Discourse community analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Discourse community analysis - Essay Example Other than the policies established to guide the communities, they are set upon conventionalities depending on the identity of an individual. The discourse communities in question for discussion include engineering association affiliates (forming the professional entity), IT and socializing agency in a higher learning institution (constituting the personal discourse community) and financial capacity building agency in a banking institute (constituting the academic discourse community). Discourse community analysis is significant in a myriad of ways. For instance, it helps in the development of knowledge by the members of the given discourse community; makes it possible to agree to various conventions of life that may be a communal concern. In these regards, one is capable of developing mastery of a given field. In a nutshell, discourse community is a socializing agency (Pogner, 2-3). This is an academic discourse community whose mandate is to incorporate the capacity building program for the banking sector. Its operations vary from building up individual banking institutions as well as incorporating a corporate approach to the various institutions. This is a situation that involves two communities. The first one is the professional community where we have bankers, and the other is an academic community. Due to the heterogeneity in operations of the information system of the two cooperating banking institutions, the academic community sets in to narrow this bridge so that the two different departments from the two banks are harmonized. In the event, information is shared between the two banks alongside the banking capacity building institute. This is representative of a discourse community since one of its conceptions is in information dissemination. It is thus evident that from the two banks, technicians in the IT department are taken through a capacity building process that helps in the reaffirmation of cooperation amongst the two

Argument Essay - Illegalize Alcohol Essay Example for Free

Argument Essay Illegalize Alcohol Essay Our country is facing a growing problem. It is a problem of moral decay. The legal and open use of alcohol is an unnecessary vice that is enjoyed and accepted by a majority of the United States population, unfortunately, it leads to social and moral downfalls. Alcohol should be held to the same standards as other illegal mind and body-altering substances, as alcohol is addicting and has no medical value. Lawmakers and active voters should put an outright ban on alcohol. The revenue that is generated from the manufacturing, distributing, and sales of alcohol is a major source of taxable income that is a benefit. As of 2007 the U. S. Government was collecting $5. 6 billion dollars annually from the taxation of alcohol (joshritchie). This revenue has tended to increase each and every year. Although the revenue is important, the question must be asked, is it moral? Is it moral for our government to profit off the sale of a frivolous vice that causes fatalities and creates addicts? The revenue that is made from the taxation of alcohol could be lost, and would simply increase our never-ending national debt by a miniscule amount. Through out history our country has faced several social epidemics that have resulted in many people becoming substance abusers. Though these times our government has stepped in and enforced laws to restore the moral and social fabric of the infected areas. The current epidemic that we are facing is the abuse of alcohol. It is widespread and available almost everywhere in our country. â€Å"According to the Alcohol-Related Disease Impact (ARDI) tool, from 2001–2005, there were approximately 79,000 deaths annually attributable to excessive alcohol use. † (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) Beyond the number of the deaths that are related to alcohol every year, a staggering number of people in the United States are alcoholics. According to the National Library of Medicine, â€Å"nearly 17. 6 million adults in the United States are alcoholics or have alcohol problems†. (U. S. National Library of Medicine) We need to completely ban alcohol so that we can start working on decreasing the number of addicts in our country rather than encourage the use to every single person just as he or she turns a certain age. The United States government has already tried to ban alcohol in the past, it was a complete failure and subsequently repealed. This attempt resulted in a spike in organized crime and was an obvious failure. Eventually the government conceded and re-legalized the use of alcohol. I too will concede that it was a failure on the part of our government in enforcing the prohibition of alcohol. Even today we are fighting the exact same battle by the DEA with the Controlled Substances Act. There is already a long list of illegal substances that are given priorities and schedules and are subsequently enforced. It would not be a stretch to incorporate alcohol into this list of illegal drugs. Many would assert that it would be difficult to enforce the mere consumption and manufacturing of small amounts of alcohol by individuals in there own homes. It is a very simple process to either brew low alcohol content drinks or to distill higher alcohol content spirits. The enforcing of these laws would be similar to current laws of cannabis cultivation. These laws would seem just as hard to enforce, yet they are enforced. The manufacturing of homemade alcohol could be given the same fear of punishment and could be enforced on incident-to-incident bases. Alcohol has the tendency to increase the probability of someone committing a violent crime. If alcohol were banned and harder to get a hold of this number of crimes would greatly diminish. The National Center for Victims of Crime has referenced the U. S. Department of Justice concerning drug and alcohol related crimes. The report states, â€Å"The U. S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics National Crime Victimization Survey asks the violent crime victims who reported seeing their offenders whether they perceived the offender to be under the influence of drugs or alcohol. According to the 1999 survey, over a quarter of the violent crime victims could make such a determination. About twenty-eight percent (28%) of those reported that the offender was under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs. The most common substance identified was alcohol alone. About sixteen percent (16%) reported that the offender was under the influence of alcohol alone (Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2001). † (The National Center for Victims of Crime) This only takes into account the victims that were able to see their offender; this means that there are possibly more unaccounted for alcohol related crimes. The legal and open use of alcohol as a vice is leading to the downfall of our society. It is creating addicts while not offering a single practical medical benefit. The United States Government has already invested time, money, and effort to enforcing its Controlled Substances Act. Alcohol should be held to the same standards as all other physically altering substances are held to. Alcohol poses the risk of dependence and has no beneficial medical value. In order to start the moral fabric of our country we need to do away with the crime inducing substance alcohol. Lawmakers and active voters, it is our duty to hold our selves to higher standards and completely abolish the manufacturing, sale, and use of alcohol. Works Cited Alcoholism: MedlinePlus. National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health. 25 Aug. 2011. Web. 01 Dec. 2011. http://www. nlm. nih. gov/medlineplus/alcoholism. html. CDC Alcohol and Public Health Home Page Alcohol. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 16 Nov. 2011. Web. 01 Dec. 2011. http://www. cdc. gov/alcohol/. Drug Related Crime. The National Center for Victims of Crime. 2008. Web. 1 Dec. 2011. http://www. ncvc. org/ncvc/main. aspx? dbName=DocumentViewerDocumentID=32348. Joshritchie. How Much Is the Government Making Off of Alcohol? | Tax Break: The TurboTax Blog. Tax Break: The TurboTax Blog | Its All about the Refund. 5 July 2010. Web. 01 Dec. 2011. http://blog. turbotax. intuit. com/2010/07/05/how-much-is-the-government-mak

Achievement Gap Essay -- Sociology, Gender Roles, Racial Relations

The achievement gap is defined as the disparity between the performance groups of students, especially groups defined by gender, race/ethnicity, ability and socio-economic status. The achievement gap can be observed through a variety of measures including standardized test scores, grade point averages, drop out rates, college enrollment and completion rates. The Black-White achievement gap is a critical issue in modern society’s education system. Although data surrounding the issue clearly indicates that the racial performance gap exists in areas of standardized tests, graduation rates, dropout rates, and enrollment in continuing education, the causative reasons for the gap are ambiguous—therefore presenting a significant challenge in regard to the most effective way to close the gap. The gap appears before children enter kindergarten and it persists into adulthood (Jencks 1998). Since 1970, the gap has decreased about 40 percent, but has steadily grown since. Theories suggest the Black-White achievement gap is created by a multitude of social, cultural, and economic factors as well as educational opportunities and/or learning experiences. Factors such as biased testing, discrimination by teachers, test anxiety among black students, disparities between blacks and whites in income or family structure, and genetic and cultural differences between blacks and whites have all been evaluated as explanations for the Black-White achievement gap (Farkas 2004). The research that follows will elaborate on these factors as they affect the decline in academic performance of black males—particularly the literacy achievement of black males. Within the Black-White achievement gap resides a subgroup whose academic performance is distressingly ... ...disparities between the two ethnic communities that can be traced back to the legacy of slavery and other forms of oppression that blacks have suffered.† Supporters of this view felt that educational achievement correlates more strongly with economic status than with any other single variable. Since the majority of the black community lags behind whites in income and wealth, the educational inequalities are caused by the economic inequalities. They believe that once the inequalities disappear, the educational disparities will as well. Many argue that this is not a viable argument. They point to other minority groups such as Asians, some of whom are financially worse off than blacks, and they excel in school . They felt that because the civil rights legislation removed all roadblocks back in the 60’s and 70’s something else must be contributing to the large gap.

