Knowledge Management is not Achievable in Large Complex Organizations Essay

Knowledge Management is not Achievable in Large Complex Organizations - Essay Example As the report stresses KM is an important issue for international management, yet there is a considerable confusion as to what constitutes organizational knowledge, whether it can be systematically managed and how. Matters related to incorporation of an organizational and technological mechanism so as to facilitate knowledge management in complex organizations need to be resolved. Experts are also of the opinion that Knowledge Management does not belong to one particular area. From the discussion it is clear people from different disciplines are working on it. A number of people have realized the value of measuring intellectual assets, thereby recognizing the importance of knowledge management as a competitive asset. As a result, many companies have considerably invested in knowledge projects, which range from setting up an intranet using team oriented software, mentoring, chalking out personal development plans to information sharing. Some researchers has claimed that at times, the problems for implementation of knowledge management lies in ways in which the processes and systems for knowledge creation are being developed separately without considering the organization’s social systems. Rather than being a process problem, communication and learning issues are more likely due to poor knowledge creation from a new system. The adoption of this tool would be important in protecting intellectual assets and cultural barriers.

Change Model Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Change Model - Assignment Example How change is introduced in an organization greatly determines how it will be accepted by the employees which will contribute to organizational success. Companies want to grow and expand in the long run but the problem arises where change is an intimidating step among the management and employees since the outcome is unknown and since they are moving out of their comfort zone (Van de Ven & Sun 2011). For change to be effective, a detailed plan has to be made in advance, implementation has to be slow and steady and most importantly is that the people it affects have to be consulted and involved in the change process rather than being by- standers. The change has to be measurable, ideally achievable and realistic. Some important questions need to be answered before introducing the change; what is it that we want to attain from the change, how will we know that we have attained the change we long for, who are the people that will be directly affected by the change and what is their expe cted response? It is by answering these questions that will form the basis of how to explain to the employees of the reasons for the change and help them understand and contribute positively towards the achieving the change (Van de Ven & Sun 2011). ... Since opening up the shop in Shanghai is for a short time, the organization may be testing the waters to see how well their company will respond to international change where the people as well as their culture are different. In the first stage of unfreeze, the organizations tries to break the status quo by explaining that these changes are necessary and should be accepted for the company to grow. The key to this stage is to develop a compelling message to the employees of the need for change perhaps due to worrying financial results, poor customer satisfaction, or just the need for improvement and expansion of the company for it to grow (Van de Ven & Sun 2011). For the change to be successful, it is important that the employees be prepared psychologically by changing their core beliefs and attitudes about the organization. If the company wants to go global, there is need to change the mindset of the employees, stopping them from looking at the company in its regional state but as an international company. For goals to be achieved, they have to be foreseen before they are worked towards achieving them. The first part is very hard and stressful since when change starts, people have to start adapting to the new ways of doing things which pushes them off balance. It is for this reason that during early stages of the new store would seem slow and progress to be almost none. If this phase is not handled carefully, rebellion is likely to be seen among the employees (Mariana & Violeta 2011). The second phase is the change part where people are inculcated into the new radical ways of doing things. People have to see that the change is meant to benefit the entire company.

