Higher education Essay Example for Free

Higher education Essay Modern day education is aided with a variety of technology, computers, projectors, internet, and many more. Diverse knowledge is being spread among the people. Everything that can be simplified has been made simpler. Science has explored every aspect of life. There is much to learn and more to assimilate. Internet provides abysmal knowledge. There is no end to it. One can learn everything he wishes to. Every topic has developed into a subject. New inventions and discoveries have revealed the unknown world to us more variedly. Once a new aspect is discovered, hundreds of heads start babbling over it, and you get a dogma from hearsay. Not only our planet but the whole universe has become accessible. Now we have good and learned teachers to impart us with knowledge of what they know. Every one is a master in his field. We and our children are getting taught by professionals of their field. Presently our education is based on making us the best in our area of interest, to help us reach our goals more easily. More of the fact based knowledge is being grasped by us. What we learn helps us in our career and in our profession. Professionalism is deep-rooted in our society now and this education makes us so. Skill-development and vocational education has added a new feather to the modern system of education. There is something to learn for everyone. Even an infant these days goes to a kindergarten. And a little grown, mentally and physically is promoted to a Montessori. Everything is being categorized, be it a primary, middle, a higher secondary or graduate school. We have temples of education known by a familiar word the â€Å"university†. Whatsoever we are getting educated day by day and what’s good about is that it’s a never-ending process. Rightly said by Aristotle, â€Å"Education is an ornament in prosperity and a refugee in adversity. † is what everybody feels now. THE CON’S Well, that was the positive side, but every story has two telling. Of all the virtue, our education system has developed into mere schooling now. New trends are being developed which are far more a baloney that boon. Albert Einstein once said â€Å"Education is that which remains, if one has forgotten everything one learned in school. † Firstly our education is confined to schools and colleges. It has become a process of spoon feeding. â€Å"Spoon feeding in the long run teaches us nothing but the shape of the spoon† were the words of E. M. Forster. We are being fed with facts and knowledge. Not art, not books, but life itself is the true basis of teaching and learning. Cramming of facts and dates, hi-fi mathematical formulas, theories and doctrines should be at college levels when one has chosen his area of interest. What will the history pay a doctor or a mathematician, or medical terms to a historian? Secondly, an art can only be learned from a workshop of those who are earning their bread from it. Modern education has spread more ignorance than knowledge. Most of the women even don’t know, where, the fabric they are wearing, came from. The word â€Å"How† is missing in our world which causes ignorance. â€Å"Education†¦has produced a vast population able to read but unable to distinguish what is worth reading. † says G. M. Trevelyan. Thirdly all education is bad which is not self-education. Presently, children after school are sent to tuitions. This is a clear question mark on the ability of school teacher. Homework tutorials are mushrooming up in our society. Students are thought of like they can’t do anything on their own and so are sent even to do the homework. Our schoolings got a lot of loop-holes. They guide us through a well catered pathway which finally leads to professionalism. Homework is a waste of time, if it is to repeat class work done today or to be repeated as class work to be done tomorrow. Our schooling does not leave us with time to get educated. Mark Twain once said that† I have never let my schooling interfere with my education†. Our child’s normal routine has become to wake up early, brush up their minds with light reading, go to school, then go to tuition and finally come home and do the homework. Finally our education is producing machines out of pupil. They read books, they speak books and they do books. Discussing in class lead to complications, which remains as confusions for a life time if left untreated. Vladimir Nabokov, a U. S critic, poet and novelist says â€Å"Discussion in class, which means letting twenty young blockheads and two cocky neurotics discuss something that neither their teacher nor they know. † So, it’s a matter of debate that our education system is fallacious or fair.

