Managing People And Absence Management Management Essay

Managing People And Absence Management Management Essay INTRODUCTION Managing attendance at work is recognised as being an increasing priority for all employers. Both short term and long term absences have a significant impact upon the efficiency and resources of any company and the management of such absences can have a significant effect on both the company and the individuals who are involved. The focus will be on Coleg Sir Gar and how they deal with absence. One of the key challenges facing organisations is how to manage absence effectively to ensure that those who are genuinely sick are fully supported, and that the small minority whose absence is not health-related is deterred. UK legislation places a duty on employers to safeguard employee health, safety and welfare, in addition to which there are rising expectations among staff of what employers should be providing in terms of working conditions and benefits. Adopting an approach to sickness absence management that is both supportive of the genuinely sick and that acts as a deterrent to the few whose absence is not health-related is difficult to achieve, but a crucial element of successful management practice. While the majority of absence is thought to be genuine and related to ill-health, a number of factors appear to have an impact on absence levels. These include motivation, work levels and morale within teams. Individuals perceive their work as stressful due to factors such as overwork, heavy administrative loads and relationships within their teams. Many individuals who feel valued in their roles are less likely to take sick leave as they appreciate that their contribution is important to their organisation. Other causes of absence include needing to take time off for domestic responsibilities such as childcare. Although most organisation have in place a policy relating to special leave aimed at coping with domestic emergencies, awareness of this leave does not appear to be high. The presence and implementation of a good sickness absence policy is an important first step to managing absence well. Ideally, a policy should be clearly understandable and take into account different causes of absence and develop appropriate ways of dealing with these. It is also vital for an organisation to accept that a certain level of employee absence is an inevitable feature of working life. Appropriate support should be offered to employees who are absent and unable to work for health reasons, and a policy should ideally recognise that employees may sometimes need to be absent for reasons other than health, and that this should not be counted as sickness. MANAGING PEOPLE Absence is very expensive. The CIPD annual survey Absence Management 2009 was based on replies from 642 employers in organisations employing a total of more than 1.9 million employees. The average cost of absence per employee per year was  £692, which is a slight increase from the previous years figure of  £666. The annual cost of absence, as last year, is highest in the public sector, averaging  £784 per employee per year; however, this represents a reduction from the previous years figure of  £906 per employee per year. Manufacturing and production employers recorded the next highest cost at  £754 per employee per year, a slight fall from the figure for the year before of  £759. Absence costs among non-profit organisations also fell slightly to  £698 from  £741 per employee per year. Private services organisations recorded the lowest annual absence costs, averaging  £666 compared with the previous years figure of  £663. For an organisation with 1000 employees, t his is nearly three quarters of a million pounds per year. But direct costs are only a part of the problem. Absence disrupts production, operations, customer service and morale. Organisations have to spend extra money on temporary cover or overtime as a result. And unchecked absence can lead to bad feeling, conflict and disciplinary action, including dismissal. And that can lead to tribunal hearings, and even compensation payments, if organisations are unable to demonstrate that they have acted fairly. Why measure absence? A key element of managing absence effectively is accurate measurement and monitoring. An organisation must assess if it has a problem with absence, its extent and the best way to tackle it. Only 41% of employers monitor the cost of employee absence, a figure which has remained low over the last few years. Employers should collect and use data to identify particular patterns of absence and underlying causes, for example, the management style of a particular manager or an increase in workloads. It can also provide evidence of how absence impacts on the bottom line and why it is worth investing in an effective absence management programme. There are a number of measures that can be used to assess absence, each of which gives information about different aspects of absence. There are two aspects to absence in Coleg Sir Gar: 1. Total time lost 2. How that time is distributed. Total time lost This is the crudest measure and the one used most often. To calculate this, the total number of days that could be worked in the organisation is added. Then the number of days that were lost due to absence are deducted and expressed as a fraction of the total. In a sense, this is the cost of the extra people that the organisation has to employ purely because of absence. For example, an organisation of 1000 people with an absence rate of 3.5 per cent has to employ 35 more people than would otherwise be necessary, just to cover the absence. How that time is distributed Many organisations only measure the total time lost. Yet this figure can describe several quite different problems. In a department of 30 people, an absence rate of 3.5 per cent could result from one person being away for a year with a longà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Ëœterm illness, with no other absence in the department, or it could result from everyone taking small amounts of time off. Or it could result from a few people taking quite long absences. Before you can define the problem, you have to ask: Who is being absent? How often are they being absent? How long are they being absent for? Bradford Factor The Bradford Factor identifies persistent short-term absence for individuals, by measuring