Thinking in the workplace Essay Example for Free

Thinking in the workplace Essay Preparation for a career or vocation does not just begin during a school’s admissions examinations. It starts right when a child embarks on the road to learning in general. The whole of one’s life is going to be poured into various experiences a person may encounter. Such is a typical academic life, a life that Chris faces daily. ~ Identify five of Chris’ greatest challenges as his classes begin. Pursuing an education is an investment for the individual and his family. It is primarily financial, but more than that it includes the entire life of the person. He is preparing for life hence, all of his resources, be they emotional or mental, spiritual and moral, are involved in the whole process. The challenges a person like Chris will encounter as he enters the higher academic life includes financial capability especially with increasing tuition costs, balancing academics and social life as well as other extracurricular activities, and maintaining good health while experiencing various stressors typically met by students right through their academics. ~ Devise a five step plan for Chris to better manage his time. It entails the following procedure: a.) a statement of goals and objectives; b.) know and record your priorities; c.) use a calendar and a guide from which you monitor your schedules, commitments and responsibilities; d.) do evaluation regularly to know where you are deficient and make up for lost time; e.) be accountable to someone who will help you achieve your goals by managing your time (â€Å"Time management,† 2007). ~ Research different learning styles, and based on what you know about Chris, make a recommendation to Chris on what may work best from these options: three senses (auditory, visual, and kinesthetic), two reasoning types (deductive and inductive), and two environments (intrapersonal and interpersonal).   Chris is probably the type who is very kinesthetic; hence he must discover his strengths and weaknesses which may affect his approach and attitude towards learning. He usually derives comprehension when he starts from the general to specific (deductive). He is apt to bloom in an interpersonal kind of environment. Thus, Chris ought to tailor his needs to the kind of profession he will be preparing himself to get into. This is the kind of work where his liking for people to people interactions is expected to happen, where he can convey his global reasoning powers (â€Å"What type of learner are you?† 2002). ~ Identify three ways that Chris’ thinking can be improved. He must know how to analyze claims, the falsity or fallacies that other people argue against other people’s knowledge also. He has to learn skills like how to take notes, use dictionaries and other tools, develop quality study habits, get rest as often as he can, especially when schedules are inevitably confusing (Harris, 1998). ~ Recommend top five priorities for this weekend’s activities that Chris can find opportunity to do all that has to be done while still having some fun as well. Chris can do that even though he could be one of the busiest people around. Study or skim through all notes that he has taken, schedule a game of badminton with friends, or go swimming, review schedule regularly, forget the coming busy days and instead, to relax and put all worries aside (â€Å"How to have fun while studying†). Reference: 1. â€Å"Time management.† Study guides and strategies. Accessed July 20, 2007 http://www.studygs.net/index.htm 2. Harris, Robert. 1998. Introduction to creative thinking. Virtual Salt. Accessed July 20, 2007. http://www.virtualsalt.com/crebook1.htm 3. â€Å"How to have fun while studying.† Wikihow. Accessed July 20, 2007. http://www.wikihow.com/Have-Fun-While-Studying 4. â€Å"What type of learner are you?† Thinking and learning styles.† 2002. Accessed July 21, 2007. http://www.new-oceans.co.uk/new/education/learnstyles.htm

