Concert review of the Train and Mat Kearney Show at Ravinia Festival Essay

Show survey of the Train and Mat Kearney Show at Ravinia Festival in Chicago Illinois - Essay Example A special element of this setting is that the structure itself is now raised on a characteristic territory with the goal that the watchers don't need to extend their necks or push towards the front of the show so as to have a decent gander at their performing band. This simplicity of review added incredibly to the general understanding as from the show encounters I have had, it can frequently be baffling to endeavor to keep up an agreeable good ways from the exhibition while as yet having the option to have great perceivability and not being squashed by the group. As for the show lighting, the show missed the mark. This was not really because of an absence of legitimate arranging however because of the way that the presentation occurred outside. All things considered, most lighting shows need sufficient indoor offices so as to extend the lights onto the phase rather than from the phase to the stage. In this way, essentially of the scene, the lighting failed to impress anyone as the e ntertainers were lit up in what just appeared to be a two dimensional way. To be reasonable, so as to accomplish legitimate lighting, it would have been important to stay numerous powerful lights in and around the zone that the show goers were seeing the show. This would have brought about additional burden because of the issue of hung power lines and the non perceivability that would have been an issue to those situated or remaining behind such secured lights. With live performances, the scene has an overwhelming bearing regarding the general capacity of the lighting and sound to reflect a similar kind of experience that may be accessible to the concertgoer in an indoor setting. All things considered, regarding the general sound level and hardware utilized, the coordinators were constrained with what they could do; rather giving up by setting up a flood of speakers on the bleeding edges of the structure so as to guarantee that the sound was uproarious enough to come to those at the extremely back of the show zone. Such a procedure is compelling, in any case; it can make the commotion level to some degree insufferable for those that desire to be in the first lines of the show. This was a lot of the case as I endeavored to get a closer perspective on the exhibition I was shocked at the general clamor level that was originating from the extremely front of the show. It was awkward in the outrageous to spend in excess of a not very many minutes in such a setting. This reality served to some degree diminish the general viability of the show; in any case, it must be noticed that as depicted before, such procedures are simply a vital part of what having an open air show essentially involves and couldn't have likely been improved by another band performing under similar conditions. As for by and large availability, the show additionally scored well in my point of view. Because of the way that there was a lot of space to move around, high stage perceivability even from zones far expelled from the presentation and an open air setting, people, even with incapacities, could undoubtedly pick up section, have space to move around, and appreciate the show without being obstructed by the setting. Concerning the real design and style that the performer’s displayed, it could be depicted as an exceptionally folksy portrayal of dish America. Wool, cowhide, boots, and cowpoke caps

Lorex Pharmeceuticals Free Essays

Outline After auditing your solicitation, Cougar Consulting played out an examination to help Lorex Pharmaceuticals in deciding an objective fill rate for Linatol. The objective fill that we chose is planned to boost expected commitment during the assembling procedure and depended on data contained in a report given to Cougar Consulting. The investigation that we performed is depicted in further detail. We will compose a custom article test on Lorex Pharmeceuticals or on the other hand any comparative subject just for you Request Now Current Situation Even however the programmed filling instrument utilized for creation can be set to a particular objective fill, the data we acquired about Linatol proposed irregularities in the fill sum during tasks. Since incomes and explicit variable expenses of Linatol are legitimately influenced by fill sums and commitment is the distinction of these expenses deducted from income, at last, commitment is influenced by the conflicting fill sums. When we build up how these incomes and expenses are influenced by the fill sums, we have to decide how the filling instrument will work when set at a particular objective fill. These understandings will give us the data required to calculate an objective fill that boosts commitment for Linatol. Income Before we built up a technique to decide how the filling system worked at a particular objective fill, we needed to consider how the objective fill influenced the incomes and the variable costs while ascertaining commitment. Beginning with income, we gained from the report that the jugs filled at or over 10 ounces would sell on the business advertise for $186 per case. Then again, bottles filled underneath the publicized 10 ounces would be sold for government use at $148. 80 for every case and are alluded to as â€Å"seconds. From this data, we made a recipe (Figure 1) that determined the income per case as a weighted normal. The connection among income and target fill is demonstrated graphically in Attachment 1 Figure 1 Revenue = (% business) $186/case + (% seconds) $148. 80/case Costs As recently referenced, figuring commitment for Linatol comprises of taking away explicit variable expenses from income. The variable costs identified with target fill were found in the Projec ted Operating Profit display gave to Cougar Consulting. The main cost we decided for figuring commitment was the mixing direct work and dynamic fixings. To utilize this expense in computing commitment, we separated the total of these two expenses by the absolute cluster volume. The adjusted expense of this figuring approached $0. 4027 for each ounce, and its positive straight connection to the fill sum is graphically appeared in Attachment 2. At the end of the day, the cost increments per unit as the fill sum increments per unit. Another cost expected to ascertain expected commitment comprised of an extra expense related from the quantity of seconds created by the programmed filling component. This extra expense is an outcome from the uncommon bundling required by seconds and is figured from isolating the work rate by the quantity of cases the worker can bundle in 60 minutes. This cost rises to $0. 7083 for every case and lessens as the fill sums increment on the grounds that a higher objective fill brings about less seconds delivered. This relationship is appeared as a diagram in Attachment 3. Since the expense related for all cases is determined in ounces, this unit was changed to cases by increasing the expense by 12 containers for each case and an objective fill sum in ounces per bottle. The extra expense per case from bundling seconds was figured by increasing this expense by the likelihood of seconds made from the filling machine. This computation will make an extra expense for every case dependent on the quantity of seconds delivered. The equation in Figure 2 was utilized to compute costs. Figure 2 Costs = (12 containers/case*target fill (oz)/bottle*$0. 027/oz) + (% of seconds) $0. 70833/case Statistical Survey Before we could decide an objective fill to use for ascertaining most extreme anticipated commitment, we expected to decide the likelihood of seconds created by the programmed filling machine at various objective fills. The best strategy we needed to decide this likelihood originated from the example results gave in the Filling-Line Test performed by Lorex. Th ese test outcomes were found in Exhibit 2 from the gave report and permitted us to decide the likelihood of seconds delivered at any objective fill. Expecting these examples were picked really indiscriminately and each example was free from each other, the example information was broke down and seen as equitably conveyed meaning the fill sums accurately shifted above and beneath the mean and middle of the informational collection. Truth be told, the example fill sums were so uniformly conveyed that we could utilize a measurable technique to decide the likelihood of seconds produce by the component set at a particular objective fill sum. For instance, with an objective fill sum set at 10. 2 ounces, the technique utilized figures that 10. 6% of the containers will be filled under 10 ounces, and the rest will be filled at volume appropriate for business retail. In view of this factual strategy, we made a diagram (Attachment 4) to show the likelihood of seconds delivered as the objective fill sum expanded. Figuring Contribution Since we found a technique to decide the likelihood of seconds that will be created dependent on the object ive fill sum, we can decide an objective fill that augments expected commitment per case since we have equations for income and costs dependent on the normal creation of seconds. The finished equation is appeared beneath as Figure 3. Figure 3 Contribution = (% business) $186/case + (% seconds) $148. 80/case †(12 jugs/case*target fill (oz)/bottle*$0. 4027/oz) + (% of seconds) $0. 70833/case Results The commitment recipe in Figure 3 was utilized to decide the objective fill that expanded commitment dependent on the likelihood of seconds created. A graph was made beneath as Figure 4 utilizing the equation to figure commitment at various objective fills. The objective fill that made the most elevated commitment esteem per case is the objective fill the system ought to be set at to amplify commitment. Connection 5 shows the connection between commitment per case and the objective fill graphically. The diagram and outline both exhibits that the objective fill ought to be set at 10. 4 ounces to augment commitment. Figure 4 Target Fill (oz)Probability of Seconds Probability of CommercialContribution Per Case 912. 0523E-10$104. 60 9. 10. 999999999. 2754E-09$104. 12 9. 20. 999999712. 8665E-07$103. 63 9. 30. 999993936. 0716E-06$103. 5 9. 40. 999911588. 8417E-05$102. 67 9. 50. 999110970. 00088903$102. 22 9. 60. 993790330. 00620967$101. 93 9. 70. 969603640. 03039636$102. 37 9. 80. 894350230. 10564977$104. 74 9. 90. 734014470. 26598553$110. 33 100. 50. 5$118. 72 10. 10. 265985530. 73401447$127. 11 10. 20. 105649770. 89435023$132. 70 10. 30. 030396360. 96960364$135. 07 10. 40. 006209670. 99379033$135. 51 10. 50. 000889030. 99911097$135. 22 10. 68. 8417E-050. 99991158$134. 77 10. 76. 0716E-060. 99999393$134. 29 10. 82. 8665E-070. 99999971$133. 81 10. 99. 2754E-090. 99999999$133. 33 112. 0523E-101$132. 84 Shutting The consequences of this investigation depended on the information results from the Filling-Line Test and possibly apply if the filling component performs reliable with these outcomes. To guarantee the filling system is performing reliably with the information utilized for this examination, we suggest that Lorex plays out an incessant Filling-Line Test. On the off chance that the information from a later test shifts from the information utilized in this examination, we additionally prescribe that Lorex demands another investigation to be performed by Cougar Consulting to decide another objective fill that augments commitment for Linatol. Step by step instructions to refer to Lorex Pharmeceuticals, Papers

New HR Strategy Makes Lloyd’s a “Best Company”

