Ciscos Organizational Change

Cisco Background Cisco is an IT enterprise that was founded in 1984 by Leonard Bosack and Sandy Lerner. Bosack and Lerner eventually got married and were the first to develop a multi- protocol router. McJunkin and Reynders (2000) describes the multi-protocol router as â€Å"a specialized microcomputer that sat between two or more networks and allowed them to talk to each other by deciphering, translating, and funneling data between them† (Mcjunkin & Reynders, 2000). The organization was responsible for opening and linking all the computer networks around the world together.This linking of all the computer networks was much like the way telephone networks are linked around the world. The local-area network (LAN) was the first market Cisco competed in and offered quality routers which became the â€Å"traffic cops of cyberspace† (Mcjunkin & Reynders, 2000). Cisco eventually became the leaders in this market with their data networking equipment and by 1997, McJunkin and Re ynders (2000) states â€Å"80% of the large scale routers that powered the Internet were made by Cisco† (Mcjunkin & Reynders, 2000).As the global Internet grew Cisco began to expand its product line, which included a wide range of networking solutions. Website management tools, dial-up and other remote access solutions, Internet appliances, and network management software were all apart of this expansion. In 1990 Cisco market value was an astonishing $222 million and the organization continued to grow into a multinational corporation with over 10,000 employees. Cisco revenues had more than tripled by 1997 and â€Å"revenues had increased over ninety-fold since the IPO, from $69. 8 million in fiscal 1990 to $6. billion in fiscal 1997† (Mcjunkin & Reynders, 2000). Organizational Problem Cisco is now a large IT enterprise with over 300 locations in 90 countries with a framework that makes its operation more efficient and responsive. The structure of Cisco is comprised of â€Å"46 data centers and server rooms supporting 65,00-plus employees† (â€Å"How Cisco IT†, 2009). The traditional structure of Cisco is one that has staffers doing both implementation and operational work. The traditional structure of Cisco was one that caused staffers to drop operational projects to complete deployment.According to Cisco â€Å"with the traditional organizational arrangement, there was much duplication of effort and lack of focus across the organization† (â€Å"How Cisco IT†, 2009). Cisco’s original organizational model (see exhibit 1) was comprised of regional network teams and regional voice teams. These teams were accountable for all aspects of operating and implementing services and their environment. A change in the organization was needed in order for Cisco to attain the levels of efficiency, additional scalability and agility the IT enterprise needed.The main challenge Cisco faced during this change process was the need f or the IT Network and Data Center Service (NDCS) to become more organizationally focused. Within Cisco there is an advanced service called Network Availability Improvement Services (NAIS), which identifies areas within the organization that need change. In order to do this NAIS â€Å"assesses and remediates the people, process, and tools needed to mitigate operational risk and network complexity by running an Operational Risk Management Analysis (ORMA)† (â€Å"How Cisco IT†, 2009).For the issue lack of focus, NAIS began by â€Å"interviewing business and IT leaders and senior engineers, and then gathers technical, process, tools and organizational documents and templates†. An assessment is then developed by NAIS, which outlined an achievable vision and a detailed road map for NDCS to follow (â€Å"How Cisco IT†, 2009). Organizational Change After the ORMA report vice president of NDCS John Manville had to restructure the NDCS department to â€Å"map to i ts own lifecycle business model† in order to solve the problems the department was facing (â€Å"How Cisco IT†, 2009).The new business lifecycle model the NDCS department had to map to was comprised of six phases; Prepare, Plan, Design, Implement, Operate, and Optimize. Manville’s approach to restructuring the NDCS group to improve efficiency and focus was an Action Research Approach. McShane and Steen (2009) define action research as â€Å"a problem-focused change process that combines action oriented and research orientation† (McShane & Steen, 2009). Manville formed a client-consultant relationship with the NAIS department within Cisco, which then determined the readiness for change in NDCS.NAIS then diagnosed the need for change after the department gathered and analyzed sufficient data to show the lack of focus and duplication of effort within NDCS. The NAIS department â€Å"begins the process by interviewing business and IT leaders and senior enginee rs, and then gathers technical, process, tools and organizational documents and templates† (â€Å"How Cisco IT†, 2009). The introduction of the restructuring intervention is an action that was needed to correct the problem NDCS was facing and to build a better organizational structure. Manville introduced this intervention to the department by testing the lifecycle methodology within it.This intervention involved â€Å"moving some resources from the former engineering and operations teams to the new implementations team† (â€Å"How Cisco IT†, 2009). This change was key to the operations team gaining more focus on task and not being distracted by deployments. The implementation of this change was over two years, which means that Manville’s restructuring was incremental. McShane and Steen (2009) define incremental change as when an â€Å"organization fine-tunes the system and takes small steps toward a desired state† (McShane & Steen, 2009).The change to the NDCS department was stabilized and results shows that the change was effective. The maturity of the department improved significantly from 2006 to 2008 (see exhibit 3). The results also showed that before this change was introduced in NDCS there were â€Å"150 client-impacting incidents per quarter† and a â€Å"defective root cause percentage consistently above 40 percent† (â€Å"How Cisco IT†, 2009). After this change was introduced, focus on operation excellence improved with client-impacting incidents reducing to 70 per quarter and defective root cause percentage is consistently below 10 percent (â€Å"How Cisco IT†, 2009).Not only did the maturity of the department improve through this change process but also customer satisfaction (see exhibit 4). Cisco (2009) explains, â€Å"NDCS has achieved customer satisfaction scores of 4. 856, with 5 being the best possible score† (â€Å"How Cisco IT†, 2009). Conclusion Cisco was abl e to improve efficiency, focus and results delivered each quarter by the NDCS department through organizational restructuring and change. Shawn Shafai, an IT manager of Network Services at Cisco stated, â€Å"The new organizational structure gave us the opportunity to focus on our core operational work.Our critical metrics quickly displayed the positive results from these changes, and outstanding results started consistently being delivered quarter after quarter† (â€Å"How Cisco IT†, 2009). The unfreezing of the organizational structure by Manville was essential to implement change in NDCS. After the results from restructuring NDCS were effective NAIS and Manville decided to refreeze the changes in order to reinforce and maintain the desired behaviors. Exhibit 1 Cisco’s original Organizational Model Exhibit 2 NDCS Lifecycle Model Exhibit 3 Cisco’s improvement from 2006 to 2008Exhibit 4 NDCS Customer Satisfaction References McShane, S. L. , Steen, S. L, ( 2009). Canadian Organizational Behaviour 7th Edition. McGraw-Hill Ryerson. McJunkin J. , and Reynders, T. (2000). Cisco Systems: A Novel Approach To Structuring Entrepreneurial Ventures. Retrieved from gsbapps. stanford. edu/cases/documents/EC%2015. pdf (2009). How Cisco IT implemented Organizational Change and Advanced Sevices for Operational Success. Retrieved from http://www. cisco. com/web/about/ciscoitatwork/downloads/ciscoitatwork/pdf/NDCS_Restructuring_AdvSvcs_Case_study. pdf

African Americans Essay

African Americans have a unique history as well as culture. Their history in the United States is greatly influenced and shaped by the events in the last three centuries. A period that would shape their destiny, their interactions as well as their orientation to most important events in life. The United States census figures put the number of African Americans at over thirty-eight millions in 2005. Of this population, over 55% of them reside in the metropolitan areas with cities like Chicago and New York being the homes to a huge majority of African Americans A close look at the African Americans in relation to the rest of their white counterparts reveals that they are disadvantaged in various aspects. This can only be understood by focusing at the underlying causes of this, key being the century’s discrimination and oppression meted out against the blacks by the successive regimes up to the period that the civil rights movement stepped up its calls for equality and political rights. African Americans had been for long subjected to slavery especially in the southern states. The end of slavery brought forth systemic discrimination where they were treated as second class citizens especially after the introduction of the Jim Crow laws that institutionalized racism. This is what is seen to be the cause behind the impoverished lot amongst the African Americans with 24. 7% of this population living in abject poverty. The group also remains disadvantaged in the education sector, health, housing as well as having the highest crime rates in the United States. Since the enactment of civil rights legislation, the African Americans population has made considerable steps towards improving their economic status largely narrowing the huge discrepancies that exist. This has been marked by the expansion of the African American middle class. Unlike in other ethnic groups like the white; there is parity across the gender amongst the blacks. Income levels in America are tilted to the disfavor of African Americans. This is largely seen as being linked to the inability to access other vital resources such as education and jobs. Speculative figures have it that over three quarter of African Americans aged above the age of 25 have not gone to college and hence do not possess college diplomas. By the turn of the century, over a third of the African American population living in the big cities was without employment compared to their white counterparts; this figure has not changed much (Brandon S, 1984). Life expectancy of the African American group compares unfavorably with that of the whites a fact exacerbated by the lack of medical and proper provision of health facilities. With a significant proportion of African Americans lacking medical care and proper provision of health facilities; with a significant proportion of African American having a low level of income and being unemployed, and with the united states lacking a universal health care system , African Americans are badly placed in terms of health facilities access. They are also at a higher risk of succumbing to chronic diseases as well as pandemics such as HIV aids. Statistics have it that of all people diagnosed with HIV/AIDS between 2001 and 2005, over half of them were African Americans. Cities that contain large populations of African Americans such as Washington DC contain the highest rates of HIV infections. African Americans have maintained a deep sense of religiosity this has been passed on from the days of slavery. Known as black churches, they have played a pivotal role in the struggle for blacks to acquire and consolidate civil and political rights. Majority of the evangelists have ended up as political figures playing a crucial role in the American civil rights movement.

