Engineering ewb research Essay

1. Introduction The Engineers Without Borders Australia (EWB) Challenge is a program where first year University Students throughout Australia are required to select from a range of problems associated with the living conditions of a disadvantaged community within Nepal, more specifically the village of Sandikhola, a hilltop community in the Gorkha district. The students are then required to develop creative solutions to combat these problems to benefit the community through design, teamwork and proper communication. This particular research report group 9C will be focusing on Water Supply and Sanitation Systems (WASH), in particular Multiple Use Systems (MUS). MUS refers to a system where the water is used for a range of purposes, so as to minimize the amount of fresh water needed to be drawn from the source and increase the applicability of the source. This report will be outlining research conducted into the MUS including; the geography of the Gorkha district, a case study on a WASH initiative al ready in place in Nepal, also included in the report will be an evaluation of sources of research, and a conclusion of the report. 2. Research 2.1 Geography of the Gorkha District The Gorkha District in Nepal is located on the mid-southern area of the Terai region roughly the center of Nepal. More specifically the village of Sandikhola is located approximately 42 kilometers North East of Bharatpur, which roughly is over an hour drive each way via a dirt road which is only accessible by 4Ãâ€"4’s and is not accessible in wet conditions. The village of Sandikhola is located on the side of a hill with an elevation of 1256 meters, and is roughly divided into three different sections consisting of crops, housing and livestock. 2.1.1 Natural Resources Land is seen as the most valuable natural resource to most citizens of the Gorkha district. With over 80% of the population, 24 506 759 people, earning a livelihood from farming, which in turn produces 36.1% of GDP on a national scale. Due to water shortages and unreliability in relation to irrigation, this is not a secure resource for the people of the Gorkha district. The only problem with utilizing land to this major of a scale is that it is being overly depleted due to the accelerating growth of population, leading  to widespread destruction of ecological systems. The other resource is water, which are polluted due to lack of sanitization and the lack of the resource, other than location, is due to de-forestation and the devastating effects it has on the environment. 2.1.2 Technological Resources The Gorkha district has very limited technological resources, especially when 90% of the population live in rural areas and average earnings per family per week are below a dollar which make the affordability of technological resources impossible for poor families. Surprisingly the telephone signal throughout the district is surprisingly good although this is a under used resource due to lack of infrastructure and finances. With under 7% of the population having access to the internet communication on a global and even national scale can be highly difficult. Due to the developing nature of Nepal access to any modern technology is unviable, with it sometimes taking up to and over 6 months for any technology to reach many rural communities e.g. water testing kits. 2.1.3 Population and Income Through researching Population and Income it was found that there are over 30 million people in Nepal, with approximately 300 000 people in Gorkha. The Terai region accommodates for 50.27% of the total population, roughly 15 million people, which is the mountainous/ hilly region of Nepal which can make life very difficult for these people in particular. The average household income is less than one dollar a day with more than 40% living under the poverty line. In the Gorkha district 90% of citizens live in rural areas which goes to show the lack of urban connection further reinforcing the fact that development of technology in relation to water use will greatly affect the population in all aspects of life. 2.1.4 Natural Disasters Natural Disasters have a major effect on developing countries, especially where climate change is concerned. This is due to the high dependence on climate sensitive sectors in the Gorkha district including glaciers, agriculture and forestry, and its low financial adaptive capacity. These disasters are becoming increasingly common with the acceleration of global warming. This is due to the increased temperatures experienced compared to 1990 to 2010 where an increase of 1.9 Degrees Celsius to the average  temperature, these particular natural disasters include an increase in dry periods, floods, intense rainfall, landslides, forest fires, glacial retreats, and glacier lake outburst flood threats. The other main natural disasters common to this area are earthquakes due to the positioning of Gorkha on the meeting point of the Eurasian and Indian tectonic plates. These disasters need to be taken into account so the MUS can withstand destruction via natural disaster. 2.1.5 Climatic Conditions Shown in these two graphs (below) is the average rainfall and temperature of the Gorkha District. By studying these two graphs it can be seen that the year is divided into a wet and dry season with the temperature throughout the year remaining relatively constant with a minimum range of 3 degrees Celsius and a maximum range of 9 degrees Celsius. This research is essential to the analysis of water supply 2.1.6 Education Levels In the Gorkha district education is a work in progress with the basic literacy rate at 45% of males and only 28% of women. In the district alone there are close to 500 schools, 400 of which are public. With the help of many Non-Government Organizations, development of these schools has had an excellent effect on the education system, for example at the end of 2013 1000 computers were distributed to these schools readily making available vast amounts of educational resources to these communities. The problems associated with the education levels include the travel distance especially within rural areas, and also the lack of proper WASH resources which affects the health of the students. 2.1.7 Infrastructure In relation to the Infrastructure available to the people of Gorkha it can be noted as ineffective. This is found as roads to many of the rural areas within which the majority lives, are virtually inaccessible without a 4Ãâ€"4, as less than a quarter of roads in Nepal actually being paved/concreted. This is increasingly made challenging due to less than 1% of the population actually having access to a car. The main form of transport readily  available are the public buses, but on the other hand they are not extremely reliable with the multitude of strikes which occur, making life for the people more difficult when they have to walk for hours to get where they were going. Another major flaw is the inability for citizens to access a range of services with less than 15% of people having access to formal health care services, children having to walk on average 1-3 hours to attend school, there is also a lack of an electricity supply to majority of rural areas, lack of public sewage tr eatment in the majority of the district and in general isolation of rural areas. 2.2 Existing Solutions In the community of Sandikhola, there is a wide range of problems associated with water supply. These include the accessibility to water sources, the cleanliness/quality of water supply, the amount of water supplied, and the ability for the resource to be effectively used across domestic uses and productive uses. Currently in Sandikhola approximately 80% of WASH techniques are currently in place with there being a few sources of water; one small waterway, eight tap stands and two spring intakes but during the dry season these intakes become unavailable due to low pressure. When this occurs the community must draw water from a larger spring located further away from the village down the hill. In the case of Sandikhola at each spring intake is a reservoir tank, there are three water quality testers spread across the village, one rain monitor and two flow monitors. Also introduced to this community is the use of recycling water, such as; capturing overflows at spring intakes, Rainwater Harvesting (RWH), Ground Water Capture (GWC), fog water, and grey water systems. Through the integration of a range of these sources, systems and techniques we develop a MUS system. 2.2.1 Construction Basically the MUS is constructed via the connection of a range of single use technologies e.g. spring intake, storage tanks, tap stands. This is to reduce the amount of water requires for use by reducing waste water (sustainability), and also to make it more accessible for the villagers. For the construction many of the village members are heavily involved in construction so as to ensure the education of the MUS to the community allowing it to be properly maintained even after the EWB/NEWAH team leaves. 2.2.2 Inputs and Outputs For the implementation of the MUS there are a number of inputs required, these include; help from a third party in this case EWB and NEWAH in relation to funding, research and designing, participation from members of the Sandikhola community, materials, current technologies, and tools. For every input there is an output, in this case once construction is completed some of the outputs of the technology become evident, these including; an increase of income and benefits in relation to this including; general health, nutrition, social empowerment, food security, time savings. Diversification of Livelihood, which is the process by which the community develops a range of activities and social support capabilities in order to survive and improve their standards of living i.e. education, inter/intra-societal interaction. Increase in sustainability including, efficient water transfer from the water source for domestic and productive applications. 3. Evaluation of Sources of Information In research for this assignment, I tend to steer clear of any non-reliable or inaccurate resources. To do this books become an extremely valuable and trusted resource, and when using websites as resources I have stuck to .org websites while at the same time checking the about us section as not all .org sites are official sites. Some ways I checked the accuracy and validity of my sources of information include; analysis of the depth of coverage, determining the intended audience so it is relevant for this report, analysis of language used i.e. sophisticated to low level understanding. The dates of the information are essential for proper research, too old might be inaccurate compared to newer information. Does the source have a bibliography and the type of sources of information the author uses and an analysis of the layout and structure of the document. Through all of this analyzing we are able to determine the accurate and reliable sources of information. 4. Conclusion In conclusion, through the research of the Gorkha district and my project area the MUS, it is possible to realize the positive potential that the implementation of the MUS has on all aspects of life. This is due to water  playing a massive part in the lives of every human, and when there is a lack of sufficient resource, daily functionality is affected. 5. References ï‚ §Renwick, et.al, 2007, â€Å"Multiple Use Water Services For The Poor: Assessing the state of Knowledge,† Winrock International: Arlington, VA ï‚ §Mikhail, et.al, 2008, â€Å"Multiple-Use Water Service Implementation in Nepal and India: Experience and Lessons Scale-Up,† International Development Enterprises: Lakewood, CO ï‚ §Engineers without Borders USA 2014, EWB-USA, Denver viewed 10 March 2014, http://my.ewb-usa.org/project-resources/technical-resources. ï‚ §iDE Organization 2014, iDEORG, Colorado viewed 10 March 2014, http://www.ideorg.org/OurTechnologies/MultipleUseWaterSystems.aspx#. ï‚ §Practical Action 2014, Practical Action, Rugby viewed 12 March 2014, http://practicalaction.org/mus-2. ï‚ §Engineers Without Borders Australia 2014, Engineers Without Borders, North Melbourne viewed 12 March 2014, http://www.ewbchallenge.org/nepal-water-healthnewah/sandikhola. ï‚ §Smith, J., 2014, Personal Communication, 25th February 2014 ï‚ §United Nat ions 2014, United Nations, New York viewed 12th March 2014, http://www.un.org.np/maps/nepal-gorkha-district. ï‚ §Rural poverty portal 2012, IFAD, Vancouver viewed 12 March 2014, http://www.ruralpovertyportal.org/en/country/statistics/tags/nepal.

Qualities of a good leader Essay

Whenever and wherever human beings are gathered together in large numbers, they need leadership. Even children need their school prefects and schools captains ! Armies need Generals. Civilians need governments, captains of industry and intellectual leaders of thought as well. Men whether of the East or the West, require to be led and each group ‘throws up’ its own leaders in each succeeding generation. Whether in the school-room, or on the battlefield or in governmental deliberations, people who are natural leaders and who are chosen to lead, always have the same qualities of character and of outlook. In the first place, it is the personal qualities that count for most, in other words, the personality. A leader, in any location, must be someone who can be looked up to and respected. His personal judgment must be trusted and he must be able to evoke love and warmth from those he leads. So the, the first quality of a leader is that he must have the ability to win over men’s hearts. Secondly, he must have intellectual control over his followers and a mind that is capable of assimilating what is true and what is right and then of exerting this over others. It is useless, no matter what personal qualities or what intellectual prowess a man may have, if he lacks the initiative and the will to lead and to rally men around him. He must also, in his search for truth, have great powers of concentration. Again, a leader must possess this mysterious thing we call â€Å"character† or strength of will, clarity of mind, tenacity and determination. In other words â€Å"character† is knowing what you want to do and being ruthlessly determined to do it. Men and women will not follow a gloomy person! Therefore a kind sense of humor and a sense of optimism are two other essential qualities of a good leader. He must also, not only be a good judge of thins and of events, but of people too, so that he can select good subordinates. He must also show and practice such virtues as self-control, temperance and moderation, so that not only his body, but also his mind are always at their best, healthy  and sharpened like finely tempered steel. There is, too the good leader and the bad leader, of which Hitler, is a striking example of bad leader because it is possible to have all the qualities of leadership without the most important one of all. This is a moral sense of right and wrong and the right kind of â€Å"love† which is emphasized in many of the world’s great religions. This is true not only of international figures like Adolf Hitler, but also in smaller figures. The â€Å"gangs† of youths, typical of both East and West, whose members are led to violence and lawlessness are invariably led and inspired by leaders without a moral sense of right and wrong. The final test of a good leader is, of course, the question: â€Å"Do men follow him?† The answer will be â€Å"Yes† if, combined with strength of character, the ability to evoke love, a clear brain and a fair minded outlook, he also has a knowledge and respect for truth, honesty and fair play. Such a man surely possesses the spark of leadership and men will look up to him and follow him.

