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Ict in School Education Free Essays
string(67) " Paper on National Policy on ICT in School Education 2 Victoria L\." Information and Communication Technology for Education in India and South Asia Essay II ICT in School Education (Primary and Secondary) ICT in School Education (Primary and Secondary) 2010 Executive Summary The essay on use of ICTs in school education provides a study of trends and dominant features of the use of ICTs for school education as profiled in different initiatives captured in the country reports. The essay highlights the spectrum of experiences from high-end technology solutions to low-end TV/radio-based initiatives that have been successful in different countries at the K12 level. The paper also examines the key issues and challenges in the effective implementation of ICTs in school education and provides suggestions to address these challenges and aid the implementation of ICTs in school education. We will write a custom essay sample on Ict in School Education or any similar topic only for you Order Now An observation of international trends in application of ICTs in schools indicates that it is directly related to the development of schools and the teaching and learning environment. It is observed that new and emerging technologies are being integrated with the older technologies to make ICT applications in education more effective. Educators are also showing an increasing tendency to use mobile technology to enable access to education. There is a great deal of effort being expended around the world on the development of systems that will standardize the development of resources, catalog them, and store them. These include learning objects, which are digital Web-based resources created to support learning and can function as discrete entities or be linked in order to relate to explicit concepts or learning outcomes. Repositories are libraries where these digital resources are stored and provide teachers, students, and parents with information that is structured and organized to facilitate the finding and use of learning materials regardless of their source location. ICT in School Education (Primary and Secondary) The United Nationsââ¬â¢ Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) two and three are about achieving universal primary education and promoting gender equality, respectively. The MDGs in education are defined in terms of participation and completion of primary education by all children and the elimination of gender discrimination in education. Despite the continued efforts of the various Governments on universalizing the primary and elementary education, through a wide range of programmes and schemes, access to quality education continues to be an obstacle in the achievement of the education goals. For instance, in India, during 2004 ââ¬â 05, while the Gross Enrolment Ratio for children enrolling in classes I to VIII was 97 percent, the Drop-out Rate for the same classes was as high as 46 percent. The situation is more worrying at the secondary education level (classes IX and X), where the enrollment is recorded at 53 percent and the Drop-out Rate is as high as 60 percent1. Efforts so far have addressed to a considerable degree, the concerns of equity as well as that of regional parity, however concerns of quality have not received adequate attention. Recognizing this, the Government of Indiaââ¬â¢s flagship education programme at the primary level ââ¬â the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) ââ¬â has streamlined its focus on ââ¬Ëqualityââ¬â¢. The situation is similar across the South Asia Selected Educational Statistics 2006 ââ¬â 07; Government of India, Ministry of Human Resource Development, New Delhi 1 2 ICT in School Education (Primary and Secondary) 2010 region. With the target timelines for universalizing of primary and secondary education nearing, there is a sense of urgency in accomplishing the goals set therein. As is being increasingly articulated, if after spending large sums of money on programmes and schemes, countries have not become fully literate, it is time that innovative and cost effective methods be put in lace to address the problem of education in these countries2. While this is a larger problem and points to the need for reform in the educational systems of these countries at various levels ââ¬â pedagogical, curricular, as well as institutional, the emergence of various Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) and their increasing acceptance and adoption by society provide unique opportunities and could potentially promote educa tion on a large scale. While there is no conclusive research to prove that student achievement is higher when using ICTs in the education space, either in the developed or developing countries, there is a general consensus among practitioners and academics that integration of ICTs in education has a positive impact on the learning environment. It is understood that in diverse socio-economic and cultural contexts ICTs can be successfully employed to reach out to a greater number of students, including those to whom education was previously not easily accessible, and help in promoting learning, along with exposing students to the technical skills required for many occupations. ICTs act as and provide students and teachers with new tools that enable improved learning and teaching. Geographical distance no longer becomes an insurmountable obstacle to obtaining an education. It is no longer necessary for teachers and students to be physically in proximity, due to innovations of technologies such as teleconferencing and distance learning, which allow for synchronous learning. 3 ICTs in schools provide an opportunity to teachers to transform their practices by providing them with improved educational content and more effective teaching and learning methods. ICTs improve the learning process through the provision of more interactive educational materials that increase learner motivation and facilitate the easy acquisition of basic skills. The use of various multimedia devices such as television, videos, and computer applications offers more challenging and engaging learning environment for students of all ages. 4 A study conducted by the International Institute for Communication and Development (IICD) indicated that 80 percent of its participants felt more aware and empowered by their exposure to ICT in education, and 60 percent stated that the process of teaching as well as learning were directly and positively affected by the use of ICT. Twenty-first century teaching learning skills underscore the need to shift from the traditional teacher-centered pedagogy to more learner-centered methods. Active and collaborative learning ââ¬ËUsing Technology for Educationââ¬â¢, Guilherme Vaz, IL FS Educational Technology Services, Discussion Paper on National Policy on ICT in School Education 2 Victoria L. You read "Ict in School Education" in category "Essay examples" Tinio, ICT in Education (New York: UNDP-APDIP, 2003). Wadi Haddad and Sonia Jurich, ââ¬Å"ICT for Education: Potential and Potency,â⬠in Technologies for Education: Potentials, Parameters, and Prospects, eds. Wadi Haddad and A. Drexler (Washington, D. C. : Academy for Educational Development), 28-40. 5 International Institute for Communication and Development, ICTs for Education: Impact and Lessons Learned from IICD Supported Activities (The Hague: IICD, 2007), http://www. iicd. org/files/icts-foreducation. pdf (accessed March 14, 2009). 3 4 3 ICT in School Education (Primary and Secondary) 2010 environments facilitated by ICT contribute to the creation of a knowledge-based student population. Education leadership, management, and governance can also be improved through ICT by enhancing educational content development and supporting administrative processes in schools and other educational establishments. 6 ICT in School Education in the Developed World In the developed countries, and the urban elites of advanced economies, twenty-first century education integrates technologies, engaging students in ways which were not previously possible, creating new learning and teaching possibilities, enhancing achievement and extending interactions with local and global communities. Students live in a world that has seen an information explosion and significant and rapid social and economic changes. ICT in School Education in the Developing World In the developing world, ICTs are used largely to increase access to and improve the relevance and quality of education. ICTs have demonstrated potential to increase the options, access, participation, and achievement for all students. The unprecedented speed and general availability of diverse and relevant information due to ICT, extends educational opportunities to the marginalized and vulnerable groups, among the other disadvantaged. ICTs in the developing world have the potential to enhance the education experience for children who: ? ? ? ? ? live in rural and remote-rural locations have special learning needs have physical disabilities constraining their access to schools have dropped out and/or have kept themselves out of school for various reasons. aim for excellence and fail to get satisfied in the current system Teachers and learners in the developing world are no longer solely dependent on physical media such as printed textbooks which are often times outdated. With todayââ¬â¢s technology, one even has the ability to access experts, professionals, and leaders in their fields of interest, around the world at any given time. 7 In India, various ICTs have been employed over the years to promote primary and secondary education. These include radio, satellite based, one-way and interactive television, and the Internet. However, there have been enormous geographic and demographic disparities in their use. Some states in the country currently have an enabling environment in place that allows for a greater use 6 7 Haddad and Jurich, ââ¬Å"ICT for Education: Potential and Potencyâ⬠Ibid 4 ICT in School Education (Primary and Secondary) 2010 of ICTs for education, whereas other states lack such an environment making the use of ICTs for this purpose very sporadic. 8 It is also important to keep in mind that ICTs in education are a potential double-edged swordââ¬â while ICTs offer educators, tools to extend education to hitherto naccessible geographic regions, and to deprived children and empower teachers and students through information, there is also the danger that such technologies may further widen the gap between the educational haves and havenots. However, technology is only a tool and the success of ICTs in enhancing the delivery of quality education to the needy, without widening the gap, will depend largely on policy level interventions that are directed toward how ICTs must be deployed in school education. The Governments in each of the countries in the South Asia region are now keen and committed on exploring the uses of ICTs for school education. Therefore, Government policies lately reflect their realization of the importance of integrating ICT use and the promotion of quality education enabled through ICTs. The creation of educational networks offer substantial economies of scale and scope, when attempting to improve the quality of education and seek to standardize quality across the system. Hence, Governments are investing in infrastructure facilities that link schools/educational institutions and resource centers. However, despite administrators and experts alike recognizing the potential of ICT in improving access to quality education, the utilization of ICTs in school education in the South Asian countries is still not at a very advanced stage. The following table classifies countries in the Asia Pacific region based on their appreciation of ICTs and the availability of ICTs. It shows that while appreciation of ICTs is high in the South Asia region, their actual availability for utilization is low. Countries Appreciation of Availability of Technology Technology Afghanistan Low Low Australia High High Bangladesh High Low Bhutan High Low Cambodia High Low China High Low Central Asia (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, High No available data Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan) Democratic Peopleââ¬â¢s Republic of High No available data Korea India High Low Indonesia High Low Iran High No available data ââ¬ËPromoting the Use of Information and Communication Technologies for Primary and Secondary Education: The Case of the States of Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Karnataka in Indiaââ¬â¢ Discussion Paper by Amitabh Dabla, Educational Development Centre, Bangalore India. 