the number of spells of absence, and is therefore a useful measure of the disruption caused by this type of absence. It is calculated using the formula: S x S x D S = number of spells of absence in 52 weeks taken by an individual D = number of days of absence in 52 weeks taken by that individual For example: 10 one-day absences: 10 x 10 x 10 = 1,000 1 ten-day absence: 1 x 1 x 10 = 10 5 two-day absences: 5 x 5 x 10 = 250 2 five-day absences: 2 x 2 x 10 = 40 The trigger points will differ between organisations. As for all unauthorised absence, the underlying causes will need to be identified. So should we try to manage absence? After all, if someone is ill, they are ill. The answer is that we should. And there are several reasons for this. Stopping theft of working time. Some people do take unauthorised time off for no reason other than personal gain. These people are stealing. They are stealing from their employer, because they are being paid for work they are not doing, and they are putting unfair extra work on to their colleagues. Stopping this theft of time is a clear moral and legal imperative. Some people take time off because they have a problem. This may be a personal problem, or a problem affecting someone close to them. By investigating the absence, managers can find out about such problems. In many cases, the organisation will then be able to offer support to the employee. In the longer term, this will reduce absence and help the employee. Some people take time off because of stress or unhappiness with work. It is very likely that these problems will be affecting performance generally, quite apart from affecting attendance. Investigating the absence may uncover such problems and enable the manager to address them, resulting in better performance in general and less absence. There must be no question of trying to coerce someone who is genuinely and unavoidably ill into coming to work. But in this case it is still important that the organisation knows the facts and so is able to plan its response accordingly. The sick employee may well suffer unnecessary extra stress and anxiety if he or she is not sure how the organisation views the illness. Directly confronting the illness, and being clear about the organisations attitude to it, will not only help the organisation know what it has to deal with, it can help the employee deal with the illness, too. Confronting and discussing absence not only helps the organisation, it helps the absentee. What causes absence? First, the causes of absence should be looked at to provide insight into the problem and to illustrate the areas where policy has an influence. Research shows that the causes of absence fall into the following four distinct clusters: The general health and lifestyle of employees and its impact on attendance at work has been a popular topic for research. Virtually all studies demonstrate a clear link, for example, between smoking and increased absence. Similarly research shows a strong link with excessive alcohol use and absence. For a proportion of employees there is a strong direct relationship between absence and poor health, but for others nonà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ medical factors are equally important. Absence management polices need to discriminate between those who are unavoidably absent due to illness and those whose health is affected by factors over which the employer can have some influence. Employers who are able to support health education programmes which promote healthier lifestyles and actions such as providing healthy meals at work, encouraging exercise and aiding those who wish to give up smoking will all benefit from the improved general health of employees and reduced staff sickness rates. Some aspects of the working environment affect the wellà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ being of staff. Research into how work is organised has shown the importance of team working with absence being lower where people work in small collaborative teams. Absence can also be a way of avoiding aspects of work that are emotionally demanding or stressful. The long hours culture also has an adverse impact on absence. A strong link exists between those who consistently work more than their contracted hours and both psychological and physical sickness levels. Management actions such as team working, awareness of health and safety issues and discouraging the working of excessive hours can all help to reduce the adverse impact of these factors. How employees feel about their working lives has been shown to be an important influence on attendance. Research has demonstrated that organisational commitment has a directly beneficial effect on absence and through this to business outcomes. The major influence on the creation of this commitment has been identified as the line manager and the quality of their relationship with their staff. The sensitive handling of change within organisations, often in the hands of line managers, is also essential as various features of the change process are associated with deterioration in employees health. These include uncertainty, lack of control, role ambiguity and job insecurity which can lead directly to reduce physical and mental health. Stress and absence are generally also shown to be related, although in the field of research the definition of stress is problematic and whether it should it be regarded as psychological or as a series of physiological symptoms has not yet been resolved. C areer satisfaction is one of the more powerful predictors of absence behaviour. Absence is higher among those expressing dissatisfaction with their careers. Among those who have marketable skills and are often absent the likelihood of them resigning is high. A link also exists between resigning and attendance behaviour. Those with poor attendance records are more likely to express an intention to leave and there is evidence that those with high absence rates are indeed at a greater risk of leaving. What policies need to contain? Good policies should clearly define the roles and responsibilities of key factors such as line managers, senior managers, the HR function, the occupational health function and the individuals themselves. They should also establish procedures to ensure that each case is treated in the same way and that standardised information on absence is collected. The