Psychology and Scientific Method Essay Example for Free

Psychology and Scientific Method Essay There are many arguments that debunk the idea that psychology could ever be a ‘pure science’. In any event, psychology has been touted by many a philosopher as a pseudo-science. This is primarily because science itself has a fixed method by which they conduct scientific experiments. We discuss precisely what it is that makes a theory scientific, how theories can be related to evidence and the principal issues involved in evaluating a theory. We also look at what it is that a science of psychology should study. What aspects of psychology can be defined as scientific and what aspects are thoroughly based on conjecture? Can we really call psychology a scientific medium? The observable is what science studies. Freud was initially concerned with studying the unseen, while observing behaviors (Hays, 1964: 27). He believed that the insanity that is presented to the outside world was due to a complex internal mental mechanism (Hays, 1964: 27). However, Freud also fell short of one thing, hard evidence that these mental processes existed. Scientific method determines that there are 4 or 5 steps the researcher has to take in order to make the experiment valid in the eyes of the scientific community. Physics lecturer Jose Wudka states that these steps include: 1. Observation; 2. Hypothesis; 3. Prediction; 4. Test the prediction with experiment (Wudka, 1998). The last step may be that the prediction needs to be retested and the hypothesis revisited. If we take Freud as an example, his experiments were based almost entirely on observation with no empirical data to either prove or disprove his hypotheses. Theory remains just a theory until is proved as fact. Theories are therefore related to evidence in a crucial way. Firstly, there has to be evidence of something that can be studied: for instance in criminal justice we have a bullet cap left behind at a crime. This bullet may be lying in a certain way and with the added presence of gunshot residue (cordite) can help investigators to formulate a hypothesis about what happened with the particular crime. With the case of Freud for instance, we can observe behaviors of children or even adults, but we cannot say where it comes from without getting inside the head. This makes the evidence inadmissible and the theory remains just that – a theory. Secondly, evidence that is presented, has to be tested. This means that the evidence must relate to the theory it is trying to legitimate. In this case, the evidence either proves the theory or it forces the experimenter to return to the theory and rework it. A theory can be evaluated by means of this same testing procedure, key issues being predominantly about validity, verifiability and reliability. Take for instance the normal experimental procedure for empirical research that includes the presentation of a valid sample group that is anonymous and whose records are either thus or confidential. An example of theory testing in psychology that does follow the scientific method is that of medical and electrical testing. One particular research example in psychology is that of Electro Shock Therapy. In this case the treatment studied is reversed in that the EST was used to treat asthmatics, successfully. This case studied asthmatics brought in for EST after intense supervision prior to hospitalization. The patients were monitored before, during and after the treatment to see whether there is a relationship between hysteria and asthma (Cohen and Holbrook, 1947: 213). In this case the patients themselves provide the data necessary for testing the hypothesis. The hypothesis was that there was a relationship between hysteria and asthma. The results showed not only a relationship, but I significant reaction to Electro Shock Treatment (Cohen and Holbrook, 1947: 214). In other research, EST is studied for its effect on schizophrenia rather than the usual bipolar disorder. This research revealed that EST may be useful in the treatment of this psychotic illness. This especially when combined with medication (ScienceDaily, 2005). These research projects were conducted under strict supervision and with documentation the entire process. On the other side of the coin, there are arguments that also dispel scientific method. William McComas of the Rossier School of Education cites 15 myths about scientific method that he considers to be principal issues. In the scope of this paper we cannot discuss all of McComas’ issues but a few will be discussed. The first of these is that hypotheses become theories and then become laws. This is not always the case since sometimes the evidence does not uphold the hypothesis. He also says that theory is not always absolute. Theory can only be absolute if there are no exceptions and in psychology particularly, there are almost always exceptions. Science and scientific method are also not always absolute proof, nor does it always answer all the questions (McComas, 1998: 2-9). In tune with the fact that the evidence does not always support the hypothesis, science does also not always represent reality but functions as a model around which scientific developments can be made (McComas, 1998: 9-18). Furthermore and specifically in psychology terms, these theories are flouted by the presence of some elements in a patient that do not fit the ‘textbook’ description of a certain ailment. For instance, it could be said that most cases of borderline personality disorder come from upper to middle class sectors and develop this type of disorder as a textbook concern, not all BPD patients are upper to middle class. This is merely an example of the type of issue that faces the social sciences where individuals cannot be controlled in the way that plant slides or blood tests can be. The science of psychology is about people and the nuances thereof. It is aware that humans are temperamental and also subject to the actions of other people. This means that psychology can be studied as an observation, by viewing the behaviors of people and documenting them. Psychology cannot be studied in the same way as other sciences can be, despite the fact that in empirical sciences there are also issues of compliance. If we consider that communicable diseases such as HIV/Aids can be physically examined, that blood cells and antibodies can be made visible and studied in their physical form, psychology is not the same. Inroads have been made to attempt to clarify tests done decades earlier, such as Pavlov’s conditioning studies, but unless a method becomes available to view thought processes, these theories remain unproved. The visible is the first step to studying science, but psychology hits a wall after that. We know certain aspects of psychology, such as schizophrenia is as much a neurological disorder as a psychiatric one, but there are other psychological issues we do not know. This means that psychology has to be studied in a multidisciplinary way, rather than as purely scientific. In qualitative research as in quantitative, issues of evaluation are the same. In some psychiatric cases, a patient may also have medical problems, such as diabetes, epilepsy or malnutrition and these can be physically seen. There are indeed ways in which psychology fails the test of scientific method, and therefore falls into the category of ‘pseudo science’. However, there are issues in pure sciences that also fall short of the elitist idea of science. Films such Stanley Kubrick’s â€Å"A Clockwork Orange† explore the idea of experimentation with the human brain, but to undergo such testing even with the consent of volunteers, would be considered inhumane. It seems to be ethical to test chemicals on animals or to test explosives in remote areas, but not ethical to perform potentially dangerous tests on human brains. This leaves psychological testing with the likes of psychometric testing and theories, yet again. As discussed, scientific method is reliant on having the evidence to back it up, whereas psychological is based on assumption to a large extent. Psychological profiling is an example of this in that given the evidence presented, a criminal can be profiled by the marks he leaves behind. Seldom is this knowledge enough to prove someone is guilty of not.

