Ideal Leader Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Ideal Leader - Essay Example They have a tendency to learn fast from their mistakes and take different actions to produce different results. Common people keep on repeating the same action expecting a different result. stick to the tried and tested formulas even if they think that something else might work better. Society has a tendency to follow the age old practices and rules without really thinking about their results. Even if they think that the things going on are wrong and unfair, they do not have guts to raise their voice against it and take responsibility for that. They fear the repercussions of going against the authority. Leaders take the decisions on the behalf of all the people who he is leading. When leaders take a decision, they are well aware of the fact that their decisions are going to affect the lives of all the people who they are leading. This is a huge responsibility to bear. However, they are not scared of shouldering this responsibility (Fairholm 2000. p. 66). Society if full of people who follow the rules, thinking patterns and social practices that are set from ages together. They hardly question the injustice and the bias towards people of particular ethnic background. Raising a voice against the social injustice means going against the ancestors and the authority that supports those rules. It is like going against the orthodox religious practices and government rules. This could mean punishment, criticism from the authoritative figures and isolation by the society. However, leaders are not afraid of it. They know what they are doing is right and no threat can suppress them from taking the action against it. People who dare to talk against the traditional practices are often alone in their journey

Talking Styles Essay Example for Free

Talking Styles Essay Research has been conducted to determine if communication skills play a role in determining just how long a friendship or relationship will last. If we use the same types of communication or communication skills in our interpersonal relationships, do we stand a better chance at a life-long friendship, or a lasting marriage? The studies have shown that how we communicate with others can have an effect on how long our interpersonal relationships can last. In his article, Bower (2010) explains when persons converse with one another and use the same type of function words in their conversations, that they are on their way to building a lasting and stable friendship or romantic relationship. These function words refer to the different parts of speech, such as the conjunctions and prepositions, which each person uses when he communicates. When we use them in the same way or with the same meaning as others do, it is believed that we are in sync with one another; in a sense, we are also more compatible as well. The author does not believe that using particular function words or parts of speech makes us more or less compatible with others. We simply use the language and words we have learned during our youth, or based upon the experiences we have had in our past. We may be drawn to those who speak the same way that we do, complementing one another, but it is not the only way that we should match our compatibility with others. Being compatible with others is based upon more than just the way each person speaks, or the words that one uses when speaking. For example, we are compatible with others based upon the hobbies that we enjoy participating in, the books that we enjoy reading, or the foods that we like to eat. We are also compatible based upon the experiences that we have in common, such as being a part of a military family. â€Å"Unconscious verbal coordination signifies not how much people like each other but how much each is paying attention to what the other says† (Bower, 2010, para. 3). This unconscious verbal coordination is also known as language-style matching. The author submitted a sample conversation of text messages between a co-worker and herself for an analysis of our language-style match. The analysis showed that our score was a 0.61, with the average being approximately .84. â€Å"Compared to other IMs that we have analyzed, your LSM score is below average† (Pennebaker Conglomerates, Inc., n.d., para. 1). The author believes the results signify that she and her co-worker may not pay close enough attention to one another when we are speaking to one another. The author does not believe that anyone should rely heavily on the results of the Language-Style Matching website. The analysis was given based upon a small conversation between two people. The conversation provided is just a brief picture of the different types of conversations that the two of us engage in with one another. She feels that the results were based upon the abbreviations, or text lingo, that was used in the conversation of her co-worker. The author does not use abbreviations or misspell words when she is texting, which would make it appear that we are not compatible and will not have a lasting friendship. Is this analysis by the website accurate? She does not feel that it is, since it was a glimpse of the conversations that took place between two people. Does the author feel she and her co-worker will be life-long friends? Only time will tell; she is not able to predict the future. Does she believe they did not pay close enough attention to one another? Absolutely not – each question and statement was answered by each person. She feels the messages we were sending one another were understood, which make us effective in communicating with one another (Sole, 2011). Studies have shown that how we communicate with others can have an effect on how long our interpersonal relationships can last. How long friendships and romantic relationships last depend upon the persons involved, as well as how compatible they are on many different levels. Communicating is not about using the same words or phrases; the importance is making sure the person with whom you are speaking with understands what it is you are trying to say.

