“The Psychology Behind Google's CEO Change” plus 2 more |
- The Psychology Behind Google's CEO Change
- New BS In Psychology Offers Pre-med Route
- Psychology professor named academic coordinator for Civic Engagement Scholars
| The Psychology Behind Google's CEO Change Posted: 23 Jan 2011 05:08 PM PST  Image via Wikipedia If Erik Erikson were alive today, what would he make of the management shake-up at Google? Erik Erikson, for those of you who don't remember your Psychology 101 classes, was the renowned psychosocial scientist who theorized that the human personality develops in eight stages, each of which must be passed through successfully in order to become a competent, happy person. As infants, we learn to trust; as toddlers, to do things on our own; as young children, to come to grips with both accomplishment and failure; as teens, to establish our identity, and so on and so forth. From my point of view, Google is passing from its teen years into its adult years and recognizing that it's lost some of its youthful, eager, more inquisitive personality traits. That it's bringing back Larry Page—one of the mega brand's youthful, eager, inquisitive founders—to take it forward is a healthy sign that the company knows on what its success is based. Eric Schmidt, who was brought in a decade ago as a professional manager to provide what he called "adult supervision," did a phenomenal job guiding the company through its adolescence. From what insiders (and some outsiders) are saying, Google, in its adulthood, has lost some of the spark and entrepreneurial spirit that made it, well, Google. This is not unusual for a brand. The goal, however, is to grow and develop, but not at the expense of losing your brand reputation, what you stand for in the minds of consumers and what gives you the leadership position. Longstanding brands which get bigger stay big – and successful – by making rolling adjustments as needed, be they in business models, global marketing strategies, branding initiatives or a change in management. It's just smart business. And if there's one thing that Google is – among many things – it's smart. Google is the perfect, right-before-our eyes example of a company growing up. Its childhood was fun and exciting to watch. We glowed with delight as we watched it become confident in its continuing achievements. And now, as it moves from its teen years into adulthood, we should take heart that it has the self-awareness to know what to do next. That it handed over management to one of the youngsters that gave the brand its supersonic launch in an effort to get back to its start-up mentality is, from this adult's perspective, a mature decision. Dr. Erikson would be proud. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php |
| New BS In Psychology Offers Pre-med Route Posted: 23 Jan 2011 10:52 PM PST Last semester, Boston College's psychology department began offering a Bachelor of Science (BS) program in addition to its preexisting Bachelor's of Art (BA) program. Michael Moore, a professor in the psychology department and director of undergraduate studies, said that there are currently about 50 students enrolled in the department's BS program, and the number is expected to grow. "The field of psychology is evolving and moving more towards what people call 'natural science,'" said Ellen Winner, chairperson of the psychology department. "Innovations in brain imaging and neuroscience have allowed for a lot of work to be done on the brain, whereas psychology previously had been focused mainly on the mind," Moore said. Moore said that the BS reflects this branch of psychology that is more of a natural science in that it requires students to take a lot of classes in the biology, chemistry, math, and physics departments. This load of courses has significant overlap with the existing pre-med track, and because of this many psychology majors going for their BS are also pre-med students. "There are two main reasons to go for a BS rather than a BA," said Winner. "Students either have an intellectual interest in the more physiological and neuroscience aspects of psychology or they have a perceived belief that it will help them get into medical school. A BS is not any better than a BA, it just reflects a different path of study in psychology," Winner said. For the class of 2014 and successive classes, a BA requires 34 credits within the department whereas a BS requires 60 credits. Thirty-one come from within the department and the rest come from required biology, chemistry, and math courses. Preceding classes, a student must take 10 courses within the department for a BA. For these classes, a BS requires 19 courses, ten coming from within the department and the rest coming from the biology, chemistry, and math departments. A detailed list of the department's requirements is available on the department's website. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php |
| Psychology professor named academic coordinator for Civic Engagement Scholars Posted: 24 Jan 2011 03:11 PM PST Alexa Darby, assistant professor of psychology at Elon University, was recently appointed the academic coordinator for the Civic Engagement Scholars Program. Darby's position started on the first of the month and involves organizing academic components of the program, recruiting students, acting as a mentor to existing scholars and potentially teaching the scholars' required seminars. "I'm excited about it and I'm really impressed with the students currently in the program," Darby said. "I truly believe that through collaborative experiences provided by this program, students are becoming powerful agents of change in the community." Throughout the six-credit, four-semester program, students attend a set of classes and work with faculty members to complete meaningful projects that extend past the "Elon bubble" to build stronger connections with the community. The program involves combining academic study and community-based research with service learning and critical analyses of social problems. Students use their knowledge and experience from the program to pinpoint a need in the local community, which they will then attempt to satisfy through their capstone project. According to Darby, not many students are aware of the program and she hopes to change this. "My big job for spring is to facilitate students' learning about the program," she said. Darby said she also wants to help students discover how to get their message across in order to create change. "A big part is listening to all parts of the community involved," Darby said. "Listen to be able to advocate for change." She said she is excited about the opportunity to work with students to approach problems with the proper attitude in order to make a positive, lasting impression. Professor Pam Kiser, who served as the interim academic coordinator last semester and was part of the selection committee in the fall, said that the applicant pool was competitive. "I think she's been involved ever since she came to this campus," Kiser said. "She's very involved in service learning and has been in the business of getting students involved since her first semester." Kiser said all civic engagement scholars are responsible for completing senior projects and it's important for faculty members to be flexible enough to let students take the lead. "This is the kind of program where we want every student to find their own passion," Kiser said. Kiser said she thinks Darby can work with students towards their goals. "That's her key strength," she said. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php |
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