first step to managing absence effectively is to ensure that you have a clear policy in place that supports your organisations business objectives and culture. Legislation requires employers to provide staff with information on any terms and conditions relating to incapacity for work due to sickness or injury, including any provision for sick pay. Effective absence policies must spell out employees rights and obligations when taking time off from work due to sickness. The policy should: provide details of contractual sick pay terms and its relationship with statutory sick pay outline the process employees must follow if taking time off sick covering when and whom employees should notify if they are not able to attend work include when (after how many days) employees need a self-certificate form contain details of when they require a fit note from their doctor explain that adjustments may be appropriate to assist the employee in returning to work as soon as is practicable mention that the organisation reserves the right to require employees to attend an examination by a company doctor and (with the workers consent) to request a report from the employees doctor include provisions for return-to-work interviews as these have been identified as the most effective intervention to manage short-term absence. Sickness absence policies are put in place to manage sickness absence. Staff are expected to maintain a satisfactory record of attendance. However, the aim is to balance the sensitive nature of individual sickness and ill health against its needs to achieve its objectives. As a caring employer, the aim is to assist employees to retain or regain good health. It is essential that the procedures be carried out with tact and sensitivity and a realisation that the management of attendance is the joint responsibility of the line manager and the individual member of staff. Human Resources (HR) will be available to advise and support line managers and their staff. Employees may be requested to consent to be examined by the occupational doctor or nurse and to agree to allow Occupational Health to provide a medical report. Employees may also refer themselves to Occupational Health. If a member of staff fails to comply with notification or certification procedures or otherwise abuse the procedu res, the disciplinary procedure may be used. The policy and procedure that apply are: This policy and associated procedure incorporate the following principles. Good faith The policy and procedures will be applied to all members of staff in a consistent manner and without discrimination. Fairness Any action taken will be reasonable and necessary.  Ã‚  Members of staff involved are entitled to be heard with courtesy and respect. Confidentiality Information relating to sickness absence will only be shared with individuals who have a need to know. Representation If issues of attendance arise within these procedures and a formal approach is required to deal with them, a member of staff will be entitled to be accompanied by a trade union representative or by a work colleague.  Ã‚  Ã‚   Conclusions Recommendations Accepting absence as unavoidable and inevitable in an organisation creates a culture of poor attendance. This highlights the critical role of managers in communicating clearly the organisations expectations on attendance. Without positive action it is possible to have a culture where absence is just accepted as uncontrollable, or in the worst scenario, viewed as entitlement to extra leave. Overall, it is clear that managing absence is complex, and a successful approach must involve a mix of elements that successfully support those that are genuinely ill and deter the small minority of those that are absent for non-health-related reasons. Line managers are key in terms of implementing the policy, but they must be adequately supported by other areas of the organisation, such as senior management, the HR function and the occupational health function. Further, it is important for line managers to achieve the right balance when managing sickness absence, and to learn to tailor their approach appropriately. For example, in terms of the frequency and type of contact with individuals during long-term sickness absence, what is right for some individuals may not work for others, who may want more or less frequent contact? It is therefore up to line managers to find the appropriate balance between what is perceived as intrusion and support. Communicating the objectives of any attendance policy clearly to all staff members is essential. A policy which is to be credible and successful needs to be understood throughout an organisation and applied consistently and fairly. An individuals case of sick absence, depending on length, can require actions from various individuals and services such as the line manager, senior managers, the HR function, the HR Business Partner, Occupational Health Services and the Employee Assistance Provider. For an attendance policy to be effective in practice it is essential that the respective roles of the individuals and services involved in managing cases of absence are defined. This ensures that cases are handled systematically and efficiently. At any point in an absence it should be known who is responsible for each aspect and what outcomes are to be expected. Once the areas of responsibility are defined the procedures to be applied need to be established. This makes certain that each case i s treated the same way, that similar approaches are used and standardised information collected. Word Count excluding references: 3,090

Background of the Study Essay

