Bio-ecological systems theory

Bio-ecological systems theory Abstract This paper is about the Bio-Ecological Systems theory of Urie Bronfenbrenner. Bronfenbrenners’s Bio-Ecological Systems Theory concerns the environmental influences on a child’s development. He observed that these influences were comprised of relationships around the child and these relationships have layers of interaction between the child’s and the child’s environment. He called these layers ‘systems’. These events start with direct influence on the student and progress outward until the events have only minimal, indirect influence. Next it will discuss a minority population which is deafness. There are two main forms of hearing loss and five levels of severity. After the child’s hearing loss is identified the parents need to choose what technology they want their child to use. The next obstacle for parents is how and where to educate their child. Then it will discuss how the theory applies to a particular student of this min ority population. And lastly it will discuss the educational considerations and recommendations revealed from applying the theory to this student. It will also consider which educational theorists apply to this student. By considering the student more holistically, rather than only what happens presently in the classroom, it will help the instructor develop a teaching plan for this student to maximize his learning potential. Bronfenbrenner’s Bio- Ecological Systems Theory: As Applied to a Deaf Student Bronfenbrenners’s Bio-Ecological Systems Theory concerns the environmental influences on a child’s development. He observed that these influences were comprised of relationships around the child and these relationships have layers of interaction between the child’s and the child’s environment. He called these layers ‘systems’ and they consisted of five different levels of influence. These events start with direct influence on the student and progress outward until the events have only minimal, indirect influence. The five systems that were recognized by Bronfenbrenner are as follows: 1. Microsystems- the immediate environment of the child which has the most impact on the child’s development, for example the relationship between the child and his parents, the child and his peers, or the child and his school. 2. Mesosytems- the connections between the microsystems, where the systems overlap, these also have a direct impact on the child’s development; for example, the interaction between the child’s peers and the child’s parent or the interaction between the child’s parents and the child’s school. 3. Exosystems- the next level of events in the environment are further from the child but nevertheless have impact on the child’s development; for example, problems with the parents’ work (indirect events) which causes tension in the home (direct event) 4. Macrosystems- the larger cultural environment that the family lives in; for example the economy of the area the family lives which contributes to the work opportunities for the parents 5. Chronosystems- the transitional events in the child’s life as he grows up; for example the changes incurred by moving from middle school to high school. The â€Å"otheredness† of my student is deafness. I believe deafness is a minority condition because the â€Å"National Center for Health Statistics places the number of profoundly deaf in the U.S. at more than 400,000, while people classified as hard-of-hearing number over 20 million, or about 8 percent of the total population†. (Bacon, 2002) Even though deafness has received some attention through television shows and movies, there are still many misconceptions about deaf people and their social and educational needs.

Executive Leadership in Public Organizations Assignment - 1

Executive Leadership in Public Organizations - Assignment Example The Sunroof community performance will be determined by multiple experiences of leaders, and the outcome reflected at individual and community level (Wart, 2012). In order to achieve better performance, the community should build the capacity of new leaders by provides sufficient information through utilization of wisdom of the older generation (Cleveland, 1985). The community should inspire the new generation of leaders by building their capacity and matching individual goals with community goals so that individual leader’s achievement can translate to community advancement. The leadership performance can be determined by the community standards (Wart, 2012). Therefore, Sunroof community should utilize the leadership programs to impart the new generation of leaders with the relevant knowledge and use those programs as a benchmark for measuring performance standards in all community aspects such as social, cultural and economic aspects (Cleveland, 1985). In order to surpass th e previous leadership performance, the community should make a review of the leadership programs and modify the components that did not work according to the community expectations. The community should involve a diversified team of leaders who can identify and solve various issues affecting the community (Wart, 2012). The aim of the community is to train a new class of leaders that will take place of the former group and maintain the status quo of the Sunroof City as a community model for advancing science, innovation, culture and knowledge. As a diversified community and a role model in performance, the community should ensure they obtain leaders from various cultural and intellectual backgrounds to promote a unity of the community and retain creativity. The community should ensure they obtain new leaders from all cultural and intellectual background in order to achieve the organizational goals (Cleveland, 1985).  Ã‚  

