Human Memory Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Human Memory - Essay Example In contrast, as is attested by anyone who knows a person ravaged by Alzheimer's disease, even with normal sensory input, lack of memory is profoundly debilitating (Smith 267). Earlier work in the study of memory was confined to association between stimulus and response. However, current studies emphasize cognitive or mental processes over stimulus response association ( Morgan 184). How does the brain memorize information In order to answer this question, one must study the three stages of memory- encoding, storage and retrieval. Suppose you saw a parakeet for the first time in your life when your friend showed you one in the park last week. Subsequently when you went to the bird sanctuary today and saw a similar bird you immediately recognized it as a parakeet. This simple act actually entailed three steps; when your friend showed you the parakeet, you transformed the information that this bird is called a parakeet( the sound input) and that's what it looks like (the visual input); which are physical inputs into the kind of code that your memory would accept. This stage is called the encoding stage. The storing of this information for a week was the storage phase and when you retrieved the information to recognize the bird this morning; that was the retrieval stage. Memory can fail yo Memory can fail you at any one of these stages. Recent studies have shown that while encoding most of the activated brain regions are in the left hemisphere and during retrieval in the right hemisphere. Long Term and Short Term Memory. When a friend gives you his or her phone number verbally, its relatively easy to repeat it immediately. However recalling it after a day becomes difficult. Repeating the number immediately is an example of short term memory while recalling it after a day is constitutes long term memory. Experiments on small mammals and observation of people with damage to some parts of the brain have shown that the hippocampus a brain structure beneath the cortex is responsible for short term memory; whereas, the front of the cortex is responsible for long term memory (Atkinson 258). Usage Of Different Memories For Different Types Of Information Recent evidence has indicated that that different types of memories are used to store two different types of information; a fact such as the name of the current president- this uses explicit memory and a skill such as playing a piano- this uses implicit memory ( Atkinson 259; Smith 269) Even though short term memory involves recall of information in a few seconds it still goes through the three stages of encoding, storage and retrieval. To encode information we must first attend to it. Most issues with memory lapses can be attributed to a lack of attention. Since we are selective about what we attend to; only that memory will be encoded and can later be retrieved. The three types of coding used are- visual when the input or representation is visual such as a picture, acoustic when the information is verbal, such as somebody saying something, and semantic when the infor

Starwood Project Part Three Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Starwood Project Part Three - Research Paper Example What this means is that if the steward falters in ensuring that such roles are performed to their logical perfection, the facility will be affected severely because customers will not be pleased. As with all profit based organizations, once the customer is not pleased, the resulting circumstance is that profits will begin to decline (Schein, 2002). Another critical aspect of stewarding as applies to the present case of Phoenician Resort is the fact that the processes undertaken by the steward go a long way to determine the speed of work at the facility. Once speed is directly related to the amount of work that can be done within a given timeframe, it could also be said that the processes and the speed for that matter affects the efficiency of the whole facility (Barney, 2001). To sum it all, the present process analysis would therefore look at ways of making the work of the steward more effective and efficient. A flowchart illustrating the new process The benefits that the POI progra m can bring to Starwood As outlined in the overview, a consideration of the whole processes that take place at Phoenician Resort presently would directly impact on the efficiency and effectiveness at the facility. Luckily, the adjustment of the present process into a new model is directly incorporated into the roles of the POI. What this means is that the PI program brings to Starwood as a parent company, an efficient and effective workforce that is led by the stewards. Interestingly, both effectiveness and efficiency have some rates of affecting the productivity that is recorded at the workplace positively (Al-Ghorfa, 2009). For instance if the processes are adjusted such that the steward can perform his roles more effectively by delivering high quality tasks, more and more customers are going to be pleased