Essay Sample on Software and Copyrights

Essay Sample on Software and Copyrights Sample essay on Software and Copyrights: Current copyright and patent laws are  inappropriate for computer software; their imposition slows down software development and reduces competition. From the first computer as we know them, the ENIAC, computer software has become more and more important. From thousands of bytes on miles of paper to millions of bytes on a thin piece of tin  foils and witched between two pieces of plastic, software has played an important part in the world. Computers have most likely played an important role in all our lives, from making math easier with calculators, to having money on the go with ATM machines. However, with all the help that has been given to us, we havent done anything for software and the people who write it. Software by nature is completely defenseless, as it is more or less simply intellectual property, and not a physical thing, thus very easily copied. Copied software does not make money for its creators, and thus they charge more for whats not copied, and the whole industry inflates. There are two categories of intellectual property. The first one is composed of writing, music, and  films, which are covered by copyright. Inventions and innovations are covered by patent. These two categories have covered for years many kinds of work with little or no conflict. Unfortunately, it is not that easy when dealing with such a complex matter as computer software. When something is typed on a computer, it is considered writting, as it is all written words and numbers. However, when executed by the computer, it functions like an invention, performing a specific task as instructed by the user. Thus, software falls into both categories (Del Guercio 22-24). It is generally covered today by copyright laws, for most mass market software at least. More advanced software or programming techniques, however, can be patented, as they are neither obvious nor old. This results in many problems which I will go into later. Copyrights last the lifetime of the author, plus 50 years, and can be renewed. Patents last only 17 years, but cannot be renewed. With technology advancing so quickly, it is not necessary to maintain the protection of the software for the length of the copyright, but also, it is sometimes necessary to renew them (Del Guercio 22-24), say, for a 10th sequel in a video game series or version 47.1 of Bobs Graphic Program. With copyrighted material, one is able to write software similiar to someone elses, so long as the programming code is their own, and not borrowed from the others (Del Guercio 22-24). This keeps the industry competitive, and thus results in better software (because everyone is greedy, and they dont want to fall behind). With patents no one is allowed to create software that performs a similar functions. Take AutoCAD and TrueSpace 2, two 3D modeling programs. TrueSpace 2 would be a violation of patent laws, as it performs a very close task to AutoCADs, which came first. Luckily for us, CAD programs are not new, they have been around for more than 10 years, and no one thought to patent them. Thus, you can see the need for change in the system. The current laws regarding the protection of intellectual material cannot adequately protect software, they are either too weak or too strict. We need a new category of protection. The perfect protection law would most likely last for 10 years, renewable. This is long enough to protect a program for as long as it is still useful, and allows for sequels and new versions just in case. It would also have to allow for others to make similar software, keeping the industry competitive, but it would have to not allow copying of portions of other software (because you cant quote something from someone elses software like you can with a book). However, there are many who dispute this, and I can see their point. Current copyright laws have and will protect software effectively, it can be just as protected as other mediums (Cosgrove). This is true sometimes, however, to copy a book would take time. You would have to type up each page to make a copy of it, or at least photocopy or scan each page, and it would most likely take up much more time than its worth. To copy a computer program however, takes seconds. Changing the law would take time and money, you might be saying. It would be a tremendous hassle in Congress to have a new law written just to cover that Information Superhighway thingy. Yes, thats true too, but to not change the laws will cost more. With the ability to patent new and non-obvious software functions comes serious problems. The latest new technology, be it ray-tracing 3D engines, anti-aliasing software, or a new internet exploring fad can be patented. This would mean that only one company and its software could use it. Any other companies that wanted to use the software would have to pay them a large sum of money for the rights. Also, since patent hearings are conducted over a period of 3 years, and in secrecy, company a might create a software package and then apply for a patent, and company b may create better software during that period, and might