Plato’s Theory of Knowledge, A Guide to Reaching Higher Grounds Essay

The human knowledge may be regarded as having a two parts: One that he sees hears and touches, on the other he organizes mind s on what he learns through the senses. Philosophers have given considerable attentions to questions about the resources of knowledge. Some philosophers think that that the particular thing seen, heard and touches are more important. They believe that general ideas are formed from the examination of the particular facts. A philosopher who feels that the knowledge is acquired in this way is called empiricist. The view of the knowledge can be attained only through the sense of experience. According to them the real knowledge is based on what our sight, hearing smell and other senses tell us it is really out there and not what people makes up in their heads. Other philosopher thinks it is more important to find a general law according to which particular facts can be understood or judge. This method advocates rationalist. A newer school pragmatism, believe that the value in use is the real test of the truth and meaning and truth of an idea are tested by the practical consequences. These are some of the groups that search about the roots of the theory of knowledge. When a person wants to be enlightened you must know what the light within us is. This light will guide us in every step of our lives. It is a process on what is greater than life, what is greater in the physical things that we see. It is the moment when we begin to know something that is greater than, which is also within ourselves. According to the Augustinian Theory of knowledge, there are two objectives to be considered. One is to show how knowledge of all kinds is achieved and how therefore true reality maybe discovered. The second is to provide the groundwork for the reform of the cultural education to ensure the proper development of the people through teaching knowledge. Inner awakening is that you follow your ego, but after you realize and enlightened, we follow god’s will. We as a person must know and search ways to be enlightened. Enlightenment is the aim of any person. But after you get this enlightened don’t fear that you will loose everything. You must enjoy things more passionate but you know when and how and do not abuse your power of enjoyment like you did before enlighten. The theory of knowledge gives us a guide on how human reach the higher level of enlightenment. It gives us the one by one step and details on how knowledge is acquire. Plato a great philosopher considers some of the details about what is the nature of knowledge and the way it was obtained. In the traditional analysis of knowledge Plato’s theory of knowledge divides into three approaches: (1) the allegory of â€Å"the cave† (2) the metaphor of the â€Å"divide line† (3) and the doctrines â€Å"the forms†. The cave tells us that most of the people who are living in the cave, in the dark has converted to salvation because of the knowledge that they acquire. The â€Å"divided line† visualizes the levels of knowledge in a more systematic way. Plato states that there are four stages of the knowledge development. (1) Imagining, which tells us that the looks or appearance seen as true reality. For example an art, which tells us that what we have seen is not necessarily what, you get. (2) Belief, Plato gives us the idea of seeing the reality does not always believe. We have the strong conviction of what we see but not with absolute certainty. (3) Thinking, it is believe the visible world and move into intelligible world which it stands for the power of mind. Plato wants to see all things as they really are so we can see that all things are interconnected. (4) The development stage of the knowledge due to thinking. The third Approach is â€Å"the Forms† are the highest levels of reality. The forms are called ideas. These are independent existing entities whose existence and nature are graspable only by the mind, even though they are not depend on being so grasped in order to exist A person is in then stage of immaturity, when theory of knowledge takes place he will undergo such different stages like at first he will see what is the source and problem of its immaturity understanding what is immaturity will mean a process that under go such enlightenment. After understanding and knowing the problem he will go to the next stage which is by visualizing the level of knowledge of being immature. He can have a research or he can conduct a qouestion and answer so that he can get some opinion so that it can help a lot in defining the problem of being immature. For instance, what distinguishes real knowledge from mere opinion? The real knowledge is based on the logic, the laws and the methods of reason that we use to understand the universe (Velasquez, 1999) By getting such knowledge and analyzing of what category or level he can create a new solution in order of getting out of being immature.Thingking of the possible solution and ideas is the last satge of getting out of being immature.This process or step of solving ones problem is an example of theory of knowledge which can be apply to enlightenment.In any of the different stages they are interconnected to one another so that it can create a good solution which enlightens on a person. There is a given change of such enlightenment. For Parmenides, Change is the confusion of the appearance (motion) with reality (permanence) and therefore the change is simply an illusion. Reality is the basis of truth (knowledge) where as changes produces only opinion (lack of knowledge). Although the senses tells us that the things appear to change and therefore things do change, our reason can distinguish the truth from that which appear to be true. When reasons say reality must be single permanent substances, then there can be no change. (Hankinson, 1998) Plato’s theory of knowledge leads us down many roads, but we see the same theme through out: the light to dark; ignorant to educate: reality to really real.The theory of knowledge imparts us that in every circumstances in life there is a solution. In every situation that we have there is an appropriate answer. Having a knowledge or education gives us the true meaning of reality and real.That is when enlightenment takes place. When we have already the knowledge and reasons we know now how to handle and solve on any situation that we have.   Enlightenment is one of important part in our life to have a sense of direction. If we can apply the the different stages of theory of knowledge and integrate it   to its process of enl;ightenment there is a good way that humanities can have the truth , the reality, and the essence of having a knowledge.Believing to the knowledge that we have and through by the grace we can struggle and survive in any situation that we have. Velasquez, Manuel â€Å"Philosophy: A text with readings†. New York: Wadsworth publishing company, 1999. Hankinson, RJ.† Cause and Explanation in Ancient Greek Thought†. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1998. â€Å"Human Knowledge and Human Nature: A new introduction to an Ancient Debate† Oxford University Press, 1992   ISBN 0-19-875101-X ISBN 0-19-875102-8 (pbk.) http://www.philosophy.umd.edu/Faculty/pcarruthers/HKHN-Conclusion.htm â€Å"Augustinian Knowledge Of theory† http://www.users.bigpond.com/seckington/Augustinian%20Knowledge.htm â€Å"What is Enlightenment ?† (â€Å"Qu’est-ce que les Lumià ¨res ?†), in Rabinow (P.), à ©d., The Foucault Reader, New York, Pantheon Books, 1984, pp. 32-50. http://foucault.info/documents/whatIsEnlightenment/foucault.whatIsEnlightenment.en.html

