Explain why art is something that has great value both monetarily as Essay

Explain why art is something that has great value both monetarily as well as a reflection of the highest achievements of humankind - Essay Example Art has a great value monetarily, not only because it can obtain high prices, but also because it inspires artists to continue their craft. In the world of the arts, artists are either making money or struggling and poor. Despite the lack of financial compensation, highly-paid artworks drive artists to continue making art that has different purposes and meanings. They believe that they are making something that has eternal value to present and future generations. The monetary value of art also inspires young artists, which ensures the continuity of the arts. Art also has social significance because it connects people, as they find personal and/or collective meaning in art. Art becomes a manifestation of the highest achievements of humankind, when people find something valuable in it. These values provide eternal life to artists and their works. For those who appreciate art and find it valuable, art changes people’s thinking and actions. Sometimes, art can also help change the world and turn it into a better place. Art has financial and social values because people provide these values. It is through their appreciation and interpretation of art in their lives that breathes purpose into art. Art is not always just something to be seen and consumed aesthetically. Sometimes, it also provokes intelligent thoughts that can spark individual and collective changes. Sometimes, art can also transform societies and make humanity work toward their greater

The Asch Phenomenon and Consumer Behavior Essay Example for Free

The Asch Phenomenon and Consumer Behavior Essay Imagine yourself sitting in a room with seven of your peers. You are asked a question and given a choice of three different answers: A, B, or C. You know the answer is C, yet every single person before you confidently states that the answer is B. Do you stick with your answer, or eliminate the fear of being wrong and embarrassed in front of your peers and go along with the group? This is the exact dilemma faced by subjects in the famous Asch experiment. The Asch phenomenon can be defined as the effect of a reference group on individual decision making that occurs because of a perceived pressure to conform to the stated opinions of the group members. As consumers, we should recognize the great impact this phenomenon can have on our buying behaviors. While interacting in a group setting, we may make choices that are different from what we would do when alone. Marketers and salespeople may use this idea to their advantage when presenting a product to potential customers. If they can get a few people to voice a positive opinion toward their products, it is likely that others will follow. As consumers, we should be aware of when this idea may be used unethically in order to protect our individual interests. For example, a salesperson may try to sell a product to an audience of potential consumers. However, some people working for the salesperson may be planted in the audience posing as naive consumers in order to influence the purchase behaviors of the other members of the audience. Also, marketers may use individuals’ insecurities to pressure them to go along with the group, even when it is not in a person’s best interest. An ad showing a man being ridiculed for buying a less expensive television set may unethically lead a consumer to think he needs to buy something unaffordable to fit in with his friends. Explanation of the Topic The Asch phenomenon is a concept derived from the findings of a study conducted in 1951. Solomon Asch (1907 1996) originally conducted this experiment to explain conformity to majority-established norms (Moghaddam, 1998). The subjects involved in the study were brought into a room with seven other students (who were all working for Asch and were instructed on what to do) and seated second-to-last around a table. The subjects were told that the experiment was concerned with accuracy and visual perception, and that their task was to choose which of the three bars on the right matched the length of the bar on the left and to give their answers aloud. The confederates in the study were instructed to give incorrect answers 12 out of 18 times in order to see whether or not the subject would go along with the crowd after hearing their incorrect responses (â€Å"Conformity Experiments Asch: Social Pressure†). A Test of Perception [pic] Which line in Exhibit 2 is the same length as the line in Exhibit 1? A series of experiments by Solomon Asch, testing the effects of social pressure on individual perceptions, showed that some people in some situations will go against the evidence of their own senses if the people around them seem to perceive something different. Thirty-seven of the fifty subjects conformed to the majority at least once, and fourteen of them conformed on more than half of the significant trials (â€Å"Conformity†). Overall, 35 percent of the subjects’ responses conformed to the group’s incorrect judgments. This is surprising because the control group achieved near perfect accuracy, showing that the task was not inherently difficult. In addition, when the experiment was duplicated allowing the subjects to write down their own judgments privately after hearing the incorrect responses of the group, conformity was drastically reduced (Baxter). The reasons why subjects gave in to group influence hold important ideas for salespeople and marketers. People conform for two main reasons: because they want to be liked by the group and because they believe the group is better informed than they are (â€Å"Conformity†). In this study, Asch reported that most of the participants yielded to group pressure because they assumed the majority was right and they were wrong, rather than because they wanted to be accepted by the majority (Levine, 1999). This difference is what separates the Asch phenomenon from the concept of peer pressure. Peer pressure tends to operate more in primary groups in which normative and identification group influences are at work, rather than informational group influences. A brief example may explain the differences between these three types of influences. Informational influence is at work when a person thinks, â€Å"I should buy that brand of cereal because my health-conscious friends recommend it as part of a nutritious