Are You Ready for the Next Edition of How to Write a KILLER LinkedIn Profile Your Input Requested!

Are You Ready for the Next Edition of How to Write a KILLER LinkedIn Profile Your Input Requested! IMPORTANT: SURVEY LINK ENCLOSED! Win *your choice* of $50 off any service from The Essay Expert – or a $25 Amazon gift card! CLICK HERE TO ACCESS MY SURVEY Last week, LinkedIn officially announced to the world its upcoming changes, which have started to roll out across its platform. With membership in the U.S. at approximately 133 million, and worldwide membership up to 467 million, it’s more important than ever to stand out on LinkedIn. Thankfully, as far as I can tell, effective LinkedIn strategies have not changed with the new platform. You still need to follow my 3 Ls: Locatability (have 500+ connections and use keywords effectively) Likeability (have a personable, professional photo and a unique Summary section) ALiveness (stay active on LinkedIn and network off the site as well) My hope is that the free platform will be more user-friendly- that it will be easier to post articles, easier to keep track of important notifications, and easier to figure out how you’re connected to people and companies. What’s clear is that many things will look different and be organized differently; that the Advanced Search function will function differently; and that you will no longer be able to use Notes and Tags unless you have Sales Navigator. Here are LinkedIn’s videos on the new changes. LinkedIn Desktop Redesign Puts Conversations and Content at the Center How to Make the Most of the New LinkedIn Search As the author of How to Write a KILLER LinkedIn Profile, I face my own dilemmas about how to handle these new changes. Not to worry: I will be revising my e-book, and if you are subscribed, you will get the new version! I have other questions as well, however, as to when to publish my next e-book version and whether to create a new print book at all. I thought I’d ask you to help me out. Would you be so kind as to complete this quick 6-question survey? I would be very grateful! And youll be entered to win *your choice* of $50 off any service from The Essay Expert or a $25 Amazon gift card! CLICK HERE TO ACCESS MY SURVEY Your input will help me greatly in making decisions about future publishing decisions. Thank you! If you’d like the current e-book of How to Write a KILLER LinkedIn Profile, complete with lifetime updates, click here. For the print version, click here. Save

Colored Fire - Where to Find Metal Salts for Colorants

Colored Fire - Where to Find Metal Salts for Colorants Ive received many requests for information about where to find the metal salts that can be used to make colored fire. Heres a list of common sources of these metal salts. If the salts are in liquid form, simply soak pinecones or logs or whatever you are burning in the liquid and let the fuel dry before use. If the salts are solids, your best bet is to try to dissolve them in a bit of alcohol and then apply them to your fire fuel. You can use water but expect a longer drying time. Fire Color - Source Green - Boric acid is probably your best source of green. Boric acid most commonly is sold as a disinfectant in the pharmacy section of a store. Copper sulfate is another metal salt that produces green fire. You can find copper sulfate, usually diluted in liquid form, in products used to control algae in pools or ponds. White - Magnesium compounds can lighten a flame color to white. You can add Epsom salts, which are used for a variety of household purposes. I usually see Epsom salts sold in the pharmacy section of stores for use as a bath soak, but the salts commonly contain sodium impurities, which will produce a yellow flame. Yellow - Your usual fire will be yellow already, but if you are burning a fuel that produces a blue flame, for example, you can turn it from green to yellow by adding sodium salt, such as common table salt. Orange - Calcium chloride produces orange fire. Calcium chloride is sold as a desiccant and as a road de-icing agent. Just be sure the calcium chloride isnt mixed with sodium chloride or else the yellow from the sodium will overpower the orange from the calcium. Red - Strontium salts produce red colored fire. The easiest way to get strontium is to break open a red emergency flare, which you can find in the automotive section of stores. Road flares contain their own fuel and oxidizer, so this material burned vigorously and very brightly. Lithium produces a beautiful red flame, too. You can get lithium from certain lithium batteries. Purple - Purple or violet flames may be produced by adding potassium chloride to the fire. Potassium chloride is sold as lite salt or salt substitute in the spice section of the grocery store. Blue - You can get blue fire from copper chloride. I am not aware of a widely-available source of copper chloride. You can produce it by dissolving copper wire (easy to locate) in muriatic acid (sold in building supply stores). This would be an outdoors-only type of reaction and not something I really recommend doing unless you have a little chemistry experience... but if youre determined, dissolve a piece of copper in a solution of 3% hydrogen peroxide (sold as a disinfectant) to which you have added sufficient muriatic acid (hydrochloric acid) to make 5% HCl solution.