How the Rediscovery of the Works of Aristotle Challenged the Church

Rediscovery of the Works of Aristotle challenged the Church in several ways as it triggered the Scientific Renaissance. This was characterized by many inventions and discoveries. It is the discoveries that challenged the Church then and continue to do even today. Some of these discoveries caused people to start doubting what the church and Christianity beliefs had made them to believe. The developments in the study of the universe especially brought contradictions in what was discovered and what the Church Taught. An example is that while it was discovered that the sun did not move, the Bible which was very fundamental to the Church had verses that implied that the Sun moved. Developments in Astronomy a result of the rediscovery of the works of Aristotle are hence an example of its challenge to the Church (Kretzmann & Stump, 2001). What Scholasticism is and how it attempted to Reconcile Faith with Reason Scholasticism is a method of teaching where learners are encouraged to reason dialectically. This tool for learning enables the learners to learn how to argue with those holding beliefs and ideas that are different from theirs hence are able to persuade them to join them (Alvarez, 1971). The sole objective of Scholasticism was to resolve ideas that were contradicting or conflicting. This is because even though the ideas and beliefs were different, they shared some common principles which brought out the conflicts as individuals argued on which ones were right hence in an attempt to find the answers, Scholasticism was invented. It attempted to reconcile reason and faith by looking using Aristotle's philosophy of human reasoning to explain the Christian faith that was characterized by supernatural contents that could not be easily understood. It sought to bring together the wisdom of the Christianity religion and that of the Aristotle and other Greeks. The movement sought to integrate the two, that is the secular beliefs and Christian beliefs so as to come up with an ordered system used reason to explain faith. 2. How Renaissance Altered Views of Humanity and the Human Relationship with God prevalent during the Middle Ages. Renaissance period which was characterized by numerous cultural changes altered views of humanity in many ways. It emphasized so much on reasoning that some views of humanity that initially were believed to be against humanity became morally right due to reasoning. Most of the issues that are perceived to be inhuman such as suicide for example have their root s in this period. This is because it was during this period that individuals reasoned that actions such as suicide were the better option (Alvarez, 1971). For example it was reasoned that it was better for old people to commit suicide than to continue living as they suffer the complications that come with old age. The stoics were amongst the humanists who supported suicide in the event that it was done under such circumstances. Suicide was now seen and described as good death as it relieved younger people the burden of taking care of or killing individuals who were too old. Humanists such as Plato and Aristotle argued against suicide claiming that no circumstances could justify it as it left the responsibilities of those who killed themselves abandoned and denied the community a citizen who could contribute to its development. Other philosophers such as Jewish and Christian religions however believed that such action were against God’s desire and human good as they affected human responsibility to god as he created life to be preserved. Philosophers such as Michel de Montaigne even challenged condemnation of suicide arguing that it was a moral thing to do under certain circumstances and that it should be perceived as a religious belief but as a matter of choice as every human being had the freedom to choose. During the middle ages, the prevalence of human relationship with God was very low. This can be attributed to the many scientific discoveries that challenged the church and its beliefs hence deviating people’s beliefs from its teachings. The many philosophers and their theories also caused confusion causing their relationship with God not to be as strong as it was before. The Humanists, what they said and how they Contributed to Modern Education. Humanists scholars who challenged some of the philosophers shaped and established intellectual landscape from the middle age period to the present day. These philosophers include Thomas More and Niccolo Machiavelli who criticized contemporary government and some of the secular beliefs. Their theories and teachings revived the Roman’s and Greek's way of thinking and ideas. The challenging of Aristotelian status quo by humanists such as Martin Luther led to the introduction of faith and justification ideas that were new, liberal and radical. The justification theory is very crucial to modern education as many fields of study call for justification to be made before they can be accepted. This goes for research too. 3. How Dangerous Beauty Reflects Values Dominant in Venice and how it depicts relationship patterns between man and women. The fact that Marco was discouraged by his family from veronica even though he loved her implies that individuals in Venice value wealth more than any other thing. Veronica’s decision to become a courtesan in an effort to get money that would support her and her mother reflects the same value of the Venice individuals preferring wealth so much that they could even compromise their principles. The fact that Veronica was not the only one and that even her mother and grandmother had done the same thing implies that prostitution is a dominant thing in Venice especially with men of high social standing. This value has negative impact on the relationship between men and women. This goes especially for the married couples. We observe that Marco's marriage started experiencing problems as he had no intimate relationship with his wife once he started being with Veronica. The marriage eventually broke up. It can be concluded that both the values discussed above negatively affect the relationship between men and women. 4. How Lady Jane show the dynastic and religious conflicts prominent in England in the 16th Century The two weeks that Lady Jane ruled England and her execution brought out the existing dynastic and religious conflicts prominent in the Kingdom. We observe she was not the right person to inherit the throne from Edward VI. The only reason Edward chose her to succeed him and not Mary his half sister who was the rightful heiress at the time was because just like he was, Jane was a staunch protestant while Mary was Catholic. There seems to have been a religious conflict as the English nobles did not want the throne to be given to a catholic. Mary went away and gathered herself support. She later came back and denounced Jane as the Queen of England. According to the law she was the rightful heiress hence the parliament could do nothing but proclaim her as the Queen. Mary then imprisoned Jane and her husband. This brings out the dynasty conflicts in England within the Royal families. When Mary married a Roman catholic Prince from Spain called Philip, the protestants in England rebelled and carried out demonstrations as they were against catholic religion. Some even called fore the restoration of Jane as the Queen. This made Mary to execute her so as to repress any future rebellions and unrest within the kingdom. It was observed that this marked the climax of religious and dynasty conflicts in the kingdom at the time as Protestants did not want to be ruled by Catholics while the Catholics did not want to lose their grip on the throne. It can hence be concluded that dynasty and religious conflicts were prominent in England during the 16th Century. 5. The Hundred Schools of Thought, their chief Theorists, and what they said. Especially Confucius. The hundred schools of thought were schools and philosophers that sprang up and got established from the period 770-221B. C. E in China. These schools flourished during an era that the country was experiencing culture and intellectual expansion. The thoughts that were developed during this time influence the country up to now. The schools developed were confucianism, school of law, languages, Moism , amongst several others. The theorists of confucianism were Xunzi who argued that humans are not born good but that goodness is a virtue that is developed with time through training of ones conducts and desire. Mengzi another confucianism theorists argued that every individual had a responsibility and obligation to every one else in the society and not just to those they were acquainted with. He explained that one had to be careful in their action as they affected many people. Kongzi argued that ideal human beings were those that were gentlemen. He also explained social stratification and political governance could only exist peacefully by ethical values. He argued that good leader needed to be virtues in order for them to rule well. He added that the best relationship was achieved when leaders remained leaders while subjects accordingly remained so. 6. Buddhist Thought. The Buddhist Thought is based on three fundamental principles namely impermanence, selflessness and unsatisfactoriness. The thought is that all; things in life come from one source and eventually go back to the same source. It explains that everything in the world is connected to each other and none can exist independently or occurs apart from the rest. Its view is that everything in the world undergoes transformation and some change during its existence. This according to the thought is that things do not cease to exist, they only change their state through transformation and exist in other forms. This thought is what explains the religion's belief in rebirth. 7. Historians talk about the revolution of the 11th Century, which launch a series of conflicts between Church and state. What form did these conflicts take? The 11th century was characterized by many conflicts between the Church and state. These conflicts were mainly between kings and Popes. As both parties sought to have more power than the other, conflicts arose. Initially monarchs had ruled both the throne and the church as it was believed that they had divine right. But then, in contrast the pope was believed to be God's vicar on earth hence having the divine authority from God to the state. (Elliott, 1877). This resulted to the church having more power in the West but as secular kingdoms flourished, power struggle between the two sprang up. The conflict was between the secular ideologies of the state and the sacred ideologies of the church. Eventually the church lost some of its powers to the state.

Benito Mussolini And Adolf Hitler

Benito Mussolini And Adolf Hitler Throughout history, many leaders have impacted their countries and the world around them. Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini are two brutal yet significant leaders who came to power in their nations during a time of inflation, depression, and devastation. They both gained their power similarly and improved their country’s conditions after the devastation of World War I. During their rule they ruined many people’s lives and negatively impacted other countries. Hitler and Mussolini benefited their county’s economy. These leaders used totalitarian regimes as a way to gain order and control. Despite their many similarities, they also have many differences such as their very different principles. Hitler’s principle was based on the racial superiority of the Arian race. Mussolini empathized nationalism based on remembering Rome’s glory. Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini had many similarities and differences; however their role in history impacted their co untry and World War II both negatively and positively. There are many similarities between Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini. Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy were unhappy with the outcome of World War I. â€Å"Italians are showing great sympathy for the Hitler government in Germany. They consider the Treaty of Versailles cheated them of the fruit of victory (New York Times, 1933).† Germany and Italy had serious social and economic problems caused by the outcome of World War I. Hitler promised to end reparations, and create jobs through the creation of public works programs. It employed people by having them, build highways and housing. Mussolini promised a strong and stable government. Hitler and Mussolini had a totalitarian style in which they ruled their countries. A totalitarian government is regulated with only one leader that makes all the decisions for the entire country and regulates every aspect of a citizen’s life. Hitler and Mussolini both used this form of go vernment to help their counties Germany and Italy out of a deep economic depression after the devastation of World War I. Hitler and Mussolini became allies during the axis pact. They formed forces before gaining their power. Hitler formed the Nazi party. The Nazi Party stands for the Nationalists Socialist German workers party. The Nazi party supported violent racial nationalism and anti Semitism. Mussolini formed the black shirts. They chose violence over the democratic process. The black shirts used violence, censorship, and extreme propaganda. â€Å"Propaganda must not serve the truth, especially as it might bring out something favorable for the opponent (Hitler, 582).† Hitler explained that, â€Å"All propaganda must be popular and its intellectual level must be adjusted to the most limited intelligence among those it is addressed to. Consequently, the greater the mass it is intended to reach, the lower its purely intellectual level will have to be (Hitler, 583).† They both were anti- communist. Hitler and Mussolini used terror and force to gain more power. â€Å"The one means that wins the easiest victory over reason: terror and force (Hitler, 600). They both had scapegoats. Hitler blamed the Jewish for everything, especially for the loss of World War I. Mussolini blamed anyone that went against him. They formed alliances with each other before the start of World War II. Hitler and Mussolini both were talented speakers helping them gain support of the people.

Business law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words - 5

Business law - Essay Example n, the police should have obeyed the laws and obtain permission from their base commander before agreeing to transport the Cold chisel band to the concert venue. The law discourage activities that would likely cause accidents. These includes, over speeding and careless driving, misuse of warning lights to indicate a form of danger especially when a dignitary is on a special trip of high importance that requires punctuality; the police officers transporting Jimmy Barner and the band pretended to be an important group of government officials late for an urgent meeting. Despite having come from the airport, the legendary Cold Chisel Rock band was not supposed to use government vehicles; any government property is subject to questions when used outside the required obligations. The taxes that are involved in the management and maintenance of the government owned properties including vehicles are sourced from taxes remitted by the common man. The police officers breached the laws governing government properties (Gans 2012). While not on an official duty, the police officers were not supposed to drive with emergency hazards lights on. The speed limits were to be observed, like any other passenger or private vehicle on the specified road (Church 2009). Law that governs property is based on the ownership of such properties. Government property is different from personal property hence should be handled with due respect. Any state property should be handled within the state laws of property management; hence the officers should have faced more charges for allegedly mishandling government vehicles. The police assisted unauthorized users to not only travel in the government vehicles, but also to gain security from public properties (Gans 2012). Since there is no link or contract between the Australian legendary Cold Chisel Rock band that would enable them to ride in state owned vehicles, the legendary Cold Chisel Rock group also committed an offence as they did not use

The Jade Peony and The Other Family Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The Jade Peony and The Other Family - Essay Example They are made to feel like outsiders, at times and this can be very humiliating. They have to try to forget the language and way of life that they have been used to since their childhood, if they are to adapt to life in their new homeland. This can be a painful experience, because they have to give up something that is very close to their hearts. It is easier for children and young people to make these changes and to adapt to life in their new homeland. For older people it can be much more difficult to give up a way of life that they have been used to for all their lives. It is even more difficult for parents, who feel rejected, when their children adopt the language and culture of their new homeland. Bannerji, in The Other Family highlights the feeling of insecurity of an immigrant mother, who says to her only daughter "Is this the family you would like to have Don't you want us anymore You want to be a mem sahib, a white girl" (143). She worries that some day her daughter would be ashamed of her and would move out into the world of the residents of their new homeland. She thinks that some day they would be enemies. She is afraid that she will lose her child. She feels that the people in her new homeland have the power to crush little people like her anytime. She exposes her fear of rejection to her daughter.

