Management issues, Transition from individual contributor to manager

The decision-making aspect of this area (transition from individual contributor to manager) is very interesting. It seems as though the individual contributor has to be a very high performer to know the level of work that other people should be contributing/performing. He/she probably sees it as a problem area that needs fixing and sees that a certain type of manager is needed. He/she probably wants to come up with ways (or maybe already thought of ways) to get people to achieve the level of performance needed. Also, when I read this post, I thought of an attitude this individual contributor may have. What leads a person to decide that others cannot perform their job as well? 

My post on this topic in February 2023:
https://fahmeenaodetta.blogspot.com/2023/02/independent-contributor.html

The post I read, my comment to that post, and an update to my LinkedIn research profile shown below.

 (Link to LinkedIn post: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7096264070479151104/)

 

(My comment to the LinkedIn post)

Temperature Dashboard

Temperature for today:
High 92 degrees

It is currently 87 degrees (at 12:10pm in Washington, DC / DC metro area). 

The weather app/dashboard on my computer provides a good summary.

Technology and survey?

I stumbled upon the technology consulting company Scantron (https://www.scantron.com/) that provides survey services (https://www.scantron.com/assessment-solutions/surveys/survey-development/). I did not expect to see this combination within a single company.

Update 8/9

I expect a payment from Allstate (related to my car accident/totaled vehicle). I would really like to replace the vehicle, but I think I need to use the funds for other purposes. I am thinking of getting an apartment in Gainesville. Rent is much lower there. And, years ago, when I lived in Gainesville, I did not have a vehicle.

Pain research

My PhD paper on how website design affects customer/consumer complaints touched on pain during shopping. That was surprising! I didn't think of the paper when I saw the call for research on pain and posted about it (link to post: https://fahmeenaodetta.blogspot.com/2023/06/the-topic-pain.html). There really is a need for research in this area.

Ice Cream

I felt like ice cream.

Ice cream is good on a hot day. We had a lot of those (hot days) recently. When it is hot, an ice cream seems like a perfect choice - it is cold, flavorful, and enjoyable. The flavor/type of ice cream may not matter. I found an interesting article that compared American and Dutch ice cream preferences. Here is the link:

The relative importance of complexity, variety, and portion size in ice cream preference in Dutch and American participants
By: A. E. M. Hendriks-Hartensveld, J. L. Brodock, J. E. Hayes, B. J. Rolls, K. L. Keller, Remco C. Havermans
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0950329321004055

 

 

 

An Important Paper

In general, my signature assignments are the most important papers I prepared at NCU. But, there is one important paper that was not a signature assignment. That paper was on the design of an e-commerce website. It touched on usability and consumer decision-making. It was the final paper for a course just not called a signature assignment.

The paper was titled 'Method and Design for a Website Improvement Study.' The course was the Research Design course I completed in November 2016. I thought the course was very interesting. I learned a lot about different research designs. The professor was tough but I didn't mind. He helped me to improve my writing.

At first, I wanted to focus on online reviews and decision-making during the course. I decided on online consumer decision-making that involved website design and purchasing decisions. I did not have much time to decide on a topic. In week 1 (right out of the gate), I needed to select a topic to prepare a theoretical framework for a dissertation study. I think it turned out okay.

I enrolled in the Research Design course a short while after the Research Methods course so I had some knowledge of research. I used/applied that prior knowledge. I also applied knowledge from a paper on website design I prepared for another course. For that paper on website design, I briefly reviewed available journal articles on the topic. I discovered that there was a lot of research on website design. Some were very detailed. I reused some of the articles.

I worked really hard on the website improvement paper. I was expected to use the knowledge gained throughout the course in that final paper and I thought I did a good job. I designed a study that involved obtaining users' feedback on different website designs.

Bible verse

Where am I from?

 (Videos provide answers.)

FYI: Although Guyana is technically in South America, it is a member of (a part of) the CARIbbean COMmunity. Guyana has a lot in common with other members of CARICOM. My CARICOM Pinterest board (https://www.pinterest.com/fahmeenaodetta/caricom-caribbean-community-guyana-other-caribbean/) highlights this. 

Papa John's Dinner Order

I had Papa John's for dinner. I had the brownies, soda (Dr. Pepper), and wings. I decided to order the brownies even though they are sugary (high in sugar content). I am not worried that the sugar/glucose content would cause health problems because of my experience with Papa Johns. When I lived in Gainesville, FL, I ate a lot of brownies and pizza from Papa Johns and still lost weight. I wonder what their secret is!

(I have a lot of those past orders on the record too - in my food blog/journal and in videos. This video is an example: https://youtu.be/z8pisPmox8k. I actually ordered the same thing.)

Photos of my dinner order:

Dancing

In high school, I was "into" music (I was in the band, I was a member of a girl group called Lauren and the Shining Pearls etc.). I was not into dancing as much. I was not a member of the girl's dance group and I did not dance much at parties. I did a "different" dance. I once performed in a concert called 'Dancing with Guitars.' I had fun playing the guitar for the audience (that included other students and some teachers).

