Should Poetry Be Banished from Human Life

The main aim of this paper is to decide whether we should banish poetry from the human world or not. In order to reach this decision we first have to get back to some of the legendary figures in literary criticism of all time such as Plato, Aristotle and Philip Sydney and see for our selves how they treated this issue and answered some important questions concerning literature. Literary Criticism is the branch of study concerned with defining, classifying and evaluating works of literature. It began almost simultaneously with creation. However, it was only with Plato that criticism became a vital force in the ancient world. Plato was born probably in 427 B. C. He was the first conscious literary critic who has put his ideas in a systematic way in his dialogues. In his Ion and Republic (precisely book X), he expressed his condemnation of poetry. Ironically, admirers of Plato are usually lovers of literary art. It is so because Plato wrote dramatic dialogues rather than didactic volumes and did so with rare literary skill. You would expect such a philosopher to place a high value on literary art, but Plato actually attacked it. He argued that it should be banned from the ideal society that he described in the Republic. Plato objected to poetry on three grounds: Educational, Philosophical and moral point of view. Plato’s objection to Poetry from the point of view of Education is emphasized when he condemns poetry as fostering evil habits and vices in children in â€Å"The Republic† Book II. Homer’s epics were part of studies. Heroes of epics were not examples of sound or ideal morality. They were lusty, cunning, and hungry for war. Even Gods were no better. This is clear in Plato’s Ion: If we mean our future guardians to regard the habit of quarrelling among themselves as of all things the basest, no word should be said to them of the wars in heaven, or of the plots and fighting of the gods against one another, for they are not true (11). Thus he objected on the ground that poetry does not cultivate good habits among children. Plato accuses poetry of telling lies to children. However, he has no objection to children being told untrue stories if they are edifying stories. He wanted to tell children that there never has been quarrelling between citizens. He says in The republic: If they would only believe us we would tell them that quarrelling is unholy, and that never up to this time has there been any quarrelling between citizens: this is what old men and old women should begin by telling children; and when they grow up, the poets also should be told to compose or them in a similar spirit. (11) Plato’s objections against poetry from a Philosophical point of view become clear in his attack on what he called mimesis (imitation). He explains that poetry does not offer reality but unreal imitations. However, Philosophy is concerned with truth. According to his theory of mimesis, arts deal with illusions far away from the truth. He said in book X of The Republic: â€Å"then the imitator, I said, is a long way off the truth†. 17) In his opinion, Philosophy is better than poetry because Philosophy deals with idea while poetry is twice removed from the original idea. He made his point clear when he compared the poet to the painter who imitated a bed that was designed by a carpenter and before that, was originally created by God. Plato was an idealist. He believed that Ideas alone are true and real and that the earthly things such as beauty and goodness are mere copies of the ideal beauty, goodness which exist in heaven or the world of Ideas. He said: Well, then, here are three beds: one existing in nature, which is made by God, as I think that we may say-for no one else can be the maker?.. And what shall we say of the carpenter-is not he also the maker of the bed? Yes. But would you call the painter a creator and maker? Certainly not. Yet if he is not the maker, what is he in relation to the bed? I think, he said, that we may fairly designate him as the imitator of that which the others make. Good, I said; then you call him who is third in the descent from nature an imitator? Certainly, he said. And the tragic poet is an imitator, and therefore, like all other imitators, he is thrice removed from the king and from the truth. (15, 16) Plato says that since the idea of the bed belongs to God; the maker and we can also consider the carpenter who built it a maker of a copy. However, the painter only imitated another copy which makes him thrice removed from reality. As a moralist, Plato disapproves of poetry because it is immoral, as a philosopher he disapproves of it because it is based in falsehood. He is of the view that philosophy is better than poetry because philosopher deals with idea / truth, whereas poet deals with what appears to him / illusion. This is very clear in The Republic, Book X, when he says: And what is the faculty in man to which imitation is addressed? What do you mean? I will explain: The body which is large when seen near, appears small when seen at a distance? True. And the same objects appear straight when looked at out of water, and crooked when in the water; and the concave becomes convex, owing to the illusion about colors to which the sight is liable. Thus every sort of confusion is revealed within us; and this is that weakness of the human mind on which the art of conjuring and of deceiving by the light and shadow and other ingenious devices imposes, having