Social Construct of a Pool Hall Essays -- Billiards Bars Games Essays

Social Construct of a Pool Hall Billiards, or more commonly referred to as pool has been played for many decades. In the late nineteenth century and early twentieth century it was played by those of upper class standing in their homes. Over the twentieth century pool shifted roles, becoming part of middle and lower class society. With the class change, pool also moved out of the home and into bars and halls. Pool has been forever transformed; today there are three main groups of pool players to be found in pool halls; professional players: blue collar players, and teenage players. Non-pool players hold a very stereotypical view of what makes up a pool hall and its patrons. It tends to be a bar, full of drunkenness and fighting. Gambling, smoking, and trashy women standing next to their men. As one mother of five children stated in her interview, "it's motorcycle people." Here she was referring to the type of people who go to pool halls. And while she has never been herself, nor does she plan to go, she describes her motorcycle people as wearing, "leather jackets with fringe over dirty white t-shirts." These stereotypes could be possible for the lack of families and older couples who would go to pool halls. As with many stereotypes, this one is also inaccurate, of the three groups, the description of a "motorcycle person" does not fit in. To define the groups of pool players, I studied a pool hall in Waterford, Michigan. This pool hall is located on the Waterford border with Pontiac, right off the main highway, in a collapsing business district. This area has seen its better days; it is now falling down the economic ladder. Now it resembles many inner cities of America. The hall is tucked back in off the highway, next ... ...oup that should be left unrecognized, the women. Players from the lower groups do not strive to become members of the professional players, as professional players do not wish to move down in the ranks. The order is set; there are very few transfers between the groups. The three groups: the professional players, the blue-collar players, and the teenagers, have forever transformed the atmosphere of the pool hall. While many stereotypes exist concerning what a pool hall is, many are not true. It is not full of "motorcycle people," nor is it a drunken scene as depicted in movies. It is a place of social construct, such as everything in society. Works Cited Jennifer. Gender Relations and Alchol: An examination of The Cocktail Waitress: Women's work in a Man's World. 5 November 2001. http://www.geocities.com/Wellesley/6265/papers/gender/cocktailwaitress.html.

africa Essay -- essays research papers

African Cultures   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Africa has more than 800 languages native to its continent. African cultures are so diverse that they are different from any other culture of the world. African cultures contain many different languages. African languages range from common French to languages unheard of to most people such as Swahili. African arts are much different than American arts. Their art involves much more creative pottery, masks, and paintings. Africa has a very interesting culture. Reasons being the people are very creative and like to express their individuality. The most diverse cultures in the world belong to Africa. There are more than 800 languages spoken in the continent of Africa. Most Africans speak two or three languages, their primary language, or â€Å"mother-tongue†, and a second or third language to communicate with people from other close by areas (Fetzer A-102). African languages are broken up into four individual categories: Niger-Congo, Nilo-Saharan, Afro-Asiatic, and Khosian. The most commonly heard two categories are Niger-Congo and Nilo-Saharan. Both of these groups can modify the meanings of words by the tone of the speakers’ voice. Niger-Congo languages are spoken of the people in West Africa, below the Sahara desert, Southern and Central Africa. Nilo-Saharan languages are spoken mainly in Central Africa. Afro-Asiatic languages are mainly spoken in Northern and Northeastern Africa. This group includes Amharic, the official language of Ethiopia, and Arabic. Khoisan languages are spoken mostly in Southern Africa by Bushmen, members of traditionally roaming hunting people, and Hottentots, members of pastoral people of Namibia and South Africa. Khoisan languages are communicative through clicking sounds (Fetzer A-102). Some South Africans speak Afrikaans, a language that was developed from Dutch. Europeans in African speak Portuguese, French, and English (Fetzer A-102). English is becoming very recognized in the countries of Africa. The 1991 South African Census concluded that 45% of the people in South Africa have a speaking knowledge of English. It also concluded that 10% refer to English as their â€Å"mother-tongue†. The most common languages in South Africa are Xhosa, Tswana, Zulu, and Swahili (African Languages). Zulu is one of nine Bantu languages spoken in East Southern Africa. Approximately 8.8 million people speak t... ... language of Africans (African Individuality).