In a world in which the uninterrupted supply of products and services is critically important, Business Continuity Management has become equally important. Alison Publisher, S.M. Waqas Imam, introduces his new course on how to keep a business running in times of crisis.
Interruptions in the supply of products and services can arise for a variety of reasons, such as cyber-attacks, bad weather or indeed a pandemic such as the one we are currently experiencing. Increasingly, businesses are realising the importance of having a Business Continuity Management System (BCMS) which allows an organisation to react quickly to potential disruptions to operations.
In times of crisis, a robust BCMS helps ensure an organisation has access to supplies and can maintain uninterrupted output, as well as saving money, time and potentially even a company’s reputation.
A Business Continuity Management System is much more than just a continuity plan. It includes context analysis of the organisation, risk assessment, drills, internal and external audits, properly allocated roles and responsibilities, management reviews and continual system improvement.
A BCMS follows the Plan-Do-Check-Act cycle, as is the case in a Quality Management System, and allows an organisation to continue operating at a viable level during a disruptive time.
In October 2019, the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) issued its latest Business Continuity Management System Standard – ISO 22301:2019. The standard has all the requirements necessary to show companies how to implement a strong system of business continuity management.
Now, thanks to Alison and Exoexcellence Consultants, you can now study ISO 22301:2019 online for free and at your own convenience.
What’s happening in the wonderful, hectic little heads of small children? This is the question Mr. Vance seeks to answer by inviting experts in cognitive development to demonstrate a few classic experiments designed to observe exactly how young brains develop.
In this lesson, you will explore the science of how children understand the world. In the Going Further activity, you will design and conduct your own cognitive experiment to illuminate the mysteries of the human mind.
Warm Up
Are you fascinated by the human mind? Have you ever wondered how children see the world?
Before reading the article, watch the two-minute video below of a 4-year-old taking the “conservation test.” Then respond to the prompts.
Questions for Writing and Discussion
Read the article, then answer the following questions:
1. The article begins: “The mind of a small child is, in turn, inspiring, fascinating, confusing and supremely frustrating.” Have you spent much time around small children? Can you remember when you were much younger? Does the author’s statement resonate with your experiences? Can you think of a time when a child’s mind inspired, fascinated, confused or frustrated you?
2. How would you explain the concept of “conservation” in your own words? Why is it important in the development of a child?
3. Who was Jean Piaget? What was he interested in finding out about children? Why does the author consider him to be the “Albert Einstein of child psychology”?
4. Why shouldn’t parents worry if their children “fail” the conservation test, according to Stephanie Sitnick, an associate professor of psychology? How does she explain the results of the test?
5. The video you watched in the warm-up ends with a quotation from Dr. Sitnick:
Kids are very much constructing their own learning and their own world, and they’re trying to figure things out. And part of that is paying attention to particular aspects of various objects when they’re comparing them.
What is the larger significance of the test? What does Dr. Sitnick mean by the phrase “constructing their own learning”? What are the implications for parents, teachers and educators?
6. What aspects of the human mind fascinate you most? What other questions about a child’s mind, or the human mind in general, would you like to explore further, and why?
Going Further
Option 1: Recreate
Now it’s your turn: Conduct the conservation test with a young child you know between the ages of 2 and 7.
You can choose your materials (bath bubbles, pennies, Legos or anything else around your house that can be molded or put into containers), but follow the five steps described in the article.
If you don’t have young children in your family, you might consider conducting the experiment on Zoom or other digital platform with a child of someone you know, as long as it’s OK with his or her parent. If possible, make a recording of the test, with the child and parent’s permission, so you can rewatch and take careful notes on what you observed.
Afterward, analyze and interpret the results. Use the questions from the warm-up: What did you notice? What did you wonder? Then dig deeper and ask: How do your results and findings compare with those from the video? Did it confirm or challenge the previous ideas of child development? What further questions emerged from the process?
Option 2: Research
The Swiss-born psychologist Jean Piaget, one of the founding fathers of developmental psychology, spent hours each day observing his children as they grew. His contention that children are not “empty vessels to be filled with knowledge” but are “active builders of knowledge — little scientists who construct their own theories of the world” revolutionized the world of early childhood education.
Research more about Piaget’s life and ideas: What were his theories on cognitive development? What role did experiments and observation play in the evolution of these ideas? Why were his theories so revolutionary? What impact did they have on the fields of psychology and education? How do his ideas relate to your own learning?