8 5 ICT in School Education (Primary and Secondary) Countries Japan Malaysia Maldives Mongolia Myanmar Nepal New Zealand Pacific Islands Countries Lao PDR Republic of Korea Sri Lanka Thailand Vietnam Appreciation Technology High High High High High High High High High High High High High of Availability Technology High High Low Low Low Low High Low Low High Low Low Low 2010 of Source: Strategy Framework for Promoting ICT Literacy in the Asiaââ¬âPacific Region, UNESCO Bangkok Communication and Information Unit, 2008 http://www2. unescobkk. org/elib/publications/188/promotingICT_literacy. pdf South Asia is yet to harness the potential of ICTs in creating, constructing, capturing, managing, and sharing information and knowledge. India is rated high on appreciation because it has gone beyond policies that merely recognize the strategic role of ICT for growth and development and is already institutionalizing concrete measures that support ICT initiatives. However, it has been rated low on availability of technology due to data reporting that access to computers is ââ¬Å"limited,â⬠the cost of Internet connections is relatively high, ISPs are described as ââ¬Å"limited,â⬠and the ratio of number of computers per student stated as ââ¬Å"insufficient. â⬠9 These observations point to the need to frame appropriate policies, build adequate infrastructure, and set aside adequate funds in order to support the deployment of ICTs in furthering the education levels of the country. Although ICTs do offer many beneficial opportunities for education, they are no substitute for formal schooling. The role of technology is to support school education and not replace it, though the technology may play an appreciable part in meeting the needs of children who cannot go to a conventional school. Access to ICTs ensures enhancement of traditional or formal education systems, enabling them to adapt to the different learning and teaching needs of the societies. ICTs in school education initiatives that focus on the following areas are most likely to successfully contribute to meeting the Millennium Development Goals10: ? Increasing access through distance learning Strategy Framework for Promoting ICT Literacy in the Asia Pacific Region, Elena E Pernia, UNESCO Bangkok Communication and Information Unit, Asia and Pacific Regional Bureau for Education, Thailand 2008. 10 The World Bank. 9 6 ICT in School Education (Primary and Secondary) 2010 ICTs can provide new and innovative means to bring educational opportunities to greater numbers of children of all ages, especially those who have historically been excluded, such as populations in rural and remote-rural areas, girl children facing social barriers, and children with disabilities and other compulsions. In almost all the developing countries of South Asia, distance learning has been an important component of the education policy of these nations. It is probably in this domain that traditional ICTs like radio, television, and audio cassettes were first deployed in the education space. In India, distance learning offered by institutions like National Institute of Open Learning (NIOS) and Indira Gandhi National Open University have used a combination of print and audio-visual material as well as traditional face-to-face interactions to deliver their content. Enabling a knowledge network for students With knowledge as the crucial input for productive processes within today ââ¬â¢s economy, the efficiency by which knowledge is acquired and applied determines economic success. Effective use of ICTs can contribute to the timely transmission of information and knowledge, thereby helping education systems meet this challenge. ? Training Teachers Large numbers of school teachers will be needed to meet the MDGs for education. The use of ICTs can help in training teachers to accomplish the targeted tasks on a mission mode. Moreover, ICTs provide opportunities to complement on the job training and continuing education for teachers in a more convenient and flexible manner. The use of ICTs for teacher training has been recognized by the governments of most South Asian countries and eacher training programmes like Intel Teach across India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka; Microsoft Shiksha in India; and several other initiatives in Nepal and Bhutan are focused on using ICTs for training teachers. This includes training in applying ICTs in their teaching practices as we ll as using ICTs as a mode of delivery for these trainings. ? Broadening the availability of quality education materials Development of relevant, good quality content is perhaps the biggest challenge and opportunity in the educational technology space. While infrastructure, capacity building, monitoring, and evaluation are critical support structures without quality content, the learning experience of students will not be significantly improved by the mere presence of ICT. To that end content development is being focused on in many of the focus countries in our study. In India, several initiatives are ongoing for creating digital repositories and learning objects; the Sakshat Portal of Government of India, initiatives like National Program of Technology Enhanced Learning (NPTEL), the Multimedia Educational Resource for Learning Online Teaching (MERLOT) seek to create quality digital content for different levels of education. 7 ICT in School Education (Primary and Secondary) ? 2010 Enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of educational administration and policy New innovative technologies can help schoolsââ¬â¢ improve the quality of administrative activities and processes. The Government of Afghanistanââ¬â¢s articulation of the policy for ICT in education focuses on the need to provide access to ICT for all Ministry of Education administrative staffs, teachers, and students. The policy further envisages that through the use of information management systems, ICT will be extensively used to automate and mechanize work such as human resource management, financial management, monitoring and evaluation, the processing of student and teacher records, communication between government and schools, lesson planning, assessment and testing, financial management, and the maintenance of inventories. The Ministry of Education has developed GIS-based spatial data with detailed maps for better management of the education system in the country. More than 35 maps have been produced showing the location of schools all over Afghanistan, including the number of students and teachers by province. The Government of Delhi, in India, has been a pioneer in using ICTs for better administration of the education system. The Department of Education, Government of Delhi, with 40,000 employees, 928 schools, and more than 120,000 students under its administrative jurisdiction has developed a comprehensive and functionally effective Web-based and GIS-based Management Information System (MIS). All the schools, zonal offices, district offices, regional offices, and various branches at the headquarters can share information using the Web-enabled software. Information for all stakeholdersââ¬âstudents, teachers, and administratorsââ¬âis available online through the Directorateââ¬â¢s Web site (edudel. gov. in); this includes information on admissions, mark sheets, teacher attendance, transfers, pay slips, and so on. International Trends in ICT in School Education An observation of international trends in application of ICTs in schools indicates that it is directly related to the development of schools and the teaching and learning environment. For instance, changes to pedagogical practices in classrooms require that teachers should have access to infrastructure and are given the opportunity to develop the expertise to use the machines and software tools. The trends also indicate policy-makers, administrators, and teachers are using a variety of tools and strategies to improve access to learning opportunities, improve the teaching and learning experience for teachers and students, and make effective use of limited resources. This section presents a select few international experiences that have been observed in ICT applications in primary and secondary education across the globe. 11 Integrating New Technologies with Existing Technologies in Use A discussion on global trends in ICTs and Education in 2010 can also be found at the Education Technology Debate Forum of the World Bank http://edutechdebate. org/2010-ict4e-trends/10-global-trends-in-ict-andeducation-for-2010-and-beyond/. It highlights trends like Mobile Learning, Cloud Computing, Gaming, Ubiquitous and Personalized Learning. 11 8 ICT in School Education (Primary and Secondary) 2010 Older technologies such as print, radio, and television are more common in most part of the world, unlike the recent technologies such as Internet, e-mail, and wireless communications. This is largely due to the state of infrastructure development that had not allowed the adoption of newer technologies as extensive as the older technologies. In recent times, however, it has been noticed that these newer technologies are gaining prominence and are being integrated with the older technologies to make ICT applications in education more effective. Radio Sagarmatha in Nepal is one of the first community radios in South Asia. It is a radio-browse model wherein Internet is broadcast over the radio. It discusses public issues, conducts training for public radio journalism, and provides a venue for local ideas and culture. In 2000, the station added a weekly 25-minute Internet radio programme featuring local and international ICT-related news, and ICT glossary, radio web browsing, and interviews with relevant ICT resource persons. This program has been successful among the rural areas of Nepal. Increased Use of Mobile Technology In the developing countries of South Asia given the almost ubiquitous presence of mobile phones in some geographies, there is an increasing interest in the opportunities offered by this technology. Several initiatives using mobile phones for English language learning, for facilitating educational administration tasks, and other support informational and educational services are being widely offered. In India, Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL), one of the largest telecom service providers with the widest reach in the country has launched ââ¬Å"Learn English,â⬠a spoken English mobile learning program. The program aims to teach spoken English through common everyday stories and situations that are familiar to most people. It is currently available in nine regional languages for two levels, namely basic and advanced. The service can be subscribed to at a nominal cost of Rs. 0 per month and a call browsing charge of 30 paise per minute. Other service providers have also entered the arena. ILFS Education Technology Services Limited (ILFS Education) in collaboration with Tata Indicom have launched an ââ¬Å"English Seekhoâ⬠Program, which uses the mobile phone to teach English through simple 5 minute lessons that can be accessed at the learnerââ¬â¢s convenience. Another common usage of mobile phones is also found in support services for education, such as providing alerts and retrieving and sending EMIS reports. The Virtual University in Pakistan makes use of SMS to provide updates to students, schedule appointments, and so on. However, as articulated by educationists and experts, the small screen size, limitations on the amount of data exchanged, and so on are problems that limit the usage of mobile phones (the models most commonly available) in actual content delivery in education. 