10 Steps to Improve Your Workplace Communication Skills

10 Steps to Improve Your Workplace Communication Skills Communication is key. Whether written or spoken, reading, or listening, these skills are crucial in any workplace and can make you a better, more effective, and more efficient employee. Here are 10  ways to improve your communication skills. 1. Don’t beat around the bushBe clear. First and foremost, make sure your point is conveyed and that your message is easily understood. Use specific language, avoid spewing out too many acronyms. When in doubt, imagine you’re speaking to someone who doesn’t know your company.2. Listen activelyThe better you listen, the better you are at communication. Before you respond, make sure you’ve heard and digested what someone is saying. Don’t just wait for their mouth to stop moving to make your point.3. Repeat backThis is the second stage of active listening. Let the speaker know first, that you’ve understood them, and second, that you care about what they’ve said. Do this by repeating what theyâ€℠¢ve said and including their words in your response. Paraphrase back to them to prove that you’ve heard them loud and clear.4. Use your bodyWhen in doubt, or if you have something particularly complicated to discuss, try doing it in person. Face to face, you have the extra benefit of body language and non-verbal cues like gestures and facial expressions, all of which make it easier to avoid confusion.5. Show r-e-s-p-e-c-tDon’t multi-task while communicating. Don’t be on your phone, or doodling, in the meeting. Make sure what you’ve said is professional and respectful. Make eye contact and use people’s names. Basically, be a human.6. Match the message to the mediumIf you’re better via email, don’t try to have that important progress update in your boss’s office before you’ve had your coffee. If it’s a sticky situation that requires a nuanced approach, don’t just send a flat-toned email when you could finesse the situation with a well-managed in-person conversation. Figure out what it is you have to get across, then choose the medium that suits that message best.7. Know your audienceDon’t talk to your client as you would your boss. Or your HR rep as you would your best work pal. Match your tone and timing to the person you’re communicating with.8. Text smartMore and more workplace information gets communicated via text and email. This is another instance where it’s best to know your audience and choose the most appropriate medium. Bottom line: never text anything too complicated. That will help you avoid misunderstandings and misinformation. But don’t send a big long email to arrange a short meeting either.9. Make meetings matter moreSo many meetings leave us feeling we could have better spent that time. Demand better! Set an agenda, keep to the scheduled time, don’t invite unnecessary people. Make sure every meeting is productive enough to justify eve ry attendee taking the time and resources from their workload.10. Keep it positiveNo matter how stressed you are, or how fraught the conversation, try to stay positive. Put your team first. And never make it personal- keep your focus on the professional. Earn a reputation and respect.

Marjorie Joyner and the Wave Machine

Marjorie Joyner and the Wave Machine An employee of  Madame Walkers  empire, Majorie Joyner invented a permanent wave machine. This device, patented in 1928, curled or permed womens hair for a relatively lengthy period of time. The wave machine was popular among women white and black allowing for longer-lasting wavy hair styles. Joyner went on to become a prominent figure in Walkers industry. Early Years Joyner was born in 1896 in the rural Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia and moved in 1912 to Chicago to go to school study cosmetology.   She was the granddaughter of a white slave owner and a slave. Joyner graduated from A.B. Molar Beauty School in Chicago in 1916. She was the first  African-American  to achieve this. At the beauty school, she  met  Madame C. J. Walker, an African-American beauty entrepreneur who owned a cosmetic empire. Always an advocate of beauty for women, Joyner went to work for Walker and oversaw 200 of her beauty schools, working as the national adviser. One of her major duties was sending Walkers hair stylists door-to-door, dressed in black skirts and white blouses with black satchels, containing a range of beauty products that were applied  in  the customers house. Joyner taught some 15,000 stylists over her 50-year career.   Wave Machine Joyner was also a leader in developing new products, such as her permanent wave machine. She  invented her wave machine as a solution to the hair problems of African-American women. Joyner took her inspiration from a pot roast. She cooked with paper pins to shorten prep time. She experimented initially with these paper rods and soon designed a table that could be used to curl or straighten hair by wrapping it on rods above the persons head and then cooking them to set the hair. Using this method, hairstyles would last several days. Joyners design was popular in  salons  with both African-American and white women. Joyner never profited  from  her invention, however, because Madame Walker owned the rights.  In 1987, the Smithsonian Institution in Washington opened an exhibit featuring Joyners permanent wave machine and a replica of her original salon.   Other Contributions Joyner also helped write the first cosmetology laws for the state of  Illinois,  and founded both a sorority and a national association for black beauticians. Joyner was friends with Eleanor  Roosevelt,  and helped found the  National Council of Negro Women. She was an advisor to the Democratic National Committee in the   1940s,  and advised several New Deal agencies trying to reach out to black women. Joyner was highly visible in the Chicago black community, as head of the  Chicago Defender  Charity network, and fundraiser for various schools.   Together with Mary Bethune Mcleod, Joyner founded the United Beauty School Owners and Teachers Association.  In 1973, at the age of 77, she was awarded a bachelors degree in psychology from  Bethune-Cookman College  in  Daytona Beach, Florida. Joyner also volunteered for several charities that helped house, educate, and find work for African Americans during the Great Depression.

