Category: Performance

Introduction

Telecommunications is one of the most rapidly developing industries in the world. On the one hand it is explained by the fact that innovative technologies are highly demanded, on the other hand, outsiders of the market may be quickly replaced by potential new entrants. Telecommunications in Saudi Arabia is the potential and promising sphere for investments, and, it is forecasted that it will have been developing extensively for the year 2011.

The aim of this paper is to analyze the investment portfolio of three telecommunication companies that are represented on Saudi Arabia share market, and provide economic, industrial and company analysis for the detailed assessment of the investment strategy. The companies, selected for the analysis are Mobile Telecommunications Company Saudi Arabia, Saudi Telecom, and Etihad Etisalat Co.

Economic Analysis

Economic forecast of Saudi Arabia for 2011 is quite favorable. In spite of the fact that economy is mainly dependent on the oil exporting, other spheres are regarded as the alternative source of economic prosperity. It should be emphasized that the forecasts for the year 2011 are based on the fact that Saudi stock market reached its highest point in January 2011 (Zeigler, 2011). Hence, the analysts are rather optimistic as for the economic situation. Additionally, Saudi Arabia managed to escape the destabilizing financial disorder that affected numerous States, so, the economic system will be subjected to essential regional and domestic challenges, nevertheless, strong economic performance is expected.

As a rule, any economic system can not be assured in 100% success, as the world financial system is mainly unpredictable, though, as Trebing (535) emphasizes:

A reflective Arab News editorial this week noted, While it has been a good year for the Kingdom and the prospects remain excellent for the year ahead, the same cannot be said for the wider region. It said many of Saudi Arabias neighbors face major challenges. Lebanon, Egypt, and Iraq are challenged by political turmoil and the situation is far worse in Yemen, Saudi Arabias southern neighbor.

In the light of this statement, it should be noted that the actual importance of 2011 development is closely linked with the values of economic development that is an integral part of the global processes. Hence, it is stated that Irans nuclear program may be a destabilizing factor for the Arab economy, and possible military strikes in Gulf will be rather challenging. However, the entire economic development will be quite effective and successful.

Industry Analysis

Telecommunications is one of the most stable spheres in Saudi economic system. It is stated that the actual importance of telecommunications is explained by the fact that this sphere is highly demanded by the whole world, however, it should be supported and developed constantly for maintaining the competitive ability of the sphere.

In accordance with 2010 reports, telecommunications trade levels were 3.95% from the total trade volumes: 772 037 trades were registered, with the total value of 1 952 622 860 shares (5.92% of the total share market).

Most companies that are represented in this sphere are founded by the UK companies. However, this fact does not diminish the importance of telecommunications for the Saudi economic system. This also involves software development, equipment manufacturing and providing, cell phone services providing, website creation and web design. Hence, the sphere in general is quite perspective and multi angled.

In accordance with the global development processes, telecommunications is the sphere that is developed regardless of the economic problems. As it is emphasized by Idris (36), particular manufacturers and developers may be hit by economic difficulties, however, the sphere itself is developing in accordance with its own development rules.

The sphere itself is divided into several sub-divisions, and each is developed half independently from the others. Hence, hardware aspect of telecommunications is conquered by iPhone and other Apple production, while other manufacturers either try to copy the idea, or develop their own prototypes. Cell phone services is the sphere with endless potential, as most services that are offered may be close to perfect from the technical perspective, while customer care needs constant and serious improvement.

Internet access and technologies are developing with the incredible speed. Moreover, it is forecasted that global network will reach its development peak in 2011. Additionally, thee speed of internet access doubles every year. Hence, Saudi Telecom has perfect chances for effective development.

Telecommunications in Saudi Arabia are forecasted to grow, however, the first half-year will be featured with slow growth and essential barriers associated with quick penetration of Android based smart phones, and reduction of internet access speed development. Industry growth will not overwhelm 4-6% growth rates. However, second half-year will show more definite and assured growth due to the planned 3G networks development and implementation. The quality of telecommunication services is planned to increase, hence, the demand will grow.

Company Analysis

Mobile Telecommunications Company Saudi Arabia

Mobile Telecommunications Company Saudi Arabia is regarded as one of the middling companies in the sphere of telecommunications. It barely reaches 8% of the market, however, it may be regarded as the most stable company. Factors that promote its business development are as follows:

• The company understands the key tendencies of sphere development
• Realizes the key internal and external factors that influence companys development
• Aims to study competitors, as well as potential partners and suppliers
• Analyzes yearly financial indicators

Nevertheless, the company lacks sufficient financial support for implementing all the planned projects associated with providing services as well as studying the market.

In accordance with profile analysis, the growth rates of the company are not satisfactory

The growth rate of the company is slow enough, nevertheless, the intrinsic value is quite promising.

Saudi Telecom

The company shows much better results in comparison with the previously analyzed company in the sphere of economic indicators. The company offers high quality services, while the total share of the market is close to 15%. Actually, this may be regarded as quite successful performance, nevertheless, the financial analyses reveal slow decrease in market share volumes. This is explained by the fact that company is not aimed at improvement of the services provided, and customers prefer decreasing the amount of services used.

The company has an extensive network of partners, and the aim of the company is to create a reliable telecommunication network based on partnership, trust and professionalism. Portfolio analysis shows that the company has sufficient chances to achieve these aims.

The growth rate of the company is relatively high, moreover, the intrinsic value is quite promising. Nevertheless, the forecasts for the year 2011 are not very optimistic.

Etihad Etisalat Co

Average trade size of the company is 1 372 actions. The company reveals extensive growth rates, and the stock market indicators are quite promising for investing the company. On the other hand, the company is not able to guarantee high investment turn over, as the 2011 forecast shows that the company is intended to concentrate on innovative projects that will slow down companys development for at least 6  8 months.

References

Idris, Abdallah M. Cultural Barriers to Improved Organizational Performance in Saudi Arabia. SAM Advanced Management Journal 72.2 (2010): 36

Trebing, Harry M., and Maurice Estabrooks. The Globalization of Telecommunications: A Study in the Struggle to Control Markets and Technology. Journal of Economic Issues 29.2 (2011): 535

Zeigler, Lucien Why Are Economists Bullish on Saudi Arabias 2011 Economic Prospects Saudi US Relations Information Service. 2011 Web.

