The Land of Opportunity Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Land of Opportunity - Essay Example One should keep in mind that increasing employment signals increasing businesses that hire people, hence, more competition.   The firm might also consider expanding its market. For example, if the firm’s product is only meant to appeal to a particular range of age, say, teenagers to young adults, it might want to try producing manufactured goods modified for younger children. Of course, an extensive customer research must follow. Product improvement will occur after determining from the customers answers to questions like â€Å"How can this product improve?† or â€Å"What product that is not available yet will compliment this available product?† And lastly, the firm must acquire all the possible business from its product. If the product that the customer will experience? After this, the company can then proceed to providing branches that will deal with specific issues concerning the product.  has something to do with technology, the firm must pre-meditate wha t will be the problems that the customer will experience? After this, the company can then proceed to providing branches that will deal with specific issues concerning the product.In the Foreign Trade Statistics, a list is presented containing the Top 10 Trading Partners of the U.S.—surplus, deficit and total trade. Countries with which the U.S. has a trade surplus includes: Netherlands, United Arab Emirates, Hong Kong, Australia, Belgium, Singapore, Panama, Bahamas, Honduras and Jamaica. Countries with which the U.S. has a trade deficit are: China, Japan, Canada.... In the Foreign Trade Statistics, a list is presented containing the Top 10 Trading Partners of the U.S.-surplus, deficit and total trade. Countries with which the U.S. has a trade surplus includes: Netherlands, United Arab Emirates, Hong Kong, Australia, Belgium, Singapore, Panama, Bahamas, Honduras and Jamaica. Countries with which the U.S. has a trade deficit are: China, Japan, Canada, Mexico, Federal Republic of Germany, Venezuela, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, Malaysia and Italy. Lastly, the countries with which the U.S. trades are the following: Canada, Mexico, China, Japan, Federal Republic of Germany, United Kingdom, South Korea, Taiwan, France, and Malaysia. Netherlands has a year-to-date surplus of U.S. $ 4,615.92M. China has a year-to-date deficit of U.S. $ 64,354.56M. Canada has a year-to-date total of U.S. $ 178.07B. These are the leading countries in the three categories and their amounts in surplus, deficit and total trade. Apparently, the trade deficit amount exceeds the trade surplus with the countries. In studying these lists, it can also be noticed that several countries appear in more than one category. The countries Canada, China, Japan, Mexico and Federal Republic of Germany consistently appear on the Top 5 of both trading partners and deficit countries, in slightly different order. While Malaysia follows behind as the 10th in the trading partners, and 9th in the deficit countries. This clearly shows how the countries with which the U.S. has a trade deficit (specifically Canada, China, Japan, Mexico, Federal Republic of Germany and Malaysia) are also the same countries that are its top trading partners. Based on the Foreign Trade Statistics

Response #1 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Response #1 - Essay Example the lives of the manual labourers, he himself spent time as a manual worker at a blast furnace in Hungary, at an engineering factory in Chicago, at a furniture factory in Russia and at an office in Zambia. He undertook each of these experiences with a scientific and unbiased spirit so as to yield authentic material for his research on socialism. Burawoy’s theory of the extended case method necessitates sensitive and reflexive interaction between the researcher and his subjects. He believed that the research scholars must try to extend their own experiences into the lives of their subjects. They should refrain from thrusting their own principles on them as it makes their analyses shallow and biased. To yield successful in-depth analysis, researchers must volunteer to spend prolonged durations at mines, factories, offices and other study sites. They must adopt a bottom-to-top approach in order to gain and convey a more genuine and reliable analysis of the processes of globalization. This extended case method of research and theorising has gained huge popularity worldwide in the sphere of social sciences. The extended case method, in its search for the unforeseen aspects of social truth, attempts to use social occurrences as a tool to refute traditional theories. It clearly lists out the elements that one can usually anticipate at a study site. It aims to extend the same law as an explanation to as many phenomena as possible, while admitting the impact of external forces in the creation of social situations. It seeks to reveal the effects of the macro environment on the micro environment. The social situations are not used to explain or elaborate the already existing theories, but are preconceived as anomalies to the accepted truth. The existing social theories are then looked up to for seeking an explanation of the anomalous situation. The areas where the existing theories are rendered inadequate are used as a scope for revision, rectification and innovation.