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ceremonies are held when someone changes their social status and social relationship with those in the community. There are about six ceremonies in ones life. The first is their birth, the second is their maturity, third is their marriage, fourth is their child bearing, fifth is their elderliness, sixth is their death. Ceremonies are simply socially approved methods of participating in pleasurable events (African Individuality).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Africans view body modifications as beauty. Body modifications, such as piercing, have been practiced in Africa for centuries. People there believe that one is not fully human and cannot be distinguished from animals if not pierced. Piercing is brought with royalty and portrays courage of a person (African Cultures Piercing). African cultures are different from any other culture in the world. The languages of Africa are unique in their own way. The arts of Africa are beautiful and different from any other arts in the world. African people are creative and like to express their individuality. Africa is a very original continent with lots of culture. africa Essay -- essays research papers African Cultures   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Africa has more than 800 languages native to its continent. African cultures are so diverse that they are different from any other culture of the world. African cultures contain many different languages. African languages range from common French to languages unheard of to most people such as Swahili. African arts are much different than American arts. Their art involves much more creative pottery, masks, and paintings. Africa has a very interesting culture. Reasons being the people are very creative and like to express their individuality. The most diverse cultures in the world belong to Africa. There are more than 800 languages spoken in the continent of Africa. Most Africans speak two or three languages, their primary language, or â€Å"mother-tongue†, and a second or third language to communicate with people from other close by areas (Fetzer A-102). African languages are broken up into four individual categories: Niger-Congo, Nilo-Saharan, Afro-Asiatic, and Khosian. The most commonly heard two categories are Niger-Congo and Nilo-Saharan. Both of these groups can modify the meanings of words by the tone of the speakers’ voice. Niger-Congo languages are spoken of the people in West Africa, below the Sahara desert, Southern and Central Africa. Nilo-Saharan languages are spoken mainly in Central Africa. Afro-Asiatic languages are mainly spoken in Northern and Northeastern Africa. This group includes Amharic, the official language of Ethiopia, and Arabic. Khoisan languages are spoken mostly in Southern Africa by Bushmen, members of traditionally roaming hunting people, and Hottentots, members of pastoral people of Namibia and South Africa. Khoisan languages are communicative through clicking sounds (Fetzer A-102). Some South Africans speak Afrikaans, a language that was developed from Dutch. Europeans in African speak Portuguese, French, and English (Fetzer A-102). English is becoming very recognized in the countries of Africa. The 1991 South African Census concluded that 45% of the people in South Africa have a speaking knowledge of English. It also concluded that 10% refer to English as their â€Å"mother-tongue†. The most common languages in South Africa are Xhosa, Tswana, Zulu, and Swahili (African Languages). Zulu is one of nine Bantu languages spoken in East Southern Africa. Approximately 8.8 million people speak t... ... language of Africans (African Individuality).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ceremonies are held when someone changes their social status and social relationship with those in the community. There are about six ceremonies in ones life. The first is their birth, the second is their maturity, third is their marriage, fourth is their child bearing, fifth is their elderliness, sixth is their death. Ceremonies are simply socially approved methods of participating in pleasurable events (African Individuality).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Africans view body modifications as beauty. Body modifications, such as piercing, have been practiced in Africa for centuries. People there believe that one is not fully human and cannot be distinguished from animals if not pierced. Piercing is brought with royalty and portrays courage of a person (African Cultures Piercing). African cultures are different from any other culture in the world. The languages of Africa are unique in their own way. The arts of Africa are beautiful and different from any other arts in the world. African people are creative and like to express their individuality. Africa is a very original continent with lots of culture.