Week 4 Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Week 4 - Research Paper Example It will also discuss the barriers to effective communication and how to overcome them. Additionally, the paper will define the correlation of leaders, organizational politics and stakeholder groups. In the Aristotle model, communication is described as a linear process. He further claimed that the packaging of messages is either in emotion (pathos), logic (logos) or character (ethos) (Palta, 2006). The model comprises the sender, the content, the message, the medium and the receiver. The sender is the individual from whom the message will come from. The content refers to what the message contains. The message could be in form of goods or just verbal information. The medium refers to the mode in which the message will be moved from the sender to the receiver. Mediums of sending messages include through telephones, through written letters, telegrams or just personal delivery. This model forms the basis of all communication models that are established today. The model covered all the aspects of communication and very minimal additions are made to the model. In modern day communication theories, there is the inclusion of distortion. However, distortion is only an inclusion to the Aristotle model of communication. Communication theorists come up with models which revolve around the Aristotle model. In many modern communication models, the goals and the objective of the message are usually defined. It is at this juncture that distortion comes into play. In case of distortion, the objective and goal of the message will not be achieved (Caputo, 2003). The modern model borrows from Aristotle model in that it defines the capability of the medium. After the medium, the model follows the Aristotle model to the receiver then to the feedback. Different barriers affect the effectiveness of communication models. The five barriers of communication are difference in perception, difficulties

Logistics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 4

Logistics - Essay Example It also contributes to from utility, based on its ability to make the product be in a form in which the customer can use it. For example, logistics can contribute to production economies, such as lowering the cost per unit. The economic impact of logistics can also be seen in place utility, where it helps in the movement of products from one place to another (Bowersox et al 3). Q 2. A reduction in economic regulation has enabled companies to specify various logistics service levels; therefore, adjusting prices accordingly. It also enabled those who buy transportation services in large quantities to reduce costs on transportation. Reduction in Economic regulation also allowed individual carriers to have the flexibility to pricing and provision of services (Bowersox et al 6). Q 3. The five activities that might be part of a company’s logistics department include customer service, which entails keeping customers satisfied and ensuring that they get the right product. The department may also consist of demand forecasting; this includes estimating the future demand of a product (Bowersox et al 18). Facility location decisions may also be part of a logistics department; this relates to the location of production and warehousing facilities. The fourth activity entails inventory management; logisticians have to consider ordering cost, holding cost, and costs caused by running out of stock. Procurement should also be part of a company’s logistics department; this relates to the acquisition of supplies and raw materials needed for production (Bowersox et al

