged behind the truck of three men. It was a horrific hate crime that took place all because they didnt li ke his skin color. L think that theres no doubt that as I see friends, families, children of gay couples who are thriving, you know, that has an impact on how I think about these issues. -Barack Obama All through the evolution of life there has been some hate crime that has took place. Through the years laws have toughened and in 2009 the law even expanded further. Although hate crimes Just got really put into the prospective in the sasss we eave been moving forward since then. Hate crime statistic have Just recently started being recorded (Bias). The reason behind this paper was to show you the progression of hate crimes. People need to be aware of hate crimes that still take place; they are just rarely reported on a national level. There is no reason for the world to still have ignorance toward another race of someone. Californians Section 190. 2, was passed in 1978 and provided for penalty enhancement in cases where murder was motivated by prejudice against four protected status categories: race, religion, color, and national origin. As stated before the new (1) the crime was committed because of the actual or perceived race, color, religion, national origin of any person or (2) the crime was committed because of the actual or perceived religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability of any person and the crime affected interstate or foreign commerce or occurred within federal special maritime and territorial Jurisdiction. Most of all, were working to increase awareness of these crimes by establishing liaisons with civic and religious leaders and credible community organizations.

New Product! Reedsy Launches New Book Marketing Tool

New Product! Reedsy Launches New Book Marketing Tool Big Announcement! We've Launched a New Book Marketing Tool For over four years, the team at Reedsy has worked with thousands of self-published authors helping them develop their craft and publish better books with the help of our professional editors, designers, and book marketers. And in that time, we’ve noticed one thing popping up again and again: As an indie author, it’s really hard to find readers.When you’ve spent ages perfecting your book, polishing the manuscript and nailing the cover design, it going to be a total bummer if you put it out into the world and only hear the sound of crickets (notably, the least literate of insects).With this challenge in mind, we’re really excited to announce the launch of Reedsy Discovery 🎉 #Selfpub authors! Check out Reedsy's new book marketing platform! What is Reedsy Discovery?Designed with indie authors in mind, Reedsy Discovery is a platform that gives you direct exposure to hundreds of reviewers and thousands of readers. With the help of our community and machine-learning algorithms, Reedsy Discovery will let you home in on eager readers who would otherwise have no way of finding out about your awesome mystery novel, fantasy epic, memoir, or non-fiction masterpiece. In short, it’s all about connecting your book with the right people. Or, if you want another comparison: it’s like Goodreads for indie authors (only it looks a lot better).Throwing humility to the wind, our aim is to make Reedsy Discovery the go-to platform for any author looking to create momentum for their launch.So how does it work?When you sign up to Discovery, your book will be presented to a pool of experienced and relevant reviewers that have been hand-selected by the team at Reedsy. For maximum suitability, they get to choose what they review - so make sure that your title, synopsis, and cover catches their eye!Then, on the launch date of your choice (which, we’re imagining might coincide with your publishing date) your book will be promoted to thousands of registered readers who can then:Browse your sample chapter 👀Comment on it 💠¬Lovingly admire your cover design 😠Read your review (if you have one) 🠤“Upvote the book 👠And purchase it through your chosen online retailers 💠¸ Big announcement! You can now find over 100 reviewers for indie books at Reedsy Discovery! At launch, authors will pay $50 for exposure on Reedsy Discovery. To stand the best chance of attracting the right reviewer, we’ve created a guide to launching on Reedsy Discovery which includes our best submission tips.So if you’re a self-publishing author, why not head down to Reedsy Discovery and find out how we can help you get the reviews and readers that your book launch deserves!Want to help out your ol’ buddies at Reedsy? Click here and upvote Reedsy Discovery at Product Hunt. Any help us get the word out about this service - which will, in turn, help you get more eyes on your next book.