James I of England and Macbeth

Some say he's mad; others, that lesser hate him, Do call it valiant fury† (Caithness: Act 5, Scene 2) Consider Macbeth as a gothic protagonist in the light of this comment.Although William Shakespeare's ‘Macbeth‘ was written in a time before the introduction of the Gothic genre, it is fair to argue that he fits the role typically prescribed to Gothic protagonists. However, the question of whether he is ‘mad' or shows actions of ‘valiant fury' is a matter open to interpretation. Sickness and madness are common themes in Gothic texts, and it is arguable to suggest that as a Gothic protagonist, Macbeth is indeed driven to madness.Firstly, his repeated association with various supernatural elements in the play present him as being a character who is perhaps driven by his own mental manifestations; upon seeing a levitating dagger, Macbeth questions whether it is in fact â€Å"a dagger of the mind†, citing the possibility of his â€Å"heat-oppress'd br ain† being the factor behind this vision. However, while many Gothic protagonists are associated with elements of the supernatural, that is not to say that they are mad. For example, when Macbeth witnesses Banquo's ghost – â€Å"Never shake thy gory locks at me!† – it is perhaps fairer to argue that the ghost is a manifestation of his own guilt as opposed to an outright madness which possessed Macbeth.Those who argue that Macbeth is mad may relate his madness back to the notion of Gothic protagonists possessing an all-consuming passion or goal which they are determined to reach. In Macbeth's case, this desire is arguably his thirst for power and desire to kill the king. Some critics would refute this point, and argue that Macbeth does not harbour such a passion, and that it is the femme fatale-esque character of Lady Macbeth who taunts Macbeth with demeaning rhetorical language such as â€Å"Are you a man?† and â€Å"I would be ashamed to wear a he art so white†; there is certainly evidence to suggest that Macbeth's desire to be king does not lead to his madness, and that it is his wife's power that leads him to the first of many murderous acts.However, this interpretation may be too narrow in its analysis, and it is perfectly possible to argue that Macbeth's inherent thirst for power is what leads to his ‘madness'. In act one scene four Macbeth expresses quiet dismay at  Malcolm's appointment as the Prince of Cumberland, referring to the obstacles in his path to glory as â€Å"a step / On which I must fall down, or else o'er-leap†. In terms of structure, this scene occurs before Macbeth and Lady Macbeth's onstage discussion, and suggests that Macbeth's madness does indeed stem from the typical Gothic protagonist role as one who is driven to madness or inner conflict by an all-consuming passion. Furthermore, this passion is present even in Macbeth's first meeting with the witches, where Banquo notes that M acbeth is â€Å"rapt withal† at the possibility that he â€Å"shalt be king hereafter†.Another typical feature of a Gothic protagonist is a high social rank, which â€Å"noble Macbeth† certainly adheres to. It may then be in his nature as a worthy warrior to strive for greatness and power; perhaps Macbeth's actions are down to ‘valiant fury' after all. Shakespeare's use of adjectives such as â€Å"brave† and â€Å"worthy† establish him as a high-ranking soldier before he is even introduced; this of course contrasts with the language used to describe him later, where demonic imagery such as referring to him as a â€Å"hell-hound† and â€Å"something wicked† associates him with inherent evil.In act one scene two, the Captain describes Macbeth's fearlessness and fury on the battlefield, describing how Macbeth ran his sword â€Å"from his nave t'the chops† in what is considered an act of bravery. This may lead to the assertio n that Macbeth is not ‘mad' after all, and that the nature of his character is far more likely to succumb to ‘valiant fury', since he is a warrior and, as already mentioned, has the will to kill the king harbouring within him as soon as he hears the witches' prophecy. However, the word ‘valiant' suggests a sense of honour and dignity surrounding Macbeth's tyrannical reign.Macbeth's actions may have been valiant, had King Duncan been a cruel and oppressive king. However, Shakespeare presented Duncan as a kind and virtuous character, perhaps to appease King James I, who was the king at the time of writing and admired Shakespeare's work. The fact that Macbeth murders the king is already contrary to the divine right of kings at the time, but the fact that the king was virtuous allowed for little interpretation calling Macbeth ‘valiant'. Furthermore, Macbeth's duplicitous nature in the play sets him aside as a character who does not possess ‘valiant fury' at all.He openly lies to Banquo, his trusted friend, by replying with â€Å"I think not of them† when questioned about the witches, and after Duncan's body is found he  delivers a melodramatic and duplicitous monologue expressing his professed grief. The fact that Macbeth is called â€Å"noble† and is described indirectly as â€Å"a gentleman on whom I built an absolute trust† directly contrasts with his duplicitous and cunning nature. This contrast is perhaps best explained as the extremes of Macbeth's behaviour as a character, a feature typical of Gothic protagonists.Most Gothic protagonists are caught in a dilemma or inner conflict, which often leads to extremes of behavior. In Macbeth's case, it is as though he is aware of his own actions and cannot even say the word ‘murder', instead making use of euphemisms such as â€Å"this bloody business†, yet he is also flippant in certain orders, such as the request that Macduff's â€Å"wife and babesâ €  should be killed. Therefore, considering his conflicting and deceptive nature, it is indeed possible to refer to Macbeth's actions as fury rather than madness. Valiant fury, however, is perhaps not true; there seems to be almost no honor or nobility in Macbeth's actions and willingness to lie.Macbeth's alleged madness is often linked to his use of emotive language. For example, the metaphor â€Å"full of scorpions is my mind† makes it sound as though Macbeth's mind is poisoned, or out of his control. However, as just one of many instances where Macbeth uses Gothic language, it is not necessarily true to link such metaphors to madness. Instead, it is perhaps likely that Macbeth is referring to the conflicting nature of his mind, and the inner turmoil that he is facing as a Gothic protagonist. In conclusion, the assertions that Macbeth is either ‘mad' or harbours ‘valiant fury' both seem to undermine his nature as a Gothic protagonist.Macbeth's ‘madness' is perhaps better described as the conflicting nature of any Gothic protagonist, and the notion that Macbeth's fury is ‘valiant' contrasts the numerous times where Macbeth's cunning is anything but valiant or noble. Macbeth is indeed typical of a Gothic protagonist but, like many, does not necessarily fall into just one category.