How Information Flows Within an Organization Essay Example for Free

How Information Flows Within an Organization Essay Information has to travel through different types of pathways in order to be received and used. Think of the pathways of information like the transit system. Information is loaded into systems by using input devices, like keyboards or touchscreens. After the information is imputed it is transferred to some type of storage medium, whether hard disk drive, RAM, or CD’s or DVD’s. Once this information is transferred it is then able to be accessed and used as long as the correct permissions are assigned. The storage allows for future access and the ability to retransmit the data to another device, by using the LAN, WAN, Internet or removable devices like flash drives or external hard drives. The ability to create and use information would not be possible without the hardware that allows the user to input the information they want others to read or use. It can go down to basic components like computers, keyboard, hard drives, etc. However, in conjunction with the hardware there has to be software which outputs the data so the user can read it. Once the data is read the user can create databases or upload the information to different locations like a cloud based server. Once again with the ability to do this would not be possible without special types of hardware that allows this. The hardware in reference is NIC cards, routers, switches, hub, etc. All of these things make it possible for information to be transmitted around the world. Of course to simply transmit data and information around the world could be a very simple thing, until you add in the steps necessary to protect the data. In my current job we do not use very much resources to transmit data or even  create it. However, a company that we work for uses networks and even special communication cables to transmit and receive data from different devices within the building we are working. Basically there are controllers that connect via a two or three conductor cable and which connects to devices mounted on air handler systems. These devices take in an enormous amount of complex data and regularly transmit the data to the controller which then relays the information to a computer that is on the mainframes network. This network allows the company the ability to have remote access to the controller which allows them to be able to change certain values in order to make the air handlers run more smoothly. Some of the data that is transferred include, outside air pressure, discharge air temp, return air temp, and there are even safety measures transmitting to ensure smooth operation. Once an alarm is triggered the device sends data to the controller which then relays the alarm to the computer which outputs the reason for the alarm and specifies what triggered the alarm. A technician can then go on the computer and adjust whatever values need adjusting to remove the alarm and resume proper operation. Without this network of devices and controllers and computers there would be no way for these issues to be resolved in a timely manner. Seeing how allot of the work we do is in Charlottes main healthcare system, by us not being able to have quick and painless connectivity many peoples wellbeing could be at risk. The one thing the company I work for makes sure of is security for their systems and networks. Although the physical network is not part of the company’s infrastructure it is protected from other people trying to access it because it is their equipment, cables, controllers, and devices. The hospitals have no access to these systems because one wrong value can be the difference between freezing temperatures or summer conditions in the building. The company, Johnson Controls, uses three different programs that have to be authenticated before access is granted. Firstly the technician has to slide their finger over the fingerprint scanner to access the computer that connects to the controllers. Seems like a correct finger scan would be all that’s necessary for accessing the system, however, the IT personnel decided to add two more layers of security due to the nature of their business. Secondly the technician has to scan their badge into a card  reader type of device that pops up a screen that greets the technician as a Johnson Control employee. Once again not enough security in the minds of Johnson Controls so the final security measure is an encrypted password, that if it is entered incorrectly starts the whole process over again. After talking with multiple technicians the consensus is that they cannot stand all the security measure, but they do understand the purpose. Perhaps the best measure the company has against potential invasions is that all the equipment they use from top to bottom is made by themselves. This ensures that only their employees are trained and permitted to use the equipment. Other people might look at the equipment and be dumbfounded due to the processes and certain protocols in place on how to use the equipment to access any information. Although I currently do not work in an environment that utilizes servers and multiple computers, I do see how information is passed through devices to controllers and finally to computers or networks. Even though there is multiple types of information the way it is used and flows follow the same path. Without hardware and software there would be no way to use and transmit the data. As the technology continues to change and become more advanced, I am sure the way information is used will change along with it.

Synthesis and Optical Characteristics of AgO Thin Films

Synthesis and Optical Characteristics of AgO Thin Films Synthesis and Optical Characteristics of AgO thin films Fabricated by Chemical Bath Deposition Method 1EZENWA I. A., 2OBIAGAUZO P. O. 3EBEH L. N. ABSTRACT Binary thin films of silver oxide using chemical Bath method (CBD) have been grown and characterized. Absorbance spectral data of the films were obtained using a Shimadzu 1800 UV- VIS spectrophotometer. An Olympus optical microscope at 100X magnification was used to examine and produce micrograph of the grown thin, which showed that the films have crystal structure and have small grain sizes. A bandgap of 1.62eV and a refractive index range of 1.1- 2.31were obtained. INTRODUCTION Binary thin films are thin films that contain exactly two different elements. Binary thin film had been grown and characterized by many researchers for various applications, examples are; Ag2S (Ezenwa et al., 2012), FeS (Uhuegbu, 1989), ZnS (Ndukwe 1999), Ag4O3, (Bielmann et al, 2002), Silver being multivalent, have various phases like Ag2O, AgO, Ag3O4, Ag4O3, and Ag2O3 by interacting with oxygen (Bielmann, Scheallar, Ruffieux, Groning, Schlapbach, 2002).These oxides have different crystalline structures leading to a variety of physiochemical, electrochemical, electronic and optical properties. The most observable and stable phases are Ag2O and AgO (Garner and Reeves, 1954). Ag2O thin films have been widely studied due to their wide range of applications. The recent interest in silver oxide is for its potential use in optical memories. Photoactivation of silver oxide leads to nanosilver clusters (Hou, Ouyang, Chen et al 1998).These nanoclusters emit fluorescence and also exhibit plas monic behavior. These properties have a wide application range from ultra high density optical data storage to plasmon photonic devices (Tominaga, 2002).They are also used as a sensor for gas detection and photovoltaic materials, studies have shown that silver oxide films have a wide range of energy band gap of between 1.2 and 3.4eV(Dierson, Rousselot, 2005). The major routes used for silver oxide films deposition are reactive sputtering of silver metal in an oxygen-containing argon atmosphere and electron-beam evaporation of silver metal. Another method is the pulsed laser deposition technique (Raju, Kumar, 2011),this method takes place in gaseous phase, hence requiring high temperatures. These high temperature methods also limit the type of substrates used in high temperature resistant substrates. Alternatively wet chemistry and electrochemical methods have been used as low temperature method.Wet chemistry methods generally require the substrates to be dipped inside the precursor solution for days to form thin film materials at temperatures of up to 200Â °C, while electrochemical deposition grows thin film materials on conductive substrate at lower temperatures (

Authors illustrate what is creativity

Authors illustrate what is creativity What is creativity? (not meant to provide an encyclopedic view of its primary object-matter Creativity has a rich and long history. Yet, the intriguing thing about it is that most people feel intuitively what creativity is, but find it hard to define it. The cause is the terms complexity and vagueness. There is, in fact, no single, authoritative perspective or definition of creativity. A few â€Å"personal definitions† by various famous authors may illustrate this disparity of views: Originality is the essence of true scholarship. Creativity is the soul of the true scholar. Nnamdi Azikiwe The creative person is both more primitive and more cultivated, more destructive, a lot madder and a lot saner, than the average person. Frank Barron Make visible what, without you, might perhaps never have been seen. Robert Bresson A hunch is creativity trying to tell you something. Frank Capra I have great belief in the fact that whenever there is chaos, it creates wonderful thinking. I consider chaos a gift. Septima Poinsette Clark Our inventions mirror our secret wishes. Lawrence Durrell â€Å"The creative individual is a person who regularly solves problems, fashions products, or defines new questions in a domain that is initially considered novel but that ultimately becomes accepted in a particular cultural setting.† Howard Gardner (1993): From things that have happened and from things as they exist and from all things that you know and all those you cannot know, you make something through your invention that is not a representation but a whole new thing truer than anything true and alive, and you make it alive, and if you make it well enough, you give it immortality. That is why you write and for no other reason that you know of. But what about all the reasons that no one knows? Ernest Hemingway Everything vanishes around me, and works are born as if out of the void. Ripe, graphic fruits fall off. My hand has become the obedient instrument of a remote will. Paul Klee An essential aspect of creativity is not being afraid to fail. Edwin Land The artist produces for the liberation of his soul. It is his nature to create as it is the nature of water to run down the hill. W. Somerset Maugham Creativity is not merely the innocent spontaneity of our youth and childhood; it must also be married to the passion of the adult human being, which is a passion to live beyond ones death. Rollo May When all is said and done, monotony may after all be the best condition for creation. Margaret Sackville Our current obsession with creativity is the result of our continued striving for immortality in an era when most people no longer believe in an after-life. Arianna Stassinopoulos â€Å"The ability to produce work that is both novel (original or unexpected) appropriate. The creative individual persists in the face of resistance.