Piaget wrote over 50 books and contributed to hundreds of other works, many published after his death. A good place to start your research is by visiting the Jean Piaget Society website or reading these twosummaries of his work. Or read his New York Times obituary.
You can also learn more about the dozens of experiments he designed to illuminate the creative and complicated minds of young children, including the test you observed in the video, here and here.
Option 3: Create
Still excited about the human mind? Try conducting another one of Piaget’s experiments for young children. Or try one of the cognitive experiments designed for people of all ages found here and here.
You might also consider exploring one of the questions about the human mind you wrote about in the “Questions for Writing and Discussion” section above, and design your own original experiment.
Keep in mind, if you are designing an experiment, it should be replicable, observable and relatively simple to perform — especially if it is intended for young children. (You can find some tips on designing a psychological experiment here.) And be sure to get consent from your participants.
Afterward, analyze and reflect on your latest experiment: What did you learn? What surprises did you encounter? How did it expand what you have already learned about the human mind from the previous experiment?
About Lesson of the Day
• Find all our Lessons of the Day in this column. • Teachers, watch our on-demand webinar to learn how to use this feature in your classroom.
Earlier this year, Maya Gabeira surfed the biggest wave ever ridden by a woman. It was also the biggest wave surfed by anyone during the 2019-20 winter season.
Use your imagination to write the opening of a short story or poem inspired by what you see.
If you like, try writing from Gabeira’s point of view: What led you to this moment? What’s going through your mind as the wave breaks? What would it feel like to accomplish such an exhilarating feat — and become part of the world record books?
Post your piece in the comments, then read the related article to find out more about this first for women in professional surfing.
Students 13 and older in the United States and the United Kingdom, and 16 and older elsewhere, are invited to comment. All comments are moderated by the Learning Network staff, but please keep in mind that once your comment is accepted, it will be made public.
verb: wrangle or haggle (over a price, terms of an agreement, etc.)
_________
The word huckster has appeared in 16 articles on NYTimes.com in the past year, including on Nov. 2 in “Adam Neumann and the Art of Failing Up” by Amy Chozick:
The last 80 days have seen an implosion unlike any other in the history of start-ups. WeWork filed for an initial public offering with a prospectus that was quickly ridiculed for its incoherence; investors learned of several red-flag financial arrangements by Mr. Neumann; the company’s valuation plummeted; Mr. Neumann was forced to resign; and the I.P.O. was withdrawn. Once estimated to be worth $47 billion, WeWork was reduced to $7 billion, after a rescue by the Japanese giant SoftBank.
…. Whether Mr. Neumann was hailed as a visionary or denigrated as a huckster, he had always maintained a powerful hold on voting power within WeWork. At one point, his shares had been worth 20 votes each. To get control of his stake, SoftBank decided, it had to pay up.
Do you enjoy going to plays and watching performances? Are you a self-proclaimed “theater kid?” Or do you prefer being behind the scenes or in the audience? Well, “She Kills Monsters,” a play by Qui Nguyen, seems to give everyone a meaningful chance to be part of a theatrical production. The play has been making the rounds in high school auditoriums and across college campuses for years and is now making its virtual debut.
In this lesson, you will meet some of the people who have been part of “She Kills Monsters” productions across the country. Then, you will watch or read some of the play, or brainstorm and write the opening scene of your own short play.
What do you notice about this play? What stands out to you about the language, characters, setting and initial conflict? Does it remind you of anything else you have seen or read before?
What do you wonder about the play? What predictions can you make about what it will be about?
(Note to teachers: This excerpt contains some explicit language. Please preview it to make sure it is appropriate for your students.)
1. What are some of the reasons that “She Kills Monsters” has been so popular among high school and college performers and audiences? Do any of these reasons resonate with you? Why?
2. Nguyen said he had made sure “none of the roles were based on race at all.” Why was that important to him? What was the result? Do you think it is important to have racially specific characters and casting? Or do you think it is more important that anyone can play any role in a play?
3. The author writes, “Openness, tolerance and resilience are more than the show’s subjects: They are baked into its DNA.” What does she mean by that? What evidence supports that statement?
4. What are some of the ways the play has been adapted for the coronavirus era? Which adaptation would you want to watch or perform most? Why?
5. What purpose has the play served for those staging it, particularly while social distancing? What lessons or messages have you taken away from reading about this play?
