Marketing Research- Individual Data Analysis Report Assignment

Marketing Research- Individual Data Analysis Report - Assignment Example Another critical factor that has led to an increased consumerism is the surge in credit culture. In addition, companies nowadays also put more emphasis on the requirements of consumers because they have understood that it is wise and sensible to manufacture products according to the requirement as it mitigates the market risk as well as provides opportunity to gain success. The same idea is applicable for a television production company (Edwards & Peccei, 2007). Television viewers have the tendency to watch programs that is entertaining and has some kind of social value (DeMozota, 2003). However, the viewership of a television program is greatly dependent upon the culture of the country and also the customer base that the television program has considered as its target. In this report, in-depth consumer analysis will be conducted to assess their attitude towards reality shows. On the basis of the analysis, a recommendation to the client, NBN will be made about whether they should int roduce a new Reality TV show or not. The analysis of data will encompass both qualitative and quantitative forms and a judgment will be made after considering both the facts (Solomon, 2008; Pride & Ferrell, 2004). Qualitative Analysis Key Themes Identified The study is trying to analyse the attitude of consumers towards reality TV shows. Another issue that became evident while exploring the qualitative data is the definition of a reality TV show. The analysis revealed that there are several types of shows being aired on television, but classifying programs as reality, soap and drama is a tricky task. Interpretation of Theme 1 The nature of the program is also dependent upon an individual’s point of view. According to R2, a reality shown is the one that depicts a real life scenario and showcases true reactions of the contestants participating in the program. Furthermore, the respondent also mentions that there are some reality shows that uphold real things but is often scripte d and participants act according to the direction. In the similar way, R5 comments that â€Å"I have to admit, I am not a very big fan of real-life TV. I tried watching programs such as survivors and Temptation Island, but they just are not appealing to me, which I think has a lot to do with the fact that I see those shows as acting and nothing else†. Hence, the same issue i.e. what actually is a reality television show is the matter of doubt among the mass. Another point raised by the respondent regarding reality TV shows is the authenticity of the participants. Exemplifying the mega hit show ‘Big Brother’, the respondents stated that â€Å"who wouldn’t be tempted to pretend to be someone that they don’t normally get to be on TV, even though the shows are supposed to be 100% real and genuine.† The statement obviously holds great importance, as consumers may feel cheated if they are not shown the real side of the participants. However, the po int made by R1 in this regards is contradicting. The respondent believes that some sort of acting in the reality shows is absolutely acceptable because they have participated in a competition and wining the show will reward them with a lot of money. Therefore, it is up to them how they portray themselves in front of the audience and it is up to the audience how the rate remains constant. In addition, the respondent also stated referring to reality show where two ordinary people

My Experience, My Goals Essay Example for Free

My Experience, My Goals Essay I grew up in a country whose native language is not English. So, needless to say, the move from my native country to the United States has been difficult primarily because of the communication barriers I had to contend with. However, while English might not have been my first language, I grew up learning the language nevertheless. In my home, we had access to English shows which I was constantly exposed to at a very young age. This is the reason why I learned English without much conscious effort. The language learning was taking place at the sub-conscious level. Lu (2) said that in the acquisition of oral language, â€Å"young children are active agents†, constantly making sense of the inputs that they get from their surroundings in way that is meaningful to them. From these meanings, children then create their own sense of language rules, constantly refining and redefining these rules through active engagement and communication with the more competent language users in their immediate environment. (Lu 3) I realize that the constant exposure to the English language at a young age is the reason why I grew up knowing how to use it. There was never a conscious effort on my part to use or learn English, because it was already ingrained in my person. While the people in my household are not proficient in the language, there was an effort to know it, perhaps in preparation for our migration to the US. I had access to English books which strengthened my phonological and print awareness of the English alphabet. This happened side by side while I was learning my mother language as well and while my parents and older siblings were trying to learn English as well. As a child with a facility for the English language, I was subject to an excess of attention that I would not have received otherwise, had I just spoken our native tongue and nothing else. There is a prestige attached to the English language that makes people in my country take a second look and listen closely to what I have to say. Such is the high stature of the English language in my country that most people associate it with affluence and breeding. The situation changed once my family made the move to the United States. If you are multi-lingual, you are regarded as ethnic, especially if your pronunciation has a very thick and recognizable accent. You will be subject to stereotyping, and in some cases, be even regarded as second class citizens. While I am not saying that everyone will react negatively to your accent or your use of your mother language, it is a reality that there are some people who regard that with some amount of condescension. It is not necessarily a bad thing, just a natural part of human nature. Because language is one fundamental aspect of culture, it is therefore only natural that we become defined or identified by our native language. Difficulties can arise if we are not fluent in the standard language being used in a particular place. In such cases, when we do not know the standard language, we are immediately labeled as â€Å"foreigners†, or not born native to that place. While to some people this may not matter, the truth is that there are people who will take this against you. If there is any field that multilingualism is always an advantage, in the United States or elsewhere, and that is in the world of business. This is especially true in the age of globalism, where most business have international operations as well. Being multilingual means that I will be able to communicate with my colleagues at work, and at the same time be able to communicate with a client or supplier who speaks my native language. Actually, upon deeper reflection of my experiences, I have come to the conclusion that people do not react to your multilingualism as much as they are reacting to the accent or how you speak the English language. The more neutral your accent or the better your â€Å"American twang†, the better people regard you. And this is true regardless or what place you are in. What we speak and how we speak, reflects our history as an individual. How we speak makes a statement about who we are as a person and a measure of who we could be. Knowing how to speak in a second language will not be of much value if you cannot be understood because of how you say it. Pronunciation can be a barrier in communication, so being able to say words correctly is crucial. The good news is that once, you are fluent in English, the process of neutralizing the accent will come naturally especially in a natural English environment. After all is said and done, there is great satisfaction in not just being fluent in a second language, but also being able to say it properly and clearly. And this is what I am focusing on: working on fluency and pronunciation at the same time. In an era of globalization where English is the language of trade, the ability to communicate in the English language is a definite advantage. However with that being said, the value of the mother tongue should never be forgotten. The respect that we have for our own cultural heritage renders us with our own unique identities. And in an era of globalization, where everything is being homogenized we need to hang on to that identity or stand to lose ourselves. Works Cited Lu, Mei-Yu, Language Learning in Social and Cultural Contexts, ERIC Digest, 1998, Retrieved: April 14, 2008 from http://www. ericdigests. org/1999-2/language. htm

POEMS Syndrome Symptoms and Treatment

