Awareness of safety aspects Essay

Safety aspects, in relation to environment and equipment, include checking the area you are about to do your activity in, i.e. if you’re are going to play football, check there is no dangerous items such as large stones or glass on the pitch and to also check the equipment you are going to use to do your activity, to make sure it is all safe and provides proper protection, for example if you going to play football, check your football and goal posts if they are all in good condition, and ware adequate protection, for the game such as shin pads. We need to warm up for several reasons. One is to prepare mentally for the exercise we are about to do and to get our minds in the correct state to carry out the necessary physical exercises. The other is to warm up physically, to stretch the muscles so they are not all tensed up when we go to do physical activity. This makes our bodies a lot more flexible and a lot more prepared for a game situation. It is necessary to warm up the different muscle groups. For example, warming up your biceps and triceps by reaching for your toes and also warming up your hamstrings by doing squat thrusts to warm up your muscles. You should aim to warm up different muscles at different intervals, so as not to warm up your upper-body muscles all in one go whilst leaving out your lower-body muscles. First, for my warm up we will jog around the gym doing around 5 laps and while jogging around the gym I will be shouting out things i.e. left hand down, right hand down, get down and do 10 press ups and so on. After we have stretched off properly I will play a game called bull dog this game is really easy to play and enjoyable as well so how you play is two people (bull dogs) have to stand in the centre of the gym and shout out one of the persons name and what the person does is shouts out proper loud bull dogs so every one has to go from one end of the gym to the other without getting caught and if you do get court your a bull dog as well so this means that the last man standing wins. This game is good for warming you up because it includes a lot of running in the game. There are three phases to a warm up and they are  Pulse raiser: The aim of the pulse raiser is to elevate the heart rate and respiratory rate by doing light physical activity. This increases the blood flow and helps with the transportation of oxygen and nutrients to the working muscles. This also helps to increase the muscle temperature, allowing for a more effective static stretch. Stretches: Stretching is one of the most critical parts of the Warm Up and of my performance. A more flexible muscle is a stronger and healthier muscle. A stronger and healthier muscle responds better to exercise and activities and helps prevent athlete injury. Before sprinting I stretch for up to 7-12minutes.Bend both knees and put the soles of your feet on the floor to begin.  Leaving one leg bent, straighten the other leg and hold either, behind the thigh or if you are flexible behind the calf. Ensure the flats of your feet remain in contact with the floor at all times  For that additional stretch gently push the flat of the foot out in front of you into the floor.  Hold this stretch for 15 – 30 seconds and repeat on the opposite side. Gluteus Stretch Performed in a supine position. Lie flat out and bend your knees, placing the sole of your feet on the floor. Take leg (a) and place one foot on the knee of the opposite leg (b). Reach through the gap and around the outside of the leg (b), which is bent and on the floor, pull the leg in as far as, is comfortable. Feel the stretch in the buttocks of leg  Hold this stretch for 15 – 30 seconds  Gluteal stretch  Sit upright with your legs stretched out in front of you. Bend one leg (a) and place it over the top of the straight leg (b). Put the sole of the foot of leg (a) on the floor and hug the knee towards the chest. Feel the stretch in the buttocks on the side of leg. Hold this stretch for 15 – 30 seconds. A quadriceps stretch- flat on the floor  Lie face down, with your body in a straight line. Bend one leg aiming to put your heel on your buttocks.  Take hold of the ankle and relax in this position. To increase the stretches push your hips into the floor  Hold this stretch for 15 – 30 seconds  quadriceps stretch performed in a standing position  Ensure your supporting leg is slightly bent and use a wall for support if necessary. Bend your knee and take hold of the ankle of the leg, gently pull the ankle towards your buttocks. Keep your knees together and your head in line with your spine whilst performing this exercise.

Pussy Riot

This group has approximately 11 members, with women ranging from age 20 to 33. This group's activities include staging unauthorized provocative performances in public places and then video taping them to post on the internet. These women protest with lyrical songs consisting of topics on feminism, LIGHT rights, opposition to the policies of the Russian President Vladimir Putting. They also make inks between Putting and the Russian Orthodox Church.Puss Riot is already a controversial group because they perform in Inappropriate places, but one specific performance at Moscow Cathedral of Christ the Savior threw these women overboard. Their actions were immediately stopped by church security guards and two of the group members were arrested and charged with â€Å"hooliganism motivated by religious hatred. † They were each sentenced to two years in prison. The trial for this case became exhausting and complicated very fast and retests were being held all over the world after the gr oup's sentence was announced.What is interesting about this documentary Is that, although this group Is a subculture and they are definitely going against many social norms by performing provocative unpleasant to hear songs about their beliefs, many people actually like and support them. However, others may consider this a disgusting act of pure deviance. Although this group of women may look more like a counterculture than a subculture, considering their appearance and vulgarity, they actually do not fall ender this category because they are not trying to hurt anyone.As said In the documentary, these women are nice people who Just want to express their beliefs. We all have beliefs and we all probably express them from time to time, but these women Just decided to express them In more of an Inappropriate, blunt, and passionate way that goes against the social norm. This still means that these women were deviant. They were deviant In the fact that they were going against the norm as well as In the fact that they were arrested and charged with hooliganism.

Biological Oxygen Transport Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Biological Oxygen Transport - Essay Example The term biological oxygen transport refers to the incorporation of oxygen from the environment into the cell. It covers all the processes right from breathing to the respiration. Such transport process encompasses different levels of organization from organism to the level of sub cellular organelles. The transport of oxygen in various biological systems majorly depends upon the process of diffusion and convection. Generally there are two biological systems: plant and animals. Plants do not have any specialized organ for the transport of oxygen. Roots stem and leaves are major sites involved in uptake and release of oxygen. Oxygen is absorbed for respiration and is released into the atmosphere as a result of photosynthesis. Leaves being exposed to air are the major sites of oxygen uptake. Air mixed oxygen enters the empty spaces in the leaves through the openings called stomata. The entry of oxygen to the intracellular air spaces is followed by the process of rapid diffusion. The interior of the cells have less oxygen concentration as compare to the exterior. So, following the principle of diffusion, oxygen moves from the higher exterior concentration to the lower concentration inside the cell. This transport is accomplished by passing through various cellular-barriers such as cell wall and cell membrane. Oxygen being non polar easily diffuses through these barriers. Oxygen can also be transported through the stem and the roots. The cork of roots and stem contain openings called lenticels, for the transport of oxygen into and out of the plant body. Moreover plants with soft green stems bear stomata for the transport of oxygen. As far as the transport of oxygen within the plants is concerned, experiments have shown that the plant contains non –tortuous gas filled channels between the stem and the root. Apart from the lenticels; the oxygen requirement

Merchants of Cool Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Merchants of Cool - Essay Example This film discovers the contemporary teenagers’ culture and their standpoints on themselves and their parents. In order to target the teenagers, companies explore the teenager’s tastes and preferences, perspectives, and their aspirations to identify what they desire. Needless to say, as according to the film â€Å"Merchants of Cool†, companies survey the symbiotic association between the present day teenagers and the media, as they depend on the other for their identity (Merchants of Cool, 2001). Marketing happens to all people at all time, and no individual is invulnerable from its influence and free from its reach (Ewen, 1976, p. 36). The absolute size and purchasing power of the contemporary teenagers creates a windfall of inexorably insistent brand messaging that is both omnipresent and goes to extraordinary lengths to hold on to the most significant canon in convincing this demographic segment. The â€Å"Merchants of Cool† notes that teenagers are the hottest demographic in United States. Marketing to the youth is a challenging task and not as easy as it sounds. Marketers have to seek ways to seem real: authentic to the lives and perspectives of teens and to be cool to themselves (Ewen, 1976, p. 1118). In essence, they seek the next trendy thing and have implemented approximately anthropological strategy to examine the youth and their every move. Ewen (1976, p. 124) notes that the creation of a fancied desire is significant to the contemporary marketer. The youths have the need to experience self-conscious perspective and a marketer should focus on this. A marketer can identify this need through examining the youths’ behavior and ways of life (Ewen, 1976, p. 128). The â€Å"Merchants of Cool† (2001) delineates a response circle in which marketers carry out comprehensive ethnographic studies of teens to identify what’s fashionable, and then augment it and nosh it back to them through media managed by fewer

State judicial system Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

State judicial system - Essay Example Jurisdiction is conferred by laws and therefore cannot be waived or subject to agreement by parties. A defendant has the right to appeal a trial court’s decision, usually once, to the next immediate appellate court. Any other appeal from the initial appeal is discretionary and may be done only through a writ of certiorari or discretionary review. The appellate courts review only the law applied by the lower courts, leaving the findings of facts intact, and no new issues can be considered. They rely solely on the trial briefs of the parties and the records of the proceedings in the trial court. A discretionary review or review via a certiorari is accepted only if the issue at hand is novel or of such general importance. The final resort that a defendant can avail of, after showing state-level exhaustion, is with the federal courts on a petition for a writ of certiorari or petition for a writ of habeas corpus (Acker & Brody 2003 pp 26-29). The lowest court level in the federal court system is the federal district court, of which every state and US territory has at least one. In addition to violation and issues of the US Constitution, federal laws, treaties, diversity of citizenship jurisdiction, these courts have jurisdiction over petitions for habeas corpus that state prisoners may file on the ground that their convictions or sentences violate the US Constitution. Moreover, there must be actual disputes and controversy for federal jurisdiction to apply. On the other hand, the US federal Courts of Appeal can entertain only appeals from federal district courts within their respective circuits as the federal district courts are divided into circuits and assigned an appeals court. Additionally, certain limits of the amounts in dispute are considered before an appeal can be had to the circuit courts. In civil cases, for example, the amount involved must be more than $50 and in admiralty $300. An appeal

