The Relationship Between Faith and Doubt free essay sample

Though the plot of the novel is quite complicated, the explanation for Owens effect on Johnnys faith is extremely simple; Owens life is a miracle he has supernatural visions and dreams, he believes that he acts as Gods instrument, and he has divine foresight of his own death and offers miraculous and almost undeniable evidence of Gods existence. The basic thematic shape of the novel is that of a tension being lifted, rather than a tension being resolved; Johnny struggles throughout the book to resolve his religious faith with his skepticism and doubt, but at the novels end he is not required to make a choice between the two extremes: Owens miraculous death obviates the need to make a choice, because it offers evidence that banishes doubt. Yet Johnny remains troubled, because Owens sacrificial death (he dies to save the lives of a group of Vietnamese children) seems painfully unfair. Johnny is left with the problem of accepting Gods will. In the end, he invests more faith in Owen himself than he invests in God he receives two visitations from Owen beyond the grave and he concludes the novel by making Owen something of a Prince of Peace, asking God to allow Owens resurrection and return to Earth. Of course, the thematic development of the novel is somewhat more complicated and cluttered than that. The presentation of religion in the book is continually undercut with irony and the constant presence of sex. Further the thematic development of the book is also inconsistent and indirect, in part because we are never able to obtain a secure view or outlook of Johnnys mind; he is such a subdued narrator that it is difficult to tell exactly where he stands during much of the novel, which often clouds our sense of his struggle with faith and doubt. This ambiguity underscores the important point that Irvings basic intention for his novel is not to present a philosophical meditation on the nature of God, but rather to tell a clutching story. Beyond a certain point, it is simply not rewarding to analyze the books explicit philosophical content as it is embodied in the books plot. Far richer and more redundant is the books roster of symbols and motifs, many of which are explicitly discussed by Johnny in key passages of the   novel. The most important symbol in A Prayer for Owen Meany is, for the titles sake, Owen; Owen embodies the relationship between the natural and the supernatural (also the novels main theme.    With his tiny, dwarfed body, his oddly glowing skin, and his nasal voice (always represented in the book by capital letters), Owen is not entirely of this world his appearance affirms his bizarre spiritual life, in which he seems to be in direct communication with God. On the other hand, Owen is very much of this world; he grows up in a granite quarry, and his name is Meany a word signifying commonness and smallness to most Gravesend citizens. For all his eccentricity, Owen in many ways represents the spiritual condition of humankind; the difference between most people and Owen is that he is aware of being an instrument of God. His fatalistic faith converges on his apocalyptic knowledge of his own heroic death, for which he prepares all his life. Owen believes that everything happens under the will of God he continues to believe after hitting a foul ball at a Little League game which in turn accidentally kills Johnnys mother. Another key motif in the book is that of armless images and amputation. The book abounds with images of people and objects that lack body parts, most often arms: Watahantowets armless totem, the armless dressmakers dummy, the declawed armadillo, Johns amputated finger, the armless statue of Mary Magdalene, and Owen himself, who loses his arms in the explosion that causes his death, and to a lesser extent Lydias leg amputation. In the book, as Johnny often thinks to himself, armless images represents a number of different ideas: the helplessness of people against the injustice of fate; the pain caused by that injustice; the loss of loved relations or possessions; the surrender of the individual to God (in the sense that God takes ones arms, using them as his instruments as when Owen swings the fatal bat). Structurally, the book favors a rambling, expansive narrative that skips from memory to memory and scene to scene apparently at the whim of Johnnys first-person narration. The memoir-like form of the book means that much of Johnnys experience plays out concurrently with important events in American historythe Kennedy assassination and the Iran-Contra scandal, to name two and Johnnys commentary about these events forms an important sub-theme of the book. Johnnys obsession with America often overshadows his narrative focus on his childhood and his thematic focus on religion, and he frequently loses sight of his story in long diatribes against the Reagan administration. The books psychological study of Johnny is somewhat hazy, because Johnnys nature as a narrator is to keep the focus off himself; but it is clear that, for all his protestations of religious faith, he is a deeply damaged and bitter man as he narrates the story. Throughout much of the book, Johnnys anger about America seems to stem from his feelings of loss and outrage about the death of Owen Meany; whatever else has happened to him, it is clear that he has been unable to move beyond the events that he narrates in the novel. He continues to live in the past.

