Business Intelligence Plan Essay Example

Business Intelligence Plan Essay Business Intelligence Plan Executive Summary The purpose of this report is to explain the importance of Business Intelligence and all of its components for implementation into the business structure. During the recent years obtaining useful information in real time has become something that is extremely important, if not even a critical, factor of success for companies. The time managers have available for use in making business decisions has been reduced dramatically. Competitive pressures are now requiring that businesses make intelligent decisions based on their incoming business data, and these decisions ust be made immediately (Business Intelligence and Data Warehousing, 2005, p. 5; Hocevar Jaklic, 2010, p. 91). Businesses are looking at tools that will enable them to keep up with technology and its swift movement throughout the business environment. The tool that will enable those managers to do this is called business intelligence. Due to the swift pace of todays business environment, these systems of business intelligence have become an almost indispensable part of the success of many organizations. With the aid of business intelligence, managers are able to fficiently and effectively detect important trends, analyze the behavior of customers and facilitate expedient decision-making (Hocevar Jaklic, 2010, p. 91). Business Intelligence is defined as a broad concept which includes the appropriate orientation of the entire organization. We will write a custom essay sample on Business Intelligence Plan specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Business Intelligence Plan specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Business Intelligence Plan specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer It deals with the acquisition, management and analysis of large amounts of data about business partners, products, services, customers and suppliers, activities and transactions between them (Lu Zhou, 2000, p. 3; Hocevar Jaklic, 2010, p. 92). The implementation plan provided will allow the stakeholders to nalyze the many different ways in which business intelligence will help the company grow. In this implementation there are several different structures that will assist the company with business intelligence. Areas covered will include a comprehensive review ot Business Intelligence, data sources and characteristics in the organization, data governance and quality overview, the selection of a data mining vendor, business analytics summary along with the selected vendor, Bl service provider value and provider selection, and lastly a business dashboard with the vendor comparison. Introduction to Business Intelligence According to Skriletz (2002) reviewing the principles behind Bl best practices and technology innovations reveals some interesting points about managing Bl strategically. The principles are to: Create stability in the basic structures of data fundamental for providing Bl and running the business. Ensure that each data element stands on its own as a fact or attribute. Keep an enterprise-wide focus, not a departmental, regional or other category focus. Make Bl not simply the analytical report, but the information a manager or executive needs in order to make an informed decision. Use several different Bl technologies that play well together. The organizational roles that will benefit from business intelligence (81) would be marketing managers, medical professionals, Logistic managers, campaign managers, HR managers, and also office managers. When effectively integrated into processes, Bl can help an organization meet mission-critical goals such as improving sales results, growing customer satisfaction, workflow processes, advancing corporate goals including sustainability management, cultivating return on investment, and saving lives (Felix, 2009). A component of Bl would be Data. This component is considered to be one of the key components of business intelligence. When implementing business strategies an important component most times is the data. Data is always created in order to derive at business decisions that are being made. The source of the data will also be extremely important and will aid in understanding trends and issues that exists for the business. Another component is the data quality. This is an essential component of Bl for arriving at valid business decisions. Similar data can be stored in multiple repositories within a single business; one example would be he inventory of items for sale. When considering data sources, it is important to understand if there is a recognized authoritative source for a specific type of data. In many enterprises, the data required for making business decisions is created by wide ranging applications, perhaps from separate lines of business (Theme 1). Bl systems today have the capacity to work with numerous types of data such as numerical or non-numerical data. The quality ot this data is as important as any other data. The difference in the level of data quality is one of the many factors that ay explain why some organizations are successful with their Bl initiative while some are not so successful (Isik, 0. , Jones, M. C. , Sidoroya, A. 2011). Component three is Data Analytics. This component is used for the analysis of data. Data analytics refers to the business intelligence technologies that are grounded for the most part in data mining and statistical analysis. Due to the success that has been achieved overall by the data mining and statistical analysis community, data analytics continues to be an active area of research (Hsinchun, Chiang, Storey, 2012). Data analytics are tructured in statistical theories and models, multivariate statistical analysis. It also covers other analytical techniques such as regression, factor analysis, clustering, and discriminant analysis that have been used and have been successful in innumerable business applications (Hsinchun, Chiang, Storey, 2012). Also, in order to create a Business Intelligence environment you would need to build an analytical data warehouse for managers. In many institutions, the most important decision metrics are calculated based on information obtained from numerous systems (Mircea Andreescu, 2009). An industry that could and probably does benefit from the application of business intelligence would be Industrial-organizational (1/0) Psychology. Psychological research is riddled with data that is essential to the outcome of the research being done. Data analytics and data quality is essential to research. In doing research there is much value that can be derived from the use of business intelligence. Because one of the components is data analytics this adds direct value to the research. Research is a compilation of data that is used for validating theories. Industrial-organizational psychologists help companies bring bout compliance and raise employees productivity in the workplace. They will also focus on the operation and design of organizations (Feldman, 2013). The scientific method in psychology require that the approach used by psychologists to systematically acquire knowledge and understanding about behavior and other phenomena of interest is done in a way that can be explained, seen, and proven with more accuracy (Feldman, 2013). The potential value that could be derived from its use is that you can achieve valid data, as well as being able to use the statistical data that s derived using methods such as factor analysis, clustering, and regression in a way that aids in achieving reliable data. For instance, if they are doing research on emotional intelligence because of using data quality and data analytics researchers may be able to find out how to have increased efficiency in communication that will lead to the resulting ability to establish mutually beneficial working relationships (Bennett, 2009). Business Intelligence adds value to the data that is being gathered by providing the 1/0 psychologists with a tool for providing the companies that they re working for researched data and valuable information that can aid in the enhancement of employee/employer relationships. It can also lead to improved decision making for the companies also. In the next section of this paper we will be discussing the data sources and also characteristics in the organization. This section will give some clarity on data and how it is used in Business Intelligence. Data Sources and Characteristics in the Organization The Term big data has emerged to describe the growth ot data along with systems and technology required to leverage it. As with many new technologies, the term has yet to be universally defined, but generally speaking, big data represents data sets such as structured and unstructured data that can no longer be easily managed or analyzed with traditional or common data management tools, methods and infrastructures (Rogers, 2011). Even today, the scope of big data is growing so rapidly. It is growing beyond niche sources to include sensor and machine data, transactional data, metadata, social network data and consumer authored information (Rogers, 2011). There is a lot of room for research opportunities that xists for Business Intelligence. It can be used for managing semi-structured information (Negash, 2004). Data Sources Structured data is going to be produced by a generally large amount of information that includes a vast amount of raw data. Structured data is anything that has an enforced composition to the atomic data types. Structured data is going to be managed by technology and it allows for querying and reporting against predetermined data types and understood relationships (Weglarz, 2004). Structured data typically resides in databases. Such data is organized into tables with columns nd rows of defined data types; relationships between various data fields and tables are clearly defined. Some of the most common are relational database management systems (RDBMS) that are capable of handling large volumes of data such as Oracle, IBM DB2, MS SQL Server, Sybase, and Teradata (Brannon, 2010). Unstructured data is going to consists of any data that is stored in an unstructured format at an atomic level. That is, in the unstructured content, there is a no conceptual definition and no data type definition in textual documents, a word is simply a word (Weglarz, 2004). Unstructured data is going to reside outside of structured databases. This data includes electronic documents, PowerPoint presentations, spreadsheets, email, images, schedules, IM logs, and Multimedia files, etc. This data will also usually reside on individual computers or on file servers (Brannon, 2010). HR Data Sources Human Resource (HR) collects and utilizes data as a direct result of their daily activities. They utilize unstructured