Impact of Human Capital on Economic Development

Impact of Human Capital on Economic Development How human capital contributes to economic development? Introduction The education of a country plays a fundamental role in the development and economic growth since its beginnings in the scientific and intellectual revolution of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, and then the age of enlightenment which corresponds to the eighteenth century where the idea of progress was transmitted, this philosophy comes from the last century. Human capital has been an issue that has caused controversy over its role in the Industrial Revolution. Most economists and economic historians have investigated how the human capital has a major impact on economic performance in a country. The main reason is that individuals invest in education, acquire skills and expertise. This means that everything that they have learned throughout their life is an investment in human capital which in turn seek an economic return. Education provides a high-income to the people and therefore to the economy of their country. It is essential to analyze the contribution of human capital in the economy. In the development of this essay we will explain two theories that are studied when analyzing education variable, these theories are the human capital theory and signaling theory. The question that comes to the mind is whether a high growth of general education generates high economic growth or vice versa? According to the theory and empirical evidence shows that education is leading a high level of economic growth, ie, that there is causality. There are different approaches to private and social returns to education but most empirical studies are based on private returns. The problems that arise in the measurement of education on economic growth of a country are omitted variables and reverse causality. Intellectual Origins of Modern Economic Growth In the sixteenth century the Baconian program diffused knowledge and natural philosophy was applied to solve problems with technology and get economic growth, in this century scientific advances were crucial for industrialization. While in the seventeenth century began the age of enlightenment where institutions encouraged and promoted knowledge and technological advancement, this process without the Industrial Revolution would not have had the same impact. After the the emergence of the countries in the Industrial Revolution some countries became members of the club convergence. Mokyr (2005) argues that the age of enlightenment produced a high level of technological progress. A great and interesting question that we discuss always is why not everyone is developed? According to history, economic growth has been dependent on the diffusion of knowledge. Since the Second World War is a phenomenon the growth of education in almost all countries. David Landes says that The heart of any process of industrialization and economic development is the intellectual. It is important to point out that the technology transfer can be considered as an educational process. Learning certainly depends on the priority to be given to education. Therefore, public policy should address strategies to improve the education system in a country. When laws are proposed to develop a quality educational system we seek the effect of education on economic growth or vice versa? According to the theory, economic growth is a cause of educational growth, but it has also happened independently. Effects of human capital in the economy and its relationship with other variables We ask ourselves whether the expansion of quality education contributes to the development and growth of a country or region? Bjorkland A. and Lindahl M. (2005) argue that the contribution of education to economic development is overestimated and that social returns are not as great as the individual returns (per capita), while others say that the individual returns are larger than social. The main reason is that the contribution of education to the production of the society is lower than the effects of individual income or per capita. There are contradictory arguments about the role of human capital on the development and economic growth, for example, that neither had a big impact nor was the cause of the Industrial Revolution. Baten and Zanden J. L. argue that countries with low human capital had no effect on the Industrial Revolution while countries with better conditions reached the level of Great Britain and other countries surpassed it. Before the seventeenth century, the formation of human capital had a positive impact. The great divergence occurred in the period 1800-1913 where countries with high levels of human capital participated in the Industrial Revolution while less developed countries had no impact. Traditional research has shown that human capital is directly related to individual earnings and aggregate economic growth rate of countries. The problem arises when the amount of education is a premature measure of human capital, especially when the level of human capital between countries is compared. Many of the empirical evidence on human capital until 1990 was based on the amount of education such as the number of years of education. There are discrepancies when data is used for comparisons between countries, it is more reliable to use data of regions within a country (Bjorklund A. Lindahl and M, 2005). The problems of such studies are data limitations that make it difficult to find comparable results across countries. For example if someone might think that a year of education in Ecuador is as productive as one year in Sweden. The person in mention would have to assume that the quality of the education system is identical in the two countries. This causes a problem in the estimation of the allocation of education on economic growth because information is omitted, which in turn generates biased and inconsistent estimates. This could have a negative impact to the educational policies of the countries. For the above reasons, it is necessary to incorporate the quality of education in order to have more reliable results using standardized data of math and science rather than years of schooling data. This variable allows us to consider aspects that are omitted in the measures of amount of education that are often used as proxy for human capital. This means that it is better to use quality indicators that quantity indicators of human capital. According to researchers, when