Group items tagged

"The PowerPoint presentation BMJ 2007; 335 doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmj.38994.480845.DE (Published 20 December 2007) Cite this as: BMJ 2007;335:1292 Article Related content Read responses (3) Article metrics David Isaacs, senior staff specialist1, Stephen Isaacs, consultant2, Dominic Fitzgerald, senior staff specialist3 Author Affiliations davidi@chw.edu.au The main purpose of a PowerPoint presentation is entertainment. Intellectual content is an unwarranted distraction. In preparing a PowerPoint presentation, aesthetics should transcend substance. The background colour scheme and logo for your slides should be selected for maximum emetogenic potential. The first inverse ridicule rule of PowerPoint presentation states: "The more lines of writing that can be coerced onto a slide and the smaller the font, the lower the risk of anyone criticising any data which has accidentally been included." The second rule states: "The number of slides you can show in your allotted time is inversely proportional to the number of awkward questions which can be asked at the end." PowerPoint has superseded the carousel era, when presentations were severely limited by the number of slots in the slide carousel and the risk of dropping the lot seconds before your talk. Plagiarism laws do not apply to PowerPoint, so cartoons of marginal relevance but high entertainment value can be downloaded and shown at suitable intervals to maintain audience mirth while minimising critical capacity. Research has shown that the ideal cartoon:data ratio is 5:1. The seasoned PowerPoint artist or PowerPointilliste has refined the presentation into a son-et-lumiere extravaganza, in which scattered dots and luminescent clumps of meaningless datasets hurtle on to the screen from all points of the compass, to the strident strains of Handel's Fireworks Music, building inexorably to a Fantasia-style Sorcerer's Apprentice climax. This fulfils an important s

" The SusHouse methodology is in essence a combination of creativity workshops and scenario building together with stakeholders. The methodology has been inspired to a large extend by the methodology developed in the Sustainable Technological Development (STD) Programme of the Netherlands (1992-1997), and in this Programme by the project Sustainable Washing. An important element of the methodology is called 'Back-casting' (think backwards from a desirable or unavoidable future situation). Like in the STD Programme the premise of the project is that in the long term (50 years) a drastic reduction of environmental burden is necessary (factor 20). This reduction will not be reached by just incremental technological innovations. More drastic technological as well as socio-cultural and organisational changes will be necessary. The hypothesis in the project is that there are interesting opportunities for instance in the concepts of sharing, leasing and service-products. The project consists of the following steps: 1. Investigation of functions in countries (Jan 98-Aug 98) 2. Expert interviews and stakeholder enrolling (Jan 98 - Dec 98) 3. Creativity and backcasting workshops with experts and stakeholders (Nov 98-Jan 99) 4. Scenario-building (Jan 99 - Feb 99) 5. Assessment of the scenario's (Feb 99 - Sep 99) 6. Follow Up workshops with experts and stakeholders (Oct 99 - Dec 99) 7. Reporting and spinn-off (Jan 2000 - June 2000) The scenario assessments are threefold: 1. Analysis of environmental gains and impacts (contact information) 2. Assessment of economic consequences and viability (contact information) 3. Assessment of consumer acceptance (contact information) Each of the three SusHouse household functions (Shopping, Cooking and Eating; Clothing Care; Shelter) is being researched in three countries: SCE Clothing Care Shelter Italy X X UK X X Netherlands X X Hungary X Germany X X

"In this exceptionally positive and encouraging book, Stephanie Dowrick frees the journal writer she believes is in virtually everyone, showing through stories and examples that a genuine sense of possibility can be revived on every page. Creative journal writing goes way beyond just recording events on paper. It can be the companion that supports but doesn't judge, a place of unparalleled discovery, and a creative playground where the everyday rules no longer count. Proven benefits of journal writing include reduced stress and anxiety, increased self-awareness, sharpened mental skills, genuine psychological insight, creative inspiration and motivation, strengthened ability to cope during difficult times, and overall physical and emotional well-being. Combining a rich choice of ideas with wonderful stories, quotes, and her refreshingly intimate thoughts gained through a lifetime of writing, Dowrick's insights and confidence make journal writing irresistible-and your own life more enchanting. Included in Creative Journal Writing are: u stories of how people have used journal writing to transform their lives; · inspirational instructions, guidelines, and quotes; · key principles, practical suggestions, and helpful hints; · 125 starter topics, designed to help even the most reluctant journal writer; · more than forty powerful exercises; · and much more!"