Becoming a Teacher Essay Example for Free

Becoming a Teacher Essay Becoming a teacher means much more to me then just a paycheck or just another job I have to go to everyday. I want to make the difference in a student’s life, I want them to feel as if they can achieve the world and that each and everyone of them are important in one way or another. My vocation or calling to become a teacher has been with me for some time now. When I was little I use to play school with my little girlfriends all the time and I would always be the teacher. I love to learn and have always wanted to share that love of learning. Community impact and the commitment to my students tie together. As teachers we have tons of impact on the community, we help shape the younger generations within our community with the help of parents of course. I will strive to become that role model to my students and I will commit to them that they will succeed and learn new things each and every day. Being a role model to me as for any teacher I am sure is very important. Being a role model is not only a great feeling to have but is also a great tool to gain student’s respect. There will be extrinsic and intrinsic rewards to me as a teacher and to my students. For me extrinsic rewards will be seeing my students smiling faces and seeing them succeed in what they set their hearts to. An added bonus might be a teaching award at some point in my career. As for my students their extrinsic rewards for one is to always have a smiling teacher to greet them everyday, but also there can be multiple extrinsic rewards such as free days, homework coupons, or just to pick something fun to do at the end of the day. Intrinsic rewards I think are pretty similar to a teacher and a student. For us to have that joy of success or the fulfillment to teach and learn is a great intrinsic reward in my eyes. There are many resource books available for teachers of any grade, which is a great learning tool for teachers to have. As teacher we can have a major impact on families rather it is a safe haven for children to go to everyday, or a place where students know that they matter and are there to learn and succeed. Succeeding is a great feeling for any child of any age. There is nothing better for a teacher or a family member to see that look in a child’s eye when they have accomplished or learned something new; that is absolute wonderful! Some useful information I like to keep in mind is five reasons for becoming a teacher. Time commitment things will be done on my own time such as grading papers, activities, and lessons plans. Pay is not the best I know lots of teachers that have to get summer jobs to help out with income, so no one should be a teacher for pay or for the summer vacations. Respect is a big one, some people within the community you work in may have negative things to say about teachers due to a bad experience, so I must prove myself to be trustworthy and a great educator. Community expectations the community will always have an opinion on what their teachers should be doing, this is when the phrase â€Å"grin and bare it† comes into play, this is challenging but rewarding. Last emotional commitment this is by far not a desk job I will commit myself to my students and job, again challenging but rewarding. (Melissa Kelly, 2011, pg. 1) This is my passion and I will strive to be the best teacher I can be.

Attentional Control and Working Memory

Attentional Control and Working Memory Attentional control and working memory over top-down, bottom-up factors Complicated activities rely on attention to selectively focus on task-relevant stimuli while overlooking salient distractive stimuli. For instance, drivers need to able to attend to oncoming traffic while simultaneously ignoring distracting stimuli such as eating, looking after children, or hearing the bell of a cellphone receive a message. Most models pertaining to the selectivity of attention suggest that our attention is biased to either stimulus-based factors (bottom-up selection) and/or goal-driven factors (top-down selection) (Theeuwes, 2010). Physically salient properties of objects that draw attention involuntarily are bottom-up factors, in contrast, past knowledge, goals, and future plans are top-down factors that automatically guide our attention (Katsuki Constantinidis, 2014). Attentional control researchers have continuously argued whether goal-driven factors or stimulus-based factors have a larger influence on attentional control. However, this assumes that attention co ntrol involves a dichotomous selection between stimulus-based factors and goal-driven factors. This is an assumption that is incorrect and does not consider attentional control research that exists beyond this dichotomic viewpoint (Vecera et al, 2014). Past theories of attention focusing on the biases between goal-driven (top-down) and physically salient stimuli (bottom-up) do not take