content
stringlengths 71
484k
| url
stringlengths 13
5.97k
|
|---|---|
According to researcher Timothy Ryan, a lack of constant physical activity causes the bone in the head of the femur to become thinner and lighter than that found in more mobile populations or modern primates such as chimpanzees, gorillas and orangutans.
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- The comparatively light bone structure of modern humans compared to early human species and other modern primates may be due to the modern abandonment of the constant physical activity that was inherent in the life of early hunter gathers, according to an international team of researchers. This knowledge may aid in prevention of osteoporosis and hip fracture in the elderly.
"We set out to test three potential explanations for modern human gracility and any one of them would have been interesting," said Timothy M. Ryan , associate professor of anthropology and information science and technology , Penn State. "What we found was the most interesting."
The most plausible explanation, he said, is that a lack of constant physical activity causes the bone in the head of the femur -- the long bone in the thigh -- to become thinner and lighter than that found in more mobile populations or modern primates such as chimpanzees, gorillas and orangutans. The other two possible explanations, that humans and nonhuman primates have different bone structure because of genetics, with humans evolving to a lighter, more gracile structure, or that the large joint surfaces required for upright, two-legged movement decrease the strain on bone and therefore the development of strong bones, do not appear to be true.
It has been proven that there are many similarities in the bone structures of early humans and primates. Over time, the skeletal frames of humans have become noticeably more frail than our primate relatives and many researchers seek to find out why. Dr. Timothy Ryan, a biological anthropologist, is examining ancient bones of foragers and farmers in hopes of explaining the disparity.
The researchers used noninvasive microcomputed tomography to scan the hip joint ends of the femurs. In all, the study included 59 adult humans and 229 nonhuman primates. Ryan and Shaw compared the trabecular bone -- the honeycomb-like bone that fills joint ends -- among the three groups.
"The results of the present study indicate that human populations with divergent activity patterns display significantly different trabecular bone structural characteristics in the proximal femur," the researchers report online today (Dec 22) in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
"The findings of the present study have significant implications for understanding human skeletal form and its relationship to age-related bone loss in contemporary human populations," the researchers report.
"We need to understand the difference in bone structure caused by diet, behavior and evolution," said Ryan. "However, I think the key appears to be higher physical activity and mobility from a very young age that makes the bones of nonhuman primates and human foragers stronger." | https://www.myscience.org/news/2014/fragile_bones_of_modern_humans_result_from_reduced_physical_activity-2014-PennState |
Israeli DNA Study Unveils Reconstructed Face Of Mysterious, Long-Lost Human Relative
A new, innovative Israeli DNA study has revealed what an ancient relative of modern humans from some 100,000 years ago could have looked like.
Scientists from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI) unveiled late last week a 3D reconstruction as well as portraits of Denisovans, a mysterious, extinct group of archaic humans, based on patterns of chemical changes in their ancient DNA. These reconstructions paint the first known anatomical profile of Denisovans who have remained elusive due to very few discovered physical remains. The entire collection of known Denisovan remains include a jawbone with two complete teeth and a pinky bone.
Get our weekly newsletter directly in your inbox!Sign up
SEE ALSO: Preserving the Future: Israeli Researchers Unveil New Coding Technique To Store Data On DNA
The findings on the jawbone, first discovered in the 1980s in the Tibetan Plateau, were made public earlier this year, sending a buzz through the science and archaeology worlds. The specimen dated to approximately 160,000 years ago, and was the first such fragment found since 2010 when DNA collected from a fossilized finger bone in the Denisova Cave in Russia’s Altai Mountains revealed the previously unknown hominin group, considered separate from humans and Neanderthals. At the Denisova cave, Denisovans and Neanderthals also appear to have bred; a bone fragment from the cave was found to have belonged to a female who died around 90,000 years ago, the offspring of a Neanderthal mother and a Denisovan father.
The jawbone found in Tibet confirmed that Denisovans were more widespread than previously thought. In 2017, a Chinese-American team presented their study of two partial skulls discovered a decade prior near the city of Xuchang in China’s Henan province dating between 105,000 and 125,000 years ago. They are also believed to have belonged to Denisovan members, but this has not been confirmed.
Denisovans went extinct some 50,000 years ago for reasons that are not yet known, but a number of studies from this decade say that “Denisovan ancestry of up to six percent was detected in present-day Melanesians and Aboriginal Australians and to a lesser level in East Asians, Native Americans, and Polynesians,” according to the research.
Also, “Denisovan DNA likely contributed to modern Tibetans’ ability to live in high altitudes and to Inuits’ ability to withstand freezing temperatures,” according to the Hebrew University statement.
In their study, the Israeli team led by Professor Liran Carmel of HUJI’s Institute of Life Sciences and Dr. David Gokhman, a post-doc researcher at Stanford University, identified 56 anatomical features in which Denisovans differ from modern humans and/or Neanderthals. A majority of the differences were noted in the skull. For example, the Denisovan’s skull was probably wider than that of modern humans’ or Neanderthals’. Their molars also differ in their cusp, root morphology, and size. And the jawbone was shown to be robust, protruding, with a long dental arcade and no chin.
The scientists’ method was detailed in a study titled “Reconstructing Denisovan Anatomy Using DNA Methylation Maps” published in the peer-reviewed scientific journal Cell. The study spanned three years of “intense work” with DNA methylation maps, in reference to chemical modifications that affect a gene’s activity but not its underlying DNA sequence.
According to a university statement, the researchers began by comparing DNA methylation patterns among the three human groups (modern humans, Neanderthals, Denisovans) to find regions in the genome that were differentially methylated. Next, they looked for evidence about what those differences might mean for anatomical features—based on what’s known about human disorders in which those same genes lose their function.
“In doing so, we got a prediction as to what skeletal parts are affected by differential regulation of each gene and in what direction that skeletal part would change—for example, a longer or shorter femur bone,” Dr. Gokhman explained in the statement.
The team said it tested performance by reconstructing Neanderthal and chimpanzee skeletal morphologies and found that approximately 85 percent of their trait reconstructions were accurate in predicting which traits diverged and in which direction they diverged. They applied this method to the Denisovan and were able to produce the first reconstructed anatomical profile of the group.
“In many ways, Denisovans resembled Neanderthals but in some traits they resembled us and in others they were unique,” said Professor Carmel.
In their Cell study, the research team suggests that Denisovans likely shared traits such as an elongated face and a wide pelvis with Neanderthals, and also identified “Denisovan-derived changes, such as an increased dental arch and lateral cranial expansion.”
“Our study sheds light on how Denisovans adapted to their environment and highlights traits that are unique to modern humans and which separate us from these other, now extinct, human groups,” Carmel said in the university statement.
During the research, the team received welcome validation, “One of the most exciting moments happened a few weeks after we sent our paper to peer-review. Scientists had discovered a Denisovan jawbone [in Tibet]! We quickly compared this bone to our predictions and found that it matched perfectly. Without even planning on it, we received independent confirmation of our ability to reconstruct whole anatomical profiles using DNA that we extracted from a single fingertip.”
The researchers write that their prediction work “match the only morphologically informative Denisovan bone to date, as well as the Xuchang skull, which was suggested by some to be a Denisovan,” in references to the skulls found in eastern China.
“We conclude that DNA methylation can be used to reconstruct anatomical features, including some that do not survive in the fossil record,” they wrote. | http://nocamels.com/2019/09/israeli-dna-study-face-mysterious-human-relative-denisovan/ |
Habiba Chirchir is a biological anthropologist. Her research focuses on understanding the relationship between changes in skeletal anatomy and behavior by investigating trabecular and cortical bone. She conducts comparative analyses of anatomical features in fossil hominins, modern humans, other primates and non-primate mammals. She uses CT and X-ray imaging in her research. Habiba earned a BA from the University of Nairobi, an MA from New York University and PhD from George Washington University.
Habiba’s work mostly involves data collection in museum laboratories. She has also participated in paleoanthropological fieldwork in East Africa and the UK. Habiba continues to investigate differences in bone density patterns in limb joints of a diverse group of mammals; research she started as a Peter Buck postdoctoral fellow in our program.
Apart from research, Habiba teaches courses on Human Anatomy and Human Biology in the Department of Biological Sciences at Marshall University. She also is involved in student mentorship in her lab.
Selected peer reviewed publications
Chirchir H. (2020) Trabecular bone in domestic dogs and wolves: Implications for understanding human self-domestication. Anatomical Record 2020, 1–11.
Chirchir, H. (2019) Trabecular bone fraction variation in modern humans, fossil hominins and extant non-human primates. Anatomical Record, 298, 797-809.
Lague, M., Chirchir, H., Green, D., Mbua, E., Harris, J., Braun, D., Griffin, N., Richmond, B.G. (2019). Cross-sectional properties of the humeral diaphysis of Paranthropus boisei: Implications for upper limb function. Journal of Human Evolution, 126, 51-70.
Chirchir, H., Zeininger, A., Nakatsukasa, M., Ketcham, R.A., Richmond, B.G. (2017) Does trabecular bone structure within the metacarpal heads of primates vary with hand posture? Comptes Rendus Palevol. 16:533-544.
Chirchir, H., Ruff, C.B., Juho-Antti, J., Potts, R. (2017) Low trabecular bone density in recent sedentary modern humans. American Journal of Physical Anthropology.162, 550-560.
Chirchir, H., Kivell, L.T., Ruff, C.B., Hublin J-J, Carlson K, Zipfel B, Richmond BG. (2015). Recent evolution of trabecular bone density in modern humans. Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, USA. 112, 366–371.
Chirchir, H. (2015). A comparative study of trabecular bone mass distribution in cursorial and non-cursorial limb joints. The Anatomical Record. 298, 797-809. | https://humanorigins.si.edu/about/human-origins-program-team/habiba-chirchir |
This supports Darwin’s theory of evolution, which states that simple life forms gradually evolved into more complex ones. Evidence for early forms of life comes from fossils. By studying fossils, scientists can learn how much (or how little) organisms have changed as life developed on Earth.
How do fossils provide evidence for evolution?
Fossils are important evidence for evolution because they show that life on earth was once different from life found on earth today. … Paleontologists can determine the age of fossils using methods like radiometric dating and categorize them to determine the evolutionary relationships between organisms.
What are the 5 evidences of evolution?
There are five lines of evidence that support evolution: the fossil record, biogeography, comparative anatomy, comparative embryology, and molecular biology.
What are the 3 evidences for evolution?
Evidence for evolution comes from many different areas of biology:
- Anatomy. Species may share similar physical features because the feature was present in a common ancestor (homologous structures).
- Molecular biology. DNA and the genetic code reflect the shared ancestry of life. …
- Biogeography. …
- Fossils. …
- Direct observation.
Do living fossils disprove evolution?
Living fossils, like all organisms extant and extinct, serve as proof that evolution continues unabated as the driving force behind the tremendous diversity of life on Earth, in the past as well as in the present.
What is the strongest evidence of evolution?
Perhaps the most persuasive fossil evidence for evolution is the consistency of the sequence of fossils from early to recent. Nowhere on Earth do we find, for example, mammals in Devonian (the age of fishes) strata, or human fossils coexisting with dinosaur remains.
Where is the richest source of fossils found?
Sedimentary rocks are the richest source of fossils.
Sedimentary rocks form from layers of sand and silt that are carried by rivers to seas and swamps, where the minerals settle to the bottom along with the remains of organisms. As deposits pile up, they compress older sediments below them into layers called strata.
What is the weakest evidence for evolution?
Illogical Geology The Weakest Point in the Evolution Theory.
What is direct evidence of evolution?
The theory of evolution states that all life has a common ancestry. The direct proof of evolution would be knowledge of lines of descent, that is, actual specimens showing gradual transition from form to form. Fossils provide such evidence. The fossil record shows that birds were evolved from reptiles.
Is theory of evolution proven?
Ernst Mayr observed, “The basic theory of evolution has been confirmed so completely that most modern biologists consider evolution simply a fact.
What humans evolved from?
Modern humans originated in Africa within the past 200,000 years and evolved from their most likely recent common ancestor, Homo erectus, which means ‘upright man’ in Latin. Homo erectus is an extinct species of human that lived between 1.9 million and 135,000 years ago.
Do Humans come from monkeys?
Humans and monkeys are both primates. But humans are not descended from monkeys or any other primate living today. We do share a common ape ancestor with chimpanzees. … All apes and monkeys share a more distant relative, which lived about 25 million years ago.
Is Evolution a Fact?
Evolution is only a theory. It is not a fact or a scientific law.
What are two major types of fossils?
Different kinds of fossils
- Paleontologists deal with two basic kinds of fossils: body fossils and trace fossils. Body fossils. …
- Molds and casts. Body fossils include molds and casts. …
- Casts are replicas of the shell or bone that are formed from external or internal molds.
Does the coelacanth disprove evolution?
Coelacanths are as much affected by evolution as finches, ferns and flying lemurs. They have their own evolutionary history – we only need to look for it. This is what Japanese and African coelacanth researchers did not long ago when they took stock of the genetic diversity amongst coelacanths in the Indian Ocean.
Is a coelacanth a real fish?
Latimeria chalumnae and L. menadoensis are the only two known living coelacanth species. Coelacanths are large, plump, lobe-finned fish that can grow to more than 2 m (6.6 ft) and weigh around 90 kg (200 lb). … Coelacanths have eight fins – 2 dorsal fins, 2 pectoral fins, 2 pelvic fins, 1 anal fin and 1 caudal fin. | https://shelbylanderson.com/fossils/do-fossils-prove-evolution.html |
An evolutionist friend and I recently chatted about animals. He said it’s amazing how many different animals’ skeletons look so similar. Just stretch, shrink, and shape the bones of one creature to transform them into the skeletal arrangement of another. I recognized this as his way of expressing the keystone argument for evolution called homology. The conversation reminded me of two major flaws with this idea.
To scientists who reject the existence of a Creator, homology basically means that two different creatures with a similar feature must have evolved from a shared ancestor that also had that feature.1 Evolutionists label these similarities homologous features. For example, raccoons and humans have five fingers on each hand. Does this require that raccoons and humans both evolved from an unknown five-fingered mammal that lived millions of years ago?
Perhaps the most obvious flaw in this view is that the evidence fails to favor one origins option over the other. One may argue that evolution explains it, but what if a Creator crafted those five fingers only thousands of years ago to ensure raccoons and humans have just the right tools to thrive across a range of times and places? Either creation or evolution could explain the fact of five fingers.
That leads us to the second flaw in the homology argument—it oversimplifies similarities between the features. Creature features may look simple from a distance, but they actually require personal, skillful, preplanned precision engineering of the same sort that cars need. Cars and trucks have metal frames to which their engines and four wheels attach. At first glance, one might remark about how amazingly similar so many vehicles look. All you’d need to do is stretch and scrunch one frame to transform it into another vehicle’s frame. But zoom in closer and you’ll see that each tiny difference precisely accommodates a specific part. Even very similar vehicles often require different-size bolts, increased frame thicknesses to support higher engine torque ratios, and many other body style specifications. One can pretend that a car frame evolved into a truck frame, but we know that actual engineers customized each of these design details. The same could certainly be true of living creatures.
Imagine replacing a bone with the corresponding bone from a different creature. Would your hand work better with a raccoon thumb stuck on it, or the raccoon’s with yours? Instead, the length, width, size, shape, thickness, density, and angle of each bone’s facet makes a precise fit with its neighboring bone.
Where can we witness nature engineering features? When have we seen an animal skeleton morphing into that of another animal? As I saw printed on a recruitment poster for an engineering school, “Cool stuff doesn’t just make itself.” This truth applies just as much to man-made parts as it does to God-made creatures, despite the chatter about homology.
Upon closer examination, we find that similar creature features don’t point to a common ancestor but to a common designer. The precision engineering observed in both animals and people suggests that a Creator handcrafted every part.
Reference
- However, creation scientist Richard Owen pioneered homology in the mid-19th century, and he restricted the definition to pure descriptions without attributing origins scenarios to them. See Owen, R. 1843. Lectures on the comparative anatomy and physiology of the invertebrate animals delivered at the Royal College of Surgeons in 1843. London: Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans.
* Dr. Thomas is Research Associate at the Institute for Creation Research and earned his Ph.D. in paleobiochemistry from the University of Liverpool. | https://www.icr.org/article/11641/ |
Leona Wooten July 1, 2020 Anatomy
Like most scientific disciplines, anatomy has areas of specialization. Gross anatomy is the study of the larger structures of the body, those visible without the aid of magnification (Figure 1a). Macro- means “large,” thus, gross anatomy is also referred to as macroscopic anatomy.
Anatomy, a field in the biological sciences concerned with the identification and description of the body structures of living things. Gross anatomy involves the study of major body structures by dissection and observation and in its narrowest sense is concerned only with the human body. “Gross anatomy” customarily refers to the study of those body structures large enough to be examined without the help of magnifying devices, while microscopic anatomy is concerned with the study of structural units small enough to be seen only with a light microscope. Dissection is basic to all anatomical research. The earliest record of its use was made by the Greeks, and Theophrastus called dissection “anatomy,” from ana temnein, meaning “to cut up.”
Even to this day, scientists are newly discovering organs that were previously overlooked or have been mistakenly identified as other existing tissues. In 2018, scientists had discovered a new, body-wide organ called the Interstitium that exists right under the skin.
Owing to church prohibitions against dissection, European medicine in the Middle Ages relied upon Galen’s mixture of fact and fancy rather than on direct observation for its anatomical knowledge, though some dissections were authorized for teaching purposes. In the early 16th century, the artist Leonardo da Vinci undertook his own dissections, and his beautiful and accurate anatomical drawings cleared the way for Flemish physician Andreas Vesalius to “restore” the science of anatomy with his monumental De humani corporis fabrica libri septem (1543; “The Seven Books on the Structure of the Human Body”), which was the first comprehensive and illustrated textbook of anatomy. As a professor at the University of Padua, Vesalius encouraged younger scientists to accept traditional anatomy only after verifying it themselves, and this more critical and questioning attitude broke Galen’s authority and placed anatomy on a firm foundation of observed fact and demonstration.
Humans have evolved separately from other animals, but since we share a distant common ancestor, we mostly have a body plan that is similar to other organisms, with just the muscles and bones in different proportions.
One of the most prominent characteristic features is the ability to use our hands, especially for tasks that require dexterity, such as writing, opening a bottle of water, opening a doorknob, etc.
Categories
Recent Post
Static Pages
Most Popular
Tag Clouddeep vein anatomy veins and arteries of the leg arteries and veins of lower limb deep veins of lower limb superficial veins of lower limb deep vein thrombosis anatomy varicose veins anatomy veins and arteries of the leg diagram lower extremity venous anatomy superficial and deep veins of lower limb venous system of leg lower extremity vein anatomy leg venous anatomy deep veins of the lower extremity popliteal vein anatomy lower limb vein anatomy veins of lower limb lower leg vein anatomy lower extremity venous anatomy ultrasound lower limb venous anatomy radiology
Latest Review
Latest News
Recent Post
© 2020 Akordefd. All rights reserved. | https://akordefd.com/Ah28J1k0/ |
Multilevel atlas comparisons reveal divergent evolution of the primate brain.
- Biology, PsychologyProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
- 2022
A divergence in primate evolution is suggested, orienting the stereotypical mammalian cerebral proportion toward a frontal and parietal lobe expansion in catarrhini (primate parvorder comprising old world monkeys, apes, and humans).
Neural Encoding and Representation of Time for Sensorimotor Control and Learning
- Psychology, BiologyThe Journal of Neuroscience
- 2021
New evidence from behavioral, computational, and neural studies in humans and nonhuman primates is presented, suggesting a pivotal link between sensorimotor control and temporal processing, as well as describing new theoretical frameworks regarding timing in perception and action.
Finding the beat: a neural perspective across humans and non-human primates
- Biology, PsychologyPhilosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences
- 2015
It is suggested that a cross-species comparison of behaviours and the neural circuits supporting them sets the stage for a new generation of neurally grounded computational models for beat perception and synchronization.
Evolution of movement process as a key for human cognition
- Philosophy, Psychology
- 2018
Abstract Movement, from a evolutionary perspective is a need of all species to survive, and it is defined as a complex and important event in both the evolution of species and human development,…
Circuits for presaccadic visual remapping.
- Biology, PsychologyJournal of neurophysiology
- 2016
A review of recent progress in remapping is identified and three hypotheses that may help to guide further investigations into the structure and function of circuits for remapping are identified.
Sensorimotor neural dynamics during isochronous tapping in the medial premotor cortex of the macaque
- Biology, PsychologyThe European journal of neuroscience
- 2015
The findings support the idea that motor cells were responsible for the rhythmic progression of taps in the task, gaining more importance as the trial advanced, while, simultaneously, the sensory‐driven cells lost their functional impact.
The timing network is engaged in the practice of internally driven tapping independently of the learning transfer from perceptual to motor timing
- Psychology, BiologybioRxiv
- 2020
It is found that intense training in an interval discrimination task increased the acuity of time perception in a group of subjects that also showed learning transfer, expressed as a reduction in tapping variability during an internally-driven periodic motor task.
Hierarchical motor control in mammals and machines
- BiologyNature Communications
- 2019
The authors argue for a return to hierarchical models of motor control in neuroscience, and relate them to hierarchy in the nervous system, and highlight research themes that they anticipate will be critical in solving challenges at this disciplinary intersection.
The Computational and Neural Basis of Rhythmic Timing in Medial Premotor Cortex
- Biology, PsychologyThe Journal of Neuroscience
- 2017
The neural underpinnings of rhythmic behavior, including music and dance, have been studied using the synchronization-continuation task (SCT), where subjects initially tap in synchrony with an…
References
SHOWING 1-10 OF 355 REFERENCES
The evolution of the complex sensory and motor systems of the human brain
- Biology, PsychologyBrain Research Bulletin
- 2008
Understanding the parietal lobe syndrome from a neurophysiological and evolutionary perspective
- Biology, PsychologyThe European journal of neuroscience
- 2010
In human and nonhuman primates parietal cortex is formed by a multiplicity of areas and similarities, differences and paradoxes make the study of the evolution and function of parietal lobe a challenging case.
The organization of the cortical motor system: new concepts.
- Biology, PsychologyElectroencephalography and clinical neurophysiology
- 1998
Evolution of somatosensory and motor cortex in primates.
- Biology, PsychologyThe anatomical record. Part A, Discoveries in molecular, cellular, and evolutionary biology
- 2004
Early primates retained this basic organization and also had a larger posterior parietal region that mediated sensorimotor functions via connections with motor and premotor areas, and Posterior parietal cortex expanded into more areas that related to frontal cortex.
The Organization and Evolution of Dorsal Stream Multisensory Motor Pathways in Primates
- Biology, PsychologyFront. Neuroanat.
- 2011
It is suggested that a larger, more significant PPC emerged with the first primates as a region where several ethologically relevant behaviors could be initiated by sensory and intrinsic signals, and mediated via connections with premotor and motor cortex.
In Search of a Unifying Theory of Complex Brain Evolution
- BiologyAnnals of the New York Academy of Sciences
- 2009
Observations of highly conserved features of cortical organization that all mammals share, as well as the convergent evolution of similar features of organization, indicate that the constraints imposed on the neocortex are pervasive and restrict the avenues along which evolution can proceed.
Comparing the function of the corticospinal system in different species: Organizational differences for motor specialization?
- Biology, PsychologyMuscle & nerve
- 2005
Two critical functions of the corticospinal tract are discussed: first, the role of descending projections to the dorsal horn in the control of sensory afferent input, and second, the capacity of direct cortico‐motoneuronal projections to support voluntary execution of skilled hand and finger movements.
Prefrontal cortex in humans and apes: a comparative study of area 10.
- BiologyAmerican journal of physical anthropology
- 2001
The human brain is larger relative to the rest of the brain than it is in the apes, and its supragranular layers have more space available for connections with other higher-order association areas, which suggests that the neural substrates supporting cognitive functions associated with this part of the cortex enlarged and became specialized during hominid evolution.
Functional neuroanatomy of the primate isocortical motor system
- Biology, PsychologyAnatomy and Embryology
- 2000
An overview of the structure and function of the isocortical part of the motor cortex in the macaque and human brain is given and it is revealed that functional gradients can be discerned within the human non-primary motor cortex.
Mosaic evolution of brain structure in mammals
- Biology, PsychologyNature
- 2000
Comparative data is analysed to demonstrate that mosaic change has been an important factor in brain structure evolution, and shows that brain structures with major anatomical and functional links evolved together independently of evolutionary change in other structures. | https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Motor-system-evolution-and-the-emergence-of-high-Mendoza-Merchant/0e7c7161ac856eeebfb7a3981268c8c408b7d7b4 |
The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum will deepen its engagement with the private sector as it recommits to its role as a policy incubator for digital transformation across the Asia-Pacific. That was the clear message from Heads of State and thought leaders spanning numerous Asia-Pacific economies at the annual APEC “Leaders Week” meetings, which were hosted virtually from November 19-20 by the Malaysian government.
Nearly every participant in the APEC CEO Dialogues touched on the role of digitalization, as well as innovative policymaking to sustain a robust digital economy, in supporting post-COVID-19 economic recovery in this dynamic region. These high-level discussions – featuring prominent CEOs alongside national leaders – reflected APEC’s unique mandate for collaborative economic policymaking between industry, government, and other stakeholders.
In his opening remarks, Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin spoke of an “APEC reimagined” that would advance its reputation as an incubator for ideas and collaboration among the public and private sectors. He underscored that digitalization not only allowed us to protect the health of our communities, but could also reinvigorate global economies.
Consequently, APEC Leaders issued a consensus statement of principles – labeled the “APEC Putrajaya Vision 2040” – to guide the organization towards achieving “an open, dynamic resilient and peaceful Asia-Pacific community by 2040, for the prosperity of all our people and future generations.” Innovation and Digitalisation was one of three core pillars of Vision 2040, with APEC Leaders committing to a market-driven, enabling environment to support an interconnected, increasingly digital global economy. To achieve this goal, the Leaders pledged that APEC’s work will continue to promote economic policies to “strengthen digital infrastructure, accelerate digital transformation, narrow the digital divide, as well as cooperate on facilitating the flow of data and strengthening consumer and business trust in digital transactions.”
APEC economies have been tasked by the Leaders to develop in the coming year a comprehensive plan for implementation of the Putrajaya Vision 2040.
Emerging technologies and future-of-work policies were also highlighted during the CEO Dialogues. A session on the APEC agenda for Artificial Intelligence (AI) discussed the need for supportive regulatory frameworks and to improve international collaboration between APEC economies on AI-related issues. The APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC) has similarly pledged to elevate AI adoption in its yearly workplan, and launched the report, “Artificial Intelligence in APEC – Overview of the State of AI in APEC Economies and the Enabling Initiatives that will Drive Further Adoption” in conjunction with the APEC CEO Dialogues. The report highlights challenges as well as opportunities for collaboration across APEC and offers recommendations to support widespread AI adoption. Another consistent theme of the discussions was the need to upskill national workforces to prepare for the continued digitalization of industries. These efforts have been advanced through initiatives such as the APEC Closing the Digital Skills Gap forum, which recently finalized a roadmap with industry-driven recommendations to scale upskilling and reskilling efforts across APEC economies.
To oversee much of the forum’s digital agenda and ensure implementation of its activities, APEC launched the newly-reconstituted Digital Economy Steering Group, or DESG, in 2019. Early initiatives span a range of issues and industries, focusing on how digital solutions can help chart the path toward a global recovery from the pandemic. Projects range from telemedicine to implementing digital technologies for pandemic response, to efforts to digitalize government processes for permits and licensing, so that shovel-ready infrastructure projects can efficiently support a post-COVID-19 economic rebound. These efforts are complemented by cross-sectoral policy efforts, such as on privacy and data protection issues; data flows and digital trade provisions; an industry-driven cybersecurity standards program; and an increasing focus on public-private partnerships to promote digital skills for citizens in the APEC region.
The time is right for private sector engagement in APEC, particularly from data-driven companies that will shape the future of Asia’s digital economy. The digital agenda in APEC has intensified in recent years, and the high-level commitments from Heads of State underscore the political buy-in and sense of urgency for this work. In her closing remarks of the CEO Dialogues, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern pledged that incoming APEC host New Zealand would push the forum to continue its work to “foster prosperity and well-being that is sustainable, inclusive and digitally enabled” during its 2021 host year.
C&M International works at the forefront of many APEC working groups, including those related to the digital economy, data privacy, and emerging technologies. We work to foster unique collaboration and initiatives between industry, government, and other stakeholders to promote smart policymaking and to advance an innovation-friendly regulatory environment across the Asia-Pacific.
For more information, please contact the professional(s) listed below, or your regular Crowell & Moring contact.
Advanced Search | Government Experience
© Crowell & Moring LLP
Professionals | Experience | Locations | Insights | Pro Bono | Careers
C&M International | Crowell Health Solutions
Attorney Advertising—Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. | https://www.crowell.com/NewsEvents/AlertsNewsletters/all/Asia-Pacific-Leaders-Cite-Digital-Transformation-as-Key-to-Post-COVID-Recovery |
The mission of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) is to promote policies that will improve the economic and social well-being of people around the world. The OECD provides a forum in which...
Search results (4)
Showing results 1 to 4
KS specific taxonomy Cooperation SDGs
The Asian Development Bank was conceived in the early 1960s as a financial institution that would be Asian in character and foster economic growth and cooperation in one of the poorest regions...
The International Labour Organization (ILO) is the United Nations agency for the world of work. It sets international labour standards, promotes rights at work and encourages decent employment...
Established in 1951, IOM is the leading inter-governmental organization in the field of migration and works closely with governmental, intergovernmental and non-governmental partners. With 172 member states, a further 8 states... | https://knowledge4policy.ec.europa.eu/search_en?f%5B0%5D=ks_specific_taxonomy%3A1986&f%5B1%5D=ks_specific_taxonomy%3A2215 |
This year marks the 30th anniversary of the adoption of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). As the global community reflects on progress made to date, one change from the world of 1989 will significantly impact the next 30 years for children’s rights: artificial intelligence (AI). Recent progress in the development of AI systems are expected to profoundly influence life and work in the 21st century, raising both hopes and concerns for human development. As UNICEF explores the many compelling reasons to use AI for children’s development (such as education, health and social welfare), it is also concerned about a world in which AI remains unchecked.
AI systems, often working as “black boxes”, raise issues of privacy, accountability, recourse and exclusion, particularly for those who are least aware of their rights in the digital age: children. Without a human-centered foundation to AI development, children’s rights to learn, play and participate freely are at risk. Children need to be protected in an AI world, but they also need to be prepared to fully engage it. In addition to putting safeguards and ethical standards in place, we need to prepare children for the AI future by teaching them AI skills and literacies.
Currently, there is a window of opportunity to lay down the foundations that will guide the development of software, algorithms and data standards – as well as policies related to AI in society – needed to maximize the benefits and limit the risks of AI systems. However, UNICEF has noted that in most national AI policies and corporate strategies there appears to be little attention paid to children’s rights, needs and the impact of AI on them. This must change as children stand to gain and lose the most when it comes to AI.
UNICEF, in partnership with the IEEE Standards Association and in collaboration with the Berkman Klein Centre for Internet & Society, the World Economic Forum and other organizations part of Generation AI, is therefore developing a policy guidance for AI and child rights aimed at governments, corporations and UN agencies. We are hosting a workshop with around 50 experts to lay down the roadmap for the policy project.
Build a consensus among various stakeholders about the objectives of the initiative and key principles of the guidance.
Brainstorm how to move from policy to practice and what support tools are needed for different audiences – government, industry and the UN – to implement the guidelines.
Generate ideas on multistakeholder policy engagement strategies for government, industry and the UN to implement the guidelines.
Build a network of AI and child rights changemakers committing to support the cause.
5Rights Foundation
AI4ALL
Allegheny County Department of Human Services
Baker & Mckenzie
Cetic.br
CIFAR (Canadian Institute For Advanced Research)
Digital Asia Hub
Evolution of Mind Life Society Research Institute
Facebook
Future of Privacy Forum
Global Partnership to End Violence Against Children
Government of Finland
Government of Sierra Leone
Government of United Arab Emirates
Harvard Berkman Klein Center
IEEE Standards Association
Indian Institute of Technology - Delhi
International Telecommunication Union (ITU)
Microsoft
National Head Start Association
OECD
Saidot
Samurai Labs
Technoladies
Turkcell
Umea University - Sweden
University of Chile
University of Nottingham
United Nations Department of Economics and Social Affairs (UN DESA)
United Nations Technology Innovations Lab (UNTIL)
World Economic Forum (WEF)
World Health Organization (WHO)
Presentation by Steven Vosloo, UNICEF with Brent Barron, CIFAR and Elif Sert, UC Berkeley Law (Download PDF)
- AI and youth across different sectors: Urs Gasser, Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University
- Ethically Aligned Design Guidelines: John C Havens, IEEE Global Initiative on Ethics of Autonomous and Intelligent Systems (Download PDF) and click here to learn more about how to get involved with IEEE)
- AI principles that will guide the work of the C4IR: Agostinho Joao Almeida, World Economic Forum (Colombia)
Groups to brainstorm how each one of the AI principles below should be adapted to protect and promote child rights:
1. Uphold child rights
2. Prioritize children's development and well-being
3. Protect and nurture children's data agency
4. Ensure transparency, explainability and accountability for children
5. Prioritize safety, protection and AI literacy of children
6. Prioritize equity and inclusion for children
- Ways to address the diversity challenge in AI: Ecem Yılmazhaliloğlu, Technoladies (Download PDF)
- Standards to support ethical AI: Alpesh Shah, IEEE Standards Association (Download PDF)
- Industry perspective on AI: Michael Karimian, Microsoft
- Global regulations and AI: Danielle Benecke, Baker & McKenzie
Groups to brainstorm what support tools/resources/actions are needed to implement the guidelines. The discussions will be based on the following use cases:
1. AI in education
2. AI in the home with connected toys
3. AI and under-represented populations
4. AI for humanitarian support
5. AI for social services
6. Robots an children: The role of embodied AI on children's social interactions and trust development
Afternoon coffee will be available from 3.45 PM onwards
- Kids online survey in Brazil: Multi-stakeholder engagement strategies, Alexandre Barbosa, Cetic.br (Download PDF)
- Digital identity, data protection and child rights in India, Subhashis Banerjee, IIT Delhi (Download PDF)
- Community engagement while designing a family screening tool: Amy Malen, Allegheny County Department of Human Services, Pennsylvania (Download PDF)
Sharing of commitments to undertake key upcoming activities and the role of UNICEF
Jasmina Byrne, UNICEF (Download PDF)
Memorandum on Artificial Intelligence and Child Rights (UC Berkeley and UNICEF)
Youth and Artificial Intelligence: Where We Stand (Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society)
Ethically Aligned Design (IEEE Global Initiative on Ethics of Autonomous and Intelligent Systems)
Policy and Investment Recommendations for Trustworthy AI (European Commission's High-Level Expert Group on Artificial Intelligence)
Access recording for: | https://ai4children.splashthat.com/ |
These three cities are promoting the Observatory as part of the Cities Coalition for Digital Rights framework in order to study ethical models of artificial intelligence deployed in urban areas
CIDOB’s Global Cities Programme will participate in the Urban AI Observatory, a new tool for monitoring the ethical application of artificial intelligence in cities launched by Barcelona, London and Amsterdam within the Cities Coalition for Digital Rights framework.
As a key component of current digitalisation trends, artificial intelligence is a priority policy area for cities. The collection and processing of the data on which urban artificial intelligence algorithms base their decisions do not always respect citizens' right to privacy. These three cities are therefore seeking to set minimum standards to ensure that the development of these emerging technologies respects the principles of technological humanism and digital rights and promotes democratic technologies.
“In recent years, cities have given a boost to their digitalisation programmes, and ensuring a fair and ethical digital transformation is a key part of this. As no international legislation currently regulates artificial intelligence, cities have an opportunity to start working in this area. The Observatory is intended to be a support institution for this goal”, says Agustí Fernández de Losada, Senior Research Fellow and Director of CIDOB’s Global Cities Programme.
Andrea García Rodríguez, Researcher and Project Manager on the Global Cities Programme, will lead CIDOB's research within the Observatory framework: “This year at the Observatory we will be working on a guide to help cities develop urban artificial intelligence applications in an ethical way. We will publish an atlas showing the artificial intelligence projects cities are implementing that can serve as a reference resource. Later this year, we will also issue a report on the social and ethical impact of facial recognition systems in cities. This study will be presented in November within the context of Barcelona's Smart City Week.”
The Observatory will also benefit from the participation of UN‑Habitat and this week introduced itself to the more than 50 cities that currently form the Cities Coalition for Digital Rights, which works at local and international levels to achieve a fair, ethical and democratic technological model. As more Coalition cities around the world begin to design local artificial intelligence policies, the Observatory will provide evidence-based knowledge and support for addressing inclusion and human rights in their policies and local digital strategies. | https://www.cidob.org/en/news/thematic_lines_of_research/global_cities_and_metropolises/cidob_s_global_cities_programme_will_participate_in_the_urban_ai_observatory_launched_by_barcelona_london_and_amsterdam |
There are no legal conflicts between the standards of the Eurasian Economic Union and Codex Alimentarius, but there is some confusion.
Introduction
International cooperation on food safety is necessary in a globalized economy. Every year, countries export food products in excess of $1.6 trillion. Goal 17 of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) recognizes the importance of strong partnerships in trade.
As part of Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation (CAREC), the Asian Development Bank (ADB) aligns with this global agenda by helping CAREC member countries that were part of the former Soviet Union to transition to international food safety standards to facilitate international trade in agro-food.
Analysis
Most of ADB’s support for CAREC countries from the time they became ADB members in the 1990s was directed toward greater integration and collaboration in the international sphere through a transition to market-oriented economic systems. The support to food safety was aligned with these aspirations.
Kazakhstan and the Kyrgyz Republic are two such countries that joined ADB in 1994. Both are members of the World Trade Organization (WTO), which obliges them to comply with international food safety standards set by the CODEX Alimentarius. These countries have also maintained their historical and economical linkages with the Russian Federation and other countries of the former Soviet Union. They are members of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU).
Established in 2014, the EAEU aims to form an integrated single market among member countries for the free movement of goods, capital, services, and people. Given its relatively new existence, there is much confusion at the national and regional levels on whether there are legal contradictions or conflicts between the food safety standards of the WTO and the EAEU and their implications to member countries. Such clarifications would be helpful as more ADB member countries, such as Mongolia and Tajikistan, are posed to join the EAEU.
Harmonization—still a work in progress
Overall the general principles of the WTO Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Agreement are firmly embodied within the laws of the EAEU and national legislation in Kazakhstan and the Kyrgyz Republic. Legal documents of the EAEU do not contain any conflicting or contradicting provisions, so they are fully WTO compliant and compatible.
However, the confusion persists, mainly because harmonization takes time and therefore not all legal measures are in place. These have the following implications:
- Lack of clear implementing provisions and therefore transparency of legal measures, causing lacunas in terms of practical application. In addition, food safety measures under the EAEU apply to certain categories of products only.
- Food safety laws are enforced at the national level and therefore, there are differences among the EAEU member states, as the overall process of harmonization is not yet complete.
In the EAEU there is a clear trend for completing the transfer of rule-making powers to the Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC) for the establishment of the uniform sanitary and phytosanitary instruments for EAEU members. The goal of this harmonization is to ensure uniform requirements for the circulation of goods within the territories of the EAEU member states by adopting common technical regulations under the EAEU.
A practical example illustrating this situation can be provided by looking at the legal system of Kazakhstan. The country does not repeal a national law when the EAEU act applies but amends it to refer to the EAEU act. Pending this alignment, domestic sanitary and phytosanitary measures continue to apply if they do not conflict with the EAEU act.
The process of EAEU harmonization is not complete and not all technical regulations are in place. National legislation remains in force and is applicable to the extent that it does not contradict the EAEU Treaty, Customs Union Commission Decisions, and EEC Council and Collegium Decisions.
Differences in maximum residue limits
A notable example of confusion is in relation to the maximum residue limits of veterinary drugs and pesticides. The EAEU regulation deviates from international food safety standards (Codex Alimentarius and OIE) in two specific areas: (i) EAEU takes a more stringent approach to maximum residue limits and (ii) the EAEU has not specified the maximum residue limit for veterinary medicinal products for antiparasitics. As a general rule, any deviation on standards needs to be justified by science-based evidence as per the WTO SPS Agreement.
Lack of clear implementing rules in EAEU
Another challenge is the lack of clear implementing provisions, guidelines, and manuals of procedures to ensure uniformity of application.
For example, the overall situation in Kazakhstan in terms of food safety is rather advanced, as the Law on Food Safety was adopted in 2007, with amendments and additions made on 10 January 2011. This law is almost fully compatible with international and European legislation. However, it could be emphasized that at present secondary legislation of Kazakhstan is strictly speaking not implementing the provisions of the primary legislation, i.e. the Law on Food Safety. This is clearly so in relation to risk assessment and Hazard Analyses and Critical Control Points. So, the de facto situation in relation to food safety deserves more attention and harmonization with international best practices.
Currently, the Kyrgyz Republic is in the process of approving its food safety law.
Implications
Steps forward for harmonization
The recently established EAEU does not have enforcement and technical regulation functions (i.e., control and surveillance, arbitration, the introduction of quarantines, banns, restrictions and temporary sanitary and phytosanitary measures). These functions should be guided and aligned to the WTO SPS Agreement for international agro-food trade.
To fast-track harmonization, priority should be given to three areas:
- Develop manuals and codes of practices to guide the value chain operators at the national and regional levels.
- Develop guidelines and procedures to verify and correct for non-compliances to be comparable.
- Align national legal normative documents with international best practices.
These would support trade facilitation greatly, as their absence not only impacts on the efficiency of work of the national competent authorities but also undermines the principle of transparency of sanitary and phytosanitary procedures.
Resources
Asian Development Bank. Regional: Strengthening International Food Safety Standards in Agricultural Value Chains in the Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation Member Countries.
Central Asia Regional Cooperation Program (CAREC). About CAREC.
United Nations. World Food Safety Day.
Ask the Experts
Leave your question or comment in the section below:
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE
Disclaimer
The views expressed on this website are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) or its Board of Governors or the governments they represent. ADB does not guarantee the accuracy of the data included in this publication and accepts no responsibility for any consequence of their use. By making any designation of or reference to a particular territory or geographic area, or by using the term “country” in this document, ADB does not intend to make any judgments as to the legal or other status of any territory or area. | https://development.asia/insight/challenges-harmonizing-food-safety-standards-central-asia |
The growth of artificial intelligence (AI) across a range of technical fields is posing a number of policy questions with respect to intellectual property (IP). As part of its efforts to engage with member states on these questions, WIPO has convened a meeting – WIPO Conversation on Intellectual Property and Artificial Intelligence – to provide member states with an opportunity to exchange views on various topics regarding AI and the IP system.
The meeting will focus on the impact of AI on IP systems, IP policies, IP rights management, and international cooperation on IP matters.
Webcasting | Meeting documents | Photos on Flickr
Opening statement
Video: WIPO Director General Francis Gurry's opening statement
Artificial intelligence is raising a broad and multi-disciplinary range of policy questions. One of those questions is property and intellectual property.WIPO Director General Francis Gurry
Panel discussions
Video: What impact does AI have on the IP system and IP policy?
Video: Are the current patent law and patentability guidelines appropriate for protecting and using AI-related inventions?
Experts on AI
Experts were interviewed to help participants understand the issues. | https://www.wipo.int/about-ip/en/artificial_intelligence/news/2019/news_0007.html |
Center for Reproductive Rights: Trump Administration Budget Endangers Reproductive Health Budget threatens essential health programs for women, families, and vulnerable populations
Page vii Share Cite Suggested Citation: Harmonization of Approaches to Nutrient Reference Values: The National Academies Press. The purpose of this independent review is to provide candid and critical comments that will assist the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine in making each published report as sound as possible and to ensure that it meets the institutional standards for quality, objectivity, evidence, and responsiveness to the study charge.
The review comments and draft manuscript remain confidential to protect the integrity of the deliberative process. We thank the following individuals for their review of this report: The review of this report was overseen A critical assessment on the reproductive M.
They were responsible for making certain that an independent examination of this report was carried out in accordance with the standards of the National Academies and that all review comments were carefully considered. Responsibility for the final content rests entirely with the authoring committee and the National Academies.
Page ix Share Cite Suggested Citation: Traditionally these efforts have been directed at preventing nutrient deficiencies. Additionally, with the increasing globalization of information and identification of factors that influence the specific nutritional needs of different population groups e.
In recognition of this expanding range of concerns regarding the nutritional needs of populations, the United Kingdom and the United States, in the s, convened a group of experts who proposed a new approach to setting nutrient intake recommendations to address these concerns.
The outcome of those efforts was the development of new methodologies for setting nutrient intake values that were adopted initially in the United States in collaboration with Canada and in the United Kingdom.
Similar approaches were developed and adopted by many European and other middle- and high-income countries. In spite of these advances, the methods are challenging for countries to apply, and there has been limited guidance on when and how to adapt the values from high-income countries for use in more resource-constrained countries.
Simultaneously, the Global Network of Institutions for Scientific Advice on Nutrition was formed to provide scientific advice on nutrition and to establish nutrition recommendations and guidelines.
The Global Network met in Geneva, Switzerland, in to share information about nutrition guidance and explore opportunities for collaboration as a step toward harmonization of diet- and nutrition-related recommendations and guidelines.
An important outcome of the meeting was recognition of the need to synergize efforts and examine approaches for developing nutrition guidance, including the harmonization of methods for 1 assessing the evidence underpinning nutrition science and 2 developing nutrient intake recommendations and guidance to steer national policy development.
Today there is greater consistency across high-income countries in the methodological approach used to derive an average nutrient requirement AR and safe upper intake level ULthe two fundamental values needed for establishing nutrient intake recommendations.
However, there remains considerable inconsistency across other national and international bodies, particularly in low- and middle-income countries, in the approaches used to derive nutrient intake recommendations for their populations.
Moreover, there are no consistent processes in place to ensure that any such intake recommendations remain current and relevant to those population subgroups. The foundation therefore asked the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to do two things: The Committee on the Application of Global Harmonization of Methodological Approaches to Nutrient Intake Recommendations for Young Children and Women of Reproductive Age was supported in its task by the invaluable contributions of a number of individuals.
First, many thanks are owed to the members of the committee who volunteered their time and expertise to a complex and challenging task and to the preparation of this report.
Their dedication to the project was commendable. Special thanks go to the contributions of Janet King, who served as a consultant to the committee. Finally, the committee wishes to acknowledge the contributions of the study staff: Gillian Buckley, study director; Amanda Nguyen, associate program officer; and Meredith Young, senior program assistant.
Finally, this project benefited from the general guidance and assistance of Ann Yaktine, director of the Food and Nutrition Board.Keywords: sexual and reproductive health services, reproductive rights, law and policy, strategic assessment, quality of care, Argentina THE Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) established a series of objectives and goals including, among others, universal access to reproductive health services.
Reproductive and Developmental Hazard Management John D. Meyer, MD, MPH, Melissa McDiarmid, MD, MPH, DABT, reviews of critical developmental windows for different organ The assessment of occupational reproductive and develop-.
A Practical Guide to Clinical Medicine A comprehensive physical examination and clinical education site for medical students and other health care professionals Web Site Design by Jan Thompson, Program Representative, UCSD School of Medicine. • Plan for a community needs assessment by: o Identifying a community team o Describing the scope of the assessment o Listing the questions to ask o Selecting sites o Determining data collection methods or sources o Identifying key informants • Review and rate data collected from a .
Reproductive health is a crucial feature of healthy human development and of general health. It may be a reflection of a healthy childhood, is crucial during adolescence, and sets the stage for health in. We investigated gonad development and reproductive effort (RE) of the Manila clam Ruditapes philippinarum at Jeju Island, Korea.
Gonad maturation and RE were determined using histology and an indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). | https://wufecycodowavy.schwenkreis.com/a-critical-assessment-on-the-reproductive-59140el.html |
International Society for Music Information Retrieval Conference, pp. 181-186, 2012.
The principal goal of the annual Music Information Retrieval Evaluation eXchange (MIREX) experiments is to determine which systems perform well and which systems perform poorly on a range of MIR tasks. However, there has been no systematic analysis regarding how well these evaluation results translate into real-world user satisfaction. For most researchers, reaching statistical significance in the evaluation results is usually the most important goal, but in this paper we show that indicators of statistical significance (i.e., small p-value) are eventually of secondary importance. Researchers who want to predict the real-world implications of formal evaluations should properly report upon practical significance (i.e., large effect-size). Using data from the 18 systems submitted to the MIREX 2011 Audio Music Similarity and Retrieval task, we ran an experiment with 100 real-world users that allows us to explicitly map system performance onto user satisfaction. Based upon 2,200 judgments, the results show that absolute system performance needs to be quite large for users to be satisfied, and differences between systems have to be very large for users to actually prefer the supposedly better system. The results also suggest a practical upper bound of 80% on user satisfaction with the current definition of the task. Reflecting upon these findings, we make some recommendations for future evaluation experiments and the reporting and interpretation of results in peer-reviewing. | https://julian-urbano.info/publications/041-how-significant-statistically-significant-case-audio-music-similarity-retrieval.html |
Natalie Frank, a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology, specializes in pediatrics and behavioral health.
In recent years, there has been a large increase in the number of medications that are available to treat different types of psychological disorders. Yet many medications that are developed and tested, don’t make it to market as they are not found to be effective. It is assumed by many that drugs that become available to the public must successfully treat the disorder which they target. This may or may not be the case. True, they effectively treat the disorder in certain people. You just may not be one of them.
The confusion here, lies in what research results prove and what they have to prove in order to be published in top journals and subsequently reported through media outlets that will disseminate the findings to the public. This is a matter of the difference between what is statistically significant and what is clinically or practically significant.
Statistical significance focuses on the probability that an observed difference is not due to chance. The question answered by this type of significance is “Do two groups differ to the point that you can say the results are due to the treatment you imposed and not due to random external variable or chance? It isn’t concerned with the types of differences observed or whether or not they are meaningful to those being treated. It merely indicates that there are or aren’t differences that have resulted in the measured outcomes that weren’t random.
This type of significance is concerned with the size of the observed differences. This is a response to a problem with statistical significance. That is that statistical significance is heavily influenced by the sample size and can find even small differences between the group receiving the treatment and the control group if the sample is large enough. The problem with this is that it simply speaks to whether or not there are or aren’t differences between the groups not whether the difference are large enough to potentially impact people treated with the medication.
So say a research study is examining whether a medication decreases the symptoms of depression and the results show that the treatment group averaged a 3 point decrease on a self report rating scale while the placebo group averaged a 1 point decrease which has been shown to be statistically significant. This says that the decrease observed in the treatment group is significantly different from the decrease observed in the control group and that the difference is a real difference not due to chance.
However, while statistically significant, this may not be much of a noticeable difference for those receiving the treatment. Additional research may suggest that there needs to be a minimum of a 10 point decrease in ratings before people report a noticeable decrease in their depression.
Practical significance is concerned with whether or not there is a big enough difference in scores for there to be a noticeable difference for those treated. So just because something is statistically significant doesn’t mean it is a large enough difference to merit further study or to indicate effects are enough to impact patients.
While practical significance begins to address whether a new medication will decrease symptom severity enough be noticeable by those being treated, there is still a problem. Consider the example given above. Say that a study is conducted to examine whether a medication is effective for improving the symptoms of depression in hospitalized individuals. A 10 point average difference in scores is set as the cutoff for concluding that it is. The results show a 10 point decrease in symptoms for the the treatment group but not for the control group receiving the placebo.
However, what if the treated individuals still require hospitalization after the intervention? The difference between groups is found to be statistically significant so it is determined that is due to the treatment not to chance. The difference is also found to be practically significant because there is a 10 point difference between the groups which is considered large enough to be a noticeable difference.
But while those treated may report a noticeable difference in symptoms that doesn’t indicate that the differences would be considered clinically meaningful based on criteria set by health care practitioners. Clinical practitioners are not concerned with the size of the change that results from the treatment in the absence of other indicators of improvement. They are interested in whether patients will be able to live normal lives following treatment.
Thus, if all the treated patients are still hospitalized after treatment it wouldn’t matter if there was a 10 point, 20 point, or 50 point difference. They aren’t going to be able to live normal lives if they are still suffering from symptoms that are severe enough to warrant continued hospitalization. The ultimate indicator of clinical significance is whether or not those treated are still distinguishable from those without depression following treatment. Results are said to be clinically significant when the two groups cannot be differentiated based on their symptoms.
While each of these types of significance answer important questions, it is the last one, clinical significance, which is most relevant for those who are being treated. However, it can be argued that requiring there be no differences in symptoms between the treated group and those without a disorder for clinical significance to exist is too strict of a criterion by which to judge efficacy.
Ultimately, it is those who are suffering from a disorder who should determine what makes a meaningful difference in their lives. A medication may decrease symptoms to the point that those treated consider it an improvement in their quality of life, although they continue to experience some symptoms. It is not the place for clinical practitioners to decide that this isn’t significant because it didn’t result in the complete alleviation of all symptoms and this assumption may prevent a treatment from being used when it could help.
Just because a medication has been proven to be extremely effective for treating a certain problem does not mean it will automatically be effective for you. While many people may benefit from certain drugs, it’s important to keep in mind that no matter what criteria were used to determine efficacy, not everyone in any study was helped by it. Depending on what type of significance was used to evaluate the outcomes, even if it was found to make a difference for the majority of those in the treatment group, the difference may or may not have been meaningful to those actually treated.
Unfortunately, studies attempting to determine exactly what characteristics distinguish between those who were helped by a drug and those who weren’t, or what exactly constitutes a “meaningful change” in the minds of those being treated usually aren’t feasible. This is because there can be any number of possible characteristics that play a role in determining this and there must be enough people with each characteristic to be able to discover differences. It is difficult to recruit enough subjects with different characteristics for these types of studies and the expense and logistics of doing so are usually prohibitive.
What all this means is that while it is natural to get your hopes up when you discover there is a medication that can help you feel better physically and/or emotionally, if it doesn’t work don’t lose hope. There are any number of reasons this might be the case including the manner in which efficacy was determined and what led your practitioner to prescribe it.
As in any field, some health care providers are better than others. Some are better at listening to your specific experiences and symptoms and evaluating exactly what is going with you to determine the best course of action. Others may simply focus on the big picture, such as what general disorder you seem to be suffering from and then prescribe whatever is believed to be the best drug for the overall problem instead of based on your specific circumstances.
Keep in mind that today there are often numerous medications available to treat different disorders. It may take time to determine which one is right for you. But if you are patient and have a prescribing provider who works with you instead of dictating a course of action for you, together you should be able to find a treatment that significantly improves your quality of life. It is important to remain optimistic about the options available, including non-traditional routes of treatment, until you find what it is that will help you live a more satisfying, more productive and happier life.
Can My Child Use Adult Ibuprofen?
What's the Difference Between Flonase and Flonase Sensimist?
Very interesting and informative article. It's always a good idea to research - finding the right provider is also key. Thank you for sharing. | https://healthproadvice.com/medication/Statistical-vs-Practical-Significance |
Just as Ulysses had himself chained to the mast of his ship so he wouldn’t succumb to the lure of the Sirens, John Ionnidis and others have argued we must bind ourselves to the discipline of statistical significance lest we fall victim to confirmation bias. Some researchers will want to proclaim they have found earth-shaking results even if they are enveloped in noise, and others will try to dismiss genuine findings of no effect, even if that is where the data point. The only way through the choppy seas of statistical investigation (sorry!) is to adhere unstintingly to the decision rule that everything else first depends on whether p is less than or greater than .05.