and would consider this as excellent customer service. Hitherto, those whose commitment levels were low in terms of doing business with the company would have their decisions re scinded because they are going to have reasons for assured quality of service. On the part of efficiency, it would be expected that as more customers become pleased with the quality of service and they demand for more service, the factor of efficiency would be there to match up the demand. At the end, there will be as much supply as demand from customers would pose and this would be a very positive factor for improving productivity. In all, the POI program would benefit Starwood because it would ensure and increase quality, which would subsequently increase patronage and then productivity, which would also increase revenue for the company. Extending Benefits to other processes and properties within the Starwood system Indeed, the workforce at Starwood that makes up the Starwood system is interrelated and coordinated. In such a situation, the shortfalls and strengths of one sector affect what happens in most other sectors (Barney, 2001). Given the case of the benefits that the POI wo uld have on the processes of the stewards, it can boldly be said that indeed, these benefits can be extended to other processes and properties within the Starwood system. The reason why this is so, is that Phoenician Resort represents Starwood as a larger corporate image. Subsequently, the proposed benefits of efficiency and effectiveness, which would be translated into productivity and revenue, would

Proposal on Business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Proposal on Business - Essay Example UK firms that collapsed into the administration as they distorted or deviated under immense pressure of soaring costs and declining of consumer spending. Background Information of the Organization Woolworths is the organization under research, is medium-sized organization situated in the region of UK that appears to experience problems in the current recession period. Furthermore, this online retail company believes in providing the customers with a broad range of quality products with greater choices that include children's clothing, stationery, and toys at a very economical price. Woolworths is one of the UK's oldest store groups with more than thousand employees working at different stores all throughout UK. The statistical records provide with evidence that Woolworths has had a presence on the High Street of UK for several decades (Thompson & Martin &Â  Thompson, pp. 615-618, 2010). The history of Woolworths reveals the fact that it was in the early nineteen hundreds that covere d the local newspapers with its opening in UK. It gained recognition and popularity and the company expanded rapidly within couple of decades with more than five hundred stores in UK. However, in the middle years of the twentieth century, the growth of the company stagnated because competitors invaded the market. Contenders and competitors soon began to take over its market share as they rolled out the new concept on a faster pace (Thompson & Martin &Â  Thompson, pp. 615-618, 2010). The financial performance of Woolworths has been abating and falling in the past few years. The episodes of the shutting down of several stores of this retail company harmonize with the recession and the financial crisis that took place in the recent times. However, latter in the period of recession, Woolworths... The intention of this study is Woolworths as the organization under research, is medium-sized organization situated in the region of UK that appears to experience problems in the current recession period. Furthermore, this online retail company believes in providing the customers with a broad range of quality products with greater choices that include children's clothing, stationery, and toys at a very economical price. Woolworths is one of the UK's oldest store groups with more than thousand employees working at different stores all throughout UK. The statistical records provide with evidence that Woolworths has had a presence on the High Street of UK for several decades. The history of Woolworths reveals the fact that it was in the early nineteen hundreds that covered the local newspapers with its opening in UK. It gained recognition and popularity and the company expanded rapidly within couple of decades with more than five hundred stores in UK. However, in the middle years of the twentieth century, the growth of the company stagnated because competitors invaded the market. Contenders and competitors soon began to take over its market share as they rolled out the new concept on a faster pace. The financial performance of Woolworths has been abating and falling in the past few years. The episodes of the shutting down of several stores of this retail company harmonize with the recession and the financial crisis that took place in the recent times. However, latter in the period of recession, Woolworths reopened its store with in excess of half a million products on offer for the customers.