education is measured by quality indicators that reflect the skills and abilities acquired in the work, is what really matters when the economic growth and development is analyzed. In the field of politics, this makes that educational policies be produced, focusing on improving educational attainment and teaching skills and technical knowledge. In addition to, the importance to identify the educational reforms that will need to be undertaken in order to be effective, so that will result in a widespread economic growth. Besides the problems of measures of skill, underestimation of income and consumption and heterogeneity of educational systems, the main topic of discussion among researchers is the inclusion of unobservable factors such as innate ability in the wage equation. Therefore, in order to determine the income of individuals is necessary to know their productivity levels, and assume that these depend only on the years of training and experience, but it is not fully adjusted to the reality. There is causality between education and economic growth? According to studies of comparisons among countries, it has its limitation in the database and we cannot know with certainty whether more education leads to an increase of the GDP or a high GDP causes an increase in the demand of education in the society. A high level of education increases innovation and therefore to a higher economic growth. . One of the main factors that causes an increase in the childrens education is the education of parents. In turn, there is a relationship between education and other variables such as health, life expectancy, crime and political participation. Bjorklund and Lindahl (2005) conclude that there are no external effects that have a great impact on education: on the other hand, they argue that there is empirical evidence demonstrating that education leads to an improvement on health, increases the life expectancy of people, has greater political participation, reduces the crime rate and that children of educated people become more productive. These authors argue that education may not be a variable that has a great impact on the economic development of a country and that the measure of GDP is too small to capture the full effects. Additionally, when analyzing variations among countries and regions is difficult to capture all the positive effects. Is education a sign? Human Capital Theory and Signaling Theory To know whether education is a sign, we should know about the human capital and signaling theories. These theories explain the human capital and inequality of wages earned by people. With Human Capital Theory wages through education and experience are determined. While signaling theory presents that people are educated to provide signals to employers according to their skills but it is not considered the education as a mechanism that generates stock of human capital. The implications of these two theories is the productivity of individuals and the social costs of education. Most authors agree that education generates increases in the productive capacity of individuals and also provide their information to entrepreneurs through signals concerning to education Wage differences are also differences in productivity? There is a causal effect that is used to differentiate between a low and a high educated workforce, Morette (2004). Entrepreneurs rely on indexes and individual signals to determine the marginal productivity of the individual and thus assign them a salary that matches the expectations from that information. According to the idea of signaling, individuals can create their chances of wages and job through education, due to the fact that they acquire signals that make them more attractive in the labor market. From the point of view of workers, since they perceive the possibility to increase profits through the information of their own abilities, they will try to increase the resources earmarked to acquire this information, Stiglitz (1975). Human capital theories have been developed to give an explanation of the formation of wages. Despite the limitations that still exist in the database, the continuous effort to include relevant variables in human capital investigations has allowed to confirm the initial hypothesis of human capital of Becker and Mincer. The assumptions of this theory are questioned when Spence proposes that education is used by individuals as signals that provide information about the skills of individuals. Both theories maintain that the effects that education has on earnings of life cycle are positive. While human capital theory argues that wage determinants are education and experience that enable to the individual to acquire the skills to do a job , the signaling hypothesis of authors like Arrow, Spence and Stiglitz raises education as a process providing labels to workers to present these labels to employers in the selection process , but not a process that increase the real productivity of individuals. In this difference in the implications of teaching on individual productivity of each of the two theories we find the interest in knowing about the theory that explains the formation of wages in labor markets. In the event that the signaling hypothesis is confirm, individuals would go to educate themselves for the sole purpose of obtaining signals to provide to employers, in this case they are not developing their skills to be more productive, and they do not generate stock of hum an capital. In contrast, the predictions of the theory of human capital imply that education is still profitable for individuals and for society probably. Los estudios tratan de discriminar entre las dos teorà ­as y asà ­ conocer la relevancia de las polà ­ticas educativas sobre la economà ­a, aunque descartar cualquiera de las dos limita la respuesta de conocer los elementos que determinan los salarios. Se han desarrollado en los à ºltimos aà ±os modelos que muestran que la educacià ³n sigue resultando una inversià ³n rentable para los individuos y para la sociedad y, a la vez, que los empleadores la toman como una informacià ³n disponible acerca de la habilidad de los individuos. Studies attempting to discriminate between the two theories and to know the importance of education policies on the economy, but discard any of the two theories, limits the response to know the elements that determine wages. It has been developed in recent years models showing that education is proving a profitable investment for individuals and for society