Learning and change

Learning is a continual process when people learn they generate ideas and they test them to their own values.   When the ideas survive the test then learning has occurred (Schaveran, 2007).   In my opinion, learning only occurs after information is filtered through ones brain and one that is retained in the long-term memory is what is learned.   This is because not all information gathered or exposed to is relevant.   The brain uses selective criteria in choosing what tom process and store.   Most times, what we can relate to in terms of previous knowledge and/or experience is easily retained or learned, as opposed to new and abstract information.   Perhaps this is the reason why it is said that learning is biologically based.Learning is f g.t.r process meaning it followers a generate test and regenerate cycle.   At least this is according to the biologically based generative theory of learning.   This theory is built upon three premises.   One, that values drive le arning, two that learning occurs by selection and three that learning is progressive (Schaverien, 2007) contrary to common thought learning is not a one-time affair, biological learning takes times and at the primary level it may take as long as 20 years for it to occur.This is because at the primary level. Genetic knowledge transfer from one living thing to another say through reproduction takes time.   At the secondary level i.e. within the immune system and brain the time frame is shorter while at the territory level that is through studying our history and culture knowledge transfer is relatively quicker (Schaverein, 2007) Perhaps this sound like technical jargon but Hutching puts a better perspective on the whole concept of time learning.   He says,Education is not a segregated activity conducted hours in certain places at a certain time of life.   It was the aim of society.   The city educated the man. The Athenian was educated by culture by paideia (Hutchins 1970:133) Learning has always been an intriguing concept to curious minds such as those of psychologist mostly because it is unseen and intangible process.   Psychologists such as Jean Piaget, Lev Vygotsky, John Locke, Ivan Pavlov, BF Skinner, Jerome Brunner, George Kelly and Wolfgang Kohler are some of the key psychologist who contributed significant theories, which try to explain learning.This paper draws from a workplace context of how learning occurs; it also tracks ideas about growth and development in the work place basing argument from certain theories of learning.   It will also speculate on the various kinds of learning support in the workplace.Human growth and development occurs in stages.   In this workplace context, I choose to focus on Erickson’s model of lifespan development and how it affects the workplace learning and change, Erickson’s model concerns itself with psychosocial department of human beings.   It specifically touches on social roles and relati onship of individuals and how they progress from childhood to late stages of life theory proposes.This theory proposes eight stages of life, which occurs in the same order to all individuals. (Barbara & Newman, 2005).   Ã‚  This first stage revolves around trust and infants experience it.   At the stage there is need fell that one can depend on those around him.   This stage is very crucial to an individual and affects learning in the progressive stages if an infact gains trust in his environment, she/he learns to trust others.   The second stage is characterized by struggle for autonomy and doubt.   This stage occurs at about age 2-3 where by the infant seeks independence of others yet finds that the support of others is in dispensable.At this stage both of these aspects are crucial since without independence a child is clubbed with self-doubt when doing things on his own, at the same time support from others equally important for growth. The third stage at about age3-6 i s characterized by struggles between initiative and guilt.   At this point, children not allowed to follow their own course are crippled with guilt whenever they do so.   This could lead to over dependence on others.   The fourth stage occurs at age seven through to early puberty.   This stage is characterized by internal conflict between industry and inferiority.During this stage, there is great interest to tackle tasks performed by adults.   Failures influence the Childs inferiority complex.   