Integrated Information Technology and Early Childhood Education Research Paper

Integrated Information Technology and Early Childhood Education - Research Paper Example An important finding from the study is that integrated information technology can have both negative as well as positive impacts on the above mentioned factors, therefore, the tools need to be used with the right balance. Additionally, empirical and quantitative studies related to the impact of integrated information technology on early childhood and factors such as education, family atmosphere, parenting style and the relationship between the parents and children are still in their nascent stages. Introduction It is often said that children of today belong to the 'Technology Generation' (Jukes and Dosaj, 2006) or the digital natives (Presnsky, 2005). Information technology becomes a part of their life even when they are very young and has a deep influence during the growth years. Over the past decade, the use of integrated information technology continues to increase in early childhood education. During the initial years, both parents as well as teachers were concerned whether using instruments of integrated information technology would be beneficial or harmful to the children (Prensky, 2005). However, the advantages offered by Information technology in education is immense and cannot be ignored. Traditionally, using information technology meant just the use of computers. ... This study takes a look at how integrated information technology can have a major impact on early childhood education, especially from parenting and character education perspectives. In doing so, the study looks at how the instruments of integrated information technology co-related with early childhood education, parenting styles, effectiveness on children's learning, character development, parent-children relationship and family atmosphere. Literature Review and Proposition Development 1. Integrated Information Technology and Early Childhood Education With advancements in information technology, a number of instruments are used to aid learning in children, even those who are in pre-school and kindergarten stages (Donald et al,. 2012). Modern day classrooms for early children are equipped with devices such as computers, cameras, multimedia equipment, voice recorders, conferencing instruments, Internet connection and so on. All these instruments are also integrated with each other to form one cohesive medium of integrated information technology (Presensky, 2006). While there was considerable skepticism on whether integrated information technology should be used for early childhood education, over the past few years, integrated information technology has become an integral part of early childhood education. Additionally, as the world is becoming increasingly technology dependent, it is also necessary that such technology is integrated with their learning process from an early age. One reason as to why early childhood education is effective through information technology is that the human brain is able to relate more to the visual images, 3-d videos, communication tools

What are computer viruses Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

What are computer viruses - Essay Example The operating system basically creates an environment in which the application programs can function. Operating system deals with the program execution i.e. loading the program to memory, executing the program and ending or terminating the program. It helps with the identification of errors such as traffic errors or shortage or memory. Operating systems are involved in allocation of resources within the different computer programs according to their need levels and subject to availability of memory and other resources. Input and output functions regarding different files and devices are also performed by the operating system. Some other functions that the operating system performs are file management, the renaming of files and storage are looked at in this section; security is another core aspect of operating systems, its provides protection to programs and different data; accounting is another aspect that is handled by the operating system, in this basically it maintains a record of the resources that have been used by different

Effects of Peer Pressure on Decision Making Essay Example for Free

Effects of Peer Pressure on Decision Making Essay Our Peer-to-Peer interaction affects us every day. From decisions, we make, to the places we go. It is human nature to listen and learn from other people. Though we would like to think we have control over outside influences, studies show that our surroundings play a key role in how we function. Solomon Asch’s (1950) social experiment demonstrated, consumers often modify their responses, consciously or subconsciously, when surrounded by others with conflicting opinions. Peer Pressure is only rising in today’s society; it can’t be escaped! Our teenagers are the most influenced by peer pressure. Peers influence people because they want to fit in, be like peers they admire, do what others are doing, Its only natural for people to identify with and compare themselves to their peers as they consider how they wish to be (or think they should be), or what they want to achieve. see more:negative effects of peer pressure Peer Pressure is essential to social development. Its cant be escaped! In turn peer pressure can develop a good character, if its learned to be worked the right way. There are 3 main goals that individuals have in the long term: †¢Accuracy – in that individuals seek practical, consistent actions that are reproducible, through the information they already have and the actions that they do. Think of it as a need to achieve goals effectively and with the greatest perceived reward. †¢Affiliation – in that individuals seek gratification that their actions ingratiate them with other individuals. Think of it as a need to create social relationships with others in a meaningful, maintainable manner. †¢Maintenance of a Positive Self-Impression – in that people have a constant want to increase their own self-awareness so that they can feel better about themselves. Think of it as a need to behave in a manner that boosts their pre-existing self image – through action, statement, belief etc.

