The Educational System in the United States Research Paper

The Educational System in the United States - Research Paper Example From this discussion it is clear that  everyday conversational skills such as writing, reading and collaboration can truly solidify the foundation of the student’s cognitive and linguistic skills. In the process of learning an additional language, ESL students must keep up with the daily strains that are placed in their program of studies.  ESL students must learn to excel in time management skills. Indisputably, each student has a unique set of literacy development needs. Most ESL students have a strict schedule and must be accommodated with personalized program of activities that is managed by the staff itself. One can only imagine the surreal experience of international students, who at times felt hopeless as a foreign student in a North American School. The point is to acknowledge that internationals students are faced with academic, social, and emotional challenges in every aspect of life, which makes learning English much more difficult.This study highlights that lea rning and applying that knowledge is a fairly non-trivial challenge for the average American. But what of non-natives who are required to learn and master one of the most grammatically complex languages? This is a struggle which is unquantifiable and difficult to overcome.  Many non-native English speakers who often feel confused, frustrated, and pressured to achieve in an environment of native English speakers are in continuous pressure to excel in academics.... Clearly, it is vital that students should ask for help and set goals on how to overcome each issue. Therefore, â€Å"procedure† becomes a necessary element to facilitate student growth as the tutor advises them to set goals and helps them accomplish these goals. In addition, it affords students the opportunity to discuss with the tutor any concerns they have.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     For majority of the ELL students, grammar is the biggest focal point. ESL students are often very knowledgeable in grammar yet fall into the trap of superfluity. ESL students are constantly struggling to write like their counterparts, yet they traditionally fall short because they approach the problem with a skewed mentality. ESL students aim for a high status instead of learning from experience.   The challenge of writing like a native English student extends beyond writing the ‘right’ word as the language itself contains multiple-word meanings. In addition, the American standard demands effective argumentation and synthesis at higher levels. This standard challenges students not only adapt to different writing styles, but to acknowledge other writing method - a seemingly painless task which is continuously compounded by a lack of familiarity with the language and its intricacies.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   As a tutor, it is important to account for the differences in writing style prevalent between ESL and native English speakers. The lack of context and organization present in ESL students’ writing stems from an overemphasis on grammar. Nevertheless, these differences do not correspond to a deficiency. Most ESL students get so caught up by wanting to get their papers fixed that they fail to understand the objective of the tutoring session, which

Cisco Case Analysis Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Cisco Case Analysis - Research Paper Example As per the 2010 company data, Cisco employed over 60,000 people and earned annual revenue of US$ 40 billion. Despite the adversities of 2009 global financial crisis, the company remains an attractive investment option for global investors. Networking industry comprises of a number of huge players like IBM. Therefore, the degree of competitive rivalry is very high in this sector. In addition, threat of substitutes is also high in networking industry since majority of the networking equipment is substitutable. However, the industry is less affected with the threat of new entrants because entry cost is huge in the networking sector. Evidently, supplier has less bargaining power over networking companies as there are a large number of potential suppliers. Although there are numerous potential suppliers, companies rarely opt to change their suppliers because of high switching cost. At the same time, buyer power is relatively high in the networking industry since modern customers are well informed of the prevailing market prices and increased provider options. Hence, the Porters’ five forces analysis indicates that the networking industry’s external environment does not offer potential opportunities to Cisco. The Cisco was founded in 1984 by two Stanford computer scientists, and the company was made public in 1990. As Nolan (2005) reports, from the beginning, the company concentrated to dominate the dramatically growing ‘internetworking’ market. In 1997, Cisco was included in the top five companies listed by Fortune 500 on the basis of return on revenues and return on assets. In the following year, the company’s market capitalization crossed $100 billion mark. The company overtook Microsoft in 2000. In the same year, some surveys reflected that Cisco products play a role in more than 75% of all internet traffic. Mission statement of Cisco is; â€Å"shape the future of the