Animal Farm: An Analysis

Animal Farm: An Analysis ‘Animal Farm’ is a novel based on the Russian Revolution, about a group of animals wanting to rebel against man. Snowball a smart, fair and strong leader gets ruled over by Napoleon, an unfair and selfish leader. This was the first error in the rebellion. Snowball would have defiantly made a better leader than Napoleon. The reasons for this are that he educated the animals, had future economic plans and knew how to keep a fair and smart community. Snowball genuinely believes in Old Majors message of animal equality and shared sacrifice for shared gain, and so his ideas represent an attempt to create an equally working farm. Although he shares the early luxuries of the pigs, such as the milk and apples which are kept from the other animals, he tries to make things better for the other animals with technological advances like the windmill. Napoleon on the other hand was a quite a contrary image, he was selfish cruel and corrupt. He would think of his and the pigs interest first and then that of the other animals and the farm. His way of ruling was inequality, completely contrary to the teachings of the Old Major and the Seven Commandments. Napoleon can be equated to Napoleon Bonaparte for his high ambition and his rule by fear and force. This political satire gives insight into two types of leadership; the democratic, Snowball, and the narcissist, Napoleon. They were both leaders of the revolution that happened at the farm in the beginning of the story. Napoleon is seen as the quite one who spoke rarely and only when absolutely required. Snowball on the other hand was a charmer and was able to capture the attention of the crowd with his words. He was full of new ideas to improve the way of life in the farm. As history has proven a narcissist leader, for example Adolf Hitler, is never a good leader. For someone to become a good leader the person has to care about all of the people he is representing but when someone only cares about themselves they will become corrupt and soon their ruling will end terribly. Snowball was devoted to the commandments and encouraged the animals to follow it to the dot. He tries methods to improve the way the animals lived by starting various clubs and trying to teach the animals to read and write. Napoleon on the other hand just adopts a few pups and teaches them on private. No one in the farm knows what he is up to. A very important factor in their leadership of the farm was that they never agreed with each other. Whenever, Snowball came out with his elaborate schemes to improve farm life Napoleon stood against it. However, most of the time Snowball was able to win over the support of the animals with his charismatic personality and play with words. He was able to win them over with comforting talk and some amount of reasoning. He tried to get the animals involved in the decision making through a voting system and thus had a more participative approach to running the farm. Napoleon on the other hand preferred to dictate and direct things. He was not good at getting the animals on his side with his talk. Because he knew that he would not be in leadership of the farm will Snowball was around he got rid of Snowball. He uses another pig called Squealer to speak on his behalf and mislead the animals into believing that everything Snowball did was harmful. Squealer was also used to tell great tales about Napoleon. Napoleon’s autocratic style of leadership, with lies and tales leading the farm, leave the animals confused. However, they carry on with their work more passionately than ever. He is a narcissist who makes the animals work mainly for his own benefit. When a comparison is made between the leadership of these two pigs Snowball comes out as a democratic leader while Napoleon comes out as a dictator. Snowball came out with good ideas and always presented it to the animals for a vote. He is a leader who is able to raise the entire group, including himself, into higher levels of morality, motivation and motives. He raised the motivational level of the farm animals with his inspiring speeches and led them to work and fight for liberty and the betterment of the farm in which he too actively participated. On the other hand Napoleon was corrupt and with false claims he forced his decisions on the animals. There was no voting or any suggestions taken from the animals. They were led to believe that everything that