The key to the relationship between creativity and dishonesty

A new study by Lynne Vincent and Maryam Kouchaki demonstrates that believing that you are a creative person can create feelings of entitlement when you think that creativity is rare and valuable. That feeling of entitlement can be costly for you and your organization as it can cause you to be dishonest.

Many organizations now are recognizing the importance of creativity and are attempting to encourage their employees to be creative. However, there is a cost to that creativity when creativity is seen as a rare and unique attribute (属性). The findings in this study are based on several laboratory experiments, in addition to a study of employees and supervisor pairs.

While creativity is in most cases valued, such as other positive attributes, including practicality or intelligence, it may be over-valued compared to those other positive attributes because creativity is by definition (本质上) rare. That sense of rarity then creates a sense of entitlement. People see their creative efforts as special and valuable and feel that they are worthy of extra rewards for their creative efforts. That entitlement can cause them to steal in order to get the rewards.

However, it is naive (天真的) to assume that employees in companies that have developed a strong identity as creative, such as Apple, Google, and IDEO, would be necessarily more dishonest due to their creativity.

“The key to the relationship between creativity and dishonesty is the sense of rarity,” said Vincent. “When individuals identified themselves as creative and believed that creativity was rare, entitlement appeared. However, if individuals believed that creativity was common, that sense of entitlement was reduced.”

When people in the laboratory experiments believed that their creativity was rare compared to common, they were more likely to lie for money. However, when people believed that being practical was rare compared to common, the increased sense of psychological entitlement and dishonesty did not occur. The effect was seen in organizations too. 

Although creativity is important in the business world, the dark side of creativity has only partly studied. However, as creativity is becoming more important for organizations, it is important for organizations to understand how to encourage creativity. Encouraging creativity in organizations is not as simple as telling employees to be creative. Defining what it means to be creative and what creativity means in that context is important. When people define creativity in terms of being rare and valuable, seeing yourself as a creative person can cause entitlement and dishonesty. However, if organizations define creativity as a common and everyday behavior or an attribute that many people can have, organizations may be able to encourage employee creativity without encouraging employee dishonesty.

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times make if where houses but good hit  ones better

   We can't stop an earthquake，  (1)   we can do things to make sure they don't destroy whole cities. First，it is not a   (2)   idea to build houses along lines   (3)   two of the earth's plates（板块）join together. Second, if you think there may be an earthquake，it is 

  (4)   to build houses on rocks，not on sand．Third, you must   (5)   the houses as strong as possible. Weak buildings will fall down in an earthquake，but strong   (6)   may stay up.

Scientists are afraid that one day an even bigger earthquake will   (7)   the part around San Francisco（旧金山）．They call it "The Big One". However, people today are still building more   (8)  ．The population in and around San Francisco is now ten   (9)   more than it was in 1906. This means that   (10)   there is another earthquake, a great many houses and buildings will be destroyed.

Self-regulated Learning

Today, people change jobs an average of seven times before they retire. Many of these career changes require new learning that must be self-initiated and self-directed. Thus, one goal of teaching is to free students from the need for teachers, so they can continue to learn independently throughout their lives. That is, to make them self-regulated learners. Self-regulated learners have a combination of academic learning skills and self-control that makes learning easier.

What influences self-regulated learning?

Knowledge, motivation and will-power combine to influence self-regulated learning.

First of all, self-regulated learners have knowledge about themselves. For example, they know their preferred learning styles; what their interests and talents are: and how to take advantage of their strengths. These experts also know quite a bit about the subject being studied-and the more they know, the easier it is to learn more. They understand different learning tasks require different approaches. Further, they have mastered adequate learning strategies and tactics. For example, they know how and when to skim and how and when to read for deep understanding.

Self-regulated learners are motivated by learning itself. They find many tasks in school interesting because they value learning, not just performing well in the eyes of others. However, knowledge and motivation are not always enough. Self-regulated learners need will-power. They wonˈt give up easily. They know how to protect themselves from distractions—for example, what to do when attracted to stop working and have a cup of coffee.

A model of self-regulated learning.

Phi Winne and Allyson Hadwin put forward a 4-stage model.

1) Analyzing the learning task. Learners examine whatever information they think is relevant in order to construct a sense of what the task is about, what resources are available, and how they feel about the work to be done.