What are the main data collection techniques to elicit requirements Is Essay

What are the main data collection techniques to elicit requirements Is one better than another What is the preferred method - Essay Example Basically, there are two types of interview: structured and unstructured interview based data collection methods. We can extract a lot of useful data through such interviews. We can use this technique to discover people’s opinions, feelings, objectives and hard facts. However, there are certain limitations of this method, for example a large amount of qualitative data can be hard to analyze and it is extremely difficult to compare diverse respondents (Fisher & Foreit, 2002; Summerhill & Taylor, 1992). This is a significant data collection technique to elicit requirements. This method allows us to collect data and information quickly a large number of people. Here we are able to easily manage this process remotely. This can also offer a great deal of support for collecting data about beliefs, attitudes and characteristics. However, there are also certain problems with this method like that its simplistic (presupposed) categories offer a very small background. Here we also have no room for users to communicate their real requirements (Fisher & Foreit, 2002; Summerhill & Taylor, 1992). This data collection technique to elicit requirements is used for summarization as well as feedback. Here we are able to discuss the outcome of the data collection stage. This method also allows us to extract a set of requirements. We can use this data collection technique as a significant management tool. However, the scope of this technique is very limited (depends on the discussion) (Fisher & Foreit, 2002; Summerhill & Taylor, 1992). This data collection technique to elicit requirements is based on the brainstorming and project team. This technique allows us to make use of more natural communication between people as compared to a formal interview. In this scenario, we are able to measure reaction to motivation materials (for example: storyboards, mock-ups, etc.). This method has also some disadvantages for instance it is can create unnatural

Class Constitutional Convention Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Class Constitutional Convention - Essay Example citizens do. Otherwise, this creates a rift between naturalized citizens and natural-born U.S. citizens. It denotes that naturalized citizenship is somehow less important than the natural-born U.S. citizen’s right. This is not true, but basically that is what our society is saying to immigrants who have become naturalized citizens—sending the message that they may be citizens, but they will never be accepted in the way natural-born U.S. citizens are. The cons of taking such a position would include the following: people might possibly think that a foreign-born President of the U.S. might only have the interests of his or her native country at heart instead of the United States. Also, Americans would probably see it as an area of concern that someone who was not necessarily originally from the United States might have other agendas in mind than besides having the nation’s interest at heart. Another element that might prevent foreign-born naturalized citizens in becoming President is that he or she might be scrutinized based upon his or her accent or appearance more than the content of what the candidate would actually be saying. It’s not polite to say, perhaps, but people profile others as to how they think their candidate should look, speak, and act. These are just a few examples of why this position has some cons. Hopefully these issues can be analyzed more in-depth so that we can give our natur alized brother and sister citizens the same possibility to believe in the dream of becoming President if they wish to do so. Whether one believes that foreign-born naturalized citizens should be able to become President or not is not so much the issue as this is an issue of fairness. No one has control over the fact of where in the world they are born; that is just a matter of consequence. However, foreign-born naturalized citizens should not be punished just because

A Teenage Girl Essay Example for Free

A Teenage Girl Essay I chose the scenario, A teenage girl is in love with her 17-year-old boyfriend. He is encouraging her to have sex with him saying that he will make sure they only have protected sex. This actually happens often these days with youth; they have the want to experiment a lot. There are five components in which wise judgments could be used. First, there is emotional intelligence which has four components; emotional perception and expression, emotional facilitation of thought, emotional understanding, and emotional management. Emotional perception and expression is the skill to recognize your own emotions and recognizing other emotionstoo. This component involves the ability to both express positive and negative emotions correctly as well. Being a teenage girl is hard;there are so many hard decisions to make. So almost every teen girl thinks she is in love at one point in her teenage life. It is like a must to have a boyfriend when you are a teen and the fact he is 17 years old really makes you seem it. You are not mentally stable when you have puppy love feelings, you do whatever to please this guy you love and when you are young you think that guy is in love with you. Being young you really dont know how to act on situations like this, you do what you think is right. When I was 14 years old I had a 17 year old boyfriend and wow, the way I acted was insane, I know now I was never in love. I did any and everything for him and now I look back and think, how could I let someone have so much control, but I was just so young, there were a lot of major decisions to make. On top of everything the encouragement from others is hard as well. If Emotional facilitation of thought came about in this teen girl, she could use her emotions to be more able to help with her decision-making. On the other hand, being a teen, she