become quite successful, and then bam, the patent is given to the company a, who prompty sues the pants off company b. T his stagnates the computer industry; it used to be that company a would retaliate by making better software (Del Guercio 22-24). For example, Lotus software. They used to make data organization software. Up until I did this report, I thought they had gone out of business, because I hadnt heard about anything new being done by them. Well, while I was researching, I found the appalling truth. When patenting of software became acceptable in the early 90s, they closed up their RD departments and called in a bunch of lawyers to get them patents on all their programming techniques (Del Guercio 22-24). Ever since then, theyve been selling out the rights as their primarily (and Im willing to bet, only) business. This could even be taken to the extremes of actually patenting simple methods of handling data, such as say, mouse support. Now, it cant happen to mouse support as it is today, but in the future, something  undoubtedly will replace the mouse as the preferred method of input, for instance, in what may be a virtual reality future, the glove might be the input device. Anyway, say it did happen to mouse support. Every single program that uses mouse support would have to pay a fee for the rights to do so. This would result in higher software prices (arent they high enough?), and reduced quality in the programs, as they have to worry about the legalities more (Del Guercio 22-24). Needless to say, the patenting of software is not a widely loved policy, mostly embraced by large corporations like Lotus and Microsoft (Tysver Software Patents). Smaller companies and most often consumers are generally against it. Even with all the legal problems Ive mentioned that arise with current laws, thats not all. The complexity of software protection laws brings up a large degree of confusion. I myself thought that copyrights lasted 7 years until I read this. I asked 15 people in a chat room on the Internet what they knew about software protection laws, and only one of them knew that software could be patented. 12 of them thought that it cost lots of money for a copyright, which it doesnt. Its $20 for a copyright at most, and $10000 at most for a patent. 5 of them thought that software copyrights lasted 7 years (hey, its a popular misconception, I thought so myself at one point). And last but not least, 10 of them believed that there was no laws regarding the copying of software (there are, but theyre virtually ineffective). Now that you know all about the legal and business aspects of software protection, lets take a look at how it can affect you. Say youve got a web page, and youve got a link on your web page to your friend Bobs web page, and hes got a link on his page to JoeS LeeT PiRaCY aND WaReZ, and on that site, there is a link to a pirated copy of AutoCAD. Then Joe gets busted. Joe will almost certainly be in trouble, Bob will likely be either questioned or considered responsible, depending on the blatancy of the link, and YOU will likely be questioned and your page might be monitored for a time (Bilodeau). One such example is my web page. I had a link from my page (the Wierd Wide Web) to Archaic Ruins, which is a site regarding information on emulators of old video game systems. When the operator of Archiac Ruins got sued by a video game company (I think it was Konami), I too got questioned, and had my page had ANY questionable material on it, I would have been sued. Thankfully, I was too lazy t o work on the page, as I had planned to put up a page that had really old videogames. Who said procrastination was bad? How can you prosecute someone for a crime that is undefined? Thats a question many people are asking. What is a copy of software? Is it a physical clone of the media it came on? Or is it the code duplicated to someplace else? If so, where else? Currently, software copying is generally considered a copy of the code someplace else but thats a problem. We all know that a backup of software is a copy, but did you know that even running the software creates a copy of it? Yes, it does. When you load a program, it goes into your computers memory, and is legally considered a copy. While the copy does not stay indefinitely, it does stay long enough to perform a certain task, and can and has been looked upon as a form of software piracy, as stupid as that sounds. (Tysver Software Patents) BBS (Bulletin Board Systems, small online services run by normal people) Sysops (system operators) are legally considered responsible for all the files that are available on their system (Elkin-Koren). While at first this seems like an obvious thing, after all, it is their computer, they should know whats on it. However, if you had ever run a BBS before, which I do, youd know that its hard, if not impossible to know whats on your computer. Planet-X, my friend John Morses BBS, which I co-run, has 50 calls a day. Of those 50 calls, about 35 of them upload or download software. Neither one of us is constantly monitoring the system, nor is there a way to make the computer automatically check to see what happens. Thus, about half of the public