Academic Integrity & Plagiarism Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Academic Integrity & Plagiarism - Research Paper Example Some of the fundamental values of academic integrity include fairness, honesty, trust, respect, and responsibility. When a student fails to meet the standards of academic integrity, he cannot develop these values which are the major elements influencing his personality. According to the Code of Conduct of Walden University, a student’s academic integrity is inevitable for tutors/professors to evaluate whether or not a student has met the standards of academic excellence. In other words, teachers cannot assess a student’s progress in the specific area of study if he practices academic dishonesty. Undoubtedly, this situation would adversely affect the academic performance of students. As experts point out, academic integrity would assist students to be genuine in their studies and to develop their long term career through quality innovations. According to the Code of Conduct of Walden University, academic integrity also contributes to an individual’s professional d evelopment and long term career growth. In an academic environment, it is inevitable for students to demonstrate respect for others’ ideas being professional and honest.... It is to be noted that plagiarism not only refers to the world-for-word copying of another piece of work, but also a close reproduction of the original work (Code of conduct). The second step for students to avoid plagiarism is to be familiar with the topic that they are talking about. Students can write more in their own words if they have in-depth knowledge about the topic. It is particularly advisable for students to restate the subject a number of times as this practice would enable them to express a borrowed idea in their own style and without any resemblance to the original one. By including a bibliography or works cited section in the paper, students can properly cite the quotes and sources they used for the work. If the student is doubtful regarding the use of any quoted idea, it is better to give credit to the author so as to avoid plagiarism issues. It is identified that most of the students become prone to plagiarism charges while paraphrasing others’ ideas. It is a dvisable for students not to paraphrase in a way that would closely resemble the original sentences. Finally, students must have good understanding of some basics of copyright so as to avoid plagiarism. Self-plagiarism Self-plagiarism happens if a student replicates any portion of his previous works for obtaining credit in another course, or an author reproduces some parts of his previous writings in his/her subsequent papers. However, it must be noted that self-plagiarism does not constitute intellectual theft although it represents an act of academic dishonesty. The concept of self-plagiarism has been a hot debated topic because many scholars argue that this

Juvenile justice system- harsh punishments vs. lighter punishments Essay

Juvenile justice system- harsh punishments vs. lighter punishments - Essay Example There is also the lack of understanding among citizens on the social, political and economic perspectives that cause juvenile crime and the juvenile justice practice. Even though most people do not comprehend the vitality of the juvenile justice system, there have been strong discussions on the causes of crime by the youth and the possible ways of handling them (Champion, Merlo and Benekos 34). There are varied position held by the public concerning this issue, some hold the view that there measures should be put in place that will ensure such crimes are prevented and rehabilitate the young offender. Other members of the public call for the establishment of harsher punishment to the young criminals. They demand that youths who commit crimes be held accountable as adults (Elrod and Ryder 5). There has been a growing dilemma of youth gang violence in Central America. Youth violence is a great worry since it affects the country’s safety and the health of the public. However, some of the strategies put in place so as to address the problem are not successful. It has been noted that the approaches lead to the infringement of human rights hence leading to serious lawful challenges. Violent gangs have been reported to be taking part in injurious actions such as drug abuse. In addition, violent gangs take part in theft and robbery of properties of their neighbors. Juvenile justice systems have been established to ensure that cries committed by the youths are prevented from taking root in the society. Introduction Jane is a woman juvenile detention officer and Jack is a resident of New York, they hold the view that children who commit crime should be rehabilitated rather than punished and measures should be put in place to ensure that crimes involving the juveniles are prevented from occurring in the society. On the contrary, Kennedy is a law enforcement officer while Brian is resident of Los Angeles. They hold the view that the youth who engage in criminal activ ities should be given equal punishment the same as the punishment given to adults. Scenario The issue of juvenile justice system and the approach in which it should take, whether rehabilitative or punishment approach, and the best approach which should be adopted have dominated the public debate for several years now. It is evident that young people engage in serious criminal activities. However, most crimes committed by the young ones do not lead to serious injury or loss of property. The public has had to debate on the best way to approach the issue in order to correct the illegal behavior of the youths (Krisberg 3). There have also been concerns on the best approaches that can effectively help the youth in learning from their mistakes so as to enable them make right decisions concerning their lives now and in the future (Klein 55). Young children who commit crime constitute a diverse population. These young criminals vary depending on their psychological and biological factors as well as the social environment in which they live. However, their biological, social and psychological variation need to taken into account when considering which type of approach whether rehabilitative or be punished. Several states in the United States have placed the age limit to the juvenile justice system jurisdiction a t age 17. When the youths attain the age of 18 years, they are subject to the jurisdiction in the adult justice system. Further, some states have a lower age limit for admission to juvenile court. The age limit often varies from the age of 6 years to 10 years. In cases whereby a lower age limit exists, younger children with the age below the statutory specified age cannot be considered in the

Augmenting the Level of Production of Renewable Energy within the UK Coursework

Augmenting the Level of Production of Renewable Energy within the UK - Coursework Example The report discusses the various prospects and policies of the project along with its implication upon the stakeholders specifically the natural environment. Notably, the approach of the Department of Energy and Climate Change to initiate the Severn Tidal Power can be regarded as a positive attempt to ensure a better and sustainable position for the energy sector of the nation. It also attempts to depict the positive impact the project can have on the future generations in terms of environmental sustainability and abundance of natural power and resources. However, the analysis suggested that the approach might cause severe negative implication upon the natural environment and habitat that can further endanger the lives of the aquatic animals. Contextually, several key recommendations have been made to mitigate the same in the long run. In the present day context, the climate change has become one of the sever issues in the global environment and likewise, authorities of each and ever y nation are emerging with approaches to deal with this particular environmental concern one-way or the other. There are numerous approaches that can be adapted to deal with the contemporary environmental issue. One such approach is the reduction of the emission of greenhouse gases to the natural environment. Contextually, this particular report will provide a brief overview of the approaches of the UK government to mitigate the environmental problems prevalent within the nation. The Committee on Climate Change has emphasized the production of renewable energy so that negative impact towards the environment could be mitigated. Likewise, this report will focus on providing a critical assessment of the proposal of the Department of Energy and Climate Change of UK to comprehend its probable effectiveness in a comprehensive manner.

Does the globalisation of culture effectively mean the westernisation Essay

Does the globalisation of culture effectively mean the westernisation of culture - Essay Example It is a process of transformation that is affected by several changing factors at the global level. The main factors that promote globalisation are technology, economy and culture. Politics has been widely influenced by globalisation; and the political institutions, such as the nation – state have been significantly transformed, on account of globalisation (Shaw 1999: iii). There are a number of concepts involved in the globalisation process, which vary according to the circumstances. It has been argued that globalisation is a symbol of capitalism that is controlled by the market forces. Globalisation legalises transnational capitalism, and establishes international governmental institutions to supervise the world. As such, it brings about global domination, thereby depriving sovereign nations of their power of self – determination (Kellner). Culture can be defined as a combination of diverse features, such as spirituality, materialism, intellectual pursuits and emotions in a society. It incorporates art, literature, lifestyles, social forms of living, value systems, traditions, and belief in a social group or society. Culture can also be construed as communication. Civilisation developed on the basis of the cultural features of society. In the past, the development of dominant societies in a specific region established unique cultural identities for that region. The development of culture resulted in civilisation (Effects on Globalization in Culture Differentiation 2009). In the aftermath of globalisation, cultural identity, in some societies that depict cultural diversity, will emerge stronger. The determining factors, in relation to cultural identity will change, after globalisation. Consequently, diversities in culture will coexist with globalisation. However, the criteria that underlie culture differentiation will undergo transformation, due to globalisation (Effects on Globalization in Culture Differentiation 2009). Western