Rwanda: Genocide and Refugee Crisis Essay -- History Genocide Murder H

"How can I ever forget the scene where my husband was massacred right in my presence. It was a nightmare. It was a nightmare. I live through it every day and it is engraved forever in my memory.† During one April, not so long ago, the world sat back and watched as a turbulent political situation in central Africa turned into something the world will never be able to forget. 800,000 people murdered in just 100 days, 800,000 people needlessly slaughtered at the hands of extremists, 800,000 men, women, and children gone because of a more serious problem rooted in social prejudice and inequality, 800,000 killed in a genocide that the world could do nothing about until it was too late. Almost 50 years after the world pledged to never let anything like the holocaust occur again, the world had to watch as a genocide unfolded in Rwanda. Between April of 1994 and July of 1994 some 800,000 Tutsi and moderate Hutus were systematically killed as Rwanda fell into political despair and turmoil, leaving millions more as refugees struggling to put their lives back together in the aftermath of such horrific violence. The large number of people forced to flee the violence in 1994 not onl y created a massive refugee population in the surrounding countries of Zaire, Burundi, Tanzania, and Uganda, but the number of refugees within what is known as the Great Lakes region continue to cause political turmoil even today, almost eleven years after the genocide. This paper will focus specifically on the Rwandan refugees and their plight during the last ten years as a result of the genocide. In order to understand the reasons why the genocide occurred and created this refugee population the first section will give a brief overview to the poli... ...r Crossings: Return of Refugees, Identity, and Reconstruction in Rwanda." African Studies Review (1998): 17-28. <http://www.jstor.org>. Klinghoffer, Arthur J. The International Dimension of Genocide in Rwanda. New York: New York UP, 1998. Pottier, Johan. "Relief and Repatriation: Views by Rwandan Refugees; Lessons for Humanitarian Aid Workers." African Affairs (1996): 403-429. <http://www.jstor.org>. Smith, Charles D. "The Geopolitics of Rwandan Resettlement: Uganda and Tanzania." Issue: A Journal of Opinion (1995): 54-57. <http://www.jstor.org>. United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), The State of the World's Refugees: Fifty Years of Humanitarian Action. New York: Oxford UP, 2000. Waters, Tony. "Tutsi Social Identity in Contemporary Africa." The Journal of Modern African Studies (1995): 343-347. <http://www.jstor.org>. Rwanda: Genocide and Refugee Crisis Essay -- History Genocide Murder H "How can I ever forget the scene where my husband was massacred right in my presence. It was a nightmare. It was a nightmare. I live through it every day and it is engraved forever in my memory.† During one April, not so long ago, the world sat back and watched as a turbulent political situation in central Africa turned into something the world will never be able to forget. 800,000 people murdered in just 100 days, 800,000 people needlessly slaughtered at the hands of extremists, 800,000 men, women, and children gone because of a more serious problem rooted in social prejudice and inequality, 800,000 killed in a genocide that the world could do nothing about until it was too late. Almost 50 years after the world pledged to never let anything like the holocaust occur again, the world had to watch as a genocide unfolded in Rwanda. Between April of 1994 and July of 1994 some 800,000 Tutsi and moderate Hutus were systematically killed as Rwanda fell into political despair and turmoil, leaving millions more as refugees struggling to put their lives back together in the aftermath of such horrific violence. The large number of people forced to flee the violence in 1994 not onl y created a massive refugee population in the surrounding countries of Zaire, Burundi, Tanzania, and Uganda, but the number of refugees within what is known as the Great Lakes region continue to cause political turmoil even today, almost eleven years after the genocide. This paper will focus specifically on the Rwandan refugees and their plight during the last ten years as a result of the genocide. In order to understand the reasons why the genocide occurred and created this refugee population the first section will give a brief overview to the poli... ...r Crossings: Return of Refugees, Identity, and Reconstruction in Rwanda." African Studies Review (1998): 17-28. <http://www.jstor.org>. Klinghoffer, Arthur J. The International Dimension of Genocide in Rwanda. New York: New York UP, 1998. Pottier, Johan. "Relief and Repatriation: Views by Rwandan Refugees; Lessons for Humanitarian Aid Workers." African Affairs (1996): 403-429. <http://www.jstor.org>. Smith, Charles D. "The Geopolitics of Rwandan Resettlement: Uganda and Tanzania." Issue: A Journal of Opinion (1995): 54-57. <http://www.jstor.org>. United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), The State of the World's Refugees: Fifty Years of Humanitarian Action. New York: Oxford UP, 2000. Waters, Tony. "Tutsi Social Identity in Contemporary Africa." The Journal of Modern African Studies (1995): 343-347. <http://www.jstor.org>.

