Pet Overpopulation Cause and Effect of Homeless Pets Essay

A harmless visit to the neighborhood pet store turns into a ruthless encounter for me. Every Saturday, Pecan (my dog) and I visit a local pet store to purchase food and treats for her. Pecan and I pass by a dozen of shelter volunteers eagerly showcasing homeless dogs before entering the pet store. Shelter volunteers are special because they are willing to devote their Saturday morning to help homeless pets. On the way I stop and great each volunteer and dog, then I walk away emotionally grieving and trying to holding back tears. My sadness soon turns into anger, when I realize I cannot adopt every homeless pet. The pet population is a increasing crisis in America. In this essay I will discuss the cause and effect of homeless†¦show more content†¦If simply one dog procreates and has five puppies, then if those puppies procreate over a lifetime, the one dog and five puppies will proliferate into a multitude of dogs. The reality is that 75% of these dogs will ultimately en d up in shelters and euthanize. Second, breeders are commonly a starting place for perusing a dog. Purebred dogs acquired from breeders frequently have a absurd price tag. What makes a pedigree dog so appealing? Often, advertising, movies, and social status leads to the desire of a pedigree. A purebred dog is purchased from a breeder as a captivating puppy. Tragically, as the puppy blossoms into a adult it will eventually loose its appeal and inadvertently end up in the shelter. Finally, pet ownership is a lifelong commitment. The adoption of a pet legally makes the owner responsible for that pet. Pet ownership is taken too lightly, pet owners are not devoted to their pets. Pet adoption is much like the adoption of a child. A pet requires affection, guidance, food, refuge, and medical care. A child that is not cared for properly will rebel against his/her parents, so will a dog! Dogs rebel by chewing, urinating and/or defecating indoors and constantly barking for hours. Many dog owner are too assiduous and reluctant to investigate the premise of their dogs unmanageable demeanor. Consequently, the rebellious dog ends up in the animal shelter. Lastly,Show MoreRelatedHow to Save an Animal Life Essay1636 Words   |  7 PagesHow to Save a Life I remember when I was 11 years old and my dog, Happy, was sick with cancer. Since the moment we rescued Happy he was the sweetest, most energetic pet I had ever seen. He remained this way over the many years that we had him, hence, his name. I remember the day we decided it was time to let go. We took Happy to the veterinarian clinic and were taken into a little room. All four of us, my brother, my parents, and I, huddled around Happy as he was lying on the counter. The veterinarianRead MoreThe American Pets Products Association1170 Words   |  5 PagesFor years now, the lives and fate of homeless animals has been at stake. 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Seven to ten million animals both lost and abandoned are in shelters or will end up in one. Statistics show that every twenty to thirty seconds an animal is lost or thrown out. By taking the time to get your pets spayed or neutered it isRead MoreUrbanization of Lagos6093 Words   |  25 Pages†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 23 URBANIZATION Due to the large numbers of immigrants from the surrounding rural areas desiring to improve their economic positions, the city is flooded with people seeking employment and cannot sustain all of them. This causes many of the city dwellers to resort to informal employment such as cattle broking, recycling and street vending. This in turn keeps a great number of these people leaving below the poverty line and in turn families cannot afford to send their children

The Most Important Aspect Of Information - 2519 Words

Research is the most important aspect of information. It takes a significant amount of research to verify facts. However, research has also been modified, skewed, and reworded in the favor of political groups, world leaders, local politicians, and any special interest groups trying to advocate one side or the other. It takes a lot of motivation, discipline, and close observation to be effective in the realm of research. Facts are primary. Getting facts takes time and detail. One must be able to articulate what one is researching, while finding out the facts. This process includes giving multiple definitions, providing data and resources, and essentially anything one can do to avoid having their words manipulated by special interest groups. Within this paper, three articles with different methods of research will be analyzed. They all are different from one another. Each article is within its’ own category. One is a qualitative study, the other is a quantitative correlational study, and the last is a treatment outcome study. In addition, in order to understand the explanation of these studies, it’s necessary to give a definition of what each study means. For example, qualitative study, according to the California State University Long Beach student website, is aimed at gaining a deep understanding of a specific organization or event, rather than a surface description of a large scale of a population. It aims to provide an explicit rendering of the structure,Show MoreRelatedInformation Assurance : Most Important Aspects And Considerations Essay1543 Words   |  7 Pages Information assurance: Most important aspects and considerations By Andrew Irechukwu, Jakiha Johnson, Akil Kelly, Megan Gilliam COSC 432 Professor Lamma References: Principles of Information Security, Fifth Edition December 12, 2016 Technology has grown tremendously over the past few decades. 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On the one hand I anticipated the issues of the counterpart very accurate in my planning sheet and included the possibility of the owner continuing his job as an additional issue which can be further split in the sub issues salary, working hours and otherRead MoreJob Site Layout, Mobilization, Equipment, And Coordination1470 Words   |  6 Pagesare all very important aspects that are included in all engineering and construction projects. These aspects are all handled in costs effective manners as well as with the ultimate safety in mind. Operating on the construction side of projects can be very dangerous, but today’s world has come a long way to ensure that safety is a top priority. The job site layout is an important step that is continuously changing throughout the entirety of the project. When choosing the site many aspects must be taken