POEMS Syndrome Symptoms and Treatment POEMS Syndrome: Paraproteinemic neuropathies, Organomegaly, Endocrinopathy, M-protein and Skin changes Abstract The POEMS syndrome, also known as Crow-Fukase syndrome, is a rare multi organ disorder characterized by polyneuropathy, organomegaly, endocrinopathy, M-protein spike and skin changes. Other associated features, such as sclerotic bone lesions, edema, ascites, hematological disorÂÂ ­ders and Castleman disease can also be present. We report a case of POEMS syndrome who presented with insidious onset, progressive sensorimotor polyneuropathy, pedal edema, ascites, hepatomegaly along with skin changes. X-ray pelvis showed osteosclerotic lesions. Thyroid function tests showed hypothyroidism. M-protein (IgG) monoclonal band was seen on immunoelectrophoresis. The patient was started on melphalan and corticosteroid combination therapy. We emphasis on the importance of recognizing a challenging diagnosis of a rare disease, which is shown to be treatment responsive. Introduction POEMS syndrome is a rare paraneoplastic disorder of plasma cell dyscrasias, which was first described in 1956 by Crow and then in 1968 by Fukase [1]. The name POEMS was given to it by Bardwick and co-workers in 1980 based on five salient features: polyneuropathy, organomegaly, endocrinopathy, monoclonal gammopathy and skin changes [1]. It is more prevalent in men, with male to female ratio of 2.5:1. It usually manifests in 5th and 6th decades of life. Its inheritance is uncertain and its pathophysiology is still not well understood. Case Presentation A 40-year-old male presented with progressive weakness, tingling and numbness sensation in both lower limbs for two years. He had swelling of lower limbs, abdominal distention and dermatologic changes in form of discoloration and thickening of skin over the cheeks, nose, hands and feet for one year. He had also gave history of erectile dysfunction and loss of libido for six months. There was no history of syncope, bony pain or drug abuse. He had no previous history of hypertension, diabetes or tuberculosis. On physical examination, the patient had bilateral pedal edema [Figure 1.c] and abdominal distention [Figure 2.a]. Skin was thickened and hyperpigmented over the face, fingers of the hands and shin (Figure.1a,b,c). Bilateral gynecomastia and testicular atrophy were present. Abdominal examination showed hepatomegaly and ascites. Higher mental functions and speech were normal. Fundus examination showed papilledema on both side and rest of the cranial nerves examination were normal. Motor power in upper limbs was normal and in lower limbs showed predominant distal weakness [Medical Research Council (MRC) 4/5 at hip joint and 4-/5 at ankle joint). Deep tendon reflexes in upper limb were diminished (+1) including biceps, triceps and supinator and absent in lower limbs. There was 30% loss in pain, touch and temperature sense in both lower limbs below knees. Posterior column sensations (joint position and vibration sense) were also impaired in lower limbs below the anterior superior iliac s pine. Romberg sign was positive. Hemogram, liver and renal function tests, muscle enzymes (creatine phosphokinase), serum ferritin and vitamin B12 level were normal. Serum total protein was 7.1 gm/dL, albumin 3 gm/dL, globulin 4.1 gm/dl, and A:G ratio 1:1.3. Fasting and postprandial blood sugar level were normal. Thyroid function test showed raised TSH level (16.62 ÃŽ ¼/ml). Luteinizing hormone (LH) and testosterone levels were 15 IU/L (1.8-8.6 IU/L) and 111 ng/L (300-1,000 ng/dL), respectively. Antinuclear antibody (ANA), Rheumatoid factor (RF), serum human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) ELISA test, hepatitis B and C markers were negative. Ultrasonography of abdomen showed hepatomegaly (16 cm), moderate ascites and enlargement of multiple lymph nodes along the iliac vessels. Fine needle aspiration cytology of mesenteric lymph node was inconclusive. Ascitic fluid examination revealed exudative nature (SAAG Discussion POEMS syndrome is a rare, multiple system disorder, characterized by polyneuropathy, organomegaly, endocrinopathy, monoclonal or M-protein band and skin changes. Any three of the five features may be present to establish diagnosis [2]. However, some authors have proposed clinical criteria for diagnosis in which includes two major criteria, which can be either presence of polyneuropathy or plasma cell proliferative disorder. Minor criteria include sclerotic bone lesions, organomegaly, edema, endocrinopathy, papilledema or skin changes [2]. Polyneuropathy is a predominant feature of POEMS syndrome and is found in >90% of the cases. It is usually a sensorimotor, axonal and demyelinating type polyneuropathy [3]. As in our patient, both axonal and demyelinating polyneuropathy are seen on electrodiagnostic studies. The mechanism of neuropathy is not known but the recent evidence of the presence of anti-neural antibodies points to an immunological mechanism [4]. Endocrinopathies occur with a frequency of 60%-80% and the most common are gonadal failure (70%) and glucose intolerance/diabetes mellitus (50%). Hypo or hyperthyroidism, hyperprolactinemia and adrenal insufficiency have also been reported. The mechanism of endocrinopathy is also not obvious; however, involvement of direct acting antibodies against hypothalamo-hypophyseal-axis and endocrine end organs has been hypothesized [5]. In our patient, impotence, loss of libido and testicular atrophy and hypothyroidism on ancillary laboratory investigation were present. Increased levels of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) are found in POEMS syndrome. VEGF increases microvascular permeability, thereby inducing edema, ascites and pleural effusions as were present in our patient [6,7]. However, measurement of VEGF level in ascites was not available in our patient. Papilledema may be seen in approximately 37% of patients and is not associated with the increase in intracranial pressure. The real cause of papilledema is not still known. Hepatomegaly may be seen in up to 50% of patients with splenomegaly and lymphadenopathy occurring less often. The hyperpigmentation over the face, legs and hands was also observed in our case. The skin changes usually observed in POEMS syndrome are hyperpigmentation, lichenification, hypertrichosis, sclerodermoid changes and glomeruloid hemangiomas. Skin biopsy may show inflammation, fibrosis, or nonspecific changes. Monoclonal protein is detected in more than 90% of patients and may become positive in the follow- up of patients who have no monoclonal gammopathy initially [8]. Nearly all cases reported in the literature show lambda positivity as in our patient. It may be rarely found in urine and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). The natural course of POEMS syndrome is chronic, with a reported median survival for a decade (8-13.8ys). The morbidity depends on the extent and number of systems involved. The cause of POEMS syndrome is still unknown. It is tempting to incriminate the presence of lambda light chains in the pathogenesis because of their unexpected frequency (more than 95% of patients), but histopathologic review of affected organs and nerves does not support that it is a form of deposition disorder. Increased levels of cytokines IL-1ß, TNF-Ã ¡ and IL-6, more specifically VEGF, appear to play a pathogenic role in the disorder [9,10]. In view of the constellation of a mixed polyneuropathy, monoclonal gammopathy, osteosclerotic myeloma, extravascular volume overload, bilateral papilledema, skin changes and endocrinopathies, our patient was diagnosed as POEMS syndrome. However, other close differential diagnosis like tuberculosis and hemochromatosis were ruled out with appropriate investigations. Patient was treated with combination of alkylating agent melphalan and corticosteroid. To conclude, when a patient present with unexplained sensorimotor polyneuropathy, signs of extravascular volume overload and evidence of other system involvement, a high index of suspicion should be kept for a diagnosis of POEMS syndrome, to avoid missing this rare syndrome, which is amenable to treatment. Figure Legends Figure 1. Photographs of patient showing skin hyperpigmentation over the face, hand and limbs (thin arrows). Thick arrow showing pitting edema over the left leg. Figure 2. Photograph of patient (a) showing abdominal distention (free fluid was confirmed by ultrasonography). X-ray pelvic bone (b) showing multiple sclerotic lesion over right iliac crest (thin arrow) and one large osteosclerotic lesion (thick arrow) over the neck of left femur (b). Figure 3. Nerve conduction study showing axonal and demyelinating neuropathy in right median nerve. Figure 4. Bone marrow smear in centre reveals one large atypical plasma cell, which has prominent nucleoli and abundant cytoplasm. There is loss of normal nuclear configuration with fraying border. References Bardwick PA, Zvaifler NJ, Gill GN, Newman D, Greenway GD, Resnick DL. Plasma cell dyscrasia with polyneuropathy, organomegaly, endocrinopathy, M proteins and skin changes: the POEMS syndrome: Report on two cases and a review of the literature. Medicine (Baltimore). 1980;59:311-322. Dispenzieri A, Kyle RA, Lacy MQ, Rajkumar SV, Therneau TM, Larson DR, et al. POEMS syndrome: definitions and long-term outcome. Blood. 2003;101(7):2496-2506. Min JH, Hong YH, Lee KW. Electrophysiological features of patients with POEMS syndrome. Clin Neurophysiol. 2005;116(4):965-968. Kelly JJ Jr, Kyle RA, Miles JM, O’Brian PC, Dyck PJ. The spectrum of peripheral neuropathy in myeloma. Neurology. 1981;31:31-34. Reulecke MD, Dumas M, Merrier C. Specific antibody activity against neuroendocrine tissue in a case of POEMS syndrome with IgG gammopathy. Neurology. 1988;38:614-616. DSouza A, Hayman SR, Buadi F, Mauermann M, Lacy MQ, Gertz MA, et al. The utility of plasma vascular endothelial growth factor levels in the diagnosis and follow-up of patients with POEMS syndrome. Blood. 2011;118(17):4663-4665. Watanabe O, Maruyawa I, Arimura K, Kitajawa I, Arimura H, Hanatani M, et al. Overproduction of vascular endothelial growth factor vascular permeability factor is causative in Crow-Fukase (POEMS) syndrome. Muscle Nerve. 1998;21(11):1390-1397. Miralles GD, O’Fallen JR, Talley NJ. Plasma cell dyscrasia with polyneuropathy; the spectrum of POEMS syndrome. N Eng J Med. 1992;327:1919-1923. Kanai K, Sawai S, Sogawa K, Mori M, Misawa S, Shibuya K, et al. Markedly upregulated serum interleukin-12 as a novel biomarker in POEMS syndrome. Neurology. 2012;79(6):575-582. Soubrier M, Dubost JJ, Serre AF, Ristori JM, Sauvezie B, Cathebras P, et al. Growth factors in POEMS syndrome: evidence for a marked increase in circulating vascular endothelial growth factor. Arthritis Rheum. 1997;40:786-778.

