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Wednesday, January 29, 2020

How employee engagement has been forgotten by many andor remembered by few Essay Example for Free

How employee engagement has been forgotten by many andor remembered by few Essay How employee engagement has been forgotten by many and/or remembered by few Introduction   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   It is believed that any company which unlocks the secrets of engaging their employees is likely to get very high profits. However, this has never been the case. There are always challenges and confusions which leads to misdirection hence the failure of the employee engagement. The main cause of this is the lack of congruity when talking about the definition and also measurement of the employee engagement. Furthermore, there is also lack of clear distinction between employee engagement and other closely related concepts. This paper’s aim is to conduct an in depth analysis on the importance of engaging employees in any activities of a business activity. It will also give recommendations where the importance found from the managers who practice this will be given.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Lack of clear definition is one of the glaring issues that concern the concept of employee engagement. Different categories of individuals ranging academic researchers, corporations, practitioners and many more have extensive variations on how they give meanings. The harnessing of an organization’s member’s selves with aim of making them work their role; in engagement, people always express themselves physically, emotionally and cognitively during their role performance (Kahn, 1990).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   An organization which is always widely associated with employee engagement because of their best-selling book, First, Break all the Rules, The Gallup Organization, have a different definition. They define engaged employee as one who works with passion and feel a profound connection to the company he or she is working for and have a drive innovation to move the organization forward. Employee engagement may also be defined as a process through which an organization aims to increase commitment of its employees as well as continuation to aid in the achievement of superior results. This definition is according to the International Survey Research. This definition however looks at employees’ commitment in three different ways. They may include affective, cognitive, and lastly behavioural which incorporates actions, feelings and thoughts.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The last definition that is taken into consideration by this paper is the process of translating the employees’ potentials into the employee performance as well as business success.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   This as a result changes the ways in which employees perform their duty through utilizing the tools found within the armory of internal communication professional (Shaw, 2005).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Before indulging further into the issue of employee engagement, it’s prudent a proper understanding of how employee engagement measurement is done. There are reliable metrics that are used to measure the employee engagement despite the rational and emotional components available. There exists several survey instruments that have been used in measuring the employee engagement. This paper however uses the Q12 survey system which was developed by the Gallup Corporation.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The Q12 survey involves asking 12 questions which had strong linkages to high performance and measured how well the companies were meeting core requirements for the employees. According to this survey, a high score on the 12 items always reflected the underlying emotional engagement among the employees who took the survey. This engagement leads to improvement in business results, as well as increased levels of productivity, employee retention and profitability (Walker, 2012)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   When dealing with employee engagement, there are a number of related concepts which must be put into consideration. The four related areas with the employee engagement include organizational citizenship behaviour, job satisfaction, work engagement and organizational commitment. These four go hand in hand to ensure that proper understanding of the employee engagement as well as its importance.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Organizational citizenship behaviour for a long time has always been referred to as the extra role behaviour. The organizational citizenship behaviour can be defined as the behaviour of an individual which is not explicitly recognized by the formal reward system and in the end promotes the efficient and effective functioning of the organization concerned. Practically, the organizational citizenship behaviour improves efficiency and the effectiveness of an organization by supplying support to transformations, adaptations and innovations within the organization. Studying the organizational citizenship behaviour from a macro perspective, it’s found out that it helps to supply direct support to the organization and the individuals found in the organization. This indirectly supports the organization (Anderson Williams, 1991).