2)Setting goals and devising plans. What goals for studying might you set for a quiz covering only one chapter that counts just 3% toward your grade? Would your goals change if the test covered the last six chapters and counted 30% toward your course grade? Your goal in turn affects the shape of your plans for how to study. Is cramming(突击学习) the best approach? Is it a better plan to study a half-hour each day?

3)Enacting tactics and strategies to accomplish the task. Learners put their tactics and strategies into practice and monitor how well the plan is working. Are you reaching your goals? Is your progress rate fast enough to be prepared for the test?

4)Regulating learning. Learners have to decide whether changes are needed in any of the three preceding stages. For example, if learning is slow：Do you need to review some prior material that provides foundations for the content you are now studying?

Teaching toward self-regulated learning.

To develop studentsˈ self-regulated learning ability, teachers should let students take an active part in finishing complex meaningful tasks; give them control over their learning processes and products; involve students in setting criteria for evaluating their learning processes and products, then give them opportunities to make judgments about their progress using those standards.

Title: Self-regulated Learning

Computer addiction can be described as the overuse of the computer which continues despite serious negative consequences for personal, social or occupational functions. However, not all people who spend hours each day on the computer are considered addicted. There are many uses for computers and the Internet and in many cases, an individual may spend 6 or more hours in a day on the computer but still not be considered an addict. Therefore, there is no set number of hours that is considered a potential for computer addiction.

But those who are suffering from anxiety and depression caused by stress at work, relationships or financial problems tend to become computer addicts. Some people become addicted mainly because they feel bored with everything and feel like there is nothing else to do.

If one feels an intense desire to go online, play a computer game, or socialize as soon as he wakes up and before he goes to bed, he may have become an addict. Other symptoms include using the computer as the only source of entertainment, lying to his family and friends about the activities that he performs while on the computer. Some addicts possess anxious feelings when wanting to use the computer or knowing that time on the computer is limited. Others may lose track of time while on the computer and spend more time on it than intended. The computer can also be used as a form of escapism from reality.

Excessive computer use may result in the lack of face-to-face social interaction and an increasing amount of time and money on hardware, software and computer-related activities. Computer addiction makes one neglect his work, school, or family obligations. He often fails at repeated efforts to control computer use. So it’s time to seek help for the sake of health.

Counseling (心理辅导) or therapy can focus on treating underlying mental health conditions that caused the addiction such as anxiety, depression, social trauma or other conditions. Many different options for group or community support are available to assist those addicts. Just getting out and interacting with others can be very rewarding to the computer addict. Another method is to focus on new interests. For instance, a computer user might take part in a new gym membership, spend time at the movies with friends or go out for a walk. If a computer user does feel that he must go onto the computer, consider talking himself out of the computer use unless it is absolutely necessary. If he does go on the computer, he must make a plan for what he will do when on the computer, how long it will take and what time you will be off of the computer.

       I have known my friend Rebecca for a long time.We first  56   at a friend’s birthday party five years ago.We found out that we 57  liked pop and jazz music.So I invited Rebecca over to my place.We  58  to my CDs together and soon became best friends.

Three years ago,Rebecca’s parents invited me to go on holiday  59  them.It was great.We spent three  60  weeks in a little cottage in Ireland(爱尔兰). Rebecca and I loved  61  along the beautiful beach.We took a lot of  62  and had a lot of fun.

Two years ago,I spent a week in hospital and Rebecca came to see me every day. But then,last year,Rebecca’s father changed his job,and they moved to  63  town.Since then we haven’t seen each other very much.  64  ,we have talked on the phone and we’ve written  65  to each other.

However, I do agree that we should produce more things from     (1)  materials, and less from raw materials, the supply of which is growing smaller and smaller. What we need are better laws   (2)  the environment and still allow our country to grow.

2 Finally, those factories which pollute the environment should pay higher taxes. If you harm the environment, you should have to pay for it   (3)   .

3 As the third longest river in the world, the health of theYangtze Riverhas raised concern both in china and    (4)   . …This is not god news for the people   (5)   on theYangtze Riverfor water. Nor it is good news for the wide     (6)  of fish and wildlife that live in or along the river.