most likely is not emotionally mature. Emotional understanding is to have the ability to recognize emotions with words, to understand the cause and effect of the all different emotions as well have the ability to recognize the relationships between them. Understanding and sometimes have contradictory feelings and how they change over time is an important dimension of emotional intelligence. Personally this is the hardest to overcome when you are young your emotions are everywhere and your changing from a girl into a woman, the feelings and emotions are new to a young teen, I would say they are emotional and impulsive with no understanding. When you are young you think if youre in love then sex would come next, and so on. But when youre young you never see the consequences after your actions, they rather just act, and the consequences never come to a young ones mind. Finally, there is emotional management which is self-explanatory which is again hard for teens to achieve because all the emotions combined are overwhelming hard to take on. This makes it much easier for them to act impulsive especially when it comes to sex. The only thing that matters to a teen is what is happening now, not what they would see on the outside looking gin at themselves. The next component would be successful intelligence. Which it is known, successful intelligence you would think fine in three different ways: analytically, creatively, and practically. Creative thinking is more of a personal trait. I think the other two areas, would show ones maturity level. This scenario is an example of how teens really are; having sex at a young age is very common. Although with the decisions they make they do not think sensible, they think physically more so. Teens have a tendency to think irrational; it is a trait most all of them have. This girl is thinking how to make this guy she thinks she is in love with, happy, so she wont have boundaries for herself. If she loves him she will do almost anything for him because that is how teen girls think is love. The consequences arent ever an issue until after they act upon it. Wearing a condom does not completely protect you what so ever. Last but most definitely not least, there is wisdom itself. When being a wise individual one must be able to balance a variety of self-interests (intrapersonal) with the interests of other people (interpersonal) and of other aspects of the environment in which one lives (extra personal) such as ones environment. Wisdom is more of the outcome of what decision the girl would make. Dealing with her interpersonal interest would reflect on her interest in having sex or not having sex. Also, she would be dealing with how this decision would affect others around her including her boyfriends interest as well; mainly dealing with the consequences could eventually affect the interest of her family and friends. It will affect her environment and/or her extra personal interest counting on what decision the girl makes whether she has sex or not. If she chooses to not have sex it will affect because the guy might not want her and it will hurt her a lot emotionally. Also, she must stay away from the influences that surround her, she will get pulled right back in. If she were to have sex I am not sure she would enjoy the outcome very much, guys tend to get what they want and girls never get what they need, if I said that right it makes really good sense. There are also factors to balance when it comes to wisdom: balancing goals and interests, balancing short- and long-term interests, balancing responses to the environment context, and acquiring and using tactic knowledge. When balancing goals and interests, this teenage girl has to reason with the consequences of every single choice she makes in a situationsuch as this one. Also, looking at how it might affect her future goals, whether its long-term or short-term. I would say if she were to have sex possibly the condom breaks she could get an STD or even PREGNANT, which mess everything up mentally and emotionally for the bad. There is balancing short- and long-term interests as well. Teens never think before they act, having sex being the short-term, and the STDs being the long-term. There are so consequences that are faced with sex, it isnt even worth it, and really till you 100% understand the concept of it. Balancing a set comeback to the environment goes back to the outcome of her choices and situation. Not having sex with this guy will probably make him not want her in which being in the environment wouldnt be very healthy for her. Acquiring and using tactic knowledge, say she has good tactic knowledge, she would be able to have her boyfriend understand and explain the possible outcome. In which he will take in consideration, or agree with her. Now if she does not have good tactic knowledge than possibly she doesnt have much self control, I think personally. A teenage girl is in love with her 17-year-old boyfriend. He is encouraging her to have sex with him saying that he will make sure they only have protected sex. I have personally experienced this situation although today I would have not made that say desision. If I were to step back and look from the outside in, I would of seen what the was a head of me. Being wise is a good trait to have, in which most teens are not. But a wise one analyzes a situation have the knowledge of the bad that could come out of it. Also, seeing that patients are a virtue is also being wise in my eyes personally. Dont rush into things when youre young that is the problem with some people today like me, you experience everything, when the real time comes it isnt as special. Confusing ones emotions with their feelings is rather tough for teens. Dont risk the consequences; it is so not worth it. You have one but so many major decisions, make the wise decision, and always look at what the outcome could possibly be they are usually never worth it though. Having sex there is too many risks behind it, think before one acts, I would ask for advice if I knew what I knew now a days.

