E-Learning Corgi focuses on distance training and education, from instructional design to e-learning and mobile solutions, and pays attention to psychological, social, and cultural factors. The edublog emphasizes real-world e-learning issues and appropriate uses of emerging technologies. Susan Smith Nash is the Corgi's assistant.
I came across a very interesting article that provides details about the ways in which getting involved in creative activities will help your psychological well-being. It also discusses the development of creativity and how to make yourself more resilient, particularly when going through difficult times. Link to the podcast: https://screencast-o-matic.com/watch/cqeebp0qLx
Friedman,
M. B. (2014). Creativity and Psychological Well-Being. Contemporary
Readings in Law and; Social Justice, 6(2), 39–58.
Purpose of the article: Look at how creativity contributes to mental health and where it can be most effective. Useful findings: Instead of holding to the stereotypical connection between madness and creativity, this article points out that creativity actually helps maintain mental health. Applicability of the article:
Creativity involves cultivating a skill, which increases engagement and leads to a sense of accomplishment. It satisfies needs for accomplishment, recognition, and affiliation.
Artistic activities affirm and validate one’s unique identity and sense of self (and self-worth).
There are four dimensions of the
experience of art that can help one’s mental health
Cultivating skill:builds self-efficacy and confidence
Immersion in activity:generates the joy and happiness; the process
is almost meditative; if done with others, it meets the need for affiliation
Accomplishment: satisfies the need
for recognition, builds sense of identity and self-efficacy
Connection and celebration: Makes
validating and emotions-sharing connections with other people
Useful strategies for healing for
those with anxiety, depression, and more.
It's not a matter of "if" but "when." An excellent article published in Mother Jones breaks it down and provides a timeline of the kinds of jobs that will be replaced between now and 2040. The article examples many of the arguments that have been used to make the predictions less apocalyptic.
Mother Jones breaks them all down. It's apocalyptic, indeed, but at least with warning, you can develop a plan.
Drum,
K., and; D, A. D. (2017). You Will Lose Your Job to a Robot. Mother
Jones, 42(6), 38–69Purpose
of the article:To
address the questions about when and how AI-powered machines replace jobs, and
to point out that the owners of the AI-powered machines and the businesses are
the ones who will benefit most. Useful
findings: Machines powered
by artificial intelligence will become better than humans in many different
tasks. The article provides a useful timeline. Applicability
of the article: *Routine physical tasks will be the
first to be replaced, which includes packing boxes, driving trucks, etc. *Routine cognitive tasks will be
next to be replaced (teller, phone sales)
*Non-routine
cognitive will be the last to bereplaced. Here is a chart with a timeline showing the robot take-over. It's not "if" but "when."
What’s the quickest way to “Death By PowerPoint”? Put together a presentation that consists only of bullet points. Conversely, a presentation or report that consists only of visuals may seem superficial and confusing. So, when should you use visuals? How should they be placed for maximum impact and effectiveness?
Lime or Bird? You decide.... Mexico City 2019 (photo credit: Susan Nash)
What Is a Visual?
Generally speaking, a
visual is anything that is pictoral, graphic, or semiotic. A visual can
be composed of text (a sign, etc.). Generally speaking, visuals are
graphics that may include diagrams, drawings, photographs, charts,
graphs, figures, and more.
According to Patrick
Cavenaugh, visual elements within a report or presentation are highly
effective because they both capture the viewer’s attention and then
direct or guide it. The visual architecture creates a process that then
continues to arouse interest and direct attention from visual stimulus
to visual stimulus (Cavanaugh, 2011).
Video on using visuals:
When to Use a Visual
Think of your overall goal or objective in writing your report or creating your presentation. Then, consider your audience. What will they relate to? What will they expect? What will resonate with their values and beliefs?
Keep in mind the following purposes of visuals:
* Instruct or persuade
* Draw attention to something immediately important
* Provide information quickly
* Engage the audience
* Keep the audience focused
* Provide accurate information concisely
Then, as you organize the content, think of the sequencing and space out the visual elements in order to maintain an optimized pace and to keep attention focused.
Roses before the storm in Mexico City. Photo credit: Susan Nash
Audience Perspective
As you prepare your visuals, and determine where to place them, it is useful to keep in mind the following questions that your audience will have as they approach the material.
*Why is the visual here?
*What does it tell me?
* Which aspect of the visual is most important?
* Where, exactly, should I focus?
* What do these numbers or statistics mean?
* What should I be thinking or doing?
* Where does the graphic begin? Where does the information end?