Introduction

There has been a heated debate on whether the academic structure of a school has any effect on the performance of minority learners. Since many studies have been done to unravel the mystery behind this debate, this paper provides a critique of one of such studies, namely, Teachers Unions, Productivity, and Minority Student Achievement by Martin Milkman. Milkman (2007) investigates any performance variations among minority learners in unionized and nonunionized schools. In my opinion, minority students who attend unionized schools perform better academically in relation to the same category of students in nonunionized schools. This paper provides a critical analysis of the authors ideas to support this claim.

Article Synthesis

Teachers in unionized schools enjoy the benefits of collective bargaining, which motivates them to work harder. The articles ideas are mainly acquired from previous researches that focused on the performance of marginalized students in standardized tests relative to majority students. In fact, the author says, the tendency of minority students to score lower than majority students on standardized tests even when socio-economic status is held constant has troubled researchers (Milkman, 1997, p. 138). The author also holds the idea that minority students in unionized schools achieve better in mathematics, as opposed to their colleagues in nonunionized schools. This variation is clearly shown in the pre-math mean value of minority students in nonunionized schools. The value is relatively lower than that of unionized schools.

Minority students who attend unionized schools are in the company of students who perform better in mathematics tests. Besides, such learners have a better socio-economic condition in addition to positive attitude towards school and education compared to their colleagues in nonunionized schools. The encouraging learning environment that these minority students find themselves in offers them both an opportunity and challenge to perform better academically. The healthy competition that is cultivated in these schools amongst students has influenced positively the good academic performance that characterizes unionized schools. These schools have cultivated a culture that allows students to view education positively. This plan gives the minorities who form part of the student fraternity in these schools an excellent chance to attend higher level of education.

The collective bargaining that is availed to teachers by the unions, better performance of learners in standardized tests, and a general positivity towards higher education have motivated minority students to work harder in their education. Milkman (1997) reveals, On average, minorities attending union schools score higher in math achievement tests and are more likely to go to college than minority students attending non-union schools (p. 140). For instance, the difference in performance of minority students in unionized and nonunionized schools is evident in the number of mathematics classes. Teachers in unionized schools are motivated to work harder since they are held accountable for the performance of their students.

I agree with Milkman (2007) based on the information he gives in table 2 concerning students educational productivity. It is evident that positivity towards education in minority students in unionized schools is very high. The number of students who are interested in joining a higher institution of education is higher relative to the situation in nonunionized schools. The coefficient of college (+) marginalized students in unionized schools is 2.177 while that of the same class of learners from nonunionized schools is 1.243 (Milkman, 1997). I concur with the finding that minority students who attend unionized schools that have a higher population of majority students perform better. In fact, the high performance levels that are witnessed in unionized schools that have a higher percentage of majority students influence positively the academic efforts of minority students in the same schools. Hence, they (minorities) end up performing exemplarily well academically.

Opinion Support

The article supports my opinion by showing past researches, especially from 1970s, that confirmed that minority students performed poorly in standardized tests, irrespective of their socio-economic backgrounds. As a strategy to curb the problem, introduction of union/nonunionized schools was one of the solutions. Unionized schools were one way of ensuring that minority students of this period improved their performance. Attendance of minority students in schools that have a population of students from higher socio-economic backgrounds in addition to a positive attitude towards education has played a major role in improving their academic performance.

Collective bargaining from unions has offered teachers a platform to offer services to students as a way of boosting their performance, especially the minority learners. The passage also supports my opinion by showing that the number of unionized schools that are friendly to the handicapped minority students is greater relative to the situation in nonunionized schools. The article suggests that minority students have unique requirements and/or react differently to educational materials than majority students. Therefore, standardized tests should not be a measure of academic performance since minority students have special needs and/or respond differently to educational resources than majority students (Milkman, 1997. p. 138).

Conclusion

Marginalized learners in unionized academic institutions demonstrate excellent academic results in relation to their counterparts who attend nonunionized schools. The study has revealed that minority students who attend unionized schools, which have a higher student population of majority students who perform better in standardized tests and/or have a general positivity towards education because of their better socio-economic backgrounds, end up performing well academically. Teachers in unionized schools show personal interests in their students, and hence the improved general performance of minority students.

Reference

Milkman, M. (1997). Teachers Unions, Productivity, and Minority Student Achievement. Journal of Labor Research, 18(1), 137-150.

When a teacher reads a lecture with the purpose to inform students about new data and make them remember this information better, they are to apply different techniques. Adjusted instruction is the concept which teachers apply at any stage of learning as it helps students remember much information with better effectiveness. However, many teachers face the problem when students experience difficulties in understanding the problem or when students progress at a faster rate than others. Both these problems require a teacher to modify the lesson plans (Borich, 2007).

The only strategy is to be applied as adjusting of the lesson is to be provided by the same scheme. First of all, a teacher should understand who has already coped with the information and have knowledge in the sphere. Then, a teacher should separate students by understanding the material. Those who experience difficulty in understanding the material should be gathered in one group and a teacher should explain to them the information one more time.

Those students who have already understood the lesson should be given an extended activity to enlarge their knowledge. If a teacher sees that some students still have difficulties in understanding the material, they are to arrange an additional time before or after the classes with the purpose to explain the material one more time (Slavin, 2009).

However, this is not the only possible strategy in dealing with legging or progressing students. A teacher may create heterogeneous groups where students who have already understood the material and those who have not caught it yet are going to be in the same group. Giving the task, a teacher allows wiser students to help those who lag. In this case, those students who have already got the material will improve their knowledge while others have a chance to listen to the information one more time using other words and understand it.

There are a lot of different ways that may help a teacher to monitor students. However, some strategies are more effective for adjusting interactive instruction based on an analysis of student performance during different phases of direct instruction. Informal member checks, student summaries of directions, lesson reaction sheets, guided lecture procedure, and think-pair-share are the techniques appropriate for monitoring student performance to adjust interactive instruction based on an analysis of student performance during different phases of direct instruction (Linn, Miller, & Gronlund, 2009).