data at a high volume and also have a high volume of structured data that they have to handle. They are collecting data on prospective employees, current employees, and even former employees. Information such as payroll, hours worked, vacation time, sick time, days absent, performance evaluations, pay grade, raises, age, date of birth, start date, end date, Job title, etc. need to be input and stored into a myriad of spreadsheets that exists within a database that is designated for that specific information. This activity of collecting information and inputting information leads to high volumes of workflows and massive amounts of related data (PemmaraJu, 2007). As HR is called on as a partner in corporate decision making, it must first began by taking inventory of what is being easured and how. HR first needs to make sure the right applications and technologies are in place. Even though human resource information systems are increasingly implemented, if the proper tools are not available to access the data in a meaningful way, the data collected is of little use. An abundance of data should never be confused with implementing true workforce analytics (PemmaraJu, 2007). Importance of Data Characteristics Business intelligence can attord an organization wit n the means to an end. There is so much data that needs to be taken into account when conducting business that it is rucial that a business has a way in which to maintain all information needed. When using Bl data characteristics will aid in the success of Bl. When making decisions in regards to business matters data characteristics will weigh heavily on the outcome of the decision. Having sound and effective data is going to be imperative. According to Sauter (2011, p. 3) good decision making means we are informed and have relevant and appropriate information on which to base our choices among alternatives. Data Characteristics Relevance One characteristic is the relevance of the data. Relevance of the data can be defined s a function of the choices and alternatives available to the decision makers (Sauter, 2011, p. 78). Relevance is going to be of value to the HR department because of the amount of information that they will have stored on each employee. Maintaining only needed information according to relevance is going to be essential to quality, timeliness, and storage space. Reliability Many will assume that the data is correct if they are included in the database; designers therefore need to ensure that they are accurate. They should always verify the input of the data and the integrity of the database (Sauter, 2011, p. 0). The value of data reliability is that there is time saved on time being spent with the periodical reports (report collecting, diverse consolidations and adjustments, reducing the amount of time spent on repetitive activities, reducing the part played by the IT department in generating reports in favor of the end-user and , the most important thing, reducing the time for decision making (Luminita Magdalena, 2009). Understandability According to Sauter (2011, p. 76) if decision makers cannot understand what is in the database and if the database lends itself to perceptual errors then the decision akers cannot use it effectively. The key is going to be simplifying the representation in the database without losing the meaning of the data. The value that this will add to HR is that it will save time when they are attempting to make decisions when hiring, firing and going over information that is being used for assessments and benefits. Summary These data sources and characteristics can provide the HR industry with tools that will assist them in effectively using Business Intelligence. Because there are many different sources and characteristics it is essential that businesses know the value of having this information. There is so much information out there and so much information and data that we have to rely on. The importance of data and its structure should always be utilized with reverence to the business. Protection from too much information and providing access to useful data without overwhelming or misleading is going to be a valuable asset to any business (Sauter, 2011, p. 85). Having useful information is key to helping the decision makers make sound decisions for the business. This next section will discuss data governance and quality overview. The importance of both will be seen in this section providing the rganization with valuable information in regards to this area of Business Intelligence. Data Governance and Quality ta governance will assist the company in ascertaining power over now intormation is handled. This will give assurance to those within the organization that the company is being managed in the proper manner when it comes to processing and handling information. When data governance is incorporated into the business process the company can better monitor issues. Data governance is also about teamwork and helping those within the company to work together in a more consistent and orderly method. According to Sarsfield, (2009, p. 153) the choice about data governance is one about hearing the voices of your people within the organization. The sound of bad harmonization and discord can be heard loudly in companies that dont listen to it. Its only when you harmonize the voices of technologists, executives and business teams that it allows you to product a beautiful song; one that can bring your company teamwork, strategic direction and profit. Data governance is going to be important to the existence of the company. It is going to help the company more effectively manage our data and treat it like the valuable nterprise asset it is. In all actuality effective data governance isnt going to be Just about data at all. Its also about changing how the company views its data (Griffin, 2011, p. 11-12). Data governance will assist with the guarantee that our data can be trusted and that people can be made accountable for any adverse event that happens because of poor data quality. It is about the company putting people in charge of fixing and preventing issues with data, so that the enterprise can become more efficient (Sarsfield, 2009, p. 38). Having said that governance of company stakeholders will be essential to the company and its goals. In order to effectively implement governance there needs to be a governance team in place. One critical step in establishing a data governance program is identifying the owner of each type of data. Once you can link data quality to the processes and people that generate the data, you can get accountability for on-going maintenance (Badrakhan, 2010, p. 36). Organizational Roles The organization roles will include a cross-functional team along with the Board of Directors, CEO/President, COO, VP Finance and Operations, and a chief data office (CDO). Board of Directors The role of the board should be set down in the organization by-laws. So too must the policies and procedures be established and documented. These will differ between organizations, but it is important that all board members be informed of their expected roles and responsibilities at the beginning of their term. CEO/President The CEOs main duty is setting strategy and vision. The CEO ultimately sets the direction of the organization. The CEO decides, sets budgets, forms partnerships, and hires a team to steer the company accordingly. COO Through a respectful, constructive and energetic style, guided by the objectives of company, the COO provides the leadership, management and vision ecessary to ensure that the company has the proper operational controls, administrative and reporting procedures, and people systems in place to effectively grow the organization and to ensure financial strength and operating efficiency (www. shrm. org). VP Finance and Operations In this role the VP Finance and Operations will advise the president and other key members of senior management on financial planning, budgeting, cash flow, investment priorities, and policy matters. They will also serve as the management liaison to the board and audit committee, while continuing to ettectively communicate and present critical financial matters at elect board of directors and committee meetings (www. bridgespan. org). The CDO or equivalent position should have real accountability and may exist at either or both of the group and the divisional levels depending on the culture and strength of the bonds between the business units. There will also be principles set forth and they will become the key performance indicators (KPIs). The role and the budgets should include an element expressed in terms of the selected information currencies. Apart from the authority that the role needs to carry though a senior executive reporting ine, the office of the CDO should have direct accountability to the board and specifically the audit subcommittee or its equivalent (Hillard, 2010, p. 24). Data governance for the stakeholders can lead to effective compliance with government regulation, improved customer satisfaction, improved market position, cost reduction, improved business intelligence reporting, and the ability to respond faster to business change (Waddington, 2010, p. 5). Data quality is going to be an essential aspect of data governance; therefore the company is going to need to place a great amount of emphasis on measuring data quality. Success in a Business Intelligence environment will require that people in the organization and the team trust the results they receive. This can only be accomplished if the data meets quality expectations set forth by the data governance team and it is clearly understood by the business and its community (Geiger, 2010, p. 37). A detriment of poor data quality might be when information is put into the computer by someone for the purpose of obtaining a number that provides them with how much to charge someone for something like insurance. If the age is incorrect then that could cause the rates to be ither higher or lower because age is an important part of the quoting process. So for instance if someone was to put 21 instead of 41 in the system for the persons age that could cause their rates to go up because of the level of experience that is sometimes equated to the age. Not knowing that there is an error in the data could cause the company to lose business because the person feels that the quote is too high. Data governance will provide standards that will be set forth in regards to the data quality. There are going to be three key elements that exist for data quality measurements. They should be applied to the data residing in the database. They are completeness, compliance, and accuracy. The completeness measure provides a count of how many records in a data set are missing one or more details. The compliance counts the records