A500.3.4.RB_MalvoisinLeon

         The Hunt Library has a large library collection of aviation-related resources in the world. The graphical user interface is user friendly.  If you use the “Advance Search” option search from the main window, it will take you to a new window where you can expend your search; for example, by selecting the “Scholarly materials, including peer-reviewed” radio box, and the journal article box from the show content type.  Then, you can select a date that best fit for your article in mind.

         A resource is scholarly in nature when it’s written or edited by as scholar; a person who had graduated with a doctorate degree in the area they’re writing about, and that implies the person has proved they have mastered the field to be acknowledge as an expert (Scholarly vs. Popular Sources, n.d).  This doesn’t imply that the person’s point of view of the subject cannot be questioning, but it does mean they’re knowledgeable about the field enough to have an informed understanding of it.

         From what I’ve observed so far for the scholarly found in the library is that they’re easily accessible and much better organized compare to the typical information I find when I google a leadership concept.  All the journals have an abstract session, which makes it easy to know what the journal is about. Whereas the typical information found in Google are much more informal in quality and range.
 

Reference
Scholarly vs. Popular Sources. (n.d). In The University of British Columbia. Retrieved from http://help.library.ubc.ca/evaluating-and-citing-sources/scholarly-versus-popular-sources/

A500.2.3.RB_Malvoisin Leon

As a kid I had always taken electronic components like radios, beepers, TVs, toasters, and telephones apart to see what’s inside and to put it back together.  However, they don’t always get re-assembled correctly, but the critical thinking process while re-assembling and taking it apart had always satisfied my curiosity about the electronic devices.  Twenty years later, now I’m working as a Lead Manufacturing Engineer for the world’s number one manufacturing aircraft company.

What may have helped me get to this point in my career is the kind of critical thinking I have been doing throughout the past years, which are driven by some standards that are important in my life and has helped me tremendously in my career in the aerospace industry.  Some of the standards are critical-thinking standards, such as reasonable, logical, rational, consistent, well-organized, reliable, and effective.  On a single eight hours shift, I constantly use each one of these standards, and they’ve now become second nature to me.  My current job responsibilities strongly rely on those standards. Furthermore, there are some non-critical thinking standards that are just as important in my life such as, fun, feel good, exciting, and spontaneous.  Those are the standards that have helped me relax and disconnect after a stressful day or week at work.  As stated by Nosich, (2012) “There is nothing inherently wrong with such standards; they are not opposed to critical thinking.  They are simply non-critical-thinking standards.” (p.153). Health wise, those non-critical thinking standards are just as important as the critical thinking standards.  

These standards have been developed with critical thinking ever since I was a teenager with a wonder mind that always wanted to find out what makes certain things or electronic equipments work.  One question that I’ve always asked myself is “How does it work or what makes it work”. That question has led me to many great things in life and has given me the drive to find things out and learn more.  It has also helped me acquire those standards.

Over the years those standards have gotten better and helped me make the right decisions fairly quickly while working in an extremely dynamic and stressful environment.  

Thus, if used properly, those standards can help you become successful in your career and also help you have a well work and life balance.  However, without critical thinking those standards are just words with meaningless values.

Reference:

Nosich, G. M. (2012). What is Critical Thinking?. In Learning to think things through: A guide to critical thinking across the curriculum. (4th ed., pp. 65, 66). Columbus, OH: Prentice Hall.

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S- State it

Everyone wants to be a leader, but not anyone knows what it takes to become a good leader.  Intellectual perseverance is a key attribute in a good leader and can be learned and developed in many ways.  As identified by Valuable Intellectual Traits (2014), “[Intellectual perseverance is] having a consciousness of the need to use intellectual insights and truths in spite of difficulties, obstacles, and frustrations” (para.6). Certainly, anyone can become a good leader as long as intellectual perseverance is learned and developed.

E- Elaborate

When a pursuit of a long term goal become challenging, such as furthering my education by pursuing a higher degree in an engineering management master program, intellectual perseverance will be important as I progress in my studies and will help me attain that goal.  In other words, intellectual perseverance will help me navigate through the difficulties and obstacles that may present itself during my studies. In addition, having the awareness and the need to use intellectual perseverance will help me address certain issues with a firm adherence to rational principles regardless of irrational opposition of others.  Furthermore, my concept of a good leader is one that leads with a transparent leadership style and influences others to use rational insight and be truthful regardless of the situations at hand.  Hence, the relation between intellectual perseverance and my concept of a good leader is that both require the awareness of the need to use rational approach regardless of the difficulties of the situation at hand.

E- Exemplify

For example, president Obama comes to mind when it come to display intellectual perseverance as the leader of our country.  No matter how much opposition he’s been facing from the opposite parties in an attempt to improve our country’s health care for the needy, he still has demonstrated a continuous consciousness of the need to improve our country’s health care to help the lower and middle class citizens who need it the most. He has managed to continuously and professionally use intellectual data to show the people of the country the need for Obama Care in spite of the difficulties, obstacle, and frustrations that came along the way.  Furthermore, he has successfully inspired others to pursue the vision with the parameters he has set to properly lead the country to the extent that it becomes a shared effort, as shared vision and a success for the people our country, the United States of America.

I-Illustrate

  An illustration of intellectual perseverance and good leadership is vertical rock climbing with a partner, see team rock climbing photo below.  The goal is known, which is to climb to the top of the rock as a team tattered to one another, but the path to get there is unclear and yet full of challenges.  Every step the leader climber takes he/she has to assure that he/she properly inserts the tool in the small cavities of the rocks to secure and protect each other in case of an accidental fall off the rock.  Furthermore, along the climb climbers at some point have to pass off gear along to his/her partner on the face of the rock displaying a sign of teamwork and collaboration in a long uncharted journey.  During the climbing process, tremendous trust is developed among the team as they heavily rely on each other skills and effort to make it to the top of the mountain.

Conclusion

Thus, leading a group of people can be a difficult journey.  Not only you’ll have to deal with people’s different personality and unique demeanor, but you’ll still have to find common ground with everyone while overcoming all of the other obstacles that are along the way in other for you and your group to remain focus and successfully achieve the goal.  Hence, anyone can become a good leader as long as intellectual perseverance are learned and developed along the way, and it can be learned in many ways.

Reference

Valuable Intellectual Traits. (2014). The Critical Thinking Community. Retrieved from                http://www.criticalthinking.org/pages/valuable-intellectual-traits/528

Team Rock Climbing