So says Timothy Taylor, citing Ionnidis:
The case for not treating statistical significance as the primary goal of an analysis seems to me ironclad. The case is strong for putting less emphasis on statistical significance and correspondingly more emphasis on issues like what data is used, the accuracy of data measurement, how the measurement corresponds to theory, the potential importance of a result, what factors may be confounding the analysis, and others. But the case for eliminating statistical significance from the language of research altogether, with the possibility that it will be replaced by an even squishier and more subjective decision process, is a harder one to make. | https://angrybearblog.com/2019/04/statistical-significance-and-the-sweet-siren-of-self-confirmation-a-reply-to-taylor |
The purpose of article is study of the socio-psychological characteristics of the emotional burnout over the attitude characteristics to the objects and subjects of work. Practical significance: the identified parameters of the oculomotor reactions will serve as a marker of the presence of this syndrome and will allow to further develop a hardware method for detecting burnout based on eye tracking technology. The theoretical significance is connected with the possibility of applying the obtained data to the development of an innovative non-base method for diagnosing emotional burnout. Goal: to identify the relationship between the features of emotional burnout and characteristics social cognition of workers, presented in terms of oculomotor reactions. Study design. Sample: 44 persons— 20 employees of the Federal Penitentiary Service of the Russian Federation in the Saratov regionand 24 respondents without work experience. The age range: 20-38 years. Methodology. Research methods: laboratory experiment based on eye tracking technology; Tests: Methods of diagnosing the level of emotional burnout by V. V. Boyko. Methods of statistical analysis: Rank correlation coefficient Ch. Spearman, Mann — Whitney U-test. The hypothesis of the study: the parameters of the oculomotor reactions have a reliable connection with the emotional burnout of the personality andare their markers. Findings: significant for establishing the burnout parameters are such parameters of oculomotor reactions as the total and maximum duration of fixations, the frequency of saccades, the average and total duration of blinks. Originality. The peculiarity of the article is the use of a socialcognitive approach to understanding the essence of emotional burnout and the attitudes of personality. | https://orgpsyjournal.hse.ru/en/2019-9-1/258116439.html |
- Reporting errors and reporting biases are relevant concerns for innovation research.
- Reporting errors are found in 45% of all articles and 4% of all tests.
- Discontinuities at conventional thresholds of statistical significance indicate reporting biases.
- Uncertainty due to rounding of published results is taken into account.
Abstract: Errors and biases in published results compromise the reliability of empirical research, posing threats to the cumulative research process and to evidence-based decision making. We provide evidence on reporting errors and biases in innovation research. We find that 45% of the articles in our sample contain at least one result for which the provided statistical information is not consistent with reported significance levels. In 25% of the articles, at least one strong reporting error is diagnosed where a statistically non-significant finding becomes significant or vice versa using the common significance threshold of 0.1. The error rate at the test level is very small with 4.0% exhibiting any error and 1.4% showing strong errors. We also find systematically more marginally significant findings compared to marginally non-significant findings at the 0.05 and 0.1 thresholds of statistical significance. These discontinuities indicate the presence of reporting biases. Explorative analysis suggests that discontinuities are related to authors’ affiliations and to a lesser extent the article’s rank in the issue and the style of reporting.
Read more...
Read more... | http://www.igorasanov.com/blog/archives/06-2019 |
Objective This study evaluated single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) associated with progression free (PFS) and overall survival (OS) in patients with advanced stage serous EOC. Methods Patients enrolled in GOG-172 and 182 who provided specimens for translational research and consent were included. Germline DNA was evaluated with the Illumina's HumanOMNI1-Quad beadchips and scanned using Illumina's iScan optical imaging system. SNPs with allele frequency > 0.05 and genotyping rate > 0.98 were included. Analysis of SNPs for PFS and OS was done using Cox regression. Statistical significance was determined using Bonferroni corrected p-values with genomic control adjustment. Results The initial GWAS analysis included 1,124,677 markers in 396 patients. To obtain the final data set, quality control checks were performed and limited to serous tumors and self-identified Caucasian race. In total 636,555 SNPs and 289 patients passed all the filters. The pre-specified statistical level of significance was 7.855e− 08. No SNPs met this criteria for PFS or OS, however, two SNPs were close to significance (rs10899426 p-2.144e− 08) (rs6256 p-9.774e− 07) for PFS and 2 different SNPs were identified (rs295315 p-7.536e− 07; rs17693104 p-7.734e− 07) which were close to significance for OS. Conclusions Using the pre-specified level of significance of 1 × 10− 08, we did not identify any SNPs of statistical significance for OS or PFS, however several were close. The SNP's identified in this GWAS study will require validation and these preliminary findings may lead to identification of novel pathways and biomarkers. | https://jhu.pure.elsevier.com/en/publications/genome-wide-association-study-evaluating-single-nucleotide-polymo |
I wrote a few weeks back that the American Statistical Association has published a special issue of it journal, the American Statistician, with a lead article proposing the abolition of \”statistical significance\” (\”Time to Abolish `Statistical Significance\’\”?). John Ioannidis has estimated that 90% of medical research is statistically flawed, so one might expect him to be among the harsher critics of statistical significance. But in the Journal of the American Medical Association, he goes the other way in \”The Importance of Predefined Rules and Prespecified Statistical Analyses: Do Not Abandon Significance\” (April 4, 2019). Here are a few of his themes:
The result of statistical research is often a yes-or-no outcome. Should a medical treatment be approved or not? Should a certain program or policy be expanded or cut? Should one potential effect be studied more, or should it be ruled out as a cause? Thus, while it\’s fine for researchers to emphasize that all results come with degree of uncertainty, at some point it\’s necessary to decide both how research and how applications of that research in the real world should proceed. Ioannidis writes:
Changing the approach to defining statistical and clinical significance has some merits; for example, embracing uncertainty, avoiding hyped claims with weak statistical support, and recognizing that “statistical significance” is often poorly understood. However, technical matters of abandoning statistical methods may require further thought and debate. Behind the so-called war on significance lie fundamental issues about the conduct and interpretation of research that extend beyond (mis)interpretation of statistical significance. These issues include what effect sizes should be of interest, how to replicate or refute research findings, and how to decide and act based on evidence. Inferences are unavoidably dichotomous—yes or no—in many scientific fields ranging from particle physics to agnostic omics analyses (ie, massive testing of millions of biological features without any a priori preference that one feature is likely to be more important than others) and to medicine. Dichotomous decisions are the rule in medicine and public health interventions. An intervention, such as a new drug, will either be licensed or not and will either be used or not.
Yes, statistical significance has a number of problems. It would be foolish to rely on it exclusively. But what will be used instead? And will it be better or worse as a way of making such decisions? No method of making such decisions is proof against bias. Ioannidis writes:
Many fields of investigation (ranging from bench studies and animal experiments to observational population studies and even clinical trials) have major gaps in the ways they conduct, analyze, and report studies and lack protection from bias. Instead of trying to fix what is lacking and set better and clearer rules, one reaction is to overturn the tables and abolish any gatekeeping rules (such as removing the term statistical significance). However, potential for falsification is a prerequisite for science. Fields that obstinately resist refutation can hide behind the abolition of statistical significance but risk becoming self-ostracized from the remit of science. Significance (not just statistical) is essential both for science and for science-based action, and some filtering process is useful to avoid drowning in noise.
Some skeptics maintain that there are few actionable effects and remain reluctant to endorse belabored policies and useless (or even harmful) interventions without very strong evidence. Conversely, some enthusiasts express concern about inaction, advocate for more policy, or think that new medications are not licensed quickly enough. Some scientists may be skeptical about some research questions and enthusiastic about others. The suggestion to abandon statistical significance1 espouses the perspective of enthusiasts: it raises concerns about unwarranted statements of “no difference” and unwarranted claims of refutation but does not address unwarranted claims of “difference” and unwarranted denial of refutation.
The case for not treating statistical significance as the primary goal of an analysis seems to me ironclad. The case is strong for putting less emphasis on statistical significance and correspondingly more emphasis on issues like what data is used, the accuracy of data measurement, how the measurement corresponds to theory, the potential importance of a result, what factors may be confounding the analysis, and others. But the case for eliminating statistical significance from the language of research altogether, with the possibility that it will be replaced by an even squishier and more subjective decision process, is a harder one to make. | https://conversableeconomist.com/2019/04/20/one-case-for-keeping-statistical-significance-beats-the-alternatives/ |
This post delivers an in-depth analysis of the significance of the statistical term Significance Level (in response to an article in Significance Journal).
In a focus article that has appeared in Significance magazine (October, 2013), the author Mark Kelly delivers an excellent review of what “luminaries have to say” regarding the proper significance level to use in statistical hypothesis testing. The author thence concludes:
“No one therefore has come up with an objective statistically based reasoning behind choosing the now ubiquitous 5% level, although there are objective reasons for levels above and below it. And no one is forcing us to choose 5% either.”
In a response article, sent to the editor of Significance, Julian Champkin, I have made the point that, unlike the claim made in the original article, there is an obvious method to determine objectively the optimal statistical significance level. While the editor accepted my article, he declined to include the detailed numerical example therein since “Your illustration, though, is a little too technical for some of our readers – we have many who are not statisticians, and we try to keep heavy maths to a minimum in the magazine.”
In a further (unanswered) e-mail to the editor, I have suggested a solution to the editor’s concern and stated that “Personally I feel that there are many practitioners out there who could benefit from this simple practical example and get aware that engineering considerations are part and parcel of hypothesis testing in an engineering environment. I often feel that these engineers are somewhat neglected in the statistics literature in favor of pure science.”
Based on my own experience of over thirty years of academic teaching to industrial engineering undergraduates, I feel that it is important that individuals working in an engineering environment understand that the view point expressed in Kelly’s article in the Significance magazine, which is quite prevalent, is not accurate in all circumstances.
With this in mind, the originally submitted article, titled:
“What is the significance of the significance level?” “It’s the error costs, stupid!”
is linked below: | https://haimshore.blog/2014/03/13/%E2%80%8Ewhat-is-the-significance-of-the-significance-level%E2%80%8E/ |
Received:
4
June
2007
Accepted: 26 July 2007
Aims.Many studies of the North-South asymmetry of solar activity and its features have been performed. However, most of these studies do not consider whether or not the asymmetry of the time series under consideration is statistically significant. If the asymmetry is statistically insignificant, any study about its behavior is meaningless. Here, we discuss the difficulties found when trying to assess the statistical significance of the North-South asymmetry (hereafter SSNSA) of the most usually considered time series of solar activity.
Methods.We distinguish between solar activity time series composed of integer or non-integer and dimensionless data, or composed of non-integer and dimensional data. For each of these cases, we discuss the most suitable statistical tests which can be applied and highlight the difficulties in obtaining valid information about the statistical significance of solar activity time series.
Results.Our results suggest that, apart from the need to apply suitable statistical tests, other effects such as data binning, the considered units and the need, in some tests, to consider groups of data, substantially affect the determination of the statistical significance of the asymmetry.
Conclusions.The assessment of the statistical significance of the N-S asymmetry of solar activity is difficult and an absolute answer cannot be given, since many different effects influence the results given by the statistical tests. The quantitative results about the statistical significance of the N-S asymmetry of solar activity provided by different authors, as well as studies of its behaviour, must be considered with care because they depend on the chosen values of different parameters or on the considered units.
Key words: Sun: activity / methods: data analysis / methods: statistical
© ESO, 2007
Current usage metrics show cumulative count of Article Views (full-text article views including HTML views, PDF and ePub downloads, according to the available data) and Abstracts Views on Vision4Press platform.
Data correspond to usage on the plateform after 2015. The current usage metrics is available 48-96 hours after online publication and is updated daily on week days.
Initial download of the metrics may take a while. | https://www.aanda.org/articles/aa/abs/2007/47/aa8004-07/aa8004-07.html |
How does large sample size affect statistical significance? Statistical importance of having a large sample size
Larger studies provide stronger and more reliable results because they have smaller margins of error and lower standards of deviation. (Standard deviation measures how spread out the data values are from the mean.
Does a larger sample size increase significance? Higher sample size allows the researcher to increase the significance level of the findings, since the confidence of the result are likely to increase with a higher sample size. This is to be expected because larger the sample size, the more accurately it is expected to mirror the behavior of the whole group.
How large of a sample size is statistically significant? So how large should a sample be? In hypothesis testing studies, this is mathematically calculated, conventionally, as the sample size necessary to be 80% certain of identifying a statistically significant outcome should the hypothesis be true for the population, with P for statistical significance set at 0.05.
Why is a large sample size good in psychology? Nonetheless, the advantages of a large sample size to interpret significant results are it allows a more precise estimate of the treatment effect and it usually is easier to assess the representativeness of the sample and to generalize the results. | https://aquariusage.com/how-does-large-sample-size-affect-statistical-significance/ |
The reproducibility of statistical results in psychological research: An investigation using unpublished raw data.
- PsychologyPsychological methods
- 2020
The reproducibility of the major statistical conclusions drawn in 46 articles published in 2012 in three APA journals was investigated, suggesting that APA style reporting in conjunction with raw data makes numerical verification at least hard, if not impossible.
A Survey of Reporting Practices of Computer Simulation Studies in Statistical Research
- Computer ScienceThe American Statistician
- 2018
The survey results of Hauck and Anderson are updated using a sample of studies applying simulation methods in statistical research to assess the extent to which the recommendations of Hoaglin and Andrews and others for conducting simulation studies have been adopted.
Metaresearch for Evaluating Reproducibility in Ecology and Evolution
- BiologyBioscience
- 2017
It is argued that a large discrepancy between the proportion of “positive” or “significant” results and the average statistical power of empirical research and a prevailing publish‐or‐perish research culture that encourages questionable research practices constitute sufficient reason to systematically evaluate the reproducibility of the evidence base in ecology and evolution.
Reproducible Research: A Retrospective.
- BiologyAnnual review of public health
- 2021
The origins of reproducible research are discussed, the current status of reproducibility in public health research is characterized, and Reproducibility to current concerns about replicability of scientific findings are connected.
Science is about corroborating empirical evidence, even in academic business research journals
- BusinessJournal of Business Research
- 2020
Data availability, reusability, and analytic reproducibility: evaluating the impact of a mandatory open data policy at the journal Cognition
- PsychologyRoyal Society Open Science
- 2018
An observational evaluation of a mandatory open data policy introduced at the journal Cognition indicated a substantial post-policy increase in data available statements, although not all data appeared reusable, and there were no clear indications that original conclusions were seriously impacted.
Synthetic data for open and reproducible methodological research in social sciences and official statistics
- Computer ScienceAStA Wirtschafts und Sozialstatistisches Arch.
- 2017
This paper presents a synthetic but realistic dataset based on social science data, that fosters evaluating and developing estimators in social sciences in a realistic framework providing individual and household data.
Influence of multiple hypothesis testing on reproducibility in neuroimaging research
- Computer Science
- 2018
The results suggest that performing strict corrections for multiple testing is not sufficient to improve reproducibility of neuroimaging experiments, and permutation testing is the most powerful method among the considered approaches to multiple testing.
Influence of multiple hypothesis testing on reproducibility in neuroimaging research: A simulation study and Python-based software
- Computer ScienceJournal of Neuroscience Methods
- 2020
Data Analysis: Strengthening Inferences in Quantitative Education Studies Conducted by Novice Researchers
- Psychology
- 2020
Data analysis is a significant methodological component when conducting quantitative education studies. Guidelines for conducting data analyses in quantitative education studies are common but often…
References
SHOWING 1-10 OF 95 REFERENCES
Why Most Published Research Findings Are False
- BusinessPLoS medicine
- 2005
Simulations show that for most study designs and settings, it is more likely for a research claim to be false than true.
A Systematic Statistical Approach to Evaluating Evidence from Observational Studies
- Sociology
- 2014
Some of the challenges encountered in observational studies are reviewed and an alternative, data-driven approach to observational study design, execution, and analysis is reviewed.
Revised standards for statistical evidence
- Computer ScienceProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
- 2013
Modifications of common standards of evidence are proposed to reduce the rate of nonreproducibility of scientific research by a factor of 5 or greater and to correct the problem of unjustifiably high levels of significance.
False-Positive Psychology
- PsychologyPsychological science
- 2011
It is shown that despite empirical psychologists’ nominal endorsement of a low rate of false-positive findings, flexibility in data collection, analysis, and reporting dramatically increases actual false- positive rates, and a simple, low-cost, and straightforwardly effective disclosure-based solution is suggested.
A peculiar prevalence of p values just below .05
- PsychologyQuarterly journal of experimental psychology
- 2012
In null hypothesis significance testing (NHST), p values are judged relative to an arbitrary threshold for significance (.05). The present work examined whether that standard influences the…
Discovering Findings That Replicate From a Primary Study of High Dimension to a Follow-Up Study
- Psychology
- 2013
We consider the problem of identifying whether findings replicate from one study of high dimension to another, when the primary study guides the selection of hypotheses to be examined in the…
Scientific Utopia
- EconomicsPerspectives on psychological science : a journal of the Association for Psychological Science
- 2012
Strategies for improving scientific practices and knowledge accumulation are developed that account for ordinary human motivations and biases and can reduce the persistence of false findings.
Interpreting observational studies: why empirical calibration is needed to correct p-values
- PsychologyStatistics in medicine
- 2014
This experiment provides evidence that the majority of observational studies would declare statistical significance when no effect is present, and empirical calibration was found to reduce spurious results to the desired 5% level. | https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Reproducing-Statistical-Results-Stodden/b8f7c913ef108ba00e30c79b9cc49cd977dd680c |
Quantitative research measures the probability of a significant relationship, not the certainty of one. This makes the measure of significance the goal for most research studies.
- Immediately after you run your statistical analysis,…you'll look to see if your findings…are statistically significant.…Statistical significance is at the heart…of a quantitative research study, but what does it mean…for your study to be statistically significant?…How we define statistical significance after running data…becomes very specific, so it's important to have…both a technical understanding of what the term means…for your specific results, but also a practical meaning…for what the term means for a research study.…A result is statistically significant…if the data analysis shows a low probability…of the outcome being left to chance.…
Statistics are about probability.…The existence of variables and external factors,…such as sample population, means your results will not offer…complete certainty in answering your research question.…We measure probability as a numeric percentage,…so .20 would be 20%.…Low probability is ideal.…We want to know how likely it is that your results happened…because of the relationship of the variables…
AuthorRolin Moe
Released3/31/2017
- Reviewing the types of research design
- Generalizing your research
- Writing research questions
- Creating research objectives
- Developing a literature review
- Anonymity and confidentiality in research studies
- Narrowing your idea to a research topic
- Developing a problem statement
- Outlining your research proposal
- Presenting your data in written form and numeric form
- Writing your abstract and final summary
Skill Level Beginner
Duration
Views
Related Courses
-
Learning to Write a Syllabuswith Karl Kapp50m 47s Beginner
-
Learning Desire2Learn 2016with Alan Ackmann2h 36m Beginner
-
-
Introduction
-
Welcome1m 8s
-
-
-
1. Characteristics of Quantitative Research
-
-
Types of research design4m 26s
-
Generalize your research2m 39s
-
Replicate research2m 34s
-
2. Research Basics
-
-
-
-
Create research objectives3m 13s
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
3. Research Topic
-
4. Quantitative Methodology
-
Population sampling2m 36s
-
How to use preexisting data4m 43s
-
-
-
5. Results
-
6. Discussion
-
7. Concerns and Considerations
-
Research ethics3m 21s
-
-
-
Conclusion
-
Next steps1m 2s
-
- Mark as unwatched
- Mark all as unwatched
Are you sure you want to mark all the videos in this course as unwatched?
This will not affect your course history, your reports, or your certificates of completion for this course.Cancel
Take notes with your new membership!
Type in the entry box, then click Enter to save your note.
1:30Press on any video thumbnail to jump immediately to the timecode shown.
Notes are saved with you account but can also be exported as plain text, MS Word, PDF, Google Doc, or Evernote. | https://www.lynda.com/Education-Elearning-tutorials/Understand-research-significance/553499/601004-4.html |
It is clear that from the theoretical frameworks of the two guiding philosophies, that we cannot reconcile these two ideologies together
Existentialism, and Marxism are two of the most widely discussed philosophical guides today. While there have been attempts to marry the two philosophies – namely by Jean-Paul Sartre, who’s attempt had more in common with anarchism, than Marxism, politically – it is clear that these two philosophical frameworks, have significant dissimilarities. These disparities are especially clear in their perspectives on alienation, and freedom, and morality. While this paper focuses on Sartre’s philosophy, I will use the term ‘existentialism’ due to uses, and instances of other philosophical viewpoints in the same area – existentialism.
Sartre
‘Existence precedes essence’ is a central theme to all existential philosophies. Sartre attempts to show that ‘essence’ – purpose or definition – is not inherent in our lives, it is a reaction of our experiences, and environment – and therefore defines our meaning of life.1 Sartre also presents the view that man is never compelled – that we always have a choice – whether they are held in a Prisoner of War camp, or have a gun held to their head – we have the choice to obey or rebel.2 This is key to Sartre’s want for individual responsibility to be inherent in our actions. In his play The Flies, Sartre writes; ‘Some men are born bespoken; a certain path has been assigned them’ – this is what Sartre labelled ‘bad-faith’. To understand Sartre’s beliefs on existence, and freedom3, one must understand the burdens on individual life he identified. These are ‘angoisse’ – ‘anguish’ -, ‘désespoir’ – ‘despair’ -, and ‘abandon’ – ‘abandonment’. Cognizance of the effects of our individual responsibilities, brings to the individual ‘angoisse’.4 Our individual actions affect, and influence mankind – creating examples for it. Sartre insists this is because we define out individual meaning of life5 – which concurrently affects our actions – our choices are our personal statements about the world around us, and how we should lead our lives.6 ‘Abandon’ is in regards to the atheistic tradition of Existentialism.7 The removal of god, or divine beings, inherently removes any moral structure from our world or existence, this means we make our own moral, and existential decisions.8 By ‘désespoir’ Sartre means acting without hope – the removal of our instinctual trust that ‘things will turn out for the best’.9 Sartre puts forward that we should only rely on the outcomes, and issues that our actions can affect.10 The key to existentialism is that it is an immaterial approach to our world.
Dialectical Materialism
One of the key ideas of Marxism is Dialectical Materialism. One of Hegel’s key academics, and followers, Marx takes Hegel’s original dialectics – commonly referred to as Dialectical Idealism (due to its focus on ideas, and the human mind)11 – and relates them to the material – the realm of production, and economic activity – thus creating Dialectical Materialism.12 Marx’s theory can be displayed as below:
To understand this diagram, look to Engel’s proposed Laws of Dialectical Materialism:
1. The Law of Negation
The Law of Negation presents that in our world, there are different contradictions which push against each other – the Thesis, and Anti-thesis, if you will. These contradictions negate each other, creating antagonisms within our reality – namely the class antagonism Marx and Engels were so particular about.13
2. The Law of Transformation
The Law of Transformation is a direct consequence of the Thesis, and Anti-thesis negating each other. This negation will continue, and grow to such a proportion, that one overthrows the other14 – usually combining elements of the two (Thesis, and Anti-thesis). Through the negation between the Thesis, and Anti-thesis, Synthesis is born15 – e.g. Post – Rev Russia.16
3. The Law of the Negation of the Negation
The Law of the Negation of the Negation, is when the Synthesis that has been created is negated by another force17 – creating another Thesis, and Anti-thesis.18 This – according to Engels – would continue until we reached a stateless, communist society.19
The key to Marxism, is it is a materialist approach, and view to our world.
Alienation
Both Marxism and Existentialism argue that alienation in contemporary life dehumanises us. To quote George Novack:
Alienation expresses the fact that the creations of the human mind and hand dominate their creator. The victims of this servitude become stripped of the qualities of self-determination and self-direction which raise them above the animal level.20
In this passage Novack states that our own creations – such as gender, race, economic and societal systems etc. – remove ourselves of the individuality and free-will (biological or metaphysical) that distinguishes us from animals. Marxism presents a materialist elucidation. Alienation in a modern society (capitalism) takes the form of the division of labour – and as a result, class antagonism. As the labourers do not own the means of production, they inherently lose their autonomy. In earlier forms of alienated labour (slavery) this was evident, whereas refined systems of alienated labour (industrial capitalism) make it harder to perceive. The difference then? Capitalism, instead, presents illusory autonomy. As the working class do not own the means of production, they must sell their ‘labour-power’ to the ruling class in exchange for payment ("wage slavery"). The saying ‘why when I buy a pair of arms, must I get a human being?' presents the degradation of the working class, doomed to repeat continuously that cycle of labour, then having it extrapolated from them and then ‘clocking-out’ in order to survive. In the end, the labourer’s creation – the culmination of their effort – is not theirs, it is forfeited to the buyer of their labour. The worker is once again alienated from their work, and thus themselves, – as it is set on the market with various other commodities, for the working class to "buy back".
Ergo alienation under capitalism is a result of the division of labour, and class antagonism of the system, and can be seen – not just in our occupations – but also in our social, and family lives. The houses we live in – the food we buy – the wine we drink, these are all affected by the alienation, and class antagonism – between the bourgeois, and the proletariat – under capitalism.
Alienation in existentialism is metaphysically predetermined. From the beginning of our existence, human beings have been thrown into a world without any preordained meaning, and while we may try and give it such – we cannot eradicate the absurdity, and our estrangement from the universe. Like the class antagonism of Marxism, an animus is present in existentialism. As the meaning or value created by the individual is different from others, it is inherent that there will be individuals who attempt to foist their views onto others and - as proposed by Sartre - therefore ‘nullify my authentic existence’.21 This antagonism makes us individuals gauche, and despondent – an effect of our existential goals do not achieve a result, or the road pulls us onto the path undesired.
Marxian alienation can be removed – abolished – overthrown – by means of revolution, we can remove ourselves of the exploitative, barbarous chains of capitalism through the overhauling of the bourgeoisie, and their social and economic structures. Whereas, the immaterial existentialist alienation cannot be removed, it is an inherent part of our existence. While we can attribute meaning, and attempt to slit its throat, we are doomed to fail.
Freedom and Morality
Existentialist thought protects our individual freedom despite whatever critics of the school present. Existentialists crush the issue of determinism by removing any effect on the individual. Marxism presents the perspective that with our current, and increasing knowledge of the natural world around us – its laws and regularities – allow us to control, and change the universe we live in. Existentialism’s propositions of freedom throw away these regularities, and are therefore do not adhere to these scientific laws. It (existentialism) presents determinism as an enemy of the individual, yet leaves social, and scientific determinism out of the frame.
Social determinism – i.e. individuals having social rules foisted on them – is key in the changing of attitudes such as views on women, marriage/racial equality, drugs etc. which have expanded the freedom of the individual, and continue to do so immensely, whereas scientific determinism has allowed us to produce significant advancements in travel – e.g. airplanes, and spaceships -, and medicine – allowing us to predict terminal patients life spans, control illnesses from past observations etc. – to name a few. The existentialists fail to view determinism outside of the effect on the individual’s actions, thoughts etc. and in the process undermine advances we have made as a result of it.
Due to the emphasis of personal responsibility in existential writings, it is key that we observe what morality is for both schools of thought. Both existentialism, and Marxism believe that morality needs regulation, and judgement by human/societal standards. A Marxist perception of morality has a basis in the conditions, and needs of society, this objective basis in reality, therefore means that morality can change due to societal needs, development, and conditions, and in the modern society we currently live in, morality has a class basis. Marxist morality has no objective standards, and actions must be evaluated in regards to the needs, and aims (historical, and current) they benefit.
Existentialists deny any causality between the mental – biological – action of choice, and the circumstances surrounding it. The highest good for the existentialist is individual integrity. This is upheld as the single most manifestation of autonomous freedom, the feelings of the individual determine the morality of our choices – again, stripping away any pieces of determinism from our existence.
The moralities of the existentialist and the Marxist cannot coincide due to the existentialist’s stubborn quest for a complete removal of determinism from existence. It reduces morality to the emotions, and feelings of the individual by holding individual integrity to the highest degree, henceforth we can essentially moralise any actions in completely different, and contradictory ways. In contrast the Marxist morality, while changing due to the different forms of societies, pushes for actions that benefit the needs of society, and the historical, and current aims of bringing an equal classless society into being.
Can Marxism and Existentialism be reconciled?
While Sartre attempted to marry the two, Marxism and existentialism are incongruous for many reasons. Firstly, Marxism is a material viewpoint of existence, while existentialism is immaterial. Secondly, Alienation - in the Marxist sense - can be abolished through upheaval and change of economic, and social relations - i.e. revolution - whereas alienation - in the existentialist term of the word - is inherent in our existence, and Marxism, and existentialism have opposing views of morality. Thirdly, Marxists uphold moral actions in reference and evaluation with the class needs, and historical aims of that point in time, whereas existentialists uphold integrity to the highest value - allowing morality to be dictated by the individuals emotions, and feelings. It is clear that from the theoretical frameworks of the two guiding philosophies, that we cannot reconcile these two ideologies together.
- 1. Sartre, Jean-Paul et al. Existentialism Is A Humanism =. Print.
- 2. Flynn, Thomas. "Jean-Paul Sartre". Plato.stanford.edu. N.p., 2004. Web. 6 Sept. 2016.
- 3. The author would like to state that on second review the term ‘Free-will’ is more suitable to explain Sartre’s philosophy. The term ‘freedom’ is more apt for a semi-determinist stance, taking account for sciences explaining facts in the world and determining certain actions in the natural world.
- 4. Flynn, Thomas. "Jean-Paul Sartre". Plato.stanford.edu. N.p., 2004. Web. 6 Sept. 2016.
- 5. ibid
- 6. ibid
- 7. ibid
- 8. ibid
- 9. ibid
- 10. ibid
- 11. "Dialectical Materialism". Marxist.com. N.p., 2016. Web. 6 Sept. 2016.
- 12. Karl Marx, Capital: A Critique of Political Economy, ed. Frederick Engels (New York: Modern Library, no date, first published 1906), p. 25.
- 13. Dialectical Materialism". Marxist.com. N.p., 2016. Web. 6 Sept. 2016.
- 14. ibid
- 15. ibid
- 16. Though an extremely short one
- 17. The Law of the Negation of the Negation. Web. 8 Sept. 2016.
- 18. ibid
- 19. ibid
- 20. Novacks, George. "Marxism Versus Existentialism". Marxists.org. N.p., 2016. Web. 8 Sept. 2016. | http://marx.libcom.org/library/critique-sartre%E2%80%99s-philosophy-relation-marxism-can-they-coincide |
Existential Psychotherapy is a philosophical approach to psychotherapy. In Existential Psychotherapy we focus on concerns and dilemmas present in the individuals life (Existence). The aim is to offer the means for individuals to examine, confront, clarify and reassess their understanding of life, the problems encountered throughout their life, and the limits imposed upon the possibilities inherent in the world we live in. It seeks to enable a person to live more deliberately, more authentically and more purposefully, whilst accepting their own limitations and the contradictions of human existence. It encourages a deeper and more thoughtful way of living with an emphasises on the relational nature of human existence. According to Existential Psychotherapy the relational dimensions of human existence entails our relationship to ourselves, others our environment and God or the spiritual dimension of existence.
Existential Psychotherapy helps clients face and overcome the anxiety that emerges from a person’s attempts to cope with the givens of existence by working towards maturity in their personal, interpersonal and Spiritual relationships.
The Goals of Existential Psychotherapy are to…
- Enable people to become more truthful with themselves
- Widen their perspective on themselves and the world around them
- Find clarity on how to proceed in the future while taking lessons from the past
- Attributing meaning to their lived experience in the present
- Be in a fulfilling relationship with God and live a purpose driven existence with a personal vision and faith in God
- Be in a loving, caring and understanding relationship with their fellow man, self and their physical environment/ nature
Discover Your Potential
All human beings has been created with n inherent potential to direct their lives and
lead a fulfilling existence in harmony with God
Live life with the Freedom of Choice
All human beings have the capacity to make choices regarding their own lives and achieve personal goals and thereby needs to take responsibility for their choices
Live Authentically
All human beings can develop the capacity to life authentically, true to themselves and be in control of their own lives.
Deal with the Givens of Existence
The givens of existence may effect individuals sense of personal wellbeing to such an extent that it leads to states of anxiety and depression.
Live life with Meaning and Purpose
Discover meaning and purpose for your life and relationships.
The Focus of Existential Psychotherapy
In Existential Psychotherapy we focus on four dimensions of existence:
• Environmental/ Biological– relation to biological/ physical reality
• Interpersonal– relationship with others, friends, family, partner
• Personal– relationship with oneself
• Spiritual – relationship with God
Existential Psychotherapy has as main aim to develop an attitude of self reflection and to put principles in place in the client’s life to ensure that they can continue a life of personal and spiritual growth.
The frequency of Existential Psychotherapy Sessions
Sessions can be scheduled as it suits the client but weekly sessions are recommended to keep the therapeutic momentum.
The duration of Existential Psychotherapy
The duration of Existential Psychotherapy can vary from four to twelve sessions, with a focus on specific issues in short term therapy, to a more long term commitment with monthly follow up sessions when personal growth in philosophical and worldview issues are addressed. | http://psycare.co.za/psychologists-2/clinical-psychologists/www-drjccoetzee-co-za/existential-psychotherapy/ |
In Christian Existential Psychotherapy we focus on concerns and dilemmas present in the individuals life (Existence) and in their relationship to God (Christian). The aim is to offer the means for individuals to examine, confront, clarify and reassess their understanding of life, the problems encountered throughout their life, and the limits imposed upon the possibilities inherent in the world we live in. It seeks to enable a person to live more deliberately, more authentically and more purposefully, whilst accepting their own limitations and the contradictions of human existence. It encourages a dependence on God to fulfil human needs and be a source of Strength and Inspiration in life and to develop their Personal and Spiritual identity rooted in Christ.
Therapy helps clients face and overcome the anxiety that emerges from a person’s attempts to cope with the givens of existence by working towards maturity in their personal, interpersonal and Spiritual relationships.
The Goals of Christian Existential Psychotherapy are to…
- enable people to become more truthful with themselves
- to widen their perspective on themselves and the world around them
- find clarity on how to proceed in the future while taking lessons from the past
- attributing meaning to their lived experience in the present
- be in a fulfilling relationship with God and live a purpose driven existence with a personal vision and faith in God
- be in a loving, caring and understanding relationship with their fellow man, self and their physical environment/ nature
- embrace the life changing grace that Christ has to offer
Discover your Potential
All human beings has been created with n inherent potential to direct their lives and
lead a fulfilling existence in harmony with God
Live life with the Freedom of Choice
All human beings have the capacity to make choices regarding their own lives and achieve personal goals and thereby needs to take responsibility for their choices
Live Authentically
All human beings can develop the capacity to life authentically, true to themselves and be in control of their own lives.
Deal with the Givens of Existence
The givens of existence may effect individuals sense of personal well being to such an extent that it leads to states of anxiety and depression.
Live life with Meaning and Purpose
Discover God’s meaning and purpose for your life and relationships.
Live in a Mature and Fulfilling Relationship with God
Discover your identity in Christ and live an abundant life
The Focus of Christian Existential Psychotherapy
In Christian Existential Psychotherapy we focus on four dimensions of existence:
• Environmental/ Biological– relation to biological/ physical reality
• Interpersonal– relationship with others, friends, family,partner
• Personal– relationship with oneself
• Spiritual – relationship with God
Christian Existential Psychotherapy has as main aim to develop an attitude of self reflection and to put principles in place in the client’s life to ensure that they can continue life of personal and spiritual growth.
Therapy helps clients find a fulfilling direction for their future life with a full recognition of the paradoxes that have to be faced in the process. To live with a sense of meaning and purpose rooted in Christ and guided by the Holy Spirit.
Authentic living with courage and humility is an objective in Christian Existential Psychotherapy. Learning to reflect on ones self and communicate effectively with others is another. It always requires a philosophical exploration of Biblical truths about human existence and the client’s worldview.
When this exploration is conducted satisfactorily and fully it often leads an individual to develop greater insights into their own existence and a more mature and fulfilling relationship with God. It enables individuals to be more equipped to deal with life’s challenges and to live a meaningful life.
The primary task of the therapist is to recognize together with the client the specific tensions that are at work in the client’s life. This requires a process of careful scrutiny and description of the client’s experience and a gradually growing familiarity with the client’s particular situation and stance in the world. It requires of the client to develop an attitude of introspection and self reflection.
Issues such as a sense of meaning and purpose in life, relationships issues, emotional and/or spiritual obstacles to growth, living with a personal vision in life, are addressed.
The particular circumstances of the client’s life are recognized, as is their wider context. The psychotherapeutic process of Christian Existential Psychotherapy is then to elicit, clarify and put into perspective all the current issues and contradictions that are problematic. Part of the work consists in enabling the client to come to terms with the inherent contradictions in life and foster a mature dependence on God and increased self awareness.
The Duration of Christian Existential Psychotherapy
The duration of Christian Existential Psychotherapy can vary from four to twelve sessions, with a focus on specific issues, to a more long term commitment with monthly follow up sessions. | https://christianpsychologist.co.za/christian-existential-psychotherapy/ |
QUESTION: Christian Existentialism - Is it compatible? What is the Christian worldview toward Existentialism?
ANSWER:
Secular existentialism is a philosophical movement that is gaining an ever increasing popularity in the American society and to a degree has slowly crept its way into some liberal circles of Christianity. But the worldview of traditional Christianity is that it is not compatible. Here are some reasons why.
Existentialism is a 20th century movement viewed by Christianity as the antithesis of faith in God because the philosophy asserts that God nor absolute truth exist.
Existentialism believes in the total autonomy of a person from a world and life view apart from a God of sovereign authority, whereas Christianity acknowledges the existence of an all knowing, all powerful, and all present personal Creator who revealed Himself for the purpose of giving human life meaning.
Existentialism states that the world is absurd, and there is no hope. Christianity states that the world is absurd, and it is a wonder there is hope.
Existentialism is opposed to rationalism and traditional Christianity is not.
Existentialism asserts that man is free from imposed moral values. Traditional Christianity believes in God’s transcendent universal moral values.
Existentialism asserts that each person is their own authority concerning truth. Traditional Christianity insists that God is the absolute final authority over His creation and all things.
Existentialism believes that existence precedes essence. Traditional Christianity believes that a person’s essence is predestined from God and precedes existence.
Religious existentialism on the other hand is a philosophy of its own that is not compatible with either secular existentialism, nor traditional Christianity. There is a wide variety of forms of existential religion with differing doctrinal beliefs. Kierkegaard and later Karl Barth are sited for attempting to make theology, particularly the Christian faith, compatible with existentialism.
Its premise is that a person must submit themselves totally to God without reasoning -- that is, true absolute faith must be void of philosophy or intellect. Religious existentialism then states such things as:
A person is autonomous and is fully free to make choices and fully responsible for them
Rational grounds for theology and divine revelation do not exist
True faith transcends rationalism and God’s commandments
The true God is not the God of philosophers or of rationalism
The destruction of wars throughout human history proves there cannot be rational understanding of God or humanity
A Christian must personally resolve within self the content of faith from being a myth or mystery to being realty or truth before they will allow an understanding and acceptance of salvation
It is impossible to discover personal Being and faith through rational reasoning.
Existentialism - Learn More!
Privacy
Statement of Faith
About Us
Contact Us
Support Us
Donate
Sitemap
Copyright
© 2002-2019
AllAboutPhilosophy.org
,
All Rights Reserved
×
Discover
Does God Exist Scientifically?
Or Philosophically?
Is the Bible True?
Who is God?
Is Jesus God?
What Do You Believe? | https://www.allaboutphilosophy.org/christian-existentialism-faq.htm |
Your complimentary articles
You’ve read one of your four complimentary articles for this month.
You can read four articles free per month. To have complete access to the thousands of philosophy articles on this site, please
Interview
Gary Cox
Gary Cox is the author of several books on existentialism and general philosophy. The 10th anniversary edition of his bestselling self-help book How to Be an Existentialist was published recently. Gavin Smith talks with him about existentialism.
You begin your introduction to the anniversary edition by talking about the truths of existentialism being timeless. But do you think the heightened anxieties that seem so prevalent make existentialism especially relevant now?
To answer your question I need to set out briefly what the timeless truths of existentialism are. Basically, they’re the timeless truths of the human condition. Specifically, these are that we’re inalienably free in that we are constantly confronted by the requirement to choose who we are through choosing what we do. We are responsible for the choices we make. It is often recognised that existentialism is a philosophy of freedom, less so that it is a philosophy of responsibility. Our inalienable freedom makes us anxious. In The Concept of Anxiety (1844), the original existentialist Søren Kierkegaard wrote, “Anxiety is the dizziness of freedom”. It is the result of responsibility. Fear is the possibility that I might fall; anxiety is that there is nothing to stop me from jumping.
At any given moment, we are indeterminate in the sense that we are no longer what we were and not yet what we hope to become through our current actions. We always lack in the present what we hope to gain in the future. This lack is the basis of desire.
We are embodied. We seek to transcend and surpass what we are now through our actions but we can never transcend our bodies. The body is an ever-present set of facts – a ‘facticity’, as Sartre calls it – that challenges us, limits our freedom, presents possibilities, lets us down. We are also constantly confronted by the existence of other people as beings that constantly look at and judge us: we have a being-for-others that is a key part of who we are. We are contingent in that our existence is not necessary. That we need not be, renders our existence absurd, and life has no other meaning than the one we choose to give it. Moreover, each moment of our life is defined by our mortality, by the fact that life is a finite project. Our death is ‘our ownmost possibility’: nobody else can die your death for you.
It’s a grim list for sure, but to seek to fool yourself that life is not governed by these truths is to be inauthentic, is to live in bad faith. Bad faith is basically acting as though one has no choice, as though one’s life is on rails, or generally, exercising one’s freedom negatively to deny or stifle it. It’s choosing not to choose. We are all guilty of bad faith to some extent. It’s difficult to entirely avoid, and maybe it has practical uses; but to overcome bad faith and fully recognise in one’s thought and actions that one is inescapably free, not a fixed entity like a chair or a stone but the growing sum total of one’s ongoing choices, is to achieve the existentialist holy grail of authenticity.
So the main focus of the book is to show how a worthwhile life is possible in the teeth of the inescapable truths of the human condition. And existentialism is always highly relevant because these truths, our all-too-human lot, remain the case at all times and in all places. Given that existentialism is always maximally relevant, it cannot be more relevant at one time than another. But although it is not especially relevant now, it is highly relevant now.
If this is an age of heightened anxiety, it is not because there is more to be anxious about now than in the past. Perhaps we simply hear more about anxiety because of social media, and our increased awareness of it creates the impression that there is more of it about. But a huge fuss is made about anxiety these days to the extent that it has become fetishized. Certainly there is a trend, largely due to an exponential growth in the number of ‘support’ professionals of all kinds, towards treating any level of anxiety as a medical problem, when fundamentally, anxiety is part and parcel of what it is to be human. I worry about global warming; my parents worried about nuclear holocaust; their parents worried about TB. For most people, certainly in the developed world, modern technology has eliminated the worries caused by a hand-to-mouth existence, but we all still have to contend with the existential issues of other people, risk, ageing, and death. And still above all it is the responsibility of our freedom that makes us anxious, not the world itself. We will always be anxious because we will always be free.
What else can existentialism teach us about the world of social media?
If existentialism is about getting real, then the first thing it teaches us about social media is that we cannot wish it away, that most of us cannot entirely escape it and its many challenges, that it must therefore be dealt with. Existentialists talk about recognising our being-in-situation – recognising our reality for what it is and dealing with it positively rather than wishing we were someone else somewhere else. Social media now definitely belongs to our being-in-situation. Existentialism also has much to say about the phenomenon of being-for-others: how part of what we are is unavoidably shaped and influenced by other people and the opinions they form of us – opinions we cannot control. An understanding of our being-for-others as part of the human psyche sheds light on why we find social media so attractive, addictive, and troubling. Thus it provides a useful guide to how social media is best dealt with: how best to behave when using it to maximise pleasure and opportunity while minimising anxiety and paranoia. Sartre famously wrote, “There is no need for red-hot pokers. Hell is other people!” (In Camera, 1944). Yet surely, other people – even people on social media – can often also be heaven, if dealt with in the right way.
Given that existentialist themes were addressed by the Greeks two and a half millenia ago, is it not reasonable to argue that existentialism is an exploration of themes that have always existed?
As you say, what might be broadly called ‘existentialist themes’ have been around for thousands of years. The list of timeless existential truths I just gave clearly shows that much of existentialism is really a matter of taking an honest and courageous look at the fundamentals of the human condition. The ancient Greek philosophers were bound to draw many of the same broad conclusions about human reality as philosophers draw today; as Shakespeare drew in his day; as future thinkers will draw in their day. If existentialism as a specific relatively modern philosophical school did anything original, it was to systematically explain the existential truths of human reality, our being-in-the-world, as a coherent whole – not least by employing many of the best ideas relating to the nature of consciousness and freedom that had accumulated in Western philosophy by the nineteenth century. This comprehensive holism is seen in such major existentialist works as Heidegger’s Being and Time (1927), Sartre’s Being and Nothingness (1943), and de Beauvoir’s Ethics of Ambiguity (1947).
Is it hard to free existentialism from the myths and images of post-war Left Bank Paris?
On one level existentialism is intimately bound up with wartime and post-war Paris because several of the major existentialist philosophers – Sartre, de Beauvoir, Camus, and Merleau-Ponty – coexisted in that time and place and were profoundly shaped by it. I sought to capture that time and place, and the philosophy, literature and art it inspired, in my biography of Sartre, Existentialism and Excess (2016). For some, existentialism is synonymous with the romance and eroticism of that era, its heady intellectual atmosphere supercharged by the backdrop of a war-torn Europe. However, given that existentialism is a philosophy for all time, it need not be associated with that era. Perhaps an excessive association with that era wrongly leads some to suppose that existentialism was merely a philosophy of that time, a fad that it is now well past its sell-by-date, which is not true. Nazi-occupied Paris may have provided the existentialist philosophers who endured it with dramatic illustrations of their philosophical points – Sartre for example was exercised by the choice between cowardice and courage in the face of torture – but absolutely any time or place will provide illustrations to support existentialist claims. Moreover, although Sartre thought that existentialism should and could be synthesised with Marxism, it is not at all certain that it is a particularly left-wing philosophy. Existentialist arguments can also be used to support broadly so-called centre-right views concerning individualism, personal aspiration, personal responsibility, self-reliance, limited altruism, and our oversensitive blame and excuse culture. Certainly, How to Be an Existentialist has been criticised by some and praised by others for lacking the arguably excessive sympathy bordering on mawkishness that to some extent characterises the modern left. I leave people to make up their own minds by actually reading the book.
So, yes, it is hard to free existentialism from the myths, images, and even politics of Left Bank Paris, but not impossible. Existentialism can be presented as a coherent and useful philosophy without mentioning war-torn Paris, Parisian intellectuals, or even Parisian cafés.
Will the bleak realism of existentialism ever replace the comfort offered by religion, whether traditional or New Age?
Many religious people are simply not willing to go out of their comfort zone to contemplate the stark, mostly atheistic realism of existentialism. Indeed the church has actively discouraged them from doing so by preaching that existentialism is a heresy, which of course from the point of view of orthodox religion, it is. In 1948 the Catholic Church added Sartre’s complete works – even those not yet written – to its list of forbidden books.
Existentialism is not for the faint-hearted. Not all existentialism is atheistic, but most of it is, and as Sartre said in his autobiography, Words (1963), “Atheism is a cruel, long-term business” (p. 157). Existentialism is for people who demand the truth however dark and uncompromising that truth may be. It is often thought that, because it dwells on harsh realities – anxiety, absurdity, death, and so on – existentialism is a pessimistic, nihilistic philosophy, but this is to profoundly misunderstand it. How to Be an Existentialist seeks to show how it is possible to live a worthwhile and rewarding life on the basis of a full recognition of the tough existential truths. If religion is often about wishing, then existentialism is about willing. It is about getting real and acting decisively towards reasonable, worldly goals. As I wrote in the book, “You have to build your life on an understanding and acceptance of how things really are, otherwise you will always be fooling and deluding yourself as you hanker after impossibilities like complete happiness and total fulfilment. Ironically, existentialism is saying, if you want to be happy, or at least be happier, stop struggling to achieve complete happiness because that way only leads to disappointment.”
Existentialism is not in the business of replacing religion. Unlike religion, existentialism does not tell people how to live, what to eat, what to wear, who to marry. It instead urges people to recognise that they and others are inalienably free, and to embrace their freedom in a positive, courageous, and moral way rather than act in bad faith and deny their freedom. The most rewarding thing for me about writing How to Be an Existentialist is the wealth of correspondence I have received over the past decade from people who tell me it has helped them to find or recover their self-esteem, to confront reality, and to get their life together.
• Gavin Smith is a novelist and an English lecturer for the Open University. He received his PhD from the University of Exeter in 2010. | https://philosophynow.org/issues/136/Gary_Cox |
From childhood two things had played dominant roles in my life: One was the mystery related to God and the other about the questions concerning the origin of the universe. I was brought up in a family which took distance from the religious culture and tradition, and instead provided an atmosphere of rational scientific thinking. As a child I enjoyed an atmosphere where philosophies, classical literatures of East and West, and avant-
However, as contradiction to this atheist and scientific upbringing, before I started to learn alphabets I had been receiving messages from an invisible world. The messages confirmed the presence of God. The inner being, who was communicating with me, asked me to take distance from the traditional religions and beliefs. The presence of God in many ways did not contradict the atheist views which my parents implanted in me.
Already at an early age I had developed a passion for knowing the mystery of the universe. These interests in science combined with the availability of the books of the existential philosophers and writers, which filled our home, made me an existentialist before I entered my youth.
As I entered youth the two opposite sides of my life came into conflict: On one side God was trying to reveal its existence through literary words, visual expressions of arts and a power in the mind stirring emotions and thoughts; on the other side, the scientific knowledge and fascination for existentialism planted doubts and disbeliefs in any Divine world. As I crossed the age of twenty God started to rule over my mind. It created tormenting psychological experiences which could not be explained by any rational understanding of the world. I did not talk about these experiences to anyone with the fear that people might think I was insane. So I lived a separate hidden life outside the realm which people called normal.
During this period I pursued an academic career as a nuclear physicist and traveled around the world. While God and scientific reason drove my life in two opposite directions and made my inner life an arena of frustration, despair and terrible conflicts, I faced an unbearable tragedy. We lost our only son in a cable car accident on the Alps in Switzerland. The circumstances around the accident were so weird that I believed that his death was a deliberate act of God.
From then on my life changed dramatically. I was now possessed by the inner cosmic being who became my Guide in a world which appeared chaotic and dark. This resulted in the book ”Tathagata-
While writing these books I left academic career as a physicist and followed my wife in her postings as a diplomat. While she served as Ambassador to the Republic of Korea, I wrote “Dialogues Between Man and God” in Seoul. After that when we lived in Bangkok I wrote “Timelessness in Time in a Cosmos Without Beginning and End”. My last book “Vision of an Enlightened World-
These books were published in 2014 under the series “Books of Existence”. They deal with the most fundamental questions of human existence including God, cosmos, consciousness, meaning and moral values of life. The contents of the books revolve around my personal experiences of God and knowledge of science, and understanding of society and culture based on experiences gained from living in different parts of the world.
The essential messages of these books are: We live in a purposeful and designed universe, which is controlled and organized by a cosmic power in such a profound manner that no human intellect would ever be able to conceive it fully. In this meaningful universe the life evolves and transcends from a primitive stage to a higher evolution when mind may be capable of revealing greater dimensions of existence. The way the cosmos is organized and designed can give us the perspective about what is right and wrong, and what should be the universal moral basis of actions when we interact with the fellow human beings and nature. It emphasizes that there exist higher and lower paths. Along the lower path man may regress towards the animal instincts, while by following the higher path mind may reveal the greater mystery of the creation of the cosmos through our existence. The higher path is the path of the cosmic mind -
My spirituality is based on this awareness and experience of God. I do not share beliefs of any particular religion, or practice any ritual from any culture. I consider the evolution of religion and spirituality as expressions of social institutions, which attempt to provide answers to the fundamental questions of existence. It is a way for the people, facing myriads of challenges of survival, to seek psychological security. I see weakness of religious faiths which create conflicts and wars with other faiths, and divide human beings according to religion and culture. My spirituality instead is based on the belief in oneness of all human beings as parts of the cosmic being.
The purpose of my writing is to confront the deepest questions of existence without prejudice to science or spirituality. While accepting the premises of science, which have formed the foundation of modern culture, and recognizing the success of science in explaining things which were once attributed to divine agents, I wish to be faithful to my own life and experience. I keep myself open to the dimensions of existence which may not have any scientific explanation. In spite of the overwhelming progress made by science in closing the gaps in understanding psychological phenomena once perceived as the realm of spirituality, I accept the mental phenomena related to God as something outside the realm of science. It appears to exist above knowledge and cannot be confirmed and explained with intellectual arguments.
In my view human existence cannot be reduced only to phenomena, which can be tested, proved and disproved by using scientific methods. It includes much more than these. Our existence seems to extend to extra dimensions where mind may have a different reality outside the realm of matter. I do believe that although mind may emerge in association with matter it is not synonymous with matter.
The books will throw lights on the nature of the mind and the way the mind may function in revealing the existence of God. In my writing process I have used both aspect of the mind: In one aspect it derives ideas from knowledge, reason and intellect which are in conformity with the scientific and rational understanding of the world. In other aspect it belongs to a process which contradicts reason, logic and knowledge. This non-
l believe God has spoken to me and explained the nature of Divinity, cosmos, consciousness, meaning and values of life with a purpose of sending messages to the fellow human beings. I have been told about the possibility of building an enlightened social-
I hope that with increasing knowledge of science, and the liberation of human beings from material needs, and growing security of life against survival, larger groups of human beings would receive opportunities for deeper exploration of the self. This will bring the realms of science and spirituality closer together. The readers will discover in these books the vision of the higher man and the way one may walk along an enlightened path to bring forward this evolution. | http://booksofexistence.no/page2.html |
Existentialism: The Basics
Irvin Yalom defines existential psychotherapy as an approach to therapy that helps clients face concerns of existence: meaninglessness, isolation, death, and freedom. This approach to therapy is based on the fact that human beings are free to make choices and they are responsible for their actions and choices. It emphasizes on freedom, choices, and existence of an individual. Existentialists believe that humans try to find meaning in their lives and make rational decisions. Existentialism disregards the deterministic view of humans as suggested by radical behaviorists and psychoanalysts. This therapy is based on the fact that people are not victims of circumstances but victims of their own choice. Viktor Frankl in his book says that man can be deprived of everything but no one can take away his freedom to make choices. Life puts man in a situation and it is the man’s choice that defines the consequences. | https://www.thecyanproject.org/2020/08/ |
This was the headline, three years ago, to a guest column in this newspaper. Its point was simple. While Donald Trump had given us an embarrassment of crises — political, financial, environmental and social — he had not, despite the claims of many pundits, hatched an “existential crisis.” This sort of crisis represents a stress test of sorts not for an institution, party or even society, but instead for an individual — one that involved a true understanding of personal freedom.
Leave it to our president, however, to leave no crisis unhatched. Is it possible, thanks to his abject failure to address the coronavirus pandemic, and his deliberate stirring of racial hatred, Donald Trump can now take credit as author not just of a full-blown social crisis, but also of a full-blown existential crisis?
I realize that, as the growing number of infections and deaths weigh on Houstonians, the philosophical concerns of a few dead Frenchmen and women might not amount to a hill of beans.
But don’t light up a Gauloise and shrug just yet. As the author of that earlier column — and as someone now preparing to teach a class on, yes, existentialism this fall at the University of Houston — let me first describe an event that took place 75 years ago in Paris.
In late October 1945, a small man wearing thick glasses and a rumpled suit made his way through a packed and pungent auditorium in Paris. Upon taking the stage, the speaker, Jean-Paul Sartre, made the case for the relevance of existentialism to his rapt audience. In a city recently liberated from the German occupiers, the dense crowd of mostly young people — so dense that some fainted and had to be carried out — did not want to return to the world before 1939. Four years of foreign occupation and state collaboration had battered and buried the values of that older and compromised world, clearing the space for a new kind of ethics.
That ethic, Sartre declared, could be distilled into three words: existence precedes essence. In other words, each of us is what we make of our own self, not what others try to make that self. But not so fast, Sartre warns. Assuming responsibility for what I become does not mean that we can ignore what others have become. On the contrary, Sartre insisted, when we shape who we wish to become, we must do so as if we are shaping all of humankind.
