How diversity makes us smarter

Decades of research by organizational scientists, psychologists, sociologists, economists and demographers show that socially diverse groups (that is, those with a diversity of race, ethnicity, gender and sexual orientation) are more innovative than homogeneous groups. It means being around people who are different from us makes us more creative, more diligent and more hardworking.

It seems obvious that a group of people with diverse individual expertise would be better than a homogeneous group at solving complex, non-routine problems. It is less obvious that social diversity should work in the same way – yet the science shows that it does. This is not only because people with different backgrounds bring new information. Simply interacting with individuals who are different forces group members to prepare better, to anticipate alternative viewpoints and to expect that reaching consensus will take effort.

Diversity of expertise confers benefits that are obvious – you would not think of building a new car without engineers, designers and quality-control experts – but what about social diversity? The same logic applies to social diversity. People who are different from one another in race, gender and other dimensions bring unique information and experiences to bear on the task at hand. A male and a female engineer might have perspectives as different from one another as an engineer and a physicist – and that is a good thing.

The fact is that if you want to build teams or organizations capable of innovating, you need diversity. Diversity enhances creativity. It encourages the search for novel information and perspectives, leading to better decision making and problem solving. Diversity can improve the bottom line of companies and lead to discoveries and breakthrough innovations. Even simply being exposed to diversity can change the way you think.

A baby elephant and her mother had a heartwarming reunion in Thailand after being apart for three and a half years. Mebai was separated from her mother shortly after she was born and was sold into the tourism industry. She worked in a circus and in elephant shows but because she was so young she began to lose weight and could no longer work.

The little girl walked 62 miles in 4 days to The Elephant Nature Park with the assistance of volunteers carrying food and bringing her to water. When the mother, Mae Yui, saw her daughter she appeared shocked and, shortly after she confirmed that it was her daughter by sniffing her, they began joining trunks, hugging each other, and catching up by communicating.

The mother daughter duo are now inseparable and the nature park is working to rehabilitate the two so they can return to the wild and live free.

Findings from Stress in America™: Are Teens Adopting Adults Stress Habits? suggest that unhealthy behaviors associated with stress may begin manifesting early in people’s lives. Teens report that their stress level during the school year far exceeds what they believe to be healthy and tops adults average reported stress levels. Even during the summer – between Aug. 3 and Aug. 31, 2013, when interviewing took place – teens reported their stress during the past month at levels higher than what they believe is healthy. Many teens also report feeling overwhelmed – 31 percent – and depressed or sad – 30 percent – as a result of stress. More than one-third of teens report fatigue or feeling tired and nearly one-quarter of teens report skipping a meal due to stress. Despite the impact that stress appears to have on their lives, teens are more likely than adults to report that their stress level has a slight or no impact on their body or physical health of teens or their mental health.

Text
(…) Today, the term information has ballooned to encompass many aspects of computing and technology, and the term has become very recognizable. IT professionals perform a variety of duties that range from installing applications to designing complex computer networks and information databases. A few of the duties that IT professionals perform may include data management, networking, engineering computer hardware, database and software design, as well as the management and administration of entire systems.
When computer and communications technologies are combined, the result is information technology, or “infotech”. Information technology is a general term that describes any technology that helps to produce, manipulate, store, communicate, and/or disseminate information. Presumably, when speaking of Information Technology (IT) as a whole, it is noted that the use of computers and information are associated.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Information_technology)

Com Base no Texto responda a questão.

