Describe Your Own Leadership Style Essay Example for Free

Describe Your Own Leadership Style Essay Jim Collins and a group of 22 research associates conducted a five-year research project searching an answer on the question ‘how a company from merely good can be transformed to great one’ and identified that behind this transformation lies a level 5 leader. Level 5 leadership refers to the highest level in a hierarchy of manager’s capabilities. A level 5 leader transforms the organisation into a great institution through a paradoxical combination of personal humility plus professional will. Beneath Level 5 leaders, lie four other layers, each one appropriate in its own right but none with the power of Level 5. Level 1 leader is a high capable individual who plays an important role in the success of his organisation through his talent, knowledge, skills and good work habits. A level 2 leader is a contributing team member who is very good with his team members and ensures that his team meets its assigned objectives and fulfils the core purpose. A level 3 leader is a competent manager who is skilled at organising people and resources towards the effective and efficient pursuit of predetermined objectives. A level 4 leader is an effective leader. He sets high-level performance standards. He is remarkable at motivating his people and leading them towards realising his vision of the organisation. (Appendix 1, p. 11 summarises all levels of Collins’ Leadership Hierarchy) (Collins, J. (2005). Level 5 Leadership: The Triumph of Humility and Fierce Resolve, Harvard Business Review, Vol. 83. No. 7, p. 136-146) The purpose of this assignment is to conduct an evaluation of my own style of leadership within the organisation in which I work by using the above hierarchy as a frame of reference. In order to produce a thorough assessment on both my style and the usefulness of Collin’s model, a range of other theories and concepts must be taken into consideration. However, before proceeding to the analysis and evaluation, it would be helpful first to know the position I hold as well as its responsibilities within the organisation. A Brand Manager, member of the Marketing Department, is responsible for the planning, development and implementation of the Companys marketing activities, among others: Launching of new products, market research studies, promotional activities/materials, to organize and execute the raining programs for the Sales Force. In order to become an efficient and effective Brand manager, the company is requiring knowledge (good academic background), experience and managerial skills including: Strategic and analytic capabilities, entrepreneurial spirit, team player, and flexibility and strong skills in communication and leadership. The Idea of Leadership It is most likely to find a topic more important to business success today than leadership. Leadership is defined as the ability to influence people toward the achievement of goals. Leadership occurs among people, involves the use of influence and it is used to attain goals. Leaders are expected to persuade or inspire people, produce cooperative efforts and pursue goals. Leadership is different from management, though the two are easily confused. One may be a leader without being a manager and many managers cannot ‘lead a squad of seven- years –olds to the ice cream counter’ according to Gardner (1989). Gardner believes that there are several dimensions for distinguishing leadership from management. Leaders think long-term, look outside as well as inside and influence others regardless the position that they possess. In order to understand the idea of Leadership and which are the characteristics a leader usually has, studies and research have been conducted and several approaches to leadership styles as well as theories are arose. Some of them are going to be related to Collin’s Level 5 leadership hierarchy as well as to my own style of leadership. (Daft R. L. , Management, ch. 16, Leadership in Organisations , p. 514-515) Level 1 Leader The Leadership Traits Approach Leadership trait approach is the oldest approach to the study of leadership. From this approach occurs that there are certain qualities in some people that define them as leaders or potential leaders. Traits therefore are the distinguishing personal characteristics such as intelligence, values and appearance. Leaders extend their power and use their abilities to influence events. Effective leaders are usually more intelligent, more dependable, responsible and more active. They usually ask for more information and give out more information. However, the ppropriateness of a trait or a set of traits depends on the leadership situation. The same traits do not apply to every organisation or situation. (Appendix 2, p. 11 summarises the physical, social and personal leadership characteristics) On the contrary, Collin’s Hierarchy is consisted of several characteristics/ capabilities that most can be found also in the leadership trait approach such as knowledge, achievement to drive and working effectively with others in a group setting. However, two characteristics that are of great importance are not included in it. There are the most important ones and are a necessary requirement for transforming an organisation from good to great, humility and professional will. (Diploma in Management, Module book 1, section 6, Teams in Management, p. 6. 16) However, in order to understand in what extent these two concepts can be correlated, we can use ourselves as an example. For instance, my position requires being a highly capable individual (Collin’s Hierarchy Level 1). How can I accomplish this requirement? By demonstrating many of the personal traits such as intelligence, knowledge, judgement and cognitive ability. For instance, the products that I handle have intense competition. Good knowledge of the market as well as intelligent moves made them to differentiate from competition. The creation of a guideline for treatment at home as well as the delivery of the products at home gave a benefit to them. As a result, Doctors preferred to prescribe these products for long term use and hade great impact on the company’s name and reliability. When we speak of leadership, either we refer to the qualities/ competencies of an individual or we can refer to a function of organisation. The ‘trait’ theory of leadership- the traditional or popular management view of leadership- focuses on the concept that leadership is a quality