How Visuals Work
Make the abstract concrete. Your audience can more easily relate the content to their own experience.
Analyze relationships. If the visuals appear on the same page, or next to each other, it is fairly easy to discuss how they relate to each other. The relationships can be grasped at a glance with skillful use of design, color, pattern, and placement.
Facilitate comparisons. With visuals, it is easy to discuss to things, particularly when you locate them side by side.
Emphasize key points. You can make key points clear using visuals.
Transcend language barriers. It is possible to create visuals that can be communicated across language and cultural differences.
A memorial for a man who drowned in the Arkansas River, Tulsa, Oklahoma (photo credit: Susan Nash)
What Types of Visuals to Consider
Tables. Tables display data (as number or words) in rows and columns for comparison.
Photographs. Photographs can help document a place, person, or thing, and they can help emphasize the application of a concept in real life. Be sure to give proper attribution to the graphics you use, and to obtain permission. If you use graphics that have a Creative Commons license, be sure to give it the correct attribution.
Graphs. Graphs translate numbers into shapes, shades, and patterns by plotting two or more data sets on a coordinate system.
Maps. Maps or grids are very helpful when discussing locations, demographics, and even the results of data mining (for example, for marketing).
Charts. Charts depict relationships without the use of a coordinate system by using circles, rectangles, arrows, connecting lines, and other design elements.
Graphs. Graphic illustrations are pictorial devices for helping readers visualize what something looks like, how it's done, how it happens, or where it's located.
Maintaining Effectiveness With Visuals
After you’ve analyzed your goals and objectives, and have determined where and when to use visuals, be sure to let another person take a look at your presentation or report. Peer review can be quite helpful – they can help you gain insight into how diverse learning styles and preferences can be accommodated by using visuals. You can also get an idea if your visuals are of the appropriate complexity.
Reference
Cavanaugh, P. (2011) Visual cognition. Vision Research. 51 (13): 1538-51.
I found a very interesting article that explains how and why people with hobbies who are entrepreneurial will take their passion to the next level and turn it into an actual job. They take the passion, transform it into entrepreneurial intent, and then they start making concrete steps to achieve their dreams. But.. watch out for the robots! The second part of the video discusses another article that explains how not to lose your marketing job to a robot.
Biraglia,
A., and; Kadile, V. (2017). The Role of Entrepreneurial Passion and Creativity
in Developing Entrepreneurial Intentions: Insights from American Homebrewers. Journal
of Small Business Management, 55(1), 170–188.
Purpose
of the article:How can
we use creativity and entrepreneurship to adjust ourselves in difficult times?
Useful
findings: We can apply
Bandura’s Social Cognitive Theory (SCT) to understanding how and why people are
entrepreneurs, and how and when they succeed.
Learning,
Motivational and Behavioral processes are the result of reciprocal and
bidirectional interactions
Environmental Inputs
Personal Factors
Behavioral Outcomes
Applicability of the article
•
Entrepreneurial passion is often a characteristic of people who are able to
turn hobbies into businesses, and they relate to a thorough knowledge of the
topic and also skills and practice.
•Creativity
helps a person solve problems, and thus build a sense of self-efficacy and
confidence.
•
Entrepreneurial self-efficacy and entrepreneurial intentions are very much
influenced by feedback from the environment (awards, collaborations, and
presumably financial rewards).
•To
assure success in an entrepreneurial endeavor, it is important to build
reinforcing feedback loops that strengthen cognitive, behavioral, and
environmental factors.
*************************
Cramer,
T. (2017). How Not to Lose Your Marketing Job to a Machine. EContent, 40(5),
4–8.
Purpose
of the article:To
discuss how artificial intelligence is replacing some jobs in marketing, but
creating others.
Useful
findings:Machine learning
and artificial intelligence are highly effective at conducting market research
and selling, but for each task for AI, there is a need to manage it. Applicability
of the article: -Each AI function also needs a
person who can design and manage it. -With the proliferation of websites,
it is often necessary to have a human who determines if a site is fraudulent. -Creativity is still uniquely human.
To develop strategies to grow markets, and also to tell stories still requires
human beings.
Learning what voting and citizenship can be fun when children can engage with a colorful, accessible book which encourages creativity and interactivity. Welcome to an interview with Sean Callahan and Russell Glass, authors of Voting with a Porpoise.
1. What is your name and background?
Sean Callahan is a content marketer at LinkedIn. He has written several books including The Leprechaun Who Lost His Rainbow, A Wild Father’s Day and co-authored The Big Data-Driven Business. His journalism work has also appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, and Notre Dame Magazine. Callahan lives with his wife and two daughters in Chicago. He is also a voter.
