Innovation Essay Example

Innovation Essay CREATIVITY REATIVITY Report produced for the EC funded project INNOREGIO: dissemination of innovation and knowledge management techniques by Dr Eleni Sefertzi J A N U A R Y 2 0 0 0 CREATIVITY 1 Contents 1 Description 1. 1 1. 2 1. 3 1. 4 1. 5 What is Creativity Objectives of Creativity Description /structure of the methodology /alternative solutions Expected results /benefits Characteristics of providers 2 Application 2. 1 2. 2 2. 3 2. 4 Where Creativity development has been applied Types of firms /organisations concerned Implementation cost Conditions for implementation Implementation Brainstorming Story boarding Lotus Blossom Checklists Morphological Analysis Mapping Process The Excursion Technique Computer-based creativity techniques Artificial Intelligence models of creativity Idea processors software Visualisation and graphical systems Spatial representation tools 4 Bibliographic references Annexes Table 1: Stimulus to extend perspective to approach a problem Table 2: Brainstormi ng Phases Table 3: Osborn’s Checklist Figure 1: Lotus Blossom sample INNOREGIO project Dr E. Sefertzi CREATIVITY 1 1. 1 DESCRIPTION What is Creativity There are many definitions of creativity. A number of them suggest that creativity is the generation of imaginative new ideas (Newell and Shaw 1972), involving a radical newness innovation or solution to a problem, and a radical reformulation of problems. Other definitions propose that a creative solution can simply integrate existing knowledge in a different way. A third set of definitions proposes that a creative solution, either new or recombined, must have value (Higgins 1999). A novel idea is not a creative idea unless it is valuable or it implies positive evaluation. Also, according to dt ogilvie (1998), imagination, which involves the generation of ideas not previously available as well as the generation of different ways of seeing events, is important to achieve creative actions. To combine this variety of definitions, we can say that creativity involves the generation of new ideas or the recombination of known elements into something new, providing valuable solutions to a problem. It also involves motivation and emotion. Creativity â€Å"is a fundamental feature of human intelligence in general. It is grounded in everyday capacities such as the association of ideas, reminding, perception, analogical thinking, searching a structured problem-space, and reflecting self-criticism. It involves not only a cognitive dimension (the generation of new ideas) but also motivation and emotion, and is closely linked to cultural context and personality factors. † (Boden 1998). We will write a custom essay sample on Innovation specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Innovation specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Innovation specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer According to Boden (1998), there are three main types of creativity, involving different ways of generating the novel ideas: a) The â€Å"combinational† creativity that involves new combinations of familiar ideas. b) The â€Å"exploratory† creativity that involves the generation of new ideas by the exploration of structured concepts. c) The â€Å"transformational† creativity that involves the transformation of some dimension of the structure, so that new structures can be generated. Creative thinking in a disciplined manner can play a real role in innovation. Creativity and innovation are normally complementary activities, since creativity generates the basis of innovation, which, in its development, raises difficulties that must be solved once again, with creativity†¦It is not possible to conceive innovation without creative ideas, as these are the starting point. † (European Commission 1998). Innovation results when creativity occurs within the right organisational culture. The right organisational culture is one that provides through creativity processes (creative techniques) the possibilities for the development of personal and group creativity skills. We can define creativity IMT as the establishment of skills by implementing creativity generation techniques. 1. 2 Objectives of Creativity Main objectives of a creative thinking process is to think beyond existing boundaries, to awake curiosity, to break away from rational, conventional ideas and formalised procedures, to rely on the imagination, the divergent, the random and to consider multiple solutions and alternatives (Candy 1997, Schlange and Juttner 1997). INNOREGIO project Dr E. Sefertzi CREATIVITY 3 The result of the creative thinking process is especially important for businesses. Managers and managerial decisions and actions, confronted with fast-changing and ambiguous environments in business, need to develop creative solutions and creative action-based strategies to solve problems, as they allow to increase understanding of problematic situations, to find multiple problems, to produce new combinations, to generate multiple solutions that are different from the past, to consider possible alternatives in various situations that could occur in the future and â€Å"to expand the opportunity horizon and competence base of firms† (dt ogilvie 1998). . 3 Description / structure of the methodology / alternative solutions Creativity is not an innate quality of only a few selected people. Creativity is present in everyone. It can be learned, practised and developed by the use of proven techniques which, enhancing and stimulating the creative abilities, ideas and creative results, help people to move out of their normal problem-solving mode, to enable them to co nsider a wide range of alternatives and to improve productivity and quality of work. Creativity is thus constructed as a learned ability that enables us to define new relationships between concepts or events, which seemed apparently unconnected before, and which results in a new entity of knowledge† (European Commission 1998). Knowledge and information are the basis for creativity. The scientific research is recently oriented towards the development of creativity as an educational process. Many studies show that creative abilities can be developed by the implementation of creativity techniques (see Mansfield, Busse and Krepelka 1978, Parnes and Brunelle 1967, Rose and Lin 1984, Taylor 1972). Concrete creativity supporting techniques, including also computer-based support tools (artificial intelligence models, computer software idea processors, information systems, etc. ), are developed to promote and generate creativity, to break fixed ideas, to stimulate imagination, as well as to define the conditions in which creativity takes place (the creative environment or climate). Using such techniques, a company aims to â€Å"incorporate the employees’ potential of creativity into the process of performance creation† (Bullinger 1999). There are numerous creative techniques, which are also classified in many ways (Higgins 1994). In general, a certain type of question or a certain area of application (such as marketing, product or service development, strategic and decision planning, design, quality management, etc. ) often calls for a certain type or a certain group of creativity techniques. The description of some well-known and basic techniques and their implementation procedure is presented in session 3. A classification for these techniques can be made between analytical techniques and intuitive techniques. Analytical techniques follow a linear pattern of thought or sequence of steps, such as the â€Å"5 Ws and H† technique (it asks the questions who, what, when, where, why, and how) and have better application for very specific, analytical questions (Higgins 1999). They stimulate different ways of organising known information and help approach problems from new angles (Miller 1987). Intuitive techniques are less structured techniques. They tend to skip steps in a sequence and tend to provide a whole answer all at once, such as the â€Å"wishful thinking† technique (based on ideal possibilities and solutions), and they are more appropriate for ill-defined questions (Higgins 1999). INNOREGIO project Dr E. Sefertzi CREATIVITY 4 Another classification can be made between techniques that are more appropriate to generate creativity in individuals, and techniques, which generate creativity in groups undertaken within work groups. Improving personal creativity for individuals involves enhancing the individual’s use of intuition and reducing mental blocks creativity, such as fear of failure. At the group level it requires team building and other efforts to enhance the use of group dynamics to achieve creativity and innovation† (Higgins 1996). However, this classification is not rigorous, since many group idea generation techniques can also be used by individuals. On the other hand, the individual and th e group are two main agents that always interact in the process of creativity in business and industrial innovation. Creativity is an attribute of the individual, though generally it can only be developed efficiently when it is tackled within a group of team. For this reason, most creative techniques are proposed and undertaken within the framework of specific work groups, within companies or other organisations† (European Commission 1998). A third classification might be between creative techniques that rely upon divergent thinking and techniques that rely upon convergent thinking. Divergent thinking is the generation and the free flow of ideas and it demands considerable discipline, which is aided by the introduction of rigorous techniques forcing divergence toward many alternatives. Convergent thinking, on the contrast, demands techniques of filtering and focus to identify the ideas that have a truly innovative value, to converge on an acceptable solution (Hall 1996). Divergent and convergent thinking are complementary phases of a procedure, since divergence helps forcing towards many alternatives and possible options before convergence on an appropriate solution. Fundamental concepts for all creative techniques are: †¢ The suspension of premature judgement and the lack of filtering of ideas. †¢ Use the intermediate impossible. †¢ Create analogies and metaphors, through symbols, etc. , by finding similarities between the situation, which we wish to understand and another situation, which we already understand. †¢ Build imaginative and ideal situations (invent the ideal vision). †¢ Find ways to make the ideal vision happen. †¢ Relate things or ideas which were previously unrelated. †¢ Generate multiple solutions to a problem. Main points to increase or encourage creativity in a company are: †¢ to be happy, to have fun †¢ keep channels of communication open †¢ trust, failure accepted †¢ contacts with external sources of information †¢ independence, initiatives taken †¢ support participatory decision-making and employees’ contribution †¢ experiment with new ideas 1. 4 Expected results / benefits Creativity, through the generation of ideas with value, is needed in order to solve concrete problems, ease the adaptation to change, optimise the performance of the organisation and best practice manufacturing, and change the attitude of the staff of the INNOREGIO project Dr E. Sefertzi CREATIVITY 5 organisation. Creative thought processes are also important at all stages in the RD process. Some expected results of the creativity process are: †¢ innovation through new product and process ideas †¢ continuous improvement of products or services †¢ productivity increase †¢ efficiency †¢ rapidity †¢ flexibility †¢ quality of products or services †¢ high performance 1. 5 Characteristics of providers The implementation of creative techniques within work groups, requires the assistance and advise of external consultants. One or two consultants, experts in creative techniques, is normally enough to undertake the implementation process in a company. His/hers job normally consists of presenting the different techniques and their application method, defining the problem to be studied for the participants, initiating and clarifying the rules of the technique, gathering the necessary data and information to approach the problem, stimulating the generation of ideas of participants, and evaluating the ideas before proceeding to put them in practice. Training of management staff by experts may also be very useful. Management staff must be trained to stimulate creativity in employees, to provide motivation, to facilitate a creative climate and to encourage the use of creative techniques. Managers can also be trained to implement creative techniques by themselves. 2 APPLICATION Creativity processes are used regularly by many private and public sector organisations of all sorts in manufacturing, services, banking, or construction companies. Big firms such as Xerox, ATT, Frito-Lay, as well as car manufacturing firms, software development firms, railroad pharmaceutical firms etc. , use creativity techniques to increase efficiency and quality, especially in their research, strategic planning and marketing departments. Small firms and innovative RD organisations, such as biotechnology companies (Arlington 1997), are also becoming to implement creative techniques in order to solve problems and to improve the use of skills, techniques and processes. Creativity techniques may be applied in almost any functional area of the company: strategic planning, corporate business strategy, product development, improvement of services, functional strategy, finance, human resources, marketing, management of collection of information, product design, software design, quality management, etc. 2. 1 Where Creativity development has been applied INNOREGIO project Dr E. Sefertzi CREATIVITY 6 Nearly all innovation management techniques that can be applied in companies (BPR, benchmarking, TQM, MRP II, employee involvement, marketing of innovation, etc. require also the implementation of creativity techniques. For example, in the Innovation Programme of DG XII of European Commission, besides other innovation management techniques, creativity techniques have been applied in the following IMT projects (see European Commission 1998): -INVENT (Pro. 006) Implementation of a Method for Targeted Economic-Oriented Research in SME Invention Management. IMPA CQT (Pro. 008) PARTNERS (Pro 010) Promotion of Innovation Management Techniques in the field of Sub-Contracting. IDEAS (PRO 017 Integrated Product Development Expertise Applied to SMEs. PRIISME (Pro 029) Promoting of IMTs in ISRAELI SMEs. Programme to Create New Activities in SMEs (Pro 045). MARKPRO (Pro 050) Implementation of Market Oriented Product Innovation in Danish SMEs 2. 2 Types of firms / organisations concerned Creativity techniques can be implemented by all firms and public organisations that confront with problem solving and focus on innovation in processes, products or services. In case where the implementation of creative techniques is focused on the support of personal creativity, such as to support individual designers work for new product development, or to support individual scientists work in the laboratory, very small firms or a person can implement creative techniques for individuals. In case where the company focus is to increase group creativity and to create environments where a collaborating team work creatively together, the firm must have at least 20 employees, including 3 members as management staff. 2. 