"a guide for selecting and assembling a technological platform to support communities of practice across a large organization. To this end, the report addresses four questions: What makes communities of practice different from garden-variety online communities? Every group that shares interest on a website is called a community today, but communities of practice are a specific kind of community. They are focused on a domain of knowledge and over time accumulate expertise in this domain. They develop their shared practice by interacting around problems, solutions, and insights, and building a common store of knowledge. What categories of community-oriented products exist and what are they trying to accomplish? The ideal system at the right price does not exist yet, though a few come really close. But there are eight neighboring categories of products that have something to contribute and include good candidates to start with. Analyzing these categories of products yields not only a scan of products, but also a way of understanding the various aspects of a knowledge strategy based on communities of practice. What are the characteristics of communities of practice that lend themselves to support by technology? Technology platform are often described in terms of features, but in order to really evaluate candidates for a technology platform, it is useful to start with the success factors of communities of practice that can be affected by technology. The third section of this report provides a table of thirteen such factors with examples of how a technology platform can affect the success of a community in each area. How to use the answer to these questions to develop a strategy for building a platform for communities of practice? Most of the product categories can be a starting point for building a general platform. In fact, this analysis of the field suggests a strategy for approach the task. Decide what kinds of activities are most

"Power centers are elsewhere - in financial systems, corporations, technology, networks - that long since dispensed with borders. That being the case, loudmouthed, isolationist trumpery may just be a sideshow, an American exercise in après-moi-le-déluge escapism."

"...we're probably measuring the wrong things and the right things are not amenable to measurement. If this is true and it is also true that the culture of measurement is in the ascendancy, we might expect that things that resist measurement - quality, poetry, insight - would be dismissed and set aside, on the reasoning that if it can't be measured, what good is it? A new technology typically turns its limitations into a mechanism of evaluation and consigns phenomena outside its capacities to the margins, not merely to its margins but to the margins of what is generally significant and worth worrying about. "

"Life itself can be approached as a creative challenge, through the medium of whatever we do on a daily basis, whether it be painting a picture or cooking a meal. In The Widening Stream, author David Ulrich gracefully illustrates the series of stages encountered on every creative journey, regardless of the form of expression. Using the stream as a metaphor, Ulrich takes readers from the moment of inspiration to completion, helping us navigate the joys and frustrations inherent in the process."

"CREATIVE HABITS for SYNTHESIS of THEORY and PRACTICE At various points in your life you may take up the challenge of writing something in which you synthesize your ideas and practice. After all, everyone has a voice that should be heard. However, believing deeply that your voice matters and acting on that belief is not easy. You will need support to be able to take yourself seriously and, as the title of Parker Palmer's (2000) book puts it, to "Let Your Life Speak." The frameworks of Phases and of the Cycles and Epicycles of Action Research together with the creative habits below provide a multifaceted structure to help you find your voice, clarify and develop your thoughts, express that voice in writing, and complete your synthesis of ideas and practice. The structure is especially valuable if you want to finish by some defined target date yet do not want to rely on external directions to motivate or reward you." from http://bit.ly/TYS2012

"Nobody said it better than Francis Bacon, back in 1605: For myself, I found that I was fitted for nothing so well as for the study of Truth; as having a mind nimble and versatile enough to catch the resemblances of things … and at the same time steady enough to fix and distinguish their subtler differences; as being gifted by nature with desire to seek, patience to doubt, fondness to meditate, slowness to assert, readiness to consider, carefulness to dispose and set in order; and as being a man that neither affects what is new nor admires what is old, and that hates every kind of imposture."

"How Being "

""Eat Pray and Love" by Elizabeth Gilbert: "Instructions for Freedom" 1. Life's metaphors are God's instructions. 2. You have just climbed up and above the roof.  There is nothing between you and the Infinite. Now, let go. 3. The day is ending.  It's time for something that was beautiful to turn into something else that is beautiful. Now, let go. 4. Your wish for resolution was a prayer.  Your being here is God's response. Let go, and watch the stars come out - on the outside and on the inside. 5. With all your heart, ask for grace, and let go. 6. With all your heart, forgive him, FORGIVE YOURSELF, and let him go. 7. Let your intention be freedom from useless suffering. Then, let go. 8. Watch the heat of day pass into the cool night. Let go. 9. When the karma of a relationship is done, only live remains.  It's safe.  Let go. 10. When the past has passed from you at last, let go.  Then climb down and begin the rest of your life.  With great joy."

