Literary review

J. Pinto (2008) claims that automation has brought an end to long term employment contracts, arguing that “This kind of employment has little place in today’s workplace”. However, W. Amette (1998) points out that a new form of worker is needed, and that although long contracts for manual labour are at thing of the past, companies now need highly skilled and technically trained workers to look after the machines. In the office there is also a loss of menial jobs such as accounting and filing, and N. Kannan (2010) reports that this is not due to outsourcing, but more to do with automation. In contradiction to this D. Pelleteir (2008) claims that a lot of the job losses are down to outsourcing to customers, such as cashier-less checkouts and internet banking. Through automation and customer self-service, a lot of customer relations jobs are being lost. TIME (2010) points out that through automation in the chemical industriy, “the number of production jobs has fallen 3% since 1956 while output has soared 27%”. This shows that automation is not culling the job market as some have argued.

References:

J. Pinto 2008 http://www.automationworld.com/columns-4345 [13.10.2010]

W. Amette 1998 http://www.willamette.edu/~fthompso/MgmtCon/Automation.html [15.10.2010]

N. Kannan 2010 http://it.toolbox.com/blogs/narikannan/is-the-loss-of-it-jobs-due-to-increasing-it-automation-or-outsourcing-39427 [15.10.2010]

D. Pelleter 2008 http://memebox.com/futureblogger/show/825-most-jobs-could-be-lost-to-automation-in-near-future [15.10.2010]

TIME Magazine 2010 http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,828815,00.html [16.10.2010]

VARK Questionnaire Analysis and Reflection

Visual Score: 4
Aural Score: 2
Read/Write Score: 9
Kinetic Score: 5

In an analysis of my VARK questionnaire, I do not find any real anomalies with the results. I would have expected a slightly more rounded set, the 9 being a 7 and the 2 a 3, but I suppose this means that I have a much clearer direction to focus my learning in.

In reflection of the questionnaire, the visual score is understandable. When I consider my relationships with diagrams and visual representations I can begin to see that they are not my strongest learning area, but they are not my weakest either.

My aural score is very surprising; I have always thought I have been good at listening and understanding vocal commands and lectures. However, I do have a history of failing to remember vocal commands, and this would explain that. In the future I need to remember to write down what people tell me to do, that way I will be able to remember them a lot better.

The read/write score is of little surprise, I have always been good at remembering what I have read and at learning from books. I would not say that I am better at writing, from my experience it makes little difference to me, but through reading I can gain much knowledge and retain it without too much effort.

The kinetic score is a little surprising; I would have expected it to be a little lower, at least below the visual score. I have never though of my self as any form of a kinetic learner, and I cannot think of any real examples of me learning though that system.

Approches to Learning and Studying

After working through the hand out about the approaches to learning and studying, I completed the scoring system, and discovered that out of the three styles – Systematic, Surface and Deep – I came out as a systematic/deep learner. By this I have gathered that it means although I do not necessarily understand what I am doing, or have an end goal, I will work hard at what I am doing and aim to succeed.

In reflection of this, I agree mainly with the questionnaire. I would say that I am not as organised as the test presents me, as although I am organised in the areas it queries, I am not organised in others. One interesting fact the questionnaire revealed to me is that it was not my choice to be on this course, and it is not me that is pushing to succeed at this, weather this will affect my input is a question of time, but now that I’m aware I will look at changing this or at least using it in some productive way.

Reflection on Learning Styles Analysis

Looking over my completed Learning Styles Analysis, with me being as honest as I can be, I appear to have scored highly in the Deep Learning area, and moderately in the Systematic area. In the Surface Learning area I have a low score.

Judging from this and a little reflection by my self this seems to make sense. In everything that I have done in education for at least the last two years has had me straining to understand what I am being taught and more. I think I have remembered most of what I was taught at A level last year, especially the philosophy and politics, although that will be of little help to me in my engineering course, except for those mystical transferable skills. I seem to have developed a much more systematic approach to learning over the last year, making time to do things, setting deadlines for myself well ahead of the actual ones, forcing myself to complete work early. I just hope it will continue.

