safe sex essays

safe sex essays The act of sex is a shared union between two people through passionate feelings, which is intended for procreation and enjoyment. Safe sex is something that should be practiced if the two people are not married and/or cannot handle the consequences of their actions. The consequences include the creation of a child and sexually transmitted diseases. The only prevention methods of prevention of these two consequences include the wearing of condoms, female contraceptives, celibacy and surgery to make either partner sterile. There has been a lot of publication and media attention given to the subject of teen pregnancy because this rate has been dramatically been increasing over the past twenty years. This is because of experimentation and the increase of provocative dress and more acceptances of higher sexual limits in public. There is also the issue of those who do so as a rebellion against their parents rules but this is a more rare occurrence. Teens are more vulnerable to pregnancy because of a lack of education in school and at home and a lack of thought given toward the consequences of their actions. Teens also account for the largest portion of abortions in this country as well, which causes distress over their rate of sexual activities. Sex is a powerful tool for human beings to possess the ability to act on. It has changed the way businesses are run and operated because of sexual harassment, and also have changed what students can and cant wear to high schools and elementary schools. The increase in sexual activity has also led to a major increase in the number of abortions that are performed. This has led to an increase in court disputes over abortion and riots over abortion. Safe sex is important because the physical dangers can be incredibly damaging and even life threatening. New sexually transmitted diseases come out everyday. Aids herpes, ghoneria, syphilis, crabs and many more affect millions of peop...

Paradox essays

Paradox essays Scientists and the rest of the human race is finally beginning to realize that it has a tendency to try to destroy itself. Scientists are discovering that many of it's creations can and have caused the deaths of many individuals. Studies have shown that many mechanisms and improved materials, which make human chores easier, are now known to cause or could possibly cause mortality rates to increase. People should know about these potential dangers. The microwave, computers, tanning beds, and cellular phones are thought to be the cause of some of these untimely deaths. Also there are chemicals such as lead and asbestos that have and can lead to such casualties. But most of all, it is the use of nuclear reactors to generate power that has caused the destruction of lives. First, although a microwave is a very useful machine, and it helps in speeding up the cooking of food, a microwave can have harmful effects on babies. Mother's milk is sometimes stored in the refrigerator in order to feed a baby more easily. Since the milk is cold it must be heated so that the child will drink it. In laboratory tests bottles with breast milk that were microwaved had a 79% decrease in immunoglobulin-A antibodies, which fight against infection, and a 19% decrease in lysozymes, which help destroy bacteria. Destruction of these antibodies leaves the child at a greater risk of developing a deadly infection (Fraser 17). A smart decision should be made, people should not heat bottled milk in the microwave, and take time to warm the milk in hot water, a baby's life could depend on it. Computer monitors might be the cause of birth defects, miscarriages, and cancer. Computer monitors emit very-low-frequency (VLF) and electromagnetic fields (ELF). The emissions form a sphere around the terminal. A 1988 study indicated that there were twice as many women who worked around computers that miscarried than those who did not. Luckily some companies are now allowing ...

