Leadership Styles

Introduction According to Rao (2010) president Barrack Obama has exhibited different theorised leadership skills since he was sworn in as the 44th president of the United States of America. Such include Charismatic leadership and cross-cultural leadership. Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Leadership Styles specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More He has also captured different leadership theories which include the leader-member exchange theory, contingency theory as well as team leadership theory. Of all this however, it his charismatic/transformational characteristics that seem to define his style of leadership more aptly. Of all American presidents, John F Kennedy is remembered as the most charismatic leader that the country has ever had. During his presidential campaigns, Obama was likened to JF Kennedy owing to â€Å"something rare and special† that the president possessed (Bennis Zelleke, 2008, p. 1). Opinio n analysts were quick to point out that there was a specific kind of personal magnetism that attracted people to the president. As charismatic/transformational leaders speak, they are able to woo strangers and make them believe in some kind of a shared meaning. Through proper articulation, they are able to create a vision that is shared by most people in an audience. Kellerman (2009) states that Max Weber was the first sociologist who attempted to give meaning to the word ‘charisma’. Accordingly, Weber used the word to describe a form of leadership where a leader had extraordinary skills that ensured that he always had followers in his thrall. More to this, the charismatic form of leadership given meaning by Weber was powerful, symbiotic and had leaders and their followers engaged and dependent. Kellerman (2009) draws a similarity in president Obama’s form of leadership and what Weber defined as Charismatic leadership. For starters, the author observes the loyal following that Obama commands (especially right after his election) is evidence enough that he has captured their imagination through his spoken word and his articulation of a vision they all share in. Another example of how he managed to capture people attention was the campaign fundraising where the ordinary Americans contributed small amounts individually until his campaign coffers were almost overflowing.Advertising Looking for essay on communications media? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Rao (2010) states, â€Å"Charisma is a sparkle in people that money cannot buy. It is an invisible energy with visible effects† (p.1). In Obama’s Case, the sparkle and invisible energy as defined by Rao pushed him to the presidency and continues allowing him some loyal following albeit the fact that some are being disappointed by the slow progress of reforms in his government. Characteristics Visionaries One of the outst anding characteristics of charismatic/transformational leaders as pointed out by Rao (2010) is that they are visionaries who believe in change. This means that they are anti-status quo. True to this characteristic, Obama assumed power on the promise of change. In fact, his campaign theme was â€Å"change we can believe in† and one of the president’s administration pet projects was change in the health care system in America. According to the White House (2010), the health care reform would ensure that all Americans can afford healthcare. Magnetic personalities The second characteristic of charismatic/transformational leaders as identified by Rao (2010) is their magnetic personalities, which appeals to the masses due to the enthusiasm and energy that such leaders reflect. Among the president’s other reform agendas is financial reform. Having taken office when the economy was facing a financial crisis, the president’s propositions to reform this sector are just as welcome among the economist as it is among the ordinary citizens. Watson (2010) for example observes that Obama’s advocacy for a regulatory bill which seeks to â€Å"build a new foundation for economic growth in the 21st century† was well received by the American people who have suffered under the economic recession (p.1). Good communicator It is no secret that the president is a good communicator and also exhibits a great wealth of emotional intelligence. According to Serat (2009), emotional intelligence is â€Å"the ability, capacity, skill or self-perceived ability to identify, assess and manage the emotions of one self, other people’s emotions, and group emotions†(p. 2). According to Posten (2009), Psychologists observing president Obama during his campaigns for presidency contend that he has a wealth of emotional intelligence. Accordingly, the president is able to interact and get along with other people more easily than other presidential candidates in America’s history have ever been. Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Leadership Styles specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Other presidents who had high emotional intelligence as identified by Posten (2009) include Eisenhower, Truman, Carter, Theodore Roosevelt, JF Kennedy and Ronald Reagan. Among the qualities that are considered when rating one’s emotional intelligence are; empathy, self-control and self-awareness, all which Posten states that the president has in abundance. Empathy An example of when the president’s empathy was evident to all and sundry was when he saved the chief justice’s face after the CJ flubbed on the oath of office during Obama’s swearing in ceremony. Later, Obama commented that the CJ â€Å"had helped him on a few stanzas†. His self-control was evident during the campaigns since he managed to remain calm despite the mudslinging and the negative connotations that were sometimes given to his camp (Serrat 2009). Rao (2010) further points out that â€Å"charismatic leader’s network with people and build bridges† (p.1). Looking at President Obama’s political rise, one cannot help agree that this is indeed true about him. Recording Obama’s journey in politics, Brown (2008) states that in addition to his oratory skills that convinces many Americans that he is a capable leader, the air of self-assuredness that the president wears is also an added bonus. â€Å"The president has a seemingly imperturbable belief in his own rhetorical and intellectual gifts† (p.1). Accordingly, even the party where he sought his presidential nomination believed him and thus showed their willingness to invest in an inspirational president rather than one who showed great potential in administration. â€Å"Like a superstar, he knows that his success or failure very much depends on how the ordinary people as well as those in high government positions respond to him† (p.1). Respect for others Another characteristic of charismatic leaders which is evident in Obama is the ability to respect others and appreciate them regardless of how insignificant their contributions to the leader’s position or welfare may be. Brown (2008) notes that people who knew the president on a personal level attested to his ability to appreciate people even those he had only just met. His ability to appreciate people and make personal contact with them, either by simple handshakes or simply enquiring about their welfare made a lasting impression among many people who appreciated his sense of humility.Advertising Looking for essay on communications media? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More It is Cass Sunstein’s (quoted by Brown, 2008) analysis of Obama however that explains the president’s ability to relate with people aptly. â€Å"I thought he liked people, and people liked him. I thought early on, this was someone who could unify the country across political lines. There was something about his lack of dogmatism, and his problem-solving ability and the ability to connect with him† (p.3). Rao (2010) also points out that some charismatic leaders are self-promoters especially because they have a firm believe in themselves and the potential they possess. As Brown (2008) points out, the president’s journey can be considered by some as confident, while some can define it as cocky. Brown for example notes that while visiting Western Jerusalem before he assumed the presidency, Obama had pressed a note that read â€Å"help me guard against pride† on Jerusalem’s Western Wall. On other occasions, the president has been quoted stating that his wife had served to remind him, that just like other people, he had his own imperfections despite his successes. Conclusion During his campaigns, Obama was a crowd puller. Americans who trusted him regardless of his relative inexperience in politics are a testimony to his abilities to woo people towards his vision. As Kellerman (2009) put it, no other person in most Americans lifetime has succeeded as Obama did in giving an impression of being authentically charismatic. As a result, the president was able to forge a bond with his followers that transcended reservations that may have had about his inexperience in politics and even his race, which admittedly had always played a role in American politics. A year and some months in the presidency, the bond that the president had created among the electorate may have waned in some areas, but his ability to inspire Americans still surfaces whenever he takes the public podium. His success with the healthcare bill is just one exam ple of what his leadership style has succeeded in helping him meet some of the campaign pledges. References Bennis, W. Zelleke, A. (2008) Barack Obama and the case for Charisma. The Christian Science Monitor. Web. Available from: http://www.csmonitor.com/Commentary/Opinion/2008/0228/p09s01-coop.html/ . Brown, C. (2008). Obama: The Journey of a confident Man. Politico. Web. Available from: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0808/12930_Page3.html/ . Kellerman, B. (2009). The nature of Obama’s Charismatic Leadership. Harvard Business Review. Web. Available from: http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2009/01/the_nature_of_obamas_charismat.html/ . Posten, B. (2009) The Power of EG: Emotional intelligence can make big difference in president’s success. Web. Available from: http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=125717/ . Rao, M (2010). Are you a charismatic leader? Academic leadership online Journal. Web. Available from: http://www.academicleadership.org/leader_action_tips/Are_You_A_C harismatic_Leader.shtml/ . Serrat, O. (2009). Understanding and developing emotional intelligence. Knowledge solutions, 49(1), 1-9. Watson, B. (2010) Obama Wall Street Speech draws more enthusiasm than protest, Web. Daily Finance. Available from: http://www.dailyfinance.com/story/media/obama-wall-street-speech-draws-more-enthusiasm-than-protest/19450624/ . White House (2010) Heath Reform for American Families. Web. Available from: http://www.whitehouse.gov/files/documents/health_reform_for_american_families.pdf/ . This essay on Leadership Styles was written and submitted by user Connor Blake to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

5 Common Misconceptions About Black Lives Matter

5 Common Misconceptions About Black Lives Matter Unpack the misconceptions that have been spread about the movement by separating fact from fiction about Black Lives Matter. All Lives Matter The top concern critics of Black Lives Matter say they have about the group (actually a collective of organizations with no governing body) is its name. Take Rudy Giuliani. â€Å"They sing rap songs about killing police officers and they talk about killing police officers and yell it out at their rallies,† he told CBS News on July 10. â€Å"And when you say black lives matter, that’s inherently racist. Black lives matter, white lives matter, Asian lives matter, Hispanic lives matter – that’s anti-American and it’s racist.† Racism is the belief that one group is inherently superior to another and the institutions that function as such. Black Lives Matter is not saying that all lives don’t matter or that other people’s lives aren’t as valuable as African Americans’ lives. It is arguing that because of systemic racism (dating back to the implementation of the Black Codes during Reconstruction) blacks disproportionately have deadly encounters with cops, and the public needs to care about the lives lost. During an appearance on â€Å"The Daily Show,† Black Lives Matter activist DeRay McKesson called the focus on â€Å"all lives matter† a distraction technique. He likened it to someone criticizing a breast cancer rally for not focusing on colon cancer as well. â€Å"We’re not saying colon cancer doesn’t matter,† he said. â€Å"We’re not saying other lives don’t matter. What we are saying is there is something unique about the trauma that black people have experienced in this country, especially around policing, and we need to call that out.† Giuliani’s accusation that Black Lives Matter activists sing about killing the police is unfounded. He’s conflated rap groups from decades ago, such as Ice-T’s band Body Count of â€Å"Cop Killer† fame, with the black activists of today. Giuliani told CBS that, of course, black lives matter to him, but his remarks suggest he can’t be bothered to tell one group of blacks from another. Whether rappers, gang members or civil rights activists are the topic at hand, they’re all interchangeable because they’re black. This ideology is rooted in racism. While whites get to be individuals, blacks and other people of color are one and the same in a white supremacist framework. The accusation that Black Lives Matter is racist also overlooks the fact that people from a broad coalition of racial groups, including Asian Americans, Latinos and whites, are among its supporters. In addition, the group decries police violence, whether the officers involved are white or people of color. When Baltimore man Freddie Gray died in police custody in 2015, Black Lives Matter demanded justice, even though most of the officers involved were African Americans.   People of Color Aren’t Racially Profiled Detractors of the Black Lives Matter movement argue that police do not single out African Americans, ignoring mountains of research that indicate racial profiling is a significant concern in communities of color. These critics assert that police have a greater presence in black neighborhoods because black people commit more crimes. On the contrary, police disproportionately target blacks, which doesn’t mean African Americans break the law any more often than whites do. The New York Police Department’s stop-and-frisk program is a case in point. Several civil rights groups filed a lawsuit against the NYPD in 2012, alleging that the program was racially discriminatory. Eighty-seven percent of the individuals NYPD targeted for stops and frisks were young black and Latino men, a greater proportion than they made up of the population. Police even targeted blacks and Latinos for most of the stops in areas where people of color made up 14 percent or less of the population, indicating the authorities weren’t drawn to a particular neighborhood but to residents of a particular skin tone. Ninety percent of people NYPD stopped anywhere did nothing wrong. Although police were more likely to find weapons on whites than they were on people of color, according to the New York Civil Liberties Union, that didn’t result in the authorities stepping up their random searches of whites. Racial disparities in policing can be found on the West Coast as well. In California, blacks comprise 6 percent of the population but 17 percent of people arrested and about a quarter of those who die in police custody, according to the OpenJustice data portal launched by Attorney General Kamala Harris in 2015. Collectively, the disproportionate amount of blacks stopped, arrested and who die in police custody explains why the Black Lives Matter movement exists and why the focus isn’t on all lives. Activists Don’t Care About Black-on-Black Crime Conservatives love to argue that African Americans only care when police kill blacks and not when blacks kill each other. For one, the idea of black-on-black crime is a fallacy. Just as blacks are more likely to be killed by fellow blacks, whites are more likely to be killed by other whites. That’s because people tend to be killed by those close to them or who live in their communities.    