The Intersection of Nature and Culture Essay Example for Free

The Intersection of Nature and Culture Essay Semiotics is a discipline which stems from the work and theories of American logician C. S. Peirce and the French linguist Ferdinand de Saussure. The idiom originates from the Greek word seemeiootikee, which denotes the study of signs, what they represent and signify, and how human beings act, interact and think in their universe. This branch of learning and understanding can be best described as a system of many communication theories and techniques which can be viewed as pieces of a puzzle. When these fragments are connected and pieced together, they make visible, the intricate design of human interaction and interpersonal communication. Semiotics lies intermediary between philosophy and philology and is nothing less than an objectification, or self-expression, or interpretation and the formation and comprehension of meaning. This area of study is a combination between scientific discipline and a world-view. Semiotics is an enormously broad approach to understanding such matters as meaning, cognition, culture, behavior, even life itself. At the heart of this discipline lies the notion of sign. A sign, according to Charles S. Peirce, widely acknowledged to be one of the seminal thinkers about semiotics, is something which stands to somebody for something in some respect or capacity. It is the study of signs and symbols as elements of communicative behavior and the analysis of systems of communication. These signs take the form of words, images, sounds, acts or objects, but have no genuine meaning and become signs only when we invest them with meaning- nothing is a sign unless it is interpreted and brings about some form of meaning. Understanding semiology assists in the true understanding of ones self, others, and how we view the world around us. Inherently, humans are reactors. Because it is human nature to act, or react toward people, items, and instances on the basis of preconceived meanings that have been assigned, it is beneficial to understand that each sign or symbol will have a different meaning to each individual it is presented to. Because of communication filters and barriers (which can also be signs and symbols) no message is ever received the exact way it is sent. (See Appendix A)  Similarly, every sign encountered can be decoded and interpreted differently depending on preconceived notions, culture and personal experience. A signifier may induce many different interpretations of the signified (See Appendix B and D). This theory of signs and symbolism is divided into branches including pragmatics, semantics, and syntactics. Pragmatics is the branch of semiotics which deals with the causal and other relations between words, expressions, or symbols and their users. It can be an analysis of language in terms of the situational context within which utterances are made, including the knowledge and beliefs of the speaker and the relation between speaker and listener. Semantics is the study of the relationship between words and meanings. The field of semantics has three fundamental concerns: the relations of words to the objects denoted by them, the relations of words to the interpreters of them, and, in symbolic logic, the formal relations of signs to one another semantics is concerned with such issues as meaning and truth, meaning and thought, and the relation between signs and what they mean. Syntactics is the branch of semiotics dealing with the formal properties of language and systems of symbols. Innis proposes that, fundamentally these areas of thought deal with meanings and messages in all their forms and in all their contexts. There are three ways in which the sign can stand for its object: as icon, index or symbol. An icon is a sign that stands for an object by resembling it, not merely visually, but by any means. An icon makes a connection by similitude. Included in this category of sign are obvious examples like pictures, maps and diagrams and some not so obvious ones like algebraic expressions and metaphors. Indexes refer to their objects, not by virtue of any similarity relation, but by an actual causal link between the sign and its object: smoke is an index of fire. The relation between the sign and its object is substantial in that the sign and object have something in common; that is, the object affects the sign. It is physically connected to the object. Symbols refer to their objects by virtue of a law, rule or convention. Words, propositions and texts are obvious examples in that no similarity or causal link is suggested in the relation between, for example,  the word horse and the object to which it refers. In this category especially the potential arbitrary character of signs comes to the foreground. If symbols need bear no similarity or causal link to their object, then the signs can be considered by the sign user in unlimited ways, independent of any physical relationship to the sign user. The convention between recognizing a sign and the meaning which is provoked is affected by perception and experience. What appears to be a complex ideology is really very simple. Semiotics is everywhere, in every part of daily life. Humans recognize patterns of information and organize them to generate meaning. The sign is the signifier, and what speaks to us is the signified. We see a sign, internalize it, and create meaning. The Semantic Triangle, (Appendix E) shows the indirect relationship between symbols and their referents. Some signs are culturally universal and convey similar meaning in individuals (Appendix F). Some signs act as instructions or directions, and guide or restrict behaviors. For instance, if a sign with a cigarette encompassed by a red circle and a bar through the middle is on display in a business it is understood that there is no smoking on the premises. This image has predetermined meaning. Some signs act as reminders. An image in of a young child in a magazine may serve as a sign for an aging mother and the signified may be a sense of sadness as her children have grown and moved on. The perception of meaning and the ability making sense out of the information that is being transmitted by these signs is an essential element of human communication. The study and application of semiotics is the frame work for representing meaning. Reality is encoded with signs and symbols and life is but to decode and find meaning. We seem to be a species driven by a desire to make meaning: above all, we are surely homo-significans meaning-makers within which signs are meaningful units taking the form of words, images, sounds, acts or objects. Such things have no intrinsic meaning and become signs only when we invest them with meaning. And it is this meaning-making which is at the heart of the concerns of semiotics. The fact that humans can consume and interpret signs which are arbitrary and have no tangible existence in their immediate experience is what makes thought possible and is distinctly human. Ideas can be brought to mind and manipulated without being directly experienced. Meanings can be expressed in various ways, through a variety of sign systems: language, music, gesture and by many other vehicles. The meaning that is found within these signs creates the psychological and emotional environment we live in. Signs can also communicate ideological or connotative meaning, and perpetuate the dominant values of society. Aristotle claimed that a thing either is or it isnt. Semiotics is the arbitrator of this existence and because things can be decoded and deciphered differently by each individual, there is much grey area between the is and the isnt. By being aware of the way we use and interpret signs and symbols, and understanding the effects of these things on communication and interaction we are increasing and recognizing cognitive complexity so as to better approximate the halftones of this symbolically mediated real world. The meanings of signs and symbols are mediated by our experience and understanding of the world can never be the same for each person. Thomas Sebeok proposes that semiotics lies at the intersection of nature and culture. It is human nature to see and interpret signs but many of the signs we see are culturally adopted. However, we create our world of meaning by interpreting signs as we interact with objects in our environment and by personal experience. Having an understanding of Semiotics and its branches can help one to better understand their own psyche, as interpreting and finding meaning has much to do with self-disclosure. It also brings an understanding of others into the framework. The concept of semiotics and the ability to comprehend the notions can become a fortunate thing and be advantageous to the ability to communicate interpersonally, connect on a deeper level, and interact with other people and the world around References Barthes, Elements of Semiology (1967); A. A. Berger, Signs in Contemporary Culture: An Introduction to Semiotics (1988). Buchler, J. (Ed.). (1955). Philosophical Writings of Peirce. New York: Dover Innis, R. (Ed.). Semiotics: An Introductory Anthology. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press.1983 Sebeok, T. Contributions to the Doctrine of Signs.Lisse: Peter de Ridder Press.1976. Unknown, Steps towards Evolutionary Semiotics. Semiotica 132, 3/4 (317-342).2000

