Looking Back and Forward

Comfortable life In my younger years I had some pretty distorted views about the world around me thanks to my parents, mostly my mother, but as I have grown up and am now an adult those views have changed immensely and made me a better person. My name is Justine Fir and I grew up in a decent sized town called Fullerton, California. Let me backtrack a second. I was born in Dallas, Texas, but raised by my adopted parents in Southern California from age 3 months until 18 years old. Fullerton was your standard definition of a town for people who were of the upper middle class to the lower upper class income classifications.This paper is being written with the intent to describe to you how my upbringing at a very early age, my own secretly kept views, and later events in my adolescence has shaped me into who I am today. I am from a neighborhood of folks who are well off financially with decent sized houses and nice cars. My parents, Marinate and Robert Fir, were very well off. He was a Ca rdiovascular Surgeon, and she Just left a high end nursing Job to raise me and my younger sister Mary. Being the oldest of the two, although not by much, I got spoiled more and learned early on how to get what I wanted by keeping my mouth shut and staying on mom's good side.My dad was one of the sweetest, most level headed guys one would want to know unless mom was around and then it was like a complete transformation into someone unpleasant within minutes. My mom pretty was on the same level as the Rockefeller. Everything with her, from A-Z, had to be the very top of the line, brand labeled stuff. I pretty much grew up with a golden spoon in my mouth. Now one would think that this was the high life and a dream come true but let me tell you it was not all it was cracked up to be.I found out very early on that my mom's way of showing love was through the all time American symbol we all cherish and aspect called the Dollar. â€Å"Here is a hundred dollars now get out of my face and I will give you $300 for every A on your report card and $250 for every B as long as you keep up good grades and do not tarnish our reputation, she would say. † Then when I got the A I was told â€Å"What, you couldn't get an A+? † Don't get me wrong, I loved my mom, but she was the most hateful, snobbish person that people hated crossing paths with.If their friends or mine were not Caucasian, then they were bad people and she would make snide comments about them. So you can imagine how it sat with ere that my Dad's partner, and owner of the medical practice, was from Honk Kong and wealthier than we were. Her intolerance did not stop at race alone but branched out to people of different lifestyles or religions like the Gays or Muslims. The comments she would make like â€Å"All gays should be put on an Island and blown up† really made me uncomfortable in general especially since she did not care who heard her or where we were.This upbringing had me in a whirlwind. I was being taught that every person who was not white,catholic, and straight was an outcast but all the while struggling in my mind to fight this knowing that at age 9 1 was only interested romantically in guys. Needless to say this was something that I could not divulge to anyone until I was out of the house. My dad was nothing like this unless my mother was within ear shot. At first glance anyone would think this was a complete nightmare and all around bad situation but I will explain later why this was actually a blessing in disguise and made me who I am today.Erie Frontbencher alludes to the important people in our lives as being a part of our micro-system and I fully agree (Witt & Mossier, 2010). I bet you are wondering why I made that last comment about making me who I am today and also curious as to who among the most important people in my life back then was the top one. Surprise, the top one was my mom Marinate. It was through the way she treated people and looked at the world that I said to myself † There is no way, under any circumstances, that I will grow up being that snobby and that judgmental. I was determined to treat others equally and as I would want to be I can help people and make a difference. My dad was an amazing man. It was through watching him that I learned how to tolerate her. The simple answer to that was to ignore her or occasionally nod in agreement even though I was opposed to hat she had Just said or did. He also taught me that money was not everything and that treating people differently based on the size of their pocket books was wrong. I really looked up to him and valued his input more than he probably will ever know.My neighbors truly helped me through this tough time as they were all real people just being who they were naturally, not caring 100% what others thought or my mom. I was able to vent to them and relax my guard to them although still not on the fact that I was gay. Without them in my life I probably woul d have exploded. So you robbery saw in my outline that I listed the man at the ice rink as being an important influence in my life. I was between the ages of nine and twelve when my mom decided I should take up ice skating. She had always waived hi to this nice guy who drove the machine to clear and clean the ice.One day I decided to wave back. She fiercely started back at me and said † I do not want that AIDS infested fagged coming over here. † This both hurt and shocked me. When she was not around I would talk with him about his life and how he was doing. He confided in me about how he was in fact gay and had AIDS. He also told me how much Marinate dated him for that and could not understand why she did the phony waves and smiles. I looked up to him for having the courage to be himself and to not let the words or actions of others influence him.I was probably 15 when I last visited my grandma, Rose, in San Francisco with a friend of mine. We were there with my dad who was visiting his father in the hospital dying. Rose and I were discussing random things when out of the blue she said â€Å"Love is love and rare to find. † I was completely stunned and speechless at this comment. Not only had she then known he was more then a friend but was okay with t. It was at that moment that I knew once I made the decision to finally come out to my parents that I would never hide who I was meant to be. That people are people just trying to live the best life they can while on this earth.I read an article that goes along with what I have been writing about and it states that the foundation of who we are today is influenced by the people who have input of any kind in our life, I. E. Parents, caregivers, siblings, relatives, teachers, churches, sports teams, clubs, friends, employers, employees, work mates, and so on. How we choose to interpret hose experiences is unique to us (Essence Holistic, 2012). So as I kind of alluded to in the above paragraphs, I am determined one day to be in a position where I can help people from all walks of like and let them know someone cares and is looking out for their best interests.That is why I am choosing to go into the social science major and then further that with a counseling degree. My goal is to hold groups and help people with HIVE/AIDS which is something I have since I was around 10 years old I have been dreaming of my prince charming sweeping me off my feet and growing old together while having many adventures ND building a life together. A lot of people are Jaded on this idea but I think this fairy tale romance can and does exist. It is Just rare to find.Although I too am leery at this happening in this stage of my, I still hold onto that hope. I feel getting a stable career will further pave the way for this happening. In the end I Just want what most of us want and that is a stable place to lay our heads with a companion at our sides to share the good and bad times and Just be comfort able without too many stresses and worries. Looking back, due to my upbringing, I would never have dreamed that I'd be an openly, proud gay man with friends of all ages and from all walks of life whom I value equally.It was because of those times and the struggles once I left home over the last 15 plus years that has landed me here today realizing that a people oriented career is what I desire. I am looking forward to utilizing this knowledge and becoming an even better person driven to help others open their eyes. As mentioned above, I was exposed to many distorted views about society and the world around me due to the way my mother was. This was then of course furthered by my own realization of who I was. Although our support groups may throw off active vibes and may be self centered, it does not have to be a bad thing nor predetermine our own destiny.

How Dreams and Dreaming Affect Individual Characters

Explore how dreams and dreaming affect individual characters in the novel. Remember to consider how the American Dream is represented in your answer. In the novel most of the characters have a dream. Each of the characters seem to have a sense of loneliness in each of their lives and their dreams are the things that keep them hoping for something better than their lives on the ranch. Lennie’s dream for one is based on his childlike personality, he wants to be with George and ‘tend to the rabbits’.At every point in the novel where he believes his dream will be compromised you see him fill with rage and throw a tantrum like a child would. When something goes wrong his brain comes back to the rabbits and how he can’t bear to loose his dream, this drives him to try and cover up or runaway from his wrongful acts. Lennie’s dream is tied to George’s and without George his dream is very unlikely to happen. Moving onto George, at first it seems his dre am is based on leaving Lennie to live his life as he chooses but as the novel progresses it becomes clear that he shares a dream with Lennie.This would be to ‘have a little house’ and ‘live off the fatta the lan’ and in this dream Lennie gets to ‘tend to the rabbits’. Compared to Lennie’s very childlike outlook on their dream George is very practical in his way of thinking for example his dream includes having ‘a cow and some pigs’ and ‘have a big vegetable patch and a rabbit hutch and chickens’ so that they can ‘live off the fatta the lan’. A lot of the men in the novel that move from place to place often dream of having their own place, something that can belong to them and being their own boss.George is possibly the only person that gets close to his dream being achieved with a little help from Candy. Another character with a dream is Curley’s wife, who wants to be ‘in the moviesâ₠¬â„¢. Her dream is based upon naivety and how she is very easily led to believe things. On two occasions she has been fooled into this way of thinking once when she ‘was a kid’ and a show came to town and ‘one of the actors. He says I could go with the show’ but her mother wouldn’t allow it. On the second occasion she ‘met a guy, an’ he was in pitchers’ and was told ‘he was gunna put me in the movies.Says I was a natural. Soon’s he got back to Hollywood he was gunna write to me about it. ’ She never received a letter and blames it on her mother once again, the way she talks about it is though she knows that it wasn’t going to happen but can’t bear admitting it so she makes her mother the scapegoat. Also she talks about her dream as though it’s in the past and wont progress any further than that. Candy and Crooks both dream of not being alone and a better life away from the ranch which is ul timately the true ‘American Dream’.Most of the conflicts that happen in the novel can be blamed upon the so called ‘American Dream’ when the dream world and reality collide. The American Dream contradicts itself by claiming it will do thing, for example equality when in reality Curley’s wife and Crooks are shown to have next to no presence on the ranch just because she is a woman and he is black. By the end of the novel it become clear to George that bitter Crooks is correct, his dream will never be achieved. Overall the novel highlights the impossibility of the ‘American Dream’ ever being achieved. In the end not one person has achieved their dream.