"Innovative thinking: Can you be taught?: Roberta B. Ness" (using examples from her field of epidemiology & health)

"For Musk, going to Mars is way more than just cool. "Are we on a path to becoming a multiplanet species or not?" he has asked. "If we're not, well, that's not a very bright future. We'll simply be hanging out on Earth until some eventual calamity claims us." Impey makes much the same point. "Humankind evolved over millions of years," he observes. "But over the last 60 years, atomic weaponry created the potential to extinguish ourselves. Sooner or later we must expand beyond this blue and green ball, or go extinct." So does Petranek. "There are real threats to the continuation of the human race on Earth, including our failure to save the home planet from ecological destruction and the possibility of nuclear war," he writes. "The first humans who emigrate to Mars are our best hope for the survival of our species.""

re: the psychologist Jonathan Haidt: In Haidt's view, the philosophers' dream of reason isn't just naïve, it is radically unfounded, the product of what he calls "the rationalist delusion." As he puts it, "Anyone who values truth should stop worshiping reason. We all need to take a cold, hard look at the evidence and see reasoning for what it is." Haidt sees two points about reasoning to be particularly important: the first concerns the efficacy (or lack thereof) of reasoning; the second concerns the point of doing so publicly: of exchanging reasons.

"A Passion for Creative Transformation The Transformative Leadership MA is a uniquely innovative distance-learning program that integrates extensive practical skills with deep self-reflection and an emphasis on creative action in the world. The program prepares students to embody leadership and mobilize their creativity in many different ways, whether in organizations, social movements, or a range of activities requiring personal initiative and dedication to making a difference. Transformative Leadership offers a creative incubator for new forms of leadership in a rapidly changing world. New forms of leadership are needed in all dimensions of life, not just in boardrooms and governments. Transformative Leadership explores leadership along four dimensions: new ways of being, relating, knowing, and doing, all requiring new perspectives, skills, and personal practices. Transformative leadership holds that as we change the world we also change ourselves, and as we change ourselves we also change the world. The transdisciplinary curriculum develops students' abilities to reflect on their mission in life, apply leading edge research, develop new sets of skills, and creatively act in the world. Faculty and students create a rich and supportive online learning community that provides a context where students can create their own approach to leadership, based on their personal values, capacities, and mission in life. This innovative program culminates in a Capstone Action Project that demonstrates leadership in the world and allows students to apply their learning and test their theories and assumptions about leadership in real time. The lessons learned from this project are often stepping stones for new initiatives and life paths for our graduates. The program also offers a unique set of electives, including a set of courses specifically designed to address issues related to LGBTQ leadership and policy."

a set of the key things any person needs to learn: How to predict consequences How to read [effectively] (how to see under the surface to what each piece is doing; and to distinguish the 4 types: description, argument, explanation, definition) How to distinguish truth from fiction How to empathize How to be creative How to communicate clearly [i.e. how to write effectively; how to use the 4 types] How to learn How to stay healthy How to value yourself How to live meaningfully

""Play will be to the 21st century what work was to the Industrial Age - our dominant way of knowing, doing and creating value""

"I choose the term "conviviality" to designate the opposite of industrial productivity. I intend it to mean autonomous and creative intercourse among persons, and the intercourse of persons with their environment; and this in contrast with the conditioned response of persons to the demands made upon them by others, and by a man-made environment. I consider conviviality to be individual freedom realized in personal interdependence and, as such, an intrinsic ethical value. I believe that, in any society, as conviviality is reduced below a certain level, no amount of industrial productivity can effectively satisfy the needs it creates among society's members. "

"Our youngsters respond keenly, and usually responsibly, when given a big say in the things that affect them. For instance, a couple of years ago, when we needed to appoint pastoral care staff, we decided to ask the children what qualities such a staff member should have. After lively discussion they came up with: calm (not wind us up); confident (not scared of us); firm but fair (able to deal with things when they happen and not put it off till later); able to listen well (to hear what it is we really have to say); able to help us sort out problems and learn for ourselves (give us help with options, not tell us what to do); able to treat us as individuals (not seeing all behaviours as the same); able, most of all, to treat us in the way you yourself would want to be treated. These requirements now appear in every job vacancy we advertise, whatever the position."