† Robert J. Sternberg (1992) In order to create there must be a dynamic force, and what force is more potent than love? Igor Stravinsky The imagination imitates. It is the critical spirit that creates. Oscar Wilde â€Å"Creativity is the ability to illustrate what is outside the box from within the box.† -The Ride It is almost as if you were frantically constructing another world while the world that you live in dissolves beneath your feet, and that your survival depends on completing this construction at least one second before the old habitation collapses. Tennessee Williams A line will take us hours maybe; Yet if it does not seem a moments thought, Our stitching and unstitching has been naught. W. B. Yeats What, then, is Creativity? Firstly, here is what it is not: Its not just a faculty reserved for artists (musicians, painters, actors), only for writers/authors, scientists, business leaders, or academic ‘stars Its not just for children. Throughout our lives it is a part of us and of our personality. Some people display and apply it more than others, and by doing so it defines their lives. Creativity is timeless. Verdi composed Falstaff at the age of 80. Titian painted many of his best works late in life, and lived to be 100. Tolstoy wrote Resurrection ten years before his death, 82 years old. Creativity has several meanings defined by the transitions Person?Process?Product The meaning of creativity is descriptive: Johnny is so creative! = Person The meaning of creativity is a happening: Children lose track of time when immersed in play = Process The meaning of creativity is the end result: What is produced or completed. = Product (www.sla.org/conf/conf_sar//Barrancotto%20-%20creativity.ppt ) A commonly accepted view of creativity is that it is a mental and social process resulting in the generation of new ideas, terms or concepts. In rare instances these new ideas, terms, or concepts may be original, i. e. unknown previously. Most often, however, they emerge as a result of new combinations of known (existing) ideas or concepts, improvements on them, and associations between them. The mental and social process called creativity must run in some real or virtual environment. This environment has been studied from many points of view and in many scientific disciplines, for instance in philosophy, behavioral and social psychology, psychometrics, cognitive science, artificial intelligence, economics, business, and management. The studies have focused on everyday creativity, exceptional creativity and even artificial (computer enhanced) creativity. The results of the studies show clearly and convincingly that whatever approach is creative in one field of human endeavor can hardly be applied directly in a different field and produce creative results. Thus, an approach that leads to some creative results in, say, mathematics or psychology, will not necessarily produce any creative results in art, business, or psychology. The studies, however, have not lead to any unique and generally applicable definition of creativity. In the absence of a generally valid and accepted definition of creativity, it is always possible to set up a pragmatic set of requirements creativity should satisfy. They might run as follows: Creativity must result in something â€Å"new† as perceived by the people involved. The term new can have a variety of meanings, possibly requiring litigations to prove the validity of this or that meaning. Creativity must result in something that in the eyes of the creators is â€Å"better†. Again what is better? It is a matter of individual or group choice and preference. At this point, we disregard ethical issues stemming from situations in which the creative effort of an individual or a group leads to something â€Å"better† is perceived as something (considerably) â€Å"worse† by another individual or group. Creativity must affect the human life in some way. This implies that the creative result can be or has been implemented, often by technical means. Creativity, as considered in this book, reflects the creativity of the typical segment of the human population, rather than the unique blend of ability, motivation and serendipity dramatically exceeding the social and psychological norm, and resulting in major breakthroughs. Such exceptional abilities were manifested in the works of Leonardo da Vinci, Mozart, or Fuller, to name a few exceptionally creative people. Creativity is a property inseparable from the creative man. It does not exist suspended in the nowhere. For this reason, a number of psychologists studied the circumstances under which creativity in man manifests and what the peculiarities of that person are. Before we review the most significant research efforts, it is good to review briefly the fields of human activity in which creativity has played a major part. Creativity in various contexts There are many perspectives and contexts in which creativity and its importance can and must be studied. This plurality of of views of creativity makes it hard, if not impossible, to file creativity under a single heading. The simplest solution is to consider the various approaches as undisciplinary, rather than trying to form a coherent overall view. The following sections examine some of the areas in which creativity is seen as being important. Creativity in psychology and cognitive science Psychology and cognitive science are the primary arenas for the study of the mental and social process resulting in the generation of new ideas, terms or concepts and any other forms of creative thought. A large number of famous psychologists have contributed to the study of the mental and social processes. Their work is reviewed in a separate section. Examples of psychological thinking and research can, however, be found in most branches of human endeavor. (A psychodynamic approach to understanding creativity was proposed by Sigmund Freud, who suggested that creativity arises as a result of frustrated desires for fame, fortune, and love, with the energy that was previously tied up in frustration and emotional tension in the neurosis being sublimated into creative activity. Freud later retracted this view.[citation needed]) Creativity in science and mathematics Mathematics is a highly abstract discipline that, nevertheless, permeates more and more other disciplines. At the same time, mathematics scares most students. From the point of creative thinking it is therefore natural to ask: How does a mathematician think to produce something new, better, and affecting the human life? Several outstanding mathematicians have described their thinking and summarized their views of creative mathematical thinking. The French mathematician Jacques Hadamard described the process in his book Psychology of Invention in the Mathematical Field, using introspection. Hadamards thinking differs from that of authors for whom language and cognition are inseparable in that it is, in his own words, wordless and often accompanied by mental images. Hadamard asked 100 leading physicists in the beginning of the previous century how they arrived at their problem solutions. Among his test subjects were giants of science, like Gauss, Poincarà ©, Helmholtz. He found that many of the responses were the same as his own, i. e. They viewed the whole solution suddenly and spontaneously (Hadamard, 1954, pp. 13-16). Helmholtz and Poincarà © ere personalities of their own class. ***** Referring to Helmholtz, Hadamards process comprises four steps (i) preparation, (ii) incubation, (iv) illumination, and (v) verification. It thus differs from the five-step model proposed by Graham Wallas in that Step (iii) intimation, was left out (ibid. p. 56). Another outstanding mathematician interested (in his latter days) in the methodology of problem solving was George Polya, of the ETH, Zurich. He wrote four books on the methods that people use to solve problems, and to describe how problem solving should be taught and learned. The books (the publication year is that of the issue used) are: How to Solve It (2004), Mathematical Discovery:On Understanding, Learning, and Teaching Problem Solving (1981); Mathematics and Plausible Reasoning Volume I: Induction and Analogy in Mathematics (1990), and Mathematics and Plausible Reasoning Volume II: Patterns of Plausible Reasoning (1990). The most important among these books probably is How to Solve It, in which Polya provides general heuristics for solving problems of all kinds, including mathematical ones. The book offers advice for teaching students of mathematics and comprises a mini-encyclopedia of heuristic terms. It sold over one million copies and was translated into many languages. Other mathematicians who made statements on the topic of problem solving include G. H. Hardy and Marie-Louise von Franz. In his Mathematicians Apology (1941), Hardy states, among others: I am interested in mathematics only as a creative art. The mathematicians patterns, like the painters or the poets must be beautiful; the ideas, like the colours or the words must fit together in a harmonious way. Beauty is the first test: there is no permanent place in this world for ugly mathematics. A mathematician, like a painter or poet, is a maker of patterns. If his patterns are more permanent than theirs, it is because they are made with ideas. I believe that mathematical reality lies outside us, that our function is to discover or observe it, and that the theorems which we prove, and which we describe grandiloquently as our â€Å"creations,† are simply the notes of our observations (Hardy, 1941). Marie-Louise von Franz collaborated with psychiatrist Carl Jung who worked on archetypes and patterns. According to Jung, archetypes organize images and ideas. This is an unconscious process that cannot be detected until afterwards. Marie-Louise von Franz discovered an important recurring factor: the simultaneity with which the complete solution is intuitively perceived and can be checked later by discursive reasoning (von Franz, 1992). Creativity in diverse cultures Creativity is a scientific concept that is mostly rooted within a Western creationist perspective. Franà §ois Jullien (1997, 1989) examines the concept from a Chinese cultural point of view. Julliens point of departure is the necessity to work on reducing the distance that separates the Chinese and the European modes of thinking, and restart philosophy. Fangqi Xu et al. (2005) reported on the availability of creativity courses in various countries. Lubart and Sternberg (1999) studied extensively the cultural aspects of creativity and innovation. The authors conclude that creativity, like intelligence, is something everybody possesses. Creativity can be developed. Creative people are able to generate/intuit new and possibly unpopular ideas. They can also work with determination to make these ideas accepted by others. Creative people have the willingness to take sensible risks to go against the crowd in effective