diet. † Normative influence is at work when a person thinks, â€Å"I should buy that brand of cereal so that my friends think that I am also health-conscious, or so they won’t make fun of me for eating badly. † Finally, a person reacting to identification influence would think, â€Å"I should buy that brand of cereal because I am a member of Weight Watchers, and all of us value that brand. Asch’s findings support more of an informational influence, particularly because the conforming subjects did not even know the other members of the group. They just assumed that the group must know something that they did not know, or decided it was easier and safer to go along with the group. The Asch phenomenon occurs even when there is only a perceived pressure to conform. That is, if members go against the group they will not experience any negative consequences. However, when dealing with peer pressure, often individuals who do not conform are ridiculed, humiliated, or excluded by his/her peers. Looking at the Asch study, you can see that while a significant proportion of people conformed, the majority did not. This suggests that some people may be more susceptible to the phenomenon than others, and that certain situations may create this pressure to conform more than others. There are five determinants of reference group influence. If there is visible usage, high relevance of a product to the group, low individual purchase confidence, strong individual commitment to the group, and it is a non-necessary item, people are much more likely to be influenced by the opinions of the group members (Hawkins, 2004). Imagine shopping by yourself as opposed to shopping with a group of your fashion-conscious friends. You notice a red shirt on the rack, but don’t really care for it. One of your friends later picks up the shirt and says, â€Å"This shirt is absolutely fabulous. † The other members of the group agree, and soon you find yourself agreeing that you also love the shirt. You do this not only because you want to be accepted by the group, but because you assume the others know more about fashion than you do. In addition, if the shirt is a reasonable price and you are looking for something to wear to a party where everyone will be dressed fashionably, the opinions of the group members will affect your purchase decision even more. The Asch phenomenon has been demonstrated in a variety of settings. In one study, 58 percent of college students were persuaded to agree to the statement that â€Å"the right of freedom of speech should be suspended when the Government feels threatened,† even though not one of these subjects held this view privately (Baxter). In another study, students’ perceptions of the nutritional value of a new diet food were influenced by the opinions of other members of a group. When the other students of the group were seen as â€Å"experts,† meaning they claimed to be majoring in and had work experience with nutrition, members changed their initial responses to conform to the group even more (Lascu, 1995). Clearly, this phenomenon should not be ignored when advertising a new product or designing a sales campaign, when potential consumers’ opinions are more likely to be swayed. The technique would be useful when potential consumers see others as having greater expertise about the product than they do. However, a great deal of risk in purchasing may cause a consumer to seek out information himself rather than go off of what others say. Therefore, the Asch phenomenon may work ideally in low-expertise and low-involvement situations. Examples Examples of the Asch phenomenon can be found throughout the media. When members of a group voice their positive opinions about a product, people are more willing to go along with this stated opinion. For example, Ford Motor Company uses the Asch phenomenon to build greater brand loyalty by providing a section on their website dedicated to personal stories with Ford vehicles. By reading all of the positive stories about Ford cars and trucks, consumers may also feel pressure to think the same way about Fords. Another example of the influence group members may have on individual purchasing decisions comes from the use of infomercials in which a product is displayed to a group of potential customers. At first, the consumers are skeptical that a product could be so easy to use, so convenient, or so inexpensive. However, a consumer is instructed to use a product, is impressed by the product, and says, â€Å"Wow, I really can feel my legs and abs getting stronger† or â€Å"Wow, this vegetable chopper really does make it easy. † Soon after, other members of the group are going along with the stated opinions of the original users, and people at home begin to agree with the group too, possibly to the point of purchasing the product. Specific companies using this technique include Ronco, Body by Jake, and Tae-bo. Pampered Chef kitchen shows work in a similar way, and depend on stated opinions of kitchen experts and groups of friends. As the host displays and uses a variety of kitchen products, showing how helpful, easy, and fun to use they are, other members of the group may try them out and voice similar opinions. A person who may not have otherwise been excited by a cooking stone or apple corer/peeler/slicer soon finds these products as amazing as the other members of the group, and has ordered them without giving a second thought as to when she will actually use them. People often find it very difficult to go against the positive opinions of movie critics and reviewers. When showing commercials for films, the previews include such statements as â€Å"The funniest movie of the year,† â€Å"Absolutely phenomenal† or â€Å"The best drama since (fill in the blank). † Claims such as these, especially from credible critics and publications, are difficult to disagree with and tend to sway people to go see the movie. For example, a person sees a movie on opening day before it is heavily advertised. This person thinks the movie is ok, but does not recommend it to any friends or family to see. However, after watching several ads on television in which positive claims are made about the movie, the person may change his/her opinion to go along with these claims. Suddenly, the movie seems better, and the individual finds him/herself agreeing with the critics and recommending the movie to others. This may be because he/she does not want to be the only one who thinks differently, or because the critics have greater expertise on movies.

