Drugs and Alcohol in the Adolescent Years Essay -- Influence Teenagers

Drugs and Alcohol in the Adolescent Years The years of adolescence are a very important time for both young girls and boys to make decisions that will essentially have the power to shape their lives. In life there are conflicts to be overcome from both the â€Å"evil† social world and also a young girl’s vulnerability can cause problems. Both have a huge impact on decisions she will make. Drugs and alcohol are both issues that almost any young person in today’s society is going to come into contact with. Then there is the issues of making decisions about how these substances will affect their life. It is interesting to study and compare the drug use among different ethnic groups as well as how the culture that one is brought up in has a big part in how they will respond to the same issues. This leads right into my paper topic which is girls growing up on the border. This is a completely different lifestyle as well as upbringing for these girls that are living so close to the Mexico. Drugs and alcohol are everywhere and are most likely intertwined into each of our lives in some way. For this reason it is apparent how likely it is that adolescents are exposed to these substances very often if not daily. Recent surveys that have been done, in particular the Ontario Health Survey, 1990, shows that initiation to drugs begins as early as 12 years old in an adolescents life. Twelve years old is considered the risk period for alcohol and tobacco and this phase does not end until about age 22. A sample of 4,364 people from this same study was on people from the ages of 15 to 35. Results showed that the major risk age for initiating with either alcohol, marijuana, or tobacco is over by age 22. Once again it is sh... ... are white or Mexican and live on the border or not. Works Cited: Leverton, Kate. Personal Interview. 25 March 1999. Phipher, Mary. Reviving Ophelia: Saving the Selves of Adolescent Girls. New York, NY. G.P. Putnam Sons, 1994. DeWitt, David J; Offord David R. "Patterns of Onset and Cessation of Drug Use Over the Early Part of the Life Course." Young Adults-Drug Use- Ontario-Drug Abuse-Ontario -Drinking Alcohol icges-Ontario. Vol.24, pg. 746, 13p. Holck Susan E., M.D., Warren Charles W. Ph.D, Smith Jack M.S., Rochat Roger M.D., "Alcohol Consumption Among Mexican American and Anglo Women; Results of a Survey Along the U.S.- Mexican Border." Vol. 45: Pg. 149-154, 1984. Dassori Abana M., Neff James A., Hoppe K, Sue. "Ethnic and Gender Differences in the Diagnostic Profiles of Substance Abusers." Vol 15, Aug. 1993, pgs. 382-390.

Comparing Freedom of Expression in the Statutory Law and the Sharia Law Essay

Getting in touch with media law during the first semester of my Masters gave me a sense of the importance of law in general because it consists of acts and articles which organise most issues in the human’s life in a way that protects ethics and morals. Regardless of the hypocrisy and double-standards of the countries which raise high the slogan of Human Rights, I liked the Human Rights Conventions that were laid down by these countries. Therefore, I decided to research some points in these conventions that are related to my study in order to nurture my knowledge in this great field of the human sciences. Then, I thought deliberately about the benefit of exerting much effort to get such knowledge since it is existed, well-explained and well-organised, in handy books. But after looking by historical and religious study as far back as some centuries ago, I found that my own culture, Islam, had plenty of law provisions that helped its people not only to protect their ethics and morals, but also to spread them all over the world. Through deliberate and objective study, I found that many of the social reformers, whose thoughts led to the emergence of the modern criteria of human rights, were originally affected by the roots of the Islamic ulture. I also found a lot of those old and even modern reformers who praised the old provisions of the Sharia Law and they also praised the prosperity which was an outcome of implementing it. The Western writer Patricia Crone (2005: p. 218-219) said referring to how those old provisions of law were true bases of a moral society: â€Å"Medieval Muslims d id not write utopias in the sense of imaginary travel accounts or other descriptions of ideal societies which do not exist, †¦ they were not given to seeking ideals outside their own civilisation at all. But they did place a golden age right at the beginning of their own history, and their numerous accounts of this age add up to a detailed utopia of great emotive power†¦ It was a time when the Muslims had all the virtues of tribesmen and none of their vices, for thanks to Islam there was no feuding, no factionalism, and no disorder, just austerity, solidarity, and total devotion to the truth. Therefore, I decided to look for the provisions of that old law which are related to my study and compare them with their counterparts in the modern human rights’ conventions. In order to limit my research, I decided to take the articles related to my study, media law, in the Human Rights Act 1998 (HRA) of the British Law to represent the leading international human rights conventions. Part one: Preface Main Argument In this dissertation I am going to explain how both the HRA and the Sharia Law deal with the concept of freedom of expression. As long as such argument is new and uncommon because of the lack of references that studied it, which resulted in an ambiguous perception in the minds of people towards the Sharia Law and its sources, there must be a kind of primary definition of the Sharia Law, its sources and how the Sharia scholars (Sharia Jurists) deal with these sources to regulate law items. Sharia Law This expression is going to be referred to as a theological-historical concept since the Sharia was revealed through a prophet, this makes it a theological subject matter, and it is 15 centuries old, this gives it a historical background. Sharia (sari? ah) is all religious rituals that Allah (SWT) has imposed on Muslims, via his Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) regarding beliefs, rules and day-to-day life among Muslims themselves, and between Muslims and non-Muslims. It is â€Å"designed to govern the relations of Muslims with non-Muslims, whether inside or