was happening was for their own good and made to do double work with lesser pay. Everything he did finally ended up in benefiting him and the pigs but not the other animals of the farm. Because Napoleon only cared about himself he could not become the greater leader on the farm. Snowball thought of all the animals as equal and helped the animals but Napoleon only corrupts the animals to get whatever he wanted. A narcissist style of leadership is never a good way to rule because sooner or later the people that the leader is ruling over will find out about his corrupt ways and kick the leader out of his ruling. Overall Snowball was a better leader than Napoleon. Snowball showed lots of the attributes of a good leader. He was a good speaker and listener, fair, gave constructive criticism and was a role model to the other animals. On Sundays when the animals had their meetings Snowball would give great speeches and make proposals on ways to make the Animal Farm a better place. He declared notes to make sure everyone agreed and listened to other people’s opinions. However, Napoleon eventually decided to cancel all Sunday meetings and make his own decisions without discussing. If animals spoke up and disagreed they would most likely be slaughtered by Napoleons guard dogs. This is against all morals of good leadership. Snowball also educated the animals so that they could achieve more and teach their next generations. Snowball was a much better leader than Napoleon because he enforced education whereas Napoleon thought it was unnecessary. Education is the key to nearly everything and if t he animals could read and write they would be able to help out more on the farm and they would get a better understanding of what is going on. They could read books on how to run a farm and on the world as well and write things to other animals or people. The most important difference between these two animal leaders is not their behavior but their beliefs, Snowball believing in what could be described as Democratic Communism and Napoleon following Dictatorship. This major difference between the ideas of these two pigs led to the abolishment and defaming of Snowball by Napoleon and his dogs. The time when Snowball was in Animal Farm the animals saw prosperity and peace, because their leader wanted to give the animals a better life than in that of Joness time. But Our Leader, comrade Napoleon(pg. 69) cared for no one else but himself and power, he gave the lower rations to the animals than what they received when Jones was their master. Earlier the animals used to vote on issues but with the expulsion of Snowball their voting rights and also the meeting on Sundays were abolished, their inspiration Beasts of England was forbidden, the animals were brought under slavery again without their knowledge. The opposing leaders in Animal Farm Napoleon and Snowball were always contrary to each other and had nothing in common other than the fact that they were both good leaders. Snowball has some lead over Napoleon in the sense that he was a much better speaker than Napoleon was and he knew how to convince the animals. He was an altruistic leader who showed courage and gave moral support to the animals. For an example, when Boxer had injured a stable hand and everybody thought he was dead Snowball cheered them saying, No sentimentality, comrade a war is war(Orwell pg. 49). He really believed that all animals are equal and acted and worked for the comfort of his comrades, he was a hero. Snowball is a careful and deliberate thinker and possesses a sharp intellect and talent for planning and design, the characteristics that Napoleon later takes advantage of. He is open to new ideas and not easily manipulated, again things that Napoleon cannot accept and reasons why he later drives him from the farm. His expertise is later seen as a threat by Napoleon who will continue to use him as a scapegoat after he drives him off the farm. Snowball has great ideas, he wants to unify and educate the animals. Snowball acts with great bravery and courage going into the Battle of Cowshed with great strategy and self-sacrifice. If we desire a society of peace, then we cannot achieve such a society through violence. If we desire a society without discrimination, then we must not discriminate against anyone in the process of building this society. If we desire a society that is democratic, then democracy must become a means as well as an end.  