ways. Creativity in art and literature Requirements on creativity in the arts and literature differ from the requirements in other fields. While in most fields of the human endeavor, both originality and appropriateness are necessary (Amabile, 1998), in the fields of art and literature creativity is reduced to originality only, as a sufficient condition. Yet, the fields of art and literature for most people represent the true domain of creativity. The different modes of artistic expression do not represent an entirely homogeneous environment. Yet, a continuum extending from â€Å"interpretation† to â€Å"innovation† can be postulated in all established artistic movements and genres. Here, practitioners gravitate to the interpretation end of the scale, whereas original thinkers strive towards the innovation pole. In spite of this coarse division, some â€Å"creative† people (dancers, actors, orchestral members, etc.) are expected to perform (interpret), while others (writers, painters, composers, etc.) get more freedom to express the new and the different. In judging theories of art, several alternatives can be considered. One alternative is the artistic inspiration, comparable to invention. It provides a taste of â€Å"the Divine† in the form of transmission of visions from â€Å"divine sources† such as the Muses. Another alternative is the artistic evolution, comparable to crafts. It focuses on obeying established rules and imitating or appropriating, which results in subtly different but conflict-free and understandable work. Finally, if the creative product is the language, there is the artistic conversation, as in any â€Å"-ism,† stressing the depth of communication. One of the basic questions in looking at artistic creativity, given the uniqueness of the artistic product, is the question of authorship. Many scholars have worked on it. Two rather similar views, even though a generation apart, are the views of the French philosopher Michel Foucault and the Serbian scholar Davor DÃ…Â ¾alto. Foucault claims that all authors are writers, but not all writers are authors. He exemplifies his thesis by the fact that a private letter may have a writer it does not have an author (Foucault, 1969). An author, according to Foucault, exists only as a function of a written work, as a part of its structure. However, the interpretive process is â€Å"the author function.† Thus, for a reader to assign the title of author to the writer of any written work is to confirm that certain standards of the text are working in conjunction with Foucaults idea of â€Å"the author function.† DÃ…Â ¾altos work (DÃ…Â ¾alto, 2003) is based on examination of the relations between personhood and authorship in the context of the post-modern society and the globalized world. His theory stipulates that art represents an expression of the personal identity of the human being, having an existential importance. Human creativity is a basic feature of both the personal existence of the human being and art production. Creativity is thus a basic cultural and anthropological category, since it enables human manifestation in the world as a â€Å"real presence† in contrast to the progressive â€Å"virtualization† of the world. In other words, approaching artistic creativity Foucault focuses on the author function, whereas DÃ…Â ¾alto talks about a real presence of human manifestation in the (possibly virtualized) world. Creative industries, professions and services Creativity is perceived as increasingly important in creative industries and related professions. Creative industries constitute a family of human activities that generate a non-tangible value expressible in monetary units, either by means of creating and exploiting intellectual property or by means of providing creative services. This heading covers such activities as art and antiques markets, architecture, advertising, design, fashion, film, music, performing arts, publishing, computer software services, radio, TV, and the like. Creative professions are any of those involved in the activities listed, including some aspects of scientific research and development, product development, marketing, strategy, curriculum design, some types of teaching, and similar activities. The creative professional workforce is becoming a more integral part of the economies of industrialized nations. It is estimated that in the USA alone, approximately 10 million people work as creative professionals, but there may be twice as many. Accurate estimates are difficult to make, since many creative professionals actors and writers in particular also have a secondary job. Creativity in engineering and sciences Fields such as science and engineering have experienced a less explicit (but arguably no less important) relation to creativity. Simonton is one of many authors who show how some of the major scientific advances in science and engineering can be attributed to the creativity of individuals (Simonton, 1999). Borderline cases exist, too. A good example is accounting. â€Å"Creative accounting† is a popular term denoting unethical practices. However, Amabile suggests that accounting, too, can benefit from creative approaches if these are kept within ethical borders (Amabile 1998). Excellent example of the â€Å"creative leap† can be found in the realm of sciences, be it mathematics, physics, chemistry, medicine, or any other branch of science. Isaac Newtons law of gravity is popularly attributed to a creative leap he experienced by Newton when observing a falling apple. Creativity in organizations According to Amabile, to enhance creativity in business, three components are necessary (Amabile, 1998): Expertise, i. e. technical, procedural, intellectual and tacit knowledge, creative thinking skills, i. e. the flexibility and imagination with which people approach problems, and motivation, particularly its intrinsic variety. The importance of the combination of knowledge and creativity is best exemplified by the unprecedented success of some far-eastern nations, notably Japan, Taiwan, Singapore, Korea and Thailand, which have in recent years been joined by India and China. Economic views of creativity Almost a century ago, Joseph Schumpeter (1942) introduced the economic theory of creative destruction, to describe the creative way in which old ways of doing things are destroyed from within and replaced by new ways. Economists like Paul Romer see creativity as an important element in the recombination of elements to produce new technologies and products. Romer (articles published in 1986 and 1990 amounted to) constructed mathematical representations of economies in which technological change is the result of the intentional actions of people, such as research and development. This is how economic growth becomes a reality and leads to capital. Romer also saw the importance is conditions that demand change, as follows form his popular saying: â€Å"A crisis is a terrible thing to waste†. Creativity is also an important aspect to understanding entrepreneurship. The creative class is seen by some to be an important driver of modern economies. In his 2002 book, The Rise of the Creative Class, economist Richard Florida popularized the notion that regions with â€Å"3 Ts of economic development: Technology, Talent and Tolerance† also have high concentrations of creative professionals and tend to have a higher level of economic development. Florida, R. (2002). The Rise of the Creative Class. New York: Basic Books. Romer, P. (1986). â€Å"Increasing Returns and Long-Run Growth†, Journal of Political Economy, Vol. 94, No. 5 (Oct. 1986), pp. 1002-1037. Romer, P. (1990). â€Å"Endogenous Technological Change†, Journal of Political Economy, Vol. 98, No. 5, â€Å"Part 2: The Problem of Development: A Conference on the Institute for the Study of Free Enterprise Systems.† pp. S71-102. Schumpeter, J. A. (1942). Capitalism, Socialism and Democracy. New York: Harper and Brothers. 5th ed.

Case Study Monsantos Repatriation Program

Case Study Monsantos Repatriation Program Monsanto is a global provider of agricultural products with revenues in excess of $4 billion and 10,000 employees. At any one time, the company will have 100 mid and higher-level managers on extended postings abroad. Two thirds of these are Americans who are being posted overseas, while the remainder are foreign nationals being employed in the United States. At Monsanto, managing expatriates and their repatriation begins with a rigorous selection process and intensive cross-cultural training, both for the managers and for their families. As at many other global companies, the idea is to build an internationally minded cadre of highly capable managers who will lead the organization in the future. One of the strongest features of this program is that employees and their sending and receiving managers, or sponsors, develop an agreement about how this assignment will fit into the firms business objectives. The focus is on why employees are going abroad to do the job, and what their contribution to Monsanto will be when they return. Sponsoring managers are expected to be explicit about the kind of job opportunities the expatriates will have once they return home. Once they arrive back in their home country, expatriate managers meet with cross-cultural trainers during debriefing sessions. They are also given the opportunity to showcase their experiences to their peers, subordinates, and superiors in special information exchanges. However Monsantos repatriation program focuses on more than just business; it also attends to the familys reentry. Monsanto has found that difficulties with repatriation often have more to do with personal and family-related issues than with work-related issues. But the personal matters obviously affect an employees on-the-job performance, so it is important for the company to pay attention to such issues. This is why Monsanto offers returning employees an opportunity to work through personal difficulties. About three months after they return home, expatriates meet for three hours at work with several colleagues of their choice. The debriefing session is a conversation aided by a trained facilitator who has an outline to help the expatriate cover all the important aspects of the repatriation. The debriefing allows the employee to share important experiences and to enlighten managers, colleagues and friends about his or her expertise so others within the organization can use some of the global knowledge. According to one participant, It sounds silly, but its such a hectic time in the familys life , you dont have time to sit down and take stock of whats happening. Youre going through the move, transitioning to a new job, a new house, the children may be going to a new school. This is a kind of oasis; a time to talk and put your feelings on the table. Apparently, it works; since the progr am was introduced in the early 1990s, the attrition rate among returning expatriates has dropped sharply. Questions: a. Why does Monsanto need to recruit expatriates for their US Operations? b. Why How does the repatriation programme of Monsanto is helping reduce attrition rates? a. Why does Monsanto need to recruit expatriates for their US