an effect upon us like magic, True. (19, 20) Thus, in his opinion, true reality consists of the ideas of things and objects in our world are reflections or imitations. Therefore, poetry is inferior to philosophy as the artist imitates these objects existing in our actual world and as a result, his work is an imitation of an imitation and is built on illusion. He believed that truth of philosophy was more important than the pleasure of poetry. He argued that most of it should be banned from the ideal society that he described in the Republic. One of Plato’s important theories is his theory of inspiration. In his Ion, he gives a psychological account of literary creation. He is interested in how men come to write poetry. He compares the state of the poet when he writes poetry to a state of madness or unconsciousness. He explains that the poet does not speak his words but is rather captured by inspiration or what he called ‘The power divine’. He says: For the poet is a light and winged and holy thing and there is no invention in him until he has been inspired, and is out of his senses, and the mind is no longer in him: when he has not attained to this state, he is powerless and is unable to utter his oracles. (9) Thus, he believes that poetry is nothing rational, and that is why even the poets themselves do not often understand what they write in that moment. Therefore, poetry cannot be relied upon as it is not the result of conscious. His last objection on the moral effect of poetry is that it harms by nourishing the passions, which ought to be controlled and disciplined. Plato thinks that it is the duty of the wise man to control passion by reason; poetry by exciting and strengthening the passions, makes this task more difficult. In Plato’s opinion, whatever encourages and strengthens the rational principle is good, and emotional is bad. In The Republic, Book X, Plato says: Then the imitative poet who aims at being popular is not by nature made, nor is his art intended, to please or to affect the rational principle in the soul; but he will prefer the passionate and fitful temper, which is easily imitated †¦. And therefore we shall be right in refusing to admit him into a well-ordered state, because he awakens and nourishes and strengthen the feelings and impairs the reason †¦ Poetry feeds and waters the passion instead of drying them up; she lets them rule, although they ought to be controlled, if mankind are ever to increase in happiness and virtue. (22) Then he attacks tragedies and comedies explaining their effect on both actors and spectators who might imitate their act. He believes that imitation soon becomes a second nature and the actor who imitates tends to behave like the object of his imitation. Tragedies give an uncontrolled expression to the emotions of pity and grief and thus play a woman’s part. In his The republic, Book X, he says: Hear and judge: The best of us as I conceive, when we listen to a passage of Homer, or one of the tragedians, in which he represents some pitiful hero who is drawling out his sorrows in a long oration, or weeping, and smiting his breast- the best of us, you know, delight in giving way to sympathy, and are in raptures at the excellence of the poet who stirs our feelings most. Yes, of course I know. But when any sorrow of our own happens to us, then you may observe that we pride ourselves on the opposite quality- we would fain be quiet and patient; this is the manly part, and the other which delighted us in the recitation is now deemed to be the part of a woman. Very true, he said. Now can we be right in praising and admiring another who is doing that which anyone of us would abominate and be ashamed of in his own person? No, he said, that is certainly not reasonable. (22, 23) Similarly, for example, one who imitates a female part in a comedy tends to grow effeminate. Imitation will make him cowardly or clownish, if such roles are imitated. In order to explain this in his The Republic, Book X, Plato said: And does not the same hold also of the ridiculous? There are jests which you would be ashamed to make yourself, and yet on the comic stage, or indeed in private, when you hear them, you are greatly amused by them, and are not at all disgusted at their unseemliness; the case of pity is repeated; there is a principle in human nature which is disposed to raise a laugh, and this which you restrained by reason, because you were afraid of being thought a buffoon, is now let out again; and having stimulated the risible faculty at the theatre, you are betrayed unconsciously to yourself into playing the comic poet at home. 23, 24) For all of the above reasons, Plato insisted that all kinds of poetry should be banned from his ideal state that he created in his The Republic. In this respect, Plato says: Therefore, Glaucon, I said, whenever you meet with any of the eulogists of Homer declaring that he has been the educator of Hellas, and that he is profitable for education and for ordering of human things, and that you should take him up again and again and get to know him and regulate your whole life according to him, we may love and honour those who say things-they are excellent people, as far as their light extend; and we are ready to acknowledge that Homer is the greatest of poets and first of tragedy writers; but we must remain firm in our conviction that hymns to the gods and praises of famous men are the only poetry which ought to be admitted into our state. For if you go