WK7 Research Design Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

WK7 Research Design - Essay Example This research extensively purposes at obtaining new knowledge of the drastic depreciation in performance of university students through significant utilization of relevant concepts. The attained results will assist in the description of the problem, development of countering alternatives and provision of knowledge and skill useful in decision-making for the university managements. Furthermore, the results will make it possible to make future performance predictions hence contributing to the possibility of controlling university performances. A research design simply includes a strategy applicable for a specific study and the plan of actively exercising the strategy. The research methodologies in use will include quantitative designs as well as qualitative designs individually thus resulting to a combination of both. Qualitative research design mainly involves techniques and measures, which do not eventually produce discrete numerical data (Creswell, 1997). Qualitative data collection incorporates such methods as direct observation by the researcher, active participation or interviews. Qualitative research illustrates relevance in this research as it aims at achieving an in depth understanding of the factors contributing to the depreciation in university students’ performance. Inclusion of arrays of interpretative techniques to describe and translate the data collected will further improve the quality of the data (Maxwell, 2007). Subsequently, after collection of data through the qualitative research design, the d ata analysis will involve; content analysis of written or recorded data as well as data drawn from the participants’ expressions and behavioral observations. On the other hand, quantitative research design utilizes techniques and measures that in turn produce discrete numerical thus quantifiable data. Hence, this design will integrate computer analysis

The DREAM Act Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The DREAM Act - Essay Example Background: According to the website Dream Act of 2009, the proposal legislation â€Å"is a long anticipated Immigration Bill which was just introduced in the US Congress (both Senate and House) on March 26, 2009. This original legislation was proposed to provide millions of immigrant children who graduate from U.S. High Schools the opportunity to receive U.S. Residency (a "Green Card") after so many years of being left in the shadows by State and Federal laws.† This innovative legislation would render immigration benefits to several young individuals who are presently considered as illegal migrants in the country. And this is the very reason that why several law makers and analysts oppose this bill. For example, reputed immigration policy analyst Krikorian has asserted that â€Å"all amnesties have at least three harmful consequences, and the DREAM Act ignores all three. The first of these is massive fraud. Perhaps one-fourth of those legalized under the 1986 Immigration Ref orm and Control Act received amnesty fraudulently, including Mahmud Abouhalima, a leader of the first World Trade Center attack.† Hence, review of immigration enforcement is a precondition to the enactment of the proposed DREAM Act. Thesis Statement: The DREAM Act can benefit both the US economy and the young immigrants in the country provided that immigration enforcement within the provisions of the proposed Act is properly implemented and fraudulent practices are prevented. Analysis Benefits: The DREAM Act seeks to legalize the undocumented youth and young adults in the country if they fulfill certain educational criteria and effort to obtain college graduation. From an economic viewpoint, legalization of unauthorized students can be an important incentive for them to work hard and graduate from a high school. This will improve their chances of obtaining higher education. Ultimately, the overall number of college graduates in the country will increase. College graduates obta in higher salaries and hence they will yield higher tax revenues as well. The increased financial contribution of the legalized educated immigrants will repay the necessary educational investments within a few years. Thereafter, the system would provide a profit to the tax payers for several decades. â€Å"The impact of legalization would not be limited to increased earnings, tax revenues, and social services savings. In a stable economy, such legalization would enable thousands of young immigrants to join the legal workforce, helping businesses and the economy fill crucial needs.† (Perez, xxix) Apart from benefiting the economy in a holistic way, DREAM Act will stop the exploitation of the unauthorized students in a cash economy. Forced, illegal labor will be prevented and better life standards will be ensured. Immigration Enforcement: According to the DREAM Act of 2009 Sec. 5 (c) and (d), if the youths and young adults (who arrived in the United States before 16 years of ag e) have graduated from the country’s high school, achieved a GED, and are pursuing a college degree (or rendering military service), they can be given permanent residency (there are several other residential, moral, and gender specific conditions too). Moreover, these potential citizens should be aged between 12 to 35 years at the time of the bill enactment. In this way, the educational requirements enforced by the DREAM Act already make the citizenship criteria even under amnesty rather strict. The way the American institutions work, only the best of the young aliens will be able to pass the education benchmarking provided by the proposed Act. Thus â€Å"