outside the territory of Islam. † Mahmoud Kamali says that Sharia is â€Å"the Islamic law as contained in the divine guidance of the Qur’an and the Sunnah. Yet, the expression Sharia Law is modern if compared with the word Fiqh, which historically used to mean â€Å"the awareness of Islamic rules from its sources by true inference. † Kamali defined the word Fiqh: â€Å"Islamic law as developed by Muslim Jurists. The term is often used synonymously with Sharia. † Therefore, like other contemporary researchers of similar topics, I am going to use the expression Sharia Law to mean the old word: Fiqh. Sources of the Sharia Law There is no difference between any of the Muslim scholars that the main sources of all information, not only about the details of the life of mankind, but also about the details of the whole universe are the Holy Qur’an, then, the Holy Sunnah. In addition, it is a matter of a universal belief among Muslims and many of non-Muslims that the Holy Qur’an in the hands of people is the real book revealed by Allah (SWT) to his Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) fourteen centuries ago. The same is the 100% authenticity of certain books of Hadith, i. e. Saheeh Al-Bukhari and Saheeh Muslim. These references are not considered comprehensive works; however, I feel that they could draw raw guidelines for me in my research in two ways: * They give me hints about how this issue is being taken by researchers who are not specialists in Sharia studies, but they are lawyers or journalists; like me. * They draw raw guidelines of the comparative methodology of research between articles of the Sharia Law and those of the statutory law. Throughout this dissertation, I am going to take articles of the British Media Law and compare them with the related provisions of the Sharia Law, giving enough examples in order to be able to make clear-cut conclusions about the main question of this dissertation which is: (The question of the dissertation) Can the modern Islamic movements, who are apparently going to rule the Arab countries after the Arab Spring, implement the Sharia Law and achieve the absolute justice which they raise as a slogan for their revolutions and electoral campaigns? Or would they worsen the already worsened situation of media law? Of course, regarding the other part of this dissertation, which is the statutory law, libraries are full of texts of law articles starting from the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen in 1789, passing through the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights, ending with daily huge volumes of books, journals and articles studying new amendments and proposing new laws regarding recent details of the life of people in general and the work of media specifically. Terminology In order to have a good understanding for the real meaning and connotation of the Sharia Law concepts and cases, they have to be denoted by their names. Therefore, it is necessary here to have a list of the original names of the Sharia concepts and their definitions. The Holy Qur’an: defined previously. Surah: one complete chapter from the Holy Qur’an. Sowar: the plural of Surah. Sowar are different in length. Some are 1/3 a page and others exceed 40 pages. Aya: one verse from the Holy Qur’an. Ayat: a plural of aya. The Holy Sunnah: defined previously. Hadith: a verified saying for the Prophet Mohammed (PBUH). Ahadith: a plural of Hadith. Tafseer: the interpretation of the Holy Qur’an and the Holy Sunnah by professional credible Muslim scholars. Fatwa: a certain judgement on a certain case by a Sahaba, Tabe’een or confident Muslim scholars in a certain time or place. Plural is Fatawa. Ibada: the act of worshiping Allah (SWT) whether by heart or body. Any act of heart or body needs to start with intention of solely worship for Allah in order to be a true Ibada. Da’wah: the flow of activities Muslims do in illuminating the teachings of Islam. Dhimmi: the name of a non-Muslim citizen in the Islamic State. Ahludhimmah or Dhimmiyeen: plural of Dhimmi. Jezyah: the name of the religious tax for non-Muslims in the Islamic State. It is equivalent to the religious tax taken from Muslims, but Jezyah is a lesser amount of money that has many exceptions. Part Two: The Situation of Freedom of Expression Historical Background It is very important, before starting writing about the situation of freedom of expression in the statutory and the Sharia Law, to explore the general historical climates which preceded the emergence of both laws. That will give a kind of understanding of how much the improvements on the situation of freedom of expression both laws have achieved. * A Glimpse on Freedom of Expression in the West before the Renaissance The period which preceded what is known in Europe as the Renaissance was full of conflicts among the different castes of the European communities in general. That conflict took several forms. A prime one was the conflict between the Church and scientists and that between authority and people. Howard Turner describes a side of such conflicts: â€Å"The Middle Ages in Europe had long been dominated by an unending conflict between Church dogma and a kind of humanistic and individual quest for intellectual liberation. † Church and authority used to be allies and each institution worked for the protection of the other at the expense of people’s lives. They used to impose restriction on freedom of expression and there used to be no respect for people’s privacy. There was also a kind of blackout on external knowledge, fearing that it might undermine their power or alliance. The Thirteenth century was an â€Å"age in which kings and barons reacted to an insult by lopping off the offending tongue- or head†¦ The crime of ‘scandalum magnatum’ expressly protected ‘the great men of the realm’ from any statements that might arouse the people against them. † In France, for example, the king used to say â€Å"I am the state† and gave no space for people to have control in running their own or private life. The Church used to control science. Therefore, knowledge it saw as right, used to be spread, and that it saw as wrong, used to be damaged. A blockage was imposed on scientists and thinkers. In 1614, Galileo was accused of heresy  by the Church for his scientific theories. Eighteen years later, in 1632, he was sentenced to life imprisonment which was reduced to permanent house