Category: Technology

Key Professional, Public, and Scholarly Debates on the Chosen Topic

The impact of technology on language learning, especially for English as Second Language (ESL) students is a topic that has raised a massive debate over the recent past as educators and other scholars try to find ways of improving the learning experience. In this study, the researcher selected two articles by Nomass (2013) and Akbar and Chen (2011), both of which focus on the importance of technology in second language acquisition. According to Ybarra and Green (2003), learning a second language may sometimes be very challenging, especially when it is done at advanced age in colleges. Professionals in the field of education have argued that the effect of first language often has a massive impact on ones ability to learn a second language.

For instance, Kenworthy (2004) observes that in some languages, there are some sounds that do not exist. When one is faced with a situation of learning about these new sounds, they tend to be distorted as they try to find an alternative sound in their first language to use instead of the new sounds. Languages are currently some of the top courses that students are pursuing in institutions of higher learning because of the increasing globalization and the need to interact with the outside world. English is becoming one of the most important languages at the international level (Constantinescu, 2007). Finding ways of making the process of learning this language simple has been a concern for the professionals in this field, the scholars, and general public.

According to Bhatia and Ritchie (2009), the emergence of technology as a tool that can simplify learning of English among the ESL learners has attracted massive attention of scholars in the education sector. While a section of these scholars argue that some aspects of technology have eroded learning as a process of knowledge acquisition, others believe that technology is the best thing that ever occurred in the system of education. This issue has raised a massive debate as the public, scholars, and professionals in the field of education try to weigh the advantages and disadvantages of technology on education. A study by Abanami (2015) shows that technology has made it possible for students with special abilities to learn without facing serious challenges that were common before the invention of assistive technology (Zahrani, 2015). Devices have been developed for children with autism, visual or hearing impairments, and any other physical or mental disabilities. These learners can now get the opportunity to learn languages in an easier way than it was before. Technology is not only benefiting students with special needs but also normal learners.

In the debate about the relevance of technology in learning, one of the main discussions that often emerge is online education. For a long time, learning has often been considered as a process that requires close interaction between a teacher and student. This is specifically the case among the ESL learners. It is possible for one to learn about grammar by reading books and other relevant literatures (AlMuaither & Qahtani, 2015). However, when it comes to pronunciation, one needs to listen to the pronunciations to learn how to speak the new language properly.

It means that it would require a person to sit in a brick-and-mortar classroom where there is a physical interaction between a learner and the teacher. However, the growing demand for educational services has overstretched the learning facilities in most of the learning institutions. Technology has come with the best solution to solve this problem. E-learning is increasingly becoming popular not only in institutions of higher learning but also at lower levels (Ololube, 2014). Students do not have to be physically present in the classrooms. They can interact with their teachers in an online platform where learning will take place as it normally would in a physical classroom setting.

Teachers at all levels of education have generally felt that technology has helped in reducing their burden in classroom, especially in cases where they have to handle huge classrooms. In the past, teachers had to spend a lot of time developing notes to be used during class sessions. They had to be physically present in the classrooms to deliver the lectures to the learners. However, this is changing due to some of the emerging technologies in the field of education. Teachers can now record their lectures accompanied by relevant notes and send these materials to the learners early enough before the class sessions. It makes it easy to handle large classes because the learners will already have knowledge about the concept to be taught to them prior to the onset of the classes.

In this debate about the relevance of technology in education, a number of scholars and professionals argue that most of the emerging technologies are more destructive than they are helpful to the learners. According to Alzein (2015), learners currently have developed phobia towards reading. They spend every little free time they have on social media discussing non-academic issues. When given academic materials such as tablets meant for receiving lecturer notes and other academic materials, they use these gadgets for activities not related to their studies. As such, they spend a lot of time on issues that only disorient them from their studies.

What makes this situation even worse is the assumption made by the teachers that these learners are using these gadgets responsibly. Information technology, especially the emergence of internet and the massive information available in this platform is further eroding the learning processes instead of simplifying the process. Some learners copy paste information from the internet instead of conducting actual research (Young, 2009). They end up handing in assignments which were done by other people. Without using software such as turnit-in, it may not be possible for the teacher to detect the plagiarism. As such, the student will be awarded marks for an assignment that was done by a different student.

According to Bergmann and Sams (2014), although both opponents and proponents of the use of technology in the education sector have valid reasons why they support or oppose technology, there is a general consensus that the future of education is more inclined towards technology. It is apparent that learning will largely depend on technology in future. Progress is being made and stakeholders are trying to find solutions to the valid issues raised by those opposed to the use of technology in the education sector (Aitken, 2014). L2 students will find technology very critical in their learning, especially those who are taking online classes. Managing the negative impacts associated with technology in the learning environment is the most important factor that professionals and scholars should address. The articles by articles by Nomass (2013) and Akbar and Chen (2011) emphasize on the need to find ways of integrating technology in the learning environment.

Points of Agreement and Disagreement in the Arguments of the Articles

The articles by articles by Nomass (2013) and Akbar and Chen (2011) both looked at a common topic about the relevance of technology in L2 learning. In their study, they made a number of findings about how technology is currently used in learning environments, the benefits it offers, and areas of weaknesses that still need the attention of the relevant stakeholders. It is important to note that although the two articles focused on the same topics, there are points of agreements and disagreements in their findings. In this section of the paper, the researcher will critically look at these similarities and differences in the arguments put forth in these articles.

Points of agreement

A critical review of the two articles clearly shows that the arguments in the two articles have very high similarity index than they do differ. The opinion of the scholars who wrote these articles about the relevance of technology in L2 learning is almost the same. In this section, the researcher will look at the common arguments in both articles. According to Nomass (2013) and Akbar and Chen (2011), technology has revolutionized education system in a positive manner. Learning has changed from teacher-centered approach to student-centered approach. In the past, teachers had to be physically present in classrooms for meaningful learning to take place. However, this is no longer the case in the modern society where technology is taking the center stage in the education sector. Learners can now access reading materials from various online sources and no longer have to wait for the teacher for them to learn new concepts (Li & Swanson, 2014).

Teachers also find it easy to work with the learners because of the new communication platforms. The revolution in the field of education is not only seen in the mode of issuing instructions but also sharing of ideas among the students. As Blue and Tirotta (2011) note, students get to learn concepts taught in class better if they spend time in small teams to go through what was taught and to conduct research as a unit. In the past, learners had to meet physically to conduct group discussions and to share ideas. However, technology has made it possible for them to meet in the online platform irrespective of their physical location. The convenience created by the emerging technologies has made the learning experience more enjoyable.

The two articles share the argument that technology has influenced L2 teaching positively. L2 learners often face a unique challenge that those who use English as first language do not face. The effect of their first language not only affects their written but also their spoken language. Those who are learning English for the first time often want to ensure that they perfect their spoken language just as much as their grammar (Zou, 2013). In the past, they had to rely on their teacher to learn specific pronunciation. Although most of the dictionaries provide pronunciation for every word, it is more convenient to hear the word spoken (Tucker, 2012). This problem has been solved by the emerging technologies. Learners now have online libraries where they can get both the meaning and pronunciation of every word. The internet also offers massive resources that learners can use to enhance their understanding of the language.

A critical analysis of the two articles shows that the scholars believe that technology enhances pedagogical development. The art and science of teaching comes with numerous challenges. In a classroom setting, the capacity of learners varies a great deal (Widstrom, 2011). There are students who are fast learners while others are slow learners. Then we have the average students. In such a highly diversified environment, a teacher is expected to come up with a teaching plan that will be suitable for all students. Focusing on the fast learners means that the slow learners and the average students will have to be ignored. Focusing on the slow learners will not be an appropriate method for the fast and average students. When emphasis is laid on the average students, the slow learners and fast learners will not benefit much from that plan. As Bowen, Chingos, Lack, and Nygren (2012) note, it becomes almost impossible to know the group that should be targeted in a normal classroom environment.

However, the two scholars note that this problem has been effectively addressed by the emerging technologies. For instance, Doceri application enables teachers to develop notes and record lectures. Through this application, a teacher can send recorded lecture and lecture notes to the students as a single document. Learners can go through the materials before coming to class. Every student will have access to the recorded lecture and the notes. For the slow learners, they can re-play the lectures as much as they may consider necessary (Kraft, 2007). For the first learners, they can spend a short time going through the lectures before viewing other supportive materials. Every student will go through the documents at their own speed. The technology has helped teachers because they no longer have to worry about the learning speed of their individual students. When they come to class, they only need to go through the notes just to confirm that every student understood the lectures.

Self learning is another common argument seen in the two articles. These scholars believe that technology has promoted positive attitude towards self-learning. One of the biggest challenges that learners in the past faced when trying to educate themselves was limited educational resources (Zhao, 2005). They had to visit libraries to get the resources and this was time consuming. Currently, learners only need to go online to access most of the academic resources they need.