Designer Babies Essays -- essays research papers

Designer Babies I’ve been poked and prodded at ever since I can remember, but what I didn’t know was that I was actually a poked and prodded at individual even before my existence. Transplanted DNA is what they should have named me instead of Wang. I find my existence to be not as real or as wanted as others who were conceived naturally with both loving parents and even the idea of other loving parents adopting their children. It just seems unfair that my parents would make decisions for me before I was even born. The idea of someone wanting to create their child is absurd. Our bodies own process of getting rid of the bad genes is something we can not control. We can not begin to have the same instinct as our bodies. Allowing this to go on could jeopardize an individual’s identity and its remarkableness and how far is too far in parents decision making. This process will also affect the â€Å"designed baby† emotionally for the child may think they are not real in the sens e that they were created for selfish purposes. Altering an embryo's genetics affects the child physically and emotionally. As well as affecting the society as a whole in the long run. Designer babies, a term used by journalists, are described as â€Å"advanced reproductive technologies allowing parents and doctors to screen embryos for genetic disorders and for selecting healthy embryos† (Bionet). There are three ways that can be used to create this â€Å"designer baby†. â€Å"The simplest way to a designer child is human cloning: taking a cell from an adult and combining it with a human egg to make an identikit clone of the adult. This is the ultimate pedigree child with guaranteed genes [†¦] Another more difficult way to make designer people, or a super race, is to take sperm or eggs, or cells in a developing embryo, and add new genes to them. This is called germ cell alteration [†¦] A third way is to alter cells after birth. This is called somatic cell alteration. Here the effects will die out when the person dies, and will not be passed onto a second generation of designer babies† (Dixon). Parents make decisions for their children before they are even born. The unborn fetus is robbed of molding their own identity because their physical traits have been chosen for them indirectly. The child is artificial and unnatural. A science experiment preformed wrongfully, in hopes to create one’s self conscious idea of... ...hat fate can only be made possible by altering the traits that nature intended us to inherit. Thus putting wrongful thoughts of people’s views of what’s acceptable. When in reality everybody is different and that’s what gives a person an identity and if we all look the same then that would be a world of chaos and if you're not rich enough then you’re put to the side as â€Å"the ugly duckling†. Once we are capable of changing our child genetically the imperfect will not be accepted in a society of a â€Å"super human race† of intelligent, flawless, disease free people. websites where i got the quotes 1http://www.bionetonline.org/English/Content/db_cont1.htm â€Å"Advanced reproductive technologies allow parents and doctors to screen embryos for genetic disorders and select healthy embryos.† -definition 2http://www.spiked-online.com/Articles/00000006DD57.htm Debating 'designer babies' Personal reproductive choices should not be a matter for legal regulation. by Ellie Lee 3http://www.reason.com/rb/rb030602.shtml helpful info for debate pro 4http://www.globalchange.com/designer.htm sex selection should not be allowed because one should love their child no matter what sex or appearance it may have.

Human Resource and Industrial Relations Essay

In many Commonwealth Caribbean Countries since the early 1960’s, there have been attempts at Public Sector Reform by replacing the traditional system of Public Administration with what is commonly known as New Public Management and to this day, the successful implementation of such structural adjustment attempts have evaded most Governments who have dared to try. It was evident, however, that there were differences in the way each country attempted to introduce NPM. Jamaica and Barbados, for example, adhered rigorously to the primary tenets of NPM and Trinidad and Tobago by implementing some measures but not others. Human resource management (HRM) is a term which is now widely used but very loosely defined. It should be defined in such a way as to differentiate it from traditional personnel management and to allow the development of testable hypotheses about its impact. Based on theoretical work in the field of organizational behaviour it is proposed that HRM comprises a set o f policies designed to maximize organizational integration, employee commitment, flexibility and quality of work. Within this model, collective industrial relations have, at best, only a minor role. Despite the apparent attractions of HRM to managements, there is very little evidence of any quality about its impact or that of New Public Management. However, the purpose of this paper is to review and analyze some of the different approaches to Human Resource Management, New Public Management and  Industrial Relations initiatives used in Trinidad and Tobago and the extent to which the introduction of a â€Å"new† model of management in the public sector has led to a realignment in the roles, responsibilities, and relationships between the policy-makers, the bureaucracy, civil society and Trade Unions in Trinidad and Tobago. In addition, mentioning the work of two (2) well accomplished local minds who have contributed to the study of Public Sector Reform and Industrial Relations. Human Resource Management and Industrial Relations (HRIR) is a multidisciplinary area that investigates all aspects of employment relations in the public and private sector. Modern organisations i ncreasingly regard staff as their most valuable asset and a chief source of competitive advantage. Consequently, they attach great importance to how they manage people. Successful management of employment relations is vital if employees are to be motivated and organisations are to be successful. The Human resource management (HRM) side encompasses the governance of an organization’s employees and is sometimes referred to simply as human resources (HR). It is the people who work for the organization and human resource management is really employee management with an emphasis on those employees as assets of the business. Areas of HRM oversight include employee recruitment and retention, exit interviews, motivation, assignment selection, labor law compliance, performance reviews, training, professional development, mediation, change management and some extent of Industrial Relations. Industrial relations, which is sometimes called labour-management relations is a professional area of activity and is multidisciplinary, drawing from several academic areas such as law, economics, psychology, sociology and organizational theory. The field of Industrial relations also similarly encompasses the relationships between employers and employees, between employees and other employee s, between employers and their unions and advisors, between employees and their unions, between workplaces in the labour market, the environment created by historical, political, legal and social forces, cultural norms as well as the products of the industrial relations systems including industrial action, collective agreements, grievance handling and other problem-solving mechanisms. Since the 1990’s, there has been the need to transition from the traditional Public Administration (PA) to New Public Management (NPM) and the implementation of NPM ideas are closely related to Human Resources (HR)  in public institutions. In order to achieve a consistent shift, a lot of attention has been devoted to the reconstruction of Human Resource Management (HRM) as well as the improvement in the quality of Industrial Relations in Trinidad and Tobago that has become necessary due to the increasing frequency of strikes and other industrial action related to negotiations for new collective agreements. The first of the two (2) Authors who’s work are being mentioned and have made valid contributions to the field of Public Sector Reform is Dr. Ann-Marie Bissessar, a well accomplished Senior Lecturer in the Behavioural Sciences Department, University of the West Indies. Dr. Bissessar in one of her many writings entitled. â€Å"The changing nexus of power in the new public sector management of Trinidad and Tobago†, examines the extent to which the introduction of a â€Å"new† model of management in the public sector has led to a realignment of the bureaucracy and civil society in Trinidad and Tobago. The document suggests that the introduction of new public management in the public services of Trinidad and Tobago has led to changes in the structure, culture and functioning of the public sector. Doctor Bissessar argues that while there were tensions between the politician and the administrator during the post-independence period these were, to a large extent, kept in check by the rules and regulations that were part and parcel of the traditional method of administration. The introduction of principles of new public management in 1991 and the stress on greater autonomy and a more â€Å"fluid† bureaucratic arrangement, however, have fundamentally altered the power relationships between the politician and the administrator so that the division between the political sphere and the administrative sphere has become increasingly blurred. With respect to the civil society, concludes that with the exception of certain non-governmental organizations, the wider civil society continues to have a minimal input in either policy formulation or execution. Writing along the same lines of thought was Dr. Roodal Moonilal in his one of his articles entitled, â€Å"A note on the Human Re source Management and its Diffusion†. Doctor Moonilal, wrote that the notion of HRM is difficult to pin down with one definition and that is has central concerns