Advocacy in action Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Advocacy in action - Essay Example Cases that occur are for instance nurse on nurse conflict, incivility in nursing, horizontal conflict as well as lateral conflict (Hover, 2010). A majority of nurses are scared of speaking out when they see incivility being conducted to other nurses or they do not know what is and is not the tolerated behavior (Harris, 2012). The question is why do such caring experts allow such behaviors to exist? How can nurses stop horizontal conflict and welcome those entering the nursing career with open arms and caring hearts? This paper will discuss horizontal violence and incivility in nursing. It will also examine some key ways of addressing such hurtful and non-caring behaviors to the hospital administration and its stakeholders in the form of a letter. Horizontal violence refers to an aggressive or hostile behavior by group members or an individual towards another individual or persons of another despised group. Critics refer to this as inter-group rivalry or violence. It is endemic among the health care environ, and it is a destructive and unacceptable phenomenon (Hover, 2010). All nurses are urged to work together to tackle issues of oppression and eliminate any unhealthy actions from the workplace. Horizontal violence may be conscious or unconscious behavior. The conflict normally causes emotional, psychological and spiritual damages. It can also have devastating and enduring effects on the recipient nurse or nurses. It may be covert or overt (Harris, 2012). It is mainly non physical, but at times nurses take it to the extent of hitting, shoving or throwing objects. Horizontal violence originates from an internalized low self esteem or self-hatred as a result of being part of an exploited group (Longo, 2008). Horizontal violence is the inappropriate manner that oppressed nurses use to release tension or stress when they cannot address or solve issues with the oppressor. In a majority of nursing institutions, a dominator model of social organization facilitates wor kplace hierarchy. This limits practice and autonomy of various groups of nurses and, therefore; it functions as an oppressive force. Nurses are grouped into oppressive structures and unequal power relations in the workplace system (Hover, 2010). Some groups of nurses such as supervisors within each particular station automatically adopt inflated attitudes and feelings of superiority. Some groups, such as new nurses, automatically adopt submissive feelings and attitudes and, therefore, they seem to be helpless within the health center (Harris, 2012). The internal conflict, caused by conforming to structural demands, leads to the buildup of low self esteem and self-hatred of certain groups of nurses that eventually causes horizontal violence (Hover, 2010). Horizontal violence refers to a symptom of the dynamics involving oppression and a feeling of powerlessness (Hughes, 2005). These factors are common in health care just as water is common to fish. They shape, mould, as well as dicta te, the behavior of nurses within the workplace culture. Horizontal violence is an example of harassment to those who are from different status quo (Hughes, 2005). Horizontal violence among nurses is as a result of history and politics of the western civilization and practices and ideology associated with the stereotyping and socialization classes of people in western culture, especially females. It is a cultural and system issue, a symptom of a spiritually, psychologically and emotionally toxic and oppressive environment. Even though, individual pathology flourishes in an environment that supports and condones aggressive behavior,

The Concept of Luxury Brands Essay Example for Free

The Concept of Luxury Brands Essay Paper about the Definition and Categorization of Luxury Products and Brands consisting of a Taxonomy of Luxury and a Handbook for the Creation of Luxury Products and Brands This paper defines both luxury products and brands and also distinguishes similar concepts such as premium and masstige and differentiates between major types of luxury products and brands such as accessible vs. exceptional luxury products and connoisseur vs. Star brands. In that way, it should create a better understanding of what actually constitutes luxury products and brands, and thus should be useful for both researchers and managers within the field of luxury brand management. As luxury is constantly on the move, this paper will be constantly up-dated. Therefore, please feel free to send me your feedback and ideas. The latest publication can be foundhere and previous publications below. According to its objectives, the paper is split into the following two major components: Taxonomy of Luxury: The tasks of distinguishing between luxury and non-luxury and of categorizing luxury into different types reminds one of the work of taxonomists, who try to order organisms into groups based on their similarities and differences. The classification of organisms is not that simple, not only because of their vast variety, but also because boundaries between species are diffuse. However, similarly to the taxonomy of organisms, the taxonomy of luxury should provide a definition of luxury products and luxury brands that, for any products and brands, allows one to decide as best as possible if they are part of what is meant by these terms. In addition, the taxonomy should give an overview of the major types of luxury products and brands, as well as of similar concepts. Handbook for the Creation of Luxury Products and Brands: For mankind, classification had to be carried out from the very beginning, because the accurate identification of food, predators, mates, fuel, building materials etc. was crucial to survival. This demonstrates that classification also leads to a better understanding about the objects of investigation. Besides their value in the classification of luxury, the characteristics of luxury products and brands thus also help to develop an understanding about how they are actually created. As this is a distinctive area of application, the explanations about their characteristics are consolidated in a separate part of the paper, which should serve as a handbook for the creation of luxury products and brands. PART I LUXONOMY The task of distinguishing between luxury and non-luxury and of categorizing luxury into different types is reminiscent of the job of taxonomists, who try to order organisms into groups based on their similarities and differences (Stace 1991, p. 5). Taxonomy is more generally used today for classifications of any types of objects of investigation, including, for instance, shopper motivations (Westbrook and Black 1985), vehicles (Pirotte and Massart 2004, p. 2) and luxury consumers (Han et al. 2010, p. 16). This part of the paper presents a taxonomy of luxury particularly for use within the field of luxury brand management. Starting from a basic definition of luxury, it distinguishes between the major understandings of luxury put forth by different areas of research, defines luxury products and brands and gives an overview of the major types of luxury products and brands and also of similar concepts. The definitions of luxury products and luxury brands should allow one to decide as best as possible, for any products and brands, if they are part of what is meant by these terms. 1. The Basic Definition of Luxury 1. 1. The Necessity-Luxury Continuum Despite confusions, researchers across all disciplines share a basic understanding of luxury. To begin with, luxury is defined as something that is more than necessary (e. g. by Bearden and Etzel 1982, p. 184; Muhlmann 1975, p. 69; Reith and Meyer 2003, p. 10; Sombart 1922, p. 85). In contrast to necessity, some authors also characterize luxury by non-necessity and superfluity (e. g. by De Barnier et al. 2006, p. 5; Dubois et al. 2001, p. 15; Csaba 2008, p. 3; Geerts and Veg 2010, p. 2; Jackel and Kochhan 2000, p. 75). The distinction between necessity and luxury is based on the availability or exclusivity of resources. While necessities are possessed by virtually everyone, luxuries are available exclusively to only a few people or at least only on rare occasions (Bearden and Etzel 1982, p. 184). Bearden and Etzel (1982, p. 186) imagined the necessity-luxury dimension as a continuum ranging from absolute necessity to absolute luxury. Accordingly, they developed a six-point Likert scale ranging from a necessity for everyone’ to a luxury for everyone in order to measure the luxuriousness of a number of product categories (see also Kemp 1998, p.594). Today however, people spend the biggest portion of their income on goods that satisfy more than their necessary or basic human needs, but most of these goods might still not be considered a luxury. Therefore, Chaudhuri (1998, p. 158 et seqq. ) criticized the necessity-luxury continuum produced by Bearden and Etzel (1982) and measured necessity and luxury as two separate variables on a seven-point agree/disagree scale (This product is a luxury [necessity] for me. ) No significant relationships were found among these variables (p.163), which supports the approach of these authors. However, there were goods with low ratings on both variables such as cornflakes, frozen dinners, and potato chips, indicating the need for another category of ordinary goods. Bearden and Etzel (1982, p. 186) actually already considered this category, as they defined luxuries as not needed for ordinary, day-to-day living. ’ Instead of subsuming ordinary goods into the necessity category, the scale can also be extended to the necessity-ordinary-luxury scale, which might be more intuitive for today’s consumers. In very old lexica, luxury is defined as anything that is more than necessary (e. g. Brockhaus 1846, p. 179). After the increase in the standard of living over many social classes in the late 19th century, the definition was further narrowed by luxury being also that which is more than ordinary (e. g. Meyers 1890, p. 1035). Since then, most lexica share the notion of luxury as anything that is more than necessary and ordinary (e. g. Meyers 1995, p. 189). However, not everything that is neither necessary nor ordinary is a luxury. For instance, most people rarely have moths in their wardrobe, but still do not consider this extraordinary occurrence a luxury. This demonstrates that the characterization of luxury as non-necessary and superfluous can be misleading because luxury is always meant to satisfy some human needs and desires (Berry 1994, p. 4 et seqq. ; Geerts and Veg 2010, p. 2; Giacalone 2006, p. 34; Goody 2006, p. 341). Accordingly, luxury is also associated with dream (e. g. by Seringhaus 2002, p. 5; Dubois and Paternault 1995, p. 69). While necessary and ordinary goods are also desirable (or required), a study by Kemp (1998, p. 599; 603) points out an essential difference: similar items [are] more likely to be perceived as a luxury if they [produce] a positive effect for the recipient than if they [relieve] a state of discomfort [†¦ so that luxuries are†¦] positive instead of negative reinforcements. Therefore, Kemp (1998, p. 592) compares the necessity-luxury continuum with the hierarchy of needs produced by Maslow (1970), which ranges from basic physiological needs such as hunger (necessities) up to needs of self-actualization (luxuries). These facts demonstrate that the luxuriousness of any resource is not only based on its availability, but also on peoples’ desire for it. Accordingly, the basic definition of luxury may be summarized as follows: Luxury is anything that is desirable and more than necessary and ordinary. | Luxury usually refers to single items, in which case it is described as qualitative luxury. In contrast, quantitative luxury refers to the profusion of an excessive amount of resources, which are not necessarily luxurious. For instance, this includes lighting a cigar with a handful of matches (Sombart 1922, p.86). 1. 