Integration of Technology in Higher Education

Integration of Technology in Higher Education Abstract The potentials of mobile phone technology are huge and it has opened possibilities and avenues for enhancing knowledge sharing activities among academics in Institutions of Higher Learning (IHLs). However, it was found that there was lack of academic research on the use of mobile phone technologies for knowledge sharing purposes in IHLs. In IHLs, technologies of mobile phones such as cell phones, smart phones, and PDAs provided with interesting features like camera, video, memory, player of MP3, internet approach and finally, presence in a device, by allowing study anywhere, anytime. This paper aimed to understand academics general attitudes towards the use of mobile phone technology in IHLs, to explore the academics perceived usefulness to use mobile phone technology in IHLs, to determine academics perceived ease of use of mobile phone technology in IHLs, to understand academics behavioral intention to use mobile phone technology in IHLs, to identify how will mobile phone technologi es change the work situation of academics, and to identify the possible services that, in their opinion, can improve mobile phone technology and knowledge sharing among academics in IHLs. The overall findings revealed that there were at least four factors could lead to the adoption of mobile phone technology among academics in an Institution of Higher Learning. These factors were; attitudes towards the use of mobile phone technology, perceived usefulness to use mobile phone technology, perceived ease of use of mobile phone technology, and behavioral intention to use mobile phone technology. Keywords: Mobile Phone Technology, Institutions of Higher Learning, Academics 1.0 Introduction In recent years, information technology (IT) usage in universities and colleges is broadly increasing for the purposes of enhancing the administration and teaching and learning efficiencies. As the population of campuses raises, so does the improvement of technologies. In Institutions of Higher Learning (IHLs), technologies of mobile phones such as cell phones, smart phones, PDAs and telephone provided with interesting features like camera, video, memory, player of MP3, internet approach and finally, presence in a device, by allowing study anywhere, anytime (Wilen-Daugenti, 2007). Junior et al. (2008) defined mobile technologies as mobile technologies are exactly what its name refers, i.e., portable technology that can be moved from one place to another without any loss. There are several advantages of mobile technologies. Few of them are the independence in learning at anywhere and anytime, faster and convenient communication as well as rapid access to variety of different sources. Moreover, the ability to conduct impossible experiments in authentic way is truly pleasant. It is safe to experiment with them because the error will only affect in simulation environment (Smidts et al., 2008). According to Naismith et al. (2005), â€Å"mobile technologies are becoming more embedded, ubiquitous and networked, with enhanced capabilities for rich social interactions, context awareness and internet connectivity† (p.6). Additionally, Anderson and Rainie (2008) concluded that the mobile phone technologies will be the most fundamental and compulsory connection device to the internet for everyone in 2020. 2.0 Mobile Phone Technologies in IHLs Academics find mobile phone technologies as their big savior when comes to managing the working tasks. Plenty of important features such as address books, devices of storage of file, cameras, recorder of video and internet added to the working flexibility in IHLs. Todays mobile phones are as influential as computers. According to Nokia (2007), â€Å"Its what computers have become†. Its increase to ubiquity is explained as a †¦stealthy but rapid shift from a telephony device towards a portable, personal media hub that enables an increasing range of personalized and customized communication, entertainment, relationship management and service functions. Its reach is pervasively global and trans-cultural, possibly more so than any other media form including the internet and World Wide Web (Cameron, 2006). Nowadays, it is impossible to resist mobile phone. Each and every aspects of life demand the importance of mobile device. As the international barriers are getting smaller due to globalization, the need of communication is inevitable. Consequently, mobile phone is becoming more and more compulsory and necessary to have. All walks of life celebrate the use of mobile phone technologies, so does the academics. Undeniably, there are myriad of activities for both academics and students provided by mobile phone technologies such as; uploading and downloading of songs, movies and videos to cell phone, MP3 player, iPod, sending and receiving e-mails, instant messages (IMs), short text messages (SMS), transferring files, photos or other data , interactive games, searching for information or services on the web, making video calls, personal organizer (e.g. diary, address book), in-class surveys/questions, in-class media sharing, attendance monitor, distant privileges of library, peer locator, free or inexpensive VoIP phone as well as notification of the security. Academics who have experienced dealing with mobile technologies in working possess several reasons to continue using them. Firstly, to be able to communicate with other people, to seek information, to take pictures and create clips and sharing with others is what most people have become used to (Smidts et al., 2008). The following studies have examined some of the activities of the mobile phone in the IHLs. Corbeil and Valdes-Corbeil (2007) have explored mobile phone activities engaged in by academics and students in their study. According to their findings, these technologies can be applied in many activities such as: uploading and downloading songs/movies/video clips, sending and receiving e-mail, Instant Messages (IMs), Short Text Messages (SMS), transferring files, photos or other data playing the interactive games, transferring photos or other data, downloading Podcasts of appropriate instructive material along with audio and video lectures, reading e-books, reconsidering coursework and getting ready in exams, showing their jobs and sharing plan results, providing visual, adding a microphone to their mobile to capture material for educational use, using an MP3 player to download and listen to Podcasts and audio lectures, and reconsidering the material of courses and studying for exams, audio books and, with some devices as well as the most widely used nowadays which is recording le ctures. Furthermore, findings from studies conducted by Whilst Kennedy et al. (2008a) and Kennedy et al. (2008b), mobile phone technologies allowed users to conduct 9 activities in Institutions of Higher learning as the following: To send pictures or movies to colleagues. To use mobile phone as MP3 player. To access information or services on the web. To make video calls. To take digital photos or movies. To send or receive email. To use mobile phone as a personal organizer (e.g. diary, address book). To send or receive SMS to colleagues. To call the colleagues or others. Besides, according to studies done by Wilen-Daugenti and McKee (2008), mobile phone technologies could be used for many applications for academics and students in both inside and outside the IHLs as example field below; In-Class Surveys/Questions: Students may submit the answers to questions or surveys given by an academic through their mobile phones. In-Class Media Sharing: During lectures, students are able to share interesting pictures or videos to their friends by emailing the files to the lecture halls projector. Attendance Monitor: An academic may demand students to do a virtual â€Å"roll call† by transmitting a message from their mobile phones. Course Materials: During lecture, an academic can directly send the course materials to students phones. Remote Library Privileges: The private privileges of library are also granted to students who can use their mobile phones to search articles without need to use a proxy server  · Peer Locator: Based on networks accuracy, peers may be alerted when their contacts are close by the mobile phones.  · Free or Inexpensive VoIP Calling: Universities may offer cheaper international or local calls made within the campus for students who might really need to do so. Position System: By sharing information contextual about the users actual place, mobile phone serves as a guide of virtual turn which assists the presence of students around the campus. Notification of the Security / Emergency: Depending on the users location, a warning notice is sent immediately to every mobile phone via email and voicemail, by informing the best way to leave the campus or a particular building in case of emergency. Moreover, a study carried out by Duke University (2005) has outlined the major categories of mobile devices employment by the academics as follows: The Instrument of Broadcasting of Lesson Contents- Mobile phone provides access to lessons content such as lectures, songs, historical speeches, conferences and meetings. Tool of Classroom Recording mobile phone can be used as a tool to capture lectures, class discussions and feedbacks. Tool of Supporting Study mobile phone allows academics for repetition of commercial and original audio content, such as music and audio books. Transfer and File Storage mobile phone is able to transfer or backup all sorts of files. Digital Portal: Both academics and students may no longer depend on physical materials. Flexible Location mobile phone provides accessing of digital materials at anywhere and anytime which also contributes to a decreased dependency of library. Digital Recording mobile phone allows convenient digital recording of interviews, field notes, small group discussions and oral assignments. Convenient Tool mobile phone makes students engagement in class discussions, labs, field research, and independent plans much easier.  · Improved Support for Personality Knowledge Preferences and Needs In addition, Duke University (2008) has widened their outlines as follows: Text Messaging: University may send text messages to students to notify them about examination dates for instance. Flexible, Delivery of Mobile Content: students are able to access classes by using their mobile phones in distance learning. Practice Exercises for Study and Review: students may be able to review the materials or quizzes created by the academics in anytime and anywhere. Mobile Creation and Media Publication: students could use their mobile phones to capture images or videos and share them with the entire world by uploading them directly into the Internet. Social Learning in Mobile Network: Facebook, Friendster, and other social networking tools allow users to share their life updates. Students get to interact with the members of a study group across the world.  · Gaming and Simulations: mobile phone is equipped with a feature to keep the academics and students in the games of simulation. Use of Mobile Phone Technologies in the Classroom: students can select answers out of multiple choice questions created by the academics in the classroom. Subsequently, Abilene Christian University (2008) pointed out that mobile phone technologies possess many interesting benefits and have become a standard tool in IHLs. Some of the benefits are summarized as follows: Digital Syllabus: dynamic changes of an individual, the activities of a student or status are allowed Clicker: real-time dynamic class polling or free-form answers are allowed Classroom Communicator: an improved flexibility in classes content and release is allowed Document Reader: an e-Book Internet Communicator: the aggregation of content on the sites of class is facilitated Alert System: a receiving automated information of courses Notes Taker: recording aggregation device for audio recordings is allowed Location Reporter: a college grounds map with active location is reported when needed Attendance Tool: dynamic comment about a users position anywhere anytime is given Business Purposes: wireless communication for bill paying, ticket-buying and bookstore buying or any business related matters are enabled Registrars Office Extension: easy course employment, communication with academic records, and dynamic scoring access are made easier Besides, benefits proposed by Cisco (2008) of a mobile system solution for colleges and universities are as follows: a) easy and convenient communication between academics and students, b) a study is developed beyond a class, by becoming more in collaboration, interactive and dynamic, c) both parties may seek new opportunities to connect resources and training, and d) academics can use context of a study based on interactive mode in managing the approach for students daily. Additionally, by using mobile phone technologies, Lefoe and Olney (2007) and Lefoe et al. (2008) reconsidered academics activities by in IHLs as follows: a) making interview with visiting speakers and return it back to the speaker for editing, d) audio comments, c) setting up mobile phone as database for others to use, d) recording interviews for re-evaluating of issues, e) collecting of thoughtful obviousness of the own teaching of academician to plan for future teaching, f) preparing and carrying the necessary articles needed, g) tutorial roles, h) easier sharing of information to students. Apart from that, Nie (2006) pointed out the potential use of mobile technologies in IHLs as follows: Recorder: students may record their works, interviews, presentations and lectures. Audio: students get to listen to genuine audio materials such as interview, audio book, music, speech and vocabulary. Multimedia: students can access multimedia materials such as film, picture, snap, visual vocabulary etc. Pre-class Resources: academics can create pre-class listening resources containing academic news, review of papers and journal articles, week activities, comments on assignment, etc. Podcasting: allows students to share their own ideas with others. Moreover, Jocelyn et al. (2008) condemned that mobile phone technologies possess many interesting benefits in IHLs as follows: a) academics can access the internet in any time and at any where, b) PDAs enable flexible and timely access to e-learning resources which would lead to empowerment and effective learning, c) academics are enabled to access training resources any time, anywhere, d) academics may hold question and answer sessions via conferences, seminars, workshops, and e) both academics and students can get a real opportunity to make a link between field and college. Finally, BlackBerry (2006) concluded that there are potential benefits of providing mobile access to few applications used by the colleges different departments such as: a) academics may stay in touch and schedule appointments on-the-road, b) healthy data security and remote device management, c) very useful for emergency communications during university trips and d) remote network maintenance via web interface. 3.0 Mobile phone technology and knowledge sharing among academics in IHLs The literature evidenced that mobile phone technologies playing important role in Institutions of Higher Learning. Mobile technologies have opened the door to possibilities and avenues for knowledge sharing by providing a new platform via wireless communication or other ICT applications. Mobile technology may enhance academics functionalities in Institutions of Higher Learning by supporting Externalization and Combination activities. Subsequently, mobile phone technology and knowledge sharing among academics in Institutions of Higher Learning could be demonstrated as follows: Academics can send and receive short text messages (SMS) from each other. The great advantage of using SMS is that it offers just-in-time information Academics can send and receive instant messages (IMs) from each other. Mobile phone offers a way to send instant messages at a much lower cost than traditional SMS messaging. Messages are sent and received by the use of the Internet means that the cost of messages depends only on the quantity of data sent Academics can send and receive e-mail from each other. Mobile phone offers a way to send to receive emails E-mails are sent and received by the use of the Internet means that the cost of mail depends only on the quantity of data sent Academics can share administrative information with colleague. Mobile phone technologies enhance communications among academics on campus. Through mobile devices, academics can receive administrative information such as announcements and urgent messages from faculty or university Academics can share and listen to Podcasts/audio books with colleague Academics can share downloads and view streaming movies/video clips Mobile phone technology can be used as peer locators, alerting academics when their contacts are nearby. Mobile phone technology represents a classroom communicator that enables increased flexibility in course content and delivery among academics. Academics can create pre-class listening resources containing academic news, review of papers and journal articles, week activities, comments on assignment, etc Academics can create memos which can be sent to colleague from mobile or saved onto his/her office computer Academics have ability to read work related documents via PDF, HTML, and Microsoft Office files Academics can record conferences, seminars, workshops, symposiums , interviews, lectures and sent it to his/her colleague through mobile device Academics can share e-books, journals, or other academic materials Academics can publish e-books and e-papers University can set up mobile phone technologies as database for academics to download documents, applications and university roles Academics can share with colleagues research findings Academics can use the micro web browser for conducting quick research online Academics can stay connected to social networking sites in mobile environment Academics can use a mobile phone technology to send pictures or movies to each other. Mobile technology provides an opportunity for the new generation of people with better communication and activities without taking into account the place and time. This section has outlined the potential use of mobile phone technologies among academics in IHLs. The benefits of mobile phone technologies have been broadly discussed in general. Additionally, this section has evidenced most studies related to the benefits of mobile phones usage among students. Ultimately, this section shows that there are a few studies to examine the benefits of the mobile phone technologies among academics. Despite the advantages of mobile phone technology are clear, only a small number of Institutions of Higher Learning are equipped with integrated mobile phone technologies in their environments (Joan John, 2007; Kim et al., 2006; New Media Consortium, 2007). Figueira (2007) pointed that as of August 2007, however, there are no universities or degree awarding programs with a website designed for downloading on a mobile device (p.1). Sufficient technological means to access mobile devices are not widely used by the academics in Institutions of Higher Learning (Junior et al., 2008). In 2007, Peters conducted a research to 29 manufacturers of mobile devices, businesses and education suppliers and found that mobile phone technologies are in general used in some commercial organizations, but found limited adoption for Institutions of higher learning use. The purpose of this study is to understand academics general attitudes towards the use of mobile phone technology in IHLs, to explore the academics perceived usefulness to use mobile phone technology in IHLs, to determine academics perceived ease of use of mobile phone technology in IHLs, to understand academics behavioral intention to use mobile phone technology in IHLs, to identify how will mobile phone technologies change the work situation of academics, and to identify the possible services that, in their opinion, can improve mobile phone technology and knowledge sharing among academics in IHLs. 4.0 Research Methodology Both primary and secondary data were collected for this research. The primary data was collected by distributing questionnaires to the academics in University Utara Malaysia (UUM). UUM is a public Institution of Higher Learning located n the northern region of Malaysia. The sample of this study was the academics that come from Public Institution of Higher Learning (PIHL). Those academics are different in terms of their academic designation: Tutor, Lecturer, Senior Lecturer, Associate Professor, and Professor. A total of 290 questionnaires were distributed to all academics in UUM. The sampling was based on convenience and 153 participants successfully responded, giving a response rate of 52.7 %. The analysis of the survey results is presented based on a valid response of 153 academics of University Utara Malaysia. Data collection for this study was undertaken during the month of May 2009. In gathering information pertaining to the study; a questionnaire was used as the main instrument for data collection in this study. a questionnaire was prepared divided into seven sections as follows: Section 1 was not containing any personally identifiable questions. The demographic and background variables used in this study are gender, status, age, designation, availability of devices, period of time in using device, academics opinion about devices price, academics opinion about devices, usefulness and effectiveness role in the work, connecting to internet through device, and academics preferences for mobile phone functions. This section was adapted from Avenoglu (2005) and Trifonova (2006). Section 2: contains questions that targeted at attitudes towards the use of mobile phone technology in Institutions of Higher Leaning. The respondents were given a list of six items to assess their opinions and attitu des to use mobile phone technology. Questions were adapted from Kurnia et al. (2008) and Avenoglu (2005). Section 3: contains questions concerning the perceived usefulness to use mobile phone technology. Five items were used to measure the respondents perception toward the usefulness to use mobile phone technology. Questions were adapted from Kurnia et al. (2008) and Trifonova (2006). Section 4: contains questions that targeted at the perceived ease of use of mobile phone technology. Three items were used to measure the respondents perception that used mobile phone technology and found it easy to use. Questions were adapted from Kurnia et al. (2008) and Trifonova (2006). Section 5: contains questions about behavioral intention to use mobile phone technology in Institutions of Higher Leaning. Four items were used to measure behavioral intention of the respondents towards using of mobile phone technology. Questions were adapted form Kurnia et al. (2008). Section 6: contains questions that are related to how can mobile phone technology change the work situation of academics in Institutions of Higher Leaning. Ten items were used to measure the respondents opinions about how can mobile phone technology increases the flexibility and the ability to work on the move. Questions were adapted form Dye et al. (2003). Section 7: contains statements that targeted to mobile phone technology and knowledge sharing among academics in Institutions of Higher Learning. The respondents were given a list of eighteen statements to assess their opinions and potential use of mobile phone technology for knowledge sharing among academics in Institution of Higher Learning. All Questions in this section were chosen from the interview with academics. A five point Likert scale type was used in this study and the academics were required to state the extent to which statements in their point of view were important or not important for them as academics. The Scale was (SD= Strongly Disagree, D = Disagree, N = Neutral, A = Agree, and SA = Strongly Agree). In this study, the questionnaire was pilot tested with 30 UUM academic staff. The table 1 shows the Cronbachs alpha coefficient for section 2, section 3, section 4, section 5, section 6 and section 7. Table 1: Reliability Cronbachs Alpha (ÃŽ ±) for Questionnaires Six Sections The Item Cronbachs Alpha (ÃŽ ±) Reliability Results Section 2 0.891 Good Section 3 0.840 Good Section 4 0.820 Good Section 5 0.805 Good Section 6 0.894 Good Section 7 0.883 Good 5.0 Data Analysis and Results 5.1 Respondents Profile and Background Information Based on the demographics and other personal background information obtained, out of 153 respondents 61.0 % were females. The most of the respondents were married 74 %. 