or set of qualities particular to an individual. On the contrary, the group dynamics theory sees leadership as a function of organisation. Level 2 Leader Task versus people perspective styles Task versus people perspective styles of leadership do not take into consideration the organisation as a whole. They focus on teams. Every group of people has a task to accomplish. However, since groups are composed of people, several needs arise from them. According to the group dynamics theory of leadership, the person who adequately fulfils the needs that the group perceive to be the most important could be considered as an effective leader. A working team need to fulfil two functions. First, its formal tasks must be fulfilled. In order this to be accomplished; a set of competencies must be evolved. Technical knowledge, innovation and sense of achievement are related with the instrumental need to perform the tasks. Second, needs for affiliation, interaction and mutual support are usually observed within a team. Such needs are called expressive needs. The person who becomes leader must facilitate the satisfaction of some of the teams’ needs. This leader emerges to the group because he is the best able to help the group survive and succeed. ) (Master in Business Administration, Module book 3, section 1 The Theory of Leadership, p. 1. 7-1-11) According to Collin’s leadership hierarchy, the leader that is described in the group dynamics approach could be characterised as a level 2 leader. A contributing team member who is very good with his team members and ensures that his team meets its assigned objectives and fulfils the core purpose. Both group dynamics approach and Collins hierarchy are useful in helping us to see how leaders may relate to team members and to situations. (Collins, J. , (2005). Level 5 Leadership: The Triumph of Humility and Fierce Resolve, Harvard Business Review, Vol. 83. No. 7, p. 136-146) As a Brand Manager, one of my responsibilities to support our sales team by providing them with moderate amounts of detail and focus on why it is important for the team members to complete our objectives. However, I believe that co-owning the objective/action plan with team members and asking team members ideas as well as offering my own ideas is more efficient and can lead us easier to our goals. Besides, It is better to have, for instance, five people to think rather than one. Therefore, I strongly believe that teamwork can lead to better results. Level 3 Leader The Contingency Theory According to contingency models, leadership depends as much on the situation of the group as on the leader himself or herself. Thus, we have a choice; either the leader can fit to the situation or change effectively the situation to fit the leader. As we can understand, leadership is different for first-level supervisors than for chief executives and the kind of leadership needed for skilled and highly motivated followers may not work for followers who are alienated and untrained. According to Fiedler, contingency model divides the leadership situation into three variables. In order to determine the most effective leadership style, we must consider the inter-relationship of the three contingencies: leader – member relations, task- structure and position power. 1. Leader – member relations, where mutual trust, respect and open communication exist and can be consider as advantageous. This means that tasks are clear and structured and members are aware of the power the leader holds. On the other hand, where there is little or no trust, respect of communication, then the relationship can be characterised as disadvantageous (control over the situation is needed and a focus on a task will not detract from the leaders/ team relationship because this is not essential to start with. 2.  Task- structure, when work is highly structured and easy to know when somebody has not complied with an instruction and it is easy to impose sanctions. However, when work is unstructured, leaders cannot enforce compliance with external controls and therefore, the leader has much less power than when work is highly structured. 3. Position power, is the extent to which a leader has formal authority over the followers. When position power is high then the leader has the power to plan and direct the work of followers, evaluate it and accordingly reward or punish it. On the other hand, when position power is low, the leader has little authority over followers. (Appendix 3, p. 11 presents Fiedler’s examination on how Leader Style fits the situation) Finally, according to Fiedler, task-oriented leaders tend to be more effective in situations that are either highly advantageous or highly disadvantageous to them and that relationship-oriented leaders tend to be more effective in situations that are moderately advantageous to them. (Bolman,L. G. , Terrence,D. E. , Reframing Organisations, Ch. , Reframing Leadership, p. 342-344) According to Collin, a level 3 leader is a competent manager who is skilled at organising people and resources towards the effective and efficient pursuit of predetermined objectives. However, as it is showed above, an efficient leader must differ from situation to situation or from team to team, according to its special characteristics. Analysing a level 3 leader in correlation with Contingency theory, we understand tha t a level 3 leader should consider both leader –member relations and tasks. Predetermined objectives cannot be achieved, if mutual trust, respect and open communication do not exist in a team and if tasks are not highly structured and followers do not know precisely their responsibilities. However, we must never ignore the extent to which a leader has formal authority over the followers. (Collins, J. , (2005). Level 5 Leadership: The Triumph of Humility and Fierce Resolve, Harvard Business Review, Vol. 83. No. 7, p. 136-146) For instance, according to my position, my everyday contact is with the sales team. According to my opinion, it is clear that trust, respect as well as open communication and mutual understanding exist within our team. One of the responsibilities of my position is to organise in some extent, their work by indicating them what is our goal and how we can reach it, with what tools and where we want to focus. Another one is to monitor our products sales and ask questions whenever I believe it is necessary. However, my position power is not as high as to evaluate them and reward or punish them accordingly.

