Behaviorist Revised

By properly incorporating repeated practices and mechanisms in the study of business math, an educator can actively create participation and appreciation of the course objectives. Also by properly incorporating mechanisms for motivation, students can appreciate the way the subject is taught. The overall rationale in creating world problems in teaching business math is to incorporate students the proper attitude and behavior that is deemed to address each problem. This specifically coincides with the notion of a behaviorist approach by Skinner.Skinner is â€Å"one of the behaviorist psychologists saying that a measurable learning outcome is only possible if we change the learner’s behavior. † (Faryadi, 2007, p. 2) Basing from such idea, educators must incorporate the understanding that the students are responsive in the environment they are given into. It is through this that educators must understand the meaning of classical conditioning. This process usually involves h aving a stimuli and response from people.Conditioning students can be a very effective tool for them to acquire the information that they need. â€Å"The most efficient use of conditioned reflexes in the practical control of behavior often requires quantitative information. † (Skinner, 1976, p. 10) The use of examinations can be a gauge to determine their individual development as a student in accordance to guidelines and objectives of the subject. By incorporating exercises and exams, educators can control the tempo and analyze the way students grasp the subject they are studying.In addition, such world problems can help facilitate observable facts that the teacher can use to improve the subject he/she is teaching. It is the overall environment that It is through this rationale that the idea of behaviorism can be applicable in the realm of education. It seeks to foster a different way of arriving on how people learn. â€Å"In other words, behaviorism states that the mind do es not help a person acquire knowledge but instead it is the psychology of the environment which a person lives. † (Faryadi, 2007, p. 3)Recognizing this, there is a need for educators and teachers to create motivational scenarios for students. These activities are called ‘positive reinforcement’ in behaviorism. One example of an activity would be creating a reward system for students who go above the expected results. This will motivate students to study harder on the notion of achieving extra credits. To conclude, creating examinations and exercises by teachers can be very helpful in determining the grasp of student in the subject according to the behaviorist approach.By carefully understanding its relative tenets, educators can facilitate better teaching and imparting of information which is vital in the overall learning process. In the end, such actions can motivate students to learn more given the proper amount of reinforcement. References Faryadi, Q. (2007) B ehaviorism and the Construct of Knowledge in Education Resource Information Center (ERIC). Retrieved March 16, 2008. Skinner, B. F. (1976) Behaviorism. United States; Random House Inc.

Compensation Practice

Wall-Mart applies the compensation strategy of offering the workers the lower limit of wages allowed by the law, but misstating for the same through offering its employees with an insurance scheme (Wilkes, 2013). In this respect, while the employees may not be benefiting greatly in financial terms, the future of such employees is well covered, due to the fact that they have been provided with an insurance cover that addresses their needs beyond the monthly pay checks (Wilkes, 2013).However, the Wall-Mart strategy has been termed as unsuitable both for the employees and the economy, since it is a strategy that seeks to categorize the workforce of the organization as an expense that needs to be minimized Wilkes, 2013). This concept is harmful both to the employee motivation and to the public perception, owing to the fact that treating the workforce as an expense that must be kept under control does not work well either with the employees or the public perception, which in turn adversel y affects the sales of the organization directly (Atchison, Belcher & Thomson, 2013).Thus, while the Wall-Mart compensation strategy has enabled it to keep its expenses low and thus maximize its profitability, it might have even been more damaging than already thought, if the strategy is analyzed from the employee nutrition and the customer perception point of view.Further, the Wall- Mart compensation strategy has emerged to be damaging to the reputation and the goodwill of the company amongst the public and the customers, owing to the fact that it is perceived to transfer the burden of changing hard economic times directly to the employees, by causing them to suffer low wages, so that the company can maintain its profitability levels, as they were during the good economic times (Wilkes, 2013).How Wall-Mart applies compensation practice to determine the positive or negative impact to the many and its stakeholders The effect of the negative perceptions of the customers and the genera l public is to make the organization owners and the top leadership and management to come out as greedy and unethical, which in turn is a turn off for many potential customers of the organization (Atchison, Belcher & Thomson, 2013).Most importantly is the distinction between the concept of low wages and low labor costs. The fact that an organization offers low wages to Its workforce does not mean that such an organization will in turn incur low labor costs (Atchison, Belcher & Thomson, 013). This is because, while the low wages may be an alternative for reducing expenses, the costs associated with the labor turnover might exceed the benefit derived from offering low wages (Atchison, Belcher & Thomson, 2013).Thus, Wall-Mart is an organization that is being faced by the challenge of high employee turn-over, owing to the fact that most of its employees are dissatisfied with the conditions of work and the low wages offered by the organization, such that they tend to quit the job at the rise of any other viable alternative, forcing the organization to engage in a continuous cycle of hiring and employment recruitment, which in turn drives the costs of labor higher (Wilkes, 2013).A recent study has shown that while Wall-Mart offers low wages compared to Cost, Quick Trip and Trader Joey's, the organization incurs an overall high cost of labor compared to these organizations, thus in turn earning low profitability margin (Alter, 2013). The study has indicated that the cost of labor turnover at Cost is 17%, compared to the cost of labor turnover at Wall-Mart, which stands at 44% (Atchison, Belcher & Thomson, 2013).The overall effect of this study is to show that the compensation strategy for Wall- Mart might be considered to deliver positive results by lowering the expenses associated with the employee wages, but the overall effect is that the company continues to incur very high cost than it would be incurring, if it paid good wages for its employees (Alter, 2013). The other important aspect to consider in the Wall-Mart's compensation strategy is its effect on the employees' productivity.A well paid employee is a productive employee, since such an employee is enthusiastic and motivated about his work, and thus applies extra effort to ensure that the employer will also benefit from the show of goodwill and appreciation of the employee services. In this respect, the study indicated that the productivity of the employees at Wall- Mart was much lower compared to that of Cost, owing to the fact that the profit per employee in Wall-Mart was $11 ,039 compared to that of Cost, which was $13, 647 per employee (Atchison, Belcher & Thomson, 2013).Thus, the compensation strategy of Wall-Mart is wanting, and as a result needs to be changed so that it can enable both the organization and the workforce to reap higher benefits from their relationship. The ways in which laws, labor unions, and market factors impact the Wall-Mart compensation practices Wall-Mart c ompensation practices have been affected greatly by laws, labor unions and market factors, such that for example, in 2005, labor unions created organizations and launched internet and social media campaign to criticize Wall-Mart for its poor treatment of employees in wages and conditions of work (Atchison, Belcher & Thomson, 2013).The law has also been on collision course in several occasions with Wall-Mart, where it has been investigated for possible prosecution for both monopolistic tendencies and unlawful treatment of its workforce (Green, 2003). The market forces have also been of great influence to the Wall-Mart business, through causing the organization to earn low profitability as a result of economic recession, thus in turn paying low wages for its workforce (Wilkes, 2013). The effectiveness of traditional bases for pay at the Wall-Mart The rotational bases for pay are still applicable for Wall-Mart, although selectively.

An analysis of the childrens aid society and its contributions to the community Essay

Evaluation of Children’s Aid Society Mission Statement The Children’s Aid Society is a 501Â ©3 children’s services agency that helps children in poverty to succeed and thrive. They do this by providing comprehensive support to children and their families living in high needs New York City neighborhoods (website). This organization has developed services that ensure children have access to programs that promote health and wellness as well as social-emotional development skills. They also strive to make sure that children attend college. The Form 990 on page 2 does not provide any further detailed information. With the available information from the mission statement on the website, as well as Form 990 part I and III, it is difficult to evaluate this nonprofit organization’s mission. The quality and the quantity of the available information from the website, and Form 990 is difficult to evaluate because the mission statement was not stated in the annual report. The Children’s Aid Society provides information about its programs on their website. The Form 990 and the annual report are very similar because it is almost the same information. They provide numbers about how many people they serve and the impact the programs have on the children and families. The website and the annual report 2013 both mention this information. Effectiveness From the information obtained, the website provides the effectiveness of the programs from the website, the annual report and the Form 990. The programmatic goals state how many children receive service from various programs. The website provides the number of children served by the organization. The Children’s Aid Society has three major programs that include Early Childhood (0-5), School Age (5-13), and Adolescence (14-18). Early Childhood- The program’s goals are preparing young children for school success through physical, social, emotional, and cognitive development. The core services they provide are Early Head Start for children ages 0-3, and Head Start and Early Learn Day Care for ages 3-5. School Age- The program’s goal is to promote physical, social, and emotional well-being as key factors for high school graduation and college success. This program serves to engage children, families, schools, and communities through a focus on academics, services, support, and opportunities. The core services include out-of-school time programs in Children’s Aid Community Centers and schools, summer camps, athletics, and the national center for community schools that provide assistance to developing a community school model nationally and internationally. Adolescence-The goals of this program are to enhance young people’s physical, social, and emotional competencies as well as improving their academic performance and preparing them for successful careers and gaining financial independence. According to the Form 990, the core services that the organization provides are the Carrera adolescent pregnancy prevention program, which meets the top-tier evidence of effectiveness standards by the coalition for evidence-based policy. The EXCEL college support program assists young people to enter and complete college. The HOPE Leadership Academy provides wrap-around support and develops leadership through a peer education model. They also provide teen employment services such as AmeriCorps internships and the summer youth employment program. Efficiency From the information obtained from the three sources, it is very difficult to determine whether these programs have been efficient in the programs that they administer. After looking into the Form 990, there is no available information about the total costs per person in the programs provided. The three most expensive programs are school age, adolescence, and early childhood. School-age- The total cost of this program is $18,843,068. In Form 990 on page 2, the organization mentions that its goal is promoting physical, social and emotional well-being. However, they do not mention any specific programs. In the annual report, it states that they provide health services to about 4,000 children through school-based health clinics. They do not provide costs for each child served by the school-based health clinics. The annual report also states that the Office of Client Advocacy helped 345 clients avoid eviction. There is no information on the program information in Form 990, pg 2. Adolescence- The total cost of this program is $15,402, 365. In Form 990, page 2 mentions Carrera-Adolescent Prevention Program but does not provide any further information on the number of people served and the costs. The annual report also does not state how many adolescents were served and at what cost. However, the annual report states that the program reduced teen pregnancy by 50 percent. The EXCEL college support program does not provide information on the number of students served as well as how much it costs. The annual report states that more than 90 percent of EXCEL students graduate high school and go on to college. There is no information on how many students are in the program. The quality and the quantity of available information is not very satisfying because there should be detailed information on the exact costs of each major program within the program. Early Childhood- The total cost of this program is $11,612,396. According to the Form 990 page 2, the organization mentions the Early Head Start program. The program provides numbers on its website stating that each family receives a minimum of 32 home visits a year for 90 minutes each. However, it does not state the number of families served. The 2013 annual report does not contain any specific numbers about the program. The quality and quantity of available information are not satisfying because there are no exact costs of how much program costs. According to the nonprofit’s annual report, the management and general administration costs increased to $7,378 in 2012 compared to $6,546 in 2011. This organization increased its expenses, which means that they are spending money on ways to increase mission impact and evaluate programs that may or may not work. The costs of the programs from the Form 990 do not match the financial statement in the annual report. In Form 990, it states larger expanses and is not specific about where the money went. In the annual report, the expenses are more specific but the costs seem to be smaller in Form 990. This shows that the organization is not efficient in its programs. It also shows that they may not have provided other essential information. Governance The Form 990 claims that the Children’s Aid Society has a governing body where the organization documents all meetings. It also states that the committees have the authority to represent the organization on behalf of the governing body. This organization also has different policies. The two main policies that it has based on Form 990 are the whistleblower policy and the written document retention and destruction policy. The Form 990 states that the organization consists of 31 Board Members. These members also have the power to elect other members to the governing body. The Children’s Aid Society has executive centrality governance. Finances The organizations current total revenue is $117,154,454 and its current total expense is $121,692,560. This organization is running a deficit rather than a surplus. The organization is losing its revenue stream and its assets will not cover it for a long time. The organization is fiscally unsustainable. The organization has net unrestricted assets total of $258,063,545 and its restricted assets is a total of $13,848,823. According to the Form 990, the organization received a total of $31,966,571 in contributions and grants. However, it only spent $31,966,571 on fundraising expenses. After dividing the expenses by costs, a total cost of raising a dollar was .09, which is very low. The salary of the Chief Executive Officer is $408,431.00 and it is too much. The average salary according to www.payscale.com states that the average salary is $100,000 for a Chief Executive Officer of a nonprofit organization. After calculating the organization’s program expanse it came up to be .88 ratio from dividing its total program service expenses by its total functional expenses. After analyzing the Children’s Aid Society, I determined that this organization is not worthy of a significant contribution because it is not transparent in providing information to the public. Even though it has a high mission impact in helping children get out of poverty, financially it is starting to become unsustainable in its assets and revenues. This shows that the organization is mismanaging its finances spending. This organization does not earn the seal of approval because the potential donor wants to donate to an organization that is impact-oriented and achieves results cost-effectively, which this organization does not achieve.