Biography of Jay Gould, Notorious Robber Baron

Biography of Jay Gould, Notorious Robber Baron Jay Gould (born Jason  Gould; May 27, 1836–December 2, 1892) was a businessman who came to personify the robber baron in the late 19th century. Over the course of his career, Gould made and lost several fortunes as a railroad executive, financier, and speculator. Gould had a reputation for ruthless business tactics, many of which would be illegal today,  and during his lifetime he was often thought to be the most despised man in the nation. Fast Facts: Jay Gould Known For:  Jay Gould was known as an unscrupulous robber baron in the late 19th century.Also Known As:  Jason  GouldBorn:  May 27, 1836 in Roxbury, New YorkParents: Mary More and John Burr Gould  Died:  December 2, 1892 in New York, New YorkEducation: Local schools, Hobart Academy, self-taught in surveying and mathematicsPublished Works:  History of Delaware County, and Border Wars of New YorkSpouse(s): Helen Day MillerChildren: George Jay Gould I, Edwin Gould, Sr., Helen Gould, Howard, Gould, Anna Gould, Frank Jay GouldNotable Quote: My idea is, that if capital and labor are left alone they will mutually regulate each other. Early Life Jayson â€Å"Jay† Gould was born into a farming family in Roxbury, New York, on May 27, 1836. He attended a local school and learned basic subjects. He was self-taught in surveying and in his late teens he was employed making maps of counties in New York State. He also worked for a time in a blacksmith shop before becoming involved in a leather tanning business in northern Pennsylvania. Wall Street Gould moved to New York City in the 1850s and began learning the ways of Wall Street. The stock market was largely unregulated at the time, and Gould became adept at manipulating stocks. Gould was ruthless at using techniques such as cornering a stock, by which he could drive prices up and ruin speculators who were â€Å"short† on the stock, betting the price would go down. It was widely believed that Gould would bribe politicians and judges and was thereby able to skirt whatever laws might have curtailed his unethical practices. A story that circulated in Goulds time about his early career was that he led his partner in the leather business, Charles Leupp, into reckless stock transactions. Goulds unscrupulous activities led to Leupps financial ruin, and he killed himself in his mansion on Madison Avenue in New York City. The Erie War In 1867 Gould obtained a position on the board of the Erie Railroad and began working with Daniel Drew, who had been manipulating stocks on Wall Street for decades. Drew controlled the railroad, along with a younger associate, the flamboyant Jim Fisk. Gould and Fisk were nearly opposite in character, but they became friends and partners. Fisk was prone to attracting attention with very public stunts. And while Gould genuinely seemed to like Fisk, historians speculate that Gould saw value in having a partner who drew attention away from him. With scheming led by Gould, the men became involved in a war for control of the Erie Railroad with the richest man in America, Cornelius Vanderbilt. The Erie War played out as a bizarre spectacle of business intrigue and public drama. At one point, Gould, Fisk, and Drew fled to a hotel in New Jersey to be beyond the reach of the New York legal authorities. As Fisk put on a public show, giving lively interviews to the press, Gould arranged to bribe politicians in Albany, New York, the state capital. The struggle for control of the railroad finally reached a confusing end, as Gould and Fisk met with Vanderbilt and worked out an agreement. Ultimately the railroad fell into the hands of Gould, though he was happy to let Fisk, dubbed the â€Å"Prince of Erie,† be its public face. The Gold Corner In the late 1860s, Gould noticed some quirks in the way the gold market fluctuated, and he devised a scheme to corner gold. The intricate scheme would allow Gould essentially to control the gold supply in America, which would mean he could influence the entire national economy. Gould’s plot could only work if the federal government chose not to sell gold reserves while Gould and his cronies were working to drive up the price. To sideline the Treasury Department, Gould  bribed officials in the federal government, including a relative of President Ulysses S. Grant. The plan to corner gold went into effect in September 1869. On a day that would become known as â€Å"Black Friday,† September 24, 1869, the price of gold began to rise and a panic ensued on Wall Street. By midday, Gould’s plan unraveled as the federal government began to sell gold on  the market, driving down the price. Though Gould and his partner Fisk had caused a major disruption to the economy, and a number of speculators were ruined, the two men still walked away with a profit estimated in the millions of dollars. There were investigations into what had unfolded, but Gould had carefully covered his tracks. He was not prosecuted for violating any laws. The Black Friday gold panic made Gould more wealthy and more famous, though throughout this episode he generally tried to avoid publicity. As ever, he preferred that his gregarious partner, Jim Fisk, deal with the press. Gould and the Railroads Gould and Fisk ran the Erie Railroad until 1872, when Fisk, whose private life had become the subject of countless newspaper headlines, was murdered in a Manhattan hotel. As Fisk lay dying, Gould rushed to his side, as did another friend, William M. â€Å"Boss† Tweed, the leader of Tammany Hall, New York’s infamous political machine. Following the death of Fisk, Gould was ousted as head of the Erie Railroad. But he remained active in the railroad business, buying and selling vast amounts of railroad stock. In the 1870s, Gould bought up various railroads during a time when a financial panic drove down prices. He understood that railroads needed to expand in the West and that demand for reliable transportation across great distances would outlive any financial instabilities. As the American economy improved by the end of the decade, he sold much of his stock, amassing a fortune. When the prices of stocks dropped again, he began acquiring railroads again. In a familiar pattern, it seemed that no matter how the economy performed, Gould wound up on the winning side. More Questionable Associations In the 1880s, Gould became involved in transportation in New York City, operating an elevated railroad in Manhattan. He also bought the American Union Telegraph company, which he merged with Western Union. By the late 1880s, Gould dominated much of the transportation and communication infrastructure of the United States. In one shady episode, Gould became involved with businessman Cyrus Field, who decades earlier had masterminded the creation of the transatlantic telegraph cable. It was believed that Gould led Field into investment schemes that proved ruinous. Field lost his fortune, and Gould, as ever, seemed to profit. Gould also became known as an associate of New York City police detective Thomas Byrnes. It eventually came to light that Byrnes, though he always worked on a modest public salary, was quite wealthy and had considerable holdings in Manhattan real estate. Byrnes explained that for years his friend Jay Gould had given him stock tips. It was widely suspected that Gould had been giving Byrnes inside information on upcoming stock deals as bribes. As with so many other incidents and relations, rumors swirled around Gould, but nothing was ever proven in court. Marriage and Home Life Gould was married in 1863, and he and his wife had six children. His personal life was relatively quiet. As he prospered, he lived in a mansion on New York City’s Fifth Avenue but seemed uninterested in flaunting his wealth. His great hobby was raising orchids in a greenhouse attached to his mansion. Death When Gould died of tuberculosis, on December 2, 1892, his death was front-page news. The newspapers ran lengthy accounts of his career and noted that his wealth was probably close to $100 million. The lengthy front-page obituary in Joseph Pulitzers New York Evening World indicated the essential conflict of Goulds life. The newspaper referred to Jay Goulds Wonderful Career in a headline. But it also recounted the old scandal of how he had destroyed the life of his early business partner Charles Leupp. Legacy Gould has generally been depicted as a dark force in American life, a stock manipulator whose methods would not be allowed in today’s world of securities regulation. A perfect villain in his time, he was portrayed in political cartoons drawn by artists such as Thomas Nast as running with bags of money in his hands. History’s verdict on Gould has been no kinder than the newspapers of his own era. However, some historians claim that he was unfairly portrayed as being more villainous than he really was. Other historians argue that his business activities did, in reality, perform useful functions, such as greatly improving railroad service in the West. Sources Geisst, Charles R.  Monopolies in America: Empire Builders and Their Enemies, from Jay Gould to Bill Gates.  Oxford University Press, 2000.â€Å"Jay Gould: Financier in the Age of Robber Barons.†Ã‚  Jay Gould: Financier in the Age of Robber Barons, www.u-s-history.com/pages/h866.html.Hoyt, Edwin P.  The Goulds: A Social History. Weybright and Talley, 1969.Klein, Maury.  The Life and Legend of Jay Gould.  Baltimore, Johns Hopkins  University Press, 1986.

'Power Point Project of ENGINEERING CLASS Essay

'Power Point Project of ENGINEERING CLASS - Essay Example As I look back on the memorable notes of that event, I noticed how some points expressed the excitement I felt particularly towards the last part of the game. Watching the replay of the 10th round’s highlight. Even the commentator bellowed â€Å"boom!† on one solid hit by P. Referee checked T’s wounds at 1:40 into the game but he did not stop the fight. Bell signals the end of round 11 and the crowd is going crazy. Final round! My hands are sweaty from excitement! P was sure easing off on T. T is really bleeding bad and no one is stopping the game! No one needs any tabulation of points. Everybody knows who is the winner! P!!! Replay of highlights. T needs hospitalization..FAST! According to Adler, momentum is a process involving style, effort, speed, intensity, and success (14). As I look back on that day, I realized some of these processes happened not only in the game itself, but also to me personally, right there on the chair as I sit and watch. The match star ted with me thinking it will be an uneventful first part of the fight, but one forceful jab sent me sitting up straight on the chair and the crowd in the arena howling their first in-game cheers. It happened so quickly that all I hear was the screaming crowd and the commentators trying to raise their voices above the noise. The scene kept on, with P throwing several jabs, yet landing a few. Every time T starts to back-up and stalk P around the ring, P throws a couple of his famous three-punch combination. The rise of the momentum for P happened so fast it literally made my heartbeat race with excitement. The attacks, back steps, and forward lunges were all done with swift poise and exactness I can almost imagine P being so sure he could knock T out any minute. I could say there was a steady rise of momentum right from the first round, and it was so contagious it was sent to where I was sitting, through the screen, from the boxing arena. T tried hard to match P’s momentum, or even dissuade it with his own series of punches and alert defense. T was surely able to land a few jabs on P, albeit deterring P’s movements, but only for a short while. These are momentum breakers (Adler and Scott 93), but unfortunately, since P started the activity so well and received â€Å"early positive feedback† (Adler and Scott 14), he was able to continue building up what he started early on in the match. Looking back on the first round, P was able to gain momentum immediately (Adler and Scott 78) that made it hard for T to counter it right after. In T’s attacks, one can feel his sedateness occasionally with the not-so-intense jabs that he threw at P during the next several minutes of the match (Adler and Scott 15). This was even made more obvious during the fourth round, when more powerful, unanswered punches gave the audience a view of a bleeding T. From there, I sensed another momentum breaker, unfortunately, for T’s momentum, which apparently has not even reached its peak yet. Adler mentioned that a momentum is largely dependent on the actor’s thoughts and feelings towards the situation (15). If this is the case, then T’s situation was not that hopeful to start with, as this could cause him to step back and assess the situation, which would have been another momentum breaker for him (Adler and Scott 93). By the middle part of the match, my hands were already clammy with cold sweat. I did not

The burden of proof Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The burden of proof - Essay Example The Union’s past practice argument cannot hold because the assessment test has already been given to previous applicants in the Technical Department.   The Union claimed that the company awarded the job to senior bidders in the past.   However, the Union did not take into consideration that seniority was not the only requirement, passing the assessment test was a minimum qualification for the position being bided for.3. Does it matter which type of assessment is used by the Company?  Yes, the type of assessment used by the Company matters because it will determine if a certain applicant is qualified to do the job or not.   The type of assessment should be able to measure the capabilities of the applicant which are necessary in accomplishing a certain job.4. If the Union alleged that the Work Keys Assessment was not valid, which party wouldhave to prove the validity?  The validity of the Work Keys Assessment should be proven by the company through the Subject Matter E xperts (SMEs) who designed it and approved its use.   The SMEs have been with the company for an average of more than 17 years.   As stated by the company, â€Å"Who better to determine the tasks and skills required for an entry-level position than those who have performed it?"   The SMEs are in a position to state that those who pass the test have the necessary skill levels for entry and effective performance in the extra hand position.5. You are the arbitrator. What is your decision? Why? If I were the arbitrator of the case, my decision is that Ms. Boone.