Leadership Style: Indian Prime Minister

Leadership Style: Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi-one of the first female prime ministers in the world (preceded only by Sirimavo Bandaranaike who became prime minister of Sri Lanka in 1960), as well as the longest serving prime minister of India, the most populous democracy in the world-was an ideal candidate for this assignment. An exceedingly complex individual, Indira Gandhi was frequently perceived as a shy, aloof young woman. And yet her behavior as Prime Minister was engaged and aggressive, climaxing in her declaration of a State of Emergency in 1975. Born into Indias most prominent political family in 1917, Indira Nehru was immersed in politics from an early age. Stepping into the void left by her mothers untimely death in 1936, as a young woman she became her fathers hostess, a role that expanded into confidant and advisor over the ensuing years. After her fathers death in 1964, she accepted a minor portfolio in the Shastri government. Lal Bahadur Shastris subsequent death, two years later, made her the compromise choice of the ruling Congress Party hierarchy for the post of the prime minister, since she was thought to harbour no political ambitions of her own. Over the next 11 years, she proved to be a formidable political leader, consolidating her control over the party and the country, winning the 1971 war with Pakistan that saw the creation of Bangladesh, and declaring a State of Emergency in 1975. This latter action, a culmination of bitter relations with the opposition, led to her political defeat in the 1977 elections. Out of power for the next three years, she returned triumphantly in 1980, and ruled India with an increased determination to maintain herself in office. Not above manipulating communal grievances to stay in power, ironically she, herself, eventually fell victim of one of these crises. In 1984, she was assassinated by her own bodyguards, members of the Sikh community, thus ending a remarkable political career. Leadership Style: A New Synthesis While every scholar seems to have his or her own definition of leadership style, the underlying concepts appear to be similar-how the leader carries out the responsibilities of his or her office; more specifically, the leaders work habits, and how they relate to those around them. After reviewing various studies of presidential leadership style Hermann and Preston (1994) distilled five common leadership style variables involvement in the policymaking process, willingness to tolerate conflict, motivation for leading, and preferred strategies for resolving conflict. Kaarbo (1997, pp. 561-563) adopted and modified these five variables and added two variables from the literature on organizational leadership style-relations with members of the cabinet and task orientation. This study adapted five of the variables (motivation for leading, task orien- tation, cabinet management strategy, information management strategy, and rela- tions with the party) developed by Hermann and Preston (1980) and Kaarbo (1997, pp. 561-563), and added another five variables that examine the prime ministers relations with personnel, opposition parties, the media, and the public, and his/her investment in job performance. These have been grouped into three spheres of activity: first, the leader and his/her motivation, task orientation, and investment in job performance; second, the leader and the executive-cabinet and information management strategies; and third, the leader and relations with other personnel, caucus, the party, the opposition, and the media. Leadership Style of Indira Gandhi This section examines the empirical evidence of Gandhis leadership style: motivation for leading; task orientation; investment in job performance; management style, both with the cabinet and in the realm of information gathering; and her interpersonal relations with her associates, the caucus, the extra-parliamentary party, the opposition, the media, and the public. Results showed that she was motivated primarily by pragmatism and power, focusing on goals rather than process. With her cabinet, she functioned largely as an advocate for her goals and preferred to rely on independent sources of information. In her dealings with personnel, the party caucus, the extra-parliamentary party organization and the opposition parties, she was largely demanding, domineering, competitive, controlling, and oppositional. She was capable of being both accessible and friendly to the media as well as being hostile and closed, depending on the time period. It was only with the public that Indira demonst rated a consistent pattern or openness and warmth. Motivation The first leadership style variable centers around the question of a prime ministers motivation for leading. A survey of the literature has suggested that a variety of needs and incentives induce individuals to assume leadership positions in politics (see Kaarbo Hermann, 1998, pp. 251-252). The leader may be motivated by pragmatism (a belief in an obligation to the party to shape government policies along incremental lines); by personal validation (the wish to be popular and to be accepted); by an ideological agenda (a coherent system of political beliefs that shapes government policy); or a desire for power (dominance and control). In the area of motivation, it can be observed that notwithstanding a brief flirtation with socialism, Indira Gandhi was a decidedly non-ideological leader. Investment in Job Performance The amount of energy and time that a prime minister brings to the office is another variable of leadership style (Barber, 1972/1992). It demonstrates whether the leader places limits on the extent of the commitment to the office or whether there is a tireless outpouring of energy. Prime ministers may be interested primarily in the process of government, the building of concurrence, and the development of good relations among the members of cabinet, or they may be more