The Presidency Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Presidency - Research Paper Example The American presidency is the most powerful office positions in the universe, considering the fact that the United States of America is the powerhouse of the world. As such, the presidency is among the widely recognized worldwide icons (Watts, 2009). Majority of individuals living outside the US or those who have little knowledge on the history of the presidency would assume that the politics of the presidency as similar to any other in the world (or to the local and congressional elections), but those familiar with its history know the significance of the office. A keen and closer look at the history of the executive branch of the US government will highlight the powers and worldwide impact the office may have on the entire world. Among the main roles of the presidency as described by Article II of the American Constitution, include the chief administrator, chief lawmaker, commander-in-chief, chief of state, and the chief diplomat, just to mention a few. In contrast to local or con gressional elections where several individuals of the same ideology are elected in order for the government to address issues of concern, the presidency, a single individual although under the check of various government divisions, has the power to literary change the entire world. As history has it, US presidents have had the power to implement policies that may bring significant changes in the world, or establish new world orders, as is the case with President Washington. Nonetheless, different presidents in the past have had different policy doctrines that helped them govern the country in their presidential terms (Brinkley & Dyer, 2004). The vast powers held in the presidency office often make the role a contradictory institution and complex one, and very vital to the US government system. Restrictions by political laws on one president act as a liberation for another. A successful policy doctrine for one president may be a complete failure by another, majorly because of the pre vailing political and international relations. The US presidency definition may be a series of contradictions, paradoxes, and clashing expectations. Citizens vote a president based on principles and values that are generally acceptable to the society. A citizen’s vote is dependent on the individual’s beliefs, hopes, and wishes. The presidential elections of 2012 will either give Americans a chance to reinstate President Barrack Obama as their president for another four-year term, or choose another candidate based on their guiding principles and presidential campaign platforms (Peters). The issue of terrorism has been a major topic in the past presidential elections campaigns, with the gradual shift from the democratic diplomacy presidency to the imperial presidency as was imposed by George Bush during his term in office (Brinkley & Dyer, 2004). The 57th Presidential elections to be held on 6th November 2012, is expected to feature the incumbent President Obama on a Dem ocrats ticket, a Republican candidate (yet to be decided), and a third party nominee. The presidential campaigns are often marred with accusations and counter accusation, some of which have seen a Republican Presidential candidate, Herman Cain, suspend his campaign on accusations of a 13-years affair and sexual harassment. The Democrats are pushing tax cut extensions as part of their strategy, as well as maintaining their famous

HI Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

HI - Essay Example cerning this controversial issue shows that most Americans support the death penalty, although the presence of strong opposition to it should not be ignored. It is also found that some individuals support this form of capital punishment only under certain circumstances. Each group to augment their support or opposition to death penalty usually cites several reasons. This essay aims to discuss some of the most prominent arguments usually put forth either for or against the continued application of death penalty in the countries penal laws. The main argument put forth by supporters of the death penalty is that it is a way of preventing future murders from taking place. The argument is that given that the society generally applies punishments as discouragements to would-be criminals, and that the society is highly concerned with prevention of murder, it is only prudent that the same society uses the most severe means of punishment available to deter murder. Moreover, the death penalty is considered the most efficient way of deterring future murders since people generally have a strong fear for death. In the same vein, it is not only the would-be murderers that are deterred by the death penalty, but the actual murderer is permanently ‘deterred’ from committing any further murders by being executed. Just like a robber is imprisoned to prevent him from robbing on the streets, a murderer should be killed to prevent them from committing the same crimes (Bedau and Cassel, 2004). Another line of argument in support of the death penalty posits that in a just world, taking of a life can only be penalized by a death sentence. This is because murdering somebody creates an imbalance of justice, which can only be restored through a death penalty. This is only in tandem with the religious backing on retribution, which advocates for ‘an eye for an eye’ (Kaufman, 2012). The most prominent reason that is usually cited by those calling for the abolition of the death penalty

Consumer Behavior case analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Consumer Behavior case analysis - Essay Example Efficiency in the company will be increased when the customers are able to know about the company via the rides. That will cut on the cost that the company will use on advertising. That in one way will increase efficiency of the company’s advertising campaign and in another way increase the profitability of the company. Profitability will increase because of the reduced advertising costs. Halley should hold on to the ride as it has shown benefits to the customers and also to HOG. Customers get a great experience during the ride when they get to interact with the other customers and HOG personnel. This in turn is a good marketing strategy, because when the customer is happy the sales will improve. Alternatively, because the rides go on getting better, it would be appropriate just to keep them running rather than do away with them (Fournier 7). The Posse Rides bring customers together, help them bond and with other customers, together with their HOG staff. Judging from the riders comments, where some talk of finding new friends, as Brad, Marie, and Jim Stephens did. When executives participate in the ride, they get to know about the Halley customers, and to more understand their needs. Through the interactions they have, the executives are able to get the customers opinions and to better understand their view on the product and get to know how best to improve the next brand. The Posse Ride is also a marketing strategy as people get to know about the brand as they get to test the product. The Ride also removes a notion that being a rider is a very funny hobby, as one of the riders commented that her kids did not support her being a rider and sometimes were embarrassed, but after the ride, they have to embrace her being a rider. The Ride has a lot of benefit to the customer in the following areas, based on the research done from the Posse Ride; they get

Does China really want to establish itself in a position of Essay

Does China really want to establish itself in a position of unquestioned preponderance in the region and seeks to displace the United States as the dominant player in East Asia - Essay Example China was weak and vulnerable during the Century of Humiliation. This adds urgency to its pursuit of power and its desire for regional preeminence. China has been riven by rebellions causing assassination of millions of people throughout the 19th century. The imperial government’s compliance with the foreign demands and resistance to the the growing presence of foreigners frequently fanned these uprisings. The Century of Humiliation has left deep scars in the memory of China as a nation. A prime reason behind China’s eagerness to become powerful is to deter such conditions from happening in the future. Drive for annexation of Taiwan to the mainland For China, the situation regarding the sea is of more significance as compared to that regarding the land. The West also challenged Japan like China, but the rulers of Japan were more adept at reestablishing their military and political system as compared to China’s. Japan’s military defeated China’s mili tary in the mid-1890s and took control of different portions of Manchuria and Taiwan. Japan’s encroachment into the Chinese territory increased further in the first half of the 20th century. So in order to establish itself as a country of unquestioned preponderance in East Asia, it is imperative that China makes a strategy to annex Taiwan with it, drive America out of the way, and also, be stronger than Japan. â€Å"[T]here remain several vesitges of [the Century of Humiliation] that, in the minds of many Chinese, must be rectified before China’s recovery will be considered complete. The most important of these – and the only one that is non-negotiable – is the return of Taiwan to the mainland† (Kaufman 1). This is likely to result in... China has shown rapid growth of economy since the second half of the 20th century. The US presently sees China as a threat because of a lot of reasons. One of the key issues in the defense planning of the US is to sort out the way to respond to the military modernization effort made by China. According to the Department of Defense (DOD), â€Å"China’s rise as a major international actor is likely to stand out as a defining feature of the strategic landscape of the early 21st Century [and China’s military] is now venturing into the global maritime domain, a sphere long dominated by the U.S. Navy†¦ I have moved from being curious to being genuinely concerned [about the military programs of China† (Mullen cited in O’Rouke). Another major reason because of which China is evolving as a potential threat to the US is its growing economic power. China is a major exporter of goods and products all over the world. Even the US imports a large share of both raw a nd manufactured goods from China. Most of the motivation China has for growth comes from its commitment to be self-sufficient and strong enough to deter such a time in the future from occurrence. Since the late 20th century, government of China has introduced some radical changes that have helped the economy of China flourish. China is strengthening its military and access to the Arabian Sea. In spite of all these measures, China does not want to enter into a war with the US. While this is an established fact that China really wants to establish itself in a position of unquestioned preponderance in the region, yet it cannot be said with utmost surety that China seeks to displace the US as the dominant player in East Asia.