Points of disagreement

The two articles had a number of issues that they did not agree on when it comes to benefits of technology on L2 learning. While Nomass (2013) argues that educational technologies are appropriate for learners at all stages, Akbar and Chen (2011) hold that technology is more appropriate for learners at advanced stages. Akbar and Chen (2011) argue that sometimes the educational technologies tend to reduce or even eliminate the physical interaction between teachers and learners. Mature students, especially those in institutions of higher learning can know how to deal with the situation. However, the junior learners still need the physical interaction with the teachers. Teachers ought to interact with these young learners to know their strengths and weaknesses and what can be done to improve their learning environment. Nomass (2013) believes that technology does not significantly affect the interaction between learners and teachers.

Criteria Employed to Evaluate Educational Research

According to Bretzmann (2013), when evaluating educational research, it is important to come up with appropriate criteria informed by the educational research methodology. Two articles that focused on a common topic were reviewed, and it was important to determine their common views and arguments which were different (Strayer, 2012). The researcher used a clear method to select the articles in this paper, critique them, and come up with a proper interpretation. This was done as shown in the steps below.

Selection of the literature

In selecting the articles to be used in the study, the researcher limited the search to educational sources that focus on technology in the education sector. Of importance was to identify two different articles which talk about the same topic. The second criterion in the selection stage was the date of publication. The articles used must have been published within the past five years. This condition was necessary because technology is very dynamic and articles published over five years ago may not capture some of the massive changes that have taken place in this field (Cohen & Cowen, 2007). The selected articles also had to exhibit a thorough analysis of both primary and secondary data. The articles by Nomass (2013) and Akbar and Chen (2011) were finally chosen for this study.

Critiquing the literatures

The next important stage in evaluation of the selected articles was to conduct a thorough critique. It was not only important to determine the content of the articles but also necessary to know the bases of the arguments made and compare the arguments of the articles. The researcher had to make sense and conduct an evaluation of the arguments, especially on issues that appeared controversial. It meant that the sources used in the article had to be investigated to help validate the arguments (Todaro, 2005). The chosen articles were peer-reviewed, but it was still necessary to check the validity of the sources used to back the arguments. The researcher also compared the arguments made by the authors of these articles with arguments of other scholars. Given that in this study the researcher only relied on secondary resources, it was necessary to review other literatures to confirm the arguments in the articles chosen for the study.

Summary and interpretation

The final stage was the interpretation of the information found in the two articles. It was necessary to interpret the content of the articles to be in a position to conduct a comparative analysis. It was necessary to compare the arguments of the two articles, both of which focused on the relevance of technology in teaching English to F2 learners. Through this interpretation, it was possible to determine the common views of the authors about their common research views (Campbell & Martin, 2010). It was also possible to identify the areas where their arguments differ. The interpretation was particularly important because some of the arguments of these scholars contradict what other scholars say. As such, it was necessary to determine the rationale of their argument and the sources of their information (Bradley & Thouesny, 2011). The researcher had to judge and evaluate the approaches of research used in the articles, quality of research, and the basis of the interpretation. Through this interpretation, it was possible to come up with a summary of the content of the two articles. It was also possible to compare and contrast the arguments they make about the relevance of technology in learning English among L2 learners.

Comparative Evaluation of Research Approaches in the Articles

The two articles focused on the same topic but used different methods to present their main arguments and present their conclusions on this topic. Article by Nomass (2013) provides background information of the topic. It then reviews what other scholars have said about this topic, looking at the contrasting views. This way, readers are able to understand the controversial views that exist about the topic. It then provides a case study of a typical English language classroom and how technology can enhance the learning process. At this stage, readers are able to internalize the relevance of technology in a classroom setting in a practical context (Facer & Abdous, 2011). The article then moves to the analysis. It looks at the views of important stakeholders such as parents, students, teachers, and school administrators in regard to the use of technology. It is after such a rigorous process of data collection and analysis that the researcher in this article comes up with conclusions and recommendations. As Leaver, Ehrman, and Shekhtman (2005) observe, such thorough approaches of investigation and argument presentation makes it easy to trust the outcome.

The approach used by Akbar and Chen (2011) is slightly different from the one discussed above. In this article, the researchers provide a brief overview of the topic and then delve into a review of literatures. The article then gives an analysis of the primary data before making its conclusions. It has a relatively less detailed methodology compared to the first article. However, a comparative analysis of the approaches used in the two articles show that they both relied heavily on secondary data to arrive at their conclusion and to make recommendations.

References

Abanami, A. (2015). The effect of using the flipped classroom strategy in teaching interpretation in academic achievement and the trend towards the material among second grade secondary students. Knowledge Magazine, 5(173), 21-48.

Aitken, J. E. (2014). Cases on communication technology for second language acquisition and cultural learning. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.

Akbar, F., & Chen, C. (2011). Technology assistance in second language acquisition: Potentials and limitations. TESOL & Applied Linguistics, 11(2), 1-3.

AlMuaither, A., & Qahtani, A. (2015). The effectiveness of the inverted classroom strategy in information security concepts development among the female students in the university level. International Specialized Journal of Educational, 4(8), 21-39.

Alzein, A. (2015). The effect of using the flipped education strategy in the academic achievement of students in the Faculty of Education in Princess Nora Bent Abdul Rahman University. International Specialized Journal of Educational, 4(1), 171-186.

Bergmann, J., & Sams, A. (2014). Flipped learning: Gateway to student engagement. New York, NY: Springer.

Bhatia, T. K., & Ritchie, W. C. (2009). Second language acquisition, research and application in the information age: The new handbook of second language acquisition. Bingley, UK: Emerald.

Blue, E., & Tirotta, R. (2011). The benefits & drawbacks of integrating cloud computing and interactive whiteboards in teacher preparation. Tech Trends, 55(3), 3139. doi: 10.1007/s11528-011-0495-7.

Bowen, W., Chingos, M., Lack, K., & Nygren, T. (2012). Interactive learning online at public universities: Evidence from randomized trials. Ithaka, S+R, 1-52.

Bradley, L., & Thouesny, S. (2011). Second language teaching and learning with technology: Views of emergent researchers. Dublin, Ireland: Research-publishing.net.

Bretzmann, J. (2013). Flipping 2.0: Practical strategies for flipping your class. London, UK: McMillan.

Campbell, C., & Martin, D. (2010). Interactive whiteboards and the first year experience: Integrating IWBS into pre-service teacher education. Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 35(6), 6875.

Cohen, V. L., & Cowen, J. E. (2007). Literacy for children in an information age: Teaching reading, writing, and thinking. Melbourne, Australia: Thompson/ Wadsworth.

Constantinescu, A. I. (2007). Using technology to assist in vocabulary acquisition and reading comprehension. The Internet TESL Journal, 13(2), 21-42.

Facer, B. R., & Abdous, M. (2011). Academic podcasting and mobile assisted language learning: Applications and outcomes. Hershey, PA: Information Science Reference.

Kenworthy, C. (2004). Developing writing skills in a foreign language via the internet. The Internet TESL Journal, 10(10), 12-34.

Kraft, M. (2007). Integrating and promoting medical podcasts into the library collection. Medical Reference Services Quarterly, 26(1), 2735.

Leaver, B. L., Ehrman, M. E., & Shekhtman, B. (2005). Achieving success in second language acquisition. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

Li, S., & Swanson, P. (2014). Engaging language learners through technology integration: Theory, applications and outcomes. New York, NY: Springer.

Nomass, B. (2013). The impact of using technology in teaching English as a second language. English Language and Literature Studies, 3(1), 1925-4768.

Ololube, N. (2014). Advancing technology and educational development through blended learning in emerging economics. New York, NY: Cengage.

Strayer, J. (2012). How learning in an inverted classroom influences cooperation, innovation and task orientation. Learning Environments Research, 15(2), 171- 193.

Todaro, J. B. (2005). The iPad no shiny metal object here. Community & Junior College Libraries, 13(4), 107111.

Tucker, B. (2012). The flipped classroom: Online instruction at home frees class time for learning. Education Next, 3(2), 82-83.

Widstrom, B. J. (2011). Leveraging time and learning style, iPad vs. real-time attendance at a series of medicine residents conferences: a randomized controlled trial. Journal of Youth Ministry, 9(2), 114117.

Ybarra, R., & Green T. (2003). Using technology to help ESL/EFL students develop language skills. The Internet TESL Journal, 9(3), 45-74.

Young, J. R. (2009). A teaching-tool face-off: IPhones vs. PCs. Chronicle of Higher Education, 55(27), A13.

Zahrani, M. (2015). The effectiveness of the flipped classroom strategy in developing cognitive achievement level for e-learning course of the students of the Faculty of Education at King Abdul Aziz University. Journal of the College of Education, 2(162), 471-502.

Zhao, Y. (2005). Research in technology and second language education: Developments and directions. Greenwich, CT: IAP-Information Age Pub.

Zou, B. (2013). Explorations of language teaching and learning with computational assistance. Hershey, PA: Information Science Reference.

Book Review

The book by Chiew Kin Quah is entitled Translation and Technology and, as the title implies, devoted to the utilization of computerized tools in translation. The author acknowledges the development of English as the universal language of business and, simultaneously, the globalization that requires boundary-spanning all over the world. As a consequence, the author addresses the issues of technology usage and enlists occupation-related issues in translation to provide a full informative overview of contemporary trends in the field. The book is, thus, primarily oriented for students since it mainly discusses the development processes of CAT tools. The book omits extensive formulae, which makes it comprehensive for those non-professionally interested in the field.