into consideration findings that persist outside of these factors, such as, the influence of experience with distractors on future search tasks. Attentional control, using working memory of distractor experience and strong biases, is a more effective posit than the dichotomic bias between goal-driven factors and physically salient factors. Although the dichotomy of bottom-up and top-down does not account for selection biases that are not goal-related nor physically salient, it still provides a highly acceptable theory of attentional control. The first visual sweep is completely driven by stimuli (Theeuwes, 2010). Theeuwes (2010) claims that the most physically salient item drives attention during the first visual scan, it is not until later in time that visual selection is biased in a top-down manner. This top-down manner involves feedback processing and voluntary control based on willful plans and current goals. Theeuwes (1992) found that when looking for a circle among diamonds of all the same color, the response time was a lot slower when one of the diamonds was red. Their study demonstrated that salience has an impact on visual attentional control. Goal driven selection matches targets that most fit the observers goal template. For example, when at the supermarket, if the goal is to buy a red apple, the observer wi ll prioritize red items. Overall, the bottom-up and top-down model offers a much more simplistic approach to attention and is one that can be easily accepted due to its lack of complexity in reasoning. For instance, it is easy to comprehend that items that pop out are more likely to grab attention, as well as, current selection goals of the on looker. However, this theory suggests that irrelevant items are not learned and cannot be used in future search tasks. Both stimulus-based and goal-driven factors influence attentional control, however, researchers have recently started to notice the impact experience has on the selective nature of attention (Awh et al., 2012). For example, participants point out noticeable, color targets quickly if the target-color is repeated throughout subsequent trials (Maljkovic Nakayama, 1994). They found that even when observers have a strong stimulus-based bias towards the target, experience strengthens this bias. Accordingly, priming of pop out of targets in repeated trials demonstrates the ability of experience to change the efficiency and overall efficacy of attentional control (Lee, Mozer, Vecera, 2009). These findings further support the idea that experience can influence attentional control, an idea that is not supported by bottom-up and top-down theories. In contrast to research done in favor of bottom-up, top-down posits, one memory system that falls in favor of experience and attentional control is priming of pop out (PoP). PoP occurs when individuals can point out a target faster if the essential feature of that target is constant in subsequent trials (Maljkovic Nakayama, 1994). In their study, they had their participants look for a colored diamond and had them identify if the diamond had a feature missing from either side. They found that PoP helped individuals and increased their response times. Their findings suggest that by continually showing a targets defining features, it reinforces the selective bias towards that targets features. In a similar vein, Tulving and Schacter (1990) found that representation systems based on perception allow for perceptual priming to occur. These representation system process new information in short-term memory. This short-term memory hastens the processing of similar information in future task s. Thus, when the visual information sweep frequently encounters similar items to process, these items are processed in a faster manner because short-term memory already has a memory trace of that item. Priming of pop out further demonstrates how learned experience with physically salient items benefits subsequent search tasks. It demonstrates that passive priming can provoke strong selection biases that have nothing to do with goal-driven selection. The bottom-up, top-down attentional control model does not consider these findings. Large amounts of research on attentional selection cannot be accounted for by the tendency to group attentional control in either top-down or bottom-up factors (Awh et al., 2012), for example, memory. There are two types of memory that have different roles and first need to be distinguished. Visual working memory depictions are different from visual long-term memories (VLTM). Visual working memory depictions are held for a limited amount of time, while visual long-term depictions continue throughout time (Luck, 2008). The constant maintenance of information limits the length of time for which visual working memory (VWM) depictions are upheld in memory. Lastly, VWM can only hold three to four items at the same time, while VLTM depictions are not bounded