beyond this and allow the honeyed muse to enter, either in epic or lyric verse, not law and the reason of mankind, which by common consent have ever been deemed best,but pleasure and pain will be the rulers in our state. (24) However, Plato decided to play fair with lovers of poetry. That’s why he granted a chance to all poets and defenders of poetry to be a part of his ideal state and to be allowed to return from exile, only if they made a fine literary work that proves that poetry does not just delight but is also useful to human life. Plato says: Shall I propose, then, that she be allowed to return from exile, but upon this condition only that she make a defence of herself in lyrical or some other metre? Certainly. And we may further grant to those of her defenders who are lovers of poetry and yet not poets the permission to speak in prose on her behalf: let them show not only that she is pleasant but also useful to states and to human life, and we will listen in a kindly spirit; for if this can be proved we shall surely be the gainers I mean, if there is a use in poetry as well as a delight? Certainly, he said, we shall be the gainers. (25) Those are Plato’s principal charges on poetry and objection to it. Before we pass on any judgment, we should not forget to keep in view the contemporary social conditions in which he lived. It was a time of political decline. Education was in a sorry state. The epics of Homer were part of studies and Homer’s epics were misrepresented and misinterpreted. However, they were venerated by the Greeks almost like The Bible. In them, there are many stories which represent the gods in an unfavorable light. So they were the common objects of criticism on the part of philosophers and educationists. The wonderful flowering time of Greek art and literature was over. Literature was immoral, corrupt and degenerate. Women were regarded inferior human beings and slavery was wide spread. Confusion prevailed in all spheres of life intellectual, moral, political and educational. There was a constant debate between the philosophers and poets. Thus, in Plato’s time, poets added fuel to the fire. He looked at poets as breeders of falsehood and poetry as mother of lies. Ironically it was Plato's most famous student, Aristotle, who was the first theorist to defend literature and poetry in his writing Poetics against Plato’s objections and his theory of mimesis. Aristotle was born in 384. B. C. For centuries during Roman age in Europe and after renaissance, Aristotle was honored as a law-giver and legislator. Even today his critical theories remain largely relevant, and for this he certainly deserves our admiration and esteem. In Poetics, his main concern appears to be tragedy, which in his day was considered to be the most developed form of poetry. Another part of poetics deals with comedy, but it is unfortunately lost. In his observations on the nature and function of poetry, he has replied the charges of Plato against poetry.

Grief and Loss in Adolescence: Principles, Responses and Challenges

Grief and loss are fundamental aspects of life; they are inevitabilities that stem from our mortality and our natural propensity to form deep emotional bonds with those closest to us—our family, friends and colleagues.Perhaps C. S. Lewis captured the sensation of grief best when he said: â€Å"No one ever told me that grief felt so like fear.  I am not afraid, but the sensation is like being afraid. The same fluttering in the stomach, the same restlessness, the yawning. I keep on swallowing. — C. S. Lewis, A Grief Observed How one physically manifests grief may vary between age groups and cultures but it is a universal occurrence in humans who are of normal cognitive development.In this paper, grief and loss will be reviewed in the context of Worden’s principles and theories; specifically, what these principles say about grief and loss, how they might apply to the adolescence demographic, what challenges the health care provider might expect to encounter when working with a grieving adolescent, and how a health care provider can best respond to a grieving teenager. A series of hypothetical acute care settings will be presented to illustrate how a nurse might best proceed in responding to a grieving adolescent.Death during AdolescenceAdolescence is a transitionary stage of life that poses unique challenges for the individual. Change is the hallmark of this developmental period as teenagers struggle with hormonal changes, newfound desires for independence, confidence issues, and concerns about body image. Grief and loss during this stage of life, whether it be the loss of a parent, relative, or close friend, often greatly exacerbates the emotional state of a teen who is already experiencing the stresses associated with the transition from child to adult.According to Metzgar, typical grief responses of teenagers include anger, depression, withdrawal, frustration, confusion, acting out, and noncompliance (Metzgar, 2002). Unlike young childre n, who often do not fully contemplate the finality of death, adolescents are usually aware that death is final (Freeman, 2005). According to Freeman, adolescents have the mature intellectual development necessary to understand the core concepts of death—universality, non-functionality, irreversibility, and causality—and can elucidate fully the details (Freeman, 2005).This greater understanding of death places adolescents closer to adults on the level of death