Regarding possible influences on thought Essay Example for Free

Regarding possible influences on thought Essay There is an undeniable connection between thought and language. And as thought is so crucial to our knowledge, a study of our language itself is necessary. This essay examines how our language might affect our thought. In doing so, I shall examine the question, what is language?.  So, what is language? Etymologists, those who study language (in how it develops and changes), generally agree that language first started developing thirty thousand to a hundred and fifty thousand years ago. It began when, by an evolutionary chance, the oesophagus moved in human beings. This did two things: firstly it made them very prone to choking (this is often taken as proof that the ability to speak is innate in human beings for if benefits of speech were not developed quickly this should have died out almost immediately in accordance with the theory of evolution) and secondly it dramatically increased the range of sounds they could produce orally. It is thought that the natural calls animals make shrieks of alarm to show danger etc developed and became more complex to form a very basic language. Soon, these developed connotations: variations of alarm calls could be used to convey fear, pain or sadness whilst variations of triumphant calls could be used to show happiness, safety or the location of food. Imitations of the sounds things made also developed: a stream could be indicated by a gurgle, wind by a whoosh and so on. Examples of these two phenomenons continue: laughter and crying is pretty universal in babies whilst young children often refer to police cars as whah whah in an imitation of their sound. Language was further developed, reflecting the need to talk about the speakers environment. A commonly quoted example of this is that the Inuit have twenty words for snow. Not only is this debateable Inuit nouns are formed as in German, where nouns are tacked onto each other but also, English has at least fifty! However, a better example would be the aborigines of Tasmania who have a separate word for every kind of native tree, over two hundred in total, but do not have a word for tree. This is because in their environment, all the trees which surround them appear to be drastically different. It is also said (perhaps somewhat dubiously) that Arabic has approximately six thousand words for camels and camel-equipment. T is doubtless that language is affected in its evolution by our surroundings and our need to communicate about them. The main problems with language can be its vagueness and also the fact that it evolves according to our needs. Language is very vague and words can have myriads of meanings. In the English language, the word set has fifty eight non-obsolete uses as a noun, one hundred and twenty eight as a verb and ten as a participial adjective. The Oxford English Dictionary uses sixty thousand words, including abbreviations and symbols, to define it and set is by no means alone. The fact that language reflects its environment means that when someone has an original thought they often have to come up with an entirely new vocabulary to explain it. An example of this would be the concept of the big bang. When the idea originated, the language used to describe it was completely new and very few understood it. As the theory grew in popularity, its language was accepted into common usage. However, when the majority of the populace does not concern itself with that idea, the vocabulary become jargon, to be known only by experts. Language reflects or needs of it. Written language originated as logograms in the form of pictograms where to write house, one would draw a picture of a house. Soon these became ideograms where, as in language, associations where used e.g. a sun to represent heat. This is the basis of all languages and today can be seen in Chinese and Japanese, as well as the ancient hieroglyphs, Linear A and Linear B. Some languages went one step further, changing from logograms to phonograms. This resulted in syllabic or alphabetic symbols, where words were written using their sounds in spoken language. This was the first link between written and spoken language. Written language, in our society, is now completely dependant on spoken language so the two are often seen as synominous. The Sapir-Whorf hypothesis argues that the nature of a particular language influences the habitual thoughts of its speaker. Different patterns of language would therefore lead to different patterns of thought. Thus this challenges that the world can be represented objectively, as language will influence its user. The most extreme supporters of this theory argue that thought is reliant on language and that therefore there can be no thought without language. The twentieth century Austrian philosopher, Wittgenstein says that, because of this, language hinders us. For example, when we say that we saw nobody on the road we have not actually seen nobody. More accurately, we did not see anyone on the road. Another twentieth century philosopher, a Rusiian named Vigotsky, would disagree with this. He held that language helps us to think. He says that the thought is ordered and is clarified by using language. However, a large number of people disagree with the extreme view that thought is impossible without language. Look, they say, at when we are lost for words or the words are on the tip of our tongue: we know what were thinking but cant say it. Another example would be that we can often imagine in our heads as an image something for example, the beginning of the universe but cant describe it. This theory states language is created by thought, although language may later by used as a means through which to think. Many etymologists would agree with this theory as it complies with their theory on how language develops: you see something, you think about it and then you develop language to convey these thoughts and to clarify them. So, our language is shaped by the world around us, and our thoughts are shaped by our language. So our thoughts are influenced, not just out of practicality, but empirically by our surroundings. For if we are not familiar with a concept or object or person then we are unlikely to have the language to describe it: and if we dont have the language then we are unlikely to be able to think about something properly, even if we wished to.