The Sense in Organisational Learning, Knowing and Sense making Essay Example for Free

The Sense in Organisational Learning, Knowing and Sense making Essay Experience in Learning   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Learning is the acquisition of knowledge, ideas, concepts, experience and any other kind of element that can be acquired. Learning is the retention of knowledge. It is also a skill such as using tools, creating crafts or simply driving a car. Learning involves practice. Practice is a way of retaining learning. But most of all, learning is a change in behaviour.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   As far as I could remember, I learned to walk, speak and do many types of activities in the house by the acquisition of these knowledge and experiences. Either I would learn by following and mimicking gestures that the elder people would show me or I would engage into the experience of the concept. For example, I learned not to run fast down the stairs because one time that I did, I fell three flights and bumped my head. I learned how to remember the names of many relatives by repeatedly seeing them in family gatherings. Conversing with these people required me to utter their names and so that helped me remember their names and how I was related to them.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   As I entered formal learning, other tools where available for me to increase knowledge and experience. Reading books was a way to learn how to know things. Before operating machines such as household appliances or laboratory machines, it is imperative to read instruction manuals so that I could transform myself into someone who did not know how to operate the machine into someone who knew how. And therefore there was a definite change in behaviour because of this. Learning things on your own is different when learning inside an organization. Experience in Participating in an Organization   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   There are two general kinds of participants in an organization or in a group endeavour. One can either be an active or a passive participant. Active participation involves doing different roles at different times depending on the need of the organization. In group discussions for example, one can be an initiator, regulator, informer, supporter or an evaluator. All these roles must be found in the whole group embodied by its participants in order for the group to develop and evolve its visions.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Another insight I gathered from participating in organizations is that one can learn fully if one keeps an open mind and heart. Each participant has his unique person moulded from a definitive history. Each person has his own ideas and learning style. If participants do not cooperate in the organizations, it will be harder to achieve objectives. Sometimes, participating in an organization requires one to compromise some comfort zones. There will be moments when a co-participants’ idea does not match your own. Sometimes, this will be cause of conflict. However, after the exchange and debate on the idea, conflict is soon resolved. Even at times when breakdown of the organization occurs, this will also signify that the conflict was resolved.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   I cannot be half part of an organization. Participation in an organization must be whole for it to be worthwhile. Being a part of an organization means adhering to its vision, mission and goals. If a person cannot embrace the organization’s objectives, then his participation will be futile. From what I observed, when organizations have members that are half believers of the organization’s goals, their participation in the organization are half done as well. Their motivations to act on the organization’s needs are also superficial and the tendency to protect one’s self interest over the group’s interest is stronger. Four Learning Theories   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Learning whether it involves an individual or a group is possible. Four theories of learning guide many teachers, managers and leaders into helping their constituents acquire knowledge and experience. The behaviourists, cognitive, humanist and situational orientation of learning are four theories that have been developed in the field of learning. The Behaviourist theory developed by practitioners of psychology believes that a person learns according to how the environment gives it instructions. Experimental procedures have been used to study behaviour in this discourse.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The Cognitive orientation does not believe so. Scholars of the cognitive theory believe that the individual learns due to its mental abilities. The process of knowing or â€Å"cognition† was the one leading the act of learning therefore learning relied much on an individual’s thinking capacity. The Humanist approach followed a certain process of growth patterned from human growth. Learning for these theorists involves a person’s evolution of needs that Maslow and Rogers have defined. The Situational orientation in learning relies on the involvement of a person to different community events and practices. Through individual’s participation to these frameworks, learning is experienced and thereby achieved. The Organization’s capability of learning, sensing and knowing   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The individuals that constitute the organization bring all their learning abilities into the organization thereby helping the organization achieve goals. When organizations are able to achieve their goals, learning, sense making and knowledge achieved is not only claimed by each participant in the organization but the organization as a single entity as well.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Organizational knowing creates three kinds of knowledge. Tacit knowledge is found the experience and expertise of participants. Explicit knowledge is visualized as rules and routines that participants undergo. Cultural knowledge can be found in the organization’s assumptions, beliefs and values. The ‘corporate culture’ idiom has been coined due to the effort to package cultural knowledge of the organization so that it can be taught to employees. New knowledge is achieved by sharing and integrating these three types of knowledge. With new knowledge, the organization has the capacity to act on decisions that help the organization transform their potentials. Although new alternatives are achieved, new uncertainties are also acquired but essential to the organization’s ability to form new knowledge is the capacity of the organization to evolve facing challenges of its industry and ever changing environment. â€Å"The central argument is that any organization is the way it runs through the processes of organizing   This means that we must define organization in terms of organizing.   Organizing consists of the resolving of equivocality in an enacted environment by means of interlocked behaviors embedded in conditionally related processes. To summarize these components in a less terse manner, organizing is directed toward information processing in general, and more specifically, toward removing equivocality from informational inputs.† (Weick 1979:90-91)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Besides knowledge making, the organization also goes through the process of sense making. If decision making leads to decisions, sense making leads to the sense of the organizations’ existence of its decisions thereby breaking all kinds of elements that leads to ambiguity and confusion in the organizations’ processes. Sense making is essentially answering Weick’s question, â€Å"How can I know what I think until I see what I say?†. â€Å"In dealing with organizational issues, sense making requires us to look for explanations and answers in terms of how people see things rather than rather than structures or systems. Sense making suggests that organizational issues strategies, breakdowns, change, goals, plans, tasks, teams, and so on are not things that one can find out in the world or that exist in the organization. Rather, their source is peoples way of thinking.† (Universiteit Twente, 2004)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Sense making is a better tool in arriving at information for use in the workplace. Studies have proved that sense making has been successful in understanding deaf culture, in reflective thinking in the nursing practice, has been experienced in media education in classrooms with students, and proven beneficial for hard discourses such as sexism, racism and the like.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   While Weick emphasize sense making in the retroactive context, Gioia and Mehra deemed the importance of prospective sense making as well. These two approaches further cement the invaluability of sense making in organizations. Each time that participants work towards a common goal, they are compelled to gather past knowledge, experience and facts, make sense out of it collaboratively to learn a new tool that will help the organization achieve their prospects that they envision in the future. Conceptualization of the future in organizations therefore is facilitated by sense making.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In this light, sense making further becomes a strategic tool that helps organizations articulate their common visions which can be called prospective ‘sense-giving’ while the tools that helps organizations decipher differences in actions so the that their selection may work well for their group can be termed as retrospective â€Å"sense-discovering†. Furthermore, the notion of sense making being partly deliberate and part emergent makes it a powerful tool for organization management, leadership and organizational learning. At best, sense making is an on-going process much like what learning is. There is no limit to learning. The fact that man has yet to use 97% of his brain capacity, that there is much need for compassion in the world tells many scholars that there is much sense in the notion of sense-making. Summary   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Learning is the ability that sets man apart from the rest of the animal kingdom. Although there is learning in other animal species, organizational learning has captured man’s ability to prove himself as an intelligent animal in the social context. When a person enters and organization, he sets himself as a member of a whole. As a participant of the whole, the individual synergizes his learning capacities, styles and objectives with other members of the whole. Learning of the individual found in the whole is made possible only if the organization is able to learn first.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   With the learning tools of sense making, the organization is able to form new knowledge. The knowledge formed has characteristics not found in individual learning. The knowledge formed from sense making in organizations hold both retrospective and prospective senses of the organization as a whole. Elements that form this knowledge is derived from the collective behaviour, cognition, experience and growth patterns of each individual making the collective acquire its own behaviour, experience, growth pattern and intelligence.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Reflecting on my own learning capacities including development of my own senses, I can prepare myself as I become a part of an organization. Many people enter organizations thinking that they are social institutions fully inorganic. With further understanding of sense making, I have become fully aware that organizations are alive because not only do they reproduce (forming other sub organizations, become global organizations and multinationals), react to stimulus (such as currency fluctuations, technological breakthroughs), grows (such as increase in revenue, increase in employees), they also essentially learn, produce knowledge and ultimately try to make sense in this world. References: Argyris, C. and Schon, D. (1978) Organizational Learning: a theory of action perspective, Addison-Wesley, Reading MA. Brookfield, S. (1987) Developing Critical Thinkers: Challenging Adults to Explore Alternative Ways of Thinking and Acting, Open University Press, Milton Keynes. Burke, P. (2000) A Social History of Knowledge, Polity Press, Cambridge. Choo, Chun Wei (2006) The Knowing Organization: How organizations use information to construct meaning, create knowledge and make decisions, Oxford Uni. Press, Oxford. Dimitrov, V., Kuhn, L. and Woog, R. (2002) Complexity Thinking: A Catalyst for Creativity, School of Social Ecology and Lifelong Learning, UWS Printery. Easterby-Smith, M., Burgoyne, J. and Araujo, L. (1999) (Eds.). Organizational Learning and the Learning Organization: developments in theory and practice, London, Sage. Field, L. and Ford, B. (1995) Managing Organizational Learning: From Rhetoric to Reality, Longman, Melbourne. Fitzgerald, A. and Teal, G. (2003) Organizational Learning and Development Reader, Mc Graw-Hill, North Ryde. Fineman, S., Sims D.and Gabriel, Y. (2006) Organizing and Organizations, SAGE Pub., London. Flood, R.L. (1999) Rethinking the fifth discipline: Learning with the unknowable. Routledge, New York. Foley, G. (Ed) (1995) Understanding adult education and training, Allen Unwin, St Leonards, NSW Glassop, L. and Waddell, D. (2005) Managing the Family Business, Heidelberg Press, Heidelberg, Victoria. Harvard Business Review (2001) Organizational Learning. McGraw-Hill, New York. Lassey, P. (1998) Developing a Learning Organization, Kogan Page, London. Nonaka, I. (1991) The Knowledge Creating Company, Harvard Business School Press, Boston. Pearn, M., Roderick, C., Mulrooney, C. (1995) Learning organizations in practice. McGraw-Hill, London. Polanyi, M. (1962) Personal Knowing; Towards a Post-Critical Philosophy, University of Chicago Press, Chicago. Senge, P. (1992) Fifth Discipline: The art and practice of the learning organization, Random House, Milsons Point. Senge, P., Kleiner, A., Roberts, C., Ross, R., Smith, B. (1994). The fifth discipline fieldbook: Strategies and tools for building a learning organization, Double Bay Dell Publishing, New York. Senge, P. (1999) The dance of change: the challenges of sustaining momentum in learning organizations, Random House, Milsons Point. Shaw, P. (2002) Changing the Conversations in Organizations London: Routledge. Stacey, R., Griffin, D. and Shaw, P. (2000) Complexity and Management, London: Routledge. Stacey, R. (1996) Complexity and Creativity in Organizations, San Francisco: Berret-Koehler. Summers, J. and Smith, B. (2004) Communication Skills Handbook, Wiley and Sons, Milton, Qld. Wenger, E. (1998) Communities of Practice; Learning, Meaning and Identity, Cambridge University Press, N.Y. Weick, Karl E. 1979. The Social Psychology of Organizing. 2nd ed. Random House: New York. Weick, K. L. (1995) Sensemaking in Organizations, SAGE Pub., London Universiteit Twente. 2004. Sense Making. [http://www.tcw.utwente.nl/theorieenoverzicht/Theory%20clusters/Organizational%20Communication/Sensemaking.doc/]