Oceanic Bank International PLC Training Methods and Practice

Oceanic Bank International PLC Training Methods and Practice INTRODUCTION The importance of training in the human resource management efforts of any organisation cannot be overemphasised. That is why training is key to the survival of every human resource strategy of any given organisation. Employee training is becoming a necessity to every organization nowadays as training enables them to carryout roles and responsibilities efficiently and also learn new things, which will prepare them to take up higher responsibilities in the future (Karthikeyan, Karthi Graf 2010). Human relations management training, broadly conceived, is a popular means by which numerous public organizations seek to enhance productivity. Public managers consume prodigious quantities of management training and should be seriously concerned with the effectiveness and success of such intake (Gerald, 1989). Traditionally, training and development was not seen as actively that could help, organizations create value and successfully deal with competitive challenges (Oludairo, 2006). According to Cascio (2003), many organizations both small and large shy away from training their employed because they think that by improving the skills of their workforce, their employees will be more marketable to competitors. And where there are well training programmes, there are poorly implemented, like too much fine wine, may actually impede rather than invigorate a robust organizational health (Gerald, 1989). Operational definitions of key concepts The Concept of Training Trainings focus has broadened in the past few years (Bernadin, 2003). Training used to focus mostly on teaching technical skills, such as training assemblers to solder wires or teachers to device lesson plans. However, technical training like that is no longer sufficient (Oludairo, 2006). In recent time, organization has had to adapt to rapid technological changes, provide quality goods and services, and increase revenue to stay competitive. Improving quality required remedial education training. Similarly, employees today need skills in team building, decision making, and communication as well as technological and computer skills (Oludairo, 2006). According to Fajana (2002), training is the process that involves developing skills and learning concepts, rules or attitudes in order to increase effectiveness on a particular job. Casco (2003) sees training consisting of planned programme designed to improve performance at the individual, group and/or organizational level. Ubeku (1975) in his own contribution, defines management training as the process of developing managers knowledge, skills and attitude through instruction, demonstration, practice, and planned experience to meet the present and future needs of the business. This management training is the same as development or management development. Development refers to the process of teaching managers and professional employees that knowledge, skills needed for present and future task accomplishment. Considering the above definitions, one can conclude that training and development involve the systematic and continuous developing skills, learning concepts, attitudes and knowledge needed by employees to perform effectively and efficiently at work. Oceanic Bank International PLC Oceanic Bank International Plc is regarded as one of banks that brought new revolution in the banking sector to Africa. Incorporated in on March 26, 1990, the bank commenced business on June 12, 1990. The bank has been growing from strength to strength since then. Its shares were listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange on June 25, 2004, having achieved a public liability company status. The bank is second to none in excellent deliveries and world class banking technologies in Africa. According to the banks website, the bank has a strong presence in asset management, commercial banking, health management, insurance, investment banking, pensions, registrar services, savings loans and trustee services, as well as over 370 business offices spread across Nigeria, Cameroun, the Gambia and Sà £o Tomà © Prà ­ncipe, Oceanic Bank is one of the most recognized financial services brands in West Africa. The rational for choosing Oceanic Bank for this essay is hinged on the fact that the author is an insider who has been working with the bank for years and have undergone series of training within the bank. Currently on the banks study leave, the author has unfettered access to the training methods and practices of the organisation and is able to specifically assess and examined the banks training methods and practices as demanded by the question at hand. Brief review of literature Various scholars and researchers have contributed to training especially in the banking sector. Among them is Richards (1997) who posits that during a management trainee programme, the real objective is to focus on the individual manager and not the position in the company. Richard contributed to training needs analysis, vis-a-vis; about core competencies, job profiling and identification of competencies gaps-either against core competencies for individuals or against job profiles for generic roles. Another important work that focuses on training in the banking industry is that of Niki Glaveli and Stella Kufidu (2005). The authors jointly analyzed the changes that took place in the Greek banking industry in three good years. The author also looks at the impact of the changes on the role of employees training and development for strategic implementation and success, using four case studies to investigate the effect of the environmental changes on these particular banks and the role of their training and development strategies in adjusting themselves to the changing industry environment (Glaveli Kufidu 2005). In a more related work to this study, Rainaye (2004) empirically examined the training policy in two commercial banks. The banks are the State Bank of India and Jammu Kashmir Bank Limited. The aim was to study some kind of training styles including Managements attitude towards training, training inputs, quality of training programmes and transfer of training to the job. The study found out that the training scenario is to a large extent satisfactory. The study also evaluates the opinions of the employees of two cadres of both banks and in particular that it can be made fully effective only when the training needs assessment and transfer of training to the job are considerably improved, besides bringing in finer improvements in other dimensions (Rainaye 2004). Badhu and Saxena (1999), in their work titled Role of Training in