No less important, Sartre concluded, we are radically free. Not free to do as we wish, but free to do as we must: make fundamental choices about our lives while keeping the lives of others front and center. If this isn’t already a source of anguish, Sartre adds a kicker: there is no single code or system that can tell you what to do. You are on your own — you and everyone else.
There are many problems with Sartre’s lecture, as there are with the book, “Existentialism is a Humanism,” that soon followed. But there is also something deep and true to his words. This, at least, is the case for university faculty and students who, like most everyone else, are making their way across a radically new world.
For example, at the University of Houston, we now have a menu of choices for teaching and attending classes — choices called Hyflex, asynchronous and synchronous. The names are repellent, but also revealing, reminding us that we need to make choices on matters that, until now, did not allow for much choice. Suddenly, we must choose how to teach and how to learn. Whether to take a letter grade or take pass/fail; is it better to stay at home or go to campus; is it better to go to campus or to a protest?
The questions go on, but the same point remains: We have no choice but to choose, knowing that these choices will have consequences. They will affect us; they will affect others. This makes, of course, for lots of angst. Even the invaluable guidelines of the CDC do not ultimately tell me how to choose. The rules on mask wearing and social distancing are crucial, but not conclusive. One person will decide these rules rule out in-person classes, another will decide they rule in such classes, yet another will decide their place is at a protest against police violence.
What is key is making the decision in good faith — a decision based on a just appraisal of a situation, and not based on what others insist, despite all evidence to the contrary, is the right thing to do. In a famous paradox, Sartre wrote that the French “were never so free” then under the occupation. By this, he meant every clear and true thought was a hard-won victory against lies and propaganda. Once we emerge from the current viral occupation, we might echo that same paradox. | https://www.houstonchronicle.com/opinion/outlook/article/Opinion-Never-so-free-Trump-was-15460727.php |
Best School of Philosophy
Which school of philosophy is the best?
Vote
6 Total Votes
1
ExistentialismExistentialism is a term applied to the work of certain late 19th- and 20th-century philosophers who, despite profound doctrinal differences, shared the belief that philosophical thinking begins with the human subject—not merely the thinking subject... , but the acting, feeling, living human individual. In existentialism, the individual's starting point is characterized by what has been called "the existential attitude", or a sense of disorientation and confusion in the face of an apparently meaningless or absurd world. Many existentialists have also regarded traditional systematic or academic philosophies, in both style and content, as too abstract and remote from concrete human experience.Søren Kierkegaard is generally considered to have been the first existentialist philosopher, though he did not use the term existentialism. He proposed that each individual—not society or religion—is solely responsible for giving meaning to life and living it passionately and sincerely. Existentialism became popular in the years following World War II, and strongly influenced many disciplines besides philosophy, including theology, drama, art, literature, and psychology more
5 votes
0 comments
2
Secular HumanismThe philosophy or life stance of secular humanism embraces human reason, ethics, social justice and philosophical naturalism, while specifically rejecting religious dogma, supernaturalism, pseudoscience or superstition as the basis of morality and d... ecision making.It posits that human beings are capable of being ethical and moral without religion or a god. It does not, however, assume that humans are either inherently evil or innately good, nor does it present humans as being superior to nature. Rather, the humanist life stance emphasizes the unique responsibility facing humanity and the ethical consequences of human decisions. Fundamental to the concept of secular humanism is the strongly held viewpoint that ideology—be it religious or political—must be thoroughly examined by each individual and not simply accepted or rejected on faith. Along with this, an essential part of secular humanism is a continually adapting search for truth, primarily through science and philosophy. Many Humanists derive their moral codes from a philosophy of utilitarianism, ethical naturalism or evolutionary ethics, and some advocate a science of morality more
1 vote
1 comment
3
DeterminismDeterminism is a metaphysical philosophical position stating that for everything that happens there are conditions such that, given those conditions, nothing else could happen. "There are many determinisms, depending upon what pre-conditions are con... sidered to be determinative of an event." Deterministic theories throughout the history of philosophy have sprung from diverse motives and considerations, some of which overlap. Some forms of determinism can be tested empirically with ideas stemming from physics and the philosophy of physics. The opposite of determinism is some kind of indeterminism. Determinism is often contrasted with free will.Determinism often is taken to mean simply causal determinism, which in physics is the idea known as cause-and-effect. It is the concept that events within a given paradigm are bound by causality in such a way that any state is completely determined by prior states. This meaning can be distinguished from other varieties of determinism mentioned below.Other debates often concern the scope of determined systems, with some maintaining that the entire universe is a single determinate system and others identifying other more limited determinate systems. There are numerous historical debates involving many philosophical positions and varieties of determinism. They include debates concerning determinism and free will, technically denoted as compatibilistic and incompatibilistic more
0 votes
0 comments
4
UtilitarianismUtilitarianism is a theory in normative ethics holding that the proper course of action is the one that maximizes utility, usually defined as maximizing happiness and reducing suffering. Classic utilitarianism, as advocated by two influential contri... butors, Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill, is hedonistic. It is now generally taken to be a form of consequentialism, although when Anscombe first introduced that term it was to distinguish between "old-fashioned Utilitarianism" and consequentialism. According to utilitarianism the moral worth of an action is determined only by its resulting outcome, although there is debate over how much consideration should be given to actual consequences, foreseen consequences and intended consequences. In A Fragment on Government, Bentham says, "it is the greatest happiness of the greatest number that is the measure of right and wrong" and describes this as a fundamental axiom. In An Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation, he talks of "the principle of utility" but later prefers "the greatest happiness principle."Utilitarianism can be characterized as a quantitative and reductionist approach to ethics. It is a type of naturalism. It can be contrasted with deontological ethics, which does not regard the consequences of an act as a determinant of its moral worth; virtue ethics, which primarily focuses on acts and habits leading to happiness; pragmatic ethics; as well as with ethical egoism and other varieties of consequentialism more
0 votes
0 comments
5
AbsurdismIn philosophy, "the Absurd" refers to the conflict between the human tendency to seek inherent value and meaning in life and the human inability to find any. In this context absurd does not mean "logically impossible", but rather "humanly impossible... ". The universe and the human mind do not each separately cause the Absurd, but rather, the Absurd arises by the contradictory nature of the two existing simultaneously. Absurdism, therefore, is a philosophical school of thought stating that the efforts of humanity to find inherent meaning will ultimately fail because the sheer amount of information as well as the vast realm of the unknown make certainty impossible. And yet, some absurdists state that one should embrace the absurd condition of humankind while conversely continuing to explore and search for meaning. As a philosophy, absurdism thus also explores the fundamental nature of the Absurd and how individuals, once becoming conscious of the Absurd, should respond to it.Absurdism is very closely related to existentialism and nihilism and has its origins in the 19th century Danish philosopher Søren Kierkegaard, who chose to confront the crisis humans faced with the Absurd by developing existentialist philosophy. Absurdism as a belief system was born of the European existentialist movement that ensued, specifically when the French Algerian philosopher and writer Albert Camus rejected certain aspects from that philosophical line of thought and published his essay The Myth of Sisyphus. The aftermath of World War II provided the social environment that stimulated absurdist views and allowed for their popular development, especially in the devastated country of France more
0 votes
0 comments
6
NihilismNihilism is the philosophical doctrine suggesting the negation of one or more putatively meaningful aspects of life. Most commonly, nihilism is presented in the form of existential nihilism, which argues that life is without objective meaning, purpo... se, or intrinsic value. Moral nihilists assert that morality does not inherently exist, and that any established moral values are abstractly contrived. Nihilism can also take epistemological or ontological/metaphysical forms, meaning respectively that, in some aspect, knowledge is not possible, or that reality does not actually exist.The term was popularized by Ivan Turgenev in his novel Fathers and Sons, whose hero, Bazarov, was a nihilist.The term is sometimes used in association with anomie to explain the general mood of despair at a perceived pointlessness of existence that one may develop upon realising there are no necessary norms, rules, or laws. Movements such as Futurism and deconstruction, among others, have been identified by commentators as "nihilistic" at various times in various contexts.Nihilism is also a characteristic that has been ascribed to time periods: for example, Jean Baudrillard and others have called postmodernity a nihilistic epoch, and some Christian theologians and figures of religious authority have asserted that postmodernity and many aspects of modernity represent a rejection of theism, and that rejection of their theistic doctrine entails nihilism more
0 votes
0 comments
7
SolipsismSolipsism is the philosophical idea that only one's own mind is sure to exist. As an epistemological position, solipsism holds that knowledge of anything outside one's own mind is unsure. The external world and other minds cannot be known, and might... not exist outside the mind. As a metaphysical position, solipsism goes further to the conclusion that the world and other minds do not exist. As such it is the only epistemological position that, by its own postulate, is both irrefutable and yet indefensible in the same manner more
0 votes
0 comments
8
ObjectivismObjectivism is a philosophy created by Russian-American philosopher and novelist Ayn Rand. Objectivism's central tenets are that reality exists independent of consciousness, that human beings have direct contact with reality through sense perception... , that one can attain objective knowledge from perception through the process of concept formation and inductive logic, that the proper moral purpose of one's life is the pursuit of one's own happiness, that the only social system consistent with this morality is full respect for individual rights embodied in laissez-faire capitalism, and that the role of art in human life is to transform humans' metaphysical ideas by selective reproduction of reality into a physical form—a work of art—that one can comprehend and to which one can respond emotionally.Rand characterized Objectivism as "a philosophy for living on earth", grounded in reality, and aimed at defining human nature and the nature of the world in which we live.The name "Objectivism" derives from the idea that human knowledge and values are objective: they exist and are determined by the nature of reality, to be discovered by one's mind, and are not created by the thoughts one has. Rand stated that she chose the name because her preferred term for a philosophy based on the primacy of existence—"existentialism"—had already been taken more
0 votes
0 comments
9
PositivismPositivism is a philosophy of science based on the view that information derived from logical and mathematical treatments and reports of sensory experience is the exclusive source of all authoritative knowledge, and that there is valid knowledge onl... y in scientific knowledge. Verified data received from the senses are known as empirical evidence. This view holds that society, like the physical world, operates according to general laws. Introspective and intuitive knowledge is rejected. Although the positivist approach has been a recurrent theme in the history of Western thought, the modern sense of the approach was developed by the philosopher and founding sociologist Auguste Comte in the early 19th century. Comte argued that, much as the physical world operates according to gravity and other absolute laws, so also does society more
0 votes
0 comments
10
EpicureanismEpicureanism is a system of philosophy based upon the teachings of Epicurus, founded around 307 BC. Epicurus was an atomic materialist, following in the steps of Democritus. His materialism led him to a general attack on superstition and divine inte... rvention. Following Aristippus—about whom very little is known—Epicurus believed that what he called "pleasure" is the greatest good, but the way to attain such pleasure is to live modestly and to gain knowledge of the workings of the world and the limits of one's desires. This led one to attain a state of tranquility and freedom from fear, as well as absence of bodily pain. The combination of these two states is supposed to constitute happiness in its highest form. Although Epicureanism is a form of hedonism, insofar as it declares pleasure to be the sole intrinsic good, its conception of absence of pain as the greatest pleasure and its advocacy of a simple life make it different from "hedonism" as it is commonly understood.Epicureanism was originally a challenge to Platonism, though later it became the main opponent of Stoicism. Epicurus and his followers shunned politics. After the death of Epicurus, his school was headed by Hermarchus; later many Epicurean societies flourished in the Late Hellenistic era and during the Roman era. Its best-known Roman proponent was the poet Lucretius. By the end of the Roman Empire, being opposed by philosophies that were now in the ascendance, Epicureanism had all but died out, and would be resurrected in the 17th century by the atomist Pierre Gassendi, who adapted it to the Christian doctrine more
0 votes
0 comments
Juan_Pablo says2013-09-03T19:45:56.0408829-05:00
I'm unable to vote in this poll because I consider humanism, existentialism, and utilitarianism as all vital to the world mankind should strive to build. | https://www.debate.org/polls/best-school-of-philosophy |
2001: Joel and Ethan Coen release The Man Who Wasn’t There. It exudes the late ’40s: Cold War, Roswell flying saucers, Parisian existentialists. Barber Ed Crane is disconnected from his wife, his work, his society, himself. He murders by accident and is accidentally convicted of a different murder. Existence is absurd, except perhaps for the hope offered by the white light of a UFO—the ultimate alienation.
The existentialist vogue and the ’60s counterculture were replaced by a quarter-century of fin-de-siècle irony. Nothing was original or absolute, the free individual subject was a construct. Derridean deconstruction became the new dogma of American mandarins. But these days even Derrida, advanced in years, is primarily concerned with the paradoxes of death and religion. And in a new century when it is impossible to take our national existence for granted, the old-fashioned questions—why are we here? what will we do?—no longer seem so old-fashioned.
In Existential America, intellectual historian George Cotkin proves existentialism’s relevance by showing that it was never just a fad; existential sensibilities run deep in our history. Sartre, de Beauvoir, and Camus, who all toured the United States after the war, saw only the country’s exterior, its consumerist boosterism. But would it be so surprising if the land of the free were also the land of the searching, the anxious, the alienated? This is, after all, the country of Herman Melville and Edward Hopper. One Frenchman who looked carefully at Americans, de Tocqueville, would not have been surprised to find echoes of a lonely Dane here. Cotkin traces those echoes, as well as the politically charged American reactions to the French existentialists. Along the way he drops fascinating anecdotes about how existentialism touched everyone from FDR to MLK, from Whittaker Chambers to Betty Friedan.
One of Cotkin’s important contributions is his account of how European thought melded with African American “blues existentialism.” As de Beauvoir wrote, “One is not born, but rather becomes, a woman.” Does one also become black? Existentialism, as a philosophy of freedom that rejects predetermined identities, lent powerful concepts to African American writers. Wright’s The Outsider and Ellison’s Invisible Man stand in a distinguished line of tales of existential alienation, from Notes From Underground to Unamuno’s Mist to The Stranger—to The Man Who Wasn’t There.
2003: In a Pomona, California, restaurant, a man fires an unprovoked, fatal shot into a two-year-old’s head. When the police catch up with him, he screams, “Shoot me.” They do.
We look for explanations: drugs, psychosis, abuse. But when do explanations become excuses? We overlook human freedom, which is always capable of nihilism—saying “no” to our own existence, the existence of others, the existence of the world itself. That is undoubtedly evil, wrong, immoral . . . but the nihilist doesn’t care—which is what makes him a nihilist. Existential thinking focuses on the permanent, problematic reality of human choice, and this is why existentialism is better able to understand us than theories that simply draw up lists of good and bad actions.
But de Beauvoir did complete The Ethics of Ambiguity, and Sartre’s American translator, Hazel Barnes, wrote An Existentialist Ethics. Existential morality typically starts with the individual’s freedom and tries to find respect for others’ freedom within it. The move parallels Kant and Hegel, although they had the advantage of seeing freedom as inextricable from reason. By grasping situations from a suprapersonal point of view, reason discourages the selfish abuse of others. For existentialists, however, freedom precedes and exceeds reason—which makes it much harder to build a moral edifice. Then again, which is more important today: to build edifices, or to reflect on their fragility?
In a summary of Woody Allen’s Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989), Cotkin describes philosophy professor Louis Levy as a man who always said “yes” to life, but inexplicably committed suicide. That’s how Cliff Stern—an unrealistic maker of obscure documentaries, played by Allen—interprets Levy, but it’s not what Levy says in the footage we see. Levy describes love and God as self-contradictory and the universe as a valueless place. Is it so surprising that he chooses to depart existence one day, leaving a note that reads, “I’ve gone out the window”? Existentialism can’t keep us from killing ourselves—but no philosophy can do that. The great merit of existentialism is its sensitivity to the tensions that will confront us as long as we choose to remain in being. | https://www.villagevoice.com/2003/04/01/being-here/ |
An international team of astronomers has identified for the first time a thick stellar disc in the Andromeda Galaxy, a large spiral galaxy closest to our own Milky Way.
The discovery of the thick disk is the main result of 5 years of research that will help astronomers better understand the processes involved in the formation and evolution of large spiral galaxies like our own. This was reported by a research team consisting of an astronomer at the University of California in Los Angeles, Michael Rich and colleagues from Europe and Australia.
Using the Keck Telescope in Hawaii, the astronomers analyzed the velocities of individual bright stars in the Andromeda galaxy and were able to observe a group of stars in the thick disk - clearly distinguishable from already known to the thin disk of the galaxy - and assessed how these stars differ from stars with thin disk height , width and chemical composition.
Approximately 70% of the stars of Andromeda kept on a thin stellar disk of the galaxy. This disc structure contains the spiral arms of the marked regions of active star formation, and it surrounds a central bulge of old stars in the center of the galaxy.
"From observations of our own Milky Way and other nearby spirals, we know that these galaxies typically possess two stellar discs, as ’thin’ and ’thick’ - said Michelle Collins of the University of Cambridge’s Institute of Astronomy, who led the analysis. Thick disc is formed of stars, which are usually much older than those in the thin disk, allowing you to make a perfect study of galactic evolution.
"The classical thin stellar discs that we typically see in Hubble images are the result of actions, ranging from the accumulation of gas by the end of galaxy formation, whereas thick discs are produced in a much earlier phase of the galaxy’s life, making them ideal for devices that looking for processes of evolution of the galaxy "- said Collins.
The process of formation of thick disks are not yet fully understood. First the best way to understand this structure was to study the thick disk represented in our own Milky Way. However, most of the thick disk of our galaxy, obscured and hidden from view. The discovery of a similar thick disc in Andromeda presents a much clearer view of spiral structure. Astronomers can determine the properties of the disc across the galaxy and will search for traces of events related to his education.
"Our initial study of this component already suggests that it is probably much older than the thin disk, and has a different chemical composition" - said Rich, who was the chief investigator in the Keck Observatory. "In the future, more detailed observations should enable us to understand the formation of the Andromeda disk system, with the potential to apply this understanding to the formation of spiral galaxies throughout the universe."
"This is one of the amazing results of many observations of the movements and the chemical composition of stars in the Andromeda Galaxy’’ - said Scott Chapman of the Institute of Astronomy at Cambridge." Finding this thick disc has allowed us to obtain a unique and grand views of the Andromeda system of education and certainly helped our understanding of this complex process. " | http://decamon.com/text/5/1949/ |
New research by Indiana University astronomer Constantine Deliyannis provides new insights into the composition of the most common stars in the universe and may offer clues as to how the Big Bang occurred.
Deliyannis' research looks at stellar interiors and stellar evolution. He observes stars' surface abundances of lithium, beryllium, and boron, which is crucial to our understanding the relative importance of a variety of physical processes that could be occurring inside stars. These fragile elements survive only in the outermost layers of stars, and so their surface abundances trace interior processes that connect to the surface.
The abundances of these elements also have implications for other areas of astronomy, such as galactic chemical evolution and cosmology. According to Deliyannis, a fraction of the lithium in the universe today was made during the first several minutes of the Big Bang and was subsequently incorporated into the first generations of stars. So, to learn how much lithium was made during the Big Bang and thus test the Big Bang theory, scientists need to account for what has happened to the surface lithium of the oldest stars since they formed.
The sun, Deliyannis says, has 0.7 percent of the lithium that it formed with. Nearby sun-like stars, which comprise approximately 90 percent of the stars in the universe, also contain amounts of lithium well below astronomers' standard predictions. These otherwise well-behaved stars have lost much more lithium than standard theory predicts.
In his research Deliyannis uses the abundances of lithium, beryllium, and boron to test the various mechanisms mentioned above, using both stars in the field and stars belonging to star clusters. Star clusters are especially useful because their ages are known, and stars within a given cluster formed together so they all have the same age. Observations of lithium in many stars in a single cluster provide information about how the lithium abundance depends on stellar mass and studying clusters of different ages and compositions informs Deliyannis about how the lithium abundances changes and how the changes depend on composition.
Deliyannis' research requires observations of at least dozens of stars in each cluster. He utilizes a high performing telescope, such as the WIYN telescope of which IU owns a fraction, to record the spectrum of each individual star. His analysis of the spectra then provides insight into the lithium abundance as well as other information about the stars.
This research tells us that the loss of lithium is mostly due to the way stars gradually spin down, rotating more and more slowly as they age, and the specific ways in which this process causes mixing in the stellar interior and destruction of lithium. Knowing just how fast the lithium disappears helps astronomers understand how the related instabilities that instability affects the stars’ interiors. | https://research.impact.iu.edu/research-news/podcasts/transcripts/2023-january/2023-01-16.html |
A team of astronomers including DTM's Scott Sheppard discovered the first known Solar System object detected at a distance that is more than 100 times farther than the Earth-Sun distance.Read more...
Cold Super-Earth Found Orbiting Second-Closest Star System to our Own
An international team including five Carnegie astronomers has discovered a frozen Super-Earth orbiting Barnard's star, the closest single star to our own Sun.Read more...
New Extremely Distant Solar System Object Found During Hunt for Planet X
Carnegie's Scott Sheppard and his colleagues discovered a new extremely distant object far beyond Pluto with an orbit that supports the presence of an even-farther-out, Super-Earth or larger Planet X.Read more...
The line that separates stars from brown dwarfs may soon be clearer thanks to new work led by Carnegie’s Serge Dieterich.Read more...
Stellar "Swarms" Help Astronomers Understand the Evolution of Stars
New work from Carnegie's Jonathan Gagné and the American Museum of Natural History's Jacqueline Faherty identified nearly a thousand potential members and 31 confirmed members of stellar associations.Read more...
What Makes Diamonds Blue? Boron From Oceanic Crustal Remnants in Earth's Lower Mantle
Blue diamonds—like the world-famous Hope Diamond at the National Museum of Natural History—formed up to four times deeper in the Earth's mantle than most other diamonds, according to new work published on the cover of Nature.Read more... | https://epl.carnegiescience.edu/news-tags/science-news?tid=All&tid_1=17&page=7 |
I would like to start by asking the question: "Why is this chapter in this book?" The emphasis of these lectures is clearly on stellar astrophysics, so why is it necessary to have a chapter dedicated to the interstellar medium?
The answer to that question lies in Antonio's invitation to me to participate in this winter school: "The school will be devoted to what things can be learned about galaxies from their stars, but properties of the gas are an important nexus between stars and galaxy evolution."
I couldn't agree more. An important long term goal of observational extragalactic astronomy is to construct detailed evolutionary histories of galaxies. This goal is best visualized using the "population box" concept introduced by Hodge (1989). Hodge produced schematic representations of star formation rates and chemical abundance evolution for many nearby galaxies (cf. Figure 18 in Gary DaCosta's chapter in this book). Converting these schematic representations into hard data (with error bars) represents a great challenge that all conference participants can fully appreciate. In the ensuing years since Hodge first published his review, there has been tremendous progress in the task, especially with regard to the Local Group dwarf ellipticals (much of this progress due to the capabilities of the Hubble Space Telescope). An excellent example of progress in adding detail to Hodge's diagrams can be found in the study of the dwarf irregular galaxy NGC 6822 by Gallart et al. (1996a, b, c).
I can add another reason for including a chapter on the interstellar medium (ISM). It is important to remind stellar astronomers not to overlook the ISM. The ISM can often add clues which will help to solve the puzzles presented by stellar studies. I give as an example HI observations of IZw18. This is a dwarf galaxy thought by some to be experiencing its first burst of star formation. HI observations reveal a plume of neutral gas connecting IZw18 to a companion (Dufour et al. 1996, Skillman et al. 1996a). This suggests that the present burst of star formation has been triggered by a dynamical interaction, and reminds us that sorting out the star formation history of this galaxy must include an understanding of its environment.
Figure 1. A diagram of the photometric and chemical evolution connections between different astronomical entities from Tinsley (1980). This diagram was taken from Knapp (1990) where double-lined boxes emphasize those areas directly relevant to the ISM.
There are many connections between the studies of stars in a galaxy and the studies of its ISM. A quick perusal of Tinsley's famous flow diagram (Figure 1) elucidates some of these for us. When introductory astronomy textbooks discuss the ISM, they usually introduce the topic in relationship to star formation processes. As the ISM is the raw material for star formation, the link is obvious. When I was originally outlining these lectures, I thought that I would dedicate a good fraction of my time to this connection. However, as my thinking evolved, it became clear that this subject is too large to usefully treat as part of a chapter. Indeed, there are now many, many volumes dedicated to this topic. For example, one of the best is the proceedings of the Third Canary Islands Winter School (Tenorio-Tagle, Prieto, & Sanchez 1992), and probably the most recent is the 1996 Maryland Conference proceedings (Holt & Mundy 1997). It also became clear that the emphasis of this school would be on the understanding of stars that already exist in galaxies, and not on their creation.
A second connection is that of chemical evolution. While this is a problem that rivals star formation in its complexity, the connections to existing stars are more clear. The record of the chemical evolution of galaxies is locked into its low mass stars. The present status of chemical evolution is represented in both the youngest stars and the interstellar medium. As a starting point, we might demand that the abundances measured in those two components agree. We will also see the close connections between stellar evolution theory and the interstellar medium as one compares the theoretical nucleosynthetic yields with the "effective" yields one obtains through measurements of gas mass fractions. It is also possible to constrain nuclear cross sections through measurements of relative abundances, again an area where ISM observations can play a role.
Finally, the ISM can act as a recorder, helping us to better understand stellar physics by demonstrating a star's effects on its environment. I can think of two immediate examples concerning massive stars. The first is a subject which Claus covers in detail in his chapter. The energy deposition of massive stars is best measured by the energy content of the surrounding ISM. The second is a topic which will be covered by Rolf. A long standing problem in nebular photoionization modeling (the Ne III problem) has recently been resolved (Sellmaier et al. 1996). The solution to the problem lay in a better understanding of the effects of winds on the radiative transfer in massive stars. Here we have an example of observations of the ISM helping to bring about an advance in stellar atmospheres.
Thus, I have chosen the following goal for this chapter. I hope to provide an entrance point for stellar astronomers into understanding observations of the ISM and how they might be relevant to helping to understand the studies of resolved stars in other galaxies. I will concentrate on the theme of chemical evolution, as I think that this provides the greatest number of links between stellar and ISM studies.
I note here that the problem of understanding the chemical evolution of galaxies is a messy one. There are many important parameters that are coupled in non-linear ways. Thus, the key to success in this field is the isolation of variables. Luckily, we have a wealth of galaxies to study. The variety of galaxies in the Local Group and other relatively nearby groups allows us to test for dependences on various galaxian structural properties. It is important to think of the variety in the nearby galaxies as providing baselines in various parameters against which to test the dependences of observables, and later, theories. I have a clear prejudice for the nearby galaxies; I believe that the resolved stellar populations and interstellar medium in these galaxies will eventually allow us our best insights into the processes that determine galaxy evolution. | http://ned.ipac.caltech.edu/level5/Skillman/Skill1.html |
Recent observational results from space missions, such as the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO), Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS), Kepler and others that were launched in the past 10 years, as well as from the new large solar and stellar telescopes, such as GREGOR and ALMA, and advanced instrumentation, have convincingly demonstrated that the progress in our understanding of how magnetic fields are generated, emerge from the interior, organize in active regions, and cause powerful eruptions can be achieved only by developing a unified approach and studying relationships between solar and stellar magnetism. Developing a synergy of solar and stellar astronomy is essential in solving grand-challenge problems of the primary mechanisms of stellar magnetic activity and its effects on star-planet relations.
An important key issue is that the same or similar phenomena occur on the Sun and other stars under different conditions (different age, metallicity, rotation rate etc) and studying these similarities and differences will help to uncover the underlying physical mechanisms, their evolution in time and impacts. Specifically, the proposed program includes discussions of new emerging topics that are of interest to both solar and stellar astronomers, such as magnetic field diagnostics of the chromosphere and corona using observations of chromospheric lines and initial data from ALMA (which became available earlier this year), detection of stellar magnetospheres, and detailed mapping of the magnetic fields on the surface of stars. Previously, such mapping was possible only for the Sun. Therefore, it is very interesting and important to compare the solar and stellar results, and also discuss how the surface magnetism structure and evolution are related to the generation of magnetic in the solar and stellar interiors.
In this respect, tremendous progress has been achieved from analysis of helioseismology and asteroseismology data from SDO and Kepler, as well as from observations of the solar and stellar variability. Curiously, one of the IAUS 273 discussions was about a delay of the start of Solar Cycle 24. Now, eight years later, we know that it was not just a delay, but the whole cycle is very weak and unusual in many respects including further decline of helioseismic signatures of the next cycle. This long decline in solar activity undoubtedly will be a topic of future IAU Symposia, but at this point, it is very important to discuss the place of the Sun in the general picture of stellar cycles. This picture that is emerging from analysis of the Kepler and supporting ground-based spectroscopic data reveals new scaling laws and relations that needs to be taken into account in solar magnetism studies. Recent theoretical studies based on advanced supercomputer simulations revealed a key role of magnetism in establishing the solar and stellar differential rotation laws, and now it is important to discuss observational tests of the theoretical predictions based on the currently available and future data.
One of the puzzles of solar and stellar magnetism is related to the origin of extreme flare events. Despite the very weak magnetic cycle the Sun produced, in the cycle declining phase in 2017, some of the strongest flares in the history of observations were seen. This raises the question of how this phenomenon may be related to the magnetism of stars that produce superflares, and what physical mechanism may cause such extreme events. Another important topic for the joint solar-stellar discussions is the influence of magnetism on solar and stellar variability. A recent interest of stellar astronomers in the details of solar variability (e.g. effects of magnetic fields on granulation) is caused by the need to understand and characterize the stellar ‘jitter’ for detection of Earth-type planets.
The interest in understanding the role of stellar magnetism in star-planet relations is driven by the need to determine conditions for habitability. In this aspect, the goal of this Symposium will be to discuss properties of solar and stellar coronae and winds, and their interactions with planetary magnetospheres. Compared to the solar system, in many recently discovered planetary systems the stellar winds are substantially stronger, and planets are much closer to their parent stars. This creates extreme conditions for magnetic interactions and extreme radiation environments, which depend on the state of stellar magnetic activity. The discussion of this new problem which is beyond the traditional study horizon, will undoubtedly raise interest in understanding the broader impacts of magnetic activity and lead to new ideas. We propose to include talks on observational and theoretical studies, as well as on attempts to model star-planet interaction in laboratory experiments.
The Symposium will include an open public session on solar eclipses and planetary transits. The goal of this session is to discuss how the eclipses and transits provide new information about solar and stellar magnetic fields. In particular, the total solar eclipses provide high-resolution measurements of magnetic field in the low corona, which cannot be obtained by any other means. In addition, this session will present a broad historical overview of solar eclipses, planetary transits, their role in astronomy, as well as a general talk on habitability of exoplanets. We anticipate that this session will be of great public interest.
The Symposium will be held in the Chilean city of Copiapo close to but outside the path of the total solar eclipse. A bus tour to watch the total eclipse (July 2nd) will be organized. | https://iaus354.aip.de/cms/scientific-rationale/ |
These are the remnants of the last supernova known to explode in our galaxy whose light has reached Earth. It lit up the night sky in 1604 and attracted the attention of Johannes Kepler himself. But it's only in the last couple of decades that we've developed the technology to understand exactly what kind of supernova this is.
Indeed, Kepler and his contemporaries didn't even have the benefit of telescopes when studying this supernova, let alone giant orbiting space telescopes that can see across all parts of the electromagnetic spectrum. Modern astronomers have all those resources, and so they have been able to determine just what sort of stellar explosion created the last Milky Way supernova visible to human eyes, as NASA explains:
The supernova produced a bright new star in early 17th century skies within the constellation Ophiuchus. It was studied by astronomer Johannes Kepler and his contemporaries, without the benefit of a telescope, as they searched for an explanation of the heavenly apparition. Armed with a modern understanding of stellar evolution, early 21st century astronomers continue to explore the expanding debris cloud, but can now use orbiting space telescopes to survey Kepler's supernova remnant (SNR) across the spectrum.
Recent X-ray data and images of Kepler's supernova remnant taken by the orbiting Chandra X-ray Observatory has shown relative elemental abundances typical of a Type Ia supernova, and further indicated that the progenitor was a white dwarf star that exploded when it accreted too much material from a companion Red Giant star and went over Chandrasekhar's limit. About 13,000 light years away, Kepler's supernova represents the most recent stellar explosion seen to occur within our Milky Way galaxy.
For more on this and other amazing images, check out NASA's Astronomy Photo of the Day. | https://gizmodo.com/heres-the-supernova-johannes-kepler-studied-400-years-a-508710905 |
Our sun vibrates due to pressure waves generated by turbulence in its upper layers (the layers dominated by convective gas motions). Helioseismology is the name given to the study of these oscillations, which can shed light on the inner workings of the sun. Astronomers often detect brightness variations in other stars whose physical processes make them variable, like the Cepheid variable stars used to calibrate the cosmic distance scale, but it is much harder to detect solar-like oscillations in stars that are driven by convection near the star's surface ("astroseismology"). Open star clusters are well understood and provide benchmarks for studying stellar evolution, stellar rotation, stellar masses and ages, and many other properties, and so astroseismology would be a valuable addition by providing independent determinations of masses and ages for cluster members. But astronomers have not been able to perform such measurements on main sequence stars in an open cluster—until now.
CfA astronomers Dave Latham, Allyson Bieryla, and Bob Stefanik were part of a team using K2, the refurbished Kepler Space Telescope to observe successfully these kinds of variations in main sequence stars. Kepler was designed to look for exoplanet transits through continuous and precise monitoring of a star's brightness. K2 stared at the stars in the Hyades cluster, about 155 light-years away, and took a brightness measurement roughly every minute for three months.
The astronomers found small brightness variations across many timescales, but in two stars slightly larger than the sun they found variations about every ten minutes that were particularly intense, signaling solar-like oscillations – the first ever such detections. Since the Hyades is an important standard cluster, the team had already been monitoring its stars for more than thirty-five years, and know that both of these two stars are single. The scientists conclude among other things that stars are very fast rotators (less than two days each; the sun rotates in 26.2 days) which marks them as younger and quite different from the older, slower rotating population in the cluster.
The new results illustrate the contribution that asteroseismology can make to the study of open star clusters, and the team plans to continue this work with future K2 observations.
Explore further: Kepler watched a Cepheid star boil
More information: | https://phys.org/news/2016-12-solar-like-oscillations-stars.html |
Astronomers have discovered a huge black hole in the Milky Way, so important that it challenges existing theories of the evolution of stars, said scientists Thursday.
The LB-1, a stellar black hole located 15,000 light-years from Earth, which the journal Nature describes for the first time, has a mass 70 times greater than that of the Sun.
"Black holes of such a mass should not even exist in our galaxy, according to most current theories of stellar evolution," said Liu Jifeng, a professor at China's National Astronomical Observatory, head of the team of researchers who studied LB-1.
"We thought that very massive stars, whose chemical composition is typical of our galaxy, had to spill most of their gas into powerful stellar winds as they approach the end of their lives", and therefore not leave behind they have such a massive black hole, said Liu Jifeng.
While the Milky Way, of which our solar system is a part, contains some 100 million stellar black holes, LB-1 has a mass twice as large as scientists thought possible.
"Now, the theorists will have to take up the challenge of explaining how it was formed," said Liu Jifeng in a statement.
For researcher David Reitze of the California Institute of Technology, who has not been involved in the work on LB-1, astronomers "are just beginning to understand the abundance of black holes and the mechanisms of their formation."
"In general, stellar black holes appear after supernova explosions, but according to current theories, they have a mass less than 50 to 60 times that of the sun," he told AFP.
The larger mass of LB-1 would therefore indicate that the black hole could not have been produced by a supernova.
"It means that we are dealing with a new type of black hole, created by another physical mechanism," insisted David Reitze.
The LB-1 was discovered using the Chinese LAMOST telescope (Large Field Optical Multi-Object Spectroscopic Telescope) by an international team of Chinese, American and European scientists.
Other images of the largest optical telescopes in the world - the Spanish telescope Gran Telescopio Canarias and the telescope Keck I in the United States - have confirmed the size of the LB-1, which the National Astronomical Observatory of China has described in a statement. "nothing less than fantastic" | https://www.tellerreport.com/news/2019-11-28---scientists-discover-a-huge-black-hole-in-the-milky-way-.Hyu6HVahS.html |
Madrid, 6 (European Press)
The prevailing view of white dwarfs as dormant stars that are slowly cooling has been challenged by observations from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope.
Now, an international group of astronomers has discovered the first evidence that white dwarfs can slow the rate of aging by burning hydrogen on their surface, as published in Nature Astronomy.
“We have found the first observational evidence that white dwarfs can still experience stable thermonuclear activity,” explains Jianxing Chen, of the Alma Mater Studiorum Universita di Bologna and the National Institute of Astrophysics in Italy, who led the research. This was a huge surprise because it goes against what is common.”
White dwarfs are stars that cool slowly and release their outer layers during the later stages of their lives. They are common objects in the universe because roughly 98% of all stars in the universe will end up as white dwarfs, including our sun. Studying these cooling stages helps astronomers understand not only white dwarfs, but also their earlier stages.
To investigate the physics behind the evolution of white dwarfs, astronomers compared the cooling of white dwarfs in two massive star clusters: globular clusters M3 and M13. These two groups share many physical properties, such as age and mineralization, but the star groups that will eventually give rise to white dwarfs are different.
In particular, the overall color of stars in the evolution phase known as the horizontal branch is bluer in M13, indicating the presence of a group of hotter stars. This makes M3 and M13 an ideal natural laboratory to see how different groups of white dwarfs cool off.
“The remarkable quality of Hubble’s observations has given us a comprehensive view of the globular cluster’s star clusters,” Chen continues. “This has allowed us to compare how stars evolve in M3 and M13.”
Using Hubble’s Wide Field Camera 3, the team observed M3 and M13 at wavelengths near the ultraviolet, allowing them to compare more than 700 white dwarfs in the two groups.
They found that M3 contains standard white dwarfs that simply cool stellar cores. On the other hand, M13 has two sets of white dwarfs: the standard one and those that manage to maintain an outer shell of hydrogen, allowing them to burn longer, and thus cool down slowly.
By comparing their results with computer simulations of stellar evolution in M13, the researchers were able to show that nearly 70% of M13’s white dwarfs burn hydrogen at their surface, slowing the rate at which they cool.
This discovery may have consequences for the way astronomers measure the age of stars in the Milky Way. So far, the evolution of white dwarfs has been modeled as a predictable cooling process.
This relatively simple relationship between age and temperature has led astronomers to use the cooling rate of white dwarfs as a natural clock to determine the age of star clusters, especially globular and open clusters. However, white dwarfs burning hydrogen can make these age estimates inaccurate by as much as a billion years. | https://www.penmediainc.com/science-white-dwarfs-slow-their-aging-by-burning-hydrogen/ |
The "Stellar Ages and Galactic Evolution" (SAGE) independent research group based at the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research (MPS) in Göttingen, Germany invites applications for multiple postdoc positions in asteroseismology, stellar modelling, galactic evolution, computer science or spectroscopic analyses.
"Stellar Ages and Galactic Evolution" (SAGE) independent research group
"We are a way for the universe to know itself. Some part of our being knows this is where we came from. We long to return. And we can, because the cosmos is also within us. We're made of star stuff."
-Carl Sagan
Scientific Outline
The Milky Way is a giant spiral galaxy, which has evolved to its current shape over billions of years. Up to now, the formation history of the Milky Way is not fully understood. Several processes are likely to have contributed to its formation, i.e. in-situ star formation, in-fall of stars from satellite galaxies, galaxy mergers, and dynamical processes like the diffusion and radial migration of stars. The dynamical and chemical properties of the stars observable to date still bear the signatures of these different processes.
Age is a fundamental property of stars. It is an essential tool to understand many diverse phenomena in astrophysics, including the evolution of the Galaxy, the stars within, and their planetary systems. Unfortunately, age is a difficult property to determine as there is no observable that is sensitive to age and age only. Current techniques yield an uncertainty no better than 30-40%.
In the SAGE research group we study oscillating main-sequence stars, subgiants and red giants with the aim to infer their internal structures and their ages to unprecedented accuracy and to use these stellar ages, together with stellar distances, velocities and chemical compositions to determine the structure of the Milky Way.
For this research we make use of (among others) high-precision photometric data from the CoRoT and Kepler space missions, spectroscopic data from APOGEE and Gaia-ESO surveys and state-of-the-art stellar models computed using the Mesa, Garstec and Monash stellar evolution codes.
Asteroseismology
It was once said that "at first sight it would seem that the deep interior of the sun and stars is less accessible to scientific investigation than any other region of the universe" (Sir Arthur Eddington, 1926). Now, through modern mathematical techniques and high quality data, it has become possible to probe and study the internal stellar structure directly through global stellar oscillations: a method known as asteroseismology.
Asteroseismology uses similar techniques to seismology carried out on Earth to study the structure of stars. The properties of waves are used to trace the internal conditions. Oscillations that impact upon the whole star reveal information that is hidden by the opaque surface. See Figure 1 for an artist's impression of oscillations in a star. Asteroseismology offers the opportunity to obtain highly sensitive observables which can be compared to our stellar models and constrain stellar ages. By improving upon the uncertainty in the stellar ages there are several questions we can help answer:
- How long do evolutionary phases last for stars with different initial masses and compositions?
- What is the chemical evolution of our Galaxy?
- Do the properties of stars in different directions of the galaxy change?
- What can we learn from the study of other stars about the behaviour of the Sun at different epochs in the past and in the future? Is the Sun a normal star or is the Sun special?
- How old are planets orbiting other stars and how do planetary systems evolve?
- How do stellar magnetic activity and rotation change with age?
About Us
The SAGE research group is funded by the European Research Council under the European Community's Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013) / ERC grant agreement no 338251 (Stellar Ages) and by the Max Planck Society through an independent Max Planck research group.
The SAGE research group is an international node of the Stellar Astrophysics Centre
Dr. Saskia Hekker is a fellow of the Elisabeth-Schiemann-Kolleg
The Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research (MPS)
The name itself actually precisely describes its field of research: the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research. The scientists in Göttingen focus on Earth's cosmic neighbourhood – the Sun, the planets and their moons, as well as a variety of small bodies. They look into the heart of the star that keeps us alive, investigate its gaseous envelope, the solar magnetic field and the high-energy particles which our Sun ejects into space. The surfaces of the planets and their different “spheres” – atmospheres, ionospheres and magnetospheres – their rings and satellites, as well as comets and planetoids are further subjects for physical models and numerical simulations. And since the objects are not that far away, astronomically speaking, the Max Planck researchers love to take a look around for themselves – not in person, but by using international space probes and landers, for which they develop and build instruments and detectors.
Our research
The research in the SAGE research group is aimed to further understand the properties and internal structures of lower main-sequence, subgiant and red-giant stars and to use this information in galactic evolution studies. The SAGE group is a vibrant and young group consisting of experts in asteroseismology, stellar evolution, galactic evolution and computer science. The group now seeks to improve their strength in any of these directions and to add an expert in spectroscopy. For further information and inquiries about the group please contact Saskia Hekker .
Your profile
We seek motivated candidates with a PhD in astronomy and knowledge, skills and interest in asteroseismology, stellar modelling, galactic evolution, computer science and/or spectroscopic analyses. Applicants should have published research results in peer-reviewed high-quality journals, demonstrated creativity, independence, high motivation, good communication skills, and the ability to work independently as well as with other members of our research group.
Our offer
Payment and benefits are according to German TVÖD. The lengths and starting dates of the positions are flexible.Your application
Your application
Please send your application including
- a cover letter summarizing your qualifications
- a CV with a full publication list,
- a research statement, and
- names and contacts of two to three references.
The application should be submitted electronically as one file to Saskia Hekker with "Postdoc application SAGE" in the subject line. Applications received by January 1, 2017 will receive full consideration. Review of the applications will continue until suitable candidates are found.
The Max Planck Society is committed to increasing the number of individuals with disabilities in its workforce. Applications from disabled persons are explicitly encouraged and will be favoured in the case of equally qualified applicants. Furthermore, the Max Planck Society seeks to increase the number of women in those areas where they are underrepresented and therefore explicitly encourages women to apply.
Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research
Justus-von-Liebig-Weg 3
37077 Goettingen
Germany
To APPLY click "Further official information" below and fill the application form.
This opportunity has expired. It was originally published here: | https://armacad.info/max-planck-institute-for-solar-system-postdcotoral-research-program-2017-gottingen-germany |
Classification is never easy. Whether it’s monkey species, astronomical objects or elementary particles, there are seemingly endless ways to organize and group things. For centuries biologists have used “family tree” diagrams as their approach of choice for tracing living organisms’ lineages. And now astronomers are borrowing from biology to classify stars this way, too.
DNA can reveal how organisms are related, and the chemical makeup of a star can similarly be used to determine its ancestry. Stars are thermonuclear forges, fusing light elements such as hydrogen and helium into heavier ones including carbon and oxygen. When stars die they eject this material into space, where it can in turn form new suns. Each subsequent generation of stars will thus become more enriched with heavy elements—and thus their chemical composition offers information about their stellar genealogy. By surveying the chemistry of several stars in our galactic neighborhood, a team of astronomers has now grouped them into a distinct family tree, and uncovered clues about their origins. The results were published in February in theMonthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.
“The chemical composition of these stars can be used as the ‘DNA’ of the gas from which they formed,” says Paula Jofré, lead author of the study and an astronomer at the University of Cambridge. “This can then be used to build up an evolutionary tree, like in biology.”
Using data gathered by a European Southern Observatory telescope in La Silla, Chile, Jofré and her colleagues studied 22 nearby stars similar to the Sun, focusing on seventeen different chemical elements as a stand-in for DNA. Their analysis successfully grouped most of the stars into two well-known families—but it also found that some of the stars belong to a new, previously unknown third group.
Biologists have devised many methods to craft family trees. The most influential emerged in the 1850s from Darwin’s theory of evolution, and relied upon the principle of genetic inheritance to group organisms by hereditary similarities in shape and form. The advent of DNA sequencing in the 20th century helped establish more rigorous and quantitative “phylogenetic” studies of how organisms are related, with molecular markers and morphology both informing the construction of the trees.
Of course, stars do not pass on DNA or obey laws of natural selection—so they cannot evolve like biological organisms on Earth, says Robert Foley, co-author and professor of human evolution at the University of Cambridge. “In this case it’s very, very different from true evolution, where you have reproduction and true heritability,” he says. “But it’s enough to suggest that information is passed down in time in ways that might reflect shared history.” Specifically, the recycling of elements through generational stellar enrichment creates a common ancestry, allowing phylogenetic techniques to trace family histories and chemical evolution.
Jofré, Foley and their co-authors are not the first to practice this sort of celestial phylogenetics. Astronomer Didier Fraix-Burnet of the Institut de Planétologie et d’Astrophysique in Grenoble, France, first began working on phylogenetic studies with astronomical objects 16 years ago.
“I used to work on galaxies, and was puzzled by the difficulty to classify these complex objects,” Fraix-Burnet says. “I imagined the possibility to use the phylogenetic approach on galaxies.”
Fraix-Burnet calls his work “astrocladistics,” after cladistics: a term biologists often use interchangeably with phylogenetics to describe the technique of using a tree-shaped diagram as a visual aid to show shared, inherited characteristics. Mapping inherited characteristics is a natural way of displaying how organisms are related, but it can also be used to illustrate how groups evolve over time.
Jofré’s team decided to use an approach that would go beyond simple classification to understand the stellar families’ formation and evolution. The researchers used a phylogenetic computational approach called the “distance method,” which scales the tree’s branches such that longer ones indicate greater chemical (and thus evolutionary) change between the stars. “We are going one step further,” Jofré says. “Once we have the classification, we use the branch lengths to study also what happened to the system.”
The results verified the two commonly identified families of stars in the disk of the Milky Way—the younger stars in our galaxy’s central thin disk and the older stars in the thick disk, which envelopes the thin disk like a diffuse cloud. However, they also found a third group that did not match either of the two known stellar families, raising questions as to this newfound group’s origins.
To uncover additional clues about each family’s history, the team turned to the stars’ ages and motions. The stellar motions helped confirm that the families were indeed separate. The ages narrowed down where and how they were born, and revealed the speed of each family’s chemical evolution. Based on these assessments, the team speculates that the mysterious third family of stars may have formed from a galactic merger or a similar major, single event early in the Milky Way’s history. Alternatively—and perhaps less likely—the stars in this family could simply be late-bloomers from the thick disk or early-birds from the thin disk, scattered over time into our solar system’s vicinity from their distant birthplaces.
Now that some of the difficulties in translating biological methodologies into astronomy have been smoothed out, Jofré hopes that this approach can be scaled up and applied to more stars. With a larger sample, she hopes to pin down the origins of the new third family as well as several other outlier stars that do not fit into any of the three identified groups. This may someday help astronomers find a common ancestry binding all the stars in the Milky Way, giving us a better understanding of the origin story of our galaxy. | https://www.hjkc.de/_blog/2017/03/28/7891-astronomie-galactica-stellaris-astronomen-erstellen-einen-stammbaum-fuer-die-sterne-der-milchstrasse/ |
Hubble Shows Link Between Stars' Ages and Their Orbits in Dense Cluster
Billions of years ago in our Milky Way galaxy, long before the Earth was born, swarms of stars formed in giant clusters. Each grouping of stars, called a globular cluster, was held together by the mutual gravity of its stars. These globular star clusters became the homesteaders of our Milky Way.
Astronomers have probed the galaxy's globular clusters using many telescopes, including NASA's Hubble Space Telescope, to dig into the Milky Way's past and uncover what was happening in these early, formative years. Recent stellar archaeological excavations with Hubble into one such globular cluster, 47 Tucanae, have allowed astronomers to piece together a timeline of the stars' births.
Astronomers using NASA's Hubble Space Telescope have for the first time linked two distinct populations of stars in an ancient globular star cluster to their unique orbital dynamics, offering proof that the stars do not share the same birth date.
The analysis of the globular cluster 47 Tucanae shows that the two populations differ in age by less than 100 million years. The cluster resides roughly 16,700 light-years away in the southern constellation Tucana.
Researchers, led by Harvey Richer of the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, combined recent Hubble observations with eight years' worth of data from the telescope's archive to determine the motions of the stars in this cluster.
Previous spectroscopic studies revealed that many globular clusters contain stars of varying chemical compositions, suggesting multiple episodes of star birth. This Hubble analysis, however, goes a step further, adding the stars' orbital motion to the analysis.
"When analyzing the motions of stars, the longer the time baseline for observations, the more accurately we can measure their motion," Richer explained. "These data are so good, we can actually see for the first time the individual motions of the stars in the cluster. The data offer detailed evidence to help us understand how various stellar populations formed in such clusters."
The Milky Way's globular clusters are the surviving relics from our galaxy's formation. They offer insights into the early history of our galaxy. 47 Tucanae is 10.5 billion years old and one of the brightest of our galaxy's more than 150 globular clusters. The cluster measures about 120 light-years wide.
Richer and his team used Hubble's Advanced Camera for Surveys in 2010 to observe the cluster. They combined those observations with 754 archival images to accurately measure the changes in positions of more than 30,000 stars. Using these data, they could discern how fast the stars are moving. The team also measured the stellar luminosities as well as temperatures.
This stellar archaeology identified the two distinct populations of stars. The first consists of redder stars, which are older, less chemically enriched, and in random, circularized orbits. The second population comprises bluer stars, which are younger, more chemically enhanced, and in more elliptical orbits.
"The redder generation, which is deficient in heavier elements, reflects the initial motion of the gas that formed the cluster," Richer said. "These stars have retained a memory of their original motion."
After the most massive of these stars completed their stellar evolution, they expelled gas enriched with heavier elements back into the cluster. This gas collided with other gas and formed a second, more chemically enriched generation of stars that was concentrated towards the cluster center. Slowly over time these stars have been moving outwards, putting them on more radial orbits.
This discovery is not the first for Hubble in revealing multiple generations of stars in globular clusters. In 2007 Hubble researchers found three generations of stars in the massive globular cluster NGC 2808. Richer's team, however, linked stellar dynamics to separate populations for the first time. Finding multiple stellar populations in globular clusters has deep cosmological implications. Astronomers need to solve future enigmas of these multiple generations to better understand how stars formed in distant galaxies in the early universe.
The team's results are published in the July 1 issue of The Astrophysical Journal Letters.
Donna Weaver / Ray Villard
Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, Md. | http://hubblesite.org/news_release/news/2013-25 |
This plot of infrared data, called a spectrum, shows the strong signature of water vapor deep within the core of an embryonic star system, called NGC 1333-IRAS 4B.
The data were captured by NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope using an instrument called a spectrograph. A spectrograph collects light and sorts it according to color, or wavelength. In this case, infrared light from NGC 1333-IRAS 4B was broken up into the wavelengths listed on the horizontal axis of the plot. The sharp spikes, called spectral lines, occur at wavelengths at which the stellar object is particularly bright. The signature of water vapor is revealed in the pattern of wavelengths at which the spikes appear.
By comparing the observed data to a model (lower curve), astronomers can also determine the physical and chemical details of the region. For example, astronomers say these data suggest that ice in a cocoon surrounding the forming star is falling inward. The ice then smacks supersonically into a dusty planet-forming disk surrounding the stellar embryo, heats up and vaporizes quickly, releasing the infrared light that Spitzer collected. | http://www.spitzer.caltech.edu/images/1860-ssc2007-14a-Spitzer-Sees-Water-Loud-and-Clear-in-a-Young-Solar-System |
The stripped core of a star that was 12 times larger than the Sun was discovered by chance during a phase of stellar evolution.
The open core of a massive star has been observed for the first time, a discovery described as purely "grave" by the team that chimed in on it.
However, the cores of stars are those where the vast majority of stellar energy is generated by the nuclear fusion of hydrogen into helium.
They are usually obscured by the bright outer material that surrounds them. Stellar cores are exposed only in rare, extremely short-lived conditions.
Observing such a core in isolation could help astrophysicists better understand the nuclear processes taking place at the heart of stars.
The uncovered stellar core in question, a brighter previously observed star, was dubbed Gamma Columbé (γ Columbé).
Has between 4 and 5 times the mass of the Sun. The team that uncovered its exposed nature thinks it was once part of a massive star.
Whose mass was 12 times the mass of the Sun, the nature of Columbé was uncovered by astronomers.
Further examining the light spectrum emitted by this unusual star, the astronomers discovered an abundance of helium and nitrogen.
Since these nuclear ashes are usually hidden by outer stellar plasma, this indicates that Columbia's outer envelope is missing. | https://andaspirit.com/web-stories/astronomers-discover-the-exposed-inner-core-of-a-oddball-star-accidently/ |
Stellar and Interstellar Physics
Stars are fundamental physical probes. The Severo Ochoa project is supporting the major center goals in the Stellar and Interstellar Physics research line:
1) Identifying new black hole systems and exploring the physics of black holes and their progenitors. Major world observatories are used by the team to obtain dynamical masses for stellar black holes in binary systems, studying accretion/outflow processes in compact binaries and test theories predicting the orbital period evolution of these systems as a result of magnetic braking and/or gravitational radiation. Stars orbiting black holes will be used to test the behavior of gravity in the strong field regime.
2) Understanding the physics and life cycle of stars, from the most massive and luminous stars that can be seen at large distances in the Universe and will lead to explosive events and the formation of black holes and neutron stars, to the least luminous brown dwarfs which bridge the gap to the planetary domain. The goal in massive stars is to benefit from their large luminosities and intense radiation fields and use them as tools for our understanding of the low- and high-z Universe. IAC researchers have pioneered research on brown dwarfs since their discovery (Rebolo et al. 1995 Nature), the goal is now to understand the formation mechanism of these objects which compare in number with stars.
3) Studying the chemical enrichment during the final stages of stars like the Sun; unveiling the distribution of carbon (atomic and in molecular forms) in the Milky Way and other galaxies and determine the role of carbon-bearing molecules in interstellar prebiotic chemistry.
Goals:
- Discover and study black holes, neutron stars and white dwarfs in systems under strong gravity fields.
- Clarify the role of stellar winds in the most massive stars and the formation/evolution of brown dwarfs bridging the stellar and the exoplanet domain.
- Understand the final stages of Sun-like stars and unveil the distribution of carbon and the role of carbon-bearing molecules in interstellar prebiotic chemistry.