SWAT Analysis

For those of you who have stumbled across this deserted webpage, a SWAT analysis is a Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats analysis, where I list my self assessment of each. If you want to get to know me, here’s a good start.

Strengths:

I would consider myself creative, mainly musically, but also literally. And by that I mean literature, not literal. I can play 2 instruments and muddle along on many more. I write short stories and other forms of words on a page, but in an educational sense I have a good ability to come up with original ideas.

I would also say that I am eloquent, due possibly to the excessive quantity of books that I read as a child, and the strange books I read now.

Another Strength that I would consider is in my possession is that I am an intellectual. I read literature and philosophy for enjoyment, I find complex mental situations and problems enjoyable to solve, and enjoy debates over most subjects.

Logic has always been clear to me, and I would say that I have a very logical mind and process of doing most things. This has made maths feel very natural to me, and also philosophy, seeing as it is problem solving for life.

My biggest strength that I would say I have is my stability. I am not easily fazed by things and have a very stable background at home. There is little to distract me from what I am doing at the time.

Weaknesses:

My biggest weakness is that I am bad on paper, I have 14 years previous experience of being bad at exams but good in the class and in almost all situations running up to the exam. I have so far not found a reason for this.

I would also consider myself arrogant at times, which is always a weakness; it can lead me to overlook certain things, dismiss upset people and generally get in the way of a good job.

I have been described consistently as naive, and in my own opinion I would say that this is not too far from the truth. In business especially my ideas lack experience and are impractical or ineffectual.

Spelling is another problem area for me. I have never been good at spelling; although hopefully this shouldn’t impact my course too much seeing as now I can use spell check every five minuets.

Opportunities:

Should I succeed and complete this course there is a very real chance that I will “make it” as it were. By this I mean get lots of money and have an enjoyable job with interesting people and problems. Everything I want from life really.

There is always my fathers business, which, being an only child, I am almost certain to inherit. It is in such a bad way at the moment that I feel just by being there without my father managing it, it will do better. There is so much room for improvement and modernisation that I could be kept busy and happy there for several lifetimes.

While working for my father I have and will continue to pick up many skills which are often overlooked. The ability to sweep up, or paint, service a car, organise a computer system, sell cars and memorise sets of information. All of these things I have learnt or am in the process of learning from the business.

With my partner of more than 2 years, I have the very real opportunity to start a family and be with her for the rest of our lives. A mate for life as it were, this is possibly my biggest opportunity, and one I am very eager to see through.

Threats:

Equally, as I have mentioned my partner, her constant pleading for a child right now is a very big threat to my entire education. As she is becoming increasingly desperate and my resolve is growing ever thinner, the chances of her becoming pregnant are growing exponentially.

As I have mentioned before, the garage is in a bad way, this is a threat because should it fail, I will no longer have any from of stability, and my family will be utterly bankrupted. This fear is in fact the reason why I am on this course, in order to have something to fall back on should the garage go down. I cannot begin to comprehend what I would do should the garage go down.

The biggest threat to this whole thing and any furthering of my educational life is that I will continue my spree of exam failure. The new regulations are especially worrying, but it does make sense, I feel betrayed really, that I seem to be as good if not better than most of my peers in all situations other than the exam hall, yet all those other situations matter for nothing compared to the exam hall.

The main internal threat to me is that my electronics, permanently my weakest technological area, is now the main focus of my course. It feels like everything I am doing is related to electronics, and I simply do not know even the most basic things. The mechatronics is not quite as bad as I thought, but it is still challenging, even at its most basic stage.

That is my SWAT analysis, hope you enjoyed it.

Peace

All I Can Do Is Run With It

Well, before I get stuck into the school work or what ever it is, I thought there should be a post not about university, therefore giving this blog a chance of survival after university.

I still haven’t figured out how this blog will be different to the other one…? Possibly through being far less philosophical and political? Maybe, it could be a satirical and more comedic blog? We will have to see, maybe you will continue to read after university is finished. Well, if I get any readers, I have a sneaking suspicion that I will have claimed 2 of the quietest corners of the internet now.

Wish me luck.