Benihana of Tokyo

Benihana of Tokyo Benihana of Tokyo has been very successful for the last 40 years since 1964. From a small restaurant, it has developed into a chain of themed restaurants. The success of Benihana has been attributed to the superb total quality management (TQM) process especially in maintaining the overall exotic ambience and the high quality food provided. All these strengths contribute to providing an unforgettable dining experience to its consumers and are reflected in their ability to retain consumers which is shown in exhibit 4 such that 65. % of their customers are return customers. Benihana is able to minimize cost effectively without affecting the quality of food and service provided. From Exhibit 1, total costs of sales are kept to 35-45% of total sales. Their attempt to reduce operating costs is also reflected through a reasonable net profit margin of 0. 5-9% of sales. Benihana made use of floor space efficiently to decrease labor costs and rent. The elimination of the conventional kitchen with the hibachi arrangement allows the company to keep labor costs low and at the same time, give huge amount of attentive service. This boosted its dining experience, through constant interaction with consumers. Benihana also focuses on setting up their businesses in areas with high traffic, especially in the business district areas. Rent is usually higher in these areas. By using floor space more efficiently, Benihana is able to serve more consumers during peak period and allow for more sales to cover the higher rental costs. The concept that Benihana adopts is that consumers are served at their tables with freshly prepared food by the chef. By only providing 3 menus to consumers, this reduces food costs and wastage. Benihana’s lower food costs are also reduced through the use of fresh ingredients, where storage is minimized. The main process flow of a Benihana restaurant is different from a typical restaurant. In Benihana, the orders for the soup, salad and beverages taken by the waiter while the order for the main dish is taken directly to the chef. This allows Benihana to quicken the process flow, and make it more efficient, as it eliminated the waiting time in ordering and receiving their orders. As the food is freshly prepared, the production flow is very short as there is limited movement to the food being moved from the storage area to the tables where food is being prepared. As food is being served on the spot after being cooked, this allows Benihana to maintain their quality of the food, and this satisfies consumers as shown in their feedback in Exhibit 4, where food is the main highlight of Benihana restaurants. Benihana is also able to reduce labor costs through the use of a simple management structure in each of their restaurant. In addition, chefs and waiters would clear the dishes and set the table for the next customer, unlike the use of cleaners in typical restaurants. This also reduces labor costs. Benihana success is also attributed to their TQM system where the management also emphasizes the importance of quality control in every employee’s responsibility. They emphasize quality in their inputs like the high quality food provided, and the sources of food are also selected carefully. Benihana also highlight quality in the process of serving their food to their consumers. However, the management of Benihana also faces problems despite their raving success. Their attempts to go into franchising didn’t go as planned as Rocky was unwilling to give up its control, and he felt that these franchisees were not well equipped with the experience and knowledge to run a food business, especially one that relates with Japanese culture. In addition, Bill Susha, the head of Operations for Benihana recognizes that if Benihana wants to continue to expand, it will face higher costs in terms of rental as well as shortage of well trained employees. Although Benihana has been proven that their uniqueness cannot be replicated easily by competitors, critics have been predicting that the uniqueness of Benihana is only a fad and it will not last. As Benihana is providing not only products, but also the service, they should continue to emphasize and improve on their TQM, as in this industry, employees are key input sources and by implementing TQM, there will be positive impacts on the service being delivered.

Resiliency and Spirituality Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Resiliency and Spirituality - Essay Example It remains the counselor’s duty to help the old in the attainment of self independence capabilities and positive attributes. This is demonstrated by harnessing personal values and lifelong commitments to guide the old in solving problems. On the other hand old people must be willing to pursue the struggle for a better life thus remaining focused on capabilities assets and positive attributes. Baltes and Baltes (1990) as sited by Langer (2004) reiterates that self reliance is an important virtual to be emphasized to the old as it gives them enough courage to reconstruct their life. The old should attach usefulness to themselves so that they may develop the ability to transform any difficulties into meaningful ideas. He maintains that even when signs of frailty become pronounced, the old are capable of making necessary modification in goals and aspirations as they continue developing through their life experience funding sources of meaning therein. To attain resiliency one needs to have a sense of control which will help in averting the stress characterized by aging, this can be based on past experiences by the individual and more importantly from manageable area in the current life. A counselor will point out strengths on his client and emphasize on them to enhance their sense of achievements. Kobasa (1979) as cited in Langer (2004) observes that people with greatest control over what occurs in their lives will remain healthier than those who feel powerless. Care providers are required to guide the old on how to manage crises including changes in health, social network, finances and ability to live independently. In return this will translate into a remarkable resiliency and spiritual firmness to the old Strength perspective counseling model is designed to help reduce the number of elders who may later need extensive health and social services. It equips the clients with problem solving and coping resources. The following assumptions are made in this model. People are responsible for and capable for making their own decisions People are able to direct their lives more than they realize with freedom to choose People are continuously motivated to address their basic. Physiological and abstract self-actualizations needs (Langer, 2000 cited in Langer 2004) Counselors' fully understanding of the inner strength is very necessary in facilitating health and way of life for the aged. They should see their clients not just as people who need service hours but also as unique individuals with rich lifelong strengths who can continue living meaningful lives From the spirituality / resiliency questions (Langer 2000, Ortiz and Langer 2002 cited in Langer 2004) counselor develop with their clients a list of strengths and assets in bid to provide possible solutions to the clients' problems. However it is necessary for them to comprehend the angle through which clients view their current and past lives. The spirituality/ resiliency assessment outlines life themes and coping mechanism that is virtual in giving information for strengths perspective counseling Rather than being reactive players, older adults can be important stakeholders in designing programs and problem solving activities. They can be on their own inherent strengths, find their own solutions and provide agencies with much need information about their service needs (Greene, 2000 cited in La

A Beautiful Mind Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

A Beautiful Mind - Essay Example Ironically, trying to solve like an equation cannot work out. We find our true happiness by letting go and just let life to happen on us. ‘A beautiful mind’ is an exaggerated tale of the life law, and how terrible life can get if we attempt to solve its nonexistent formulas. John Nash is a really awkward person, poor in social situations, but astonishingly talented mathematician. He is always finding a revolutionary discovery to change life or rather a life formula. About halfway of the movie John Nash suffers from a severe form of schizophrenia. Half of places and situation existing in his life are only part of his beautiful mind. Nash gets along very well with roommate, Charles, making the audience suspicious from the start picturing that Nash does not get well with anybody else (Ebert 56). There is also Parcher who works out well with everybody and is working on a conspiracy of an atomic bomb threat against the U.S. when the conspiracy saga messes up in Nash’s head, that is when he is actually in need of mental help. He can no longer think right, feel or act right. Suddenly, he stops using medicating and his schizophrenia situation worsens. He starts to battle against hallucinations of his own instead of going back to hospital. This is the turning point in the movie were Nash gets to learn on how to really live his own life. Nash comes to learn that life is more than making discoveries: there is love involved emotions and love involved, a wife, a baby to take care of and daily joys of life. John goes back to teaching classes and shares his experience and knowledge with students instead of focusing his time with himself. At one point Nash says that dreams will gradually vanish, if we do not focus on them, and have constant action towards them. Nightmares will always recur, as long as we feed them our attention. At the end of the movie John Nash wins a Nobel Price, for his contributions in the society. A Beautiful Mind is a movie that expla ins the benefit of enjoying life and not being caught up in ridiculous theories and discoveries or fantasies for a future that may never be. Embrace life daily but don’t embrace a fantasy world (Ebert 123). A beautiful mind offered the filmmaker some rich visual possibilities, being featured with nourished intrigue, an uncommon love story and time frame spanning several years. In fact, it is one of the dynamic films of Howard’s career so far. Putting our perception of events with John Nash is required a consistent visual accentuation on his perspective, and when Daekins’ camera is often looking out with prowling crane or circling with stead cam shots. Thematic Concerns The producers of the film are trying to highlight the issue of the mind. The mind is the reason for human beings’ ingenuity, humanity and artistic originality. However, the producer is explaining the fact that sometimes, the mind can work against us. The mind is able to alter people’ s sense of being and is able to make people believe that the unreal is the real. Therefore, while the mind is a very important aspect of human beings’ lives, it can also be a set back. This is the principle that the producer of the movie, ‘’A Beautiful Mind’’ is passing across to the audience. The story, based on a true story, has noteworthy brains behind its creation (Crowe 45). For starters, we are introduced to John Nash who is a mathematical genius, who only visualizes life through numbers. He is such an avid thinker, that even when pigeons are feeding, he tries to create an algorithm that would characterize their feeding patterns. Even when he witnesses a mugging, he is describes the incident as vectors and then he summarizes it in the form of complicated formulas and theorems. Therefore, John Nash is simply trying to explain that

Managerial Organization Assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Managerial Organization Assignment - Essay Example The attention of numerous buyers made some hidden truths to depict. The interpretation and treatment of financial accounts was breaching the accounting standards. To make the financial statements appear profitable, WorldCom increased the value of assets by charging and recording its expenses as assets, this reduced the expenses, and the factual figures became attractive. The managers manipulated the receivable figures as well and chose to ignore the evidences relating to receivables. By doing so, the debt figure went down and provisions started to move significantly high resulting in high earnings. The good will of the company and the brand name was deliberately increased with considerable values. The management was awarding high bonuses on the performances and executives were given heavy loans on the terms of repayment were not decided. The above facts resulted in the shutdown of operation and closure of WorldCom (Info Center, 2007). The organizational theories are the best practices were developed to facilitate the companies and management in order run the organization on the designed path and to evaluate the performance of the company as per the universal framework, the theory. In the case of WorldCom, many organizational theories could have supported in the detection of corporate failure in the initial stages. Few of the theories will be discussed in this research report. The Theory of Ethics provides guideline regarding the ethical behaviours and means to retain those behaviours in the organization’s culture. This theory focuses on multiple aspects of the organization. It caters the idea of building and enhancing employee trust, fair play, and competition, Transparency in business practices, and reducing the work waste (Lister, 2010). To build up employee trust the organizational theory of ethics suggests focusing on the working environment and the

Leadership Styles and Traits Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Leadership Styles and Traits - Term Paper Example This term paper discusses the various leadership qualities and styles of leaders that not only enhance the organizational performance but also create a motivated workforce. The four major styles of leadership were discussed in the term paper: situational leadership; transformational leadership; participative leadership; and charismatic leadership. The researcher states that these leadership styles not only judiciously exploit the competencies of the followers but also ensure that they are equipped with necessary knowledge to meet the challenges of time. Kouzes and Posner have asserted that four major traits of leaders vis-Ã  -vis honesty; forward looking; inspiring; and competency are critical paradigms of leaders that cut across gender, race, culture and nationality. These qualities hugely help the leaders to gain the trust of the followers who willingly follow them. The researcher concludes that effective leadership is highly stimulating and encourages an ongoing learning process within and outside the precincts of organization goals and objectives. Good leaders use self example to promote trust and mutual respect which has become a crucial issue today. The leaders promote cross cultural understanding and are able to exploit their competencies for the welfare of the organization. The leadership that learns through experience becomes the enabling factor of organization and provides it with competitive advantage. Hence, leadership initiatives have become extremely relevant part of organizational success.