The author has gathered and analyzed an extensive body of data to complete the work, although it is by no means confined to machine translation as such. Rather, the book deploys a multi-perspective approach analyzing machine-aided human translation and the same process in reverse.

The book consists of six chapters that are quite concise in length. The first chapter provides a discussion of terms to most optimally classify the tools used on the field. The second one briefs out the fundamentals of Translation Studies as an academic discipline and outlines linguistic theories used in machine-aided translation. Chapter three reviews the systems of machine translations in the diversity of their designs and provides a concise history of their evolution over the decades. Chapter four is aimed at the description of standards for data exchange via CAT tools and also discusses the commercial CAT existing in 2006. The fifth chapter concentrates on various methods of translation evaluation and contains a theoretical framework.

The final chapter summarizes the recent tendencies in the field and maps the possible ways of further development. The author also uses addenda to refer to throughout the work. Some information on a Web-based translation platform is also given.

The author organizes the book for the readers convenience. As said, the author refrains from using extensive formulae, relying mostly on descriptive writing and structuring the text for the readers convenience. The terms and abbreviations used are deciphered to simplify the readers advancement through the text further still. The writing style is simple yet more than attentive to the details, as in popular scientific literature. Overall, albeit the short-length format, the work is detailed, and the writing makes it appropriately informative to a professional audience as well as for the public.

From the Translational Studies perspectives, the author offers a thorough exploration of the association between the theory and tools. Particularly, she states that linguistic formalism has played a more significant role in the formation of machine-aided translation than the theoretic aspects of the field. Several approaches to machine-aided translation are also reviewed, e.g., EBMT which is semantics-oriented. The scope of the work is, thus, quite extensive. The author indeed uses the term newer about theories that were relevant back in the 1960s but, among its kind, the work appears an elaborate endeavor.

The recent developments in the field of machine-aided translations might appear not so recent considering that the work by Quah was published a decade ago. On the other hand, the review of what was recent ten years ago provides a detailed retrospective insight. The author has correctly predicted the expansion of the Web which, in turn, will increase the demand for machine-aided translation. Also, she expanded upon the semantics as a means of improving machine translation as viewed by a corpus-based approach.

The book is concluded with a critical evaluation of translation tools discussed throughout the work and squared into tables. The characteristics of the tools include the extent to which they involve automation and how  and whether  they can be integrated with others. Also, the author mentions the optimal input for each of the tools, whether they are overly dependent on the language, etc. The assumption that rule-based machine translation systems are not algorithm-based appears rather obscure but it can be conceded that the author has her unconventional perception of this notion.

To conclude, the book Translation and Technology can be deemed a competent piece of writing. The convenient structure of the book deserves every appraisal, the language is smooth, and the text itself features illustrative graphs that enhance the unprepared readers comprehension as opposed to formulae. The scope of discussion that the book offers is quite extensive, and the authors vast theoretical base is visible. Students of machine translation, as well as those interested in the field, will find this work a big help for their studies.

CAT evaluation

The machine translation tools Chiew Kin Quah mentions in the book are electronic dictionaries, corpora of languages, concordancers, and translation memory systems. The subject of CAT tools is mainly overviewed in terms of future development and models of evaluation.

Each of the non-human translation tools has its advantages and disadvantages. Electronic dictionaries, for one, are convenient and fast at processing the data. One can easily import the word of interest into the base and receive a rapid output. On the other hand, some of the online dictionary platforms deploy a Wikipedia approach which is to say that any user can adjust the terms as they believe is appropriate.

At that, a linguistic corpus appears more elaborate and precise. The corpora are CAT tools used for a wide variety of linguistic purposes and come in the form of texts that machines are able to read. The texts of the corpora contain representative information including hundreds of millions of linguistic units and their combinations. That, as well as their sufficiency in resolving complex linguistics-related issues, can be undoubtedly considered an advantage. On the other hand, is constituted by a variety of areas of human experience does not make corpora an ultimate problem-solution tool. The reason being that they are pre-designed in a way including subject fields with the linguistic means appropriate to each of them and consequently may prove inadequate for more specific fields of study. Concordancers are more optimized at that.

These are electronic tools that provide a user with a range of situations and ways in which particular words can be used. Due to the amount of functions these tools are capable of rendering they have been widely applied to translational studies as well as other fields. The outputs of the concordancers can serve as inputs to TM systems. These systems, also known as databases, are sets of lexical entries in which there is a positive association of lexical units of different languages. The translation memory systems are valued for their segmentation qualities. The text is divided into blocks, paragraphs, sentences, and utterances, and in the process of translation, the database is automatically searched for a matching segment. The match can be full or fuzzy, of which the applications inform the user.

The systems have their strong points, which are high speed and quality of translation, and easy and user-friendly control. They are fully customizable and come in many forms from the most basic to the most advanced. TM systems, thus, are a powerful technology that might be sufficient in cutting localization prices. From the other perspective, the usage of TM systems has to be seriously considered since they have proven to be most effective in translating the texts with much repetition.

The point that Chiew Kin Quah has about any CAT tool, and which seems rather justified, is that non-human translation has to be used in moderation, as an extra source of assistance. She states the necessity to exercise ones brain and remain creative to produce translations that can be considered masterpieces in their field.

Key Professional, Public, and Scholarly Debates on the Chosen Topic

The impact of technology on language learning, especially for English as Second Language (ESL) students is a topic that has raised a massive debate over the recent past as educators and other scholars try to find ways of improving the learning experience. In this study, the researcher selected two articles by Nomass (2013) and Akbar and Chen (2011), both of which focus on the importance of technology in second language acquisition. According to Ybarra and Green (2003), learning a second language may sometimes be very challenging, especially when it is done at advanced age in colleges. Professionals in the field of education have argued that the effect of first language often has a massive impact on ones ability to learn a second language.

For instance, Kenworthy (2004) observes that in some languages, there are some sounds that do not exist. When one is faced with a situation of learning about these new sounds, they tend to be distorted as they try to find an alternative sound in their first language to use instead of the new sounds. Languages are currently some of the top courses that students are pursuing in institutions of higher learning because of the increasing globalization and the need to interact with the outside world. English is becoming one of the most important languages at the international level (Constantinescu, 2007). Finding ways of making the process of learning this language simple has been a concern for the professionals in this field, the scholars, and general public.

According to Bhatia and Ritchie (2009), the emergence of technology as a tool that can simplify learning of English among the ESL learners has attracted massive attention of scholars in the education sector. While a section of these scholars argue that some aspects of technology have eroded learning as a process of knowledge acquisition, others believe that technology is the best thing that ever occurred in the system of education. This issue has raised a massive debate as the public, scholars, and professionals in the field of education try to weigh the advantages and disadvantages of technology on education. A study by Abanami (2015) shows that technology has made it possible for students with special abilities to learn without facing serious challenges that were common before the invention of assistive technology (Zahrani, 2015). Devices have been developed for children with autism, visual or hearing impairments, and any other physical or mental disabilities. These learners can now get the opportunity to learn languages in an easier way than it was before. Technology is not only benefiting students with special needs but also normal learners.

In the debate about the relevance of technology in learning, one of the main discussions that often emerge is online education. For a long time, learning has often been considered as a process that requires close interaction between a teacher and student. This is specifically the case among the ESL learners. It is possible for one to learn about grammar by reading books and other relevant literatures (AlMuaither & Qahtani, 2015). However, when it comes to pronunciation, one needs to listen to the pronunciations to learn how to speak the new language properly.

It means that it would require a person to sit in a brick-and-mortar classroom where there is a physical interaction between a learner and the teacher. However, the growing demand for educational services has overstretched the learning facilities in most of the learning institutions. Technology has come with the best solution to solve this problem. E-learning is increasingly becoming popular not only in institutions of higher learning but also at lower levels (Ololube, 2014). Students do not have to be physically present in the classrooms. They can interact with their teachers in an online platform where learning will take place as it normally would in a physical classroom setting.

Teachers at all levels of education have generally felt that technology has helped in reducing their burden in classroom, especially in cases where they have to handle huge classrooms. In the past, teachers had to spend a lot of time developing notes to be used during class sessions. They had to be physically present in the classrooms to deliver the lectures to the learners. However, this is changing due to some of the emerging technologies in the field of education. Teachers can now record their lectures accompanied by relevant notes and send these materials to the learners early enough before the class sessions. It makes it easy to handle large classes because the learners will already have knowledge about the concept to be taught to them prior to the onset of the classes.

In this debate about the relevance of technology in education, a number of scholars and professionals argue that most of the emerging technologies are more destructive than they are helpful to the learners. According to Alzein (2015), learners currently have developed phobia towards reading. They spend every little free time they have on social media discussing non-academic issues. When given academic materials such as tablets meant for receiving lecturer notes and other academic materials, they use these gadgets for activities not related to their studies. As such, they spend a lot of time on issues that only disorient them from their studies.