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The organizational citizenship behaviour can be divided into many subcategories that gives a common dimension. The sub components includes self-development, organizational loyalty, sportsmanship, helping behaviour, civic virtue, individual initiative and organizational compliance. When a critical review is done on the definitions of the components mentioned above, it’s realized that their definitions is more or less the same as that of employee engagement. The helping behaviour talked about shows or implies an act of voluntary helping others and thus preventing the occurrence of any work related problem. Organizational loyalty on the other hand aims at remaining committed to an individual’s work even during tough situations.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   However, the component which tends to show strong relationship with the employee engagement is the individual initiative. It can be defined as the persistence one puts on a job with extra enthusiasm or it can be said to be volunteering to perform extra responsibilities as well as encouraging others within the same organization to follow suit (Podsakoff et al, 2000).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Job satisfaction, is also another concept related to the employee engagement. A number of scholars have tried to come up with a wholesome definition of job satisfaction. According to Brief and Weiss, 2002, they described it as pleasurable or the positive and emotional state that results from recognizing one’s job or the experience from the job. There existed a number of disagreements whether the initially presumed definition was the exact one. It was found that there were so many shortcomings with the Brief and Weiss definition. This made Weiss to modify the definition. Job satisfaction came to be described as the positive or negative evaluation that a person makes about his or her job situation (Weiss, 2002). From time to time, the definition has always updated so as to include a cognitive component in the measurement of job satisfaction.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Work engagement is the third component related to the employee engagement. Work engagement of employees measured or looked at into different categories. It involves vigor, absorption and dedication. Starting with vigour, it can be described as being fully charged with energy as well as resilience in job even during the days when nothing serious happens. Dedication involves one being proud of their work and getting convinced that whatever activity an individual undertakes is significant. Lastly, absorption as a concept means being carried away work to the extent that one forgets everything in the surrounding (Hallberg, 2005).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Lastly, the fourth concept related to the employee engagement is the organizational commitment. This concept entails the process that is gone through when obtaining the goals of an organization’s multiple constituencies. The goals ranges from a broad organizational goals and their values to a more specific formulation. Organizational commitment may also be defined as the willingness to persist in a course of action as well as the reluctance to change plans while keeping the main goal to stay on course. Both the definitions highlight the fact that people are committed to multiple entities. These multiple entities involve emotional and rational components (Vance, 2005). The emotional concept is defined as the positive feeling towards an entity while thee rational component means the state of being conscious as well as thoughtful in planning and executing actions that fulfill commitments.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Having dealt with that, it’s crucial that factors which keep employee engaged are looked into in details. There are three main vital ingredients that make employee engaged. First is the leadership of any particular business organization. The leaders any an organization must set standards that in terms of dedication and then rubs it off to the rest of the employees. The leaders must be able to make difficult decisions correctly and fairly. Furthermore, they should be competent and show consistency in whatever they do. In areas where this is not displayed by the leaders, the employee always feels looked and upon and as result they are always not engaged in whatever activity they undertake. The employees always talk and so poor leadership may be used as the stepping stone to quit any particular job. Good leadership makes an organization to have a very strong employee engagement hence better results (Taylor, 2014).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Secondly, communication and transparency is also a factor or an ingredient that may make your employee engaged or not. This factor however has been underestimated by many and taken for granted. Senior people in an organization always have a notion that employees concern themselves with earning their wages to a larger extent and care very little for other things (Taylor, 2014). The truth of the matter however is that large majority of employees put a lot of emphasis on whether they are regularly being kept in the loop. It always doesn’t matter to them whether it concerns their own development or big decisions of the organization. What actually matters is that it concerns everyone. Openness and good communication makes the employees to feel highly appreciated and hence part of the organization. They don’t feel detached. This makes the organization a better place to be in.