Leadership theories and behavior approaches Essay

Leadership theories and behavior approaches - Essay Example eadership approaches in order to solve the technological equipment challenges as well as the communication and cultural differences that exist among the various groups of employees. The research paper will help to identify the different leadership theories and behavioral approaches that can help promote teamwork and employee motivations as well as dealing with the challenges faced by the employees working in the company and located in various parts of the world. One of the theories that can help boost the performance of the team at their places of work is motivation theory. Various motivation theories have been dissected and created over the past century with the aim of helping understand the human behavior. Motivation is as the general individual willingness and desire to do something (Choi, 2006). Motivational theories will be very essential and will form vital parts of creating team success and behavior of the employees in the company. Executives have to understand what motivates the employees before coming up with up strategies that will help direct them in the right direction. Motivational theories thrive from the center of influence and thereby inspirational and practical leadership. Some of the strategies that can be employed by the executives and the stakeholders of the company in order to promote employee motivation includes, feeling of being part of something, promotion, responsibility and empowerment, stimulating works, learning and growth, sense of achievement and recognizing their ability. Effective planning on the employee motivation will enable the company to reach and motivate nearly all the employees located in the various offices around the world such as Mexico City, Chicago, settle, Bombay, London and Tokyo and many others. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs will help identify the various motivational needs of the employees and thereby intervening to help them achieve it. The desire and develop and grow is often evident after the employee’s need

Joseph Stalin Essay Example for Free

Joseph Stalin Essay One man that has gone down is history as one of the most cold-hearted, ruthless killers goes by the name of Joseph Stalin. Stalin, originally born with the name Iosif Dzhugashvili, was born in Gori, Georgia on December 21st 1879. At the time, the town where Iosif Dzhugashvili was born and raised was plagued by a lot of street violence. After demonstrating his devious way of thinking and his will to come to absolute power, Iosif Dzhugashvili eventually adopted the nickname â€Å"Stalin† from the Russian word â€Å"steel†. Once he received his new nickname, he used it as a pseudonym in his published works. Many do not know the story of Stalin’s younger years and the effect it had to the way he carried himself as a dictator. After careful speculation, it is clear to see that the future dictator and killer was very coldhearted from a very young age. From a very young age, Joseph Stalin was subjected to a lot of violence. Some of the most prominent violent events that affected the young boy started with his mother. Ekaterina Shubnaya in her piece â€Å"Prominent Russians: Joseph Stalin† states that â€Å"Some sources, however, claim that, as a strict and religious woman, she frequently resorted to physical punishment, which she believed was an integral part of child rearing. Stalin’s relationship with his mother was strained and he didn’t even attend her funeral in 1937† (1). Here, we see that violence was a natural way of Stalin’s mother to raise the youngest son of her 4 children. She would have never thought that this violence would have led her son to become one of the most violent human beings to ever live. The psychological effects of violence that Joseph Stalin went through from a young age followed him for the rest of his life. After further research, it is seen that even as a young boy, Joseph Stalin felt very lonely and unloved. The reason for this was because even his father, caused him pain psychologically and physically. Ekaterina Shubnaya continues by explaining that â€Å"Josephs father, Vissarion, a shoemaker, was heavily addicted to drinking and had a drunken habit of beating up his wife and son. Stalin recalled getting so mad at his father that he once almost killed him by throwing a knife at him† (1). His rough childhood only continued when at the age of twelve, two horse-drawn carriage accidents left his left arm permanently damaged. At the time, Joseph also caught small pox which left his face permanently scarred. The scarring on his face was a source of ridicule by the other children. As Joseph Stalin got older, he rose to power thanks to a man named Lenin. Lenin lead the Russian Communists to power in November 1917 and remained in power. With the help of Lenin, Joseph Stalin began to act ruthless and careless of others. When Lenin became too sick to lead the country in a proper way, Stalin took over and went against Lenin’s ideas and ways of leading. Noticing that Stalin wasn’t showing the characteristics of a loyal and respectful leader, Lenin wrote a testament in which he stated that he suggested Stalin be removed. John Simkin, in his piece â€Å"Joseph Stalin† shares the testament written by Lenin. It states â€Å"Comrade Stalin, having become General Secretary, has concentrated enormous power in his hands: and I am not sure that he always knows how to use that power with sufficient caution. I therefore propose to our comrades to consider a means of removing Stalin from this post and appointing someone else who differs from Stalin in one weighty respect: being more tolerant, more loyal, more polite, more considerate of his comrades(2). However, Lenin died before any actual could be taken and Joseph Stalin became the new leader of the Soviet Union. Now as the leader of the Soviet Union, Joseph Stalin became very paranoid and did not trust anyone. He went against anyone that disagreed with him and had them executed. He executed journalists, and anyone else who had contact with him and who he disliked. Leon Trotsky was a man of a lot of power in the Soviet Union but Stalin made him step down from his position to gain even more power. John Simkin tells us that â€Å"In 1936 Nickolai Bukharin, Alexei Rykov, Genrikh Yagoda, Nikolai Krestinsky and Christian Rakovsky were arrested and accused of being involved with Leon Trotsky in a plot against Stalin. They were all found guilty and were eventually executed† (3). The execution of these people and of many others was clear evidence that Joseph Stalin was killing people not because they were committing crimes or doing anything bad, but because he personally didn’t trust them and killed them from pure intuition and impulse. The absurd truth about Joseph Stalin is that he killed his own people. He killed people in his own country and in his own government. The people that helped him rise to power were the people he did not trust and who he had executed or made to disappear without any explanation given. John Simkin explains to us that â€Å"In June, 1937, Mikhail Tukhachevsky and seven other top Red Army commanders were charged with conspiracy with Germany. All eight were convicted and executed. All told, 30,000 members of the armed forces were executed. This included fifty per cent of all army officers† (3). With all these executions, people lived fearful of Stalin and did not dare test his patience. The violence against his own people is direct evidence of the psychological effects that the beatings from his parents had on Stalin. Since the people who supposedly loved him, beat him, it became second nature for Joseph Stalin to do the same with the people of his country when he rose to power. It is said that Joseph Stalin has killed over 20 million people during the time of dictatorship but there were even more killed during World War II. Palash Ghosh in her piece â€Å"How Many People Did Joseph Stalin Kill? † writes that â€Å"an amoral psychopath and paranoid with a gangster’s mentality, Stalin eliminated anyone and everyone who was a threat to his power – including (and especially) former allies. He had absolutely no regard for the sanctity of human life†(1). There were another 20 million people killed during World War II amounting to a total of 40 million Soviet troops and civilians killed. The ruthlessness Joseph Stalin showed had become vividly present with his own family. Stalin had a son named Yakov who was an artillery lieutenant in the 14th Howitzer Regiment of the 14th Armored Division. Yakov refused to withdraw when German forces overran his men near Smolensk. Stalin had the expectation that no Soviet soldier was expected to be captured. He preferred his troops to commit suicide than to be captured by the opponent. This rule also applied to his son, who was captured. Brenda Haugen, writer of â€Å"Joseph Stalin Dictator of the Soviet Union† describes that â€Å"German authorities proposed a trade. They expected the Soviet leader would welcome his son’s return. A message was sent to Stalin that said the Germans would release Yakov if the Soviets freed a German officer. Stalin refused. ‘I cannot do it,’ Stalin said. ’War is war’†(11). This decision cost Yakov his life who was later believed to be killed or may have commited suicide. He died in April 1943 after running into an electric fence surrounding the camp where he was held. It is said that Joseph Stalin never felt any remorse for his son’s death and told people he had no son named Yakov. It is a clear indication that Stalin didn’t have a special bond with his family or any type of value for human life in itself. It seems that Stalin grew to be a coldhearted man who didn’t value anyone but himself. Brenda Haugen continues by stating that â€Å"In times of war, most leaders would find it difficult to justify offering special treatment to their own children. How could they spare their own childrens lives while others died fighting for the same cause? But Stalin was different than other leaders of his time. Not only did he refuse to provide special treatment to his family, he also didn’t value human life†(11). The ruthlessness of Stalin is astonishing that he would let his son be killed without any type of remorse. There’s an old saying that says that family comes first but this saying doesn’t seem to apply to Joseph Stalin’s way of thinking. Even though Stalin was one of the most well-known villains in history, he was still a very mysterious man. There is very little known about his childhood and his family. The records that have been recorded are not concrete because as Stalin gained power, he had the tendency to make things be the way he wanted them to be and no one could question him. This being said, some facts of his life seem to be produced by his fictional events created by him and not what may have really happened. Scott Ingram writes in his piece â€Å"Historys Villains Joseph Stalin† that â€Å" Another reason Stalin’s life remains shadowy is that he ordered his biography to be rewritten several times. With each of these rewrites, older records were destroyed. The more powerful Stalin became, the more he was able to take credit for things he had not done. His Communist biographers were forced to revise twentieth-century Russian history books to go along with Stalin’s orders. The aim was to present to the world the most flawless possible account of the great leader†(8). These lies brainwashed people into thinking that Stalin was a different person than who he really was. He made people see him as a perfect leader and not as a person who was killing the people that supported him. In conclusion, it is very easy to see that Stalin was influenced by his childhood experiences to become the person he was. The ruthless leader took the experience of the beatings his parents gave him and in a way beat his own country when he rose to power. He was and still is the most ruthless leather to ever live. He used fear to keep people controlled and to make people do exactly what he wanted them to do. He had people in such fear that before every speech, people were afraid to be the first to stop clapping because they’d be killed. The audience would clap for over 10 minutes in fear of being the first one to stop. This type of control is what let Joseph Stalin do anything he wanted without having anyone tell him it is wrong or to stop him from doing it. During his last days, he fell into a comma and in his last moments, in an attempt to keep living, he cursed everyone near his death bed and finally died. Joseph Stalin was a ruthless dictator and human being who had no type of remorse for anything he ever did.