autism Essay example -- essays research papers

Autism Isolated in their own worlds, people with autism appear indifferent and remote. They are normally unable to form emotional bonds with others. Although people with this brain disorder can display a wide range of symptoms and disabilities, many are incapable of understanding other people's thoughts, feelings, and needs. Often, their language and intelligence do not fully develop. This makes communication and social relationships difficult. Many people with autism engage in repetitive activities, like rocking or banging their heads, or rigidly following familiar routines. Some of those with autism are painfully sensitive to sound, touch, sight, or smell. Children with autism do not follow the typical patterns of child development. In some children, future problems can often be seen at birth. In most cases, the problems become more noticeable as the child falls further behind other children the same age. Between 18 and 36 months old, they suddenly reject people, act strangely, and lose language and social skills they had already learned. During the 1950’s and 1960’s, people with autism were isolated and some were sent away to institutions. Today, many of those with autism can attend school with other children. Methods are available to help improve their social, language, and academic skills. Even though more than 60 percent of adults with autism continue to need care throughout their lives, some programs are beginning to demonstrate that with appropriate support, they can be trained to do meaningful work and participate in the life of the community. Autism is found in every country and region of the world, and in families of all racial, ethnic, religious, and economic backgrounds. Autism affects about 1 or 2 people in every thousand and is three to four times more common in boys than girls. Girls with the disorder, however, tend to have more severe symptoms and lower intelligence. Some people with autism display remarkable abilities. A few demonstrate skills far out of the ordinary. At a young age, when other children are drawing straight lines and scribbling, some children with autism are able to draw detailed, realistic pictures in three-dimensional perspective. Some toddlers who are autistic are so visually skilled that they can put together complex jigsaw puzzles. Many begin to read exceptionally early - sometimes even before they begin to speak.... ... of the central nervous system. 3. The individual and/or his family does the program of developmental activities at home or at a training center every day, triggering reflex responses that stimulate the development of absent or impaired neurological functions. 4. Another functional neurological evaluation is taken every two to three months and the program is modified to the individual to reflect any changes or growth in neurological functions. Hopefully, the patient’s profile will begin to look the same as the normal developmental process. While it is natural for parents to hope that their child will "become normal," they should take pride in whatever strides their child does make. Many parents, looking back over the years, find their child has progressed far beyond their initial expectations. Although neurological reconstruction is effective in most cases, there is not enough evidence to support it fully. It is still in the development stage; therefore, not many of those with autism have had the opportunity to try it. It seems to be a very promising treatment, but it will not work for all autism patients since everyone’s case is different.

A Different Kind of Leadership

When The Economist magazine recently asked 180 leaders what the major influence on future organizations would be, two-thirds of them said it would be teams and groups. Clearly, the John Wayne model of leadership won't work. What is needed today is a different kind of leadership. People who think they can do it by themselves are somewhat deluded. Despite these kinds of statements the cult figure of the Chief Executive Officer still exists. They are enshrined, and probably celebrated too much. This is partly an American phenomenon. However throughout Europe there are beginning to be reactions against these icons for companies and these are ominous signs for the future of figureheads. Groups, teams, communities, partnerships, stakeholders, colleagues, collaborators signal the end of the â€Å"Great Man,† the death of the John Wayne myth. As the business world becomes more complex and interdependent, executives cannot afford to lead in isolation. Instead, they must tap into the collective knowledge and expertise of their colleagues by creating real teamwork at top levels of the organization. They need to build truly effective leadership teams. Successful management in today's society are forever trying to seek out the most competent individuals to employ in specific roles within a business environment. The criteria on which an individual is selected are widely recognised as the common attributes of a leader. These qualities would include; intelligence, forcefulness, sensitivity, patience, decisiveness, the person would be reflective and dynamic, a good communicator as well as being a good listener. The list of desirable traits continues to describe the perfect leader-manager who would be effective and most probably flawless. In reality this person could not exist, simply because many of the characteristics seem to conflict with one another. It is unlikely that someone could be both forceful and particularly sensitive. The inability of a single individual to possess all the skills that are sought after, presents the opportunity for the development of a team that certainly could. Teams also have the advantage that if a single member of a team is unavailable, then the productivity of the team may not be impacted significantly, whereas if a single person had full responsibility