Main Scientific Outputs:
2016
- Measurements of [C/Fe] and [N/Fe] have been carried out for 95 individual Red Giant Branch stars in the Sculptor dwarf spheroidal galaxy. This is the first time that [N/Fe] was measured for such a large number of stars in a galaxy of that type (Lardo, Battaglia et al. 2016).
- Confirmation of 100 late-M (M5-L1) subdwarfs by cross-matching large-scale imaging surveys: 2MASS, SDSS, and UKIDSS. The study has provided spectral types and 3D space motions for all the sources under investigation (Lodieu et al. 2016).
- IAC researchers have published the first atlas of OB-type stars at metallicities lower than that of the Small Magellanic Cloud (Camacho et al., 2016). The observations were performed with GTC-OSIRIS and represent the first study of a massive resolved stellar population in galaxies at low metallicity.
- Discovery of two of the most massive contact binaries known, providing the first detailed characterization of these systems, probable progenitors of gravitational wave sources (GU Mon - Lorenzo et al. 2016 and VFTS 352 – Almeida et al., 2015).
- The IAC team working on nucleosynthesis in giant stars has found the first evidence that the most massive, evolved AGB (asymptotic giant branch) stars play a fundamental role in the contamination of the interstellar medium, from which successive generations of stars have formed. This team has also shed light on the production of oxygen nuclei in low-mass planetary nebulae.
- IAC researchers have found that the discrepancy between the abundances of a given element determined from collisionally excited and recombination lines in HII regions seems to have a dependence with metallicity. A strong connection between the abundance discrepancy problem and the binarity of the central star in planetary nebulae has also been identified.
- A team of experts in asteroseismology at the IAC, together with the rest of the SONG collaboration, has published a detailed study of the spectrum of oscillations of the star μ Her based on some 30,000 spectra collected in 2014 and 2015. The investigation detected a total of 49 oscillation modes.
- An IAC team working in the APOGEE project has uncovered multiple transitions of the rare-earth element neodymium in the H band. This discovery makes it possible to determine the abundance of this element in tens of thousands of stars observed with the APOGEE instrument (Hasselquist et al. 2016).
- The first public data release from Gaia (Gaia Collaboration 2016) has already provided new insight into the dynamical effects that has led to the correlation between Galactic rotation and chemical composition known to be present in the stellar populations in the Galactic disk (Allende Prieto, et al. 2016).
2017
- Discovery of the most metal-poor substellar object until now (Zhang et al. 2017b).
- An extensive search for the coolest members of young open clusters has been carried out, obtaining deep optical and near-infrared spectroscopy of cool brown dwarfs in the Upper Sco association (paper submitted to MNRAS; Lodieu et al. 2017).
- An IAC team has reported the extremely fast orbital period decay of the black hole X-ray binary (BHXB) Nova Muscae 1991. There is no standard evolutionary model able to explain the fast decay rate of this system, thus having strong implications on the evolution and lifetime of these BHXBs (González Hernández et al. 2017).
- Discovery of a new L5 member of the Hyades cluster with chromospheric activity detected with GTC/OSIRIS spectroscopy (Perez-Garrido et al. 2017).
- The IACOB spectroscopic database of Northern Galactic OB stars allowed the discovery of the magnetic field decay associated with the evolution of massive stars (Schneider et al. 2016). This catalog provided as well the observations for a pioneer study on the macro-turbulence broadening in OB stars (Simón-Díaz et al., 2017; Godart et al., 2017).
- IAC researchers have determined the physical properties for a sample of nearly 200 massive stars in a single star formation region, 30 Dor, in the Large Magellanic Cloud, which is witnessing the most intense star formation ever observed among those where individual stars can be resolved (Sabin-Sanjulian et al., 2017; Ramirez-Agudelo et al., 2017). The investigations to date show that it is necessary to improve the stellar evolution models for massive stars, as well as the models for radiation-driven winds.
- The IAC led a study in which 44 new massive stars have been discovered, 11 of them O-type stars, in Cygnus (Berlanas et al., in preparation). | http://vivaldi.ll.iac.es:83/severoochoa/index.php/stellar-interstellar-physics |
In modern information and knowledge societies, which are organized on the basis of effectively exploiting information and knowledge, education plays an important role. Education contributes to the wellbeing of individuals, national prosperity and economic growth. Nevertheless, research has persuasively shown that social inequalities persist in modern information and knowledge societies, as new forms of inequalities emerge. These inequalities revolve around the so called “digital divide” among people from different socioeconomic backgrounds and class differentials in access and success within higher education. In this paper we undertake a review of the literature, pointing out implications for policy makers and suggesting directions for future research.
In recent decades, after the massification of education 1, which was often combined with efforts to produce fairer education outcomes 2, education lies at the heart of the political and academic agenda in most countries. Reforms in relation to education have been implemented so as “enable nations and individuals to meet the challenges of the 21st century” 3 and to increase their competitiveness 4. As a result, sociologists of education examine the ways in which “educational processes affect the way people think, live and work, their place in society and their chances for success or failure” 5.
In modern globalized societies education plays a central role. Education is considered as a means that impacts on two interrelated levels. First, it helps individuals by providing them with skills and knowledge that will help them in their lives. Second, it boosts national growth and the development of an antagonistic economy. According to official documents education is important at all levels, from primary to tertiary education. Students, regardless of socioeconomic background or ethnic minority should be provided with opportunities to succeed in the educational system.
This brings to the fore the issue of social inclusion and equity in education. According to OECD 6 equity in education has two dimensions – fairness and inclusion. Fairness “basically means making sure that personal and social circumstances – for example gender, socio-economic status or ethnic origin – should not be an obstacle to achieving educational potential”, while inclusion means “ensuring a basic minimum standard of education for all – for example that everyone should be able to read, write and do simple arithmetic” 6. Education for all means that everybody should be provided with ample opportunities to realize their full potential and is closely related to social justice and an inclusive society 3. The two dimensions are closely intertwined: tackling school failure helps to “overcome the effects of social deprivation which often causes school failure” 6.
Apart from these parameters of social inclusion and equity, the issues of widened access to higher education and success within it are also considered as crucial aspects of the equity agenda. In the next parts of the article we examine each of these parameters separately, especially in relation to the emerging information and knowledge societies.
Widened access to higher education means that all students should be able to attend higher education, regardless of barriers arising from their socioeconomic background, such as financial constraints. Most countries have acknowledged the importance of increased access and have implemented policies for the expansion of participation in higher education as a means to increase individual and national prosperity 7.
Policies for the increase of participation in higher education are a result of recent developments (a) in the technological domain and (b) developments in the economy at a global level. These developments are interrelated. In relation to the first development that regards innovations in the technological domain, “the expansion of communications, with television, mobile phones, and email and internet providing ever easier access to knowledge and being available in far flung locations, has had the effect of heightening the demand for higher education worldwide” 8. These technological innovations, such as the personal computer, World Wide Web, smartphones, etc. have their origin in the late 1970s 9.
As far as developments in the economy are concerned, according to Eggins 8, initiatives and measures aiming at the expansion of participation in higher education constitute a natural progression due to “the pressures generated by the impact of globalisation and the desire to take part in the knowledge society” 8. In modern information and knowledge societies social and economic relationships are not organized on the basis of material goods or manual work 10, but on the basis of effectively exploiting information and knowledge 11. Similarly, Daniel Bell, who was the one to conceive the concept of the information society, uses the terms “information society” and “post-industrial society” to refer to modern societies in which manufacturing employment is declining, while the service sector is increasing in importance and now the majority of workers are “information workers” 12. Consequently, manual work is replaced by white-collar work 9. In other words, the changing distribution of jobs seems an effective criterion to describe a society as an information society, since “as work that demands physical strength and manual dexterity, such as hewing coal and farming the land, declines to be replaced by more and more manipulation of figures and text, such as in education and large bureaucracies, then so we are entering a new type of society” 9. People work mainly with their minds, and not with their hands 10 and information is both the means and product of all processes 13. Developments in computer and telecommunications provide the infrastructure that enables information to be processed and distributed, which in turn results in the blending of national and regional economies 14. Introducing the concept of “flows of information”, Manuel Castells argued that the dominant social structure of the society we inhabit is that of a “network society”, in which the source of productivity is generating and processing knowledge 15, 16. Castells 16 contends that a basic characteristic of the network society is the informational economy “in which sources of productivity and competitiveness for firms, regions, countries, depend, more than ever, on knowledge, information, and the technology of their processing, including the technology of management, and the management of technology. It is also a global economy, since its main activities are able to work “as a unit in real time on a planetary scale” 16. Castells’ writings about the network society are important, since they “have helped us think more clearly of the mobilities of peoples, products and information in a globalizing world” 17.
Sociologists have argued that in these societies education plays an important role, especially as regards occupational attainment 18. In general sociologists of education have convincingly proposed the view that the educational system is central in the allocation of advantage in societies 19, 20. It has also long been argued that the education system, being itself a “site of struggle and compromise” 21, serves to reproduce social class and economic inequality 22 and that “class inequalities are likely to be reproduced” 23. Those with limited or no access to education have difficulty in the transition to the labour market and as a result face the danger of social exclusion. Young people, in particular, face the above dangers, because the educational systems in many countries have not managed to take measures to deal with (a) the digital divide, (b) early leaving from eduation, and (c) the unequal representation of people from different socioeconomic backgrounds in tertiary education. Each of these factors is described in the following sections.
If most workers are now “information workers”, it is only natural that people need to have access to Information and Communication Technology (ICT) as well as skills and knowledge that will help them use it in ways that will be beneficial for them. Research has shown, however, that not all people have access to ICT and, most importantly, the skills to use it effectively. People differ in relation to access to ICT, and most importantly, the internet and also as regards internet usage 24. What is important is that these differences are largely attributed to social class differentials.
The term “digital divide” was originally used to refer to differences in access to ICT, and especially the internet, among people from different social groups. These differences were most evident between people who belonged to different social classes. For instance, research findings indicated that people from lower social classes had lower rates of internet access in comparison to people from upper or middle class backgrounds. However, the widespread diffusion of the internet and its ubiquitous presence in virtually all domains of life, means that the digital gap is not a matter of access. Empirical investigation indicates that virtually everyone has internet access, regardless of socioeconomic background. Therefore, the differences are not related to internet access, but internet use 24, 25, 26, 27. This means that initially interest focused on the issue of inequalities in relation to internet access, the so-called “first-level’ digital divide 28, 29, 30. The widespread diffusion of the internet means that researchers now focus on the “second-level’ digital divide, examining how people use the internet and benefit from it 31, 32, 33.
In this framework, research has shown that people from upper and middle class backgrounds use the internet in ways that are of benefit to them. Research findings show that middle class university students use more frequently the internet for educational purposes than students from working class students. For instance, they use the internet in order to find information for project work, or postgraduate studies, while working class students use it more often for entertainment purposes 11.
But why is the digital divide important? First, in relation to social inequalities, “the digital divide raises an important social question, because unequal access to ICTs may cause additional disadvantages for the already marginalized groups in society” 34. In addition, the concept of digital divide is extremely important, since in information and knowledge societies effective use of ICT, and especially the internet, is crucial in the transition to the labour market. It means that certain groups of people, such as those from lower social classes or ethnic minority students, do not have access to information sources or do not use them effectively. As a result, these people from less privileged socioeconomic backgrounds do not have equal opportunities for participation in the society as active citizens, and they are also more susceptible to social exclusion 13.
To summarise, research findings indicate that the digital divide is a complex issue and inequalities manifest themselves in many forms. Most importantly, research has consistently provided strong evidence that there is a digital divide between people from different social classed in terms of internet use. Differentials exist no more as regards physical access to the internet, since access is now universal. The digital divide is now traced as far as differences is usage, skills and experiences when people are online are concerned 34, 35. The difference between people from different social classes is not one of access, but one of use 36, 37, 38.
It is important to note, however, that these views have been challenged. Some researchers believe that there is a digital divide or that it is not a serious problem 39. He argues that the digital divide will disappear in the end, as have other technological divides in history 39, 40, since the costs involved continually drop, so more and more people will adopt the new technologies.
Another danger faced by young people, thus undermining equity in educational outcomes, is related to early leaving from education, that is, the fact that many students do not drop out without graduating from upper secondary education. In relation to the International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED 2011), upper secondary education corresponds to level ISCED 3 and is defined as programmes which are “typically designed to complete secondary education in preparation for tertiary education or provide skills relevant to employment, or both. Pupils enter this level typically between ages 14 and 16” 41. Its duration varies between 2-5 years according to the country in general academic education programmes, while even greater variation exist in vocational education and training programmes 4.
Equity in education is not related only on educational outcomes in relation to higher education, but to the lower levels of education as well. Participation in upper secondary education, after compulsory education, is important, since it “consolidates students’ basic skills and knowledge through either academic or vocational pathways, aims to prepare students to enter further levels of education or the labour market and to become engaged citizens” 42.
Participation at this level of education is crucial because in modern information and knowledge societies, it can provide young people with the knowledge and skills required for entering in the labour market in globalized settings. Official data on participation in upper secondary education in Europe are encouraging. They provide strong evidence that “seventy-nine per cent of young people in Europe aged 20-24 successfully completed upper secondary education (ISCED3)” 43. However, data indicate that “out-of-school rates for youth of upper secondary school age are far greater than those for children and adolescents of primary and lower secondary school age” 44.
In this framework, all students need to participate in higher education, and not only those who are academically oriented and have high school performance 6. Non-participation in education after compulsory education is an issue that undermines equity and the reduction of social class inequalities. According to OECD, those who are more prone to discontinuing their studies after compulsory education are students from lower socio-economic groups 42.
The reasons for dropping out include “disenchantment with school, lack of support at home, negative learning experiences and having to repeat years because of poor performance” 6. A substantial increase in participation rates in upper secondary education can be achieved by providing attractive vocational tracks (not only general tracks) and enabling students to enter higher education or move to the labour market with qualifications from vocational programmes. Identifying students who are at risk (e.g. those with lower performance levels in lower secondary education) and providing them with guidance can also help.
Teaching and learning methods can also be instructive in encouraging students to stay at school after compulsory education. Teaching methods that increase student motivation to learn are those who are learner-centered, take into account the students’ needs and preferences, promote collaborative and experiential learning and increase students’ critical thinking and creative skills. For example, project work can be used in the classroom, since there is empirical evidence that it provides motivation to all students, regardless of school performance, to participate in activities. Students who feel that their talents and needs are valued by the educational system are more likely to continue their studies after compulsory education. This is important especially for students from lower social classes with lower levels of cultural capital 45. These students are socialized in the family 46 in a way that does not allow them to integrate into the culture of the school. Thus, they usually face difficulties and have lower school performance. Indeed, the relationship between social class and school performance has been proven in empirical research. Working class students usually have lower performance than their middle class counterparts. The latter have higher levels of social and cultural capital that enables them to navigate the school system with a sense of belonging 47, 48. For these students, success at school and high performance is something that is taken for granted, so they and their families adopt “strategies of social reproduction” 49.
Increased participation in upper secondary education is crucial, as it is linked to the transition to higher education. This is discussed below.
We have already seen that modern information and knowledge societies require a highly skilled workforce. This is important both for individual benefit and findingan occupation, but also for national growth and prosperity. For example, data show that higher education graduates enter in the labour market more quickly than people who have completed lower secondary education 42. It is important to note, however, that opposite views have been expressed. For example, Bowles and Gintis have argued that the relationship between schooling and future economic success is explained only partially explained by the cognitive skills learned in school 51, 52.
A highly skilled workforce needs a higher education sector with two characteristics. First, a higher education sector that provides quality courses in accordance to the needs of the economy, so that graduates can find a job. Second, widened access is important so that all students, regardless of socioeconomic background, can enter higher education and complete their studies. In this paper we are primarily concerned with the issue of widened access and success within higher education.
The prospect of individual and national prosperity in modern information and knowledge societies cannot be achieved unless success in higher education is a feasible goal for everyone who wishes to participate in it. Research findings show that success in higher education is not a feasible goal for everybody. Researchers in the field of sociology of education attribute this to the following issues. To begin with, students from lower social classes are underrepresented in higher education, despite the expansion of participation. In addition, these students are underrepresented in high status higher education institutions and departments 53. Finally, they have lower completion rates than their middle class counterparts. For instance, working class students have lower retention rates and face more barriers during their studies. These barriers include financial challenges, difficulties adjusting to the university’s culture, difficulties meeting academic demands, etc.
To sum up the above discussion, what is needed is not simply increased and expanded access, but widened access. Expanded access refers mainly to quantitative increase in the number of people who participate in higher education. The term widened access carries a qualitative aspect, meaning that people from all social groups benefit from higher education, participate equally in it and there are expectations for completion of studies.
The above issues have important implications for issues of equity. In modern globalized societies equity is not an automatic process. In other words, equity does not come as a natural progression. This, in turn, means that measures should be taken to bring about equity.
The above discussion is concerned with an issue that is central to sociology of education - how the education system reproduces social inequality. The issue is not new. Over 56 years ago, Bernstein examined the way in which schools reproduce social class advantage within the education system and, consequently, in society 5, 54. The Coleman Report 55 and Jenck’s studies focused on educational opportunity and the relationship between scholastic achievement and factors such as social class, gender and ethnicity 56.
In globalized information and communication societies, education at all levels, and especially higher education, plays an important role. Apart from national growth, higher education can, under certain conditions, contribute to a significant reduction in social inequalities. However, students’ possession of capital, “the social products, both resources as well as rewards, of a field through which individuals carry out competitive social action” 57 plays an important role. Student’s financial, cultural and social capital, defined as social networks that afford access to important social goods, 49, 50, 58, 59, 60, is still a predictor of their future educational and occupational trajectories.
A literature review shows that in many countries there are similar challenges and obstacles that need to be dealt with. However, solutions are not always easy to design, and may prove more difficult to implement. In any case, we should bear in mind that universal solutions that apply to all countries do not exist. Instead, solutions and initiatives need to take into account the specific characteristics of each country and the general societal, political, cultural and financial context 3.
The above analysis has also indicated directions for future research. First, research should focus on the “second level” digital divide, that is, the divide concerning usage. Research on this issue is important, since “the digital divide raises an important social question, because unequal access to ICTs may cause additional disadvantages for the already marginalized groups in society” 34. Second, in relation to the digital divide, “monotopical measures of digital divide” 25 that focus only on one aspect of the digital divide (e.g. age, occupation, education, time spent online, family structure, etc.) should be replaced by more holistic approaches that examine the wide variety of factors impacting on the digital divide and also take into account “the context of the digital divide in each nation” 25. | http://pubs.sciepub.com/jsa/2/1/2/index.html |
By the end of this section, you should be able to:
- Describe how major sociological perspectives view race and ethnicity
- Identify examples of culture of prejudice
Theoretical Perspectives on Race and Ethnicity
We can examine race and ethnicity through three major sociological perspectives: functionalism, conflict theory, and symbolic interactionism. As you read through these theories, ask yourself which one makes the most sense and why.
Functionalism
Functionalism emphasizes that all the elements of society have functions that promote solidarity and maintain order and stability in society. Hence, we can observe people from various racial and ethnic backgrounds interacting harmoniously in a state of social balance. Problems arise when one or more racial or ethnic groups experience inequalities and discriminations. This creates tension and conflict resulting in temporary dysfunction of the social system. For example, the killing of a Black man George Floyd by a White police officer in 2020 stirred up protests demanding racial justice and changes in policing in the United States. To restore the society’s pre-disturbed state or to seek a new equilibrium, the police department and various parts of the system require changes and compensatory adjustments.
Another way to apply the functionalist perspective to race and ethnicity is to discuss the way racism can contribute positively to the functioning of society by strengthening bonds between in-group members through the ostracism of out-group members. Consider how a community might increase solidarity by refusing to allow outsiders access. On the other hand, Rose (1951) suggested that dysfunctions associated with racism include the failure to take advantage of talent in the subjugated group, and that society must divert from other purposes the time and effort needed to maintain artificially constructed racial boundaries. Consider how much money, time, and effort went toward maintaining separate and unequal educational systems prior to the civil rights movement.
In the view of functionalism, racial and ethnic inequalities must have served an important function in order to exist as long as they have. This concept, sometimes, can be problematic. How can racism and discrimination contribute positively to society? Nash (1964) focused his argument on the way racism is functional for the dominant group, for example, suggesting that racism morally justifies a racially unequal society. Consider the way slave owners justified slavery in the antebellum South, by suggesting Black people were fundamentally inferior to White and preferred slavery to freedom.
Interactionism
For symbolic interactionists, race and ethnicity provide strong symbols as sources of identity. In fact, some interactionists propose that the symbols of race, not race itself, are what lead to racism. Famed Interactionist Herbert Blumer (1958) suggested that racial prejudice is formed through interactions between members of the dominant group: Without these interactions, individuals in the dominant group would not hold racist views. These interactions contribute to an abstract picture of the subordinate group that allows the dominant group to support its view of the subordinate group, and thus maintains the status quo. An example of this might be an individual whose beliefs about a particular group are based on images conveyed in popular media, and those are unquestionably believed because the individual has never personally met a member of that group.
Another way to apply the interactionist perspective is to look at how people define their races and the race of others. Some people who claim a White identity have a greater amount of skin pigmentation than some people who claim a Black identity; how did they come to define themselves as Black or White?
Conflict Theory
Conflict theories are often applied to inequalities of gender, social class, education, race, and ethnicity. A conflict theory perspective of U.S. history would examine the numerous past and current struggles between the White ruling class and racial and ethnic minorities, noting specific conflicts that have arisen when the dominant group perceived a threat from the minority group. In the late nineteenth century, the rising power of Black Americans after the Civil War resulted in draconian Jim Crow laws that severely limited Black political and social power. For example, Vivien Thomas (1910–1985), the Black surgical technician who helped develop the groundbreaking surgical technique that saves the lives of “blue babies” was classified as a janitor for many years, and paid as such, despite the fact that he was conducting complicated surgical experiments. The years since the Civil War have showed a pattern of attempted disenfranchisement, with gerrymandering and voter suppression efforts aimed at predominantly minority neighborhoods.
Intersection Theory
Feminist sociologist Patricia Hill Collins (1990) further developed intersection theory, originally articulated in 1989 by Kimberlé Crenshaw, which suggests we cannot separate the effects of race, class, gender, sexual orientation, and other attributes (Figure 11.4). When we examine race and how it can bring us both advantages and disadvantages, it is important to acknowledge that the way we experience race is shaped, for example, by our gender and class. Multiple layers of disadvantage intersect to create the way we experience race. For example, if we want to understand prejudice, we must understand that the prejudice focused on a White woman because of her gender is very different from the layered prejudice focused on an Asian woman in poverty, who is affected by stereotypes related to being poor, being a woman, and her ethnic status.
Culture of Prejudice
Culture of prejudice refers to the theory that prejudice is embedded in our culture. We grow up surrounded by images of stereotypes and casual expressions of racism and prejudice. Consider the casually racist imagery on grocery store shelves or the stereotypes that fill popular movies and advertisements. It is easy to see how someone living in the Northeastern United States, who may know no Mexican Americans personally, might gain a stereotyped impression from such sources as Speedy Gonzalez or Taco Bell’s talking Chihuahua. Because we are all exposed to these images and thoughts, it is impossible to know to what extent they have influenced our thought processes. | https://openstax.org/books/introduction-sociology-3e/pages/11-2-theoretical-perspectives-on-race-and-ethnicity |
Inequalities in Education sample essay
The sociological study of education looks at the way different social institutions affect the process of education and how this impacts on students. Education is widely perceived to be a positive social institution where individuals can acquire knowledge and learn new skills. However, some would argue that this is not the case and that education produces an unequal society and is a negative institution where individuals are socialised to accept such inequality. This essay will explore the inequalities in education to establish how they occur. By examining Marxist, Functionalist and Interactionist perspectives, explanations for such inequalities can be understood.
Historically, in Britain formal schooling was a preserve of higher social classes. Education was largely provided by private institutions, such as churches form the middle ages onwards, with an aim to provide the bureaucratic elite with a means to run government. The state first assumed full responsibility for education in 1870, with the Foster’s Education Act. In 1880, school attendance was made compulsory up to the age of 10, ensuring basic primary education for all. (Haralambos and Holborn, 2004) The state took responsibility for secondary education with the Fisher Education Act of 1918 and attendance was made compulsory until the age of 14. The formal leaving age was raised again on two occasions, in 1947 to 15, and to 16 in 1972.
By 1900 only 1.2 per cent of pupils stayed in education after the age of 17 and by 1939, 5.8 per cent of pupils stayed in education past the age of 17, but it was not until the 1960s, when polytechnic universities were introduced, that everyone capable of benefiting from higher education was able to attend a higher education establishment. (Haralambos and Holborn, 2004) However, Margaret Thatcher’s Conservative government of the 1980s began to view education in terms of the needs of the economy and started to reduce state economic investment. Thatcher’s government had a general mistrust of the liberal and free-thinking culture of higher education institutes and began to restrict spending in Arts based subjects. (Haralambos and Holborn, 2004) The 1988 Education Act introduced the common national curriculum, which provided guidelines for teachers about what they were required to teach. (Giddens, 2001) The National Curriculum was introduced to ensure that everyone would receive the same basic level of education.
In western societies there is a general agreement that education should be based on an equality of opportunity. However, there is evidence to suggest that people with certain social characteristics succeed more than others. (Kirby et al, 1999) Sociologists have focused on social background to explain the relative failure of working class children compared to middle class children. Evidence suggests that the higher a person’s social class, they are more likely to achieve greater education success. The most obvious explanation for differences is the intelligence of the individual. The 1944 Education Act established the tripartite system. Children were allocated to one of three types of school, grammar, technical or secondary modern, on the basis of the results of an intelligence test, taken at 11 years, the eleven-plus. (Haralambos and Holborn, 2004)
Grammar schools provided an education for those who performed highly on the eleven plus, while other pupils who has a lower score were taught in either a technical or secondary modern school. The eleven plus examination showed a correlation between social class, where more middle class children scored highly and therefore gained places at grammar schools. (Haralambos and Holborn, 2004) However, Britain has a differential educational system that gives people the right to privately educate their children if they wish and can afford to. League tables of schools, which are published every year, show consistently show private schools, such as Eton, Cheltenham Ladies College and Harrow, are the best achieving schools.
Hans Eysenck, was a bio-psychologist who believed that genetics play a fundamental part in determining IQ. Eysenck wrote “What children take out of schools is proportional to what they bring to schools in terms of IQ” (Eysenck, 1971: Cited in Taylor et al, 2000) From this viewpoint it is possible to argue that class differences in educational achievement are largely based from class differences in genetically based IQ. However, most sociologist emphasise the importance of environmental factors in determining IQ differences, namely motivation, knowledge and skills, which are learnt rather than genetically predetermined. In this case class differences in educational attainment may be due to class backgrounds rather than class genes. (Taylor et al, 2000) Many sociologists have also argued that the language used in IQ tests favours the middle classes, as it is closer to their spoken language.
A variety of figures demonstrate the continued inequality in educational achievement by social class. The Youth Cohort Study, conducted in 2002, collected data on 7,238 18-year-olds. The results of the study show that 75 per cent of those with professional parents were still in education as opposed to 55 per cent of those whose parents have few skills. (Haralambos and Holborn, 2004) Not only were those with higher-class parents more likely to continue to education, their qualifications likely to be higher as well. Just 22 per cent of children of routine workers had at level three qualification compared to 65 per cent of those children with professional parents. (Haralambos and Holborn, 2004)
With the election of the Labour government in 1997, there was a return to the concern of equal opportunities in education. The Labour party was elected on a promise to improve the education system. However, by the late 1990s, the language had changed with concern being expressed for social exclusion and improving standards rather than class inequality. (Haralambos and Holborn, 2004) Social exclusion relates to the alienation of certain groups, connected to a person’s class, living standards and education. The close relationship between low levels of education and social exclusion has been highlighted in recent years. Failure to acquire basic skills such as literacy and numeracy can place a person at a distinct disadvantage.
Functionalists view society as being structured with many integrated segments which work together to form society as a whole. Each of theses segments, such as the economy, judiciary and education, perform crucial functions to satisfy the needs of society and create a harmonious society. Functionalists view education as one of the most important components of society. According to Emile Durkheim, education is the “influence exercised by adult generations on those who are not yet ready for social life.” (Durkheim, 2003, Page 28) Durkheim asserted that moral values are the foundation of cohesive social order and that the education system has a responsibility to teach a commitment to a common morality. (Kendall, 2005) Education has an important role in the socialisation by enabling children to internalise social rules which contribute to the functioning of society. Talcott Parsons argued that the role of education is to instil the value of individual achievement in a way that the family can not.
Education is the main source of secondary socialisation in the same way that the family is the main source of primary socialisation. (Giddens, 2001) In the modern society, individuals are judged by what they have achieved and schools prepare pupils for this by measuring success with graded examinations. For Parsons, schools operate on meritocratic principles, where pupils are treated equally and if pupils work hard they will achieve the most merit. This teaches children through the values of achievement and the value of equal opportunity, which is important for functionalists because it ensures that the best people will fill the most important positions in future careers. (Haralambos and Holborn, 2004) Individuals will accept their position as they believe that everyone has been given the same opportunities through education. Pupils will achieve success through ability and hard work irrespective of other social factors, such as social background, ethnicity and gender. While the functionalist view of education is very positive, predominantly issues of inequality are denied. Marxists have a very different view of the purpose of education.
Marxism is a structural perspective of society, which focuses on the class struggle and exploitative relationship between the ruling class and the working class. The struggle begins with the opposing interests of the ruling class, who control the economy, and the working class who sell their labour to earn an income. (Giddens, 2001) Bowles and Gintis write from a Marxist perspective, which is highly critical of the capitalist society. Like Karl Marx, Bowles and Gintis argue that work in capitalist societies in exploitative and alienating for the workforce. The main role of education in the capitalist society is in the reproduction of labour power. The first and major role of education is to provide the capitalists with a workforce with personality and attitudes most useful to them, or more simply, a subservient workforce. (Haralambos and Holborn, 2004)
The education system helps meet these needs and objectives through the hidden curriculum. It is not what pupils learn from lessons and examinations that is important, but the form the teaching takes and the organisation of the school day. The hidden curriculum shapes the future workforce by promoting subservience, encouraging an acceptance of hierarchy, fragmenting lessons and motivating students with external rewards as opposed to the pleasure of learning. (Haralambos and Holborn, 2004) With the acceptance of hierarchy, pupils learn to take orders, obey them and accept they have little control of the subjects they study, all in preparation for the relationships they will have with future employers.
Bowles and Gintis believe that the formal parts of the curriculum correspond to the needs of capitalist employers by providing a surplus of skilled labour. (Haralambos and Holborn, 2004) Marxists reject the view that the education system is meritocratic and believe that social class is the most important factor influencing achievement. While Marxism and Functionalism focus on how society affects educational attainment, interactionist sociologists look at how individuals can shape their own experience.
Labelling theory was developed by Howard Becker in his study of deviance but was later applied to the way teachers interact with their pupils. Becker wrote from an interactionist perspective, which is a non-structural approach to sociology and emphasises an individual ability to control actions. (Giddens, 2001) Becker interviewed sixty teachers from Chicago and found that they have a tendency to share the same picture of an ‘ideal’ pupil. The ‘ideal’ pupil is highly motivated, intelligent and well-behaved, pupils who were judged to be closest to this ideal were likely to come from middle class backgrounds. Those furthest away from the teachers ‘ideal’ were most likely to come from working class backgrounds (Taylor et al, 2000) As a result those from working class backgrounds were labelled as having a lack of discipline, unmotivated and unlikely to achieve.
These labels can have a significant effect on their educational success in the result of a ‘self-fulfilling prophecy’. A self-fulfilling prophecy is a prediction that directly or indirectly causes itself to become true. For example if a teacher tells a pupil that they are not very good with English frequently, it is likely the pupil will underachieve in English classes and examinations. (Taylor et al, 2000) Although, labelling theory seems to hold true and have resonance in practical scenarios, it is probably too simplistic to explain educational inequalities in full. The theory largely implies that individuals have control over their life and ignore structural influences on the individual.
Meritocracy holds that all pupils have an equal opportunity to succeed irrespective of background; statistics seem to disprove this notion. The key factors leading to educational inequality seem to be related to economic background. Functionalists argue that schools operate meritocratically, a Marxist would say that this is just an ideology that does not work in practice. The ideology makes people believe that the educational system is fair but really only serves the interests of the ruling class. M.S.H Hickox questions the Marxist view that there is a close correspondence between education and economic developments. For example, compulsory education was introduced after the onset of industrialisation, so for a long time capitalists did not employ a workforce that had been shaped by the ‘hidden curriculum’. (Haralambos and Holborn, 2004) The formal curriculum is not designed to teach the skills needed by employers or create uncritical passive behaviour, which would make workers easier to exploit.
Subjects, such as A Level Sociology, do not promote an unthinking student but in actual fact promote critical thinking. However, Marxists argue that educational institutions transmit a dominant ideology which serves the interests of the ruling classes. (Giddens, 2001) Functionalists argue that if students work hard and are able they will achieve. However, the relationship between academic achievement and occupational reward is particularly close. Many students leave university and are unable to find suitable employment and income seems to be only weakly linked to qualifications. (Giddens, 2001) The hidden curriculum is supposed to promote subservience in pupils, this ignores the fact that many teenage pupils have little regard for rules and respect for teachers. Labelling theory may be more appropriate for understanding this type of behaviour. Durkheim assumes that societies share the same values which can be transmitted through the educational system, which is untrue in today’s multi-cultural society.
Many inequalities in education can affect achievement and success, which appear to be related to economics. Functionalists view education as a meritocracy where all individuals have an equal opportunity to succeed irrespective of social differences. However, Marxists strongly disagree with this and believe that it is almost predetermined before a pupil starts school whether they will achieve or not.
Interactionists believe that personal experience of schooling is important for determining success or failure. However, no theory offers a plausible and complete explanation for educational inequality. Personally, I believe that a compromise between social action and Marxist theory should be made to address educational inequality. I am personally not convinced that there is any particular merit to functionalist theory, as it appears to deny issues of inequality.
References
Durkheim E (2003) Moral Education, Reprint Edition, Dover Publications Inc, LondonGiddens A (2001) Sociology, Fourth Edition, Polity Press, LondonHaralambos and Holborn (2004) Sociology: Themes and Perspectives, Sixth Edition, Harper Collins, LondonKendall D (2005) Society in Our Times: The Essentials, Fifth Edition, Thomson Wadsworth, ChicagoKirby et al (1999) Sociology in Perspective, Heinemann Educational Publishers, LondonTaylor et al (2000) Sociology in Focus, Causeway Press, Bath
Our guarantees
Study Acers provides students with tutoring and help them save time, and excel in their courses. Students LOVE us!No matter what kind of essay paper you need, it is simple and secure to hire an essay writer for a price you can afford at StudyAcers. Save more time for yourself. Delivering a high-quality product at a reasonable price is not enough anymore.
That’s why we have developed 5 beneficial guarantees that will make your experience with our service enjoyable, easy, and safe. | https://studyacers.com/inequalities-in-education-sample-essay/ |
To me, diversity is a concept that evolves over time. I was born in Kunming, China. It was only when I started my doctoral study in London, I realized that diversity is so foreign to my culture. I left Kunming, which is in a province of the greatest ethnic diversity, when I was 1 year old and returned to Chinese societies where the Hans, the majority, shape the culture. When I was five, I moved from Shanghai to Hong Kong where I received my entire schooling.
Beginning in 2003, Walter Allen co-convened and codirected an international consortium of scholars dedicated to examining the “Implications, Challenges and Lessons from Increased Student Diversity in Higher Education” (http://choices.gseis.ucla.edu/21stcentury/). The larger group includes 35 scholars from fourteen different nations and five continents who are concerned with diversity in higher education. For our purposes, diversity is broadly defined to encompass not only race/ethnicity but also gender, language, citizenship, social class, culture, and region as significant in each national system of status hierarchy. The inaugural meeting of the consortium was held at the Rockefeller Foundation Bellagio Center in Bellagio, Italy.
Institutions of higher and tertiary education are routinely recognized for their development of human capital to foster critical discoveries and applications of knowledge that grow industries, jobs, and other stabilizers of international and national economies and productive environments. In the time between the conference proceedings that first prompted the conversations presented in this book and our present-day economic circumstances that dwindle the coffers for individual as well as global economies daily, tertiary education has undergone some important transformations.
This chapter has three main objectives: (1) to address the qualitative and quantitative impact of globalization in higher education institutions (HEI) and in the higher education systems (HES) in different regions and countries during the past 20 years; (2) stress the need of having specific levels of social equity in order to attain a permanent education for all and for life applying adequate educational policies; and (3) refer briefly to the need of a world report on higher education.
The ideas discussed in this chapter highlight key issues identified by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) regarding higher education, such as access, diversification, pertinence (or social commitment), quality, management, financing, new technologies of information and communication (ICT), and international cooperation.
This chapter is based on data from an international research project entitled ‘Gender Equity in Commonwealth Higher Education’ (GECHE). Funded by the UK Department for International Development (DFID) and the Carnegie Corporation of New York from 2003 to 2005, this project examined interventions for gender equity in relation to access, staff development and curriculum transformation in Nigeria, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Tanzania and Uganda. Data were collected via literature and policy review and interview data from a sample size of 200 including students, academic staff, managers and policymakers in the five countries. The key findings suggested that gender equality was promoted by widening participation and affirmative action policy interventions, national and international policy initiatives, and community links and coalitions. Gender equality was being impeded by gender violence, gendered organisational and social cultures and micropolitics, male domination, lack of understanding of diversity, low numbers of women in senior academic and management positions and beliefs in gender neutrality rather than gender awareness.
This study overviews the representation of students of color at critical junctures in California's educational pipeline based on analyses of California Postsecondary Education Commission (CPEC) and the California Department of Education (CDE) data. More specifically, it examines high school completion, undergraduate and graduate attendance rates, and degree attainment for different racial/ethnic groups within California's higher education system and related state-wide statistics. In doing so, we aim to provide a critical analysis of the state's educational system and the conditions for access and success in higher education.
This chapter discusses the political economy of social stratification in higher education in Japan with a focus on the problem of centralization and decentralization in the allocation of institutions in its higher education system. Specifically, the chapter highlights the role of a nation state government in the process of social stratification formation and the impact of recent equity and institutional higher education policies on the Japanese system of higher education.
This chapter focuses on policy efforts to improve college access in India and Brazil, which utilize affirmative action in higher education for historically marginalized groups. We compare structural factors impacting access to higher education for marginalized groups in India and Brazil, placing these factors in their respective historical contexts. We apply the concepts of intersectionality and interest convergence from critical race theory (CRT) not only to draw attention to how race, caste, and socioeconomic status converge to affect access for historically marginalized groups but also to further an understanding of how elites can maintain their hegemony even in the face of policies intended to achieve social justice.
Introduction to Section Two
At its core, education serves to develop individual and societal knowledge. In our increasingly diverse societies, the knowledge through educational channels also conveys norms and cultural values from respective states and nations. At the same time that educational institutions ensure their longevity and relevance through services to and support from these broader levels, they also risk elevating any one cultural “story” or perspective as “the story,” to the exclusion of other member perspectives (Van Sledright, 2008, p. 110). This frustrating dilemma has unique consequences for higher education since these institutions prioritize knowledge pursuits and often have greater similarities in their discovery and application activities across their diverse, international sector than within the specific political or social contexts that characterize their state or national locations (Enders, 2004).
Since 1999, there has been a rapid expansion in enrollment in Chinese higher education. By 2003, its gross enrollment had risen to 17 percent of the age-cohort (which typically refers to the age group from 18 to 22 in China and 18 to 21 in Japan), indicating that Chinese higher education had entered the phase of mass higher education, according to Martin Trow's definition. Mass higher education in China was achieved nearly 40 years later than in Japan, but it is still worth conducting a comparative study. This chapter is concerned with similarities and differences in massification of higher education between China and Japan and focuses on the character, tendency, and policy choice of massification of these two systems of higher education in a comparative perspective. First, by reviewing rationales and policies for massification of higher education in the two countries, it is pointed out that although both countries share similarities, massification of higher education in Japan was greatly influenced by industrial demand, while in China it was heavily affected by a rapid increase in more graduates from senior higher schools and by unemployment. Second, how mass higher education was achieved in the two countries is examined. Third, based on quantitative analyses, this chapter illustrates the two types of massification of higher education arising from differences in the history and traditions of higher education institutions, political influences, social backgrounds, and international contexts. Finally, the chapter considers the progress of massification of Chinese higher education and puts forward some recommendations at the policy level for the further development of higher education in China in light of the Japanese experiences.
History in Argentina shows that, from 1945, rotation between democratic and de facto governments was accompanied with changes in policies of free or restricted university access, respectively. In this way after more than 20 years of democracy, 60 percent of the university matriculation of the public system stays under the modality of free access. Nevertheless, the socioeconomic composition of the students of public universities shows overrepresentation of the higher income quintiles. This means that the policies of free access to the public universities have been better taken advantage of by the population with major resources. However, the ideology of free access remains in the social imaginary as the representative of progress policies. In this chapter, we set out, first of all, to describe the admission system to the universities in Argentina. Second, we analyze the relationship between unrestricted access and equity. Finally, we will raise the necessity to design policies of affirmative action, for the case of Argentina and more likely in other countries of Latin America, that consider the asymmetries in the distribution of the wealth on the questions of race and gender.
The chapter attempts to articulate a possibility for integrating a number of perspectives in studying higher education as a scholarly subject in current social science. We begin with the reasons for such an undertaking and its relevance. We then develop several basic definitions in order to establish a common conceptual basis for discussion. The final section presents new institutionalism as one of the ways to integrate several approaches in understanding higher education.
This chapter is rather theoretical and methodological in its outlook. We develop the basic approach that, in many respects, is still a work in progress. We take in this approach a set of arguments that open up new research agenda rather than settled a perception to be accepted uncritically.
The chapter shows substantial changes in the Polish higher education system since 1990. These changes were associated with the shift from centralized, controlled economy to market economy in the context of the economic globalization and democratization. The increased number of students and the emergence of many private universities are a response to the growing educational aspirations of the Polish society. The changes are a subject of public debate focused on advantages and disadvantages of the functioning of private universities and paid studies at state universities. The basic issue will soon not be the education level, but its quality; the name of the university, which issued a given diploma; and doctoral studies, which are now of more elitist character than studies offering lower degrees.
African Americans comprised over 60 percent of the 15,000 Army men and women who would serve on the Ledo Road in the China–Burma–India Theatre of Operations during World War II. Many of these Black soldiers and nurses attended racially segregated Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). Their contributions would directly affect integration efforts confronted by the United States in the decades following the war (e.g., President Truman's 1948 order to end racial segregation in the U.S. military). The Ledo Road experience not only helped change U.S. attitudes toward African Americans, but it transformed Black people. The extraordinary success of Blacks as front line workers in the unprecedented engineering and construction feat represented by the completion of the Ledo/Stilwell Road rejected the myth of Black inferiority.
Introduction to Section Three
Globalization has been a significant factor in shaping the world market, as well as higher and postsecondary education. In response to the shift to knowledge-based economies and postsecondary degrees increasingly being a prerequisite for work and engaged citizenry, the massification of higher education has led to more and more people aspiring to college enrollment. However, despite high postsecondary educational aspirations being shared across racial, cultural, and economic groups, there continue to be significant disparities among racial, ethnic, and economic groups in college access and success – a trend that has even increased in some cases.
This study was to ascertain the validity of Sternberg's theory of mental self-government for Tibetan ethnic minority university students and to compare the thinking styles of Tibetan students with those of the Han Chinese majority students. Participants were 408 Tibetan students and 920 Han Chinese students. Furthermore, focus group interviews were conducted with two Tibetan scholars and 11 Tibetan students. Results indicated that compared with the Han students, Tibetan students scored significantly higher on the more norm-conforming thinking styles but significantly lower on the creativity-generating styles. Moreover, Tibetan students indicated a stronger preference for working with others as opposed to working independently. Discussions of these findings focus on the impact of Tibet's culture and economy upon students' thinking styles.
This chapter examines the current higher (tertiary) education system in Aotearoa/New Zealand, drawing specifically on Maori (indigenous people) endeavours to engage at that level. I outline historically key practices and their underlying philosophies, which limited Maori access to higher education, especially those based on colonial views about race that positioned Maori at the lower end of the social structure in New Zealand society. The loss of language and culture, a monocultural education system, and the impact on Maori in terms of educational underachievement will be further outlined.
The chapter then examines Maori educational initiatives as a means to outline how Maori have attempted to address educational underachievement and the redress of their language, knowledge and culture. The engagement of Maori in universities, research and education will be discussed including new tertiary developments, an indigenous tertiary institution – Te Whare Wananga o Awanuiarangi.
This study examines the changes which were observed in the composition of student enrolment at the University of the West Indies over two decades, and highlights the movement towards greater inclusiveness, as the University campus in Jamaica enrolled greater proportions of students from rural backgrounds, and from lower income levels. The analysis shows that over this period (1983–2003), the University was itself seeking to become more responsive to regional needs and developmental priorities, while nonetheless being hampered by the limitations of the secondary school system, which still bore the colonial imprint of dual and unequal tracks. The chapter concludes with an assessment of the institutional demands that are generated by increasing diversity, and assesses the extent to which the UWI and the country have been able to respond effectively to these student needs.
This chapter probes into what happens to the beneficiaries of special provisions while they are pursuing higher education within the existing structured inequalities of caste, culture and economic diversities in the era of liberalization, globalization and privatization. Structured inequalities cannot be remedied only through corrective measures given the disadvantageous situation. Traditional factors limit the influence of modern factors such as skills, knowledge, competition and performance. Higher education in India fails to equip students to completely overcome the limits and constraints of the caste system that lead to several handicaps in social life as well as in higher education. Still, there is no viable alternative to higher education to this significant section of the Indian population – the scheduled castes – as a means to achieve social mobility in a closed society like India. Hence, it is pertinent also to understand and draw experiences of such supportive mechanisms like the Post Matric Scholarship scheme at the higher education level provided to such section(s) of Indian society.
A strong relationship exists in many cultures between ethnic identity and educational success. This study was conducted at a teacher training university in Southwest China in 1997. It examines how ethnic minority students, through a series of micro-level interactions, construct “scholar selves” within their families, villages, and schools. The study also looks at how macro-level structural supports, built into the Chinese education system, help minority students overcome obstacles to academic success. These supports include special schools and classes for ethnic students, training teachers for nationality areas, financial support for minority education and additional points awarded on national examinations. The chapter suggests what scholars and practitioners might learn from an educational system that demonstrates the characteristics of flexibility, inclusiveness and cohesiveness.
Introduction to Section Four
The last section of this volume is focused on both practical and conceptual approaches to address challenges associated with access, equity and the stratification of postsecondary educational settings. While much of the existing research focuses on inadequate preparation for college as a reason for low postsecondary educational attainment, the chapters in this section look at the broader implications of policy barriers, the cultural practices of institutions, and the inadequate and ineffective systems through which students are pursuing their postsecondary aspirations.
Racial and ethnic diversity and the attendant challenges and benefits of multiculturalism in society are a worldwide phenomenon. As higher education is often the training ground for future social and political leaders, as well as the primary institution charged with the study of social problems, the educational benefits, and challenges of diversity in society are particularly relevant to institutions of higher learning. This chapter synthesizes the ongoing empirical research on the educational impact of racially and ethnically diverse university environments in a U.S. context and offers a framework of institutional practices based on that work to help administrators both respond to challenges and better harness-related benefits for all students.
Predominantly White Institutions (PWIs) in the Pacific Northwest of the United States attempt to maintain a sufficient number of African Americans represented in the student population. This number should reflect the population of the state. African American students at the PWI face and conquer many nonacademic issues daily. This analysis of the African American Student Center (AASC) in the Pacific Northwest will examine the PWI support for Black students. Based on the information gathered from the students participating in the AASC, the PWI's support is limited and should increase. The support is apocryphal, but with time and progressive institutional effort, the AASC will continue to exist.
Institutions of higher education in Britain pride themselves on being open, liberal spaces of learning and social engagement. However, many establishments, particularly the prestigious ‘old’ universities, are predominantly White, despite the implementation of a range of progressive, anti-racist, multicultural policies and practices. This chapter draws on both national discourses and research conducted in a major civic university to argue that it is necessary to confront myths of academic liberalism, the ideology of professional academic autonomy and the historical and contemporary processes that continue to shape university racisms. The picture revealed is one of unsettling rather than transformative spaces, where there are contests over power, intellectual authority and ethnic identity, but where there is also cultural containment through hegemonic practices.
The author examines critical precollege learning contexts with a focus specific to California and the nation. Trends within these school communities often illustrate achievement below state averages for students from low-income status or from cultural backgrounds historically underrepresented in higher education, while demonstrating increasing segregated learning communities for the same groups with related achievement gaps for the students and their schools. The author uses organizational and sociological approaches to examine the lessons about student diversity in context where they matter most: related to student academic opportunities and outcomes for college and beyond. She concludes with suggestions that underscore the opportunities for transformation within public education using evidence-based practices to benefit students primarily from these educational settings in and beyond California.
Appendix
Hugh Africa, Council on Higher Education (South Africa)
About the Authors
Walter R. Allen is Allan Murray Cartter Professor in Higher Education, Graduate School of Education and Information Studies at the University of California, Los Angeles. He is also distinguished professor of sociology and director of CHOICES, a longitudinal study of college attendance among African Americans and Latinos in California. Allen's research interests include higher education, race and ethnicity, family patterns, and social inequality. He has been a consultant to courts, communities, business, and government. Allen's more than 100 publications include: Towards a Brighter Tomorrow: College Barriers, Hopes and Plans of Black, Latino/a and Asian American Students in California (2009); Till Victory is Won: The African American Struggle for Higher Education in California (2009); Everyday Discrimination in a National Sample of Incoming Law Students (2008); Higher Education in a Global Society: Achieving Diversity, Equity and Excellence (2006); Enacting Diverse Learning Environments: Improving the Climate for Racial/Ethnic Diversity in Higher Education (1999); College in Black and White: African American Students in Predominantly White and Historically Black Public Universities (1991); and The Colorline and the Quality of Life in America (1989). | https://www.emerald.com/insight/publication/doi/10.1108/S1479-358X%282012%297 |
Each policy brief has been reviewed by the editorial board, a proofreader and at least two reviewers.
- Editorial board: Francesco Berlingieri, Zsuzsa Blaskó, Sylke Schnepf.
- Proofreaders: Sarah Moore and Steve Whitehouse.
Reviewers to whom the editors and authors are grateful for their valuable comments: Martin Becker, Peter Benczúr, Federico Biagi, Zsuzsa Blaskó, Laura Cassio, Marco Colagrossi, Zsombor Cseres-Gergely, Tom De Groeve, Beatrice d'Hombres, Leandro Elia, Serena Fatica, Stefano Filauro, Sara Flisi, Gaelle Garnier, Andrea Geraci, Valeska Gronert, Enkelejda Havari, Athena Kalyva, Virmantas Kvedaras, Sven Langedijk, Anna Manca, Giuseppe Munda, Balázs Muraközy, Anna Naszodi, Frank Neher, Outi Niiranen, Philipp Pfeiffer, Giuseppe Piroli, Nicola Pontarollo, Roman Raab, Sylke Schnepf, Frank Siebern-Thomas, Tim Van Rie, Stefano Verzillo.
Policy Briefs 2022
The employment effects of reductions in working time in Europe
- There is a controversial debate on the employment impact of reductions in working time. This debate dates back to the early days of the trade union movement.
- Although standard economic models suggest that a reduction of working time at full salary should reduce overall employment, some support the idea that work can be redistributed and hence that a shorter work week could lead to higher employment.
- An empirical analysis of the reforms of usual working hours that took place in EU Member States since the late 1990 shows that the fall in hours worked did not result in any changes in employment (i.e. there was neither an increase nor a decrease in employment).
Can schools mitigate young people from feeling lonely: An analysis across Europe
- Young people’s levels of loneliness are increasing and this has important short- and long-term consequences for their current and future well-being and career prospects.
- Across 23 European countries, 13% of adolescents feel lonely in school. This varies from 7% to 26% between countries.
- The school environment can account for 22% of the total variation in loneliness in 15-year-olds, indicating that schools have an important role to play in mitigating students’ loneliness.
- Loneliness levels are higher in schools that do not have a cooperative environment. Children in urban schools and schools where there is a higher proportion of students who do not have basic reading skills are also lonelier.
- The most significant factor for predicting loneliness is adolescents’ experiences in school. Being bullied significantly increases students’ risk of feeling lonely. Unsupportive teachers and repeating school years are also associated with higher levels of loneliness.
- At a family level, parental support can significantly help combat adolescents’ loneliness. First generation immigrants and girls have a higher risk of being lonely in school.
Loneliness among older adults - A European perspective
- Older adults are particularly vulnerable to loneliness because they are more likely to experience life transitions and disruptive life events that exposes them to a higher risk of feeling lonely.
- Loneliness in later life becomes particular relevant in our ageing society and deserves the attention of policy makers. It not only affects individual well-being but it might trigger adverse consequences at societal level, including reduction in social cohesion and community trust and ultimately economic growth.
- The incidence of loneliness among Europeans aged 50+ is relatively higher in Southern and Eastern Europe (between 31 and 46%), than in Western and Northern European countries (between 10 and 30%). A similar pattern emerges when considering the incidence of severe loneliness across EU Member States.
- Social distancing and shutdowns during the COVID-19 pandemic have exacerbated feelings of loneliness among people, including older adults. The percentage of older Europeans who reports feeling more lonely after the outbreak of COVID-19 than before ranges from 20 to 60%, depending on the country.
- Among the main risk factors for loneliness, a person's living arrangements and financial wealth play a prominent role. Moreover, in later stages of life, loneliness represents a major risk factor for physical and mental illness. However, there are important variations across countries that remain hidden when performing an analysis at EU level.
- Although many loneliness interventions targeted at older individuals already exist, a more collaborative effort is needed to identify best practices and develop better targeted interventions that also account for cross-country differences across EU.
Division of Childcare and Housework among Men and Women during COVID-19 lockdowns
- Housework responsibilities increased greatly in European households during the COVID-19 lockdowns. The increase in childcare responsibilities was particularly significant. This put a massive burden on working parents, especially mothers.
- Although many fathers contributed as well, mothers were far more likely to increase their workload. Mothers also increased their workload by more hours than fathers. As a result, the gender gap measured in the number of hours spent on unpaid duties shows a significant increase when compared to the period before the pandemic.
- None of these gaps can be explained by dissimilarities in men’s and women’s working conditions, or by the time availability of men and women in general. Instead, it is very likely that traditional gender roles continue to play a crucial role in shaping the division of work between the partners.
- If experienced for a prolonged period, the extreme double burden of paid employment and work in the home can have detrimental effects both for wellbeing and employment. It therefore requires policy attention.
- Although mothers were worse affected, attention also needs to be paid to those fathers that made significant contributions to work in the home.
Options for socially just and effective climate policies – a microsimulation for 27 EU countries
- Evaluations of climate policies should not only focus on the emission reductions that these policies achieve. Evaluations should also pay attention to the distribution of related costs and benefits across social groups and the policies’ impact on fuel and transport poverty.
- Carbon taxes on home energy and motor fuels are regressive. This is because they put a higher financial burden – relative to income – on poorer households than they do on richer households.
- Redistributing carbon-tax revenue using equal per-capita tax rebates can remedy that regressive impact. This would benefit low-income and disadvantaged households.
- However, if these tax rebates lead to additional consumption with a high carbon footprint, they risk partially cancelling out expected emission reductions.
- Combining carbon taxes with additional public investment in green services (such as renewable energy and public transport) can considerably speed up decarbonisation.
- Providing everyone in society with an equal amount of such green services (e.g. using vouchers) is as redistributive as tax rebates. However, it has the added advantage of reducing fuel and transport poverty.
Policy Briefs 2021
Loneliness in Europe before and during the COVID-19 pandemic
- The COVID-19 pandemic has magnified already worrying levels of loneliness in Europe. Survey data show that the proportion of EU citizens feeling lonely more then half of the time doubled in the first months following the COVID-19 outbreak.