Russell Glass is a serial technology entrepreneur and author, having founded or held senior positions at four venture-backed technology companies and co-authored of The Big Data-Driven Business. He is currently the CEO of Ginger.io, an on-demand behavioral health company, and a board member of Rock the Vote where he uses his experience with technology, data science and narrative branding tactics to develop unique strategies to increase engagement and turnout among young votes. He is also a voter.
2. What is Voting with a Porpoise?
Voting With a Porpoise is a children’s book in which the voting process is brought to life for children of all ages. While kids giggle over dolphin pod leader Finn and Petey the Porpoise, parents are reminded just how vital voting and civic engagement are for a healthy democracy.
3. What inspired the book?
We know that young people are voting at significantly lower rates than people over 65. So we wanted to go to the next generation of voters to speak directly to them about the power that their voices can have if they chose to use them, and make voting something they feel empowered to do and positive about from the start. We wanted to find a project that we were both passionate about.
4. Who wrote it, and what is his / her background?
Sean and Russ, see above.
5. What are some of things you'd like to change in society?
The biggest change we'd like to see in society is more people voting. We want to change the culture around voting in the United States. We'd like to see more locales adopt the law that Sandusky, Ohio, just passed, which makes Election Day a holiday. We'd like to have more early voting, to make it as easy as possible for us to vote. We'd like to see it become customary for Americans to register to vote on their 18th birthday, just like they get their drivers licenses when they turn 16 and have a beer when they turn 21. Ultimately, we'd like Americans to feel embarrassed not to cast their vote on Election Day. Primarily, we'd like to see more people, especially young people, make it to the voting booth. If a critical mass of people voted, politicians could no longer ignore them. Politicians serve those who get them elected. Right now, the people who have the most influence on getting politicians elected is their donors. But if more people voted, politicians would be forced to serve the people who elected them — their constituents.
6. What kinds of changes are you seeing now?
We are seeing more people getting to the polls. In the 2018 mid-terms, Americans aged 18-29 showed up to vote. One statistic in particular shows the surge in young people voting: 3.3 million Americans under 30 voted early in the 2018 mid-terms — that's up 188% over the 2014 mid-terms. Now the trick is to turn this trend into a full-fledged change in voting culture.
7. Can you recommend other books as well? A Day in the Life of Marlon Bundo
Written by Jill Twiss, Illustrated by EG Keller
Great comedic TV shows think alike. In this book, backed by Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, the story of Mike Pence’s rabbit, Marlon Bundo, takes an ironic turn when we discover that Marlon has fallen in love with another bunny who happens to be a boy. The book’s dedication says it all: “For every bunny who has ever felt different.”
What Can a Citizen Do?
Written by Dave Eggers, Illustrated by Shawn Harris
Dave Eggers first came into the public eye with his memoir, a Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius. With this book, Eggers urges young people to use their power as citizens. The School Library Journal summed up this book very well: "This must-have book distills the fundamentals of citizenship into easy-to-digest concepts and emphasizes the importance of caring for others, accepting differences, and taking action to initiate positive change." (Note that Eggers also wrote the charming “Her Right Foot,” which reminds all of us that immigration built the nation).
Learn how to develop probabilistic models using machine learning and other analytic tools to identify and quantify risk. Identify effective ways to use scenarios and simulations, especially in a collaborative environment or context, to identify risks and manage them by using all available combinations of resources. Describe how blockchain is revolutionizing the supply chain.
PDF (contains links to readings, etc.) http://www.zenzebra.net/risk/risk-management-nash-pt4.pdf Scenario 4: Using Blockchain to Eliminate Counterfeit Electronics: Scenarios and Simulations
Emily and Charles are worried. They’ve agreed to put sensors on all the pumps, gas gathering systems, in pipelines, injection wells, and disposal wells.
They hope to eliminate the need for field techs to have to check installations every day, and they want to be able to predict maintenance schedules, as well as where / when to maintain corrosion control, and when to replace equipment. They want to move away from a rigid schedule of maintenance and move to a more “reality based” maintenance and replacement.
However, they are worried. Their entire model depends on high-quality sensors and electronic components that do the job they’re supposed to do.
They’ve come to find out that an alarming percentage of electronic components are counterfeit, which means that they do not do what they’re supposed to do. That’s a terrifying thought when one considers that all the decisions are made based on the readings that the sensors and components deliver via the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT).