What makes this situation even worse is the assumption made by the teachers that these learners are using these gadgets responsibly. Information technology, especially the emergence of internet and the massive information available in this platform is further eroding the learning processes instead of simplifying the process. Some learners copy paste information from the internet instead of conducting actual research (Young, 2009). They end up handing in assignments which were done by other people. Without using software such as turnit-in, it may not be possible for the teacher to detect the plagiarism. As such, the student will be awarded marks for an assignment that was done by a different student.

According to Bergmann and Sams (2014), although both opponents and proponents of the use of technology in the education sector have valid reasons why they support or oppose technology, there is a general consensus that the future of education is more inclined towards technology. It is apparent that learning will largely depend on technology in future. Progress is being made and stakeholders are trying to find solutions to the valid issues raised by those opposed to the use of technology in the education sector (Aitken, 2014). L2 students will find technology very critical in their learning, especially those who are taking online classes. Managing the negative impacts associated with technology in the learning environment is the most important factor that professionals and scholars should address. The articles by articles by Nomass (2013) and Akbar and Chen (2011) emphasize on the need to find ways of integrating technology in the learning environment.

Points of Agreement and Disagreement in the Arguments of the Articles

The articles by articles by Nomass (2013) and Akbar and Chen (2011) both looked at a common topic about the relevance of technology in L2 learning. In their study, they made a number of findings about how technology is currently used in learning environments, the benefits it offers, and areas of weaknesses that still need the attention of the relevant stakeholders. It is important to note that although the two articles focused on the same topics, there are points of agreements and disagreements in their findings. In this section of the paper, the researcher will critically look at these similarities and differences in the arguments put forth in these articles.

Points of agreement

A critical review of the two articles clearly shows that the arguments in the two articles have very high similarity index than they do differ. The opinion of the scholars who wrote these articles about the relevance of technology in L2 learning is almost the same. In this section, the researcher will look at the common arguments in both articles. According to Nomass (2013) and Akbar and Chen (2011), technology has revolutionized education system in a positive manner. Learning has changed from teacher-centered approach to student-centered approach. In the past, teachers had to be physically present in classrooms for meaningful learning to take place. However, this is no longer the case in the modern society where technology is taking the center stage in the education sector. Learners can now access reading materials from various online sources and no longer have to wait for the teacher for them to learn new concepts (Li & Swanson, 2014).

Teachers also find it easy to work with the learners because of the new communication platforms. The revolution in the field of education is not only seen in the mode of issuing instructions but also sharing of ideas among the students. As Blue and Tirotta (2011) note, students get to learn concepts taught in class better if they spend time in small teams to go through what was taught and to conduct research as a unit. In the past, learners had to meet physically to conduct group discussions and to share ideas. However, technology has made it possible for them to meet in the online platform irrespective of their physical location. The convenience created by the emerging technologies has made the learning experience more enjoyable.

The two articles share the argument that technology has influenced L2 teaching positively. L2 learners often face a unique challenge that those who use English as first language do not face. The effect of their first language not only affects their written but also their spoken language. Those who are learning English for the first time often want to ensure that they perfect their spoken language just as much as their grammar (Zou, 2013). In the past, they had to rely on their teacher to learn specific pronunciation. Although most of the dictionaries provide pronunciation for every word, it is more convenient to hear the word spoken (Tucker, 2012). This problem has been solved by the emerging technologies. Learners now have online libraries where they can get both the meaning and pronunciation of every word. The internet also offers massive resources that learners can use to enhance their understanding of the language.

A critical analysis of the two articles shows that the scholars believe that technology enhances pedagogical development. The art and science of teaching comes with numerous challenges. In a classroom setting, the capacity of learners varies a great deal (Widstrom, 2011). There are students who are fast learners while others are slow learners. Then we have the average students. In such a highly diversified environment, a teacher is expected to come up with a teaching plan that will be suitable for all students. Focusing on the fast learners means that the slow learners and the average students will have to be ignored. Focusing on the slow learners will not be an appropriate method for the fast and average students. When emphasis is laid on the average students, the slow learners and fast learners will not benefit much from that plan. As Bowen, Chingos, Lack, and Nygren (2012) note, it becomes almost impossible to know the group that should be targeted in a normal classroom environment.

However, the two scholars note that this problem has been effectively addressed by the emerging technologies. For instance, Doceri application enables teachers to develop notes and record lectures. Through this application, a teacher can send recorded lecture and lecture notes to the students as a single document. Learners can go through the materials before coming to class. Every student will have access to the recorded lecture and the notes. For the slow learners, they can re-play the lectures as much as they may consider necessary (Kraft, 2007). For the first learners, they can spend a short time going through the lectures before viewing other supportive materials. Every student will go through the documents at their own speed. The technology has helped teachers because they no longer have to worry about the learning speed of their individual students. When they come to class, they only need to go through the notes just to confirm that every student understood the lectures.

Self learning is another common argument seen in the two articles. These scholars believe that technology has promoted positive attitude towards self-learning. One of the biggest challenges that learners in the past faced when trying to educate themselves was limited educational resources (Zhao, 2005). They had to visit libraries to get the resources and this was time consuming. Currently, learners only need to go online to access most of the academic resources they need.

Points of disagreement

The two articles had a number of issues that they did not agree on when it comes to benefits of technology on L2 learning. While Nomass (2013) argues that educational technologies are appropriate for learners at all stages, Akbar and Chen (2011) hold that technology is more appropriate for learners at advanced stages. Akbar and Chen (2011) argue that sometimes the educational technologies tend to reduce or even eliminate the physical interaction between teachers and learners. Mature students, especially those in institutions of higher learning can know how to deal with the situation. However, the junior learners still need the physical interaction with the teachers. Teachers ought to interact with these young learners to know their strengths and weaknesses and what can be done to improve their learning environment. Nomass (2013) believes that technology does not significantly affect the interaction between learners and teachers.

Criteria Employed to Evaluate Educational Research

According to Bretzmann (2013), when evaluating educational research, it is important to come up with appropriate criteria informed by the educational research methodology. Two articles that focused on a common topic were reviewed, and it was important to determine their common views and arguments which were different (Strayer, 2012). The researcher used a clear method to select the articles in this paper, critique them, and come up with a proper interpretation. This was done as shown in the steps below.

Selection of the literature

In selecting the articles to be used in the study, the researcher limited the search to educational sources that focus on technology in the education sector. Of importance was to identify two different articles which talk about the same topic. The second criterion in the selection stage was the date of publication. The articles used must have been published within the past five years. This condition was necessary because technology is very dynamic and articles published over five years ago may not capture some of the massive changes that have taken place in this field (Cohen & Cowen, 2007). The selected articles also had to exhibit a thorough analysis of both primary and secondary data. The articles by Nomass (2013) and Akbar and Chen (2011) were finally chosen for this study.

Critiquing the literatures

The next important stage in evaluation of the selected articles was to conduct a thorough critique. It was not only important to determine the content of the articles but also necessary to know the bases of the arguments made and compare the arguments of the articles. The researcher had to make sense and conduct an evaluation of the arguments, especially on issues that appeared controversial. It meant that the sources used in the article had to be investigated to help validate the arguments (Todaro, 2005). The chosen articles were peer-reviewed, but it was still necessary to check the validity of the sources used to back the arguments. The researcher also compared the arguments made by the authors of these articles with arguments of other scholars. Given that in this study the researcher only relied on secondary resources, it was necessary to review other literatures to confirm the arguments in the articles chosen for the study.

Summary and interpretation

The final stage was the interpretation of the information found in the two articles. It was necessary to interpret the content of the articles to be in a position to conduct a comparative analysis. It was necessary to compare the arguments of the two articles, both of which focused on the relevance of technology in teaching English to F2 learners. Through this interpretation, it was possible to determine the common views of the authors about their common research views (Campbell & Martin, 2010). It was also possible to identify the areas where their arguments differ. The interpretation was particularly important because some of the arguments of these scholars contradict what other scholars say. As such, it was necessary to determine the rationale of their argument and the sources of their information (Bradley & Thouesny, 2011). The researcher had to judge and evaluate the approaches of research used in the articles, quality of research, and the basis of the interpretation. Through this interpretation, it was possible to come up with a summary of the content of the two articles. It was also possible to compare and contrast the arguments they make about the relevance of technology in learning English among L2 learners.

Comparative Evaluation of Research Approaches in the Articles

The two articles focused on the same topic but used different methods to present their main arguments and present their conclusions on this topic. Article by Nomass (2013) provides background information of the topic. It then reviews what other scholars have said about this topic, looking at the contrasting views. This way, readers are able to understand the controversial views that exist about the topic. It then provides a case study of a typical English language classroom and how technology can enhance the learning process. At this stage, readers are able to internalize the relevance of technology in a classroom setting in a practical context (Facer & Abdous, 2011). The article then moves to the analysis. It looks at the views of important stakeholders such as parents, students, teachers, and school administrators in regard to the use of technology. It is after such a rigorous process of data collection and analysis that the researcher in this article comes up with conclusions and recommendations. As Leaver, Ehrman, and Shekhtman (2005) observe, such thorough approaches of investigation and argument presentation makes it easy to trust the outcome.