12 Content Development through Learning Objects and Repositories 12 For a debate on the use of Mobile Phones vs PCs in Education refer to Edutech Debate at http://edutechdebate. org/mobile-phones-and-computers/ 9 ICT in School Education (Primary and Secondary) 2010 Learning technologies have been evolving over the last many years, starting from early mainframebased programmed learning systems, microcomputer software packages, bulletin boards, CBT systems, authoring systems, and more recently after the Internet explosion, Web-based systems and Learning Management Systems. Development of content has largely been done on an individual basis, resulting in a scenario where the content software is not compatible with the latest technology. Moreover, there is no established system for cataloging and classifying virtual learning materials, leading to many excellent online learning materials remaining underutilized. This scenario calls for the need for a standardized system for cataloging, storing, and retrieving content in ways that enable users to access and organize resources for their particular purposes as well as sharing it institutionally, nationally, and internationally. There is a great deal of effort being expended around the world on the development of such systemsââ¬âones that will standardize the development of resources, catalog them (metadata) and store them. Learning objects are digital assets that can be as diverse as a chapter in a book, a piece of text, a video or audio clip, or visuals on an overhead transparency or PowerPoint slide, and can be used in a variety of teaching settings, by course designers, managers, trainers, content writers, and learners. 13 Learning objects can be identified, tracked, referenced, used, and reused for a variety of learning purposes. They are developed to function as discrete entities or to be linked in order to relate to explicit concepts or learning outcomes. Content requirements are determined through communication with educators across the target audience and then the learning object is developed by independent contractors. Learning objects may be self-contained, reusable, and capable of being aggregated. Repositories may be described as libraries where learning object databases are stored and provide teachers, students, and parents with information that is structured and organized to facilitate the finding and use of learning materials regardless of their source location. Most repositories contain a Web-based user interface, a search mechanism, and a means of retrieving a learning object. While the initial leadership for learning object repositories has tended to come from the university sector, the interest and activity in the school sector is increasing rapidly. An Overview of Developments and Trends in the Application of Information and Communication Technologies in Educationââ¬â¢; Glen M Farrell, Commonwealth of Learning; UNESCO Meta-survey on the Use of Technologies in Education, October 2003. 13 10 ICT in School Education (Primary and Secondary) 2010 Open Learning Exchange, Nepal: E Pustakalay a and E Paath OLE Nepal is engaged in creating content at two levels. The E Paath consists of interactive learning modules, mapped to the topics in the curriculum as prescribed by the Curriculum Development Centre (CDC) of Nepal. Subject matter experts work closely with the OLE Nepal developers to create these interactive learning activities. This easy to use software, rich in multimedia elements including text, audio, video, and animations is then used by teachers and students to understand concepts as prescribed in the curriculum. The content contains lessons, exercises, as well as assessment tools to enable teachers to effectively teach and evaluate students. E-Pustakalaya is an electronic library which is a repository of reference material for the students, consisting of full text documents, images audio, video clips and software that are relevant for students. E Pustakalaya deploys a simple child friendly user interface that allows children to navigate, search, and link different documents including reference materials, courserelated content, magazine, and newspaper content. Students can download the content as well as read it online. The repository is also accessible on the Internet to other users at http://www. pustakalaya. org. Content creation in the E Pustakalaya is an ongoing activity and OLE Nepal has collaborated with several national and international organizations to source materials, these include Room to Read, Rato Bangala Foundation, Madan Puraskar Library, Save the Children, World Education, ELearning for Kids and Azim Premji Foundation. OLE Nepal continues to work with other organizations to supplement this database. (www. olenepal. org/) eGyankosh, Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU), India eGyanKosh, developed by IGNOU and launched in 2008, is a National Digital Repository created to store, index, preserve, distribute and share the digital learning resources developed by Open and Distance Learning Institutions in India. The repository contains all course material of IGNOU in print and video format and allows users to download this material free of cost once they have registered themselves. www. egyankosh. ac. in/) As learning repositories are developed, there emerged a need for inte rnational standards for these repositories, with the aim of achieving interoperability among various learning repositories. The development of easily accessible and sharable learning repositories is perhaps the most significant trend of all because of the potential it holds for reducing one of the largest single costs in the use of ICT in educationââ¬âthe cost of developing content. This development offers not only the economy and flexibility that comes with reusability but also allows content to be developed independently from the form of its delivery. It offers benefits across the spectrum of learning venues, from the remote learner in some form of distance education, to the teacher and learners face-to-face in a classroom. 11 ICT in School Education (Primary and Secondary) 2010 Teachers and Online Learning Activities ICT is an important source, which teachers may use to keep themselves abreast of emerging issues, share knowledge, and reach out to students. Several portals are being developed where teachers can network and share information including best practices. In India, the Sakshat portal developed by the Government of India provides teachers an opportunity to connect with each other and share experiences. The Teachers of India, an online portal developed by the Azim Premji Foundation and the National Knowledge Commission, was created with the objective of providing a forum for teachers to freely interact with each other across languages, facilitate the sharing of insights and best practices of teachers across the country and provide access to resources, information, and new experiments in education from all over the world in all Indian languages. Key Issues and Concerns There are many challenges in implementing ICTs effectively in existing schools. Policy-makers need to give ICTs adequate priority and attention so as to reap the benefits of deploying ICTs in school education. Students from rural locations or impoverished communities often tend to slip under the radar so that they do not have even basic access to ICT. Given that a number of schools still do not even have appropriate classrooms, computers, telecommunication facilities and Internet services, ICT continues to be a distant dream. The existing shortage of quality teachers further compounds the problem. In developing countries, budgetary allocations for deploying ICTs in school education are typically limited, and given the high initial costs of setting up ICT systems, the cost factor works as a further deterrent. Shifting the existing focus from traditional educational models to an ICT-based education system is bound to be met with constraints and roadblocks. Some key issues and concerns that need to be addressed in order to create an ICT friendly environment in schools, especially in countries in the South Asian region, are identified later. Availability of Infrastructure to Support ICT A countryââ¬â¢s educational technology infrastructure sits on top of the national telecommunications and information technology infrastructure. Availability of adequate infrastructure to support the deployment of ICTs in schools is a tremendous challenge that schools in the region currently face. Apart from the high initial cost of purchasing and setting up the requisite infrastructure, the maintenance and upgrade costs, as well as the cost and effort of supporting such infrastructure are also roadblocks to the successful usage of ICTs in schools, especially in poor and remote areas. Before any ICT-based programme is launched, policy-makers and planners must carefully consider the following: ? In the first place, a basic requirement is whether appropriate rooms or buildings available to house the technology? In countries where there are many old school buildings, extensive retrofitting to ensure proper electrical wiring, heating/cooling and ventilation, and safety and security would be needed. 12 ICT in School Education (Primary and Secondary) ? 2010 ? ? Another basic requirement is the availability of electricity and telephony. In countries within this South Asian region, large areas are still without a reliable supply of electricity and the nearest telephones are miles away. Power situation in rural and remote-rural areas even in some advanced countries in this region is undependable, and this affects the functioning of any ICT initiative. Power cuts with different power cut schedules each week play havoc with the timetables. Power outages and fluctuations add to the high maintenance costs of computer hardware. Policy-makers should also look at the ubiquity of different types of ICT in the country in general, and in the educational system (at all levels) in particular. For instance, a basic requirement for computer-based or online learning is access to computers in schools, communities, and households, as well as affordable Internet service. Insufficient access to computers is one of the main obstacles to the spread of ICT usage in school education. This is more so in the case of rural areas where the school is often the only access point for computers. Moreover, system software is expensive and prone to upgrades and requires resources put aside for new versions and upgrades. Operating System (OS) itself adds to the cost burden of the hardware. Although this will require massive investments in the infrastructure, it is nevertheless essential in order to guarantee equal access and to overcome the digital divide. 14 Strong, sustainable partnerships between the Government, private sector and civil society must be built to offset costs and mitigate the complexities of the integration of ICT in education systems (refer Annexure II for details on Public-Private Partnerships [PPPs]). Availability of Funds to Implement ICTs Given the current budgetary and resource constraints of various Governments, a widespread investment in ICTs in education is probably not possible in most developing countries. It is, therefore, critically important to better understand the cost-benefit equation of the wide range of ICT options and uses in order to effectively target-spend the scarce resources. Economies of scale are achievable in distance education, although such Programmes typically require large up-front investments. Some of these costs may be shifted from the public sector to the individual users, but this in itself raises significant equity and access issues. Capacity Building of Teachers In most of schools in the subcontinent, the teachers are overloaded, less motivated and inadequately trained, and often deal with inconvenient working conditions. The use of ICTs in the classroom or in distance education does not diminish the role of the teacher; neither does it automatically change teaching practices. In such an atmosphere, building the capacity of teachers so that they are equipped to deal with using ICTs in classrooms is a challenge. Resistance to Change International Institute for Communication and Development, ICTs for Education: Impact and Lessons Learned from IICD-Supported Activities. 14 13 ICT in School Education (Primary and Secondary) 2010 Resistance is commonly witnessed while attempting to introduce ICTs into schools, very often from the teachers themselves, since they may be of the opinion that they shall become redundant once technology comes in or due to their perception that it is too late for them to adapt to a new environment. Educators themselves may be skeptical about the effectiveness of using ICTs in school education. Lack of Awareness There is a general lack of awareness about the utility of ICTs in education, as well as about the ICTs at our disposal and how they can be accessed and utilized economically and effectively. This lack of awareness and knowledge about ICTs and their use in education, even on the part of policy makers, administrators and educators, makes it particularly difficult to deploy ICTs in the field of school education. Another critical issue with the usage of ICT in schools is the implementation of new technologies without having analyzed their appropriateness, applicability and impact on various environments and contexts. In most countries, particularly the least developed ones, they must learn from the experiences of others, but must also use technology to respond to their own needs and not just follow trends. 