2. The Relativity of Luxury The decision of what is desirable and more than necessary and ordinary is relative and depends on the perspective (Buttner et al. 2006, p. 9; Jackel and Kochhan 2000, p. 75; Kapferer 2008, p. 96; Nyeck 2004, p. 1; Sombart 1922, p. 85; Valtin 2004, p. 20 et seqq. ). The relativity of luxury splits into a regional, temporal, economic, cultural and situational relativity, which is illustrated in figure 1 and explained below. Regional relativity refers to the classification of resources on the necessity-luxury continuum depending on their local availability. Some goods are widely available and worth very little in some regions, but acquire luxury status by virtue of their rarity in another environment (Merki 2002, p. 85; Reith and Meyer 2003, p. 10). For instance, in the 19th century, kola nuts could be freely collected in the forests of West Africa and became a luxury in Europe, where they were used for kola biscuits and kola wine (Goody 2006, p. 347). In addition, a sunny day at the beach might be considered a luxury in most parts of Europe, while it is almost an everyday experience for people living in Miami. Temporal relativity refers to changes in the perception of the luxuriousness of resources over time, which are based on changes in their availability and desirability (Fuehrer 2008, p. 214; Kisabaka 2001, p. 119 et seqq. ; Matsuyama 2002, p. 1038). The major causes of these changes are technological progress and societal trends (see also Konig 2002, p. 118). Technological progress is also the main reason for the decreasing relevance of the regional relativity of luxury goods. For instance, modern production methods enabled the development from luxury kola to mass-marketed Coca-Cola (Goody 2006, p.348). There are many other examples of the metamorphosis of luxury goods into mass market commodities such as butter, chocolate, coffee, spices, sugar, and tea (Reith and Meyer 2003, p. 10). This process runs especially fast for technical products, as exemplified by TVs, PCs, and mobile phones. However, this process can also run in the opposite direction, as seen with some historically ordinary resources, such as clean air, silence and space, which have become increasingly rare, at least in some regions (see also Koschel 2005, p. 41). Temporal relativity represents the particular character of luxury as being not stable and constantly changing over time (Kapferer 2008, p. 96; see also Jackel and Kochhan 2000, p. 89; Mortelmans 2005, p. 504). Economic relativity refers to differences in peoples’ perceptions of luxuriousness depending on their access to resources (Kapferer 2008, p. 96; Kisabaka 2001, p. 121; Meffert and Lasslop 2003, p. 4; Vickers and Renand 2003, p. 461). While mostpeople consider a watch costing 50â‚ ¬ as an ordinary item, there are some who see it as a luxury, and still others who would not even regard a watch costing 5,000â‚ ¬ as a luxury. Economic relativity also refers to differences among countries with varying states of economic development. For instance, cars are generally considered as ordinary goods in Western Europe, but remain a luxury in developing countries (Christodoulides et al. 2009, p. 397; Matsuyama 2002, p. 1038). Culutural relativity: In any cultural context, luxury refers to something that exceeds necessity and ordinariness. However, in contrast to the previous categories, cultural relativity does not refer to the availability, but to the desirability of resources to people depending on their culture. The same resource might be considered luxurious in one culture, but just ordinary or even useless and undesirable in another culture (Kapferer and Bastien 2009b, p. 314; Kemp 1998, p. 604; Kisabaka 2001, p. 121 et seqq. ). For instance, champagne can be considered as a luxury in European countries, but generally is not desired in Islamic societies. The same is true for a Lamborghini from the perspective of someone from a secluded Amazon tribe (Berthon et al. 2009, p. 49). However, Mortelmans (2005, p. 497) argues that every social group can be said to have its own luxury. There are culture-specific symbols of good taste and luxury, which are determined by the elite of any cultural group or subculture and are used for social distinction (Bourdieu 1994, p. 64 et seqq. ; Fuehrer 2008, p. 135 et seqq. ; Merki 2002, p. 90; Reith and Meyer 2003, p. 24). While gold teeth grills are considered a luxury in the hip-hop scene, the majority of people do not find them desirable. The preferences of luxury are rooted to a great extent in cultural values (Kemp 1998, p. 596; Sombart 1922, p.87), which differ by demographic variables such as gender, age, and education (see studies by Hudders and Pandelaere 2009, p. 6 et seqq. ; Jackel and Kochhan 2000, p. 75). However, the members of a cultural group also differ in their knowledge of the symbols of luxury (Kisabaka 2001, p. 121). These facts demonstrate that there are also differences in the perception of luxury among the members of a cultural group. Therefore, Berthon et al. (2009, p. 47) state that luxury has an intensely individual component as well: what might be luxury to one person will be commonplace, or perhaps even irrelevant and valueless, to another. As the culture-specific symbols of luxury are a result of social learning, it must also be possible to influence peoples’ ideas of luxury using marketing measures (Jackel and Kochhan 2000, p. 81). For instance, De Beers managed to position diamonds as a symbol of love and luxury. Situational relativity implies that the same resource could be differently classified as necessary, ordinary or luxurious depending on the circumstances. For instance, ordinary food might become luxurious if a person has not eaten it for a long time, and any luxury food could be considered ordinary after eating it for several days (Kemp 1998, p.598). 1. 3. General Perspective for the Definition of Luxury These types of relativity can be used as follows to determine a general perspective from which luxury should be defined, particularly with regard to the requirements within the field of luxury brand management: Regional relativity: Due to the globalization of business, especially of the luxury industry, luxury should be defined from a global perspective, which leads to the omission of regional specialties from the definition of luxury for the sake of a broad international coverage. Temporal relativity: The definition of luxury should refer to the present. Economic relativity: Luxury should not be defined from the perspective of the very poor or the very rich, but of the entire society of developed regions. Despite the differences in the notion of luxury between the poor and the rich, Kemp (1998, p. 596) found that to a large extent, a gross-societal consensus exists concerning the classification of goods as either luxury or non-luxury. Culutural relativity: The desirability of resources and the appearance of luxury are determined by the upper class, which also includes the relatively homogeneous segment of the global elite (Vickers and Renand 2003, p.461). Consequently, hip hop-style gold teeth grills cannot be considered luxuries (as long as they are not adopted by the upper class). Basically, luxury appeals to everyone, if defined as something that is desirable and more than necessary and ordinary from his or her perspective. However, studies on the attitudes towards luxury usually refer to luxury as determined by the upper class. Consequently, the attitudes of respondents range from admiration to rejection (Reich 2005, p. 33), which often reflects their general opinion of the societal system. Besides that, the upper class also consists of different segments, which means that a variety of luxury tastes and lifestyles exists. Situational relativity: Finally, the definition of luxury should generally not consider any temporary or individual circumstances, but should be restricted to normal conditions. Accordingly, the basic definition of luxury may be complemented as follows: Luxury is anything that is desirable and which exceeds necessity and ordinariness. As a general rule, this is defined from a global perspective, for the present and for normal conditions. While the exclusivity of resources is evaluated by the entire society, the desirability of resources and the appearance of luxury are determined by the upper class. | Based on that, table 1 exemplifies some of the many resources that can be differentiated from luxury. Accordingly, theextended basic definition limits the scope of luxury from almost anything to a more reasonable level and therefore already helps to dissolve a large part of the controversies about its definition. Table 1: Examples of Non-Luxury Items| Example of Non-Luxury| Type of Relativity| Explanation|. Clean air| Regional relativity| A luxury in Jakarta, but not from the perspective of most people| Color TV| Temporal relativity| A luxury in the 1950’s, but not from today’s perspective| VW Polo| Economic relativity| A luxury for a student, but not from a gross-societal perspective| Gold teeth grill| Cultural relativity| A luxury in the hip-hop scene, but not from the perspective of the upper class| McDonald’s Hamburger| Situational relativity| Might be a luxury after a strict diet, but not under normal circumstances|. However, there are two limitations: First of all, the necessity-luxury continuum indicates that all luxuries are not equally luxurious, which means that there is also a hierarchical relativity. Consequently, it seems reasonable to distinguish different levels of luxury (see Kisabaka 2001, p. 120 et seq. ; and section 8. 4. 1). In addition, even though the extended basic definition limits the scope of luxury, it still covers a wide variety of resources such as musical talent, self-determination or Daikin air conditioning systems, which are not relevant within the field of luxury brand management research. Therefore, the scope of luxury will be limited further in the following chapter by differentiating the understandings of luxury by area of research. 2. The Major Understandings of Luxury The literature analysis suggests differentiating luxury definitions by area of research into three main categories, which will be explained below. 3. 1. The Philosophical-sociological Understanding of Luxury The proponents of a philosophical-sociological understanding of luxury concentrate mainly on the evolution of attitudes towards luxury and its societal benefits (e. g. Berry 1994; Mandeville 1724; Sombart 1922, p. 86 et seqq.) and on the changes in the appearance of luxury and preferences for luxury (e. g. Dohrn-van Rossum 2002; Fuehrer 2008, p. 185 et seqq. ; Koschel 2005 and Reitzle 2001, p. 26 et seqq. ). According to these research objectives, this understanding represents the broadest scope of luxury that can be referred to as luxuries or luxury resources. Examples include musical talent, time, and true love (see also Sombart 1922, p. 85). Luxuries are defined as follows: Luxuries correspond to the philosophical-sociological understanding and the broadest scope of luxury, comprising all resources which are desirable and exceed what is necessary and ordinary. | 2. 2. The Micro-economic Understanding of Luxury The proponents of a micro-economic understanding of luxury investigate the relationships between price and the demand for luxury (e. g. Chaudhuri 1998; Kemp 1998; Lipsey 1975, p. 107 et seqq. ; Poll 1980, p. 38), as well as between income and the demand for luxury (e. g. Deaton and Muellbauer 1980; Lancaster 1971, p. 68; Poll 1980, p. 30). There are also some researchers who focus on the moderating sociological effects (e. g. Bearden and Etzel 1982, Leibenstein 1950, Veblen 1899) and on the benefits of the luxury goods industry for the economy (e.g. Thomas 2007, p. 53 et seqq. ). In light of its research objectives, the micro-economic understanding of luxury represents a middle scope that is limited to goods that are suitable for exchange on the market. In microeconomics the term luxury goods was established for that and mainly refers to entire product categories (see Meffert and Lasslop 2003, p. 4; Reich 2005, p. 36). The marketability of micro-economic luxury represents its major difference from the philosophical-sociological understanding of luxury. According to Chaudhuri (1998, p.162), product categories such as barbecue and golf equipment are (still) regarded as luxury goods. The definition of luxury goods can be summarized as follows: Luxury goods correspond to the micro-economic understanding and the middle scope of luxury, comprising all goods which exceed what is necessary and ordinary, and are suitable for exchange on the market. | Luxury goods are distinguished from necessary or ordinary goods by consequence-related measures; thus the luxuriousness of any good is not determined by its characteristics, but by peoples’ reaction (changes in demand) to exogenous stimuli. These measures include price and income elasticity of demand (Poll 1980, p. 29). 2. 3. The Managerial Understanding of Luxury 2. 3. 1. Areas of Research The proponents of a managerial understanding of luxury focus on the development of business and in particular, on marketing strategy guidance for a relatively small group of luxury product manufacturers. The areas of research can be categorized into studies focusing on luxury brands (including products and industry segments) and on studies which rather focus on their consumers. The first group includes image analyses about luxury brands (e. g. Matthiesen and Phau 2005, Wong and Zaichkowsky 1999) and studies about the luxury brand identity (e. g. Dubois and Czellar 2002, Heine 2009a, 2010a,b, Heine and Trommsdorff 2010a). The existing studies about luxury consumer behavior focus on the characteristics of luxury consumers, their consumption preferences and on environmental influences affecting luxury consumption. Studies about luxury consumer characteristics cover consumers’ purchasing motives (e. g. Tsai 2005), attitudes (e. g. Dubois et al. 2005), values (e. g. Dubois and Duquesne 1993, Heine 2010a, Sukhdial et al.1995) and demographics (e. g. Dubois and Duquesne 1993). Results of these studies serve as a basis for the segmentation of luxury consumers (e. g. Dubois et al. 2005). Additionally, there are studies focusing on luxury consumer preferences (e. g. Nia and Zaichkowsky 2000, about country-of-origin preferences) and studies about environmental influences on luxury consumption incorporating the impact of reference groups (e. g. Bearden and Etzel 1982; Wiedmann et al. 2007), culture (e. g. Casaburi 2010), product types (e. g. social/private by Bearden and Etzel 1982) and situational factors (e. g.Dubois and Laurent 1996). On top of that, there is a growing interest in the phenomenon of counterfeit luxury products (e. g. Perez et al. 2010, Phan et al. 2010, Phan and Lu 2008, Phau and Teah 2008, 2009, Phau et al. 2009, Wilcox et al. 2009). 2. 3. 