Case Study Workplace Learning Analysis Education Essay

Case Study Workplace Learning Analysis Education Essay In recent years workplace learning has gone from being largely unnoticed to attracting unprecedented interest among employers, researchers and policy makers. This interest can be attributed to globalisation, technological and social changes, economic shifts and organisational developments. The ideas of learning linked to work roles and learning occurring at work are not new yet concepts such as lifelong learning, the learning society and the knowledge economy have contributed to the development of workplace learning as a distinctive field of enquiry (Lee et al., 2004:2). The recognition of workplace learning as a source of sustainable competitive advantage for individuals and organizations alike have also attracted a great deal of interest to ensure that workplace learning is effective. David Boud (1999:5) goes on to assert that in this context: Workplace learning is concerned not only with immediate work competencies, but about future competencies. It is about investment in the general capabilities of employees as well as the specific and technical. And it is about the utilisation of their knowledge and capabilities wherever they might be needed in place and time. Many scholars agree that the workplace provides a rich environment for learning (Hager, 2004; Billet, 2001, Boud, 1999). In the changing context of work and new competence demands there is widespread consensus about the importance of workplaces as significant sites for learning new skills and knowledge. Indeed, the workplace is now even named by some as the Learning Organisation which is defined by Pedler et al (1998) as an organisation which facilitates the learning of all its members and continually transforms itself (Thompson, 2006:2). Workplace learning includes a variety of models like formal, non-formal, informal and incidental. On the contrary to the wide availability of different types of learning, relatively little is known about its effects at individual and/or organisational level (Felstead et al, 2009). The lack of such information may involve a low degree of intentional influence at individual and organisational level to optimise take up and effectiveness of workplace le arning (Felstead et al, 2009). Literature substantiates the claim that workplaces differ in terms of the opportunities they provide for employees to engage in learning activities and personal development (Billett, 2001). Workplaces also differ in terms of their complexity, their culture, their power and the nature of their boundaries with contexts of learning and knowledge production (Clarke, 2005). Research shows that workplace learning is a socially situated process where the context, in terms of its structures, activities and relationships shape the learning environment and learning opportunities in the workplace (Lee et al, 2004). As Marsick and Watkins comment, the creation of a learning environment goes far beyond the design of learning itself. It involves the design of work, work environments, technology, reward systems, structures and policies (1990:44). Awareness and understanding of these factors is a pre-condition to foster an effective workplace learning at organisational level as well as at policy lev el. In fact, Felstead (2009:193) has suggested that there is some evidence in the larger field of human resource development that a focus on the learning of individuals is less significant than a focus on the organisation as a context for learning Increasingly, the importance of developing an appropriate learning environment in order to foster workplace learning is dominating organisational agendas (Clarke, 2005). Such realisation are in evidence in the UK, where the British government through the HM Treasury report Prosperity for all in the global economy -world class skills (2006), has set workplace learning in the wider context of government policy and emphasised the importance of developing effective workplace environments to support workplace learning in particular (HM Treasury 2006, The Leitch Review of skills). Despite ongoing government support for learning in the workplace, findings showed that there remains a significant gap between policy and practice (National guidance research forum). Employers complain that despite the available government funding the costs of involvement outweigh the benefits. Further many UK workplaces are still considered as being low-skill and offering poor opportunities for learning and there are worries that significant shortages of skilled workers will start to appear, unless workplace learning is enhanced (CIPD, survey report 2008). Addressing the issue, findings from The Teacher and Learning Research Programme (TLRP) revealed that for workplace learning to be effective in the UK, various aspects of workplace context need to be considered than merely providing learning opportunities at work. Since learning is influenced by the workplace context, exploring the contextual factors that may influence employees learning is critical to advancing our understanding of how different aspects of the workplace environment are likely to be important in fostering an effective learning climate (Clarke, 2005). It has been acknowledged that workplace provides an environment for learning that either facilitates or inhibits learning, yet few research studies have examined the extent to which the environment serves to enhance learning. A few commentators, notably Billett (2001), Fuller and Unwin (2003), and Ashton (2004), have sought to extend this view and have pointed to workplace structure and context as significant factors within the processes of learning at work (Lee et al, 2004). In particular, Skule (2004) has acknowledged that research on assessing and measuring the contextual factors that promote or impede learning at work is underdeveloped (Skule, 2004). Therefore this study sought to investigate and discuss the influence of contextual factors that have been posited in the literature as influencing workplace learning specifically. This paper shows that by locating workplace learning in context, clearer understandings of the factors influencing the learning environment and processes can be gained. It also shows how the workplace context can provide both barriers to and opportunities for learning. Firstly, different forms of workplace learning are identified. Two opposite paradigms or approaches to understanding the phenomenon of learning at work are discussed. However, the focus of the paper is not on formal programs but on informal/incidental learning which occurs in the workplace. Then the report aims to discuss appropriate context conditions for learning at the workplace. Workplace learning Workplace learning is attracting attention for a number of different reasons. It is often characterised and conceptualised as advantageous to all those involved: there are benefits to employers in raising productivity and profitability, there are benefits to employees in raising employability and earnings and there are benefits to the economy in raising competitiveness and growth. Apparently, workplace learning is a term applied to various contexts and surrounded by different points of view. Thereby generating a myriad of different lenses through which workplace learning is viewed and understood. David Boud (1999:11) argues that, workplace learning is a site of intersecting interests, contested ideas, multiple forms of writing and rapidly evolving practice. There is no consistent and generally accepted definition of workplace learning (Lee et al., 2004). One definition of workplace learning was provided by Marsick and Watkins during the 1990s. Their definition focused on the way individuals learn and respond to changes in the organisational environment that in turn influences the way in which people construct meaning in their personal and shared organisational lives. Fuller and Unwin described workplace learning as learning in, for, and through the workplace (2006:23), suggesting that learning can be embedded in social relations. Beckett (1999), in relation to workplace learning, tends to focus on key HR policy choices and agues that organisations should provide mentoring and coaching and dedicated time to engage in policies for individual strategies such as appraisal, career planning, incentives to learn etc and link workplace learning strategy to evidence of learning (cited in workplace learning: main themes and perspectives). Not only workplace learning is represented by a variety of meanings, the literature is also informed by different views. The literature on workplace learning is rather confusing as it has been viewed from the perspective of a variety of disciplines such as sociology, cognitive psychology, policy studies, management theory, learning theory etc, each reflecting different assumptions and perspectives (Hager, 2004). However, in the field of management theory (HRM), approaches to classifying types of workplace learning demonstrate two main dimensions or approaches to discussions. The dominant perspective has been the traditional perspective of learning. Many researchers work within what Beckett and Hager (2002) have called the standard paradigm of learning which assets that the best learning consists of abstract ideas that are context independent and transparent. Here learning is a process of individual acquisition of knowledge. Hence he goes on to argue that in this paradigm non-transparent learning is a second-rate kind of learning (Hager 2004:244). This is important for studies of workplace learning because it takes us beyond the simplistic and restricted traditions of cognitive and behaviourist psychology and embraces the role of tacit knowledge. This learning opposes the emerging paradigm of learning which emphasise the importance of how people make sense of their experiences at work. Hager (2004:246) argues that rather then being simply a change in the properties of the learnerà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦the main outcome of learning is the creation of a new set of r elations in an environment. This is why learning is inherently contextual, since what it does is to continually alter the context in which it occurs. Similarly, Sfard (1998) has used the notion of metaphors of learning. The first metaphor -learning as acquisition is based on the premise that knowledge exists independently of the knower but can be acquired and acted upon. The second metaphor -learning as participation emphasises learning happening in relation to others before it is internalised by the individual. Sfard (1998) emphasized that neither metaphor was adequate on its own (Sfard, 1998:44). A different perspective to workplace learning emerged in academic writings in the early nineties, greatly influenced by the work of Lave and Wenger (1991). Situated learning theories draw on concepts such as communities of practice to explore workplace learning. This new perspective emphasises the construction of knowledge within the social and cultural circumstances in which learning occur, namely the social context. Lave and Wenger (1991) who in stressing that learning is at its most meaningful when it is situated showed how researchers should focus on the community of practice rather than on the individual as the unit of analysis. It is argued that workplace learning depends on the extent to which organisations afford employees opportunities to participate and interact with colleagues (Billet, 2001). Even though Lave and Wengers concepts of communities of practice have enjoyed widespread popularity within workplace learning theory, it has been criticised for failing to take accoun t of the role of formal education and not discussing that employees in a workplace may or may not have opportunities to be part of a community of practice (Fuller and Unwin, 2003). The second main dimension of learning relates to the distinctions between formal and informal learning. Formal workplace learning is typically associated with training and education. It is also conceptualised as a standard paradigm of learning or learning by acquisition. According to Marsick and Watkins (1990), formal learning occurs as part of an organised workplace-accredited programme and is embedded within the organisations structure. They argue that formal learning has a finite end point that results in a qualification to undertake specific work activity. In contrast, informal workplace learning can be thought of as a process of learning that takes place in everyday work experience (Marsick and Watkins, 1990). Informal learning involves action and reflection and includes self-directed learning, mentoring, coaching and social interaction. Informal learning is seen to be integrated into daily routines (i.e. experience-based learning), not highly conscious (i.e. implicit learning), influenced by chance and linked to learning of others (learning by communicating) (Lee et al., 2004; Marsick and Watkins, 1990). Indeed research shows that learning by doing is the most effective method of learning. The term informal learning sometimes is used interchangeably with incidental learning. Marsick and Watkins drew distinction between informal and incidental learning. They described informal learning as focusing on experiential forms of learning and incidental learning as focusing on unintentional or unplanned learning (cited in affordances and constraints on informal learning in the workplace). In this context, learning is assumed to be an action arising from experience that may enable the learner to develop and acquire new skills. Incidental learning can be described as a social process and can be conceptualised using Lave and Wenger (1991) notion of a community of practice. Research indicates that about two-thirds of workplace learning may be informal or incidental (Marsick and Watkins, 1990; Skule, 2004). There is also apparent consensus that informal learning is becoming increasingly the preferred option for developing employees. One of the most important issues here is the realisation that much of the knowledge that individuals need and use in organisations is based upon their experience and often cant easily be found in any written form. For example, Billett (2001) conducted several studies of coal miners and workers in industries, concluding that in the informal learning setting of the workplace, effective learning resulted from learners engagement in authentic activities, guided by experts and by interacting with other co-workers. Although learning was unique to each co-worker, it was also shaped by the workplace culture. His study revealed that the quality of learning depended on the kind of activities engaged in, access to support, guidance, and how co-workers constructed their knowledge of different situations. According to Billett (2001:21) ..these factors influence the process of learning and what is learnt. In doing so, they reflect the interdependence between work and learning, providing a basis to consider not only the contributions of the workplace as a learning environment, but also how the workplace might be organised to improve learning Informal learning suggests that the social and cultural environment has the potential to influence how learning occurs. Furthermore few studies have investigated how the sociocultural context has facilitated and constrained informal learning at work. This is a critical area of investigation because of the growing reliance on informal learning as a means of developing the knowledge and skills required in the workplace (Felstead, et al, 2009). Although informal workplace learning is the most prevalent form of learning in organisation, it is also the least well supported (Eraut, 2004). A central argument of this paper is that the workplace can be understood to foster or hinder particular types of learning environment. Drawing on Lave and Wengers (1991) situated learning theory, Fuller and Unwin (2003) developed an expansive-restrictive framework that provides a conceptual