Similarly, successes build self-confidence and superiority complex.   Adolescence is the next stage characterized by confusion between self-identity and societal role.   There is a poor coordination between self-identity and life goals.   Failures are associated failure in life.   This is a very destructive behaviour such as drug abuse, dropouts and alcoholism.   The sixth stage is young adulthood.   At this stage struggles between confusion and self-identity have bee n resolved.   However, there is struggle between intimacy and partners and careers.   Some people combine this stage with the adult years since these years are ones that an individual is at their prime.However, the struggles in the adult years are different at the stage a person is at struggles between generativity and stagnation.   This is owing to the many demands of life at this stage say advancement in career, productivity at work and at home and risk of stagnation.   The last stage is the senior years mostly the years after retirement.   At this stage, an individual is at crossroads between feeling of integrity and despair.   In these reflective years, a person recollects how he/she spent his life and gauges whether it was in vain or it was meaningful.   Feelings of despair arise when on individual feels that there is nothing more left for him/her in this life.I suppose one may be justified to wonder what Erickson’s model of lifespan development has to do w ith learning and change.   As seen, each stage of life is characterized by struggles and these struggles must be overcome for an individual to develop to a healthy adult capable of learning.   Individuals who had or have difficulty of resolving these struggles depict certain deficiency in learning personally; I have a problem with trusting myself to do something right alone.   Perhaps, this distrust originates from the fact that I was not encouraged to follow my own initiative during the stage where individuals have need to have autonomy and initiative.   Such people usually have difficulty in learning new things and being innovative at the workplace.These doubts and guilt hinder them from expressing new ideas and learning through training and delegation is slow.   The sixth stage of development has implication on learning in the workplace.   Young adults are motivated but an internal need to be generative and productive.   This means that they are more flexible and in terested in learning new things.   Similarly, their brains are at their sharpest and they feel inclined to generate alternatives approaches to problems.   Given a rich environment and the right organization culture, their potential is boundless.  Ã‚   The biological based generative theory of determines what information is learnt and which is discarded.   Values are formed at each level of development.   Young adults who have positive values attached to learning and their self-concept are able to generate their own views hence learning. (Finger & Asà ºn, 2000)   They are also able to relinquish meaningless ideas and build on them to make powerful ones.ConclusionIn summary, it is worthwhile to expose the kinds of learning support that might work in the workplace.   The ideal learning situation should be one that allows individuals to construct their own ideas and subject them to the g-t-r cycle inorder to validate learning.   The workplace should be one that enables an individual to have a degree of autonomy and initiative in initiating and sustaining learning.   Young adults should be accorded tasks that challenge them so that hey do not stagnate at one position and they feel productive. (Sugarman, 2001)   Equally important is the need to foster healthy competition within the workplace.   According to the Erickson’s lifespan development model, individuals can revisit particular stages if theory feels they did not adequately resolve the struggles characterizing that stage.   In such cases, the workplace may play a supportive role of facilitating this resolution.BibliographyBarbara, M & Newman, P (2005). Development through Life: A Psychosocial Approachs. Thomson Wadsworth.Finger, M. & Asà ºn, M. (2000). Adult Education at the Crossroads. Learning our way out. London: Zed Books.Hutchins, R. M. (1970).The Learning Society, Harmondsworth. Penguin.Schaverien, L. (2007). Working Paper: An introduction to a (biologically based) genera tive view of learning.Sugarman, L. (2001). Life-span Development: Frameworks, Accounts, and Strategies. Psychology Press.