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Lastly, enjoyment is also a key ingredient for engaging employees. The most important aspect of employee engagement is considering the fact that they are human beings. The organization does not run at a loss when they introduce elements of fun in the work place. The fun and enjoyment may range from a number of activities like a dress down party on Fridays, monthly trips, or any other thing that appeals to your employees.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The aim of such enjoyment is to make employees feel like they want to work. This will thus make them stay as long as they want. This is however not the case with many jobs. Not many employees always want to make their employees have fun. This makes people have negative attitude towards such jobs leading to very few people doing such jobs. On many occasions, work does not necessarily have to be done with a serious mood at all times. The only way an employer can make the employees feel engaged it to make them feel as if work is something that should be enjoyed rather than being a chore (Taylor, 2014).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   It’s therefore clear that employee engagement can be grouped into two main broad categories or rather approach. There is the philosophical approach and the pragmatic approach. The philosophical approach deals with the management philosophy that are considered when making overall decisions of a human resource. The pragmatic approach on the other hand deals with the dedication programmes for employee engagement. Here, measurement of engagement is done. None of the approaches either is stated to provide a clear winner when trying to achieve an engaged work force (Shaw, 2005).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Having placed more emphasis on the engaged employees, it’s now prudent to talk about the disengaged employees. It’s documented that stress is one of the factors that can dislodge a highly engaged worker from conducting his or her duties without other workers or the organization getting aware of the in depth of the problem. Historically, many organizations have not done an in depth survey on how to deal with stress or other emotional problems.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The former acting manager of the Freddie Mae, David Kellerman, committed suicide due to stress April 22, 2009. His death was attributed to the organizations failure to respond to the signs he was showing. The government seized his company after running at a loss of $108 billion. The work environment was also stressing. As if that was not enough, he always received so much criticism from the media. All these prompted him to commit suicide. This is the worst that happens when employees are not engaged. Recommendations for managers   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   From the readings and research done, the following are some of the recommendations that ought to be considered by managers to ensure a proper way of promoting customer engagement.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The managers should take specific actions or steps to achieve success. While doing this, they must always remember that each and every company is unique and therefore the action they take should be specific to that particular company. The customers should always be provided with as much information as possible to help make them engaged.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The managers should always know the approach that their organization ought to take and why that approach is important. The employees should also be given the approach used by the organization. When this is done, it makes them know why it’s done. This makes them feel part and parcel of the organization and hence promotes the level of employee engagement. Mutual agreement should also be made with the employees. This makes them know what is expected of them.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Rechanneling of extensive time and resources should be done by the employers. This always forms the basis of creating a new employee engagement initiative. A company may be working on the already made initiatives. These initiatives may be giving forth good results. Coming up with a whole new initiative might lead to misdirection in a healthy focus which has been in existence for a long time and thus would lower the progress of a company. Engaging in such activities should be avoided at all cost. Conclusion   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The concept of employee engagement is one that is very wide. The engagement of employees affects different levels of an organization ranging from micro and macro levels. So as to reduce the existing ambiguity when it comes to matters of the employee engagement, a lot more need to be done in this area. Any organization willing to get better results from applying the issue of employee engagement should do so with a lot of caution. Anything