Sitting Bull Exile to Canada :: American America History

Sitting Bull Exile to Canada Many things influenced Sitting Bull's decision to cross the border into Canada. After Custer's defeat at Little Bighorn, Sitting Bull had to live life in fear. He fought on the defensive for years. Sitting Bull and his followers fled from the onslaught of American howitzers. He then was able to find sanctuary in the White Grandmother's Country, north of the international boundary. "Most of the band drifted back in the next few years; Sitting Bull himself was to return in 1881 to end his exile" (Andrist 298)). They faced unknown obstacles, and challenges, all for a chance to live the way they wanted to. When times were bad they looked to the Canadians for assistance. When they could not help Sitting Bull struggle ended and asylum. Canada was no longer an option for Sitting Bulls starving people. For Sitting Bull and his people "the winter of 1876-77 was a winter of despair. "Soldiers occupied the hunting grounds and kept the war going even when the snow fell and the temperature plunged"(Utley 174). Sitting Bulls options for the survival his people were being held in the hands of the soldiers surrounding his winter encampment. Who could at any time " burst into their village, shoot down the people, and destroy their homes and food supplies"(Utley 174). Sitting Bull disliked the alternative of an unconditional surrender, which was out of the question. This surrender would have cost Sitting Bull and his people their guns, and horses. This was unreasonable for people who relied on these valuable tools in almost every aspect in their lives. In April of 1877 the Miniconjoous, Sans Arcs, Hunkpaps, and others of equal prominence conviened a council at Beaver Creek. Spotted Eagle and Sitting Bull would make speeches advocating continuing the war against the white man. They would eventually realize them necessity to act in the best interest of the people. Sitting Bull stood firm in his way of life, as a hunter. Around this time Crazy Horse made his decision to surrender. On May 6, Crazy horse surrendered at the Red Cloud agency in Robinson Nebraska. The group which consisted of 889 people, surrendered "12,00 ponies and 117 arms"(Utley182). Sitting Bull faced new uncertainty in Canada. He had traveled to this country before "following Buffalo or seeking Slotas to trade with" (Utley184). He also knew from experience the contrast between the Grandmother (Canada) and the Great Father of the United States.