Public Relations Campaign Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Public Relations Campaign - Assignment Example Our target public in this case is students, adults through teachers and parents. This will enable Sonic Drive-In to realize its target of increasing its market share substantially in the competitive American market (LEtang, 32). In this campaign, Sonic Drive-In has an opportunity to increase market share in the fast food market. In addition, this will make Sonic Drive-In more visible in the market and increase its strength as a household brand name. This will encourage the purchase of products by Sonic Drive-In by the current customers and attract new ones to their product range. It will also show the company is sensitive to matters affecting the community and that it is empathic to the problems its consumers face. It will also boost its prominence around the country hence increasing the company’s chance for future growth (Henslowe, 68). Problems that might be faced during this exercise in order to reach our target public include the following. Firstly, it will be difficult and time consuming in covering schools, in the whole country. This will prove to be an enormous undertaking. It will also be difficult to come up with a schedule that will accommodate all the schools in the country. Finding a schedule that will suit them all will be a big challenge. Since we cannot go school by school, we will have to pick strategic locations for this event that will attract the largest group of our public. This will be a challenge since the success of this campaign relies on numbers. We will have to deliberate carefully to identify the most suitable venues for this event. The main opportunity created in this campaign for Sonic Drive-In will be to increase its share in the fast food market in the United States. It will increase its customer base through its target public. This campaign will also make the brand more attractive to consumers through our efforts in advertisements through the various media campaigns we plan

Econ Assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Econ Assignment - Essay Example The fall in income earned by the consumers in the U.S. could be viewed as its impact on the current account. It is estimated that almost 10% of every Dollar spent by U.S. customers is on purchase of imported goods (Kaplan) however as the income falls in the U.S. the customers demand for imported goods will surely be affected. As consumers spend less on goods and services the proportion they spend on imports will reduce. The effect would be rising current account surplus and positive balance of payments. If the inflation in the foreign country increases it will have an upward effect on the cost of production in that country and making its exports to the U.S. more expensive than its imports. This suggests that U.S. consumers would end up paying more for imported goods that will provoke them to switch over to less costly goods produced domestically (Kaplan). This can also have a reverse effect on the U.S. exports thereby increasing the current account surplus with that country in the short run till inflation remains comparatively higher in the foreign country. The interest rate fall in the U.S. has its impact on the capital account of the country. The decline in interest rates in the U.S. implies the reduction in the return on savings and relative return in the financial markets of the U.S. This suggests that foreign investors will be reluctant to invest in the financial markets who will be seeking greater returns in other foreign markets. This makes the local financial markets unattractive and may lead to outflow of funds through capital markets. The exchange rate is the relative price of a currency against other currencies. The exchange rate is typically driven by the demand and supply of the currency. As consumers will use less of the local currency due to fall in their income it suggests a lower demand for it as less money will be spent on imported goods and services therefore its supply dampens. The net result is decline in the exchange rate against

Fourth Latern Council of 1215 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Fourth Latern Council of 1215 - Essay Example The first Lateran Council was convened during 1123 BC that confirmed the Concordat of Worms. The second Lateran Council was convened during 1139 and formulated several tenets such as invalidation of the clerical marriage, regulation of clerical dress and excommunication of the people who attacked clerics2. The third Lateran Council was convened during 1179 and continued reforms in church with condemnation of simony, limitation of papal  electees  to the  Cardinals  and forbiddance of promotion to  the episcopate  before thirtieth year of the age. The fourth Lateran Council was convened during 1215 and continued with reform measures such as papal primacy, transubstantiation and conduct of clergy.3 The council was also concerned about distinguishing people of other religions such as Muslims and Jews from the Christians in  public area,  and they suggested the differentiation of the dress as a resolution of the issue.   The fifth Lateran Council that was convened during 1512 to 1517 continued with further reform of the Church. The fourth Lateran Council was summoned by Pope Innocent III during 1215 to resolve many issues that concerned Roman Catholic Church. These issues included the disaster at the Crusade wars, to strengthen the faith and continue reforms in the church. 4 Pope Innocent III himself worded the goals of the fourth Lateran Council as the plantation of the virtues, eradication of the vices, reformation of the morals, correction of the faults and removal of heresies. The other goals included the establishment of the peace, settlement of the discord and getting rid of the oppression. He also wanted to persuade Christian people and princes to aid the cause of Crusades. 5 There were many reasons why Pope Innocent III summoned the Fourth Lateran Council. The Christian society and Roman Catholic Church were in considerable turmoil due to moral issues. In addition to

FaceBook And Romantic Relationships Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

FaceBook And Romantic Relationships - Essay Example A recent debate over a local radio station caught my attention when the discussion revolved around a woman who felt cheated and silly over a love affair that started over the face book and hardly lasted two months before she invited the lover (man) into her place of residence. She only learnt that after engaging in romance that the man left her, no more communication while she could easily identify that the man was now hooked up in another romantic relationship over the social media. The phone calls that were made into the studio in contribution to the motion surprised me the more on how many people fall into the trap of exposing their romantic lives over the social media and only to fall prey to such ‘romantic stalking’ persons whose intention is only to have personal gratification and nothing of a long lasting relationship. This therefore gave me the challenge to research deeper into the long lasting effects that Face book, among many other social media has to persons especially concerning romantic relationships. This paper hence intends to evaluate the impacts of face book to personal lives and how such negative effects can be dealt with the ever-increasing need to have face book for ease of communication and keeping circles of friends. Justification Social media has been acknowledged in the past for the positives it brought about in people’s lives especially in matters of communication and sharing of information. It was highly accepted that face book in particular has attracted very many people who find it cheap and convenient manner to keep circles of friends when compared to the means that were in use previously such as through mails, print and digital media as well as through telephone services. Face book was credited of communicating with millions of friends worldwide through just the click of the mouse at once convenience. Equally, receiving feedback from face book is such an easy task as compared to the other communication ways hen ce the ease of adoption (Vitak, Ellison and Steinfield, 2011). Nevertheless, despite such numerous advantages in use of face book, the social plat form has continuously faced critiques because of the increasing negatives that are stemming from the same. For instance, the increasing exposure of personal information through posting personal profiles online increasingly put people into threats such as security and such. People are increasing becoming targets of cyber crime due to the personal information that one shares on the platform. One emerging trend is the use of face book to establish and maintain romantic relationships. Technology has been blamed on failing to conceal personal sensitive information and as such exposing such an individual to high risks. Therefore, this study would be timely in that it would look into detail the impact of face book on personal lives with special attention to romantic relationships and evaluate probable solutions to such shortcomings (Flynn, nd; R aalte et al, nd). Literature review There are various studies that have been done in regard to the revolution that face book and such social platforms have brought in people’s lives. This section therefore looks into some different studies that have been done in the past and establish their contributions to the study topic under analysis. Utz and Beukeboom sought to understand the effect of social media into romantic relationships concerning happiness and jealousy. They pointed out that social network sites expose too much of individual romantic relationship information which has both positive attributes (happiness) as well as negative attributes (jealousy) associated with it. The emotional traits associated

Instructional leadership and Curriculum Assignment

Instructional leadership and Curriculum - Assignment Example The comparison holds true both for the student in the same school and in different schools. The implication of this fact may be lack of proper access to relevant resources by the poor students. The race of student also affects the curriculum and schooling. There is an observation that the African-American and the Latin America students performs poorly than the Native American students. The white students technically shows higher comprehension of science subject, have a higher comprehension ability and are basically brighter than both African and Latin America students The social class is also major factor in schooling and curriculum. For instance, different teachers, specifically music teachers holds themselves in a higher social class than the other teacher. They view the subject as already standard and thus no need to further standardize it (Carnoy, Elmore, & Siskin, 2003). In comparison of the Urban District Schools and other school, the urban schools have raised test scores as compared to the other schools. The effect is increase in the number of school drop outs in such schools. The consequence of such is evident, for example, in New York and Texas. In order to contribute to the positive and upward achievement of all students, the districts should embrace and fully comply with the standard based accountability policy that takes into consideration the potential of students from secondary schools (Porter, Polikoff & Smithson, 2009). Porter, A. C., Polikoff, M. S., & Smithson, J. (2009). Is there a de facto national intended curriculum? Evidence from state content standards. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 31(3),

Moral Philosophy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Moral Philosophy - Essay Example In history, one can view applied ethics through the decisions of governments as they were influenced due to the religious mores of their time. On a more general level, which deals with history—the Ottoman Empire, which used to span the globe—effected the territories it owned with its prevailing religion. Constantinople, at the end of his life, professed the Christian faith. However, the name of the city Constantinople was later changed to Istanbul after the geopolitically-defined, mainly Muslim, country of Turkey came into prominence. Applied ethics can be seen all over the world, not to mention a lack of application of ethics in world history. For example, when Hernan Cortes and his men came to Mexico, the land of the Aztecs—to hoard gold and other valuables—the Aztecs thought this was fulfilling a prophecy that their great leader would come from far away. Instead of admitting that Cortes was not the leader he was who they thought, Cortes took advantage o f the fact that the Aztecs thought he was a holy figure, and consequentially took the wealth of the Aztecs, his men raping their women and killing a lot of people, including roasting the Aztec leader Cuauhtemoc over a fire pit and pouring boiling oil over his feet. The point is, types of domination like this went on all over the world. Christopher Columbus never indeed â€Å"found† the New World, but he found plenty of island natives in the Caribbean whose peaceful lives he ruined by the ruthless plundering of himself and his men. There is evidence of all of these types of cruel inhumanity present in all of history—and it is not just limited to the Europeans, although they were a major cause for discontent the world over. If one thinks about it, in world history—the British Empire once spanned a majority of the globe. The French and the Dutch also had colonialized several countries in Africa, Asia, and the Americas. Due to these white peoples taking over indigen ous nations’ peoples and forcing their values, religion, language, and culture upon them—they were forced to either change or die. So, these people adapted. More about evolution and ethics will also be discussed in the last section of this piece. III. MoralityMorality became politically-correct (or ‘PC') after the civil rights movement in the ‘60s in the United States, because it meant that any kind of oppressed people (not just Blacks) could basically rise up and say that they weren't going to take being discriminated against anymore. Of course, this has led to postmodernist thinking, that everyone is equal and everyone's perspective has to be right because no one is wrong; we all worship the same God even though some of us may not call God God, nor does everyone