that fail to meet business rules on each record. The accuracy measure estimates using statistical and other techniques whether there are likely to be errors in the data set (Hilliard, 2010, p. 160). These elements will aid in assisting the team with data governance. The goal of data governance is not Just to clarify who owns data but also to optimize its value. The data itself is merely the means to the desired end of improved business performance. Accordingly, the responsibility for data governance efforts should fall at least as much on the business as it does on IT?and preferably more (wmw. nformatica. com). Data governance will provide the business with proper guidelines in order to effectually operate. Data governance is also key to providing sufficient data quality. The implementation of data governance through business intelligence will ultimately provide the company with a tool to monitor and sustain efficient data quality. The next section will iscuss data mining and also obtain a choice tor a vendor that will provide the organization with what it needs in order to effectively launch a successful Bl implementation. Data Mining Data Mining is considered to be a deeper search in the source data. It is also known as knowledge discovery in large databases. It is very a very powerful instrument that can often be used to extract useful information. Many times the knowledge can be considered to be previously unknown valid and the same time operational. The extracted knowledge has to be translated and applied in reality. Data Mining is going o be different from some of the other data processing for data analysis, such as data query, reports, OLAP etc. Information obtained through Data Mining techniques can be predictive or descriptive. Predictive information is used to describe an event, such as the possibility of fraud (Emil Claudia, 2010, p. 806). Given a data set, the data mining process is going to start off with elementary data analysis. It will allow the analyst to understand the characteristic of the attributes of the data set (dependency, ranges, max, min, count, average, standard deviation, quartiles, outliers, etc. ). The data set is then going to be divided into a training set and a testing and validation data set (holdout). The training data set is used to build the mining structure and associated mining models. If a model is valid and its accuracy is acceptable, it is then used for prediction Oafar, 2010, p. 17). Data mining is also a valuable tool in decision report and uses algorithms and statistics to analyze large data sets. Data mining is going to connect data to the business practice. It can also be used in business to understand customers. Data mining is going to measure what the business knows and what they should know. Data Mining has proven to be highly effective in addressing business problems. By taking advantage of the information treasures in a data mine companies are able to fit pieces of information together to solve their most challenging business puzzles and those of their clients. If you use data mining to support business planning and decision making you are able to put together the vast amount of data in order to see the big picture (Mehok, 2013, p. 83). The two data mining vendors to choose from are Weka (Pentaho) and RapidMining. Both will offer some great qualities that will only add to the success of the rganization. RapidMining The first vendor is RapidMining. RapidMining is a product of Rapid-I. Rapid-I offers software and services for business analytics. The company was founded in 2006, and is headquartered in Dortmund, Germany. It has been in development since 2001. The company has more than 30 partners on all continents, 3 million production downloads, more than 35,000 production deployments and more than 400 customers in more than 40 countries (rapid-i. om). RapidMining is data mining software that offers a complete package to its users. The software is easy to use and install. Installation usually takes about five minutes. It is considered open source software. It is one of the most comprehensive data mining solutions that offer data integration, transformation, and modeling methods. It is a complete business intelligence solution. RapidMiner is a complete business analytics workbench with strong foc us on data mining, text mining, and predictive analytics. It uses a wide variety of descriptive and predictive techniques to give you the insight to make profitable decisions. There are no software license fees and it offers flexible and affordable support options. Fast development is available even when highly complex data mining processes exist. RapidMiner also offers guaranteed operational reliability. RapidMining offers one tool for all task involved allowing the processes to interact with one another and be transformed for integration with a few clicks ( rapid-i. com). Some of the mining methods offered are stream mining, In-database-mining, and Radoop. For stream mining instead of holding complete data sets in the memory, only parts of the data are taken through an analysis process and the part results aggregated in suitable location later on. Instead of taking the data to the algorithm n-database-mining supports taking the algorithms to the data. Radoop is the worlds first graphical connection of Hadoop for the handling of big data analytics, meaning that even terabytes and petabytes of data can be transformed and analyzed (www. Rapid-l. om) Weka (Pentaho) The second vendor is Weka. Weka was originally created in 1993 at the University of Waikato in New Zealand and was available on sourceforge. net since 2000. The Weka project was established by the University of Waikato as a platform for the research and testing of advanced machine learning techniques. Since that time, Weka has eveloped a large and loyal following in both academic and industry c ircles, and has been downloaded more than 600, 000 times (www. pentaho. com). Sometime in 2006 Pentaho Corp. , acquired the Weka open source data mining project. Pentaho is considered to be one of the worlds largest open source business intelligence suites out there. Weka is currently widely used as a great tool for data mining. It has what they call an open source code and it can be used for machine learning and it can also be used for mining large datasets. Machine learning algorithms will aid in finding significant consistencies in large data sets. Weka is easy to use and easily accessible. Weka is considered open source software and it is issued under the GNU General Public License. Organizations use Wekas data mining tools to understand relationships between internal factors like price, product placement, or staff skills as well as external factors like economic indicators, competition, and target market demographics; analyze the impact of potential changes to critical business metrics like sales volumes, customer loyalty, and profitability; and perform business-critical calculations such as market-basket analysis, customer segmentation, pricing ptimization and fraud detection (www. pentaho. com). Weka (Waikato Environment for Knowledge Analysis) is an ensemble of data mining algorithms written in Java. These algorithms can either be applied directly to a dataset using the Weka explorer or called from your own modified Java code. It contains tools for data pre-processing, classification, regression, clustering, association rules, and visualization and can be used to develop new machine learning schemes (NA, Weka, 2010). The main point of integration between WEKA and the Pentaho platform is with Pentaho Data Integration PDI), also known as the Kettle proJect4. PDI is a streaming, engine driven ETL tool. Its rich set of extract and transform operations, combined with support for a large variety of databases, are a natural complement to WEKAS data filters. PDI can easily export data sets in WEKAS native ARFF format to be used immediately for model creation (Hall, M. , Frank, E. , Holmes, G. , Pfahringer, B. , Reutemann, P. , Willten, nd). Vendor Choice The suggested data mining vendor choice is Weka (Pentaho). This would be a great vendor to use tor our organization because ot what it otters in i s sottware. It offers an extensive amount of features and we can expect that any data sets used we will receive a thorough and extensive mining process that will assist the business in looking at customer loyalty, items being used by customer, customer concerns, along with monetary values. All features of business intelligence will be supported including web services, workflow integration, security, auditing, scheduling, navigation, portal integration, workbench-based designer and administration tools Oira. pentaho. com). Business Analytics Summary and Vendor Selection Companies are increasingly delivering value through business analytics (BA), which includes the people, processes and technologies that turn data into the insights that drive business decision and actions. Organizations with enterprise BA capabilities establish a sound foundation of high-quality, usable and integrated data. Business users identify insights from the data, make decisions and solve important business problems, thereby triggering actions that generate a wide range of tangible and intangible business value (Wixom, Yen, Relich, 2013, p. 11). Some vendors that utilize business analytics are SAS and Oracle. Both vendors supply a product that provides businesses with valuable tools that will assist them with queries, reporting and advanced analytics software. Business analytics is the most advanced component of business intelligence. Having an analytic capability will enable fact- based decisions using quantitative models. These models will ultimately draw on statistical and quantitative analysis of large data repositories. An analytic capability is especially critical in healthcare because lives are at stake and there is intense pressure to reduce costs and improve efficiency (Ghost Scott, 2011). An analytic apability drives fact-based management decisions and actions with extensive use of data, statistical and quantitative analysis, explanatory and predictive models [Davenport and Harris, 2007]. Success with advanced analytics is highly dependent on the quality and completeness of the data subject to analysis, as well as the sophistication of the algorithms and models on which analyses depend [Adams et al. 2010]. The availability of high quality data and technology needs to be coupled with organizational routines and individual skills for an analytic capability (Shanks et al. , 2010; Ghost Scott, 2011). There are some key components to todays business analytics solutions they are data and text mining, Data visualization, Forecasting, Operations Research and Analysis, Quality improvement, and Statist ical analysis. Data and text mining is one that e