How Linguistic Features of African American Vernacular English (also Research Paper

How Linguistic Features of African American Vernacular English (also known as African American English) Have Been Used to Teach Standard American English - Research Paper Example The use of contrastive strategies can sensitize Black youth to differences between Standard English and their vernacular thus assisting them in learning the standard dialect. The topic under consideration is â€Å"How linguistic features of African American Vernacular English (AAVE) or African American English (AAE) have been used to teach Standard English.† The dialect is also called Black English or Ebonics. African American children have performed relatively poorly in English classes, and one of the reasons behind this performance could be an admonition of their native dialects. Educators need a new strategy that works with black vernacular rather than against it. The use of AAVE as a facilitative language for Standard Education can boost communication and cooperation between learners and teachers. In 1996, a California school board sparked a lot of controversy when it announced that it would include home languages in classrooms, and that teachers would be trained appropriately to work with such students (Pullum, 1999). This was nothing new in American schools, but unlike other uncontroversial languages like Spanish, the most predominant language spoken by children in the school was AAVE. Media experts, African American educators, White middle class teachers, Black families and several other stakeholders lashed out against this policy proponents. A number of them, especially black parents, felt that using AAVE in the classroom would condemn black communities to narrow ethnic enclaves. They worried that their children would be unable to fit into the wider society. Others in the media made ignorant comments about AAVE by calling it nothing more than street slang. These individuals objected to the use of AAVE in classes because it was perceived as a watered-down version of Standard English, laden with mistakes, mispronunciations and abusive slurs (Perez, 1999). Contrary to what these critics assume, AAVE is a dialect in its own right. Slang is limited to small

Eating out Vs. Eating In Essay Example for Free

Eating out Vs. Eating In Essay Throughout the years the economy has changed drastically, putting us into a terrible recession. Gas prices have increased, taxes have increased, and many foolish, young girls are having babies that they cannot support, causing them to go on welfare, making hard working citizens such as you, and me pay for their needs. Food is an essential part of daily life. Why waste even more of my hard earned money by eating out, when I can easily save it, and be much healthier by eating in? I am on a tight budget, very family oriented, and conscious about my health, so eating at home, rather than going out is more beneficial because it’s healthier, cheaper, and more comfortable for me to be in my own environment. I don’t know about you, but to me, there is nothing better than a full wallet, a full belly, and being able to kick back, relax, and enjoy the comfort of my home. First off, eating at home is much healthier than eating out. Preparing food at home allows me to control the ingredients that I add to the meal, and I can be sure that the food and dishes are properly cleaned, since I did it myself. Being a huge germ-a-phoebe, I always wash my dishes in hot water, and use lots of soap. I find relief in knowing that only myself, and my family have used our utensils; no one else. Furthermore, I always make sure to thoroughly clean my food before I cook it, to ensure that it is not rotten, and all the bacteria is removed. I do this mostly with meats, lettuce, fruits, and vegetables. I am very conscious about my weight, and my health, so I eat in portions, grill instead of fry, and try to cut out as many carbs, sugars, and fats as I can. However, restaurants do not try to cut out any of those things. In fact, restaurant meals are often fried, and contain high sodium, oil, and fat, which can cause high cholesterol, and weight gain, making them very unhealthy. It also cuts down my options on their menu a great deal. I find it very important to eat healthy so I can keep my energy levels up, maintain a strong mind and body, and prevent myself from possibly developing any health issues in the future. Statistics show that 1 in 4 people a year, suffer from food poising caused by eating out. When I eat at a restaurant I always worry about who is touching my food, if their hands are clean, what they put in my food, or if the food is old, or cleaned properly. I also worry about the eating utensils, and if they are cleaned thoroughly. If they are not, I could be ingesting millions of germs and bacteria from a complete stranger who ate there before me. Restaurants are public places with many people inside; some of which could be ill. If I were to come in contact with them, I could easily catch their germs, and become ill as well. When I eat at home, prepare and clean my own food, and use utensils that I cleaned myself, I never have to worry about any of those health risks caused by eating out. Secondly, eating at home instead of at a restaurant enables me to cut down on my budget, and save more money. Usually, there is always food at my house. My mom always buys macaroni and cheese, soup, lunch meats, cereal, or hot pockets. Whenever I don’t have a taste for any of those things, or if there is none left, my mother and I take a five minute walk to our local Jewel-Osco, where they always have great deals. Just the