What are some of the reasons given in the article for the achievement Essay

What are some of the reasons given in the article for the achievement gap in education in the United States what do you think could solve the problem discussed in the reading - Essay Example According to Robert Reich, a professor of public policy at the University of California and the author of ‘Beyond Outrage’, the average SAT-type tests between children in the richest ten percent and the bottom ten per cent was about ninety points on an eight hundred point scale thirty years ago. This has nevertheless increased to one hundred and twenty five points today a scenario which depicts the increasing achievement gap between the children coming from the two backgrounds. Are there ways of averting this and ensuring everyone gets quality education? There are various ways that can be used to narrow the achievement gap. They are discussed in the following section. Before addressing the problem, it is good to understand what is causing the gap increase. It is evident that the children coming from rich families are taken to the best schools which have the best facilities and they have the requirements that enhance their learning environment to ensure that they succeed or make it in education. On the contrary the children coming from the poor families hardly have the money and so they will end up in the schools offering poor education and having poor facilities. According to Reich this can be solved by harmonising the standards of education offered. The best way to address the problem is therefore to make sure that all the students get quality and same education. Robert looks at the teacher: student ratio in the schools serving the two groups and realizes that though the ratio is closely the same, the funding per student in the wealthy owned schools is very high and among the highest across the improved countries being analysed. If the government could intervene and increase the student funding then that would mean that the children from the poor families will also have an opportunity to have good facilities and boost their learning. The lack of quality facilities is a major drawback

Human resources are how a business recruits Essay Example for Free

Human resources are how a business recruits Essay Human resources are how a business recruits, retains and manages key features and functions of their employees. If businesses are to obtain their objectives, they must plan their human resources function so they have the right number of employees with the right kinds of qualifications and training to meet the needs of the business. Human resources use different approaches to all the different aspects of human resource planning and management. Human resource planning Businesses have to plan carefully to ensure that they have the right number of suitable employees for their needs. To do this they need a good understanding of the labour market in the areas where they operate. Human resource planning also involves looking at how labour is organised within the business. A range of factors when making decisions about staffing from the labour market includes; * Labour turnover * Sickness and accident rates * Age, Skills and Training * Succession In an ideal world businesses should plan ahead when it comes to human resources. A well-organised business will have forecasts and projections of its future staffing needs. These will then be matched to forecasts and projections about the local labour market, which means that the business can develop appropriate strategies for the recruitment, training and development of its staff. Recruitment and selection Recruitment and selection is a well-worn topic, which is treated fully in all major texts. There is always a tension between getting the right person for a job and how much resource in terms of time and money is devoted to recruitment. Businesses recruit staff for a variety of reasons. These can include: * The growth or reconstruction of the business * Changing job roles within a business * Filling vacancies created by resignation, retirement and dismissal * Internal promotion The recruitment process can be costly, in terms of resources devoted to the process and costs associated with recruiting poor performing staff. Therefore, it is important to select accurately people for interview. Businesses need to be very clear about the requirements of the job and about the kind of person they are looking for. This is done in several ways; * Preparing person specifications and job descriptions * Carefully planning how, when and where to advertise * Identifying the strengths and weaknesses of job applications, curriculum vitae and letters of application * Short-listing candidates Training and development Training and development are currently big issues for many businesses in most parts of the country, especially where there are low rates of unemployment. Moreover, more and more businesses are realising that if they fail to invest in training and development they will become uncompetitive. Training and development includes the following; * Induction training * Mentoring * Coaching * Apprenticeships * In-House training * External Training * Recognition of prior learning (RPL) and/or accreditation of prior learning (APL) and accreditation of prior experience and learning (APEL). Performance management Performance management refers to different strategies designed to get the best of a business work force. Different techniques are employed which attempt to relate performance with pay, or promotion or training. Such schemes are not always popular with workers. The following are methods that businesses use to manage the performance of their employees; * Performance reviews including appraisals * Self-evaluation * Peer evaluation * Target setting of individuals and groups. The labour Market Sainsburys constantly monitor the labour market to see any trends in each sector. They use local and national surveys to gather this information. Information gathered is them allocated to the departments that it would suit the best and what people are looking for. For example Sainsburys may be looking for trained bakers and fishmongers, as it is a rare profession. They may also look to see if anyone may reach this profession with a small amount of training, they may investigate if the opportunity cost of training them is viable. If Sainsburys needed a fishmonger and there was one available then they would have to pay them a decent amount of money to be able to acquire their services. This is because they are quite rare to find and may easily be coaxed into another job with money. They may also try to keep these professionals for a long time in one store so that the job in done with consistency. As sainsburys require a high standard they may send them to an off site training course to build up their knowledge of a certain area. Changing features in the market trends makes it hard for firms such as Sainsburys to find the staff they want for specific hi-skilled jobs. This may because there is an increase in professional and managerial work and a decrease in unskilled and semi-skilled work. Also people such as Bakers may have learnt new skills to enter different sections of the labour market. For example a Baker may have had enough of his job, taken an evening class in management, gained qualifications other than baking and joined a more managerial part of the team. Sainsburys need to look hard at the staff they acquire from agencies and applications and think hard about if it would be worth training them up for a specific job. They have to pick them up at exactly the right time. This means that they have to get them before they go elsewhere but have to be wary of them getting trained at great expense to sainsburys and then leaving for a job with better job satisfaction or better money. They have t get the balance just right unless it could prove costly. If Sainsburys employ new staff they may have to restructure the departments, this may prove popular with some staff but unpopular with others. Sainsburys have to think about management structures becoming flatter as a result of greater development of responsibilities and how hierarchies are being replaced by team working. Demographics show that the UK workforce is aging. This can be taken as a good aspect but also as a bad one. Some advantages of having an ageing workforce are that: * They know their job inside out and know how to deal with certain situations. * They have plenty of experience and may be able to offer light on problems which younger staff may have never encountered before. * It may be more reassuring to the customer to see an well experienced person doing the job rather then a young face straight out of school. Some disadvantages of having an ageing workforce are that: * As people get older they may be more susceptible to illness and take more time off. * With new computer equipment they may have to be sent on an expensive training course to learn new ways of working. * They may not be as motivated as younger staff as they are happy with their jobs and realise that they may not be doing it much longer. They may also not want to go for promotions, as they do not want to be bothered with the stress of the modern workplace. There is a steady decline in Primary and manufacturing sectors and an increase in service sector employment. This may work in sainsburys favour as they have positions for all sorts of people in all different sectors. There are a lot of people wanting to do the jobs where you do not need as much experience such as till manning and shelf stacking but they also have room for people with experience such as the butchers and bakers. As there is such a lot of people wanting to take on the less experience needed jobs the employees in these positions have to try and make a good impression and try hard as they know that there is always someone around the corner waiting for their job. This may boost Sainsburys productivity and customer relations. There are increasing numbers of women being qualified in previously mans work. More and more women are being trained as butchers and fishmongers. Women are now holding more high skilled positions now also, for example it would not be uncommon to ask to see the manager and a women to walk out and speak to you. This may seem strange to older generations who may still believe that it should be a mans job. The education and training system is undergoing a change. There has been a major expansion in further and higher education and the development of more flexible vocational training structures. This allows more part-time and mature students to gain higher qualifications. This may also allow them to train whilst working, improving there skills for an in-house vacancy. Part-time students make up a large proportion of Sainsburys workforce. This is because they can work flexible hours and are willing to learn. They may also not mind doing low skilled jobs as they need the money and know that they may not be doing that job forever as they are studying at a high level, having these people on their books may be an advantage to Sainsburys as if they are good they may placed in the running for higher positions. When they finish their higher education weather it be A-Levels or Degree they may give them a chance to move up the ladder. This may seem promising to the employee who already has friends there and knows the set up. They may also like it as it saves them the hassle of finding a completely new job. The sectors that are forecast to expand are those, which have grown since the early 1980s. The exception is construction, where employment is forecast to fall 4.2%. The largest absolute increase in employment is in public services. The majority of new jobs are to be in education and health, which is an area, which has seen significant growth since the early 1980s. Financial and Business services are expected to show the fastest percentage growth. Business services are expected to be the strongest performer in this sector with employment growth at 2.5% per year whilst a fall is forecast in financial services. Manufacturing is set to see further productivity gains, which may lead to falls in unemployment. Norwichs Economy * One third of all the jobs in Norfolk are within the Norwich city council area. This totals up to 94,000 people. * Half the jobs in Norfolk are within the greater Norwich area. Employment in Norwich has grown over the last 6 years, but more slowly than the UK as a whole. * Over 90% of Norwich companies employ less than 50 people but over half of the Norwich workforce are employed in the 66 largest companies and organisations such as Norwich Union and Mash. * More than 50,000 people travel into Norwich each day to work, from the surrounding area. * The average earnings of full-time employees in Norwich (Excluding overtime) are just over à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½10 per hour, which is below the national average of à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½11.18 per hour. * Between 1995 and 2000 employment grew fastest in financial services, public sector and construction. * In the next few years most jobs are likely to be created within Norwich in business services, hotels and catering, retailing, banking and insurance and construction. There will be a long-term demand for construction skills creating sustainable jobs. * Tourism is growing fast and currently provides 5,600 jobs in Norwich Trends in employment 1997-2007(predictions) 1997 2007 Increasing involvement of Women Female share of total employment 46.5% 48.2% Female share of employees in employment 49.7% 51.7% More Working part-time Part-time share of employees in employment 29.1% 31.2% More self-employed Self employed share of total employment 13.0% 15.2% Supply and Demand graph for Wage Rates S WR1 WR = Wage Rate Sk = Skills WR D2 D Sk Sk1 As you can see as the demand for high skilled people goes up so does the wages they will be getting paid. Supply of Labour S2 S WR = Wage WR2 Rate L = Labour WR D L2 L If the supply of labour decreases then the wage rate will increase. Minimum Wage rate S WR2 WR1 D Q2 Q1 If a minimum wage is introduced which is higher than the wage rate the demand for labour falls Training and Development The aim of training a person is to permanently change their ability. Improving their knowledge, experience and skills does this. To start you off at Sainsburys you are given an induction. This tells you the basics of your job and allows you to do it. Induction programmes are designed to familiarise new recruits with the layout, security systems and about health and safety within the company. To inspire new recruits they may be introduced to key personnel. Sainsburys hold policy interviews, one review happens at 3 weeks, one at 7 weeks and then again at 11 weeks. Sainsburys holds in-house training and coaching in each branch. They also have a How well and I doing? handbook which they give to each employee. This can map out paths and set targets, different for each section on the company. The targets set are: * Measurable * Specific * Time-related * Agreed * Realistic These are set at 6-month periods. The workbooks, which are used for technical training, coach trainees on a specific part of their job. They help them understand what they have got to do and how they have got to do it. For example training for a checkout operator may be given on a dummy checkout and they on a real one serving customers but with supervision. Each store trains its own staff at their job; training centres are used for external training, which may be specific to a persons job such as health and safety or food hygiene. These parts of training may also involve passing an exam and gaining a qualification. The in store training organiser may not be qualified to teach this. External training may also occur when the trainee is learning a specialist subject. For example a fishmonger may be sent to a special training-centre especially for fishmongers. I believe that Sainsburys send their head fishmongers to a centre in London. Sainsburys also has a training room where training videos are shown to trainees. These may be in general subjects such as customer relations. This is very handy as videos can be shown to a trainee as many times as it takes and at very little cost. Also the audience can be selected and many trained at a time. Sainsburys also has a computer on which there are training programs, these give training and also provide a test, which they have to pass.