Bohlander talked about in section one. Perhaps the greatest thing I took from the section was development of HR supervisors from being an individual devoured by organization staff matters to assuming a functioning job in improving the plan of action an organization has through advancement and giving exhortation to organization administrators. Ms. Dark talked about the need of Lloyd’s representatives to be tested in their work. In Human Behavior in Organizations, Sinclair, Cuttell, Vandeveer and Menefee expound on how it is basic to give representatives work that challenges them, on the grounds that difficult work is seen as being remunerating work, this thusly accommodates an expansion in worker inspiration and causes them to feel just as they are genuine partners in the association (pgs 50-51). Moreover, the laborers refered to network inclusion and wellbeing impetuses as purposes behind their proceeded with inspiration. Obviously, these laborers demonstrate Snell and Bohlander to be right when those creators expounded on the requirement for organizations to be viewed as being socially mindful and offer imaginative motivators to keep their representatives spurred, however needing to work for an organization (pgs 10,11,20,28). This capacity to think outside the typical work worldview of pay raises and advancements concerning representative advantages backs up Blacks guarantee that HR chiefs should have the option to see change and work inside in that change. This is imperative with the changing American demographics(Census Bureau) and the qualities that more youthful specialists and various societies have with regards to work inspiration and achievement. Attracting these new laborers features the idea of vital reasoning that Black talked about to be effective in the new HR. From perusing the contextual analysis, it seems like Blacks methodology has been a triumph. It has been a triumph for Lloyds, however it seems like it additionally fruitful for the workers. Regularly when one ponders improving the organization the picture of cutbacks, leaves of absence and other spirit pounding choices ring a bell. It appears that these progressions have emphatically changed laborer mentalities, with Lloyds being positioned as one of the most attractive organizations to work for. Indeed, even the site Payscale shows representatives at Lloyds giving the organization four out of five stars for work environment condition (Payscale). This acknowledgment as an incredible work environment from regarded news sources like the Sunday Times can just assist with enlisting and hold the best ability for Lloyds. The capacity for the representatives to build up their vocation, and realize that they can be compensated for their work, needs to give impetus to those laborers to make Lloyds a progressively fruitful organization loaded up with upbeat, gainful specialists. Organizations are finding that numerous points of interest can be picked up by going worldwide. Likewise with anything in any case, there are additionally entanglements to going into worldwide markets to sell, or make things. On the off chance that I were the HR director for an organization that is making workplaces around the world, I would campaign for every nation to have separate culture explicit HR strategies. What works for American organizations won't work in numerous pieces of France. Snell and Bohlander talked about the French specialists taking their supervisors hostage(pg 19). While such an activity would be cause for end absent a lot of dissent in America, the French have an alternate disposition towards work relations. On the off chance that another western country has such an alternate viewpoint towards work issues, envision the traps acquire with going to Asia, Africa, or Latin America with entirely unexpected standards and cultural desires. In addition to the fact that it would be a need to learn and get gifted in that societies esteems and methods for work, you would need to guarantee to meet consistence for all laws in that country, which could be altogether different than our laws. The requirement for exact interpretations would be vital to guarantee that all workers know accurately what the organizations desires are and how the representatives are relied upon to act and what they are required to do. The intensity of â€Å"no† is monstrous. Representatives, directors and administrators the same should be limited by the standards and guidelines that run an organization for that organization to have achievement. Since I have not worked in an office domain, I am increasingly restricted in the potential clashes that I could see emerging where as a HR chief, I would need to be firm and follow the rules built up by the organization and their conventions. One occurrence I could see emerging, that has occurred in a school setting, is routine worker lateness. Numerous organizations, so as to hold ability and keep their workers upbeat and roused, have adjusted strategic scheduling. The schools frameworks can not do this, as we have a set ringer plan. In the event that a representative reliably requested to come in late, or leave early, the opportunity would arrive when you would need to disapprove of the worker. Ideally, the earlier occurrences had been recorded with the goal that you could demonstrate you attempted to oblige the worker to the degree conceivable. On the off chance that different specialists notice what they see as another representative getting particular treatment, I envision a falling impact where different laborers would normally demand being dealt with the equivalent, or they may get angry towards the organization and the worker who is by all accounts treated in an unexpected way. Any circumstance that damages organization arrangement, or all the more critically the law, must be told no. As a HR director I am liable for ensuring the organization, the administrators and the representatives. As of late at school we had an issue with associate provocation and harassing. While I don't have the foggiest idea about the points of interest of that occurrence, I do realize that if the directors or anybody from the Board of Education had gotten data about the issue, they would host to disclose to the gatherings that such things are not worthy, harm the school network and open the chance of common prosecution. At whatever point a potential clash exists that could damage organization system, or the law, HR must be firm and remain by their feelings and guarantee that all laborers are dealt with impartially and fairly.Works Cited Barnes, N.G. (2010, Spring). How do the best organizations utilize online networking? Advertising Research, (10). Recovered June 1, 2013 from http://www.marketingpower.com/ResourceLibrary/Publications/MarketingResearch/2010/1/Tweeting.pdf Payscale. (2013). Recovered on June 1, 2013, from Payscale site: http://www.payscale.com/reasearch/UK/Employer=Lloyds_of_London/Salary Reinhart, C. (2013). The Relationship among Marketing and Human Resources.Houston Chronicle. Recovered June 1, 2013, from http://smallbusiness.chron.com/connection between-promoting HR 10287.html Sinclair, G., Cuttell, D., Vandeveer, R., and Menefee, M. (2002). Human Behavior in Organizations (fourth ed.) Boston: Pearson Custom Publishing. Snell, Scott and Bohlander, George. (2013) Managing Human Resources. (sixteenth ed.) Mason, OH: South-Western. U.S Census Bureau. (2013, May 15) Population Projections. Recovered May 30, 2013 From the World Wide Web: http://www.census.gov/populace/projections/information/national/2012/summarytables.html

Contemporary HRM Issue Research Report - 275 Words

Contemporary HRM Issue Research Report (Research Paper Sample) Content: Contemporary HRM Issue Research ReportNameProfessorInstitutionCourseDateContemporary HRM Issue Research ReportTable of Contents TOC \o "1-3" \h \z \u Contemporary HRM Issue Research Report PAGEREF _Toc353800218 \h 2Background of the report PAGEREF _Toc353800219 \h 31.0 Introduction PAGEREF _Toc353800220 \h 32.0The aging work and its impacts on the organization PAGEREF _Toc353800221 \h 42.1 Challenges of retaining aging workforce PAGEREF _Toc353800222 \h 52.1.1Stereotyping and discrimination PAGEREF _Toc353800223 \h 52.1.2 Performance PAGEREF _Toc353800224 \h 62.1.3 Economic Analysis or value PAGEREF _Toc353800225 \h 72.1.4 Training and development PAGEREF _Toc353800226 \h 82.2.5 Skill Deficit or Shortages PAGEREF _Toc353800227 \h 82.2 Recommendation on utilizing aging workforce PAGEREF _Toc353800228 \h 92.2.1Mentoring PAGEREF _Toc353800229 \h 92.2.2Flexible Work Policies PAGEREF _Toc353800230 \h 93.0 Job security and employee turnover PAGEREF _Toc353800231 \h 103.1 Jo b security PAGEREF _Toc353800232 \h 103.2 Employeesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ turnover PAGEREF _Toc353800233 \h 113.3 Job security and increases in employee turnover PAGEREF _Toc353800234 \h 114.0 Recommendations on job security and increase on employeeà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬s turnover PAGEREF _Toc353800235 \h 125.0 Conclusion PAGEREF _Toc353800236 \h 136.0 References PAGEREF _Toc353800237 \h 14Background of the reportIn 21st century, internalization and globalization now influences businesses economical, politically and in social environment. To make it in global markets, organizations can no longer depend wholly on core capability and HRM that led them to success in the past. In the 21 century organizations must look for new approaches that will promote environmental receptiveness. Especially, they have to pursue globalization by building a dynamic workforce. In addition, to be victorious in a world of unions, HRM will have to obtain new skills. The complexity of the challenge under debate is evident since several organizations are involved in global business operations at an international scale. The dynamic workforce is sowing to be of growing significance to organization of all sizes, to their clients, and to national markets globally, most organizations are now trading to, utilizing materials or tools from, or competing with brands from other countries (McGregor Gray, 2001). This report looking at how various Contemporary HRM issues such as aging workforce and decrease in job security or increase in employee turnover can have impacts on the organization. The report will evaluate different theories related to these issues to explore its outcome. It also examines and explains the causes of employee turnover on the basis the contribution of personal variable.1.0 IntroductionAccording to Taylor Walker, (1998 p.65), over the recent years, an extensive number of researches have tried to tackle the issues of dynamic HR in business activities and the effects of the dynamic workforce in organizations. Growth of dynamic HR in global scale has turned out to be of great importance in increasing of human relationships and making the welfare of workforce in order to give the maximum input to resourceful working. In the predictable future aging workforce is going to have huge impact for everyone in organization and it is also expected to be critical of all demographic variations. Therefore it is significant to evaluate on that issue from the Human Resource Management approach. On the other hand employeesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ turn over can hurt the entire efficiency of an organization and is frequently a sign of difficult times ahead. This may be as a result of reduced job security as well as lack of motivation, little remuneration and lack of employeesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ personal growth among others.2.0The aging work and its impacts on the organizationOne of the toughest challenges that organizations encounter today is loss of organizationà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬s long term skills due to retirement, slow production as well as shortage of promising workforce to fill the vacant positions. According to researches an aging population is a growth in the standard population age. There is rising percentage of group of individuals who have surpassed the age of 65 and declining percentage of individuals under 16 years. These trends not only have its way in UK but several countries across the world. The researches points out that by the end of 2103 the number of people who have attained the age of65 years will go beyond i6 years (Turner Williams, 2006). The trend may best be regarded as the à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"demographic time bombà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬. These trends have various consequences both for public and private businesses on the basis of the entire need for goods and services. These comprise of public institutions such as social services, healthcare, education and state pensions institutions. From1980s, the number of American workforce beyond the age of 40 years has gone up considerably.By 2 010, over 51% of its workforce was predicted to attain the age of 40 years, while in the next 12 years, 78 million aging group is expected to retire, with 45 million younger workforce expected to replace them. Whereas this can be a slow event, it is likely to have big impact on the organizations. Companies must be prepared for the decrease for the younger substitutions and the growing number of employees attaining the age of forty years. If all these challenges are not addressed amicable they can take a told order on the organizations and have effects on the efficiency and economic growth as well. However the question the many may as is; what are the impacts of retaining aging workforce?2.1 Challenges of retaining aging workforceWhen an organization decides to retain its aging workforce, it has to rethink of retaining, knowledge, skills and experience. Similarly it has to meet multi-generational demands associated with performance, training and flexibility. By retaining the aging workforce the organization will be seeking developing ways to for aging group to pass skills and knowledge to the younger workforce. Some make an intensive endeavor to incorporate older generation to the younger generation of workers. An example is financial firms that have established that prospective clientele frequently feel more at ease discuss about finances with the older group, therefore companies make efforts to hire and retain these older people with wealth of experience. However, aging workforce faces a lot of challenges from younger generations in these organizations. These challenges includes, changing technology, stereotyping and discrimination, performance, economic value, health and well-being, skill shortages and Training and Development.2.1.1Stereotyping and discriminationStereotyping is not often neutral and is rarely highly evaluated however, there is a considerable study on stereotypical thoughts concerning aging workforce in most western organizations (Taylor W alker, 1998 p. 64). The degree in which stereotypes are upheld regarding older employees are significant to look into since they impacts on the employment correlated decisions and leads to discrimination at the workplace. According Duncan, et al (2000, p. 31) the study suggests that social construction of the aging is more hurting to these people than their biological aging process. Stereotyping and discrimination can bear positive and negative implications; on the basis of age discrimination at the workplace, the impacts may hamper the performance of the older employee. Though age may assist aging workforce get recognition on the basis of knowledge, skills and experience created over the years, with research indicating aging employees prefer their access to particular categories of jobs, especially supervisory or managerial responsibilities (Salthouse Maurer, 1996, p. 356).using the context from New Zealand, McGregor and Gray (2002) believe positive stereotypes comprising of imp roved levels of consistency, job commitment and loyalty. Negative stereotyping and discrimination have been established to contribute a negative responsibility in major areas of an organization for instance recruitment, selection, performance evaluations, human resource planning, job design, training and termination.2.1.2 PerformanceOnce of the major persistent discussions is the performance normally decreased with age (Loretto et al, 2000). A general negative stereotype in both females and males relates growing age with declining performance and productivity levels in an organization. Nevertheless stereotype is not based on proof. Documented performance deficits based on age however do not exist; apart from in jobs demand high degree of physical endurance and stamina. McGregor and Gray (2002) have found out that there are no disparities in the general sales performance of aging and younger workforce. A decrease in performance could be wrongly credited to aging factor, when in reali ty it could be as a result of skill burn out or obsolescence incident which could take place at every age and could be overcome by means of training. Duncan, et al (2000, p. 32) provide a scientific argument which asserts that the majority of reviews report less reliable relations between work performance and aging factor. There are varied opinions on the argument are of performance decrease with age. (NZIER, 2002) claims that a literature review concerning older employee efficiency has resulted too much distress by economists. Whilst age may certainly be a poor alternative in terms of performance, lots of of the international researches have diverse logical beginnings. This clearly impacts organization perceptions concerning aging workforce yet the indication at best is questionable (Loretto et al, 2000) showing that the older employees who remain in the labor force, provided that so several people have already gone, ten...

