Use Of Power In Organizations

Use Of Power In Organizations Personal power is power that resides with an individual, regardless of his or her position in the organization. Someone usually exercise personal power through rational persuasion or by playing of followers identifications with him or her. An individual with personal power often can inspire greater loyalty and dedication in followers than someone who has only position power. The stronger influence from the fact that the followers are acting more from choice than from necessity and thus will respond more readily to request and appeals. Of course the influence of a leader who relies only on personal power is limited, because followers may freely decided not to accept his or her directives or orders. The distinctions between formal and informal leaders are also related to position and personal power .A formal leader will have , at minimum, position power. And an informal leader will similarly have some degree of personal power. Just as a person may be both a formal and an informal leader, he or she can have both position and personal power simultaneously. Indeed such a combination usually has the greatest potential influence on the action of others. An individual with both personal and position power will have the strongest overall power. Likewise , an individual with neither personal nor position power will have the weakest overall power. Finally when either personal or position power is high but the other is low, the individual will have a moderate level or overall power. The Uses of Power in Organizations Power can be used in many ways in an organization. But because of the potential for its misuse and the concerns that it may engender, it is important that the mangers fully understand the dynamics of using power. In using expert power, managers aware of their education, experience, and accomplishments as they apply to current circumstances. But to maintain credibility , a leader should not pretend to know things that he or she really does not know. A leader whose pretension are exposed will rapidly lose expert power. A confident and decisive leader demonstrate a firm grasp of situations and takes charge when circumstances. Managers should also keep themselves informed about development related to tasks that are valuable to the organization and relevant to their expertise. A leader who recognizes employee concerns works to understand the underlying nature of these issues and takes appropriate steps to reassure subordinates. For e.g. , if employees feel threatened by rumors that they will lose office space after the next move, the leader might ask them about this concern and then find out just how much office space there will be and tell the subordinates, a leader should be careful not to flaunt expertise or behave like a he know everything. Suppose a manager has asked subordinates to spend his day finishing an important report. Later, while the manager is out of the office, the manager boss comes and ask the subordinates to drop that project and work on something else. The subordinates will then be in the akward position of having to choose which of two higher-ranking individuals to obey. Exercising authority regularly wil reinforce its presence in the eyes of subordinates. Verifying compliances simply means that leaders should find out whether subordinates have carried out their request before giving rewards otherwise subordinates may not recognize the linkage between their performance and subsequent reward. The request that is to be rewarded must be both reasonable and feasible, of course, because even the promise of a reward will not motivate a subordinates who thinks a request should not or cannot be carried out. The same can be said for a request that seems improper or unethical. Among other things, the follower may see a reward linked to an improper or ethical request. Finally if the leader promises a reward that subordinates know she or he cannot actually deliver , or if they have little use for a reward the manager can deliver, they will not be motivated to carry out the request. Further , they may grow sceptical of the leaders ability to deliver rewards that are worth something to them. Bases of Power Leaders are not automatically endowed an unlimited amount of power over subordinates . leaders also differ in terms of the sources of bases upon which power over subordinates can be exerted. There are five different powers that affect leadership which include expert power, referent power, legitimate power, reward power and coercive power. The first base of power is labelled coercive power. The basis of the influence is the fact that one person can punish another. Thus , a subordinates may do what a leader request because the leader has the power to fire the subordinates. Although the threat of punishment may give a leader considerable power over subordinates ,coercive power generally is not a very efficient base of power. The second power base described by French and Raven is labelled reward power. This is essentially the opposite of coercive power. That is subordinates do what the leader wants because the leader has the ability to reward them in some way. For example, a subordinates may comply with a leader request that he or she work overtime because the leader has the power to grant this employee a larger pay increase when raised are given out. The Third power base is labelled legimate power. This power emanates from the position that one holds in an organization. In most organization settings, the fact that one employees is another employee is another employees supervisor means that the supervisor has a legimate right to make request of the other person. Note that this legitimate right is independent of the person holding the position. The Fourth power base is expert power. This is power based on the fact that an individual is perceived as an expert on something to ask a group of subordinates to work on a weekend may bring the group before making the request. When exchange is used as an influence tactics, the leader offers subordinates something in return for complying with the request, or perhaps offers them a share of the benefits that accrue when a task iis accomplished. The fifth is Pressure. This involves the use of demands ,threats ,or persistent monitoring to make subordinates comply with a request . Suppose a supervisor wants to make sure a subordinates is on time every morning. One way to do this would be check the persons desk to see if he or she is present by the required time. Although pressure may at times get leader the behaviour they desire, this almost always comes in the form of compliance on the part of the employee. Leadership Good leaders are gifted, everyone cant lead it . If you have the desire and willpower, you can become an effective leader. Good leaders develop through a never ending process, of self-study, education, training, and experience. To inspire the workers to a higher levels of teamwork, there are certain things to, know, . It do not come naturally, but when we acquired through continual work and study. Good leaders practices are continually works and studying to improve their leadership skills. Before we get started, lets define leadership. Leadership is a process by which a person influences others, the objective and directs the organization in a way that makes it more cohesive and coherent. The most popular definitions is that leadership is a quality of the persons possess that allows them to rule, and lead other people. That quality consists of a persons charisma, power of thought, intellectual potential, organizational talents, and sense of responsibility. Other leadership essays examples give a different definition: leadership is concrete knowledge of psychology and social interaction, anyone can certainly develop the ability to be a leader. We have seen someone ordinary leading a company or an organization. We have seen someone who is leading a country, but has no charisma, no special skills. There is little doubt youll answer no. We can give the example of