Interaction of Dye-surfactants and Dye-amino Acids

Interaction of Dye-surfactants and Dye-amino Acids Review of the literature shows that the study of interaction of dye-surfactants and dye-amino acids provide useful important information about physiological systems because of its widespread applications and relatively complex behaviour. These investigations are important from point of view of technology of dyeing processes as well as for chemical researches, such as biochemistry, analytical chemistry, and photosensitization. Most of the work on amino acids and biomolecules have been carried out in pure and mixed aqueous solutions but the investigation of spectroscopic, tensiometric and thermodynamic properties of amino acids in aqueous dye solution has rarely been done. On the other hand although studies have been made involving dye–surfactant interactions, yet this particular field of research is still important for improvised dyeing process in terms of theoretical, technological, environmental as well as economic point of view [1]. The dye-surfactant interaction has importa nce in many areas such as the spectral behaviour of dye in microheterogenous systems, dye-sensitized solar cells, and photocatalysis like photocatalytic water splitting. It is important to understand how surfactants and dyes interact in aqueous solutions to clarify the mechanisms of dyeing and other finishing procedures. Hence the investigation of interaction between surfactants / amino acid in aqueous dye solution was undertaken using different useful techniques. Mata et. al [2] investigated the physicochemical properties of pure cationic surfactants (quaternary salts) in aqueous solution by means of surface tension (at 303.15 K), conductance (at 293.15–333.15 K), dye solubilization and viscosity measurements. From the results it appeared that changes in the nature of the surfactant (such as changes in chain length, polar head group or counter ion) have a severe effect on the subsequent self-assembly in water. The increase in hydrophobic character of the surfactant decreases the CMC, induces sphere-to-rod transition at lower concentration and increases the solubilizing power of surfactant towards orange OT. Viscosity results indicated that the size of the micelles is relatively small at CMC and grows longer with increasing surfactant concentration. The plots of differential conductivity, (dk/dc)T,P, versus the total surfactant concentration enables us to determine the CMC values more precisely. The critical micelle concentration (cmc) and degree of ionization (ÃŽ ²) of cationic surfactants, dodecyldimethylethylammonium bromide (DDAB) and dodecyltrimethylammonium chloride (DTAC) in aqueous media were determined by Mehta et. al [3] from the conductivity measurements at different temperatures. The cmc behavior of DDAB and DTAC was analyzed in comparison with the results of DTAB in terms of effect of counter ion and increase in alkyl chain. It was observed that by changing the counter ion from chloride (DTAC) to bromide along with the increase in alkyl chain on polar head group (DDAB), the cmc shows a decrease. Thermodynamics of the system reveals that at lower temperatures, the micellization in case of DDAB was found to be entropy-driven, while at higher temperatures it was enthalpy driven. In DTAC system only entropic effect dominates over the entire temperature range. The aggregation properties of a cationic surfactant, DTAB, at different compositions in water-DMSO mixtures was studied by Và ©ronique Peyre et. al [4] using combination of techniques such as SANS, conductivity, and density measurements. Different complementary approaches were used for the interpretations of data. This multi-technique study explains the reason for the decrease in ionization degree, role of solvation in micellization and emphasizing the dissymmetric solvation of the chain by DMSO and the head by water. The study is interesting from the point of view that micellization process has been described by using combined analysis from molecular to macroscopic scale. Apparent and partial molar volumes of decyldimethylbenzylammonium chloride (C10DBACl) at (15, 25, and 35)  °C have been calculated from results of density measurements by A. G. Perez et. al [4]. The specific conductivities of the solutions have been determined at the same temperatures. The results served for the estimation of critical micelle concentration, cmc, ionization degree, (ÃŽ ²), and standard free energy of micellization, (à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬  G), of the surfactant. J. J. Galan, J. R. RodrÄ ±guez [5] studied the molality dependence of specific conductivity of pentadecyl bromide, cetylpyridinium bromide and cetylpiridinium chloride in aqueous solutions in the temperature range of 30–45 à ¢-†¹C. The critical micelle concentration (cmc) and ionization degree of the micelles, ÃŽ ², were determined directly from the experimental data. Comparing our results for C16PBr and C16PCl water solutions, it can be observed that the substitution of the bromide anion by the more hydrophilic chloride leads to an increase in cmc by a factor of approximately 1.3. Chanchal Das and Bijan Das [6] have studied the micellization behavior of three cationic surfactants, viz., hexadecyl-, tetradecyl-, and dodecyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB, TTAB, and DTAB, respectively) in ethylene glycol (EG) (1) + water (2) mixed solvent media with varying mass fractions of EG (w1) by means of electrical conductivity and surface tension measurements. Temperature dependence of the critical micelle concentrations was also investigated to understand the micellar thermodynamics of these systems. From the study of the temperature dependence of the cmc of these surfactants in the EG (1) + water (2) mixture with w1 ) 0.30, they had demonstrated that the micellization was mainly governed by an enthalpy-entropy compensation effect. Data on the thermodynamics of adsorption demonstrate that the surface activity of these surfactant decreases with the addition of EG to water at a given temperature and that the adsorption of surfactant at the air/mixture interface takes plac e spontaneously. The micellisation behaviour of cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTABr) in different mass fraction (17–47) of ethylene glycol (EG), dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO), and dimethylformamide (DMF)–water mixed solvents, was studied by Olaseni et. al [7] using electrical conductivity measurement at different temperatures (293.1–313.1 K). The results of the thermodynamic analysis showed that addition of organic solvents, which are principally located in the bulk phase made the micellisation process less spontaneous. The London-dispersion interaction represented the major attraction force for micellisation and micellisation proceeded via an exothermic process. Sar Santosh K and Rathod Nutan [8] evaluated cmc, ÃŽ ± value and the thermodynamic parameters of the process of micellization for alkyl (C12, C14, and C16) trimethylammonium bromide systems in presence of water-dimethylformamide (5-20 % v/v) binary mixtures over a temperature range of 298-318 K. It was observed that both the cmc and ÃŽ ± value were dependent upon the (v/v %) of solvent and temperature and the micellization tendency of cationic surfactant decreases in the presence of solvents. It was also observed that the micellization is favored in general by entropy and enthalpy at higher temperatures, whereas it is favored mainly by entropy at low temperatures. A. Ali et. al [9] have studied the thermodynamic properties of sodium dodecyl sulphate in micellar solution of L-serine and L-threonine by fluorescence spectroscopy and dynamic light scattering techniques. They observed a decrease in cmc of SDS in Thr solutions as compared to that in Ser. The determined values of à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬  G become increasingly negative in the order: water > Ser >Thr, suggesting that the formation of micelles is more favorable in presence of amino acids than in pure water. The aggregation behavior of SDS was explained in terms of structural changes in mixed solutions. On the basis of dynamic light scattering it was suggested that the size of SDS micelles was influenced by the presence of amino acids. F. Jalali and A. Gerandaneh [10] computed the critical micelle concentration (cmc) of cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) conductometrically in binary mixtures of water + cosolvent at various temperatures and in the presence of potassium bromide (2.0 – 14 X10-3 M). Dioxane and acetonitrile were used as cosolvents added to water. Addition of organic solvents to water increased the cmc value of CTAB, but the presence of KBr lowered cmc. Thermodynamic parameters of micellization, were evaluated for each solution according to the pseudo-phase model, and the changes observed in these parameters were related to the presence of KBr and cosolvents in aqueous solution. The conductivity of (cosolvent C water) in the presence of increasing concentration of 1-hexadecylpyridinium bromide was measured at various temperatures by F. Jalali et al. [11]. Acetonitrile, dimethylformamide, dimethylsulfoxide, dioxane and ethylene glycol were used as cosolvents. From the conductivity data, the critical micelle concentration c.m.c., and the effective degree of counter ion dissociation ÃŽ ±, were obtained at various temperatures. In all the cases studied, a linear relationship between ([c.m.c] / mol . dm-3) and the mass fraction of cosolvent in solvent mixtures was observed. The thermodynamic properties à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬  Hand à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬  Swere evaluated from the temperature dependence of the equilibrium constants for micellization of the surfactant. While the micellization process in pure water is both enthalpy and entropy stabilized, it becomes entropy destabilized in all solvent mixtures used; the values of à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬  S being more negative with increase i n the cosolvent content of the solvent mixtures. The resulting à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬  H against Tà ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬  S plot showed a fairly good linear correlation, indicating the existence of an enthalpy–entropy compensation in the micellization process. The effect of the simultaneous presence of an electrolyte (NaBr) and nonelectrolyte species (DMSO and AN) in aqueous solution on the micellization of HDPB was studied by F. Jalali and A. Shaeghi Rad [12]. They concluded that the presence of NaBr favors the micellization of HDPB mainly due to a decrease in repulsions between micelle head groups. Adding a cosolvent, such as DMSO or AN, to water inhibits the formation of micelles because of the increase in hydrophobic character of the mixed solvent, which increases the attraction of surfactant monomers toward the solvent.