Informal member check allows the teacher to monitor students understanding of the material at each stage of the lesson. Each time a teacher finishes with explaining a concept, students should show either thumb up or thumb down. This will help a teacher to understand the effectiveness of the lesson. A student summary of directions is the technique that allows both a teacher and students to move ahead. After a teacher explains the instructions, students should recall the information correctly. Lesson reaction sheets are the technique that allows a teacher to understand what students got to know and which information they want to listen to, what problems students have met during the lesson.

Guided lecture procedure presupposes that after writing down the objectives of the lesson presented by the teacher, they just listen without making any notes. At the end of a lesson or any stage when the teacher thinks it is appropriate, students may be asked to make notes of the information they have remembered. The think-pair-share technique allows students to think about the aspects considered in class and develop a topic for discussion. Then students may discuss the chosen topic and after that, they should dwell upon the problem in front of the whole class. The whole class is involved and a teacher may see how the general information is perceived (Schumm & Vaughn, 1997).

The use of informal member checks and think-pair-share monitoring techniques may help a teacher re-teach or assist those who have problems. When students show that they have problems in understanding some material, a teacher may divide the class into groups and each group will develop a topic for presenting before the whole class. After the information is considered, students should discuss their topic. This allows those students who have already understood the information to repeat it one more time and those students who have problems with understanding listen to it. The combination of the monitoring strategies allows teachers to apply the adjusted instructions method as well.

Students repeat the information presented by the teacher one more time. It allows weaker students to listen to the data one more time and to try to understand it better. Teachers should pay attention to the fact that they have an opportunity to check students knowledge and help those who lag behind. The combination of strategies is effective and should be applied while lessons for making those varied.

Reference List

Borich, G. (2007). Effective teaching methods: Research-based practice. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.

Linn, R., Miller, M., & Gronlund, N. (2009). Measurement and assessment in teaching. (10th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.

Schumm, J. S., & Vaughn, S. (1997). Are they getting it? How to monitor student understanding in inclusive classrooms. Intervention in School & Clinic, 32(3), pp. 168-172.

Slavin, R. (2009). Educational psychology: Theory and practice (9th ed.) Boston, MA: Pearson.

Strategies for Monitoring Student Understanding

Brophy (1987) states that effective teaching presupposes monitoring students understand. There are various strategies to monitor student understanding. For instance, when the instructions are given, the teacher may move around the class to monitor whether the students have comprehended the task properly. This type of monitoring helps the teacher to make sure the students understand the task. Students benefit from this monitoring as they are likely to complete the task when they understand the task properly.

Tests can be regarded as effective monitoring measures as they help the teacher to understand whether students have managed to grasp the necessary material. Students also benefit from this type of monitoring as they can revise the material. These tests also help the teacher to see students progress (Brophy, 1987).

Completing various interesting projects can also be regarded as a monitoring strategy. The students will have to use the material taught to complete their projects. The teacher will help students with their projects. Students will report on their projects to the class. This will make students more self-confident and the teacher will make sure students understand the necessary material. Self-monitoring is also a very effective strategy. One of the possible types of self-monitoring will be discussed below (in section 3).

An Effective Monitoring System for Students Who Are More Likely to Have Difficulties with Classroom Assignments

One of the most effective monitoring strategies for students who are likely to have difficulties with classroom assignments is monitoring these students understanding after the task is given. The teacher may help the students understand the task properly by giving more instructions, more details, hints, and tips. The teacher should also move around the class while the students work on the task. The teacher can assist the students: giving tips, pointing at mistakes, etc.

This will help the students to complete the tasks more successfully, which, in its turn, will increase their self-confidence. The system of these measures will also help the teacher to monitor the progress of these students.

Observation and Description

The video reveals the way the teacher encourages the learners to self-monitor. All learners create their portfolios. Admittedly, portfolios cannot be regarded as something progressive. However, in this case, making portfolios is not conventional. Learners themselves create their portfolios. They choose works which, in their opinion, are the most successful ones. Notably, the teacher helps them to complete this task. This assistance is revealed in two ways.

First, the teacher can give some piece of advice on this or that paper. Secondly, the teacher asks the learner to explain his/her choice. The portfolios contain works covering various disciplines. These portfolios cover the learners progress at a specific point of the year.

Remarkably, the learners are eager to create their portfolios. They are also encouraged to evaluate their works as well as their progress. Learners try to choose their best works. They may ask their teacher to help them to decide which work to choose. However, the teacher notes that they manage to make the right decision on their own.

Analysis, Exploration, and Reasoning

Admittedly, the learners have to be effectively engaged in the process of their self-assessment (Linn et al., 2009). In the present case, the learners are fully engaged in the process. Thus, they analyze all their works produced. They try to choose the best works. They are completely responsible for their choice. First, they look at all works and try to evaluate which one is better. It is the learners responsibility to define specific criteria of the works quality. The learners are also responsible for evaluating their work according to their criteria. Finally, the learners make their choice on their own.

However, it is necessary to note that this process is still guided by the teacher. Admittedly, the teachers guidance is of paramount importance for the process of self-assessment (Linn et al., 2009; Brophy, 1987). Thus, the teacher may help the learners to make their choice. This guidance is also revealed in a different plane. The teacher asks the learners to justify their choices. Thus, the learner repeats the entire process as he/she enumerates some features of his/her works which are important. Again, the learners are completely engaged in the process of self-assessment as they try to prove they have made the right choice.

Connections to Other Effective Teaching Practices

It is necessary to note that the present teaching practice is very effective. This self-assessment procedure reaches several goals. In the first place, the learners are completely engaged in the process. They analyze their previous works to choose the best ones. They also need to prove that their choice is right. Thus, they go through all mental processes once more when reporting on the works they are going to include in their portfolios. The learners have to explain why this or that work is the best one, providing some criteria they have used. In the process of self-reporting, the learners find their own mistakes if any.

They sometimes understand why this or that work cannot be in their portfolios. It is necessary to add, that the present procedure is very objective. Admittedly, some students may be too subjective when assessing their works, as they want to seem successful students (Slavin, 2009). However, the procedure of self-reporting eliminates any subjectivity.