I enjoy watching dancing though. I enjoy watching music videos with dancing (such as Michael Jackson videos). I enjoy live dance performances including ballet. In high school, I watched a waltz by students in the first batch to the song 'Time of My Life.' I liked all of it - the song, the waltz, the performance. The song (included below) has a nice beat and makes you want to move.

Incidentally, the same teacher (Mr. Wyatt) organized the dances mentioned above - the "different" dance with guitars, the dance by the girls in my batch, and the waltz. He even trained the students. He has many talents.

Updates

 

 

 

 

 

 

(There were separate posts on the blog highlights in LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. I created the Facebook and Twitter posts to pin to the top of the profiles/pages.)

Update With Highlights

Fun facts (highlights) about this blog:
This blog has grown to 332 posts!
I have been posting for a little over a year.
After posting for about six months, I decided to start working on publishing my PhD papers. So the purpose/focus of the blog changed.

Now for today's update....

I created a new board in Pinterest called 'Running Off Track.' It is very interesting. Take a look at:
https://www.pinterest.com/fahmeenaodetta/running-off-track/

 

 

 

Guyana

Guyana is known for the Kaieteur Falls (the single flow waterfall with the highest drop in the world), the tallest wooden building/cathedral in the western hemisphere (St. George's Cathedral), and so on. I usually see photos of these important places in tourism/marketing documents, promotional materials, and websites on Guyana. An example is this article on Kaieteur Falls by travelandleisure.com: https://www.travelandleisure.com/trip-ideas/nature-travel/worlds-largest-single-drop-waterfall-kaieteur-falls-guyana. I was surprised to see "different" photos shared in an article to market/promote Guyana (link to article: https://www.guyanatimesinternational.com/oh-beautiful-guyana/). Two are photos of the Ayangaik mountain. One of the photos made me think of (or maybe reminded me of) Noah's Ark.

Friendship Day

Today is Friendship Day! I immediately thought of the group I joined recently. It is a group of old friends from high school. The girls are like my sisters (because we lived in a dorm together).

I have other friends too. I made friends at college, at work, and so on (after high school). And, I am from Guyana. I have a connection with people from beautiful Guyana. 

Paper For Publishing Update

I am currently working on a paper on online communities. I hoped to finish the paper by the end of this week but was unable to because I was working on other things. There is a lot going on. Online communities turned out to be a more complex topic than I thought. The paper looks at the topic from a different angle.

Journal Selection

I thought I selected the right journal for one of the papers I submitted recently, but I guess I did not. I am still learning about the best journal for a paper, especially one of my interdisciplinary papers. The editor of the journal recommended another more specialized journal for the paper. He wrote:
"Indeed, while the topic of this study is of potential interest, its overall contribution to the field appears too limited for the broad readership of the journal. Therefore, this manuscript would be better suited for a more specialized journal."
I have never heard of the journal he recommended, but it does seem to be a better fit. It accepts APA 7th edition so no reference changes are needed (reference list changes as well as changes to in-text citations).

Different

I recall eating breadfruit and breadnut as a child. I loved breadnut. I didn't like breadfruit a whole lot, but I still ate it (because that was what my mother prepared for the family on some days).

The names (breadfruit and breadnut) imply that these foods are types of bread. They are "different" breads (see my Pinterest board: https://www.pinterest.com/fahmeenaodetta/a-different-bread/). Breadfruit is like bread because it fills you up and is sometimes eaten for breakfast.

These "different" breads are not made from flour. I believe all breads are made from flour (or at least have flour in common). The flour may be different. There is wheat flour, rice flour, and so on (see Pinterest board: https://www.pinterest.com/fahmeenaodetta/flours-coconut-rice-other-gluten-free-flours/).

I guess breads are complicated. Some breads have different shapes, are smaller, and made with unusual flours such as cassava flour (so can also be called "different" breads). I have a Pinterest board called 'Not The Usual Loaves' that includes breads such as banana bread and cinnamon swirl bread (https://www.pinterest.com/fahmeenaodetta/not-the-usual-loaves/). I have a Pinterest board called 'Smaller Bread or Bread-like Bites' like bruschetta and garlic bread twists (https://www.pinterest.com/fahmeenaodetta/smaller-bread-or-bread-like-bites/). And, I have a Pinterest board called 'Flat, Round, & Bread-like Eats' that includes pancakes, flatbread, and cassava bread (https://www.pinterest.com/fahmeenaodetta/flat-round-bread-like-eats/).

More Than One Way

There is a saying that there is more than one way to skin a cat (more on this saying is available at: https://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/there-is-more-than-one-way-to-skin-a-cat.html). I discovered that this is true even for the alphabet. For a long time, I thought there was only one alphabet song - a classic song I learned as a young girl in school (I found this version on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=75p-N9YKqNo). I was in high school when I discovered there was another alphabet song. The song seemed official. I heard it when I saw a performance by the boys/males at my school (they sang the song and used their bodies to "sign" the letters - it was some sort of sign language). It was very interesting. I am not sure why the girls were not involved.

Breadsticks

After a long time, I recently ordered food from Papa Johns. I purchased breadsticks and some other items. I ordered a lot of breadsticks and pizza from Papa Johns when I lived in Gainesville. The breadsticks haven't changed.

Photo of breadsticks I ordered in Gainesville, FL (taken when I used my food blog for tracking food choices):