Brazils Banking Infrastructure and Business Structures

Brazils Banking Infrastructure and Business Structures Business Environment: Brazil is ranked 116th in World Bank’s Ease of doing business ranking. The infrastructure changes that have been done over the past few years have helped Brazil move up in the listing. It can be seen that Brazil ranks the highest in Getting Electricity (14th) and the lowest in Paying Taxes. It can be seen that the Brazilian government has been bringing out a lot of policies in order to makethe business environment easier. There have been vast changes in the category of resolving insolvency and as a result it has moved further towards the standards of the developed countries. Business Structure: Organizational and Managerial Factors Most companies in Brazil tend to be organized and stick to strict hierarchy in the organization. The information flows in a strict and structured way up down the various chains of command. Most of the decisions are made by the top most officials in the organization chart. While dealing with a Brazilian company it is always best to first understand the flow of command in the firm and get to know who makes the ultimate decision. Since most of the time a lot of foreign firms waste their time negotiating with someone who is not the deciding authority. Another point to remember is that most of the time the organizational chart shown by a Brazilian firm does not exactly depict the flow of command. There may be a few who hold more power than the person above them due to various reasons like internal politics, power of personal relationships etc. Environmental Factors: History: Brazil was under the rule of the Portuguese until the early 1800s. It was discovered by the Portuguese explorer Pedro Alvares Cabral. Brazil was broken into colonies and the colonies contributed their revenues to both the colony and the state. Coffee, Sugar and gold were the primary products exported from Brazil during this period. As the 18th century dawned Brazil was influenced by its neighboring states and fought for its independence. On September 7, 1822 Brazil was declared independence and was led by King Joà £o’s son Pedro as the regent. He was a liberal leader. He promoted education, improved communications, developed agriculture and encouraged immigration from Europe. The coffee boom began during his period. He abolished slavery. After Pedro Brazil was under the rule of both communist ruler, military rulers like Castello Branco who was pro-US and pro capitalist ruler like De Silva. Cardoso played an important role in the history of Brazil. He was at the helm of Plano Real which drastically reduced the inflation. The president , Dilam Rousseff of the Worker’s party, followed De silva in 2011. Many were skeptical about her being the candidate to fill De Silva’s shoes but she has been quite effective. Demographic: The population of Brazil is about 198.7million with most of them in the South East region (42.58%) and the north east region (27.50%). The North and the North east are underdeveloped regions of the country. The industrial and the commercial activities are concentrated in the south and the south eastern regions. Despite the vast territory of Brazil more than 80% of its population lives in the urban areas. The major cities of Brazil are Sà £o Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Salvador. Political: Brazil is a federal presidential representative democratic republic state. The president acts as the head of both the state and the government. The current President is President Dilma Rousseff, who came into power in 2011 after President De Silva. She belongs to the Workers’ Party and she is up for elections this year. She was the first woman president of Brazil. She faced a lot of challenges during a four year period. 2013 protests in Brazil: The 2013 protest was also called the 2013 federation cup riots or june journeys or the V for Vinegar Movement. This is an ongoing public demonstration in most of the Brazilian cities led by the MOVIMENTO PASSE LIVRE (Free Fare Movement). The riot started off as a small protest against the increase in bus, air and metro tickets. But as time and the support by masses increased it went on to become a riot against bigger problems like corruption and police brutality. During this riot President Rousseff was also blamed for using public funds for preparations for the 2014 World Cup. There was general dissatisfaction among the masses about the lack of social services in the country. 2014 Elections: The Presidential elections in Brazil will be held on October 5, 2014. There are four contenders: Dilma Rouseseff of the Workers’ Party, Eduardo Campos of the Brazilian Socialist Party, Aà ©cio Neves of Brazilian Social Democracy Party and Randolfe Rodrigues of the Socialism and Freedom Party. Prior to the June protests, current President Rousseff had exceeded approval ratings of 60%. But after the riots the ratings fell to a devastating 38%. But the polls increased to about 53% after her promise of spending 50 Brazilian reais in infrastructure. As of now President Rousseff is leading the polls. Economy: The currency of Brazil is the Brazilian Real. The GDP growth rate is about 1.9%. The GDP(PPP) per capita is about USD 11340. Inflation rate is about 5.68%. The post war Brazilian economic policy has been designed to accept high levels of inflation. It was found that high levels of government deficit were the reason for the inflation. Plano real and the new currency have reduced the inflation drastically. The GDP of Brazil is about USD 2.435trillion and has a current account deficit of 3.66% of the GDP. Brazil has always been a welfare state. With poilicies like the Bolosa Familia the state provides numerous benefit offerings to it citizens. This helped in bringing thousands of people out of poverty. The north eastern region that is poorest in Brazil was the most beneficial out of this program. Brazil was once called the Belinda, a country where a small part of the country is well off like Belgium and the rest are poor like India. But this is fast changing thanks to welfare programs like Bolsa familia and Fome Zero. About 50 million people were pulled out of poverty. This has helped the country climd the imcome level ladder internationally. A country that once looked like Congo looks like the Brazil that everyone wished to see. The income level of the country has increased substantially. Despite this there has been a slowdown in the country’s economic growth due to various reasons such as lack of proper infrastructure and withholding of investments by investors. The 2013 riots enhanced this further since the investors are skeptical about investing in a country that is going through a civil unrest. The drop in investments was the main