Week 4 attention economic tutor date is 06/28/13

CheckPoint
Human Virtues and Character Strengths

Examine one human virtue and the associated character strengths that are important to you, as listed in Ch. 10 of Positive Psychology.
Select someone who you know or is a public figure who you feel encompasses at least one of these virtues.
Discuss why this virtue is important to you. How does the person you selected encompass this virtue and the associated character strengths?
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Post a 200- to 300-word response.
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Think of someone you hold in high regard and look up to as a model for yourself and others.Perhaps a friend, relative, or a person from history or contemporary society comes tomind. Think about this individual?s personal qualities and how you might describe thebasis of your admiration to another person. Make a mental list of 4 or 5 qualities that make thisperson deserving of your respect. Now compare your list to the positive traits discussed inChapter 9. How many of them overlap? Did your list include extraversion, cheerfulness, selfesteem,or optimism? What traits on your list are not in Chapter 9? Did you include any of thefollowing qualities: integrity, courage, honesty, kindness, religious conviction, wisdom, fairness,or modesty? The point here, affirmed by how we think about people we respect, is that adescription of positive human traits would be incomplete without including personal qualitiesCHAPTER OUTLINEDeveloping a Classification of Human VirtuesMeasuring Strengths of CharacterWisdom as a Foundational Strength and VirtueWhat is Wisdom?Theories of WisdomBalance TheoryWisdom as Expert Knowledge in the Conduct of LifeWisdom in Action: The SOC Model of Effective Life ManagementFocus on Theory: Wisdom or Self-control as Master Virtues?Transcendence: Religion and SpiritualityThe Search for MeaningReligion and Spirituality: The Diversity of ViewsDefining Religion and SpiritualityReligion/Spirituality and Well-BeingReligious OrientationIntrinsic and Extrinsic Religious OrientationQuest Religious OrientationAttachment Theory and Relationship to GodStyles of Religious Coping?Explaining Religion versus Explaining Religion Away?Religion and VirtueForgivenessGratitudeFocus on Research: Increasing Well-Being by Counting Your Blessings10Virtue and Strengthsof Character207ISBN 1-256-51557-4Positive Psychology, by Steve R. Baumgardner and Marie K. Crothers. Published by Prentice Hall. Copyright ? 2009 by Pearson Education, Inc.208 Chapter 10 ? Virtue and Strengths of Characterjudged as positive because they are ?good? inmoral and ethical terms. Clearly, we may admirepeople who are outgoing, upbeat, and positiveabout the future. But just as clearly, and perhaps at adeeper level, we also admire individuals who showstrengths of character that reflect virtuous qualities likeintegrity, kindness, and compassion. In short, virtueand character strengths belong on a list of positivehuman traits.The traits reviewed in Chapter 9 were evaluatedas positive because of their benefits to individualwell-being?specifically health, happiness, andemotional well-being. Virtuous behavior may alsoincrease our life satisfaction and make life moremeaningful and healthy. However, virtue is also considereda positive trait independent of any benefit or?pay-off? to the individual. Virtue is positivelyregarded in its own right because of its connection toreligious and secular mores and its value to society.A consideration of virtue and character strengths providesan additional way to think about the meaningof ?positive.? In this chapter, we will first review arecent attempt to provide a comprehensive classificationof character strengths and virtues. Then, we willfocus on two foundational virtues (wisdom andreligion) in more detail by examining how they contributeto well-being and a life well-lived.DEVELOPING A CLASSIFICATIONOF HUMAN VIRTUESFor a considerable time in psychology?s history,virtue was not considered an appropriate constructfor scientific investigation. The study of virtue wasthought to be too easily tainted and biased by themoral beliefs of researchers and the prevailing culturalmores of the day (Tjeltveit, 2003). Many psychologistsbelieved that science should provide onlyobjective facts about how people act. Questionsabout how people should conduct themselves?thatis, whether their actions were good, bad, moral, orimmoral?were left for philosophers and theologiansto decide. However, a renewed interest incharacter strengths has begun to emerge as morepsychologists have come to realize that a completeaccount of human behavior needs to include themoral dimension of people?s lives (Fowers &Tjeltveit, 2003). Recent events from the Enron scandalto the influence-peddling of lobbyist JackAbramoff have reinforced the importance of ethicalbehavior. People?s anger and outrage at these sortsof improprieties stem primarily from moral considerations.In short, people lead moral lives in the senseof evaluating themselves and others according tomoral criteria.Describing the features of a life well-lived is acentral theme of positive psychology. Because themeaning of a good person and a good life are intimatelyconnected to virtue, positive psychology hasgiven virtue particular prominence. This is mostapparent in a recent collaborative research project(the Values in Action Project, Peterson & Seligman,2004) that had the lofty goal of developing a classificationof character strengths and virtues that wouldparallel the Diagnostic and Statistical Manualof Mental Disorders (DSM), developed by theAmerican Psychiatric Association (2000). The DSMprovides a classification of mental disorders and anextensive ?language? for describing human psychologicalweaknesses and pathologies. Authors of theValues in Action Project (VIA) hoped to create acomprehensive classification system similar to theDSM, but one that was focused on human strengthsrather than weaknesses. They also hoped to providea language describing positive human qualities thatdefined a healthy person living a good life. Putanother way, the DSM describes aspects of life?below zero? (with ?zero? representing the thresholddividing mental health from emotional illness). Onegoal of the VIA was to describe life ?above zero?(i.e., to identify the traits that define emotionalhealth and strength). This goal is consistent withpositive psychology?s emphasis on restoring balanceto the field, in place of psychology?s historic focuson problematic human behaviors.Developing a classification of characterstrengths is a daunting task. Virtue and characterare obviously complex topics. What, exactly, is ahuman virtue or character strength? Do people havea common understanding of traits that qualify asvirtuous? Getting answers to these questions wasone of the major purposes of the VIA. The VIA,coordinated by Christopher Peterson and MartinSeligman (2004), brought together a group ofresearchers who sought to describe those strengthsof character that were most prominent across historyand culture. Is there a common set of humanqualities universally regarded as positive virtues? Alist of possible ?candidates? was generated by examiningvirtues and strengths described in a variety ofphilosophic, religious, and cultural traditions. Thislist included virtues described in major religionsISBN 1-256-51557-4Positive Psychology, by Steve R. Baumgardner and Marie K. Crothers. Published by Prentice Hall. Copyright ? 2009 by Pearson Education, Inc.Chapter 10 ? Virtue and Strengths of Character 209and philosophies (e.g., Confucianism, Buddhism,Hinduism, Judeo-Christianity, and ancient Greekphilosophy), the works of famous historical figures(e.g., Benjamin Franklin), and in popular culture(e.g., Boy and Girl Scout Guides, Hallmark greetingcards, popular songs, Saturday Evening Post coversby Normal Rockwell).From a long list of candidates, 24 characterstrengths were selected and organized around 6virtues. The 6 virtues?wisdom, courage, humanity,justice, temperance, and transcendence?wereselected because they appear to be universalacross history and across societies. They representmoral virtues as defined by most religions and ethicalphilosophies. Peterson and Seligman regardthese virtues as core defining features of goodcharacter. Each virtue is defined by a set of characterstrengths that represent the ingredients, expressions,and potential means of developing thevirtue. For example, temperance as a virtue refersto people?s strength in avoiding excesses. Theingredients and expressions of temperance wouldinclude self-control, gratitude toward others,humility, prudent decision-making, and the abilityto forgive the transgressions of self and others.Developing this virtue would involve efforts toexert more self-control, become more humble andless self-aggrandizing, and more grateful and forgivingin relationships with others.Character strengths were selected by applyinga set of criteria to the list of strengths identified inthe first phase of the project. A sample of the set ofcriteria used is shown in Table 10.1. To be includedin the final classification, a character strength had tomeet all or nearly all of these criteria.Half of the strengths selected met the entire setof criteria. The other half did not. As Seligman andPeterson note, disagreements can arise about theinclusion of one or another of the strengths, the placementof a given strength under a particular virtue, andwhether some other important strength was omitted.However, taken in total, this classification system?hangs together? as a reasonably coherent first effortat describing what may be universally regarded ashuman strengths and virtues. The final classification ofstrengths and virtues is described in Table 10.2. For acomplete description of the selection criteria, previousclassification models, and literature reviews detailingwhat is known about each character strength, seePeterson and Seligman?s Character Strengths andVirtues: A Handbook and Classification (2004).Wisdom and KnowledgeAs a virtue, wisdom refers to a general intellectualstrength involving the development and use ofknowledge. Wisdom does not necessarily followfrom a formal education or a high IQ score. Wisdomrefers to a more practical intelligence and good judgmentbased on learning life?s lessons?perhapsthrough hardships. A wise person puts things in theproper perspective and avoids the pitfalls of narrowlyfocused and self-interested understandings. Wisdommeans being able to offer good counsel to othersabout how to live and how to understand and dealwith life?s challenges, uncertainties, and choices.CourageCourage is the emotional strength to overcome fearin the face of opposition and adversity. Courage isTABLE 10.1 Criteria for selecting character strengthsRegarded as a valued moral quality in and of itself, whether or not it led to concrete benefits.Contributes to personal fulfillment in the sense of enhancing personal expressiveness, meaningfulness, satisfaction,and happiness.Constitutes a stable individual difference trait for which reliable measures had been previously developed.Be distinctive and not overlap with other strengths.Have an opposite that was clearly negative (e.g., the opposite of courage is cowardice).Enhances rather than diminishes other people when expressed (i.e., the trait must evoke admiration or respect ratherthan envy, inferiority, or lowered self-evaluation).Be the focus of institutional efforts (e.g., education, churches) to promote its development.ISBN 1-256-51557-4Positive Psychology, by Steve R. Baumgardner and Marie K. Crothers. Published by Prentice Hall. Copyright ? 