Turning Point Title Napoleons Retreat From Moscow Essays

Turning Point Title: Napoleon's Retreat from Moscow Place and Date of Event: June 22 1812 Napoleon and the Grande Arme invade Russia. December 18 1812 what is left of the Grande Arme make it back to France. Key Individuals and Roles: Napoleon: Emperor of France who lead the French Arme and it's allies into Russia. Barclay de Tolly: Commanded 127,000 Russian troops at the start of the invasion. Marshal Kutusov: Russian commander who replaced Barclay in mid August. Prince Bagration: Commanded 43,000 Russian troops during invasion. Wairy Louis Constant: Napoleon's valet, who wrote down what he saw and remembered about the retreat. Description of the Event: Napoleon took 500,000 infantry, 100,000 cavalry, and 1,400 field and siege guns for the troops on his invasion of Russia. He went up against Barclays' and Bagrations troops. Napoleon's strategy was to over power the Russians and drive them back as far as possible. June 24 French cross Niemen River at Kovno and Grodna and push Barclay back. Four days French capture Vilna and stayed there till July 16. Big mistake because this allowed Russians to unite forces at Smolenskby on August 1. Two weeks later Russians attack. Russians come away from battle in good shape, but the French come away in awful condition. Many troops are ill with different diseases and battle wounds. Russians replace Barclay with Kutusov. French keep trying to push forward. Another big mistake, they should have waited for winter to clear and attacked in the spring. Invade all the way to Moscow. When they get there Russians all ready burnt it to the ground so French have no shelter to stay in. Napoleon stay at Moscow for 6 weeks. Then the retreat begins. The French soldiers getting sick of war and kind of turn into a big crowd of men. Then the Russians attack them when they are so unorganized. End of November French able to reach Beresina River. All bridges out because water high and ice was taking them out. French try and make bridges as fast as possible, all the while the Russians are getting closer. Crossing the bridges was a scene of panic. The French soldiers were told to leave everything behind and make a break for it. The Russians stop pursuing the French at the Niemen. French did a good job of killing themselves. Some froze in the Russian winter, some were trampled getting over the bridge, others were killed by the Russians, and some were too tired to make it back to France. Very few troops from Napoleon's Arme made it back to France. Significance in World History: Napoleon is hated by almost all his Arme after this failure. He left his troops to die in Russia and people don't forget that. Countries under Napoleon's rule now feel confident they can beat him. He suffers his final loss in Waterloo and is imprisoned on Elba by the English. If Napoleon had not lost in Russia he most likely would have made France the biggest empire ever, that would still exist today.

The Renaissance Art Essays - Renaissance Painters, Free Essays

The Renaissance Art Essays - Renaissance Painters, Free Essays The Renaissance Art Ms. McSharry Humanities 26 September 2014 The Renaissance Art During the Renaissance, the way people saw the world was different from the way people in nowadays do. Renaissance was the time of reformation. The value of money started to increase, and many philosophers, artists, and scientists came up with new ideas about religion and humankind. Not only the Renaissance was a time of cultural movement and innovation, but also it was a time of political turmoil, religious conflict and chaos. People became more materialistic and individualistic. They often displayed their ideas and the ways of their lives through philosophy, literature, and especially art. Many artists, including the most famous artists such as Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, and Raphael, put their intentions and messages in their works, and many works of Renaissance art had similar styles of drawing and were usually depicted in religious images. The humanities, the significances, and the lives during the time were all shown in the Renaissance art. In European society during the Renaissance, capitalism and money became popular and significant. Even though the people still praised for God, at the time, they praised more for money. Their ultimate goal was gaining more money. Their loving money was also depicted in Renaissance art. Quentin Matsys The Money Lender and His Wife depicts how important the money was. In the drawing, a man who is counting his money and his wife who is reading her Bible are sitting together. However, the wifes focus is only on the money, not on her Bible. She is distracted from reading her Bible because all her intention and interest are concentrated on the money her husband has. The man and his wife are both fascinated and are fully focused on their money. The aspect of their action shows that the money became more interesting than religion. However, religion was still vital to the Renaissance period, and many artworks were depicted in religious images. Most of the artists used similar styles and common topics in their religious drawings. They normally drew Jesus at the center, Mary next to Jesus, and the twelve disciples beside him. In those religious drawings, Jesus and Mary were always dressed in red and blue clothes because the colors were only used for important figures. Leonardo da Vincis The Last Supper is a typical religious picture created in the early Renaissance. In his painting, Jesus is sitting at the center of the table. He is also wearing blue and red clothes, and next to him, Mary is also wearing blue and red clothes. The twelve disciples divided into two groups of six are sitting on each of Jesus left and right sides. In this picture, there are also three windows behind Jesus which points out the Trinity. His drawing also has a story in itself. This is the moment of the twelve disciples focusing on Jesus, and Jesus making a statement: One of you shall betray me (John 13:21). It is easily detected that only one guy among the twelve disciples is putting his elbow down on the table, hinting that he is going to betray Jesus. Like da Vincis painting does, every religious painting has its own message or story and the common painting style of Renaissance art. Many other artists also used similar methods and skills that da Vinci used. In Michelangelos The Last Judgment, the God and Mary wearing red and blue clothes are at the center of the painting. This paintings story is about heaven and hell. People sent to the hell in the bottom part of the painting all look distressed and angry. Even the colors and moods used in the upper and bottom part are notably different. In the upper part, people are wearing clothes, and the mood is brighter, but in bottom part, people are not dressed, and the mood is also gloomy. This painting is not only depicting the religious aspect, but also depicting the aspect of life and humanity. The importance of philosophy was also often shown in the Renaissance art. Raphael who was an active proponent of philosophy displayed his philosophical ideal in his painting School of Athens. In his painting, Plato and Aristotle, the most famous philosopher and scientist, are

