Are You Creative

Are You Creative Per Steve Jobs: Creativity is just connecting things. When you ask creative people how they did something, they feel a little guilty because they didn’t really do it, they just saw something. It seemed obvious to them after a while. That’s because they were able to connect experiences they’ve had and synthesize new things. Writers question their creativity. They think it ought to be magic, something that travels down and strikes them out of the ether, when in actuality, creativity isnt so esoteric. While we think it just happens, in reality, it is the culmination of our experiences, our education, and our willingness to let loose of the manacles of rules. The more freedom you allow yourself, the greater your chance of creativity. What does that mean? 1) You avoid copying someone else. 2) You dare to be stupid, ridiculous, just down-right liberated from the norm. 3) You forget about embarrassment. 4) You think 100 percent about the creation instead of how well your creative genius can be marketed. Now, nothing says you cannot be creative in marketing/promotion as well. Again, you dont rely heavily on the how-to books, the classes, or the podcasts that tell thousands of people the secret of marketing. Sorry, but it quits being a secret and quits being quite so phenomenally effective when everyone is doing it. The only reason I might glance at those secrets is to figure out how to avoid what they did and forge an entirely different direction. For instance, selling books for free isnt as financially successful as before. I equate the freebie ebook gimmick to the writing about vampires trend that came and went. And if you are writing to any sort of fad, keep in mind that it too shall wane. Allow yourself to be weird, odd, and abnormal. We admire the people who do take the road less traveled and then find success. So why do we then try to be them, following their steps, copying their lessons, shadowing each move they make? Whywhen we ought to be creating our own path? Creativity takes boldness. Shortcuts are simply flashes in a pan and quickly forgotten.

The Role of Government in the Twentieth Century Essay

The Role of Government in the Twentieth Century - Essay Example Their was a desire for change in the culture of society. There were a lot of reforms and changes occurred in each phase of society and in all sections. The change was not only in the lifestyle of the people but also in the business and service sector. Their working method and environment was also changing according to their business. Some of the reforms and movements were Progressivism, new deal era, first and the second world war. These reforms changed the whole scenario of the 20th century. A detailed knowledge about these reforms will define the role of government and the response of people over these reforms. Progressive movement was started in 1889 but its importance was highlighted in the starting of 20th century. The progressive movement was based on the concepts of social justice, greater efficiency in government and social control. This movement was basically consisting of the middle class people and urban professionals. The people thought that the government should become more active regarding democratic reforms and in protecting laborers. Woodrow Wilson was the governor of New Jersey and became the president of United States in 1912. He started the Federal Reserve Act in 1913. This act provided the control of government over banking. He also introduced Federal Trade Commission Act that regulated the trade by taking commission from these trade corporations. He appointed commissioner to regulate these trades affairs. The appointment of these commissioners was not liked by progressives. The progressivism was exploited mostly by the white men. Women were the victims of progressivism. This resulted in the launch of National Women Party which fought against women suffrage. Black were also the sufferers of progressivism. Rich people were exploiting poor and hampering cultural ethics by making wrong use of progressivism. But above all its drawbacks progressive reform developed the culture, lifestyle, new trade methods and much more advancements. The government became more responsible towards the economic and social welfare. Middle class people became more conscious towards their right in the society. The banking procedure was changed and got under the control of government. Progressivism preserved the capitalist system. Progressivism introduced many democratic ideas from different parts of the society. This was the end of nineteenth century and progressivism was the major reform of this century Cities were the main attraction of progressive movement. The urban population wanted to develop the cities and make a place to live safer and healthier. Different parts of the society were now becoming active towards their common problem. These changes have to be done to civilize the cities without attracting America's economy. This was the main aim of progressive