A letter to the editor in the Wall Street Journal Assignment

A letter to the editor in the Wall Street Journal - Assignment Example If the customers trusted the banks with their personal information and not Bloomberg, their choice should be respected and not tampered with. Though Mr. Thomas Nides, the vice chairman for Morgan Stanley says that Bloomberg is â€Å"†¦assuring customers this was a mistake and that they are going to rectify that,† Bloomberg should do more than apologizing. It should even be sued for infringement on people’s privacy and pay the affected customers damages as determined by courts. This is to keep off other firms from repeating such activities in the future. Another thing that should be done is that the affected firms, among them Goldman Sachs Group Inc., should put into place measures that will ensure that no data is leaked from their databases to unauthorized parties. This case involved a firm (Bloomberg) that has taken measures to protect its name. Next time it could involve a hacker or any individual with criminal activities. Thank

Software engineering Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Software engineering - Essay Example Development of programming languages was at the initial stages and much work has to be in field of software technology. The hardware equipment used in programming were huge and weighed in tons. To operate one computer more than 10 persons were required. The space required for it was just like an auditorium. The expenses on maintenance were sky high. It was very time consuming effort for even to do simple mathematic calculations. Research on development of software technologies was given more importance and works on these issues were employed. Many companies realized the importance of development of software technology and many research institutes were developed accordingly. After the development of some programming languages like FORTRAN the importance of programming concepts were realized and companies like IBM, Microsoft, Apple, etc., invested heavily on the development of these technologies. The problems faced by these companies were: Development Time problem: In the development of large systems sometimes technology goes through a generation change from the time it was first conceptualized to the tie of delivery. Sometimes systems have to be reprogrammed completely. System User Interface problem: At the time of initial designing of the technology many associated operational procedures were neglected. This resulted in delay in the development process and need of other additional requirements. Additional hardware as well as software was frequently needed to meet the requirements. These problems can be prevented through operational timelines. Test and Integration problem: In the early stages of software development insufficient thought was given to integration and testing. Appointing experienced programmer and conducting tests at all levels can avoid problems. Maintenance problem: The expenditure was huge for the maintenance. The best way to cut costs is to design the code in such a way that changes can be accommodated frequently. Software development life cycle (SWDLC) models were used in developing a software product. SWDLC models helps in understanding the problem, design of a solution and tests on the solution can be performed in an operational environment. Some of the SWDLC are generic waterfall model, department of defense model, spiral model, NASA model, incremental developmental model, evolutionary prototype model, reuse and automated development models, etc. SWDLC process goes through five phases. They are (1) requirement analysis, (2) design specification, (3) coding and unit testing, (4) test and integration and (5) acceptance test. The people involved in software development process are: 1. Operators/Users: These are the end users who use the final products of the software system. Directly or indirectly users are involved in the development of software products. Keeping user's requirements in mind companies develop the final product. Since users are the key to the success of the final product most of the companies takes user's conceptions and develops the product accordingly. 2. Client: Client may be a person or a firm

World War II Debates Essay Example for Free

World War II Debates Essay Even though the 1920’s began with a favorable outlook for peace, towards the end of the decade and throughout the 1930’s the clouds of war were forming. Dictators arose in countries that were dissatisfied with the results of World War I. Germany, Italy, and Japan took aggressive actions, and neither the League of Nations nor the democratic countries were able or willing to stop them. British Prime Minister Chamberlain suggested the best way to deal with Hitler was the policy of appeasement. Actions were taken that moved Europe toward war. The debate over the causes of World War II provides different perspectives. There were several factors as to why the world was plunged into World War II in 1939. At the end of WWI, the Treaty of Versailles was established. This being one of those issues having aggravated many nations. In example, reparations often ad to be paid for things like war damages as well as being forced to lessen their militaries. Both Italy and Japan were promised land- they never got the land- so ultimately this led to feeling of revenge for their anger over the situation. The Great Depression had a huge effect on Germany’s economic trouble. This caused the people to desire a leader who was not only strong but who would also be an authoritative figure for their nation. Being that authoritative figure, both Hitler and Mussolini rose to power. This triggered the beginning of WWII. Especially with the force that Hitler was willing to use when saying that Germany needed to unite all its people under one government- the Reich- to do this, he believed that they needed to fight to get what the need accomplished. This force being the â€Å"sword† (AS SEEN IN DOCUMENT 1) Appeasement is giving into an aggressors demands so peace will be had. European countries often thought that this was the proper actions to take. Appeasement is far from an effective way to dealing with aggressions. Appeasement has to do with the aggression of the axis nations in World War II. This took place when Italy invaded Ethiopia. Eventually to conquer and avenge the loss to Ethiopians in 1896. Haile Selassie, Ethiopian king, appeals to the League of Nations. To no avail. Which was led by Britain and France, to aid in fighting off Mussolini’s forces. The League of Nations proved ineffective. This proves that Britain and France disliked any fight. Haile wanted to stop the Italian aggression. If the aggression was not stopped, he, the aggressor, would attack others. Aggressors should not be appeased (AS SEEN IN DOCUMENT 2). As seen by Winston Churchill, the aggressor must be stopped, Britain, France, and the other countries must join together in a collective security to stop aggression. They should have stopped Hitler when he seized Austria or threatened Czechoslovakia, which was later taken over. The British government is to blame, as it weakened the League of Nations and did not build up their defenses leaving the state in a disaster. The British government also didn’t stop Germany from rebuilding the army. It is pointed out to us that Winston believed that Britain lost the chance to increase Nazi Germany. (AS SEEN IN DOCUMENT 6). (AS SEEN IN EXCERPT 7), Kennan offers his belief that appeasement was unnecessary because Czechoslovakia was strong enough to save itself. And German officials were about to overthrow Hitler. (AS SEEN IN DOCUMENT 8), Historian Taylor defend appeasement. He also states that there was little basis for suggesting that Germans would reject Hitler since they had put him in power and supported him. Other countries were also worried about Russian expansion into Europe. Also, (AS SEEN IN DOCUMENT 5) Chamberlain suggested appeasement because he believed â€Å"good will and determination: could solve differences among countries peacefully. He said they could not fight to save Czechoslovakia because it is a small country, But he is willing to fight over big issues, Specifically, he says he will fight to stop a country that is using force to take over the world , but he does not want war and rather prefers appeasement. Another factor includes a violation of the Treaty of Versailles, by Hitler, when sending German troops into the Rhineland as he said it was time for Germany to be treated as an equal to the rest of the countries of Europe and no longer as a defeated, punished nation. France however went to the League of Nations and asked that Germany be removed from the Rhineland diplomatically or by a stronger force if seen necessary. Western democracies were adopted with the appeasement to keep the peace. The League of Nations did not take action to terminate these attacks (AS SEEN IN DOCUMENT 3). The Munich agreement also proves that appeasement is not the answer for peace. During the Munich Conference, Germans got the OK to occupy Sudetenland, Czechoslovakia only if to promise not to invade more countries (AS SEEN IN DOCUMENT 4). (AS SEEN IN DOCUMENT 9) Keith Eubank claims that the countries of Europe, including Britain and France, were not willing to fight because Hitler had done nothing to warrant their returning to the conditions they had suffered in WWI. All the countries had other interests and they were not willing to unite to stop Hitler. Collective security was not the route to take at this time. Stalin, Roosevelt and Churchill demanded Germany split into factions to be controlled by their respective countries and France, but Hitler refused. Allied forces and the Red Army invaded Berlin and Hitler committed suicide. America quickly ended the war in the Pacific with two nuclear weapons dropped on Japan. The War ended in the Summer of 1945. It is estimated that 50 million people lost their lives during World War 2.