2. Scope of Luxury The managerial understanding represents the smallest scope of luxury. The major difference separating it from the micro-economic perspective is that the managerial understanding of luxury does not usually refer to entire product categories, but only to the best products of a category, or to products with certain characteristics. Accordingly, products that fall within the managerial scope of luxury should be referred to as luxury products. The broad definition of luxury products can be summarized as follows: Luxury products correspond to the managerial understanding and the smallest scope of luxury, comprising all products which exceed what is necessary and ordinary compared to the other products of their category. | The definition of luxury brands is closely linked to the definition of luxury products and usually refers to specific associations about their products’ characteristics. Accordingly, the broad definition of luxury brands is summarized as follows: Luxury brands are associated with products which exceed what is necessary and ordinary compared to the other products of their category. | These definitions allow one to state some typical examples of luxury products and brands including Louis Vuitton bags and Rolls-Royce automobiles. For the sake of simplicity, the luxury product business will be referred to as the luxury industry. The managerial scope of luxury becomes even clearer in comparison with the other understandings of luxury. This is not a horizontal differentiation (such as dog, cat and bird), but a vertical differentiation (such as dog, animal, living being), which refers to the relation between terms of different levels of abstraction (Eckes 1991, p. 120). As demonstrated in figure 1, luxury products constitute a subset of luxury goods, which, in turn, form a subset of luxuries. This means that the characteristics of luxuries also apply, to a large extent, to luxury products (see also Hoffmann 1986, p. 31 et seqq. ). 2. 3. 3. Limiting the Scope of Luxury. Despite its small scope in comparison to luxuries, the definition of luxury products still covers a wide variety of different products. Therefore, and according to the basic idea of definition by reduction sentences, the scope of luxury products is further limited by differentiating the major luxury market segments as follows: Luxury Products, Services and Real Estate: The managerial luxury understanding usually refers to movable assets (products in the classical sense), as the luxury industry was and is characterized by craftsmanship and engineering (Belz 1994, p.648; Berthon et al. 2009, p. 50). Beyond that, luxury services and luxury real estate form distinct luxury segments. Marketing knowledge about products offers a basis for other luxury segments, but still needs to be adapted to their specific characteristics. Branded vs. Unbranded Luxury Products: Unbranded luxury products are usually made on commission by craftsmen. Because of the high relevance of brands in the luxury segment, this paper considers only branded luxury products (see Kisabaka 2001, p.104; Vigneron and Johnson 2004, p. 486). Private vs. Public Luxury Products: Instead of public luxuries such as altar pieces or national monuments, the term luxury products usually refers to private luxury, which is owned by a person or a private organization (Sombart 1922, p. 86; see also McKinsey 1990, p. 13). B2B vs. B2C Luxury Products: B2C luxury products, also referred to as personal luxury products, are marketed to end consumers and can be used by a person to enhance his or her personal life (Sombart 1922, p.86; Reith and Meyer 2003, p. 10; Valtin 2004, p. 186). In contrast to that, there is a distinct B2B luxury segment, which includes luxury-specialized suppliers to luxury brands. One such supplier is Peter Bock, a manufacturer of nibs for luxury fountain pens. Founder-independent vs. Founder-dependent Luxury Products: This paper considers only founder-independent luxury products, which means that the existence of brands and the manufacturing of products should not depend on the life of their creators. The manufacturers of luxury products should possess a distinct brand personality and at least the capacity for infinite business operation. Although an artist could become a brand, these requirements are not fulfilled as he or she may only create founder-dependent products. Compared to other products, the luxury art market follows very specific rules and therefore forms a distinct luxury segment. The same is true for other industry segments such as (star) architect offices and the relatively complex and fast-changing market of (fashion) designer products. Uni-regional vs. Multi-regional Luxury Products: This paper disregards uni-regional luxury products, which are only available in specific regions. For instance, shopping in the KaDeWe is only possible in Berlin and spending the night in Le Bristol is only possible in Paris. However, many uni-regional luxury brands have the potential to become global. For instance, the luxury group Hilton developed the New York-based Waldorf Astoria into a global luxury hotel chain. Contemporary Luxury Products vs. Luxury Antiquities: With reference to temporal relativity (see above), only new products are considered. Luxury antiquities (including antique cars) form a distinct luxury segment. Accordingly, the broad definition of luxury products may be complemented as follows: Luxury products correspond to the managerial understanding and the smallest scope of luxury not comprising services or real estate, but products which exceed what is necessary and ordinary compared to the other products of their category. These products are branded, founder-independent, multi-regional, contemporary and possessed or used by a person to enhance his or her personal life. | Differentiating between the various understandings of luxury and major luxury market segments helps to further limit the scope of luxury in the area of management studies. Based on that, table 1 exemplifies some of the many luxuries that can be differentiated from luxury products. However, this is still not enough to distinguish clearly between ordinary and luxury products. Therefore, the broad definition of luxury products needs to be specified further, which will be addressed in the subsequent chapter. 3. Luxury Products 3. 1. The Definition of Luxury Products Although the term luxury products is broadly defined and therefore basically comprehensible (see previous section), it still needs to be operationalized because it is not yet clear which products are actually more than necessary and ordinary compared to the other products of their category. The broad definition of luxury products can be modified and further specified by an operational definition. For this purpose, adequate indicators for a term need to be determined. According to the dimensional analysis, it was decided to operationalize luxury products by their characteristics. The operationalization relies on a literature analysis and an empirical study (as outlined in the paper). The results suggest that consumers perceive that luxury products have six major characteristics including price, quality, aesthetics, rarity, extraordinariness and symbolism. These constitutive characteristics and their typical sub-categories are explained in detail in one of the following chapters. In that way, the operationalization helps to decide for most products if they are part of what is meant by the term luxury product (see also Kromrey 2009, p. 110). The definition of luxury products can be summarized as follows: Luxury products have more than necessary and ordinary characteristics compared to other products of their category, which include their relatively high level of price, quality, aesthetics, rarity, extraordinariness, and symbolic meaning. | Comparative terms such as luxury rely on continuous characteristics (as explained in the paper). Therefore, the major characteristics of luxury products can be considered as dimensions ranging from a minimum level that is also necessary for non-luxury products to a maximum level that corresponds to the highest form of luxury. As these major characteristics must apply to virtually all luxury products at least to some degree, they are therefore referred to as constitutive characteristics. Although luxury products require a relatively high rating for all of the major characteristics, there still exists a wide range of possible ratings within the luxury segment. According to the principles of the prototype theory, luxury products therefore differ in the degree to which they are qualified as representatives of their category. The luxuriousness of a product increases when the level of at least one of these characteristics increases. Not surprisingly, the luxury level therefore is one of the major means of differentiation for luxury products and brands (Esteve and Hieu-Dess 2005). The characteristics of luxury products are not independent of each other.

Media Manipulation Exposed in George Orwells Shooting an Elephant Essa

Media Manipulation Exposed in George Orwell's â€Å"Shooting an Elephant† The phrase â€Å"the power of the press† is used often, but what exactly is the power of the press? Since the beginning of news reporting, it’s been known that what actually gets into the news reports is monitored and carefully picked by higher authorities. What isn’t widely known, however, is that the media can use specific wording and phrases that, on the surface, look like normal news coverage, but are actually a technique of the media to control the images people see and the words they hear and read. From this, people then form their ideals, but are these actually ideals of those people if the media from which they based them off of was controlled to begin with? It is the power of the press to control and manipulate the public’s ideals by what is released in the media. In childhood, it’s evident from the start that the parents are the ones who hold the power. As the child grows and develops, the parents show him that they are in control by correcting the things he does wrong and by making it clear that they know more than he does about life. Until the child is old enough to create his own ideals of what is right and what is wrong, the parents shape his ideals for him. As the child grows older, however, the parents relinquish this hold on him and allow him to form his own ideals of the world around him. But as he ventures out in the world, is he actually forming his own ideals, or is he still being shaped by an even larger, more powerful source? In George Orwell’s Shooting an Elephant, Orwell suggests just that; one can form his own ideals, but they will either be changed by the media (symbolized in his essay by the Burmese natives) or constructed from... ...d and has left them with only the ideals which the press wanted them to have in the first place. The power of the press is not to share the truth about everything; it is the power to control what everyone thinks about everything. Works Cited Crocker, Brandon. â€Å"What Really Matters.† The American Spectator. 11 May 2004. Farah, May. Rev. of About Baghdad, pro. Sinan Antoon. The Daily Star. 30 June 2004. Franklin, H. Bruce. â€Å"From Realism to Virtual Reality: Images of America’s Wars.† The Brief Arlington Reader. Ed. Nancy Perry. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2004. 384-400. Murphy, Maureen Clare. Rev. of Peace, Propaganda, and the Promised Land, dir. Bathsheba Ratzkoff & Sut Jhally. The Electronic Intifada 26 March 2004. Orwell, George. â€Å"Shooting an Elephant.† The Brief Arlington Reader. Ed. Nancy Perry. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2004. 334-339. Media Manipulation Exposed in George Orwell's Shooting an Elephant Essa Media Manipulation Exposed in George Orwell's â€Å"Shooting an Elephant† The phrase â€Å"the power of the press† is used often, but what exactly is the power of the press? Since the beginning of news reporting, it’s been known that what actually gets into the news reports is monitored and carefully picked by higher authorities. What isn’t widely known, however, is that the media can use specific wording and phrases that, on the surface, look like normal news coverage, but are actually a technique of the media to control the images people see and the words they hear and read. From this, people then form their ideals, but are these actually ideals of those people if the media from which they based them off of was controlled to begin with? It is the power of the press to control and manipulate the public’s ideals by what is released in the media. In childhood, it’s evident from the start that the parents are the ones who hold the power. As the child grows and develops, the parents show him that they are in control by correcting the things he does wrong and by making it clear that they know more than he does about life. Until the child is old enough to create his own ideals of what is right and what is wrong, the parents shape his ideals for him. As the child grows older, however, the parents relinquish this hold on him and allow him to form his own ideals of the world around him. But as he ventures out in the world, is he actually forming his own ideals, or is he still being shaped by an even larger, more powerful source? In George Orwell’s Shooting an Elephant, Orwell suggests just that; one can form his own ideals, but they will either be changed by the media (symbolized in his essay by the Burmese natives) or constructed from... ...d and has left them with only the ideals which the press wanted them to have in the first place. The power of the press is not to share the truth about everything; it is the power to control what everyone thinks about everything. Works Cited Crocker, Brandon. â€Å"What Really Matters.† The American Spectator. 11 May 2004. Farah, May. Rev. of About Baghdad, pro. Sinan Antoon. The Daily Star. 30 June 2004. Franklin, H. Bruce. â€Å"From Realism to Virtual Reality: Images of America’s Wars.† The Brief Arlington Reader. Ed. Nancy Perry. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2004. 384-400. Murphy, Maureen Clare. Rev. of Peace, Propaganda, and the Promised Land, dir. Bathsheba Ratzkoff & Sut Jhally. The Electronic Intifada 26 March 2004. Orwell, George. â€Å"Shooting an Elephant.† The Brief Arlington Reader. Ed. Nancy Perry. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2004. 334-339.