VISUAL CULTURE Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

VISUAL CULTURE - Essay Example The author strongly argues the value of the paintings, sold in millions is created by auction houses and dealers rather than the critics and curios. Is Dance at Le Moulin de la Galette a brand painting which has acquired created value by the dealers or is it truly a masterpiece on canvas? To know this we should explore and analyze every minute visual aspect of the painting through our brain and heart. This essay aims conducting a thorough analysis on the visual structure and the meaning Dance at Le Moulin de La Galette tries to communicate. Richard Howells (2012) suggests examining a painting contains five key features. We have to analyze what kind of painting it is, what does it show, the location of the painting, the time or era it was drawn, what is shown and what is left out in it for us to make out. In technical terms we have to concentrate on the usage of key elements like the usage of line, brush strokes, light usage, the forms present in the painting, the color and texture to conduct a good analysis. Any person can do this analysis devoid of their art or historical background. But, determining a painting’s true value requires viewing it through the heart and mixing a bit of philosophy with the technicality to note the ‘absence’. We can interpret it in simple terms as reading between the lines or rather as reading between the brushstrokes (Kenny n.d.). Each painting has something absent, which we do not realize until we view the painting. Then we start to reflect about the absence and its loss (Berger 2009). Again as Howells (2009) mentioned, just reading the content of the painting alone is not important. Understanding its form and the interpreting the inner meaning identifying the absence is the key point of good visual analysis. Drawn by Renoir at 1876 in Paris, this painting has achieved its iconic status owing to its masterful brushstrokes (a major reason for

Colombian Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Colombian Entrepreneurial Ecosystem - Essay Example The armed conflict in Columbia had drastic effects on all sides: the government forces, the guerillas, and even the civilians. A large number of people, approximately 90,000, lost their lives with millions of people being forcibly displaced. Several other people were kidnapped with many being disabled by landmines and explosion of bombs. Properties such as buildings, roads, and other infrastructures were destroyed in the process of the soaring conflict, hence leading to massive physical destructions. The armed conflict started because of protest for the rights of the poor Columbians with the desire to be protected by government against social injustices and unequal distribution of resources including land and wealth, which made the people of Columbia dissatisfied. Out of these, there came up strategic protests to forcefully demand these rights by taking over governance by force and violence (Acs &Szerb 113). This struggle was undertaken by different groups at regional and subdivision levels through conflicts. Their anger was directed to state utilities, infrastructure and regions perceived to be beneficiaries of public resources, such as those in strategic routes of transportation of weapons, drugs and food. Other areas attacked are those seen to harbor state forces or those which provide them with resources. This Columbian conflict had far-reaching effects on the business sector in Columbia and its environments. It affected the entrepreneurial performance, which includes the regulatory framework, access to capital, access to R&D technology, entrepreneurial capabilities, market conditions and culture. By affecting these determinants, the conflict changed and determined how entrepreneurship is carried out in Columbia. Entrepreneurs were affected both directly and indirectly by the conflicts in Columbia. Entrepreneurs faced high transactional cost because of the unfavorable business climat e resulting from the conflicts. Merchandizing was spoiled due to the disrupted network and infrastructure since goods and services relying on them could not reach their destination. Businesspersons also lost international partners because the conditions were unfavorable for business. This led to loss of business opportunities, which made many companies close their business. Entrepreneurs could not invest freely for fear of being victimized and kidnapped, extorted or attacked. The room for expansion was limited by competition for territory, which was managed by guerilla groups. With high insecurity, finance meant to be used in business was invested to cover for security and insurance of their investments. Huge amounts of finances were spent in efforts to control conflicts with development projects and peace initiatives started in Columbia. This strained businesses and even led to closure of some. The entrepreneurship culture was eradicated and individuals were stopped from investing because of insecurity in the market. Prices of natural and industrial goods increased because of decreased production as demand increased; the low production was witnessed as a result of insecurity and instability in the country during the war. Regulatory Framework in Colombia Whereas laws have been enhanced, the implementation approaches in Colombia are weak because of mainly the idea that defense spending is exploiting the civilian economy and entrepreneurial growth. During the 1990s, defense budget averaged 1.36% of the total GDP. Even up to early 2000s, the

MGM International Resorts Case Analysis Memo Essay Example for Free