Going Further
Option 1: Read or Watch “She Kills Monsters”
Read the rest of the “She Kills Monsters” excerpt that you started in the warmup. Or, watch one of the many versions that are available online, like this full-length production by Arcadia Stage from March 2020. The play is almost two hours long, so if you’re short on time, you may choose to watch or read just the first act.
Then, reflect on the following questions:
What is your reaction to the first few scenes of the play? Do you want to read or watch more? Why? What do you think will happen next?
How would you describe the main characters in the play? Do you relate to any of them? How so?
Which lines of dialogue or stage directions help give a sense of character and place?
Are you familiar with Dungeons and Dragons or other role-playing games? If yes, how effectively do you think the playwright used that point of reference in the play? If you’re not familiar with the game, were you still able to follow the play and understand the humor?
(Note to teachers: This version of the play was created specifically for high school performing groups, but the script and the production contain some explicit language and innuendo. Please be sure to preview them both to make sure they are appropriate for your students.)
Option 2: Create Your Own Play
“She Kills Monsters” uses Dungeons and Dragons to tell a story about “finding your real and metaphorical families, as well as yourself.” If you were to write your own play, what would it be about?
Respond to the prompts below to make some choices about the main ingredients of your play:
If you like, start by brainstorming a vehicle, like Dungeons and Dragons, through which to tell your story. It can be a sport, an artistic practice, your favorite content-creating app or anything else you can imagine. This can help determine the characters, setting, conflict and theme of your play, but if it feels too limiting to you, feel free to skip this step.
Where does your play take place? Is it in our world? Or someplace fantastical?
Who are the main characters? What is their relationship to one another? Are they siblings, like in “She Kills Monsters”? Friends? Enemies?
What is the conflict of the story? It might be something you navigate as a teenager, such as issues with friends or parents, problems at school, or challenges in dating. How might the vehicle you identified above intensify that conflict?
What lesson or universal message do you want your audience to take away from the play? How can the vehicle help communicate that message?
You’ve identified the overall theme and conflict, so now get more specific: what is the climax of the play? What one event can show the central problem in your play? How will it be resolved?
Now that you have made decisions about these core ingredients of your play, write the first scene. It can be as short or long as you like. Be sure to include stage directions, as well as dialogue between characters. You can share some of your opening scene in the comments section of this lesson or act it out with your classmates.
About Lesson of the Day
• Find all our Lessons of the Day in this column. • Teachers, watch our on-demand webinar to learn how to use this feature in your classroom.
Coursera was founded in 2012 with a mission of providing universal access to world-class learning. At no time in Coursera’s history has this mission been more relevant or urgent. The world is facing unprecedented economic disruption, and the need to develop skills for a digital future is even more apparent now. The pandemic has created irreversible changes to the ways universities, enterprises, and governments operate — and online learning will be at the heart of how the world responds.
As we adapt to a “new normal,” Coursera is seeing unprecedented demand. Since mid-March, over 21 million learners have joined Coursera, a 353% increase from the same period last year. Similarly, during that time, we’ve seen more than 50 million course enrollments on Coursera, a 444% increase. Thousands of colleges and universities now offer Coursera to enrich their students’ learning experience.
In Coursera’s inaugural impact report, you’ll find that how the world learns is dramatically changing. Students globally are seeking high-quality online learning options. Universities are ushering in a new era of digital transformation. Workers are learning job-relevant skills to stay competitive. Public health officials are training thousands of contact tracers at scale. Together with our partners, we launched a number of initiatives to help learners and institutions every step of the way, providing them with access to free content, job-relevant skills, and many resources on Coursera.
What started as a short-term response to a crisis will result in a long-term digital transformation of higher education. Much still needs to be done, but together we have made a difference that we all can be proud of.
Codecademy for Business and our friends at Code Climate are meeting with engineering leaders to talk about their career journeys, leadership tactics, and their advice for the next generation of engineers in a new series, 1 on 1 with Engineering Leaders.
Last week we shared an interview with Tara Ellis, Manager, UI Engineering at Netflix. This week we’re sharing an interview with Brooks Swinnerton, Senior Engineering Manager at GitHub. Brooks shares his advice for those that are considering careers in engineering or engineering management below.
You can find even more from the interview with Brooks on the Code Climate blog, where Brooks shares his thoughts on hackathons and the most interesting engineering advice he ever received.
Q: What interested you about engineering when you were just starting out?