Aircraft Solutions Essay Example for Free

Aircraft Solutions Essay SecurityAircraft Solutions Security and Policy Assessment Table of Contents Executive Summary1 Company Overview1 Security Vulnerabilities1 Decentralized Anti Virus1 Access Control List Policy3 Recommended Solutions6 Bitdefender6 AlgoSec Security Management Suite7 Impact on Business Processes7 Budget8 Summary8 References9 Executive Summary As Aircraft Solutions takes the next step in its growth, it is imperative that its IT infrastructure keep pace as to not counteract gains made by the company during this expansion. This is especially important given it designs and fabricates components for both commercial and defense related industry. Given the increase in staff as well as outside vendors accessing the network, a more centralized approach to antivirus protection has to be adopted. It is equally important that certain elements within the network that have been done manually, such as Access Control List policy, be automated to avoid consuming the IT department in an ever escalating bar of employee hours. Company Overview Aircraft Solutions operates within California in two separate physical locations in San Diego and Santa Ana. Working within both commercial and defense industries, their products are used globally. Aircraft Solutions is overtly technical in nature utilizing Business Process Management (BPM) for end to end processes that interacts with customers, vendors, and suppliers. BPM also fills a critical role of internal communications for IT to ensure customer needs are being fulfilled precisely as they have been ordered. Security Vulnerabilities Decentralized Anti Virus In reviewing the software utilized by Aircraft Solutions, it is stated that security is handled by anti-virus software that is independently operated for all workstations and servers. This seems to be a continuation of the host centric theme as evidenced by host based IDS. Whereas host based IDS can be seen as a more viable alternative to network based IDS, the same cannot be said for anti-virus software in this scenario. Given that the company operates two individual physical locations that run the gamut from design to production, it can be assumed that their employee pool is not small despite actual numbers not being mentioned. With these numbers, it is quite unlikely that all employees are maintaining their due diligence in ensuring that they are properly updating their anti-virus applications and operating them in such a manner that they are being used efficiently. The primary weakness of this policy is that the end user is responsible for its upkeep. It is reasonable to assume that someone working in a loading dock may not have the same level of computer aptitude as an engineer and would be more likely to cause a break in security by allowing a virus into their computer and threaten the network (Department of Homeland Security, 2012). As security is only as strong as the weakest link, this opens the proverbial floodgates of illicit access to the company network. This is problematic in that official statistics gathered in 2012 estimated that the United States ranks third in the world with 50. 1% of all unique users detecting threats from a virus (Kaspersky Security Bulletin, 2012). The most common virus credited with 75. 01% of all online attacks with 712,999,644 instances are malicious URLs (Kaspersky Security Bulletin, 2012) that can infect a computer without the user even realizing what has occurred. Not even anti-virus software will keep a user completely safe as it is reported that 32% of all users have been infected with a virus despite such protection measures (Zorz, 2010). Once infected, viruses can either cause extreme lag with the network, slowly gather information to be used against the company or sold to anyone willing to purchase it, or even cause damage to physical components used in the business (Weinberger, 2012). There are many other nefarious effects of an infected computer within a network that can cripple productivity and cut into the revenue generating capacity of the company. When you take into consideration that a slower network will cause a decrease in company production and will not reduce the cost of daily operations in terms of equipment, utilities or workforce then you must look at the financial ramifications of such an event. The creation and dissemination of viruses has become big business that will grow exponentially as it has moved from the stereotypical basements of hackers into the realm of organized crime and legitimized aspects of armed services for many nations the world around (Fisher, 2012). It is reported that worldwide, viruses have stolen approximately $1. 6 trillion (CMP Media Inc. , 2013) from the global economy. Access Control List Rule policy Security policy at Aircraft Solutions dictates that all firewall and router access control rules pertaining to packet flow be evaluated on a bi yearly basis. Network infrastructure documentation for the company lists one firewall and two routers that are currently in operation that fall within these parameters. Within the San Diego headquarters, all of these devices act as a bulwark against any unwanted intrusion from the Internet at large. Documentation also details there are contractors and suppliers along with customers to contend with regarding external access to the network through these devices. Looking at the internal physical topology it is seen that there is a single router providing packet control for all traffic between the Defense Division in Santa Anna and the rest of the company consisting of Human Resources, Accounting, Direct Computer Numerical Control, Sales and Marketing, IT, and information from the database. Conversely, this same router would also have to act the single point of control between all internal departments at San Diego as it is the only piece of equipment that possesses layer three functionality before passing the firewall. Given these relationships this demonstrates these three devices, particularly the router connecting Santa Anna and San Diego, require extremely detailed and expansive routing rules to effectively run the business. Departmental access list rules could for the most part remain static and not require a great deal of attention once implemented as IP schemas would be established ahead of time for each department. Issues begin to arise when you take into account that over the course of two years, multiple projects will most likely be spun up, numerous unique circumstances, and growth of the network will create a myriad of antiquated access control rules that will represent gaping holes in security that can allow unauthorized access to sensitive company materials and intellectual property. This would also lead to a lack of documentation of access control rules so that there would be no manner in which to simply reference which rules were in place and for what reason. Each annual security review will then sideline the IT department as it analyzes the access control list rules and begins to path them out to their respective devices. At this point, ownership of the device would have to be established, the purpose of that device, and then verifying if access was still warranted. Disagreements at this juncture would result in managerial oversight as department heads would then have to present their cases for and against access. Obviously, this would draw management, especially that of IT, into contracted deliberation that would distract from day to day business. A lack of an overall firewall policy, a bi yearly evaluation of access control list rules, and the previously mentioned issue of non centralized anti-virus software creates a very dangerous environment for data security. A port that is opened for user access is a window into the companys network that can ultimately be exploited. The more ports that are left open, the greater the opportunity for intrusion. This same lack of a detailed firewall policy also entails that these multiple holes in security can vary in scope since there is not a set control in place to reign in the extent of the security exception being asked (Hogg, 2011). These open ports make the company susceptible to port scanning as outside entities search for network soft spots that can be exploited to gain entry. These scans occur with such constant frequency that they are referred to as Internet background radiation (Notenboom, 2008). Given these factors it is a foregone conclusion that there will inevitably be a breach of the network as a result. Such an event would result in loss of intellectual property, decrease of production, and repeated incidents would create a devastating loss of trust in the eyes of customers. An ancillary security risk is derived from the time and energy spent by IT during each manual review of all access control listings in the firewall and routers. It is feasible that each rule will take an average of an hour to complete if all goes smoothly with tracing the routed path from beginning to end, complying with internal ticket work, verifying the device, and accepting a reason for the route to be in existence. More time would be expended by both engineering staff and then management if there was a dispute as to if a rule should be left in place or not. In terms of just the basic work to go through all the established rules that will accumulate over the course of 2 years, a conservative estimate of 25 requests for new rules per week (based on personal experience within a mid-sized company) would yield a total of 2600 new lines to be analyzed. Assuming approximately a third of these rules could be associated together as projects are increased or decreased, that leaves roughly 866 lines that translates into as many employee hours that will be occupied for this task over the course of 108 days. A team of five in the IT department would require just over 21 full working days to effectively handle this task at a cost of $2,898. 75 to have entry level Network Engineers (Salary. com, 2013) dedicated to the task . If a quarter of these rules are disputed, then the company will pay out another $9,964. 70 (Salary. com, 2013) of lost productivity as the IT manager has to contend with other managers to mediate the need for the rules. It is likely that this endeavor would constitute a major departmental project at the end of the 2 years instead of being worked on throughout the duration. During this time, other work will be assigned to secondary status and put projects and perhaps updates that could be critical in risk of being done on time as all energy and focus resides on the access evaluation. Recommended Solutions Bitdefender To effectively control antivirus from a central source that will push updates to all network devices, demand all equipment connecting has antivirus and allow for mobile devices to be used without issue, Bitdefender small business pack would be the ideal choice. Given that this application suite will provide service to all Windows OSs from XP to Windows 8 along with Macintosh and Linux support [ (Squidoo. com, 2012) ], it is perfect for allowing outside vendors who may not conform strictly to the Windows platform adopted by Aircraft Solutions. Support for the product is offered by email, and phone coupled with configuration assistance free of charge. As it was not definitely declared how many employees are with Aircraft Solutions, there is a pricing scale of $449. 95 per year for 20 computers and 20 mobile devices [ (Bitdefender, 2012) ]. AlgoSec Security Management Suite In terms of Access Control List management on the firewalls, industry reviews would recommend a single piece of software, Algosec Security Management Suite. With this application, all a user is required to do is simply enter in the IP of the device wanting entry to the network as well as the IP of the device is wishes to access. Algosec will then compute the path from source to destination, provide a listing of all firewalls in the path, and then list out what changes would need to be made to firewall configuration. With a click of a button, it would even implement these changes thereby freeing an inordinate amount of time on the part of IT staff and management [ (AlgoSec, 2012) ]. Cost of the application is approximately $10,000 [ (AlgoSec, 2013) ] which also include support of the product and updates. Impact on Business Processes Implementation pains felt as both Bitdefender and AlgoSec are introduced will be minimal at best. In each instance, less work will be required of employees as they are no longer responsible for their own antivirus and the process by which firewall flows are drafted and put into configuration will be dramatically increased. The point of contention that might make itself known will be at the onset of these applications being installed as they will require some new policy changes. At first, there will most likely be an uptick in questions asked of IT as employees want to know what is required of them with Bitdefender antivirus. It will also require new policy on the part of IT in terms of management of the application as well as procedures for pushing updates into the network. AlgoSec will be almost entirely without incident as it will create a process by which a request is put in for access and instead of being delayed as the path is verified, it can move directly into managerial oversight for approval. Budget Product| Features| Cost| Bitdefender| Centralized AV updatesScalable user supportInternal firewallIntuitive GUIApplication supportInstallation assistance| $449. 95 per year per set of 20 computers/20 mobile devices| AlgoSec| Firewall path operation automationFirewall configuration change automationNegates access control rule auditsProduct support and updates| $10,000 (approximate quote)| Summary Without changes made to IT policy, requests upon the IT department for access to the network and the bi yearly audit of existing rules will eventually grind all departmental progress to a complete stop for months at a time. Automation in this arena as well as a universal standard for antivirus are dire in maintaining a secure network with the necessary resources to make changes as needed. In the face of company growth, if automation is not embraced, then it will become necessary to increase the IT staff by at least 50% within the next 2 years to simply maintain the status quo. Assuming an employee pool of 100, an investment in Bitdefender and Algosec at this time will cost $12,249. 75, with reoccurring annual fees of $2,249. 75. Such an amount if a far cry from an extensive uptick in staff. The end result will be a far more efficient IT department that will be able to accomplish more sustentative work with existing staff at hand. References AlgoSec. (2012, january). AlgoSec Security Management Suite. Retrieved February 18, 2013, from Algosec. com: http://www. algosec. com/en/products/products_overview AlgoSec. (2013, January). How to Buy. Retrieved February 18, 2013, from algosec.