MGM International Resorts Case Analysis Memo Essay To: James J. Murren From: Date: November 18, 2013 Subject: Issues of MGM International Resorts I am writing this letter in order to address the slow recovery of your company. It has come to my attention that your company, MGM International Resorts, is facing some major issues as the gaming and hospitality industry struggles to recover. In this letter I plan to address the industries problems, and the specific issues that your company is facing. One of the major issues facing MGM International Resorts is that it is that the industry has a lot of overcapacity as demand has dropped from pre-recessionary evels when many big projects have been planned. This is evidenced by your companys ambitious pre-recession project CityCenter, the largest private development project in United States history. CityCenter ended up opening to little fanfare. The biggest sources of revenue in the industry were conventions. Due to the economic downturn in 2008, revenues from Conventions have decreased dramatically and have not fully recovered. Trade shows, associations and corporations traditionally paid a premium to meet in Las Vegas. Now with fewer organizations meet in Las Vegas, they can now negotiate lower prices. There are now increased leisure travelers going to Las Vegas to fill discounted rooms but does not help you increase revenue much as they do not like to spend money on your high end shopping and dining venues. Americans are also deciding more carefully spend their money preferring staycations in order to save money on increasing airfares and travel costs. This is mainly due to the decrease in discretionary spending of 43 percent from December 2007 to January 2011. The road to recovery from the start of the economic recession for the industry is slower than predicted. Your company also aces strong competition from competitors such as Wynn Resorts and Las Vegas Sands who have managed to fare in the recession substantially better. MGM Resorts Internationals financial statements are not very good relative to your competitors. Your company had a degradation of financials compared to your competitors whom of which fared the recession much better. Your company is highly leveraged with net debt to EBITDA of 1 1. 5 times. Boyd, Las Vegas Sands have lower debt leveraging at 8. x, 3. 3x, 3. 4x, and 1 . 9x respectively. You are also not as widely diversified in regional American markets such as in the Northeast. Your company has recently lost money posting a net loss of 1,437. 4 million in 2010. I will first analyze the health of the gaming and hospitality industry in Las Vegas in which you compete using Porters Five Forces of Competition Model. The indus try faces a lot of substitutes which your customers flock to. There is online gambling. This may keep people from flocking to casinos to gamble as they can conveniently do it at home. There are also closer example of this would be Empire City Casino in Yonkers, NY. It is only half an hour way from New York City and very convenient for those in the area who would Just like to gamble for a night and return home. You do not face a very large threat from new entrants as the capital requirements to enter the gaming and hospitality industry are very high. Customers are able to easily switch from staying on your properties to another companys property. Your company also possesses a wide variety of products that are differentiated. That being said, Industry Rivalry between you and your competitors are very high. All companies in the industry are on fairly qual ground ever since the recession. The costs to exit this industry are also very high. Customers again have very low switching costs and may switch between different properties as they see fit and the large excess in capacity in the industry means that you and all your competitors are cutting prices on rooms and services in order to attract business. The industrys suppliers of hospitality related supplies, such as food bed sheet and soap, and casino/gaming specific supplies, such as slot machines and thousands of decks of cards, have very weak bargaining power. The ew large companies within the gaming and hospitality industry have the bargaining power with when it comes to its two supplier lines as there are many of these suppliers to buy from while only a few large companies that are willing to buy. The ability to use a companys size to negotiate price and length of contracts for expensive high luxury furnishings and exclusive rights to a show or celebrity chef also gives the gaming and hospitality industry strength. While bargaining power of the suppliers is weak, the bargaining power of buyers is very strong. Customers have ery low switching costs and again the large excess in capacity in the industry means that you and all your competitors are cutting prices on rooms and services in order to attract business. Conventions, which are a large part of revenue have been on the downturn compared to capacity, again forcing prices downward. Buyers in the industry are also very price sensitive with many opting to take staycations where vacationers enjoy their time off closer to home. All of these forces add up to an industry that is relatively weak and recovering very slowly. Using the growth-share nalysis, your company is positioned as a cash cow which is very good. Your company has high market share in a slow growing industry. The company should worry though as it is close to being a dog of the industry as it has a lot of debt from ill-timed large projects such as CityCenter and must worry about other companies stealing market share as they are recovering faster. The industry is very capital intensive which means a lot of revenue is being reinvested back into the business. I will now analyze your company through SWOT Analysis. Your company has quite a few strengths that ill help your company into the future. Your companys large size gives it the upper hand in negotiating the best prices from its suppliers. It is very advantageous that your company caters to a wide range of customers from the high-end consumers with resorts such as the Bellagio offering exclusive products to the value-minded consumers with Circus Circus. Your ability to provide superior customer service by recruiting, training and retaining the best most motivated individuals is very valuable in your company. Your marketing and sales activities are another strong suit which compliments your services.

