Correlation of Using Computer-Aided Instruction in C# Programming Language free essay sample

Introduction The environment in which students learn, the ways in which people work and live are constantly being transformed by existing and emerging technologies. Educational expansion and constraint over the last decade form the backdrop of any examination of the role of technology. One of these educational expansions is the computer-aided instrument or sometimes abbreviated as CAI which refers to a computer or computer system. It is also known as â€Å"computer assisted instruction† which pertains to a diverse and rapidly expanding spectrum of computer technologies that assist the teaching and learning process. (http://encartamsn. com/) Computer aided instruction can be used effectively to address academic and communication/language skills. It can dramatically increase student’s access to information. The program can adapt to the abilities and preferences of the individual student and increase the amount of personalized instruction a student receives. Many students benefit from the immediate responsiveness of computer interactions and appreciate the self-paced and private learning environment. Moreover, computer-learning experience often engages the interest of students, motivating them to learn and increasing independence and personal responsibility for education. (http://www. ima. umn. edu/~arnold/papers/cai. pdf) Being well-informed and active participant in our society, the students need to be self-directed learners, able to identify issues, pose questions, synthesize ideas, determine solutions to problems and develop capabilities and confidence within a range of technologies. (www. curriculum. educ. nsw. au) Computer-aided instrument is case which either instruction is presented through a computer program to a passive student or the computer is the platform for an interactive and personalized learning environment. One topic which can be discussed through CAI is the C# Programming language, which is very essential to the first, second and third year Computer Education student in the College of Industrial Education. Statement of the Problem This study aims to determine the correlation of the computer-aided instruction in teaching C# programming language to the first, second and third year students of Computer Education students of the College of Industrial Education. More especially, this research seeks to answer the following questions: 1. What is the demographic profile of the respondents in terms of: a. Course, Year and Section b. Age c. Sex d. Grades on Computer Laboratory course of the previous semester 2. How effective is the relationship of using CAI in teaching C# in terms of: a. teachers’ attitude a. 1Teaching Style b. respondents’ attitude b. 1Interest towards CAI 3. How do the Computer Education students perceive in the following school-related factors: 3. 1Facilities; 3. 2availability of equipment 3. 2. 1 Laptops/Computer set 3. 2. 2 Digital Laser Projector (DLP) 3. 2. 3 Smart TV 4. Do the students, teachers and school factors significantly affect the correlation of using CAI in C# programming language? Significance of the Study Primarily, this research aims to benefit the following: Students C# in computer-aided instruction provides one to one indication with them, as well as instantaneous response to their answers elicited. It also allows students to proceed at their own pace. Educators/Teachers It is critical in assisting the teachers to see more fruitful ways in teaching. It also allows the teachers to measure progress in an environment that is often more structured that the typical classroom, limiting stress and allowing the focus of non-technical elements of pedagogy. Parents It allows the parents to facilitate on their child’s learning development and monitor them. Faculty/School Administration It will permit the school administration to acquire the fastest way of preparing interactional materials for the delivery of student services if it is computerized and facilitated accurately. It will also enhance the institution’s quality education and teaching. CHAPTER 2 Review on Related Literature This chapter presents the review of related literature, both foreign and local studies, which are found to have bearing on the present study. Computer-Aided Instruction Computer-aided instruction (CAI), commonly known as â€Å"computer-assisted instruction† is one of the instructional media we could use in discussing different lessons. CAI brings with it several potential benefits as a teaching/learning medium. These include self-paced learning, self-directed learning, the exercising of various senses and the ability to represent content in a variety of media. As these topics will be explored in greater detail throughout this document, only a brief overview will be given here. Although CAI has not been studied in the EL community situation, many of the benefits in the general CAI context should also be available in the EL one. With self-paced learning, learners can move as slowly or as quickly as they like through a program. If they want to repeat some task or review some material again, they can do so as many times as they choose. The program will not tire or complain about repetitions. Learners can skip over a topic if information is already known, making the learning process more efficient. With self-directed learning, learners can decide what they want to learn and in what order. A key question is why CAI may be more effective than traditional classroom teaching, on average. Some classroom research suggests computers can offer highly individualized instruction and allow students to learn at their own pace (e. g. Lepper and Gurtner 1989, Means Other forms of self-paced instruction may offer a similar educational advantage. However, a very small, older, literature suggests that computerized self-paced instruction is more effective than other self-paced instruction. See, e. g. , Enochs, Handley, and Wollenberg (1986) and Surber et al (1977) for randomized studies involving college-age students and Olson 1995, Sandholz et al 1997, Heath and Ravits 2001). While we do not have a direct test, we hypothesize that if CAI allows for more individualized instruction, then it may be more beneficial for struggling students who cannot keep up with the pace of the lectures in traditional classrooms or for more advanced students who could progress faster at their own pace. Further, we might expect CAI to be more effective for students with poorer rates of attendance. In a traditional classroom, students missing class will miss all of the material covered in class that day. In contrast, the computer always picks up where the student left off the last time she was in class regardless of whether it was the day before or 5 days before. Similarly, in classes in which many students have poor attendance records or in larger classes, we might expect a bigger effect of CAI as teachers would struggle to find the appropriate level at which to pitch lectures. Finally, one might think that individualized instruction provided by CAI avoids some of the disruption effects of having peers with poor attendance rates or being in larger classes as modeled by Lazear (2001). Recent increases in computing