Operations? INTRODUCTION The world economy is moving away from the traditional economic system, where national markets were considered as distinct entities which were isolated from each other by trade barriers, barriers of distance, time and culture towards a modern economic system, where the national markets are merging into one huge global market. In many industries it is no longer meaningful to talk about the American market, the German Market or the Japanese market. Therefore, as the development in the international business environment are forcing companies to think of the world as one vast market, the companies are being forced to set up their manufacturing and marketing facilities in different foreign countries in order to do business globally. Ford Motors, for instance, has production plants in 38 countries and sales outlets in over 200 countries (Ford 1997 Annual report, www.ford.com). In this regard, there are in todays world a still increasing number of people, who are sent by companies on forei gn assignments for a longer or shorter period of time and it is those people that we in this paper will refer to as expatriates Expatriates play a key role in the globalization of many companies. The parent company often depends on expatriates to transmit the core values to employees in the overseas location besides of course putting in place systems and processes. In short, expatriates assume a significant responsibility for culture building. Black and Gregersen, have given an excellent account of the issues involved in the management of expatriates. Most companies struggle with their expatriate programmes. Some expatriates return early because of job dissatisfaction; others fail to live upto expectations and a few leave after completing an overseas assignment to join competitors. Successful companies seem to follow three practices religiously. While managing international assignments, they focus on knowledge creation and global leadership development. Other considerations are given less importance. While assigning people for overseas postings, they look for people whose technical skills are matched or exceeded by their cross cultural abilities. Finally, companies with a successful expatriate programme know how to end an assignment and put the experience of the executives to good use, when they return after an overseas stint. Global companies after selecting the candidates place them on the jobs in various countries, including the home country of the employees. But, the employees of the global companies are also placed in foreign countries. Even those employees who are placed initially in their home countries are sometimes transferred to various foreign countries. Thus, the employees of global companies mostly work and live in foreign countries and their family members also live in foreign countries. Employees and their family members working and/or living in foreign countries, are called expatriates in the foreign country. Expatriates are those living or working in a foreign country. The parent country nationals working in foreign subsidiary and third country nationals are expatriates. Large no of expatriates normally have adjustment problems with the working culture of the company, countrys culture, laws, etc. some expatriates adjust themselves easily, while some others face severe problems of adjusting. Such employees about their assignments and return to home country by terminating their work contracts. Thus, the major problem with expatriates is adjustment in the new international environment. Expatriate is a person who leaves his country to work and live in a foreign country. Generally, expatriates are the nationals from the other countries than the host and the MNCs parent country, i.e. expatriates are the third country nationals. The unavailability of the required skills and talents takes the organisation to source talent from other countries. The procedures and processes of recruiting and selecting the human resources are never uniform even within a single organisation. The procedures vary according to the post, the skill set required, the nature of work etc. More of it is seen in the case of recruitment of expatriates. The recruitment and selection procedures and considerations are drastically different for expatriates than that of the domestic employees. Recruitment of expatriates involves greater time, monetary resources and other indirect costs. Improper recruitment and selection can cause the expatriates to return hastily or a decline in their performance. A mismatch between job (its requirements) and people can reduce the effectiveness of other human resource activities and can affect the performance of the employees as well as the organisation. Recruiting expatriates require special considerations and skills to select the best person for the job. Except for a few expatriate selection policies, the expatriate selection criterion is generally organisation and nation specific. The recruiters for recruiting the expatriates should be carefully selected and trained. The recruitment strategies for expatriates should be aligned with requirements of the job. The interviews of expatriates are designed in a manner to judge their: Adaptability to the new culture Intercultural interaction Flexibility Professional expertise Past international work experience Tolerance and open-mindedness Family situation Language ability Attitude and motivation Empathy towards local culture A few researches in this field also suggest that women are morale likely to be successful in certain positions as expatriates as they are more sensitive towards new culture and people. Recruitment of expatriates should be followed by cultural and sensitivity training, and language training. Allegiance to parent firm Low Free agents Natives High Hearts at home Dual citizens Low High Allegiance to local operation Monsanto, the US chemicals manufacturer, starts work on suitable assignments for returning expatriates well in advance. The company not only arranges for debriefing on their return, but also identifies suitable jobs based on the expatriates skills and organizational needs. To sum up, the challenge for global companies is to develop a cadre of expatriates who will function as dual citizens, with a balanced allegiance to the headquarters and the country subsidiary. Creating such a cadre would involve careful selection processes, cross cultural training before and after overseas assignments, well planned career systems that lead to clearly defined job expectations and well conceived repatriation programmes. NEED OF EXPATRIATES FOR MONSANTO Expatriate is a person who leaves his country to work and live in a foreign country. Generally, expatriates are the nationals from the other countries than the host and the MNCs parent country, i.e. expatriates are the third country nationals. From the HR-literature we know that expatriates are divided into three types: PCNs (Parent Country Nationals); HCNs (Host Country Nationals); and TCNs (Third Country Nationals)., we will focus on the different roles of these expatriates by point of departure in the following four general approaches to international staffing: Ethnocentric Approach: Because of a lack of qualified HCNs, PCNs occupy all key positions in the foreign operation, which means that the subsidiary is highly dependent on the headquarters decisions. Some drawbacks from this approach could be limited promotion opportunities for HCNs, income gaps between PCNs and HCNs, and that PCNs cannot be involved in local matters. Polycentric Approach: In this approach HCNs occupy positions in the foreign subsidiary. Some transfers of HCNs to headquarters also take place. The approach eliminates the language barriers, and typically HCNs are less expensive. Some drawbacks from this approach could be communication problems between headquarter and subsidiary and limited career opportunities for HCNs as they cannot be promoted to headquarter. Geocentric Approach: In this approach the best people are selected for key positions regardless of their nationality. Nationality is not taken into account and a worldwide integration of employees takes place. In this approach an international team of managers is developed. Some drawbacks from this approach may be related to situations, where host governments prefer employment of locals because of i.e. labor issues. Regiocentric Approach: Here a companys international business is divided into international geographic regions (i.e. the European Union). The staff can only transfer within these regions. MONSANTO needs expatriates because of the following reasons:- Expatriates first enter the picture when corporations have strong incentives to internalize activities. Typical, enterprises will engage in the type of internalization most suitable for the factor combination, market situations and government policies which they face: When it is more profitable for this company to exploit its ownership advantages in another country itself rather than to sell or license them. When a firm desires to extinguish bilateral monopoly because of market imperfections: that is, when some markets incurs lower cost through hierarchical co-ordination (FDI) than through co-ordination by market prices then the need to use expatriates becomes evident. When an enterprise has location and ownership specific resource endowments and finds the need to internalize these because of market imperfections then the expatriate is born. The expatriate will likely be used to take out the imperfections of the market by being the liaison for the organization to that market. Having a manger that knows and understands headquarters desires and wants is therefore of great importance when investing and operation in foreign markets. Securing transfer of technology/filling positions, as companies send the expatriates abroad in order to transfer their technology to the foreign subsidiary. I.e. in countries where qualified people are not available, companies send the PCNs to fill out the positions. This is mostly used by multinational and international firms. Securing the headquarter control, where the companies can exercise this control by using the PCNs in their foreign subsidiaries. In such situations firms try to incorporate the headquarters culture into the foreign operations, which in some cases may create cultural problems. Especially MNCs tend to demand administrative and financial control in their foreign operations. Opportunity for international experience/ management development, as several firms find international experience highly important before promoting their employees. Foreign transfers are here important in order to learn foreign cultures and environments. In such situations qualified HCNs are available but managers are still transferred to foreign subsidiaries to acquire knowledge and skills. Securing organizational development, which also is called the Geocentric approach. This role is performed only by the best people at the best places without nationality barriers. Transfers can take place from headquarter to subsidiary, from subsidiary to headquarter, or from subsidiary to subsidiary. Nationality of employees does not matter in