Arthur Birling at the Beginning of Act One in An Inspector Calls Essay

Arthur Birling at the Beginning of Act One in An Inspector Calls JB Priestly wrote the play of ‘An Inspector Calls’ in 1945 but set the play in 1912, Edwardian Britain. The writer intentionally set the play in 1912 to make the audience aware of social conscience. Another reason why the play was set in 1912 was because, some of the historical events mentioned in the play, the audience would be familiar with as they would have lived through the time and would know the real results of how they ended and what the causes were because the era from which he set was very different to when he wrote the play. In the play, when these events are mentioned, Arthur Birling says the opposite to what actually happens such as when Birling said there would be no war, world war 1 started two years later and world war 2 ended in mid 1945; there were sturdy comparisons and discrimination between the upper and lower classes in the 1912 era but the class distinctions had significantly reduced in 1945 as a result of two world wars; the ruling classes saw no necessities in changing the status quo but in the time in which ‘An Inspector Calls’ was written, there was a great passion for social change in the classes and immediately after world war 2, Labours Clement Attlee won a landslide victory over the conservative Winston Churchill. The main events mentioned in the play are the world wars, would ‘never happen and the Titanic, which was ‘unsinkable, absolutely unsinkable’. One evening of happiness and bliss brings the Birling Family and Gerald Croft to distress and truth, as they are celebrating the engagement party of their Daughter Sheila to Gerald until an inspector calls regarding the death of a young girl who had poisoned ... ...himself he and his family have no part in the girl’s death and so it would be necessary for the inspector to leave but then finds out he and his family played the most important part in the girls death, and even after hearing that, he still tries to turn a blind eye. Some ideas and themes J B Priestly was trying to convey through the character of Arthur Birling were Cause and Effect and Social conscience. Clues, which are given in the play to the audience about the result of Arthur Birling as the play progresses, are all found with the language Birling uses to speak about himself. Also, His characteristics show that as the story progresses, when Birling is hit with a mistake he thinks he never made, he will face a major downfall in his position in the society, and will lose respect from family members employees and everyone else who has respected him.