DISC Personality Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

DISC Personality Analysis - Essay Example dard behavioural patterns and on consultation with my colleagues who gave me their opinion on his reaction and nature of response for every situation. The parameters and factors that affect the individual, myself and my boss, have been listed down below and the same is used for further classifying which of the four types is dominating in our personality. On self analysis, my behaviour pattern is generally open and direct. I indicate my preferences directly. I dress fashionably and appear pretty stylish. I love to have a stimulating work environment that would encourage working. I keep material personally and do not go about sharing with colleagues that easily. My place is cluttered and not really spick and span. I am a friendly person with keenness to make new friends. I do jobs swiftly and respond immediately to issues. I enjoy my interactions with people and give it utmost priority. Naturally, since I give respect to my interactions with people, any loss of prestige with my friends is my worst fear. When I am under pressure or tension, I retaliate by being sarcastic or attacking back at the people who are causing it to me. I would like to have my friend, people and colleagues recognise me for my work. I take time to understand the advantages of the work to my friends and clients. I try to understand who makes use of it and how and how do people benefit out of it. This ensures that the work gains security by being flexible and allows me to maintain my status. I am open and welcome suggestions from my colleagues. I respect their ideas and create an atmosphere that is stimulating, enjoyable and playful. This would increase the amount of inputs that a person might get out of the job. I expect my colleagues to be equally stimulating, respecting my opinions and ideas. May be my target is to be admired by my colleagues. But I certainly get irritated by boredom and routine work. If there is a lack of creative job, that really causes excessive boredom. As a matter of

Over the next 30 years, what are the risks to National Security posed Essay - 1

Over the next 30 years, what are the risks to National Security posed by increased competition for energy and food resources; and what initiatives might Qatar pursue to reduce these risks - Essay Example sks, as it will increase vulnerability to deterioration in the terms of trade between food and oil or the exhaustion of their reserves.3 These risks can lead to increased violence or foster another Arab Spring.4 Subject to the significance of the risks to national security, Qatar must pursue measures aimed at reducing these risks. Indeed, strategic storage and investments in port and rail infrastructure to create a regional import and transport network, economic diversification, trade diversification, price controls and consumer subsidies, strategic stockholding, and investing at home can help Qatar to reduce these risks.5 Moreover, Qatar can reduce these risks by securing imports and securing food at home to prevent terrorists from contaminating the food supply with hazardous materials.6 Ultimately, Qatar can reduce these risks by using the Qatar National Food Security Programme to achieve sustainability, adopt technology in conserving water and electricity, and abhorring research technology, and innovation to enhance food security.7 Bailey, Rob, and Robin Willoughby. â€Å"Edible Oil: Food Security in the Gulf.† CHATHAM HOUSE. January 22, 2014.

The family in America Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The family in America - Assignment Example I do believe that there are instances in which one does not need to cite sources, of which I believe that this was an example of such a case. Some of the information presented on page two and three is original based on original research, while the rest may be considered as common knowledge. For example, most problems that face today’s family are not new and have been discussed by the media and with friends. As a result, I considered these to be original thoughts and ideas. Moreover, some of these issues, like children no longer being a reason for families to stay together, are issues that are easily observed. I also noted the reader’s comment about a lack of important detail to illustrate ideas presented by Hansen on page 4 and 5. Indeed, Hansen’s article is the basis of this paper and a lot of care was taken to ensure that her ideas were integrated into the paper as comprehensively as possible. As a result, I strived to include the concept of the family as discussed by Hansen in the article in accordance to the paper’s instructions. The paper especially sought to present Hansen’s argument on how working life for parents, as well as the informal networks constructed by parents, help in caring for children. Most importantly, however, I set out to incorporate her thoughts on the challenges and triumphs that families face in relation to social class, which I believe was essential to answering the research question. Not all concepts of the family covered by Hansen were included, since some of them did not fit with the thesis of the paper regarding the centrality o f kin as providers of care. Therefore, some of the concepts of family may have been left out. Finally, the reader also commented that the quote by Braithwaite could have been analysed and discussed further and I do agree with this observation. Since this quote formed part of my introduction, it was only meant to provide background information on how individuals render voluntary

Operations Management, Assignment-Supply Chain Assignment

Operations Management, -Supply Chain - Assignment Example y, the core functions entail transporting of goods, fulfilling orders, packaging, labeling, cross docking and other significant services that involve making sure that orders go through the full cycle. Decisively, warehouses and distribution center’s main focus is on customer’s needs and services through the implementation of the techniques that ensure the products are in their best condition observing aspects such as cost and efficiency. Currently, there are warehouse systems operational on the World Wide Web with the multiple advancements in technology; nonetheless, even customary warehouses and distribution centers embrace technology in meeting the objective and performing their roles (Keller 1). Appreciably, technology makes it easier for warehouse to process orders, manage transportation and even use the varying management information systems in scanning bar codes, plan loads among other activities. Definitely, warehouses and distribution centers’ activities base on relationships with the main link being between suppliers and consumers hence the management in these sectors must understand customers’ needs and the most efficient methods of operations. Warehousing and distribution centers’ are among the core areas that continue to advance in supply chain management and as a matter of effectiveness performance measures apply in determining productivity. Due to competition and meeting customers’ needs, the products must be in the right place, at the right time and in the right condition for a warehouse to uphold efficiency hence measuring performance entails the achievement and sustainability of these goals. Essentially, most warehouses and distribution centers use units and lines in the measurement of productivity by calculating the number of units or lines collected per hour in day. However, this does not entirely meet the standards of efficiency so other methods apply in measuring usable space by observing facets such as storage utility (Keller

Analysis of the Media Industry In India Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Analysis of the Media Industry In India - Essay Example The media industry is a strong and well-developed industry which is currently growing at a high rate; this aspect gives the industry a lot of strength. With the increase in the level of education and media industry has a well educated and skilled workforce with innovative ideas and technology which is an added positive aspect of the industry. The competitiveness of the media industry has enabled the industry to grow technically both vertically and horizontally, which is another positive aspect of the industry. India also offers strategic location and market in terms of its high population which is a boost to the industry. Among the weakness in the industry, a current weakness may be the inability to adhere to ethical standards in the industry which has lead to lawsuits filed against some media industries. The industry also has been slow in its growth only picking up in the recent past, thus its innovation and marketing strategies may be not competitive in the global arena. According to the industry experts, the industry still has room to expand within India as the market is wide. Media services are being sought by many organizations and thus this offers the industry to increase its market share. The high technological innovation which is happening every day also presents a good opportunity for the media industry to utilize the latest technology in expanding its product mix or improving existing ones hence reaching or increasing its market. There is exists new business in the global market for the industry. (Bird, 2003) Threats Though India can be said to be stable political, the country his known for frequent changes in government administration and instability in some regions or states, this issue negatively affects the media and it is a threat to the media. Also, government legislation in India is known to some extent as hindering the growth of the industry, especially for foreign companies. Also, the current threat posed by piracy, which persists to deter in vestments in all media sectors has continued to threaten the industry growth. (Bird, 2003) PESTEL analysis of the media Industry in India PESTLE stands for political, economic, social/cultural, technological, legal, environmental. A description of developments (known) and rising issues (unknown) which may impact on an industry/sector, Political Over the past year the media industry has continued to witness increased political interest increase because of the recognition of the media industry economic importance to the overall economic growth of the country.  