awareness; however, teens may wonder if a dead person will return; this thinking may include supernatural elements as teens often associate an unexpected death or serious illness with a supernatural event or cause (Brewster, 1982). An adolescents’ grief experience is highly personal in nature, and unlike adults, teens tend to grieve more intensely.Often their grief response is not expressed smoothly or continuously but takes the form of a series of punctuated outbursts; in some cases an adolescent may make a concerted effort to control his or her emotions (Worden, 1996). In attempting to control their emotions, a teen may retreat inwardly by immersing themselves in highly personal activities such as reading, writing, listening to music, or exercising; in other cases, a teen may want to release the anger and sadness associated with their grief; in this case, he or she may act out angry or antisocial behavior (Worden, 1996).Of particular importance from a health care perspective is the recognition that teens often perceive death as something that happens to others even though they recognize that death is a phenomenon that can and will happen to everyone. When a teen is confronted with the death of a close friend or relative, their perception of death as being a phenomenon that is distant from them, is abruptly challenged. In the case of the death of a peer, death is often sudden—in an American study, the three leading causes of death in the 15 to 24 year-old age group are acciden ts, homicide, and suicide (Minino and Smith, 2001).In such cases, a teen’s sense of pseudo-immortality is often shattered (Freeman, 2005). The trauma associated with this may cause a teen to experience an overwhelming sense of helplessness or powerlessness (Aronson, 2005). In the case of the loss of one or both parents, a teen may experience a grief reaction that is unique for their age demographic—an irrational guilt associated with the normal desire to detach from their parents (Freeman, 2005). For the health care worker, it is crucial that this particular grief reaction is considered when helping a teen deal with the loss of one or both parents.Theoretical Principles: Grief and Loss according to Worden.In Grief Counseling and Grief Therapy, Worden conceptualizes the process of grief into a framework of four tasks that he suggests need to be addressed and completed before the process of mourning can be concluded (Worden, 1991). Worden’s four task paradigm cons ists of:Task 1. To accept the reality of the lossTask 2. To work through the pain of griefTask 3. To adjust to an environment in which the deceased is missingTask 4. To emotionally relocate the deceased and move on with lifeAccording to Worden, children and teens, like adults, must acknowledge and accept the reality and finality of death before they can begin to deal with the emotional impact of this loss (Worden, 1991). Generally this is easier for teens than children because their concept of death is more developed and in tune with that of an adult’s. In order to help facilitate acknowledgement of loss, a health care worker needs to explain the circumstances of the loss in a language that is both accurate and age appropriate.Since maturity levels vary within the teen demographic, one must not assume a given maturity level based on age; in this case the carer should make a concerted effort to determine the maturity level of a teen through dialogue and observation (Smead, 199 4). In task two, Worden suggests that the painful emotions associated with grief need to be worked through. By working through, Worden suggests that emotions need to be released in a healthy manner such that a teen is able to cope with the nature of their loss.In this case, the carer needs to assist the teen with opening up—helping the teen discuss their fears and anxieties in a non-judgmental way. Encouraging teens to express their grief through creative arts and by engaging in rituals can be therapeutic in this regard. (Silverman and Nickman, 1999) In Worden’s third task, adjusting to the loss of a deceased peer, sibling or parent requires that the adolescent develop an adaptation to this loss.Adaptation will be heavily influenced by what role the deceased played in the teen’s life; often this adaptation requires an extended period of adjustment (Worden, 1991). In this case, the health care worker’s role is to help the teen adapt to the loss of old role s (roles associated with the deceased) and adjust to the emergence of new roles (roles previously associated with the deceased now taken up by other individuals). In Worden’s final task, the deceased are relocated—they are placed in an appropriate emotional place such that the bereaved can move on with their lives.For many bereaved individuals, relocation may involve the pondering of existential questions: Where did the deceased go? Why did they die? Is there a Heaven? Children and teens are often more open to supernatural explanations, and in this case, belief in an afterlife can be therapeutic as it helps the individual maintain a healthy and tangible link to the deceased—it may give the bereaved a sense that the deceased is watching over me from Heaven (Silverman, Nickman and Worden, 1992).Grief and Loss in the Acute Care Setting: A Nurse’s RoleWhen a nurse is expected to provide emotional care to a bereaved teen, he or  she must consider a number of factors that may influence the grieving process. These may include: age, level of maturity, psychological state, physical