2009 by Pearson Education, Inc.210 Chapter 10 ? Virtue and Strengths of CharacterTABLE 10.2 Classification of virtues and character strengthsI. Wisdom and Knowledge?cognitive strengths that entail the acquisition and use of knowledge.Defining Strengths1. Creativity?thinking of novel and productive ways to do things2. Curiosity?taking an interest in all ongoing experience3. Open-mindedness?thinking things through and from all sides4. Love of learning?mastering new skills, topics, and bodies of knowledge5. Perspective?being able to provide wise counsel to othersII. Courage?emotional strengths that involve exercise of will in the face of opposition, external or internal.Defining Strengths6. Authenticity?speaking the truth and presenting yourself in a genuine way7. Bravery?not shrinking from threat, challenge, difficulty, or pain8. Persistence?finishing what one starts despite obstacles along the way9. Zest?approaching life with excitement and energyIII. Humanity?interpersonal strengths that involve ?tending and befriending? others.Defining Strengths10. Kindness?doing favors and good deeds for others11. Love?valuing close relations with others12. Social intelligence?being aware of the motives and feelings of self and othersIV. Justice?civic strengths that underlie healthy community life.Defining Strengths13. Fairness?treating all people the same according to notions of fairness and justice14. Leadership?organizing group activities and seeing that they happen15. Teamwork?working well as member of a group or teamV. Temperance?strengths that protect against excess.Defining Strengths16. Forgiveness?forgiving those who have done wrong17. Modesty?letting one?s accomplishments speak for themselves18. Prudence?being careful about one?s choices; not saying or doing things that might be later regretted19. Self-regulation?regulating what one feels and doesVI. Transcendence?strengths that forge connections to the larger universe and providing meaning.Defining Strengths20. Appreciation of beauty and excellence?noticing and appreciating beauty, excellence, and/or skilled performancein all domains of life21. Gratitude?being aware of and thankful for good things that happen22. Hope?expecting the best and working to achieve it23. Humor?liking to laugh and tease; bringing smiles to other people24. Religiousness/Spirituality?having coherent beliefs about the higher purposes and meaning of lifeSource: Seligman, M. E. P., Steen, T. A., Park, N., & Peterson, C. (2005). Positive psychology progress: Empirical validation ofinterventions. American Psychologist, 60, 410?421. Copyright American Psychological Association. Adapted and reprinted withpermission.ISBN 1-256-51557-4Positive Psychology, by Steve R. Baumgardner and Marie K. Crothers. Published by Prentice Hall. Copyright ? 2009 by Pearson Education, Inc.Chapter 10 ? Virtue and Strengths of Character 211exemplified in confronting and accepting one?s owndeath; dealing with a debilitating illness or disease;honestly confronting one?s own limitations, weaknesses,or bad habits; and standing up for one?sconvictions, despite the possibility of negative consequences(e.g., chastisement by others).HumanityHumanity refers to our capacity for sympathy, empathy,compassion, and love in our relationships withothers. Humanity is the basis for nurturing and caringrelationships focused on another?s needs ratherthan one?s own needs and interests. Humanity isexpressed in our willingness to help others in need,to be kind, to be generous, and to respect the feelingsand values of others.JusticeJustice is an essential ingredient in healthy societies,communities, and relationships with others. Thisvirtue is shown when people are fair mindedand even-handed rather than being biased by selfinterest.Justice also includes strengths that contributeto community well-being, such as workingcooperatively with others and taking the initiative todevelop and follow through on goals and projects.TemperanceTemperance is the strength to control excesses andrestrain impulses that may harm the self and others. Itexpresses the idea of ?willpower? in the face of temptations.Temptations and the benefits of restraintmight be focused on eating; drinking; smoking;expressing of anger, hatred, or arrogance toward others;or excessive self-promotion at the expense ofothers. Chapter 8 described some of the psychologicalprocesses involved in self-control and selfdirectedactions that are relevant to temperance.Temperance is a kind of ongoing self-awareness andself-discipline that affirms the ?look before you leap?dictum of everyday wisdom. Temperance alsoinvolves the ability to let go and forgive the indiscretionsand hurtful actions of others.TranscendenceTo transcend means to go beyond or rise above theordinary and the everyday. Transcendent thinkinglifts us out of the usual concrete preoccupations ofdaily life and out of an individualized sense of self byproviding a broader view of the world and the universe.Transcendence puts things in perspective andkeeps us from worrying about or striving for thingsthat don?t really matter. Religion and spirituality arethe clearest examples of transcendence because theyinvolve a belief in a higher power and a greater purposefor life. Whatever their various forms, transcendentbeliefs connect the individual to a moreencompassing understanding and a deeper meaningof life. The character strength of religiousness clearlyfits the virtue of transcendence.The other strengths listed under transcendencemay not seem to fit so well. Peterson and Seligman(2004) believe that the common theme here is providingopportunities to appreciate and develop a biggerpicture of the world that may provide a more enduringand satisfying understanding and purpose for life.?Appreciation of beauty is a strength that connectssomeone to excellence. Gratitude connects someonedirectly to goodness. Hope connects someone directlyto the dreamed-of future? (Peterson & Seligman, 2004,p. 519). Humor, they admit, seems a bit of stretch asan expression of transcendence. However, as theypoint out, humor keeps us from taking our selves andour virtues too seriously. It reminds us to ?lighten up.?Laughter holds nothing sacred and can cut througheverything from self-righteousness to passionate conflictsover important issues. On a daily basis, Jay Lenoand David Letterman create humor out of pain andtragedy, from political scandals to the war in Iraq.Perhaps humor serves a protective function by connectingus directly to life?s absurdities and getting usto laugh at them.Measuring Strengths of CharacterA major goal of the VIA project was the developmentof measures for each of the 24 strengths ofcharacter. Based on existing knowledge and assessmentinstruments for each of the strengths, a 240-item self-report questionnaire was created. Tenitems were used to assess each character strength.For example, forgiveness is measured by items suchas, ?I always allow others to leave their mistakes inthe past and make a fresh start.? Kindness is measuredby items like, ?I?m never too busy to help afriend.? Curiosity is measured through items such as,?I am never bored.? Items like, ?I always keep mypromises? measure integrity (Peterson & Seligman,2004, pp. 629?630). Respondents rate their degreeof endorsement on a scale from 1 (very unlike me)ISBN 1-256-51557-4Positive Psychology, by Steve R. Baumgardner and Marie K. Crothers. Published by Prentice Hall. Copyright ? 2009 by Pearson Education, Inc.212 Chapter 10 ? Virtue and Strengths of Characterto 5 (very much like me). Rating summaries producea profile of an individual?s relative standing on eachof the 24 character strengths. The entire VIA inventoryof strengths takes 30 to 40 minutes to complete.You can take the VIA inventory of strengths onlineat www.authentichappiness.sas.upenn.edu/. Thereare several questionnaires on this site. You want toselect the VIA Signature Strengths Questionnaire,which gives you a character strength profile andidentifies your top five strengths, called ?signature?strengths. You will need to log on to the site, providesome basic information, and create a passwordto take the test and have your responses scored.Although still a work in progress, the VIAStrengths Inventory has shown good internal consistencyand test?retest reliability. Individual self-ratingshave been validated against ratings by informedobservers. A youth version of the VIA inventory hasalso been developed and tested (see Peterson &Seligman, 2004). The inventory has been taken byover 350,000 people of all ages and backgrounds, representing50 countries and all 50 U.S. states (Peterson,2006; Peterson & Seligman, 2004; Seligman, Steen,Park, & Peterson, 2005).Analysis of character-strength profiles in relationto respondents? backgrounds revealed several interestingpatterns. People from around the world show substantialagreement regarding the strengths rated as?most like me.? The most commonly endorsed characterstrengths in 50 countries were fairness, kindness,authenticity, gratitude, and open-mindedness. Theleast frequently endorsed strengths were prudence,self-regulation, and modesty. The correlations ofstrength rankings across nations were typically in the0.80 range. Despite widely different cultures, religions,and ethnic backgrounds, people seem to sharea common understanding of character strengths andvirtues. Within the United States, the same pattern ofrankings was apparent with the exception of religiousness,which was stronger in the southern states.Interestingly, there was less agreement inrankings between U.S. teenagers and U.S. adultsthan among adults from different countries.American adolescents rated hope, teamwork, andzest as ?most like me,? while American adults gavehigher endorsements to authenticity, appreciation ofbeauty, leadership, and open-mindedness.Character strengths related to relationships(love) and positive emotions (e.g., zest, hope, andgratitude) were more strongly related to measures oflife satisfaction than were more intellectual-cognitivestrengths (e.g., curiosity and love of learning).?Strengths of the heart,? as Peterson and Seligmancall them (experiences