power of affordable personal computers have resulted in an increase in the development and use of various forms of computer-delivered instruction. Understanding the effects of this instruction on learning is important to any future implementations of computers for instruction. This review of the literature on the effectiveness of computer-assisted instruction (CAI) is an attempt to show that CAI can be an effective mode of instruction in the education environment. It is also intended to address three major issues within the body of research on the efficacy of CAI: (a) an aging body of literature; (b) the greater effectiveness of using CAI as a supplement to conventional instruction; and (c) the alleged superiority of CAI over conventional instruction. The authors conclude that, due to potential shortcomings in some past research comparing CAI to conventional instruction, CAI should be considered to be at least as effective as conventional instruction. Next, they conclude that new studies are needed to clarify the effects of CAI in contemporary student/computer environments. Finally, they conclude that how CAI is delivered can impact its effectiveness. The teaching of fundamental programming skills is a field that extensively uses different kinds of tools to enhance learning experience. Within the realms of tools that are aimed for realistic, or â€Å"industrial† programming experience, these tools usually focus on either helping with the source code development process, like debuggers or editors, or ease the learning of different concepts and structures with visualization and supporting content. Students often lose interest on programming because complex models and structures have to be learned before anything visually impressive can be created. The students can memorize the constructs, but the motivation for doing this may be wrong: technologically oriented programming – data manipulation – is not interesting and does not promote learning because simple command line outputs are not exiting (Guzdial and Soloway 2002). Just like many other courses (Rich et al. 2006, Reges 2006, and Hermann et al. 2003), our introductory course on programming suffered from high drop-out rates and falling student grades (Kasurinen and Nikula, 2007a). In our case, dropping the course was a problem because it had a negative effect on the studies as a whole: if the course was failed, it prevented participation in the advanced courses the second year, and delayed the studies in general. Student- Related Factors Age Bean and Metzner, A Conceptual Model. In their review of the literature, age was one of the most common independent variables in studies of attrition. Whisnant (1990) the literature and current research concerning student age provides educational institutions with information about achievement differences among traditional and nontraditional groups. This information provides higher education an underused educational tool to assist with the development of its traditional students. As education increases the dimensions of its mission, the nontraditional student is an overlooked, often untapped, resource. Boshier (1975) define nontraditional students are as those adult college students over 25 years of age. Traditional college students are those college students between the ages of 18 and 22. Grade point average (GPA), on a 4. 00 point scale, is used as the measure of academic performance. There is no typical mature student. Defined as any student aged 21 or over at the start of their studies, around two fifths are aged between 21 and 24, a fifth between 25 and 29, and a further two fifths are over 30 when they commence their courses. They study for many different reasons – for example: for career or personal development, to pursue an interest to find a new direction. http://www. ucas. com/ Amid the flurry of Freshers Fairs, goody bags and loyalty cards aimed at 18- and 19-year-old first year students, its sometimes easy to overlook the fact that the student body is considerably more age-diverse than you might think. This is the official journal of the American Aging Association; they stated that age is an international, peer-reviewed journal that publishes articles describing research in the biology of aging and research on biomedical applications that impact aging. The range of coverage includes evolutionary biology, biophysics, genetics, genomics, proteomics, molecular biology, cell biology, biochemistry, endocrinology, immunology, physiology, pharmacology, neuroscience, and psychology. In addition, the journal presents commentaries, debates, and meeting reports. http://www. americanaging. org/ Attitude Gagne (1985) defined attitude as what influences the learner’s response to situation and choice of action. According to him, it is a mental state that affects performance rather than a specific performance unlike the other learned capabilities. Psychologists define attitudes as a learned tendency to evaluate things in a certain way. This can include evaluations of people, issues, objects or events. Such evaluations are often positive or negative, but they can also be uncertain at times. For example, you might have mixed feelings about a particular person or issue. http://psychology. about. com/ P. M. Symonds, in the paper referred to, mentions seven ways in which the term attitude is used, great organic drives (motives), muscular set, generalized conduct, neural set or readiness to adjust, emotional concomitant of action, feeling concomitant of action, accepting or rejecting verbal responses. He ends by deploring the use of the term, saying that we should use habits or skills. But in at least one article he joins the group who use accepting and rejecting verbal responses as evidence of attitudes. An attitude describes a set of beliefs or views held about something and are defined in consumer psychology as an enduring inclination or tendency to respond to a brand or product in a specific way. http://www. aqr. org. uk/ Chan states that students express very high levels of interest in their courses; few are bored. Responses to items designed to measure intellectual orientation and satisfaction are high, but a high number also agree that they would prefer to study ‘only’ topics which they believe to be relevant to their future careers, suggesting preference for ‘just in time’ rather than ‘just in case’ learning. Around 45% agree that their usual working pattern involves doing ‘the minimum amount of work which is required of me’, but almost 40% reject this ‘strategic’ position. Sex Even though research shows that females and males differ in the ways they view technology, some scholars (e. g. AAUW Educational Foundation, 2000; Starr, 2000) question the assumption that females are less likely than males to be interested in technology. In the mid-1980? s, there was a movement that began doubting the notion that females were less likely to be drawn to computer careers than males (Christie, 1996). Even though statistics show that there are fewer females in computer laboratories and computer-related professions, Turkle (as cited in Starr) asserted that girls are not fearful of technology; they are simply uninspired and alienated by the way the K-12 education system presents computing to them. The