That said, African Americans, particularly pastors, reformed gang members and community activists, have long worked to end gang violence in their communities. In Chicago, the Rev. Ira Acree of Greater St. John Bible Church has fought against gang violence and police killings alike. In 2012, former Blood member Shanduke McPhatter formed the New York nonprofit Gangsta Making Astronomical Community Changes. Even gangster rappers have taken part in the effort to stop gang violence, with members of N.W.A., Ice-T and several others teaming up in 1990 as the West Coast Rap All-Stars for the single â€Å"We’re All in the Same Gang.† The idea that blacks don’t care about gang violence in their communities is meritless, given that anti-gang efforts date back decades and the African Americans trying to stop such violence are too numerous to name. Pastor Bryan Loritts of Abundant Life Christian Fellowship in California aptly explained to a Twitter user why gang violence and police brutality are received differently. â€Å"I expect criminals to act like criminals,† he said. â€Å"I dont expect those who are to protect us to kill us. Not the same.† Black  Lives Matter Inspired Dallas Police Shootings The most defamatory and irresponsible critique of Black Lives Matter is that it provoked Dallas shooter Micah Johnson to kill five police officers. â€Å"I do blame people on social media...for their hatred towards police,† Texas Lt. Gov. Patrick said. â€Å"I do blame former Black Lives Matter protests.† He added that law-abiding citizens with big mouths led to the killings. The month before, Patrick summed up the mass murder of 49 people at a gay club in Orlando, Fla., as â€Å"reaping what you sow,† revealing himself to be a bigot, so it’s not entirely surprising that he would choose to use the Dallas tragedy to accuse Black Lives Matter as being accomplices of sorts to murder. But Patrick knew nothing about the killer, his mental health or anything else in his history that led him to commit such a heinous crime, and the politician willfully overlooked the fact that the killer acted alone and was not part of Black Lives Matter. Generations of African Americans have been angry about police killings and racism generally in the criminal justice system. Years before Black Lives Matter existed, police had a strained relationship with communities of color. The movement didn’t create this anger nor should it be blamed for the actions of one deeply troubled young man. Black activists have raised the call for an end to violence, not an escalation of it, Black Lives Matter said in a July 8 statement about the Dallas killings. â€Å"Yesterday’s attack was the result of the actions of a lone gunman. To assign the actions of one person to an entire movement is dangerous and irresponsible.† Police Shootings Are the Only Problem While police shootings are the focus of Black Lives Matter, deadly force isn’t the only issue adversely affecting African Americans. Racial discrimination infiltrates every facet of American life, including education, employment, housing and medicine in addition to the criminal justice system. While police killings are a grave concern, most blacks won’t die at the hands of a cop, but they may face barriers in a variety of sectors. Whether the topic at hand is the disproportionate amount of black youth suspended from school or black patients of all income levels receiving poorer medical care than their white counterparts, black lives matter in these instances as well. The focus on police killings may lead everyday Americans to think they’re not part of the nation’s race problem. The opposite is true. Police officers don’t exist in a vacuum. The implicit or explicit bias that reveals itself when they deal with black people stems from cultural norms that signal it’s okay to treat blacks as if they’re inferior. Black Lives Matter argues that African Americans are equal to everyone else in this country and institutions that don’t operate as such should be held accountable.

Journals Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Journals - Article Example You†¦,kill a man or take a tire off his car† (pg.9). The misfit then orders his two accomplices to take the family members and kill them one by one. This act shows how heartless a man can be. Killing a fellow human being in cold blood indicates how hard it is indeed hard to get a good man. Equal in Paris is a narrative that tells of an American who had been in Paris and was arrested for receiving stolen goods. The narrator spends much time in the prison rooms without trial and keeps on waiting for trial. He spends in prison with inmates among them a fellow American. The prisoner says that, â€Å"One had, in short, to come into contact with an alien culture in order to understand that a culture was not a community basket-weaving project, nor yet an act of God† (pg103). The prisoner now feels just equal to the inmates as they are treated the same way. Leaving America, he goes to become equal to other prisoners in

Descartes holds that we can literally see other people (as opposed to, Essay

Descartes holds that we can literally see other people (as opposed to, say, hats and feet from an upper-story window). Explain h - Essay Example However, in real sense, Descartes actually posits that humans can understand their minds more readily than they can possibly ever understand their corporeal nature, which is subject to doubt (Newman). The theorist bases his arguments on the example of wax in its various forms i.e. solid and liquid form; according to Descartes, the perception senses cannot recognize the semblance in the different forms. In other words, the human senses are inadequate in themselves to effectively describe whether or not the molten wax is similar to the solid wax. Failure by the senses to recognize that both forms of wax are indeed indistinguishable calls us to the overall unreliability of human senses; they cannot provide adequate cognition about the nature of the wax, thus the two different forms of wax are inevitably differentiated. In this regard, Descartes eventually theorizes that perception is a function of the mind alone (Card). In the second part of his argument, Descartes posits that senses pr ovide humans with a better and refined understanding of the nature of things, only that the senses in themselves are not sufficient to determine truth (Newman). Therefore, the senses are constrained by certain limitations thus implying that certain knowledge can only be achieved through judgment, understanding in human minds and thinking. However, it is noteworthy that Descartes, in his almost incredible wisdom, does not at any point rule out the contribution of senses in the process of understanding the nature of things. Rather, Descartes only seems to emphasize that sense perception in humans relies on the mind more than it does on the body. He is nothing else apart from a thinking thing/ a mind/ an intellect/ understanding or reason (â€Å"The Meditations†); this