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	<title>planning &#8211; Fountain Magazine</title>
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		<title>Is Multitasking Really Possible?</title>
		<link>https://fountainmagazine.com/all-issues/2025/issue-163-jan-feb-2025/is-multitasking-really-possible/</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[The Fountain]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Wed, 01 Jan 2025 00:00:04 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Issue 163 (Jan - Feb 2025)]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Cognitive process]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[planning]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Psychology]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[self-monitoring]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[task switching costs]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://107.21.79.195/all-issues/2025/issue-163-jan-feb-2025/is-multitasking-really-possible/</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[Especially now that a wide array of technology is at our disposal, we strive to be more efficient at work or school. We also try to squeeze the most out of our leisure time by chasing various forms of entertainment at once. For this, most of us multitask (or at least claim to do so). [&#8230;]]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img fetchpriority="high" decoding="async" class=" size-full wp-image-7712" src="https://fountainmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/03-3e0.jpg" alt="Is Multitasking Really Possible?" width="1920" height="1200" srcset="https://fountainmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/03-3e0.jpg 1920w, https://fountainmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/03-3e0-300x188.jpg 300w, https://fountainmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/03-3e0-1024x640.jpg 1024w, https://fountainmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/03-3e0-768x480.jpg 768w, https://fountainmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/03-3e0-1536x960.jpg 1536w" sizes="(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px" /></p>
<p>Especially now that a wide array of technology is at our disposal, we strive to be more efficient at work or school. We also try to squeeze the most out of our leisure time by chasing various forms of entertainment at once. For this, most of us multitask (or at least claim to do so). Put simply, multitasking is completing multiple tasks simultaneously, such as listening to the news while reading a book. When we multitask, we may be filled with a sense of pride, since it’s usually seen as a sign of high intelligence. Being such a popular phenomenon, the excruciating question is whether multitasking is really possible or not.</p>
<p>Naturally, this article avoids the highly scientific aspects of this neurologically complex topic and aims to answer this question for the layperson. Following this approach, the term ‘multitasking’ is used in this article for tasks that necessitate conscious thought. For example, walking and talking at the same time is not considered multitasking, since walking does not require conscious thought; rather, it is accomplished through “muscle memory.” The definition also excludes activities that are not simultaneously going on with another activity, but exclusively on their own time in a day, week, or month. Therefore, dividing the time in a day among multiple activities, such as spending an hour reading, another hour watching TV, still another writing, and perhaps repeating each of these tasks on its own time in the same day is not considered multitasking.</p>
<p>Going back to our vital question: is multitasking really possible? In other words, can we easily handle multiple tasks and switch between them without sacrificing time and accuracy? To answer this question, we need to first understand the brain’s executive control over cognitive processes. This executive control can be seen as the control tower that orchestrates the brain’s countless varied cognitive operations while completing tasks. Moralis and Dinan (2022) list them as including, but not limited to, planning, self-monitoring, accessing working memory, time management, and organization. For their study, Rubinstein, Meyer, and Evans (2001) proposed a theoretical model that divided these control processes into two main stages involved in task switching: goal shifting and rule activation. They defined goal shifting as the stage that keeps track of the individual tasks and informs the other components of the system about what the current task is. In other words, this is the stage in which one realizes where they stand in the sequence of tasks at hand, and initiates, executes, and terminates individual tasks. The rule activation stage followed goal shifting and was defined as resetting the mind by first disabling the prior task’s rules and then turning on the new task’s rules. For example, if we switch from playing tennis to basketball, the objectives, rules, strategies, and a bunch of other things need to change in our mind. These researchers’ findings from a series of experiments supported the model that has goal shifting and rule activation stages for task switching. While a number of factors such as task familiarity and rule complexity influenced the magnitude of task switching costs, results consistently showed that there was always a price to be paid in terms of time and error rate when switching between tasks.</p>