reason for the slowdown in the economic growth. Custo Brazil or the â€Å"Brazil Cost† is one of the primary reasons for the reduction in investments. Brazil Cost includes high taxes, red tape, faulty infrastructure and scarcity of qualified labor. The 2014 presidential election of Brazil might have an impact on the investment scenario of the Brazilian economy. Many investors are withholding their investments, waiting for the new government to form. Infrastructure: The Brazilian economy was a consumption led one for the past four years. It followed what is now popularly called as the 3Cs model ( credit, consumption and commodities).Now that he demand has been created and people’s livelihood has become better they expect more. The per capita income of the country has increased which means that he lifestyle has changed. Now that they make a better living than before they are not just satisfied with the basic necessities but they want better roads, airports, ports, etc. Thus the government has to shift to a more pro infrastructure investment policies. The 2013 riots in Sao Paolo was solely due to the lack of infrastructure and increase in bus, air and metro tickets. Following which President Rousseff promised to spend 50 million Reais in improving urban public transportation. Market Opportunities: Sectors like air transportation, telecom industry, oil and gas and mining have been experiencing higher than average over the last few years. The government of Brazil also spent around $470 million in developing the airports, roads, ports, energy generation and distribution systems as well as the infrastructure necessary for the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympics. Petrobas, the Brazilian oil company, is planning for expansion and this will create a lot of opportunities for global businesses. The reserves found in 2006 and 2007 exceeded 60 million barrels which put Brazil among the top oil producing companies. Brazil is also one of the largest IT markets among the other emerging markets. The largest spending in this sector was the telecom followed by IT services and computing hardware. Big events like the papal visit in 2013 and World Youth Day created a lot of opportunities the past years. And future events like the 2016 Olympics and 2014 Football world cup is expected to create even wider platform for markets to flourish. FDI: Brazil is the leader among the Latin American countries for FDI. It contributed about 43.8% of the total investments in the region in 2011. Its geographical location is an important factor for this rise in investments. The economy of Brazil is diversified and hence is an attractive location for investments. It has abundant natural resources, flourishing tourism and a wide range of exports. A large portion of the investments into the country is in the IT sector and the industrial sector comes second to it. Risks and Potential Bottlenecks: Infrastructure: Infrastructure has always been a problem in Brazil. In the past government spending on infrastructure was about 0.6% of the GDP. This was way lesser than what would be required for a 4.5% GDP growth rate. Realizing this, the government of Brazil has decided to invest heavily in infrastructure. Although this sounds reassuring the reality is that most of the projects are still in the analysis stage and execution of public investments have proven to be ineffective. The airports and roads are congested, ports are clogged, the railroads are obsolete and the other forms of transportations are inadequate. The sales of light vehicles have been five times higher than that ten years ago thus increasing existing urban traffic. However the government does not seem to have recognized this, as the investments have not been in pace with the growing economic development. The inefficiencies created due to infrastructure bottlenecks subtract about 10-15% of the country’s GDP. Labor union: The employee interests in Brazil are protected by its constitution under the Consolidation of Labor Laws and the Social Security funding and Benefit Plan. There are mainly four labor unions in Brazil. Sindicato dos bancà ¡rios ( banker’s Assoscation) Sindicato dos metalà ºrgicos ( metal workers’ assosciation) Sindicato dos comercià ¡rios ( Commerce Workers’ Assosciation) Sindicato dos professores (Teachers’ Union) The labor unions for liberal professionals are not very well known due to its small number of participants. Every labor union is associated with one of the three main organizations: CUT- Central à ºnica dos Trabalhadores Conlutas- Central Sindical e Popular- Coordenaà §ao Nacional de Lutas Forà §a Sindical Financial Market: Capital Market: Brazil’s capital Market development is a key issue in fostering savings and investment. The savings and investment levels of Brazil as a percentage of GDP are very low. Thus developing the capital markets would provide incentive for savings and help in allocating the investments efficiently. Developing the liquid markets would also mean that the absorptivity capacity of the economy gets better. Most of Brazil’s capital markets are mainly focused on short term instruments. It can be seen that the yieldd curve is flat indicating that the short term interest rates are high and the degree of indexation of debt holders are high too. This flat yield curve contributes to a low secondary market turnover ratio thereby restricting overall market development. Equity Market: Brazil’s stock exchange is BOVESPA. The Brazilian equity market has been growing at a fast rate both in market capitalization and transaction volumes. The equity market capitalization of Brazil as percentage of its GDP was about 49.62% in 2011. This included investments form all kinds of investors like individuals, institutional investors, financial institutions and foreign investors. The NOVA MERCADO was a list of corporate governance practices that have to be followed by the companies that are trading on the BOVESPA in addition to the practices that are to be followed by the law. The NOVA MERCADO helped in raising the standards of corporate governance practices in the Brazilian companies. It brought transparency and minority shareholder protection as a requirement in the way the companies ran their organizations. Despite this the number of companies listed on the BOVESPA is very less. Especially industry composition in the stock exchange is focused only in some key areas. Ov erall the equity market development in Brazil is very low when compared to its neighbors and other developed countries (Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Peru, US, UK, Germany, China and Korea). Public Policies: Fome Zero: Foem Zero is a government program started by President De Silva in order to eradicate hunger and extreme poverty in Brazil. It covers a wide range