Innovation

CREATIVITY REATIVITY Report produced for the EC funded project INNOREGIO: dissemination of innovation and knowledge management techniques by Dr Eleni Sefertzi J A N U A R Y 2 0 0 0 CREATIVITY 1 Contents 1 Description 1. 1 1. 2 1. 3 1. 4 1. 5 What is Creativity Objectives of Creativity Description /structure of the methodology /alternative solutions Expected results /benefits Characteristics of providers 2 Application 2. 1 2. 2 2. 3 2. 4 Where Creativity development has been applied Types of firms /organisations concerned Implementation cost Conditions for implementation Implementation Brainstorming Story boarding Lotus Blossom Checklists Morphological Analysis Mapping Process The Excursion Technique Computer-based creativity techniques Artificial Intelligence models of creativity Idea processors software Visualisation and graphical systems Spatial representation tools 4 Bibliographic references Annexes Table 1: Stimulus to extend perspective to approach a problem Table 2: Brainstormi ng Phases Table 3: Osborn’s Checklist Figure 1: Lotus Blossom sample INNOREGIO project Dr E. Sefertzi CREATIVITY 1 1. 1 DESCRIPTION What is Creativity There are many definitions of creativity. A number of them suggest that creativity is the generation of imaginative new ideas (Newell and Shaw 1972), involving a radical newness innovation or solution to a problem, and a radical reformulation of problems. Other definitions propose that a creative solution can simply integrate existing knowledge in a different way. A third set of definitions proposes that a creative solution, either new or recombined, must have value (Higgins 1999).A novel idea is not a creative idea unless it is valuable or it implies positive evaluation. Also, according to dt ogilvie (1998), imagination, which involves the generation of ideas not previously available as well as the generation of different ways of seeing events, is important to achieve creative actions. To combine this variety of definitions, w e can say that creativity involves the generation of new ideas or the recombination of known elements into something new, providing valuable solutions to a problem.It also involves motivation and emotion. Creativity â€Å"is a fundamental feature of human intelligence in general. It is grounded in everyday capacities such as the association of ideas, reminding, perception, analogical thinking, searching a structured problem-space, and reflecting self-criticism. It involves not only a cognitive dimension (the generation of new ideas) but also motivation and emotion, and is closely linked to cultural context and personality factors. † (Boden 1998).According to Boden (1998), there are three main types of creativity, involving different ways of generating the novel ideas: a) The â€Å"combinational† creativity that involves new combinations of familiar ideas. b) The â€Å"exploratory† creativity that involves the generation of new ideas by the exploration of structu red concepts. c) The â€Å"transformational† creativity that involves the transformation of some dimension of the structure, so that new structures can be generated. Creative thinking in a disciplined manner can play a real role in innovation. Creativity and innovation are normally complementary activities, since creativity generates the basis of innovation, which, in its development, raises difficulties that must be solved once again, with creativity†¦It is not possible to conceive innovation without creative ideas, as these are the starting point. † (European Commission 1998). Innovation results when creativity occurs within the right organisational culture. The right organisational culture is one that provides through creativity processes (creative techniques) the possibilities for the development of personal and group creativity skills.We can define creativity IMT as the establishment of skills by implementing creativity generation techniques. 1. 2 Objectives o f Creativity Main objectives of a creative thinking process is to think beyond existing boundaries, to awake curiosity, to break away from rational, conventional ideas and formalised procedures, to rely on the imagination, the divergent, the random and to consider multiple solutions and alternatives (Candy 1997, Schlange and Juttner 1997). INNOREGIO project Dr E. Sefertzi CREATIVITY 3 The result of the creative thinking process is especially important for businesses.Managers and managerial decisions and actions, confronted with fast-changing and ambiguous environments in business, need to develop creative solutions and creative action-based strategies to solve problems, as they allow to increase understanding of problematic situations, to find multiple problems, to produce new combinations, to generate multiple solutions that are different from the past, to consider possible alternatives in various situations that could occur in the future and â€Å"to expand the opportunity horizo n and competence base of firms† (dt ogilvie 1998). . 3 Description / structure of the methodology / alternative solutions Creativity is not an innate quality of only a few selected people. Creativity is present in everyone. It can be learned, practised and developed by the use of proven techniques which, enhancing and stimulating the creative abilities, ideas and creative results, help people to move out of their normal problem-solving mode, to enable them to consider a wide range of alternatives and to improve productivity and quality of work. Creativity is thus constructed as a learned ability that enables us to define new relationships between concepts or events, which seemed apparently unconnected before, and which results in a new entity of knowledge† (European Commission 1998). Knowledge and information are the basis for creativity. The scientific research is recently oriented towards the development of creativity as an educational process. Many studies show that c reative abilities can be developed by the implementation of creativity techniques (see Mansfield, Busse and Krepelka 1978, Parnes and Brunelle 1967, Rose and Lin 1984, Taylor 1972).Concrete creativity supporting techniques, including also computer-based support tools (artificial intelligence models, computer software idea processors, information systems, etc. ), are developed to promote and generate creativity, to break fixed ideas, to stimulate imagination, as well as to define the conditions in which creativity takes place (the creative environment or climate). Using such techniques, a company aims to â€Å"incorporate the employees’ potential of creativity into the process of performance creation† (Bullinger 1999).There are numerous creative techniques, which are also classified in many ways (Higgins 1994). In general, a certain type of question or a certain area of application (such as marketing, product or service development, strategic and decision planning, desi gn, quality management, etc. ) often calls for a certain type or a certain group of creativity techniques. The description of some well-known and basic techniques and their implementation procedure is presented in session 3.A classification for these techniques can be made between analytical techniques and intuitive techniques. Analytical techniques follow a linear pattern of thought or sequence of steps, such as the â€Å"5 Ws and H† technique (it asks the questions who, what, when, where, why, and how) and have better application for very specific, analytical questions (Higgins 1999). They stimulate different ways of organising known information and help approach problems from new angles (Miller 1987). Intuitive techniques are less structured techniques.They tend to skip steps in a sequence and tend to provide a whole answer all at once, such as the â€Å"wishful thinking† technique (based on ideal possibilities and solutions), and they are more appropriate for ill-d efined questions (Higgins 1999). INNOREGIO project Dr E. Sefertzi CREATIVITY 4 Another classification can be made between techniques that are more appropriate to generate creativity in individuals, and techniques, which generate creativity in groups undertaken within work groups. Improving personal creativity for individuals involves enhancing the individual’s use of intuition and reducing mental blocks creativity, such as fear of failure. At the group level it requires team building and other efforts to enhance the use of group dynamics to achieve creativity and innovation† (Higgins 1996). However, this classification is not rigorous, since many group idea generation techniques can also be used by individuals. On the other hand, the individual and the group are two main agents that always interact in the process of creativity in business and industrial innovation. Creativity is an attribute of the individual, though generally it can only be developed efficiently when i t is tackled within a group of team. For this reason, most creative techniques are proposed and undertaken within the framework of specific work groups, within companies or other organisations† (European Commission 1998). A third classification might be between creative techniques that rely upon divergent thinking and techniques that rely upon convergent thinking.Divergent thinking is the generation and the free flow of ideas and it demands considerable discipline, which is aided by the introduction of rigorous techniques forcing divergence toward many alternatives. Convergent thinking, on the contrast, demands techniques of filtering and focus to identify the ideas that have a truly innovative value, to converge on an acceptable solution (Hall 1996). Divergent and convergent thinking are complementary phases of a procedure, since divergence helps forcing towards many alternatives and possible options before convergence on an appropriate solution.Fundamental concepts for all c reative techniques are: †¢ The suspension of premature judgement and the lack of filtering of ideas. †¢ Use the intermediate impossible. †¢ Create analogies and metaphors, through symbols, etc. , by finding similarities between the situation, which we wish to understand and another situation, which we already understand. †¢ Build imaginative and ideal situations (invent the ideal vision). †¢ Find ways to make the ideal vision happen. †¢ Relate things or ideas which were previously unrelated. †¢ Generate multiple solutions to a problem.Main points to increase or encourage creativity in a company are: †¢ to be happy, to have fun †¢ keep channels of communication open †¢ trust, failure accepted †¢ contacts with external sources of information †¢ independence, initiatives taken †¢ support participatory decision-making and employees’ contribution †¢ experiment with new ideas 1. 4 Expected results / benefits Crea tivity, through the generation of ideas with value, is needed in order to solve concrete problems, ease the adaptation to change, optimise the performance of the organisation and best practice manufacturing, and change the attitude of the staff of theINNOREGIO project Dr E. Sefertzi CREATIVITY 5 organisation. Creative thought processes are also important at all stages in the R&D process. Some expected results of the creativity process are: †¢ innovation through new product and process ideas †¢ continuous improvement of products or services †¢ productivity increase †¢ efficiency †¢ rapidity †¢ flexibility †¢ quality of products or services †¢ high performance 1. 5 Characteristics of providers The implementation of creative techniques within work groups, requires the assistance and advise of external consultants.One or two consultants, experts in creative techniques, is normally enough to undertake the implementation process in a company. His/he rs job normally consists of presenting the different techniques and their application method, defining the problem to be studied for the participants, initiating and clarifying the rules of the technique, gathering the necessary data and information to approach the problem, stimulating the generation of ideas of participants, and evaluating the ideas before proceeding to put them in practice.Training of management staff by experts may also be very useful. Management staff must be trained to stimulate creativity in employees, to provide motivation, to facilitate a creative climate and to encourage the use of creative techniques. Managers can also be trained to implement creative techniques by themselves. 