36.4 % of the respondents were 41 to 50 years old and 30.5 % were 31 to 40 years old. Most of the respondents were Lecturers position 39.0 %, following by Senior Lecturers 26.0 %, Tutor 18.2 %, and Associate Professor 16.9 %. Table 2 below gives respondents demographic profile: Table 2: Respondents Demographic Profile Respondents Profile Classification Frequency % Gender Male 60 39 Female 94 61 Status Married 114 74 Unmarried 40 26 Age 20-30 33 21.4 31-40 47 30.5 41-50 56 36.4 Above 50 18 11.7 Designation Tutor 28 18.2 Lecturer 60 39.0 Senior Lecturer 40 26.0 Associate Professor 26 16.9 5.1.2 Availability of Devices The study (refer to 1) shows that 98 % of academics had Cell phone, 36 % PDA, 10 % Smart phone, and 2 % Pocket PC. The study also shows that there were more that 40 % of academics had more that one device, for instance, 33 % of academics had Cell phone and PDA device, 9 % of academics had Cell phone and Smart phone, and 3 % of academics had Cell phone, Smart phone and PDA in one time. 5.1.3 Period in Using Device The study (refer to 2) shows that 50.6 % of academics had Cell phone for more than 8 years, 30 % had Cell phone between 6 to 8 years, 13.6 % had Cell phone between 3 to 5 years, and 0.6 % had Cell phone less than one year. As well, it shows that 2.6 % of academics had Smart phone between 3 to 5 years, 5.2 % had Smart phone between 1 to 2 years, 2.0 % of academics had Smart phone less than one year. In addition, it shows that 3.2. % of academics had PDA device between 6 to 8 years, 7.1 % of academics had PDA device between 3 to 5 years, 19.4 % had PDA device between 1 to 2 years, and 6.5 % of academics had PDA device less than one year. Finally, only three participants 2.0 % had Pocket PC between 1 to 2 years. 5.1.4 Opinion about the Price In view of academics opinion about prices of devices, the general opinion was that Cell phones had reasonable price, were 77.8 % preferred that Cell phone had normal price and 22.8 % refer that Cell phone had low price. In addition, Smart phone, PDAs, and Pocket PC were considered costly price (for Smart phone 58.44 %, for PDAs 61.04 %, and for Pocket PC 64.94 %). Furthermore, a few academics had no opinion on the prices for smart phones, PDAs, and Pocket PC (for Smart phones 4 %, PDAs 5.19 %, and Pocket PC 2.60 %). 3 and shows the academics opinion about devices prices. 5.1.5 The Usefulness and Effectiveness Role of Mobile Phone Technologies in the Work The study (refer to 4) shows that the majority of respondents 97.4 % considered that mobile devices can play a useful and effective role in their daily work. While 0.6 % considered that mobile devices cannot play a useful and effective role in their daily work, and only 1.9 % were not sure about the usefulness and effectiveness of mobile device role in their work. These results indicate that academics had positive opinions regarding using mobile phone technologies in their work, and these results can support researchers opinion about the importance and usefulness of this study in IHLs environment, and to stand up to the factors that could help passing mobile phone technologies in IHLs. 5.1.6 Connecting to Internet though Mobile Phone Technologies 5 shows that the majority of respondents 75.3 % were connecting to internet though mobile phone technologies, and only 24.7 % were not connecting to internet through mobile phone technologies. As evidenced by various studies mentioned above, mobile phone technologies give opportunity to academics to connect to internet and to the world any time anywhere. In addition, mobile phone technologies could able to increase the range of personalized and customized communication, entertainment, relationship management and service function 5.1.7 Academics Preferences of Mobile Phone Functions The academics in this section were given a list of fifteen mobile phone functions and they had to choose one or more of these functions. The results are shown in table 3. Today mobile phone technologies provide a wide range of services. Among these services, a researcher can demonstrate; browsing the Web, MMS, games, alarm/reminder, calling, listening to music, voice recorder, chatting, calendar, camera, phone book, SMS, sending e-mail, dictionary, audio file storage. According to the findings, 100 % of respondents preferred that the function of calling was the most important function, where 98 % preferred that the second important function was SMS. In addition, the findings show that the respondents who choose calendar were 79 %, camera 77 %, alarm/reminder 75 %, phone book 70 %, listening to music 61 %, browsing the Web 53 %, games and sending e-mail 42 %, MMS 41 %, voice recorder 38%, dictionary and audio file storage 29%, and chatting 21 %. Table 3: Academics Preference of Mobile Phone Functions No. Mobile Phone Functions % 1 Calling 100% 2 SMS 98% 3 Calendar 79% 4 Camera 77% 5 Alarm/reminder 75% 6 Phone book 70% 7 Listening to music 61% 8 Browsing the Web 53% 9 Games 42% 10 Sending e-mail 42% 11 MMS 41% 12 Voice recorder 38% 13 Dictionary 29% 14 Audio file storage 29% 15 Chatting 21% 5.2 Attitudes towards the Use of Mobile Phone Technology in IHLs The respondents were given a list of six items to assess their opinions and attitudes toward using mobile phone tec Integration of Technology in Higher Education Integration of Technology in Higher Education Abstract The potentials of mobile phone technology are huge and it has opened possibilities and avenues for enhancing knowledge sharing activities among academics in Institutions of Higher Learning (IHLs). However, it was found that there was lack of academic research on the use of mobile phone technologies for knowledge sharing purposes in IHLs. In IHLs, technologies of mobile phones such as cell phones, smart phones, and PDAs provided with interesting features like camera, video, memory, player of MP3, internet approach and finally, presence in a device, by allowing study anywhere, anytime. This paper aimed to understand academics general attitudes towards the use of mobile phone technology in IHLs, to explore the academics perceived usefulness to use mobile phone technology in IHLs, to determine academics perceived ease of use of mobile phone technology in IHLs, to understand academics behavioral intention to use mobile phone technology in IHLs, to identify how will mobile phone technologi es change the work situation of academics, and to identify the possible services that, in their opinion, can improve mobile phone technology and knowledge sharing among academics in IHLs. The overall findings revealed that there were at least four factors could lead to the adoption of mobile phone technology among academics in an Institution of Higher Learning. These factors were; attitudes towards the use of mobile phone technology, perceived usefulness to use mobile phone technology, perceived ease of use of mobile phone technology, and behavioral intention to use mobile phone technology. Keywords: Mobile Phone Technology, Institutions of Higher Learning, Academics 1.0 Introduction In recent years, information technology (IT) usage in universities and colleges is broadly increasing for the purposes of enhancing the administration and teaching and learning efficiencies. As the population of campuses raises, so does the improvement of technologies. In Institutions of Higher Learning (IHLs), technologies of mobile phones such as cell phones, smart phones, PDAs and telephone provided with interesting features like camera, video, memory, player of MP3, internet approach and finally, presence in a device, by allowing study anywhere, anytime (Wilen-Daugenti, 2007). Junior et al. (2008) defined mobile technologies as mobile technologies are exactly what its name refers, i.e., portable technology that can be moved from one place to another without any loss. There are several advantages of mobile technologies. Few of them are the independence in learning at anywhere and anytime, faster and convenient communication as well as rapid access to variety of different sources. Moreover, the ability to conduct impossible experiments in authentic way is truly pleasant. It is safe to experiment with them because the error will only affect in simulation environment (Smidts et al., 2008). According to Naismith et al. (2005), â€Å"mobile technologies are becoming more embedded, ubiquitous and networked, with enhanced capabilities for rich social interactions, context awareness and internet connectivity† (p.6). Additionally, Anderson and Rainie (2008) concluded that the mobile phone technologies will be the most fundamental and compulsory connection device to the internet for everyone in 2020. 2.0 Mobile Phone Technologies in IHLs Academics find mobile phone technologies as their big savior when comes to managing the working tasks. Plenty of important features such as address books, devices of storage of file, cameras, recorder of video and internet added to the working flexibility in IHLs. Todays mobile phones are as influential as computers. According to Nokia (2007), â€Å"Its what computers have become†. Its increase to ubiquity is explained as a †¦stealthy but rapid shift from a telephony device towards a portable, personal media hub that enables an increasing range of personalized and customized communication, entertainment, relationship management and service functions. Its reach is pervasively global and trans-cultural, possibly more so than any other media form including the internet and World Wide Web (Cameron, 2006). Nowadays, it is impossible to resist mobile phone. Each and every aspects of life demand the importance of mobile device. As the international barriers are getting smaller due to globalization, the need of communication is inevitable. Consequently, mobile phone is becoming more and more compulsory and necessary to have. All walks of life celebrate the use of mobile phone technologies, so does the academics. Undeniably, there are myriad of activities for both academics and students provided by mobile phone technologies such as; uploading and downloading of songs, movies and videos to cell phone, MP3 player, iPod, sending and receiving e-mails, instant messages (IMs), short text messages (SMS), transferring files, photos or other data , interactive games, searching for information or services on the web, making video calls, personal organizer (e.g. diary, address book), in-class surveys/questions, in-class media sharing, attendance monitor, distant privileges of library, peer locator, free or inexpensive VoIP phone as well as notification of the security. Academics who have experienced dealing with mobile technologies in working possess several reasons to continue using them. Firstly, to be able to communicate with other people, to seek information, to take pictures and create clips and sharing with others is what most people have become used to (Smidts et al., 2008). The following studies have examined some of the activities of the mobile phone in the IHLs. Corbeil and Valdes-Corbeil (2007) have explored mobile phone activities engaged in by academics and students in their study. According to their findings, these technologies can be applied in many activities such as: uploading and downloading songs/movies/video clips, sending and receiving e-mail, Instant Messages (IMs), Short Text Messages (SMS), transferring files, photos or other data playing the interactive games, transferring photos or other data, downloading Podcasts of appropriate instructive material along with audio and video lectures, reading e-books, reconsidering coursework and getting ready in exams, showing their jobs and sharing plan results, providing visual, adding a microphone to their mobile to capture material for educational use, using an MP3 player to download and listen to Podcasts and audio lectures, and reconsidering the material of courses and studying for exams, audio books and, with some devices as well as the most widely used nowadays which is recording le ctures. Furthermore, findings from studies conducted by Whilst Kennedy et al. (2008a) and Kennedy et al. (2008b), mobile phone technologies allowed users to conduct 9 activities in Institutions of Higher learning as the following: To send pictures or movies to colleagues. To use mobile phone as MP3 player. To access information or services on the web. To make video calls. To take digital photos or movies. To send or receive email. To use mobile phone as a personal organizer (e.g. diary, address book). To send or receive SMS to colleagues. To call the colleagues or others. Besides, according to studies done by Wilen-Daugenti and McKee (2008), mobile phone technologies could be used for many applications for academics and students in both inside and outside the IHLs as example field below; In-Class Surveys/Questions: Students may submit the answers to questions or surveys given by an academic through their mobile phones. In-Class Media Sharing: During lectures, students are able to share interesting pictures or videos to their friends by emailing the files to the lecture halls projector. Attendance Monitor: An academic may demand students to do a virtual â€Å"roll call† by transmitting a message from their mobile phones. Course Materials: During lecture, an academic can directly send the course materials to students phones. Remote Library Privileges: The private privileges of library are also granted to students who can use their mobile phones to search articles without need to use a proxy server  · Peer Locator: Based on networks accuracy, peers may be alerted when their contacts are close by the mobile phones.  · Free or Inexpensive VoIP Calling: Universities may offer cheaper international or local calls made within the campus for students who might really need to do so. Position System: By sharing information contextual about the users actual place, mobile phone serves as a guide of virtual turn which assists the presence of students around the campus. Notification of the Security / Emergency: Depending on the users location, a warning notice is sent immediately to every mobile phone via email and voicemail, by informing the best way to leave the campus or a particular building in case of emergency. Moreover, a study carried out by Duke University (2005) has outlined the major categories of mobile devices employment by the academics as follows: The Instrument of Broadcasting of Lesson Contents- Mobile phone provides access to lessons content such as lectures, songs, historical speeches, conferences and meetings. Tool of Classroom Recording mobile phone can be used as a tool to capture lectures, class discussions and feedbacks. Tool of Supporting Study mobile phone allows academics for repetition of commercial and original audio content, such as music and audio books. Transfer and File Storage mobile phone is able to transfer or backup all sorts of files. Digital Portal: Both academics and students may no longer depend on physical materials. Flexible Location mobile phone provides accessing of digital materials at anywhere and anytime which also contributes to a decreased dependency of library. Digital Recording mobile phone allows convenient digital recording of interviews, field notes, small group discussions and oral assignments. Convenient Tool mobile phone makes students engagement in class discussions, labs, field research, and independent plans much easier.  · Improved Support for Personality Knowledge Preferences and Needs In addition, Duke University (2008) has widened their outlines as follows: Text Messaging: University may send text messages to students to notify them about examination dates for instance. Flexible, Delivery of Mobile Content: students are able to access classes by using their mobile phones in distance learning. Practice Exercises for Study and Review: students may be able to review the materials or quizzes created by the academics in anytime and anywhere. Mobile Creation and Media Publication: students could use their mobile phones to capture images or videos and share them with the entire world by uploading them directly into the Internet. Social Learning in Mobile Network: Facebook, Friendster, and other social networking tools allow users to share their life updates. Students get to interact with the members of a study group across the world.  · Gaming and Simulations: mobile phone is equipped with a feature to keep the academics and students in the games of simulation. Use of Mobile Phone Technologies in the Classroom: students can select answers out of multiple choice questions created by the academics in the classroom. Subsequently, Abilene Christian University (2008) pointed out that mobile phone technologies possess many interesting benefits and have become a standard tool in IHLs. Some of the benefits are summarized as follows: Digital Syllabus: dynamic changes of an individual, the activities of a student or status are allowed Clicker: real-time dynamic class polling or free-form answers are allowed Classroom Communicator: an improved flexibility in classes content and release is allowed Document Reader: an e-Book Internet Communicator: the aggregation of content on the sites of class is facilitated Alert System: a receiving automated information of courses Notes Taker: recording aggregation device for audio recordings is allowed Location Reporter: a college grounds map with active location is reported when needed Attendance Tool: dynamic comment about a users position anywhere anytime is given Business Purposes: wireless communication for bill paying, ticket-buying and bookstore buying or any business related matters are enabled Registrars Office Extension: easy course employment, communication with academic records, and dynamic scoring access are made easier Besides, benefits proposed by Cisco (2008) of a mobile system solution for colleges and universities are as follows: a) easy and convenient communication between academics and students, b) a study is developed beyond a class, by becoming more in collaboration, interactive and dynamic, c) both parties may seek new opportunities to connect resources and training, and d) academics can use context of a study based on interactive mode in managing the approach for students daily. Additionally, by using mobile phone technologies, Lefoe and Olney (2007) and Lefoe et al. (2008) reconsidered academics activities by in IHLs as follows: a) making interview with visiting speakers and return it back to the speaker for editing, d) audio comments, c) setting up mobile phone as database for others to use, d) recording interviews for re-evaluating of issues, e) collecting of thoughtful obviousness of the own teaching of academician to plan for future teaching, f) preparing and carrying the necessary articles needed, g) tutorial roles, h) easier sharing of information to students. Apart from that, Nie (2006) pointed out the potential use of mobile technologies in IHLs as follows: Recorder: students may record their works, interviews, presentations and lectures. Audio: students get to listen to genuine audio materials such as interview, audio book, music, speech and vocabulary. Multimedia: students can access multimedia materials such as film, picture, snap, visual vocabulary etc. Pre-class Resources: academics can create pre-class listening resources containing academic news, review of papers and journal articles, week activities, comments on assignment, etc. Podcasting: allows students to share their own ideas with others. Moreover, Jocelyn et al. (2008) condemned that mobile phone technologies possess many interesting benefits in IHLs as follows: a) academics can access the internet in any time and at any where, b) PDAs enable flexible and timely access to e-learning resources which would lead to empowerment and effective learning, c) academics are enabled to access training resources any time, anywhere, d) academics may hold question and answer sessions via conferences, seminars, workshops, and e) both academics and students can get a real opportunity to make a link between field and college. Finally, BlackBerry (2006) concluded that there are potential benefits of providing mobile access to few applications used by the colleges different departments such as: a) academics may stay in touch and schedule appointments on-the-road, b) healthy data security and remote device management, c) very useful for emergency communications during university trips and d) remote network maintenance via web interface. 3.0 Mobile phone technology and knowledge sharing among academics in IHLs The literature evidenced that mobile phone technologies playing important role in Institutions of Higher Learning. Mobile technologies have opened the door to possibilities and avenues for knowledge sharing by providing a new platform via wireless communication or other ICT applications. Mobile technology may enhance academics functionalities in Institutions of Higher Learning by supporting Externalization and Combination activities. Subsequently, mobile phone technology and knowledge sharing among academics in Institutions of Higher Learning could be demonstrated as follows: Academics can send and receive short text messages (SMS) from each other. The great advantage of using SMS is that it offers just-in-time information Academics can send and receive instant messages (IMs) from each other. Mobile phone offers a way to send instant messages at a much lower cost than traditional SMS messaging. Messages are sent and received by the use of the Internet means that the cost of messages depends only on the quantity of data sent Academics can send and receive e-mail from each other. Mobile phone offers a way to send to receive emails E-mails are sent and received by the use of the Internet means that the cost of mail depends only on the quantity of data sent Academics can share administrative information with colleague. Mobile phone technologies enhance communications among academics on campus. Through mobile devices, academics can receive administrative information such as announcements and urgent messages from faculty or university Academics can share and listen to Podcasts/audio books with colleague Academics can share downloads and view streaming movies/video clips Mobile phone technology can be used as peer locators, alerting academics when their contacts are nearby. Mobile phone technology represents a classroom communicator that enables increased flexibility in course content and delivery among academics. Academics can create pre-class listening resources containing academic news, review of papers and journal articles, week activities, comments on assignment, etc Academics can create memos which can be sent to colleague from mobile or saved onto his/her office computer Academics have ability to read work related documents via PDF, HTML, and Microsoft Office files Academics can record conferences, seminars, workshops, symposiums , interviews, lectures and sent it to his/her colleague through mobile device Academics can share e-books, journals, or other academic materials Academics can publish e-books and e-papers University can set up mobile phone technologies as database for academics to download documents, applications and university roles Academics can share with colleagues research findings Academics can use the micro web browser for conducting quick research online Academics can stay connected to social networking sites in mobile environment Academics can use a mobile phone technology to send pictures or movies to each other. Mobile technology provides an opportunity for the new generation of people with better communication and activities without taking into account the place and time. This section has outlined the potential use of mobile phone technologies among academics in IHLs. The benefits of mobile phone technologies have been broadly discussed in general. Additionally, this section has evidenced most studies related to the benefits of mobile phones usage among students. Ultimately, this section shows that there are a few studies to examine the benefits of the mobile phone technologies among academics. Despite the advantages of mobile phone technology are clear, only a small number of Institutions of Higher