for a task and then was taken ill for example, any progress due to be made on the task would be halted. Another problem with focussing on training individuals to a high level and therefore becoming somewhat reliant on that person is that, if that person decided to leave to take a position with a competitor or to take early retirement to spend time with their spouse then the business is left trying to adjust for the loss. By focussing on teams the business is somewhat less exposed to these potential problems. However the development of teams to provide protection against competitors ‘poaching' personnel, has become less effective, especially in the service industries. An example of this kind of activity occurring was seen in November 1999 when a team of Merrill Lynch & Co. telecom analysts defected to Credit Suisse First Boston (CSFB). This forced Merrill to reshuffle its depleted research effort just as the firm's telecom bankers were positioning to land the mandate on what could be the biggest initial public offering in history. The highly regarded telecom analysts Dan Reingold and Mark Kastan left Merrill for CSFB on 22nd November, taking with them a group of five other analysts – almost Merrill's entire U. S. telecom research team. With such an emphasis on the formulation of effective self-managed teams, the question of whether leadership is actually required arises. It has been suggested that to organize genius and to have a great group, the fine art of herding cats must learnt. This analogy is used to demonstrate the difficult skill of persuading members within a team to carry out tasks they may not particularly want to, and feel good about doing it. This ‘soft skill† is very important if a group is to have a member in a leading capacity. Some leaders have managed to succeed without having great people skills. Examples include Steve Jobs at Macintosh Computers, Walt Disney, Kelly Johnson at Lockheed's Skunk Works, and John Andrew Rice at Black Mountain College. In fact they have been described as having herded their cats with whips; and yet still produced phenomenal results. Leaders typically provide direction and meaning that resonate in the heart, soul and mind. But many leaders of great groups are abrasive, if not downright arrogant. Another analogy used to describe these people is that they are all alchemists. They are creating something out of nothing. They are creating something magical. They are creating an object of enchantment. An explanation given for why these team leaders were obnoxious at times was that when believing that they were involved in a group that would change the world, they could be afforded the opportunity of being a â€Å"son-of-a-bitch† for a time. If a group can be created that thinks they can â€Å"make a dent in the universe,† as Steve Jobs told the team that created the Macintosh computer, one's personal foibles, losing one's temper, one's style become less important. If the team feels transported, and part of the excitement, the thrill and the electrifying feeling of doing something that nobody has ever done before, arrogance on behalf of the leader can be excused. Undoubtedly this aggressive style of team leadership producing outstanding results is the exception to most group situations. The charismatic nature of the people involved probably had more to do with the eventual result rather than the manner in which they lead. Charisma is intangible, difficult to assess, and cannot be taught, yet can override all learnt skills of good team leading. However there have been studies that suggest that the personality of the leader may adversely affect the team†s performance. Mary Fontaine, head of the Hay/McBer's competency practice, a U. S. management consulting group, carried out a study that found that team leaders with a variety of managerial styles-authoritative, affiliative, democratic and coaching can be successful as long as they encourage dialogues. However team leaders with a coercive managerial style were found to be far less successful at promoting dialogues. In contrast to the success of the individuals and their organisations mentioned earlier it was found that it wasn't the best and the brightest who excelled. â€Å"Sucking the oxygen out of the room with excessive charisma or with an intimidating intellect and self-confidence was often detrimental to team efforts,† Fontaine says. â€Å"The truly outstanding leaders frequently were those whose contributions were less visible, who worked behind the scenes to create structures and arrange for organizational supports that made it easier for their teams to excel. There seems to be a threshold level of team skills required to be a competent leader, and above this level charisma can either make an average leader-manager into someone special or more likely hinder the groups performance. The ideal that leaders are not born, but make themselves supports this theory. A person may develop to be charismatic, however in order to grow as a leader they must learn the necessary people or ‘soft† skills. These are the hardest skills to learn. They are the things that will make the biggest difference in organizations. Bob Haas, CEO of Levi Strauss, has said the hard skills are not getting the pants out the door. The hard skills are creating the work force that will be motivated to be productive. So, the soft skills are the hardest skills. It seems that there is still a place for leaders within teams, but not in the traditional sense. Leaders are purveyors of hope who suspend disbelief in their groups. They represent the group†s needs and aspirations. They don't know that a task cannot be achieved. Most individuals are hungry spirits, and any leader who can dangle a dream before them usually gets their attention and the collective talents within a team make that dream a reality. Today the one thing that the majority of professional people want is to be inspired. For many