The American Airlines and US Airways Merger

The American Airlines and US Airways Merger Mergers and acquisitions correspond to the definitive changes for businesses. In the contemporary business environment, they are increasingly being adopted to enhance competition through increased performances. Similar organizations merge hence their long-term survival in the competitive environment (Weston, 2014). Typically, mergers and acquisitions result in organizational economic development. The companies involved grow their market share and capacity thus expanding on investment portfolios to facilitate risk reduction. They smooth the progress of entering new markets, adding up to shareholders value and offer better economies of scale. At this perspective view, nearly all publicly traded companies have experienced a major acquisition at some point in the United States, so did the American Airlines and US Airways in 9th December 2013. Both companies operate under the same radar of airspace business. The American Airlines and US Airways merged to form American Airlines Group, Inc. as a publicly traded airline holding company based in Fort Worth, Texas, United States. The target company was American Airlines. American Airlines maintained 72% of the company while US Airways took the rest 28%. The majority of the shares were distributed to US Airways shareholders and American Airlines previous creditors. This merge upshot the largest airline globally with 336 locations in 56 nations worldwide, over 6,700 daily flights, more than 100,000 employees and an operating revenue of $40billion. As yet, American Airlines Group, targets to take the delivery of over 600 new aircrafts including a minimum of 500 narrow-bodied and 90 wide-body international flights (American Airlines News, n.d.) Examine the circumstances that resulted in the merger or acquisition for the selected company. Speculate on two (2) reasons why the resulting decision to merge or to acquire / be acquired was made. Circumstances that resulted in the merger of American Airways and US Airways The foremost circumstances which lead to America Airlines and US Airways merger from an abstract point of view sets from the financial problems. US Airways was an American Airlines creditor according to a bankruptcy court filing stated under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. It had already undergone through more than a decade of losses and retrenchments. The management team had considered a stand-alone restructuring plan before. It also revealed that American Airlines looked forward to merging with another airline and US Airways presented the potential fit. Secondly, both companies had similar operations. These incidents gave rise to possible workable and potential merger action which materialised in the end as they both agreed to a merger. Reasons that resulted to the merger The first reason as to why the resulting decision to merge was made was the fact that the merger would create a book balance by absorbing out the bankruptcy court filing after appropriate paybacks and other payments. Henceforth, the merged company would operate in financial freedom achieved for the long-term outcome. Operating together with the pooled cost of capital would lower operational costs and realize increased returns than if the two companies functioned separately (Weston, 2014). It would be cheaper for both American Airlines and US Airways to internally invest and eye for expansion of its businesses and operations. Acquiring new aircrafts and other related assets would be cheaper because of the united bargain purchase. Secondly, American Airlines and US Airways would result in a horizontal merger that would form a strong pillar to achieve a competitive edge in the global scale. This would lead to achieving additional value in airline operations and business on the international market. The projected synergy value, would direct the combined companies to forms that could yield higher revenues, lower expenses and the overall cost of capital (Cooper, 2014). The merger and acquisition of the companies would give the merged parties an edge over their rivals in terms of business opportunities. After the merge, they would exploit the emerging trends in the market together. This would also assist in gap filling of the partys weakness and upbringing of significant strength paramount for dominance in the airline industry. These reasons moved American Airlines and US Airways to make the decision to merge. Assess the significant positive (or negative) effects of the merger or acquisition. Provide at least two (2) examples of those effects now that the merger or acquisition has been completed. Effects of the merger Completion of the American Airlines and US Airways contributed to a number of significant positive effects. The major key benefit was power consolidation and control over the market. This facilitated the entry into new markets and larger shares in the existing market. It improved economies of scale which corresponded to acquisition of more assets in the form of aircrafts (Cooper, 2014). Sharing taxes increased monetary leverage making them utilize much of its benefits by saving costs (Ulijn, 2013). As a result, the combined airline company offered more convenient schedule to travel plans with access to more destinations around the world. Their combined fleet continued penetration to operate more routes with the largest fleets of airbuses throughout the world connecting more people and promoting diversification of global businesses and multicultural. For instance, it is already operates 336 destinations in more than 50 countries in the world. Currently, the combined company employs ov er 100,000 people across the globe (Cooper, 2003). Merging the two airlines resulted in the formation of a strong union of a well organised customer service than before. The union undertook to oversee systematic arrangement in cases of bankruptcy hence giving workers more power to negotiate and maintain their wages. It lifted off workers suffering during the past years. Upon completion of the merger, it provided better benefits and compensation for the combined airlines employees. In addition, employees are significantly benefiting from being part of a leading international company with stronger