The approach used by Akbar and Chen (2011) is slightly different from the one discussed above. In this article, the researchers provide a brief overview of the topic and then delve into a review of literatures. The article then gives an analysis of the primary data before making its conclusions. It has a relatively less detailed methodology compared to the first article. However, a comparative analysis of the approaches used in the two articles show that they both relied heavily on secondary data to arrive at their conclusion and to make recommendations.

References

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Aitken, J. E. (2014). Cases on communication technology for second language acquisition and cultural learning. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.

Akbar, F., & Chen, C. (2011). Technology assistance in second language acquisition: Potentials and limitations. TESOL & Applied Linguistics, 11(2), 1-3.

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Bergmann, J., & Sams, A. (2014). Flipped learning: Gateway to student engagement. New York, NY: Springer.

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Bretzmann, J. (2013). Flipping 2.0: Practical strategies for flipping your class. London, UK: McMillan.

Campbell, C., & Martin, D. (2010). Interactive whiteboards and the first year experience: Integrating IWBS into pre-service teacher education. Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 35(6), 6875.

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Facer, B. R., & Abdous, M. (2011). Academic podcasting and mobile assisted language learning: Applications and outcomes. Hershey, PA: Information Science Reference.

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Leaver, B. L., Ehrman, M. E., & Shekhtman, B. (2005). Achieving success in second language acquisition. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

Li, S., & Swanson, P. (2014). Engaging language learners through technology integration: Theory, applications and outcomes. New York, NY: Springer.

Nomass, B. (2013). The impact of using technology in teaching English as a second language. English Language and Literature Studies, 3(1), 1925-4768.

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Zou, B. (2013). Explorations of language teaching and learning with computational assistance. Hershey, PA: Information Science Reference.

Citation of the case

Ethics denote unwritten rules that people in a certain professional sector should follow. In the cyber space, many users have overlooked ethical values. This has culminated in cyber malpractices and vices. Some of the frequent cyberspace vices include hacking and bullying (Curtis 34). Owing to the increase in cyber crime, many federal authorities have stepped-up the battle against cyber criminals.

One of the most successful litigation against a cyber criminal was United States v. Ivanov. The defendant alongside his accomplice was found guilty and served sentences in American correctional facilities. However, the litigation resulted in many legal experts raising queries about the application of the statutes on cyber malpractices.

The victims of the cyber crime were American entities and federal authorities. The defendant accessed their databases illegally. This breached confidentially since most of the data entailed private information. Subsequently, the data should be accessed after obtaining clearance. Furthermore, the defendant altered the data, which compromised the integrity of the information to the detriment of the organizations involved.

Facts

In this litigation, Aleksey Vladimirovich Ivanov was the defendant while the American government was the plaintiff. The defendant faced various charges, which entailed breach and sabotage of American cyber infrastructure. The charges also included conspiracy and cyber fraud. Ivanov was accused to have in his possession devices that would enable him access various databases illegally.

His transgressions were against the Online Information Bureau (OIB) based in Connecticut. However, the defendant committed the crimes while in a foreign country Russia. Ivanov has accessed their database and altered the information stored. The information distorted by Ivanovs pertained to credit transfers and the credit status of clients.

The company later encountered numerous challenges when undertaking its core operations owing to the distortion of data. Law enforcement authorities had been tracking Ivanov for a lengthy duration. He has accessed several federal databases in his hacking sprees.

Overtime, federal authorities had gathered evidence on the databases he had accessed. Federal authorities had challenges gathering proof that would lead back to him. This is a key challenge that authorities encounter when combating cyber crime (Gustin 136).

Positions of parties

Since the defendant committed the crimes while in Russia, he pleaded that the American court system had no jurisdiction. This was a credible argument since the US constitution is not applicable in Russia. However, his plea based on jurisdiction was dismissed by the court.

The court overruled the defendants motion on the basis that Ivanovs actions would have repercussions in America, though they were committed on Russian soil. The relevant clauses in this litigation were applied in an extra-territorial manner. Consequently, the legal clauses disregarded the place from which the crime was committed.

This case raised various concerns owing to the application of the law. For the first time, the American government was able to prosecute foreigners who had breached its law from foreign territories. This was a great win for the government since cyber crime had become a major concern for the government.

Previously, criminals outside America breached various databases in America without fear of any legal repercussions. Subsequently, they would alter data contained in such databases for their own purposes.

The issues of the case

The major concern in this case pertained to extra-territorial application of the legal statutes. In previous suits, most defendants were freed since the American constitution lacked jurisdiction in foreign countries. However, in United States v.

Muench, the judge overruled that the American court system lacked jurisdiction on cyber crimes committed form outside the nation. Therefore, criminal who acted against American statutes while in other nations can also be tried by the American legal system. Gathering evidence against tech-savvy criminals was challenging owing to the nature of crimes (Curtis 215).

Moral and ethical principles

This case raised many moral and ethical concerns. First, accessing information illegally breached both moral and ethical principles. Hacking entails accessing information that one has no clearance to view. In United States v. Ivanov, the defendant accessed databases belonging to various institutions illegally. Most of the information contained in those databases was confidential. It is illegal to access such information.

Breach of privacy is a disregard of ethical principles. In some nations, it also has legal implications. Privacy refers to a sense of autonomy, which is central to dignity and personality. People require solitude in their lives. Thus, it is imperative to guard this right. Intrusion of privacy has various repercussions on the victims since it may endanger their lives.

Breach of privacy makes people vulnerable to impersonation and identity theft. These are serious crimes, which makes victims vulnerable to countless crimes. Impersonation has become a major concern since peoples private information is readily available in the internet.

Charges against Ivanov specified that he committed a variety of financial crimes, which included extortion. To commit such crimes, he accessed databases in various organizations. Subsequently, he would alter the data stored. This enabled him to extort money from clients of various companies such as OIB.

Accessing such databases allowed Ivanov to tamper with the integrity of the data. Tampering with the integrity of the data is a breach of ethics. Integrity is crucial in data management since it is utilized in decision making by various institutions, the government and individuals.

Ethics denote desirable values that people should abide by. Hence, altering data for egocentric reasons breaches ethics. Data has become a vital resource whose integrity should be guarded (Gustin 189).

Rulings impacts on information technology

In the past, many cyber criminals have gone scot free despite committing serious crimes. However, in this suit, the defendant encountered the full force of the legal statutes. Ivanov, the defendant was guilty of six crimes. The charges related to extortion, damaging of cyber infrastructure and fraud. The court convicted Ivanov and he served a jail sentence of three years.

This ruling has contributed massively to the security of various databases. Foreign cyber criminals are more unwilling to vandalize American cyber infrastructure. Criminal outside America were previously immune from the American legal system.

However, the judicial precedents set in United States v. Muench and United States v. Ivanov have made criminals that attempt to breach or attack the American cyber space from outside the nation also answerable to the American legal statutes. This law should be replicated in other countries. This would make securing the global cyber space a collective undertaking for all nations.

This litigation acts a deterrent to many criminals globally. Nonetheless, it reveals the vulnerability of our cyber infrastructure. Companies and the government should coordinate efforts to secure the systems in companies and federal authorities. Fighting cyber crime will require constant research into applications that will guard against cyber criminals.

Works Cited

Curtis, George.The Law of Cybercrimes and Their Investigations. New York, NY: Taylor & Francis, 2011. Print.

Gustin, Joseph. Cyber Terrorism: A Guide for Facility Managers. Lilburn, GA: Fairmount, 2004. Print.

Introduction

Background

The world has experienced rapid technological advancements in the last few decades. Today, human lives have become more dependent on computers and internet than ever before. While technology has facilitated globalization and simplified some genuine life undertakings, it has also furthered organized crimes¹. Cyber crimes have hit new and unprecedented levels in the recent times².These are crimes performed with the help of computers³. They include hacking of websites, fraud and trading of illicit products⁴. These crimes have not been slowed down by the substantial investment in equipping law enforcement agencies in the United States andthe European Union.

Research Problem

Although cyber crime rates have increased to unacceptable levels, there are no answers as to why the law enforcement agencies have not satisfactorily intervened. Therefore, there is a need to determine the main factors facilitating this menace so as to come up with a more informed approach.

Research Question

This research aims at determining the reasons why cyber crimes have persisted so as to suggest the way forward. The specific study questions are:

1. What are the methods used by the law enforcement agencies in the US to fight cyber crime?
2. What are the major impediments in the fight against cyber crime?

Thesis Statement

Because cyber crime is a global affair, it is not enough to end the menace by simply equipping the US law enforcement agencies.

Methodology

This study uses literature review approach to answer the research questions. The method is suitable for identifying the gaps and inconsistencies in the already existing literature and making recommendations on the way forward⁵. To find the relevant material, some key words, such as organized crime, cyber crime, transnational crime, and law enforcement agencies, were used.

Literature Review

The low enforcement agencies in the US have been using cyber technology to fight cyber crime⁶. In this regard, they have been very successful in detecting such crimes and the location of the perpetrators. However, there has been very little success in terms of prosecuting those involved in the syndicate.