years the qualities of individuals have been studied, and the successful characteristics copied. However the successful features of a management team are less well understood. A team has proved more difficult to study than a single person. However there has been recognition of some of the main elements of what makes one team more successful than another. A number of studies have been carried out to try to depict the foundations of teamwork and the complimentary relationships between members. The format of the team and the relationships within seem indicative to whether the team is successful. It is not necessarily the ability of individuals within the team. Given a free choice of members and the need to form a high-powered management team to solve complex problems, it would seem sensible to select members who have sharp analytical minds. This would suggest creating a team composed entirely of intellectually clever people. These types of people would be equipped for coping with major projects and big decisions. Creating a ‘Think-Tank' would initially appear to be the best solution for high profile managerial teams. However, studies carried out by Belbin concluded that the grouping of highly intellectual and similarly analytically minded people within a team in general does not produce the expected high performance. Belbin championed the result as â€Å"Apollo Syndrome†, named after the team consisting of the intellectually clever people that carried out the executive management exercises he designed. The analysis of these highly intellectual ‘Apollo' teams illustrated some of the flaws within the group interaction. A large proportion of each individual's time was engaged in trying to persuade the other members of the team to adopt their own particular, well stated, point of view. No one seemed to convert another or be converted themselves. This was largely due to the ability to spot weak points in each other's argument. There was, not surprisingly, no coherence in the decisions that the team reached – or was forced to reach. Subsequent to the eventual failure of the team, finishing last in the exercise, the aftermath was marked by mutual recrimination. If having a team consisting of homogeneous people with respect to members' demographics, cognitions and high intellect does not create a successful group, then the obvious alternative would be to create groups of heterogeneous individuals. Scholars have carried out studies to investigate the various types of diversity within a group. Diversity differentiates individuals by the degree to which they are directly related to the task at hand. Job relatedness is one form of diversity and is an important property because it determines whether a particular type of diversity constitutes an increase in a group's total pool of task-related skills, information, and perspectives. The magnitude of this pool, in turn, represents a potential for more comprehensive or creative decision making. This concept has been studied by Milliken and Martins. The idea of having a diverse team to provide a wide spectrum of views has been used as a starting point to formulate teams. However, teams do not just happen when people get together. At the start, a team is just a collection of individuals. And, like most collections, it is only as strong as its weakest member. The optimum number of individuals within a team is a major issue for discussion when creating a team. This figure would to some extent depend on the amount of work that needs to be performed. In general the larger the group, the greater the unseen pressures that make for conformity. These pressures may impinge upon an individual to the extent that in mass meetings, congregations and assemblies they feel anonymous. Behaviour within the group is further complicated by group structure. The stronger the structure, the less tolerance there is for dissenters or for any form of deviant expression. Where groups are unstructured, for example large numbers of people meeting for a purpose but without any imposed constraints, studies have shown that rather than the individual recovering a sense of mature individuality, they are likely to revel in the anonymity which size offers. Investigations have discovered that large gatherings of people has the effect of either their constituents becoming excessively passive or, if full self-expression is permitted, inclined to irresponsible behaviour, aggressive verbal declarations, or even acts of destruction. In a team building situation this type of behaviour would clearly not promote the synergy and effectiveness that is sought after.

Coal As A Fossil Fuel - 1706 Words

Coal is a fossil fuel and is the result of the altered remains of prehistoric vegetation that originally accumulated in swamps and peat bogs. The material that formed fossil fuels varied greatly over time as each layer was buried. As a result of these variations and the length of time the coal was forming, several types of coal were created. Depending upon its composition, each type of coal burns differently and releases different types of emissions. The first step of coal formation occurs when peat is transformed physically and chemically. This process is known as coalification. During the process of coalification, peat endures a plethora of changes due to bacterial decay, compaction, heat, and time. Peat deposits differ in content from one another and can contain everything from pristine plant parts such as roots, bark, spores, etc. to decayed plants, decay products, and even charcoal if the peat caught fire during accumulation. Coal is formed in anoxic swamp areas with a plethora of vegetation. In such an environment, the accumulation of plant debris exceeds the rate of bacterial decay of the debris. The bacterial decay rate is reduced because the available oxygen in organic-rich water is completely used up by the decaying process. Anaerobic (without oxygen) decay