15 Internet Usage While the Internet contains tremendous potential for education, as described in the sections earlier, it also has its own pitfalls. For one, providing all the students with Internet access is a very expensive proposition for most Government schools. This is more so in the case of rural centers and remote areas, where Internet connections are bound to be erratic, if available at all. A different challenge altogether when it comes to Internet usage is the effort involved in monitoring the students usage of the Internet to ensure that they do not visit educationally irrelevant and socially undesirable sites, thus detracting from the intended objective. Language Barriers English is the dominant language of the Internet. An estimated 80 percent of online content is in English. A large proportion of the educational software produced in the world market is in English. For developing countries in the South Asian region where English language proficiency is not high, especially outside metropolitan areas, this represents a serious barrier to maximizing the educational benefits of the World Wide Web. Monitoring and evaluation Many of the issues and challenges associated with ICTs in education initiatives are known by policymakers, donor staff, and educators. However, data on the nature and complexity of these issues remains limited because of the lack of good monitoring and evaluation tools and processes. Where evaluation data is available much of the work is seen to suffer from important biases. Another Patti Swarts, ââ¬Å"Main Issues, Possible Solutions and Opportunities for ICTs,â⬠Global e-Schools and Community Initiatives, http://www. gesci. org 15 14 ICT in School Education (Primary and Secondary) 2010 problem in this area is the lack of a common set of indicators for ICTs in education. And, where data has been collected, it is often quantitative data related to infrastructure (number of computers, for example) rather than data that can help policy-makers gauge the impact of ICT interventions on student learning. 16 If ICTs are to become effective and integral tools in education, and if accountability is to be demonstrated to donors and stakeholders, monitoring and evaluation must be a priority area of focus (refer Annexure I for details on Monitoring Evaluation). Key Learnings Although there is great opportunity for improvement in school education at many levels through the use of ICTs, the road to achieving it is not easy. It will take continued commitment from all stakeholders involved to make any kind of substantial and sustainable change. The following broadbased suggestions may act as a basis for building a long-term roadmap to bringing ICTs to schools, and students at large in the South Asia region. A key to succeed in this endeavor is to adopt a comprehensive, end-to-end, systematic approach, with a phased and learn-as-you-go strategy for implementation, that can be adjusted to adapt to the specific needs and a changing environment. Government Support Government cooperation is necessary for ICT programmes to have substantial impact and be sustainable. In the attempt to reevaluate the education delivery system and curriculum of countries to include ICT, Governments have to consider the social context in which they are implementing this new phenomenon. The realities of individual countries and the disparities within and across their geographies, including their limitations say, the language barrier, should be considered and the availability of ICT should be made according to the needs and desires of the countries in order to facilitate appropriate learning and local ownership of knowledge. 17 As discussed in the essay on policy coherence, governments need to adopt a coherent national policy framework, an effective ICT for education ecosystem, not just within the education field but also encompassing other complementing and enabling domains, which could ensure a childââ¬â¢s overall development and the Countryââ¬â¢s larger objectives. Government policies must demonstrate political will and champion the integration of ICT purposes and be in line with national development goals and frameworks. In countries where implementation capacity is weak and misuse of resources can be a major problem, ICT can further enable the country to enhance its capacity building efforts and reduce the opportunity for corruption. 18 16 Trucano, Michael. 2005. Knowledge Maps: ICT in Education. Washington, DC: infoDev/World Bank. Available at: https://www. infodev. org/en/Publications. 8. html K. Toure, M. L. Diarra, T. Karsenti, and S. Tchameni-Ngamo, ââ¬Å"Reflections on Cultural Imperialism and Pedagogical Possibilities Emerging from Youth Encounters with Internet in Africaâ⬠in ICT and Changing Mindsets in Education, eds. K. Toure, T. M. S. Tchombe, and T. Karsenti (Bamako, Mali: ERNWACA, 2008). 18 Muwanga, ââ¬Å"High Cost of Internet Connectivity in Africa: How Do We Achieve Mobile Telephony Success Story? â⬠17 15 ICT in School Education (Primary and Secondary) 2010 Not only are national policies necessary but the Government also should assist in building organizational and institutional capacity to effectively deal with the complexities of integrating and implementing ICT in school education. Ministries of Education need to reconsider how they institutionalize positions of responsibility for ICT. The ICT unitââ¬â¢s roles relate directly to improvement of teaching and learning using ICT, and the mix of skills required differs substantially from that of a traditional IT unit, providing infrastructural systems support. Therefore, appropriate considerations have to be taken to establish the right kind of institutions and positions to take the mission forward. In the longer term, the active participation of the Government is essential to ensure the sector-wide introduction of ICT4E. Government involvement is critical to source additional investments in the ICT infrastructure, to integrate ICT in the curriculum, and to facilitate the widespread diffusion of materials. 19 Creating Community-Based ICT Facilities In 1999, the Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee (BRAC) undertook an initiative to improve rural communitiesââ¬â¢ access to ICT facilities. This involved selecting 800 Gonokendros (multipurpose learning centers) and equipping them with computers so that rural communities become familiar with usage of ICT and have access to a wide range of reading materials and resources, educational and non-educational. The concept of community-based ICT facilities may be expanded at the school level to increase school studentsââ¬â¢ access to ICT-based materials. For example, one ICT centre may be created for every ive schools in the village/block, and this centre may be equipped with computers, television, radio, or other technologies. A timetable may be allocated so that each school has access to the ICT centre for one day of the week. Within each school again, different classes may be allocated different periods for accessing the ICT centre. The challenges with implementing such a scheme, is that the distance of the centre from the various schools that warrant the need for firming up the mode of studentsââ¬â¢ mobility and the frequency of such mobility to access the ICT facility and others. Moreover, the cost of renting or buying land and a building for setting up the ICT centre is another deterrent. However, this concept of school communities using common ICT facilities is a feasible way in which to introduce students from rural communities to ICTs. Prioritizing and Planning Access to Remote Areas Special consideration should be given to ICT connectivity and accessibility for educational purposes. Bandwidth and spectrum of radio and television wavelengths should be allocated for education. Planning for connectivity infrastructure and regulations should promote and facilitate educational use of ICT. The trends toward convergence and new mobile platforms for InternetInternational Institute for Communication and Development, ICTs for Education: Impact and Lessons Learned from IICD-Supported Activities. 19 6 ICT in School Education (Primary and Secondary) 2010 connectivity need to be fully exploited through innovative policies and partnerships that can help lower cost and expand access. Regional networks of collaboration among countries where language and cultural context are simila r could serve as a platform to promote educational quality and equality in an effort to bridge the digital divide. Greater exchange and collaboration in the production and management of educational resources would lower expenses in the development of materials as well as increase the amount of educational content available to teachers and students across the region. 0 Adopting ICTs Suited to the Context Given that Internet access is a problem for most schools, especially in rural areas, educators and administrators needs to consider the possibility of establishing Local Area Networks (LANs) in schools. Content could be hosted on school LANs, instead of trying to make them available on the Internet. A digital library on a server on the LAN would be a valuable asset, as it can store all types of digital content. Interactive multimedia material can also be hosted on the LAN at a much lower cost than on the Internet. This also has the added advantage of enabling students to access Progr ammes at their convenience, instead of having to adhere to a scheduled telecast. Given that India has invested significantly in educational television and already has a commendable satellite television infrastructure, schools should focus on leveraging this technology. Some Indian educational channels are planning to switch to DTH soon, and it is very practical for them to do this. Due to the rapid fall in the cost of servers and storage, it is possible to record thousands of hours of TV programmes in digital form onto a server and make it available on demand from every PC on the LAN. 21 Focus on Capacity Building The use of ICTs in education calls for a fundamental shift in the way content is designed and delivered, as well as for teamwork and collaborative practices. New technologies cannot be imposed without enabling teachers and learners to understand these fundamental shifts. Ongoing training is necessary for the trainers in institutions and organizations who are engaged in the design of curriculum, teaching materials, and delivery of ICT-enabled education. At the same time, middle-level managers, both in the public service and the NGO sector, need to understand the pedagogy of learning through ICT and the management models that are required. Given that teachers themselves are not comfortable using ICTs for teaching purposes, it is critical that there is a focus on capacity building of teachers so that they are equipped adequately to use ICTs in the classrooms. A locally-accessible instructor/trainer may be hired to provide training to the teachers on the usage of computers and Internet, and other ICTs that are proposed to be used in ââ¬ËInformation and Communication Technologies (ICT) in Education for Developmentââ¬â¢, Global Alliance for ICT and Development, White Paper July 2009. 21 Srinivasan Ramani, International Institute for Information Technology, Bangalore, e-Discussion with Community of Practitioners at UN Solution Exchange (Communities of Education and ICT for Development). 20 17 ICT in School Education (Primary and Secondary) 2010 the school. Further, the contracts of procurement of ICT products could include among other, a short-term handholding feature with respect to familiarization and effective usage of the facilities. It is also suggested that the Teachers Training Institutes (TTIs) shall ensure ICT-based teaching and learning methodologies be integrated into the educational streams and build capabilities to the next-generation teachers with the capacity to handle ICT facilities with ease. Support of school administrators and, in some cases, the community, is critical if ICTs are to be used effectively. In addition, teachers must have adequate access to functioning computers (or other technologies) and sufficient technical support. Shifting pedagogies, redesigning curriculum and assessment tools, and providing more autonomy to local schools all contribute to the optimal use of ICTs in education. Creative Solutions to Computer Shortages Computer-based ICT interventions require significant investment in hardware. In addition, the expected active life of a computer is about 5 years, and as the hardware industry develops more sophisticated products, the software adapts to the top-of-the-line products. Computer recycling is an ecologically sound alternative to this problem. A growing number of not-for-profit organizations are dedicated to the tasks of collecting, refurbishing, and finding new homes for old computers. 