Information System Business

Information System Business A system, whether automated or manual, that comprises people, machines, and/or methods organized to collect, process, transmit, and disseminate data that represent user information. The elements of an information system are Workload, Response time, Throughput, Resource utilization, Resource service time. In other words information system is a system in which all the data is stored, analyzed and output with all the options is given to the managerial level to make decision for the development of the business. It is a system which is helpful at levels of business. Information systems deal with the development, use and management of an organizations IT infrastructure. In the post-industrial, information age, the focus of companies has shifted from being product oriented to knowledge oriented, in a sense that market operators today compete on process and innovation rather than product: the emphasis has shifted from the quality and quantity of production, to the production process itself, and the services that accompany the production process. The biggest asset of companies today, is their information, represented in people, experience, know-how, innovations (patents, copyrights, trade secrets), and for a market operator to be able to compete, he/she must have a strong information infrastructure, at the heart of which, lies the information technology infrastructure. Thus, the study of information systems focuses on why and how technology can be put into best use to serve the information flow within an organization. Compare and contrast the roles of systems designers from systems builders. System Designer has to collect the information for the system to be designed. Than analyze the gathered information. Create a document to show how the system is going to functioning; what are the requirements, who are the users, what would be the environment for the system. System builders: Based on the system design document system builders develops a plan to build the system, resources needed to develop the system, resource utilization plan, time needed to build the system. What are the similarities and differences between business and data requirements? Business Requirement: A requirement is a description of what a system should do. Systems may have from dozens to hundreds of requirements. A requirement describes a condition to which a system must conform; either derived directly or indirectly from user needs. A requirement for a computer system specifies what you want or desire from a system. Requirements should be: unique in scope. Is this the only requirement that defines this particular objective? precise in wording. Are there any vague words that are difficult to interpret? bounded by concrete expectations. Are there concrete boundaries in the objectives? irrefutably testable. Can you build one or more test cases that will completely verify all aspects of this requirement? Data Requirement: To build or create the above business requirement data is needed to analyze the business requirements. Based on the data collected report is created to justify the business requirement. How does the concept of work-flow change the focus of a traditional information system? Workflow can be described simply as the movement of documents and tasks through a business process. Workflow can be a sequential progression of work activities or a complex set of processes each taking place concurrently, eventually impacting each other according to a set of rules, routes, and roles. Workflow is acknowledged in the industry for facilitating powerful and flexible process automation. It is a tool that both business users and IT professionals can use to automate business processes and track work as it moves through the organization ensuring that the right work gets to the right person at the right time. It can be scaled from a small departmental solution to an enterprise-level Business Process Management solution that supports thousands of concurrent users across multiple sites. By that productivity can be increased and managed. Workflow Management Systems Workflow Management Systems allow organizations to define and control the various activities associated with a business process. In addition, many management systems also allow a business the opportunity to measure and analyze the execution of the process so that continuous improvements can be made. Such improvements may be short-term (e.g., reallocation of tasks to better balance the workload at any point in time) or long-term (e.g., redefining portions of the workflow process to avoid bottlenecks in the future). Most workflow systems also integrate with other systems used by the organization: document management systems, databases, e-mail, office automation products, Describe the major aspects of a feasibility analysis. The feasibility of a project can be ascertained in terms of technical factors, economic factors, or both. It is a study documented with a report showing all the aspects of the project. Different Feasibility studies are as follows: Technical Feasibility. It refers to the ability of the