Our Previous Samples

Table of contents

1. Formal Leadership
Role of Formal Leadership
2. Informal Leadership
Role of Informal LeadershipExampleNursing Professional Association Influence Leadership Philosophy

In my perspective, the leader is one who has self-awareness about their strengths and weakness and has the qualities to influence other people. I believe that leaders should share their experiences with coworkers to motivate them in the right direction. A good leader should always actively listen to other team members and tries to reach the root cause of every problem before making any decision. A true leader is one who analyzes and utilizes the coworkers’ qualities into the work. So that every person can enjoy their work and it also provides job satisfaction to coworkers. It ultimately help to achieve the desired goal. Leadership is a kind of strength where one individual can affect another person's values, conduct, and attitude. A leader with a powerful management capacity is a role model for his staff, as a leader who can accomplish excellent results or performance gain their employee's confidence and admiration and that helps to change their values, beliefs, conduct, and attitude (Yazdanifard, 2015).

I follow the democratic leadership style because it includes every member of the team in the process of decision making. In this style, everyone is considered equally important, and everyone's views are highly used in the project. And it also provides satisfaction to team members because of their involvement in the decision (Rose Ngozi Amanchukwu, 2015).

Formal Leadership

'Formal leader is a member of the organization who has given authority by his position to influence other members of the organization to achieve organizational goals' (Anderson, 2018).

Role of Formal Leadership

• Formal leader has more decision-making power.
• A formal leader can give a direct order to do any task.
• The relationship in this type of leadership is like top to bottom. For example, the ICU unit in-charge has the authority to handover any task to nurses, and here the nurse needs to follow the instruction of in-charge nurses because of power.
• A formal leader is a member of the organization who has empowered the organization to achieve the organizational objective.

Informal Leadership

An individual in an organization regarded as a listener because of his apparent experience and reputation. The unofficial leader has no official power or authority over the colleague who chooses to be in charge but can impact other people's choices (Krueger, 2013).

Role of Informal Leadership

• Informal nursing leader is clinically highly qualified nurses who acknowledged as a specialist. This sort of pioneer is influencing a group of people.
• Informal ruler does not have the authority to employ, fire, or compensate other people but are often charismatic, open-minded, and willing.
• Many non-formal leaders can be trouble-shooters, super users and volunteer champion for additional employment, on unit or hospital committee, and in mutual governance boards (Krueger, 2013).

Example

As a nurse, I participated as an informal leader. One day, I was on the night shift, and on that day, there were 8 patients in the ward, and they place one student with me because of the lack of staff on that day. So, I knew that I must manage and live with it because no one was going to give more team. So, I decided to work both together, and I ask the student to take vital of the patient and side by side. I will provide the medication to the patients. Everything was going well, but suddenly one patient's health started deteriorating. So, I just went and checked the patient's condition, and the patient was not responding correctly. So, I decided to activate the code blue as a warning sign. I ask the student to enable the code blue. Until that, I bring out all the necessary equipment near to the patient, and when the team arrived, I explain the patient's condition to the team leader and then he gives the instruction to us. So, In this situation, I made the right decision to save the life of the patient.

Nursing Professional Association Influence Leadership Philosophy

Nursing professional associations in Canada have greatly influenced my leadership philosophy because they provide guidelines and regulations for the nurses to follow and sustain that practice in the nursing profession. Professional association provide evidence-based practice which results in offering proper care to the patient and receive a better outcome. I knew that the patient is in the center of attention. I need to develop a relationship at all levels in the hospital and need to make an empowered workplace. Even if I don't have any formal leadership authority, then also I can utilize my informal leadership daily to provide quality of care to the patient. Leadership practices that contribute to a proper job setting can enhance the result and experience of patients and customers. Even health care providers, who cannot see themselves as leaders, can take on this position as unofficial leaders and enhance their working atmosphere considerably (Registered Nurses’ Association of Ontario, 2013).

In a nutshell, I want to say that leadership plays an essential role in everyone's life. Experiences and role models help me to develop my leadership qualities. Leadership skill is the skill which I learn through knowledge, mistakes, and by following my role model. A leader is one who has the capabilities to lead their followers and has a passion for achieving the goal at a given time. I always try to influence other people in the right way and take team member opinion before making any decision.

Over the years history has adapted and changed to find and accept new forms of historical knowledge. From the very beginning where visual history was used for centuries in caves to display and explain through pictures what had occured in the past. To the more recent form of oral history which historians have slowly begun to embrace as a reliable source of historical knowledge. Yet again here we are faced with the dilemma of whether to let a modern development and creation such as filmed representations of the past into the collection of things we consider and rely on for historical knowledge.

In recent years we have seen an unprecedented increase in historical films recreating the past, from the likes of 12 Years a Slave winning 30 film awards and Hidden Figures to more focussed recreation’s of a single persons historical influence like King’s Speech and Jackie. Consequently, this has resulted in the increasing demand to tackle the question of whether films can be used to contribute to historical knowledge or are they just an over dramatised showing of the twisted truth designed to recieve as many views as possible.

Primarily, when it comes to considering something as historical knowledge, all forms of the piece of work, in each individual case need to be treated with circumspection. For example, more often than not with primary sources which we so heavily rely and regard highly of a piece of historical knowledge are often made originally with an alternative motive in mind, designed and constructed to portray an impression that is not realistically true. Such as the propaganda videos released by the Soviet Union during the Cold War generating the perception they had hundreds of missile launchers when in fact they only had ten to twenty five, consequently causing the missile gap. When it comes to answering the question at hand filmed representations are no different, you have to analyse each individual representation before classing them under historical knowledge.

The definition of a representation according to Oxford dictionaries is that it is ‘the description or portrayal of someone or something in a particular way’ . Highlighting that the filmed representation may not always be an exact replica of the history the we have learnt of from other sources. Often this is shown by filmed representations of the past being an art and one that is constructed to be a cinematic experience. This can be a disadvantage as the experiences created often have a vested interest such as a monetary gain. An example of this is the Hollywood blockbuster Pearl Harbour (2001), it describes the Japanese Kamikaze bombers aiming at hospitals and medical facilities during the bombing when truly they were aiming at the Allied warships docked at the harbour.

The fact that the target was a hospital increased the detrimental effect of the attack in the eyes of the viewer as it was a place considered to be safe and one were vulnerable people are looked after. This inaccurate aim dramatized the historical story that was being created. With filmed representations unlike other sources of historical knowledge a story is needed to be crafted, one that has a beginning middle and end, designed to leave you with a message. Traditionally, this message is also shown to be a optimistic one with the historical event improving or the conflict being solved. Repeatedly, this provides an uncontested single view to history giving the impression to views that the event only happened one way. This is rarely then the case when you look at the the event from the view of other more reputable historical knowledge sources.

Nevertheless, audiences when viewing a filmed representation of the past have the preconceived expectation that it will contain villains, heroes and pace. This is often the fundamental reason why filmed representations often distort the exact details of a historical event, however the true meaning and story do normally prevail. This is something that is often overlooked by heavy critics of historical filmed representations. Even so, this also begs the question; do sources of historical knowledge need to be exactly factually correct or is a general correct message adequate.