done be based on the strengths and weaknesses found, any related concept as well as all the unveiled fields in the issue of employee engagemen References (2006). Gallup Study: Engaged employees inspire company innovation. Gallup Management Journal, retrieved from http://gmj.gallup.com/content/defaut.aspx?ci=24880pg=1. Hagerty, J. Fields, G. (2009). A Fallen Mortgage Titan, Tragedy amid the Turmoil. Wall Street Journal 6- 5-2009 Hallberg, U. (2005). A thesis on fire: Studies of work engagement, type a behaviour and burnout. Department of Psychology, Stockhlom University, ISBN 91-7155-171-9 Podsakoff, P., Mackenzie, S., Paine, J., Bachrach, D. (2000). Organizational citizenship behavours: A critical review of the theoretical and Empirical literature suggestions for future research. Journal of Management, 26, 51, 1-56. Shaw, K. (2005). Employment engagement, how to build a high performance workforce. Journal on Human Resource, 0-9547741-3-2.Taylor, R. (2014). Maximising employee engagement. Journal of Leadership. 23-05, 47474 Walker, S. (2012). Employee engagement and communication research measurement, strategy and action. London: Kogan Page. Williams, L. Anderson, S. (1991). Job satisfaction and organizational commitment as predictors of organizational citizenship and in role behaviours. Journal of Management, 17, 3, 601-617 Source document

Tuesday, January 21, 2020

Writing Cannot be Altered by Technology :: Teaching Writing Education Essays

Writing Cannot be Altered by Technology The term â€Å"cyberculture† is derived from the word â€Å"cyberspace†. William Gibson’s science novel â€Å" Neuromancer† predicted a world that man and machine merge to become a cyborg (Tribble and Trubek: 521). This prediction became reality during the end of study of the 1990s when cyberculture began to flourish. This culture exists within several cultures here on earth. Some may ask, what is cyberculture? Cyberculture studies cover the examination of the subject and the forming communities within the realms of those networked spaces that are being created through technological devices and amplifications (Silver). In this essay I will examine how technological advancements affect our fundamental habits of writing and reading. Our â€Å"traditional† writing was not traditional in ancient times. The birth of writing itself was a new technology. This is similar to the birth of the computers years ago. The writing process is taught in grade school. It begins with brainstorming, writing a rough draft, proofreading and completing a final draft. This process is often obsolete with modern writing. Traditionally a writer uses a writing utensil and paper to create their writings. Modern technology allows us to type as we write. This occurs when a writer begins to type their thoughts as they think. I personally design a paper structure similar to the traditional format to assist in my paper creation prior to typing; however, some people sit at the computer and type as the think. Some may argue eliminating the traditional process damages the fundamentals of writing. However, I feel we brainstorm in a different way with modern writing. As the person types, he/she deletes and rearranges senten ces to make the paper complete. The writer is able to use spell check or proof read from a printed copy. The fundamentals are not tarnished because the purpose of traditional process applies to the modern process as well. I feel we should learn the traditional format of writing in addition to using the advancements of technology. "Internet is another invention in a line of modern technologies that undermine traditional notions of civil society that require unity and shun multiplicity while giving impressions that they in fact re-create such a society" We should not rely solely on technology because we must know how to function if the technology fails.

Sunday, January 12, 2020

Claudine Ly

International OrganizationAfter the inception of the United Nations, the world viewed the United Nations as the impetus of a new global order. Nations states succumbed to peaceful concessions rather than having allowed interstate problems to culminate into a third world war. The United Nations was different from the League of Nations in that it reintegrated WWII victors as well as losers and formed them into a coalition that worked towards global peace and security.However, as decolonization began to manifest in the 1960’s, the increase in the number of sovereign states expanded membership in the United Nations.  Ã‚   As the numbers of member nations grew, the United Nations reflected more diversified interests.   The major shift in interests was notably observed in one of the principal organs of the United Nations, the General Assembly.   It granted all member nations the right to one equal vote and resolutions could be passed with a two-thirds majority.   With this i n mind, the United Nations widened its scope to reflect the interests of smaller nation states such as in the areas of economic development and health.However, small state ambitions have coincided with the interests of the great power states.   For example, countries such as Rwanda or Burkina Faso would have preferred to form U.N. initiatives to aid their countries’ sustainable development rather than having spent the U.N. budget to support the U.S. aim to counter the war on terrorism.   