process to take advantage of the current technology in pursuing further improvement. The technical capability of the personnel as well as the capability of the available technology should be considered. Technology transfer between geographical areas and cultures needs. Managerial Feasibility: It involves the capability of the infrastructure of a process to achieve improvement. Support of Management, Involvement of employee, and commitment are key elements required for managerial feasibility. Economic Feasibility: This involves the feasibility of the proposed project to generate economic benefits. A cost-benefit analysis is important aspects of evaluating the economic feasibility of projects. The tangible and intangible aspects of a project should be translated into economic terms to facilitate a consistent basis for evaluation. Financial Feasibility: It involves the capability of the project organization to raise the appropriate funds needed to implement the proposed project. Project financing can be a major obstacle in large multi-party projects because of the level of capital required. It is done to determine that whether it is worth to spend that much money according to the profit analysis. Cultural Feasibility. It deals with the compatibility of the proposed project with the cultural setup of the project environment. As an example: religious beliefs may influence what an individual is willing to do or not do. Social Feasibility. Social feasibility addresses the influences that a proposed project may have on the social system in the project environment. The ambient social structure may be such that certain categories of workers may be in short supply or nonexistent. The effect of the project on the social status of the project participants must be assessed to ensure compatibility. It should be recognized that workers in certain industries may have certain status symbols within the society. Safety Feasibility. Safety feasibility is another important aspect that should be considered in project planning. It refers to an analysis of whether the project is capable of being implemented and operated safely with minimal adverse effects on the environment. Political Feasibility. Political considerations often dictate direction for a proposed project. This is particularly true for large projects with national visibility that may have significant government inputs and political implications. Environmental Feasibility. Concern must be shown and action must be taken to address any and all environmental concerns raised or anticipated. It mostly done for bio technological projects.. Market Feasibility. The market needs analysis to view the potential impacts of market demand, competitive activities, etc. and market share available. Price war activities by competitors, whether local, regional, national or international, must also be analyzed for early contingency funding and debt service negotiations during the start-up, ramp-up, and commercial start-up phases of the project. What is scope creep? Give an example and describe methods for controlling creep. A scope creep means when an unavoidable or unexpected change occurs while the project development. It can also result in a project team overrunning its original budget and schedule. If budget or schedule is not increased along with scope, the change is usually considered an unacceptable addition to the project is known as scope creep. Methods for controlling creep : Expect that there will be scope creep. Implement Change Order forms early and educate the project drivers on your processes. A Change Order form will allow you to perform a cost-benefit analysis before scheduling changes requested by the project drivers. Be sure you thoroughly understand the project vision. Meet with the project developers and deliver an overview of the project as a whole for their review and comments. List the priorities. Make an ordered list for your review throughout the project duration. Items should include budget, deadline, feature delivery, customer satisfaction, and employee satisfaction Define your deliverables and have them approved by the project developers. Deliverables should be general descriptions of functionality to be completed during the project. Divide the approved deliverables into actual work requirements. The requirements should be as detailed as necessary. The larger your project, the more detail you should include. If your project spans more than a month or two, dont forget to include time for software upgrades during development and always include time for ample documentation. Break the project into major and minor milestones. Minor milestones span should not be more than a month. Whatever your method for determining task duration, leave room for error. When working with an unknown staff schedule 140 to 160 percent of the duration as expected to be delivered. If your schedule is tight, reevaluate your deliverables. Once a schedule has been created, assign resources and determine your critical path using a PERT Chart or Work Breakdown Structure. Your critical path will change over the course of your project, so its important to evaluate it before development begins. Follow the map to determine which deliverables must be completed on time. Describe PERT