Introduction What is Portal? A portal is known as links page which presents information from diverse sources in a unified way. It may contain services that provide standard search engine feature, e-mail, news, information, database and entertainment. Portals provide a way for enterprises to provide a consistent look and feel with access control and procedures for multiple applications and databases, which otherwise would have been different entities altogether. Campus portal is defined as a entry point for a college or university that provide a centralized source of information services for students, prospective students, faculty, suppliers, administrators, alumni and friends. The term campus portal implies from a relatively simple set of Web-based calendar and e-mail services, to a broad online interface offering highly personalized and customizable access to nearly all the features and benefits of campus life and work. Campus portal can provide entry points to anything from Web access, student activity information, class resources, syllabi and assignment listing, homework submission, to online forums for topic discussions since the campus portal is accessible to any Web-enabled computer, it’s a powerful tool for pulling together a far-flung university community. The portal allows alumni and friends to participate in campus life. At least to the extent it is enabled via the Web. Statement of the Problem The purpose of this study is to develop a Campus Course Portal that will give solution to the problems of the student and faculty members on every each department in terms of getting updated with the announcements, online examination, viewing of grades, student ledger accounts, class schedule, student profile, library catalogue, and available materials for the course. The purpose of this study is to solve the following problems: 1.Not all the students are informed and aware about the events, sudden changes of class schedule and other activities that are announced by the faculty members or by the institution. 2.The dissemination of the information in such social medium sites like Yahoo groups, Google groups, Facebook groups and the like is not controlled as to the recipient of the data that is being shared. All registered members of a specific group (e.g. Yahoo Groups) have complete access to all of its content which compromises security and privacy due to absence of an option to choose a specific or group of recipients. 3.The manual pre-assessment system such as checking of balance is to slow. This usually consumes a lot of time. Causing the delay in completing the entire enrolment process. Objective of the Study General Objective To be able to develop and implement a Online Course Portal on a Campus that will benefit the faculty members, students and the administration of an institution. Specific Objective 1.To have an effective way of providing information or notification anywhere and anytime to the students about rapid changes of schedule, activities or other announcement by via Web. 2.To improve the privacy, user-friendliness and to enable convenient access to the different kinds of information and services mounted on the web by users, it would be desirable to set up a portal for channelling the vast information resources to the different users in an efficient and effective manner (e.g posting announcement or messages to selected group people). 3.To create an Online Course Portal on a Campus which provide a lot of information regarding to their academic standing. In addition the Online Course Portal can also automatically evaluate and show the report of grades of the students being distributed by their respective professors. Significance of the Study To the Researchers, The researchers will not only provide information and develop a Online Campus Portal, but will also gain knowledge and help them develop their skills when it comes to web-based applications and for their professional career in the future. To the Students, Through this system, the students will increase their knowledge by having sufficient resource materials, and receive important information from the faculty members and the administration by login in on the said link page. To the Faculty Members, Through this system, the faculty members can provide all the necessary information and resource material to their students, in addition to that, faculty members can simply post announcements to their students in case of sudden change of schedule or additional activities that should be accomplished on a given date and time. To the Future Researchers, The future researchers could gain knowledge from the study and benefits, advantages and disadvantages, impact of developing web portals which they may apply to their research in the future. Hypothesis Online Portal on a Campus will hell the students, faculty and college department to have a reliable and more secured way of file sharing, circulation of information and privacy that will be beneficial and useful in the future. The faculty members used to announce changes of  classes/activities or events vocally in front of the students or through sending text to the class president and disseminating the information to the whole class. There can be inconsistency in spreading the message there are still students who are not informed and mislead that may affect its school performance. In terms of sharing of files or discussions over the internet, students and faculty rely on social networks such as Facebook, Multiply and Friendster wherein conversations or information can be accessed or viewed by the public. Instead of using social networks, the Online Campus Portal can be more secured because only the members for that group is allowed to view discussions and it can also provide an op tion on who can only read and reply to the discussion board. This Online Campus Portal allows the College of Computer Studies Department to have an effective way of providing secured information within the school. Faculty members and administrator will able to notify students anywhere and anytime about sudden changes of class schedules, activities and events. Review of Related Literature Foreign Literature According to Robert Moskowitz of Matrix: The Magazine for Leaders in Education, when you hear the word â€Å"portal† you might immediately think of one of the many commercial Web sites, such as Yahoo or Excite, that populate the Internet today. As the term implies, these services are the gateway to the Internet for many people, offering news, search functions, sports scores, shopping and movie reviews. A campus portal, on the other hand, is the entry point for a college or university. It provides a centralized source of information and services for students, prospective students, faculty, suppliers, administrators, alumni and friends. The term campus portal can mean anything from a relatively simple set of Web-based calendar and e-mail services, to a comprehensive online interface offering highly personalized and customizable access to nearly all the features and benefits of campus life and work. Campus portals can provide entry points to anything from e-shopping for books and campus