In addition, because of this growing disparity between national interests, the United Nations has not been able to adhere to its proposed principles. In recent years, one has observed one of the greatest human rights violators, Libya, elected to chair the Human Rights Commission.   Another deplorable undertaking was Syria, a global supporter of terrorism, elected to Security Council.Today, the image of UN has suffered greatly due to repeated scandals that left the image of a corrupted a nd dysfunctional organization, incapable of performing its attributions in the new world order.UN is facing a new world order to which it must adapt in order to maintain its position and its role on the international arena. Recent years’ crisis have found UN incapable of having a firm and prompt reaction and somehow stuck in the attitudes adopted in its beginnings. UN seems unable to rise to the expectations and unable to assume a leading role in world politics. Instead of having the means to impose its position in the world, UN is faced recently with on of its worst periods, when its position on different subjects has no importance or influence.The distribution of power in today’s international order is inclining more and more towards the West, especially towards the only world power remaining – the US. The relations between UN and US are more and more deteriorated due to the differences in opinion over the war in Iraq and this inconsistency in the relation wit h US had a great cost on UN. However, UN is still seen by Washington as having an important role in the international arena on both security and humanitarian levels.This is why the US is trying to find out solutions for a reform of UN by trying to involve the organization in the ongoing crisis in the world. The challenge is therefore even greater with UN having to face a new leadership starting in 2007, and having to face the nuclear crisis in Iran and North Korea. Perhaps the only reason why UN is still supported by US is that it is still seen as â€Å"a valuable forum and tool for advancing U.S. interests on the international stage† (Gardiner, 2007). Despite the shown support for UN reform, there is little trust in US that it might succeed.UN, although seen as a strong organization that regulates upon the world order, no longer has the power to enforce its sanctions and dictate in crisis. It is very unlikely that UN will be able to impose its sanctions on Iran or North Kore a in what regards the nuclear crisis, so the role of the organization is becoming more and more insignificant. This is why the gap between the capabilities of UN and its position is getting wider.The most important role of UN has been played in the past decades in humanitarian actions, as the involvement of UN in third world crisis has gained a very valuable reputation. In contemporary humanitarian crisis UN seems unable to perform its role and intervene in such a serious matter as the genocide in Sudan. Due to this incapability, the role of UN is more and more contested at the international level, as the UN proves to be as incapable of dealing with humanitarian crisis as it was with Rwanda and Bosnia. This is why there is a need for reform in the UN Human Rights Council (Gardiner, 2007).  The challenge that lies ahead of UN through the nuclear crisis in Iran and North Korea is going to define the future of the organization and its role in the international arena. This is why it i s so important for UN to regain its position and influence. But in order to do so, UN must go through institutional and managerial reforms that will reinforce the organization’s role in world politics.In the actual shift in power in the international arena, UN’s decisions seem unlikely to have much influence on particular actors. Countries such as Iran or North Korea are very unlikely to be affected too much by the sanctions imposed by UN as the power of the organization is rapidly decreasing.There is an increasing opinion that UN is an illegitimate organization, incapable of facing the current international order and no longer able to impose its position in the international arena. This situation was caused by several scandals and crisis that the organization faced in the past twelve years (Gardiner, 2007). UN’s poor interfere in Rwanda, Bosnia, or Sudan, as well as cases of corruption exposed inside the UN have affected the image of the organization greatly, m aking it unable to stand up for its cause in international crisis. If UN is no longer respected and seen as the moral protector of human rights and of peace, then it cannot perform its role. As UN proved unable or unwilling to stand up for its humanitarian believes in genocides or against dictatorship, its influence and its role decreased considerably.UN’s actions have been intensively critiqued and its credibility suffered greatly after 2005, when UNESCO gave the Josà © Martà ­ International Prize to Venezuelan president Hugo Chà ¡vez, awarding the Latin American leader for his â€Å"struggle for liberty† (Gardiner, 2007). This award was clearly against the position held by the world powers and it stands as a proof of the gap created between the formal rules of UN and the international powers.Perhaps the only way in which the UN can save its credibility and perform the role it was created for is by not expanding the membership in the Security Council. In