Reading Responses 4 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Reading Responses 4 - Essay Example She felt like she had nowhere to go, but standing still in her grief was not an option. â€Å"Two Kinds† – A young Chinese-American girl and her Chinese-born mother live together in America. The mother, who lost her first husband and children in China, seems to have pinned all her hopes on her stubborn daughter. Hopeful that her daughter will become a piano-playing genius, she forces her to take lessons – from a man who turns out to be deaf. The young girl fails miserably at the recital, she and her mother fight, before the young girl makes a mean comment about her mother’s now dead family. They never speak of the piano again, but when her mother dies, she plays one last time. This story surprised me with its sense of humor, especially with the mother who would constantly test her daughter to see if she had some strange gift, like the ability to guess the weather. â€Å"House on Mango Street† – This is a very short story about a girl explaini ng how her family once moved every year from one awful apartment to another, all while dreaming of the great home they would someday own. The house on Mango Street they own, but it is a sad little house, not much better than the last, and one they hope to move from soon. The nun in this story made me angry the way she acted shocked at the horrible condition of the girl’s former home.

SHORT LISTENING ASSIGNMENT FORMAT Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

SHORT LISTENING ASSIGNMENT FORMAT - Essay Example group of musicians like the group of three trumpeters, saxophonists, and trombone players and the soloists like the pianist or cellist or the drummer take turns to improvise the piece based on what was performed by the musician(s) before him. Riff refers to short relaxed phrases being repeated over varied melodies. In this piece the complex riff structure in the head arrangements or collaborative arrangement that was memorized and not written down. The visual appeal in the video is remarkable. The video displays the musicians’ prowess and their rhythmic motions to the music mark the beginning of the swing era. The swing music was gaining popularity at the time and the Jazz Big Bands were a reflection of the times. The trumpet solo was very significant. The musician starts from low tone and displays a wide range in tone during his solo. He is preceded by the saxophone soloist and succeeded by the piano solo. The trumpet lends to the bouncy beat and light mood of the music piece and is very well placed in the sequence. The visual elements as discussed previously is enhanced with the lighting effects where the lights fall on each sectional as they play out their piece starting with saxophone players, the trombones and their head motions imitating the music and then the section of trumpet players. The One O’Clock Jump ends with all the players playing a repetitive phrase with variations in tone and melody and the catchy beat almost like a dance beat lends to the charm of the song. Why this jazz song became so popular is not difficult to understand. The overall performance is quite astounding. The light and fluffy rhythm has an energetic feel that is easy to swing to and uplifts the mood instantly. The complex riffs played out by the ensemble is very melodious and the sequences played out all seem to fit in perfectly and hence it is no wonder why it has come to be considered as one of the best songs of the

Philosophy Reflection Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Philosophy Reflection - Essay Example Reality is here on Earth during our lifetime. Reality as I believe it to be and as shown in â€Å"Allegory of the Cave† and The Matrix is a personal experience. The people standing on the wall in the cave in â€Å"Allegory of the Cave† live the shadow reality. The people on the walk above them live in the reality of the sun. This is a reality of perception. In The Matrix people live in a matrix of make believe that is perceived to be real or unplugged in the reality of Zion. Once again the reality is a personal experience. Neo experienced both realities after receiving knowledge of Zion. The two stories take a different opinion on transferring to a different reality. Plato believed the prisoner that went into the light would want to return to darkness, but would not be able to adapt back in the cave. The prisoner would want things the way it was before being freed. In The Matrix Neo did not want to go back into the matrix after being unplugged. Not only did Neo not want to go back, he embraced the new knowledge of his reality to become more than what he was in the matrix. The prisoner remained the same, but Neo evolved. In my opinion, I believe it depends on the person and circumstances if a person remains the same or evolves. If different realities exist, different ethical implications would apply. For example, Neo was trying to free humans from the matrix. In Zion, Neo was a hero, but in the matrix he was an outlaw. The prisoner in the cave was being punished or jailed, but in the light the prisoner was free. Laws in Zion, the matrix, cave, and outside the cave were different. For example, in Zion people were allowed to go into the matrix to fight, but not to have a pleasurable life. In the matrix people were not allowed to know they could be unplugged. In the cave people played games about the shadows due to their immobility. The people outside the cave moved about freely. It would not be fair to judge Neo in Zion about things done in the