state, and circumstances of the loss. In the following hypothetical case studies, a nurse will offer emotional support directed specifically at teens whom are experiencing different stages of grief as outlined by Worden. The question to be answered in each case is this: What would be the most appropriate nursing response? In each case, as the attending nurse, you will note the individual’s age, statements, stress level, and physical demeanor.Case Study One – The immediate loss of a best friendTom is an 18 year old who has been admitted to a hospital emergency room after a traumatic car accident. His best friend Bret was a passenger and has been killed in the accident. Tom has minor physical injuries that you are tending to. He has just been informed that his best friend died at the scene. Emotional and in disbelief, he yells: â€Å"You’re a ll lying! Bret is not dead! He can’t be dead! He can’t be! It’s my fault!† Bret is shaking.Response:Using compassionate but clear and direct language you reaffirm that Bret has died. You show empathy to Tom but avoid making value judgments for him that offer explanations for the death or attribute blame. When interfacing with Tom’s parents you explain to them the stage of grief their son is going through and how best to assist him through it.Case Study Two – Working through the loss of a parentSarah is a somewhat rebellious 17 year-old with a strong sense of independence. She doesn’t always see eye to eye with her mother, Jenifer. Six months previous, Jenifer died suddenly in car accident. Since the accident, Sarah has suffered major anxiety attacks and has been plagued by guilt. At school she has been involved in arguments and fights with other girls; on this occasion she is in the school infirmary after fighting with another girl. Af ter initially appearing angry, Sarah breaks down in tears  and says: â€Å"Why did my Mom have to die! I didn’t really want her out of my life!†Response:You consol Sarah, and listen to her—you let her release her emotions without restraining or judging her. You reassure Sarah that it is ok and normal to feel fear, guilt and doubt, and that is ok to express her feelings. You tell Sarah that she can come and share her feelings with you whenever she feels the need. If interfacing with Sarah’s father, explain to him what Sarah is experiencing, and offer helpful suggestions that are in line with Worden’s model for task two grief.Case Study Three – Adapting to the loss of a siblingJanet and Karen are sisters close in age, 15 and 17 respectively. They were inseparable and enjoyed doing things together such as sports, shopping and talking about boys. Janet looked up to Karen who she thought of as being her pillar of strength and confidant. Last ye ar Karen died suddenly from a rare form of meningitis. Janet has accepted the loss but has had a hard time readjusting to life without her sister. She is in the hospital being attended to for self inflicted cuts on her arms. Janet states that life is unexciting now because her sister is gone.Response:With empathy you help Janet recognize and reassign the emotional roles filled by her sister. You may suggest ways to help Janet remember Karen in a desensationalized way such that the memory of Karen is retained and respected but that recognizes that life must go on. The suggestion of doing activities (previously done with Karen) with friends or classmates might be helpful. This information should be relayed to Janet’s parents to help them understand how they might be able to assist Janet adjust to life without Karen.Case Study Four – Relocating a deceased grandparentFourteen year old Ben loved fishing with his grandfather. Granddad was Ben’s best friend. Earlier th is year Ben’s granddad died suddenly from a heart attack. Ben accepted that granddad was gone, and he knew that there would be no more fishing. Ben was admitted to the hospital to receive stitches for a fall; Ben asks you: â€Å"Miss, where do dead people go? My Granddad died this year you know.† In a melancholy tone he continues, â€Å"I’ll never have a friend like him again.†Response:In a compassionate tone reply that you are not sure where people go when they die and that it is one of life’s great mysteries. You may suggest that many people have different ideas as to where people go after death. Suggest to Ben that life is about continuing to develop special moments with people we associate with in life. Keep in mind that grief resolution involves reflecting on the meaning of a deceased person’s life, and keeping this as a pleasant memory. It is not meant to focus on the death itself.ConclusionsGrief is a fundamental aspect of life. Adole scence, being a major transitional stage in human growth and development brings with it unique emotional challenges. These challenges need to be addressed by the health care worker if he or she is to effectively assist a teen who is grieving for a deceased peer, sibling or parent. Worden suggests a four step paradigm for the grieving process that can serve as a guide for elucidating the stage of grief an individual may be experiencing.Knowledge of this model can assist the health care worker in grief stage recognition, and in making informed decisions that will ultimately help a teen deal with challenges involved in the of grieving process. With the support and encouragement of health care workers, peers, and relatives, adolescents can learn to successfully manage grief and loss, and move forward with their lives.