Learning are equipped with integrated mobile phone technologies in their environments (Joan John, 2007; Kim et al., 2006; New Media Consortium, 2007). Figueira (2007) pointed that as of August 2007, however, there are no universities or degree awarding programs with a website designed for downloading on a mobile device (p.1). Sufficient technological means to access mobile devices are not widely used by the academics in Institutions of Higher Learning (Junior et al., 2008). In 2007, Peters conducted a research to 29 manufacturers of mobile devices, businesses and education suppliers and found that mobile phone technologies are in general used in some commercial organizations, but found limited adoption for Institutions of higher learning use. The purpose of this study is to understand academics general attitudes towards the use of mobile phone technology in IHLs, to explore the academics perceived usefulness to use mobile phone technology in IHLs, to determine academics perceived ease of use of mobile phone technology in IHLs, to understand academics behavioral intention to use mobile phone technology in IHLs, to identify how will mobile phone technologies change the work situation of academics, and to identify the possible services that, in their opinion, can improve mobile phone technology and knowledge sharing among academics in IHLs. 4.0 Research Methodology Both primary and secondary data were collected for this research. The primary data was collected by distributing questionnaires to the academics in University Utara Malaysia (UUM). UUM is a public Institution of Higher Learning located n the northern region of Malaysia. The sample of this study was the academics that come from Public Institution of Higher Learning (PIHL). Those academics are different in terms of their academic designation: Tutor, Lecturer, Senior Lecturer, Associate Professor, and Professor. A total of 290 questionnaires were distributed to all academics in UUM. The sampling was based on convenience and 153 participants successfully responded, giving a response rate of 52.7 %. The analysis of the survey results is presented based on a valid response of 153 academics of University Utara Malaysia. Data collection for this study was undertaken during the month of May 2009. In gathering information pertaining to the study; a questionnaire was used as the main instrument for data collection in this study. a questionnaire was prepared divided into seven sections as follows: Section 1 was not containing any personally identifiable questions. The demographic and background variables used in this study are gender, status, age, designation, availability of devices, period of time in using device, academics opinion about devices price, academics opinion about devices, usefulness and effectiveness role in the work, connecting to internet through device, and academics preferences for mobile phone functions. This section was adapted from Avenoglu (2005) and Trifonova (2006). Section 2: contains questions that targeted at attitudes towards the use of mobile phone technology in Institutions of Higher Leaning. The respondents were given a list of six items to assess their opinions and attitu des to use mobile phone technology. Questions were adapted from Kurnia et al. (2008) and Avenoglu (2005). Section 3: contains questions concerning the perceived usefulness to use mobile phone technology. Five items were used to measure the respondents perception toward the usefulness to use mobile phone technology. Questions were adapted from Kurnia et al. (2008) and Trifonova (2006). Section 4: contains questions that targeted at the perceived ease of use of mobile phone technology. Three items were used to measure the respondents perception that used mobile phone technology and found it easy to use. Questions were adapted from Kurnia et al. (2008) and Trifonova (2006). Section 5: contains questions about behavioral intention to use mobile phone technology in Institutions of Higher Leaning. Four items were used to measure behavioral intention of the respondents towards using of mobile phone technology. Questions were adapted form Kurnia et al. (2008). Section 6: contains questions that are related to how can mobile phone technology change the work situation of academics in Institutions of Higher Leaning. Ten items were used to measure the respondents opinions about how can mobile phone technology increases the flexibility and the ability to work on the move. Questions were adapted form Dye et al. (2003). Section 7: contains statements that targeted to mobile phone technology and knowledge sharing among academics in Institutions of Higher Learning. The respondents were given a list of eighteen statements to assess their opinions and potential use of mobile phone technology for knowledge sharing among academics in Institution of Higher Learning. All Questions in this section were chosen from the interview with academics. A five point Likert scale type was used in this study and the academics were required to state the extent to which statements in their point of view were important or not important for them as academics. The Scale was (SD= Strongly Disagree, D = Disagree, N = Neutral, A = Agree, and SA = Strongly Agree). In this study, the questionnaire was pilot tested with 30 UUM academic staff. The table 1 shows the Cronbachs alpha coefficient for section 2, section 3, section 4, section 5, section 6 and section 7. Table 1: Reliability Cronbachs Alpha (ÃŽ ±) for Questionnaires Six Sections The Item Cronbachs Alpha (ÃŽ ±) Reliability Results Section 2 0.891 Good Section 3 0.840 Good Section 4 0.820 Good Section 5 0.805 Good Section 6 0.894 Good Section 7 0.883 Good 5.0 Data Analysis and Results 5.1 Respondents Profile and Background Information Based on the demographics and other personal background information obtained, out of 153 respondents 61.0 % were females. The most of the respondents were married 74 %. 36.4 % of the respondents were 41 to 50 years old and 30.5 % were 31 to 40 years old. Most of the respondents were Lecturers position 39.0 %, following by Senior Lecturers 26.0 %, Tutor 18.2 %, and Associate Professor 16.9 %. Table 2 below gives respondents demographic profile: Table 2: Respondents Demographic Profile Respondents Profile Classification Frequency % Gender Male 60 39 Female 94 61 Status Married 114 74 Unmarried 40 26 Age 20-30 33 21.4 31-40 47 30.5 41-50 56 36.4 Above 50 18 11.7 Designation Tutor 28 18.2 Lecturer 60 39.0 Senior Lecturer 40 26.0 Associate Professor 26 16.9 5.1.2 Availability of Devices The study (refer to 1) shows that 98 % of academics had Cell phone, 36 % PDA, 10 % Smart phone, and 2 % Pocket PC. The study also shows that there were more that 40 % of academics had more that one device, for instance, 33 % of academics had Cell phone and PDA device, 9 % of academics had Cell phone and Smart phone, and 3 % of academics had Cell phone, Smart phone and PDA in one time. 5.1.3 Period in Using Device The study (refer to 2) shows that 50.6 % of academics had Cell phone for more than 8 years, 30 % had Cell phone between 6 to 8 years, 13.6 % had Cell phone between 3 to 5 years, and 0.6 % had Cell phone less than one year. As well, it shows that 2.6 % of academics had Smart phone between 3 to 5 years, 5.2 % had Smart phone between 1 to 2 years, 2.0 % of academics had Smart phone less than one year. In addition, it shows that 3.2. % of academics had PDA device between 6 to 8 years, 7.1 % of academics had PDA device between 3 to 5 years, 19.4 % had PDA device between 1 to 2 years, and 6.5 % of academics had PDA device less than one year. Finally, only three participants 2.0 % had Pocket PC between 1 to 2 years. 5.1.4 Opinion about the Price In view of academics opinion about prices of devices, the general opinion was that Cell phones had reasonable price, were 77.8 % preferred that Cell phone had normal price and 22.8 % refer that Cell phone had low price. In addition, Smart phone, PDAs, and Pocket PC were considered costly price (for Smart phone 58.44 %, for PDAs 61.04 %, and for Pocket PC 64.94 %). Furthermore, a few academics had no opinion on the prices for smart phones, PDAs, and Pocket PC (for Smart phones 4 %, PDAs 5.19 %, and Pocket PC 2.60 %). 3 and shows the academics opinion about devices prices. 5.1.5 The Usefulness and Effectiveness Role of Mobile Phone Technologies in the Work The study (refer to 4) shows that the majority of respondents 97.4 % considered that mobile devices can play a useful and effective role in their daily work. While 0.6 % considered that mobile devices cannot play a useful and effective role in their daily work, and only 1.9 % were not sure about the usefulness and effectiveness of mobile device role in their work. These results indicate that academics had positive opinions regarding using mobile phone technologies in their work, and these results can support researchers opinion about the importance and usefulness of this study in IHLs environment, and to stand up to the factors that could help passing mobile phone technologies in IHLs. 5.1.6 Connecting to Internet though Mobile Phone Technologies 5 shows that the majority of respondents 75.3 % were connecting to internet though mobile phone technologies, and only 24.7 % were not connecting to internet through mobile phone technologies. As evidenced by various studies mentioned above, mobile phone technologies give opportunity to academics to connect to internet and to the world any time anywhere. In addition, mobile phone technologies could able to increase the range of personalized and customized communication, entertainment, relationship management and service function 5.1.7 Academics Preferences of Mobile Phone Functions The academics in this section were given a list of fifteen mobile phone functions and they had to choose one or more of these functions. The results are shown in table 3. Today mobile phone technologies provide a wide range of services. Among these services, a researcher can demonstrate; browsing the Web, MMS, games, alarm/reminder, calling, listening to music, voice recorder, chatting, calendar, camera, phone book, SMS, sending e-mail, dictionary, audio file storage. According to the findings, 100 % of respondents preferred that the function of calling was the most important function, where 98 % preferred that the second important function was SMS. In addition, the findings show that the respondents who choose calendar were 79 %, camera 77 %, alarm/reminder 75 %, phone book 70 %, listening to music 61 %, browsing the Web 53 %, games and sending e-mail 42 %, MMS 41 %, voice recorder 38%, dictionary and audio file storage 29%, and chatting 21 %. Table 3: Academics Preference of Mobile Phone Functions No. Mobile Phone Functions % 1 Calling 100% 2 SMS 98% 3 Calendar 79% 4 Camera 77% 5 Alarm/reminder 75% 6 Phone book 70% 7 Listening to music 61% 8 Browsing the Web 53% 9 Games 42% 10 Sending e-mail 42% 11 MMS 41% 12 Voice recorder 38% 13 Dictionary 29% 14 Audio file storage 29% 15 Chatting 21% 5.2 Attitudes towards the Use of Mobile Phone Technology in IHLs The respondents were given a list of six items to assess their opinions and attitudes toward using mobile phone tec

Private Schools vs. Public Schools Essay -- Public Education vs Private