this situation, as the objective of this staffing strategy is to get to know about different cultures, create international networks, decentralization, and interaction between managers of different nationalities. In general, this strategy is mostly followed by larger global companies. Expatriates are responsible for transferring new technologies and penetrating new markets in foreign subsidiaries. Organizations opening a new production facility or branches in a foreign country will send an expatriate to facilitate entry into the new markets. PCNs are commonly sent out to initiate operations in fresh markets in countries with no qualified people to carry out the firms mandate. These PCNs render their expertise in the vital global market within the new markets. Mostly, a firm will send a team of expatriates to work together effectively and penetrate the new market. Companies may want to exercise control over foreign subsidiaries by integrating the headquarters culture in foreign operations. This might be achieved by sending PCNs who have been with the company for some time. These expatriates have to promote a variety of inter-organizational skills and interpersonal skills, commonly used in the headquarters, to different employees in the subsidiaries. Most organizations with operations in foreign countries are quite successful and use expatriates to oversee financial and administrative functions. Expatriates have the opportunity to learn the foreign environment and culture during foreign assignments. This international experience and expansive knowledge gained by expatriates can be used to develop products that suit a specific culture, ensuring the firm remains competitive in the global market. The PCNs may be sent to foreign subsidiaries before they are promoted, so that they can learn the skills and knowledge to operate within a diverse environment. This foreign exposure helps expatriates develop international management competencies. Expatriates are sent to foreign countries where they can locate valuable resources and expertise, learn best practices and transfer all these assets to the company operations in the host country. Expatriates may gain expertise from different cultures, providing the company with learning opportunity from a diverse staff. Expatriates help the organization in forming international networks, creating a global market for products. They also promote decentralization of the organization by taking control of the various foreign operations. b. Why How does the repatriation programme of Monsanto is helping reduce attrition rates? INTRODUCTION A largely overlooked but critically important issue in the training and development of expatriate managers is to prepare them for reentry into their home-country organization. Repatriation should be seen as the final link in an integrated, circular process that connects good selection and cross-cultural training of expatriate managers with completion of their term abroad and reintegration into their national organization. However, instead of having employees come home to share their knowledge and encourage other high-performing managers to take the same international career track, expatriates too often face a different scenario. Often when they return home after a stint abroad-where they have typically been autonomous, well-compensated, and celebrated as a big fish in a little pond-they face an organization that doesnt know what they have done for the last few years, doesnt know how to use their new knowledge, and doesnt particularly care. In the worst cases, reentering employees have to scrounge for jobs, or firms will create standby positions that dont use the expatriates skills and capabilities and fail to make the most of the business investment the firm has made in that individual. Research illustrates the extent of this problem. According to one study of repatriated employees, 60 to 70 percent didnt know what their position would be when they returned home. Also, 60 percent said their organizations were vague about repatriation, about their new roles, and about their future career progression within the company; 77 percent of those surveyed took jobs at a lower level in their home organization than in their international assignments. Not surprising, 15 percent of returning expatriates leave their firms within a year of arriving home, and 40 percent leave within three years. The key to solving this problem is good human resource planning. Just as the HRM function needs to develop good selection and training programs for its expatriates, it also needs to develop good programs for reintegrating expatriates back into work life within their home-country organization, for preparing them for changes in their physical and professional landscape, and for utilizing the knowledge they acquired while abroad. MEANING OF REPATRIATION Repatriation, or re-entry, is the transition from a foreign country back to ones own after working overseas for a significant period of time. According to Black, Gregersen, and Mendenhall (1999) this last stage of the expatriation process has been neglected to some extent since the process of relocation to the home country and home organization has been assumed to be a simple matter for expatriates. However, repatriation problems are complex both for the company and the expatriate because they involve the challenges of personal re-entry and professional re-entry at the same time (Linehan and Scullion, 2002). Hodgetts and Luthans (2001), claim that for most expatriates, the return to the home country occurs within five years after leaving the home country. Furthermore, Dowling, et al. (1994) suggests that the repatriation process consists of different phases in which the expatriate and the company face different roles. The authors describe the repatriation process in four related phas es. These are a) preparation, b) physical relocation, c) transition, and d) readjustment. The first stage, preparation, involves the development of plans for the future both for the company and the expatriate. In this stage the expatriate can gather information about the new position that will be offered in the home organization. Preparation is followed by physical relocation of the expatriate. This stage refers to removing personal effects; breaking ties with colleagues, and traveling to the country where the home organization is located. In this stage the company can offer comprehensive and personalized relocation assistance to reduce the amount of anxiety the repatriate may feel. Transition, the third step in the repatriation process, is the settling into temporary accommodations as well as making arrangements for administrative tasks. This makes the process of re-entry to the home organization smoother. Readjustment, the last step, involves coping with reverse culture shock and career demands that are followed by the re-entry. (Ibid) According to Paik, et al. (2002), the process of an expatriates re-entry to the home organization is a complex interaction of several job-related factors, socio- cultural factors and family factors. The job-related factors primarily address the relationship between the expatriate and the home office and issues related to the repatriates career progression after returning to the home country. Many repatriates return to an organization that does not know what they have accomplished overseas and how to use the repatriates experience appropriately. The socio-cultural factors are related to the repatriates ability to adjust and reintegrate into the home country culture. Sufficient cross-cultural preparation is needed to prepare the expatriate for working in another culture as well as for preparing the expatriate for working in the home organization upon return. Finally, the family factors address the impact of reintegration on the spouse and children. The cultural shock that the family ma y experience can affect the repatriates ability to resume their responsibilities at the home office. One of the key transitional activities is to involve targeted communication concerning the expectation of the home office towards the return of the repatriate and his or her family. (Ibid) Suutari and Brewster, (2003) claim that for the employee, career progression is often the reason to accept an assignment abroad. As a consequence the re-entry position is frequently linked with whether the new position matches the repatriates career expectations. Although international assignments are seen as a key tool for developing international managers the positive connection between an expatriation assignment and career development has been questioned. The authors further state that there is a gloomy picture with organizations losing a lot of talented and experienced international staff at or shortly after repatriation. The fall-out rate is often a result of dissatisfaction among repatriates whose careers are blighted by their negative experience and who have to rebuild their careers elsewhere. (Ibid) However, according to Linehan and Scullion (2002) the costs of losing repatriates are significant because they are valuable and expensive human resources who are capable of understanding the workings of both corporate headquarters and overseas operations; in addition they are responsible for critical co-ordination and control functions. MEANING OF REPATRITION PROGRAMME Black, et al, stress the importance of having a well-defined repatriation program in order to accomplish successful repatriation and to conquer the problems companies and employees face. However, Dowling, et al (1999) present a study by Harvey that state that only 31 percent of U.S companies have a program for repatriation. The three most frequent mentioned reasons for not having a program was a lack of knowledge about how to develop a program, the costs of training repatriates, and no perceived need by top management of having a program. (Ibid) Yongsun (2002), claims that in order for organizations to fully exploit the knowledge and skills of returning expatriates it is critical for the company to manage the repatriation process. Different theories and approaches of how a repatriation program can be developed exist in the literature. (Ibid) According to Jassawalla, et al (2004), a retrofit program at the end of the expatriates assignment makes poor repatriation. Vermond (2001) sugge sts that the repatriation process should start as early as possible in an expatriates assignment, and should be continued after the expatriates return to the home country. The repatriation program as an ongoing process, have developed a theoretical model of how an effective repatriation program can look like. In this model the authors have divided the repatriation process in three stages. This model identifies the key action steps taken prior to departure, during the assignment, and after the repatriates return that appear to determine the organizational and individual outcomes. (ibid) However, the outcomes of these actions will not be discussed as mentioned in the delimitations in chapter one. As previously mentioned, companies and expatriates face different problems in the repatriation process. These problems affect the stages in the repatriation