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Motivating Workers in Today's EconomyFollowing are highlights of a news release from Zweig White & Associates. The article identifies ways to ensure that staffing needs are filled with employees who are motivated to do the job, do it fast, and enhance your firm's reputation.
For a complete copy of the article, contact Sally Giedrys at 800-466-6275, ext. 250, or mailto:sgiedry Design Variables in Education
by David A. Red, AIA, Professor Emeritus, Architecture, UH, The Sage Press, 8/17/98 Architecture has changed dramatically in the Twentieth century as compared with centuries gone by. Back then the Architect/Builder was faced with few choices to use in designing a building. The styles of architecture can attest to this. The Egyptians used sandstone and the workman who could work it. The Persians used brick and tile with very little mortar or earth mortar and the same with the craftsman. The Greeks used marble and the workman who could work it. The Romans used fired brick and cement mortar and the workman who could use them. The French built the great cathedrals with stone and stained glass. The Industrial Revolution in the Twentieth century brought in many new building materials and products. This makes it very difficult for the modern architectural designer to make choices when designing a building. Besides there is no real definition of design. In the past there have been attempts to make such a definition, but none have survived. So, "Design is a mental process that provides a solution to a functional problem." This can be explained in mathematical terms. The mental process occurs in the mind using variables that can be explained in a formula: Variables = Solution to a building problem. In Architecture the formula is: (A)(B)(C)(D)(E)(F)(G)(H)(I)(J)(K)(L)(M)(N)(0)(P)(Q)(R)(S)(T) = A Building It can be seen that there are many variables to be considered in designing a building today. It is difficult to give a style to this type of design because of the variables to be considered in design. However some architects have Standard Details that they use in their working drawings that distinguish them from other architects. This is their Style that can be recognized. Le Corbusier used concrete, Mies Van Der Rohe used glass and iron, Frank Lloyd Wright used wood. "What if" is a question that originates in the mind, located somewhere in the brain. Its origin is unknown. It is followed by many "How Tos". These are variables that pertain to the question and eventually produces an answer. This variable concept, is used by many artists to produce their particular style. They manipulate these variables to produce their art work, the formula is: Manipulating Variables = Style of artist's work. One definition for art can be: "Art is a mental expression that is communicated by some technique or medium." The mental expression is communicated by many different variables, depending on the artist's knowledge of his or her medium and technique. Painters can be recognized by the Manipulation of the variables that they use to convey their mental expression. These are (types of mediums: water colors, oils, acrylics, tempera, pigments of all kinds.) Some painters in their paintings have a blue period, a green period. Perhaps these principal colors are the only colors they have on their palate. It may be that these colors are the only pigment they have available. Writers can be recognized by how they manipulate words (nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs) used to communicate their mental image. Poetry is an art in which the variables, cadence and rhythm are important. This is mostly mental. Musicians have variables such as instruments: violins, clarinets, drums, and others. These produce sounds that are variables. These contribute to the musician's style. They use notation on a score to communicate a musical composition such as waltz, symphony, mazurka, and others. These are also variables. Opera is a true art. It not only combines music, and poetry but set design and costumes. It also includes musical composition and performance. Many variables are involved. The principal feature in using variables is: If you change only one of the variables, the result is changed also. In improvisation: a painter drops, throws or spreads color on a canvas, or a musician plays on his instrument without a theme in mind, or an actor performs spontaneously, an artist places a toilet seat or a tin can on a pedestal calling it sculpture. These are persons having fun with their medium. They may be experimenting with sound, words, or color. This is intuitive. Some may consider this art, but it may not involve mental activity. However, an After Thought may be considered a mental activity. The Art in Architecture is not a sketched drawing. The art of architecture is the communication of a Building Type (school, house, barn, office building and many others). This is done by using current technology and available materials. The variables mentioned above can be used to communicate the building type through its characteristics, its appearance. This keeps the cost within the budget. These thoughts are the synthesis of many years of teaching architecture and teaching as a whole. Educators should stress the Manipulation of Variables rather than answers, "Dogma". Researching variables in some dogma from the past has sometime shown that dogma is often untrue. After all, education teaches "Truth". (John 14:6)
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