Plato said, "You must train the children to their studies in a playful manner, and without any air of constraint, with the further object of discerning more readily the natural bent of their respective characters" (Plato). Education has increased as a topic of conversation among parents in America today. The importance of a good education has increased in value, and parents are searching for the best possible school for their child in preparation for college. Many believe the most opportune way for their child to succeed in studies is by attending a private school. On the other hand, another group of parents thinks that public schools are the better route. Nevertheless, public schools have been proven to be more successful in the education of a maturing child. Students who attend public schools are faced with many different challenges that differ in comparison to a private school student. Whereas, many private schools are small in population, public schools usually have a larger number of students resulting in a great diversity of pupils. Students from every race, culture, and religious background come together in one school system. This diversity allows students to develop ways of associating with many different people that would not typically be found in a private school. Learning how to deal with others, no matter what their race, culture, or religion, is a vital asset to learning how to work with others in the future. Private school teachers have been shown to be less qualified teachers that many public school teachers. Some of the most interesting contrasts explain private schools have fewer minority teachers and principals, public school teachers appear to be more education than private school teachers, a... ... agrees with Mrs. Dyckman explaining, "I don't think that just because you pay money for something makes it better. There isn't a better place for my daughter to be going to school than here" (Wilkenfeld par. 13). In fact, on average, private schools aren't any better than public schools, or so says a new book on the subject, All Else Equal: Are Public And Private Schools Different. In conclusion, several points could be drawn on the issue of public schools versus private schools. Nevertheless, statistics, reports, and articles are continually explaining that private schools are mostly equal or less qualified than public schools. Parents should be educated in this matter. If more parents knew about the comparison of public schools to private schools, more families would be able to offer their children a better education and future for a cheaper price.

Aloha Products

Aloha Products is a United States-based coffee-processor company that has been providing non-specialty and low-priced coffee for over a hundred years. It purchases the raw materials or what buyers and sellers refer to as â€Å"green coffee† from brokers and trade firms then processes the coffee and sells the final product to customers. Large companies such as Nestle and P&G directly import the unprocessed or green coffee beans from coffee plantations in tropical countries such as Brazil and Colombia while companies with smaller levels of business such as such as Aloha buy the green coffee beans from brokers or trade firms.Aloha Products is managed by the owners and its headquarters is located in Ohio, United States. It has three plants located in Midwestern United States, each plant being responsible for its own profit and loss. Each plants performance is measured by each plant managers gross margin generated per plant. The raw materials or green coffee beans are handled by th e company’s purchasing unit that is located in New York City. Each plant receives a production schedule that is determined from the center and receives raw materials as well as pay in accordance with the production requirements of each plant.Aloha’s Top management is regulated by the members of the founding family. Company uses centralized control system where all main decisions regarding purchases, production, sales, marketing and promotion are made on corporate level while plant managers are only responsible for their profit and loss. Also there is centralized preparation of overall financial statement at home offices. This organization has led plant managers to a lack of adequate control over the activities of the managed plant; however, they are still assessed on the performance.This method has been done until in the 1990s, when the plant managers started to speak out on their dissatisfaction on the computation of their bonuses since they do not have authority to d etermine the prices of raw materials, production schedules and output prices from the manufacturer. External factors such as the steady decline in Americans consumption of coffee from 1965 to 1990 affected the sales and profits of coffee processors as well.Because of this, the company president hired a consulting firm to evaluate the current control systems in the three major departments: Plant Operations, Sales and Marketing and the Purchasing groups. 2. Case Question No-1: Evaluate the current control systems for the manufacturing, marketing, and purchasing departments of Aloha Products Answer is: From the case we can see that Aloha products have a centralized control system. What this means is that the main office or headquarters handled the purchasing, marketing and sales activities of each of the three plants.Based on the current control system evaluating three major departments of Aloha Products are described as follows†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ Evaluation of Manufacturing Departments: Th ere are three production plants within AP’s manufacturing department; each plant is responsible for their own profits and losses. Unfortunately, the managers have no control over the any of the major activities in their respective production facilities. the vice president of manufacturing oversees all of the roasting, grinding, and packaging processes. Production schedules are provided to each plant manager for the current and following month.The plant managers also have no control over the green beans purchase, production schedule, production mix, or the costs of their inputs, as the purchasing department assigns the costs based on the specific contract for that shipment. If the inputs exceed the plant’s requirements, they are sold at the spot rate in the market, and could very well result in a loss. Evaluation of Purchasing Departments: The purchasing department is responsible for obtaining the required quantities and types of green coffee to be roasted in the produc tion plants.The level of sophistication and expertise needed makes this department a necessity; proper staffing is vital based on the complexity of the green coffee market. This department relies on relationships with growers and brokers; for smaller firms, an important feature of this department is their ability to foresee demand and required inventory and subsequently enter into forward contracts with brokers, anywhere from three to twelvemonths in advance. The costs of each shipment are based on the specific contracts for those green coffee beans, which can vary based on the various price drivers previously mentioned.This can create a diversified and volatile cost of inventory. Required inventory demand is based on communication between marketing (sales) and the purchasing department, any discrepancies at the current date is met by purchases through the spot market, which incurs significantly higher costs. The costs associated with running this purchasing department are charged t o the headquarters of AP. Currently, there is no communication between the purchasing and manufacturing department. Furthermore, purchasing department does not need to report to head office or meet any performance measurement standard.Ultimately, the power resides with upper management of the purchasing unit. Evaluation of Marketing (SALES) Departments: Under the current structure, this department is centralized. The president of AP and vice president of sales are in charge of advertising and promotion of the final products. The marketing department also determines the budgeted sales, which are then passed onto the purchasing department. Case Question No-2: Considering the company’s competitive strategy, what changes, if any, would you make to the control systems of the three departments?Answer is: The changes to the current control systems involve establishing accountability and effective communication among the three departments and providing key measures to evaluate the ma nagers’ performance objectively. Recommendations for the current management control system of Aloha Products are as follows†¦. Recommendation for Manufacturing Departments: The manufacturing department is currently a profit center. However, the plants do not have control over the costs of the green coffee.Thus, the main concern of this department as a whole should be efficiency; how well they can control the costs to roast green coffee. As such, were commend that the manufacturing department’s plants be accountable for the costs incurred to roast and package the green coffee. The performance measure for the manufacturing department at AP should be evaluated based solely on the roasting, grinding, and packaging of AP’s coffees. Conceptually, it’s unfair to evaluate manufacturing as a profit center, when in reality it has little to no control over product costs or sales.Since control over purchasing and selling will not be transferred to the manufactur ing department in this proposal, it is logical to assess based on controllable factors such as cost/pound only. This is in contrast to a measure such as using manufacturing costs as a percentage of net sales. Instead of being assessed for the performance of the purchasing and marketing departments, plant managers will now have an incentive to ensure their costs do not vary from the standard. It would still be possible to evaluate roasting plants based on gross margin as well.However, to ensure that plant managers are not penalized for fluctuations in the cost of green coffee contracts, a standard cost for green coffee would have to be established and used in the computation of gross margin. Recommendation for Purchasing Department: The purchasing department’s costs are being charged to central office. Due to this, the purchasing department is not being held accountable for the contracts it is entering into. The purchasing department’s main concern should be actual cont ract costs.Thus, we recommend that the purchasing department be accountable for the difference between the actual costs per signed contracts and the standard cost of green coffee raw materials. The actual costs should be measured in a similar manner to the current practice. Contract costs related to buying and selling in the spot market should not be included in the computed price per bag. A reasonable standard cost for green coffee contracts will have to be established based on discussions between management and executives in the purchasing department.The standard cost could potentially be based on the average of the spot price over the past 6 months. We recommend that this standard cost be updated every quarter, in order to provide accurate standard costs of green coffee raw materials. Recommendation for Marketing Departments: The marketing department focuses its efforts on advertising and promotion, however, it is not held responsible for the costs it incurs or how accurate their sales forecasts/budgets are. There is a large cost associated with differences between the forecasted requirements and actual requirements.The difference results in purchases or sales at the spot price for green coffee, which tends to cost more than forward contract prices. It is not reasonable for the marketing department to perfectly forecast sales and therefore there should be leniency in developing a method of accountability for this department. We must keep in mind that our goal is not only to hold each group accountable, but also to make sure managers feel they are being evaluated fairly and motivated to improve performance. In keeping with this, actual sales volume should be compared to forecasted sales volume.This will not only help to keep the marketing department accountable for their activities, but will also allow for forecast methodology to be reviewed and continuously improved. Overall, we believe that we also need to establish goal congruence between the three depart ments. This can be achieved through emphasizing communication between departments; this would encourage the forecasts of purchases/sales to be more accurate. In order to increase goal congruence and communication we recommend that the departments also beevaluated based on an overall measure for the firm. This measure would be economic value added (EVA), as when it is applied, managers will not just be focused on their own department profitability, but also that of the company as a whole. The EVA approach promotes the same profit objectives across the different departments. Thus, by keeping the same structural organization and only changing the way each department is evaluated, the incentive plan for each department more accurately reflects what each department can control.