2 APPLICATION Creativity processes are used regularly by many private and public sector organisations of all sorts in manufacturing, services, banking, or construction companies.Big firms such as Xerox, AT&T, Frito-Lay, as well as car manufacturing firms, software development firms, railroad pharmaceutical firms etc. , use creativity techniques to increase efficiency and quality, especially in their research, strategic planning and marketing departments. Small firms and innovative R&D organisations, such as biotechnology companies (Arlington 1997), are also becoming to implement creative techniques in order to solve problems and to improve the use of skills, techniques and processes.Creativity techniques may be applied in almost any functional area of the company: strategic planning, corporate business strategy, product development, improvement of services, functional strategy, finance, human resources, marketing, management of collection of information, product design, software design, quality management, etc. 2. 1 Where Creativity development has been applied INNOREGIO project Dr E. Sefertzi CREATIVITY 6 Nearly all innovation management techniques that can be applied in companies (BPR, benchmarking, TQM, MRP II, employee involvement, marketing of innovation, etc. require also the implementation of creativity techniques. For example, in the Innovation Programme of DG XII of European Commission, besides other innovation management techniques, creativity techniques have been applied in the following IMT projects (see European Commission 1998): -INVENT (Pro. 006) – Implementation of a Method for Targeted Economic-Oriented Research in SME Invention Management. – IMPACQT (Pro. 008) – PARTNERS (Pro 010) – Promotion of Innovation Management Techniques in the field of Sub-Contracting. IDEAS (PRO 017 – Integrated Product Development Expertise Applied to SMEs. – PRIISME (Pro 029) – Promoting of IMTs in ISRAELI SMEs. – Programme to Create New Activities in SMEs (Pro 045). – MARKPRO (Pro 050) – Implementation of Market Oriented Product Innovation in Danish SMEs 2. 2 Types of firms / organisations concerned Creativity techniques can be implemented by all firms and public organisati ons that confront with problem solving and focus on innovation in processes, products or services.In case where the implementation of creative techniques is focused on the support of personal creativity, such as to support individual designers work for new product development, or to support individual scientists work in the laboratory, very small firms or a person can implement creative techniques for individuals. In case where the company focus is to increase group creativity and to create environments where a collaborating team work creatively together, the firm must have at least 20 employees, including 3 members as management staff. 2. 3 Implementation costThe application of creativity techniques is a continuum process. Sessions of creativity within work groups normally take place at company facilities during normal hours and working conditions. The implementation of a creative technique includes the following costs: †¢ The fee of an external consultant for 4-7 days work fo r undertaking a session of creativity (preparation, application, evaluation). †¢ The cost of software packages developed for personal computers or workstations (if necessary). Hardware and equipment must permit to deal with network communications. Training cost (2-4 days) (if necessary). Cost: from 3000 to 7000 Euro. 2. 4 Conditions for implementation Concerning the implementation of creative techniques, some of them are easy to apply, while others need some infrastructure, experts, work teams, training, collection of INNOREGIO project Dr E. Sefertzi CREATIVITY 7 information, resources, etc. In this case, the assistance of an external consultant is required. Besides the support of external consultants, the company itself must encourage creative environment.This implies the participation of all workers in the concerns of the company, and an open and flexible attitude on the part of management. According to Higgins (1999) factors to encouraging the creative work climate are: â₠¬ ¢ A secure environment with minimal administrative interference. †¢ An organisational culture that makes it attractive and easy for people to discover and solve problems. †¢ Rewards for employee performance and enhancement of intrinsic motivation. †¢ Managerial willingness to take risks for creativity and innovation, as well as an open and flexible attitude on the part of management. Providing people with formal and informal training to enhance creativity. Important conditions for implementation of creative techniques within work groups in a company are also the existence of well-trained human resources, a clear strategic definition of the company and to focus on the core competencies of the company (European Commission 1998). For solving complex problems requiring input by many areas, i. e. marketing, engineering, design, the company would preferably be one employing multidisciplinary teams. 3 IMPLEMENTATION PROCEDUREAs mentioned before, there is numerous creativit y supporting techniques. The description, in an illustrative manner, of some well-known creative techniques for problem solving will be presented here. See also Annex, Table 1, the use of some stimulus that can extend perspectives to approach a problem. Brainstorming This is one of the best known and most used in the business world group based creativity process for problem solving. It is a method of getting a large number of ideas from a group of people in a short time.It can be used for generating a large number of ideas or solutions for well-defined strategic or operational problems, such as for engineering design processes. It forms also a basic framework or constitutes the initial phase for the implementation of many other groups based on creative techniques. Brainstorming sessions take place in a group of 6-10 people. The presence of a leader is necessary to stimulate the generation of ideas, as well as a preparation phase to gather the necessary data and information to approa ch the problem. A recorder writes the problem statement and the idea generated by the group on a white board.Several guidelines for brainstorming are available, such as suspend judgement, free wheel, quantity, and crossfertilise. The whole process takes normally one hour and can be conducted through several stages. The session begins with stating the problem and calling for solutions by the leader. The following stages can be: restate the problem in the form of â€Å"How to†¦Ã¢â‚¬ , select a basic restatement and write it down as â€Å"In how many ways can we†¦Ã¢â‚¬ , warm-up session, brainstorming, and identify wildest idea. An evaluation method is additionally used for to identify the ideas that have a value for implementation.The four basic rules of brainstorming are: a) no criticism and no prior judgement of any idea, b) all ideas, INNOREGIO project Dr E. Sefertzi CREATIVITY 8 even the absurd, are welcome, c) quantity has value, the more ideas the better, if a larg e quantity of ideas is generated, then the idea pool very likely would contain high-quality ideas, d) sharing and combining ideas, and constructing ideas based on those developed by other members of the group for producing new ideas. See: Osborne (1963), Rawlinson (1981), Chen (1998), Higgins (1996), European Commission (1998).See also Annex, Table 2: Brainstorming phases. A special type of brainstorming tool is PMI in which the participants are directed to brainstorm the Plus points, then the Minus points and finally the Interesting points (De Bono 1992, 1993). Related to brainstorming, which is characterised by verbal communication, is also the hand-written communication as a brain-writing technique. The process is that ideas generated by individuals are written down on a piece of paper, and then exchanged and combined with those of the other individuals in the group.Written ideas are circulated and read by the other participants in the group each of whom, in turn, write down new ideas. A variation of this hand-written communication is the 6-3-5 method in which each of the 6 participants in the group generates and writes 3 ideas related to the problem on a piece of paper in 5 minutes. After 5 minutes, each participant passes the piece of paper to the person on the right, who reads it and adds 3 new ideas in 5 minutes. The process continues until each participant gets the original piece of paper back (European Commission 1998).Electronic brainstorming is also a hand-written communication technique, which employ computerised programs to achieve brainstorming. Story boarding It is a creativity technique for strategic and scenario planning based on brainstorming and used mainly by groups. It requires a leader, a secretary and takes place in a group of 8-12 people. The leader arranges the ideas generated by brainstorming in a logical order on a white board creating a story. This technique allows identify the interconnections of ideas and how all the pieces fit to gether.It can be used to identify issues, problems, solve a complex problem and determine ways to implement solutions. The story boarding process includes four phases: a) planning, b) ideas, c) organisation and d) communication. Each phase includes a creative session (it takes 45 minutes) and a critical session, in which participants critique their story board. †¢ The planning phase begins with the problem definition or the issue being examined the topic header. Purpose header, a miscellaneous column and other, normally 1012, headers (column titles) are laced and brainstormed in order to give Ideas and then items, which are listed under the headers (the purpose header is listed first). †¢ The second phase – the ideas board, is to take one column from the planning board, which becomes the topic header and the items of that column become headers of new ideas. †¢ In the third phase – the organisation board, participants identify who is responsible for imple menting chosen solutions, what has to happen, and when. †¢ In the last phase – the communication board, participants identify who must communicate with for all of the events identified in the organisation board to take place.Through the process, visual graphics to summarise or present relevant points are presented by the leader. These might be strategic models, places or things (Higgins 1996). INNOREGIO project Dr E. Sefertzi CREATIVITY 9 Lotus Blossom This technique can also be used in scenario planning and is very useful for forecasting strategic scenarios. It is designed for groups and is used to provide a more in-depth look at various solutions to problems. It begins with a central core idea surrounded by eight empty boxes or circles. Using brainstorming, eight additional ideas (solutions or issues) are written in these boxes.In the next step, each of these eight ideas becomes the core of another set of eight surrounding empty boxes, which are filled in by new ideas using brainstorming. The process continues until a satisfactory solution or a sufficient number of ideas have emerged (Higgins 1996). See Annex, Figure 1: Lotus blossom sample. Checklists This creative technique is used mainly for product improvement or modification. It involves applying a series of words, verbs, adjectives or phrases contained in checklists or tables to an existing product or service or its attributes.Osborn’s Checklist is the best known and includes the verbs: put to other uses, adapt, modify, magnify, minify, substitute, rearrange, reverse and combine. Each verb contains also an expanded definition in the form of questions. For example, the description of the verb substitute is: Who else instead? What else instead? Other ingredient? Other material? Other process? Other power? Other place? Other approach? Other tone of voice? (Osborn 1963). The method is to apply each of the verbs and its expanded description to a product or service. See Annex:, Table 3: Os born’s checklist).Another checklist technique is Van Gundy’s PICL (product improvement checklist). Used in the same way as Osborn’s list, gives many options containing 792 words, both standard and unique, that can be applied to existing products or services, and 102 stimulation questions (Van Gundy 1988, 1993). Morphological Analysis This method is another product improvement technique, permitting the in-depth analysis of products or processes. It involves applying a set of words to an item another set of words. Normally, one set of words is verbs and the other set are attributes of the product.Another way is that one set of words would be components of the product (breaking the product down into its parts) and the other set of words would