and analytical tool for evaluating the quality of learning environments and for analysing an organisations approach to workforce development (Lee et al, 2004). Expansive learning environments include opportunities to engage with multiple communities of practice, gain broad experience across the organisation, learn off and on-the-job and extend job roles. Restrictive environments on the other end are characterised by workplaces with limited opportunities to acquire formal qualifications and much narrower approach to work design (Fuller and Unwin 2003; 2004a). In their study, they identified three participatory dimensions. Firstly opportunities for engaging in multiple communities of practice at and beyond the workplace. Secondly, access to a multidimensional approach to the acquisition of expertise through the organisation of work and job design and finally the opportunity to pursue knowledge-based courses related to work (Clarke, 2005). The findings further revealed that organisations with expansive approach foster a wide range of formal, non-formal and informal approaches to and opportunities for learning whereas a restrictive approach impose many limitations on learning. Within organisations adopting an expansive approach, learning is likely to take place horizontally as well as vertically, and the culture is likely to be less hierarchical. Individual employees are also likely to vary as to whether their approach to learning is expansive or restrictive, and their attitudes may be in harmony with or in opposition to the culture of the organisation in which they work. Fuller and Unwin (2003) and Billett (2001) stress the importance of persons dispositions towards workplace l earning. Those personal dispositions influence what and how an individual learn at work. Fuller and Unwin research was contested by some authors, notably Young (2001) who pointed out that not all workplace learning will take place across teams or in social circumstances. Young further argues that the emphasis that expansive learning places upon transformation could potentially lead to the creation a new learning binary mirroring that of formal/informal learning (Lee et al, 2004, cited in workplace learning main themes and perspectives). This brief introduction has highlighted that learning in the workplace can be formal, informal and incidental and that workplace can foster or hinder particular types of learning environment. The various definitions of workplace learning explain that the all encompassing nature of the term makes it difficult to establish how far there has been a shift in human resource management towards making more effective use of the workplace as a source of learning (Stern Sommerland 1999 cited in workplace learning main themes and perspectives). Arguably the differing dimensions of workplace learning within these literatures examine the influence of the workplace context at different levels of analysis and more importantly influence learning differently (Clarke, 2005). Organisations can play a major role in facilitating their employees learning by providing an environment that is conducive to a positive attitude to learning. Conditions for effective Workplace Learning The effectiveness of learning activities at the workplace is dependant on a variety of factors. Scholars such as Fuller and Unwin (2003), Billett (2001), and Skule (2004) have identified various factors that affect workplace learning, either directly or indirectly in a large number of contexts. Research shows that organisational structure, workplace context and social-cultural conditions at work shape the learning environment and learning opportunities in the workplace (Ashton, 2004). Besides, there are also individual factors such as individual dispositions, psychological learning potential, employment status and educational background which affects individuals learning at work. This section focuses on analysing briefly the workplace context and social-cultural conditions influencing workplace learning. Based upon a review of the literature, a range of factors were identified that were considered aspects of workplace environment for facilitating or constraining workplace learning ou tcomes: (Clarke, 2005:8). Environmental factors The rapid changes in the economic and social conditions means organisations have to constantly adapt in order to survive. This adaption involves the acquisition of new skills and competences at the workplace and job level, thus inevitably influencing the degree and quality of learning in the work context (Skule, 2004). This relationship is empirically confirmed by Skule (2004) who identify a positive correlation between exposure to competition of the organisation and learning-intensity of jobs. Moreover diversification of technologies and advanced information are becoming increasingly pivotal to the success of organisations and professional practices, irrespective of their size or industry sector. This is because information technology not only automates, it also informates à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ information technology can create an environment for thinking and problem solving (Schuck 1996:1999). Thus the successful integration of technology into the organisations functioning can have drama tic impact on the learning opportunities. Organisation structure and culture How motivated individuals are to learn and how encouraged they feel in learning all depend in large part on the organisation, its culture and how it is managed. In short, when it comes to learning, an organisation can facilitate or hinder workplace learning. Ashton (2004) through his empirical studies identifies the following workplace practices that have major influence on workplace learning: (1) Tasks variation in the job. Placing employees into different functions or departments so that they gain skills and knowledge in different contexts and able to shadow other employees. Secondments and job rotation constitutes an appropriate instrument in this respect. (2) Autonomy vs Standardisation of tasks and work processes. Task with a high degree of autonomy facilitates developmental learning, whereas a task with a high degree of standardization facilitates reproductive learning. (3) Cross-functional teams. Many organisations are starting to see the potential of cross-functional teams as an effective means of supporting workplace learning. One benefit of employee working in cross functional team is that knowledge and skills from other team members is transferred directly and formally. (4) Organisational decisions about learning and its impor tance. This underpinned the support available for learner from all levels (Lee at al, 2004). Whilst Ashton empirical study reveals that workplace practices can and do influence learning and access to learning, it also draws attention to the significance of learning culture. It follows that a very effective way of improving workplace learning is to improve the learning culture. This entails making changes to existing working conditions and day-to-day practice of management (Skule, 2004). Skule (2004) identifies, in a quantitative study that managerial beliefs, attitudes and behaviours together with leadership issues (like feedback, support and reward) were the most conducive factors to learning at work. While approaches to management development normally emphasise motivation, productivity and appraisal, relatively little attention is given to creating a climate which promotes learning (Thompson, 2006). More specifically managing should be comparable to coaching, education and skills of managers have to be adapted towards pedagogy and teaching methods to support and structure learning processed in workplaces. To appoint managers and develop them for this new role of facilitating learning would be a highly significant move. According to Schuck (1996:207) The beliefs, attitudes, and behaviours of the manager are at the heart of the environment of inquiry. Within pedagogy for meaning, a manager creates opportunities for learning and becomes an active participant in it. The manager of inquiry encourages people to ask questions and creates an environment in which intellectual play and socially mediated learning are necessary and legitimate components of work. Research shows that the most effective learning cultures are best when a learning culture is expansive (Fuller and Unwin, 2003). Fuller and Unwin study on apprenticeships revealed that quality of learning varied significantly between expansive and restricted firms despite the fact that all were part of the same government scheme. Furthermore, they state that expansive learning environments, which encourage access to diverse forms of participation, were more likely to facilitate integration of personal and organizational development. Billett (2001) shares Fuller and Unwin (2003) view on co-participation but adds that learning is more likely to be effective if there is synergy between the factors and forces that contribute to the learning -e.g workplace affordances (race, gender, personal relations etc), supportive management and learn part of the culture (Clarke, 2005) Socio-cultural context While the organisational context of learning is clearly important, we should also note the significance of the socio-cultural context of learning. Socio-cultural perspective on learning can be traced back to the work of Vygotsky (1978) who suggested that learning cannot be understood without considering the social and cultural context in which learning takes place. Echoing Vygotsky, Lave and Wenger (1991) have conceptualised learning in the workplace as participation in social practice. From this perspective, workplace learning is seen as arising as a result of a complex interaction between knowledge acquisition based within the work and social activities or practices of groups within organisations (Lave Wenger, 1991). Workplace leaning is not isolated from social practice. This is clearly an important consideration in understanding the consequences of learning in workplaces (Billett, 2001). This can be seen to apply in a number of ways: The social circumstances in the learning situation can play a significant part in how learning experiences proceed for example a disable learner may be held back in his or her learning because of disadvantages within the organisations concerned. Moreover, factors such as race, gender can have a significant influence on learning. For example gender stereotyping can shape peoples attitudes and approach to learning (Felstead et al, 2009). Billett (2001) highlighted that workplace learning is social and cultural in nature. In his research on skill formation in coal mines, Billett argued that workplace activities are structured by historical, cultural and situational factors that influence the kind of learning that occurs through work (Clarke, 2005). From the sociocultural perspective, learning is recognised as a social practice where it is highly dependent upon the social situation and cultural context in which it takes place. In order for workplace learning to be effective then, such insights recognise learning not as an isolated individual activity but deeply rooted with networks of social relationships (Clarke, 2005). The point was made earlier that workplace conditions can either foster or hinder workplace learning, but it is not just these factors that can play such pivotal role. There are other barriers within the workplace that hinder workplace learning, these will be discussed next. Workplace learning is not only dependent on workplace conditions but also on personal factors. Smith (2000) has criticised the literature on workplace learning for assuming that all learners in the workplace are generally self-directed and motivated (Clarke, 2005:15). However many employees do no have these skills. Learning readiness should be apparent in individual. Willingness to learn can also be limited if the specific needs and potential benefits are not apparent such as time made available during working hours. Moreover an understanding of the different types of learning strategies used by individuals within organisations is crucial to foster an effective workplace learning. It is often claimed that employee learning is essential to the success of a firm, but the evidence in UK says otherwise. It is important to note that not all employees are provided with the same opportunities for learning in the workplace. Survey from CIPD shows that unskilled workers are the least to receive opportunities for learning, mostly female part time employee. Further findings revealed that three-quarters of organisations reported that their manual staff had no formally appointed mentor and half admitted that they had no structured on the job training. The lack of awareness of learning needs for organisations and the reluctance by managers to guide and provide support to learners may inhibit the outcome of workplace learning. Managers may be reluctant about sharing knowledge for fear of loss of status and power (Lave Wenger 1991). For example in Japanese corporations, where workplace learning is widely accepted, managers roles include training subordinates. Yet these manag ers are secure because promotion is based on seniority, therefore, they will not be displaced. In Australia however industrial affiliation results in particular jobs being undertaken by particular groups of workers (Owen 1995, cited in current issues and agendas in workplace learning). Lack of awareness of learning needs is also connected to uncertainty regarding the incentives to employees. In many UK organisations pay and status are rarely linked to the attainment of qualification and thus provide little incentive to see further training (Owen 1995, cited in current issues and agendas in workplace learning). Conclusion This paper explores and discusses the influence of workplace context on workplace learning specifically. Attempts to characterise workplace learning have generated a myriad of terms and hence, seen as a complex and multifarious concept within the literature (Lee et al, 2004). One of the reasons for the apparent ambiguity is because the term is applied to many different contexts and activities. This paper has also provided an overview of the two dominant perspectives of learning with the emphasis on the participation as an important learning process. To summarise the two perspectives: the standard paradigm of learning and learning as acquisition perspectives are rooted in traditional understandings of learning inspired by cognitive psychology and behaviourism. These perspectives tend to focus primarily on how individuals acquire knowledge within and across different psychological processes and levels. In contrast, the emerging paradigm and learning as participation perspectives understand the process of learning to be collectively generated. These perspectives are rooted in social understandings of learning where this is seen to occur through the social relations and participatory practices of individuals within communities of practice (Lave and Wenger, 2001). The second main dimension in discussion is the distinctions between formal and informal learning. Formal learning i s planned and provided by the organisation in an effort to increase employees effectiveness. Workplace learning can also be informal learning that is unintentional and result from interaction with other employees. Workplace learning is embedded within, takes its shape from and can be impeded or facilitated by the workplace context (Fuller et al, 2003:47). As mentioned in the paper workplace learning is a socially situated process where the context, in terms of its structures, activities and relationships shape the learning environment and learning opportunities in the workplace (Fuller and Unwin, 2003). All learning in the workplace is influenced by a range of factors and is shaped by external as well as internal imperatives. Factors namely environmental factor, organisational structure, workplace culture and social context were discussed. This paper e