of fields such as education by starting schools in remote areas, low cost restaurants ( similar to soup kitchens in the US), creating water cisterns in Brail’s semi-arid areas, educating people about healthy eating habits, distributing free medicine, eradicating malnutrition, and giving access to microcredit. There are a few criticisms about the program. Some experts say that the program did not take effective steps to combat the income inequality in Brazil. Bolsa Familia: Bolsa Familia is the largest social welfare program in the world. Around 26% of Brazil’s population benefit out of this program. About 13.8 million families are benefited by this scheme. It was under President De Silva under the Fome Zero program. The main aim of this program is to eradicate poverty and hunger in Brazil. Under this program, families below a certain income level receive cash payments from the government on the condition that the children be sent to school and vaccinated regularly. It has been 11 years since the program was started and it still continues to benefit most of Brazilian citizens. It gives 10 to 100 Euros per month depending on the income level of the family and the size of the family. Although the scheme has been beneficial to millions of family there are criticisms about its effect on productivity on the country. The scheme was able to pull most of Brazilian population out of poverty but there has been a decline in the factor productivity of the country. Criticisms: Although these programs have reduced the poverty levels significantly there have been criticisms that these programs are being used as an electoral strategy by the Workers’ party and there is no real benefit out of them. This shows that there is definite hierarchical work environment in organizations. Telecom Industry: The telecom sector is the most promising sector in Brazil. Brazil has modern technologies in the center and the south portion of the country but the north and the north eastern regions lack even the basic analog PSTN telephone lines. The government is trying to correct this. The total market revenue in the telecom industry is about $116billion. Within the telecom industry the telecom equipment market is the largest with a total market size of $13.674millions. Opportunities: The Brazilian market for telecommunications is expected to grow. The mobile market is on the verge of a boom. The number of Facebook and twitter users has increased vastly. Brazil has 50 million clients on Facebook, with a development rate of 144% for every year, making it the second biggest nation on Facebook after the U.S. The Apple Application Store in Brazil as of late started offering games in April 2012, and not just is Brazil now the greatest application advertises in Latin America, yet its year-on-year income outpaced the U.S. Application Stores income development. Brazilian application deals developed 83% in the most recent year, contrasted with 44% development in the U.S. Brazil positions sixth on the planet for App Store income development. Information expenses costs are dropping in Brazil as bearers offer aggressive estimating arrangements. With prepaid arrangements as the most famous model, the significant carriers are putting forth information plans from 20 to 25 cents for every day. A few carriers are actually offering no-charge access to information substantial administrations like versatile feature streaming. Because of government backing as barters that sway telecom transporters to buy 4G data transfer capacity at focused costs, Brazil is laying the preparation for across the board 4g right to gain entrance. Each of the four of Brazils significant telecom organizations acquired licenses for 4G rapid Internet capacities in the late closeout and have vowed to prepared their 4G systems by 2013, preceding the World Cup. Over the long run, these telecoms organizations are relied upon to offer 4g in all Brazilian urban communities with a populace of 100,000 or all the more by the end of 2016. Brazil is creating the conditions to have a prevailing portable market: the legislature is supporting new activities, imperative Oems have plants in the nation and the customer base is monstrous. As its put in the worldwide versatile business develops through the following few years, designers, ambitious people and gurus might be savvy to acquire a stake in this versatile outskirts before the aggressive scene gets immersed. Competitors: Akwan Information Technology AstraSat Global Village telecom TIM Brasil Brasil Telecom Intelig Telecom Oi Telecommunications Star One Why Brazil? : Brazil is one of the fast growing economies in the world. The huge population creates a large market for any kind of industry. Demand has already been created and any new product will be accepted. Although the economic growth has slowed down the upcoming infrastructure projects will give a reason for the investors to invest in the country. President Rousseff, after the june riots, has promised to spend about 50 million reais in infrastructure. Upcoming event like the 2014 Football World Cup and the 2016 Olympics will create a lot of job opportunities in the country. The property market is also booming as the livelihoods of people have become better they are not just satisfied with mediocre things but they crave for more thus generating ore demand for properties. Tourism is also a booming sector in Brazil. More specifically ecotourism is being vigorously promoted in Brazil and it is one of the world’s fast growing industries. Thus these reasons makes Brazil an attractive market for investment.

Literature Review on Childhood Obesity and Treatment

Literature Review on Childhood Obesity and Treatment Obesity has become a huge problem within the Western World over recent years. (34% of the adult population in the US in 2007 (Barness (1986: 75)). It is known from the general media that the incidences of childhood obesity are also on the increase. This review aims to evaluate the ideas and concepts from two Journals. Barness, L.A. (2007) Obesity in Children. Ells et al, (2005) Prevention of Childhood Obesity. Childhood Obesity According to Barness (1986: 75-76), there are a number of tools used to define the obese child. weight for height is the most common used as it uses a chart and the skinfold thickness becomes very erroneous in the obese child due to errors in measurement. The BMI uses charts to which take into account the gender and age of the child which then encompasses more of the variables within children (not apparent in adults) resulting in increased accuracy. There is some debate as to causes of obesity. Some causes are thought to be (Ells et al. (2005: 443)) gender, race, socioeconomic status, special educational needs, environmental factors and genetics (although Ells et al. (2005: 