be alternative solutions. The method is to combine each word of one set with each word of the other set. These two sets of words result in a two-dimensional matrix. A three dimensional matrix can be created by adding a third l ist of factors. The difficulty of this technique is the large number of ideas deriving of the multiple combinations that can be made (Higgins 1996, European Commission 1998).Mapping Process The use of maps is particularly useful in strategic management thinking in organisations, helping to organise discontinuities, contradictions or differences, and bring pattern, order and sense to a confusing situation, acting as a spatial representation of a perspective. There are many forms of mapping, including computer-based tools to support mapping: †¢ Mind Mapping It is an individual brainstorming mapping technique designed by Tony Buzan. It begins with a central focal point, a problem, an object, a name or issue, written inINNOREGIO project Dr E. Sefertzi CREATIVITY 10 the centre of a piece of paper with a circle around it. Each major facet of the problem or the solution to the problem originating from the central idea is then brainstorming in order to generate new ideas. Each of those ideas are then written on lines drowned outward from the circle. The next step is to brainstorm those ideas in order to identify issues related to the problem, or solutions that are written on smaller lines that are drowned on the prime lines forming a branch.Additional perspectives such as implementation factors or further definition of the solutions could go on those lines. One branch may also be chosen in order to develop a whole new mind map based on that branch. When a mind map is completed, its possible interrelations and possible multiple appearances of issues, and its overall meaning in the context of the problem must be examined (Buzan 1983). †¢ Mapping for generate collective creativity The use of maps to support collective creativity is a more complicate process.It is necessary to introduce appropriate maps into a suitable type of organisation that would preferably be one employing multidisciplinary teams. It is also important that the participants find the maps use ful for organising and planning their work. The mapping process usually involves three phases: 1st phase starts with a brainstorming exercise in order to initiate a discussion around the problem or the product. Normally, the participants are asked to mention all aspects they regard as relevant to the problem to be dealt with.During this process a large number of visual references are used to elicit the perspectives of the members with regard to the potential new concept. It is emphasised to the participants that the maps are intended to enrich the conversation, and should not be perceived as representations of the concept itself, but more as the semantic terrain or space, which covers all potential strategies. The knowledge elicited is discussed, and in about 2 hours is organised and structured by the participants into a map that intuitively understand.This map is the initial cognitive map, which describes all the problematic areas in brief outlines. In the 2nd phase of the process, which serves to expose the individual participants’ perspective both to themselves and to the other members of the group, the participants discuss the values that they associate with a very large range of objects and images. A number of these images are then selected that are considered to metaphorically represent potential aspects of the product strategy.In the 3rd phase, these images and appropriate annotations are arranged in a twodimensional space, positioning the images depending upon how the values of these objects relate to one another. In doing this, the group is mapping out a terrain constituted by the differences between the images, expressing the range of different product strategies open to the group (Fentem, Dumas & McDonnell 1998). For creating maps, many software applications are available (see further down in computer-based creativity techniques).The Excursion Technique Is a very useful technique for forcing a group to have new thought patterns to formulate s trategies. The process involves five steps (see Higgins 1996): In the 1st step – the excursion – the consultant asks participants to take an imaginary excursion to a physical location (a museum, a jungle, a city, another planet, etc. ), which INNOREGIO project Dr E. Sefertzi CREATIVITY 11 has nothing to do with the real problem. After the excursion each participant writes down 8-10 images, which he/she saw during the journey (things, people, places or items) in the 1st of 3 columns.In the 2nd step, the consultant asks participants to draw analogies or express relationships between what they saw on the excursion and the problem as defined, and to write them in the column 2 next to each of the items identified in the first column. In the 3rd step, participants are asked to determine what solutions to their problems are suggested by the analogies or the relationships in column 2, and write them in column 3 beside the items and analogies identified in the other columns. In the 4th step, participants share their xperiences from the excursion: what they saw, their analogies and their solutions. In the 5th step, as with brainstorming, participants may discuss on each other’s ideas. Eventually the leader helps the group come to a common solution or a set of solutions to the problem. Computer-based creativity techniques Computer-based supporting techniques to stimulate the human creative process have an immediate and pragmatic aim, which is the implementation of computational models (computer software) for generate and organise ideas for creative work.They are used more frequently in research planning, product design, knowledge acquisition, decisionmaking, motivation, etc. We can distinguish groups of computerised creativity techniques, such as AI models, Idea Processors systems and visualisation and graphical systems. AI (artificial intelligence) models of creativity AI deals with solving non-quantified, unstructured problems. Its task is about kn owledge representation and reasoning and to built intelligent, rational, and autonomous agents. Current AI models of creativity involve different types and appropriate techniques of supporting the generation of new ideas.According to Margaret Boden (1998), in respect to the three types of creativity, there are also three main types of computer models that involve: a) The stimulation of the combination of ideas, mainly by using analogies in the sense that associated ideas shares some inherent conceptual structure. b) The exploration of structured concepts, so that novel and unexpected ideas result. It requires considerable domain-expertise and analytical power to define the conceptual space and to specify procedures that enable its potential to be explored. ) The transformation of a problem, so that new structures can be generated which could not have arisen before. New solutions to a problem can be created with transforming a problem into a new problem, solve the new problem and the n adapting the solution back to the original problem. AI employs symbolic approaches for creative problem solving and includes stimulus such as heuristics, search, weak methods, knowledge representation and reasoning to facilitate problem structuring and idea generation. The focus of AI creativity techniques in the form of computerised programs, is to help users to take a fresh look at roblems by guiding what may be a user’s otherwise undisciplined intuition through a series of INNOREGIO project Dr E. Sefertzi CREATIVITY 12 problem-solving exercises, and to think in non-linear et non-logical ways. The main advantage of computerised, guided problem solving is that the programs prompt a user for ideas in a thorough manner. Recent programs of AI include also knowledge-based approaches, using large-scale databases and narrative systems (Chen 1998). AI researches have also developed efficient search algorithms for problem solving.Some AI programs of creativity are: – The Co pycat program that looks for analogies between alphabetic letter-strings (Hofstadter, FARG 1995, Mitchell 1993). – The EURISKO program a transformational system with also an exploratory process that can be applied to a wide range of domains. – The AARON program for exploring line drawing in particular styles and colouring (McCorduck 1991). – The BACON program of exploratory AI-creativity designed to model scientific discovery (Langley, Simon, Bradshaw and Zytkow 1987).Idea Processors software Idea processors have a close relationship with artificial intelligence and use many artificial intelligence techniques. Idea processors are normally software packages developed for personal computers or workstations. They are used for idea generation and organisation in some specific stages of problem solving acting as knowledge-support systems (Chen 1998). In order to assist the human thinking, idea processors usually perform extensive search in large databases, knowledge bases, or text bases. For many idea processors the electronic brainstorming is the most important technique to generate ideas.The use of computer programs helps to de-structure and then to restructure thinking in a different way. The Idea Generator Plus program provide seven components to the user, that permit to go through a step-by-step problem analysis and solution finding process: examine similar situations, examine metaphors, examine other perspectives, focus on goals, reverse the goals, focus on the people involved, and make the most of the ideas (Nirenberg 1985). In another program, the IdeaFisher, using hypertext databases from Fisher Idea Systems Inc. , all entries in the database are cross-referenced by concept and association.It uses a giant cross-referenced text base of words and phrases representing concepts and images enhanced by a series of questions (see also spatial hypertext systems). The program also allows to generate new ideas based on combination of words by cr eating a list of people, animals, verbs, adjectives and phrases that are associated with the combination of two words that a user choose. Some other programs related to an idea processor are: The Ideatree system with an exploratory focus, linking laterally or hierarchically concepts that exist into the idea-boxes of the program.The Emergent Media Environment (EME), an interactive computer system that integrates facilities for supporting the generation, collection, organisation and presentation of ideas and advises about the divergence and convergence of the ideas. The GENI (GENerating Ideas) experimental system incorporates a variety of techniques to assist in making different types of connections: internal connections (between elements of the focal problem itself) and external connections (between the focal problem and external factors). INNOREGIO project Dr E. Sefertzi CREATIVITY 13There are also many idea processors programmes available on the Internet (most of them are commercia l products) including the following: http:/ideaprocessor. citi. doc. ca http:/www. maxthink. com http:/www. ozemail. com. au http:/www. inspiration. com http:/www. signet. com. sg/axon2000 Visualisation and graphical systems Computer support methods, such as visualisation of data and graphical techniques for marking up visual phenomena and expressing knowledge about data in rule form, are also available. Visualisation of data and graphical techniques are very important to support creativity.They involve working with visual data such as images, drawings, sketches, diagrams, charts, graphs, graphical objects, that are specific to the domain, and they take the form of expressing ideas and concepts through sketching, annotation and examining multiple or alternative views of the same data, all of which varies according to the domain of interest. There are many such systems giving various opportunities to the users. A visualisation system, the Inspiration (from Inspiration Inc. ) provides a blank canvas in which the user can quickly record and arrange ideas as they occur and allows a visual approach to organising thoughts.The system can also change the relationship between ideas and connect related ideas by dragging kinks between them to create a graphical map of the users thinking. Another visualisation system is Axon 200 used for creating complex flowcharts or concept diagrams and describes how different factors or events influence each other. It uses checklists and visual attributes such as