Education teaching and learning process education essay

Education teaching and learning process education essay Different literatures were studied to define and to justify the importance of the different keywords as they relate to the study as well as to have a good background on the body of knowledge. This surely will be beneficial to the understanding of the essence of ICT tools in Education as they are simply referred as Educational Technology Tools. Technology is becoming an increasingly influential factor in education. The use of computers and mobile phones as complements to educational practices are very up-to-date development in the area as we are talking about online education. The explosion of computer use in different economic areas brought about the ICT dimension in almost everything we do these days. The demand of new skills and understanding of students and Educators are imposing itself as a reality, also the environment in which teaching and learning is taking place is under constant change as well as the instruction of the students. It is important to note that, in order to set the context, generally speaking, there is no one accepted definition of what constitutes technology. Technology is the word associated with anything that aims to facilitate the human life through change. Ursula Franklin, in her 1989 Real World of Technology lectures: defines technology as a practice, the way we do things around here. The Merriam-Webster dictionary offers a definition of the term as: the practical application of knowledge especially in a particular area and a capability given by the practical application of knowledge. 2.2 Education, Teaching and Learning Process Education from the Websters 1828 Dictionary read as follows: The bringing up, as of a child, instruction; formation of manners. Education comprehends all that series of instruction and discipline which is intended to enlighten the understanding, correct the temper, and form the manners and habits of youth, and fit them for usefulness in their future stations. To give children a good education in manners, arts and science, is important; to give them a religious education is indispensable; and an immense responsibility rests on parents and guardians who neglect these duties. Education is a concept in which Instruction, Teaching and Learning are major pillars: Instruction refers to the facilitating of learning toward identified objectives, delivered either by an instructor or other forms. Teaching refers to the actions of a real live instructor designed to impart learning to the student. Learning refers to learning with a view toward preparing learners with specific knowledge, skills, or abilities that can be applied immediately upon completion. For, education is any act or experience that has a formative effect on the mind, character or physical ability of an individual. In its technical sense education is the process by which society deliberately transmits its accumulated knowledge, skills and values from one generation to another. However there has always been a discussion on the matter of assuring continuity of passing on knowledge and a matter of fostering creativity, which propels the learners to the world of unknowns and forces the coming out of it with innovation and ingenuity. Both of these functions relate equally to knowledge and attitudes, to understanding and behaviour. They are the essence of the teaching/learning process. We want creativity, but we want it to emerge from what is known and understood. We want continuity and that too from what is known and understood. Learning environments in schools typically involve one or more adult teachers connected with a number of students, usually in well defined physical settings. Physically it may be in a room, full of particular furniture and equipment. The place of computers in learning for the majority of children is most likely to occur in the classroom and, for an increasing number, at home. However, most experts in the field of educational computing would characterise computers as interactive and thus admit them a place within the relationship structures of the classroom learning environment, not just the physical environment. The curriculum is concerned with What is learned and taught: includes objectives, content, and learning outcomes (the knowledge, skills and attitudes that students are intended to demonstrate). How this learning and teaching occurs: concerns teaching/learning methodology, teaching strategies and media resources. Most teaching/learning methods and strategies involve the use of some equipment. Some teaching methods may only include the use of a blackboard and chalk while others may make use of a television or overhead projector. This equipment and its use within the curriculum are often referred to as educational technology. 2.3 Educational Technology and ICT Educational technology concerns the technology that is used to facilitate the teaching/learning process. As such it is included in the how part of the curriculum. We could consider educational technology as the tools of the teaching trade, part of the medium used to convey the curriculum. Thus the technology used is determined by the intended curriculum. Also part of the context of the curriculum concerns the role of the teacher, the physical setting and the general pedagogical views of the teacher and education system. These are likely to affect the technology used and may involve the use of computers. Technology can be seen to be affecting the curriculum both in terms of content and methodology, there are a number of instances where the curriculum has been changed due to changes in technology, invention of new technology has added content to the curriculum (e.g. technology based on electricity) or new technology has made parts of the content obsolete (e.g. using calculators instead of logarithms for calculation). Information and communication technologies (ICTs) are a diverse set of tools and resources used to communicate, create, disseminate, store, and manage information. These technologies include computers, the Internet, broadcasting technologies (radio and television), and telephony. Nowadays there is an increasing interest in how computers and the Internet can improve education at all levels. Older ICT technologies, such as radio and television, have for over forty years been used for open and distance learning. There is a variety of terminology that describes the ways computers are integrated into the learning process and in the classroom: technology-mediated learning, computer-aided instruction, distance education, distance learning, educational technology, home learning technologies, computer-based education, instructional technology, multimedia, communications systems, Web-based learning, educational multimedia applications, and computer-mediated communication etc are just a sample of those. This variability in terminology is not a matter of disagreement among researchers, but simply implies that technology is a word that is used to describe different things to different people. Technology is a term that is used by many to describe, study, and evaluate the various ways computers are integrated into education, both inside and outside the classrooms. 