Buddhism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Buddhism - Essay Example The religious philosophy propagates that the widely popular belief in eternal soul, is a case of 'mistaken identity' where one or more of the skandhas are mistaken to be representative of an eternal soul. These five skandhas include: Form (rupa); feelings (vedana); perception (sajna); volitional factors (samskaras); and consciousness (vij-nana) ((Keown, 2003). Form or 'rupa' refers to the external features or characteristics of a human body such as form or color. Feelings or 'vedana' refers to sensations; Perception or 'sajna' refers to perceptions or mental images; volitional factors or ‘samskaras' refers to the power of mental formations and perception; and consciousness or 'vij-nana' refers to recognition and judgment (Hirakawa and Groner, 1993: 44). This doctrine further suggests that these five elements or aggregates are impermanent in nature i.e. 'anitya', and hence subject to change. It is on account of this very reason, that association with the notion of a permanent or unchanging 'self' is rendered false and any individual who associates with this false notion of a permanent self, is likely to suffer since impermanent things often result in suffering i.e. 'dukha'. For a Buddhist, an individual is comprised of these five aggregates which are subject to change, and hence and anything that is unchanging or permanent in nature cannot be associated with the concept of selfhood or personhood. Buddhism argues that this doctrine of "no independent self" is associated with the Buddhist doctrine of dependent/ conditioning origination i.e. 'pratiyasumtpada' (Palmquist, 2010). In Buddhism, there is no certain pre-defined concept of self. But the same is defined and explained by way of a series of impermanent and interdependent moments of consciousness (). For instance, according to the doctrine of conditioning origination i.e. 'ratiyasumtpada' the concept of self does not exist independently on its own, since the notion of self is empty / void. The emptiness of self in Buddhism does not imply non-existence of self, but instead refers to lack of autonomous self-nature i.e. 'nishvabhava'. Buddhism posits that the notion of personhood does not have an autonomous self existence, but instead is a consequence of certain conditions or 'pratyayas'. Thus the existence of personhood or self in Buddhism is dependent on several other factors, which are interconnected with each other and are mostly found in experiences which an individual goes through (Palmquist, 2010). The doctrine of personhood in Buddhism refers to the heretical view that human beings are gifted with a real 'self'. Buddhism essentially rejects the notion of an eternal self or 'atman'. Various religious groups within the religion, such as the 'Vatsiputriyas' had put forward the notion of an eternal self, in a bid to describe and explain the complex phenomenon of life after death, rebirth and karma. However according to the Buddhist religious theories, the concept of personhood wh ich is enshrined within the five aggregates, is derived from and dependent on them (Keown, 2003). Another more modern theory on the doctrine of Persoonhood was developed by a group known as the "Pudgalavadins" or the Personalists. This group was strongly opposed to the conventional and/or orthodox concept of anatta or no-self-ness, since it was difficult to comprehend and interpret. Contrary to the orthodox concept

PERSUASIVE WRITING Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

PERSUASIVE WRITING - Essay Example Among such organizations is the one called â€Å"Feed the Children, Inc.†. It was founded in 1979 in Oklahoma City, and today it works all over the world. As it is mentioned on the official website of â€Å"Feed the Children†, the organization â€Å"exists to end child hunger† and has the mission of â€Å"providing hope and resources for those without life essentials† (Feed the Children, Inc., 2014). Overall, the focus of the organization is to deliver food, drugs, clothes and other necessities to children and their families who lack them all over the globe. Every person can lend a helpful hand and support children in need as the organization presents a range of unique opportunities for those who wish to help out, such as sponsoring a child, volunteering, and organizing special projects (â€Å"Feed the Children, Inc., 2014). The first unique way every person can help a kid in need presented by â€Å"Feed the Children† is called â€Å"Sponsor a Child†. The essence of this option is that the organization gives the opportunity for those who want to be engaged in a program to change a life of a particular child. As the website goes, â€Å"for only $30 a month, you can have a powerful impact in one child’s life; you’ll stop her stomach from growling, give her clean water and send her to school† (Feed the Children, Inc., 2014). For children who live in the developing countries, even thirty dollars can be of a great support and can â€Å"help rescue a boy or a girl from the enemies of childhood – hunger, disease and poverty† (Feed the Children, Inc., 2014). This option allows searching and choosing a child one wants to help; by this, one’s support becomes not only more personalized but more controlled as well because a sponsor has an opportunity to commun icate with the kid he/she decides to help through letters, photos and important information as well as regular updates on the child’s health and well-being. In a course of one month,

Comparing Leadership in Military Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Comparing Leadership in Military - Essay Example The key leadership challenges for me exist at several levels. The foremost challenge is for me to establish clear-defined role for the DCO of the brigade, who in the past have been deemed to have a confused role. As CO, I also need to define my role clearly. These problems were apparent in Afghanistan during the previous deployment, where the leadership struggled due to too many responsibilities being assigned to the DCO, due to having a separate leadership structure in place over the MiTT, and later on as a result of the untimely deaths of the top officers in the brigade. Not only did the deaths of these officers create a sudden change of leadership, it also required the development of a new vision of leadership as well as the inspiration of new confidence in the troops in the entire brigade. Thus, I have a challenge in establishing myself as the new leader who will bring the unit back to the pace and status it held under old leadership, and as a result I must raise morale and profi ciency among the soldiers. Within the officer structure, there is also a problem of my shops working together in harmony—the S3 shop is perceived as dictatorial by its members, while the S4 shop is overwhelmed; finally, the S6 shop, least likely to complain about workload, also finds that its job is overwhelming. These shops all need some sort of relief, and I need to refocus them in order to better complete their tasks as well as recover from the deployment. My second leadership challenge lies at the NCO level. The most alarming aspect of this is how my brigade CSM is not open to the feedback of his NCOs, who complained about the stress and workload as well. Although the NCOs do benefit from hard handed leadership that requires action and results, they also need leadership that listens to their feedback and integrates into a wider solution. The CSM is not going to improve the efficiency and morale of his NCOs by batting back their feedback, negative as it may be, and needs t o take an approach that will lead to more incentive and increased dedication. In short, the NCOs need to be inspired rather than reprimanded—and I need to reprimand my CSM. Finally, there is an issue throughout the entire brigade of time and resource management. The reset face is presenting me a challenge due to the dwindling amount of days before the next phase of training comes into place, and much of the equipment is either in transit or in disrepair and will not be available for full use until much close to the H+180 point. This places pressure on myself and the leadership at all levels, as the leaders from the team level up to my position as CO need to find a way to train and familiarize with equipment that we do not have. The result is not that there is a shortage of time, but moreso that there is an excess of time without the proper resources. I need to find a way to prepare the troops for the next deployment cycle without the equipment—I also need to adjust the troops to the new mission and timeline in Afghanistan, as well as the fact that they may be acting in infantry type roles in addition to their usual MOS roles. My vision for transforming the organization of the 56th HBCT involves making a clear structure of authority and tasking. As CO, I will require reports on equipment availability at

Construction Engineering Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Construction Engineering - Assignment Example The essential ethics topics for training in construction industry include; a. The interest of stakeholders: The purpose of the project must meet the demands of the stakeholders in the project. Therefore, professionals are required to understand the need of the stakeholders and work towards their satisfaction. b. Conflict of interest: The decisions made must be professional and business oriented at the interest of the employer or profession. Any relationship that may be perceived to impair a project’s objectives must be checked. c. Compliance to legal issues: The actions of engineers must comply with the laws and regulations. This implies that there will be no compromise to ethical responsibility. d. Employee and public safety: The work place should be free from drugs and alcohol. Healthy and safe working environment need to be encouraged. Any violation of safety rules and conditions that endanger the welfare o employees must be reported to immediate authorities. e. The quality of workplace f. Protection and effective use of the assets of the employer g. Ensuring that records are accurate complete and maintained h. Guidelines concerning gifts, meals, and entertainment offered in projects that may influence performance of duties i. Access to confidential or proprietary information j. How to deal with kickbacks and bribes k. Acceptable relationship with competitors l. Whistle blowing activities m. Environmental protection acts n. Acceptable relationship among the clients, contractors, and consultants. Quiz 2: An engineer’s actions and ASCE’s Code of Ethics According to canon 4 and 5 of ASCE’s Code of Ethics, such an action of donating goods and services or subsidizing the construction of public official’s vacation home in exchange for favored treatment with a purpose of securing public construction contracts is wrong. Canon 4 categorically states that an engineer should act as a faithful agent or trustee in professional matters t o employers and avoid conflict of interest. The engineer should not accept gratuities directly or indirectly from contractors, agents, or clients in relation to work. Canon 5 emphasizes that the engineer is not allowed to compete unfairly with others. The engineer should build reputation professionally based on services rendered. An engineer is prohibited to give, solicit, and receive directly or indirectly political contributions, gratuity, or unforbiden strategies to secure a contract (American Society of Civil Engineers, 2000). The engineer is allowed to negotiate for contracts professionally and fairly based on the demonstrated competence and qualifications depending on the professional service needed. As a professional, the engineer is allowed to advertise professional services in a way that lacks misleading language that derogatoriness the dignity of the profession. If engineer has knowledge of any firm that violates canon 4 and or 5, the information should be presented to res ponsible authorities in writing and cooperate with the authority in providing further information or assistance needed (American Society of Civil Engineers, 2000). Quiz 3: Health and Safety in construction sites Employers engaged in construction work must emphasize on health and safety in construction sites. A construction site similar to McGill Hospital Project engages employees in leading edge work and precast concrete works among other activities. A conventional fall protection systems plan should be

Labour market Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Labour market - Essay Example Labour market flexibility refers to the ability and the willingness of labour to respond to changes in the market condition, including changes in the demand for work force and the wage rate. The labour market flexibility is an imperative aspect of how labour markets adjusts to supply and demand, it is therefore has a key role to the supply side of the macroeconomics. A flexible labour market is when firms are under fewer regulations concerning the labour force and therefore, can set their own wages, change their work hours and fire employees (Michie & Sheehan 2003, P.131). In contrast, a labour market with low flexibility is bound by some rules and regulations such as requirements from trade unions and minimum wage restrictions. It is good to note that, labour market institutions were seen to block the clear functions of the market by weakening the demand for work force, thus making it not attractive to hire workers by pushing up the wage or by distorting the labour supply, leading t o impairing the equilibrium of market function mechanism (Benner 2003, P.629). The most distinction of labour market flexibility is based on strategies companies use, and they can be grouped into four: External numerical flexibility, it refers to the number of workers from the external market or the adjustments of labour intake. It can be achieved by employing workers temporarily or on fixed contracts, therefore, the employer can hire and fire employees according to the company’s needs, by following the protection legislation. Internal numerical flexibility, it is achieved by adjusting schedules or working hours of workers employed in the firm. It includes part time, overtime and shifts. Functional flexibility, it is where the employees can be transferred to different tasks within the company, it mostly deals with organization of operations in a firm. Financial flexibility, it is where there are differences

W2 Assign Human Capital Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

W2 Assign Human Capital - Essay Example ess, then changing the procedure or process to enhance the output, boost efficiency and also the efficiency of the procedure or process (Cokins, 2009). The link between PM and improvement of performance is that their main goals of are to boost organisational efficiency and effectiveness to enhance the ability of the company to deliver services and/or goods. Another area, at times, targeted for both PM and improvement of performance is organisational efficacy, which concerns the process of setting organisational objectives and goals (Cokins, 2009). Performance management and improvement normally concern processes like statistical quality management and other softer forms of assessment like customer satisfaction surveys that are applied in obtaining qualitative information on performance from the stance of customers (Cokins, 2009). Traditional HR measurement systems mainly center on efficiency, but in order to transform this into strategic human capital management, they should attention paid to efficiency and effectiveness by measuring turnover, bench strength and attitudes (Merkle, 2011). Rarely do human resource leaders think about the impact and relative effect of diverse talent pools on organisational performance (Merkle, 2011). More significant, traditional HR measurements are hardly ever directed particularly to where they are most prone to have the utmost impact–on key/vital talent. Traditional HR management systems need to pay more concern to nonfinancial impacts, as well as sustainability needs to be improved, and strategic human resource management can persuade these, as well (Merkle, 2011). The key activities that HR managers need to participate in to be successful have to do with how corporate strategies associate with human capital management. Studying the organisations keenness to implemen t diverse strategies and supporting the execution of the corporate strategy should be activities that are conducted much more often by efficient HR functions

