There are some theories that suggest motivation is thoughtful and rational decision-like process. One of the major theories from this type of approach is expectancy theory (e.g., Vroom, 1964). Expectancy theory basically says that people choose their behaviors based on the subjective estimation that such behaviors lead to the valued outcomes. Vroom’s valence-instrumentality-expectancy theory (VIE theory) states that there are three main components that affect human motivation. Valence is the degree in which the outcome the person will have is valuable for him/her. Instrumentality represents the degree in which the first outcome (e.g., performance) leads to the final valued outcome. Expectancy refers to the subjective probability that a certain effort or behavior leads to the first outcome or performance. VIE theory suggests that the multipricative function of valence, instrumentality and expectancy represents motivational force, which predicts a person’s choice (e.g., goal choice).
As described above, expectancy theory is a very rational approach to motivation. The strength of this approach is that it predicts a person’s choice (e.g., such as occupational choice) well and is predictive if the task is fairly simple and easy for the estimation of VIE. However, the weakness of this theory is that its predictive power might be low for complex tasks, uncertain environment, and so on. Meta-analysis shows that the multiplied VIE factors doesn’t explain human motivation better than each independent component alone (VanElde & Thealy, 1996).
Goal setting theory (Locke & Latham, 1990) also includes some thoughtful, rational process of motivation. The major finding of goal setting research is that difficult, specific goals lead to high performance. Mitchell et al. (2000) suggest that there are direct and indirect effects of goal setting. Direct effect of goal setting is that goals stimulate arousal, attention and direction, and intensity and persistence. This might rather automatic process than thoughtful process....
pages: 7 (words: 1673)
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added: 04/29/2011
International Bacclaureatte TOK Essay Topic: How do beliefs about the World, and beliefs about what is valuable, influence the pursuit of knowledge? The pursuit of scientific knowledge has often been believed to be an exploration in which information is gathered solely from experimentation, but people are slow to realize that experimentation is only one way, among a variety of ways, in which scientists gather information. In their pursuit of new scientific knowledge, scientists may conduct surveys, or build on pre-existing information using assumptions and theories, along with experimentation, in order to obtain knowledge in any particular scientific field. That which the scientists determine as knowledge, however, does not always mirror that which the public receives as new scientific knowledge. Along the path of distribution of this knowledge, the influences of economics, morality and political beliefs can taint pure scientific knowledge discovered by the scientist. In almost all fields of new research, scientists seeking to gain new knowledge encounter inadequate funding. Whether the money is needed new lab equipment or field research or other such projects, sufficient funding is almost always unattainable. Because so little is known about this new field of study, the public is scared and few are willing to support it. Once more information is discovered and scientists acknowledge the importance of that field, more funding is gradually provided, and more scientists, furthering the pursuit of knowledge, conduct more research in this field. The required funding is only provided after the scientists present data persuasive enough to promote further studies in that. Also, because of the lucrative business opportunities of such a discovery, a scientist may be unwilling to share his knowledge unless he has been rewarded. Next to interfere with the pursuit of scientific knowledge is morality. Just as information that is not "politically correct" cannot be released because it may...
pages: 5 (words: 1208)
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added: 11/05/2011
Art Theory leading into the 18th Century The argument of color verses design originated in the Baroque, but extended much further into the eighteenth century in terms of theory. Roger de Piles was the father of this argument based on coloris versus disegno and the Poussinists versus the Rubenists and so on. He joined the Academy in 1699, right on the verge of the Rococo and basically formed the argument for color, rather than classical design in his Cours de Peinture par Principes in 1708. Up until Rubens artwork, the classical style of painting was preferred with a focus mainly on "straight lines, right angles, triangular arrangement of forms, balance, symmetry, and so on" (Minor 367). De Piles believed that color appealed more to human's emotions and that was what truly great art was meant to do. He therefore obviously chose Ruben's work as superior to Poussin's. This was known as the Quarrel between the Ancients and the Moderns, with the Moderns prevailing in the eighteenth century . Ruben's work was monumental in shaping the painting style during the next century. His paintings inspired artist's styles such as Watteau, Gainsborough, and Boucher. Through de Piles arguments within the academy and Ruben's rejection of the classical style the eighteenth century painting theory was born. This essay will attempt to follow this movement from the classical style that dominated the baroque with Poussin to the shift towards Rubens at the end of the century and end with its influence on art theory in the eighteenth century. Throughout most of the Baroque the classical was preferred in painting. Poussin's paintings are usually used as perfect examples of baroque classicism, but the idea of painting in the classic mode goes much further than this. "Literary theory on ideas of painting went back at least to Alberti"...
pages: 10 (words: 2725)
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added: 12/14/2011
Development and Health
1. Infant mortality: The average number of deaths of children under 1 year of age per 1000 live births.
2. Life expectancy at birth: The average number of years a person born in a particular country might be expected to live.