charts. What major elements are tracked? PERT (Program Evaluation and Review technique) A PERT chart is a project management tool used to schedule, organize, and coordinate tasks within a project. It is a methodology developed by the U.S. Navy in the 1950s to manage the Polaris submarine missile program. A PERT chart looks more like a flow chart and concentrates on the relationships between tasks and less on the timeline. PERT charts emphasize task relationships rather than time. Major Elements tracked are : Identify the specific activities and their milestones. Determine the proper sequence of the activities Construct a network diagram. Estimate the time required for each activity. It has 3 types of timing which are Optimistic time, Most likely time and Pessimistic time. Determine the critical path in the process. It is helpful to determine ES (Earliest Start Time), EF(Earliest Finish Time), LS (Latest Start time) and LF (latest Finish Time. Update the PERT CHART along the progress of project. Define Systems Analysis. Systems Analysis is a deep and through study of an existing system or the new system that has to be created. In it all the aspects are taken into condition like whether the new system would be helpful for the business to grow or run smoothly, Cost effective, improve the overall system process for the business. System Analysis more emphasis is given to understanding the details of an existing system or a proposed one and then deciding whether the proposed system is desirable or not and whether the existing system needs improvements. Thus, system analysis is the process of investigating a system, identifying problems, and using the information to recommend improvements to the system. An analysis report is generated and based on it system design document is prepared. Or Systems analysis of an operating system consists of the evaluation of the efficiency, economy, accuracy, and productivity of existing procedures measured against the stated objectives of the library; and the design of new procedures to satisfy the demands of management and user. What is a use case? What are the elements and how is it used? USE CASE: A Use Case is a top level category of system functionality (i.e.: Log on, Shut down, etc.). A Use Case has graphical representation and/or a text description. The diagram or description identifies all the actors (outside of the system) involved in the function, as well as an indication of how the Use Case is initiated. The collection of Use Case diagrams provides a ‘context diagram of system interfaces. Each Use Case constitutes a complete list of events initiated by an Actor and it specifies the interaction that takes place between an Actor and the System. In a Use Case the system is viewed as opaque, where only the inputs, outputs, and functionality matter. Components of USE CASE: The Use Case diagram just provides a quick overview of the relationship of actors to Use Cases. The meat of the Use Case is the text description. This text will contain the following: Name Case ID Brief Description SRS (software requirement specification)Requirements Supported Pre Post Conditions Event Flow The requirements in the SRS are each uniquely numbered so that they may be accounted for in the verification testing. These requirements should be mapped to the Use Case that satisfies them for accountability. What is the purpose of Primary and Foreign Keys on database tables? Primary key constraint is set a database table to make a record unique. In other words to avoid duplicate records primary key constrain is created. It can be on field or an combination of more than one field. Foreign key constraint is created to check a matching entry in another table which it refers. It is useful to link two tables with different details. It can have relationship like one to one or one to many. Foreign key is referenced by the primary key or unique key field in another table. BONUS Describe the similarities that exist between the Project Management, Systems Analysis and Information Systems lifecycles. Project Management Lifecycle System Analysis and Information System Lifecycle Phase I: Project Initiation Phase I System Initiation and Feasibility Study Phase II: Project planning Phase II Project Planning and Functional Analysis Phase III System Design Phase III: Project Execution Phase IV Programming Phase V Testing and Implementation Project Closure Phase VI Post-Implementation Evaluation

Science of Volcanic Activity Prediction Essay -- Nature Volcanoe Volca