Influences on Adolescence Stage of Development Essay Example

Influences on Adolescence Stage of Development Essay Example Influences on Adolescence Stage of Development Paper Influences on Adolescence Stage of Development Paper Did you know the most intimidating human developmental stage for most individuals is the Adolescence stage? The adolescence stage is between the childhood to adulthood stages. Major changes begin to take place in the physical, cognitive, social, moral, and personality aspects of human development during the adolescence stage. The changes which take place during the adolescence stage have various influences. In addition to changes being influenced, factors affect physical, cognitive, social, moral, and personality development. The adolescence stage consists of numerous complex concepts. Adolescent development is separated into three different stages. The three stages are known as: early adolescence, middle adolescence, and late adolescence. Individuals generally begin early adolescence between the ages of 12 and 14. The middle stage is normally experienced between the ages of 14 to 17. Late adolescence ranges from the age of 17 to 19. Delcampo, 2005) Teenagers may experience some of these changes during the early adolescence stage: moodiness, friendships gaining importance, peer pressure toward certain interests and clothing styles, greater interest in privacy, or occasional experimentation with cigarettes, marijuana and alcohol. During the middle adolescence stage teenagers are more likely to pay more attention to their appearance, examine inner experiences, and take an interest in moral reasoning. Santrock, 2005)   The late adolescence stage is when adolescents are starting to realize they are becoming adults so they begin to have more emotional stability, start determining the future, and engage in serious relationships. (Delcampo, 2005) Teenagers can become overwhelmed with all the influences and changes that occur, especially in the physical type of development. Physical development is any changes in biological nature this includes genes inherited from parents, changes in hormones, changes within the brain, height, weight, and motor-skills. Santrock, 2005) Physical changes are influenced by genotypes or genetic inheritance, as well as, environmental experiences. An example of an environmental influence on physical change is good nutrition allows adolescents to grow healthier. Adolescent physical development consists of rapid increases in height and weight, development of secondary sex characteristics also known as puberty, and continued brain development. (Huebner, 2000) During puberty girls begin their menstrual cycle, their breasts begin to grow, and the uterine develops as a result of their Estradiol hormone increase. Depression can occur as a result of puberty within girls. Boys on the other hand start to grow hair on their chest, under arms, and face. The boys hormone testosterone level increases during puberty and causes the genitals to develop, the voice to change, increases their height; and high levels of testosterone are thought to influence violence and other problems. Due to the brain still developing during early and middle adolescence teenagers sometimes experience an â€Å"emotional rollercoaster. † Adolescents not only experience physical developments, but they also experience cognitive developments. Cognitive development is a change in an individuals thought, intelligence, and language. Cognitive development is influenced by hereditary and environmental factors. The environmental factors which influence cognitive development are school because this is where they are getting an education to succeed in a career. Another influence is parenting and family. Parents should allow their adolescent to explore and discuss different ideas in their mind. Some hereditary factors which influence cognitive development are birth defects or viruses, such as autism or a learning disorder. During the time of adolescence teenagers are developing a more complex process of thinking known as formal logical operations. According to Piaget’s Theory, adolescents start to think more idealistically and logically. (Santrock, 2005) Teenagers also develop the ability to create hypothesizes and determine a problems best solution during the adolescence stage. Another cognitive development influence is adolescents develop their own view and perspective of the world, faith, spirituality, and beliefs. Uprising emotions although can interfere with an individual’s ability to clearly think. Huebner, 2000) Within the adolescent advancing in cognitive development, teenagers become more egocentric. Egocentrism is when an individual believes they are unique, invincible, and that everyone is preoccupied with them. Egocentrism influences adolescents to often put themselves at high risk for harm because they believe they are invincible. Adolescents often engage in street racing, drug use, unprotected which can result pregnancy or sexually transmitted diseases, or even attempt suicide in order to show they are invincible. Some of the following actions influence changes in social development as well. Social development is the changes in an adolescent’s relationship with others. There are five major issues adolescents experience during the adolescence stage. These issues are: discovering their own sense of identity, establishing autonomy and intimacy, becoming comfortable with one’s sexuality, and achievement. (Huebner, 2000) Discovering one’s identity is the most complex and important issue adolescents will experience. Adolescents are constantly trying to answer the question, â€Å"Who am I? Erik Erikson’s life span theory states the identity versus identity confusion is the main issue of development during adolescence. (Santrock, 2005) Erikson’s theory states adolescents try to discover who they are, where they are going in life, and what they are all about, not what their parents are or want them to be. In order to answer these questions it is important for teenagers to be able and explore different careers, and alternative solutions to life roles. If adolescents are unable to explore various concepts, or parents push an identity on them they are more likely to experience identity confusion. Identity confusion results in individuals isolating themselves from friends and family, or the adolescent lose themselves in the crowd. Erikson’s theory suggests environmental factors which affect social development range from parenting, to peer pressure, relationships with friends, family dynamics, and schooling. According to James Marcia, for an individual to complete the development their identity they will have to experience the two dimensions of identity, exploration and commitment. Identity status contains four combinations of exploration and commitment. These combinations are identity diffusion, identity foreclosure, identity moratorium, identity achievement. (Santrock, 2005) The diffusion stage is when an individual as not explored or committed to personal values or a career. Identity foreclosure is when an individual makes a commitment without exploring. Identity moratorium is the stage when and individual has explored but has not yet committed. Finally, when an individual has explored and committed to personal values and a career they have reached identity achievement. Social development can also be influenced by biological or hereditary influences such as birth defects, viruses, and diseases such as autism or speech impediment. Teenagers often feel overwhelmed with the changes that occur in social development during adolescence. Along with social development adolescents will experience some changes in moral development as well. Moral development is changes with age in thoughts, feelings, and behaviors regarding the principals and values that guide what people should do. Santrock, 2005) Moral development has two different dimensions, interpersonal (morals when interacting with other individuals) and intrapersonal (basic individual values). Moral development is influenced by environmental factors such as peer pressure, family dynamics, society, neighborhood quality, and schooling. (Hart and Carlo, 2005) One of the most well known theories in moral development is Kohlberg’s theory. In Kohlberg’s theory moral development has three different levels, each with two stages. The first level is preconventional. The first stage in the preconventional level is punishments. An example of this would be going to jail for stealing something. The second stage is rewards. An example is not stealing something so the owner can make a profit. The second level is conventional. Conventional level is when an individual follows a set of standards. Standards set by parents are the first stage in conventional and third stage in Kohlberg’s theory. The second stage in conventional is the standards set by societies law. The third level is postconventional. Postconventional level is when an individual discovers alternative moral courses. The first stage in postconventional and fifth stage in Kohlberg’s level is social contract or utility and individual rights. The sixth stage is universal ethical principles. Most adolescents are at stage 3 or 4. (Santrock, 2005) Another theorist of moral development is Carol Gilligan. The main point of Gilligan’s theory is that gender and that Kohlberg did not give enough attention to relationships. During adolescence girls have to decide to appear selfish or selfless, and because they experience this issue they become insecure or less confident. Santrock, 2005) Gilligan’s theory also draws attention to social experiences with parents and others influence behavior and patterns of behavior become personality characteristics. Personality development is the development of the organized pattern of behaviors and attitudes that makes a person distinctive. (Laberge, 2008) There are three components in the development of personality. The first is temperament or inherited traits that determine the adolescence approach to the world. This is because some genes determine the development of the nervous system which controls behavior. The second component is environment such as parenting and schools. The third component is character. Character is emotional, cognitive, and behavioral patterns learned for experiences. (Laberge, 2008) Culture is another important environmental factor in the development of personality. The adolescence stage is when individuals experience the most dramatic changes in cognitive, social, moral, and personality development. Influences like family and friends may be environmental factors but they play an important role. Genetic inheritance can influence the outcome of the changes for adolescents as well. All of the changes which occur during adolescence allow individuals to transform in adulthood from childhood. This is why it is such an intimidating time for teenagers. References Carlo, and Hart, D. (2005) Moral Development in Adolescence. Retrieved July 03, 2008, from Ebscohost. com http://swtuopproxy. museglobal. com/MusesessionID=bf807f788aaad7a19df5df7f5b344e7/MuseHost=web. ebscohost. com/MusePath/ehost/pdf? vid=4hid=120sid=3765fedc-5e4a-4417-a02c-dbe82a4cda33%40sessionmgr107vf Delcampo, D. S. (October, 2000) Understanding Teens: Normal Adolescent Development. Retrieved July, 03, 2008, from New Mexico State University: Bringing Science to Your Life Website. http://cahe. nmsu. edu/pubs/ f/f-122. pdf Laberge, M. (2008). Personality Development. Retrieved July 06, 2008 from Answers. com Website: answers. com/topic/personality-development? cat=health Huebner, A. (2000) Adolescent Growth and Development. Retrieved July 06, 2008, from Virginia Cooperative Extension: Knowledge for the CommonWealth Website: ext. vt. edu/pubs/family/350-850/350-850. html Santrock, J (2005). Psychology (7th ed. ). New York, New York: Mcgraw-Hill.