goal oriented, focusing on specific ends and their implementation. Indira Gandhi was heavily involved in her role as Prime Minister. Politics took over her life as she travelled extensively crisscrossing India with extraordinary energy (Gupte, 1992, p. 331). A 16-hour or longer working day was the norm with very little time for family, friends, or relaxation (Frank, 2001, p. 355). Task Orientation The way in which the prime minister organizes the composition of and manages the decision-making process within the cabinet is another facet of leadership style. How are policy dilemmas resolved? To what extent is there involvement in the policy process? Who becomes part of the locus of decision making is also something the prime minister decides. In these activities, the prime ministers style may run the gamut from being largely uninvolved, to a consensus builder, to an arbitrator, and finally, to a strong advocate The empirical evidence indicates that Indira Gandhi was overwhelmingly concerned about task implementation and little concerned with the issue of building concurrence among her cabinet. Rather, she treated many of her cabinet colleagues as potential challengers, and if any grew too powerful, she saw to it that their powers were curbed, even if it meant dismissing capable individuals. Cabinet Management Although information in a cabinet setting is usually channelled through the various ministries, prime ministers will differ as to how they choose to review such information and how they relate to their close advisers. The same, of course, is true for presidents in a presidential system (George, 1980, 1988; George George, 1998; Hermann, 1978, 1987; Hermann Preston, 1995; Kaarbo, 1997). They may want all the facts about the problem or situation and do the interpretation themselves, or they may only be interested in seeing summaries and policy options. Of interest here is how much input the prime minister wants into the way problems and issues are framed and get onto the agenda. Strategy Indira Gandhis dealings with her cabinet demonstrated overwhelmingly that her preferred role was to act as an advocate, rather than a consensus builder, or arbitrator between various government ministers. But advocacy only partly captures the extent to which she dominated her colleagues; she dismissed those who might have challenged her and placed her favourites in senior government posts. Her advocacy was, in fact, an authoritative, peremptory exercise of power. Information Management Strategy In managing the flow of information that comes to the office, does the prime minister use a system of individuals to filter information and minimize direct involvement, or is close scrutiny more likely? Closely related is the question on which the prime minister relies for information. Does the prime minister prefer to receive policy relevant data from his cabinet and senior civil servants, or is there a reliance on other sources? As part of her overall activist stance as Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi demonstrated a high degree of involvement in the management of information, prefer- ring to search out what she wanted to know, rather than waiting for it to be presented to her. Relations with Personnel The final cluster of leadership style variables focuses on the prime ministers interpersonal relations with those with whom he/she works, i.e., state-level., governmental officials, members of the judiciary, etc., with his or her own party, with the opposition, the media, and the public. The prime minister interacts with a number of individuals on a daily basis. The extent of the involvement may be high or low; stylistically it may encompass patterns ranging from solicitous, to polite, attention seeking, demanding, and even exploitative. With both the caucus and the extra-parliamentary party organization, the prime minister may behave cooperatively or be competitive or combative and overbearing. Since conflict is a very pervasive element in cabinet life, especially in highly factional single party cabinets and in coalition cabinets (see t Hart, 1994), the management of party relations by a prime minister is extremely important. Indira Gandhis dealings with her aides, advisers, and members of other branches of government were coded for the degree of involvement and the type of behavior exhibited. Relations with other stakeholders Analysts have also focused on how the leader carries out or implements decisions, the way in which the leader mobilizes, orchestrates, and consolidates support for his or her policy decisions (Renshon, 1996a, 1996b). Does the prime minister attempt to sell policies by going beyond the party and parliament to appeal to the public at large? Does he or she try to educate or manipulate the public? Or does the leader display little direct engagement with the public, preferring government officials to articulate and defend government policy? Those prime ministers who focus on policy achievements are more likely to use the office of the prime minister as a bully pulpit, while those who stress the policy process will be less inclined to try to generate additional support among the attendant public. I . Party Caucus and Extra-Parliamentary Party Organization Indira Gandhis relationship with the party caucus-and more particularly her cabinet colleagues-was overwhelmingly contentious from 1966 until 1970. From 1970 on, as power shifted from the Cabinet to the Prime Ministers Secretariat, her relations with the party caucus became manipulative/exploitative. Later, power would shift even more to the Prime Ministers house next door (Frank, 2001, p. 354). The party caucus and the cabinet increasingly assumed a rubber stamp function and the cabinet no longer operated as a center of policy making. Indiras relations with the party organization largely mirrored those with the party caucus. Given the nature of her competitive and controlling relationships with both her caucus and the Congress party organization, it