The USA Foreign Policy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

The USA Foreign Policy - Essay Example According to Chomsky, an object of preventive attack should meet following requirements: 1. Should be practically defenseless. 2. Should be significant enough to unleash a conflict. 3. There should be an opportunity to represent it as an embodiment of real threat for safety. Iraq met all these parameters. First two requirements were obvious, and the third one was easily achievable. 5. What were the consequences of the "Open Door" policy for Venezuela In the book Noam Chomsky writes, that the "Open Door" policy and free trade has been formulated in format of exert pressure upon Venezuela in order not to allow any partner relations with the Great Britain, thus continuing to defend and strengthen the right of the USA to oil development in the Near East. By 1928 Venezuela has become one of the main exporters of oil, and all oil-fields have been supervised by the American companies. Such policy has led to that by 2003 Venezuela represented the country with record parameters of poverty of the population, and its potential and resources have been directed for the sake of interests of foreign investors, instead of own citizens. 6. What are the main purposes of the government of the USA according to Chomsky Chomsky states that the Government of the USA tries to take advantage of a situation to promote in realization of its own purposes: militarization, including militarization of space, a code name of which is "anti-missile defense"; reduction of social democratic programs; veiling of negative consequences of "corporate globalization", polemics concerning the state of environment, health insurance, etc.;... Economic rise in China became one of the most important events in the world in the end of the last century. For last two decades the Chinese economy has increased five times, and incomes of the population twice. The total national product of this country has reached the American level, and by estimation of World Bank, in 2010 will come out on top in the world. The base of economic successes of China was the carried out in 1980 and 1990th years reforms. Reforms have released peasants and have allowed creating private enterprises. There was a transition of China to a market economy. Modernization of the country was promoted by the Confucian ethics of Chineses including respect for the seniors, to family values, a habit to diligent work. In case the present management of China will manage to prepare the successors interested in carrying out of market reforms and transformation of communistic order, China has real opportunities to achieve essential successes in the business of modernization of the country. By its sizes, population, which has reached almost 1300 million people, gaining in strength economy, and a huge thirst for knowledge and ancient culture, this Asian state has all the bases to be considered as a potential superpower of XXI century. We can hardly reckon that in the foreseeable future China will become the democratic state and will be practicing the western values. Most likely, the transformation of communistic society will lead to a reorientation of an authoritative regime, in which basis will lay nationalism and Confucian values.

Native Americans in the United States and Short Story Essay Example for Free

Native Americans in the United States and Short Story Essay Nacirema The â€Å"Body Ritual among the Nacirema† is a short story about a native American tribe. It wasn’t until more research on my part that I realized that this tribe did not exist. In fact it is a folk tale told in Miner’s own words. In true form Miner gives hint to this short story the Nacirema culture to that of the our culture today. Nacirema is in fact spelled â€Å"American†(Culture). The Nacirema has a hero named â€Å"Notgnihsaw† spelled â€Å"Washington† backwards. There are many similarities to this story as our American culture. Out of similarities Washington is our hero. He was the first President of the United States. Legend has it that Washington â€Å"threw a silver dollar across the Potomac River†, much like the Nacirema threw their native beads across their Pa-To-Mac River. Another story has Washington chopping down a cherry tree. But did Washington actually chop the tree down? â€Å"For he could not tell a lie†. As Americans we have rituals and cultural identities Every household has its â€Å"shrine† much like the Nacirema. Not all shrines are made alike. Is the â€Å"shrine† our homes, our churches, or our bathrooms? Shrines come in all walks of life. Miner gives the perception that the working class go to work and make money. If you have very little money your home is small much like a tent. The more money you make the bigger your home is which is made of brick and mortar. He discuses a specific â€Å"charm box† built into the wall (medicine cabinet). Within this box is collection of magical potions (medicine) where all members of the tribe have faith that he/she cannot live without. â€Å"The most powerful of these are the medicine men, whose assistance must be rewarded with substantial gifts. However, the medicine men do not provide the curative potions for their clients, but decide what the ingredients should be and then write them down in an ancient and secret language. This writing is understood only by the medicine men and by the herbalists who, for another gift, provide the required charm. †(Miner) This indicates folks going to the doctor that write the prescriptions to filled by the pharmacy. Miner talks about how members bow theirs heads in front of the box much like that of washing our hands. The Catholics have a similar ritual of dipping of the fingers in the â€Å"holy water† and doing the sign of the cross(Holy water) or kneeling before entering the pew(Religion:Manners in). The Nacirema have a morbid fascination with their mouths. If it â€Å"weren’t for the rituals of the mouth, they believed their teeth would fall out, their gums bleed. † If these things would have happened they believed their lovers would disown them. † â€Å"The daily body ritual performed by everyone includes a mouth-rite. †(Miner) This is much like the flossing or brushing of our teeth. The floss or bristles on our tooth brush we use is similar to the â€Å"hogs hairs. † The â€Å"magical powders† is that of the tooth paste we brush our teeth with. Miner maintains that the Americans right of passage in ways to throw off the readers. Themes as visiting the doctor, surgical operations, and sex are talked about. I initially didn’t take this story serious in reading it. After thorough research to get a better understanding of the writing I got a eye opening. This story reminds me much of a recent short story â€Å"A Modest Proposal†. Both has similarities of rituals and tales of people. I come from a family of rituals with last names that carry on from family to family or given the middle name of your mother first name. We are all meeting the needs of our own tribes whether it be the Americans, Nacirema or Vietnamese into how each is stereotyped.