3 Implementation cost The application of creativity techniques is a continuum process. Sessions of creativity within work groups normally take place at company facilities during normal hours and working conditions. The implementation of a creative technique includes the following costs: †¢ The fee of an external consultant for 4-7 days work for undertaking a session of creativity (preparation, application, evaluation). †¢ The cost of software packages developed for personal computers or workstations (if necessary). Hardware and equipment must permit to deal with network communications. Training cost (2-4 days) (if necessary). Cost: from 3000 to 7000 Euro. 2. 4 Conditions for implementation Concerning the implementation of creative techniques, some of them are easy to apply, while others need some infrastructure, experts, work teams, training, collection of INNOREGIO project Dr E. Sefertzi CREATIVITY 7 information, resources, etc. In this case, the assistance of an external consultant is required . Besides the support of external consultants, the company itself must encourage creative environment. This implies the participation of all workers in the concerns of the company, and an open and flexible attitude on the part of management. According to Higgins (1999) factors to encouraging the creative work climate are: †¢ A secure environment with minimal administrative interference. †¢ An organisational culture that makes it attractive and easy for people to discover and solve problems. †¢ Rewards for employee performance and enhancement of intrinsic motivation. †¢ Managerial willingness to take risks for creativity and innovation, as well as an open and flexible attitude on the part of management. Providing people with formal and informal training to enhance creativity. Important conditions for implementation of creative techniques within work groups in a company are also the existence of well-trained human resources, a clear strategic definition of the company and to focus on the core competencies of the company (European Commission 1998). For solving complex problems requiring input by many areas, i. e. marketing, engineering, design, the company would preferably be one employing multidisciplinary teams. 3 IMPLEMENTATION PROCEDURE As mentioned before, there is numerous creativity supporting techniques. The description, in an illustrative manner, of some well-known creative techniques for problem solving will be presented here. See also Annex, Table 1, the use of some stimulus that can extend perspectives to approach a problem. Brainstorming This is one of the best known and most used in the business world group based creativity process for problem solving. It is a method of getting a large number of ideas from a group of people in a short time. It can be used for generating a large number of ideas or solutions for well-defined strategic or operational problems, such as for engineering design processes. It forms also a basic framework or constitutes the initial phase for the implementation of many other groups based on creative techniques. Brainstorming sessions take place in a group of 6-10 people. The presence of a leader is necessary to stimulate the generation of ideas, as well as a preparation phase to gather the necessary data and information to approach the problem. A recorder writes the problem statement and the idea generated by the group on a white board. Several guidelines for brainstorming are available, such as suspend judgement, free wheel, quantity, and crossfertilise. The whole process takes normally one hour and can be conducted through several stages. The session begins with stating the problem and calling for solutions by the leader. The following stages can be: restate the problem in the form of â€Å"How to†¦Ã¢â‚¬ , select a basic restatement and write it down as â€Å"In how many ways can we†¦Ã¢â‚¬ , warm-up session, brainstorming, and identify wildest idea. An evaluation method is additionally used for to identify the ideas that have a value for implementation. The four basic rules of brainstorming are: a) no criticism and no prior judgement of any idea, b) all ideas, INNOREGIO project Dr E. Sefertzi CREATIVITY 8 even the absurd, are welcome, c) quantity has value, the more ideas the better, if a large quantity of ideas is generated, then the idea pool very likely would contain high-quality ideas, d) sharing and combining ideas, and constructing ideas based on those developed by other members of the group for producing new ideas. See: Osborne (1963), Rawlinson (1981), Chen (1998), Higgins (1996), European Commission (1998). See also Annex, Table 2: Brainstorming phases. A special type of brainstorming tool is PMI in which the participants are directed to brainstorm the Plus points, then the Minus points and finally the Interesting points (De Bono 1992, 1993). Related to brainstorming, which is characterised by verbal communication, is also the hand-written communication as a brain-writing technique. The process is that ideas generated by individuals are written down on a piece of paper, and then exchanged and combined with those of the other individuals in the group. Written ideas are circulated and read by the other participants in the group each of whom, in turn, write down new ideas. A variation of this hand-written communication is the 6-3-5 method in which each of the 6 participants in the group generates and writes 3 ideas related to the problem on a piece of paper in 5 minutes. After 5 minutes, each participant passes the piece of paper to the person on the right, who reads it and adds 3 new ideas in 5 minutes. The process continues until each participant gets the original piece of paper back (European Commission 1998). Electronic brainstorming is also a hand-written communication technique, which employ computerised programs to achieve brainstorming. Story boarding It is a creativity technique for strategic and scenario planning based on brainstorming and used mainly by groups. It requires a leader, a secretary and takes place in a group of 8-12 people. The leader arranges the ideas generated by brainstorming in a logical order on a white board creating a story. This technique allows identify the interconnections of ideas and how all the pieces fit together. It can be used to identify issues, problems, solve a complex problem and determine ways to implement solutions. The story boarding process includes four phases: a) planning, b) ideas, c) organisation and d) communication. Each phase includes a creative session (it takes 45 minutes) and a critical session, in which participants critique their story board. †¢ The planning phase begins with the problem definition or the issue being examined the topic header. Purpose header, a miscellaneous column and other, normally 1012, headers (column titles) are laced and brainstormed in order to give Ideas and then items, which are listed under the headers (the purpose header is listed first). †¢ The second phase the ideas board, is to take one column from the planning board, which becomes the topic header and the items of that column become headers of new ideas. †¢ In the third phase the organisation board, participants identify who is responsible for implementing chosen solutions , what has to happen, and when. †¢ In the last phase the communication board, participants identify who must communicate with for all of the events identified in the organisation board to take place. Through the process, visual graphics to summarise or present relevant points are presented by the leader. These might be strategic models, places or things (Higgins 1996). INNOREGIO project Dr E. Sefertzi CREATIVITY 9 Lotus Blossom This technique can also be used in scenario planning and is very useful for forecasting strategic scenarios. It is designed for groups and is used to provide a more in-depth look at various solutions to problems. It begins with a central core idea surrounded by eight empty boxes or circles. Using brainstorming, eight additional ideas (solutions or issues) are written