and, at the same time, that employers take it as information available about the ability of individuals. Social and private returns to education The social return to education is broader and has its effect on the public budget. Finally, different authors have used different approaches to the analysis of the returns to education through private and social rates, average or marginal rates, depending on the purpose of the study. According to Psacharopoulos G. (1985) the returns are higher when primary education in a country is analyzed and private rates increase after the secondary level. He argues that private returns exceed social returns because public education is subsidized by the government. Returns to private education include all the benefits and costs incurred by an individual, while the social discount rate includes supported by institutions, in addition to the taxes associated with education. Studies tend to focus on the analysis of private returns to education, regardless of social profitability. Very few investigations have been done about the impact that has the public financing in the decision of individuals or the social impact of subsidies on education. The returns to education are overestimated when based on the income of workers in all sectors. There is overinvestment in all levels of education. Problems in measuring education Two problems are presented. When data of education and income at aggregate level is used, the estimations are larger due to external effects while when individual or per capita income estimates are used, the estimations are smaller. For the above reasons, there exist a presence of Reverse Causality, ie that rich countries invest heavily in education and has compulsory education while in other countries, individuals choose to educate themselves. The other problem is the omission of variables when making estimations of the effect of education on economic growth. In these cases high estimates for the omitted variables and reverse causality are produced. When measuring the impact of education on economic growth is very different when the level of GDP or the GDP growth is used, this latter variable measures the expected effect of growth on the level of education. Because problems arise when taking into account data from countries Krueger and Lindahl (2001) recommend using data between regions of a country. In addition to education, there are other factors that affect education and economic growth of a country, such as the level of capital-intensive and technology development. FINAL REMARKS The Scientific Revolution and the Age of Enlightenment had a great importance in the process of industrialization due to technological progress and knowledge and thus on economic growth of countries. In the nineteenth century, there was the Great Divergence where countries with high level of education had a great impact on the Industrial Revolution while countries with low human capital had no effect. Cuando se realizan las mediciones de la educacià ³n y su efecto en el crecimiento de la economà ­a se presentan dos problemas de estimacià ³n que es la omisià ³n de variables y el reverse causality. Hay que utilizar datos de buena calidad y todas las variables necesarias para que sea una estimacià ³n consistente. Es recomendable realizar el anà ¡lisis en base a un mismo paà ­s porque si se realizan comparaciones entre paà ­ses los datos tienen sus limitaciones. When measurements of education and its effect on the growth of the economy are performed, we find two estimation problems that are the omission of variables and reverse causality. It is important to use good quality data and also the most important variables in order to have consistent estimators. It is recommended that the analysis is based inside a country because if comparisons are made among countries, data have a lot of limitations. It is true that a high level of education generates high economic growth, but there is also evidence that progress occurs independently. If the population reaches a high achievement in the education level, the productivity in the economy will improve, achieving a high growth economy. Wage differentials reflect a greater productive value of human capital which is a component contributing to national production. Another effect on schooling as a result of good health positively affects education. Similar effects which would be obtained with increased productivity and growth. Education has an impact with the reduced growing in the population, meaning that much of the population reduces birth rates. The birth number of children affects the physical ability to work for women and their productivity. This is very approximate to the effect of the health variable. Education does not have a large effect on the agricultural sector because technology affects this sector. Education affects the labor market because it makes more people involved, increase the number of trained people and grow at a high rate of labor force participation. When an education policy aimed at improving the level of income distribution is implemented should consider the groups that will be affected, then the results may be different depending on the treatment group and the affected group. For developing economies is difficult to give an indication of the impact of education on productivity and growth but will be even more difficult in low-income countries. Given the inefficient and non-transparent political and economic systems of many of these countries the returns to private education are met through non-productive activities. This means that in order to increase the relevance of education to economic growth is necessary to undertake a restructuring of the political and economic framework. BIBLIOGRAPHY Baten J. Zanden J.L . â€Å"Book Production and the Onset of Modern Economic Growth†, Barcelona. Bjorklund A Lindahl M. (2005), â€Å"Education and Economic Developmrent. What does empirical show about causal relationships?†. Institution for Social Research Easterlin R. (1981), â€Å" Why Isn ´t the Whole World Development?†. Journal of Economic History, Vol.41, No. 1, pp. 1-19. Mokyr J. (2005), â€Å"The Intellectual Origins of Modern Economic Growth†. Journal of Economic History, Vol. 65, No. 2. Psacharopoulos G. (1985), â€Å" Returns to Education: A Further International Update and Implications†. Journal of Human Resources, Vol. 20, No. 4. Sianesi B y Van Reenen (2003), â€Å" The Returns to Education: Macroeconomics†. Journal of Economic Surveys, Vol.17, No. 2.