Cybercrime is a globalized business where criminals use technology to commit crimes in other countries⁷. While the US has fully equipped detectives in readiness to curb this menace, most of the criminals involved come from other countries. To incarcerate these people, it requires cooperation between the countries where the perpetrators come from offended countries. This makes it challenging considering the differences inlegal frameworks that exist between various countries⁸. Very little has been done to facilitate uniformity in fighting transnational crimes⁹. Therefore, the success in curbing cyber crime depends on factors beyond the law enforcement agencies in the offended countries. Because of this, there is a need to have cross-border crime fighting mechanisms¹⁰.

In addition, a crime in one country may not be considered a crime in another¹¹. For instance, while distribution of pornographic material is a crime in most countries, some jurisdictions do not recognize it as a crime. In this regard, it becomes difficult to fight the menace especially if the perpetrators come from jurisdictions that do not recognize it as a crime. Any attempt to pursue such criminals would be interpreted as external interference, which is a recipe for sour international relations¹².

Furthermore, some of the cybercrime culprits are high ranking and influential people in their countries¹³. The best example is drug trafficking where markets and payments are secured online. These people are always protected by the state machineries and any attempt to pursue them is seen as an attack on their countries¹⁴. They have manipulated local systems to favor their criminal activities. Under such circumstances, the well-equipped US law enforcement agency cannot help.Therefore, there should be a cross-border crime fighting mechanism that is well explained, fair and above manipulation by some international players¹⁵.

Conclusion

Cyber crime rate has gotten to a level that cannot be ignored. While the US law enforcement agencies have been able to detect such cases, the prosecution has remained elusive due to international barriers, such as lack of goodwill among some international partners, differences in legislations and the need to maintain good international relations. Global players should, therefore, come up with a uniform cross-border crime fighting mechanism. Until such time, the law enforcement agencies remain the losers in this war.

Bibliography

Brenner, Susan W. Organized cybercrime? How cyberspace may affect the structure of criminal relationships,North Carolina Journal of Law & Technology, 4, no. 1(2010): 37-41.

Dunn, John E.Cybercrime now major drag on financial service,Technology and Crime 4, no. 2 (2012): 6-11.

Finklea, Kristin M. & Catherine A. Theohary. Cybercrime: Conceptual Issues for Congress and U.S. Law Enforcement. Washington: Congressional Research Service, 2013.

Gordon, Sarah and Richard Ford. On the definition and classification of cybercrime,Journal of Computer Virology 2 (2006): 13-17.

Hakim, Catherine. Research Design: Successful Designs for Social and Economic Research. London: Routledge, 2000.

Hollis, Duncan B. An e-SOS for Cyberspace,Harvard International Law Journal 52 (2011): 392-393.

Scott, Charney. A framework and path forward,Rethinking the Cyber Threat 12, no. 10 (2009): 63-67.

Speer, David L. Redefining borders: The Challenges of Cybercrime,Crime, Law and Social Change, 34, no. 3 (2000): 260-265.

United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. 2013. Comprehensive Study on Cybercrime. New York: United Nations, 2013.

Footnotes

1. United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. Comprehensive Study on Cybercrime (New York: United Nations, 2013), 6.
2. Susan, Brenner W. Organized cybercrime? How cyberspace may affect the structure of criminal relationships, North Carolina Journal of Law & Technology, 4, no. 1(2010): 37-41.
3. Susan, Brenner W. Organized cybercrime?, 38.
4. John, Dunn E. Cybercrime now major drag on financial service, Technology and Crime 4, no. 2 (2012): 6-11.
5. Hakim, Catherine. Research Design: Successful Designs for Social and Economic Research(London: Routledge, 2000), 11.
6. Kristin, Finklea M. & Catherine A. Theohary, Cybercrime: Conceptual Issues for Congress and U.S. Law Enforcement (Washington: Congressional Research Service, 2013), 6.
7. Ibid.
8. Kristin, Finklea M. & Catherine A. Theohary. Cybercrime: Conceptual Issues for Congress and U.S. Law Enforcement(Washington: Congressional Research Service, 2013), 7.
9. Ibid.
10. Sarah, Gordon & Richard Ford,On the definition and classification of cybercrime. Journal of Computer Virology 2 (2006): 13.
11. Duncan, Hollis B.,An e-SOS for Cyberspace. Harvard International Law Journal 52 (2011): 392.
12. Ibid, 393.
13. Scott, Charney,A framework and path forward,Rethinking the Cyber Threat 12, no. 10 (2009): 63.
14. Ibid, 65.
15. Speer, David L., Redefining borders: The Challenges of Cybercrime,Crime, Law and Social Change, 34, no. 3 (2000): 260-265.

Nowadays, modern technology firms face the problem of protecting the intellectual property rights in the context of technological development, innovation, and necessary patenting. The problem is in the fact that today technology firms can rely not only on their own possibilities for the progress but they also can take advantage from the distributed innovation. Thus, to focus on the value creation and the firms technological progress while responding to the intellectual property concept, it is necessary to develop the effective integrated intellectual property strategies or rely on the use of modules to contribute to the firms further progress as the successful competitor and innovator within the industry. Thus, the research on the role of the integrated intellectual property strategies and the effectiveness of specific intellectual property modules for the development of the technology firms is necessary to study the problem in detail.

It is important to support the following argument in the research: although such IP management strategies related to legal issues as the integrated intellectual property strategies and specific modules can be discussed as too controversial because they are proposed and developed recently, these strategies and techniques are effective because they respond to the tendencies of the technology firms progress within the industry.

To discuss the topic in detail and provide the thesis with the necessary support and evidences, it is useful to pay attention to such points (major headings for the research):

• The concept of intellectual property in the context of the technology firms industry;
• The connection of intellectual property and innovation management;
• The aspects of integrated intellectual property strategies as the approach to innovation management;
• The ethical issues of intellectual property, innovation management, distributed innovation, strategic disclosure, and outsourcing for the technology firms development;
• The elements of the intellectual property module system to contribute to value creation and value capture.

These points can be discussed with references to the experience of such firms and groups as M-Systems, BASF, and others (Henkel, Baldwin, & Shih, 2013; Peters, Thiel, & Tucci, 2013).

References

Henkel, J., Baldwin, C., & Shih, W. (2013). IP modularity: Profiting from innovation by aligning product architecture with intellectual property. California Management Review, 55(4), 65-82.

Peters, T., Thiel, J., & Tucci, C. (2013). Protecting growth options in dynamic markets: The role of strategic disclosure in integrated intellectual property strategies. California Management Review, 55(4), 121-142.

Technologies that Allow an Individual to Research a Citizens Private Data

One of the most commonly used technologies to research a citizens private data is via the online system used to record credit scores and an individuals outstanding debt. While such systems were once limited to banks and various credit card companies in the past, these days they have been increasingly utilized by employers, insurance agencies and even service providers in order to assess the eligibility of a particular individual for employment, insurance or even the installation of utilities (Media Awareness Network, 2010). In a similar vein to the system used for credit scores and outstanding debt are the online hospital records that enable hospitals from various counties and states to immediately learn of a patients medical condition and past treatments for an accurate and expedient diagnosis. The only problem with such a system is that aside from hospitals, private institutions such as insurance companies also have access to such a system in order to evaluate whether a person is a viable candidate for a life/health insurance policy. The last pervasive system that allows an individual to research a citizens private data are online social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter and Google Plus as well as through online search engines such as Google. Through these networks, a persons likes, dislikes, current status and daily activities are can be monitored and used against them as seen in various cases involving identity theft and the firing of employees for various acts of misconduct that were shown on the social networking site as well as can be sold to various corporations for profit (as seen in the case of Google).

Advantages of Public Access to Private Information

Based on the various snippets of information indicated above it can be seen that the most obvious advantage of public access to this information is that it enables various companies to evaluate potential clients as to their financial/health-related viability for credit, insurance, and utilities. This reduces the likelihood of people with bad credit histories getting an extra line of credit or a person that has a history of drunk driving and accidents being approved for life insurance. Also, from the perspective of a potential employer, having access to such information enables them to evaluate whether an individual is suited for a particular position based on their history of debt, health and various other personally identifiable information that can be attained from such records (Martin, 2011). For those being investigated though such access can often result in them being blacklisted so to speak in being able to access forms of health insurance, vitally needed loans, and even jobs (Media Awareness Network, 2010). For example, in one case a woman with cancer found out that one of the main reasons she was having difficulty finding a job was due to the fact that the companies she went to investigated her medical history and found that she had cancer. Since an employee with cancer radically increases the insurance premiums that a company must pay this ended up with the woman being unable to find a job. The same can be said for potential employees with a history of bad debt since such individuals are often thought of as being unreliable.

Measures to Protect Private Information

The best way to protect information from getting out is to ensure that it isnt posted in the first place. For example, a person can either opt-out from using a credit card, make sure that their doctors dont disclose their medical records, and most importantly of all dont post any revealing data on Facebook, Twitter or Google plus (McCandlish, 2002).