Table of contents

1. Analytical Outline
2. Intro Paragraph
3. Works Cited

Analytical Outline

EQ: ?To what extent do mental health issues play a role in the well-being of foster care children in the U.S., and how can support facilities, such as schools, better support these children?

Intro Paragraph

Can you believe a human being can be overlooked? Because Zymere Perkins was, the boy… had been smacked as many as 20 times in a row in front of witnesses, beaten with a belt, placed under cold showers, and denied food as a punishment. In addition to bruises and broken bones, he was missing all of his front teeth. But apparently, all his mother had to do was tell the city social workers that he had fallen--down the stairs, off a scooter, whatever--and they would close the case.

The foster care system has been around for over a century. The decision to create the foster care system in the U.S. started in New York City when Benjamin Eaton was considered to be the first child in need of a home. There are many children who are in and out of the foster care system, and although it's only a few of these children who are abused and neglected, it still isn't humane for them to experience this treatment. ?Although the foster care system signifies that these children are well treated and noticed by the system, there are many children who suffer from mental health issues that go unnoticed. Children being able to have a school single to go to during their time in foster care can improve their overall well-being. Which can put their well-being on the line

The foster care system’s main objective is to find permanent homes for the children in the system with the government leading this effort and each year the number of children in the system fluctuates. The foster care system has more than 500,000 children who are in their care, most have been victims of some sort of abuse. This causes the children in foster care to be at risk for long-term problems later in life. This is significant because enduring these traumatic events during their early years of development can ultimately set the child up for future issues. Knowing that the system has over 500,000 children, one can only imagine that not all of these children get a forever home, many of them age out of the system. For children going through the process of the system, it can take months and sometimes years for their adopter to get approved, and by then they are losing valuable time that could help them get their life on track.

The system’s job is to inform the child's relatives when the child is placed in foster care, and if the child has siblings, it is mandatory to keep them all together. Many relatives don't have the income and means to raise these children, fortunately, the state is willing to help out families and provide them with money. The aid that the state provides is not nearly enough to raise a child. Although it is important that there is an aid for these children if needed, it's more important that the home they are currently being put in is safe for their well-being.

Foster Care Placement: What goes on in the placement process, and what are some obstacles these children go through when getting home?

?The placement process can take many different turns because every child in the system is different and has their own background.

A. Placement issues due to children's age, race, or ethnicity, or even children who are handicapped. ?Evidence: Racial inequality is a big part of the foster care system. 1 in 10 African American children spends approximately twice the rate of white children. Children with special needs are overlooked in the system. For children who reach the age of 6 or older, it is twice as hard for them to get adopted and grow and an attachment towards a new family, school, and home.

B. Parental neglect. ?Evidence: A 7-year-old child in Brooklyn has a couple of incidents at home and social services were well aware but didn't do anything to step in until she was dead. She weighed less than 45 pounds at her death.

Undertrained Social Workers: Are social workers getting the right amount of education and evaluations throughout their time in the workforce, and are they keeping up with the changing foster care system over the years?

?Social workers' strategies to keep these students safe aren’t always going to stay the same if the foster care system is always changing.

A. Social workers aren't thoroughly investing in the cases. ?Evidence: There are patterns being shown in recent data; social workers should being to study math and statistics to make the pattern solving in the data of the system easier.

B. Children go back to their unfit parents or get placed with foster parents. Evidence: Many children are taken from their parents for no deeper reason, while other children in other homes are overlooked multiple times and still don't get pulled out of their homes. This is why New York is taking the action of publicizing and expanding its child abuse hotline to be available to children who are in need.

Health Issues/Well-being: What health issues do foster care children deal with on a daily basis and what helps them overcome them?

The health issues that affect the children in the foster care system can be very broad due to the many recurring events in these children's lives.

A. Child development throughout time in foster care. ?Evidence: It is found to be that the more time these children spend in foster care because of them being exposed to violence, child maltreatment, and other mainstream childhood experiences can cause they to have PTSD. This puts these children who are abused and neglected at high risk of not forming a nurturing, protective, and trustworthy relationship with anyone that comes into their life.

B. Physical health issues if the child is handicapped. ?Evidence: Some of these children face life-threatening handicaps when they are in and out of the system which makes their current well-being unstable.

Mental health issues: Why do mental health issues play a huge role in foster care children's lives??

Mental health issues is the main source for holding these children back from moving forward because they are so damaged by all the trauma they have undergone.

A. It's mentally draining for these children to feel unwanted because these children aren't getting a forever home. ?Evidence:

B. Not being able to live a normal life with their birth parents and only being able to visit them can take a toll. ?Evidence: Many children struggle because their parents are incarcerated, which has the child in and out of foster care. Due to this older children can develop PTSD if they have been repeatedly traumatized and often have a hard time interacting with others. As for infants, their well-being outcome varies on the type of trauma they have experienced, which could be chronic stress, under a small threat, freeze response, and flight response.

Outside Organizations/Programs: How do outside organizations/programs help the foster care children and how do these organizations/programs benefit the children?

Both outside programs CHAMPS and Treehouse want the best outlook for these children, so they have many possible ways to help them.

A. CHAMPS organization wants to improve the foster system. ?Evidence: CHAMPS (children need amazing parents) is an organization that wants to improve the foster care system. The CHAMPS organization wants to advertise stronger federal policies and make sure children are getting the best possible care in homes, they want to change the public's eye on the foster care system because it is considered to be negative.

B. Treehouse program works with these children personally to forward their education. ?Evidence: Washington State has a program called treehouse that helps foster children plan for their life after high school and after the foster care system. The treehouse program arranged transportation for the students who were no longer in the same district as before. They knew that the students still needed guidance on their journey to progress forward so they found a way to still meet with the students one on one.

Schools: How does having a stable education in school benefit the child in foster care, and what does it mean to them? ?

A stable education for these children gives them the chance to focus on learning and excel, ?which makes them feel normal.

A. What happens when the child is constantly moving to different schools. ?Evidence: A child put in foster care at age 12 spent his next two years in and out of 12 different schools. Due to this, the child has lost valuable learning concepts because he was constantly moving schools, he couldn't remember anything he would learn.

B. Benefits/outcomes of staying in the same school. ?Evidence: Jimmy a student from North Carolina who is a foster child describes his experience in school as if he wasn't able to hear anything, he was more concerned about having enough food and clothes to survive the day. He realized that when he was finally placed in a school for a while he had noticed his handwriting improving, he was able to focus and learn.

Keep in mind:
This is only a sample.

Get a custom paper now from our expert writers.

C. How school counselors can help the students keep up with school and problems within their private lives. ?Evidence: Personal connections with the adults in the school can encourage the students to do better in school so that they can see the academic potential they and by them realizing this can really improve their well-being. Counselors acknowledging good behavior or good grades can really improve their self-esteem.