to a specific amount of objects (Brady et al., 2008). Although VWM is important in memory, VWM, in regards to attentional control, is specifically important for building experience with distractor rejections, but, is not useful for fut ure use. Visual long term memory (VLTM) uses information (information that is no longer relevant to the task) encoded in the past to guide attention (Fan Turk-Browne, 2016). In their first experiment, Fan and Turk-Browne (2016) found that VLTM for the associated location of a target guided spatial attention during visual search for the target, even when this location was not relevant to the task. Their second experiment expanded on these findings by discovering that VLTM for the associated color of a target influenced attentional capture in a different task. Memories can guide attention toward associated features, even when these features were encoded incidentally and were never relevant to any task (Fan Turk-Browne, 2016). An items features are automatically retrieved from long-term memory based on environmental cues encoded into working memory. These working memory representations bias selection toward items perceived in the world that match with features in memory through react ivation. An example of this would be shopping at a supermarket frequently gone to. When shopping at the local supermarket looking for your favorite cereal, for example, you are less likely to be distracted by other grocery items because you know where youre going and do not have to scan the visual area as often as opposed to it being the first time at that specific store. Observers find targets more easily when knowledge is given beforehand concerning the physical features of the target, like location, identity, and color (Moher Egeth, 2012). This is a process known as visual cueing. Observers find targets more easily, when they are told beforehand, not to look at certain irrelevant areas of the display areas that will not have any targets pop up. For example, an individual is more often than not to find their friend at a mall if told that their friend will be wearing a bright yellow shirt. In the same manner, Woodman and Luck (2007) found that targets were located faster if distractor items that were in the color that had to be ignored were present versus the distractors not being there at all. They concluded that participants used a template for rejection wherein items that match any beforehand features that had to be ignored, could be avoided during search, thus, items possessing the feature that had to be ignored were quickly rejected, ultimatel y, minimizing the size of the search. Knowing what not to look for reduces the number of items needed to be scanned, inadvertently reducing the time it takes to search through items. Further extending current research on the theory that individuals can use cues to bias attention away from salient distractors, individuals need experience with distractors before the distractors can actually be ignored (Cunningham Egeth, 2016). Experience with irrelevant stimuli can improve search in tasks. Learning to ignore features can result in a benefit in search tasks because time spent learning about these features, that need to be ignored, enhances its ability to be used by individuals in future search tasks (Cunningham Egeth, 2016). Results from their experiment found that within the same task, observers only benefited from cues that were consistent and not by cues that changed trial by trial. This demonstrates that cues can only be beneficial in search tasks if the cues are repeatedly shown ; developing a more concrete trace in long term memory in which participants can use. The mentioned studies establish that memory is an important part of the attentional selection process. The concept of memory cannot be put into a category that is either stimulus-driven or goal-driven, but rather makes its own valid case in the plethora of selection phenomena. Biased competition proposes that attentional control mechanisms occur when several neuronal axons land in the same receptive vicinity (Desimone Duncan, 1995). They found that when several stimuli fall into one receptive field, a neuron has multiple choices as to which of these stimuli it should respond to; this is quite an uncertain process. However, attentional mechanisms solve this uncertainty through two processes: attention is biased towards matching target objects with templates held in VWM. And, attention is biased towards items that are physically salient. Objects that are held in VWM are preferred over objects that are not because cells that have the objects features show higher rates of activity (Miller Desimone, 1994). Features of items in the external world are represented by these cells held in VWM, thus, the higher the activation rate, the more probable these neurons are to reach supra-threshold and fire an action potential when an external item matches that of