other day, we bought a four pack of boneless chicken breasts, a pound of pasta, pesto sauce, mushrooms, garlic, lemons, and a 2-liter of soda, for a total of roughly $32 dollars. Restaurants, on the other hand, have to ensure on making enough money to buy more ingredients, pay their employees, pay bills, etc. , so food prices at restaurants are always higher than food I buy at the grocery store, and prepare myself. For example, when my family of four goes out to our favorite Italian restaurant, Giacomos’s, and we order the same exact meal my mother and I purchased at Jewel, it is $16 dollars a plate per person, plus $2 dollars per glass of soda, 25% of the bill as a tip for the waiter, and around $10 dollars in gas to drive there. That totals out to be around $100 dollars, meaning we save roughly $70 dollars just by eating in. A U. S. survey shows that a family can save around $2,000 dollars a year, just by eating at home. Last but not least, I am much more comfortable eating at home, rather than eating out at a restaurant for many reasons. A few years ago, I was with my friend, Sarah at Panera Bread, and a middle aged man came and sat down at a table right next to us, even though there was many empty tables further away. While I was eating, I started to tell Sarah a joke, and when I reached the punch line, we both burst out laughing, and so did the man. After that, he kept staring at me eat, while listening intently to more of our conversation. I felt very annoyed, uncomfortable, and I just wanted to leave. Sometimes restaurants are also very crowded, and noisy, and they have disgusting looking bathrooms that have toilet paper all over the floor, and they smell like rotting pee. Like I mentioned, I am a germ-a-phoebe, and I’m also claustrophobic, so it is very hard to find peace, and comfort in an environment like that. Furthermore, any time I go out to a restaurant, or in public, I always try to look my best just in case I run into a cute guy, or someone I know. This of course takes time. I have to put on makeup, do my hair, and try on a hundred different outfits until I am completely satisfied with how I look. Most of the time I’m satisfied with tight fighting clothing that squeezes my whole body, causing extreme discomfort. Yet when I eat at home, I don’t have to waste time doing any of those things. I can be a bum if I want to, and wear sweatpants. I don’t need to put on makeup, I can throw my hair up in a messy bun, and not have to worry about impressing anyone. Most importantly, I don’t have to stress out about it being too crowded or noisy in my home, since I only live with three other people. I can even sit on my couch, relax, and watch my favorite TV shows while I eat, all snuggled up, comfy, and stress free. More so, I can use my own clean, and fresh smelling bathroom without having to wait in line, or squat above the toilet seat. Can’t beat that. In conclusion, I prefer eating at home rather than eating out because it is healthier, cheaper, and much more comfortable. Not to mention much more sanitary also. I don’t have to worry about food poisoning, nosey strangers, being broke, getting ready, or being uncomfortable. Restaurants cook mainly fatty foods, charge way too much, and are usually crowded and noisy. After a long, hard day at work, I can’t wait to kick my shoes off, change into comfy PJ’s, eat a healthy dinner, and relax in my quiet, stress free house, saving time and money, while finding comfort in the privacy of my home, sweet home.

Movie Analysis Of Leadership Development

Movie Analysis Of Leadership Development You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You must do the thing you think you cannot do. -Eleanor Roosevelt The above stated lines speak up the spirit of Norma Rae and the power of a leader. The quotation highlights the two main points shown in the film; the strength and courage of a woman and the idea of justice and equal rights for all. The film shows how an oppressed, young American lady who in initial stage did not had courage to fight against intolerable environment, converts into a charismatic leader and helps up bringing the whole textile labour society. The Film: The film Norma Raes release came in an era when labour unions were falling out of favour with the American public and politicians appeared eager to criticize organized labour for harming American competitiveness in the global marketplace. Norma Rae (played by actress Sally Field) focuses on the experiences of an individual who lived in Roanoke Rapids, NC and played a leadership role in the struggle to win union representation from the J.P. Stevens Company. Her real name was Crystal Lee. Crystal Lee had grown up in a family of mill workers, laboured in a variety of jobs, including textiles, and then, rather suddenly, discovered an interest in unions when she heard the speech of an organizer who had come to Roanoke Rapids. She successfully demonstrated that power is not based on title or status; it comes by connecting with people and standing up for what you believe in (Goleman et al, 2002). The movie clearly sends out the message that strong will power, hard work and determination can surely make impossible possible. It substantiates the bonding between a leader and his follower, the importance of such a symbiotic relationship and how the follower can become a leader too by synergizing bonds. It is a live commentary on the inherent leadership potential lying latent in everyone of us and how the environmental factors, situations and a suitable guidance can convert us into a charismatic leader. The movie begins with the loud noise of machines in the mill doing its job and still shots from Ms. Raes