Food Security Bill

Food Security Bill: Good politics to deliver bad economics A bill duly tabled in Parliament promises to give legal right to subsided food to two- thirds of the country 1. 2 billion population. The ambitious proposal should be seen in the context of India being home to roughly one third of the world's poor; where over 70 per cent of children are malnourished and about 10 million or more people die of chronic hunger or hunger-related diseases every year.The Food Security Bill, the PUPA-l's flagship scheme, envisages the distribution of heat, rice and coarse grains at Just RSI 2, RSI 3 and Reel a kilo each to about 65 per cent of the population ? 75 per cent of them in rural areas and the rest in cities and towns. Add to that, some entitlements to ‘special groups,' like destitute or homeless persons, who will be entitled to at least one meal a day. Through this world's largest experiment of providing food grain to poor, the government plans to double its food subsidies to 2 per ce nt of the GAP.If the government machinery is able to deliver on Congress chief Sonic Sandhog's pet project, it could mean the end to country widespread malnutrition and poverty elatedly soon! â€Å"It's a most thoughtful and timely action, in the light of coming UP elections and thereafter the 2014 general elections,† said Proof B B Apothecary, eminent economist and former vice-chancellor of Charlatan Nehru University. Then what is the glamour all about?Why are some people hell-bent on opposing it? The general view is that if the government can pull it off, it can be the biggest trump card for the PUPA government, at a time when nothing seems to be working in its favor at the moment ? neither politics nor economics. Bad economics But, one very important factor worth taking notice is: the scheme can severely impact on Indian's economic growth prospects, should the populist measure be brought into force.The proposed Food Security Bill came on a day (Thursday) when the Reserve B ank of India also came out with its Financial Stability Report, which categorically states that Indian's inflation risk remains high and a slowdown in revenue collections and higher spending on subsidies may make it challenging for the government to achieve the fiscal deficit target of 4. 6 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product (GAP) this financial year (2011-12).It also said that Indian's trade deficit for this fiscal is expected to widen sharply to between $1 55 billion and $160 billion from a little above $104 billion a year ago. Should the bill be passed and implemented. But, it is the trade deficit, which will soar manifold since the government will have to resort to large scale import of food grain as our own grain output is not adequate to handle such a voluminous expenditure programmer. It will worsen the fiscal deficit situation, but more than that it is Indian's trade deficit which will be hit hard as the programmer will require 70-80 million tones of more DOD grain every year. India obviously does not produce that much and the shortfall will have to be met from imports,† said Proof Apothecary. The country produces 225-230 million tones of food grain every year barring a bumper crop year when the output surges by a few million tones more. Where will the rest come from, if not from overseas market!Economists opine, it will increase food inflation. Analysts at Kodak Maidenhair Bank said that besides skewing the food inflation to a higher side, the move will also result in rise in prices of food grain for non- beneficiaries of the programmer. There will be pressure on prices of food for those outside this scheme,† an economist of Kodak said. Procurement problem As regards the increased requirement of food grain for distribution under the Act, Union food minister K V Thomas said only 15 per cent more supplies would be needed as the Centre is already distributing 526. Lack tones through public distribution system, while the estimated demand u nder the Act will be 607. 4 Lack tones. He said government can even procure more for the purpose. Currently, government procures only 30 per cent of the total production. But, what about government's delivery mechanism? â€Å"If the government goes in for enlarging the public distribution system without revamping it, where is the guarantee that the intended food grain will reach the poor? ,† Apothecary asked.Then there is problem of storage. Currently, the state-run Food Corporation of India and the Central Warehousing Corporation have the capacity to store 87 million tones of grain. The COW has 487 warehouses with a capacity of 10. 6 million, while the FCC, with 1,500 godsons, accounts for the rest. The new measure, according to experts, will cost an additional sum of RSI 27,000 core annually to the exchequer, while the government puts it at RSI 21 ,OHO core by way of subsidies.But, the question is: can a government, burdened with whopping food, fuel and fertilizer subsidies , afford such a large expenditure programmer, especially when the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme is already drilling a large whole in the nation's kitty? Policymakers say that the government can find resources provided it cuts down or Bill. But the government is unlikely to do that, as it will not go down well among the voters in an election year. Food Security Bill Food Security Bill: Good politics to deliver bad economics A bill duly tabled in Parliament promises to give legal right to subsided food to two- thirds of the country 1. 