La-Mg-Ni Based Alloys

La-Mg-Ni Based Alloys Abstract: Degradation behaviors of La2MgNi9, La1.5Mg0.5Ni7 and La4MgNi19 alloys were studied. The results indicate that severe pulverization and corrosion are important factors leading to the capacity deterioration. However, it is puzzled that corrosion of the electrochemical cycled alloys is aggravated, which is inconsistent with the result that La2MgNi9 present poor cycling stability andalso the assumption that alloy with high Mg content is easy to be corroded. Then, the intrinsic anti-corrosion and anti-pulverization characteristics were mainly focused in the first part of this work. Immersion experiments demonstrate that the Mg-rich phases are more easily to be corroded. The intrinsic anti-corrosion resistance of the three alloys presents an improved trend which is inversely proportional to the abundance of the Mg-rich phases. However, the intrinsic anti-pulverization ability just presents an inverse trend, which is closely related to mechanical property of the phase structures. LaNi5 with the highest hardness is easy to crack, but the soft (La,Mg)Ni2 is more resistant to crack formation and spreading, suggesting a possibility to improve the anti-pulverization ability by adjusting the phase constitution. In general, the weaker corroded extent of La2MgNi9 in the electrochemical test is attributed to its better intrinsic anti-pulverization capability though the intrinsic anti-corrosion of La2MgNi9 is worse. As to La4MgNi19 which possesses excellent intrinsic anti-corrosion resistant, enhancement of the anti-pulverization ability is the key issue to improve the cycling stability. 1 Introduction Superlattice La-Mg-Ni based hydrogen storage alloys have received substantial attentions over the last decade because the excellent electrochemical performances used in nickel/metal hydride (Ni/MH) battery [1-5]. Up to now, A2B7 type alloys have been successful developed for the practical use [3]. However, AB2 and AB3 type alloys present poor cycling stability though the theoretical discharge capacities are higher than A2B7 type alloys [6-8]. In addition, A5B19 type alloys have been reported to possess good electrochemical performances, but they still need improvement to meet the practical application, especially on the cycling stability in the long-term reversible cycles [9-10]. It is well accepted that electrochemical capacity decrease of the metal hydride electrodes is caused by both the physical and chemical degradation [11-12]. In La-Mg-Ni system, factors affecting the capacity degradation were emphasized on pulverization and corrosion during the charge/discharge cyclings [13-17]. Corrosion leads to damage and disappearance of the phases which possess considerable hydrogen storage capacity. It has been reported that La-Mg-Ni alloys are easily to be corroded into La(OH)3 and Mg(OH)2 [13-15]. And these kinds of corrosion products are loose and passive which cannot protect the matrix for further corrosion [15-16]. Severe pulverization of La-Mg-Ni alloys during cycling had also been reported in many works [13-17]. Pulverization makes fresh surface of the electrodes alloys continuously exposed to the electrolyte and dramatically improves development of corrosion. Liu et al. classified the degradation process of the La-Mg-Ni-Co alloy into three stages: the pul verization and Mg oxidation stage, the Mg and La oxidation stage and the oxidation and passivation stage [14]. In addition, capacity degradation of the metal hydrides is closely related to the structural changes during absorption/desorption cycling. Our previous works demonstrated that transformation from crystallinity to amorphous viz. hydrogen induced amorphization (HIA) of La-Mg-Ni alloys occurred during the hydrogenation cycles and remarkably worsens both the gas-solid and electrochemical storage performances [18-19]. Understanding of the degradation mechanisms is the precondition for improvement of the cycling stability of the La-Mg-Ni based alloys. Several compounds including AB2, AB3, A2B7 and A5B19 type phase exist in this system, and the alloys usually present multi-phase microstructure. Though quiet a number of efforts have been applied on the degradation characters of the La-Mg-Ni based alloys, these works mainly focused on the overall capacity deterioration behaviors of the alloys. Diversity of the degradation characteristics of various compounds in this system is also lacking. In the present study, degradation mechanisms of three typical La-Mg-Ni alloys: La2MgNi9, La1.5Mg0.5Ni7 and La4MgNi19 have been systematically investigated. In the first part of this work, corrosion and pulverization behaviors of the alloys, especially the intrinsic characteristics of the AB3, A2B7 and A5B19 type La-Mg-Ni phases during absorption/desorption cycling were generated. In a following paper, HIA and its in fluence on the hydrogen storage properties are discussed. 2 Experimental materials and methods 2.1 Alloy preparation The as-cast La2MgNi9, La1.5Mg0.5Ni7 and La4MgNi19 alloy was prepared by induction levitation melting under argon atmosphere. The as-cast alloys were remelted twice for homogeneity. Appropriate excess of Mg was added in order to compensate for the evaporative loss of Mg during melting. Then the as-cast La2MgNi9, La1.5Mg0.5Ni7 and La4MgNi19 alloys were annealed at 1143, 1173 and 1193 K respectively for 6 h protected in argon atmosphere. 2.2 Characterization The sample was fine polished and then etched using a mixed etchant (including water, ethanol, acetic acid, picric acid, nitric acid and hydrochloric acid) at 343K. Then metallographic microstructure of the alloys was observed using a laser scanning confocal microscope (LSCM: Olympus-OLS4000). Phase constitution of the alloys was also characterized by a scanning electron microscopy (SEM: FEI-Qanta 400) under backscatter electron mode (BSE) applied on the unetched samples. The chemical composition of various phases was studied by energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) equipped in the SEM. Crystal structures of the alloys were measured by an X-ray diffractometer (XRD: Bruker-D8 Advance) with Cu KÃŽÂ ±1 radiation. Micro-morphologies and selected area electron diffraction (SAED) were applied by means of a transmission electron microscopy (TEM: JEOL-2100 and FEI-F20) to examine the microstructural and crystallographic information. TEM samples were firstly crushed the bulk into fine powder , and then ultrasonic dispersion was performed in ethanol for 1800 s. Several drops of the mixed liquid were laid on a carbon membrane support on the copper grid, and dried in a vacuum oven. Particle size of the cycled alloys was tested by a laser particle size analyzer (Malvern-Mastersizer 3000) where the alloy particles were dispersed by absolute alcohol. Oxygen content of the electrochemical cycled and immersed alloys was performed on a nitrogen/oxygen tester (NCS-ON3000). Before the oxygen test, samples were immersed in deionized water for 24 h, then washed using absolute alcohol twice to remove the residual KOH, and dried in a vacuum drying oven. 2.3 Hydrogen storage properties Gas-solid cycling and PCT isotherm measurement were carried out by Suzuki -2SDWIN PCT system at 303K (Sieverts type). Before the PCT analysis, sample was activated as follow: evacuated at 473 K for 2 h, placed to 303K, hydrogenated under 3Mpa H2 (Purity 99.999%) pressure for 5 h, evacuated at 573 K for 2 h again. Each cycle consists of absorption at 2MPa for 600s and desorption by evacuating at 298K for 1200 s. For the electrochemical measurement, the alloy particles (40-50 µm) were mixed with carbonyl nickel powder in a weight ratio of 1:5 and cold pressed to form a pellet about 1g firstly. The pellets were then packed in a Ni foam substrate spot-welded with a Ni strip. The simulated three-electrode cell including a working electrode (metal hydride), a counter electrode (NiOOH/Ni(OH)2) and a reference electrode (Hg/HgO) was installed. Before electrochemical test, the alloy metal hydride electrode was immersed in 6 M KOH aqueous solution for 1d. The measurement to get the maximum capacity and cycling stability was to charge at current density of 105 mA/g for 4h followed by a rest of 10min, then discharged at the same current density to the cut-off voltage of -0.6 V. 3 Results and discussions 3.1 Microstructure and hydrogen storage performances LSCM and BSE micrographs of the three alloys are shown in Fig.1. Four contrasts can be detected in the La2MgNi9 alloy. The chemical quantitations of various contrast from EDS analysis are listed in Table 1, from which the four phases are speculated to be (La,Mg)Ni2, (La,Mg)Ni3, (La,Mg)2Ni7 and LaNi5. Five crystal structures including CaCu5-type, MgCu4Sn-type, PuNi3-type, Ce2Ni7-type and Gd2Co7-type are identified in XRD profile of the La2MgNi9 alloy, as shown in Fig.2. The structural parameters and phase abundance are refined and listed in Table 2. The results are in consistent with the metallographic observation that the main phase is (La,Mg)Ni3, then (La,Mg)Ni2and (La,Mg)2Ni7, but content of LaNi5 is rare. In case of the La1.5Mg0.5Ni7 and La4MgNi19 alloy, metallographic and XRD characterization indicate that (La,Mg)Ni2disappears, (La,Mg)5Ni19 emerges and LaNi5 increases with elevation of the B-side stoichiometry. The main phase of the La1.5Mg0.5Ni7 and La4MgNi19 alloy is (La,Mg)2Ni7 and (La,Mg)5Ni19 respectively, and the structural parameters and phase abundance are also listed in Table 2. Fig.3 displays P-C-Tcurves of the alloys, and the detailed data are given in Table 3. Theoretically, hydrogenation capability increases with reduction of the B-side stoichiometry in the La-Mg-Ni based alloys. However, the maximum hydrogen absorption content of the La2MgNi9 alloy is slightly lower than the La1.5Mg0.5Ni7 alloy. It is ascribed to the fact that some (La,Mg)Ni2 which can hardly absorb and desorb hydrogen at room temperature [8], existing in the La2MgNi9 alloy. The three alloys have analogic hydrogen absorption plateau. But both the desorption pressure and the reversible hydrogen capacity elevate with increase of the B-side stoichiometry of the three alloys. Reversible hydrogen capacity of the AB3-typed La2MgNi9 alloy is only 1.15 wt%, and the hysteresis effect is more evident than the other alloys. Electrochemical discharge curves and performances of the alloys are shown in Fig.4 and Table 3 respectively. Discharge capacities of the La2MgNi9 and La4MgNi19 alloy are lower than the La1.5Mg0.5Ni7 alloy. The lower discharge capacity of La2MgNi9 is due to the weak reversible hydrogen storage capacity. As to the La4MgNi19 alloy, it is attributed to high abundance of LaNi5 which is unsuited for the electrochemical application without alloying [20]. Furthermore, La1.5Mg0.5Ni7 presents better cycling stability than the other two alloys. Capacity retention after 100 cycles of the La2MgNi9 alloy is similar with that of the La4MgNi19 alloy. 3.2 Degradation characteristics after electrochemical cycling From morphology and EDS results of the alloys, it is clear that pulverization and corrosion have occurred after electrochemical cycling by 100 times (only La2MgNi9 alloy presents in Fig.5). XRD analysis shows that La(OH)3, Mg(OH)2 and La2O3 appear in the cycled alloys, as displayed in Fig.6. Likewise, morphology and SAED analysis of TEM confirm existence of La(OH)3 combined with La2O3 (stick-like), Mg(OH)2 (needle-like) and MgO (particles), which are marked with 1, 2 and 3 respectively as illustrated in Fig.7. The results are in consistent with the other literature studied on the corrosion products of a La1.5Mg0.5Ni7 alloy [21]. Detailed determinations of TEM are provided in the supplementary information (Fig.S1-S3). In addition, size and amount of La(OH)3 and La2O3 are obvious than that of Mg(OH)2 and MgO, indicating that corrosion of La is significant in the electrochemical environment. Mg(OH)2 and MgO are close to the alloy surface but very loose. It agrees well with the previous works that corrosion products of Mg are gel-type and cannot form a solid protection layer for further corrosion [15-16]. Compared among the three alloys, it is noteworthy that corrosion productions of the La2MgNi9alloy are less than the other alloys (see in Fig.6). Identically, oxygen contents of the electrochemical cycled alloys follow the order that La2MgNi9 1.5Mg0.5Ni7 4MgNi19, indicating that the corroded extent are aggravated (see in Fig.8). It is puzzled that the result is inconsistent with the electrochemical performances that La2MgNi9 possesses poor cycling stability. It also disagrees with the consideration that high Mg content is harmful to the corrosion resistance in La-Mg-Ni based alloys [22-24]. In order to comprehend this fact further, the intrinsic anti-corrosion resistance of the three alloys was investigated next. 3.3 The intrinsic anti-corrosion properties To avoid impacts of pulverization on the corrosion behaviors, the alloy particles with the same diameter (around 40 ÃŽÂ ¼m) were immersed in KOH solution at 60  °C for 15 d. Then the morphology, phase structure and oxygen content were measured for characterization of the intrinsic corrosion behaviors. SEM micrographs and EDS analysis of the alloy particles illustrate that severe corrosion occurred after immersion, the typical results are shown in Fig.9 (only La2MgNi9 alloy particles are given here). Compared to the electrochemical cycled alloys, the stick-like products which have been confirmed as composite of La(OH)3 and La2O3, are remarkable in the immersed samples which is due to aggravated corrosion at higher temperature. XRD profiles identify that the corrosion products are mainly La(OH)3, but La2O3 cannot be detected in the immersed alloys, as