Math Scores At Harmony Creek Middle School Education Essay

This paper is in response to a petition to find if there is a important difference in math trial tonss that can be attributed to methods of direction and instruction assignments at Harmony Creek Middle School based on ethnicity, socioeconomic position and ethnicity. Test scores for all pupils grouped by instructor, gender, ethnicity and socioeconomic position as determined by the eligibility of the pupil to measure up for free or decreased monetary value tiffin. An Analysis of Variance trial ( ANOVA ) was performed on each information subset and when important differences were found a station hoc analysis utilizing a simple t-test presuming equal discrepancies was used to measure the presence of any important difference in the average trial tonss in math that may be attributed to the method of direction and other listed factors. Do gender, ethnicity, socioeconomic position, method of direction and instructor assignments significantly affect math tonss at Harmony Creek Middle School?IntroductionHarmony Creek Middle School disposal has become concerned with math trial mark over the past several old ages and has examined the construction of the plan in an attempt to turn to the state of affairs. Professional development activities for the three instructors ‘ presently learning math categories have been provided and a restructuring of the instruction methodological analysis has been proposed as a possible solution to the job. At present two of the math instructors use a criterions based instructional method with the 3rd instructor utilizing a more traditional method. This paper will try to turn to the different instruction methods along with gender, ethnicity, and socioeconomic position and in what mode these factors seemingly affect the math tonss within the school. It should be noted that this research i s really limited in nature and farther research is called for in this topic. It should besides be noted that with the limited information available and with the methods of roll uping the statistics that there are possible mistakes within the decisions. An analysis of informations covering several old ages would perchance be a better index of the identified issues and could bring forth different consequences. At present there is some favour to standardise the instruction methods within the school to supply more consistent direction of the math plan. Differing sentiments as to efficiency of traditional instruction methods versus criterions based direction exist. Opinions to the construct of grouping pupils by ethnicity and by abilities within cultural groups are besides a topic of some contention to the staff. Surveies seem to propose that a criterions based schoolroom helps kids to derive a better appreciation of math and helps the pupil to go a better critical mind. Traditional methods of instruction may bring forth better procedural accomplishments but seems to make little to assist pupils go better job convergent thinkers. Grouping pupils by ethnicity and by abilities has besides been shown to bring forth really few positive effects and tend to really increase spreads in cognition and accomplishments. Delegating pupils to instructors of the same race have non been shown to hold a important consequence on trial tonss. This paper will analyze the trial tonss of all math pupils at Harmony Creek Middle School harmonizing to race, gender, and socioeconomic position. Methods of direction will besides be examined to try to find if traditional instructional methods or criterions based methods are more effectual. It is hypothesized that there is no important difference in math tonss for pupils based on gender, socioeconomic position or ethnicity. The hypothesis is besides that there is no relationship between teacher assignment and trial tonss based on ethnicity.Reappraisal of literaturePast surveies have theorized that sorted pupils should on norm do better and separately should make at least every bit good. It is besides theorized that a position order could take to increased competition within the group, harder work by persons and to higher consequences for the group as a whole ( Hoffer, 1992 ) . Other factors would look to hold some bearing on grouping though as it is frequently thought that instructo rs relegated to take down group categories would hold lower degrees of occupation satisfaction and that the attempt of these instructors would worsen. The grouping of pupils by ability or cultural grouping may besides ensue in unequal allotment of resources, the instruction of inkinesss, for case, would frequently non have the same quality resources and concerns as the instruction of Whites ( Harris, 2008 ) . Students in higher grouped categories are more likely to be taught by more skilled and motivated instructors who would supply more piquant direction. Lower sorted categories would be given to concentrate on basic accomplishments, trial readying and rote acquisition ( Worthy, 2010 ) . Since lower grouped categories would travel more easy and cover less material the spread in content covered would steadily increase. It is frequently put forth that able pupils are held back by slower 1s when all the pupils work together in the same category ( Goodlad ‘s 1984 ) .MethodsTo compare the efficiency of the methods of direction this undertaking used the ANOVA trial to compare tonss between the pupils and the three instructors in an attempt to find if the Direct Instruction method or the Standards based Instruction yielded higher tonss. A t-test: two sample presuming equal discrepancies was used as a station hoc analysis when the ANOVA trial indicated that there were important differences in the research informations subsets. Assuming a random assignment of pupils to the three instructors this research should give consequences that will let for a finding to be made as to the Method of Instruction that would see the highest math tonss for the pupils. A 95 % assurance degree was used to table the consequences of this research. The dataset contains tonss from 216 pupils. Students were assigned to categories seemingly without respect to ethnicity, ability, gender or socioeconomic position as each category contained pupils stand foring each factor. 71 pupils were taught by Ms. Ruger utilizing a Direct Direction or traditional method of direction. 145 pupils were taught by Ms. Smith and Ms. Wesson who both employ a Standards Based method of direction. The analysis of the information was used to happen if there was a direct tie between the Method of Instruction and the math tonss. A t-test: two sample presuming equal discrepancies was used to compare the tonss for the Direct and the Standards based instructional methods. The information was besides used to compare the trial tonss by factors of ethnicity, gender and socioeconomic position being taught utilizing direct instructional method versus Standards based direction methods. A t-test: two sample presuming equal discrepancies was used here besides for comparing of the tonss.Consequences and Analysis71 pupils were assigned to Ms. Ruger ( direct direction method ) . 69 pupils were assigned to Ms. Smith and 76 to Ms. Wesson ( criterions based method ) . Students taught utilizing the direct method had a average mark of 55.2 and the mean for pupils in criterions based categories was 70.17. The deliberate T Stat for this comparing was 6.94 and the critical value was 1.97. The T Stat being much larger than the critical value allows for the rejection of the void hypothesis and allows us to presume that there is a important difference in the effectivity of the two methods of direction with the Standards based method ensuing in higher math tonss. Male pupils make up 56 % of the population for this research. 39 males were assigned to direct direction schoolrooms and 81 were assigned to categories utilizing a criterions based method. The mean for direct direction pupils ( male ) was 53.30 and the mean for criterions based pupils ( male ) was 68.20. A t Test gave us a deliberate T Stat of 5.13 and a t critical value of 1.98. Because the T Stat is larger than the t Critical we can reject the void hypothesis and happen that there is a important difference of the tonss of male pupils in direct direction schoolrooms and those taught in criterions based schoolroom with the direct direction method giving higher tonss. Female pupils make up 44 % of the population. 32 females were assigned to schoolrooms utilizing a direct direction method and 64 were assigned to criterions based method categories. The mean for females taught utilizing the direct direction method was 57.65. The mean for females taught utilizing the criterions based method was 72.65. A deliberate T Stat of 4.78 and a t Critical value of 1.98 would let for the rejection of the void hypothesis as the T Stat is larger than the t Critical value. Rejecting the nothing in this case would let us to find that the math tonss of females taught utilizing the criterions based direction method were higher than those of females taught utilizing the direct direction method. Asiatic pupils make up 24 % of the population of pupils. The figure of Asiatic pupils taught under the direct direction method was 17 and the figure of Asiatic pupils taught under the criterions based method was 36. A t Trial: two tailed presuming equal discrepancies resulted in a mean of 53.70 for Asiatic pupils assigned to instructors utilizing a direct direction method and 71.36 for those Asiatic pupils assigned to instructors utilizing criterions based methods. A deliberate T Stat of 3.76 and a t Critical value of 2.00. The value of the T Stat being larger that the T Critical value allows for the rejection of the void hypothesis and leads to the decision that within the Asiatic subpopulation those pupils taught utilizing the criterions based method of direction scored higher in math than those Asiatic pupils taught utilizing the direct direction method. Black pupils represent 24 % of the group. The figure of black pupils taught utilizing the direct direction method is 18 and the figure of black pupils taught under the criterions based method is 34. The mean for Black pupils assigned to instructors utilizing the direct direction method was 55.22 and 72.06 for those Black pupils assigned to instructors utilizing criterions based methods. A t Trial of this subpopulation resulted in a deliberate T Stat of 3.82 and a t Critical value of 2.00. As the value of the T Stat is larger than the t Critical value the void hypothesis is rejected and a decision that the criterions based learning method consequences in higher math tonss for the black pupils in this population is reached. Latino pupils account for 31 % of the population of this group. The figure of Latino pupils taught utilizing the direct direction method was 25 and the Latino pupils assigned to criterions based schoolrooms numbered 41. A t Trial of the Hispanic subpopulation resulted in a mean of 55.64 for Latino pupils assigned to instructors utilizing direct direction and a mean of 70.41 for those assigned to instructors using criterions based learning methods. A deliberate T Stat of 3.90 and a t Critical value of 1.99 was observed for this subpopulation. As the T Stat is larger than the value of t Critical the void hypothesis is rejected and it is concluded that Latino pupils achieve higher math tonss when taught utilizing a criterions based method. White pupils account for the staying 21 % of the population. 11 pupils of this subpopulation are assigned to instructors utilizing a direct direction method and 34 to instructors using criterions based methodological analysis. A t Test resulted in mean of 56.90 for white pupils under a direct direction method and a mean of 66.73 for white pupils taught utilizing criterions based method. A deliberate T Stat of 2.06 and a t Critical value of 2.01 allow for the rejection of the nothing and the decision that white pupils taught utilizing criterions based learning methods achieved higher math tonss during the period studied. 35 pupils in this group having free or decreased monetary value tiffins were assigned to instructors utilizing a direct direction method. 69 pupils received free or decreased monetary value tiffins and were assigned to instructors utilizing criterions based learning methods. The deliberate mean for this subpopulation taught under direct direction was 56.17. The mean for the pupils having free or decreased monetary value tiffins taught under criterions based direction was 71.02. A deliberate T Stat of 5.10 and a t Critical value of 1.98 allow for the rejection of the void hypothesis and allows for the finding that pupils having free or decreased monetary value tiffins achieve higher math tonss when taught utilizing criterions based methods. 36 pupils who did non have free or decreased monetary value tiffins were assigned to instructors utilizing a direct direction method. 