22 In most South Asian countries, it has been found that computer usage is most cost effective when placed in common areas such as cyber cafes, community resource centers, and so on. Alternative Power Sources Given the situation of power shortages in rural areas, and the effect of power shortage on the usage of computers and other technologies in schools, the Governments should actively promote the usage of alternate sources of power. This ecologically friendly solution will also ensure a steady power supply to schools in rural areas. For example, the Bangladesh National ICT Policy 2009 highlights the imperative of providing access to ICTs to all schools and using alternate sources of energy such as solar panels if required. Financing ICT Investments Financing mechanisms for ICTs in education initiatives are quite varied. Due to the high up-front costs and large recurrent costs, countries and communities typically employ varied models of financing and cost recovery mechanisms. Public-private partnerships and user fees are important components of financing ICTs in education in many countries, although more research is needed to determine the impact and effectiveness of these mechanisms (refer Annexure II for details on PublicPrivate Partnerships [PPPs]). Wadi D. Haddad and Sonia Jurich ââ¬ËICT for Education: Prerequisites and Constraintsââ¬â¢, ââ¬ËTechnologies for Education: Potentials, Parameters and Prospectsââ¬â¢ UNESCO and AED 2002. 22 18 ICT in School Education (Primary and Secondary) 2010 Conclusion A carefully thought-out, integrated approach to introducing computers and the Internet into learning environments in developing countries can have a significant impact on teaching and learning. In countries where learning resources are limited and teachers never dream of having a fully stocked library, let alone the Internet, teachers and students have been introduced to a new world of learning. As a result, those with access to ICTs have been greatly empowered, and now believe they can compete in a global knowledge-based economy because they know that their knowledge, ideas, culture, and passions are as valuable as any in the world. In order to more effectively prepare students to participate in ICT-driven education, greater commitments and willingness to share and adopt innovative solutions are needed from all aspects of societyââ¬âfrom Governments, the private sector, communities, donors, parents, and students. Schools should be transformed into active learning environments open to their communities; telecommunication and power infrastructure policies should focus on schools as starting points for rural transformation; teachers and students must be empowered to be creative agents for change in their schools; and leaders must embrace a vision that will prepare their youth for tomorrowââ¬â¢s challenges. 23 Despite the challenges outlined in the paper, ICTs are being increasingly used in education in both the developed and developing world, in order to reach out to children from poor and remote communities, provide them with a quality education, and in general equip both teachers and students with a wider range of educational resource and enable them with greater flexibility. However, the growth and success of ICTs in education depends on the extent to which the issues and challenges outlined in this paper are addressed. There is a critical need to document every effort for the benefit of the various stakeholdersââ¬â decision-makers, institutions, NGOs and civil society. It is necessary to know what works and what does not, and what the implications are for policy making, planning, and implementation. Specifically, it needs to be understood that any new technology comes not merely with hardware and software, but with a learning and teaching style and grammar of its own, and that management practices need to be adapted in order to use the technologies effectively. ICTs are, ultimately, only physical tools, which by themselves cannot bring benefits to students, teachers and communities at large. Therefore the unique contextual realities of this region, including, primarily, the initiative and impetus of the various countries and its constituents, the involvement of private companies and NGOs, and the level of infrastructure, play determining roles in creating enabling environments promoting the use of ICTs for primary and secondary education. 23 Robert J Hawkins ââ¬ËTen Lessons for ICT and Education in the Developing Worldââ¬â¢, World Links for Development Program, The World Bank Institute. 19 ICT in School Education (Primary and Secondary) 2010 Bibliography ? Center for Knowledge Societies (2003), Rapid Assessment of ICTs for Education. EDC. Education for All: National Plan of Action, India http://portal. unesco. org/education/en/file_download. hp/9a2c6bbea059f70c23fd46a 98ae9096bEFANPAIndia. pdf Information and Communication Technologies in Educational Management: The Missing Link in Developing Countries http://unpan1. un. org/intradoc/groups/public/documents/APCITY/ UNPAN012316. pdf Integrating ICTs into Education: Lessons Learned http://www. unescobkk. org/education/ict/v2/info. asp? id=16158 Meta-survey on the Use of Technologies in Education in Asia and the Pacific 2003-2004 http://www. unescobkk. org/fileadmin/user_upload/ICTs/Metasurvey/COMPLETE. PDF Needs Assessment of ICTs in Education Policy Makers in Asia and the Pacific http://www. unescobkk. org/fileadmin/user_upload/ICTs/ebooks/ICTs_needassessmen t/assessmentfull. df New Technologies for Literacy and Adult Education: A Global Perspective http://ncal. literacy. upenn. edu/products/wagner_kozma. pdf ? ? ? ? ? 20 ICT in School Education (Primary and Secondary) 2010 Annexure I Monitoring and Evaluation in ICT The use of ICTs for school education as a result of the various programmes and projects implemented in the South Asia region has had an impact on educational access and quality, yet there are major issues pertaining to the measurement of these indicators. Monitoring and evaluation of learning gains, teaching practices, classroom environments, studentsââ¬â¢ participation, and other activities are required and necessary for addressing ICTs-enabled educational quality and access. However, one of the major hurdles in assessing these indicators was that the majority of the programmes and projects implemented did not have adequate quantitative or qualitative monitoring or evaluation activities. Further even if any monitoring and evaluation activities were conducted they did not adequately measure indicators pertaining to ICTs enabled educational quality and access. Monitoring and evaluating of programmes and projects are critical to ensure projects achieve their intended impacts and become sustainable in the long run. Appropriate indicators must be identified for every ICT project that can be monitored in order to effectively track progress. Stakeholders at all levels must be part of this process to ensure transparency and to avoid potentially corruptive practices throughout the projects. Together with Aptivate, a UK-based NGO providing IT services for international development, Camfed, a NGO improving girlsââ¬â¢ education in Zimbabwe, Zambia, Ghana and Tanzania, has tested the efficiency and quality of personal digital assistants (PDAs) as a tool for monitoring and evaluation. This method is extremely time efficient. Data can be calculated within hours rather than weeks and through its ability to connect to the Internet it can be transmitted directly from the worker in the field to the headquarter. 4 Supply-side based development models which are based on centralized designs and make ââ¬Å"top downâ⬠assumptions of people (ââ¬Å"teachers are resistant to changeâ⬠or ââ¬Å"lethargy of managementâ⬠) have been tried several times and have not been found to be successful. Hence, a ââ¬Å"monitoring and evaluationâ⬠theme that does not situate itself on the needs for professional development of the teacher, based on principles of autonomy, an agency can end up emphasizing centralized databases that seek to ââ¬Å"controlâ⬠teachers work based on quantitative assessments of children performance, which can be counterproductive to meaningful education. 25 This is not to deny the importance of ââ¬Å"infrastructureâ⬠or ââ¬Å"contentâ⬠or ââ¬Å"capacity building,â⬠except o state that these perspectives appear to reflect an dominant ââ¬Å"ICTDâ⬠kind of thinking which is mostly ââ¬Å"supply based. â⬠ââ¬Å"We have ICTs so let us see what we can do with themâ⬠such ââ¬ËInformation and Communication Technologies (ICT) in Education for Developmentââ¬â¢, Global Alliance for ICT and Development, White Paper July 2009. 25 Gurumurthy Kasinathathan, IT for Change, Bangalore, Solution Exchange for the ICT for Development Community, 31 July 2008 . 24 21 ICT in School Education (Primary and Secondary) 2010 approaches do not proceed from the identifications of the objectives to be met, or critical challenges to be faced, from the respective domainââ¬â¢s perspective. They seek to thrust some overarching technological world views on development domains whose enormous contexts and complexities, challenges, and goals are not given the prime positions as drivers of the policy. Some suggested evaluating parameters that may be applied to monitor the effective implementation of the policy on ICT in school education are as follows26: ? Are the ICT-based methodologies in sync with the existing traditional teaching? ? Does ICT facilitate the teacher in teaching better? ? Does ICT help in explaining abstract concepts? ? Does ICT make learning more exciting? ? Does ICT prod the student to know more, beyond the classroom? Does ICT make the student understand better and recall lessons taught during his absence or in manner alien to him or her? ? Does ICT make learning more participative and encourage group learning? ? Does ICT support interaction? ? Does ICT ensure continued progress through enhanced learning? ? Is the ICT-based solution a textbook page turner and contains too much of textual content? ? Is there an excess on animations and cartoons? ? Are the animations too trivial or too complicated? Annexure II Public-Private Partnership in ICT Collaborative initiatives in the manner of PPP, to promote ICT for education may be most relevant at the implementation level, where select key roles and responsibilities may be outsourced in order to make them more viable and efficient. However, one needs to be vigilant about partner-institutions, which may have direct business interest in the value chain while the outsourced role on which they are inducted might enable performance of roles that may conflict the overall interest and purpose of the initiative. Moreover, there is also skepticism about the degree to which the ability of such partnerships under PPP arrangements will work to reach interior rural areas and conduct operations on the scale required. 27 If the Ministry of Education has to solely take on this task of equipping the schools with ICT facilities, it would be an enormous task and will require funds in large sums. Therefore, M. V. Ananthakrishnan, Developmental Informatics Lab, KreSIT, IIT Bombay, Mumbai, Solution Exchange for the ICT for Development Community, 31 July 2008. 27 Binay Pattanayak, National Technical Support Group, Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA), New Delhi, Solution Exchange for the ICT for Development Community, 31 July 2008. 26 22 ICT in School Education (Primary and Secondary) 2010 Governments will invariably need to form appropriate strategic partnerships in order to succeed in this endeavor of implementing ICT in schools. The most common type of agreement is ââ¬Å"seeding fundâ⬠partnerships with emphasis on front-end costs and mostly capital costs. However, such an approach tends to underestimate the total cost of ownership (TCO) of computers and other ICT equipment, which includes recurrent costs such as ongoing hardware maintenance and upgrades of hardware and software in addition to initial capital outlays. Also, teachers have to devote additional time and effort to lear How to cite Ict in School Education, Essay examples
The Theory and Practice of Investment Management.