the ite m in working memory. In support of experience and attentional control, biased competition reveals that past experience directs learning towards novel characteristics in settings and plays an important role forming the long-term memory system (Hutchinson et al., 2016). Frequent studies of attention have looked at task-related goals and its effect on memory encoding, but not much research has investigated the role of memory guiding itself during selection (Awh et al., 2012). According to Hutchinson et al. (2016), memory allows for the brain to differentiate between old information (information in which the individual has already encountered) and new information that will give the best representation of the surroundings. Thus, in circumstances that involve both the presence of old and new information, old information will affect how new information is processed and interpreted. Biased competition further supports that experience has an effect on what enters the memory system, which then, subsequently affect s the attentional systems use of templates in the prioritization of certain items. Cases that cannot be explained by the traditional dichotomy of attentional control can be further expanded by reward control. Although attentional selection can be voluntary, in the case of goal-driven tasks, subsequent selection can be provoked be rewards. Hickey et al. (2010) had participants look for a diamond shape while also ignoring irrelevant color stimuli at the same time. Participants were given a low or a high monetary reward depending on whether they answered right. The researchers found that rewards could bias attentional selection to either the target or to the irrelevant stimuli trial after trial.ÂÂ   For instance, if the target color stayed the same on subsequent trials, participants had a fast response time after given a high monetary reward. However, when the distractor had the same color as the previous target, reaction times were slow after given a high monetary reward. This study suggests that monetary reward influenced attention towards the color that was gi ven the high reward, irrespective of whether the color was associated with the distractor or the target. Several studies have shown that attentional selection is biased towards monetary reward. These findings cannot be explained by the voluntary, top-down or the physically salient, bottom-up attentional control dichotomy. Monetary reward further demonstrates that the dichotomic posit of attentional control is one that is incomplete and that monetary reward only expands on the present findings related to selection phenomena. Rewards are one of the strong biases that have a significant influence on selective processes. When encountering physically noticeable distractors, the experiences built on these distractors allows individuals to focus in future search tasks. This finding reveals that experience with physically noticeable distractors, and not only target templates held in working memory, benefits the high functionality of attentional control. Like further posits of attentional controls dependence on experience, learning to reject irrelevant stimuli depends on visual long term memory. This is an acceptable finding to grasp because long term memory possesses the ability to direct attention to target items in the present and later on, and, away from distractors. This finding further validates that attentional control cannot be explained by purely using the dichotomy of goal-driven and physically-salient-driven efforts. Rather, attentional control is an active process founded on creating experience with specific objects. Consequently, attentional control is a skill that is increasingly sharpened a s we gain experience out in the world. By not having much experience, the skills used in controlling attention is rather basic and depends on the simple use of the physical noticeability of object features. However, as individuals experience increases with certain tasks, the skills involved in attentional control sharpens and focuses on specific features. Once our attention is focused on a specific set of features, top-down control of attention can operate more efficiently. The importance of attentional control can be further seen in everyday life, especially in the realm of mental health. Several findings have found that there is a high correlation between those who suffer with mental illnesses and levels of attentional control. Individuals who have Alzheimers disease, for example, have trouble maintaining goal-directedness (Coubard, et al., 2011). They found that Alzheimers disease affects the ability of switching attention, suppressing, and preparing attention for random events. Further, individuals who suffer from schizophrenia and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) have a fast response time in tasks when levels of anxiety and depression are lessened (Sarter and Paolone, 2011). Emotional processing is an important of human interaction and communication. Low attentional control would hinder the ability to shift attention away from potentially threating information which would increase ones susceptibility of developing harmful psychological effects (Fergus et al., 2012). Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is another mental illness that is also affected by attentional control. Individuals with PTSD and low attentional control show attentional avoidance (Schoorl et al., 2014). Attentional avoidance is the concept of biasing attention away from threatening situations. These threatening situations serve as triggers that remind individuals with PTSD of the traumatic events they have experienced. This cognitive avoidance can be dysfunctional becaus e individuals with PTSD do not face threatening stimuli head on and avoid it, which, deprive them of the chance to realize that the traumatic event will not occur again (Schoorl et al., 2014). This was only the case when post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms were high and attention control levels were low. Works Cited Awh, E., Belopolsky, A. V., Theeuwes, J. (2012). Top-down versus bottom-up attentional control: A failed theoretical dichotomy. Trends In Cognitive Sciences, 16(8), 437-443. doi:10.1016/j.tics.2012.06.010 Brady, T.F., Konkle, T., Alvarez, G.A., Oliva, A. (2008). Visual long-term memory has a massive storage capacity for object details. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 105(38), 14325-14329. doi: 10.1073/pnas.0803390105 Cunningham, C. A., Egeth, H. E. (2016). Taming the white bear: Initial costs and eventual benefits of distractor inhibition. Psychological Science, 27(4), 476-485. doi:10.1177/0956797615626564 Coubard, O. A., Ferrufino, L., Boura, M., Gripon, A., Renaud, M., Bherer, L. (2011). Attentional control in normal aging and Alzheimers disease. Neuropsychology, 25(3), 353-367. doi:10.1037/a0022058 Desimone, R., Duncan, J. (1995). Neural mechanisms of selective visual attention. Annual Reviews of Neuroscience, 18(1), 193-222. doi: 10.1146/annurev.ne.18.0030195.001205 Fan, J. E., Turk-Browne, N. B. (2016). Incidental biasing of attention from visual long-term memory. Journal Of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, And Cognition, 42(6), 970-977. doi:10.1037/xlm0000209 Fergus, T. A., Bardeen, J. R., Orcutt, H. K. (2012). Attentional control moderates the relationship between activation of the cognitive attentional syndrome and symptoms of psychopathology. Personality And Individual Differences, 53(3), 213-217. doi:10.1016/j.paid.2012.03.017 Hickey, C., Chelazzi, L., Theeuwes, J. (2010). Reward Changes Salience in Human Vision via the Anterior Cingulate. Journal of Neuroscience, 30(33), 11096-11103. doi:10.1523/jneurosci.1026-10.2010 Hutchinson, J. B., Pak, S. S., Turk-Browne, N. B. (2016). Biased competition during long- term memory formation. Journal Of Cognitive Neuroscience, 28(1), 187-197. doi:10.1162/jocn_a_00889 Katsuki, F., Constantinidis, C. (2014). Bottom-up and top-down attention: Different processes and overlapping neural systems. The Neuroscientist, 20(5), 509-521. doi:10.1177/1073858413514136 Lee, H., Mozer, M.C., Vecera, S.P. (2009). Mechanisms of priming of pop-out: Stored representations or feature-gain modulations? Attention, Perception, Psychophysics, 71(5), 1059-1071. doi: 10.3758/APP.71.5.1059 Luck, S.J. (2008). Visual short-term memory. In S.J. Luck A. Hollingworth (Eds.), Visual Memory (pp. 43-85). New York: Oxford University Press. Maljkovic, V., Nakayama, K. (1994). Priming of pop-out: I. Role of features. Memory Cognition, 22(6), 657-72. doi: 10.3758/BF03209251 Miller, E.K., Desimone, R. (1994). Parallel neuronal mechanisms for short-term memory. Science, 263((5146), 520-522. doi: 10.1126/science.8290960 Moher, J., Egeth, H.E. (2012). The ignoring paradox: Cueing distractor features leads first to selection, then to inhibition of to-be-ignored items. Attention, Perception, Psychophysics, 74(8), 1590-1605. doi: 10.3758/s13414-012-0358-0 Sarter, M., Paolone, G. (2011). Deficits in attentional control: Cholinergic mechanisms and circuitry-based treatment approaches. Behavioral Neuroscience, 125(6), 825-835. doi:10.1037/a0026227 Schoorl, M., Putman, P., Van Der Werff, S., Van Der Does, A. W. (2014). Attentional bias and attentional control in posttraumatic stress disorder. Journal Of Anxiety Disorders, 28(2), 203-210. doi:10.1016/j.janxdis.2013.10.001 Theeuwes, J. (1992). Perceptual selectivity for color and form. Perception Psychophysics, 51(6), 599-606. doi:10.3758/BF03211656 Theeuwes, J. (2010). Top-down and bottom-up control of visual selection. Acta Psychologica, 135(2), 77-99. doi:10.1016/j.actpsy.2010.02.006 Tulving, E., Schacter, D.L. (1990). Priming and human memory systems. Science, 247(4940), 301-306. doi: 10.1126/science.2296719 Vecera, S. P., Cosman, J. D., Vatterott, D. B., Roper, Z. J. (2014). The control of visual attention: Toward a unified account. In B. H. Ross, B. H. Ross (Eds.) , The psychology of learning and motivation, Vol. 60 (pp. 303-347). San Diego, CA, US: Elsevier Academic Press. Vogel, E.K., Woodman, G.F., Luck, S.J. (2006). The time course of consolidation in visual working memory. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance,32(6), 1436-1451. doi: 10.1037/0096-1523.32.6.1436