is much slower than aerobic decay. In order for the peat to turn into coal, it is necessary for the peat to be covered by sediment. The peat is compacted and as a result, much water is squeezed out during theShow MoreRelatedCoal Is A Fossil Fuel1705 Words   |  7 PagesCoal is a fossil fuel and is the result of altered remains of prehistoric vegetation that originally accumulated in swamps and peat bogs. The material that formed fossil fuels varied greatly over time as each layer was buried. As a result of these variations and the length of time the coal was forming, several types of coal were created. Depending upon its composition, each type of coal burns differently and releases different types of emissions. The first step of coal formation occurs when peatRead MoreCoal Is A Fossil Fuel1555 Words   |  7 PagesCoal is a fossil fuel that provides energy to be used for multiple purposes, provides many jobs, and supplies the U.S. with a strong export. People in America are unaware of what coal actually is, what it is used for, and what kind of jobs it supplies in the United States. Carbon gives coal most of its energy. Coal is made from peat, which is material that is formed from plants that have accumulated at the bottom of swampy areas. As peat is buried by sedimentary rock and sandstone, moisture is squeezedRead More The Fossil Fuel Coal Essay1914 Words   |  8 Pages Coal, an amazing fossil fuel Abstract Coal has had a tremendous effect on the world. It produces the most electricity when compared to other fuels. The US generates more than half of their electricity from coal. This black or brownish†black fossil fuel, formed by the energy in plants hundreds of millions of years ago, is made up of mostly carbon, hydrogen, and small traces of other elements like sulfur. Coal has four main types of categories. Mining is the method used to extract coal fromRead MoreCoal Is A Nonrenewable Fossil Fuel766 Words   |  4 Pagespower plants run on the same primary fuel. With that said, I hope you carefully consider my recommendations, as they are essential in maintaining the current and future state of our country. Although using coal as our primary energy resource has minor sociopolitical and scientific complications, the strategies to address these problems and the social, political, scientific, and economic advantages greatly outweigh the setbacks. While coal is a nonrenewable fossil fuel, it will still provide our countryRead MoreFossil Fuels : Oil, Coal And Gas1640 Words   |  7 PagesFossil Fuels: Oil, Coal and Gas Fossil fuels are essential to life on earth as we know it today. Our world would certainly be much different if it weren’t for such seemingly simple things such as coal, oil, and natural gas. These basic elements of life on earth may not seem like a major concern to some people until we put into perspective how they have shaped our world today. Civilizations have been built, economies have risen and crumbled, and even wars have been fought over these precious fossilRead MoreFossil Fuels Coal, Petroleum, And Natural Gas756 Words   |  4 PagesFossil fuels—coal, petroleum (oil), and natural gas — are concentrated organic compounds found in the Earth’s crust. They are created from the remains of plants and animals that lived millions of years ago in the form of concentrated biomass. According to the US Energy Information Administration (EIA), fossil fuels meet 81 percent of U.S. energy demand. Scattered records of the use of coal date to at least 1100 BC. By the middle Ages, small mining operations began to spread in Europe, where coalRead MoreFossil Fuels ( Oil, Coal, Natural Gas )1743 Words   |  7 Pages Fossil Fuels (Oil, Coal, Natural Gas) Debbie Burrell SCI2000 Gwynedd Mercy University Abstract Fossil fuels are non-renewable sources of energy that were form billions of years ago. The three different types of fossil fuels in the world include: oil, coal and natural gas. Although each of the three types of fossil fuels are extracted differently they are all processed and used as the world’s primary sources of energy. Being the world’s primary sources of energy, fossil fuel experienceRead MoreFossil Fuels : Coal, Oil And Natural Gas1867 Words   |  8 PagesThe three type of major fossil fuels are coal, oil and natural gas. These fossil fuels are considered non-renewable energy because of the length of time it will take for the natural processes to create these resources. It will take millions of years for them to form. Most of our coal was formed about 300 million years ago, when a majority of the earth was covered by steamy swamps. As the plants and the trees died, the remaining of the plants and trees sank to the bottom of the swap which accumulatedRead Mor eTypes Of Fossil Fuels : Coal, Oil And Natural Gas2944 Words   |  12 PagesThere are three major forms of fossil fuels: coal, oil and natural gas. All three were formed many hundreds of millions of years ago before the time of the dinosaurs, which is why the name fossil fuels. The age they were formed is called the Carboniferous Period. It was part of the Paleozoic Era. Carboniferous gets its name from carbon, the basic element in coal and other fossil fuels. The Carboniferous Period occurred from about 360 to 286 million years ago. At the time, the land was covered withRead MoreThe worlds fossil fuels are running out. With the average amount of time it takes for coal to form1000 Words   |  4 PagesThe worlds fossil fuels are running out. With the average amount of time it takes for coal to form being 300 billion years, the earth can only renew them so fast. Fossil fuels, like coal and oil take the earth billions of years to reproduce so an effective alternate energy source must be explored. Fossil fuels or crude oil has been around for a long time and can be refined to form a number of products such as gas, gasoline, kerosene, gas oil or diesel. We are also running out of oil which is also