in these boxes. In the next step, each of these eight ideas becomes the core of another set of eight surrounding empty boxes, which are filled in by new ideas using brainstorming. The process continues until a satisfactory solution or a sufficient number of ideas have emerged (Higgins 1996). See Annex, Figure 1: Lotus blossom sample. Checklists This creative technique is used mainly for product improvement or modification. It involves applying a series of words, verbs, adjectives or phrases contained in checklists or tables to an existing product or service or its attributes. Osborn’s Checklist is the best known and includes the verbs: put to other uses, adapt, modify, magnify, minify, substitute, rearrange, reverse and combine. Each verb contains also an expanded definition in the form of questions. For example, the description of the verb substitute is: Who else instead? What else instead? Other ingredient? Other material? Other process? Other power? Other place? Other approach? Other tone of voice? (Osborn 1963). The method is to apply each of the verbs and its expanded description to a product or service. See Annex:, Table 3: Osborn’s checklist). Another checklist technique is Van Gundy’s PICL (product improvement checklist). Used in the same way as Osborn’s list, gives many options containing 792 words, both standard and unique, that can be applied to existing products or services, and 102 stimulation questions (Van Gundy 1988, 1993). Morphological Analysis This method is another product improvement technique, permitting the in-depth analysis of products or processes. It involves applying a set of words to an item another set of words. Normally, one set of words is verbs and the other set are attributes of the product. Another way is that one set of words would be components of the product (breaking the product down into its parts) and the other set of words would be alternative solutions. The method is to combine each word of one set with each word of the other set. These two sets of words result in a two-dimensional matrix. A three dimensional matrix can be created by adding a third list of factors. The difficulty of this technique is the large number of ideas deriving of the multiple combinations that can be made (Higgins 1996, European Commission 1998). Mapping Process The use of maps is particularly useful in strategic management thinking in organisations, helping to organise discontinuities, contradictions or differences, and bring pattern, order and sense to a confusing situation, acting as a spatial representation of a perspective. There are many forms of mapping, including computer-based tools to support mapping: †¢ Mind Mapping It is an individual brainstorming mapping technique designed by Tony Buzan. It begins with a central focal point, a problem, an object, a name or issue, written in INNOREGIO project Dr E. Sefertzi CREATIVITY 10 the centre of a piece of paper with a circle around it. Each major facet of the problem or the solution to the problem originating from the central idea is then brainstorming in order to generate new ideas. Each of those ideas are then written on lines drowned outward from the circle. The next step is to brainstorm those ideas in order to identify issues related to the problem, or solutions that are written on smaller lines that are drowned on the prime lines forming a branch. Additional perspectives such as implementation factors or further definition of the solutions could go on those lines. One branch may also be chosen in order to develop a whole new mind map based on that branch. When a mind map is completed, its possible interrelations and possible multiple appearances of issues, and its overall meaning in the context of the problem must be examined (Buzan 1983). †¢ Mapping for generate collective creativity The use of maps to support collective creativity is a more complicate process. It is necessary to introduce appropriate maps into a suitable type of organisation that would preferably be one employing multidisciplinary teams. It is also important that the participants find the maps useful for organising and planning their work. The mapping process usually involves three phases: 1st phase starts with a brainstorming exercise in order to initiate a discussion around the problem or the product. Normally, the participants are asked to mention all aspects they regard as relevant to the problem to be dealt with. During this process a large number of visual references are used to elicit the perspectives of the members with regard to the potential new concept. It is emphasised to the participants that the maps are intended to enrich the conversation, and should not be perceived as representations of the concept itself, but more as the semantic terrain or space, which covers all potential strategies. The knowledge elicited is discussed, and in about 2 hours is organised and structured by the participants into a map that intuitively understand. This map is the initial cognitive map, which describes all the problematic areas in brief outlines. In the 2nd phase of the process, which serves to expose the individual participants’ perspective both to themselves and to the other members of the group, the participants discuss the values that they associate with a very large range of objects and images. A number of these images are then selected that are considered to metaphorically represent potential aspects of the product strategy. In the 3rd phase, these images and appropriate annotations are arranged in a twodimensional space, positioning the images depending upon how the values of these objects relate to one another. In doing this, the group is mapping out a terrain constituted by the differences between the images, expressing the range of different product strategies open to the group (Fentem, Dumas McDonnell 1998). For creating maps, many software applications are available (see further down in computer-based creativity techniques). The Excursion Technique Is a very useful technique for forcing a group to have new thought patterns to formulate strategies. The process involves five steps (see Higgins 1996): In the 1st step the excursion the consultant asks participants to take an imaginary excursion to a physical location (a museum, a jungle, a city, another planet, etc. ), which INNOREGIO project Dr E. Sefertzi CREATIVITY 11 has nothing to do with the real problem. After the excursion each participant writes down 8-10 images, which he/she saw during the journey (things, people, places or items) in the 1st of 3 columns. In the 2nd step, the consultant asks participants to draw analogies or express relationships between what they saw on the excursion and the problem as defined, and to write them in the column 2 next to each of the items identified in the first column. In the 3rd step, participants are asked to determine what solutions to their problems are suggested by the analogies or the relationships in column 2, and write them in column 3 beside the items and analogies identified in the other columns. In the 4th step, participants share their xperiences from the excursion: what they saw, their analogies and their solutions. In the 5th step, as with brainstorming, participants may discuss on each other’s ideas. Eventually the leader helps the group come to a common solution or a set of solutions to the problem. Computer-based creativity techniques Computer-based supporting techniques to stimulate the human creative process have an immediate and pragmatic aim, which is the implementation of computational models (computer software) for generate and organise ideas for creative work. They are used more frequently in research planning, product design, knowledge acquisition, decisionmaking, motivation, etc. We can distinguish groups of computerised creativity techniques, such as AI models, Idea