Relationship Between Leadership Style and Employee Engagment

Relationship Between Leadership Style and Employee Engagment Introduction Organizational effectiveness is essential in todays fast growing organizations where competitiveness is the main feature of the contemporary business. Leadership is the main determinant of organizational effectiveness and is the major identifier of an engaged workforce. The most common leadership style is the Traditional leadership style which is administered in almost all companies of the Petroleum Sector in Egypt with its public companies, joint companies and even part of the investment companies, a leadership style enforcing the concepts of power and authority. The traditional leadership style aims to keep things the same and doesnt promote the engagement of the employees that is not part of their job descriptions and emerges as a result of personal choices. The leadership style applied in the petroleum companies needs to evolve from the traditional approach. It needs to apply leadership styles where the leader is capable of transforming and developing his employees behaviors and benefiting from their efforts would achieve positive contribution to overall organizational effectiveness. This should be through adopting an attitude that supports and enhances motivation and performance of his followers allowing them to exceed their own expectations optimizing their performance to achieve such effectiveness. In some cases, transactional leadership is administered where the leader promotes compliance of his followers through both rewards and punishments and is not looking to change the future. This type of leadership focuses on getting the work done by their followers. Transactional leadership works within the organization culture through management by exception to maintain status quo and stress corrective actions to improve performance. Whereas, the transformational leadership changes the organization culture through its behaviors where the leader affects the followers sense of identity and motivation aiming to achieve performance beyond expectations and employee engagement hence contributing to the main objective which is the organizational effectiveness. Leadership style is a strategic tool that needs to be practiced on a large span to assure employee engagement in order to comply with the surrounding dynamic environment. Statement of Research Problem The leadership style administered in the Egyptian petroleum companies is a traditional one enforcing the concepts of power and authority. This traditional style doesnt promote the engagement attitudes of the employees that are not part of their job descriptions that emerge as a result of personal choices. The leadership behaviors need to evolve to support the behaviors of leaders who are capable of transforming and developing their employees behaviors and benefiting from their efforts would achieve positive contribution to overall organizational effectiveness. Thus, the problem of this study can be stated in the following statement: What is the relationship between the leadership style and employee engagement? Research Objectives The main research objective is to investigate the leadership behaviors that are able to develop employees engagement by: Analyzing the reality of petroleum companies (area of the study) regarding the leadership style used in these companies and whether it has a relationship with employee engagement or not. Using the appropriate behavioral methods to acquire and maintain employees engagement. Providing some recommendations to the responsible people in the petroleum companies regarding what should be done to enhance the relationship between the employees and their supervisors or leaders that would be guiding for future studies on the effect of leadership behaviors both transactional and transformational on employee engagement. Research Importance The academic importance: This research will be an addition to the academic research because there is scarcity in the research topic, transactional and transformational leadership, and dealing with these leadership styles in the petroleum companies. The empirical importance: The empirical importance of this research lies in providing the petroleum companies with the results and the recommendations of the research that can be implemented for maintaining employee engagement aiming to achieve organizational effectiveness. Conclusion Transactional and transformational leadership are considered contrasting leadership styles even though the leader may use both styles of leadership at different times and different situations. Transactional leadership is an exchange process where the leader exchanges rewards for efforts of the subordinates or followers and this in turn allows the leader to punish the subordinates or followers if the task is not accomplished. Whereas transformational leader encourages his followers to make decision, he empowers them and allows them to grow on the individual basis and also among teams by coaching and mentoring them. Transformational leadership and the reward approach of the transactional leadership have a positive influence on employee behaviors, emotions and performance. They have a positive impact on organizational teams, organizational commitment, effectiveness and employees satisfaction in addition citizenship behaviors. For organizations to survive in the rapid competing world, they have to maintain an engaged workforce. Employee engagement will result in high levels of performance and low levels of turnover in organizations. Employee engagement eliminates job stress and is strategic tool leading to job satisfaction, organizational commitment, less turnover and organizational citizenship behaviors. As the literature review shows that the study variables have been covered in many industries and countries around the world, yet it hasnt been given much consideration in the Arab world. This is why the researcher finds that it is a must to conduct this study in the petroleum sector where she works. Research Variables and Operationalization 1. Research Variables: Independent Variables Transformational Leadership Transactional Leadership Dependent Variables Employee Engagement 2. Variables Operationalization Independent Variables The leadership styles in this study: transformational and transactional leadership, are evident but dont replace each other as processes, and the same leader may use both types of leadership at different times in different situations. (Yukl 1998) The researcher chooses two of the leadership style for this study as follows: Transformational Leadership: attempts to create emotional links with its followers and inspires higher values (Bass, 1999). Transformational leadership meets the higher order needs of employees (Yusof and Shah, 2008). Also, transformational leadership refers to the leader motivating the follower beyond self-interests. It raises the followers level of maturity and ideals for achievement and the well-being of others, the organization and the society (Hakan 2008). Transactional Leadership: places an emphasis on exchanging rewards for accomplishment (Burton and Peachey, 2009) Transactional leadership focuses mainly on the physical and the security needs of followers. The relationship that evolves between the leader and the follower is based on exchange and reward systems (Bass and Avolio, 1993). Dependent Variable Employee Engagement is the benefiting of organizational members themselves to their work roles; in engagement, people employ and express themselves physically, perceptually and emotionally during role performances (Kahn, 1990) Employee engagement refers to the individuals involvement and satisfaction as well as enthusiasm for work (Harter et al., 2002). Proposed Research Model Independent Dependent Employee Engagement Transactional Leadership Transformational Leadership Research Hypotheses Based on the previous model, we can develop the following hypotheses that try to express the relationship between study variables: H1 There is a strong positive significant relationship between transactional leadership and employee engagement. H2 There is a strong positive significant relationship between transformational leadership and employee engagement. Source of Research Data (Sample) Primary data The researcher collected the primary data from the research sample of 236 employees working in Suez Oil Company by using 30 items questionnaire. Secondary data Secondary data is collected from organizational records from the HR department in the company. Research Variables Instruments In this study, the researcher conducted the questionnaire based on two main research instruments: Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire Transactional and transformational leadership was measured using 20 items from the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ 5X rater form) on a Likert 5 point scale. The components of leadership dimensions derived from the MLQ 5X rater form questionnaire Transactional Transformational Utrecht Work Engagement Scale Employee engagement was measured using 10 items from Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES) on a Likert 5 point scale. Research Population and Sample Population The population of present study is 1200 employees of Suez Oil Company, a petroleum company in the Egyptian petroleum sector. Sample The present study sample is a stratified random sample of 300 employees from all departments and job levels in the company. Statistical Methods/Techniques used in Data Analysis Cronbachs Alpha Split-half T-Test ANOVA Scheffe Test Correlations Regression Stepwise Research Results and Findings Validity and Reliability Questionnaire Validity: It means the ability of the questionnaire to measure what it is set for. Reliability of internal consistency: Calculation of correlation coefficients between each axis component phrases and questionnaire axis total marks. Calculation of correlation coefficients between questionnaire axis total marks and questionnaire total mark. First Axis: Transformational Leadership: Validity was calculated by using internal consistency through calculating the correlation coefficient (Person Correlation Coefficient) between each phrase mark and the axis mark (transactional leadership). The same is shown in the following table below: It is evident from the table that all correlation coefficients are indicating significance at (0.05 0.01) that shows it is close to one which means that questionnaire phrases are valid and consistent. Second Axis: Transformational Leadership: Validity was calculated by using internal consistency through using correlation coefficient (Person Correlation Coefficient) between each phrase mark and the axis mark (Transformational Leadership). The same is shown in the following table below: It is evident from the table that correlation coefficients are significant at (0.05-0.01), thus indicating validity and consistency of the questionnaire phrases. Third Axis: Employee Engagement: Reliability was calculated by using the internal consistency through calculating the correlation coefficient (Person correlation coefficient) between each phrase mark and the axis mark (Employee Engagement). The following table shows the same below. It is evident from the table that correlation coefficients are all indicating significance at (0.05-0.01) which shows it is close to one, thus indicating validity and consistency of the questionnaire phrases. Validity by using internal consistency between axis total mark and questionnaire total mark Validity was calculated by using the internal consistency through calculating the correlation coefficient (Person Correlation Coefficient) between each axis total mark (transactional leadership-transformational leadership-employee engagement) and questionnaire total mark, the following table shows the same below: Employee Engagement It is evident from the table that correlation coefficients are all indicating significance at (0.01), thus indicating validity and consistency of the questionnaire phrases. Reliability: Reliability means accuracy of the test in measurement and observation, non-contradiction to oneself, its consistency and elaboration, thus providing us of information about the examined person behavior, and it is the ratio between the mark variance on the scale indicating the virtual performance of the examined person. Reliability was calculated through: Cronbachs Alpha Split-half Reliability of the whole questionnaire It is evident from the above table that all reliability coefficients values: Alpha and Split-half coefficients are indicating significance at (0.01) thus indicating the questionnaire reliability. Description of the Study A comprehensive description of the study sample is shown in the following tables (from 6 to 9) and charts (from 1to 4), as follows: 1 Gender: Table (6) and chart (1) show distribution of the research sample according to the gender. Distribution of the research sample according to the gender 133 research sample individuals are male at the percentage of 56.4%, whereas 103 research sample individuals are female at the percentage of 43.6%. 2 Education: Table (7) and chart (2) show distribution of the research sample according to the education. Distribution of the research sample according to the education 126 individuals of the research sample are university degrees holders at the percentage of 53.4% followed by 71 individuals of research sample are high school certificates or less holders at the percentage of 30.1%, and the last 39 individuals of the research sample are postgraduates at the percentage of 16.1%. 3 Age: Table (8) and chart (3) show distribution of the research sample according to age. Distribution of the research sample according to age 74 individuals of the research sample whose ages ranging between 30 and 39 years at 31.4%, followed by 68 individuals whose ages ranging between 40 and 49 years at 28.8%, followed by 52 individuals whose ages were below 30 years at 22% and coming last 42 individuals aged 50 years and above at 17.8%. 4 Years of experience: Table (9) and chart (4) show distribution of the research sample according to years of experience. Distribution of the research sample according to years of experience 78 individuals of the research sample whose number of years of experience ranging between 11 to 16 years at 33.1% , followed by 63 individuals whose number of years of experience was above 16 years at 26.6% ,followed by 54 individuals whose number of years of experience ranging between 5 and 10 years at 22.9% , and the last 41 individuals with less than 5 years of experience at 17.4%. Description of Questionnaire answers Below is a detailed discussion (in figures and percentages) of sample individuals answers of the phrases in the questionnaire: Transactional Leadership 1 Provides assistance in exchange for effort: It is evident from the table that 55 individuals of research sample strongly agreed at 23.3%, whereas 110 individuals of research sample agreed at 46.6%, and 43 individuals of research sample were neutral at 18.2%, however, 28 individuals of research sample disagreed at 11.9%. 2 Very clear on the reward if goals are achieved: It is evident from the table that 115 individuals of research sample strongly agreed at 48.7%, whereas 78 individuals of research sample agreed at 33.1%, and 32 individuals of research sample were neutral at 13.6%, however, 11 individuals of research sample disagreed at 4.7%. 3 Express satisfaction when expectations are met: It is evident from the table that 65 individuals of research sample strongly agreed at 27.5%, whereas 132 individuals of research sample agreed at 55.9% and 39 individuals of research sample were neutral at 16.5%. 4 Concentrate attention on dealing with mistakes, complaints and failures: It is evident from the table that 69 individuals of research sample strongly agreed at 29.2%, whereas 101 individuals of research sample agreed at 42.8%, and 31 individuals of research sample were neutral at 13.1%, however, 25 individuals of research sample disagreed at 10.6% and finally 10 individuals of research sample strongly disagreed at 4.2%. 5 Keep track of mistakes: It is evident from the table that 54 individuals of research sample strongly agreed at 22.9%, whereas 85 individuals of research sample agreed at 36% and 41 individuals of research sample were neutral at 17.4%, yet, 34 individuals of research sample disagreed at 14.4%, and finally 22 individuals of research sample strongly disagreed at 9.3%. 6 Takes corrective action on mistakes: It evident from the table that 105 individuals of research sample strongly agreed at 44.5% ,whereas 80 individuals of research sample individuals of research sample agreed at 33.9% and individuals of research sample were neutral at 16.1% ,however,13 individuals of research sample disagreed at 5.55%. 7 Fails to interfere when problems become serious: It is evident from the table that 12 individuals of research sample strongly agreed at 5.1%, whereas 43 individuals of research sample agreed at 18.2% and 37 individuals of research sample were neutral at 15.7%, yet, 63 individuals of research sample disagreed at 26.7%, and finally 81 individuals of research sample strongly disagreed at 34.3%. 8 If it isnt broken dont fix it: It is evident from the table that 34 individuals of research sample strongly agreed at 15.3%, whereas 87 individuals of research sample agreed at 36.9% and 44 individuals of research sample were neutral at 18.6%, yet, 60 individuals of research sample disagreed at 25.4%, and finally 9 individuals of research sample strongly disagreed at 3.8%. 9 Waits for things to go wrong before taking action: It is evident from the table that 16 individuals of research sample strongly agreed at 6.8%, whereas 65 individuals of research sample agreed at 27.5% and 34 individuals of research sample were neutral at 14.4%, yet, 72 individuals of research sample disagreed at 30.5%, and finally 49 individuals of research sample strongly disagreed at 20.8%. Transformational Leadership 10 Goes beyond self -interest for the good of others: It is evident from the table that 43 individuals of research sample strongly agreed at 18.2%, whereas 129 individuals of research sample agreed at 54.7% and 33 individuals of research sample were neutral at 13.9%, yet, 17 individuals of research sample disagreed at 7.2%, and finally 14 individuals of research sample strongly disagreed at 5.9%. 11 Admired, respected and trusted: It is evident from the table that 122 individuals of research sample strongly agreed at 51.7%, whereas 73 individuals of research sample agreed at 30.9% and 41 individuals of research sample were neutral at 17.4%. 12 Display sense of power and confidence, willing to take risk: It is evident from the table that 45 individuals of research sample strongly agreed at 19.1%, whereas 64 individuals of research sample agreed at 27.1% and 81 individuals of research sample were neutral at 34.3%, yet, 11 individuals of research sample disagreed at 4.7%, and finally 35 individuals of research sample strongly disagreed at 14.8%. 13 Talks about values and beliefs: It is evident from the table that 101 individuals of research sample strongly agreed at 42.8%, whereas 74 individuals of research sample agreed at 31.4% and 40 individuals of research sample were neutral at 16.9%, yet, 21 individuals of research sample disagreed at 8.9%. 14 Talks optimistically about the future: It is evident from the table that 100 individuals of research sample strongly agreed at 42.4%, whereas 81 individuals of research sample agreed at 34.4% and 55 individuals of research sample were neutral at 23.3%. 15 Motivate and inspire people around: It is evident from the table that 99 individuals of research sample strongly agreed at 41.9%, whereas 106 individuals of research sample agreed at 44.9% and 21 individuals of research sample were neutral at 18.9%, yet, 10 individuals of research sample disagreed at 4.2% 16 No public criticism: It is evident from the table that 52 individuals of research sample strongly agreed at 22%, whereas 71 individuals of research sample agreed at 30.1% and 44 individuals of research sample were neutral at 18.6%, yet, 39 individuals of research sample disagreed at 16.5%, and finally 30 individuals of research sample strongly disagreed at 12.7%. 17 Spends time coaching, mentoring and teaching: It is evident from the table that 98 individuals of research sample strongly agreed at 41.5%, whereas 46 individuals of research sample agreed at 19.5% and 42 individuals of research sample were neutral at 17.8%, yet, 31 individuals of research sample disagreed at 13.1%, and finally 19 individuals of research sample strongly disagreed at 8.1%. 18 Considers every employee as having different needs, aspiration and abilities: It is evident from the table that 84 individuals of research sample strongly agreed at 35.6%, whereas 64 individuals of research sample agreed at 27.1% and 52 individuals of research sample were neutral at 22%, yet, 23 individuals of research sample disagreed at 9.7%, and finally 13 individuals of research sample strongly disagreed at 5.5%. 19 Develops employees into Leaders: It is evident from the table that 83 individuals of research sample strongly agreed at 35.2%, whereas 99 individuals of research sample agreed at 41.9% and 38 individuals of research sample were neutral at 16.1%, yet, 16 individuals of research sample disagreed at 6.8% 20 Interaction with employees are personalized: It is evident from the table that 64 individuals of research sample strongly agreed at 27.1%, whereas 70 individuals of research sample agreed at 29.7% and 57 individuals of research sample were neutral at 24.2%, yet, 36 individuals of research sample disagreed at 15.3%, and finally 9 individuals of research sample strongly disagreed at 3.8%. Employee Engagement 1 At my work, I feel bursting with energy: It is evident from the table that 69 individuals of research sample strongly agreed at 29.2%, whereas 101 individuals of research sample agreed at 42.8% and 49 individuals of research sample were neutral at 20.8%, yet, 17 individuals of research sample disagreed at 7.2%. 2 I find the work that I do full of meaning and purpose: It is evident from the table that 71 individuals of research sample strongly agreed at 30.1%, whereas 82 individuals of research sample agreed at 34.7% and 46 individuals of research sample were neutral at 19.5%, yet, 29 individuals of research sample disagreed at 12.3%, and finally 8 individuals of research sample strongly disagreed at 3.4%. 3 Time flies when Im working: It is evident from the table that 88 individuals of research sample strongly agreed at 37.3%, whereas 73 individuals of research sample agreed at 30.9% and 22 individuals of research sample were neutral at 9.3%, yet, 39 individuals of research sample disagreed at 16.5%, and finally 14 individuals of research sample strongly disagreed at 5.9%. 4 When I am working, I forget everything else around me: It is evident from the table that 67 individuals of research sample strongly agreed at 28.4%, whereas 108 individuals of research sample agreed at 45.8% and 37 individuals of research sample were neutral at 15.7%, yet, 24 individuals of research sample disagreed at 10.2%. 5 My job inspires me: It is evident from the table that 58 individuals of research sample strongly agreed at 24.6%, whereas 93 individuals of research sample agreed at 39.4% and 39 individuals of research sample were neutral at 16.5%, yet, 30 individuals of research sample disagreed at 12.7%, and finally 16 individuals of research sample strongly disagreed at 6.8%. 6 When I get up in the morning, I feel like going to work: It is evident from the table that 81 individuals of research sample strongly agreed at 34.3%, whereas 84 individuals of research sample agreed at 35.6% and 41 individuals of research sample were neutral at 17.4%, yet, 21 individuals of research sample disagreed at 8.9%, and finally 9 individuals of research sample strongly disagreed at 3.8%. 7 I am proud of the work that I do: It is evident from the table that 82 individuals of research sample strongly agreed at 34.7%, whereas 94 individuals of research sample agreed at 39.8% and 60 individuals of research sample were neutral at 25.4%. 8 I can continue working for very long periods at a time: It is evident from the table that 64 individuals of research sample strongly agreed at 27.1%, whereas 86 individuals of research sample agreed at 36.4% and 43 individuals of research sample were neutral at 18.2%, yet, 25 individuals of research sample disagreed at 10.6%, and finally 18 individuals of research sample strongly disagreed at 7.6%. 9 To me, my job is challenging: It is evident from the table that 100 individuals of research sample strongly agreed at 42.4%, whereas 79 individuals of research sample agreed at 33.5% and 34 individuals of research sample were neutral at 14.4%, yet, 13 individuals of research sample disagreed at 5.5%, and finally 10 individuals of research sample strongly disagreed at 4.2%. 10 I get carried away when Im working: It is evident from the table that 83 individuals of research sample strongly agreed at 35.2%, whereas 103 individuals of research sample agreed at 43.6% and 50 individuals of research sample were neutral at 21.2%. Hypotheses Testing There is a correlation between transactional leadership and employee engagement and a correlation between transformational leadership and employee engagement To test the developed hypotheses, a Pearson correlation method is used for figuring out the relationship between the study variables. The obtained results can be shown in the following table: Table (10) correlation matrix among transactional leadership, transformational leadership and employee engagement Employee Engagement 0.831** Transactional Leadership 0.924** Transformational Leadership ** p = à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ °Ã‚ ¤ 0.01 Table (10) shows a positive correlation among transactional leadership, transformational leadership and employee engagement at significance of (0.01) function. In other words, the better the transactional leadership perception is the better the employee engagement which supports H1and the better the transformational leadership perception is the better the employee engagement which supports H2. Demographic Analysis Transactional Leadership and Demographics: There are differences of statistical indication between the sample individuals marks average in transactional leadership according to the study demographics. T-Test was applied and the sample individuals marks were calculated by ANOVA in the transactional leadership, the following tables show the same below: Chart (5) differences in the sample individuals marks average in transactional leadership according to the gender Table (11) and Chart (5) show that T value was (20.931 ),it is a value statistically indicating significance at (0.01 ) in favor of females, as females marks average was ( 39.019 ) , whereas males marks average was ( 21.451 ), that means that females consider transactional leadership better than males. Total Table (12) shows that F value was ( 31.402 ) which is a statistically indicating significance at ( 0.01 ), that means that there are differences among the sample individuals in transactional leadership according to education. To verify the direction of the indication, Scheffe Test was applied for multiple comparisons. The following table shows the same below: Table (13) and chart (6) show no differences in transactional leadership between post graduate studies holders and university degree holders, whereas there are differences between post graduate studies holders and high school certificate or less holders in favor of post graduate studies holders significant at ( 0.01 ). There are also differences between university degree holders and high school certificate or less holders in favor of university degree holders significant at ( 0.01 ), whereas the average of marks of post graduate studies holders and university degree holders was (35.205) and (34.515) respectively, followed by high school certificate or less holders sample individuals at the average of ( 16.197 ) , post graduate studies holders and university degree holders came first as they had better perception of transactional leadership , while high school certificate or less holders came second. It is evident from table (14) that the value of T was ( 39.670 ) , it is a value indicating statistically significant at ( 0.01 ), thus indicating the differences among sample individuals according to age. To define the function direction, Scheffe Test was applied for multiple comparisons .The following table shows the same below. Chart (7) differences of sample marks in transactional leadership according to age Table (15) and chart (7) show that there are differences in transactional leadership between sample individuals aged 50 years and above and sample individuals aged 40-49 years ,30-39 years and those below 30 years in favor of the sample individuals aged 50 years and above with significance at (0.01), whereas there are differences between sample individuals aged 40-49 and sample individuals aged 30-39 in favor of sample individuals aged 40-49 years with significance at (0.05), whereas there are differences between sample individuals aged 40-49 and sample individuals aged below 30 years in favor of the first with significance at (0.01), whereas there are differences between sample individuals aged 30-39 years and sample individuals aged below 30 years in favor of the first with significance at (0.01). The average marks of the sample individuals aged 50 years and above were (42.000), followed by the sample individuals aged 40-49 at the average of (32.441) ,followed by sample individuals aged 30-39 at the average of (29.540) ,and sample individuals aged below 30 years at the