The Impact of Classroom Technology on Student Behavior

Journal of Technology Research The impact of classroom technology on student behavior Angeline M. Lavin University of South Dakota Leon Korte University of South Dakota Thomas L. Davies University of South Dakota ABSTRACT The trend toward technology enhanced classrooms has escalated quickly during the past five years as students have become increasingly tech-savvy. Classrooms across the nation have become â€Å"wired† and textbook publishers now offer a wide variety of computerized teaching supplements. In fact, some may argue that technology is now expected in the college classroom.The objective of this research is to examine whether the use of technology in university classes impacts student behavior and student perceptions of instructional quality. This paper summarizes the results of a survey administered to students enrolled in business courses at a mid-sized Midwestern university. The results suggest that adding technology in courses where it is not currently used is lik ely to have a positive impact on student perceptions of the instructor and on student behavior. However, removing technology from courses that already use it would not appear to have a negative impact on all aspects of student behavior.Overall there are certain aspects of student behavior (the amount of time that students study, the quantity of notes they take, their attendance, and their interaction with the instructor) which appear to be technology neutral. In contrast, technology tends to have a meaningful impact on student preparation for class, attentiveness, quality of notes taken, student participation in class, student learning, desire to take additional classes from the instructor or in the subject matter, and the overall evaluation of the course and the instructor.Keywords: class technology, instructional quality, student behavior, student perceptions The impact of classroom technology, Page 1 Journal of Technology Research INTRODUCTION Technology, it seems, is everywhere these days. As computers have become more commonplace, the use of information technology has become pervasive in most everyone’s lives. For most of us, it is hard to image daily life without the influence of technological devices, be it handheld video games, personal digital assistants, cell phones or any number of computers.This is especially true for younger generations. In academia, we have likely reached the point where the use of technology is expected, by both students and their parents (Christensen, 1999). The trend toward technology enhanced classes has escalated quickly during the past five years as students have become increasingly tech-savvy, classrooms across the nation have become â€Å"wired† and textbook publishers now offer a wide variety of computerized teaching supplements.Lowerison, Sclater, Schmid, and Abrami (2006) suggest that technology has the potential to transform the learning environment from passive to active and more subject to the control of the learner. According to Roblyer (2003), technology may enable the learner to be more actively involved in his or her own learning. While technology may enhance the classroom and engage today’s student more effectively, most do not believe it replaces the need for a structured, content-driving learning process that is grounded in theory.To be effective, technology-based tools must accompany appropriate pedagogy (Laurillard, 2002). That said, a 2001 national study showed that 87% of faculty believe computer technology enhances student learning (Epper and Bates, 2001). Despite this widespread belief that the use of technology in the classroom is generally good, such may not always be the case. Burbules and Callister (2000) suggest technology can be used well or poorly, and thus its effectiveness is dependent on how it used, by whom and for what purpose. Instructors use varying amounts of technology in their classes.For example, some professors utilize PowerPoint slides or s imilar technology extensively or moderately throughout a course, while others seldom or never use technology. There may be several reasons why instructors ultimately adopt technology for classroom use. For some, it may help them to create better organized, more focused lectures. For others, they believe that the use of technology benefits students by engaging them more in the classroom and allowing them to listen more closely without transcribing every word that is spoken.Some professors may choose technology because writing on whiteboards or blackboards hinders their ability to interact with students. Still other instructors may adopt technology as a time saving device because it is readily available today, provided by the publishers who are eager to convince faculty to adopt their textbooks. Although the motivation may differ, theoretically the overall expectation is that technology will improve the course, engage the students and enable them to learn more. There may also be at le ast the implicit hope by the faculty member that teaching evaluations will improve.The study of what makes a college teacher effective is ongoing. Witcher, Onquegbuzie, Collins, Filer, Wiedmaier, and Moore (2003) suggest that students believe that effective teachers possess many if not all of the following nine characteristics, listed in order of importance: (1) student-centered; (2) knowledgeable about the subject matter; (3) professional; (4) enthusiastic about teaching; (5) effective at communication; (6) accessible; (7) competent at instruction; (8) fair and respectful; and (9) provider of adequate performance feedback.Clearly, utilization of technology can impact several of these identified characteristics or traits. Thus, in recent years, the proliferation of technology in an educational setting has sparked considerable interest on the The impact of classroom technology, Page 2 Journal of Technology Research part of researchers, and a number of studies have focused on the posi tives and negatives of technology use from the perspectives of the institution, student and professor.A recent study by Apperson, Laws and Scepansky (2006) examined the impact of PowerPoint on the students’ classroom experience. While they found no differences in grades as a result of the use of PowerPoint in the classroom, they did find that students in PowerPointenhanced classrooms responded differently to the classroom experience. Specifically, students believed that the PowerPoint classes were better organized and more interesting. Students also rated the professor high overall and indicated that they would be more likely to take another class from that professor.Interestingly, students in PowerPoint enhanced courses also found that the instructors exhibited more positive behaviors seemingly unrelated to the use of technology, such as providing helpful feedback in a timely fashion and creating assignments that involve higherorder more critical or creative thought. Further more, Atkins-Sayre, Hopkins, Mohundro, and Sayre (1998) concluded that the use of technology adds to the instructor’s credibility. Lecturers can manage class time more fficiently as less time is spent writing on whiteboards or changing transparencies (Daniels, 1999, Mantei, 2000), and thus lectures may flow better. Overall, Apperson et al (2006) believe that the use of technology in classrooms causes students to have a more favorable attitude toward their education, and benefits accrue to instructors who utilize it in their classes. However, technology usage does not necessarily result in better teaching evaluations for faculty. Lowerison et al found no significant relationship between actual computer use and perceived effective computer usage on course evaluations (2006).Several explanations were offered for this unexpected outcome, including the fact that students may now expect technology to be used in the classroom and no longer see it as a unique class feature that enhan ces their learning. These findings are consistent with the Christensen (1999) study mentioned earlier. It may also be the case that technology is not being used in an appropriate manner, that is, as a transformative, student-centered tool for learning, a concern expressed by Burbules and Callister (2000).Computer technology may also better support diverse needs and capacities of students, providing the potential for deeper processing and understanding of information (McCombs, 2000). While the technology may enhance the classroom and engage today’s student more effectively, most do not believe it replaces the need for a structured, content-driving learning process that is grounded in theory. To be effective, technology-based tools must accompany appropriate pedagogy (Laurillard, 2002).As McFarlane states, â€Å"computer use alone, without clear objectives and well designed tasks, is of little intrinsic value (1997). This paper continues the inquiry into the impact of technolo gy on student perceptions of their own learning as well as their academic behavior. PRESENT STUDY Students taking various business classes in a medium-sized Midwestern university were invited to participate in research study seeking to assess the impact of the presence or absence of technology in the classroom on self-perceived student effort and behavior.Prior to the survey being administered in individual classrooms, instructors who participated were asked whether or not they made moderate or extensive use of technology in their courses. If the instructor used technology moderately or extensively, then the survey given in that class asked the students to give their opinion regarding how the absence of technology would impact various components of The impact of classroom technology, Page 3 Journal of Technology Research student learning.For example, students were asked whether the lack of technology would have a positive or negative impact on their attentiveness in class as compare d to what it had been. Alternatively, if the instructor indicated that he/she did not utilize technology moderately or extensively, then the survey given in that class asked the students to give their opinion regarding how the addition of technology would impact them. Thus, for example, students in these sections were asked whether more technology usage by the instructor would affect their own level of class preparation.Survey questions were based in part on three different student evaluation forms previously or currently being used by the researchers’ university, including an early version developed and used by all public institutions within the state, the Student Instructional Report II and the IDEA Diagnostic Form Report. Both versions of the survey used the following five point scale to collect student opinions: â€Å"1† was significantly positive, â€Å"2† was somewhat positive, â€Å"3† was no difference, â€Å"4† was somewhat negative, and à ¢â‚¬Å"5† was significantly negative.The survey also included numerous demographic questions to facilitate analysis of the responses. Among other things, students were asked whether they were graduate or undergraduate students, their program of study or major, and their year in school (e. g. , freshman, sophomore, etc. ), as well as their grade point average and gender. In total nine business faculty members, including two of the paper’s authors, administered the survey in their classes.Faculty participants were selected on the basis of their rank, varying degrees of technological proficiency and usage, discipline, and gender in order to provide a cross-section of courses being evaluated. Classes chosen included those at the 100 (first year), 200 (second year), 300 (junior level), 400 (senior level) and graduate (700) level. In all, the survey was administered in fourteen different business classes, including multiple sections of a few of the courses.The survey was admin istered near the beginning of last year’s fall semester. Participating faculty were asked to devote class time to allow for the completion of the survey. Enrollment in the sections surveyed totaled 700 students, including some students who were enrolled in more than one of the classes included in the sample. In total, approximately 550 usable surveys were completed and returned. A brief summary of demographic information for the undergraduate survey respondents is included in the Appendix.RESULTS Table 1 and 2 show the preliminary results of the data analysis. In each table, the mean response for each question is compared to a neutral response of â€Å"3† in order to evaluate the effects that each group might anticipate given possible changes in their classroom environments. Recall that each item was based on the following five point scale: â€Å"1† – significantly positive, â€Å"2† – somewhat positive, â€Å"3† – no differenc e, â€Å"4† – somewhat negative, and â€Å"5† – significantly negative, resulting in a lower mean for a more positive perception.The mean is provided for each question as well as the number of students who gave a particular response. Table 1 shows the results for the surveys given in the classes in which the instructor indicated that he/she used technology moderately or extensively. The survey then asked the students to give their opinions regarding how the absence of technology would impact their learning from the course. There were 374 usable surveys returned from this set of classes. The means in Table 1 fluctuate between the â€Å"high 2† range and the â€Å"low 3† range.Responses from the students in these courses that used technology suggest that students anticipate that the loss of The impact of classroom technology, Page 4 Journal of Technology Research technology would have a positive impact (mean is less than the neutral response o f 3. 0 and statistically different from the neutral response) on the amount of time they study for class each day, the amount of time they study for exams and quizzes, the quantity of notes they take, their overall attendance for the class, and their appreciation for the instructor’s effort.Assuming that students would view less study time as more positive, it appears that students feel they would study less if technology is removed from the course. It seems somewhat counterintuitive that the absence of technology would have a positive impact on the amount of notes that students take, however, the â€Å"quantity† of notes taken can be viewed from two different angles. Students may consider it a positive to take fewer notes, and students may perceive that they take fewer notes when technology is used in the classroom.The loss of technology, according to the students, would also have a positive impact on their attendance and their appreciation for the instructor’s effort. Students may perceive that it would be more important to attend class to hear the material presented if the notes were not available via technology outside of class. In addition, it appears that students believe that technology may make teaching â€Å"easier† as the loss of technology would have a positive impact on student appreciate of instructor effort.In contrast, student responses indicate that students expect that the loss of technology would have a negative impact (mean is greater than the neutral response and statistically different from the neutral response) on attentiveness in class, the amount learned from class, the students’ desire to take additional classes from the particular instructor, and the students’ desire to take additional classes in the subject matter. These results suggest that students perceive there are specific benefits associated with technology use in the classroom.Technology may be one way instructors can maintain student interest. Indeed, the responses appear to suggest that students perceive that they might learn less if technology were withdrawn. Students also indicated that they would be less inclined to take additional classes from the instructor if technology were not used, and they might also be less inclined to take more courses in the same subject matter if technology were not a part of the classroom experience.On the other hand, the responses suggest that students might be more likely to attend class and have a greater appreciation for instructor effort if technology were not used in the classroom. Results of the two questions as to how a change in technology use from moderate/intensive to none at all would impact the student’s overall evaluation of the course and the instructor are also presented in Table 1. Students who currently experience technology in the classroom would rate a course less favorably if the technology were removed (mean above the neutral 3. and statistically diff erent from the neutral 3. 0). However, the impact on the students’ ratings of the instructor appears to be neutral under the loss of technology scenario. Table 2 shows the results for the surveys given in the classes in which the instructor indicated that he/she did not use technology moderately or extensively. Those surveys then asked the students to share their thoughts regarding how the addition of technology would impact the how they behaved in the course. There were 183 usable surveys returned from this set of classes.The mean for every question was below the neutral response of â€Å"3,† which suggests that students thought that those courses that did not presently use technology could be improved by the addition of it; a lower mean again reflects a more positive impact. The responses given by the students in the courses that did not include a technology component indicated that its addition of technology would have a positive impact (mean less than and significa ntly different than the neutral response) for all questions except two, i. e. he amount of interaction with the instructor outside of class and the students’ desire to take more classes in the subject matter. These results The impact of classroom technology, Page 5 Journal of Technology Research suggest that in the opinion of the students, the addition of technology would have an overall positive impact on their behavior. The addition of technology would, according to the students, have the most positive impact on the students’ appreciation for the instructor’s effort, the amount the students learn from the course, and the quality of the notes that the students take.According to both Tables 1 and 2, the amount of interaction that students have with the instructor outside of class is technology â€Å"neutral† as the mean was close to â€Å"3† for both versions of the survey. Results of the two questions pertaining to how the addition of technology t o a course that does not currently use it would impact the student’s overall evaluation of the course and the instructor are presented in Table 2 as well. The responses were positive (mean less than the neutral response of 3. and statistically different from the neutral response of 3. 