<p>While the cost per switch may be relatively small, they can add up to large amounts when people switch back and forth repeatedly between tasks. Therefore, multitasking, which seems like a means of efficiency on the surface, ultimately becomes more costly timewise and involves more error (“Multitasking: Switching costs,” 2006). Meyer, one of the three researchers mentioned above, says in an interview on their research, “People in a work setting who are banging away on word processors at the same time they have to answer phones and talk to their co-workers or bosses – they are doing switches all the time. Not being able to concentrate for, say, tens of minutes at a time, may mean it’s costing a company as much as 20 to 40 percent” (Anderson, 2001).</p>
<p>One can easily find many studies on multitasking, all of which document the inefficiency of multitasking. This is because our brains are wired to perform singular tasks rather than multitask. Despite its superb structure and highly sophisticated functions that we have only begun to understand through advances in brain research, the human brain is curiously not designed for multitasking. In other words, we are expected to make the most out of our experiences that require conscious thought rather than try to become an efficient machine-like human that processes information superficially in a very short amount of time. Doesn’t this design make total sense for the only species in the world that is capable of contemplating and meaning-making about the entire existence? From another angle, multitasking takes a heavy toll on our personal, social, professional, and educational lives. This is another crucial topic in and of itself that deserves a separate discussion in another article.</p>
<h2>References</h2>
<ul class="uk-list uk-list-hyphen uk-list-primary">
<li>Anderson, P. (2001, August 5). Study: Multitasking is counterproductive. CNN. http://edition.cnn.com/2001/CAREER/trends/08/05/multitasking.focus/</li>
<li>Moralis, S. &amp; Dinan, S. (2022, February 27). The myth of multitasking. Psychology Today. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-therapeutic-perspective/202202/the-myth-multitasking</li>
<li>Multitasking: Switching costs. (2006, March 20). American Psychological Association. Retrieved July 5, 2024, from https://www.apa.org/topics/research/multitasking#:~:text=Although%20switch%20costs%20may%20be,end%20and%20involve%20more%20error</li>
<li>Rubinstein, J.S., Meyer, D.E., &amp; Evans, J.E. (2001). Executive control of cognitive processes in task switching. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 27(4), 763-797. https://doi.org/10.1037/0096-1523.27.4.763</li>
</ul>
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		<title>Digital Geography</title>
		<link>https://fountainmagazine.com/all-issues/2000/issue-30-april-june-2000/digital-geography/</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Louima Cunningham]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Sat, 01 Apr 2000 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Issue 30 (April - June 2000)]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[computer]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[data]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Education]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[geographic]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[information]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[management]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[map]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[planning]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[power]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[private]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[problems]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[public]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Science]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[software]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[system]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[technology]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[tools]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://107.21.79.195/all-issues/2000/issue-30-april-june-2000/digital-geography/</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[&#8220;Knowing where things are and why is essential to rational decision making.&#8221;Jack Dangermond Geography matters in almost everything we do, where we live, where we work, and the decisions we make about our environment. By the middle of the twenty-first century, it is estimated that 12 billion people will be living on this planet. This [&#8230;]]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[<blockquote>
<p>&#8220;Knowing where things are and why is essential to rational decision making.&#8221;<br />Jack Dangermond</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Geography matters in almost everything we do, where we live, where we work, and the decisions we make about our environment. By the middle of the twenty-first century, it is estimated that 12 billion people will be living on this planet. This means that our planet will be hard-pressed to meet all our food, water, and fuel needs. Thus, managing each limited natural resource has emerged as perhaps the most crucial problem that we will face in the near future. Fortunately, technologies are becoming available for everybody and may allow us to feed and power the growing population without destroying the environment.</p>
<p>In today&#8217;s global community, more information helps you to make an easy and informed decision when it comes to interacting with the high-tech world. Currently, information comes in many different ways from the private and public sectors, such as reports and statistics, digital photos, and multimedia.</p>