program developed differently. Therefore some problems are mentioned in several stages in order to justify different actions that can be taken in order to conquer the problems that either the company or the expatriate/repatriate face. Repatriation Program Prior to the expatriates departure During the expatriates stay After the expatriates return Choosing new assignments in the home office -Quality of interaction with sponsors The sponsor has a stake in the repatriates personal long-term career. The duties of a sponsor include searching for positions that may suit the repatriate and try to ensure that the repatriates skills will be used upon return. Using the procedures designed to reorient the repatriate to the home office Task clarity Expectations on the expatriate The deadlines of the task How the performance will be evaluated -Career counselling The reasons for sending the manager overseas The benefits of the overseas assignment for the firm and the manager The managers career options upon return Formal policies for repatriation Repatriation policies should include actions to be taken during the pre-visit, visit and post visit. -Perception of support while on assignment Related to issues included in the relocation package such as financial compensation, support to the spouse and children to aid in their adjustment to the foreign environment. Nature and frequency of communication This factor is related to the frequency of communication between the home office and the expatriate while he or she is abroad. Who is responsible for the contact and how the contact is maintained are considered. -Perceptions of support upon return Receiving credit and recognition for the foreign assignment Utilizing their new perspectives in their new job Adjusting to the differences in job related factors of their new job compared to the foreign assignment Although a lengthy discussion of underlying reasons for expatriate failure is unfortunately out of scope for this article, it can be argued that companies benefit from managing this repatriation process in order to exploit the knowledge and skills of returning expatriates. (3) High attrition rates have been found to be primarily related to organizations difficulties to effectively reposition their repatriated employees. This observation is a strong argument to stress repatriation management in HR departments. (4) Organizations may experience difficulties in finding candidates for expatriate positions when potential candidates see what will happen to expatriates once they return. (5) Ogberg, who coined the term culture shock in 1960, also considered a reverse culture shock that expatriates experience when returning home. Proper preparation for this future shock may prepare expatriates for the transition to domestic work and family settings. (5) Research in 2005 showed that repatriatio n adjustment was the strongest predictor of intent to leave the organization (Lee Liu, 2005). Retention and career management, therefore, should be central to planning expatriate positions. Positions should be gradually more challenging in order to challenge valuable employees and be part of a long term career path. Long term career planning foresees in building on previous assignments; assigning repatriates unchallenging positions once back home may be regarded as an invitation to apply for positions elsewhere. Sound expatriate management will therefore consider repatriation arrangements as good practice. In reality, however, organizations often seem to have forgotten who these expatriates are. HR departments fail to build on expatriates skills and experience because they do not know well what they have accomplished during the years. Expatriates experience frustration once their expatriate benefits and status will be lost upon repatriation. They will have to get used to normal levels of pay and taxation again. Their children will have to attend national curriculum schools, private school tuition fees will not be covered upon return to the home country. Establishing a mutual understanding and a clear definition of successful repatriation could help repatriates establish correct expectations before returning home. A proper preparation towards the end of expatriate assignments may ease the transition and avoid costly turnover for the organization. An ongoing lack of attention to repatriation management will likely continue to fuel high attrition rates. Avoiding Reverse Culture Shock While we often think of culture shock as a factor during a familys arrival to a new country, dont underestimate the role that reverse culture shock can play when the assignment ends. After a period of time spent away from their home culture, family members may have trouble readjusting to the formerly familiar environment. This culture shock can affect any member of the family, but children are known to have the most difficulty readjusting. For example, friends and loved ones while they may have stayed in touch during the time away will have moved on to new interests and p

Applications And Types Of Smart Materials Engineering Essay

Applications And Types Of Smart Materials Engineering Essay Smart material are those that change in response to changing conditions in their surrounding or in the application of other directed influences such as passing an electric charge through them. Modern products increasingly use them, shirts that change color with changes in temperature. Smart materials are the materials that have one or more properties that can be significantly changed in a controlled style such as stress, temperature, moisture, pH, electric or magnetic fields. There are many types of smart material some of which are already common. Some examples are as following: Types of smart material Some types of smart materials include: Piezoelectric On applying a mechanical stress to these materials it generates an electric current. Piezoelectric microphones transform changes in pressure caused by sound waves into an electrical signal. Shape memory After deformation of these materials they remember their original shape and return back to its original shape when heated .Applications include shape memory stents tubes threaded into arteries that expand on heating to body temperature to allow increased blood flow. Thermo chromic These are the materials which change their color in response to changes in temperature. They have been used in bathplugs that change color when the water is too hot. Photo chromic These materials change color in response to changes in light conditions. Uses include security ink sand dolls that tan in the sun. Magneto rheological: it is a fluid that fluids become solid when placed in a magnetic field. They can be used to construct dampers that suppress vibrations. These can be used for buildings and bridges to suppress the damaging effects of, For example, high winds or earthquakes. 1.1 pH-sensitive polymers These are materials which swell/collapse when the pH of the surrounding media changes. PH sensitive or pH responsive polymers are materials which will respond to the changes in the pH of the surrounding medium by varying their dimensions. Such materials swell or collapse depending on the pH of their environment. This behavior is exhibited due to the presence of certain functional groups in the polymer chain. 1.2 Magnetostrictive materials exhibit change in shape under the influence of magnetic field and also exhibit change in their magnetization under the influence of mechanical stress Fig 1.1 Magnetostrictive material (inside) then magnetizing coil over it and magnetic enclosure completing the magnetic circuit (outside) It can convert magnetic energy into kinetic energy that is used to build sensors. 1.3 Temperature-responsive polymers These are materials which changes upon temperature. A temperature-responsive polymer is a polymer which undergoes a physical change when external thermal is applied. The ability to undergo such changes makes this class of polymers the category of smart materials. 1.4 Self-healing materials These materials have the intrinsic ability to repair damage due to normal usage, thus expanding the materials lifetime .These are the class of smart materials that have the structurally incorporated ability to repair damage caused by mechanical usage over time. The inspiration comes from biological systems, which have the ability to heal after being wounded. Initiation of cracks and other types of damage on a microscopic level has been shown to change thermal, electrical, and acoustical properties, and eventually lead to whole scale failure of the material. Usually, cracks are mended by hand, which is difficult because cracks are often hard to detect. A material (polymers, ceramics, etc) that can intrinsically correct damage caused by normal usage could lower production costs of a number of different industrial processes through longer part lifetime, reduction of inefficiency over time caused by degradation, as well as prevent costs incurred by material failure Chapter 2 Applications of Smart Materials There are many possibilities for such materials and structures in the manmade world. Engineering structures could operate at the very limit of their performance envelopes and to their structural limits without fear of exceeding either. These structures could also give maintenance engineers a full report on performance history, as well as the location of defects, whilst having the ability to counteract unwanted or potentially dangerous conditions such as excessive vibration, and affect self repair. The Office of Science and Technology Foresight Programme has stated that `Smart materials will have an increasing range of applications (and) the underlying sciences in this area must be maintained at a standard which helps achieve technological objectives, which means that smart materials and structures must solve engineering problems with hitherto unachievable efficiency, and provide an opportunity for new wealth creating products. 2.1 Smart Materials in Aerospace Some materials and structures can be termed sensual devices. These are structures that can sense their environment and generate data for use in health and usage monitoring systems (HUMS). To date the most well established application of HUMS are in the field of aerospace, in areas such as aircraft checking. An airline such as British Airways requires over 1000 employees to service their 747s with extensive routine, ramp, intermediate and major checks to monitor the health and usage of the fleet. Routine checks involve literally dozens of tasks carried out under approximately 12 pages of densely typed check headings. Ramp checks increase in thoroughness every 10 days to 1 month, hanger checks occur every 3 months, interchecks every 15 months, and major checks every 24000 flying hours. In addition to the manpower resources, hanger checks require the aircraft to be out of service for 24 hours, interchecks require 10 days and major checks 5 weeks. The overheads of such safety monitoring are enormous. An aircraft constructed from a sensual structure could self-monitor its performance to a level beyond that of current data recording, and provide ground crews with enhanced health and usage monitoring. This would minimize the overheads associated with HUMS and allow such aircraft to fly for more hours before human intervention is required. 