Todays Rising Gas Prices Essay -- essays research papers

Today's Rising Gas Prices At some point in everyone’s lives, we are affected by the rising gas prices in today’s economy. Natural gas is not a renewable resource, since there is a fixed amount of it trapped in the Earth. However, many people carry the misconception that there is a very limited amount of natural gas, and that we may use all of it up. This isn’t true. The gas shortages of the 1970's were prompted by the government’s lack of faith in the industry’s ability to discover and develop new reserves, not by lack of gas supply. The unfortunate impression left by the shortages of gas in the 1970's caused the people to believe that there was a small amount of gas left. On the contrary, the gas resource base is vast, and probably even larger than currently estimated. People are often confused by the difference in "proved reserves", those that could be economically produced with the current technology, and the total natural gas resource base. Before the 70’s, oil from the Middle East was very cheap, and in North America, it was about $4 a barrel. But then, the leaders of the Middle East discovered that everyone needed their oil, so they formed OPEC (Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries). Practically overnight, they jacked up the prices of oil by limiting the supply. This was the first oil crisis. It lasted for a while, but then they got greedy, and started supplying more oil, in hopes to make more money. But then there was more supply than demand, so t...

Buffalo Springfield :: folk-rock country-rock

Aside from the Byrds, the only other band that had a tremendous influence on folk-rock and country-rock in the sixties was Buffalo Springfield. They were noted as a key impact upon the counter-culture of the sixties, and their music is symbolic of the turbulence and controversy that surfaced during harsh times of war. The group’s formation was coincidental and legendary. Stephen Stills and Richie Furay were driving on Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles in early April 1966, when by chance they pulled up behind a tattered black Pontiac hearse bearing Canada license plates. The car held Neil Young, a Canadian Stills had crossed paths with earlier, and Bruce Palmer, a bass player. The two were on search of their musical dreams when they fused with Stills and Furay, and began to work for status as a rock and roll band. Buffalo Springfield was soon signed with Atco Records, and began producing their self-titled debut album. This record contained the famous song, â€Å"For What It’s Worth,† which transcended pop charts to become an anthem for an entire generation. Their second album, Buffalo Springfield Again, achieved great acclaim for the powerful songs from Stills, Young, and Furay.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Though Buffalo Springfield was established as the best folk-rock band in the sixties, the band was not intact for long. Even with the success that followed their popular albums, problems arose within the members of the group. Particularly, Stills and Young had stubborn, conflicting personalities. This lead to several rearrangements among members of the band. Young would often leave the group for long periods of time, while Palmer fought deportation.

James Earl Jones: A Voice In The Crowd :: essays research papers fc

James Earl Jones: A Voice in the Crowd March 19, 1996   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  People all around the world know the voice of James Earl Jones. From Star Wars fans listening to the voice of Darth Vader to news junkies who hear a voice that dramatically intones AThis is CNN@ just before all the cable network= s station breaks to children who hear the stately voice of the majestic Mufasa, the king of the jungle in Walt Disney Pictures= animated The Lion King - people know this deep harmonious voice belongs to this consummate actor of stage and screen.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  James Earl Jones was born January 17th, 1931, in Arkabutala Township, Mississippi. His natural parents, Ruth and Robert Earl, moved away to the Mississippi Delta when he was an infant. Raised for the rest of his young life by his maternal grandparents, James Earl developed a close relationship with the Connollys. AMaggie and John Henry were always there, day by day, and they became for me, once and for all, my mama and my papa@ (18) .   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Less than three years later, the Connollys moved to Dublin Michigan where James Earl and his >brother= Randy grew up in a remodelled chicken barn. His early school life had a great impact on his style of speech and diction. AOn my first day at school, I could not believe my ears,@ recalls Jones, AThey called me James Earrrrl instead of James Uhl, as it had sounded in the South@(40).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  After the initial shock of hearing Northern dialect, Jones Aquickly absorbed this different rhythm and style@ and embarked on the first half of a long vocal journey leading to his distinctive speaking style. Until he was 14 years old, James Earl Jones rarely spoke mostly due to shyness, preferring silence to the sound of his own voice.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Around the age of 10, James Earl Jones witnessed his brother, Randy, having an epileptic seizure. His grandmother applied the only remedy she knew - a thimbleful of bluing dye - and told James Earl to run for help. After travelling a mile through a Michigan blizzard and recalling the sight of his brother on the floor with Ablue liquid spilled out of his mouth,@ Jones= epic battle with stuttering began. At a local store, Jones panicked and couldn=t speak. After a time, he Afinally calmed down and the words came. The doctor was called. Randy recovered. But the stuttering - that stayed.@(42)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The same year his brother almost died, Jones was sexually assaulted by the minister of a church he attended. The incident scarred him for life. Jones recalls, AI was afraid and very confused.