Managerical stats problem Speech or Presentation

Managerical stats problem - Speech or Presentation Example The National Football League (NFL)records a variety data for individuals and team (http://www.nfl.com).Some of the year-end performance data for the 2005 season appear on the data disk in the file NFL Stats. Each row of the data set corresponds to an NFL team, and the teams are ranked by winning percentage. Descriptions for data follow: WinPct : Percentage of games won, DefYds/G: Average number of yards per gam given up on defense, Rush Yds/G: Average number of rushing yards per game PassYds/G: Average number of passing yards per game, FGPct: Percentage of field goals, TakeInt: Takeaway interceptions; the total number of interceptions made by the teams defense, Takefum: Takeaway fumbles; the total number of fumbles recovered by the teams defense, GiveInt: Giveaway interceptions; the total number of interceptions thrown by the teams offense, GiveFum; Giveaway fumbles; the total number of fumbles lost by the teams offense 6.Starting with the estimated regression equation developed in question 1, delete any independent variables that are not useful (i.e., the variable with p_value bigger than 0.05). Use the variables left, run the regression (Y variable is the same). 3. r2 = 0.419 meaning that 42 % of the dependent variable (Winpact) can be explained by the independent variables: DefYds/G, RushYds/G, PassYds/G and FGPct. This means that about 58 % cannot be explained as a result the equation is not very useful. 4. From the regression equation it seems the independent variable, RushYds/G has the largest positive effect on the independent variable by 0.004249, DefYds/G decreases the dependent variable by a multiple of 0.00333 while PassYds/G has a positive multiple effect by 0.000375 and finally FGPct decreases the independent variable by a scale of – 0.00064 7. r2 = 0.266 meaning that 26 % of the dependent variable (Winpact) can be explained by the independent variables:

Econometrics 2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Econometrics 2 - Essay Example The independent variables on the other hand include; Workers, Population Density, Average Income, Products, Price Levels, Competition, Service Ratings, Location (Central London), and Convenience. According to the table above, the R Square and the Adjusted R square are above 50%, 0.652 and 0.564 suggesting that they are 65.2% and 56.4% respectively. This means that 56.4% of the independent variables explain the dependent variable (profit levels). Since the Durbin-Watson, result indicates 2.119, a figure that represents no autocorrelation; therefore, the regression results are reliable and unbiased. The statistical result above can be used effectively in predicting the variations in the profit level at the supermarket group ‘Dodo’. Walrus is an online bicycle store that sells mainly one product, their ‘tBike’. Another online bicycle store, ‘Shifty’, has recently announced a lasting and substantial reduction in their prices for the next year. The analysis below is aimed at determining whether this is likely to significantly affect their sales of tBikes. According to the analysis below, tBike Sales is the dependent variable while shifty Price, Average Income, December, and tBike Price are independent variables. The table below summarizes the descriptive statistics. The model summary below shows the variations and relationship between the dependent and independent variables. According to the table below, the adjusted R squared is 0.729 implying that 72.9% of the independent variables explain the variations of the dependent variable, tBike Sales throughout the period of the data. Since the Durbin-Watson, result indicates 1.087, a figure that represents no autocorrelation; therefore, the regression results are reliable and unbiased. The statistical result above can be used effectively in predicting the variations in the profit level at

'Britain does not really have a constituton at all, merely a system of Essay

'Britain does not really have a constituton at all, merely a system of goverment.' - Essay Example Traditionally a constitution is taken as a written document clearly establishing principles and rules governing a given political body. It guarantees specified rights to nationals, establishes duties, the level of powers and important political principles of each government. With constitutions from many countries from the common wealth being written, British constitutions has never been written down. What the Britons have as their constitution is a combination of statute law, convention and common law. The 1982 Reform Act which was responsible for the parliamentary representation reforms, Magna Carta (1215) protecting the community rights against the crown and the Bill of Rights (1689) that made it impracticable for the sovereign to ignore the government wishes by extending the powers of the parliament. Though it has never been well defined, common law is presumed to come from legal precedents or customs and interpreted in court cases by the judges. Practices and rules which are not legally enforceable are called conventions but regarded as crucial to the smooth working of the government. It is from the historical events through which the British system of government has originated that conventions are extracted. For example, there is a convention holding ministers accountable and responsible for what happens in their dockets although it is not legally enforceable. A general agreement Act of parliament can amend a convention thus amending the constitution. Unlike many constitutions in the world the British â€Å"constitution† is very flexible a thing that has led to it realizing full development over the decades. Rulings of the European court of justice have coded and determined British la sections under areas covered by numerous treaties where Britain is involved. This is making the legal and constitutional document is the Magna Carta. It has sixty one classes that set out vivid community