Question: Is change management best implemented with the involvement of staff? Answer: Introduction Change management process is considered to be most important for the evaluation of the growth of any organization. Employees are the one who contributes their best efforts in bringing out the desired positive results for the organization. The trends are changing throughout the world and thus, the change management process has become more crucial for the execution of the business process in a more suitable way. This essay will help in understanding the role of the staff or the employees of any organization in the change management process (Fabozzi and Markowitz, 2011). Cooperation, as well as the collaboration in the desired working styles of the staff, is very important in order to make the change management process, an effective process. In order to manage the process within an organization, awareness and knowledge are two of the most important elements that provide complete information regarding the execution of the business processes (Heagney, 2012). The employees needs to have pr oper knowledge related to the change management process as this will help to execute the business process of the concerned organization in a more systematic way. Main context There is no surprise in the fact that the employees are the most important part of any organization. Trends throughout the market segments have increased the competition level for the different organization to a great extent (Hung and Tu, 2011). The fact arises whether the staffs are responsible for the execution process of the organization or not. The most important are to understand the actual definition of the change management process. It is the desired process which helps in achieving the goals of the business with the use of effective strategies. Skills of the staff members of the organization are considered to be the most crucial as it helps to identify the desired requirements of the business process. According to (Jacobs, 2009) the changing trends have changed the demands of the customers; therefore, there is a crucial need to enhance the growth of the organization with the help of the staff of the concerned firm. The leaders play the most important in taking the organizatio n towards the right direction and helps in implementing the effective strategies for the change management process. The involvement of the staff members helps in bringing out different ideas related to the implementation of the change management process. It is argued that the involvement of the sometimes affects the growth of the organization negatively and sometimes it brings out the positive results for the organization (Markel, 2012). It is to be noted carefully that the different organizations do not changes but the people within the organization changes their view or they are themselves changed with the help of the change management process. The creative ideas of the employees or the staff help in bringing out the positive results for the concerned organization. Kotters eight step change model helps in bringing the desired ideas related to the implementation of the concerned change management process. Planning and the implementation of the effective strategies within the organization are important and this can be done with the involvement of the respective staff of the organization. In the change management process, firstly, the strategy is defined and then the management team is prepared for adapting the change to the organization. This signifies that the staffs of the organization play the most significant role in bringing out the desired change to the organization. In developing the plans the staff of the org anization put forward their own opinion regarding the change management process and after formulation of the plans, the action is taken and implemented this evacuates the desired fact that change management process requires the involvement of the staff. As per the model proposed by Kotter, the change management process compromises of eight of the important steps which include creating urgency between the employees in order to develop a motivation between the employees to bring out the desired change. Next is the formation of the powerful coalition in which the people needs to be convinced that a particular change is very important in order to enhance the growth of the organization. The staffs need to take the active part in order to bring out the positive results for the concerned organization. The next is the creating the desired vision for the change (Vakoch, 2011). This vision needs to be communicative with the employees or the staff in order to maintain efficiency and effectiveness of the concerned organization. It is argued that removing of the obstacles becomes very important and this is done by hiring the successful leaders within the organization. As per the model, the sixth step comprises of creating the short-term wins, wh ich will be helpful for the employees of the organization to achieve the desired goals of the business. According to (Reddy, 2013), the employees needs proper means of training regarding the business process of the organization as it will provide them the desired regarding the implementation of the change management process within the organization. Building the change is important; therefore, the employees should help in the development of the change within the workplace (Organization Development, 2009). It is argued that who takes the responsibility for anchoring the change, the employees and staff need to take responsibility for the change management process within the organization. Each of the staff within the organization should understand the importance of the change management process as it helps to improve the overall performance of the organization. Communication has been considered to be most important for the development of the effective change management process. According to (Richeri, Zhang and Jiang, 2013), there are three of the most important and effective components of the communication process. These are, the subject matter which is communicated, the audience to which it is communicated and the time of communicating. Effective means of the communication system between the employees or the staff helps in understanding the situation in a better way and it will also help in implementing the change within the concerned organization (Seethaler, 2009). It is argued that how the communication could be started. Therefore, careful analysis of the audiences and with the collection of a correct subject matter it needs to be started. This will help in evaluat ing the change management process by involving the staff of the firm. Conclusion The essay highlights the importance of the staff and the employees in the change management process of the organization. The change management process has become more crucial for the execution of the business process in a more suitable way. The employees needs to have proper knowledge related to the change management process as this will help to execute the business process. Planning and the implementation of the effective strategies within the organization are vital and this can be done with the involvement of the respective staff of the organization. Recommendations In order to develop an effective change management process, leaders should provide perfect training to them as this will help in evaluating the growth of the organization. Conflict management strategies need to implement in order to maintain effectiveness within the organization. The employees or the staffs are very crucial for the implementation of the change management process. References Fabozzi, F. and Markowitz, H. (2011).The theory and practice of investment management. Hoboken, N.J.: John Wiley Sons. Heagney, J. (2012).Fundamentals of project management. New York: American Management Association. Hung, S. and Tu, M. (2011). Technological change as the chaotic process.RD Management, 41(4), pp.378-392. Jacobs, C. (2009).Management rewired. New York, N.Y.: Portfolio. Markel, M. (2012).Technical communication. Boston, Mass.: Bedford/St Martins. Organization Development. (2009). New Age International. Reddy, P. (2013). Latest Approach to Improve the Protection of Embedded Systems by Using PGP Technique.IJFCC, pp.121-125. Richeri, G., Zhang, Z. and Jiang, F. (2013). The latest look at media studies in China.Studies in Communication Sciences, 13(2), p.106. Seethaler, S. (2009).Lies damned lies, and science. Upper Saddle River, N.J.: FT Press. Vakoch, D. (2011).Communication with extraterrestrial intelligence. Albany: State University of New York Press.
Friday, May 1, 2020
Hedonism Essay Research Paper HedonismWebster free essay sample
Hedonism Essay, Research Paper Hedonism Webster # 8217 ; s dictionary defines hedonism as # 8220 ; the ethical philosophy that pleasance, diversely conceived of in footings of felicity of the person or of society, is the chief good and the proper purpose of action # 8221 ; or # 8220 ; the theory that a individual ever acts is such a manner as to seek pleasance and avoid pain. # 8221 ; With this definition in head, and with farther scrutiny of John Stuart Mill # 8217 ; s theory on hedonism, I am traveling to reason that hedonism is non an sole or distinguishable manner of believing. In fact, I think that with the exclusion of perchance a few people, most people are really hedonistically inclined. # 8220 ; Hedonistic utilitarians place felicity with tiping pleasance and avoiding hurting, significance that the more an single enjoys pleasance and avoids hurting, the happier that person is # 8221 ; ( phil.tamu.edu ) . Now, is this truly a new and profound idea? If you avoid hurting, you will take a happier life? With a few exclusions, I don # 8217 ; t cognize many people who see hurting as enjoyment. Most people I know have made it a point to enjoy themselves in so me fasion or McDonald 2 another, and that doesn # 8217 ; t include the enjoyment of hurting. # 8220 ; Mill # 8217 ; s overall topic is the right of the indivieual to believe and move for himeself of herself. For Mill this does non intend the right to believe and move as you please ( Castell 360 ) . Eventhough Mill encouraged independent idea and actions, he did non warrant running about and making whatever you liked. Harmonizing to the Hedonic Society, what they call Enlightened Hedonism ( # 8221 ; a realistic and humanistic lifestance advocation the ration cultivation of pleasance and felicity for all # 8221 ; ) can be stated in six rules: 1. Knowledge is gained through a reasoned survey of all available grounds. 2. In the absence of conclusive grounds for a supernatural, moralss and morality must be based on our life in the natural universe. 3. Pleasure and hurting are our natural agencies for finding what is good or harmful to life. 4. Those actions are best which lead to the greatest pleasance and felicity, or the least hurting and agony, in the long term for all concerned. McDonald 3 5. Our lives are made most happy and fulfilling by cultivating the higher pleasances of rational development, aesthetic grasp and creativeness, and societal bonds of friendly relationship, household and romantic love. 6. Happiness is best attained in an ambiance of freedom, tolerance, passive resistance and diverseness. The Hedonic society besides states that the moralss of enlightened hedonism is a positive, dynamic and life- confirming alternate to traditional spiritual and political tenet. In today # 8217 ; s footings, when you hear person speak of hedonism, your head automatically goes to tie ining sex, orgasms, and all other types of physical pleasance with the term hedonism. The of import thing to maintain in head, nevertheless is that hedonism does non merely include physical pleasance. It is possible to endeavor to accomplish felicity and exhilaration, and at the same clip avoid unhappiness and anxiousness. This is besides a hedonic manner of idea. Hedonism is non the chase strictly physical. It is possible to be intellectually hedonic every bit good. And, Hedonism is non based entirely on the person. It is to be the greatest sum of good possible for the greatest sum of people. McDonald 4 So merely because you want to something, and carry through your O riginal desire/want/need, doesnââ¬â¢t mean that it is right to make it. You have to take into history what would profit others every bit good. # 8220 ; By each of us traveling instantly for that which we most want, which would give us the most pleasance, is for the greatest possible good to be accomplished # 8230 ; ( Stanford ) . # 8221 ; Mill says that the ideal manner to be is a small spot of both physically and intellectually hedonic. He introduces the Competent Judge Test ( CJT ) to conflict common expostulations he faces against hedonic utilitarianism. The expostulation stems from the philosophical contention between bodily ( feeding, imbibing, and sex, but besides things like exercising ) and rational ( art, literature, doctrine, and scientific discipline ) pleasances, and the comparative value of each of those pleasances ( phil.tamu ) . # 8220 ; Since hedonic useful define felicity in footings of pleasance and the absence of hurting, they are unfastened to the expostulation that their position give human existences # 8217 ; lives no higher intent than that of any animate being. Mill calls this # 8216 ; the philosophy of swine objection. # 8217 ; # 8230 ; Mill grounds that if what gives a human being pleasance ( and/or hurting ) is radically different than what gives it to an animate being, so what counts as homo felicity will be radically different # 8221 ; ( phil.tamu ) . Intellectual pleasances are superior to the physical pleasances, and Mill says that McDonald 5 his CJT proves it. # 8220 ; Of tow pleasances, if there be one to which all of about all who have experience of both give a distinct penchant, irrespective or any feeling of moral duty to prefer it, that is the more desirable pleasance # 8221 ; ( phil.tamu ) . Mill has four different constituents that are a portion of the testing of qualitative high quality ; 1 ) Who the competent Judgess are ; 2 ) What sort of bulk of them must give ; 3 ) What sort of penchant to one sort of pleasance over another for it to be judged the higher choice pleasance ; and 4 ) What this qualitative difference implies about the comparative value of pleasance of the two sorts. He besides presents the Four Steps of CJT ; 1 ) Identify the competent Judgess ; 2 ) See if any of them prefer Ten over Y ; 3 ) Ask if the penchant for X over Y is shared by certain features ; 4 ) If # 3 is true, so we are justified in reasoning that X is someway superior ( phil.tamu ) . Mill says that if you substitute rational pleasances for # 8220 ; X # 8221 ; and bodily pleasances for # 8220 ; Y, # 8221 ; so # 8220 ; X # 8221 ; is # 8220 ; qualitatively superior # 8221 ; to # 8220 ; Y. # 8221 ; However, like I stated above, each individual in their ain facet has some hedonism in them someplace. I would reason that in order to hold a comparatively balanced life, you would include both physical McDonald 6 and rational facets of your life. Whether or non you would be labeled a # 8220 ; Hedonist # 8221 ; would stay to be seen. If you incorporate the greater demands of others into your single immediate demands, so technically, yes, that would be Hedonism. But, I would venture to state that you would be labeled # 8220 ; a nice person. # 8221 ; Castell, Alburey, et al. , Introduction to Moern Doctrine: Analyzing the Human Condition. ( New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 2001 ) . # 8220 ; Hedonism. # 8221 ; Stanford University ( online ) www.stanford.edu/~quixote/philosophies.htm # hedonism* . ( 12/03/2001 ) . # 8220 ; John Stuart Mill. # 8221 ; unknown ( on-line ) *www-/ phil.tamu.edu/~gary/intro/lecture.mill_1.html. ( 12/03/2001 ) . # 8220 ; What is Enlightened Hedonism? # 8221 ; Hedonic Society ( online ) *www.hedonicsociety.org/custom/html* . ( 12/03/2001 ) .