Film Critique Movie Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 2

Film Critique - Movie Review Example The three main women characters in the film are: Margaret Tate (Sandra Bullock), Gertrude (Malin Akerman) and Grandma Annie "Gammy" (Betty White). One can easily identify that these female characters are different in their roles. For instance, Margaret Tate is dominating, Gertrude is down to earth, and Grandma Annie represents the upper crust. But Krevolin (2011), points out that â€Å"For an example of an energeiac structure that didn’t work, take the Sandra Bullock romantic comedy, The Proposal† (p. 69). This comment does not prove that the film was a flop within the film field. Margaret Tate, working as an editor in a book publishing company is the central female character in the film. One can easily identify that her life is fully immersed in the field of book publishing industry. Her role in the film is as a dominating character that is able to control all her subordinates including Andrew Paxton, her subordinate. Etaugh & Bridges makes clear that â€Å"Many women seek to achieve success and better their own lives through individual efforts† (p. 467). Her attitude towards her subordinates irritates them but she does not consider changing her attitude. In the film, her function is to be a bold lady with immense power to control her subordinates according to her will. Meanwhile, she came to know that the authorities are going to deport her to Canada. But she was not ready to give up and decided to seek the help of her subordinate, Andrew Paxton. But Etaugh & Bridges makes clear about gender equality that â€Å"As more and more women attain levels o f power currently held by men, gender equality will begin to affect other areas† (p.461). Later, she went to Sitka to prove that she is married to Andrew Paxton. This incident proves that Margaret Tate is ready to face challenges in her life. In the opening of the film, Margaret Tate is presented as an

Essay on Bravery in The Tempest -- Tempest essays

The Theme of Bravery in The Tempest   Ã‚  Ã‚   Bravery performs a very important role in The Tempest.   Different than a motif, the theme of bravery actually takes form in Shakespeare's play and develops the play itself.   However, like a motif, bravery is used intermittently throughout the play in different form and context.   It captures different meanings and performs different capacities erratically.   A denotative definition from the 15th century, according to the Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary (10 ed.), portrays brave as meaning, "[from Old Italian and Spanish, meaning courageous, wild; probably from Latin, meaning barbarous]."   The dictionary then defines brave as "a.   having courage: dauntless b.   making fine show: colorful, c. excellent, splendid."  Ã‚  Ã‚   All of these distinct definitions find their capacity in The Tempest.   Prospero could be said to define bravery when speaking to Ariel when he likens Ariel's bravery to being "firm, so constant...coil would not infect his reason"(I.ii.299).   Ariel's spirit is courageous and wild for he takes on the powers that be in order for Prospero to enact his revenge on the usurping Duke of Milan.  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Let's look at another example of bravery.   Miranda likens the form of Ferdinand to bravery.   Her young, inexperienced eyes have not seen a young man basically rise out of the sea before.   What wonder and show this must be to her concept of courage and splendid which are all definitions of brave.   Prospero even infers that Miranda herself is "more braver"(I.ii.672), than Ferdinand.   I believe that his foundation for this belief lies in our definition of brave in the aforementioned dictionary from 1546, "to face or endure with courage."   Miranda has endured much in her... ...er, Prospero designates Ariel "brave" because of his uninfected "reason" (I.ii.299-301).   So let's review.   Brave is monster, abominable, womanly, unequaled, propagation, diligent, conscientious towards directions and reasonable. "Is it so brave..."(III.ii.153)?   Yes, and everything else.    Bibliography Primary Texts William Shakespeare, The Tempest, ed. Frank Kermode, with an introduction by Frank Kermode, (Arden, 1964) Montaigne, Selected Essays of Montaigne, trans. John Florio (1603) ed.Walter Kaiser, with an introduction by Walter Kaiser, (Riverside, 1964)    Secondary Texts Curt Breight, " 'Treason doth never prosper': The Tempest and the discourse of treason, Shakespeare Quarterly, 41, no.1, (1990) Eric Cheyfitz, The Poetics of Imperialism: Translation and Colonization from The Tempest to Tarzan, (Oxford University Press, 1991)