AAUW Educational Foundation interprets the females, behavior not as a phobia, but rather as a choice. Andersen explores the potentially damaging effects of gender bias in student evaluations of teaching, specifically with regard to student expectations. Reviews a number of laboratory and real life studies and summarizes their conclusions. Notes the different and conflicting expectations of students and recommends a broader approach to teacher evaluations. Bachen 1999 finds that female students rated female faculty especially high across five teaching dimensions and male faculty comparatively lower, whereas male students did not evaluate male and female professors as significantly different. Finds that assessments of faculty were further influenced by the strength of students gender schema and that gender schema may also lead to differential preference for particular teaching styles. Basow 1995 argues that using quantitative approach, the overall effect of gender on student evaluations is small, accounting for about 3% of variance. However, there may be significant interaction effects between gender and other context variables that may cumulatively disadvantage female faculty. Bennette 1982 surveys of 253 students in nonscience introductory courses at a liberal arts college. Bennett finds that students do not have different standards of reference for male and female instructors, but women are perceived to be less authoritarian and more charismatic. Female instructors in departments with fewer than 20% ft women were rated even higher on these standards. She finds that ratings that are consequential for performance ratings of men have an equal impact on women except for the following, which have more effect for women: (1) professionalism (seen by students as a highly structured instructional approach), instructional presentation (specifically, being compelling and self-assured and presenting a balanced interpretation of viewpoints), and (3) accessibility. Brooks 1982 Male graduate students exhibited significantly more aggressiveness (interruptive behavior) than female students in both male and female professors classes, although more male aggressiveness occurred in female professors classes. Male students were more verbally assertive in female professors classes only. Among students, aggressiveness was predominantly cross-sex, rather than same-sex. Computer Background Issues of equity in the use of teaching resources are a critical issue in school policymaking. Equity, though, involves more than simply access; it involves using resources appropriately to improve student outcomes. Using resources appropriately, in turn, depends on how defensible a teachers philosophy of teaching and learning is. Philosophical disagreements about equity and teaching practice usually revolve around the issue of whether students from low-socioeconomic backgrounds and students who present relatively unsuccessful school histories can be given the same kinds of demanding tasks and depended upon to act as responsibly as more advantaged and more academically successful students. In the absence of beliefs that poorer and less successful students can be given challenging tasks and a high degree of independence, teachers are apt to use computers with lower performing classes as a means of practicing lower-level skills and as a means of social control. http://www. crito. uci. edu/ The advantages of providing children with access to computers have been heavily debated. In August last year, business body IBEC called for the Government to provide second level school children with laptops, saying that they could be an important education enabler. However, this thinking clashes with a 2004 report from the IFO, an economic research unit at the University of Munich, which claimed that students education levels have little to do with computers in schools and more to do with effective school management. http://www. theregister. co. uk/ Gunawardena 1997 although the course was pertinent to computers and technologies, this study found that students who had low technology backgrounds achieved higher quality of online discussions than students who had high technology backgrounds. Students who had low technology backgrounds appeared to be much more active in online discussions and have more interests in this course. They tended to post more and longer postings in both homogeneous and heterogeneous groups. They were also willing to share their concerns or questions with each other and tried to help answer questions posted by other students. Although students who had high technology background did not achieve higher LKC, they had better performances when they discussed in heterogeneous group with students who had low technology backgrounds. They might be motivated by high quality of postings and active discussion attitudes presented by other group members. These findings show that students’ interests and motivation are very important for quality of learning. In the meanwhile, interaction plays a vital role to help students who have low learning interests and motivation improve their learning performances in online discussions. Another interesting finding of this study is that there were no significant differences of discussion satisfaction among different types of interactions, although students who had low technology backgrounds had better performances in online discussions. Since there were 15 items with five-level Likert scale in this survey, the total survey score was 75. The lowest mean score of discussion satisfaction was 46. 10 for type two interaction. Therefore, students in all types of interactions showed high evaluation of their experiences of online discussions. It seems that students’ perceptions of online discussions cannot be predicted by their performances in online discussions. Most students, no matter what levels of technology backgrounds and types of discussion interactions they have, thought that they benefited from active participation in online discussion and put a lot of thoughts into their messages. Teachers Related Factors Sex A double-blind experiment to evaluate the effect of facial attractiveness on teacher judgments was performed. Given identical information, teachers systematically rated attractive children more favorably than unattractive children. In the case of unattractive children, teachers were more willing to recommend special-class placement and held lower expectations for future academic and social development. http://www. ncbi. nlm. nih. gov/ Based on sociolinguistic research (Labov 1991:206-7) we may accept the hypotheses that considers female students better at learning than male students and more open to new linguistic forms (Ellis 1994:202). Several studies have given evidence of this fact. In Burstalls longitudinal research (1975) female students did better than male students (she based her conclusions on 6000 children beginning French at 8 in English primary schools). She reports that girls scored significantly higher than boys on all tests. Other studies have obtained similar conclusions (Boyle 1987, Nyikos 1990). There are also studies that have not found substantial differences. So it would be interesting that each teacher explores what happens in his/her class. Age