Hitler whenever he gives the speech everyone claps he was just a amazing person but the secret is whenever he comes in the stage he used to practice in front of mirror .Unfortunately, there are so many people in our world who are in the top positions, who have influence and power, although nobody really sees a real leader in them. Perhaps being a leader simply means being in a position over other people. Of course, their are some strategy to lead someone is to have the skills to make someone undertake what you want. Although it does not signify that this someone has no other solution. A real leader is someone who is respected by other people and due to this respect is followed by them. Being a leader demands something distinctive should be there in a person something that makes him or her special, something stronger, and probably better than others so he compete with others. Thats why its not correct to think its virtually anyone can easily be a leader but not the perfect. Of course, to be a good one, we should improve our self, gain more and more practical knowledge as well as the experience, although with effort the leadership potential we can become a good leader. The Power of Leadership What is leadership? What is power? We define the two as a cornerstone of any successful team, organization, or for any successful country. If there to analyze the U.S. we could see this very clearly. The U.S. is the leader and one of the most dominating countries in the world, hence being called world power. What we estimate that leadership compliments from power, and power compliments leadership. When these two qualities are used in a responsible manner success soon and follows the right path . If we refer to the history books, we can come to the conclusion that wars are won by good leadership and a responsible use of power. Whenever we mention the word Power most of the people will think that power is evil, corrupt, self-serving, manipulative and hurtful. When we used power is in an ethical and in purposeful way, there is nothing evil about it. Leadership is interpersonal influence, exercised in a situation, and directed, through communication process ,and it is an attainment of a specified goal or goals. If we would delegate responsibility to someone, we need to analyse that person with the power as well. Managers and leaders always commit the mistake of giving people responsibility, and not giving them the actual power so that they can execute their responsibilities well. How many people have we met that they are frustrated with their jobs simply because they had job responsibilities that they did not have much power to fulfil. They try their very best, but they gave resigned or frustrated because they realize they simply do not have the better resources; decision making power; time to fulfill it. In other words, they were given a task, but they were not given the resources to complete that task. Leadership, power and influence is a theme within management or the organization that is constantly developing. Leaders are now a days developing new and innovative ways to empower themselves and the followers in order to get the best out of them they follow the leaders to become like him or her the advantage is that the work is done properly and the followers. We have decided to look at the assumption that what leadership is based on,and the different types of relationships between the people, rather than the skills and abilities of just one person. We know this theory allows for a large network of interaction of people from all walks of life, they have the ability to shape these people through the influence and power of the leader. So the objective was to examine the forms of power and the relationships of different power. There are five sources of power that are commonly referred to when describing leadership. The different approaches with supporting evidence gathered from successful leaders. They demonstrated the challenges experienced it face the reality and how they have overcome from the situation ,these obstacles through the use of leadership, power and influence. Different leadership patterns are applicable to different genders, while these behavioral strategies note above present unique solutions for men and women. It is believed that females as a rule would have softer leadership styles related to care, nurture and sensuality rather than to ruthless and aggressive search for the implementation of the corporate objectives. Females as a rule stress the importance of relationship while men stress the importance of a task. Still, there are many examples of task oriented females and caring males. Also it is believed that females in the organizations are likely to gain authority only if the company deals with people and relations rather than with some dry figures and statistics. Leadership, as one can say involves the following four things Motivating other people. Some leaders and some must be followers. The leaders comes front in time when needed or crisis and present innovative solution. Leaders know what they want, to achieve and what is their ambition. The behavioural theory of leadership was created after the followers of the trait leadership theory could not find enough traits to explain why some people choose good leaders and why some could only be followers. The reason is the most logical way was to explore how the leaders behaved in their daily activities and especially towards their followers. The leadership would makes group of different behavioural patterns and activities together and then put a label on them calling them in styles. Concern for task. This behaviour of leaders is represented by tangible and calculable achievement linked which improved productivity of the organization of labor and motivation the personnel. Concern for people. This behaviour of leaders is represented by the tangible concern for people who works in the organization and have desire to establish proper relations rather than to treat them as units of production and corporate overhead. In this manner the leader establishes the group called the old boy club where each worker would become very much comfortable. Thus, if needed, each worker will give their best to do even more to make other friends happy. Directive leadership. This behavioural leadership style is represented by the leaders taking continuously and takes the decisions for other, and expecting the others rather to follow the instructions. Participative leadership. This behavioural leadership style is represented by the leaders goals to engage people make them busy to the task and increase their commitment by allowing them to make decisions for the company they work for. As a rule the leadership would use any two of the four general leadership styles shown above, they redesign them or rename them, plot them on some graph and then establish mixed strategy. Many others leadership would use other combinations and plot other leadership styles and schemes based on the leadership behaviour. Speaking about some practical situation, it is believed that those leaders engaged in participative and people-oriented leadership, they can enjoy better employee motivation and satisfaction leadership styles. Conclusion The power and bases of leadership is the day to day needs of human beings, and what i found while doing these assignment is Leader didnt came in the earth by god gifted. They make them self to become a good leader the one who have desire to become a leader he or she should work on it, give effort, gain knowledge, and practically do some research so that he or she could lead others. The leader should have the quality to motivate others make himself the brand image so people follow him or her.It is not the easy task to lead a country or a followers the courage should be build on him/her so that he/she could utilize the power of the leader. He/she should have decision making abilities and he/she should take the decision which will give them fame .Finally i would like to conclude by saying that everything is possible if you have the goals.