Billy Elliot Essays

Billy Elliot Essays Billy Elliot Paper Billy Elliot Paper Essay Topic: Film The Piano Lesson Billy Elliot (Jamie Bell) is an 11-year-old boy living in northeast England in the mid-1980s. While his gruff father and brother are taking part in a massive coal miners strike, Billy goes to boxing lessons and furtively plays his dead mothers piano out of loneliness. One day Billy notices a ballet class nearby. Intrigued, he begins practicing and taking lessons from Mrs. Wilkinson (Julie Walters), a tough-minded teacher. Billy begins to fall in love with ballet but keeps his lessons a secret from his family, who struggle to put food on the table while the strike drags on. When his father finally learns the truth, a family crisis erupts, and Billy struggles to prove that dancing is more than just a hobbyits his dream. Billy Elliot   is a touching and heartwarming story that avoids clichà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½s by setting the story in the grim mining town of northern England amid economic hardship and sacrifice, showing the joy and release that dancing provides for Bill y. A Guilty Pleasure I skipped Billy Elliot on the big screen because I was a little afraid. Id heard it compared to The Full Monty, a film that was mildly amusing, butat least for menot much more. But one of the good things about home video is that it gives you a second chance to see movies you might not have been willing to risk going out to a theater to see. Im glad I finally did get to see Billy Elliot because something quite unexpected happenedI loved it, although Ill admit it was a guilty pleasure. The structure of the poem has an even number of four line stanzas and acombination of six stanzas In total. There are about five sets of Imagery In the poem, often the imagery inFoIlower is based on the appearance of his father. For example in the first stanza on the second line he haswritten: His shoulders globed like a full sail strung Between the shafts and the furrow This means that hisfather looks like a full sall strung from far because perhaps his shirt is being blown by the wind making himhave the appearance of a full sail strung between the shafts and the furrow. This Is also quite a magnificent piece of Imagery as the sail of a ship Is very Important to the rest of the ship and is very magnificent, which iswhat Seamus Heaney is trying to tellthe Follower, tells about his relationship with his father as a young child. He appeared to look up to hlsfather. Sardonically, by the end of the poem, his ather needed his help and looked up to him. There may have been times in your life that youlooked up to your parents and admired them for they way they treated each other. They also may haveseemed to always be by your side no matter what and you believed they were very smart, right? Well in this poem, the young boy felt the same way about his father. You might remember the old proverb followclose on those who go before you. This poem Is a typically example of how a person can Influence our lives. We can have uncompromising admiration for our parents as this young boy had for his father. Theuncompromising admiration in this poem was positive, but in dangerous. The boys declaration ll I ever did was follow can alsoshow that this boy had low self-esteem issues. As he grew older his father began to follow him around. Thisshows that his father had admiration for the boy also. This boy never thought about what it was like to be aleader but accepted his role as a follower. The young boy as he grew older knew how to survive in aleadership position. He paid close attention to his father who was there when he needed him.

The Ultimate Helmet ( H Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

The Ultimate Helmet ( H - Assignment Example The effectiveness of this would matter mostly by the willingness of distributors to store and sell this new helmet. The channel would also take care of eliminating extra costs in getting new distributors. The channel would also ensure direct competition between the old helmet and the ultimate helmet. The old mode of distribution involved stocking the product at some online stores and merchant stores countrywide. This would ensure a global availability of our product. Another channel of distribution was identified to improve on the availability of the product. This channel was to identify new overseas sales people from different countries. This mode was established to make sure the ultimate helmet reached those countries that the old helmet was not able to get to due to poor channel of distribution. This would eliminate the need of the company having to first study the tax low in those countries to establish branches. Pricing of the product The pricing of the product is supposed to pl ay a major role in sales made of the ultimate helmet. Taking into consideration the cost incurred in designing and making improvements the ultimate helmet is supposed to be high. A strategy to gain approval of the product had to be identified so that clients would believe they were paying the right price for the product. Different pricing strategies were identified by first dividing the market into two. These two markets are the new market identified and needed to be tapped while the second market was the market where people were using the old helmet. The new market, a penetration price had to be established which had to be lower than the old market price. This price required to be lower because most of these clients were seen as people who owned motorbikes but did not see the need of the helmet. It was established if the helmet was priced so high they would not bother even buying it. The market was seen to exist mostly in developing countries where motor bike ownership is taking to ll in the 21st century. The old market was seen to exist in developed countries like the USA. People who owned motorbikes in these regions were more concerned with their comfort ability due to their high purchasing power. A factor that had to be put in consideration while also setting up the price is that these region stiff competition would be faced due to the existence of the old helmet. The old helmet producer had already established control over the market. It was established the main driver of the marketing would be first draw the attention of the client to the extra capabilities of the ultimate helmet and show them the benefit. This would then make the client buy the new helmet even if the price is higher than the old helmet. Promotion The helmet is supposed to be used mostly by people riding motorbikes and those people who like motorbike sporting. An appropriate channel of advertisement had to be identified with some weighted reason to make sure the product reached the intend ed client. The Medias of advertisement that were identified are as follow: Social media The helmet due to its capability in GPRS location and picking phone is so attractive to the generation. This group of people can be found on social media which includes face book, MySpace and Twitter. Most of these companies allow companies to advertise their product with them for a certain fee. We analyzed the different social media to identify which had many