Science of Volcanic Activity Prediction Since the dawn of history, volcanoes have been an awe inspiring feature of the earth that has frightened and intrigued mankind. Volcanoes have taken the lives of over 250,000 people in the last three hundred years and changed the lives of millions of others, but up until recently humans have had very little understanding of the volcanic processes that presage an eruption. The advent and implementation of new technologies and scientific methods has allowed us to begin to comprehend the inner workings of one of nature's most powerful forces. Through understanding how volcanoes work, volcanologists hope to accurately predict when an eruption may occur, what the magnitude and type of eruption will be, and what effect it will have on the surrounding area. Accomplishing this daunting task will ensure that in the future when an eruption occurs, the population at risk will be prepared and lives can be saved. Numerous methods are available for monitoring volcanic activity, and scientists typically synthesize data and observations from all methods available in order to obtain the most comprehensive look at the area being observed. One frequently used technique is monitoring seismic activity that may indicate flow of magma and gas beneath the surface. As magma at extreme temperatures of sometimes over one thousand Degrees Celsius rises through cracks in the Earth's crust, the intense temperature and pressure causes the surrounding rock to crack, as illustrated in the diagram above. This brittle fracture of the surrounding rock often causes earthquakes or vibrations called tremors. Usually these earthquakes are of magnitude 2, 3 or lower, and seismographs monitor these quakes so that t... ...ray, J. Monitoring Active Volcanoes. London: UCL Press Limited, 1995. Week 4; Volcanoes; Smithsonian Magazine, "When Magma is on the Move". February, 2000. Hill, David P., Roy Bailey, Michael Sorey, James Hendley, and Peter Stauffer. Living With a Restless CalderaLong Valley, California. U.S. Geological Survey, Revised May 2000. Hill, David P. et al. Future Eruptions in California's Long Valley AreaWhat's Likely? USGS, Fact Sheet revised November 1998. Austin, Ken, Susan Owen, Ilene Cooper. GPS and Long Valley Caldera. University of Southern California, May 2004. News: Long Valley Exploratory Well. Information Network: International Continental Scientific Drilling Program. GeoForschungsZentrum PotsdamDecember 5, 2003. <http://icdp.gfzpotsdam.de/sites/longvalley/news/news.html> [Return to Research Projects] [Return to Sierra Home]

The Gender of Power: Latin American Dictatorship

Throughout history men, women and children have been subject to harsh ruler-ship, generally under a patriarchal system. With the emergence of a female role in one of the most coveted dictator positions, one would ask the question: Is feminized power less ruthless? In Gabriel Garcia Marquez's â€Å"Big Mama's Funeral† we learn that although a female has stepped in to the office of a leader, her power is still abused and misused like any other. Latin American history has proven to be one of the most affluent in terms of poor utilization of wealth and power. We have also learned that man or woman can strive in the role of a leader, and that followers will pay mercilessly for the simple fact of living and being. Big Mama is the living proof that power is genderless. The lifestyle lead by a dictator as powerful as Big Mama herself is quite consuming regardless of her gender. The protection of her kingdom and her fortunes were her prime concerns, along with the assurance of her matriarchal rigidity. Her absolute power reigned over the kingdom, slaughtering any who opposed her and every person living within her kingdom had to pay their dues. Residents even believed Big Mama â€Å"was the owner of the waters, running and still†¦Ã¢â‚¬ , even the â€Å"air they breathed†. She was the richest and most powerful matron in the world, although no one knew the the exact value of her estate. She was considered by most of the inhabitants as immortal, to them, she was bigger than life itself. Her stern sovereignty was questioned by none. Her family consisted of brute and loyal soldiers who followed her every command without question. She had built a fence to further protect her and her possessions. The land which she occupied had been passed down from generation to generation. Big Mama had been â€Å"Macondo's center of gravity†, as had her brothers, her parents and the parents of her parents in the past, in a dominance â€Å"which covered two centuries.† She believed she would live well over a hundred years as did her maternal grandmother. The thought of provoking death in Big Mama was laid to rest as most of her tribe members were true believers in her. Although she was mean-spirited and relentless, she tried to uphold a very high-class and honourable image of herself, unlike many other crude rulers of her time. She was two-faced and and everyone knew it, though no one would ever approach her in fear of what she might do to them if she found out they knew. In troubled times, Big Mama contributed secretly for â€Å"weapons for her partisans†, but came to the aid of her victims in public. That patriotic zeal â€Å"guaranteed the highest honours for her.† Big Mama was a master of concealing her hostility and she was proud of the fact that she could. The power invested in a woman such as Big Mama could lead anyone to believe that authority, by man or woman could be ruthless. There is no way of determining whether one or the other could produce more or less wrath. This type of power could put anyone in their place and would terrify even the harshest of critics. Big Mama reigned over the city of Macondo with a cold heart and a tight grip. Her family members supported her every decision in belief it was in all of their best interests, they were true believers. Her self-image was was so god-like, she would never come to realization that every one who knew her in fact despised her.