Health Planning Services

Introduction Health and wellbeing holds a very critical importance in each of us. This importance is only recognisable when we face threat of a potential loss of wellbeing, mobility, or life itself. The ‘rule of rescue’ that we place on our family members, and the community at large means that there is a moral imperative to invest in the wellbeing of known individuals (Sigh Coble 1999).Advertising We will write a custom report sample on Health Planning Services specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Health consumes a considerable portion of our national budget. Nevertheless, it generates a significant proportion of economic activity employing over 7.3% of the population. On the other hand, it underpins our economy making it a highly contentious and political issue at the time of election. Despite the important role of the health system, other sectors like education and employment are equally important and influence the sta tus of a country’s health and wellbeing. The health of our populations and the health systems have continued to improve to prevent, diagnose, and treat. The concern of Australian government is to meet the growing healthcare needs with the limited resources. The Australian health system is under pressure. It is under a constellation of problems and gaps harassing the health care system. This is a critique to a report by the National Health and Hospitals Reform Commission (2009): A Healthier Future for all Australians. The paper looks at several areas of the proposed plan, which I feel are inadequate. A System Out Of Balance: Challenges Illnesses Disease tops the rank of biggest of Australian health problems. Lifestyle and chronic diseases have become more common. In the year 2004-2005, 77% of Australians were suffering from at least one long term health related condition. More than 70% of the health sector spending is consumed by chronic conditions (Spiegel Hyman, 1991). The health sector has always been skewed towards the management of sickness rather than encouragement of wellness. Nationally coordinated mechanism to deliver health promotion services to a margin required to influence the cost of chronic diseases are lacking (Singh, Hinze, Coble, 1999).Advertising Looking for report on health medicine? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Workplaces’ role in support of healthy employees is ignored. Level playing field for funding of community based activities and allied healthcare is not maintained. Tension between Private and Public Provision The existence of competitive tension between the private and the public hospitals in the provision lack balance. Patients have to wait for many days in private hospitals as the credibility of public hospitals wane. Health System Is Provider Focussed Than Patient Focussed In the current system, it is the patient who has the role of seeking multiple healt h professionals. The professionals should instead act as a team and practise together to provide care around the whole needs of a person. A Disjunction between Service Provision, Teaching and Research Provision of health care, teaching, and research cause a misunderstanding between corporate and clinical responsibilities of hospitals. Balancing between the three facets of the health system leaves their budget strained while service providers have to balance between being teachers and their patient obligations (Lewis, 2003). Inequities There is a proven gap in access to and in the outcome of health services to different groups in Australia: There is a gap in life expectancy at birth for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples Poor support for mentally unstable patients People living in remote areas have little or no access to health care Basic dental care is beyond the reach of common Australians Inefficiencies A high degree of inefficiencies in terms of poor processes, high costs of medical provision, errors, high administrative costs and ineffective treatments adversely impact on patients’ access to quality health care (Carrin, 2009). There is variation in hospital cost per patient, inefficient primary care delivery, neglect of older patients and so on Vision and Reform Goals The report proposes a sustainable, high quality, and responsive health system. To achieve this level, the government should develop a plan that entail moves to improve health. This is achievable under the three reform goals, namely;Advertising We will write a custom report sample on Health Planning Services specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More the system be geared towards tackling major access and equity issues that are among issues affecting the health system today Restructuring of the health system to make it better positioned to respond efficiently to emerging issues Creation of a quick and self-improving system capable of long term sustainability. It should be understood that these three reform goal are not phases of reform, they should run concurrently beginning now (Lewis, 2003). Steps to Tackle Major admittance and impartiality concerns Finances to be engaged towards construction of (public) hospitals with major disaster units. This will cater for availability of ready beds and staff. This means that critically sick patients are not kept waiting for long. The maximum time allowed for a sick individual to obtain a range of healthiness services will be identified by the set targets. Redesigning the Health System Propose for establishment of more stand-alone elective surgery services to allow both the planned and emergency patients to be attended efficiently without delays More recovery facilities be built and staffed Establishment of Comprehensive Primary Care Centers and Services for provision of a â€Å"one-stop shop† service. Development of better forms of mutual care across common traditions and specialists. People with chronic diseases and the minority groups will have a choice for registering either with general practice or a primary health care service to provide them with a â€Å"health care home†. Aged care services are given a greater choice, improved primary health, and palliative care support. Embedding liveliness and Self-Improvement Give every citizen a possibility to keep an eye on time. Fund public hospitals depending on the number and the complexity of the patients they treat. The hospices should also be rewarded for performance pointers such as effective communication. Tackling Major Access and Equity Issues This move aims at ensuring that all Australians have access to effective and high quality health services. â€Å"The plan will be turning the aspiration principle into a real and achievable step† (Glanz, Rimer Lewis, 2003). The basis of this goal arises from the realization that there exist health service