Developing Human Resources proved that an organization should have well-defined training policy as well as training manual and training should be made an ongoing process. The duo also proved that the executive development programmes have been found to be useful in improving the productivity, efficiency and effectiveness of managers. In their research, Karthikeyan, Karthi Graf evaluated the effectiveness of training in six banks and how training contributes for growth of the banks. The study which carefully focussed on three public sector banks and three private sector banks has core objectives of analyzing the effectiveness of Training in selected banks in Tiruchirappalli District, South India and also to find the association between effectiveness of training and growth and result of banks. Assessing Training Needs Organisations spend over $200 billion annually on employee training and development (Wexley and Latham, 1991). They rely upon this training to help develop employee skills that are critical for success in todays fast-changing, competitive environment (Guthrie and Schwoerer, 1994). There training programs are a dubious investment, however, unless they are based upon a sound training needs assessment TNA (Goldstein, 1993). According to Burton and Thakur (2003), a good training program should identify: (i) the specific skill areas that are to be strengthened as a result of the training; and (ii) the resources that is available to support the training. They posit that an effective training process must begin with a thorough need analysis to clearly identify the learning to be achieved, and it must end with an objective training program evaluation. A comprehensive training needs assessment provides information on organization needs- the organizational units in need of training; task needs- the knowledge and skills trainees must acquire for effective job performance; and person needs-the individuals in need of specific types of training (Wexley and Latham, 1991 Guthrie and Schwoerer, 1994). As shown in the figure below, the first step of training process is the assessing of training needs and providing answers to the following questions: (i)Who needs the training?(ii) Exactly what do they need to know or be able to do? (iii)What do they already know or are now able to do? (Burton and Thakur,2003). The other steps deal with identification of training objective which should be specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and time bound, implementation of training program, evaluation, and adjustment if necessary. Assess training needs Who need to be trained? What do they need to know? What do they already know? Set training objectives (specific, measurable etc.) Plan training evaluation Did trainees like the training? Can they meet the training objectives? Do they perform better on the job? Develop training program: content, location, methods, trainers, duration Conduct Training Evaluate Training Modify training program based on evaluation Training methods and practices at Oceanic Bank International PLC Oceanic bank places great importance on its training and thats why the bank is known as a workplace where staff can really learn and work at the same time. Training at oceanic bank intl plc has been an important task or function to be completed by the human resources department. Whichever level an employee enters the organization; it is mandatory for such new employee to go through series of training both on- the- job and off- the- job. The Oceanic Leadership Academy The oceanic Leadership Academy is the training school for the bank. It is the first port of call for every new staff of the bank. The new staff members resume rigorous academic studies in the Academy for five weeks where their success is chiefly determined by written and oral examinations. The Academy goes a long way to determine whether a new staff will be retained in the bank or sent packing as staff who failed the short course will be asked to leave the employment of the bank. The Academy has very reach curriculum and work modules, most of which are packaged to deliver the peculiar nature and businesses of the bank. The Oceanic Academy, being the learning arm of the bank is run by the Human Resource department. According to the Banks websites, the department is responsible for all capacity building and training interventions aimed at developing the skills and capabilities of employees, thus improving their competencies on the job, their overall productivity and the competitiveness of Oceanic Bank Group. Induction courses After the graduating from the Academy, the induction processes of the bank follows. Induction training is conducted to newly employed staffs of oceanic bank within the branches of the bank. The programme is intended to improve the financial literacy of participants whilst strengthening their knowledge and competencies. This is carried out both on-the -job and off- the-job which enables the new entry level officers to understand the business and development of skills needed to carry out their job functions required by the organisations standard and practise. A one-week induction course for experienced new hires and a three-day induction course are available to certain grade levels. In addition, desk-to-desk induction is structured specifically for senior management staff. Off-the-job training in Oceanic Bank This is a training programme outside the organization which is encouraged by the bank. The bank usually sponsors and support their staffs for specialised training in various fields especially in the area of the modern day technology, credit and mortgage. Staffs are been sent on training in different training programmes such as (core banking application) finacle training in Indian and other European countries. Such staffs have come back more enlighten and are able to pass done such knowledge to subordinate and co- workers. On-the-job training in Oceanic bank Oceanic bank make most use of on-the-job training by assigning a trainer to the newly employee to put such employee through by learning the practical aspect of the job on-the-job. Job rotation is also an important training method employed by the bank where staff members are been moved from different department to gain more experience and familiarise themselves with all areas of banking, from marketing, credit, operations and application of core banking software. Oceanic bank staff members gain a lot through job rotation as given employees opportunity to work in different department of the bank is helpful. This initiative also helps staff members to move round different department which enable them bring in new ideas to other departments to enhance employee performance. Job