The Ibo Way Of Life :: essays research papers

Things Fall Apart, a novel by African native Chinua Achebe, introduces an unusual culture to the reader. He shares a strange new way of life not customary to popular beliefs. Through a detailed description of the Ibo culture such as role, political ideologies and unique rituals, Achebe shows humanity in a different perspective.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ibo culture is a completely male dominated tribe. By being a successful warrior and farmer, men gain respect and high titles. Unfortunately, women do not have those opportunities and are considered more as property than human beings. In the first chapter, we meet Okonkwo, a highly respected leader. He has three wives who share only him as a husband. When a woman is old enough to marry, her family must approve the suitor, and then she is purchased with cowries and other livestock. The woman’s duties after marriage is to stay at home to cook, clean and raise the children.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  As seen by roles each play in this tribe, it is obvious that the Ibo’s political ideologies are purely masculine and violently led. Villages will sacrifice other members of their village when a debt is owed, not knowing what is to become of them. In Ikemefuma’s case, he is sacrificed to the Umuofia tribe and is to live there for three years. When his three years are through with, he is violently murdered as ordered by the village elders. The boy stayed in Okonkwo’s Obi and learned to call him father. Okonkwo still took part in his violent murder. Other punishments of the tribe are hanging and banishment.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  One of the most unique things about the Ibo cultures id their superstitions. It is believed that if a woman has two or more miscarriages that her children all share the same spirit. To keep this child from dying, they must find this child’s rock or mutilate the child’s body. Another superstition deals with the kola nut. The kola nut was broken and eaten every meal and was said to bring good life to people.

Biography of William Shakespeare :: William Shakespeare Writers Playwrights Essays

Biography of William Shakespeare William Shakespeare (1564-1616) was a playwrite in England. The Merchant of Veniceis one of his many â€Å"comedies.† Some scholars however, have made the argument that the play is one of his tragedies. Other tragedies of Shakespeare include Hamlet and Romeo and Juliet. Shakespeare lived in a time when Jews had been expelled from England for over three centuries. However, as a playwrite, Shakespeare also probably faced much prejudice and hatred—theater was banned from his home town of London during his lifetime and so the theaters had to move outside of the city walls. This situation may have made him sypathetic to the plight of Jews, hence the play as a work of tragedy. Shakespeare married a woman named Anne Whateley, but he may have also had a male lover during his lifetime—a practice not uncommon for men of his era. Many of his sonnets suggest the possibility of this. Shakespeare’s comedies, performed at the Globe theater, were played to an audience which included as many peasants as it did nobles and loyalty, and so the comedy appeals to this lower class as well. Shakespeare’s works are full of political humor, but also run rampant with sexual and scatalogical humor. Shakespeare lived during the reign of Queen Elizabeth who had a man in her service who she cared for deeply (she never married during her reign, but was rumored to have lovers) and who was rumored to be a Jew. If this had been the case, Shakespeare’s play would have to have been sensitive to her favor. Hence, more evidence of the play as a tragedy. In Shakespeare’s time, it was the common practice for men to play the parts of women in most productions.

Ancient Kemet :: World History

Ancient Kemet Egypt was without question the first great civilization in Africa. Surrounded by the hostile desert, Egypt arose as a populous settlement as a "gift of the Nile River," which flooded surrounding plains and thus supported game and wild plants. Straddling the strategic land crossroads between Africa, Asia, and Europe, Egypt also became a point for interchange between the Mediterranean and Red seas and the Persian Gulf. Many developments affecting the rest of Africa took place in or near the Nile Valley, such as the cultivation of plants and the development of metal smelting. Thus, Egypt's major role in forming early African civilizations has been well established. In modern times, scholars often underestimated the contributions of ancient Egypt to European civilization. More than two millennia ago, when the Ptolemaic Greeks came to rule Egypt, they extensively adopted and interpreted Egyptian spiritual, material, political, aesthetic, and intellectual systems. Although later Greek authorities freely acknowledged their cultural debt to Egypt, during the nineteenth century many European writers, limited by their ethnocentrism and racism, decided that black Africa could have had nothing to do with Europe's rise to greatness. Some treated Egypt as Middle Eastern and divorced it from the rest of Africa, whereas others went further, asserting the preeminence of northern Aryan sources of Greek civilization to the virtual exclusion of Semitic, African, and Egyptian influences. Beginning in ancient times, Egypt was a genuine crossroads of peoples and cultures, and its peoples were multiethnic and multiracial, as depicted in dynastic drawings of their rulers. They came from as far way as Asia Minor and Nubia, in the upper Nile Valley. Ancient Kemet :: World History Ancient Kemet Egypt was without question the first great civilization in Africa. Surrounded by the hostile desert, Egypt arose as a populous settlement as a "gift of the Nile River," which flooded surrounding plains and thus supported game and wild plants. Straddling the strategic land crossroads between Africa, Asia, and Europe, Egypt also became a point for interchange between the Mediterranean and Red seas and the Persian Gulf. Many developments affecting the rest of Africa took place in or near the Nile Valley, such as the cultivation of plants and the development of metal smelting. Thus, Egypt's major role in forming early African civilizations has been well established. In modern times, scholars often underestimated the contributions of ancient Egypt to European civilization. More than two millennia ago, when the Ptolemaic Greeks came to rule Egypt, they extensively adopted and interpreted Egyptian spiritual, material, political, aesthetic, and intellectual systems. Although later Greek authorities freely acknowledged their cultural debt to Egypt, during the nineteenth century many European writers, limited by their ethnocentrism and racism, decided that black Africa could have had nothing to do with Europe's rise to greatness. Some treated Egypt as Middle Eastern and divorced it from the rest of Africa, whereas others went further, asserting the preeminence of northern Aryan sources of Greek civilization to the virtual exclusion of Semitic, African, and Egyptian influences. Beginning in ancient times, Egypt was a genuine crossroads of peoples and cultures, and its peoples were multiethnic and multiracial, as depicted in dynastic drawings of their rulers. They came from as far way as Asia Minor and Nubia, in the upper Nile Valley.