SOCIAL ACCOUNTING OR CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY Literature review

SOCIAL ACCOUNTING OR CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY - Literature review Example Conclusion 12 Reference 14 Introduction Accountants have made an important contribution in the debate of corporate social responsibility also known as social accounting or CSR. The major element that the accountants have contributed is the ability to provide mechanism for the holding corporations are accountable for their work. Ryan (2002) has described the Corporate Social Responsibility or CSR as motherhood issue, the hot topic of the noughties by Blyth (2005) and finally Mees and Bonham (2004) have defined CRS as the talk of the town. There are various definitions provided by the authors and which are simple and some complex and a range of ideas and terms are used interchangeably which includes the corporate sustainability, citizenship, social investment and also corporate governance (Thomas, 2006, p. 3). CRS is considered as a strategy to create, sustains a positive reputation and brand image for the company. Corporate Social responsibility has become an important part in the success of the corporate. Studies on the ef fects of CSR on the organisation have shown a diverse outcome. Many studies conducted on the effect of CSR have showed a negative result or relationship between the CSR activities and the performance of the organisation. But there are authors who have proved in showing a positive relationship between the CSR and the performance of the organisation. ... Much of the literature tends to promote the business for its CSR claiming the ethics are good for business. The instrumental approach states that the CSR needs to be reconstructed in an instrumental manner in order to be meaningful to the managers in their day to day activities to pursue the organisational goals and objectives. According to Beesley & Evans the government needs to promote the CSR in terms of taxation and also regulation in order to ensure profitability for the corporation and pursue CSR. But the normative approach states that the instrumental approach tends to diminish the ethical principles of the Corporate Social Responsibility. The normative and the instrumental approaches believes in different notion as to what would be the bottom line of any business should be and what. As per Reinhardt, the normative and also the instrumental arguments are mostly used simultaneously. There have been noticed an interplay in between the two approaches like with normative approach an understanding of the ethical business is acquired also by informing the instrumental approach. The instrumental approach does not act ethically unless and until it is profitable for the firm to do so and whereas the normative approach applies a more consistent ethical performance. According to research, driving forces for the organisations to adopt the CSR practises is catalysed in different events (Friedman & Miles, 2006, p.31). Influence on the practise of Corporate Social Responsibility tends to interact or overlap in many different and complex ways such as when the investment firms spends a huge amount of dollar in order to educate the potential financial consumers to

Limiting Reagents Lab Essay Example for Free

Limiting Reagents Lab Essay Problem: What mass of precipitate will form when 1.69g of CuCl2.2H20 reacts with 1.31g of aluminium? Aspect 3: Materials: 150 mL beaker Erlenmeyer Flask 100ml Graduated Cylinder Funnel; Scoopula Electronic Balance Stir Rod Aluminum Foil CuCl2.2H20 Distilled Water Procedure: Day 1 Rinse beakerwith distilled water. Mass 1.69g of CuCl2.2H2O. Add to beaker and add 50mL of distilled water. Mass aluminum. Fold in 1/2 coil loosely. Place in beaker and let sit overnight. Day 2 Pull out Aluminum and rinse into beaker Mass filter paper, put name on it Put paper in funnel and funnel into the Erlenmeyer flas. Pour in mixture. Rinse beaker three times. Rinse funnel and paper twice. Remove Paper and let dry overnight. Day 3 Mass filter paper Data Collection and Processing (DCP) Aspect 1: Recording Raw Data: Mass of CuCl2.2H2O 1.93g Mass of Al ? (The massing of the aluminum was forgotten) Experimental mass of precipitate = .69g Aspect 2: Processing Data 2Al(s) + 3CuCl2.2H2O 3Cu(s) + 6H2O(l) + 2AlCl3(aq) m Al=1.93g M Al= 26.98 g/mol m 3CuCl2.2H2o = 1.69 g M 3CuCl2.2H2o = 152.47 g/mol (Chem 20 Data Booklet) m Cu = ? n CuCl2.2H2O = 1.93g / 170.49 g/mol n CuCl2.2H2O = .011320312 mol 3 mol CuCl2.2H2O = 3 mols Cu n Cu = .011320312 mol m Cu = .011320312 mol x 63.55 g/mol m Cu = .719g % yield = .69 / .719 = 96% Aspect 3: Experimental mass of Cu(s) precipitate = .69g Theoretical mass of Cu (s) precipitate = .719g % yield = 96% Conclusion and Evaluation (CE) Aspect 1: Conclusion: The mass of precipitate that forms when 1.93g of CuCl2.2H20 reacts with 1.31g of aluminum is .69 g. The % yield was 96%. The massing of aluminum was forgotten but when another piece was massed and the numbers were worked out, it was shown that there was an excess of aluminum and that the CuCl2.2H2O was the limiting reagent. Aspect 2: Evaluate: There were .029g of Cu precipitate less than expected. It is likely that some of the copper went into the Erlenmeyer or was stuck on the funnel. Despite thorough rinsing of the filter paper, some of the precipitate got through the filter paper and into the Erlenmeyer. Aspect 3 Improving Experimental Design: Instead of one piece of filter paper, two pieces should be used. This would lead to less precipitate going into the Erlenmeyer. Also, the water in the Erlenmeyer could be re-filtered.

Radiation Protection Personal Protective Equipment

Radiation Protection Personal Protective Equipment Introduction: The assignment, consist of three parts including this introduction, which mentions how the assignment will take shape. Ideas and concepts taken from elsewhere for the preparation of this document will be cited appropriately within the work. The document which will be given to staff will address the issues pertaining to the appropriate use of personal protective equipment(PPE), legislations associated with their use, the principles of physics behind their use. The document will briefly delve in to issues pertaining to radiation hazards and protection, legislations relevant to radiation work in United Kingdom and use of personal protective equipment. Principles of physics behind radiation protection methods will be addressed in the document. Commonly used PPE in radiographic departments will be explained with their appropriate use along with personnel dosimetry. Local rules aiding radiation protection and defining PPE use will be also addressed in the document. Radiation protection methods and appropriate use of PPE will be given in a tabular format explaining where, when and why these protection methods and PPE should be used for those situations. The third section of this work will include a conclusion which will include the reasoning behind the composition of the document. It will also briefly address other important radiation protection issues and methods which are not addressed in the documents and the reasoning behind it. It will demonstrate how the assignment brief has been addressed by the document. The conclusion segment of this assignment will also emphasise as to why understanding of the work produced is important. The main factors aiding the preparation and decisions made for the preparation of the document will also be included in the conclusion. At the end of the work all references used in the preparation of this work will be laid out in the Harvard system of referencing. Radiation Protection and the use of Personal Protective Equipment. Introduction: Being at the leading edge of radiation dose delivery, a radiographer has a unique professional duty towards himself and others around him for a reduction in the hazards caused by ionising radiation (Manning, 2004). Many radiation related fatalities and injuries suffered by radiation pioneers and scientific studies of the 1950s, which implicated low level doses to stochastic effects in radiation workers and patients led to the radiation protection regulations of today (Bushong, 2003). Radiation hazards When humans are irradiated, atomic interactions results in ionisation, this can lead to chemical and biological changes which are damaging to the cells and chromosomes. This radiation induced changes can lead to two distinct types of injuries at cellular level. Deterministic effects: Above a certain threshold dose, effects show up and the severity of the effects increase with dose Stochastic effects: Probability of occurrence of effects increases with increase in dose. The effects include cancer induction and hereditary effects in future generations (Martin and Harbison, 2006). These late stochastic effects, has led to the radiation protection regulations of today (Bushong 2003). What is Radiation protection and why do it In light of the hazards that could be caused by radiation, protection from unnecessary radiation gains paramount importance. All radiation workers and patients should be protected against these hazards by various methods and equipment, this process is called radiation protection. A system of linear non threshold (LNT) model for radiation protection is applied to all radiation practices (Martin 2004). There is also increasing opinion in favour of radiation hormesis(Carver 2006), but since there is no absolute evidence to suggest a lower threshold below which no damage occurs the LNT model as required by current legislations is considered appropriate to estimate risks at low doses(Matthews and Brennan 2008) The patient should only be exposed if the clinical evidence suggests that the patient is likely to benefit from the procedures. The law requires the doses to be kept to as low as reasonably practicable (ALARP), so the requirement of radiation protection is laid out by various legislations (Graham et al.,2007). The regulations relevant to radiographic work and the use of PPE in United Kingdom (UK) Ionising Radiations Regulations 1999(IRR 1999) Ionising Radiations (Medical Exposure) Regulations 2000 (IR(ME)R) Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 Reporting of Injuries, Diseases, and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995(RIDDOR 1995) Personal Protective Equipment at Work Regulations 1992 Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992 Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002 (COSHH) (Messer, 2009) The recommendations of The International Commission for Radiation Protection(ICRP), that radiation exposure to radiation workers and the patient should be As Low As Reasonably Achievable(ALARA) is generally accepted(Engel-Hills,2006), The recommendations of ICRP and the European union(EU) euratom directives have all had a significant impact on British law (Whitley et al., 2005) Principles