files on the BBS we dont know about. Lets take a look at an example of BBSs and copyright, and how they oh-so-beautifully coincide. Sega Ltd., maker of the Sega Genesis and Sega Gamegear, recently sued the Maphia BBS for making Sega Genesis ROMs publically available in a download section. This section was a type of digital rental as it is commonly known in the BBS community. Commercial software publically available for download, on an on-your-honor system, you had to delete the files after a short period of time (24-48 hours). Unfortunately for the Maphia BBS, they did not have a disclaimer, stating that the files must be deleted after a trial period, and thus, Sega was able to sue them for it, as without the disclaimer, there was no proof that they had used the digital rental system, and thus it was not fair use, as it could be used for monetary gain by the downloader (not having to buy the game). Of course, it could be used for that purpose WITH the disclaimer, but the disclaimer does just that, disclaims the BBS operator of the responsibilities of that copy of software (Elkin-Koren). Another such case was the case between Playboy (I think we all know who that is), and the Frena BBS. The public file areas on the Frena BBS frequently contained image files, and more often than not, they were adult image files. Well, I dont know exactly how it happened, but Playboy somehow found out that this BBS had some scanned photos from a Playboy magazine, and because they have the copyright to all their photos, they w ere able to sue the operator of the Frena BBS. The operator had no idea that there were any Playboy images on his system (Elkin-Koren). Speaking of image files, they too can be a problem with software protection. Say youve got an image file that someone had copyrighted. You load it up in a photo-retouching program, and add a big old goat in the background and paint the sky red. Then you remove the artists file name. Viola, the picture is now semi-legally copyrighted to you, as it has been significantly changed from its original, although I wouldnt recommend going to court over it (Grant 12). All you have to do is change a very large portion of the image files coding. Technically, darkening or blurring the image, changing the file format, or interlacing the file changes the file entirely, and thus, its yours. Sounds too easy? It is. Copyrights and patents are designed to help the media it protects. But in the case of technology, its actually hindering it. CD-ROMs contain a lot of information, and are the perfect media for music. A lesser known media, the Digital Video Disc, or DVD, is much more versitile, containing 26 times the storage compacity of a CD-ROM, and 11500 times more than a standard floppy disk, or about 17 gigabytes (the largest hard drives are 9 gigs). However, DVDs are not available to the public. Why? Because of the ease of copying them. Weve all dubbed tapes, its easy to do. However, we often opt for higher quality originals, because there is always a bit of degradation in the copies (although its very small now). With DVDs, a copy is exactly that, a copy. No degradation, no reason to buy an original. All the big companies are really scared by this technology, because it will take another five bucks out of their pockets. DVDs would be one of the greatest advancements in the short history of computers, but because of the shadier uses it could be used for, well never see it. I like to compare it to the Internet, its very useful, but it can be used for illegal purposes. You be the judge (Ross 134-140). Luckily, we may yet someday see DVDs, because several companies are developing copy protection schemes for them, to stop the casual home hacker/copier. Macrovision, for instance, is producing hardware for the DVD player that will make them incompatible with VCRs (the easiest dubbing-to platform, the equivilant of CD to audio tape). It will send output through the audio/video out ports that when played on a TV, will appear normal, but when played through a VCR, will have color stripes running sideways across the screen. This is due to the differences between the ways the two work (Ross 134-140). So as you can see, current methods of protecting software are a hinderance on the software industry. The problems outweigh the benefits, but with a new law, the industry would be able to keep the benefits and minimize any drawbacks. Instead of having to nitpick over who wrote something that did something similar, it would be back to who wrote something more powerful than the other guy, and thats what makes the industry great, competition. Oh, and Id like to add that I broke copyright law a total of 13 times in the making of this report, when I made a copy of each reference with the school copying machine (James 16), although it was fair use, so Im not in any trouble (Ruth). You can order a custom essay, term paper, research paper, thesis or dissertation on Software and Copyrights topics at our professional custom essay writing service which provides students with custom papers written by highly qualified academic writers. High quality and no plagiarism guarantee! Get professional essay writing help at an affordable cost.