Saturday, March 21, 2020
Hiral Patel Essays - Education, Curricula, Educational Psychology
Hiral Patel Essays - Education, Curricula, Educational Psychology Hiral Patel Professor Buzzard ENG 205-I01 23 June 2016 Midterm Self Examination So far, have I given as much effort as my instructor expects? Why or why not? So far, I believe that I have given as much effort as my instructor expects. I complete my assignments in a timely manner and tend to read ahead of stories to get a head start. It is impossible to succeed in this class without regular contribution and completion of assignments. Therefore it is quite important to regularly check my MTC and be up-to-date on weekly assignment checklists. Do you give the time and attention expected for a 3-hour course in your studies so far? Why or why not? I do give the time and attention expected for a 3-hour course. Like I said above, I complete all my assignments thoroughly and on time. I have not submitted any late assignments so far and I will let it stay that way. Online courses require double the amount of time and effort than on-campus courses. Therefore I was already prepared for what may be given to me during the semester. What do I now understand best about this subject? Least well? Regular assignments and weekly discussions help to understand reading materials better. Although I am not very fond of audio lectures (visual learner), I understand that the reason behind including them in weekly checklists is so that students like me can understand materials better. Although online courses are more difficult, I think they help students think and analyze more, especially English courses. My strongest and weakest points as a student? What did I do to improve the weak points? What will I do next? I have both strong and weak points as a student. I tend to work ahead and use many online sources to help understand materials better. Therefore, I have good resources. My weakest points, as a student, is that I sometimes get frustrated due to the workload and tend to do to many things at once. That is not always good because it does not lead to satisfying assignment grades and completion of assignments. However, I will try to make schedules of weekly assignments with allotted times so that I can give myself some rest as well as put enough effort in my assignments. What text has been your favorite so far and why? My favorite has been The Canterbury Tales because I love how numerous tales make up one big story. This way, it does not seem too boring to listen and read about the same characters and the same climax. Rather, various tales gives the story more of an adventure and creativity. I have read them in high school, as well, but they never get old. Least favorite text and why? My least favorite would be Beowulf not because I dislike it but because almost all of our assignments revolve around the epic poem. Writing about the same poem over and over again makes it old and boring. But that is expected because this is an English course that involves lots of writing and analysis. What do I need to learn next about this subject? (Or what would you want to learn?) I want to learn to write better analyses of reading materials to prepare me for the long run. I find that English literature is all about different versions, critiques, and analysis, and that is what I want to be best at. What is the most satisfying about the class? Most frustrating? Your responsibility for each? The most satisfying about the class is that the teacher is willing to adjust due dates of assignments so that students can have more time to complete them. That makes the class very convenient for students. Also, all assignments and discussions are due around the end of the week. This gives students more time to read and understand the material rather than rushing into completion. The most frustrating is the amount of work because it tends to be an overload at times. Some materials are very long and in addition to reading it, we have to complete assignments and discussions. I understand that we signed up for this online course and it is our responsibility to handle the workload, and I will, but it is just
Thursday, March 5, 2020
Cheating on the SAT Spreads to the United States
Cheating on the SAT Spreads to the United States SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips Not again! Allegations of cheating swirl around the latest administration of the SAT on May 2. While recent scandalshave sprung fromAsian countries like China and South Korea, this one is centered on the U.S.-based test, which hundreds of thousands of students took at the beginning of May. It seems that communication technology and time zone differences around the world have punchedholes in the SAT's security. Let's take a look at what's unfolded in this investigation so far. Allegations Around the May 2 SAT Lots of students take the SAT in the spring, many of whom are juniors hoping to hit their target scores in time for college deadlines senior year. This most recent administration on May 2 has allegations of a major security breach. Educational Testing Service (ETS)officials suspectthat students may have had access to the test, or at least to some "live" questions, before test day. This was first reported publicly by a Washington Post writer who received a copy of the May 2 test a day before the official test. The reporter did not report the source, but this release was clearly not approved by the College Board. Thus, an unknown number of students around the country could have had access to this test ahead of time. She was not the only one to report this leak. The National Center for Fair and Open Testing, or FairTest, is committed to ensuring that standardized tests are fair and open. According to its public education director Bob Schaeffer, FairTest was emailed a version of the SAT before it was actually administered to students. Since no one is supposed to see the test before students take it, he and others gathered that this was a major security breach, likely on a global scale. It would be very easy to score a 2300+ score on the SAT with prior access to the test, which would disrupt the rest of the grading scale. SAT test scores are designed to be resistant to fluctuations in tester quality from test to test, but if a single test has an abundance of undetected cheaters, this would disrupt the normal statistics in the exam. Any students whose scores will be withheld should have been notified by this point, but ETS has not yet released any further information about the findings of its investigation. College Board takes security around the SAT very seriously. SAT tests and questions are saved on computers that aren't connected to the internet. They are highly classified and accessible only toETSofficials with clearance for direct access. Test proctors are required to report any suspicious behavior on test day. So given the high security around the SAT, how could live questions have been leaked before test day? The findings aren't known yet. It's possible that a leak happened in the process of shipping tests to test centers, or that an internal staff member at College Board released the test. But there have been clear methods of systematic cheating in the past, primarily in Asia. Global Connections Among Cheating Rings This recent investigation in the U.S. is just one piece of the larger global puzzle. Students scores were actually withheld in Asian countries in October, November, December, and January. In January of this year, all scores were withheld for Chinese students who tested both in China and outside of their country. Because of recent regulations about whichschools can administer the SAT, most Chinese nationals have to travel outside of mainland China, like to Hong Kong or Macao, to take the test. Along similar lines, all scores were canceled in 2013 in South Korea. All of the tutoring centers in Seoul were investigated, and educators were even barred from leaving the country. In 2010, a school in Seoul emailed live SAT questions to two Korean students who lived in Connecticut. When their scores jumped hundreds of points, ETS audited their results and discovered the cheating on the SAT. So what do these cases of cheating in China, South Korea, and other countries have to do with this most recent one in the U.S.? Apparently ETS recycles tests that have already been administered in the U.S. to use internationally, like in China, South Korea, and Australia. Because the U.S. and these other countries are in different time zones, this policy creates a vulnerability that many companies have taken advantage of togain access to live tests and then shareor sellthem to students. According to Valerie Strauss of the Washington Post's "Answer Sheet," this access tothe SAT may be gainedthrough a 5step process. It's a small world after all. The 5 Step "Time Zone" Cheating Process The securityof the SAT has been compromised for a number of reasons, the most important of which aregeographic dispersion, time zone differences of 12 or more hours, recycling of already used tests,and technology that allows people to instantly transmit questions and answers. The following steps illustrate one way thattesting companies seem to be illegally obtaining and selling live questions and answers. People in the U.S. gain access to previously administered SAT tests and share or sell them to overseas "tutoring" and educational companies. These overseas companies keep extensive databases of any and all SAT questions and answers. Because ETS reuses tests in Asia and other countries, manyof these questions are "live" and will show up on future tests. These companies enlist "hired guns" to sit for the SAT. They advertise this on online message boards like QQ, WeChat, and Taobao. When these employees sit for the SAT, often in a time zone hours ahead of China, they share the questions and answers. People have been found with earpieces or taking pictures of their cell phones and sharing the information during breaks between sections. After receiving the questions and answers, the company immediately searches through its database to locate the questions and answers that will be given to students in their time zone soon thereafter. Finally, theyadvertise this information and contact their clients. These companies transmit the information to paying clients, who might put the answers in their cell phones or program them into their calculators. This allseems like an elaborate plan just to get access to the SAT, but the high level of competition and pressure creates a substantial market for this kind of easy information. While in the past most cheating allegations had to do with impersonation, or with one student sitting in for another, now they zero in onmore advanced operations that take advantage of time zone differences and instant communication through online chats and cell phones. Given these breaches that seem to be happening more and more in the past few years, what security measures does ETS have in place to protect the confidentiality of the SATbefore testing day? Security Measures Tightened As mentioned above, the major vulnerability around the SAT used to be one of identity impersonation. On Long Island, New York in 20, for example, high schoolstudents were found guilty of paying college students to sit in for them and take the test in their stead. Since then, ETS has required students to upload photographs along with their IDs. Besides this, ETS has its testing materials on serious lockdown before the test is administered and is very strict about testing guidelines for students and proctors. However, the time zone changesamong countries and policy of recycling already used tests opens up a window for companies and students to get earlyexposure to the questions. So is ETS going to find a way to close this window? When recycling is not the best policy... Will ETS Stop Recycling Old Tests? FairTest's Bob Schaeffer is adamant that ETS should stop reusing tests given in the U.S. in