of Radiation Protection IR(ME)R requires all medical exposures in diagnostic radiology to apply the radiation protection principles of justification, optimisation and dose limitation. (Institute of Physics and Engineering in Medicine(IPEM), 2002). These principles ensure patient dose is kept to the ALARP principle. The cardinal principles of radiation protection will be further discussed. Minimising Time: As the dose is directly proportional to duration of exposure, minimising the time of exposure results in reduced dose. Minimising the time spent near a radiation source also reduces exposure. This protection method finds its use in fluoroscopy. Other methods used in fluoroscopy, using this protection method to reduce exposure is pulsed progressive fluoroscopy and the regular interval reset timers (Bushong, 2001). Maximising Distance: The cheapest form of radiation protection is afforded by the inverse square law, which states that the radiation intensity varies to the inverse of the square of the distance (Farr and Allisy-Roberts 1997). This law holds true for the primary beam which is considered a point source of radiation. While using mobile x-ray units a radiographer can avail this principle of physics to get maximum protection by standing as far away from the source as possible with the aid of the long cable which should be at least 2metre from the x-ray tube during exposure (Bushong 2001). Dowd (1991) considers distance to be the simplest and most effective of radiation protection measures. Maximising Shielding: Maximising shielding between the radiation source and exposed personnel reduces radiation exposure considerably. The effectiveness of the shielding material is estimated in terms of its half-value layer(HVL), which is the amount of material needed to reduce radiation exposure in to half, and tenth-value layers(TVLs); which is the amount of material needed to reduce exposure to one tenth of its original amount. The preferred material for shielding is lead (Pb). The physics behind the usage of lead for protection is its high atomic number (82). This high atomic number ensures that a majority of scatter photons gets absorbed due to its high attenuation. PPE used in radiography departments: Lead Aprons: They are made from powdered lead incorporated in a binder of rubber or vinyl. They come in various lead equivalencies. If used as a secondary barrier to absorb scattered radiation an apron with lead equivalency of at least 0.25mm should be used. Lead aprons shall be at least 0.5mm of lead equivalent for fluoroscopy but can be higher to the range of 1mm of lead equivalence. The downside of greater lead equivalent aprons is the greater weight. Now manufacturers make aprons with composite materials-a combination of lead, barium and tungsten. They have reduced weight and provide better attenuation of radiation. Lead Gloves: They provide at least 0.25mm or more of lead equivalent protection. Used mainly in fluoroscopy or by people holding patients during examination. Thyroid Shields: Mainly for use while performing fluoroscopy, these offers protection to thyroid. Mobile Shields: These could be moved around and are sometimes used in angiography. Protective Eyewear: Protective glasses are used mainly in fluoroscopy to protect against the cataractogenic effect of radiation(Dowd and Tilson 1999). The concept used for radiation-protection practices is the effective dose(E). Effective dose considers the relative radio sensitivity of various tissues and organs. Effective Dose(E) =Radiation weighting factor(Wr) x Tissue weighting factor(Wt) x Absorbed dose (Bushong, 2001) Personnel Dosimetry: All classified radiation workers are routinely monitored for radiation exposures using personnel monitors. Though they do not provide any radiation protection on their own, they offer the quantity of radiation to which the person using the monitor was exposed. The commonly used dosimeters in diagnostic radiology are film badges, Thermoluminescent dosimeters(TLD) and the pocket dosimeter (Thompson et al.,1994). Local Rules which will include working procedures and protocols for the department should be always followed for the appropriate use of PPE Protective Methods/PPE usedng 2001,Bushong 2003) Conclusion: Writing an assignment about the appropriate use of PPE for radiation protection, the need to highlight radiation hazards was considered important and so the assignment started with a brief outlook of radiation hazards and subsequently radiation protection concept was discussed with emphasis on why staff and patients must be protected. The LNT dose response model for radiation protection and new concept favouring lower doses such as radiation hormesis was briefly addressed. The justification for using the LNT model for radiation protection was also emphasised. The legal requirement for radiation protection of patients and staff was discussed and legislations relevant to radiographic work in UK and other organisations influencing British law on radiation safety was discussed. Recommendations of ICRP, as low as reasonably achievable( ALARA) concept and the IR(ME)R requirements of radiation protection of patient through the principles of justification, optimization and limitation was also addressed. These introductory explanations, was considered important as they were the basis for the subject for radiation protection and highlighted the need for radiation protection in diagnostic imaging departments. Preparing the core of the work was not possible without addressing the cardinal principles of radiation protection, hence they were all discussed briefly, where these protection principles find its application for radiation protection in radiographic departments. Time, Distance, Shielding concepts of radiation protection was discussed. Distance and Shielding concept of radiation protection was discussed in detail as they find their use quite often in imaging departments. Material commonly used for shielding with the principles of physics behind its usage was also addressed. Concepts such as half -value layer(HVL) and tenth value layers (TVLs), used to define the effectiveness of the shielding material was also detailed. Personal protective equipment generally used in imaging departments such as lead rubber aprons, lead rubber gloves, thyroid shield, protective eye wear, mobile shield was discussed. Their appropriate usage in specific areas was also considered. Concept of effective dose was also briefly discussed as this was considered an important concept in radiation dose. Personnel dosimetry was discussed with a brief on the various types of personnel dosimeters used in diagnostic imaging departments, as these dosimeters play an important role in dose regulation and monitoring radiation exposure in staff. Radiation protection methods to reduce patient dose has not been elaborated and special arrangements for pregnant radiographer such as rotating out of high exposure areas such as mobile x-ray and fluoroscopy and wearing a secondary badge under the apron at waist level when involved in such examinations to measure foetal dose(Dowd and Tilson 1994) has not been addressed in the document, so as to keep the assignment within its permissible constraints. With all this being presented, it was decided to summarize the use of PPE and protection methods in various areas of a radiographic department; x-ray room, while using mobile x-ray equipment in wards and theatres, Fluoroscopy which is a major contributor of staff dose(Bushong 2001) and CT was considered. It was decided to project these points in a tabular format within the document for simplicity and to meet the assignment brief within the imposed limitations. It also demonstrates the appropriate usage of PPE and radiation protection methods. Adequate shielding in diagnostic imaging departments both primary and secondary shielding as required by legislations, means that a radiographer is sufficiently protected from the scatter, as long as they position themselves behind the protective barrier during exposure. This point is stressed within the tabular column in the document as this is considered an important radiation protection practice. X-ray tube incorporates lead shielding to attenuate the radiation travelling in any other direction other than the useful beam. The housing of the tube have a lead equivalent of typically 2.5mm (Farr and Allisy-Roberts 1997). This greatly reduces scatter or leaked radiation exposure to staff and patient. These and other protection measures incorporated with in modern x-ray machines such as collimation, beam alignment, filtration and other manual protective measures to reduce patient dose-including specific area shielding, such as contact shields and shadow shields which provide gonadal pr otection to patients have not been discussed in the document due to the scope and constraints of the assignment. All radiation protection methods employed to reduce patient dose bring down staff exposure as well, so good radiographic practice helps achieve reduced dose to both patient and staff (Graham et al., 2007) Local rules as required by IRR 1999, to be a part of all departments which involves working with ionising radiation has been addressed in the document briefly, but they are an important resource towards radiation protection as these rules include written systems of work, including protocols and procedures for the imaging department. Details of contingency plans and the names of Radiation protection advisers(RPA) and Radiation Protection Supervisors(RPS) are contained within the rules(Graham et al.,2007) Principles of physics, pertaining to the use of lead in the preparation of shielding materials have been discussed in the assignment. Reading the document will inform the reader about the appropriate use of PPE, as to where, when and why to use these PPE. It also informs the reader the various legislations associated with radiation protection and the use of PPE in UK. It also highlights the hazards caused by ionising radiation and the need for radiation protection. Hence the assignment brief has been addressed. Radiation protection is an important subject to be considered in the diagnostic radiography department (Moores, 2006) and hence a clear understanding of radiation protection issues is important. Ionizing radiation can cause real damage to current and future generations if not dealt with carefully, hence understanding radiation protection and the correct usage of PPE in aiding radiation protection through this work is considered important. Together with a wide range of resources, the valuable experience gained during the clinical placement in a radiography department, observing the safety practices and usage of PPE in the imaging departments and critical self evaluation of methods and practices using the aid of published works has helped me arrive at the key decisions which are addressed in the document. 1