The Influence of Ralph Waldo Emerson Essays

The Influence of Ralph Waldo Emerson Essays The Influence of Ralph Waldo Emerson Essay The Influence of Ralph Waldo Emerson Essay Essay Topic: Self Reliance Ralph Waldo Emerson is considered by many as one of the most respected and widely known authors in the history of American literature. From his famous book â€Å"Nature†, to his various essays, poems and lectures, Emerson’s collection of works maintain an authentic diverse style that separated him from other authors. The confidence and optimism he portrayed thru his work helped to spawn an assembly of followers from not only America, but Europe as well. Many historians believe that Emerson may be the most inspirational figure in American thought since the colonial period, and In my opinion without Emerson’s influences on American Literature and Transcendentalism the new thought movement, and conception of individualism during the 19th century may have never taken place. Emerson’s 1836 essay â€Å"Nature† is considered by many to be the foundation of Transcendentalism, and the â€Å"New Thought† movement that followed. Both terms were considered anomalies at the time since they protested against the â€Å"normal† cultural, and social trains of thought during the 19th century. In Samuel Osgood ‘s 1837 publication â€Å"The Western Messenger† Osgood reviews â€Å"Nature† and is quoted as saying the following, â€Å"whatever may be thought of the merits, or of the extravagances of the book, no one, we are sure can read it without feeling himself more wide awake to the beauty and meaning of creation. † It was the core belief of transcendentalists that individual intuitions should be at the forefront of their being, and not be limited to established forms of culture. This conviction was right on with Emerson’s philosophy, which encouraged people to think for themselves, and follow their hearts. It was Emerson’s own nature in fact that touched so many peoples mind and soul, generating a group of admirers that held him in their highest regards. In analyzing numerous historical New York Times clippings I encountered several articles that spoke volumes of Emerson and his influence on people. One I enjoyed in particular was an article depicting various commemorative addresses’ entitled â€Å" Emerson’s Many Friends. † In this piece Dr. Oliver Wendell Holmes speaks vibrantly of Emerson in saying â€Å" He enriched the treasure-house of literature, but, what was far more, he enlarged the boundaries of thought for the few that followed him and the many that never knew, and do not know today what hand it was that took down their prison wall. † Dr Holmes reference to his late friend shows not only his respect for Emerson, but also how significant a role he played in supplying his followers with optimism and confidence in being themselves. Two American authors whose literary careers were inspired significantly by Mr. Emerson were Henry David Thoreau and Margaret Fuller. Both Thoreau and Fuller played an equally important role in the development of the transcendental movement, but their careers as writers may have taken a different path were it not for Emerson’s Influence on them. Emerson’s interaction with Fuller was well documented as the two were known to indulge in verbal intercourse regularly, eventually working together in creating â€Å"The Dial†, a publication dedicated to new ideas relating to the reformation of society. Thoreau on the other hand was a pupil of Emerson using many of his Philosophical beliefs in his literature and lifestyle. One of Thoreau’s greatest works was a book titled â€Å"Walden or Life in the Woods† detailing Thoreau’s construction of a cabin and isolation from society on a plot of land owned by Emerson at Walden Pond in Concord, Massachusetts. It is my belief that it was Thoreau’s aspiration to live the simple life Emerson spoke of so frequently in his writing relying only on himself instead of the influences of society. Although both Fuller and Thoreau were exceptional authors, and thinkers in their own right, there connection with Emerson is undeniable in relation to their life and works of literature. Furthermore the impact of Emerson’s work was not only realized in the United States, but across the Atlantic in Europe as well. Many Europeans found enjoyment in Emerson’s literature, and in an 1882 clipping from the New York Times I found an interesting editorial entitled â€Å" British Views of Emerson. † This article confirmed the Europeans respect for Mr. Emerson including excerpts from various newspapers across Europe. The text within the article appreciates Emerson and his works referring to his unique style as â€Å"sometimes obscure, and yet apparently so simple. There was also admiration for his humble demeanor citing that despite all his success he remained grounded, â€Å"in a tranquil seclusion, seeking none of the rewards that the world had to bestow, yet earnest in his efforts for the elevation of mankind. Before taking American Literature, I am disappointed to say that had never read nor heard of Ralph Waldo Emerson or his works. During an assign ment requiring me to read and analyze Emerson’s essay â€Å"Self Reliance† I realized how appealing this mans work was to me. His outgoing, and original approach to writing really captured my attention and gave me a piece of mind that before then I had never been subjected to. As I began to research Emerson and his legacy, I realized I was not alone in this thinking, and that Emerson’s literature had indeed influenced an entire movement based around his teachings and philosophies of individualism. In conclusion it is my opinion that Emerson’s character and ability to communicate his beliefs thru lectures essays and books helped the transcendental literary movement gain an incredible following and achieve a great degree of success during the 19th century. I believe Emerson was a remarkably deep individual who used his knowledge thru literature to achieve a mindset that made him and his admirers comfortable with themselves and who they were. Without Ralph Waldo Emerson’s influential works, transcendentalism and the American thought process that followed might have never taken such an individualistic approach to life and living in general.

Discourse Analysis Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Discourse Analysis - Case Study Example The author further illustrates ‘islandness’ as a â€Å"construct of the mind,† which facilitates the islanders a â€Å"singular way† of looking at the world (192). Thus, the Island Institute has begun to publish the Island’s Journal, to create awareness in the general public about the islanders. The article draws research evidence from a wide variety of literature published in this journal, which the author has reviewed and he also uses his personal experience with island life. The author has supported and validated his thesis through an array of evidence from the island culture as well as referring to certain island qualities that â€Å"transcend local culture† (192). This becomes apparent in his illustration of the â€Å"self-consciousness about islandness† among the inhabitants of different islands (193). He also refers to the â€Å"cellarhole melancholy† that defines the sense of loss that permeates every inch of the island space and reflects on the islanders (193). The intended audience for this type of an audience may include scholars and teachers of geography, anthropology, literature and other humanities as well as people who have an interest in these subjects. The Geography Review, in which the article has been published, is a suitable publication for an article that contains such a topic. The author has taken a judicious stance in presenting the topic and there are not apparent bias on his part, except for his specific affini ty for the Islanders and his keen interest in informing the world about them. Similarly, Conkling also identifies many attributes that are common in islanders across the archipelagos different islands such as: a sense of freedom, loyalty and honor, frugality, â€Å"polydextrous and multifaceted competence† as well as the oral traditions, canny literacy and ability to tolerate eccentricity (192). The author’s use of language and style has been appropriate to the topic

Communication of the Saudi Arabian Culture Research Paper

Communication of the Saudi Arabian Culture - Research Paper Example ere allowed to enter Saudi Arabia only when they witnessed during the Depression period, a drastic fall in their revenues which they received from the pilgrims (Lacey, 2009, p.75). The principles and values intrinsic in these morals as well as devotion to Islam lie down at the core of the enlightening among the diversified group of citizens and non citizens, tribal or non-tribal, living in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The societal values which are a part of the everyday behavior of Saudis include kindness, unselfishness, and generosity; respect for elders in the hierarchical structure of the family; liberation and independence on others and command over the emotions and feelings of each others; and a readiness to maintain lives of other members of the family assuming accountability for their mistakes also (Abbasi & Hollman, 1993, p.56). Saudis worry that respite of the world picturing them as coming from another planet, although most are outstandingly polite and convivial once you truly break free from the principles. Limitations on intermingling between not related people of the opposite sex stay rigorous. Currently, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is managing to move on against its harsh rules, initially by starting a coeducation university, allowing women to sell private clothing to other women, even harmonizing down the decapitations. King Abdullah has taken drastic measures for the positive environment of the nation. However, to the rest of the globalizing world, these changes are hardly noticeable. Saudi Arabia is measured or seen as an extremely high context culture. In high-context cultures, significance is entrenched more in the perspective rather than the policy. Hall (1982) discussed that "most of the information is either in the physical context or internalized in the person, while very little is in the coded, explicit, transmitted part of the message" (p.18). Thus it is important for the listener must appreciate the appropriate signals so as to seize the

The History of the Internet Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The History of the Internet - Research Paper Example At the height of Cold War, in 1962, the American Government was devising a plan that would enable the military to maintain its command and control system in an event of nuclear attack on the US. The RAND Corporation was given the task to conduct research and studies to find how the US army could maintain its command and control system if any of US cities come under nuclear attack. After due deliberation and diversified studies, Rand Paul Baran from RAND Corporation submitted his final proposal for a Packet Switched Network (Ruthfield 1995). ARPA, a branch of US department of defense ARPANET awarded a contract to BBN to develop a decentralized architecture network. BBN constructed physical network linking four locations University of California at Los Angeles, SRI (in Stanford), University of California at Santa Barbara, and University of Utah. According to the record, the network was connected through a 50 Kbps circuits on wire (Ruthfield 1995). By 1973, it was established that besides ARPANET other networks have come into a successful existence like National Physical Laboratory in England and the scientific network CYCLADES in France. Undoubtedly, these different networks with different approaches are the foundation of our modern internet. CYCLADES, being a commercial network, had many commercial users who began transferring data from one user to the other. Here Packet switching was born (Dave n.d). In 1976, Dr. Robert M. Metcalfe developed Ethernet, which was a crucial invention to moving data faster through a coaxial cable. Following, Package Satellite Project, SATNET came into existence which connected United States with Europe thus bringing about the first intercontinental Internet in the history (Dave n.d). The same year ARPANET started working on a protocol, later to be called, TCP/IP to bring together different networks without interfering their basic structure. With the invention of TCP/IP protocol it became possible to connect