arrest after he had been obliged to withdraw his theories before the public by the Church. That time was the worst for women’s freedom. Women were inferior to men, troubled with Eve’s sin. They were subject to the authority of their fathers or their husbands. Violence in marriage did occur and was even encouraged. † The dark life of that age pushed people to seek a kind of salvation through knowledge, especially, after the appearance of new thinkers affected by the Muslims’ civilisation. According to Turner, the â€Å"Christian West† inherited the â€Å"scientific legacy from Islam. Thanks to increasing cultural traffic with Muslim lands via the busy Spanish and Sicilian gateways, the thriving routes of Mediterr anean and overland commerce, and the contacts left over from the Crusades. People sought to reinforce the principles of freedom and justice, which was clear in the slogan of the French revolution which was: liberty, equality and fraternity. The revolution in real freedom of expression has been from the Renaissance until today. However, there are still some issues which emerge from time to time that necessitate amendments of the existing laws or constituting new ones. * Freedom of Expression in Arabia before the Sharia Law In Arabia, there used to be kind of freedom of expression, but there was no justice. For example, men used to sit with each other and think about issues related to their tribes. But that right to give an idea or express an opinion was only for masters. Societies there used to consist of three castes: masters, subjects or alliances and slaves. In addition, that right among the masters was only for men. Women used to be suppressed and were not allowed to share opinions either in public affairs or even in family affairs. Women were used in the same way as goods. There used to be a diversity of religions. Arabia included pagans, Jews and Christians. But the most common was paganism. Surely, that kind of diversity hints at a kind of freedom of religion, but the opposite was the norm. Paganism, represented in worshiping idols, was the religion of the mainstream Arabs in Arabia and they used to keep an eye on those who converted to other religions. If they were young, they used to be fought; if they were old, they used to be left free since they could not affect others. Of course, chiefs and masters of tribes used to be happy with that kind of life because it helped them keep strong control over their subjects. However, suppressed castes needed any kind of powerful justice to liberate them from the chains of the different forms of slavery. From amongst that darkness, the message of the Sharia was revealed to the Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) to spread the justice and freedom among people. It is widely known among historians that a reasonable number of the people who joined the Da’wah at the early stages were from the ordinary people or alliances and slaves. Some of the masters asked the Prophet (PBUH) to dismiss them from around him if he wanted them, the masters, to join the Da’wah. Of course, ordinary people always lead reforms. A group of Muslim emigrants fled the persecution of their relatives in Mecca to Abyssinia and there was a short dialogue in the court of Abyssinia’s king, who was a true Christian. Their representative described the situation of Arabs before the Sharia and what the Sharia came with: â€Å"O king! We were plunged in the depth of ignorance and barbarism; we adored idols; we lived in unchastity; we ate dead animals, and we spoke abomination. We disregarded every feeling of humanity, and the duties of hospitality and neighbourhood. We knew no law but that of the strong. At that time, God raised from among us a man of whose birth, truthfulness, honesty and purity we were aware, and he called us to the Unity of God and taught us not to associate anything with Him. He forbade us to worship idols and enjoined us to speak the truth, to be faithful to our trusts, to be merciful, and to regard the rights of neighbours. He forbade us to speak ill of women and to eat the substance of orphans. He ordered us to flee from vices, to abstain from evil, to offer prayers, to render alms, and to observe the fast. † Constituted Rights to Freedom of Expression * Freedom of Expression in British Media Law As I have mentioned from the beginning, I am going to take the British law as an exemplar to represent the statutory law in this research. Therefore; I see that I have to propose an overall look at the British law and to see the situation of freedom of expression through it. British Law Unlike other countries, Britain does not have a written constitution. Referring to Britain, Tom Baistow says: â€Å"This country is the only one in the EEC without a written constitution and the only one without the press laws that form one of the most important guarantees of freedom of expression. However, it has a good record regarding the respect of freedom of expression. It got this reputation throughout historical fights of the British nation to attain freedom and adopt democracy. And as an ideal example of the fight to reach this situation, journalism in Britain â€Å"went through a brave battle against constitutional restrictions on publishing in the 19th century and could extract the right t o comment and publish. † Freedom of expression became one of the most respected freedoms as a kind of a social norm among the British people. It is believed in Britain that free speech is a significant pillar of a free democracy. The Royal Commission on the Press in 1977 defined freedom of expression â€Å"as that degree of freedom from restraint which is essential to enable proprietors, editors and journalists to advance the public interest by publishing the facts and opinions without which a democratic electorate cannot make responsible judgement. † This definition shows how the British believe in the vital role that freedom of expression plays in educating the public to be able to take right decisions in elections. It means that it is the main guarantor of a free democracy which is the main principle of a free State. Therefore, Solaiman Saleh described the situation of freedom of expression in Britain, despite the lack of a written constitution, saying: â€Å"The principle of a free press is reinforced in the collective conscience of the British. That forms a better protection which outweighs any written