Leadership, Power and Politics

Conflict,   Management and leadership Conflict is a natural outcome originating due to individual and group interaction. It is a ‘friction’ produced due to emotions and behaviors of people working closely rubbing against each other. When people from various backgrounds and beliefs work together, consciously or unconsciously they try to pass their own principles in work aspects creates conflict. However, conflict is not always destructive or regressive. When well managed and directed, it has great utility in substantially improving an organization’s functional and production aspects, along with helping individuals to evolve a joint   philosophy of work and cooperation. However, poorly managed conflict situation impairs the organizational outcome, creating stress, introducing   dissatisfaction and reducing efficiency. Characteristics of Conflict The round the clock work schedules, trans-national nature of jobs, and strain in today’s world have worked together to make conflict an unavoidable part in life of people. Work related stress, with pressures of deadline, critical levels of responsibility, problems of resource allocation and management, setting, defining and achieving challenging goals, and all the time trying to coordinate with different individuals give rise to perfect conditions for   conflict to emerge within organizations (Bergman and Volkema, 1989). But before any attempt to resolve conflict it is important to understand the characteristics of conflict that an organization generally faces. According to Baron (1990), a study of various organizational parameters indicated towards five characteristics of conflict . These are 1. Conflict due to contrasting or opposing field of interests between or among individuals or groups. 2. Recognition of these opposing interests by the interested parties 3. Conflict centers on a perception by each side that its opposing party would injure its interests 4. Conflict is not a stage, rather a process and it results from the way individual and groups define their relations through the past interaction 5. Actions and efforts by each party with the intention of negating other’s goals. Conflict management and leadership Leadership has a great role to play in conflict resolution. A leader with qualities with excellent communication, understanding and negotiation can be instrumental in bringing the positive outcome through the issues involved in the conflict. As the business and corporate management has realized, leadership greatly helps to alleviate conflict situation due to its inspirational value. Leadership essentially about encouraging   people to pool themselves together towards achieving common goals and objectives (Rosenbach and Taylor, 1998, 1. Leadership further empowers individuals, helps them to rise above their rank and position within the organization to associate themselves and their colleagues with specific works, duties and responsibilities and enables them to identify and set their own directions, work on commitment and take challenges.   (Day and Halpin, 2004, 3). Its not surprising then that companies are ready to invest hugely in leadership development program, as a guaranteed way to emerge ahead than their competitors. Within every social, institutional or organizational structure, a leader is always looked upon the person with abilities to broach reconciliation and resolution in situation of conflict. Leadership entails elements of power and authority that are critical to acquire influence. There are five power bases for a leader, as identified by French and Raven (1959). They are 1. Legitimate power: the power that comes by virtue of the position and command to control behavior. 2. Coercive power: It is the leader’s control over persuasion and ability to take symbolic punitive actions in case of dissent 3. Reward power: It is the leader’s control over granting rewards 4. Expert power: These are the specialties that a leader attains due to knowledge and experience and that he is expected to possess and use in conflict resolution 5. Referent power: This is the power over over subordinate or group members to identify the leader Leaders may opt for one, some or   a combination or all of these power bases to attain conflict management and resolution by influencing the psychological and social dimension of conflict, trust, and authority (Johnson and Short, 1994 :Leadership (Power and Politics) Leadership is not a characteristic that exists in isolation. As it is defined, leadership implies establishing coordination, orientation, cooperation, and collaboration among the followers to accomplish designated objectives and goals. It is   possible when leaders can inspire their followers with respect, admiration, discipline, confidence in the abilities of the leader while being helped to envision themselves as empowered individuals (Brown and Lord, 2004, 2). A good leader has the ability to take over even most complex, demanding and otherwise impossible condition by exhibiting personal integrity, ethical