with issues of quality, productivity, safety and the efficient use of materials. Other features include sub-contracting, re-deployment of labour, individual contracts and external forms of flexibility and much of the human relations  school. He took from the work of Allan Fox, who articulated two categories or frames of reference within which to conceptualise workplace industrial relations. He stated that Fox outlined a unitary frame of reference which stressed the importance of a common objective for the enterprise, with one source of authority and one focus of loyalty, all participants have the same basic aim and all aspire to share in the rewards which will accrue from the attainment of this aim. Conflict within this framework is denied, as Fox states, â€Å"the doctrine of common purpose and harmony of interests implies that apparent conflict is either (a) merely frictional, e.g. due to incompatible personalities or â€Å"things going wrong†, or (b) caused by faulty â€Å"communications†, e.g. â€Å"misunderstandings† about aims or met hods, or (c) the result of stupidity in the form of failure to grasp the communality of interest, or (d) the work of agitators inciting the supine majority who would otherwise be content† (1966:12). Improving human relations and communications are said to be the appropriate methods to avoid conflict which is seen as the result of poor social relations. In the unitary frame the presence of trade unions is seen as an â€Å"intrusion† into the private, peaceful and unified structure, they compete â€Å"illegitimately† for control over, and the loyalty of, the employees and are considered â€Å"foreign and alien† to the private affairs of the company. Foxs’ work also identified a â€Å"pluralist† frame which accepts that an enterprise contains groups with a variety of different interests, aims and aspirations and it is therefore a coalition of different interests rather than the embodiment of one common goal. In the pluralist enterprise conflict is normal, expected and should not be suppressed but the aim must be to keep it within accepted bounds to prevent the destruction of the enterprise. The article also states that if HRM can be located conceptually within the unitary ideology in the 1960s, it must also be traced to forms of strategic industrial relations adopted during the very period. The emerg ence of productivity bargaining defined as â€Å"an exchange of higher wages for more work, or the same wages in less time, or for greater flexibility and mobility of labour was seen as an earlier attempt by management to give direction to industrial relations. By the late 1970s external forces placed a focus on HRM in the academic and professional circuits as well as a wide range of features and dramatically contrasting reports on its implementation, impact and implications. The  article also stressed the need for Total Quality Management (TQM) and that the historical labour-management distrust and war in industrial relations has no place in Human Resource Management while stating that there are however characteristics of HRM which can threaten the functioning of traditional trade unionism. Dr. Moonilal states that even though some features of HRM can threaten the Union, they can only endanger a Union if it is weak at the shop floor level with a membership which is immobilized and lacking faith in the collective action and skill in representation. The Practitioners of industrial relations were said to be trade union officers, human resource managers, conciliators, mediators, labour department officials and project managers, among others. The main focus of industrial relations is on people in the workplace, whether such a workplace is a large transnational organization, or a small family firm, whether those employed are on a contract of service or on a contract for service; and whether or not a union is involved at the workplace. Indeed, industrial relations can exist even where collective agreements do not materialize. PART A Like most islands in the Caribbean, Trinidad and Tobago emerged from colonization in the early 1960s extremely poor and with an economy structured around resource exports. Trinidad and Tobago’s tremendous growth spurt slowed, and the economy entered a ten-year period of sluggish growth and had become urbanized, many belonging to the middle class, a situation unknown in most developing countries. As economic growth slowed, increased demands were voiced for adequate housing, better labor rights, more jobs, improved living and working conditions, more equitable distribution of wealth, and national ownership of resources. Despite these demands, the socioeconomic problems present in Trinidad and Tobago were hardly as acute as in other Caribbean countries; nonetheless, such issues as negative attitudes toward foreign ownership tended to dominate. Led by the charismatic and intellectual Eric Williams since its independence in 1962, citizens of Trinidad and Tobago, like people through out the region, hoped and expected that political independence would bring not only dignity but economic improvement. The moderate growth Trinidad and Tobago had been experiencing resulted in some gains for the population. During this time,  the islands’ labor force was highly unionized and the industrial relations climate in Trinidad and Tobago was growing tense with the development of the trade union movement. There was an increasing number of strikes and labour disputes which threatened the economic growth and productivity of the country. The Public Service employees were described as being indolent, inefficient and corrupt and it was impossible to discipline anyone or reform the service. So, It was said that the Public Service no longer attracted the best. The Government of the day could no longer delay in taking legislative action to regulate the relations between unions, workers and employers and there was an urgent need for change and the role of government in the economy increased drastically during the 1960s. The year 1962 was actually when the first step in the development of the collective bargaining process in Trinidad and Tobago was taken in November of that year, just three (3) months after the country obtained Independence from the British in 1962. An agreement was signed by the Secretary to Cabinet at the time on behalf of the Government and by the leadership of the Civil Service Association, the recognized representative for Civil Servants. It established a Civil Service Arbitration Tribunal with the power to decide issues remaining unresolved between the Government and the Association. The Tribunal was designed to function on an â€Å"Ad Hoc† basis and under the Whitley Council System, the Colonial Secretary and subsequently, the Secretary to Cabinet discussed matters relating to the Terms and Conditions of employments in the Civil Service with the Executive of the Civil Service Association .However, the right to approve of not approve any agreements reached was reserved to the Governor General after Independence. The relationship then changed between the Government and the Association and by extension the Civil Service, by bringing an end to the virtually absolute authority previously exercised by the Government. The next phase of Collecting Bargaining was achieved in 1966 when Parliament passed the Civil Service Act as Act No. 29 of 1965. This Act which came into force on August 27, 1966 provided for an effective system of Collective Bargaining referred to in the Act as consultation and Negotiation. The Act established the Personnel Department of Government which was headed by the Chief Personnel Officer and staffed by Civil Servants to; maintain the class of Civil  Servants and keep under review the remuneration payable to them, administer the general regulations respecting the Civil Servants, provide for and establish procedures for consultation between the Personnel Department and an any Association in respect to classification of officers, any grievances and Terms and Conditions of Emp loyment of Civil Servants. Those aspects of the employment relationship which could not be left to collective bargaining such as employee health and safety, minimum age of employment and workers’ compensation, retrenchment and severance benefits and maternity leave are set down in legislation which bind the State and private employers. As a result the Industrial Stabilisation Act, 1965, was enacted. This Act introduced the concept of compulsory arbitration to Trinidad and Tobago by the establishment of the Industrial Court. The main function of this Court was to intervene to prevent and settle industrial disputes between employers and their union represented workers. The Industrial Stabilisation Act was later repealed and replaced by the Industrial Relations Act, 1972, Chapter 88:01 of the Laws of Trinidad and Tobago to provide for the following: free collective bargaining between employer and workers through their representative associations, the development of a peaceful and expeditious procedure for the settlement of disputes, the establishment of the Industrial Court,  the recognition and registration of trade unions,   the freedom to be represented by a trade union and the right not to associate, and industrial action which may be taken by both employer and employee. In addition, Provision was made for a T ripartite industrial relations advisory committee which had the responsibility of reviewing the IRA and making recommendations to the Minister of Labour. This way the Act kept up with industrial relations trends. The general industrial relations policy in Trinidad and Tobago was based on voluntary collective bargaining between employers and workers, via their representative associations, for the settlement of terms and conditions of employment. While the Government has ratified several ILO Conventions, including the Tripartite Consultation (International Labour Standards) Convention, 1976 (No. 144), these Conventions only become effective when they are legislatively implemented. A 144 Tripartite Committee, comprising all of the