The Black Panther Party Fights for Equality :: Race African American History Essays

The Black Panther Party Fights for Equality The Black Panther Party was born to elevate the political, social, and economic status of Blacks. The means the Party advocated in their attempt to advance equality were highly unconventional and radical for the time, such as social programs for under privileged communities and armed resistance as a means of self preservation. The Party made numerous contributions to Black’s situation as well as their esteem, but fell victim to the ‘system’ which finds it nearly impossible to allow Blacks entry into the dominant culture. Thus, the rise and fall of a group of Black radicals, as presented by Elaine Brown in A Taste of Power, can be seen to represent the overall plight of the American Black: a system which finds it impossible to give Blacks equality. Nearly all of the problems the Black Panther Party attacked are the direct descendants of the system which enslaved Blacks for hundreds of years. Although they were given freedom roughly one hundred years before the arrival of the Party, Blacks remain victims of White racism in much the same way. They are still the target of White violence, regulated to indecent housing, remain highly uneducated and hold the lowest position of the economic ladder. The continuance of these problems has had a nearly catastrophic effect on Blacks and Black families. Brown remembers that she â€Å"had heard of Black men-men who were loving fathers and caring husbands and strong protectors.. but had not known any† until she was grown (105). The problems which disproportionatly affect Blacks were combatted by the Party in ways the White system had not. The Party â€Å"organized rallies around police brutality against Blacks, made speeches and circulated leaflets about every social and political issue affecting Black and poor people, locally, nationally, and internationally, organized support among Whites, opened a free clinic, started a busing-to prisons program which provided transport and expenses to Black families† (181). The Party’s goals were to strengthen Black communities through organization and education. The dominant culture perceived the Black Panther Party to be a threat, prevented their success whenever possible, and greatly contributed to their ultimate demise. In 1968 FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover proclaimed: â€Å"The Black Panther Party is the single greatest threat to the internal security of the United States† (156). The Party’s founder, Huey Newton, came to represent â€Å"the symbol of change for Americans, (by) questioning everything scared to the American way of life† (237).