life from being an infant to a sad woman, one amongst the 800 mill-workers; a cog in the cotton mill machinery who is not enjoying life, but is only struggling with it to survive. Workers are portrayed as being machines themselves making machines in unceasing eight hour shifts and trying to come to terms with this machine age .Norma Raes mother facing the problem of temporary deafness due to the unbearable noise produced by the machines in the mill. These pathetic working environmental conditions with short and few breaks in-between the working hours, no windows, no proper working conditions and poor management played a major role in transforming Norma Rae into a leader. To begin with, she is a young, hard working, energetic lady with no decided goals. She is a rebel without a cause, unharnessed youth of the age who fearlessly confronts the management. The bosses first tried to hold her by offering a rise in salary by 1$/hr and offering a higher position than others. At first, she plays into their hands, she accepted the offer, but when she was cut off from her people and saw an attitude change in them then she realizes a very important lesson of life that to find strength, one must be with and from the people. Then comes into play Reuben Warshofsky (played by Ron Leibman), an urban union leader who knows the labour laws and the legal system and just needs an insider to materialize his goals from within, who could support him in serving the good cause of publicising the labour union and telling the benefits of it. With Ruebens coordination and learning, Norma slowly transforms into a strong and confident leader. This symbiotic conventional mentor-protà ©gà ©e bond develops into an affective partnership where Norma and Reuben spread awareness and overcome personal and work related obstacles together. Reubens authority, knowledge and wittiness to handle situations helped making a path and strategy to confront the problems. Norma Rae had been marketed to the American public as a story about a female Rocky and as a film that exuded feminist spirit while not overtly preaching feminism. Leadership Styles: There are various leadership styles reflected by various characters in the film Norma Rae, following theories and styles help us explain them: Leaderships gender perspective Transformational Leadership Authoritarian and Participative leadership Style Contingency Theory and Situational leadership Vision Development Conflicts Social Identity Theory Leaderships gender perspective: Because I am a woman, I must make unusual efforts to succeed. If I fail, no one will say, She doesnt have what it takes. They will say, Women dont have what it takes. (Clare Boothe Luce) There is a cultural ideal in most societies that generally men are the leaders. This ideal persists despite the fact that women in many nations have participated in governing the whole nation operating at the topmost positions like Prime Minister and President (Table 1). There still seems to be, in some circles, a belief in some societies that women do not belong in the leadership, and are especially ill-perceived in leadership positions. There still appears to be a commonly held belief that, while women are tolerated in the ranks, many men still believe that leadership in their domain alone. The male centred society has usually associated women with certain specific roles; such taking care of household tasks, looking after children etc. The film Norma Rae tries to evolve such typical and orthodox mindset. The above said sentences can easily be collected from a scene where Normas husband shows anger on her when she used to come late and tries to let her realize her duties towards hou sehold works like washing clothes, cooking food, and looking after kids. But Norma made him realize that she has been working for a great cause and motive and he should understand it. Norma proves it to the whole society that women can not only look after the house and children but also can work, earn, lead and change the system. She also proves that women who are not associated with leadership can be taught and developed to be good leaders. It is truly and beautifully said that: Women have certain characteristics that give them an edge over men in being leaders, like- empathy, and a caring attitude (Heller, 1982). Transformational Leadership: Transformational leadership is a leadership approach that is defined as leadership that creates valuable and positive change in the followers. A transformational leader focuses on transforming others to help each other, to look out for each other, to be encouraging and harmonious, and to look out for the organization as a whole. In this leadership, the leader enhances the motivation, morale and performance of his follower group (source: www.wikepedia.org). This is a leadership style exhibited primarily by Rueben, Norma gradually adopts this style. Transformational Leadership occurs when the leader take a visionary position and inspires others to follow. The essence of transformational leadership lies making the followers understand the goals and inspire them to achieve them (Bass et al, 1994). Like many other leaders Norma used the help of her mentor Rueben to understand various leadership traits. To understand the complexity of the environment Rueben who is the mentor here shares all his knowledge and expertise with his protà ©gà © Norma, to become a better leader. Norma evolves as a leader with the help of her mentor, Rueben. She learnt about how she can help people to fight the inequality and how to make them stand against the prevailing evils in the work environment. She understands the fact that: To lead, one must follow. -Lao