442) states that fewer than 1% of childhood obesity cases are directly caused by a genetic disorder). There are also a number of disease states causing secondary obesity which need to be ruled out prior to attributing the unexplained weight gain to the above causes. These include neurological lesions, endocrinopathies and congenital syndromes (Barness (1986: 82)). There are various factors affecting the obese child including psychological as Obese children often suffer from low self esteem and some can go on to develop depression (10% become clinically depressed Barness (1986: 77)) whereas others comfort eat leading to obesity. There are a number of risk factors which can result from an obese child which include hypertension, diabetes mellitus and dyslipidemia. (Chu et al. (1998: 1141) Dyslipidaemia includes hyperlipidaemia, elevated low-density lipoproteins, and decreased high density lipoproteins (Barness (1986: 81)). Sleep apnoea a common cause of pulmonary insufficiency Barness (1986: 77). The child can wake up many times a night resulting in constant sleep deprivation. This can be life limiting as it puts a strain on the heart also. It has been reported that some children can benefit from tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy Barness (1986: 77). However, Zafer et al. (1999: 33) have concluded that this treatment is associated with an increase in weight, height and BMI. Obesity Treatment As the causes of obesity are varied, so the treatment also needs to be varied. As well as dealing with the causes of obesity there maybe other health issues to be dealt with also. (see above) . The major treatment options involve diet, exercise and behaviour modification (Barness (1986: 83). The dietary requirements need to be under strict medical supervisions as the child is still growing and requires essential nutrients for growth. Barness (1986: 83) states that a protein-sparing modified fast (PSMF) diet has been used and appears safe and can stimulate the respiratory system and blunt the appetite due to ketones being released as the diet is also low in carbohydrates. Barnes does not, however, go into details of behaviour modification or exercise programmes. Obesity Prevention There a number of factors which cause obesity, as stated above. A holistic approach is required to ensure obesity does not occur in the child. According to Ells et al. (2005: 441) evidence supports measures which ensure physical activity and a healthy diet as well as adequate behavioural support for the child to reduce the risk of obesity. Interventions which will aid children to live and grow healthily can come from a number of different sources. School Intervention Schools can influence a childs behaviour and therefore help in the health prevention of obesity. Ells et al. (2005: 444) that a review highlighted a number of health prevention programmes. One of these was based on children being taught via a national curriculum to reduce their sedendatory behaviour. This showed a reduction in obesity. Another two were based on physical activity programmes which showed that there was no significant reduction in obesity over a control group. The multi-faceted approach of nutrition, education, behavioural therapy and physical activity showed that this may help to reduce obesity, especially in girls. Ells et al. (2005: 444) concluded that much more research is needed in this area. Research carried out by Nauta, Byrne and Wesley (2009: 16-17) concluded that school nurses had an awareness of childhood obesity but were unable to set up treatment programmes. Family Intervention There are a number of different behavioural causes within the family environment, including the mothers knowledge of nutrition and opportunities to share family meals. Ells et al. (2005: 445 446) also cited studies undertaken to examine the efficiency of family based behaviour modification programmes and health promotion which did not support any significant decrease in weight in the obese child. Goodfellow and Northstone (2008: 117) found out that children from the Isle of Man were more likely to be obese than in Avon, showing that external influences will have a bearing on the family and individuals health. Preschool / Anti-Natal Intervention A significant number of children are obese at pre-school age. However there is little evidence to support the need for intervention within the pre-school age chilidren. Ells et al. (2005: 446 447) questions whether obesity prevention should begin during the ante-natal period and cited a study finding maternal weight to correlate to preschool obesity but another found that breast feeding had a protective effect on childhood obesity. A study by Rossem et al. (2010: 7) supports the link between breast feeding and reduced obesity in the child. Morgan (1986: 34)) cited that expectant parents should be alerted to the dangers of childhood obesity as there is a strong link with a parent and childs body weight. Government Policies Ells et al. (2005: 449) indicates that in order to prevent the growing trend of obesity Governments must have a key role. For instance Ells et al. (2005: 449) a number of UK police documents including the Health Select Committee Report on Obesity (2004). Monitoring To Ensure Prevention is Working It is vital that preventative measures in place are monitored to ensure that they are reducing both the incidence and severity of childhood obesity so that resources can go to the appropriate measures. Ells et al. (2005: 449) stated that monitoring in most countries consists of only occasional surveys. The UK Essential Core Database for child health have recommended that monitoring (BMI) be carried out on children at entry and exit from both primary and secondary schools. Research carried out by Levine et al. (2008: 255), however, showed that monitoring of primary school children was achievable but that of secondary schools was not. Conclusion It can be concluded that childhood obesity is a large, increasing problem within the western world which will follow on into adulthood. This essay has aimed to give an overview of the theories and evidence surrounding childhood obesity including associated diseases, treatments, preventative measures and people involved in supporting the obese child as well as those factors thought to cause the obesity in the first place. This is a complex issue with evidence currently emerging. This review was mainly focussing on the use of two articles Obesity in Childhood and Prevention of Childhood Obesity which between then cover all the issues surrounding childhood obesity. Where there is further supporting or refuting evidence I have added this. The literature included here is by no means comprehensive and the reader may wish to research an aspect of childhood obesity in greater depth.