76 pupils who did non have free or decreased monetary value tiffins were assigned to instructors who used criterions based direction methods. The average mark for pupils who paid full monetary value for tiffins and were taught utilizing direct direction was 54.38 % and the mean mark for pupils paying full monetary value and assigned to instructors who use criterions based methods was 69.39. A deliberate T Stat of 4.75 and a t Critical value of 1.98 allow for the rejection of the void hypothesis and farther let for the decision that pupils who did non have reduced monetary value or free tiffins and were taught utilizing the criterions based direction method scored achieved higher math tonss than the pupils who did non have reduced monetary value or free tiffins and were assigned to instructors utilizing a direct direction learning method.DecisionThe con sequences of this survey would look to do a clear suggestion that Standards Based Instruction should better math trial tonss at the Harmony Creek Middle School. In about every class at that place existed a important difference in tonss between pupils taught utilizing a Standards Based method and those taught utilizing a Direct Instruction method. This tendency appears across all of factors that were examined and would look to follow the tendencies noted in other research that does be. As Thompson ( 2009 ) noted Standards Based patterns were found to be important subscribers to pupils math accomplishment and that virtually none of the ascertained non-SBI practiced were found to be a important subscriber to student accomplishment by gender or cultural grouping. For the intent of this research a commission was formed to help in the rating of the research consequences and in the finding of the more effectual instructional agencies. Committee members consist of 3 active or former in-between school instructors who are familiar with the type of research to be evaluated, the instructional methods and with the demographics of the community, two community members who are active in their support of the school and a module member of the local community college. All members were chosen because of their engagement in both the community and local schools. All of the commission members have some background in instruction, concern, and finance or in the legal field. Harmony Creek Middle School will necessitate to buy 71 text editions at a cost of $ 100 each to implement the alteration to a criterions based instructional method in all math categories. The entire cost of the text editions will be $ 7100. The commission feels that the disbursal of buying new text editions that will be needed to implement a school broad policy of a criterions based learning method is justified as there should be a pronounced betterment in math tonss which should ensue in an improved ambiance throughout the school and the community. Implementing alterations to the math course of study should increase tonss which will assist to hike the morale of both pupils and module. An addition in math tonss will besides be given to increase support from the community as its members shortly see that Harmony Creek Middle School is non content to keep the position quo and is willing to take stairss to better the instruction of the pupils and in the betterment of the community. The vision statement of Harmony Creek Middle school proclaims that: We believe that each of our pupils, our module and our community is alone. We believe that each of our pupils, our module, and our community deserve the chance to accomplish their full potency. We believe that each individual is responsible for their ain actions and the effects of those actions. We believe that diverseness strengthens persons and the community. We believe that larning in an indispensable and womb-to-tomb procedure. To these terminals this commission feels that we must implement this vision statement with action and make all that is possible to farther instruction, diverseness and chance within our schools. We besides feel that one method to carry through this end is the execution of a Standards Based Instructional method in math categories at Harmony Creek Middle School.

Creative Thinking

Much of the thinking done in formal education emphasizes the skills of analysis–teaching students how to understand claims, follow or create a logical argument, figure out the answer, eliminate the incorrect paths and focus on the correct one. However, there is another kind of thinking, one that focuses on exploring ideas, generating possibilities, looking for many right answers rather than just one. Both of these kinds of thinking are vital to a successful working life, yet the latter one tends to be ignored until after college. We might differentiate these two kinds of thinking like this: Critical ThinkingCreative Thinking nalyticgenerative convergentdivergent verticallateral probabilitypossibility judgmentsuspended judgment focuseddiffuse objectivesubjective answeran answer left brainright brain verbalvisual linearassociative reasoningrichness, novelty yes butyes and In an activity like problem solving, both kinds of thinking are important to us. First, we must analyze the problem; then we must generate possible solutions; next we must choose and implement the best solution; and finally, we must evaluate the effectiveness of the solution. As you can see, this process reveals an alternation between the two kinds of thinking, critical and creative.In practice, both kinds of thinking operate together much of the time and are not really independent of each other. What is Creativity? An Ability. A simple definition is that creativity is the ability to imagine or invent something new. As we will see below, creativity is not the ability to create out of nothing (only God can do that), but the ability to generate new ideas by combining, changing, or reapplying existing ideas. Some creative ideas are astonishing and brilliant, while others are just simple, good, practical ideas that no one seems to have thought of yet.Believe it or not, everyone has substantial creative ability. Just look at how creative children are. In adults, creativity has too often been s uppressed through education, but it is still there and can be reawakened. Often all that's needed to be creative is to make a commitment to creativity and to take the time for it. An Attitude. Creativity is also an attitude: the ability to accept change and newness, a willingness to play with ideas and possibilities, a flexibility of outlook, the habit of enjoying the good, while looking for ways to improve it.We are socialized into accepting only a small number of permitted or normal things, like chocolate-covered strawberries, for example. The creative person realizes that there are other possibilities, like peanut butter and banana sandwiches, or chocolate-covered prunes. A Process. Creative people work hard and continually to improve ideas and solutions, by making gradual alterations and refinements to their works. Contrary to the mythology surrounding creativity, very, very few works of creative excellence are produced with a single stroke of brilliance or in a frenzy of rapid activity.Much closer to the real truth are the stories of companies who had to take the invention away from the inventor in order to market it because the inventor would have kept on tweaking it and fiddling with it, always trying to make it a little better. The creative person knows that there is always room for improvement. Creative Methods Several methods have been identified for producing creative results. Here are the five classic ones: Evolution. This is the method of incremental improvement. New ideas stem from other ideas, new solutions from previous ones, the new ones slightly improved over the old ones.Many of the very sophisticated things we enjoy today developed through a long period of constant incrementation. Making something a little better here, a little better there gradually makes it something a lot better–even entirely different from the original. For example, look at the history of the automobile or any product of technological progress. With each new mode l, improvements are made. Each new model builds upon the collective creativity of previous models, so that over time, improvements in economy, comfort, and durability take place.Here the creativity lies in the refinement, the step-by-step improvement, rather than in something completely new. Another example would be the improvement of the common wood screw by what are now commonly called drywall screws. They have sharper threads which are angled more steeply for faster penetration and better holding. The points are self tapping. The shanks are now threaded all the way up on lengths up to two inches. The screws are so much better that they can often be driven in without pilot holes, using a power drill.The evolutionary method of creativity also reminds us of that critical principle: Every problem that has been solved can be solved again in a better way. Creative thinkers do not subscribe to the idea that once a problem has been solved, it can be forgotten, or to the notion that †Å"if it ain't broke, don't fix it. † A creative thinker's philosophy is that â€Å"there is no such thing as an insignificant improvement. † Synthesis. With this method, two or more existing ideas are combined into a third, new idea.Combining the ideas of a magazine and an audio tape gives the idea of a magazine you can listen to, one useful for blind people or freeway commuters. For example, someone noticed that a lot of people on dates went first to dinner and then to the theater. Why not combine these two events into one? Thus, the dinner theater, where people go first to eat and then to see a play or other entertainment. Revolution. Sometimes the best new idea is a completely different one, an marked change from the previous ones. While an evolutionary improvement philosophy might cause a professor to ask, â€Å"How can I make my lectures better and better? a revolutionary idea might be, â€Å"Why not stop lecturing and have the students teach each other, working as teams or presenting reports? † For example, the evolutionary technology in fighting termites eating away at houses has been to develop safer and faster pesticides and gasses to kill them. A somewhat revolutionary change has been to abandon gasses altogether in favor of liquid nitrogen, which freezes them to death or microwaves, which bake them. A truly revolutionary creative idea would be to ask, â€Å"How can we prevent them from eating houses in the first place? A new termite bait that is placed in the ground in a perimeter around a house provides one answer to this question. Reapplication. Look at something old in a new way. Go beyond labels. Unfixate, remove prejudices, expectations and assumptions and discover how something can be reapplied. One creative person might go to the junkyard and see art in an old model T transmission. He paints it up and puts it in his living room. Another creative person might see in the same transmission the necessary gears for a multi-sp eed hot walker for his horse. He hooks it to some poles and a motor and puts it in his corral.The key is to see beyond the previous or stated applications for some idea, solution, or thing and to see what other application is possible. For example, a paperclip can be used as a tiny screwdriver if filed down; paint can be used as a kind of glue to prevent screws from loosening in machinery; dishwashing detergents can be used to remove the DNA from bacteria in a lab; general purpose spray cleaners can be used to kill ants. Changing Direction. Many creative breakthroughs occur when attention is shifted from one angle of a problem to another. This is sometimes called creative insight.A classic example is that of the highway department trying to keep kids from skateboarding in a concrete-lined drainage ditch. The highway department put up a fence to keep the kids out; the kids went around it. The department then put up a longer fence; the kids cut a hole in it. The department then put up a stronger fence; it, too, was cut. The department then put a threatening sign on the fence; it was ignored. Finally, someone decided to change direction, and asked, â€Å"What really is the problem here? It's not that the kids keep getting through the barrier, but that they want to skateboard in the ditch.So how can we keep them from skateboarding in the ditch? † The solution was to remove their desire by pouring some concrete in the bottom of the ditch to remove the smooth curve. The sharp angle created by the concrete made skateboarding impossible and the activity stopped. No more skateboarding problems, no more fence problems. This example reveals a critical truth in problem solving: the goal is to solve the problem, not to implement a particular solution. When one solution path is not working, shift to another. There is no commitment to a particular path, only to a particular goal.Path fixation can sometimes be a problem for those who do not understand this; they become overcommitted to a path that does not work and only frustration results. Negative Attitudes That Block Creativity 1. Oh no, a problem! The reaction to a problem is often a bigger problem than the problem itself. Many people avoid or deny problems until it's too late, largely because these people have never learned the appropriate emotional, psychological, and practical responses. A problem is an opportunity. The happiest people welcome and even seek out problems, meeting them as challenges and opportunities to improve things.Definition: a problem is (1) seeing the difference between what you have and what you want or (2) recognizing or believing that there is something