Explain the position of Dualism and physicalism Essay

Explain the position of Dualism and physicalism - Essay Example This philosophical thought has been applied for instance in the mind-body relation to claim that a human being is a physical system with the central nervous system and brain without a mind or soul (Crumley 5). For instance, physicalists postulate that the mind or soul is not an immaterial substance but occurs in physical form that is consisted of cells at one level which can be broken down further into atoms at their smallest level. This makes the mind and the brain to be same substance in an outlay where the mind is a consequence of neural connections. This positioning of the mind and the brain based on the assumptions make in physicalism means that damage to the brain translates to the same damage in the mind. This is true for example in the case of the brain which contains multiple elongated cells referred to as neurons whose function is to carry specific impulses. Contacts between neurons take place through points of contact named synapses. A specific neuron in the human nervous system is the C-fibers whose function is to supply the skin with nerves and transmit pain impulses. According to Physicalist, when a person experiences an occasion of pain or occurrence of a thought these are believed to be physical events related to C-fibers transmitting or certain electrical and chemical events taking place in the brain and central nervous system (Crumley 64). Apart from the assumption that the mind and brain are the same, another condition of physicalism is based on the belief that the physical world is causally closed. The thesis of causal closure fundamentally argues that any physical event must equally have a physical cause. This assumption by the Physicalists means that for every occurrence in world, there must be an explanation on the basis of causal interactions occurring at the physical level. Therefore, this worldview is

Defending the Budget Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Defending the Budget - Essay Example As at September 2011, the department had 88 firefighters, 42 officers, 6 engines and 2 ladders (Fire-Rescue 2012). Recently, there has been a study stating that the department is inactive and slow at responding to emergency calls. This claim has driven the city manager to propose a reduction of the department’s budget due to the cited inactivity in this fire department. As the fire chief in this institution, I would like to express that this assumption is not true. This is because my department has carried out all its responsibilities and emergency responses with required efficiency. The department has not only attended to many calls in the time of my service to the station but also successfully managed to put out major fires and rescue many people, property and pets from burning houses and buildings. However, contrary to the viewpoint of the city manager, the Medford fire department does not involve itself with fire emergencies only. There are several other activities that we are actively involved in every other day. They include, examining buildings for hazards, evaluating new constructions, setting up car seats for children, offering fire prevention services, heavy rescue, and providing fire station tours. For instance, in the month of March this year, there were regular inspections carried out by officials of the department on fire and life safety division (FLSD) where 92 hazards were noted and immediate action was taken to rectify the situation (Fire-Rescue, 2012). The current amount in the budget is sufficient to cater for the emergency responses and other off-emergency activities the department is responsible for. Currently, my department receives and attends an average of two incidents every week. We have always ensured that the emergencies are attended to in the shortest time possible as saving lives is our first priority. These responses also include fire scares where our department always solves the crisis restoring confidence in people. The f irefighters are very co operative and will attend to their duties at any time of day or night. Their motivation and enthusiasm in their work has helped save lives. This kind of vigilance has been met with proper remuneration extended to all employees and supervisors of the department. In certain occasions, budgeted monetary rewards are also extended to firefighters who have performed best in their obligations. Therefore, in order to uphold the same levels of salaries and rewards, it is important to maintain the budget. Otherwise, a cut may demotivate the employees leading to underperformance. This would put many individuals and buildings in the danger of being consumed by fire. To successfully fight fire, collaboration between the general public and the fire fighters is essential. This collaboration can only be enabled by an effective communication process. The communication devices used by Medford fire fighters are up to date and are effective in accomplishing the objective of pass ing on information to its users. This has helped avoid many deaths that might have occurred during fire incidents. The firefighting team is always ready to take the emergency calls and attend to the fire rescues at any time of day. The maintenance of this efficient communication lines requires funds. Therefore,

Little Red Riding Hood Presented In Different Cultures Research Paper - 1

Little Red Riding Hood Presented In Different Cultures - Research Paper Example Little Red Riding Hood is yet another story that has been told many times in order to teach children lessons of not talking to strangers or disobeying their parents and elders. However, this story has been presented in various forms in different cultures all around the world because the best part about fairytales is that they may be morphed and diffused into different cultures and retold in different languages with the help of characters and beings that people are familiar with within the purview of their own cultures. The story of Little Red Riding Hood talks about a little girl who wore a red hooded cloak and went into the forest to look for wild berries and fruits. In the process, she was tricked into following a wolf dressed as her grandma, inside a house in a deserted part of the forest, where the wolf ultimately ate her up. The moral here is that children should not talk to or follow and believe strangers because they might fall into trouble and not have anyone around them to p rotect them from the evils of life. On viewing the same in a larger picture, parents tell their children this story as it is presented with a view to helping them understand the cruelties that lie in the world with respect to molestation, rape, and other criminal activities like vandalism and kidnapping, and how their children might be affected during their teenage years because those are the vulnerable years of a person’s life. Written by Gillian Cross, ‘Wolf’ is a very loose adaption of what a modern-day version of Little Red Riding Hood might be; it talks about the cruelties that young people are made to suffer and also social problems that rage in the world at present.

America's Involvement in WWII and Vietnam Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

America's Involvement in WWII and Vietnam - Essay Example In the late 1938, Hitler continued with violent Nazi policies that discriminated against the Jews in Germany which led to several deaths of the Jewish people. Moreover, Hitler and his Nazi army attacked Poland and France who finally surrendered to Hitler. Consequently, the U.S president Roosevelt decided to circumvent the neutrality act and assist the British by sending them weapons secretly going against the public demands to stay out of the European war. Committees were formed in America which perpetuated the neutrality act and a larger population supported it until when Japan started bombing America’s Pearl harbour. Consequently, America declared war on Japan which led to Germany and Italy declaring war on America thus the beginning of America’s involvement in the world war two. The United States joined the Vietnam War to stop spread of communism in East Asia. Moreover, the North Vietnamese anticipated support of Americans and successfully fought back the South Vietnamese. However, the military situation began to lose ground in South Vietnam and it was blamed on Diem’s corruption. Consequently, the then U.S president J.F Kennedy’s government organised a coup d’etat which led to Diem’s death. The American government began establishing attacks secretly against the North Vietnam because of their communist government (Tucker). Moreover, U.S president Johnson who took over after Kennedy’s death, ordered for a surveillance mission at the coast of North Vietnam. Furthermore, the South Vietnam were supplied with weapons and trained by Americans. In addition American destroyers passed beyond the boundaries of Gulf of Tonkin which led to the North Vietnamese troops firing at them. Consequently, Johnson declared war on the North Vietnam and the American public supported the move of war on Vietnam. The war began in Vietnam which led to the Tet offensive committed by the North

Little Red Riding Hood Presented In Different Cultures Research Paper - 1

Little Red Riding Hood Presented In Different Cultures - Research Paper Example Little Red Riding Hood is yet another story that has been told many times in order to teach children lessons of not talking to strangers or disobeying their parents and elders. However, this story has been presented in various forms in different cultures all around the world because the best part about fairytales is that they may be morphed and diffused into different cultures and retold in different languages with the help of characters and beings that people are familiar with within the purview of their own cultures. The story of Little Red Riding Hood talks about a little girl who wore a red hooded cloak and went into the forest to look for wild berries and fruits. In the process, she was tricked into following a wolf dressed as her grandma, inside a house in a deserted part of the forest, where the wolf ultimately ate her up. The moral here is that children should not talk to or follow and believe strangers because they might fall into trouble and not have anyone around them to p rotect them from the evils of life. On viewing the same in a larger picture, parents tell their children this story as it is presented with a view to helping them understand the cruelties that lie in the world with respect to molestation, rape, and other criminal activities like vandalism and kidnapping, and how their children might be affected during their teenage years because those are the vulnerable years of a person’s life. Written by Gillian Cross, ‘Wolf’ is a very loose adaption of what a modern-day version of Little Red Riding Hood might be; it talks about the cruelties that young people are made to suffer and also social problems that rage in the world at present.