Philosophies of Learning Theory

INTRODUCTION What is theory? A theory is a way of thinking and a model of how things work, how principles are related, and what causes things to work together. Learning theories address key questions, for example, how does learning happen? How does motivation occur? What influences students’ development? A theory is not just an idea. It’s an idea that is a coherent explanation of a set of relationships that has been tested with lots of research. If the idea survives rigorous testing, that theory is said to have empirical grounding. A theory is developed from practical experience as well as research.Any given theory is usually about one aspect of the learning process. Learning theories  are  conceptual frameworks  that describe how information is absorbed, processed, and retained during  learning. Learning brings together cognitive, emotional, and environmental influences and experiences for acquiring, enhancing, or making changes in one's knowledge, skills, valu es, and world views. There are three main categories of learning theory:  behaviorism,  cognitivism, and  constructivism. Behaviorism focuses only on the objectively observable aspects of learning.Cognitive theories look beyond behavior to explain brain-based learning. And constructivism views learning as a process in which the learner actively constructs or builds new ideas or concepts. Philosophies of teaching and learning, numerous philosophers have studied what the meaning of to teach and learn, and have come up with various explanations of the process of becoming educated. Their begin to refine their own beliefs and understandings of what it means to know through examining numerous theories of knowledge and making sense of the processes of teaching and learning in their own minds.An few philosophies and examples of individuals who exemplify the concepts are worth exploring: Existentialism (Maxine Greene, Jean-Paul Sartre, Soren Kierkegaard, Simone de Beauvoir), Critical T heory (Karl Marx, Henry Geroux, Michael Apple, Paulo Friere), Behaviorism (B. F. Skinner), Cognitivism / Developmentalism (Maria Montessori, A. S. Neill, John Dewey, Knowles, Waldorf Schools, Reggio Emilia Schools), Social Constructivism (John Dewey, Lev Vygotsky, Jerome Bruner, Montessori, Reggio Emilia and Waldorf Schools). 1. 0 LEARNING THEORIESIn  psychology  and education,  learning  theories are attempts to describe how people and animals learn, thereby helping us understand the inherently complex process of learning. There are three main categories (philosophical frameworks) under which learning  theories fall: behaviorism, cognitivism, and constructivism. 1. 1 Behaviorism Behaviorism focuses only on the objectively observable aspects of learning and discounts the internal processing that might be associated with the activity. Learning is the acquisition of new  behavior  through conditioning. There are two types of possible conditioning: ) Classical conditionin g, where the  behavior  becomes a reflex response to stimulus as in the case of Pavlov's Dogs. 2) Operant conditioning where there is reinforcement of the  behavior  by a reward or a punishment. The theory of operant conditioning was developed by B. F. Skinner and is known as Radical Behaviorism. The word ‘operant’ refers to the way in which behavior ‘operates on the environment’. Briefly, a behavior may result either in reinforcement, which increases the likelihood of the behavior recurring, or punishment, which decreases the likelihood of the behavior recurring.It is important to note that, a punisher is not considered to be punishment if it does not result in the reduction of the behavior, and so the terms punishment and reinforcement are determined as a result of the actions. Within this framework, behaviorists are particularly interested in measurable changes in behavior. 1. 2. Cognitivism Since the Cognitive Revolution of the 1960s and 1970s, learning theory has undergone a great deal of change. Much of the empirical framework of Behaviorism was retained even though a new paradigm was begun. Cognitive theories look beyond behavior to explain brain-based learning.Cognitivists consider how human memory works to promote learning. So for example how the natural physiological processes of encoding information into short term memory and long term memory become important to educators. Once memory theories like the Atkinson-Shiffrin memory model and Baddeley's Working memory model were established as a theoretical framework in Cognitive  Psychology, new cognitive frameworks of learning began to emerge during the 1970s, 80s, and 90s. Today researchers are concentrating on topics like Cognitive load and Information Processing Theory.These theories of learning are very useful as they guide the Instructional design. 1. 3. Constructivism Constructivism views learning as a process in which the learner actively constructs or builds n ew ideas or concepts based upon current and past knowledge. In other words, â€Å"learning involves constructing one's own knowledge from one's own experiences. † Constructivist learning, therefore, is a very personal endeavor, whereby internalized concepts, rules, and general principles may consequently be applied in a practical real-world context. 1. 4. Informal and Post-Modern TheoriesInformal theories of education deal with more practical breakdown of the learning process. One of these deals with whether learning should take place as a building of concepts toward an overall idea, or the understanding of the overall idea with the details filled in later. Modern thinkers favor the latter, though without any basis in real world research. Critics believe that trying to teach an overall idea without details (facts) is like trying to build a masonry structure without bricks. Other concerns are the origins of the drive for learning.To this end, many have split off from the mains tream holding that learning is a primarily self taught thing, and that the ideal learning situation is one that is self taught. According to this dogma, learning at its basic level is all self taught, and class rooms should be eliminated since they do not fit the perfect model of self learning. However, real world results indicate that isolated students fail. Social support seems crucial for sustained learning. Informal learning theory also concerns itself with book vs real-world experience learning. Many consider most schools severely lacking in the second.Newly emerging hybrid instructional models combining traditional classroom and computer enhanced instruction promise the best of both worlds. 2. 0 PHILOSOPHY ON LEARNING THEORIES. People have been trying to understand learning for over 2000 years. Learning theorists have carried out a debate on how people learn that began at least as far back as the Greek philosophers, Socrates (469 –399 B. C. ), Plato (427 – 347 B. C. ), and Aristotle(384 – 322 B. C). The debates that have occurred through the ages reoccur today in a variety of viewpoints about the purposes of education and about how to encourage learning.To a substantial extent, the most effective strategies for learning depend on what kind of learning is desired and toward what ends. Plato and one of his students, Aristotle, were early entrants into the debate about how people learn. They asked, â€Å"Is truth and knowledge to be found within us (rationalism) or is it to be found outside of ourselves by using our senses (empiricism)? † Plato, as a rationalist, developed the belief that knowledge and truth can be discovered by self-reflection. Aristotle, the empiricist, used his senses to look for truth and knowledge in the world outside of him.From his empirical base Aristotle developed a scientific method of gathering data to study the world around him. Socrates developed the dialectic method of discovering truth through conv ersations with fellow citizens (Monroe, 1925). Inquiry methods owe much of their genesis to the thinking of Aristotle and others who followed this line of thinking. Strategies that call for discourse and reflection as tools for developing thinking owe much to Socrates and Plato. The Romans differed from the Greeks in their concept of education.The meaning of life did not intrigue them as much as developing a citizenry that could contribute to society in a practical way, for building roads and aqueducts. The Romans emphasized education as the vocational training rather than as the training of the mind for the discovery of truth. Modern vocational education and apprenticeship methods are reminiscent of the Roman approach to education. As we will see, however, strategies to encourage cognitive apprenticeships combine the modeling inherent in learning by guided doing with the discourse, reflection, and inquiry that the Greeks suggested to train the mind.When the Roman Catholic Church be came a strong force in European daily life (500 A. D. to 1500 A. D. ), learning took place through the church, through monasteries, and through their school system, which included the universities (12th century) the Church built throughout Europe. Knowledge was transmitted from the priest to the people (Monroe, 1925). Much learning was the memorization and recitation of scripture by rote and the learning of trades by apprenticeship. The primary conception of the purpose of education was transmission-based.Many classrooms today continue a transmission-based conception of learning as the passing on of information from the teacher to the student, with little interest in transforming it or using it for novel purposes. The Renaissance (15th to the 17th centuries) revived the Greek concept of liberal education, which stressed education as an exploration of the arts and humanities. Renaissance philosophers fought for freedom of thought, and thus Humanism, a study of human values that are n ot religion-based, was born.By the sixteenth century the control of the Catholic Church was being challenged on a number of fronts, from Copernicus (1473 – 1543) who suggested that the sun rather than the earth was the center of the Solar System, to Martin Luther (1483 – 1546) who sought to secularize education (Monroe,1925). The notions of individual inquiry and discovery as bases for learning were reinforced in the Renaissance. In a sense the recurring ideological debates over education for â€Å"basic† skills – the reproduction of facts and rudimentary skills – vs. ducation for thinking – the effort to understand ideas and use knowledge for broader purposes – replay the medieval vs. Renaissance conceptions of the purposes of education. Rene Descartes (1596 – 1650) revived the Platonic concept of innate knowledge. Descartes believed that ideas existed within human beings prior to experience and that God was an example of an i nnate idea. He recognized that the body could be appreciated and studied as a zoological machine, while the mind was separate and free from the body.He was one of the first to define precisely the ability of the environment and the mind to influence and initiate behavior. He also described how the body could produce unintended behaviors. Descartes’ first description of reflex action was influential in psychology for over 300 years (Hergenhahn, 1976). While these findings supported the work of behavioral psychologists seeking to understand the genesis of behaviors, his focus on the mind also supported the work of later cognitive scientists who sought to understand the thinking process itself.John Locke (1632 – 1704) revived Aristotle’s empiricism with the concept that the child’s mind is a blank tablet (tabula rasa) that gets s haped and formed by his/her own experiences. He believed the mind becomes what it experiences from the outside world. â€Å"Let u s suppose the mind to be, as we say, white paper, void of all characters, without any ideas: How comes it to be furnished? †¦ Whence has it all the materials of reason and knowledge? †¦ from experience† (Locke, quoted in Hilgard and Bower 1975).The mind gathers data through the senses and creates simple ideas from experience; these simple ideas combine to develop complex ideas. Locke believed that education should structure experiences for students and that one essential learning was the kind of discipline that could be developed through the study of mathematics (Hergenhahn, 1976). The idea that different disciplines provide qualitatively different mental experiences and means of training the mind undergirds the basis of the discipline-based liberal arts education.Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712 – 1778) was one of the first philosophers to suggest that education should be shaped to the child. He celebrated the concept of childhood and felt that children should be allowed to develop naturally. â€Å"The only habit which the child should be allowed to form is to contract no habit whatever. † (Rousseau, quoted in Hilgard and Bower, 1975) In Rousseau’s novel, Emile (Rousseau, 2000), the hero learns about life through his experiences in life. Complex ideas are built from simple ideas that are gathered from the world around him (Hilgard and Bower, 1975).The child-centered philosophies of Dewey, Montessori, Piaget and others follow in part from similar views. Kant (1724 – 1804) refined and modernized Plato’s rationalist theory with his suggestion that â€Å"a priori† knowledge was knowledge that was present before experience. For Kant, awareness of knowledge may begin with experience but knowledge existed prior to experience. Kant espoused that these ideas must be innate, and their purpose is to create an organizing structure for the data that is received by the senses.Kant was also one of the first to recognize t he cognitive processes of the mind, the idea that the mind was a part of the thinking process and capable of contributing to the thoughts that it developed. This learning theory opened the door to Piaget and others who would further develop the ideas of cognition (Monroe, 1925). Edward Thorndike (1874 – 1949) is considered by many to be the first modern education psychologist who sought to bring a scientific approach to the study of learning. Thorndike believed that learning was incremental and that people learned through a trial and error approach.His behaviorist theories of learning did not consider that learning took place as a result of mental constructs. Instead, he described how mental connections are formed through positive responses to particular stimuli. For Thorndike, learning was based on an association between sense impressions and an impulse to action. Thorndike favored students’ active learning and sought to structure the environment to ensure certain sti muli that would ‘produce’ learning. The father of modern behaviorism, B. F. Skinner (1904 – 1990), further developed Thorndike’s Stimulus-Response learning theory.Skinner was responsible for developing programmed learning which was based on his stimulus response research on rats and pigeons in experiments that provided positive reinforcement for â€Å"correct† responses. He considered learning to be the production of desired behaviors, and denied any influence of mental processes. Programmed learning gave proper reinforcement to the student, emphasized reward over punishment, moved the student by small steps through discrete skills and allowed the student to move at their own speed. â€Å"There are certain questions which have to be answered in turning to the study of any new organism.What behavior is to be set up? What reinforcers are at hand? What responses are available in embarking upon a program of progressive approximation that will lead to t he final form of the behavior? How can reinforcements be most effectively scheduled to maintain the behavior in strength? These questions are all relevant in considering the problem of the child in the lower grades. † Jean Piaget (1896 – 1980) was the first to state that learning is a developmental cognitive process, that students create knowledge rather than receive knowledge from the teacher.He recognized that students construct knowledge based on their experiences, and that how they do so is related to their biological, physical, and mental stage of development. Piaget spent years observing very young children and mapping out four stages of growth: sensorimotor (birth to about 2 years), preoperational (roughly ages 2 –7), concrete operations (encompassing about ages 7- 14) and formal operations (beginning around ages 11 – 15 and extending into adulthood.His work acknowledged the utility of some behaviorally-guided rote learningwhile also arguing that ot her activities that support students’ exploration are essential: The Russian scientist Vygotsky (1896 – 1934) extended Piaget’s developmental theory of cognitive abilities of the individual to include the notion of social-cultural cognition – that is, the idea that all learning occurs in a cultural context and involves social interactions. He emphasized the role that culture and language play in developing students’ thinking and the ways in which teachers and peers assist learners in developing new ideas and skills.Vygotsky proposed the concept of the zone of proximal development (ZPD) which suggested that students learn subjects best just beyond their range of existing experience with assistance from the teacher or another peer to bridge the distance from what they know or can do independently and what they can know or do with assistance (Schunk, 1996). John Dewey (1859 – 1952) agreed in part with Rousseau that education should not be separ ate from life itself, that education should be child-centered, guided by a welltrained teacher who is grounded in pedagogical and subject knowledge.Like Locke, he believed that structured experience matters and disciplinary modes of inquiry could allow the development of the mind, thus creating a dialectic between the child and the curriculum that the teacher must manage. The teacher’s goal is to understand both the demands of the discipline and the needs of the child and then to provide learning experiences to enable the student to uncover the curriculum. Dewey believed that the ability of a person to learn was dependent on many things, one of which was the environment. . 0 Future trends There are many changes occurring in the twenty-first century which will influence the nature of learning and learning styles being adopted. Perhaps the most significant change is that universities are now increasingly competing with a range of non-traditional education providers. This will f orce higher education into a pro-active stance in understanding how students learn best, and how teaching impacts on learning. Additional contemporary changes include globalisation, modularisation, mobility of earners, distance education/elearning/flexible learning, lifelong learning, mass education, and work-based learning. ‘The de-institutionalisation of education, in the form of open and independent learning systems, is creating a need for learners to develop appropriate skills’ (Knowles, 1975, p. 14). The impact here on learners is the gradual move away from the more traditional forms of teaching and learning, where information was transmitted to the student through physical interaction between teacher and student, to more self-directed, student-centred approaches.Problem-based learning is an example of one approach to learning where the learner needs to take responsibility for his or her own learning, with the teacher now increasingly assuming the role of facilitat or of student learning. The impact of technology and the internet will continue to increase, having economic and social implications for society. For instance people can now work from home if they have immediate access to a computer. This may facilitate the increase of distance-learning courses as students no longer have to attend a physical campus to gain qualifications.Increasing modularisation enables many students to learn at their own pace, in their own time. CONCLUSION The Philosophy of education has been shaped over centuries with certain philosophers and their thoughts directly affecting it. A good example is Plato and his  educational philosophy  that was christened Republic. He argues that the society would be holistic if children at a tender age would be raised with a system of education that natures their intellectual capabilities with facts, physical discipline, music, art and skills.The same principles can be applied to an individual institution. This can be define d as a collective approach informed by educational philosophy  to aid in teaching in a way that the objective of imparting knowledge is achieved within a reasonable time. This philosophy of education is subject to review and modification, total over haul or improvements depending on whether the constant evaluation shows whether the goals set have been achieved or not. The drastic advances in technology have also affected the educational philosophy.The world is moving towards the web 2. 0, where technological interaction between learners and teachers is emphasized. Another factor that informs education philosophy is the fact that the world is changing its educational strategies. At one point in history, education was a transit of knowledge from the tutor to student. With nationals encouraging innovations and research in various fields, students are encouraged to discover, be inquisitive and get to learn through active experiments and research.This is a way that has revolutionized t he way education policy makers and other stakeholders define philosophy of education. The relevancy of a given  philosophy of education  therefore, is determined by the educational needs of a given society. REFERENCES 1- Level3, Issue 2, June 2004, Dublin Institute of Technology, Learning Theories and Higher Education; Frank Ashworth, Gabriel Brennan, Kathy Egan, Ron Hamilton, Olalla Saenz; 2- Critique of Various Philosophies and Theories of Education; Ted Slater, Philosophy of Education / Dr.William Cox / Regent University. 3- 2007, Pearson Education, Inc. H. Douglas Brown. -5th Edition; Principles of Language Learning and Teaching. 4- Kurzweil, R. (1996) The Age of intelligent machines â€Å"Chronology†. Retrieved September 18, 2012 from http://www. kurzweiltech. com/mchron. htm. 5- 2001, Stanford University, Developed by Linda-Darling Hammond, Kim Austin, Suzanne Orcutt, and Jim Rosso; How People Learn: Introduction To Learning Theories.