way, Descartes draws an obvious parallel between the mind and the soul. Descartes begins his investigations into perception by disbelieving/ deconstructing his prior knowledge on the nature of things (Newman); he questions even the truth of his own existence thus concluding with certainty that the only possible truth about it was, â€Å"I am, I exist†. However, this conclusion is still constrained with the fact that Descartes does not yet understand the nature of his being. This line of argument also leads him into drawing the second conclusion, equating intellect, reason, understanding, mind and soul with thinking. In this manner, Descartes has successively assigned himself a trait in an attempt to define his nature as a ‘thinking thing’ that can exist independently from the body (â€Å"The Meditations†). Thus, he still advances this further by stating that his thinking encompasses doubting, understanding, affirmation, refusal, imagination and sense. Having successively drawn a supposedly absurd parallelism between thinking and sensing, Descartes clarifies by stating that certain truth is established out of a combination of perceived sensations and thought process es. In other words, Descartes theorizes that that which is knowledge to the human mind, whose nature has been perceived by the senses is more embellished than that which is mysterious or imaginable (Card). In that case, it is easier for us to see people, as opposed to hats and feet, because our thoughts usually form images of human bodies which are then examined by our senses; other things like hats and feet do not

Security organs in the United States of America Research Paper

Security organs in the United States of America - Research Paper Example The office would also coordinate interagency for national estimates.2 Following the passage of the National Security Act in 1947, several variations in the Executive were legislated. Among the establishments effected by the Act was independent Air Force, National Security Council (NSC), the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) and Secretary of Defense. The CIG was transformed into the Central Intelligence Agency, after the Act had officially permitted it to become an independent department.3 The functions of CIG were not altered by the Act. Even though, loosely defined, new additional duties were created for CIA. A plan to define CIA’s duties in specific terms would have lead to creation of tension following the full of unification of services of other security organs.4 CIA was therefore mandated to collecting information about foreign governments, corporations and individuals and also to advise public policy makers.5 On the other hand, the National Security Council was created by the National Security Act passed in 1947. It was amended in 1949 by the National Security Act Amendments. Through the part of the Reorganization Plan of 1949 the Council was transferred to the Executive office of the President.6 Therefore, the Council serves as the principle forum when it comes to the President’s consideration on matters of security and foreign policy. Apart from the president, other members of the Council are his senior national security advisors and cabinet officials.7 The major duties of NSC have been to appropriately advise and assist the President on matters pertaining to national security as well as foreign policies. Through NSC, the President is able to coordinate the policies among the government agencies that are concerned. Such agencies include the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of Army, the Secretary of Navy, the Secretary Air Force and the chairperson of the National Security Resources Board (Borene, 2010 p. 35). The Joint Chiefs of Staff’ formation was as a result of the Arcadia Conference in which the United States and Great Britain agreed to establish the combined JCS to look into the war effort on behalf of the two countries. The composition of the combined JRC included senior members in the armed forces of the two countries. Through the passage of the National Security Act, the JCS was formally established and its functions redefined.8 Despite the Act’s provisions clearly preventing the Chiefs from commanding forces, the chiefs had consistently continued to exercise executive authority in originating contact with combat commanders. This uncertainty prompted the congress to amend the Act in 1953 to deter the chiefs from such contacts with field commanders.9 The JCS of the United States is currently constituted by a six member committee. The members are; a chairperson, vice-chairperson, and the chiefs from each of the four branches of the military. The chief of each military branch t hrough the assistance of the vice-chairperson serves as a manager of his military branch. Meetings of JCS are conducted by the chairperson. The main duty of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is to advise the President, the National Security Council and the Secretary of Defense on issues of military affairs.10 How the Structure of Various Security Organs Have Limited the US Action in Iraq and Afghanistan The Washington’

New Media Technologies Adoption Challenges Information Technology Essay

New Media Technologies Adoption Challenges Information Technology Essay Latest advances in information and communication technologies (ICTs) have continued to be a major factor that is catapulting modern society to a high technology one. With cutting edge and far-reaching developments in science and technology in the late twentieth century, Ipad, ipods, new video games, cellular phones, electronic banking, and satellite television are just a few of the ICT innovations that have taken our modern life by storm. The Information and Communication Technologies in this study is operationalised to mean the new media technologies, including satellites, telephony, the Internet, the Global System of Mobile Communication (GSM), other components of computer- assisted reporting and multimedia systems. These are new improved technological facilities that facilitate the creation, storage, management and dissemination of information by electronic means. No doubt, this wave of new media technologies within the fabric of todays globalised village has continued to pressure everyone to adopt ICTs as the whole world is being shrunk into one small entity and computing, telecommunications, broadcast and print media continue to converge on common digital-based techniques. Since the great inroad of the Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) into the global scene at the dawn of the 21st century, significant changes have been recorded in the way man does things. In virtually every profession, the traces of the ICTs are clear, bringing radical changes and improvement. Specifically, media practice the world over has witnessed a great change; and traditional journalism has been replaced with hi-tech journalism (Obe 2008). The use of the facilities of the New Information and Communication Technologies has given birth to the components of Computer-Assisted Reporting (CAR) which are commercial online databases, CD-ROM, Electronic Bulletin Boards (BBS), Electronic morgue, in-house topical databases, electronic public records and the Internet (Davenport et al, 1996). Besides, the use of ICTs facilities to disseminate news and information at jet speed, as in Electronic News Gathering (ENG) and Satellite News Gathering (SNG), have really taken journalism practice by storm. Evidences suggest that in no distant time, virtually every practice of the media will be carried out with the use of ICTs. Very soon, if not now, media practitioners will have no other option than to search the web, use e-mail attachments, navigate newsgroup, setting up list servers, downloading of web