Transcendentalism Essays - Transcendentalism, Lecturers

Transcendentalism Transcendentalism is the belief that matters of ultimate reality transcend, or go beyond, human experience. Transcendentalist thinking began during the American Renaissance with writers like Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau. However transcendental thinking did not begin with Thoreau and Emerson, but as Emerson called it, ?it is the very oldest of thoughts cast into the mold of these new times.? Transcendentalism is based on the ancient philosophy of Idealism, which originates with Plato, a well-known philosopher from ancient Greece. Transcendentalism is an appropriate way of thinking for the period known as the American Renaissance because it puts one into a state of mind that is more conducive to creative writing and thought. Transcendentalism is a lot to swallow, especially for many people of that time. Herman Melville totally captured the common man's reaction to the whole concept when he said, ?what stuff all this is.? It really takes a trained mind to grasp the concept of this spiritual world that Emerson describes. Many people do not believe in things that they cannot see, hear, touch, taste, or smell, so the extremely abstract concept of transcendentalism is totally out of their reach. However, for the people that can grasp this idea, it is very fulfilling. Transcendentalism makes people feel closer to God, in tune with nature, and gives a person a sense of self-worth. A major aspect of transcendental thinking is the individual defiance against the established orders of society. Henry David Thoreau conveys his feeling about this when he says; ?That government is best which governs not at all.? He believes that the ineptitude of the political leaders far out-weighs the amount of good that they could do. He also states that ?They who have been bred in the school of politics fail now and always to face the facts.? In this, he means that politicians ignore reality when it does not serve their purpose. This is true for modern times as all can see in the present political situation of the United States. Politicians are ignoring reality to serve their own personal and partisan agendas. The transcendentalists even went as far as to set up their own communities, the most famous of which, Brook Farm. Brook Farm, a self-governing, experimental community, lasted only six years, (the longest of all the transcendental communities), is where many famous authors of the American Renaissance call home for a part of their lives, and is even the setting for Nathaniel Hawthorne's Blithedale Romance. Hawthorne lived at the Farm for a little while, but left because he could not stand the highly intellectual and spiritual conversation. Brook Farm was a great outlet for these people to express their ideas and communicate with people who share those same beliefs without the fear of persecution by people that did not understand. The transcendentalist movement can and often is compared to another famous movement in American history, the ?hippie? movement of the sixties. In many ways the ?hippies'? movement paralleled the transcendentalists', and the ?hippies? even form their own little communities, like Brook Farm, called communes. Both of these movements were important to help shape thinking, writing, and social ideals. The transcendentalist movement brings to the table an increased awareness of the world around oneself, with and a commitment to the spiritual aspects therein, and the ?hippie? movement in the sixties gives Americans an increased awareness of their fellow man, with and emphasis on freedom and love. The transcendentalist movement has many good aspects to it that if applied today, could still teach everyone a few things about themselves and their lives. Plato, Emerson, Thoreau, and many others really did have a level of intelligence that transcended their contemporaries and the generations and generations after them.