colour, shape, size, scale position, depth, link and icon. It also creates relationship diagrams, which allow the user to represent multiple relationships between various visual objects on the screen (Chen 1998).Visualisation systems are also very important in design such as the Speech Knowledge Interface (SKI) system that support rapid graphical interaction with visual images, the Vehicle Packager Knowledge Support System (VPKSS) that aids designers at the conceptual stage of the design process (Candy 1997). Spatial representation tools In relation with visualisation systems, there are also computer-based tools, such as computer-based information and communication systems, for supporting representations and creating cognitive maps in two-dimensional spaces.Some representations use a specific notation, others use spatial proximity to indicate the relationship between objects (usually words relating to concepts) in the spaces, and others, used in marketing and design departments called â€Å"mood boards†, use collections of images as metaphors that reflect the quality aspects of the product strategy (Fentem, Dumas and Mcdonnell 1998). †¢ Kelly Repertory Grid technique is a knowledge elicitation tool used in the marketing, management and expert systems development. It analyses data using principal components analysis (PCA) software and produces a map by plotting the INNOREGIO project Dr E. SefertziCREATIVITY 14 first two components. The map pro duces a spatial positioning of text with respect to dimensions that are significant or correspond to the personal constructs that the participant member uses to categorise and evaluate the world (Kelly 1955). An Internet version of this tool is Webgrid. Available at http://www. cpsc. ucalgary. ca/ †¢ Spatial Information Systems These systems have been designed to support creativity by mapping objects (concepts, text objects, design requirements and parameters) into two-dimensional spaces, using various combinations of ‘knowledge processing’ and multivariate statistical analysis techniques.Users can also select an area of this space and to create a new space by reprocessing using principal components analysis (PCA) only the data associated with the objects lying within this subspace (Fentem, Dumas and Mcdonnell 1998). For example, one of these systems searches research papers for the frequency of certain keywords and uses a type of PCA to analyse the results of this search and represent these keywords and the papers within a common twodimensional space (Sugimoto, Hori, Ohsuga 1996). Another system named En Passant 2 stores researcher’s notes and triggers to recall and to reconsider.The users can browse their notes and view relations among them interactively (Aihara, Hori 1998). Spatial hypertext systems These systems have been designed for the â€Å"exploration of alternative structures for content, and applications in which the domain structure is not well understood at the outset, or changes during the course of a task†. In spatial hypertext, the links between nodes are conveyed implicitly by arranging the nodes in the space. â€Å"Nodes appear in different contexts through multiple spatial references to the same underling content† (Marshall and Shipman 1995).The users are presented with a window that acts as a work- space in which they organise their material. The nodes arranged in the space represent links to familiar objects such as documents, images, comments, and links to WWW hypertext pages, plus more unique structures known as ‘composites’ and ‘collections’. Marshall and Shipman’s VIKI spatial hypertext system, for example, was designed to support new product development, helping teams to make sense of the many diverse kinds of business-related material relevant to the new product, by assisting them in arranging it spatially. †¢ 4BIBLIOGRAPHIC REFERENCES (1) Aihara, K. , Hori, K. (1998), â€Å"Enhancing creativity through reorganising mental space concealed in a research notes stack†, Knowledge-Based Systems, No. 11, pp. 469-478. Arlington, S. (1997), â€Å"Accelerating drug discovery: creating the right environment†, Drug Discovery Today, Vol. 2, No. 12, pp. 547-553. Boden, M. A. (1998), â€Å"Creativity and artificial intelligence†, Artificial Intelligence, No. 103, pp. 347-356. Bullinger, H. J. (1999), â€Å"Turbulent times requi re creative thinking: new European concepts in production management†, Int. J. Production Economics, No. 0-81, pp. 9-27. Buzan, T. (1983) Use Both Sides of Your Brain, Dutton, New York. (2) (3) (4) (5) INNOREGIO project Dr E. Sefertzi CREATIVITY 15 (6) (7) (8) (9) (10) (11) (12) (13) (14) (15) Candy, L. (1997), â€Å"Computers and creativity support: knowledge, visualisation and collaboration†, Knowledge-Based Systems, No. 10, pp. 3-13. Chen, Z. (1998), â€Å"Toward a better understanding of idea processors†, Information and Software Technology, No. 40, pp. 541-553. De Bono, E. (1992), Serious Creativity, Harper Collins, London. De Bono, E. (1993), De Bono’s Thinking Course, Facts and on File, New York. t ogilvie (1998), â€Å"Creative action as a dynamic strategy: using imagination to improve strategic solutions in unstable environments†, Journal of Business Research, No. 41, pp. 49-56. European Commission (1998), Innovation Management Techniques i n Operation, European Commission, Luxembourg. Fentem, A. C. , Dumas, A. , McDonnell, J. (1998), Knowledge-Based Systems, No. 11, pp. 417-428. Hall, D. J. (1996), â€Å"The role of creativity within best practice manufacturing†, Technovation, Vol. 16, No. 3, pp. 115-121. Higgins, J. M. (1996), â€Å"Innovate or evaporate: creative techniques for strategists†, Long Range Planning, Vol. 9, No. 3, pp. 370-380. Higgins, J. M. (1994), 101 Creative Problem Solving Techniques: the Handbook of New Ideas for Business, The New Management Publishing Company, Florida. (16) Higgins, L. F. (1999), â€Å"Applying principles of creativity management to marketing research efforts in high-technology markets†, Industrial Marketing Management, No. 28, pp. 305-317. (17) Hofstadter, D. R. , FARG (1995), Fluid Concepts and Creative Analogies: Computer Models of the Fundamental Mechanisms of Thought, Basic Books, New York. (18) Kelly, G. A. (1955), The Psychology of Personal Constructs, Norton. (19) Langley, P. , Simon, H.A. , Bradshaw, G. L. and Zytkow, J. M. (1987), Scientific Discovery: Computational Explorations of the Creative Process, MIT Press, Cambridge, MA. (20) McCorduck, P. (1991), Aaron’s Code, W. H. Freeman, San Francisco, CA. (21) Mansfield, R. S. , Busse, T. V. and Krepelka, E. G. (1978), â€Å"The effectiveness of creative training† Review of Educational Research, Vol. 48, No 4, pp. 517-536. (22) Marshall, C. C. , Shipman, F. M. (1995), â€Å"Spatial hypertext: designing for change†, Communication of the ACM, Vol. 38, No. 8, pp. 88-97. (23) Miller, W. (1986), The Creative Edge, Addison-Wesley, Reading, MA. (24) Mitchell, M. 1993), Analogy-Making as Perception, MIT Press, Cambridge, MA. (25) Newell, A. and Shaw, J. C. (1972), â€Å"The process of creative thinking†, in A. Newell and H. A. Simon (eds), Human Problem Solving, Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ, pp. 144-174. (26) Nirenberg, G. (1985), The Idea Generator, Ex perience in Software, Berkeley, CA. (27) Osborne, A. F. (1963), Applied Imagination: Principles and Procedures of Creative Thinking, 3rd ed. , Scribner, New York. (28) Parnes, S. J. and Brunelle, E. A. (1967), â€Å"The literature of creativity†, Journal of Creative Behavior, Vol. 1, No 1, pp. 52-104. (29) Rose, L. H. and Lin, H. T. 1984), â€Å"A meta-analysis of long-term creativity training programs†, Journal of Creative Behavior, Vol. 18, No 1, pp. 11-22. (30) Rawlinson, J. G. (1981) Creative Thinking and Brainstorming, Gower, UK. (31) Schlange, L. E. , and Juttner, U. (1997), â€Å"Helping managers to identify the key strategic issues†, Long Range Planning, Vol. 30, No. 5, pp. 777-786. INNOREGIO project Dr E. Sefertzi CREATIVITY 16 (32) Sugimoto, M. , Hori, K. , Ohsuga, S. (1996) â€Å"A system to visualise different viewpoints for supporting researches’ creativity†, Knowledge-Based Systems, No. 9, pp. 369-376. (33) Taylor, C. W. (1972), †Å"Can organisations be creative, too? , in C. W. Taylor (ed. ), Climates for Creativity, Pergamon Press, New York, pp. 1-15. (34) Van Gundy, Jr. A. B. (1988), â€Å"Product improvement check list†, New Product Development Newsletter, New Jersay. (35) Van Gundy, A. B. Jr. (1993), Techniques of Structured Problem Solving, Chapman & Hall, London. INNOREGIO project Dr E. Sefertzi CREATIVITY 17 Annexes Table 1: Stimulus to extend perspectives to approach a problem †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ List the elements that would bring on success. List the elements that we visualise as failure. Visualise success seen from the viewpoint of fifty years from now.Visualise success seen from the perspective of one hundred years ago. Look for impossible and desirable ideas. Create analogies with other things that have been successful. Imagine and write down ideas that are wild, illegal, crazy, etc. Insert the problem from its present scenario to a totally different scenario. Return from the fantasy scenario to the present scenario and try to associate the ideas generated in the fantasy scenario, with ideas that might apply to the real problem. Imagine what people we admire would say. Search for pairs of ideas that are apparently unconnected and that can be associated by a third.Imagine that everything exists and all we have to do is find it. Change the level on which the problem is approached. Source: European Commission, Innovation Management Techniques in Operation, European Commission, DG XIII, Luxembourg, 1998. Table 2: Brainstorming Phases Phase Orientation Preparation Warm-up Production of ideas Application Define the problem to be studied for the participants, clarify the rules of the game. Gather data and information necessary to approach the problem in an efficient manner. Carry -out the exercise: redefine a problem different from the one to be studied, experiment with it for a few minutes. Generate the maximum of ideas without prior judgement – always ask â€Å"what else† – quantity of ideas is quality – no limits – no criticise – modify other’s ideas to produce new ones. Let the subconscious work. Gather the ideas generated – analyse them – work with logical thinking. Evaluate the ideas gathered and analysed – develop and combine them before proceeding to put them in practice. Incubation Syntheses Evaluation Source: European Commission, Innovation Management Techniques in Operation, European Commission, DG XIII, Luxembourg, 1998. INNOREGIO project Dr E. Sefertzi CREATIVITY 18 Table 3: Osborn’s Checklist Question Put to other uses?Adapt? Description New ways to use as is? Other uses if modified? What else is like this? What other idea does this suggest? Does past offer parallel? What could I copy? Whom could I emulate? New twist? Change meaning, colour, motion, sound, odour, form, shape? Othe r changes? What to add? More time? Greater frequency? Stronger? Higher? Longer? Thicker? Extra value? Plus ingredient? Duplicate? Multiply? Exaggerate? What to subtract? Smaller? Condensed? Miniature? Lower? Shorter? Lighter? Omit? Streamline? Split up? Understate? Who else instead? What else instead? Other ingredient? Other Material? Other process? Other power?Other place? Other approach? Other tone of voice? Interchange components? Other pattern? Other layout? Other sequence? Transpose cause and effect? Change pace? Change schedule? Transpose positive and negative? How about opposites? Turn it backward? Turn it upside down? Reverse role? Change shoes? Turn tables? Turn other cheek? How about a blend, an alloy, an assortment, an ensemble? Combine units? Combine purposes? Combine appeals? Combine ideas? Modify? Magnify? Minify? Substitute? Rearrange? Reverse? Combine? Source: J. M. Higgins, â€Å"Innovate or evaporate: creative techniques for strategists†, Long Range Planning , Vol. 9, No 3, pp. 370-380, 1996 (reprinted from Alex Osborn, Applied Imagination, Charles Scribner’s & Sons, Inc. , New York). Figure 1: Lotus blossom sample INNOREGIO project Dr E. Sefertzi CREATIVITY 19 1 by packaging 4 smaller / bigger 6 other material 2 by design A product differenti ation 7 change color 3 other uses 5 plus ingredient 8 change meaning A product differentiati on D lower cost F supply flexibility B product quality core idea: increase product consumption G product credibility C customer needs E service quality H competitors product strategies B C D E F G H INNOREGIO project Dr E. Sefertzi