Steganography :: Essays Papers

Steganography Introduction to Steganography Codes have been around for centuries ranging from wax, invisible ink, Morse code, the Enigma used by the Germans during World War II and now steganographic. Steganography is the latest form to insidiously hide information over the Internet without a trace of a file being altered. You are able to hide messages within images, voice or music. Steganography is an ancient method of hiding messages. Today messages are hidden in images and music. Steganography can be traced back to the ancient Greek who would write messages on tablets and cover them in wax. This made the tablets look blank and unsuspicious (Kolata, F4). Citizens of ancient civilizations would tattoo messages on their shaved heads. They would then let their hair grown in and travel across enemy lines to deliver the message (Seper, G1). During World War II the Allies placed a ban on flower deliveries with dates, crossword puzzles and even report cards (Kolata, F4) for fear of a message being hidden with in. Steganographers fi rst alter their data by using encryption and then place the image into a pre-select image. Steganographers look for a piece of code that would be the least significant and look the least altered to the human eye (Kolata, F4), being as inconspicuousness and random as possible. This makes the messages undetectable unless you knew that there is a message hidden and you were able to crack the code. Hacking and Unhacking Hackers and terrorists have been using this form of technology for years. The United States governmental officials had suspected an attack on the United States for a period of time and thought the information to be hidden using steganography. Anyone can use and get access to steganographic materials. It's easy to download on numerous sights and no software is required. It's an easy and cheap way to keep information secure and undetectable. The number of steganography sites has doubled in the past two years (Kolata, F4). The United States government is also trying to place restrictions on encryption methods to prevent another catastrophic attack in the world such as the World Trade Center attacks. By having access to a private key the government would have unlimited access to secure information and crack codes all for safety reasons (USA Today). A " private key" is needed to decode any steganographic messages. Images are made up from a combination of an abundant of pixels (tiny dots).

Cellular Evolution Response :: essays research papers

The golgi apparatus and the mitochondria are both eukaryotic bond organelles. The Golgi apparatus is a membrane-bound organelle found near the cell nucleus in eukaryotic cells which is responsible for sorting and packaging proteins for secretion to various destinations in the cell. It is typically comprised of a series of five to eight cup-shaped, membrane-covered sacs called cisternae. Cells may have many cisternae. Vesicles near the golgi are involved in the transfer of material between the golgi and other structures. The mitochondria is a site for cellular respiration. It generates ATP by extracting energy from sugars, fats, and other sources with the presence of oxygen. The mitochondria has two membranes. Both membranes are made of a phosolipid bilayer with embedded proteins, but the (smooth)outer membrane doesn’t have folds, cristae, that the inner membrane has. The inner membrane makes the proteins and enzymes that are used for cellular respiration.The two membranes are separated by a space, called the intermembrane space. The two membranes surround the mitochondrial matriz which contains enzymes, ribosomes and mitochondrial DNA. The mitochondria makes the ATP needed to help the cell function. b) DNA is a double helix and it replicates itself by separating the two strands while each serves as a template for new nucleotides to pair up into two new complementary strands. In prokaryotes, DNA is located all over the cell, but in eukaryotes it is only in the nucleus, and more specifically on their chromosomes. Prokaryotic DNA are located in loops, and does not contain the proteins found in eukaryotic DNA. Prokaryotes DNA has less unhelpful DNA than eukaryotes do, who have about 95% unhelpful DNA. Prokaryotes also have less complex transcriptional regulatory mechanisms than eukaryotes. The cell wall is a rigid layer surrounding a cell that gives it support and protection. It protects the inside of the cell from internal movement while supporting the cell. Animal cells do not have cell walls, instead, they have a semi-permeable plasma membrane. Most prokaryotes have cell walls made of peptidoglycan made from polysaccharide chains cross-linked by peptides. They are semi-rigid and protect the bacteria again possible toxins. Unlike prokaryotes, the cell walls of plant cells are made of cellulose, while the cell walls of fungi are made of chitin.