Forest Succession Stages and Maturity

Forest Succession Stages and Maturity Successional changes in plant communities were recognized and described well before the 20th century. Frederick E. Clements observations were developed into theory while he created the original vocabulary and published the first scientific explanation for the process of succession in his book, Plant Succession: An Analysis of the Development of Vegetation. It is very interesting to note that sixty years earlier, Henry David Thoreau described forest succession for the first time in his book, The Succession of Forest Trees. Plant Succession Trees play a major role in creating terrestrial plant cover when conditions develop to the point where some bare-ground and soil is present. Trees grow alongside grasses, herbs, ferns, and shrubs and compete with these species for future plant community replacement and their own survival as a species. The process of that race toward a stable, mature, climax plant community is called succession which follows a successional pathway and each major step reached along the way is called a new seral stage. Primary succession typically occurs very slowly when site conditions are unfriendly to most plants but where a few unique plant species can catch, hold, and thrive. Trees are not often present under these initial harsh conditions. Plants and animals resilient enough to first colonize such sites are the base community that kick starts the complex development of soil and refines the local climate. Site examples of this would be rocks and cliffs, dunes, glacial till, and volcanic ash. Both primary and secondary sites in initial succession are characterized by full exposure to the sun, violent fluctuations in temperatures, and rapid changes in moisture conditions. Only the hardiest of organisms can adapt at first. Secondary succession tends to happen most often on abandoned fields, dirt, and gravel fills, roadside cuts, and after poor logging practices where disturbance has occurred. It can also start very rapidly where the existing community is completely destroyed by fire, flood, wind, or destructive pests. Clements defines the succession mechanism as a process involving several phases when on completion is called a sere. These phases are: 1.) Development of a bare site called Nudism; 2.) Introduction of living regenerative plant material called Migration; 3.) Establishment of vegetative growth called Ecesis; 4.) Plant competition for space, light, and nutrients called Competition; 5.) Plant community changes that affect the habitat called Reaction; 6.) Final development of a climax community called Stabilization. Forest Succession in More Detail Forest succession is considered a secondary succession in most field biology and forest ecology texts but also has its own particular vocabulary. The forest process follows a timeline of tree species replacement and in this order: from pioneer seedlings and saplings to transition forest to young growth forest to mature forest to old growth forest. Foresters generally manage stands of trees that are developing as part of a secondary succession. The most important tree species in terms of economic value are a part of one of several serial stages below the climax. It is, therefore, important that a forester manage his forest by controlling the tendency of that community to move toward a climax species forest. As presented in the forestry text, Principles of Silviculture, Second Edition, foresters use silvicultural practices to maintain the stands in the seral stage that meets societys objectives most closely.

Leadership Skills in Practice Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Leadership Skills in Practice - Essay Example Leadership theories are diverse in their nature explaining and establishing different view points on the problem of leadership skills and effective management. Following Boehnke and Bontis (2001) the transforming leader recognizes an existing need for a potential follower, but then moves forward seeking to arouse and satisfy higher needs (in terms of Maslow's need hierarchy) to engage the full person of the follower. The followers themselves may be converted into leaders. The main disadvantage is that the transforming leader is seen as a benevolent father who remains friendly and treats the employee as a child and a less experienced person(Barker 2001). The leader provides a model of integrity and fairness with people as well as being one who set clear and high standards of performance (Segriovanni & Glickman 2006). Other characteristics less frequently mentioned include: seeking others' highest good, treating others with dignity, showing respect for others and genuine interest in th em. A transformational leader can be seen to be firm and to reprimand when necessary, to give autonomy to followers, to encourage self-development of followers, to be participative, to be willing to teach followers, and to mix easily socially with followers (Armandi et al 2003). The advantages of participative (democratic) leadership are that it allows greater independence to employees and values individual culture and uniqueness of everyone. Good administration is the hallmark of good management and the proper and efficient use of resources. Managers become leaders when their personality and character, their knowledge and functional skills of leadership are recognized and accepted by the others involved. The main disadvantage is absence of strong power and influence upon employees. Situational leadership allows organizations to overcome current problems and respond effectively to coming changes. Leadership may be exercised from any direction in the space, or any value location, depending upon the dynamic constellation of the pattern of unification polarization in the group at a particular time, thus, depending upon one's value system, leadership at a given time may be malevolent as well as benevolent. Servant leadership is marked by great responsibility to wards society and his follows, the organization and customer. A person may be appointed or elected as leader with the expectation that he or she will lead in a particular direction or directions of behavior and value realization, but may find that to hold leadership under changing conditions of polarization and unification, he or she must deviate from the expected directions, at times even need to controvert them (Hoyle and Wilmore 2002). In contrast to other theories, servant leader does not respond effectively to economic and social changes limited by social responsibility and ethical issues. All the theories mentioned above, transformational and participative (democratic), servant and situational leadership, can be effectively used Tesco and its management. The effective leader for Tesco stores as the kind of