Adult learners are at an advantage compared with that of younger learners in formal learning of grammar in instructional settings (Long, 1979). However, in the case of pronunciation, younger learners outperform adult learners. The superiority of adult learners was reiterated by the results of a research study, which concluded that adult learners have an initial advantage where rate of learning is concerned, particularly grammar and morphology (Ellis, 1994) According to Weiner M. (First five year plan 1955-60) teaching is not recognized as a profession as it is in other parts of the world. Teachers do not fully understand the distastes of their profession and have a low opinion of it. Teacher’s work falls into three broad categories intellectual work, emotional work and work organization when we keep all these areas in mind the teacher should be responsive in classroom and school environment which is not possible if the teacher is poorly paid, socially distressed, psychologically distributed, under the pressure of society, parents family and high authorities. Studies (i. e. , Cohen, 2001) have indicated that the use of technology has an effect on all aspects of teaching and learning. When educators integrated technology into the lesson, it required new learning approaches to the curriculum because of the ability to look at and explore information in new ways. Moreover, some studies have emphasized that technology can help by allowing learners to take a more active role in their learning through different instructional modes or methods (Kussmaul and Dunn, 1996). Dewar and Whittington (2000) commented that the new technologies provide opportunities for creating learning environments that enhance learner learning and achievement. However, inappropriate uses of technology can become ineffective learning. Thus it is important to understand what technology is and how to use it and, most importantly, is comfortable using it (Smolin and Lawless, 2003). Teachers Attitude Odubunmi and Balogun, (1985) have identified teachers’ personality and attitude towards their teaching subjects as factors contributing to poor performance in science subjects. Simpsom and Troost (1982) found out that attitude is another factor that determines achievement and enrolment of students in science subjects. Attitudes as defined by smith (1998) as a relatively enduring predisposition to respond in a relatively consistent manner towards a person, object situation or idea. Adesoji (2002) defined attitude as cognitive, emotional, and action tendency to a particular behavioural intent. He ascertained that that attitude is an important factor that determined achievement of students in sciences. Teaching Style The Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), introduced by Davis (1989), is an adaptation of social psychology theory of reasoned action, specifically tailored for modelling user acceptance of information systems. The TAM, as shown in Figure 1, considers perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use as major determinants of intention to use a technology. The former refers to the extent to which a person believes that using the system will enhance task performance, while the latter refers to the degree to which the user expects the target system to be free of effort. The TAM explains user behaviour across a broad range of end-user computing technologies (e. g. , text editor, spreadsheet, e-mail) and user population (e. g. , students, software professionals, physicians). The predictive power of TAM varies according to the cultural context. Its power of prediction is higher in the West (45–70%) than the East (10–35%). Perceived usefulness emerges as important across all the cultures studied, whereas subjective norm is more important for the East than the West (Rose Straub 1998; Straub 1994). Subjective norm has been of particular interest in Asian and African research, and cultural factors are highlighted to explain its relevance in determining behavioral intention to use computers (Dinev et. al. 2004; Mao Palvia 2001). So far there has been no research on the influence of teaching style on acceptance of e-learning by faculty. Grasha (1996) identified five teaching styles that represented typical orientations and strategies college faculty use expert (displays detailed knowledge), formal authority (establishes learning goals, and rules of conduct), personal model (shows how to do things), facilitator (encourages students to make informed choices) and delegator (makes students work independently on projects or as teams). Recent investigations [(Kwok Jones 1985), (Carver et al. , 1999), (Gilbert Han 1999), (Grigoriadou, Papanikolaou Kornilakis 2001), (Stash De Bra 2004), (Hong Kinshuk 2004)], try to integrate the learning styles and e-media in the design of their applications. This is not an easy process, however. One of the main difficulties on the designing of hypermedia systems, is linking the learning styles with the hypermedia applications. Most of the teaching systems adaptation that integrates learning styles is based on the premise that adapting the teaching strategies with the students’ learning styles will give better results (Dagger, Wade Conlan 2003), (Paredes Rodriguez 2002), (Stern Woolf 2000), (Triantafillou, Pomportsis Georgia 2002). Table 1 shows some of the systems found, their learning styles and the type of adaptation. School Related Factors Facilities The absence of adequate help or technical support to facilitate teachers’ technology mediated teaching is another factor which may hinder teachers’ teaching. Granger et al. (2002), based on the findings of their study about factors contributing to teachers’ success in implementing the technology mediated teaching, revealed that many teachers, when having some difficulties with the technology equipment being used, had to give up using it(obsession)because there was no one available to help deal with the problems. According to the teachers, the institution did not have adequate numbers of technical staff who were prepared to support teachers in technology mediated teaching. Pelgrum (2001), in his study investigating teachers’ obstacles in using technology, also identified that the lack of technical staff was considered by teachers as one of the main obstacles in their successful use of technology based pedagogy. Becker (1999) identified some factors like lack of knowledge, manpower skills, technical support and incentives. Lack of knowledge and Manpower skills, despite their active use of technology into pedagogy, most teachers still feel that they lack adequate knowledge and skills for optimally integrating the facility into teaching. Lack of technical support, the shortage of technical staff in any college is a serious problem that needs to be dealt with quickly by the institution’s authority, ‘technical staff should be available before, during and after the class sessions’. Any unsolved technical matters ‘can be disasters for technology integration program in any institution’. Lack of incentives, if there is no additional incentive provided by the institution for the innovations, it will create a barrier in the willingness of the teachers to integrate Technology into teaching . Several factors affect teachers use