A Critical Analysis Of Techno Change Information Technology Essay

A Critical Analysis Of Techno Change Information Technology Essay This report offers a critical analysis of the article A Techno-cultural Emergence Perspective on the Management of Techno-change written by Stephen Jackson and George Philip. The principal purpose of this analysis is to identify and criticise the original contribution of the authors in the study, to discover any deficiencies in the proposed perspective, to propose any improvements and to look for any future research in this field. A brief overview is provided at the first. Part II, III and IV outline the definition of techno-change, importance of techno-change and techno-cultural emergence perspective. This is followed by the comment on originality and contributions; adopted research method, its appropriateness and limitations; and theoretical argument made by the study in Part V, VI and VII respectively. Key findings and their implications are provided in Part VIII. Finally, Part IX and X provide the deficiencies of the study and some recommendations for future research in this field. I. ABOUT THE ARTICLE The article in press, A techno-cultural perspective on the management of techno-change, published in the International Journal of Information Management in 2010 by Stephen Jackson and George Philip, explores the function of culture in the management of techno-change or technological change applying Cultural Theory originated from Anthropology as a hypothetical lens. The current three foremost viewpoints on organisation culture in relation to the management of technological changes namely technological determinism, cultural determinism and techno-cultural emergence, have been examined in this paper. The innermost precept of this article as proposed by the authors is that first two of the three approaches the technological determinism which pays less importance on the organisational culture and cultural determinism which provides   few thoughts on the technology would not be appropriately thriving in the technological change management arena; rather the authors put emphasis on the techno-cultural emergence approach in the facilitating contours of hierarchism, individualism/market and egalitarianism that promotes an atmosphere which can effectively manage the technological changes. II. WHAT IS TECHNO-CHANGE? The phrase Techno-change relates to the organisational changes for technological drives and encompasses a wide variety of features that are connected to and have effects for the changes contained by the organisations (Harison and Boonstra, 2009). When organisations adopt pristine technology which usually prompts or necessitates focal organizational changes, we can call it as Techno-change or technological change (Nilsson, 2008). The term Techno-change was first conceived by Markus in Technochange Management: Using IT to drive organisational change in 2004 (Markus, 2004) and from then the term techno-change has been widely applied in the technological and project management field along with various organisational circumstances.   TECHNOLOGICAL DETERMINISM: Technological determinism theory presumes that technological changes will drive cultural changes and social structure as well (Chandler, 2000). According to Chandler (2000), technological determinists usually try to account for nearly the whole thing in relation to technology: a perception is termed as technocentrism. CULTURAL DETERMINISM: Cultural determinism theory assumes that only culture determines our emotional and behavioural level. The supporters of cultural determinism view that culture is restricted, permanent, unitary and immobile over time (Jackson and Philip, 2005). III. IMPORTANCE OF TECHNO-CHANGE Now-a-days, techno-change is a critical incident and it is getting highly equal attention from both the profit and non-profit organisations (Harison and Boonstra, 2009). As innovations have been deluging in all aspects of businesses for the last couple of decades, the increasing introduction and implementation of large-scale information systems like the Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), Customer Relationship Management (CRM) or Supply Chain Management (SCM) systems in business firms as well as higher education providing institutions have become a common phenomena (Chae and Lanzara, 2006; Harison and Boonstra, 2009). Although these wide spread applications of techno-changes, industry data revel that techno-change has high propensity to failure (Chae and Lanzara, 2006). A recent study by the Computer Associates (CA) in 2007 in the UK and Ireland reveals cheap visibility about the importance of IT projects and less management control over the project are costing more than  £256 million in the UK every year and one third of all the projects run-over of their actual budget by 10% 20% (CA, 2007). The KPMG (2005) survey of 600 organisations in twenty-two countries show approximately 50% of the participants experience at least one project failure in 2004 whereas KPMGs 2003 survey reveals 57% of the respondents had one or more IT projects failure in 2002 (KMGP, 2005) The Robbins-Gioia Survey in 2001 also states that 51% ERP implementations are unsuccessful (Basu, 2001). According to IT Cortex (available online: http://www.it-cortex.com/Stat_Failure_Rate.htm), the Conference Board Survey in 2001 also does not show happy results as only 34% ERP implementations are successful, 58% are moderate successful and 8% implementations are totally unsuccessful. The Chaos Report (1995) conducted by the Standish Group shows 31.1% IT projects are cancelled prior to their completion and 52.7% projects over run their original costs by 189%. The money spent on these collapses and overruns simply could be the apex of well-known iceberg. The gone opportunity cost could not be quantifiable but believed to be more than trillions of dollars in the USA only. According to the report, more than $250 billion are spent in the USA every year on nearly 175,000 IT based projects.   The above surveys outcomes substantiate that neglecting techno-change can cost considerable amount of money in terms of wastage and business failure.   IV. IMPORTANCE OF TECHNO-CULTURAL EMERGENCE PERSPECTIVE The authors have proposed to employ and create a new perspective the techno-cultural emergence perspective to manage the techno-change. What are the logic and influences behind this new perspective? According to Yates (2006), this emergent change is unanticipated and could be viewed as an opportunity rather than merely a hazard against the project. Equipped with resources, the actors could underpin and/or make way for the emergent change. The advantages and importance of this perspective is that it recognizes the unavoidability of unforeseen emergent and improvisation and admits those as possible optimistic events rather than a downbeat. As the authority of that project cannot always manage the change over the technology as is planned, they could employ resources to get benefit of the emergent development. The techno-cultural emergence perspective also critically examines the intricate connections among social, technical and interpretative issues that continuously put pressure on organisational contexts (Jackson and Philip, 2005). In their earlier paper which was published in 2005, these two authors argued that the techno-cultural emergence perspective incorporates human, social, political factors and the processes of techno-change that are ignored by the other two perspectives. V. ORIGINIALITY AND CONTRIBUTIONS Hereby the critique report has made an attempt to evaluate the originality of the study by comparing other researchers contributions and studies. From the study it is quite apparent that the authors have followed the central theme of Cultural Theory proposed by Douglas (1970). Lots of studies and researches have been conducted in both technological determinism and cultural determinism and it seems none of the approaches are quite successful in the management of techno-change. The third approach, the techno-cultural emergence, which incorporates both the technology and organisations culture, works in both ways, focuses on the emergency and approaches in the incremental line for the change, has got very little attention and understanding from the researchers. The authors made an attempt to solve this problem incorporating Cultural Theorys three cosmologies enabling forms (hierarchism, egalitarianism and individualism/market) in the techno-cultural emergence perspective. As organisation s culture is complex, ambiguous and authoritative in nature (Heilpern and Nadler, 1992), it has become difficult to implement techno-change easily and the authors have argued that enabling forms of hierarchism (fosters visionary leadership and coordination), egalitarianism (fosters teamwork, mutual confidence and information sharing) and individualism/market (fosters imagination, motivation and novelty) will be successful in the techno-change management. The authors have made significant novel contribution by proposing the enabling forms of Cultural Theorys three mechanisms for the effective management of techno-change. Other researchers also mention about these three enabling forms of Cultural Theory for intranet, development of culture and inter-firm relations but none of them have proposed for the total management of techno-change by these three enabling forms. For example, Ruppel and Harrington (2001) mention that flexibility and novelty (individualism/market); faith and interest for colleagues (egalitarianism); and strategies and knowledge management (hierarchism) will optimize intranet implementation (techno-change). Hendriks (1999) argues the elimination of fatalism for the development of culture in the organisations. Adler (2001) also shows three enabling mechanisms of Cultural Theory market/price, hierarchy/authority, and community/trust will improve inter-organisations relationship. VI. RESEARCH METHOD, APPROPRIATENESS AND LIMITATIONS The authors have implemented Case Study and Multiple Methods, a part of Qualitative research method, for proposing the techno-change management by techno-cultural emergence perspective in the facilitating modes of hierarchism, egalitarianism and individualism/market.   According to Yin (1994, p 20), a case study research should have the following components: Æ’ËÅ"   Development of research questions Æ’ËÅ"   Development of propositions, if any Æ’ËÅ"   Analysis Æ’ËÅ"   The rationale connecting the data to the propositions Æ’ËÅ"   The decisive factors for interpreting the findings. The main research question was how does Cultural Theory offer a novel insight for better consideration of techno-change and its successful management? Beside this, the authors raised another question which perspective(s)/cosmology(ies) would be suitable for proper management of techno-change. The authors developed a fourth proposition. The authors collected coded, constructed theories and conducted analysis through the use of multiple methods and software package (HyperResearch2.6).  Ã‚   As technological determinism (Case study A) and cultural determinism (Case study B) did not achieve the expected changes; were unsuccessful in context of change outcomes; did not respond to the unanticipated improvisations to the technology and did not address properly to the unanticipated cultural issues arose from the techno-changes as opposed to the techno-cultural determinism (Case study C), the authors built their rationale for the fourth proposition on the basis of these comparisons. The decisive factors were enabling forms of Cultural Theory, namely hierarchism, egalitarianism, and individual/market as proposed by Douglas (1970) for successful management of techno-change. Stake (1995) and Yin (1994) recognized six bases for substantiation in the case study research method as illustrated in Tellis (1997) and these are: a.  Ã‚  Ã‚   Documents (internal documents were analysed) b.  Ã‚  Ã‚   Archival records (company literature were analysed) c.  Ã‚  Ã‚   Interviews (total 46 interviews were conducted) d.  Ã‚  Ã‚   Direct inspection (Golds [1969] method was applied) e.  Ã‚  Ã‚   Users inspection (Golds [1969] method was followed) f.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Physical artefacts (company blueprints were analysed) The above discussion confirms the appropriateness of Case Study research method for this study. Overall, this type of research method has proved well-matched with the proposal as it provides the end to end analysis of the problem discussed and other researchers like Myers (1997) also supported case study research method in the IS field. However, there could be some limitations also recognised in this study. It seems the authors have applied Grounded Theory (Myers, 1997) which examined the initial evolution of cultural issues in the three different cases. A stage approach applying longitudinal or ethnographic method could be more useful in this type of research as both the methods examine the events and proceedings at every stage of techno-change life-cycle. As the project implementation periods were very lengthy in all the three cases, biasness of the participants could be a limitation in this study, which provided difficulties for the interviewees to recall the experiences throughout the project implementation period. Other researchers such as Orlikowski (1991) and Preston (1991) also support the use of ethnographic method in the IS field as illustrated in Myers (1997). VII. THEORETICAL ARGUMENT The authors proposed a techno-cultural emergence perspective to understand techno-change management, moving away from technological and cultural deterministic views of change, through the enabling forms of Cultural Theory proposed by Douglas (1970). According to Cultural Theory, individuals social situation can be identified by two principal dimensions grid and group, ultimately produce four means of life (cosmology). The cosmologies are: fatalism, hierarchism, individualism/market and egalitarianism. Each way of life possesses facilitating/enabling and or constraining/impeding characteristics. Fatalism produces apathy and fear, thus, it is regarded as constraining form in the techno-change management. The enabling form of hierarchism inspires leadership and coordination; individualism/market inspires creativity, motivation and inventiveness; and egalitarianism inspires teamwork, confidence and information sharing. The authors in this study make a theoretical argument that because o f technological determinisms negligence in organisational culture and cultural determinisms negligence in technology, these three cosmologies enabling forms will lead to successful management of techno-change. The authors claim that change should be viewed as continuous and emergent rather than planned and managers should take their endeavour to lessen constraining cultural attributes and construct such environment that will promote the enabling forms and as a result techno-change management can be done successfully. No research substantiation for this claim is clearly apparent in the study. VIII. THE KEY FINDINGS AND THEIR IMPLICATIONS Several important findings can be obtained from this study.  