shown in Fig.10. Coincidently, SAED by TEM found that the stick-shaped phase is single-phase La(OH)3, as shown in Fig.11. The result suggests that La2O3 transforms to La(OH)3 during evolution of the corrosion process. Besides, Mg(OH)2 and MgO are also found existing in the immersed samples, and their morphologies are same with that in the electrochemical cycled alloys. However, Mg(OH)2can only be detected in La2MgNi9 from the identifications of XRD, indicating that corrosion of Mg is violent in La2MgNi9. Fig.12 is the oxygen contents of the immersed alloys, from which severity of corrosion of the three alloys are La2MgNi9 > La1.5Mg0.5Ni7 > La4MgNi19. To provide detailed information of the relationship between the corrosion behaviors and phase constitution, immersion test applied on the massive samples has also been studied (the condition is same with that of the powder samples). Fig.13 shows the SEM-BSE micrographs of the immersed samples (only La1.5Mg0.5Ni7 alloy are present here). Obviously, the corroded extent is inhomogeneous which is considered to be caused by differences of the anti-corrosion capabilities of the various phases. EDS analysis on two regions with diverse corrosion grades (as marked with 1 and 2 in Fig.13) shows no Mg but less O existing in region 1. Whereas, more Mg and O are detected in region 2 with severe corroded extent than region 1. Likewise, EDS-mapping indicates that the region possessing more Mg presents richer O, as shown in Fig.14. Similar result is more evident in the as-cast alloys, which is attributed to the inhomogeneous chemical composition and microstructure of the as-cast alloy, details can b e seen in the supplementary (Fig. S4 and S5). The aforementioned results demonstrate that the Mg-rich phases are easy to be corroded in the alkaline solution. It has been well demonstrated that Mg solubility in La-Mg-Ni alloys follows the order that (La,Mg)Ni2> (La,Mg)Ni3 > (La,Mg)2Ni7 > (La,Mg)5Ni19 > LaNi5 [25]. Thus the intrinsic anti-corrosion resistances of various phases in the La-Mg-Ni system are considered to be according with the inverse trend. This result is in agreement with several works where AB2and AB3 type La-Mg-Ni alloys have suffered serious corrosion after electrochemical experiments [8, 23-24]. The tendency is also exactly identical with that the anti-corrosion resistance is inversely proportional to the abundance of the Mg-rich phases. La2MgNi9 presents worse anti-corrosion capability because contents of the Mg-rich (La,Mg)Ni2and(La,Mg)Ni3 arehigher thanthe other two alloys. However, trend of the intrinsic anti-corrosion resistance is opposite to the corrosion extent of the three alloys after electrochemical cyclings. Concern to the fact that corrosion extent of the electrode alloys is also closely related to severity of pulverization during the electrochemical charge/discharge process, the pulverization properties of the alloys are carefully characterized then. 3.4 The intrinsic anti-pulverization properties In order to avoid influence of the additives in the electrochemical test on characterization of the intrinsic pulverization behaviors, the alloys are gaseous hydrogenated and dehydrogenated for 30 cycles. Morphology observation indicates that remarkable pulverization has occurred where decrease of the particle size and emergence of cracks can be seen clearly in the cycled alloys, as shown in Fig.15 (only La2MgNi9 alloy are present here). Then the particles sizes before (Sb) and after (Sa) cycling are measured and the size retention is calculated by Sb/Sa. It (Fig.16) shows that severity of pulverization for the three alloys are La2MgNi9 1.5Mg0.5Ni7 4MgNi19, which is just contrary to the tendency of the corrosion extent after the immersion experiment. Combined with the results of the intrinsic anti-corrosion and pulverization characterization, we can conclude that the weaker corrosion extent of La2MgNi9 in the electrochemical test is attributed to its better intrinsic anti-pulverization capability though the intrinsic anti-corrosion of La2MgNi9 is worse. It has been well accepted that pulverization is induced by the cell volume expansion upon hydrogen absorption [11-12]. Thus, large volume change leads to severe pulverization. Unfortunately, exact measurement of the volume expansion in the present work is difficult due to the multi-phase microstructure. Instead, we summarize the volume changes according to other experimental works where microstructures of these alloys are all sing-phase to ensure the accuracy as far as possible. Based on the data as listed in Table 4, there is no regular trend for the volume changes among the various structures in La-Mg-Ni system. And, no special relationship between the reported volume expansion data and the pulverization performances in the present work can be found. Besides, pulverization is believed to depend on the mechanical properties of the alloys [11-12]. Alloys with the more ductile character are more resistant to pulverization than the brittle materials. Usually, hydrogen storage alloys ar e hard and brittle, thus measuring ductility directly is difficult. Alternatively, Vickers hardness has been used to evaluate the preference of pulverization for the hydrogen storage alloys. And, previous works have found an almost inverse relationship between Vickers hardness and the pulverization rate [11-12, 30], suggesting the availability of Vickers hardness measurement on characterization of the anti-pulverization ability. Fig.17 gives indentations of the various phases in La2MgNi9 and La1.5Mg0.5Ni7 alloy. Evolution of Vickers hardness can be seen in Fig.18. It presents a linear relation between the Vickers hardness and B-side stoichiometry of the structures, which also agrees well with the pulverization behaviors of the alloys. Obviously, the mechanical property is an important factor affecting the anti-pulverization ability in the La-Mg-Ni phases. It is found that hardness differences of the AB3, A2B7 and A5B19 type phase are small. Under low loading of the hardness test, micro-cracks can hardly be observed in all the above three phases. Since the test force increase, micro-cracks can be seen in all these phases, but there is no obvious difference between them. Differently, LaNi5 is the hard phase, but hardness of (La,Mg)Ni2 is far more lower than the other phases. To comprehend more understanding on the crack formation of various phases, a massive sample with a polished surface was partial charged by electrochemical method, and the morphology and distribution of crack was observed. To highlight character of the hard and soft phase, the as-cast La2MgNi9 alloy was selected for the high abundance of LaNi5 and (La,Mg)Ni2. Microstructure characteristics of the as-cast La2MgNi9 alloy are given in the supplementary (Fig.S6-S7). As shown in Fig.19, quite a number of cracks can be observed in the sample which is only charged for 10 min. Most of the cracks exist in LaNi5 with the darkest contrast in the BSE image. One reason is that LaNi5 is the catalytic phase that primarily charged in the La-Mg-Ni system [31-32]. More importantly, it also ascribes to the brittle character of LaNi5 which agrees well with the above result that the hard phase is easy to crack formation. It is noteworthy that cracks are often stopped in front of (La,Mg)Ni2. Obviously, the soft phase is more resistant to crack formation and able to prevent the crack spreading. Similar result has been reported in other literatures where ductile secondary phases are believed to be beneficial to the cycling stability [33]. According to the above results, we can conclude that La4MgNi19 alloy is easy to pulverization as the high abundance of the hard phases LaNi5 and (La,Mg)5Ni19. As to La2MgNi9, little LaNi5 but existence of the soft (La,Mg)Ni2 and (La,Mg)Ni3 make it more resistant to crack emergence. These findings enlighten a way to improve the anti-pulverization ability by introduction appropriate abundance and distribution of soft secondary phases. 4 Conclusions In the present study, corrosion and pulverization behaviors of three typical La-Mg-Ni alloys: La2MgNi9, La1.5Mg0.5Ni7 and La4MgNi19 have been systematically investigated. All the alloys present multi-phase microstructure with (La,Mg)Ni3, (La,Mg)2Ni7and (La,Mg)5Ni19 as the main phase respectively. La1.5Mg0.5Ni7 possesses better electrochemical properties among the three alloys. It is found that pulverization and corrosion with the main product La(OH)3, combined with La2O3, Mg(OH)2 and MgO, have occurred after the electrochemical cycling. The overall corrosion extent of the electrochemical cycled alloys follow the order that La2MgNi9 1.5Mg0.5Ni7 4MgNi19. Immersion test demonstrate that the Mg-rich phases are easy to be corroded in the alkaline solution. The intrinsic anti-corrosion resistance are found to be La2MgNi9 1.5Mg0.5Ni7 4MgNi19, which is inversely proportional to the abundance of the Mg-rich phases. However, the intrinsic anti-pulverization ability just presents an inverse tre nd that La2MgNi9 > La1.5Mg0.5Ni7 > La4MgNi19. It is found that the mechanical property is an important factor affecting the anti-pulverization ability. Vickers hardness elevates with increase of the B-side stoichiometry of the various phases, which agrees well with the pulverization behaviors of the alloys. Furthermore, LaNi5 with the highest hardness is found to be easy to crack formation, but the soft (La,Mg)Ni2 is more resistant to crack formation and able to prevent the crack spreading. The weaker corrosion extent of La2MgNi9 in the electrochemical test is attributed to its better intrinsic anti-pulverization capability though the intrinsic anti-corrosion of La2MgNi9 is worse. Acknowledgments The authors are grateful to the Natural Science Foundation of China (NO. 51371094) and Natural Science Foundation Application of Inner Mongolia (NO.2014MS0526) for financial support. References [1]J Chen, N Kuriyama, H T Takeshita, H Tanaka, T Sakai, M Haruta. Hydrogen storage alloys with PuNi3-type structure as metal hydride electrodes. Electrochemical and Solid State Letters, 2000, 3: 249-252. [2]T Kohno, H Yoshida, F Kawashima, T Inaba, I Sakai, M Yamamoto, M Kanda. Hydrogen storage properties of new ternary system alloys: La2MgNi9, La5Mg2Ni23, La3MgNi14. Journal of Alloys and Compounds, 2000, 311: L5-L7. [3]S Yasuoka, Y Magari, T Murata, T Tadayoshi, J Ishida, H Nakamura, T Nohma, K Masaru. Development of high-capacity nickel-metal hydride batteries using superlattice hydrogen-absorbing alloys. Journal of Power Sources, 2006, 156: 662-666. [4]Y F Liu, Y H Cao, L Huang, M X Gao, H G Pan. Rare earth-Mg-Ni-based hydrogen storage alloys as negative electrode materials for Ni/MH batteries. Journal of Alloys and Compounds, 2011,509: 675-686. [5]J J Liu, S M Han, Y Li, L Zhang, Y M Zhao, S Q Yang, B Z Liu. Phase structure and electrochemical properties of La-Mg-Ni-based hydrogen storage alloys with superlattice structure. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, 2016, 41: 20261-20275. [6]J Guo, D Huang, G X Li, S Y Ma, W L Wei. Effect of La/Mg on the hydrogen storage capacities and electrochemical performances of La-Mg-Ni alloys. Materials Science and Engineering B, 2006, 131: 169-172. [7]B Liao, Y Q Lei, G L Lu, L X Chen, H G Pan, Q D Wang. The electrochemical properties of LaxMg2-xNi9 (x=1.0-2.0) hydrogen storage alloys. Journal of Alloys and Compounds, 2003, 356-357: 746-749. [8]T Yang, T T Zhai, Z M Yuan, W G Bu, S Xu, Y H Zhang. Hydrogen storage properties of LaMgNi3.6M0.4 (M=Ni, Co, Mn, Cu, Al) alloys. Journal of Alloys and Compounds, 2014, 617: 29-33. [9]A Fà ©rey, F Cuevas, M Latroche, B Knosp, P Bernar. Elaboration and characterization of magnesium-substituted La5Ni19 hydride forming alloys as active materials for negative electrode in Ni-MH battery. Electrochimica Acta, 2009: 54: 1710-1714. [10]Z Y Liu, X L Yan, N Wang, Y J Chai, D L Hou. Cyclic stability and high rate discharge performance of (La,Mg)5Ni19 multiphase alloy[J]. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, 2011, 36: 4370-4374. [11]T Sakai, K Oguro, H Miyamura, N Kuriyama, A Kato, H Ishikawa. Some factors affectin the cyble lives of LaNi5-based alloy electrodes of hydrogen batteries. Journal of Less-Common Metals, 1990, 161: 193-202. [12]D Chartouni, F Meli, A Zà ¼ttel, K Gross, L Schlapbach. The influence of cobalt on the electrochemical cycling stability of LaNi5-based hydride forming alloys. Journal of Alloys and Compounds, 1996, 241: 160-166. [13]B Liao, Y Q Lei, L X Chen, G L Lu, H G Pan, Q D Wang. Effect of the La/Mg ratio on the structure and electrochemical properties of LaxMg3à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢xNi9 (x=1.6-2.2) hydrogen storage electrode alloys for nickel-metal hydride batteries. Journal of Power Sources, 2004, 129: 358-367. [14]Y F Liu, H G Pan, Y J Yue, X F Wu, N Chen, Y Q Lei. Cycling durability and degradation behavior of La-Mg-Ni-Co-type metal hydride electrodes. Journal of Alloys and Compounds, 2005, 395: 291-299. [15]X Z Sun, H G Pan, M X Gao, R Li, Y Lin, S Ma. Cycling stability of La-Mg-Ni-Co type hydride electrode with Al. Transaction of Nonferrous Metal Society of China, 2006, 16: 8-12. [16]P Zhang, Y N Liu, J W Zhu, X D Wei, G Yu. Effect of Al and W substitution for Ni on the microstructure and electrochemical properties of La1.3CaMg0.7Ni9-x(Al0.5W0.5)x hydrogen storage alloys. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, 2007, 32: 2488-2493. [17]Y H Zhang, D L Zhao, B W Li, H P Ren, X P Dong, X L Wang. Cycle stability of La0.7Mg0.3Ni2.55-xCo0.45Cux(x=0-0.4) electrode alloys. Transaction of Nonferrous Metal Society of China, 2007, 17: 816-822. [18]Y M Li, H W Zhang, Y H Zhang, H P Ren. Changes of the crystal struc