Great Divorce Essay examples -- essays research papers

This book is delightfully insightful in it is content. Lewis is the narrator of his story, which begins in Hell, a dreary town full of empty streets. Lewis uses a dream as the vehicle to carry his ideas. Lewis boards a bus for Heaven with other ghosts from the town. It is not until the last chapter of the book that the reader finds out that Lewis is actually having a dream. Lewis finds himself in a dark and dreary place, where the houses are gray and empty, a dismal rain never stops, and time is eternally stuck in the bleak period just before sunset. Walking through this abominable town, he happens to find a bus stop, which takes inhabitants out of this gloomy place and into a much brighter happier world. Slightly bewildered, Lewis boards the bus and begins a journey out of a city named Hell and into another city called Heaven. When he arrives at his destination, Lewis discovers that Hell’s inhabitants do not enjoy the beauty of this new land. In heaven, these people become ghosts because they are not strong enough to endure the substantive things of this world. The grass and water cut through their feet and even the tiniest object is to heavy for the ghosts to pick up. The rain would penetrate them like bullets would from a machine gun. The concept of Heaven being incredibly large and Hell being considerably small, smaller than a grain of sand is quite a comparison. The ghosts refused any help from the residents of heaven. One of the major mistakes the ghosts made was trying to conquer their struggles with their own powers. Time and again, Lewis sees the ghosts fail, but they still will not let go of what is holding them back. While Lewis is walking he meets George MacDonald who aids him in his journey through heaven. MacDonald tells Lewis that this journey is a dream, which will make clear to him that souls have a choice between Heaven and Hell and what that choice is. Lewis, at first, is unable to understand why the lost souls must be damned. However, he is finally persuaded that Hell is the only merciful solution for the lost souls. Passing by many sad spectacles of people from Hell, Lewis begins to understand, with the help of MacDonald, that these people must throw away everything and commit their lives to Christ. Whether a warning to or a reflection on society, the book stimulates thought and forces the reader to look inward at his or her own... ...ce too? Should not Christians weep over the lost? Should not we ask the Lord of the field to send laborers into His harvest (Luke 10:2)? Certainly! Lewis gives the reader a vivid account of how Heaven and Hell look like and what will happen once souls get there. I believe Lewis, through this book, was trying to show that people have a choice in whether or not they go to Heaven or Hell. People don't choose Hell with a full understanding of what they are doing. They don't have a clear picture of the eternal happiness they will miss or the everlasting separation and darkness they will endure. According to the Bible, Hell is a place of choice. As a result, the Bible repeatedly appeals to its readers to choose the way of life rather than the path of death and judgment. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul (Mark 8:36,37)? So, what must one do in order to get to heaven? Jesus says in order to go to Heaven you must be born again (John 3:7). Lewis never comes out directly and tells them you must be saved. He does it in a way that leaves the reader thinking the only way is through Jesus Christ.