Information Systems Strategy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Information Systems Strategy - Essay Example As the overall definition of strategy goes strategy is the direction and scope of an organisation with a long-term perspective that aims at putting the organization in an advantageous position by reorganizing its own resources to meet the challenging business environments. In the process, strategy tries to match the requirements of the market and to meet the demands of the stakeholders of the firm. Strategies do exist at different levels of the organization. Some strategies are formed at corporate level and few others are formed at the business levels. The overall strategies when broken down take the form of operational strategies. It is also imperative for any organization to have its systems regarding the collection and dissemination of information in place so that the top management of the firm is supplied with valid inputs for making effective managerial decisions affecting the business of the firm. A proper alignment of the business strategies and the information system strategi es will enable the firm to plan its resources more effectively to accelerate the growth of its business. With this background this paper makes a detailed report on the role the information system and information technology strategies play in the development of a business along with the potential benefits that may arise to the business out of the implementation of the information systems strategies along with the business strategies. 2.0 Role of Information Systems Strate

History of Black and Indian relations among the Florida Seminoles Essay

History of Black and Indian relations among the Florida Seminoles - Essay Example As early as 1689, Africans fled from British-American colonies to the Spanish controlled Florida in search of freedom. A new influx of these freedom-seeking blacks reached Florida during the American Revolution. During this Revolution, the American slaves agreed to fight for the British in exchange for liberty. They built settlements near the Seminoles as both had a common interest to escape slavery. They built separate villages of thatched-roof houses surrounded by fields of corn and swamp rice, and they maintained friendly relations with the mixed population of refugee Indians (Joseph A Opala). The Seminoles Indians also allied with the British for this fight. This brought the two – the Africans and the Indian Seminoles - into increased contact with each other. Members of both the communities sided with the British during the War of 1812. This helped them to solidify their ties. Gradually the two groups came to view themselves as part of the same organized tribe. Their relat ions solidified to such an extent that the US Government could not break them apart. Intermarriages and friendships were common. They became such close allies that they came to be known as the Black Seminoles. At this point when the Africans and the Indian Seminoles first came into contact, the Seminoles were themselves recent immigrants to Florida. The Africans adopted their clothing and the Indians acquired taste for rice and appreciation for their music and folklore. At that time, they were known as Gullahs.

Developing business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words - 1

Developing business - Essay Example be specific considering the underlying report discusses the growing dimensions with respect to different in sustainability in social and environmental factors as well as financial sustainability that is interpreted as going concern for business. In addition, the ways to reconcile the difference between two concepts, obstacles and future implications with respect to the operation and reporting are discussed. In due course, different conceptual aspect is noted and discussed with examples. Finally, the recommendation based conclusion is proposed to adapt the real sustainability imperative that brings financial, social and environmental aspects all on a single page. The raising concerns related to the adverse impacts that businesses are creating on society traces its history in the 1700. The concerns arose as a result of growing child labor and working conditions in factories and mines in UK. However, it was late in 1970s when the voice gained momentum and finally with the turn of the century, the concept is now set as among the priority concerns of the business (Honeyman, 2007 and Ceres, n.d.). The overall evolution of sustainability has grown from rejection for the concept of the transformation of business as shown waves of sustainability as follows: According to the definition put forward by United Nation’s Global Compact, a sustainability is an imperative for the for success in the long-term with the assurance that the business also delivers value all across the society (UN Global Pact, n.d.). However, the concept of value varies. For example, Golub, et al. (2000) discussed the value delivery to customers while Hartlen (2014) clearly states that the definition of value varies from the interest of one stakeholder to another. Hence, for providing the direction for value to the business, UN Global impact has identified five dimension of delivering value to the society. The five dimensions are depicted in the image below: All these collectively result in the