Attention Deficit Disorder :: essays research papers

Attection Deficit Disorder To be nobody-but-myself--in a world which is doing its best, night and day, to make you everybody else-means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight, and never stop fighting. -E.E. Cummings, 1958 Attention Deficit Disorder is a long and some what mysterious sounding name that tries to describe something you probably already call Hyperactivity. But, attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) is much more that Hyperactivity. History of ADD In 1902 children who demonstrated many of the symptoms that are today part of attention deficit disorder would be described as children with "morbid defects in moral control". In the 1940's, children exhibiting this form of behavior were diagnosed with "brain injured syndrome" because children with brain injuries from disease or trauma behave in much the same way. Any child displaying these behaviors regardless of evidence of brain injury were diagnosed as having brain injury syndrome. What Causes ADD? ADD may be caused by a abnormally from trauma, disease, fetal exposure to alcohol and tobacco, or high levels of Lead. In parts of the brain there is a diminished activity in the morphology and frontal region of the brain. Statistics of ADD Most of the diagnosis is at childhood. Experts say that over 2 million (3 to 5%) children have ADD. About 50% of these 2 million children who have ADD are believed to be underachievers. Also with this 50% the children are believed to have social and academic difficulties. About 40% of the 2 million have a 40% IQ discrepancy. The glad part is that 80% - 90% of these children receive medication for there problem, but most of them still need behavior modifications. Most schools help with that. Behaviors Observed in ADD Some characteristics are: -Makes careless mistakes in school work. -Dislikes tasks that involve sustaining mental effort. -Has difficulty sustaining attention. -Does not seem to listen when spoken to. -Often loses things. -Does not follow through on instructions. -Often distracted. -Has difficulty organizing tasks. -Often forgetful in daily activities. Six or more of the following symptoms will result in the diagnosis of peractivity- impulsivity: Hyperactivity Impulsivity Fidgets or squirms Often talks excessively Often leaves seat in classroom Often blurts out answers Often runs about inappropriately Often has difficulty waiting turn Difficulty playing quietly Often interrupts others Also while the person with ADD gets older the Impulsivity gets more consistent. Usually girls don't show Impulsivity as much as guys. How To Help ADD In The Classroom Researchers have identified classroom characteristics which promote success for many children that have ADD: -predictability -structure -shorter work periods -small teacher to pupil ratio -more individualized instruction -interesting curriculum -use of positive reinforcements The teachers attitude is very helpful if she/he has the following characteristics:

An interpretation of Love in Chang-Rae Lee’s “A Gesture Life”

Love, as they say moves in mysterious ways, we can say that it really did in Chang-Rae Lee’s novel â€Å"A Gesture Life.† The novel was basically about the life of Franklin â€Å"Doc† Hata and his reminiscing of his colorful and interesting past to restore his present life. The bulk of the narrative was mostly about how Hata expresses his love for the other characters in the novel. Interestingly, â€Å"A Gesture Life† is certainly not the kind of story that portrays love in a typical manner. It is quite amusing that there are lots of ironies if love was to be discussed in this book . This essay will show the readers that the desire for love in â€Å"A Gesture Life† had ironically hindered the acquisition of love. The novel of Chang-Rae Lee was basically about probably the worst kind of tragedy there is, not being loved by everyone even by oneself. If we are to classify the different forms of love in â€Å"A Gesture Life,† there are lots of technical terms that are always related to the concept of love like agape, pragmatic love, eros, complex chemical reactions and terms like pheromones and dopamine, and lots of scientific terms that few of us comprehends. This essay will only employ types of love that is understandable by all for the purpose of keeping this essay from being too general. This essay will focus on the main character’s love for the other characters and concepts in his life. But the essay will not settle for mere descriptions of the protagonist’s love, it will show the reader how love had been distorted and given meanings by the traumas that the protagonist had suffered during the war. The first kind of love from the novel is the love for acceptance. The protagonist Hata, had been begging (although he didn’t express this explicitly) for acceptance from the people in his life and his neighborhood. Hata was too careful about everything he does in his neighborhood. That is because he doesn’t want to commit mistakes that could get him noticed. He wanted a low-profile life in his neighborhood because he has this assumption that he will be the target of discrimination in the community. But contrary to what Hata is thinking, the citizen’s of his community, Bedley Run, appears to like Hata, but in the way Hata wants them to like him. Hata was treated like an Oriental mascot because the people in Bedley Run seem to like him only for the differences he and most of the people in Bedley Run share. Hata speaks of his love for acceptance in his community, â€Å"†¦my assumption is that once I settle in†¦I will be treated like as people should be treated† (Lee 3).   His assumptions of being accepted was brutally debunked by what had transpired during his stay in Bedley Run, â€Å"It seems to me that people took a weird interest in making me feel that I am unwelcome† (Lee 3) Hata’s love for acceptance didn’t end with his failed attempt with his neighborhood. It appears that Hata’s love for his adopted daughter Sunny, whom he had adopted when he was still in Korea when Sunny was just a child. While Sunny was growing up, she and her father were having endless disputes. In the long run, Sunny ran away from home even when she was just a teenager. Later in the story, Hata will have the chance to make up with her daughter. Sunny went back to Hata and asks for support for she was pregnant. Irritatingly, Hata denied Sunny’s plea for support. Hata had prioritized more his and his family’s reputation more than the well being of her daughter. It appears that even though Hata loves her daughter, his family’s reputation weighs more than the affection of his daughter. This is Hata’s real and unfortunate dilemma. He had stated several times in the narrative that he loves her daughter very much, but still he is quite unable show his love. After this he will contemplate heavily as to why his life is devoid of love, he will contemplate heavily as to why his life is remote to the lives of the ones he dears most. Hata’s weird and unproductive approach to love will backfire at him at the most tragic of scenarios. Hata had accidentally brought his house on fire and he was hurt in the fire and was hospitalized. After that he was caught in a web of nostalgia, he reminisced about the time he served as a paramedic in an army camp in the pacific war. There he had fallen in love with a certain woman whom he calls â€Å"K† who was about the same age as her adopted daughter Sunny. He had loved K as genuinely a man could love a woman. He was even willing to die and kill for K as she had committed murder and Hata was willing to offer help in covering up. But then, just like in the bulk of the story, Hata’s love remains unrequited. K had viewed his love as having ill intentions. K thought that Hata was only after her youth and was only after sex. This tragic memory of Hata had some great effects in later in his life especially the relationships he had, especially with her daughter. In a weird but true manner, Hata’s kind of loves are real and unfortunately remains unrequited. Hata’s situation is what we see everyday happening to real people. That is just the truthfulness that made this story a success. The novel â€Å"A Gesture Life† may have been talking about the tragic life of Hata when it comes to love, but what it was actually talking about is how some people find it very hard to be loved just because they themselves find it hard to love others. In the story, Hata seems to be the kind of person who never knew the feeling of being loved. He has this hunger to be loved by the people around him. This for me is one of the reasons why many people find it easy to empathize with the character of Hata. Work Cited Lee, Chang-Rae. A Gesture Life. CA: Riverhead books. 1999   