2.2 Smart Materials in Civil Engineering Applications However, sensual structures need not be restricted to hi-tech applications such as aircraft. They could be used in the monitoring of civil engineering structures to assess durability. Monitoring of the current and long term behavior of a bridge would lead to enhanced safety during its life since it would provide early warning of structural problems at a stage where minor repairs would enhance durability, and when used in conjunction with structural rehabilitation could be used to safety monitor the structure beyond its original design life. This would influence the life costs of such structures by reducing upfront construction costs (since smart structures would allow reduced safety factors in initial design), and by extending the safe life of the structure. Sensual materials and structures also have a wide range of potential domestic applications, as in food 2.3 Its properties which enable them for civil engineering application are    Repeated absorption of large amounts of strain energy under loading without permanent deformation. Possibility to obtain a wide range of cyclic behavior -from supplemental and fully reentering to highly dissipating-by simply varying the number and/or the characteristics of SMA components. Usable strain range of 70% Extraordinary fatigue resistance under large strain cycles Their great durability and reliability in the long run. 2.4 STRUCTURAL APPLICATION OF SMART MATERIALS The development of durable and cost effective high performance construction materials and systems is important for the economic well being of a country mainly because the cost of civil infrastructure constitutes a major portion of the national wealth. To address the problems of deteriorating civil infrastructure, research is very essential on smart materials. This paper highlights the use of smart materials for the optimal performance and safe design of buildings and other infrastructures particularly those under the threat of earthquake and other natural hazards. The peculiar properties of the shape memory alloys for smart structures render a promising area of research in this field. Fig 2.1 to achieve speed improvements on existing bridges and to maintain the track in a straight and non-deformed configuration as the train passes With the help of optimal control methodology the train will pass the bridge with reduced track deflections and vibrations and thus velocity could be safely increased. Fig2.1 shows various positions of the train with and without active railway track support. Chapter3 3.1 Reducing waste Producers are forced to consider the entire life of a product at the design stage and customers are increasingly demanding more environmentally sensitive products. Innovative use of smart materials has the potential to reduce waste and to simplify recycling. Electronic waste Electronic waste is the fastest growing component of domestic waste in the UK. Electrical equipment requires that it should be processed before disposal to remove hazardous and recyclable materials. Disassembly of product is expensive and time consuming but the use of smart materials could help to automate the process. Research in this active disassembly has been carried out by UK companies. Active Disassembly Research Ltd. One example uses fasteners constructed from shape memory materials that can self release on heating. Once the fasteners have been released, components can be separated simply by shaking the product. By using fasteners that react to different temperatures, products could be disassembled. 3.2 Research in the UK Smart materials and systems are interdisciplinary subject areas so funding does not come from a single research council. However, the majority of research council funding is allocated by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC). Materials research is one of its six core programmers and it currently has a commitment of  £21m to smart materials research in 28 UK universities. This includes the EPSRCs contribution to smart materials projects run in collaboration with 35different organizations including the Ministry of Defense British Aerospace In addition to research councils, the government also allocates funding through the Technology Strategy Board. This is an executive non-departmental public body established by the Government to stimulate innovation in those areas which offer the greatest scope for boosting UK growth and productivity. Advanced materials are one of the Technology Strategy Boards key technology areas, which provide the framework for deciding w here it should invest funding and support activities. In 2007, as part of its support for collaborative research and development, the Technology Strategy Board allocated funding of  £7m to a competition for research proposals in Smart Bioactive and Nano structured Materials for Health The Ministry of Defense identifies smart materials and active structures as a priority technology. However, its investment in these areas has decreased markedly in recent years as developments are increasingly driven by global civil markets and commodity products that are often adequate for itsneeds.2 It currently emphasizes monitoring external research rather than producing it in-house. 3.3 Research worldwide The US is the world leader in smart materials research mainly because of the large defence research and development budget. The US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency has had an in-house programme of smart materials and structures research since the early 1990s, in contrast to the UK. However the UK is strong in many areas and is at the forefront of research into structures that can repair themselves. Other observations so that materials can be sorted automatically. The companies have collaborated with Nokia and believe that this technology could be in use in the next two years. 3.4 Reducing food waste Food makes up approximately one fifth of the UKs waste. One third of food grown for consumption in the UK is thrown away, much of which is food that has reached its best before date without being eaten .These dates are conservative estimates and actual product life may be longer. Manufacturers are now looking for ways to extend product life with packaging, often using smart materials. CHAPTER 4 FUTURE 4.1 In Nanotechnology to Revolutionize Smart Materials Technology The nanotechnology is set to accelerate development of improved and complicated smart material technologies. Researchers are now considering the possibilities of designing, altering, and controlling material structure at nanoscale levels in order to enhance material performance and process efficiency. The advancements in nanomaterials are expected to increase product quality and performance, and they are finding acceptance in diverse applications such as sensors and electronic devices. Nanosensor particles assist in creating tools for analyzing living cells and serve as reporters in industrial process monitoring. In the future, smart materials are likely to derive their success from nanotechnology that is likely to be instrumental in creating more varied, complex, and intelligent systems. 4.2 Smart Materials Expected to Cater to Diverse Applications The advances and improvements in smart materials allow them to cater to a diverse set of applications, especially in the defense, aerospace, healthcare, electronics, and semiconductor industries. Although very few of these applications are at present commercially viable, their potential for future acceptance is irrefutable. Smart materials are particularly useful for cellular production, observes the analyst. With the addition of cellular fluid and by regulating the cells shape and mechanical conditions, smart materials especially polymers can mimic these cells interactions and exhibit effective results. The computer industry is also adopting smart materials for read/write head micropositioners and next-generation data storage devices. Researchers are developing piezo-accelerometers that anticipate and correct head-motion-related read/write errors. In the healthcare markets, smart material technologies are making their way into several analytical devices for detecting and diagnosing complex medical conditions. With future advances, smart materials are also likely to be useful for fabricating insulin pumps and drug delivery devices.

Invasion of Normandy Essay -- WWII World War 2 American History

Invasion of Normandy Invasion of Normandy, also known as D-Day or Operation Overlord, was a cross channel attack planned by the allies that took place over the English channel. Not only was D-Day the largest amphibious assault the world had seen, it was a critical point in World War II. (Locke, Alain, ed. Pg 203) The Invasion of Normandy is when the allies decided that they must take an offense and invade Germany on their home land if Hitler was to be stopped. The allies put all of their power together, for failure was not an option. If the invasion was to fail it was quite likely that the United States would have to postpone their fight against Germany and turn their full attention to the war in the Pacific, leaving the fate of Europe to Britain and the Soviet Union. Chances are that by the time the United states returned to fight Germany, Hitler would have overrun the continent since all of Britain's resources had been drained, leaving the majority of the fighting to the Soviet Union. Towards the end of November 1943, President Roosevelt, Churchill and Stalin met in Tehran for the first meeting about how to invade Germany. Roosevelt and the prime minister had already agreed that it would be best to launch a cross-channel attack, code named Overlord. President Roosevelt was in full favor of launching operation Overlord as soon as the weather permitted. With Stalin's agreement to join in, operation Overlord was set for May 1944, depending on the weather. (Anderson, Jervis. Pg 86) American General Dwight D. Eisenhower was named supreme commander for the allies in Europe. British General, Sir Frederick Morgan, established a combined American-British headquarters known as COSSAC, for Chief of Staff to the Supreme... ..., Steve Pg 53)eyes focused somewhere else while the main part of the war took place on five beaches. With the exception of Omaha beach, the rest were reasonably easy compared to past battles. Work Cited Anderson, Jervis. World War II. New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1982. Bloom, Harold, ed. Conflicts during World War II. New York: Pantheon, 1993. Huggins, Nathan. World War II in picture. London: Oxford University Press, 1989. Lewis, David Levering, ed. D-Day. New York: Penguin 1994. Locke, Alain, ed. The Longest Day. New York: Atheneum, 1992. Studio Museum, The. Music, the once great art. New York: Abrams, 1987 Watson, Steve. Nothing Less then Victory. New York: Pantheon, 1995 Candaela, Kerry. The Voices of D-Day. Philadelphia: Chelsea House Publishers, 1997. Daniel, Mips. Weapons of World War II. New York: Pantheon, 1995