Chinese Eating Manner vs. Korean Eating Manner

Compare and contrast essay: Chinese eating manner vs. Korean eating manner Different places and countries have different cultures and manners. China and Korea both are historical and traditional Asian countries, which have many traditional cultures and manners, including the eating manners. Even though their geographical position is close, there are similarities and differences between Chinese and Korean eating manner. There are some distinct similarities between Chinese and Korean eating manner.The first similarity is that they both use bowl and chopstick to eat, and no sounds are allowed when chopstick touches the bowl, for example like scratching rice from the bowl with chopstick. Different from western countries, most Asian countries use bowls instead of plates to carry food. It is impolite to make noise by tableware when eating. Another similarity is that, when eating with seniors, juniors only can start eating after seniors start.There is a traditional saying in Chinese called â€Å" respect for seniority†, let seniors to start eating first is a kind of showing respect to them. Similarly, in traditional Korean culture there are plenteous manners on respecting seniors, and start eating after they eat is one of the manners. Although there are a number of similarities, there are several differences between Chinese and Korean eating manner. The first difference is that Chinese prefer to hold the bowl when eating, and use chopstick so often.It is impolite to put down the bowl on table and just use one hand to eat. In contrast, it is not allow to hold the bowl when eating in Korea, also, spoon is much more important than chopstick in its manner. For example, though it is difficult to spoon up a bean sprout from a bowl, it is not allow to use chopstick for it. Another important difference is, in China both hands should be upon the table when eating. When holding a bowl to drink soup without using a spoon, the idle hand still needs to be upon the table.How ever, in Korea it is so impolite to show one`s left hand upon the table when eating, the left hand must be hidden under the table. Both the societies of China and Korea are changing and become much more open than they used to be. Many of their traditional cultures and manners have combined with other cultures or even disappeared, however, there are still differences. No matter which manners we prefer, they are all a kind of cultures, we should be respected to cultural differences.