social partners, trade  unions, employers, and Government, in operation in Trinidad and Tobago with the responsibility of considering and recommending the ratification of ILO Conventions. State employees included all civil servants, teachers and members of the Protective Services (Fire, Police and Prison Services). The employment relationship between the State and its employees was governed generally by legislation, which made provisions for terms and conditions of e mployment including recruitment, hours of work, leave entitlements, payment of remuneration, pensions, allowances and other benefits. There was legislation which dealt specifically with each group, such as the Civil Service Act, Chap 23:01 for all civil servants, the Police Service Act, Chap. 15:01, as revised by the Police Service Bill (2003), the Fire Service Act, Chap. 35:50 and the Education Act, Chap 39:01 for teachers. The representative associations of monthly paid State employees may bargain collectively with the Chief Personnel Officer, who is deemed to be the employer of State employees under the IRA. The subject of these negotiations include wage increases, travelling and other allowances and leave entitlements. Other legislations were as follow: The Occupational Safety and Health Act – Sets standards for employee health and safety at the workplace The Workmen’s Compensation Act or the Employment Injury and Disability Benefits Bill – Provides compensation where employees are injured on the job Retrenchment and Severance Benefits Act – Guarantees the payment of severance pay to retrenched employees. The Maternity Protection Act – Provides maternity leave and related benefits to female employees PART B In December 1991 a new government was elected in Trinidad and Tobago. It soon embarked on an ambitious programme of public sector reform under the overall direction of Gordon Draper as Minister in the Office of the Prime Minister with responsibility for Public Administration and Public Information. The programme drew directly on the NPM paradigm and sought to deliver decentralised management, improved morale and productivity, improved human resource management, improved quality of service and delivery, and improved budgeting and accounting systems. The details of the programme were set out  in detail in a publication of the MTSD as A Profile of the Public Service of Trinidad and Tobago (Commonwealth Secretariat 1995). It covered seven areas, three of which were elaborated in some detail. The first was ‘making the most of staff’ through training and development, the establishment of ‘change teams’ within ministries to lead reform, new systems of performance appraisal, and improving work performance by upgrading accommodation and developing an employee assistance programme. The second focused on ‘making government more efficient’ through the introduction of strategic planning, improving productivity via computerisation, contracting out services, redundancy management, and conducting comprehensive audits, a view also shared by Dr. Bissessar and Dr. Moonilal as mentioned previously. The third area, ‘improving policy analysis and co-ordination’, was to be achieved by creating standing committees of Cabinet in vital areas for national economic development, improving policy presentation in the media, and creating more mechanisms for public consultation on national development. The other areas addressed the quality of public services, partnerships with the private sector and non-government organisations, effective management and the management of finance. It was a comprehensive vision and some of the ideas, mechanisms and procedures set forth in it have since been adopted by other Caribbean countries in their programmes of reform. In Trinidad and Tobago, however, it ran into difficulties. One was over the powers and responsibilities of the Public Service Commission (PSC). The reforms proposed their reduction and rationalisation, with many of them being exercised by ministries and other public agencies in accordance with the more decentralised management principles of NPM. These were resisted by the PSC, which claimed that the government was unfairly blaming them for failures in the public service. They also questioned the introduction of private sector values into the very different ethos of the public service (Trinidad and Tobago 1995). Another was the proposal to establish human resource units in ministries which would have seriously weakened the Personnel Department. A number of ministries submitted plans but there was much delay in implementation reducing the effectiveness of the reform. Other changes in this area, such as performance appraisal, also met employee resistance, suggesting a strong cultural re sistance to change. However, on the one hand, public servants supported change which was beneficial to them  Ã¢â‚¬Å"such as training, pay increases, systems of career path planning and enhanced opportunities†. On the other, they were â€Å"afraid of change† which was in any way radical, rather than incremental, since they equated it with â€Å"retrenchment and downsizing† which would threaten their jobs and erode their tenure. In such circumstances it is not surprising that many were â€Å"openly hostile to suggestions for further reform†. In the face of such opposition, and also a lessening of commitment to micro-manage change by the political leadership, the reform programme slowly ground to a halt. The role of the state in development has come under challenge. The reasons for this include the fiscal crises that hit most developing countries in the 1980s, weakening the ability of the state to fund development programmes; the stabilisation and structural adjustment policies that followed, which imposed reductions in the role and size of government and an increase in the scope and activities of the private sector; and the elaboration, from the beginning of the 1990s, o f programmes of ‘good governance’ which aimed to build ‘an effective state’ through matching a state’s role to its capability, which required a sharper focus on fundamentals, and raising state capability by reinvigorating public institutions. In the achievement of these last set of activities sweeping public sector reform was to be encouraged. The impact of such programmes on the developing world has been the subject of much comment. In the case of small states it raised particular difficulties. The public sector tends to be proportionately bigger and its responsibility for delivering services across a wide range of activities greater than in many larger countries. There were thus serious questions about any proposal to reduce the role of the state. At the same time the need for public sector reform was acknowledged in many small states. The New Public Sector Management (NPSM) is the transfer of business and market principles and management processes from the private sector into the public service itself, or outsourcing government activities to the special purpose companies owned by a government or even to the private sector. There is or has been no empirical evidence that NPSM reforms of the public service or outsourcing have led to productivity increases or public welfare improvements even by private sector standards. Th is is because there are basic problems implicit in the NPSM model which derive from the fact that the aims of the public service differ from those of the private sector.  The private sector is about competition and maximizing profits. The proponents of NPSM seek to treat the public as though they are consuming private sector goods and services. The use of these business techniques in the delivery of public functions constricts the accomplishment of the basic tenets of the state: democracy, regularity, transparency and due process, which are surely more important than perceived efficiency and speed. With regards to its impact on the Industrial Relations System, traditionally, trade unions in the Caribbean, in negotiating wages and conditions of employment for their members, have resorted to the confrontational approach to settle outstanding issues. In the early days of trade unionism, this approach was extremely successful and was effectively used. It can be said that employers were cognizant of the close relationship that existed between the political leaders in most of the Caribbean islands and the trade union leaders. In some instances, they were one and the same person. As the countries became independent and t he impact of adverse economic circumstances began to be felt, employers in both the public sector and private sector responded by resorting to taking tough economic decisions. Invariably, these decisions focused on the way in which wage increases were negotiated, the level of these increases and the impact which they had on government finances and on profits at the level of the enterprise. As a consequence, collective bargaining took a new turn as trade unions were forced to examine seriously their approach to the preparation of proposals and the presentation of their case. At the same time, alternative approaches to confrontation were examined and in some instances adopted. Social dialogue has been developed by the ILO as one of the alternative approaches recommended to the social partners (governments, employers and trade unions). A number of studies on best practices in selected enterprises in the Caribbean are being developed to demonstrate how effective social dialogue can be in increasing productivity and in keeping with the New Public Management approaches. However, it seems to me that there has been increasingly forceful moves by trade unions in Tr inidad and Tobago over the past few years to influence national policies and issues. This may be out of frustrated expectations which originate from political and economic circumstances. Whatever the reason, it is has begun to have a negative impact on the workers they represent and the wider society. If this  situation is not addressed it may very well deteriorate and there will be unintended adverse consequences, including loss of employment