Management Research in the Hospitality free essay sample

The hostile-adoption environment (Cooper, 2006). This is especially characteristic of vocational businesses and small businesses, since the application of KM demands a large amount of time and money. 3. No clear applicability for hospitality and tourism service and inter-organizational perspectives (Grizelj, 2003). Since the concepts of KM are developed largely from a manufactured and multinational perspective (Nonaka Takeuchi, 1995), it has failed to take many aspects of hospitality and tourism services into account. Grizelj (2003) points out that KM concepts do not bring up the hospitality and tourism issues based on networks and lack an inter-organizational perspective. 1 In order to remain competitive, hospitality and tourism companies must adopt the KM approach (Ruhanen Cooper, 2004). As customers become more experienced at finding the best deals for hotels, restaurants, travel agencies, and tourist destinations, the hospitality and tourism organizations face increasingly intense worldwide competition. Considering the severe competition and the nature of the industry, employees and managers have to acquire more knowledge, in order to consistently provide the best deals and service to customers. What is more, customers’ preferences can be various and changeable, requiring employees and managers to understand the changes and continue to provide the best experience (Hallin Marnburg, 2008). However, the question often posed is: What kind of knowledge should be obtained in order to gain competitive advantage (Ruhanen Cooper, 2004). In recent years, research on KM topics has become more and more popular. However, the contributions of research on KM in the hospitality and tourism industry are limited (Pyo, 2005; Ruhanen Cooper, 2004). Much of the published KM research on tourism and hospitality topics fails to identify possible outcomes (Ruhanen Cooper, 2004), while other research focuses only on anecdotal case studies and make no contribution to the academic field or the industry, as the studies are mainly company and operationally focused (Cooper, Shepherd and Westlake, 1994; Ruhanen Cooper, 2004). Bouncken and Pyo (2002) indicated that most of the studies on hospitality and tourism KM are not empirical, but conceptual and practical. They believe this tendency is because of the short history of research on KM in the industry. Hallin and Marnburg (2008) reviewed empirical research on KM in the hospitality and tourism industry before 2006. They provided the first survey of empirical KM research in the hospitality and 2 tourism field, and suggested that the published empirical research studies lacked theoretical foundation and methodology, and that there is a great need for further empirical KM research in the hospitality and tourism context. Purpose of the Study The purpose of this study is to identify research trends and direction of scholarly research in hospitality and tourism KM and analyze the potential contributions of published scholarly studies via systematic content analysis. This study will analyze KM research articles focusing on hospitality and tourism, such as the use of KM in the hospitality workplace. The research objectives are as follows: 1. Carry out a content analysis of the related literature between 2006 and 2010 (the period before 2006 was covered in the study by Hallin and Marnburg (2008)), 2. Compare the new findings with Hallin and Marnburg’s findings to determine the current direction of KM research and identify any changes in the pattern of research studies. For example, Hallin and Marnburg assert that empirical KM research is limited prior to 2006. This study seeks to identify changes in methodologies employed by the articles included in the period studied. 3. Tabulate KM related research methodologies used and subject matters in the hospitality and tourism studies to identify research trends. Given the research objectives listed above, three research questions have emerged after an initial review of related literature: 1. Is the knowledge management research in hospitality and tourism still limited in terms of empirical research? 3 2. What are the current research trends and direction in terms of methodologies used? 3. What are the current research trends and direction in terms of subject matters? Significance of the Study An initial review of existing research literature on KM studies reveals that there is no comprehensive content analysis of such studies focusing on hospitality and tourism. With the exception of Hallin and Marnburg’s study (2008), there is no empirical review of scholarly journals that identifies KM research articles focusing on hospitality and tourism. Moreover, no study to date has replicated Hallin and Marnburg’s content analysis study or documented the progress of hospitality and tourism KM research since 2006. Thus, there is a need for content analysis of research literature to identify the current direction and trends of published KM research in hospitality and tourism. This study aims to give a comprehensive review and identification of hospitality and tourism research articles that focus on KM. Content analysis is used to identify research methodology, year of publication, source of the contribution and other descriptive characteristics. 4 CHAPTER 2 REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE Introduction The literature review consists of three sections: knowledge, knowledge management (KM), and the importance of and barriers to applying KM. The first section reviews the background of knowledge as a field of study, and different categories of knowledge are discussed. The second section deals with the concept and history of KM and reviews KM research in the hospitality and tourism industry. The third section identifies the importance of and challenges for KM applications in the hospitality and tourism industry. Knowledge Knowledge is the most significant asset of an organization (Buckley Carter, 2002). Burton, DeSanctis, and Obel (2006) define knowledge as â€Å"information that corresponds to a particular context† (p. 92). Petkovic and Miric (2009) consider this definition to be of great importance as it makes clear the difference between information and knowledge. Knowledge is composed of many related groups of information, while not every piece of information can be regarded as knowledge. Only those pieces of information which help to improve the level of organizational learning can be considered as knowledge. Knowledge can be stored in many forms, including documents, books or human minds. Each of these forms of knowledge can be used to indicate the knowledge of a business regarding products, service, customers and competitors (Petkovic Miric, 2009). The lowest to highest levels of knowledge are data, information, knowledge, understanding, and wisdom. 