files and analysis of databases and so on. With these new communication technologies, interpersonal communication has been greatly improved upon with facilities like fax machines, communication satellites, e-mails, personal digital assistants, cellular phones and the Internet. These days, everybody is within the reach of everybody else. The emergence of the computer and its interlinked network the Internet, has ushered in a new opportunity for the ICTs-induced communication. The real motive behind the communication is to create a virtual global village where information flow cannot be disrupted. When ICTs are fully adopted and used, the socio-economic and developmental lives of the people will be greatly enhanced. The aim of this paper is to track the adoption and use of ICTs by media professionals in Nigeria. STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM Most developing nations of the world are confronted with socio-economic problems ranging from poverty to corruption with no solution in sight. The assumption is that one of the safest routes to escape from the problem is for most developing nations of the world to adopt and use Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs). That is why most developing nations are trying to subscribe to the modern day developmental magic with a view to transforming their societies for good. The argument as to whether Africa can actually utilize ICTs for her development in the face of the prevailing circumstances is gaining robust dimension. In their UNESCO-sponsored pilot study on adoption of ICTs in Africa and Asia-Pacific, Obijiofor et al submit: In Africa, ignorance is far more major obstacles and those aware, mostly the educated and literate people in the private sector, say as much as they appreciate the need and importance of ICTs, the economic situation in their countries and general poverty make it difficult for people who need these ICTs to acquire them. In Ghana, for example, the per capital income is US$400 and the average cost of a computer (plus modem and telephone line etc) is US$1500. Also in Nigeria, to acquire a computer/modem, ISP subscription and telephone line would require the total annual income of a graduate. Considering the above statement by Obijiofor et al, there is arguably a concern over the general poverty mentality on the part of media professionals which could tend to make them see acquisition of computers as luxury and as status symbols or statement of ones hierarchy in society, as such, consider purchasing ICTs as purchasing a diamond or gold. For instance, a longitudinal study aimed at tracking the adoption of computer-based information sources by Nigerian newspapers conducted in 2004 reveals that there is a zero or near-zero use of most of the components of computer-assisted reporting (CAR). For example, no Nigerian newspaper is currently using electronic morgue and electronic public records. There is also very little use of CD-ROMs and commercial online databases (Okoye, 2004). This however calls for a serious concern on whether the journalists can appreciably use ICTs to really deliver developmental and investigative journalism required to sanitise the society. Hence, the st udy sought to address this concern by examining how media professionals use ICTs to deliver their task. OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY The specific objectives of the study are: To track the level of adoption of ICTs by media professionals in Nigeria To determine specific ICTs tools that is in use among Nigerian media professionals. To determine the challenges surrounding the adoption and use of ICTs by Nigerian media professionals. SCOPE OF STUDY The study narrows down to media professionals working with selected media organizations in Lagos, Nigeria as respondents. The study location is adopted because there is a high concentration of media professionals and their organizations in Lagos, the nerve centre of the Nigerian Press. Besides, Lagos is today regarded as the city with the most developed, vibrant and dynamic media industry in Africa (BBC poll). The media professionals include staff of major ICTs-driven print media (Newspapers and magazines) organizations that are registered by Newspaper Proprietors Association of Nigeria (NPAN) and the broadcast media outfits licensed by the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC). The media professionals in each of the media organisations are the reporters at all levels (including freelancers), editors, newscasters, studio engineers and prepress staff. The respondents were limited to these categories because those are the people believed to be leading in media technology in Nigeria media industry. RESEARCH HYPOTHESES Two research hypotheses were raised for this research. Research Hypothesis 1 H1: There is an inverse relationship between the cost of acquisition of ICTs and adoption and use of ICTs by media professionals in Nigeria. Research Hypothesis 2 H1: Use of specific communication strategies is dependent on the income level of media professionals in Nigeria. Brief Review of Literature Previous studies on the rate of adoption and use of communication technologies in Africa had been slow and gradual and couldnt match up with the sporadic rate of adoption of ICTs which was unprecedented in world history. For instance, it took radio thirty-eight years; television took thirteen years, while cable took ten years to hit the mass medium status, whereas it took the Internet only six years to reach the fifty million users mark (Kaye and Medoff, 2001). In Nigeria, it did not take up to three years for the Global System of Mobile Communication (GSM) to hit appreciable number of adopters and users. The universal adoption of Internet is revealed through universal access data in various countries in the region. Topping the list of countries with high internet access are Korea 56% and Singapore (44%). In the median section are Malaysia with 14% and Brunei Darussalam (11%). Further down the line are Philippines (6%), Thailand (4%), and Indonesia (1%). Countries like Cambodia and Myanmar are at the bottom of the heap with less than 1% Internet diffusion. Among countries in the Caucuses and Central Asia, the internet is primarily accessible in the largest urban centres and technical services and support are often slow and expensive (Asian Womens Resource Exchange 2001: 36). Theoretical Orientations A concept that was employed in this study is Technological Determinism which assumes that changes in communication technology inevitably produce profound changes in both culture and social order. The concept holds further that technology inevitably causes specific changes in how people think, in how society is structured, and in forms of culture that are created. Marshall McLuhan who is a chief proponent of this concept staunchly believes that all social, political, economic and cultural change is inevitably based on the development and diffusion of technology. These and many other theories related to the work shall be fully explored in the main report. The concept of critical mass theory as it applies to the adoption of new communication technologies is desirable and would be used. The term comes from physics, where critical mass refers to the minimum amount of material needed to trigger and sustain a radioactive chain reaction. The term has been loosely applied to communication and refers to the minimum number of people needed as adopters before a new communication technology can have a permanent place in the society (Kaye and Medoff, 2001). Williams, Strover and Grant (1994) corroborate: An interesting aspect of the critical mass perspective is that widespread use appears to have a snowball effect. Once a perceived critical mass is using the technology, those