- Young adults have been hit most severely by social distancing measures. The share of people aged 18-25 reporting that they frequently felt lonely almost quadrupled in the first months of the pandemic (April-July 2020). The prevalence of loneliness among older people (65+), who were the most lonely in 2016, also increased over the same period, but less sharply.
- Living alone has made social distancing measures more painful. People living alone experienced an increase in the prevalence of loneliness of more than 22 percentage points compared with levels observed in 2016. In comparison, the incidence of loneliness among those living with partner, children or both increased by 9 percentage points.
- People who find difficult to make ends and those in poor health are at greater risk of loneliness. This was true before and during the pandemic.
- Females are about as likely as males to feel lonely, regardless of time period.
- There is no sign of a rural-urban divide. Living in cities or in a rural area does not make a significant difference in measured levels of loneliness.
Policy Briefs 2020
Globalisation, China and income inequality in Europe
- After having decreased during the 1990s, income inequality increased during the 2000s in more than two-thirds of the regions of EU15 countries.
- The growth of trade pressure from China on EU15 regions started to accelerate rapidly when China joined the WTO in 2001, doubling first by the outbreak of the 2009-2012 crisis, and once again by its end.
- The increase of trade pressure had a significant impact on inequality within EU15 regions. As compared with a hypothetical ‘no-accession baseline’, income inequality is about 9% larger in 2011, whereas the estimated impact typically makes up around 40% of the actual increase in inequality observed since 2000.
Educational inequalities in Europe and physical school closures during Covid-19
- During physical school closures, home resources and parental involvement in school work are of great importance for learning success. However, these benefits are not available equally to all children.
- In half of the 21 European countries examined, 4th grade pupils from lower socio-economic backgrounds are at best half as likely to have access to the internet as their more advantaged peers.
- Children with lower socio-economic status are more likely to lack reading opportunities and a quiet room in most European countries. In addition, parental support during school closure may differ by socio-economic status.
- On average, children who lack resources and support were already lower performers before the crisis, and they are likely to have lost further ground during the Covid-19 school closures, leading to an increase in European educational inequalities.
Do robots really destroy jobs?
- New JRC research discusses the effect of the deployment of industrial robots on employment in the EU. It finds that, even though the share of low-skilled workers declined over the analysed period (1995-2015), there is no evidence that industrial robots contributed to this trend.
- Instead, there is a significant positive association between robot use and total employment. This correlation is most pronounced in the manufacturing sectors but still holds when non-manufacturing sectors are included.
- This suggests that robot-adopting industries have so far been comparatively more resistant to the long-term downward trend in the employment shares of European manufacturing sectors.
- These results stand in contrast to some previous literature and to the widespread notion that robots crowd out workers in general, and low-skilled workers in particular.
- These findings, based on current industrial robot technologies only, cast doubt on the effectiveness of policies such as taxes on robots, which could have unintended negative effects on technical progress and few benefits for workers.
Income distributions in the EU: gains, losses and convergence
- Between 2007 and 2014 income levels across Europe converged, to the apparent advantage of the poor. However, this convergence was mostly due to the ‘catching up’ process in Central and Eastern Europe.
- Within all three major geographic regions of the EU, income growth was weakest at the lower end of the income distribution.
- As a result of EU-wide and region-specific changes, income levels in Southern Europe first converged towards and then diverged from the EU-wide income distribution, while those in Central and Eastern Europe steadily converged towards it.
- Regarding income inequality, distributions of income in Central and Eastern and Southern Europe became very similar, both to each other and to the distribution of income in the EU as a whole; however, the gap between those geographic regions, and between them and the EU, remains sizeable in terms of income levels.
Policy Briefs 2019
The unbearable intangibility of the Internet: taxing companies in the digital era
- JRC research provides new evidence of mismatches between the location of economic activity and the place of taxation for large web-based enterprises in the EU.
- A large concentration of turnover and profit is found in low-tax jurisdictions, while the underlying economic activity is much more evenly distributed across EU states.
- This hints at potentially large profit shifting for tax avoidance purposes by web-based companies, and provides evidence of structural weaknesses in the existing international corporate tax system.
Socio-economic background and educational inequalities
- Policies that decrease educational inequalities are likely to also reduce societal inequalities.
- Comparing nine OECD countries over 12 years, sizable improvements for disadvantaged 15-year-olds were only found in Germany.
- Tracking of children increases educational inequalities; high quality, publicly funded pre-school decrease educational inequalities.
- Raising national achievement levels concurrently as socio-economic performance gaps are reduced remains a pressing challenge for policymakers.
- Systematic educational evaluation and data can improve our understanding of the interplay among educational policies, practices and inequalities.
Like (grand)parent, like child? Multigenerational persistence of socio-economic status in the European Union
- New Eurobarometer data show that about 74% of individuals whose parents have completed higher education go on to complete higher education themselves, compared to only 28% of those with less highly educated parents.
- Individuals’ fortunes are also shaped by the socio-economic background of their grandparents. Persistence of educational attainment increases by around 9 percentage points when considering the influence of grandparents.
- Persistence of educational attainment across three generations is lowest in Northern Europe.
- Inequalities related to socio-economic background have largely remained persistent over time in Europe.
- The dynamics of persistence of educational attainment are similar for men and women.
Income inequality and support for redistribution across Europe
- About 360 million European adults (82%) consider that their governments should take measures to reduce income inequality.
- Public demand for government action is proportionate to the actual level of income equality in a country.
- The greater the income gap between the middle class and the rich, the more support there is for redistributive policies.
- Individuals who believe that society is basically meritocratic and that everyone enjoys equal opportunities are less likely to support redistributive policies.
Sensing global patterns of inequality from space
- The combination of Earth Observation and population data produces new information that describes inequalities across the globe in an original, objective and spatially distinct way.
- The new information contributes to a better understanding of the spatial distribution of wealth and poverty around the globe.
- The approach has potential for the monitoring and detection of changes in spatial patterns of inequality.
Studying abroad - benefits and unequal uptake
- Student mobility has a positive impact on career progression and increases the uptake and completion of postgraduate studies, especially for students from lower socio-economic backgrounds.
- The benefits of student mobility are unequally distributed, since individuals with less advantaged backgrounds are less likely to study abroad.
- Student mobility is more common at universities with a greater share of
students from advantaged socio-economic backgrounds.
- Student mobility could become more inclusive if grant funding and incentives
targeted universities with a high proportion of less advantaged students.
EU employment from 2000 to 2014: factors behind (uneven) sectoral and regional dynamics
- Following the economic crisis, the pace of labour reallocation towards the service sector slowed down, adversely affecting EU employment growth.
- Unemployment rose in Southern Europe as a result of demand weakness exacerbating lower levels of participation in value chains.
- Job creation in Central and Northern Europe continued to thrive, due to an active service sector and limited losses in external competitiveness.
- A differentiated picture emerges for countries which have joined the EU since 2004; those more integrated in EU value chains made a more successful structural transformation and reaped the benefits of gains in productivity.
European's perception of fairness
- More than one in ten (11%) people in the EU perceive their lives as unfair, and more than one quarter (26%) view their country as unfair.
- People have the most positive perceptions of fairness in Ireland, Austria, Denmark and Luxembourg.
- Perceptions of fairness increase with income and decline with age.
- The unemployed are less likely to view their lives or country as fair than people who have a job.
- Europeans’ happiness is linked to how fair they consider their lives and their country to be.
Like marries like
- The sharp decline, since the turn of the millennium, in the proportion of individuals cohabiting with or married to a partner with a different level of educational attainment may be a sign of the weakening of the 'social glue'.
- A 'preference for homogamy' has been on the rise in five countries analysed (France, Hungary, Portugal, Romania and the USA).
- Some of the commonly used indicators of homogamy obscure these trends.
Increasing progressivity in flat-tax countries: potential positive equity and efficiency impacts
- From the 1990s onwards several countries in Central and Eastern Europe introduced flat personal income tax schedules to improve economic efficiency and tax compliance. However, flat tax systems raise concerns regarding their redistributive capacity.
- A recent JRC study shows that moving from flat to more progressive personal income tax schedules can have positive effects on both equity and efficiency, leading to reductions in income inequality and even to modest increases in employment and GDP.
- As there seems to be no strong trade-off between efficiency and equity, significant improvements could be achieved in income equality without hindering economic performance.
The fiscal and social cost of tax evasion: the impact of underreporting of income by the self-employed
- Recent analysis shows that underreporting of income by the self-employed may be relatively high, ranging from 10% to 43% of the income reported by the employed, in a sample of European countries.
- JRC work suggests that such levels of income underreporting by the self-employed may produce budgetary losses of up to 1.6% of GDP.
- This form of tax evasion typically also has negative distributional implications, due to the high concentration of self-employment income in the higher income groups and the progressivity of tax systems.
Old welfare in new labour markets? The social protection of atypical workers
- Non-standard forms of work are increasingly common across Europe, raising doubts about the capacity of existing tax-benefit systems to provide adequate social protection to all types of worker.
- Guaranteeing adequate social protection to atypical workers is a priority for the EU and included in the European Pillar of Social Rights.
- Atypical workers are in general less well protected than traditional employees in the event of unemployment, as their access to unemployment insurance schemes is limited. This is also reflected in their greater exposure to poverty risk, both when unemployed and when in work - 25% of atypical employees and 20% of the self-employed are at risk of poverty while in work.
- JRC simulations using the EUROMOD model show that extending unemployment insurance to the self-employed would significantly improve their income protection and lessen their exposure to the
- risk of poverty in the event of unemployment.
The budgetary and redistributive effects of wealth-related taxes
- Many EU countries show renewed interest in the use of wealth-related taxes as instruments to reduce the high tax burden on labour, improve public finances and foster fairness in the tax system.
- JRC research on a selected group of EU countries finds that the redistributive effects of wealth-related taxes, as currently designed, are negligible.
- Revenue collection from wealth-related taxes differs widely in a sample of six EU countries. While wealth-related taxes in Belgium and France raise, respectively, about 3.5% and 4% of the value of GDP, the figure in Germany is only 1%.
Policy Briefs 2018
The Mediterranean poor: a key component of EU-wide income inequality
- Since the economic and financial crisis of 2008-12, income levels across the EU have declined, particularly in Mediterranean Member States. During the same period, income inequality remained mostly stable in the whole of the EU but has increased substantially in Mediterranean Member States.
- The increase in inequality in the Mediterranean area, which has reached levels not seen for almost two decades, is chiefly related to declining labour income for the less well-off.
- Inequality has increased, but at different rates, among both women and men in the Mediterranean, to the point of eliminating the previously existing gap between them in levels of inequality.
Loneliness – an unequally shared burden in Europe
- More than 75 million European adults meet with family or friends at most once a month and around 30 million European adults frequently feel lonely.
- Loneliness is more prevalent in Eastern and Southern Europe than in Western and Northern Europe.
- Poor health, unfavourable economic circumstances and living alone are all associated with higher rates of loneliness.
- Loneliness affects all age groups. Even though the elderly may be more socially isolated than other age groups, they do not report more frequent feelings of loneliness.
Brains and gains: innovation and income distribution in Europe
- The JRC conducted a systematic empirical analysis that sheds light on the innovation–inequality nexus in the European Union over the period 2004-2014.
- Innovation is associated with lower levels of overall income inequality.
- At the same time, innovation disproportionately benefits those with high incomes. | https://joint-research-centre.ec.europa.eu/crosscutting-activities/fairness/fairness-policy-briefs-series_en |
By Mikael Wossen, PhD
“Your Education today is your Economy tomorrow” Andreas Schleicher (OECD).
In Face to Face Africa or (Face2Face), April 2014 issue, there is an uplifting article entitled “African Immigrants Excel Highest in US Academies.” It caught my attention. The article speaks of the high educational attainment and academic success of Africans in America. For instance, African immigrants obtain a diploma at a rate twice higher than US-born whites, and four times more when compared to black Americans. Some 48.9% of all Africans hold a college diploma which is more than double the rate of native-born white Americans. This is quite a significant achievement, even in raw numbers. The wider social implications are more interesting.
It was encouraging to read that Harvard University, one of the top Ivy League institutions of higher learning in the US, is accepting a “high number” of African Americans, and especially African students into its faculties. This modest intake translates into roughly 170 new Black students this year. An earlier 2007 report showed that African students constituted “nearly 40 percent of the black students” admitted to the Ivy League schools. We also read of one African student, who is accepted to all Ivy League universities. In short, we are witnessing remarkable African educational achievements outside the continent. To speak in regular terms, Africans have become among the most educated groups in the US. How is this possible, you may ask, while the quality of higher education is falling behind in Africa proper? In other words, the problem of providing “quality education” is getting worse rather than better in most of Africa. The African campuses are turning into places of conformity and mediocrity. In the imagery of the great Ethiopian poet Tsegaye Guebre-Medhin, they are more like places that have vowed to keep silent together. Consequently, many young Africans are voting with their feet, so to speak. This mass migration of the “educated,” poses a great problem for Africans. It is occurring at a time when the world economy is moving from mass commodity production to knowledge production. According to the research of University of Oxford’s Internet Institute’s “Geography of the World’s Knowledge,” which recently looked at the global distribution and concentration of academic activity and internet use, Africans are losing out in this new scramble for intellectual and digital power.
These high achieving African students in America today, are the byproducts of Africa’s “Brain Drain” as it were. Over about a thirty year period, Africa has lost about a third of its professionals to the developed countries. These immigrant families place a high standard on the value of education and knowledge for advancement in the contemporary world. These are products of a more or less free education in Africa. The public, in other words, educated them. Face2Face asserted that some 87.9% of the African-born population in the US reported having a high school degree or higher, compared with 78.8% of Asian-born immigrants and 76.8% of European-born immigrants. Immigrants from Nigeria, Egypt, Kenya, Ghana, Botswana and Malawi tend to do exceedingly well on this score. This intellectual drainage from Africa is colossal and ongoing. Its effects on Africa are much worse, in terms of long-term consequences, than the infamous capital flight. The immigrant parents of the African high achievers in the US were the well educated “knowledge workers” that left Africa during the days of structural adjustment policies i.e., the late 1970s and thereafter. At the time, the experts had decreed that the focus of “donor” funding and reform in Africa should focus on basic education. This level was said to wield a higher rate of social return on educational investment. The proverbial floodgates were opened. United Nations data tell us that around the same time, an estimated 50.000 middle and senior management personnel and some 23.000 academics had started to leave the continent every year. This amounts to 10% of the continent’s university graduates. Some 30% of doctors from Ethiopia are part of this migratory trend today. The quality of higher education has become the mirror of economic performance in today’s knowledge economy. A significant question also arises. Namely, who is really building whose capacity, when it comes to higher education and knowledge production? Are not these academics and skilled personnel flooding overseas, the “raw materials” of the knowledge economy.
This African academic success in the US ought to put to rest the whole “racialized” and “inheritability” conceptualizations of the relationships between a certain amount of intelligence (IQ) quotient and school attainment, so popular in US. To be sure, without the use of crude biological assumptions and racist presuppositions, direct inheritance of scholastic aptitude becomes a rather problematic proposition. Besides, all current thinkers agree that the genetic inheritance argument is biologically baseless (contrived), culturally biased and do not even take into consideration different types of intelligence. In a recent article (Time, March 24), Leon Bernstein (president of Bard College) argued that the SAT is “part hoax, part fraud” and needs to be abandoned or replaced.” It says little about the student’s real intelligence but correlates well with income. Specifically, the richer your family, the better you’ll score on the SAT (college-entrance-examination system). The so called achievement gap thus becomes a wealth gap. Yet this does not mean that nature/heredity plays no part in measured intelligence. What I’m arguing here is that we need to move away from questionable racist and biological assumptions about a person’s intelligence and move towards exploring sociological concepts like “cultural capital” and habitus (Bourdieu). These variables seem better social predictors of overall intelligence and school aptitude/achievement. The idea that a class-based cultural capital is institutionalized in schools may have been novel in the 1970s. This is no longer the case now. The idea postulates roughly that the ideas and beliefs of the ruling social strata tend to find themselves amid the visible and invisible curricula operative in schools. Also, ways of speaking (grammar, syntax) and various school aptitudes tend to be instilled earlier in life at home and are varied by social class. In theoretical terms, the noted French sociologist Bourdieu built his educational theories and the notion of “habitus” on Bernstein’s theory of “linguistic codes.”
While there have been changes in race attainment and the struggle for equality, old socio-economic patterns still recur within the wider social structures. In other words, while the race gradient has changed markedly for the better, the class gradients persist across time and space. Polarization is the norm. Thus, the likelihood of graduating from a university is closely linked to parental educational levels and socioeconomic status in virtually all countries around the world. In our epoch, race is intricately interwoven with class. This is to say that the class hierarchy is ‘color-coded.’ The social class patterns (SES) of inequality are so regular and recurrent, that they have been described as one of sociology’s “semi-iron law.” The educational attainment of African Americans is not where it should be at the moment. Their schooling is limited, and their occupational successes are also restricted. Blacks with college degrees in the US are more likely to be unemployed compared to whites. This is all primarily due historical-structural legacies unique to the US, not for lack of intelligence per se. That is to say, the ghosts of Jim Craw and functionalist thinking are still alive and well.
In today’s globalized world, links between school attainment and occupational success are tighter than ever before. This means that almost all professional positions and occupations require credentials of some sort. In such a society education becomes a central institution in which individuals compete and vie for advantages. This makes the race to the top and for the right credentials ever more intense and competitive. Decades of research have shown that affluent families are greatly advantaged in this race as well. As it stands, youth from the lowest family income (quartile) are three times more likely to drop out of school than those in the top quartile. Teenagers with university educated parents fare better in high school. Underprivileged children are more likely to experience delays in vocabulary development than their more affluent peers. In such a world, income, occupational prestige and parental education are more useful predictors of children’s school success, rather than race. Typically, in today’s hyper-competitive schooling environment, educated parents “in the know,” more actively intervene to systematically improve their offspring’s life chances. The race to boost the educational achievement, success and credentials of children becomes more imperative than ever. This is why after school instruction is a growing business world-wide. You cannot inherit intelligence. In this way alone, educational advantage may be passed on to the offspring. This is the modern process of reproducing status and advantages by actively intervening to improve the child’s academic success.
The educational advantages of African immigrants’ dwell in the fact that they are offspring’s of these educated households, who have fled the authoritarian limitations of the continent. In short, habitus is a way of being, “the product of the internalization of the structures” of the social world. It is a “structuring structure” of the social world instilled early in life. The new immigrants carry within themselves a hungry disposition towards the literate world, and strive for the acquisition of diverse cultural capital. This is why their children excel in the new environment, not because they are inherently more intelligent than their fellow Americans of whatever race. Genetic advantages or disadvantages may exist anywhere in this world, but they are realized in the existing context of nurture and are socially conditioned. It is like the Koreans who came to the West and excelled academically, but their compatriots are not considered so bright in Japan, where the ghost of Japanese domination raises it legacy. Thus, family background and the historical socio-economic conditions of the population in question matter for school attainment/success, and for understanding inequalities/mobility depending on time and place. Over the long term, however, children from wealthier families tend to be better prepared for school achievement in virtually all countries. There is some hope, however, for so called poorer countries. Here, where formal schooling is newer and less institutionalized, research suggests that school effects, teacher’s and resources are stronger predictors of achievement, rather than family SES.
Mikael Wossen PhD, is a sociologist of international education. This article is dedicated to SEED for seeking and honoring the best in us and amongst us every May. | https://ethiopoint.com/the-differential-effects-of-africas-brain-drain-the-scramble-for-intellectual-capital/ |
Socioeconomically disadvantaged adolescents and educational delay in two provinces in South Africa: Impacts of personal, family and school characteristics.
The effects of poverty on children is complex and causes a range of diverse challenges for children and their families. Although the economy of the United States is showing signs of improvement, poverty remains a serious issue in many states, particularly in the South. While found in large proportions throughout the United States, the numbers of low-income students attending public schools in the South and in the West are extraordinarily high.
Access to high-quality primary education and supporting child well-being is a globally-recognized solution to the cycle of poverty. This is, in part, because it also addresses many of the other issues can keep communities vulnerable. Like a tree, poverty has many roots. But among the many causes of global poverty , one factor stands out: education. Not every person without an education is living in extreme poverty. But most of those living in extreme poverty do lack a basic education. Those living below the poverty line will also be more likely to keep their children out of school , which means that their children will also have a greater chance of living in poverty.
In the United Kingdom, the ratio of those of the highest social stratum is 30 times greater than those of the lowest to receive admission to medical school. In an effort to address health disparities and improve patient care, the authors argue that significant barriers must be overcome for the children of the disadvantaged to gain admission to medical school. Poverty is intergenerational and multidimensional. Familial wealth affects opportunities and educational attainment, starting when children are young and compounding as they get older. In addition, structural and other barriers exist to these students pursuing higher education, such as the realities of financial aid and the shadow of debt.
Teachers for rural schools - a challenge for South Africa. Poverty is rife in many African countries and this has serious implications for the provision of quality education. Rural schools face severe challenges that are unique to their environment. A lack of parental interest in children's education, insufficient funding from the state, a lack of resources, underqualified teachers, and multi-grade teaching are some of the barriers to effective education. These challenges can be attributed to numerous sources, from within school structures and from the external environment, including local communities and education authorities. After 25 years of democracy, educational standards and learner performance in rural schooling has shown little improvement. This study illustrates the complexity and inter-connectedness of the problems faced by teachers in South African rural schools.
South African poverty and inequality are strongly rooted in the labour market. Despite the continuing relevance of race, labour market race discrimination has.
The South African education system, characterised by crumbling infrastructure, overcrowded classrooms and relatively poor educational outcomes, is perpetuating inequality and as a result failing too many of its children, with the poor hardest hit according to a new report published by Amnesty International today. Broken and Unequal: The State of Education in South Africa calls on the government to urgently address a number of endemic failings in the system in order to guarantee the right to a decent education for every child in South Africa. The report particularly highlights poor infrastructure in public schools including sanitation which has tragically resulted in the death of two children in pit latrines in recent years. The report details how the education system continues to be dogged by stark inequalities and chronic underperformance that have deep roots in the legacy of apartheid, but which are also not being effectively tackled by the current government. For example, it brings to the fore that many schools and the communities they serve continue to live with the consequences of the political and economic decisions made during the apartheid era where people were segregated according to their skin colour, with schools serving white communities properly resourced.
Skip to search form Skip to main content You are currently offline. Some features of the site may not work correctly.
Since , South Africa has made great strides in realising the right to education, rapidly building an efficient, accessible and quality education system for children and adolescents. This notable progress has been recorded across the three components of basic education in early childhood development, primary and secondary education:. Yet, despite these achievements, the prospects and opportunities afforded to children in South Africa are still largely contingent on which side of the inequality divide they are born.
В нашем распоряжении будет целых два дня. - Но я уже забронировала номер, обиженно сказала Сьюзан. - Нашу старую комнату в Стоун-Мэнор.
Кокетка до мозга костей, трижды разведенная, Мидж двигалась по шестикомнатным директорским апартаментам с вызывающей самоуверенностью. Она отличалась острым умом, хорошей интуицией, частенько засиживалась допоздна и, как говорили, знала о внутренних делах АНБ куда больше самого Господа Бога. Черт возьми, - подумал Бринкерхофф, разглядывая ее серое кашемировое платье, - или я старею, или она молодеет. - Еженедельные отчеты. - Мидж улыбнулась, помахивая пачкой документов. - Вам нужно проверить, как это выглядит. Бринкерхофф окинул взглядом ее фигуру.
Коммандер? - позвала Сьюзан. Свет внутри исходил лишь от светящихся компьютерных мониторов Стратмора. - Коммандер! - повторила. - Коммандер. Внезапно Сьюзан вспомнила, что он должен быть в лаборатории систем безопасности. Она кружила по пустому кабинету, все еще не преодолев ужас, который вызвало у нее общение с Хейлом.
Она вызвала нужное командное окно и напечатала: ВЫКЛЮЧИТЬ КОМПЬЮТЕР Палец привычно потянулся к клавише Ввод. - Сьюзан! - рявкнул голос у нее за спиной. Она в страхе повернулась, думая, что это Хейл. Однако в дверях появился Стратмор. Бледная, жуткая в тусклом свете мониторов фигура застыла, грудь шефа тяжело вздымалась. - Ком… мандер! - вскрикнула она от неожиданности.
Возможно ли. Информация, которую он выдал. Если Стратмор получил от Следопыта информацию, значит, тот работал.
Затем Сьюзан сунула ноги в туфли и последовала за коммандером. - Какого черта ему здесь надо? - спросил Стратмор, как только они с Сьюзан оказались за дверью Третьего узла. - Как всегда, валяет дурака, - сказала Сьюзан. Стратмор не скрывал недовольства. - Он ничего не спрашивал про ТРАНСТЕКСТ.
- Нам нужно установить разницу между этими элементами. - Он повернулся к бригаде своих помощников.
К тому времени когда компьютер разгадает пароль и взломает шифр, информация, содержащаяся в послании, утратит всякую ценность. Оказавшись в условиях подлинного разведывательного затемнения, АНБ выпустило секретную директиву, одобренную президентом Соединенных Штатов. Заручившись поддержкой федеральных фондов и получив карт-бланш на все необходимые меры для решения проблемы, АНБ приступило к созданию невозможного - первой универсальной машины для вскрытия шифров. Вопреки широко распространенному мнению о том, что такой компьютер создать невозможно, АНБ осталось верным своему девизу: возможно все; на невозможное просто требуется больше времени. Через пять лет, истратив полмиллиона рабочих часов и почти два миллиарда долларов, АН Б вновь доказало жизненность своего девиза.
Я отдаю себе отчет в последствиях, сэр, - сказал Джабба, - но у нас нет выбора.
Moreover South African educational quality lags far behind even much poorer Retrieved 1 July from: madvirgin.orgParnella C. 03.05.2021 at 03:17
The provision of education in South Africa during this regime was The relationship between education and poverty status in South Africa 35. Quantity madvirgin.orgpdf.Rokamuwa1969 04.05.2021 at 23:05
Teachers were of the view that poverty prevented learners and parents (or guardians) Keywords: inclusive education, poverty, implementation, South Africa.Torsten H. 06.05.2021 at 19:51
The effects of poverty on children is complex and causes a range of diverse challenges for children and their families. | https://madvirgin.org/and-pdf/359-poverty-and-education-in-south-africa-pdf-572-949.php |
Astrophysicists have discovered a dozen black holes —“invisible one-way doors out of our universe” —gathered around Sagittarius A* (Sgr A*), the supermassive black hole in the center of the Milky Way Galaxy, which in May, 2019 suddenly brightened, appearing like a massive, dormant volcano.
Tens of millions of the enigmatic, dark objects in the Milky Way
After conducting a cosmic inventory to calculate and categorize stellar-remnant black holes, astronomers from the University of California Irvine concluded that there are probably tens of millions of the enigmatic, dark objects in the Milky Way – far more than expected. The prevalence of so many massive compact objects has also led researchers to expect more frequent detections of gravitational waves from merging black holes in the near future.
“Dark Danger” –Existence of Supermassive Black Holes Roaming the Milky Way
“Weirdness of the LIGO discovery”
“We think we’ve shown that there are as many as 100 million black holes in our galaxy,” said UCI chair and professor of physics & astronomy James Bullock, referring to UCI’s celestial census that began in 2015, shortly after the news that the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory, or LIGO, had detected ripples in the space-time continuum created by the distant merger of two black holes, each the mass of 30 suns.
“Fundamentally, the detection of gravitational waves was a huge deal, as it was a confirmation of a key prediction of Einstein’s general theory of relativity,” Bullock said. “But then we looked closer at the astrophysics of the actual result, a merger of two 30-solar-mass black holes. That was simply astounding and had us asking, ‘How common are black holes of this size, and how often do they merge?”
UCI’s work was a theoretical investigation into the “weirdness of the LIGO discovery,” Bullock said. The research was an attempt to interpret the gravitational wave detections through the lens of what is known about galaxy formation and to form a framework for understanding future occurrences.
“Based on what we know about star formation in galaxies of different types, we can infer when and how many black holes formed in each galaxy,” said UCI doctoral candidate, Oliver Elbert. “Big galaxies are home to older stars, and they host older black holes too.”
Astronomers Peer Through the Fog at Milky Way’s Supermassive Black Hole –“Is It Emitting a Jet Angled Toward Earth?”
Detect a Massive Invisible Object
In early 2019, a research team led by Shunya Takekawa at the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan noticed HCN-0.009-0.044, a gas cloud moving strangely near the center of the Milky Way 25,000 light-years away from Earth in the constellation Sagittarius. They used ALMA (Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array) to perform high-resolution observations of the cloud and found that it is swirling around a massive invisible object.
Astronomers detected the stealthy black hole from its effects on an interstellar gas cloud. This intermediate-mass black hole is one of over 100 million quiet black holes expected to be lurking in the galaxy. These results provide a new method to search for other hidden black holes and help us understand the growth and evolution of black holes.
Discovery of an Intermediate-mass Black Hole
Astronomers think that small black holes merge and gradually grow into large ones, but no one had ever found an intermediate-mass black hole weighing hundreds or thousands of times the mass of the sun.
“Detailed kinematic analyses revealed that an enormous mass, 30,000 times that of the sun, was concentrated in a region much smaller than our solar system, said Takekawa. “This and the lack of any observed object at that location strongly suggests an intermediate-mass black hole. By analyzing other anomalous clouds, we hope to expose other quiet black holes.”
Found Only 20 Light Years from Sgr A*
“It is significant that this intermediate-mass black hole was found only 20 light-years from the supermassive black hole at the galactic center,” adds Tomoharu Oka, a professor at Keio University and co-leader of the team. “In the future, it will fall into the supermassive black hole, much like gas is currently falling into it. This supports the merger model of black hole growth.”
“Stranger Than Fiction” –Weirdness of Milky Way’s Supermassive Black Hole
These results were published as Takekawa et al. “Indication of Another Intermediate-mass Black Hole in the Galactic Center” in The Astrophysical Journal Letters on January 20, 2019. | https://dailygalaxy.com/2021/04/the-invisible-galaxy-100-million-black-holes-lurking-in-the-milky-way-weekend-feature/ |
Unless there's an enormous celestial event, like say a total solar eclipse, it's pretty easy to go about your day and not give the universe a second thought. But there's so much more to see beyond Earth's atmosphere. Just take a look at the fantastic images from space this week.
NASA's Hubble telescope captured two stunning galaxies, one of which is a water megamaser. The sci-fi name comes from two different phenomena. Megamasers are when a celestial object transmits exceptionally powerful radiation called masers (or microwave lasers), the exact same radiation found in household microwaves. The "water" is the murky substance surrounding the galaxy, which is actually energy pulsing from its active galactic nucleus, most likely caused by a supermassive black hole buried deep inside.
Elsewhere, the Cassini spacecraft continues to send back dazzling imagery on its Grande Finale mission around Saturn. This time, its wide-angle camera made a time-lapse video (presented in the gallery as a gif) of a dive between the planet and its rings. And the Atacama Large Millimeter Array telescope snapped a shot of the Cosmic Eyelash, a starburst galaxy that looks like two thanks to gravitational lensing.
Want more examples of this wondrous universe? Then check out the entire collection. | https://www.wired.com/story/space-photos-of-the-week-nbd-just-a-galaxy-shooting-out-microwave-lasers/ |
A cloaked black hole, one of the rarest black hole sightings, was found lurking behind a cloud of gas, and it dates to the early years of the universe.
In a recent discovery made using the Chandra X-ray Observatory, astronomers found the farthest cloaked black hole to date. The object is only about 6% of the age of the universe, according to a statement from NASA.
Before they turn into supermassive black holes, these monstrous cosmic beings feed off material from a disk of surrounding matter, the process of which creates an extremely bright, compact source of light known as a quasar. During a black hole's early growth period, a dense cloud of gas blocks the quasar's light until the black hole finishes consuming the gas.
Related: Images: Black Holes of the Universe
"It's extraordinarily challenging to find quasars in this cloaked phase, because so much of their radiation is absorbed and cannot be detected by current instruments," Fabio Vito, an astrophysicist at the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile in Santiago, Chile, and lead author of a study describing the research, said in the statement.
The team of astronomers was originally observing 10 quasars found in the early universe when the researchers discovered that one of them, PSO167-13, was highly obscured by gas.
"This was a complete surprise," Niel Brandt, a physicist at Penn State University and co-author of the study, said in the statement. "It was like we were expecting a moth but saw a cocoon instead."
The quasar came into existence 850 million years after the Big Bang, the astronomers estimated, based on its distance from Earth. The previous record-holder for the most-distant quasar discovered was born 1.3 billion years after the Big Bang.
This discovery could help scientists better understand the growth phase of supermassive black holes and how they grow to a billion times the mass of the sun in a short time, according to the statement.
The study was posted to the preprint server arXiv.org on June 20 and has been accepted for publication in the journal Astronomy and Astrophysics.
- Supermassive Black Holes Likely Born in 'Halos' of Dark Matter
- Are Supermassive Black Holes Going to Eat the Universe?
- Astronomers Think They've Figured Out the Raging Swirls of Gas Around Supermassive Black Holes
Follow Passant Rabie on Twitter @passantrabie. Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom and on Facebook. | https://www.space.com/cloaked-black-hole-discovered-in-early-universe.html |
Primordial black holes originate from gravitational perturbations in the very early universe
New Delhi:
In space, there are millions of celestial bodies including asteroids, meteors, comets, black holes and UFOs about which we really don’t know much. A paper published on the arXiv preprint server this week predicted that a hypothetical object called a primordial black hole (PBH) could account for the odd orbits observed in the distant solar system and it can be from the dawn of the universe. The paper has been co-authored by Jakub Scholtz and James Unwin. Primordial black holes originate from gravitational perturbations in the very early universe, within one second after the Big Bang.
“A solution with an ordinary planet and a solution with an exotic compact object like a primordial black hole are very similar,” Vice news quoted Unwin, who is an assistant professor and theoretical particle physicist at the University of Illinois at Chicago as saying.
“However, the search strategy you need to identify [a black hole] is drastically different,” he added. “We're not currently using all the tools in our toolbox to search for this thing.”
“For normal black holes, you need to have at least a solar mass because it is created out of a star,” said Scholtz, who is a junior research fellow at the Institute for Particle Physics Phenomenology at Durham University. “These primordial black holes can be much lighter; for example, an Earth mass, or in fact, even lighter.”
Talking specifically about black holes, it is a region of space-time exhibiting gravitational acceleration so strong that nothing—no particles or even electromagnetic radiation such as light—can escape from it. In the space, black holes are one of the most complex entities.
Recently, News Nation apprised you with the supermassive black hole named V616 Monocerotis, which is the closest to our Earth at a distance of just 3,300 light-years away. It is worth mentioning here that supermassive black holes like V616 are monstrous wells of gravity, typically found at the dead centre of galaxies. And now, a study by Japanese astrophysicists that there could be up to 100 million black holes hiding throughout the Milky Way. | https://english.newsnationtv.com/science/news/is-there-a-black-hole-that-accounts-for-orbits-observed-in-distant-solar-system-239445.html |
It is speculated that most galaxies in the universe have a black hole at their center; including our home, the Milky Way. Occasionally, two galaxies will get a little too close for comfort and merge together. Astronomers at the University of Maryland have seen one of these galaxy mergers and believe that, as a result, they have observed one of the few examples of two supermassive black holes locked in orbit around each other.
Suvi Gezari, co-author of the new study published in Astrophysical Journal Letters, commented that, “We believe we have observed two supermassive black holes in closer proximity than ever before.”
The possibility of a supermassive black hole merger is made more compelling by the existence of a pulsating quasar found amongst the galaxy merger. Black holes, due to their incredible mass and gravitational attraction, greedily swallow up anything and everything that wanders in their path. Quasars emerge from all this heat and acceleration of matter from the black hole merger.
The quasar in question, PSO J334.2028+01.4075, brightens and dims like a flashing siren, but instead of a period of seconds, it has a period of 542 days (the time it takes for a quasar to go from its brightest luminosity to its darkest and back to the brightest again). This quasar is estimated to surround a black hole with a mass around 10 billion times bigger than the mass of our sun.
Tingting Liu, UMD astronomy graduate student and the paper’s first author said, “The discovery of a compact binary candidate supermassive black hole system like PSO J334.2028+01.4075, which appears to be at such close orbital separation, adds to our limited knowledge of the end stages of the merger between supermassive black holes.”
The binary black hole pair are gravitationally bound to each other, which may lead to exciting observations in the future. In particular, the researchers hope to finally shed some light on something called ‘The Final Parsec Problem.’ The final stages of a black hole collision are currently unknown; theoretical models have trouble predicting what this cosmic event would look like.
Gezari speculated further on the future of this merger: “This pair of black holes may be so close together that they are emitting gravitational waves, which were predicted by Einstein’s theory of general relativity.” We have yet to discover gravitational waves—ripples in space-time that distort the path of light traveling through the universe, like the light emitted from quasar PSO J334.2028+01.4075. The observations of this epic galaxy merger could provide valuable data to further this research. | http://hight3ch.com/scientists-observe-two-supermassive-black-holes-merging/ |
Back on September 14th, 2015, the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory, or LIGO, detected the first gravitational waves from a pair of merging black holes. This opened a new window into observing the Universe through these ripples in spacetime. Over the last five years, LIGO has been joined by the VIRGO gravitational wave detector, and they have made some amazing discoveries, including the first multimessenger detection of gravitational waves with GW170817, the first binary neutron star merger. Recently, the LIGO-VIRGO Collaboration released their new catalog of gravitational wave detections from the first half of their third observing run, dubbed O3a.
This new catalog includes 39(!) new detections of compact object mergers over six months from April 1, 2019 to October 1, 2019. There are so many more detections now that there are many instances of two detections on the same day, so the detection identifiers have been extended to include the hour, minute, and second of the detections. Some of these detections have already been published, including GW190412 and GW190814 which have been discussed in previous astrobites. Not only does this represent a large increase in the number of gravitational wave detections, up from 11 in the previous catalog, it contains some of the most interesting systems detected to date.
Detecting the new seasonal mergers
To detect this many new systems, both LIGO detectors and the VIRGO detector underwent many upgrades to increase their sensitivity. This increase in sensitivity allows the detectors to pick out gravitational wave mergers out to a much larger volume of space. This is shown in Figure 1, where the total number of detections has gone up with the amount of space that the detectors can search over. The farthest detection in the catalog, GW190413_134308, came in from over 5 giga-parsecs, or Gpc, (that’s over 3 billion light years) away! That means that not only can astronomers learn from the larger number of mergers, they can start to see how this has evolved over time.
There are too many new detections in this catalog to discuss here, but there are a number of highlights that have not been discussed before.
- GW190521 – This merger has the highest total mass (sum of the masses of the two black holes that merged) ever detected at around 160 times the mass of the Sun (solar masses, or M☉), and the highest remnant mass (mass of the resulting black hole), about 150 M☉.
- GW190425 – Likely a binary neutron star merger with component masses of 2.0 M☉ and 1.4 M☉ respectively, but a neutron star-black hole merger has not been ruled out.
- GW190814 – The most lop-sided merger, with object masses of 23 M☉ and 2.6 M☉. It is still unclear whether the smaller object was a black hole, or a massive neutron star.
- GW190426_152155 – While this candidate has the highest false alarm rate of all detections in this catalog (1.4 per year, meaning that it is likely a similar false detection will occur 1.4 times per year), the masses of its components, 5.7 M☉ and 1.5 M☉, make it the most likely to be a neutron star-black hole merger, assuming it is a real astrophysical detection.
All of these systems are interesting in their right, and Figure 2 shows the masses of the primary (m1) and secondary (m2) objects, in M☉, the mass ratio (q), of the objects, the effective spin (χeff), and the distance (DL), in Gpc of each detection in this catalog.
Looking forward to the next catalog
This catalog has more than quadrupled the number of compact object mergers detected by the LIGO-VIRGO Collaboration. While this paper presents the new catalog of detections from O3a, two other companion papers accompanied this catalog. One looked to quantify the number of mergers expected in the Universe of black hole binaries and neutron star binaries using these new detections, and the other using these new detections to test the theory of general relativity (which held up very well).
There is also lots more to look forward to! This catalog is just the first half of the third observing run, the next half, from November 2019 – March 2020, is still being analyzed, so there are plenty more exciting detections on the way. And while that analysis continues, LIGO and Virgo are being upgraded again, and look forward to being joined by a fourth detector, KAGRA, for their fourth observing run. This will not only yield more detections, but also allow us to better pinpoint where these mergers are happening in the sky, increasing the potential for exciting multimessenger astronomy! | https://astrobites.org/2020/11/02/browsing-the-ligo-catalog/ |
There are certain rules that even the most extreme objects in the universe must obey. A central law for black holes predicts that the area of their event horizons — the boundary beyond which nothing can ever escape — should never shrink. This law is Hawking’s area theorem, named after physicist Stephen Hawking, who derived the theorem in 1971.
Fifty years later, physicists at MIT and elsewhere have now confirmed Hawking’s area theorem for the first time, using observations of gravitational waves. Their results appear today in Physical Review Letters.
In the study, the researchers take a closer look at GW150914, the first gravitational wave signal detected by the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO), in 2015. The signal was a product of two inspiraling black holes that generated a new black hole, along with a huge amount of energy that rippled across space-time as gravitational waves.
If Hawking’s area theorem holds, then the horizon area of the new black hole should not be smaller than the total horizon area of its parent black holes. In the new study, the physicists reanalyzed the signal from GW150914 before and after the cosmic collision and found that indeed, the total event horizon area did not decrease after the merger — a result that they report with 95 percent confidence.
Their findings mark the first direct observational confirmation of Hawking’s area theorem, which has been proven mathematically but never observed in nature until now. The team plans to test future gravitational-wave signals to see if they might further confirm Hawking’s theorem or be a sign of new, law-bending physics.
“It is possible that there’s a zoo of different compact objects, and while some of them are the black holes that follow Einstein and Hawking’s laws, others may be slightly different beasts,” says lead author Maximiliano Isi, a NASA Einstein Postdoctoral Fellow in MIT’s Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research. “So, it’s not like you do this test once and it’s over. You do this once, and it’s the beginning.”
Isi’s co-authors on the paper are Will Farr of Stony Brook University and the Flatiron Institute’s Center for Computational Astrophysics, Matthew Giesler of Cornell University, Mark Scheel of Caltech, and Saul Teukolsky of Cornell University and Caltech.
An age of insights
In 1971, Stephen Hawking proposed the area theorem, which set off a series of fundamental insights about black hole mechanics. The theorem predicts that the total area of a black hole’s event horizon — and all black holes in the universe, for that matter — should never decrease. The statement was a curious parallel of the second law of thermodynamics, which states that the entropy, or degree of disorder within an object, should also never decrease.
The similarity between the two theories suggested that black holes could behave as thermal, heat-emitting objects — a confounding proposition, as black holes by their very nature were thought to never let energy escape, or radiate. Hawking eventually squared the two ideas in 1974, showing that black holes could have entropy and emit radiation over very long timescales if their quantum effects were taken into account. This phenomenon was dubbed “Hawking radiation” and remains one of the most fundamental revelations about black holes.
“It all started with Hawking’s realization that the total horizon area in black holes can never go down,” Isi says. “The area law encapsulates a golden age in the ’70s where all these insights were being produced.”
Hawking and others have since shown that the area theorem works out mathematically, but there had been no way to check it against nature until LIGO’s first detection of gravitational waves.
Hawking, on hearing of the result, quickly contacted LIGO co-founder Kip Thorne, the Feynman Professor of Theoretical Physics at Caltech. His question: Could the detection confirm the area theorem?
At the time, researchers did not have the ability to pick out the necessary information within the signal, before and after the merger, to determine whether the final horizon area did not decrease, as Hawking’s theorem would assume. It wasn’t until several years later, and the development of a technique by Isi and his colleagues, when testing the area law became feasible.
Before and after
In 2019, Isi and his colleagues developed a technique to extract the reverberations immediately following GW150914’s peak — the moment when the two parent black holes collided to form a new black hole. The team used the technique to pick out specific frequencies, or tones of the otherwise noisy aftermath, that they could use to calculate the final black hole’s mass and spin.
A black hole’s mass and spin are directly related to the area of its event horizon, and Thorne, recalling Hawking’s query, approached them with a follow-up: Could they use the same technique to compare the signal before and after the merger, and confirm the area theorem?
The researchers took on the challenge, and again split the GW150914 signal at its peak. They developed a model to analyze the signal before the peak, corresponding to the two inspiraling black holes, and to identify the mass and spin of both black holes before they merged. From these estimates, they calculated their total horizon areas — an estimate roughly equal to about 235,000 square kilometers, or roughly nine times the area of Massachusetts.
They then used their previous technique to extract the “ringdown,” or reverberations of the newly formed black hole, from which they calculated its mass and spin, and ultimately its horizon area, which they found was equivalent to 367,000 square kilometers (approximately 13 times the Bay State’s area).
“The data show with overwhelming confidence that the horizon area increased after the merger, and that the area law is satisfied with very high probability,” Isi says. “It was a relief that our result does agree with the paradigm that we expect, and does confirm our understanding of these complicated black hole mergers.”
The team plans to further test Hawking’s area theorem, and other longstanding theories of black hole mechanics, using data from LIGO and Virgo, its counterpart in Italy.
“It’s encouraging that we can think in new, creative ways about gravitational-wave data, and reach questions we thought we couldn’t before,” Isi says. “We can keep teasing out pieces of information that speak directly to the pillars of what we think we understand. One day, this data may reveal something we didn’t expect.”
This research was supported, in part, by NASA, the Simons Foundation, and the National Science Foundation. | https://space.mit.edu/physicists-observationally-confirm-hawkings-black-hole-theorem-for-the-first-time/ |
Many of us have been able to move past the initial stress, fear, and uncertainty of the pandemic that naturally spilled over into the workplace. And yet, workplace stress continues to increase, with nearly 44% of respondents in a recent Gallup survey experiencing “a lot of daily stress.”1 What’s behind this continued surge in stress levels? And what can employers do about it? We take a look at these topics in this week’s blog.
Stress can be good for us in small doses—until it turns into burnout.
Sometimes we need that little jolt of stress to keep us alert and motivated to do our best work. But when stress overwhelms, it can lead to burnout—which the World Health Organization now classifies as an official syndrome.
Signs of burnout at work include lack of energy or feeling depleted; negativity and cynicism; and reduced productivity. Workers who are burned out can also experience physical symptoms like headaches, poor sleep, stomach pain, and increased blood pressure.
Workplace stress statistics show how dire the problem is. Gallup’s State of the Global Workplace report finds that employees are more burned out than ever—even more so than at the beginning of the pandemic.1 According to the American Psychological Association’s (APA) 2021 Work and Well-being Survey, nearly 3 in 5 employees reported classic symptoms of burnout, including lack of interest, motivation, or energy (26%) and lack of effort at work (19%).2
What’s behind this level of burnout?
There are likely several factors contributing to why employees are stressed and burned out:
External factors.
To be sure, worries about the economy and rising costs are causing significant financial stress. Layered onto this is existential anxiety about the geopolitical landscape and our own political divisions. In addition, supply chain disruptions—including the recent baby formula shortage—have affected our ability to get the goods we need. But they’ve also affected workload and morale for employees at the countless organizations struggling to navigate the impact on their own customers. Then there’s the continued childcare shortage impacting millions of parents. As a result, the APA reports that adults are emotionally overwhelmed and fatigued, with 87% agreeing that “it feels like there has been a constant stream of crises without a break over the last two years.”3
Emotional trauma.
The acute physical part of the pandemic may be over, but the emotional trauma still lingers. Gallup’s study found that worry, sadness, and anger remain above pre-pandemic levels.4 Younger generations, in particular, are grieving the loss of celebrating significant milestones in their lives as well as a sense of futility around making plans for the future. Racial and ethnic minorities have experienced a great deal of emotional trauma over the past few years, in addition to the disproportionate impact the coronavirus has had on these populations. Women have shouldered the lion’s share of extra household and caregiving responsibilities, and parents, in general, are still reeling from school and daycare closures. Many workers are also navigating a return-to-office after the freedom and flexibility remote work offered. Suffice to say, the emotional toll has been significant, and there’s no doubt it’s affecting how people show up to work every day.
Our unique work culture.
We’d be remiss if we didn’t mention that some causes of workplace stress existed long before the pandemic began. One is our unique “hustle” or “grind” culture, a work culture in which personal achievement and worth are measured in terms of hours worked. Other causes workers cite include unfair treatment at work, an unmanageable workload, unclear communication from managers, lack of manager support, and unreasonable time pressure.1
Then there’s the technology that allows us to be “always on” and never truly “not working.” Add to the list the stigma that many feel around taking time off to recharge or even take a mental health day. All of this is bumping up against a collective reckoning that has workers questioning what’s truly important in life.
We should note here that many of the contributors to burnout listed above are largely driven by the person we report to. In fact, a manager’s effect on a workplace is so significant that Gallup can predict 70% of the variance in team engagement just by getting to know the boss.1 We’ll talk about ways managers can be more supportive of their employees further down in the piece.
What is the risk of having so many burned-out workers?
Organizations struggling with employee burnout are likely to see impacts in a few key areas:
A decline in employee health.
Stressed workers may be more likely to engage in unhealthy behaviors like substance misuse, poor nutrition, and lack of exercise. And because stress can exacerbate existing chronic conditions, it’s possible to see an uptick in absenteeism and presenteeism. Mental health can also suffer. In our work with clients over the past two years, we’ve noticed a strong correlation between stress and depression—60% of individuals at high risk for depression are also at increased risk for stress.5
A drop in productivity.
There’s no doubt that work performance suffers when employees are stressed, leading to reduced productivity. In fact, a study cited by the National Institute of Medicine found that “there is a negative correlation between overall stress and productivity: higher stress scores were significantly associated with lower productivity scores.”6
A decrease in employee engagement.
When workers feel so depleted that they have nothing left to give at work, engagement suffers. Gallup’s State of the Workplace 2022 report found that 60% of people are emotionally detached at work, and 19% are miserable.1 Let’s put that into perspective. Every 6 in 10 employees are emotionally detached, and nearly 2 in 10 are miserable. That’s a lot of suffering employees!
So what can employers do to reduce that stress?
Arthur C. Evans, Jr., Ph.D., the American Psychological Association’s chief executive officer, recently said, “Pandemic stress is contributing to widespread mental exhaustion, negative health impacts, and unhealthy behavior changes – a pattern that will become increasingly challenging to correct the longer it persists.”7
Evans goes on to say that “It is urgent that as a nation we prioritize the mental health of all Americans and provide a universally accessible system of supports.” Here’s what this might look like for employers:
Open the lines of communication between employees and managers.
A manager is the first line of defense when it comes to reducing stress. Through weekly one-on-ones, managers can keep tabs on whether the workload needs to be adjusted, ensure that team members feel supported, and check in on the mental health of their team. It’s also important for managers to get to know employees on a more personal level. Gone are the days when it would be taboo to inquire about someone’s personal life. Now, it’s seen as an acknowledgment that people are humans first, workers second, and it’s vital in making people feel like they belong and work at a company that cares about them.
Make sure leaders walk the talk.
Lots of talk about self-care and stress reduction is meaningless unless leaders make a point to role-model stress-busting behaviors. This could include blocking time on their calendars for fitness or meditation, hosting walking meetings, and being open about taking time off to care for their own physical and mental health—or others in their life who need care. Doing so signals that looking after one’s mental health is a priority, empowering others in the organization to do the same.
Create a culture that encourages and supports boundary-setting.
- Employees should set and communicate regular working hours, and block their calendars for self-care or focus time.
- At the outset of new projects, hold a team meeting to set work expectations, hours of availability, and other boundary-setting details.
- Consider sending reminders to shut down at a reasonable hour and schedule “quiet periods” when employees should refrain from sending or replying to emails.
- Reevaluate time off and vacation policies to incentivize employees to take regular breaks. Possibly schedule mandatory company-wide “holidays” to encourage R&R.
Leverage your well-being program.
The mind-body connection is undeniable—when we’re feeling healthy, we’re more resilient and less stressed. So, promote your well-being program’s resources for increasing resilience, boosting physical activity, and eating well. Leverage health coaching for stress management services. Wellness challenges that inspire employees—and give them permission—to step away from their desks and move throughout the day are also a great idea.
Embed mindfulness, meditation, and resilience into the corporate culture.
Meditation and mindfulness are no longer seen as “out there.” Scores of successful executives and athletes use it to clarify their thinking, enhance performance, increase resilience, and reduce stress. If you have not made these kinds of resources available to employees to help support stress management in the workplace, think about how you can add them into your well-being program.
Promote your Employee Assistance Program (EAP).
Employee Assistance Programs are well-known for providing access to mental health counselors, but most also offer an array of programs to help with some of life’s common stressors—like figuring out childcare, taking care of elderly relatives, navigating life transitions like retiring or having a new baby, and more. So make sure you’re doing all you can to promote your EAP and the valuable stress-relieving services it offers.
Stress will always be a part of our lives to some degree, and that’s OK. But, given all of the recent external stressors and lived experiences of employees, employers need to play a role in a) not adding to that stress, where it can be helped, and b) providing resources for employees to manage stress so that it doesn’t lead to burnout. A work and leadership culture that promotes boundary-setting, emphasizes taking time to recharge, and provides holistic well-being tools to help employees cope with day-to-day stress is key. For help devising a well-being strategy to manage stress and burnout in your organization, visit our website or contact us at [email protected]. | https://www.webmdhealthservices.com/blog/workplace-stress-and-burnout-what-causes-it-and-what-organizations-can-do-to-help/ |
May is mental health awareness month.
While the pandemic has taken a toll on many aspects of life, it has especially affected the mental health of teenagers. Through this challenging time, it is essential to prioritize mental health. Mental health includes the physical, emotional, and social well-being of a person.
Mental health is important at every stage of life, from childhood to old age, but is particularly important during adolescence. From the age of 10 to 19, youth are considered to be adolescents. This period of life is when the brain experiences the most change and development. Due to these ongoing changes, the adolescent brain is vulnerable to mental health problems. The adolescent brain also responds to stress differently than adults, thus leading to stress-related mental disorders.
Over time, a person’s mental health could change due to several reasons, some including working long hours and/or experiencing economic hardship. Biological factors, such as genetics or brain chemistry, life experiences, such as trauma or abuse, and family history of mental health problems, are also factors of mental health.
There are numerous early warning signs of poor mental health to look out for in oneself or in others. Warning signs may include, but are not limited to:
- Eating or sleeping too much or too little
- Having low or no energy
- Unexplained aches and pains
- Feeling helpless or hopeless
- Pulling away from people and activities
- Severe mood swings
- Inability to perform daily tasks
- Persistent thoughts and memories
- Fighting with family and friends
- Feeling confused, forgetful, on edge, upset, angry, scared, or worried
In comparison to mental health is mental illness. It is important to note that someone can be diagnosed with a mental illness and experience social well-being, and someone can have poor mental health but not be diagnosed with a mental illness. Over 50% of the population of the United States are diagnosed with a mental illness or disorder in their lifetime. A few examples of mental illness include depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia.
While mental health and mental illnesses are not something that can be easily, or at all, fixed, there are many self-care methods that may positively affect one’s mental affect. Self-care methods may include walking and exercising, journaling, therapy, eating and drinking regularly, prioritizing sleep, and listening to music. Although these methods can be effective, it is okay to take time for yourself and prioritize your mental health. | https://dshsrampage.org/2262/features/take-time-for-your-mental-health/ |
The role of occupational therapist in mental health
As of recent, the role of occupational therapy within PrairieCare has transitioned from the inpatient setting to a solely outpatient consultation basis. The purpose of this blog is to identify the role of occupational therapy in the mental health setting and to highlight the plethora of evidence-based approaches with children and adolescents.
What is Occupational Therapy (OT)?