Us Holiday

Learn more about holidays celebrated by many Americans, such as New Year's Day, Independence Day, and Thanksgiving. Americans celebrate a variety of federal holidays and other national observances throughout the year. American holidays can be secular, religious, international, or uniquely American. With the wide variety of federal holidays, and the many levels of American government, it can be confusing to determine what public and private facilities are open on or around a given federal holiday. You can usually find such information in the daily newspaper or by calling the office you wish to visit. The following are American federal holidays and other common national observances. Federal holidays are indicated as such. New Year's Day is January 1. The celebration of this federal holiday begins the night before, when Americans gather to wish each other a happy and prosperous coming year. Many Americans make New Year's resolutions. Martin Luther King Day is a federal holiday celebrated on the third Monday in January. The Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. was an African-American clergyman who is recognized for his tireless efforts to win civil rights for all people through nonviolent means. Groundhog Day is February 2, and has been celebrated since 1887. On Groundhog Day, crowds gather in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, to see if groundhog Punxsutawney Phil sees his shadow after emerging from his burrow, thus predicting six more weeks of winter weather. Valentine's Day is celebrated on February 14. The day was named after an early Christian martyr, and on Valentine's Day, Americans give presents like candy or flowers to the ones they love. The first mass-produced valentine cards were sold in the 1840s. Washington's Birthday is a federal holiday observed the third Monday of February to honor George Washington, the first President of the United States. This date is commonly called Presidents' Day and many groups honor the legacy of past presidents on this date. Easter falls on a spring Sunday that varies from year to year. Easter is a Christian holiday celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ. For Christians, Easter is a day of religious services and the gathering of family. Many Americans follow old traditions of coloring hard-boiled eggs and giving children baskets of candy. Earth Day is observed on April 22. First celebrated in 1970 in the United States, it inspired national legislation such as the Clean Air and Clean Water Acts. Earth Day is designed to promote ecology, encourage respect for life on earth, and highlight concern over pollution of the soil, air, and water. National Arbor Day was proclaimed as the last Friday in April by President Richard Nixon in 1970. A number of state Arbor Days are observed at other times to coincide with the best tree planting weather, from January and February in the south to May in the far north. The observance began in 1872, when Nebraska settlers and homesteaders were urged to plant trees on the largely treeless plains. Mother's Day celebrates mothers every second Sunday of May. President Woodrow Wilson, who issued a proclamation in 1914, asked Americans to give a public expression of reverence to mothers on this day. Carnations have come to represent Mother's Day, following President William McKinley's habit of always wearing a white carnation, his mother's favorite flower. Memorial Day is a federal holiday observed the last Monday of May. It originally honored the people killed in the American Civil War, but has become a day on which the American dead of all wars, and the dead generally, are remembered in special programs held in cemeteries, churches, and other public meeting places. The flying of the American flag is widespread. Flag Day, celebrated June 14, has been a presidentially proclaimed observance since 1916. Although Flag Day is not a federal holiday, Americans are encouraged to display the flag outside their homes and businesses on this day to honor the history and heritage the American flag represents. Father's Day celebrates fathers every third Sunday of June. Father's Day began in 1909 in Spokane, Washington, when a daughter requested a special day to honor her father, a Civil War veteran who raised his children after his wife died. The first presidential proclamation honoring fathers was issued in 1966 by President Lyndon Johnson. Independence Day is July 4. This federal holiday honors the nation's birthday – the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. It is a day of picnics and patriotic parades, a night of concerts and fireworks. The flying of the American flag is widespread. Labor Day is the first Monday of September. This federal holiday honors the nation's working people, typically with parades. For most Americans it marks the end of the summer vacation season and the start of the school year. Columbus Day is a federal holiday celebrated on the second Monday in October. The day commemorates October 12, 1492, when Italian navigator Christopher Columbus landed in the New World. The holiday was first proclaimed in 1937 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Halloween is celebrated on October 31. On Halloween, American children dress up in funny or scary costumes and go â€Å"trick or treating† by knocking on doors in their neighborhood. The neighbors are expected to respond by giving them small gifts of candy or money. Veterans Day is celebrated on November 11. Originally called Armistice Day, this federal holiday was established to honor Americans who had served in World War I, but it now honors veterans of all wars in which the U. S. has fought. Veterans' organizations hold parades, and the president places a reath on the Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia. Thanksgiving Day is a federal holiday celebrated on the fourth Thursday in November. In the fall of 1621, the Pilgrims held a three-day feast to celebrate a bountiful harvest. Many regard this event as the nation's first Thanksgiving. The Thanksgiving feast became a national tradition and almost always includes some of the foods served at the fir st feast: roast turkey, cranberry sauce, potatoes, and pumpkin pie. Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day is December 7. In 1994, Congress designated this national observance to honor the more than 2,400 military service personnel who died on this date in 1941, during the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, by Japanese forces. The attack on Pearl Harbor caused the United States to enter World War II. Christmas Day is a federal holiday celebrated on December 25. Christmas is a Christian holiday marking the birth of the Christ Child. Decorating houses and yards with lights, putting up Christmas trees, giving gifts, and sending greeting cards have become holiday traditions even for many non-Christian Americans.