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   A new perspective: Management should not follow top-down technological or cultural driven method for the successful implementation and management of techno-change. As an alternative, the authors proposed an incremental/evolutionary style along with continuous adjustments and improvements in culture and technology will lead successful techno-change management. Stakeholders in techno-change should keep in mind that change is an ongoing process and it is made up of uncertain, questionable and unavoidable issues of both the technology and culture. In terms of implications, this new strategy might be quite successful as both the technological and cultural determinism approaches have proved unsuccessful in the techno-change. This strategy might get higher success rate in the successful implementation of ERP which aims to get visibility on inventories around the world or placing one face to the customer (Markus, 2004, p 14), on BPR (Business Process Redesign) or on various innovative and contemporary measurements and amendments in organisation structures. This strategy might be implemented in Supply Chain Management (SCM) as well which aims to address on the different productions and deliveries schedules, greater information sharing within the associated organisations and the ways of procurements.   Ã‚ ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   More attention on techno-change process: Much concentration is needed in the field of software vendor and contract; training and encouragement of participation of the users; data transfer; interface development, system testing and coverage. In terms of implications, addressing these issues during the techno-change management process is vital. According to Markus (2004), although the management might know the need of a new system but might not be aware of huge variations between systems of the similar type recommended by various software vendors as well as the amount of flexibility around the softwares applications. She argues this superior awareness of the options will lead to successful techno-change. Sometimes, the management might decide to save money on software testing which can result buggy software, or on training of users which could result incompetent users who commit higher mistakes.  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Cultural issues: Organisations cultural issues must not be overlooked during the techno-change process. Constricting cultural cosmology must be minimised whereas facilitating cosmologies must be promoted within the organisations culture. Markus (2004) argues that every techno-change brings out probable provocation from human reaction which we term as resistance to change and any difference between the techno-change and organisations culture brings out conflict and chips in to resistance. She claims, because of their view to the devotion to the patients care, doctors and nurses usually resent those techno-changes which bring greater organizational competences. Individuals who like to work on their own might resent to the techno-changes which provide greater teamwork facilities. Markus (2004) also illustrates two national cultural misfits in the techno-change as well because of lacking in map culture, geographical information system (GIS) is not greatly used in India whereas ERP system is rarely used in China because managers have little confidence in their subordinates regarding the access in the business data. So managers should promote coordination among users (hierarchism); teamwork and confidence among users (ega litarianism); and inventiveness, motivation and creativity (individualism/market) whereas managers should try to minimise any apathy and fear to techno-change (fatalism). IX. DEFECIENCIES IN THE STUDY 1.  Ã‚  Ã‚   The authors proposed perspective is totally based on Douglass (1970) Cultural Theory which is not away from criticisms as well. According to Caulkins (1999), the first drawback is the outline of this theory has not been done through comprehensive cross-cultural testing. He also proposed for further testing of this group-grid framework. 2.  Ã‚  Ã‚   From the study, it appears techno-change and IT projects are the same although there is substantial difference in between these two processes. According to Markus (2004) IT projects aim to improve technical performances whereas techno-change heavily affects the users such as people, process and organisation performance. She also argues that although both IT projects and techno-changes heavily rely on IT but IT projects bring organisations success through improved functionality, reliability and cost of technology with no considerable amendments in the organisations operations whereas techno-changes generally improve organisations outcome measurements considerably like the process efficiency and cycle time. The authors did not distinguish techno-changes and IT projects in the study. 3.  Ã‚   There is no cross-case analysis for the same private sector enterprises. For example, the authors could select a retail business to compare with the business/technology solution provider. A further cross-case analysis could be done for public sector by including and analysing a health care service provider and a government organisation. 4.  Ã‚  Ã‚   Case study research method is a multi-perspective analysis method (Tellis, 1997) which means the study does not count just the voice and perspectives of the actors but also needs to consider various relevant groups of actors and the relations among them. The cases in this study only considered actors within the organisations but ignored the external stake-holders and users like the students, customers and investors. 5.  Ã‚  Ã‚   The proposition is not tested on different sectors like the NGOs and not-for-profit organisations. 6.  Ã‚  Ã‚   The proposition is not tested on different countries culture as well. We cant get any idea in which country/location this study was conducted. Different countries have different cultures and cultures vary for the locations as well, the disclosure of location/country of the study would provide some idea about the perception and successful management of techno-change in the same geographic location. 7.  Ã‚  Ã‚   Insufficient information can lead inappropriate implications. For example, we can find none of the cases in this study reveal the actual cost or the total cost of the techno-change. As cost is a major consideration for implementing IS project or techno-change, the information on cost for the organisations could provide insight for other similar types of organisations. 8.  Ã‚  Ã‚   Social, economic and environmental factors have not been analysed in the cases. None of the cases shows the social advantages, benefits or disadvantages of the employees/users for a techno-change. Economic benefits of the organisations have not been discussed. Every techno-change has impacts on its surrounding environment and that has not been mentioned anywhere in the study. A classic example was illustrated by Markus (2004) for Cigna. The firm launched its new CRM for the cost of $1 billion which ultimately laid off its customer service personnel department but the new system at the end could not handle 3.5 million customers complaints and eventually Cignas share price fell significantly. 9.  Ã‚  Ã‚   The authors have not outlined how to implement emergence perspective throughout the organisations and the factors are needed to be considered while implementing it. The authors also have not mentioned how the organisations can create, support, maintain and promote the enabling forms and how organisations can avoid and discourage the constraining form.   11. The authors have not critically analysed the role of IT specialists and other internal staff specialists like the industrial engineering and strategic planners as they play vital roles in the implementation of techno-change (Markus, 2004). Besides the performances of organisational managers, internal and external change consultants and technology performances have not critically analysed in the study. The techno-change life cycle chartering, the IT project, start-up and shakedown (Markus, 2004) of the described three cases has not been properly stated as well. 12. According to the authors, an individuals membership in the cosmologies is not fixed or permanent and it is dynamic in nature. Our concern is possessing three cosmologies at the same time for an individual cannot it create confusion, conflict and overlapping situations in the individuals which might impede the process of techno-change? X. RECOMMENDATIONS Action Research could be applied instead of Case Study research method as it is now attracting more attention for researchers (Myers, 1997). Although action research is generally ignored in information systems aside from some notable experiments, for example, Checkland (1991) as illustrated in Myers (1997). Ethnographic research could be applied as it puts emphasis on social and cultural context. As ethnographic research encompasses a greater area including the study of the development of IS to the study features of IT management, multiple perspectives can be incorporated and has widely been used in the study of information systems (Myers, 1997), this type of research would be more accurate for the investigation and management of techno-change. Cross-case analysis can be applied. This type of technique examines pairs of cases, categorizes resemblances and dissimilarities in each pair which will lead to a certain type of pattern which may provide specific support or evidence in the case studies (Tellis, 1997). Although this study compared only one pair of public enterprises, it ignored other cross-case analysis in the private sector. Time and distance effects should be reduced as both of them affect the techno-change management (Markus, 2004). If we look at the Case B where TI/IS implementation time was 5 years (2001 2006) whereas Case A and C both took 2 years. This long period of implementation time could affect the users and members of IT/IS adversely where they may feel distant from the organisations and the ongoing operations of the organisations which might put question on the success of the techno-change. XI. REFERENCES Adler, P. S., 2001, Market, Hierarchy, and Trust: The Knowledge Economy and the Future of Capitalism, Organization Science, Volume 12, No. 2, Available online: http://orgsci.journal.informs.org/cgi/content/abstract/12/2/215 Basu, I., 2001, ERP implementation failures and the Philosophers Stone, Available online: http://www.expresscomputeronline.com/20071105/management04.shtml Caulkins, D., 1999, Is Mary Douglass Grid/Group Analysis Useful for Cross-Cultural Research? Cross-Cultural Research, Volume 33, No. 1, pp 108-128, Available online: http://ccr.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/33/1/108 Chae, B. and Lanzara, G. F., 2006, Self-destructive dynamics in large-scale techno-change and some ways of counteracting it, Information Technology People, Volume 19, No. 1, pp 74 97. Available online: www.emeraldinsight.com/0959-3848.htm Chandler, D., 2000, Technological or Media Determinism, Available online: http://www.aber.ac.uk/media/Documents/tecdet/tdet03.html Harison, E. and Boonstra, A., 2009, Essential competencies for technochange management: Towards an assessment model, International Journal of Information Management, Volume 29, Issue 4, pp 283 294, Available online: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science Heilpern, J. And Nadler, D., 1992, Implementing TQM: A Process of Cultural Change, Organisational Architecture, San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Hendriks, F, 1999, The Post-industrializing City: Political Perspectives and Cultural Biases, GeoJournal, Volume 47, Number 3, Available online: http://www.springerlink.com/content/pmtatt1umn2cej8t/ Jackson, S. and Philip, G., 2005, Organisational Culture and the Management of Technological Change: A Theoretical Perspective, Available online: http://is2.lse.ac.uk/asp/aspecis/20050109.pdf KPMG, 2005, Information Risk Management, Global IT Project Management Survey: How committed are you? Available online:   http://us.kpmg.com/Rutus_Prod/Documents/12/ITProjectAdvisorySurveyReport.pdf Markus, M. L., 2004, Technochange management: using IT to drive organizational change, Journal of Information Technology, Volume 19, pp 4 20, JIT Palgrave Macmillan Ltd. Myers, M., 1997, Qualitative Research in Information Systems, Available online: C:Documents and SettingsuserDesktopQualitative Research in Information Systems.htm Nilsson, A., 2008, Management of Technochange in an Interorganizational e-Government Project, Proceedings of the 41st Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences, Available online: http://www.computer.org/portal/web/csdl/doi/10.1109/HICSS.2008.240 Ruppel, C.P. and Harrington, S. J., 2001, Sharing Knowledge Through Intranets: A Study of Organisational Culture and Intranet Implementation, IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication, Volume 44, Issue 1, pp 37 52 Tellis, W., 1997, Introduction to Case Study, Available online: http://www.nova.edu/ssss/QR/QR3-2/tellis1.html The Standish Group Report: Chaos, 1995, Available online: http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/docs/chaos-report.pdf The CA, 2007, Press Releases, Available online: http://www.ca.com/gb/press/release.aspx?cid=155480 Yates, J., 2006, Planned, Emergent and Opportunistic Change, Available online: http://icd.si.umich.edu/~cknobel/?q=node/41 Yin, R., 1994, Case Study Research: Design and Methods, Second Edition, Beverly Hills, California, Sage Publication.