My Private Library Essay -- Descriptive Essay

Just like waking up in the morning and inhaling my first conscious-breath of the day, reading is something essential to me. As I child, I used to dream of having my own and private reading place where I would sit and spend my whole day reading my favorite books without any disturbance. Thanks to my dreams, I now have a wonderful private library in my house. This place is not similar to any other ordinary library but a mini place where you can find a massive number of interesting books of different varieties. Before you come into my library, you will have to obey a simple rule which is not that difficult to follow. Well, it is to be loaded with high reading spirit and I bet you that you will have no space in your heart to say good bye to this place. I can assure you on that as I myself experience the same thing everyday before I leave to work. As I sip my daily morning black coffee from my special coffee mug, I walk into my private library which has an automatic opening and a small hall as we enter. Just beside the couch which is in the hall, there is a mini map on the types of...

The impact of Climatic Change on the Decline of Black French Truffle

Introduction1.2 BackgroundTruffles grow under a very sensitive environment; they naturally occur in the Mediterranean region of Europe. This has been a mysterious crop grown under a veil of secrecy for years in this region of Europe (Ruffles Estate, 2013). This crop is regarded as a delicacy and has sustained its appeal to food lovers all around the world. Truffle are actually a unique edible mushroom that grows underground also regarded as a fungus and is considered a delicacy complimenting the best foods worldwide. Its aroma as well as flavour is commonly described as unique (Ruffles Estate, 2013). The most preferred quality in truffle market is the black French truffle also known as Tuber melanosporum is one of the most expensive varieties in the market and occurs naturally in parts of France also geographical referred to as the Mediterranean basin (Jolly, 2012). However, the Tuber melanosporum is becoming scarcer, and there is a common idea that this scarcity is due to global ch ange of the climate (Jolly, 2012). This has led to a sharp price increase of this rare commodity, but most of all is the concern of the gradual decline in its availability. Europe, and more so, the Mediterranean basin has seen a steady decline of this rare species over the last 40 years (FAIR, 2000). This decline has been both in quantity, as well as quality, however this paper will examine the former.1.3 Project Aims and ObjectivesThis project’s principle aim is to collect and analyse data using both quantitative and qualitative methods to understand the increasing decline in the production of black truffles from France also referred to as Perigord truffle and Tuber melanosporum. In this regard, the project will adopt cause-effect deductions, hypothesis testing, and observations to develop understanding this decline in truffle production and in particular whether it affects the natural occurring or cultivated truffles. A secondary aim of this project considers the reasons for the decline of production of the black French truffle. This project, through careful analysis of related research acknowledges the fact that there is a general decline in natural occurring truffle and that this decline is associated with various factors. The study seeks to identify the main reason for the decline in production and harvesting of black French truffles. The study also aims at providing recommendations to address the decline in truffle production. This study will be documented accurately in order to provide subsequent researchers with all the information necessary to further the development in this field of study. Literature Review In consideration of Truffles biological and ecological growth and development Smith and Read (1997), assert that root symbionts are most significant in checking the ecosystem function in most temperate forests of the world, and this includes the rare ectomycorrhizal fungi. Their main function is the provision of the much needed trace minerals to the truffles as well as protection from drought, disease causing agents and pests (Garbaye, 2000; Govindarajulu et al., 2005). Smith and Read (1997) further add that truffles reciprocate provision of food and protection from disease with provision of carbon to the micro-organisms. The ecology in these temperate regions is complexly interconnected, the mushrooms that are produced by the micro-organisms and are significant sources of food for the animal populations in the forests (Carey et al., 2000). However, according to FAIR (2000), the black truffles production in Europe has dramatically declined over the last half century, this is both in quality as well as quantity. Furthermore, efforts have been made to increase the vegetation that promote truffle growth, but the decline has persisted. This trend had been identified earlier by Cherfas (1991), and in his research, he claimed that the decline had begun over 100 years ago in the natural habitat, in the temperate forests. The cause of this decline in the growth and development of black truffles has been the subject of inquiries and research. There is still little explanation for these long term decline in both natural and cultivated truffle.Research is needed to help understand this decline, the real difficulty lay in understanding the underground microbial since experimental environments fail to match the necessary real world conditions (Macdonald et al., 2005). As a matter of fact Lamon et al (2009) agree that there is sca rcity of much needed extended observations of quantitative data generated from natural the natural setting. Chevalier et al. ( 2001), assert that both Tuber melanosporum and Tuber magnatum are the most valuable species in the market. These varieties are also the endangered species at the brink of extinction. Hall et al. (2001), in their findings explain that geographically, Tuber melanosporum naturally occurs in France, Italy, Bulgaria and certain areas in Europe. Martin, F. et al (2010), specifically examines the decline in the production of Tuber melanosporum, however, he