gaps and inequiti es in the current health system. The focus should be on dental care, public hospitals, and mental health services. Dental care Serious gaps exist in dental health care where a large number of Australians are on the waiting list. Another bigger group cannot access dental health due to high costs associated with treatment. This report proposes a new universal scheme for access to basic dental services – Dental care. Timely access to quality care in public hospitals The reform will improve access to quality care in public hospitals. The whole system will be overhauled. The redesigned system will ensure improved access to primary health care services, recovery after an operation, and support to people with chronic illnesses (Bracht, 1999). Major improvements will be directed to the emergency departments and elective surgery waiting lists. The establishment of National Access Targets will improve on the timeliness of care especially in public hospital services. These changes shoul d serve to strengthen hospitals and make them institution for caring for patients with complex needs (The Commission, 2008). Mental Health Services This plan intends to provide the platform for increased effective response to high prevalence mental health disorder. The reform proposes provision of right support and care services for mentally disturbed people. Ways to ensure there is a range of treatment and support services across health care. Sub-acute services in the community will be expanded (NHHRC, 2009). Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health Reduced life expectancy, high maternal and infants rate of mortality and morbidity and low birth weights are some of the issues affecting the Aboriginal and Torres Islander Health. A radical change should be implemented to alter how we take responsibility for improving the health of the Aboriginal and Torres Islander people (Gardner Barraclough, 2002).Advertising Looking for report on health medicine? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More A new National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health Authority should be formed mandated with the management of funds set aside for their welfare, affordability of fresh food, fruits and vegetable to the remote communities should be beefed up. Redesigning the Health System to Respond To the Emerging Challenges The current health system is only focused on sickness. It is rather reactive not proactive. Measures should be enforced to avail precautionary interventions, change in ailment patterns, and the aptitude and support to initiate and carry on with prevention. Such a move is highly unlikely as it is not possible for the health sector to go out seeking to encourage people to keep healthy. The proposal to form a new agency geared towards carrying out a strategic and premeditated role in driving an elementary paradigm shift in how populace think about wellbeing is a good idea. However, this is a big job (Bell Shalit, 2003). The work itself will require many hands from both th e governments and the public. Perfecting the agency by reaching out to individuals, the health sector Shifting the curve of health spending towards prevention may likewise meet some challenges especially the service and population based interventions. Research reveals that there is presently no comparable sponsor to invest in such field. This role has to be taken by another agency such as the National Health Promotion and Prevention Agency. Trying to plan on intervention, a common approach to evaluation has to be established. This will entail a consistent evaluation of medical care, pharmaceuticals, prevention and population health intervention etc. Such a wide coverage demands cooperation, which is not always guaranteed from all the sectors. Factors Hindering the Implementation of Planning Health Services Political Factors Certain factors are likely to delay the plan such as the increase in demand for, and the expenditure on the healthcare. These factors include the advances in med ical technology, ageing population, increasing chronic diseases and shifts in consumer expectations. If all these issues are to be addressed, the leadership of all governments must be involved. There is no ‘one health system’ in Australia. If the recommendations are to be met at national level, the leadership must be involved (Bratch, 1999). The problem is that Australia does not have a single government responsible for the health policy, its programs and funding. The reform of the health care will call for the leadership and commitment of all the states as well. Funding Reform covers a wide range of initiatives. The initiatives have differing degrees of implementation difficulty ranging from increased funding for health services. This is a tough call especially during this time of aggravated economic crisis. The government is already carrying extra burden funding existing health service and social insurance. Although health service planning is a means to improving heal th services, duplication of duties in other areas of the systems means the government has to dig deeper for more funds that might be unavailable. Genuine Participation Most of the steps advocated for in health plans require genuine participation, which is not always easy to achieve. Serious measures have to be taken to promote community participation in a meaningful and non-tokenistic way. This participation should also be sourced from regional level. Patients’ Perception and Decisions Some areas will require patient’s decision especially when they are dying. This presents yet another uncontrollable factor in health planning (Carin, 2009). In some instances, the decision making will involve more than just the patient and will include informal and family carers supporting health care services. Time The whole process sometimes requires too much time. Educating millions of people about the new health care plan may take years considering that very many areas have to be int egrated into the society. Health Workforce The scale and magnitude of health plan transformational change requires that the number of service providers be more than tripled. The government budget cannot afford the training of such a large workforce bearing in mind that a large proportion of the workers are aged (Eikenberry, 1990). Conclusion Health planning service is vital constituent in health service delivery. Several factors hinder successful implementation of reforms. Factors such as political play, inadequate funding and lack of enough cooperation, insufficient participation and inadequate health workforce hinder implementation of change. The aspects of time and the breath of the health sector are some of the other hindering factors. Reference List Bell, D., Shalit, A. (2003). Forms of Justice: Critical Perspectives on David Miller’s Political Philosophy. Lanham, Md: Rowman Littlefield. Bracht, N. (1999). Health Promotion at the Community Level: New Advances (2. ed.). L ondon: Sage. Carrin, G. (2009). Health Systems Policy, Finance, and Organization. Amsterdam; Boston: Elsevier/Academic Press. Eikenberry, G. (1990). The Seeds Of Health: Promoting Wellness In The 90’s An Anthology On Health Promotion. Ottawa, Ont.: Canadian College of Health Service Executives. Gardner, H., Barraclough, S. (2002). Health Policy in Australia (2nd ed.). London: Oxford University Press. Glanz, K., Rimer, B. K., Lewis, F. M. (2002). Health Behavior And Health Education: Theory, Research, And Practice (3rd ed.). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Lewis, M. J. (2003). The People’s Health. New York: Greenwood Press. NHHRC (2009). A healthier future for all Australians: final report, June 2009. Canberra: National Health and Hospitals Reform Commission. Singh, A., Hinze, J., Coble, R. J. (1999). Implementation Of Safety And Health On Construction Sites: Proceedings Of The Second International Conference Of CIB Working Commission W99, Honolulu, Hawaii, 24-27 March 1 999. Rotterdam: A.A. Balkema. Spiegel, A. D., Hyman, H. H. (1991). Strategic Health Planning: Methods And Techniques Applied To Marketing And Management. Norwood: Ablex Pub. Corp. The Commission. (2008). Beyond the Blame Game: Accountability and Performance Benchmarks for the Next Australian Health Care Agreements, A Report. Washington: The Commission. This report on Health Planning Services was written and submitted by user Leo Erickson to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Macbeth Symbolism Essays - Characters In Macbeth, Free Essays

Macbeth Symbolism Essays - Characters In Macbeth, Free Essays Macbeth Symbolism In our society, darkness tends to be the primary characteristic of evil. A black cat, a dark and stormy night, and a dark alley, for instance, are all modern day symbols of wickedness and evil. Authors many times will use these and other symbols to describe an evil character or setting. William Shakespeare employs the imagery of darkness throughout his play of Macbeth. He uses dark images often to describe instruments of disorder and the evils which characters act upon. In Macbeth, Shakespeare's use of the night's dark hour's give a sense of evil to the play. The words, actions, and descriptions of people such as the witches, Macbeth shows this, and even of other characters who are thought to be against all evil. Evil is present throughout the play, at a time when there is no light, and Scotland is covered by a shadow of darkness. In Macbeth, the witches are a prime source of darkness. First of all, the place and time of the witch's meetings all take on the feeling of darkness. The only times of their meetings are in the middle of the night, and often in terrible conditions of thunder and lightning. The witches meet in a dark cave. The cave is an appropriate setting for the witches because caves are murky and gloomy, and tend to represent the ideas of the underworld and hell. From the conditions and the location that the witches meet, a feeling of evil is already created. The appearance of the witches also adds to the feeling of darkness and evil. The witches are described as being, secret, black, and midnight hags! by Macbeth himself (Act IV, i, 47). The image today of a witch is an old, ugly woman who dresses all in black, and has a wart on her nose, and rides around on a broomstick. The picture hasn't changed much, except for the fact she now rides around on a broom. Witches still practice their magic, cast ing spells and hexes, looking into the future, and creating mystical potions, all things that manifest wickedness. Banquo even refers to the witches as instruments of darkness (Act I, iii, 125) after their first prophecy comes true. The witch's dark meeting place and dark appearance all emphasize their evil nature and the feeling of evil in the play. Nighttime is obviously a key setting for darkness and evil. Besides the witches meeting only at night, the dark hours also host other major event which take place in the play. The murdering of King Duncan takes place at night. Once again, nighttime is a host for the most evil of deeds. Death is by far one of the most villainous acts, and the fact that it takes place at night ties it in with darkness representing evil in the play. Macbeth chooses to murder the king at night because it is the most concealing time to do it. Everyone has retired to their chambers and is sleeping when Macbeth goes to do is evil act. He is able to sneak into the king's room and kill him without waking anyone, and quickly washes his hands and returns to his own room. When Macduff and Malcom wake the castle, Macbeth has already unclothed himself to look as if he were just waking up from the commotion. When the King is discovered dead, all meets in their pajamas and no one is suspected of being awake and kill ing the King. Let's briefly put on manly readiness, and meet i' th' hall together, says Macbeth to put distance between him and the murder. Darkness and the nighttime, in this case, help Macbeth to hide his evil actions. Nighttime is also the time in which Banquo is murdered. Banquo and his son must leave one day from Scone, but will make it back in time for Macbeth's banquet. As far, my lord, as I will fill up the timeI must become a borrower of the night. For a dark hour of twain, Banquo says to Macbeth, stating his intentions. When Macbeth hears that Banquo and Fleance will be returning home at night, he commissions two murderers and says to them The moment on't; for't must be done tonightOf that

A Good Man is Hard to Find Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