To start, the profession of occupational therapy is defined as “the therapeutic use of everyday life activities (occupations) with individuals or groups for the purpose of enhancing or enabling participation in roles, habits, and routines in home, school, workplace, community, and other settings” (American Occupational Therapy Association [AOTA], 2014, p. S1). To put it more simply, occupational therapists help individuals get back to doing what they want to do. Occupational therapists can work with individuals with physical injuries, cognitive impairments, psychosocial dysfunction, mental illness, and developmental or learning disabilities. Occupational therapists evaluate the whole individual by looking at the transaction between client factors (values, beliefs, spirituality, mental function, sensory function, etc.), performance skills (motor skills, process skills, social interaction skills), environment/context, and performance patterns (habits, routines, roles, rituals) in order to promote, establish/restore, maintain, or modify the task to enable participation in desired life activities. In addition, occupational therapists can focus on prevention of the potential barriers to participation in desired activities (AOTA, 2014).
Occupational therapists working in the mental health settings focus on enabling individuals to re-engage in meaningful occupations through a variety of skill sets such as skills development, establishing positive habits and routines, setting therapy goals, using cognitive-behavioral techniques (CBT), and understanding underlying physiological influences (AOTA, 2016b). Specifically, occupational therapy within the setting of child and adolescent mental health focuses on those underlying physiological influences and teaching patients to identify and utilize self-regulation strategies in order for patients to get back to participating in meaningful occupations such as going to school, being with friends, and participating within the family system (AOTA, 2016a). In addition, occupational therapists can work with individuals with sensory processing disorders (SPD) and social-emotional learning dysfunction, which are commonly seen within the child and adolescent setting of mental health (AOTA, 2016b).
What approaches do OT’s use with clients/patients?
The following evidence-based approaches support the profession of occupational therapy within this child and adolescent mental health setting. These evidence-based approaches include:
- Providing education on coping skills and self-regulation skills to use in a variety of contexts
- Providing education on sensory exploration and implementation of sensory approaches for self-regulation
- Incorporating yoga and movement interventions to provide sensory input and achieve self-regulation
- Utilizing CBT approaches to facilitate participation in desired activities
- Identifying and implementing healthy, positive habits and structure into daily routines
- Providing education and implementation of skills related to social competence, such as making and keeping friends, coping with anger, solving problems, learning about social etiquette, and following school rules
- Evaluating factors interfering with success in school, home, community, etc.
- Modifying the environment to support improved attention, participation and decrease sensory overload in the classroom
- Providing parents with education on behavioral and psychosocial approaches to enhance the child’s daily functioning
- Reducing restraints and seclusions in the inpatient setting by conducting comprehensive assessments to determine facilitators and barriers to participation in life tasks, promoting the use of self-awareness and skills development, collaborating with the client to develop attainable goals, modifying the environment for optimal fit, promoting use of self-regulation and sensory strategies, and educating the interdisciplinary team on prevention techniques.
Overall, it is clear that occupational therapists have the distinct knowledge and skill sets to provide effective, holistic interventions within the mental health setting. There is strong evidence to support the incorporation of occupational therapy skills such as sensory approaches and psychosocial techniques within psychiatric settings to facilitate daily life functioning.
Alison Tonsager, Occupational Therapy Student
Madonna Mitzel, MS, OTR/L, Outpatient Occupational Therapist
References
American Occupational Therapy Association. (2014). Occupational therapy practice framework: Domain and process (3rd ed.). American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 68(Suppl. 1), S1– S48. doi: 10.5014/ajot.2014.682006
There are a lot of people who don’t know what occupational therapy is, but even fewer know about the role of OT in mental health. But in fact, the profession of occupational therapy first came to be known within psychiatric hospitals.
This is why the term occupational therapy contains the word occupation. Therapists who worked in behavioral health in the 1950s and 1960s would engage patients in meaningful occupations (or activities) in an attempt to keep them productive, attentive, and generally healthy. Handiwork was thought to have a large impact on the recovery process. The general idea behind this science is helpful, since individuals are often more motivated for rehabilitation if they can stay busy and feel useful.
Of course, the way they went about this is now viewed as overly simplistic and outdated, since the extent of their treatment would be working to complete arts and crafts such as basket weaving, lacing, and coloring.
The context of an OT’s role in mental health is the reason why we now delineate between activities and occupations. The purpose of OT is not simply to give our patients something to do, but rather to tailor treatment to the patient’s preferences, goals, and needs across a range of areas.
For this reason, mental health is thought of as one of the most customizable practice areas. Therapists in these settings are not typically held to the strict productivity standards that therapists in skilled nursing facilities and hospitals are. This means that an occupational therapist can use a high amount of creativity, planning time, and evaluation to understand what their patients need and work to make it happen.
The Role of OT in Mental Health
The role of a mental health occupational therapist varies slightly across inpatient and outpatient settings. But the goals are often shared in that treatment focuses on increasing a patient’s awareness of their condition (also called insight) and expanding the range of skills and tools they regularly use to manage their disorder.
One of the main ways that occupational therapists assist patients in behavioral health settings is through psychoeducational groups. These groups focus largely on education but as it directly pertains to someone’s condition. So rather than a standard educational group that involves telling someone what options they have in a certain area, psychoeducational groups show patients how they can engage in these areas despite symptoms, treatment plans, and more.
Psychoeducational groups in both outpatient and inpatient settings typically address the following topics:
Self-care
Self-care includes dressing, eating, toileting, bathing, and grooming. Therapists in nursing facilities may practice these skills in a hands-on way with patients. Therapists in mental health settings focus more on the barriers to self-care such as poor motivation, low energy, variable mood, unstable housing, and a lack of financial resources.
Relaxation and stress reduction techniques
Stress reduction techniques can range from hobby engagement, yoga, exercise, and many more strategies to engage in relaxation and therefore reduce levels of stress.
Coping strategies
This can differ from stress reduction in that coping skills can often be used in more subtle ways such as on public transportation, in the store, or at work. People can use techniques like deep breathing, brief periods of meditation, or guided imagery to cope with stress in the moment and improve their ability to function within the community.
Emotion regulation
Ranging from anger management to interpersonal dynamics to conflict resolution, this area is a great way to address uncomfortable feelings that are present with nearly every mental health concern. It is a good idea to focus on emotions that are especially uncomfortable such as abandonment, loneliness, fear of rejection, and unworthiness.
This may also include anger management, conflict resolution, interpersonal dynamics, social skills training, and more.
Symptom management
Education regarding symptom management often includes coping skills, stress reduction techniques, and emotion regulation. But a group solely focused on this topic should include personalized plans to deal with each patient’s symptoms. This makes it more powerful and far more effective for each person.
Instrumental activities of daily living (IADLs)
IADLs cover a wide range of topics intended to focus on those higher level self-care tasks such as health maintenance (including the management of medications, appointments, and other treatment-related requirements), budgeting, and household management such as laundry, driving, and cooking. These groups can be approached much the same as those focused on self-care in that education should crucially cover the factors that impact IADL completion.
Depending on the facility’s rules, funding, and physical treatment space, it may be appropriate or necessary to practice some of these skills in an individual or group atmosphere to assess a patient’s safety, function, and general capabilities in each area.
Community mobility or re-entry
Depending on the setting (inpatient or outpatient), education may cover accessing the community safely and effectively or reentering the community after a hospitalization. Some patients may benefit from instruction on using public transportation or ride shares, maps, medical transportation companies for appointments, online navigation systems, identifying signage, locating important buildings in their community such as the hospital, store, and police station.
Reentry groups can focus on social etiquette when in public settings, personal safety when around others, and some basic community navigation.
Social skills and communication
Along with emotion regulation, social skills are crucial to managing a mental health condition. Depending on the severity of someone’s condition and their level of functioning, some patients will benefit from education on acceptable social behavior such as how to utilize verbal and non-verbal cues, being sensitive around certain topics, giving respectful replies, disclosing an appropriate amount of information, and more.
Diagnosis education
Far too often, patients don’t receive enough information about their own diagnoses or treatment plan. Education on what to expect with each condition is very helpful, including prognosis, treatment options (as provided by the patient’s doctor), medications, and adjunctive treatments.
It is important to note that, while you can talk about general symptoms that are common with many mental health concerns, it breaks HIPAA to discuss a person’s specific diagnosis or circumstances in a group setting. So if this type of education is indicated or requested by the patient, it is best to provide it during one-on-one time.
Individual roles
Each person has roles to fulfill and mental health concerns can often get in the way of that. It’s possible to complete a psychoeducational group that covers a range of roles in a general sense so that each person can get back to meaningful roles they prioritize. This may include being a daughter or son, grandparent, parent, worker, church member, volunteer, or caregiver. Either way, they should receive education on how to manage their condition while still engaging in these roles in the ways they wish to.
Productive leisure
Hobbies and leisure activity are another important area that can assist with recovery. Individuals may not be aware of viable leisure pursuits or they may have trouble participating due to motivation and other factors discussed earlier. For this reason, education should focus on helping patients successfully engage in whatever leisure activities are of interest to them.
_______________
The above areas serve as the crux of occupational therapy treatment in both community-based settings such as outpatient clinics, clubhouses, and drop-in centers, as well as inpatient settings such as hospitals and residential facilities. Occupational therapists have a large impact on the rehabilitation process of individuals living with any type of mental health concern.
This is yet another meaningful way that OTs can impact change and assist the movement toward improving our society’s mental health.
What is your favorite way that OTs can address mental health? What would you add about the role of OT in mental health in general? Let us know in the comments!
And for more about mental health occupational therapy, be sure to check out our other article, Occupational Therapy in Mental Health: An Overview of 6 Typical Settings. | https://www.londonspring.org/the-role-of-occupational-therapist-in-mental-health/ |
“I honestly don’t have a strategy. My goal is simply to make it to bed every night. And typing this makes me think this is something I should probably address!” – Anonymous Alabama Lawyer
It may seem obvious that self-care is important for well-being and success in life. However, self-care is not always practiced when work, bills, and other issues come into play. All individuals experience stress in their lives, but not all have identified specific strategies to adaptively cope with stress. Recent research has established the negative implications of work-related stress on well-being. Workplace stress includes workload, long hours, and demanding conditions (Cooper, Dewe, & O’Driscoll, 2001). Although many different occupations experience workplace stress, one of the most challenging and strenuous workplace environments is the practice of law.
Lawyers may be particularly prone to stress and burnout in their careers (Kobasa, 1982). Research has noted that lawyers are particularly prone to psychological distress and maladaptive coping mechanisms (Beck, Sales, & Benjamin, 1996). Data have suggested lawyers have higher rates of depression and substance abuse than the general population (Rothstein, 2008). Impairment in lawyers due to poor well-being can lead to counterproductive actions and pose concern based on their important societal roles. This is especially problematic as their professional services often influence important matters in others’ lives (Rothstein, 2008). In addition, part of practicing law includes the element of helping others and there is a paradoxical relationship with stress since helping, when either ineffective or even successful, leads to increased levels of stress. Based on the potential risks involved when lawyer well-being deteriorates, the need for self-care with these professionals is crucial.
Recent research findings by Joudrey and Wallace (2009) have suggested that leisure is an effective coping resource for law firm lawyers. However, leisure that was passive in nature was not significantly effective in reducing psychological symptoms like depression. These passive and ineffective activities included watching television, reading, going to the movies, or working on hobbies at home. On the other hand, active leisure and social leisure were positively related to mental health in lawyers. Active leisure included working out at the gym, running/jogging, walking, playing sports, and cycling. Social leisure included frequency of visiting others, talking with others, eating out with others, or going to community or church meetings. The study also found that taking a vacation was also influential in reducing symptoms of depression in lawyers as well.
Additional investigations are needed to better understand the adaptive coping strategies and leisure activities involved in the self-care of practicing lawyers. Previous studies have been limited in utilizing self-report item ratings in order to measure self-care tactics. Qualitative research allows for a richer and deeper analysis by gathering data via open-ended questions. Rather than using quantitative collection methods with limited items, qualitative data collection offers participants with an opportunity to provide individualized, unique responses.
Given the importance of self-care behavior and effective coping (particularly in high stress jobs), we thought it important to investigate the prevalence of stress in practicing lawyers along with data on the primary methods of coping on which they relied and meaning derived from work. Participants, practicing lawyers, were recruited from the Alabama State Bar Association. Of the 93 lawyers who responded to the online survey, the majority were Caucasian and married. The age of participants ranged from 26 and 65 with an average age of about 42. Most participants had children and had been practicing law anywhere from one to 41 years.
Each participant completed the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), a 10-item measure of levels of stress in one’s life. Scores ranged from 4 to 35 (out of a possible 0 to 40 points) with an average score of 18.98 (SD = 7.42); higher scores indicative of more chronic levels of stress. Items on the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) reference the level of uncontrollability and unpredictability of one’s life. Results suggested average levels of stress overall.
Participants were asked an open-ended question about the methods with which they coped. Of the 81 participants who responded to this question, 140 responses were generated and categorized into 20 unique groupings. A total of 25 participants indicated exercise is a strategy they use to cope with stress. Nineteen participants reported they engage in a fun activity (e.g., golf, go to a concert, read) while 12 individuals identified faith and/or prayer as a method of coping. Of interest, and of potential concern, nine individuals identified alcohol use as a method of coping while another nine identified eating as a coping mechanism.
These coping strategies were categorized according to the active, passive, and social groupings investigated by Joudrey and Wallace (2009). For participants who identified multiple coping strategies, the first listed strategy was used to categorize the response. For example, the participant who responded “exercise and talking with people” was categorized as Active. This new created variable was used as a grouping variable to investigate differences in perceived stress among groups. The model was not significant (p = .82), suggesting that perceived stress did not depend on method of coping, as measured in this study.
In addition to coping, we were interested in the meaning one derives from the job. This was investigated as meaning derived from work may lessen levels of perceived stress, or result in more adaptive methods of coping. Of the 83 participants who responded to a qualitative item regarding the meaning they receive from the job, over half (60%) responded “helping people,” or some variation of that response. Various other responses included reference to problem-solving or using one’s wits, winning, the positive impact/influence of the job, justice and fairness, and money. Four participants indicated that nothing about the job was meaningful. Levels of perceived stress were not different among individuals who indicated that “helping people” was the most meaningful aspect of the job, nor were there differences in coping strategies utilized according to responses on this item.
The purpose of the current study was to investigate perceived stress and coping strategies in practicing lawyers. In response to an open-ended question about coping, participants provided responses ranging from drinking alcohol and exercise to faith/prayer and relaxing with friends. Of interest, coping method (i.e., active, passive, social) did not differentiate among levels of perceived stress, inconsistent with prior research (Joudrey & Wallace, 2009). This finding (or lack thereof) may be an artifact of the way the variable was recoded rather than a true absence of an effect. Future research should seek to investigate this possibility.
Regardless of the inconsistency with prior research, we wanted to highlight the importance of coping in high-stress jobs, such as the practice of law. Self-care and coping are imperative to managing job-related stress, but also to the relative stability and happiness outside of work. Active methods of coping (e.g., exercise) tend to be more effective than passive methods, though this general conclusion was not supported with the current data. In addition, the rate of burnout in helping professions is higher, likely given the rate with which that helping is ineffective. The authors developed the following recommendations to address and protect self-care and coping, especially for high-stress positions, like that of law:
- Establish solid personal and professional boundaries. This might mean deciding on a time to “clock out” each evening or devoting one day a week as a no-work day. It is easy for work to bleed into personal time, particularly when that work is stressful. Working to establish and maintain a time or times when free time is unaffected by work is not only important, but also necessary.
- Monitor one’s responses to stress and be mindful of how you are coping. Stress can impact one physically in the form of muscle aches, stomach pains, and headaches; cognitively in the way of rumination or racing thoughts; or affectively in the form of anxiety. Monitoring your own reactions and responses to stress will allow you to keep a check on how you are doing, especially during times when stress has become overwhelming. Listening to what your body is “saying” can help to understand when breaks are needed and when your current methods of coping are not working as well as they used to.
- Find support. Social support is one well-documented method of coping. Humans are social beings and finding support from others can make a significant difference in perceived stress. A number of participants in the current study cited social support as one of their primary methods of coping with job-related stress.
- Recognize your limits. One can only help others if you have taken care of yourself first. One participant in the current study provided the current response when asked about coping: “I work long hours to accomplish as much as I can each day. I can’t sleep at night if I leave things undone at the office. As long as I get everything done that day that I possibly can, I sleep like a baby when I get home.” Understanding what your limits are and abiding by them is essential to being effective in the future. This recommendation works hand-in-hand with the first recommendation to establish boundaries and stick to them. Sometimes work is overwhelming and at times, unrealistic to complete. Taking breaks and walking away is not admittance of defeat – but instead admittance of humanity.
In short, we encourage individuals to engage in self-care and coping in an effort to sustain work productivity and general efficacy. Understanding and awareness of one’s limits and finding support and downtime are essential components of the self-care equation.
References
Beck, C.J.A., Sales, B.D., & Benjamin, G.A.H. (1995). Lawyer Distress: Alcohol-Related Problems and Other Psychological Concerns Among a Sample of Practicing Lawyers. Journal of Law and Health, 10(1), 1-60.
Cooper, C. L., Dewe, P. J., & O’Driscoll, M. P. Organizational stress: A review and critique of theory, research, and applications. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE, 2001.
Joudrey, A. D. & Wallace, J. E. (2009). Leisure as a coping resource: A test of the job demand-control-support model. Human Relations, 62(2), 195-217.
Kobasa, S. C. (1982). Commitment and Coping in Stress Resistance Among Lawyers. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 42(4), 707-717.
Rothstein, L. (2008). Law Students and Lawyers with Mental Health and Substance Abuse Problems: Protecting the Public and the Individual. Pittsburgh Law Review, 69, 531-566).
Maybe It Starts in Law School
Back in the day (late sixties), when I was in law school, I felt the stress these authors talk about. It was not fun. For one of my classmates, it was deadly; for others, it was just depressing and anxiety provoking. Of course, my best friend thought all my concern was silly because he was having a helluva good time in law school. Law school was a joy for him and he was not alone. But then I wasn’t alone either.
Benjamin, Kaszniak, Sales and Shanfield did the study that opened my eyes to possible explanations for my varieties of unhappiness. Listen to the abstract for their 1986 paper:
“Data were collected, using four standardized self-report instruments (Brief Symptom Inventory, Beck Depression Inventory, Multiple Affect Adjective Checklist, and Hassle Scale) on subjects before and during law school and after graduation. Before law school, subjects expressed psychopathological symptom responses that were similar to the normal population. Yet during law school and after graduation symptom levels were significantly elevated.”
What does “significantly elevated” symptom levels exactly mean? Here’s what they said:
“During law school . . . symptom levels are elevated significantly when compared with the normal population. These symptoms include obsessive-compulsive behavior, interpersonal sensitivity, depression, anxiety, hostility, phobic anxiety, paranoid ideation, and psychoticism (social alienation and isolation).” At page 225. And, they noted, 20 to 40% of a law school class had these symptoms of illness and distress (depending on the symptom).
These symptoms of illness and dysfunction did not disappear on graduation. “Finally, further longitudinal analysis showed that the symptom elevations do not significantly decrease between spring of the third year and the next two years of law practice as alumni.” P 246
If that’s not indictment enough, the study also discovered that the deleterious effect of law school affected everyone, not just people with “unique and rare vulnerabilities.” Moreover, when compared to that other very stressful education, medical school,
“law students developed significantly more distress than medical students for all symptoms except somatization and phobic anxiety.”
Dr. Benjamin and I talked a bit back then (mid-seventies) mostly because we were both law and psychology dual degree holders seeking some affiliation with like-minded others, and discussed the possibility that “learning to think like a lawyer”, the oft-stated goal of legal education, really meant something like “getting sick.” A stretch, maybe, but maybe not much of a stretch for at least 20 to 40% of a law school class.
Like the authors of this article being reviewed, I decided something should be done to help lawyers. I sent letters to all recent law school graduates in the area offering a support group. “Let’s talk about it.” No takers. Not one.
Then I received a call from a high powered lawyer with a high powered law firm asking me to come meet with him to discuss a presentation on stress at the senior partner’s retreat in the spring. At the meeting, I inquired: Why do you want this presentation on stress? What are the issues you all are dealing with?
His quick reply: I can’t think of anything.
But I presented anyway in the naïve belief that maybe one person would take away something helpful. The meeting immediately prior to my little talk about Type A and Type B personalities was a personnel committee meeting in which it was decided to terminate the insurance coverage of a long-term secretary with the firm. She had cancer and “was probably going to die anyway.” Undeterred, and after a very nice introduction, I delivered my information about stress. In the question/answer session that followed, a statement came from the floor: “This typology is good for us because we are looking only for Type A personalities. They’re the ones that work the hardest.”
And there were more similar experiences over the years. In short, my experience with lawyers is that those in the trenches, embedded in daily conflict and attempting its resolution, may begin to feel bad. When that occurs, they should pay attention to those feelings and get some help, as these authors suggest. It may be possible to make the professional adjustments and life changes necessary to bring life back into a constructive balance. Or, in many cases, it may be time to move on to something you love more. If that’s the case, don’t dally.
References
1 “The Role of Legal Education in Producing Psychological Distress Among Law Students and Lawyers,” American Bar Foundation Research Journal, Vol. 11, No. 2, Spring 1986.
A Response to A Qualitative Examination of Self-Care in Lawyers
According to a Johns Hopkins study (Eaton 1990), lawyers are 3.6 times more likely to be depressed than the general population, and are fifth in the incidence of suicide as compared to 104 occupational groups. This article posits a lack of self-care in lawyers may lead to depression that makes it difficult or impossible to properly serve clients. Given this, it is important for lawyers to embrace and pursue good mental health with the same vigor that many place on their physical well being, or to simply value their mental health at least as much as their careers.
From an economic standpoint, depression could be related to the mass exodus of attorneys from the field of law each year, which can cost large firms millions in recruiting and training costs. According to a recent American Bar Association Law Practice Management article, (Weiss 2014), about half of lawyer departures at law firms are unwanted. According to the National Association for Law Placement and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 57 percent of lawyers leave law firms altogether before their fifth year of practice, and 31 percent of female associates leave private practice altogether after leaving their law firm. In addition to the financial burden this places on law firms, this exodus comes at a time when an increasing number of Americans are having trouble finding affordable legal help. So this could be another cost of depression in lawyers.
There are many contributing factors to depression in lawyers, from unrealistic expectations for the field that begin in law school and a legal culture that rewards perfectionism, pessimism, and excessive work habits. Many state bars have started Lawyer’s Assistance programs, but the more depressed a person is, the less likely he or she is to seek help. Thus, self-care – as outlined in the study – is key, but it is also important for big firms to follow the lead of state bar associations and take proactive measures to prevent, detect, and encourage treatment for its employees. Given recent advances in technology, incorporating a mentally healthy lifestyle into the legal environment is easier than ever with the increased development of smart watches that monitor various health statistics, as well as technology-driven sleep monitors and aids that encourage good sleep habits. It would also be wise to lay the groundwork for self-care and normalizing the seeking of mental health care in law school. One study (Andrew and Benjamin, et al. 1986), found that about 40 percent of law students are clinically depressed by the spring of their third year.
This study of self-care in lawyers is a qualitative study, so sample size and demographic diversity was not emphasized as much as it may have been in the Joudrey & Wallace, 2009 study cited by the authors. This could account for why this study found different effects on depression among passive leisure activities – such as watching T.V. – as opposed to active leisure activities such as exercise and sports, and social activities. Nonetheless, it is a good step toward a worthy cause of encouraging a proactive approach to good mental health of lawyers, which in turn benefits the public who relies on their talents and energy.
References
Andrew, G. and Benjamin, H., et al. (1986). The role of legal education in producing psychological distress among law students and lawyers. American Bar Association Foundation Journal (11) 225.
Eaton, W.W. (1990). Occupations and the prevalence of major depressive disorder. Journal of Occupational Medicine, 32 (11), 1079-1087.
Joudrey, A. D. & Wallace, J. E. (2009). Leisure as a coping resource: A test of the job demand-control-support model. Human Relations, 62(2), 195-217.
Weiss, D. C. (2014). How to curb the law firm exodus? Study looks at traits of those most likely to leave law practice. American Bar Association. | https://www.thejuryexpert.com/2014/11/a-qualitative-examination-of-self-care-in-lawyers/ |
Occupational Health and Safety Teacher Resources Binder, Chapter 7, Psychosocial Hazards Great overview with resources of psychosocial hazards: fatigue and hours of work, technological changes, stress and critical incident stress, bullying, cyber bullying/harassment, workplace violence and abuse, working alone.
Volume 5: Best Practices for the Assessment and Control of Psychological Hazards (BP013)
AHS It’s Our Business: Addressing Addiction & Mental Health in the Workplace resource manual. Module 1: Workplace health and the business case (handout)
Module 2: Promoting workplace health (handout)
Module 3: Understanding addiction and mental health in the workplace (handout)
Module 4: Family and social support (handout)
Module 5: Policy development (handout)
Module 6: Fit for work (handout)
Module 7: Effective performance management (handout)
Module 8: Getting help: Treatment, return to work and accommodation (handout)
Government of Alberta Handbook of Occupational Hazards and Controls for Mental Health Workers 2011
Alberta Public Service Return to Work Guidelines: For Managers
ALIGN Association OHS Resources
For New ALIGN OHS Resources, Training, Initiatives View the OHS Index
Videos - Mental Wellness for Children and Youth in Care: Support for the Caregiver Conference Edmonton January 25, 2017
“Pathways to Better Mental Health”
Foundations of Caregiver Support (FCS)
Mental Health First Aid (MHFA)
Institute for Work & Health
Guide to Support Workers with Depression
If someone you work with or supervise experiences depression —or if you have symptoms yourself—there are ways to offer and seek support. Our new Evidence-informed guide to supporting people with depression in the workplace lays out tips and suggestions. It’s aimed at helping people with depression cope with symptoms while working or returning to work after an episode of depression. Users may include individuals with depression, managers, co-workers, human resources staff, union representatives and worker representatives. When it comes to supporting workers with depression, everyone can help.
Slidecast A Systematic Review of Workplace Interventions to Manage Depression
The research literature to date suggests that cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) can help people with depression stay at work—and CBT with a focus on work can help people return to work after a depression-related absence. These findings from a systematic review, on workplace interventions to manage depression, were the focus of an IWH Speaker Series presentation in January 2018. If you missed that presentation or want to watch it again, it's available as a slidecast. Institute for Work & Health
ACS-NYU Children's Trauma Institute
Addressing Secondary Traumatic Stress Among Child Welfare Staff: A Practice Brief
Addresses occupational stress experienced by staff responsible for investigating allegations of child abuse and neglect and making decisions regarding child removal.
Promoting Resilience and Reducing Secondary Trauma Among Child Welfare Staff Describes a project to mitigate the impact of secondary traumatic stress among child protective staff in New York City, and thereby increase staff job satisfaction, resilience, optimism, self-care and social support, and decrease staff attrition, stress reactivity and burnout.
Alberta Association for Safety Partnerships (AASP)
Alberta Association for Safety Partnerships (AASP) is Alberta Government approved Certifying Partner and a registered non-profit organization under the Society Act of Alberta. The AASP is a service focused Certifying Partner, providing a practical and reasonable approach to health and safety in the workplace. Through our commitment to our members, and solely through their funding of memberships and course fees, the AASP has grown to be the second largest issuer of Certificates of Recognition (COR and SECOR) in the province. The AASP is also the largest Certifying Partner that serves all industries in Alberta while receiving no government funding.
Also See ALIGN/Alberta Association for Safety Partnerships (AASP) as a Certifying PartnerAlberta Association for Safety Partnerships (AASP) as a Certifying Partner
Alberta Human Rights Commission
Mental or physical disabilities and discrimination
A printable PDF version of this information sheet is available. The Alberta Human Rights Act prohibits discrimination based on physical and mental disabilities.
Duty to accommodate
This interpretive bulletin provides information for people who: are required to accommodate individuals in accordance with human rights legislation; need accommodation; and are involved in the application of human rights law. The information is intended to: increase understanding of what accommodation means; increase awareness about the duty to accommodate; and assist in the development of effective policies and procedures. The situations described in this bulletin are examples only. If you require more detailed or individualized information on the topic of accommodation, please contact the Alberta Human Rights Commission.
Obtaining and responding to medical information in the workplace.
Albertas Workers Health Centre
Resources for Workplace Accommodations
Duty To Accommodate in the Workplace Alberta Human Rights Commission Bulletin pdf
Medical Information Bulletin
How much medical information do you need to provide your employer? This explanation and forms from the Alberta Human Rights Commission will help you obtaining proper medical information to use for return to work situations.
American Psychological Association: Centre for Organizational Excellence
Resources for Employers A psychologically healthy workplace fosters employee health and well-being while enhancing organizational performance and productivity.
Psychologically healthy workplace practices can be grouped into five categories:
Employee involvement
Work-life balance
Employee growth & development
Health & safety and Employee recognition
Benefits Canada
Return-to-work plans, coverage for mental-health injuries among proposals in new Alberta bill November 29, 2017
Other proposed changes to the Workers’ Compensation Act include: improving retirement benefits to better recognize the impact on an injured worker’s retirement savings; enhancing coverage for psychological injuries, including post-traumatic stress disorder, for all occupations where workers have experienced a traumatic incident at work; and removing the maximum insurable earnings cap of $98,700 per year, allowing injured workers to receive benefits in line with their expected annual income. “Every Albertan should be able to go to work and come home healthy and safe at the end of the workday,” said Christina Gray, the province’s minister of labour, in a statement. “When they don’t, they deserve to have access to the medical and financial supports they need to get healthy, care for their families and return to work. This bill would better protect hardworking Albertans and provide fair compensation to Albertans injured on the job.” The bill also proposes the establishment of a fair practices office, whose mandate would be to help Albertans find their way through every step of the Workers’ Compensation Board system by offering additional support resources, as well as the establishment of a code of rights and conduct laying out the rights of employers and employees. If passed, the changes to the Workers’ Compensation Act would take effect on Jan. 1, 2018. Changes to the Occupational Health and Safety Act would take effect on June 1, 2018.
Better Health
Symptoms of work-related stress
What are the main work-related stressors?
Causes of work-related stress
Self-help for the individual
Benefits of preventing stress in the workplace
Work-related stress is a management issue
blue knot foundation
Vicarious Traumatisation
Research indicates that service providers often find treating survivors of childhood abuse stressful, because of survivors' resistance to change, their ways of relating to helpers, and the nature of the work (Palmer et al., 2001). The nature of the work is particularly stressful when it involves listening to detailed descriptions of very painful, often horrific events; it may also involve helpers re-enacting survivors' early experiences of trauma and betrayal with them (Palmer et al., 2001). There is no doubt that hearing and thinking about the stories one hears can continue well after the client has left the therapeutic interaction.
CalSWEC
CalSWEC Self-Care for New Child Welfare Workers: Social Worker Safety, Stress Management, and Time Management (Version 2.0)
These learning objectives focus on the effect of stressful work experiences on professional performance and well-being, and include guidance for stress reduction.
Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety
Psychosocial Risk Hazards in the Workplace Thirteen psychosocial risk (PSR) factors have been identified by researchers at Simon Fraser University based on extensive research and review of empirical data from national and international best practices.
On Demand Webinars
Taking Action on Workplace Stress
Healthy Workplaces: A Team Effort
Psychological Health and Safety: An Action Guide for Employers
Mentally Healthy Workplaces: Strategies for Success
CASA
CASP
Suicide and Workplace Impact
The workplace plays an essential part in maintaining positive mental health. The suicide of a worker has tremendous emotional costs in the workplace. 70% of Canadian employees have some degree of concern about psychological health and safety in their workplace. Approximately 500,000 Canadians will not go to work because of mental illness on any given week. The annual cost to the economy in health and social services, income support, and lost productivity is $51 billion...
Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS)
Webinar - Steps to a Mentally Healthy Workplace
Workplace Health and Well-being - Sample Workplace Health and Well-being Program Elements
Workplace Health and Well-being - Sample Workplace Health and Well-being Survey
Workplace Health and Well-being Promotion - Getting Started
Assembling the Pieces Toolkit Online Course FREE!
Practical advice for implementing the National Standard of Canada for Psychological Health and Safety in the Workplace.
Being a Mindful Employee: An Orientation to Psychological Health and Safety in the Workplace Online Course FREE!
Centre for Suicide Prevention
The workplace and suicide prevention toolkit
The workplace is a major part of the lives of most Canadians. Many of us spend upwards of 60% of our waking hours at work (Canadian Association for Suicide Prevention, 2016). Therefore, when a colleague dies by suicide the emotional and financial costs are enormous not only to family members, but to co-workers and the organization itself. Workplaces need to have measures in place to inform and educate about suicide. It is an issue that cannot be ignored. This toolkit is a collection of facts, figures, and best preventative practices regarding suicide in the workplace.
Child Trauma Academy
The Cost of Caring:Secondary Traumatic Stress and the Impact of Working with High-Risk Children and Families
Fee Online Course The Cost of Caring: Secondary Traumatic Stress and the Impact of Working with High-Risk Children and Families
Children's Bureau
Secondary traumatic stress is the stress or trauma symptoms that a professional may experience as a result of working with children and families who themselves have been traumatized. It is also referred to as secondary trauma or vicarious trauma. Secondary traumatic stress can impact the quality of services caseworkers or agencies provide to the children, youth, and families they serve. In this podcast, three veteran child welfare professionals discuss and provide examples about how to help child welfare professionals cope with secondary traumatic stress, such as...
Planning for Emotional Labor and Secondary Traumatic Stress in Child Welfare Organizations Provides an emergent framework that emphasizes early detection and quick response for secondary traumatic stress. Recommendations and guidelines to improve response and intervention are shared.
CMHA Albera Division
2 Day Training - $1500 Certified Psychological Health and Safety Adviser Training
Community Care
How social workers can build their emotional resilience Social work is stressful - but you can learn how to become more resilient By Ruth Hardy on April 10, 2017
Social work can be a challenging and stressful career. In a recent Community Care and Unison survey, 80% of the 2,032 social workers who responded said they had suffered emotional distress during the course of a single day. 40% had been verbally abused. In order to survive for any length of time in the profession and not suffer burnout, social workers must be emotionally resilient; able to bounce back from setbacks and cope with stress...
Conference Board of Canada
Mental Health and Well-Being In The Workplace: What Works and Why It Makes Business Sense is a newly released report created by The Conference Board Inc. This 29-page report is informed by discussions, literature reviews, and round table events with academics, consultants, and companies known for their impressive well-being programs. It provides recommendations and resources for those looking to begin a well-being initiative at their organization or increase the momentum of a current program, and it includes examples of successful initiatives, the rationale behind their project initiation, and tips for moving the programs forward.
Healthy Brains at Work: Employer-Sponsored Mental Health Benefits and Programs by Louise Chenier and Charles Boyer Feb 2016
The Footprint of Mental Health Conditions: Healthy Brains at Work May 2015
Crisis Prevention Institute (CPI)
Decision-Making Matrix Decision-Making Matrix - This Risk Assessment Tool (for staff) Helps You Deal With Difficult Behavior Better Than Ever If you’ve had Nonviolent Crisis Intervention® training, or if you teach the program to your colleagues, you know which intervention to use and when. And now, the enhanced program features an additional tool to help assess risk and choose the safest response.
Free Resource Pack Get a collection of posters and pamphlets filled with tips and strategies to help you make your workplace safer.
Crisis Response Planning Checklist [PDF] to assist you and your organization in designing clear and simple crisis response procedures
Fostering Emotionally Safe Environments for Caregiving by Dr. Randy Boardman
The Crisis Prevention Institute's Nonviolent Crisis Intervention® training program advances the Care, Welfare, Safety, and Security SM of all stakeholders in caregiving settings such as schools, residential, or other youth services. This article will discuss the emotional safety of challenging youth and staff who serve them Download the free eBook, Creating a Safe and Caring Work Environment.
Checklist for Managing Mental Health at Work. Download this free guide for tips on addressing mental health issues in your workplace.
CTRI
Book: The Culture Question by Randy Grieser, Eric Stutzman, Wendy Loewen, and Michael Labun. How to Create a Workplace Where People Like to Work
Unfortunately, far too many people don’t like where they work. Some organizations are unhealthy and full of disrespectful behavior. Other workplaces are simply uninspiring. For various reasons, countless people feel trapped, indifferent, or bored at work. The authors of this book believe that people should be able to like where they work. When employees like the places they work, it’s not only good for their mental health and well-being, it’s also good for their organizations – both financially and otherwise. When a workplace culture is purposely created to be respectful and inspiring, employees are happier, more productive, and more engaged. By exploring six key elements that make up a healthy workplace culture, The Culture Question answers two fundamental questions: “How does your organization’s culture impact how much people like where they work?” and “What can you do to make it better?”...
Free Archived Webinar - Wellness Strategies - For the Helping Professional Webinar
Trainer: Vicki Enns, MMFT, RMFT Experiencing compassion fatigue, vicarious trauma or burnout is, unfortunately, a common occurrence among caregivers. In this webinar, participants will identify the causes, signs and symptoms of stress and also measure their own current level of stress and burnout. Several techniques and interventions to decrease stress will also be reviewed.
CTRI Webinar (available for purchase) Vicarious Trauma – Strategies for Resilience Helpers regularly encounter stories and symptoms of trauma in their roles. There is growing evidence that the impact of directly supporting others through experiences of trauma goes beyond burnout or fatigue. The toll of witnessing intense human experiences and emotions can contribute to a negative transformation of a helper’s own sense of safety, and of being competent and purposeful. This workshop will provide participants with the opportunity to examine their own experiences and become aware of the signs of both vicarious trauma and vicarious growth. Participants will have the opportunity to develop a personalized plan to repair negative effects as well as accelerate their resilience.
CTRI Webinar (available for purchase) Vicarious Trauma – Strategies for Resilience Helpers regularly encounter stories and symptoms of trauma in their roles. There is growing evidence that the impact of directly supporting others through experiences of trauma goes beyond burnout or fatigue. The toll of witnessing intense human experiences and emotions can contribute to a negative transformation of a helper’s own sense of safety, and of being competent and purposeful. This workshop will provide participants with the opportunity to examine their own experiences and become aware of the signs of both vicarious trauma and vicarious growth.
Excellence Canada
Certification Mental Health at Work®
Mental Health at Work® Challenge
Excellence Canada, and Cookson James Loyalty, founders of the BestLifeRewarded wellness incentive program are pleased to present the Mental Health at Work® Challenge as part of a “coordinated assault” to change the face of healthcare in Canada. Their goal is to have your organization make a commitment to take some immediate small steps to start implementing the National Standard of Canada for Psychological Health and Safety in the Workplace. The Mental Health at Work® Challenge is available to all Canadian organizations at no charge. Please register today (it's free) to demonstrate your organization’s commitment to raising awareness and supporting your employees with turnkey evidence-based tools.
Faculty of California State University, San Bernardino
Compassion Fatigue, Burnout and Self-care Strategies Amongst Los Angeles County ChildWelfare Workers by Chigolum Ugoeze Anene June 2018
Child welfare social workers have extremely demanding jobs, which may often lead to burnout and compassion fatigue. The purpose of this research study was to explore self-care methods implemented by
child welfare social workers, the methods that work best for them and the ways in which these practices assist in preventing and reducing the risks of compassion fatigue and burnout. This research study also explored the ways in which child welfare social workers have been able to cope and prevent compassion fatigue and burnout…
Good Therapy
Vicarious trauma, also known as secondary trauma, can be described as indirect exposure to a traumatic event through first-hand account or narrative of that event. People in the helping professions—counselors and therapists, rescue workers, police officers, doctors, and lawyers—may be at risk of vicarious traumatization
Workplace issues can lead to decreased performance/productivity, loss of job/termination, decreased satisfaction/happiness, stress, and a wide variety of mental health issues.
Government of Canada Employment and Social Development
Green Cross Academy of Traumatology
Standards of Self Care Guidelines
The purpose of the Guidelines is twofold: First, do no harm to yourself in the line of duty when helping/treating others. Second, attend to your physical, social, emotional, and spiritual needs as a way of ensuring high quality services who look to you for support as a human being
Hazard Magazine
WORK SUICIDE Most of us have seen someone reduced to tears by work stresses. But crying can be just the start of it. Some workers get so distressed they opt for suicide.
Healthy Workplaces for Helping Professions Project
Wellness Program Ideas for Your Workplace. This infographic lists wellness program ideas suggested by participants of our Be a Wellness Leader Workshops. Any wellness initiatives must be developed based on and evaluated against the Five Wellness Pillars, following the Wellness Cycle.
The Healthy Workplaces Framework Infographic.
The Healthy Helping Cycle Healthy Helping Cycle This article explains the relationship between the process of client assistance and health and the growth of a vibrant, healthy organization.
Be a Wellness Leader Workshop Slides. Take good notes
heretohelp
Vicarious Traumatization An occupational hazard for helping professionals
My first job was at a transition house for women fleeing abuse. A co-worker shared that after years of working in the anti-violence field, she could no longer stand to watch violence on the news. I thought of her years later, when my husband and I were taking a walk around Stanley Park. My husband pointed out a man sitting alone in an area jam-packed with children and mentioned that he must be a kind grandfather. I had noticed the same man moments earlier, but I had targeted him as a sex offender. In that moment I grasped the extent to which my work with victims of sexual and relationship violence had influenced the way I see the world…
HR Professionals
The Do's & Don't's of a Mental Health Leave
You have an important employee come in to your office and state that they need to go on sick leave. Based on office rumours, you suspect it’s due to a mental illness. Now what?
Accommodating Mental Health Disabilities in the Workplace
Mental health is an ever-increasing problem in the Canadian workforce. With the protections provided to employees, through both privacy and human rights legislation, many employers are reluctant to inquire into the personal circumstances of an employee, as they are unsure of their legal right to do so.
Mental Illness at Work Why employers need a change of mind
Unemployment rates for people living with mental health challenges can be as high as 70 to 90 per cent, which disadvantages employers as much as it discriminates against people keen to be part of Canada’s economy. According to the Mental Health Commission of Canada (MHCC), stigma and prejudice, along with inadequate employment supports, are major obstacles that prevent people with mental illnesses from getting – and keeping – a job...
The Mentally Healthy Workforce
With awareness and training, workplaces can be part of the solution for employees at risk for mental illness. It’s a statistic that almost doesn’t compute, it’s so staggering. One in five Canadians will experience a mental health illness in any given year...
Support System
Using the Standard: A new study reports what works, what doesn’t and what we can learn about supporting psychological health and safety in the workplaceHelping responsible employers support workers’ mental health was the impetus behind the National Standard of Canada for Psychological Health and Safety in the Workplace (the Standard), a set of resources and guidelines – the first of its kind in the world – published by the Mental Health Commission of Canada (MHCC) in 2013.
Making Progress
The evolving duty of HR professionals in supporting workplace mental health HR professionals occupy a unique position to change the face of workplace mental health within their own organizations, in addition to the broader, nationwide landscape. By definition, HR professionals are responsible for recruiting, retaining, supporting and energizing employees so that businesses can thrive – core functions when we consider the elements required to create and sustain a psychologically healthy and safe work environment, and associated workforce.
Why Do You Need A Mental Health Support Plan In Your Organization?
Mental health issues can affect us all – regardless of our age, economic standing, race or gender – and if we are living with a mental health issue, we know the importance of seeking help.
The Milder Side of Mental Illness
While stigma is starting to lift around issues of mental health, individuals with mild-to-moderate depression and anxiety have arguably become more alienated than before.
The HR Role in Psychologically Healthy Workplaces
Workplace stress, including fatigue and anger emerging from labour-management disputes, can be concerns for all employers.
Human Resource Executive
Suicide and the Workplace: How HR Can Help
HR leaders can help connect potentially suicidal workers with the care they need.
IDEAS
"Exploring the self-care practices of child welfare workers: A research brief," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 84(C), pages 137-142. Miller, J. Jay & Donohue-Dioh, Jessica & Niu, Chunling & Shalash, Nada, 2018.
Results reveal that child welfare workers only engage in self-care at moderate levels. Additionally, data suggests that variables such as health status, current financial status, and relationship status significantly impact personal and professional self-care practices, respectively. After a terse review of relevant literature, this brief will explicate findings associated with this study, and identify salient discussion points and implications for child welfare training, practice, and research…
Institute for Human Services & Ohio Child Welfare Training Program
Managing Stress as a Child Welfare Caseworker: Caseworker Readiness Activity Identifies and discusses factors that may cause and increase stress for caseworkers.
IOSH
Return to work after common mental disorders
Perspectives of workers, mental health professionals, occupational health professionals, general physicians and managers Common mental disorders (CMDs), such as anxiety, stress and depression, are among the leading causes of disability worldwide and have a major impact in terms of lost productivity and sickness absence. Returning to work is a complex process in which different stakeholders may be involved and have to co-operate...
Johns Hopkins
Mental Health Preparedness (http://www.jhsph.edu/research/centers-and-institutes/johns-hopkins-center-for-public-health-preparedness/training/online/mental-health-trainings.html)
Disaster Mental Health Intervention Describes the reasons why post-disaster mental health intervention is important and also describes the various intervention categories
Disaster Mental Health Planning Discusses how health departments should plan ahead to provide post-disaster mental health assistance
Introduction to Mental Health and Disaster Preparedness Introduces the topics of disaster mental health services, mental health surge capacity, and psychiatric first aid
Mental Health Consequences of Disaster Examines disaster's impact on various parts of mental function and personality
Psychology and Crisis Response Discusses two areas of crisis response (taking care of your personal mental health needs and addressing the mental health needs of public health responders) and concludes by examining the mental health threat of terrorism
Roots of Terrorism Describes how government public health agencies and public health workers will function after a disaster and discusses the many duties that sanitarians must perform after a disaster
Self-Care Examines the different types of stress and provides numerous methods to reduce personal stress
John Hopkins University Online Psychological First Aid
Learn to provide psychological first aid to people in an emergency by employing the Johns Hopkins RAPID model: Reflective listening, Assessment of needs, Prioritization, Intervention, and Disposition.
John Hopkins University Online Course Self-Care
Examines the different types of stress and provides numerous methods to reduce personal stress
Journal of Social Welfare and Human Rights
Trauma-Informed Systems of Care: The Role of Organizational Culture in the Development of Burnout, Secondary Traumatic Stress, and Compassion Satisfaction Identifies specific organizational characteristics that contribute to compassions fatigue or compassion satisfaction, including organizations support and trauma-informed caregiver development.
Leading With Trust
The 5 Causes of Psychological Safety and Why You Need to be a Safe Leader
50 Practical Ways to Build Psychological Safety in Your Team
Managing Mental Health Matters
Managing Mental Health Matters (MMHM) is a "first of its kind" program focused on helping managers, supervisors and other leaders learn how to effectively recognize and manage mental health related issues in the workplace.
McMaster University
Preliminary Report: Social Services: Stress, Violence and Workload Research Project: Site Two Donna Baines, Karen Hadley, Bonnie Slade, Shoshana Pollack, Ann Sylvia Brooker, Krissa Fay, Susan Preston, Dima Dimitrova
Research has shown that health care and social services workers experience the highest rates of nonfatal workplace violence and injury among Canadian workers. The purpose of this study is to generate a detailed portrait of work life within three case study sites in order to identify factors that precipitate and contribute to injuries, stress and health problems in the social services.Labour Studies, McMaster
Mental Health Commission of Canada
Resources to help organizations create more mentally healthy work environments.
Case Study Research Project of over 40 organizations to identify and understand promising practices for implementing the Standard.
Assembling the Pieces Toolkit a free online toolkit to support organizations working to implement the Standard.
Psychological Health and Safety and Action Guide for Employers
The National Standard of Canada for Psychological Health and Safety in the Workplace (the Standard) A voluntary set of guidelines, tools, and resources to guide organizations in promoting mental health and preventing psychological harm at work.
Training tools
Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) Canada helps employees and managers increase their awareness of the signs and symptoms of the most common mental health problems and know- how to help if a colleague begins to experience a mental health problem or crisis.
Road to Mental Readiness (R2MR) is specifically designed for first responders to help reduce the stigma that often surrounds mental health problems and mental illness
The Working Mind (TWM) is intended to address and promote mental health and reduce the stigma of mental illness in a workplace setting, while increasing resiliency.
Being a Mindful Employee: An Orientation to Psychological Health and Safety in the Workplace is a free online course is recommended for anyone interested in learning more about how you can contribute to positive mental health at work.
Monthly webinar series created specifically to discuss psychological health & safety in the workplace.
Mental Health First Aid Canada
Mental Health First Aid Canada
MHFA in Your Workplace
Workplace first aid includes mental health. Just as physical first aid is administered to an injured person before medical treatment can be obtained, MHFA is given until appropriate treatment is found or until the crisis is resolved.
Mindful Employer
Protecting the Psychological Health and Safety of Volunteers Toolkit
This resource was developed through the contributions and feedback of the 27 not-for-profit organizations participating in Mindful Employer Canada’s “Building capacity to promote and protect Psychological Health and Safety in the not-for-profit sector” case study. This two-year case study was made possible by the Ministry of Labour’s Occupational Health and Safety Prevention and Innovation Program.
MyHealth.Alberta.ca
MyHealth.Alberta.ca There is material relating to Stress, Psychosis Awareness, Mood and Anxiety, Getting Help and Helping Others. They have some Self-Care Resources and other information and links. This information is vetted and maintained by Alberta Health so should be a good resources for both Mentors and Mentees.
NASW-NC
Social Work Wellness: Integration of Physical Activity to Promote Health and Wellness among Social Workers,"
Research suggests that social workers are at a higher risk of work-related stress, burnout, and a lower quality of life compared to the general population and other health professionals. The primary mission of the profession calls social workers to enhance the well-being of all people with particular attention to basic needs and biopsychosocial functioning of marginalized populations. While the field has primarily focused on quality of care provided to others within a social context, this paper will examine the significance of social work wellness within the context of the social work mission.
National Childcare Accreditation council (NCAC)
Managing Stress in Child Care Services,Extract from Putting Children First, the magazine of the National Childcare Accreditation council (NCAC) Issue 26, June 2008
National Child Traumatic Stress Network (NCTSN )
Psychological First Aid Online
PFA online includes a 6-hour interactive course that puts the participant in the role of a provider in a post-disaster scene. This professionally-narrated course is for individuals new to disaster response who want to learn the core goals of PFA, as well as for seasoned practitioners who want a review. It features innovative activities, video demonstrations, and mentor tips from the nation’s trauma experts and survivors.
Secondary Trauma and Child Welfare Staff: Guidance for Supervisors and Administrators
Secondary traumatic stress (STS) is the emotional duress that results when an individual hears about the firsthand trauma experiences of another person.i Given the nature of their work, child welfare staff are at very high risk of developing STS, and they can be at risk of experiencing trauma first-hand…
Secondary Traumatic Stress: A Fact Sheet for Child-Serving Professionals
Outlines options for assessment, prevention, and interventions relevant to secondary stress, and describe the elements necessary for transforming child-serving organizations and agencies into systems that also support worker resiliency.
National Standard Psychological Health and Safety in the Workplace
Prevention, promotion and guidance to staged implementation The Mental Health Commission of Canada’s 2012 report Changing Directions-Changing Lives: the Mental Health Strategy for Canada recommended the wide adoption of psychological health and safety standards in Canadian workplaces. The Mental Health Commission of Canada (MHCC) worked with the CSA and the Bureau de normalisation du Québec (BNQ) to develop The National Standard of Canada for Psychological Health and Safety in the Workplace in 2013. The Commission describes it as “a set of voluntary guidelines, tools and resources intended to guide organizations in promoting mental health and preventing psychological harm at work.” Employers, governments and regulatory authorities, service providers, policy and legal specialists, and unions were involved in the development of the National Standard. Over time and with training, the National Standard could be a very important tool for unions in advocating for better mental health practices in the workplace.
Online Learning Enterprises Inc.
Online Learning Workplace Mental Health Awareness
Mental health problems affect many employees. However, these problems often go unrecognized and therefore untreated, at considerable cost to employers and individuals.
Online LearningStress at Work Training
Stress can affect anyone. It can be caused by a job or by personal issues. This course deals with stress caused by work, what we will call job stress or work-related stress.
PACE
COST OF EMPATHY, Child & Family Services, Frontline Staff Workshop This is a presentation created by Connie Miller and Jacquie Aitken Kish of PACE.
ProQOL
Professional Quality of Life Elements Theory and Measurement
Compassion Satisfaction and Compassion Fatigue, Burnout, Secondary Traumatic Stress. Vicarious Traumatization and Vicarious Transformation
Professional Quality of Life Scale - Questionnaire for social workers to determine levels of compassion satisfaction and compassion fatigue in their current work situation.
Sage Journals
Journal of Interpersonal Violence
Client Violence and Its Negative Impacts on Work Attitudes of Child Protection Workers Compared to Community Service Workers Junseob Shin, PhD First Published January 30, 2011
Science Direct
ELSEVIER
Violence against child protection workers: A study of workers’ experiences, attributions, and coping strategies Child Abuse & Neglect Volume 81, July 2018, Pages 308-321
The role of self-care on compassion satisfaction, burnout and secondary trauma among child welfare workers Children and Youth Services Review Volume 49, February 2015, Pages 54-61Children and Youth Services Review Volume 49, February 2015, Pages 54-61
Child welfare workers are routinely exposed to multiple traumatic events when working with children and families, and are at an increased risk of experiencing burnout and secondary trauma. Self-care is often recommended as a restorative or protective activity against the negative effects of working with traumatized individuals, although few studies have examined the benefit of self-care empirically.
SelfGrowth.com
Vicarious Trauma- The Impact of Controlled Empathy
Recently, researchers have begun to reach beyond burnout and explore the impact of Vicarious Trauma on professionals in the field of human service. What is Vicarious Trauma?
Social Justice Solutions
Staff Who Work Directly With Youth Need to Feel Appreciated to Avoid Burnout June 12, 2017
Working with today’s generation of youth involved in the criminal justice system does not provide instant gratification for direct service workers. Today’s generation do not get up to volunteer a seat for the elderly. Today’s generation will curse out their parents, teachers and strangers just because they feel like doing so...
Social Work Today
Social Worker Self-Care — The Overlooked Core Competency By Kate Jackson Vol. 14 No. 3 P. 14 May/June 2014 Issue
Sometimes the last person social workers nurture is themselves. This neglect undermines healthy social work practice but can be corrected if clinicians not only pay attention to client care but also to self-care…
Suicide Prevention Resource Centre – Grande Prairie
Workshop Strategies For Living – Suicide prevention workshop for caregivers of youth Strategies for Living is an interactive workshop for people working with young people 12 to 17 years of age. This one-day workshop discusses biological risk factors and vulnerabilities to understand suicidal thoughts and behaviour in the adolescent population. Through videos, case studies and role-plays based on a range of youth issues, participants will practice their skills in intervening with youth at risk for suicide. This workshop includes practical approaches for increasing resiliency, tools for survival and coping skills for managing their circumstances. Online and community resources and programs will be presented.
Taylor & Francis Online
EFFECTS OF CLIENT VIOLENCE ON SOCIAL WORK STUDENTS: A NATIONAL STUDY Pam Criss Pages 371-390 | Published online: 16 Mar 2013
TEND
Defining Vicarious Trauma and Secondary Traumatic Stress What is Vicarious Trauma? What is Secondary Traumatic Stress? Vicarious trauma (VT) and Secondary Traumatic Stress (STS) are frequently used interchangeably to refer to the indirect trauma that can occur when we are exposed to difficult or disturbing images and stories second-hand…
Extra Information on Signs and Symptoms of Compassion Fatigue and Vicarious Trauma Learning to recognise one’s own symptoms of compassion fatigue (CF) and vicarious/secondary trauma (VT/STS) has a two-fold purpose:First, it can serve as an important check-in process for someone who has been feeling unhappy and dissatisfied, but did not have the words to explain what was happening to them, and secondly, it can allow us to develop a warning system for ourselves.Developing a warning system allows you to track your levels of emotional and physical depletion. It also offers you tools and strategies that you can implement right away.
Tend Academy
Caregivers’ Circle – How Compassion Fatigue for Professional Caregivers Impacts Their Lives and Those who They Support
Rising from the ashes – Trauma Talks, Buffalo Center for Social Research
The Chronicle Herald
HOWATT: Can we predict psychological health risks in the workplace?
Resiliency levels may provide insight into dealing with bullying, harassment
In some provinces (e.g., Alberta and Ontario) both occupational health and safety and workers’ compensation boards have made it clear that how employers allow their employees to be treated with respect to bullying and harassment matters. Employers in those provinces are expected to create a psychologically safe workplace, and they can be held responsible for any employee who receives a mental injury in the workplace...