Capitalism is destroying the planet Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Capitalism is destroying the planet - Essay Example Therefore, in line of with endeavors of capitalists to maximize their profits by intensive and extensive exploration of the natural environment, this paper shows that capitalists’ production is the root cause of environmental pollution that is posing serious dangers to survival of biodiversity, which for this case includes humanity. The driving force of capitalism has remained to be profit maximization. Serving social demands such as food, shelter, clothing and social amenities is just but a by the way. In their primary bid to maximize profits, in which none of them can shy away from being part and parcel, capitalists are driven to further accumulate wealth in any means that would give them a comparative advantage over competitors. Since their production is limited to exploring natural environment for their gains, hundreds of thousands of industries have been established. Examples include food processing, motor vehicle, and utilities that generate energy that is the driving fo rce of any economy (Sweezy 2). A capitalistic set-up is very vibrant in the sense that it has several players each pursuing their own economic goals. Such a place is characterized by closely packed business entities each engaged in some economic activity. For instance, in producing goods and services for the masses, the number of factories that have been established are increasingly occupying more space on the surface of the earth. This has the implication that more fossil fuels is being consumed to keep these factories running. Understandably, these fuels, example of which include coal, produces carbon (IV) oxide that leads to global warming. In another scenario, capitalism has encouraged unsustainable economic competition for different players in the market. For example, in the process of maximizing profits in the fish industry, capitalists have built up large fishing vessels that process fish immediately they are fished. This has the implication that the rate at which fish are be ing processed is faster that even the rate of their reproduction. The same case applies to forested areas where trees are being fell rapidly than they are planted. The unsustainable utilization of natural resources is what has raised eyebrows regarding the negative effects of capitalism. The wide spread destruction of the world’s tree population for the use of manufacturing goods for large scale corporations is just the tip of the iceberg. We have developed a culture that is largely in an â€Å"amnesic† state if you will. We are taught to consume and build a relationship with these products to where they are accepted in every part of our lives. These same products are increasing the CO2 emissions in the earth’s atmosphere to a recent all-time high of 400.03 ppm. This large increase is due to multiple things including globalized use of fossil fuels and the industrialization of production (Kempf 4). Capitalism has significantly increased the exploration of natural resources which in time increases manufacturing. This domino effect ends with increase in Carbon (IV) Oxide concentration which destroys the ozone layer by causing global warming. Increased temperature have caused melting of the ice carps thus increasing the water levels in the seas and oceans. In the event of a natural disaster such as tsunami, for example the one that hit the coastline of Indonesia in 2004, the effects are

Personal Reflections Essay Example for Free

Personal Reflections Essay The concept of self in the social world has been the subject of psychology studies for decades. Self-concept is defined as â€Å"a person’s answers to the question, â€Å"Who am I?† (Myers, 2010). Several factors, both internal and external, create each individual’s sense of self. Self-concept, self-esteem, self-knowledge, and social self all help create the sense of self. Self-schemas are an important component of one’s self-concept. A schema is simply defined as â€Å"mental templates by which we organize our worlds† (Myers, 2010). Self-schemas are the beliefs one holds, which define who we are. Self-concept The development of our self-concept has numerous influences, which include roles played, social identities formed, comparisons made, personal success and failure, judgments, and cultural surroundings (Myers, 2010). Roleplaying can include what we are in our professional life, as children in school, and into adulthood. The roles we assume may not feel like second-nature in the beginning, however, as we evolve within our roles, we become a more self-confident role player. Social comparison shapes an individual’s self-concept through academics, finances, and looks. The impact the comparison has is dependent who we are comparing ourselves to. Personal success and failure occur on a daily basis at work, school, and home. Judgments made by our peers strongly influence our own perception of self. Positive feedback will result in a positive view of one’s self, as a negative feedback will result in a negative self-concept. Our cultural surroundings impact our self-concept also. Westernized cultures tend to be more self-absorbed than an Eastern culture. â€Å"In many Western cultures, there is a faith in the inherent separateness of distinct persons† (OMalley, 2002). Individualism and collectivism are two concepts describing how  individuals view their importance within their culture. Individualism is mainly seen in a Western culture, where an individual places personal goals and gains over a group’s goals and gains. Collectivism considers a group’s goal as a priority over an individual’s goal. â€Å"Most cultures native to Asia, Africa, and Central and South America place greater value on collectivism† (Myers, 2010). The interdependent self is defined as the â€Å"view of the self and the relationship between the self and others† (OMalley, 2002) within a group. Self-esteem Self-esteem is â€Å"a person’s overall self-evaluation or sense of self-worth† (Myers, 2010). People have both low self-esteem and high self-esteem, depending on the variance of difficulties in their life. Poverty, drugs, and abuse can all be considered a factor in a person’s low self-esteem. High self-esteem can also be portrayed a negative trait, especially when the individual is viewed as narcissistic. Narcissism is defined as â€Å"having an inflated sense of self† (Myers, 2010). Self-efficacy Self-efficacy is defined as â€Å"the belief in one’s capabilities to organize and execute the courses of action required to manage prospective situations† (Cherry, What is Self-Efficacy?, 2014). Self-efficacy is not the same as self-esteem, which is how valuable an individual perceives themselves to be. An individual’s self-efficacy is the belief they are capable of accomplishing a task, even when the task is challenging. Studies of the Self Various studies of the self in psychology have offered an insight into what is believed to be the center of self-concept. Carl Rogers believed self-image, self-esteem, and ideal self are the three components of self-concept. Self-image is â€Å"how you see yourself† (Cherry, What is Self-concept?, 2014). A person’s self-image can include positive and negative aspects, which may or may not be realistically true. Self-esteem is the how valuable a person believes they are. Comparison between a person’s own successes and another’s can impact their self-esteem in a negative or positive manner. Ideal self is how a person would like to see their self. Ideal self is not necessarily how an individual actually perceives their  self, rather the idealistic version that person dreams of being. Who I am Amanda’s Self-concept By asking myself â€Å"who am I†, I am able to define my self-concept. I am a mother and I love my children. I am a full-time employee at ESCO Corporation. I am a college student at the University of Phoenix, studying Environmental Science. I am not an easy person to get along with, and I tend to take criticism personally. Amanda’s Self-esteem I have low self-esteem. My low self-esteem has been an ongoing issue from childhood. I struggle with my weight, which was not a real issue until I was out of high school. I thought I was overweight as a teen, when in reality I was at a healthy weight. After I had my first daughter at the age of 18, depression slowly took over my carefree and happy personality. I began to eat more in an attempt to feel better about myself. I remember one incident as a Senior which really made an impact on my self-esteem. While changing classes, I waited at my locker for a classroom to finish letting students out. One of the disabled girls from that classroom kept looking at my mid-section. She finally asked me â€Å"are you pregnant or something†. I was not pregnant anymore, and had given birth two months before. Hearing another person say I looked like I was pregnant still brought my feeling of self-worth to the lowest point at that time. Amanda’s Self-efficacy My self-efficacy can be compared to a roller coaster. I do challenge myself to excel at work and school. I believe I can accomplish anything I put my mind to. Over the past decade, I have improved my self-efficacy, with a tremendous improvement over the last five years. The individuals I have chosen to surround myself with, as opposed to in the past, have helped me accomplish my dreams. My fiancà © encouraged me to stand up for myself, especially with my parents. My parents had been involved in raising my children to the point I was not able to make a decision without calling for their opinion first. The feeling of dread would overcome me due to the fact I knew my parents would not approve of my decisions if I did not talk to them first. I finally realized I was holding myself back, and I could make important family decisions without their approval. I signed up for the  University of Phoenix for the reasons I believed were important. I did tell my parents I was going back to school after I had signed up, and I saw the disappointment they felt over not being able to control me with the decision. My fiancà © has been encouraging throughout my studies, and continues to give me the push I need to finish my last five classes. References Cherry, K. (2014). What is Self-concept? Retrieved January 20, 2014, from About Psychology: http://psychology.about.com/od/sindex/f/self-concept.htm Cherry, K. (2014). What is Self-Efficacy? Retrieved January 21, 2014, from About Psychology: http://psychology.about.com/od/theoriesofpersonality/a/self_efficacy.htm Myers, D. G. (2010). Social Psychology (10th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw Hill. OMalley, M. (2002). Hazel Rose Marcus and Shinobu Kitayama, Culture and the Self: Implications for Cognition, Emotion, and Motivation. Retrieved January 21, 2014, from Honors 130: Conceptions of the Self: http://chnm.gmu.edu/courses/honors130/culture.html