also adds that they naturally occur in the Mediterranean habitat. Sourzat (2002), in the french publication, explains that T. melanosporum’s fruits best in its natural setting characterized by rocks, forests that are open that are generally warm with mild winter seasons, as well, as regular precipitation in the summers. In addition, best production is expected on the slopes where the produce receives protection from excessive cold and dry wind. According to Hall et al. (2001), research reveals that truffier es grown in rainy areas with lower temperatures and have not yielded any truffles. In fact, truffles of the T. melanosporum species grew best in climatic regions with between 600-1500 mm average precipitations, average temperatures of 18-21 degree Celsius in the summer and the winter, an average of 1-8 degree Celsius (Zambonelli & Di Munno, 1992). It seems areas that continuously have frozen ground in the cold seasons are not suited for the growth of T. melanosporum because the fruits spoil when frozen. Fontana and Bonfante (1971) in their publication introduce the idea of growing truffle fungi in an artificial environment. They explain that this idea was to supplement the deficit of the produce collected in the natural habitat. This method was developed back in the 1970s indication that the decline of truffle had already been the cause of concern in the market. By the turn of the millennium, truffle grown in orchards accounted for half of the truffle produced around the world (Hall et al., 2003). It also important to note that a majority of these orchards are developed within truffles natural geographic areas. Having highlighted the required natural habitats for the truffles, and in reference to their decline, there are several suggestions based on various research on this decline. Cherfas (1991) traces back the history of this decline by asserting that the number of mushroom species gathered in every foray dropped from 72 to 38 between 1912 and 1982 in the Netherlands. In the same publication, it is revealed that chanterelles in central European market in mid 1970s were found to have reduced in size 50 times than those in 1950s. Hall et al.(2003) in their publication reveal that, by the 20th Century, T. melanosporum in the French market had dropped to 2000 tons annually and a further decline was witnessed by the turn of the 21st Century by 150 tons. It is true that the truffle harvesting in France has been an affair by a small number of people who mainly collected them from their natural setting. As seen in the previous paragraph, there is an increase in production of truffles in orchar ds as a supplement to the dwindling natural supply. In a later publication Hall et al., (2007), affirm that the decline in natural truffle harvest has persisted and is at an all time low of between 12 to 150 tonnes per year from the 1000 to 2000 tonnes in the 1990s. The steady decline in the production of truffle has led to the rise in price per unit over the last decade with an increase in demand (Lee, 2008). The decline of French Truffle has been a point of concern in the scientific research circles with some as Hall et al. (2003) in their study, pointing at water and air pollution, in addition to other factors including, the dynamism in forest structure and the lack of knowledge in traditional gathering as a result of world wars. Similar findings have been published in a report by Amaranthus (2007) citing destruction of truffle natural habitat, urban development, among the reasons for the decline. Such factors are most likely to continue reducing the production figures and specifically those in their natural settings (Amaranthus, 2007; Hall et al., 2007). Garvey and Cooper (2004), in their report further allude that this decline in natural habitat has resulted in the production of truffles on cultivated farms where the trees or truffieres are inoculated. However, these remedies cannot beat the native oak and hazel vegetation as the major producer of the French black truffles in France. In the recent years, the decline in truffle has been experienced in many regions of the world and especially the fast declining French black truffle or the Tuber melanosporum. However, it appears that most researchers are turning to climate as the main culprit. Buntgen et al.(2012) in their study on drought induced truffle decline explains the effect of climate on the production of truffle. They claim in their research that the effect of climate can either be directly or through the truffles symbiotic host vegetation. This literature review delves much into this article because of its relevance to the topic. Buntgen et al. (2012), provide in depth review on the yearly inventory of regional collection of truffle from Spain consisting of Aragon, France mainly a Perigord or Tuber melanosporum, and Italy a combination of Piedmont and Umbria. In this analysis, they indicate that the change in truffle production between 1970 and 2006 was similar between the species from Spain and France that is Aragon and Perigord respectively. Their analysis also found a lack of similarities in changes of production between Perigord and Piedmont–Umbria from France and Italy respectively. This observation from the regional-scale coherency is consistent with Sourzat (2002) observation that western mediterranean basin is the home of truffle fruiting. In addition, the harvests of Aragon and Perigord have revealed significant correlation, this the authors relate to the similarity in summer precipitation, whereas lack of correlations was found between Piedmont and Umbria production and precipitation (Buntgen et al., 2012). The difference in levels of sensitivity here is understandable because the Piedmont and Umbria experience double summer precipitation than Spanish Aragon with Perigord ranging in between (Zambonelli & Di Munno, 1992). The average of the three, truffle production outcomes, their regional mean correlated both positively and negatively at higher significant lev el of 99.9 percent with between June and August rainfall totals as well as maxima temperatures. The authors, Buntgen et al.