<p>In today&#8217;s complicated and global world, private and governmental organizations and individuals must daily solve problems in a vast array of areas. Business concerns have to deal with advertising, direct and target marketing, facility management, financial services, manufacturing, insurance, retail siting, and property management. Local governments face issues related to community development, construction, crime analysis, demographics, education, emergency services, environmental management, land management, and tourism. The federal government has to concern itself with all aspects of health care, military and defense, natural resources, oil and gas, pipelines, public health, public information, public safety, tax assessment, and intelligence. And these are only a few of the areas requiring decisions.</p>
<p>All these actions happen in a geographic location and affect each other. How can we solve these complicated problems? How can we collect data and analyze it? More important, how can we devise appropriate solutions? Today, we have the technology to solve these kinds of problems: Geographic Information System (GIS).</p>
<p>The history of GIS is relatively short. The first GIS development and application started in Canada during the 1960s. Due to its dependence on computers and its limited capabilities, GIS technology developed simultaneously with computers. Along with the rapid development of computer capacity after the mid-1970s, GIS technology increased rapidly. Since the 1980s, the number of GIS-related companies has increased rapidly. Some of these companies produce data or specialize in producing GIS software and education, and others concentrate on solving problems. During the late 1970s and early 1980s, the first satellites (LANDSAT [USA], SPOT [France], and IRSS [India]) designed specifically to collect physical data about the Earth and humanity&#8217;s impact upon it were launched into orbit. As the vast majority of updateable data was not only for military purposes, but also available for public use, GIS users and developers were able to use it to solve their problems.</p>
<p>GIS has been used to analyze the relationship and patterns of almost all natural phenomena. GIS technology helps its users see patterns that cannot be recognized by just viewing a list or an actual map, for it brings everything together. Working with locational information, GIS has the power to solve problems we encounter every day. Whether GIS users restore habitats, plant vineyards, search for oil, fight wildfires, or measure an endangered species&#8217; population, they also can learn more about the ability of GIS to manage natural resources.</p>
<h3><b>How does GIS work?</b></h3>
<p>GIS is a computer-based tool for mapping and analyzing things that exist and events that happen on this planet. In other words, it is a computer system that assembles, stores, manipulates, and displays geographically referenced data. It integrates such common database operations as statistical analysis and query with maps. This ability sets GIS apart from other information systems, and provides valuable data to a wide range of public and private enterprises engaged in planning strategies and managing various infrastructures.</p>
<p>GIS allows people to create powerful maps, integrate information, visualize scenarios, solve complicated problems, present powerful ideas, and develop effective solutions. It is a tool that can be used by almost everybody: individuals, organizations, schools, governments, and businesses.</p>
<p>In general, GIS has two components: hardware (a desktop computer or workstation) and software. Its software produces the functions and tools needed to store, analyze, and display geographical information. The essential software components are tools to enter input and manipulate geographical information, a database management system (DBMS), tools to support geographic query, analysis and visualization tools, and geographic data that GIS can ingrate spatial data with others.</p>
<p>Essentially, GIS is a type of software application, running on a stand-alone computer or workstation, that analyses and displays multiple layers of geographic information. It can be though a spatial database. First, geographic locations on the Earth&#8217;s surface can be stored in computer files as sets of mathematical coordinates. This makes it possible to draw a map on a computer-a map of the world, the Amazon Basin, or your neighborhood. Second, it means that different map files or layers of spatial information with common geography can be displayed simultaneously and analyzed with reference to one another. On an agricultural map, for example, one layer can represent the land&#8217;s boundaries, another one can show the local streams, and still another can illustrate any changes in elevation. The analytical power of GIS lets people query the system to extract information from different layers.</p>
<p>GIS also is related to, and shares common features with, several other types of information systems. It can be used by desktop mapping, DBMS, computer-aided design (CAD), and global positioning system (GPS)/remote sensing GIS.</p>
<p>Today, GIS can be used for almost anything. However, its major users are utility companies (gas, electric, and water), cable and television companies, transportation networks (finding the quickest way and service areas on the roads), agriculture (planning crops, analyzing yields, planning the efficient application of fertilizers), federal agencies (USDA, NRCS, NGS), municipalities (urban planning), forestry (timber harvest and growth, roads in the forests, cutting and removing logs, environmental regulations, forest management), delivering products, educating children, and targeting markets. It is useful to botanists and biologists, planners, and petroleum engineers. It also can track customer sales, analyze crime patterns, route delivery truces, display soil types, and find the best location for an expanding business.</p>