financial foundation and competitive platform for greater long-term career opportunities as well as more employment opportunities. However, the merging of the two companies had some negative effects as well. Their combination composes them to behave like a monopoly because of operating in the similar industry. Monopoly meant less competition and higher prices. Setting high flight prices due to lack of competition hurts the travellers and other service consumers. This lead to frequent lawsuits from the opposing bodies, this is disruptive to the thriving business (Cooper, 2003). The merge of American Airlines and US Airways implied a combination of similar operational functions together with over capability. Most of the US Airways employees faced frictions by the internal competition and had to be retrenched hence the company ended up losing some of their skilled workers. Labor difficulties continued because of the bankruptcy which resulted in frozen pension and reduced benefits. For instance, the Labour Law still follows up in determination of fair terms. Examine the organizational structure that has resulted from the merger or acquisition. Analyze the major differences between the resulting company and the original two (2) organizations. New Organisational Structure Consequence to the Merger The organisational structure consequence to the merger involved positional shift amongst the personell. Doug Parker, the pre-existing head of the US Airways became the C.E.O of the merged company while Tom Horton became the outgoing. He became the chairman of the new companys board of directors. Derek DeCross maintained his role as the vice president of the global sales for the new American Airlines. President Scott Kirby held the same role at the new American Airlines. The rest of the organisational structure was a blend of positions that retained the most competitive human resource (Cooper, 2003). Difference between the resulting Company and the Original Ones There is a remarkable difference between the original company and the merger. This is attributed to the consideration that American Airlines was known to be traditional in terms of business promotion and conduct while US Airways was known to be less formal and transparent. The resulting new American Airline is a strong blend of their difference in culture, formality and transparency. American Airlines served 277 destinations while US Airways served 193 destinations. The new American Airline combined this number to form several more destinations connecting the world. The resulting company, therefore, formed a more stable structure that comprised of a bigger operational group than the original companies (Ulijn, 2013). Initially the original companies operated domestically but their alliance gives them power to function internationally paving way to global dominance. Determine whether or not the human resources management practices of the company were modified to reflect the outcome of the merger or acquisition. If no changes were necessary, speculate on the reasons why they were not. Provide a rationale for your response. Modification of Human Resource Management Practices The human resource management practices of the company made adjustments to reflect on the outcome because this area proved a big challenge prior to the merger. Profit-sharing and performance incentives, direct compensation, retirement options and benefits packages were all upgraded and updated. They consolidated much of their training at the primary hub and at the new headquarters so as to provide the most comprehensive hands-on skills necessary for the processes of the merger. This went down to drive supervisors and managers at both airlines tasked with ensuring that employees focused on their jobs during the drawn-out airline merger. The initial combined leadership team was made to consist of US airways employees, but the split became more levelled in the managing and supervisory ranks (Cooper, 2003). The Human Resource department was rearranged such that it had US Airways on the communications side. More so, the US Airways had already snagged Chris Kelly Singley away from Delta; the best communication corporation group, to be the managing director of communication, very vital tool in the merger procedure. Chris was planned to technically work for US Airways where she would play a very important role in joining the American Airlines US Airways communications departments to support the new airline. From Kelly, the team was broken down to serve the airport functions geographically where the hub Vice Presidents would remain unchanged on the organisational chart. Regional carriers leaders were fetched from American while one cargo boss took over the similar position. Hector Adler was tasked to run the in-flight group at the new American Airline just as was the case back at US Airways. It was arranged that from US Airways, David Seymour would lead the maintenance group while someone fr om American Airlines would take care of base maintenance (Cooper, 2003). The rest of the unmentioned human resource team such as engineering and finance remained in their positions so as to enhance their responsibilities in the combined company. Rational for modification Modification of the human management practices had to be factored in to provide an organised platform for workflow and a better transition for the employees who had to leave work. The combined company needed the best practices for human resource functions as they are a fragile component of merger and acquisitions. Strategic decisions had to be centralised to one company. These practices were changed to reflect on the promotion fairness during working under a complex merger. Without the modifications in the practices, employees benefits for the combined company would be difficult to handle. References American Airlines News. (n.d.). Retrieved February 13, 2015, from http://hub.aa.com/en/nr/pressrelease/american-airlines-us-airways-merger Cooper, C. (2003). Advances in mergers and acquisitions. Vol. 2. Amsterdam: Elsevier Science. Ulijn, J. (2010). Strategic Alliances, Mergers and Acquistions: The influence of cluture on successful cooperation. Cheltenham, UK [u.a.: Elgar. Weston, J. (2001). Mergers and Acquistions. Blacklick :: McGraw-Hill Companies, The.