Learning Theories Essay

This chapter takes a brief look at the two major categories of learning theories (behaviorism and constructivism), the major theorists within those categories, and the implications of those theories for the use of multimedia and communications and information technology for learning purposes. A separate section within the chapter provides a brief overview of learning based upon neuroscience and recent discoveries about the functioning of the brain. A series of links are provided to further resources on learning theory, neuroscience, and the brain. pic] Our Technological Revolution and the Implications for the Way We Learn We have all experienced a learning moment when we were so focussed or engulfed in the learning, that everything else did not matter. Candidly, the raison d’etre or motivation for our focus may have been that we had a boss or teacher breathing down our neck or an impending exam was to quantify our level of knowledge or intelligence or a particular moment neces sitated that a skill be learned very quickly. Regardless of the motivating factors for this moment of focussed learning, the experience is what psychologists Mihaly Czikszentmihalyi and Ellen Langer label in their respective theories, as moments of â€Å"optimum flow† or â€Å"mindfulness†. According to psychologist Mihaly Czikszentmihalyi, optimum flow occurs when: Alientation gives way to involvement, enjoyment replaces boredom, helplessness turns into a feeling of control, and psychic energy works to reinforce the sense of self, instead of being lost in the service of external goals. (Czikszentmihalyi, 1990, p. 9) Replicating such moments of optimum flow is the job of educators regardless of the domain, whether it be school, the workplace in job training, or the military, etc. Moreover, certain learning theorists are advocating the greater use of technology, namely computers, in learning situations because they see enormous potential of computer technology to replicate these optimum moments of flow. Learning is a personal act. We each place our own personal stamp on how we learn, what we learn and when we learn. We in effect have our own learning style. Howard Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligences which acknowledges learning as an holistic experience is, at present, one of the most well known descriptors of human cognitive profiles. The act of learning is paradoxical in nature. It can at times appear to be a very simple act. So simple, that we do not question its presence in how we go about our daily activities, for it is natural to our existence as learning organisms. Yet, when we encounter difficulties in learning something, we no longer take the learning process for granted. It is only then that our metacognition or awareness of how we learn is heightened. Learning is taken for granted as a natural process. As simple a process it may seem, the root of understanding how we learn is not as straight forward. The existence of numerous definitions and theories of learning attest to the complexity of this process. A random sampling of any educational psychology text will illustrate the variance in views to what exactly is learning and how we do learn. In Educational Psychology: An Introduction, for example, the authors write, â€Å"Learning implies a change in the individual as a result of some intervention. It may be viewed as an outcome or as a process. (Belkin and Gray, 1977, p. 211) While this definition reflects a behaviorist view of learning, for it equates learning as an outcome, it is a starting point for the authors to expand their description of learning into many other realms, namely the different theories of learning. They in effect, devote a whole chapter of their text just to describe the many ways of defining learning. While it may seem somewhat premature to evaluate the aforementioned definition of learning and to equate it with a specific theory, it is important to recognize that â€Å"intervention† in the learning process can imply many different things. The degree of intervention, by who or what and how, are the defining factors of a learning theory. These factors help distinguish the many different theories. As you will see these theories are not stagnant. They are evolving and changing as we discover new ways of viewing human cognition. â€Å"The mechanistic model of the mind of the behavior era has given way to the logical-computational model favored by artificial intelligence and cognitive science theorists† (McLellan, 1996, p. 6). Don Tapscott, in his book Growing Up Digital: The Rise of the Net Generation, argues that we are now in a digital era of learning. According to Tapscott, a transformation in learning is taking place from what he labels â€Å"broadcast† learning to â€Å"interactive† learning. No longer are today’s generation of learners satisfied in being the passive recipients of the traditional teaching process, rather, they want to discover it for themselves by becoming interactive with the learning. The net generation children using GlobaLearn [a web site], are beginning to process information and learn differently than the boomers before them. New media tools offer great promise for a new model of learning – one based on discovery and participation. (Tapscott, 1998, p. 127) Tapscott’s thesis that the â€Å"technological revolution† is permeating every aspect of our lives forces us to examine the use of computer technology as learning devices. Such rapid social, economic and general lifestyle change, due in essence to the technological revolution, begs the question – based on learning theory, why does the use of computers as a â€Å"learning† tool make sense? This chapter will answer this question by profiling the many learning theories. [pic] The Spectrum of Learning Theories As a review of the literature of learning theories will illustrate there are many labels being used to describe the many theories. Moreover, there are many theorists associated with each approach. A categorization of these labels and theorists will help in understanding these fundamental theories. The spectrum of learning theories consists of many approaches or ways of explaining how humans learn. A description of each of these theories will suffice in providing you with enough knowledge to critically examine the use of computer technology as a learning device. The resume of each theory will consist of: †¢ the associated names of the theory †¢ a description of the theory †¢ theorists associated with the theory †¢ hyperlinks on the World Wide Web Diagram #1: The two extremes Behaviorism   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Constructivism The extremes of this learning theory spectrum are represented by respectively, the Behaviorist and Constructivist theories of learning. As theories trying to explain the same thing, they are bipolar based on their respective views of how knowledge is acquired and the intervention of tools of learning (teachers or instructors). As a context to better understand all of the theories of learning presented in this chapter, examine these two extremes first and then place the remaining theories onto the spectrum. [pic] Behaviorism The Associated Names of this Theory: Behaviorism labelled as a teaching approach is often referred to as directed instruction. As you compare this theory with the Constructivist view of learning, this label will become self-evident. Also in contrast to Constructivism, it has been labelled an objectivist theory of learning. Theorists associated with Behaviorism: J. B Watson E. L Thorndike B. F Skinner A Description of Behaviorism: The concern or emphasis of Behaviorism is observable indicators that learning is taking place. Contrasting this view of learning is the emphasis of cognitive psychologists who equate learning with the mental processes of the mind. Behaviorists do not deny the existence of these mental processes. In fact, they acknowledge their existence as an unobservable indication of learning. The focus of Behaviorism is on the conditioning of observable human behavior. J. B Watson, the father of Behaviorism, defined learning as a sequence of stimulus and response actions in observable cause and effect relationships. The behaviorists’ example of classical conditioning demonstrates the process whereby a human learns to respond to a neutral stimulus in such a manner that would normally be associated with an unconditioned stimulus. The supporting example often cited with classical conditioning is the case of Pavlov’s dog. The focus of Pavlov’s experiment was the digestive process in animals. In conducting the experiment, Pavlov noticed that the dog would salivate (response), upon hearing the ringing of a bell. This occurred because the dog had learned to associate its unconditional stimuli (normally feeding), with the neutral stimuli of the bell ringing simultaneously with the feeding process. Watson, believed that the stimuli that humans receive may be generated internally (for example hunger), or externally (for example, a loud noise). B. F. Skinner expanded on the foundation of Behaviorism, established by Watson, and on the work of Edward Thorndike, by focussing on operant conditioning. According to Skinner, voluntary or automatic behavior is either strengthened or weakened by the immediate presence of a reward or a punishment. â€Å"The learning principle behind operant conditioning is that new learning occurs as a result of positive reinforcement, and old patterns are abandoned as a result of negative reinforcement. † (Belkin and Gray, 1977, p. 9) In his book entitled, The Technology of Teaching, Skinner wrote: The application of operant conditioning to education is simple and direct. Teaching is the arrangement of contingencies of reinforcement under which students learn. They learn without teaching in their natural environments, but teachers arrange special contingencies which expedite learning, hastening the appearance of behavior which would otherwise be acquired slowly or making sure of the appearanc e of behavior which otherwise never occur. (Skinner, 1968, p. 4) Skinner believed that more complex learning could be achieved by this process of contingencies and reinforcement â€Å"†¦ through successive stages in the shaping process, the contingencies of reinforcement being changed progressively in the direction of the required behavior. † (Skinner, 1968, p. 10) Applying the theoretical principles of Behaviorism to learning environments, it is easy to recognize that we have many â€Å"behaviorist artifacts† in our learning world. A dissection of the traditional teaching approaches used for years would reveal the powerful influence that Behaviorists have had on learning. The concept of directed instruction, whereby a teacher is providing the knowledge to the students either directly or through the set up of â€Å"contingencies†, is an excellent example of the Behaviorist model of learning. The use of exams to measure observable behavior of learning, the use of rewards and punishments in our school systems, and the breaking down of the instruction process into â€Å"conditions of learning† (as developed by Robert Gagne), are all further examples of the Behaviorist influence. With the advent of the computer in school, C. A. I. , or computer-assisted instruction has become a prominent tool for teaching, because from a Behaviorist perspective, it is an effective way of learning. CAI uses the drill and practice approach to learning new concepts or skills. The question acting as the stimulus, elicits a response from the user. Based on the response a reward may be provided. The â€Å"contingencies† of learning are translated into different levels of the program. Rewarding the user to a different level for correct responses follows exactly the approach of operant conditioning. Educators have espoused CAI as an effective teaching approach because it allows for self-paced instruction and it liberates them from the direct instruction of all their students so as to focus on those students with particular needs. Hyperlinks to Behaviorist Web Pages: http://www. coe. uh. edu/~srmehall/theory/theory. html http://tecfa. unige. ch/edu-comp/edu-s94/contrib/schneider/learn. fm. html#REF13085 http://www. sil. org/lingualinks/library/literacy/fre371/vao443/TKS2569/tks347/tks734/ http://mse. byu. edu/ipt301/jordan/learnterm_b. html [pic] Constructivism: The Associated Names of this Theory: Constructivsm is recognized as a unique learning theory in itself. It however, may be associated with cognitive psychology because as a theory of learning it focuses on a learner’s ability to mentally construct meaning of their own environment and to create their own learning. As a teaching practice it is associated with different degrees of non-directed learning. The term constructivsm is linked to Cognitive and Social Constructivsm. Theorists associated with Constuctivism: John Dewey Lev Vygotsky Jean Piaget Jerome Bruner Seymour Papert Mitchell Resnick A Description of Constructivism: The merits of Behaviorist learning theory and of their teaching practices are well documented. They have served well in teaching a growing North American population over the past six decades. Behavioral learning theory manifested itself in creating a systematic approach to teaching. Robert Gagne and Leslie Briggs, in their book, Principles of Instructional Design, combined Behaviorist principles of learning with a cognitive theory of learning named Information-Processing. The focus of the latter theory in this combination was of the internal processing that occurred during a learning moment. The design of instruction must be undertaken with suitable attention to the conditions under which learning occurs. With reference to the learner, learning conditions are both external and internal. These conditions are in turn dependent upon what is being learned. How can these basic ideas be used to design instruction ? How can they be applied to the design of single lessons, of courses, and of entire systems of instructions ? (Gagne and Briggs, 1974, p. 14) Gagne and Briggs’ principles of instructional design broke down the teaching process into a systematic process of nine steps. It is in effect, this type of systematic approach to teaching that acted as the catalyst for the creation of another view of the way humans learn. Behaviorist learning theory had served its purpose and its approach and goals were becoming outdated according to Constructivists like Seymour Papert. Constructivist learning theory sought to improve on what Behaviorist learning theory had already established by focussing on the motivation and ability for humans to construct learning for themselves. It viewed Behaviorism as being too teacher centered and directed. Constructivists regarded the educational system as a process of matching skill objectives with test items. It was void of meaningful learning. They also saw the teaching process focus too much on individual work rather than on group work. The final critique of Behaviorist learning theory from the Constructivist perspective helped define the core of Constructivism. To imply that knowledge is separate to the human mind and that it must be transferred to the learner in a teacher centered approach fundamentally was counter to the Constructivist theory of learning. Constructivists believe that all humans have the ability to construct knowledge in their own minds through a process of discovery and problem-solving. The extent to which this process can take place naturally, without structure and teaching is the defining factor amongst those who advocate this learning theory. Jean Piaget, a Swiss psychologist, observed human development as progressive stages of cognitive development. His four stages, which commence at infancy and progress into adulthood, characterize the cognitive abilities necessary at each stage to construct meaning of ones environment. Seymour Papert, psychologist and contemporary critique of Behaviorist teaching methods, writes in his book, The Children’s Machine: Thus, constructionism, my personal reconstruction of constructivism has as its main feature the fact that it looks more closely than other educational -isms at the idea of mental construction. It attaches special importance to the role of constructions in the world as a support for those in the head, thereby becoming less of a purely mentalist doctrine. (Papert, 1993, p. 42) As the inventor of LOGO, the programming tool for children, Papert too believed that children as learners have a natural curiosity to construct meaning of their world. The educational system as Papert saw it was too structured and it stifled this natural curiosity. The means by which children were being taught relegated them to a role of passive recipients of the teaching hence, they were not motivated to construct any learning for themselves. Learning according to Constructiv ists is a question of motivating an individual to attach new meaning to past cognitive experiences. According to Papert: It [constuctivsm] does not call in question the value of instruction as such. That would be silly: Even the statement (endorsed if not originated by Piaget) that every act of teaching deprives the child of an opportunity for discovery is not a categorical imperative against teaching, but a paradoxically expressed reminder to keep it in check. The constructionist attitude to teaching is not at all dismissive because it is minimalist – the goal is to teach in such a way as to produce the most learning for the least teaching. Of course, this cannot be achieved simply by reducing the quantity of teaching while leaving everything unchanged. The principle other necessary change parallels an African proverb: If a man is hungry you can give him a fish, but it is better to give him a line and teach him to catch fish himself. (Papert, 1993, p. 139) Papert’s desire to have children become motivated learners, critical thinkers, problem-solvers and metacognitionists is to be achieved through educational reform that provides the learner with the necessary tools to participate and to take ownership of the learning process. According to Papert, the computer is the appropriate tool to achieve such desired educational reform. These desired objectives of Papert and others who share the Constructivist view of learning are coming closer to reality as more people discover the power of computer technology. From Donald Tapscott’s perspective, Papert’s desired reality is happening now, as a paradigm shift to more interactive learning due to the exploitation of the digital media is taking place in our learning institutions. Tapscott cites eight shifts in learning today: †¢ From linear to hypermedia. †¢ From instruction to construction and discovery. †¢ From teacher-centered to learner-centered education. †¢ From absorbing material to learning how to navigate and how to learn. †¢ From school to lifelong learning. †¢ From one-size-fits-all to customized learning. †¢ From learning as torture as learning as fun. †¢ From the teacher as transmitter to the teacher as facilitator. Hyperlinks to Constructivist Web Pages: http://www. tcimet. net/mmclass/summer/CHPTales. tm http://www. coe. uh. edu/~srmehall/theory/construct. html http://www. gwu. edu/~tip/bruner. html http://www. mamamedia. com/areas/grownups/people/seymour. html http://www. mamamedia. com/areas/grownups/home_alt. html http://lynx. dac. neu. edu/home/httpd/t/tjohnson/papert%20history. htm [pic] Fitting the other Theories onto the Spectrum The two extremes of the spectrum have been outlined (refer to diagram #2). Inherent within each of these two extremes are related theories. Diagram #2: (Spectrum Summary) Behaviorism   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Constructivism   Directed Instruction   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Non-directed Instruction Objectivist   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Constructivist Teacher-centered   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Learner-centered Behavioral observations   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Cognitive operations Focus on the individual   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚   Group work is emphasized More focussed on one approach   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   More holistic in approach Fundamentally, Constructivism is a cognitive learning theory because of its focus on the mental processes that construct meaning. Other learning theories equated with cognitive psychology are: Information-Processing theory, Scaffolding theory (associated with the Russian philosopher Lev Vygotsky) and Brain-based learning theory (associated with neuroscientists such as Marian Diamond and Robert Sylwester and educator Susan Kovalik). Information-Processing theory regards human learning as being analogous to a computer and its ability to store memory. As humans we process information initially with our senses. This information is either processed into our short term memory or it is lost. If this information is used and practised it is only then put into long term memory. Lev Vygotsky thought that our cognitive development was directly related to our social development. The culture we live in influences our social and cognitive development according to Vygotsky. He further recognized the differences of how the world is seen by children and by adults. Vygotsky labelled this difference in cognitive ability as the â€Å"zone of proximal development†. The job of educators was to identify this zone and to find out where the child was situated in this zone and build upon their specific level through a â€Å"scaffolding† process. Building from what the learner knows is in essence, anchoring the learning on past experience. Such anchoring is fundamental to Constructivist theory of learning. Computer technology is viewed by Seymour Papert as an excellent means to anchoring learning to meaningful experiences. The complexity of understanding how humans learn is reflective of our complexity as biological, social and cognitive animals. Many theories exist, all focussing on different aspects of our make-up as humans. Each theory is an attempt to explain how we learn, act and behave: Sigmund Freud focussed on our sub-conscious, Skinner on our observable behavior, cognitive psychologists on our mental processes, humanistic psychology on our social and interpersonal development. Howard Gardner took a more holistic approach in describing our cognitive profiles. His classification of human intellectual ability into seven intelligences incorporates many aspects of psychology to define the cognitive behavior of humans. Before moving on to Multiple Intelligences , refer to the following hyperlinks for information on other learning theories. http://mse. byu. edu/ipt301/jordan/learning. html [pic] Theory of Multiple Intelligences: Human intelligence should not be equated solely with linguistic or logical-mathematical intelligence alone, according to Howard Gardner. As the author of a new way of looking at human intelligences, Gardner, a Harvard professor, identified a total of seven different intelligences that humans may possess. His list includes: †¢ Linguistic intelligence †¢ Logical-mathematical intelligence †¢ Spatial intelligence †¢ Musical intelligence †¢ Bodily-kinesthetic †¢ Interpersonal intelligence †¢ Intrapersonal intelligence Gardner is working on more intelligences that qualify as cognitive processes: â€Å"Multiple intelligences theory, on the other hand, pluralizes the traditional concept†(Gardner, 1993, p. 15) Gardner’s fascination with human intelligence and how the brain works was started with an investigation of people who had experienced brain damage of some sort. He recognized that not all abilities, whether cognitive or motor-sensory, were eliminated from the individual’s repertoire despite having endured some form of brain damage. Gardner hypothesized that we possess more than one form of intelligence. The theory of multiple intelligences provides a more holistic view of the intelligence of humans. Gardner advocates that we may all attempt to develop each of these intelligences to our optimum level. However, we may be more adept in only certain of these intelligences. We may however, aspire through practice and development to improve in the remaining intelligences. The use of technology appeals to this view of intelligence in that Gardner’s theory acknowledges that cognition is not a linear process. The computer as a learning tool has enormous potential in developing the different forms of intelligences of Gardner’s theory. Hyperlinks to Multiple Intelligences Web Pages: http://www. athena. ivv. nasa. gov/curric/weather/adptcty/multint. html [pic] Learning Theories and the Brain What is Learning? Learning is the process by which we receive and process sensory data, encode such data as memories within the neural structures of our brain, and retrieve those memories for subsequent use. The variety of information stored within such memories is enormous, including such items as: how to control your sphincter muscle until a socially appropriate occasion, how to identify mommy in a crowd, how to ride a bicycle, what is the shortest path to grandmother’s house without going near the lair of the wolf, what is the tune for Beethoven’s Ode to Joy, and what a philosopher means when she says â€Å"The cat is on the mat. All learning takes place within the brain, and as our understanding of the underlying structures and processes of the brain increases we can begin to apply that knowledge to improve our construction of learning environments. Our ability to describe and understand the basic processes by which our brain learns has been enhanced by recent technological developments and by the accumulation of long-term studies in human and animal populations. Of particular benefit has been the development of brain-imaging techniques that allow us to observe the operation of normal human brains during the performance of a variety of tasks. Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) and similar technologies have allowed researchers to map neural activity during sensory data processing and monitor the transfer of information into long-term memory. Researchers have also made great strides in determining the basic mechanisms that underlie the transmission of information within the brain. Such research on brain structure, neural transmitters, and the process by which memories are stored and retrieved have allowed the development of neuro-physiological models of learning. Although neuroscience has provided us with an increasingly rich and accurate descriptive theory of learning within the brain, we still need prescriptive theories of how to maximize the efficiency and capacity of human learning. To some extent all learning theories are prescriptive and seek to minimize the time required to transfer information into memory and maximize the efficiency of retrieving that information. Our current knowledge of the brain, and our speculations regarding the evolutionary function of learning, should assist such prescriptive theories in designing learning environments that provide for maximum learning efficiency. In particular, prescriptive theories informed by our current knowledge of neuroscience should allow us to evaluate the role of multimedia in learning environments. We should also be able to maximize the impact of multimedia in such environments through application of learning theories and our knowledge of the human brain. Learning environments should not be construed simply as the traditional formal classroom within the context of institutionalized public education. Such environments occur within the workplace, the home, and other social institutions as communication and information technology continues to penetrate Western society. We should also be aware that the use of multimedia will have an impact upon the development of the human brain, particularly when such techniques are used with children and adolescents whose brains are still developing and maturing. [pic] The Brain The three-pound universe that is our brain consists of more than 100 billion neurons and the associated structures that organize, nourish, and protect their functioning. Each neuron may have between 5,000 and 50,000 connections to other neurons, forming a dense connective mat that allows the storage of enormous amounts of information. It is important to remember that structures within the brain continue to develop until late adolescence and that neurons will continue to grow connections to other neurons throughout adult life. [pic] Brain Structures The diagram above shows four basic structures in the brain that are important for bodily functions and for learning and memory. The brain stem is primarily concerned with basic survival functions and the regulation of body systems. The cerebellum is involved in the performance of automatic movement patterns (walking, running, touch-typing, and other physical skills that can become part of automatic procedural memory). The limbic system is responsible for the processing of short-term memory into long-term memory as well as the generation and regulation of emotions. The cerebral cortex is the area of the brain in which sensory data is received and analyzed, decisions are made, and behavioral responses are activated. Information is received from the major sensory organs of the body: eyes, ears, nose, tongue, and skin; and is held briefly in sensory memory. The further processing of that information appears to be dependent upon the state of emotional arousal of the brain and the utility of such information for potential survival. Long-term memories are generated through the growth and spread of neural connections between those modular structures that contain the memory (Sylwester, 1995, pp. 89-90). The more often such structures are activated and the stronger the connections become to associated structures, the more easily such memories are retrieved and used by the brain in decision making and conscious thought. To some extent the driving forces behind the way our brain processes sensory input and makes decisions are the survival imperatives that accompanied human physical and cultural evolution. Our brains reflect the importance that survival places upon evaluating potential threat situations, making a quick response, and focusing all body resources on support of those functions that may lead to continued survival. In high-threat situations the focus of the brain will be almost exclusively upon what is identified as the potential threat while the body shuts down relatively unimportant systems to concentrate on those involved in the fight-or-flight response. Low-threat situations allow the brain to sample and evaluate a broader spectrum of sensory input and to analyze such input for future use. Thus a large looming shadow in the cave mouth tends to generate fear, prompting the body to shut down digestion, pump more adrenaline, and prepare the cerebellum to handle the process of running while the cerebral cortex looks for places to hide or make a stand. Strong negative emotion tends to evoke the fight-or-flight physiological and mental responses that shut down high-level cognition. A premium should therefor be placed upon the reduction of those factors within a learning environment that give rise to negative emotions. At the same time, sensory input that does not receive attention is not available for processing through short-term into long-term memory. Clearly a balance must be struck between too much and too little stimulation in learning situations. Some stimulation and motivation is necessary for the learner to pay attention to the data that they are required to learn; on the other hand too much stimulation (particularly in a negative context) is liable to create anger or fear as an emotional response, either of which can serve to reduce the amount of learning carried out within the environment. It appears that the limbic system plays an important part in the process of storing information as long-term memories. Those activities that provide an emotionally supportive environment may well have a positive effect upon the processing of information into long-term storage and subsequent retrieval of those memories. Group activities, co-operative learning, role-playing, and simulations tend to provide emotional support and emotional context for learning. Retrieval of long-term memories is enhanced when a large number of connections have been established between the neural modules that store such memories. To some extent our growing knowledge about the organization of the brain tends to support those theories of learning that can generally be labeled as constructivist. That is, situated knowledge that is connected to a large number of other memories is more apt to be recalled than is unconnected knowledge that has been learned by rote. Because the process of creating connections between ideas and memories is essentially carried out through a process of rehearsal and review, learners should be encouraged to review knowledge that is being learned and attempt to build connections to that knowledge that is already easily retrieved from long-term memory. Such cognitive tools as narration, story-telling, constructing metaphors, and making comparisons are strategies that help to build and maintain connections. The construction of knowledge is essentially the growing of connections between the neural modules that contain individual memories. [pic] Implications for Learning Theory If the apparent symmetry between contemporary brain-based learning theories and constructivism is accurate, then basic guiding principles of constructivism should be used in designing learning environments. These principles include: 1. Learning is a search for meaning. Therefore, learning must start with the issues around which students are actively trying to construct meaning. 2. Meaning requires understanding wholes as well as parts. Parts must be understood in the context of wholes. Therefore the learning process focuses on primary concepts, not isolated facts. 3. In order to teach well, we must understand the mental models that students use to understand the world, and the assumptions that support those models. 4. The purpose of learning is to construct one’s own meaning, not to have the â€Å"right† answers by repeating someone else’s meaning. Learning is inherently inter-disciplinary, and the only valuable assessment of learning is assessment that is part of the learning process and that provides students with information on the quality of their learning. (On Purpose Associates, 1998b) Such learning environments should also be designed around the ideas that come forward from brain-based learning. That is, they should employ the three instructional techniques associated with brain-based learning: â€Å"orchestrated immersion, where learning environments are created that fully immerse students in a learning experience; relaxed alertness, where an effort is made to eliminate fear while maintaining a highly challenging environment; and active processing, where the learner consolidates and internalizes information by actively processing it† (On Purpose Associates, 1998a). Learning environments constructed with these principles in mind will tend to be organized around thematic units featuring knowledge in depth and the exploration of projects that have real meaning for the participating learners. [pic] Implications for Multimedia How should we then use multimedia presentations of information to effectively learn in the context of current brain-based learning theory? The communications and information technology that constitutes contemporary multimedia platforms has some significant advantages in creating a learning environment, but there are some pitfalls that must be accounted for as part of the learning process. Multimedia, at its best, allows us to bring the real world to the learner through the use of sound and video. Such connection to the real world should serve as a factor in motivating students, and as a factor in providing them with additional connections to other knowledge structures. At the same time, multimedia allows students to experience information through multiple modes of presentation. Such multi-modal learning should help to build connections within the learner’s brain if only because multiple modes of reception will engage different areas of the learner’s brain. Contemporary multimedia platforms allow a greater degree of learner control and more freedom for the learner to undertake self-directed exploration of the material. Such self-directed learning is likely to be more meaningful and more connected to existing knowledge structures within the learner’s brain. Therefore, we should see advantages for learning programs that include multimedia presentations. Learners should also gain from the possibility of self-paced instruction based upon contemporary multimedia learning technology. Whenever possible, immediate feedback should be built into a multimedia program to assist students in forming correct connections prior to reinforcing connections between new and old information incorporated within existing knowledge structures. Designers of multimedia instructional packages should take comfort in the strengths of multimedia, but they should also be aware of potential problems in using multimedia with learners. Although current multimedia technology allows excellent presentation in both video and audio modes, and provides some tactile feedback through the use of keyboards, there is little to offer students who need tactile experience ? multimedia is essentially a bimodal presentation strategy unless additional work is done to prepare material for students. Even the best multimedia programs cannot provide the total stimulation that natural environments provide? we have yet to incorporate smell or taste into such presentations, and tactile sensations are still limited. More importantly, there is a clear danger that multimedia programs may be used to substitute for interaction with other learners. We should not be seduced by technical virtuosity or cutting-edge visual and aural effects, there is still a need for human interaction and emotional support. Above all else, we should beware of the tendency to substitute passive learning for active learning. Multimedia provides significant advantages in presenting information to learners, particularly if sufficient resources have been invested to create presentations that make full use of current technology. Presentation of information, no matter how technically sophisticated, is not enough; learners must interact with content to construct their own meanings and integrate new knowledge into the dense web of neural connections that is mind and memory. [pic]