As has been mentioned above, the learners define some criteria of successful works. In other words, they understand what ultimate goals they need to reach. In this way, the learners understand what they need to do to reach their goals. They recollect specific techniques they used to complete this or that task. While choosing the best work, they inevitably choose successful techniques to use. Therefore, the learners acquire valuable experience which will help them to be more successful in the future. Besides, the present procedure helps the learners to revise the material. Admittedly, this is very important.

Evaluation

The effectiveness of the procedure can be found in three planes: objectivity, revision, useful skills. Thus, when thinking about the objectivity of the procedure, it occurred to me that subjectivity is eliminated as the teacher does not assess the learners performance and no subjectivity can be traced in this plane. Notably, the learners cannot exaggerate their abilities, as they only use the works they have. Thus, they cannot claim that there are the best students in the class, as they do not compare each other works, but they simply try to find their best works. As far as I am concerned, the learners will manage to choose the right works as they analyze them carefully and they are also guided by their teacher.

When watching the video, I had to agree with the teacher as the learners did revise the material. When making their portfolios, the learners look into their projects, they see some facts, figures, numbers, pictures, etc. Some things may (or rather are often) forgotten. However, when analyzing their works, learners cannot but revise the material. I noticed that the first revised material while choosing the best works and while discussing their choice with their teacher. Therefore, they had to use some information (learned previously) to justify their choice.

Finally, I also noticed that the learners had a great opportunity to find effective techniques to use. The teacher claims that the learners choose the best work, and they recollect some techniques used to make the work. Thus, the learners manage to identify effective as well as ineffective techniques. Admittedly, this knowledge enables them to choose the most effective techniques to use while completing similar tasks.

Recommendations

I believe the technique discussed is very effective as it addresses the major goals of self-assessment. Of course, it should be held by some important requirements. One of the most important recommendations is to ensure adequate guidance.

Admittedly, learners need clear instructions as to how to create their portfolios. For instance, Brophy (1987) stresses that simple instructions are essential as learners may fail to complete the task correctly because of inappropriate instructions. Thus, the teacher should explain what exactly is expected from the learners. It is also important to warn the learners that they will need to justify their choice. Of course, the learners should be told about this type of activity at the very beginning of the year. It is also important to set specific periods for such a self-assessment procedure.

However, this should be only a part of a combination of students self-assessment and self-reporting procedures. Alternative approaches can be closely related to the present one. Thus, after the session of this procedure, i.e. when the learners portfolios are ready, it is possible to ask students to report to their peers. Thus, the objectivity remains. However, the students will listen to their peers achievements and this can encourage them to work harder.

The learners should try to explain what made them make some of their mistakes. Of course, at earlier stages, the teacher has to provide a list of possible reasons so that the learners can choose some of them. This will help the learners to understand their weaknesses. Such sessions should end in a discussion, where the learners share their knowledge (e.g. effective techniques). It is possible to award the most active learners.

Personal Meaning and Professional Growth

Now I understand that portfolios can be used for learners self-assessment and self-reporting procedures. I am determined to use this procedure in my future teaching practice as I find this technique very effective. I think this will help the learners to self-develop. I will start the year by making the learners acquainted with the procedure. The procedures will be held once in two or three months. The learners will know approximate dates when the portfolios will be compiled and analyzed. This will make the learners more disciplined. This will also encourage them to work harder as they will know that their works will play an important role.

I think this will help me as a novice teacher to better understand the role of self-assessment and its influence on learners achievements. More so, this technique will also help me to be a successful teacher who can combine different techniques and procedures. Finally, this procedure revealed one more way to look at things from a new perspective. I may also find new ways to use learners portfolios. I am determined to try to look at things from various perspectives from now on.

Reference List

Brophy, J. (1987). Teacher behavior to student achievement: Potential implications for instruction of Chapter I students. East Lansing, MI: Michigan State University.

Linn, R., Miller, M., & Gronlund, N. (2009). Measurement and assessment in teaching. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.

Slavin, R. (2009). Educational psychology: Theory and practice. Boston, MA: Pearson.

The United States of America is a superpower with an economy that is superior to the economies of many countries in the world. However, American students lag behind in education. The economic and technological superiority of America is not reflected in the academic abilities of students. Studies conducted to compare the academic abilities of American students and students from other countries revealed that American students lag behind, especially in science, writing proficiency, and mathematics (NCES, 2011).

A study conducted to compare academic performance in 57 countries revealed that American students are average compared to other countries. Countries such as Canada, Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Korea, and Estonia performed better than America. Sixteen countries performed better than America in mathematics, while 23 countries performed better in science. The study also revealed that there is a wide gap between high-performing and low-performing students in America than in other countries.

American students are unable to compete globally compared to students from other countries. Lack of competitiveness is attributed to the U.S education system that is unable to adapt to contemporary educational needs and realities (NCES, 2011). A study conducted by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) ranked the United States at number 32 among 65 countries that took part in the international test. American students portrayed a lack of competitiveness and inferior academic abilities.

A survey conducted by the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) revealed that American students are not as proficient in science and mathematics as students from other countries. However, their reading proficiency is higher than that of students from other countries. This is attributed to the fact that a great percentage of the student population in America comprises natives. For example, fourth graders are ranked among the best students in reading literacy in the world. Commenting on the findings of the survey, the director of PISA said that:

The average score attained by American students in reading literacy was 500, which was better than the score of students in 13 OECD countries. However, it was lower than the score of students from 6 OECD countries. In reading literacy, girls performed better than boys, who were more proficient in mathematics and science (NCES, 2011).

The gender gap in reading literacy is lower among American students than in other countries. American students performed poorly in mathematics compared to students from 33 OECD countries. They only performed better than students from only 5 OECD countries. On the other hand, American students performed better in science than only 9 OECD countries (NCES, 2011). Asian countries outperformed the United States in all subjects considered in the survey. These countries include Singapore, Taipei, Hong Kong, Korea, and Japan.