Eastern religious traditions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Eastern religious traditions - Essay Example Accordingly, the tradition belief of the Islamic religion is peculiar in numerous ways; however, its pillars are fundamental in its description and appreciation. The Islamic tradition reveals that, the God, Allah of the Muslim believers is one, ancient with nothing foregoing Him; He is everlasting without end, abiding without termination and subsisting without cessation. This explanation intends to explain the strength and respect bestowed to Allah. It is imperative to note that the tradition attributed to the Islamic religion is immensely attributed to the major distinct features of Allah. They include transcendence, life and power, knowledge, will, hearing and sight, speech and works. It is realizable that from these distinct features the character traits of Allah are manifested. Some of them include a hearer. He hears His peoples supplication; He speaks in various forms such as commanding, threatening promising and forbidding. Moreover, the Quran describes Allah as the source of l ife and power as He manifests Himself as the Almighty, powerful and all subduing. â€Å"Who is the Lord and Sustainer of the heavens and the earth?" Say: "It is Allah." Say: "Do ye then take (for worship) protectors other than Him such as have no power either for good or for harm to themselves?" Say: "Are the blind equal with those who see? Or the depths of darkness equal with Light?" Or do they assign to Allah partners who have created (anything) as He has created so that the creation seemed to them similar? Say: "Allah is the Creator of all things: He is the One the Supreme and Irresistible.† (Holy Quran Chapter 13 Surah Raad verse 16). It is evident that this tradition of the Islamic religion involves God called Allah. This study reveals that, Allah is the God of the Islamic believers and none rescinds His command nor supplements His decrees. It is notable that His attributes as described do not resemble

Current issues in dissability studies activity 10 Essay

Current issues in dissability studies activity 10 - Essay Example to attend to their constant needs: these include but not restricted to the building of more nursing homes, recreational facilities for the ages, hospitals, and more avenues to supply the increasing services needed by the seniors in our societies. Here is an important question: does disability make people get older quickly? The answer is no, because the recent survey and research have indicated that people suffering from intellectual, for instance, do not necessarily get older than their contemporaries. Interestingly, they even seem to outlive in some circumstances. Similar physical changes are observable in both the disabled and non-disabled old people (World Health Organization, 2000). People with disabilities need some specific services that may or may not necessarily isolate them from the general population. Normally, aged people need housing, nursing homes, hospices, medical services, recreational services and so on. The only difference in the case is the problem of communication that usually affected diagnosing disabled people—some of them could not talk or properly explain to the doctors the actual sickness or illness they are suffering. This constitutes a great hindrance to their ability to solve disabled people’s medical needs (Bigby, 2000). Therefore, the disabled aged people require intensive cares and guidance for their problems to be successful attended to, what non-disabled old people may not require. The most interesting about this week readings (1 &) is that they pinpoint the developmental requirements needed for a disabled person to grow into his or her adult self without parental influences in decision-making and personal cares (Bigby, 2000). While the second reading highlights the policies and programs put in place by the government, private organizations and communities in helping the disabled people grow old successfully (Bigby, 2004). The two readings are compendium for any student to turn into expert on disability

Extraction of GAPDH Gene from Grass Species

Extraction of GAPDH Gene from Grass Species The extraction of the GAPDH gene from grass species, for sequencing, to determine which grasses will be most suitable for the stimulation of hydrocarbon-degradation Introduction: Glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate gehydrogenase gene (GAPDH) is a house keeping gene for a crucial enzyme which catalyses an important step in glycolysis, found in all phylogeny. This gene can be extracted and isolated from plant gDNA through the use of PCR. Once cloned, the GAPDH gene will be sequenced and ultimately analysed through bioinformatics for further research. The grasses that will be investigated throughout this experiment are as follows. Cymbopogon Ambiguous, also commonly known as lemon scented grass, mainly grows in NSW, QLD, NT and WA. This grass is a tufted perennial, which has thin dark green coloured leaves, growing 60-100cm tall approximately. As the common name for this grass states, when this grass is crushed it gives off a distinct lemon smell, allowing it to be easily identified. This grass is also quite a hardy grass, it is very tolerant to wind, drought and frost conditions, allowing it to be grown in a variety of different areas. Themeda Triandra, known as Kangaroo Grass is native to Australia, found to be growing in every state and territory (Unkown, n.d. Native Seeds). This grass is a tufted perennial, growing up to 1.5 m tall and 0.5 m wide. This particular grass is quite coarse, with a grey/green leaves, which produce a very distinct red/brown spikelets (Jennifer Liles, 2004) with the head containing the seeds. Themeda Triandra is considered a good grass for occasional grazing; however it does not tolerate heavy or continuous grazing. Meaning it can be a good indicator for the level of animal activity in a certain grassland area, as if grazed too frequently, the grass has been known to disappear, and not re-grow. Dicantheum Carrisium, known as Queensland Blue Grass is a native Australian Grass, grown not only in Queensland, but all parts of Australia. This Grass was originally very popular in Southern Queensland, due to its optimum performance in the weather conditions of the area. Dicantheum Carrisium is a perennial, with an upright tufted appearance. Growing from 30-80cm tall, and 10-15cm wide with flat broad leaves, It is quite a soft texture with typically blue/dark green colour, making it quite distinguishable from many other grasses. Microlaena Stipoides, known as Weeping Grass, is native to Australia and is found in many of the damper regions from Cape York Town to Tasmania (Unknown, n.d. Native Seeds). Microlaena Stopoides is a slowly spreading perennial, growing to approximately 70cm tall, with weeping seed heads. This is a very tough and tolerant grass, suited to many different pH soil levels