The Role of Reading Fluency Tables in Comprehension

The Role of Reading Fluency Tables in Comprehension Listening to a student read, even for a minute, can be one of the ways a teacher determines a students ability to comprehend text through fluency. Improving reading fluency has been identified by the National Reading Panel as one of the five critical components of reading. A student’s oral reading fluency score is measured by the number of words in a  text that a student reads correctly in a minute. Measuring a students fluency is easy. The teacher listens to a student read independently for one minute in order to hear how well a  student reads accurately, quickly, and with expression (prosody). When a student can read aloud with these three qualities, the student is demonstrating to the listener a level of fluency, that there is a bridge or connection between his or her ability to recognize words and the ability  to comprehend  the text: â€Å"Fluency is defined as reasonably accurate reading with suitable expression that leads to accurate and deep comprehension and motivation to read† (Hasbrouck and Glaser, 2012). In other words, a student who is a fluent reader  can focus on what the text means because he or she does not have to concentrate on decoding the words. A fluent reader can monitor and adjust his or her reading and notice when comprehension breaks down.   Fluency Testing A fluency test is simple to administer. All you need is a selection of text and a stopwatch.   An initial test for fluency is a screening where passages are selected from a text at the students grade level that the student has not pre-read, called a cold read.  If the student is not reading at grade level, then the instructor should select passages at a lower level in order to diagnose weaknesses.   The student is asked to read aloud for one minute. As the student reads, the teacher notes errors in reading. A student’s fluency level can be calculated following these three steps: The instructor determines how many words the reader actually attempted during the 1-minute reading sample. Total # of words read ____.Next, the instructor counts up the number of errors made by the reader. Total # of errors ___.The instructor deducts the number of errors from the total words attempted, the examiner arrives at the number of correctly read words per minute (WCPM). Fluency formula: Total # of words read __- (subtract) errors______words (WCPM) read correctly For example, if the student read 52 words and had 8 errors in one minute, the student had 44 WCPM. By deducting the errors (8) from total words attempted (52), the score for the student would be 44 correct words in one minute. This 44 WCPM number serves as an estimate of reading fluency, combining the students speed and accuracy in reading. All educators should be aware that an oral reading fluency score is not the same measure as a student’s reading level. To determine what that fluency score means in relation to grade level, teachers should use a grade level fluency score chart. Fluency data charts   There are a number of reading fluency charts such as the one developed from the research of Albert Josiah Harris and Edward R. Sipay  (1990) which set fluency rates that were organized by grade level bands with words per minute scores. For example, the table shows the recommendations for fluency bands for three different grade levels: grade 1, grade 5, and grade 8.   Harris and Sipay Fluency Chart Grade Words per minute Band Grade 1 60-90 WPM Grade 5 170-195 WPM Grade 8 235-270 WPM Harris and  Sipays  research guided them to make recommendations in their book  How to Increase Reading Ability: A Guide to Developmental Remedial Methods  as to the general speed for reading a text  such as a book from the  Magic Tree House Series  (Osborne). For example, a book from this series is leveled at M (grade 3) with 6000 words.   A student who could read 100 WCPM fluently could finish  A Magic Tree House  book in one hour while a student who could read at 200 WCPM fluently could complete reading the book in 30 minutes. The fluency chart most referenced today was developed by researchers Jan Hasbrouck and Gerald Tindal in 2006. They wrote about their findings in the International Reading Association Journal in the article â€Å"Oral Reading Fluency Norms: A Valuable Assessment Tool for Reading Teachers.† The major point in their article was on the connection between fluency and comprehension: â€Å"Fluency measures such as words correct per minute has been shown, in both theoretical and empirical research, to serve as an accurate and powerful indicator of overall reading competence, especially in its strong correlation with comprehension. In coming to this conclusion, Hasbrouck and Tindal completed an extensive study of oral reading fluency using data obtained from over 3,500 students in 15 schools in seven cities located in Wisconsin, Minnesota, and New York.† According to Hasbrouck and Tindal, the review of student data  allowed them to organize the results in average performance and percentile bands for fall, winter, and spring for grades 1 through grade 8. The scores on the chart are considered  normative  data scores because of the large sampling.   