Independent Behaviour

iINDEPENDENT BEHAVIOUR (12 MARK ESSAY) Some reasons people show signs of independent behaviour (i. e. do not conform or obey) is influence by many factors, Gender being one of them. Neto carried out the same study as Asch, but this time all the participants were female (as in Asch’s study they were all male). In Asch’s study he found that 37% of the participants conformed, whereas Neto found that 59% conformed. However Asch’s study was criticized for lacking ecological validity and Neto’s study is a replication of Asch.As the participants were not in a natural situation Linz and Semykina took data from a survey of over 2,600 Russian employees between 2000 and 2003. They found that men are more likely to have internal Locus of Control and a need for challenge and women more likely to exhibit external locus of control and need for affiliation (belonging to a group). High Internal females earned more than external women. The fact there is a large sample size of 2600 means the findings are reliable, good sample size.However it can be argued that there is a potential cultural bias as the data was only taken from Russian employees. When Asch debriefed his participants, he found a common factor of confidence in the people who hadn’t conformed if someone felt confident in their judgments; they were more able to resist group pressure. This idea is supported by Perin and Spencer’s study. They replicated Asch’s study with engineering students. Conformity levels were much lower. Perin and Spencer attributed this to the fact that engineers had confidence in their skills in making accurate observations.

Performance & reword Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Performance & reword - Essay Example The influences could be positive or negative during this journey, but such influences also affect the future course as well and the spirit with which the team members are working decides the future course of the achievements as well. Ans-2: The contemporary job design theories outline a set of functions, components and tasks depending upon the organization settings, based upon the requirements of the organization and the capabilities of the individual. While the meta-process of finalizing minute details helps the organization in attaining the desired heights, it also helps in the individual by way of improving quality of work experience and greater freedom and flexibility (Dolan and Schuler, 1994). Therefore, positive motivations help in a better experience while negative motivations result in adversely impacting the work culture. Motivation in simplest terms can be defined as a means of providing motives. At times, the lack of any positive motivation by the managers often results in an automatic provisioning of negative motivation. How somebody makes use of his/ her efforts towards a goal is determined by the motivating/ de-motivating factors. It is through their behavior that employees give expression to their commitment to work, level of motivation and their attitudes. The performance appraisal and review process helps the management in motivating the performance levels of deserving candidates while providing an opportunity to the one's lagging behind. Organizational goals and objectives can also be achieved if the workforce is able to work with desired levels of motivation. Buyens and De Vos (2001) contend that, "strategic HRM is the linking of the HR function with strategic goals and objectives of the organization in order to improve business performance and develop organizational cultures that foster innovation and flexibility". It is worth mentioning here that the individual feel motivated when they find that their requisite needs are being fulfilled in the process. The Maslow's hierarchy of needs is an important tool to assess the needs of the people in general. Ans-3: Strategic HR management is supposed to align organizational targets with those of the individual and the teams. Mahy et al (2005) contend that a company designs its HR policies to maximize profits, for which the company makes use of job incentives. Such incentives play key role in influencing the attitude of the worker. Thus the incentives turn into profits for the company. If due attention is paid to the periodic feedbacks from the workers, it goes a long way in shaping the policies of the company and provides it an edge in taking on the competitors. For example, Coca Cola the leading icon in a range of beverage products clearly underlines the importance of synchronizing the career requirements of workers with the company's requirements. It states1, "Our Company, your career, together we grow." Considering its people as its greatest asset, the company comes out with a benefit statement which states2, "The Coca-Cola Company values the health and well-being of our employees and provides a variety of market-competitive benefits programs to address employees' benefits needs." It is indeed worth pointing out that company clearly finds a link between maximizing

Analysis of the Strategic Situation of HTC, the Mobile Phone Handset Essay

Analysis of the Strategic Situation of HTC, the Mobile Phone Handset Firm - Essay Example The main objective of the paper is to undergo strategic situational analysis of HTC which is a mobile phone handset firm. It will attempt at preparing a SWOT analysis of the company. The study will also focus upon Porter’s five forces model as well as industry life cycle analysis. In order to comprehend the resources held with the company, the study will make use of the value chain analysis. PESTEL analysis will be conducted in order to comprehend the macro environmental factors affecting the products and the services of the company. Porter’s Five Forces Model In order to recognise the competitive scenario of the smartphone industry in which HTC operates, the Porter’s five forces analysis can be quite applicable. Entry Barriers There are several barriers that prevent companies from entering into the smartphone industry. A few of the barriers that may work in favour of HTC need to be determined. High fixed cost, which is required for research and development, is c onsidered to be one of the biggest barriers to entry into the industry. High brand recognition of the established companies is considered to be other barrier to entry for the new firms since people prefer to purchase goods from those companies that they trust (Scribd, 2012). Bargaining Power of Buyer It has been observed that the bargaining power of the buyers of smartphone is quite high. There are innumerable substitutes available in the smartphone industry. The product differentiation is quite low in comparison to the competitors. The demand for smartphones is generally elastic because of the fact that they are not indispensable products (Scribd, 2012). Threat of Substitutes Products There are various substitutes available for smartphones which are generally utilised for mobile phone’s admittance to information. There are a few substitute products available in the market, which include laptops, cell phones, pagers and organisers. The cellular phones as well as laptops offer the services that are needed by most of the customers in terms of access to information for the consumers. The different complements that the consumers can use for the smartphones are e-mails along with maps, internet applications as well as software that are available over the phones (Scribd, 2012). Rivalry There is high competition in the smartphone industry and even though there are few strong competitors, the industry does not endorse numerous organisations. This is because of differentiation. Although there is greater differentiation between the casual as well as the professional users for smartphones there is limited capability to differentiate it. There is negligible scalability in order to generate more number of software by not directing the market to a small number of firms (Scribd, 2012). When customers purchase a regularly utilised product, they tend to put greater emphasis upon quality instead of price. There is minimum differentiation for price and the companies with recognized low quality as well as fewer budgets for research and development will face difficulties in competing within the market. Bargaining Power of the Suppliers The phones are normally assembled making use of the components from numerous suppliers. Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) has

New Aldonias Admission to the United Nations Assignment

New Aldonias Admission to the United Nations - Assignment Example l States that love peace and those that accept the obligations documented in the UN Charter; in the organization’s judgment, are capable of carrying out these obligations. From the history evidenced in New Aldonia, it is quite satisfying that this State has tried its best to keep peace through fighting for their independence, thus showing they respect the rights of their citizens, giving a reason enough to be admitted to the United Nations. According to the Montevideo Convention initiated in 1933 on Statehood, the criteria are: a defined territory; the capacity to relate well with different nations; a permanent population, and a government (Fassbender 36). New Aldonia meets all these conventions and there is no reason enough to exclude its membership. The legal and political existence of New Aldonia is independent of recognition by other nations. Even before recognition, New Aldonia has the right to protect its independence and integrity, since it provides its prosperity and conservation. New Aldonia should organize itself as it sees fit, to enact upon its interests, for the reason that it has already defined the competence and jurisdiction of its courts, and also administered its services to justify that UN should admit