2.4 Integrating Technology in Teaching Moreover, there is no consensus about what constitutes technology in learning or teaching. However, the common link tends to be some use of the personal computer to aid teaching or learning in some form or fashion. These technologies run the continuum of integration in education from entire courses put on the Web to technology integrated into a specific lesson. Though most research studies focus on computer-based technology, there are other teaching and learning technologies that are not computer-based. These can include overhead projectors, document cameras, laser pointers, robotics, television, VCR, DVD, demonstration equipment, sound systems, CDs, tape recordings, simulation machines, and models. Some researchers even consider the traditional piece of chalk and chalkboard a type of technology. Many educators have argued that the appropriate use of ICT by students can assist teachers in determining and catering for the prior knowledge of students. Further, it is usually also argued that ICT can assist students in engaging cognitively to a greater depth with knowledge domains. That is students are supported in employing the full range of thinking skills within authentic contexts. This is often discussed in terms of cognitive taxonomies such as that provided by Bloom (1964). Knowledge The learner must recall information (i.e. bring to mind the appropriate material). Comprehension The learner understands what is being communicated by making use of the communication. Application The learner uses abstractions (e.g. ideas) in particular and concrete situations. Analysis The learner can break down a communication into its constituent elements or parts. Synthesis The learner puts together elements or parts to form a whole. Evaluation The learner makes judgments about the value of material or methods for a given purpose. Generally speaking, there is an assumption that technology fosters learning merely by its use in the educational process. Ehrmann (1999) sums up this assumption very nicely: Technologies such as computers (or pencils) dont have predetermined impacts; its their uses that influence outcomes. This statement seems obvious, but many institutions act as though the mere presence of technology will improve learning. They use computers to teach the same things in the same ways as before, yet they expect learning outcomes to be better. (p. 32) In his essay, Clark (1983) said succinctly: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦media are mere vehicles that deliver instruction but do not influence student achievement any more than the truck that delivers our groceries causes changes in our nutrition (p. 445). if learning occurs as a result of exposure to any media, the learning is caused by the instructional method embedded in the media presentation. (p. 26) Further, he posited that different types of media could be substituted for each other, because media are not responsible for any learning that might take place. Media are not the causal agents in the learning process; rather, instructional method is the active ingredient or catalyst that causes learning to take place. In contrast to Clarks argument, Kozma (1994) believed that the more appropriate question was not whether media do influence learning, but will they influence learning. He also contended that simply because we have not established a relationship between media and learning does not mean that one does not exist. He believed that, since we do not fully understand the relationship between media and learning, we have yet to measure it, and the failure to establish this relationship is caused in part by our theories of learning, or more specifically, behaviourism, with its basic assumption that a stimulus causes a response. Therefore, if the stimulus is not present, there is n o possibility for response. Kozma (1994) explained that in Clarks view media are simply mere vehicles or conduits for an instructional method (stimulus) that elicit a response (learning). Kozma argues that learning is a much more complex process than just a series of stimulus-response connections. Learning, in his view, is defined as an active, constructive, cognitive and social process by which the learner strategically manages available cognitive, physical and social resources to create new knowledge by interacting with information in the environment and integrating it with information already stored in memory (p.8). Thus, in Kozmas view, since the definition learning has evolved to embody more of a constructive process, our measurement of this process must evolve as well. Still others have argued for a complete reframing of the debate over technology and its effect on learning. Jonassen, Campbell, and Davidson (1994) believed that the Clark/Kozma debates focused too much on instruction and media and not enough on the attributes of the learner who ultimately constructs the knowledge. With all the various opinions on the relationship between technology and learning, it begs the question: who is right? It appears that each theorist brings an important perspective to the table. Clark is correct that technology has not necessarily revolutionized the process of learning. Technology has not helped humans develop a new way to learn. Learning is still something that is performed by the individual. However, in Clarks view, all an instructor would need to do is embed the appropriate instructional method into his/her lesson and learning should take place. We know, however, despite many instructors best efforts and superior teaching abilities, learning does not always take place. Kozma is also correct that we must examine technology and learning beyond a behaviourist context. Learning is an intentional act (Jonnasen, 1994) and the human being doing the learning should not be discounted. Researchers have established that there is no significant difference between learning with technology in distance education courses and learning in a traditional classroom, but they do not discuss how human motivation is influenced by technology. This could be a very important missing element in the debate. Which side you take in this debate depends largely upon how you define learning. If you subscribe to more behaviourist views of learning, Clark will make more sense to you. If you conceive of learning as a more cognitive or constructivist process, you would be more likely to agree with Kozma or Jonnasen. From a pedagogical approach, Information-processing theories emerged from a branch of cognitive psychology that focused on the memory and storage processes that enable learning. Theorist in this area explores how a person receives information and stores it in memory. The structure of memory that allows the learning of something new, relate to and is built on something learned previously and also how a learner retrieves information from short-term and long-term memory and applies it to new situations. The