Can Computer Think? :: essays research papers

Can Computers Think? The Case For and Against Artificial Intelligence Artificial intelligence has been the subject of many bad "80's" movies and countless science fiction novels. But what happens when we seriously consider the question of computers that think. Is it possible for computers to have complex thoughts, and even emotions, like homo sapien? This paper will seek to answer that question and also look at what attempts are being made to make artificial intelligence (hereafter called AI) a reality. Before we can investigate whether or not computers can think, it is necessary to establish what exactly thinking is. Examining the three main theories is sort of like examining three religions. None offers enough support so as to effectively eliminate the possibility of the others being true. The three main theories are: 1. Thought doesn't exist; enough said. 2. Thought does exist, but is contained wholly in the brain. In other words, the actual material of the brain is cap able of what we identify as thought. 3. Thought is the result of some sort of mystical phenomena involving the soul and a whole slew of other unprovable ideas. Since neither reader nor writer is a scientist, for all intents and purposes, we will say only that thought is what we (as homo sapien) experience. So what are we to consider intelligence? The most compelling argument is that intelligence is the ability to adapt to an environment. Desktop computers can, say, go to a specific WWW address. But, if the address were changed, it wouldn't know how to go about finding the new one (or even that it should). So intelligence is the ability to perform a task taking into consideration the circumstances of completing the task. So now that we have all of that out of that way, can computers think? The issue is contested as hotly among scientists as the advantages of Superman over Batman is among pre-pubescent boys. On the one hand are the scientists who say, as philosopher John Searle does, that â€Å"Programs are all syntax and no semantics.† (Discover, 106) Put another way, a computer can actually achieve thought because it â€Å"merely follows rules that tell it how to shift symbols without ever understanding the meaning of those symbols.† (Discover, 106) On the other side of the debate are the advocates of pandemonium, explained by Robert Wright in Time thus: â€Å"[O]ur brain subconsciously generates competing theories about the world, and only the ‘winning' theory becomes part of consciousness.

Deschooling Society Essay

Introduction: This term paper is about De schooling Society which is a book written by Ivan Illich. The book is more than a critique – it contains suggestions for changes to learning in society and individual lifetimes. Particularly striking is his call for the use of advanced technology to support â€Å"learning webs†. In this paper, we will first see what is meant by de schooling society and then what is the need for de schooling and is it necessary to disestablish a school. After seeing the reasons for de schooling, we look at the phenomenology of school which gives the phenomenon of school. Then we will see the rituals in the current school system and discuss about them. Later we look at the model for evaluating institutions and then propose the idea of learning webs and thus conclude with the requirements of a good education system and what an educated person should be able to do. What is De schooling Society? The process of receiving education or training especially done at School is called Schooling. The main goal of Schooling is to learn things from what is taught by teachers in the school. Here learning, education, training, guidance or discipline is derived from experiences and through lessons taught by teachers. De schooling society is a critical discourse on education as practised in modern economics. It is replacing school with natural learning. It specifically refers to that period of adjustment experienced by children removed from school settings. It is the initial stage where one gets rid of schoolish thoughts about learning and life in general. If one is given time to adjust to the freedom of no school routines and not being told what to do every minute of the day, then they have lots of time to relax, try new things, to discover their interests and rediscover the joy of learning. This is the idea of de schooling. It is like a child recovering from school damage. â€Å"SCHOOL ING IS THE SYSTEM DESIGNED FOR TEACHING†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. DE SCHOOLING IS THE SYSTEM DESIGNED FOR LEARNING.† Why we must disestablish a school (why de schooling) Ivan Illich feels that there is a need to disestablish school by giving examples of ineffectual nature of institutionalized education. According to Illich â€Å"Universal education through schooling is not feasible. It would be no more feasible if it were attempted by means of alternative institutions built on the style of present schools. Neither new attitudes of teachers toward their pupils nor proliferation of educational hardware or software, nor the attempt to expand teacher’s responsibility will deliver universal education. The current search for new educational funnels must be reversed into the search for their institutional inverse: educational webs which heighten the opportunity for each one to transform each moment of his living into one of learning, sharing and caring. â€Å" The present school system believes that more the treatment, better are results and leads to success. It confuses teaching with learning, grade advancement with education, a diploma with competence and fluency with ability to say something new. Medical treatment is mistaken for health care, social work for the improvement of community life, police protection for safety, military poise for national security, the rat race for productive work. Illich shows that institutionalization of values leads inevitably to physical pollution, social polarization, and psychological impotence and most of the research now going on further increases in the institutionalization of values and we must define conditions which would permit precisely the contrary to happen. He believes that care only makes students dependent on more treatment and renders them increasingly incapable of organising their own lives around their own experiences and resources within their own communities. With the present system poor children lack most of the educational opportunities which are casually available to middleclass people. To solve this they started a program â€Å"Title One† which is the most expensive compensatory program ever attempted anywhere in education, yet no significant improvement can be detected in learning of these disadvantaged children. Special curricula, separate classes or longer