<p>Over the past two decades, the development, acquisition, and implementation of GISs has continued to increase. Currently, it is a billion dollar industry in the United States, and is being utilized by both the public and private sector and well as academia. The declining cost of computer software and hardware, the increasingly user-friendly nature of the technology, and its increasing power have caused a rapid increase in the number of GIS uses.</p>
<p>The rapid and continued growth of GIS use in private industry, government, and academia has raised the concern of educational opportunities currently available to GIS practitioners. Since GIS is now a big business that is experiencing rapid growth, many new practitioners seek further education and training. In addition, GIS practitioners have acquired a professional identity that they did not have 20 years ago. GIS analysts, specialists, and project managers have been increasingly demanded both by industry and government.</p>
<h3><em><b>References</b></em></h3>
<ul>
<li>Dahlberg, R. E. &amp; Jensen, J. R. &#8220;Education for Cartography and Remote Sensing in the Service of an Information Society.&#8221; The American Cartographers, Vol. 13, (1986): 51-71.</li>
<li>Huxhold, W. E. et al. Managing Geographic Information System Projects. New York: Oxford University Press, 1995.</li>
<li>Obermeyer, N. J. and Pinto, J. K. Managing Geographic Information Systems. New York: The Guilford Press, 1994.</li>
<li>Robinson, J. H. &#8220;The Economics of Geographic Information Systems. New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education,&#8221; Vol. 52, (1991): 33-42.</li>
<li>Wikle,T. A. &#8220;Continuing Education and Competency Programmes in GIS.&#8221; The International Journal of Geographical Information Science. Vol. 12, No. 5, (1998): 491-507.</li>
</ul>
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		<title>Gifted Children</title>
		<link>https://fountainmagazine.com/all-issues/1996/issue-15-july-september-1996/gifted-children/</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Louima Cunningham]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Mon, 01 Jul 1996 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Issue 15 (July - September 1996)]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[ability]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[career]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[child]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[children]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Education]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[gifted]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[giftedness]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[gifts]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[ideas]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[important]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[intellectual]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[interests]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[parents]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[planning]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[problems]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[provide]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[school]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[shows]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[social]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[students]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[ways]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://107.21.79.195/all-issues/1996/issue-15-july-september-1996/gifted-children/</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[Most parents greet the discovery that their child is gifted with a mixture of pride, excitement, and apprehension. Then, they may well seek expert help on how to cope with bringing up the child, only to find that the help they can get is very limited. What is giftedness? We should begin by realizing that [&#8230;]]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Most parents greet the discovery that their child is gifted with a mixture of pride, excitement, and apprehension. Then, they may well seek expert help on how to cope with bringing up the child, only to find that the help they can get is very limited.</p>
<h3><b>What is giftedness? </b></h3>
<p>We should begin by realizing that giftedness is a particular degree or concentration of innate qualities such as arc given to every child by his or her Creator, a fact emphasized in several verses of the Qur’an, for example:</p>
<p>It is He who brought you forth from the wombs of your mothers when you knew nothing; and He gave you hearing and sight and intelligence and affections: that you may give thanks (al-Nahl, 16.78).</p>
<p>It is He who has created for you hearing, sight, feeling and understanding: little thanks you give (al Mu’minun, 23.78).</p>
<p>The counterpart to recognizing the special giftedness of a particular child is to recognize our special debt of gratitude for that giftedness, together with an understanding of the challenges and responsibilities which that debt brings with it.</p>
<h3><b>Indicators of giftedness</b></h3>
<p>It is important for parents to be fully aware of the ways in which giftedness can be manifested. There are a number of typical characteristics listed by authorities on the subject. No individual child is likely to be outstanding in all the ways indicated on the list.</p>
<ol>
<li>Shows superior reasoning powers and marked ability to handle ideas, has outstanding problem-solving ability.</li>
<li>Shows persistent intellectual curiosity, asks searching questions, shows exceptional interests in the nature of man and the universe.</li>