well-known information-processing theorist, David Ausubel, proposed that the way a learner receives and stores information affects the usefulness of the information, for example, by transferring current learning to learning other skills. On the other hand, the model of the behaviourist B.F. Skinner, infers that part of the Educators job is to modify the behaviour of students through positive reinforcement, thus under laying behaviour modification techniques in classroom management and programmed instruction. To this we may say that, the stimulus-response interaction between student and technology can be introduced through computers so as to aid instruction, by providing drills and practices on previously learned skills, from practice and tutorial software. The cognitive constructivist, Jean Piagets theory has two major parts: one component that predicts what children can and cannot understand at different ages, and a theory of development that describes how children develop cognitive abilities. The key implications to these are: First, learning is an active process where direct experience, making errors, and looking for solutions is vital for the assimilation and accommodation of information. The presentation of information is important, when it is introduced as an aid to problem solving. It functions as a tool rather than an isolated arbitrary fact. Second, learning should be whole, authentic, and real. Thus, in a Piagetian classroom there is less emphasis on directly teaching specific skills and more emphasis is laid on learning in a meaningful context. Technology, particularly multimedia, offers a vast array of such opportunities, with the support of educational software on videodisks and CD-ROMs, Educators can provide a learning en vironment that helps to expand the conceptual and experiential background of the audience. The social constructivist, L. S. Vygotskys theory has much more room for an active and involved Educator. He claimed that the central point of his psychological approach is mediation. Through mediation human cognitive growth and learning as peers and other members of his community engages in relationships with the material and social environment. Thus the use of technology can be used to connect students to each other via email, forum, newsgroups etc. Now, from here, which approach to choose? Which is best suited to enhance learning? What hardware or software to use? There is no right or wrong answers to these questions, acquiring hardware and software packages will partly resolve the problem. It is up to the Educator, who knows the lesson objectives, the expected results and the students, to choose which approach to use and what technology should accompany the approach. However the determination of the technologys worthiness for a given lesson could be answered by the following questions: Is the lesson content worthwhile? (Are there clear objectives, connected to standards or significant questions, etc?) Do the lesson activities engage students? How does technology enhance the lesson in ways that would not be possible without it? Educators should then look for the best means to facilitate a diversity of learning styles, and need to be competent observers of the social milieu in which learners interact as well as knowledgeable about the content to which they wish to expose learners. Hence, educators development is absolutely essential if technology provided to schools is to be used effectively. Simply by placing computers in schools, providing internet facilities, spending on IT hardware and software, without financing the educator professional development as well, is wasteful. Educators training of the use and application of technology is the key determining factor to improve student performance for both knowledge acquisition and skills development enabled by technology. Information technology professionals have an axiom that an unsupported technology is an unused technology. In an article for The Chronicle of Higher Education titled When Good Technology Means Bad Teaching, Jeffrey Young made the case that a poorly supported technology is actually worse than no technology at all. He argued that giving teachers technology without training has often done more harm than good to teaching and learning. This is undoubtedly true. At the teacher level without proper training and support the educators are faced with: the fear of embarrassment in front of pupils and colleagues, loss of status and an effective degrading of professional skills (Russell Bradley 1997) classroom management difficulties when using ICT, especially where pupil-to-computer ratios are poor (Drenoyianni Selwood 1998; Cox et al. 1999) lack of the knowledge necessary to enable teachers to resolve technical problems when they occur (VanFossen 1999) Educational technology is not, and never will be, transformative on its own; it requires educators who can integrate technology into the curriculum and use it to improve student learning. In other words, computers can not replace educators, as they are the key to whether technology is being used appropriately and effectively. They need to understand a subject enough to convey its essence to students. While traditionally this has involved lecturing on the part, new instructional strategies put the educator more into the role of course designer, discussion facilitator, and coach and the student more into the role of active learner, discovering the subject of the course. Even if students could learn independently with little or no involvement from their teachers on how to use technology to enhance their learning and skills development, they are highly unlikely to have those opportunities if educators do not let them have access to the technology. The term computer-assisted learning (CAL) has been increasingly used to describe the use of technology in teaching. Educators also need professional development in the pedagogical application of those skills to improve teaching and learning. They should be empowered to develop their knowledge and skills actively and experientially, in a variety of learning environments, both individual and collaborative. This, include a variety of learning strategies, encompassing direct instruction, deduction, discussion, drill and practice, deduction, induction, and sharing. Thus emphasis in the courses should be on the ways technology can facilitate and enhance his profession lives. Educators preparation programs are essential and as described by Kook (1997) it is the crucial issue to be addressed (p.58). The teacher of the future will depend on the computer for both personal productivity and for instructional activities. Kook lists thirty-three primary computer skills for teachers, ranging from navigating the Windows desktop environment, to using IRC chat, to installing software. Kook suggests that these skills should be part of the required courses for prospective teachers and insists that in the next century teacher education will be forced to accommodate a considerable amount of transformation to allow teachers to function effectively in the Information