Works Cited

1. Alexander, Rachel. “State program drives foster children toward the teen milestone.” April 2018. The Spokesman-Review. 3 Dec. 2018 http://www.spokesman. com/stories/2018/apr/07/state-program-drives-foster-kids-toward-teen-miles/
2. “Children Adopted from Foster Care: Child and Family Characteristics, Adoption Motivation and Well-Being.” ASPE Research Brief, 30 May 2011. U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. 11 Nov. 2018. https://aspe.hhs.gov/basic-report/children-adopted-foster-care-child-and-family-characteristics-adoption-motivation-and-well-being
3. Child Welfare Information Gateway. “Foster Care Statistics 2016.” Children’s Bureau. ?Washington, DC, 2017. U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. 1 Nov. 2018. https://www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/factsheets/foster/
4. Developmental Issues for Young Children in Foster Care.? 2001. Academy of Pediatrics. 21 September 2018. http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/106/5/1145
5. “History of Foster Care in The United States.” ?The National Voice of Foster Parents. ?NFPA. 2 Feb. 2019. https://nfpaonline.org/page-1105741
6. Laub, John H., and Ron Haskins. “Helping Children with Parents in Prison and Children in Foster Care.” ?Policy Brief Spring 2018.? The Trustees of Princeton University, 2018. Princeton.edu. 25 Oct. 2018. https://futureofchildren.princeton.edu/sites/futureofchildren/files/media/foc-policy_brief_spring_2018__0.pdf
7. Lahey, Jessica. “Every Time Foster Kids Move, They Lose Months of Academic Progress.” Georgia, Feb. 2014. ?The Atlantic.? 3 Dec. 2018. https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2014/02/every-time-foster-kids-move-they-lose-months-of-academic-progress/284134/
8. “Mental Health and Foster Care.” National Conference of State Legislatures. Denver, 9 May.2016. http://www.ncsl.org/research/human-services/mental-health-and-foster-care.aspx
9. Riley, Naomi Schaefer. 'Can Big Data Help Save Abused Kids? The Quest to Fix Our Messy, Meddlesome Foster Care Bureaucracies.” ?Reason?, Feb. 2018, Gale Power Search. 14 Oct. 2018. http://go.galegroup.com/ps/retrieve.do?tabID=T003&resultListType=RESULT_LIST&searchResultsType=SingleTab&searchType=BasicSearchForm¤tPosition=30&docId=GALE%7CA522210610&docType=Essay&sort=Relevance&contentSegment=&prodId=GPS&contentSet=GALE%7CA522210610&searchId=R2&userGroupName=wood32777&inPS=true
10. Shapiro, Nina. “?How these Washington state foster kids are beating the odds: Treehouse program helps teens graduate.”? Local News. ?Seattle, Dec. 2017. The Seattle Times. 3 Dec. 2018. https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/support-for-foster-kids-in-school-and-beyond/
11. Sparks, SarahD. 'The Gifted Child in Foster Care: Lost in the Shuffle; Poverty, trauma, and high rates of mobility keep bright children in the foster care system from finding their way into academically rigorous courses and programs.' ?Education Week, 7 Mar. 2018. ?Student Resources in Context, 10 October 2018. http://go.galegroup.com/ps/retrieve.do?tabID=T003&resultListType=RESULT_LIST&searchResultsType=SingleTab&searchType=BasicSearchForm¤tPosition=16&docId=GALE%7CA531476293&docType=Article&sort=Relevance&contentSegment=&prodId=GPS&contentSet=GALE%7CA531476293&searchId=R1&userGroupName=wood32777&inPS=true
12. Williams-Mbengue, Nina. ?The Social and Emotional Well-Being of Children in Foster Care.? 21 September 2018, Denver. http://www.ncsl.org/research/human-services/the-social-and-emotional-well-being-of-children-in-foster-care.aspx
13. ---'The future of foster care: new state efforts aim to reduce the length of time children spend in care.' ?State Legislatures?, Oct.-Nov. 2009. 10 October 2018. http://go.galegroup.com/ps/retrieve.do?tabID=T003&resultListType=RESULT_LIST&searchResultsType=SingleTab&searchType=BasicSearchForm¤tPosition=13&docId=GALE%7CA211631675&docType=Article&sort=Relevance&contentSegment=&prodId=GPS&contentSet=GALE%7CA211631675&searchId=R2&userGroupName=wood32777&inPS=true#

Morals are the prevailing standards of behavior that enable people to live cooperatively in groups. Moral refers to what societies sanction as right and acceptable. Most people tend to act morally and follow societal guidelines. “What is morality?” essay explains that morality often requires that people sacrifice their own short-term interests in the benefit of society. Also, there are 4 challenges to morality that are discussed in following paragraphs. 

First, the challenge of Positivism, positivism will only be meaningful when there were analytic or verifiable by observation or experience rather than theory or pure logic. Positivism is expressing how you feel and positivism is the same as emotivism. Emotivism is all about expressions of emotions. We have different feelings of each issue we know for example EJK (Extrajudicial Killing), many people were against Extra judicial killing but others say they deserve it because they took others lives. One of the issues in our country that they were always talking even in the government is teenage pregnancy. Abortion is the ending of pregnancy, an immoral way of killing a fetus in short life. Some thinks that to avoid teenage pregnancy is to do an abortion but in reality abortion is a mortal sin. This is a factual non-sense but emotionally it is very meaningful. We spend a lot of time telling how we feel about issues. Just like the theory of emotivism said, it is all about expressions of emotions. Emotivism implies that we are impeccable we can never be wrong with our feelings. Positivism is like criticizing the errors on someone or something in a disapproving way to improve improved.

Second, the challenge of Relativism, according to relativism there are moral principle that relative to each individual or the cultural you happen to be living it. An example of individual relativism is for example for other abortion is legal but for others it is illegal. An example of cultural relativism is same-sex marriage, in our country same-sex marriage is prohibited and in other countries like Spain, Canada, Brazil, Norway, Sweden, etc. The most commonly line of relativism is the culture or the beliefs of each people. Based on my culture (Ilocano and Kapampangan) one of the stereotype of that I heard from Ilocano’s is they are hard workers and as for Kapampangan they are good at cooking. Relativism begins with the view that people (or cultures) do in fact have fundamentally different or practices. There all some moral rules that all societies must have in common. Based on my research there are 7 moral rules found all around the world those are love your family, help your group, return favors, be brave, defer to authority, be fair, and respect others’ property. To my knowledge there are many more unwritten rules in the whole world for example The young ones must be cared, must say the truth, and respect to everything (people and the surroundings).

