Working harder but not smarter: what employees think about the productivity puzzle

Recent statistics by the ONS show the biggest quarterly fall in productivity since 2008. At the same time, a survey by the Smith Institute shows that 9 out of 10 of us are familiar with the term ‘productivity’ and think it is ‘important’; but half of us say we are as productive or less than we were two years ago. In this ‘productivity puzzle’, writes Dan Holden, employees’ views are a missing piece. Yet it is their views that may actually help us understand and solve the proble

The Path Of Least Resistance: A Student’s Guide For Working Smarter, Not Harder.

The amount of stress that accumulates over the course of one’s collegiate career can be overwhelming to say the least. What if I told you that with a basic strategy you could cut your workload in half and alleviate much of the stress that goes hand in hand with school? Well now you can. This capstone project shows students different ways to achieve their goals by my method of Working Smarter and not Harder

Working smarter not harder: Inclusive lessons for middle school science

Classrooms are becoming increasingly diverse and the need for effective inclusive strategies is becoming more pronounced. Including students with exceptionalities into general classrooms is becoming the norm, however effective strategies are necessary to facilitate meaningful inclusion rather than superficial sharing of space. This need is especially true in content areas such as science. In these classes, students with exceptionalities tend to complete alternative programs in a resource room or have poor learning experiences in class. This project contains a content analysis of inclusive strategies and presents inclusive teaching resources that can help inclusion in middle school science classes. The strategies surveyed are research-based strategies that a teacher can implement in a general middle school science class. The strategies include technology, collaboration, universal design for learning (UDL), differentiated instruction (DI), strategy instruction, peer assisted learning, behaviour supports, and teacher practices. The strategies were analysed from the point of view of a learning support and science teacher for effectiveness in a middle school science class. A directed literature review was completed to more deeply examine strategies chosen for the teaching resources. Teaching resources were created and included with this project. The teaching resources were designed using universal design for learning (UDL) and other strategies from the content analysis

Working Smarter, Not Harder: Using Canvas Outcomes to Promote Student Success

Promotes the adoption of Canvas Outcomes. Canvas Learning Outcomes can bolster student success, improve program assessment and course design, and ease assessment burdens on administrators, colleges, departments, and faculty.https://digitalscholarship.unlv.edu/btp_expo/1200/thumbnail.jp

Working smarter not harder: oxytocin increases domestic dogs’ (Canis familiaris) accuracy, but not attempts, on an object choice task

The neuropeptide oxytocin (OT) has been shown to enhance dogs’ ability to perform an object choice task (OCT) involving the use of human pointing cues, when delivered intranasally. This study aimed at further investigating whether OT enhances task performance by increasing choices made, or by increasing correctness of choices made, and to compare these treatment effects to dog appeasing pheromone (DAP), known to balance emotional activation in dogs. Hence, we compared OCT performance between three groups of dogs: (i) dogs administered OT and a sham collar, (ii) dogs administered a saline placebo and a DAP collar, and (iii) control dogs administered a saline placebo and a sham collar. All three groups consisted of a combination of male and female pet dogs and assistance-dogs-in-training currently living with a volunteer carer. The study also evaluated the effect of intranasal OT and/or DAP on plasma levels of OT, and prolactin; which has previously been linked with anxiety in dogs. The dogs’ emotional state was measured using the Emotional Disorders Evaluation in Dogs (EDED) scale. The owners’/carers’ degree of anxious- and avoidant-style attachment to their dogs was accessed using the Pet Attachment Questionnaire (PAQ). Interesting descriptive data appeared for both treatment groups. Particularly, in OT group, we obtained significant results demonstrating that intranasal OT enhances OCT performance in dogs compared to control, by increasing the percentage of correct choices, but not the number of choices, made. Results also support that the mode of action of intranasal OT is via direct access to the brain and not via the blood, since no elevation of plasma OT (or prolactin) levels were observed after intranasal administration in this study. Similarly, DAP application did not significantly alter OT or prolactin peripheral concentrations. Several differences were observed between fostered and pet dogs, namely: fostered dogs demonstrated higher levels of serum prolactin, made more choices on the OCT compared to pet dogs but were not more likely to be correct, and were fostered by carers with higher avoidant attachment scores than pet dog owners. These findings implicate consideration of potential carer and training consequences for assistance dogs

Unlocking the Secrets of Highly Successful Legal Writing Students

Why are some law students successful in their legal writing classes and others are not? To identify the secrets to success, Professor Enquist did a case study of six second-year law students as they wrote a motion brief and an appellate brief for their 2L legal writing course. Based on their 1L legal writing course, two of these students were predicted to be highly successful, two were predicted to be moderately successfully, and two were predicted to be only marginally successful. Through daily records of all their activities related to writing the briefs, interviews with the study subjects, drafts of their two brief projects, and their professor\u27s critiques of their work, the study reveals not only the results of working harder but the specifics of working smarter. The secrets to working smarter included note-taking and note-reviewing strategies; how to divide one\u27s time between researching, drafting, revising, editing, and proofreading; how to research and read cases efficiently; strategies for efficient time management; techniques for organizing one\u27s research and staying organized while writing; and accessing the professor as a primary resource. Pitfalls to avoid included procrastination, poor management of distractions, and scapegoating