The Globe and Mail
How to ensure mental health support in the workplace is accessible
How committed is your organization to reducing mental health injuries or mental health issues in the workplace?
Most of us, without realizing it, will answer this question based on our degree of awareness and personal experience with our organization's policies, procedures and programming that have been developed and implemented to prevent and protect the workforce from mental health injuries (e.g., exposure to bullies) and work-related factors (e.g., workload) that negatively impact employees' mental health.
The Globe and Mail and Morneau Shepell online survey (The Mental Health Experience in Canada's Workplaces: What's Your Experience?) collected information about the mental health experience of Canada's work force, such as: the types of issues (physical and mental health); how people cope with their issues; therapy options; mental health stigma; how organizations support staff with a mental health issue, and the impact of mental health issues on work experience and missing work. They're leaving the survey open so the one in five workers with a mental health issue who has not participated yet can add their voice to this conversation. You can participate in the survey by clicking on this link.
Why Canadian companies can’t ignore the cost of mental illness April 12, 2016 Considering 20 to 25 per cent of a company’s workforce could be dealing with mental health issues, either personally or with a family member, it’s important for employers to establish programs that offer support and encourage open, judgement-free dialogue...
The New Social Worker
Self-Care A-Z: Practicing Self-Care, Especially When You Love Your Social Work Job by Cortney Downs, MSSW
Social workers and other helping professionals often help people process difficult situations and we work in demanding contexts. We’re expected to be keenly aware of the negative impact this work can take on our well-being. However, during my first years in the field, my understanding of self-care was synonymous with (and limited to) taking a bubble bath or getting a massage, after a bad day at work. I had only an elementary understanding of how burn-out and vicarious traumatization manifested. Unfortunately, attention to these areas wasn’t prioritized at the agency where I worked and, admittedly, I didn’t seek information…
Self-Care A-Z: Self-Care is Much More than a Mask by Erlene Grise-Owens
A common metaphor depicts self-care as the emergency mask used in air travel. This metaphor conveys that we must put on our masks (self-care) before we can help others. However, the more I do this work, the more I realize the “mask metaphor” is limited. I suggest we challenge—or at least, expand—these mask metaphors
Self-Care A-Z: Self-Care on the Cheap by Erlene Grise-Owens
Attainable self-care must counter the prevalent myth that self-care costs money. An informal survey of colleagues about low/no-cost ideas for practicing self-care yielded fantastic responses! Here’s a composite list. Which ideas can you incorporate? What would you add?
Compassion Fatigue in Child Welfare This article will explore the current literature that studies the problem of compassion fatigue in child welfare, what the causes are, the consequences, and what can be done to address the problem.
The Sanctuary Model
Vicarious Trauma
Vicarious traumatization is a term that describes the cumulative transformative effect on the helper of working with survivors of traumatic life events. The symptoms can appear much like those of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), but also encompass changes in frame of reference, identity, sense of safety, ability to trust, self-esteem, intimacy, and a sense of control. The presence of vicarious traumatization has been noted in many groups of helping professionals who have close contact with people who have experienced traumatic events. Caregivers are at even higher risk if they have a history of trauma in their own backgrounds and if they extend themselves beyond the boundaries of good self-care or professional conduct…
The Social Work Podcast
Client Violence: Interview with Dr. Christina Newhill
In this podcast, Dr. Newhill defines client violence, talks about why social workers should be concerned with client violence and identifies which social workers are at greater risk for violence. She discusses some ways to assess a client’s potential for violence, how to intervene with a violent or potentially violent client, and identifies some strategies for increasing worker safety. We end our interview with information about existing research and resources for social work educators.
Newhill, C. E. (n.d.) Client violence workshop handout. Author.
UNISON Scotland
Keeping Safe in the Workplace: A Guide for Social Worker Practitioners This Guide aims to help social work practitioners to keep themselves safe in the workplace; to recognise when they are becoming stressed or overloaded and to seek the necessary support from their employer, and where that fails, from their trade union and professional association
University of Buffalo School of Social Work
Introduction to Self-Care
Self-care is an essential social work survival skill. Self-care refers to activities and practices that we can engage in on a regular basis to reduce stress and maintain and enhance our short- and longer-term health and well-being. Self-care is necessary for your effectiveness and success in honoring your professional and personal commitments.
Developing Your Self-Care Plan
There is no “one-size-fits-all” self-care plan, but there is a common thread to all self-care plans: making a commitment to attend to all the domains of your life, including your physical and psychological health, emotional and spiritual needs, and relationships.
Self-Care Assessments, Exercises and Activities
Self-Assessments: Checklists and Measures
This page contains several self-assessment checklists and measures that can help you examine different aspects of your present well-being.
Self-Care Exercises and Activities
From menu planning to tips to reduce stress, this page is filled with activities and resources to promote good self-care
University of Minnesota School of Social Work & Center for Advanced Studies in Child
CW360°: A Comprehensive Look at a Prevalent Child Welfare Issue: Secondary Trauma and the Child Welfare Workforce pdf
Discusses several issues related to secondary trauma and worker performance, provides information on best practices to address this issue, and offers perspectives and collaborations including references and resources.
Workplace Safety First
Mental Health: Awareness – an introduction to the complex issue of mental health in the workplace, including the importance of early intervention and promotion of mental well-being at work.
Workplace Strategies for Mental Health
Psychological Health and Safety Management
The implementation of a Psychological Health and Safety Management System is not about diagnosing the mental health issues of employees. It is about assessing how policies, processes and interactions in the workplace might impact the psychological health and safety of employees. These resources and information can help you improve psychological health and safety within your organization.
On the Agenda is a series of videos, presentation slides and supporting materials that can assist trainers, team leaders, managers or others to facilitate discussions aimed at developing a psychologically healthy and safe workplace. | http://aascf.com/cat_view/877-occupational-health-safety/881-hazards/899-ohs-mental-health |
This week, we hosted a Zoom on the topic of mental health. Our guests included Representative Lisa Callan who co-chairs the Children and Youth Behavioral Health Work Group (CYBHWG), Representative Carolyn Eslick who is the co-chair for a sub-group of CYBHWG (Youth and Young Adult Continuum of Care), and Representative Monica Stonier who led the efforts last legislative session to pass HB 1225 which established a School Based Health Center Program within the Department of Health.
We were also honored to be joined by Ella Deverse, Program Supervisor for OSPI’s School Safety Center; Eric Bruns and Kelcey Schmitz from the UW SMART Center (School Mental Health Assessment, Research, and Training Center); Jill Patnode, Thriving Schools Program Manager for Kaiser Permanente WA; and Melissa Carpenter from the Alliance for a Healthier Generation.
All of these amazing experts shared updates on work they are doing to integrate systems and provide more support for behavioral and mental health to students and staff in schools. For example, the CYBHWG has released its top legislative priorities for 2022 which include increasing the Medicaid rate directed to community behavioral health agencies, funding a strategic plan for our state for prenatal to 25 year olds related to behavioral health services, funding startup activities for behavioral health integration in primary care settings, and providing grants to put more behavioral health clinicians in schools.
School leaders who attended shared how critical and urgent it is that students receive additional support and that they are very concerned about the well-being of their staff members. School leaders also made the point that the schools’ role is to provide education and to be the connector to additional services and not necessarily always be the provider. Both systems (health care and education) are under stress due to staffing shortages, but continued work to integrate services is needed.
We greatly appreciate our partnership with all of these people, and will continue to share updates about work going on in this area. Several important resources were shared with our group and they are linked below.
OSPI
School Safety and Student Well-Being Advisory Committee (SS-SWAC)
UW SMART Center
Northwest MHTTC School Mental Health
Home - Thriving Schools | A partnership for healthy students, staff & teachers
Thriving Schools Integrated Assessment
SHB1363 establishes that OSPI will publish links to resources and self-assessments to prevent and address workforce secondary traumatic stress. In addition to requirements at the state level, WSSDA was required to develop a model Policy 5515 and Procedure 5515P to prevent and address secondary traumatic stress.
WSSDA Guidance on SHB1363 in Policy & Legal News June edition
Filling Your Cup: eLearning Companion Guide for School Leaders
Staff Well-Being Webinars
Tuesdays, 3:30 to 4:30 PM Pacific, Oct. 19 (PD Enroller), Nov. 2 (PD Enroller) & Nov. 16 (PD Enroller)
Alliance for a Healthier Generation
Resources for Staff Well-Being
The Alliance for a Healthier Generation invites Washington educators, district and school staff to join free staff well-being webinars. Live, interactive professional learning on self-care and stress management are designed to be accessed individually or in teams. District-wide workforce health committees may leverage the webinars to support implementation of the new Secondary Traumatic Stress legislation (5515, 5515P). If you cannot attend the live webinars and want to receive the recordings, click here to register. Clock hours through OSPI are offered as well as points for participating through SmartHealth. | https://awsp.org/informed-principal/blog/blog-detail/awsp-blog/2021/11/01/mental-health-resources-for-fall-2021 |
Self-care means taking time to do things that help people live well and improve their physical health and mental health. UAB experts provide tips on how to incorporate self-care into a daily routine.
Mental health encompasses one’s emotional, psychological and social well-being. It is essential to overall health and quality of life and affects how one thinks, feels, acts and responds. When it comes to mental health, self-care can help people manage stress, lower their risk of illness and increase energy levels. But what exactly is self-care? Why is it important? And how can people incorporate self-care into their daily lives?
Experts from the University of Alabama at Birmingham Marnix E. Heersink School of Medicine answer common questions about self-care and the role it plays in maintaining positive physical and mental health.
“Caring for your mental health is just as important as caring for your physical health,” said Sumayah Abed, M.D., assistant professor in the Department of Family and Community Medicine and family medicine physician at UAB Medicine Hoover Primary and Specialty Care. “Self-care plays a role in maintaining mental health and in supporting treatment and recovery for people with a mental illness.”
According to the National Institute of Mental Health, self-care means taking the time to do things that help people live well and improve their physical and mental health.
“Self-care is important because it enhances our well-being by keeping us connected to ourselves and what matters most to us,” said Kaylee Crockett, Ph.D., a clinical psychologist in the UAB Department of Family and Community Medicine. “It can help prevent illnesses from occurring or recurring, and it builds our capacity to handle stress and recover from adversity.”
Unfortunately, self-care is sometimes seen as a luxury instead of a need; but Crockett wants to remind everyone that self-care is something that everyone needs daily, not just those who may feel stressed.
She recommends making self-care part of one’s routine and intentionally protecting time for self-care activities. This can look like putting time in the calendar for self-care or setting standing dates with friends, family members and partners to connect or take time to do something both parties enjoy. While engaging in self-care activities, take steps to limit distractions such as turning on “do not disturb” on devices during times set aside for self-care activities.
Below are some steps Abed and Crockett recommend everyone take to prioritize self-care.
- Eat a balanced diet consisting of fruits, vegetables, seafood and nuts to improve energy and focus throughout the day.
- Drink at least 60-62 ounces of water daily, and increase water intake during the summer. Limit caffeinated beverages such as sodas and coffee, and limit alcoholic beverages.
- Aim for at least 30 minutes of physical activity per day. Walking daily helps improve one’s mood and health. Small amounts of movement add up.
- Schedule time in each day for relaxing and stress-reducing activities such as yoga, meditation, breathing exercises, listening to music, journaling, or trying out new hobbies that one can enjoy by themselves or with others. Hobbies can help keep the mind busy and are a great way to learn a new skill.
- Get seven to nine hours of sleep a night. Avoid looking at phones or computers before bedtime since blue light from screens makes it more difficult to fall asleep. Violent movies and upsetting news before bed should be avoided; turn to uplifting books or influential podcasts instead.
- Build strong relationships with supportive family members and friends, or seek out activities that provide an opportunity to meet new people such as classes and support groups. Reach out to friends or family members who can provide emotional support and practical help.
- Seek help from a health care provider to get connected with counselors and other resources if you are experiencing distressing symptoms or your efforts at self-care are not helping.
“Self-care looks different for everyone,” Crockett said. “Talking with people in your life about some of their preferred self-care activities may be informative, but it is important to remember that not everything that works for them may work for you. A good starting point to is to take time to reflect on activities you enjoy doing, that make you feel good and that give you a sense of meaning. From there, start setting some small goals that could easily become a part of your daily routine.”
Self-care activities should leave one feeling relaxed, energized and refreshed. If certain activities cause one to feel more depleted, it is time to try a different approach. By establishing good daily habits for self-care, everyone can learn the signs that indicate they may need more attention to self-care when stressors start to pile up.
When it comes to defining positive mental health, Crockett says that feeling healthier is like a continuum — meaning that one does not experience significant distress from day to day, they have positive coping strategies that allow them to effectively deal with stressors that occur each day, and they engage in meaningful daily activities and relationships. Sometimes circumstances adversely affect mental health, leading to greater distress that makes it harder to function and engage with the things that matter to each individual.
When stress becomes too much for a person to bear, this may lead to a mental health crisis. In addition to prioritizing self-care, Abed says, it is helpful to know the signs of an impending crisis to know when to seek help.
Some symptoms that may indicate a significant mental health concern include: | https://www.breathinglabs.com/anxiety-management/self-care-what-is-it-why-is-it-so-important-for-your-health-news/ |
With all the personal and work-related distress and anxiety caused by the pandemic, taking good care of yourself is more important than ever, especially for caregivers.
A caregiver could be a parent, child, or other family members who must attend to the day-to-day needs of a loved one. For example, it could be parents taking care of their children, an adult child supporting a parent with dementia, or someone in the “sandwich generation” looking after both a parent and child.
Caregivers are busy caring for others and often put their own needs on the back burner. The pandemic has added it own complexities to the situation, making it challenging to look after family needs while locked down, managing work from home, perhaps helping kids learn remotely, etc. It’s easy to lose focus and not take care of yourself when you’re busy caring for others, and there never seem to be enough hours in the day. Over time, a caregiver may burn out from all the stress and experience symptoms like fatigue, sleeplessness, changes in weight, and social isolation.
The importance of self-care for caregivers
When you’re a caregiver and tending to the needs of family members or other loved ones, the challenges of self-care increase. Not only must you try to look after your own health, but you’re also accountable for the well-being of others.
“Self care” is exactly what it sounds like: taking care of yourself. While many people tend to think of self-care only in relation to physical wellbeing, it also includes emotional, mental, and spiritual wellbeing.
When you commit to a consistent, all-inclusive regimen of self-care, the benefits may include being healthier, as well as becoming happier, more resilient, and better able to handle stress.
Practice self-care by taking a methodical approach. Try focusing initially on one action from the suggestions listed below. For example, go to bed at the same time every night for a week. Once those actions feel comfortable and “natural” to you, start incorporating others gradually.
Self-care for caregivers
Since the notion of self-care encompasses many aspects of life, self-care actions are also wide-ranging:
- Physical self-care includes regular exercise and activity, eating foods that nourish and fuel your body, maintaining good hygiene, and getting adequate sleep and rest. Practice going to bed at the same time on a nightly basis. Engaging in exercise for 15 to 20 minutes a day will improve your mood and support stress relief. A simple way is to take a short walk each day.
- Emotional and mental self-care includes staying in touch with family and friends, being engaged in work, keeping a positive attitude in trying times, and sharing your feelings with people you trust. Remaining socially connected makes you feel less isolated and helps you realize you’re not alone. Knowing that others may be going through similar experiences nurtures your ability to be more self-compassionate.
- Spiritual self-care includes attending religious services, spending time in meditation or prayer, appreciating the beauty of nature, and living with gratitude. Make a list of who makes you grateful, and why. Refer to this list whenever you need your spirits lifted.
More self-care tips
- Practicing self-compassion by being kind to yourself is essential. Self-compassion means understanding it’s okay to attend to your own needs, and giving yourself the time to do so. This allows you to remain focused and balanced, and improve your effectiveness. You’ll have more energy to take care of your loved one.
- Awareness is the first step to achieving better self-care. It’s also important to prioritize your own health because you will succeed as a caregiver only if you have enough physical and mental strength to do the job. Make note of your fatigue and energy levels, and take mental and physical breaks. Practice breathing exercises for 10 minutes a day by closing your eyes and focusing on your breath. Focus your mind and attention on your breath. Breathe in slowly through your nose and hold for a count of five, and then exhale for a count of five. Continue for about 10 minutes.
In addition to the self-care actions mentioned above, you can improve your self-care efforts by taking a pause (where possible) from caregiving, even if only for short periods at a time. Stepping away from the situation and sharing the duties with others may help you recharge and address your own care needs.
Self-care is an important activity to practice on a daily basis. The result will be better balance and improved overall health and wellness for all parties. | https://investmentplanningcounsel.ca/blog/1192749-Prendre-soin-de-soi-pour-prendre-soin-des-autres |
Charles darwins theory of natural selection
Published: Last Edited:
This essay has been submitted by a student. This is not an example of the work written by our professional essay writers.
Darwin observed several facts which contradicted his theory of natural- or survival selection, one of which was the dazzling plumage of peacocks that appeared to have nothing to do with survival, and in fact seemed to be more of an open invitation to potential predators. The fact that peahens prefer to mate with males who have the most brilliant and luminescent plumage, and that males are often larger than females in species in which they need to engage in physical combat in competition over females, (Crawford & Krebbs, 2008) lead to Darwin's second evolutionary theory: the theory of sexual selection. Competition among members of the same species for reproductively relevant resources is the pillar of Darwin's (1859) theory of natural selection (West-Eberhard, 1979) and he proposed two primary ways in which sexual selection could operate. Firstly, intrasexual competition; consisting of competition between members of one sex, the result of which leads to mating access with the opposite sex, and secondly, intersexual selection or preferential mate choice. Intersexual selection refers to the tendency of one sex to choose as mates certain members of the opposite sex based on specifically desired qualities. Darwin referred to intersexual selection as "female choice" because he observed that throughout the animal kingdom females were prone to be more discriminating than males in their mating choices, (Crawford, Crebs 2008). In the past several decades the evolutionary perspective on interpersonal attraction and mate selection has gained increased attention and proposes that humans are governed by rules of attraction and mate selection that prioritize the conception, birth, and survival of their offspring. (Mahfouz, et al. 2008). Intrasexual selection in humans appears to operate mostly indirectly, through social hierarchies, rather than through direct competition as can be observed in the animal kingdom, e.g. two antelopes locking horns in combat over a female. In this way patterns of sexual selection do not immediately involve environmental changes, and neutral or even dysfunctional traits could potentially develop through female choice (Buss, 1986). This begs the important question; what are the preferred characteristics valued by human beings when it comes to mating?
One of the main strategies of competition in mating is to make oneself more attractive than others of the same sex by use of specific tactics and displaying certain resources (Buss, 1988). Trivers (1972) further illuminated Darwin's theory of sexual selection when he suggested that the one driving force behind sexual selection is the relative parental contribution of both sexes in their offspring. Males should adopt a reproductive strategy which maximizes the opportunity to mate, and females should adopt a strategy that relies on choice, only mating once the best male out of a number has been identified. According to Buss (1986) under conditions of female choice, males are expected to display the traits most valued by females, and may compete for elevation in hierarchies while women tend to favour high-status men. Buss (1988) conducted a number of studies with the hypothesis in mind that patterns of human intrasexual competition can be predicted from knowledge of mate selection criteria, and examined preferences in partner choice. He found three replicated sex differences; men more than women preferred mates who were physically attractive, and women more than men preferred mates who showed good earning potential and who were college educated. Thus, it would seem that females can increase their reproductive success by choosing a man of high status with sufficient resources, thereby able to provide material security to successfully raise offspring. Males, on the other hand, increase their reproductive success by choosing women who are receptive, fertile, and possesses characteristics suggestive of being a good mother (Singh, 1993). Where as the reproductive value of a man can be easily assessed by looking at external symbols of power such as social- and economical standing, women's reproductive value is concealed. However, from an evolutionary based perspective it is assumed that physical attractiveness is primarily a reflection of a woman's reproductive success (Buss, 1987), and is portrayed in this way by certain desired physical characteristics like full lips, clear skin, clear eyes, an abundance of hair, symmetry, good muscle tone, youth (Buss, 1993) and lower body mass (Swami and Furnham, 2007). From an evolutionary viewpoint, both sexes should have evolved a preference for mates that possess these desired qualities, increasing levels of competition to project such characteristics and ensure reproductive success.
The number of options available when deciding on a mate has become potentially overwhelming in modern times. Not only are there more people in our local environment, but modern dating methods present us with more options than humans have previously had to deal with. However, research suggests that mate qualities valued by people offline are the same as those valued by people online (Lenton, et al., 2008), and that online interaction is driven by the same needs as face-to-face interaction. Thus, online interaction should not be regarded as a separate arena but as an integrated part of modern social life (Wellman & Hathornthwaite, 2002). A study by Hitch et al. (2005) which looked at desirable qualities as projected on online dating sites found the most striking difference across gender to be related to earnings and education. Although both sexes show a preference for partners with higher incomes, this preferences is much more pronounced for women, as also found in Buss' studies. It was also found that although users prefer a partner with a similar education level, men tended to have a strong dislike for a better educated partner, where as women avoided less educated men. In another study focused on the importance attached to physical attractive qualities, Hancock and Toma (2009) studied profile pictures of women on dating websites by looking at self-presentation and in particular at levels of deception in the form of the number of discrepancies as contained in photographs . They assumed that from an evolutionary perspective youthfulness and physical attractiveness would be qualities valued more by women than by men, and found that women's photographs were indeed less accurate, with discrepancies relating to mentioned weight, hair length and age as preferred by men, and higher incidences of retouching photos. Although earlier studies focused on self-presentation on internet dating websites, researchers have recently shifted their attention to self-presentation in less anonymous settings like social networking sites. A study by Ellison et al. (2006) found that people tend to act differently in social networking environments when compared to those interacting in anonymous settings. This finding had vast implications in identity formation in the online world, as it basically indicated that online self-presentation varies according to the nature of the setting. Along with dating sites, friend-networking websites like MySpace and Facebook have become very popular, and offer a highly controlled environment for self-presentational behaviour- an ideal setting for impression management (Mehdizadeh, 2010). A study by Zhao (2008) examined identity construction on Facebook, with the main hypothesis being that Facebook users would engage in what internet dating sites users engage in- the presentation of their hoped-for possible selves, defined as socially desirable identities an individual aim to construct, in this case online. They distinguished between implicit identity claims, which involved the display of photos and profile pictures, and explicit identity claims, involving verbal descriptions of the self under the "About me" section of facebook. However, it was found that this was the least elaborated of identity strategies and photos were mainly used for identity construction. Results were consistent with internet dating studies and the way in which a self which is more socially desirable was projected. The construction of the self online has been found to differ between the sexes because different kinds of social roles come into play during interpersonal communication (Archer, 1989). Women, unlike men, tend to place greater importance on sexual-interpersonal aspects of self-definition, and a review of gender differences in identity development revealed few gender differences, apart from in the areas of sexuality and family roles, supporting findings that relationships are more important to women's identity formation than to men's (Manago, 2008). Research highlights that it is critical that social scientists don't view Cyberspace as one generic space, but rather to consider how different spaces online are constructed (Whitty, 2007). Specific characteristics of internet communication may affect gender self-presentation, and the way in which Facebook allows users to present a very strategic presentation of their selves and to control what remains hidden and what is revealed, makes it a fascinating medium to study.
The objectives of the current study was to look at the effect of gender and relationship status on the projection of reproductively valued qualities on Facebook from an evolutionary perspective. From an evolutionary viewpoint one would expect similar gender differences as was found in Buss' studies, with women placing more of an emphasis on physical attractiveness and youth and the way this is projected on Facebook, and men projecting qualities which portray status and competitiveness. The projection of sociability was correlated with "warmth" and it was predicted that women would score significantly higher on the projection of this characteristic, with single women scoring significantly higher overall. Important to note is that the projection of these mentioned reproductively valued qualities would be of an unconscious- and implicit nature, considering that Facebook is primarily seen as a social networking website, rather than as a virtual arena designed to meet members of the opposite sex, as is the case with online dating websites. Both gender and relationship differences in the projection of physical attractiveness, competitiveness, nurturing qualities, status and sociability were predicted. It was predicted that married persons, already being in a position of long term mating, would project these qualities significantly less than single persons.
There were four main hypotheses:
Hypothesis one: Single males will score significantly higher on projected status and -competitiveness than single females.
Hypothesis two: Single females will score significantly higher on projected physical attractiveness, -nurturing qualities and -sociability than single males.
Hypothesis three: Single males will score significantly higher on both projected status and -competitiveness in comparison to married males.
Hypothesis four: Single females will score significantly higher on projected physical attractiveness, -nurturing qualities and -sociability than married females. | https://www.ukessays.com/essays/sociology/charles-darwins-theory-of-natural-selection-sociology-essay.php |
A project undertaken at the James Cook University, Townsville, and supervised by Lin Schwarzkopf
In many animals, males are brightly coloured, larger, or engage in conspicuous displays, whereas females are cryptic. Obvious individuals attract predators, and so males are likely to suffer predation because of their colouration, size or behaviour. Because early mortality reduces reproductive success, and natural selection promotes high reproductive success, it seems paradoxical that natural selection would produce conspicuousness. Why, then, are conspicuous males so common in nature? Charles Darwin (1871) suggested that a mechanism similar to natural selection, which he called “sexual selection”, may be at work. Sexual selection occurs when the agents of selection are members of the opposite sex of the same species, rather than members of other species or the environment (Darwin 1871). There are two main ways that sexual selection can work: (i) Under male-male competition, males compete for access to females, and males with superior competitive ability have higher reproductive success (=fitness), and (ii) under female choice, females choose mates, causing preferred males to have higher reproductive success. Now, 130 years after Darwin first proposed it, most biologists agree that sexual selection is a powerful and important force shaping biological diversity, but many questions remain about how it operates in particular groups. In this study, I propose to examine the operation of sexual selection in an understudied taxon: reptiles.
Female choice causes bright colouration, large male size and/or conspicuous colouration in a very wide range of taxa, including invertebrates, fish, amphibians, birds and mammals (reviewed by Andersson 1994). Many reptile species have brightly coloured, large males that engage in conspicuous displays, but, the few studies of sexual selection in reptiles that exist have concluded that male-male competition, rather than female choice, is the main factor producing these characteristics (Andrews 1985; Hews 1990; Olsson & Madsen 1995; Tokarz 1995; Smith & Zucker 1997 – c.f. Cooper & Vitt 1993). Reviews of sexual selection emphasize that there are too few studies of reptiles to determine whether female choice is in fact an important force in the evolution of sexual dimorphism in this group (Andersson 1994; Olsson & Madsen 1995; Tokarz 1995). Therefore, the question is: is female choice an important force shaping appearance and behaviour of male reptiles? Clearly, further studies of sexual selection in this group are required to answer this question.
Tropical, scincid lizards in the genus Carlia provide an unparalleled opportunity to address this question. I am quantifing female choice of mates and male-male competition in a range of Carlia species that vary in their display behaviours, and in their degree of sexual dichromatism. By determining agents of sexual selection in species with different levels of dichromatism, I can determine whether male-male competition and/or female choice operate consistently across the genus, or vary with levels of colouration. This will determine the selective mechanism promoting colouration patterns in this group of lizards, but is also interesting from a general standpoint, because few studies have compared sexual selection on traits across species in a genus, although such comparisons can reveal pathways for their evolution (e.g, Ryan et al. 1990). | http://www.apscience.org.au/apsf_01_3/ |
It is shown that the spawning rate of bright males does not decline relative to that of duller males in the presence of a predator, suggesting that bright coloration conveys a differential benefit.
Signal value of male courtship effort in a fish with paternal care
- Biology, PsychologyAnimal Behaviour
- 2012
Environmental influences on male courtship and implications for female choice in a lekking HawaiianDrosophila
- BiologyAnimal Behaviour
- 1996
Results indicate that females may have preferred males fed high-protein diets over low-protein-fed males in a lekking Hawaiian Drosophila species, and the possible benefits that females of leKking species might gain by discriminating between males.
Female Mate Preference in Goby Eviota prasina: Do Secondary Sexual Traits Influence Female Choice
- BiologyZoological science
- 2004
Since males incur costs to produce and maintain longer dorsal fins and to perform frequent courtship displays, these secondary sexual traits may indicate the quality of physical characteristics in this goby.
Female preferences for male traits and territory characteristics in the cichlid fish Tropheus moorii
- Biology, PsychologyHydrobiologia
- 2014
It is suggested that female preferences for high-quality territories reinforce the outcome of male–male competition and ensure male mating success.
Concordant female mate preferences in the cichlid fish Tropheus moorii
- BiologyHydrobiologia
- 2011
The experiment suggests that female choice contributes to the variance in male reproductive success in the tested population of cichlid Tropheus moorii “Chimba”, and female mate preferences were inferred from pairwise interactions.
Simultaneous courtship and parenting in males and sex role reversal in females of the haremic bluebanded goby, Lythrypnus dalli
- Biology, Psychology
- 2015
Overall, these data are consistent with sex role reversal in L. dalli and show that the expression of male courtship behaviour does not interfere with paternal care.
Sexual selection for male parental care in the sand goby, Pomatoschistus minutus
- Psychology, BiologyBehavioral Ecology and Sociobiology
- 2005
It is shown experimentally that in the sand goby, Pomatoschistus minutus, females prefer to mate with males that provide higher levels of parental care, demonstrating thatmale care may have evolved as a result of sexual selection rather than natural selection alone, and furthermore, that male care may not necessarily be in conflict with mate attraction.
Mate Choice and Spawning Success in the Fighting Fish Betta splendens: the Importance of Body Size, Display Behavior and Nest Size
- Biology, Psychology
- 2006
The results suggest that female B. splendens must balance male parental quality (nest size) with the risk of potentially disruptive or dangerous behavior during spawning, and that females may minimize these risks through negative size-assortative mating.
References
SHOWING 1-10 OF 45 REFERENCES
Male parental care and female choice in the bicolor damselfish, Stegastes partitus: bigger is not always better
- BiologyAnimal Behaviour
- 1991
Sexual selection and reproductive success in males of the bicolor damselfish, Eupomacentrus partitus (Pisces: Pomacentridae)
- BiologyAnimal Behaviour
- 1981
Paternal defence, cannibalism and polygamy: factors influencing the reproductive success of painted greenling (Pisces, Hexagrammidae)
- Environmental ScienceAnimal Behaviour
- 1987
Habitat structure and reproductive success in the beaugregory damselfish
- Biology, Environmental Science
- 1986
Female house finches prefer colourful males: sexual selection for a condition-dependent trait
- BiologyAnimal Behaviour
- 1990
Eggs in the nests of males and their effect on mate choice in the three-spined stickleback
- BiologyAnimal Behaviour
- 1989
Male and female mate choice in the redlip blenny: why bigger is better
- Environmental Science, BiologyAnimal Behaviour
- 1989
Female choice selects for male sexual tail ornaments in the monogamous swallow
- BiologyNature
- 1988
In the monogamous swallow, Hirundo rustica, males with experimentally elpngated tail ornaments obtain mates more quickly than males with shorter tails, and enjoy increased reproductive output in one breeding season, suggesting male sexual ornament may also be maintained by female mate choice in monogamous species.
Female mate choice, male-male competition and parental care in the river bullhead, Cottus gobio L. (Pisces, Cottidae)
- BiologyAnimal Behaviour
- 1988
Factors influencing spawning site choice by female Garibaldi, Hypsypops rubicundus (Pisces: Pomacentridae)
- Biology, Environmental Science
- 1988
Results demonstrate active female choice of spawning site by female garibaldi and suggest that certain characteristics of the male-defended nest influence this choice. | https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Courtship-as-an-honest-indicator-of-male-parental-Knapp-Kovach/ee736e3d8c3d8fd96bac98005b4858ebd16054a4 |
The Evolution of Beauty: How Darwin’s Forgotten Theory of Mate Choice Shapes the Animal World – and Us, by Richard O Prum
Synopsis: A major reimagining of how evolutionary forces work, revealing how mating preferences—what Darwin termed “the taste for the beautiful”—create the extraordinary range of ornament in the animal world.
In the great halls of science, dogma holds that Darwin’s theory of natural selection explains every branch on the tree of life: which species thrive, which wither away to extinction, and what features each evolves. But can adaptation by natural selection really account for everything we see in nature?
Yale University ornithologist Richard Prum—reviving Darwin’s own views—thinks not. Deep in tropical jungles around the world are birds with a dizzying array of appearances and mating displays: Club-winged Manakins who sing with their wings, Great Argus Pheasants who dazzle prospective mates with a four-foot-wide cone of feathers covered in golden 3D spheres, Red-capped Manakins who moonwalk. In thirty years of fieldwork, Prum has seen numerous display traits that seem disconnected from, if not outright contrary to, selection for individual survival. To explain this, he dusts off Darwin’s long-neglected theory of sexual selection in which the act of choosing a mate for purely aesthetic reasons—for the mere pleasure of it—is an independent engine of evolutionary change.
Mate choice can drive ornamental traits from the constraints of adaptive evolution, allowing them to grow ever more elaborate. It also sets the stakes for sexual conflict, in which the sexual autonomy of the female evolves in response to male sexual control. Most crucially, this framework provides important insights into the evolution of human sexuality, particularly the ways in which female preferences have changed male bodies, and even maleness itself, through evolutionary time.
The Evolution of Beauty presents a unique scientific vision for how nature’s splendor contributes to a more complete understanding of evolution and of ourselves. | https://sciencebookaday.com/2017/12/11/the-evolution-of-beauty-how-darwins-forgotten-theory-of-mate-choice-shapes-the-animal-world-and-us/ |
A major reimagining of how evolutionary forces work, revealing how mating preferences—what Darwin termed "the taste for the beautiful"—create the extraordinary range of ornament in the animal world.
In the great halls of science, dogma holds that Darwin's theory of natural selection explains every branch on the tree of life: which species thrive, which wither away to extinction, and what features each evolves. But can adaptation by natural selection really account for everything we see in nature?
Yale University ornithologist Richard Prum—reviving Darwin's own views—thinks not. Deep in tropical jungles around the world are birds with a dizzying array of appearances and mating displays: Club-winged Manakins who sing with their wings, Great Argus Pheasants who dazzle prospective mates with a four-foot-wide cone of feathers covered in golden 3D spheres, Red-capped Manakins who moonwalk. In thirty years of fieldwork, Prum has seen numerous display traits that seem disconnected from, if not outright contrary to, selection for individual survival. To explain this, he dusts off Darwin's long-neglected theory of sexual selection in which the act of choosing a mate for purely aesthetic reasons—for the mere pleasure of it—is an independent engine of evolutionary change.
Mate choice can drive ornamental traits from the constraints of adaptive evolution, allowing them to grow ever more elaborate. It also sets the stakes for sexual conflict, in which the sexual autonomy of the female evolves in response to male sexual control. Most crucially, this framework provides important insights into the evolution of human sexuality, particularly the ways in which female preferences have changed male bodies, and even maleness itself, through evolutionary time.
The Evolution of Beauty presents a unique scientific vision for how nature's splendor contributes to a more complete understanding of evolution and of ourselves.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Prum, a professor of ornithology at Yale, provocatively questions whether virtually all biologists have misunderstood a core concept first proposed by Charles Darwin. As Prum explains, the vast majority of evolutionary biologists consider sexual selection, in which females choose males with whom to mate, to be a type of natural selection. Male ornamentation, such as peacock tail feathers, arises as a means to advertise health and virility. Using his own research on tropical birds as a base, Prum follows Darwin in positing that such ornamentation has no such signaling value and arises instead for its aesthetic value a value determined solely by the females of a species. Presenting persuasive supporting data while clearly articulating much about the scientific process, Prum maintains that a correct reading of sexual selection indicates that it is a potent mechanism for females to develop sexual autonomy. By controlling various aspects of male behavior through mate choice, Prum argues that females of many species have reduced the incidence of rape while increasing male sociality. He also offers hypotheses for the evolution of the female orgasm and homosexuality while embedding the concept of feminism solidly within a biological framework. Prum crosses many boundaries while provoking readers to consider Darwin's ignored idea as a new paradigm.
Customer Reviews
Evolution of Beauty
Stunning revelation on the life work of a genius.
Hahahahahaha
Hahahahahaha hahahahahaha hahahahahaha hahahahahaha **deep breath** hahahahahaha hahahahahaha hahahahahaha hahahahahaha hahahahahaha. | https://books.apple.com/us/book/the-evolution-of-beauty/id1143915096?itsct=books_toolbox&itscg=30200&at=1000l35AS&ct=books_the_evolution_of_beauty&ls=1 |
Warning:
more...
Generate a file for use with external citation management software.
Male tiger salamanders, Ambystoma tigrinum tigrinumare slightly larger in body size and have considerably higher and longer tails than females. To determine how these dimorphic traits affected reproductive performance and success, we conducted breeding trials using 12 males and six females per trial and monitored male-female and male-male interactions. Larger males had an advantage in most aspects of mate competition investigated. Males with higher tails had no advantage in either mate competition or mate choice. Males with longer tails also had no advantage in mate competition but were preferred as mates by females. Larger males interrupted courting males more often than smaller males did. The form of male-male interference was conditional on body size and not on either tail dimension. If the intruder was larger than the courting male, it would shove the female away from the courting male and initiate courtship; if the intruder was smaller, it adopted a female mimicry tactic in which it positioned itself between the courting male and female and performed female behaviours to the courting male while simultaneously courting the female. Our trials indicated that the two components of sexual selection may influence the evolution of different male morphological traits in tiger salamanders. Mate competition may favour increased male body length; mate choice may select for greater male tail length.
National Center for
Biotechnology Information, | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9236030 |
Jun 25, 2018
Deep in tropical jungles around the world are birds with a dizzying array of appearances and mating displays: Club-winged Manakins who sing with their wings, Great Argus Pheasants who dazzle prospective mates with a four-foot-wide cone of feathers covered in golden 3D spheres, Red-capped Manakins who moonwalk. In his thirty years of fieldwork, Yale University ornithologist Richard Prum has witnessed numerous such display traits that seem to contradict a classically upheld scientific dogma—that Darwin’s theory of natural selection explains every branch on the tree of life and accounts for the evolution of every trait we see in nature.
Prum joined us to share findings from his book The Evolution of Beauty and dusted off Darwin’s long-neglected theory of sexual selection, in which the act of choosing a mate purely for aesthetic and pleasurable reasons is an independent engine of evolutionary change. He explored how, according to Darwin, mate choice can drive the formation of traits that are ornamental rather than purely adapted for survival, and how the sexual autonomy of the female evolves in response to male sexual control. Prum showed us how this framework grants us insight even into the evolution of human sexuality—how female preferences have changed male bodies, and even maleness itself, through evolutionary time. Join Prum for a unique scientific vision of nature’s splendor that has the potential to contribute to a more complete understanding of evolution and of ourselves.
Richard O. Prum is William Robertson Coe Professor of Ornithology at Yale University, and Head Curator of Vertebrate Zoology at the Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History. He has conducted field work throughout the world, and has studied fossil theropod dinosaurs in China. He received a MacArthur Fellowship in 2010.
Recorded live at PATH by Town Hall Seattle on Monday, June 11, 2018. | http://scienceths.libsyn.com/richard-prum |
Author pages are created from data sourced from our academic publisher partnerships and public sources.
- Publications
- Influence
Share This Author
The evolution of mating preferences and the paradox of the lek
- M. Kirkpatrick, M. Ryan
- BiologyNature
- 1991
There is growing support for direct selection, in which preferences evolve because of their direct effects on female fitness rather than the genetic effects on offspring resulting from mate choice.
TLDR
The Tungara Frog: A Study in Sexual Selection and Communication
- M. Ryan
- Biology
- 10 February 1986
Though certain vocalizations allow males to obtain mates and thus should be favored by sexual selection, this study highlights two important costs of such sexual displays: the frogs expand considerable energy in their mating calls, and they advertise their whereabouts to predators.
TLDR
The Role of Body Size, Phylogeny, and Ambient Noise in the Evolution of Bird Song
- M. Ryan, Eliot A. Brenowitz
- Environmental Science, BiologyThe American Naturalist
- 1 July 1985
There has been an evolutionary response to selection for low-frequency songs by birds in low-forest habitats, according to the constraints of body size and evolutionary history, and the spectral distribution of ambient noise as an additional selective factor is examined.
TLDR
What do animal signals mean?
- D. Rendall, M. Owren, M. Ryan
- PsychologyAnimal Behaviour
- 1 August 2009
Sexual selection, receiver biases, and the evolution of sex differences.
- M. Ryan
- Biology, PsychologyScience
- 25 September 1998
These studies combine animal behavior, sensory biology, phylogenetics, and artificial neural network models to understand why specific phenotypes involved in sexual selection have evolved, rather than merely determining whether such traits and preferences are adaptive.
TLDR
Patterns of advertisement call evolution in toads and chorus frogs
- R. Cocroft, M. Ryan
- BiologyAnimal Behaviour
- 1 February 1995
Observed patterns of character change within sets of close relatives suggest a focus for process-oriented research by identifying the origin and direction of important changes in calling behaviour.
TLDR
Craniofacial ontogeny in centrosaurine dinosaurs (Ornithischia: Ceratopsidae): taxonomic and behavioral implications
- Scott D. Sampson, M. Ryan, D. Tanke
- Geography, Environmental Science
- 1 November 1997
An important implication arising directly from this study is that juvenile and sub-adult centrosaurines are difficult to distinguish taxonomically at the specific level.
TLDR
Mate choice
- M. Ryan, K. Akre, M. Kirkpatrick
- BiologyCurrent Biology
- 1 May 2007
Energy, calling, and selection
- M. Ryan
- Biology
- 1 August 1988
These factors constrain the ability of the animal to maximize energy received by the female, and two hypotheses, the good genes hypothesis and the runaway sexual selection hypothesis, are considered to explain the evolution of female choice for signals with greater energy content.
TLDR
...
... | https://www.semanticscholar.org/author/M.-Ryan/145019333 |
Research on the evolution of mate choice has followed three avenues of investigation: (1) theoretical models of the evolution of preference and the preferred trait; (2) proposed models of mate choice; and (3) experiments and observations on mate choice, both in the laboratory and with free‐ranging animals. However, there has been relatively little dialogue among these three areas. Most attempts to account for observations of mate choice using theoretical mate‐choice models have focused only upon a subset of particular models and have generally failed to consider the difference between probabilistic and deterministic models. In this review, I outline the underlying reasoning of the commonly cited mate‐choice models and review the conclusions of the empirical investigations. I present a brief outline of how one might go about testing these models. It remains uncertain if, in general, mate‐choice models can be realistically analyzed. Although it is clear that females frequently discriminate among males, data also suggest that females may typically have a very limited number of males from which to choose. The extent to which female choice under natural conditions is relatively random because of limited opportunities remains an open question for the majority of species.
The Genetical Theory of Natural Selection.
What causes diversity in male sexual characters?
(1994) A. Pomiankowski et al.
Ecological speciation (2005) Rundle H. D et al.
Sexual selection and mate choice (2006) Andersson Malte et al.
Genetic quality and sexual selection: an integrated framework for good genes and compatible genes (2005) BRYAN D. NEFF et al.
Facial shape and judgements of female attractiveness (1994) D. I. Perrett et al.
High-quality male field crickets invest heavily in sexual display but die young (2004) John Hunt et al.
Sexual selection (1996) Andersson Malte et al.
Unifying and Testing Models of Sexual Selection (2006) Hanna Kokko et al.
Facial attractiveness, developmental stability, and fluctuating asymmetry (1994) Gangestad Steven W et al.
Evolution of sexual dichromatism: contribution of carotenoid- versus melanin-based coloration (2000) BADYAEV ALEXANDER V et al.
Pathogen prevalence and human mate preferences (1993) Gangestad Steven W et al.
Hormonal basis of sexual dimorphism in birds: implications for new theories of sexual selection (1995) Owens Ian P.F et al.
Familiarity leads to female mate preference for novel males in the guppy, Poecilia reticulata (1999) HUGHES KIMBERLY A et al.
Female fur seals show active choice for males that are heterozygous and unrelated (2007) J. I. Hoffman et al.
Sexual conflict and indirect benefits (2003) E. Cameron et al.
DIRECT AND INDIRECT SEXUAL SELECTION AND QUANTITATIVE GENETICS OF MALE TRAITS IN GUPPIES (POECILIA RETICULATA) (2001) Robert Brooks et al.
Condition dependence of pheromones and immune function in the grain beetle Tenebrio molitor (2003) Markus J. Rantala et al.
Potential genetic benefits of mate selection in whitefish (2001) C. Wedekind et al. | https://academic.naver.com/article.naver?doc_id=345849789 |
03 October 2012
Title: In the eye of the beholder: visual mate choice lateralization in a polymorphic songbird
Authors: Jennifer J. Templeton, D. James Mountjoy, Sarah R. Pryke and Simon C. Griffith
Journal: Biology Letters
Biology Letters today reveals that Gouldian finches use a unique mechanism to make the crucial choice of life partner; they use only their right eye.
The songbirds only use their right eye and the left side of their brain when choosing a mate. The research, conducted at Macquarie University in Sydney, provides the first demonstration, in any animal, of visual mate choice taking place in only one side of the brain.
Earlier reports that zebra finches prefer to view mates with the right eye during courtship, and that the immediate genetic response associated with courtship behaviour occurs only in their left hemisphere, suggested to the researchers that visual mate choice itself may also occur in one hemisphere only.
To test this hypothesis, they studied the Gouldian finch, a species in which individuals exhibit strong, adaptive visual preferences for mates of their own head colour.
Black males were tested under three conditions while assessing potential mates: using only their right eye, using only their left eye and using both eyes.
“The black male preference for black females is so strongly lateralized in the right-eye / left-hemisphere system,” says Simon Griffith, one of the authors, “that when using their left eye, males are unable to choose, not only between males and females of the same morph [head-colour], but also between strikingly dissimilar females.”
The study’s results add mate choice, a process of great adaptive significance, to the extensive list of cognitive and behavioural functions known to be processed using only one side of the brain. Understanding the mechanisms underlying mate choice and identifying the specific brain regions involved may lead to new insights into sexual selection and the evolution of new species.
“This work will help us to understand how a complex process, such as determining the attractiveness of a potential partner can be limited to just a single eye, and side of the brain. One of the consequences of this finding is that individuals should approach, and display to a potential mate from the right side, and perhaps this is the reason that many animal displays are side on.”
Share: | https://royalsociety.org/news/2012/finch-mate-choice-lateralization/ |
From ScienceDaily:
The lengths that some males go to attract a mate can pay off in the short-term. But according to a new study from scientists at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History (NMNH), extravagant investments in reproduction also have their costs.
By analyzing the fossils of thousands of ancient crustaceans, a team of scientists led by NMNH paleontologist Gene Hunt has found that devoting a lot of energy to the competition for mates may compromise species’ resilience to change and increase their risk of extinction. Hunt, NMNH postdoctoral fellow M. João Fernandes Martins, and collaborators at the College of William and Mary and the University of Southern Mississippi reported their findings April 11, 2018, in the journal Nature. Paper. (paywall) – Maria João Fernandes Martins, T. Markham Puckett, Rowan Lockwood, John P. Swaddle & Gene Hunt. High male sexual investment as a driver of extinction in fossil ostracods. Nature, 2018 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-018-0020-7 More.
Sexual selection theory was an idea invented to supplement Darwinism. But the authors are likely right in thinking that high divergence between the sexes creates an extinction risk. The males, in particular, may diverge to the point of inconsistency with life. The rest is what you might expect. Nice that someone is noticing this fact.
See also: What Darwin’s natural selection gets you: Antlers in heaven
Can sex explain evolution?
and
Lazarus species: animals listed as extinct that turned up again. | https://uncommondescent.com/intelligent-design/researchers-darwinian-sexual-selection-can-be-selection-for-extinction/ |
Not a MyNAP member yet? Register for a free account to start saving and receiving special member only perks. The analysis draws substantially from the research paper by Drs.
Postscript References Appendices. The Australian Government Office for Women was involved in the research on a consultative basis as part of the research Reference Group. Financial assistance for the research was provided by the Australian Government Office for Women and several other private, public and tertiary agencies.
Teen Driving
Skip to content Ontario. This section of the report looks at rational choice theory and one of its subsidiaries, routine activities theory. The discussion will commence with an explanation of each of the theoretical perspectives. The research literature is then reviewed, exploring the applicability and limitations of the perspectives. This is followed by a brief consideration of potential policy implications. Rational choice theory is based on the fundamental tenets of classical criminology, which hold that people freely choose their behaviour and are motivated by the avoidance of pain and the pursuit of pleasure.
Mate choice is one of the primary mechanisms under which evolution can occur. The evaluation will then incur a response of some sort. These mechanisms are a part of evolutionary change because they operate in a way that causes the qualities that are desired in a mate to be more frequently passed on to each generation over time. For example, if female peacocks desire mates who have a colourful plumage , then this trait will increase in frequency over time as male peacocks with a colourful plumage will have more reproductive success. Mate choice is one of two components of sexual selection , the other being intrasexual selection. Ideas on sexual selection were first introduced in , by Charles Darwin , then expanded on by Ronald Fisher in
By Peter Meiksins, Ph. Each year, we review the most important research that explores the experiences of female engineers and offers insights into the continued underrepresentation of women in the profession. The hope is that this will help individual engineers recognize that their situation is not unique. We hope, as well, that a better understanding of the factors limiting the numbers of women in engineering and hindering progress toward gender equity will point to solutions that can be pursued, both individually and collectively, by women and men working in the field. The issue of gender equity in engineering has become front-page news. Strickland was only the third female recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physics in its more than year history.
Women in the Workplace 2020
Not a MyNAP member yet? Register for a free account to start saving and receiving special member only perks. As mentioned in the preface, this chapter discusses a wide range of educational questions, beginning with those of interest primarily to undergraduates and ending with the transition to full-time employment. For quick reading, you can use the headings to pick out particular topics. However, we feel that most of the themes discussed in this chapter will be of interest to students at all levels, as well as to faculty advisers and administrators. Many students start thinking about the possibility of a career when their interest is ignited by a high-school or undergraduate teacher or some other role model.
Although the gender gap in math course-taking and performance has narrowed in recent decades, females continue to be underrepresented in math-intensive fields of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics STEM. Career pathways encompass the ability to pursue a career as well as the motivation to employ that ability. Individual differences in cognitive capacity and motivation are also influenced by broader sociocultural factors. We then describe the potential biological and sociocultural explanations for observed gender differences on cognitive and motivational factors and demonstrate the developmental period s during which each factor becomes most relevant. We then propose evidence-based recommendations for policy and practice to improve STEM diversity and recommendations for future research directions.
Women in the Workplace 2020
After spending years protecting your children from all sorts of dangers on the road and off, you now face the prospect of handing them the keys to the family car. It's time for them to learn how to drive. Are you prepared? We can help you mold your teen into a safe and capable driver.
Sexual selection is a mode of natural selection in which members of one biological sex choose mates of the other sex to mate with intersexual selection , and compete with members of the same sex for access to members of the opposite sex intrasexual selection. These two forms of selection mean that some individuals have greater reproductive success than others within a population , for example because they are more attractive or prefer more attractive partners to produce offspring. The females then arrive and choose the males with the deepest croaks and best territories.
Metrics details. Women approach birth using various methods of preparation drawing from conventional healthcare providers alongside informal information sources IIS outside the professional healthcare context. The level of antenatal preparedness women feel can have significant and long lasting implications on their birth experience and transition into motherhood and beyond. Seven electronic databases were searched with predetermined search terms. No limitations were imposed for year of publication.
Неужели Хейл никогда не слышал о принципе Бергофского. - Вот что нам надо сделать. - Стратмор начал спокойно излагать свой план.
Так в чем же проблема, Фил? - спросил Стратмор, открывая холодильник. - Может, чего-нибудь выпьешь.
- Предупредите их о вирусе. Вы заместитель директора АНБ и обязаны победить. Стратмор медленно поднял голову и как человек, принимающий самое важное решение в своей жизни, трагически кивнул. Сьюзан решительно шагнула во тьму.
- Ты найдешь терминал Хейла, а я тебя прикрою. Сьюзан была отвратительна даже мысль об. - Разве нельзя дождаться звонка Дэвида о той копии, что была у Танкадо. Стратмор покачал головой. - Чем быстрее мы внесем изменение в программу, тем легче будет все остальное. | https://emmanuelchurchbeth.org/and-pdf/1207-pdf-drive-factors-influencing-choice-of-major-and-career-of-capable-women-59-920.php |
You know everything there’s to know about evolution, right?
The fittest survive and so on and so forth.
Well, Richard O. Prum would like a chance to change your mind with a new theory, one aptly titled:
Who Should Read “The Evolution of Beauty”? And Why?
The obvious answer is biologists, social biologists, and ornithologists.
However, we think that this is a book that should interest everyone who likes to reread Darwin with fresher eyes.
Or Dawkins.
About Richard O. Prum
Richard O. Prum is an American “evolutionary ornithologist with broad interests in diverse topics,” the William Robertson Coe Professor of Ornithology at Yale University.
After receiving a BA at Harvard in 1983, Prum went on to obtain a Ph.D. from the University of Michigan six years later.
His field of specialty is the evolution of feathers, and his main interests include phylogenetics and sexual selection.
The Evolution of Beauty is his only book so far.
“The Evolution of Beauty PDF Summary”
Darwin’s Biggest Problem
Darwin’s theory of evolution is, quite possibly, the most influential theory ever conceived by anyone.
In fact, when back in 2012, Edge.org, the world’s smartest website, asked the world of science “what is your favorite deep, elegant, or beautiful explanation?” most of the intellectuals surveyed answered something along the lines: “of course it’s Darwin’s theory of evolution, but I suppose everyone will say that, so I’m going with…”
Consequently, Darwin’s theory of evolution is a theory which needs no introduction, and which, by Darwin’s own admission from The Origin of Species, can be summed up in a single phrase of Herbert Spencer: “the survival of the fittest.”
Most of the biologists living today would certainly agree with it; after all, why shouldn’t they: it’s a nice, neat theory which seems to explain the complexity of the world in such an economical manner that it’s difficult to find any flaws with it.
And yet, Darwin himself found a big, almost gaping hole in it: if the biological point of life is to be fit enough so that you can leave some offspring, then why should so many animals be so brightly colored and feature traits which instead of helping them survive, make them more vulnerable?
“The sight of a feather in a peacock’s tail, whenever I gaze at it, makes me sick!” – grappling with this problem, Darwin wrote in a letter sent to Asa Gray on April 3, 1860.
Why should such a beautiful thing as a peacock’s tail make anyone sick?
“Because,” writes Richard Prum, “the extravagance of its design seemed of no survival value whatsoever; unlike other heritable features that are the result of natural selection, the peacock’s tail seemed to challenge everything that [Darwin] had said in Origin.”
Darwin’s Beautiful Solution
So, twelve years later, in his second-most famous book, The Descent of Man, and Selection in Relationship to Sex, Darwin tried to solve this problem, the problem of impracticable beauty.
“In this book,” writes Richard Prum, Darwin “proposed a second, independent mechanism of evolution – sexual selection – to account for armaments and ornaments, battle and beauty. If the results of natural selection were determined by the differential survival of heritable variations, then the results of sexual selection were determined by their differential sexual success – that is, by those heritable features that contribute to success at obtaining mates.”
Put plainly, sometimes it’s not the fittest, but it’s the most beautiful that survive.
This would explain not only the peacock’s lavish tail, but also the elaborate feathers, exquisite songs, and mating dances of numerous other birds; it should also explain the white backside and legs of the Malaysian Banteng bull; it explains the red buttocks of many monkeys and apes as well.
Darwin proposed that within this second dynamic force of evolution – sexual selection – two distinct and sometimes opposing mechanisms are at work:
• The law of the battle, or “the struggle between individuals of one sex – often male – for sexual control over the individuals of the other sex;” according to Darwin, the battle for sexual control was the main reason why some weapons of aggression (such as horns, antlers, and spurs) and large bodies appeared and evolved.
• The taste for the beautiful, or “the process by which the members of one sex – often female – choose their mates on the basis of their own innate preferences;” it’s Nature giving its species a second chance: you better be beautiful if you have no brains or brawn.