regalia, to Web access, student activity information, class resources, syllabi and assignment listings, and homework submission, as well as online class registration and tuition  payment. Because the campus portal is accessible to any Web-enabled computer, it’s a powerful tool for pulling together a far-flung university community. Students studying abroad can remain in touch with friends, professors, activities and services at the main campus as though they’d never left. The portal allows alumni and friends to participate in campus life–at least to the extent it is enabled via the Web. Local Literature FEU-EAC Online Student Portal For the past few years, FEU-EAC has been continuously trying to find ways on how to improve its services for the students in terms of providing information, registration and other school transactions. It is eyeing the step-by-step growth and enhancement from manual, partial automation and full-automation of its systems. Considering the ideal goal of providing fast and convenient services and also the advantage of reaching out to its students from distant areas, online enrolment is definitely the most recommended innovation. Bearing in mind this ultimate goal, the College took its first step by having some of it services online. From thereon, My FEU – East Asia College Student Portal was conceptualized. My FEU – East Asia College Student Portal was made to assist FEU-EAC students in providing basic information related to their academic records, registration and assessments. Likewise, this will also give privilege to the students to submit their requests and transactions via Internet. Enrolled students will be given accounts, usernames and passwords, to access and login to My FEU – East Asia College Student Portal. Students can then access this portal via Internet wherein they can now conveniently inquire information or do basic student transactions anywhere and anytime they want. This system basically includes the following: †¢My Profile – this is where students could view their personal and contact information. A special feature was provided for the students for possible requests to update their personal information or records. †¢Student Academic Information – this is where students could view their academic  records such as grades, class schedules and current assessments. †¢On-line Self–Enrolment – this allows the regular students with no previous balances and accountabilities to do self-enrolment via Internet. †¢Other Services – this is where students could access the Student Coordinating Council Voting System, upload files through My Portfolio or mark the important events or activities on their calendars through My Planner. Certainly, FEU – East Asia College Student Portal will be enhanced and additional services will be incorporated in the future. Nevertheless, the Student Portal definitely raised the bar of the College in rendering qua lity services for its students. Review of Related Study Foreign Study Study made by AlirezaHejazi, an MS Student of IC Management University of Technology, Tehran, Iran Effectively developing and deploying campus portals can dramatically increase productivity and profitability of research and education. The cutting edge of this initiative lies in aligning portals with students’ current needs. Our study aims at identifying these needs and provides a preliminary theoretical framework for portal developers to benchmark their objectives according to educational requirements. The study is mostly done based on local observations and experience of its conductors within higher education communities in Iran. The result of this primary study paves the way of implementing campus portals in the Iranian higher education communities which will be paced by the authors of the article in the near future. E-Learning usually refers to â€Å"learning that is delivered or enabled via electronic technology† (Sun Microsystems). It encompasses learning delivered via a range of technologies such as the internet, television, videotape, intelligent tutoring systems, and computer-based training. E-Learning is a subset of the larger worlds of both â€Å"information technology† and â€Å"education and training†. It can be valuable when used as a part of a well-planned and properly supported education and training environment, but e-learning is not a magic bullet that replaces or renders obsolete existing pedagogical theories and approaches. Many learning and technology professionals believe that e-learning will have â€Å"arrived† when we  stop referring to it by a separate name and begin considering it as an integral part of a complete learning environment. Recent advances in the availability and speed of Internet access and in the power and availability of personal computing platforms have dramatically increased the opportunities for the use of collaborative environments and other distribu ted learning technologies. As a result, a wide range of new products are being developed and many new companies have entered the learning technology market. New categories of products continue to emerge, some providing new capabilities and others combining existing functionality into new product configurations. It can be a challenge to determine how these systems relate to each other and how they fit into a complete e-learning environment. The emergence of e-learning does not mean that existing software applications are obsolete. Systems such as Student Administration, Human Resources, and Library Management provide critical components of e-learning environments. The challenge is to integrate these systems effectively with e-learning application services. This has been done today in what is being called as â€Å"Campus Portal†. Campus portals merge a wide range of educational applications into an integrated web-based system. These portals are designed and developed at many modern colleges and universities within recent years and are becoming more popular as useful tools in offering academic services. They are being used by both the current and distant students. Some colleges even offer their portals to their staff as official media for internal communication. These capabilities have proved portals as effective systems of e-learning. The remaining question is: â€Å"How can we align portals with students’ current needs?