Course Outline of Production Operation Management

ARID AGRICULTURE UNIVERSITY, RAWALPINDI MGT- 696 â€Å"Operations Management† BBA–6 (A & B Sections) Spring 2013 Visiting Faculty Member:M. Javed Akhtar Ex- General Manager Training, OPF Ex-Director Gneral, NAVTEC Head Office Prime Minister's Secretariat [email  protected] com Office Contact/Timings: 051-2541041 (direct), 0300-5338951(Cell) (0800 Hrs. to 1500 Hrs. ) Course Coordinator Mr. Irfanullah Munir The Prologue This three credit Hrs. course is designed for services and manufacturing sectors, basically, meant for defining the real meaning of the Operations Management in any given organization.The primary objective of the course is to provide the students with an understanding of the theories, models, problems, issues, and techniques related to the management of operations both in manufacturing and service sectors. This includes analyses of various tasks performed and decisions made by operation managers, both tactically and strategically. The operations function plays a vital role in achieving a company’s strategic plans. Since the operations function produces the goods and provides the services, it typically involves the greatest portion of the company mployees and is responsible for a large portion of the firm’s capital assets. It has a major impact on quality and is often the visible face of company with which the customer must deal. Customer service, product/service, quality issues, and the effectiveness of many customer interactions are all operations activities. In the face of increased international competition, Pakistani firms have lost market share and have not responded by working to improve both their operating efficiencies and the quality of their goods and services.With this renewed emphasis on operations, it has become increasingly important that students have an understanding of operations management and its significance to the success of the companies where they will work. To gain a competitive edge, Pakistani organizations need sound production/operations strategies. This is particularly true today, given the pressures of global competition and the need to satisfy ever more demanding customers. Operations functions appear as a powerful tool for achieving organizational objectives and strategies. Learning ObjectivesThe aim of this course is to provide a clear, well-structured and interesting treatment of Production/Operations Management as it applies to a variety of businesses and organizations. The course is intended to provide both a logical path through the activities of operations management and an understanding of the strategic context in which operations managers’ work. †¢ Strategic in its perspective of operations management’s contribution to the organization’s long-term success. We are unambiguous in treating the operation function as being at the center to most organization’s drive to improve their competitiveness. Conceptual in the way it explai ns the reasons why operations managers need to take decisions in each activity. Although some quantitative techniques are included, their primary aim is to illustrate the underlying principles of operation decisions. †¢ Comprehensive in its coverage of the significant ideas and issues which are relevant to most types of operations. †¢ Practical in the sense that the issues and difficulties in making operations management decisions in practice are discussed, and generally the treatment of topics reflects actual operations practice.This course is practical also that Case Exercise illustrating the approaches taken by actual companies are used to illustrate operations issues. Attendance Policy As you may all know very well by this time that the University (FUU) adheres to very strict attendance policy (i. e. minimum 75% mandatory attendance). As usual roll will be taken at the beginning of each class meeting. No one will be allowed to enter the classroom five minutes after the class starting time since it cause interruptions in the class activities. Professional conduct is expected throughout the course.Besides this, It is assumed that you have read all the policies and guidelines of the University regarding attendance, academic dishonesty, deadlines and so on and so forth Team Work There will be substantial Team work in this class. This is the need of today’s corporate world, and we have to learn how to pull our right slack while working in teams. Instructor as well as fellow team members, at end of the course, will evaluate each team member. Part of the grade of the team project(s) will be dependent on peer evaluations which is only for the developmental purposes and will be kept strictly confidential.Unannounced Quizzes There will be minimum four unannounced quizzes taken randomly throughout this course. Three best will be considered for grading. These quizzes will be handed out in the beginning of the class meetings and if you are late in clas s, you will miss that quiz. There are absolutely no make ups for these quizzes. Case Studies There may be cases assigned to groups and these cases will be resolved in team efforts. A short written report will be required along with the presentation of that case.Presenters will play the role of Management Consultants and the class will act as Board of Directors and will interact with the consultants at the end of the presentation to express their concerns and opinions. Term Project or Book Review You will be given case study or in lieu thereof book reviews relevant to the field of OM, Subject to availability of time. When awarded, details will be discussed in the class. Industrial Visit/Seminar An industrial visit and/or a seminar relating to the subject matter would be arranged. Grade Allocation and Breakdown |Weightage suggested by DBA |Weightage suggested by Teacher| |Unannounced quizzes/Book Review |10% |10% | |Assignment(s) / presentation / participation/discipline |15% |15% | | Midterm Examination |25% |25% | |Terminal / Final Examination |50% |50% | Course Contours and Schedule ? Current Academic Session 4th March 2013 onward ? Class Work32 Lectures (16 weeks) Teaching Time 48Hrs. 1st Week: ? Production and Operations Management: An Overview 2nd Week: ? Production System : Issues and Environment 3rd Week: ? Total Quality Management 4th Week: ? Need and Importance of Forecasting 5th Week: ? Qualitative Methods of Forecasting 6th Week: ? Quantitative Methods of Forecasting 7th week: ? Capacity Planning 8th Week: ? Facilities Planning ? Mid-term Examination 9th Week: ? Work System Design 10th Week: ? Managing Information for Operations System 11th Week: ? Aggregate Production Planning 12th Week: ? Just-in-Time (JIT) 13th Week: ? Scheduling & Sequencing 14th Week: ? Issues in Materials Management 15th Week: Independent & Dependent Demand Inventory System 16th Week: ? Total Productive Maintenance (TPM)/Computers in OM ** ? Final Examination (date to be announc ed later on) Recommended Readings Supplementary Readings | | IMPORTANT NOTE: ? The course outline is subject to change to a tune of about 10% if need arise. ? ** Subject to availability of time, the topics of â€Å"Advanced Manufacturing Systems† and â€Å"Computers in Operations Management† will also be covered. ———————– Issues in Production/ Operations Management Forecasting Operations System Design Planning & Scheduling Materials Planning Emerging Issues in OM**