Cognitive Competence

Tomorrow’s Leader Term paper Topic: Cognitive Competence Wai (Synergy) Content Part 1 1. Definition cognitive competenceP. 3-4 2. Theory of cognitive competenceP. 5-8 3. Factors affecting cognitive competenceP. 9-10 4. Importance of cognitive competence in leadershipP. 11-12 5. Ways to enhance the level of cognitive competenceP. 13-14 Part 2 Self evaluationP. 15-17 Part 3 ReferenceP. 18-19 Part 1 Definition of cognitive competence 1. Cognitive competence is defined as the ability to perform adequately those cognitively complex tasks considered essential for living on one's own in this society. Willis SL. (1996). Everyday cognitive competence in elderly persons: conceptual issues and empirical findings, Oct;36(5):595-601) 2. The ability to develop and apply the cognitive skills of self-talk, the reading and interpretation of social cues, using steps for problem-solving and decision making, understanding the perspective of others, understanding behavioral norms, a positive attit ude towards life, and self –awareness. (The W. T. Grant Consortium on the School-Based Promotion of Social Competence (1992: 136)) 3. Academic and intellectual achievement. include the ability to use logic, analytic thinking, and abstract reasoning) (Catalano, R. F. , Berglund, M. L. , Ryan, J. A. M. , Lonczak, H. S. , ; Hawkins, J. D. (2002). Positive youth development in the United States: Research findings on evaluations of positive youth development programs. Prevention and Treatment, 5 (15), 1-106. ) This three definitions are little bit different. The third one is too narrow as it just mentioned academic and intellectual achievement. The second one, on the other hand, is not specific enough. In my understanding, I think cognitive competence is best defined using the first two definitions. Cognitive competence is defined as the ability to perform adequately those cognitively complex tasks considered essential for living on one's own in this society. It also includes unde rstanding the perspective of others, understanding behavioral norms, and self –awareness. † Theory Hui & Sun’s model (2007) This model divides cognitive competence into three types of thinking: 1. Creative thinking, a way of looking at problems or situations from a fresh perspective that suggests unorthodox solutions (which may look unsettling at first). 2. Critical thinking, which includes reasoning, making references, self-reflection, and coordination of multiple views. Critical thinking has been described as â€Å"the process of purposeful, self-regulatory judgment, which uses reasoned consideration to evidence, context, conceptualizations, methods, and criteria. † (Facione, Peter A. Critical Thinking: What It is and Why It Counts, Insightassessment. com) 3. Rational thinking refers to logical or reasoning being involved in the thought process. It refers to providing reasons or rational behind thoughts or ideas. It adds an element of calculation and planning to a steam of thoughts rather than basing them on emotion or personal opinion. It is a kind of objective process of thinking and an analytic approach to any problem. Rational thinking is based on reasons or facts and is hence much more calculating and realistic. Geiwitz’s model This model divides cognitive competence into three steps of thinking: 1. Know what, to know what is the problem 2. Know how, to know how the problem can be solved 3. Know why, to know why choose particular method to solve the problem, or to evaluate the method currently used. What How Why In Hui and Sun’s model, creative thinking is the innovative way of thinking. It allows people to invent new things or idea. Critical thinking is used when commenting on something, e. g. in writing editorials. As for rational thinking, it is used when analyzing. In my opinion, the second model is easier to understand. And it shows progressive levels of cognitive competence, whereas the first model only divides our thinking into three different ways. Therefore, I would further explain cognitive competence using the second model for reference. Take the example of inventors of the world’s first airplane – the Wright brothers, Orville and Wilbur. This is an good example to illustrate the concept of cognitive competence and the Geiwitz’s model. Applying the Geiwitz’s model, the Wright brothers’ aim was to create a â€Å"flying machine†, this is the â€Å"know what† level of cognitive competence. They then started to think and design this machine, and this is the â€Å"know how† level of cognitive competence. Finally they evaluated the products (what’s good and not good about it) and thought how to improve further. The â€Å"know how† and â€Å"know why† steps repeated. And finally an mature airplane was invented. Start Know what: to invent a flying machine Know how: How to built a better flying machine Know why: Why this model is good/not good enough Repeat A satisfatory model is invented Another example to illustrate is the development in high jump styles. The styles used in high-jumping has changed from initially scissors style, to straddle style, and finally the Fosbury style which is still using nowadays. Start Know what: to jump high Know how: What jumping style Know why: Why this style is good/not good enough Repeat A satisfatory syle is invented Factors affecting cognitive competence I think the factors affecting the development of one’s cognitive competence can be divided into intrinsic factors and extrinsic factors. Intrinsic factors are those confine to yourself, while extrinsic factors are those influenced by the environment. For intrinsic factors, I think there are: intelligence, personalities, knowledge and past experience. For intelligent, I think it is not difficult