Barker, Social Contract(Rousseau)

In Social Contract, Jean-Jacques Rousseau draws some interesting conclusions and makes some very interesting points about the dynamic that human beings have to go through when dealing with each other. His main points in the book have to do with the fact that men are not meant to be held down, nor or they meant to be restrained in any way. Instead, men were meant to run free and be able to make their own decisions as much as they possibly can.I think that this book takes the completely complicated question of human nature and breaks it down in a way that is a little bit easier to understand. The first and most prevalent point in the book is about how people are not meant to be held down or restrained. According to the thoughts of Jean-Jacques Rousseau, freedom and liberty are things that help both people and societies thrive and survive. More than anything else, people desire this type of freedom because it makes them feel like they can do what they were meant to do.In my opinion, thi s is a driving force for societies. Because of human nature and how we are wired, people are not meant at all to be held down and they are not meant to have to conform to what society tells them to conform to. When a society feels like they are being held down or enslaved by another group of people, it is just a natural thing to want to break free of that oppression and spread their wings. This book also takes an interesting look at the role of government and how it impacts the way people treat each other.Like many of the prevalent thinkers of his time, Rousseau holds onto the opinion that big government is a limiting factor instead of being something that has a positive impact on the people it purports to help. With that in mind, government should be limited as much as possible, especially when there is a chance that some sort of corruption exists underneath the surface. I think this is a cynical way to look at life, but given the circumstances that were around for Rousseau and man y of his fellow thinkers, it is easy to see where one might be compelled to think this way.I don’t think that it is necessarily healthy to hold onto this opinion in terms of today’s government, but there are some very interesting lessons that can be gleaned. This book takes the opportunity to touch on a number of political topics and how they affect people and it does not miss. The author obviously has a healthy fear of big government, which was extremely important during his time. I think that the consideration of force among peoples is an extremely important consideration, as well.Individuals can either conform to force as it confronts them or they can take the forces in their way and direct them. I think that it is difficult for most people to grasp having unnecessary force being put on them. As the author wrote in the first part of the book, men were not made to be enslaved, so that is not a natural thing for them to have to put up with. This understanding is essen tial to getting to know human beings and further, understanding society at large.