Functional Behavioural Assessment Case Study

Functional Behavioural Assessment Case Study Functional Behavioral Assessments for Sean Siobhan L. Healy Introduction Mrs. Valdez, a second grade teacher at Hacienda Elementary School, contacted me via email requesting my services regarding one of her students. Mrs. Valdez would like me to meet with her and several administrators, including the principal of Hacienda Elementary School, to discuss the student’s behavioral issues. The subject of concern is Sean, a 9 year old boy, who had been held back to repeat second grade due to his ADHD and the resulting inattentiveness and failing grades. Sean is described as a bright and lovable boy at school and at home but due to his (recently diagnosed) ADHD, he is often â€Å"inattentive† during class, jumps out of his seat and throws crumbled up school papers at peers when asked to complete a task. His lack of concentration and the inability to finish any task at school have earned him failing grades during the prior school year and parents and teachers fear that he may be failing second grade again, if nothing is done to help him. Sean’s parents are against any pharmaceutical medications to treat his ADHD and they have consulted with an herbal doctor to treat the condition. Now, Mrs. Valdez has asked me to develop a behavior intervention plan for Sean, in order for him to succeed academically and socially during the current school year. The operational target behaviors seen in Sean are, a) inattention, in form of not paying attention to teachers’ instructions and school work, b) out-of-seat behavior, defined as any time Sean’s behind was not making contact with his chair, and c) throwing items (i.e., crumbled up papers) at peers. If my interdisciplinary team and I are able to describe the specific purposes of a Functional Behavioral Assessment for Sean, to the Hacienda Elementary School administrators during the planning meeting, then we will be able to design and implement an effective treatment plan for this student based on the results of the proposed FBA. Functional Behavioral Assessments are used to determine why an individual exhibits certain behaviors and in what way the environment influences the individual and their behaviors. In the beginning, the method of analyzing behavior was created with the autistic and severely intellectually disabled population in mind, but it can be applied to any individual with problem behaviors. According to the State Board of Education, North Carolina (2015), â€Å"The reauthorized Individuals with Disabilities Education Act requires that a Functional Behavioral Assessment be conducted if a behavior was a manifestation of the disability or, as appropriate, for other disciplinary removals† (http://ec.ncpublicschools.gov). In many schools, the Individual Education Program Team (IEP team) develops an assessment plan to address problem behaviors. During IEP team meetings, target behaviors must be identified and specified. Decisions must be made about who will conduct each component of an FBA, and a timeline as to when the assessment will be completed is set. Usually, the IEP team will meet to discuss the assessment results and to design and implement behavioral interventions. Sometimes, The IEP team and members of a school administration need to bring in an independent team of experts in order to exhaust all possibilities of an effective FBA, especially in the case of Sean (State Board of Education, NC, 2015). Indirect Assessments are performed when information about antecedents, consequences, and critical variables, needs to be gathered indirectly via interviews, screening forms, and rating scales. The Indirect Assessments are considered an adjunct to direct measures, as the data gathered from these measures is usually not considered quite as reliable. However, Indirect Assessments are often the first procedures performed in an FBA because the observer is able to record meaningful observations and he or she may begin the construction of hypotheses about the function of behaviors rather quickly (Steege Watson, 2013). The interdisciplinary team would first assess Sean by conducting five general steps of a Functional Analysis. Step one would be a Functional Assessment Interview during which the team would question at least two or three persons who know Sean very well and who have been involved in the situations in which the behaviors occurred (most likely his parents and Mrs. Valdez). The interview would focus on identifying observable behaviors displayed by our referred student. For example, when addressing Sean’s â€Å"inattentive† behavior, the team should ask Mrs. Valdez, the teacher, to clearly and concisely describe the observable characteristics that constitute â€Å"inattentive† behavior. It is important to note during the interview, what function Sean’s behaviors serve. For example, his out-of-seat behavior may actually serve two different functions, one to get attention from his peers by jumping out of his seat, and two to escape from or avoid academic instruct ion from the teacher. This type of information will be relevant for the entire process of FBA, because, if the functions are different, the resulting interventions may be different as well (Steege Watson, 2013). With a typical ABC Assessment, when the interfering behaviors occur, the observer is expected to record those behaviors and the immediate antecedent and consequence variables. Observers often identify one immediate antecedent and one immediate consequence that occur during a behavioral event. For example, the ABC Interviewer could record the following in Sean’s classroom: A: Antecedent: Teacher, Mrs. Valdez, requests Sean to sit down and complete his task, B: Behavior: Sean jumps up, crumbles his school paper, and throws it at a peer, C: Consequence: Mrs. Valdez verbally reprimands Sean and sends him to the principals office. However, in this instance, a single ABC recording was not able to identify all of the relevant variables connected to this behavioral incident because, there were a number of additional incidents preceding this recording. Oftentimes, with the occurrence of a series of behavioral incidents, the observers verbally report or record only the final incident (S teege Watson, 2013). Thus, a Behavioral Stream Interview (BSI) could be performed in Sean’s case, in which contextual variables that are associated with the interfering behaviors, can be identified. This kind of interview centers on the idea that there are many variables, including individual, antecedent, and consequence variables in Sean’s environment that impact his challenging behaviors. These different variables often interact in a predictable manner and are not stagnant. Steege and Watson (2013), compare â€Å"the ongoing flow of behavior and related stimuli† to a river, â€Å"sometimes a stream that gently meanders through a meadow, and at other times a raging torrent rushing through mountainous canyons† (p.106). The BSI has the potential of identifying patterns by calculating the sequence in which the variables occur. It can be compared to a movie strip of several captured pictures in a sequence, unlike a single photograph â€Å"of a singular antecedent–behavior–consequence interaction (A-B-C)† (Steege Watson, 2013, p. 106). Furthermore, data could be collected through a questionnaire such as the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL; Achenbach, 1991, as cited in Sattler, 2002) which measures internalizing and externalizing problems in children and adolescents. The CBCL is designed for parents of children and adolescents ages 4 to 18 years old. The rationale for conducting the interview is to observe the target behavior. The reason for utilizing the CBCL is that it includes a Teachers Report form (TRF, Achenbach, 1991, as cited in Sattler, 2002). According to Sattler, the TRF has satisfactory validity. Functioning Assessment Screening Tools or a Motivation Assessment Scale may additionally be used. The Functional Behavioral Assessment Screening Form (FBASF) would be a particularly useful tool to record data about, a) interfering behaviors (i.e., target problem behaviors), b) behavioral strengths (i.e., characteristics that are functional and appropriate, adaptive behaviors, and skills), c) Reinforcers (i.e., stimuli that are preferred by the student, people, activities, and events), d) Communication skills (i.e., verbal expressions, gestures, signs, or devices). In the context of Sean’s case, his behaviors too, are not occurring randomly, but are caused by an interaction between antecedent, individual, and consequence variables (Steege Watson, 2013). Direct descriptive Functional Behavioral Assessments, on the other hand, are very powerful tools in school settings. They are powerful because the procedures center on direct observations of behaviors in situations and settings in which the target behaviors occur. Systematic observations, and not just mere indirect information lead to solid hypotheses on function and triggers of behaviors (Steege Watson). Therefore, step two in a Functional Analysis would be a Direct Observation and collection of data by observing Sean’s target behaviors directly. The team could do a Sequence Analysis by recording antecedents, behavior, and consequence (a Maladaptive Behavior Card can be used for this purpose). Furthermore, the frequency and rate of the behavior would be recorded. The frequency of occurrence per unit of time, for example, would be 30 behaviors divided by 20 min of observation = 1.5 behaviors per minute or about 3 behaviors every two minutes. Next, the duration of each behavior and the latency (which is the duration of time between a stimulus and a response) would be recorded, for example, how soon after the stimulus does Sean begin to jump up or throw paper balls at classmates (Carbone Zecchin, 2014). Step three deals with experimental manipulations if they are feasible based on the severity of the behaviors. This procedure enables the observer to empirically test the functions of the behavior. The situations in which the behaviors occur most frequently suggest the function of the behavior. In order to test for the functions of the maladaptive behavior, the interdisciplinary team would have to perform an Alone Condition Test in which Sean would be alone without any stimulation and then count if any aggressive behavior occurred within a 20 minute session. Next, an Attention Condition-Test is performed to find out if the behavior is maintained by attention. This involves engaging Sean in a preferred activity and if a maladaptive behavior occurs, the team would give him 10 seconds of attention after each occurrence of the target behaviors by saying â€Å"Sean, don’t throw anything at your classmate, you could hurt her!