and moral traits and values that other can relate to and aspire to imbibe in their own conduct (Laurie, 2000, 53). Here it is important to distinguish personal charisma from leadership, as personal charisma, being an person specific phenomena, can awe people but hardly give them impetus to follow in the footsteps of the leader. Leadership is also means natural acquisition of power and potential to change its equation affect over the leaders and their followers. There inherent dangers associated with power, and for most of the people, the timeless adage-‘power corrupts’ suits justly. Power contains a temptation that is hard to resist and has potential to become the ultimate goal for a person rather the tool that was designated in helping to achieve the goals.   But a genuine leader understands this irony of power and therefore believes that power should be shared with others so that it can grow. The real power of leaders is their   ability to inspire others with a sense of power and confidence (Champy and Nohria, 1999, 165). According to Reigel’s (1979) theory of development, the relevant categories to leadership practices and conflict management are: 1. Optimism-faith in goodness of humanity. It works on the principle of faith in inherent goodness of humanity with a sense that goals and objective are achievable. 2. Interconnectedness-responsibility for the whole. The principle is extension of sense of responsibility to greater issues affecting the world that connects individual with the entire humanity. 3. The contradictory nature of things. It teaches about recognizing and respecting that contradiction occurs in people, their experience and circumstances. 4. Life is characterized by crises. Recognition that crises and conflicts are inbuilt of component of life and progress is achieved by incorporating them in the philosophy towards life. 5. Kinship with others. It stresses on building associations and help in realizing that every one is important and deserves equal respect from others. 6. The opposition. It teaches about taking opposition as contradiction, instead of viewing it in negative perspective. 7. Acknowledging other’s contribution. It stresses on frank and appreciative acknowledgment of success and achievements of others Reference Baron, R. A. (1990). Conflict in organizations. In K. R. Murphy & F. E. Saal (Eds.), Psychology in organizations: Integrating science and practice (pp. 197–216). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum Bergmann T. J., and   Volkema R. J. ( 1989). â€Å"Understanding and managing interpersonal conflict at work: Its issues, interactive processes, and consequences†. In M. A. Rahim (Ed.), Managing Conflict : An inter-disciplinary approach (pp. 7-19). New York: Praeger Brown DJ and   Lord, RG,   2004, Leadership Processes and Follower Self-Identity,   Lawrence Erlbaum Mahwah, NJ. Champy J, Nohria N, 1999, The Arc of Ambition: Defining the Leadership Journey, Perseus Books (Current Publisher: Perseus PublishingCambridge, MA. Day DV and Halpin SM, 2004, Leader Development for Transforming Organizations: Growing Leaders for Tomorrow,   (edit) David V. Day, Stanley M. Halpin, Stephen J. Zaccaro, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates,   Mahwah, NJ. French, Jr., J.R.P., & Raven, B. (1959). The bases social power. In Dorwin Cartwright (edit.), Studies in social power (pp. 150-157). Ann Arbor, MI: Researc Center for Group Dynamics, Institute for Social Research, The University of Michigan Johnson, P.E and Short, P.M (1994). Exploring the Links among Teacher Empowerment, Leader Power and Conflict. Education. Volume: 114. Issue: 4. Page Number: 581+. Laurie DL, 2000, The Real Work of Leaders: A Report from the Front Lines of Management, Perseus Books (Current Publisher: Perseus Publishing, Cambridge, MA Riegel KF. Foundations of Dialectical Psychology. New York: Academic Press, 1979. Rosenbach WE and Taylor RL, 1998, Contemporary Issues in Leadership, (edit) William E. Rosenbach, Robert L. Taylor, Westview Press,Boulder, CO.                   Leadership, Power and Politics Leadership is the process of influencing others to act to accomplish specific objectives. Leaders are the key movers of an organization and they are able to inspire and motivate their members to work towards the attainment of goals. In the past, leadership have been thought of as a quality that only the elite managers possess, however reality is, each one of us possess and may develop our leadership skills. Being a leader is not an easy job, it takes creativity, innovativeness, discipline, passion and an open mind. It is said that leaders emerge in times of change and turmoil; it is a fact that when the going gets tough, leaders are there to get things done. Opportunities for change however must be sought out and seized by the leader. It is a necessary element in the exercise of leadership, for leadership is at its best when there is an opportunity to grow, innovate and to improve. A leader can accomplish this by treating every job as an adventure, by