The results of their study were published in a technical report entitled, â€Å"Oral Reading Fluency: 90 Years of Measurement,† which is available on the  website for Behavioral Research and Teaching, University of Oregon. Contained in this study are their grade level fluency score tables  designed  to help instructors to assess the oral reading fluency of their students relative to their peers. How to read a fluency table Only three-grade level data selections from their research are in a table below. The table below shows fluency scores for grade 1 when students are first tested on fluency, for grade 5 as a midpoint fluency measure, and for grade 8 after students have been practicing fluency for years. Grade Percentile Fall WCPM* Winter WCPM* Spring WCPM* Avg Weekly Improvement* First 90 - 81 111 1.9 First 50 - 23 53 1.9 First 10 - 6 15 .6 Fifth 90 110 127 139 0.9 Fifth 50 110 127 139 0.9 Fifth 10 61 74 83 0.7 Eighth 90 185 199 199 0.4 Eighth 50 133 151 151 0.6 Eighth 10 77 97 97 0.6 *WCPMwords correct per minute The first column of the table shows the grade level. The second column of the table shows the percentile.  Teachers should remember that in fluency testing, percentile is different from  percentage. The percentile on this table is a measurement is based on a grade level peer group of 100 students. Therefore, a 90th percentile does not mean the student answered 90% of the questions correctly; a fluency score is not like a grade. Instead, a 90th percentile  score for a student means that there are nine (9) grade level peers who have performed better.   Another way to look at the rating is to understand that a student who is in the 90th percentile performs better than 89th percentile of his grade level peers or that the student is in the top 10% of his peer group. Similarly, a student in the 50th percentile means the student performs better than 50 of his or her peers with 49% of his or her peers performing higher, while a student performing at the low 10th percentile for fluency has still performed better than 9 of his or her grade level peers. An average fluency score is between 25th percentile to 75th percentile Therefore, a student with a   fluency score of 50th percentile is perfectly average, squarely in the middle of the average band. The third, fourth, and fifth columns on the chart indicate into which percentile a students score is rated at different times of the school year. These scores are based on normative data. The last column, average weekly improvement, shows the average words per week growth that student should  develop to stay on grade level. The average weekly improvement can be calculated by subtracting the fall score from the spring score and dividing the difference by 32 or the number of weeks between the fall and spring assessments. In grade 1, there is no fall assessment, and so the average weekly improvement is calculated by subtracting the winter score from the spring score and then dividing the difference by 16 which is the number of weeks between the winter and spring assessments. Using the fluency data   Hasbrouck and Tindal   recommended that: â€Å"Students scoring 10 or more words below the 50th percentile using the average score of two unpracticed readings from grade-level materials need a fluency-building program. Teachers can also use the table to set long-term fluency goals for struggling readers.† For example, a beginning fifth grade student with a reading rate of 145 WCPM should be assessed using fifth grade level texts. However, a beginning grade 5 student with a reading rate of 55 WCPM will need to be assessed with materials from grade 3 in order to determine what additional instructional support would be needed to increase his or her reading rate. Instructors should use progress monitoring with any student who may be reading six to 12 months below grade level every two to three weeks to determine if additional instruction is needed. For students who are reading more than one year below grade level, this kind of progress monitoring should be done frequently. If the student is receiving intervention services through special education or English Learner support, continued monitoring will provide the teacher the information on whether the intervention is working or not.   Practicing fluency For progress monitoring on fluency, passages are selected at a students individually determined goal level. For example, if the instructional level of a 7th grade student is at the 3rd grade level, the teacher may conduct the progress monitoring assessments by using passages at the 4th grade level. To provide students the opportunity to practice, fluency instruction should be with a text that a student can read at an independent level.   Independent reading level is one of three reading levels described below: Independent level is relatively easy for the student to read with 95% word accuracy.Instructional level is challenging but manageable for the reader with 90% word accuracy.Frustration level means the text is too difficult for the student to read which results in less than 90% word accuracy. Students will better practice on speed and expression by reading at an independent level text. Instructional or frustration level texts will require students to decode. Reading comprehension is the combination of numerous skills that are performed instantaneously, and fluency is one of these skills. While practicing fluency requires time, a test for a students fluency takes only one minute and perhaps two minutes to read a fluency table and to record the results. These few minutes with a fluency table can be one of the best tools a teacher can use to monitor how well a student understands what he or she is reading.