rotation of staff also reduces boredom on the job because of diverse task to be carried out by employees. This also enables the staff to understand all the core aspect of banking as well as working with different people and senior managers across the business. Knowledge sharing section: This is a training programme designed by oceanic bank to be conducted by each branch on weekly basis. It is anchored by designated staff of the bank on a rotation basis. The aim is to bridge learning gaps on the operations of the bank. This is done specifically to update each staff of the bank on operations of the bank, the position of the bank, introduction of new products as well as knowledge outside the banking operations Short courses in Oceanic bank The bank periodically organizes Open Courses which cover diverse areas of development including Leadership, Communication, Health and Wellness, Credit Skills, Marketing Skills and Soft Skills. Mostly the bank sends mails to staffs to indicate there interest whenever the organisation organises open courses for staff The bank encourages the staff to register and monitors their progress for professional courses. In line with this the Oceanic Academy partners with various organisations like the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) and the Chartered Institute of Bankers (CIBN) in the area of Continuous Professional Development Programmes. They also encourage personal development of each staffs by allowing staffs to go on study leave for further studies, and opportunity the writer of this essay is currently enjoying. E- learning: This is the bank internet training facilities provided to the employees of the bank for training purpose. There are various materials on this site which employees can read and download to enable them broaden their knowledge on the core banking subjects as well as non-banking related areas of study. Effectiveness of Oceanic Bank Training programmes The oceanic bank training scheme is by far one of the best in the banking sector as attested to by staff of other banks. The programme is well structured in such a way that it makes it easy for every member of staff to undergo it without any stress. This is desirable as it makes the staff to love and appreciate their work. This in turn encourages efficiency and increased productivity. Because staff had gone through certain training processes, they are confident in doing their job and they build up work ego and pride in delivering stated task. Shortcomings of the Oceanic Bank Training programmes While it is good to have a formal training school for staff training like the Oceanic bank leadership academy, it is somewhat unfair to based performance of new staff on classroom examinations, worstill, that those who failed the examination are shown the way out of the employment. This is hinged on the commonly known assertion that examination is never the best way of testing human knowledge. A very good staff that has sound practical knowledge of the banking system might be unable to successfully pass written examination for one reason or the other. For this reason, the mode of determining whoever successfully passed through the academy is put to question. Another shortcoming observed from the Oceanic Bank Training programmes is the management of the delivery of the on-the-job training. More often than not in the department where this author work, the pressure of work and overwhelming customer demands and queries do not allow room for teaching someone else on the job. The implication is that most new staff spend longer than usual in learning new skills while working. Often, those doing the training may have no experience in training, no time to do it, and no desire to participate in it. Under such conditions, learners essentially are on their own, and training likely will not be effective. Another problem is that on-the-job training can disrupt the flow of regular work. Unfortunately, on-the-job training can amount to no training at all in some circumstances, especially if trainers simply abandon the trainees to learn the job alone. Also bad habits or incorrect information from supervisor or manager can be transferred to the trainees. Conclusions and Recommendations for Improvement Owing to the complex nature of jobs in the banking sector, the importance of employee training has increased. In a rapidly changing society, employee training is not only an activity that is desirable but also an activity that an organization must commit resources to, if it is to maintain a viable and knowledgeable workforce Karthikeyan ,Karthi Graf (2010) Because of the enormous advantages of training to an organisation, the amount spent should be seen as an investment rather as a cost to the organisation. Training has been a very formidable part of every organisation. In fact it is a prerequisite for effective employees performance and growth on their jobs. Logically speaking, the higher the quality of training an employee receives, the higher the quality of productivity and vice versa. It must be stressed therefore, that training and development improve quality, customer satisfaction, morale, profitability, business expansion and development i.e. overall organizational productivity. Hence, it gives organizations competitive advantage. This essay recommends an informal approach to accessing staff performance in the training school, vis-avis, the Oceanic Bank Leadership Academy. In this way, emphasis should be laid on assessing the delivery of practical tasks assigned to the new staff rather than just asking them to write written examinations. Also, new staff should not be laid off for failing the written examinations in the academy. It is also recommended that on-the-job training should be more formalise such that pressure and workload would be reduced from the shoulder of the trainer. Such trainer, as a matter of fact, should be allowed concentrate more on the trainee rather than the customers during the period of the induction. It is also advisory that Oceanic bank introduces a kind of personality development programmes such as role play, group discussion and business games. By this, the senior, management and other lower staff can build synergy and the superior and subordinate relationship can be strengthened for the overall productivity of the bank. In General, the Human Resources department should enhance their training programmes in line with latest demands in the banking sector, especially in this age of online bank and sophisticated fraud. This is because every organization that want to survive in this very dynamic world of banking needs to have well-trained and experienced people to perform the activities that have to be done.