such as kindness, love, andgratitude), contribute the most to our individualhappiness.Profiles of character strength also fit with thematching hypothesis discussed in Chapter 7. Peoplewere asked to think about personal experiencesinvolving their most rewarding and fulfilling jobsand hobbies, their ?truest? love, and their bestfriends. The experiences they chose as the ?mostsatisfying (they) had ever had? were those thatmatched their character strengths. For example,people strong in kindness enjoyed working as mentorsfor others. Those with curiosity as strength valuedand enjoyed romantic partners who wereadventuresome risk-takers.Finally, factor analysis revealed a five-factordimensional structure of the 24 character strengthsthat was similar (but not identical) to the originalorganization of strengths around the six virtues.The five factors were identified as strengths relatingto restraint (e.g., humility, prudence, andmercy), intelligence (e.g., creativity and curiosity),relationships (e.g., love and kindness), emotions(e.g., bravery, hope, and self-regulation), andreligion (e.g., spirituality and gratitude). Petersonand Seligman acknowledge the tentative nature ofthe organization of character strengths around thesix core virtues. Subsequent research will undoubtedlyrefine the virtue categories and the strengthsthat define them. For example, a recent studyexamining the factor structure of 42 positive charactertraits, including those from the VIA project,found only a partial overlap with the VIA six-virtuemodel (Haslam, Bain, & Neal, 2004). Results suggestedthat categories of self-control, love, wisdom,drive, and vivacity may better capture how peoplethink about and organize character strengths.Whatever the final organization, the VIA projecthas provided a useful starting point, by proposinga detailed list of character strengths and strong evidencefor their universality across time and culture.In the remainder of this chapter, we willreview research and theory related to the virtues ofwisdom and transcendence. Chapter 11 is focusedon the virtue of love. Literature relevant to otherstrengths has been discussed in previous chapters asdescribed below. Peterson and Seligman (2004) providea comprehensive review of research and theoryrelating to each character strength.ISBN 1-256-51557-4Positive Psychology, by Steve R. Baumgardner and Marie K. Crothers. Published by Prentice Hall. Copyright ? 2009 by Pearson Education, Inc.Chapter 10 ? Virtue and Strengths of Character 213WISDOM AS A FOUNDATIONALSTRENGTH AND VIRTUEFrom the ancient Greeks to the present, wisdom andliving a good life have been intimately connected.Despite cultural differences in the specifics (e.g.,Yang, 2001), wisdom is most generally understood tomean a philosophic understanding of what matters inlife and the practical knowledge of how to conduct alife that matters (Baltes & Freund, 2003b; Peterson &Seligman, 2004; Robinson, 1990). Theoretical wisdomand practical wisdom are thus wedded together andassumed to produce a happy and satisfying life. Thehappiness connected to wisdom has more to do withthe eudaimonic than with the hedonic perspective(see Chapter 4). Wisdom involves identifying and pursuingthe deeper and enduring purposes of life,beyond individual happiness. Wisdom is the ability tobalance your needs and happiness with those of others(Sternberg, 1998). Wisdom serves the commonrather than the purely individual good by finding abalance between the two. Many psychologists havecome to regard wisdom as a foundation for a life welllivedand one of humans? most important strengths(e.g., Baltes & Freund, 2003a, 2003b; Baltes, Gluck, &Kunzman, 2002; Csikszentmihalyi & Rathunde, 1990;Sternberg, 1990, 1998a).What Is Wisdom?One way to explore the meaning of wisdom is toexamine people?s everyday understanding. Each ofus has some implicit idea about wisdom, drawnfrom cultural characterizations that are embodied inexemplars of ?wise? people. Think of famous people,past and present, who exemplify your understandingof a wise person. Who comes to mind? Thetop 15 answers given by college students are shownin Table 10.3. Interestingly, along with well-knownwise people like Gandhi, Confucius, Jesus Christ,Martin Luther King, and Socrates, ?wisdom nominees?also included Oprah Winfrey and Ann Landers(Paulus, Wehr, Harms, & Strasser, 2002).This study also investigated whether peopledistinguish among wisdom, intelligence, creativity,and sheer fame by having different groups of participantsmake nominations for each of the specifiedcharacteristics. Table 10.3 shows that the nominationsfor each of the categories include a blend ofhistoric and contemporary figures. Evidence of thedifferences people perceive among wise, intelligent,creative, and just famous people was shown by thelow degree of overlap in the various nominee lists.Only one person, Oprah Winfrey, was on both thewisdom list and the intelligence list. There was nooverlap between nominees for creativity and wisdom,a 27% overlap between creative and intelligentpeople, and a 7% overlap between wisdom and creativity.People do not use pure fame or notoriety as abasis for nominating wise, creative, or intelligentpeople. Sheer fame nominees never exceeded 20%of overlap with the other three categories.To get at the specific factors that define folkwisdom, researchers have asked people to identifyStrength Topic ChapterCuriosity Five Factor Model (FFM) Chapter 9Openness to experienceLove of Learning Approach/avoidance goals Chapter 7Intrinsic/extrinsic motivationPersistence Commitment Chapter 7Persistence and self-esteem Chapter 9Integrity Autonomy Chapters 2; 7Self-determination theoryPrudence FFM?conscientiousness Chapter 9Self-regulation Self-control and regulation Chapter 8Hope Optimism/hope Chapter 9ISBN 1-256-51557-4Positive Psychology, by Steve R. Baumgardner and Marie K. Crothers. Published by Prentice Hall. Copyright ? 2009 by Pearson Education, Inc.214 Chapter 10 ? Virtue and Strengths of CharacterTABLE 10.3 Nominations for intelligent, creative, wise, and famous peopleIntelligent Creative Wise Sheer Fame1. Einstein Da Vinci Gandhi Princess Diana2. Bill Clinton Picasso Confucius Elvis Presley3. Da Vinci Michelangelo Jesus Christ Michael Jordan4. Prime Minister Mozart M. L. King Muhammad Ali5. Gates Spielberg Socrates Michael Jackson6. Shakespeare Shakespeare Mother Theresa Bill Clinton7. Hawking Michael Jackson Solomon Madonna8. Oprah Beethoven Buddha Wayne Gretzky9. Newton Walt Disney Pope Bill Gates10. Mozart Robin Williams Oprah Winfrey John F. Kennedy11. Edison Salvador Dali Winston Churchill Nelson Mandela12. Suzuki Madonna Dalai Lama Marilyn Monroe13. Madonna Sigmund Freud Ann Landers Adolph Hitler14. Gorbachev Alexander Graham Bell Nelson Mandela George Bush, Sr.15. Trudeau Margaret Atwood Queen Elizabeth Jesus ChristSource: Paulus, D. L., Wehr, P., Harms, P. D., & Strasser, D. H. (2002). Use of exemplars to revealimplicit types of intelligence. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 28, 1051?1062. CopyrightAmerican Psychological Association. Reprinted by permission.wise behaviors and have analyzed the characteristicsof wisdom described in cultural, historical, andphilosophical writings. For example, Sternberg(1985) asked a group of college professors andlay-persons to list characteristics they associatedwith wise people. Researchers then took the top40 wisdom characteristics and asked college studentsto sort them into piles, according to ?whichbehaviors [were] likely to be found together in aperson.? Based on students? sortings, Sternbergidentified six groupings of attributes that characterizea wise person:1. Reasoning ability: Uncommon ability to lookat a problem and solve it through good logicalreasoning ability, by applying knowledge toparticular problems, by integrating informationand theories in new ways, and by possessing ahuge store of knowledge.2. Sagacity: A keen understanding of humannature, thoughtfulness, fairness, good listeningabilities, knowledge of self, and placing valueon the advice and knowledge of others.3. Learning from ideas and the environment:Places value on ideas, is perceptive, and learnsfrom others? mistakes.4. Judgment: Has good, sensible judgment at alltimes, takes a long-term rather than a short-termview, and thinks before acting and speaking.5. Expeditious use of information: Learnsand retains information from experience (bothmistakes and successes), willingness to changeone?s mind based on new experience.6. Perspicacity: Demonstrates perceptiveness,intuition, ability to see through things, readbetween the lines; and discern the truth andthe right thing to do.In his analysis of wisdom in philosophical writings,Baltes (1993) identified seven propertiesdescribing the nature of wisdom (taken from Baltes &Staudinger, 2000, Appendix A, p. 135).ISBN 1-256-51557-4Positive Psychology, by Steve R. Baumgardner and Marie K. Crothers. Published by Prentice Hall. Copyright ? 2009 by Pearson Education, Inc.Chapter 10 ? Virtue and Strengths of Character 2151. ?Wisdom addresses important and difficultquestions and strategies about the conduct andmeaning of life.?2. ?Wisdom includes knowledge about the limitsof knowledge and the uncertainties of theworld.?3. ?Wisdom represents a truly superior level ofknowledge, judgment, and advice.?4. ?Wisdom constitutes knowledge with extraordinaryscope, depth, measure, and balance.?5. ?Wisdom involves a perfect synergy of mindand character, that is, an orchestration ofknowledge and virtues.?6. ?Wisdom represents knowledge used for thegood or well-being of oneself and that ofothers.?7. ?Wisdom is easily recognized when manifested,although difficult to achieve and specify.?Wisdom, then, is not the same thing as technicalknowledge, ?book learning,? fame, or intelligenceas measured by an IQ test. Having lots ofeducation, being a ?smart? person, or being anexpert in a given area (like computer technologyor finance) does not by itself qualify a personas wise. Many people are clever, intelligent, orexperts in their field, but far fewer are wise.Wisdom embodies a particular kind of knowledge,intelligence, and judgment focused on the conductof a virtuous life. Wise people have learned life?smost important lessons. The broad scope of theirunderstanding includes the uncertainties of life?that is, knowing what cannot be definitivelyknown. Two prominent theories attempt to capturewisdom?s essential elements: Sternberg?s balancetheory and the work of Paul Baltes on wisdom asexpertise in the conduct of life (often referred to asthe Berlin wisdom model).Theories of WisdomBALANCE THEORY Sternberg?s balance theorydescribes the practical intelligence necessary to takewise action when confronting difficult and complexlife situations (Sternberg, 1990, 1998a). Wisdom isbased on tacit knowledge that is built up over timeas people learn how to pursue and achieve valuedgoals succe