Allusions and Intertextuality Essay - 907 Words

Bob Dylan - Bob Dylan is a famous singer-song writer and has been for five decades. His early lyrics incorporated a variety of political, social and philosophical, as well as literary influences. - In 2008, a Bob Dylan Pathway was opened in the singers honor in his birthplace of Duluth, Minnesota. - Bob Dylan was refered to in the novel The Messenger when Ed was describing his bad his career was going at his age. Ed Kennedy is 19 and very much aware of how little he has going for him. After all, both Salvador Dali and Bob Dylan were well on their way by the time they were his age. And also a song of Bob Dylans, The Hurricane was mentioned. Salvador Dali - Salvador Dali was a prominent Spanish surrealist painter born in†¦show more content†¦- Pryor was listed at number one on Comedy Centrals list of all-time greatest stand-up comedians. - Rictchie has a tattoo of Jimi Hendrix on his right arm. But everyone thinks it looks more like Richard Pryor. The Proclaimers - A band formed by identical twins, Charlie and Craig Reid, they are probably best known for the songs Letter from America, Im On My Way and Im Gonna Be (500 Miles). - The band was one of The B-52s touring partners on their Funplex tour in Australia and New Zealand in November 2009. - The Proclaimers are first mentioned when Ed is searching through a record collect his dad gave him for The Proclaimers. The songs Two Scottish Nerds and Five Hundred Miles are mentioned. Paul Newman - He was an American actor, film director, entrepreneur, humanitarian, professional racing driver and auto racing enthusiast. He won numerous awards, including an Academy Award for best actor for his performance in the 1986 Martin Scorsese film The Color of Money. - Newman was a co-founder of Newmans Own, a food company from which Newman donated all post-tax profits and royalties to charity. - Ed chose a movie staring Paul Newman to watch. 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The meaning of its words, its rhyme, scheme, the speaker, figures of speech, the references to other works (intertextuality), the style of language, the general writing style of the poet ( if mentioned), the genre, the context, the tone of the speaker and such other elements make up the critical reading or appreciation. It does not mean criticising the poem. A critical appreciation helps in a better understanding of the

Annotated Bibliography Of The Usa Patriot Act - 1349 Words

Part Two: The Search Results Before, I had a difficult time finding decent articles or any at all. I figured it was my keywords and I needed to put less in the search bar. The articles I have found so far are really long and dry. Because of this, it was harder to comprehend. I started with the Annotated Bibliography and have found decent information analyzing. What I have been learning recently is that too many Americans are paranoid that the government is constantly looking at their emails and phone calls. Kevin Maney claims that most of the data at NSA sits in storage because no one has time to look at it all (Maney). I strongly agree with him and it seems logical. Yet Americans will be worried either way. Friday November 11th, I saw many articles of history claiming that government surveillance has been happening since Watergate and after the 9/11 attacks. Jane Harman implies that security sparked from the mistake of not protecting enough (Harman). The USA PATRIOT Act gave the government the authority to research forms of communication prior to 9/11 (â€Å"Domestic†). President George W. Bush authorized the National Security Agency, NSA, to look into the media and is believed to be the largest intelligence agency in the United States (â€Å"Domestic†). NSA has a location in Utah that can hold about 100 years of international data (Maney). Also, Lauren Regan claims that the new facility will be 1.5 million square feet (Regan 32). It’s shocking that they’ve made that big of aShow MoreRelatedPuritans, Quakers, And Witchcraft1416 Words   |  6 Pageswidely distributed; the essay then became various rules and regulations that were to keep order that kept thems elves and others alive to form the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Ann Hutchinson and Roger Williams were banned from the colony after their acts that opposed the Puritan society. Massachusetts Bay Colony November 1637 was the height of antinomian controversy. During Ann Hutchinson’s civil trial that culminated in her own banishment; it was agreed upon that Hutchinson had dishonored her figurativeRead MoreWe the People- Examination of the Relationship between the Government and Governed 1996 Words   |  8 Pagesdramatically stricken by the terrorist attacks implemented on the World Trade Center (WTC) that we failed to carry a belief of minimizing the government’s constraints on the people. This society has no conflicts of the criteria presented in the USA Patriot Act (P.L. 107-56 Stat. 272) and has full faith in the rules of due process. Due process defined is recognized as â€Å"the regular administration of the law, according to which no citizen may be denied his or her legal rights and all laws must conformRead MoreMacro Econom ic Analysis of Coca Cola4039 Words   |  17 Pageserosion of margins, and slackening sales growth potential (Cravens et al, 2000). Therefore strategies in product management, distribution, pricing and promotional activity are developed. In this case, Strategic Market Planning Process (appendix A) act as the model to identify Coca-Cola Company strategies was used in the competition of mature market. The first step has to be done is the SWOT analysis. This identifies the Coca-Cola Business Performance, Market Attractiveness and Competitive Advantage

School life free essay sample

When you grow up, you will have many different lives. However, school life is the best time in human life. During this time, we experience physical development, emotions, friendships, relationships, and especially knowledge. Happiness, sadness and other emotions, or even love sick, we all can find in our school time. Thats why school life is the best time in human life. It is different from university life and adult life, very different! As I showed you above, during this time, we will develop many things like physical development, emotions, relationships, and especially knowledge. Because school life only happens one time in your life (because you will grow up), so it is very precious. It marks a dramatic change in your whole life. Firstly, the faster physically you grow, the more you develop in mental. It marks your developing time to become a teenager. You are innocent and carefree. Materialistic is none of your concerns. We will write a custom essay sample on School life or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page You also have wild imagination, big dreams and ambitions to chase. But as a teenager, you will want to be more independent which means you dont like to depend on your parents like a little child. And sometimes may be you will feel mature and rebellious. There are other things that you change inschool time, but the best thing is you are yourself to do anything you want as you grow up. Secondly, going to school also means you will have a lot of friends. There is nothing better than belonging to a great group of friends and nothing worse than feeling like an outcast. Friends are important, so during this time make as many friends as you can. They are shoulders for you to cry onwhen you are sad or happy so your sadness will be less, and your happiness will be twice. Talking about school time , you can never forget the time you share your sweet dreams to your friends, and they tell you theirs; the time you have fun with them playing on the school yard or going shopping or even playing truant together! No matter how good or bad those memories are,school time is still unforgettable with sweet friendship and platonic love. Going to school also means you will have new family, new moms who teach you many things about life. Your life will be colorful and beautiful! Three of all, school life is the best time because its time we learn many things, our knowledge will be widen, in both social and academic. You will discover those things you called mysterywhen you were a child, such as: Where does the sun come from and go away everyday or Why cant the trees grow without water and sunlight They are really interesting lessons. As you grow up, you will continue to learn other things and have deeper thoughts about life. You can develop your hobbies and skills through activities. Learning how to work in a group and individually is also important. Especially, may be you will have your early career! When you go to the university, you will have to put those schooling memories behind and have to face the new environment: campus. On the contrary, you need to work and study individually to prepare for future career (may be a part-time job). And you will feel more complicated due to a wave of students from all over the country. After graduating fromuniversity, you will start your own life as an adult. It is much more serious than you thought when you were in school time some years ago. Adult life is full of million complexities. Your first problem is to find a job and gain a high-ranking position. Then, you have to work and earn money to raise your family and have to be individually and not depend on anyone to make important decisions about your life Wow, there are many things to think about as you grow up. However, your school life is still the best time in your life. You have known that university life and adult life are more complicated than school life. You cant depend on your parents anymore. So school time is the time for you to prepare for life. In conclusion, I just want to emphasis that school life is the very best time in human life. So when you are young and still going to school, you should make this time as beautiful and colorful as you can.

