Maddox, Brenda. Rosalind Franklin: The Dark Lady of DNA. New York: HarperCollins, 2002. Print.
The author of this biography, Brenda Maddox, is not the first to wish to bring into light the figure of this exceptional woman, but her efforts have been as decisive as the initial injustice was glaring. It helps that Maddox was highly qualified for the job: as an American journalist, she was literary critic for the New York Times, the Washington Post and other prestigious journals. Before examining the fate of Rosalind Franklin, she had previously traced the lives of Elizabeth Taylor, DH Lawrence and Norah Joyce.
Rosalind’s story is exciting, and Brenda Maddox took advantage of a particularly rich document repository to do her job, including the immense correspondence of the researcher. As a granddaughter, Rosalind had the obligation to write to her grandparents to account for her behavior in school; as a young woman, she continued to write to her of her student life, and then of what it meant to be a researcher. The author quotes extensively from the letters that sometimes take on the appearance of diaries; Rosalind’s state of mind was often one of discouragement, showing how difficult it really was to succeed in her world of men, very much unwilling to make room for young women researchers. Born in 1920, in the Anglo-Jewish upper class, Rosalind Elsie Franklin certainly benefited from an extremely comfortable childhood and a first-class education. Her ancestors had fled Silesia (a province now mostly a part of Poland) during the second half of the eighteenth century. Since being Jewish was not exactly an asset, the Fraenkel family anglicized their name to become Franklin and over a few generations, became ever more integrated into English society – more English than the English, in fact, with the exception of always marrying inside the clan. This first part of the biography is captivating precisely because one learns much about this fascinating pre-war Jewish community. Chapter 4, entitled “Never surrender”, traces Franklin’s life during the period from October 1938 to July 1941 and deserves plenty of attention because it is a defining time for the young woman, covering her entry and her studies in Cambridge. Women had only been recently (and not fully) admitted. Rosalind proved to be a path breaker in terms of academic life – her achievement coming early in the years of women’s liberation movement.
The second and third parts of the book deal with Franklin’s research and her life in the laboratory. In 1947, she moved to Paris to study how carbon crystallizes at high temperatures; in France, she had the time of her life, as she met extraordinarily exciting people. Three years later, she is awarded a fellowship to King’s College under J. T. Randall, which leaves her strangely disappointed, as she enjoyed Europe much more (p. 110). She nonetheless returned to London – rather unhappily. She says, “What depresses me most in the English is their vacant stupid faces and child-like complacency – I’m busy collecting the addresses of foreigners in London.” (Rosalind Franklin in Brenda Maddox, 69).
Brenda Maddox worked very hard at bringing to light this remarkable story, and her vast efforts of documentation show throughout the book. Her account is mostly successful at bringing Rosalind Franklin back to life, though many of the pages that deal with the researcher’s career in Paris and London are rather difficult to plough through. The contrast between pages of biography and pages of science can be jarring in style, though the content of the book hardly lent itself to easy popularization. Overall, however, the efforts of Maddox have been successful, and her book is an excellent introduction to one of the most exciting and heartbreaking stories of 20th century science.
Creativity, innovation and product development
Firm associates with creativity for innovation and product development, in the course of carrying out their production processes (Treffinger et al p 67). These processes are crucial for those firms aspiring for success consequently the business must find ways of incorporating them in its operation. They have always formed a tool for competitive firms since they make the latter unique to each other. There is a close relationship between the three business terms, whereby creativity forms the basis of all the processes, particularly in problem solving. Creativity is the act of coming up with a beneficial business idea while innovation is about the business coming up with a way of executing the idea into a brighter future. Product development is the final step for the success of the business whereby the latter will use the idea into a greater achievement in the industry.
Creativity represents the act of a firm coming up with an executable and beneficial idea. The success of most of the bigger organization like Apple and Coca Cola has always been the result of their creativity. Consequently, every management should always ensure that they are part of this aspiring for creativity in the process of developing their product. In developing creativity, the business must always identify a problem area that it would like to achieve a new look. Creative problem solving for innovation and product development always acts as a team process involving both the workers and the potential customers affiliated to the business. The business would have to follow nine steps in the process of creative problem solving for the new product development. This applies the same to Franklin (Rosalind’s grandfather) who was able to trace his descent from King David something that is unique to a normal human being (Brenda p 6).
Look for opportunities
The organization should look for problems that are trending in the market especially the gaps that have always acted as difficult for competitors to achieve. The problem in the market should always have much effect in the potential customer such that its solution will work well with the customers. Further, the problem identified must be urgent and relevant consequently the business will need customer involvement in the process. This will involve interviewing the customers on the problem they are facing and what they feel will be necessary for them. The problem solving should also be in line with the goals of the business. In the book, for Rosalind’s grandfather to trace his lineage, had to identify such main opportunities like name and date (Brenda 6).
Explore data
The business should learn more about the problem such that the obtained data must be detailed and understandable. The data obtained would help the business in forming a shape of the problem, which will make it easy to make a decision in the later steps. This step often involves collecting data, from the market, about the problem. In the discovery of the secret about the gene there was need for Rosalind’s grandfather to obtain data about his descent something that he started with identifying the date and name of his grandfathers (Brenda 5).