Murder, Mystery and Intrigue in My Last Duchess Essay -- Robert Browni

Murder, mystery and intrigue all describe Robert Browning's poem, "My Last Duchess." From the speakers' indirect allusions to the death of his wife the reader is easily lead to think that the speaker committed a vengeful crime out of jealousy. His elaborate speech confuses and disguises any possible motives, and the mystery is left unsolved. Even if he did not kill his wife, he certainly has something to hide. Based on the poem's historical references, style and structure, the Duke's controlling and jealous nature becomes evident. An ambiguous quality about the Duke is his historical character. The incident the poem dramatizes clearly references the historical Alfonso II, Duke of Ferrara, who married Lucrezia, daughter of a man who later became pope, the Medici, in 1558 (Rudy 169). Within two years of their marriage she suspiciously died. We know that Browning's Duke has a nine-hundred-years-old name of which he was very proud, and, based on his collections of paintings and sculptures, that he was a patron of arts. Both facts correspond with the historical Duke. The poem's duke of Ferrara, his last duchess, the "Count" with whose servant Ferrara is here discussing re-marring and a dowry, and the new "fair daughter" are also historical, but the interpretation of what actually took place among them is Browning's own. The style and structure of this poem plays a significant role in the effect of the poem. "My Last Duchess" exemplifies the important elements of Browning's talent for dramatic monologue, his ability to evoke the unconstrained reaction of a person in a particular situation or crisis (Bloom 35). This format suits this poem particularly well because the speaker, taken to be Duke of Ferrara, comes across as being v... ... aspects of the Duke that remain unclear include his true character. As mentioned, he is presenting his best side, but through his speech the use of historical references, style, and structure helps the reader sees how he is very jealous and controlling, which leads us to believe he may have many dishonorable qualities. Works Cited Bloom, Harold. Modern Critical Views of Robert Browning. New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 1985. Browning, Robert. "My Last Duchess." Literature: An Introduction to reading and writing. Ed. Edgar V. Roberts. 6th Edition. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall Inc., 2001. 695-697. DeVane, William. A Browning Handbook. New York: Appleton-Century, Inc, 1955. Magill, Frank N., Ed. Magill's Survey of World Literature. 1 vols. New York: Marshall Cavendish Corp. 1993. Rudy, Mary K. Poetry for Students. 1 vols. Detroit: Gale. 1998. 164-171.

Adolf Hitler :: Biographies Biographical Essays

Adolf Hitler 1.The Beginning At half past six on the evening of April 20th, 1889 a child was born in the small town of Branau, Austria. The name of the child was Adolf Hitler. He was the son a Customs official Alois Hitler, and his third wife Klara. As a young boy Adolf attendated church regulary and sang in the local choir. One day he carved a symbol into the bench which resembled the Swastika he later used as the symbol of the Nazi party. He was a pretty good student. He received good marks in most of his classes. However in his last year of school he failed German and Mathematics, and only succeeded in Gym and Drawing. He drooped out of school at the age of 16, spending a total of 10 years in school. From childhood one it was his dream to become an artist or architect. He was not a bad artist, as his surviving paintings and drawings show but he never showed any originality or creative imagination. To fullfil his dream he had moved to Vienna the capital of Austria where the Academy of arts was located. He failed the first time he tried to get admission and in the next year, 1907 he tried again and was very sure of success. To his surprise he failed again. In fact the Dean of the academy was not very impressed with his performance, and gave him a really hard time and said to him "You will never be painter." The rejection really crushed him as he now reached a dead end. He could not apply to the school of architecture as he had no high-school diploma. During the next 35 years of his live the young man never forgot the rejection he received in the dean's office that day. Many Historians like to speculate what would have happened IF.... perhaps the small town boy would have had a bit more talent....or IF the Dean had been a little less critical, the world might have been spared the nightmare into which this boy was eventually to plunge it. 2.World War 1 While living in Vienna Hitler he made his living by drawing small pictures of famous landmarks which he sold as post cards. But he was always poor. He was also a regular reader of a small paper which claimed that the Araban race was superior to all and was destined to rule the world.

brave new world :: essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The novel â€Å"Brave New World†, by Aldous Huxley, is a history book written for the future. The author envisions our society in the future and the dangerous direction it is headed in. â€Å"Brave New World† verse reality creates similarities between these two worlds. Our society is based on balance and when that balance is broken, unhappiness accrues. If the truth was hidden, happiness could never be disturbed.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In chapter sixteen, Mustapha Mond explains why their society hides the truth and how the truth could cause pain. Soma is used in the â€Å"Brave New World† to prevent the truth or any clichà ©s that could cause unhappiness. Lenina, â€Å"A gramme is always better than a damn,† â€Å"A gramme in time saves nine.† In reality we call that drug abuse. Drug addicts use different substances to escape the harsh reality of truth. Living without the drugs seems unimaginable and frightening in both worlds.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬ËœHypnopaedia’ is used to teach people their way of life and moral lessons. In the story a young boy named Ruben Rabinovivch fell asleep with the radio on listening to a professor giving a lecture. When he awoke the next morning he could recite the facts, but did not know what they meant. In our society, people use similar tactics with tapes to learn and memorize facts. Also propaganda and advertisements are use to convince or even to control our way of thinking into what the advertiser wants us to believe. If someone in the â€Å"Brave New World† society does not follow the propaganda, they are considered abnormal and an outcast. We do the same in our current reality by not accepting someone in our group if he has different beliefs, culture or religion.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I consider the ‘Nine Years’ War’ to be compared to the war in Afghanistan. The biochemical warfare is used in both worlds. Our civilization today is concerned and scared. If the truth were hidden, as to the â€Å"Brave New World† maybe our society would be happy, too.

Department of Homeland Security Essay

Returning from a vacation to Germany in February, freelance journalist Bill Hogan was selected for additional screening by customs officials at Dulles International Airport outside Washington. Agents searched his luggage, he said, â€Å"then they told me that they were impounding my laptop. † Shaken by the encounter, Hogan examined his bags and found the agents had also inspected the memory card from his camera. â€Å"It was fortunate that I didn’t use [the laptop] for work,† he said, â€Å"or I would have had to call up all my sources and tell them that the government had just seized their information. † When customs offered to return the computer nearly two weeks later, Hogan had it shipped to his lawyer. How common Hogan’s experience is remains unclear. But an April ruling by the U. S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals found that the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees Customs and Border Protection, does have full authority to search any electronic devices without suspicion in the same way that it can inspect briefcases. Now, businesses and other organizations are pushing back, Congress is investigating, and lawsuits have been filed challenging how the program selects travelers for inspection. The ninth circuit ruling was the result of more than 20 lawsuits involving electronics seized from travelers who were nearly all of Muslim, Middle Eastern, or South Asian descent. Citing the lawsuits, customs officials decline to say how many computers, storage drives, cellphones, and BlackBerrys they have confiscated or what happens to them afterward. Officials declined to testify at a recent Senate hearing, although they wrote in a prepared statement that officers â€Å"have the responsibility to check items such as laptops and other personal electronic devices to ensure that any item brought into the country complies with applicable law and is not a threat to the American public. † But congressional investigators say that copies of drives are sometimes made, meaning customs could be duplicating corporate secrets, legal and financial data, personal E-mails and photographs, along with stored passwords for accounts with companies ranging from Netflix to Bank of America. The practice of storing and duplicating material might be something that both opponents and supporters of seizure could agree to regulate, says Kansas Republican Sen. Sam Brownback, an otherwise staunch supporter of customs’ authority. Larry Cunningham, an assistant district attorney from New York, told the hearing: â€Å"I am aware of no authority that would permit the government, without probable cause to believe it contains contraband, to keep a person’s laptop or to copy the contents of its files. † Whatever the case, the controversial practice has prompted some businesses to change their policies about traveling with corporate information. Many now require employees to access data remotely to avoid confiscations. â€Å"[Seizure] immediately deprives an executive or company of the very data–and revenue–a business trip was intended to create,† says Susan Gurley, head of the Association of Corporate Travel Executives, which is lobbying for greater transparency and government oversight of the confiscations. â€Å"As a businessperson returning to the U. S. , you may find yourself effectively locked out of your electronic office indefinitely. † Indeed, while Hogan’s computer was returned within two weeks, others say they have had theirs held for months. Customs insists that terrorism and child pornography are sufficient justification for electronics searches. And even civil libertarians agree it makes sense for customs to search luggage, which could pose immediate dangers to aircraft and passengers. But, says Marc Rotenberg, executive director of the Electronic Privacy Information Center, â€Å"customs officials do not go through briefcases to review and copy paper business records or personal diaries, which is apparently what they are now doing in digital form. These PDA’s don’t have bombs in them. † And then there are the precedents that critics say the program could set. Imagine, they say, if other nations began seizing the laptops of U. S. travelers. â€Å"We wouldn’t be in a position to strongly object,† Rotenberg says. Indeed, U. S. officials have advised visitors to this summer’s Olympics in Beijing that their laptops may be targeted for duplication or bugging by the Chinese. [Illustration] [Picture omitted]: Bill Hogan, who had his laptop seized at an airport, waits for a Senate subcommittee hearing. -CHARLIE ARCHAMBAULT FOR USN&WR