Operations management The WritePass Journal

Operations management Introduction Operations management IntroductionReferencesRelated Introduction Strategic Focus, one amongst the most important step in the design and development of a product, enables companies to discover and explicitly commit themselves to important considerations (Ahoy, 2008). In the current case studies of Ready Materials and Zara, efficient and effective strategic focus assisted in expanding and extending the business into the narrow market or industry segment. More specifically, the super-responsive supply chain developed by Zara permitted the company in designing, producing and delivering new garments for marketing worldwide (Gattorna 1998). Ready Materials, on the other hand, possessed no clear strategic focus and witnessed complexities in meeting the volatile demand pattern. This characteristic absence of strategic focus caused a demand uncertainty, which eventually led to the emergence of buffering mechanisms (forward load, inventory and capacity). Owing to the fluctuating nature of daily demand, most of the purchasers of Ready Materials have aligned their orders with respect to a day per day operation and waited for the dispatch for an average time of 24 hours. Use of capacity buffering system in the form of annualised hours helped in managing Ready Materials at times of demand fluctuations, enabling adjustments to the working day by up to two hours, either way, without any intimation (Gattorna, 2009). Though these buffering mechanisms caused the company to witness low levels of staff morale and retention, in recent years, this has gained immense attention with the work force finishing the task early more often than late. Buffering mechanisms undertake the forms of order backlogs link with a variable extension to lead time. Inventory buffering mechanism, used by Ready Materials, compressed the customer response time by committing capacity in the advance of demand. Reducing the capital or, in other words, operating at the negative working capital helps in aligning with offsetting the investment in additional capacity. Thus, mana ging buffering mechanisms through resource alerts and effective prioritisation of resource attention assists projects in taking an advantage. It minimises the impact of Parkinson’s Law, and prevents unnecessary distraction alongside facilitating recovery planning when required, yet at a time in advance when the project or company is in trouble. Presence of high demand uncertainty necessitates the need of project and strategic management (Lake, 2010). As indicated earlier, the use of buffering and alignment mechanisms, allow the resources and companies to gain a strategic focus of resource attention besides enabling the advantage of good morale and early task finish. Much focus can be levied on time schedule management, and this automatically decreases unnecessary distraction, further enabling for the recovery planning to prevail, when needed. However, this is only necessary whenever the company witnesses extreme difficulty (Ahoy, 2008). Managing of uncertainty remained at the core of improvement of project performance for Ready Materials. Making use of highly sophisticated just in time systems could help in adjusting to the alignment and this automatically offers an efficient strategic focus. At such times, the company is required to get the projects completed both ahead of schedule and with efficient reliability of stock delivery dates that were promised. This specific approach to alignment offers mechanisms which allow a â€Å"complete system† view of projects. The mechanism of alignment recognises and safeguards the uncertainty and thereby avoids the Parkinson’s Law at the task level whilst considering Murphy’s Law at the project stage. All of these implications suggest an intimate interrelationship between strategic focus, buffering and alignment. Effective and efficient management of these three segments of operational management helps each of the companies in driving towards success (Vital e, 2002). It is the duty of project managers to shift their attention from assuring the achievement of strategic focus, task estimates and intermediate milestones. All of these are vital from the date it is required to the final promised due date. But, a grasping of the whole implication of this approach is an immense challenge. Running factories for only a single shift, sending half empty loads to other countries, which were followed by Zara, could help in focusing local efficiency at the expense of international responsiveness. Investing in the overall capital assets can eventually enhance the strategic focus and organisational flexibility (Stratton, 2008). Owing production assets can offer the company a level of control over its schedules and the companies no matter what they intend to do. Besides manufacturing of complicated products, it can enhance strategic focus and thereby minimise the incorporation of buffering mechanisms and alignment patterns. References Ahoy, K. (2008). Customer Driven Operations Management: Aligning Businesses, Processes and Systems, London: Hoffmann Publishers, pp. 90-100. Gattorna, J. (1998). Strategic Supply Chain Alignment: Best Practices in Supply Chain. London: SAGE Publishers, pp. 451-460. Gattorna, V. (2009). Dynamic Supply Chain Alignment. London: Heinemann Publishers, pp. 341-390. Lake, H. (2010). Operational Management and Control. London: Routledge Publishers, pp. 34-90. Stratton, R. (2008). Theory Building: Relating Variation, Uncertainty, Buffering Mechanisms and Trade-offs, Proceedings of the 3rd World Conference on Production and Operations Management. Tokyo: Japan. Vitale, B. (2002). Business to Business Marketing. London: Routledge Publishers, pp. 34-89.

Global Perspectives Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Global Perspectives - Essay Example The trends are of particular relevance for anybody wanting to know more how globalization affects people. Each trend is a global issue in itself which creates further momentum for globalization. Advances in technology hastened the spread of globalization; without the technological advances in information, communications, and travel, people and countries would not be tightly inter-connected today. News and events from far-away places of the world are flashed instantly on the television as breaking news stories, and people are updated almost daily on these events. Improvement in ICT – information and communications technology made globalization a virtual reality as people can get in touch with practically anyone anywhere anytime. The Internet has brought people close together and helped brought down cultural, social, and political barriers which would otherwise have taken much longer. Moreover, social media networks enhanced this seeming community of global citizens wherein people empathize with people somewhere else in cases of natural disaster, tragic events, or political upheavals such as the Arab Spring in Middle East countries. There is a growing sense of unity everywhere in which people feel they belong to the same human species, to humankind. Globalization had promoted better understanding. Increased migration – people today move to other countries to seek better employment opportunities, to pursue additional educational degrees, escape poverty in their home countries, avoid religious and political persecution, and in a new twist, the emergence of a new kind of the proverbial refugee, that of people seeking asylum due to climate change and adverse weather and environmental developments, such as rising sea levels, more severe floods and droughts. More convenient transportation modes which provide safer, faster, and cheaper travel encouraged more people to migrate for greener pastures, thereby further promoting global tourism (Walker,

Critical appraisal in clinical practice Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Critical appraisal in clinical practice - Essay Example It is of particular interest to me because various studies have been carried out on pain management and assessment, and I believe that establishing which studies provide the best evidence on care would also assist me in my delivery of health services (Hammer and Collinson, 1999). This paper shall first present the method by which the studies were selected. It shall be followed by the critical summaries and then by the appraisal of method. Finally, a synthesis of findings and reflection on practice will also be presented. Body Selection of papers In the selection of the papers, I entered the following search words in Google Scholar; post-operative + nursing care, post-operative issues + nursing, pain assessment + post-operative nursing. Search results were further narrowed down using the following additional parameters: past 10 years, and results from the following databases: EMBASE, CINAHL, PubMed, and the Cochrane databases. Articles found were further narrowed down based on advance d search parameters, covering meta-analysis and other scholarly types of research. The credibility of the authors was also evaluated, assessing their expertise on the subject of the research. Critical summaries In the study by Blondal and Halldorsdottir (2008), the authors attempted to establish a though understanding of nurses’ experiences in the management of patients in pain. The authors understood that despite improved knowledge on patient care, these patients were still suffering from issues in relation to pain and nurses are the primary health professionals which can help relieve these symptoms. The authors carried out their study as a phenomenological study covering 20 dialogues with 10 experienced nurses. The research process revealed that caring for patients in pain is a major challenge for many nurses and nurses seem to feel a moral obligation to ease patient’s pain. Moreover, these nurses feel that they face a challenge in managing patient’s pain in t erms of how they read their patient, how they deal with moral conflicts, and organizational issues. The authors also concluded that nurses require different patterns of knowledge and a favourable work environment in order to improve their pain management skills. In the study by Al-Shaer, et.al., (2011), the nurses’ knowledge and attitudes regarding pain assessment and intervention was considered. The authors undertook their study as a non-experimental, descriptive design, based on a convenience sample of 129 registered nurses working in various units of a Midwestern metropolitan hospital. The authors covered registered nurses on their knowledge and attitudes on pain management and the results indicated that their knowledge of pain management principles and interventions seem to be insufficient. Although the results of this study do indicate high knowledge scores, some nurses indicate an inadequate ability to care for patients experiencing pain. The authors were also able to a cknowledge the fact that pain is a subjective experience and that nurses must not base their assessments on their personal beliefs of judgments. Critical review 1. Appraisal of method In the study by Blondal, the problem was specifically and clearly stated by the authors and it had sufficient background information in order to