without it are strongly motivated to adopt it. The reasoning here is that despite the drawbacks, such as cost or difficulty in using the technology, people (and institutions) are pressured to adopt the technology because failure to do so may exclude them from existing communication networks (p34). Before any medium can be considered a mass medium, a critical mass of adopters must be reached. Generally, critical mass is achieved when about 16 percent of the entire population has adopted an innovation, although in the case of mass media, fifty million users seem to be the milestone (Markus,1990; Neufeld, 1997 cited in Kaye and Medoff, 2001). Researches have shown that the rate of radio adoption crawled along for thirty-eight years before hitting the magic fifty million users; television took thirteen years, while cable took ten years to hit this mass medium status. In less than six years of its existence as a consumer medium, Internet has reached the fifty million users mark. Between 1995 and 1997, the estimated number of US online users ranged from 51 million to about 58 million. (About One in Four Adults, 1996; American Internet User Survey, 1997; CommerceNet and Nielsen Research, 1995; GVUs seventh www user survey, 1997; Hoffman, Kalsbeek, and Novak, 1996a; McGarvey, 1996; MIDS, 1995; OReiley Survey Sets, 1995; Taylor, 1997). In 1998 and 1999, between 57 million and 64 million people in the United States used the Internet (Decotis, 1999; Relevant Knowledge Rank the Sites, 1998). In 1999, Jupiter Communications claimed that in the United States alone, there were as many as 90 million Internet users (Guglielmo, 1999). The Computer Industry Almanac claims that the use has topped 100 million people 40 percent of the population (US tops, 1999). More alarming is the Data monitors claim that by year 2003 about 545 million Internet users will be around the world (Data monitor: 545 users, 1999). The BBC has greatly adopted the new media technology in its operations. Its new media division, the BBC online, has become one of the UKs most popular website, with over 190 million page impression requests per month. Besides, it has also introduced the BBCi meaning, the BBC interactive that takes in computers and interactive digital television across Sky, ITV Digital and the cable companies. CNN and other leading broadcast stations in the world are following. Various arguments have been advanced for and against the adoption of ICTs. Stevenson, Burkett and Myint (1993) argue that the new communication and information technologies can strengthen the centralized, industrial, command economy or decentralize empowerment for finding creative solutions to local and global problems through new social technologies. Other pro ICTs scholars point out that new technologies lead to speedier, more accurate, and improved outcomes that increase our capabilities and make us more efficacious (Dickson, 1974; Florman, 1981) In terms of the Internet, we are able to communicate far more effectively, with more people and in more ways, than before (Rowland, 1997). The advancement in the production and availability of sexual material can be viewed as a function of technological advancement (Durkin Bryant, 1995; Lane, 2000). It is arguable that all media technologies, from print to the Internet, have been used for sexual purposes (Noonan, 1998). In their argument against ICTs, Inayatullah insists that ICT causes further cultural impoverishment by continuing the one-way communication between North and South and much more that ICTs create information based economy and not a communicative society (Inayatullah, 1999). Lerner and Schramm (1976) throw more weight: Throughout the less developed regions, people have been led to want more than they can get. This can be attributed in part to the spread of the mass media, which inevitably show and tell people about the good things of life that are available elsewhereà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦As people in the poor countries were being shown and told about goodies available in developed countries, they were also being taught about their own inferiorityà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦at least in terms of wealth and well-being. Recognition of the disparities between the rich and poor countries produced among some a sense of aggressiveness. Both apathy and aggression usually are counter-productive to genuine development efforts (Lerner and Schramm, 1976:341-342) METHOD OF RESEARCH This study employed survey research method. This involves design of questionnaires which were administered to the respondents. Pertinent questions that bother on the adoption and usage of ICT constitute the bulk of the questionnaire design. The methodological procedure established includes the study population, sample size, the sampling procedures, the research instruments, the data collection exercise, problems of data collection, data preparation and entry as well as the analytical techniques adopted. STUDY POPULATION The study population comprises media professionals working with selected media organizations in Lagos. The media professionals are mostly journalists believed to be using ICTs to enhance their work. The media professionals fielded questions on their adoption and usage of ICTs tools. The media professionals include staff of major ICTs-driven print media (Newspapers and magazines) organizations that are registered by Newspaper Proprietors Association of Nigeria (NPAN) and the broadcast media recognized and licensed by the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC). The media professionals in each of the media organisations are the reporters at all levels (including freelancers), editors, newscasters, studio engineers and prepress staff. The respondents were limited to these categories because those are the people who use ICTs facilities in the media industry. SAMPLING TECHNIQUE The simple random sampling technique was used to select the required media organisations for the study. Within the selected media organizations, the simple random sampling technique was equally used to select respondents within the media organizations under study. This was desirable as it rules out bias and subjectivity in the choice of respondents. STUDY SAMPLE As at the time of conducting this study, 47 print media organisations were registered by Newspaper Proprietors Association of Nigeria (NPAN) and out of the 47, only 18 Lagos-based print media houses weer still in circulation. Out of the 18 functioning, six print media organisations were selected for this study. The selected six media houses consist of four newspapers and two magazines (for the print media). Out of the existing broadcast stations licensed by NBC, four were selected which consist of two television stations and two radio stations. This made the total number of media organizations studied to be ten in number. The print media organizations selected are: Punch Nigeria Limited (publisher of the Punch Titles); Leaders and Company Limited. (Publisher of ThisDay Titles); The Sun Publishing Limited (Publisher of The Sun Newspaper); Financial Standard newspaper; Independent Communications Network Limited (Publisher of TheNEWS magazine and Newswactch Communication Limited (Publisher of Newswatch magazine). In the broadcast media, the four media stations selected are African Independent Television, Lagos (AIT) and Nigerian Television Authority, Lagos (NTA Channel 10) (Television) and Raypower 100.5 FM, Lagos and FRCN, Lagos (Radio Nigeria). SAMPLE SIZE Among the ten media organizations selected for this study, 200 communication professionals were chosen as respondents. The 200 consists of twenty respondents from each of the ten media organisations. Some of the media organizations studied do not have up to