deciding that each day is an opportunity to learn something new or to discover better ways of accomplishing things, the leader is more able to initiate changes that would be for the greater good of the group. When a leader seeks meaningful challenges, it allows the leader to work with passion and commitment that is personally gratifying and hence is able to effectively work for the group. With that, the leader also find and create meaningful challenges for others, when members feel that they are valued and trusted by their leaders to be able to accomplish realistic and challenging goals, they become more committed and become better workers. This means that the leader provides his/her members too become intrinsically motivated to rise to the challenge. As a leader, it is important that he/she make the workplace fun, happy people are more productive and they like going to work everyday because it is a happy place. as such, when an organization is so used to doing things in the same way, it leads to complacency and even deterioration, thus a leader must be able to question the status quo, this would mean that as a leader he/she must actively look for systems or programs that have outlived its usefulness and be creative enough to provide new ideas. Renewing teams in any organization is necessary in order to breathe new life to the team, a shuffling of departments or the movement of positions would reenergize the team and possibly generate new ideas and opportunities. Lastly, the leader should adopt an open approach to searching for opportunities. It is an acceptance of the leader that he/she does not have the monopoly of ideas and it is necessary to be aware of what is happening outside and inside the organization. Being an effective leader also takes the ability to experiment and takes risks and to learn from mistakes. Leaders if for some twist of fate have always been thought of as someone who can transform any organization form the brink of death to greater heights. But in reality, it is the scientific and objective leader who is able to appreciate the importance of carrying out mini experiments of new processes that would in the end be more cost-effective than to rush and implement a program or process that have not been tested. Experiments are for introducing new products while creating or developing models in specific departments of new processes will give the leader an objective assessment of the possibility of success or failure of the new process. The leader is not the sole experimenter, he/she must encourage other to experiment also, but at times it is faced with fear and apprehension, thus the leader should assure the members that it is safe to experiment. When a person is so set in his/her ways then it is difficult to initiate change, the leader therefore must be able to break the mind set of its people, to become more open to new ideas and change. An enormous change may be anxiety provoking for members, the leader thus should break up the changes into small challenges that members can accomplish one at a time. People work better if they know that their ideas and feelings are respected and that if what they are doing is of their own choice, a leader should give each person the opportunity to make their own choices. A leader must learn how to say yes to the ideas and opinions of its members, by saying yes more frequently than but or no, it would be easier for the leader to also solicit the cooperation of its people. A leader is not a Greek hero who has supernatural powers, he/she can make mistakes and a true leader has the grace and humility to accept his/her mistakes and to learn from it. Lastly, a leader should also be able to evaluate the effectiveness of the new programs or changes that he/she has carried out in the company and this exercise should be a collaborative effort with input from the different members of the organization. Knowing what may cause the failure of an innovation would go a long way in improving that product or process. It is true that leaders emerge out of the difficulties or major changes in an organization, and being a leader is no easy job, and one can always make use of information that would help enhance or develop our leadership skills. I found this as the advantage of the concepts, it provides true-to-life examples of how a leader is able to seize opportunities for change and why it is important to experiment and learn from mistakes. The disadvantages of the concepts however is that it is too abstract and sometimes it is difficult to relate to a job as mundane as selling cigarettes and that most of the examples involve large organizations wherein leaders are often the head of the department or the organization. Although the chapters do provide pointers on what an ordinary person could do to become a leader and it is a practical guide. The chapters present the concept as a series of things to do or things to learn, and not all could be applied at the same time to a single organization. In my experience as a cigarette store owner, I am