4Cloning is producing an    (7)  copy of a plant or an animal using its cell. The first mammal     (8)   successfully from an adult cell was dolly the sheep.

5   There is also a question   (9)   whether GM plants are safe for the environment. Since GM crops are planted outside, they are part of the food    (10)  -insects and other animals eat them or use their products, and these insects and animal will be eaten by yet other animals.

We live in a time when the day is controlled by selfishness and greed. The battle of selfishness and greed has been increasingly fierce and there have been many casualties, but desire has tired too many people and we find that the populated areas of the twenty-first century have lost hope for the boring symphony of selfishness. Now I have several suggestions that will get you back on your feet, so that you can continue walking down the road of life with your head held high, arm in arm with your fellow man as equal.

Money isn’t everything. There exists a common understanding that everything around us is measured by money and an assumption that the meaning of life is to make as much of it as humanly possible, so that you can live a comfortable and luxurious life. It is clear that money is indeed necessary to get through life, whether spent on food or shelter, but the air we breathe and the love we share are both free and extremely rewarding. Too many people die alone, only to be remembered for their full bank accounts or their shocking debts, so we must be remembered for our kindness to others and contributions to society.

Share with others. A miser is a person who cares extremely about their wealth and takes from everyone everything, with only one thing in their mind that they demand more. Not only are misers hated by the people surrounding them, but they are also the death of many men. Some of us will never admit that they take far more than they give. We are supposed to give a little, even if we receive nothing in return. Show generosity to your friends, co-workers, family, neighbors and you will be on your way to removing the greed from your life.

Act unselfishly. We must learn to act unselfishly for people and help whoever in need, not because doing so makes us feel superior, not to expect something in return either, but because it helps them survive, which makes them feel connected with the world, with a smile on their face and a strong need to give to others. By acting unselfishly, we will teach others how to act unselfishly too. Next time you stick your neck out for a selfish miser, be optimistic and think that maybe he will learn to pay it forward by following your example.

The most radical theory yet for what killed off the dinosaurs

    There have been a number of theories come up with for what killed off the dinosaurs more than 66 million years ago, but until 2014 there was never one that involved dark matter and meteors.

    In "Dark Matter and the Dinosaurs", acclaimed Harvard theoretical physicist Lisa Randall outlines a complex — and radical theory — that goes something like this: roughly 66 million years ago, gravitational perturbations caused by a thin pancake-shaped disk of dark matter in the Milky Way galaxy dislodged (使……移动) icy comets in the Oort Cloud at the very edge of the known solar system, resulting in the fiery meteoroid that eventually crash-landed in the Yucatan, leading to the mass extinction of more than 75 percent of life on the planet in the process.

    The key to this theory, of course, is dark matter, which remains one of the mysterious components of the known universe, despite accounting for 85 percent of all matter in the universe. Ordinary matter—the stars, the planets and the chair you're sitting in right now — accounts for only 15 percent of all known matter in the universe. That's why solving the mystery of dark matter is so important.

    The problem is that dark matter does not interact with ordinary matter except via gravity. You can't "see" dark matter because light passes right through it: dark matter neither absorbs nor emits light. And as Randall points out, you can't measure dark matter directly, you can't feel it and you can't smell it. Yet billions of dark matter particles pass through us every second and dark matter appears to permeate the entire cosmos.

    As Randall points out in "Dark Matter and the Dinosaurs", we can only glimpse dark matter indirectly. That's because dark matter does have measurable gravitational effects, which results in some interesting phenomena: the expansion rate of the universe, the bending of the path of light rays and irregularities in the orbits of stars.

    In short, dark matter must exist because some astronomical observations just don't make sense if it doesn't. One example that Randall cites as evidence of dark matter is the Bullet Cluster, which was formed by the merging of at least two galaxy clusters. The problem is that the Bullet Cluster doesn't look the way it should. That's because dark matter appears to have trapped gases in bulbous clusters, giving the Bullet Cluster the appearance of having giant Mickey Mouse ears.

A

    …For example, one evening    1    it was so warm, I  2   awake on purpose    3    half past eleven in order to have a good look at the moon by myself.

B

     4    in the next century, people from England made  5   to conquer other parts of the world and because of that, English began to be spoken in many other countrie