two hundred journalists, except for NTA and FRCN which are government owned. Nevertheless, it was estimated that 20 of the existing number of journalists in each of the organizations should be representative enough for generalization to be drawn. RESEARCH INSTRUMENT The main instrument for this research is the questionnaire. The questionnaires were designed using both the open-ended and closed-ended approaches. The first section of the two questionnaire schedules contained questions on respondents background, socio-economic and other demographic characteristics. These include questions on respondents sex, age, marital status, monthly income, educational attainment of respondents. The second section of the questionnaire dealt with information on adoption and use of ICTs. Respondents were asked to state their area of media practice and name of their media organizations and the department of the media organization in which they work. Specific questions about the time of their adoption of ICTs and that of their media organizations were raised. The questionnaire equally sought to know what specific ICTs tools are commonly or easily in use by the media professionals. The second section also probed into the adoption of the components of computer-assisted reporting. It used likert-like scale to really ascertain the degree of their adoption and use. The section of the questionnaire did not stop there, it tested the adoption of database journalism as well as the practice of computer-assisted investigative reporting. The questionnaire also probed into the economic aspect of ICTs, where questions that link cost and other economic considerations to the use and adoption were raised. VALIDATION OF RESEARCH INSTRUMENTS As a way of validating the instruments used for this research, face validity check was carried out by two senior university academics. Besides, a pilot study was conducted by the researcher in 2007. The pilot study aimed at tracking the adoption and use of ICTs by media professionals in Nigeria. The study was a follow up to an initial study conducted by Okoye (2004) at the University of Lagos. The success of the pilot study is an indication that the research instrument was tested with positive results. Problems Encountered A study of this magnitude cannot be completed without challenges, especially during data collection. The first problem was created by the corporate affairs manager of Daar Communications Plc, owner of AIT/Raypower who ordered the security operatives to usher the researcher out of the premises when the researcher had started administering the questionnaire copies to AIT staff before realizing that such must first pass through the corporate affairs manager for scrutiny. The managers seemingly rude approach at correcting visitors annoyed the researcher which led to minor altercations. This was later settled, but the researcher had to drop copies of the questionnaire to come back for it three days later, thereby making the wait-and-get approach unworkable in AIT. One major problem is the lackadaisical attitudes of media professionals towards academic research. Most of them claimed they were very busy to attend to us while others complained that the items on the questionnaire design are too many to answer. Some of them would ask us to wait till he finishes his report which could take an hour or two. There were instances of refusals, especially when the receptionist had to confirm the willingness of the respondents. The brown envelope mentality of the press was equally expressed here, although with few journalists when they openly requested for gratification or bottle of coke before filling the copies of questionnaire. Since this was anticipated by the researcher during the training, the field assistants were asked to use their initiatives and parley the respondents by creating much needed rapport. This eventually yielded positive efforts. Another major problem encountered is that few of the respondents, especially the senior staff had the propensity to lie about their adoption and use of ICTs for one major reason: they want to impress the researcher that their organization is standard and ICT-compliant, so in cases where they have not adopted a particular component of ICTs, they tend to say they have. The researcher and field assistants overcame this problem by demanding to see and probably take a photo shot of such facilities for the archive. For instance, in Punch, the Chief Librarian claimed they have adopted electronic morgue but when the researcher requested to see it and take a photo shot, she mellowed down and said their electronic morgue is still under construction. Data Preparation and Data Entry Having returned the survey data from the field, the data were carefully edited by the researcher himself to ensure completeness, legibility, clarity and consistency. After these internal checks, a total of 172 copies of the questionnaire were adjudged usable for analysis out of the 181 that were completed and returned. After this, data were entered and the statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) was used for programming and analysis after the data entry. The SPSS and data entry were done by a database administrator with the assistance of the researcher. Discussions of Findings The data elicited from media professionals show that there are more male media professionals than their female folks as respondents in the research work and that majority of the respondents are young persons who are within the age range of 30-49 years. Besides, there is preponderance for married persons. Majority of the respondents have first degree/higher diploma as highest academic qualifications. The monthly salary of most of the media professionals falls between the range of N10,000 and N39,999. This shows most media professionals in Nigeria earn below N40,000. Most media organizations in Nigeria adopted the tools of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) in their operations between 1999 2000 and 2001-2005. This period coincided with the time Punch newspaper house sacked all its photographers and abolished the use of film development process in the production of photographs. Instead, they adopted the use of digital camera which no longer requires the use of tedious traditional dark room film development processes. Of all the tools of ICTs available to media professionals, the Internet was mostly in use. In other words, the respondents use Internet more than any other tools. This confirms the findings of the pilot study conducted to validate the questionnaire for this study which revealed that out of the tools of ICTs, the Internet has the highest adopters. The respondents are however, divided about the description of their current state of adoption and use of ICTs. While some indicated that the current state of adoption and use among them is high, another good numbers do not share the high belief but rather describe the adoption and use as moderate. From the data gathered, the greatest challenge militating against the use of ICTs by media professionals in Nigeria is the cost of acquiring the facilities. This was followed by lack of base infrastructure like electricity. Only very few attributed why they do not use ICTs to unfavourable government policies. More importantly, majority of the respondents hold that the cost of acquiring ICTs tools is high. Although, respondents gave different opinions on cost of ICTs , but what remains clear is that there is a preponderance for respondents who see the cost of acquiring ICTs as being on the high side. Another important finding is that the income level of the respondent is a barrier to their acquisition of ICTs, The data had earlier established the fact that a greater portion of the respondents earn between N10,000 and