Sex in Ursula K. LeGuins The Left Hand of Darkness Essay -- essays re

Let’s Talk About Sex Ursula K. LeGuin’s The Left Hand of Darkness is the story of Genly Ai’s travels to a strange planet called Gethen, or Winter. His mission there is to persuade the nations of Gethen to join an alliance Genly Ai represents called the â€Å"Ekumen†. However, his journey is rather difficult due to the great difference in societies from Genly Ai’s home planet, Earth, and this new one. In Gethen, he learns that the people are completely unsexed for the majority of their days. When they are sexed, it is only for a few days and each person is either male or female during this time. The different governments use Genly Ai as a pawn, but in the end they join the alliance. Unfortunately, it comes with the price of his friend’s life. LeGuin has Genly Ai’s descriptions of gender become less and less male or female for the purpose of showing his assimilation on Gethen. When Genly Ai first arrives on Gethen, LeGuin has him sex everyone to show how much of a stranger he is to the planet. LeGuin has Estraven and Genly Ai supper at Estraven’s house, at which time LeGuin has Genly Ai think about the androgynous people of Gethen and she has him realize that he sees â€Å"a Gethenian first as a man, than as a woman, forcing him into those categories so irrelevant to his nature†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (12). When LeGuin has Genly Ai say this, she is showing the way Genly Ai’s understanding of sex being very set in place is also a representation of how he is mentally unfit with the rest of the Gethenians. Additionally, LeGuin has Genly Ai call everyone on Gethen â€Å"man†, and †he† because he cannot picture a culture that has no distinction between sexes at all times. When LeGuin has Genly Ai meet the King of Gethen, Argaven up close, she has him remark that â€Å"Argaven ... ...raven] what women are like†¦Ã¢â‚¬ (235). LeGuin has Genly Ai struggle with this thought as a show of how used to unsexed people he really is. When LeGuin has him see permanently sexed people from his home planet, LeGuin has him be so unfamiliar with it that he doesn’t like it. At first sight, LeGuin has Genly Ai describe them as â€Å"†¦a troupe of great, strange animals, of two different species, great apes with intelligent eyes, all of them in rut, in kemmer†¦Ã¢â‚¬ (296). LeGuin has Genly Ai experience these people in such a negative way because Genly Ai simply wasn’t used to the sight of such sexed people. LeGuin even went so far as to have Genly Ai include the Gethenian word â€Å"kemmer† to show how much assimilation has taken place within him. It is in this way that LeGuin uses Genly Ai’s descriptions become less and less gendered to show that he has accepted the culture on Gethen.

Platos The Republic and The Old Testament Essay -- Philosophy Buddhis

Plato's The Republic and The Old Testament A Buddhist teaching suggests that practicing Buddhism is like taking a raft over a great river. One riverbank represents the realm of ‘samsara,’ the cycle of suffering that we are all spinning around in. On the other side is ‘wakefulness,’ or ‘nirvana,’ an enlightened state of awareness characterized by an infinite sense of unity and bliss. The raft symbolizes Buddhism; its purpose being to help us cross over from samsara to nirvana. According to the teaching, however, a curious thing happens to the individual who manages to reach the ‘banks of enlightenment.’ Having climbed off of the raft, she turns around to discover that she cannot now see any riverbank on the side from which she departed. In fact, she realizes that there is no river, no raft, and – to her pure astonishment – no Buddha at all! (Zimmer, 82-90) The story is a way of reminding us that the state of wakefulness involves an experience of reality so utterly beyond linear comprehension, so overwhelming and indescribable, and so categorically unlike anything one could possibly imagine or articulate in finite terms, that even the means of achieving it are, at best, illusory roadmaps – roadmaps that use boundaries in an attempt to help people grasp a condition of being that has no boundaries. Thus, in essence, it would never be possible to attain a complete understanding of wakefulness using Buddhism or any other practice or paradigm arising out of the substrate of finite consciousness. It could be said that systems like Buddhism are limited to pointing us in an appropriate direction or helping us to look in places where we might be more likely to become enlightened. They may embody or convey truth in one form or ... ...ntext, but this does not prevent us from encountering the Ultimate in the writings of the Old Testament as well. The texts each approach the subject from foreign perspectives, describing unique facets of the same idea. If we work from that point of view, we can see unity between them, and develop a broader, more encompassing understanding of the world. Works Cited: Plato. â€Å"from The Republic.† In: Benton, Janetta Rebold and DiYanni, Robert. 1998. Arts and Culture: An Introduction to the Humanities. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. 152-154. Wilber, Ken. â€Å"The Perennial Philosophy.† In: Wilber, Ken. 1998. The Essential Ken Wilber: An Introductory Reader. Boulder, CO: Shambhala Publications. 7-8. Zimmer, Heinrich (trans). â€Å"Buddhahood.† In: Eastman, Roger. 1999. The Ways of Religion. 3rd Ed. New York, NY: Oxford University Press. 82-90.