A Good Man is Hard to Find - Research Paper Example The short story, A Good Man is Hard to Find, is written by Flannery O’Connor. The book was written in 1953. The story, A Good Man is Hard to Find is found in the compilation of short stories, A Good Man is Hard to Find. Other individuals perceive all these occurring at once. This paper will look at how both the theme appears in the short story and how the theme appears in society. This is a short story that mainly makes people think about the probability of dramatic change in a person’s life. The old grandmother in the tale is seen as going through a miraculous and sudden change of heart after losing all members of her family and death herself. The old grandmother is tempted to kill the person who eliminated all her family members. Her actions raise a lot of questions; it is difficult to understand such an action  (Bandy 113). One is not able to explain if the grandmother’s action can be understood religiously or otherwise. This also raises questions on how an extreme event can cause such a situation. It raises questions on whether such a situation can occur at all. A Good Man is Hard to Find begins with the old grandmother protesting to her son, Bailey that she wants to go to Tennessee and not Florida, for the family holiday. Nevertheless, the family has its holiday in Florida. The old grandmother shows her family members malice by having an early day and waiting for them in the car. The old grandmother has worn her best clothes for the trip. She is dressed in her Sunday best so that in case of an accident occurs and she becomes a casualty, she will be identified as a lady. The old grandmother talks about her young days and also comments on whatever they see on the way, during the trip to Florida (O'Connor 23). The old grandmother claims that, during her early days, young people showed more respect to their parents and their homes and individuals only indulged in respectable activities. She also comments on a little pickaninny gesturing from a shack’s door. She claims that the Pickaninny almost certainly does not possess any britches. The old grandmother has a conversation with the owner of an old diner in which they were having lunch. The two were talking about a murderer and escaped convict called The Misfit. Both the grandmother and Red Sammy, the owner of the diner agree that it is difficult to find a decent man (Connie 75). Later on, when the family is back on the road, the old grandmother tries to derail the family members from their Florida trip. She tells the children tales of a nearby home she had stayed at as a young person. The grandmother intrigues the children with her stories of the home until they demand to visit the place. The children persuade their father until he accepts to take them to grandmother’s destination. The old grandmother realizes the home she had visited is not in Georgia but Tennessee. This is after they have covered some distance towards the wrong direction. She become s anxious, disturbs the cat, which is terrified, making the father lose control of the car and land in a trench below the road. After the accident, the old grandmother falsifies an internal harm to get sympathy from the family members. In contrast, the children are thrilled and perceive the accident as a quest. As the father, grandmother, and children are waiting for help, a car with three men, all with guns, approach the scene. One of the three men has glasses. He directs his accomplices to examine the car and engages the father, Bailey in courteous discussion. This is until the old grandmother recognizes him as The Misfit, the escaped convict and murderer. The Misfit directs his fellow criminals to kill the family

The US-China Taiwan Crisis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

The US-China Taiwan Crisis - Essay Example History of the US – China Taiwan Crisis The crisis that emerged in China and Taiwan began as early as 1949 with the Kuomintang Party. This Party is the nationalist party of China and was defeated to Communist rule during this time. The tensions which arose caused the party to move across the Taiwan Straight from Beijing, causing the Communist Rule to stay in China and Taiwan to try to separate under the rule of the Kuomintang (Christensen, 1: 1999). The main approach that Kuomintang took was to try to separate from mainland China and to continue with the nationalist rule and regulations which were believed to be a part of the party, often referred to as the Taipei Regime. By 1979, there was a call from Beijing for the Kuomintang Party to stop trying to divide Taiwan and instead to reunify into one China. The approach was to both liberate Taiwan and to work toward national development within each region, despite the differences in party agreements. The proposal was based on ope ning santong, which included commercial, postal and travel exchanges. The exchanges included siliu, which was four areas of concern, including academic, cultural, economic and athletic interests. It was believed that this approach would stop the differences on both sides and would lead to equal and fair agreements among both (Zhao, 22: 1999). Relationships with China After the Korean War in 1950, the US became involved with the political imbalances and began to pressure China to accept this party as the true government. To further establish this, the Chinese government was able to retain the seats they held at the UN with five members still sitting at the Security Council. The approach was furthered in 1972 with Nixon visiting China and trying to create a peaceful agreement between China and Taiwan. This was the first involvement with the United States to the Taiwan and Chinese debate, even though there was acknowledgement of the divisions from 1950 with Taiwan as a rogue state (Ros s 48: 2002). The relationship approached developed the Taiwan Relations Act, which persuaded both sides to create mutual security treaties, as opposed to separating as a nation. The main approach was to persuade both sides to work in cooperation and to open foreign relations ties for more opportunities. The persuasion was followed with a sense of security that could be used for those in East Asia (Goldstein, Schriver, 147: 2001). The Relations Act became effective in 1979, the year in which China worked toward economic agreements with Taiwan to stop the tensions between both countries. This stated that the United States would be involved with supplying the needed defense items to Taiwan in the case of an outbreak, specifically because the division of 1949 left the different area with a threat to the security of the area. This was combined with the act stating that there was only one China, as opposed to being a Taiwan and China. Even though there was acknowledgement that both could remain separate, the legitimate source of government pointed to only one China existing. By 1982, this was followed by six assurances, which consisted of guidelines which could be used for bilateral relations (Dumbaugh, 11: 1998). While there was acknowledgement at this point that both wanted to remain separate countries, the foreign relations

Studying the role of leadership management