Your Task: Help Emily and Charles come up with a plan to make sure that all that the components they have are authentic.
• Develop a plan for Emily and Charles to work with their suppliers to use Blockchain technology to assure authenticity.
• Also, help Emily and Charles develop a plan to use the information from the IIoT to determine when and how to maintain and replace equipment.
• Explain to Emily and Charles how to brainstorm using mind-mapping and role-playing with other team members.
• Develop recommendations for both supply chain integrity (using blockchain) and maintenance / replacement protocols and best practices for the company.
Readings:
Thinking about Scenarios: How to do them Define the elements What can happen? Who is impacted? Who can do anything? When? Where?
Group activity (collaborative online and face to face) Simulations: What is the information that you need? What is the situation? What are the variables? What can be controlled? What is the flow? (mapping / workflow) How to get started: software Dealing with complexity Possible outcomes: listing / prioritizing Quantifying possible consequences
Upon successful completion of this unit, learners will be able to identify how to use artificial intelligence and machine learning to predict levels and types of risk, both known and unknown. Links to open source platforms, languages, and computing environments are provided. It is not necessary to learn the computing languages or to develop new code or programs; the goal of this unit is to familiarize learners in order to work effectively in teams with data scientists, domain experts, and financial decision-makers. Unit Presentation: Video: https://screencast-o-matic.com/watch/cqVZht3OAh
PDF (contains links to readings, etc.) http://zenzebra.net/risk/risk-management-nash-pt3.pdf Scenario 3: Predicting Risk: Approaches using Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning Julia, Patricio, and Reyna are part of a team that is tasked with classifying old shallow-water offshore wells in the Gulf of Mexico in new ways that will help them develop a plan to boost production.
They feel very fortunate in that around a million geological and production records have been scanned, and they cover the 150 or so wells in the field. It’s a treasure trove of data, and they want to incorporate it with the new data in order to develop a profile of the best wells, as well as the good, mediocre, and underperforming wells. Your Task: Help Julia, Patricio, and Reyna develop a plan to analyze the data, and then help them determine where, when, and how they can use artificial intelligence and machine learning to create profiles. Here are a few things to consider: How will you select the data to use? How will you organize it? What does it mean for a well to be: Excellent Good Mediocre Bad
What are the attributes or clusters of characteristics you’ll use? What approach will you use to select data? To clean the data? To analyze the data? What kind of AI / ML approach will you use? How will you use the results? Readings: Overview thoughts / concepts Lists of uses of AI / Machine Learning the energy industry Upstream Classify wells using your own unique set of criteria Identify high-value (or potential high-value) blocks Midstream Classify infrastructure (pipelines, etc) with your own criteria Predict overall performance and the location of bottlenecks Downstream Refining Retail / distribution Wind energy Identify high-value, high-return new locations Identify small businesses that would benefit from local energy Solar energy Workflow for machine learning (in general) ● Pinpoint the problem you want to solve. ● Identify the data you’ll need to use ● Collect the data ● Clean the data ● Organize your data (put into a model - if structured, may use Open Source models such as those from Apache HaDoop) ● Find a model ● Develop algorithms (May use repositories and also cloud-based interfaces) ● Train the model ● Test with data sets ● Reality check ● Decision points
How do I clean data? What is “dirty” data? Does not make sense Bad labels Incorrect formatting Too many “nulls” Part of the data in a different order or different columns Brendon Bailey’s Guide: Use Excel or Python to Clean Data? Use Excel if: You have fewer than 1 million records You need to do the job quick and easy There is a logical pattern to cleaning the data and it’s easy enough to clean using Excel functions The logical pattern to cleaning the data is hard to define, and you need to clean the data manually When you might use Python or another scripting language: Use Python if: You need to document your process You plan on doing the job on a repeat basis There is a logical pattern to cleaning the data, but it is hard to implement with Excel functions