Components of Mass Incarceration Essay

Mass incarceration of African Americans is one of the biggest problems that we as a society face today. Many of our African American men are either in jail, or on parole for crimes that are committed by whites everyday. Police often overlook those crimes when it comes down to whites but they do not for blacks. Hence why a lot of black men are missing from our society and locked away in prisons for years for such minuscule crimes. Yes they have committed a crime and need to be punished, but, at the same time white men are walking around committing the same crime, where is their punishment? Alexander raises these very pertinent points in â€Å"The New Jim Crow.† The three components of mass incarceration are denial, mainstream media and historical influence. Alexander states, â€Å"Today most Americans know and don’t know the truth about mass incarceration.†(181). What this means is that as a society Americans are either blinded or oblivious to the fact that there is a lack of education of how mass incarceration affects the African American communities. In many African American households they are missing father figures due to the fact that they are in jail. As Alexander mentions denial plays a huge roll in this. We know that a large number of African American males are in prison by watching mainstream media but yet we don’t care enough about it. According to Alexander â€Å"we tell our self that they deserve it.†(182). Americans have been painted a picture to see African American men as a whole, as criminals especially when it comes to drugs. When in fact white males are prone to do the exact same crimes and not be targeted by police. Mainstream media helps to greatly contribute to these lies that we are bein g fed about mass incarceration. Shows such as â€Å"Orange is the New Black† depict a different story. The show focuses on a Caucasian woman who is in jail for soliciting drugs. While she is in jail they show you a very multiracial and diverse group of woman. Shows like these help to contribute to why we believe that prisons are filled with not only blacks but also a  wide variety of ethnicities One thing that the show just briefly touches on that Alexander talks about in great lengths is how mass incarceration â€Å"traps† African Americans. â€Å"Orange is the New Black† showed the viewers in one episode a very â€Å"real† side of the prison life when they just slightly touch on the story of a black woman who was released from prison on good behavior and she gets out in to the real world and she has no family, no where to turn and she can not get a job due to her prison record and she ends back up in jail. When she gets back in jail she screams, â€Å"I’m home.† This is exactly what Alexander spends majority of her essay speaking about, she says that we are trapped in a â€Å"birdcage.† She says this because no matter how we try to â€Å"beat the system† we are always going to be trapped no matter what we try to do. Historical influence has and will always be a part of African American history. As Alexander’s title of her article is â€Å"The New Jim Crow.† She feels as if the prison system is another form of Jim Crow laws. Jim Crow laws were established to keep black men down which are exactly what the prison systems are doing according to Alexander. She states â€Å"Jim Crow and mass incarceration have political origins.†(190). She continues to say that the white elites desire to exploit these black men and how mass incarceration is similar to a caste system (190). Alexander thinks that mass incarceration is a â€Å"trap† so to speak and how they catch these black men and put them in jail is like a modern day Jim Crow. The only difference is that it does not seem so racist and the people are giving the illusion that mass incarceration is actually protecting them. Alexander raises many good points in her article about mass incarceration. Without all the misleading information that you see in the media about the prison systems being a mixture of many different races would we, as Americans still feel safe? Or would we feel in a way like we are being subjected subliminal racism?