<li>Has a wide range, of interests often of an intellectual kind; develops one or more interests to a considerable depth.</li>
<li>Is noticeably superior in quality and quantity of vocabulary, in speech and/or in writing.</li>
<li>Reads eagerly and absorbs books well beyond his or her years.</li>
<li>Learns quickly and easily and retains what is learned, recalls important details, concepts and principles; comprehends readily.</li>
<li>Shows creative ability or imaginative expression in such things as music, art, drama, shows sensitivity and fitness in rhythm, movement, and body control.</li>
<li>Shows insight into arithmetical problems that require careful reasoning and grasps mathematical concepts easily</li>
<li>Sustains concentration for lengthy periods and shows outstanding responsibility and independence in doing classroom work.</li>
<li>Sets realistically high standards for him or herself, is self- critical in evaluating and correcting his or her own efforts.</li>
<li>Shows initiative and originality in intellectual work; shows flexibility in thinking and considers problems from a number of viewpoints.</li>
<li>Observes keenly and is responsive to new ideas</li>
<li>Shows social poise and an ability to communicate with adults in a mature way.</li>
<li>Takes pleasure in intellectual challenges; shows an alert and subtle sense of humour.</li>
</ol>
<p>It should be kept in mind that it is neither admirable nor contemptible to be gifted. It is what one does with one’s abilities that is important. Throughout the parenting years, it is wise to accept that the healthiest long-term goal is not necessarily a child who gains fame, fortune and a Nobel Prize, but one who becomes a contented adult able to use his or her gifts productively.</p>
<p>Throughout childhood and early adolescence, we must provide the environment in which gifted children can flourish. We can do this by trying to:</p>
<p>be responsive to the unusual questions the children ask;</p>
<p>be respectful of the children’s unusual ideas or solutions by listening to them without bias, as the children will see many relationships that their parents and teachers miss;</p>
<p>encourage the children to test their ideas by using them and communicating them to others;</p>
<p>ensure that the children can learn, think and discover without the threat of immediate evaluation or prejudgement.</p>
<h3><b>Education of gifted children</b></h3>
<p>Effective nurturing of giftedness in children and adolescents requires a co-operative partnership between home and school, one that is characterized by mutual respect and an ongoing sharing of ideas and observations about the children involved.</p>
<p>Because gifted children may begin school already knowing much of the material covered in early grades and because they learn quickly, some type of acceleration is necessary. For some children and in some situations, grade skipping is the best choice. Placing a child with older children with similar interests may be socially and intellectually beneficial and result in a more appropriate curriculum.</p>
<p>The following strategies, suggested in a Gifted Leadership Conference in Washington. illustrate how bridges in thinking can be built between giftedness and education.</p>
<ol>
<li>Gifted students should spend the majority of their school days with others of similar abilities and interests.</li>
<li>Cluster grouping of students within an otherwise mixed class can he considered where schools are unable to support a full time programme for gifted individuals.</li>
<li>In the absence of a full time programme for gifted individuals, students might be offered specific group instruction across grade levels, according to their individual knowledge acquisition in school subjects.</li>
<li>Gifted students, individually or in groups, should be given experiences involving a variety of appropriate acceleration-based options.</li>
<li>All students should be given experiences which involve various terms of enrichment that extend the regular school curriculum, leading to the more complete development in their minds of concepts, principles, and generalizations.</li>
<li>Mixed-ability co-operative learning groups should be used sparingly, perhaps only for the development of social skills.</li>
<li>All staff should be trained to identify and provide appropriate curricula for gifted students.</li>
<li>We should eliminate the ceiling on learning (in other words, if a student is ready to learn algebra in 5th grade, the system should not just permit but support it.).</li>
<li>Computers can be used to keep up with the students’ pace. They are patient and will hold on to an idea for a long time. Computers can do more complex tasks when the students are ready to use them in more complex ways, and they can provide information when the student is ready for it.</li>
</ol>
<h3><b>Career planning for the gifted</b></h3>
<p>Although parents and teachers may be concerned about academic planning for gifted children, they often assume that career planning will take care of itself. The student is simply expected to make a career choice around the last year of college and then follow through on the steps necessary to attain that goal.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, there is growing evidence that youthful brilliance in one or more areas does not always translate into adult satisfaction and accomplishment in working life. Studies have shown that the path from education to career is not always smooth, and it may be complicated by the fact that the social-emotional problems and needs of gifted students differ from those of more typical students.</p>