hours only constitute more discrimination of poor. Thus this system has failed to improve the education of the poor. Advantages of rich over poor range from conversation and books in the home to vacation travel and a different sense of oneself and apply for the child who enjoys them both in and out of school. So a poor student will generally fall behind so long as he depends on the school for advancement or learning. Poor needs funds to enable them to learn. Neither in North America nor in Latin America do the poor get equality from obligatory schools but in both the places, the mere existence of school discourages and disables the poor from taking control of their own learning. All over the world, school has an anti educational effect on society: school is recognized as the institution which specializes in education. The failures of school are taken by most people as proof that education is very costly, very complex, always mysterious and almost impossible task. Education disadvantage cannot be cured by relying on education within school. Neither learning nor justice is promoted by schooling because educators insist on packaging instruction with certification. Learning and assignment of social rules are melted into schooling. The major illusion on which the school system rests is that most learning is the result of teaching. Teaching only contributes to certain kinds of learning under certain circumstances. But most people acquire most of their knowledge outside school. Most learning happens casually, and even most intentional learning is not the result of programmed instruction. For example, normal children learn their first language (mother tongue) casually, although faster if their parents pay attention to them. But the fact that a great deal of learning even now seems to happen casually and as a by-product of some other activity defined as work or leisure does not mean that planned learning does not benefit from planned instruction and that both do not stand in need of improvement. Illich illustrates the idea of learning with a practical example. â€Å"In 1956 there arose a need to teach Spanish quickly to several hundred teachers, social workers, and ministers from the New York Archdiocese so that they could communicate with Puerto Ricans. Gerry Morris announced over a Spanish radio station that he needed native speakers from Harlem. Next day some two hundred teen-agers lined up in front of his office, and he selected four dozen of them-many of them school dropouts. He trained them in the use of the U.S. Foreign Service Institute (FSI) Spanish manual, designed for use by linguists with graduate training, and within a week his teachers were on their own-each in charge of four New Yorkers who wanted to speak the language. Within six months the mission was accomplished. Cardinal Spellman could claim that he had 127 parishes in which at least three staff members could communicate in Spanish. No school program could have matched these results.† Further experiments conducted by Angel Quintero in Puerto Rico suggest that many young teen-agers, if given proper incentives, programs, and access to tools, are better than most school teachers at introducing their peers to the scientific exploration of plants, stars, and matter, and to the discovery of how and why a motor or a radio functions. Opportunities for skill-learning can be vastly multiplied if we open the market. Schools are even less efficient in the arrangement of the circumstances which encourage the openended, exploratory use of acquired skills. The main reason for this is that school is obligatory and becomes schooling for schooling’s sake. Most skills can be acquired by drills, because skill implies the mastery of definable and predictable behaviour. Education is the exploratory and creative use of skills, however, cannot rely on drills. It relies on the relationship between partners , on the critical intent of all those who use memories creatively, on the surprise of unexpected question which opens new doors. It is now generally accepted that the physical environment will soon be destroyed by biochemical pollution unless we reverse the current trends in the production of physical goods which is possible by de schooling. Instead of equalizing chances, the school system has monopolized their distribution. Equal educational opportunity is indeed both a desirable and a feasible goal, but to equate this with obligatory schooling is to confuse salvation with the church. A de schooled society implies a new approach to incidental or informal education. Thus he says that not only education but society as a whole needs de schooling. Phenomenology of School In order to make the schooling process better and to search for alternative methods in education, we must start with an agreement on what do we mean by â€Å"school†. We need to have clear idea on what a â€Å"school† is and what is the difference between â€Å"teaching† and â€Å"learning†. We can do this by listing the functions that are performed by modern school systems, such as custodial care, selection, indoctrination, and learning. We could make client analysis and verify which of these functions render a service or a disservice to teachers, employers, children, parents, or the professions. We could survey history of western culture and information gathered by anthropology to get an idea of schooling. And we could recall the statements made by many people before and discover which of these the modern school system most closely approaches. But any of these approaches would oblige us to start with certain assumptions about a relationship between school and education. Hence we begin with phenomenology of public school. We can define the school as the age-specific, teacher-related process requiring full-time attendance at an obligatory curriculum. Age: School groups people according to age. This grouping rests on three unquestioned premises. Children belong in school. Children learn in school. Children can be taught only in school. Illich thinks that these unexamined premises deserve serious questioning. If there were no age-specific and obligatory learning institutions, childhood would go out of production. The disestablishment of school could also end the present discrimination against infants, adults, and the old in favour of children throughout their adolescence and youth. Institutional wisdom tells us that children need school. Institutional wisdom tells us that children learn in school. But this institutional wisdom is itself a product of schools because common sense tells us that only children can be taught in school. Teachers and Pupils: Here children are pupils. School is an institution built on the axiom that learning is the result of teaching. And institutional wisdom continues to accept this axiom, despite overwhelming evidence to