Taoism Essays - Taoism, Chinese Philosophy, East Asian Religions

Taoism Essays - Taoism, Chinese Philosophy, East Asian Religions Taoism Philosophy of Mind in China Conceptual and Theoretical Matters Historical Developments: The Classical Period Historical Developments: Han Cosmology Historical Developments: The Buddhist Period Historical Developments: The Neo-Confucian Period Bibliography Introduction: Conceptual and Theoretical Matters Classical Chinese theory of mind is similar to Western folk psychology in that both mirror their respective background view of language. They differ in ways that fit those folk theories of language. The core Chinese concept is xin (the heart-mind). As the translation suggests, Chinese folk psychology lacked a contrast between cognitive and affective states ([representative ideas, cognition, reason, beliefs] versus [desires, motives, emotions, feelings]). The xin guides action, but not via beliefs and desires. It takes input from the world and guides action in light of it. Most thinkers share those core beliefs. Herbert Fingarette argued that Chinese (Confucius at least) had no psychological theory. Along with the absence of belief-desire explanation of action, they do not offer psychological (inner mental representation) explanations of language (meaning). We find neither the focus on an inner world populated with mental objects nor any preoccupation with questions of the correspondence of the subjective and objective worlds. Fingarette explained this as reflecting an appreciation of the deep conventional nature of both linguistic and moral meaning. He saw this reflected in the Confucian focus on li (ritual) and its emphasis on sociology and history rather than psychology. The meaning, the very existence, of a handshake depends on a historical convention. It rests on no mental acts such as sincerity or intent. The latter may accompany the conventional act and give it a kind of aesthetic grace, but they do not explain it. Fingarette overstates the point, of course. It may not be psychologistic in its linguistic or moral theory, but Confucianism still presupposes a psychology, albeit not the familiar individualist, mental or cognitive psychology. Its account of human function in conventional, historical society presupposes some behavioral and dispositional traits. Most Chinese thinkers indeed appear to presuppose that humans are social, not egoistic or individualistic. The xin coordinates our behavior with others. Thinkers differed in their attitude toward this natural social faculty. Some thought we should reform this tendency and try harder to become egoists, but most approved of the basic goodness of people. Most also assumed that social discourse influenced how the heart-mind guides our cooperation. If discourse programs the heart-mind, it must have a dispositional capacity to internalize the programming. Humans accumulate and transmit conventional dao-s (guiding discoursesways). We teach them to our children and address them to each other. The heart-mind then executes the guidance in any dao it learns when triggered (e.g., by the sense organs). Again thinkers differed in their attitude toward this shared outlook. Some thought we should minimize or eliminate the controlling effect of such conventions on human behavior. Others focused on how we should reform the social discourse that we use collectively in programming each others xin. Typically, thinkers in the former group had some theory of the innate or hard-wired programming of the xin. Some in the latter camp had either a blank page or a negative view of the heart-minds innate patterns of response. For some thinkers, the sense organs delivered a processed input to the heart-mind as a distinction: salty and sour, sweet and bitter, red or black or white or green and so forth. Most had thin theories, at best, of how the senses contributed to guidance. While it is tempting to suppose that they assumed the input was an amorphous flow of qualia that the heart-mind sorted into categories (relevant either to its innate or social programming). However, given the lack of analysis of the content of the sensory input, we should probably conservatively assume they took the nave realist view that the senses simply make distinctions in the world. We can be sure only that the xin did trigger reactions to discourse-relevant stimuli. Reflecting the theory of xin, the implicit theory of language made no distinction between describing and prescribing. Chinese thinkers assumed the core function of language is guiding behavior. Representational features served that prescriptive goal. In executing guidance, we have to identify relevant things in context. If the discourse describes some behavior toward ones elder, one needs a way correctly to

Euoplocephalus - Facts and Figures

Euoplocephalus - Facts and Figures Name: Euoplocephalus (Greek for well-armored head); pronounced YOU-oh-plo-SEFF-ah-luss Habitat: Woodlands of North America Historical Period: Late Cretaceous (75-65 million years ago) Size and Weight: About 20 feet long and two tons Diet: Plants Distinguishing Characteristics: Large spines on back; quadrupedal posture; clubbed tail; armored eyelids About Euoplocephalus Probably the most evolved, or derived, of all the ankylosaurs, or armored dinosaurs, Euoplocephalus was the Cretaceous equivalent of the Batmobile: this dinosaurs back, head and sides were completely armored, even its eyelids, and it wielded a prominent club on the end of its tail. One can imagine that the apex predators of late Cretaceous North America (such as Tyrannosaurus Rex) went after easier prey, since the only way to kill and eat a full-grown Euoplocephalus would be to somehow flip it onto its back and dig into its soft bellya process that might entail a few cuts and bruises, not to mention the occasional loss of limb. Although its close cousin Ankylosaurus gets all the press, Euoplocephalus is the best-known ankylosaur among paleontologists, thanks to the discovery of over 40 more-or-less complete fossil specimens (including about 15 intact skulls) in the American west. However, since the remains of multiple Euoplocephalus males, females, and juveniles have never been found heaped together, its likely that this plant-eater led a solitary lifestyle (though some experts hold out hope that Euoplocephalus roamed the North American plains in small herds, which would have afforded them an extra layer of protection against hungry tyrannosaurs and raptors). As well-attested as it is, theres still a lot about Euoplocephalus that we dont understand. For example, theres some debate about how usefully this dinosaur could wield its tail club in combat, and whether this was a defensive or offensive adaptation (one can imagine male Euoplocephalus bonking each other with their tail clubs during mating season, rather than trying to use them to intimidate a hungry Gorgosaurus). There are also some tantalizing hints that Euoplocephalus may not have been as slow and plodding a creature as its anatomy would indicate; perhaps it was able to charge at full speed when enraged, like an angry hippopotamus! Like many dinosaurs of North America, the type specimen of Euoplocephalus was discovered in Canada rather than the U.S., by the famous Canadian paleontologist Lawrence Lambe in 1897. (Lambe originally named his discovery Stereocephalus, Greek for solid head, but since this name turned out to be already preoccupied by another animal genus, he coined Euoplocephalus, well-armored head, in 1910.) Lambe also assigned Euoplocephalus to the stegosaur family, which was not quite as big a blunder as it may seem, since stegosaurs and ankylosaurs are both classified as thyreophoran dinosaurs and not as much was known about these armored plant-eaters 100 years ago as it is today.