The Conflict Perspective of Deviance and Deviants Essay -- Deviance So

The Conflict Perspective of Deviance and Deviants Works Cited Not Included  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  When it comes to the conflict perspective and deviance, researchers have discovered one of the most influential lines of theory and research (Quinney, 1980; Chambliss and Seidman, 1982; Swaaningen, 1997; Arrigo, 1999). Marxist criminologists see deviance as a product of the exploitative nature of the ruling class. Deviance is a behavior that the rich and powerful see as threatening to their interests. An example of the conflict perspective relating to deviance is white- collar crimes. (Edwin Sutherland {1940,1983}) White-collar crime is any crime committed by respectable and high status people in the course of their occupations. (Lower status people commit crimes of the streets; higher status people engage in ?crimes of the suites?). (Nader and Green, 1972; D.R. Simon, 1998). Examples of these crimes include: price fixing, illegal rebates, embezzlement, manufacture of hazardous products, toxic pollution and more. ( Geis Meier, and Salinger, 1995; J.W. Coleman, 1977; Calavita,Pontell, and Tillman, 1999). Although the costs of these crimes are higher than lower status crimes, and these crimes are more harmful to society, tolerance is shown and leniency is shown because of their high-class position. In the end penalties are both tougher and more likely to be imposed for crimes committed by lower class people than those of higher social classes. The conflict approach to deviance underscores the relativity of deviance. The conflict perspective when applied to the study of deviant behavior emphasizes social inequality and power differentials. The most powerful members of society are said to determine group norms, and consequently who will be regarded as deviant. Conflict theorists relate deviance to capitalism pointing the relationship between race, ethnicity, and crime. 2)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Please explain deviance and discuss the relationship between race and deviance as it relates to crime and criminal behavior. Please consider differences in perception among groups or people who define persons as deviant.  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Deviance is any behavior that departs from societal of group norms. (Ex: criminal behavior; violations of significant social norms) These significant norms are those that are highly important to either most members in a society or to the members wit... ...s another person would), and game stage (children learn to engage in more sophisticated role taking. Mead believes the self is composed of two separable parts: the ?me? and the ?I?. The ?me? is self- formed through socialization. The ?I? interacts constantly with the ?me? as we conduct ourselves in social situations. Cooley believed self- concept is an image of oneself as an entity separate from other people--- that still stands today. He also believes that children learn to judge themselves in terms of how they imagine others will react to them. We serve as mirrors for the development of self. (Cooley). He called this concept the looking glass self. (A self-concept based on our perception of others? judgments of us.) We use others as mirrors reflecting back our imagined reactions of them to us. According to Cooley, the, looking glass self is the product of a three-stage process that is constantly taking place. First we imagine how we appear to others. Next, we imagine the reaction of others to our imagined appearance. Finally, we evaluate ourselves according to how we imaged others have judged us. The result of this process is negative or positive self-evaluation.

Lord of the Flies: Human Nature :: Character Analysis

I believe that human nature shows what type of person we are. Human nature guides us as individuals to do the right thing. We learn by our surroundings and it plays on our society and the nature of us as humans. This question had me ponder the question whether or not humans can be born evil? The book just made me think of all the times I have grown up and seen some bad incidents that are part of life. Someone close to me has made an abundance of bad choices in his life and when I was younger, he was the one I always looked up to as a â€Å"brotherly figure† but also as a best friend. He was the one that saved my life when I was younger. He was also somebody that I could trust with my life, but then I ask myself how he became such a bad person because he started hanging with the wrong crowd. He ended up pushing me aside to be with his so-called friends at the time. I think his true nature was starting to show through. He was not the brotherly figure I used to know when I was just a child; he had changed from a brotherly figure I used to know and have so much admiration for, but now he is someone that I do not like being around. I wonder if environmental surroundings had shaped both him and me, and to what extent this influence had on the both of us. He and I had changed very much since we were both children, now he is getting ready to turn 25 and I am 19. I believe our human nature makes us the type of people we are today. In Lord of the Flies, I realized no matter how good of person you are your true nature always comes through. For example, in the story you see how evil Roger can be while on the other side you see how good Ralph is. I think that is where I saw the symbolism between all the characters and each character has their own characteristics from our true human nature. I have seen that each character in the story had their shown their true nature. Roger’s character in the story is someone that has a true nature of being evil, but if you look at Simon’s point of view, you would see how he represented the good side of human nature.

Film Essay – the Hours