My Antonia :: essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å"A plump, fair skinned girl was standing in the doorway. She looked demure and pretty, and made a graceful picture in her blue cashmere dress and little blue hat, with a plaid shawl neatly about her shoulders and a clumsy pocket book in her hand.† This is the first glimpse of the transformation from girl to successful woman of Lena Lingard in My Antonia, by Willa Cather. In the beginning of the book, Lena is portrayed as a struggling dressmaker, who because of her personality, goals, and motivation, becomes a successful individual.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Lena’s independence and obstinacy makes her a strong personality in My Antonia. Despite how easily she attracted men, Lena never wanted to marry. This is because she was afraid of losing the independence that she had all her life. Her independence was also shown when she arrived at Jim’s apartment in Lincoln, Nebraska. Lena wasn’t tied down, so she was able to go where she wanted, whenever she wanted. Obstinacy showed in Lena’s refusal to marry. In a conversation between Jim and Lena, Jim stated, â€Å"Every handsome girl like [Lena] marries.† All through Jim’s argument, Lena stayed true to her anti-marriage view.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Lena’s goals were simple: not to marry, yet, make something of herself. Within the book entitled, ‘Lena Lingard,’ Lena has a discussion with Jim about her unwillingness to wed. She would â€Å"prefer to be foolish when [she] feels like it, and be accountable to nobody.† In ‘The Hired Girls’ Lena stated her desire to go into business. A later paragraph expressed her wish to become a teacher. However, Lena found this goal impossible because she was not â€Å"born smart.† Motivation was something that Lena never lacked. â€Å"I’m going to get my mother out of that old sod house where she’s lived so many years. The men will never do it.† Lena took her mother’s fate into her own hands when it was not socially acceptable for her to do so.

Mr Kazimirs Valujs

NCFE Level 2 Certificate in Equality and Diversity Unit 1: Exploring Equality and Diversity Session 4: Prejudice and discrimination What does it mean? In a diverse society where each individual may have lots of different characteristics and qualities, there are many opportunities for people to label and stereotype others. When this happens, it can create an environment where prejudice and discrimination may be found. A prejudice is an unfair or unreasonable preconceived view or judgement that is formed without being based on any specific grounds or sufficient knowledge.Discrimination means treating a person or group differently, often in a negative manner, based upon one or a small number of characteristics. Stereotypes can sometimes be positive – however, this is not the case when it comes to prejudice. With prejudice, the views held about certain groups of people are negative, they are applied to an entire group and they tend to be strongly held. So, the group (with possibly a different gender / race / ethnic origin / sexual orientation or with a disability) will be described in negative ways.They will be called things such as ‘lazy’, ‘stupid’, ‘weak’, ‘dangerous’ and ‘untrustworthy’. In communities and societies where prejudice and discrimination are found, people will have fewer life chances and a poorer quality of life. Given that prejudices can be so damaging, it is worth looking at how people develop them. How people may develop prejudices There are many ways that people may develop prejudices. Two of the most common are: 1. Socialisation The most likely way that people will develop prejudices is to learn them from other people, such as family and friends.An individual will experience the views of these people on a daily basis, and there will also be the influences of the media and the views of high profile people. If a young person with no alternative points of reference is exposed to prejudices that are stated as facts, then he / she may accept them without any questions. If a particular prejudice is regularly presented, then it is difficult for people to question the viewpoint and challenge the prejudice. 2. Over generalisationA second way prejudices may develop occurs when a person has a powerful experience and then generalises it to a particular group. This is usually caused by a very strong negative experience. It may well be very sensible to dislike or distrust the particular experience, but the over generalisation is not always accurate. Different types of discrimination People can describe themselves or others in terms of one or more characteristics. At times, it is possible that a person will be treated in a negative way because of a characteristic or quality that they possess.This negative treatment is often referred to as discrimination. There are a few key terms that are used when talking about discrimination. These are: †¢ Direct and indirect discrimination †¢ Dual discrimination and multiple discrimination †¢ Positive discrimination †¢ Discrimination arising from disability †¢ Discrimination by association †¢ Protected characteristics. The effects that discrimination and prejudice can have on people When people are subject to discrimination they often end up with a quality of life far lower than they would reasonably expect.Historically, discrimination and prejudice has sometimes been a matter of life and death in some countries and cultures. Some of the effects of prejudice and discrimination include: †¢ People being killed because of their race, nationality, religion or sexual orientation. †¢ People being denied the right to vote. †¢ People being subjected to physical attacks and verbal abuse. †¢ People being deprived of legal rights. †¢ People being denied education, jobs and opportunities. †¢ People being generally treated as outsiders and second class citizens . †¢ People accepting the negative views of themselves. Communities and whole societies having greater conflict and being less efficient and harmonious. †¢ Communities and societies built on hatred and contempt. When people are classified (stereotyped) on the basis of one or two characteristics, they are stripped of many of their qualities. A stereotype reduces them to a one dimensional character. All the other things that make a person special and human will be ignored by the prejudiced people. This makes it easier to inflict pain and suffering on innocent parties. This is why prejudice and discrimination are so dangerous.