Tzu Reuben has better Leadership skills than Norma, but his profession and demands matched while that of Norma didnt. Ruebens strength lies in the fact that he inspires people to come forward and realise their potential. He follows the principle of Leadership Development. Reuben better knows how to use the processes of leadership development, i.e., assessment, challenge and support (Howell et al, 2006). Rueben has a better understanding than Norma about of the psychology of his followers to inspirationally motivate them and intellectually stimulate them (Pierce et al, 2008). He makes Norma and the workers understand the fact that a union is essential for them and thus sets the ball rolling. Norma takes the lead and spreads awareness amongst the workers. Normas leadership style is quite inspired by Rueben and she also grows up into a transformational leader. Norma learned the lesson from Rueben: If you are not the lead dog scenery never changes (Source: LeadershipAdvanceOnline) Authoritarian and Participative leadership style: Authoritarian: This style is used when leaders tell their employees what they want done and how they want it accomplished, without getting the advice of their followers. (Source: www.nwlink.com) Norma is shown as an energetic and hard working character in this film, thus authoritarian characteristic, though in a very small content, is exhibited in her natural characteristics. This style is used when Norma tells her peers working for the formation of the labour society about what they want to be done and how she wants it to be accomplished, without getting the advice from them. This leadership style can even be seen the scene when Norma shouts on one of her peer for not getting the work done on time and she had to spend extra effort on augments than to concentrate on other core tasks like planning and management. This leadership style is primarily exhibited by management of O.P Henley textile mill; the management is too much authoritarian and does not want any employee to raise voice against the odds in the mill. The management misuses its authority to restrict union activities been performed by Norma in the work place. The management is least bothered about the employee care , they just want the work to be done without giving any concerns to the voice, needs and requirements of employees. The management of O.P Henley textile mill seems to deny the truth: The key to successful leadership today is influence, not authority. -Kenneth Blanchard Participative (Democratic): This style involves the leader including one or more employees in the decision making process (determining what to do and how to do it) (Source: http://www.nwlink.com) This leadership style is very much exhibited in the Norma Rae character of the film; in fact the core of the film revolves round this leadership quality. Norma Rae participates in decision making with Rueben. Planning, controlling, pursuing, managing, organizing, and all other tasks are performed by her in a participative manner, either with the peer members of the union supporting group, peer workers or Rueben. An example of participative leadership of Norma could be seen in a scene in which she and the fellow employees wear a large union button in the work setting to speak their fellow workers about joining a union which was protected under the new rules. Norma used to involve and convince people working in the mill to get involved in union formation; she generally used to take inputs from peer workers and Rueben on how to manage tasks. Situational Leadership: Another leadership concept clearly visible from the film Norma Rae is Situational Leadership or the Contingency Theory of Leadership. As per this concept the leadership style is contingent to situations and circumstances (Howell et al, 2006). It is said to be the best style of leadership. The style to be used depends on the readiness level of the people the leader is trying to influence (Pierce et al, 2008). Norma Rae realized the intolerable situation of the textile mill workers were working in, that propelled her to change of the situation and lead the labour society to form a union for their own and for the sake of whole textile labour society. Situational leadership is clearly demonstrated by Norma Rae in the scene when after getting fired from her job in the mill, she mounted a table in her work room and held up a sheet of cardboard with the word UNION marked on it in large letters. She turned around slowly, demonstrating her bold message to the assorted hemmers, terry cutters and packers in the room. As a result of this action, the workers who had been facing the unbearable situations since long, without revolting, were stunned and realized that the time has come to be united and to stand against the management for the common objective of equality and justice, Norma clearly demonstrated her leadership in the odd situation, this scene though silent left a big impact and played a major role in union formation in American textile industry. By demonstrating situational leadership at various instances Norma Rae proved the following definition of leadership: Leadership is the art of getting someone else to do something you want done because he wants to do it Dwight Eisenhower Vision Development: A vision is a guiding image of what success looks like. It answers the question what do you wish to become. (Source www.thepracticeofleadership.net) Norma Rae is a southern textile worker employed in a factory with intolerable working conditions. She was born and brought up in a family of workers who were facing these conditions since long. In the opening scene of the movie, the viewer is immediately