8 Themes of Ap Biology Relating to the Cell Membrane

8 themes of biology relating to the cell membrane Science as a process: Science is a process which encompasses many methods in order to reach a final conclusion. This relates to the cell membrane because it carries out many processes to reach a final product. For example, the cell membrane forms a barrier between the inside of the cell and the outside, so that the chemical environments on the two sides can be different. The cell controls those differences to optimize the working of the organelles inside the cytoplasm. The cell also causes brief changes in the internal environment by transporting proteins and other materials across the membrane. These changes are the ways in which the cell responds to its environment. All these functions work together as a process to keep the cell happy. Evolution: The early cell membrane’s purpose was to enclose genetic material and protect it from the surrounding environment. The evolution of a membrane surrounding the genetic material provided two huge advantages: the products of the genetic material could be kept close by and the internal environment of this proto-cell could be different than the external environment. This breakthrough would have jump-started evolution to an organism much like a modern bacterium. Also, the modification of many membrane properties throughout millions of years made it possible for new evolutionary forces to show themselves in eukaryotes, dealing with the presence of cholesterol in the cell membrane directly associated to protein thermo stability. Energy Transfer: The cell membrane participates in energy transfer with active transport. The cell membrane moves molecules against the concentration gradient from low concentration to high concentration. This function requires energy, or ATP, to carry out the process. At times, the cell membrane uses a protein pump to channel the molecules for easier transport. Two types of active transport the cell completes are antiport and symport. To transport large molecules through the membrane, the cell membrane uses vesicles. Those vesicles transport the material to the necessary organelle which will eventually turn the material into usable ATP. Continuity and Change: All species tend to maintain themselves from generation to generation using the same genetic code. However, there are genetic mechanisms that lead to change over time, or mutations. Cystic fibrosis is a product of a mutation in the cell membrane. Cystic fibrosis results from the mutation of a gene coding for a trans-membrane protein regulating chloride ion transport across the cell membrane. This multisystem disease cripples children and leads to early death. This mutation represents the changes found in the cell membrane, but the cell membrane has been doing the same job for millions of years with slight changes. Relationship of Structure to Function: The cell membrane structure depends on its function; to hold the shape of the cell and to regulate the traffic of the cell. It consists of a phospholipid bilayer which acts as a semi-permeable membrane, various proteins which carry out molecule transfer and certain active transport jobs, carbohydrates, and cholesterol. The shape of the cell membrane all depends on the environment inside the cell. Regulation: The cell membrane regulates the traffic of the cell. It is semi-permeable which means it allows diffusion for only certain molecules. It regulates what enters the cell and defends against diseases that may want to enter the cell as well. It also regulates the shape of the cell and holds it together. The membrane is one of the most important structures in a cell. Interdependence in nature: The cell membrane not only regulates the traffic of the cell, but is also the liaison for communication outside the cell. The membrane includes receptor protiens which aid in communication between cells. The receptor protiens receive specific chemical signals from neighboring cells or the proteins environment. These signals tell a cell to perform a certain job. It could tell a cell to divide or die, or to allow certain molecules to enter or exit the cell. Science, technology, and society: The study of the cell membrane has further increased our knowledge of the modern cell. We can now fully understand its parts and create valid conclusions of its structure and function. Society can benefit from this because they can be fully aware what is happening in the life around them and also in themselves. The cell membrane is one of the most important structures of the cell and has a very important role in an organism-to keep it healthy and functioning.

What to the Slave is the Fourth of July Essays - Frederick Douglass

What to the Slave is the Fourth of July Essays - Frederick Douglass What to the Slave is the Fourth of July In the beginning of Fredrick Douglass? famous speech, he?s embarrassed to be asked to speak about our nation?s Independence Day, the Fourth of July. At one point he questions, ?Fellow-citizens, pardon me, allow me to ask, why am I called upon to speak here today (pg.503). Douglass requests his audience to be patient and respectful toward him, for he has endured as a former slave. Through much of the first half of the speech, Douglass describes how our fathers must have felt in 1776. Most were still loyal to Great Britain. The public didn?t know which side to take and if taking one, would seal their fate. Douglass is clearly speaking to a crowd of white and black citizens, by constantly reiterating that he respects the men that brought our great nation together. However, during the speech, he suggests that disastrous times are ahead if things don?t change. The United States are still a young nation that may not be forever. There?s a hidden anger during Fredrick Douglass? speech of America. After quoting a passage from the Declaration of Independence, his view on the Fourth of July is obvious. ?Resolved, That these united colonies are, and of right, ought to be free and Independent States? (pg.500). He continues to say to the people, you were granted freedom and you reap the fruits of their success. ?The Fourth of July is the first great fact in your nation?s history? Douglass says (pg. 500). To a slave, there?s no independence and there?s no country they could call their own. Although he believes in our choice for independence, Douglass is upset that freedom did not pertain to all men, including slaves. Americans only validate the facts that highlight their own favors. This is more of a weakness than a patriotic trait. Americans will do whatever it takes to preserve their reputation, but at a cheaply cost. Seeming angered at this point, Douglass tells his audience ?I shall not be charged with slandering Americans? (pg.502). The last half of the speech appears to be filled with animosity towards America. ?Do you mean, citizens, to mock me, by asking me to speak today (pg504) he says. Disregarding the fact that there was slavery and sweeping it under the rug, is a great sin and shameful of Americans. At the conclusion of the speech, Douglass believes in hope for America. Again, the United States are still a young nation. The repercussions of slavery are certain. Through globalization and commerce, the old system of walled cities and empires can dissolve along with the old system of slaved labor.

Free Essays on Fear Of The Future Control Of The Human Race from The Book “1984“

Fear of the future control of the human race George Orwell’s book entitled â€Å"1984† made me think of how the future control of the Government could easily take over the human race mentally, physically and spiritually. The Government is becoming so immense and physically powerful that some day in the future they would easily be capable of controlling the entire human race. One thing that scares me the most is the rapid increase in technology. Today’s technology is becoming so mind-boggling and dominant and with the Government in such high authority, it wouldn’t be difficult for the Government to use this technology against the human race. The Government would be able to store and access almost all data on computers, they would be able to hide microphones in fabric of clothing and they would be able to place almost invisible video cameras almost anywhere. This is just one of the many fears that George Orwell’s book â€Å"1984† made me realize might occur to the human race in the future just as it did in his book. In this book, Orwell highlighted on some of the fears that many people have for the world that we are creating. The control of the Party that he speaks of is like that of the Nazis of World War II. The only difference between the Nazis and Orwell’s imagined Party is the emotion. The Nazis fell from power because of the emotions of its leader, Adolph Hitler. The Party held up because their leader, Big Brother, was merely an image and had no emotion at all. Within my reading, I encountered many interesting points, both scenes and lines that I remember very clearly. All of these points reflect the type of power that I have to control my life as I know it. From the points that I concentrated on came my own thoughts and fears about what future the human race was able to create. The point that I remember most vividly is the motto of the Party. The motto is: â€Å"Those who control the past control the ... Free Essays on Fear Of The Future Control Of The Human Race from The Book â€Å"1984â€Å" Free Essays on Fear Of The Future Control Of The Human Race from The Book â€Å"1984â€Å" Fear of the future control of the human race George Orwell’s book entitled â€Å"1984† made me think of how the future control of the Government could easily take over the human race mentally, physically and spiritually. The Government is becoming so immense and physically powerful that some day in the future they would easily be capable of controlling the entire human race. One thing that scares me the most is the rapid increase in technology. Today’s technology is becoming so mind-boggling and dominant and with the Government in such high authority, it wouldn’t be difficult for the Government to use this technology against the human race. The Government would be able to store and access almost all data on computers, they would be able to hide microphones in fabric of clothing and they would be able to place almost invisible video cameras almost anywhere. This is just one of the many fears that George Orwell’s book â€Å"1984† made me realize might occur to the human race in the future just as it did in his book. In this book, Orwell highlighted on some of the fears that many people have for the world that we are creating. The control of the Party that he speaks of is like that of the Nazis of World War II. The only difference between the Nazis and Orwell’s imagined Party is the emotion. The Nazis fell from power because of the emotions of its leader, Adolph Hitler. The Party held up because their leader, Big Brother, was merely an image and had no emotion at all. Within my reading, I encountered many interesting points, both scenes and lines that I remember very clearly. All of these points reflect the type of power that I have to control my life as I know it. From the points that I concentrated on came my own thoughts and fears about what future the human race was able to create. The point that I remember most vividly is the motto of the Party. The motto is: â€Å"Those who control the past control the ...