Impact Of Teaching Methods On Student Satisfaction

Impact Of Teaching Methods On Student Satisfaction The purpose of the study is to determine the impact of teaching methods on Student satisfaction. The aim of the research is to identify the techniques that hold great importance and are effective for teachers today when it comes to changing their teaching methodologies and techniques in order to make the students keener towards learning and hence, enhancing their satisfactions in this regard. We will use the survey method to conduct our research mainly consisting of structured questionnaires given to the respondents. Linear Regression Method would be used for analysis. Our population is Students of IBA Lahore. Our research would help to identify those methods that can have a great influence on the satisfaction of todays students. Introduction In this research, we intend to find if there is really an impact of different teaching methods on students satisfaction or not. Institutions now a days are focusing more on using variety of teaching methods to enhance the interest of students in class which ultimately results in increased student satisfaction. Our research would try to find out what methods if any, exist, that may result in enhancing the satisfaction level of students. Several factors affect this satisfaction. This research holds great important since we all know the fact that as a satisfied customer is highly important for any organization. Similarly, a satisfied student deems to have a great worth for an educational institution. We will first define Teaching methods(Palmer, Parker,(n.d)) itself as: A mechanism that comprises of different principles and techniques used for instruction. Commonly used teaching methods may include class participation, demonstration, recitation, memorization, or a combination of the above. The choice of an appropriate teaching method depends largely on the information being taught plus the skills of the perspective teacher who has the responsibility of guiding students in that particular area. It may also be influenced by the aptitude and enthusiasm of the student.So, we can infer from the definition of variety of teaching methods (Brandt, R.S., Meek, A. (Eds.,1990): Discovery of new ideas and concepts of teaching in accordance to the methods and techniques of the changing world rather than just relying on only one source of information(e.g. Textbooks only); and to improve the learning of the students by creating interest in the subject and the curiosity to learn; and developing the creativity in the students within themselves. And most importantly to make the student understand that how the knowledge being taught in the class stand up in the real world. Student motivation is quite important to student learning and satisfaction. This motivation can be intrinsic (from within) or extrinsic. Highly motivated students tend to try harder and achieve better educational results (Brewer Burgess, 2005). Highly motivated students also tend to be more satisfied with their education (Jones, 2008; Roebkin, 2007). Student satisfaction is important because it serves as a common measure of the performance of instructors and universities and to some extent, as a measure of student adjustment or success (Jones, 2008). It may also contribute to student retention (Suhre, Jansen, Harskamp,2007). Furthermore, psychologists have found that students will feel satisfied when they would aquire knowledge; develop useful skills which would result in their enhanced self confidence. For example, Aitken (1982) found that academic performance is one of the most important factors in determining satisfaction, and Pike (1991) concludes that satisfaction exerts greater influence on grades than academic performance on satisfaction. According to Bandura [1977] and Schunk [1991], learners use self-regulatory attributes to control their personal learning processes and self-efficacy influences choice, efforts, and volition. Successful students seem to have an ability to motivate themselves to complete a task, while the less successful ones have difficulty in developing self-motivational skills (Dembo Eaton, 2000) Literature review Students are the customers of the university and like any other organization; it is the responsibility of the university to satisfy its customers. It is obvious that student satisfaction for any university holds immense value for the students and the providers. Some universities routinely measure satisfaction while some not. Additionally, most of zthose measurements are not used for marketing planning, evaluation and controlling (Piercy, 1995). According to Elliott Shin (2002, p. 197) focusing on student satisfaction not only enables universities to re-engineer their organizations to adapt to student needs, but also allows them to develop a system for continuous monitoring of how effectively they meet student needs. So, student satisfaction is important for the development of a culture of continuous quality improvement. In the present research, the impact of teaching methods on the satisfaction level of students will be investigated. It will be hypnotized that different teaching met hods bring different level of changes in the students overall satisfaction. We have sought down different teaching methods that may have an everlasting impact on the satisfaction of students. We would be considering these four methods: Class Discussions, Activities (Within and Outside the Class), Usage of Multimedia, Case studies. There are also certain characteristics associated with this satisfaction and the overall education experience. They can be best illustrated by the help of the following figure 1: Figure 1(http://outcomes.ceiss.org/Publications) The concept of Student Satisfaction is adapted from Herzberg theory of Motivation-Hygiene (Two Factor Theory); and it has the following dimensions which include: Achievement, Responsibility and Growth of students. To see the most important aspect of student satisfaction affected by teachers use of various teaching methods. To understand the impact of student satisfaction on student performance and in the end the performance of the whole educational institution. To improve the creative learning skills of the students in IBA, Lahore. Classroom Discussions: In a research article by Leda Nath and Lawrence Anderson (2007), the effects of a classroom discussion technique on student satisfaction were studied. Results revealed that when classroom discussion technique was used, the students in that class were found to be significantly more satisfied than students in the class where the technique was not used. Studies conducted over time(Davidson), (Slavin), (Webb) have revealed that classroom discussion has been observed as a positive way of learning. Goodman said that discussion in the classroom helps teach students about cultural diversity. This mainly happens because students in any class belong to diverse backgrounds. This helps them in knowing what sorts of cultures exist and enables them to understand the aspects told by fellows belonging to different cultures. (Burchfield, 1999) argue that discussion in the classroom is important enough that it should be portrayed to students as a critical element in success. VanDeWeghe (2005) argues t hat discussion plays a critical role in students literacy development. Voelkls (1995) found that participation in discussion is closely linked to course grades, a variable related to student satisfaction. Others (Hutchinson Beadle, 1992) have found that students who did not participate in discussions in class were at a disadvantage relative to those who did. Anderson (2007) states that student satisfaction is not only based on the teaching methods but there are several other factors such as independence of expressing the ideas and their thoughts. It will help in building or decreasing the satisfaction level of a student. Activities (Within and Outside the Class) Various activities if conducted within the class and outside do lead to enhanced satisfaction because they increase the exposure of the students. It is quite natural that when students would feel the sense of achieving newer things, they would automatically be motivated to take part because they would be having a feeling of becoming more knowledgeable and practical and that is what the modern world expects us to be. Activities within the classroom would mean presenting students with various issues and ideas and then seeing how every individual student or groups of students perform regarding the issue. Outside the class activities would be diverse, ranging from educational trips to educational surveys. All activities would in one way or the other help the students experiencing new arenas of knowledge leading to increased satisfaction.(Hoyt, 1999). Usage of Multimedia Due to the impact and influence of information technology on society and education, computer-assisted teaching is becoming the trend in modern teaching. These days, teachers are trying to create interest in their lectures through the usage of multimedia while delivering their lectures. This enables the teacher to carry techniques such as simulations, videos, slide shows with interest generating colours and backgrounds, different animationswhile using the multimedia. How ever it makes student sleepy when they dont have to take notes. Case Study: Another useful technique which can lead to students being satisfied and in turn achieving excellent results is to provide them with case studies. Case studies are one way to provide the students with detailed knowledge about any certain issue. Students when told about the facts of those subjects which hold great importance and interest in their lives are very keen to know about them in detail and this detail is communicated to them via case studies. Sometimes, students are even asked to prepare case studies about certain areas themselves. This makes them search for every bit and detail to prepare a comprehensive case study. As preeminent case study teacher C. Roland Christensen(1987) points out in his analysis of case discussion, student involvement develops on at least three distinct levels: At the first level, students explore a problem by sorting out relevant facts, developing logical conclusions, and presenting them to fellow students and the instructor. The students discuss someone elses problem; their role I that of the commentator-observer in a traditional academic sense (Christensen, 1987). On the second level, students can be assigned roles in the case, and take on perspectives that require them to argue for specific action from a characters point of view, given their interests and knowledge. Finally, on the third level, students will take the initiative to become fully involved, so that topics are no longer treated as abstract ideas, but become central to the students sense of self. (TEACHING, 1994) According to the article written by John Foran (1997), a professor of sociology, the case method is a student-centred, highly-interactive pedagogy that changes the classroom process.He himself changed his teaching method from traditional lectures to case studies. He wrote in his article that he aimed to encourage debate and the developmentof critical skills in his students. For this, he adopted the use of case studies in teaching and has been see the changes in students that he aimed for. He also mentioned that: Class discussion of cases is intimidating to some students, and working in a group is unfamiliar to many, as well. Students were learning to work with each other in groups. This learning was again of great importance for a student and increases his level of satisfaction. It is valuable for a student to feel a positive change in him in the form of improved analytical skills and discussion with justification. This increased satisfaction improves the performance of student in the class. The Research Paradigm Research paradigm is the framework for thinking or a school of thought about how research ought to be conducted. There are different issues a researcher encounters while deciding the research methodology, some of the dichotomies are: Positivist versus Interpretive Quantitative versus Qualitative Induction and Deduction Experimental versus Non Experimental This descriptive study on impact of teaching methods on student satisfaction can be safely regarded as following positivist, quantitative, deductive and non-experimental research paradigm. According to positivist research paradigm, the truth the researcher is aiming at has to be understood within a framework of principles and assumptions of science. This paradigm is used when variables related to the research can be identified and isolated. In our study, we identified the variables from the literature review and based on that, we proceeded to find out whether they hold true for the selected sample. It is because in the light of previous researches conducted, we came out to the conclusion that different teaching methods have an impact on student satisfaction. These methods fall under the category of conceptual learning. The data collected through our questionnaire is numeric. We will use the descriptive statistics in order to analyze the data. Hence, quantitative research paradigm hol ds true for our study. It is a non-experimental research because environment is not being controlled by the researchers. Research Objectives: The aim of this study is to determine the effectiveness