introduced to what it might really be like working all day in a textile factory. The operation of the machinery is deafening. At the end of the scene, we discover that is exactly the case as Norma Rae realizes her own mother cannot hear. Norma from her past had a vision of what is prevalent in the environment and needs to be removed, but since she was used to it and was unaware of her latent leadership abilities she was unable to pursue that vision. Rueben made her realize her leadership capabilities and supported her vision to resolve the issues which she and the society was facing since long. To use vision as a strategy, she needed to define three elements-the plan, current state and desired state (Refer appendix 2). It means defin ing where she was now, where she wanted to be in the future and how she was going to get there This concern about the situation gave her the gumption to be the key associate to a visiting labour union organizer. They knew the present situation, they developed a plan and structure to bring as many people together with them as possible. Together, they undertook the difficult, and possibly dangerous, struggle to unionize her factory) and saved the future of many workers working in textile industry. It was their vision which led them to succeed and let them attain their objectives. Normas success which was lead by her vision justifies the following quote: The very essence of leadership is that you have to have a vision. Its got to be a vision you articulate clearly and forcefully on every occasion. You cant blow an uncertain trumpet. -Theodore Hesburgh Conflicts: Dont be afraid of opposition. Remember, a kite rises against; not with; the wind. Hamilton Wright Mabie This is the main idea which Norma Rae seems to be following in the film. Any leader cannot grow without facing conflicts or without fighting the situations against him/her. In the film Norma Rae, Norma also comes across various conflicts while trying to achieve her goal. The first conflict is at her workplace i.e. against the management of O.P. Henley Textile Mill, the mill management never wanted Norma to form a union, and the management was against her since the beginning of union chapter. Norma had to face many conflicts from the management, some examples of it are, the management warned her at various moments that she might lose her job if she continues to raise voice for union in the work place, she was asked why she used workplace telephone in office hours?, she was asked to remove the unions button, she was warned while favouring the Unions notice on the notice board at work place, But Norma continued with her union objectives and kept on publicising the union, its cause and i ts functions to her peers, finally the management called the police chief to take her away to book her on disorderly conduct charges. Norma Rae did not leave calmly. She kicked, twisted, and screamed, and she had to be stuffed into the squad car and kept behind the bars for a night. At her home, being a lady she was expected to cook food, wash clothes, look after the kids, and perform all other household activities, but since she was very much involved in the union activities she could not take out time for all these works, there was a conflict between her and her husband regarding the same on which she reacted aggressively showing her discontent that while she kept busy in work it was the responsibility of him to take care of such tasks. All these conflicts made her stronger to fight for her cause. Social Identity Theory: Social identity theory: leader is picked by followers or chosen to be supported by followers because s/he is most like them. (Source- Slides) Norma Rae is a co-worker of the labours in the O.P Henley textile mills, this is an additional benefit which she enjoys to become a leader of them and for them, as stated in the social identity theory. There is a peer trust relationship between Norma and her followers, followers know that Norma is well aware of the situations and conditions prevalent in the working condition as she is one of them. This trust, respect and belief can be seen when she held up a sheet of cardboard with the word UNION marked on it in large letters, all her followers supported her and stopped working, they knew that what she was doing is for them and for their well being. In an earlier scene we see that Norma was offered a better designation and salary as that of peers, but when she realised the value of social identity she left the designation. Norma knew that without winning the confidence of her peers and without being one of them she would not be able to succeed to reach her destination. She knew the v alue of social identity. Conclusion Norma Rae though a great social transformer, does not depict the characteristics of a very great leader with a big following. In fact, Norma didnt even have any followers as seen from a conventional view. Yet, she achieved and benefited many. She transformed the way labours were treated in the society, depicting a very interesting, unique and a subtle style of leadership. Norma Rae proved that passion and not position is where courage of a great leader to fulfil his vision, comes from. She along with Reuben, achieved her goal of establishing a union, yet facilitated the workers to believe that it was their effort and achievement. The following lines best describe the leadership style of Norma Rae: Go to the people. Learn from them. Live with them. Start with what they know. Build with what they have. The best of leaders when the job is done, when the task is accomplished, the people will say we have done it ourselves. -Lao Tzu Appendix 1 Appendix 2 Vision as a Strategy