Essay on Bravery in The Tempest -- Tempest essays

The Theme of Bravery in The Tempest   Ã‚  Ã‚   Bravery performs a very important role in The Tempest.   Different than a motif, the theme of bravery actually takes form in Shakespeare's play and develops the play itself.   However, like a motif, bravery is used intermittently throughout the play in different form and context.   It captures different meanings and performs different capacities erratically.   A denotative definition from the 15th century, according to the Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary (10 ed.), portrays brave as meaning, "[from Old Italian and Spanish, meaning courageous, wild; probably from Latin, meaning barbarous]."   The dictionary then defines brave as "a.   having courage: dauntless b.   making fine show: colorful, c. excellent, splendid."  Ã‚  Ã‚   All of these distinct definitions find their capacity in The Tempest.   Prospero could be said to define bravery when speaking to Ariel when he likens Ariel's bravery to being "firm, so constant...coil would not infect his reason"(I.ii.299).   Ariel's spirit is courageous and wild for he takes on the powers that be in order for Prospero to enact his revenge on the usurping Duke of Milan.  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Let's look at another example of bravery.   Miranda likens the form of Ferdinand to bravery.   Her young, inexperienced eyes have not seen a young man basically rise out of the sea before.   What wonder and show this must be to her concept of courage and splendid which are all definitions of brave.   Prospero even infers that Miranda herself is "more braver"(I.ii.672), than Ferdinand.   I believe that his foundation for this belief lies in our definition of brave in the aforementioned dictionary from 1546, "to face or endure with courage."   Miranda has endured much in her... ...er, Prospero designates Ariel "brave" because of his uninfected "reason" (I.ii.299-301).   So let's review.   Brave is monster, abominable, womanly, unequaled, propagation, diligent, conscientious towards directions and reasonable. "Is it so brave..."(III.ii.153)?   Yes, and everything else.    Bibliography Primary Texts William Shakespeare, The Tempest, ed. Frank Kermode, with an introduction by Frank Kermode, (Arden, 1964) Montaigne, Selected Essays of Montaigne, trans. John Florio (1603) ed.Walter Kaiser, with an introduction by Walter Kaiser, (Riverside, 1964)    Secondary Texts Curt Breight, " 'Treason doth never prosper': The Tempest and the discourse of treason, Shakespeare Quarterly, 41, no.1, (1990) Eric Cheyfitz, The Poetics of Imperialism: Translation and Colonization from The Tempest to Tarzan, (Oxford University Press, 1991)

Essay on Bravery in The Tempest -- Tempest essays

The Theme of Bravery in The Tempest   Ã‚  Ã‚   Bravery performs a very important role in The Tempest.   Different than a motif, the theme of bravery actually takes form in Shakespeare's play and develops the play itself.   However, like a motif, bravery is used intermittently throughout the play in different form and context.   It captures different meanings and performs different capacities erratically.   A denotative definition from the 15th century, according to the Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary (10 ed.), portrays brave as meaning, "[from Old Italian and Spanish, meaning courageous, wild; probably from Latin, meaning barbarous]."   The dictionary then defines brave as "a.   having courage: dauntless b.   making fine show: colorful, c. excellent, splendid."  Ã‚  Ã‚   All of these distinct definitions find their capacity in The Tempest.   Prospero could be said to define bravery when speaking to Ariel when he likens Ariel's bravery to being "firm, so constant...coil would not infect his reason"(I.ii.299).   Ariel's spirit is courageous and wild for he takes on the powers that be in order for Prospero to enact his revenge on the usurping Duke of Milan.  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Let's look at another example of bravery.   Miranda likens the form of Ferdinand to bravery.   Her young, inexperienced eyes have not seen a young man basically rise out of the sea before.   What wonder and show this must be to her concept of courage and splendid which are all definitions of brave.   Prospero even infers that Miranda herself is "more braver"(I.ii.672), than Ferdinand.   I believe that his foundation for this belief lies in our definition of brave in the aforementioned dictionary from 1546, "to face or endure with courage."   Miranda has endured much in her... ...er, Prospero designates Ariel "brave" because of his uninfected "reason" (I.ii.299-301).   So let's review.   Brave is monster, abominable, womanly, unequaled, propagation, diligent, conscientious towards directions and reasonable. "Is it so brave..."(III.ii.153)?   Yes, and everything else.    Bibliography Primary Texts William Shakespeare, The Tempest, ed. Frank Kermode, with an introduction by Frank Kermode, (Arden, 1964) Montaigne, Selected Essays of Montaigne, trans. John Florio (1603) ed.Walter Kaiser, with an introduction by Walter Kaiser, (Riverside, 1964)    Secondary Texts Curt Breight, " 'Treason doth never prosper': The Tempest and the discourse of treason, Shakespeare Quarterly, 41, no.1, (1990) Eric Cheyfitz, The Poetics of Imperialism: Translation and Colonization from The Tempest to Tarzan, (Oxford University Press, 1991)