Studying the role of leadership management According to Bennis and Nanus (1985, p. 20), leadership is referred as the most studied and least understood topic of any in the social sciences. There are more than 100 definitions of leadership having been identified in literature (Rost, 1991), and Stogdill (1974) even suggests that the definitions of leadership are as many as people who have ever tried to define it. However, there is neither any unanimously accepted definition of leadership, nor any consensus on the best way to train leaders (Bolden, 2004). Gallie (1955, cited in Grint, 2004, p. 1) defines leadership as, Leadership appears to be, like power, an essentially contested concept', whereas Bennis and Nanus (1985, p. 20) describes leadership as the abominable snowman, whose footprints are everywhere but who is nowhere to be seen. To summarise, the meaning of leadership is complex and includes many dimensions and it addresses many other key business/corporate, organisational, socio-cultural and personal processes. In mode rn days, it is generally popularised among commentators that charisma, inspiration, trust and consensus have been increasingly associated with leadership, but the author tends to advise they are necessary conditions for successful leadership in most situations, and there are circumstances, where other determinants are needed. Various Schools of Thoughts about Modern-day Leadership In 21st century the concepts of leadership and its definition are becoming more diversified according to various schools of thoughts. Peters (1993, p.19), explains the modern-day leadership as, Crucial to the revolution now under way so crucial that we believe the words managing and management should be discarded. Drucker (1992, p.119), having a similar point as Peters, identifies modern-day leadership as, Mundane, unromantic and boring. Its essence is performance, though Bolden (2004) is not in the favour of differentiating the details of the leadership from the management. What is more, as noted in the Jack Welchs example, General Electric Company progresses many folds in few years and the basis of this success is a candid, lucid and set guideline for a linear and prolific organization (Slater, 2003). Last but not least, Peter Scholtes (1998) leadership concentrates on systems thinking, and his opinions include leading by objectives, merit pay, performance appraisals, motivation, etc. According to Collinson (2005), followership is the essence of leadership, which means that modern-day leadership styles should be according to the personality and characteristics of the followers. The author understands from these different views that in the 21st century leadership styles, there is no one monotonous leading style in the organizations. Charisma in Modern-day Leadership Charisma is an advantage that promotes modern-day leadership performances, but it is not essential (Carpenter, 2002). Max Weber (1947) firstly defines that charisma differing leaders from ordinary people refers to special gifted magnetic charm and appeal; it gives leaders the capacity to do extraordinary things, and in particular it gives the leader exceptional powers of influence to followers. Scholars further suggest that charismatic leaders often serve as a strong role model for values that they desire others to adopt, show competence in every aspect of leadership so others trust his or her decisions, articulate clear goals and strong values, communicate high expectations for followers and show confidence in their abilities to meet those expectations (Conger, 1989; House, 1977; Shamir et al., 1993). Charismatic leaders are having deep impact on followers value, attitude and behavior, and it is suggested charisma is an important leadership attribute that motivates followers (Ilies et al., 2006). Leaders with charismatic personalities can get things done through attracting the subordinates to achieve the organisational goals more effectively, as people feel encouraged to be more devoted to their work, as a result of their admiration and respect to their leaders (Mortensen, 2008). Bill Clinton and Steve Jobs are both typical charismatic leaders. With overwhelming personal charm and vision, they successfully create their era. However, Ciulla (2004) suggests that basis of the leadership is ethics like earned trust not the charm. Tyler (2008) also advises people are lead because of their trust to the leaders, not charisma. Furthermore, it is generally agreed that leadership is ability and a skill which could be learnt over time and with the experience and maturity (Mumford et al., 2000); leaders are made not born, and charisma could be developed (Adair, 2005). Yet, Howell and Shamir (2005) also figure out that characteristics of followers sometimes determine the e fficiency of charismatic leadership. There is no denying of the importance of charisma for the leaders in the present-day leadership styles. Charisma is the capability to project the vision and thoughts regarding what the future prospects will hold upon others to bring a positive transform or change. In the light of this discussion, author understands that charisma is increasingly associated with modern-day leadership, and with the concern of other factors like the element of trust and follower, leadership in the modern-day organisations becomes more effective. The Inspirational Approach in Modern-day Leadership Inspirational leaders could positively motivate and influence people to get the best out of themselves, and accordingly pursue a far better performance of the organization (Wilson, 2010). Wilson and Rice (2004) also state that inspirational leaders are able to encourage, grow, and build up confidence of followers, through which modern organizations could benefit higher performance, even facing adversity. Robbins et al. (2010) suggest that charismatic leadership is the most common style of inspirational approach to leadership. The most striking element of the charismatic leadership is the ability to inspire astonishing performance from the followers and the team. It is also revealed that inspiration is a tactic to influence others and is associated with the research conducted by Yukl and Falbe (1990). The concept is that the leader makes a request or proposal that arouses enthusiasm by appealing to peoples values, ideals and aspirations or by increasing their confidence that they can do it. However, leaders are starting to inspire and motivate followers to perform, once trust is built up (Zeffane, 2010). Scholars claims that there are factors stimulating inspira tion, like a vision, which tells followers what they are expected to achieve and which they could always hold on (Scott, 2010). Other factors include involvement of everyone (Bilchik, 2001; Wilson, 2010), and the courage to admit personal weakness (Goffee and Jones, 2000) and so forth. Yukl and Falbe (1990) also conclude that leaders are most likely to use inspirational appeal and pressure when trying to influence subordinates, rather than their boss, or colleagues. In short, people are inspired to enthusiastically perform as well as they could, and ultimately succeed in achieving better organisational performance. Consensus and Modern-day Leadership With more and more emphasis on democracy, modern-day leadership is being increasingly associated with the consensus element in the decision making in the business organizations. Early