Article synthesis Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Synthesis - Article Example The article suggests that one of the ways to solve the problems is what is referred to as communication strategies. This is because communication strategies have the ability to overcome the problems since it presents some logical organization of varied communication skills within certain theoretical framework. The article further discusses problems that are realized in communication skills, and identifies social barriers as some of the ways that affect communication skills. In conclusion, the article notes that there are still some problems that exist and there is a need to create further emphasis to enhance staff, patient’s satisfaction. This article has been able to analyze in details; the description of research question as well as hypothesis and description of their criticality on research process. Further, the article has emphasized on the criteria that is seen to be the best in identification of effective research questions. In details, the paper has sought to reveal the advantages as well as the disadvantages that may be experienced in the use of directional and non-directional hypothesis in research. Further, comparison has been made between research hypotheses and statistical hypothesis. The article has also identified the criteria used in critiquing a hypothesis as well as a research question and how this criterion may be used in evaluating research question and research hypothesis in a report. This article identifies professional skills that are needed as communication skills in a healthy work environment, and how this has a bearing on achievement of a positive outcome. The literature lays emphasis on the role of the manager in the facilitation of skilled communication. The article also focuses on the responsibility of individual nurse in becoming a communicator with skills. In providing detailed information so as to enable conceptualization of a Five-Factor Model of becoming a skilled

Homeland Security Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Homeland Security - Essay Example As an assistant to a state-level director of Homeland Security, I would ensure that the state security is not taken for granted and that all security personnel maintain a smooth communication process. This paper discuses how National Incident Management System (NIMS) and Incident Command System (ICS) model can benefit the state-level Homeland Security procedures. One of the major challenges that affect the security systems at the state-level is lack of coordination between different departments responding agencies especially during emergencies. This implies that for the security personnel to have the ability to deal with the security situations there is need to streamline communication between the agencies involved. Having been established in 2004, National Incident Management System aims at incorporating best practices into a comprehensive national approach to security measures. The concept of Incident Command System (ICS) was established in 1970 after the wildfire that hit Californ ia resulting to loss of 16 lives and huge destruction of the properties and burning of over one-half million acres burned (National Incident Management System, 2012). ... disasters response personnel and the agencies that are involved in the operations may be working in a different frameworks and team leaders as they are used to, NIMS and ICS model will be appropriate to improve coordination. Additionally, the model provides a formal command structure that allocates each of the tasks to a particular individual. This implies that as different agencies and units arrive at the scene of disaster or terrorism, they are aware of their duties an aspect that will make the homeland security achieve its objectives of offering maximum security. After the establishment of ICS, the leaders of Homeland Security led by Tom Ridge and Secretary Brown realized that police department, fire departments and most of the cities were effectively using it. However, some departments such as public works, law enforcement and public health were hesitant in adopting the ICS. This led to the adoption of NIMS as a way of ending such discrepancies. A notable importance of NIMS and I CS model that can benefit the state-level Homeland Security procedures is that it provides intelligence function that is aims at gathering and sharing related information and technology. For example, agencies involved during an incident can easily access intelligence that relates to classified information and national security. Additionally, the model allows sharing of information and proper communication on the matters relating to risk assessment, medical intelligence, structural designs of the buildings, weather information and toxic situation of the materials in the incident locations. One of the key aspect that makes ICS model to effectively deal with the security measures at the state level is the use of proven management tools that are offered by DHS during the ICS training programs.