Fourth, The challenge of determinism. Determinism obviously explains that we cannot point out that a person is responsible for his doings unless he does have the rights to or it does have the authority to continue on what it should mean to do. Based on my comprehension, there are still a lot of things in this world that we can say we are always responsible for what we are doing. Being a human being, we need to make ourselves believe that in everything we do, we are always responsible for it. Each of us have our own free will, it is not true that determinism denies free will. We are free to do anything we want, but we should always remember that in everything we do, we are responsible. We are free to make decisions but still we should not forget to think about the consequences we might face. For some way, there was still a judgement that a person can tell if it still states that “no one is responsible for his actions” and “every person is responsible for his actions”. For example, there is a person who got imprisoned, but he is not responsible for his actions. His Attorney was the one who was responsible for his actions. Why? The man who got imprisoned was innocent, his cases are clearly closed. His Attorney did something wrong to send him to prison again. The man was imprisoned for four years, but he had no choice. With this example, we can clearly state who is responsible and who is not responsible. In addition, “people are free to choose how they act” whether in a good way or in bad way.

To sum up, people or entities that are indifferent to right and wrong are considered amoral, while those who do evil acts are considered immoral. The basic explanation of morality is what is right and what is wrong. For example, you found something that doesn’t belong to you and took it to give it back, because you know that no one is looking you keep it.

Table of contents

1. Transformational Leadership
2. Charismatic Leadership
3. Transactional Leadership
4. Situational Leadership
Organizational ClimateEmotional Intelligence
5. Conclusion

Leadership has been researched over the last five decades, resulting in the development of 65 classifications and 350 definitions with an emphasis on understanding the positive 'good' characteristics leading to the glamorization of leadership today. As a result, leaders are considered the saviors and heroes for organizations in crisis. Leadership is defined as a motivation strategy that inspires a group or team development to achieve a common goal. Effective leadership requires specific characteristics that differ from management. According to Kanungo, leaders provide vision and strategy; management implements that vision and strategy, coordinates and staffs the organization, and handles day-to-day problems. There are four effective  leadership approaches that explain the positive and negative properties of leader-follower dynamics. The four approaches are transformational leadership, charismatic leadership, transactional leadership, and situational leadership.

Transformational Leadership

Transformational leadership was first introduced by James Burns and the concept of the process in which “leaders and followers help each other to advance to higher-level morale and motivation.” The transforming approach creates significant changes in the life of people and organizations. With transformational leadership, this is an example of working towards the benefit of the team and organization. This management style creates value and positive change in the employees of an organization with the end goal of developing followers into leaders. According to Bass, transformational leadership occurs when leaders “inspire, energize and intellectually stimulate their employees” . With adequate training, managers can focus on the required techniques and qualities to adjust employees to become transformational leaders. This type of leadership focuses on the employee’s values, emotions, ethics, and long-term goals while assessing motives that can change an individual’s views of the leadership within the organization. Transformational leaders are excellent role models, where they inspire their followers with self-efficacy, believing they can go beyond expectations. The main contributor is Bernand Bass and Bruce Avolio, who developed and refined the theory of what transformational leadership consists of. This style of leadership is recognized in four components which are:

• Individualized consideration: this is where a leader attends to each follower's needs, acts as a mentor to the follower, and listens to the followers' concerns and needs. The leader displays empathy and provides support for each individual situation. Keeping communication open and showing individualized consideration, this aspires the followers to contribute their talents to the workplace, which develops their key skills and behaviors.
• Inspirational motivation: Leaders with inspirational motivation challenge their followers with high standards, communicate positivity about future goals, and provide meaning to the on-hand task. Followers need to have a strong sense of purpose whereas leaders provide purpose and meaning to drive their group forward. This encourages followers to invest more effort in their tasks and to be optimistic about their future and invest in their own abilities.
• Intellectual stimulation: transformational leaders challenge assumptions, takes a risk, and solicit followers’ ideas. Leaders recognize followers through stimulation, creativity, and innovation, where they nurture and develop people who think independently. Employees are encouraged to use critical thinking when thinking independently.
•  Idealized influence: these are role models for their followers because they engage in high standards of ethical behavior. These leaders are deeply respected by followers, who usually place a great deal of trust in them, where they provide a sense of vision and mission.

Transformational leadership is visible at all tiers of the organization. This type of leaders has close contact with their followers and display authenticity in showing their strengths and weakness within the organization. CEOs who are transformational leaders have a significant impact on the performance of their organization due to their image seen as positive role models whose behavior is recognized throughout all tiers of the organization.

Charismatic Leadership

This leadership style is recognized as encouraging particular behaviors by eloquent communication, persuasion, and force of personality. Charismatic leaders motivate their followers to achieve their goals or improve their objectives of the goal. These leaders have the distinct ability to divide and decipher a lack of effectiveness within an organization. With the traits of critical thinking, this acts as a key factor in finding ways to solve a variety of problems. Charismatic leaders act in a special way with their followers based on personal characteristics and specific behavioural types which include: strong role models for the adoption of beliefs and values in followers,

• competent to followers,
• articulate ideological goals with moral overtones,
• communicate high expectations to followers,
• arouse task-oriented movement in followers.

.

Transactional Leadership

The transactional style of leadership was first introduced by Max Weber in 1947 and expanded on by Bernard Bass in 1981. Transactional leadership focuses on the exchanges between the leader and the employee. This requires supervision, oversight, and performance-monitoring over employees. These types of leaders are task-oriented and focus on descriptive employee’s roles and task requirements by providing specified rewards and punishment based on performance results. This leadership style takes an outlook of a behavioral approach to leadership based on the rewards and punishments system. In transactional leadership, the exchange between the leader and follower consists of four dimensions which are:

• Contingent rewards: with this method, leaders link the goal to rewards, explain expectations, provide needed resources, set equally agreed-upon goals, and provide numerous ways of rewards for successful performance. Transactional leaders set SMART goals for their followers to achieve.
• Active Management by Exception: actively monitoring the work of their followers, watching for deviations from rules and standards and captivating corrective actions to avoid mistakes.
• Passive Management by Exception: this method allows leaders to intervene when standards are not met, or the overall performance is poor and not as per the expectations. A punishment system may act as a response to unacceptable performance.
• Laissez-faire: this is recognized as a free environment to a group where they have tons of opportunities to make decisions. Since the leader removes himself from the responsibilities and avoid making decisions for the group, which the group lacks guidance.

Situational Leadership

This leadership style has been developed and studied by Kenneth Blanchard and Paul Hersey. This type of leadership focuses on how a leader motivates and influences followers in situations. Leaders need to adapt their styles to understand the demands of their followers in different situations for this type of leadership to be successful. With situational leadership, the leaders must change their style, compared to the follower adapting to the leader’s style. Leaders evaluate and assess employees based on their competence and commitment to perform tasks. In situational leadership, there are two types of dynamics that are directive and supportive. Depending on the situation and the employees’ motivation to complete a task, leaders can adjust whether they are directive or supportive in accommodating the needs of employees. In 1985, the Situational Leadership II (SLII) model was developed to substitute Situational Leadership I (SLI). In comparison to the SLI model, four leadership styles of development were added, which are:

• Directing: high-directive/low-supportive
• Coaching: high-directive/high-supportive
• Supporting: high-supportive/low-directive
• Delegating: low-supportive/low-directive

For situational leadership to display an optimistic effect, leaders need to understand and determine where followers are on the developmental continuum and adapt the style of leadership necessary to match the level of commitment and competence in achieving a task.