(2012), posits in their analysis that both the natural and the cultivated truffles in the Mediterranean are seasonal and are subjected to the season between November and February a claim supported by Mello et al., (2006). In addition, this is dependent on the summer condition with rainy and cold weather instrumental in the fruit body development as supported by Gallot, (1999) in his publication more than a decade prior to Buntgen et al., (2012). Buntgen et al. (2012) postulate that given the relationship between fungi and host vegetation, there is bound to be competition for moisture due to the amount of rainfall in this season and this correlate significantly at 99.9 percent level with the yield. Fischer and Schar, (2010) present a suite of a dozen climatic models leading to rise in mean temperatures and decrease in rainfall totals for the Mediterranean region until the end of the 21st Century. This is indicative of the increased summer evapotranspiratio n. It is interesting to note that the simulated southwest European climatic conditions representing the last ten years are consistent to the drop in the production of truffle harvest (Buntgen et al., 2012). Nonetheless, Buntgen et al. (2012), state that it is unclear whether the truffle will reach tipping points as a result of the projected shift in climate, this is regard to their physiological and biogeochemical fruit body development. In their assumption, the expected or projected summer dryness will result in a sustained decline, in truffle yield, while the regions north of Alpine arc are most likely to provide suitable habitat for the truffle due to their calcareousness. Based on their observations, Buntgen et al.(2012), are inclined to the idea that climatic change and more so reduced summer precipitation and increased temperatures are the cause for truffle yields in the Mediterranean basin the natural habitat of T. melanosporum. Mello et al. (2006), in their analysis claim that the reduction in future summer rainfall coupled with summer aridity will result in drought resistant strain of T. melanosporum within its natural setting or distribution range. Samils, et al, (2008) in their research predict that the expected drop in truffle harvest in the Mediterranean region, will have a significant impact not only on the local tourism, but the agriculture as well as the global prices of this valuable commodity. This is most likely to increase the value of other varieties with artificial metabolism and not specific to the requirements of their ecological niche as the T. melanosporum (Mello et al., 2006;Gallot, 1999). This might see an increase in T. aestivum cultivation in areas where traditionally T. melanosporum was predominant as well as an increase in demand of truffle from non-traditional T. melanosporum producing regions outside Europe (Buntgen et al., 2012). Splivallo et al. (2012), in their analysis of the Burgundy truffle, suggest that the change in climatic conditions that were said to have begun a century ago has no impact on the current burgundy truffle distribution. However, they concur with Buntgen et al.(2012) on the impact of climatic change on species with narrower ranges such as the French black truffle, Perigord or Tuber melanosporum, and Italy a combination of Piedmont and Umbria. They support this by claiming that if the climate fails to restrict the distribution of these two species, then even a slight temperature increase in northern Europe as predicted by Buntgen et al. (2012) might result in its northern expansion. They confirm what Chevalier et al.(2001) had outlined that rainfall, soil composition are also factors that contribute to the decline in the production of Perigord. Splivallo et al. (2012), concur with Buntgen et al.(2012) assertion that other options will be needed to avert the looming shortage of this truf fle species, success cultivation lies in orchard farming as a change from the current empirical practices. They claim that cultivation of truffle in a bid to mitigate the effects of climate change which is a major cause of the decline should be based on scientific evidence. Therefore, the rise in temperature, in its self, will not be sufficient for the shift of truffle production in the northern European region (Splivallo et al., 2012). Methodology and Procedure3.1 Research DesignThis study will adopt a mixed methods research design. This process entails collecting and analysing data using both quantitative and qualitative methods to understand the research problem comprehensively. When both qualitative and quantitative methods are combined in research, they supplement each other allowing a comprehensive analysis of the research problem (Tashakkori & Teddlie, 2003). According to Charles & Mertler (2002), quantitative methods deal with numerical data using cause-effect deductions, hypothesis testing, and observations to develop an understanding of the research issue. On the other hand, qualitative methods require the researcher to develop a complete picture of the research issues by conducting an in-depth analysis of words, as well as, compiled reports by the study participants. In this approach, the researcher adopts a constructivist approach to have a complete understanding of the problem centred on different conte xtual aspects (Charles & Mertler, 2002). In the mixed research methods, the uses pragmatic philosophy by affirming that truth is what works. Therefore, mixed methods integrate both text and numerical data to give a clear overview of the research problem. In this regard, this study will use surveys and interviews since they are the most popular data collection research tools (Creswell, 2002). In the first step of data collection, a web-based survey will be used, and data analysed using discriminant function. The qualitative method will involve semi-structured interviews to collect textual data from people to regarding the decline of Truffles.3.2 Research SampleThe target population sample will be about 1,200 environmentalists and hoteliers in France regarding the decline of truffles. These individuals are people who have been working in the hotel and environmental sectors in France. For the first quantitative stage of the research, a convenience sample will be chosen comprising indi viduals studying truffles decline, locals, and environmentalists, as well as, hoteliers. For the qualitative