is hardly surprising that Gandhi would manifest the same type of behavior with the various opposition parties. Born into Indias most prominent political family in 1917, Indira Nehru was immersed in politics from an early age. Stepping into the void left by her mothers untimely death in 1936, as a young woman she became her fathers hostess, a role that expanded into confidant and advisor over the ensuing years. After her fathers death in 1964, she accepted a minor portfolio in the Shastri government. Lal Bahadur Shastris subsequent death, two years later, made her the compromise choice of the ruling Congress Party hierarchy for the post of the prime minister, since she was thought to harbour no political ambitions of her own. Over the next 11 years, she proved to be a formidable political leader, consolidating her control over the party and the country, winning the 1971 war with Pakistan that saw the creation of Bangladesh, and declaring a State of Emergency in 1975. This latter action, a culmination of bitter relations with the opposition, led to her political defeat in the 1977 elections. Out of power for the next three years, she returned triumphantly in 1980, and ruled India with an increased determination to maintain herself in office. Not above manipulating communal grievances to stay in power, ironically she, herself, eventually fell victim of one of these crises. In 1984, she was assassinated by her own bodyguards, members of the Sikh community, thus ending a remarkable political career. Born into Indias most prominent political family in 1917, Indira Nehru was immersed in politics from an early age. Stepping into the void left by her mothers untimely death in 1936, as a young woman she became her fathers hostess, a role that expanded into confidant and advisor over the ensuing years. After her fathers death in 1964, she accepted a minor portfolio in the Shastri government. Lal Bahadur Shastris subsequent death, two years later, made her the compromise choice of the ruling Congress Party hierarchy for the post of the prime minister, since she was thought to harbour no political ambitions of her own. Over the next 11 years, she proved to be a formidable political leader, consolidating her control over the party and the country, winning the 1971 war with Pakistan that saw the creation of Bangladesh, and declaring a State of Emergency in 1975. This latter action, a culmination of bitter relations with the opposition, led to her political defeat in the 1977 elections. Out of power for the next three years, she returned triumphantly in 1980, and ruled India with an increased determination to maintain herself in office. Not above manipulating communal grievances to stay in power, ironically she, herself, eventually fell victim of one of these crises. In 1984, she was assassinated by her own bodyguards, members of the Sikh community, thus ending a remarkable political career. II. Media and Public Lastly, in relations with the media, the prime minister may be accessible and informative or inaccessible and hostile. Prime ministers who emphasize the implementation of significant policy changes are more likely to generate greater opposition, which in turn will be reflected in some parts of the media, than those who are more concerned with maintaining the political process with incremental changes. In the face of hostility on the part of the media, the Prime Minister is more likely to become less accessible and more hostile. Gandhis relations with the media vacillated between being accessible, informative, and friendly to being uninformative, inaccessible, and unfriendly after the imposition of Emergency Rule in 1975. However, in her relations with the public, Indira Gandhis leadership style was extremely open. The Indian crowds seemed to energize her, and she felt a special bond with the Indian masses who loved the combination of her aristocratic background and her simple down-to-earth manner. Over the next 11 years, she proved to be a formidable political leader, consolidating her control over the party and the country, winning the 1971 war with Pakistan that saw the creation of Bangladesh, and declaring a State of Emergency in 1975. This latter action, a culmination of bitter relations with the opposition, led to her political defeat in the 1977 elections. Out of power for the next three years, she returned triumphantly in 1980, and ruled India with an increased determination to maintain herself in office. Not above manipulating communal grievances to stay in power, ironically she, herself, eventually fell victim of one of these crises. In 1984, she was assassinated by her own bodyguards, members of the Sikh community, thus ending a remarkable political career. Conclusion Analysis shows Indira Gandhi as strongly goal-oriented, tireless in the exercise of her job, an advocate within her cabinet with a preference for receiving information from independent sources. As well, the type of involvement she exhibited with associates, the caucus, the party organization, and the opposition, which was largely competitive and controlling, also fitted expectations for the Ambitious, Controlling, and Contentious leader. Indira Gandhis leadership behavior in the selected categories revealed that her leadership style patterns strongly indicate toward her Ambitious, Dominant, and Contentious personality as well as Reticent, Retiring, and Aggrieved personality patterns. Although, Indira Gandhi demonstrated some Reticent personality traits when she assumed the office of the Prime Minister, the demands of the job and the initial hostility she encountered from the Congress elites-the Syndicate-seem to have galvanized the Ambitious, Dominant, and Contentious dimensions of her personality into action. Compensatory narcissism allowed Indira to appeal over the heads of the Syndicate and establish a strongly personal and very effective relationship with the masses that bolstered her self-esteem and fueled this aspect of her personality.