Danzy Sennas Caucasia Essay -- Danzy Senna Caucasia Essays

Danzy Senna's Caucasia In Caucasia, by Danzy Senna, Birdie spends time in several different racial contexts and, in each one, adjusts the racial definition of herself. Through this process, she discovers much about the conception of race in contemporary American society and achieves the nuanced understanding that race, while merely a construction, is still (operationally) real. This is contrasted by the more dangerous, oversimplified understanding of race – that races are biological rivals, inherently different and unable to coexist without some sort of power structure – embodied by the character of Redbone, who is also a symbol of inauthenticity. This latter aspect of Redbone shows the emptiness inherent in the views he holds about race, an important reason for his inclusion in the novel. Redbone, which, interestingly enough, according to urbandictionary.com literally means a light-skinned black person with kinky red hair, is an incredibly outspoken advocate of the â€Å"revolution† (the movement intended to allow Blacks to overthrow Whites in the American power-structure) and the need to use violence to bring it about. In the scene where Redbone shows Birdie the guns, he says, â€Å"This little girl ain’t no security risk, brotha. We gotta raise our children to know how to fight† (Senna 15). He also tells Deck that maybe he needs to â€Å"get [his] head out of them books and put some action behind them high-falutin’ theories of [his]† (16). This manifestation of black vs. white politics as unabashed advocating of violence and this mockery and belittling of intellectualism as â€Å"high-falutin’† in favor of insufficiently thought-out action shows just how facile and oversimplified Redbone’s views of race are. Th ey are of the â€Å"good† vs. the ... ...cted† but that â€Å"that doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist† that Birdie and her sister express toward the end of the novel upon their reunification (408). Through embodying both falseness and such a self-serving and facile view of race, Redbone serves as Senna’s symbol that they go hand in hand, that is, that such conceptions are empty and inauthentic – not true to the way the world actually works. As we begin to doubt who Redbone is, we doubt what he says. Taking this a step further, the sense of inauthenticity associated with him points out the aspect of lying to oneself that is necessary for maintaining these self-serving definitions of race. As Redbone pretends to be something he’s not and the flasher denigrates others for an inauthentic sense of power, the racist lies to himself about how the world really is to maintain his image of himself, and his race, on top of it.