Eprecision Manufacturing Company Essay

In a recent staff meeting, John Winkleman, president of ePrecision Manufacturing Company, addressed his managers with this problem: Intense competitive pressure is beginning to erode our market share in handhelds. I have documented 11 large orders that have been lost to Beckman and Wiston within the past three months. On an annual basis this amounts to nearly 10,000 units and $1.5 million in lost opportunities. Within the last 18 months, at least 16 serious competitors have entered the market. Two thirds of these DMMs have continuity indicators. The trend is the same for European and Japanese markets as well. Our sales of handheld DMMs in fiscal year 20_1 is forecast to grow only 1.7 percent. According to Dataquest projections, the handheld DMM market will grow 20.9 percent for the next five years. I think that figure is conservative. Our competitors are gaining attention and sales with added features, particularly at the present time with continuity indicators. Since a new el’recision general-purpose, low-cost handheld is two years from introduction, it is important that something be done to retain the profitable position of market leader in our traditional direct and distributor channels. Next meeting I want s?me ideas. The ePrecision Manufacturing Company is a major electronics manufacturer in the Northwest of USA, producing many varied products. The three products that most concern Mr. Winkleman are the Series A handheld digital multi meters (DMMs). As an innovator in the field of handheld DMMS, Mr. Winkleman saw his business flourish over the last two years. But now, with his three most successful products in late stages of maturity and a recession in _ full swing, times are not looking as rosy. The three multimeters of concern are model numbers 1010, 1020, and 1030. These three models form a complementary family line. The 1010 is a low-cost unit containing all standard measurement functions and having a basic measurement accuracy of .5 percent. The 1020 offers identical measurement functions but has an improved basic measurement accuracy of .1 percent. The top of the line is the 1030. In addition to a basic accuracy of .1 percent, the 1030 offers several additional features, one being an audible continuity indicator. (See Exhibit 1 for sales and projected sales of these three models.) EXHIBIT 1 Selected sales and projections Model 1020 1010 1030 Total FY 20 0 actual 67,534 37,455 25,602 130,591 (number of units) What we need is a face-lift of our existing product line to hold us over the next two years. Changes in color, a new decal, some minor case modifications, and most important an audible continuity indicator in the 1010 and 1020 should give us two more years of product life to tide us over. We can call this Series B to retain continuity in switching from the old to the new. As my analysis indicates, ePrecision’s decline in 101011020 sales could be reversed and show a modest increase in market share over the next two years with the inclusion of the Series B features [see Exhibit 2]. Discussions with large-order customers indicate that ePrecision could have won 40-60 percent of the lost large orders that were mentioned at our last meeting if our entire handheld family featured audible continuity. As you well know, the popularity of continuity indication has been confirmed in several other studies conducted over the past two years. An estimate of sales of Series B has been generated from inputs from field sales, distribution managers, and discussions with customers. Conservative estimates indicate that sales of Series B will increase 6.9 percent above current Series A levels, with a marginal revenue increase of $1.5 million at Us. list, and assuming the same list prices as the current Series A models. * Dollars During this current period of tight economic conditions, the market is becoming increasingly price sensitive. I am aware that our normal policy dictates multiplying the factory cost by three for pricing purposes and that the added factory cost of an audible continuity indicator is $5.00,. but for income purposes we should not tack this on to the current prices. My analysis indicates that an increase of $5.00 would reduce incremental sales by 20 percent, and an increase of $10.00 would reduce incremental sales by 80 percent. JR1024 EXHIBIT 3 Engineering Costs and Schedule The objectives for Series B, Models 1010, 1020, and 1030, are: †¢ All case parts moulded in medium grey †¢ New decal for all units †¢ Pulse-stretched beeper for 1010 and 1020 †¢ Rubber foot on battery door †¢ Positionable bail †¢ Manuals updated as necessary For these objectives, NRE costs will be: Manual (updated schematics for 1010, 1020, along with instructions for operation of beeper; model number and front panel changes for all units) Battery door mould (add three units) Battery door foot die Decal Bail improvement Photo lab PCB fab (prototypes) Engineering labour (25 person-weeks) Also remember that we must pay for some nonrecurring engineering costs (NRE) [see Exhibit 3]. These must come out of our contribution margin-which at el’recision is calculated by taking the total dollar sales less the 28 percent discount to distributors less factory cost for those units. I believe that increasing these prices will reduce our margins significantly, hindering our ability to cover the NRE, let alone make a profit. Therefore I propose we go ahead with Series B and hold the line on prices. Dennis Cambelot, a longtime ePrecision employee, spoke up with a comment on Dave’s proposal: Dave, I think this Series B idea shows a lot of potential, but pricewise you are way out of line. We have always added the standard markup to our products. We make quality products, and people are willing to pay for quality. The only thing your fancy MB.A. degree taught you was to be impractical. If you had gotten your experience in the trenches like me, your pricing theories would not be so conservative, and this company could make more money. At the close of the meeting, Mr. Winkleman asked that each manager consider the Series B proposal. He directed that this consideration include: (1) whether or not to adopt the B series; (2) if yes, at what price level; (3) alternative suggestions.