A federal law that grants the federal government the legal right to make private information known to the general public

The Freedom of Information Act puts into effect the lawful release of full/partial information that has been controlled by the United States government after a period of time and mandatory disclosure procedures detail that such information can be released to the general public (FOIA, 2012). While this particular law enables a certain degree of transparency in the government operations (which is a good thing) at times the information released may contain information that could potentially result in adverse consequences for particular citizens (as seen in the case of the release of previous census data results). As such, while I agree with this law in principle it should contain provisions that prevent particular types of private data from being released in order to ensure that no citizens private information can be utilized for self-serving purposes by malicious individuals or corporations.

Electronic Privacy Laws

While there are laws such as the Electronic Communications Privacy Act which protects private information over any electronic device what must be understood is that such laws and others like it dont stipulate that accessing such information by businesses is considered illegal (AOL, 2003). For example, the access of businesses and banks to online databases regarding medical records and debt histories is considered perfectly legal and a normal part of doing business. Furthermore, corporations such as Google collect private information all the time involving a persons browsing habits and as such shows how ineffective present-day electronic privacy laws are (Associated Press., 2012).

Reference List

AOL. (2003). Electronic communications privacy act. Web.

Associated Press. (2012). New google privacy policy allows even more access to personal information read more: Web.

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Martin, D. (2011). How safe will your medical record be online? david davis raises spectre of wikileaks over plan to put nhs data on web read more: Web.

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Every contract for the purchase of a technology system typically addresses three areas, and the given paper will comment on them. The first area can be called general provisions, and it acts as an opening clause. This section introduces the seller and the buyer and mentions the exhaustive information regarding these actors. It refers to full names, addresses, licenses, patents, and other data. According to the Law Insider, this area should also demonstrate that parties have a mutual interest in entering the agreement (1). The given section is of significance for every legal document since it determines who will be liable according to the contact and why.

The second area introduces the subject of a contract and related information. It refers to multiple aspects, including a technology system, price, payment conditions, warranties, and others (Law Insider 2). It can be considered the most significant area of a contract for the purchase of a technology system. It is so because this information stipulates what this system is, what features it should have, and how much money the buyer is obliged to pay. Even though such a contract refers to an intangible object, precise specifications are required to ensure that neither of the parties can use the contract inefficiencies to misbehave or place the other side in a disadvantaged position.

The third area typically presents additional information that is essential for the buyer and the seller to regulate their relationship within a legal domain. As for the example by Law Insider, this area includes obligations to the parties, closing date, termination conditions, and the closing statement that mentions personal signatures of the parties representatives. This section is also significant because it describes what the parties are expected and obliged to do to meet their legal obligations. This information also demonstrates when a closing date arrives and when the parties lose their liabilities, according to the document. Furthermore, this area comments on what should happen to terminate the contract prior to its closing date. Finally, one can state that all three areas are of significance for every deal.

Work Cited

Law Insider. Technology Purchase Agreement. 2020, Web.

Introduction

Various developments have been seen in the chronological evolution of man. The increasing brain capacity during the past developments of man led to more ability of man to make tools that could be used for various services. It is important to realize, from the prehistoric times, that while other animals concentrated in ways of surviving in the natural world endowed with different resources, man has been in a constant struggle to shape the natural resources to suit his interest.

The need to develop defensive mechanisms by man can be traced back to the prehistoric times. Homo erectus or the upright man made cleavers and hand axes that were used for hunting of prey and protection against predators (Bentley & Ziegler, 3).

This man also invented fire and realized that it could also be used to scare away other animals. With these developments, man could exercise more control over the worlds natural resources. He pioneered different parts leading to the distribution of this species to different parts in the world. The need to develop protective mechanisms continued with the mans evolution into the modern man.

There emerged organized groups for purposes like communal hunting and gathering of fruits. With the development of languages of communication, a need to have groups of individuals organized into some collective system with some leader, and the various other societal factors that were seen to be influencing human behavior, there has been an increasing need by these units to have protection from external attack from other neighboring/ rival units.

The differences that were witnessed in the way of life of the early man and that of modern man are also evident in the types of weapons that they developed. The early man in the Stone Age period developed tools from stone carvings. Then followed the wooden age with tools developed from woodcarvings. This developed into use of metals, in the Iron Age in 1700-1500 B.C (East west dialogue, para.24) for making tools like knives, spears, bows, and arrows with latter developments that are witnessed currently.

With increased civilization, tools that are more modern were developed by man in various parts of the world. The civilization was, however, not even. Some parts of the world developed faster than the others did in terms of technology.

Thesis Statement

The increasing intelligence of man led to his invention of better ways of survival. This led to development of weapons for human protection that led to the increasing desire by different nations to conquer and rule the whole world, resulting into wars that have been witnessed among nations since the medieval times. As a result, early civilization in a nation often results in conflicts between the members of the nation that can lead to decrease in development rates.

China in the medieval period

The medieval period is viewed differently by different scholars regarding the beginning and end of the period. However, it is approximated to be between fifth century A.D and fifteenth century A.D (Lombardi, para.2). During this period, there were various political developments recorded in China.

The early periods saw the reunification of China to form a United China. The end of this period saw China being conquered by the Mongol Empire. The Tang dynasty is one kind of leadership that was seen in China between the seventh and the tenth centuries (Eras of elegance, para.3).

The united China had vast territories endowed with many resources making its capital city the richest city in the world at the time. During their reign, the Tang promoted trade between united China and other countries and promoted social growth in terms of educational programs. Improvements were also seen in the infrastructure like roads within the country. They could then access the neighboring countries and tried to conquer Korea in the seventh century but failed.

They continued to be influential in the neighborhood and Korea later adopted their model of leadership (Eras of elegance, para.3). Tang dynasty disintegrated and ended in the middle of the tenth century and was succeeded by the Song. The political movement that would later yield the Yuan dynasty can be linked to Genghis Khan who initiated moves to conquer Asia in 1190. Twenty years later, he led the Mongols and invaded China. The Mongols continued with their operations and captured Moscow thirty years later.

Kublai Khan then established his reign that would see the foundation of the Yuan dynasty in China. This dynasty lasted for over a century in China and it was later overthrown in 1368 (Eras of elegance, para.3). The Mongols tried to invade more countries and failed in certain instances. The Mongol Empire at this time consisted of several nations Asia like China, Korea, Russia, Ukraine, Afghanistan, and many others (Eras of elegance, para.3)..

China after medieval period

The Ming Dynasty followed the Yuan dynasty and took back the Chinese rule under the powers of the locals of the country. It was a period following the collapse of the Yuan dynasty in 1368 and ended around 1644. It is generally known as period of stable, effective government during which some important new institutions developed (Twitchett, 9).

Various developments were seen during this period some of which had been initiated by the early dynasties. The period saw the maturation of the political development that were initiated during the Tang dynasty and promoted by the Yuan dynasty of the Mongol empire. The civil service became poor powerful in exercising control over the whole society and there was very little opposition from the ruled concerning the extent to which the autocratic rulers could exercise their control.

This would lead to the full authority of the rulers to have ability to exercise control on whatever they wished to towards the end of the dynasty. The rulers were assisted by scholars who followed the Confucian doctrines. They managed to expand their territory to incorporate other neighboring regions that were not ruled by the past dynasties (Twitchett, 10). The number of the provinces that formed the Ming Empire also increased from the previous three to around thirteen towards the end of the dynasty (Twitchett, 13).

The management of boundaries between these administrative units and the neighboring units required a well-established defense system that was the reinstated by the Ming rulers. The Ming dynasty lasted for 277 years and had sixteen rulers from the same lineage (Twitchett, 16).

The Qing dynasty took over from the Ming dynasty and ruled between 1644 and 1911. It was founded by the Manchus people of the northeast. Under their rule, Qing Empire acquired more territories and exercised their authority over a wider region than the other dynasties. The rulers followed the Confucian doctrines in their leadership and exercised their authority regarding the Chinese culture (Hearn, para.2).

The doctrines promoted good leadership skills and required that one act in a manner that he would like to be adopted by any other person ensured good governance in China during this period. It was observed that the court became a leading patron in the arts as China enjoyed an extended period of political instability (Hearn, para.2). Two other groups of artists were also active in China namely the traditionalists and individualists.

However, this good leadership lasted for a while and was threatened latter by the ideological differences from within and outside the territory. The empire segregated and was seen as a failure towards meeting the development objectives. As a result, the development pace that had been set in China reduced drastically towards the end of the eighteenth century and was very low until about few decades ago when mechanisms were developed to rejuvenate the nation (Wang, 178).

Early civilization in China

It is important to note that China developed technologies thousands of years before the technologies were adopted by the other parts of the world like Europe. There are evidences of the ancient cities that were developed by early men in some parts of China (Bentley & Ziegler, 13).

Generally, civilization began in China thousands of years before the same was seen in the western countries. The developments were attributed to the teachings of Confucius (551-476 B.C) who asserted that unlike wild animals, man could be ruled by principles of reason (East west dialogue, para.7).

The technology that was used in agriculture ensured that the country had enough food that led to the growth of population making it the most populous country in the world. The extraction and use of iron metal in China began far much earlier than they did in the European countries (East west dialogue, para.29). This led to the earlier development of more superior tools in China than in other country in the world. Farming and other economic activities could be carried out effectively.