Effective Leadership Styles of School Principles

Effective Leadership Styles of School Principles In order to be effective, schools require skilled leaders. The role of the principal is the key to a schools ability to meet the needs of the teacher it serves. However, the impact and the influence a principal has on teacher commitment is not a simple relationship. Principals in todays schools require the person in the position to carry out a countless number of functions as well act in a variety of different roles. As DeLucca, et al. (1997) found, the literature on educational leadership clearly emphasizes that the principal is a highly complex and demanding role (p. 105). Fullan (1991) described the changing role of the principals over the past two decades as becoming dramatically more complex (p. 144). The study of transformational leadership in the context of principals school leadership is relatively new. Building upon the work of Burns (1978), Bass (1985), and Bass and Avolio (1994), Leithwood (1994) developed a transformational model of school leadership. Leithwood states that transformational leadership skills are necessary skills for principals if they are to meet the challenges of the 21st century. Recent studies completed by various scholars in the field have indicated that administrators who demonstrate a transformational leadership style have teaching staff with increased job satisfaction, a greater sense of teaching efficacy, demonstrate higher levels of organizational commitment, and have less staff turnover (Griffith, 2004; Yu, et al., 2002; Ross Gray, 2006). However, strategic leadership is the main role of the principal while pedagogical leadership is the responsibility of the teachers (Crowther et al., 2000 and, 2002; Smylie-Hart, 1999). Their relationships have been described by Crowther et al. (2000) as parallel leadership. Teacher leaders and administrator leaders work in parallel and develop new roles and relationships within the school. Strategic leadership theory suggested that strategic leaders are individuals who have the ability to think strategically by envisioning, anticipating, innovating, maintaining flexibility, and mobilizing others to adopt changes which provide the organization with a competitive advantage (Elenkov, et al, 2005; Ireland Hitt, 2005). Strategic leaders enable organizational staff to exploit diverse opportunities to adapt and respond to environmental uncertainty. According to Ireland and Hitt, strategic leadership theory advocates that, companies are a reflection of their top managers, and, in particular , of the chief executive officers (p. 65). Hence, Davies (2004) had identified nine factors associated with the strategic leadership styles of school heads. In his terms, Davies classified these nine factors into two parts: firstly, the ability of a school head to undertake organizational activity (strategic competence, strategic orientation, strategic translation, strategic alignment, and strategic interaction), and secondly, his or her individual characteristics (restless, absorptive, adaptive, wise). Teacher commitment is crucial to effective schools, teacher satisfaction and retention. There has been increasing interest among scholars in the concept of commitment and the study of the commitment of several professionals such as students (Staw, 1976; Meyer Allen, 1987). Educational researchers have focused on commitment to the organization in this case, teachers (Firestone, 1990; Tyree, 1996; Nais, 1981). They call this phenomenon teacher commitment, denoting commitment to the school (Ryes, 1989). Commitment is part of a teachers affective or emotional reaction to their experience in a school setting (Ebmeire Nicklaus, 1999). According to the related literature, in these circumstances employees can develop affective commitment: in a more decentralized organizational structure (Robbins, 1997), in an organizational structure having an open and honest communication network (Zangaro, 2001), in an organizational culture encouraging participation (Parnell Crandall, 2003), when they h ave the opportunity to participate in decision-making (Somech Bogler, 2002), especially in strategically important decisions (Lines, 2004; Celep, 2000), and when they are affected by the outcomes of these decisions (Torka, 2004), when they have the opportunity to participate in the strategic planning process (Oswald et al., 1994), when they are provided with autonomy (Firestone Pennell, 1993), when they have the opportunity to acquire knowledge and other resources in the organization (McDermott et al., 1996), when strategic objectives (Enriquez et al., 2001), expectations (OCreevy et al., 1997) and the vision (Oswald et al., 1994) of the organization are communicated to them, when they are treated fairly and justly (Martin Bennett, 1996; Naumann et al., 1998), when they have adequate payment (Abdulla Shaw, 1999), when there is a congruence of ethical values between employee and organization (and/or manager or supervisor) (Schwepker, 1999; Peterson, 2003; Janssen, 2004), when the y have a supportive, facilitative and hearty leader (Kidd Smewing, 2001; Hui et al., 2004) and when they find their leader (or supervisor) trustworthy (Perry, 2004). STATEMENT OF PROBLEM Many researchers have pointed out that in order to be effective in the current context of school improvement, principals need to conform to the role as transformational leaders who have the potential for building high levels of commitment to the complex and uncertain nature of the restructuring agenda (Caldwell, 1992;, Hallinger, 1992;, Leithwood Jantzi, 1997;, Murphy Hallinger, 1992). There are differences in what these roles might include, that is, what the dimensions of principal leadership style are. Building the dimensional measure of principal leadership style, thus, motivated the researcher to conduct this study in the hope that it will contribute to our understanding of the principals transformational leadership style which is considered a foundation of school effectiveness. Another important issue that has not been adequately examined by previous research is the underlying model of the strategic leadership styles of principals. Waldman and Javidan (2002) indicated that little research exists on strategic leadership and its influence on organizational performance. The general problem is that contextual factors influence leadership behaviors across all levels of the organization, thus constraining leaders to adopt behaviors driven by external and internal demands. (Antonakis House, 2002;, Carroll, 2002;, Waldman, et al, 2001;, Waldman Javidan, 2002). It has been widely recognized that many discouraged school behaviours are, to an important extent, due to the low commitment of teachers. Teachers who experience this deficiency would engage in a variety of work behaviours that only reinforce their task failure (Rosenholtz, 1989). In an effort to overcome this, teacher commitment becomes necessary. Leithwood et al. (1994) suggest that committed teachers are less likely to leave the organization and have a desire to improve practices in an effort to realize the schools mission. Therefore, teacher commitment should be examined because it leads to greater job effort and involvement. (Porter, et al, 1974;, Rosenholtz, 1989). Since there is no specific style that is best for all situations, developing skills in selection of appropriate transformational and strategic leadership styles need to be emphasized because if these skills are poor, the consequence can be quite negative. Ubben and Hughes (1992) postulate that effective leadership depends on