better than the current situation or (3) an opportunity for a positive act. Seeking problems aggressively will build confidence, increase happiness, and give you a better sense of control over your life. 2. It can't be done. This attitude is, in effect, surrendering before the battle. By assuming that something canno t be done or a problem cannot be solved, a person gives the problem a power or strength it didn't have before.And giving up before starting is, of course, self fulfilling. But look at the history of solutions and the accompanying skeptics: man will never fly, diseases will never be conquered, rockets will never leave the atmosphere. Again, the appropriate attitude is summed up by the statement, â€Å"The difficult we do immediately; the impossible takes a little longer. † 3. I can't do it. Or There's nothing I can do. Some people think, well maybe the problem can be solved by some expert, but not by me because I'm not (a) smart enough, (b) an engineer, or (c) a blank (whether educated, expert, etc. Again, though, look at the history of problem solving. Who were the Wright brothers that they could invent an airplane? Aviation engineers? No, they were bicycle mechanics. The ball point pen was invented by a printer's proofreader, Ladislao Biro, not a mechanical engineer. Major a dvances in submarine design were made by English clergyman G. W. Garrett and by Irish schoolmaster John P. Holland. The cotton gin was invented by that well known attorney and tutor, Eli Whitney. The fire extinguisher was invented by a captain of militia, George Manby. And so on.In fact, a major point made by recent writers about corporate excellence is that innovations in industry almost always come from individuals (not research groups) outside of the area of the invention. General Motors invented Freon, the refrigeration chemical, and tetraethyl lead, the gasoline additive. Kodachrome was invented by two musicians. The continuous steel casting process was invented by a watchmaker (fooling around with brass casting). Soap making chemists turned down the problem of inventing synthetic detergents: those detergents were invented by dye making chemists.In a nutshell, a good mind with a positive attitude and some good problem solving skills will go far in solving any problem. Interest in and commitment to the problem are the keys. Motivation–a willingness to expend the effort–is more important than laboratory apparatus. And remember that you can always do something. Even if you cannot totally eradicate the problem from the face of the earth, you can always do something to make the situation better. 4. But I'm not creative. Everyone is creative to some extent. Most people are capable of very high levels of creativity; just look at young children when they play and imagine.The problem is that this creativity has been suppressed by education. All you need to do is let it come back to the surface. You will soon discover that you are surprisingly creative. 5. That's childish. In our effort to appear always mature and sophisticated, we often ridicule the creative, playful attitudes that marked our younger years. But if you solve a problem that saves your marriage or gets you promoted or keeps your friend from suicide, do you care whether other people desc ribe your route to the solution as â€Å"childish? † Besides, isn't play a lot of fun?Remember that sometimes people laugh when something is actually funny, but often they laugh when they lack the imagination to understand the situation. 6. What will people think? There is strong social pressure to conform and to be ordinary and not creative. Here are some overheard examples: Creative Person: â€Å"I like to put water in my orange juice so it's less sweet. † Ordinary Person: â€Å"You're weird, you know? † Ordinary Person: â€Å"What are you doing? † Creative Person: â€Å"We're painting our mailbox. † Ordinary Person: â€Å"You're crazy. † Creative Person: â€Å"Why don't we add a little garlic? Ordinary Person: â€Å"Because the recipe doesn't call for garlic. † Ordinary Person: â€Å"Why are you going this way? It's longer. † Creative Person: â€Å"Because I like the drive. † Ordinary Person: â€Å"Did anyone ever t ell you you're strange? † The constant emphasis we see in society is toward the ruthlessly practical and conformist. Even the wild fashions, from those in Vogue to punk rock, are narrowly defined, and to deviate from them is considered wrong or ridiculous. Some peoples' herd instinct is so strong that they make sheep look like radical individualists. So, what will people think?Well, they're already talking about you, saying that your nose is too big or your shoes are funny or you date weird people. So, since others are going to talk about you in unflattering ways anyway, you might as well relax and let your creativity and individualism flow. Almost every famous contributor to the betterment of civilization was ridiculed and sometimes even jailed. Think about Galileo. And look what happened to Jesus. Quotation: â€Å"Progress is made only by those who are strong enough to endure being laughed at. † Solutions are often new ideas, and new ideas, being strange, are usually greeted with laughter, contempt, or both.That's just a fact of life, so make up your mind not to let it bother you. Ridicule should be viewed as a badge of real innovative thinking. 7. I might fail. Thomas Edison, in his search for the perfect filament for the incandescent lamp, tried anything he could think of, including whiskers from a friend's beard. In all, he tried about 1800 things. After about 1000 attempts, someone asked him if he was frustrated at his lack of success. He said something like, â€Å"I've gained a lot of knowledge–I now know a thousand things that won't work. † Fear of failure is one of the major obstacles to creativity and problem solving.The cure is to change your attitude about failure. Failures along the way should be expected and accepted; they are simply learning tools that help focus the way toward success. Not only is there nothing wrong with failing, but failing is a sign of action and struggle and attempt–much better than inactio n. The go-with-the- flow types may never fail, but they are essentially useless to humanity, nor can they ever enjoy the feeling of accomplishment that comes after a long struggle. Suppose you let your fear of failure guide your risk taking and your attempts.You try only three things in a year because you are sure of succeeding. At the end of the year the score is: Successes 3, Failures 0. Now suppose the next year you don't worry about failing, so you try a hundred things. You fail at 70 of them. At the end of the year the score is Successes 30, Failures 70. Which would you rather have–three successes or 30–ten times as many? And imagine what 70 failures will have taught you. Proverb: Mistakes aren't fun, but they sure are educational. Myths about Creative Thinking and Problem Solving 1. Every problem has only one solution (or one right answer).The goal of problem solving is to solve the problem, and most problems can be solved in any number of ways. If you discover a solution that works, it is a good solution. There may be other solutions thought of by other people, but that doesn't make your solution wrong. What is THE solution to putting words on paper? Fountain pen, ball point, pencil, marker, typewriter, printer, Xerox machine, printing press? 2. The best answer/solution/method has already been found. Look at the history of any solution set and you'll see that improvements, new solutions, new right answers, are always being found.What is the solution to human transportation? The ox or horse, the cart, the wagon, the train, the car, the airplane, the jet, the SST? Is that the best and last? What about pneumatic tubes, hovercraft, even Star Trek type beams? What is the best way to put words on paper? The word processor? Is that the last invention? How about voice recognition, or thought wave input? On a more everyday level, many solutions now seen as best or at least entrenched were put in place hastily and without much thought–such as the use of drivers' licenses for ID cards or social security numbers for taxpayer ID numbers.Other solutions are entrenched simply for historical reasons: they've always been done that way. Why do shoe laces still exist, when technology has produced several other, better ways to attach shoes to feet (like velcro, elastic, snap buttons, and so on)? 3. Creative answers are complex technologically. Only a few problems require complex technological solutions. Most problems you'll meet with require only a thoughtful solution requiring personal action and perhaps a few simple tools. Even many problems that seem to require a technological solution can be addressed in other ways.For example, what is the solution to the large percentage of packages ruined by the Post Office? Look at the Post Office package handling method. Packages are tossed in bins when you send them. For the solution, look at United Parcel. When you send a package, it is put on a shelf. The change from bin to shelf is no t a complex or technological solution; it's just a good idea, using commonly available materials. As another example, when hot dogs were first invented, they were served to customers with gloves to hold them. Unfortunately, the customers kept walking off with the gloves. The olution was not at all complex: serve the hot dog on a roll so that the customer's fingers were still insulated from the heat. The roll could be eaten along with the dog. No more worries about disappearing gloves. (Note by the way what a good example of changing direction this is. Instead of asking, â€Å"How can I keep the gloves from being taken? † the hot dog server stopped thinking about gloves altogether. ) 4. Ideas either come or they don't. Nothing will help. There are many successful techniques for stimulating idea generation. We will be discussing and applying them. ________________________________________ _______________________________________ Mental Blocks to Creative Thinking and Problem Solv ing 1. Prejudice. The older we get, the more preconceived ideas we have about things. These preconceptions often prevent us from seeing beyond what we already know or believe to be possible. They inhibit us from accepting change and progress. Example problem: How to connect sections of airplanes with more ease and strength than using rivets. A modern solution is to use glue–glue the sections together. We probably wouldn't think of this solution because of our prejudice about the word and idea of glue.But there are many kinds of glue, and the kind used to stick plane parts together makes a bond stronger than the metal of the parts themselves. Another problem: How can we make lighter weight bullet proof windows? Thicker glass is too heavy. Answer: Use plastic. Again, we are prejudiced against plastic. But some plastics are not flimsy at all and are used in place of steel and in bullet proof windows. Another problem: Make a ship's hull that won't rust or rot like steel or wood. Solution: Use concrete. Our prejudice is that concrete is too heavy.Why not make lightweight concrete? That's what's done. Final example: How to divide a piece of cake equally between two kids so they won't complain that one kid is preferred over the other: â€Å"You gave him the bigger piece; you like him better! Waaaah! † Solution: Put the kids in charge of dividing the cake. Our prejudice is that immature, selfish kids can't do the job. But the solution, one cuts the cake, the other has first choice of pieces, works very well. 2. Functional fixation. Sometimes we begin to see an object only in terms of its name rather in terms of what it can do.Thus, we see a mop only as a device for cleaning a floor, and do not think that it might be useful for clearing cobwebs from the ceiling, washing the car, doing aerobic exercise, propping a door open or closed, and so on. (Later on in the semester, we will be doing â€Å"uses for† to break out of this fixation. ) There is als o a functional fixation of businesses. In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries the railroads saw themselves as railroads. When automobiles and later airplanes began to come in, the railroads didn't adapt. â€Å"That's not our business,† they said.But if they had seen themselves as in the people transportation business rather than in the railroad business, they could have capitalized on a great opportunity. Similarly, when the telephone began its rise, some of the telegraph companies said, â€Å"That's not our business; we're telegraph companies. † But if they had said, â€Å"Hey, we're in the communication business, and here's a new way to communicate,† they would have grown rather than died. Compare Western Union to AT&T. And have you heard of those big calculator companies Dietzgen or Pickett? No? Well, they were among the biggest makers of slide rules.But when electronic calculators began to rise, they didn't know what business they were in. They thought they were in the slide rule business, when they were really in the calculator business. They didn't adapt, they didn't accept the challenge of change and opportunity, and they fell. And there's a functional fixation of people, too. Think a minute how you react when you see your pastor mowing his lawn, or your auto mechanic on a television show promoting