Voodoo Essays - Vodou, Afro-American Religion,

Voodoo When I was first assigned this research paper on Voodoo, the first thing I thought of was Voodoo dolls, zombies, and evil magic. I think Voodoo is an evil religion which sacrifices humans as well as animals to demonic gods. I think it has been around for thousands of years, but is little left today. I believe that Voodoo is nothing but evil and the work of the devil. Voodoo originated in Western Africa by the Yoruba tribe. The Yoruba religion has about four hundred lesser gods called Orisa. This is not the actual Voodoo religion as we know it today, but plays an important role in it. Voodoo believes that the Grand Master or God rules over all things, but pays no attention to human affairs. This is why they believe in lower spirits or Loa to whom they worship and make sacrifices to(Belgum 14-28). When the slave trade started, people of the Yoruba tribe were captured and brought over as slaves. when the slaves arrived, they were baptized into the Catholic religion. The slaves continued to practice their native religion in secret which over time was mixed with Catholicism to create the Voodoo that we know today (Introduction 1). Over sixty-million people still continue to practice Voodoo worldwide (Vodun 1). The main center of Voodoo in the United States is New Orleans (3). About fifteen percent of New Orleans practices (Voodoo 1). The Voodoo religion contacts the spiritual worked Quite frequently. They believe that spirits help people in all that they do (Belgum 30-1). The Voodoo religion believes that true communion comes only through possession of the body by a Loa or spirit. Possession is very common during rituals for it is how the Loa give instructions to or help the people. They believe they get possessed for certain reasons. Such things as protection, cures from illness, or even to give warning to an individual or to the whole community of worshipers (Possession 1). When a person gets possessed, they show struggle moving and jumping around like crazy people. Then all of a sudden they go blank and motionless. They then come out of that trance a totally different person. While a person is possessed all bodily functions and gestures take the form of the Loa which possesses the body. While the Loa possesses the body it will often smoke, drink alcohol, and eat. These are all things that it is usually not capable of doing unless in a human body. They are also known to eat orwalk on fire and will show no marks on their body afterwards. The possessed person shows great strength and is known to toss things as well as people around. The possessed will have a totally different voice, facial expressions, etc.... After the possession, the person has no remembrance of what happened and therefore cannot be held responsible for what they did while being possessed (Possession 1-2). Voodoo rituals play an important role in the religion. Since practicers believe that human and Loa depend upon one another, they hold many rituals to make contact with the spirits through a very special process. Rituals can be held for many different reasons. Rituals can be held to celebrate a special event in the lives of a family or a community, in bad times for guidance from the Loa, for healing of an illness or a disability, births, weddings, and deaths (Vodun 2-3). There are two different types of voodoo rituals: Rada and Petro. Both are exactly the same except for the type of Loa they are addressing and for the purpose of the ritual (Basic 1). All rituals are held at a hounfour or a temple (Belgum 37). All rituals are began by the houngan asking Legba, the Loa of the gate, to open it. After the opening, water is sprinkled throughout important places in the hounfour (Basic 1-2), especially at the center where the poteau-mitin is located. It is a pole where the people communicate with the loas and God (Vodun 3). The drum or tambula (Mysteries 1) begins to beat. A veve, or pattern of flour is made on the floor in a design of one of the Loa (Vodun 3). The Houngan then calls the Loa by striking the veve or calling upon it with the use of magical words (Basic 4). Chanting begins along with prayers (2), one of the most common being the prayer of life and death which reads: "Earth, while I am yet alive, It is upon you that I put my

Free Essays on Cimon

Cimon was an Athenian General of the 5th Century B.C. Cimon's father, Miltiades, died in prison when he could not pay a fine of fifty talents where he died, and his mother was named Hegesipyle, the daughter of King Olorus of Thrace. As a young man, Cimon had a reputation for being a drunk and not very bright. They accused him, in his younger years, of cohabiting with his own sister Elpinice, who, indeed, otherwise had no very clear reputation, but was reported to have been over intimate with Polygnotus, the painter. Some affirm that Elpinice lived with her brother, not secretly, but as his married wife, her poverty excluding her from any suitable match. But afterward, when Callias, one of the richest men of Athens, fell in love with her, and proffered to pay the fine the father was condemned in, if he could obtain the daughter in marriage, with Elpinice's own consent, Cimon betrothed her to Callias. No Greek before Cimon ever carried the scene of war so far from their own country. In politics, Cimon was pro-Sparta and the aristocracy, and it was only during one of his absences from the city that Ephialtes and Pericles managed to have control in most cases transferred from the court of the Areopagus to citizen juries. He was, indeed, a favorer of the Lacedaemonians even from his youth, and he gave the names of Lacedaemonius and Eleus to two sons, twins, whom he had, as Stesimbrotus says, by a woman of Clitorium, here as Pericles often upbraided them with their mother's blood. But Diodorus, the geographer, asserts that both these, and another son of Cimon’s, whose name was Thessalus, was born of Isodice, the daughter of Euryptolemus, the son of Megacles. When Athens was abandoned before the battle of Salamis, Cimon was the first to dedicate his bridle to Athena and board the ships. He fought well in the battle, and after Salamis, he was appointed admiral with Aristides. He followed Aristides' example, and by reasonable dealing ... Free Essays on Cimon Free Essays on Cimon Cimon was an Athenian General of the 5th Century B.C. Cimon's father, Miltiades, died in prison when he could not pay a fine of fifty talents where he died, and his mother was named Hegesipyle, the daughter of King Olorus of Thrace. As a young man, Cimon had a reputation for being a drunk and not very bright. They accused him, in his younger years, of cohabiting with his own sister Elpinice, who, indeed, otherwise had no very clear reputation, but was reported to have been over intimate with Polygnotus, the painter. Some affirm that Elpinice lived with her brother, not secretly, but as his married wife, her poverty excluding her from any suitable match. But afterward, when Callias, one of the richest men of Athens, fell in love with her, and proffered to pay the fine the father was condemned in, if he could obtain the daughter in marriage, with Elpinice's own consent, Cimon betrothed her to Callias. No Greek before Cimon ever carried the scene of war so far from their own country. In politics, Cimon was pro-Sparta and the aristocracy, and it was only during one of his absences from the city that Ephialtes and Pericles managed to have control in most cases transferred from the court of the Areopagus to citizen juries. He was, indeed, a favorer of the Lacedaemonians even from his youth, and he gave the names of Lacedaemonius and Eleus to two sons, twins, whom he had, as Stesimbrotus says, by a woman of Clitorium, here as Pericles often upbraided them with their mother's blood. But Diodorus, the geographer, asserts that both these, and another son of Cimon’s, whose name was Thessalus, was born of Isodice, the daughter of Euryptolemus, the son of Megacles. When Athens was abandoned before the battle of Salamis, Cimon was the first to dedicate his bridle to Athena and board the ships. He fought well in the battle, and after Salamis, he was appointed admiral with Aristides. He followed Aristides' example, and by reasonable dealing ...

Outline the customer decision-making process and the influences on Essay

Outline the customer decision-making process and the influences on customer behavior - Essay Example For example: the customer realizes that he/she is on a very unhealthy diet and the cafes they eat in offer very unhealthy food. The marketers need to realize that consumers need a cafà © where they can obtain affordable food and the food should be healthy. Once the need has been identified by the consumer, next the consumer starts looking for alternatives to satisfy that particular need (Longenecker, 2012, p.57). After identifying alternatives, the customer is involved in the practice of evaluating these alternatives in order to select the best option that satisfies his/her needs (Hoyer, 2001, p.193). While looking for options the customer first looks for options he already knows about and is available in the market. The customer is mostly aware of only those brands and options that have advertised their goods and services in an aggressive manner. For example: While locating a cafà © where an individual can eat healthy food at reasonable prices, the customer may look at various options available to him/her. Once the customer has evaluated all its options, they will make the purchase decision (Longenecker, 2012, p.425). The purchase decision is dependant on various factors including how well the brand have been advertised, customer will always go for those brands that have been advertised well enough (Berkowitz, 1996, p.125). The purchase decision is even dependant on the accessibility of the option. For example: if the customer wishes to eat healthy at a cafà ©, then he/she would select a cafà © that offers healthy food. The third element on which this decision is dependant on is whether the customer has made a planned decision or has made a decision spontaneously. For example: while locating cafes that offer healthy food, customer will look at the sales representatives of the cafà © and the over all environment of the cafà ©. These decisions can be taken into account by

Ted.com Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Ted.com - Essay Example This led Maskowitz to eventually determine that rather than developing a singular product, companies must develop a series of variations on this product to appeal to a broad range of people. The video goes into relay when Prego asked Maskowitz to help them develop a sounder product. Maskowitz responded by developing a multi-differentiated product line. Rather than attempting to determine the most popular spaghetti sauces among this group, Maskowitz worked to determine the groupings for form that would be the most popular. It was ultimately determined that extra-chunky was one of the popular types of spaghetti sauce that had not been developed yet had considerable public demand. Prego would release this brand and go on to net over $600 million dollars over the next decade. The main point Gladwell is making is that rather looking for universal answers, companies must consider human variability when designing products. Seth Godin on standing out As my major is finance and marketing, I c hose a video on marketing referred to as Seth Godin on standing out. Seth Godin is a recognized entrepreneur and blogger, and is greatly concerned with marketing in the digital age. This particular video considers ways that individuals can stand out in the contemporary marketing world.

High School and Selecting Main Ideas Essay Example for Free

High School and Selecting Main Ideas Essay My 3 highest scores are: Information Processing (85), Study Aids (95), and Time Management (60).The 3 areas I scored the lowest on are: Attitude (5), Motivation (5), and Selecting Main Ideas (20). Im going to work more on my attitude, because its important to me that I graduate and get the degree in the career that I want to purse, so that I can prove to all the people who told me that I wouldnt be nothing, or had doubt in me, because my parents didn’t finish High School, nor graduated. Motivation is probably one of the hardest one for me, because I’m a huge procrastinator, especially when it comes to math, which is the subject I dislike the most. I think if I’m motivated to do the math I will get better grades. I think it’s going to happen because Mr.Norrgran makes it interesting, he tends to joke around to wake us up if we’re not participating, or shows us little tricks so we can get the problem better. On Selecting Main Ideas, the reason why I got a 5 is because when writing notes down, I tend to write everything, even though it’s not needed. The reason why I do that is because to me, if I don’t write everything down, I always have this voice in the back of my head, â€Å"What if that word, sentence, vocabulary is in the test† something like that, so I feel better if I just write it ALL down, just in case it’s use full. I think it’s an OCD habit. At the end of the fall semester, I hope to have my attitude at 100, motivation 100, and main ideas 100, because I know that will make me a better student on achieving my goals, to prove to not only those who would shut me down, but to prove to myself.