An Overview Of Employee Suggestion Schemes Commerce Essay

An Overview Of Employee Suggestion Schemes Commerce Essay Innovations are becoming increasingly important for organizations to remain competitive in the dynamic business environment. Employee Suggestions Systems plays a key role for organizations wishing to become more innovative. It is a useful tool used in the organization to elicit employees creative ideas. Over the past decades, suggestion schemes have been studied from many perspectives. The objective of this paper is to present the history and evolution of suggestion schemes, from their early beginnings to sophisticated computer based systems that are widely popular in many countries. We start by discussing the origins of suggestion systems, followed by discussing how they have evolved over the years, and understand a typical process involved in suggestion system. We would like to discuss the future model of suggestion system that can sustain and contribute significantly towards the success of the organizations. Through a literature review, we describe the existing research on suggest ion schemes to understand the critical drivers and barriers for the success of the suggestion schemes. This paper also cites and illustrates the well-known suggestion systems used by UAE organizations and their benefits. The literature, while extolling the many virtues of suggestion programs makes it clear that achieving the expected results from the programs is quite challenging as it involves organizational as well individual level factors and needs to focus on creativity and as well transformation of the creativity into innovations. The paper provides the list of driver and barriers to suggestion schemes mainly stemming from creativity, innovation and suggestion system literatures. The suggestion making and suggestion implementation are two crucial stages and both are equally important for the success of the scheme and are influenced by a number of factors. Organizations must therefore identify these critical factors to nurture both these stages. The schemes can be applied in any sector to elicit employee creative ideas but must have a formal mechanism to action this. Managers need to be aware critical success factors that are essential for the success of the schemes. It is clear that suggestion schemes will not yield results without the active involvement of everyone in the organization, and the required resources and support from top management. The future of suggestion scheme is bright as a tool for fueling innovation. Organizations need to recognize and evaluate their schemes to yield its potential benefits. There need to be sustainability in suggestion schemes. Organizations need to assess their schemes to recognize if right conditions exist for their sche mes to flourish. This paper should be of value to practitioners of suggestion schemes and to academics who are interested in knowing how this program has evolved, and where it is today and what future it holds. Although much research has been conducted on identifying these critical success factors to the authors knowledge, little focus has been directed towards sustenance of the suggestion system. This paper makes the contribution for identifying the research gap in the suggestion schemes and has assimilated the existing knowledge on suggestion systems to provide a quick run through to the field and has extended the search for drivers and barriers to suggestion scheme from creativity and innovation literature. Key Words: Employee, Suggestion System, Creativity, Innovation, Employee Involvement, Ideas Management Introduction An Employee Suggestion Scheme (ESS) is described as a formalized mechanism that encourages employees to contribute constructive ideas for improving the organization in which they work (Milner et al., 1995). Another elaborate definition explains suggestion schemes elicit suggestions from employees, classify them, and dispatch them to experts for evaluation (Cooley et al., 2001). After this, the suggestion might be adopted, in which case the suggestion maker will be rewarded. But even if a suggestion is rejected, the suggestion maker may still be rewarded with a token gift. So the managers or dedicated committees evaluate the suggestions and implement the one that works (Chaneski, 2006). The reward may range from a certificate to a reward commensurate with the savings generated by the suggestion. Researchers in this area explain that the suggestion scheme is a mechanism or a tool that fosters creativity, elicits untapped reservoirs of ideas and fuels both product or process innovations , triggers a work place improvement, improves process effectiveness, saves money or helps generate new revenue and increases organizational commitment and accountability among employees (Carrier,1998; Buech et al., 2010; Fairbank and William,2001; 96. Townsend,2009;Islam, 2007;Arthur et al., 2010 Lloyd,1996). Thus they are structured to have many goals and purposes (Kanna et al., 2005). There are others who view suggestion systems as mechanism to improve quality as well (Islam, 2007; Kanna et al., 2005). It is a known fact that no one would know the job, its specific processes( Darragh -Jeromos, 2005) better than the employees themselves as they are on the shop floor and are experiencing the advantages of what they are doing(Du plessis et al., 2008). Therefore, the suggestion scheme can be an advantageous way to gather suggestions in the work place by fostering this concept and taping into all employee creativity (Darragh-Jeromo, 2005). Over the past decades, suggestion schemes have been studied from many perspectives. In this paper, our objective is to present the history and evolution of suggestion schemes, from their early beginnings to sophisticated computer based systems that are widely popular in many countries. We start by discussing the origins of the suggestion system, followed by how it has evolved over the years, and understand a typical process involved in the suggestion system. Through a literature review, we describe the existing research on suggestion schemes in order to understand the critical drivers and barriers for the success of suggestion schemes. This paper also identifies future research opportunities in this field. The History and Evolution of the Suggestion Schemes In 1721, Yoshimune Tokugawa, the 8th Shogun, placed a box called Meyasubako at the entrance of the Edo Castle for written suggestions from his subjects (Arif et al., 2010). Although this is the most basic system known, an industrialized suggestion systems origin traces back to the 19th century. In 1880, William Denny, a Scottish shipbuilder asked his employees to offer suggestions in order to build ships in better ways (Islam 2007). Following this, the Kodak company became pioneer in this endeavor with its program being introduced in 1896 (Carrier, 1998). Industry associations, such as the Employee Involvement Association (EIA), then came into existence and they have contributed greatly to the increased formalization, objectivity, and professionalism of suggestion programs (Townsend,2009). Formerly, the National Association of Suggestion Systems, the EIA has instituted educational, statistical, and professional development programs to raise the bar of best practices in the encouragem ent, evaluation, development, and implementation of ideas that add value to their organizations. The IdeasUK, UKs foremost association for the promotion of employee involvement programmes was founded in 1987, its prime purpose being to assist organizations in both the public and private sector, an organization with more than 100 members worldwide. On the other hand in Japan the program was well known as the Kaizan Program. While Kaizen-oriented suggestion systems are primarily interested in generating many small improvements, western suggestion systems encourage the pursuit of innovation (Ohly et al., 2006). Simultaneously, suggestion schemes also became popular in many countries and they have a considerable history that includes USA, Europe, Asia and the Middle East (Cooley et al., 2001). The well-known suggestion schemes have been in existence for over 60 years and companies like Japans Toyotas and Indias Tata Steel Mill represent a usage of these historic systems. Around the 1990s suggestion schemes became increasingly popular. In 1994, one employee suggestion alone saved British Gas  £4.4 million. The research around 1996 reported that the world class suggestion systems are exceeding 40 ideas per person annually, with greater than 80 percent implementation rates and high levels of participation (Savageau, 1996). The ETA 2004 annual suggestion program provided statistics from 41 of its member organizations in the United States. From this limited sample, a total of more than $811 million in savings and other benefits were realized as a result of employee suggestion programs (Townsend,2009). The latest 2009 Annual Survey of IdeasUK highlighted the following benefits amongst their membership organizations such as Boots, HSBC, Ministry of Defence and Dubai Aluminum. Cost savings of over  £100m with the average implemented idea worth  £1,400.00. Return on Investment of at least 5:1. Employee involvement increased with average participation rates of 28% The trend of cost savings due to employee suggestions continues till today. The Existing Research on Suggestion Systems An illustration of a formal process involved in the suggestion schemes Suggestions systems have come a long way (Arif et al., 2010) transiting from anonymous postboxes (Crail, 2006) or suggestion box to a sophisticated computer based electronic suggestion system (Fairbank and William 2001; Ahmed, 2009). The suggestion system is a process of two or more stages comprising mainly the suggestion making, the evaluation and implementation of the idea (Van and Ende, 2002; Prathur and Turrel, 2002; Lipponen et al., 2008; Bakker et al., 2006; Marx, 1995;Griffiths et al., 2006). There has been a negligence of research on the initial ideas generation phase that precedes the innovation, mainly because one major group of researchers who consider organizational creativity is fostered through the personal characteristics and motivations of creative individuals turned its attention to context and organizational factors(Carrier,1998). However the common process involved in the suggestion management system is depicted in fig 1: Description: http://www.apo-tokyo.org/productivity/pmtt_004b.jpg In recent times the suggestion schemes have also been known as Idea Capture Systems or Idea Management Systems. Leach (2006) claims that the Idea capture system can fall into four categories: Centralized suggestion schemes, De-centralized suggestion schemes, Work based systems Informal systems. Literature shows that the subject of suggestion schemes is multidisciplinary. Broadly the theoretical base for suggestion schemes emerges from the literature on creativity and innovation. This is mainly because the researchers describe suggestion systems as tools that stimulate creativity or innovation (Carrier,1998). Innovation begins with creative ideas (Amabile et al., 1996) and thus creativity and innovation are interlinked and the process in the suggestion system is mainly focused on eliciting the employees creative ideas and implementing them to fuel innovations. The main focus of the research then goes to the factors that trigger creativity and innovation. Researchers have examined these factors from three points of views (Buech et al.,2010) The first considers work environment. A second stream of research, focusing on the features of suggestion systems, weighs the influence of feedback about suggestions, management support of the system and rewards for successful suggestions, the third deals with the characteristics of the individuals. The creativity and innovation literature also highlights these contextual, organizational and individual factors that foster creativity and innovation but it is also evident that the contextual factors that foster creativity and innovation would also foster the suggestion making as well (Ohly et al.,2006). The factors cited to be drivers to creativity, suggestion system and innovation are identified below. Factors fostering Suggestion Making, Creativity and Innovation A good suggestion scheme should play a vital role in improving communication and promoting and enhancing the sense of common purpose (McConville, 1990). People need social, informational, and economic support to be able to create something new (Majdar, 2005). The creativity in an organizational context emerges from a process of sharing information with other people within the organization (Bakker et al., 2006). Although the social networking alone cannot be considered as an important source of information for innovation(Bigliardi et al., 2009), the high quality social exchange relationships (Kudisch, 2006), social influences(Klijn et al., 2010),collaboration(Bjà ¶rklund,2010; Fairbank et al.,2001), and diverse group exchanges(Shalley et al.,2004) can stimulate employee creativity. Even in a field where innovation is essential, most of the acute challenges do not concern innovation skills, but rather the organizational context of innovation the work communities culture, habits, and practices (Bjà ¶rklund, 2010). Creativity and innovation will only be sporadic occurrences and will not thrive without a supportive environment and culture (Malaviya Wadhwa, 2005;Amabile et al.,1996). Every organization has its own culture and needs and its suggestion system should be molded around that (Marx, 1995). The organization structure often hinders tacit knowledge sharing by establishing wrong authorities (Alwis et al., 2008). Several studies have shown how certain organizational structures facilitate the creation of new products and processes, especially in relation to fast changing environments (Lam,2010). Organization structures have to be modified in different industries so that the organizational structure of a company or a department supports transfer and transmission of tacit knowledge in the best way (Alwis et al., 2008). Management practices of the organization play a role in the success of the suggestion programs (Carrier, 1998). Management has a responsibility to satisfy the need for employee participation and they are required to create a culture which is supportive of employee involvement in the decisions which affect their work (Reychav et al., 2010). Senior management ought to demonstrate their faith in the scheme, promote and support it and encourage all managers to view it as a positive force for continuous improvement (McConville, 1990). Management must get actively involved by creating the opportunities for employees to submit their ideas, get those ideas properly evaluated, give recognition when it is due and implement them as soon as possible (Du plessis, 2008). Converting managers, particularly those in the middle is crucial (McConville,1990). Undoubtly, people will produce creative work when they perceive for example that the management is required to encourage (Amabile et al., 1996). T herefore a visible commitment from top management can encourage employee active participation in the scheme. Studies have shown that a traditional, autocratic management style results in low levels of employee engagement and motivation (Hayward, 2010). Empowering leadership has