How Long Should I Study for the SAT 6 Step Guide

How Long Should I Study for the SAT 6 Step Guide SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips In planning your SAT prep, you probably want to know how long you need to study. Is it weeks or months? Is it dozens of hours or hundreds? The answerto these questionsdepends on a variety of factors, including the scores you are hoping to get and how comfortable you already are with the test material from your general experiences in school and life. There’s no reason to torture yourself with endless SAT studying if your scores are already in the target range for your top choice schools. On the other hand, if you are still pretty far away from the scores you are looking for, you may have to work harder than you think. In this guide, I'll show you how to figure out how much you need to improve on the SAT, how many hours you need to spend to get there, and how you should build a study schedule before your next real test. Below are the six steps you need to follow to figure out your SAT study plan. #1: Figure Out Your SAT Target Score The easiest way to get a target score is to Google your top choice school and â€Å"average SAT scores†. You should find a 25th percentile score and a 75th percentile score for the school. The range between the two represents the scores of the middle 50 percent of admitted students.Aim for the 75th percentile score (e.g. a higher score than 75% of the school’s admitted students) as your target to make sure you have the best chance at being accepted! For more details about this, see our article on target scores.Remember, not everyone can or should have the same target score. It’s up to you to be realistic and assess your abilities while also challenging yourself. #2: Take a Practice SAT to Determine Your Starting Point It's important to know your abilities and weak spots before you begin studying. You can plan out your studying time based on how large of an improvement you need to make from your starting point to your target scores. Check out our guide to a set of official SAT practice tests available free online. You can also use your PSAT scores as a baseline for judging how much you will need to improve on the SAT if you've taken that test already. However, I would still recommend taking another practice test if you are in the latter half of your sophomore year and took the PSAT at the beginning of the year. (When I first took the PSAT in high school, I had no idea what was going on in the math section since I had just started my first geometry class. I was like "Shapes? Forget this!" and the proctor told me I had to stop disrupting the other students. Anyways, by the end of the year, everything was much less confusing.) Once you have your baseline scores, you can begin to see where you need to make improvements to reach your target. #3: Decide When You Will Take the Real Test We recommend taking the SAT for the first time during the fall of your Junior year(see the advice under "When Should I Take the SAT?"),but you may decide to take it earlier or later depending on your schedule and level of preparedness. In general, the early bird catches the worm (the metaphorical worm in this case being a higher SAT score).You will have more potential test dates available in the future and a better idea of where you stand if you start earlier. You will also run up against much less stress. You probably don’t want to be worrying about standardized tests while you're filling out college applications during the fall of your senior year. But what if you're in a scenario where you don't have your choice of test dates? Maybe you're planning a hot air balloon trip around the world that's happening at the same time as all the earlier dates. Maybe you'realready coming up on senior fall, and there's only one test date left. In this case, your test date is constrained, and you'll need to work hard to meet the suggested number of hours before your test. Whatever the case may be, you can still find a study plan that works for you. Sometimes you gotta miss the SAT to fulfill the dreams you and your beloved wife once shared. That's how life is. #4: Give It to Me Straight Doc, How Many Hours Do I Actually Have to Study? Based on your goals, you can figure out how many hours you will probably need to study. Follow this handy chart that shows the number of hours you should devote to poring over ancient tomes of SAT knowledge. Number of Points You Want to Improve By Approximate Hours You’ll Need to Study 0-30 Points 10 hours 30-70 Points 20 hours 70-130 Points 40 hours 130-200 Points 80 hours 200-330 Points 150+ hours This is a rough estimate, so itobviously isn't perfect. Each student has different levels of development in terms of study habits and test strategies. We'll go into more detail later about factors that might lead to score variations given the same amount of study time. But in our experience, this is roughly what it takes. If you want to improve by around 30 points, you'll be able to this with a light review, a single practice test, and retaking the official test. On the other hand,if you want to improve by 200 points or more, you'll need to make serious improvements in your understanding of fundamental content and skills.The SAT tests so much subject matterthat to improve by 200 points, you'll need to address deep content weaknesses. Tips and tricks aren't going to cut it. You also might not have this much time to devote to studying because of other commitments. That's why you should take these hourly estimates into consideration while still weighing everything on an individual basis to see what works for you. This brings us to... #5: Make a Study Plan Based on Your Time Constraints and Studying Style Ideally, you will still have at least six months or so before the test to formulate your study plan.As I've said, there is no one size fits all approach to this. You may not need to start studying six months in advance. Two months could be more than enough if you are already closer to your target score or prefer to study for longer chunks of time. Ask yourself how much of an improvement you want to make and then consider what is manageable in terms of time spent. Here are a couple of example scenarios: I Want to Improve by 70-130 Points, and I Have Many Other Commitments Try focused studying for an hour or two every week for however much time you have before the test.If you start at least a few months beforehand, you won’t be overwhelmed with yet another commitment. You'll gradually gain familiarity with questions and learn to avoid any silly mistakes that might cause you to lose points. If you can study for just two hours a week for two months, you should be able to boost your score by 100 points or so. I Want to Improve by Around 200 Points, and I Have the Summer to Study, but I’m not Sure Where to Start! Unstructured time is hard to manage, but this means you have your choice of when you are most comfortable and least distracted for studying times.If you schedule out a few hours each week where you will focus on studying, a couple months can be enough to improve your scores. The chart above recommends around 80 hours of studying for a 200 point improvement. If you have three months to study, that comes out to about five hours a week. Not so bad. If your parents invite their friends over for a barbecue, and they try to talk to you about your college plans in a desperate attempt to relate to you, you can use SAT studying as an excuse to avoid them. Everybody wins. I Want to Improve by 330 Points or More. Am I Crazy? No, you are (probably) perfectly sane!You should start studying earlier, but it’s doable if you are willing to put in some serious time and effort. Especially if your initial score is below average (typically less than 1000), you have a good chance of making a drastic improvement through studying. If you still have six months before the test, you should think about which day of the week you will be least stressed by other commitments and schoolwork and set that afternoon/evening aside for an SAT extravaganza. If you can block out fivehours a week for six months in advance of the test, you should start to see significant positive results. Also, if you happen to have the resources to hire a tutor, this is when you might consider doing so. Tutors have expertise and familiarity with the test material, so they can often help you see your weak spots when you might miss them. Since the SAT is very different from any test you might take in a regular class, it's hard to be a student who is new to the test and try to teach yourself question strategies that are alien to you. Learn from a wise mentor. #6: ConsiderFactors That Increase or Decrease Study Time You might have special circumstances that mean you need to customize your study plan more drastically. Some people should study for more or less time based on past experience and time management skills. You'll Need to Study Longer If: You've already studied a lot, and you haven't seen much improvement.This typically means you need to switch up your strategies in addition to studying more. Take a step back and look at how you have been approaching your study time so you can make productive changes. You're easily distracted.You might not get as much out of your blocks of study time if you are always being sidetracked by other things. Try scheduling out more time, and put your phone away while you're studying. It takes a while for you to learn from your mistakes.If you need to practice answering questions a few times before you understand your mistakes, you should consider studying for longer periods of time. You Might Improve in Less Time If: You are new to the SAT.If you are someone who has barely looked at the test before and just started studying, you are going to see larger score gains in a shorter amount of time. You are a super focused studier.What might take another person two hours to process will take you one, so consider dialing back your study time so you aren't overdoing it and getting test fatigue. You learn quickly from your mistakes.If you never make the same mistake twice, you also shouldn't overdo it with studying. You probably only have to get the wrong answer once before you can rely on yourself to get the right one in the future. Summary: How Long to Study for the SAT You can formulate your SAT study plan based on your goals and the statistics for your top choice schools.The key is starting early! Figure out your target score, take a few practice tests, and decide how much you need to improve.Then, assess your time constraints and be realistic about how much energy you can devote to studying. You’ve got this! What's Next? Check out our Complete Planfor when you should start studying for the SAT. This will give you a more comprehensive view of how to structure your time including what's tested, when you should take the test, and sample score goals for different levels of college selectivity. Also, take a look at our guide forhow to review missed questions on the SAT and ACT. If you can learn to effectively review missed questions, you will be a much more productive studier! Want to get a super high SAT score? Check out our perfect SAT score guide, written by a perfect scorer. Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points? Check out our best-in-class online SAT prep classes. We guarantee your money back if you don't improve your SAT score by 160 points or more. Our classes are entirely online, and they're taught by SAT experts. If you liked this article, you'll love our classes. Along with expert-led classes, you'll get personalized homework with thousands of practice problems organized by individual skills so you learn most effectively. We'll also give you a step-by-step, custom program to follow so you'll never be confused about what to study next. Try it risk-free today:

Influence of human surroundings on buildings Essay - 1

Influence of human surroundings on buildings - Essay Example Sometimes referred to as â€Å"architecture without architects,† it is also the most comprehensively used style of building used throughout the world today. It is building how we feel in relationship to what is around us on many levels (Arboleda 2006). Vernacular architecture is how we define ourselves according to the rest of the world, or maybe within just a regional area. Much that is considered vernacular is without specific design except for areas that are considered foundational to the piece and is required for strengthening the project we build. Over time, buildings such as these, when created through trial and error in first processes, become perfected and then reflect the style of the society or environment within which we reside. Rather than pursuing the aesthetic quality or some egotistical vision of a particular artist/architect, vernacular building is more about accomplishing the factors of function and ecological assimilation and also providing comfort of living at the same time. It is a stamp of our lives at any given moment (Ladd 2003). When building vernacular projects, local materials are used as well as local workers and this also provides for us a sense of the place having grown from the ‘roots’ of our local social environment and by our own hands. Vernacular building can also be representative of our local observances such as a favourite church and its flock of worshipers. It provides for us a continuing reminder of our religion through how it is built, according to our belief structure. Craftsmen in our past, who utilized functional skills in preparing materials and in the creation of infrastructure, provided foremost, a functional, well-built building, created to withstand much of nature’s harsh storms and other events that would hit our lands from time to time (Ladd 2003). In America, log cabins are considered to be the early American vernacular style, consistent with the early settlers who built their homes us ing the trees around them. Today’s pre-packaged version in whatever wood choice you want, represents that stereo-typed tradition of the early days without the hassle of having to cut down the trees yourself. While vernacular building was representative of times gone by, including historical references, today’s version is more about sustainability, technological advances in building processes, and referencing the social and natural environment around the location (Arboleda 2006). Our apartment buildings are a type of vernacular building in that they are built, not necessarily with a particular style, but to suit the basic needs of any of us renting an apartment there. The basics include a main room, bedroom(s), bathroom(s) and the kitchen. In some cases, specifically-intentioned dining rooms are also included in those costing a little more. (Ladd 2003). Indeed, a lesson can also be taken from the Inuit people who knew how to build homes wherever they landed for a while, using compacted snow to create igloos. While mainly for hunting

Road King Trucks Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Road King Trucks - Assignment Example Road King Trucks should accept the project as it has a positive NPV and a low payback period. In addition, the company’s IRR  is higher  than the  Road King Trucks  cost of capital. Further, the company has a Profitability Index, PI, of greater than one implying that it has a higher per dollar return. Road King Trucks is going to gain $532 million in wealth when the expansion decision implemented, which is a huge amount money on a scale like this. Road King Trucks has a bond rating of AA. This makes its risk relatively low (Groppelli & Nikbakht, (2006). For these reasons, the company should definitely say yes to the expansion decision. Road King Trucks, Inc. that is a company that manufactures trucks is contemplating on introducing a public transport bus. A recently hired, CEO Michael Livingston organized a meeting with the company’s top engineers and managers to examine introducing into its existing product line a large, public transit bus (Bidgoli, 2004). The new CEO Michael Livingston recognized the opportunity of building these public transit buses due to the escalating  prices of fuel, the  roads  congestion  together with  the ever increasing parking fees. It is likely that more people are going to use public transportation because the prices of oil keep on rising with no sign of decreasing in the near future. As a result, the public transportations demand is expected to increase and continue into the spring as many people will search for alternative transportation. Road King Trucks should, therefore, adapts itself to the market changes in order to be at the forefront of their field of business (Groppelli & Nikbakht, (2006). The company should go Green by adopting engines that demonstrate immense environmental consciousness to the world (Baker & Powell, 2005). This will attract people that require public transportation thus fulfilling their needs or demands.