a book. Stereotyping can even be a form of functional fixation–how many people would laugh at a blonde quoting Aristotle?Too often we permit only a narrow range of attitudes and behaviors in other people, based on bias, prejudice, hasty generalization, or limited past experience. Think of those statements like, â€Å"I can't believe he said that,† or â€Å"Imagine her doing that,† and so on. But recall the proverb, â€Å"The goal of my life is not to live down to your expectations. † 3. Learned helplessness. This is the feeling that you don't have the tools, knowledge, materials, ability, to do an ything, so you might as well not try. We are trained to rely on other people for almost everything. We think small and limit ourselves.But the world can be interacted with. If you are in need of information, there are libraries, bookstores, friends, professors, and, of course, the Internet. And there are also city, county, and state government agencies with addresses and phone numbers and web sites. There are thousands of government agencies that really exist and that will talk to you. Contact the EPA if you're working on air pollution or pesticides. Get some government publications. Call your state senator or federal congressman for help on bills, information, problems. Contact the manufacturer of a product to find out what you want to know about it.If you are technologically poor, you can learn. Learn how to cook, use tools, make clothes, use a computer. You can learn to do anything you really want to do. All you need is the motivation and commitment. You can learn to fly an airpl ane, drive a truck, scuba dive, fix a car–name it. 4. Psychological blocks. Some solutions are not considered or are rejected simply because our reaction to them is â€Å"Yuck. † But icky solutions themselves may be useful or good if they solve a problem well or save your life. Eating lizards and grasshoppers doesn't sound great, but if it keeps you alive in the wilderness, it's a good solution.Perhaps more importantly, what at first seem to be icky ideas may lead to better solutions–de-ickified analogues of the original. When doctors noted that some unsophisticated natives were using giant ant heads to suture wounds, they imitated this pincer-closing technique by inventing the surgical staple. Psychological blocks prevent you from doing something just because it doesn't sound good or right, which is a pretty ridiculous thing. Overcoming such blocks can be really beneficial. Navy commandos in Vietnam overcame their blocks and put on women's panty hose when they marched through the swamps and jungle.The pantyhose cut down on the friction and rubbing from the plants and aided in removing the dozens of leeches after a mission. Overcoming the block to using your own blood to write a help note could save your life someday if you got kidnapped. Positive Attitudes for Creativity 1. Curiosity. Creative people want to know things–all kinds of things– just to know them. Knowledge does not require a reason. The question, â€Å"Why do you want to know that? † seems strange to the creative person, who is likely to respond, â€Å"Because I don't know the answer. † Knowledge is enjoyable and often useful in strange and unexpected ways.For example, I was once attempting to repair something, without apparent success, when an onlooker asked testily, â€Å"Do you know what you're doing? † I replied calmly, â€Å"No, that's why I'm doing it. † Next, knowledge, and especially wide ranging knowledge, is necessary for cr eativity to flourish to its fullest. Much creativity arises from variations of a known or combinations of two knowns. The best ideas flow from a well equipped mind. Nothing can come from nothing. In addition to knowing, creative people want to know why. What are the reasons behind decisions, problems, solutions, events, facts, and so forth? Why this way and not another?And why not try this or that? The curious person's questioning attitude toward life is a positive one, not a destructive one reflecting skepticism or negativism. It often seems threatening because too often there is no good reason behind many of the things that are taken for granted–there is no â€Å"why† behind the status quo. So ask questions of everyone. Ask the same question of different people just to be able to compare the answers. Look into areas of knowledge you've never before explored, whether cloth dying, weather forecasting, food additives, ship building, the U. S. budget, or the toxicity of laundry detergents. 2. Challenge.Curious people like to identify and challenge the assumptions behind ideas, proposals, problems, beliefs, and statements. Many assumptions, of course, turn out to be quite necessary and solid, but many others have been assumed unnecessarily, and in breaking out of those assumptions often comes a new idea, a new path, a new solution. For example, when we think of a college, we traditionally think of a physical campus with classrooms, a library, and some nice trees. But why must college be a place (with congregated students and faculty) at all? Thus, the electronic college now exists, where students â€Å"go† to college right at home, online.Correspondence courses have existed for years, too, beginning with the challenging of the school-as-centralized-place idea. When we think of an electric motor, we automatically think of a rotating shaft machine. But why assume that? Why can't an electric motor have a linear output, moving in a straight line rather than a circle? With such a challenged assumption came the linear motor, able to power trains, elevators, slide locks, and so on. Problem: We make brandy, and for this special edition of our finest kind, we want a fully-grown pear in one piece inside each bottle. The bottle is narrow necked. How can we do it?As you think, watch for the assumptions you are making. Possible solutions (assuming fully grown pear): close the neck or bottom after insertion, use a plastic bottle like heat-shrink tubing, change to a wide mouth bottle. If we do not assume a fully grown pear: grow the pear from a bud inside the bottle. 3. Constructive discontent. This is not a whining, griping kind of discontent, but the ability to see a need for improvement and to propose a method of making that improvement. Constructive discontent is a positive, enthusiastic discontent, reflecting the thought, â€Å"Hey, I know a way to make that better. Constructive discontent is necessary for a creative problem sol ver, for if you are happy with everything the way it is, you won't want to change anything. Only when you become discontent with something, when you see a problem, will you want to solve the problem and improve the situation. One of the hallmarks of the constructively discontented person is that of a problem seeking outlook. The more problems you find, the more solutions and therefore improvements you can make. Even previously solved problems can often be solved again, in a better way.A constructively discontent person might think, â€Å"This is an excellent solution, but I wonder if there isn't another solution that works even better (or costs less, etc). † Another mark of constructive discontent is the enjoyment of challenge. Creative people are eager to test their own limits and the limits of problems, willing to work hard, to persevere and not give up easily. Sometimes the discontent is almost artificial–they aren't really unhappy with the status quo of some area, but they want to find something better just for the challenge of it and the opportunity to improve their own lives and those of others. 4.A belief that most problems can be solved. By faith at first and by experience later on, the creative thinker believes that something can always be done to eliminate or help alleviate almost every problem. Problems are solved by a commitment of time and energy, and where this commitment is present, few things are impossible. The belief in the solvability of problems is especially useful early on in attacking any problem, because many problems at first seem utterly impossible and scare off the fainter hearted. Those who take on the problem with confidence will be the ones most likely to think through or around the impossibility of the problem. . The ability to suspend judgment and criticism. Many new ideas, because they are new and unfamiliar, seem strange, odd, bizarre, even repulsive. Only later do they become â€Å"obviously† great. Other ideas, in their original incarnations, are indeed weird, but they lead to practical, beautiful, elegant things. Thus, it is important for the creative thinker to be able to suspend judgment when new ideas are arriving, to have an optimistic attitude toward ideas in general, and to avoid condemning them with the typical kinds of negative responses like, â€Å"That will never work; that's no good; what an idiotic idea; that's impossible,† and so forth.Hospital sterilization and antiseptic procedures, television, radio, the Xerox machine, and stainless steel all met with ho-hums and even hostile rejection before their persevering inventors finally sold someone on the ideas. Some of our everyday tools that we now love and use daily, were opposed when they were originally presented: Aluminum cookware? No one wants that. Teflon pans? They'll never sell. Erasers on pencils? That would only encourage carelessness. Computers? There's no market for more than a few, so why build them?R emember then that (1) an idea may begin to look good only after it becomes a bit more familiar or is seen in a slightly different context or clothing or circumstance and (2) even a very wild idea can serve as a stepping stone to a practical, efficient idea. By too quickly bringing your judgment into play, these fragile early ideas and their source can be destroyed. The first rule of brainstorming is to suspend judgment so that your idea-generating powers will be free to create without the restraint of fear or criticism. You can always go back later and examine–as critically as you want–what you have thought of.Proverb: â€Å"A crank is a genius whose idea hasn't yet caught on. † 6. Seeing the good in the bad. Creative thinkers, when faced with poor solutions, don't cast them away. Instead, they ask, â€Å"What's good about it? † because there may be something useful even in the worst ideas. And however little that good may be, it might be turned to good e ffect or made greater. Example problem: How can we get college students to learn grammar better? Solution: Spank their bottoms with a hickory stick. This isn't a good solution, partly because it's probably illegal. But should we just toss it out? Why not ask what's good about it? 1) it gives individual, attention to the poor performers, (2) it gives them public attention, (3) it motivates other students as well as the student being spanked, (4) it's easy and costs nothing. The next question is, Can we adapt or incorporate some of these good things into a more acceptable solution, whether derivative of the original or not? We easily fall into either/or thinking and believe that a bad solution is bad through and through, in every aspect, when in fact, it may have some good parts we can borrow and use on a good solution, or it may do inappropriately something that's worth doing appropriately.And often, the bad solution has just one really glaring bad part, that when remedied, leaves qu ite a good solution. In the above example, changing the physical spanking to a verbal spanking changes the entire aspect of the solution while keeping all the good points we identified. 7. Problems lead to improvements. The attitude of constructive discontent searches for problems and possible areas of improvement, but many times problems arrive on their own. But such unexpected and perhaps unwanted problems are not necessarily bad, because they often permit solutions that leave the world better than before the problem arose.For example, the first margarine was made from beef fat, milk, water, and chopped cow udder. It wasn't extremely tasty or healthy. Then about the turn of the century a shortage of beef fat created a problem. What to use? The margarine makers turned to vegetable fats from various plants and the soybean, corn, and sunflower oils they used are still used today. The margarine is healthier and tastes better. Or think about exams or papers. When you don't do as well a s you want, you think, â€Å"Oh no! † But actually, you have a good insight into what you don't know and still need to learn.You are aware of the geography of your knowledge in a much more detailed form than before the errors showed up. 8. A problem can also be a solution. A fact that one person describes as a problem can sometimes be a solution for someone else. Above we noted that creative thinkers can find good ideas in bad solutions. Creative thinkers also look at problems and ask, â€Å"Is there something good about this problem? † For example, soon after the advent of cyanoacrylate adhesives (super glue), it was noted that if you weren't careful, you could glue your fingers together with it.This problem–a permanent skin bond–was soon seen as a solution, also. Surgeons in Viet Nam began to use super glue to glue wounds together. Another example, also involving glue: 3M chemists were experimenting with adhesives and accidentally came up with one that was so weak you could peel it right back off. Hold strength, shear strength, all were way below the minimum standards for any self-respecting adhesive. A glue that won't hold? Quite a problem. But this problem was also a solution, as you now see in Post-It Notes. 