the capacity to positively influence employee psychological empowerment -an element of importance in affecting creative outcome (Zhang, 2010). On the other hand leadership styles that include threats, intimidation, and coercive tactics appear to universally discourage creative behavior on the part of employees (Anderson et al., 2008). The coworker support (Madjar,2008;Majdar 2005;Shalley et al.,2004;Arif et al., 2010) is another important element that can trigger employees to make suggestions. Tatter (1975) notes, the best way to kill a system are to let an idea remain in limbo for four, five or six months. The goal should be to completely process a suggestion in about 30 days and in no more than 60 days. To handle employee creativity effectively, it is important to organize the process of idea extraction to idea fo llow-up properly, otherwise employees will not be motivated to put their ideas forward and many ideas will be lost (Van Ende, 2002). The knowledge possessed by individual employees can only lead to a firm competitive advantage if employees have the motivation and opportunity to share and utilize their individual knowledge in ways that benefit the organization (Arthur et al., 2005). Therefore the development of an infrastructure (Marx 1995) with simple methods (Hultgren, 2008) for submitting suggestions (McConville, 1990) is a key aspect of the suggestion scheme. The companies lack of action on suggestions provided by non-managerial employees can de-motivate employees from participating in employee relation programs (Cho and Erdum 2006). Fairbank (2003) argues the formal Employee suggestion Management systems(ESMS)s are superior to the stereotypical suggestion box because they make it easier for employees to submit ideas that will eventually be implemented, provide a transparent pro cess for evaluating the suggestions, and generate timely feedback regarding the fate of the suggestions and any rewards they earn. Such a system can help to monitor the progress of the scheme on a regular basis (Hultgren, 2008). The more comfortable employees are with the format, the more suggestions will be received, and the more money will be saved (Mishra, 1994). Good ideas can come from anyone, at any level, any place, anytime (McConville, 1990; Majdar ,2005). Therefore a suggestion scheme should make all its employees at all levels eligible to participate (McConville, 1990; Lloyd, 1996). The involvement can be increased if employees develop a sense of belonging to the organization (Cruz et al., 2009). Empowerment is necessary so that the workers evaluate their own ideas before making a suggestion, as suggesting many ideas do not necessarily mean greater cost reduction and at the same time, it would be an added cost to process and may cause delays (Wynder, 2008). The biggest obstacles in the suggestion cycle lie in the area of review, evaluation and guidance. Insensitive comments of proposal reviewers can sometime kill an employees improvement initiative (Neagoe et al., 2009). When the review, evaluation and guidance aspect of the system functions properly, it can be a great motivating force that will attract many excellent proposals (Neagoe et al., 2009). If ideas are made public, these ideas, good and bad, could have started other creative ideas elsewhere in the organization (Stenmark, 2000). A modern well-managed suggestion scheme lies not in the immediate financial returns, but in the contribution made to achieving greater involvement and team- work (McConville,1990). Creative ideas are more often the product of social interaction and influence than of periods of thinking in isolation (Majdar, 2005) The cash rewards and recognition alone will not make a suggestion system successful (Strane,2000). Employee morale should be boosted by creating success stories and measuring the success of the scheme through the implementation of ideas (Marx, 1995; Hultgren, 2008; Lloyd, 1996; Cho Erdem 2006). A suggestion system is clearly a money saver in an organization (Mishra, 1994). There needs to be various strategies in place to avoid employee boredom and to consider the life cycle of the system, employees must be rewarded not only with tangible but also intangible benefits (Ahmed 2009). Incentives are important for employees to feel that submission of their useable ideas will be rewarded (Du plessis et al., 2008). It was also found that the volume of employee suggestions over time will be positively related to the amount of payout (Arthur et al., 2010). Depending on the attention given to advertising the schemes and how participation is rewarded, organizations could improve the return on the idea capture system (Leach et al., 2006). Individuals have the greatest possible number of characteristics that positively influence their creative performance (Muà ±oz-Doyague, 2008). Keeping workers intrinsically motivated is the key part for improving creativity and performance. No doubt, intrinsic motivation is a universally important and substantial factor (Suh et al.,2008). Sending individuals to state-of- the-art seminars, training programs, and conferences as a reward for their creativity might increase the positive impact (Griffiths-hemans et al., 2006). This will be the energy of renewal and the drive to a successful future. The Barriers to suggestion systems Research also reports on barriers that could hinder the success of the suggestion scheme. They are mainly cited as work load pressure, task reutilization, task standardization, unsupportive climate, aversive leadership, co-worker mistrust, coworker incompetence, budget problems, impractical idea, technical issues, competition, delay in assessment, controlled supervision, lack of support, fear of evaluation, free riding, lack of self confidence, low commitment to organization and system, rigid rules,self-interest, challenge of the work and resistance from middle managers(Alwis Hartmann 2008;Amabile et al.,1996;Anderson Veillette 2008;Bakker et al., 2006;Carreir 1998; Oldham and Cummings 1996;Lyold 1999;Mclean 2005;McConville 1990;Toubia,2006;Sadi,2008;Wong Pang Finally, the existing research also evidences that although the interest and practice in Continuous Improvement (CI) are widespread in many organizations, many of them have major problems in sustaining success in their CI programs (Rapp and Eklund, 2007),). Many organizations are faced with problems associated with both the implementation and sustainability of their CI programs. There is no study which gives account of the design features for frequency of feedback or extent to publicity (Leach,2006).Despite the increasing popularity of the gain sharing plans, evidence for their effectiveness has remained mixed(Arthur et al., 2010). Suggestion systems should not exist primarily as a means to recognize employees only (Darragh Jeromos 2005) but to utilize the scheme to its fullest extent. So a well designed system will accomplish both these goals resulting in tangible as well as intangible benefits (Ahmed, 2009). Overall suggestion system is a great mechanism that involves individual a nd teams in improving the organization performance (Crail, 2006) and they have a strong and significant effect on both process and product innovation (Townsend, 2009). It perfectly matches todays market need to deal with knowledge based workers who expect their involvement to be recognized and utilization of their skills to its fullest (Kesting et al., 2010). # Indicators Source 1 Supervisory encouragement Mclean 2005;Marx 1995;Shalley Gilson 2004;Tatter 1975;Frese et al 1999;Lloyd 1996;Ohly et al 2006;Arif et al 2010;Hardin 1964 2 Co worker support Madjar 2008;Majdar 2005;Shalley Gilson 2004;Arif et al 2010 3 Top Mgt Support Huang Farh 2009.;Amabile et al 2004;Carreir 1998;Egan 2005;Jong Hartog 2007;Marx 1995;McConville 1990;Du plessis 2008;Ahmed 2009;Mishara 1994;Powell 2008;Prather Turrell;Rice 2009;Zhang 2010;Khairuzzaman;Bell 1997 ;Unsworth 2005;Hayward 2010. 4 organizational Encouragement Fairbank and Williams 2001;Alves et al 2007;Ahmed 1998;Alwis Hartmann 2008 Amabile et al 1996;Arthur Kim 2005;Bjà ¶rklund 2010;Darragh-Jeromos 2005;Ellonen et al., 2008;Griffiths-hemans Grover 2006;Janssen, O., 2004;Klijn Tomic 2010;Kudisch 2006;Neagoe Klein 2009;Mclean 2005;Malaviya, P., 2005;McConville 1990;Powell 2008;Prather Turrell; Recht Wildero ,1998;Shalley Gilson 2004;Al-Alawi et al 2007;Rietzschel 2008;Zhou George(2001);Stranne 1964;Van Ende 2002;Bell 1997 ;Khairuzzaman;Bigliardi Dormio 2009 5 Communication Alves et al 2007;Aoki 2008;Arthur et al 2010.;Binnewies et al 2007;Bjà ¶rklund 2010.Klijn Tomic 2010;Kudisch 2006;Madjar 2008;Majdar 2005;Madjar 2008;Majdar 2005;McConville 1990;Ahmed 2009; Recht Wildero ,1998;Shalley Gilson 2004;Tatter 1975;Khairuzzaman;Monge ;Al-Alawi et al 2007;Clark 2009;Fairbank and Williams 2001;Stranne 1964 6 Evaluation Egan 2005; Rietzschel 2008;Neagoe Klein 2009;Marx 1995;McConville 1990;Ahmed 2009;Powell 2008;Tatter 1975;Van Ende 2002;Hultgren 2008;Lloyd 1996;Winter 2009;Sarri et al ,2010;Fairbank and Williams 2001. 7 Publicity Reuter 1976;Mishara 1994;Tatter 1975;Fairbank and Williams 2001. Kudisch 2006;Neagoe Klein 2009;Leach et al 2006;Marx 1995;McConville 1990;Prather Turrell;Lloyd 1996;Winter 2009;Crail 2007 8 Resources   Alves et al 2007;Amabile et al 1996;Griffiths-hemans Grover 2006;Klijn Tomic 2010;Mclean 2005;McConville 1990;Shalley Gilson 2004;Van Ende 2002;Lloyd 1996;Bigliardi Dormio 2009;Clark 2009 9 Rewards Lloyd 1996; Klijn Tomic 2010;Arthur Kim 2005;Arthur et al 2010. ;Bartol Srivastava 2002;Darragh-Jeromos 2005;Neagoe Klein 2009;Leach et al 2006;Lloyd.1999;Marx 1995;McConville 1990;Du plessis 2008;Ahmed 2009;Mishara 1994;Rapp and Eklund 2007;Rice 2009;Shalley Gilson 2004;Tatter 1975;Teglborg-Lefevre, a.C., 2010;Van Ende 2002;Arif et al 2010;Bell 1997 ;Frese et al 1999;Winter 2009;Al-Alawi et al 2007;Baird Wang 2010;Bartol Srivastava 2002;Clark 2009;Crail 2007;Rietzschel(2008);Suh Shin 2008. ;Lyold 1999 10 Training Paulus 2008;Tatter 1975;Baird Wang 2010;Stranne 1964;Birdi 2005 11 Effective simple System Reuter 1976;Lloyd 1996 Arthur Kim 2005;Lloyd 1999;Marx 1995;McConville 1990;Fairbank 2003;Mishara 1994;Prather Turrell;Rapp and Eklund 2007;Tatter1975;Van Ende 2002;Arif et al 2010;Frese et al 1999;Hultgren 2008; Winter 2009;Bigliardi Dormio 2009;Clark 2009;Fairbank and Williams 2001;Lyold 1999;Bassadur 1992;Hultgren 2008 12 feedback Cho Erdem 2006 ;Bakker et al 2006 ;Buech et al 2010;Leach et al 2006;Mishara 1994;Powell 2008;Rapp and Eklund 2007;Arif et al 2010;Hultgren 2008;Fairbank and Williams 2001. ;Stranne 1964;Bassadur 1992;Van Ende 2002;Du plessis 2008 13 Implementation of suggestion Marx 1995;McConville 1990;Hultgren 2008;Lloyd 1996;Cho Erdem 2006 14 Job factors Amabile et al 1996;Anderson Veillette 2008. ;Bjà ¶rklund 2010.;Buech et al 2010;Griffiths-hemans Grover 2006;Hirst 2009;Powell 2008;Rego et al 2009;Shalley Gilson 2004;Shalley Gilson 2004;Frese et al 1999;Axtell et al 2000;Muà ±oz-Doyague et al( 2008);Unsworth 2005;Cruz et al 2009;de Jong den Hartog 2010. 15 Empowerment Recht Wildero ,1998;Lipponen et al 2008;Mclean 2005;Powell 2008;Axtell et al 2000;de Jong den Hartog 2010; Unsworth 2005 16 Expertise Bantel Jackson 1989;Bjà ¶rklund 2010;Griffiths-hemans Grover 2006;Klijn Tomic 2010;Madjar 2008;Majdar 2005;Verworn 2009;Bigliardi Dormio 2009 17 Individual attributes and self efficacy Huang Farh 2009.;Egan 2005;Lipponen et al 2008;Verworn 2009;Frese et al 1999;Axtell et al 2000;Aoki 2008.; Lipponen et al 2008;Binnewies et al 2007;Bjà ¶rklund 2010. ;Griffiths-hemans Grover 2006 ;Klijn Tomic 2010 ;Lipponen et al 2008;Litchfield 2008;Malaviya, P., 2005;Powell 2008; Recht Wildero ,1998;Shalley Gilson 2004;Verworn 2009;Janssen 2004;Litchfield 2008;Cruz et al 2009;Huang Farh 2009.;Aoki 2008.;Arthur et al 2010. ;Bjà ¶rklund 2010.;Darragh-Jeromos 2005;Egan 2005;Muà ±oz-Doyague 2008 18 job control Anderson Veillette(2008);Mclean, L.D., 2005;Sadi (2008);Anderson Veillette(2008) Wong Pang (2003);Neagoe, L.N. Klein, V.M., 2009;McConville(1990) 19 Organizational impediments Stenmark(2000);Alwis Hartmann(2008). Anderson, T.a. Veillette, a., 2008;Wong Pang (2003);Toubia 2005;Bakker, H., Boersma, K. Oreel, S., 2006);Amabile et al (1996);Lyold (1999);Fairbank, J.F., Spangler, W.E. Williams, S.D., 2003.Du Plessis, AJ, Marx, AE Wilson, G 2008 Fairbank, J.F., Spangler, W.E. Williams, S.D., 2003. Carrier C., 1998;Fairbank, J.F., Spangler, W.E. Williams, S.D., 2003;Du Plessis, AJ, Marx, AE Wilson, G 2008;.BaMcConville(1990);Mostaf El-Masry( 2009) 20 Team work Rapp and Eklund 2007; Amabile et al 1996;Aoki 2008;Carreir 1998;Darragh-Jeromos 2005;Mclean 2005;McConville 1990;Shalley Gilson 2004;Baird Wang 2010;Egan 2005;Pissarra Jesuino 2005;Fairbank and Williams 2001. 21 Competition Bakker, H., Boersma, K. Oreel, S., 2006) 22 Support for innovation Lipponen et al 2008;Hultgren 2008 23 employee participation Alves et al 2007;McConville 1990;Lloyd 1996;Fairbank and Williams 2001. ;Cruz et al 2009; Neagoe, L.N. Klein, V.M., 2009 Discussion Suggestion systems have evolved from a traditional suggestion box to sophisticated electronic systems aiming to encourage all employees to take part in suggestion schemes and to rapidly process the ideas received from the employees and put to practical use. Large organizations are focusing on achieving bigger goals at company level as well as at employee level to accrue the tangible as well as intangible benefits. However companys need to carefully implement the program as every organization has its own culture, it needs to tailor the program to meet their organization needs and what they expect from this system must be clearly known. While suggestion schemes have evolved over the decades, the main underlying factor driving this engine is to pursue workplace improvements, process or product innovations. Research in this field has been mainly focused on features of suggestion schemes, guidelines for implementation and critical success factors and critical barriers encompassing the organizational as well as the individual contexts. Research also evidences its contribution as to how organizations have utilized the tool to obtain small workplace improvements through to good sized innovation and if implemented they contribute in building organizations innovation capability. The suggestion making and suggestion implementation are two crucial stages and both are equally important for the success of the scheme and are influenced by a number of factors. Organizations must therefore identify these critical factors to nurture both these stages. The schemes can be applied in any sector to elicit employee creative ideas but must have a formal mechanism to action this. Managers need to be aware of critical success factors that are essential for the success of the schemes. It is clear that suggestion schemes will not yield results without the active involvement of everyone in the organization, and the required resources and support from top management. The suggestion schemes are here to stay mainly because they are the vehicle for innovations. Today we live in a knowledge economy where innovation is not only significant but a key corner stone for an organizations growth and sustainability. The future of the suggestion scheme is bright as a tool for fueling innova tion. Organizations need to recognize and evaluate their schemes to yield its potential benefits. There needs to be sustainabil