constitution. † Saleh continued explaining that it became a part of the British understanding of freedom of speech that the government does not have the right to interfere in the workflow of mass media. It cannot issue warrants, for example, to close any news platform, have pre-publishing restrictions/instructions or suggest amendments in the administrative systems or editorial policy. This is how James Curran portrayed the British press after the Second World War: â€Å"The press became fully independent of political parties and hence government. † The independence of the press gave it a great deal of space for free speech as well as unlimited power against governments. This was clear when the best wartime leader, British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, demanded an immediate closure of the Daily Mirror over its coverage of the conduct of war. That decision was followed by rough debates in the House of Commons and huge popular protests in Trafalgar Square and London’s Central Hall that pushed Churchill’s government to withdraw the decision against the Daily Mirror and, even, lift a ban previously imposed on the Daily Worker. Mass media regulation is only the role of the Parliament and Judiciary. In reply to the argument that the parliamentarian majority which forms the government may adopt any law suggested by it, Saleh argues that people who believe in the concept of freedom of expression will protest against the parliament and oblige it to stop the new law or to dissolve. The incident of the Daily Mirror mentioned above is a very clear example of that. The main pressure was represented by ‘organised protests’ in Trafalgar Square and London’s Central Hall. In addition, Hanna and Banks say in McNae’s Essential Law for Journalists: â€Å"Section 19 of the Human Rights Act created a requirement that a Minister introducing a Bill into Parliament must declare that its provisions are compatible with the European Convention, including thereby a commitment to freedom of expression. † Despite all the facts mentioned about the battles towards the freedom of expression in the English society, a sufficient protection for that freedom, which keeps up with the public-interest journalism, â€Å"from attacks for discomfiting the government or the judiciary or the wealthy private litigants† was not completely guaranteed. It is guaranteed by the adoption of international treaties, in which English writers and lawyers took a big part in constituting them, into the British law. Since then, clear articles of these treaties have become legal codes in the British law that guarantee a better freedom of expression. Throughout these facts, I can come to a conclusion that freedom of expression in Britain has certain principles that are clear. The main three principles could be summed up as following: 1. Government has no power against mass media. Robertson and Nicol explain how a government official does not have any privilege over the public in this regard. They say that if any official wanted to stop a news story, he has to go to the court the same as the public do. It means that government cannot control or suppress the voice of any single person directed to the public via any medium. It is believed that this is a sign of a free democratic State, but not in an arbitrary sense. Therefore, mass media have to be credible, and offenders should not escape punishment. John Whale quoted Sir William Blackstone, the eighteenth-century jurist, saying: The liberty of the press is indeed essential to the nature of a free State; but this consists in laying no previous restraints upon publication, and not in freedom from censure for criminal matter when published. † 2. Mass media are owned by the private sector and, therefore, it represents citizens before the government. However, citizens are stronger than the government in the democratic regimes; it means that mass media can publish any kind of opposite opinions without fearing suppression or oppression of the government. 3. Mass media turn to the public to face censorship. Robertson and Nicol say: â€Å"The best antidote to censorship is publicity. † When the government wishes to practice a kind of censorship, journalists can publicise that practice and the government does not have any power to punish them. The incident of the Daily Mirror mentioned above is a clear example on the three points mentioned. It shows how mass media are stronger than governments, how mass media speak on behalf of the public and how the public exerted pressure through protests that pushed the government to retreat from the closure warrant against the newspaper. Freedom of Expression in the Sharia Law The most prominent characteristic of the Sharia Law is that it is a religious law. It means that it has more emphasis, in all branches, on religious and moral values than other laws. Mohmmad Kamali says: â€Å"This can, perhaps, be clearly seen in reference to the Sharia rules pertaining to blasphemy, heresy and disbelief , where the dominant concern is to defend the dogma and belief-structure of Islam. † Muslim scholars and thinkers believe that this characteristic of the Sharia Law gives it a spiritual power, which is effective to keep stability of societies. Based on his understanding of the Islamic beliefs and to confirm that defending the dogma and belief-structure of Islam achieves social stability, 20th century Muslim thinker and reformer Sayyed Qutb, who interpreted the Holy Qur’an, says: â€Å"Social, economic and religious organisation goes side by side with a true ethical code and dogmatic belief†¦ in a complete, comprehensive, balanced and precise way. † Regarding freedom of expression and to show how much positive effect religion has on it, the Western writer, Patricia Crone, shed light on the way Muslim thinkers understand the relationship between freedom and religion. Patricia Crone reported Al-Ghazali, a famous medieval Muslim philosopher and reformer, explaining freedom in the Sharia as â€Å"no humans had the right to impose obligations on other humans, whether they were rulers, masters, fathers or husbands, or for that matter prophets; only God could do so. † Of course, Al-Ghazali’s understanding of that concept of freedom was based on the Holy Qur’an and the Holy Sunnah. Allah (SWT) asked his Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), in the Holy Qur’an, to tell people that he is a human like them.