<p>Young gifted people between the ages of II and 15 frequently report a range of problems as a result of their abundant gifts: perfectionism, competitiveness, unrealistic appraisal of their gifts, rejection from peers, confusion due to mixed messages about their talents, and parental and social pressures to achieve, as well as problems with unchallenging school programmes or increased expectations. Some encounter difficulties in finding and choosing friends and, eventually, a career. The developmental issues that all adolescents encounter exist also for gifted students, yet they are further complicated by the special needs and characteristics of being gifted. Once counselors and parents are aware of these obstacles, they seem better able to understand and support gifted adolescents. Caring adults can assists these young people to ‘own’ and develop their talents by understanding, responding to adjustments and challenges and coping with strategies.</p>
<h3><b>Conclusion</b></h3>
<p>Bringing up a gifted child may be ecstasy, agony and everything in between. Adults must perform almost impossible feats of balance &#8211; supporting a child’s gifts without pushing, valuing without over-investing, championing without taking over. It is costly, physically and emotionally draining, and intellectually demanding. In the first flush of pride, few parents realize that their task is in many ways similar to the task faced by parents of a child with severe handicaps. Our world does not accommodate differences easily, and it matters little whether the difference is perceived to be a deficit or an overabundance.</p>
<p>The most important help you can give your gifted child or children can be expressed in a single sentence: give them a safe home, a refuge where they feel loved, and genuine acceptance, particular of their differences. As adults who enjoyed such a safe home background, they should be able to put together lives of productivity and fulfilment.</p>
<h3><b>USEFUL READING</b></h3>
<ul>
<li>BERGER, S. (1989) College Planning for Gifted Students, The Council for Exceptional Children Reston, VA.</li>
<li>COX, J., DANIEL, N. &amp; BOSTON, B. (1985) Educating Able Learners, University of Texas Press, Austin TX.</li>
<li>FREDERICKSON, R.H. &amp; ROTHNAY, J.W.M. (1992) Recognizing and Assisting Multipotential Youth, Columbus, OH: Merril.</li>
<li>KERR, B. (1985. September) ‘Raisins, the Career Aspirations of the Gifted’, The Vocational Guidance Quarterly, 32, pp. 37-43.</li>
<li>KAUFMAN, F. (1988) ‘Mentors Provide Personal Coaching’,Gifted Child Monthly, 9(l), pp.I-3.</li>
</ul>
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		<title>Factory of Future</title>
		<link>https://fountainmagazine.com/all-issues/1993/issue-3-july-september-1993/factory-of-future/</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Louima Cunningham]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Thu, 01 Jul 1993 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Issue 3 (July - September 1993)]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[1990]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[1991]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[aided]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[automated]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cad]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cam]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[capp]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[computer]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[control]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[design]]></category>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://107.21.79.195/all-issues/1993/issue-3-july-september-1993/factory-of-future/</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[Artificial Intelligence is a promising approach to automating process planning. Expert Systems or Intelligent Knowledge Based Systems are able to automate the reasoning activities to capture logic, experience-based reasoning and knowledge in a computer environment. CAD/ CAM IN AUTOMATION The developments of manufacturing can be categorized in two stages, namely the mechanization stage and the [&#8230;]]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><em>Artificial Intelligence is a promising approach to automating process planning. Expert Systems or Intelligent Knowledge Based Systems are able to automate the reasoning activities to capture logic, experience-based reasoning and knowledge in a computer environment. </em></p>
<h3><b>CAD/ CAM IN AUTOMATION</b></h3>
<p>The developments of manufacturing can be categorized in two stages, namely the <b><em>mechanization stage</em></b> and the <b>automation stage. </b> In the early stage of manufacturing, tools and processes were mechanized. All of the various manufacturing processes were divided into categories such as casting, forging, turning, milling, drilling and cutting, with workers specialized in one of these areas. Specialization resulted in the separation of design from manufacturing. One person would design a product while other specialists would manufacture it. Design and manufacturing communicated through drawings. The mechanization stage was able to accomplish mass turnover and speed in production. However, it lacked flexibility and integration.</p>
<p>The next stage in the development of manufacturing is automation. In 1975, mass production was automated through the use of transfer lines. In 1976, batch production was automated through Flexible Manufacturing Systems (FMS). In 1979, design and draughting through CAD (Computer Aided Design) started to be used widely. The integration of these started in 1985. The goal of this stage is to have completely automated manufacturing plant operating with only a minimum of human involvement. Progress is being made in this regard, but total integration has not yet been achieved. The totally automated factory will be capable of mass turnover and speed in production, will be flexible and completely integrated.</p>