The law of the battle explains the evolution of armament; the taste for the beautiful – the evolution of ornament.
The Rejection of Darwin’s Theory
Unless you’re an expert in Darwin, the section above should probably come as a surprise to you (we sure found it quite surprising).
Its full implications: natural selection is not the only driving force behind evolution; as impractical as it has become in the eyes of many precisely because of Darwin’s theory, beauty may be an even more important factor in speciation and survival.
How did it happen that we forget this?
Well, blame it on two Victorians and a bunch of Neo-Darwinists, writes Prum.
The first one among these is St. George Mivart, an English biologist and an ardent believer in natural selection for the fifteen or so years following the publication of the Origin.
Mivart had problems specifically with the taste-for-the-beautiful mechanism mostly because, unlike natural selection, this one presupposed “choice, exercised freely.”
Also, because he lived at a day and age when it was fashionable to be misogynist: “such is the instability of vicious feminine caprice,” Mivart wrote in a review of Descent, “that no constancy of coloration could be produced by its selective actions.”
The other one to challenge Darwin’s belief in the second evolutionary force – “sexual selection” and “mate choice” – was none other than Alfred Russel Wallace, a man largely forgotten by history though he devised the theory of evolution concurrently with Darwin.
“The only way in which we can account for the observed facts,” wrote Wallace in his 1878 book, Tropical Nature, and Other Essays, “is by supposing that color and ornament are strictly correlated with health, vigor, and general fitness to survive.”
And this view prevailed.
Most of the Neo-Darwinists today believe that the flashiness of a peacock’s tail speaks volumes of its fitness: “despite this disadvantage,” it supposedly says, “I made it this far!”
There’s more to it, says Prum.
Richard O. Prum to the Rescue
An “obsessive birder,” Richard O. Prum has studied the world of birds for over four decades, and so far has personally seen (and, in many cases, thoroughly examined) about a third of the world’s ten thousand known bird species.
His view?
As far as birds are concerned, “aesthetic evolution has great explanatory power” – in fact, much greater than the power of the “fitness first” model; rereading Darwin once again, he suggests, and accepting his more complicated evolutionary theory “rescues us from the tedious and limiting adaptationist insistence on the ubiquitous power of natural selection.”
Prum writes:
Aesthetic evolution by mate choice is an idea so dangerous that it had to be laundered out of Darwinism itself in order to preserve the omnipotence of the explanatory power of natural selection. Only when Darwin’s aesthetic view of evolution is restored to the biological and cultural mainstream will we have a science capable of explaining the diversity of beauty in nature.
In other words, humans don’t find symmetrical faces beautiful because they suggest great fitness; they find them beautiful because beauty is an important factor in evolution as well.
Now, how did that happen?
Because (since we don’t know the point of it all) it is inevitable that, at one point, natural selection should make way for sexual selection.
Wallace and Mivart thought that most of the species – in fact, all, excepting humans – are simply not that smart to make aesthetic choices.
The point is: they needn’t be; either way, aesthetic evolution will happen.
Let’s explain this a little bit more.
Remembering the Genius of Ronald Fisher
First of all, as Prum himself indicates, this is far from a new idea.
In fact, the mathematical biologist Ronald Fisher, “the greatest of Darwin’s successors,” proposed quite a few theories that explain the lavishness of the peacock’s tale, as well as sexual attractiveness as an evolutionary factor a century ago.
The most interesting among these are certainly the sexy son hypothesis and the Fisherian runaway.
The Sexy Son Hypothesis
According to the sexy son hypothesis (a theory which wins our vote for the best-named scientific theory in history), a female’s ideal choice for a male partner is one whose genes should produce a male offspring with the best chances for reproductive success.
The result – as Richard Dawkins explains in The Selfish Gene – “is that one of the most desirable qualities a male can have in the eyes of a female is, quite simply, sexual attractiveness itself.”
Sounds a bit tautological, but it makes sense:
Brad Pitt is not healthier than most males; he’s just more beautiful than them and a guarantor that his children will also be beautiful enough to have children themselves.
And this makes even more sense if you add the second of Fisher’s many theories: the Fisherian runaway, basically the foundational block of Prum’s book.
The Fisherian Runaway
According to Fisher, both Wallace and Darwin were right, but in relation to different phases of evolution.
Namely, originally females preferred male traits which were “honest and accurate indices of health, vigor, and survival ability.”
In other words, the first generation of peacock’s with more ornamental tails was necessarily healthier and more fit for survival than those whose tails were ordinary; consequently, these were the ones who survived.
But this is where it gets interesting: with them, the genes contributing to ornamentation survived as well.
Ready for another tautology?
Now precisely because of the fact that these birds were the chosen ones, their genes evolved to make their tails even more ornamental so that their male offspring be the chosen ones as well!
In other words, “the very existence of mate choice would unhinge the display trait from its original honest, quality information by creating a new, unpredictable, aesthetically driven evolutionary force: sexual attraction to the trait itself”:
When the honest indicator trait becomes disconnected from its correlation with quality, that doesn’t make the trait any less attractive to a potential mate; it will continue to evolve and to be elaborated merely because it is preferred.
In the end, according to the Fisher phase-two model, the force that drives the subsequent evolution of mate choice is mate choice itself. In an exact reversal of the Wallacean view of natural selection as neutralizing sexual selection, arbitrary aesthetic choices (per Darwin) trump choices made for adaptive advantage (per Wallace), because the trait that was originally preferred for some adaptive reason has become a source of attraction in its own right.
“Once the trait is attractive,” writes Prum, “its attractiveness and popularity become ends in themselves… Desire for beauty will endure and undermine the desire for truth.”
Manakin Dances and Bowerbird Nests
Now, Prum spends most of his book demonstrating the effects of this theory in practice; and he does this so beautifully that we think summarizing or even paraphrasing his descriptions of bird-mating rituals is both a sin and beyond our capabilities.
Nevertheless, we do like to at least point out to you two interesting examples.
After going over the sex life of the Great Argus (“eminently interesting” for Darwin) as well, Prum spends the third chapter of his book describing the carefully choreographed dances of the manakins.
In lieu of words, here’s a Nat Geo video that will force you to reinterpret the alphaness of movie dance-offs:
What about bowerbird males?
They mastered bower building millennia before humans.
Why?
Because of sex, that’s why.
We guess some of these birds realized that if you’re not fit enough to be a boxer to beat the hell out of your competitors, you can become a poet or an architect and pray that you’ll charm the socks off of ladies through skill only.
Speaking of –
The Two Routes of Evolution and the Queering of Homo Sapiens
Unlike most of the hardcore Neo-Darwinists, Prum thinks that evolution is not merely about the survival of the fittest.
In fact, that mechanism, in his opinion, is just one of the two routes of evolution, the one in which predominantly males make the choice for females; but, there’s another more beautiful route, the one in which ladies are the ones who choose.
Different species have taken different routes.
For example, in the world of gorillas and many duck species, males use threats and force to command exclusivity in their mating access to females; often they even murder the offspring of their predecessors; this is the route of force, survival of the fittest at its brawniest.
The aesthetic route works in a much different manner; in this case, one of the sexes respects the other sex’s priorities and tries to appeal to them through certain behaviors and rituals.
The second route is the route of the modern humans; and it explains why some ostensibly counter-evolutionary behaviors and traits (homosexuality, monogamy, female orgasm, paternal care, the shrinkage of all body parts except the brains and the genitalia, permanent breasts, etc.) appeared.
In a way, most of this happened because we select each other mostly via sexual attractiveness, respecting the choice of the other sex.
And because, consequently, for humans, sex has become a ritual, not unlike the manakin dances or the bowerbird nests.
Key Lessons from “The Evolution of Beauty”
1. You Don’t Really Know Your Darwin
2. The Fisherian Runaway: How Natural Selection Becomes Sexual Selection
3. Beauty Happens – and Is All Around You
You Don’t Really Know Your Darwin
According to Prum, though his thesis may sound a bit controversial to modern Darwinists, Darwin would have undoubtedly approved of it.
Because, in addition to the natural selection theory (from the Origin), he also devised a corollary sexual selection mechanism (in the Descent) which aimed to explain the ornamental qualities which appear in many species – such as, for example, the highly impractical tail of the peacock:
Because the extravagance of its design seemed of no survival value whatsoever, unlike other heritable features that are the result of natural selection, the peacock’s tail seemed to challenge everything that he had said in Origin. The insight he eventually arrived at, that there was another evolutionary force at work, was considered an unforgivable apostasy by Darwin’s orthodox adaptationist followers. As a consequence, the Darwinian theory of mate choice has largely been suppressed, misinterpreted, redefined, and forgotten ever since.
Darwin’s Sexual Selection and the Fisherian Runaway
Darwin’s theory of mate choice includes two mechanisms – the law of the battle and the taste for the beautiful – which should explain the origins and the evolution of both armament and ornament in all species.
However, the latter one was all but scoffed at by everyone – because the female choice was too subjective to be a driving evolutionary force – until Ronald Fisher tried to explain it in an interesting manner.
Namely, according to Fisher, the ornaments originally were practical signals for fitness; however, precisely because of this, in time, they evolved to become signals on their own, and future generations developed them because the individuals with these traits were the individuals with offspring.
Here’s an interesting analogy:
Gout was historically known as the “rich man’s disease” because it appears more often in those who regularly eat meat and drink beer. So, when a poor man happened to develop gout back in the 18th century, he wore it proudly – it gave him a chance to have sex with a money-grabber.
Beauty Happens – and Is All Around You
Prum demonstrates – through many examples from the avian world – that evolution is not only about the fittest, but also about the most beautiful or about the ones who can produce most beauty.
That’s why some birds dance and others build beautiful bowers; and that’s why humans write poems or sculpt statues of their Muses.
It’s their best shot at getting some.
Like this summary? We’d like to invite you to download our free 12 min app for more amazing summaries and audiobooks.
“The Evolution of Beauty Quotes”The only way for evolutionary biologists to proceed is to embrace the Beauty Happens mechanism as the null model of evolution by mate choice and see where the science leads. Click To Tweet Desire for beauty will endure and undermine the desire for truth. Click To Tweet When beauty happens, pleasure happens. Click To Tweet Sexual autonomy is evolution engine of beauty. Click To Tweet Females are frightened by aggressive male displays they actually prefer. Click To Tweet
Our Critical Review
Groundbreaking and alluring, The Evolution of Beauty was a Pulitzer Prize finalist and one of the ten best books of 2017 according to The New York Times.
We believe that it’s one of those books which will be debated for many years to come.
So, read it now – so that you can talk about it with your grandchildren. | https://blog.12min.com/the-evolution-of-beauty-pdf-summary/ |
Building off of IUCN and WRI's Restoration Opportunities Assessment Methodology (ROAM), Initiative 20x20 partner Unique Forestry and Land Use has developed an easily applicable, customizable economic framework to evaluate the costs, benefits, and impact of forest landscape restoration (FLR).
Consisting of standalone modules and methods, it offers both private and public actors differentiated means of estimating values. Tailored cost-benefit analyses can help a variety of different target groups in their decision-making: from farmers and agribusinesses to local and national level governments.
This framework consists of a straightforward, four-step process. It provides guidelines and tools for each step: setting the scene, data collection, modeling costs and benefits, and analysis of results. The methodology complements ROAM and other restoration opportunity tools, e.g. by providing a cost-benefit analysis of the opportunities identified during a preliminary assessment.
It can be applied as part of a restoration opportunity process, once FLR activities have been identified and mapped, but also as a stand-alone decision making tool. The results will allow decision-makers to compare the trade-offs between alternative FLR investment scenarios, and to inform land use planning.
This study is supported by the GIZ International Forest Program (IWP) with funds from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). | https://initiative20x20.org/publications/economics-forest-landscape-restoration-estimating-impacts-costs-and-benefits-ecosystem |
Press Releases - Newsroom - Mark R. Warner
Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senators Susan Collins (R-Maine), Rob Portman (R-Ohio), and Mark Warner (D-Va.) today announced that their bipartisan legislation requiring independent agencies to analyze the costs and benefits of new regulations and tailor new rules to minimize unnecessary burdens on the economy has passed out of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. Portman and Warner are the co-authors of this legislation and Collins is an original cosponsor.
“Right now, independent agencies are not required to examine the costs and benefits of their regulations on our economy before adopting them. This bipartisan bill would change that requirement and subject these independent agencies to the common sense review processes that currently applies to all other agencies,” said Collins. “Today’s advancement of this important reform is an important step in our effort help to alleviate the burdensome regulations that are too often imposed on small businesses in Maine and across our country.”
“Despite exercising vast power over major sectors of our economy, independent agencies are exempt from commonsense requirements including analysis over how new regulations will impact jobs and the economy,” Portman stated. “Our bill fixes that by authorizing the president to bring them within the same regulatory review framework that applies to other agencies. I’m pleased that our bipartisan reforms to promote economic growth and job creation have advanced in the Senate and I will continue to work to get it over the finish line.”
“It’s important that the federal government strike an appropriate balance between ensuring vital public safeguards and imposing costly regulatory burdens,” said Warner. “This bipartisan legislation will help to ensure that, when agencies advance major regulations, they have a firm understanding about the costs and potential economic impact.”
“SBE Council is pleased to support S. 1607, which will require all agencies to analyze and publish important analysis, such as a cost-benefit analysis, private sector impact, and least burdensome approach regarding the regulations they intend to promulgate.,” said Karen Kerrigan, President and CEO of the Small Business and Entrepreneurship Council. “Such transparency and preliminary examination are especially critical to small businesses, which are disproportionately impacted by costly and excessive regulation.”
“The Independent Agency Regulatory Analysis Act of 2015, introduced by Senators Rob Portman, Mark Warner, and Susan Collins, would establish a mechanism for improving the quality of regulations promulgated by independent regulatory agencies such as the National Labor Relations Board, the Federal Communications Commission, the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Consumer Product Safety Commission,” said Rosario Palmieri, Vice President of Infrastructure, Legal and Regulatory Policy at the National Association of Manufacturers.
“The National Roofing Contractors Association (NRCA) strongly supports regulatory reform legislation the committee will consider on October 7, 2015,” said Lindy Ryan, Chairman of the National Roofing Contractors Association. “This package of reforms will reduce the burden of excessive regulations on job creators and the U.S. economy. NRCA commends you for your leadership on this important issue and remains committed to working with Congress on a bipartisan basis to achieve true regulatory reform.”
For 30 years, presidents of both parties have required agencies to scrutinize the costs and benefits of major new regulations, but this process has always exempted independent agencies, such as the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the National Labor Relations Board, and the Federal Communications Commission, among others. The Portman-Warner bill would fill that gap by authorizing the president to bring independent agencies into the same analysis and review process that governs other regulators.
The need for this reform is obvious. According to government records, out of the 18 major final rules issued by independent agencies in 2013, not one was based on a complete, quantified cost-benefit analysis. The same was true in 2012— 18 major rules, zero with a complete cost-benefit analysis. The figure was 17 and zero in both 2011 and 2010.
There is broad support for this reform proposal. The bill has been endorsed by legal scholars, and former heads and senior officials of independent regulatory agencies. It has also been endorsed by the American Bar Association and the National Federation of Independent Business.
A summary of the Portman-Warner-Collins legislation can be found here and the bill text can be found here. | https://www.collins.senate.gov/newsroom/warner-portman-and-collins-bill-provide-regulatory-relief-businesses-and-workers-advances |
Business performance can be measured using IT systems in terms of collecting data, performing data analysis and representing it in a manner suitable for a business to make informed decisions on different business aspects. Managers of businesses can use technology to examine the details about different activities that are ongoing in the company. When using technology to analyze a specific area of your business, you need to identify the metric you want to track. Once you have the value collected over time, you compare the results to evaluate the performance of the business functions of your company.
Metrics like sales, operational costs and the average time you solve client issues can be analyzed by different IT systems. These IT functions help in the identification of measures that are leading (future predictions) and lagging (past performance report) like website traffic, customer satisfaction, to strategize about the business. As we have seen, technology is undoubtedly a core aspect of any business which helps us to look at how we can track business processes, customer behavior to make better business decisions. We are going to look at four different ways business benefits from technology.
- Development of a balanced scorecard
A balanced scorecard is a structured report of nonfinancial and financial information; it is a metric of business performance. In this metric, a business gathers reporting data that is compiled from different functional databases. An evaluation is conducted on each input, calculations and output requirements are also considered. Identification of the governing rules on how data is collected is placed together with the frequency of updates before an analysis of the data is done. Applications like SAP’s BusinessObjects, HostAnalytics or Oracle’s Hyperion management software are used to set position targets and allocate resources to analyze the collected data to compare with the business objectives of each department. Additionally, business intelligence software like SAS Business Intelligenceor IBM’s Cognos can also be used in examining operational data.
- Tracking the company’s goals, objective, and mission.
These parameters are identified for each department in the company. Reports are prepared to ensure that a comprehensive coverage of the functions of each section of the company is done, after aligning the corporate plans and the business performance measurement strategy. Ideally, to achieve these goals, business activities need to be measured through a different process that involves the collection of data, transforming and validating the data for analysis.
- Placement of a business monitoring systems
This can be achieved by managing the businesses workflow processes like scheduling tasks and distributing resources. Real-time data is produced by IT monitoring solutions when tracking transactions and processes. The results are then analyzed by the IT systems to improve the productivity and efficiency of operations in the business.
4.Establishment of a management and alerting system
Computer programming has allowed the triggering of alerts when certain business conditions are met. For instance, most banks perform automatic transfers of money. When a confirmation message is not received, an email alert is created which is sent to the support team who investigate why there has been a delay in the confirmation. IT solutions that are developed for management and event alerts prevent costly impacts on business processes. Once the issues are resolved, basic qa training and placement can be done to the staff in order to know how to deal with alerts and issues that come up in the business process.
Business analytic tools such as Adeptra or Omniture Site catalyst help businesses get an in-depth understanding of customer contact issues, sampling website metrics like keyword search term and page views. Programmers usually place a code on each webpage that sends the information of the customers who visit the website to a data warehouse where analysts can view, filter and analyze the data. Using the data that is collected to make business decisions, helps in understanding customer needs and responding to them effectively as the business improves its performance.
Conclusion
How can the value of IT to business be proved? The ability to measure the business results sourced from IT services drives better business decisions that measuring the costs of business. IT helps in focusing the business goals and planning for the future of the company. The IT department can deliver value to the company by improved business processes and strategic decisions. | http://www.richescorner.com/how-technology-helps-businesses-make-informed-decisions/ |
Each organization has a testing process that needs to be understood before introducing Test automation. Some companies have processes based on strict standards because they work with systems that deal with critical information (such as banks or other financial institutions). Other companies could work on projects where time for testing is very limited, where it is not convenient to spend time in automation scripts (in this case, manual testing of critical areas would be the best approach). Each company is different, so even though Test Automation can bring benefits, we need to analyze how Test Automation will affect our current test process including the benefits and costs of introducing the tool.
Any test tool is intended to make the testing process more effective and efficient. A test tool can provide many benefits, but there are risks that need to be considered before introducing a tool into an organization. “Most of the risks associated with the use of test tools are concerned with over-optimistic expectations of what the tool can do and lack of appreciation of the effort required to implement and obtain the benefits that the tool can bring.”(Williams, 2010)
A blog about testing published this simple and funny cartoon that shows a scenario where Test automation is not justified. See Figure 1.
Figure 1 (The Cost of Automation, 2011)
In order to avoid this scenario; before introducing a Test Automation tool, we need to define the goals that we want to achieve with Test automation. Then, assess the cost and benefits of the tools that meet our requirements and later decide if it is worth to use any of the tools.
To start, define the objectives for using Test Automation with the interested parties, usually Software Testing Team and managers; it is also very important to know the budget otherwise we can select inappropriate tools for our company. For each requirement, we can assign a priority or ranking that will help to evaluate which tool will meet our needs. The result of this initial evaluation could be one to three tools that appear to meet the requirements (Williams, 2010).
Once we have done research on the market and have selected a set of tools that meet our needs, we need to conduct a Proof of Concept to evaluate them and define if the tools can be used in our test process.
During the Proof of Concept, we will evaluate the selected tools based on how they meet the requirements defined by the stakeholders. When conducting this assessment we need to check these considerations:
“Once all proofs of concept have been carried out it may be necessary to amend the requirements as a result of what was found during the tool selection process. Any amendments should be agreed with stakeholders.” (Williams, 2010).
There are three possible outcomes from the Proof of Concept:
Once we have selected a tool, we need to check the cost of implementing it. If the tool will be provided by a vendor, negotiate: purchase price, annual license fee, consultancy costs, training costs and implementation costs (Williams, 2010).
If we have selected an open source solution, we need to analyze how much time it will take for us to introduce the tool, the maintenance time, and if we have support available or not.
For paid and open source solutions, we should consider the cost of introducing the test automation tool as well as the cost of maintaining it. “Test tools need to be thought of as long-term investments that need maintenance to provide long-term benefits.”(Williams, 2010)
Figure 2 Test tool payback model (Williams, 2010)
Figure 2 demonstrates the costs of Test Automation. “Note that there is an ongoing maintenance of cost of using the tool, but that this ongoing maintenance cost needs to be less than the cost of performing testing activities without the tool if the investment is to be worthwhile.” (Williams 2010)
If we have found a tool that meets our needs, the next step is a pilot project, where we will see how the tool can affect our current test process.
In the pilot project we will define a business case and have measurable factors to determine if we should use the tool or not.
The objectives of the pilot project are:
- Discover any changes that need to be made in processes or practices
- Determine templates, naming standards and other guidelines for using the tool
- Estimate and quantify financial and other benefits of using the tool
- Learn more about the tool, what can be done and what cannot be done and possible workarounds
(Williams, 2010)
Once the Pilot project is completed, results need to be analyzed by stakeholders to define if the tool will be introduced or not.
This is part 3 of a 3-part series on testing automation.
References
Peter Williams, (2010). 'Tool Support for Testing'. In: Brian Hambling (ed),Software Testing: An ISTQB-ISEB Foundation Guide. 2nd ed. United Kingdom: British Informatics Society Ltd. pp. 70% 3963, 82% 4670, 83% 4714-4731, 69%-70% 3933-3949.
Andy Glover, (2011). The Cost of Automation. [ONLINE] Available at: http://cartoontester.blogspot.com/2011/08/cost-of-automation.html. [Last Accessed 1 May 2012]. | https://www.oshyn.com/blogs/2012/06/introduce-test-automation-tool |
I believe data should be at the heart of strategic decision making in businesses, whether they are huge multinationals or small family-run operations. Data can provide insights that help you answer your key business questions (such as ‘How can I improve customer satisfaction?’). Data leads to insights; business owners and managers can turn those insights into decisions and actions that improve the business. This is the power of data.
In this post I look at the process for applying data to your decision making – broken down into a simple ten-step process. Don’t be tempted to skip steps or jump ahead to juicier parts – the strategic steps are as important (if not more) than the data itself.
- Start with strategy
It’s easy to get overwhelmed by the possibilities that a big data world provides, and it’s easy to get lost in the noise and hype surrounding data. Starting with strategy helps you ignore the hype and cut to what is going to make a difference for your business. Instead of starting with what data you could or should access, start by working out what your business is looking to achieve.
- Hone in on the business area
You now need to identify which business areas are most important to achieving your overall strategy. If you could only work on improving one or two areas, which would you choose? For most businesses, the customer, finance and operations areas are key ones to look at.
- Identify your unanswered business questions
Now that you’ve identified your strategic objectives, the next step is to work out which questions you need to answer in order to achieve those goals. By working out exactly what you need to know, you can focus on the data that you really need. Your data requirements, cost and stress levels are massively reduced when you move from ‘collect everything just in case’ to ‘collect and measure x and y to answer question z’.
- Find the data to answer your questions
The next step is to identify what data you need to access or acquire in order to answer these questions. It’s really important to understand that no type of data is inherently better or more valuable than any other type. Focus on identifying the ideal data for you: the data that could help you answer your most pressing questions and deliver on your strategic objectives. Make a note of which data sets you could use to answer those questions. You can then choose the best data options to pursue based on how easy the data is to collect, how quick and how cost effective it is.
- Identify what data you already have
Once you’ve identified the data you need, it makes sense to see if you’re already sitting on some of that information, even if it isn’t immediately obvious. Internal data accounts for everything your business currently has or could access. If the data doesn’t already exist, then find ways of collecting it either by putting data collection systems in place or by acquiring or accessing external data.
- Work out if the costs and effort are justified
Once you know the costs, you can work out if the tangible benefits outweigh those costs. In this respect, you should treat data like any other key business investment. You need to make a clear case for the investment that outlines the long-term value of data to the business strategy. Although the cost of data is falling all the time, it can still add up if you get carried away. This is why it’s crucial to focus only on the data that you really need. If you believe the costs outweigh the benefits, then you may need to look at alternative data sources.
- Collect the data
Much of this step comes down to setting up the processes and people who will gather and manage your data. You may be buying access to an analysis-ready data set, in which case there’s no need to collect data as such. But, in reality, many data projects require some amount of data collection.
- Analyze the data
You need to analyze the data in order to extract meaningful and useful business insights. After all, there’s no point coming this far if you don’t then learn something new from the data. The most common types of analytics are text analytics, speech analytics and video/image analytics. The past few years have seen an explosion in the number of platforms available for big data analysis. Some platforms require nothing more than a working knowledge of Excel, meaning most employees can dip their toes into big data analysis. However, in many cases, data requires a more experienced analytical hand.
- Present and distribute the insights
Unless the results are presented to the right people at the right time in a meaningful way then the size of the data sets or the sophistication of the analytics tools won’t really matter. You need to make sure the insights gained from your data are used to inform decision making and, ultimately, improve performance. These days there are more interesting ways to present data and exciting tools to help you do it.
- Incorporate the learning into the business
Finally, you need to apply the insights from the data to your decision making, making the decisions that will transform your business for the better … and then acting on those decisions. For me, this is the most rewarding part of the data journey: turning data into action. | https://www.forbes.com/sites/bernardmarr/2016/06/14/data-driven-decision-making-10-simple-steps-for-any-business/?sh=761f790d5e1e |
Variance Analysis for Responsibility Accounting
Variance Analysis for Responsibility Accounting. Today with the emphasis on responsible control of financial results via the Return On Capital Employed [ROCE] concept, assets, liabilities, net worth, revenue, and costs form a vast area in which the entire management spectrum from the top executive to the lowest foreman holds some share of responsibility. Like blocks in a pyramid, the responsibility travels from the lowest to the highest level of supervision. Each supervisory level is responsible for costs incurred by its supervisor and his subordinates.
To be able to exercise this control, the cost and /or budget department must issue monthly reports that compare the actual results with predetermined amounts or budget allowances in a view to Variance Analysis for Responsibility Accounting . An analysis prepared at the end of the annual fiscal period, is not very helpful for immediate control actions.
Reports on a monthly or more frequent basis are advisable to allow short-range comparisons of those costs for which operating management is being held responsible.
Many of the variable expenses are controllable at the departmental level while fixed expenses are not. These assumptions apply to almost all costs in most situations.
In some circumstances certain variable expenses may be controlled at a higher level in the organization; e.g., employee fringe benefits may be determined by negotiations between executive management and the labor union or by government regulations. Such costs should be analyzed and separately identified to relieve a department manager of this responsibility.
Conversely, a department manager may have some control over certain fixed costs — those that involve a long-term commitment (sometimes called “committed fixed expenses”) such as equipment depreciation or lease expense and those that can be readily changed in the short run (sometimes called “programmed fixed expenses”). Such as the number of foremen in the department.
These costs should be individually identified as controllable by the manager of the department. Analyze whether fixed or variable, some costs may be joint with respect to two or more departments. Thus, they require arbitrary allocation. Accordingly, their controllability by a single department manager is restricted. | https://www.knowledgiate.com/variance-analysis-for-responsibility-accounting/ |
We compare benefits, costs and risks of the various planning alternatives to identify truly the most advantageous solution for the customer. We analyze and balance all the factors involved in order to ensure a rapid return on the investment through the achievement of high levels of efficiency, maximum operational flexibility and low working costs.
Our study is divided into 4 stages:
Performance analysis
We analyse data and performance indexes to evaluate the actual gap between the project objectives and the current situation which needs to be filled.
Assessment of the existing structure
We examine processes, infrastructures, equipment and organizational behaviors to identify possible inefficiencies, wastes of time, resources dispersion, redundant activities or incorrect habits.
Our goal is to make critical issues emerge, to set the priorities of intervention and to assess the rooms for improvement.
Identification of possible solutions
Different scenarios are hypothesized, viable solutions are compared and costs and benefits are weighed up.
We consider the opportunity to introduce new software, new technologies and new operational methodologies in order to improve the efficiency and quality of the service.
Our purpose is to agree with the customer the most advantageous path to fully achieve pre-set goals.
Project guidelines
The identified solution is translated into project documents which describe organizational arrangements, the technologies, the processes and the metrics used to assess results. | https://www.kfi.it/en/consulting/feasibility-study/ |
Welcome back, dear Friend! In the previous trainings, we talked about the reasons behind pollution and overconsumption of natural resources in a forest. One of these reasons is that people prioritize consumptive and extractive uses of the forest ecosystem and undervalue the non-use and indirect use benefits of this ecosystem. We also talked about how we can integrate non-use values of the forest ecosystem into development and management planning. We used the ValuES framework for this approach.
Unfortunately, while implementing the ValuES framework, we may end up not with one, but several feasible and attractive options. All of them may promise great benefits to both stakeholders and our forest ecosystem. Which option should we choose then? How can we decide on the best possible option?
Unfortunately, pursuing multiple options is not really feasible and may even not be entirely realistic, because we usually have limited human, financial, technical resources, and time, which is also a resource. So, in choosing the right option, we need to see what the criteria of our decision-making are. These can be the criteria related to economic feasibility and economic benefits, social ethics (who wins and who loses in each scenario), and in general whether there are sufficient resources to cover all needs of the project. Because one project can be relatively cheap and easy to implement, but it will offer very few benefits, while another project may require the entire variety and amount of resources that we have, but at the same time offer much more benefits and much greater value to the forest and our stakeholders. Also, we need to consider one more criterion that is kind of tricky to account for. We are talking about opportunity costs.
Opportunity costs are a special category of economic costs. These are potential benefits and gains forgone due to the choice of one particular alternative among the multitude of different options. For example, these can be all the benefits that we, people using this forest, lose if one particular choice, one particular decision regarding this forest is implemented. So, we lose all the benefits entailed to all other possible options of using this forest. A very clear case is that if the state chooses to cut down all these trees and to clear all the forest in order to gain some economic profit or this is lobbying from some logging company, then we as its visitors will lose all the benefits of enjoying this beautiful autumn forest and its ecosystem, of breathing its fresh air, of enjoying recreation among the woods, and of many other ecosystem services.
Another example that we can use to illustrate opportunity costs is a very common management dilemma for a forest ecosystem. One option of using this relatively unmanaged forest can be to designate it as an ecotourism reserve, a national park, to build some eco-trails here and some places for recreation, and then allow tourists to come and enjoy its ecosystem services. The opportunity costs here are that we would have not so rich biodiversity and less qualitative ecosystem service, which we would have had if this would be, let’s say, a protected area. So, in the case of the second option, a protected area or reserve, we would have opportunity costs of all the profits that we could have gained from tourists if we would have this as an eco-tourism area, a national park. And, of course, there is the third alternative: if, like I have said earlier, the state decides to cut down this forest and use it for profits and for export of timber, then we would not have options and benefits from the two alternative scenarios that I have presented earlier.
The issue with the opportunity costs is that they can relate not only to alternatives on one particular site, like one forest, but to different areas and scenarios in different places at once. For example, if we choose to protect this forest, we might not offer sufficient protection to other forests in the country.
What it means for our forest management planning is that we should consider options that can be realized within the limits of our financial, human, and technical capacities. We also need to consider the options that minimize our costs while maximizing expected benefits of our choice. And these benefits should not only exceed budget costs, but also the opportunity costs of not pursuing all other alternatives that we have. Only in this case we can be sure that we have chosen the forest management proposal, which is economically feasible and attractive and which is the optimal solution for our targeted forest.
To aid us in such complex decision-making, there are numerous approaches to comparing alternative projects and options between each other. One of the most well-known and hence commonly used approach is called Cost-benefit Analysis, or CBA for short.
Cost-benefit Analysis is an economic approach to estimate expected benefits of a project and to compare it with its costs. It can be applied to an individual project, where we compare its expected benefits and costs to see whether the project is worth pursuing. Or it can be applied to a variety of alternatives that we need to choose from, so that we could see the ratio of expected benefits and costs of each option and then decide, which of these alternatives are worth going forward with.
How can this help us in our forest management planning and decision-making? Well, firstly, we can see which options in our list have benefits exceeding costs, and we can immediately take them towards the next step, while those, where the benefits-to-costs ratio is less than one, we can immediately exclude as unfavourable ones. Then, at the next step, we will work with the options and solutions, where ratio of benefits to costs is greater than one, and will proceed to choosing the best ones among all the options and pursuing the ones, where the expected benefits are the greatest.
In CBA, benefits and costs are expressed in a single metric - monetary units. Therefore, economic valuation of ecosystem services is very crucial at this stage, so that we could capture the economic value translated into the “language” of money in our cost-benefit analysis and compare it to the costs of implementing one project or the other.
Ecosystem services provide benefits and value not only at the present moment, but also far into the future. So, in our Cost-benefit Analysis, we need to consider all the future flows of our benefits. At the same time, costs may occur at the present moment as implementation costs and as maintenance and management costs that extend into the future. However, psychologically we prioritize current benefits and costs over the ones occurring in the future. So, in our cost-benefit analysis, we need to reduce gradually the economic value of benefits and also costs to the present moment. In scientific language, it means that we discount future flows of benefits and costs to their present values.
What we get as an output of our CBA exercise is a comparison between the discounted flows of all the expected benefits that we would receive if we implement each of our proposals and the costs that we would incur from the implementation of each of our alternatives. In the end, we want to see that the higher the net present value of a particular project is, the more promising and the more desirable this particular choice that we could take on and pursue is.
Certainly, CBA has its drawbacks and disadvantages. For example, how can we integrate non-monetary significance of a forest and the intrinsic value of the forest ecosystem to people and specifically indigenous communities? And how can we also add and consider in CBA ethical and moral considerations that would make our decision in the end not only cost-efficient, but also ethically and morally correct to people.
For such cases, there are other analytical and decision-making approaches. For example, we can use the multi-stakeholder analysis, where we invite representatives of all our key stakeholders for deciding on the options together, weighing all the pros and cons of each option, and finally making the appropriate decision. Certainly, there are a lot of ways and plenty of knowledge about this multi-stakeholder approach, this cost-benefit analysis, and other methods. You can look for them on the webpage of our course.
However, by now we touched upon the subject of stakeholders. And you may be wondering, “Who are these stakeholders?”, “Who should we consider in our decision-making and forest management action plan?”, and finally “Who should we communicate the results of our economic valuation and cost-benefit analysis?” These are very good questions, and we will certainly explore them in the next training and the third chapter of the course. See you there! | http://fes.megageneration.com/training23.html |
By evaluating your estimate for potential problems ahead of time and developing strategies to address them, you’ll improve your chances of having a successful project.
You've completed your take-off, entered the job quotes, applied profit, overhead, and taxes to your estimate, and you believe you've accounted for everything. What could possibly go wrong? Plenty. The questions you have to ask yourself are, Where will the project go awry, and what can you do as the estimator to reduce the possibility of the project coming in at a loss? Risk assessment estimating is the best weapon you have against project catastrophes, as long as you follow these steps:
-
Analyze the project.
-
Determine if it's advisable to undertake the project.
-
Identify, quantify, and monitor your risks.
Analyze the project.
First, study the plans and specifications of the project as a whole. This allows you to determine whether or not it fits in with your company's mix of projects. You should take into account the following factors:
-
Project duration
-
Number of electricians the project will require
-
Potential hazards (including weather conditions, delays caused by other trades, and procurement failures)
-
Amount of engineering and drafting required
-
Quantity of construction equipment and tools required
-
Material procurement cost
-
Labor cost
Determine the advisability of the project.
As you evaluate the project, it's possible to forget the most important question: Should you undertake it at all? But answering that question requires you to address other issues first. Will the work disrupt or interfere with other business operations? Is your present organization properly trained and equipped to take on this project? Do you have access to a sufficient number of trained electricians? Is your present stock of tools and equipment adequate for this type of project? Are there other electrical contracting firms available who can more expeditiously handle the work? Once you've convinced yourself it's advisable to tackle this project, you must identify the potential risks you will face in doing so.
Identify your risks.
All of your risks may not be apparent when you first analyze the project, so it's worth your time to review job cost records for similar projects. Familiarize yourself with the problems that plagued earlier projects. For example, if you plan to outsource part of the project or use a specific supplier, talk to project managers who have used these resources in the past. It's also a good practice to attend project management meetings and note field problems for use in future estimates.
There are numerous ways to identify risk. You should review the tasks and history of similar projects. Brainstorm and discuss the project with your estimating team. Consult with project managers within your company that have run similar projects and identify problems they encountered. Most importantly, review the schedule.
During your review, look for areas that could eventually lead to problems. Identify tasks for which your company has no expertise. It's likely you'll underestimate the duration and cost estimates for these tasks. Ask yourself how consistent your estimates have been in the past. Be careful with duration and cost estimates that are aggressive. You should also take note of tasks for which you have limited resources. Take special note of tasks with several predecessors. The more dependencies a task has, the greater the likelihood of a delay. And don't overlook time-consuming tasks that require a lot of resources. The larger the task, the more likely the estimate will be inaccurate.
Quantify your risks.
It's important that you quantify your risks so you'll know how a delay or cost overrun will affect your bottom line. Start by determining your tolerance level. Then assign a probability and cost to each risk. Finish by assigning a priority to each risk.
Set tolerance levels.
If you're a small company, additional project costs or delays may put your entire company at risk. If you're a large company, some overruns and delays may be acceptable. But no matter what size company you have, make sure you write down some hard numbers. How much cost and delay is acceptable? Remember, this isn't your preference, it's just the bottom-line number your company can tolerate. A smaller company may be able to accept a tolerance level equal to profit, whereas a larger company may accept profit plus several thousand dollars.
Assign a probability to each risk.
Use historical job cost data to determine the likelihood of each risk. There are programs designed to compare bidding history against your current estimate. Using one of these programs can help isolate potential problem areas in the estimate. Next, determine the likelihood of your company taking a loss on a given project. For example, if your company historically incurs losses 40% of the time it undergoes a particular task, flag that task as a risk. Based on these numbers, set a percentage level at which a task will be considered risky.
Assign a cost to each risk.
The cost of a risk can be measured in dollars, lost time, lost quality, or a combination of the three. You must realize your biggest risk is associated with labor. As you know, project overruns are covered by profit. To quantify this risk in dollars and cents, divide the projected profit for all of the tasks at risk by the labor dollars for all of those tasks. Subtract the result from one. The result is known as a labor risk factor. Multiply that resultant by the total labor cost to obtain a risk cost:
Risk Cost = [1 - (Total Profit/Total Labor)] x Total Labor
If you don't know the cost of a task or you're estimating a smaller project, use the same process, but insert the total profit and total labor dollars for the project in the formula. Compare this amount with the tolerance level (in dollars) you calculated above. If your risk cost is more than your tolerance level, you'll need to adjust your bottom line or pass on the project. The more profit you've built into the project, the less likely the risk cost will reach your tolerance level.
Let's look at an example. Assume you're estimating a project that includes a power distribution system, fire alarm system, and security system. You've calculated a tolerance level of $5,000. Job cost records reflect you've suffered losses of more than 40% on both the fire alarm and security systems in the past. You estimate profit on the fire alarm system to be $3,400 and labor costs to be $9,200. Your estimated profit for the security system is $2,800 with labor costs of $7,400. Your total profit estimate is $6,200, and your total labor cost is $16,600. Plugging these numbers into the formula yields:
Risk Cost = [1 - ($6,200/$16,600)] x $16,600 = $10,400
As you can see, your risk assessment indicates you've exceeded your tolerance level. Therefore, you must make a choice: Increase your bid by $10,400, or don't submit one.
Assign a priority.
Assign a priority to the risk based on your company's tolerance level, the potential cost of the risk, and the probability of it occurring. If you're awarded the project, make sure you give this list of risks to the project manager — once you've identified and quantified risks, you need to plan for them.
Risk monitoring.
Now that you have this priority list, what is the project manager supposed to do with it? As the project progresses, he or she should review job cost records and note problems at project management meetings. From this feedback, you can develop new estimating procedures to limit potential risks.
With a little preplanning, thought, and communications with project management, you can significantly decrease the risk to your future projects through risk assessment estimating.
Hague is President and CEO of ConEst Software Systems in Londonderry, N.H. | http://www.ecmweb.com/content/how-apply-risk-assessment-your-estimate |
Opportunity management allows teams to plan, identify, analyze, handle, and monitor initiatives that present potential improvements in the current program (e.g. cost and schedule reductions).
The figure below is a simple portrayal of how side-by-side risk and opportunity management aids in achieving program benefits.
*Source: DoD, http://bbp.dau.mil/docs/RIO-Guide-Jun2015.pdf
Opportunity Management is comprised of five main steps:
Step 1: Opportunity Identification
Opportunities within the current project are identified. Teams can look at processes currently in place and identify what can be improved.
Step 2: Opportunity Analysis
Once opportunities are identified, analysis on the opportunities are then conducted. Cost, schedule and performance benefit analysis are necessary. It is important to take into account both the advantages and disadvantages in the benefit analysis of each opportunity. Unless done properly, teams may run the risk of overstating the benefits or understating the risks attached to the identified opportunity.
Step 3: Opportunity Handling
From the analysis results, teams can decide whether to pursue, reject or reevaluate the identified opportunities.
Step 4: Opportunity Monitoring
Upon implementation of the opportunity approach, opportunities are continuously monitored for any pertinent changes that may affect initial item assessment.
Step 5: Opportunity Management
Key personnel will be assigned to all identified opportunities. Opportunities, depending on the required resources, may be escalated to upper management for further advisement.
The steps outlined above are indicative. Communication and feedback are necessary between steps to ascertain what the next line of action is best approaching identified opportunities.
*Source: DoD, http://bbp.dau.mil/docs/RIO-Guide-Jun2015.pdf
Need more details? Contact us
We are here to assist. Contact us by phone, email or via our social media channels. | http://www-es.irisintelligence.com/risk-management/opportunity-management/ |
This report provides the findings of a research study reviewing some of the economic and efficiency benefits of the Milton Keynes CCTV system. There are 30 external cameras covering the Milton Keynes city centre and six located in a small town within the city. The monitoring team are based within the Milton Keynes police station and have the equipment to copy tapes on site.
A range of quantitative and qualitative methodologies were used to identify benefits and savings. Case files covering a period of ten months were reviewed to identify cases where CCTV was a key source of evidence, in addition data collected by the CCTV team was analysed. The views of Milton Keynes police officers were obtained using a number of methods, an electronic survey, telephone interviews and a focus group. In addition a range of representatives from a variety of police departments and criminal justice agencies were consulted.
It is clear that CCTV leads to a wide range of economic and efficiency savings to the police. The consultation found that CCTV is a valuable resource which can be used to manage police resources, help investigation and collect intelligence. Some of the main benefits of CCTV to the police are:
The report identified a lot of savings as a result of CCTV, however only some of these could be costed, indeed many could not. However, of those that can be costed the report estimates that in one year the CCTV team may have contributed at least £4,313.49 in actual savings to the police and perhaps up to £7,716.45, these figures are based on a review of 20 files. Again it is important to stress that this is a minimum saving and is far short of the actual. Indeed it is possible to identify additional potential savings of at least £79,510.94 and this may be as much as £287,493.18
In the wider criminal justice system the CCTV team has two clear benefits which can be quantified, obtaining an early guilty plea, which reduces the number of court hearings and costs to the criminal justice agencies, and early intervention, which means that less serious cases are dealt with at court which are likely to incur fewer processing costs. Where CCTV evidence has been used to secure an early guilty plea at least £8,345.18 has been saved for criminal justice agencies in a 12 month period. In addition the impact of early intervention in one year has lead to a potential saving of £1,601,600.
There are numerous benefits derived by the CCTV team to the criminal justice system and beyond which have not been quantified. Two main areas are the detection and reporting of offences and providingintelligence. It also acts as a deterrent and can prevent further incidents occurring through early intervention.
The report has attached a value to the savings achieved by the CCTV team. There are several benefits listed here for which a value was not identified because appropriate data was not available. However, there are some measures that can be introduced to address this gap and apply a value to some of the “unquantifiable” benefits. Improved activity costing by the police to determine the average length of time taken to carry out each step of an investigation would go a long way towards this. Indeed this is likely to be introduced to the force in the next few years. In the meantime better tracking of how CCTV evidence is used and the outcome would also be beneficial.
Author
Nick Saunders, Director & Principal Consultant, NSG Security Consultants is a former police officer serving 19 years with the Greater Manchester Police, the last three of which were spent as crime prevention officer for a large metropolitan area.
Nick is: | https://veracity-systems.com/2011/04/25/a-short-evaluation-of-the-economic-benefits-of-the-milton-keynes-cctv-system-in-managing-police-resources-executive-summary/ |
Productivity and efficiency are major issues for any employer. There are various strategies for improving the operational efficiency of a business, and among them, workflow analysis has become a staple at all levels of management. It doesn’t matter whether your organization is big or small, whether you’re trying to set up an online business or opening a new branch or franchise, there are many benefits to applying workflow analysis.
In this article, you will learn what workflow analysis is, see some examples and templates of workflow analysis, get to know the steps and benefits of workflow analysis, and get an idea of when workflow analysis is appropriate in an organization and why companies perform workflow analysis.
What Is Workflow Analysis?
The definition of workflow analysis is: the process of examining an organization’s workflows to improve its operational efficiency. It helps to identify bottlenecks, remove unnecessary processes and tasks and optimize the workplace for optimal efficiency. It is also helpful to know what workflow itself means.
According to Wikipedia, the workflow analysis definition is:
“A workflow consists of an orchestrated and repeatable pattern of activity, enabled by the systematic organization of resources into processes that transform materials, provide services, or process information. It can be depicted as a sequence of operations, the work of a person or group, the work of an organization of staff, or one or more simple or complex mechanisms.”
Generally speaking, a workflow has three basic components: input, transformation, and output. It’s pretty intuitive – work comes in, gets done, and the result is then sent onward to the next process. In practice, workflows often come in the form of diagrams, schematics, flowcharts and various other graphical forms. If you are trying to figure out how to make money online, chances are that getting a good grasp of your workflows is something you should get started on immediately after you do your market research.
Example Of Workflow Analysis
Let’s take a look at a simple workflow analysis example chart for a writer.
Of course, workflows are rarely so simple in sectors like IT, banking or telecommunications, but this one is a good place to start. The workflow itself is fairly straightforward, but what exactly does analysis entail?
First of all, depending on the specific workflow under analysis, some metrics may be needed. For example, in the workflow shown above, how long does it take the writer to compose a first draft? If the writing process fails, at what point in the workflow does it fail most often? What is the relationship between the time it takes for the writer to do his or her work and the time it takes to review the work? Is there a bottleneck anywhere? Remember that the goal of workflow analysis is to make a workflow more efficient. In your own workflow analysis, you should try to collect as much relevant data as possible to shave off valuable working hours from the process you are studying.
Workflow Analysis Template
Workflow analysis templates can help to create and modify workflows. Here is an example of a workflow analysis template.
In the example above, we see that the document management workflow has been separated into four distinct subprocesses. This should go without saying, but depending on the nature of your business, workflow analysis templates will vary. One of the benefits of having a template is that it can easily be modified as changes to the process are made. You can make your own or find free templates online.There are even specific templates for those that want to learn how to create a website, so it’s good to consider that someone might have already created a workflow for a process you want to undertake.
Workflow Analysis In 4 Steps
Here are the four workflow analysis steps to consider when going through a workflow.
As you go through the steps consider this question:
“Why do companies perform a workflow analysis every so often?”
This question will really frame the following four steps and allow you to identify ways to use these steps in your business.
Identify, Understand And Document All Subprocesses In The Workflow
This is the foundation of workflow analysis. Identifying and understanding all subprocesses is essential for success. On top of that, however, all subprocesses must be documented in meticulous detail. This, in turn, will make the next step much easier.
Collect Data
Once all subprocesses in the workflow have been identified and documented thoroughly, data from all of them can be collected. The data that can be gleaned from subprocesses over the course of day-to-day operations is two-fold: quantitative and qualitative. Quantitative data tends to involve time (although workflows can vary greatly between different businesses) and is used to simply count the time required for each subprocess. Other workflow data analysis techniques include comparing differences between minimum and maximum values in a subprocess. It should be readily apparent which subprocesses have the greatest impact on efficiency following analysis.
Qualitative data can allow for a deeper dive into the workings of your business, but it is a bit trickier to sift through. After all, it is typically obtained by talking to the people responsible for handling specific subprocesses. However, qualitative data may be the best way to perform rapid workflow analysis and identify bottlenecks in the workflow.
Analyze The Data
Analyzing workflow data entails merging quantitative and qualitative data and identifying subprocesses causing the biggest disruptions in the workflow. Another workflow analysis technique is to determine which subprocesses generate the highest cost or time exposure. There is no one-size-fits-all way to analyze workflow data, so discernment is required when applying workflow analysis principles to your own business.
Work Out Potential Improvements
Having analyzed the data, you should have a good picture of the subprocesses that can be removed or optimized. This is the step where you achieve the goals of the whole workflow analysis process. Optimizing workflow efficiency by removing subprocesses or modifying the workflow will have long-term benefits for your company.
Tools For Workflow Analysis
Once you have strong workflows in place, the next logical step would be to automate them using workflow analysis tools. There are multiple platforms for analysis workflow management available on the market, including HubSpot workflows. HubSpot offers marketing automation software that enables the creation and rapid analysis of workflows.
Some other companies offering Workflow Management Software are: Smartsheet, Monday.com, Hive, Kintone, and Next Matter. Most workflow management solutions enable data analysis in addition to operational features.
When Is Business Workflow Analysis Appropriate?
You don’t want to be analyzing your workflow every day. The entire point of automating workflows is to have an efficient system in place, reducing the cost of completing each task. However, a data analysis workflow is very useful when validating a business idea or when you have newly-created workflows. For example, it may reveal if you have enough employees to handle every role in every subprocess. Maybe it will even show you are planning to hire too many people in the first place. The earlier you start trimming down on the time and cost exposure of subprocesses in your workflows and optimizing costs, the better.
Once you have already established strong workflows in your organization, you may still be able to make improvements after you analyze data collected over a long period of time. Also, if workflows undergo change over time, periodic analysis can’t hurt either; just keep in mind that there is a limit to how lean a workflow can be.
What Is Workflow Analysis - FAQ
Workflow analysis is appropriate when you want to validate a business idea, or when you have newly-created workflows. It can help you determine if you have enough employees to handle every role in every subprocess, and may even show you are planning to hire too many people in the first place.
A workflow analysis chart is a graphical representation of a workflow that shows the sequence of steps involved in completing a task.
The best workflow analysis techniques vary depending on the type of data you are working with, but some common methods include process mapping, process mining, and data flow diagrams.
The workflow of data analysis typically includes four main steps: data collection, data cleaning, data analysis, and data visualization. These steps can be further broken down into more specific tasks, but these are the main steps that should be followed in order to complete a data analysis project.
Conclusion: Why Is Workflow Analysis Important?
Ultimately, answering “What is a workflow analysis?” comes down to understanding what results your organization attempts to get out of this exercise.
Typical, workflow analysis brings multiple benefits to an organization. Its main goal is to reduce the time taken between the input and output of a workflow. This is typically done by eliminating or optimizing subprocesses. Given that data analysis is conducted by software, which also collects data on an ongoing basis, it is actually possible for an organization to quantify the time- and cost-savings afforded by workflow analysis.
Aside from that, the workflow of data analysis allows employees to generally be more productive as they have clearly defined roles in efficient and automated workflow management systems. When you lump all of that together, the benefits of workflow analysis seem pretty clear. | https://www.freedomtoascend.com/guides/workflow-analysis/ |
Steps Involved in Implementing ERP Software Solutions
SAP implementation is very costly, time-consuming, challenging and insecure. SAP is usually adapted only when large companies require a complete change control in their internal systems. The complete change control could be in the form of new technologies, mergers and acquisitions, business strategy expansion or ERP rollouts. As most of the SAP systems are implemented globally, the risks are high. Therefore the companies, who are involved in SAP implementation should take certain steps to mitigate the risks involved in it.
While planning for SAP implementation, the planning must start with a strategic view. The strategic planning includes identification of the benefits that an organization can get from SAP ERP systems, which can be profit, reduction of cost and better productivity. Then the benefits should be identified for each functional department, including an analysis about the human resources and the tools that are essential for these departments to operate smoothly. Finally, the planning analyst should determine the size of the team that will be required for SAP ERP implementation.
When we analyze the benefits of ERP implementation, we find that there are mainly three types of benefits, which are mainly internal ones. Internal processes are those processes that are done away from the workstations of employees. These internal processes contribute directly to the value creation process of the company and have direct impact on the bottom-line. One of the largest benefits of ERP implementation is the fact that it helps to eliminate the wastes. Other types of benefits are that they help to improve the efficiency of the processes, better integrate the data, reduce the cost of ownership of the information system, enhance the productivity of the workforce and increase the knowledge of the team members.
The implementation process should include a series of activities such as the planning, implementation, evaluation and maintenance. All these activities should be continuous in nature and should not stop because of some unexpected reason. The planning is usually done before the implementation process starts and this provides an opportunity for the management to strategize and deal with the problems that might arise during the process. This is the first step towards the benefits of ERP implementation.
Once the implementation process is over and every business is ready to use the ERP software solutions, the next step is the evaluation. This is the second step and might take a lot of time. This evaluation will involve testing the systems to identify any possible flaws that might appear after the software has been installed. After the testing is complete, the solutions should be thoroughly tried by various business departments and their employees to check the performance. | https://tt-technoteam.com/steps-involved-in-implementing-erp-software-solutions/ |
Welcome to the first PMLOGY®* article, in which we will tackle the very popular issue of portfolio management.
Portfolio management has become a priority for many businesses that have greatly improved their project management over the last few years.
In order to be successful, a company must be able to effectively manage its projects. First and foremost, however, it is important to choose the right projects—and that’s where portfolio management comes in!
Essentially, a company’s project portfolio should reflect its strategy to implement the changes required to meet the corporate objectives of its strategic plan.
This first step involves taking stock of the different projects (current or potential). A project file is created for each identified project.
The second step involves classifying projects by type in order to facilitate the steps to be taken. For example, it might be helpful to group projects into categories such as major vs. minor, required vs. discretionary, etc.
This step aims to document projects in order to be able to compare them. This assessment ultimately consists of building a business case that establishes a given project’s costs and deadlines, benefits, advantages/disadvantages, risks, etc. Business cases provide a common foundation for evaluating projects so that one can compare “apples” to “apples.”.
This step is very important. At this stage, projects are compared in order to set priorities. Using scoring models is recognized as being one of the best practices. The most commonly used criteria include: maximization of value (return on investment — ROI), strategic alignment, risk and urgency.
After prioritizing projects, this step aims to determine which particular projects will be implemented. To successfully carry out this stage of the process, organizational capacity is assessed in order to make optimal use of the available resources (human and financial). This is the stage when project managers are assigned to the different projects that have been authorized.
This final step involves consolidating progress reports for the different authorized projects. The goal is to provide upper management with an overall picture of the situation using dashboards that provide the project’s status and several performance indicators. This information is essential for helping upper management decide whether or not to continue with a given project.
As previously mentioned, these 6 steps are ongoing and highly iterative. As soon as new projects are identified, they are added to the list and may very well result in new priorities!
PMLOGY and GPLOGIE are registered trademarks of Carl M. Gilbert.
©Carl M. Gilbert, All rights reserved. | http://www.technologia.com/en/last-publications/project-management-and-processes/the-best-portfolio-management-practices/ |
Subsets and Splits
No community queries yet
The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.