2 billion population. The ambitious proposal should be seen in the context of India being home to roughly one third of the world's poor; where over 70 per cent of children are malnourished and about 10 million or more people die of chronic hunger or hunger-related diseases every year.The Food Security Bill, the PUPA-l's flagship scheme, envisages the distribution of heat, rice and coarse grains at Just RSI 2, RSI 3 and Reel a kilo each to about 65 per cent of the population ? 75 per cent of them in rural areas and the rest in cities and towns. Add to that, some entitlements to ‘special groups,' like destitute or homeless persons, who will be entitled to at least one meal a day. Through this world's largest experiment of providing food grain to poor, the government plans to double its food subsidies to 2 per ce nt of the GAP.If the government machinery is able to deliver on Congress chief Sonic Sandhog's pet project, it could mean the end to country widespread malnutrition and poverty elatedly soon! â€Å"It's a most thoughtful and timely action, in the light of coming UP elections and thereafter the 2014 general elections,† said Proof B B Apothecary, eminent economist and former vice-chancellor of Charlatan Nehru University. Then what is the glamour all about?Why are some people hell-bent on opposing it? The general view is that if the government can pull it off, it can be the biggest trump card for the PUPA government, at a time when nothing seems to be working in its favor at the moment ? neither politics nor economics. Bad economics But, one very important factor worth taking notice is: the scheme can severely impact on Indian's economic growth prospects, should the populist measure be brought into force.The proposed Food Security Bill came on a day (Thursday) when the Reserve B ank of India also came out with its Financial Stability Report, which categorically states that Indian's inflation risk remains high and a slowdown in revenue collections and higher spending on subsidies may make it challenging for the government to achieve the fiscal deficit target of 4. 6 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product (GAP) this financial year (2011-12).It also said that Indian's trade deficit for this fiscal is expected to widen sharply to between $1 55 billion and $160 billion from a little above $104 billion a year ago. Should the bill be passed and implemented. But, it is the trade deficit, which will soar manifold since the government will have to resort to large scale import of food grain as our own grain output is not adequate to handle such a voluminous expenditure programmer. It will worsen the fiscal deficit situation, but more than that it is Indian's trade deficit which will be hit hard as the programmer will require 70-80 million tones of more DOD grain every year. India obviously does not produce that much and the shortfall will have to be met from imports,† said Proof Apothecary. The country produces 225-230 million tones of food grain every year barring a bumper crop year when the output surges by a few million tones more. Where will the rest come from, if not from overseas market!Economists opine, it will increase food inflation. Analysts at Kodak Maidenhair Bank said that besides skewing the food inflation to a higher side, the move will also result in rise in prices of food grain for non- beneficiaries of the programmer. There will be pressure on prices of food for those outside this scheme,† an economist of Kodak said. Procurement problem As regards the increased requirement of food grain for distribution under the Act, Union food minister K V Thomas said only 15 per cent more supplies would be needed as the Centre is already distributing 526. Lack tones through public distribution system, while the estimated demand u nder the Act will be 607. 4 Lack tones. He said government can even procure more for the purpose. Currently, government procures only 30 per cent of the total production. But, what about government's delivery mechanism? â€Å"If the government goes in for enlarging the public distribution system without revamping it, where is the guarantee that the intended food grain will reach the poor? ,† Apothecary asked.Then there is problem of storage. Currently, the state-run Food Corporation of India and the Central Warehousing Corporation have the capacity to store 87 million tones of grain. The COW has 487 warehouses with a capacity of 10. 6 million, while the FCC, with 1,500 godsons, accounts for the rest. The new measure, according to experts, will cost an additional sum of RSI 27,000 core annually to the exchequer, while the government puts it at RSI 21 ,OHO core by way of subsidies.But, the question is: can a government, burdened with whopping food, fuel and fertilizer subsidies , afford such a large expenditure programmer, especially when the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme is already drilling a large whole in the nation's kitty? Policymakers say that the government can find resources provided it cuts down or Bill. But the government is unlikely to do that, as it will not go down well among the voters in an election year.