the new in ternational military context, the role of UN can be significant and by paying its cards right the organization has a chance of regaining its influential role.In order for UN to continue its work and re-impose itself it must adapt to the new world order – it must follow the leadership of US and Western forces. By increasing the number of members in the Security Council, UN would be forced to take stands against the US as the vote will likely be against US on key issues. An enlarged Security Council would be against the US, which would widen the gap between UN and world leadership (Gardiner, 2007).One of the reasons for UN’s inability to respond promptly and efficiently to world crisis such as the war in Iraq is that its operational system is far too slow and ineffective. The members of the Security Council have far too different views in order to reach an efficient agreement in time. This institutional framework of the UN proves to be inefficient in today’s chang ing world order. UN’s ability to respond in crisis will only decrease in a larger Security Council, since it already faces serious difficulty.If UN wants to reinforce its position in the international arena, it must face some very much needed reforms that are intended to shape up the organization and make it reinstate a leading role. But such reforms are very unlikely to be achieved as the influence of opposing members is quite considerable.A significant number of member states, especially those leading the G-77 group of developing countries view the reform of UN as threatening to their influence in the organization and therefore they use all their power to prevent the reform of UN. Particularly this kind of influence that some member states have upon the UN decision making process is the kind of influence that is widening the gap between the actual world powers and UN (Schaefer, 2006).In order for UN to actively participate in international relations, it must reform its inst itutional framework. But in order for UN to reform, it must have the vote of several countries that are against reformation and strengthening the role of the West. This vicious circle is the one that is stopping UN from evolving and adapting.The influence of today’s great powers in the UN decision making process is low and this is one of the reasons why UN is losing its legitimacy. Instead of being an important actor in security matters, the institutional framework of UN makes it impossible for the organization to reach a consensus in an effective time framework, leading the organization not interfering or not taking a strong enough position in important issues.Today’s international actors seem to ignore the UN and seem to take decisions disregarding the position of UN particularly because the influence of UN has decreased severely in the past decade or so. More and more voices see the UN as a future failure that will follow its predecessor, the League of Nations.In re cent years, the role of UN is more and more challenged and its decisions have less and less impact in the international arena. Designed to promote peace and worldwide security, the UN proves to be a failure 62 years later due to its incapability to evolve and develop in time. UN’s incapability to adapt to the new world order and its inability to promote its goals makes the organization seem dysfunctional and illegitimate. The major change that is needed for the future of UN lays in its ability to face the challenges of today and to aggressively take action in the matters concerning today’s threats.Bibliography:1.Gardiner, Nile, The Decline and Fall of the United Nations: Why the U.N. Has Failed and How It Can Be Reformed, February 7, 2007, available at http://www.heritage.org/Research/InternationalOrganizations/hl991.cfm;

Saturday, January 4, 2020

A Capacity Theory of Comprehension Individual Differences...

Psychological Review 1992, Vol. 99, No. 1,122-149 Copyright 1992 by the American Psychological Association, Inc. 0033-295X/92/J3.00 A Capacity Theory of Comprehension: Individual Differences in Working Memory Marcel Adam Just and Patricia A. Carpenter Carnegie Mellon University A theory of the way working memory capacity constrains comprehension is proposed. The theory proposes that both processing and storage are mediated by activation and that the total amount of activation available in working memory varies among individuals. Individual differences in working memory capacity for language can account for qualitative and quantitative differences among college-age adults in several aspects of language comprehension. One aspect is†¦show more content†¦A related function attributed to short-term memory is its role as a stepping stone on the path to long-term memory, while information is being memorized through rehearsal or elaboration. Thus, working memory has long been implicated in both short-term and long-term storage. A somewhat more modern view of working memory takes into account not just the storage of items for later retrieval, but also the storage of partial results in complex sequential computations, such as language comprehension. The stor age requirements at the lexical level during comprehension are intuitively obvious. A listener or comprehender must be able to quickly retrieve some representation of earlier words and phrases in a sentence to relate them to later words and