sam capstone project 1a np_excel2013_cs_p1a

New Perspectives Excel 2013Tutorials 1-4: SAM Capstone Project 1aEclipse Solar SolutionsPROJECT DESCRIPTIONAndres Gonzales runs Eclipse Solar Solutions, a New Mexico-based company that manufactures solar panels and other solar products. Andres has created a workbook that tracks employee data and examines various growth scenarios. He has asked you to format the workbook so the worksheets have an appealing and consistent look. He then wants you to complete the scenario planning worksheet using formulas and charts so he can better decide on a future business strategy.
GETTING STARTED? Download the following file from the SAM website:o NP_Excel2013_CS_P1a_FirstLastName_1.xlsx? Open the file you just downloaded and save it with the name:o NP_Excel2013_CS_P1a_FirstLastName_2.xlsxÿo Hint: If you do not see the .xlsx file extension in the Save file dialog box, do not type it. Excel will add the file extension for you automatically.? With the file NP_Excel2013_CS_P1a_FirstLastName_2.xlsx still open, ensure that your first and last name is displayed in cell B6 of the Documentation sheet. If cell B6 does not display your name, delete the file and download a new copy from the SAM website.ÿ
PROJECT STEPS1. Change the theme of the workbook to Office.2. On the Employees worksheet, change the width of columns B through D to be 17.00 characters.3. Change the height of row 2 to 30 pts.4. Merge and center the contents of the range B2:J2.5. Format the merged ranges B2:J2 and L2:M2 as described below:a. Apply the Title cell style.
b. Change to font color to Orange, Accent 2, Darker 50% (6th column, 6th row in the Theme Colors palette).
c. Apply bold formatting.
d. Change the cell fill color to Gold, Accent 4, Lighter 40% (8th column, 4th row in the Theme Colors palette).
6. Format the ranges B3:J3 and L3:M3 as described below:
a. Center cell contents
b. Change the font to Copperplate Gothic Bold.
c. Change the font size to 10 pt.
d. Change to font color to Orange, Accent 2, Darker 50% (6th column, 6th row in the Theme Colors palette).
e. Apply a Top and Bottom cell border.
f. Apply text wrapping to cell H3.
7. Select range B4:C13 and right-indent the cell contents by two levels.
8. Italicize the range B14:B17 and the range B19:B20.
9. Enter a formula in cell J4 using the IF function to calculate the bonus for Sonya Martinez. Sonya receives a bonus if her Performance rating (in cell H4) is greater than or equal to 4.
a. If this condition is true, the employee receives a bonus of $10,000. (Hint: The if_true value should be 10000)ÿ
b. If this condition is false, the employee does not qualify for a bonus, and the bonus amount is 0. (Hint: The if_false value should be ?0?)
c. Copy the formula created in cell J4 to the range J5:J13.
10. Format range I4:J17 with the Accounting Number format with no decimal places.ÿ
11. Enter a formula in cell F4 to calculate employee tenure. Tenure is calculated by subtracting the start date in E4 from the Data Updated date in cell C19. Because you want to show tenure in years, you will then divide that result by 365. You will need to use an absolute reference to the Data Updated date in cell C19. Copy the formula from cell F4 to cells F5:F13.
12. For range F4:F17, update the number format by decreasing the number of decimal places displayed to 1.
13. Enter a formula in cell I14 using the SUM function to total the salaries in the range I4:I13.
14. Enter a formula in cell I15 using the AVERAGE function to calculate the average salary at Eclipse based on the range I4:I13.
15. Enter a formula in cell I16 using the MAX function to calculate the highest, or maximum, salary at Eclipse based on the range I4:I13.
16. Enter a formula in cell I17 using the MIN function to calculate the lowest, or minimum, salary at Eclipse based on the range I4:I13.
17. Add Gradient Fill Red Data Bars to range I4:I13.
18. Enter a formula in cell M6 using the VLOOKUP function to find an exact match for the bonus amount for employee Joyce Sommers. (Hint: Use ?Sommers? as the lookup_value, the range B3:J13 as the table_array, 9 as the col_index_num argument, and False as the range_lookup argument.)ÿ
19. In cell C20, enter a formula using the TODAY function that displays the current date.
20. Hide column G.
21. On the Planning worksheet, modify the width of column B to best fit cell contents.
22. Use the Format Painter to copy the format only from range B3:F3 to the range B11:F11. Then use the Format Painter to copy the format only from the range B9:F9 to the range B16:F16.
23. Enter a formula in cell C9 using the PMT function to calculate the monthly payment on a loan using the assumptions listed in the Status Quo scenario. In the PMT formula, use C6 as the monthly interest rate, C8 as the total number of payments, and C4 as the loan amount. Enter this formula in cell C9, then copy the formula to the range D9:E9.ÿ
24. Select cell F9 and use Goal Seek Analysis to determine the loan amount in the Aggressive Expansion scenario based on a monthly payment of $10,000. In the Goal Seek calculations, set the value of cell F9 to -10,000 and select cell F4 (the Total Loan Amount) as the changing cell. Keep the outcome of the Goal Seek Analysis as the value of cell F4.ÿ
25. Enter a formula in cell C16 using the SUM function to calculate total revenues for the current year (or the range C12:C15). Copy the formula from cell C16 to the range D16:F16.
26. Insert Line Sparklines in range G12:G15 based on data in range C12:F15. Change the line color to Orange, Accent 2, Darker 50% (6th column and 6th row of the Theme Colors palette) and line weight to 1.5 pt.
27. Select range B12:C15. Use the Quick Analysis tool to insert a Pie chart segmenting revenues by product. Reposition the chart so the upper-left corner is in cell H2.ÿ
28. Make the following changes to the chart:
a. Change the chart style to Style 5.
b. Change the chart title to Current Year Revenues and change the font color to Dark Red (1st column, 1st row of the Standard Colors palette).
c. Add Inside End data labels to the chart.
d. Move the chart legend to the Right position.
29. Select the Actual and Projected Revenues chart located in the range H17:M30. Make the following changes to the chart:
a. Change the major units of the vertical axis to 500000.
b. Type Scenario as the horizontal axis title and Revenues as the vertical axis title.
c. Remove the data labels from the graph.
d. Move the chart legend to the Bottom position.
30. Set the print area as the range B1:G16. Change the worksheet orientation to Landscape.
31. Delete the Customers worksheet.
NOTE:I am using Office 2007. So, following steps could not be completed:
5d, 17, 26, 29c and 29d.

Hmgt 372 assignment | ifsm 305

Assignment 3 contains 2 parts: a paper (12 points) and a video report (8 points)
For this assignment, students are required to Write a Paper (part 1)-12 points
and Create a Video Report (part 2- a separate dropbox below)on an interview with a healthcare professional.ÿ
Select a topic from the list below [must be a different topic from the one you chose for Assignment #l] or clear a topic with the Instructor beforehand.
The purpose of this assignment is to raise the awareness of a specific employee in a specific health care setting regarding a potentially critical aspect of his/her responsibilities. Target the right issue, the correct employee. ÿIn other words, the employee should be either a head nurse or senior administrator thus your discussion should be as you are interviewing specific employees on their specific responsibilities and the specific consequences of failing in those responsibilities.
For example, The False Credentials paper issue would be for HR offices while the Critical Event might be for operating room technicians. Patient Treatment Consent might be a good paper for a Palliative Care Organization or an Oncology Clinic discharge planning staff. The paper must discuss accurate information for the setting with full consideration of the relevant state and federal laws with citations that are accessible by the instructor. The paper can ask questions and use graphics to deliver certain points of information but the graphics must be an addendum to the paper and not in the body of the paper. The paper should include in its conclusion ?For more information about this issue?? and include a reference or references in your Conclusion.

The Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA)
Elder abuse Mandatory Reporting
Child abuse Mandatory Reporting
HIV Mandatory Reporting
The False Claims Act- civil penalties
TB Mandatory Reporting
Proper treatment of environmental hazards.
Medical error-Critical Incident
False credentials of health care personnel
Medical Charting violation
Violation of HIPAA- confidentiality
Failure to treat patients in a timely manner
Patient Choice and treatment consent

WRITE THE PAPER.
Outline: Must use the headings from the outline below in your paper and the paper must be in a narrative form not outline or bullet format. A penalty will be deducted from paper if underlined headings not used in your paper.ÿ
1. Purpose of Paper, the topic chosen, applicable Federal and/or state laws
State the purpose of the paper and discuss why you chose the particular topic, and provide the official title of the applicable federal and/or state law, the statute and section number. ÿMust be either a federal/state statute and you must cite both, if applicable. Thus if there is both a federal and state law that covers the subject you selected, then you must cite both the applicable federal and state law. Summarize in this paragraph the relevant language from the law that applies to your issue. ÿIf there is a relevant health care organizational policy that you can find, then please add that also. Do not assume that there is just a federal and or state law. In most cases, there are both federal and state laws. You must use the laws cited in this section throughout the rest of the paper.
2. The specifically targeted employee group and specific health services setting
Pick a specific health care setting and specific employee within the health care setting and then discuss, in detail, why you picked the specific employee and the specific health care setting. ÿExamples of health care settings are the ER, the OR, nursing facilities, etc. Specific employee group may include doctors, nurses, program administrators, etc. Please be mindful to tailor your assignment to a specific employee and specific health care setting. Do not discuss your topic in general terms.ÿ

The information gathered from the interview with healthcare should be incorporated into the written paper in a paraphrased or quoted format (no more than 15% of the text for all citations in total).

3. Discussion of Three Critical Aspects of Employee?s responsibilitiesÿ
You are trying to improve the quality of care in your health care organization. Thus, in this discussion area, you are using the information you gathered from interviewing a specific employee about their specific responsibilities and the specific consequences of failing in those three responsibilities. You must discuss at least three (3) specific employee critical responsibilities. You must also specifically relate the applicable federal and/or state law as to the specific consequences [you may also add relevant hospital policies as well if found] for failing in each of those responsibilities and provide citations to support the consequences. Be sure and include in the discussion the relevant law and hospital policies. Describe how each of them is relevant to the employees? critical responsibilities. The outline below is to help you organize your thoughts but you must use a narrative format to discuss each area. ÿBe sure and use my underlined headings below.
a) ÿÿÿÿDiscussion of Employee Specific Critical Responsibility 1

Discussion of specific consequence(s) ÿfor failing in this responsibility
Discussion of a specific statutory requirement
A specific real-life legal case illustrating the consequences for violating the specific responsibility.

b) ÿÿÿÿDiscussion of Employee Specific Critical Responsibility 2

Discussion of specific consequence(s) ÿfor failing in this responsibility
Discussion of a specific statutory requirement
A specific real-life legal case illustrating the consequences for violating the specific responsibility.

c) ÿÿÿÿDiscussion of Employee Specific Critical Responsibility 3

Discussion of specific consequence(s) ÿfor failing in this responsibility
Discussion of a specific statutory requirement
A specific real-life legal case illustrating the consequences for violating the specific responsibility.

4. Conclusion ? Provide a summary of employee?s critical responsibilities, consequences and the impact failing in those critical responsibilities may have on the quality of health care. Also, add a statement ?For more information about this issue?? and include a reference or references for further information on the issue you discussed.
5. References
End of headings
The paper must be:

Late penalties: See Course Syllabus.
Be sure and use the headings found in the outline in your paper. The paper must be in a narrative format, not outline or bullets.ÿ
Double spaced and be 4-5 pages in 12 point New Times Roman font.
Include a cover page [not counted as a page] which should have student name and title of your paper [Provide a short name for the legal responsibility the specific health care organization has for one type of patient right in a specific setting ]ÿ
A the end of the paper a list of references in APA Format [not counted as a page] ÿÿÿ
Be prepared using word-processing software and saved with a .doc, .docx, or .rtf extension. No pdf.
Be uploaded to your Assignments Folder by p.m. EST on the date.ÿ
The paper, along with the video, is to be posted in Assignment #3 drop box.
Must cite to the source for all your facts in the text of your paper in APA format.

Example of an in-text citation:
(Ernst, & Young, 2000 p14).
Example of the source cited on Reference page in APA format:
References
Healthcare Financial Management Association (U.S.), Ernst, & Young. (2000). Health care system reform: A provider perspective: survey results. Westchester, Ill.: Healthcare Financial Management Association.
Paper will be 4-5 pages in length not counting cover page and reference pages.

Tvsf essay revised | English homework help

ÿPlease write an essay of approximately 3 pages (you can write a little more or a little less), typed and double-spaced, in response to one of the topics below.ÿ In your essay, it is important that you explain the issues you are writing about clearly and in your own words.ÿ When applicable, use technical terms of analysis as far as we have covered them (continuity editing, wide shot, representation, ideology, etc.) and explain them.ÿ Make sure to critically evaluate the reasons that are given in support of the views expressed in the sources, as well as the reasons that lead you to your own position. ÿPlease do not plagiarize.It is sufficient to indicate the number of the topic you are responding to.ÿ You do not need to restate the whole topic in your work.
Topics:
1.In Genre, Bordwell and Thompson suggest that there are various factors that may play a role in defining a film genre and that there are various conventional elements according to which genres can be analyzed. What are these defining factors and conventional elements? ÿIn your view, which of these factors and elements are characteristic of the Science Fiction genre and how do they typically find expression in Science Fiction film?ÿ Pick either A Trip to the Moon or Metropolis.ÿ Explore to what extent the film of your choice shares or lacks elements commonly associated with Science Fiction film.ÿ Also consider other genres to which the film may belong.ÿ Discuss whether the film is first and foremost a Science Fiction film or whether it is best categorized as exhibiting some elements of Science Fiction but belonging to a different genre.
2.Suvin suggests in Estrangement and Cognition that Science Fiction is a genre of cognitive estrangement. Explain in detail what he means.ÿ In your account, make sure to address how, according to Suvin, Science Fiction shares similarities with and is different from myth, fairy tale, and fantasy.ÿ Pick either A Trip to the Moon or Metropolis and explore by what means and to what extent the film of your choice achieves cognitive estrangement, and whether and to what extent it does indeed differ from fantasy.ÿ Discuss whether cognitive estrangement is the decisive factor that makes a film such as A Trip to the Moon or Metropolis a Science Fiction film and whether there are other factors that are equally or even more important in qualifying the film as a Science Fiction film.
3.The film medium is often credited with being capable of visual realism. What is visual realism?ÿ In your opinion, what are the most important aspects of film that allow for the achievement of visual realism?ÿ Focus on the first 45 minutes of Metropolis and discuss whether and to what extent the movie can be called a visually realist movie.ÿ In your analysis, make sure to give a detailed analysis of the features of the movie that may promote a tendency towards visual realism and those that work against visual realism, including but not limited to shot and frame selection, editing, mise-en-scŠne, etc.ÿ (Note: ÿThis topic is not about other forms of realism, such as social realism.ÿ It is not about whether the film realistically represents social realities, such a class divisions.)
4.In Science Fiction Film – The Critical Context, Telotte explains various avenues to the critical analysis and evaluation of Science Fiction film, such as humanist, ideological, psychoanalytical, and feminist approaches. Of these four approaches, pick the one that you think is most rewarding for an analysis of Metropolis (disregard the postmodernist approach for now, we will look at it in some detail later in the course to understand it properly).ÿ In your essay, explain the approach of your choice, use it to subject Metropolis to critical analysis and evaluation, and report your results.ÿ ÿ
Scrolling down, below the instructions, you can find the rubric for this assignment.ÿ Don?t be intimidated by the scope of the rubric.ÿ Writing is an inherently complex process.ÿ The rubric reflects a lot of things that are required for good essay writing that you are likely to intuitively get right.ÿ The rubric will help you check whether you have taken care of these aspects.
Some remarks about the rubric?s criteria:
1. Structure
Make sure to divide the body of your essay into an introduction, paragraphs, and a conclusion.ÿ Your introduction should tell the reader what your essay is about and what conclusion you will arrive at.ÿ Stating the conclusion briefly in the introduction allows your reader to pay attention to important points in your essay that lead up to your conclusion.ÿ It is best to first write your essay, see where your work leads you, and write your introduction after you have completed your essay.
2. Main sources mentioned in body of text
Make sure to mention the title(s) of the works that you are focusing on in your introduction, as well as the names of the authors/directors of these works.
3. Accuracy of references to texts (readings and films)
Make sure not to misquote a text or to claim something wrong about a text.ÿ For example, it would be inaccurate to say that Metropolis is about an alien longing to go home (that would be E.T.)
4. Demonstrated understanding of texts (readings and films) and the illustration of abstract points with concrete examples
In your essay, make sure to explain things.ÿ Whenever you make an abstract point, try to illustrate it with a concrete example.ÿ For example, if you claim that Fredersen is a powerful character in Metropolis, make sure to support it by providing an example, such as that he can hire and fire people at will.ÿ Keep in mind that quotations are not explanations.ÿ Whenever you use a technical term, (such as ‘mise-en-scŠne,’ or ‘montage’) explain it to the reader.
5. Quality of assessment of discussed material
Make sure to explain the reasons for why you find something plausible or convincing, or why not.ÿ For example, if you come to the conclusion that Bordwell and Thompson’s account of genres is not convincing, then you have to explain your reasons for your assessment to the reader.
6. Quality of integration of concepts from various sources
Your assignment asks you to make connections between various sources that we have been covering, in particular films and readings.ÿ Make sure to explicitly state these connection and to evaluate them.ÿ For example, if you arrive at the conclusion that the relation between A Trip to the Moon and Suvin’s definition of science fiction is problematic, what does that mean?ÿ If A Trip to the Moon does not line up with Suvin’s definition of science fiction, does that indicate that there is a problem with Suvin’s theory, or A Trip to the Moon‘s status as science fiction film, or both?
7. List of references
Make sure to provide a complete list of accurate references after the body of your essay.ÿ The complete source for each of our readings is given at the top of the reading guides.ÿ All ideas that you include in your essay that are not originally yours need to be referenced, even if you do not include word-for-word quotations by their authors in your essay.ÿ You may choose any of the accepted forms of referencing, such as MLA, APA, Chicago/Turabian, etc., but you have to use the style you decide on consistently.ÿ Films you refer to in your essay need to be included in your list of references by listing the title, country of production, and year of original release.
8. Spelling
Check your essay for spelling errors.
9. Grammar
Make sure to check your grammar.
10. Independence of articulation
Make sure to express things in your own words and to not deliver a string of quotations, citations from Canvas pages, and lecture notes.ÿ