Organization Learning and Development Essay

Organizational performance depends upon human resources, knowledge and skills of employees. Organization learning and development determine overall success of organizational performance and market position of a company or firm. Changes occurred in technology, marketing, and numerous management techniques, some of which are concerned with human problems. Most of the changes are made in a rather disjointed or piecemeal manner. Following Revans (1980) learning in an organization must be greater than or equal to the rate of change in the environment. The approach emerging today is to use the growing body of ideas and systematic thought to consider innovatory ideas on organization and to adopt a more systematic comprehen ¬sive look at problems, so that we look at the whole instead of looking at separate parts. In modern environment, individuals have a lot of freedom, apart from certain laws of society, but when they join an organization their freedom is restricted and their effort must be joined with those of others to achieve organizational goals through learning and development practices. Change cannot occur if employees do not have sufficient knowledge and skills necessary for new organizational environment. Following Argyris (1977) â€Å"organizational learning as the process of detection and correction of errors† In his view organizations learn through individuals acting as agents for them† (cited Malhotra 1996). In this case, organizational learning becomes a change agent for the organization. Following Polanyi, Nonaka and Takeuchi (1995) identify two types of knowledge, â€Å"tacit knowledge† and â€Å"explicit knowledge†, which influence organizational learning and development. Employees need to acquire tacit knowledge and explicit knowledge in order to meet individual and business goals. Some administra ¬tive apparatus is needed through which managerial authority is exercised. Therefore a hierarchy is formed which issues policy statements to ensure any discretion that individuals may have in their work is exercised in the spirit or attitude of the organization. Without tacit and explicit knowledge, an organization is not able to meet rapidly changing environment. This requirement is somewhat, although not exclusively, dependent upon the first. The level of involvement of employees in the learning process will be necessarily substantial. For the innovation of new ideas to be successful a high degree of integration is needed between all concerned (e. g. engineering, production management and marketing). Organizations that are too rigidly structured may find integration of all necessary activities very difficult (Armstrong 2001). Nick Bontis et al (2002) states that stock and flow of knowledge affect three level in organizations: personal, team and organizational. Direct business needs, which have been identified from the study of the organizational situation might best be met in part by some form of training which cascades down the organization. Selection in such cases is likely to be on a broad basis, because the judgment has already been made that most people need this training. Although there might be discussion with line managers, particularly on who should attend first, selection ul ¬timately should be a central decision, and should be compulsory (Senior, 2001). Following Flood (1999) knowledge and learning allow employees to be better positioned in organization and give them a chance to survive and prosper in different environments. Revans (1980) is right stating that learning in an organization must be greater than the rate of change because learning and development open new opportunities for organizations and allow the staff to meet the criteria set down: persistence and great personal desire to master this knowledge. On the other hand, knowledge develops such important skills as the ability to analyze and synthesize information about the clanging environment. In this situation, employees take into account universal concepts and experience of other people trying to solve his/her life problems or trying to find solution to these troubles (Schuler 1998). Without new knowledge, employees depend upon their own life experience and are limited by prejudices and life scope. Learning cultivates human creativity and helps it to flourish. Organizational learning and development help to create new practical knowledge on the basis of the existing one making employees free from old technologies and views of their peers. Following Weick (1991): â€Å"organizations are not built to learn. Instead, they are patterns of means-ends relations deliberately designed to make the same routine response to different stimuli, a pattern which is antithetical to learning in the traditional sense† (cited Malhotra 1996). Without organizational learning and development, organizations could not benefit from outside worlds depending on their limited world perception. Freedom of choice is the main priority given by education and knowledge. They can choose without knowledge but their choice would be accidental and cannot guarantee the best solution to the problem you are faced with. Organizational learning and development help organizations to get in touch with the society and others which also a key to freedom (Mayo 1998). In the book â€Å"The Fifth Discipline†, Senge (1995) explains organizational development and performance through system theory. Organizations are affected by environment and have a structure which has both formal and informal elements. The analysis of structure will cover how activities are grouped together, the number of levels in the hierarchy, the extent to which authority is decentralized to divisions and units, and the relationships that exist between different units and functions. Senge states that systems thinking method helps organizations to transform their activities and become a learning organization (Organizational Learning and Information Systems 2007). Five disciplines include â€Å"building shared vision, mental models, team learning, personal mastery, systems thinking† (Senge 1995, p. 56). These principles are crucial because these factors allow organizations adapt to changing environments. So, without active learning and development organizations will not be able to compete on the market and adapt changes. Learning process should be prier to change. Bearing in mind the need to take an empirical and contingent approach to organizing, as suggested above, the aim of learning could be defined as being to optimize the arrangements for conducting the affairs. â€Å"A systems orientation is evidenced through common language producing thinking that encourages greater