Innovation

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

Control Mechanisms in Management Essay

The four control standards the team chose to explore in regard to McDonald’s are performance, performance vs. standards, corrective action, and reinforce successes. The team will compare and contrast these control mechanisms, and determine the effectiveness of each. The team will also examine the positive and negative reactions to the use of these controls. Performance Standards â€Å"A standard is an expected performance for a given goal or target that establishes a desired performance level, motivates performance, and serves as a benchmark against which actual performance is assessed† (Bateman, 2009, p. 576). Performance standards relate directly to the success of the company. McDonald’s has set standards for customer service, and customer satisfaction. The standards are communicated to the employees by the store manager and training manager. Management sets attainable goals to motivate employee performance; he or she communicates these goals clearly, and revaluates these goals. Evaluating Performance Companies should evaluate the performance of employees and management to ensure the goals of the company are achieved. In the past McDonald’s evaluated their own-operators on a regular basis until the mid-1990s. McDonald’s discontinued evaluation that resulted in lower customer satisfaction. McDonald’s reinstated performance evaluations in 2001 to improve customer satisfaction. Today regional managers inspect and evaluate franchises on a regular basis. Forms with standard operation procedures enhance the evaluation process, and this information is input in McDonald’s database for further review. Today’s managers can input the evaluation from his or her company PDA. Performance vs. Standards â€Å"The managerial principle of exception states, which control is enhanced by concentrating on the exceptions to, or significant deviation from, the expected result or standard (Bateman, 2009, p. 578). Companies compare the performance of employees by evaluating how well the employee followed the standards or guidelines set by the company. Corrective Action and Reinforce Successes During the work process errors happen and managers should address these problems with his or her employees. Errors happen but managers also see the success of employees meeting or exceeding company goals. Companies should reward employees who meet or exceed the goals of the company. Compare and Contrast McDonald’s main goal is to develop sustainability. The leaders of McDonald’s have set standards of financial growth, customer service, product quality and safety, and corporate responsibility and conduct to achieve this main goal. Considering McDonald’s dominance in the fast-food industry, it is safe to say they have been successful at achieving their performance standards. McDonald’s has been a success because management takes immense care in measuring their performance, comparing their performance to their standards, and taking corrective action to get their performance on the right track. Management analyzes many reports to measure the company’s performance, such as customer satisfaction surveys, the annual report and corporate responsibility report, and performance audits. Management also observes their operation to measure performance. From analyzing these performance reports and audits, management can compare performance to their standards, past performance, and goals. For instance, the six-year summary in the 2011 Annual Report shows McDonald’s earned nearly three billion dollars in total revenue growth between 2010 and 2011 (McDonald’s, 2011). By comparing performance, management can identify deviations from their standards and goals and make corrections. Initiatives such as Employee Value Proposition, Leadership Development Framework and healthier menu items are examples of corrective action taken to improve performance (McDonald’s, 2009, pgs. 6 -7). McDonald’s management can execute these four performance controls successfully by having the drive to improve, building a culture of values, and constantly working toward sustainability (McDonald’s, 2009, pg. 5). McDonald’s worldwide success for many decades adds credence to management’s effectiveness in executing all four performance controls. Determine Effectiveness The four control standards the team chose to explore in regard to McDonald’s work well together, as is evident by the success of the company. The fast-food industry is hard to be successful in unless the company has the right combination of plans and controls. McDonald’s is a leader in this field because the company uses just the right amount of each. The McDonald’s control standards do not act well together unless there are people who make the standards work together. There have been times when some of the control standards have been in need of further guidance. During such times corporate management has had to change some of the ways the controls work. This is to ensure McDonald’s operates to the best of its abilities for effectiveness. Examine Positive and Negative Reactions From examining McDonald’s awards and recognition, it appears McDonald’s has received a very positive reaction to how they use these controls. Such awards include Fortune Magazine’s 2012 number 11 â€Å"Most Admired Company in the World,† Forbes