of technology in the classrooms including access to technologies, time, training, and administrative support (Laffey Musser, 1998;Myrhe, 1998; Niedhauser Stoddart, 1994; U. S. Congress, Office of Technology. Assessment, 1995) According to McKenzie (1999), only 20% of teachers report feeling verywell (enthusiasm) prepared to integrate educational technology into classroom instruction. CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK The research framework was conceptualized from the reviewed literature and students, both foreign and local. The researchers used these reviews for the comprehensive understanding and knowledge about this study as well as reinforcing the rationale of the research. The general approach to the problem and some of the concepts and treatment presented in this study were influenced by the earlier studies and literature reviewed. More significantly, the correlation of C# programming by the aid of CAI was the concept of integrating technology. Research Paradigm z Figure 1 The research paradigm shows the relationships of the independent and dependent variables to C# programming language using CAI Research Hypothesis This study attempted to test the following hypothesis. 1. The effectiveness of the correlation using CAI in C# programming Language. 2. There is significance in using CAI to C# programming language. Definition of Terms Age- This refers to the number of years from the time the respondent was born up to the time this study was conducted. Computer-aided instruction – CAI is machine augmented instruction that differs from programmed instruction or simple page turning Correlation – A statistical relation between two or more variables such that systematic changes in the value of one variable are accompanied by systematic changes in the other Programming – Creating a sequence of instructions to enable the computer to do something Sex – It is defined by the physical characteristics that differentiate one sex from the other and basis of his/her reproductive roles. In this study it refers to male or female. (QUESTIONNAIRE) Technological University of the Philippines College of Industrial Education Professional Industrial Education Department DIRECTION: Completion of the survey is voluntary, and all responses will be kept confidential. Please answer each item as honestly as possible. Return this questionnaire to the researchers when you are finished. PART I. Demographic Profile A. Course, Year and Section: __________________________________ B. Age: ______C. Sex: ____ Female _____ Male D. Grades on previous Computer Laboratory course: _____________ PART II. Student-Related Factors Direction: Kindly provide the necessary information by supplying the appropriate answer by checking the number that corresponds to your answer. Be guided by the following code: 5 – Strongly Agree 4 – Agree 3 – Either agree or disagree 2 – Disagree 1 – Strongly disagree Interest towards Computer-aided design on C# programming Item Indicators 5 4 3 2 1 1. I attend classes and participate actively. 2. I follow safety precautions in setting up the equipment to be used in CAI. 3. I employ creativity in making presentations using CAI. 4. I felt confident interacting with my classmates in reporting through CAI. 5 . I use available resources to comply with all the subject requirements. Direction: Kindly provide the necessary information by supplying the appropriate answer by checking the number that corresponds to your

Whitsundays Essays - Whitsunday Islands, Ansett Australia

Whitsundays A very special part of Australia is the Whitsunday islands which consist of lush, tropical islands, clear, warm-water, coral reefs and white sandy beaches. This is an unspoilt paradise and one of the world's best-kept secrets One of the unique exotic and spectacularly beautiful resorts is the Whitsundays. This is an unforgettable place noted for its safety, cleanliness and its stress-free environment. Whitsundays has to be one of natures best. You can stay at an island resort, rest on the mainland or simply cruise around all seventy-four islands. Seven of the islands have resorts and each of the resorts offers activities such as sailing, fishing, diving - which are all relaxing. The island resorts offer more luxury than the mainland resorts, which rate a little lower on the motel guide. The mainland resorts are ten - fifteen minutes away from Shute Harbour, the gateway to the Whitsunday islands. A typical resort at the Whitsundays is Hayman Island. Hayman Island is 400 hectares in area, and its tallest peaks stand 250 metres (820 feet) above sea level. Hayman was acknowledged as one of the best hotels in the world, having won over 40 prestigious awards since its opening in 1987. Hayman island was voted second best hotel in the world and the best hotel in the pacific region by 'Travel and Leisure' the largest travel magazine in the US in 1997. A wide choice of luxurious accommodations is available with all rooms, suites and penthouses having private balconies overlooking beautiful swimming pools. At Hayman Island all types of water sports such as snorkelling, scuba diving and yachting are available. Other available activities such as game fishing, reef trips and boating excursions can be arranged. There are many of recreational activities such as: ? Badminton ? Beach volleyball ? Catamaran sailing ? Golf Target Range ? Great Barrier Reef Trips and Diving ? Paddle skis ? Parasailing ? Putting Green ? Squash ? Swimming ? Table Tennis ? Water Skiing ? Water Sleigh ? Wind Surfing ? Whale Watching Hayman Island is one of the commonly known places to go on holidays. Hayman can cater for weddings, conferences, birthday parties or any other special activities. This resort can suit honeymoons, relaxing holidays and fun filled holidays. The features at your disposal when you stay at this resort are: ? Individually controlled air-conditioning plus ceiling fans ? Direct Dial ISD/STD telephones ? Colour television via satellite ? Movie Link available in all rooms ? Personal in-room safe ? Refrigerator, radio and alarm services ? Mini Bar ? Bathrooms with Ladies' and Men's deluxe toiletries, bathrobes and towels ? Hairdryers in all rooms ? Converters and adapters available at concierge ? Tea/coffee making facilities ? Valet service, seven-day laundry and dry cleaning service ? Iron and Ironing board in all rooms ? 24 Hour room service in Penthouses ? Nightly turndown services ? Separate shower cubicle in bathroom in East Wing Rooms ? Palm Garden view Rooms - Showers only ? All beachfront rooms, suites and penthouses have spa baths All rooms feature a king or queen size bed, or two three-quarter size single beds, and are designed for the maximum comfort of two adults. Hayman island offers a large range of facilities such as regular barbeques, picnics and outdoor dinning options for you to enjoy on the beach or by the pool, including theme nights such as the Aussie Barbeque, seafood banquets and chefs table. You can also treat yourself to a dining experience of a lifetime. Hayman gather the world's finest chefs to prepare a variety of exquisite cuisine, which can be enjoyed at any of the six superb a la carte restaurants. These restaurants also offer some of the finest Australian and international wines. Hayman offers state of the art equipment and facilities, for business meetings and conference groups. Hayman can cater for groups of 10 - 120 people with both a separate conference centre and a separate entertainment centre. In contrast to the island holidays is the mainland resort. One of Whitsundays best mainland resort is the Coral Sea Resort, winner of the 2000 Queensland Tourism Awards as best new tourism development. This resort brings a casual luxury, a new sense of style and the personal service that only comes from small intimate hotels. Coral Sea Resort satisfies everyone's need with all room types serviced daily and a full range of facilities, and features, in a range of hotel suites, apartments and luxury penthouses. Coral Sea Resort is located 200 meters from