Age (p.59). Computer technology cannot be effective in the classroom without teachers who are knowledgeable about both the technology itself and about how to use it to meet educational goals. The most common barrier to adequate training is the expense involved. Without training, however, other technology spending has a marginal effect (Boyd, 1997). Learning to operate computer hardware, growing comfortable with many different software applications, developing management systems for student computer use, and redesigning lesson plans to make use of technology, takes a great deal of time. When combined with frustrating hardware glitches and software bugs, the task can become daunting for even the most determined. Often, what stops people is one little thing that they didnt know how to do. If you have a room full of kids when something goes wrong, it discourages you from trying it again (Zehr, 1997, p.3). Leading to the question why school teachers dont use, and sometimes resist, the use of computers? Hannafin and Savenye (1993) list some research-based possible explanations for teacher resistance to using computers. These reasons include: poorly designed software, doubt that computers improve learning outcomes, resentment of the computer as a competitor for students attention, unsupportive administrators, increased time and effort required of the teacher, fear of losing control of center stage, and fear of looking stupid. in front of the class. Viewing the teachers role as a continuum, Hannafin and Savenye (1993) also put the role of traditional lecturer and imparter of knowledge at one end and the role of coach, observer, and facilitator at the other end. They then generalize that the traditional end of the continuum embraces an objectivist learning theory while the other end is likely to embrace constructivism. The teachers view of learning, then, could be another source of resistance to classroom technology. A teacher may be open to technology but resist the accompanying change in learning theory. This would suggest that in addition to providing training in technology, schools and districts need to provide information, training, encouragement, and support to teachers in moving toward a more constructivist view of education. The management should champion the change, policies has to be adopted as from the management level down to the students, everybody contributing and accompanying the reform for it to be successful and to be able to take out the maximum benefit. This issue is addressed with difficulty, because Principals, on average, are 50 years old. Weve got a generation of people who are actually barriers to the infusion of technology in school systems and are afraid of it themselves (Quoted in Trotter, 1997, p.1). It has become clear over the past decade that simple motivational and short-workshop schemes are vastly insufficient to enable veteran (and even new, computer-generation) teachers to teach differently, and to teach well with technologies (Hawkins and Honey, 1993). The evidence suggested that teachers who use technology in their classrooms are more effective if they have received training, if they have district-level support and if they have a network of other computer-using teachers to share experiences with. Swan and Mitrani state that computers can change the nature of teaching and learning at its most basic level (1993). We need to ensure that we are using our current knowledge about the application of technology in education as a basis for proceeding in the future. The management has also its part in the integration of the the educational technology in the school. Policies and support programs must be initiated from the top management and they must be part of and accompany the change. The most important barrier to this integration is the financial barriers. They include the cost of hardware, software, maintenance (particular of the most advanced equipment), and extend to some staff development. Froke (1994b) said, concerning the money, the challenge was unique because of the nature of the technology. The initial investment in hardware is high but the costs of technology have to part of the cost of instruction. The integration reveals the institutional support through leadership, planning and the involvement of teachers as well as managers in implementing change.

Hawthornes Young Goodman Brown †Point of View Essay -- Young Goodma

     Ã‚   In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s â€Å"Young Goodman Brown† how does the author present the characters, dialogue, actions, setting and events which comprise the narrative in this short story? This essay will answer these questions. R. W. B. Lewis in â€Å"The Return into Time: Hawthorne† states that â€Å"there is always more to the world in which Hawthorne’s characters move than any one of them can see at a glance† (77). In Hawthorne’s â€Å"Young Goodman Brown† this fact is especially true since the main character, Goodman Brown, is a naà ¯ve hero and since the narrator tells much of the story through the limited point of view of the protagonist. In this story the author uses a third-person narrator, who uses proper names and third-person pronouns to designate the various characteris in the tale: YOUNG GOODMAN BROWN came forth at sunset, into the street of Salem village, but put his head back, after crossing the threshold, to exchange a parting kiss with his young wife. And Faith, as the wife was aptly named, thrust her own pretty head into the street, letting the wind play with the pink ribbons of her cap, while she called to Goodman Brown.   The narrator possesses the capability of reading the thoughts and feelings of the protagonist, the young Puritan husband, Goodman Brown, only, from among all the characters. As Brown turns the corner at the meeting house, he thinks: "Poor little Faith!" thought he, for his heart smote him. "What a wretch am I, to leave her on such an errand! She talks of dreams, too. Methought, as she spoke, there was trouble in her face, as if a dream had warned her what work is to be done tonight. But, no, no! 'twould kill her to think it. Well; she's a blessed angel on earth; and after this one night, I'l... ...agonist as the character through whom the perceptions of the site are arriving to the reader. This inconsistency of viewpoint within given paragraphs may be a source for ambiguity within the tale. In conclusion, we have seen how in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s â€Å"Young Goodman Brown† the author presents the characters, dialogue, actions, setting and events which comprise the narrative in this short story, and what may be a source of ambiguity in the tale.  Ã‚      WORKS CITED Abrams, M. H. A Glossary of Literary Terms, 7th ed. New York: Harcourt Brace College Publishers, 1999. Hawthorne, Nathaniel. â€Å"Young Goodman Brown.† 1835. http://www.cwrl.utexas.edu/~daniel/amlit/goodman/goodmantext.html Lewis, R. W. B. â€Å"The Return into Time: Hawthorne.† In Hawthorne – A Collection of Critical Essays, edited by A.N. Kaul. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1966.