5 Categories of Knowledge There are several different forms of knowledge. Whitehill (1997) includes a typology of knowledge: know how (habitual knowledge), know what (encoded knowledge), know who (collaboration knowledge), know why (scientific knowledge), know when and where (process knowledge), and care why (communal knowledge). However, Scott and Laws (2006) pointed out that this kind of typology neglects problems of ownership. At an organizational level, Zack (1999a) distinguishes between three kinds of knowledge: core knowledge, which is the primary understanding of the company in the industry; advanced knowledge, which is the knowledge necessary for distinction by companies in the industry; and innovative knowledge, which is knowledge used by the company to develop new products and affect the dynamics of the industry. This kind of knowledge classification requires employees and managers not only to know things, but also to take action (Zack, 1999b; Shin, Holden, Schmidt, 2001). Of all the different categorizations of knowledge, the system described by Polanyi (1966) is the most influential. Polanyi differentiates between tacit knowledge and explicit knowledge. Tacit knowledge is personal and complicated, and is about physical capabilities, skills, and values that developed through experience (Leonard Sensiper, 1998). Explicit knowledge, on the other hand, can be easily codified and transferred into books, reports and documents (Lathi, 2000). Unlike explicit knowledge, tacit knowledge is difficult to formalize, interpret and transfer from one person or group to another (Shaw Williams, 2009). It should come as no surprise that tacit knowledge is given much more attention, Polanyi (1966) explains, since tacit knowledge is obtained and learned through intuition and experience rather than through reasoning and observation. Shaw 6 and Williams (2009) believed that it is because tacit knowledge is so difficult to imitate that makes it a key means by which companies gain a competitive advantage. Knowledge Management The Concept of Knowledge Management While the definition of KM is still developing (Penrose, 1959; Polanyi, 1958; Simon, 1968), the philosophy remains a simple one: Use knowledge to gain competitive advantage (Davenport Prusak, 1998). As a competitive tool, the essence of the KM process is to identify, capture, transfer and share relevant knowledge, ensuring that organizations increase competitiveness and obtain maximum benefits (Bahra, 2001). Companies use benchmarks to examine, understand and compare their work performance with that of their key competitors (Lee, 2008). Training to employees, information systems and KM are the most common benchmarks criteria. And the process of KM is often connected with organization goals. Moreover, human capital is a valuable asset to organizations and the fundamental function of KM is to management this valuable asset in the organizations. Dosi, Nelson and Winter (2002) have determined that there is increasing agreement on the definition of KM. They point out that practitioners and academics view the meaning of KM differently. Academics consider KM to be a complex combination of subjects, including information technology, business administration, and management. Practitioners, by contrast, see KM as a way to leverage knowledge within a company in order to meet business goals, such as achieving competitive advantage and maximum profit (Dosi et al. , 2002; Nonaka, 2008). 7 KM is considered a competitive advantage because it is a tool for organizations to improve organizational productivity, creativity, reputations, innovation and ultimately enhance organizational profits (Ward Le, 1996). KM improves productivity by better utilizing intellectual capital, reducing costs and improving efficiency (Sherman, 2000). There are three kinds of intellectual capital: human, customer and structural capital. Structural capital means all other capital expect human capital, such as hardware, software and patents (Edvinsson Malone, 1997). The History of Knowledge Management There are three clear phases in the development of KM, starting with information systems and developing into knowledge society (Sveiby, 2001). The first phase, beginning in the 1960s, focused on information technology (Tuomi, 2002). During this phase, organizations developed ways to use the large amount of available information to improve productivity. In the second phase, during the mid-to late 1980s, businesses had become more market-driven than production-driven. During this period, when the awareness of market and service quality was greatly increased, customers began to seek the best deals on products and services (Jafari, 1990). During this phase, some organizations became highly competitive using KM initiatives such as tapping knowledge stocks (Cooper, 2006; Sveiby, 2001). The third phase began in the mid- to late 1990s, and has continued into the present. In this phase, due to the distribution, production and use of information, there has been a new shift from an information-based to a knowledge economy (Jones, 2001). With the development of technology, innovation and new products/services are introduced in this knowledge economy. Of these three phases, 8 Cooper (2006) believes that the third â€Å"has the most† to offer to the hospitality and tourism industry (p. 50). Knowledge Management Applications Kabene, King and Skaini (2006) state that there are six areas of KM applications: transactional, asset management, process based, analytical, innovation and developmental. Ward and Le (1996) believe E-learning is one of the most imperative KM approaches, as it allows the employees to have the training anywhere at any time. Yahya and Goh (2002) point out generally there are two KM approaches. They are centralized KM and decentralized KM. They also introduced two companies: SevenEleven in Tokyo and BP. Seven-Eleven is an example of centralized KM approach, and this centralized KM relies