limited by the products that sell the most; I may provide my customers with new brands or novel cigarettes but since smokers tend to stick to one brand. I may be able to innovate probably in giving freebies to loyal customers or be creative by using bonus coupons that they could exchange for premium brands. Moreover, I do not have a staff and hence my leadership skills are not harnessed. On the other hand I work part time in a gasoline station and work with other people but again a gasoline station is one of the most normal and stable organization there is. Thus, unless if the gasoline station gets sold or merged with another store, then maybe it would be time for me to rise to that challenge. On the other hand, learning about leadership has been exciting and very challenging, it tells me that I can be a leader someday; it also made me become aware of some of my personal characteristics that is akin to leaders. I would like to share to others what I have learned about leadership, sometimes we do not know that we possess the ability to be leaders if other people don’t acknowledge it, I would also tell them of the things that a good leader should be able to accomplish. That said, there are different leadership styles which a person may favor and use in different situations. Leadership styles include autocratic leadership, bureaucratic leadership charismatic leadership, participative leadership, Laissez-faire leadership, relations-oriented leadership, servant leadership, task-oriented leadership, transactional leadership and transformational leadership. Personally, I think that participative leadership is the best among the styles because although the leader has the final say in the decisions concerning issues on organizational change; it allows the members of the organization to contribute their ideas and thoughts. This communicate that the leader value and respects its members and thus increase job satisfaction of members and cultivates a culture of collaboration and cooperation that every organization needs to get things done. Reference Kouzes, J. & Posner, B. (2002). The Leadership Challenge.   California: Jossey-Bass      

Ellen Craft Abolitionist and Educator

Known for: escaped from enslavement to become an active abolitionist and educator, wrote with her husband a book about their escape Dates: 1824 - 1900 About Ellen Craft Ellen Craft’s mother was an enslaved woman of African descent and some European ancestry, Maria, in Clinton, Georgia.  Her father was the enslaver of her mother, Major James Smith.  Smith’s wife did not like Ellen’s presence, as she resembled Major Smith’s family.  When Ellen was eleven years old, she was sent to Macon, Georgia, with a daughter of the Smith’s, as a wedding gift to the daughter. In Macon, Ellen met William Craft, an enslaved man, and craftsman. They wanted to marry, but Ellen did not want to bear any children as long as they would also be enslaved at birth, and could be separated as she was from her mother.  Ellen wanted to defer marriage until they escaped, but she and William could not find a workable plan, given how far they would have to travel on foot through states where they could be found out.  When the â€Å"owners† of the two gave permission for them to marry in 1846, they did so. Escape Plan In December of 1848, they came up with a plan.  William later said it was his plan, and Ellen said it was hers.  Each said, in their story, that the other resisted the plan at first.  Both stories agree: the plan was for Ellen to disguise herself as a white male slaveowner, traveling with William, as her slave.  They recognized that a white woman would be far less likely to be traveling alone with a black man.  Ã‚  They would take traditional transportation, including boats and trains, and thus make their way more safely and quickly than by foot.  To begin their journey, they had passes to visit friends on another family’s land, a distance away, so it would be some time before their escape was noticed. This ruse would be difficult, as Ellen had never learned to write – they both had learned the rudiments of the alphabet, but not more.  Their solution was to have her right arm in a cast, to excuse her from signing hotel registers. She dressed in men’s clothing which she had secretly sewn herself, and she cut her hair short in a men’s hairstyle. She wore shaded glasses and bandages on her head, pretending to be sickly to account for her small size and weaker condition than an elite white man would likely be in. The Journey North They left on December 21, 1848.  They took trains, ferries, and steamers as they crossed from Georgia into South Carolina to North Carolina and Virginia, then into Baltimore, on a five-day trip.  They arrived in Philadelphia on December 25.  The trip almost ended before it began when, on their first train, she found herself sitting next to a white man who had been at her enslaver’s home for dinner just the day before. She pretended that she could not hear him when he asked her a question, fearing that he could recognize her voice, and she spoke curtly when she could no longer ignore his loud questioning.  