Melting Essay example -- essays research papers

â€Å"The Great Melting Pot†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Many times when you live in a certain area you do start to pick up on the other cultures around you. No matter what state you live in there are many cultures blending together. Many people do blend the other cultures of the people around them into their own culture. I’ve lived in many states and was able to experience this first hand. All my friends have all picked up on the culture around them from wither their family or friends. All the time I see the cultures blending together. Even if you try to keep your own culture, the culture around you just sneaks in and you don’t even realize it.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I’ve lived in Texas for more than ten years now; so now I don’t really notice the Mexican culture as I used to. You just drive down any street and can see signs advertising â€Å"Tex-Mex† or â€Å"Mexican food.† The â€Å"Tex-Mex† just shows how much we do integrate the Mexican food in our own food. Many of the menus in these restaurants do have Spanish words on them. Even the decors in these restaurants have Spanish influences. You quickly learn what â€Å"El Baà ±o† means.(bathroom) You even have restaurants like Taco Bell and Taco Cabana being nation wide chains. Most of the towns in Texas have more Mexican food restaurants than any other kind. The Hispanic culture is spreading around the country, for instance, Picante is the number one condiment is the United states.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Even our school is integra...

Empty Promises Essay

The article I chose is called â€Å"Empty Promises, Empty Cradles†. This case involves fake adoptions. A family is promised a child, and when the time comes, there is no child given to the family. Shockingly enough, there were no children to begin with. The women who promised their unborn children to the people, who were interested in adopting, were not even pregnant. At least six couples in the Midwest were victimized by this adoption fraud scheme. For example, in a Florida case a woman contacted over a dozen victims through a forum/ Internet site for people who were looking to adopt a child, and posted that she knew a women who was about to â€Å"give birth†. All she asked of the adopting victims was either small administrative fees or for money to help with the birth mothers expenses. The victims obviously paid money for what they thought was going to go the birth mother, but in reality, there was no birth mother, and the money was pocketed. In another case that took place in Indiana, Victoria Farahan contacted the director of a local adoption ministry and said she could provide newborns from a hospital in Moscow, Russia. She went as far as providing pictures of these babies, but it turns out that the pictures were of her own children. She eventually cheated six couples out of a total of $97,500. The types of white collar crime that was committed was wire fraud and mail fraud. The wire fraud was used to wire the money to the people who were committing the crime, and the mail fraud was used to post the information online and to help find the victims. The victims of this crime were all the women who thought they were going to receive a baby. Not only was it the women, but it was also their families. Some of these women took off work for maternity leave, while others moved into bigger homes in order to give, what they thought was going to be their child, a better and bigger home to live in. It really is a shame, because some of these women were not able to have children due to being infertile. To want a child your entire life, and not be able to have one is very depressing. Adopting a child was the only hope  for the women in this situation. And they were let down yet again, but this time, their money was taken away from them. This article that I found does not talk about the outcome of the case, meaning the charges are not stated. I do believe this is a severe crime. Some of the victims went as far as decorating a nursery and others even bought a new house. That money did not need to spent, so not only are they out of money from the fraud, but on top of that, they are down money for getting prepared for their child. I truly feel for all of the people who were victims of this case. Some people will do anything for money and not completely understand the consequences. I feel as though the money should be returned to every family that supplied the criminal with money, and the criminal should do jail time.