Ccontemporary Epistemological Research in Education Essay

ABSTRACT. In this article the authors challenge contemporary epistemological research within educational settings. After a reconciliation of the current models which treat epistemological beliefs as static and mechanical, the authors present a teaching experience to illustrate their enactivist view that epistemological beliefs should be conceptualized as fluid and dynamic constructs, emerging in web-like configurations. Answers to epistemological questions unfold within the interstices and mutual interactions between people and their environment. Boundaries between student–teacher, individual–community, cognition–bodily experience are becoming blurred. From this enactivist perspective the researcher’s role changes considerably. Instead of determining teachers’ personal traits and epistemological make-up, the researcher should sensitize teachers to the subtle ways epistemological beliefs are enmeshed within their day-to-day professional lives, focusing on the complex fabric of the teaching practice. KEY WORDS: contemporary epistemological research, education, enactivism, lived experiences, personal epistemology. We rehearse information, but perform meaning. Information is like the web of links in a wire fence; Meaning is like the cascade of waves on a mountain stream. Cliff Crego (2002)  © 2002 picture-poems. com THEORY & PSYCHOLOGY Copyright  © 2008 Sage Publications. VOL. 18(1): 27–45 DOI: 10. 1177/0959354307086921 http://tap. sagepub. com Downloaded from http://tap. sagepub. com at Universiteit Maastricht on August 6, 2008  © 2008 SAGE Publications. All rights reserved. Not for commercial use or unauthorized distribution. 28. THEORY & PSYCHOLOGY 18(1) What is the true nature of knowledge, and how does a person come to know? These questions first became subject of psychological investigation in the late 1960s through the seminal work of Perry (1968). Today, these questions are studied under the umbrella of research on personal epistemology (Hofer & Pintrich, 2002). Personal epistemology has come to be seen as the common denominator for research done within this field and as a term signifying individual conceptions of knowledge and knowing. These conceptions are referred to by many disparate labels, of which the most commonly used term is ‘epistemological belief’. Other labels are: epistemological posture, epistemological resource, and ways of knowing (Niessen, Vermunt, Abma, Widdershoven, & van der Vleuten, 2004). Because the term ‘(epistemological) belief’ is already more broadly used within (educational) psychology and thus easy to associate with, we will use this term throughout the article when referring to issues of knowledge and knowing. Within this article we provide a cognitive psychological and an enactivist account of epistemological beliefs and claim that the differences between both are ultimately reflected in Crego’s distinction between the rehearsing of information and performing of meaning. We will apply the enactivist perspective to an interview segment to enable deeper understanding of teaching practice. The application of the enactivist account to this case has the character of a hermeneutic circle. This means that the enactivist account provides us with a background view that enables us to understand teachers’ experiences more fully. At the same time, the process of application is also a practice of opening up and being caught by new insights while interpreting. These insights might alter our epistemological perspective. This study is part of a larger ongoing investigation to understand the phenomenon of resistance by teachers to a Problem-Based Learning (PBL) environment using the epistemological perspective as our interpretive framework. PBL, in short, is an instructional method that, contrary to frontal teaching, chooses not to instruct students directly, but to facilitate the process in which students themselves and in collaboration with each other learn the necessary knowledge and skills by working on real-life problems. The role of the teacher is paramount to the success of this method. This is why the example used throughout this article highlights a teacher (Josie) who is situated within a PBL course. In the following we will first present the fragment taken from the interview with Josie. In this fragment she talks about her struggle to introduce a group of new staff members to ProblemBased Learning. We will also provide a more in-depth linguistic, methodological, and ontological characterization to contemporary epistemological research. Finally the contours of the enactivist perspective will be drawn in more detail. Josie’s Case Interviewer (I): How would you describe yourself as a trainer? Josie (J): I always try to get the group excited about PBL. Downloaded from http://tap. sagepub. com at Universiteit Maastricht on August 6, 2008  © 2008 SAGE Publications. All rights reserved. Not for commercial use or unauthorized distribution. NIESSEN ET AL.: EPISTEMOLOGICAL RESEARCH IN EDUCATION 29 I: How do you do that? J: By trying to get everybody involved. At the same time, this is a potential pitfall. For instance, in a training session last week there was a group of student tutors and this group was really very critical, because they had attended other PBL courses. That was when I found myself trying to create more structure—that’s where I felt inadequate, because there were so many people with so much experience. In these instances it’s important to offer students guidelines and structure. You should be able to deviate from this structure—but only in those cases when it’s possible. Some teachers see this very clearly. Personally, I tend to create structure together with the group—on the spot. With some groups this works out just fine and with other groups it would have been better if I had provided a clear structure from the start. We would have come further. I: Students get restless? J: No, yes, well, there’s too much input and too few conclusions. I think that’s a major thing in PBL—it’s a major issue that too often, maybe, no actual conclusion is reached. That’s really what I think is probably my own shortcoming, something that as a student I thought was missing in the system. That structure—the framework in which you work. I: What does this framework look like—what is it made of? Do you know what I mean? J: A connecting thread. I: You say that on the one hand you’re trying to find this thread —and you want to connect it with the experiences of the participants—but that’s difficult because their experiences are so diverse and a common theme is hard to discern. J: Well, maybe that’s because there just isn’t one single thread and because PBL is based on the assumption that the available knowledge is relative. So you cannot say there’s one single solution to a particular problem. The important thing is that you are working towards a solution. Josie (a pseudonym) is a junior teacher trainer at the Faculty of Economics and Business Administration. She was one out of a group of 10 teacher trainers and 9 new staff members of Maastricht University in the Netherlands who were interviewed about their experiences with PBL, their concerns and unresolved issues. The participants we interviewed came from different departments of Maastricht University and differed considerably in experience with PBL, general attitude towards teaching, general teaching experience, and opinion about the value of PBL for student learning. Despite the marked differences in background and experience among the interviewees, Josie was not the only one who presented a complex and multilayered experience. Looking at other participants’ day-to-day teaching experiences, we similarly encountered varied and multilayered stories. This phenomenon is neither strange nor new. Studies by Perry (1968) and Lyons (1990), but also more recently from Phillion and Connelly (2004), show us that when researchers turn their attention to actual teaching experiences, the presented picture of teaching and epistemological beliefs is more textured and complex. The Downloaded from http://tap. sagepub. com at Universiteit Maastricht on August 6, 2008  © 2008 SAGE Publications. All rights reserved. Not for commercial use or unauthorized distribution. 30 THEORY & PSYCHOLOGY 18(1) selection of this particular segment has been guided by the potential to learn from it about the role of epistemological beliefs in teaching. According to Stake (1994), ‘the potential for learning is a different and sometimes superior criterion to representativeness’ (p. 243). The fragment shows how Josie is struggling with the question: ‘How do these students come to know? ’ In the interview, Josie as a teacher trainer talks about her ideas and ideals of student involvement within her courses. She says that in some situations she finds it difficult to realize these ideals. She refers to her attempts to structure group sessions. She thinks that in order to do so, she has to develop ‘a connecting thread’ that will enable the group to achieve a sense of closure. This metaphor nicely illustrates Josie’s narrative approach to teaching. Her goal is to develop, together with the group, a storyline with a beginning, middle, and an ending. She expects that this jointly developed plot will enable the group to close the session in a satisfactory way. Josie’s ideas and strategy implicitly characterize her epistemological approach to one of the key questions in epistemology: ‘How does a person come to know? ’, or ‘How should this group of students come to know? ’ We can see an answer emerging from the confrontation between her ideals, her self-image, and the group with its characteristics. When she says ‘It’s in these instances that it’s important to offer students guidelines and structure’, she refers to her failed attempt to provide guidance, which, to her, was necessary to give the group a satisfactory sense of closure. This experience appears to have triggered a slight change in her epistemological outlook. Instead of her a priori assumption that students should be regarded as knowledgeable others, who will work together with the teacher to create a common thread, she now thinks that the group process also depends on her ability accurately to estimate the amount of prior experience that students bring to the course and her own experience and skills. Josie’s rapport with the group of students is coloured by her ideals about student involvement. It is also with this particular group of students, who have so ‘much experience’, that she discovers the failure of her usual strategy, i. e. developing a structure ‘on the spot’ together with the group. In her own words: ‘Their experiences are so diverse and a common theme is hard to find. ’ As a result she is confused and forced to reassess her epistemological ideal of student involvement in light of the concrete situation. Looking back on this experience, she reflects on the epistemological perspective underlying PBL and in doing so realizes that there isn’t just one single solution to a problem and that all knowledge can make a contribution. The lived experiences of Josie as a teacher are interpreted as an indication that the epistemological questions can only be meaningfully understood when they are placed within the context of the story that defines the situation as a whole. To put it in more general terms, in order to assess a situation epistemologically or Downloaded from http://tap.sagepub. com at Universiteit Maastricht on August 6, 2008  © 2008 SAGE Publications. All rights reserved. Not for commercial use or unauthorized distribution. NIESSEN ET AL. : EPISTEMOLOGICAL RESEARCH IN EDUCATION 31 make sense of teachers’ experiences epistemologically, we need to take account of the circumstances that constitute each new teaching situation. In Josie’s case these circumstances included her conviction that a common thread had to be identified, her skills to get the group to do this, the group size and group members’ varied experience. We would assert that her epistemological belief is essentially ‘indexical’ (Roth, Lawless, & Tobin, 2000), meaning that it is significant only as seen from within the concrete circumstances in which it arises. In the following section we will focus on the contrast between this view of epistemological beliefs and the prevailing views in contemporary epistemological research. Contemporary Epistemological Research Although the term ‘contemporary epistemological research’ suggests that there is a unified research domain, there are in fact different movements to which researchers within the domain of personal epistemology may turn. These movements may be referred to as ‘trait-oriented’, ‘theory-minded’, and ‘resource-oriented’. This means that researchers typify epistemological beliefs respectively as traits, theories, or resources (Hammer & Elby, 2002). Although we agree with Hammer and Elby that there are some important differences among these movements, we also discern an important mutual characteristic: all are rooted in cognitive psychology. This seems to offer an interesting perspective for an analysis and characterization of the field as a whole, because it would go to the very heart of research on epistemological beliefs regardless of the particular movement. In our view, Crego’s phrase ‘rehearsal of information’ very aptly captures the essence of contemporary epistemological research in relation to three interrelated angles: language, methodology, and ontology. Linguistic Idiosyncrasies of Contemporary Epistemological Research A striking linguistic characteristic of the cognitive psychological discourse about the foundations of thinking and believing is a marked preference for the use of nouns (Saljo, 2002). Since contemporary epistemological research is grounded in cognitive psychology, this characteristic is also discernible in epistemological research. The phenomenon addressed within epistemological research can be denoted by different labels: epistemological belief (Duell & Schommer-Aikins, 2001; Hofer, 2000; Hofer & Pintrich, 1997, 2002; Schommer, 1994, 1998b), epistemological position (Perry, 1968, 1988); epistemological theory (Hofer, 2000; Hofer & Pintrich, 1997, 2002), epistemological standard Downloaded from http://tap. sagepub. com at Universiteit Maastricht on August 6, 2008  © 2008 SAGE Publications. All rights reserved. Not for commercial use or unauthorized distribution. 