physics of soccer Essay -- essays research papers fc

Physics of Soccer   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Eleven men take the field on a warm sunny day in South Korea. Thousands of anxious soccer fans await the blow of the referee’s whistle to commence the culmination of the world’s greatest sporting event, The World Cup. Thirty-two once stood now only two remain .The pitch is fair and the competition is fierce, four time defending champ Brazil looks confident as it glares across at its nemesis for the duration of ninety minutes, Germany. The entire world is spell bound by the natural creativity that ensues from a high level soccer match, but do they know the necessary physical laws that make the game possible? The answer is no, the average soccer fan has no idea the physical restrictions and factors involved in moving a ball one hundred meters, the standard length of an international playing field.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Once in Yokohama stadium the able athletes stretch their finely tuned musculature in order to get ready for today’s athletic competition. Roberto Carlos the star left back, for the acclaimed Brazilian national team has the important job of defending the goal and preventing the ball from crossing the threshold of the goal line at any cost. A good defender can boot the ball weighing approximately one pound the length of the field at any given time. Carlos is not good, he is great, solid legs and a supple foot he is quite capable of accomplishing this feat. His leg is so strong he his able to strike the b...

Kitchen Best

Grade: 84/100 87/100 Challenges: 16/20 Causes: 16/20 PoA: 20/25. Be more specific Research: 20/20 Writing: 12/15. Work to organize your paper more concisely and coherently with more effective headings/subheadings/visual aides Grade update: I added 3 more points to make this section 15/15 based upon your re-draft.? Henry Chan, who is the CEO of Kitchen Best, has set some ambitious targets for the business in 2008. However, his plan suffered a setback when a series of crises happened in 2010.These incidents involved in serious management problems such as personal gains made at the expense of the company and kickbacks offered and accepted between Kitchen Best and its partners. Symptoms Deep rooted practices of kickbacks, bribing and corruption: Accepting kickbacks, bribing and corruption were common in business dealings of kitchen best. Chan dong, founder of kitchen best treated his employees as family, and turned blind eye on any such practices as long as they were helpful in business expansion.But later when Henry Chan took over the business, a series of incidents had led him to take a deeper look into the company and uncover serious instances of misconduct. Unethical means followed by kitchen best’s most trusted employee: The shago incident : Horatio Sze : Sze awarded the contract to a factory owned by his brother in law, for his personal gain. Knowing that the products were faulty, he hasn’t taken any remedial action or cancel the contract. Macy wei :Having known that the products showed faulty in the in-house testing and Sze’s negligence towards this for his personal gain, she hasn’t reported it to the higher management, considering the good relation between Sze and Li. Ignorance of Henry and Ma luk : Sze reported directly to Ma Luk. Neither Ma took the responsibility to enquire further on the issue, nor did Henry involve himself much in monitoring the decisions of sub-contracting made by Sze. Haus de metro :Henry Chan, after havin g learnt from an anonymous letter that a shipment for German retail chain HdM did not meet the company’s safety requirements, did not pursue the case any further for fear of losing the customer. Honghua appliances : Ma Luk: Ma has built good relations with Honghua’s general manager for greater china, through wining, entertainment, dining and offering kickbacks. But the changed management of Hanghua was strictly against these practices and reevaluated the competency of all its suppliers. So, kitchen best’s relations with Honghua were at risk.Also, Ma has misused the company expenses for his personal gain. Henry Chan: Henry Chan didn’t have much grip on the clients and relations with them. He was mostly dependent on the experience of the senior management, like Ma who were mainlanders, to build relations with the clients and customers and he saw such practices as inevitable part of Chinese business culture. Lack of well-designed financial policies: Kitchen best did not have any well-defined policies or guidelines to control the expenses for entertaining customers.Henry Chan’s Cultural barrier: Henry Chan found it difficult to deal with mainland customers due to his cultural barriers. He was born and brought up at Hong Kong, and had not much exposure to deal with the mainland customers. So he had difficulties to cope up with the business culture and dealings with mainlanders. He had to depend on senior management, hence had no proper grip on the business there. Causes: Unplanned/sudden shift in management: Kitchen best’s employees were not prepared for the sudden change in management from Chan dong to Henry Chan.Each of them had completely different managing styles. Chan followed a paternalistic managerial style, treating the employees as a family and maintaining good relations with them, while Henry followed the western style of management. This gave the employees a chance to misuse the liberty of taking decisions that w estern style invoked †¢ â€Å"In the west, the ideal boss is a â€Å"resourceful democrat†. He sets the vision and strategy for the business but empowers subordinates to execute. He encourages two-way communication with his employees and allows bottom-up input in decision-making. In China, the ideal boss is a â€Å"benevolent father†. He is like a parent (a Chinese parent, by the way) who supervises his children on everything that need to be done. He believes in discipline and attention to details and manages his people at a micro level. He also spends lots of time caring for the personal welfare of his employees and regards it as part