Free Essays on Roses From My Friends

Roses From My Friends I could have treated you better but you couldn't have treated me worse but it's he who laughs last is he who cries first Sometimes I feel I know strangers better than I know my friends why must a beginning be the means to an end The stones from my enemies these wounds will mend but I cannot survive the roses from my friends When the last word has been spoken and we've beared witness to the final setting sun all that shall remain is a token of what we've said and done When all we've had has been forsaken distant church bells no longer ring that's the sound of a heart taken and the story of tears from a king The stones from my enemies these wounds will mend but I cannot survive the roses from my friends This may be the last time I see you forgive me for holding you close this may be the last time that I see you so of this moment I will make the most This may be the last time I see you but if you keep me in your heart together we shall be eternal if you believe we shall never part The stones from my enemies these wounds will mend but I cannot survive the roses from my friends... Free Essays on Roses From My Friends Free Essays on Roses From My Friends Roses From My Friends I could have treated you better but you couldn't have treated me worse but it's he who laughs last is he who cries first Sometimes I feel I know strangers better than I know my friends why must a beginning be the means to an end The stones from my enemies these wounds will mend but I cannot survive the roses from my friends When the last word has been spoken and we've beared witness to the final setting sun all that shall remain is a token of what we've said and done When all we've had has been forsaken distant church bells no longer ring that's the sound of a heart taken and the story of tears from a king The stones from my enemies these wounds will mend but I cannot survive the roses from my friends This may be the last time I see you forgive me for holding you close this may be the last time that I see you so of this moment I will make the most This may be the last time I see you but if you keep me in your heart together we shall be eternal if you believe we shall never part The stones from my enemies these wounds will mend but I cannot survive the roses from my friends...

The New York City Ballet essays

The New York City Ballet essays Ballet, what exactly is ballet your probably wondering... well ballet is a classical dance form characterized by grace and precision of movement and elaborate formal technique, often but not always performed on point by the women dancers. Lincoln Kirstein, a very wealth man, founded the New York City Ballet in 1933 as the American Ballet. He imported George Balanchine to New York that year for the purpose of having an American school company in the best Russian tradition. The choreographer was, of course, Russian-Parisian, and his point of view and style was mainly European, as was the entire teaching staff, but the performing personnel was local, and it hoped that under the director of the master, native choreographers and teachers would in time develop. After three years, the company suspended operations. A splinter group, Ballet Caravan directed by Kirstein himself, kept the flame going. It was this group that produced Billy and the Kid (Loring, Copland, Jared French), the first real American Masterpiece and it was this group that progressed the development of Michael Kidd, William Dollar, Lew Christensen, and Ruthanna Boris. Even though the ballet company was not making any progress for eleven years, the American Ballet School never closed there doors and has trained a generation of eligible dancers. In 1947, after twelve-year hibernation, Kirstein revived the performing company with Balanchine again in charge. It had been posted in all trade schools (no theaters were then regularly available for dance companies) and after a two-year move to the New York City Center Theater. In the following decade, it became one of the leading ballet companies in the world. It is however, entirely under the power of Balanchine and all comes down to his personality and style. The addition of Jerome Robbins in 1949 as co-director somewhat expanded the horizon of the New York City Ballet. ...

Concert Report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Concert Report - Essay Example My accompanying friend, Chris, gets a wristband verifying that he is older than 21. Near the stage where Athletes helpers are setting up the stage with all of their instruments and power chords, a group of police officers nearby are regulating many college students to make sure they have their IDs for alcoholic beverages and to prevent any theft of sales merchandise at the concert. After we pass the security guards, we head up the ramps to our section of seats. As we are walking, I notice many different people that are present at this concert. Most people look like they are between their teen years and their late twenties. Walking along the hallway, the population seems like there are only few groups of people, but as I enter into the stadium for the first time, there seems to be hundreds upon hundreds of people. I look around the entire arena in awe as we climb the stairs to our seats. Suddenly, the lights turn off, spotlights flash, and a loud applause arises from Athletes fans right near the stage. A wall of sound comes closer and closer, thundering up towards the front. Some band mates come out from backstage, and the whole crowd stands up, yelling, screaming, and hollering. All of the cheers seem almost deafening. I start screaming at the top of my lungs, jumping up and down, with a huge smile on my face. Although the main concert is geared towards Athlete, another alternative music group that is attempting to make it big in the music industry starts the night off with a few punk rock songs. Although their style and energy is strong, they did get a few boos from the audience because they sounded and looked like outsiders compared to the famous Athlete band. Athletes band members emphasize that their lyrics reflect openness and honesty about themselves and real life experiences. Along with the lyrics, they say their songs are about enjoying

7.9 Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

7.9 - Case Study Example Industry Analysis is necessary as industries performance vary differently (Dash 138). And the main purpose of industry analysis is to analyze the market and economic forces that affect an industry’s profit potential (Bensoussan and Fleisher 95). Planet Intra is led by an international team of professionally qualified and experienced group of people with backgrounds in consulting, technology, international management and customer relationship management (CRM). They are the real strength of the company and they have been able to ensure uninterrupted successful journey of the company. The company operates globally. Planet Intra has established four offices across the world. The offices in Tokyo, London, and Windsor and Mountain View locations are the main channels to fulfill the global demand of EIP solutions and services. Value Added Resellers (VARs) are consulting firms and other system integrators who work as channel partners. They have contacts within the industry with the large corporations and SMEs and they are main source of revenues for the company as well. The heavy reliance of VARs may affect revenue stream. Currently, the VARs are charging 40 percent commission on per referral and there is no assurance that they continue with the current level of commission or they may increase their commission demand. The implications of this business relationship are that the VARs may require 60 percent commission on per referral and this would directly affect revenue and profit of the company. The company may focus on the non-cyclical or traditional industries. The industries such as oil and gas, health care and service sector may be considered as potential clients for the company. The chances of demand reduction in such sectors are marginal and the companies prefer to invest in their technology-intensive and