Critical evaluation of leadership theories

Critical evaluation of leadership theories Leadership is process in which a leader givers the resolution to his followers and ask them to take actions beside him. Leaders have some capabilities to tackle with some issue and problems and he who take the initiative called a leader and when people follows him, then it come out as a leadership. Leader is person who has some born qualities and all of his followers like and appreciate him because of his leadership qualities. Leader is person who learns, who is enough energize and acts in such a way those people respects him and follows him, and he develop himself in such way that become empower with authorities and recognize achievements. Leaders have some born qualities and these qualities assured him to be a leader and lead a team. Some of his skills are born, but some of them he adopts from the day life and from past experiences. According to Mitchell (2008) Leadership has been seen as the focus of group processes, as the personality attribute, as art of inducing compliance, as an exercise of influence, as a particular kind of act, as a form of persuasion, as power relation, as an instrument in the attainment of the goals, as an effective of interaction, as a differentiated role and as the initiation of structure. According to Bernard M. Bass (2006) An interaction between two or more members of a group that often involves a structuring or restructuring of the situation and the perceptions and expectation of the members. Effective leadership always tries to achieve the goals of the organizations smartly, and completion of all jobs is guaranteed by effective leadership. Leadership has a classical history and now this is a modern way of directing the organizations and management of these organizations. Leader is person who motives these followers and become a famous person because of his leadership qualities, leader is figure of any organizations how meets with other people and directs them as a figure head. Leader is person who manages the managers; in fact leaders have some attributes of managers in his leadership so leaders are someone who directs the managers. In big organizations leaders move around international in multinational companies and on small level leaders are meant to be as figure head. Ingredients of leadership: Leaders must have the following ingredients within them (Kondalkar 2009). Ability to use power effectively A born leader inherit power and he knows how to use it, he also know the legitimate way of using this power, by this is become successful to achieve expert power, referent power, reward and coercive power . This ability makes him authoritative. Ability to comprehend People of civilization have different mood and behaviors and these mood and behaviors changes with time, to understand these natures is a tough task, but one successful leader must have this comprehended ingredient in him. This ability to comprehend his followers gives him more respect among his flowers and they start believing him more because leader is more into their personal lives to understand their expectations. Ability to inspire Followers always tries to perform according to their leader and they get inspire from him, he is does is always in the notice of his followers. People get inspire by the devotion, charismatic personality and his appeal in the favor of their willing. Leadership style In the leadership style firstly, leader must be devoted to his passion to lead his people and secondly he must create the sense of motivation among his followers. He must develop a way where he can influence his followers for the effective and efficient performance. He should indentify what leadership traits must be there in the personality of a leader and how to use these leadership abilities and skills. If we talk about the leadership style then it is most important to talk about the skills these leaders have. Mainly these skills are categories into three main parts that are useable in different levels and situations (Kondalkar 2009). Human skills One leader must be human to his followers, this skills is concerned with interpersonal relations with his subordinated and all the other persons who are in relation with leader. A leader influences, motivates and ask his followers to be obedient on all his rational sayings. Conceptual skills This skill revolves around the strategic and authoritative level; this kinds ability is useful in taking long term and in strategic planning. As all followers considers the leader an influential personal so they all thinks him reliable to believe on. Technical skills A leader must be sound good in technical skills, by this the subordinates have trust that their leaders knows all and can take out them from any technical fault happens in organization. Leadership styles and theories: Followings are different types of leadership styles which are actually implementation of classical and modern leadership theories. Great man To answer the question what is the difference between leadership and in an individual? Great man theory came up. This theory gives foundation to all theories. The foundation or the critical point of this theory was all leaders are great man and all of them come from a nobel and social background, all these great man are good planner, coordinators, achievers, organizers and controllers. After Great Man theory philosopher tried to joint some traits to leadership theories. So, as a result trait theory came up. Trait Theory Trait theory is basically come from the foundation of Great man theory. In great man theory it has been discussed that all the leaders have some born qualities and in trait theory philosophers tries to identify those qualities and skills (Stogdill, 1974). These skills are the main objective of this theory. It says that leader and some traits and skills with them. Every theory have some assumption with it, traits theory have following assumptions associated with it; it says that it is assumed that leaders are born with inherit traits, these traits are part of their own personalities and which distinguish them from others, the good leaders adopt some of traits and skills by the time they become leaders. Autocratic Leadership style: In these style leaders uses downwards communication style from leaders to subordinates. This style is applicable when there is quick decision is required and large number of un-skills employees are there. In this style suggestions from employees are not being entertained (Lewin 1939). Participative Leadership Style: This is democratize kind of style, here leaders involves their followers in to the decision making process and all the decision taken by the leaders are participative by their followers. A leader motivates his employees to take decisions and he entertains their suggestions. This style encourages employees to work with more efforts. Free rein style Leadership Style: In the style leader allows his teams to take decisions at their own and work freely. It gives the sense of responsibility and authority to the teams and they feel good to work at their own. Management Grid Management grid has two directions: Management have concern of people, and Management concern of production All together it contributes 81 different leadership styles. Following graph entails this model. picture_blake_mouton_managerial_grid.gif Five main leadership styles indentified by gird are: Improvised management Style: They put less effort but tries to get work done. This is sort of lazy approach. Country Club management Style: Here the management tries to help the employees to get their job done, management want that all the organizational objectives must meet so they care about the employees. Middle of the Road Style Organization-Man Management: There is balance in between the efforts and people at work. Here labors or the staffs dont put much effort to get the job done but still they can put more efforts. Produce or perish Style Authority-Obedience Management : In the style of management there is a strong focus on task, but not much concern about the people at work and firing (wherever possible) of people is also part of this style. Team Style Team Management: Here people are committed to work as teams (Blake Mouton, 1964) citied by Alan Bryman, A. (1986). Contingency approach to leadership: It says that no leadership style is appropriate in all kind of situations. They need to change their selves from time to time and situation tot situation. It depends upon the different variable to take the responsibilities and to change their behaviors. According to Martin, B. (2006) Any situation plays a large part in determining qualities and the leader in situation and the leadership qualities and the product of previous leadership situation that molded individual. Path-Goal theory: This theory accompanies contingency and situational leadership theory but in path-Goal theory has some different variables which are important in leadership. Path-Goal theory can be defined as this is all about leaders who motivate their followers to accomplish the goals and tasks asked them to complete (Rowe, W. Guerrero, L. 2010). Subordinates Obstacles In the path goal leadership, a leader makes it possible to motivate followers to accomplish the task and ask their followers to walk through these defined paths to achieve goals and objectives. Leader thinks to clarify the goals and task so that a followers easily get their defined goals. Path-Goal theory can be elaborated through flowering diagram. Goal / Productivity Path Path Path-Goal Leadership Defines Goals Clarify paths Removes obstacles Provide support Charismatic leadership: According to Walden, M. Thoms, P. (2007) Charismatic Leadership describes a style of leadership that is inspiring and stimulating. These leaders attract and influence their follower by their charm and personality. Some of assumptions are associated with charismatic leadership that is as follows: They have charm and grace in their personalities that influences followers. They are confidence and have belief on their selves. Charismatic leader makes their group of people and make them prominent and different from other group of people and they stick to these groups and become leaders of that group. Transactional Theory and Transformational Theory Bass (2006) says that transformational leaders always influence their followers and get respect and admiration. There are few assumptions of this theory: People must aware of the responsibilities and importance of the work. They must work in teams to enhance productivity. Ruth Chambers. R, (2007) Transactional leadership concerns maintenance and monitoring of a pre-existing service, having an operational rather than a strategic focus. There are few assumptions if transactional theories are: Teams must be motivated through rewards and punishments. One should have social relationships to have great command. Their sole purpose must be that they work what they have asked to do. Part Two: Determine leadership approaches relevant for the 21st century, drawing on theories and tools as practiced by leading international organizations. Leadership models and competency frameworks: In different organization different model of leadership are being operational and they have sat their own competency frame work. Some of renowned organizational and their competency frame works are as follows. To elaborate leadership models and competency frame work we can describe in through following examples. Minnesota Mining Manufacturing Co. (3M): MINNESOTA MINING AND MANUFACTURING CO (3M) has defined leadership and competency model in such a way. Fundamental Leadership Competencies Essential Leadership Competencies Visionary Leadership Competencies It shows that these competencies may be shown by the individual at the time of hiring and with time it developed by individuals progression. It must show commitment and integrity to the corporate values of the organization. It must be capable of handling technical situations and also communicate clearly and concisely. Must have sound knowledge to deal with the corporate challenges. It shows that now individual will develop essential skills as he becomes the part or department and the unit. It gives the value to customer and makes customer happy. Here they selects and retain the developed staff and work force and respects their contribution and individuality. Motivation and encouragements may be provided to upgrade their moral and their performances. Here 3M leaders possess to assume that the level of responsibility is high. They are now working globally and taking care of visionary aspects. This global leaders works globally in multicultural environments. These leaders make long term strategic plan to pursue a common goals and objectives. They also try to support the innovations and new experiments. New business alliances also build by 3M. They try to take advantage of maximum use of resources. FedEx Leadership Competencies FedEx has a system for rating aspiring leaders according to 9 attributes: Charisma Individual consideration Intellectual stimulation Courage Dependability Flexibility Integrity Judgment Respect for others Shell Global Leadership Competencies The Leadership Framework used by Shell includes nine key elements as indicated below: Builds Shared Vision Champions Customer Focus Maximizes Business Opportunities Demonstrates Professional Mastery Displays Personal Effectiveness Demonstrates Courage Motivates, Coaches Develops Values Differences Delivers Results These above key attributes are parts of leadership competency framework. Leadership Qualities required: A good leader should possess certain qualities: Intelligence: A leader should be intelligent that he foresee problems and gives solutions to these problems in a intellectual way. Communicative Skills: A leader should have effective communication skills; he should communicate clearly and precisely. He must look into what ways of communications are suitable at what time. Objectivity: A leader should be impartial and not to be bias on any situation of decision making. Knowledge of work: A leader must possess sound knowledge of work, he must know what is he going to do and must consider his leadership skills. Human Relations: A leader should be good in making relation inside and outside the organization. He must keep good public relations. Self Confidence and Will-Power: A good leader is people who have confidence on himself and will power of combating with every situation. Empathy: Good leader must have empathy to his followers and he must respect the view points of others. Sense of Responsibility: A good leader must keep the sense of responsibility; he should not lose temper in any situation and present himself as a good leader in front of others with sound authority and responsibility. Awareness: A good leader is always proves good leader when he keep looking his strengths and weakness, he must overcome on his weakness as soon as possible to present himself well aware leader. Sound health and Stamina: A leader must have sound health, both mental sanity and physical fitness to combat with the situations that are coming ahead. Conclusion: Leaders are born not made, seems to be true as leader come up with their own notions and skills, it can be seen from the history too, as some great leader were meant to be great and they had all leadership qualities but with the time these leaders polishes their skills. They learn from the experiences and from the past examples.

Cultural Relativism Essay -- Gender Roles, Female Genital Circumcision

In February 2007, the fourth annual conference of â€Å"Zero Tolerance Against Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting† was held. Their meeting brought together scholars and lay people alike, all whose main concern was the issue of Female Genital Cutting (FGC). However, this conference was unlike others in that the focus of discussion wasn’t how to eliminate this practice, but rather, whether it should be eliminated at all (Goldberg 121). When Fuambai Ahmadu, a Ph.D. fellow and first generation American from Sierra Leone, took the floor, everyone listened. Ahmadu was raised in America and as an adult, traveled back to Sierra Leone to take part in the ritual of Female Genital Cutting. She chose to participate in this â€Å"initiation† and what she feels is an important part of her social identity. While she defended her choice, and her position on FGC, many were outraged. They couldn’t understand how an African woman could defend this mutilation. Ahmadu responded â€Å"I may be different from you and I am excised, but I am not mutilated. Just like I will not accept anybody calling me by the ‘N’ word to define my racial identity, I will not have anybody call me by the ‘M’ word to define my social identity, my gender identity† (Goldberg 123). The subject of Female Genital Circumcision is one that has been hotly debated for decades. Those who oppose the practice cite its potential long-lasting consequences. They state numerous physical, emotional and sexual side-effects. Possibilities range from infection to, sepsis, infertility and death. Author Benita Shell-Duncan explains in an article on FGC that, in 1959 The United Nations adopted The Declaration of the Rights of the Child which states â€Å"that each child shall be given the opportunity ‘to develop phy... ...ry 100 circumcised males in the world there are 21 circumcised females. Routine circumcision is unethical to say the least, whether it's a girl, an older boy, or a baby. So before we all gasp in horror at what is going on overseas maybe we should look at what we are doing right here in our own country (Squires, par. 16). It is easy to condemn a practice that we do not understand. After closer analytical examination, one can see that there is no difference between the practice of female genital cutting and the practice of male circumcision. It is completely unfair and ethnocentric of the West to deem FGC inhumane, while Male circumcision runs rampant. Just because we are a developed, first-world nation with the ability to perform the procedure in state of the art hospitals, does not make it any less traumatizing. A rose by any other name is still a rose (Hammond).