† Sometimes, adding new contents or services to a portal may answer this question; but, changing needs of students makes the job harder and requires enough flexibility of portals both in nature and usage. We have made an effort in this study to identify those needs of Iranian students which may be satisfied through implementing portals and to provide a theoretical framework for portal developers to allign their objectives according to educational requirements. Study made by TharitpongFuangvutofUniversity of Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia A Campus Portal is an exciting recent phenomenon forming part of the new generation of online services for all stakeholders in institutions  of higher education. Conceptually the general notion of a Portal should be to be distinguished from that of other Web-based applications and the traditional Intranet of the institution. The literature review in Phase One of this research indicates that the major distinguishing characteristics of a Campus Portal are: (i) personalization, by which end-users are only able to access information and online services pertinent to their activities, and (ii) customization, by which end-users are able to select their preferred information channels and optional online services. The major objective of this research is to propose a development methodology specifically suitable for Campus Portal projects. While there are many accepted development methodologies for traditional and Web-based Information Systems, no clear body of knowledge on the development of Campus Portals has yet been recognized. Additionally, as this is a new area, the definitions, terms, concepts and important issues agreed to by academic researchers and practitioners, are still evolving. This research, therefore, needs to clarify and identify some important issues regarding Campus Portals and their development, prior to composing the development methodology. In the second and third phases of the research, two studies were carried out, a preliminary study and a case study. These generated more understanding of the issues and extended the body of knowledge on Campus Portals, especially concerning their development. The preliminary study explored and investigated the online services and Campus Portals of 40 higher education institutions sites in Australia, New Zealand, the USA, the UK and Canada. The findings of the preliminary study show that there are no standard patterns in the function of personalization and customization in Campus Portals. A set of research questions were then put forward to drive further investigation into design and implementation issues regarding the personalization and customization functions of Campus Portals. The case study was conducted in an Australian university among the major stakeholder groups, namely, the development team and the end-users (students and academic staff). For the study of the development team, interviews were used to gather information on their current practices and their vision for the future direction of the Campus Portal. Students were the primary focus of the end-user study, from which data was collected using a survey to build  up usage patterns of their online activities. In addition, a group of academic staff were interviewed to obtain data from their perspective to identify and clarify some important issues. The results and findings in this phase of the research is contributed to the body of knowledge on Campus Portals and their development. In the final phase of the research, the review of existing development methodologies was continued filtering them through a set of identified criteria based on the findings of the two studies. Finally, the most appropriate development methodology was selected and modified in order to support the requirements identified in this research as critical for the development of a Campus Portal. The result was proposed as a Campus Portal Development Methodology (CPDM) fulfilling the main objective of the research. Study made by Ayman H. AbuhamdiehofIndiana State University, USA Portals are gateways to information resources and different kinds of services. They are enjoying expansive use in all sorts of organizations. From corporations to educational institutions, organizations are striving to provide their constituents with prompt and reliable services through their Web portals. There is a general agreement in the literature on the concept of a portal. It means a web site that integrates and concentrates information resources. The audience could be limited to a particular group, such as auto mechanics, physicians, chemists, students and educators (vertical portals), or it could be open to everyone, such as the popular search engines and categorization web sites such as Google, Yahoo!, and Excite. The uniqueness and recent use of portal systems, and the wide array of constituents they serve, along with the different kinds of challenges they bring invites a closer examination of their acceptance and use. Few studies have provided a detailed examination of these kinds of portals in terms of their user acceptance, and their most used features. The uniqueness and recent use of portal systems, and the wide array of constituents they serve, along with the different kinds of challenges they bring invites a closer examination of their acceptance and use. Study made by Suhong Li and Wallace A. Wood ofBryant University,Smithfield, Rhode Island This study investigates the status of portal implementation in  the academic world. A two stage cluster analysis was used to divide the sample colleges and universities into three groups (Internal Focus Implementers, External Focus Implementers and Starters) based on the portal features implemented by each school. The differences among the three groups were assessed based on the type of school and their status of portal adoption, implementation and evaluation. The results show that in terms of status of portal adoption and implementation, Internal Focus Implementers are the most advanced group, the External Focus group is in the middle and the Starters are the least advanced one. Most schools in the Internal Focus group are private schools, have the longest use of campus portals, favor Blackboard as the portal software, have widely shared responsibilities for the content of the portals, consider integration and implementation of a single logon as the biggest implementation challenges and are the most satisfied with their portal. In