Magazine 2010 â€Å"Most Admired Companies,† 2010 â€Å"Corporate Award† from the Executive Leadership Council (McDonald’s, 2012). Internally, McDonald’s has received positive reaction or at least buy-in, considering their performance and employer awards, to their performance controls, more than likely from their efforts in taking care of their people. McDonald’s has implemented leadership development and employee value proposition programs, and diversity and inclusion and social responsibility initiatives that have promoted employee satisfaction and trust in the company (McDonald’s, 2012). Also their business relationship model between their employees, suppliers, and owner/operators has developed strong communication throughout its operation. Although McDonald’s has been widely successful, they have also failed from time to time. In 2001, University of Michigan rated McDonald’s as one of the poorest-performing retailers from a year-long customer satisfaction study (Zuber, 2001, P. 1). More recently, ConsumerAffairs.com holds hundreds of consumer complaints of McDonald’s service, showing that even a successful giant like McDonald’s still has room for improvement. Controls Affect on Functions The four control standards the team chose to explore are performance, performance vs. standards, and corrective action, and reinforce successes. These controls affect the four functions of management in numerous ways. Pakhare (2011), † Effective and efficient management leads to success, which is the attainment of objectives and goals, that an organization sets for itself. Of course, for achieving the ultimate goal, management needs to work creatively in problem solving and execute all the four functions† (Para. 1-12). Since we have a basic understanding of these functions we can see clearly how they are in direct relationship to the control standards we have chosen. With each control standard we see how they closely work with each function. This particular formula is commonplace in many organizations on a global level. The analysis shows that McDonald’s has a good plan of control mechanisms in place, and good functions of management to support the corporation. This has been a key factor of the corporation’s long success in a business where many do not last long. The company has many beneficial areas to back up why they are one of the world’s favorite places to eat and probably will continue to be as successful for many years to come. References McDonalds. (2011). 2011 Annual Report. Retrieved from http://www.aboutmcdonalds.com/content/dam/AboutMcDonalds/Investors/Investors%202012/2011%20Annual%20Report%20Final.pdf McDonalds. (2012). Awards and Recognition. Retrieved from http://www.aboutmcdonalds.com/mcd/our_company/awards_and_recognition.html McDonalds. (2012). Our Company. Retrieved from http://www.aboutmcdonalds.com/mcd/our_company/mcdonalds_system.html McDonalds. (2009). Worldwide Corporate Responsibility Online Report: The values we bring to the table. Retrieved from http://www.mcdonalds.at/presse/maps/McDCSR.pdf Pakhare, J. (2011). Management Concepts – The Four Functions of Management. Retrieved from http://www.buzzle.com/articles/management-concepts-the-four-functions-of-management.html Zuber, A. (2001). McD restructures to beef up performance. Retrieved from

Scientist max planck Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Scientist max planck - Research Paper Example heoretical research, Planck revealed a quite extraordinary breakthrough: ‘the law of radiation of bodies as a function of temperature could not be derived solely from the Laws of Maxwellian electrodynamics’ (Einstein 1995, 106). To reach findings in agreement with the related trials, a particular frequency’s radiation had to be dealt with as if it is composed of photons of the ‘individual energy hf’(Weast 1973, 44) in which h is the universal constant of Planck. This breakthrough became the foundation of all experiments and studies in physics in the twentieth century and has almost completely directed its progress from then on. Without this breakthrough it would have been impossible to formulate a feasible theory of energy and atomic and molecular dynamics that direct their transformations (Jammer 2000). Furthermore, it has ruined the entire structure of orthodox mechanics and electrodynamics and creates a new mission for science that is, looking for a new theoretical foundation for the whole of physics. In spite of substantial incomplete achievements, the question remains far from an agreeable answer (Einstein 1995). However, it is still impossible to dispute the fact that the quanta of Max Planck revolutionized twentieth century physics. The efforts of Max Planck in thermodynamics resulted in the development of the quantum theory. To give explanation of the shades of hot lustrous matter, Planck suggested that energy is emitted in incredibly miniscule and isolated quantized quantities or packs, rather than in an endless and steady wave (Weir 2009). He coined the term ‘quanta’ to refer to these packs of energy and he was successful in establishing that each quantum’s energy is equivalent to the radiation’s frequency multiplied by h (Hoffman 2008). This figure, shown in the form of erg-seconds, quantifies each quantum’s energy (Weast 1973). An erg ‘is the amount of energy needed to raise a milligram of mass by a distance of 1 centimeter’