phase of the research, a smaller sample will be used to understand the main issue regarding the decline of French truffle (Creswell, 2002, p. 194). This is to ensure the selected participants will give appropriate answers to the research questions. Besides, for the qualitative part of the research, participants will be notified of their selection for voluntary follow-up individual interviews. Given the use of mixed methods research in the study, selection of participants for the qualitative part will rely on the outcomes of the quantitative stage. The use of this approach will ensure the researcher gets a multidimensional outlook of the research problem. For this research, the participants will be chosen centred on the statistically significant difference outcomes of the discriminant function analysis.3.3 Data CollectionFor the quantitative phase of the research, a cross-sec tional survey will be used; this implies that statistics will be gathered at one point in time (McMillan, 2000). The survey used for this research will be of different formats including multiple choices, yes/no questions, self-evaluation items, and open-ended questions. The questionnaire will comprise twenty four questions divided equally into six sections. The first section will contain questions regarding truffles and the participant’s understanding of truffles measured on a 7-point Likert scale. The second part will evaluate the participants’ awareness regarding the decline of truffles using a 7-point scale. The third part will provide information regarding the factors participants believe to cause a decline in truffles. The current issues regarding management of truffles will constitute the fourth part while the fifth segment will provide data answering how ecological factors influence truffles survival. Demographic questions will be in the sixth part of the survey regarding data about the participants’ age, residency, gender, and employment among others. Besides, the final question in the survey will be open-ended asking for additional information about truffles decline in France. The survey will be web-based accessible through a URL address given to the participants. For the qualitative method, in-depth semi-structured face-to-face interviews will be used to collect data. Half of the research sample will be interviewed regarding the research question. Historical texts will be further used to validate the data collected from the interviews. The interviews will include twenty open-ended questions pilot-tested before the interviews. The interviews questions will be formulated based on the results from the quantitative method. During the interview, the participants will be debriefed to obtain reliable information for the interview questions though, they will be issued with the questions prior to the interviews. The interviews will be tape recorded with the participants’ consent and a copy of the transcript emailed to them after the interview. The respondents will also be allowed to review their answers for the interview transcripts to ascertain their correctness.3.4 Data AnalysisPrior to the statistical analysis of the survey results, the data will be screened on both univariate and multivariate levels. This will help the research detect any multicollinearity in the collected data. Any data that shows a high probability in another category will be excluded during the analysis since they may give a poor model fit (Tabachnick & Fidell, 2000). The research’s data screening will entail descriptive statistics for the variables, linearity and homoscedasticity, normality, multivariate outliers, multicollinearity and singularity. The descriptive statistics will be tabulated, and a frequency’s analysis conducted to determine the validity of the survey questions. The discriminant function analysis will be used to determine the proportion by which the variables differ, and classify the functions into predictable groups. The results will then be reported in the form of discussion. Nonetheless, all the statistical analyses will be conducted using Statistical Package for Social Sciences software (SPSS) version 11.0. In most qualitative research, data collection and analysis progress concurrently. For the qualitative analysis, data collected from the interviews will be coded and analysed for premises using the Qualitative Software and Research (QSR) N6 for qualitative data analysis. Furthermore, a visual data display will be used to identify the relationship in the data collected from the interviews. Data analysis for this phase of the research will involve creating a comprehensive description of the results; the researcher situates the cases in its context to make the case descriptions, and premises related to particular activities in the study’s outcomes (Creswell & Maitta, 2002). The researcher will construe the meaning of the results and describe them in the discussion section of the research proposal. Bibliography Amaranthus, M., 2007. Independent Truffle Expert’s Report in Product Disclosure Statement for the Oak Valley Truffle Project. Oak Valley Project. Buntgen, U. et al., 2012. Drought-induced decline in Mediterranean truffle harvest. Nature Climate Change, 2, pp.827-29. Carey, A.B., Colgan, W., Trappe, J.M. & Molina, R., 2000. Effects of forest management on truffle abundance and squirrel diets. Northwest Science , 76, pp.148–57. Charles, C.M. & Mertler, C.A., 2002. Introduction to educational research. 4th ed. Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon. Cherfas, J., 1991. Disappearing mushrooms: Another mass extinction?. Science, pp.254: 1448. Chevalier, G., Gregori, G., Frochot, H. & Zambonelli, A., 2001. The cultivation of the Burgundy truffle. In Proc Second Intl Conf on Edible Mycorrhizal Mushrooms. Christchurch: Crop & Food Research Limited. pp.1-12. Creswell, J.W., 2002. Educational research: Planning, conducting, and evaluating quantitative and qualitative approaches to research. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill/Pearson Education. Creswell, J.W. & Maitta, R., 2002. Qualitative research. In N. Salkind, ed. Handbook of research design and social measurement. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. pp.143-84. FAIR, 2000. Improvement of the organoleptic quality of European truffles (EUROTRUFFE). Cooperative Research Measures. Fischer, E.M. & Schar, C., 2010. Nature. Geoscience, 3, pp.398–403. Fontana, A. & Bonfante, P., 1971. Mycorrhizal synthesis between Tuber brumale Vitt.and Pinus nigra Arnold. Allionia, 17, pp.15-18. Gallot, G., 1999. La truffe. INRA. Garbaye, J., 2000. The role of ectomycorrhizal symbiosis in the resistance of forests to water stress. Outlook on Agriculture , 29, pp.63-69. Garvey, D. & Cooper, P., 2004. Increasing the productivity of truffieres in Tasmania. RIRDC. Govindarajulu, M. et al., 2005. Nitrogen transfer in the arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiosis. Nature , 435, pp.819-23. Hall, I.R., Brown, G.T. & Zamboneli, A., 2007. Taming the Truffle. The History Lore and Science of the Ulimate Mashroom. Timber Press. Hall, I., Byars, J. & Brown, G., 2001. The Black Truffle: Its History, Uses and Cultivation. Christchurch: New Zealand Institute for Crop & Food Research Limited. Hall, I., Yun, W. & Amicucci, A., 2003. Cultivation of edible ectomycorrhizal mushrooms. Trends in Biotechnology, 21, pp.433–438. Jolly, D., 2012. $1,200 a Pound, Truffles Suffer in the Heat. [Online] Available at: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/21/business/global/is-climate-change-shrinking-the-luxury-truffle-crop.html?_r=0 [Accessed 2 December 2013]. Lamon, L. et al, 2009. Environmental Science Technology, 43, pp.5818–5824. Lee, B., 2008. Taking Stock of the Australian Truffle Industry. Barton: Canprint. Macdonald, R.W., Harner, T. & Fyfe, 2005. Macdonald, R. W., Harner, T. & Fyfe, J. Sci. Total Environ. J. Sci. Total Environ., 342, pp.5–86. Martin, F. et al, 2010. Tuber melanosporum. Nature , 464, pp.1033–38. McMillan, J.H., 2000. Educational research: Fundamentals for the consumer. 3rd ed. New York: Addison-Wesley Longman. Mello, A., Murat, C. & Bonfante, P., 2006. FEMS Microbiol.. Lett, 260, pp.1–8. Ruffles Estate, 2013. An Internationally Recognised Gourmet Experience. [Online] Ruffles Estate Available at: HYPERLINK â€Å"http://canberratruffles.com.au/† http://canberratruffles.com.au/ [Accessed 2 December 2013]. Samils, et al, 2008. Econ. Bot., 62, pp.331–40. Smith, S. & Read, D.J., 1997. Mycorrhizal Symbiosis. London: Academic Press. Sourzat, P., 2002. Guide pratique de trufficulture. Station d’experimentation sur la truffe. Le Montat: Lycee professionnel agricole et viticole de Cahors. Splivallo, R. et al., 2012. Is climate change altering the geographic distribution of truffles. Front Ecol Environ, 10, pp.461–62. Tabachnick, B.G. & Fidell, L.S., 2000. Using multivariate statistics. New York: Allyn & Bacon. Tashakkori, A. & Teddlie, C., 2003. Handbook on mixed methods in the behavioral and social sciences. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. Zambonelli, A. & Di Munno, R., 1992. Indagine sulla possibilita di diffusione dei rimboschimenti con specie tartufigene: aspetti tecnico-colturali ed economici. Ministero dell’Agricoltura e delle Foreste.

Lycurgus - Spartan Lawgiver

Lycurgus - Spartan Lawgiver Dateline: 06/22/99 Back to Sparta: A Military State Although the evolution of Greek law codes is complicated and cant really be reduced to the work of a single individual, there is one man who stands out as responsible for Athenian law and one for Spartan law. Athens had its Solon, and Sparta had its Lycurgus the lawgiver. Like the origins of Lycurgus legal reforms, the man himself is wrapped in legend. Herodotus 1.65.4 says the Spartans thought the laws of Lycurgus came from Crete. Xenophon takes a contrary position, arguing Lycurgus made them up; while Plato says the Delphic Oracle provided the laws. Regardless of the origin of the laws of Lycurgus, the Delphic Oracle played an important, if legendary, role in their acceptance. Lycurgus claimed that the Oracle had insisted the laws not be written down. He tricked the Spartans into keeping the laws for an ostensibly short period while Lycurus went on a journey. Because of the authority invoked, the Spartans agreed. But then, instead of returning, Lycurgus disappears forever from hi story, thereby eternally obliging the Spartans to honor their agreement not to change the laws. See Sanderson Becks Ethics of Greek Culture for more on this. Some think the laws of Sparta were essentially unchanged until the third century B.C., with the exception of a rider to the rhetra quoted by Plutarch. See Legislation in Sparta, by W. G. Forrest. Phoenix. Vol. 21, No. 1 (Spring, 1967), pp. 11-19. Source: (amherst.edu/~eakcetin/sparta.html) Lycurgus Reforms and the Spartan SocietyBefore Lycurgus there had been dual kingship, division of the society into Spartiates, Helots, and perioeci, and the ephorate. After his travels to Crete and elsewhere, Lycurgus brought to Sparta three innovations: Elders (gerusia), Redistribution of land, and Common messes (meals). Lycurgus forbade gold and silver coinage, replacing it with iron coinage of low value, making trade with other Greek poleis difficult; for instance, there were supposedly loaf shaped and sized iron coins. It is also possible that the iron coins were valued, as iron had been in the Iron Age of Homer. See The Iron Money of Sparta, by H. Michell Phoenix, Vol. 1, Supplement to Volume One. (Spring, 1947), pp. 42-44. Men were to live in barracks and women were to undergo physical training. In all he did Lycurgus was trying to suppress greed and luxury.[www.perseus.tufts.edu/cl135/Students/Debra_Taylor/delphproj2.html] Delphi and the LawWe dont know whether Lycurgus asked the oracle simply to confirm the law code he already had or asked the oracle to provide the code. Xenophon opts for the former, while Plato believes the latter. Theres a possibility that the code came from Crete.Source: (web.reed.edu/academic/departments/classics/Spartans.html) Early SpartaThucydides suggested that it was not the kings who declared war, and the fact that seven helots attended each Spartan indicates the helots lot may not have been so bad. The Great RhetraPassage from Plutarchs Life of Lycurgus on his obtaining an oracle from Delphi about the establishment of his form of government: When thou has built a temple to Zeus Syllanius and Athena Syllania, divided the people into phylai, and divided them into obai, and established a Gerousia of thirty including the Archagetai, then from time to time appellazein between Babyka and Knakion, and there introduce and repeal measures; but the Demos must have the decision and the power. Xenophon on the SpartansNine passages from Herodotus about the famous Spartan lawgiver Lycurgus. Passages include notice that female slaves were to work on clothes while free women, since production of children was the noblest occupation, were to exercise as much as the men. If a husband were old, he should supply his wife with a younger man to beget children. Lycurgus made it honorable to satisfy natural cravings by stealing; he forbade free citizens from engaging in business; failing to do ones duty would result in loss of status of the homoioi, (equally privileged citizens). Occupation Index - Leader Plutarch - Life of Lycurgus