Econ 306 – homework 4 assignment

The following two problems will require a lot of calculations in. It will generate many pages of output.Here is how your should organize it. The first pages should contain your answers to all the questions,along with showing any key algebraic equations or explanations you need to use along the way. After that, include a printout of the output from the regressions you executed in support of your answers.Highlight any numbers in this output that you used in the first section. (You are encouraged to save paper here, you may print this section with a small font, double-sided and/or with 2-up format.) Last, include a copy of the DO file that contains the commands you asked STATA to execute. Be sure you organize these in a way that will be clear to the reader.
1) (50 points total) In this exercise we will examine whether a teacher?s physical attractiveness has any impact on student course evaluations. The dataset to use is called teachingratings, and a description of the variables is available as well. You can access these through the course website. Use an à=.05 for hypothesis testing.We?ll first examine whether our control variables seem to have any predictive power for ratings.
a.) (10 points) We?ll start with some basic dummy variable regressions to test for differences between groups:1) Regress course_eval on minority. Report the coefficients and p-values. Do minority instructors have significantly different course evaluations compared to nonminorities?
2) Regress course_eval on female. Report the coefficients and p-values. Do females have significantly different course evaluations from males?3) Run a final regression to test whether the effect of being a minority changes depending on whether the person is female. Report the coefficients and p-values. Can you reject the hypothesis of no effect?b.) (10 points) Now regress course_eval on beauty, age, age^2 [you?ll need to create this], nnenglish, female, minority, onecredit. Are any variables not statistically significant? Which?
This is Model 1.Use Model 1 to answer the following:1) Calculate an F-test for the hypothesis that age and age^2 jointly have no effect on course_eval. You can execute this test however you prefer.2) Calculate an F-test that female and minority have an equal impact on course_eval. You can execute this test however you prefer.c.) (15 points) Modify Model 1 so that you can determine whether beauty has a different effect for women than for men. This is Model 2. Report the coefficient and p-value for the interaction variable. Can you reject the hypothesis of no effect of the interaction?
Use Model 2 to answer the following:1) Professor Smith is a man. He isn?t very handsome. He undergoes plastic surgery, which raises his beauty from one standard deviation below the mean to one standard deviation above. What is the predicted change in his course evaluations?[Note: you will have to figure out how to calculate a standard deviation in STATA. It isn?t hard. Also, note that the average beauty level in the data has been scaled to equal zero.]2) Repeat part 1) for Professor Jones, who is a woman.d.) (15 points) Go back to Model 1. Add two variables to Model 1 that will allow you to determine whether age has a different effect for women than for men on course evaluations. [Note: since age appears twice in Model 1, you will need to create the interaction for both age and age^2.] This is Model 3. Report the coefficients and p-values for the interaction terms. Can you reject the hypothesis of no effect of the interactions?
Use Model 3 results to answer the following:1) Professor Thomas, a man, begins his teaching career at age 32. Assuming his beauty measure (and all other variables) is unchanged over his career, what is the predicted change in his course_eval score when he retires at age 65?2) Repeat 1) for Professor Gomez, who is a woman.
2.) (50 points total) Estimating Cost and Production Functionsa) (no points) Download and input the data.
I have recently downloaded the NBER-CES manufacturing industry database and posted it to ANGEL. I have opted to do this in Excel format. Before you put it into STATA, you should delete all of the data except the stuff you need. What do you need? The rows you need are the ones corresponding to the industry SIC code that has been randomly assigned to you. There is a spreadsheet titled (random SIC codes) which will have your industry. [If curious, you can use Google to determine precisely which industry your SIC code is for. (2011, for example, is Meat Packing Plants.)]Additionally, the five variable columns needed for this assignment are
vadd= value added (i.e. output)pay= total payrollinvest=total capital expenditureenergy=total energy expenditureyear= year of observation
To enter the data into STATA: Copy the data from Excel, including the variable names. In STATA, click on Window-> Data editor. Go to the upper left-hand cell, right click and paste.
Tell STATA to use the first line as variable names.b) (25 points total) Estimate the cost functionsThe total cost function models the total cost of production as a function of output. We need first a measure of total cost, which we will take as the sum of labor, capital and and energy costs. This isn?t perfect but, we will measure this as the sum of the three input costs that we have:
gen tc=pay+invest+energyWe will model total cost as a cubic function of output. Thus we must generate the squared and cubed elements of the polynomial:gen vadd_2=vadd^2gen vadd_3=vadd^3and then estimate the cost function:reg tc vadd vadd_2 vadd_3, noc
Note the use of the noc (no constant) option. This forces the intercept term to equal zero.1) (5 points) What is the economic interpretation of suppressing the constant term (forcing it equal zero)? Why does that make sense to do here?2) (5 points) Write out the cost function as (Use the numbers from the regression you just ran.)3) (5 points) Now use your regression of TC to create predicted values of the average cost function and the marginal cost function.Here?s how you do this in STATA. For average cost this is straightforward.predict tcpred (This predicts the total cost for each level of vadd)gen ac=tcpred/vaddFor marginal cost you need to issue the commandgen mc=a+2*b*vadd+3*c*vadd^2(Where a, b, and c are beta values you have taken from your TC function of part 2.)[Note: Why is this the marginal cost? Calculus. We have taken the derivative of tc withrespect to vadd, and the above formula is the result.]Report these equations.Now we are going to graph the marginal and average cost functions.sort vadd scatter ac mc vadd, connect(l l)The sort command lines the data up in the right order so that the graphs look nice. The scatter command will put ac and mc on the vertical axis and output (vadd) on the horizontal, just like in the textbooks, and the connect option will connect the dots (the l l stands for connecting with unbroken lines.)4) (10 points) Print out this graph. Does it look like the textbook depiction of average and marginal cost? Why or why not? That is, did your slope coefficients you estimated above conform to expectations?
c) (25 points total) Estimate the production functionIn this section you will estimate a Cobb-Douglas production function, where the log of output isa function of the log of inputs (and time).Generate log versions of the output variable and the three inputs. For example:gen lvadd=log(vadd) and do the same for pay, invest and material.Run a regression of lvadd on the three log input variables, and year. Test the hypotheses that:(5 points each)
1) the individual coefficient on each of the inputs =0. Rejection implies that the input is productive.2) the individual coefficient on each of the inputs =1. Rejection in the direction <1 implies diminishing marginal productivity of the input.3) the sum of the input coefficients=1. You may either do this with a by-hand F-test or use STATA?s test command (which is itself an F-test), and it?s even possible to do this with a t-test, if you really want to try. Rejection implies either increasing or decreasing returns to scale.4) the coefficient of year =0. (Rejection (in the positive direction) implies technical progress is being made).5) Broadly do you think this production function conforms to the ideas of economic theory?

Connection between reintregrative shaming and restor

W 7 A What is the relationship or connection between reintregrative shaming and restorative justice?This does not require APA formatting but will require citations and references in APA formatting. (Just ONLY 1 paragraph to the above)
W 7 D Qÿÿÿ Discuss the impact of state intervention of offenders and how the labeling theory is applied of the Lilly Text.
ÿÿÿ ÿÿÿÿ ÿÿW 7 D Q 2 Is labeling theory even a theory? Defend your answer. ÿÿÿ ÿÿÿ ÿÿÿ
(Just ONLY 1 paragraph to the above) S Jw 7 #1 According to Lilly,(2011) Labeling theory’s second major proposition is that state intervention through the justice system causes stable or career criminality. It’s first response according to Lilly,(2011) had no effects making the perspective irrelevant as a theory of criminal behavior.ÿ What I take from reading is that a lot of the labeling theory is based on a bias.ÿ Someone thinking that certain factors make it more likely that someone will commit crime even after serving time. But as the reading goes on it talks about how state intervention can be a criminogenic risk factor- something that contributes the continuing or criminal behavior.ÿ I believe that any risk factor can lead to a life of crime but also how someone actually handles their choices of which road they will take.
(Just only a shot response to the above)
T AW 7 D 1Labeling theory?s second major proposition in the criminal justice system is state intervention (Lilly, Cullen, and Ball, 2011, pg. 149). As many critics have found that often criminal delinquency starts for people far before they have a criminal history and are place in the criminal justice system, but rather it starts from where an individual grows up and their surroundings. It is said that the state intervention really has no effect on individuals at all, because no matter how the state intervenes or what they do, criminals are more so influenced by social forces than the state itself (Lilly, Cullen, and Ball, 2011, pg. 149). This basically means that labeling theory placed by state intervention has no way to change whether an individual becomes a criminal or not, it only is a reaction to criminal involvement. Labeling theory can really only work in cases where an individual has something to lose because of the label, if it is merely just a slap on the wrist and has no effect on their daily lives, then most likely that state intervention has no real outcome. Overall, I think that labeling theory controlled by the state, does not always have a real benefit. It does not stop an individual from becoming a criminal and it only stops the criminal in cases where they actually have something to lose by commiting the crime. If the criminal feels they have nothing to lose by participating in a certain crime, than labeling theory will not work. ÿ(Just only a shot response to the above) S Jw 7 #2
Labeling Theory as all theories go are opinions.ÿ Someone’s thoughts on why or how something affects things in life. Are theories tested yes and so are facts but it’s the result of a fact that makes it a fact.ÿ Theories try to explain why a person acts a certain way or what effects the reasons why people choose to live a life of crime or a crime free life.ÿ Labeling theory is trying to find out whether a label makes a person more apt to become a criminal if labeled a criminal or if they will not become one based on that label.
(Just only a shot response to the above) T AW 7 D Q 2I think it is very difficult to say whether labeling theory is a theory or not. Some people might argue that it is merely an observation. Though, isn?t that the idea of the word theory anyways? Every theory is basically an observation that experts made and experimented on to either prove itself or not. I think we have to look at the facts of the labeling theory, it was repeatedly discussed how that by putting a label on an individual it may influence them on whether to keep committing crimes or not. This theory was tested many times and continuously it was shown that by labeling an individual as a criminal the likelihood of their recidivism was much higher than individuals with no label placed on them (Lilly, Cullen, and Ball, 2011, pgs. 150-151). Therefore, I believe the facts point to the labeling theory being a theory because experts made an observation, experimented on it, and proved the theory correct.
(Just only a shot response to the above)