Bitcoin and its effect on microeconomics Research Paper

Bitcoin and its effect on microeconomics - Research Paper Example Some people ask themselves why Bitcoins. People can use them to buy goods and services anonymously. Another key reason why people prefer this kind of currency is the fact that they make international payments, not only easy, but cheap as well. This is because the currency does not belong to any country, and there is no a single country that regulates it. Many small businesses prefer them because they do not have fees like some medium of exchange, for example, the credit cards. Some investors buy this currency for investment purposes. For example, some buy them hoping that the value would go up in the future (Böhme, 2013). One may wonder how they could acquire the currency. There are numerous marketplaces where individuals can buy and sell the currency using other currencies like the dollar or Euro. These marketplaces referred as Bitcoin exchanges. People store Bitcoins in digital wallets existing in their user’s computer. It is like a virtual bank account and allows the owner of the Bitcoins to send them or receive them, save them, or pay for products or services. One of the key effects of Bitcoins is the fact they would reduce trade barriers. This would not only increase the global income, but also the global production. A key reason why Bitcoins would reduce trade barriers is the fact that there is no a single country that regulates or controls them. Therefore, there is no transaction friction. Individuals can make transactions easily and fast (Böhme, 2013). There are no transaction costs. The fact that there is no intermediary like a bank makes transactions fast. The fact that there are no additional charges makes goods and services cheaper. This increases the consumer surplus and so is their utility. People can afford more and cheaper goods, which increases their level of satisfaction. They would boost

Healthcare Information Systems Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Healthcare Information Systems - Essay Example Alternatively, the discipline is divided into four different categories; the clinical information systems, strategic decision support, management and e-health applications. In the healthcare information systems, the clinical information system is the kind of system that supports patient care. Alternatively, this system entails the computerized patient record systems, patient monitoring systems, automated medical instrumentation, nursing information systems, clinical decision support systems, pharmacy information systems and the laboratory information systems (Ginter, 2013). Most of these systems tend to support clinical education and research. In the contemporary word, the clinical information systems tend to create a significant competitive advantage due to its effectiveness and efficiency when it comes to patient care (Ginter, 2013). The clinical information systems also act as a health problems dictionary for clinicians since they offer a perfect background of patient’s health. Management information system or rather the administrative information system is the type of system that tends to support different health care areas apart from the direct patient care. In most cases, the management information system includes the financial information systems, payroll, human resources systems, materials and facilities management, purchasing, billing, office automation, outpatient clinic scheduling among others (Wager, 2013). Also known as the strategic information system, this healthcare information system attempts to take immense unorganized data quantities and turn the data into useful information that enables administrators to make better decision (Ginter, 2013). Most of these decisions regarding the information systems involve the organization of data and the interpretation of the output involved. E-health application is a contemporary term in health care practice that is mainly supported by electronic communications

Catcher in the Rye Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

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Digital marketing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

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International Relations paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

International Relations paper - Essay Example The geopolitics is significant in modern international affairs, as it keeps the countries engaged in forming and maintaining strategic relationships with each other and makes even a single country dominate the whole world on the basis of power. The geopolitical influence that is exercised by the United States across different regions of the world remains unchallenged by any country in the world. Being the most powerful and hegemonic country in the world, it has its say in the political and economic landscape of almost every country. Understandably, United States has not achieved this dominance coincidently; rather this happens to be a fruit of continued endeavours of the country to expand its economic, political and military power across the globe. This paper evaluates and elaborates the extent of US geopolitical influence and strategic dominance over the geographically significant regions such as the Middle East, Central Asia and Southeast Asia. The geopolitical objectives of the United States mainly encompass its conventional policies to conserve a significant share of world oil, to ensure a secure supply of energy resources, to dominate its existing and potential competitors, and most importantly to protect the existence of the state of Israel from any regional threats. Most of the US influence across the world signifies the same interests. Whether it is the critical state of regional stability in the Middle East, the pipeline politics in Central Asian Caucasus region, or its strategic influence in the Southeast Asia, the United States tends to play a significant role in shaping the regional and political landscape across the world. As Bromley (2005, p226) clearly illuminates that, "the routeing of pipelines, the policing of shipping lanes and the management of regional influences all depend heavily on US geopolitical commitments." Re-mapping of the Middle East The geopolitical influence in the Middle East allows United States not only to control regional politics, but also renders the oil dependent Western World as subordinate to US imperial objectives. In the wake of the 9/11 attacks, the re-mapping of Middle East has remained as one of the very important strategic objectives of the United States Perthes (2004, p85) assets that, "the U.S. administration has embraced the cause of bringing a "new order" to what it calls the Greater Middle East". The post attack invasion of Iraq and the subsequent plans to curtail Iran's nuclear expansion, happen to be a part of this goal. All the US strategies employed in the Middle East's expansion as well as democratisation rests on the objective of fostering a secure region for the state of Israel. Curtailing any threats posed to the existence of Israel by any country in the Middle East and preserving US dominance happen to be on the top of the American strategic targets in the region (Cantori, p102, 200 5) Zanoyan (2003, p108) illuminates that the pre-eminent strategic objective of US presence in Iraq happens to be of the transformation of its regime into a government that is friendly to US plans in the region. In this way, US envisages not only to curtail the roots of terrorism but also to protect Israel from any potential radical Islamic threat. A regime change in Iraq also supports the US objective of strengthening Israel while culminating the ascending Palestinian

Thank you letter Sample Essay Example for Free

Thank you letter Sample Essay I am writing you today to extend my sincere thanks. I am one of the recipients of the (Scholarship Name) for this academic year, and I am both grateful and excited to be presented with such an honor. This is my second year attending (Name of University) as a computer engineering student. Furthering my education is very important to me, and I’m glad that there are people like you who are willing to help indigent students like me. This semester, I will not need to worry about covering the costs of my classes and my books. I will be able to go to class with academic worries instead of financial ones. You have made a huge difference in my life. I appreciate the resources that you continue to provide. I will do my best to make this another successful semester. Thank you again for the generous contribution which made my scholarship possible. Sincerely, What is mobile technology and what are the benefits? Mobile technology is exactly what the name implies – technology that is portable. Mobile IT devices include: †¢ Laptop computers. †¢ Palmtop computers or personal digital assistants. †¢ Mobile phones and ‘smart phones’ – high-end phones with more advanced capabilities. †¢ Global positioning system (GPS) devices. †¢ Wireless debit/credit card payment terminals. Mobile devices can be enabled to use a variety of communications technologies such as; †¢ Wireless fidelity (WiFi) – a type of wireless local area network technology. †¢ Bluetooth – connects mobile devices wirelessly. †¢ ‘Third Generation’ (3G), global system for mobile communications (GSM) and general packet radio service (GPRS0 data services – data networking services for mobile phones. †¢ Dial-up-service – data networking services using modems and telephone lines. †¢ Virtual private networks – secure access to a private network. It is therefore possible to network the mobile device to a home office or the internet while travelling. 1. Weapons and Defensive Equipment Most police officers in most countries carry weapons, such as firearms. The handgun is the most popular weapon carried by an officer. In addition, some officers choose to carry stun/Taser guns, pepper spray, rubber bullets and batons. Officers also typically are equipped with handcuffs in case they need to restrain unruly suspects or perpetrators. For defensive purposes, one of the most important pieces of defensive gear a police officer can have is a bulletproof jacket or vest. These will protect the officer in the event of gunfire, stabbing or similar injury. Youll also find police officers keep gas masks on hand in case of contamination or pollution. Communication Devices Because police officers dont always know the seriousness of a situation before they arrive on the scene, it is important they have a way to keep in touch with each other and the station in case they need to call for backup. Handheld radios and walkie-talkies help them stay in touch with each other. Their vehicles are also equipped with radios, so they can hear alerts when they go out from the station. In addition, more and more police cars have computers installed, which allows officers to run license plates, perform background checks or relay important information. Also, most officers carry whistles, flashlights and ticket books. Vehicles and Transportation Police officers drive several different types of vehicles. Patrol cars are most common, and come outfitted with sirens and light bars. Unmarked cars are also used in undercover situations. Police can also utilize motorcycles or bicycles when patrolling on the road. In addition, specialized operations may call for the use of trucks, ATVs, watercraft, helicopters or airplanes. Police may even patrol on horseback. INTRODUCTION In an age where technology has become an increasingly important part of our everyday lives, technology has also given criminals another avenue for committing crimes. Criminals are able to utilize technology to hack into private networks, spread damaging viruses, commit fraud, solicit sexual activities from minors, and various other potentially damaging criminal activities. But, it seems logical that we could also use technology to catch those criminals and those of other crimes and to prevent some crimes from happening. Several technologies exist that can assist law enforcement personnel in preventing and solving criminal actions, including:

Decentralized Approach for Achieving Seamlessness

Decentralized Approach for Achieving Seamlessness CONCLUSION AND FUTURE WORK Thesis Outcome The major outcome of this research effort is to analyse the feasibility and benefits of achieving seamlessness with the proposed decentralized approach augmenting the conventional centralized approach for heterogeneous networks. In lieu of this, the outcomes achieved include A Hybrid Approach (Linux Kernel Module and SCTP) to decrease the latency during Vertical Handoff process and IP mobility to achieve seamless continuity. Location Awareness in Hybrid Approach to reduce the triggering of unnecessary handoffs during vertical handoff that result in performance degradation. Contributions of the Present Work In this thesis, several aspects and approaches for seamless continuity are discussed. The major contributions of the work carried out in this thesis are: Different approaches to achieve seamless continuity in heterogeneous networking environment. A brief review on the open issues and challenges related to seamless continuity. Design and development of daemon based decentralized approach for intranet environment. Design and development of an efficient and fast method known as kernel based decentralized approach for improving the latency during handoffs. Development of Stream Control Transmission Protocol (SCTP) approach for addressing dynamic address reconfiguration in heterogeneous environment. Design and development of a novel hybrid method using the combination of SCTP and kernel module. Development of a location aware method to incorporate into the hybrid approach for heterogeneous networks. Solution Overview The proposed solution is a hybrid approach to achieve seamless session continuity in heterogeneous networks. This approach is completely decentralized complementing the centralized approach which is completely based on server agents. It can be applied to both intra and Internet environment without any changes to the network layer. To prove this approach for seamlessness, testing was done on three network interfaces Ethernet (eth), WLAN (wlan), WCDMA (wcdma). For Intranet A vertical handoff daemon was developed to achieve seamlessness over heterogeneous networks. This daemon application runs as a background process at the user space and it also takes care of the handoff process between various radio interfaces. Firstly, this proposed daemon continuously polls for the registered interfaces and then checks the status (live or dead) of these devices. Later, it also updates the status to the network layer of the protocol stack to keep the service continuing between the mobile device and the server. The designed architecture is well suited for all the IP based multimedia applications but running only in intranet environment. IP mobility is an issue which has to be still addressed which cannot be solved in this approach. For Internet To achieve seamless continuity over heterogeneous networks, this proposed solution is a combination of Stream Control Transmission Protocol (SCTP) and Linux kernel module. This kernel module gets registered with the Linux kernel and updates the status of various interfaces by signalling the SCTP application running at the user level. This SCTP application will then accomplish the handoff process between various network interfaces. The reason behind this approach is SCTP has an advantage of IP address reconfiguration which solves the IP mobility issue and Kernel module has an advantage of latency. This accomplishes the handoff process in a faster and elegant fashion. But this will not solve the problem of unnecessary triggering of handoffs. In this regard the following handoff decision process was integrated into hybrid approach to improve performance while achieving seamlessness. Location based Handoff Decision This proposed algorithm is completely based on location based information. This is a research effort to study the feasibility of location based solution which consists of combining the conventional handoff decision with a location based evaluation mechanism. This mechanism relies on positioning method for obtaining mobile user position fixes. Once the user’s location, speed and direction are calculated, the evaluation mechanism will predict the user’s path. It will then decide whether the user will remain in the same network coverage area for necessary duration to result in performance improvement. If not, this proposed evaluation method will notify the mobile device to trigger a handoff. The knowledge on user’s location, speed and direction is necessary to prevent inefficient and unnecessary handoffs. Conclusion In this research effort, a seamless vertical handoff system across heterogeneous networks is presented. It is implemented in current Linux operating system. In the proposed system, the handoff latency is much shorter than other current systems focusing on the issue of vertical handoff. Different from other vertical handoff systems, handoff agents or servers are not required in this system. Only with the mobile host itself, the vertical handoff can be realized. Moreover, the overhead during handoff is also quite low. The system is evaluated through a series of experiments. The experimental results demonstrated the handoff is handled in a fast and elegant manner. The proposed system is tested in the real-world analyses. The experiments were conducted under different environments and evaluated with various multimedia applications. This work is not only for home network solution but it is extended to an Internet solution. Moreover, prior to triggering handoff, the algorithm’s ability to predict user direction, speed and visit to WLAN coverage area allowed it to provide an observable benefit both on user’s perspective and also on network’s perspective. This location based evaluation of the algorithm helped to not only prevent the occurrence of unnecessary handoffs which would result in performance degradation but also reduce wastage of resources. The novel hybrid decentralized approach based on location awareness presented in this work handled the issues of latency, dynamic address reconfiguration and unnecessary triggering of handoffs for seamless continuity in heterogeneous networks. Future Work Keeping in view the wide proliferation of heterogeneous networks and high level of interworking required for next generation mobile users, the scope of the future work can be more focussed on pursuing open challenges such as battery power consumption, Quality of Service (QoS) and security for effective ubiquitous experience and seamless continuity. Battery power consumption of the mobile client is a significant criterion for handoff. Whenever the battery power drops to particular threshold, the mobile client should immediately shift to lower power demand network interface. As the demand for multimedia applications increases there is a need to guarantee QoS such as high available bandwidth, Bit Error Rate (BER), network load balancing, Signal to Noise ratio (SNR) and so on. Security is another important criterion which needs to be addressed. Hence, when handoff data is exchanged between devices it is always preferable to have network with high level of encryption. In this research effort, some work was done on best Access Point selection algorithm. With the enormous increase of WLAN AP’s everywhere, there is a need to look at new approaches to select the best AP among multiple AP’s for achieving horizontal handoffs.

Diagnosis and Assessment: Patient Presenting Knee Pain

Diagnosis and Assessment: Patient Presenting Knee Pain Stephen Chiang Presenting Complaint Mr X is a 72 year old man who presented to the GP clinic with worsening right knee pain for the past 3 weeks. History of Presenting Complaint Pain has worsened over the past 3 weeks. Pain is around the patella with no radiation of pain. Described as a constant dull ache that worsens at the end of the day after activities. Not relieved by any pain medication. Previous trial on NSAIDs and panadolosteo. Pain and movement does not improve during the day. Denies any morning stiffness. Complains of knee being swollen and restricting the range of movement. Denies any locking or catching of the knees. Pain has restricted his movement causing him to lose balance. No history of falls. Denies any recent injury or trauma to the knee. Past Medical History Abdominal aortic aneurysm2014 Pulmonary Fibrosis2014 COPD infective exacerbation2012 GORD Medications Metoprolol 50mg Panadol Osteo SR665mg Vytorin10mg/20mg Rabeprazole10mg Prednisolone25mg Allergies/ Adverse Reactions Penicillins skin rash Immunisation -VAXIGRIP provided Family History nil known Social History Lives alone in Collie. No support services required. Non-smoker. 1 standard drink several times a week. Limited physical activities No history of substance abuse Examination Pleasant looking elderly man. Not in any obvious distress. Alert and oriented to time, place and person. Good mobility Vitals BP 155/88 mmHg, HR 78bpm and regular, RR 17, afebrile Cardiovascular Heart sound dual, nil added. JVP not elevated, all peripheral pulses are palpable Respiratory symmetrical rise and fall of chest with respiration, bibasal crepitations heard, no wheeze. Not in respiratory distress Abdomen – no scars noted, abdomen soft, non tender, bowel sound present Knee – no deformities, swelling or muscle wasting noted. No obvious signs of effusion. Bulge test and patellar tap negative. No erythema and not warm. Crepitations heard with movement of knee. Not tender on palpation. Full range of movement with active and passive movement with pain. (extension, flexion, rotation). Ligament stability test NAD Investigations Ordered Bilateral Knee X-ray Murtagh’s Diagnostic Model Factors in initial history / examination supporting diagnosis Factors in initial history / examination NOT supporting diagnosis Factors in subsequent history / examination / investigation influencing diagnosis PROBABLE diagnosis Osteoarthritis Swelling of the knee Age, Chronic Pain, Asymmetrical, Weight bearing joint, Worse with movement, Crepitus on movement Ligament strains No previous injuries or trauma Asymmetrical knee pain Serious disorders not to miss Neoplasia primary in bone metastases No night sweats, no weight loss, no indication of previous X-ray constant ache day and night Severe infections septic arthritis No fever, no redness, warmth or swelling of joint. No hx of trauma Vascular disorders deep venous thrombosis superficial thrombophlebitis No long periods of immobilisation No previous hx of clots Nil tenderness around muscle unilateral pain Pitfalls Gout/ pseudogout No previous hx of gout Referred pain back or hip Denies any pain of the back and hip Masquerades Diabetes No polyuria, polydipsia, Normal Fasting BSL Spinal dysfunction Another agenda? Depression Lives on his own, poor supportive relationship, Management Plan (Whole person) 1. Knee pain RICE therapy, Weight loss knee X-ray Adequate pain management Referral to orthopaedic surgeons for review Referral to physiotherapist – strengthen quadriceps 2. Pulmonary Fibrosis/ COPD Prevent infective exacerbations Continue follow up with respiratory physicians in Perth Yearly influenza vaccination/ 5 yearly pneumovax Referral to chest physiotherapist 3. Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Yearly monitoring of AAA Continue follow up with vascular surgeon in Perth Preventative Health Activities 1. Nutrition – patient education on maintaining healthy diet. Referral to dietician 2. Weight – review 6 monthly to ensure BMI 2 3. Physical activity – education on appropriate exercise routine. Referral to physiotherapist 4. Alcohol intake – reduction of alcohol intake 5. General – monitor BP 6 monthly, yearly monitoring of FBC UEC Lipid profile 6. Cancer screening – colorectal every 2 years 7. Vision, hearing and fall risk assessment Unable to follow up with patient as patient returned to GP in Collie while I was based in Bunbury. No access to patient’s result from Bunbury. Clinical Evidence Base In patients with osteoarthritis of the knee (OAK), is intra-articular steroid injection more effective compared to other pharmacological treatment such as NSAIDs and glucosamine in terms of efficacy and managing pain? Osteoarthritis is the most common joint disease affecting adults older than 65 years old. In Australia alone, osteoarthritis affects more than 1.3million adults.1 Osteoarthritis can significantly impact the quality of life because of the restriction in mobility caused by the pain. In osteoarthritis of the knee (OAK), the main form of treatment remains partial or total knee replacement.4 However, there are still a large number of patients who are unable to undergo such intervention. In such patients, treatments are limited to safer alternatives such as NSAIDs, opioids, glucosamine supplements and intra-articular steroid injection. The OneSearch UWA library database was searched and keywords used were â€Å"osteoarthritis†, â€Å"knee†, â€Å"pharmacological†, â€Å"NSAIDs†, â€Å"steroid†. Other related terms were included in the search. One study was identified, â€Å"short term efficacy of pharmacotherapeutic interventions in osteoarthritis knee pain by Jan Magnus Bjordal, Atle Klovning, Anne Elisabeth Ljunggren and Lars Slordal.2 The study is a meta-analysis of randomised placebo controlled trials with a sample study size of 14,060 patients in 63 trials measuring pain intensity within 4 weeks of treatment and at 8-12 weeks follow up using the visual analogue scale (VAS).2 Results Within 4 weeks oral NSAIDs, pain relief measured 10.2mm on the VAS (95% CI8.8-11.6). Steroid injection showed 14.5mm (95% CI9.7-19.2), paracetamol 3.0mm (95% CI1.4-4.7), glucosamine 4.7mm (95% CI 0.3-9.1), chondroitin sulphate 3.7mm (95% CI0.3-7.0).2 8-12 weeks follow up – oral NSAIDs and steroid injection showed decline in efficacy 9.8mm. Paracetamol did not show change in efficacy. Glucosamine showed 3.8mm efficacy and chondroitin sulphate showed an increase in efficacy of 10.6mm.2 Strength and Weaknesses of this study: 1. Level 1 evidence based on NHMRC 2. Outcome and methods of measure was clearly explained and defined. 3. Inclusion and exclusion criteria were clear. 1. Measuring of pain intensity with the visual analogue scale (VAS) is very subjective. 2. Bias in terms of NSAIDs users selection in certain trials. 3. Comparing different treatment options by assessing separate meta-analyses for each treatment may have different baseline data and prognostic factors. 4. All steroid injection trials were performed in a fixed setting limiting their application into primary care context. Duration of trial of 4 weeks may be too short to analyse efficacy of some treatments. Findings showed that there is better short term pain relieve when using steroid injection compared to the other treatment options. However, steroid and oral NSAIDs have the same efficacy in long term. Chondroitin sulphate also showed a minimal pain relieve in the long term. Application – This study was done in Norway and it showed that there is minimal pain relieve by using current treatment options such as steroid injections, oral NSAIDs and supplements. Further studies should be performed to compare patients in Australia. Patients should be educated about the efficacy of such pharmacological treatment to lower their expectations. We should start reconsidering the role of these treatments in future pain management of osteoarthritis. This patient was started on many treatments that did not offer any pain relieve that corresponds to the results of the study stated above. Hence, he was referred to an orthopaedic surgeon for further review and management plan. References 1. Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. A Picture of Osteoarthritis.Department of Health and AgeingOctober 2007; Arthritis Series Number 5 2. Jan Magnus Bjordal a,*, Atle Klovning a , Anne Elisabeth Ljunggren a , Lars Slà ¸rdal b. Short-term efficacy of pharmacotherapeutic interventions in osteoarthritic knee pain: A meta-analysis of randomised placebo-controlled trials.European Journal of Pain8 May 2006; 11, 125-138 3. Carlos J Lozada, MD Director of Rheumatology Fellowship Training Program, Professor of Clinical Medicine, Department of Medicine, Division of Rheumatology and Immunology, University of Miami, Leonard M Miller School of Medicine.Osteoarthritis. http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/330487-overview (accessed 17/06/2015) 4. S.P. Krishnana, , J.A. Skinnerb. Novel treatments for early osteoarthritis of the knee.Current OrthopaedicsDecember 2005; Volume 19(Issue 6), Pages 407-414