3. Since medical care has advanced remarkably over the past century, even the less economically developed countries have adequate amount of medical and food supply. Another reason might be the aide from the economically more developed countries.
4. The reason for this phenomenon is because we can see form the chart in the UK population per doctor is 729, and in Kenya it??s 10,050. We can see the great difference. People in Kenya are short of doctors, which lead to a high infant mortality rate. Another reason is if we look at the life expectancy, Kenya is 59 at 1996 and UK is 77. We can see why the infant mortality rate of Kenya is so much higher compared to the UK.
5. First of all, better facility should be provided, such as better tap water system and regular health check up device. And AIDS is another concern for the people inhabited in the economically less developed countries. Over thousands of babies are born carrying HIV virus. Better education should be provided for these people and even the conception of contraception. And the government should focus on developing the economy and should be asking neighboring economically more developed countries for help and device. Plus the government should set up a certain limit for birth rate.
6. In ELDCs, the infant mortality rate has fallen greatly due to the highly advanced medical facilities nowadays. However there is no great change in EMDCs since the infant mortality rate was low in the beginning.
7. The infant mortality rate is gradually coming down as we can...
pages: 2 (words: 470)
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added: 03/16/2011
The life expectancy at birth is the age in which an individual is expected to reach when they are born. The life expectancy varies across nations and continents and there may be a number of reasons for these variations. It is important that we become educated about positive and negative factors that are influencing life expectancy across countries so changes can be implemented. If we can begin to understand why life expectancy varies for different nations and why life expectancy is where it is today, we will be able to do a better job raising the living standards for all people in the future. The purpose of this study is to answer the underlying question: What are some factors that influence life expectancy across nations? Model Construction The data in this study was obtained from the U. S. Census Bureau, International Programs Center, International Database. This study looks at two models that use cross-sectional data that was taken from 39 countries. There were three unusual observations within the data, one observation whose x value gave it a large influence and two observations with a large standardized residual. These observations were not omitted. The data is from 1999. The dependent variable of interest is life expectancy at birth within each nation. The observations are in years. The independent variables for the analysis are as follows: GDP per Capita (PPP) The gross domestic product per capita (PPP dollars) for each nation was observed and regressed against life expectancy to determine if this variable had any impact on life expectancy. The purchasing power parity or PPP was used because it uses a common set of prices, those of the United States, to measure the output of each country. This provides a more accurate comparison of incomes for each country. One would expect that in countries with a...
pages: 6 (words: 1493)
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added: 08/31/2011
Why The Creator Of The DVD is my personal God
2002 was a record-breaking year of the movie business. However, it also boasted the lowest number of movie-goers in more then a decade. So, how is it possible that less then half the people went to the cinema, yet the business raked in double the earnings?
Simple. Double the price tag. Going to a movie is no longer a cheap date. You'll be lucky to get away at under $20 a person. Going to a Friday or Saturday night show (the most poplar time slots) ranges in price from around $7 to $12, depending on the city and the theatre itself. After that is the ever famous money-hungry concession stand. Your average popcorn comes in at around $3 while your medium drink is even more at closer to $5. And heaven forbid you want any Gobstoppers or Lemondrops to go with that, or you're talking another $2 - $3 for a small box of candy you could pick up at the 7-11 for half a dollar. When you add this all up and multiply it by a small family of four, you're shelling out a serious chunk of change for 2 hours of (hopeful) entertainment.
Of course, there are obvious ways around this. For the avid movie-goer such as myself, here is a simple, yet effective, "Cheat Sheet" for not breaking the bank at the show:
First, if at all possible, move to a small city with one theatre that shows last month's big movie and charges about a buck for admission (think "The Trail"). If this isn't possible, (or you just have to see Star Trek episode #8927 on the opening weekend), at least try to work your schedule so you can see a Saturday or Sunday afternoon matinee. Chances are you'll be...
pages: 6 (words: 1619)
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added: 10/22/2011
In the early seventeen hundreds, after the establishment of both New England and the Chesapeake, many similarities and differences arose between the two settlements. Some of the similarities and differences included such things as family life, economy, life expectancy, and society. In the Chesapeake area, the life expectancy and general healthiness of the settlers was dangerously low. Diseases like malaria, typhoid, and dysentery had a deadly effect on the inhabitants of the area, cutting 10 years off the life expectancy. Family life in the Chesapeake was also a problem. Women were very scarce which made a strong family life almost impossible. Unmarried pregnancies were everywhere and marriages did not usually last for very long due to a death of one of the partners. This lifestyle was greatly contrasted in the area of New England. New Englanders enjoyed clean water and moderate temperatures that slowed the spread of diseases among the people. The people of New England actually had a life expectancy of ten years more than that of a person living in England. Also, in New England the family life was very strong and important. Women usually wed by their twenties and had around ten children, with about eight of those that would survive. Another contrast in the lifestyle of the New Englanders to that of those in the Chesapeake was that women in the south would usually acquire land from their husbands after they died. In New England, however, the women would give up their property rights at marriage because widowhood was much less common and also because it did not promote the unity of marriage. One common point between the two civilizations was the very prominent class distinctions. In both areas settlers also fought to restructure these systems. Rebellions such as Bacon's 1676 rebellion in Virginia, and Leisler 1689 to 1691...