Organizational Climate

Companies strive to recruit and retain decent quality leaders, which influences and create positive organizational environments. An organizational environment is also recognized as an organizational climate. Litwin and Stringer defined organizational climate as a set of measurable properties of the work environment that influences an individual's motivation and behavior directly or indirectly. In a positive organizational climate, employees are motivated, satisfied, or overly satisfied, high expectations, and display commitment to the company and its mission. The attitude and behavior of managers and the way an organization run have major effects on the employee’s outlooks and views, which creates an organizational climate. With the organization's climate positivity, this can increase financial results such as revenue growth, profits, and return on sales of the organization. The organization climate acts as an influencer on organizational success and effectiveness, where leaders with high emotional intelligence add value to managerial decision making. There are seven main organizational climates which influence employee’s behavior:

• Structure: clear definitions of responsibilities and roles being completely organized.
• Responsibility: the degree in which employees feel responsible for accomplishing their job
• Risk: the willingness to take risk and chances of the ideas of employees
• Reward: based on the quality of work, incentives are given to employees who display significant high performance in a company.
• Warmth and support: a warm and welcoming atmosphere that encourages relationships with employees and managers
• Conflict: maintaining good interpersonal relations and avoiding conflicts and disagreements
• Expected approval: loyalty and pride towards the workgroup and organization

Do you think leaders are born or created? Some individuals consist of extensive leadership abilities compared to others; however, by improving specific skills and adjusting personal characteristics, anyone can be a leader. There are a few characteristics that are associated with and identifying an effective leader which are:

• Communication skills
• Emotional Intelligence
• Honesty and integrity
• Self-confidence
• Job-relevant knowledge
• Ability to motivate people
• Analytical skills

With these characteristics being recognized, the CEO’s know exactly what they’re looking for in choosing effective leaders.

Emotional Intelligence

The characteristics listed above are recognized as noticeable qualities of a leader. However, emotional intelligence recognized as the key determinant of effective leadership in 1990, the term emotional intelligence was introduced by Salovey and Mayer where the cognitive ability was to understand, recognize and evaluate the meaning of emotions in order to reason and solve problems. Salovey and Mayer’s model is recognized as the ability model. Mayer and Salovey, emotional intelligence is defined with four categories: “the ability to perceive emotions, to access and generate emotions so as to assist thought, to understand emotions and emotional knowledge, and to reflectively regulate emotions so as to promote emotional and intellectual growth”. When Goleman published his book, “EI why it can matter more than IQ,” emotional intelligence became popular with his performance-based model, which was based on five skills: self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy and social skills. The first three skills are recognized as personal capabilities, and the last two are recognized as social capabilities. Leaders with high EI consists of better management over employees to facilitate and improve their performance effectively. The emotional intelligence of leaders is associated with increased employee job satisfaction and “extra-role” behaviors.

Keep in mind:
This is only a sample.

Get a custom paper now from our expert writers.

Conclusion

Effective leadership influences followers through persuasion to achieve common organizational goals. Leadership consists of four basic components which are: leadership includes goal attainment, leadership involves influencing followers, leadership occurs in group situations, and leadership is a process that is a transactional event that occurs between leaders and followers. With the development of leadership, the evaluation of effective leadership focuses on the leader-follower relationship, where the leader influences and motivates employees to achieve goal accomplishment of the organization.

For the majority of working adults in Singapore, holding a steady, well-paying job is a necessity in providing for both their future and the future of their families.

But whether you own your own business or are part of a large multibillion-dollar company, financial security neither begins nor ends with how much money you make at the present.

Through working hard and working to continually advance in your position and move up the corporate ladder, you may be able to give your family all the comforts they need. Unfortunately, present comforts do little in terms of future security. Unforeseen accidents, loss of job, sudden illness, and other incidents can threaten your family’s financial future.

In order to truly provide and care for your family, here are four things that you can do today to secure your family’s financial future.

1. 1. Create an Emergency Savings Fund

Saving is an important part of any financial plan. Although it can be difficult at times, sufficient savings can come in handy, especially in emergency situations. Having a savings fund that is enough to sustain at least six months of bills and expenses will protect your family in the case of an emergency that cuts your monthly income.

Although this may take some time, having this emergency fund creates a cushion of security and peace of mind. Consider how much your family spends monthly in bills and expenses and make sure to include household bills, debts, car expenses, and school/educational needs. If that number is around $2500, then your family should have at least $15,000 set aside.

While this may seem like a great deal of money, it is a necessary sacrifice. Money put away and saved immediately is money that can be lived without. Take a percentage out of each month’s paycheck and stash it away. In the even that an emergency does occur, you will be happy that you can still pay bills and provide for your family.

Several families worry that 6 months of savings is not enough. In this case, make a financial plan with your spouse to have 9 months or even an entire year’s worth of expenses saved and set aside. This can be a lofty task and take some time. For this reason, plan to have at least a foundation of 6 months off from which to build.

1. 1. Have Good Health Insurance Coverage

One of the most detrimental incidents for a family is a sudden illness that incurs significant medical bills. Since healthcare expenses are costly in Singapore, sky-high medical bills can cause serious harm to your family’s financial status. By ensuring that your family has good medical coverage, you are protecting them both their health and the family pocket book.

A private medical coverage policy such as AIA Healthshield Gold Max is an Integrated Shield Plan. These plans cover not only the cost of treatments and hospitalization, but they cover any hospitalization and emergency bills as well.

In some cases, there is a need for sufficient health coverage due to chronic illness that cannot be taken care of only inside of the hospital. Plans such as a critical illness protection plan can provide reimbursement or payment of expenses in these cases and often cover bills that are incurred if you need to take a leave of absence from your job.

The AIA group has a variety of health care plans to cover various situations and give your loved ones peace of mind. A few of their more popular plans in Singapore include Early Critical Protector Life Plus, AIA Triple Critical Care Cover, Early Critical Protector, and AIA Secure Critical Cover.

1. 1. Have Good Life Insurance Coverage

Although it is not a situation that you may want to think about, it is crucial that you consider how your family will be provided for in the case that you fall gravely ill and will not be around to provide for them. Death is not only devastating but can leave a family in ruins due to unpaid bills, medical expenses, funeral costs, and the overall loss of the main financial provider. To give your family a secure future, obtain good life insurance coverage on top of your medical coverage.

Determining which financial plan is best for your family is similar to creating an emergency savings fund. First, calculate what your family’s monthly expenses will be without you. Second, take in to consideration your children and their educational and recreational needs. Third, think about your spouse and what they might need to take care of the family such as a domestic helper.

What is often overlooked at additional expenses needed by the surviving spouse. In the case of death, your spouse may need to take time off from work to help provide for the family mentally and emotionally. If this occurs, you will need to calculate in your spouses’ monthly income and additional costs. Consider having a conversation with your spouse and determining these amounts together.