A Comparison of House of Usher, Bierces Beyond the Wall, The Black Cat

Parallels in Poe's House of Usher and Bierce's Beyond the Wall, Poe’s The Black Cat and Bierce's John Mortonson's Funeral, and in M.S. Found in a Bottle by Poe and Three and One are One by Bierce.      Ã‚  Ã‚   When one decides to become an author, one can not help being influenced by his predecessors, causing some of one's work to reflect and echo the predecessor's. Such is the case between Ambrose Bierce and his predecessor, Edgar Allen Poe. Excluding the obvious fact that both Poe's and Bierce's short stories show an attraction for death in its many forms, depictions of mental deteriorations, supernatural happenings, and ghostly manifestations, there are other similarities and parallels. Examples of them appear in Poe's short story "Fall of the House of Usher" and Bierce's short story "Beyond the Wall", Poe's "The Black Cat" and Bierce's "John Mortonson's Funeral", and in "M.S. Found in a Bottle" by Poe and "Three and One are One" by Bierce. Beyond the Wall vs The Fall of the House of Usher In "Beyond the Wall", the descriptions of the setting, the words Bierce used, and the way the story opens reminds one of Poe's "The Fall of the House of Usher." In both stories the narrator travels to the house of a childhood friend whom the man has not seen in many years. The narrator begins his journey on "... the whole of a dull, dark, and soundless day in autumn of the year, when the clouds hung oppressively low in the heavens...". Poe creates the feeling of despair by writing about how "a insufferable gloom pervaded my spirit" when the narrator saw "the melancholy House of Usher." He looked upon "...the simple landscape features of the domain - upon the bleak walls -... upon a few rank sedges - and upon a few white trunks of decayed ... ...n stories; so what's the use?" Bierce was able to hold his own with almost any story he had written with the masters, like Mark Twain, Brett Harte, and of course, Edgar Allen Poe. Bibliography Ambrose Bierce, The Complete Short Stories of Ambrose Bierce. University of Nebraska Press, 1984. Dedria Bryfonski, "Ambrose Bierce." Twentieth Century Literary Criticism, Volume One. Gale Research Company. New York, 1978. Cathy N. Davidson, Critical Essays on Ambrose Bierce. G. K. Hall & Co. Boston, Massachusetts. 1982. Arthur Miller, "The Influence of Edgar Allen Poe on Ambrose Bierce." American Literature. Volume Four. May 1932. pp 130- 150. Edgar Allen Poe, Edgar Allen Poe: Eight Tales of Terror. Scholastic Magazine, Inc. New York, 1978. Edgar Allen Poe, The Fall of the House of Usher and Other Tales. New American Library. New York, 1972      