understanding the condition of a problem situation and assessing correctly how much participation is required to be successful and the form that this participation should take. An incorrect response to the demand of a situation may have a negative impact on-teachers personal satisfaction and may consequently affect their enthusiasm and commitment. Many times staff or teachers are dissatisfied with principals, not because of the nature of their decision, but because of the leadership style used (Leadership Management Development Center, 1997). Moreover, the Ministry of Education in Thailand enforces school principals to obtain quality assurance certification once every five years, where the schools need to ensure the system is developed in accordance with the standards, criteria, principles and guidelines as stipulated in the educational Act. In recent years, the average points obtained in the national test shows that, Islamic private schools in three provinces of southern Thailand ranked bottom compared to other schools in national ranking as far as academic achievement is concerned. (Secretary Board of Educational Office, 2007). In addition, Sermsak and his colleagues (2004) noted, the Islamic private secondary school principals lack of skills especially in educational management. As a member of an educational organization, the researcher considers that it is important to conduct this study. In this study, the researcher focuses on the principals in Islamic private secondary schools in southern Thailand. As mentioned abo ve, principals are educational leaders and teachers are practical instruments in achieving the schools goals. Conducting a study to identify which is the most effective principal leadership style (transformational leadership or strategic leadership) and its effect on teacher commitment is believed to be a worthwhile study. THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK The theory that this study has tried to build was based on the foundations of several existing theories in the literature. Firstly, the study reviewed various dimensions of leadership styles from previous studies by Barnett et al. (2001), Chui et al. (1996), Janzi and Leithwood, (1996), and Leithwood et al. (1996) considering-the present school context in southern Thailand. Five relevant dimensions of leadership styles are specifically proposed to be used in this study (Liethwood, 1996). The five dimensions of transformational leadership styles are visionary leadership, individual orientation, structural leadership, empowering leadership and role modelling Secondly, the study reviewed the strategic leadership styles (Davies, 2004; Davies Davies, 2004). There are nine categories of strategic leadership characteristics. In his terms, Davies classified these nine factors into two categories; individual characteristics (restlessness, absorption, adaptiveness/adaptibility and wisdom) and organizational capability (strategic competence, strategic orientation, strategic translation, strategic alignment and strategic interaction. Thirdly, the study reviewed a theory from perspective of the affective approach on commitment. Commitment is defined as the relative strength of a persons identification with and involvement in an organization (Mowday et al., 1982). According to Buchanan (1974), commitment is a partisan or affective attachment to the aims and values of an organization, to ones role in relation with these aims and values and to an organization for its own sake, Further, according to the cost-benefit approach, commitment is a result of the perception of benefit associated with staying in and the perception of cost associated with leaving from an organization (Kanter, 1968). From the normative approach, commitment is the aggregate internalized normative pressures to conduct in a manner which meets organizational objectives and interests (Wiener, 1982). It extensively examines the influences of transformational leadership and strategic leadership on teacher identification, involvement, and loyalty to the commitment (Abdulhakam, 2005). The three factors of teacher commitment are identification, involvement and loyalty. RESEARCH OBJECTIVES Based on the statement of research problem and the theoretical model as seen in Figure 1, the objectives of the study are as follows: To examine the factors underlying the transformational leadership styles of school principals in Islamic private secondary schools in Southern Thailand. To examine the factors underlying the strategic leadership styles of school principals in Islamic private secondary schools in Southern Thailand. To examine the factors underlying the teacher commitment of school teachers in Islamic private secondary schools in Southern Thailand. To examine the effect of transformational leadership style of school principals in Islamic private secondary schools in Southern Thailand. To examine the effect of strategic leadership style of school principals in Islamic private secondary schools in Southern Thailand. To examine the effect of transformational leadership of school principals on teacher commitment through strategic leadership style in Islamic private secondary schools in Southern Thailand. To examine the effect of strategic leadership style of school principals on teacher commitment through transformational leadership style in Islamic private secondary schools in Southern Thailand. RESEARCH HYPOTHESES As stated earlier, the objectives of the study are to examine the factors underlying the transformational leadership and strategic leadership styles on teacher-commitment and to examine which leadership style which is dominant among the Islamic private secondary school principals. Thus, the hypotheses of the study are as follows: H1: Transformational leadership styles of school principals are represented by visionary, individual orientation, structural leadership, empowering leadership, and role modelling. H2: Strategic leadership styles of school principals are represented by restlessness, absorption, adaptiveness/adaptability, wisdom, strategic competence, strategic orientation, strategic translation, and strategic alignment. H3: Teacher commitment factors are represented by identification, involvement, and  loyalty. H4: The transformational leadership style of school principals directly and significantly affects teacher commitment. H5: The strategic leadership style of school principals directly and significantly affects teacher commitment. H6: The transformational leadership style of school principals positively and significantly affects teacher commitment through strategic leadership style. H7: The strategic leadership style of school principals positively and significantly affects teacher commitment through transformational leadership style. RESEARCH DESIGN This research adopted a quantitative approach as described by Creswell (2003), by emphasizing the utilization of quantitative surveys to determine if the effects existed between the variables, strategic leadership and transformational leadership styles, and teacher commitment as perceived by Islamic private secondary school teachers in three provinces in Southern Thailand. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) is used to determine to what extent the model of hypothesized effects is supported, and how well a hypothesized conceptual model fits the associated data. The Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) is preferred because many previous studies supported the employment of SEM in this kind of research (see e.g. Clegg et al. 1997, Neilson 1997). SEM is also selected because of its ability to define and test a comprehensive System Contingency Approach (Hiltz, 1994) type of theoretical models. For instance Chin (1998, vii) has mentioned that, when applied correctly, SEM-based procedures have substantial advantages over first-generation techniques such as principal component analysis, factors analysis, discriminant analysis, or multiple regression because of the greater flexibility that researcher has for the interplay between theory and data. Compared to these first generation techniques often used in these types of analysis, some of the advantages of the SEM include the ability to: (1) estimate the direct, indirect, and total effects of variables; (2) define and investigate relationships among latent constructs; (3) estimate the variance accounte d for in each latent construct by other variables in the model; and (4) estimate error terms associated with each observed and latent variable (Heck and Wolcott 1997; Li, Harmer Duncan, Acock and Boles 1998). Research methods of the study consist of two steps; firstly, a hypothesized model will be developed by reviewing related literatures. The model will be assessed by educational experts. Secondly, the developed learning process reform model will be validated using the SEM to analyze the data collected from the Islamic private secondary school teachers in three provinces in Southern Thailand (Narathiwat, Yala, and Pattani,) Instrumentation In addition, at the end of the questionnaire there is an open space, where respondents have the opportunity to write about their experiences on commitment or comment on the questionnaire or the study in general. The Thai language questionnaire is filled out anonymously and it took about 20 minutes to complete. Validity and Reliability Content validity The validity of the measurement-items will be assessed in order to determine if a measure adequately reflects the real meaning of the construct under consideration. Two types of validity checks were performed in the initial stages of scale development: (1) Content Validity and (2) Construct Validity (Hair et al., 2006). Construct validity Construct validity or factorial validity, describes the logic of items which comprise measures of social concepts; this refers to the extent to which the empirical definition of the construct corresponds to the conceptual definition of the construct (Hair et al., 2006). Two types of validity were used to assess Construct Validity: (i) Convergent Validity and (ii) Discriminant Validity. Reliability The Cronbachs Alpha value is used to assess the reliability parameters. It provides a summary of the intercorrelations that exist among the set of items. Any suspect measurement-items will be removed. For this research study, the expected Cronbachs Alpha value is above than 0.7 as suggested by Hair et al. (2006), implying a statistically acceptable internal consistency reliability. Population and Sample The population in this study is Islamic private secondary school teachers in three provinces in Southern Thailand who teach in the school that are generally based on the Western Educational model. A simple random sampling is used to select the participants. The expected margin of error (accuracy) should  ± 4 % and confidence interval of 95% (Ferguson, 1981; Vockell Asher, 1995). All survey instrument will mailed to and administered by the Principal and Manager for administration for the respective schools. All completed survey instruments will return to researcher using enclosed envelopes. Data analysis method and Statistical technique This study will employed Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) techniques to determine the extent to which the model of the hypothesized effects is supported. All the statistical procedures are performed using SPSS 11.5 and AMOS 16.0. SEM evaluates how well a hypothesized conceptual model fits the associated data. Sometimes SEM is called a latent variable causal modeling because it is used to test causal models and theories, and because it involves the measurement of latent variables. The SEM is usually viewed as a confirmatory rather than as an exploratory procedure. It can also be seen as a family of statistical techniques which incorporates and integrates path analysis and factor analysis. The model consists of two parts, the measurement model and the structural model. The measurement model specifies how latent variables or hypothetical constructs depend upon or are indicated by the observed variables. It describes the measurement properties (reliabilities and validities) of the observed variables. The structural model instead specifies the causal relationships among the latent variables. By causal what is meant is the assumption that, everything else being constant, a change in the variable at the tail of the arrow will result in a change in the variable at the head of the arrow (Loehlin,1987, p.4). SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY Result of this study are pictured to provide empirical data on factors of effective leadership styles among Islamic private secondary school principals in Southern Thailand that have not been fully studied. Therefore, this study will fill this research need. Thus, the results of this study are expected to help in the understanding of teachers and principals which is in accordance with effective leadership styles. The findings are extremely important to understand or determine the effect or failure of factors affecting the implementation of principal leadership styles both in terms of on transformational leadership and strategic leadership styles as perceived by the teachers. Such information can help to improve the strategy in order to accomplish school success. Finally, this study will aid teacher educators, administrators, professional development coordinators, and government officials to adequately prepare, train, and support principals so they may become effective Islamic principals in line with the current educational reform endeavour as intended by the Ministry of Education in Thailand. These considerations make this study worthwhile. DEFINITION OF TERMS Principal Leadership Behaviour The behaviour on the part of principals that transforms change in their followers through visionary leadership, individual orientation, structural leadership, empowering leadership, and role modelling. Strategic Leadership It is defined as educational executives who adopt a new way of thinking and acting. More than ever before, strategic educational leadership depends upon a restlessness, absorption, adaption, wisdom, strategic competence, strategic orientation, strategic translation, strategic alignment, and strategic interaction Teacher commitment It is defined as the relative strength of teachers identification with, involvement with, and loyalty in a school organization. In this study, teacher commitment is measured primarily by the Organizational Commitment Questionnaire (OCQ) developed by Mowday and his colleagues (1979) and also by selected items from other scale developers (e.g., Allen Meyer, 1990; Buchanan, 1974; Blau, 1985; Cook Wall, 1980). Islamic Private School (IPS) The schools, which are established by private individuals, offering both religion and secular subjects are fully subsidized or partly subsidized, or not subsidized at all. Those schools that are not subsidized enjoy a certain degree of freedom in educational operation and organizing educational activities (e.g. manpower, finance, and material resources). The present study deals with the first category of schools (fully subsidized) whose educational activities are under the governments supervision.