AIDS Controversy

The problem of AIDS in poor countries in Africa had been one of the major health problems the world is facing.   Needless to say, many have died without even having undergone medication.Perhaps one of the most pressing issues involving this problem is the commitment of big pharmaceutical companies in the United States to give away free AIDS treatments to poor African countries ridden with AIDS in exchange for its continued patent protection.The question now arises on whether this scheme of giving away free AIDS treatment would strike a balance in its continued patent protection vis-à  -vis the continuing problem of AIDS in poor African countries.A number of international non-governmental organizations have launched campaigns against pharmaceutical giants engaging in a long term endeavor to widen the access of poor people to essential medicines, to attain significant reductions on the prices of brand medicines from big pharmaceutical companies, and to support the sale and productio n of generic drugs (Poku, Whiteside, and Sandkjaer, 2007).The issue of patents on pharmaceutical products have started in the negotiations ate the World Trade Organization.   The WTO’s Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights that took effect in 1995 compels countries to include pharmaceutical products and practices in patent protection after a phase-in period associated to the level of development (Newfarmer, 2003).International intellectual property patents assure a 20-year market monopoly for new products and processes (Finkel, 2007).   Given this, no other company can enter the same market, limiting the market competition to those who have patents.â€Å"The protection of intellectual property in the biosciences on a global level has to deal with very different contexts and situations.† (Lenk, Hoppe, and Andorno, 2007).At first glance, it seems that the pharmaceutical companies are doing an altruistic effort in providing free access to AIDS treatment in poor African countries, which are ridden with AIDS epidemic in spite of the fact that they were only compelled to do so by the United States government.The main question here is not whether it is proper for the United States government to compel these pharmaceutical companies but rather on whose interests are better served with this scheme of giving away free AIDS treatment in exchange for continued patent protection.The continued patent protection of drugs relating to AIDS, in spite of the efforts to distribute free medications on AIDS in poor African countries, has detrimental effects to the victims themselves.Aside from the victims, the market itself for pharmaceutical products and processes will also suffer as they will be ruled by a monopoly of patent-holding pharmaceutical companies.The continued patent protection would further limit the access of people to AIDS treatment.If the patent protection for pharmaceutical companies is to continue, this will limit th e opportunities for other pharmaceutical companies to develop their own medication for AIDS treatment.If there will be no other pharmaceutical company that will come up with a treatment for AIDS, those infected with the disease will have no other option but to buy the only product in the market despite its high price.If the patents will be lifted, this will benefit not only those in the poor nations but everyone who has been infected with the disease as they will enjoy the benefits market competition will bring.The absence of patent protection will give other pharmaceutical companies the opportunity to develop their own products and processes aimed at treating AIDS infection.   If this happens, there will be more products available in the market.   More similar products in the market will compel pharmaceutical companies to lower their prices.