In Baltimore, Ellen met the danger posed by being challenged for papers for William by challenging the official strongly. In Philadelphia, their contacts put them in touch with Quakers and freed black men and women. They spent three weeks in the home of a white Quaker family, Ellen suspicious of their intentions.  The Ivens family began to teach Ellen and William to read and write, including writing their own names. Life in Boston After their brief stay with the Ivens family, Ellen and William Craft went to Boston, where they were in touch with the circle of abolitionists including William Lloyd Garrison and Theodore Parker.  They began speaking in abolitionist meetings for a fee to help sustain themselves, and Ellen applied her seamstress skills. Fugitive Slave Act In 1850, with the passage of the Fugitive Slave Act, they could not remain in Boston.  The family that had enslaved them in Georgia sent catchers to the north with papers for their arrest and return, and under the new law, there would be little question.  President Millard Fillmore insisted that if the Crafts were not turned over, he would send the United States Army to enforce the law.  Abolitionists hid the Crafts and protected them, then helped them to get out of the city via Portland, Maine, to Nova Scotia and from there to England. English Years In England, they were promoted by abolitionists as proof against the prejudice of inferior mental abilities in those from Africa.  William was the main spokesperson, but Ellen also sometimes spoke. They also continued to study, and the widow of the poet Byron found a place for them to teach in a rural trade school that she had founded. The first child of the Crafts was born in England in 1852.  Four more children followed, for a total of four sons and one daughter (also named Ellen). Moving to London in 1852, the couple published their story as Running a Thousand Miles for Freedom, joining a genre of slave narratives that were used to help promote the end of slavery.  After the American Civil War broke out, they worked to convince the British not to enter the war on the side of the Confederacy.  Near the end of the war, Ellen’s mother came to London, with the help of British abolitionists.  William made two trips to Africa during this time in England, establishing a school in Dahomey.  Ellen especially supported a society for aid to freedmen in Africa and the Caribbean. Georgia In 1868, after the war had ended, Ellen and William Craft and two of their children moved back to the United States, purchasing some land near Savannah, Georgia, and opening a school for black youth.  To this school they dedicated years of their life.  In 1871 they bought a plantation, hiring tenant farmers to produce crops which they sold around Savannah.  Ellen managed the plantation during William’s frequent absences. William ran for the state legislature in 1874 and was active in state and national Republican politics.  He also traveled north to fundraise for their school and to raise consciousness about conditions in the South.  They eventually abandoned the school amid rumors that they were taking advantage of the funding of people from the North. Around 1890, Ellen went to live with her daughter, whose husband, William Demos Crum, would later be a minister to Liberia.  Ellen Craft died in 1897 and was buried on their plantation.  William, living in Charleston, died in 1900.

Annotated Bibliography On Vascular Access Essay - 972 Words

Vascular Access Usually, accessing vascular structures is done through a needle to puncture the vessel percutaneously, followed by a wire introduced through the needle to secure the vascular access. The needle is then removed and a sheath is advanced over the wire. Vascular sheaths are hollow structures with a built in diaphragm to prevent bleeding. Catheters are then placed into and out of the sheath with a minimal loss of blood.11 Access to the Cardiovascular System Femoral arterial and venous access is traditionally the method of choice in infancy. The right and/or the left groins may be used. This port of access provides advantage of being away from the thoracic region for ease of catheter manipulation away from the radiographic cameras surrounding the child’s thorax. Umbilical arterial and venous access can be used in newborn babies up to 7 days of age. Other alternative route for arterial access includes: carotid artery, brachial artery, and axillary artery. On the other hand, alternative venous access includes: internal jugular vein, subclavian vein, axillary vein, and transhepatic venous access. Alternative vascular access (ARVA) is occasionally required due to the lack of femoral vascular patency or the need to position the catheter at a particular trajectory not provided through the traditional femoral access. The use of ARVA is safe and effective for performing a wide variety of interventions across. In addition, its use may imp rove the results of selected