Leadership vs. Management Essay

Leadership and management must go hand in hand. They are not the same thing. But they are necessarily linked, and complementary. The manager’s job is to plan, organise and coordinate. The leader’s job is to inspire and motivate. In his 1989 book â€Å"On Becoming a Leader,† Warren Bennis composed a list of the differences: the manager administers the leader innovates the manager is a copy the leader is an original the manager maintains the leader develops the manager focuses on systems and structures the leader focuses on people the manager relies on control the leader inspires trust the manager has a short-range view the leader has a long-range perspective the manager asks how and when the leader asks what and why the manager has his/her eye always on the bottom line the leader’s eye is on the horizon the manager imitates the leader originates the manager accepts the status quo the leader challenges it the manager is the classic good soldier the leader is his/her own person the manager does things right the leader does the right thing Leadership Attributes of a leader: Studies, and develops ideas and principles Innovates Resourceful and looks for solutions to problems Empathetic with a focus on people Inspires trust among stakeholders Understands the big picture Superior listening skills Courageously challenges the state of affairs, and asks why and what can be improved Looks for opportunities to develop strengths Develops a following A leader’s specific roles are determined through the four basic leadership responsibilities of directing, coaching, supporting and delegating. Specific responsibilities will fall into one of these four categories. In leadership practice, one must master skills in all areas in order to effectively lead others under their direction. Developing strengths in each of the four leadership roles allows a leader to read specific situations accurately and know what communication style is best applied. Directing Directing refers to how to keep work tasks and activities on the right track. A leader’s direction is what makes or breaks problem solving as well as determines the effectiveness of an approach to an assignment or task, the maintaining of momentum until its completion, and whether it is done by deadline. There are several ways to generate good direction techniques. These include: Explain things completely and include the ‘why’s’ Leaders learn early on that the best way to gain support and trust from their employees is to explain all things in their entirety. Once people understand why something is important or necessary, they generally rally to the call of that which needs to be done or addressed. Remain visible Leaders understand the power of their presence at all times. Nothing deflates the workforce’s motivation and desire to achieve more than to be left on their own with no visible means of support or direction. Objectively consider opposing points of view Leaders consider situations, problems and solutions from various viewpoints, as the input from as many individuals as possible expands their capabilities to effectively frame their direction. Coaching Coaching refers to when a leader knows where he or she wants to go and remains in control of the task but needs to lead others in developing a mutual support network. Coaching instils the desire to achieve and builds a dialogue bridge between the leader and those under his or her charge. This  motivates employees and positively changes attitudes toward the work assignment. To do this effectively a leader must make an effort to: Incorporate the word ‘we’ into all conversations Effective leaders eliminate the word â€Å"I† because it denotes a singular rather than cooperative effort. The very meaning of the term â€Å"coaching† implies a team effort. Listen for objections and areas of misunderstanding Effective leaders who coach well develop the skill of eliminating objections by developing an effective dialogue and creating clear and concise responses. Offer explanations addressing the ‘why’s, what’s and how’s’ of the problem or task at hand Good coaching depends upon complete understanding. Motivation and confidence comes from understanding the expectations a leader has of those involved in a given task, assignment or problem solving situation. Supporting Managers cannot be effective leaders unless they actively hone their supporting skills. People look warmly on leaders who actively work to support them emotionally as well as physically. When leaders actively work to support the people under their charge they: Acknowledge individual efforts with comments of praise and positive support Leaders are not afraid to say â€Å"thank you,† or â€Å"you’re doing a great job,† or whatever it takes to instil confidence in an individual. Disclose their own feelings openly and honestly Leaders are not afraid to reveal their â€Å"inner self.† Trust and loyalty are built on disclosing inward feelings, concerns and desires. Readily and honestly opening up builds encouragement and perseverance on both sides. Never hesitate to ask, ‘What’s wrong?’ Leaders allow themselves to get into the thick of a situation or task, and are quick to share the decision making responsibility, but know when to relinquish control in order to gain extra participation and involvement. Delegating Leaders know and understand their people. They know their strengths and weaknesses as well as what motivates and frustrates them. Effective delegating relies on the ability to select the proper person for the specific task or role. Leaders develop good delegation skills by: Briefing the delegate Leaders leave nothing to chance when they delegate. When delegating, it is vital to explain exactly what expectations the leader has of the delegated individual. Having confidence in the person they select Leaders do not select individuals for an assignment according to their job descriptions or the salaries they command, they look for people with the skills, abilities, perseverance and motivation to get the job done and done well. Not abdicating responsibility, but allowing individuals to decide a best course of action for themselves Leaders monitor and weigh these individual decisions, but never advance their own leadership position for a particular course of action unless they assess  it to be the best one. Understanding Theories of Leadership Trait Theory of Leadership Trait Theory of Leadership is based on the assumption that people are born with inherited traits and some traits are particularly suited to leadership. People who make effective leaders have the right (or sufficient) combination of traits and great leaders has some common personality characteristics. Traits/skills generally believed to be possessed by leaders can be classified into categories such as: Physical characteristics (e.g. age; height; weight; alertness; energetic); Background characteristics (e.g. education; social status; mobility; experience); Intelligence characteristics (e.g. ability; judgement; knowledge; clever {intelligent}; conceptually skilled; creative; knowledgeable about group task; intellectual breadth); Personality characteristics (e.g. aggressiveness; alertness; dominance; decisiveness; enthusiasm; extroversion; independence; self-confidence; authoritarianism; assertive; tolerant of stress); Task-Oriented characteristics (e.g. achievement needs; responsibility; initiative; persistence; ambitiousness; achievement-orientated; decisive; persistent; willingness to assume responsibility; organised {administrative ability}; Social characteristics (e.g. supervisory ability; cooperativeness; popularity; prestige; tact; diplomacy; adaptability; cooperative; dependable; tactful; persuasive; socially skilled; emotional stability and composure; good interpersonal skills). Look at the Social Characteristics above. Be honest with yourself and write down those characteristics you feel you have and those that you feel you still need to work on. Behavioural theories Behavioural psychology, also known as behaviourism, is a theory of learning based upon the idea that all behaviours are acquired through conditioning. Behavioural theories focus on how leaders behave and assume that leaders can be â€Å"made†, rather than born, and successful leadership is based on definable, learnable behaviour. Theory X and Theory Y Theory X and Theory Y framework proposed by McGregor in his classic book â€Å"The Human Side of Enterprise† (1960) consists of two alternative set of assumptions. Theory X perceives employees to be lazy, irresponsible and untrustworthy, while according to theory Y employees are approached as one of the most valuable assets of the company. Your management style is strongly influenced by your beliefs and assumptions about what motivates members of your team. If you believe that team members dislike work, you will tend towards an authoritarian style of management; on the other hand, if you assume that employees take pride in doing a good job, you will tend to adopt a more participative style. Theory X Theory X assumes that employees are naturally unmotivated and dislike working, and this encourages an authoritarian style of management. According to this view, management must actively intervene to get things  done. This style of management assumes that workers: Dislike working. Avoid responsibility and need to be directed. Have to be controlled, forced, and threatened to deliver what’s needed. Need to be supervised at every step, with controls put in place. Need to be enticed to produce results; otherwise they have no ambition or incentive to work. X-Type organisations tend to be top heavy, with managers and supervisors required at every step to control workers. There is little delegation of authority and control remains firmly centralised. McGregor recognised that X-Type workers are in fact usually the minority, and yet in mass organisations, such as large scale production environment, X Theory management may be required and can be unavoidable. Theory Y Theory Y explains a participative style of management that is de-centralised. It assumes that employees are happy to work, are self-motivated and creative, and enjoy working with greater responsibility. It assumes that workers: Take responsibility and are motivated to fulfil the goals they are given. Seek and accept responsibility and do not need much direction. Consider work as a natural part of life and solve work problems imaginatively. This more participative management style tends to be more widely applicable. In Y-Type organisations, people at lower levels of the organisation are involved in decision making and have more responsibility. Contingency theories Fiedler’s contingency model The Fiedler Contingency Model asks you to think about your natural leadership style, and the situations in which it will be most effective. The model says that leaders are either task-focused, or relationship-focused. Once you understand your style, it says that you can match it to situations in which that style is most effective. Fiedler’s model consists of 3 primary elements: Leader-Member Relations – This is the level of trust and confidence that your team has in you. A leader who is more trusted and has more influence with the group is in a more favourable situation than a leader who is not trusted. Task Structure – This refers to the type of task you’re doing: clear and structured, or vague and unstructured. Unstructured tasks, or tasks where the team and leader have little knowledge of how to achieve them, are viewed unfavourably. Leader’s Position Power – This is the amount of power you have to direct the group, and provide reward or punishment. The more power you have, the more favourable your situation. Fiedler identifies power as being either strong or weak. There are some criticisms of the Fiedler Contingency Model. One of the biggest is lack of flexibility. Fiedler believed that because our natural leadership style is fixed, the most effective way to handle situations is to change the leader. He didn’t allow for flexibility in leaders. Hersey-Blanchard Situational Leadership The Hersey-Blanchard situational leadership theory states that instead of using just one style, successful leaders should change their leadership styles based on the maturity of the people they’re leading and the details of the task. Using this theory, leaders should be able to place more or less emphasis on the task, and more or less emphasis on the relationships  with the people they’re leading, depending on what’s needed to get the job done successfully. We will look at situational leadership more close later on. Transformational Leadership The leadership style called â€Å"transformational leadership† is often the most effective approach to use. Transformational leaders have integrity, they inspire people with a shared vision of the future, they set clear goals, they motivate people towards these goals, they manage delivery, and they communicate well with their teams. Transformational leaders are inspiring because they expect the best from everyone on their team as well as themselves. This leads to high productivity and engagement from everyone in their team. In many organisations, both transactional and transformational leadership styles are useful. Transactional leaders (or managers) ensure that routine work is done reliably, while transformational leaders look after initiatives that add new value. It’s also important to use other leadership styles when necessary – this will depend on the people you’re leading and the situation that you’re in. Tannenbaum and Schmidt’s continuum The Tannenbaum and Schmidt Continuum is a simple model of leadership theory which shows the relationship between the level of freedom that a manager chooses to give to a team, and the level of authority used by the manager. As the team’s freedom is increased, so the manager’s authority decreases. This is a positive way for both teams and managers to develop. Over time, a manager should aim to take the team from one end to the other, up the scale, at which point you should also aim to have developed one or a  number of potential successors from within your team to take over from you. When examining and applying the Tannenbaum and Schmidt principles, it’s extremely important to remember: irrespective of the amount of responsibility and freedom delegated by a manager to a team, the manager retains accountability for any catastrophic problems that result. Delegating freedom and decision-making responsibility to a team absolutely does not absolve the manager of accountability. That’s why delegating, whether to teams or individuals, requires a very grown-up manager. If everything goes well, the team must get the credit; if it all goes horribly wrong, the manager must take the blame. This is entirely fair, because the manager is ultimately responsible for judging the seriousness of any given situation – including the risks entailed – and the level of freedom that can safely be granted to the team to deal with it. This is not actually part of the Tannebaum and Schmidt Continuum, but it’s vital to apply this philosophy or the model will definitely be weakened, or at worse completely back-fire. Here are the Tannenbaum and Schmidt Continuum levels of delegated freedom, with some added explanation that should make it easier to understand and apply. 