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Radical Changes On The Views Of Buddhism - 1415 Words

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Although the two Buddha heads came from the same area and virtually the sam e time period, their radical differences in iconography and style, allude to the drastic changes in Buddhist beliefs. Through trading on the Silk Road, the ideas and beliefs of Buddhism were spread throughout Asia, eventually reaching Thailand. We can see an example of this through the iconography and style that Buddha head A possess when compared to earlier Buddha heads from Gandhara and Mathura. For an example, Buddha head A has snail shaped curly hair which covers the top of his head, andShow MoreRelatedThe Similarities and Differences between Buddhism, Jainism and Hinduism1194 Words   |  5 PagesUpon reading about the historical and religious background of Ancient India, one can clearly assume that the country was strongly influenced by three main religious teachings: Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism. 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The Great Gatsby by F.Scott Fitzgerald - 574 Words

Take a look around you, and you will find a myriad of different colors in which you might not think much of, but in The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald colors represent different ideas. Fitzgerald utilizes symbolism in the colors of certain objects throughout the novel to reveal a deeper meanings and to enhance the reader’s experience. Fitzgerald introduces Gatsby while he is reaching his hand out to a green light across the bay; the color green stands for something unattainable yet desirable. Colors are also symbolized through the outfits the characters wear in certain parts of the novel. Another prevalent symbol in the novel is Gatsby’s car, which is originally a cream color representing false purity but changes to an arresting yellow, symbolizing death and corruption. In the rising action of the novel Nick finds Gatsby alone on his lawn with â€Å"his arm toward the dark water in a curious way, and, far as I was from him, I could have sworn he was trembling. 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Despite it’s problem-solving reputation, money isn’t what it’s chalked up to be, the characters with excessive money aren’t sincerely happy wi th their lives. Jay Gatsby, Tom Buchanan, Daisy Buchanan, and Jordan Baker and never satisfied with theirRead MoreThe Great Gatsby by F.Scott Fitzgerald1695 Words   |  7 Pagespeople and events, or even to be deliberately misleading the reader.† (Margree par. 1). The well-known novel The Great Gatsby by Scott Fitzgerald, introduces readers to a story where everything may not be necessarily true. The beauty of this novel is that the readers actually get to decide what they want or do not want to believe. This is all due to Nick Carraway, the narrator of The Great Gatsby. Nick is prejudice and has various faults like dishonesty and being oblivious to himself. A character/narratorRead MoreThe Character of Daisy Buchanan in The Great Gatsby by F.Scott Fitzgerald928 Words   |  4 PagesThe Character of Daisy Buchanan in the novel - The Great Gatsby - by F.Scott Fitzgerald Daisy is The Great Gatsby’s most enigmatic, and perhaps most disappointing, character. Although Fitzgerald does much to make her a character worthy of Gatsby’s unlimited devotion, in the end she reveals herself for what she really is. Despite her beauty and charm, Daisy is merely a selfish, shallow, and in fact, hurtful, woman. Gatsby loves her (or at least the idea of her) with such vitality and determinationRead MoreFailure to Achieve the American Dream in The Great Gatsby by F.Scott Fitzgerald1020 Words   |  4 Pages Failure to Achieve the American Dream in The Great Gatsby The American dream is the idea that was presented through American literature. The Dreamer aspires to rise from rags to riches, while engrossing in such things as wealth, love on his way to the top and to West Egg. In 1920’s early settler’s rooted to the United States Declaration of Independence who demonstrates that â€Å"All men are equal†. The dream of a land that life can be better place that is richer and fuller for every man that givesRead MoreDepicting the Difference Between Reality and Illusion in ‘A Streetcar named Desire’ by Tennessee Williams and ‘The Great Gatsby’ by F.Scott Fitzgerald1740 Words   |  7 Pageswhich both texts portray individuals in the grip of dreams and illusions ‘A Streetcar named Desire’ by Tennessee Williams and ‘The Great Gatsby’ by F.Scott Fitzgerald both depict the conflict between reality and illusion centring on the desire to achieve the ‘American dream,’ which causes many characters in the texts to become engulfed in dreams and fantasy. Gatsby and Blanche are the protagonists of the texts not only due to their central role in the plots, but also that they are characters who

Personal Leadership Styles And Skills †MyAssignmenthelp.com

Question: Discuss about the Personal Leadership Styles And Skills. Answer: Introduction The paper evaluates the personal leadership styles and skills. It begins with an assessment of personal understanding before taking MLQ/Birkman/GMI. In this section, leadership skills and interpersonal skills regarding communication, teamwork, organizing and control are evaluated. This is then followed by comparing what I thought about myself with what I have learned using the MLQ/ Birkman/GMI to determine whether what we thought is similar or different from the framework (Ledlow Coppola, 2011). The knowledge gained from this assessment is evaluated and the framework is compared with the 9 leadership competences. First impression of MLQ/Birkman /GMI My first impression of MLQ/Birkman/GMI is that the techniques of identifying personalities and character traits are very interesting and advanced. They are able to define relations between