0). These results suggest that the prospect of including technology in the classroom environment appears to increase the likelihood that students would perceive both the course and the instructor in a more favorable light. In addition to comparing the means for each version of the survey to a neutral response of â€Å"3,† the means for each version can be compared to each other. In Table 3, the first set of data (i. e. the left side) shows the results for the surveys given in the classes in which the instructor indicated that he/she used technology moderately or extensively, with the students being asked how the removal of technology would impact their behavior. The second set of data (i. e. , the right side) shows the results for the surveys given in the classes in which the instructor indicated that he/she did not use technology moderately or extensively, with the students being asked how the addition of technology would influence their behavior.Responses from those students in classrooms that currently used technology (left set) appeared to suggest a relatively neutral impact on the students’ evaluation of the instructor if technology were withdrawn (mean close to 3. 0), but a slightly more negative (mean above 3. 0) response to the evaluation of the course if technology were withdrawn [see Table 1]. Students who were in class that did not currently use technology (right set) indicated that the addition of the technology would improve their evaluation of both the course and the instructor (mean below 3. 0) [see Table 2].As might be expected given the different results reported in the first two tables, the differences between the two groups were statistical ly significant for some of the variables as reported in Table 3. Students appear to want technology in the classroom and that desire appears to be reflected in the overall evaluation of the course and instructor. As Table 3 illustrates, students who are not currently exposed to technology in the classroom generally responded more favorably to the prospect of adding the technology than did students who imagined the technology being withdrawn.Eleven of the 17 questions reflected statistically significant differences (? < 0. 050) in the mean responses between the two groups. In other words, students who currently experience technology in the classroom gave significantly different responses from those who currently did not have technology in the classroom. The questions that reflected statistically significant differences are noted with an â€Å"*† in Table 3.For those questions in which a statistically significant difference between the two groups was observed, responses from st udents who currently do not experience the use of technology in the classroom reflected more positive mean responses to the addition of technology usage than did their counterparts who might experience the withdrawal of technology in the classroom. The six items that did not generate statistically significant differences between the two survey groups were as follows: †¢ Amount of time you study for class each day. †¢ Amount of time you study for exams and quizzes.The impact of classroom technology, Page 6 Journal of Technology Research †¢ Quantity of notes. †¢ Overall attendance. †¢ Amount of interaction with the instructor during class. †¢ Amount of interaction with the instructor outside of class. These results suggest that student perceptions of these six items are â€Å"technology neutral. † In other words, the addition of technology where it is currently not used or the loss of technology where it is used is not perceived to have a meaningfu l impact on the amount of time students study, the quantity of notes they take, their attendance, or their interaction with the instructor.In contrast for nine of the eleven items marked with an â€Å"*† in Table 3, technology appears to have a positive impact because the loss of technology (left side) has a mean greater than â€Å"3† (negative impact) and the addition of technology (right side) has a mean less than â€Å"3† (positive impact). Therefore, according to the comparison of the two samples, technology has meaningful impact on student preparation for class, attentiveness, quality of notes taken, student participation in class, student learning, desire to take additional classes from the instructor or in the subject matter, and the overall evaluation of the course and the instructor.The student response to one question [student’s appreciation of instructor effort] is more problematic. In each group student responses suggested a change from the ex isting situation might be viewed more positively than maintaining the status quo, and each group reflected responses that were significantly different from a neutral response on this question [see Tables 1 and 2].Although each group responded more positively than neutral to this question, students in the group without technology for whom it was suggested technology might be added responded more positively than did the students who were asked to imagine a class in which the technology might be withdrawn. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION The results of this study suggest that adding technology to courses where it is not currently used is likely to have a positive impact on student perceptions of the instructor and the course as well as on most aspects of student behavior.However, it interesting to note that removing technology from courses that already use it would not appear to have a negative impact on all aspects of student behavior. For example, removal of technology from a course might, ac cording to student responses, have a positive impact on the amount of time they study for class each day, the amount of time they study for exams and quizzes, the quantity of notes they take, their overall attendance for the class, and their appreciation for the instructor’s effort.However, removal of technology from a course that currently utilizes it would be viewed negatively in terms of the overall evaluation of the course, the students’ attentiveness in class, the amount the students learn from class, the students’ desire to take additional classes from the particular instructor, and the students’ desire to take additional classes in the subject matter. Comparison of the loss of technology in a course that currently uses it versus the addition of technology to a course that does not use it suggests that there are certain aspects which are â€Å"technology neutral. In other words, the addition of technology where it is currently not used or the loss of technology where it is used is not perceived to have a meaningful impact on the amount of time students study, the quantity of notes they take, their attendance, or their interaction with the instructor. In contrast, technology appears to have a meaningful impact on student preparation for class, attentiveness, quality of notes taken, student participation in class, The impact of classroom technology, Page 7Journal of Technology Research student learning, desire to take additional classes from the instructor or in the subject matter, and the overall evaluation of the course and the instructor. The research is not meant to determine how effective technology was in helping students learn or which technology might be most effective. Rather, this research focuses on student perceptions or opinions regarding technology usage and how adding technology to a course that does not use it or eliminating technology from a course that does use it might impact a student’s perception of the course or the faculty member as well as his/her behavior.These results suggest that students taking business classes at this Midwestern University perceive that technology use in the classroom does indeed have an overall positive impact. While technological enhancement may not necessarily be appropriate for all classroom situations and all subject matter, these results suggest that instructors who are comfortable using technology and find that it enhances their teaching experience should continue to incorporate it in their classes. Those who do, however, must remember technology for what it is – a tool which can have a positive impact on student behaviors and perceptions when used appropriately.LIMITATIONS AND FUTURE RESEARCH There are several limitations to the present study. The results were drawn from data collected from students enrolled in business courses at a single Midwestern University and, therefore, the results may not be generalized to hold for different popul ations such as nonbusiness students or students at universities in other parts of the country or even the world. Further analysis is presently underway that considers the impact of the addition of technology to a course that does not use it or the removal of technology from a course that does use it on a student’s perception of instructor effectiveness.In addition, while this particular research focuses on student perceptions of technology use, the ultimate goal of technology integration in the classroom should be to help students learn. Therefore, further research to help to identify which technology uses are most educationally meaningful would help educators to make informed decisions regarding the plethora of technology tools available for the classroom today. Gaining a better understanding of student expectations regarding technology use for students of different ages would also be useful information.Another avenue of future research, which could only occur subsequent to the two avenues previously mentioned, would be a study of whether student perceptions are congruent with the use of technology tools that are found to be most effective in advancing student learning. The impact of classroom technology, Page 8 Journal of Technology Research Table 1 Comparison of Student Responses Relative to a Neutral Response for the Impact on Personal Behavior of the Loss of Technology Where It is Now Used Expected Effect of the Loss of Technology Std testN Mean Dev stat Alpha The level of your preparation for each class session. 72 3. 032 0. 968 0. 643 0. 521 The amount of time you study for class each day. * 373 2. 831 0. 843 3. 870 0. 000 The amount of time you study for exams and 373 2. 721 0. 960 5. 608 0. 000 quizzes. * Your attentiveness in class. * 372 3. 228 1. 197 3. 682 0. 000 The quantity of notes you take. * 372 2. 769 1. 324 3. 368 0. 001 The quality of notes you take. 373 3. 078 1. 302 1. 153 0. 250 Your level of participation in class discussions. 3 72 3. 043 0. 895 0. 927 0. 355 Your overall attendance for the class. * 373 2. 788 0. 823 4. 967 0. 000 The amount of your interaction with the instructor during class. 73 2. 976 0. 824 0. 565 0. 572 The amount of interaction with the instructor outside 373 3. 005 0. 846 0. 122 0. 903 of class. The amount you learn from class. * 373 3. 231 1. 090 4. 084 0. 000 Your appreciation for the instructor’s effort. * 372 2. 849 1. 038 2. 798 0. 005 Your appreciation for the importance of the material. 373 2. 960 0. 925 0. 840 0. 402 Your desire to take additional classes from the particular instructor. * 374 3. 112 0. 981 2. 213 0. 028 Your desire to take additional classes in the subject matter. * 374 3. 104 0. 916 2. 202 0. 028 Your overall evaluation of this course. * 372 3. 290 1. 62 5. 271 0. 000 Your overall evaluation of this instructor. 372 3. 048 1. 008 0. 926 0. 355 Note : Questions with statistically significant differences between mean responses and an expected neutral res ponse [3. 0] are marked with an â€Å"*†. The impact of classroom technology, Page 9 Journal of Technology Research Table 2 Comparison of Student Responses Relative to a Neutral Response for the Impact on Personal Behavior of the Addition of Technology Where It Is Not Used Expected Effect of the Addition of Technology Std testN Mean Dev stat alpha The level of your preparation for each class session. * 183 2. 601 0. 83 6. 112 0. 000 The amount of time you study for class each day. * 183 2. 820 0. 822 2. 967 0. 003 The amount of time you study for exams and quizzes. * 183 2. 634 0. 860 5. 762 0. 000 Your attentiveness in class. * 183 2. 634 1. 111 4. 460 0. 000 The quantity of notes you take. * 183 2. 743 1. 202 2. 891 0. 004 The quality of notes you take. * 183 2. 557 1. 179 5. 077 0. 000 Your level of participation in class discussions. * 183 2. 814 0. 776 3. 238 0. 001 Your overall attendance for the class. * 183 2. 689 0. 959 4. 395 0. 000 The amount of your interaction wi th the instructor during class. * 183 2. 891 0. 41 1. 996 0. 047 The amount of interaction with the instructor outside of class. 183 2. 962 0. 615 0. 842 0. 401 The amount you learn from class. * 183 2. 563 1. 040 5. 684 0. 000 Your appreciation for the instructor’s effort. * 183 2. 546 1. 004 6. 113 0. 000 Your appreciation for the importance of the material. * 183 2. 590 0. 890 6. 227 0. 000 Your desire to take additional classes from the particular instructor. * 182 2. 747 0. 929 3. 668 0. 000 Your desire to take additional classes in the subject matter. 182 2. 901 0. 848 1. 573 0. 117 Your overall evaluation of this course. * 182 2. 571 1. 031 5. 605 0. 00 Your overall evaluation of this instructor. * 182 2. 582 0. 976 5. 775 0. 000 Note : Questions with statistically significant differences between mean responses and an expected neutral response [3. 0] are marked with an â€Å"*†. The impact of classroom technology, Page 10 Journal of Technology Research Table 3 C omparison of Responses to Questions about Student Behavior for the Impact of the Loss of Technology Where It is Now Used (Left Set) versus the Addition of Technology in Classes Where It is Not Used (Right Set) Expected Effect of Expected Effect of the Loss of the Addition of Technology Technology N Mean Std Dev N Mean Std Dev alphaThe level of your preparation for each class session. * The amount of time you study for class each day. The amount of time you study for exams and quizzes. Your attentiveness in class. * The quantity of notes you take. The quality of notes you take. * Your level of participation in class discussions. * Your overall attendance for the class. The amount of your interaction with the instructor during class. The amount of interaction with the instructor outside of class. The amount you learn from class. * Your appreciation for the instructor’s effort. Your appreciation for the importance of the material. * Your desire to take additional classes from th e instructor. * Your desire to take additional classes in the subject matter. * Your overall evaluation of this course. * 372 373 373 372 372 373 372 373 373 373 373 372 373 374 374 372 3. 03 2. 83 2. 72 3. 23 2. 77 3. 08 3. 04 2. 79 2. 98 3. 01 3. 23 2. 85 2. 96 3. 11 3. 10 3. 29 0. 97 0. 84 0. 96 1. 20 1. 32 1. 30 0. 90 0. 82 0. 82 0. 85 1. 09 1. 04 0. 93 0. 98 0. 92 1. 06 183 183 183 183 183 183 183 183 183 183 183 183 183 182 182 182 2. 60 2. 82 2. 63 2. 63 2. 74 2. 56 2. 1 2. 69 2. 89 2. 96 2. 56 2. 55 2. 59 2. 75 2. 90 2. 57 0. 88 0. 82 0. 86 1. 11 1. 20 1. 18 0. 78 0. 96 0. 74 0. 61 1. 04 1. 00 0. 89 0. 93 0. 85 1. 03 0. 000 0. 880 0. 298 0. 000 0. 825 0. 000 0. 003 0. 205 0. 237 0. 534 0. 000 0. 001 0. 000 0. 000 0. 012 0. 000 Your overall evaluation of this instructor. * 372 3. 05 1. 01 182 2. 58 0. 98 0. 000 Note : Questions with statistically significant differences in the mean responses between the two groups are marked with an â€Å"*†. The impact of classroom te chnology, Page 11 Journal of Technology Research REFERENCES Apperson, J. , Laws, E. and Scepansky, J. (2006). The Impact of Presentation Graphics on Students’ Experience in the Classroom. Computers and Education, 47(1), 116-126. Atkins-Sayre, W. , Hopkins, S. , Mohundro, S. and Sayre, W. (1998). Rewards and Liabilities of Presentation Software as an Ancillary Tool: Prison or Paradise? Paper presented at the National Communication Association Eighty Fourth Annual Conference, New York, NY. Burbules, N. and Callister, T. , Jr. (2000). Watch IT: The Promises and Risk of New Information Technologies for Education. Boulder, CO: Westview Press. Christensen, K. (1999).A Comparison of Student Performance in Human Development Classes Using Three Different Modes of Delivery: Online, Face-to-Face, and Combined. Ed. D. Dissertation, Department of Education, Drake University. Daniels, L. (1999). Introducing Technology in the Classroom: PowerPoint as a First Step. Journal of Computing in Hi gher Education, 10, 42-56. Epper, R. and Bates, A. (2001). Teaching Faculty How to Use Technology. American Council on Education. Oryx Press. Laurillard, D. (2002). Rethinking University Teaching: A Framework for the Effective Use of Educational Technology (2nd ed. . London: Routledge. Lowerison, G. , Sclater, J. , Schmid, R. F. , and Abrami, P. C. (2006). Student Perceived Effectiveness of Computer Technology Use in Post-secondary Classrooms. Computer and Education, 47, 465-489. Mantei, E. (2000). Using Internet Class Notes and PowerPoint in the Physical Geology Lecture. Journal of College Science Teaching, 29, 301-305. McCombs, B. (2000). Assessing the Role of Educational Technology in the Teaching and Learning Process: A Learner-Centered Perspective. The Secretary’s Conference on Educational Technology 2000. www. d. gov/Technology/techconf/2000/mccombs_paper. html. McFarlane, A. (1997). What Are We and How Did We Get Here? In A. McFarlane (ED. ), Information Technology and Authentic Learning: Realizing the Potential of Computers in the Primary Classroom. London, England : Routledge. Roblyer, M. (2003). Integrating Educational Technology into Teaching. (3rd ed. ) Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill Prentice Hall. Witcher, A. , Onwuegbuzie, A. , Collins, K. , Filer, J. , Wiedmaier, C. , and Moore, C. Students’ Perceptions of Characteristics of Effective College Teachers.ERIC Document Reproduction Service: ED 482517. The impact of classroom technology, Page 12 Journal of Technology Research APPENDIX Demographic Information for Undergraduate Students in the Sample Technology = Technology Used; Impact of the Absence of Technology No Technology = Technology Not Used; Impact of the Addition of Technology Major for Undergraduate Students in Sample Technology No Technology (N = 329) (N = 155) Accounting 19% 15% Economics Finance Health Service Administration Management Marketing Business Undeclared Other – Non-business 5% 8% 8% 26% 13% 14% 7% 5% 13% 8% 23% 8% 18% 10%Year for Undergraduate Students in Sample Technology No Technology (N = 329) (N = 155) Freshman 18% 3% Sophomore Junior Senior 22% 32% 28% 52% 23% 22% ?2 tests for differences in the distribution of majors between the two groups and for differences in the distribution of undergraduate years did not reject the null hypothesis.It was assumed there were no significant differences in the distribution of undergraduate majors or in the distribution of students in terms of academic progress when comparing the two groups. Technology (N = 329) Female Male Student gender 40% 60% No Technology (N = 155) Female Male 49% 51% A test of proportions suggested no significant difference in the proportion of female to male students when comparing the two groups included in this study. The impact of classroom technology, Page 13