Free Glass Menagerie Essays: Laura’s Missed Opportunity :: Glass Menagerie essays

Laura's Missed Opportunity in The Glass Menagerie "The Glass Menagerie" is a play about intense human emotions; frustration, desperation, sadness, anger, shyness, and regret. Perhaps the most intense scene in the play is when a gentleman caller,   Jim O'Connor, finally does come. All of their futures hang in the balance during this scene. Laura is actually drawn out of her shyness with someone besides her family, and she actually begins to feel good about herself. If Jim had not been engaged to someone else the outcome of the play may have been different. If he had been free to love her, he may have continued to call on her, drawing her out of her shell and raising her self-esteem. They may have eventually married, giving Laura a husband to love her, making Amanda happy, and making Tom free to leave and live his own life. Laura is very nervous when Jim comes to the door. Amanda pleads with her to open it. Besides her words differing somewhat from the play text, she does not try to stall Jim and Tom by calling out lyrically, "Coming! Just one second." Laura's meeting with Jim at the door is just as I imagined it while reading the play, his demeanor casual and friendly, and her shyness painfully obvious. After entering the house Tom goes out on the terrace, but he does not light his cigarette before going out as the play directs, and he also continues to read his paper once he is on the terrace, which the play says nothing about. Another difference that was instantly apparent in the movie was the absence of the images that pop up every couple of pages during the play. I think the absence of these images slightly undermines the aura of unreality. The presence of the images represents dreams and imagination, which we know are made up, fantasy. The absence of the dreamlike images helps us forget what Tom says at beginning of the play, "the play is memory. Being a memory play, it is dimly lighted, it is sentimental, it is not realistic." As Tom is still speaking to Jim in the movie, he does not lean over the rail with the appearance of a voyager as he says, "I'm planning to change.", as he is supposed to in the play, neither does he wave his hand toward the movie theatre as he speaks of it. Free Glass Menagerie Essays: Laura’s Missed Opportunity :: Glass Menagerie essays Laura's Missed Opportunity in The Glass Menagerie "The Glass Menagerie" is a play about intense human emotions; frustration, desperation, sadness, anger, shyness, and regret. Perhaps the most intense scene in the play is when a gentleman caller,   Jim O'Connor, finally does come. All of their futures hang in the balance during this scene. Laura is actually drawn out of her shyness with someone besides her family, and she actually begins to feel good about herself. If Jim had not been engaged to someone else the outcome of the play may have been different. If he had been free to love her, he may have continued to call on her, drawing her out of her shell and raising her self-esteem. They may have eventually married, giving Laura a husband to love her, making Amanda happy, and making Tom free to leave and live his own life. Laura is very nervous when Jim comes to the door. Amanda pleads with her to open it. Besides her words differing somewhat from the play text, she does not try to stall Jim and Tom by calling out lyrically, "Coming! Just one second." Laura's meeting with Jim at the door is just as I imagined it while reading the play, his demeanor casual and friendly, and her shyness painfully obvious. After entering the house Tom goes out on the terrace, but he does not light his cigarette before going out as the play directs, and he also continues to read his paper once he is on the terrace, which the play says nothing about. Another difference that was instantly apparent in the movie was the absence of the images that pop up every couple of pages during the play. I think the absence of these images slightly undermines the aura of unreality. The presence of the images represents dreams and imagination, which we know are made up, fantasy. The absence of the dreamlike images helps us forget what Tom says at beginning of the play, "the play is memory. Being a memory play, it is dimly lighted, it is sentimental, it is not realistic." As Tom is still speaking to Jim in the movie, he does not lean over the rail with the appearance of a voyager as he says, "I'm planning to change.", as he is supposed to in the play, neither does he wave his hand toward the movie theatre as he speaks of it.

Term paper of Bill of rights

Two further constitutions were drafted and adopted during wo short-lived war-time governments, by the revolutionary forces during the Philippine Revolution with Emilio Aguinaldo as President and by the occupation forces during the Japanese Occupation of the Philippines during World War II with Jos © P. Laurel as President. Article Ill – Bill of Rights consists of 22 Sections. The objective of this paper is to determine the significance of having this Bill of Rights to our country and to identify by the people the importance of knowing the Bill of Rights in each of everyone surrounded by this law.A bill of rights is a list of the most important rights to the citizens of a country. The purpose of these bills is to protect those rights against infringement. The term â€Å"bill of rights† originates from england . The purpose of a Bill of Rights is to withdraw certain subjects from the vicissitudes of political controversy, to place them beyond the reach of majorities and officials and to establish them as legal principles to be applied by the courts. The Bill of Rights ? How many rights do you have?You should check, because it might not be as many today as it was a few years ago, or even a few months ago. Some people I talk to are not concerned that police will execute a search warrant without nocking or that they set up roadblocks and stop and interrogate innocent citizens. They do not regard these as great infringements on their rights. But when you put current events together, there is information that may be surprising to people who have not yet been concerned: The amount of the Bill of Rights that is under attack is alarming. What about the meaning of Rights ? re legal, social, or ethical principles of freedom orentitlement ; that is, rights are the fundamental normative rules about what is allowed of people or owed to people, according to some legal system, social convention, or ethical theory. Rights are of essential importance in such disci plines as law and ethics , especially theories of Justice and deontology. Rights are often considered fundamental to civilization, being regarded as established pillars of society andculture and the history of social conflicts can be found in the history of each right and its development.According to the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, â€Å"rights structure the form of governments, the content of laws, and the shape of morality as it is currently perceived. † The connection between rights they are fought for and claimed, and the essence of struggles past and ancient are ncoded in the spirit of current concepts of rights and their modern formulation. Filipino Citizen must know the things they could legally do and the limitation on their acts. It is also themselves who will benefit if they would know their own rights and privilages .The importance of the study is to tell the purpose of the article 3 of the Philippine Constitution which is the bill of rights . The study ai ms to give you imformation from the section under bill of rights. The Study focuses on the Freedom and Protection that the government offers to the citizen and the benefits they would get with respect to the bill of rights and its ection. Article Ill. Bill of Rights Section 1 . No person shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law, nor shall any person be denied the equal protection of the laws.Section 2. The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects against unreasonable searches and seizures of whatever nature and for any purpose shall be inviolable, and no search warrant or warrant of arrest shall issue except upon probable cause to be determined personally by the Judge after examination under oath or affirmation of the complainant and the witnesses he may roduce, and particularly describing the place to be searched and the persons or things to be seized. Section 3. 1) The privacy of communication and corresponden ce shall be inviolable except upon lawful order of the court, or when public safety or order requires otherwise as prescribed by law. (2) Any evidence obtained in violation of this or the preceding section shall be inadmissible for any purpose in any proceeding. Section 4. No law shall be passed abridging the freedom of speech, of expression, or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble and petition the government for redress of grievances. Section 5.No law shall be made respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof. The free exercise and enjoyment of religious profession and worship, without discrimination or preference, shall forever be allowed. No religious test shall be required for the exercise of civil or political rights. Section 6. The liberty of abode and of changing the same within the limits prescribed by law shall not be impaired except upon lawful order of the court. Neither shall the right to travel be impaired e xcept in the interest of national security, public safety, or ublic health, as may be provided by law.Section 7. The right of the people to information on matters of public concern shall official acts, transactions, or decisions, as well as to government research data used as basis for policy development, shall be afforded the citizen, subject to such limitations as may be provided by law. Section 8. The right of the people, including those employed in the public and private sectors, to form unions, associations, or societies for purposes not contrary to law shall not be abridged. Section 9. Private property shall not be taken for public use without Just compensation. Section 10.No law impairing the obligation of contracts shall be passed. Section 1 1 . Free access to the courts and quasi-Judicial bodies and adequate legal assistance shall not be denied to any person by reason of poverty. Section 12. (1) Any person under investigation for the commission of an offense shall have the right to be informed of his right to remain silent and to have competent and independent counsel preferably of his own choice. If the person cannot afford the services of counsel, he must be provided with one. These rights cannot be waived except in writing and in the presence of counsel. ) No torture, force, violence, threat, intimidation, or any other means which vitiate the free will shall be used against him. Secret detention places, solitary, incommunicado, or other similar forms of detention are prohibited. (3) Any confession or admission obtained in violation of this or Section 17 hereof shall be inadmissible in evidence against him. (4) The law shall provide for penal and civil sanctions for violations of this section as well as compensation to the rehabilitation of victims of torture or similar practices, and their families.

Experience At Work Speech Essay

At McDonalds lines of communication are pretty open especially for the ones still in high school or college. They give whatever hours you request and how many days you want to work. If you need off one of the days just be sure to ask off two weeks in advanced and they will make sure you get the day off. The overall experience at McDonalds after being there for over a year now is outstanding. I know most people think hey its McDonalds, but the benefits they aren’t bad at all. For one they are lenient with their hours and give however many hours you want. Secondly, they allow you to have $6 of free food each time you work, but that is only good of course if you like McDonald’s food. Third, on thanksgiving and Christmas they give bonuses depending on the amount of time you have worked there. For example around Christmas last year Ms. Geneva, the manager, gave me a $100 bill. The pay starts at minimum wage but steadily increases, I am at $7.80 per hour at the moment. Once y ou get to know the managers and workers everyone becomes intriguing to talk too as they all have unique stories. The customers are the only thing bad about working at McDonalds. Some can be nice and understanding, but then there are always those customers that are rude and impatient. Consequently, they do not understand that sometimes it is difficult to get their order right when they change it 5 different times. And it takes time for the food to be made if we run out for the moment. Other than that the only thing McDonalds has control over that gets me trouble is not being allowed to have any sort of beard. I like having a chin strap so I keep it trimmed, but every now and then they still get onto me†¦ and I don’t even work with food. The thing about McDonalds is you are never bored because there is a constant flow of customers at every hour of the day. At other jobs if you are not busy they send people home, but at McDonalds you are always busy especially in the mornings. That is another perk of McDonalds, if you are not scheduled to work that day and you are available to work you can always go ask if they need anybody and more days than not, they will say yes and you can go get extra hours in. McDonalds will more than likely be my job until I leave for college where I will hope to find a new job based on my engineering skills. I would have probably left McDonalds by now if it were not for the great experience and overall  benefits I get at McDonalds.