Innovation

CREATIVITY REATIVITY Report produced for the EC funded project INNOREGIO: dissemination of innovation and knowledge management techniques by Dr Eleni Sefertzi J A N U A R Y 2 0 0 0 CREATIVITY 1 Contents 1 Description 1. 1 1. 2 1. 3 1. 4 1. 5 What is Creativity Objectives of Creativity Description /structure of the methodology /alternative solutions Expected results /benefits Characteristics of providers 2 Application 2. 1 2. 2 2. 3 2. 4 Where Creativity development has been applied Types of firms /organisations concerned Implementation cost Conditions for implementation Implementation Brainstorming Story boarding Lotus Blossom Checklists Morphological Analysis Mapping Process The Excursion Technique Computer-based creativity techniques Artificial Intelligence models of creativity Idea processors software Visualisation and graphical systems Spatial representation tools 4 Bibliographic references Annexes Table 1: Stimulus to extend perspective to approach a problem Table 2: Brainstormi ng Phases Table 3: Osborn’s Checklist Figure 1: Lotus Blossom sample INNOREGIO project Dr E. Sefertzi CREATIVITY 1 1. 1 DESCRIPTION What is Creativity There are many definitions of creativity. A number of them suggest that creativity is the generation of imaginative new ideas (Newell and Shaw 1972), involving a radical newness innovation or solution to a problem, and a radical reformulation of problems. Other definitions propose that a creative solution can simply integrate existing knowledge in a different way. A third set of definitions proposes that a creative solution, either new or recombined, must have value (Higgins 1999).A novel idea is not a creative idea unless it is valuable or it implies positive evaluation. Also, according to dt ogilvie (1998), imagination, which involves the generation of ideas not previously available as well as the generation of different ways of seeing events, is important to achieve creative actions. To combine this variety of definitions, w e can say that creativity involves the generation of new ideas or the recombination of known elements into something new, providing valuable solutions to a problem.It also involves motivation and emotion. Creativity â€Å"is a fundamental feature of human intelligence in general. It is grounded in everyday capacities such as the association of ideas, reminding, perception, analogical thinking, searching a structured problem-space, and reflecting self-criticism. It involves not only a cognitive dimension (the generation of new ideas) but also motivation and emotion, and is closely linked to cultural context and personality factors. † (Boden 1998).According to Boden (1998), there are three main types of creativity, involving different ways of generating the novel ideas: a) The â€Å"combinational† creativity that involves new combinations of familiar ideas. b) The â€Å"exploratory† creativity that involves the generation of new ideas by the exploration of structu red concepts. c) The â€Å"transformational† creativity that involves the transformation of some dimension of the structure, so that new structures can be generated. Creative thinking in a disciplined manner can play a real role in innovation. Creativity and innovation are normally complementary activities, since creativity generates the basis of innovation, which, in its development, raises difficulties that must be solved once again, with creativity†¦It is not possible to conceive innovation without creative ideas, as these are the starting point. † (European Commission 1998). Innovation results when creativity occurs within the right organisational culture. The right organisational culture is one that provides through creativity processes (creative techniques) the possibilities for the development of personal and group creativity skills.We can define creativity IMT as the establishment of skills by implementing creativity generation techniques. 1. 2 Objectives o f Creativity Main objectives of a creative thinking process is to think beyond existing boundaries, to awake curiosity, to break away from rational, conventional ideas and formalised procedures, to rely on the imagination, the divergent, the random and to consider multiple solutions and alternatives (Candy 1997, Schlange and Juttner 1997). INNOREGIO project Dr E. Sefertzi CREATIVITY 3 The result of the creative thinking process is especially important for businesses.Managers and managerial decisions and actions, confronted with fast-changing and ambiguous environments in business, need to develop creative solutions and creative action-based strategies to solve problems, as they allow to increase understanding of problematic situations, to find multiple problems, to produce new combinations, to generate multiple solutions that are different from the past, to consider possible alternatives in various situations that could occur in the future and â€Å"to expand the opportunity horizo n and competence base of firms† (dt ogilvie 1998). . 3 Description / structure of the methodology / alternative solutions Creativity is not an innate quality of only a few selected people. Creativity is present in everyone. It can be learned, practised and developed by the use of proven techniques which, enhancing and stimulating the creative abilities, ideas and creative results, help people to move out of their normal problem-solving mode, to enable them to consider a wide range of alternatives and to improve productivity and quality of work. Creativity is thus constructed as a learned ability that enables us to define new relationships between concepts or events, which seemed apparently unconnected before, and which results in a new entity of knowledge† (European Commission 1998). Knowledge and information are the basis for creativity. The scientific research is recently oriented towards the development of creativity as an educational process. Many studies show that c reative abilities can be developed by the implementation of creativity techniques (see Mansfield, Busse and Krepelka 1978, Parnes and Brunelle 1967, Rose and Lin 1984, Taylor 1972).Concrete creativity supporting techniques, including also computer-based support tools (artificial intelligence models, computer software idea processors, information systems, etc. ), are developed to promote and generate creativity, to break fixed ideas, to stimulate imagination, as well as to define the conditions in which creativity takes place (the creative environment or climate). Using such techniques, a company aims to â€Å"incorporate the employees’ potential of creativity into the process of performance creation† (Bullinger 1999).There are numerous creative techniques, which are also classified in many ways (Higgins 1994). In general, a certain type of question or a certain area of application (such as marketing, product or service development, strategic and decision planning, desi gn, quality management, etc. ) often calls for a certain type or a certain group of creativity techniques. The description of some well-known and basic techniques and their implementation procedure is presented in session 3.A classification for these techniques can be made between analytical techniques and intuitive techniques. Analytical techniques follow a linear pattern of thought or sequence of steps, such as the â€Å"5 Ws and H† technique (it asks the questions who, what, when, where, why, and how) and have better application for very specific, analytical questions (Higgins 1999). They stimulate different ways of organising known information and help approach problems from new angles (Miller 1987). Intuitive techniques are less structured techniques.They tend to skip steps in a sequence and tend to provide a whole answer all at once, such as the â€Å"wishful thinking† technique (based on ideal possibilities and solutions), and they are more appropriate for ill-d efined questions (Higgins 1999). INNOREGIO project Dr E. Sefertzi CREATIVITY 4 Another classification can be made between techniques that are more appropriate to generate creativity in individuals, and techniques, which generate creativity in groups undertaken within work groups. Improving personal creativity for individuals involves enhancing the individual’s use of intuition and reducing mental blocks creativity, such as fear of failure. At the group level it requires team building and other efforts to enhance the use of group dynamics to achieve creativity and innovation† (Higgins 1996). However, this classification is not rigorous, since many group idea generation techniques can also be used by individuals. On the other hand, the individual and the group are two main agents that always interact in the process of creativity in business and industrial innovation. Creativity is an attribute of the individual, though generally it can only be developed efficiently when i t is tackled within a group of team. For this reason, most creative techniques are proposed and undertaken within the framework of specific work groups, within companies or other organisations† (European Commission 1998). A third classification might be between creative techniques that rely upon divergent thinking and techniques that rely upon convergent thinking.Divergent thinking is the generation and the free flow of ideas and it demands considerable discipline, which is aided by the introduction of rigorous techniques forcing divergence toward many alternatives. Convergent thinking, on the contrast, demands techniques of filtering and focus to identify the ideas that have a truly innovative value, to converge on an acceptable solution (Hall 1996). Divergent and convergent thinking are complementary phases of a procedure, since divergence helps forcing towards many alternatives and possible options before convergence on an appropriate solution.Fundamental concepts for all c reative techniques are: †¢ The suspension of premature judgement and the lack of filtering of ideas. †¢ Use the intermediate impossible. †¢ Create analogies and metaphors, through symbols, etc. , by finding similarities between the situation, which we wish to understand and another situation, which we already understand. †¢ Build imaginative and ideal situations (invent the ideal vision). †¢ Find ways to make the ideal vision happen. †¢ Relate things or ideas which were previously unrelated. †¢ Generate multiple solutions to a problem.Main points to increase or encourage creativity in a company are: †¢ to be happy, to have fun †¢ keep channels of communication open †¢ trust, failure accepted †¢ contacts with external sources of information †¢ independence, initiatives taken †¢ support participatory decision-making and employees’ contribution †¢ experiment with new ideas 1. 4 Expected results / benefits Crea tivity, through the generation of ideas with value, is needed in order to solve concrete problems, ease the adaptation to change, optimise the performance of the organisation and best practice manufacturing, and change the attitude of the staff of theINNOREGIO project Dr E. Sefertzi CREATIVITY 5 organisation. Creative thought processes are also important at all stages in the R&D process. Some expected results of the creativity process are: †¢ innovation through new product and process ideas †¢ continuous improvement of products or services †¢ productivity increase †¢ efficiency †¢ rapidity †¢ flexibility †¢ quality of products or services †¢ high performance 1. 5 Characteristics of providers The implementation of creative techniques within work groups, requires the assistance and advise of external consultants.One or two consultants, experts in creative techniques, is normally enough to undertake the implementation process in a company. His/he rs job normally consists of presenting the different techniques and their application method, defining the problem to be studied for the participants, initiating and clarifying the rules of the technique, gathering the necessary data and information to approach the problem, stimulating the generation of ideas of participants, and evaluating the ideas before proceeding to put them in practice.Training of management staff by experts may also be very useful. Management staff must be trained to stimulate creativity in employees, to provide motivation, to facilitate a creative climate and to encourage the use of creative techniques. Managers can also be trained to implement creative techniques by themselves. 2 APPLICATION Creativity processes are used regularly by many private and public sector organisations of all sorts in manufacturing, services, banking, or construction companies.Big firms such as Xerox, AT&T, Frito-Lay, as well as car manufacturing firms, software development firms, railroad pharmaceutical firms etc. , use creativity techniques to increase efficiency and quality, especially in their research, strategic planning and marketing departments. Small firms and innovative R&D organisations, such as biotechnology companies (Arlington 1997), are also becoming to implement creative techniques in order to solve problems and to improve the use of skills, techniques and processes.Creativity techniques may be applied in almost any functional area of the company: strategic planning, corporate business strategy, product development, improvement of services, functional strategy, finance, human resources, marketing, management of collection of information, product design, software design, quality management, etc. 2. 1 Where Creativity development has been applied INNOREGIO project Dr E. Sefertzi CREATIVITY 6 Nearly all innovation management techniques that can be applied in companies (BPR, benchmarking, TQM, MRP II, employee involvement, marketing of innovation, etc. require also the implementation of creativity techniques. For example, in the Innovation Programme of DG XII of European Commission, besides other innovation management techniques, creativity techniques have been applied in the following IMT projects (see European Commission 1998): -INVENT (Pro. 006) – Implementation of a Method for Targeted Economic-Oriented Research in SME Invention Management. – IMPACQT (Pro. 008) – PARTNERS (Pro 010) – Promotion of Innovation Management Techniques in the field of Sub-Contracting. IDEAS (PRO 017 – Integrated Product Development Expertise Applied to SMEs. – PRIISME (Pro 029) – Promoting of IMTs in ISRAELI SMEs. – Programme to Create New Activities in SMEs (Pro 045). – MARKPRO (Pro 050) – Implementation of Market Oriented Product Innovation in Danish SMEs 2. 2 Types of firms / organisations concerned Creativity techniques can be implemented by all firms and public organisati ons that confront with problem solving and focus on innovation in processes, products or services.In case where the implementation of creative techniques is focused on the support of personal creativity, such as to support individual designers work for new product development, or to support individual scientists work in the laboratory, very small firms or a person can implement creative techniques for individuals. In case where the company focus is to increase group creativity and to create environments where a collaborating team work creatively together, the firm must have at least 20 employees, including 3 members as management staff. 2. 3 Implementation costThe application of creativity techniques is a continuum process. Sessions of creativity within work groups normally take place at company facilities during normal hours and working conditions. The implementation of a creative technique includes the following costs: †¢ The fee of an external consultant for 4-7 days work fo r undertaking a session of creativity (preparation, application, evaluation). †¢ The cost of software packages developed for personal computers or workstations (if necessary). Hardware and equipment must permit to deal with network communications. Training cost (2-4 days) (if necessary). Cost: from 3000 to 7000 Euro. 2. 4 Conditions for implementation Concerning the implementation of creative techniques, some of them are easy to apply, while others need some infrastructure, experts, work teams, training, collection of INNOREGIO project Dr E. Sefertzi CREATIVITY 7 information, resources, etc. In this case, the assistance of an external consultant is required. Besides the support of external consultants, the company itself must encourage creative environment.This implies the participation of all workers in the concerns of the company, and an open and flexible attitude on the part of management. According to Higgins (1999) factors to encouraging the creative work climate are: â₠¬ ¢ A secure environment with minimal administrative interference. †¢ An organisational culture that makes it attractive and easy for people to discover and solve problems. †¢ Rewards for employee performance and enhancement of intrinsic motivation. †¢ Managerial willingness to take risks for creativity and innovation, as well as an open and flexible attitude on the part of management. Providing people with formal and informal training to enhance creativity. Important conditions for implementation of creative techniques within work groups in a company are also the existence of well-trained human resources, a clear strategic definition of the company and to focus on the core competencies of the company (European Commission 1998). For solving complex problems requiring input by many areas, i. e. marketing, engineering, design, the company would preferably be one employing multidisciplinary teams. 