opportunities and declining standards of living for those whose interests should be served by the unions. The principal stakeholders must re-examine their contributions to the current state of affairs and resolve to bring about the necessary transformation. We need to start the process of change now and even though it would be time consuming, it must be done. It requires an understanding of the realities of the global economy and the imperative for small economies such as ours to survive and in the longer term, to prosper. Trinidad and Tobago has been in a more fortunate position due to our rich hydrocarbon industry and prices being unexpectedly high. However, this should not be the basis of planning sustainable economic grow th and development. The future requires all the social partners to work together, replacing confrontation by cooperation and collaboration. This can only be accomplished if there are suitable multipartite mechanisms established by the government and adhered to by all stakeholders (government, labour, private sector and civil society) whereby meaningful consultation leads to consensus on common objectives and the strategies by which these can be achieved. There must be a major paradigm shift from dependency on oil and gas revenues to support artificially high employee compensation without regard for productivity. There can be no justification for such irrational approaches to industrial relations. It is time to adopt new methods of resolving issues and to put the issue of pay for performance and productivity on the front burner. The era of ‘might is right’ is a luxury we can no longer afford. We need to usher in a new dispensation of enlightened industrial relations to create a truly developed society. Relations between companies and unions need to shift from being adversarial to one of co-operation and it is critical for both parties, union and management to jointly address the competitive pressures and to work together to harness the skills and the commitment of the workforce. The manufacturing and public sectors in many countries have been the traditional base of support for trade unions. They are now experiencing cons iderable difficulties in maintaining and increasing membership. It is the hope of many that the Government will begin the process of getting the economy back on its feet. In doing so, there is always the potential for increased agitation by trade  unions that could ultimately lead to Industrial action where their demands for double digit wage increases cannot be met by the Government. Such a situation can also impact the industrial relations environment across the private sector where unionization is concentrated, particularly along the East-West Corridor. There is also, the perception among many in society that our industrial relations climate will become increasingly adversarial. Employers are more weary of unionization today more than ever before given the current approach to negotiations and dispute resolution by certain trade unions. This is most unfortunate since these very employers accept that trade unions have a critical role to play in shaping industrial relations in our country and facilitating an economic recovery. It goes without saying that industrial action in any form and by anyone can lead to huge disruptions, losses in production and ultimately adverse long-term economic consequences if unchecked and properly regulated. The problem is that much of the current legislation and regulation governing industrial action was formulated back in the 1960â €™s and at a time when there were no legislative safeguards and specified minimum working conditions. On the other hand, the situation is very different today. Today, most workers enjoy legislative protections  in areas ranging from unfair dismissals to minimum wages, maternity leave and severance benefits. It is important to note that in the 1960s trade union membership was more than twice as much as it is now and industrial relations was more about power relations hence the prevalence of adversarial relationships between employers and workers. Today, this too has changed somewhat and great strides have been made to encourage tripartism, social dialogue and labour management co-operation. The movement towards human capital as the major investment for competitive advantage has greatly accelerated. Improved communication of total reward packages through face-to-face meetings, total reward statements and flexible benefits have in most workplaces replaced indirect forms of communication and the significance of basic pay in the overall remuneration package. The one (1) major area that needed to be addressed was the Industrial Court, which was noted to have served the country will but has not been perfect in  its judgments. Many have questioned whether there is a need for the Industrial Court as some of its judgments have been criticized. In a report submitted to Errol McLeod, Minister of Labour, Small and Micro Development Enterprises on July 29, 2013 by the Industrial Relations Advisement Report Committee, it stated twenty-five (25) recommendations for changes needed within the Industrial Relations Sector. The report stated that there is a need to ensure that the Industrial Court is examined and brought up to a more modern constitution, since there have been no direct changes in the Labour Relations Sector for decades. There are issues with the tenure of Judges, Independence of the Court, Migrant Law, Minimum Wages, Maternity Protection, Work men’s Compensation Ordinance and Retrenchment and Severance Pay. It was also stated that the Collective Bargaining process must be done in a more timely basis. The Industrial Relations Advisement Report Committee also stressed in their extensive report that it was crucial to the Industrial Relations Sector that all twenty-five (25) recommendations made be addressed. With this in mind, it is clear that what our industrial relations system needs now is a modernized legal framework which is relevant to changes in working life, modern human resource management practices and technological advancement. It also needs a proper functioning Industrial Court to preside over all its matters. RECOMMENDATION AND CONCLUSION While several attempts have also been made in the past to improve the operations of the Public Service of Trinidad and Tobago, the challenges associated with Human Resource Management and its evolution into New Public Management, accountability, information and technology, communication technology, leadership systems and the systems of laws and procedures continue to occur. The culture of the Public Service has been one referred to as too â€Å"laid back† and that any diversion from the â€Å"status quo† is frowned upon and resisted. There needs to be collaboration between key central agencies to facilitate their acceptance of the fact that change is needed and accept the relevant responsibilities. Governments need to properly formulate and oversee the implementation of comprehensive change management strategies and have a robust legislative analysis of these  changes. Provisions must be created to ensure effective implementation and review, communication and networking within and among various Ministries and Departments. There also needs to be a strengthening of the Civil Service and administrative components of Public Service Reform, providing them with a better frame work and indicator set. More attention must be given to the budget execution phases of Financial Management and sufficient resources must be allocated to ensure that the officers can perform at their best and with a sense of urgency. With all this in mind, it is quite obvious that any kind or nature of Reform is a work in progress. BIBLIOGRAPHY Labour Law Profile. â€Å"National Labour Profile: Trinidad and Tobago Web. 27 July 2011 http://www.ilo.org/resrch/intro Trinidad and Tobago Economic Development Web. August 2011 www.photius.com/countries/Trinidad and Tobago Bissessar, Ann-Marie. â€Å"The changing nexus of power in the New Public Sector Management of Trinidad and Tobago†. Department of Behavioral Sciences, University of the West-Indies International Journal of Public Sector Management. Web.Vol. 16ISS: No.109 Moonilal, Roodal Dr. â€Å"A note on HRM and Its Diffusion†. June 13, 2009 Sutton, Paul. â€Å"Public Sector Reform in Small States† Cases from the Commonwealth Caribbean. (2009) â€Å"Industrial Relations in Trinidad and Tobago.† Wikipidea Online. Encyclopedia Wikipedea, 2012. Web. 13 Nov. 2013. Young, Greg. Home page. Web. 13 Nov. 2013 Chamber of Commerce. â€Å"The Current Industrial Relations Climate in Trinidad and Tobago† Chamber of Commerce, 2011. Web. 10 Nov 2013

Reflection in Higher Education Learning Essay