American students rank lower in writing proficiency than students from other countries. A study conducted to compare writing proficiencies among students revealed that American students have poor writing abilities. According to Dr. Jack Buckley, representative of the National Centre for Education Statistics,

There was not a lot of difference in levels of proficiency from 2007, when the most immediate prior writing assessment was administered (Kuczynski, 2012).

The survey revealed that only 25% of 8^th and 12^th graders are proficient in writing. In other countries, at least 45% of students are proficient in writing (Kuczynski, 2012).

American students lag behind in education compared to students from other countries. They are less competitive and perform poorly in mathematics, science, reading literacy, and writing proficiency. Surveys conducted have shown no significant improvement in mathematics, science, and writing proficiency for many years. However, improvement has been observed in reading literacy.

References

Kuczynski, A. (2012). Most U.S Students Lack Writing Proficiency, National Assessment Of Educational Progress Finds. Web.

National Centre for Education Statistics (NCES): International Comparisons of Achievement. (2011). Web.

Introduction

In the modern day work environment, many students have opted to work as they study. The question on whether working while still in college is desirable has over the recent past raised more question than answers (Furr & Elling, 2000). There are different schools of thought which argue both for, and against working while in college.

Proponents of work-study set up think that it is desirable to work while studying since work complements the skills learnt in school (Lauren, 2005). The opponents argue that There is a correlation between the attention given to work and poor performance academically.

They further argue that the school time devoted to work offers the student less time to articulate the learning concepts and therefore negatively affect the academic performance (Pritchard, 1996). This paper discusses the impact of paid employment on academic performance of students and overall experience at the university.

Argument for working while still in school

Many studies have been done seeking to answer the simple question of whether to work while in school or complete studies first then engage in full-time employment. As such, many proponent of working while in school have come up with numerous justifications for their support for work-study setting. Several reason are given as to why work-study life is desirable.

First, it is commonly argued that working while studying enhances a students study life since the concepts learnt in school are applied almost at the time of learning.

This offers an invaluable experience to the student who get to practically experience the theoretical literature learnt in class while it is still fresh in the mind (Li-Chen & Wooster, 1979). A student whose work is in his primary area of study will usually find it easier to articulate the concepts taught in class since the experience he gets from the work complements the literature taught in class.

Some other students also work in order to afford their tuition fee. This may not necessarily positively affect their academic performance but it plays an integral part in ensuring that the students attend college through providing income in order to pay for the college fees. The proponents therefore, posit that for this particular group of individuals, it is desirable to work while schooling.

Argument for not working while in studying

Several opponents of work-study programs have come forward to present their case against working while in school. Most individuals against this setting argue that individuals can only devote their productive time to one major activity at a time (Ruhm, 1997).

This means that an individual who works while studying will have two major areas that require personal commitment and can only attend to one at a time. Therefore, the student will either pay more attention to work and consequently, fail academically, or that particular student will pay more attention to the studies and therefore, result in low productivity at work.

The impact of paid employment on academic performance

From the preceding discussion, it has been noted that there are several arguments both for, and against working while in school. But the biggest question is whether paid employment has effects on academic performance.

It has been found out that employment during school could actually positively influence the academic performance of the students (Pritchard, 1996). However, this is only so in cases where the type of work that a student is doing offers attributes which are complementary with the schools success academically.

These attributes that might improve a students academic performance include time management and industriousness. Students who work in environments where such attributes are instilled will inadvertently exhibit high levels of personal discipline and this may actually help improve their academic performance (Astin, 1993). This is because a student is able to manage and plan for the available time well in such a manner that there is optimization of the time that consequently ensure high productivity both at work and academically.

On the other hand, it is argued that work negatively affects a student academic performance and results in lower grades. This is presented by several researches that have been carried to establish the marginal effect of an additional one hour at work to the students academic grades. According to a study done on Townson State University, it was found that an additional ten hours of school for student who were in active employment reduced their academic performance measured by the exams grades by two percent (Dustmann & Christian, 2007).

This is explained by the fact that a student who is working while studying will tend to pay more attention to work since that particular students primary reason for being in school is to find a gainful employment.

This means that the student who has already secured an employment opportunity will therefore, devote more quality time on the job that on the school work (Laming, 2004). It has also been found out that work hours are treated as exogenous.

Other researches done also indicate an increasing relation to scale on the incremental number of hours at work matched with the academic performance of students. As a student spends more time at the workplace, more time is dedicated to the job and therefore losing on the quality time that could otherwise be devoted to the school hours and thus reducing on the academic performance.

Paid employment has however, some other effects on the overall students experience at the university. Most students who are engaged in paid employment usually have desirable effects on their overall experience at the university. Employment while at work usually instills a sense of responsibility on the students (Lauren, 2005). This is so because most students who are working while studying are usually at their entry level in their work places.

Employees at the entry level usually exhibit higher expectation in terms of career growth since at their level, they are able to establish the stages they need to go through in order to reach their desired targets in their career paths. Employment while in the university therefore, offers a beneficial exposure to the students who are able to objectively evaluate the options at their disposal (Pritchard, 1996).

Students have make decisions on leisure or work, or leisure or school, or even reduce leisure time to concentrate on school and work. This instills an early sense of responsibility to the students since they are able to objectively look at different situations and make responsible judgments.

Conclusion

From the preceding discussion, it has been seen that paid employment has both negative and positive effects on students academic performance.

Student who engage in employment where some desirable attributes such as time management and industriousness are enforced at the work place may have better grades in school than those who do not work or those who work under different environments. However, more time spent at work over school may begin to negatively affect the performance of students academically.

It is therefore, important to note that a student needs to find and strike a balance between work and school. This is so because there is a high correlation between students grades at school and future career growth. The fact that a student is working does not provide a reason enough for that student not to perform well in school.

References

Astin, A. (1993). What matters in college? Four critical years revisited. San Franscisco: Jossey-Bass.

Dustmann, & Christian. (2007). Part-time Work, School Success and School Leaving. Empirical Economics, 277-299.

Furr, R., & Elling, T. (2000). The influence of work on college student development. NASPA Journal, 454-470.

Laming, D. R. (2004). Understanding human motivation what makes people tick? Malden: Blackwell Publishers.