32 THEORY & PSYCHOLOGY 18(1) (Ryan, 1984a, 1984b), epistemological resource (Hammer & Elby, 2002), epistemological style (Martin, Silva, Newman, & Thayer, 1994), epistemological reflection (Baxter Magolda, 1992, 1994, 1996), epistemological posture (Desaultes & Larochelle, 1997), epistemological orientation (Belenky, Clinchy, Goldberger, & Tarule, 1986), epistemological antecedent (Powell, 1996), and ways of knowing (Belenky et al. , 1986). The worrisome aspect of the predominance of nouns as the building blocks for thinking and believing is that it creates the impression that people’s capacities and ideas should be conceived of as unchanging objects (Saljo, 2002). Nouns distract our attention from the processes in which epistemological constructs can be seen to emerge. Nouns denote a final state as opposed to a process in which actions and thoughts are continuously taking shape and modifying each other. The idea of stability is reinforced by the tendency to represent epistemological beliefs as stable cognitive traits or theories (Hammer & Elby, 2002). Epistemological beliefs are seen as trait-like or theory-like features which are stored and acted upon inside the brain. From an epistemological trait perspective, individuals’ beliefs and ideas about epistemology tend to cohere into stable ‘positions’ or ‘levels’, ‘phases’ or ‘stages’, which can be distinguished from other ‘levels’ and ‘phases’ with regards to organization and quality. They are seen as declarative knowledge to which a person has conscious and articulate access. In epistemological theories, beliefs are perceived as being structured in this way (Hofer & Pintrich, 1997, 2002). Congruent with the tendency to see epistemological beliefs as stable and object-like traits or theories stored within the individual mind, most researchers tend to refer to epistemological beliefs in terms of ‘individuals having them’ (Pehkonen & Torner, 1999). Another feature within Western society that reinforces thinking about epistemological beliefs as objects and unchanging is the linguistic tendency to typify mental phenomena dichotomously, i. e. as belonging to either–or categories (Amstutz, 1999; Davis & Sumara, 1997). Examples of such dichotomies are: mental–physical, internal–external, individual–collective (Davis & Sumara, 2001; Heft, 2001). Membership of one category precludes membership of the other one of the pair. This divisive either/or mode of thinking reinforces the image of people as unchanging. Something or someone is or is not of some category. According to Langer (1989, 1997), divisive thinking has this effect when people take categories or opposites literally or without mindful attention. She calls for heedful and critical thinking in which mindless acceptance of categories is regarded as the opposite of powerful learning. We think that a contemporary interpretation with a language that treats epistemological beliefs as stable and trait-like or object-like has trouble interpreting the epistemological picture that arises from teachers’ concrete perspectives. When we analyse Josie’s account and realize that she tunes into the situation as a process that unfolds in interaction with the group, we realize Downloaded from http://tap. sagepub. com at Universiteit Maastricht on August 6, 2008  © 2008 SAGE Publications. All rights reserved. Not for commercial use or unauthorized distribution. NIESSEN ET AL. : EPISTEMOLOGICAL RESEARCH IN EDUCATION 33 that the boundaries between individual–collective, self–other, and internal–external are not clear-cut. They are fuzzy, blurred, and overlapping, and we see no clearly outlined either/or distinctions. We think epistemological beliefs should be better conceived of as emerging characterizations within a process of mutual adaptation, such as in Josie’s attempts to tune in to the ideas of the group and to her own and reconcile them. Because this process unfolds concurrently with the teaching process, it cannot be fully anticipated a priori or even as it is being enacted. To us, this view is compatible with a concept of epistemological beliefs as continuously unfolding processes, like waves cascading down a mountain stream. Just as the water and the mountain are being shaped and reshaped in their continuous interaction, so is the answer to the epistemological question ‘How do these students come to know? ’ being rephrased under the influence of interaction in a concrete teaching situation. Particularities Regarding the Methodology within a Contemporary Epistemological Perspective Characterizing the methodologies that are used in contemporary epistemological research, we see an equally differentiated array of instruments: production-type tasks, open-ended interviews, vignettes, observations, illstructured problems, and Likert-type questionnaires (Duell & SchommerAikins, 2001). What is striking to us is that despite this diversity, epistemological beliefs research is exceptionally unitary in its preference for using the individual and his or her beliefs, knowledge, desires, and attitudes as the unit of analysis (Lyons, 1990). We think this preference is congruent with the predilection for nouns emphasizing the object-oriented way of thinking; it seems to us that an orientation towards epistemological beliefs as object-like has been (tacitly) operative in the development of instruments that are used to study them as personal and stable traits or theories. We notice that an orientation to the individual is especially recognizable in questionnaire (Likert-type) studies and standardized interview studies. Despite growing criticism of questionnaire studies, they have been and continue to be an important method in studies of epistemological beliefs (Duell & Schommer-Aikins, 2001). Part of their popularity seems to be attributable to their easy and quick administration. Nevertheless, Hammer and Elby (2002) reveal a fundamental problem when they point out that item formulation is often far removed from day-today teaching practice while at the same time it is assumed to pertain to these contexts (see, e. g., Schommer, 1998a; questionnaire: ‘Nothing is certain but death and taxes’). According to Hammer and Elby, this is neither true nor Downloaded from http://tap. sagepub. com at Universiteit Maastricht on August 6, 2008  © 2008 SAGE Publications. All rights reserved. Not for commercial use or unauthorized distribution. 34 THEORY & PSYCHOLOGY 18(1) viable when made explicit. Most epistemological studies ask participants direct questions about their beliefs, often by presenting epistemological statements and asking them to rate their agreement/disagreement on a Likert scale. For example, students may be asked whether they agree or disagree that ‘the best thing about science courses is that most problems have one right answer’ (Schommer, 1990, p. 499); ‘the science principles in the textbooks will always be true’ (Songer & Linn, 1991, p. 769); or ‘knowledge in physics consists of many pieces of information, each of which applies primarily to a specific situation’ (Redish, Saul, & Steinberg, 1998, p. 217). It is only by a presumption of unitarity that the results of these studies may be considered to apply to all contexts of learning (Hammer & Elby, 2002). However, the item formulation must be generic to preserve internal congruence throughout the whole study. It would be incongruent to perceive of epistemological beliefs as stable traits or theories but apply highly context-specific or dialogical research methods. A generic item formulation makes perfect sense given the a priori position that epistemological beliefs are stable phenomena. Epistemological beliefs are seen as tangible features and measured congruently. They can therefore be conceived of as entities that impact on teaching behaviour linearly, i. e.cause exists as an inherent constituent of epistemological beliefs. Contemporary cognitive epistemological research is concerned with the search for explanations of the epistemological perspective in order to predict and control students’ and teachers’ behaviour. Using standardized (correlational) measuring techniques, researchers are able to identify these linear and law-governed patterns. The role of the researcher in this process is merely to uncover these relationships objectively, with validity and reliability (Guba & Lincoln, 1989, 1994; Lincoln & Guba, 1985, 2000). In interpreting Josie’s segment, it is true that Josie shows an epistemological preference to create a common thread together. At the same time we also see that this preference becomes ‘active’ and is questioned while interacting with this specific group. Her experience of the situation she describes has led her to acknowledge that in this instance—given her own and the group’s experience—a different approach might have been more successful. Confronted with this new experience, a breach is made within otherwise customized behaviour. These breaches provide opportunities for change and revision of ideas to suit local circumstances. We interpret Josie’s ultimate handling of the situation as the result of reciprocal dynamics between different personal and situational elements, whose influence can be seen from a holistic point of view, but which cannot be reduced to any element or correlation in particular. Downloaded from http://tap. sagepub. com at Universiteit Maastricht on August 6, 2008  © 2008 SAGE Publications. All rights reserved. Not for commercial use or unauthorized distribution. NIESSEN ET AL. : EPISTEMOLOGICAL RESEARCH IN EDUCATION. 35 The Particularities Regarding the Ontology within a Contemporary Epistemological Interpretation Ontology is the subdivision within metaphysics that deals with the nature of being. More concretely, ontology is revealed in the question: What is real? We might thus ask whether epistemological beliefs are real. According to Baptiste (2001), one of the most troublesome questions surrounding the issue of ontology is the distinction between the facticity and the quality of a thing. Facticity refers to the question of whether a thing exists. In our case we might ask if epistemological beliefs do exist. Departing from a realist perspective (Heron & Reason, 1997), the answer within contemporary epistemological research is that epistemological beliefs do indeed exist as theories, traits, or resources. For realists, epistemological beliefs are just as real and tangible as observable objects. The quality of a thing refers to the form of a phenomenon or the nature of an object. Within contemporary epistemological research, epistemological beliefs are thought of as psychological and physical phenomena. They are psychological because they reside in a person’s mind. They are also (presumably) physical on the basis of the default assumption that epistemological beliefs correspond to cognitive units in the brain (Hammer & Elby, 2002). Finally, there is the question of whether it would be possible for epistemological researchers to claim that epistemological beliefs exist without reference to cognitive psychology or cognitive science. Contemporary epistemological research, although not explicitly referred to, heavily draws on cognitive science and cognitive psychology as its foundational precursors, meaning that these strands are the background theories they implicitly build on. Varela, Thompson, and Rosch (1997) have pointed to the reifying effect of cognitive science on cognitive psychology when describing the centrality of the computer metaphor and similar language use. This computer-oriented language is also apparent within educational research in general and epistemological research in particular (Davis & Sumara, 1997). It depicts humans as disenchanted, cerebral beings who receive and process information from events and objects to establish representations (beliefs, desires). These representations in turn govern and give meaning to their own behaviour and that of others. In Josie’s interview, but also in the other interviews we conducted, we see from an enactive viewpoint first and foremost acting persons (Packer & Winne, 1995) who stumble and haphazardly manage to guide their classes through the course. Josie’s hesitation to infer definite conclusions about the preferred course of action in this particular situation is hard to interpret as an image of information rehearsal, the picture we see framed within contemporary epistemological research. As we see it, in this particular situation her answer to the question ‘How do these students come to know?’ is embedded within a network of concrete relations and a process of mutual attunement. Downloaded from http://tap. sagepub. com at Universiteit Maastricht on August 6, 2008  © 2008 SAGE Publications. All rights reserved. Not for commercial use or unauthorized distribution. 36 THEORY & PSYCHOLOGY 18(1) In our view, Josie’s hesitation to draw definite conclusions should not be deplored but welcomed, because it may open up opportunities that may lead to epistemological attunement, which may guide students and teachers to the most appropriate end. The interview excerpt with Josie illustrates the existential dialogical nature or ontology in which it is hard to dissect the knower from the known, mind from body, student from teacher, teacher from context, et cetera (Hosking & Bouwen, 2000). Josie’s teaching might be viewed as a responsive choreography in which her behaviour and beliefs co-evolve within a relational web of individual inclinations or cognitions, her skills as a teacher trainer, the characteristics of the students she teaches, and the dialogue between these elements altogether. In the final section of this paper, we will explain and illustrate our enactive or dialogical world orientation. An enactivist world orientation is grounded in the assertion that people form complex fabrics of fundamentally and inextricably intertwined relationships with everything else—physically/biologically and experientially/phenomenologically (Davis & Sumara, 1997). From this viewpoint, epistemological beliefs are not primarily or solely cognitive features, but they are temporarily crystallized enactments in ever-changing webs of mutually defining elements. An Enactive and Dialogical Perspective on Epistemological Beliefs So far, we have focused on a passage from Josie and characterized contemporary cognitive epistemological research from a linguistic, methodological, and ontological point of view. The enactive epistemological perspective takes into account many elements, such as the group experience, the group size, and her own (in)abilities to provide a common thread (structure). In this final part of the discussion, we take up the challenge to sketch and explain more thoroughly the contours of an enactivist interpretation that enables us to take into account these elements to which Josie refers. Although we typify our interpretation as enactivist, we will also draw on theoretical notions derived from philosophical hermeneutics (Gadamer, 1990; Widdershoven, 1999) and narrative psychology (Abma, 2000; Josselson & Lieblich, 1999; Lyons & LaBoskey, 2002). Enactivism is an emerging worldview that lingers in between and draws from different domains, including philosophical phenomenology (Varela, 1999), complexity theory (Waldrop, 1992), and evolutionary biology (Bateson, 1979, 1987). Although this worldview is of reasonably recent date, it is receiving more and more attention within the domain of education (Davis & Sumara, 1997, 2001, 2002; Davis, Sumara, & Kieren, 1996; Sumara & Davis, 1997). Within the domain of contemporary epistemological research, enactivism has been largely absent, although the work by Belenky et al. (1986) and Lyons (1990) shows strong similarities. In the following we will Downloaded from http://tap. sagepub. com at Universiteit Maastricht on August 6, 2008  © 2008 SAGE Publications. All rights reserved. Not for commercial use or unauthorized distribution. NIESSEN ET AL. : EPISTEMOLOGICAL RESEARCH IN EDUCATION 37 first explain enactivism as it is defined by Davis and Sumara in the field of education (Davis & Sumara, 1997, 2000, 2002; Davis et al., 1996). Although not directly translated to the educational or the epistemological field, we will also be using some of the terms (eclectically) used by Varela et al. (1997) since they are eminent in the field of enactivism. To ‘enact’ means ‘to work in or upon’ or ‘to act or perform’. ‘Enactivism’ refers to the idea of knowing in action. People come to know and believe about the world by interacting with it bodily, experientially, and cognitively. This means that individuals are simultaneously biological and social beings who experientially embody both cognitive and physical dimensions within their actions. Because continuous interaction is such an important feature of enactivism, one could claim that it holds a relational ontology meaning that all social realities and all knowledge of self, others, and things are viewed as interdependent or co-dependent constructions existing and known only in relation to each other (Hosking & Bouwen, 2000). When we review Josie’s story again, we see a rather inexperienced teacher trainer who struggles with the epistemological question: ‘How should these students come to know? ’ Her commonly used approach to create a common thread together is rather problematic given her own (in)abilities within a large group of experienced students. As a consequence of this inexperience she adjusts her epistemological outlook to include the notion that when faced with a rather experienced group she needs to hold more control. Interpreting her account enactively, we would claim that her final outlook to this particular situation is the result of the interaction between her ideal to create a common thread together and her communication skills, her self-image, the group’s size, and the amount of experience of the group. It is the confrontation of these elements within the concrete enactment that sets the stage for this particular response to arise. The enactive paradigm as exemplified by Varela et al. (1997) emphasizes the relev.