contrary. Illich says that most of the learning is without teachers. Most tragically, the majority of men are taught their lessons by schools, even though they never go to school. Everyone learns how to live outside school. We learn to speak, to think, to love, to feel, to play, to curse, to politick, and to work without interference from a teacher. Even orphans, idiots, and schoolteachers’ sons learn most of what they learn outside the educational process planned for them. Half of the people in our world never set foot in school. They have no contact with the teachers, and they are deprived of the privilege of becoming dropouts. Yet they learn quite effectively the message which school teaches. Pupils have never credited teachers for most of their learning. Schools create jobs for schoolteachers, no matter what their pupils learn from them. Full-Time Attendance: The institutional wisdom of schools tells parents, pupils, and educators that the teacher, if he is to teach, must exercise his authority in a sacred precinct. This is true even for teachers whose pupils spend most of their school time in a classroom without walls. School, by its very nature, tends to make a total claim on the time and energies of its participants. This, in turn, makes the teacher into custodian, preacher, and therapist. In each of these three roles the teacher bases his authority on a different claim. The teacher as custodian sets the stage for the acquisition of some skill. Without illusions of producing any profound learning, he drills his pupils in some basic routines. The teacher as moralist substitutes for parents, god, or the state. He instructs the pupil about what is right and what is wrong, not only in school but also in society at large. The teacher as therapist feels authorized to enter into the personal life of his pupil in order to help him grow as a person. Defining children as full-time pupils permits the teacher to exercise a kind of power over their persons. A pupil who obtains assistance on an exam is told that he is an outlaw, morally corrupt, and personally worthless. Classroom attendance removes children from everyday world of western culture and plunges them into an environment far more primitive, magical, and deadly serious. The attendance rule makes it possible for the schoolroom to serve as a magic womb, from which the child is delivered periodically at the end of the day and end of the year until he is finally expelled into adult. Ritualization of progress: Illich sees education as being about consumption of packages where the distributor delivers the packages designed by technocrats to the consumer. Here teacher is the distributor and pupils are the consumers. Thus in schools, children are taught to be consumers. Illich’s criticism of school is a criticism of the consumerist mentality of modern societies; a model which the developed nations are trying to force on developing nations. In this view a country is developed according to indices of how many hospitals and schools it has. In terms of school Illich criticises the system which offers a packaged education and awards credentials for the successful consumption of the packages. The packages are continually being re-written and adjusted but the problems they are supposed to address remain same. This is much more than simply a racket to produce more textbooks and exam syllabuses; this is a commercial activity mirroring the marketing processes of the industry. Children are the obligatory recipients of these marketing efforts. As the teacher is the custodian of rituals of society so schools as institutions are the places for the promotion of myths of society. Illich is especially concerned with this in developing nations where he sees a wrong direction being taken as these countries adopt the consumerist model of the west/north. Education is the means by which these societies get sucked into the consumerist way of doing things. More schooling leads to rising expectations but schooling will not lift the poor out of poverty; rather it will deprive them of their self-respect. Most basic schools operate according to the notion that â€Å"knowledge is a valuable commodity which under certain circumstances may be forced into the consumer†. Schools are addicted to the notion that it is possible to manipulate other people for their own good. For Illich, schools offer something other than learning. He sees them as institutions which by requiring full-time compulsory attendance in ritualised programmes based around awarding credentials to those who can consume educational packages and endure it for the longest. It is thus training in â€Å"disciplined consumption†. Institutional Spectrum: In this chapter Illich proposes a model for evaluating institutions. He contrasts convivial institutions (which mean friendly, lively and enjoyable institution) at one end of a spectrum (left side) with manipulative ones at the other (right side) to show that there are institutions which fall between the extremes and to illustrate how historical institutions can change colour as they shift from facilitating activity to organizing production. In line with the theme which occurs throughout the book that his criticism of schooling is more to the point than some traditional Marxist challenges to contemporary society Illich points out that many on the left support institutions on the right of his scale i.e. manipulative ones. Of all â€Å"false utilities,† school is the most insidious. Highway systems produce only a demand for cars. Schools create a demand for the entire set of modern institutions which crowd the right end of the spectrum. A man who questioned the need for high-ways would be written off as a romantic; the man who questions the need for school is immediately attacked as either heartless or imperialist. Just as highways create the impression that their present level of cost per year is necessary if people are to move, so schools are presumed essential for attaining the competence required by a society which uses modern technology. Schools are based upon the hypothesis that learning is the result of teaching. Irrational Consistencies: He argues that educational researchers and thinkers are more conservative than in other disciplines. He argues that without a new orientation for research and a new understanding of the educational style of an emerging counter-culture the educational revolution will not happen. Our present educational institutions are at the service of the teacher’s goals. The relational structures we need are those which will enable each man to define himself by learning and by contributing to the learning of others. A key theme in this work is the criticism of the idea that learning is the result of teaching. In Illich’s analysis education is a funnel for educational packages. Illich opposes this