Effective Leadership Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Effective Leadership - Essay Example 74-78, 2001). This paper is attempt to look at different types of leadership and the recent developments in the field of leadership by briefly looking at the literature available on Fred Fielder’s Situational Leadership Model, Level 5 Leadership, 360-degree leadership and Charismatic leadership. Discussion Fred Fielder’s Situational Leadership Model Fred Fielder is considered as one of the most notable gurus of leadership. During the mid of the 20th century, when most of the leadership experts were occupied by the discussion that whether leaders are born with certain characteristics which distinguish them from others or whether people can acquire these skills to become leaders. Fielder took the liberty of providing an entirely different perspective to the management and organizational behavior experts by giving his situational leadership theory (Kellerman, pp. 234-238, 2010). He divided the leadership styles into two groups namely relationship motivated and task motivat ed. Relationship motivated leaders are the ones who would place their emotional bonds with their people over the tasks and jobs. These leaders are more concerned about their image, respect, and perception amongst their followers. However, task motivated leaders are the ones who are more interested in numbers, targets, figures and objectives, and in the pursuit of the same, they are ready to sacrifice their image and bonding with their employees (Robbins & Judge, pp. 223-228, 2010). Furthermore, fielder proposed three elements, which have the ability to determine the situational control of the person. These are leader member relations, task structure and position power. Leader member relations refer to the degree to which the leader enjoys the backing, support, and loyalty of his sub ordinates. Second, task structure is high when the job descriptions are clear, structured, and well defined. Third, position power refers to the degree to which the leader enjoys the formal power to hire , recruit, select, reward, punish, or obtain compliance from the employees (Fulmer & Goldsmith, pp. 74-78, 2001). Furthermore, Fielder suggests that when the above-mentioned factors are high, the situational control is high and vice versa. A task-motivated style remains the most favourable option when the situational control is either extremely high or extremely low. Nevertheless, when the situational control is moderate, the leader should opt for a relationship motivated leadership style (Kellerman, pp. 41-49, 1999). 360 Degree Leadership Maxwell (2006) gave one of the most modern and influential concepts in leadership known as the â€Å"360 degree leadership† (pp. 15). Maxwell focuses on the most basic and simplest definitions of leadership, which says, â€Å"Leadership is nothing but the art of influencing people towards the achievement of shared goals† (Maxwell, pp. 84-86, 2008). Quite understandably, one cannot only influence the people who are underneath the indi vidual in the organizational hierarchy but also who lie at the same line or even who are over him in the organizational hierarchy. This means that one cannot only lead his subordinates but also his peers, colleagues, friends, bosses, bosses’ peers, and others. Many leaders fail to view the concept of leadership in a board way of leading down, leading across and leading up but they fall into the trap of leading down

The scholarly articles issues that are related to Chinas social Essay

The scholarly articles issues that are related to Chinas social security - Essay Example The scholarly articles issues that are related to China’s social security The article focuses on the need for reforming the social security sector in China. Scholarly articles are addressed to policy makers as evidenced by the three articles of which two were published in the International Journal of Social Welfare and the other article was published in the China Economic Review. Keywords: order, equations, systematic, articles 1. Introduction The scholarly articles chosen for this analysis address issues that are related to China’s social security. The three articles are consistent with the general trend exhibited in the discipline and will thus form the backbone of this analysis to cut across the discipline. Yang, Williamson, and Shen author the first article in the year 2009, and it was published in the International Journal of Social Welfare. The article addresses the issue of social security in China, specifically relating to the rural aged. The article has been written in efforts of attempting to alleviate the social security coverage in the country. Leung authored the second article selected in 2003, and it was published in the International Journal of Social Welfare. The article focuses on the need for reforming the social security sector in China. Feldstein is the author of the third article, published in the China Economic Review in 1999. The article’s focus is centered on the necessary reforms in the social security system of China. ... termined from an in-depth analysis conform to the general systematic set up of presenting findings that border on the social-economic aspect of daily life. The analysis is written in conformity with the writing style applied in the third article that was selected. The sections are a representative of the general format that is used in writing academic articles in the discipline. 2. Analysis of the articles The authors of the three articles are a true representative of the academic elite in the discipline with Leung working at the Department of Social Work and Social administration at the University of Hong Kong. Shen and Williamson are faculty members at the Boston College while Yang is a faculty member at the Beihang University. Feldstein is an associate at the Harvard University in the department of economics while at the same time he serves at the National Bureau of Economic Research. The five authors have a mastery aura of the field and this can be attested to by their systematic analysis of social economic issues that are linked to the provision of social security in China. The purposes of the different authors in the three articles are intertwined and are concentrated about providing a solution in the social security policy of China. The three articles identify the need of enacting a strong social security policy that would work towards ensuring that the elderly people of China reap the maximum benefit. The simplification of the social security system in the country alongside the increased coverage will be fruitful in reducing the country’s dependency level as well as improving the living standards of its elderly citizens. The rhetorical strategies advanced by the three articles are almost similar in the composition and advancement of the topics. The authors