experiments and research of Lewin et al. (1939) indicates that people are performing better, if they have been involved in the decision-making process. They also suggest leadership style to a large degree determine the performance of the group and they have categorized leadership into three styles: authoritarian, democratic and laissez faire leadership, among which democratic leadership is generally regarded as the more effective style. Consensus plays a very important role in democratic leadership, as members are encouraged to participate in the decision-making process and involved in the final decision and the agreement (Knight et al., 1999). Hence, with the support to the decision, people are better motivated and likely to perform better that they have been expected to (Brilhart and Galanes, 1989). M oreover, consensus in leadership stimulates team cohesiveness, with which members cooperate more with each other (Sanders and Schyns, 2006). It is also stated effective strategic leaders understand the necessity to involve team members in consensus decision making (Brilhart and Galanes, 1989). Besides, Felfe and Heinitz (2010) conclude that consensus not only largely predicts members commitments and their satisfaction, but also enhance organisational performance and leadership. Yet, Frisch (2008) argues a team cant make effective decisions if its members dont trust one another or if they fail to listen to one another. Therefore, before adopting consensus decision-making process, it is important that trust has been built up among members. It should not be neglected the decision-making ability of members in consensus process, as well as the fact that there are times authoritarian leaders work more effectively, especially facing risks and opportunities, as at least authoritarian leader ship is far less time-consuming (Lewin et al., 1939), and not everyone has the ability to tell and seize opportunities. Steve Jobs to some degree is an authoritarian leader, as no matter what other say and do, he insists that Apple should do its software and hardware all by itself even in such an open world day, as they know themselves best. It appears that Steve Jobs and his way is the path to the success of Apple. It would still appear consensus in modern-day leadership helps to sustain decisions, and to succeed a strategic leader needs to build the consensus. Trust Element in Modern-day Leadership As previously discussed, trust is shown as the basis of no matter charismatic, consensus or inspirational leadership. The importance of trust in modern organizations is widely recognized (Clegg et al., 2002), and it is increasingly important for leaders to arouse trust and faith to motivate the followers in modern organizations (Robbins et al., 2010). Martin (1998) defines trust leadership as, Leadership that is born and kept alive by the follower trust is trust leadership. According to him, followers attitudes are created by the leaders in the modern-day organisations. This allows the followers to trust the leader and trust is at the root of the leadership. Leadership is meant very little without the trust and vice versa. George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King Jr. are some of the examples from the recent history who have innate abilities to influence the followers by appealing to their values and earning the trust. These values include trust, respect, equality and freedom and are present in the modern-day followers, too. The values practiced in the past can be duplicated and practiced today and applied to the workplaces (Martin, 1998). Attitudes determine responses, so effective leaders understand that employees attitudes are very important in achieving goals of the company. To build the trust, leaders influence employees by tapping into their values and thus a positive behavior and attitude is encouraged in both the leader and the follower. Thus, as Matthews (2010) suggests that trust is the basis to heighten and achieve productivity and profitability in modern-day businesses in addition to aligning the organisational values with the employees values. Vadell (2008) also describes the trust as the leading concept in the organisational commitment, which could be exemplified by his research about United States Air Force Officers commitment and intention to leave the military. On the other hand, leaders trust in subordinates benefits themselves in delegating power to subordinates (Leana, 1986), by which subordinates would be further motivated. Likewise, Greenberg (2009) indicates innovation more than often comes from taking risks, while trust is key determinant to inspire people to take risks; for example, Google employees are trusted to have one day a week to do whatever interests them, which gives birth to innovations like Gmail. The author understands that in the modern-day organisations and leadership styles, mutual trust between leaders and subordinates helps develop the commitment among the followers and this commitment element establish the truthfulness of the charismatic leadership style. Increasing Association of Charisma, Trust, Inspiration and Consensus with the Modern-day Leadership Theories Literature reveals charisma, trust, inspiration and consensus are all important factors of transformational leadership, which elevate followers well-being (Gillespie and Mann, 2004; Khatri, 2005; Nielsen and Munir, 2009; Liu et al., 2010; Felfe and Heinitz, 2010). Bass (1985) suggests that transformational leadership theory results into growth and empowerment of the followers, and Howell (1988) believes transformational leadership style develops dependency among the followers on the leader. This means that followers motivation, self respect and esteem all are dependent on the positive feedback and recognition from the leader. Richard Branson could well exemplify modern-day transformational leadership. In Virgin empire the individual personality of Branson is stamped all through the organization, and his values and goals derive and infuse every corner of the corporation. Charismatic transformational leaders like Branson are capable to achieve their impact by the creation of followers who personally identify with this style as well as with the work group they are with (Yukl, 1989). Conger and Kanungo (1998) suggest that the personal attachment and identification with the leaders is because of leaders charismatic style and approach and is based on referent power. Similarly, Shamir et al. (1993) suggest that role model behaviour is one main method with which leaders influence the followers. The older leadership styles such as contingency models of Fiedler (1967), Vroom and Yetton (1973) and Yukl (1989) have main focus on the identification of the leadership styles which predicts effective results depending on situational