3 IMPLEMENTATION PROCEDUREAs mentioned before, there is numerous creativit y supporting techniques. The description, in an illustrative manner, of some well-known creative techniques for problem solving will be presented here. See also Annex, Table 1, the use of some stimulus that can extend perspectives to approach a problem. Brainstorming This is one of the best known and most used in the business world group based creativity process for problem solving. It is a method of getting a large number of ideas from a group of people in a short time.It can be used for generating a large number of ideas or solutions for well-defined strategic or operational problems, such as for engineering design processes. It forms also a basic framework or constitutes the initial phase for the implementation of many other groups based on creative techniques. Brainstorming sessions take place in a group of 6-10 people. The presence of a leader is necessary to stimulate the generation of ideas, as well as a preparation phase to gather the necessary data and information to approa ch the problem. A recorder writes the problem statement and the idea generated by the group on a white board.Several guidelines for brainstorming are available, such as suspend judgement, free wheel, quantity, and crossfertilise. The whole process takes normally one hour and can be conducted through several stages. The session begins with stating the problem and calling for solutions by the leader. The following stages can be: restate the problem in the form of â€Å"How to†¦Ã¢â‚¬ , select a basic restatement and write it down as â€Å"In how many ways can we†¦Ã¢â‚¬ , warm-up session, brainstorming, and identify wildest idea. An evaluation method is additionally used for to identify the ideas that have a value for implementation.The four basic rules of brainstorming are: a) no criticism and no prior judgement of any idea, b) all ideas, INNOREGIO project Dr E. Sefertzi CREATIVITY 8 even the absurd, are welcome, c) quantity has value, the more ideas the better, if a larg e quantity of ideas is generated, then the idea pool very likely would contain high-quality ideas, d) sharing and combining ideas, and constructing ideas based on those developed by other members of the group for producing new ideas. See: Osborne (1963), Rawlinson (1981), Chen (1998), Higgins (1996), European Commission (1998).See also Annex, Table 2: Brainstorming phases. A special type of brainstorming tool is PMI in which the participants are directed to brainstorm the Plus points, then the Minus points and finally the Interesting points (De Bono 1992, 1993). Related to brainstorming, which is characterised by verbal communication, is also the hand-written communication as a brain-writing technique. The process is that ideas generated by individuals are written down on a piece of paper, and then exchanged and combined with those of the other individuals in the group.Written ideas are circulated and read by the other participants in the group each of whom, in turn, write down new ideas. A variation of this hand-written communication is the 6-3-5 method in which each of the 6 participants in the group generates and writes 3 ideas related to the problem on a piece of paper in 5 minutes. After 5 minutes, each participant passes the piece of paper to the person on the right, who reads it and adds 3 new ideas in 5 minutes. The process continues until each participant gets the original piece of paper back (European Commission 1998).Electronic brainstorming is also a hand-written communication technique, which employ computerised programs to achieve brainstorming. Story boarding It is a creativity technique for strategic and scenario planning based on brainstorming and used mainly by groups. It requires a leader, a secretary and takes place in a group of 8-12 people. The leader arranges the ideas generated by brainstorming in a logical order on a white board creating a story. This technique allows identify the interconnections of ideas and how all the pieces fit to gether.It can be used to identify issues, problems, solve a complex problem and determine ways to implement solutions. The story boarding process includes four phases: a) planning, b) ideas, c) organisation and d) communication. Each phase includes a creative session (it takes 45 minutes) and a critical session, in which participants critique their story board. †¢ The planning phase begins with the problem definition or the issue being examined the topic header. Purpose header, a miscellaneous column and other, normally 1012, headers (column titles) are laced and brainstormed in order to give Ideas and then items, which are listed under the headers (the purpose header is listed first). †¢ The second phase – the ideas board, is to take one column from the planning board, which becomes the topic header and the items of that column become headers of new ideas. †¢ In the third phase – the organisation board, participants identify who is responsible for imple menting chosen solutions, what has to happen, and when. †¢ In the last phase – the communication board, participants identify who must communicate with for all of the events identified in the organisation board to take place.Through the process, visual graphics to summarise or present relevant points are presented by the leader. These might be strategic models, places or things (Higgins 1996). INNOREGIO project Dr E. Sefertzi CREATIVITY 9 Lotus Blossom This technique can also be used in scenario planning and is very useful for forecasting strategic scenarios. It is designed for groups and is used to provide a more in-depth look at various solutions to problems. It begins with a central core idea surrounded by eight empty boxes or circles. Using brainstorming, eight additional ideas (solutions or issues) are written in these boxes.In the next step, each of these eight ideas becomes the core of another set of eight surrounding empty boxes, which are filled in by new ideas using brainstorming. The process continues until a satisfactory solution or a sufficient number of ideas have emerged (Higgins 1996). See Annex, Figure 1: Lotus blossom sample. Checklists This creative technique is used mainly for product improvement or modification. It involves applying a series of words, verbs, adjectives or phrases contained in checklists or tables to an existing product or service or its attributes.Osborn’s Checklist is the best known and includes the verbs: put to other uses, adapt, modify, magnify, minify, substitute, rearrange, reverse and combine. Each verb contains also an expanded definition in the form of questions. For example, the description of the verb substitute is: Who else instead? What else instead? Other ingredient? Other material? Other process? Other power? Other place? Other approach? Other tone of voice? (Osborn 1963). The method is to apply each of the verbs and its expanded description to a product or service. See Annex:, Table 3: Os born’s checklist).Another checklist technique is Van Gundy’s PICL (product improvement checklist). Used in the same way as Osborn’s list, gives many options containing 792 words, both standard and unique, that can be applied to existing products or services, and 102 stimulation questions (Van Gundy 1988, 1993). Morphological Analysis This method is another product improvement technique, permitting the in-depth analysis of products or processes. It involves applying a set of words to an item another set of words. Normally, one set of words is verbs and the other set are attributes of the product.Another way is that one set of words would be components of the product (breaking the product down into its parts) and the other set of words would be alternative solutions. The method is to combine each word of one set with each word of the other set. These two sets of words result in a two-dimensional matrix. A three dimensional matrix can be created by adding a third l ist of factors. The difficulty of this technique is the large number of ideas deriving of the multiple combinations that can be made (Higgins 1996, European Commission 1998).Mapping Process The use of maps is particularly useful in strategic management thinking in organisations, helping to organise discontinuities, contradictions or differences, and bring pattern, order and sense to a confusing situation, acting as a spatial representation of a perspective. There are many forms of mapping, including computer-based tools to support mapping: †¢ Mind Mapping It is an individual brainstorming mapping technique designed by Tony Buzan. It begins with a central focal point, a problem, an object, a name or issue, written inINNOREGIO project Dr E. Sefertzi CREATIVITY 10 the centre of a piece of paper with a circle around it. Each major facet of the problem or the solution to the problem originating from the central idea is then brainstorming in order to generate new ideas. Each of those ideas are then written on lines drowned outward from the circle. The next step is to brainstorm those ideas in order to identify issues related to the problem, or solutions that are written on smaller lines that are drowned on the prime lines forming a branch.Additional perspectives such as implementation factors or further definition of the solutions could go on those lines. One branch may also be chosen in order to develop a whole new mind map based on that branch. When a mind map is completed, its possible interrelations and possible multiple appearances of issues, and its overall meaning in the context of the problem must be examined (Buzan 1983). †¢ Mapping for generate collective creativity The use of maps to support collective creativity is a more complicate process.It is necessary to introduce appropriate maps into a suitable type of organisation that would preferably be one employing multidisciplinary teams. It is also important that the participants find the maps use ful for organising and planning their work. The mapping process usually involves three phases: 1st phase starts with a brainstorming exercise in order to initiate a discussion around the problem or the product. Normally, the participants are asked to mention all aspects they regard as relevant to the problem to be dealt with.During this process a large number of visual references are used to elicit the perspectives of the members with regard to the potential new concept. It is emphasised to the participants that the maps are intended to enrich the conversation, and should not be perceived as representations of the concept itself, but more as the semantic terrain or space, which covers all potential strategies. The knowledge elicited is discussed, and in about 2 hours is organised and structured by the participants into a map that intuitively understand.This map is the initial cognitive map, which describes all the problematic areas in brief outlines. In the 2nd phase of the process, which serves to expose the individual participants’ perspective both to themselves and to the other members of the group, the participants discuss the values that they associate with a very large range of objects and images. A number of these images are then selected that are considered to metaphorically represent potential aspects of the product strategy.In the 3rd phase, these images and appropriate annotations are arranged in a twodimensional space, positioning the images depending upon how the values of these objects relate to one another. In doing this, the group is mapping out a terrain constituted by the differences between the images, expressing the range of different product strategies open to the group (Fentem, Dumas & McDonnell 1998). For creating maps, many software applications are available (see further down in computer-based creativity techniques).The Excursion Technique Is a very useful technique for forcing a group to have new thought patterns to formulate s trategies. The process involves five steps (see Higgins 1996): In the 1st step – the excursion – the consultant asks participants to take an imaginary excursion to a physical location (a museum, a jungle, a city, another planet, etc. ), which INNOREGIO project Dr E. Sefertzi CREATIVITY 11 has nothing to do with the real problem. After the excursion each participant writes down 8-10 images, which he/she saw during the journey (things, people, places or items) in the 1st of 3 columns.In the 2nd step, the consultant asks participants to draw analogies or express relationships between what they saw on the excursion and the problem as defined, and to write them in the column 2 next to each of the items identified in the first column. In the 3rd step, participants are asked to determine what solutions to their problems are suggested by the analogies or the relationships in column 2, and write them in column 3 beside the items and analogies identified in the other columns. In the 4th step, participants share their xperiences from the excursion: what they saw, their analogies and their solutions. In the 5th step, as with brainstorming, participants may discuss on each other’s ideas. Eventually the leader helps the group come to a common solution or a set of solutions to the problem. Computer-based creativity techniques Computer-based supporting techniques to stimulate the human creative process have an immediate and pragmatic aim, which is the implementation of computational models (computer software) for generate and organise ideas for creative work.They are used more frequently in research planning, product design, knowledge acquisition, decisionmaking, motivation, etc. We can distinguish groups of computerised creativity techniques, such as AI models, Idea Processors systems and visualisation and graphical systems. AI (artificial intelligence) models of creativity AI deals with solving non-quantified, unstructured problems. Its task is about kn owledge representation and reasoning and to built intelligent, rational, and autonomous agents. Current AI models of creativity involve different types and appropriate techniques of supporting the generation of new ideas.According to Margaret Boden (1998), in respect to the three types of creativity, there are also three main types of computer models that involve: a) The stimulation of the combination of ideas, mainly by using analogies in the sense that associated ideas shares some inherent conceptual structure. b) The exploration of structured concepts, so that novel and unexpected ideas result. It requires considerable domain-expertise and analytical power to define the conceptual space and to specify procedures that enable its potential to be explored. ) The transformation of a problem, so that new structures can be generated which could not have arisen before. New solutions to a problem can be created with transforming a problem into a new problem, solve the new problem and the n adapting the solution back to the original problem. AI employs symbolic approaches for creative problem solving and includes stimulus such as heuristics, search, weak methods, knowledge representation and reasoning to facilitate problem structuring and idea generation. The focus of AI creativity techniques in the form of computerised programs, is to help users to take a fresh look at roblems by guiding what may be a user’s otherwise undisciplined intuition through a series of INNOREGIO project Dr E. Sefertzi CREATIVITY 12 problem-solving exercises, and to think in non-linear et non-logical ways. The main advantage of computerised, guided problem solving is that the programs prompt a user for ideas in a thorough manner. Recent programs of AI include also knowledge-based approaches, using large-scale databases and narrative systems (Chen 1998). AI researches have also developed efficient search algorithms for problem solving.Some AI programs of creativity are: – The Co pycat program that looks for analogies between alphabetic letter-strings (Hofstadter, FARG 1995, Mitchell 1993). – The EURISKO program a transformational system with also an exploratory process that can be applied to a wide range of domains. – The AARON program for exploring line