Lauren, E. W. (2005). The Effects of College Student Employment on Academic Achievement. The University of Florida Undergraduate Research Journal, 38-47.

Li-Chen, M., & Wooster, R. (1979). The effects of unemployment on the college students academic peformance. College Student Journal, 12-20.

Pritchard, M. (1996). Hours of employment and undergraduate studies. Consumer Interests Annual, 207-209.

Ruhm, C. (1997). Is High School Employment Consumption or Investment?. Journal of Labor Economics, 735-776.

This article is based on the sexual objectification theory of American women. Sexual objectification implies that women are being put under scrutiny based on their appearance. Then the theory posits that girls and women internalize these ideas within themselves and become preoccupied with their appearance. The author believes that American women have been an object of such scrutiny. This the authors exemplify through a very simple example of medias depiction of women and men, where the latter is depicted with emphasis on head and face, women are mostly depicted with over-emphasis on their body. This article aims to study the effect of such sexual objectification by media on women.

The theory on self-objectification states that sexual objectification internalizes among girls and women and takes the shape of self-objectification, which in turn, leads to psychological consequences such as increased shame, increased anxiety, decreased flow states, and intensity to bodily cues. This leads to mental health risks such as disordered eating, depression, sexual dysfunction, etc. but the self-affirmation theory will state that self-objectification will enhance an individuals mental abilities and so the ability to do mathematics.

The hypothesis the authors take to prove their study is self-objectification produces body shame, reduces the mental ability and math performance, and this is more evident among women than men.

Two experiments were conducted on the participants, the first where they were asked to try a swimsuit or a sweater and then answer a questionnaire aimed at measuring body shame. The second experiment was done through a food taste test and a math test.

72 participants were randomly assigned to the experiment and their weights were taken and accordingly labeled as underweight, normal weight, and overweight (24, 38, and 10 respectively). The questionnaire they answered was based on twelve body attributes and how important each is to their physical self-concept. They used an indirect method of body shame. They used measures such as motivational and behavioral components of shame such as the desire to hide, escape, turn away, disappear, or become smaller, as well as the desire to change the failed aspects of the self. The participants rated themselves based on a 4-point scale.

The analysis was done in three phases: first, it was done on a unisex scale, the second was to try on and evaluate an item of clothing alone in a dressing room with a full-length mirror, and the third was the taste test where the participants tasted a cookie or a chocolate-flavored drink.

The results of the study showed that women with a high degree of self-objectification measured more on body shame. Further, a greater amount of body shame was found among women who tried the swimsuit. Body shame also restricted the eating habits of the participants were also found. But the limitations to this study as stated by the authors are, they cannot be sure that the self-objectification led body was due to trying on the swimsuit alone. Further, this experiment was conducted only on women, restricting us from knowing if this would have a similar effect on men too. This is solved in the second experiment where their results showed that men were indifferent whether they tried a swimsuit or a sweater but the result did not draw any conclusive result regarding womens perception of body shame.

References

Field, A. E., Cheung, L. Wolf, A. M., Herzog, D. B. Gortmaker, S.L. and Colditz G.A. Exposure to the Mass Media and Weight Concerns among Girls. Pediatrics; 103; e36 1999: pp. 1-5.

Brown, J.D., Halpern, C.H., and LEngle, K.L. Mass media as a sexual super peer for early maturing girls, Journal of Adolescent Health 36, 2005: pp.420427.

Dittmar, H, Halliwell, E, and Ive, S. Does Barbie Make Girls Want to Be Thin? The Effect of Experimental Exposure to Images of Dolls on the Body Image of 5- to 8-Year-Old Girls, Developmental Psychology, Vol. 42, No. 2, 2006: pp. 283292.

Cohen, S. Media Exposure and the Subsequent Effects on Body Dissatisfaction, Disordered Eating, and Drive for Thinness: A Review of the Current Research Mind Matters: The Wesleyan Journal of Psychology Vol. 1, 2006: pp. 57-71.

Okunna, C.S. Portrayal of Women in Nigerian Home Video Films: Empowerment or Subjugation? Department of Mass Communication, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Nigeria. 1996.

Fredrickson, B. L. Roberts, T.A. Noll, S. M. Quinn D.M. and Twenge, J.M. That Swimsuit Becomes You: Sex Differences in Self-Objectification, Restrained Eating, and Math Performance Journal of Personality and Social PsychologyVol. 75, No. 1, 1998: pp.269-284.

Martin, C.K. Girls, Video Games, and the Traditional Stereotype of Female Characters Communication 270, 1999

Peterson, R. and Jun, M. Eating Disorders and Advertising Effects: an Exploration Academy of Marketing Studies Journal, Volume 8, Number 1, 2004

Ward, S. Buck, M. Hofman, B. Tanjic, S. and Whyte D. Baby You Got Me in the Shape Im In: Factors Which Determine Body Image ANZMAC 2000 Visionary Marketing for the 21st Century: Facing the Challenge 2000.

Stice, E. and Whitenton, K. Risk Factors for Body Dissatisfaction in Adolescent Girls: A Longitudinal Investigation, Developmental Psychology, Vol. 38, No. 5, 2002: pp. 669678.

Life skills software project is focused on offering better quality learning for students in foundation schools. The school aims at improving the enrollment rates in the near future while at the same time maintaining a high level of quality in education standards.

Current student number of students stands at 1000 but the enrolment rate increases by 5% every year. There are also plans to expand and build new branches.

The software has over 800 learning modules which focus on skills like call for emergency, the use of public transportation, paying for items purchased in a store, developing monthly budgets, setting up account as well as other basic communication skills for the students.

The software incorporates fun and interactive games, videos and fun activities. The effectiveness of the software to train and equip the students can be confirmed by the fact that it won the software of the year award.

Problem Statement

Despite the great advantage availed by the software, there is a great challenge of ensuring the teachers get to fully implement the software in the learning process. This requires two aspects to flow parallel to each other.

The teachers must be willing and able to learn the usage and application of the software. On the other hand, they must be willing and able to use the software optimally to ensure that as many students as possible learn the skills.