Hiding Behind the Words :: Writing Education Self Analysis

Hiding Behind the Words As I look back at the first paper I wrote for this class, I see lots of things I needed to improve on. I was simple minded in many of my ideas that I wrote about. Throughout the paper I only elaborated on a few thoughts and ideas. It all could have been summed up in two paragraphs. My opening paragraph talked about my whole paper. "A university education is important to me. By getting a degree in geography I hope to improve my knowledge and increase my chances for a good job. Not only will I gain knowledge but also gain the experience of university life as a student. By receiving my education I will prepare myself for a job and improve my communication with other people." After the first paragraph I bullshitted through the rest of the paper. I had repetition over and over again. For example in paragraph three I wrote, "I have chosen my major in Geography because I find it interesting and hope to obtain a job in the field." This repetition can be seen in the opening paragraph above. It also is in the last paragraph, "Bemidji University will have prepared me with the knowledge I need to obtain a job in Geography." If I were to make a revision on the paper I would need to cut down on the repetition, this is not the only example throughout the paper. My first paper was also written in the official style and the five theme essay. I stated my theme in the first paragraph and everything form there on pertained to the theme. I did not elaborate on other things that make a university education important to me. I needed to reconstruct my thoughts and dig deeper to find the real meaning behind my university education. As I read this paper again it was plain, simple and not very interesting to read. It was simple in a way that everyone probably has the same thoughts and could write it just like I did. To make it more interesting I could leave the theme, and change the voice and style within the paper. The voice in the paper pertained to the normal student who wrote about their education. It was plain and did not express any real values I had toward my education. Sure I want to graduate, get a job, and have fun, but doesn't everyone want to do this? Hiding Behind the Words :: Writing Education Self Analysis Hiding Behind the Words As I look back at the first paper I wrote for this class, I see lots of things I needed to improve on. I was simple minded in many of my ideas that I wrote about. Throughout the paper I only elaborated on a few thoughts and ideas. It all could have been summed up in two paragraphs. My opening paragraph talked about my whole paper. "A university education is important to me. By getting a degree in geography I hope to improve my knowledge and increase my chances for a good job. Not only will I gain knowledge but also gain the experience of university life as a student. By receiving my education I will prepare myself for a job and improve my communication with other people." After the first paragraph I bullshitted through the rest of the paper. I had repetition over and over again. For example in paragraph three I wrote, "I have chosen my major in Geography because I find it interesting and hope to obtain a job in the field." This repetition can be seen in the opening paragraph above. It also is in the last paragraph, "Bemidji University will have prepared me with the knowledge I need to obtain a job in Geography." If I were to make a revision on the paper I would need to cut down on the repetition, this is not the only example throughout the paper. My first paper was also written in the official style and the five theme essay. I stated my theme in the first paragraph and everything form there on pertained to the theme. I did not elaborate on other things that make a university education important to me. I needed to reconstruct my thoughts and dig deeper to find the real meaning behind my university education. As I read this paper again it was plain, simple and not very interesting to read. It was simple in a way that everyone probably has the same thoughts and could write it just like I did. To make it more interesting I could leave the theme, and change the voice and style within the paper. The voice in the paper pertained to the normal student who wrote about their education. It was plain and did not express any real values I had toward my education. Sure I want to graduate, get a job, and have fun, but doesn't everyone want to do this?