of using a variety of teaching methods on the satisfaction level of students studying at IBA, Lahore. We intend to find if there is an impact of different teaching methods on students satisfaction or not. Institutions, now a days are focusing more on using variety of teaching methods to enhance the interest of students in class which ultimately results in increased student satisfaction. In defining the objectives of the study, our assumption regarding various teaching methods include: case study method, class discussion, activities and use of multi-media. A careful review of the research question led to the development of the research objectives stated as: To find the preference between conventional and conceptual mode of teaching. To find the most effective teaching method in terms of student satisfaction. To find the level of effectiveness against each teaching method. To find the most important aspects of student satisfaction achieved through various teaching methods. To find the most enhanced skill by the use of various teaching methods. Primarily we are testing if conventional and conceptual teaching methods have same impact on student satisfaction or not. In this test, we will further explore the extent to which variety of teaching methods affects the satisfaction of students. Each teaching method is further tested on account of its effectiveness. The various teaching methods discussed establish and enhances certain aspects of student satisfaction. Each of the method is rated against each aspect to know the most affected one. We have divided the skills of students into three broad categories, i.e. analytical skills, social skills and communication skills. The most enhanced skill because of the use of the various teaching methods is identified against each method. Hypothesis of Our Study: Ho: Conventional and conceptual teaching methods has same effectiveness on the student learning H1 : Conventional and conceptual teaching methods have different effectiveness on the student learning H0: There is no difference in BBA, MBA and Pgd and MBA executive students opinion regarding the conceptual teaching method effectiveness. H1: There is a different in the BBA, MBA and Pgd and MBA executive students opinion regarding the conceptual teaching method effectiveness Ho:Use of various teaching methods will have no impact on development of various skill H1: :Use of various teaching methods will have an impact on development of various skills We have defined the variables as follows: Name of variable Type of variable Various Teaching methods Independent Student Satisfaction Dependent Methodology: The Constructs to measure student satisfaction are achievement, responsibility and work commitment of the student. Our assumption regarding various teaching methods include: case study method, class discussion, activities and use of multi media. Use of multi-media Student satisfaction Various Teaching Methods Case Study Activities Class DiscussionConceptual Framework Research Methodology: In our research we have used the Survey method as our research design; the survey will be conducted through questionnaires; and the respondents of the study will be the students of IBA. We will use probability sampling to select our sample from the population in order to make it a true representative of the population. Methods of Procedure: We have used the Survey method to conduct our study. Survey will be based on Structured Questionnaire which will include close ended questions. The data from the respondents will be collected by Likert Scale because we have to measure construct (students responsibility, growth and achievement); and qualitative information is needed to be transformed into quantitative data, As we are finding the perception of the student regarding various teaching method that can effect their level satisfaction. The SPSS will be used to analyse the information collected through the questionnaire. Respondents of the research will be the students of IBA Lahore. Sample Size and Description: Study Population: Students of IBA, Lahore. Sampling Frame: List of all the students studying in all the disciplines of IBA, Lahore. Sample Size: Expected respondents of our study are 30. Sampling Technique: The sampling will be based on probability sampling as we are having the sampling frame. Multi-stage cluster Sampling technique will be followed to divide the various disciplines of IBA into clusters; and then we will choose the respondents randomly from these clusters. There will be three clusters namely Pgd and MBA executive, BBA and MBA. A sample size of 10 respondents from each cluster will be selected. Data will be largely collected through questionnaire survey; Sample size will be 30, as per the project requirement. Sampling technique will be: Quota based on various degree program in IBA MBA BBA Pgd and MBA executive Total Number of Subjects 10 10 10 30 Within each quota, 10 respondents will be approached for data collection. These will be randomly selected within each quota. Proposed data categories in questionnaire: Questions in the survey attempt to provide data in the following dimensions. Demographic profile Question 1 Business program profile Question 2 Preference of teaching method Question 3 Effectiveness among various teaching method Question 4,5 Finding important aspects of student satisfaction through various teaching methods Question 6 Finding most enhanced skill by use of various teaching methods Question 7 Use of various teaching methods: In this category, it will be discovered that how much a teacher is creative in use of teaching methods and how much a student prefers a teacher being creative. Such as: What type of method of teaching is used by teacher and whether student likes that method? What type of tools a teacher used as assistant for teaching? If teacher provide only bookish knowledge, whether that is enough according to view point of students? How much teacher focused on original work in assignments and projects? What value a student will achieve by the teacher providing knowledge? What types of expectations are of a teacher towards the learning of student? Whether he focuses on cramming or wants a permanent change in behaviour of student which gives him value in practical world? Student Satisfaction: The second category of questionnaire will be student satisfaction which includes the following dimensions: Achievement Responsibility Growth With the help of these dimensions, the satisfaction of students will be found out. If the Use of various teaching methods increases the achievement, responsibility and growth of student then it will be resulted in his satisfaction. Thus the students will be the main focus of our study and will be reflected in the questionnaire. Therefore in questionnaire the questions will be related to achievement, responsibility and growth such as: If teacher said to do original work in assignments, no copy paste, whether that will increase the internal value of a student? If teacher endow with creative work to do, whether that increase a sense of responsibility of a student? Conceptual work not only enhances thinking out of box but also endow to grades and scholarships. Is student agreed or not? If teacher increase technology in his teaching method, then student learning ability will increase or not? Which method of teaching student like: Conceptual system Concrete system (Conventional) So these are the proposed categories of our questionnaire through which the aim of study will be achieved: Whether Use of various teaching methods by a teacher has an impact on student satisfaction? Scheduling of Research Project: Project Stages Time Period Defining Research Problem 4days Literature Review 7days Planning a Research Design 6days Planning a Sample 5days Scheduling and Costing of Research: Project Stages Expected Time Period Cost in PRs. Gathering the Data 5days 650 Processing and Analyzing the Data 6days 150 Formulating Conclusionsand Preparing Report 5days 300 Time line : Start Fri 01-10-12 Finish Wed 10-12-12 1 Oct 12 08 Oct 12 23 Oct 12 25 Nov 12 2 Dec 12 9 Dec 12 10 Dec 12 Defining Research problem Sat 02-10-12 Wed 14-09-11 Literature review Thu 03-10-12 Fri 08-10-12 Planning a research design Mon 16-10-11 -Mon 23-10-12 Data analysis and conclusion Thu 06-11-12 Tue 11-11-12 Gathering the Data Wed 25-11-12 Tue 1-12-12 Processing and gathering of Data Wed 2-12-12 Wed 7-12-12 Formatting and completion of report Monday 09-12-12 Start Fri 01-10-12 Data Analysis: As our research is correlation in nature we have to analyze the relationship between independent and dependent variable. We will use linear regression method e.g. teachers who add creativity by use of various teaching methods, while teaching helps students in achieving something. And as a result the students are satisfied; and it can be shown by the help of graphs linear relationship. The teacher who adds creativity in his teaching by using various teaching methods will determine a positive correlation and positive regression with A resulting in S as compared to teacher who lacks creativity. Univariate Table Of Independent Variable: Various Teaching methods VARIOUS TEACHING METHODS FREQUENCY PERCENTAGE MULTIMEDIA 11 36% CASE STUDY 4 13% ACTIVITIES 9 30% CLASS DISCUSSION 6 20% TOTAL 30 100% Interpretation: Univariate Table Of Dependent Variable: Student Satisfaction DEGREE OF STUDENT SATISFACTION FREQUENCY PERCENTAGE HIGH 11 36% MEDIUM 11 36% LOW 8 28% TOTAL 30 100% Bivariate Table: Impact Of Various Teaching Methods on Student Satisfaction STUDENT SATISFACTION VARIOUS TEACHING METHODS MULTIMEDIA CASE STUDIES DISCUSSION ACTIVTIES TOTAL FREQUENCY PERCENTAGE FREQUENCY % FREQUENCY % FREQUENCY PERCENTAGE FREQUENCY PERCENTAGE HIGH 7 64% 3 75% 5 56% 2 33% 11 36% MEDIUM 2 18% 1 25% 2 22% 1 17% 11 36% LOW 2 18% 0 0% 2 22% 3 50% 8 28% TOTAL 11 100% 4 100% 9 100% 6 100% 30 100% Data gathering and analysis: For the positivist research paradigm and quantitative approach, one of the most widely used techniques is survey questionnaire. Data from our questionnaire is self-reported and respondent completed. Variables measured in our research are: Table A1 Variables Level of Measurement Coding Gender Nominal None Business Program Nominal 1: BBA 2: MBA 3: Pgd and MBA executive Preference of Learning Mode Scale 1: Strongly Disagree 2: Disagree 3: Neutral 4: Agree 5: Strongly Agree Effectiveness of Case Study Scale 1: Highly not Effective 2: Not Effective 3: Neutral 4: Effective 5: Highly Effective Effectiveness of Class Activities Scale 1: Highly not Effective 2: Not Effective 3: Neutral 4: Effective 5: Highly Effective Effectiveness of Class Discussion Scale 1: Highly not Effective 2: Not Effective 3: Neutral 4: Effective 5: Highly Effective Effectiveness of Multimedia Scale 1: Highly not Effective 2: Not Effective 3: Neutral 4: Effective 5: Highly Effective Satisfaction through Case Study Nominal 1: Curriculum Content 2: Quality of Instruction 3: Personal Growth Satisfaction through Class Activities Nominal 1: Curriculum Content 2: Quality of Instruction 3: Personal Growth Satisfaction through Class Discussion Nominal 1: Curriculum Content 2: Quality of Instruction 3: Personal Growth Satisfaction through Multimedia Nominal 1: Curriculum Content 2: Quality of Instruction 3: Personal Growth Skills developed through Case Study Nominal 1: Analytical Skills 2: Social Skills 3: Communication Skills Skills developed through Class Activities Nominal 1: Analytical Skills 2: Social Skills 3: Communication Skills Skills developed through Class Discussion Nominal 1: Analytical Skills 2: Social Skills 3: Communication Skills Skills developed through Multimedia Nominal 1: Analytical Skills 2: Social Skills 3: Communication Skills Data preparation involves certain activities like logging the data, checking the data for accuracy, developing a database structure, entering the data into computer and data transformations. Variables and coding of the data is explained in the above table. General techniques of data transformation include accounting for missing values, scale totals, item reversals, and categorizing responses. Descriptive statistics tools are applied on the data to find out different trends and choices made by subjects. Also, pictorial presentations are made to explain the findings. SPSS has been used to derive the findings of our research. Descriptive Conceptual Methods Table-1 N Mean Std. Deviation Std. Error 95% Confidence Interval for Mean Minimum Maximum Lower Bound Upper Bound BBA 10 15.2000 1.03280 .32660 14.4612 15.9388 14.00 17.00 MBA 10 15.3000 2.83039 .89505 13.2753 17.3247 9.00 19.00 Pgd MBA executive 10 15.7000 1.70294 .53852 14.4818 16.9182 13.00 17.00 Total 30 15.4000 1.94049 .35428 14.6754 16.1246 9.00 19.00 ANOVA Conceptual Methods Table-2 Sum of Squares Df Mean Square F Sig. Between Groups 1.400 2 .700 .175 .840 Within Groups 107.800 27 3.993 Total 109.200 29 From the above tables the mean of different Business Programs, MBA (M=15.30), BBA (M=15.20) and Pgd MBA executive (M=15.7), where as F (2) =0.175, p>0.05 which shows that there is no significant difference among the various Business Program regarding the effectiveness and satisfaction of the Conceptual Method of Teaching. Hence we will accept our null hypothesis as there exists no difference in the opinion of the student belonging to BBA, MBA and Pgd and MBA executive regarding the effectiveness of the conceptual teaching methods. Table-3 Independe