Topics

The applicable topics in developing the plan include leadership in program management, effective use of data and metrics in achieving optimal performance as well as performance management tactics. Leadership in program management will ensure that the teachers are fully motivated to learn and execute the program.

In this case the schools administration has to develop a comprehensive strategy to motivate the teachers. This should start with the education of the teachers on the importance of understanding and implementing the life skills software in the teaching process.

This definitely develops more interest towards the system. Secondly, the teachers should be led to understand that not applying the software makes their work more difficult given the pending increases in the teacher to student ratio (Leadership, 2010, par3).

Effective use of data and metrics in achieving optimal performance is critical towards developing an incentive program which is sustainable. Part of the incentives applicable to boost the teachers morale in learning and implementing the software would be to reward the teachers for progress both on the level of acquisition of the knowledge to use the system as well as the success to which they are able to apply the system in their teaching practice. Profitability will definitely be improved when the software is applied to a larger number of students without hiring more teachers.

Performance management tactics entails taking actions which ensure that emerging issues are effectively solved and do not present hindrances to performance. In the application of the software, it is important that a timeframe is developed to ensure that the teachers learn the software and effectively apply it.

Continued evaluation of the teachers performance will also offer a better channel of identifying and improving on emerging problems (Performance Management Tactics, 2009, par4).

Applying these topics will undoubtedly mean a much better plan for the school and more importantly boost the profits obtained from expansion in enrolment while not expanding expenses.

Two companies Nissan and Toyota are known for their successful implementation of leadership in management which has led to phenomenal growth of the companies.

Reference List

Leadership, (2010). Management about.com. Retrieved from https://www.thebalancecareers.com/leadership-4161685

Performance Management Tactics, (Sept 2009). The Thriving Small Business. Retrieved from https://thethrivingsmallbusiness.com/3-performance-management-tactics/

Introduction

Play Station 3 is a powerful video game console that provides a platform to the virtual world of games produced by Sony computer entertainment. It provides the ultimate gaming experience with its robust multimedia capabilities. With excellent visual & sound effects and having thousands of games, Playstation-3 is a clear leader in-game console market. Its the internal hardware architecture of Playstation-3 along with its software that makes it a high-performance output machine.

Architectural development

Like computers, the gaming console is also a processor which has memory and architecture which processes the digital data and produces the audio & video outputs through the interfaced peripherals. The hardware architecture of Playstation-3 utilizes a 64 bit 3.2 GHz cell processor developed by IBM having 8 synergistic processing elements (SPE), 256 MB of XDR DRAM, NVIDIA RSX graphics chip with 256 MB GDDR3 RAM for video memory which can also access the cells main memory i.e. the XDR DRAM and can generate 1080p output signals also known as full HD. (Gschwind, 2005)

The cell processor equipped with 512 KB of L2 cache acts as a managing processor It manages the computational workload and assigns it to the 7 SPE processors using1 PowerPC processing element (PPE). The main function of a cell processor is to efficiently use the capabilities of the available SPE whereas a reserve SPE is available for the case of failure of any of the 7 functioning SPE. SPE are 128 bit single instruction multiple data (SIMD) vector processors each of them clocked at 3.2 GHz. The internal communication is carried away by Element interconnect Bus (EIB) which can transfer data at 204 GB/s. Every SPE uses its own memory flow controller & Direct memory access controller. (Stokes, 2000) (Langdon, 2008)

Another controller is Flex I/O controller which communicates with the NVIDIA RSX graphic chip & the southbridge components such as hard drive, Ethernet, USB, memory card reader, WiFi, Optical Media like Blue-ray. The Bandwidth of Flex I/O is

60 GB/s and the majority of this bandwidth are allocated for the communication with the RSX graphic chip. (Blachford, 2005)

PowerPC Processing Element (PPE)

The PPE contains a 64 bit, dual-thread PowerPC Architecture RISC core. It has 32 KB L1 I-cache & 32 KB L2 D-cache along with 512 KB L2 unified cache. The PPE provides an excellent platform to control the functioning of SPEs. As PPE uses PowerPC instruction set and therefore the clock speed comparisons for this architecture lose significance. (Koranne, P. 20)

Synergistic Processing Element (SPE)

SPE are completely independent processors clocked at 3.2 GHz. Its the core processor of the system and this vector processor is also known as single instruction multiple data processors (SIMD) which means that at one clock cycle multiple operations can be performed by a single instruction. Also the SPE access 128 registers with 128 bits each with a dedicated memory controller which makes the operations on 32 bit single precision floating point data types possible with high speed & performance.

The SPE along with PPE are in order processors which makes the role of the compiler very important. (Chen, Raghvan, Dale & Iwata, 2005)

The Architecture Behavior

The Element Interconnect Bus (EIB) is connected to PPE, 8 SPE, 1 Flex I/O controller & 1 XDR memory controller. There is an EIB protocol which is followed by the system for the communication. The EIB is connected by 4 16 byte data rings with 64 bit tags. The EIB bus is capable of transferring 96 bytes per cycle and is capable of handling over 100 outstanding requests. These components acts as a slave to the EIB master which controlled by an arbiter. If one component needs to send data then the component sends a request for the ring of the bus then once acknowledged the ring is been allocated to that specific slave for instance 3^rd SPE. Being a vector processor there could be multiple request & multiple allocation of rings in the bus, so data can be sent & received by multiple components simultaneously, also called multithreading. (Stokes, The Cell Architecture)

This system helps managing the memory recourses within the system. Apart from the memory controller all other components can request read & write operation to the EIB, here the I/O related request is given the highest priority. Each and every element of this cell has its own memory controller. The PPE instructions are carried out through L2 Cache memory but the SPE is controlled by software to access the RAM. This can be considered as completely separate application of code & memory. This feature of keeping SPE controlled by software speeds up the cell and adds security to the system. (Chen, Raghvan, Dale & Iwata, 2005)

NVIDIA RSX Graphics chip

As the graphics are the most important part of the game console there has to be a dedicated microprocessor to do the graphic processing. That is why this is known as Graphical Processing Unit (GPU). NVIDIA RSX is a 550 MHz GPU having specifically allotted 256 MB GDDR3 video memory which can also access the main memory i.e. XDR memory. The special feature is that it has a dedicated vertex shader pipeline & dedicated pixel shader pipeline as compared to unified shader pipeline in Xbox 360.