<p>The most important development regarding automation in manufacturing has been the computer. It provided developments in manufacturing control, material handling, planning and in other activities. The use of computers in manufacturing control improved NC (Numerical Control) technology such as computer aided NC code generation. It is now possible with some CAD/CAM (Computer Aided Design/Computer Aided Manufacture) systems to generate NC tape directly from the designed part stored within the CAD data base. Computers have greatly enhanced automated manufacturing. NC machine tools have been replaced by CNC (Computer Numerical Control) machine tools: almost every machining process can now be efficiently automated with a significant degree of accuracy, reliability and repeatability.</p>
<p>Computer Aided Design (CAD) can be defined as the use of computers to assist in the design process including calculation, analysis, modelling, draughting and testing. Initially, CAD systems were primarily used for draughting. Nowadays it also includes Finite Element Modelling (FEM), geometric modelling and kinematic analysis. (FEM is widely used for the analysis of many engineering problems, namely static, dynamic and thermal stress analysis of various structures including vibration analysis. Geometric modelling is concerned with the mathematical representation of objects in a computer.)</p>
<p>The development of NC machine tools was the beginning of CAM systems. CAM can be defined as the use of computers to enhance or assist in any manufacturing process. CAM comprises a large number of functions such as Computer Numerical Control (CNC), Direct Numerical Control (DNC), Flexible Manufacturing System (FMS), Automated Guided Vehicle (AGV), automated material handling, inspection and computer controlled assembly systems. CNC is an NC system that uses a dedicated computer to perform NC functions. DNC can be defined as a manufacturing system where a number of machine tools are controlled by a central computer simultaneously. The part programme is transmitted to the machine tool directly from the computer. An FMS is a programmable manufacturing system capable of producing a variety of products automatically and it is composed of CNC machine tools, automated material handling systems, robots and a computer system to control them. An Automated Guided Vehicle (AGV) is a robot-like vehicle that is used to carry objects from one place to another and can be programmed to trace a path.</p>
<h3><b>INTEGRATION OF CAD/CAM</b></h3>
<p>Due to development in computer technology, numerically controlled equipment, robots and computer controlled automation in CAD and CAM systems, many manual skills have been automated resulting in reduction of lead times, improvements in production, increase in manufacturing accuracy and flexibility. However, the full integration of CAD and CAM systems in industry has not yet been achieved and they have been developed separately (see Davies et al., 1988; Irani et al., 1990; Joseph and Davies 1990).</p>
<p>It is acknowledged that significant benefits can be obtained when CAD is integrated with CAM within a single company. For this reason the integration of CAD and CAM systems has become an important goal in factory automation (see Semakula and Gill, 1989; Sing et al., 1990). Computer Integrated Manufacturing (CIM) is the term used to denote the complete integration of all aspects of CAD and CAM systems.</p>
<p>CAD and CAM systems have not been totally integrated due to the difficulties in automating intermediate functions (see Joseph and Davies, 1990; Joseph et al., 1990). In order to achieve the goal of full integration of CAD and CAM two major obstacles should be addressed, namely complete CAD and CAPP/CAM interface and a fully automated, flexible CAPP system. (CAPP stands for Computer Aided Process Planning.)</p>
<p>CAPP is an important activity which bridges CAD to CAM (Figure 1) and translates the design information into manufacturing instructions to produce mechanical components (see, most recently Desai and Pande, 1991; Cho et al., 1991). The task of process planning in industry is usually performed by an experienced process planner manually employing his or her expertise and knowledge about machining operations. The quality of the plan developed depends on the experience and preferences of the planner whose highly skilled expertise is difficult to replace (Bandyopathyoy et al., 1981; Joseph and Davies, 1991).</p>
<p>Several CAPP systems have been developed. However, the computer can only assist the planner generate process plans. Fully automated CAPP does not exist and its benefits in the real industrial environment are still to be seen (see, e.g. Chang. 1990; Domazet and Manic, 1990). The complexity of decision making in process planning is a barrier to automating process planning. Many of the tasks carried out by the planner require expert knowledge, experience and intelligent reasoning (see Rustom and Mileham, 1989; Stewart et al., 1989). Other major impediments to the implementation of fully automated CAPP are related to the capturing of planning logic and heuristic knowledge. Industrial robots are programmed by a human programmer. But how does a bee know how to built a honeycomb and make honey?</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Algorithmic programming techniques are considered unsuitable to automate process planning because process planning problems are usually solved heuristically, that is, on the basis of human ability to use reason and learn from experience (see Tonshotf et al., 1987; Dumazet, 1992). Manufacturing processes change over time on the factory floor. Algorithmic programs are not flexible enough to accommodate modifications since any alteration in the programme affects the whole structure of the software (Changer et al., 1991). Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a promising approach to automate process planning. Expert Systems or Intelligent Knowledge Based Systems are able to automating the reasoning activities to capture logic, experience-based reasoning and knowledge in a computer environment. An Expert System represents and stores the domain-specific knowledge in a special manner so that it is possible to add, delete or modify the knowledge within the database without any alteration in the program.</p>