Framing the problem
In this step, the business should ensure that it identifies the various dimension of the problem. This will help in determining the amenable and the non-amenable parts of the problem. The business should always concentrate in the amenable while identifying the challenges it is likely to encounter in problem solving. The organization should focus on determining the cause after identifying the challenges. This will help the business in having adequate information about the expected challenges ultimately leading to appropriate problem solving. In solving the problem, Franklin acknowledged that there was a large gap between 1038 and 1439 where the record was missing (Brenda 6). This shows that Franklin had to frame the problem in order to determine his determine his genetic inheritance.
Generate ideas
In this step, the subject business should focus on developing random combination of ideas that could easily relate to solving the problem. Random combination of ideas is crucial since it allows the business to keep track of all the ideas that would adequately solve the problem. This also minimizes the probability of the business losing the main ideas about the business. Further, the firm should avoid linear thinking, which may restrict the business to a specific solution. Instead, it should consider generating alternatives ensuring that the failure of one is offset by the success of the other alternative. The alternative will also make it remain on track because of the various ways it has on attacking the arising challenges. In generating alternatives, it should adventure in obtaining information from other successful in the same line of study. The step also subjects the business into developing openness in problem solving process, which in turn allows businesses to apply any problem solving technique in future.
Develop solutions
It is at this stage that the involved business can generate a solution to the problem. It involves the business generating options that would help in solving the problem. It (the business) should not stick to one option for problem solving since there are high chances of the problem occurring in different dimensions. Generating option allows room for flexibility in problem solving such that a firm can always use the options in solving other problems budding from the identified problem. After developing options, there is a need for response to the identified causes of the problem. The business cannot solve problem unless it considers responding to the causes. The response will put a firm in a better place for addressing all the features of the problem. Response to cause also increases the confidence of solving the problem. Response to cause always involves sorting the different causes while providing the appropriate solution to each of them. The stage of developing solution will also involve evaluating the effectiveness of the proposals. This process ensure that there is a selection of proposals that would adequately respond to the problem; consequently, eliminating the suspicion of leaving out vital proposal.
Implement and evaluate
This step constitutes the implementation of the selected proposal in the quest of solving the problem. It forms the storyboard for business in solving the problem whereby it (business) would carry out a field analysis with subsequent evaluation of the results. Field analysis is crucial in problem solving since it ensures that the solution has incorporated all the needs of the customers. The analysis normally occurs in the market that acts as the study area while the target is always on the potential customers. Field analysis involves accessing the people’s opinion about the intended solution to the problem. The business would present the customers with the supposed solutions in order for the latter to have their view. Apart from the customer’s opinion, field analysis will also involve accessing the expertise opinion about the solution. This will enable the business to identify hitches that may be available in the solution while also obtaining ways in which it can add to the importance of the solution. The business can also seek the opinion from the employees, on the way the solution will affect their operations. Finally, it (the firm) will involve evaluation of the result obtained from the customer, experts and workers in order to arrive at a viable opinion about the solution.
Techniques used in creative problem solving
Creative problem solving is always a subject to some techniques that any business would have to follow as they compliment achievement of a viable solution. The techniques include preparation, finding perspectives, making thoughts visible, thinking fluently, TRIZ and synetics (Treffinger et al p 67). These techniques help the firms in executing the steps involved in problem solving.
Preparation
This technique involves the executors brainstorming and meditating in order to identify the proper ways of solving the problem. It helps the executors to increase the amount of ideas that could help in problem solving. The technique involves establishing a team process whereby executors involve other people. This helps in increasing the amount of input regarding the required knowledge in comprehension of the problem. Preparation provides a chance for the executors to reframe the problem through ensuring that all the objectives of problem solving are relevant. Preparation also constitutes acquiring all the requirements that are essential for problem solving.
Finding new perspectives
The fresh perspective triggers the solution to becoming obvious allowing the business to solve the complicated problems. Finding new perspectives will help executors in identifying the various dimensions of the problem allowing them to differentiate between the amenable and non-amenable sides. Consequently, new perspectives allow the executors to determine the correct way of approaching any problem type.
Making thoughts visible
Making thoughts visible allow the chance for mind mapping, which in turn help in fostering the problem solving process. Mind mapping also helps in proper studying of aspects of the problem thereby helping in reframing the situation for action by the executors.
TRIZ
This refers to the Theory of Inventive Problem Solving (TIPS). This technique helps the executors to focus on the execution of patentable innovation while also allowing room for the non-product solutions. This technique is applicable for every problem solving process.
Synetics
Synetics enable the involved individuals (in problem solving) to encourage a thought process that they are not aware of its occurrence; thereby, ensuring that the final solution contains all aspect of the problem.
Work cited
Treffinger, D. J., Isaksen, S. G., & Stead-Dorval, K. B. Creative problem solving: An introduction. Waco, Tex: Prufrock Press. 2006. Print
Maddox, Brenda. Rosalind Franklin: The Dark Lady of DNA. New York: HarperCollins, 2002. Print.