on a central system to capture and store all the available knowledge. BP, which uses the decentralized KM approach, focuses on knowledge sharing in the organization. E-learning, a computer-based training, has been introduced to many hospitality and tourism companies. Hospitality and tourism companies use E-learning to enhance customer service and information management. For example, Holiday Inn uses computer technology to investigate the needs of training and let employees to choose training schedules and contents. Although E-learning can be beneficial to organizations, some small and mid-size organizations may face challenges in applying it. Small or mid-size organizations are not able to afford the computer technology systems (Harris, 1995). Call (2005) introduces the KM system adopted by Ritz-Carlton Hotel. This KM system consists of best service and practices from employees in each department of the 9 hotel and is updated annually. The hotel management views the employees as the most crucial component of KM. Furthermore, Singapore Airlines invested a lot of money on improving its knowledge networks. It used this system to predict the flight tickets supply and demand. This welldeveloped knowledge network help the airline company maximize tickets sales (Goh, 2007). Knowledge Management Research in the Hospitality and Tourism Industry Since the 1990s, KM has become a popular topic for researchers. However, the hospitality and tourism industry has not followed this trend until recently (Cooper, 2006). KM is primarily thought of from a multinational and manufacturing perspective, therefore, it fails to consider many aspects of the hospitality and tourism industry (Nonaka Takeuchi, 1995). Unlike other industries, hospitality and tourism companies need to work with a variety of other industries, such as the service industry, to work out the service products (Hallin Marnburg, 2008). As a result, when working in a hospitality and tourism context, KM concepts need to be extended to consider interorganizational issues. Cooper (2006) notes that the two approaches of the academic and the practitioner should be combined into a single and clear definition: for the hospitality and tourism sector, KM is the process of gaining competitive advantage by allocating knowledge assets within companies. Employees are very important to hospitality and tourism organizations. Employees performance has a huge impact on organizational performance. Also the performance of employees can greatly affect the implication of KM. In order to effectively adopt KM approach to organizations, human resource needs to foster a KM culture that encourages 10 KM applications. Yahya and Goh (2002) examined the relationship between human resource and KM, and found that training and performance appraisals are greatly associated with KM. What is more, organizations use KM approach to retain employees and enhance customer satisfaction (Cooper, 2006). Hospitality and tourism knowledge is heavily labor dependent and employees use their knowledge in providing thebest experience for customers, therefore, it is crucial that companies use KM approach to retain employees and customer satisfactory. Customer satisfaction and loyalty are the most important factors to the success of a hotel. Hospitality and tourism employees have direct contact with customers. It is especially important for employees to have the knowledge about customer preferences and how to provide the best service (Bouncken, 2002). Scholars point out that KM can greatly influence training. Delaney and Huselid (1996) pointed out that organizations should align training with the goals and strategies of the organization. The purpose of training is to share knowledge with employees, who can use it to improve performance (Frash, Antun, Kline, Almanza, 2010). KM can help human resource specialists identify training needs in order to provide the right training to the right person. Training in hospitality and tourism organizations is imperative, as the majority of employees have direct contact with customers and organizations want to ensure that employees provide service that will attract new customers and retain returning customers (Nightingale, 1985). However, it is crucial for hospitality and tourism companies to decide the proper training method to meet the objectives. Because of the 11 budget, time and availability of training personnel, sometimes training do not solve the specific training problems (Froiland, 1993). Researchers agree that KM enables employees to be innovative about the company’s products and services. In order to be competitive, hospitality and tourism organizations need to produce new products and be creative about service (Cooper, 2006). By acquiring, sharing and transferring the required knowledge, KM leads employees to be creative, ultimately leading organizations to gain competitive advantage (Bouncken, 2002). Although the studies on KM in the hospitality and tourism sector have been limited, the businesses in the industry are increasingly reliant on the KM approach to improve performance and gain competitive advantage (Leiper, 2004). Due to the increased use of information technology (IT) and systems, hospitality and tourism services have become knowledge-based. Sheldon (1997) notes that the hospitality and tourism sector is one of the largest users of IT. As a result, it is imperative for hospitality and tourism organizations to encourage and learn from KM research in order to distinguish an organization from its competitors. Importance of and Barriers to Applying Knowledge Management Many scholars believe that the KM approach is a crucial tool for hospitality and tourism companies wishing to gain competitive advantages (Cooper, 2005; Jafari, 1990). In light of rapid changes to the economy, hospitality and tourism companies are facing serious problems: increasing operating uncertainty, changing customer preferences, shorter service product life cycles, and complicated intrusive constraints. KM is an important solution to those problems (Scott Laws, 2006). 