How Far Does Luck Explain the Rise and Fall of Napoleon Bonaparte Essay

How far does luck explain the rise and fall of Napoleon Bonaparte? Napoleon Bonaparte like many others rose to prominence during the turbulent times of the French revolution- he was therefore lucky to have been born at such a time in to justify his advancing position. However his reputation as a skilled tactician and strategist enabled him to initially capitalize on the reforms of the French Revolution to improve the lives of French citizens. Napoleon Bonaparte emerged as an important figure for re-establishing order in France and initially gained the trust and support of his countrymen, winning many great military victories against the nations of Europe. But over time, Napoleon’s lust for power overcame his good economic, political and military accomplishments, and his transformation into a selfish dictator led to his fall. To say he was unlucky at this point is an understatement. Napoleon’s upbringing is one that could be considered unconventional (at first) for a successful ruler of France. Napoleon was the son of a middle class Corsican family, at a time when Corsica had not even been French for long. Being formerly subject to Genoa, the Corsican people did not speak French but a dialect of Italian. They were, and are, a fiercely independent Mediterranean people, with a Mediterranean temperament. Napoleon was always self-conscious about his humble origins and provincial background. He came from a mediocre family and went to a mediocre military academy, where his schoolmates made fun of his thick Corsican accent. Despite this however he was lucky in a sense that his noble background afforded him more opportunities than were available to a normal Corsican at the time. In January 1779, Napoleon was enrolled at a religious school in Autun, mainland France, to learn French. In May he was admitted to a military academy at Brienne-le-Chateau. He excelled in various subjects including mathematics and was viewed by one examiner as a candidate for an â€Å"excellent sailor†. Napoleon was the first Corsican to graduate from the Ecole Militaire, a testament to his intellectual abilities in the field. Of course his application to maths determined his specialisation as an artillery officer. This can be considered a stroke of luck in his favour, – one of many that he benefited from – inasmuch as the artillery was the most prestigious branch of the army under the old regime. But the biggest stroke of luck Napoleon had was to be born when he was – in the age of the French Revolution. Napoleon, like many others, was made by the Revolution. The Revolution turned the whole world upside down and presented an ambitious young man (he was always ambitious – a consequence of his resentment at his inferior status) with new and vast opportunities. Looking again at the perspective of Napoleon’s capabilities as a man rather than his luck during his ascension we must also consider his fluidity. Despite his early one sidedness and his view of himself as a devout Corsican, he was ostracized by his countrymen when trying to attempt to instil himself as the head of the Corsican national government. The Corsican nationalists were inclined to reactionary and monarchist ideas and distrustful of the ideals of the Revolution. They were also distrustful of Napoleon, who had the misfortune of being seen as a Corsican provincial to the French and a French interloper to the Corsicans. Rejected by his compatriots, Napoleon abandoned all his nationalist ideals. He later became transformed from an ardent Corsican patriot to a fervent advocate of French centralism. In a sense it was luck that Napoleon now saw France as an area would he could advance to power, but there nothing surprising about this sudden turnabout. Napoleon never had any fixed principles about anything, except his own advancement. His early Republican sympathies may have been genuine but they were certainly tempered with a heavy dose of opportunism. He specialised in currying favour with his superiors in order to climb the ladder of careerist advancement. When it was advantageous to appear as a Jacobin, he donned the tricolour, but later he swung against the Jacobins with equal alacrity when their star waned. Napoleon’s big opportunity came in 1794 at the siege of Toulon. This key Mediterranean port had declared for the English and allowed British forces to occupy it. England was the real bulwark of reaction and bankrolled the wars against revolutionary France that others fought. Napoleon saw his chance to make a mark and did so by conspicuous bravery and a high degree of skill in the use of artillery, which decided the battle in France’s favour. His rapid rise to fame and success had begun. His next big military success came with the invasion of Italy in the strategic campaign against Austria. It was at this point Napoleon demonstrated excellent qualities as a tactician and a politician. Napoleon vetoed the idea of the Directory atheists to march on Rome and dethrone the Pope as he reasoned this would create a power vacuum which would be exploited by the Kingdom of Naples. Instead, in March 1797, Bonaparte led his army into Austria and forced it to negotiate peace. The resulting Treaty of Leoben gave France control of most of northern Italy and the Low Countries, and a secret clause promised the Republic of Venice to Austria. Bonaparte marched on Venice and forced its surrender, ending 1,100 years of independence; he also authorised the French to loot treasures such as the Horses of Saint Mark. His application of conventional military ideas to real-world situations effected his military triumphs, such as creative use of artillery as a mobile force to support his infantry. He referred to his tactics thus: â€Å"I have fought sixty battles and I have learned nothing which I did not know at the beginning. Look at Caesar; he fought the first like the last. † His decision to record his exploits through two newspapers he founded for the army and circulation in France earned him wide critical acclaim. But again he was known to sacrifice military glory in favour of preserving his position, as shown by negotiations in Austria and the treaty of Campio Formio in response to Barras and the French republican allies in control of the French government becoming dependent on Bonaparte following the Coup of 18 Fructidor in order to depose the French royalists who feared Napoleon was becoming a dictator. It was not unlucky that this happened, as Napoleon handled the situation effectively and was able to continue his quest for power. His capacity as a strategist in military campaign against nations hostile to France continued to shine when he conceived an expedition into Egypt in order to seize it and thereby undermine Britain’s access to it’s trade interests in India. Although this invasion failed, mostly due to his loss in the battle of the Nile against Horatio Nelson, Napoleon- unlike his later years was able to take defeat well, speeding up the retreat by poisoning plague stricken men- this supposed act of fratricide was deemed necessary by his supporters given the continued harassment of stragglers by Ottoman forces, and indeed those left behind alive were tortured and beheaded by the Ottomans. Back in Egypt, on 25 July, Bonaparte defeated an Ottoman amphibious invasion at Abukir. The coup of Brumaire in 1799 while being the main event for Napoleon’s ascension to ruler of France largely defines how far his luck went in his rise to power. The reasons for General Bonaparte’s coup may have lain more in his defeats than by his victories. In November 1799, France was suffering the effects of military reverses brought on by Bonaparte’s adventurism in theMiddle East. The looming threat of opportunistic invasion by the Second Coalition had provoked internal unrest, with Bonaparte stuck in Egypt. When he returned he stormed into the chambers escorted by grenadiers. At this point his ineptitude at speechmaking failed to impressed the dissolutioned directory, and he was heckled out and even assaulted at the council of Five Hundred. It was only by the intervention of his brother Lucien that he was spared great injury or death, and lucien’s skill at organising the troops to expel the violent deputies from the chamber shouting â€Å"kick ‘em all out! † and dispersing the council. This spelled the end of the directory and the establishment of the consulate. Napoleon had hoped that the his French empire would last for centuries, but the reality was much more disconcerting. His downfall however was not so much attributed to bad luck as it was his ego and complacency due to his earlier military successes. Two main things contributed to his downfall, Economics and Military failure. In the Treaty of Tilset, Napoleon established the continental system which basically was a boycott of selling and buying of goods with the British. He realized that England depended heavily on other countries to buy from and sell to. However Napoleon underestimated the fact that England could trade with the U.  