contrast, the Starters lag behind in terms of the adoption and implementation of the portal. For example, they have the shortest history of portal implementation, do not have dominant portal software, and have only one or two departments in charge of the content of the portal. In addition, they are the least satisfied with their portals. Portals, originally thought of as search engines whose purpose was to facilitate access to information spread through the Internet, eventually developed to be gateways to the Web that allow vast amounts of information available on Internet and intranet Web sites to be organized and customized through a single entry point. Portals can thus be used to consolidate information from a vast array of sources, provide a centralized means of collaboration and offer a personalized workspace for both individuals and teams. Moreover, portals have the potential of providing organizations with a rich and complex shared information workspace for the generation, exchange, and use of knowledge. Local Study Study made by Tina Arceo-Dumlao of the Philippine Daily Inquirer, Manila, Phillippines FILIPINOS are undisputedly the best in the world when it comes to text messaging. So if Filipinos use their mobile phone’s short messaging  service to send greetings, stay in touch with their loved ones or share jokes, why not harness its power to improve the quality of public education? A consortium of Philippine companies composed of Ayala Foundation, Globe Telecom, Nokia, Seameo Innotech and the Department of Education did just that with the launch in May 2003 of the Text2Teach program. Education divide Text2Teach is the Philippine project under the BridgeIt program, a global initiative that aims to narrow the educational divide between nations by improving the teaching of basic education in developing countries using high speed, wireless digital connection. The text message-based program was deemed ideal for the Philippines not only because everybody knows how to use it, but also because the technology is cheap and can reach the farthest islands of the archipelago. Text2Teach aims to help improve the quality of teaching in grades 5 and 6 classes in elementary school by providing multimedia packages designed to make science, math and English learning more exciting and meaningful among young learners. The first phase of Text2Teach used the mobile phone, satellite technology, and media master to deliver content to the classrooms. The teachers use the mobile phone to order video clips which are delivered via satellite, stored in the media master, and viewed on TV. For the second phase launched this year, the mobile phone is the storage device and is preloaded with the educational videos. All a teacher has to do is plug the phone to a TV and play the video lesson. New videos will be accessed by downloading them through the mobile phone using Globe’s 3G technology. The videos are integrated with specially developed lesson plans that comply with the Basic Education Curriculum and designed for grades 5 and 6 students in public elementary schools. The teachers then show these materials on television to public elementary school students who would not have had access to these multimedia presentations if not for Text2Teach. The teachers were trained by experts from the Seameo Innotech on how to integrate multimedia learning experience into their lesson plans. There are 387 video modules in the electronic library and 480 lesson guides for teachers on topics that are generally discussed in the science, math, and English classes of Grade 5 and 6 students. More interesting Teachers show topics in line with the curriculum defined by the Department of Education. Jeff Tarayao, head of community relations and corporate social responsibility of Globe Telecom, says that with Text2Teach, learning about volcanoes, for instance, has never been more interesting. The students agree. Just six years since it was launched, absenteeism among students attending Text2Teach classes has been reduced; student performance has risen as shown by higher average scores in science; teacher-pupil, pupil-pupil interaction got a boost, and, the classroom atmosphere has become more upbeat. Tarayao says the teachers have been clamoring for even more content to show their enthusiastic students. Since 2003, more than a million public elementary school students and more than 1,700 teachers and school officials in about 250 schools all over the Philippines have benefited from the program. And Text2Teach is reaching more schools in the country, targeting an additional 350 schools nationwide by 2010. Text2Teach went to 118 public elementary schools in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao through a grant from the United States Agency for  International Development. Tarayao says some schools are even sharing their content with the out of school youth who come to the Text2Teach classrooms after regular classes. He says the challenge is to further expand the program to cover even more schools that want to experience the same benefits of Text2Teach. It is possible given the commitment of the many organizations behind Text2Teach. Ayala Foundation is the overall project leader, handles resource and partners mobilization and technical support for the project; Globe Telecom is the cellular capacity provider and powers the SMS network; Nokia Philippines provides the private sector funding, which includes the provision of a 3G-enabled device such as the Nokia N95 8GB, equipped with the Nokia Education Delivery (NED) software that allows the teacher to select from the 387 education videos specifically created for the project; Seameo Innotech crafts the lesson plans and handles the teacher training; while the Department of Education provided coordination with the public schools system. Text2Teach’s accomplishments did not go unnoticed.Text2Teach was a finalist in the Stockholm Challenge in Sweden—the world’s leading ICT Prize for entrepreneurs and projects who use information and communications technology to improve living conditions and increase economic growth. Text2Teach was also awarded the best in Support and Improvement of Education Category during the 2006 Asian CSR Awards But for Globe, the reward is knowing that Text2Teach has helped make mobile phone communication and SMS technology relevant to the upliftment of education in the Philippines.