7-1 discussion: dispute resolution | Management homework help

ÿ
Evaluate the main dispute resolution processes available to management and labor. Do you believe the grievance process followed by the CBA (Article 7) provided in the resource section is fair and equitable for both labor and management? What types of issues should be agreed upon at the first level supervisor level and which ones do you think need to be elevated? Is the alternative dispute resolution process a viable course of action in most workplace settings? Please explain.
You are welcome to share experiences you may have had at any of your employers. Note: There is no need to identify your employer by name, but do include the type of employer (for example, private-sector transportation industry or public school district).
To complete this assignment, review the Discussion Rubricÿdocument.
ÿARTICLE 7 GRIEVANCE AND ARBITRATION In the event any dispute or controversy should arise between the Employer and the Union as to the application or interpretation of this Agreement, such dispute or controversy shall be processed and disposed of in the following manner: 6 Step 1. Within a five (5) working day period (except as provided in Article 6, of this Agreement), an Employee having a grievance and/or his/her Union representative shall take it up with the Manager of the Faculty House. The Manager of the Faculty House shall give his/her answer to the Employee and/or his/her Union representative within five (5) working days after the presentation of the grievance in Step 1. The Employee has the right to have a Shop Steward, or other Union representative, present at meetings with management to discuss grievances. Step 2. If the grievance is not settled in Step 1, the grievance may, within five (5) working days after the answer in Step 1, be presented in Step 2. When grievances are presented in Step 2, they shall be reduced to writing, signed by the grievant and his/her Union representative, and presented to the Director of Human Resources or his/her designee. The written grievance shall state with reasonable clarity the nature of the grievance, the act or acts complained of and when they occurred, the identity of the Employees who claimed to be aggrieved, the provisions of this Agreement which are claimed to have been violated (except in the case of disciple or discharge), and the remedy which is sought. A grievance so presented in Step 2 shall be answered by the Director of Human Resources in writing within five (5) working days after its presentation. Step 3. 1. If the grievance is not settled in Step 2, the grievance may, within five (5) working days after the answer in Step 2, be presented in Step 3. A grievance shall be presented in this step, in writing, to the Vice President of Employee and Labor Relations or his/her representative. The written grievance shall state with reasonable clarity the nature of the grievance, the act or acts complained of and when they occurred, the identity of the Employee or Employees who claimed to have been violated (except in the case of discipline or discharge), and the remedy which is sought. The Vice President of Employee and Labor ÿ7 Relations or his/her representative shall render a decision in writing within ten (10) working days after the presentation of the grievance in this step. 2. Failure on the part of the Employer to answer a grievance at any step shall not be deemed acquiescence thereto, and the Union may proceed to the next step. 3. Any disposition of grievance from which no appeal is taken within the time limits specified herein shall be deemed resolved and shall not thereafter be considered subject to the grievance and arbitration provisions of this Agreement. 4. The above-mentioned time periods shall apply equally to the Union and the Employer. 5. Mutually satisfactory arrangements may be made to handle grievances during working hours provided that said meetings shall not interfere with the Employer?s required operations and/or with the work of the Shop Steward and/or Employees assigned to duty at the time. 6. In the event any dispute or controversy as to the application and interpretation of this Agreement is not resolved in Steps 1, 2 or 3 of the grievance procedure outlined above, such dispute or controversy may, within thirty (30) days after completion of step 3 of the grievance procedure, be referred to an Arbitrator selected in accordance with the Voluntary Labor Arbitration Rules then prevailing of the American Arbitration Association. The decision of the Arbitrator shall be final and binding upon the parties hereto. 7. The Arbitrator shall have no power to add to, subtract from, or modify in any way any of the terms of this agreement. 8. The cost of such arbitration proceedings shall be borne equally by both parties to this Agreement. Each party shall, however, bear its own legal expenses and those of the witnesses to the proceedingsÿ

Understanding and managing organizational behavior quiz set 1

1) A significant part of a manager?s job in an organization is to use the tools and techniques developed through organizational behavior research to increase organizational
A) complexity.
B) morale.
C) structure.
D) effectiveness.
2) With self-managed teams, the manager?s new role is to
A) interview and select new team members.
B) provide advice and support as a coach.
C) take responsibility for the team.
D) train new recruits for the team.
3) Once the organization has gathered the necessary resources, the ________ stage begins.
A) input
B) machinery
C) conversion
D) output
4) The ethics of an organization are based on all of the following except
A) strategies.
B) moral rules.
C) values.
D) beliefs.
5) Rick Ward, human resources manager for May and Simmons Company, is developing a new benefits package that can be customized to provide care for unmarried life partners and workers caring for aged parents. Such a program would meet the ________ challenge of managing diversity.
A) fairness
B) performance
C) sensitivity
D) flexibility
6) Which of the following is not true of global differences?
A) Americans have an individualistic orientation toward work.
B) In Europe, the average employee receives from four to six weeks paid vacation a year.
C) Level of performance is the main determinant of promotion across the globe.
D) Japanese people have a collectivist orientation toward work.
7) ________ is the process by which organizations cut costs by laying off managers and workers.
A) Downsizing
B) Outsourcing
C) Strategic planning
D) Corporate empowerment
8) It has been estimated that about ________ of the U.S. workforce today consists of part-time employees.
A) 15 percent
B) 40 percent
C) 30 percent
D) 20 percent
9) According to OB research, which of the following will not characterize organizations in the future?
A) Organizations will maintain a large, full-time labor force.
B) Freelancers will be hired when needed.
C) Part-time employees will not be ?true organizational employees.?
D) Core employees will be highly trained and rewarded.
10) Which of the following was not a problem when Standard Textile Company opened its facility in Linyi, China?
A) Defective custom machine parts
B) The heating system
C) The supply of low-cost labor
D) Polluted water
11) Standard Textile Company?s Chinese employees are not always comfortable
A) learning new techniques.
B) performing their jobs well.
C) taking the initiative.
D) All of the above
12) Experience from research on separated identical twins suggests that approximately ________ percent of the variation in people?s personalities can be attributed to genetic factors.
A) 50
B) 35
C) 65
D) 25
13) It is very important for managers to understand that
A) they need to take into account individual differences in personality.
B) they can change a worker?s personality only with the permission of the worker.
C) a worker who complains a lot probably has personality problems.
D) personality does not affect how people perform at their jobs.
14) Which one of the following is not one of the big five traits of personality?
A) Neuroticism
B) Interlocution
C) Extraversion
D) Conscientiousness
15) Individuals with an ________ believe that their own actions and behaviors have an impact on what happens to them and their fate.
A) internal locus of control
B) external locus of control
C) extrasensory personality
D) established self-imageÿ
16) Scales used to measure various personality traits are based on
A) trained professionals rating the actions of observed subjects.
B) individuals answering a series of questions about themselves.
C) procedures that are expensive and time consuming.
D) None of the above
17) A person who can correctly determine who is the most proficient member of a work group from a series of comparisons across members is displaying
A) the ability to see relationships.
B) spatial ability.
C) reasoning ability.
D) deductive ability.
18) Cognitive and physical abilities can degenerate or become impaired because of
A) excessive stress.
B) drug abuse.
C) disease.
D) All of the above
19) A person?s thoughts and feelings about the meaning and nature of work itself are called
A) values.
B) emotions.
C) moods.
D) attitudes.
20) Work values are important for understanding and managing organizational behavior because they
A) change from hour to hour and minute to minute.
B) reveal how people feel when they are performing their jobs.
C) reflect what people are trying to achieve through and at work.
D) enable managers to manipulate their workers.
21) Assuming employees will be motivated by more interesting work assumes that ________ work values are important to employees.
A) intrinsic
B) psychological
C) economic
D) extrinsic
22) Which of the following can a manger or organization do to promote positive moods in the workplace?
A) Promoting social interaction
B) Giving praise when it is deserved
C) Providing attractive, comfortable working conditions
D) All of the above
23) Which of the following is true of trust?
A) Trust is an expression of confidence in another person or group that you will not be put at risk, harmed, or injured by their actions.
B) A lack of trust between employees and managers is often symptomatic of more widespread problems.
C) Trust can enhance cooperation.
D) All of the above
24) The facet model forces managers and researchers to recognize that
A) jobs do not affect employees.
B) jobs affect employees in limited ways.
C) jobs affect employees in multiple ways.
D) None of the above
25) Employers? attempts to develop ?family-friendly? policies and benefits are an effort to
A) reduce insurance costs.
B) reduce governmental regulation.
C) appeal to all employees? motivator needs.
D) address an important job facet for many employees.