12 By following the knowledge management approach, companies can make better plans for the future, reach a better level of decision making, and ultimately increase competitiveness and gain maximum benefits (Cooper, 2002; Roos Roos, 1997). Other industries, such as the space and computer industries, have been using KM tools for a long time. Many successful corporations have even set up research and development departments for collecting and analyzing data (Gupta McDaniel, 2002). These data can help corporations to acquire useful information with which to make short-term and longterm decisions. Therefore, KM is the key to gaining competitive advantage. Because hospitality and tourism organizations face a more complicated reality than other organizations (Lemelin, 2006), these organizations should also engage in KM processes. The literature on KM fails to consider many hospitality and tourism issues (Grizelj, 2003). KM research therefore needs to be improved to meet the specific requirements of the hospitality and tourism industry. Furthermore, managers are often faced with too many unclear and complicated KM concepts and implementation processes (Bouncken Pyo, 2002; Yun, 2004). Delphi, conducting a survey about knowledge management with its practitioners, found that the future of KM would be greatly influenced by the practitioners’ ability to prove its benefits, obtain management support, and recognize the core knowledge (Plummer Armitage, 2007). Simply understanding the process of KM does not lead to gaining competitive advantage and generating profits. Knight and Howes (2003) think that the applications of KM are to improve business performance and meet the corporate missions. As a result, it is important to establish the connection between business strategy and KM in the early planning stages in order to apply KM system in all business operations and plans (Wiig, 13 1997). In this way, the best possible knowledge can be made available at every level of activity. Two more barriers to KM application are cost and time. The KM process requires a change in management, and companies have to put a huge amount of money into the process and wait for the results (Cooper, 2006). Hospitality and tourism organizations are kept busy with daily jobs, and may not have time for identifying and planning from the available knowledge. Although it is easy to accumulate information in hospitality and tourism organizations, employees and managers, especially those from small and midsize companies, cannot easily derive the relevant information from all the information available to them (Gupta McDaniel, 2002). Finally, the very nature of the industry poses a challenge to the transfer of knowledge in the hospitality and tourism sector (Cooper, 2006). Davenport and Prusak (1998) and Hjalager (2002) demonstrate that different cultures and different community practices lead to be a lack of reliance between the knowledge producer and those who use the knowledge. KM research is of primary importance to the hospitality and tourism industry and will benefit hospitality and tourism organizations. KM research can help companies adopt KM processes in their daily work and enhance the level of organizational learning. It may also have direct applications to business operations. The consensus among researchers is that KM research should continue to improve the issues described in previous studies.

EXTENDED Essay Example For Students

EXTENDED Essay Asian Philosophies of Critical Thinking: divergent or convergent to western establishments?By Clement NgSCHOOL CODE: 1206 (Sha Tin College)CANDIDATE CODE: MAY 2003 ? 1206 038AbstractThe research question of this extended essay came across at a very early stage in my life. Having been born and developed from a family with all its members being University instructors and professors, I was often involved in arguments related to the lack of critical thinking in Asian cultures. As I got older, having had the chance to emerge in different cultures, I started to develop my own viewpoints and answers. I started to wonder about the truth between the real differences of Asian and Western philosophies of critical thinking. This extended essay, intended to be a research and investigation, bearing the title Asian Philosophies of Critical Thinking: divergent or convergent to Western establishments? is in fact however merely just a summary of my viewpoints and answers which I have developed through out the years. In the first section of the essay, Logical Tradition in India and China I will attempt to give evidence of critical thinking in two Asian cultures that I have chosen; namely India and China. In India, I will argue that critical thinking is clearly visible in historical texts such as the Caraka and Nyayasutra. This is presented as the well-known five-membered argument, a system of logical deduction, similar to the Aristotelian syllogism found in the west. In China I would focus mainly on the two schools of logical thought, the Mohists and the Logicians. For the Mohists I would argue that critical thinking is a vital element in the building of what they call mental models. For the Logicians, I would study deeply the writings of Hui Shih and Kungsun Lung, I would show that in fact both of them developed systems of logical and paradoxical thinking that could well serve as the foundations of modern science. If critical thinking is clearly presentable in these Asian cultures then why are there still concerns for introducing it to them? This is the question I intend to answer in the latter section Needhams Grand Question and Fullers Interpretation. During this section, I would also show that discussions of modern science seem to enable us to see how the tradition of critical thinking arose and how they were promoted or discouraged. I would cover how Asian historical, economic, social and cultural factors have a big influence on their development of critical thinking. Lastly I would show how the prioritization of a civilization has a devastating effect on deciding the future road they intend to walk. In conclusion, I would argue that since the philosophy of a culture is but an abstract and theoretical expression and justification of the cultures decision to choose one set of priorities over another, Asian philosophy and critical thinking are neither necessarily divergent nor necessarily convergent to western establishments. ContentsIntroduction 4Logical Tradition in India and China 4Needhams Grand Question and Fullers Interpretation 7Asian Philosophy and Critical Thinking: Divergence or Convergence? 