contingencies. But these theories could not advise for a continuous changing environment and circumstances. One of concepts recognised by most scholars as accurately reflecting what it is to be a leader is leadership is a trait (Rost, 1991). Stogdill (1974) studied some leadership qualities in traits that appeared more often than others, like sense of responsibility, self-confidence and emphasis on task competition. However, Shaw (1976) and Fraser (1978) identifies that leaders usually attain above average scores for the traits like motivation, ability and sociability. Rost (1991) suggests that according to the trait theory people are either born or not born with the leadership qualities that help them succeed in the leading roles. Inherited qualities for example the personality and cognitive ability are basis of the effective leadership. Author feels that sometimes traits are built or developed within the leaders. Richard Branson was not very sociable in his school life, but he has made himself the face of Virgin Group by participating in the shocking promotional and publicity stunts to g ain attention. Therefore, personality and traits are core part of modern-day leadership, but accordance to needs and wants of the business become the more rife drivers of the behavior. Modern-day leadership styles are more associated with the mix of charisma and trust to inspire the followers. Influence of Cultural Differences on Modern-day Leadership In modern days, more and more researches are focused on leaders/leadership in the context of globalization, that is global leaders/leadership (Mendenhall et al., 2008). It is also indicated despite of being a good leader in home country, one of the biggest challenges facing modern global leaders is how to lead people cross-culturally (Thomas, 2008; Deresky, 2011), as one leadership style may be effective in one culture, but fails in another (Scandura and Dorfman, 2004). DeGrosky (2011) reveals that leadership theory and practice have a great impact and are influenced by the differences among the cultures. However, the basic or fundamental principles of the leadership are same in all cultures even if leaders execute those functions in diverse ways from culture to culture. People influence others through leadership. Peoples values, attitudes, beliefs and behaviours vary largely by culture (Hofstede, 1998; Walumbwa et al., 2007; Thomas, 2008), so efficiency of leadership influence diffe rs by cultures, too. In some cultures, people could be influenced successfully by applying coherent persuasion teamwork and consultation, while other cultures may be influenced successfully by using general approaches like socialising, gifting and exerting pressure (DeGrosky, 2011). For example, as Americans have an individualistic cultural style (Hofstede, 1983), in this cultural context, leadership looks more at individual leaders and personality traits, style, behavior, as well as charisma, and it is encouraged to highlight individual success; While in China, with a highly collectivism context, it is more reasonable to praise a team/group, instead of individuals. The case of the Floundering Expatriate also indicates that different leadership style is required by different cultural context. In modern-day leadership, peoples views of effectual leadership change from customary and individualistic toward collective and collaborative styles. The Global Leadership and Organisational Be havior Effectiveness project in 2004 indentifies there are universally accepted leadership characteristics worldwide. Positive leader attributes include trustworthiness, justice, confidence, honesty and so forth, while loner, non-cooperation, ruthlessness and asociality etc. are negative attributes (House et al., 2004). Conclusion Concept of modern-day leadership differs from one school of thought to other like modern-day leadership styles include simple linear, visionary, pure arts and science, systems thinking and military style, etc. However, in modern-day leadership there is no single leading style among the leaders and in the organisations. Type of the organization and followers characteristics also play an important role in deciding for the leadership style now. But the key point is that modern-day leadership is increasingly associated with charisma, inspiration, trust and consensus, as well as other determinants like followers characteristics and cultural differences. However, charisma is criticised in a positive as well as in a negative manner by different school of thoughts. When charismatic leadership style is based on the core values like paying respect and attention to the ideas of subordinates, then this brings a positive synergism for the impact of charismatic leadership style in the success of t he business processes and operations. Trust between leaders and the followers is the basis for success of charismatic leadership style. Strategic leaders and policy makers with inspirational abilities and consensus development attitudes can develop trust between them and the followers/employees. In short, charisma, inspiration and trust are linked with each other and collectively help develop commitment among the followers. 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William Morris Essay example -- Visual Arts Paintings Art

William Morris William Morris, English poet, artist, socialist reformer, and innovator in the Arts and Crafts Movement. He was born in Walthamstow, then a village, and moved to a grand residence there called Water House at the age of 14 - this has since become the William Morris Gallery. He studied at Oxford with the intention of becoming a clergyman, but while there he met Edward Coley Burne-Jones, also studying for the church, and they both began to turn towards art. They were persuaded by Rossetti to give up the studies and become artists. Morris did a year in architectural practice of G. E. Street, and then turned to painting. However, he soon found that his metier was design. The cooperative attempt to decorate his new house (the Red House, built by Philip Webb) at Bexleyheath, south east of London, lead to the setting up of the firm Morris, Marshall, Faulkner and Co. The partners were Morris, Burne-Jones, Rossetti, Ford Madox Brown, Philip Webb, Charles Faulkner, and Peter Paul Marshall, a surveyor. The firm was set up as a 'company of Fine Art Workmen', designing and producing (or at least supervising the production of) furniture, wallpaper, murals, tapestry work, stained glass windows, metalwork, tapestries, and smaller works such as tiles and embroidery. It started in 8 Lion Square, London, where there was sufficient space for workshops, showrooms, and a kiln in the basement for tile production. The firm later became simply Morris and Co. when Morris - always bless...