Anti-Semitism Essay -- essays research papers fc

Jews have been persecuted since the beginning of documented time. This religious group has been poked, prodded, exiled, and in recent years, massacred for their religious beliefs. This racial prejudice is called anti-Semitism. Anti-Semitism is the vicious weapon of propaganda used to break down the Jews psychologically before the armies of Germany even began to annihilate this religious group during World War Two (â€Å"anti-semitism† 47). The NAZI Party led in this mass murdering of the Jewish people. The head of the NAZI Party, Adolph Hitler, proclaimed that he was not a racist, yet killed over six million defenseless people because of their race. Hitler also declared, redundantly, in his speeches, that he did not desire World War Two. These are some of his last words: â€Å"It is not true that I, or anyone else in Germany wanted a war in 1939. It was wanted and provoked exclusively by those international statesmen who either were of Jewish origin, or worked for Jewish interests. This led to the merciless opposition to the universal poisoner of all peoples, International Jewery† (Rossel 10). As one can see, anti-Semitism could not be stopped in the era of World War Two, because Hitler outlawed any media that wasn’t showing hatred toward the Jews. The only radio broadcasts were his hate filled speeches and news reports that he approved. The only programs on television also had to be approved by Hitler or someone under him. No newspapers were allowed to say anything that, in any way, insulted a Nazi, or any other German. If any Jew was caught insulting a German, they were immediately executed or tortured until death. This fear that had been provoked by the death, starvation, and abuse of the Holocaust, was another type of propaganda brought about by the Nazis (Zeman 26). Another reason that Jews were hated was jealousy. They were believed to be God’s chosen people. Hitler took advantage of this, and used it as another opening for propaganda. Soon, the Jews were blamed for the death of Christ and said to have brought all of the pain and suffering on the world. It was said that God was punishing the Jews, and the rest of the world, for not receiving Him, and once the Jews were gone, the Garden of Eden would thrive again. This ridiculous theory was later declared unchristian by the Second Vatican Council (Roth 47). Anti-Semitism was... ...s of the Jewish people.† They did not take these books to read them, they made the people come outside and watch them burn. This was frightening because, â€Å"Wherever they burn books, they will also, in the end, burn helpless human beings.† That was said by Heinrich Heine, a survivor of one of the concentration camps in Nazi Germany (â€Å"anti-Semitism† 1). The Holocaust--the merciless massacre of over eleven million defenseless, innocent people, six million of which were Jewish--can be directly linked to the hatred and racism brought about by Nazi propaganda. The people of Germany let their minds be controlled and learned to despise the Jews. Hate is a powerful weapon that has the power to kill without mercy (Holocaust no pagination). WORKS CITED: â€Å"Anti-Semitism.† Murray, John Courtney Sr. Grolier Encyclopedia of Knowledge .1991. Roth, John K. and Berenbaum, Michael. The Holocaust Religious and Philosophical Implications. New York: Pragon House 1981. Rossel, Seymore. The Holocaust. New York: Franklin Watts, 1981. The Holocaust . Director Tad Ve’Shem. Video. Parade Video. Zeman, Z.A.B. Nazi Propaganda. London: Oxford university Press, Incorperated, 1973.