to imagine that it is important for high cognitive competence. Intelligence is particularly important for the â€Å"know how† and â€Å"know why† stage. Only if you are wise enough can you think of a new way to solve problem that no one has ever think of or find out what is the problem of existing method being used by other people. Moreover, intelligence is kind of inborn; therefore, cognitive competence is also inborn to a certain extent. As for personality, I think people with different personality may affect his/her performance in problem solving and the presentation of his cognitive competence. For example, if a person lacks confidence and likes to deal with problem in a low risk aspect, he/she may not abandon the existing widely used method to tackle the problem and use new methods even though he is clever enough to think of many other new potential methods. They may only attempt the new ways when they are 100% more effective and safer than the existing ones. Knowledge and past experience are very similar. They both can be regarded as memory. They are very important factors that affect cognitive competence. When tackling problems, memory always acts as your â€Å"reference†, it gives you basic information and background about the problem. And help you to figure out the solution in relation to this â€Å"reference†. Like the case of the Wright brothers, when they tried to invent a flying machine, their knowledge in engineering gives them basic information of how to build it. It is interesting to notice that sometimes past experience may hinder our cognitive performance. For example, when you are dealing with a project you are very familiar with, you might too much into your experience and knowledge and think that it is impossible to explore new methods. For extrinsic factors, there are: Environment (e. g. family background, situation of the problem) and the nature of problem Environment is the major extrinsic factor affecting one’s cognitive competence. It determines many of intrinsic factors including past experience, knowledge and even personality. Environment can also affects ones attitude to deal with the problem, thus performance of cognitive competence. For example, the due date of your proposal is tomorrow morning and now is already three o’clock in the morning and you haven’t even started yet. I am sure you may feel desperate and will not spend much time to think of the new ideas. Moreover, family socialization also affects cognitive competence and intelligence of people. (Grundmann, M. ; Teo, Thomas; Socialization, intelligence, and cognitive competence (1997)) Another one is the nature of the problem. It determines one’s past experience and knowledge are useful or not. It is because the past experience and knowledge can not apply to all situation. Importance of cognitive competence in leadership Cognitive competence is important in leadership. A research points out that cognitive skills were found to be directly correlate with high-level of leadership performance in a MLE (Military Leadership Exercises) research. (Marshall-Mies et al. , 2000) Often included intelligence, general skills, crystallized skills (e. g. oral and written expression and comprehension), and creative or divergent thinking capacities are cognitive capabilities that should influence leadership performance. (Connelly, Gilbert, Zaccaro, Threlfall, Marks & Mumford, 2000). I also agree that cognitive competence is important in leadership. First of all, leader with higher level of cognitive competence can deal with different kinds of problems with his own way of thinking. That means they can find out his own most effective way to tackle the problem without copying others method. This gives the leader independency that he does not need to rely on others too much. It also gives them maturity that they can have their own way of thinking. Independency and maturity surely are the important factors of a leader. This makes people happy and feeling safe to follow you. Secondly, leader with high level of cognitive competence can have great contribution to the team. They can give out a lot of useful ideas that no one has thought of before. This already makes them the strongest ones or the most unique ones in the team. People would love to follow leaders which are stronger than them. Again, this makes them feel safe. Finally, leaders with high level of cognitive competence can have a clear mind and know what is wrong in the team. They know what the team should do (goal). And they evaluate the performance of the team, and find out what should be improved. That means they are not only using cognitive skills in problem solving, but also in team management. It is because â€Å"team management† itself is already a task. People with higher cognitive competence usually have higher IQ and are conflicts encountering (Heydenberk R. A. and Heydenberk W. R. , Increasing Meta-Cognitive Competence through Conflict Resolution(2005)) Ways to enhance the level of cognitive competence Before discussing how to enhance the level of cognitive competence, I think we should first identify what cannot be changed or be improved. They are called constrains. Through understanding what are the constrains, we can focus on what can and what should be improved. The constrains include family background, intelligence and personality. These factors are sort of fixed, or can only have little change. So, to raise the level of cognitive competence, I think it is effective that we try to learn as much as possible. This is to enhance our knowledge and enrich our experience. As mentioned, knowledge and past experience are two important factors affecting one’s cognitive ability. This is because they are our own sources of