Bougher, Ben B. (2016) Using the scattering transform to predict stratigraphic units from well logs. Seismic Laboratory for Imaging and Modeling (SLIM), The University of British Columbia, Vancouver https://www.slim.eos.ubc.ca/Publications/Public/Journals/CSEGRecorder/2016/bougher2015CSEGust/bougher2015CSEGust.html Data: Trenton Black River gamma ray logs Methodology: supervised learning ("uses labelled datasets to train a classifier to make predictions about future data" (Bougher, 2016)) Methodology - what's the algorithm? Bougher uses a scattering transform - and then it fieeds a K-Nearest Neighbours (KNN) classifier). How can I do this? Using convolutional neural networks to solve a mineral prospectivity mapping problem Framing the exploration task as a supervised learning problem, the geological, geochemical and geophysical information can be used as training data, and known mineral occurrences can be used as training labels. The goal is to parameterize the complex relationships between the data and the labels such that mineral potential can be estimated in under-explored regions using available geoscience data. Granek, Justin. (2016). Application of Machine Learning Algorithms to Mineral Prospectivity Mapping. Open Collections. University of British Columbia. https://open.library.ubc.ca/cIRcle/collections/ubctheses/24/items/1.0340340
Learn to identify and evaluate cascading risks and causal chains is the goal of this unit, with easy-to-use tools for creating flow charts and maps for analysis and decision-making. • Determine the data you need to understand systemic risks • Identify the relationships that lead to cascading risks • Discuss ways do develop workflows of flows of risks • Identify the locations most likely to trigger cascading failures • Identify the types of risks associated with the failures • Describe methods of analyzing cascading risks using several analytical techniques • Explain how a Bayesian analysis can be effective for identifying relationships Unit Presentation: Video: https://screencast-o-matic.com/watch/cqVZhl3Ozi
Scenario 2: Cascading Risks: Workflows for Risks Joseph works for Wolf Midstream, which recently diversified into solar and wind energy to generate electricity for the grid in northeastern Texas and southwest Arkansas.
Things have been going well. However, the weather forecast says there is a high likelihood of a tornado outbreak near their solar panel farm and also near the Wolf wind farm. Wolf Midstream is connected with Lone Wolf Electric, which owns transmission lines into the small towns and rural homes.
The leadership of Wolf wants a report that provides 3 different scenarios for different levels of storms. They want to know what all the potential impacts will be, and how they will affect each other.
Your Task: Help Joseph develop a map that shows how damage in one place will affect other places, resulting in causal chains, and cascading failures.
What will Joseph need? Which data does she need to collect? What kind of maps should she build? Use a diagram to show with arrows the cascading failures. Then, mark on a map where the problems will occur (after you’ve completed the diagrams).
You may wish to create 4 different maps: Stage 1: Initial impact Stage 2: Secondary impact Stage 3: What happens after Stage 2 failures occur Stage 4: Final level of outcomes (long-term consequences). Readings: “Risk relationships and cascading relationships in critical infrastructures” https://www.preventionweb.net/english/hyogo/gar/2015/en/bgdocs/McGee%20et%20al.,%202014.pdf
Destruction of infrastructure => disruption of supply chain => disruptions in global / local manufacturing (or mining, etc.)
Upon successful completion of this unit, learners will be able to identify and define risks in the energy industry (petroleum, natural gas, alternative), and construct risk heat maps for analysis, strategic planning and decision-making. Unit Presentation:
Activity: Scenario 1: The Real Risks: Identifying and Quantifying Using Heat Maps Mark, Tamara, and Talib have put together a small company, Invictus Energy, with the goal of buying two or three small mature fields that also has a pipeline and gas gathering system.
Their goal is to revitalize the fields, renegotiate contracts, and then sell the fields and the gas gathering system and pipelines. They have obtained private equity financing, but are a bit alarmed at how much personal "skin in the game" they have to put up. They are required to put in their own savings and assets, which makes them very nervous. But, they believe they can boost the production and recoverable reserves by 50%. They are worried because the pumps are old, and the pipeline and gas gathering systems have not had any corrosion control or maintenance in many years. Your Task: Help Mark, Tamara, and Talib identify and rank the risks. Then, help them create a heat map so they can make sound financial decisions. --What are the kinds of risks that Invictus Energy will face? --What is the probability and potential impact of each? --What does a risk heat map look like for Invictus? --What are 3 or 4 decisions that the heat map can help with? Readings: Unit Presentation: http://zenzebra.net/risk/risk-management-nash-pt1.pdf Heat Maps – where how to build them https://riskmanagementguru.com/create-risk-heatmap-excel-part-1.html/ https://riskmanagementguru.com/create-risk-heatmap-excel-part-2.html/ Example: Upstream oil and gas exploration and development Geological Risk (model, quality of information, imaging) Legal risk (title, etc.) Analytics risk (model, organization of information) Data Acquisition Risk Safety risk Drilling Risk (out of zone) Hydraulic fracturing risk Completion Risk Other examples: Solar and wind energy generation and distribution. Texas A&M Texarkana MBA in Energy Leadership: Click link to apply - more information For more information about the courses (and this full course), please contact me.