The Scarlet Letter (changes in Chillingworth) essays

The Scarlet Letter (changes in Chillingworth) essays Through Nathaniel Hawthorne's novel The Scarlet Letter, we see dynamic changes in the various characters. Old Roger Chillingworth, or Mr. Hester, as he was formerly known, certainly proves this thesis. When we first meet Roger, on the day of Hester's public punishment on the scalfold, he is, indeed, a likeable man. He is a calm, intelligent man who lives for knowledge. He is out to harm none, just to become all the more knowledgable. Even to Hester, his own adultorous wife, whom had done him most wrong in the world, even to she he is gentle and, although perhaps a bit harsh with words (which, given the cercumstances, is understandable), healing. In the beginning, Roger Chillingworth is a wise, good old man. Yet, through the years, a changes comes over him. On the day of the scalfold on which he last spoke to Hester for a good many years he told her, as she would not confess it,he told her that he would know the man that so wronged him. And indeed, he did find the man, and even made himself a friend, physician, and confident to him. As if by an act of providence, the two men, this Minister Dimmsdale and our own Roger Chillingworth, were brought together. For years Roger spends his time picking at the minister, poking and probing his mind and heart, trying to move him to confession, under the guise of concerned doctor or friend. And, in due time, Roger loses that calm kindness, that knowledgable peacefulness that once was his nature. He becomes instead malicious, diabolical, plotting and vengeful. His very life begins to revolve around not learning, but avenging himself on Dimmsdale. And thus, good old Mr. Roger Chillingworth, by letting hate seep into his heart, turns to a men ancing feind. ...

Info Overload

Info Overload Seth Godin, a management guru youve probably noticed I enjoy reading, recently spoke about how were enduring cognitive overload. Too many choices. I wholeheartedly agree which is why I recently withdrew from three professional organizations. I also canceled a cruise to the Baltics. What started as the trip of a lifetime turned into chaos. Too many choices. Charters, places to visit in each port, too many ports, meal selections, a long list of chores to take care of before leaving. . . I was exhausted and hadnt left home. Then when the tour agent threw an unforeseen choice at me, one that would take a few more dollars, I canceled. Surprised her. She found all these choices fun. To me, however, they threw a burden on the whole experience that was meant to epitomize relaxation. Turned into anything but. Publishing is like that. Marketing is like that. And if you let it, writing can be like that if you cannot decide what project to focus on. What do you want to do with your writing? Not sure? Talk to writers. Go to a conference. Give yourself a month or two to read everything you can get your hands on. Then shut it off and make your plan. Once you design a path, quit letting more ideas filtrate in that will only make you second guess yourself. Everyone has a better way. Better ways are endless. The nature of humans is to develop a better or easier way to accomplish something. The cycle never stops. Your job is to choose a path, develop the plan to the best of your ability, and follow it. If you follow every piece of new advice out there, youll spin in circles forever.

Compile a scientific report assessing the validity of the Bioharness heart rate monitoring system against a criterion measure. The WritePass Journal

Compile a scientific report assessing the validity of the Bioharness heart rate monitoring system against a criterion measure. Introduction Compile a scientific report assessing the validity of the Bioharness heart rate monitoring system against a criterion measure. ) Heart rate recovery is an indirect marker of autonomic function and could be included in a future study measuring post-activity heart rate. This would reflect the body’s capacity to respond to exercise, (Borresen and Lambert, 2007) providing a follow-up from the current study which merely measures real-time heart rate and allow for an integrated observation of the effects of exercise on the individual. A heart rate performance curve, which is non-linearly related to work load, can be used too if it can be shown to be fairly uniform upon validation of the heart rate turn point. This occurs at maximal lactate steady state, but has yet to be substantiated with data from large-scale studies.   (Hofmann and Pokan, 2010) A controlled velocity experiment for each individual could also have been conducted to better calibrate the Conconi graph, thereby allowing for the observation of a heart rate deflection point. In conclusion, this study has been shown to be inadequate in proving the reliability of the Bioharness as an effective heart rate monitoring device. More robust testing is needed before the Bioharness is recommended as an on-site testing equipment for sporting professionals. References BORRESEN, J. LAMBERT, M. I. 2007. Changes in heart rate recovery in response to acute changes in training load. Eur J Appl Physiol, 101, 503-11. BRAGE, S., BRAGE, N., FRANKS, P. W., EKELUND, U. WAREHAM, N. J. 2005. Reliability and validity of the combined heart rate and movement sensor Actiheart. Eur J Clin Nutr, 59, 561-70. BURKE, M. J. WHELAN, M. V. 1987. The accuracy and reliability of commercial heart rate monitors. Br J Sports Med, 21, 29-32. CAREY, D. 2008. A comparison of different heart rate deflection methods to predict the anaerobic threshold. european journal of sports science, 8, 315-323. DICKSTEIN, K., BARVIK, S., AARSLAND, T., SNAPINN, S. KARLSSON, J. 1990. A comparison of methodologies in detection of the anaerobic threshold. Circulation, 81, II38-46. GROSLAMBERT, A., GRAPPE, F., BERTUCCI, W., PERREY, S., GIRARD, A. J. ROUILLON, J. D. 2004. A perceptive individual time trial performed by triathletes to estimate the anaerobic threshold. A preliminary study. J Sports Med Phys Fitness, 44, 147-56. HOFMANN, P. POKAN, R. 2010. Value of the application of the heart rate performance curve in sports. Int J Sports Physiol Perform, 5, 437-47. RAO, R. P., DANDURAN, M. J., LOOMBA, R. S., DIXON, J. E. HOFFMAN, G. M. 2012. Near-infrared spectroscopic monitoring during cardiopulmonary exercise testing detects anaerobic threshold. Pediatr Cardiol, 33, 791-6. TECHNOLOGIES, Z. 2011. Application notes and white papers [Online]. Available: zephyr-technology.com/resources/whitepapers [Accessed 2 June 2012. WELK, G. 2002. Physical Activity Assessment for Health-Related Research, USA, Human Kinetics Publishers. WELTMAN, A. 1995. The blood lactate response to exercise, Champaign, Illingworth, R. WOLFE, B. L., LEMURA, L. M. COLE, P. J. 2004. Quantitative analysis of single- vs. multiple-set programs in resistance training. J Strength Cond Res, 18, 35-47.