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Therefore, speed = length of the tape chosen Time interval for that length You are provided with a runway and a data-logging system with a motion sensor. Describe how you should use the apparatus to conduct an experiment to demonstrate the relationship between the net force and the acceleration of a trolley. You may use additional apparatus if necessary (5M) Adjust the runway for friction compensation (1 M) Pull a trolley down the runway using an elastic thread. Keep the extension of the elastic thread constant all the way.M) Record the motion ot the trolley wit data-logging system and find the acceleration of the trolley. (1 M) Repeat by pulling he trolley with 2, 3 and 4 identical elastic threads, side by side and extended by the same length as before. (1 M) From the experiment, it is found that the acceleration of the trolley is directly proportional to and in the same direction of the net force. (1 M) It is not preferable to carry an excessive amount of goods on the bicycle when he is riding in the street, why? (3M) The larger the mass, the larger the inertia the bicycle has. 1 M) By newton's second law of motion, the deceleration of the bicycle would become smaller when John applies the brake. (1 M) As a result, the stopping distance ncreases (1 M) So the chance of having an accident is larger. In supermarkets, bottled drinks are usually stored in refrigerators with shelves inclined at an angle B with the horizontal.Explain why there is such an arrangement. Also state the minimum angle required to achieve the purpose above. Given mass of a bottle ‘M', friction between a I-kg bottled drink and the inclined shelf is f'. 3M) If the bottled drinks are put on inclined shelves, they would slide down automatically when the first bottle is taken. It is more convenient for customers. (1 M) MgsinB > f (f/M9 (1M) Therefore, the least inclination angle is sinA-1 ( f/Mg). In some parts of the world, it is common for people to shoot firearms straight up into the a ir during celebrations. Falling bullets pose a significant danger to bystanders. As a bullet falls, its velocity increases until it reaches a constant terminal velocity. Explain, in terms of forces acting on the bullet, why this happens.Also, assume the air resistance is bv , derive the terminal kinetic energy of the bullet. (5M) As the bullet falls, its downward weight and the upward air resistance (or friction) are acting on it (1 M) Firstly the bullet accelerates. The air resistance opposing the motion of the bullet increases with its velocity. (1 M) Finally, its weight is balanced by the air resistance at a certain velocity. (1 M) As the net force acting on the bullet is zero, the bullet will continue to fall at this constant velocity which is called terminal velocity. mg = bv) (1M) KE=O. 5mv?2 = 0. 5mA3 g,N2 /bA2 (1M) A basketball player Jumps up such that his height reaches a height of 3m. Using Newton's laws of motion, explain why the player can gain an initial speed to leave the ground vertically. (3M) The player exerts a force onto the ground when he is about to ump. (1 M)This results an equal normal reaction force from the ground according to Newton's 3rd law of motion. (1 M) As the normal reaction force is greater than the weight , the player will be forced to accelerate up according to Newton's 2nd law of motion. 1 M) Chapter 8 What is the advantage ot using the spanner„3z to turn a screw* effort(force) required can be reduced. (2) The efficiency can be increased. X (3) The energy required can be reduced. X For (2) and (3), they are wrong as moment is not related to energy. (Force is perpendicular to the displacement, the work done should be zero. ) Chapter 9 There are two methods of raising the block from the ground to a certain height. (2M) Method 1 : Pulling the block up a inclined plane Method 2 : Lifting the block vertically upwards.Method 1 is better than method 2 in terms of forces as smaller force is needed to raise the block in metho d 1. (1 M) However, method 1 has a lower efficiency because some energy is lost in overcoming the friction between the block and the plane. (1 M) What are the functions of the counterweight in a lift system? (3M) To reduce the power required to raise the car (1 M) To reduce the load acting on the motor (1 M) To improve the efficiency of the lift (As less energy is lost to overcome the friction between the cable line and the drum) (1 M) Verify the conservation of mechanical energy.Given a simple pendulum, a protractor, a light gate, a ruler. (7M) Set up a simple pendulum, a protractor and a light gate. (1 M) Displace the bob and read the angle B between the string and the vertical from the protractor. (1 M) Start data-logging and release the bob. (1 M) Record the time t taken for the bob to pass through the light gate. Measure the diameter of the bob(this is the distance travelled by the bob while passing the light ate, which is very small so the instantaneous speed of the bob in the lowest position calculated is relatively accurate), and hence estimate the speed v of the bob at the lowest position. 1 M) Use a ruler to measure the length I of the pendulum. Apply the conservation of mechanical energy and calculate the speed v of the bob at the lowest position. (1 M) V = {square root (2gh)} , where h = I(1-cosB) (1 M) Conclusion, the two values of speed calculated is quite close so the law of conservation of energy is proved.

Analysis and interpretation of ”Elephant”

When all hopes and dreams are abandoned from our lives, the only thing we can do is taking advantage of others lives and make it our own. A life well planned can cost us our freedom and our ability to make decisions which are radically different from our previous ones. When desire, lust and romance have been deselected and †the normal life† has taken its place. These obstacles are what William meets and sooner confronts in the short story by Polly Clark called †Elephant†. The story begins in media res, so as soon as the story begins we get engulfed. We are meeting William sitting at his desk surrounded by notes and facts, where his Muse has left him and he has trouble finding inspiration writing biographies of pop singers as Christine, who he finds most adorable and attracted to (l. 46 – 51). The character Christine can be interpreted as Christina Aguilera, who, with her voice and her sexual behaviour, usually is very appealing for average men. William is the typical American man, who has settled down with his wife and currently is trying to start a family. Their marriage is not filled with romance and love as one could expect, but more with expectations and compromises and it furthermore seems like William does not want a baby as much as his wife does. His mind is filled with thoughts of his biographies and how Christine must have wanted him to write about her (l. 71-72 and 76). He easily gets distracted from his thoughts and one could imagine that they are filled with his lost childhood and the things he had never been able to do in life. His flash-back to the moment when his mother gives him the blue elephant (l. 9-66) could easily be interpreted as the childhood his mother tries to give him. However, at first he could not remember the blue elephant from his childhood. It had vanished from his memory. The only thoughts that go through his mind are how he can revenge his lost childhood and regain consciousness of his identity. The narrator tells us at line 21-22: †William would have preferred the film stars (male, golden age of cinema) but those had been claimed by someone quicker of the mark †¦Ã¢â‚¬ . This specific passage shows that William was needed to give up his dream because someone got in his way. By writing about male actors it would have been possible for him to get famous and his life would thereby be complete. Happiness and celebrity goes hand in hand in his mind, but ever since he had to choose another career, his dreams fell apart and he was, in his own eyes, nothing but an ordinary man. That is why he is writing about the female pop singers so in that way he partly can fulfil his dreams through the women. Nevertheless, this solution does not satisfy his desires, since he cannot relate to these women. He can relate to the male actors because of their sex, but the difference between men and women in this context becomes a huge factor for him and that gives him reason to change the stories about the women. Christine gives him trouble because of her pure mind due to her relationship with Christianity (l. 49), and his urge to make her life as miserable as his becomes even stronger. Therefore he synchronizes his life with hers and mixes the blue elephant into her childhood. For him the elephant is a symbol of regret and grief and therefore he tries even harder to make the life of Christine miserable in the eyes of the readers. As he says at line 146-147: †He wanted to give Christine something she had never had, something important of himself. † – the aspects of life he wants to give Christine are defeat and loss because she, to him, never have had a change to experience it in her famous Christian life. But because the negative symbolism of the elephant only exists for him, his made up story about the life of Christine does not become a bad experience for the readers. His attempt to make Christine a bad person is not successful (l. 135-142). That is when he realizes that his profession is not what he wants to do. The name Christine has not been chosen by coincidence and it was solely that choice of name, which gave Christine power over him. The relationship Christine has with God has been transferred to William and through it he is able to confront his obstacles and by typing the untruth about her he learns that, that is not the person he wants to be, and by this realization he becomes complete. Even though he knows that someday he is going to be †vanished from the face of the earth† (l. 148), he feels ready to start living his life again, because he finally has triumphed over his lost childhood and he definitively has found himself. His last falsity gives him the strength to stop telling lies about others, stop living trough others and gives him power to live his own life (l. 142-144). Therefore, the truth is the main theme of this text. As a subcategory comes the blue elephant being a symbol of how important the childhood is for humans. If the blue elephant vanish from the life of a child, pain and regret will come later. Therefore, the story is a form of a aide-memoire in life to parents to teach them how to raise their children. Polly Clark has written this text to tell us how important it is to keep believing in something that helps us maintain our dreams in life pure.