Not All Conspiracies are Imaginary Essay -- Conspiracy Theory Theories

Not All Conspiracies are Imaginary Almost as an article of faith, some individuals believe that conspiracies are either kooky fantasies or unimportant aberrations. To be sure, wacko conspiracy theories do exist. There are people who believe that the United States has been invaded by a secret United Nations army equipped with black helicopters, or that the country is secretly controlled by Jews or gays or feminists or black nationalists or communists or extraterrestrial aliens. But it does not logically follow that all conspiracies are imaginary. Conspiracy is a legitimate concept in law: the collusion of two or more people pursuing illegal means to effect some illegal or immoral end. People go to jail for committing conspiratorial acts. Conspiracies are a matter of public record, and some are of real political significance. The Watergate break-in was a conspiracy, as was the Watergate cover-up, which led to Nixon's downfall. Iran-contra was a conspiracy of immense scope, much of it still uncovered. The savings and loan scandal was described by the Justice Department as "a thousand conspiracies of fraud, theft, and bribery," the greatest financial crime in history. Conspiracy or Coincidence? Often the term "conspiracy" is applied dismissively whenever one suggests that people who occupy positions of political and economic power are consciously dedicated to advancing their elite interests. Even when they openly profess their designs, there are those who deny that intent is involved. In 1994, the officers of the Federal Reserve announced they would pursue monetary policies designed to maintain a high level of unemployment in order to safeguard against "overheating" the economy. Like any creditor class, they preferred a deflationary course. When an acquaintance of mine mentioned this to friends, he was greeted skeptically, "Do you think the Fed bankers are deliberately trying to keep people unemployed?" In fact, not only did he think it, it was announced on the financial pages of the press. Still, his friends assumed he was imagining a conspiracy because he ascribed self-interested collusion to powerful people. At a World Affairs Council meeting in San Francisco, I remarked to a participant that U.S. leaders were pushing hard for the reinstatement of capitalism in the former communist countries. He said, "Do yo... ...; Wade was quickly contradicted from the audience by Jack Ruby, who claimed that Oswald was a member of the leftish Fair Play for Cuba Committee. Del Valle, who was one of several people that New Orleans District Attorney Jim Garrison sought out in connection with the JFK assassination, was killed the same day that Dave Ferrie, another suspect met a suspicious death. When found in Miami, del Valle's body showed evidence of having been tortured, bludgeoned, and shot. 3 The bankers of the Federal Reserve System print paper money, then lend it to the government at an interest. Kennedy signed an executive order issuing over $4 billion in currency notes through the U.S. Treasury, thus bypassing the Fed's bankers and the hundreds of millions of dollars in interest that would normally be paid out to them. These "United States Notes" were quickly withdrawn after JFK's assassination. 4 See Mark Lane, Plausible Denial; Was the CIA Involved in the Assassination of JFK? (New York: Thunder's Mouth Press, 1991). For testimony of another participant see Robert Morrow: First Hand Knowledge: How I Participated in the CIA-Mafia Murder of President Kennedy (New York: S.P.I. Books, 1992).

Robert Frosts Use of Nature in Poetry Essay -- Papers Poem Frost Essa

Robert Frost's Use of Nature in Poetry Robert Frost, an American poet of the late 19th century, used nature in many of his writings. Frost was very observant of nature, he often used it to represent the emotion of his characters in his poetry. I will use "West-Running Brook" and "Once by the Pacific" to demonstrate Frost's use of nature in his writings. Robert Frost was born March 26, 1874 in San Francisco ("American Writers" 150). In 1885, the dying request of his father took Frost back to Massachusetts for the burial. Since Frost couldn't afford to travel back to California, Frost remained there and began his writing. Frost led a simple life. He taught, was a New England farmer, worked in a mill, was a reporter, and wrote. He graduated as valedictorian in High School in 1892 and attended Dartmouth College, but quit shortly after he started. Two years later he sold his first work "My Butterfly: An Elegy" and later that year he married Elinor White. He attempted school again at Harvard but left before getting his degree. The next 10 years he wrote poems and worked small jobs throughout New Hampshire. In 1912 he moved his wife and four kids to England to work on poetry full time. "A Boy's Will" and "North of Boston" became a instant success in Europe and in 1915 he moved to America. "North of Boston" was reissued in Ameri ca and became a best seller. Frost used the money from it to buy a farm in New Hampshire, where some of his most successful poems were written ("American Writers" 152). Frost's poems are full of so many strong themes and richer meanings than nature, but most Frost fans prefer his modest feelings toward nature. The images he creates are so vivid and simplistic the common reader can v... ...chigan, 1963. pp 97-103 and 86-87 Call number: PS 3511 7. Thompson, Lawrence, "Encouraging Younger Poets." Robert Frost The Years of Triumph. New York: Twayne Publishers,1967. pp 360-362 8. Thompson, Lawrence. Robert Frost: The Early Years. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1966. pp 381-382 and 570 9. U.S. Literature. Glenview: Scott, Foresman, and Company, 1991. pp 509 Robert Frost's Use of Nature Thesis: Robert Frost, an American poet of the late 19th century, used nature in many of his writings. Frost was very observant of nature, he often used it too represent the emotion of his characters in his poetry. Introduction I. Frost's feelings on nature A. Overview B. Contrast with Mathew Arnold C. Contrast with Wade Van Dore II. "Once by the Pacific" III "West-Running Brook"