Personal development planning (PDP) can involve different forms of reflection and reflective learning. Much has been written and said about reflection in recent times, but for many, it remains a somewhat mysterious activity – or is it a capacity? Whatever it is, if the titles of modules and courses, and references in QAA benchmark statements are anything to go by, we are using it extensively in a range of contexts in learning and professional development in higher education. This paper is intended to provide a background to reflection and reflective learning for the development of PDP within the higher education sector. It will provide a brief guide to current thinking about reflection, a discussion of its application in higher education learning and some practical support for the use of reflective activities. Developing a conception of reflection Like many topics in higher education, the notion of reflection has encouraged both a theoretical and a practical literature. The focus of this paper is primarily on the practical uses of reflection but a brief discussion of theoretical approaches will locate the thinking in an academic context and it will facilitate further study of the topic where this is required. The aim in this section is to produce a conception of reflection that takes account of the theory but that can be applied practically and usefully in formal and informal learning contexts. But we start from where we are†¦.. Starting from where we are†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦a common-sense view of reflection There is no point in defining reflection in a manner that does not relate to the everyday use of the word if further confusion is not to be created. ‘Reflection’ a word we use in everyday conversation. What might we mean by it? In common-sense terms, reflection lies somewhere around the notion of learning. We reflect on something in order to consider it in more detail (eg ‘Let me reflect on that for a moment’). Usually we reflect because we have a purpose for reflecting – a goal to reach. Sometimes we find ourselves ‘being reflective’ and out of that ‘being reflective’, something ‘pops up’. There has been no conscious purpose as such – but there is a useful outcome and there may have been a subconscious purpose. It is also apparent that we reflect on things that are relatively complicated. We do not reflect on a simple addition sum – or the route to the corner shop. We reflect on things for which there is not an obvious or immediate solution. Often the latter will be instigated by or associated with a range of feelings and the experience of such reflection may be emotional or spiritual. We return to issues concerning emotion and reflec tion later. It would seem that reflection is thus a means of working on what we know already. We put into the reflection process knowledge that we already have (thoughts, ideas, feelings etc), we may add new information and then we draw out of it something that accords with the purpose for which we reflected. A simple definition of reflection might be: Reflection is a form of mental processing – like a form of thinking – that we use to fulfil a purpose or to achieve some anticipated outcome. It is applied to relatively complicated or unstructured ideas for which there is not an obvious solution and is largely based on the further processing of knowledge and understanding and possibly emotions that we already possess (based on Moon 1999): Some theoretical approaches to reflection Reflection is theorised in so many different ways that it might seem that we a looking at range of human capacities rather than apparently one. To start with, we review briefly several of what might be called the ‘classical’ approaches. John Dewey wrote on the educational implications of a range of human mental functions over the earlier years of the twenty first century. His work was based on keen observation of the functioning of others and reflection on his own processes. Dewey’s interest in his own processes makes his writing particularly interesting in the current context. It appears that somewhere in the middle part of this century education researchers forgot that they are people too with, between their finger-tips, an amazingly useful resource from which to learn about human functioning. The return to this understanding could be seen to be an important benefit of the interest in reflection. The legitimacy of ‘I’ and ‘my functioning’ is being re-established and the role of personal development planning will also carry this forward in the near future. Dewey saw reflection as a specialised form of thinking. He described it as: ‘a kind of thinking that consists in turning a subject over in the mind and giving it serious thought’. His definition of reflection is that it is: ‘Active, persistent and careful consideration of any belief or supposed form of knowledge in the light of the grounds that support it, and further conclusions to which it leads†¦it includes a conscious and voluntary effort to establish belief upon a firm basis of evidence and rationality’ (Dewey, 1933). Jurgen Habermas (1971) focused on the way in which humans process ideas and construct them into knowledge. Reflection plays a role in this process. Habermas talked about three kinds of knowledge –  instrumental knowledge – where we know ‘how’ or ‘that’ and where the concern of the knowledge is to understand and thereby function within, and control our human environment. – knowledge that is concerned with the interpretation of human action and behaviour. We largely ‘interpret’ in the social sciences in order to better our understanding of society and human behaviour. – knowledge that is a way of working with knowledge, acting on the first two forms of knowledge. This form of knowledge is developed through critical or evaluative modes of thinking and leads towards the emancipation or transformation of personal, social or other situations. It concerns the quality of the bases on which we make judgements. There is some disagreement about the role of reflective processes in the development of instrumental knowledge – given that the development of sophisticated science can match this form of knowledge. However, it certainly has an important role in the interpretation and comparisons of understanding in the second level and in the critical and evaluative modes of the third. David Kolb (1984) is well known for his development of the Kolb cycle – or cycle of experiential learning. The cycle is drawn in many different ways using different words that sometimes seem to affect its meaning. It is depicted below in a simplified manner that it is not too far from Kolb’s words: Concrete experiencing (have an experience) Active experimentation Reflective observation (try out what you have learned)(reflect on the experience) Abstract conceptualising (learn from the experience) The cycle revolves with new learning undergoing active experimentation and ‘recycled’ through new experiencing. In this way what was a cycle becomes a spiral (Cowan 1998). Thus Kolb considered reflection as a mental activity that has a role in learning from experience. In the Kolb cycle, reflection features as a development of the process of observation – and apparently it occurs before a person has learnt. Others would see reflection as part of learning and part of the processing of material already learned, having a  kind of cognitive ‘housekeeping role’ as well as generating new learning (Moon, 1999a). The notion of reflection as part of the means of learning something new seems to conflict with the common-sense use of the term (above). There is a massive literature on experiential learning, much of which is based on the Kolb cycle, and much of which perhaps over simplifies what is an immensely complex activity. While the cycle does have has value, it may say more about how we manage the learning of others, than about the process of learning per se (ie. it is more about the teaching process). Donald Schon focused on reflection in professional knowledge and its development (1983, 1987). He suggested that there is a crisis in the professions related to a mis-understanding of the relationship of theory to practice and of the kind of theory that a professional uses to guide her practice. The espoused theory – as learnt in formal institutions and in professional training – is not the theory that proficient professionals eventually use to guide practice. They build up an expertise from their practice (theory-in-use) by being reflective. Schon noted that the theory in use tends to be tacit. Professionals are not necessarily able to describe the basis on which they act. A particular role of professional development is to make this ‘knowing-in-action’ explicit so that it can be the subject of further reflection and conscious development. Schon suggests that there are two types of relevant reflection. Reflection-on-action is the reviewing that occurs after an event while reflection-in-action is part of the processing of an effective practitioner while actually acting. There are doubts expressed about the existence of a form of reflection that occurs while an individual is acting (eg Eraut, 1994) and sometimes Schon has been inconsistent in his writing. However he has had great influence in stirring up debate on the nature of professional knowledge and the role of reflection in professional education. Many others have written about reflection, most developing ideas from those mentioned above. Examples are Boud, Keogh and Walker, 1985; Boud and  Walker, 1998; Cowan, 1998, and Brockbank and McGill, 1998. Much of the material in this paper is derived from Moon, 1999 which takes a broader and sometimes more critical view of reflection and focuses on its relationship to learning. We thus have described a common-sense view of reflection and those of four influential theorists but we could be reviewing four different human activities that happen to have the same name – reflection. Might there be a common idea lurking there, or an explanation as to how the ideas could fit together? Moon (1999) suggests that the differences in approach are accounted for largely by different focuses – either on the process of reflection, on the purpose for it or the outcomes of reflection – in effect, how it is used. Schon, for example, is concerned about reflection as a mechanism for professional and perhaps personal development while Habermas is concerned with its role in the building of theory. Kolb explores the role of reflection in learning – setting a context for it, but referring relatively little to reflection itself. Dewey is exceptional in taking a holistic view of reflection as a process – a view that accords with the common sense definition above. Before we pull these ideas into a summarising model there is one more stray factor that some, but not all of the approaches to reflection mention and that is the role of emotion in reflection. Some theorists see the role of emotion in reflection as very significant and frequently neglected (eg. Boud, Keogh and Walker, 1985). However, there are questions to be asked. Is the emotional content of reflection always present and influential? We would seem to be able to reflect on a number of ideas without emotional content to the reflection. Then – are emotional effects the subject matter of the input and output of reflection (like other ideas on which reflection occurs), or do they steer the process