What is specific about digital image and how can digital aesthetics be Essay

What is specific about digital image and how can digital aesthetics be described through a reference to glitch Give examples - Essay Example term is usually identified as jargon, used in electronic industries and services, circuit-bending practitioners, gamers, media artists, and designers. In electrical systems, a glitch is a short-lived error in a system or machine. A glitch appears as a defect..." (Goriunova & Shulgin, 2008) It is the breakdown and error of systems that produces the opportunity for genuine individuality or subjectivity of the post-modern digital artist. The individual self-expression is reduced to an ironic defect within the greater matrix of social programming and control, but is experienced heroically as overcoming by the person through creative self-identity. The glitch is the spontaneous ecstasy and spark of life referenced by the mythology and fairy tales of Artificial Intelligence in science fiction: the ghost-soul in the machine vs. man as god. The artist is seeking the reflection of singularity through artistic expression, yet to go beyond limits, the software imposed tautology must be transcen ded by the chaos of the glitch. The glitch is the software expression of the human in software through the most fundamental characteristic of modern humanity, human error. This is experienced as the irrationality of the unforseen manifesting in the face of the programmer and engineer’s vision of total control through system design. Yet, as both a symbol and in artistic practice, the glitch represents the synchronicity of a moment irreproducible and inconceivable other than how it appears, randomly, unexpected, captured as a nano-second flash and still-life photograph of quantum mind with all its uncertainty in post-modern awareness. Goriunova & Shulgin chart the meme of the modern Prometheus from Shelley’s Frankenstein as an example of Victorian conceptions of disfunctionality vs. utilitarianism: people, objects, and ideas "sooner or later becoming evil as they stop functioning correctly." (Ibid., p.115) If Frankenstein is the early modernist â€Å"glitch-as-hero,† then the

Relationship Between Knowledge and Belief. What Role Does Experience Essay

Relationship Between Knowledge and Belief. What Role Does Experience and Reason Play in Ensuring our Beliefs Are True - Essay Example What is important to note here is the underlying significance on the shaping up of beliefs. If these beliefs are not given the room to expand within their entireties, there is little one can do in essence. Similarly, experience and reason have got a due role within the relevant scheme of knowledge and beliefs. Experience comes with an understanding that things can be learned with the passage of time. As far as knowledge is concerned, teacher can teach knowledge but he cannot force his own self to change beliefs and opinions which take a long time to change essentially. Knowledge leads to experience after a particular task is worked upon. If the knowledge is not employed in a due capacity, experience will not be deemed as fruitful. Therefore, one must understand the dictum of positive change that shall dawn upon the entirety of an individual who wants to attain knowledge. If the knowledge is acquired, then only experience is derived from the same settings. The role of the teacher is t herefore an important one but it is the guidance that shall lead a student towards deducing what is deemed as a better alternative for him, and what shall not reap any rich dividends for his personality in the coming times. In order to make sure that our beliefs turn out to be true, the role of knowledge and experience working hand in hand with one another is a significant one. This is because both these elements work alongside one another to form up our beliefs which remain quintessential for us no matter how tough the circumstances and situations turn out to be at the end. The gravity of our beliefs is directly related with how our knowledge and experience shape up. This is because the beliefs are affected by the knowledge and experience regimes which are in place and which shall be the basis of comprehension within the related realms (Bratman, Fischer & Perry, 2009). The theory of knowledge is such that it would lead to immense understanding as it paves the way for alternatives a nd options. It gives the people a sense of belongingness and understanding – a fact that has been discussed, analyzed and relearned altogether with the advent of time. The beliefs need to be covered up with experience and knowledge which remain important for an individual until the time he is alive and bringing in value for his own entirety. The manner in which inductive influence comes about is an important one. This is because there is a sense of leading into things when inductive influence comes into the relevant equations. The inductive influence within the dynamics of beliefs comes in from research which is knowledge and the practical demonstration of work that leads up to experience. The mix of the two is indeed the belief that a person acquires and would long to have within his folds. What is significant here is an understanding that things shall be done properly if there is a certain belief behind the very same dictum. This will mean long term success for all and sund ry, an aspect which has been given much emphasis in the recent times by the people who study personalities and their direct and indirect effects and consequences. Therefore philosophy asks of the individuals to manifest their truest selves through understanding, research and practical experience. All of these tenets are given a decent cover under