Explain the differences between national income or gross domestic Essay

Explain the differences between national income or gross domestic product and what the state of bhutan in the himalayas calls gr - Essay Example More recently the King of Bhutan has promoted a policy of Gross National Happiness (GNH) in opposition to GDP, arguing that the latter did not reflect the important intangible aspects of society and culture such as religious belief, harmony with nature, spiritual peace, and transcendent wisdom. In using GDP only as a measure of national worth and as a guide for planning risks the deterioration of these important intangible aspects globally, and this is most harshly reflected in the destruction of indigenous cultures with philosophical foundations and beliefs different from Western capitalism. II. National Income & GDP Institutions such as the World Bank, IMF, and UN agencies frequently use GDP statistics to determine international aid, finance for development projects, and in the calculation of the distribution of wealth within a society for analysis. These records are drawn from tax accounts primarily as recorded income, leading to the question of differences in accounting standards between nations and the variance of business standards between cultures. Yet, a larger question has developed as to whether GDP as calculated includes the subtle economic and social factors that are important to community welfare. â€Å"Simon Kuznets is best known for his studies of national income and its components. Prior to World War I, measures of GNP were rough guesses, at best. No government agency collected data to compute GNP, and no private economic researcher did so systematically, either. Kuznets changed all that. With work that began in the 1930s and stretched over decades, Kuznets computed national income back to 1869. He broke it down by industry, by final product, and by use. He also measured the distribution of income between rich and poor.† (Econlib, 2011) GDP provides a portrait of the economic activity of a nation by measuring the sum of all economic activity within the sovereign during a given time frame, generally annually. Weight is given to each sector by the total amount of commercial activity involved, but this does not inherently coincide with the hierarchy of values within a society. Instead, it promotes the economic and commercial criteria to the determinant force of national development by defining material prosperity, ever increasing, as the key to a higher standard of living. While in most instances this correlation of economic activity does reflect advanced technological development, improvements in medicine, architecture, public utilities, and the comfort level of society, some critics claim it is not complete or balanced in reflecting the overall values of a culture empirically. Whether or not this can be done is reflected in the debate around Gross National Happiness (GNH), a term instituted by the Bhutanese King Jigme Singye Wangchuck in his coronation address in 1972. III. Gross National Happiness Gross National Happiness is developed from a Buddhist view of the interconnectedness of all life and the need for renunc iation of selfishness and ego in order to cultivate enlightenment. The Buddha taught an Eightfold Path that included interrelated tenets on awareness, morality, behavior, etc. intended to bring about the perfection

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Brand Perception and Advertiing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

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The Impact of Global Warming on Agriculture in USA Research Paper

The Impact of Global Warming on Agriculture in USA - Research Paper Example This essay stresses that many aquatic species therefore migrate to colder waters or move northwards along the coast or in the ocean. Apart from reducing the annual catch, this migration that is facilitated by global warming also sees the migrating fish moving into competition for food and other resources on the new areas which have already been inhabited. Moreover, in warm waters, diseases of aquatic species such as fish become more prevalent. In Southern New England, for example, lobster catches have dramatically declined as a result of temperature sensitive bacterial shell disease. These changes in the temperature also impact the timing of reproduction and fish migrations. In the Northwest, warmer temperatures have affected the lifecycle of salmon and also increased the likelihood of aquatic diseases. These effects are further forecasted to cause untold declines in salmon populations. This paper makes a conclusion that global warming is additionally responsible for the increased incidences of sea level rises that have been so widespread along the coasts of the United States especially in the last two decades. These increased sea levels have been a doing of the melting of the glaciers and increased precipitation rates all around America as a result of global warming. Increase in sea levels as a result of global warming has resulted in the consumption of land previously allocated to agricultural work.

Brand Perception and Advertiing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Brand Perception and Advertiing - Essay Example In ma-market retail talent i generally viewed a a valuable ource of brand building a quality of ervice offered by the retailer add to the pride of the brand. The companie may poition themelve for the ma market by providing outtanding cutomer interaction which may optimize profit and the core value of brand. The following dicuion in the paper analyze the influence of advertiing practice on developing brand peronality and their impact on the buying behavior of conumer. The dicuion in the paper are woven around the iue concerning advertiing a brand driver, brand typology, cognitive relationhip between the conumer behavior, communication and brand perception. The paper alo attempt to ynchronize viable propoition a managerial implication for building the brand peronality conidering the interactive cognitive variable of conumer behavior. The concept of cutomer-baed brand equity may be defined a the differential effect that brand knowledge ha on conumer repone to marketing activity for that brand. A brand i aid to have poitive (or negative) cutomer-baed brand equity when conumer react more (or le) favorably to marketing mix activity for the brand, a compared to when the ame marketing activity i attributed to a hypothetical or unnamed verion of the product or ervice. Conumer repone to marketing activity for competitive brand or an alternatively named verion of the product or ervice can alo be ueful benchmark (i.e. for determining the uniquene of brand aociation and the opportunity cot of brand extenion, repectively). Cutomer-baed brand equity emerge when the conumer i aware of and familiar with the brand and hold ome favorable, trong, and unique brand aociation in memory. Conumer have only one image of a brand, one created by the deployment of the brand aet at your dipoal: name, tradition, packaging, advertiing, promotion poture, pricing, trade acceptance, ale force dicipline, cutomer atifaction, repurchae pattern, etc. Clearly ome brand aet are more important to product marketer than to ervice marketer, and vice vera. ome competitive environment put more of a premium on certain aet a well. Quality and price do not exit a iolated concept in conumer' mind and are interrelated. Reearch ha hown that deep dicount do caue the conumer to believe that omething i wrong. Frequent dicounting erve to lower the value of the brand becaue of an almot ubconciou reaction by the conumer who believe that quality alo ha been lowered (remember hirt with alligator on them) or, in a "value rebound," conumer begin to perceive the everyday price a too high. The brand i then bought only on deal. Thi paper attempt to explore the variou mechanim that help building the brand per onality through marketing communication like advertiing, word of mouth etc. 1.2 Brand equity and cutomer relationhip trong brand equity allow the companie to retain cutomer better, ervice their need more effectively, and increae profit. Brand equity can be increaed by uccefully implementing and managing an ongoing relationhip marketing effort by offering value to the cutomer, and litening to their need. Diregarding the edge that the brand-cutomer relationhip

Critical Evaluation of Current Integrated Marketing Communications Essay - 2

Critical Evaluation of Current Integrated Marketing Communications Practice - Essay Example d sales promotions as well as the people with intention to have a major positive effect on the people decision and perception when they are combined together. IMC is also referred to as â€Å"a strategic marketing process specifically designed to ensure that all messaging and communication strategies are unified across all channels and are centered on the customer† (JIMC, 2011). It is done in a way that allows one medium’s weakness to be offset by the strength of another medium it is used together with. This process according to the journal of integrated marketing process emphasizes that customer prospects should be identified and assessed so that messages are tailored towards such customers in a way that is profitable and can allow for evaluation of its success to minimize waste. This, they propose can be done in five steps beginning with customer identification from behavioral data, evaluation of customer prospects, creating and delivering messages and incentives, estimating returns on customer investment and finally to budgeting, allocation, evaluation and recycling. The process is cyclic. This paper is going to look into how Ford motor vehicle manufacturer has been if true been using IMC to do its marketing while reflecting on the impact of this marketing tool to the overall strategic goals of the company. It is also going to look into the company’s success story from the use of this marketing strategy. Ford’s business strategy is based on its plan which was adopted in 2007 and has guided the company since then (Ford, 2014). It is indeed true that Ford motor company is adopting the use of integrated marketing communication as a strategy of winning more customers and increasing their market presence and revenue in overall. According to the definitions of the integrated marketing and communications discussed above, it is possible for a company to succeed in it by creating their strategy from the basis of their business while centering on the customer