N39,999 monthly. However, the bulk of the respondents opined that the benefits inherent in the use of ICTs are enormous. The data reveal that very appreciable number of the respondents are quite aware of Electronic Newsgathering and Satellite newsgathering (ENG and SNG), Very few numbers of the respondents unaware of ENG and SNG. The respondents are again divided on their level of agreement of the fact that ENG and SNG are needed in every contemporary media organization. Very many of them strongly agree while only few strongly disagree. Highest percentage of the respondents equally opined that ENG and SNG are the best in performing news gathering functions. In the same vein, the respondents indicated that ENG and SNG have done the following good to media organizations: betterment of broadcast production quality; great improvement in broadcast media practice in Nigeria; attraction of more audience to media organizations; positive change in the news processing and techniques. To cap it all, most of the respondents indicated that the benefits derived from ENG and SNG outweighs the challenges therein. Summary of findings and Conclusion Most media organizations in Nigeria adopted the tools of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) in their operations at the dawn of the millennium and of all the tools of ICTs available to media professionals, the Internet was mostly in use. Data showed that the monthly salary of most of the media professionals falls between the range of N10,000 and N39,999. This means that most media professionals in Nigeria earn less than N40,000; the average income is N25,000 ( £130). The media professionals were mostly reporters, newscasters and prepress staff, a handful were editors and top management staff. The greatest challenge against the use of ICTs by media professionals in Nigeria is the cost of acquiring the facilities. This is compounded by lack of base infrastructure like electricity. Only very few attributed why they do not use ICTs to unfavourable government policies. More importantly, majority of the respondents held that the cost of acquiring ICTs tools is high. This study concludes that the adoption of ICTs by Nigerian media professionals is relatively low, though its use is noticeable but relatively insufficient. It is low and insufficient because there are prevailing circumstances militating against the adoption and use of ICTs by media professionals. One of the most fundamental challenges that media professionals are being faced with is the cost and affordability of ICTs tools. The research is of a strong conclusion that the income level of the media professionals could not match the cost of acquisition of ICTs. This means that what the media professionals earn as income cannot enable them to afford buying ICTs tools without sweat. In contemporary Nigeria, to buy a digital camera, computer laptop, with modem and payment for Internet subscriptions costs around two hundred and fifty thousand naira ( £1000) depending on the sophistication and configuration of the ICTs tools. With the average monthly income of media professionals put at Tw enty five thousand naira ( £120) monthly and three hundred thousand naira ( £1200) annually, one could infer that it takes close to the total annual income of media professionals in Nigeria to buy a digital camera, computer laptop, with modem and payment for annual Internet subscriptions. This research is in agreement with a UNESCO-sponsored research on impact of ICTs on Socio-economic development of Africa and Asia Pacific where it was found out that it takes the total annual income of a graduate in Ghana, to be a computer-assisted journalist (Obijiofor et al 1999). The case among freelance journalists who do not receive specific salary and live on brown envelope is even worst as they survive on gratification offered by newsmakers. The implication of this is that journalists who should be maximizing the benefits inherent in ICTs do not see computers as useful compared with vehicle or calculator. In other words, these journalists see computers as luxury tools that could only be acquired when one is economically comfortable. To them, it is a question of scale of preference: if you have to feed and if you have to think of having a computer laptop, you will want to feed first, because if you dont feed, you are not likely to survive. Another challenge to the use of ICTs is the non-availabilty of Infrastructural support and one of the infrastructural facilities that constitute a barrier is inadequate supply of electricity/power. In Nigeria, the power generating authorities have been changing their names from NEPA to PHCN. When the name was NEPA, Nigerians, out of frustration gave their own coinage of NEPA as Never Expect Power Always as against the official name of National Electric Power Authority. As it is, most telecommunications base stations run on generators because electricity is a very scarce commodity in Nigeria. This hampers smooth telecommunication networks. Most places in Lagos do not have electricity for a week or more, and when there is, the supply comes in an interrupted way. This makes one to be switching from NEPA to generator which resultantly could damage the computer system and hampers the server and Internet network connections. Supporting this position of electricity challenge are Baffour Kojo, Asiedu and Lu, Song Feng (2003) in their work published in the Pakistan Journal of Information and Technology and titled Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), Internet as a Tool in the Developing World, Challenges and the Way Forward submit: The main problem with an e-mail system for most of the developing world (and much of Africa) is the unreliability of electricity and telephone lines, which are often out of order for days on end. Even when they are workin

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Stacks Data Structures and Algorithms 3.3 Stacks Another way of storing data is in a stack. A stack is generally implemented with only two principle operations (apart from a constructor and destructor methods): push adds an item to a stack pop extracts the most recently pushed item from the stack Other methods such as top returns the item at the top without removing it [9] isempty determines whether the stack has anything in it are sometimes added. A common model of a stack is a plate or coin stacker. Plates are "pushed" onto to the top and "popped" off the top. Stacks form Last-In-First-Out (LIFO) queues and have many applications from the parsing of algebraic expressions to ... A formal specification of a stack class would look like: typedef struct t_stack *stack; stack ConsStack( int max_items, int item_size ); /* Construct a new stack Pre-condition: (max_items * 0) && (item_size * 0) Post-condition: returns a pointer to an empty stack */ void Push( stack s, void *item ); /* Push an item onto a stack Pre-condition: (s is a stack created by a call to ConsStack) && (existing item count * max_items) && (item != NULL) Post-condition: item has been added to the top of s */ void *Pop( stack s ); /* Pop an item of a stack Pre-condition: (s is a stack created by a call to ConsStack) && (existing item count *= 1) Post-condition: top item has been removed from s */ Points to note: a. A stack is simply another collection of data items and thus it would be possible to use exactly the same specification as the one used for our general collection. However, collections with the LIFO semantics of stacks are so important in computer science that it is appropriate to set up a limited specification appropriate to stacks only. b. Although a linked list implementation of a stack is possible (adding and deleting from the head of a linked list produces exactly the LIFO semantics of a stack), the