Discussion Board Post Response Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 5

Discussion Board Post Response - Essay Example Kelly Leonard, my organizations approach is analogous to yours in that trust, communication, respect, and support are the key elements that support healthy relationships between managers and employees in our organizations. Jayne Davey, I support your statement that you would incorporate relationship building and optimism to transform your working environment. Being enemies in the workplace will automatically affect communication and this translates to a strained relationship. Conflicts is one of the issues that contribute to strained relationships and managers ought to focus their attention to implementing action plans that avert any likelihood of conflicts arising in the workplace. This can be achieved through teamwork and collaboration (Muha and Manion, 2010). Teamwork enables employees to understand their colleagues at a personal level and therefore understand how to handle each other. For instance, understanding the strengths and weaknesses of a colleague will guide one to identify how to engage the colleague in various projects as well as areas he or she would require assistance and support. Healthcare institutions with a collaborative culture rarely witness conflicting situations among employees since problems are resolved before they escalate. In a nutshell, your approach to transform your working environment through relationship building would definitely result to positive

THE (ME )IN LEADERSHIP Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

THE (ME )IN LEADERSHIP - Essay Example But the definition was too generalized to understand what leadership is really all about; what makes a leader, and what character trait must be learned to become an effective leader. But recent scholars however has synthesized of what really makes a good leader. The idea of being a good leader is no longer as elusive as before. While for others leadership is inherent, it can now be learned integrating the inherent intrinsic quality of an individual and developing it to be become an effective leader. II. The Poster Explained Learning leadership begins with learning the â€Å"self†; to have certainty about himself/herself to as a foundation of confidence to lead and get things done. â€Å"It is necessary for a â€Å"leader, who possesses a clear self-concept through private self-consciousness, to be more likely to possess a strong purpose-in-life. Having a strong purpose involves consistency in self-identity (i.e., self-concept clarity) (Campbell, 1990; Frankl, 1992). The â₠¬Å"possession of a clear self-concept through private self-consciousness enables an individual to recognize the gap between what he or she is (i.e., real self) and what he or she should become (i.e., ideal self). This recognition may enable a leader to develop a strong purpose-in-life by setting goals in order to narrow the gap between the real and ideal self (Frankl, 1992; Marcus & Wurf, 1987). This clarity and lucidness of self-concept is necessary not only to get things done but also to harmonize my inner sense of self to what my peers sees in me. This â€Å"self-concept of reality is again distinct from the contents of the self-structure and is instead the level of lucidity and certitude of one's own understanding of that content- how well the leader thinks they know themselves. Campbell et al. (1996). This clear awareness of myself translates to a clearer sense of goal and purpose which will evolve to Self-Belief. Self-belief, which is the inner confidence that I will succeed and overcome any obstacle to achieve the best outcomes for service improvement. This Self-Belief attribute also will enable me to transcend myself. To be conscious how I see myself and how others sees me as well. As Abraham Maslow (1968) elaborates â€Å"He thinks that there is much more to us than what we mirror about the world around us, writing, "there is not only an orientation to the outer but also to the inner". This â€Å"mirroring as the reflections of self that a group member encounters in other group members, in the group leader, or in the group as a whole (Bion, 1961) harmonizes us within and eliminates discord beginning from perception of how I look myself through my peers. This type of mirroring can include the psychological mechanisms of denial, splitting, projection, introjection, indentification and projective and introjective indentification (Pisani, Colangeli, Giordani, & Popolla, 2006). On the other side of the mirror(s) lies the possibility of self-knowledge an d true relationship. When group members can recognize and own their projections, when they can work with them carefully and honestly in group, when they can bear the reflection(s) of their full identities, they can know more about themselves. Such, this sensitivity towards myself and others comes to mind the idea of myself likening to a dynamo whom the