information about the problem being coped. We can make use of this information to find a way to solve the problem. We may not figure out any new method, at least we know how people deal with it previously. In Janet E, Et Al, The Role of metacognition in Problem Solving, four steps of thinking is also mentioned to guide people to solve problems. They are: 1. Identifying and defining the problem 2. Mentally representing the problem 3. Planning how to proceed 4. Evaluating what you know about your performance This way of thinking can help people to organized their thoughts, so that they can deal with the problem step by step. I think it is a quite useful way to improve cognitive performance because it makes people organized and focus on one job at a time. This prevents them from being interrupted from different sources. Furthermore, it helps people to think logically. Part 2 Self-reflection Hong Kong students are known to be a copycat. We are blamed to have low level of creativity and afraid to try new things. People always say that we just copy things from others or textbooks without digesting them. But I think it is not totally my case. I am not a stupid student. I used to be very creative in primary school. Others describe me as naughty. It is because all my creativity is used in inventing new ways to play tricks on my classmates. I remember one time I played a game in an activity class. My teacher ask my group to use a deck of playing cards to build a tower as high as we can. Then we started. Other groups are using the traditional method (see left). Obviously it requires high technique. Therefore they can only built towers with few floors high. But I figured out another method. I folded up two cards, turned them sideway to make two â€Å"L† shape walls, put them facing each other to make a square wall, on top of it I placed a flat card. And I repeated to do this. Of course, my team built the highest tower. But guess what happened next. My teacher told us that was against the rules. Playing cards are not supposed to be folded (She didn’t tell us before the game). We lose that competition at the end. I think, after this event, my creativity started to slowly bury in my heart deeply. When I recall this event, I discover one important thing. That is our creativity is often being restricted by our teachers, and our education system. Teachers set all the projects, homework with rules and restrictions, trying to make them easier to mark and compare. But this made our assignments all looking the same. Examination questions have all the model answers, this made our student the same person who can only memorize answers without digesting the questions and answer them in their own way. Not that I don’t have critical thinking and creativity. It is just because they have to be thrown away to survive in HK’s education system. Take the example of A-level exams, the curriculum is very tight that teachers even cannot have time to teach us all the topics included. How would I have time to individually explore all the topics taught? Instead, in order to get high grades in this exam, I spent most of the time on memorizing past paper’s model answers. I know it would not help my cognitive development, but getting into a good university is more important to me. I believe this is also the problem of many students. Now, when I am given a problem to solve, I still try my best to explore the alternatives. May be this is due to my personality. I just don’t like to be the same with others. I like to be unique. But I think I am not creative as I was small anymore. Apart from the reason about the restrictions set by teachers just discussed, another possible reason may be due to my own knowledge and experience. As I mentioned in part 1 of this report, knowledge and experience, although can help to solve your problem, they sometimes hinder your cognitive performance. Sometimes this happens to me. I just rely too much on the knowledge and experience, and cannot think out of the box. But the major reason is still because of the education system in HK. But in the university, a place to train student’s critical thinking and creativity, I think that this problem would become less severe. To improve my cognitive abilities, I think the best way is to train to have independent critical thinking. Don’t rely too much on knowledge from any sources and my own or others’ past experience. Always try my best to look for other possible alternatives. Although this might spend a lot more time and at the end there may not come up any new things. But I think the process can also help me to develop my cognitive skills. Although it might hinder my cognitive performance, I think it is still important to enrich my knowledge and broaden my horizon. This is because learning more can let me compare different theories and thus train my independent critical thinking. They are also my valuable first encountered source when any problem comes to me. Part 3 Reference Willis SL. (1996). Everyday cognitive competence in elderly persons: conceptual issues and empirical findings, Oct;36(5):595-601 The W. T. Grant Consortium on the School-Based Promotion of Social Competence (1992: 136) Catalano, R. F. , Berglund, M. L. , Ryan, J. A. M. , Lonczak, H. S. , & Hawkins, J. D. (2002). Positive youth development in the United States: Research findings on evaluations of positive youth development programs. Prevention and Treatment, 5 (15), 1-106. Grundmann, M. ; Teo, Thomas; Socialization, intelligence, and cognitive competence (1997) Marshall-Mies et al. , 2000 Connelly, Gilbert, Zaccaro, Threlfall, Marks & Mumford, 2000 Heydenberk R. A. and Heydenberk W. R. , Increasing Meta-Cognitive Competence through Conflict Resolution(2005)