Ernest Hemingway Essay -- essays research papers

Ernest Hemingway: A Literary Marvel â€Å"One generation passeth away, and another generation cometh; but the earth abideth forever . . . The sun also ariseth, and the sun goeth down, and hasteth to the place where he arose . . . The wind goeth toward the south, and turneth about unto the north; it whirleth about continually, and the wind returneth again according to his circuits . . . .All the rivers run into the sea; ye the sea is not full; unto the place from whence the rivers come, thither they return again.† (Ecclesiastes 1:4-7)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ernest Hemingway’s style of writing is a unique form. In almost all of his novels the protagonist is a war veteran, which he himself was. He was known to travel the world. These places sparked the imagination to create novels that led to a Nobel Prize for literature. To better understand the impact of Ernest Hemingway as an American author, one must have a description of his background, a critical analysis of his work The Sun Also Rises, and his impact and importance upon the literary world. Ernest Hemingway was known as a simple, creative writer and person. Leonard Unger wrote, â€Å"He had an extraordinary reputation as a colorful human being.† He was born July 2, 1899 in Oak Park, Illinois. His father Dr. Clarence â€Å"Ed† Hemingway was a physician, and his mother, Grace, taught piano and voice lessons. He spent summers in upper Michigan, where he found a passion for hunting and fishing. After graduating from Oak Park High, ...

“A Visit of Charity” by Eudora Welty Essay

Is Eudora Welty successful in showing how human beings can be more interested in their own personal gains than the needs of others? Marian didn’t really want to visit the home for the elderly but she is a Campfire Girl and by taking out the time to go, she will gain points for offering her time to charity work. A gift of flowers was something that Marian brought to the home in order to make her visit look more genuine, but the apple that she brought; she hid outside so that none would think it was also a gift. There was no special person that she wanted to visit, she only wanted to do the job that she came for, earn her point and leave. She wears her Campfire Girls cap to show who she is and she is very afraid to be around a bunch of older people that she has never met, before, but the added point means so much to her that she is willing to visit this strange home. She is more interested in what she can gain from this visit than what she can offer to others. Addie wasn’t thrilled by Marian’s visit. She was a cranky old lady who didn’t even like her roommate and couldn’t stand to hear her talk about a bunch of nothing, all the time. Marian had pretty, yellow hair which she wore a white cap over and she dressed in her red coat as she observed the two women in the nursing home. She had a job to perform and so much to do in her life as she watched the two ladies who had nothing but each other. (Welty, 1980) In â€Å"A Visit of Charity†, Eudora Welty uses Marian as a character who acts in ways that many of us do at certain times in our lives, in performing deeds that are solely for ourselves, and sometimes we forget about the feelings of others. Welty demonstrates in this story that we need to not only try to work toward our own goals but at the same time, we need to consider the thoughts and emotions of others who are less fortunate. Marian is the girl who Welty chose to show that people, especially young individuals, sometimes forget about more important things as we search for awards and points that make us look and feel better about ourselves. To truly feel better about ourselves, we must consider the feelings of others and then we gain the biggest reward of all; knowing that we made someone else’s day a little brighter and more fulfilling. Marian still had many lessons to learn, in life about human kindness, and as she takes a big bite out of the apple, she shows that she had been more interested in her own personal gain in this visit. The author made you think about others in her writing. Eudora Welty clearly showed the selfishness that one can see in Marian’s visit to the nursing home and how she had so much to learn about the true meaning of sharing and giving of yourself in helping others who are less fortunate. I believe that Eudora Welty clearly showed that human beings are sometimes very capable of seeking out their own personal gain in life and are highly capable of not considering the feelings of others, as we do. Reference Page Welty, Marian. (1980) â€Å"A Visit of Charity†. Library of America. A Visit of Charity by Eudora Welty Essay Irony is the use of words to express something different from and often opposite to their literal meaning. Eudora Welty successfully uses this literary technique to elucidate the theme of the story, â€Å"A Visit of Charity†. The title â€Å"A Visit of Charity† is rather ironic. Charity means to show kindness and sympathy towards others; however, no one in this story does such a thing. There are no charity from Marian’s, the nurse’s, the two old ladies, and the whole society’s point of view. How can there be charity when the old ladies are isolated from the society. In the story, Marian, â€Å"a young Campfire girl†, sets out a visit to the Old Lady House. She wears â€Å"a red coat and her straight yellow hair is hanging down loose from the pointed white cap all the little girls are wearing this year.† This suggests us that she is not a self-conscious individual. She pays the visit for unquestioning duty since all other campfire girls do so. Her motive is also for the points, which reward on her project. The author also gives way to Marian’s selfish nature when she states to the nurse that â€Å"I have to pay a visit to some old lady.† She shows little respect in the way she phrases her statement. By saying she has to pay a visit reinforces us think that she is there not of her own free will. She does not care who she visits, just as long as the person is an elderly woman. Another irony is used to help explaining the theme of the story as Marian enters the old ladies’ room. When Marian looks around the room, she feels like â€Å"being caught in a robber’s cave, just before being murdered.† She thinks the old ladies are robbers who are trying to steal her perception of the world; however, do they really steal Marian’s view of world? No, I think Marian gets fear because the old ladies give her a broader and truer sense of the reality, which she is reluctant to accept. â€Å"A visit of Charity† by Eudora Welty Essay In the short story, â€Å"A visit of Charity† by Eudora Welty, a fourteen -year old Campfire girl whose name is Marian, visits an elderly home to earn points. The way Marian slowly makes her way from the bus stop to the nursing home shows reluctance. The author’s purpose was to describe a young child’s experience with the elderly through emotions and descriptions of her actions. The author encloses several lurid details to help the readers understand how awful this experience was for the child. The title contradicts the meaning of the story, charity means generosity or kindness towards others, and no one in this story carries that out. People’s selfishness and insensitivity can blind them from humanity and the needs of others. The setting is a winter’s day at a home for elderly women. Outside of the home, there are â€Å"prickly dark shrubs with which the city had beautified the home†. These surroundings imply coldness, and abandonment. The ambiance points to the feeling of fear. The floors inside the building illustrate the awkwardness. The room that Marian ends up visiting is dark, the shade is drawn, and excess amounts of furniture. The wet smell of everything and the wet appearance of the bare floor imply that the cramped room is a more suitable for barn animals rather than humans. Marian compares the room to a robbers cave and the two women as the robbers. The setting of a story assists in painting a mental picture, which draws the reader into the story. (42) Characters bring a story to life; they help the reader connect with the story and its surroundings. The story begins with the young girl who is fearful of the home. The story leads the reader to believe that Marian is the protagonist, and the elderly home is the antagonist. Marian is a self-conscious, submissive, and harsh. She refers to one of the elderly women as an object to be used and discarded when she announces the purpose of her visit. â€Å"I’m a Campfire Girl†¦I have to pay a visit to some old lady†. These words and her frequent thoughts about the points she will get for the visit reveal her real reason for coming, self-gain. An old woman â€Å"Any will do† is an impersonal thing with no identity or personality. She also refers to them as animals in their motions and appearances. When the  girl runs out, she notices that the nurse is reading a Field & Stream magazine. All of these descriptions help the reader to understand what the home is like, and how she sees the world. (42) Welty uses description, symbolism, irony to get across the theme. The theme of the story is selfishness, although it is portrayed through fear. Marian is apprehensive about going into the home, but maintains her state of mind and goes in. In the beginning, the story leads the reader to believe that she truly has compassion. Although, it is a lie, she is there only for points. The author is expressing self-interest. Fear is a part in life and to concur those fears is contentment, but running away is not concurring. Marian does not portray the best image of a kind, cheerful Campfire Girl. Welty further suggests in this story that fake charity can destroy the very humanity it pretends to acknowledge and uphold. People like Marian acting either out of duty or for personal advantages have created the Home and the conditions that have made the inhabitants irritable and unlovable. Marian left the women more lonely and distraught than she found them. This kind of charity is uncharitable indeed.