1. 1. Plan for your Estate

Fatalities can lead to confusion and frustration for the family in regards to your estate and assets. Have a financial plan and insurance policies in plan that clearly outline the rightful beneficiaries.

Unless there is a clear will in place, your estate and assets can be legally tied up for an extended period of time adding stress and frustration to your already grieving family. If there is no will present, according to the law in Singapore, your assets will be distributed according to the Singapore Intestate Succession Act. This act leaves all assets and estate to the immediate surviving family which means surviving spouse and children. In several cases, the deceased may have wished for something to be left to the parents. Without sufficient estate planning, not all the beneficiaries you wish to receive your assets will receive their share.

Take the Steps to Secure Your Family’s Financial Future Today

Such detailed planning and preparation takes time. For this reason, begin planning for your family’s financial security today. Set up an emergency fund which has at least 6 months of bills and expenses. Purchase and set up sufficient medical and life insurance. Plan your estate and will clearly dictating all beneficiaries. Take these steps and give you and your family peace of mind.

Juan Rulfo employs a fragmented structure in Pedro Páramo to provide information about the plot and characters from the point of view of different characters at different times. This allows stories to be echoed and reechoed throughout the novel. Often times, this structure creates a sense of ambiguity and confusion because Rulfo leaves interpretation up to the reader and because of the story’s nonlinear aspect. In this fragmented storyline, Rulfo uses sound and silence to add suspense and to contribute to the setting and plot.

Juan Rulfo wrote Pedro Páramo with tense shifts and shifts in perspectives of different characters that add tension and reveal more and more about the plot. With seventy fragments differing in time and perspectives, the reader has to put the pieces of the puzzle together based on how they interpret it. For example, when the narrative switches from Juan to Pedro at fragment six, it confuses the reader because it does not initially indicate that the fragment is about Pedro. The reader only learns that fragments six through eight are about Pedro because Rulfo writes “‘Pedro!’people called to him” at the end of fragment seven (Rulfo 14). These fragments, though confusing at first, are the first fragments directly involving Pedro. Rulfo uses them to introduce Pedro and let the reader learn a little about his past. This also adds tension because it acts as sort of a face reveal; prior to this, the reader cannot match a character to the “Pedro Páramo” that Juan sets out to find.

Rulfo utilizes both sound and silence to add suspense and truly embody the theme of the living and dead in the novel. For example, in fragment three, there are no “children” or doves,” and only silence can be heard. However, Juan still feels “that the town [is] alive” (8). This reflects the theme of the novel because there is a middle ground where the reader is not sure how to differentiate between the living and the dead. The lack of sounds of “children” and “doves” characterizes the eeriness and phantasmal aspect of the novel. Rulfo implements another use of sound and silence in fragment twenty-eight. “Sounds. Voices Murmurs. Distant singing… As if it were women singing” exemplifies the ambiguity that Rulfo once again displays (46). This fragment describes “distant singing” that may or may not truly be heard at all. Rulfo writes “as if” instead of illustrating with a more definite tone that women are actually singing. The scene leaves the reader to decide what exactly takes place. A third example of a fragment where sound and silence appear prominently is in fragment twenty-nine. The line “Empty carts, churning the silence of the streets” again represents the ghastliness of the town (46). Rulfo uses lines like these to illustrate the silence that allows a sense of ambiguity to be present. The town is simply made to seem dead, and this is done in part by the presence of silence. Rulfo also writes that there is an “echo of shadows” (46). The sound of shadows is quite ironic because shadows are merely an image cast from an object, having no ability to emit noise.

The fragmented structure of Pedro Páramo allows for some stories to echo and re-echo throughout the novel. For example, the story of Pedro Páramo himself is one that shows up time and time again. His story begins on page twelve when Pedro was just a little boy. He thinks about Susana and how they would fly kites. Pedro thinks about her fondly, and this establishes early in the story that Susana and Pedro are two characters that seem to have gotten along at some point. Later, the reader learns just how much Pedro cared for Susana: He “waited thirty years for [Susana] to return” to Comala (82) and then when Susana dies and there are, coincidentally, festivities in Comala, Pedro intends to “cross [his] arms” so “Comala will die of hunger” (117). Different parts of the story illustrate Pedro’s deep love for Susana. Another example is what happens with Miguel. Miguel is introduced when Juan Preciado hears the sound of Miguel’s horse (21). The noise prompts doña Eduviges to explain what happened with Miguel the night he died.

With Miguel’s tale, his ending is introduced first, adding suspense by introducing another character only to quickly learn that he has died. Through flashbacks and thoughts about the past and present, memories and stories can be recounted, revealing more about the story each time. Altogether, the fragmented narrative storyline that Rulfo utilizes induces a sense of ambiguity and confusion in the reader, with the employment of sound and silence and the repeated echoing of certain stories.

Work Cited

Rulfo, Juan. Pedro Páramo. Trans. Margaret Sayers Peden. New York, NY: Grove, 1994. Print.

Shakespeare’s works had few females because women were not allowed to act in London in the late 1500s and early 1600s. Although there are restrictions on the performance of the female character by banning women’s performance on stage in a play, Shakespeare’s plays do not absent of many female characters that were strong-willed, intelligent, and daring. For example, Juliet Capulet appears to be a shy and innocent girl at the beginning of the play, but until the end, she showed a bravery heart ready to give up life for love. Hamlet is one of Shakespeare’s most successful plays, although Shakespeare used to be famous for creating a strong heroine female character. In Hamlet, the women characters Gertrude and Ophelia do not have a quality of treatment that the reader hopes from Shakespeare’s work. They act either as a theatrical balance to the male characters or as a sounding board for their fine speeches and actions. Readers may comment on the lack of influence of the role of the female characters in Hamlet. Gertrude and Ophelia are really sexual objectification for male characters in the play or is there something else more about them.

Gertrude can be seen as a simple of the lesser and negative stereotypes of women shaped by the patriarchal values and society of the Shakespearean times. In the play, she represents many roles; she is Hamlet’s mother, Queen of Denmark. Moreover, her sensitive role at the widow of the Ghost (King Hamlet), but married to the new king Claudius who is her brother of the deceased husband, presented her in the play as an incestuous woman who only seeks affection. She is the root of the hamlet ambitious hateful because of the loss of the father and the mother betrayed. Her act of hasty marriage to her brother-in-law Claudius, less than two months after the death of her husband is condemned by Hamlet as akin to committing incest; “She married. O, most wicked speed, to post With such dexterity to incestuous sheets!” (Act I, ii, 1404). This action of Gertrude seems to unthink off by today’s standard. However, in the play except for Hamlet and the Ghost, the marriage between Claudius and Gertrude does not receive any criticizing by anyone else in the play. Moreover, the public seems to accept this marriage as a normal event. However, Hamlet still uses his mine set of incestuous marriage to criticize Gertrude and projecting his anger and disappointment to her through the play. By this action, Hamlet not only shows his sexism point of view to women specifically for the mother’s fidelity but also insult and causes psychological struggle. Nonetheless, this opinionated male viewpoint is enough to place Gertrude in a negative predisposition. 