8Conclusion 9Bibliography 10References 11Asian Philosophies of Critical Thinking: divergent or convergent to western establishments?By Clement NgIntroductionIt is widely recognized nowadays that critical thinking has become a necessary ingredient in all levels of education. Educators and educational policy makers agree that one of the desirable goals of education is that students are able to think critically. Throughout the past few years, many have felt the need to consider critical thinking more seriously in educational programs. At the moment several different acts are being considered around the world by various factors and agencies. The core of these proposed acts is the idea that the students are able to think critically and independently. Although there are widespread disagreements on what critical th inking actually is, there is an agreement that it has become very important in the world overwhelmed by huge amounts of information. Some Western educators who teach at schools or universities in a number of Asian countries have voiced their difficulties and problems they encounter while trying to teach critical thinking and other related skills to Asian students. Bruce Davidson (1998) argues that a set of Japanese cultural factors act as a kind of barrier against teaching critical thinking to students. Atkinson (1999) goes so far as to argue that critical thinking is culturally specific, and is a part of the social practices of the West having no place within Asian cultures, which do not adopt such practices. What these educators have in common is the feeling that some elements in Asian cultures do prevent the full realization of critical thinking skills in the students. Most of these elements perceived by Western educators in Asia are quite well knownthe beliefs that teachers are superior and always right, that knowledge is not to be made here and now, but exists eternally, so to speak, to be handed down by teac hers, that social harmony is to be preferred rather than asking probing questionsto mention just a few. Is critical thinking really culture specific? Can the traditional belief systems of Asia respond to the challenge of the modern world while still retaining their distinctive identities? Are Asian philosophy and critical thinking necessary divergent or possibly convergent? These are very significant question not just for Asian cultures, but for understanding how cultures of the world respond to globalization. In addition the question also has a bearing on the problematic relation between critical thinking and the cultural environment in which it happens to be embedded. In this essay, I attempt to argue that critical thinking is not necessarily incompatible with Asian traditional belief systems. In fact I will show that both India and China do have their own indigenous traditions of logical and argumentative thinking; it is just because of certain barriers that prevent them from further developing such establishments. I will further try to show that these traditions can and should be reexamined, reinterpreted and adapted to the contemporary situation. By doing this I would seek acknowledgement to the essay question and would provide an answer to the Western educators who have found no such critical traditions in the East. Logical Tradition in India and ChinaIt is widely known that India had a highly advanced logical tradition, spanning more than two thousand years. The successes of Indian mathematicians and computer programmers are perhaps due to the fact that logic and critical thinking have been integral to the Indian way of thinking since time immemorial. Such integration can also be witnessed in the fondness of Indians for talking and debating. Tscherbatsky (1962: 31-34) tells us that in the times of Dignaga and Dharmakirti, two of the greatest Buddhist logicians, the fate of entire monasteries depended on public debates. According to Tscherbatsky, Dignaga won his fame and royal support through his defeat of the brahmin Sudurjaya at Nalanda Monastery (31-34). In another vein, Matilal (1990: 1-8) argues that the Indian logical tradition is entirely home grown, since there is no evidence of India being influenced by Aristotelian ideas. Matilal also shows that many topics, which are of interest by contemporary logicians and philosophers today, were discussed and researched into with sophistication by Indian scholars. Such topics include theory of inference, empty names, reference and existence, perception, knowledge of the external world, substance, causality, and many others (Matilal 1990). Moreover, Tscherbatskys (1962) work, dealing mainly with the works of Dignaga and Dharmakirti illustrates that India is one of the great logical and philosophical civilizations of the world. There are a number of topics that both traditions discovered independently of each other. For example, Matilal notes that the counterpart of the Aristotelian syllogism is the five-membered argument found in such texts as Caraka and Nyayasutra. Instead of the three propositions found in Aristotelian syllogism, the five-membered argument consists of five propositions, the first of which is the conclusion, and the last repeating what is already stated in the first. The remaining three propositions in between are the premises. Here is one example of the five-membered argument cited by Matilal (1990: 5):1. There is fire on this mountain. 2. For, there is smoke there. 3. Smoke goes with fire always (or, in all cases, or in all places): witness, kitchen. 4. This is also a case of smoke. 5. Therefore, there is fire there (on the mountain). Logicians will immediately be able to reconstruct this argument in the familiar Aristotelian form as follows:The place on the mountain is a place where there is smoke. A place where there is smoke is a place where there is fire. Therefore, the place on the mountain is a place where there is fire. Matilal, however, notes that there is at least some dissimilarity between the Indian and the Aristotelian argument forms presented here. For instance, he says that the conclusion of the Indian argument form is in the form of ?singular proposition, (i.e., modified by demonstratives like ?this or ?that) whereas that of the Aristotelian syllogism is either universal or particular (i.e., modified by quantifiers like ?all or ?some). But the dissimilarity here could be amended, as indexicals (terms like ?this or ?that which relies on the context of utterance for their full meaning) could be dispensed with by supplying the required information on the context in which they are uttered. Thus it could be safely stated that the Indian logical tradition fully comprehended the essence, so to speak, of logic, which is the concept of validity and the basic valid argument form. Another of the worlds great civilizations, China, also