Bill of Rights and Amendments Essays - James Madison, Free Essays

Bill of Rights and Amendments Essays - James Madison, Free Essays Bill of Rights and Amendments Bill of Rights and Amendments The United States of America is by far the most successful Republic governed country in the world and has managed to survive for over 223 years. What has made the United States such a success is the foundation that the framers created, the United States Constitution. The framers knew that with time the needs of the people would evolve due to changes in society, so regulations in the Constitution would need to be adjusted or expanded for the changing times. The adjustments are called Amendments. Since 1788 only Twenty-Seven Amendments have been ratified and added to the United States Constitution and amazingly enough ten of them known as the Bill of Rights were proposed under the First Congress. As society continues to evolve the Constitution may need to update existing regulations or improvements may need to be made and added to cover issues that were not originally covered in the Constitution such as: abolishment of slavery, the right to vote for all American citizens including women and former slaves, taxes, and right to citizenship just to name a few. Without the admission of amendments the Constitution would be in danger of becoming less relevant to the needs of modern society; for example after the civil war the slaves were free, but where in the constitution did it make it illegal to have slaves? Where did it state that they had a right to vote? It didn?t, that is why the Thirteenth Amendment which abolished slavery was added in 1865, then in 1870 the Fifteenth Amendment was added and in Section 1 reads: The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous conditi on of servitude. This now declares their freedom and their rights to vote in the Constitution. The framers knew that amendments would need to be added, that is why they are covered in Article V in the Constitution. Amending the Constitution is not an easy or quick process. There are two significant steps in the Amendment process. The first step in the process is the proposal, in which either two-thirds of both of the houses of Congress have to agree and deem it necessary to propose a new amendment or two-thirds of the legislature from the fifty states calls a Constitutional Convention to propose Amendments. Once Amendments have been proposed they will then need to be ratified, this too can happen one of two ways. An amendment can be ratified when three-fourths of the legislature from the states vote in favor of the amendment or Congress can direct a ratifying convention where three-fourths of the convention has to vote in favor of the amendment; all but the twenty-first amendment have been ratified by the state legislatures. The first 10 amendments known as The Bill of Rights are the most important amendments in the Constitution. When the framers were drafting the Constitution their primary focus was establishing a strong and effective federal government, since this was their main focus the Constitution addressed a very limited number of rights for the people. The framers, and notably James Madison, the principal architect, believed that the Constitution protected liberty primarily through its division of powers. ("The Bill Of Rights: Its History And Significance", n.d). This made the Anti-Federalist who opposed the Constitution very uncomfortable; they feared that a large central government would not be any different than being ruled by a monarchy, their liberties were being threatened and they believed that if the framers really cared about their personal liberties and individual rights they would have been covered in the verbiage of the Constitution. Because of the Anti-Federalist concerns and their d isdain for the Constitution the Federalist became concerned about the ratification of the Constitution, due to their concern they agreed to add several amendments known as the Bill of Rights which were written by James Madison. Without the addition of the Bill of Rights the Constitution may not have been ratified. The Bill of Rights are precious and they have become an ethical code for America, because of these 10 amendments, the United States has