Effectiveness of your marketing plan Essay

There are a few quantifiable elements that Under Armor can use in order to evaluate, monitor and control the effectiveness of the marketing plan. One way is that a company can, is to take a look at there sales over different time periods. After looking at sales in increments of every two months or every six months, they would be able to determine the effectiveness. If it shows during certain times of the year they are saleing more then other times, and then they can see if there marketing changes helped or not. Another way that we can determine the effectiveness of the marketing plan for Under Armor is to have surveys that consumers can take. These surveys should be able to be taken online as well has when they purchase the product. This helps for the marketing team can see how consumers feel about the product. That way consumers can feel like they have some part in the product and it also helps the marketing team to make more precise changes. The more precise changes means that they can get right to the point of turning a profit and making the consumer happy. With that also being said happy consumers means loyal customers and constant profit. SWOT is also another quantifiable element that needs to be used with any company. SWOT helps to take a look at the in and outs of the marketing environment which helps to show what type of trends the Under Armor consumers are purchasing it at. SWOT is great because it looks at other marketing skills and any changes that way changes can be made as soon as possible and they can start to see better numbers or even just steady numbers. Making marketing changes always help to create more of an opportunity for a product that is trying to be sold. More opportunities mean more consumers and the better the profit. If the company is able to make changes for the better then that means that they are keeping there consumers happy and that helps with the word of mouth for the company and the products they are trying to sale. Resources: http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy.apollolibrary.com/docview/200554736?accountid=35812 McDonald, M. (2010), â€Å"A brief review of marketing accountability, and a research agenda†, Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing, Vol. 25 No. 5, pp. 383-94.

Quantum Gravity Definition and Explanation

Quantum Gravity Definition and Explanation Quantum gravity is an overall term for theories that attempt to unify gravity with the other fundamental forces of physics (which are already unified together). It generally posits a theoretical entity, a graviton, which is a virtual particle that mediates the gravitational force. This is what distinguishes quantum gravity from certain other unified field theories   although, in fairness, some theories that are typically classified as quantum gravity dont necessarily require a graviton. Whats a Graviton? The standard model of quantum mechanics (developed between 1970 and  1973) postulates that the other three fundamental forces of physics are mediated by virtual bosons. Photons mediate the electromagnetic force, W and Z bosons mediate the weak nuclear force, and gluons (such as quarks) mediate the strong nuclear force. The graviton, therefore, would mediate the gravitational force. If found, the graviton is expected to be massless (because it acts instantaneously at long distances) and have spin 2 (because gravity is a second-rank tensor field). Is Quantum Gravity Proven? The major problem in experimentally testing any theory of quantum gravity is that the energy levels required to observe the conjectures are unattainable in current laboratory experiments. Even theoretically, quantum gravity runs into serious problems. Gravitation is currently explained through the theory of general relativity, which makes very different assumptions about the universe at the macroscopic scale than those made by quantum mechanics at the microscopic scale. Attempts to combine them generally run into the renormalization problem, in which the sum of all of the forces do not cancel out and result in an infinite value. In quantum electrodynamics, this happened occasionally, but one could renormalize the mathematics to remove these issues. Such renormalization does not work in a quantum interpretation of gravity. The assumptions of quantum gravity are generally that such a theory will prove to be both simple and elegant, so many physicists attempt to work backward, predicting a theory that they feel might account for the symmetries observed in current physics and then seeing if those theories work. Some unified field theories that are classified as quantum gravity theories include: String theory / Superstring theory / M-theorySupergravityLoop quantum gravityTwistor theoryNoncommutative geometryEuclidean quantum gravityWheeler-deWitt equation Of course, its fully possible that if quantum gravity does exist, it will be neither simple nor elegant, in which case these attempts are being approached with faulty assumptions and, likely, would be inaccurate. Only time and experimentation will tell for sure. It is also possible, as some of the above theories predict, that an understanding of quantum gravity will not merely consolidate the theories, but will rather introduce a fundamentally new understanding of space and time. Edited by Anne Marie Helmenstine, Ph.D.

Lalchimiste essays

L'alchimiste essays Santiago, an Andalusian shepherd boy, has a dream about finding a treasure in the pyramids of Egypt. A gypsy woman and an old man claiming to be a mysterious king advise him to pursue it. "To realize one's destiny is a person's only obligation," the old man tells him. "And, when you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it." With the courage of an adventurer, Santiago sells his sheep and travels to Tangiers in Africa. After a thief steals his money, Santiago takes a job with a crystal merchant who unwittingly teaches Santiago important lessons for his long journey ahead. After working at the crystal shop for a year, Santiago earns enough money to cover his losses and return home. But then something unexpected happens. On a desert caravan, Santiago meets an intriguing Englishman. The Englishman's passion for knowledge and his relentless quest to uncover the secrets of alchemy inspire Santiago to pursue his own dream of finding the treasure. As the Englishman searches for the two hundred year old alchemist who resides in the desert oasis, Santiago falls in love with a young woman, Fatima. Exposed to the greatest and eternal alchemy of allloveSantiago thinks he has found the treasure. But the greatest test of all is yet to come. With the help of the alchemist, Santiago completes the last leg of his journey dangerous and infused with discoveries of the most profound kindto find that the treasure he was looking for was waiting for him in the place where he least expected. This story, timeless and entertaining, exotic yet simple, breaks down the journey we all take to find the most meaningful treasures in our lives into steps that are at once natural and magical. It is about the faith, power, and courage we all have within us to pursue the intricate path of a Personal Legend, a path charted by the mysterious magnet of destiny but obscured by distractions. Santiago shows how along ...

Role Of The Medical Websites In The Awareness Of The Public Essay - 1

Role Of The Medical Websites In The Awareness Of The Public - Essay Example This website has considered all those factors and thus provides the email address, telephone number and even a live chat handle, where a member of the general public can directly chat with Ayuda en Vivo, who is available on weekdays at 8:30 am to 5:00 in the evening. In addition to this, there is a hotline that is toll-free and a fax number, catering for both English and Spanish speakers. This website is crucial to the general public, as far as their health is concerned. It is special since it provides information on a unique type of illness, a mental illness. Facilities providing treatment of these disorders are few; thus, there is dire need to provide enough information about their existence. This website has accurately done this by providing a mental health treatment locator, in addition to clear details of their offices and areas of specialization. The authors, who are officials in the U.S department of health and human sciences, exhaustively provide all the necessary data needed by the consumers, who are the general public. It, therefore, suffices to admit that the authors of this website are qualified to write it. The National Institute of Mental Health is the institution responsible for publishing this website, and the U.S government maintains it. The website is protected by various provisions of the U.S code. Any person in violation of this code is subject to criminal prosecution in a criminal court. To counter unauthorized attempts to add damage or change any information on the website, software programs are employed.Information from these soft wares is used in tracking down violators of the site for prosecution. The publications of NIMH are however available in the public domain. They may, therefore, be reproduced or copied without permission.

Business case study Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Business case study - Essay Example claims that he fully intended to repay the club their money upon the sale of his next book and that the students were foolish to think that he was allowed to set up their account and not have access to it. Reasons: The law does not usually care what you intended to do after committing a crime. The law only cares whether there was an actus reus (an act) and a mens rea (intention). If you intend to commit a criminal act, you are guilty—whether or not you plan on paying back the money later, for example. B) Ann promises her nephew, Bert, that she will pay his college expenses for obtaining a Bachelor’s degree if he promises to give up his heavy smoking and heavy alcohol drinking habits. Bert agrees, totally giving up his smoking and drinking habits. He enters college and graduates with his Bachelor’s degree. At his clean and sober graduation party, Bert asks Ann to pay his college expenses as per their contract. He does boast that Ann was a fool since he was planning on giving up his smoking and drinking behavior anyhow. Ann claims she does not remember their agreement, but admits that even if she did make such an agreement, there was no valid consideration and thus no binding contract for her to pay. Bert sues her for his money. Reasons: For a contract to be valid, something must pass on both sides, either an action or a forebearance. Bert gives up his drinking and smoking, a forebearance that would qualify as consideration on his part. But Ann doesn’t do anything with regards to the contract. No consideration passes from to Bert. C) Thrifty Drug Stores purchases â€Å"Magic Window Wipes†. These are disposable towels that you take right out of the packet, wipe your dirty windows, and toss in the trash. They are supposed to make your windows squeaky clean. Over the next three months Thrifty Drug Stores sell about one third of their inventory of the wipes when the sales go completely flat. A manager of the stores asks former customers why they do not buy any