Toys R Us and the Nightmare before Christmas :: Personal Narrative Writing

Toys R Us and the Nightmare before Christmas When I tell people I worked at a toy store, they tend to respond with, â€Å"Ah, that’s so cool,† or â€Å"So, you got to play with toys all day.† I had been known to perfect my video game skills and snag action figures, but a toy store is not as fun as you may think. Children looked at me as though I was the epitome of fun and enjoyment as I offered assistance in my blue vest with a huge transfer of Geoffrey the Giraffe on the back. Parents came to me thinking I was an encyclopedia of dolls and board games. Though there was some truth to these assumptions, the three years I spent working in toys exhausted me, forced me to encounter some bizarre people, and exposed me to situations I could not have conceived would occur in a store for children. Most importantly it helped me gain an understanding of the diverse behavior exhibited by shoppers and allowed me to realize I have an incredibly high tolerance for ignorance. I officially became part of the â€Å"R Us family† when I started working for Toys R Us during the 1999 Christmas season. Prior to beginning my new job, I realized the difficulty in maintaining a smile and energy as hundreds of impatient, shop crazed parents destroyed isles of Legos and stuffed animals, while carting around crying infants, snotty toddlers and selfish adolescents. Regardless, I expected a personal reward in seeing children stand in awe of the mass amounts of toys the store kept in stock. Their happiness would bring me happiness. Plus, I would not have to get too involved with the children; they had parents that supervised them. I also felt a boost of Christmas spirit would be inspiring and much needed. How could I resist parents eager to buy Christmas gifts and children pointing out their favorite toys with smiles on their faces? Within the few weeks that composed the busiest shopping time of the year, customers were able to diminish my joy for the holiday season. My first anti-holiday experience occurred when I was learning how to run the registers. At this time, I was also learning that parents tend to feel a great need to please their children by purchasing the trendiest toys and by spending hundreds of dollars on Christmas presents. One such â€Å"guest,† as we are encouraged to refer to customers, a thin woman with fluffed brown hair, came through my lane with a cart full of toys.

The Measurement of Intelligence through IQ Tests Essay -- Intelligence

The Measurement of Intelligence through IQ Tests Can intelligence be measured? Does an IQ test actually measure a person’s intelligence? Does a high score indicate a genius? Does a low score indicate stupidity or merely ignorance? These questions have been asked over and over again by psychiatrists and scientists alike, but to date there are no clear answers. These questions cannot be answered without first defining what is meant by the term intelligence. Once intelligence has been defined then it should be easy to answer these questions; however, multiple definitions of the word tend to lead to further confusion. In a 1921 symposium entitled â€Å"Intelligence and Its Measurement†, psychiatrists were asked to define intelligence and their answers varied greatly. One described intelligence as â€Å"equivalent to the capacity to learn.† Other definitions included â€Å"the ability to adapt adequately to relatively new situations†, â€Å"the capacity to learn or profit from experience†, and â€Å"the knowledge that an individual possesses.† And one stated that there was no simple definition to the word because â€Å"intelligence involves two factors- the capacity for knowledge and knowledge possessed† (Sternberg & Detterman, 1986, p.39-40). Dictionaries add still more definitions: Funk & Wagnall’s defines intelligence as â€Å"The faculty of perceiving and comprehending meaning; mental quickness; active intellect; understanding† , while Webster’s defines it as â€Å"the ability to learn or understand or to deal with new or trying situations; the skilled use of reason.† While some of these definitions are similar, none of them are exactly the same. The definition of intelligence becomes even more complicated when one considers the work of Howard Gardner. Gardner claims that intelligence can not be defined with one definition because intelligence is not one thing. Gardner purports that there are eight different categories of intelligence: musical, bodily-kinesthetic, logical-mathematical, linguistic, spatial, interpersonal, intrapersonal, and naturalist. He is currently considering adding a ninth category of intelligence: existential (Carvin). Gardner believes that all people excel in at least one category of intelligence. However, he cautions teachers using the multiple intelligence approach in the classroom: â€Å"Do not label kids as ‘spatial, but not linguistic’ or, for that... ... when they arrive the store is out of bread. The children are then asked what they would do with points only being scored for the answer of going to another store; however, for children living in large urban ghetto areas the most popular answer has traditionally been to go home. Researchers argue that, considering the environment that these children live in, going home would be a much more intelligent decision than attempting to go to another store (Lawler, 1978, p.34). Can intelligence be measured? Does an IQ test actually measure a person’s intelligence? The answers all depend on who you ask. Bibliography: References Block, N. & Dworkin, G. (1976). The iq controversy. New York: Random House. Carvin, A. EdWeb: Exploring technology and school reform. [On-Line]. Available: http://edweb.gsn.org/edref.mi.intro.html Durie, R. The building tool room: an interview with Howard Gardner. [On-Line]. Available: http://www.newhorizons.org/trm_gardner.html Lawler, J. (1978). Iq, heritability, and racism. New York: International Publishers. Sternberg, R. & Detterman, D. (1986). What is intelligence. New Jersey: Ablex Publishing Corporation.

Faulkners Light in August - Themes :: Light August Essays

Light in August - Themes    1. RACISM    The Southern concern with racial identity is one of Light in August's central themes. When people think that Joe Christmas has even a trace of black ancestry, they treat him completely differently from the way they treat white people. Many of the characters in Light in August seem twisted by their preoccupation with race. Joe Christmas, Joanna Burden, Nathaniel Burden, Doc Hines, and, ultimately, Percy Grimm are among these. But even many of the characters who don't share this mania assume that treating blacks inhumanly is acceptable. The Jefferson sheriff, Watt Kennedy, seems a decent man, yet he whips a randomly chosen black in an interrogation that was unnecessary in the first place.    2. THE SOUTHERN PAST       Two of Light in August's five major characters live in the shadow of their dead ancestors. But you could interpret their relation to these forebears in different ways. On the one hand, you could point to a pattern of decline and say that the present doesn't live up to the heroic days of yesteryear. On the other hand, you could say that the problems of the present come from a failure to shake off the burdensome grip of the past. Here is how you could argue each point of view.    a. The Heroic Past    Gail Hightower's grandfather was a robust lover of life, and his father was a helper of his fellow human beings. But Hightower fails both his wife and his congregation and spends the rest of his life cut off from other people.    Though Joanna Burden's forefathers were not originally from the South, their emigration to Jefferson makes them part of the Souths history too. And like Gail Hightower, Joanna compares badly to both her father and grandfather. They were rebellious wanderers and vigorous family men. She spends most of her time in her house, feels homesick whenever she leaves Jefferson, and never marries or has children.    b. The Burdensome Past    Gail Hightower's problems stem from his obsession with his grandfather, who was not even worth this worship. After all, he died stealing chickens. Likewise, Joanna Burden is the victim of the stern religion and patronizing racism that her father taught her and that he learned from his father before him.