The trend continued in China until few centuries ago. In fact, during the 1700s, China could be regarded as the largest and one of the richest countries in the world. It could also boast of being the country with the best system of government at the time. However, some factors from within and outside the Qing Empire that prevailed in China lead to dissolution of such a powerful governance system in the early 1800s. The long serving Qing Empire decayed and failed in its desires to establish a more civilized state.

Conclusion and restatement of thesis

It is thus worth pointing out the consequences of the early civilization that was seen in China. The adoption of modern technology in agriculture was seen in China several years before similar technologies were developed and adopted in other countries. This led to the growth in population of the country and allowing for other techniques like development of weapons.

This was followed by a series of governments some from non-Chinese rulers. There were increased desires by the emperors to conquer and rule many neighboring China. The system of government that was adopted in China for a long period seemed perfect but the ideological differences due to the many people in a cosmopolitan country led to disintegration of the government due to conflicts of interest.

The country, which had been in the forefront in urbanization, once again experienced a reverse migration with the individuals moving back to the rural areas. Further research in technology was threatened and the individuals adopted farming techniques that required even more labor like the introduction of a plow pulled by man. Techniques were then being used that were inferior to those that were used thousands of years earlier.

This trend continued and other nations from the European and American continent borrowed the technology from the Chinese applied the techniques to improve their socio-economic and political developments. Countries like the United States, Japan, United Kingdom, and the dissolved USSR are now termed as the worlds industrial powers while China who was the founder of much technology is still regarded as a developing nation. Thus, early civilization in country may be a threat to the national development.

Works Cited

Bentley, Jerry H and Ziegler, Herbert F. Chapter 1: The basic history in Traditions and Encounters: A Global perspective on the past. London: McGraw-Hill Higher Education. 2011. Web.

East west dialogue. The Science & Technology Ancient China Taught the West. Ancient Chinas Technology. 2011. Web.

Eras of elegance. The medieval era (476-1450). Eras of elegance. N.d. Web.

Hearn, Maxwell K. The Qing Dynasty (16441911): Painting. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. 2011. Web.

Lombardi, Esther. Medieval Period: Where did it All Begin? 2011. Web.

Twitchett, Dennis C. The Cambridge History of China: The Ming Dynasty, 1368-1644. Volume 8, Part 2. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1998.

Wang, Gabe T. China and the Taiwan issue: impending war at Taiwan Strait. Lanham: University Press of America, 2006.

Introduction

The concept of feedback control facilitated great waves of technological and scientific advancements in the last century.

It led to innovations, which had significant impacts on technology during the Scientific Revolution, the Age of Electronics, the Age of Aviation, Industrial Revolution, and the Space Age. In this regard, this paper will discuss the technological innovations that were based on feedback control systems.

The Escapement

The invention of the mechanical clock towards the end of the 13^th century led to a remarkable accuracy and reliability in the measurement of time. Every mechanical clock had a regulator, which controlled its operations.

One of the earliest regulators to be used in mechanical clocks was referred to as the verge-and-foliot escapement. The escapement, which had been invented by 1283, had two components, namely the verge and the foliot. The former consisted of an escape wheel, which was rotated by weights.

It also had a pair of pallets that were fitted on a revolving shaft. The two components of the verge made periodic contacts as they rotated. The periodic contacts between the escape wheel and the pallet provided a feedback mechanism, which regulated the clocks speed.

The escapement was an important improvement since it measured time in terms of the period of contact between the two components of the verge.

This technique was better than measuring time through an incessant flow of water or wax. Reading the clock involved counting the contacts between the escape wheel and the pallets, which was a digital process.

Christian Huygens improved the verge-and-foliot escapement in 1657. This involved substituting the oscillations of a pendulum for the dynamics of the verge-and-foliot system, which led to the development of the earliest pendulum clock.

The use of a pendulum reduced reliance on contact to measure time. However, its application was negatively affected by the circular errors that occurred due to the long distance covered by the pendulum as it oscillated.

Consequently, Robert Hooke and William Clement developed the anchor escapement, which eliminated the circular error by reducing the amplitude of the pendulum.

John Harrison improved the anchor escapement by making wooden clocks, which had high accuracy and did not require regular lubrication.

In the pendulum clock, feedback control was used to transfer energy to the pendulum in the appropriate phase in order to maintain the speed of oscillation and the accuracy of the clock.

The escapement significantly increased the accuracy of mechanical clocks and made it possible to measure time independently of nature. This led to the use of time as a concept in financial investments and the service of labor.

Additionally, the mechanical clock outperformed methods such as graduated candles in terms of the accuracy of measuring time.

The Governor

Prior to the adoption of fossil fuels in production, machines were powered by wind and waterpower. Wind power was found to be unreliable due to the constant variation of its speed and direction.

Edmund Lee addressed the problem of fluctuating wind speed by allowing the sails of windmills to revolve around their long axis. Additionally, he introduced fantails to enable the mills cap to turn in the direction of the wind without human intervention.

During high-speed wind, the distance between millstones widened. Thus, it was essential to boost the force between the millstones in order to improve their efficiency. The use of governors to regulate the operation of millstones addressed this problem.

In this case, the two types of governors that were used included the lag and the centrifugal governors. By 1783, James Watt had invented a steam-powered engine that could produce a circular motion.

John Rennie improved Watts invention by using a centrifugal governor to control the engines velocity. In this case, the feedback system enabled the engine to control itself. Thus, it became possible to use large amounts of energy to power engines during Industrial Revolution.

The Aileron

Earlier enthusiasts of manned flight realized that apart from ensuring stability, a flying machine had to maneuver and to counter any disturbances.

Consequently, the Wright brothers developed several innovations including the biplane wing structure, wing warping, lightweight engines, and propellers to illustrate machine-powered manned flight.

Wing warping was the main improvement, which led to manned flight by facilitating controlled turning of the aircraft.

In 1908, Glenn Curtiss improved on the Wrights innovation by using a pair of ailerons rather than wing warping for lateral control. Ailerons functioned as detached variable aerodynamic surfaces. The use of ailerons was better than wing warping in two ways.

First, it made it possible to roll the airplane, as well as, to ensure the lateral control of the aircraft without interfering with its lift.

Second, it facilitated autonomous management of each of the airplanes axes. The realization of the three-axis rotary control of the airplane was facilitated by the use of the rudder, the elevator, and the ailerons. This achievement effectively ushered in the Age of Aviation.

The Gyro

The gyro was developed by Elmer Ambrose Sperry and used by Lawrence Sperry and Emile Cachin to improve the stability of moving aircrafts.

The gyro was a revolving wheel fitted on a pivoted support. The rotating axis of the wheel remained on its course as the pivoted supports revolved around it. The gyro and the ailerons created a feedback mechanism, which stabilized the movement of the airplane.

Apart from stabilizing the motion of aircrafts, gyros were used for sensing and actuation in order to stabilize automobiles and ships. Additionally, the use of gyros in aviation applications facilitated inertial navigation.

In particular, it led to the development of gyrocompasses that had a mechanism for determining the direction of motion. Moreover, it led to the development of rate gyros and accelerometers, which gave indications for determining location.

These advancements facilitated the control of missiles, submarines, and space ships. Furthermore, the use of gyro based feedback loops led to autopilot technology, thereby ushering in the Space Age.

The Amplifier

One of the most important innovations in the Age of Electronics was the invention of the amplifier. An amplifier is a gadget that magnifies the amplitudes of signals without distorting their properties. Despite not being a feedback device, an amplifier plays a key role in a feedback control system.

The Positive Feedback Amplifier

In 1880, Thomas Alva Edison discovered the possibility of transmitting current through a vacuum. This discovery, which was referred to as the Edison effect, facilitated the development of the radio.

In his study of the Edison effect, Fleming realized in 1904 that AC radio waves could be corrected using a vacuum tube with a wire and a plate. Lee de Forest improved Flemings innovation by adding a third wire in the tube.

This enabled him to control and amplify the signal applied to the wire, thereby developing the first electronic amplifier. The positive feedback system led to the development of the triode-based amplifier circuit. Edwin Armstrong accomplished this innovation in 1912.

The triode-based circuit outperformed all other types of amplifiers that had been developed. Armstrongs innovation replaced the use of huge generators to transmit voice and music.

The Negative Feedback Amplifier

By 1911, it was possible to make phone calls over long distances. However, it was not feasible due to sound distortion. The problem of sound distortion was addressed through a negative feedback mechanism.

The use of a negative feedback amplifier facilitated telecommunication over long distances by improving the quality of sound.

Additionally, the concept of negative feedback enabled William Hewlett and David Packard to develop audio oscillating devices for testing sound equipment.

The work of Hewlett and Packard led to the emergence of the Silicon Valley, which is known for modern electronic technological advancements.

Conclusion

The use of feedback innovation facilitated the various waves of scientific and industrial developments. The mechanical clock significantly improved the measurement of time, thereby ushering in the Scientific Revolution.

The centrifugal governor facilitated the control of steam engines during the industrial revolution. The aileron made controlled flight possible, whereas the gyro improved guidance and control of spacecrafts.

The positive feedback and the negative feedback systems were important during the electronic revolution since they facilitated the development of amplifiers with low distortion. It is likely that feedback control will be an important aspect of future technological advancements.