Asia. According to Schaeffer, it's impossible to keep these tests confidential today given our global connectedness and technology. Perhaps because these types of cheating on the SAT scandals are a relatively recent phenomenon, or because the cost of creating brand new tests is high, ETS has not changed this policy yet. Another small step they might take is to train test proctors to be even stricter about confiscating cell phones and any other devices, as well as having students clear the memory on their programmable calculators. It has yet to be seen what new guidelines and rules will be put in place, but the huge scale of score cancellations and allegations of cheating month after month seem to demand some change be put in place. Without addressing these issues, ETS will surely continue to have controversy around how the SAT can beused as a fair evaluation of students' readiness forcollege around the world. As I talked about above, ETS and FairTest have not shared that they know how many students actually had access to the leaked SAT information. As this and other investigations continue, what does it mean for students who have taken or plan to take the SAT in the future? What Do These Security Breaches Mean for Students? Whileallegations of cheatingon the SAT are relatively rare for the majority of students, they do affect a few thousand each year. ETS has about 2,500 tests flagged each year for suspicious scores, and of these, it might withhold about 1,000 of them. Rather than a highlysynced system of espionage with earpieces and massive databases, these cases are usually much more low-key. ETS does an audit if they see a huge score increase, like a 350+ increase in reading and math combined or a 250+ increase overall. If something about your scores from one test to the next seem unbelievable, ETS could delay your scores. In some cases, they might release them later, or they might require you to send letters on your behalf testifying to your preparation between the two tests. This can be a huge holdup and especially stressful if your college deadlines are approaching, and you don't have much time to retake the test. To make sure this doesn't happen to you, I would recommend taking every SAT you take seriously. You can definitely start early and take the SAT several times to raise your scores, but I wouldn't recommend sitting for the SAT without having done at least 10 hours of prep first, at least to get yourself familiar with the format, instructions, and timing of the test. This is especially important for students who speak a language other than English at home. I worked with an English Language Learner student whose scores were canceled after the proctor saw her flipping through her test booklet. The proctor suspected she was returning to sections after time had been called. It turned out she hadn't fully understood the instructions and didn't know this wasn't allowed. Luckily, she had time to take the SAT again, but only after calling all her colleges and asking them to extend deadlines for her SAT score reports! The moral of the story is thatyou always want to do at least some test prep before sitting for the real test, even if just to ensure that you understand the specific instructions for each section. So what does ETS tell your colleges if it cancels your scores? In most cases, ETS does not specify a reason for cancelled scores, but admissions officers can fill in the blanks. You don't want anything to raise a red flag in your application, least of all an investigated and invalidatedSAT score. Unfortunately, that might just be what's going to happen for students who took the SAT on May 2, as it did for students in China and South Korea in recent years. Time will tell about the results of this investigation. In the meantime, remember that prepping, not cheating, is always the best policy when it comes to the SAT - and leave yourself plenty of extra opportunities to retake the test in case you're unlucky enough to find yourself in the midstof a national cheating scandal! What's Next? Are you planning to take the SAT once? Twice? As many times as College Board will allow? Read about how many times you can (and should) plan on taking the SAT to achieve your target scores. Does the thought of sitting down for the SAT make your stomach turn? This article discusses how mindfulness and simple relaxation techniques can help you calm your nerves and focus on the task at hand. You know that preparing is important for the SAT, but exactly how many hours should you study? Read about a solid test prep schedule for the SAT here. Want to improve your SAT score by 240 points?We have the industry's leading SAT prep program. Built by Harvard grads and SAT full scorers, the program learns your strengths and weaknesses through advanced statistics, then customizes your prep program to you so you get the most effective prep possible. Check out our 5-day free trial today:
Monday, February 17, 2020
Globalisation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1
Globalisation - Essay Example Cities in Australia such as Perth and Brisbane offer attractive investment opportunities to potential investors leading to the rise in capital growth rate. Australian cities like Melbourne, Adelaide, Bribane and Perth are also known for the low cost of living prevailing compared to other capital cities in the world. These Australian cities are ranked top 30 globally for the high life quality. Current exchange rates against other currencies are exceedingly friendly in Australia hence making it ideal for foreign investors who wish to make purchases in Australia. The explanation for this is that they have the capacity to buy more than what they would have bought in their own countries with the same amount. Low interest rates in its economy enable investors get big loans from banks, which thereafter yield significant returns that boost the countryââ¬â¢s GDP. The Australian government put a lot of money into available growth opportunities hence making it possible for the countryââ¬â ¢s economy to survive economic hard times (McLean 7). Question 2 Although Australia is ranked as one of the best-performed economies in the developed world, its citizens are pessimistic about their economy. Some of its citizens thinks that their economy over-rely on non-renewable natural resources for energy used both locally and for export,they claim that they may run at a loss when coal deposits are depleted from the mines. Other citizens do not enjoy the use of coal as a source of energy in their country, they claim that use of coal is one of the major contributors of global warming hence they ask the government to invest on other modes of energy production. Australianââ¬â¢s economy is dominated by small to medium sized enterprises. The entire countryââ¬â¢s population thinks that these SMEââ¬â¢s lack proper management teams compared to larger companies hence performing poorly in the economy. The citizens think that government should provide relevant training to the entre preneurs to improve their performance. Further still, many citizens perceive the strength of the countryââ¬â¢s currency negatively. They believe that it blamable for increasing unemployment rates as many people have lost their jobs in leading companies like Toyota. This has exposed how fragile the manufacturing sector is. Countryââ¬â¢s economists blame the Australian dollar for damaging the market at international level. This is because, of the increase of prices of Australian goods. As a consequence, the demand of countryââ¬â¢s locally produced goods is decreasing with a notable rate (Martin 1). Citizens have also noted that its government has not put enough money on technology development hence importing more than exports on ICT. Government is also blamed for making its IT purchases outside the country, yet same equipments are available in local companies. Question 3 Chinaââ¬â¢s economic growth and technological advancement have drawn investorsââ¬â¢ and governmentâ â¬â¢s interest. As such, Australia should take the lead and welcome Chineseââ¬â¢s increasing foreign investment. Australia benefits from it both directly and indirectly. Given that Australia do not invest much on ICT, China gets to supply them with the ICT equipment since it is known as an of the ICT equipments exporter. If Australia accepts to trade with China government, it will get a chance to negotiate better prices on its ICT purchases hence reducing import costs. Australia also exports its
Monday, February 3, 2020
Intellectual property law (UK) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words
Intellectual property law (UK) - Essay Example The present UK law regulating trademarks is the Trade Marks Act 1994. According to the Act, a "trade mark" means any sign capable of being represented graphically, which is capable of distinguishing goods or services of one undertaking from those of other undertakings. A trademark may, in particular, consist of words (including personal names), designs, letters, numerals or the shape of goods or their packaging.1 It is clear that any sign, including designs, is capable of being registrable when conditions are met. Shape of goods can be registered as trademarks. Though not explicitly worded, it is accepted that shapes include both two-dimensional and three-dimensional shapes. The general elements of a trademark include the capability of being represented graphically and distinguishing the goods or service from those of other undertakings. The distinguishing, or, distinctive capability of a trademark is essential, which can be seen from many UK and EU cases. For example, in the Procter & Gamble Company v Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market, a registration was applied for a square tablet with slightly rounded edges and corners, but the registrar refused the application under Article 38 of Regulation No 40/94 on the ground that the mark applied for was devoid of any distinctive character.2 Descriptive Trade Marks This trademarks law is in contrast to what we will refer to as "descriptive" trade marks-that is, naming a product or company using words that describe what it is or what it sells. For instance, if one were to open a blue jean manufacturer in London, and refer to the company as "London Blue Jeans" this is considered a "descriptive trademark, and until recently was not allowed under UK law due to the highly descriptive nature and arrangement of the words. Rights of Trade Marks The UK Trade Mark Act 1994 Article 9 (1) provides that "the proprietor of a registered trade mark has exclusive rights in the trade mark which are infringed by use of the trade mark in the United Kingdom without his consent." This article and Article 43 (1), which provides that the registration of a trade mark may be renewed at the request of the proprietor so long as the renewal fee has been paid3, conferred actually perpetual monopoly on the proprietors. Purpose and rationale: General rationale of IP law The intellectual property rights, argued by economists, are accorded in that if everyone would be allowed to take the advantage of the results of innovative and creative activities freely, the problems of "free rider" would have been rise. Therefore, no one would try to create anything, such as a car or plane if no special advantages would be given, and the economic growth and prosperity would become impossible. The IP law, to solve the problem, confers rights on those who invested (the creator, inventor or who paid for it) on the creations the right of monopoly to ensure that they would make use of the creation to maximize profits4. However, at the same time, there is also a principle of IP law to afford free accesses to those rights to the public after a certain period of monopoly in that it will enhance the economic development of the society with trade mark as an exception. Purpose and rationale: Trade Marks Law The function of trade marks, non-exceptive
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