Jewish and Buddhism Life Cycle Rituals Essay

Traditions and rituals have become an indelible mark that one person carries from the time he or she was born until his or her death. The Jewish and Hindu, in particular, cherish special occasions marking the major transitions and stages in the individual’s life from birth to death. Jewish Life Cycle Rituals From the time that a person is born, he is surrounded with rituals and traditions that would eventually become a part of his existence. When a Jew is born, his father will be called to recite the aliyah at the synagogue and pray for blessings for his wife’s and son’s health. This is done on the first Sabbath after the baby is born (ReligionFacts, 2008). The rituals following the birth of a child are called brit milah (for boys) and brit habit (for girls). Brit milah includes prayers and blessings, aside from the naming and circumcision. A mohel conducts the circumcision. Brit habit, on the other hand, refers to the naming ritual for girls. There is also a ritual called simchat bat wherein prayers and songs are included in the naming ceremony. This is done eight or 15 days after the birth (Konick, n. d. ). The ritual following brit milah is Pidyon Haben, which means Redemption of the First-Born Son. This ritual stemmed from the belief that everything that is first and best belongs to God (ReligionFacts, 2008). During the ceremony, the boy is garbed in special clothes and his father brings along five silver coins and presents him to the Kohen. The Kohen is in charge of the whole ceremony. He also recites the Kiddush and drinks the wine. The Kohen then puts the coins over the boy’s head and blesses him (BecomingJewish, 2009). When the boy reaches the age of 13, the Jewish community considers him an adult. This is also the stage where he becomes a bar mitzvah (Son of the Commandments). In girls, it is called bat mitzvah (Daughter of the Commandments) (ReligionFacts, 2009). Another important ritual in the lives of Jewish is marriage. After the couple announces their engagement, there is a festivity where the couple’s family and friends attend. This symbolizes the willingness of both families to have their children wed. The entire wedding ceremony entails many activities, eventually leading to nisuin. This is the part wherein the couple stands under chuppah (canopy). Chuppah is the symbol of the couple’s new home. The couple recites the seven marriage benedictions. The bride and groom also share a glass of wine. After the ceremony, there is celebration with music and dancing. Then the married couple heads to their honeymoon (ReligionFacts, 2009). The life cycle ends with death. As the family is notified of the death of a family member, the child tears his clothes on the left side while other mourners tear their clothes on the right side. The Jews do not believe in autopsy, embalming and cremation. The body is washed and dressed in white tachrichin. The Jewish observes the placing of the body into the ground. A shomer also recites Tehillim (Psalms) to the dead as a show of respect (BecomingJewish, 2009). When one grows up in a country that has culture, traditions and rituals different from others, formation of his or her identity and personality is affected. These rituals and traditions have an important role in one’s identity. Once a person determines his social identity, he will continually affirm it. This explains why Jews behave or act or think differently from Americans. In addition, the voluntary and involuntary experiences that Jewish individuals have throughout their lives play an important role in the formation of identity. Involuntary experiences refer to those that result from the parents’ upbringing. Voluntary experiences, on the other hand, refer to choices that an individual takes about being a Jewish. Moreover, there are Jews who come from intensive Jewish backgrounds. They tend to be more influenced as their families are committed to Jewish life (Horowitz, 2001). Hindu Life Cycle Rituals The Hindu culture also has its own set of traditions and rituals that are different from other cultures. Even before a child is born, certain rites are performed to make sure that both the mother and the child will be healthy. Right after birth, the father touches a gold spoon or ring dipped in curds, honey, and ghee to the baby’s lips. Then he whispers vak into the baby’s right ear three times. In addition, mantras are recited for an enduring and long life. Rituals also include the baby’s firsts, such as first visit to a temple, first feeding of solid food, ear-piercing, and first haircut. Young males are also subject to upayana, an initiation ceremony for six to 12-year-olds. This ceremony signals the transition to adulthood. The ceremony also includes the boy’s recitation of the Gayatri Mantra and the wearing of a sacred thread over the left shoulder. Those who wear sacred thread are called twice-born (Cline, 2009). Another important ritual for the Hindu is marriage. During this phase, the parents of the couple are the ones who will decide upon the betrothal and date and time of the wedding in accordance with astrologers. For Hindu, the bride represents the goddess while the groom represents the god. Hindu marriages are elaborate, involving the groom’s travel to the wedding site riding a caparisoned white horse or a limousine. One important part of every Hindu marriage is the reciting of mantras by the priests (Cline, 2009). Death also ends the life cycle that involves ceremonies. Hindu believes in cremation, but others practice burial. If the body is cremated, the closest relative is put in-charge of lighting the funeral pyre and collecting ashes and fragments of bones that will be immersed in the holy river. After this, the mourners will take a purifying bath. In much the same way, Hindus’ formation of personality and identity are affected by the surrounding culture and rituals that they observe as they grow up. A Hindu also acts in a way that the society dictates as right. For instance, religious beliefs have a direct influence on Hindu women’s roles and responsibilities (Jarayam, 2008). Historical records would show that Hindu women used to be treated as second class citizens. In fact, they walk a few steps behind their husbands. Although the times are changing and there have been improvements on the role of women in the society, there will still be cases wherein women are still abused or treated as inferior (Jarayam, 2007). Situations like this can affect the development of one’s identity and personality. References BecomingJewish. (2009). Jewish life cycles. Retrieved February 10, 2009, from http://www. becomingjewish. org/jlife. html Cline, A. (2009). Hindu rituals in India. About. com. Retrieved February 10, 2009, from http://atheism. about. com/od/hindusandhinduism/a/IndiaRituals. htm Horowitz, B. (2001). Informal education and Jewish identity development. Retrieved February 10, 2009, from http://www. shma. com/May01/horowitz. htm Jarayam, V. (2007). Hinduism and women. Retrieve February 10, 2009, from http://www. hinduwebsite. com/hinduism/h_women. asp Jarayam, V. (2008). The problems and status of women in Hindu society. Retrieved February 10, 2009, from http://www. hinduwebsite. com/hinduwomen. asp Konick, L. (n. d. ). Welcome your baby: Jewish traditions. Retrieved February 10, 2009, from http://www. beliefnet. com/Love-Family/Parenting/2000/05/Welcome-Your-Baby-Jewish-Traditions. aspx Kushner, H. (2009). Some meanings of brit milah. MyJewishLearning, Inc. Retrieved February 10, 2009, from http://www. myjewishlearning. com/lifecycle/Ceremonies_For_Newborns/Overview_History_and_Themes/Brit_Milah_Ceremonies_for_Boys/Meaning_of_Brit_Milah. htm ReligionFacts. (2008). Jewish life cycle rituals. Retrieved February 10, 2009, from http://www. religionfacts. com/judaism/cycle. htm