phrases. But storage demands also occur at several other levels of processing. The comprehender must also store the theme of the text, the representation of the situation to which it refers, the major propositions from preceding sentences, and a running, multilevel representation of the sentence that is currently being read (Kintsch vanDijk, 1978; vanDijk Kintsch, 1983). Thus, language comprehension is an excellent example of a task that demands extensive storage of partial and final products in the service of complex information processing. Most recent conceptions of working memory extend its function beyond storage to encompass the actual computations 122 CAPACITYShow MoreRelatedThe Topic Of Specific Language Impairment1572 Words   |  7 Pagesdisorder further fuels the controversy and frustration of speech language pathologists around the world. To determine ones opinion regarding SLI’s in individuals, whose primary language is sign language, the basics of this disorder must first be addressed. 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A learning disability is a neurological disorder that affects the brain’s ability to process and respond to information. Cognitive theory and children with learning disabilities have a close relationship. When talking about children who have learning disabilities, it is safe to say that they are not always identified in its earliest stage, which then can lead to long term problemsRead MoreEf And Theory Of Mind129 5 Words   |  6 PagesEF and Theory of Mind It has been suggested that there is a strong link between EF and Theory of Mind (ToM; Moses Carlson, 2004). ToM is the ability to infer other people’s mental states, such as intentions, thought, feelings, and beliefs (Baron-Cohen, 1988). Neuroimaging studies have indicated that prefrontal cortex is involved in thinking about mental states (e.g., Amodio Frith, 2006; Frith Frith, 2003; Sabbagh Taylor, 2000; Siegal Varley, 2002). It was well documented that individualsRead MoreWorking Memory5992 Words   |  24 Pagesï » ¿Working Memory ââ€"  Working memory enables us to keep things in mind for short periods (215 seconds) as we think, e.g. while reading, making a list etc. ââ€"  It s related to but different to short-term-memory (STM) and long-term-memory (LTM). ââ€"  Chapter focuses on Baddley s (1986) model of phonological working memory, vocabulary acquisition and computational modelling of working-memory. ââ€"  The concept of span means how many items from a briefly presented set can be remembered, e.g. word spanRead MoreThe Foundation Of Interaction Hypothesis By Michael H. Long2045 Words   |  9 Pages2010; Lyster Saito, 2010; Mackey and Goo 2007; Russel and Spada 2006). Long (1981, 1983) asserted that comprehensible input, although necessary, is not sufficient in the process of L2 learning, and that through interaction learners notice the differences between their own formulation of the target language and those of their conversational partners, which in turn may lead them modify their output in order to make themselves understood. Mackey (2012) argues that Interaction often involves the provisionRead MoreTheories Of Human Development1401 Words   |  6 PagesHuman development is an active process resulting from interactions between an individual and their environment. The processes involved in an individual’s development and overall life outcomes are complex, everc hanging, and unique. Given the complexity of human development, the central tenets of my professional conceptual foundation of development include biological factors inherent in the individual, psychological influences, and social interactions. Thus, my professional perspective can best beRead MoreModels of Memory2270 Words   |  10 PagesOutline and Evaluate Models of Memory. (12 Marks) There are roughly four models of memory in total, but two stand out and are used in this particular specification. Atkinson and Schifrin’s (1968) â€Å"Multi-Store Model† is one of them. Their model suggests that the memory consists of three stores, a sensory store, a short-term store and a long-term store; all three have a specific and relatively inflexible function. It stressed that information for our environment such as the visual or auditoryRead MoreMemory and Interpretation2949 Words   |  12 PagesMemory and Interpretation by Hsienche Liu Graduate Institute of Translation and Interpretation Of National Chunghua University of Education Abstract This article mainly discusses the different categories and two different modes of interpretation. It also touches slightly on the interplay of interpretation and memory. Short-term memory is extremely important in interpretation. This paper analyzes different kinds of memory and their application for the interpreter’s training. This paper presentsRead MoreWorking Memory Trainings and Limits of Its Transfer2205 Words   |  9 PagesWorking Memory Trainings and Limits of Its Transfer Working memory is the ability one has to manipulate and maintain information mentally, while ignoring other irrelevant distractions and interference in the brain. In recent years, there has been an increasing amount of interest in this field. Research in this area is in fact, still a currently active and quickly developing area. Working memory is so essential in every person’s everyday life that one would not be able to function and perform their