Time Devices :: essays research papers

Definition of "'Time"': Term used to describe how long it takes to an event to occur. Time is used to classify events to "Events that happened" and "Events that will happen". It seems that time passes in the same pattern, and that time is equal to all but the "Theory of Relativity" proves otherwise. "Time is a relative thing" according to Einstein, which came out with the theory of Relativity. History of time: Records of time keeping are found 25,000 years ago, but of course, they weren't as accurate as now a days. Man used nature to indicate time e.g. Full Moons. It is widely suggested today that time was kept in a "Calendar"' way. This means that they divided the time into big units and could only tell the time in specific occasions. e.g. a normal person, 20,000 years ago couldn't tell his partner the time at any given period. He had to wait that the moon would go full, or the sun will dawn, or by looking at the stars, etc. They almost couldn't describe when in the future, a thing is to happen. They would say something like "In 2 full moons and a high sun we'll go hunting". He couldn't tell exactly in how many hours or minutes things will happen because as I said before Nature was his time keeper + The term "Seconds", "'Minutes, "Hours", etc, didn't exist back then. As mankind evolved, better ways to keep track of time were found. Man invented more and more devices as he evolved, and some of these devices are listed in the next section: Clocks: A time device used to keep track of the passing time. A clock must have 2 basic components: 1. Power Source 2. A "Release Power" source. Up till the beginning of the 1800's, sun clocks were the leading time devices worldwide. During the 14th century, the Italian Donadi family were the first to draw numbers on those sun clocks. The invention of the spring for clocks during the 16th century and the pendulum in 1671 were the first steps toward the replacement of the sun clocks with mechanical clocks. The hand clock (watch) was invented by A French Company named Berege back at 1810. During the 1800's a drastic advancement has occurred in mechanical clocks with the invention of the naval time keeper which is used up till today by sailors to find their position in an area.

Introduction :: Economics

Introduction The aim of this coursework is to use economic theory and explain how supermarkets in my area compete for custom. To provide a fair competition, the four dominant super markets, Sainsbury, Asda, Tesco and Morrisons are chosen. I shall investigate how the ‘big four’ compete for profit against each other in Leicestershire. Research Plan: To prevent complications the class is divided into 4 groups according to their local supermarkets and accessibility. Each student is provided a price check list with a complete list of common items and compares each different supermarket’s product listing. This is the basic plan but comprehensive analysis and research techniques shall be started later on as we familiarize with economic skill and business brain of these clever large firms. Competition Theory: The medium in which a monetary exchange on a basis of business values takes place is known as The Marketing System or The Marketing Industry. Now The Market is such a place where buyers and sellers meet (outdoor/indoor) to exchange goods and services for a monetary value. The Buyer is actually the customer, consumer or the general public. In the U.K. Market is more defined as a place of competition, where survival of the fittest is the only necessary skill. A market can be an opportunity for success or a road to downfall. There are two kinds’ major kinds of businesses in a market that are Product Orientated Businesses and Market Orientated Business. A Market Orientated Business is where the focused product is produced first and then a market place is searched for it. Whereas, A Product Orientated Business is where the market environment and its demands are recognized first and then the product manufactured accordingly. This process of discovering the needs and investigating opportunities in a market is called Market Research. A market orientated business is more likely to have a Marketing Budget as it has performed market research and knows the pros and cons of the marketable product and therefore can predict a financial plan for a specified period of time and value , say a ‘5 years plan of 1million pounds’. The market is risky and tricky place for both buyers and sellers. The sellers want to drain the maximum money out of the public pocket. The seller’s goal is to sell a. Product for the maximum price and the buyer’s is to buy a product for the minimum cost. In order to make their goals not coincide, the sellers try to provide satisfaction for the products they sell. It’s all about the customer needs. For example; if a manufacturer (Asda) decides to enter the toy market, the firm will do a market research and try to predict the choice of

Campbell Soup Employee Engagement Essay

Douglas Conant, the CEO of Campbell Soup Co. discussed the importance of employee engagement and how Campbell’s strategy to pay attention to this metric paid off for their company. Conant took over in 2001 when Campbell’s was close to a takeover and its soup sales had drastically declined amid fierce competition. Furthermore, some of its best employees had left the company rather than wait out the hard times. Conant recognized that of all the elements related to corporate culture, employee engagement was the most highly correlated to shareholder returns. Therefore, to turn things around, Conant implemented the Campbell Promise of â€Å"Campbell Valuing People, People Valuing Campbell† with the strategy that: â€Å"To win in the market place, we believe you must first win in the workplace. I’m obsessed with keeping employee engagement front and center and keeping up energy around it. † In 2002 Conant hired the help of Gallup, a polling and research firm, to better understand his company’s engagement levels. Gallup found that 62% of Campbell’s managers were not actively engaged in their jobs and 12% were actively disengaged. Those numbers were some of the worst for any Fortune 500 firm ever polled. By Gallup standards the ideal level of employee engagement is to have a ratio of 12 actively engaged employees for every disengaged employee. Campbell’s ratio was only 2:1; that is, only 2 actively engaged employees for every disengaged employee. Strategies to Motivate and Engage Employees †¢Bring down barriers, literally – Conant had barbed wire fencing removed from Campbell’s Camden, NJ facility to create pleasant work environment †¢Promoting from within – replaced 300 of the company’s 350 leaders half of whom were promoted from within the company. This â€Å"changed the culture and sent a message that few could ignore. † †¢Annual surveys of all 580 work groups simultaneously – managers review the results with their direct reports and everyone is updated on their progress related to specific goals. Leaders are measured on their ability to inspire trust in those around them. †¢Recognition Events – celebrate at a high level when people do things well. †¢CEO’s acknowledgement – Conant sends out about 20 thank-you notes a day to staffers, on all levels. Open communication – every six weeks CEO has lunch with a group of a dozen or so employees to get their perspective on the business, to address problems and to get feedback.

Current Events in the Philippines and How it Affects Good Governance

There are several current issues in the Philippines, let’s just say in economic, political and government conditions, education, environment,health, socials and many more. Every day, we watch on television, we hear from radios, read from newspapers and in the internet the continuous news of corruption of some politicians is the most trending issue.The scandalous pork barrel scam is history in the making. It is the biggest problem now a days in the government, imagine how many senators, congressmen and government agencies are being involved and a lot of budget are being wasted because of these fake NGOS and this is the example of a perfect crime.The second trending issue is on the environment, those fortuitous event like the long list calamities that hit the country, specificallythe earthquake in bohol and the super typhoon haiyan/ Yolanda, these unprecedented calamities has been a great problem to us and for our political leaders but still with the help of outside countries an d with fast relief operations of the government our country is hoping to rise from these terrible events. But ofcourse some of our political leaders again and their operations had become harsh and some mal practices are present.In the midst of our difficulties and despair, some politicians are taking advantage of the situation. We taxpayers pay for the salaries of these lawmakers to make our country the best place to live. To help them perform their job well, but what happened?Instead of performing their jobs and fulfill their function in uplifting the lives of Filipinos many of them used their power, authority, time and effort for sustaining their private interest so it may result in graft and corruption practices and anomalies in the government.Poor become poorer and most of politicians are becoming busy increasing their assets. Now, there is really a good governance in the phillipines? Those sceneraio are the perfect examples that may greatly affect good governance, its because p ublic office is a public trust.Public officers and employees must at all times be accountable to the people, serve them with utmost responsibility, integrity,loyalty, and efficiency, act with patriotism and justice and lead modest lives.