The Hours Mellissa Krause 02/08/13 Production: Paramount Pictures/ Miramax Films, January 2003 Producer: Robert Fox; Scott Rudin; Mark Huffman Director: Stephen Daldry Screenplay: David Hare (screenplay); Michael Cunningham (novel) Cinematography: Seamus McGarvey Editing: Peter Boyle Music: Philip Glass Principal Characters: Clarissa Vaughan Meryl Streep Laura Brown Julianne Moore Virginia WoolfNicole Kidman Richard Brown Ed Harris KittyToni Collette Julia Vaughan Claire Danes Louis WatersJeff Daniels Leonard WoolfStephen DillaneSally LesterAllison Lester Dan Brown John C. Riley Vanessa BellMiranda Richardson The pacing in the film The Hours reinforces the mood greatly throughout the film . The film is about three women in three different time periods who all experience suicidal thoughts and homosexual feelings. Although a slower pace, the film has a definite tempo to it, moving between the three main characters smoothly through parallel cuts in a cross-cutting fashion. Most of the p acing is slow, suggesting a thoughtful approach to the movie for the viewer.At times, the film’s pacing mocks the classical music playing in the background, therefore very little contrast in pacing exists. The editing helps to portray a very smooth, almost choreographed feeling to the film. That said, the music in the film, almost a constant, speeds up and slows down during more exciting scenes. An example is during the scene when an adult Richard Brown falls to his death. The music is very calm as he is speaking to his close friend Clarissa Vaughan and then as he falls from the window, the piano in the background gains a much quicker tempo.In one of the opening sequences of the film, the use of jump cuts (all straight cuts) between the characters of Virginia Woolf and Clarissa Vaughan both doing the same tasks, getting ready for the day, shows Clarissa starting to put her hair in a bun and then cuts to Virginia Woolf doing the same. This use of narrative advancement between two time periods begins the task of tying the characters together. This technique is used again shortly thereafter in a montage where all three women, Clarissa Vaughan, Laura Brown, and Virginia Woolf all speak of flowers.Virginia Woolf speaks of her main character â€Å"getting the flowers herself†, then in the next scene cut to Laura Brown starting to read the book Mrs. Woolf is writing in the prior scene and speaks aloud the first line â€Å"Mrs. Dalloway buys the flowers herself† which Mrs. Woolf referenced in the prior scene, and in the last scene Clarissa Vaughan (often referred to as Mrs. Dalloway such as in Virginia Woolf’s novel referenced throughout the film) says â€Å" Sally, I think I will buy the flowers myself†. This successfully ties all three timeframes together along with the characters while supplying the viewer with their common thread.In one of the most poignant sequences when Laura Brown is driving a young Richard Brown back home aft er she almost kills herself at a hotel. She looks at him and tells him, â€Å"Your my guy† and the child smiles the brightest smile of the whole film, very faint slow motion is used at this point to portray the intensity of the situation. This technique also helps with the transition to another time period. Jump cut to another very intense scene where an adult Richard Brown is remembering this and weeping. Another great transition which rakes place is through the use of inside/out editing.While most the film is editing is done from the outside/in perspective, one scene where Virginia Woolf is at the train station, we are jolted from the home of Clarissa Vaughan to a view of a moving train and eventually the details are revealed that the viewer has been transported back to England with Mrs. Woolf as the camera pans back. Works Cited The Hours. Dir. Stephen Daldry. Paramount Pictures/Miramax Films. 2003. http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/The_Hours_(film) http://www. imdb. com/titl e/tt0274558/fullcredits? ref_=tt_ov_st_sm#cast

The Lost Thing

THE  LOST  THING Shaun  Tan Teacher’s  Notes By  Nancy  Mortimer               Contents †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ Introduction   Language  and  Literacy   Visual  Literacy   Design  and  Layout   Discussion  Points The  Lost  Thing  Ã¢â‚¬â€œÃ‚  Shaun  Tan   Teacher’s  Guide  2009  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Page  1  of  8   www. hachettechildrens. com. au INTRODUCTION The  Lost  Thing  is  the  first  picture  book  that  Shaun  Tan  has  both  written  and  illustrated,  and  the   result  is  a  wonderful,  warm,  humorous  story  that  will  be  read  and  enjoyed  by  a  wide  range  of   ages. There  is  so  much  to  pore  over  and  ponder  in  this  book  that  it  will  be  a  welcome  addition  to   the  resources  that  teachers  have  to  draw  on.The  story  is  a n  age? old  and  familiar  Ã¢â‚¬Å"lost  dog  story†Ã‚  told  by  the  boy  and  addressed  to  the  reader. It  is  a  matter? of? fact  anecdote,  full  of  interest  and  compassion,  but  the  accompanying   illustrations  make  The  Lost  Thing  extremely  challenging. The  juxtaposition  of  text  and  drawings   make  a  book  that  is  both  thought? provoking  and  filled  with  food  for  thought. The  Lost  Thing  can  be  used  in  the  classroom  from  middle  primary  right  through  to  upper   secondary  and  a  great  deal  can  be  gained  by  those  who  read  it. The  Lost  Thing  Ã¢â‚¬â€œÃ‚  Shaun  Tan   Teacher’s  Guide  2009  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Page  2  of  8   www. achettechildrens. com. au LANGUAGE  AND  LITERACY The  language  the  story  is  written  in  is  simple  and  ostensibly  straight  forward,  however   Shaun  Tan  is  constantly  challenging  the  reader  with  his  unexpected  use  of  words  and   concepts  Ã¢â‚¬â€œÃ‚  look  at  the  meaning  of  the  word  weird  for  instance  and  the  summary  of  Ã¢â‚¬Ëœthe   thing’:  Ã¢â‚¬Å"It  was  quite  friendly  though,  once  I  started  talking  to  it†Ã‚  when  depicted  on  the  page   is  a  huge,  indefinable,  outlandish  creature. The  narrator  tells  the  story  in  a  familiar  Ã¢â‚¬Å"What  I  did  in  the  holidays†Ã‚  mode. Question:  What  is  the  effect  of  this  simple  language  and  minimal  text?Question:  What  was  a  real  dilemma  for  the  narrator? (Page  16)  Ã‚      Satire   Satire  in  literature  holds  the  mirror  up  for  us   to  look  at  our  society,  our  foibles  and   ourselves. Look  at  the  place  of  satire  in  The  Lost  Thing. Metaphor  Ã‚   Look  at  The  Lost  Thing  as  being  a  metaphor  and  thus  having  different  meanings  from  what   appears  on  the  surface. Discuss  this  with  the  class. Understatement  Ã‚   Look  at  the  place  understatement  plays  in  The  Lost  Thing. Opening  Ã‚   Look  particularly  at  the  beginning  of  the  story  and  comment. The  Lost  Thing  Ã¢â‚¬â€œÃ‚  Shaun  Tan   Teacher’s  Guide  2009  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Page  3  of  8   www. achettechildrens. com. au Ending  Ã‚   What  is  the  impact  at  the  end  of  the  story? What  do  you  think  has  happened  to  the  narrator? Characters  Ã‚   Do  a  character  study  of  the  narrator,  outlining   what  he  is  like  and  what  he  enjoys  doing. What  other  characters  are  in  the  story? What  part  do  they  play? Activity:  Look  at  the  lost  thing  itself,  and  make  a  list  of  words,  which  describe  it. Humour   What  makes  the  story  humorous? Where  does  the  humour  come  from? Discuss  with  the   class  different  sorts  of  humour  and  look  at  the  ingredients  that  comprise  hum