† The team would count the number of times the behav iors occurred and this session would last 20 minutes. Then, comes the Demand Condition – Test, which is designed to explore if a behavior is maintained by Escape or Avoidance. The interdisciplinary team will place Sean in a demanding task or situation and allow him to escape (or leave the situation) each time the target behavior occurs. The team would wait for about a minute and then direct Sean back to the demand situation or task, while keeping count of the number of times the behavior occurs. This session should also last 20 minutes (Carbone Zecchin, 2014). Last but not least, the Play Condition-Test will be performed, which is a control condition. In this scenario, the interdisciplinary team would place Sean in an enriched reinforcing environment, allow him to engage in preferred activities of his choosing, and count the number of times the behavior occurs. This session, again, will last 20 minutes. Step four will be a Functional Analysis Summary, to include a form/chart outlining the Functional Analysis Interviews conducted, the Direct Observation Data collected, and the Experimental Manipulation implemented. Step five will outline a Behavior Lesson Plan and after carefully choosing of an intervention, this will be called an Intervention Lesson Plan for Sean (Carbone Zecchin, 2014). In the literature by Steege Watson (2013),  The Conditional Probability Record (CPR) is a form that  allows the observer to simultaneously observe and record the  antecedents and consequences of behavior. The advantage of  doing so allows for the analysis of the likelihood  (probability) of a behavior given a particular antecedent and  the likelihood of a particular consequence following a  behavior (p. 134). Let’s say, we take a 5-minute excerpt from a 15-minute observation period, and it shows that Sean was out of his seat during 70% of the intervals, then, of the intervals in which Sean was out of his seat, 51% of those resulted in a verbal reprimand by Mrs. Valdez and 43% resulted in her physically guiding Sean back into his seat. Therefore, Seans out-of-seat behavior resulted in some form of attention by Mrs. Valdez in 94% of the intervals. On the other hand, when Sean was working on his assigned tasks, it resulted in no attention, verbal or physical, from Mrs. Valdez. So, only in 29% of the intervals in which Sean was working on his tasks, was Mrs. Valdez near him. Therefore, one of the hypotheses is that Seans out-of-seat behavior is maintained by Mrs. Valdez’ attention because doing so is more than three times as likely to result in some form her attention than working. During these observations, there may be some influence by Sean’s peers in the form of looki ng at him (23% of the intervals) or cheering him on (18%), however these consequences were not as probable as Mrs. Valdez’ attention. Additionally, there also appears to be a negative reinforcement because Sean is able to escape from the assigned task by getting out of his seat. Antecedent and consequent possibilities are verified by further observation and analysis (Steege Watson, 2013). The interdisciplinary team could complete a Functional Behavioral Assessment Observation Form (FBAOF) for Sean. This is an assessment procedure involving direct observation and recording data of interfering behaviors and contextual variables. The FBAOF is generally used to record â€Å"behavioral episodes† or â€Å"behavioral incidents† that involve one single interfering behavior. The observer uses an FBAOF each time the interfering behavior occurs to record, 1) Date and time of day, 2) Setting events (i.e., activities, tasks, places, etc.), 3) Antecedents (i.e., events that appear to trigger the behavior), 4) Behavior (i.e., the defined interfering/target behavior), 5) Consequence (i.e., events following the interfering behavior), 6) Effect (i.e., change in rate or intensity of occurrence of the behavior), 7) Staff (i.e., person recording the data, working directly with Sean). Should the interdisciplinary team use the FBAOF, they must differentiate between an †a ntecedent† and a â€Å"setting event.† The antecedent is a precipitating variable (i.e., a specific event triggering a behavior), while the setting event is just the general situation that the behavior occurred in (Steege Watson, 2013). Last, but not least, the interdisciplinary team could utilize the Task Analysis Recording Procedure (TARP), which is an effective â€Å"procedure for teaching functional life skills and for progress monitoring† (Steege Watson, 2013, p. 146). It is used for documenting a person’s level of performance on specific tasks, instructional procedures, identification of effective and ineffective instructional prompts, and to document levels of occurrence of interfering behaviors, especially in the context of instructional programs (Steege Watson, 2013). TARP is a useful tool for recording a decrease of interfering behaviors, while, at the same time, documenting an increase in desirable and appropriate behaviors. For example, we could use the TARP data recording in order to measure Sean’s occurrences of negative behaviors within a social or classroom setting, while, at the same time, recording any desirable behavior, such as doing his assigned tasks independently. This procedure is mostly used in individuals with autism who reside in group homes but TARP could be used in Sean’s case because of his ADHD diagnosis and being in a â€Å"group setting† (classroom) (Steege Watson, 2013). It is important for the interdisciplinary team to put emphasis on the vast selection of indirect and direct descriptive FBA procedures. In many cases, a combination of both types in an assessment process is adequate for an assessment and an understanding of behavioral functions. A comprehensive mixture of several procedures can lead to the design of effective intervention plans (Steege Watson, 3013). References Carbone, V. J., Ph.D., BCBA Zecchin, G., BCABA. (2014). How to conduct a  Functional Assessment Develop Behavior Plans to reduce Problem Behavior.  Retrieved on March 10, 2015 from  http://armstrong.edu/images/psychology/FunctionalAssessment.pdf Public Schools of North Carolina. State Board of Education. (2015). Functional Behavior   Assessment. Retrieved on March 10, 2015 from http://ec.ncpublicschools.gov/instructional-resources/behavior-support/resources/functional-behavior-assessment. Sattler, J. (2001). Assessment of children: Cognitive applications (4th ed.) La Mesa, CA:  Jerome M. Sattler. Steege, M.W., Watson, T.S. (2013). Conducting School-Based Functional Behavioral  Assessments, Second Edition. Guilford Press. VitalBook file.