persons and groups of people. I have the impression that there are different lifestyles grip reports using Asterisk, Diamond, Circle, and Square. The location of each of the symbols in the square is used to determine whether a person is task oriented, people oriented, do they like direct communication or indirect communication? The paper also identifies the leadership goals in a grip with the goals that are closely related on one side of the grid. This grid is used to identify the leadership goals of an individual based on the assessment criteria outlined in the report (Ebener, 2010). The MLQ reports seem to evaluate and measure the leadership profiles of individuals. This is used to help optimize the outcomes of an organization through shaping leadership styles and leadership skills. The leadershi p styles are then grouped into three district categories depending on the nature of leadership behavior and expected leadership outcomes. The groups are transformational leadership, transactional leadership, and passive avoidant Behavior. Global mindset is very important since it enables people of different characters and ideological believes to work with and influence one another. Global mindset can be developed among employees to enable them understand the behavior and mindsets of other so that they can work and deal amicably with people who are different from them (Wang, 2016). Global mindset score is also measured to determine how people are able to relate and interact with people from different cultures, with different ideologies and personalities. MLQ/Birkman and GMI is crucial in understanding different leadership styles. It helps in profiling people into different leadership styles and also in shaping the mindset of individuals in a particular manner to help them develop a g lobal mindset. Self reflection Before undertaking MLQ/ Birkman/GMI, I had a very different perspective about by leadership styles, my leadership profile and even the mindset I had concerning people who are different from me. I thought I had a lot of focus on practical matters and I easily had control over my peers. This has helped me to get various positions of leadership since my school days. My leadership skills and ability to get things done has also helped in my college mates choosing me to lead various groups since I get tasks accomplished effectively and on time. Before I undergone this assessment, I thought I was very disciplined and always adhered to the written code of conduct. I found it difficult why people fail to follow instructions and this irritated me so much. It brought about fall out with some work mates at the workplace and also my friends. I followed instructions without questioning orders from my seniors and hence when I gave instructions to people,I expected them to obey and do what I require d of them. The other thing I noted about my leadership styles before taking MLQ/Birkman /GMI is that I was so task oriented. Sometimes I had so much focus on what needed to be done to the point that I forgot that the people we work with are human beings and ended up harassing them as well. I noticed this as a weakness after I noted that people were becoming rebellious and it was becoming difficult to accomplish tasks without focusing on the needs of the people we are working with. This has encouraged me to try to understand and solve the issues employees face so as to help them focus on tasks and hence achieve objectives easily. My leadership goals before taking MLQ/Birkman/GMI include completion of a project. I was so obsessed with completing a project or task assigned to me irrespective of the methods I would use to achieve this objective. Achieving a definite goal was my main motivation and nothing would distract me from this. It did not matter to me whether or not my colleagues were in support of what I was doing or not. I had a desire of getting actively involved in group activities. I would not take a backseat on any activity and I often found myself taking over leadership of projects that I had been assigned a junior role unknowingly. I thought mu leadership style was transactional where achievement is rewarded and mistakes and deviations are monitored and are monitored when they are repeated. Most of perceptions I had about myself have been confirmed. To begin with, after taking MLQ/Birkman/GMI, I noticed that according to the lifestyle Grid, my leadership style can be located in the red box in the grid. The red box in the Grid is where the characteristics of task orientation, Direct communication, and expediting coincide. It is on the upper left corner of the grid. The interpretation of leadership style located in this Grid is that you enjoy activities that are practical in nature and you like being actively involved in implementation of projects (Grossman Valiga, 2016). It goes further to say that individuals who trace their leadership style to this grid like activities involving measurement, recording, monitoring and designing laws and policies. The other thing that confirms my perceptions about my leadership style is that Birkman explains that people in this grid combine activities with strict keeping of records. They also organize activities and people while focusin g on exerting control. This is something I found myself with during self assessment. I organizing activities to ensure that everything goes to plan and in this process, I find myself being in control of these activities and the people. The other confirmation that my perceptions have been confirmed by Birkman evaluation is that I like accomplishing tasks expeditiously and thoroughly. The MLQ has helped me confirm that I belong to the transactional style of leadership. After undertaking the MLQ leadership style test, I found out that once in a while, I ought to focus attention on irregularities ,mistakes and deviations from rules and set standards. However,I dont focus all my attention on dealing