Hydrogen Technology Research essays

Hydrogen Technology Research essays With the current economy, world situation, and predicted environmental future of the fossil fuel age a change needs to be made. Hydrogen power is a very popular solution to the fossil fuel problem. There are however many group involved in this situation that need to be taken into account. These groups include engineers, politicians, and the common person. Engineers need to take into account several factors in their acceptance of hydrogen power. First off, the textbook says that hydrogen power producers are high in prices as compared to the cheap fossil fuels available today (Miller 409). This is true, but other factors need to be taken into consideration. Including that as the demand for hydrogen utilizing machines increases, the supply will increase, and the price for the machines will go down. So if the price is incurred now, it will decrease in the future. Another critical problem that engineers are primarily facing now is storage. There are several possibilities, but all have their downfalls. The biggest problem facing hydrogen storage is that, Hydrogen gas is not an energy-dense fuel (Princeton). This basically means that a bunch of hydrogen will yield a little bit of energy. So large volumes of hydrogen need to be utilized in order to be effective. Hydrogen, however, is not very easy to store because of its extremely low evapo rating energy level. This means that liquid hydrogen would take up tons of energy to be kept in liquid form, which is very inefficient. Technology is currently being tested that would store hydrogen in other compounds, from which hydrogen can be easily extracted. This however could result in dangerous compounds being produced, and the compounds might also be too expensive to be used on a mass scale. One more problem that engineers face is that hydrogen is not found alone in nature. So it must be extracted from a compound. The most popularly thought of way to extract hydrogen is through the el...

The cold war in Europe Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

The cold war in Europe - Essay Example On the other hand, Bernard Law Montgomery was born on 17th November 1887. He was a British field marshal officer. He was mostly referred to as Monty and he earned his distinction during the World War II as he had highly efficient leadership skills to the British army in the North Africa. Montgomery was seen to be very more arrogant Friedman (43). Patton and Montgomery were both the most prominent military figures during the fight of freeing Europe from the grip of Nazism. These two generals were rivals throughout the war. The two had different massive egos and opinions on how they were going to defeat the Germans, their differences perceptions always got them arguing. Bernard law Montgomery was considered to be so pompous while Patton was considered as reckless and this prevented both the two generals from leading the Allied land invasion of Europe (Friedman 47). Bernard law Montgomery and George S. Patton turned in to natural rivalry because they competed with each other to see who was going to get to Berlin first and they wanted to prove their powers hence they wanted to see who was much better between the two (other). The two pushed their men recklessly to get of Massena first than the other group.

Project Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 1

Project - Essay Example But in Balanced Scorecard the performance of an organization is looked into from a broader angle which spans over perspectives like: Financial, Customer, Internal business process, Learning and growth. This is done to integrate the various complexities in the operating environment of a modern-day firm and so that the along with the financial model other factors which have crucial effects on the firm are taken into account. This tool evaluates performance of an organization and provides a framework for guidance. This system is used by organizations, private, governmental and non-profit to examine their performance in relation to their strategic objectives. Using the balanced Scorecard system, it is possible to measure and evaluate the process which is responsible for present and future value creation. This also acts as a guiding framework for managerial decision making in context of areas to be focused upon and resources to be put into in order to create value. Analysis through this system brings forth the ‘value drivers’ in an organization (Balance Scorecard basics, 2009; Kaplan R.S. and Norton D.P., 1996). The main angles or points of discussion for the organization under the ‘customer perspective’ are identification of their target customers and also their won value proposition which would attract the customers. Identification of the value proposition is crucial because otherwise the organization would surely loose focus. Value propositions might emanate from: Operational excellence- These kinds of organizations get their value proposition from excellence and primary focus only on their operations and generally offer no-frill products or services. Example: EasyJet the European low-cost airline. Leadership through product- These firms depend on constant innovation and research to deliver better products to their customers. They become product leaders and lead the way in the market by always striving to and delivering