had its own indigenous and independent logical tradition. Two of Chinas logical schools of thought are the Mohists and the Logicians. The former was founded by Mo Ti, who lived between 479 to 381 B.C., during the Warring States period of Chinese history (Ronan 1978: 114). Among the typical Chinese scholars the Mohists are better known for their doctrine of universal love and the condemnation of offensive war rather than their interests and achievements in the physical sciences. In the latter Needham reports that the Mohists went very far towards realizing that the thought system was in fact a prerequisite for modern science. Most significantly, the Mohists appeared to be in grasp of the concepts of deduction and induction. They viewed the former as a way of thinking which follows a ?mental model, which guarantees that whoever follows it will never fail to be right in their thinking. Here is an example of reasoning based on follow ing such mental model:Model thinking consists in following the methods . What are followed in model-thinking are the methods. Therefore if the methods are truly followed by the model-thinking , the reasoning will be correct. But if the methods are not truly followed by the model-thinking, the reasoning will be wrong (Ronan 1978: 119). On the other hand, the Mohists also recognized the value of ?extension which is a kind of reasoning from the known examples and ?extend it to unknown cases similar to them:Extension is considering that that which one has not yet received is identical with those which one has already received, and admitting it (Ronan 1978: 119). The Civil Rights Movement Essay1034Asian Philosophy and Critical Thinking: Divergence or Convergence?Hence, the values typically associated with Asian culture such as social harmony and deference to the elders and teachers are thus seen as consequences of the cultures deciding to put a certain set of priorities above others. Social harmony was instrumental in bringing about the cultural unity that is the most distinctive characteristic of Chinese culture. It is valued above most other types of values because it goes hand in hand with social stability, whose alternative is perceived as chaos and general burden of social structure. The prioritization of social harmony can also be seen in other Asian cultures such as the Thai one, and results in Thais trying as far as they possibly can to avoid open conflicts and disagreements. In the case of China, since all the elements that could bring about the rise of modern science were in place, it is quite clear that the Chinese culture actual ly chose not to go along the path taken by the Europeans. The decision made by a culture to adopt a particular system of beliefs and practices certainly did not happen suddenly, as if at one particular moment of history, members of a culture had a meeting and declared their cultures adoption of this or that set. The decision occurred gradually throughout the historical development of a culture, and can be seen in China adopting Confucianism rather than the more materialistic and scientifically inclined Taoism and Mohism, and in India adopting the more mystical doctrine emphasizing the role of meditation and private insights rather than publicly demonstrable methods of knowing. I think that reasons for such decision are enormously complicated, but it is hardly conceivable that China was somehow destined to lag behind Europe in the science race due to factors they could not control. This may be taken to show that critical thinking and Asian thought are divergent. If the Asian cultures chose not to go along the path where critical thinking is one milestone, then both do not seem to go with each other, and Atkinson may be vindicated when he argues that critical thinking is a part of Western culture only. If the Asian cultures prioritize sets of values which are incompatible with critical thinking, and if they freely chose those sets over the set adopted by Europeans for whatever reasons, then it appears that critical thinking would belong to European culture only, and to adopt it to Asian cultures would be the same as to importing foreign ideas and practices to alien lands. Thus, Atkinsons argument seems to fit well with the under determinist position. This line of reasoning, however, would be valid only if a culture decided as its own set of priorities at one time will always remain so for all other times. If the Thai culture, for example, once decided that social harmony should take precedence over critical argumentation and open debates, then critical thinking practices would be forever alien to them. But that is surely a very unreasonable position to take. Cultures, like humans, often make decisions that later are amended or revoked with new decisions made; when things are not the same any longer. Decisions to prioritize one set of values over another are not etched in stone, but even so the stone can be broken down or else taken to a museum or a pedestal where it loses its real meaning. Decisions at one time reflect the circumstances normal at that particular time, and to stick onto past decisions with no plan of adapting or making new decisions in response to changing circumstances would make the culture frozen and unable to participate. Opting not to correct their past decisions, a culture would in effect be telling the world that it is constructing a wall around itself, giving nothing to the world and receiving nothing. However, sociological and economic conditions of the current world do not permit such a scenario from happening. Cultures need to change themselves, not merely to survive, but to prosper and to permit better lives for their members. Consequently, Asian cultures and critical thinking are divergent only if the former opt not to correct their decisions. But since we are talking only about decisions, then it is not difficult at all to suggest that cultures would make new decisions in response to changing times. Doing so would make the two more convergent. Hence, the divergence and convergence, after all, depend on what decisions a culture makes. There is nothing necessarily attached to a cultures path along history that makes it essentially divergent or convergent from the modern critical thinking tradition, or from any tradition for that matter. Since the philosophy of a culture is but an abstract and theoretical expression and justification of the cultures decision to choose one set of priorities over another, Asian