Federalism and Immigration Essay Example for Free

Federalism and Immigration Essay The term immigration describes the movement and settlement of people who are not US citizens into the United States of America. Throughout history, America has been receiving immigrants from distant lands who come to settle in the United States. As early as the nineteenth century, there were many people from other corners of the world who left their homelands to settle in the US. The reasons for early immigration were, among others, famine, flight from persecution in their homelands and search for better economic opportunities. Thus between 1870 and 1900, the United States received approximately 12 million migrants (Library of Congress 2004). This immigration trend into the United States has continued unabated well into the twenty first century and presently the foreign born population constitutes a significant proportion of the total American population. But of particular concern is the case of illegal immigrants who have infiltrated virtually every corner of the United States. In a 2005 population survey, it was estimated that there were more than 11.1 million illegal immigrants living in the United States and the numbers are steadily increasing with each passing year (Passel, 2006). An uncontrolled influx of immigrants into the US can adversely affect the economy and has invited a negative public opinion from U.S residents. For this reason, the federal government has had to come up with several immigration policies and laws with which to control the immigration process and to curb the influx of illegal immigrants. Although immigration policy is conventionally a realm of the federal government, recently, there have been efforts to include both the state and local governments in the process. This development has been met with different reactions as some people support the idea while others openly question its validity as applied to the constitution. Is the involvement of state and local law enforcement agencies in the enforcement of immigration laws a violation of the U.S constitution? Why the state and local law enforcers are being involved in immigration law enforcement The federal government is probably not to blame for not being able to adequately handle the immigration situation. Apparently it operates a limited force of an estimated 2,000 federal agents.   Yet statistics show that there are more than twelve million immigrants living illegally in the United States and every year, there is an influx averaging 800,000. Some of them, around 450,000, are absconders who have already been issued with a deportation order but have not yet left the country. Some of them have even been found guilty of some deportable crimes but are yet to be deported. Cleary, the federal government has not been able to effectively implement the federal immigration laws across the entire country, simply because it lacks enough manpower. The number of illegal aliens in America far outweighs the force that is meant to control them at the ration of approximately 5,000 to 1. It is for this reason that decisions were made to include the state and local law enforcers in the implementation of immigration laws. This move added an additional 700,000 law enforcers to the immigration police force thereby increasing the capability of the federal government to effectively enforce the immigration laws (Booth, 2006). Legislations supporting the involvement of state and local law enforcers in immigration There are several legislations which have been proposed to facilitate the involvement of the state and local law enforcers in the implementation of immigration laws. In the late twentieth century, the federal government started making subtle efforts to involve state and local governments in immigration. The year 1996 marked a turning point in the involvement of state and local governments in enforcement of immigration laws. During this year, Congress introduced the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) which brought significant changes in state handling of aliens (â€Å"The constitutionality of immigration federalism†, 2005). Through this act, Congress gave the states authority to discriminate against immigrants in public benefits programs by deciding who was eligible and who was not. Since the states are not allowed to classify aliens under the equal protection doctrine, the federal government took measures to devolve immigration decision making authority to the states so that their welfare discrimination would not be viewed as a violation of the constitution but rather, as immigration law making (Wishnie, 2002). The immigration laws of 1996 encouraged the state and local governments to take part in the implementation of immigration laws and authorized them to cooperate with the U.S Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS). Ordinances which had previously prevented the INS and the local agencies from communicating were removed and the states were allowed to deny drivers’ licenses to illegal immigrants. This led to an increase in the number of detained illegal immigrant.In 2001, the September 11 attacks further intensified local government involvement in the enforcement of immigration and in 2002, the U.S Department of Justice declared that in its point of view, the state and local governments possessed an â€Å"inherent authority† to enforce immigration laws (Wishnie, 2002). In 2003, H.R 2671, the Clear Law Enforcement for Criminal Alien Removal Act (CLEAR Act) was introduced by the U.S House of representatives. It stated in part that the State and local law enforcers had the authority to enforce immigration laws and declared that any state with no statute to enable the implementation of federal immigration laws within a two year period after the act had been enacted be denied certain federal incarceration assistance. It also proposed compensation of the State or local authority for the apprehension of illegal immigrants within their jurisdictions as well as the provision of personal liability immunity to personnel who enforced the immigration laws; whether they are from a federal, State or local agency. However, this bill never became law (GovTrack.us, 2003). In November 2003, S.1906, the Homeland Security Enhancement Act (HSEA) was introduced into parliament by the U.S senate. Under the HSEA, all violations of immigration laws committed by immigrants would be criminalized. The act also proposed that the states which did not repeal the policies that hindered their police from enforcing the immigration laws be denied funds from Criminal Alien Assistance Program (SCAAP) so as to induce them to enforce these laws. The SCAAP program reimburses the States any costs that they may have incurred in their incarceration of non US citizens. This Act was met with sharp disagreements with the opponents arguing that it would damage the good relationships that local law enforcers had forged with immigrants in their area even as its proponents felt that its enactment would boost national security (NILC, 2004). In 2005, some legislation pieces similar to the 2003 Clear Act and the 2003 HSEA Act were reintroduced by Congress. Both of these bills asserted that the state and local law enforcement was allowed to aid the federal government in the implementation of immigration laws. It is worth noting that the 2005 CLEAR Act also proposed that the allocation of federal funds to local authorities be made dependent on whether they supported the federal government in the implementation of the immigration laws (Booth, 2006). All these legislations were in an effort to make the state and local governments assume more responsibility in controlling immigration so as to enhance the effectiveness of local law enforcement efforts. Public opinion on immigration and federalism Several studies have revealed that a majority of Americans feel that immigration into the United States is out of hand and would wish for better laws to sustain the influx especially of illegal immigrants. In a recent Rasmussen public opinion poll, it was established that one out of every four U.S citizens was very angry about the current American immigration policy. 28% of those who were interviewed expressed frustration with this policy while 62% expressed the need for a stricter border control. As of August 2008, 74% of Americans felt that the federal government was not doing enough to control the borders (Rasmussen reports, 2008). It is precisely because of these sentiments that Congress introduced the above pieces of legislation. Generally, the devolution of policy making decisions to the state and local governments has received widespread support from the public (Wishnie, 2002). Interestingly however, this particular move has been met with sharp differences in opinion whereby there are those who are in support of the move while others oppose it. Those who are in support of these laws argue that they are essential in order to beef up security especially in the face of recent terrorism attacks among other crimes which are purported to have been committed by aliens. However, those who oppose the move feel that making local law enforcers responsible for the implementation of these laws will overburden them, making them inefficient in other crucial sectors. Others feel that such a move is ill- advised at it will unnecessarily divert the already scarce local resources from the regular law enforcement functions such as the protection of industrial facilities as well as the channels of commerce. There are also sentiments that such a move could erode the relationship that local law enforcers have established with the local immigrant communities, thereby impeding the fight against crime as the aliens, especially the illegal ones, become more apprehensive in coming out with information on various crimes as they are afraid of being deported. But perhaps the most significant argument of all against the devolution of immigrant policy implementation from the federal government to the state and local government is that â€Å"it violates the constitutional principles of federalism by allowing state and local officials to assume distinctly federal roles† (Booth, 2006).