of reflection (acting as a kind of milieu in which reflection takes place). Could they be part of the process of reflection? If they are part of the input and / or outcome – is it ‘knowledge of how I feel’ or is it the actual feeling that is part of the  input and / or outcome? All of these seem to fit experiences of reflection and there is no clear answer in the literature. A relatively simple input – outcome model of reflection seems to summarise the variety of approaches to reflection in the literature. It locates the approach of Dewey and the common-sense definition as concerned with the input and the actual psychological event of reflecting with others largely concerned with the outcomes of reflection. In other words, it suggests that reflection is a simple process but with complex outcomes that relate to many different areas of human functioning. Fig 1 provides a summary of these ideas and a basis for the consideration of reflection in PDP. Broadly it adopts the definition for the process of reflection on page 2 but recognises that there are different contexts for reflection that often influence our understanding of its meaning.Fig 1 An input / outcome model of reflection The relationship between reflection and learning What is the relationship between reflection and learning? Much has been written about both reflection and learning and there seems to be an assumption that reflection is related to learning – but what is the relationship? We explore it in this section (there is more detail in Moon, 1999) Reflection and the learner’s approach to learning One set of ideas that seems to be significant to unravelling the relationship between learning and reflection within the process of learning seem to be the research on approaches to learning (Marton, Hounsell and Entwistle, 1997). This research suggests that there is a fundamental difference in success in learning between adopting a ‘deep’ approach and a ‘surface’ approach to a learning task. A deep approach is where the intention of the learner is to understand the meaning of the material. She is willing to integrate it into her existing body of previous ideas, and understandings, reconsidering and altering her understandings if necessary. The new ideas are ‘filed’ carefully and integrated. In contrast, a surface approach to  learning is where a learner is concerned to memorise the material for what it is, not trying to understand it in relation to previous ideas or other areas of understanding. It is as if the new ideas need to be retained f or the moment, but not ‘filed’ for any lasting purpose. These approaches to learning are not ‘either or’ situations, but at extremes of a continuum and the same learner may choose to learn differently according to the task at hand. The conception of a continuum of approaches to learning allows us to hypothesise a hierarchy of stages of learning along the continuum that characterise surface and then progressively deeper approaches to learning. This is a useful device when we attempt to locate reflection in the process. It is important to note that we cannot actually see that learning has occurred, we can see only the results of learning which can be termed the ‘representation of learning’. The same area of learning might be represented in different ways – writing, oral account, graphic display and so on and it is through the description of the representation of learning that we identify the stages of learning. The stages are as follows: Noticing, – the least detailed form of learning – you cannot learn something if you do not notice it at some level (which could be unconscious). Representation is of the material is as memorised, modified only by the degree to which it is forgotten. Making sense – getting to know the material as coherent – but only in relation to itself. Facts may be fitted together like a jigsaw but not related to previous understandings. Representation is coherent reproduction, but not related to other ideas and not processed. Making meaning – the beginnings of deep approach – there is a sense of meaningfulness but there is not much evidence of going beyond the given. Representation is of ideas that are integrated and well linked. There is the beginning of development of a holistic view. Working with meaning – a sense now of going beyond the given, linking into other ideas. There is the creation of relationships of new material with other ideas. Representation is reflective, well structured and demonstrates the linking of material with other ideas which may change as a result. Transformative learning – evidence that the new learning has transformed current understandings in reflective processes. Representation demonstrates strong restructuring of ideas and ability to evaluate the processes of reaching that learning. There are creative / idiosyncratic responses. On the basis of this model, There are at least three ways in which reflection might be seen as relating to learning. a) Reflection has a role in the deeper approaches to learning – the last three stages described above, but not in surface approaches to learning (the first two stages); b) We learn from representing learning – when we write an essay or explain something or draw a picture of it, we represent it to ourselves and learn from the re-processing (Eisner, 1991). This is a reflective process; c) We ‘upgrade’ learning. For example, we can go back to ideas learnt only to the stage of ‘making sense’ (eg in the form of facts – bits and pieces) and can reprocess those ideas through reflection, integrating them with current understandings (Vygotsky, 1978). This might be conceived as a kind of ‘chewing the cud’ exercise – or cognitive housekeeping (see earlier). These forms of learning from reflection are commonly exploited in the patterns of higher education pedagogy. In the case of the first (a), there is much literature on the encouragement of students to take a deep approach to learning (Marton et al, (1997). At the same time, there is acknowledgement that nature of current higher education may inhibit these attempts (lack of contact with students, the ‘boxed’ nature of learning in a modular system etc). In particular it is worth remembering that assessment tends to drive student learning and if students (can) perceive that a deep  approach is the manner in which to succeed in a learning task, they are more likely to adopt such an approach. In terms of learning from the representation of learning (b), we ask students to reprocess their learning into essays, examinations, reports and explanations in tutorials. It is interesting to consider the implications of Eisner’s suggestion that we learn differently from different forms of representation. In different forms of representation we exploit reflection differently. We probably do not fully enough exploit the representation of learning as a means of enhancing learning in current higher education. A well functioning tutorial system is an example of a means by which we encourage students to upgrade their learning (c). A student lecture is not ideal ground for taking a deep approach to learning. It seems likely that the attempt to get notes down on paper would interfere with the processing involved in taking a deep approach to learning. Preparation for and involvement in a tutorial is the opportunity for many students to reflect on and process their learning into a more meaningful state – in other words, to ‘re-file’ it. Revision for examinations is another opportunity for review of previous learning such that understanding is deepened (Entwistle and Entwistle, 1992). It is interesting to note that the value of the Kolb cycle (see above), and the whole notion that learning is enhanced through experimentation or ‘doing’ is explained by a) and b). If learners are required to represent their learning in some meaningful activity, they will have have been forced to adopt a deep approach to the learning in the first place – or to upgrade their surface quality learning (c ) into more meaningful material. Reflection provides the right conditions for learning We have suggested above some ways in which reflection is immediately related to the learning process, but there also seem to be other forms of this relationship that are usefully described in the notion that the activity of reflection provides the right conditions for good learning (Moon, 1999a).  We summarise these ideas below, continuing the lettering system from above since these are more ways in which learning and reflection are interrelated. d) Reflection slows down activity, giving the time for the learner to process material of learning and link it with previous ideas. There is evidence that when a lecturer pauses in a lecture, the ‘wait time’ enables students to learn better (Tobin, 1987). We could more often stop and ask students to think about an issue that has arisen in a lecture (etc). e) Reflection enables learners to develop greater ‘ownership’ of the material of learning, making it more personally meaningful to themselves and improving their grasp of it (Rogers, 1969). It will also enhance the student’s ‘voice’ in her learning (Elbow, 1981). f) A particularly important means by which reflective activity generally supports learning is through the encouragement of metacognition. Metacognition is the awareness of one’s own cognitive functioning – in this case, learning. There is evidence that good learners have better metacognitive processes than poor learners (Ertmer and Newby, 1996). Study skills programmes that support learner’s awareness of their learning processes seem to be more successful than those that focus on techniques (Main, 1985). g) We suggested above that reflection occurs when we are dealing with material that is relatively complicated – or ill-structured. If we are encouraging students to reflect, we are, in a sense, challenging their learning. There is evidence that it is by challenging learners with ill-structured material of learning, that they improve their cognitive ability (King and Kitchener, 1994). 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