<p>In short, the main goal for the industry of tomorrow is to integrate all the activities on the factory floor, i.e. to have automation from design to final manufacturing, (Nordland, 1988).</p>
<p>Assuming that we had a chance to visit such a factory of the future totally integrated, automated, unmanned except by robots, we would be aware that the automation is achieved and controlled by a computer programme which processes data, solves the problems that arise and gives the commands necessary to run the factory.</p>
<p>It is obvious that every such programme requires a programmer. Nobody would claim that the machinery, robots. etc. have themselves decided to develop the complicated software to control the system on the factory floor: it is easy to see that machines and mechanical parts do not have the ability, intelligence and knowledge even to wonder at their own structure.</p>
<p>Even if we do not see the programmer we can infer that one exists who is expert in the particular field and who programmed the automatic systems to do particular things. Similarly, we can liken the earth to an automated factory where animals and plants are like robots or automatic systems that perform some intelligent actions. If, within this factory a bee, for example, is not attributed to a Creator Who tells it how to make its honeycomb and honey then it must be that bees themselves know the necessary chemistry and geometry to do so. But we know that a bee is so unintelligent that when it is trapped indoors it tries to get out through a closed window. Even where there is an open window nearby it does not think of using the open window, but only finds it randomly. Therefore, we may not suppose that bees are intelligent and skilled enough to make honeycombs and honey. Even we, humans, who are the most intelligent creatures on earth, are not able to make proper hexagon-shaped honeycombs without using tools or a die. So we cannot expect a bee to do so all by itself without using a tool.</p>
<p>Every fruit tree is a fruit factory. A vegetable plant is a vegetable factory. They produce fruits and vegetables, respectively. If they are not attributed to a Creator then it must be that they are creating fruits and vegetables by themselves. We know that trees and vegetables are not intelligent enough and lack the knowledge of biology or chemistry to combine the necessary minerals or molecules to create the fruits and vegetables that fulfil our needs. They are not even aware of what we need. Examples can be extended to other creatures in the earth. Vegetables and animals perform some intelligent actions and yet they are not intelligent. Although we do not see the Creator of this factory, the activities around us show that there is One, Who is All-Wise, creates and controls the actions within this factory-like earth. </p>
<h3><em><b>REFERENCES</b></em></h3>
<ul>
<li>ClANG, T.C. (1990) ‘Expert Process Planning for Manufacturing’, Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, USA.</li>
<li>CHANG, T.C.,Wysk, R.A. and Wang, H.P. (1991) Computer Aided Manufacturing, Prentice Hall, USA.</li>
<li>CHO, K.K., Lee, S.H. and Ahn, J.H., (1991) ‘Development of Integrated Process Planning and Monitoring System for Turning Operation’, Annals of the CIRP, 40/1, pp.423-7.</li>
<li>DESAI. VS. and Pande, S.S., (1991) ‘GFM. An Interactive Feature Modeller for CAPP or Rotational Components’, Computer Aided Engineering Journal, pp. 217-21.</li>
<li>IRANI, R,K., Saxena, M. and Finnigan, P.M., (1990) ‘Boundary Based Feature Modelling Utility’, Proceedings of the ASME International Computers in Engineering Conference, 1, pp. 45-51, Boston.</li>
<li>JOSEPH, A.T. and Davies, B.J., (1990) ‘Knowledge Based Process Planning System for Turned Components’, The International Journal of Advanced Manufacturing Technology, 5, pp.52-65.</li>
<li>JOSEPH, A.T. and Davies, B.J., (1991) ‘Elictation of Process Planning Knowledge in a Manufacturing Environment’. The International Journal of Advanced Manufacturing Technology. 6, pp.16-34.</li>
<li>NORDLAND, G.L., (1988) ‘Integrating CAPP Into Factory Management Systems’, CAPP From Design to Production, ed. Joseph Tulkoff, SME, pp. 134-136.</li>
<li>RUSTOM, E.A. and Mileham, A.R., (1989) ‘The Development of a Generative Computer Aided Process Planning System for Prismatic Parts’, Advances in Manufacturing Technology 4. Proceedings of the 5th National Conference on Production Research, Huddersfield Polytechnic, pp. 259-63.</li>
<li>SINGH, R., Sittas, E., Mullineux. G. and Medland, A.J., (1990) ‘Intelligent Communications Between CAD and Manufacturing Activities’, Proceedings of the 28th International MATADOR Conference, pp. 305-1 2.</li>
<li>STEWART, C.D., Wallace, W. and Boswell. C., (1989) ‘The Development of a Knowledge-Based Process Planning System’, Advances in Manufacturing Technology 4, Proceedings of the 5th National Conference on Production Research, Huddersfield Polytechnic, pp. 265-68. </li>
</ul>
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