How Does A Firm?s Pricing Poli :: essays research papers

How does a firm’s pricing policy relate to the product’s life cycle? When a company launches a new product, it knows the product won’t last forever. However, the company does expect to earn a satisfactory profit to cover all the effort and risk that went into launching it. A firm can never accurately predict the lifetime of a product, but the lifetime involves four distinct stages. These four stages are collectively known as the Product Life Cycle (PLC). The first stage is the introduction stage, when the product is first launched. Sales growth tend to be low as consumers are ‘introduced’ to the existence of the product. At this stage therefore, profits are negative or low because of the low sales and high distribution and promotion expenses. Much money is needed to attract distributors and build their inventories. Promotion spending is especially high to inform customers of the new product and get them to try it. One of the biggest launches in recent history is that of the DVD player. Not only is this a new product, it’s a whole new market. Industry executives have named DVD-Video the "Medium of the Millennium" and boast that DVD-Video is the fastest growing new packaged media format launch in history with close to 5.4 million DVD-Video players shipped to retail since the format launched nationally in the U.S. in autumn 1997 (Consumer Electronics Association). The outlook for next year is equally promising. The DVD Entertainment Group estimates that hardware shipments will double to eight million DVD-Video players in 2000. And, based on the success of the format exceeding all previous forecasts that number could be even higher. The group also estimates that the installed base will more than exceed 10 percent of US households, a benchmark of success for a consumer electronics product. The surge in hardware sales is a positive boost for retailers. In 1999, DVD-Video hardware represented more than $1 billion in retail sales. This includes stand-alone players only and does not include DVD-ROM drives or other home theater products. There are now nearly 70 DVD Video player models marketed under 30 different consumer electronics brands. In only its third year in the marketplace, DVD-Video player prices have declined significantly. According to Intelect ASW, the average price sold for a DVD-Video player was $298 in November, down 30 percent from $428 at the same time last year. Some players and models are available for less than $200 making the format accessible to the mass market.