Ek Ruka Hua Essay Example

Ek Ruka Hua Essay Power of CommunicationEk Ruka Hua Faisla ?Elegance of language may not be in the power of all of us; but simplicity and straightforwardness are. Write much as you would speak; speak as you think. If with your inferior,speak no coarser than usual; if with your superiors, no finer. Be what you say; and, within therules of prudence, say what you are.? The Power of Communication comes from knowing the right questions to ask and practicinggood listening skills. The secret weapon of power negotiators is being skilled in askingquestions. Why? One of the reasons is that questions get the communication going andencourages the other party to talk, to share information with you. And what you are always,always looking for is information, particularly something you do not know. Even when youthink you know the answers, get in the habit of asking questions; at the least, it will confirmyour knowledge. And if you have somehow missed asking the really right question, theanswer you need will likely come out the more the other party is forced to talk and you aretalking less. The 80s was a period of experimental films and serious cinema. Movies were made not forcommercial success and some of the best films were churned out during this period, which areremembered and appreciated even today. One such film is Ek Ruka Hua Faisla. Inspired fromthe English flick Twelve Angry Men (1957), Ek Ruka Hua Faisla is a rare remake which is betterthan the original! Sometimes in life your professions reflect on your personalities. And more often more thanprofession communication may represent your Personality. We will write a custom essay sample on Ek Ruka Hua specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Ek Ruka Hua specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Ek Ruka Hua specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer In this movie we observe theentire decision making process and way the people communicate with each other, whereeach individual had different perception and different behavior in particular situation. theirpersonal opinion leads them to one wrong decision first but later on with just one leading,convincing, neutral and practical individual, they were able to think on the other side of thecase and finally they reached to right conclusion. There are twelve male members of a jury who have gathered together in an enclosed room todeliberate on charges of murder against a young boy accused of killing his father. The caseagainst the boy looks irrefutable and indomitable, as there is a witness in the form of an oldman who claims to have heard the incident and another woman who claims to have seen theactual act of stabbing. Plus there is the murder weapon a knife that was found at the crimescene, seemingly implicating the boy without any fragment of doubt. But all is not what itseems like. All the jury members, except one, are convinced that the boy is guilty of the crime and thetask before them is to reach a unanimous decision to expedite the case. But there is only onejury member who is not completely convinced about the case and he starts the deliberations,in which all the members have to participate to reach a common conclusionAN OVERVIEW Twelve jurors common people with their usual daily problems, emotional swings and theirregular habit to stick to what is obvious are selected to judge a case where very strongevidences are available against the accused. Everything was transparent and vividly clear. The case was supposed to end with common opinion against the accused within no time. Butone person was against this common judgment and this is the point where story builds up. This one person make other eleven to change their decision. The movie opens in the first state of Group Development, the opening period. This is thetime when people in small groups will small talk, introduce themselves, and begin to learn alittle about one another. During this stage in the movie, jurors discuss the view, old buildings,hot weather colds, and some even share what they do for a living. And this is the stage whenthe group dynamics start showing, and how in the heat of discussion, the true feelings startshowing through. Peoples biases, bigotry, temper, all start showing through. Gradually, wecome to know the communication skills of each and every jury member in the room beingopened. Eventually we see the missing links, the loopholes in the vital clues, andtestimonies, and eventually persuade all except Pankaj Kapoor. Pankaj is not so easilypersuaded because his son has left him, and he has a bias against youth, but eventually he isalso persuaded with more m. Members involved in the conflict want to create and maintainstability. However, they also want to move forward which requires change. Conflict then existsas the individuals struggle between creating both at the same time. This struggle is seen inthe film as the jury members struggle between their desire for stability and their desire forchange. Initially, it is seen that all the jury members except one have a guilty verdict. The factthat one member, KK Raina, has a not guilty verdict is an initial source of conflict. For theremaining jury members, their focus is not on understanding why Mr. Davis is saying notguilty. Instead, they want him to agree with them and choose a guilty verdict. In doing so, theyare trying to achieve stability, since if KK Raina says not guilty, there will be no conflict. KEY TAKEAWAYS y Transistion from Communication to Conflict Management y Situational Understanding with all possible Permutations and Combinations y Team Dynamics for a Decision making process REVIEWS OF THE MOVIE: ?A masterful work of debate and dialogue; of shifting momentum and the ideal of sticking toyour scruples in the face of antagonistic groupthink? ?This is a film where tension comes from personality conflict, dialogue and body language, notaction.? one is so consumed by the brilliance of the script and the acting that it doesnt matter whatthe jurors names are? CONCLUSION: The issues in the movie are addressed to the Indian audiences and in Indian setting, withIndian characters and in Hindi language. Even after a quarter of a century later the movie stirsyou with its treatment of topics because the issues of caste, class, materialism, loopholes injudicial process a nd of course human prejudices and judgement still plague us. So this movie ? Ek Ruka Hua Faisla? is a very good example of the power of communication .