Gertrude could also be considered as a voiceless and silenced character because Shakespeare does not let her have many lines in the play. She does not speak much, this depends on the male characters, Hamlet, Claudius, and the Ghost, to describe and shape her behavior. The audience does not hear enough of her voice, so people cannot catch what she is thinking. She was described by Hamlet and the Ghost at the lustful women, although she herself has never given the audience any sign of being lustful. Her silence is perhaps considered one of the many signs of weakness which Hamlet can not overlook it. That why he despises her marriage and also Hamlet is the most ardent critic of her, when he spewed his most famous notion of women’s frailty, “frailty, thy name is woman!” (Act I, ii, 1404). Shakespeare states that her silence is meant to show her weakness. Moreover, in the eyes of Hamlet, Gertrude is guilty and is blamed for being the source of problems in Denmark. She is guilty of not properly grieving King Hamlet as Hamlet himself mourned; “O God, a beast, that wants discourse of reason, Would have mourned longer – married with my uncle,” (Act I, ii, 1404) Gertrude is referred to as “a beast” that lacks the faculty of reason or common sense by marrying her brother-in-law shortly after her husband’s death. According to Hamlet’s subjective, Gertrude should mourn King Hamlet for at least half a year, wear mourning clothes for two years, and cannot participate in public for at least one year. Instead, she even asks Hamlet to “cast thy knighted color off” (Act I, ii, 1402), to stop wearing black mourning garments and to “not forever with thy vailéd lids” (Act I, ii, 1402), to stop lowering his eyes. This seemingly meanless conversation with Hamlet is a prelude to Gertrude being viewed as a shallow, sinful woman, only wanting to maintain her high position. Eventually, Gertrude has regained fairness by the act of defending Hamlet when the veil covering the truth of the death of the king is clipping, so she can wash away all of her sins were created by the subjective view of Hamlet. She gives up her life for Hamlet in the same way of Shakespeare always portrays her as a quiet woman but with decisive actions. Gertrude seemed like a character with little influence in the play but it was a misconception. She is the reason to drive Hamlet to his frantically revenge and also she is a Hamlet protector to the end. Shakespeare clearly uses Gertrude as a figure for the most important core values of a woman who never abandons their child.

The patriarchal society of Western culture held powerfully negative implications over women. In this way the freedom for women to express themselves was not considered by men. Unfortunately, the male regard for females was, connected with the female body. Thus it was acceptable that the female body was a man’s “property” and the dominance over women was a life goal for men in the Renaissance age. Hamlet’s sexual conversation with Ophelia during the Mousetrap scene would have been acceptable to a Renaissance audience.

Hamlet: Lady, shall I lie in your lap?

Ophelia: No, my lord.

Hamlet: Do you think I meant country matters?

Ophelia: I think nothing, my lord.

Hamlet: That’s a fair thought to lie between maids’ legs. 

It appears to a modern day audience that the “noble” prince shares a very inappropriate joke with Ophelia. In Elizabethan slang, “nothing” was a term for the female genitalia. Thus “nothing” is what lies between maids’ legs, portrays the male visual system of representation and desire, women’s sexual organs, in the words of the French psychoanalyst Luce Irigaray, “represent the horror of having nothing to see”. When Ophelia is mad, Gertrude says that “Her speech is nothing,” mere “unshaped use.” Ophelia’s speech thus represents the fear of having nothing to say in the public. Deprived of thought, sexuality, language, Ophelia’s story becomes the empty circle or mystery of feminine difference, “the cipher of female sexuality to be deciphered by feminist interpretation”. Hamlet wields the power of words as weapon and uses them against Ophelia. Overall, a direct impact on the women in the play comes from powerful use of words. Hamlet and other male characters such as Ophelia’s father and brother, scold Ophelia as if she were a child. They disrespect her as if she is less of a person than they are. At one point Ophelia was told that she should be in a brothel instead of being a ‘breeder of sinners’ (Act III, i, 1440). ‘Get thee to a nunn’ry.’ The term ‘nunnery’ does not mean to have a religious connotation, but is used to disrespect and lash out on innocent Ophelia. In this scene, the hate towards women is amplified. As the play progressed, Hamlet constantly keeps showing his feeling of dissatisfaction with the idea of women altogether. Hamlet speaks to Ophelia offensively so she will not become a ‘breeder of sinners’, because he believes that the sins committed by a child is because the mother is the true sinner. ‘Frailty, thy name is woman!’ (Act I, ii, 1404) The above quote expresses Hamlet feeling that all women are weak. Ophelia is surrounded by powerful men and these men in her life ultimately become the cause of her madness. Ophelia’s portrayal of madness comes into an unusual form which is through song. Ophelia’s death is not represented on stage renders the image of Ophelia singing as less precarious. A speech made by Gertrude only recounts the girl’s death and “marks a crucial moment in the play’s response to the threats of excess and disorder embodied in Ophelia’s music”. Romanska further elaborates that, Shakespeare made the decision to reduce Ophelia significant as a feminine representation by cutting her death from the play’s climax and including Gertrude’s patronizing speech about it. Thus, the character of Ophelia may be portrayed in two senses through her maddening song as an expression of female opposition to male dominance or merely as an insignificant sexual object. 

Keep in mind:
This is only a sample.

Get a custom paper now from our expert writers.

Either way, Hamlet is primarily about male superiority and Ophelia provides perfect evidence for this statement. No representation of her own character, insufficient lines to explain her own actions and thoughts, and the reduction of her only power which is her music all lead to the conclusion that Shakespeare wrote Hamlet as an anti-feminist text. 

Works Cited

1. Greenblatt, S. (2019). The Rise and Fall of Adam and Eve. W. W. Norton & Company.
2. King, T. (2018). Women and Power: A Manifesto. Grove Press.
3. Neely, C. T. (1985). Broken nuptials in Shakespeare's plays. Yale University Press.
4. Orgel, S. (1988). Impersonations: The performance of gender in Shakespeare's England. Cambridge University Press.
5. Showalter, E. (2018). Shakespeare and gender. Routledge.
6. Wells, S. (2002). Shakespeare: A life in drama. W. W. Norton & Company.
7. Westlund, J. (2013). Shakespeare and the idea of late writing: authorship in the proximity of death. Cambridge University Press.
8. Young, K. (2016). Shakespeare and feminist performance: Ideology on stage. Routledge.
9. Howard, J. E. (2002). Shakespeare's art of oratory: Stage-craft and audience response. University of California Press.
10. Wills, G. (2015). The invisible god: The earliest Christians on art. Oxford University Press.