From chapter 10 lewis, packard, lewis “management of human service

After you have submitted your assignment here, go to theÿLack of Needed Records forum, post your submission as an attachment, and read some other students’ offerings.
The following case study is taken directly from your Lewis, Packard, and Lewis textbook (p.205). It is reproduced here for your convenience.
Evaluation Emergency
Mario Rinaldi, director of the Developmental Disabilities Training Project, called an emergency meeting of the project staff.
“You’ve all been working really hard on the training manual,” he said. “I hate to put this on you right now, but I’ve got to tell you that I just had word. The feds are sending in their evaluator. He’s going to be here next week, and we’ve got to be ready.”
Amid the groans, Jane Carlin, a staff trainer, spoke up. “What’s the big problem?” she asked. “We’ve been providing a training session every week. We’ve had workshops on developmental disabilities for the teachers, for citizens; we’ve had the TV show, now we’ve got a manual for parents. It seems to me we’re in great shape. So what’s the problem?”
“Well, I was kind of putting this part off,” Rinaldi answered. “They sent along the new evaluation form so we can complete the self-study before the evaluator gets here. That’s the tough part. We’re really going to have to dig to get the information ready.”
“What kind of information do we need? Remember, we did that pretest and posttest with all the people at the workshops. We’ve got a lot of data on the learning effects from the workshop. Of course, it’s not that easy to do with the TV program.”
“That’s the least of our problems, Jane. Remember this is a training project. What they want is information on all participants in any training workshop. They want the ages of the trainees, their sex, their employment, their income–all the demographic stuff. I just didn’t think about all that because the form we used last year didn’t ask for it. You see, we’re using the same kind of evaluation form as continuing ed programs are. It doesn’t make any sense, but I’ll bet we can dig up that information somehow.”
“Wait a minute!” George Steinberg called out. “I worked my tail off on that TV program, and there’s no way in the world I’ll ever be able to even guess who watched it. Does that mean the whole thing didn’t happen? Does that mean I get a grade of zero? I flunk?”
“Now, George, you know it isn’t like that. They just like to have the information so they can put it together with the data from all the other projects they funded. They’ve got to show results, just as we do.”
“That’s fine to say, John, but if they’re going to evaluate us on how many men, women, and children show up at our sessions, we should do the kind of stuff that can lend itself to what they’re looking for. I’m feeling as if my work just isn’t going to make the grade.”
“I’m starting to feel that way, too” Carlin said. “What’s the point of doing one thing if they’re evaluating something else?”
“Wait a minute, everybody,” Rinaldi responded in frustration. “We’re getting way off the track here. These people aren’t here to tell us what we should and should not do. They’re not going to “grade” us on what we did. One of the things they ask about in an open-ended question is the content of the program, the kinds of interventions we did. There’s no problem there. The problem is just in putting together the data they want, the demographic characteristics and all that. Now, I’ve got most of it somewhere. All I need is for somebody to volunteer to help me dig through the files and see what we can find that might relate to some of the questions they’re asking. We’ll be able to get the sex of participants by looking at their names on those address cards we had them fill out. The ages will be hard. We’ll have to guess at that.”
Write a case analysis addressing the following questions. Use the list of questions as a guideline, answering them one at a time for clarity.ÿPlease be thorough when answering the questions. There is no set length for this paper but again, give informed, thoughtful answers.
1. What concepts from your readings and the online lectures are illustrated by this case?2. From the case, what are the outcome objectives and the process objectives for this program?3. What data should the staff have been collecting for this program related to both outcome and process objectives?4. How might the agency have avoided this “emergency” situation?5. How might the funding source have helped avoid the situation?6. How should the staff deal with this immediate situation? For instance, how should they go about estimating the size and composition of the TV audience?7. Why does the funding agency need demographic information?8. Will their demographic estimates be valid, if every agency they funded faces the same “emergency”? Why or why not?9. What impact might invalid information have on the funding source, especially if every agency faces the same “emergency”?10. What lessons does this case study teach you about information managementÿthat you will apply to your own agency settings?

Semester project management assignment i

Read the attached article and answer the following questions 1 & 2:
1.Write a brief note on the criteria?s used to evaluate the performance of Project Manager to which Zaitz, senior project manager with EDS’s Medicaid Management Information Systems Group, does not agree.
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2.Explain the criteria?s recommended by Zaitz, senior project manager with EDS’s Medicaid Management Information Systems Group, to evaluate the performance of Project Manager.
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3.Among the following four projects proposed to you, choose the project that you desire based on payback period method.
ProjectABCD
Cost of the project$250,000$135,000$175,000$225,000
Annual net cash flows$84,000$56,000$68,000$81,000
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4.If the rate of return is 0.15, compute the discount cash flow to determine the NPV of the projects A, whose cost is $125,000 and net cash flows is $35,000, $43,000 and $67,000 for three financial years. .ÿ
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5.Based on the NPV determined in question 4, should the project A be accepted or rejected based on profitability index.
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6.Using the information given in question 4, what will be the NPV of the project if the expected rate of inflation is 3%?ÿ
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An Objective Method for Evaluating Project Managers’ Performanceÿ
A long-time project manager for EDS outlines a sensible way to evaluate project managers’ performance using objective metrics that matter most to the business.
CIO – Project managers are ultimately responsible for making sure projects are completed on time, on budget and with the features and functionality specified by the project’s stakeholders. So one would presume that project managers’ performance would be evaluated based on those same criteria. It sounds obvious, right?ÿ
In fact, it’s not always the case that project managers are evaluated on the basis of whether their projects are completed on time, on budget or with the required functionality.ÿ
At EDS, for example, project managers are reviewed based on subjective criteria, such as their communication skills, passion for achieving business results and business ethics, according to Jed Zaitz, a senior project manager with EDS’s Medicaid Management Information Systems Group. Zaitz says objective, measurable criteria, such as whether a project manager’s projects are completed on time or on budget, are not factored into performance appraisals for project managers at EDS because in many cases those metrics aren’t available.
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But Zaitz wants that to change.ÿ
“Project managers, unlike business analysts, testers or developers, have responsibility for project delivery, and they should be measured on their success or failure. That should at least be factored into the appraisal,” he says. “To ignore objective metrics makes no sense.”ÿ
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Objective Metrics Are Key to Company Success
Zaitz, who earned his PMP (project management professional) certification from the Project Management Institute, believes objective metrics can help improve project managers’ project delivery rates. If, during performance reviews, project managers find out exactly where their performance is falling short, their managers can talk with them about ways to improve their performance.ÿ
“Improvement of one or two percent in a project manager’s performance would add huge numbers to the bottom line of a company,” says Zaitz, who’s worked for EDS for 32 years. “Even a small improvement would have very significant results.”ÿ
Zaitz developed a methodology for evaluating project managers’ performance about nine months ago, while he was managing a team of 15 project managers who completed five to six projects each year. The methodology is based on the traditional definition of a successful project: one that comes in on time, on budget and with few defects.ÿ
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Zaitz’s Performance Review Methodology
Here’s how Zaitz’s performance review process works: Project managers earn 100 points for completing a project. But if the project isn’t completed on time, the project manager gets points docked from his score?say two points for every week the project is late.
Similarly, if the project comes in over budget or is implemented with defects, the project manager loses points?such as a half a point for each defect found within 60 days of the project going live or a half a point for each one percent the project went over budget.ÿ
Project size is also taken into consideration. Zaitz measures the size of each project according to its number of function points.ÿ
Zaitz notes that organizations can subtract more or fewer points from a project manager’s score depending on which elements of project success (e.g. time, budget and quality) they wish to emphasize. For instance, if an organization prizes speed over quality, and if a project manager misses the go-live date, the project manager could be docked five points for each week the project was late instead of two.
Though Zaitz’s methodology is focused on objective metrics, it takes into consideration stretch goals, such as early delivery of projects and technical productivity (getting more done with fewer resources or for less money), and soft skills. For example, if project managers complete their projects ahead of time or under budget, they can earn bonus points (especially if quality is not compromised.)ÿ
EDS hasn’t adopted Zaitz’s methodology, but the senior project manager says one group within the company plans to pilot it. He adds that rolling out the methodology throughout the company, which was recently acquired by HP, will require a significant cultural change. But the reward may be greater than the risk.ÿ
Says Zaitz: “For an organization like EDS, which probably has 1,000 project managers, it’s very important to know its true top performers because if a new project comes up that’s very challenging for a very important customer, you want to pick the right person to work on it.”
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By Meridith Levinson
Tue, September 23, 2008
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