The Story of the Aged Mother (Analysis)

THE STORY OF THE AGED MOTHER (A Japanese folktale) SETTING: Shinano at the foot the mountain CHARACTERS: The aged mother- the main character of the story, who has the wisdom that brings to save and benefited their land The young farmer- the son of the aged mother The daimio-the despotic ruler of Shinano but later on he learned to give importance the old folks. THEME: â€Å"A mother’s love is something that no one can explain. It is made of deep devotion and of sacrifice and pain, it is endless and unselfish†. CONFLICT: Man vs.Man- the only antagonist in the story was the daimio who proclaimed a law to immediately kill all the aged people. LITERARY MOVEMENT: * Realism- the situation in the story was once happened in the history of Japan, not by putting to death the aged people but abandoning them. It views the once history of a certain country and the simplicity of life. The story also contains lesson and the language used was simple and comprehensive. â€Å"A motherâ⠂¬â„¢s love is something that no one can explain. It is made of deep devotion and of sacrifice and pain, it is endless and unselfish†. Also read: Mother of a TraitorThe story of the aged mother is a folktale from Japan. It tells about how great the love of a mother for her child. It was shown on their situation when the daimio proclaimed a law ordering that all the aged people should be put to death. The order filled the heart of the poor farmer a great sorrow for he loves his mother that much. Instead of putting her mother to death in the hand of the cruel law he decided to give his mother a kind mode of death. He took his mother to the bare summit of Obatsuyama- the mountain of the â€Å"Abandoning of the Aged† and planned to abandon there.On their way to the said mountain the heart of the loving mother grew anxious for she knew that her son will on danger on his way back because he was not familiar to the many mountain paths. What the mother did she snapped the twigs of the bushes they passed and drop it silently on the path to serves as a guide on the way back of her poor child. â€Å"Let not thine eyes be blind, my son. † â€Å"The mountain road is full of danger. Look carefully and follow the path which holds the piles of twigs. They will guide thee to the familiar way farther down†. These lines shows the unconditional love that the mother has for her son, an unselfish love that smote the heart of the poor child and made him cried and decided to take his mother with him backed to their humble hut in the valley. He hid his mother on a walled closet for food beneath the kitchen. Time passed and they both feel secure and safe until one day the daimio sent a messenger and again demanded on the people of the valley present him a with a rope of ashes. To the despair of the poor farmer he told the mews to his hidden mother.And her mother luckily come up with the idea and told him to make a rope of twisted straw and the other thing to do. The despotic ruler was pleased of what he had witnessed and asks the poor farmer if where he obtained that kind of wisdom. The poor farmer stated everything and daimio listened and meditated in silence. Upon hearing the story he now decided to abolish cruel law, and sees the importance of the elder to shape the society and said â€Å"with the crown of snow, there cometh wisdom†.The story shows us two important virtue- love and wisdom. Mother’s love is nothing can compare nor measured; it is pure and unselfish and made of reverence. Truly we can say that we can found heaven underneath mother’s feet for she fought cruelty with love and affection and true hero for bringing out our courage to face the harsh realities of life. Most of all serves as our courage, weakness and strength that guided us to walk through our journey called life.In the saying â€Å"with the crown of snow, there cometh wisdom†- the crown of snow is pertaining to the elders, emphasizes the importance of them in shaping our society. The word â€Å"there cometh wisdom† explained that as we get old our everyday experie nces makes us wit, and as we commit mistakes learning comes. The old folks who undergone on the different challenges in life and had survive serves as our guiding path because their varied experiences teach us to become wise; wise enough to know right from wrong.

Improving Aspects in My Writing Thanks to My English Course

This English course was a vastly informative class. We covered lots of criteria material and discussed topics during class. During the course, I have accomplish a variety of goals I once thought were unachievable. I still have a little ways to go to become the best writer I can be but by taking this course I have been able to expand and learn as a writer, editor, and analyzer of my work, peers work, and academic work. I have learned from others as others have learned from me. I have tried to improve particular aspects of my writing but continue to struggle with other aspects. I have found new strategies and breakthroughs that have allowed me to improve my essays. However, I am still learning how to write and believe that I always shall†¦show more content†¦This is often because I never have a clear idea about what I am writing about and how I should begin to write I, but throughout the course I learned a few techniques to diminish my procrastination. A technique that I use is to sit down for twenty minutes and write non-stop about the topic I am focusing in other words called free writing. Additionally to that I also try not to focus on grammar or sentence structure and try not to censor my thoughts in any way. I write my essay without attempting to going back to revise it when I haven’t even got a paragraph. These techniques have really helped me procrastinate less. In the beginning of the course it would take me hours to write a two-page paper, but by using those techniques I have improved and now I am able to write a two-page paper in fewer time. At the other hand, the English class has helped me build my personal assurance to reveal myself or perhaps expressed myself with words; that have been particularly fascinating personally. Ive found delight in written essays. For me to get to that point it took me practice. With my first essay, â€Å"Love and Gold†, my professor had a conference with me to discuss about my essay. 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