TEXTO:

Genealogy
Genealogy — finding out about your family
history — is one of the most popular hobbies in Europe.
There seems to have been strong interest in tracing our
ancestry recently, and across the continent people are
[5] discovering their roots. Some of these people were
adopted and are now trying to find their biological parents,
but many are driven by a chance to learn more about
where they fit in to their family’s past.
It is not surprising that the rise in popularity of
[10] genealogy is closely linked to the technological
revolution — there are hundreds, probably thousands of
websites offering to help make the work easier for you.
Society has changed too. We no longer live in close
communities because many people have had to move far
[15] from their hometowns in search of work. After the initial
excitement of moving to a new town or city, people have
a tendency to want to rediscover their identity.
So how do you do it? It might seem obvious, but
many people forget that they can find out a lot by speaking
[20] to older family members. Call up an old aunt — or pay
her a visit. Older relatives are usually more than willing to
talk about the past. Many families have a Bible or a
photograph album with important names and dates written
in it. Keep a careful record of all the information you find.
[25] When you have learned all you can, the next step
is to search official records. You can often do this at your
local town hall, courthouse, or church. The websites
mentioned earlier might be able to do this for you, but
you will probably have to pay to access their databases.

[30] Researching your ancestry is not easy. If you’re
planning to look back more than three generations, you
need to be prepared. There will be many hours searching
on a computer, on microfilm, or in public offices. You
might have to go long periods of time without making any
[35] significant discoveries, or it could be worse — you might
find that your ancestors were not very nice people at all!
(Adapted from “Q Skills For Success Level 2 Unit 5”, Oxford University Press)

Health and illness in Shakespeare

Sylvia Morris

January 30, 2012

Shakespeare’s interest in all things medical is well known, and Sujata Iyengar’s book Shakespeare’s Medical Language – A Dictionary, published by Continuum, is a successful addition to the literature on the subject, both a fascinating read and a valuable reference work. She casts her net wide, exploring Shakespeare’s own references to medical matters, the work of medical practitioners, symptoms, cures, and remedies, and the development of theoretical medicine.

Part glossary, part encyclopaedia, the book’s written in an easy-to-follow style, cross-referencing words with their own entries printed in bold, encouraging the reader to flip around the book. Most entries are in three parts: a medical description of the subject, Shakespeare’s references to it, and contemporary sources.

You could use the book as a glossary as you read a play: the entry on falling-sickness, for instance, mentioned in Julius Caesar, links the word with others used by Shakespeare: apoplexy, dizziness and palsy. It then directs you to three pages on epilepsy, lists other plays including sufferers (Othello and Macbeth), and quotes the description of Julius Caesar’s epileptic fit.

Starting from Shakespeare’s words, moving from them towards modern definitions, has many advantages. Iyengar doesn’t attempt to link his every mention of illness to a specific modern one, nor does she assume that Shakespeare’s use of medical terms is consistent. Importantly, there is no patronising assumption that twenty-first century western medicine, which separates body and spirit, has all the answers. We may still have much to learn from less sophisticated societies, including Shakespeare’s.

Health and illness in Shakespeare

Sylvia Morris

January 30, 2012

Shakespeare’s interest in all things medical is well known, and Sujata Iyengar’s book Shakespeare’s Medical Language – A Dictionary, published by Continuum, is a successful addition to the literature on the subject, both a fascinating read and a valuable reference work. She casts her net wide, exploring Shakespeare’s own references to medical matters, the work of medical practitioners, symptoms, cures, and remedies, and the development of theoretical medicine.

Part glossary, part encyclopaedia, the book’s written in an easy-to-follow style, cross-referencing words with their own entries printed in bold, encouraging the reader to flip around the book. Most entries are in three parts: a medical description of the subject, Shakespeare’s references to it, and contemporary sources.

You could use the book as a glossary as you read a play: the entry on falling-sickness, for instance, mentioned in Julius Caesar, links the word with others used by Shakespeare: apoplexy, dizziness and palsy. It then directs you to three pages on epilepsy, lists other plays including sufferers (Othello and Macbeth), and quotes the description of Julius Caesar’s epileptic fit.

Starting from Shakespeare’s words, moving from them towards modern definitions, has many advantages. Iyengar doesn’t attempt to link his every mention of illness to a specific modern one, nor does she assume that Shakespeare’s use of medical terms is consistent. Importantly, there is no patronising assumption that twenty-first century western medicine, which separates body and spirit, has all the answers. We may still have much to learn from less sophisticated societies, including Shakespeare’s.