1.The Manager decides and announces the decision The manager reviews options in light of aims, issues, priorities, timescale, etc., then decides the action and informs the team of the decision. The manager will probably have considered how the team will react, but the team plays no active part in making the decision. The team may well perceive that the manager has not considered the team’s welfare at all. This is seen by the team as a purely task-based decision, which is generally a characteristic of X-Theory management style. 2.The manager decides and then ‘sells’ the decision to the group The manager makes the decision as in 1 above, and then explains reasons for the decision to the team, particularly the positive benefits that the team will enjoy from the decision. In so doing the manager is seen by the team to recognise the team’s importance, and to have some concern for the team. 3.The manager presents the decision with background ideas and invites questions The manager presents the decision along with some of the background which led to the decision. The team is invited to ask questions and discuss with the manager the rationale behind the decision, which enables the team to understand and accept or agree with the decision more easily than in 1 and 2 above. This more participative and involving approach enables the team to appreciate the issues and reasons for the decision, and the implications of all the options. This will have a more motivational approach than 1 or 2 because of the higher level of team involvement and discussion. 4.The manager suggests a provisional decision and invites discussion about it The manager discusses and reviews the provisional decision with the team on the basis that the manager will take on board the views and then finally decide. This enables the team to have some real influence over the shape of the manager’s final decision. This also acknowledges that the team has something to contribute to the decision-making process, which is more involving and therefore motivating than the previous level. 5.The manager presents the situation or problem, gets suggestions, then decides The manager presents the situation, and maybe some options, to the team. The team is encouraged and expected to offer ideas and additional options, and discuss implications of each possible course of action. The manager then decides which option to take. This level is one of high and specific involvement for the team, and is appropriate particularly when the team has more detailed knowledge or experience of the issues than the manager. Being  high-involvement and high-influence for the team this level provides more motivation and freedom than any previous level. 6.The manager explains the situation, defines the parameters and asks the team to decide At this level the manager has effectively delegated responsibility for the decision to the team, albeit within the manager’s stated limits. The manager may or may not choose to be a part of the team which decides. While this level appears to gives a huge responsibility to the team, the manager can control the risk and outcomes to an extent, according to the constraints that he stipulates. This level is more motivational than any previous, and requires a mature team for any serious situation or problem. (Remember that the team must get the credit for all the positive outcomes from the decision, while the manager remains accountable for any resulting problems or disasters. This isn’t strictly included in the original Tannenbaum and Schmidt definitions, so it needs pointing out because it’s such an important aspect of delegating and motivating, and leadership.) 7.The manager allows the team to identify the problem, develop the options, and decide on the action, within the manager’s received limits This is obviously an extreme level of freedom, whereby the team is effectively doing what the manager did in level 1. The team is given responsibility for identifying and analysing the situation or problem; the process for resolving it; developing and assessing options; evaluating implications, and then deciding on and implementing a course of action. The manager also states in advance that he/she will support the decision and help the team implement it. The manager may or may not be part of the team, and if so then he/she has no more authority than anyone else in the team. The only constraints and parameters for the team are the ones that the manager had imposed on him from above. (Again, the manager retains accountability for any resulting disasters, while the team must get the credit for all successes.) This level is potentially the most motivational of all, but also potentially the most disastrous. Not surprisingly the team  must be mature and competent, and capable of acting a t what is a genuinely strategic decision-making level. Leadership Styles Some basic leadership styles: Directive Frequently described as autocratic. Tells people what to do and expects them to jump to it. Participative Seeks input from others and participates in the decision-making process. Laissez-Faire A hands-off approach allowing for both initiative and the latitude to determine process to effect an outcome Adaptive A fluid style that takes into consideration the context of the environment and the individual being led. Using the techniques of Leadership Situational leadership ® Situational Leadership ® is a concept developed by Paul Hersey, an internationally recognised leading authority on training and development in leadership and management and Kenneth Blanchard, an American author and management expert. Generally when referring to the concept it is safer and correct to show the name as a registered protected trademark as it relates  to business and products by Hersey and Blanchard. Looking at ‘Directive Behaviour’ whereby the leader gives clear defined and detailed instructions, and ‘Supportive Behaviour’ where the leader gives people the freedom to make decisions and support them in their efforts, Hersey and Blanchard moved away from the idea of shifting on a line between the two and consider good leadership as a combination of both. The idea is that the way of combination will vary according to the person being dealt with by the leader, and the situation on which that person operates, hence the term – Situational Leadership ®. The notable features of this model are briefly that the model: focuses on followers (individual team members), rather than wider workplace circumstances; emphasise that leaders should change their behaviour according to the type of followers; proposes a progression of leadership adaptation in response to the development of followers. By combining high and low levels of each type of behaviour we progress towards four distinct styles of leadership. Level Group type Developing D1 Low competence / High commitment D2 Some competence / Low commitment D3 High competence / Variable commitment Developed D4 High competence / High commitment Appropriate leadership styles for each development level: Development Level Appropriate Leadership Style D1 Low competence / High commitment S1 Directing (Structure, control and supervise) D2 Some competence / Low commitment S2 Coaching (Direct and support) D3 High competence / Variable commitment S3 Supporting (Praise, listen and facilitate) D4 High competence / High commitment S4 Delegating (turn over responsibility for day-to-day decision making) Directing:The leader provides specific instructions and closely supervises the task. This style is appropriate for people who lack skill but are committed and eager to learn or those who do not want responsibility and want clear, specific instructions. Coaching:The leader gives some direction and supervision because team members, although they have some competence and commitment, are still relatively inexperienced, therefore require further development. They need support and praise to boost their self-esteem. Their involvement in decision making assists with the development process. Supporting:Even though team members do not need much direction, good support by the leader is still necessary to motivate and boost confidence. Delegating:Team members are both competent and committed therefore leader can give them responsibility for decision making and problem solving with little supervision or support. Power in Organisation Leadership Leadership and power are closely linked. Powerful people are normally those that others follow, so they become the leaders. The five bases of power were identified by John French and Bertram Raven in the early 1960’s through a study they had conducted on power in leadership roles. The study showed how different types of power affected one’s leadership ability and success in a leadership role. They identified five bases of power: 1.Legitimate:This comes from the belief that a person has the formal right to make demands, and to expect compliance and obedience from others. 2.Reward:This results from one person’s ability to compensate another for compliance. 3.Expert:This is based on a person’s superior skill and knowledge. 4.Referent:This is the result of a person’s perceived attractiveness, worthiness, and right to respect from others. 5.CoerciveThis comes from the belief that a person can punish others for noncompliance. If you’re aware of these sources of power, you can†¦ Better understand why you’re influenced by someone, and decide whether you want to accept the base of power being used. Recognise your own sources of power. Build your leadership skills by using and developing your own sources of power, appropriately, and for best effect. Trust The first task of any leader is to inspire trust. Trust is confidence born of two dimensions: character and competence. Character includes your integrity, motive, and intent with people. Competence includes your capabilities, skills, results, and track record. Both dimensions are vital. The foundation of trust is your own credibility, and it can be a real differentiator for any leader. A person’s reputation is a direct reflection of their credibility, and it precedes them in any interactions or negotiations they might have. Behaviours you can adopt to build trust in yourself: Talk Straight Demonstrate Respect Create Transparency Right Wrongs Show Loyalty Deliver Results Get Better Confront Reality Clarify Expectation Practice Accountability Listen First Keep Commitments Extend Trust Bibliography The Wall Street Journal Article: What is the difference between Management and Leadership (last accessed 4 August 2013) (http://guides.wsj.com/management/developing-a-leadership-style/what-is-the-difference-between-management-and-leadership/) The Biz Coach Article: 10 Key Differences between Leaders and Managers (last accessed 4 August 2013) (http://www.bizcoachinfo.com/archives/8426) Techno Funcâ„ ¢ Article: Trait Theory of Leadership (last accessed 4 August 2013) (http://www.technofunc.com/index.php/leadership-skills/leadership-theories/item/trait-theory-of-leadership-2) Article: Behavioural Theories of Leadership (last accessed 7 August 2013) (http://www.technofunc.com/index.php/leadership-skills/leadership-theories/item/behavioral-theories-of-leadership) About.com – Psychology Article: Psychology Theories (last accessed 7 August 2013) (http://psychology.about.com/od/psychology101/u/psychology-theories.htm) Research Methodology Article: Theory X and Theory Y (last accessed 7 August 2013) (http://research-methodology.net/theory-x-and-theory-y/) Mind Tools Article: Theory X and Theory Y (last accessed 7 August 2013) (http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newLDR_74.htm) Article: Fiedler’s Contingency Model (last accessed 11 August 2013) (http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/fiedler.htm) Article: The Hersey-Blanchard Situational Leadership ® Theory (last accessed 11 August 2013) (http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newLDR_44.htm) Article: French and Raven’s Five Forms of Power (last accessed 11 August 2013 (http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newLDR_56.htm) Slideshare Article: Fiedler’s contingency model to leadership (by Bhobotosh Debnath) (last accessed 11 August 2013) (http://www.slideshare.net/bhobotoshdebnath/assignment-on-2) Businessballs.com Article: Tannenbaum and Schmidt Continuum (last accessed 11 August 2013) (http://www.businessballs.com/tannenbaum.htm) The Build Network Article: Leadership styles to master (last accessed 11 August 2013) (http://thebuildnetwork.com/leadership/4-leadership-styles/) The Fast Track Article: The 5 Types of Power in Leadership (last accessed 11 August 2013) (http://quickbase.intuit.com/blog/2011/08/26/the-5-types-of-power-in-leadership/) Leadership Now Article: How the best leaders build trust (last accessed 11 August 2013) (http://www.leadershipnow.com/CoveyOnTrust.html)