drawing in particular styles and colouring (McCorduck 1991). – The BACON program of exploratory AI-creativity designed to model scientific discovery (Langley, Simon, Bradshaw and Zytkow 1987).Idea Processors software Idea processors have a close relationship with artificial intelligence and use many artificial intelligence techniques. Idea processors are normally software packages developed for personal computers or workstations. They are used for idea generation and organisation in some specific stages of problem solving acting as knowledge-support systems (Chen 1998). In order to assist the human thinking, idea processors usually perform extensive search in large databases, knowledge bases, or text bases. For many idea processors the electronic brainstorming is the most important technique to generate ideas.The use of computer programs helps to de-structure and then to restructure thinking in a different way. The Idea Generator Plus program provide seven components to the user, that permit to go through a step-by-step problem analysis and solution finding process: examine similar situations, examine metaphors, examine other perspectives, focus on goals, reverse the goals, focus on the people involved, and make the most of the ideas (Nirenberg 1985). In another program, the IdeaFisher, using hypertext databases from Fisher Idea Systems Inc. , all entries in the database are cross-referenced by concept and association.It uses a giant cross-referenced text base of words and phrases representing concepts and images enhanced by a series of questions (see also spatial hypertext systems). The program also allows to generate new ideas based on combination of words by cr eating a list of people, animals, verbs, adjectives and phrases that are associated with the combination of two words that a user choose. Some other programs related to an idea processor are: The Ideatree system with an exploratory focus, linking laterally or hierarchically concepts that exist into the idea-boxes of the program.The Emergent Media Environment (EME), an interactive computer system that integrates facilities for supporting the generation, collection, organisation and presentation of ideas and advises about the divergence and convergence of the ideas. The GENI (GENerating Ideas) experimental system incorporates a variety of techniques to assist in making different types of connections: internal connections (between elements of the focal problem itself) and external connections (between the focal problem and external factors). INNOREGIO project Dr E. Sefertzi CREATIVITY 13There are also many idea processors programmes available on the Internet (most of them are commercia l products) including the following: http:/ideaprocessor. citi. doc. ca http:/www. maxthink. com http:/www. ozemail. com. au http:/www. inspiration. com http:/www. signet. com. sg/axon2000 Visualisation and graphical systems Computer support methods, such as visualisation of data and graphical techniques for marking up visual phenomena and expressing knowledge about data in rule form, are also available. Visualisation of data and graphical techniques are very important to support creativity.They involve working with visual data such as images, drawings, sketches, diagrams, charts, graphs, graphical objects, that are specific to the domain, and they take the form of expressing ideas and concepts through sketching, annotation and examining multiple or alternative views of the same data, all of which varies according to the domain of interest. There are many such systems giving various opportunities to the users. A visualisation system, the Inspiration (from Inspiration Inc. ) provides a blank canvas in which the user can quickly record and arrange ideas as they occur and allows a visual approach to organising thoughts.The system can also change the relationship between ideas and connect related ideas by dragging kinks between them to create a graphical map of the users thinking. Another visualisation system is Axon 200 used for creating complex flowcharts or concept diagrams and describes how different factors or events influence each other. It uses checklists and visual attributes such as colour, shape, size, scale position, depth, link and icon. It also creates relationship diagrams, which allow the user to represent multiple relationships between various visual objects on the screen (Chen 1998).Visualisation systems are also very important in design such as the Speech Knowledge Interface (SKI) system that support rapid graphical interaction with visual images, the Vehicle Packager Knowledge Support System (VPKSS) that aids designers at the conceptual stage of the design process (Candy 1997). Spatial representation tools In relation with visualisation systems, there are also computer-based tools, such as computer-based information and communication systems, for supporting representations and creating cognitive maps in two-dimensional spaces.Some representations use a specific notation, others use spatial proximity to indicate the relationship between objects (usually words relating to concepts) in the spaces, and others, used in marketing and design departments called â€Å"mood boards†, use collections of images as metaphors that reflect the quality aspects of the product strategy (Fentem, Dumas and Mcdonnell 1998). †¢ Kelly Repertory Grid technique is a knowledge elicitation tool used in the marketing, management and expert systems development. It analyses data using principal components analysis (PCA) software and produces a map by plotting the INNOREGIO project Dr E. SefertziCREATIVITY 14 first two components. The map pro duces a spatial positioning of text with respect to dimensions that are significant or correspond to the personal constructs that the participant member uses to categorise and evaluate the world (Kelly 1955). An Internet version of this tool is Webgrid. Available at http://www. cpsc. ucalgary. ca/ †¢ Spatial Information Systems These systems have been designed to support creativity by mapping objects (concepts, text objects, design requirements and parameters) into two-dimensional spaces, using various combinations of ‘knowledge processing’ and multivariate statistical analysis techniques.Users can also select an area of this space and to create a new space by reprocessing using principal components analysis (PCA) only the data associated with the objects lying within this subspace (Fentem, Dumas and Mcdonnell 1998). For example, one of these systems searches research papers for the frequency of certain keywords and uses a type of PCA to analyse the results of this search and represent these keywords and the papers within a common twodimensional space (Sugimoto, Hori, Ohsuga 1996). Another system named En Passant 2 stores researcher’s notes and triggers to recall and to reconsider.The users can browse their notes and view relations among them interactively (Aihara, Hori 1998). Spatial hypertext systems These systems have been designed for the â€Å"exploration of alternative structures for content, and applications in which the domain structure is not well understood at the outset, or changes during the course of a task†. In spatial hypertext, the links between nodes are conveyed implicitly by arranging the nodes in the space. â€Å"Nodes appear in different contexts through multiple spatial references to the same underling content† (Marshall and Shipman 1995).The users are presented with a window that acts as a work- space in which they organise their material. The nodes arranged in the space represent links to familiar objects such as documents, images, comments, and links to WWW hypertext pages, plus more unique structures known as ‘composites’ and ‘collections’. Marshall and Shipman’s VIKI spatial hypertext system, for example, was designed to support new product development, helping teams to make sense of the many diverse kinds of business-related material relevant to the new product, by assisting them in arranging it spatially. †¢ 4BIBLIOGRAPHIC REFERENCES (1) Aihara, K. , Hori, K. (1998), â€Å"Enhancing creativity through reorganising mental space concealed in a research notes stack†, Knowledge-Based Systems, No. 11, pp. 469-478. Arlington, S. (1997), â€Å"Accelerating drug discovery: creating the right environment†, Drug Discovery Today, Vol. 2, No. 12, pp. 547-553. Boden, M. A. (1998), â€Å"Creativity and artificial intelligence†, Artificial Intelligence, No. 103, pp. 347-356. Bullinger, H. J. (1999), â€Å"Turbulent times requi re creative thinking: new European concepts in production management†, Int. J. Production Economics, No. 0-81, pp. 9-27. Buzan, T. (1983) Use Both Sides of Your Brain, Dutton, New York. (2) (3) (4) (5) INNOREGIO project Dr E. Sefertzi CREATIVITY 15 (6) (7) (8) (9) (10) (11) (12) (13) (14) (15) Candy, L. (1997), â€Å"Computers and creativity support: knowledge, visualisation and collaboration†, Knowledge-Based Systems, No. 10, pp. 3-13. Chen, Z. (1998), â€Å"Toward a better understanding of idea processors†, Information and Software Technology, No. 40, pp. 541-553. De Bono, E. (1992), Serious Creativity, Harper Collins, London. De Bono, E. (1993), De Bono’s Thinking Course, Facts and on File, New York. t ogilvie (1998), â€Å"Creative action as a dynamic strategy: using imagination to improve strategic solutions in unstable environments†, Journal of Business Research, No. 41, pp. 49-56. European Commission (1998), Innovation Management Techniques i n Operation, European Commission, Luxembourg. Fentem, A. C. , Dumas, A. , McDonnell, J. (1998), Knowledge-Based Systems, No. 11, pp. 417-428. Hall, D. J. (1996), â€Å"The role of creativity within best practice manufacturing†, Technovation, Vol. 16, No. 3, pp. 115-121. Higgins, J. M. (1996), â€Å"Innovate or evaporate: creative techniques for strategists†, Long Range Planning, Vol. 9, No. 3, pp. 370-380. Higgins, J. M. (1994), 101 Creative Problem Solving Techniques: the Handbook of New Ideas for Business, The New Management Publishing Company, Florida. (16) Higgins, L. F. (1999), â€Å"Applying principles of creativity management to marketing research efforts in high-technology markets†, Industrial Marketing Management, No. 28, pp. 305-317. (17) Hofstadter, D. R. , FARG (1995), Fluid Concepts and Creative Analogies: Computer Models of the Fundamental Mechanisms of Thought, Basic Books, New York. (18) Kelly, G. A. (1955), The Psychology of Personal Constructs, Norton. (19) Langley, P. , Simon, H.A. , Bradshaw, G. L. and Zytkow, J. M. (1987), Scientific Discovery: Computational Explorations of the Creative Process, MIT Press, Cambridge, MA. (20) McCorduck, P. (1991), Aaron’s Code, W. H. Freeman, San Francisco, CA. (21) Mansfield, R. S. , Busse, T. V. and Krepelka, E. G. (1978), â€Å"The effectiveness of creative training† Review of Educational Research, Vol. 48, No 4, pp. 517-536. (22) Marshall, C. C. , Shipman, F. M. (1995), â€Å"Spatial hypertext: designing for change†, Communication of the ACM, Vol. 38, No. 8, pp. 88-97. (23) Miller, W. (1986), The Creative Edge, Addison-Wesley, Reading, MA. (24) Mitchell, M. 1993), Analogy-Making as Perception, MIT Press, Cambridge, MA. (25) Newell, A. and Shaw, J. C. (1972), â€Å"The process of creative thinking†, in A. Newell and H. A. Simon (eds), Human Problem Solving, Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ, pp. 144-174. (26) Nirenberg, G. (1985), The Idea Generator, Ex perience in Software, Berkeley, CA. (27) Osborne, A. F. (1963), Applied Imagination: Principles and Procedures of Creative Thinking, 3rd ed. , Scribner, New York. (28) Parnes, S. J. and Brunelle, E. A. (1967), â€Å"The literature of creativity†, Journal of Creative Behavior, Vol. 1, No 1, pp. 52-104. (29) Rose, L. H. and Lin, H. T. 1984), â€Å"A meta-analysis of long-term creativity training programs†, Journal of Creative Behavior, Vol. 18, No 1, pp. 11-22. (30) Rawlinson, J. G. (1981) Creative Thinking and Brainstorming, Gower, UK. (31) Schlange, L. E. , and Juttner, U. (1997), â€Å"Helping managers to identify the key strategic issues†, Long Range Planning, Vol. 30, No. 5, pp. 777-786. INNOREGIO project Dr E. Sefertzi CREATIVITY 16 (32) Sugimoto, M. , Hori, K. , Ohsuga, S. (1996) â€Å"A system to visualise different viewpoints for supporting researches’ creativity†, Knowledge-Based Systems, No. 9, pp. 369-376. (33) Taylor, C. W. (1972), †Å"Can organisations be creative, too? , in C. W. Taylor (ed. ), Climates for Creativity, Pergamon Press, New York, pp. 1-15. (34) Van Gundy, Jr. A. B. (1988), â€Å"Product improvement check list†, New Product Development Newsletter, New Jersay. (35) Van Gundy, A. B. Jr. (1993), Techniques of Structured Problem Solving, Chapman & Hall, London. INNOREGIO project Dr E. Sefertzi CREATIVITY 17 Annexes Table 1: Stimulus to extend perspectives to approach a problem †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ List the elements that would bring on success. List the elements that we visualise as failure. Visualise success seen from the viewpoint of fifty years from now.Visualise success seen from the perspective of one hundred years ago. Look for impossible and desirable ideas. Create analogies with other things that have been successful. Imagine and write down ideas that are wild, illegal, crazy, etc. Insert the problem from its present scenario to a totally different scenario. Return from the fantasy scenario to the present scenario and try to associate the ideas generated in the fantasy scenario, with ideas that might apply to the real problem. Imagine what people we admire would say. Search for pairs of ideas that are apparently unconnected and that can be associated by a third.Imagine that everything exists and all we have to do is find it. Change the level on which the problem is approached. Source: European Commission, Innovation Management Techniques in Operation, European Commission, DG XIII, Luxembourg, 1998. Table 2: Brainstorming Phases Phase Orientation Preparation Warm-up Production of ideas Application Define the problem to be studied for the participants, clarify the rules of the game. Gather data and information necessary to approach the problem in an efficient manner. Carry -out the exercise: redefine a problem different from the one to be studied, experiment with it for a few minutes. Generate the maximum of ideas without prior judgement – always ask â€Å"what else† – quantity of ideas is quality – no limits – no criticise – modify other’s ideas to produce new ones. Let the subconscious work. Gather the ideas generated – analyse them – work with logical thinking. Evaluate the ideas gathered and analysed – develop and combine them before proceeding to put them in practice. Incubation Syntheses Evaluation Source: European Commission, Innovation Management Techniques in Operation, European Commission, DG XIII, Luxembourg, 1998. INNOREGIO project Dr E. Sefertzi CREATIVITY 18 Table 3: Osborn’s Checklist Question Put to other uses?Adapt? Description New ways to use as is? Other uses if modified? What else is like this? What other idea does this suggest? Does past offer parallel? What could I copy? Whom could I emulate? New twist? Change meaning, colour, motion, sound, odour, form, shape? Othe r changes? What to add? More time? Greater frequency? Stronger? Higher? Longer? Thicker? Extra value? Plus ingredient? Duplicate? Multiply? Exaggerate? What to subtract? Smaller? Condensed? Miniature? Lower? Shorter? Lighter? Omit? Streamline? Split up? Understate? Who else instead? What else instead? Other ingredient? Other Material? Other process? Other power?Other place? Other approach? Other tone of voice? Interchange components? Other pattern? Other layout? Other sequence? Transpose cause and effect? Change pace? Change schedule? Transpose positive and negative? How about opposites? Turn it backward? Turn it upside down? Reverse role? Change shoes? Turn tables? Turn other cheek? How about a blend, an alloy, an assortment, an ensemble? Combine units? Combine purposes? Combine appeals? Combine ideas? Modify? Magnify? Minify? Substitute? Rearrange? Reverse? Combine? Source: J. M. Higgins, â€Å"Innovate or evaporate: creative techniques for strategists†, Long Range Planning , Vol. 9, No 3, pp. 370-380, 1996 (reprinted from Alex Osborn, Applied Imagination, Charles Scribner’s & Sons, Inc. , New York). Figure 1: Lotus blossom sample INNOREGIO project Dr E. Sefertzi CREATIVITY 19 1 by packaging 4 smaller / bigger 6 other material 2 by design A product differenti ation 7 change color 3 other uses 5 plus ingredient 8 change meaning A product differentiati on D lower cost F supply flexibility B product quality core idea: increase product consumption G product credibility C customer needs E service quality H competitors product strategies B C D E F G H INNOREGIO project Dr E. Sefertzi