The Orientation Problem

The Orientation Problem Question 1: Describe the nature and causes of the orientation problem in this case:a) The number of hours, which new letter carriers has taken to case and deliver routes maybe were long because they did no help and support of any kind has been offered.b) The new letter carriers has been shifted from route to route because of lack of written materials about route's particular order and the time which to took.c) Little knowing about various areas covered by various routes because of only helped a little from supervisors.d) The letter carriers were all stressed-out and workings overtime themselves because of no written materials.Question 2: What types of orientation for new employees should direct supervisors provide at the work site? I think there are two types of orientation for new employees:a) Work unit orientation: Before the arrival of the new employees, the supervisor should inform the work group that a new worker is joining the unit.Rural mail carrier Claude G. Varn on a Harley Davi...After that, the supervisor familiarizes the employees with their jobs, and their work units. In this case, the direct supervisor provide all the necessary information about the particular facility, the personnel at the facility, the area covered by the route or routes and the additional written information such as the employee handbook and union contract.b) Organization orientation: The supervisor should inform to the new employees about the organization's objectives, history, philosophy, procedures, and rules.Question 3: What training methods should be used to train the supervisors, assuming approval of the proposal? Because the supervisors belong to the management, therefore in my opinion, the training methods should be used to train the supervisors contains:a) On-the-job Experiences: The supervisors can be trained by actual practice and experience. From that, they can learn from their mistakes and their experiences...

Brazil and production of superstars Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Brazil and production of superstars - Essay Example Many of these players including Ronaldoinho displayed their passion for soccer by playing on the streets of Brazil. Because of rough conditions and cramped places, they had to find different ways to improvise and in the process learned some of the best maneuvers. In the game of soccer as in any other sport, playing in restricted space means you need to improve your game by setting various targets. This is the only way one can develop his skills with limited resources. all Brazilians players display this kind of skill. You look at them and you know they have such close control of the ball. But there are some external factors as well. Soccer is the national sport of Brazil and thus young Brazilians take up soccer very early. Their concentration on promotion of soccer is almost natural since high percentage of youth goes for soccer than any other sport. Apart from that weather also plays an important role. Unlike Europeans, who may find weather a problem now and then, Brazilians can practice throughout the year because of their ideal climate and this gives them more chances to develop their skills. Brazil may be a poor country but it runs its sports business in highly professional manner. In early 1900s, soccer was an amateur game but it turned professional when passion for the game grew. Many clubs emerged that later formed their leagues.

Emerging market not mergers and acquisition Essay

Emerging market not mergers and acquisition - Essay Example It occurs when government decide to open up its market for global trade by way of minimising tax rate and other trade restrictions2. On the other hand, globalisation is described as growing financial integration of economies around the world. Globalisation is much comprehensive idea than trade liberalisation. It denotes increased global movement of products, services, money, information and human resources. This increased movement is made possible by increased trade liberalisation3. One key aspect of this trade liberalisation is regional integration. It is a manifestation of individuality and determination, combined with establishment of global institutions, which express a precise identity and determine shared international business activity within a specific geographic region. However, economists often argue that in the context of globalisation and international trade, if regional integration can hinder or facilitate trade liberalisation, moving onto the development of a new econom ic model of international growth4. Trade liberalisation is described as any activity that makes the business administration more unbiased and nearer to a trade system, which is unrestricted from government intervention5. During the past decades, trade liberalisation has been the hallmark of economic policy in the entire world. Practically, government in various nations have taken significant steps in order to broaden the role of multinational organisations when conducting their multifaceted economic activities6. The main objective of trade liberalisation is therefore to enhance the economic effectiveness of the entire nation by creating a transparent and unbiased system of inducements that shall remove export partiality, direct inhibitions to business and economic falsifications caused by trade administration. In general, trade labialisation comprise elimination of export barriers and quantitative restrictions (QRs) along with

Egyptian Civilization Essay Example for Free

Egyptian Civilization Essay In the modern world, colossal structures such as the Sphinx and the pyramids serve as reminders of the existence of the Egyptian Civilization. This ancient culture flourished along the Nile River, which had influenced and sustained the development of Egyptian Civilization. Flowing towards the north from the East Central Africa to the Mediterranean Sea, the Nile River served as a principal route for trade and had a role in uniting Upper and Lower Egypt. Without the Nile River, Egypt would become nothing but a vast desert. (Crosslands, n. d) The Three Periods Although dynasties characterized the Egyptian Civilization, the land maintained its unity. There are three periods that divided the Ancient Egyptian Civilization namely the Old Kingdom or Pyramid Age, the Middle Kingdom, and the New Kingdom (Crosslands, n. d). The Old Kingdom (2700 – 2200 BC) The ancient Egyptian rulers or pharaohs worked on maintaining a stable and centralized state. To the people, pharaohs were regarded as gods hence they were given absolute power as well as ownership and rule over the lands (Crossland, n. d. ). This period is known as the Pyramid Age because at this time, colossal structures known as pyramid were constructed by the Egyptians near Giza, situated at present-day Cairo. Because of their belief in after-life, the Egyptians kept tombs of their dead pharaohs in these pyramids. The construction process was so long and tedious that once a pharaoh assumed the throne, slaves are already tasked to start