Human Brain and Computer Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Human Brain and Computer - Essay Example Possibly, it can be said that the brain is better at doing some specific jobs and the computer is good at doing other jobs. This paper is intended to analyze the benefits and limitations of the metaphor "the brain is often compared to a computer" which is commonly used by many. Before getting into the details it is important to understand why such a comparison was made. Theoretically the brain is a machine just as the heart and kidney. It can be said that the brain is a computer (processor) with neural connections, programmed responses, and a data bank. It has sensors in the body that input information into the computer. It has an output to devices that perform actions, and the brain communicates with these devices through electrical and chemical channels. The comparison of the brain and the computer is a metaphor. In general metaphors are just used to help us better understand things. Or in other words metaphors are used to convey the idea that one thing is similar to another thing. They are useful for helping us understand things, such as mind/body interaction. Metaphors do not mean that both the things compared are one and the same neither is one thing is a substitute for the other. Since several processes in the brain are similar to the computer, it is commonly compared with each other. For instance, both brain and computers use electrical signals to transmit information. Both have a memory which tends to grow over time. With proper instructions given, both brain and computers can learn. Both work based on the energy present. Brain and computers are able to think logically and do math. There are also differences between brain and the computers. For instance, brain uses chemicals such as calcium and sodium to transmit information where as the computer uses electricity. Electrical signals generated in the brain travels much slower when compared to computers. A computer uses switches that are either on or off and works on the binary system, where as the brains do not have such a system. Memory of the brain generally grows by stronger synaptic connections but in a computer it is only possible by adding additional memory chips. The brain needs essential nutrients such as oxygen and sugar for working where as the computer only require electricity or a battery to keep working (faculty.washington.edu, N.D.). Though till date the technology had not grown to replace the brain with a computer, there have been several advantages with the development of this technology. For instance, today it is possible to use computer inputs as substitutes for other sensory inputs, and for outputs to limbs or devices to create movement of neurologically damaged limbs, control the environment by sensing the brain's electrical impulses, and even create limited forms of sight. Besides, great steps are being made in bionics, including artificial hearts that work for longer periods. In recent years study is under progress for replacements for muscle made from specialized ceramic or polymer materials that contract like muscles, which can be triggered by a computer. With this trend of advancement in technology, perhaps one day we could also replace computers with brain (Cole, 2003). A person can do many things which a computer cannot even attempt to do it. A brain beyond doubt has one thing that a computer doesn't and this is a major difference. A brain communicates with itself and the body

Junk food Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Junk food - Assignment Example The researchers in this research paper set out to find out and verify whether the availability of junk food in schools was the reason that led to the obesity in these children. The research only focused on the children from fifth grade and only during school hours and depended on reports from the children and their parents on issues to do with exercises when at home which were bound to be biased or incomplete in some ways. The sample was of 9,380 children who were all in fifth grade in both public and private schools and who had started school in 1998. Data collected from them was that of BMI at the beginning and the end of the research period and the difference calculated. Data was also collected from parents, teachers and other school sources on things such as the children’s cognitive skills and abilities, their social wellbeing, emotional and physical wellbeing and development and especially on their physical activity both in school and at home which may change the results of the BMI in the long run. The data was collected in 2003 and 2004. Other than collection of data on BMI and physical activity, it was also collected on the amount of junk food consumed and the number of calories the junk food contained (Datar and Nicosia, 2012). The results indicated slight increases in BMI in these children from the calories intake of the junk food consumed in school. The physical activity also was very minimal both in school and at home based on the reports from the teachers, parents and the children themselves.

Marketing assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words - 1

Marketing assignment - Essay Example which is concerned with partitioning or dividing the market into one or more segments which can be targeted by the organization for selling and marketing their products / services by developing marketing mixes which are specific to such market segments. Dividing a market into various parts / segments helps in configuration of a company’s value chain and gives a competitive edge to the organization as compared to its competitors1. Segmentation helps organizations in developing a market mix which caters to the specific needs and concerns of the customers belonging to a particular market segment and helps in offering higher value to their target customers. In economic terms, the process of segmentation can be viewed as creation of monopolistic or oligopolistic market conditions whereby organizations seek to realize the highest price that their target customers in the particular market segment are willing to pay. Targeting refers to targeting a product to a specified market segment which comprises of customers who are most likely to consume the company’s products. Targeting helps the organizations in achieving best return on their investments, reach their core customers, gain a wider market share and achieve strategic positioning in the industry. The targeting strategies available to the marketers include2: This involves selling a single product to the entire (mass) market and is based on the assumption that the needs and demands of the consumers to whom the product is marketed are more or less identical. For instance, products such as Colas, Burger King, K – mart etc market and sell a unique product to a mass market. It involves selling different products to different market segments in a way which is appealing to every set of customer according to their respective market segments i.e., the marketers try to match the product with the needs of the customers in each of the identified market segment. For example, airline companies offering different services to

Junk food Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Junk food - Assignment Example The researchers in this research paper set out to find out and verify whether the availability of junk food in schools was the reason that led to the obesity in these children. The research only focused on the children from fifth grade and only during school hours and depended on reports from the children and their parents on issues to do with exercises when at home which were bound to be biased or incomplete in some ways. The sample was of 9,380 children who were all in fifth grade in both public and private schools and who had started school in 1998. Data collected from them was that of BMI at the beginning and the end of the research period and the difference calculated. Data was also collected from parents, teachers and other school sources on things such as the children’s cognitive skills and abilities, their social wellbeing, emotional and physical wellbeing and development and especially on their physical activity both in school and at home which may change the results of the BMI in the long run. The data was collected in 2003 and 2004. Other than collection of data on BMI and physical activity, it was also collected on the amount of junk food consumed and the number of calories the junk food contained (Datar and Nicosia, 2012). The results indicated slight increases in BMI in these children from the calories intake of the junk food consumed in school. The physical activity also was very minimal both in school and at home based on the reports from the teachers, parents and the children themselves.

Software Risk and Risk management Failure Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Software Risk and Risk management Failure - Essay Example The risks that pose a threat due to some physical or structural flaw or damage are relatively easier to mitigate and eliminate as their causes are easily found. But certain risks are faced on routine basis and people become so used to them that after a while these risks stop being taken as a threat. Also certain risk handling situation depend upon the person facing the risk his decision at that moment. Certain risks are ignored or overlooked more commonly than others. At the time of meeting the user requirements are misunderstood by the developer due to certain barriers of communication which can result in an inadequate software requirement because client wasn’t able to convey his requirements properly and the developer worked on them thinking that these requirements were what the client wanted. Also no proper identification of key components so that they are developed as separate parts and merged as units to form a complete software. This technique is helpful in many ways. A follow up with client is necessary to mitigate this threat and using the key components identification technique developer can easily identify which software component deviates from requirements. Inefficient coding is also a issue that the software functions correctly but its speed\performance to calculate or perform operation it was designed for is slow. While coding it should be made clear by the project manager to programmers that code is optimized for eg a small chunk of inefficient code doesn’t show lack of performance but when hundreds of thousands of such lines of code accumulate the result is under performing software. One of the Major and most commonly overlooked software risk is the security risk. While developing a software for a company the security controls implemented are quite vulnerable. These vulnerability as often not noticed and employees can freely access data and information of other departments or tamper the information as well. This is a major risk whic h is overlooked quite a lot of time causing major losses. To reduce this risk and chances of such misuse Controlled access should be given to employees and hierarchy of access should be formed. Some other risks that are overlooked include softwares which are developed on one platform or system function incorrectly on some other platforms or systems. This is due to hardcoded development specific system types which is good for systems with similar configuration as it will perform up to the mark on them but for systems with different configuration it’ll be a hindrance. Writing a Flexible code so that changes can be accumulated if such situation is faced will be helpful. Also when developing a software it should be kept in mind that technology is making advancement at an exponential pace and users are also shifting to newer technology. So keeping this fact in mind the software be flexible to accommodate upgrades. DQ2-Risk management failure Why do companies fail at risk managemen t?   In responding to the question, draw from your own experiences, the text, the topic notes, the additional readings, and/or any additional sources that you research and cite.  Ã‚  Ã‚   The main reason for companies failing at risk management is the lack of contingency planning, training of employees and no proper company document or policy detailing a line of action if certain risk is identified. The requirement for risk management becomes higher for those companies where continuous running of operation

Narrative Essay Example for Free

Narrative Essay Narrative essay Cooking with my mother Some of my fondest childhood memories have been shared cooking with my mother in our small kitchen. Coming from a big family it was always important that there was enough food and food that everybody liked. My mother knew every ones favorite dishes and things that we didn’t like. She is an amazing cook and always had me help especially with holiday dinners one in particular always sticks out in my flood of memories. It was thanksgiving and I was eleven my mother woke me up at seven in the morning and told me I had to help her cook. She never did this before I used to wake up later and maybe cut a few carrots and celery for the stuffing she would make on the stove this was different. I complained like a bratty preteen and asked why I was waking up and she told me that I had to learn to cook one day and why not on thanksgiving. Forcing my self down the staircase into the kitchen and sitting on one of the many stools surrounding the island. She pulled out the twenty-eight pound turkey and rinsed it off and pulled all the giblets out. I remember trying not to grimace because my mother was one to tease you about those types of things. I started cutting up the carrots and celery while my mom got the breadcrumbs and cranberries. I’d occasionally ask why don’t you measure anything and it was always the same answer â€Å"because I know by eyeballing it†. Next she had me stuff this bread crumby mush into the turkey. Then Covered him in butter, salt, and lemon pepper and it was ready to go into the oven. She smiled and said I did a great job. The rest of the stuff was easy squash, potatoes, corn, and green beans. That day I found a new respect for my mom and cooking. She always made every ones plate knowing the portions and dishes we all would want. Now I always help her with the cooking for every occasion and have even tweaked some of he recipes to put my own spin on them. I cant wait for the day that I make my mother a whole dinner and amaze her like she has amazed me through the years.