9. Problems are interesting and emotionally acceptable.Many people confront every problem with a shudder and a turn of the head. They don't even want to admit that a problem exists–with their car, their spouse, their child, their job, their house, whatever. As a result, often the problem persists and drives them crazy or rises to a crisis and drives them crazy. Creative people see problems as interesting challenges worth tackling. Problems are not fearful beasts to be feared or loathed; they are worthy opponents to be jousted with and unhorsed. Problem solving is fun, educational, rewarding, ego building, helpful to society. Miscellaneous Good Attitudes 1.Perseverance. Most people fail because they spend only nine mi nutes on a problem that requires ten minutes to solve. Creativity and problem solving are hard work and require fierce application of time and energy. There is no quick and easy secret. You need knowledge gained by study and research and you must put your knowledge to work by hard thinking and protracted experimentation. You’ve surely read of the difficulties and setbacks faced by most of the famous inventors–how many filaments Edison tried before he found a working one, how many aircraft designs failed in the attempt to break the sound barrier.But planning to persevere is planning to succeed. 2. A flexible imagination. Creative people are comfortable with imagination and with thinking so-called weird, wild, or unthinkable thoughts, just for the sake of stimulation. During brainstorming or just mental playfulness, all kinds of strange thoughts and ideas can be entertained. And the mind, pragmatist that it is, will probably find something useful in it all. We will look at several examples of this later on. 3. A belief that mistakes are welcome. Modern society has for some reason conceived the idea that the only unforgivable thing is to fail or make a mistake.Actually failure is an opportunity; mistakes show that something is being done. So creative people have come to realize and accept emotionally that making mistakes is no negative biggie. One chief executive of a big American corporation warns all his newly hired managers, â€Å"Make sure you make a reasonable number of mistakes. † Mistakes are educational and can lead to success–because they mean you are doing something. Sir Francis Pettit Smith, one of the early developers of the screw propeller, tried one design in 1836.During the test, half of it broke off–what a failure–but then the boat increased in speed substantially, revealing the efficiency of a new design, formed from a mistake. In sum, as Vergil once said, â€Å"They can who think they can. † Havin g the proper positive attitude about generating new and useful ideas and solving problems is really a large part of the whole process. A few years ago, the pipes in my mom's house had finally rusted through and I was faced with the task of finding a plumber to get a bid. Knowing how much they charge for small repairs, I knew that doing a whole house would cost a fortune.I thought, â€Å"You know, I'd really like to do this job myself, but I wonder if I can. † My neighbor happened to be around once when I said this, and he said, â€Å"Oh, you can do it. † Just that simple expression gave me the positive attitude I needed to do it. So I did. Characteristics of the Creative Person †¢curious †¢seeks problems †¢enjoys challenge †¢optimistic †¢able to suspend judgment †¢comfortable with imagination †¢sees problems as opportunities †¢sees problems as interesting †¢problems are emotionally acceptable †¢challenges assumptions â € ¢doesn't give up easily: perseveres, works hard Creative Thinking 1. If you had the power to transform the educational system to more effectively develop critical thinking abilities, what suggestions would you want to see implemented? You should focus on only one level. Draw upon the research and principles presented in Chaffee’s book and identify the specific processes that you wish to encourage. If I had the power to transform the educational system to more effectively develop critical thinking abilities, I would start to familiarize children with the concepts as early as possible. In the past when I was growing up, the emphasis for learning was placed largely on memorization. Since then, however, there is a trend toward teaching critical thinking skills in the classroom. These skills emphasize more than memorizing. They emphasize analysis and logic. If I were revamping the education system I would have classrooms begin to teach these concepts as early as kindergarten. â€Å"Being open to new ideas and different viewpoints means being flexible enough to change or modify your ideas in the light of new information or better insight. † (Chaffee p. 56) This would be an important concept to foster in kindergarten because at that age children are still open to new ideas and concepts. To teach them at that age to be open to new ideas would help them when they get older. This would help the child to grow as a thinker. Having children become critical thinkers at an early age can be accomplished by asking questions that have more than one correct answer. This teaches the child that they can answer the question without being afraid of being wrong. Another important method for teaching young children is to have them work in groups. This exposes them to others’ thoughts and ways of thinking. This is where being flexible comes into play. Young children are naturally flexible in their thinking and open to new ideas. If we emphasize the importance of being flexible at this young age, the child will have an easier time remaining flexible in their thinking and be more open to new ideas later on in life. Even though working in groups is important, encouraging young children to think independently is also important. (Chaffee p. 71) This can be encouraged in a young child by giving them various ideas and having the child arrive at his own thoughtful conclusion. The reason I would start so young is that I feel that the earlier children are exposed to these concepts the earlier they will be able to use a combination of cognitive abilities, basic attitudes nd thinking strategies. These skills enable a person to clarify and better understand the world. (Chaffee p. 71) 2. Imagine that you were born in a different sociocultural context. Describe the factors that would influence your chances of achieving creative breakthroughs. Emphasize whatever domain you feel best reflects your potential. Be sure to also include the cognitive and developmental notions that are discussed by Csikszentimihalyi. For this question I imagined that I was alive during the depression era and was not part of the wealthy class of that time. My domain would be the writing of novels because I have always liked writing stories. The following factors would influence my chance of achieving a creative breakthrough. One factor is exposure. One can’t be creative in a domain without being exposed to it. For example, â€Å"No matter what mathematical gifts a child may have, he or she will not be able to contribute to mathematics without learning its rules. † (Csikszentimihalyi p. 29) What this means is that if I was not able to be exposed to writing, books or famous authors through school, I would not be successful in writing myself. If I don’t learn the rules of grammar and spelling it would be very hard for me to write anything worthwhile that anyone would want to publish. Chance, perseverance or being at the right place at the right time is also important. Conditions might not be favorable for me as a writer during the depression. Times were hard for everyone and everybody was struggling just to put food on the table. There might not be much opportunity for chance no matter how much I persevere. Also, I might not have much energy to put into writing after spending the majority of my time earning enough money to live. No matter how gifted a person is, he or she has no chance to achieve anything creative unless the right conditions are provided by the field. â€Å" (Csikszentimihalyi p. 330) The book gives the example of Michael Jordan and stated that if he â€Å"had been born in a country where basket ball was not practiced, he would not have been able to refine his skills and would not have been recog nized. † (Csikszentinihalyi p. 331) Also, I would need to have hope. If there is no hope to use my skill, I will not be successful. It is extremely difficult to make a living as a successful writer. If I don’t have hope, I will not have much of a chance. One of the most important things I would need is luck. Without luck on my side, my book won’t ever be read by an editor. One would have to have luck for the publisher to choose my manuscript out of the many they receive. It is very important to be at the right place at the right time. The book gives the example of a painter who made an important contact at a party. Using this example, if I go to a party, I might make an important literary contact which could start my career. If I choose not to attend this party for any reason, I may never meet that contact person and therefore never jump start my career. It is the luck of being at the right place at the right time. Cognitive variables may make me more predisposed to become a writer. I may have more of a strength for writing and less of a strength for math. Writing may come easy to me and if I was exposed early to books, authors and good writing, I may be able to develop this inherited potential. Overall, I feel that it would be extremely hard to become a successful author during the depression unless luck was on my side and I was able to persevere. . The last chapter in Chaffee and the last two chapters in Csikszentimihalyi discuss improving creativity. Analyze the differences and similarities between the two authors on this issue. How does critical thinking facilitate creativity and what else, beyond critical thinking is necessary for creativity to occur. Chaffee states that both thinking critically and creatively are â€Å"two essential and tightly interwoven dimensions of the thinking process. These two forms work as partners to produce effective thinking enabling us to make informed decisions and lead successful lives. Chaffee p. 276) Both Chaffee and Csikszentmihalyi have views on creativity. There are both similarities and differences to these views. Csikszentmihalyi feels you should be be surprised and surprise others frequently while Chaffee feels that a person should expect the unexpected. Both authors agree that the creative person should follow up on ideas that create a spark of interest when they emerge. They also agree that it is best to look at a problem from multiple perspectives and that this can be done by using the confirmation of other people. Csikszentimihalyi suggests the following for improving creativity. First of all he suggests both keeping notes of your interests and having specific goals. He also suggests that a person interested in improving their creativity do things that are enjoyable but also have some challenge to them. Also, by taking charge of your time, being open and focused, allowing time for relaxing and making a space conducive to the creativity you are trying to achieve you will be able to be more creative. Both Chaffee and Csikszentimihalyi feel that establishing a creative environment is important. This would be a physical environment that allows the person to be more creativ Chaffee feels that in order to improve creativity, one should begin by understanding how the creative process works. He also states that by allowing yourself to be absorbed by the task and the more knowledge you have on the subject in which you wish to be creative the more prepared you are to be creative. Chaffee feels that it is also important to stop thinking about the subject and let the subconscious take over. A person’s mind will continue to work on the subject in the background. He also says in his book to become aware of our negative voice which he calls the â€Å"voice of criticism†. This is a danger to a person’s creativity and the creative person has to learn to recognize the voice of criticism and to ignore it. A person can create a positive voice to put in place of the voice of criticism. When a person thinks of different ways to solve a problem, they are using creative thinking. The evaluating of these alternatives is the critical thinking process. Beyond critical thinking, having the ability to choose freely and decide in what area you choose to be creative facilitates creativity. To exercise genuine freedom, you must possess the insight to understand all of your options and the wisdom to make informed choices. † (Chaffee p. 293) Chaffee goes on to state â€Å"You can learn to redefine your daily life in a new light and enhance its value through free choices derived from thinking critically and creatively. â€Å" (Chaffee p. 293 ) Sources Chaffee, John. Thinking Critically A Concise Guide. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2004. Print. Csiksentmihalyi, Mihaly. Creativity:Flow and the Psychology of Discovery and Invention. New York: Harper Collins Publishers, 1996. Print.