philosophy and critical thinking are neither necessarily divergent nor necessarily convergent. ConclusionAny attempt to introduce, or we should say to bring back critical thinking practices to the cultures of Asia would, therefore, begin within the cultures themselves. This is in line with the under determinist idea that each culture has its own peculiar development path which is not necessarily shared with others. The mission of spreading the truth of one culture to another is a misplaced. One that apart from sounding patronizing, is something the current morality cannot accept. Thus the first step in such an attempt must consist of a series of arguments designed to show to most members of the culture where critical thinking is to be introduced, that critical thinking is really good. However to do that would at least require large amounts of explanations, something that is definitely out of scope of this present essay. Besides, to argue that critical thinking is actually a good thing to have is difficult, because it may run counter to the deeply established belief that critic al thinking is just a label for the confrontational mode of life that the culture finds unpleasant and difficult to accept. Though the task is difficult, I believe that it is unavoidable. As an insider of my own Chinese cultural tradition, I am trying to convince the members of my culture of the value of critical thinking and its important role in educating citizens for the increasingly globalized world of today and tomorrow. An important part of my argument for combining critical thinking and its belief systems to the Chinese culture is the idea that people should view the elements of their culture which could present the most serious obstacles to critical thinking as benign fiction. That is, elements such as respect of the elders and the belief in social ranking and so on should be viewed in the same way as a modern person views his or her own traditional customs and ceremonies. One is in a sense a part of the culture where the ceremonies happen, but in another sense detached from it. This is because he knows himself only to serve a certain function in the culture, and in addition, knowledge of other cu ltures enables further detachment from his own customs and ceremonies. Such an argument would naturally require a lot more space and time than is available here. What I hope to have accomplished in this essay, however, is much more modest. It is, as we have seen, an argument that Asian philosophy and Asian thought in general do not necessarily conflict with critical thinking and its presuppositions. Furthermore, it is the influential making of decisions throughout the history of each culture itself, which, I believe, is flexible and adaptive enough to effect important changes for the future. 1065BibliographyAtkinson, D. 1997. A Critical Approach to Critical Thinking. TESOL Quarterly 31, 71-94. Blair, J. Anthony and Ralph H. Johnson. 1991. Misconceptions of Informal Logic: A Reply to McPeck. Teaching Philosophy 14.1, 35-52. Davidson, Bruce. 1995. Critical Thinking Education Faces the Challenge of Japan. Inquiry: Critical Thinking Across the Disciplines, 14.3, 31 pars., http://www.shss.montclair.edu/inquiry/spr95/davidson.html. Fuller, Steve. 1997. Science. Birmingham: Open UP. Hatcher, Donald. 1995a. Critical Thinking and Epistemic Obligations. Inquiry: Critical Thinking Across the Disciplines 14.3, 38 pars., http://www.shss.montclair.edu/inquiry/spr95/hatcher2.html. Hatcher, Donald. 1995b. Should Anti-Realists Teach Critical Thinking?. Inquiry: Critical Thinking Across the Disciplines 14.4, 21 pars., http://www.shss.montclair.edu/inquiry/summ95/hatcher.html. Hongladarom, Soraj. 1998a. Critical Thinking and the Realism/Anti-Realism Debate, http://pioneer.chula.ac.th/~hsoraj/web/CT.html. Hongladarom, Soraj. 1998b. Humanistic Education in Todays and Tomorrows World. Manusya: Journal of Humanities, 1 (forthcoming). Hostetler, Karl. 1991. Community and Neutrality in Critical Thought: A Nonobjectivist View on the Conduct and Teaching of Critical Thinking. Educational Theory, 41.1, 1-12. Matilal, Bimal Krishna. 1990. Logic, Language and Reality: Indian Philosophy and Contemporary Issues. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass. McGuire, John. 1998. Is Critical Thinking Cultural Thinking?. Unpublished ms. McPeck, John E. 1991. What is Learned in Informal Logic?, Teaching Philosophy, 14.1, 25-34. Needham, Joseph. 1969. The Grand Titration: Science and Society in East and West. London: Allen Unwin. Paul, Richard. 1993. Critical Thinking: What Every Person Needs to Survive in a Rapidly Changing World. Santa Rosa, CA: Foundation for Critical Thinking. Ronan, Colin A. 1978. The Shorter Science and Civilization in China: An Abridgement of Needhams Original Text. Cambridge: Cambridge UP. Sutton, Robert. 1995. Realism and Other Philosophical Mantras. Inquiry: Critical Thinking Across the Disciplines, 14.4, 18 pars., http://www.shss.montclair.edu/inquiry/summ95/sutton.html. Tscherbatsky, F. Th. 1962. Buddhist Logic. New York: Dover. References The literature on the nature and definitions of critical thinking are enormous. Probably the most intense debate among critical thinking experts centers on the question whether critical thinking can be a separate autonomous academic disciplines dealing with the general form of thinking to be applied by students in all of their academic areas. Or whether it is not autonomous at all, but should always be part of important academic disciplines. However, I believe that these debates give us little understanding of what critical thinking should be. For critical thinking would be nothing if not applied to real cases, and the study of it would not be totally effective if the skills and theories unique to it were not abstracted and studied on their own. The other debates focuses on the nature of critical thinking, or the meaning of critical thinking itself. Richard Paul (1993) provides a definition that no one can gainsay: Critical thinking is the kind of thinking one thinks of on es thinking in order to make ones thinking better. Hatcher (1995a; 1995b) calls for the kind of critical thinking that is based on the so-called epistemological realist position this is contrasted by Sutton (1995) and Hostetler (1991), who argue that critical thinking is more amenable to the anti-realist position. Whatever it is, there is still no correct definition concerning the true meaning of critical thinking.