interdependency thus allowing for cross-functional thinking and abilities to be drawn into a productive whole† (Barker, Camarata, 1998, p. 4). To do this, it is necessary, as far as circumstances allow, to: clarify the overall purposes of learning – the strategic thrusts that govern what it does and how it functions; define as precisely as possible the key activities required to achieve that purpose; group these activities logically together to avoid unnecessary overlap or duplica ¬tion. Following Goh (1998) â€Å"Learning organizations not only encourage these practices but also have mechanisms or systems that allow them to happen. Part of this knowledge transfer involves learning successful practices from other organizations and competitors as well† (p. 5). As Katz and Kahn (1964) wrote: ‘Systems theory is basically concerned with prob ¬lems of relationship, of structure and of interdependence. As a result, there is a considerable emphasis on the concept of transactions across boundaries – between the system and its environment and between the different parts of the system† (Katz and K ahn, 1964, p. 48). According to this theory, all organizations have some learning and development which influence market position and innovative approach to performance. Structures incorporate a network of roles and relationships and are there to help in the process of ensuring that collective effort is explicitly organized to achieve specified ends (Mayo 1998). Most employees require much practice to create professional skills and knowledge. Organizations are continually dependent upon and influenced by their environments. The basic characteristic of organizational learning is that it transforms inputs into outputs within its environment. The components of organizational learning include the importation of energy, the throughput, and the systems as cycle aspects of organizations (McNamara 2007). Organizational learning and development include key organizational processes – an organization’s ‘task’ environment includes suppliers, markets and competitors; the wider environment includes factors such as public attitudes, economic and political systems, laws etc; employees and other tangible assets – people, plant, and equipment; formal organizational requirements – systems designed to regulate the actions of employees (and machines); the social system – culture (values and norms) and relationships between employees in terms of power, affiliation and trust; technology – the major techniques people use while engaged in organizational processes and that are programmed into machines; the dominant coalition – the objectives, strategies, personal characteristics and internal relationships of those who oversee the organization as a whole and control its basic policy making (Reed 2001). If organizations are unable to prepare their staff to a coming change, they will be inevitably left behind. Revans is right stating that learning in an ‘organization must be greater than or equal to the rate of change in the environment’ because organizations depend upon the learning and development as a part of change. Following â€Å"as the relationship changes and becomes more complex, the need increases for a relation-based learning organization using communication at all levels and through its various forms† (Barker, Camarata 1998, p. 4). The overall purpose of organizational learning and development is to ensure that the staff is able to achieve success in changing environments. In this case, organizational learning and development can be the source of the organizational capabilities that allow it to learn and capitalize on new opportunities. Ensure that the staff obtains and retains the skilled, committed and well-motivated workforce it needs. This means taking steps to assess and satisfy future people needs and to enhance and develop the inherent capacities of people – their contributions, potential and employability – by providing learning and continuous development opportunities (Nonaka, Takeuchi 1995). It can also involve the development of high performance work systems which enhance flexibility and include â€Å"rigorous recruitment and selec ¬tion procedures, performance-contingent incentive compensation systems, and management development and training activities linked to the needs of the organization† (Mayo 1998, p. 49). An understanding of organiza ¬tional processes and skills in the analysis and diagnosis of patterns of organizational behavior are therefore important. Organizations need to be able to understand the patterns of behavior that are observed to predict in what direction behavior will move (particularly in the light of managerial action), and to use this knowledge to control behavior over the course of time. Effective managerial action requires that the manager be able to diagnose the system he or she is working in. According to Goh (1998): Skill and knowledge acquisition are obviously useless unless they can be transferred to the immediate job by the employee. It is even better if this knowledge can also be transferred to other parts of the organization to solve problems and energize creative new ideas. Part of this knowledge transfer involves learning successful practices from other organizations and competitors as well† (15). Barker and Camarata (1998): underlines that: â€Å"personal mastery is the continual process of growth and development needed for creative work for both the individual and organization. Learning in organizations occurs only through the learning that individuals acquire â€Å"(4). The organization must do all it can to explain why change is essential and how it will affect everyone. Moreover, every effort must be made to protect the interests of those affected by change. Resistance to change is inevitable if the individuals concerned feel that they are going to be worse off – implicitly or explicitly. Management of change will produce that reaction. In an age of global competition, technological innovation, turbulence, disconti-nuity, even chaos, change is inevitable and necessary (Senior, 2001). In sum, learning in an organization must be greater than the rate of change in the environment, because only in this case organizations able to compete on the market and create skilled workforce. Organizational learning and development can be seen as a part of change process which allows organizations to foreshadow coming changes and possible problems. Learning should be greater than the rate of change, because organizations welcome the challenges and opportunities if they have strong human resources and skilled workforce. They are the ones to be chosen as change agents. Reference http://www.brint.com/papers/orglrng.htm