Saint Augustine’s View on Sexuality Essay -- Religion

Saint Augustine’s View on Sexuality The famous bishop of Hippo, St. Augustine, is claimed as a cornerstone of Christian theology by both Catholics and Protestants. Many of his views are regarded by Christians as authoritative interpretations of the Bible because they have withstood heated debate throughout the centuries. Christians ought to ask, however, whether such allegiance is justifiable in all cases. Augustine's idea of sex after matrimony, for example, is very narrow, restricting actions and emotions married Christians today consider part of the beauty of intercourse. A logical assertion then, is that Augustine's view of sexuality, as delineated in many writings, is a response to his life of sensuality prior to salvation; therefore, his idea about the intent for sex within marriage stems more from his former sin than from Biblical perspective. St. Augustine's sordid lifestyle as a young man, revealed in Confessions, serves as a logical explanation for his limited view of the purpose of sexuality in marriage. His life from adolescence to age thirty-one was so united to passionate desire and sensual pleasure, that he later avoided approval of such emotions even within the sanctity of holy union. From the age of sixteen until he was freed of promiscuity fifteen years later, Augustine's life was woven with a growing desire for illicit acts, until that desire finally became necessity and controlled his will. His lust for sex began in the bath houses of Tagaste, where he was idle without schooling and "was tossed about†¦and boiling over in†¦fornications" (2.2). Also during that time, young Augustine displayed his preoccupation with sexual experience by fabricating vulgarities simply to impress his peers. In descript... ... Anderson, Douglas L., ed. Augustine. Nashville: Broadman Press, 1979. Augustine. The Confessions of St. Augustine: Books I-X. Trans. F.J. Sheed. New York: Sheed & Ward, 1942. Babcock, William S., ed. The Ethics of St. Augustine. Atlanta: Scholars P, 1991. Battenhouse, Roy W., ed. A Companion to the Study of St. Augustine. Grand Rapids: Baker,1955. Halsall, Paul. "St. Augustine: From 'On Marriage and Concupiscence.'" Internet Medieval Source Book. Oct. 1998. 3 Nov. 2000 <http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/aug-marr.html>. Hooker, Richard. Early Christianity: Augustine. 6 Jun. 1999. 3 Nov. 2000 <http://www.wsu.edu:8080/~dee/CHRIST/AUG.HTM>. Oates, Whitney J., ed. Basic Writings of Saint Augustine. 1948. 2 vols. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1980. Rist, John M. Augustine: Ancient Thought Baptized. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1994.

Does Robert Louis Stevenson explore the duality of human nature in Dr. Jekyll and Mr Hyde Essay

Written between 1884 and 1887, Robert Louis Stevenson’s novel, â€Å"the strange case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr Hyde†, is about a well respected physician and his ‘other self’ Mr Hyde. Dr. Jekyll is described as a typical Victorian gentleman . [PD1] Dr Jekyll wanted to develop a potion because he believed he could create a perfectly righteous human being by destroying the evil of the mind and body. When he creates this potion, it doesn’t quite go according to plan. He takes the potion for the first time, but when he goes back to normal, he turns into Mr Hyde without taking the potion. Slowly, Mr Hyde starts to take over Dr Jekyll. When Dr Jekyll turns into Mr Hyde, it changes his appearance, because of this, no one wants to approach him or talk to him. During the time when the book was written, people who looked different or who had disabilities or deformities which are widely accepted today, were not liked and were usually shut away. This is why no one liked or talked to Hyde. There is proof of this in the lines â€Å"I had taken a loathing to the man at first sight† and â€Å"gave me a look so ugly, it brought out the sweat on me like running†. Dr Jekylls idea was that everyone had two sides to them, a good side and an evil side, a side of joy and a side of despair; there is a Mr Hyde in all of us. This was not the only novel of this time that hinted at duality, there were a few of other main plays. Two examples are Deacon Broodie, and Markheim, which is a short story. In the Victorian times, most people had very high morals, and so immoral things were rarely mentioned or talked about. Also, sex is rarely talked about in the book because everyone had such high morals, and so sex is something which would not be written and so was kept away from the public eye. [PD2] Throughout the novel, figurative language is used in various forms. One of the forms used is personification. Personification is used in many ways to try to help the reader to relate to the book, characters, and objects in the book. Another way figurative language is used is in the form of â€Å"similes† by saying things like â€Å"You start a question, and it’s like starting a stone. You sit quietly on the top of a hill; and away the stone goes, starting others; and presently some bland old bird (the last you would have thought of) is knocked on the head in his own back garden and the family have to change their name. No, sir, I make it a rule of mine: the more it looks like Queer Street, the less I ask.†[PD3] The novel was written when the world was not very advanced medically. In the world today, we know of illnesses such as schizophrenia. It is thought that the novel was written about someone who had schizophrenia which would be treated with medication nowadays. jekyll and hyde were indeed the same person and Dr Jekyll didn’t really have â€Å"an evil side† to him, it was just because he had a split personality disorder.