with mistakes and complaints. I really give them attention but when mistakes occur and complaints are brought to me, I take the issues very seriously since they have a huge impact on the performance of an individual or group. The leadership score shows that I provide assistance to people in exchange for their efforts (Lussier Achua, 2015). I also like allocating specific roles to specific people in order to ensure that everyone is accountable. This helps in rewarding those who achieve extra ordinary outcomes and seek ways to motivate and improve those who fail to meet expectations. I often give people promises and they perform tasks knowing what they can expect when they meet the threshold or set targets. An evaluation of my leadership skills using this model also shows that my behaviors are active as indicated earlier in the report. This is confirmed by the answer to the question on interfering with problems before they get serious (Wakeman, 2014). I interfere before problems get serious since I like organizing and being in control and therefore its difficult for problems to get serious under my watch. My mindset is global since am able to work and interact with people from different cultural backgrounds, religion, beliefs, educational backgrounds and people with different personalities from me. This has helped me to make a lot of successful deals and create strong networks. I have gained new knowledge as a result taking MLQ/Birkman/GMI. One of the things I learned is the important of managing stress as a leadership style. I have learned that under stress, some people resist change and are inflexible. Some become impatient and insensitive to the feelings of others. I have known my position when it comes to managing stress and hence will be able to improve in future. I also learned that it is important to embrace team work and allow other people to take control since it gives one an opportunity to learn from other people (Roe, 2014). Before the assessment, I did not know the classifications of leadership styles but am now able to identify which leadership style a possess. The significance of global mindset to organizations has also been realized by undertaking this assessment and hence it will help to shape my mindset to become more global. MLQ/ Birkman/GMI have a lot of importance in my professional and practical leadership. MLQ helps me to understand the different leadership styles applied by different people and which are the best technique to use in leadership. It helps in understanding the importance of involving people in decision making as well as rewarding good performance. This is very important in an organization leadership since people have different personalities and it is important to understand them and learn how to work with them. It also helps in understanding how to deal with stress at the workplace and hence avoid being rude and incentive to other people (Rothstein Burke, 2010). The need for emotional stability at the workplace and in other situations is also realized. The assessment also helps in understanding decision making procedures. MLQ/Birkman/GMI also in understanding the behavior, attitudes and personalities of people in the work environment and therefore behave and act in such a way that you can accommodate everyone and work with them to achieve the goals and objectives of the organization. One is also able to understand the leadership styles of different employees at other people they interact with. By doing this, a person is able to know how to treat people and best ways to motivate different types of employees and hence optimizing output from every employee. The MLQ/Birkman/GMI concepts are very closely related and connected to the nine leadership competences. MLQ/ Birkman and GMI encourages innovation. It encourages leaders to allow other to participate actively in activities and to be creative to come up with new processes and ways of doing things in an organization. They also encourage people development through continuous training and improving their global mindset to help them deal with people of different personalities (In Scott, In Scott In Webber, 2016). The concept of team leadership is also discussed in the leadership styles in Birkman. It encourages team work to contribute ideas in order to compete tasks more efficiently. Many leadership styles are result oriented. Some people are so focused on achieving the desired results and nothing can destruct them from this goal. Different people have different reactions to change. This depends on the psychological characteristics of the individual and their experience. It encourages fl exibility and the need to accept and adopt change in different environments. Strategic thinking and vision is also encouraged in to help plan better for the future and to enhance innovation and personal development .(Smith Cockburn, 2013) Planning and organizing is also discussed in MLQ/Birkman/GMI, it explains that there are some people who like organizing tasks and activities which gives them control. This leaders fall under the red square in the Grid. Collaboration and good relations is discussed as one very important aspect of leadership styles in MLQ/Birkman/GMI. It helps in promoting harmonious working relations and promotes sharing of resources. Just like in the LIP leadership concepts, orientation to service and quality is discussed as a characteristic of transformational leadership style. This helps in meeting expectations and needs of customers in an organizational context. This therefore leads to customer loyalty. Conclusion The report discusses various concepts of leadership and self assessment styles. The report begins with self assessment of leadership styles and character. Its an in depth analysis of the perceptions I have about myself and how they have influenced my leadership. This is followed by an analysis of the differences between the perceptions I had and the new view after taking MLQ/Birkman/GMI. The new knowledge gained from the assessment is discussed. The final section of the paper evaluates the LPI nine leadership competences and how they are related to the concepts discussed in MLQ/Birkman/GMI. References Ebener, D. R. (2010). Servant leadership models for your parish. New York: Paulist Press. Grossman, S., Valiga, T. (2016). The New Leadership Challenge, 5e: Creating the Future of Nursing. Pennsylvania: F.A. Davis Company. Komives, S. R. (2011). The handbook for student leadership development. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Ledlow, G. R., Coppola, M. N. (2011). Leadership for health professionals: Theory, skills, and applications. Sudbury, Mass: Jones and Bartlett. Lussier, R. N., Achua, C. F. (2015). Leadership. Boston, MA: Cengage Learning. In Mukerji, S., In Tripathi, P. (2017). Handbook of research on administration, policy, and leadership in higher education. Rothstein, M. G., Burke, R. J. (2010).Self-management and leadership development. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar. Roe, K. (2014). Leadership: Practice and perspectives. In Scott, S., In Scott, D. E., In Webber, C. F. (2016). Leadership of assessment, inclusion, and learning. Smith, P. A. C., Cockburn, T. (2013). Dynamic leadership models for global business: Enhancing digitally connected environments. Hershey, PA: Business Science Reference. Wakeman, C. (2014). Reality-based leadership self assessment. Wang, V. C. X. (2016). Educational leadership and organizational management: Linking theories to practice.

To Grade Or Not To Grade, That Is The Problem Essays -

To Grade or Not to Grade, That is the Problem - What's your GPA (Grade Point Average)? - Have you taken this course before? What did you get? In his essay The Farce Called "Grading", Arthur E. Lean questions the use of asking these kinds of questions. Grades have become part of our lives as students. People need a grading system and "seem to assume it to be necessary and intrinsic to the process of formal education"(Lean 131). He refers to the grade as "a symbol purporting to express a measurement of academic achievement-an evaluation of the quality and quantity of learning"(Lean 132). There are two main arguments Lean has suggested. First, there is an inconsistency from the graders. Second, he sees the grading system as being unfair and even harmful for students' attitudes toward education. He points out that grading system should be eliminated. To backup the fact that many people are challenging the necessity of the grading system, Lean provides two examples: "A sustained effort should be made to throw out false inducements to learning. In one way or another most of these refer to our obsession with grades?. As a system for evaluating attainment of broad educational aims, it remains a failure. Few teachers have any systematic idea of how to grade fairly. Grading is also the chief villain behind the scandal of college cheating," said Louis T. Benezet (Lean 130). "I have long ago reached the conclusion that the marking system itself is damaging in its impact on the education of our children and youth, and that it should go the way of the hickory stick and dunce caps. It should be abandoned at all levels of education," said Ernest O. Melby (Lean 130). I agree with Lean to some extent that there are some inconsistencies from the graders and perhaps some unfairness occurred to many students. On the other hand, I am not sure that the system is totally harmful for students' attitudes toward education. Also, given the fact that the grading system is a very useful instrument for both motivating and measuring students' academic abilities, the system is still essential to be kept. There is an inconsistency between markers for grading term papers or open questions that I agree with Lean. On his example of several teachers marking the same paper, "invariably the assigned grades on the same theme ranged all the way from A (excellent) to E (failure)" (Lean 132). Although many professors might say that point of view would not be graded while they try not to be biasing, there is no guarantee that a professor would not give a lower mark to a paper because s/he may disagree with some parts of the essay. As a former English class student in grade 12, I notice that my teacher tended to be prejudicing on non-native English writers' papers. The reason I said that was because there is a big grade difference if our papers were marked by another who had not met the writers before. A professional marker who was hired by the English department graded one of our term papers every term. Generally, the non-native English writers received significantly higher marks than th! ey do when our class teacher is marking. The average differential marks for non-native English are about ten percent. As for native English writer, the differential marks are not very much. It is true that the grading system can hardly be absolutely fair. Actually, "most teachers try to be fair and accurate in their estimate" (Lean 133). One teacher who grades a work accurately doesn't suggest that the other teachers would do the same. However Lean claims that "all the time they know--at least, those who are honest with themselves know-that they are attempting the impossible. No self-respecting teacher ever rests peacefully the night after turning in a set of grades, for he knows that the "system" has made a charlatan of him and he goes to bed and hating himself for it" (Lean 133). I don't agree with the way Lean is questioning the teachers since their role is to act as a "judge" on student's work. There is a difference between being unfair and conforming with the system. A teacher who gives the best suitable grade to an assignment is being fair. What Lean suggests is that teachers do not attempt to change the grading system. Lean is being unfair to the teachers! in this way because a teacher's