Places Named After Old Country Geographic Locations

Places Named After Old Country Geographic Locations What is the geographic connection between the province Nova Scotia in Canada and French New Caledonia in the Pacific Ocean? The connection is actually in their names. Have you ever wondered why in many of the worlds centers of immigration like the United States, Canada, and Australia there are plenty of settlements with names like New Denmark, New Sweden, New Norway, New Germany, etc.? Even one of the Australian states is named New South Wales. These many new geographical places - New York, New England, New Jersey and many others in the New World are actually named after the original ones in the Old World. After the discovery of the Americas a necessity for new names appeared. The blank map needed to be filled in. Very often the new places were named after European geographical locations by just adding new to the original name. There are possible explanations for this choice a desire for commemoration, a feeling of homesickness, for political reasons, or due to the presence of physical similarities. It often turns out that the namesakes are more famous than the original ones, yet there a few new places that have disappeared in history. Famous "New Places New York, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico are the four new states in the United States. New York City, which gave the name to the state, has an interesting story. The English city of York is the father of its more famous new version. Before becoming part of the British North American colonies, New York was the capital of the colony known as New Netherland and bore the thematic name New Amsterdam. The small county Hampshire in the south of England gave its name to New Hampshire, in New England. The British crown dependency Jersey, the largest of the Channel Islands in the Atlantic Ocean, is the original of New Jersey. Only in the case of New Mexico, there is no transatlantic connection. Its name has an easily explained origin related to the history of the U.S. and Mexico relations. There is also the case of New Orleans, the largest city in Louisiana, which historically has French origins. Being part of New France (present-day Louisiana) the city was named after an important man - the Duke of Orleans, Orleans is a city in the Loire valley in Central France. Famous Old Places Speaking of Spain, we have to mention the idea of New Spain, another example of a former overseas territory named after a country. New Spain consisted of the present-day Central American countries, some Caribbean islands and southwestern parts of the U.S. Its existence lasted exactly 300 years. Officially, it was established immediately after the collapse of the Aztec Empire in 1521 and ended with Mexicos independence in 1821. Other "Old" and "New" Connections The Romans labeled Scotland as Caledonia so the present French New Caledonia island in the Pacific is the new version of Scotland. New Britain and New Ireland are islands in the Bismarck Archipelago of Papua New Guinea. The name New Guinea itself is chosen because of the natural similarities between the island and the Guinea region in Africa. The outdated British colonial name of the Pacific nation Vanuatu is New Hebrides. The old Hebrides are an archipelago off the west coast of Great Britain. Zealand is the largest Danish island on which the capital city Copenhagen is located. However, the country of New Zealand is definitely a more famous place than the European original. New Granada (1717-1819) was a Spanish viceroyalty in Latin America encompassing the territories of modern-day Colombia, Ecuador, Panama, and Venezuela. Granada is a city and an important historical place in Andalusia, Spain. New Holland was Australias name for almost two centuries. The name was suggested by the Dutch seafarer Abel Tasman in 1644. Holland is presently part of the Netherlands. New Australia is a utopian settlement established in Paraguay by Australian socialists at the end of the nineteenth century.

PPQ PARTs Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

PPQ PARTs - Essay Example The company therefore needs to determine how it will provide a safe work environment for its employees, jobs that are rewarding, stable employment, equitable pay in exchange for a positive work attitude and outstanding performance on the job (Heizer & Render 2006, p33). The fact that PPQ wants to increase the number of facilities would indicate that there is an increase in demand for its products in other markets. Whether or not that is the case the company needs to market its products in those areas. In selecting its location the company needs to design and build economical and efficient facilities that will be capable of yielding high value to not only the company but other stakeholders including employees and the community in which the facilities will be located. In order to do carry out its operations effectively the company will require competent and experienced staff that will be able to deal with customers at the various locations. In will be expanding into different countries and therefore different environments. Building a multicultural and diverse labor force is therefore important. Therefore, PPQ need to carry out an assessment of its management staff to determine whether they possess the skills necessary to deal with multiculturalism and diversity. It is important that they understand what diversity means. Munjal and Sharma their paper â€Å"Managing Multiculturalism & Diversity in Organizations † (n.d.) states that: Managers usually see affirmative action and equal employment opportunity as centering on minorities and women; the diversity here includes race, gender, creed, and ethnicity but also age, background, education, function, and personality differences. The objective not to assimilate minorities and women into dominant white male culture but to create a dominant heterogeneous culture. They will be dealing with employees and customers from different parts of the world and it is important that they understand not only the culture but h ow it can lead to competitive advantage. Rick Bobrow, America’s CEO (qtd. in Black Enterprise, 2001) states: Diversity is fundamental to our business. But it is also fundamental to our view of how we do business. To help our clients, and ourselves, achieve success, we have to leverage the different ideas, backgrounds, and values of all our people. When people of all ethnic groups are represented at all levels of the firm, we are better able to perform in a global environment, attract the best talent, and ensure that our clients are served well. Management has to be of the right caliber to be able to do this effectively. It is therefore important that the recruitment exercise is properly carried out so that the right persons (with the necessary skills and talent) are chosen to fill positions. Another of PPQ’s current weakness is its low profit margin. Additionally, its share of the market is very low. Although no information was provided on the market share of

Persuasive Speech Assignment on seat belt Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Persuasive Speech Assignment on seat belt - Essay Example I also referred to my speaker notes occasionally and glance at the presentation regularly to ensure that I was presenting the right content for each slide. So as to make the presentation more interesting, I ensured that I gesticulated. I also made use of my other body parts in application of whatever I have previously learnt about non-verbal communication. One of the things that make the audience get bored during a presentation is monotony. However good the content of the presentation may be, the audience will be distracted by a monotonous voice. In order to ensure that my presentation overcame monotony, I varied my tone and volume. My presentation was well organized. Each slide was not overcrowded with words. Also, each slide was dedicated to a subtopic. Essentially, this was done to ensure that my presentation and speech was well organized and flowed seamlessly. I believe that my presentation was a great