of his job. † – reference; management style differences between china and U. S Author: Joy Huang Shift of focus on different set of customers: eastern and western management (business cultures)is for 95% the same and differs in every important aspect. †- Takeo Fujisawa (Honda) Kitchen best mostly focused on Asian market but Henry focused on extending the business to western customers. Till then the company had no experience with directly dealing with the customers of Europe and America, and hence has no grip over these regions. The dealings at mainland and decision making were completely left to trusted employees without Henry’s personal monitoring and they took advantage of it.Henry’s experience as compared to that of senior management: Henry’s experience was far less than most of the employees in senior management who have been working for the company from its very beginning. Employees like Ma, Sze were very much trusted by Chan dong and Henry couldn’t go completely against the practices they followed although they were unethical. Lack of control over decision making and financial management: Henry relied much on his senior management for decision-making. But unlike Chan, he did not involve himself much, in making important decisions in mainland business operat ions.Any other monitoring measures were not implemented in the company. Kitchen best did not have any well designed financial policies that checked the ineffective expenses like dining, wining or entertaining the clients. Employees faked invoices and used the expenses for their personal gains. This would have been controlled if there was frequent auditing. Henry’s cultural limitations: Henry was born and brought up in Hong Kong, studied at U. S. Although he had experience in marketing of electric and electronic appliances, it was the first time for him to work with kitchen best.He was not so familiar with the business culture of mainland nor did he have good relations with the mainland clients. He believed that some unethical practices were inevitable in Chinese business culture, so although determined to change these practices, he ignored some cases and hand not implemented strict measures to control them altogether. â€Å"Culture is more often a source of conflict than of synergy. cultural differences are nuicanse at best and often disaster† –Dr. Geert Hofstede Recommendations :A strong policy for internal contro l and financial management has to be designed and implemented. 2 months a strong policy †¢ to mitigate financial risks, continually asses new risks and minimize operational distractions to achieve the key results established in a commission's strategic plan †¢That should clearly and consistently maintain an internal control framework by developing a control policy and accompanying procedures that establish a commitment to reducing risk of loss and preserving commission resources.This document should briefly explain the objectives/goals of the commission, the ethical standard expected from employees, and the policies/procedures it is committed to adhering to in order to meet those objectives. Henry must first concentrate on getting a good grip on existing territory and then expansion of business to the west. Immediately 1-2 months †¢Henry Chan should start working more on the existing territory business operations, by involving himself in decision making, interacting directly with clients of mainland, rather than leaving it to Ma. Then strategically work on expanding direct business with the west, like getting to know the business culture and training a set of employees according to western business culture. Investigate and warn/ take disciplinary action Next one month †¢Ignoring the ethical breach of employees could lead to more corruption. Completing the investigation of cases and warning or taking disciplinary actions on employees responsible for it irrespective of their seniority could be substantial in reducing the corruption in business dealings.Set up a monitoring committee 15 days †¢Set up a monitoring committee that is headed by Henry, and includes legal , financial advisors of kitchen best, and auditing group. †¢This committee should constantly work on monitoring the activities, and flow of finance at different branches of the company Trial implementation of the policy made and make amendments if necessary 2 months †¢Implementing the designed policy for a period of two months and check for any loopholes, and make amendments if necessary. Managing the risk of fraud : The truth is you cannot defeat internal fraudsters if you are unfamiliar as to where and how they play their game of deceit and betrayal—you fail to know where your operation’s greatest risks and vulnerabilities are—or you fail to have enough knowledge to develop and implement a realistic anti-fraud action plan. † – reference book; business fraud – Jack L Hayes Ethics management : Keep the unique ethical climate of each market in mind when crafting your code of ethics to ensure that it is relevant to the international arena Apply standards equally in all markets, and among all subsidiaries.Stick to your standards, whatever they are. If yo u have a policy of following your home country's ethical standards around the world, be prepared to turn down opportunities in markets with unfavorable ethical climates. Make company-wide ethics training a regular activity, in addition to administering comprehensive ethics training programs for new hires. Use training sessions to highlight actual areas of concern in your organization, citing specific examples as often as possible. References Journal of Academic and Business Ethics: International Business Ethics †¢International Business Ethics Institute: Top Ten Mistakes References : http://www. f5ac. org/item. asp? id=3340 first five financial control guide; ch 6. Internal control http://www. slideshare. net/anandsubramaniam/cross-culture-east-west http://smallbusiness. chron. com/accounting-principles-general-financial-ethical-standards-36283. html http://www. copedia. com/internal_controls. html http://smallbusiness. chron. com/cultural-communication-barriers-workplace-13888. html