Proses Pengelolaan untuk Keberhasilan Kbk

The Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC) is not only a philoso­ phy but also a methodology, which assists schools or other educational institutions to improve the quality ofstudents\u27 behavior and competen­ cies. As the methodology deals with curriculum implementation, the teachers should have some alternative techniques ofprocessing class management suitable forteaching and learning activities. Some ofthe techniques are benchmarldng; brainstonning; cause and effect diagrams; "bows and whys" diagrams; forcefield analyses; measurement graphs; Pareto analyses; problem solving techniques; readiness and capability graphs; and statistical methods. Those techniques are not to give the teacher a notion ofworking harder but a notion ofworking smarter. The techniques are deceptively simple but provide a clarity and struc­ ture incollaborative working and a focus on core pmposes; all enhance working relationships as well as reducing the waste oftime usually ex­ perienced inmeetings. All ofthese require practice and review inorder to work effectively. Multiple C\u27s are needed for supporting the compe­ tency: Commitment, Consistency, Conscientiousness, and Confidence. Also educationa11eadership ofevery teacher is absolutely necessary. Withoutthose, CBC will not fully be a success

Peer to Peer: At the Heart of Influencing More Effective Philanthropy

The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation has had a long-standing commitment to increasing the effectiveness of grantmaking organizations, a commitment reflected in its Philanthropy Grantmaking Program. In 2015, the Foundation commissioned Harder+Company Community Research, in partnership with Edge Research, to conduct a field scan to inform its own strategies in this area as well as those of other organizations working to increase philanthropic effectiveness. Drawing on data from multiple sources, the field scan identified which knowledge sources and formats are most likely to be accessed by funders, how that knowledge is assessed by its users, and the ways in which knowledge is used to shape the practice of philanthropy

Farming smarter, not harder: securing our agricultural economy

In the context of rising global demand, resource scarcity, and environmental pressures, this report considers the future of Australian agriculture. Global populations are growing and food prices are skyrocketing. This creates new market opportunities for Australian agriculture. But Australia has fragile and vulnerable soils, which are being degraded at an unsustainable rate. If we continue with ‘business as usual’, we will keep losing soils faster than they can be replaced. Acting now to improve soil condition could increase agricultural production by up to 2.1 billion per year. It could also help farmers cut costs on fertiliser and water use. “Winners of the food boom will be countries with less fossil fuel intensive agriculture, more reliable production, and access to healthy land and soils” said the report’s lead author Laura Eadie. “How we manage our land and soils will be key to whether Australia sees more of the upsides or downsides of rising global food demand.” Farming Smarter, Not Harder finds that Australian agriculture can build a lasting competitive advantage through innovation that raises agricultural productivity, reduces fuel and fertiliser dependence, and preserves the environment and resources it draws on. To achieve this, Australia needs to: Invest in knowledge: increase government investment in research and development by up to 7% a year; increase funding for extension programs; implement the Productivity Commission’s recommendation to set up Rural Research Australia; fund the national soil health strategy with an endowment sufficient to support ongoing research and monitoring for at least 20 years. Stop chopping and changing support for regional natural resource management: Federal and State governments should commit to a 10-year agreement to provide stable longterm funding for regional Natural Resource Management (NRM) bodies, including specific funding to monitor long-term trends in natural resource condition. Enable accountable community governance of land and soil management: To enable farming communities to protect themselves from free-riding, they should be supported to develop stewardship standards based on a shared understanding of what it takes to maintain productive agricultural landscapes over the long term. Align financial incentives with the long-term needs of sustainable farming communities: In addition to the drought policy reforms announced on October 26, drought assistance policies should support farming communities to take a lead in preparations for more frequent and severe droughts, and should be linked to community stewardship standards. “Recent projections indicate the potential doubling of exports by 2050, according to the National Food Plan and ANZ-commissioned Greener Pastures report. Our work looks at how to support farmers dealing with the practical challenges of seizing this opportunity, in the context of soil degradation and rising input costs”, said Laura Eadie. The case to increase research funding and foster innovative farming is made even stronger by the likely impacts of climate change. Without action to adapt to more variable and extreme weather, by 2050 Australia could lose 6.5 billion per year in wheat, beef, mutton, lamb and dairy production. The report profiles leading farmers who are already seeing the benefits of innovations in sustainable farming. It proposes simple measures to support them and the agricultural communities that depend on healthy farming landscapes. Download Farming Smarter, Not Harder report in full [Australia\u27s newly appointed Advocate for Soil Health, Michael Jeffery, also chairs the non-profit organisation Soils for Life which is already actively encouraging wider adoption of smarter farming. The Soils for Life report Innovations for Regenerative Landscape Management showcases a range of case studies of these farming innovations in practise, and the positive economic, environmental and social outcomes they are achieving. Read the case studies, learn more about the challenges landscape degradation will bring and what we can do about it at www.soilsforlife.org.au.