pages: 2 (words: 497)
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added: 01/10/2012
The Industrial Revolution had many long-term effects on the world. The issue is whether these effects were more beneficial or harmful for humanity. This issue is an important one because it deals with the Industrial Revolution, which has affected nearly every person in the world. From any person who has used a telephone or watched television to any person who has breathed polluted air, they have all felt the effects of the Industrial Revolution. There are two sides to this issue, some people believe that the Industrial Revolution has been a great benefit for humanity because of reasons such as higher standard of living and cure for diseases, while there are others who would argue that the Industrial Revolution is the cause of problems such as pollution and over-population. This issue is not an easy one to resolve however as there is no clear-cut answer. While both sides have valid arguments, it appears as though the long-term effects of the Industrial Revolution were more beneficial than harmful. Counter Arguments: Some people believe overpopulation is a result of and a problem of the industrial revolution: overpopulation is harmful because there wont be enough resources to go around but with the industrial revolution resources have become much more abundant. Also there will be density (overcrowded) is bad for living conditions but places Los Angeles (7,068persquaremile) Tokyo (17151) and even the most dense place Hong Kong (73,627) they all have good living conditions in the city. Nuclear war: Bad cause of death. Good because you could argue that it prevents large-scale wars. There have been no more world wars since the introduction of nukes. Pollution: bad because of global warming and bad health from sun. They are trying to reduce global warming and use alternative non-polluting such as hydro cars. Bad health can be prevented with healthcare, sunscreen. Arguments: Longer...
pages: 2 (words: 366)
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added: 12/04/2011
Statistics Coursework Aims… For my statistics coursework I intend to carry out an investigation to discover if there is a relationship between two sets of data. I will use a range of appropriate statistical measures and calculations which will allow me to discover whether there is a relationship between the two sets of data. I am trying to discover if there is a link between the per capita gross domestic product of a country and the school life expectancy of a citizen in that country. Allow me to explain the two different statistics. Per capita gross domestic product is measured in US dollars and represents the gross domestic product for each citizen of the country that is fifteen or over and economically active (i.e. earning money) over a period of a year. Per capita gross domestic product is basically the average amount a working adult earns per year in that particular country. Gross domestic product is an average calculated by the statistics division of the United Nations. School life expectancy is also an average calculated by the United Nations statistics division and represents the average number of years schooling a child can expect to receive in any given country. I will select a number of countries at random and then I will analyse both sets of data for each country allowing me to draw conclusions about the relationship between the two sets of data. Hypothesis… · I believe that the school life expectancy will increase as the per capita GNP does. This is because richer more developed countries have more money to spend on education. I will investigate this. · I will try to discover if males receive a longer education (in years) than females. Or if females receive a longer education than males. I believe that in a percentage of countries males will receive...
pages: 10 (words: 2565)
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added: 12/12/2011
Summary In the statement, it is considered that game theory is hard to use in developing and implementing international business strategy. In the following parts, by analyzing the standpoint of the statement and the definition of game theory, I would critically assess the statement. In the following parts, some general examples would be provided to discuss whether or not game theory is suitable for international business strategy and why the statement is considering that in international business game theory is hard to be developed. In addition, the effects of globalization on game theory in international business strategy will be considered as an additive factor. Finally a conclusion would be made that although game theory cannot be used in international business strategy as simply as it is used in domestic firm strategy, it can be expected that game theory can be well used in regions and blocs development in the future. Analysis on the statement Firstly why the statement indicates that game theory is too hard to use in international business strategy thinking should be discussed, and before this, the definition of game theory can explain some questions. Game theory can be defined that under some situations and rules, depending on the information they hold, individuals take their own strategies and acts at the same time or in some sequence, to get their own goals (Norton, 1995, P36). Here some key words related to the statement can be discussed. Rules: although players in the game would make a rule as soon as they reach equilibrium, previously they must have a rule to start the game. In the general business strategy, because firms are under the same policies and laws, the final equilibrium is easy to reach. But, when the business is taking place between different blocs or different regions, not only economic factor but also policy or other...
pages: 11 (words: 2764)
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added: 12/17/2011