From their introductions in Emma, Jane Austen sets the characters of Frank Churchill and Mr. Knightley apart, with Mr. Knightley immediately being described as "a sensible man" while Frank Churchill is described as "very good-looking" and in possession of a cheerful constitution much like his father's. While there are similarities between the two such as their polite and affectionate manners towards those they care for, they differ mostly because of their differences in being reserved. Frank is rather indifferent towards the mixing of classes and can probably be most aptly described as a "dandy" in his speech and actions. Mr. Knightley on the other hand carries out his duties in their society without crossing the bounds of social propriety and almost always expresses 'correct' opinions with a simplicity and logic which is not only educational to Emma but also to the readers. While both are seen to have good, charming qualities, the novel does however seem to value Mr. Knightley's qualities above Frank's and as seen through Emma's eyes, upholds Mr. Knightley as the gold standard for the ideal "English man".

Frank Churchill is seen by many of the characters as an ideal man because of his good looks and charm. It would appear that part of this charm comes from his ability to determine what will please a person without crossing the line into the realm of over-familiarity. When complimenting Mrs. Weston he "did not advance a word of praise beyond what she (Emma) knew to be thoroughly deserved" despite having only known her for a day. Even Mrs. Elton finds "his manners are precisely what I (she) like and approve" even though Frank's inward thoughts about her are quite the opposite of her opinion of him. This conveys to the readers that Frank is capable of charming and befriending even those who he does not like as he is able to keep his feelings of contempt hidden beneath a layer of polite ease. Despite these good aspects of his personality Frank is not always judged by the novel in a particularly positive light, espicially with regards to Mr. Knightley's opinion of him. In the beginning of the novel, before Frank even appears, Mr. Knightley rightly judges that "he can have no English delicacy towards the feelings of other people", a statement that is certainly revealed to be true at the end of the novel when everyone finds out he has kept a secret engagement to Jane Fairfax all along. This demonstrates a somewhat selfish quality as he is at times capable of putting his wishes above the rules of social and moral propriety.

Mr. Knightley, conversely, is a character that might be deemed as Austen's 'ideal' but not necessarily a modern reader's, although most would certainly recognise him to be the voice of reason in the novel. Readers of the novel are not the only ones who value Mr. Knightley's opinion as it is mentioned every now and then that other characters such as Mr. Martin and Mr. Elton go to him for advice and counsel. Austen puts Mr. Knightley in a very good light by also showing the readers how capable he is in handling characters with more problematic traits. At his introduction in the novel itself he assuages Mr. Woodhouse's grief at Miss Taylor's wedding and his kindness in giving the Bates' apples from his own orchard also reveal signs of sensibility towards the people in his community to readers. Some critics say that with Knightley, Austen has created the image of an almost faultless "English man", fully equipped with all the poise and rationality of a gentleman. This point is supported by Emma's continuous comparisons of other male characters to Mr. Knightley with him always coming out as the superior male specimen. The only mistake in opinion he ever makes in the novel is of Emma's love for Frank but this is easily forgiven by readers as it was a mistake made out of his jealousy for all the affection Emma shows Frank. Unlike Frank's sometimes unpredictable nature, as seen when he travels all the way to London for a haircut, Mr. Knightley is a character that readers can always trust as being honest, perceptive and logical. Readers might even find themselves thinking as Emma did : "There was no denying that those brothers (the Knightleys) had penetration".

The novel quite clearly values Knightley's simplicity and rationality over Frank's charming, friendly nature as Austen uses free indirect speech to convey the characters thoughts to the readers. Most of the novel is actually descriptions of Emma's thoughts and it is through her thoughts that readers see, while Frank is charming and good-natured, his behaviour at times causes "Emma's very good opinion" of him to be "shaken". His aforementioned trip to London for a haircut had "an air of foppery and nonsense in it which she could not approve" and that certainly readers would not approve of either. In comparison, Mr. Knightley is always portrayed as upright, morally and socially conscious and never makes a decision that would so much as even suggest an air of "foppery". Austen appears to reward his character for all of his perceptiveness by dedicating certain chapters and passages to his opinion as seen in his conversation with Mrs. Weston about Emma and Harriet and in the passage about his suspicions of Frank having "inclination to trifle with Jane Fairfax". It is also precisely because readers trust Mr. Knightley's opinion that at times his negative opinions of Frank may influence readers into also having suspicions of Frank's actions, thus presenting him in a bad light.

Ultimately, Mr. Knightley and Frank Churchill's characters can be said, as some critics have noted, to be representations of a man at different levels of maturity. Besides social and moral propriety, age plays a role as well in influencing the characters opinions of each other; Mr. Woodhouse and Miss Bates are both given allowances for peculiar behaviour due to their age and readers may also sometimes sympathise with Emma for being foolish and overly cocky in her youth. As such, Frank Churchill is often times referred to as a "young man" and is sometimes forgiven for frivolous actions as they are put down as a consequence of age. Nevertheless, although Knightley appears to be favoured by the novel as an exemplary man with finer values, both are rewarded at the end of the novel with marriage to partners that they love. In Frank's case some critics have commented that his marriage to Jane; a "superior woman", suggests that while Austen does not always approve of his values or behaviour she still is mildly infatuated with this character's charm.

The education in 1940s Ireland was not the best in my opinion. Children in the hospital were not allowed to read any books that were for personal pleasure or even socialize with other people. I think that interaction with other humans is important. Technology was also not very developed in the 1940s. Today, we have many resources to learn with. Our technology helps us learn in a more intuitive way. We have just about came to the point where paper books are barely used. I would much rather be educated today in 2014 America, then in 1940 Ireland.

In the story, the nun is very strict. She is always coming into their rooms checking on them and asking them to pray the rosary all the time. She does not want Francis and Patricia talking and reading together. The nun did not want them to even laugh! I think laughing is beneficial. It helps you think about what is good. (Page 1145)

When Francis and Patricia want to read poetry from Shakespeare, its not easy. They have to wait till early in the morning or late at night to recite the poetry. They have to do this because there won’t be any nuns or nurses out that early or late. Today, we can openly read any poetry or story without any worry. That children had to secretly read away from the people in the hospital. (Page 1148)

The children in the hospital can not wait till the nurses and nuns leave because they want to read new verses of poetry. These kids are sick and want to do something pleasuring to them. It is one of the only things they can do. I think that this is to harsh. I am glad that I do not have nuns that are that strict. (Page 1149)

The hospital is a place that I would not like to be. I would much rather be learning in today’s day and age because we have so many advantages. we would not have to worry about people finding out about you reading. These kids really have it hard. I am thankful to be living in 2014.

Towards the end of the story, Francis has to leave the hospital because of his bad behavior with Patricia. The nun said that he had a privilege to be at the Fever Hospital. His privilege was taken away because he was talking with a girl and reciting poetry. I think that this is harsh. It doesn’t make it any better when Patricia dies. He has no way of hearing poetry or stories. He also has to learn how to walk again. (Page 1153)

In conclusion, I would much rather be educated in 2014 America. We have so many advantages and technological advances, that I could never imagine learning without. The conditions were harsh and not pleasant. The boy and girl could not even talk or laugh. They also could not read anything together. This shows how much the world of education has changed.