with an idea of ‘learning webs’ which are about â€Å"the autonomous assembly of resources under the personal control of each learner†. In this chapter Illich criticises some of the ideologies of schooling which he sees in apparently radical initiatives such as the free-school movement and the lifelong learning movement. He points out that free-schools still ultimately support the idea of schooling as the way of inducing children into society. Illich sees manipulative institutions as being those where â€Å"some men may set, specify, and evaluate the personal goals of others†. It is very clear that Illich means it when he calls for the de schooling of society. Learning Webs: Illich’s practical vision for learning in a de-schooled society is built around what he calls ‘learning webs’. Illich envisages 3 types of learning exchange; between a skills teacher and a student, between people themselves engaging in critical discourse, and between a master and a student. Illich also considers the de-institutionalisation of resources. He proposes that resources already available in society be made available for learning. For example a shop could allow interested people to attempt repairs on broken office equipment as a learning exercise. He suggests that such a network of educational resources could be financed either directly by community expenditure. Whether he is talking about skills exchanges or educational resources Illich envisages non hierarchical networks. The professionals in Illich’s vision are the facilitators of these exchanges not the distributors of approved knowledge packages in the school system. He envisages two types of professional educators; those who operate the resource centres and facilitate skills exchanges and those who guide others in how to use these systems and networks. The ‘masters’ we have mentioned above he does not see as professional educators but rather as people so accomplished in their own disciplines that they have a natural right to teach it. Illich’s programme is practical and thought out. He proposes new institutions of a convivial nature to replace the manipulative ones of the current schooling system. In these new institutions there is no discontinuity between ‘school’ and the world; (though this is most definitely not ‘lifelong learning’ which seeks to extend schooling throughout adult life). There is no ritual of induction of the next generation into the myths of society through a class of teacher-preachers. Illich is interested in learning as a human activity carried out for obvious purposes – to gain the benefits that learning the new skill brings. Educational resources are usually labeled according to educators’ curricular goals. Illich propose to do the contrary, to label four different approaches which enable the student to gain access to any educational resource which may help him to define and achieve his own goals: Reference Services to Educational Objects – which facilitate access to things or processes used for formal learning. Some of these things can be reserved for this purpose, stored in libraries, rental agencies, laboratories, and showrooms like museums and theatres; others can be in daily use in factories, airports, or on farms, but made available to students as apprentices or on off hours. Skill Exchanges – which permit persons to list their skills, the conditions under which they are willing to serve as models for others who want to learn these skills, and the addresses at which they can be reached. Peer-Matching – a communications network which permits persons to describe the learning activity in which they wish to engage, in the hope of finding a partner for the inquiry. Reference Services to Educators-at-Large – who can be listed in a directory giving the addresses and self-descriptions of professionals, paraprofessionals, and freelancers, along with conditions of access to their services. Such educators, as we will see, could be chosen by polling or consulting their former clients. Conclusion: Illich argued that the use of technology to create decentralized webs could support the goal of creating a good educational system. A good educational system should have three purposes: It should provide all who want to learn with access to available resources at any time in their lives; Empower all who want to share what they know to find those who want to learn it from them; Furnish all who want to present an issue to the public with the opportunity to make their challenge known. An educated child should be able to: ï‚ · ï‚ · ï‚ · Read, write, and communicate effectively; Think creatively and logically to solve problems; and Set and work toward goals. Bibliography: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deschooling_Society http://ournature.org/~novembre/illich/1970_deschooling.html http://www.natural-learning.net/000154.html http://www.livingjoyfully.ca/unschooling/getting_started/what_is_deschooling.htm http://www.webster.edu/~corbetre/philosophy/education/illich/schooling.html

Seven essays

Seven essays SEVEN A FILM BY DAVID FINCHER STARRING: BRADD PITT AND MORGAN FREEMAN By Ken Balch World of Ideas 390 Prof. George Adams The movie Seven is a depiction of the inevitable fall of mankind through the grizzly murders of John Doe (Kevin Spacey). Doe commits a series of methodical, exacting, and grotesque murders, as portrayed in the Seven Deadly Sins listed in the novel Marques de Sade, works of Milton, Chaucer, and Dante. The Seven Sins consist of Pride, Envy, Greed, Wrath, Sloth, Gluttony, and Lust. These were set out to show mankind what they must avoid to find their way into Heaven. The killer (Doe) cleverly commits each Sin in such a way that it seems; to the older, wiser detective Somerset (Morgan Freeman), that the man is preaching a sermon. Telling each victim to commit an act of attrition for his or her Sin. Later this notion turns out to be true, for in fact the killer is trying to send out a message of how despicable and ugly mankind has become. We are introduced to Mills (Pitt), at the scene of the first crime. He (Pitt) is a young, brash, full of anger and energy detective. He sees the killer as a fucking nut bag, who owns a library card. The symbolism can easily be detected in the vast differences of the two detectives, the older, cautious, almost poetic Somerset (Freeman). Contrasted by the younger, vile, over eager, act before thinking, Mills (Pitt). The two make a match that combines wit with strength, which will lead to the eventual capture of John Doe. Before the surrender of John Doe, we are walked through a gruesome world of seven murders, which follow the Seven Deadly Sins list presented by Milton, Chaucer, and Dante. First, we see an obese man face down in a plate of spaghetti, killed by eating himself to death; Gluttony was found at the scene behind the fridge, w...