Are Hybrid Cars Really More Cost Effective? Essay

If you listen to the car companies, hybrid cars are the best invention since sliced bread. While there are many reasons to buy a hybrid car, including a new tax incentive for US owners, it doesn’t hurt to have a good understanding of how they work. This article explores the myths, benefits and drawbacks of owning one of these new â€Å"green† vehicles. Are hybrid cars really more cost effective? What is a hybrid car? Basically, it’s a normal, fuel efficient car that has two motors ? an electric motor and a gasoline powered motor. It also uses a special system to store braking energy in an onboard battery. But why buy a hybrid? Why not buy a traditional gas or electric powered car? Keep in mind, one of the basic rules of science is the more complex the system, two motors instead on one, the more often it will break down. This is a hard question and, in the minds of some experts, not fully answered. The reason for two motors is in the strengths and weaknesses of both types. The electric motors use no energy during idle, they turn off. At low speeds, electric use less than gas motors. Gas motors do better at high speeds and can deliver more power for a given motor weight. That means during rush hour stop and go driving, the electric motor works great and, as an added benefit, does not produce any exhaust thus reducing smog levels. At higher speeds above 40 mph, the gas motor kicks in and gives that peppy feel so many car owners look for when driving on the highway. Another benefit of having the gas motor is it charges the batteries while it’s running. Many an electric car owner has been stranded just out extension cord range of an outlet. Hybrid owners can forget about this annoyance; the gas motors starts automatically when the battery gets low and proceeds to charge the battery. A hybrid no longer needs to be plugged into an outlet. All this new technology comes at a price: a hybrid car is not cheap. With two motors and all the ancillary systems to manage them plus a large battery and a regeneration system used to produce electricity during breaking. All of these systems must work together, adding complexity. While cars and, just as importantly, the computers that control them, have become more reliable, they still fail. Meaning owners of hybrids can expect more time in the shop and more expensive repair bills. Hybrids are the most gasoline efficient of all cars; they usually get 48 to 60 mpg (claimed). Not bad, but only 20% to 35% better than a fuel efficient gasoline powered vehicle like the Honda Civic that gets 36 mpg. But, when comparing prices, hybrids cost about $19,000 to $25,000 and hybrid cars cost anywhere from $14,000 to $17,000 ? now the justification to buy one is becoming less clear. Indeed, the difference in average annual fuel bills, $405 for a Honda Insight versus $635 for a Honda Civic, means you may never make back the added initial cost of the more expensive hybrid. Over a ten year period of owning a hybrid will save you only $2,300, less than the cost difference for comparably equipped cars. Much of the fuel efficiency comes from improvements in aero dynamics, reduction of weight and, the biggest change: a smaller, less powerful gas engine. In reality, any car will get substantially better mileage just by reducing the engine size. The biggest reason this is not done has to do with the customer, they simply want the extra power. But hybrid cars can offer more than just great gas mileage, they offer many other advantages as well. Even a small increase in fuel economy makes a large difference in emissions over the life of the car. Additionally, in large cities where pollution is at its worst, they make an even larger difference since they produce very little emissions during slow city driving and the unavoidable traffic jams. While the US has just started producing hybrids, the Japanese are already a step ahead. Honda and Toyota are the two largest producers with their hybrids, the Insight and Prius. US car makers are actually far behind. In fact, during recent introduction of a new hybrid by GM ?the Mercury Mariner, they admitted they had to license over 20 separate technologies from the Japanese. US car makers still are known for SUVs and trucks ? Ford has even introduced a hybrid version of its popular Escape SUV. Industry analysts say US hybrids are just token models, not a legitimate attempt to get into the market. The reason for hybrid introduction has to do with Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) regulations. Current standards say that average mileage of the fleet of cars sold by an automaker should be 27. 5 mpg. This means that if an automaker sells one hybrid car that gets 60 mpg, it can then sell four less efficient cars, like SUVs and trucks that only get a poor 20 mpg. To offset perceived reliability problems, companies are offering strong guarantees: The Honda Insight has an eight-year/80,000-mile warranty on most of the power train, including batteries, and a three-year/36,000-mile warranty on the rest of the car. The Toyota Prius has an eight-year/100,000-mile warranty on the battery and hybrid systems and a three-year/36,000-mile warranty on everything else. The motors and batteries in these cars do not require maintenance over the life of the vehicle. The engine in a hybrid doesn’t even need any more maintenance than in any other car. Due to the fact that hybrids have regenerative braking, brake pads may also last longer than those of a normal car. So what’s a smart car buyer to do? Are the savings in gas worth the extra headaches and substantially higher cost? Maybe, it depends on how you drive. If you drive majority of your time in the city, you may save enough to warrant the extra cost. Remember the gas motor turns on to charge the batteries if you use the electric motor all the time. Long-distance commuters and people with lead feet will see fewer savings. Then, there is always the environment ? something that’s always worth thinking about. A hybrid cuts emissions by 25% to 35% over even the most fuel efficient gas powered cars. The tax incentive is another big motive ? it can reduce your cost up to $3,400 depending on the cost of the vehicle. However, the tax break only applies to the first 60,000 vehicles produced yearly by each manufacturer. Toyota’s Prius, for example, will quickly reach that number of sales before year-end. Experts think in the end, hybrids are only a transition technology. The real cars of the future are Hydrogen or methane fuel cell powered cars. As for the environment, there are many ways to reduce emissions including using public transport, car pooling, riding a bicycle or even walking. Even just buying a smaller, fuel efficient car makes a big difference. So, think about what you’re really trying to accomplish before buying a hybrid ? don’t just throw your hard earned dollars at new technology for its own sake because it may be fashionably â€Å"green†.