Self Other And Social Context Management Essay

Self Other And Social Context Management Essay To help build Departmental capability over the medium and long term the identification of needs should be directly linked to the achievement of the Organisational goals as well as on the broader career development needs of individual employees. Numerous studies have shown that individuals process information differently. In todays educational environment the traditional educational delivery method of a professor standing in front of a classroom of students has been augmented, and in some cases supplanted, by various on-line, distance learning delivery methodologies. Studies have also shown that not all individuals learn at the same level when participating in courses which utilize different approaches. GLOBAL REVOLUTION A global revolution is taking place in the field of workplace learning. It is driven by the requirements of information explosion, increased globalisation, the changing nature of work and business as well as changing learner needs and aspirations. In the modern business environment, companies are forced to approach the way they conduct business activities with a more external focus. Not only the business partnerships extending across regional, national and continental borders, but international standards are also becoming the norm. Preparing workers to compete in the knowledge economy requires a new model of education and training, a model of lifelong learning. A lifelong learning framework encompasses learning throughout the life cycle, from early childhood to retirement. It includes formal, non-formal, and informal education and training. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Formal education and training includes structured programs that are recognized by the formal education system and lead to approved certificates. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Non-formal education and training includes structured programs that are not formally recognized by the national system. Examples include apprenticeship training programs and structured on-the-job training. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Informal education and training includes unstructured learning, which can take place almost anywhere, including the home, community, or workplace. It includes unstructured on-the-job training, the most common form of workplace learning. Recent knowledge and the accumulated stock of human capital are inputs in the production of new knowledge and wealth. The speed of change in the knowledge economy means that skills depreciate much more rapidly than they once did. To compete effectively in this constantly changing environment and globally, workers need to be able to upgrade their skills on a continuing basis. Change in the knowledge economy is so rapid that companies can no longer rely solely on new graduates or new labour market entrants as the primary source of new skills and knowledge. Schools and other training institutions thus need to prepare workers for lifelong learning. Educational systems can no longer emphasize task-specific skills but must focus instead on developing learners decision making and problem-solving skills and teaching them how to learn on their own and with others. Lifelong learning is crucial in enabling workers to compete in the global economy. Education helps reduce poverty; if developing economies do not promote lifelong learning opportunities, the skills and technology gap between them and industrial countries will continue to grow. By improving peoples ability to function as members of their communities, education and training also increase social capital (broadly defined as social cohesion or social ties), thereby helping to build human capital, increase economic growth, and stimulate development. Social capital also improves education and health outcomes and child welfare, increases tolerance for gender and racial equity, enhances civil liberty and economic and civic equity, and decreases crime and tax evasion (Putnam, 2001). Education must thus be viewed as fundamental to development, not just because it enhances human capital but because it increases social capital as well. ORGANISATIONAL REALITIES This article examines the organisational realities. The perspectives appearing in the literature, the structural, the perceptual and interactive are identified and examined. Additionally, a perspective termed the organisational culture, the change leader approach and organisational reframing will also be discussed. 2.1 ORGANISATIONAL CULTURE Realigning processes and roles to fit a new organizational reality is daily work for leaders. Planning and implementing changes is a fundamental set of skills at which all leaders must excel to ensure their teams and functions are set up to do great work. Improving an organizations success through aligning its culture became a popular focus of work in the 1980s. During this time, many behavioural science researchers acknowledged the power and importance of organizational culture. In the last twenty-five years, organization culture has become a frequent topic of discussion among a broad audience of leaders including operational managers and organization development, human resources, and training professionals. Culture is now a regular consideration or it ought to be during strategic planning sessions and throughout change management initiatives. Changes that go against a work culture or that are initiated without regard to the culture are likely to fail whereas culture-consistent changes ensure better results while reinforcing the most important workplace values and beliefs. Sometimes it is the culture that needs to change to support a new reality. Determining how to change a culture without wrecking intrinsic motivation or losing top talent is a delicate matter, indeed. To begin examining this challenge, lets first establish a common definition of organizational culture. What is an Organizations Culture? Many definitions of organization culture can be found in behavioural sciences literature. A frequently cited definition comes from organization development pioneer Edgar Schein. In his book, Organization Culture and Leadership, Schein described culture as being deeper than behaviours and artefacts. I will argue that the term culture should be reserved for the deeper level of basic assumptions and beliefs that are shared by members of an organization, that operate unconsciously, and that define in a basic taken for granted fashion an organizations view of itself and its environment. Schein emphasized assumptions and beliefs while others see culture as a product of values. In Cultures Consequences, Geert Hofstede wrote, I treat culture as the collective programming of the mind which distinguishes the members of one human group from another. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Culture, in this sense, includes systems of values; and values are among the building blocks of culture. Culture is to a human collectively what personality is to an individual. Beliefs and values are linked. What about understanding? In the article, Organizations as Culture-Bearing Milieux, Meryl Reis Louis wrote that, any social group, to the extent that it is a distinctive unit, will have some degree of culture differing from that of other groups, a somewhat different set of common understandings around which action is organized, and these differences will find expression in a language whose nuances are peculiar to that group. These three descriptions of organization culture find root in collectively held individual thinking processes. In their piece titled, The Role of Symbolic Management, Caren Siehl and Joanne Martin argued that culture consists of three components: context, forms, and strategies. This description suggests a more systemic description of culture with both internal and external components. In Riding the Waves of Culture, Fons Trompenaars offers another systemic model and described three levels of culture: 1) the explicit layer made up of artefacts and products and other observable signs, 2) the middle layer of norms and values and, 3) the implicit layer, which is comprised of basic assumptions and beliefs. In Corporate Culture and Performance, John Kotter and James Heskett acknowledge internal and external components of culture, too. They see organization culture as having two levels, which differ in their visibility and resistance to change. The invisible level is made up of shared values that tend to persist over time and are harder to change. The visible level of culture includes group behaviors and actions, which are easier to change. Is it important, or even possible, to sort out these definitions and decide which is most accurate? Schein, for example, argued that artefacts and products reflect the organizations culture, but none of them is the essence of culture. The differences and Inter-connectedness of assumptions, beliefs, understandings, and values could be studied further to determine which are more elemental to culture, but would that be time well spent? Which is most important, that a definition be right or that it be helpful? Although we cannot determine the right definition, each of these descriptions adds value to our approach to strengthening organization culture. Based on the work of these and other researchers, we could make the following conclusions about organization culture: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Each company has a unique culture built and changed over time. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Beliefs, assumptions, values and understandings and the actions and norms they produce are important components of culture. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ We recognize culture by observing actions and artefacts (explicit factors). à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ While some call it a sub-culture and others a climate within the larger culture, there may be cultural differences within subgroups of an organization. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Observable behaviours and actions are easier to change than are beliefs and values. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ The observable elements of culture affect the invisible elements and visa versa. Change in one cultural element will impact other elements. Although not apparent in the above offered definitions, it is also important to consider how cultures external to the organization impact and affect the organizations culture. Employees sense their organizations culture soon after they join the company. They might have a hard time describing the culture, but they know it when they feel and see it. There may be similarities in particular industries but each company will have unique cultural attributes. Improving the Organisations Culture A workplace culture can enable or hinder success. Leaders can impact the alignment of the culture with the companys mission and strategies. How? Culture is socially constructed and leaders need to initiate great conversations that tie cultural norms to the organizations goals. If the current culture is not in alignment with the new reality, leaders need to be the catalysts, or bridges, who create a new understanding and help individuals select new behaviours and, eventually, beliefs. Leaders must also define, clarify and reinforce understanding of the actions and beliefs that build the desired culture. The organizational culture is particularly important when implementing organization-wide change. Many organizations are struggling to keep up they layer new initiatives onto the work processes before previous initiatives have taken hold. A culture can either enable or be a barrier to nonstop changes. If the culture is nimble (in the habit of being re-aligned), change will be more fluid and effective. Most large-scale changes need to be supported by complementary changes in the organizations culture. Change plans, then, should address current and desired cultural elements. Leaders can play a key role in facilitating change by aligning projects and development efforts to reinforce the desired culture. A culture of Continuous Learning- Key to improving Organisational Culture Many organizations say they want to build a learning culture. What does this mean? Generally, what they are saying is that they want people to grow and be receptive to changes and willing to take on new tasks. A culture of continuous learning goes deeper than this, although these behaviours are certainly important. Employees value continuous self-development and choose to make learning a priority in the face of competing demands. Leaders, also, match their intention to seek coaching and development with the attention they give learning each day and week. A culture of continuous learning develops when there is a collective understanding of the importance of personal and team growth backed up by actions a resolve to inject learning into everyday work practices. Cultures of continuous learning tend to be more nimble, which means that they are easier to align and realign when new goals or new realities change how an organization must conduct its work. Resistance to changes on an organizational level is more common when team members are unaccustomed to learning and relearning new tasks, projects, and processes. Here are several important indicators of a culture of continuous learning: People are curious and adventurous. They value mental exploration. Most people are naturally curious. To what degree does the work environment encourage people to be curious and adventurous at work? à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Team members are allowed and encouraged to experiment. It is safe to venture outside of established practices and explore (within limits). Can employees try new ways and approaches? à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ The work environment is stimulating it is sensual. The sights, sounds, smells, and textures are interesting and engaging. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Employees at all levels seek and embrace learning in a variety of forms. This is the most telling clue. What level of participation is there in development opportunities? Are executives active learners? à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ There is a healthy view of failure and mistakes. Employees are held accountable, but productive recovery is also rewarded and mistakes are looked at as learning experiences. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ .The workplace is intrinsically rewarding. When employees are self-motivated, they seek learning and development. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ The organization is proactive about succession. Talent is developed and promoted. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ The organization has a focus on innovation in all functions and at all levels. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ The organization embraces Omni modal learning and communication in-person, over the web, virtual, formal, informal, one-on-one, group, as part of regular meetings, separate courses, on site, off site, etcà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Managers and leaders can help build these conditions by engaging team members in a diverse set of learning opportunities. Being a role model for lifelong learning is important, too. Leaders need to practice what they preach and ways to fit professional growth into their busy schedules. The organizations culture is like a rudder under a large ship. To turn the ship, the rudder must move in the right direction. A nimble culture can help organizations explore and be successful while moving to meet new goals and seize new opportunities. Like an inoperable rudder, if the culture does not move, or moves in the wrong direction, it is hard for the organization to progress. Mahatma Gandhi once said, You must be the change you wish to see in the world. Every leader and manager should model the desired culture and his or her actions should reinforce excellence. 