S and controlled India (even though he tried to stop British Trade with India in his invasion of Egypt) and was not limited to Prussia, Russia and Austria. The continental system did not hurt England as much as he had hoped, but it hurt other countries because they loved English goods and got them any way they could. This was also just another reason for the Austrians, Prussians and Russians to rebel against him. Napoleon tended to try and get his way in negotiations by shouting at those who didn’t agree with him, and on one occasion physically assaulted an Austrian diplomat who disagreed with his demands. Napoleon believed military dominance was sufficient to impose his will on Europe, but this necessitated constantly keeping a large army in the field, which strained French finances and alienated the ordinary population of Europe, as French troops lived off the country when campaigning or stationed abroad. His failure to compromise through diplomacy after military victories meant he was never able to consolidate his gains long term and confirm them through any prolonged period of subsequent peace. Napoleon was never accepted as ‘one of them’ by other European rulers. His practice of dethroning monarchs and replacing them with members of his own family, who had no right to them and who were certainly no better as rulers, scared all other European monarchs, who were afraid they might be next. Napoleon didn’t really understand seapower, nor its importance and how to use it effectively. The French navy got few resources-manpower and money being directed mainly to the army. This left the French fleet underequipped, undermanned, and undertrained, which led to a drop in morale and its easy defeat in battle. No attempt was made to rebuild the French fleet after Trafalgar, global naval supremacy being left wholly in British hands. Napoleon didn’t realize that this would have long term economic effects as well as military ones. In the Treaty of Tilset, Napoleon established the continental system which basically was a boycott of selling and buying of goods with the British. He realized that England depended heavily on other countries to buy from and sell to. However Napoleon in a moment of political ineptitude underestimated that though was that England could trade with the U.  S and and controlled India (even though he tried to stop British Trade with India in his invasion of Egypt) and was not limited to Prussia, Russia and Austria. The continental system did not hurt England as much as he had hoped, but it hurt other countries because they loved English goods and got them any way they could. This was also just another reason for the Austrians, Prussians and Russians to rebel against him. Instead of crippling the British economy, it crippled that of much of Europe. Britain had responded with Orders in Council, a close blockade of Europe’s major ports that cut off all foreign seaborne trade to continental Europe. This impoverished many people, denied Europe’s aristocracy luxury goods, and led to endemic smuggling that undermined the economy of France and other European states. When Napoleon created the Continental System, Portugal refused to comply with a treaty that would severely weaken its trade. Promptly, the French marched in with their armies and overran Spain and Portugal. The Spanish people feared that the Catholic Church would be thrown aside by the French, causing unrest. In addition, Napoleon further humiliated the Spanish by deposing their king, to whom the Spaniards were loyal, instead putting his brother on the throne. This was the spark that would set off the true Peninsular War with constant guerrilla warfare that would end with Napoleon losing 300,000 troops by 1813, after 5 years of fighting. Harsh treatment of the population, in particular atrocities committed by French troops against any resistance by the peasantry, led to a opular Spanish uprising against French occupation forces in 1808. A British army sent to Portugal invaded Spain in support of the uprising,and its operations in conjunction with Spanish guerrillas caused the so called â€Å"Spanish ulcer† which diverted troops and resources away from Napoleon’s main army and forced France into a war on 2 fronts. But possibly the greatest blunder of Napoleon was his decision to invade Russia. Under pressure from important nobles who were losing money, the Tzar withdrew from the Continental System. Napoleon determined to invade Russia in 1812 so as to force Russia back in. ossibly due to his inflated ego in becoming the superior leader and incessant wanting of more land, he was convinced that Moscow was the heart of Russia and was determined to march there directly and take control. Napoleon was overconfident in that he allowed himself only nine weeks to defeat Russia and return to Italy and so did not provide cold weather gear for his soldiers nor frost nails for his horses. At the point of his expedition he was initially unlucky that the Russian army did not decide to fight face to face, although their initial retreat and the Russian Autumn inticed Napoleon too much, and he was lured deeper into Russia. The Russians instead implemented a scorched earth policy, destroying and burning anything worthy of supply and nourishment for Napoleon’s men, stretching the French emperor’s supply lines still further and demoralising his army. When the French and Russians finally met head on at the Battle of Borodino on 7 September, it was the largest and bloodiest single-day action of the Napoleonic Wars; it involved more than 250,000 soldiers and resulted in at least 70,000 casualties. The French captured the battlefield, but failed to destroy the Russian army. Moreover, the French could not replace their losses whereas the Russians could replace theirs. Napoleon was caught out by the Russian tactics, but could not adapt to them effectively due to his overreliance on previous tried and tested techniques, thinking he could still win the war on his standard strategy, he was badly wrong. Napoleon entered Moscow on September 14, after the Russian Army had again retreated. But by then the Russians had largely evacuated the city and even released criminals from the prisons to inconvenience the French; furthermore, the governor, Count Fyodor Rostopchin, ordered the city to be burnt. Alexander I refused to capitulate and the peace talks that Napoleon initiated failed. In October, with no clear sign of victory in sight, Napoleon began his disastrous Great Retreat from Moscow, during the usual autumn Russian mud season. Napoleon at this point found himself amongst a disorganised militant force that could only retreat via a single route easily blocked by the Russian army thanks to inadequate maps and intelligence gathered on the Russian geography and Topography: the aforementioned mud made the retreat slow and bloody, with better clothed Cossack troops able to strike with impunity against the confused French army. In the following weeks, the Grande Armee underwent catastrophic blows from the onset of the Russian Winter, the lack of supplies and constant guerilla warfare by Russian peasants and irregular troops. When the remnants of Napoleon’s army crossed the Berezina River in November, only 27,000 fit soldiers remained; the Grand Armee had lost some 380,000 men dead and 100,000 captured. Napoleon then abandoned his men and returned to Paris to protect his position as Emperor and to prepare to resist the advancing Russians. This disaster encouraged the formation of the Sixth Coalition, Prussia and Austria quickly joining Russia and Britain in arms against Napoleon. The strain of fighting a multi front war became apparent to him The Peninsular War (known to the French as the Spanish ulcer) combined with the Russian disaster of 1812 to weaken him so much that he was exiled, for the first time. When he returned in the Hundred Days, Napoleon’s downfall was that he did have so much power. He promised peace to the other European Powers if they let him have the throne. However, no-one could bear to see the man who once ruled most of Europe in power again, so it was off to war. This conflict led to Waterloo, and his final exile. In conclusion it was a combination of luck based on skill and merit that allowed Napoleon to ascend to power from such a foreign position leading the French to establish great military successes In his early years. The great French military leader Napoleon Bonaparte had initially capitalized on the reforms of the French Revolution to improve the lives of French citizens. However his focus on conquering Europe had eventually overridden his economic and military accomplishments. His previous successes exacerbated his ego to the point at which he became complacent with his standard tactics both on the battlefield and in the council. A sequence of poor diplomacy and belief that he could hold the European countries together by sheer force led to European countries rising in vengeance, such as the Spanish ulcer. Napoleon’s failure o deal with these threats and subsequent failing to enforce the ill fated continental system meant his empire was being dismantled piece by piece. Another reason for his downfall was his war tactic of constant Napoleonic Warfare. His main goal was to completely destroy the enemies army to the point where they no longer had the men to fight. But, this also caused heavy causualities on his side. Also, during his Invasion of Russia, he was hurt by the infamous Russian winters. When he retreated from Russia, almost all of his men got left behind (along with Michael Ney) and were completely annihilated by the enemy forces. After this, he suffered because of his army, or lack thereof. The resultant strain of fighting a multi front war against the united European forces was more failure of effective leadership than simple bad luck. Although he successfully returned from exile in the Hundred Days, his military defeat at Waterloo was the final nail in his coffin.