The GPU is also connected to 256 MB XDR memory through Flex I/O interface. As mentioned earlier the SPEs are made independent as they have separate memory controller, this can be a cause of concern if the functioning of SPE overlaps with the functioning of the vertex processors on the RSX. This is simplified in the architecture as it is up to the programmer to decide whether to use GPU or the SPE to accomplish the tasks. (Dokken, 2006) (Minh, 2008)

Software Development

The software gives the flexibility to the programmer to use the cell processor according to their need. The cell is not designed for a specific computer or a specific game therefore the programmer can modify the memory distribution as per the need.

This is an example of parallel programming and usually it is considered very complex, but the operating system in playstation-3 distribute the memory according to the tasks & availability of resources. Here the programmer has to design a parallel distribution system initially and the task management is taken care by the operating system itself.

Other Peripherals

Hard disc drive: Playstation-3 has a hard drive of 20 GB & its latest versions are coming with 60GB hard drive which means a lot of storage capacity.

Optical media drive: Playstation-3 has Blue ray drive which is a clear front runner when compared to DVD. The capacity, high definition movie content, copyright protections are some of the features where blue ray beats DVD. The only disadvantage that the blue ray drive has, when compared to DVD is the data read speed which results in increase in load time.

Controllers: Playstation-3 has motion sensors to provide better control. It also has the pressure sensitivity and supports 7 Bluetooth devices. That means along with increasing number of players the headset, keyboard & mouse can also be connected simultaneously. (Stokes, 2005).

Performance analysis

The biggest advantage of the Playstation-3 architecture is that the RSX has dedicated memory of 22.4 GB/s and the cell has dedicated 25.6 GB/s main memory and additionally if the programmer wants to assign extra memory to the RSX then the RSX can fetch the memory from cells memory through Flex I/O controller on the EIB.

Where as in Xbox 360 the CPU access through the GPUs memory controller and shares the same 128 bit bus to GDDR3.

The number of transistors in NVIDIA RSX graphical chip alone is more than the combined transistors of cell processor unit and graphical processing unit in any other game console. (Shimpi, 2010)

Conclusion

In terms of games processing power the Playstation-3 definitely holds an upper hand although Xbox have higher bandwidth but the number does not reflect on performance as the bandwidth is been shared between GPU & CPU where as the Playstation-3 has dedicated bandwidth for the cell processor & GPU. Also the SIMD feature is a remarkable one in Playstation-3. Having said that no technology is good enough to last forever, there are certain aspects where other console takes the lead but considering the overall performance The Plastation-3 is an extremely powerful machine which takes you, closest to the reality.

List of References

Blachford, N, 2005, Cell Architecture Explained.

Chen, T, Raghavan, R, Dale, J & Iwata, E, 2005, Cell Broadband Engine Architecture & its first implementation. Web.

Dokken, Torr, 2006, The Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) as a high performance computational recourse for simulation and geometry processing. Web.

Gschwind, Micheal, 2005, Chip Multiprocessing & Cell Broadband Engine. Web.

Koranne, Sandeep, Practical computing on the cell broadband engine, 1^st edition, 2009, Springer, New York.

Minh, Tri Do Din, 2008, GPUs  Graphics Processing Units. Web.

Shimpi, Anandlal, 2010, Sandy Bridge integrated graphics performance. Web.

Stokes, John, 2000, SIMD Architectures. Web.

Stokes, John, 2005, introducing the IBM/Sony/Toshiba Cell Processor  Part II: The Cell Architecture.

W Langdon & W Banzhaf. 2008, A SIMD interpreter for genetic programming on GPU graphics cards. Web.

Collected Data

The data that has already been collected consist of copies of students work in various assignments. The data shows students performance in various assignments and their ability to work independently. The process of collecting the data involved guiding students in their studies in order to monitor and to record their performance immediately. Scoring rubrics were used to assess the academic performance of each student, especially, their ability to acquire mathematical skills. Apart from academic performance, I have documented students effort in learning and their understanding of various concepts in mathematics. Additionally, I have recorded students participation in discussions that involve small group presentations.

Data Sources

The data was collected from the following sources. First, the results of formative assessments were the main source of data concerning students performance. The results of these assessments were obtained from mathematics worksheets and students homework. Second, data was collected through formal and informal observation of students during class time. I was able to collect data on students participation in class activities, as well as, the appropriateness of my instructional methods. Concisely, I used videotaping to observe my performance in various lessons. Consequently, I was able to identify the strengths and weaknesses of my instructional methods. The observations concerning students performance were recorded in teaching journals.

This facilitated assessment of students performance and the appropriateness of my instructional methods. Third, data was collected through focus group discussions. Students and teachers were the main participants in the group discussions. The aim of the focus group discussions was to provide data concerning students knowledge, opinions, and experiences in class. Concisely, the discussions enabled me to collect data concerning the teaching methods that students are familiar with, as well as, the challenges that they face in their studies. In addition, the discussions were a vital source of feedback concerning the teaching methods that I adopted in class. This is because the students got the opportunity to express their opinions concerning the suitability of my instructional methods. I was also able to get new ideas on teaching methods by listening to the teachers who participated in the focus group discussions.

Timeline

I have had to adjust my timeline in order to cover all the activities that are associated with this action research. The adjustment was necessary due to the wide scope of the Montessori curriculum. Montessori education involves a lot of learning activities. Thus, monitoring and recording students performance in each learning activity requires a lot of time. In this regard, it was necessary to adjust the timeline in order to collect all the data that is required in this research. Nonetheless, I do believe that the research will be completed on time.

Changes in Data Collection Methods

No changes have been made on the data collection methods that were initially selected for this study. However, I have modified my research topic after discussing its selection with my supervisor. Thus, the title of my research is the comparison of Montessori education with a regular mathematics program in kindergarten. The modification of the topic enhanced flexibility in my research. Consequently, the research has been able to accommodate and to integrate all students in my classroom. The resulting improvement in the ease of data collection eliminated the need to change the data collection methods.