2.2 Change Leader To achieve their purposes, organizations must constantly learn, adapt, and grow, a process referred to as change. Research shows, however, that only a relatively few structured change efforts achieve great success-most just get by while the majority fail to reach predefined performance goals and objectives (Mansfield, 2010); ( Salem, 2008); (Schneier, Shaw, Beatty, 1992). At issue is what underlies this phenomenon of underperformance. Studies of complex social systems suggest that the major reason for failure lies in the way decision makers think about and execute the change process (Smith, 1999). If one looks at the typical change process, it is apparent most decision makers view organizations from an objective perspective-as an assemblage of parts that can be arranged and re-arranged to produce predictable outcomes; however, the magnitude of the failure of planned changes led us to ask the following questions: Research Question 1: What factors facilitate or inhibit the change process? Research Question 2: How do these facilitators and inhibitors evolve within an organization? Research Question 3: What are the implications of understanding this evolutionary process relative to achieving a more sustainable level of performance? The answers to these questions led us to propose an alternative approach to understanding and changing organizational performance, one that supposes that organizational learning and change involves understanding the organization from the objective and the subjective perspectives simultaneously. We call this the Full Dimensional Systems Model (FDSM), a perspective which draws heavily on the concepts associated with Complex Adaptive System (CAS). The FDSM perspective assumes there are multiple, interrelated domains of influence that impact change and that these domains must each be appreciated and addressed simultaneously to achieve sustainable performance improvements. The FDSM provides a valid and powerful rationale for determining how to implement meaningful change within organizations as well as identifying probable outcomes and consequences from those changes. Flaws in Traditional Approaches to Thinking About Change The fact that organizational change frequently fails underscores the flaws inhering in traditional approaches to change. These approaches to change are flawed in four ways. First, the need for change is framed in almost exclusively objective terms, thus overlooking important subjective issues. Secondly, the change problem is viewed as a puzzle to be solved (Mansfield, 2010), and the challenge is collecting and analyzing enough data until all the pieces form the right solution. Thirdly, using this approach means that decisions are often based on flawed and/or incomplete information. Fourth, decision makers tend to develop detailed change strategies (often based on the data collected around the need for change), assuming that, if they follow the plan, the puzzle will be solved and the organization will come through the process better structured to meet the needs of their clients. This typical mental model leads to a misalignment of how decision makers perceive and respond to the hard r eality of reality itself (Wolfberg, 2006). Myths and Other Dangerous Half-Truths About Change Adherence to traditional approaches to thinking has produced a number of myths, or dangerous half-truths, about how to make change happen (Kelly, Hoopes, Conner, 2005); (Pfeffer Sutton, 2006). Myth 1-Change starts at the top Organizational change starts with a goal and a plan created by senior management. This approach is usually met by what is referred to as resistance and typically does not work in the fast changing systems of today because the change strategy reflects the same paradigm that created the problem in the first place. The truth seems to be that change depends on the participation of many system members (agents) in an essentially self-organizing process. It may also depend on change agents who consciously influence self-organization toward new and more adaptable patterns of relationship. Myth 2-Efficiency comes from control Change is possible only when every detail is mapped out in precise terms. This prejudice ignores the fact that every process improvement adds new and/or changes existing subsystems, which adds even more complexity to subsystems/systems that already have problems. The result is that many efforts to solve problems actually lead to more serious ones. Myth 3-Prediction is possible It is assumed by many managers that an action in one place will have a replicable effect in another. This, it turns out, is usually false, in part because a complex system consists of many agents, with different ideas, biases, prejudices, and expectations, and each of these concepts interact with many subsystems to determine outcome. Even small variations in the patterns of interaction can produce enormous variation in outcomes. In other words, complex systems are usually very sensitive to inconsistencies in mind-sets and processes. Myth 4-Change is manageable Assuming the course of change is predictable, many managers make a related assumption-that you can manage the change process by developing and then implementing complex plans. The fallacy of this myth was very clearly illustrated by the recent Gulf of Mexico oil tragedy that cost 11 lives and did untold damage to the Gulfs ecosystem. The assumption was made that through design and control alone, the company could achieve the aim of hazard elimination-This turned out not to be the case. The validity of these myths is not supported by the facts. Decisions made in the manner described above often produce unanticipated and unintended consequences. A typical occurrence is illustrated in one of the organizations we studied (Owen Mundy, 2005) where a shared services human resources model was created to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of human resource delivery. Although the delivery model seemed very efficient, it produced the unexpected and unintended consequences of bringing about a loss of direct contact with customers and direct accountability at the local level. The result was that the quality of service delivery actually declined significantly as did the level of customer satisfaction and, instead of saving money, costs soared as a quiet revolt of internal customers ensued. An important effect of these flaws is the creation of what might be thought of as ripples of dissonance in an organization. These ripples, which represent the diverse patterns of self-interest (significant differences) that exist relative to the change, behave like attractors and exhibit all the properties associated with attractors, that is, the emergence of self-organized, adaptable networks, and so on. The psychological mathematics of how this region of dissonance is resolved, then, is at the root of much of the wasted energy observed when an organization tries to implement a large-scale (organization-wide) change or intervention. Any change that involves new patterns of relationships among members, new ways of behaving, and new processes requires a different mental model than the one that is typically used to understand and execute change. A NEW WAY OF THINKING IS NEEDED The contention is that decision makers must shift from a puzzle-solving perspective (a typical fact-based approach) toward a mystery-solving perspective (a value-based approach). The puzzle-solving perspective rests on the assumption there is one right answer; as soon as it is discovered, events can be expected to flow in a predictable manner (Mansfield, 2010). The mystery-solving perspective rests on the assumption there is no one right answer or even a right way to get to an answer; rather, there is an array of possible outcomes, none of which is predictable. Because there are many possible outcomes and consequences associated with any organizational change decision, decision makers need to be able to anticipate and understand the implications of their decisions, and how to respond should the improbable outcome become a reality (Wolfberg, 2006). The only way to do this is for decision makers to create a fully transparent environment in which the many differences of potential releva nce to a change are put in the open for analysis. Although there are many organizational change methods available, few are based on such a mystery perspective. The result is that change efforts are generally disconnected from a significant pool of knowledge. The bottom line is that the way a change agent views the causes of change determines how she or he sees the world and, therefore, determines how she or he intervenes on behalf of the organization. If change agents see the organization as a machine, then they use interventions consistent with this view; if they see it as a complex, multidimensional system, then they use methods appropriate to that paradigm to change (Kim Mauborgne, 1999). Modern organizations are complex. Simply moving from the organizational chart to examining how work gets done in most organizations easily demonstrates this. Work is a complex process involving multiple interactions between the members of an organization and their teams, teams and other teams, teams and other organizations, and so on. Changes in one part of an organization will invariably have an effect on other parts of the organization-some obvious and others less so. As organizations grow and change through time, their complexity grows and changes as well. (Anderson, 1999) proposed integrating four attributes of CASs into our thinking of modern organizations: agents, feedback loops, self-organization, and coevolution. All human systems comprised numerous semi-independent agents, each of which is capable of autonomous action; such action follows that agents schema of the organization. A schema is a mental model of how the world works and how to interpret events in that world. These schema act like self-fulfilling prophecies and thus can have powerful and sometimes disruptive effects on a change. A second concept is that agents are connected to one another by feedback loops. One agents behavior can affect the behavior of numerous other agents in self-reinforcing cycles of influence. These feedback loops underscore the importance of coevolution. Third, agents coevolve with one another. A given agents adaptations impact the efforts of agents to adapt, and these co-adaptations lead to patterns or waves of self-organization that flow throughout the organization. Finally, CASs evolve over time through the entry, exit, and transformation of existing agents, and new agents can be formed by recombining elements of previously successful agents. Furthermore, the linkages between agents also evolve or coevolve over time, shifting the pattern of interconnections and their strength. CHANGE IN CASs: A METAPHOR How can organizations hope to adapt to the ever increasing level of complexity and in the process remain vibrant, responsive, and healthy? The answer to this question lies in the principles of CASs. (Dooley, 2002) offers the following three principles about the nature of the CAS: (a) order is emergent as opposed to hierarchical, (b) the systems history is irreversible, and (c) the systems future is often unpredictable. The basic building blocks of the CAS are agents. Agents are semiautonomous units that seek to maximize some measure of goodness of fit by evolving over time in response to the environment. Rather than focusing on macro strategic-level changes, complexity theory suggests that the most powerful processes of change occur at the micro level (e.g., the individual and groups) where relationships, interactions, experiments, and simple rules shape emerging patterns. As everything in an organization is interconnected, large-scale change occurs through the integration of changes that affect the smallest parts. Organization change occurs through the evolution of individuals and small groups. Like biological changes, these changes are sometimes not incremental but dramatic. From a complexity perspective, everyone can be a change agent if they are aware of options to help the organization adapt to its environment. A metaphor will serve to clarify these points. A jazz ensemble is a CAS. Each musician is autonomous. They interact as they play. They bring their own intents, biases, levels of interest, experience, and aesthetics to the performance. A minimum number of rules are put in place regarding set, place, time, and so on. Usually, the players know one another very well, and they are all very competent in the theory and practice of jazz music. The music is a balance of control and improvisation (in the moment changes or adaptations in the melodic and/or harmonic line). They listen to each other and adapt themselves to fashion their music. Their enthusiasm influences the other members of the band and the receptivity of the audience. The audience influences the band. In the end, the quality and creativity of the performance is the result of the interaction of all these elements. These emerging patterns influence not only the current selection but also the next piece as well as successive pieces. This metaphor illustrates how creativity and efficiency emerge naturally in human organizations. Some basic rules, positive contacts, and relationships among members allow solutions to emerge from the bottom up. In this CAS, the musicians and the audience all act as autonomous system agents; the setting, roles, rules, and duration of the concert constitute the container/context; the contribution of each instrument and the continuous change of melodies and harmonies are significant differences, whereas the influencing processes between musicians and their audience are transformative exchanges; the continuous successions of music are the self-organizing patterns. Each of these concepts is highly interdependent REFRAMING THE ORGANISATIONAL CONTEXT Reframing is about changing perception by understanding something in another way. (Bandler Grinder, 1982) explained reframing in the following manner: What reframing does is to say, Look, this external thing occurs and it elicits this response in you, so you assume that you know what the meaning is. But if you thought about it this other way, then you would have a different response. Being able to think about things in a variety of ways builds a spectrum of understanding. None of these ways are really true, though. They are simply statements about a persons understanding. BASIC TYPES OF REFRAMING There are two basic kinds of reframes: context reframing and content reframing. Both can alter our internal representations of events or situations, which permits us to experience the events in other, hopefully, more resourceful ways. Context reframing Bandler and Grinder noted that every experience in the world and every behavior is appropriate, given some context, some frame (1982,p.9) Context reframing offers an understanding of how we make meaning through the environment physical, intellectual, cultural, historical, and emotional in which a situation occurs. It can also provide a pattern of thinking that helps us see the value in every situation regardless of any perceived downside. Context reframing is taking an experience that seems to be negative, not useful, and distressing and showing how the same behaviour or experience can be useful in another context. Childrens stories are full of reframes designed to show children how what might seem a liability can be useful in another context. For example, the other reindeer made fun of Rudolphs bright, red nose; but that funny nose made Rudolph the hero on a dark night. Context reframing can be used as a perceptual filter, taught and practiced until it becomes an integral and habitual way of organizational thinking. It is a very useful tool in business as it is the way of thinking that gives one the ability to make lemonade from those unexpected