I think the ability to tinker and build something from scratch is really what drives me and the world of engineering. I find it just absolutely fascinating that you can take an amorphous idea that you have and turn it into a reality.
I find that the ability to create that is so fun and exciting — and frustrating at times. But it’s kind of this murder mystery novel that you’re constantly trying to get to the bottom of. And when you finally figure out how to make that thing work, it’s a fantastic feeling.
Q: What advice do you have for people who might be considering a career in engineering?
Looking back on my time getting into engineering, things like hackathons were a really interesting and fascinating way to meet people under pressure and try and figure out how to build something. But those take up time. You do those on the weekend and not everyone has those opportunities.
But especially now, in this time of COVID, there are a lot more resources that are out in the open. And whether it’s using something like Codecademy to familiarize yourself with a new programming language or watching YouTube videos, there are so many opportunities on the internet now to enter the world of engineering. I think just fully utilizing the power of YouTube and blogs and tools like Codecademy is really awesome.
Q: What advice do you have for engineers who are considering management one day?
If it’s something that you know you want to try out, stepping into a technical leadership role is a really fantastic way to try it out. You can get a little bit more autonomy and more responsibility for a subset of your work. You’ll build those organizational skills that may or may not be related to coding every day.
But the most impactful work that you can do before moving into engineering management, if that’s what you’re looking to do, is to influence others. That may be other teams — or that may be your peers. Try to influence in such a way that you’re pushing the organization forward or pushing your team forward. That could be engineering practices, like the way that folks review code, or the technical direction of the company. Seek out those opportunities and take advantage of them.
Q: Once someone is sure they want to become a manager, are there any specific skills they can build to prepare while they’re in an IC role?
The thing that I’ve realized over time is that engineering management is a lot about communication. I think a lot about the game of telephone that I played in grade school where one person’s communicating to another like this term or sentence or something like that. And by the end of it, it gets completely misconstrued from what the first person said.
I think a lot about that from the perspective of being an effective engineering manager. Being able to distill down the things that you’re hearing from folks on your team — what areas you need to solve and what problems that we need to solve. And communicating that upwards, as well as communicating information from leadership, downwards to your team.
It’s very easy to have a miscommunication of “this is the most important thing that we need to work on and here’s why.” The role of an engineering manager, I think, is really effectively communicating changes. And that’s probably the best thing to brush up on.
Some airlines have begun offering “scenic flights” for passengers longing to travel again; these flights land in the same place they depart from.
The article explains:
At a time when most people are stuck at home and unable to travel, and the global airline industry has been decimated by the pandemic, flights that take off and return to the airport a few hours later allow airlines to keep staff working. The practice also satisfies that itch to travel — even if it’s just being on a plane again.
Although most people may think of flying as a means to an end, existing solely to get them from one place to the next, some say that it is an exciting part of the travel experience. For those people, flights to nowhere are the salve for a year in which just about all travel has been canceled and people have been fearful of airlines not enforcing social distancing and mask-wearing rules.
What do you think of these flight-to-nowhere trips? Do you think they are a waste of time, money and jet fuel? Or are they an innovative attempt to preserve airline jobs, and restore normalcy for those who miss traveling? Would you take one?
What places (cities, countries, natural wonders) have you always dreamed of seeing from above?
Tell us in the comments, then read the related article to learn more about these flights to nowhere.
Students 13 and older in the United States and the United Kingdom, and 16 and older elsewhere, are invited to comment. All comments are moderated by the Learning Network staff, but please keep in mind that once your comment is accepted, it will be made public.
The word jettison has appeared in 50 articles on NYTimes.com in the past year, including on June 4 in “This Is Not the End of Fashion” by Vanessa Friedman:
For years, fashion has fretted about the meaninglessness of its seasons, partly because global warming and globalization rendered them null and void and partly because there were so many collections, they couldn’t be temporally defined. (Pre-spring, after all, is simply … winter.)
Now it is actually in everyone’s interests to jettison them entirely. Timeless fashion is fashion that holds its value and can be worn and reworn. It can also be sold and resold. It does not become passé in a matter of days. This may mean that fewer garments are made and bought and shown. It may mean a contraction of volume that will impact manufacturers.
Above is an image related to one of the news stories we followed over the past week. Do you know what it shows? At the bottom of this quiz, you’ll find the answer.
Have you been paying attention to the news recently? See how many of these 10 questions you can get right.