A Book Review on “Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court”

In the political and social satire A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur†s Court, Mark Twain demonstrates his excessive pride and glory in the political, economic, and technological advances of his time by developing an interesting plot in which an 19th century mechanic travels back to the time of a cruel feudalistic Camelot and attempts to modernize and improve it. Overall, in A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur†s Court, Mark Twain compares the basic political, social, and technological principles of the 19th America to the medieval ages of Great Britain. On a political scale, the novel denounces that the medieval period exemplified strict rule by the monarch, unity between church and state, and showed that many of the people had extremely harsh judgment. On a social scale, Mark Twain demonstrated that the Middle Ages carried a strict separation of classes where the nobility and clergy had much control, while the peasantry had almost non. Last, on a technological scale, Mark Twain implies that magic is not real and he goes on further to prove that the technology and tools of his time frame could have greatly improved the Middle Ages. All in all, Mark Twain creates an ideal character from his time that ends up creating a semi-utopian environment in Camelot. When Hank Morgan awakened into the medieval world of King Arthur and Camelot, he saw political injustice. To compensate for this injustice, Morgan used his status as a beneficiary tool and combated against the church and the royal privileged. Overall, he made the people of Camelot aware of the injustice of their time and gave them the hope for an optimistic future. From this, we can see that Mark Twain believed that his time frame possessed the best type of government in which church was separated from state. Furthermore, Mark Twain implies that the people of his time had better judgment. For example, in order to save himself from death, Morgan remembers that an ellipse occurred on that day and informs the people that he will cover the whole world in darkness. As he said those words, the ellipse occurred thus making all the gullible citizens of Camelot to believe that he was extremely powerful. As a result, he was spared. Thus from this example, it is evident that the people of the middle ages were quick to rational supernatural phenomenon even though it was just pure science at work. Conclusively, Mark Twain glorified his time period to an extent that the he used the horrid faults of the Middle Ages as an example in his novel, A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur†s Court. The next major point that Mark Twain wanted to concentrate on was based on the social conditions. In the novel, Hank Morgan is a witness of injustice and social inequality that he believes needs to be altered. Once again, it is noticeable from this that Mark Twain shows bias towards all other types of social distinctions, and rather favors the American democratic way. Furthermore, Twain enforces various principles of what he believes to be â€Å"good government† in which the nobility and commoners alike enter into a life of respect, dignity, and purpose towards each other. Moreover, through Morgan, it obvious to see that Twain is against slavery and is pro-education. All of these characteristics are evident because Morgan eventually abolishes slavery and builds various schools including West Point. Lastly, Mark Twain shows great respect for the technological advances of his time through the characterization of Morgan. For example, as a mechanic, Hank Morgan realized that his life would be unbearable with out technology. As a result, he begins inventing various equipment like telephone, telegraph, and even bicycles; inventions that otherwise would seem preposterous to exist at that time but were greatly revered in the 19th century. It also becomes evident that Mark Twain had great respect for education and very little in superstition or magic. For example, because of Morgan†s scientific knowledge, he was able to predict the eclipse and he was even able to turn aside a half-dozen charging knights by simply blowing a column of pipe smoke from beneath his armored face shield. Furthermore, another example of where education outpoured magic was when Morgan restored the flow of water to a fountain by simple mechanics, while Merlin†s â€Å"magical† methods did not work. In conclusion, the social and political satire, A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur†s Court, by Mark Twain, uses a character from 19th century America as a type of savor to the horrible feudalistic times of the Middle Age Camelot. By stressing bias beliefs about the political, social and technological advance of his time, Mark Twain creates a nearly utopian environment for Camelot. Oppression, social injustice, and slavery were abolished, while education, inventions, just government, new professions like engineering and even belief of a virtuous approach to life was introduced. All in all, by showing mans inhumanity and then its victories through a utopian type of middle age society in a satirical fashion make this literary pieces one of the best literary works of our time.