building the tomb of the new pharaoh. The struggle for power, failure of crops, and the expenses incurred for constructing the pyramids, were the major factors that brought about the collapse of the Old Kingdom (Crossland, n. d. ) The Middle Kingdom (2050 BC – 1800 BC) This period was marked by turbulence and chaos. Corruption and uprising usually took place. The rise of the Nile River was not as regular as it used to be. However, some pharaohs were still able to set-up an ambitious drainage project, paving the way for a huge stretch of arable lands. Nubia, the southern land proliferating with gold, was occupied by Egyptian armies. Crete was likewise opened to trading opportunities (Crossland, n. d. ). The Hyksos conquered the delta region and brought along their military technology. The new invaders were captivated by the customs, names, and beliefs of the Egyptians. They occupied the land for over 100 years. Eventually, the conquerors were driven out by new rulers which paved the way for the New Kingdom (Crossland, n. d. ). The New Kingdom Ramses II and Queen Hatshepsut were the most notable rulers of this time. By this time, the Egyptian civilization had already extended to the region of the Euphrates River. Contact with Middle Easterners as well as other sections of the African continent. At the conclusion of the reign of Ramses II, the strength of the Egyptian civilization began to decrease. Other powers like the Greeks, Romans, Persians, and Assyrians found their way into the Nile region (Crossland, n. d). Contribution to Modern Civilization The Egyptians are credited for various contributions in different fields of interest. In the field of medicine, the Egyptians had good surgeons and doctors. Egypt had an advanced understanding of the human body (Crossland, n. d). It was the Egyptians who first utilized the 365 days a year format in the calendar. It showed more precision than the original lunar calendar using the moons revolution around the earth. The Egyptian calendar came into being in 4200 BC, and became the basis for the one being used in modern times (Crossland, n. d) Sumerian Civilization While the Nile River was the venue for the Egyptian civilization, similarly the Sumerian culture flourished in the banks of the Tigris and Euphrates River around 4000 BC. Unlike other societies, however, the Sumerians had a unique community comparable to civilizations of their time as well as future societies. If pharaohs ruled Egyptian society, the Sumerians built their settlements in temples and priests were the rulers (Watkins, n. d). The Sumerian civilization was composed of separate city-states. Sumer was strategically protected by the Persian Gulf as well as by Euphrates River. From the bodies of water, the city was protected by walls. The temples were located in a separate section of the city (Watkins, n. d). The Sumerian civilization was erased from the annals of history in 2000 BC as a result of military invasions by people from Semitic culture. The most notable empire was that of Sargon (Watkins, n. d). Contributions to Modern World The Sumerians had a technology more advanced than any other civilization of their time. In fact, they influenced other civilizations particularly the Babylonians in the north. They influenced Upper Egypt through the Persian Gulf and Lower Egypt via the eastern Mediterranean coast. Finally, the civilization lying along the Indus River Valley may have some Sumerian influence as well (Watkins, n. d). The Sumerian civilization contributed cuneiform writing as well as systematic record keeping, social and economic organizations, the plow. Their most significant contribution to modern civilization is dividing a day into 24 hours and an hour to 60 minutes (Watkins, n. d). The Babylonian Civilization The culture of the Babylonians became prominent between the fall of the third Ur Dynasty which happened in 1950 BC and the conclusion of the first Babylonian civilization in 1533 BC. The ancient Babylonian culture reached its grandeur during the time of the Amorites until it became the principal city in ancient Iraq(Iraq UN Mission, n. d). King Hammurabi is the most notable ruler of ancient Babylon. He laid the groundwork for the establishment of his dynasty. Hammurabi set his sights on building a strong political and military society. He established a legal system based on the Code of Hammurabi. It is believed that this code was the basic for future legal concepts. In fact, the saying â€Å"Eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth† was established on this code (Iraq UN Mission, n. d. The Akkadian Civilization The culture of Akkadia flourished from 2350 – 2159 BC. Before settling in Mesopotamia, the Akkadians hailed from the Arab peninsula. Its founder is Sargon who established Akkas as the capital city. The Akkadian culture is located in a region which is now occupied by Baghdad (Iraq UN Mission, n. d. Although there were traces of Sumerian influences, the Akkadians established new concepts and practices in the field of politics, social living, arts, and the military (Iraq UN Mission, n. d. The Persian Civilization Alexander the Great is undoubtedly the greatest ruler of Persia. During his reign, he strived to unite Persians into a great nation. Alexanders dream, however, did not materialize after he died. His military generals fought against each other in an attempt to become ruler of the once mighty Persian Empire. One of Alexanders generals succeeded in conquering the entirely Persian region of the empire (Ellis Horne, 1913). Another of the greatest Persian king was Artexerxes who ruled Persia after the Parthinians conquered the empire in 250 BC. The Persians are strong and fierce warriors who will not simply go away in battle. This was evident in the battle for Petra, one of the most notable wars in historical annals (Ellis Horne, 1913). The Greatest Civilization in the World I believe that the greatest civilization in the world is the Egyptian civilization. Their greatness in the field or architecture is still very much evident in the pyramids and the Sphinx. I have never visited the pyramids or seen the sphinx yet but accounts by tourists who have seen the colossal structure leave the place in awe. The richness of the Egyptian culture is likewise stored underneath these structures which served as tombs of ancient pharaohs. The Egyptians have likewise stamped their expertise in mathematics and astronomy. The old lunar calendar, which is based on the rotation of the moon around the earth, is a proof of their excellence in this field. References Ellis, E. S. , Horne, C. F. ,(1913). The Story of the Greatest Nations and the Worlds Famous Events. Iraq UN Mission(n. d. ). Civilizations. Retrieved June 17 2008 from http://www. iraqunmission. org/node/27 Ms. Croft-Crosslands Standard(n. d). Ancient Egypt. Retrieved June 17 2008 from http://home. cf1. rr. com/crossland/AncientCivilizations/Ancient_Egpyt/ancient_egypt. html Watkins, T(n. d. ). Sumer. San Jose State University. Retrieved June 17, 2008 from http://www. sjsu. edu/faculty/watkins/sumer. htm