Web Mining Homework

A Recommender System Based On Web Data Mining for Personalized E-learning Jinhua Sun Department of Computer Science and Technology Xiamen University of Technology, XMUT Xiamen, China [email  protected] edu. cn Yanqi Xie Department of Computer Science and Technology Xiamen University of Technology, XMUT Xiamen, China [email  protected] edu. cn Abstract—In this paper, we introduce a web data mining olution to e-learning system to discover hidden patterns strategies from their learners and web data, describe a personalized recommender system that uses web mining techniques for recommending a student which (next) links to visit within an adaptable e-learning system, propose a new framework based on data mining technology for building a Web-page recommender system, and demonstrate how data mining technology can be effectively applied in an e-learning environment.Keywords–Data mining; web log,;e-learning; recommender readily interpreted by the analyst. A virtual e-learnin g framework is proposed, and how to enhance e-learning through web data mining is discussed. II. RELATED WORK I. INTRODUCTION With the rapid development of the World Wide Web, Web data mining has been extensively used in the past for analyzing huge collections of data, and is currently being applied to a variety of domains [1]. In the recent years, e-learning is becoming common practice and widespread in China.With the development of e-Learning, massive amounts of learning courses are available on the e-Learning system. When entering e-Learning System, the learners are unable to know where to begin to learn with various courses. Therefore, learners waste a lot of time on e-Learning system, but don’t get the effective learning result. It is very difficult and time consuming for educators to thoroughly track and assess all the activities performed by all learners.In order to overcome such a problem, the recommender learning system is required. Recommender systems are used on ma ny web sites to help users find interesting items [2], them predict a user's preference and suggest items by analyzing the past preference information of users, e-learning system is applied on the basis of the method. The user’s learning route is given and then provides the relevant learners useful messages through dynamically searching for the appropriate learning profile.This paper recommends learners the studying activities or learning profile through the technology of Web Mining with the purpose of helping they adopt a proper learning profile, we describe a framework that aims at solution to e-learning to discover the hidden insight of learning profile and web data. We demonstrate how data mining technology can be effectively applied in an e-learning environment. The framework we propose takes the results of the data mining process as input, and converts these results into actionable knowledge, by enriching them with information that can beThe route where the learner brow ses through the web pages will be noted down in Web log, carries on the technology of Web mining through Learning Profile and Web log, and analyzes from the materials related to association rule. It can be found the best learning profile from this information. These learning profiles combine with the Agent and put them on the learning website. Furthermore, the Agent recommends the function of learning profiles on learning website. Therefore, the learner will acquire a better learning profile.This chapter briefly illustrates the relevant contents including: e-Learning, Learning Profile, Agent, Web Data mining and Association rule. A. E-learning E-learning is the online delivery of information for purposes of education, training, or knowledge management. In the Information age skills and knowledge need to be continually updated and refreshed to keep up with today’s fastpaced study environment. E-learning is also growing as a delivery method for information in the education fiel d and is becoming a major learning activity. It is a Web-enabled system that makes knowledge accessible to those who need it.They can learn anytime and anywhere. E-learning can be useful both as an environment for facilitating learning at schools and as an environment for efficient and effective corporate training [3]. B. A Glance at Web Data Web usage mining performs mining on web data, particularly data stored in logs managed by the web servers. All accesses to a web site or a web-based application are tracked by the web server in a log containing chronologically ordered transactions indicating that a given URL was requested at a given time from a given machine using a given web client (i. e. browser).As shown in table 1, Web log contains the website â€Å"hit† information, such as visitor’s IP address, date and time, required pages, and status code indicating. The web log raw 978-1-4244-4994-1/09/$25. 00  ©2009 IEEE data is required to be converted into database f ormat, so that data mining algorithms can be applied to it. TABLE I. WEB LOG EXAMPLES Web logs 172. 158. 133. 121 – – [01/Nov/2006:23:46:00 -0800] â€Å"GET /work /assignmnts/midterm-solutions. pdf HTTP/1. 1†³206 29803 2006-12-14 00:23:56 209. 247. 40. 108 – 168. 144. 44. 231 GET /robots. txt – 200 600 119 125 HTTP/1. 0 www. a0598. com ia_archiver – – sefulness and certainty of a rule respectively [5]. Support, as usefulness of a rule, describes the proportion of transactions that contain both items A and B, and confidence, as validity of a rule, describes the proportion of transactions containing item B among the transactions containing item A. The association rules that satisfy user specified minimum support threshold (minSup) and minimum confidence threshold (minCon) are called strong association rules. D. Web Mining for E-learning Learning profile help learner to keep a record of their current knowledge and understanding of e-learn ing and elearning activities.Web mining is the application of data mining techniques to discover meaningful patterns, profiles, and trends from both the content and usage of Web sites. Web usage mining performs mining on web data, particularly data stored in logs managed by the web servers. The web log provides a raw trace of the learners’ navigation and activities on the site. In order to process these log entries and extract valuable patterns that could be used to enhance the learning system or help in the learning evaluation, a significant cleaning and transformation phase needs to take place so as to prepare the information for data mining algorithms [6].Web server log files of current common web servers contain insufficient data upon which to base thorough analysis. The data we use to construct our recommended system is based on association rules. E. Recommendation Using Association Rules One of the best-known examples of data mining in recommender systems is the discove ry of association rules, or item-to-item correlations [7]. Association rules have been used for many years in merchandising, both to analyze patterns of preference across products, and to recommend products to consumers based on other products they have selected.Recommendation using association rules is to predict preference for item k when the user preferred item i and j, by adding confidence of the association rules that have k in the result part and i or j in the condition part [4]. An association rule expresses the relationship that one product is often purchased along with other products. The number of possible association rules grows exponentially with the number of products in a rule, but constraints on confidence and support, combined with algorithms that build association rules with item sets of n items from rules with n-1 item sets, reduce the effective search space.Association rules can form a very compact representation of preference data that may improve efficiency of s torage as well as performance. In its simplest implementation, item-to-item correlation can be used to identify â€Å"matching items† for a single item, such as other clothing items that are commonly purchased with a pair of pants. More powerful systems match an entire set of items, such as those in a customer's shopping cart, to identify appropriate items to recommend. The web data is massive since the visitor’s every click in the website will leave several records in the tables.This also allows the website owner to track visitors’ behavior details and discover valuable patterns. C. Data Mining Techniques The term data mining refers to a broad spectrum of mathematical modeling techniques and software tools that are used to find patterns in data and user these to build models. In this context of recommender applications, the term data mining is used to describe the collection of analysis techniques used to infer recommendation rules or build recommendation model s from large data sets.Recommender systems that incorporate data mining techniques make their recommendations using knowledge learned from the actions and attributes of users. Classical data mining techniques include classification of users, finding associations between different product items or customer behavior, and clustering of users [4]. 1) Clustering Clustering techniques work by identifying groups of consumers who appear to have similar preferences. Once the clusters are created, averaging the opinions of the other consumers in her cluster can be used to make predictions for an individual.Some clustering techniques represent each user with partial participation in several clusters. The prediction is then an average across the clusters, weighted by degree of participation. 2) Classification Classifiers are general computational models for assigning a category to an input. The inputs may be vectors of features for the items being classified or data about relationships among th e items. The category is a domain-specific classification such as malignant/benign for tumor classification, approve/reject for credit requests, or intruder/authorized for security checks.One way to build a recommender system using a classifier is to use information about a product and a customer as the input, and to have the output category represent how strongly to recommend the product to the customer. 3) Association Rules Mining Association rule mining is to search for interesting relationships between items by finding items frequently appeared together in the transaction database. If item B appeared frequently when item A appeared, then an association rule is denoted as A B (if A, then B).The support and confidence are two measures of rule interestingness that reflect III. WEB DATA MINING FRAMEWORK FOR E-COMMERCE RECOMMENDER SYSTEMS A. A Visual Web Log Mining Architecture for Personalized E-learning Recommender System In this section, we present A Visual Web Log Mining Architec ture for e-learning recommender to enable personalized, named V-WebLogMiner, which relies on mining and on visualization of Web Services log data captured in elearning environment. The V-WebLogMiner is such a odel: with the mining technology and analysis of web logs or other records, the system could find learners’ interests and habits. While an old learner is visiting the website, the system will automatically match with the active session and recommend the most relevant hyperlinks what the learner interests. As shown in Figure1, V-WebLogMiner is a multi-layered architecture capable to deal with both Web learner profiles and traditional Web server logs as input data. It maintains three main components: data preprocessing module, Web mining module and recommendation module. ) Web Mining Module The Web mining module discovers valuable knowledge assets from the data repository containing learners' personal data by executes the mining algorithms, tracked data of learners' perfor mance and behavior, automatically identify each learner’s frequently sequential pages and store them to recommend database. When the learner visit the site next time, hyperlinks of those pages will be added so that the learner could directly link to his individual pages being remembered.The major component of Web mining module is Web data mining which acts as a conductor controlling and synchronizing every component within the module. The Web data mining module is also responsible for interfacing with the storage. The learning profile evaluation component provide profiling tool to collect personal data of learner and tracking tool to observe learners' actions including like and dislike information. For personalization applications, we apply rule discovery methods individually to every learner’s data.To discover rules that describe the behavior of individual learner, we use various data mining algorithms, such as Apriori [8] for association rules and CART (Classificatio n and Regression Tress) [9] for classification. 3) Recommendation Module The recommendation module is a recommendations engine; it is in charge of bulk loading data from course database, executing SQL commands against it and provides the list of recommended links to visualization tools.For the recommendation module, recommendations engine is responsible for the synchronizing process indexing and mapping, is a component for storing and searching recommend assets to be used in the learning process. The recommendation engine considers the active learners in conjunction with the recommended database to provide personalized recommendations, it directly related to the personalization on the website and the development of elearning system. The task of the recommendation engine is to determine the type of the learner online and compute recommendations based on the recent actions of that learner.The decision is based on the knowledge attained from the recommended database. The recommender en gine is activated each time that the learner visits a web page. First, if there are clusters in the recommended database, then the engine has to classify the current learner to determine the most likely cluster. We have to communicate with the engine to know the current number of pages visited and average knowledge of the learner. Then, we use the centroid minimum distance method [10] for assigning the learner to the cluster whose centroid is closest to that learner.Finally, we make the recommendation according to the rules in the cluster. So, only the rules of the corresponding cluster are used to match the current web page in order to obtain the current list of recommended links [11]. 4) The Visualization tools Visualization tools should be used to present implicit and useful knowledge from recommendations engine, Web services usage and composition. Data can be viewed at different levels Figure 1. A visual web mining architecture for Personalized E-learning Recommender System ) Da ta Preprocessing Module The data preprocessing module is set of programs used to prepare data for further processing. For instance: extraction, cleaning, transformation and loading. This module uses Web log files and learner profile files to feed the data repository. The data preparation component is used to parse and transform plain ASCII files produced by a Web server to a standard database format. This component is important to make the architecture independent from the Web server supplier. of granularity and abstractions as patrolled coordinate’s graphs [12, 13].This visual model easily shows the interrelationships and dependencies between different components. Interactively, the model can be used to discover sensitivities and to do approximate optimization, etc. B. The Procedure of the Data is Explained As show in figure 1, the beginning learner, that is to say the earliest one, will study in the e-Learning teaching platform. The course materials of Web studying system c ome from the course database. The data of learner’s learning profiles may be recorded in the learner profile files and Web log files.Then next step is to find out the best learning profile from the proceeded data of Web log through web mining to proceed with Association rule and others data mining algorithm. These learning profiles need to be classified—every field has relevant courses and better learning profiles. The recommender engine will offer the list of recommended links when learners study the courses. With the above information and learning profiles, when the future learners study in Web, recommender engine offers related link lists according to recommend database. However, these link lists may not be suitable for all learners.Therefore, after finishing recommendation every time, there are systems of assessing. The learner (n +1) evaluates the learning profiles that are recommended. Because the profiles analyzed by system may not be perfect, if there are adjus tments of evaluation would make the recommendation conform to learners’ asks more. These suggestions can help learners navigate better relevant resources and fast recommend the on-line materials, which help learners to select pertinent learning activities to improve their performance based on on-line behavior of successful learners.IV. CONCLUSION AND FUTURE WORK There are some possible extensions to this work. Research for analyzing learners’ past studying pattern will enable to detect an appropriate. Furthermore, it will be an interesting research area to effectively judge session boundaries and to improve the efficiency of algorithms for web data mining. ACKNOWLEDGMENT The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial subsidy provided by the Xiamen Science and Technology Bureau under 3502Z20077023, 3502Z20077021 and YKJ07013R project. REFERENCES [1] [2] D. J. H and, H. Mannila, and P. 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[3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] Recommender systems have emerged as powerful tools for helping users find and evaluate items of interest. The research work presente d in this paper makes several contributions to the recommender systems for personalized e-learning. First of all, we propose a new framework based on web data mining technology for building a Web-page recommender system. Additionally, we demonstrate how web data mining technology can be effectively applied in an e-learning environment. [11] [12] [13]