Montessori VS Gibson: Education and Perception

Maria Montessori and Eleanor Gibson are two of the primary education theorists in the last 100 years.   Both are female, which was rare in their fields at the time, and both contributed to education and learning theories in ways that are still widely used today.   However, each has a different perspective on education, and a different and unique contribution to the field of educational research.   Overall, there are many significant similarities and differences in the educational theories created and implemented by Montessori and Gibson.Montessori was born in Italy in 1870.   She attended medical school there despite protests about her gender, and was the first woman to ever become a doctor in Italy.   After medical school, Montessori went on to work with poor children.   She noticed that many of these children could not necessarily benefit from medical care, but could benefit from educational opportunities that they did not have.   After noticing this, Montessori went on to teach children and develop a system of education that is used throughout the world today.Her early success in teaching was met with surprise, as even she had been skeptical that her methods would work.   The progress that these economically poor children showed was amazing to her, and to others who came to see what they could do.   In fact, efforts were so successful that Montessori went on to open up other ‘poor houses’ around Italy, and later, in other countries.   Towards the end of her life, she traveled around, teaching the ‘Montessori method’ to other teachers in countries throughout the world (Cossentino).Gibson was born in America in 1910.   As a child, she was discouraged from attending school because of her gender, but persevered and attended anyway.   After secondary school, she attended Yale and eventually earned a Ph.D. in developmental psychology.   Gibson then began to work with children and animals, doing experiments to see what babies knew from birth and what was learned.Her most famous experiment is the â€Å"visual cliff,† where a drop-off is set up and covered by glass.   Babies aged 6 to 14 months are placed at the edge and encouraged to crawl onto the clear glass.   However, all babies refused, suggesting that they could perceive depth from birth.   Gibson used the information she gathered from these experiments to investigate the way people learn and perceive their environment.   Gibson’s experiments are still being carried out by her students today (Gibson).Maria Montessori created a method for teaching children that today is used to educate children from birth through age 18, although it is mostly commonly used for ages three to six.   The general principle is to allow a child his freedom to work at his own pace, on the activities he chooses.   Several age-appropriate activities are possible, and the child chooses what he is interested in and investigates it thorough ly.   Children at work are never interrupted, and individual work takes precedence over group work.   Additionally, all groups are multi-age, with three ages in one group.   The most common age group is the three to six year old ages.   These groupings exist so the older children will teach the younger children, advancing both of their learning (www.montessori.edu).Gibson’s approach to education is different.   Her studies focused on perceptual development and innate knowledge in babies rather than education later in life, although her theories had implications for education later in life.   Gibson is known for starting the field of perceptual development in psychology, as little was known about it at the time.   Most doctors and psychologists assumed that to babies, the world was nothing more than a confusing buzz of sounds and sights, and that they could not make any sense of it or perceive it at all in the way of adults.These doctors assumed that babies learn ed to perceive as they aged and were taught about the world around them.   Gibson performed many experiments throughout her years as a researcher that disproved this view and brought about a brand-new view of perceptual development.   She wrote two books, one in 1967 on her research thus far, and one in 1991 that summed up what she had done in her lifetime (Gibson).The major difference between Montessori and Gibson is that Montessori was a doctor who specialized in teaching children based on their individual needs throughout their lives, while Gibson primarily focused on what children already knew when they were born and was not overly concerned with later life, as older children had already been studied more.   Gibson does, however, focus some on the processes of education throughout life, although primarily in what children know at birth and how this affects the way they learn later in life.They were similar, though, in their belief that children were different than others t hought.   Children were not stupid, were not blank slates, and did not need help in learning everything.   Children were born with innate abilities to learn and to perceive.   Gibson and Montessori both furthered this idea through their work.   Both women also helped to show that children could work seriously, even from a young age; that their attention spans are long enough and their perceptions are good enough to learn on their own.Gibson did further experiments, mostly with infants, and often with animals, as certain types of experiments are not ethical in humans.   One significant finding was in how human children learned to read and recognize letters.   Gibson theorized that children would learn by seeking out the features that are different about the letters, or â€Å"contrastive features.†Ã‚   She came upon this theory based on experiments with animals that showed this was how they learned to recognize colors, patterns, and other objects.   It turned out that this was, indeed, how children learned, by recognizing different features in the letters to distinguish one from another (Spelke).Also, Gibson was trying to focus on the ‘mechanisms which operate in all learning (Gibson).’   Her goal was to discover, through her research on perception, how exactly humans learned, and how figuring this out could benefit them in some way.   This research was crucial later to show how much people really knew and were capable of learning at all ages.Montessori did not focus nearly as much on how children perceived, but on how they learned (which is, in general, what Montessori and Gibson have most in common).   Montessori emphasized that all children learned differently and needed an environment which nurtured this.   Children who are put in an environment and allowed to learn what they chose tended to choose to learn as much as possible.   Montessori also emphasizes creativity through learning to do a number of different thi ngs, and to learn them correctly.   For example, music lessons can be a part of Montessori if a child chooses; but the teachers encourage the students to learn to play an instrument correctly, not to use it for an unorthodox purposes, like using a violin as a hammer (www.montessori.edu).Additionally, Montessori focuses on work, rather than play in her education model.   Most preschools believe that children learn through random play, while Montessori emphasizes purposeful work even from the young ages in order to investigate and learn about the world (Cossentino 63).Both methods are based on the premise that children know more than they are given credit for.   Gibson was sure that children could understand and perceive far more than psychologists thought they could, and her experiments showed that this was true.   In fact, Gibson did experiments on animals that proved even further what the experiments with babies began to show.   Gibson took newborn kids (baby goats) and p laced them on the visual cliff, and even at birth they would not go over it.She also placed kittens on the cliff once they were old enough to move and see, and they would not go over it.   Gibson reared some animals in complete darkness for awhile, and some would still not go over the cliff when they entered the light.   Kittens were an exception to this.   For a few days, they crawled across the whole surface and did not notice the cliff; after that, they, too, stopped going over the edge.   Gibson tried to place them on the cliff right away, so they would learn that crawling onto the glass was safe, but once kittens could see better, even though they knew the glass was safe from previous experience, they still would not go across it once they could see the cliff, suggesting that the perception of this drop is innate and not learned (Spelke).Innate ability is the key to Gibson and Montessori.   Both believed that children had innate ability to learn, to recognize, and to know.   Montessori built her schools on this premise.   In fact, many schools have children who are discovering and understanding subjects that adults think are far beyond their capabilities at a young age.   Elementary age students may teach themselves advanced mathematics or science concepts, ideas that are usually taught in high school.   The Montessori method encourages children to use their innate curiosity and ability to investigate to find out about their world and learn as much as they can about it (www.montessori.edu).Children are unusually intelligent and have strong capabilities.   They are not born with no knowledge, no skills, and no ability to learn.   Both Gibson and Montessori’s research showed that this is true.   Children are born knowing things, and born with a thirst to know more things.   Children learn by perceiving the world around them and continuing to try things out until they figure out how it works, and why.Montessori had an early i dea about how children learned, and created a system to teach them in that natural way.   Today’s Montessori schools are all across the world, at every age group, public and private.   Montessori still means that children learn individually, even when they are in high school.   Students who study by the Montessori method tend to score above average on standardized tests (despite a complete lack of teaching to the test) and tend to get into good colleges and succeed well in life.This is because students are given the opportunity to work individually from a young age, which leads to self-motivation.   Self-motivation is the most crucial part of the theory; children will learn far more if they are doing it on their own, based on intrinsic motivation, rather than extrinsic motivation.   The Montessori method promotes this intrinsic motivation from the beginning (www.montessori.edu).Gibson’s work, which came later, explained in psychological detail what Montessori seemed to ‘innately know,’ just as her students innately knew about the world around them.   Gibson’s experiments shed light on the way children perceived their world and how much they actually knew and understood before anyone taught them.Today, many people are still a bit skeptical about the ideas put forth by these two women.   However, many of the major educational and psychological movements are based on the work that both women did in their individual fields.   Gibson’s experiments have given way to a plethora of research in cognitive and perceptual psychology, specifically aimed at trying to figure out how infants and animals really think and understand.The result of all of these years of experiments and programs it that children are better prepared to learn about their world in a way that makes sense to them.   Children are better focused, better behaved, and learn more, better, and more quickly when their natural abilities are recognized and respected.  Ã‚   Children in Montessori classrooms or those with teachers who believe in their ability to think, learn, and perceive without explicit teaching thrive better than those who have teachers who think they are merely blank slates, empty vessels waiting to be taught to look, listen, think, and perceive.The educational world has both Gibson and Montessori to thank for their new insights into teaching young children.   Both women made significant contributions to the field at a time when women were not welcomed into medical fields.   Both women had to fight for their right to an education, and both women were intelligent enough and savvy enough to get their degrees and conduct their programs despite opposition.   Without them, education would not be what it is today.BibliographyCossentino, Jacqueline M. (2006).   â€Å"Big Work: Goodness, Vocation, and Engagement in the Montessori Method.†Ã‚   Curriculum Inquiry.   36, 1, 63 – 92.Gibson, Eleanor J. (1940). â€Å"A Systematic Application of the Concepts of Generalization and Differentiation to Verbal Learning.† Psychological Review.   47, 196 – 229.Gibson, Eleanor J. (1934). â€Å"Retention and the Interpolated Task.† American Journal of Psychology.   46, 603 – 610.â€Å"The International Montessori Index (2006).†Ã‚   Accessed December 18, 2006.   Website: www.montessori.edu.  Spelke, Elizabeth (2003).   â€Å"Gibson’s Work: An Extended Reply to Helmholtz.†Ã‚   Association for Psychological Science, 16, 4.