Analysis of the U.S. Health Care System

Analysis of the U.S. Health Care System U.S. Health Care System Radhika Chhabra Healthcare within the United States has captured different people within the field such as business leaders, policy makers, and health experts to give the system a reformation. Within the year of 1993 and 1994 the United States government has changed over the course of the year and made sure that the reformation of the nation’s health care system stays intact. There are many underlying issues within the health care system and they need to have problems fixed as soon as possible and provide care to patients that are needed. â€Å"Unlike many other issues, the polls of American health care could be defined simply: health care costs too much and too many Americans go without needed care. Yet agreeing on a cure for those ills proved to be exceedingly difficult† (Cloyd, 2014). The United States carries on different ideas to improve their healthcare system and it seems like the way of expansion they need to have the proper access to provide the correct services that are needed within the U.S. health care system. Within the U.S. healthcare system the costs need to be lowered because the prices are tending to escalate within different organizations and the delivery of healthcare. The United States has been tied up within their problems and their main concern is the financial resources that are unable to be provided to them. This is one of the reasons why the U.S. depends on other countries to look for cures and other solution to provide medical care for patients. With different accesses that should be able to guarantee the control of costs within a health care facility. It tends to make it more difficult at times when they do not know what to expect and that ends up being risky and uncertain. The U.S. health care system needs to be successful with changing the system and the way they approach patients in the delivery. â€Å"Therefore the right question is whether measures exist that can improve conditions substantially within a reasonable amount of time. Different health care systems meet different needs and set different priorities. Each health care system tries to meet priorities, and in doing so each has disadvantages and advantages† (Cloyd, 2014). By reforming the healthcare system the U.S. should follow other countries institutions and making decisions what is best for their patients and their facilities. The consideration is that the country adopted other conditions from other countries and that makes it clarify that that it cann ot be possible to transition into another nation’s health care system. The people that are involved within the transition are the ones that are interested with specific features of other medical equipment and what they system provide to help patients out with their care. The U.S. system has different companies around the country that will provide medical care to their patients but have adaptation from different Japanese manufactures that will provide high quality techniques. The reason why the United States can adopt different aspects of different countries healthcare systems is because they can learn from each other on their culture and technology. People are showing the same and or different challenges that they face within a medical facility and for those reasons they are able to learn off one another. â€Å"Thus, the search for solutions has become global in scope, as the United States looks beyond its borders to examine how other industrialized nations provide and finance health care. Such lessons from abroad are made possible by cross-national comparisons and analyses of the extensive comparative data and information available† (Cloyd, 2014). There are different challenges that people tend to face within the American health care system and those are: the pressure of populations, the medical increases in costs and expensive procedures that are being done. Different nations are having a hard time of balancing these issues and making sure that they get resolved in a timely matter to making sure that everything works best for the patients. â€Å"There’s a bright side, to be sure. The U.S. leads the world in health care research and cancer treatment, for instance. The five-year survival rate for breast cancer is higher in the U.S. than in other OECD countries and survival from colorectal cancer is also among the best, according to the group (Kane, 2012). The US and other countries need to show an interest in another and see the benefits from each country and what they can provide for one another. Medical facilities need to feed off one another from different countries and see what they can provide and bring to the table that way their expansion can be bigger and better. Furthermore, there are different industries that have been approachable for these types of concerns that happen within the industry. The U.S. health care system and other industries need to discover in which ways to adapt and strengthen the industry to make sure it is a successful one. There have been different methods that have been involved to make sure that the international health care systems and the U.S. health care system are on the same page. The reason why it has become such an issue is because the different system has become a failure at the points of demonstrating the delivery of health care. The United States health care system is facing different challenges that show a clear enough indication to show the urgency of changing the delivery of the system. â€Å"Attention has rightly focused on the approximately 46 million Americans who are uninsured, and on the many insured Americans who face rapid increases in premiums and out-of-pocket costs. As Congress and the Obama administration consider ways to invest new funds to reduce the number of Americans without insurance coverage, we must simultaneously address shortfalls in the quality and efficiency of care that lead to higher costs and to poor health outcomes† (Brennan, 2009). The cast of the system is on a doubt because of it being feasible and reliable for coverage of the expansions that makes sure that the U.S. health care system will continue not to have large gaps within the industry. This means having people with access to their own insurance coverage(s). By improving the health care delivery system is to show the different improvements of the quality and the value of delivery that patients do receive. They do have to deliver the different issue of the escalated costs, the poor quality that is being delivered and the rising increase numbers of people who are without health care insurance. Medical professionals need to keep patients in a healthy state and making sure that they prevent any common illnesses. â€Å"Thoughtfully constructed reforms would support greater access to health-improving care — in contrast to the current system, which encourages more tests, procedures, and treatments that are at best unnecessary and at worst harmful† (Brennan, 2009). The health care quality gap is described as a gap of certain things within the population such as racial and ethnic groups. This gap is between the actual care that is being provided to what the best quality of care can be given or received. â€Å"The landmark Institute of Medicine report Crossing the Quality Chasm: A New Health System for the 21st Century challenges all health care organizations to pursue six major aims of health care improvement: safety, timeliness, effectiveness, efficiency, equity, and patient-centeredness† (Mayberry, 2006) . The equity in quality care is to show that all availability within the industry makes people not show the difference within race, ethnicity or other characteristics that can relate to patients care. The Baylor Health Care System is in a position that they can delivery health care that can lead to a system that provides equity research. Their organization provides different leadership involvement will make the employees achieve the bes t care possible. Furthermore, their access use and the way health care is delivered has to be more moral, ethical and deal with the economic issues that are raising questions for them to create a goal that needs to be achieved in a timely matter. By eliminating different problems within the health care industry they need to be strategized in a way where it will show the quality of improving the delivery of health care. â€Å"Quality performance indicators currently collected and evaluated indicate that Baylor Health Care System often performs better than the national average. However, there are significant variations in care by age, gender, race/ethnicity, and socioeconomic status that indicate the many remaining challenges in achieving â€Å"best care† for all. There is a significant gap between the quality of care the US health care system is capable of achieving and the quality of care it currently delivers† (Mayberry 2006). Healthcare safety and the quality that is being delivered make problems exist because of the different systems that are being provided to show the different levels that implement the care. By having the persistence in healthcare will also raise concerns in the overall quality of the care and have different impacts in the health care facility. There is a greater equity and insurance within the health care system to show the importance of it growing capability for business and individual people who are investors within the field. Different companies show the investment within the field by paying for their employee’s health insurance planes and they are showing an increase for concern. The reason for the concern is the quality of care that their employees are receiving from their providers that are showing a negative impact and the poor quality of care. The persistence of a medical gap is within the health care access and shows the outcomes by the different races and ethnicities the question the equity of health care. This also shows differences unfairness, the justice behind the discrimination within the U.S and different society struggles that people face. The gap in the quality of care shows the challenges to achieve the best care possible and they are the following: the increase of awareness and the importance in clinical quality and operations and showing the achievement of best care, showing a creating of cultural transformation in which people show the abilities to provide the best care possible. There should also be a cultural transformation where the equity has to be an important more of a clinical transformation, the creation of health care operation will overall improve the quality of health care practices. The effort and commitment to approve healthcare is the achievement of best practices possible that will fit the organization and fit that facility to show equitable care. There will always be issues that come up within the healthcare industry because at the fact it is always changing. There can be results that can help minimize the problems within the industry and a big resolution is implementing the EMR system into each medical facility within the United States. The electronic medical record will only provide better medical attention to patients that are receiving care. This also helps out different medical physicians in regards to accessing patient records within a timely matter and that way they can provide the patient with the best medical attention possible One of the strengths of having and EMR within a medical facility provides less paper and storage because everything is electronic and the country would save a lot of money on the paper use. â€Å"Reduced redundancy in record-keeping efforts and improved operational efficiency. EMRs have superior capabilities for storing, processing, and retrieving information and computerized methods are sign ificantly faster than paper-based methods† (Kumar Aldrich, 2010).The communication level between physicians and patients would be a lot stronger because the EMR system has a way of providing pictures of patient’s exams and it would be a lot more legible than a paper record and this gives the physician to able to give more time to patient and their needs for medical care. The EMR system improves the data accuracy and shows the services of billing and coding to be done easier and show a method of information that will prevent medical errors. EMR provides a better mechanism for analyzing and reviewing patient outcomes. Its flexible output formats could be customized to meet the needs of patients, payers, referral sources, and other parties who use health information† (Kumar Aldrich, 2010). With strengths there always comes weaknesses and the fact the EMR System is so expensive will put a damper on the government and the medical facility that will be implementing them into their facility. There have been estimated costs of $28 billion a year over a ten year development and then a $16 billion spread over the course of the implementations. Along with the costs there is also the system complication of how to navigate it and use it with the information that is given. There would always need to be a staff training and making sure that the staff clearly understands on how the system works and needs to be comfortable enough to navigate throughout the departments (Kumar Aldrich, 2010). Through the EMR systems they show the capability of giving healthcare initiatives of the governments showing the clinical research for policymakers, sponsors and researchers. â€Å"Research à ¯Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ndings and the medical discoveries must be converted into useful products and services for physicians, patients, and health care providers. Clinical decision support systems (DSS) are vital components to enable this and can also substantially reduce the time of submission of higher-quality research data to the FDA for clinical trials† (Venkatraman Bala, 2008). The development Developing and improving the EMR system is to make sure that all the components are working smooth and sufficient and making sure that the public health is away from any danger, diseases and etc. Combining the EMR system with any type of clinical component will show the electrical tracking system of any indicators that need to be fixed. By fixing these issues will only help health care professional treat p atients for their medical needs rather than processing the medical records on their own needs. In conclusion the U.S. Healthcare industry needs to make some changes and needs to make them fast that way there can be great benefits involved for patient care. The implementation of the IT systems such as the EMR will only help out different medical facilities, medical physicians, medical personals and even patients to provide better health care. One of the main reasons the EMR system will provide better healthcare to patients is to show that the healthcare industry needs to provide to their patients and they need to provide the best healthcare possible. â€Å"The new health reform law will bring about sweeping changes to the American health care system, not the least of which involves extending health insurance coverage to millions of Americans that have previously gone without (Zamosky, 2014). People are now required to have health insurance and this will only help them and be beneficial to them when medical attention is needed. References Brennan, N. (n.d.). Improving Quality and Value in the U.S. Health Care System. The Brookings Institution. Retrieved April 27, 2014, from http://www.brookings.edu/research/reports/2009/08/21-bpc-qualityreport Cloyd, C. (n.d.). Health Care Systems: Three International Comparisons. Health Care Systems: Three International Comparisons. Retrieved April 27, 2014, from https://www.stanford.edu/class/e297c/poverty_prejudice/soc_sec/health.htm Kane, J. (2012, October 22). Health Costs: How the U.S. Compares With Other Countries. PBS. Retrieved April 26, 2014, from http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/health-costs-how-the-us-compares-with-other-countries/ Kumar, S., Aldrich, K. (2010). Overcoming barriers to electronic medical record (EMR) implementation in the US healthcare system: A comparative study. Health Informatics Journal, 16(4), 306-318. doi:10.1177/1460458210380523 Mayberry, R., Nicewander, D., Qin, H., Ballard, D. (n.d.). Abstract. National Center for Biotechnology Information. Retrieved April 28, 2014, from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1426185/ VENKATRAMAN, S., BALA, H., VENKATESH, V., BATES, J. (2008). Six Strategies for Electronic Medical Records Systems. Communications Of The ACM, 51(11), 140-144. Zamosky, L. (2010, September 23). Health Reform Summary and Facts: Changes and Benefits That Affect You. WebMD. Retrieved April 28, 2014, from http://www.webmd.com/health-insurance/health-reform-summary-benefits