Informatics of health care Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Informatics of health care - Essay Example -Health initiatives such as WHO Global Observatory, which offered Member States with suitable strategic information and policy on the operational practices and standards pertaining eHealth. World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) has asserted its assurance to offering entree to the world’s health awareness and corresponding telemedicine services. Telemedicine applies in locations of worldwide collaboration in emergency response access and networking among the existing health specialists in order to aid advance quality of life and environmental situations (Scott et al., 2005). Within Europe, e-Health forms a fundamental section of the European Commission e-Europe implementation plan. The plan mainly entails envisage the actual definition of the health data interoperability standards, execution of the prevailing health information networks, e-referral, tele monitoring and telecare. Clinical information system used in the modern healthcare setting has computer-based designs that enable the collection, storage, manipulation, and analysis of clinical information significant in the delivery process. The modern clinical information systems facilitate a coherent availability of clinical data in the repository that store patients record especially illness history and major interactions with the medical care practitioners (Stewart & Catanzaro, 2005). In the clinical information system, the repository are designed to encode information that assist physicians in deciding on how to go about patient’s conditions, wellness activities and treatment options as well as the overall actions undertaken. In addition, other healthcare related information that may assist in performing such activities can also be stored and processed in the system (House of Commons Health Select Committee 2005, p. 2). Clinical information systems have been beneficial in several roles in the healthcare setting such as managerial roles, performing general practitioner delegated tasks,

Provide a balanced discussion of the factors that a medium to large Assignment

Provide a balanced discussion of the factors that a medium to large sized company should consider before adopting an ERP system - Assignment Example Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) is a process by which a company or manufacturer manages and integrates an important part of his business. In today’s business world, ERP play’s an extensive role in the field of business and information technology. Global strategy leader, Arthur D. Little spoke about ERP and quotes: â€Å"it is conquering the world. Almost every important company is more or less in its hand.† (ERP) There are several kinds of ERP software, but SAP is the most famous and acknowledged one. The acronym of SAP is Systems, Applications and Products in Data Processing. It is used around the globe to access the needs of the customers and offer them with widespread range of services and facilities. Leading resource companies such as Comal co Ltd., Sasol Synfuels International (Pty) Ltd. and Sasol Mining (Pty) Ltd effectively use SAP to manage assets, improve productivity and attain better decision-making abilities. ERP has not only helped large global fi rms earn gigantic amounts of revenues but small and medium enterprises also avail this system for procuring profits. It is the invaluable technology tool for the companies to increase productivity, profitability, sales and service. The implementation of ERP system does not limit to the size of the organization but the fact that where the system is implemented. Both developing and developed countries are applying and implementing ERPs. ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES INHERIT IN AN ERP SYSTEM: ERP system has brought revolution to the entire framework of supervising industries. ERP system is not a stand-alone system and so, companies that fail to utilize this find themselves difficult to function with each other. It facilitates operational coordination across functional companies. It is important for medium and large scale companies to have complete knowledge of its competitor’s strategy and policies. Not only this, ERP system has a standard of collecting all business areas in one system which would makes it easier for companies to compete on the same benchmark. The foremost advantage of an ERP system is that it saves time and brings down the costs of large corporations. Large firms cannot risk wasting their time in procedural maneuvers and unwanted delays. It ensures quick processing of information and reduces the burden of paperwork. It is difficult to manage large firms without proper records, and so ERP system maintains work effectively with minimum chances of error. ERP system aims for perfection; it keeps track of its order. It serves the customers efficiently by way of prompt response and follow up. Whether it’s the case of queries of the customers or in the payment, ERP system provides them with ease in every procedure and administers them with detailed information. ERP system also excels in accounting applications. It can incorporate the cost, profit, revenue information of sales that are made by the company. It is responsible for altering the product, and upgrading it order to capture a wider audience. It can make amazing quality products by mere design engineering. Large firms are required to have greater security, for which ERP system are considered to be ideal as they are an indispensable tool in the area of security. It protects the company against some considerable crimes such as embezzlement or industrial espionage, thus safeguarding the company from massive losses every year. Large