Global Warming: An Inconvenient Truth :: Global Warming Catastrophe

In 2006, former senator Al Gore created an academy award winning documentary on global warming entitled â€Å"An Inconvenient Truth† . The movie earned several awards including an academy award for best documentary and gore later received a noble peace prize. The movie discussed several different topics of great concern to global warming; such as permafrost, climbs in temperature, extinction of species, drought, and fatigue to name a few. Four writers in five different articles discussed the three topics of greenhouse gases, climate change, and causes of global warming. These writers are writer and scholar Bill McKibben in â€Å"Think Again: Climate Change† and â€Å"How Close to catastrophe†; William J. Broad, writer for the New York Times in â€Å"From a Rapt audience, a call to cool the hype†; writer for the Cleveland Plain Dealer, Kevin O’Brien, in â€Å"Global Warming? I won’t be losing any sleep over it†; and Alan Zarembo, sta ff writer for the the Los Angeles Times, in â€Å"Game over on global warming?† All though the articles explain some different topics from one another, only one of them disagree with gore on the causes for global warming being humans, they all agree that there will be impacts to the environment, and all of them believe that greenhouse gases are one of the primary causes for global warming. First, all the articles discussed about who was to blame for the raising temperatures of the planet. The issue may be serious but O’Brien states that is just the media using another topic of interest and throwing it out of proportion. He claims that there is global warming, but the statistics being given are always changing, so the blame game can’t always point a finger at humans. Zarambo explained that humans are the cause of global warming but cannot but no matter what we were to do, even revert to the Stone Age, that global warming will still rise because the waste we have build up can dissolve slowly. On the opposite side, McKibben in â€Å"Think Again: Climate Change† he explains that humans are to blaim because the planet is already struggling to keep itself alive and all the excess heat we generate from CO2 and other waste, we are dooming ourselves to an early grave. In â€Å"How Close to catastrophe† where he explains his own thoughts he explains t hat its not just humans to blame but the citizens of the US.

Effective Communication Essay

Effective Communication Communication, as well as the organizational structure, is imperative for any organization to become successful. Effective communication is one of the main foundations in building a strong relationship between management, staff, patients and their families. Patients depend upon the staff to help them answer and understand questions regarding their health conditions. The organizational structure is one of the most efficient methods for allocation of relevant information within the facility. The appropriate organization structure is vital to authorize alliances of the organization to communicate within the facility and outside the facility. If there is no communication or ineffective communication the facility will fail to meet the needs of staff, patients, families as well as causing the organization to become unsuccessful. Organization Structure The formal structure describes an organization that is typically hierarchical in nature. Formal structures use organization charts that include staff member’s names and their official job titles within the organization. The hierarchical organization begins at the top and flows down to managers then to employees under those managers. When an organization uses a formal structure the lines of authority are clear (Lombardi & Schermerhorn, 2007). Techniques for Sharing Information and Ideas Sharing information and ideas with individuals comes in many forms of communication. Communication in the health care industry can vary depending on the individual one is working with. There is a time when all types of communication has to be in cooperated into the success of an organization and the care of patients. Face-to-face communication is effective as well as verbal communication via telephone is effective when communicating with  doctors, managers, staff, patients and the community. Communicating face-to-face allows one to rely on body language to decipher the effectiveness of the information that is transmitted from one individual to another. Written communication is a technique that is always dependable within the health care industry. The use of e-mails is also a technique of sharing information, but can sometimes leave an individual wandering if the message was received as the sender intended. Communication time out is a technique that is critical, but seldom performed . The road works allowing two-way conversations to be held by deciding the modes of communication preferred by each individual involved. It communication time-out is performed correctly potential risk factors can be identified and untimely minimized (â€Å"Best practices in communication reduce liability, 2011). Techniques Proved to be Ineffective Ineffective communication can affect the successfulness of an organization. The same techniques used for effective communication can lead to ineffectiveness in communication. Using face-to-face communication can show anger and stress through body language and can breakdown as messages are interpreted the wrong way. Messages that are not carefully planned, for example, the time and delivery are not chosen efficiently will result in negative communication. Once communication becomes negative it may be a challenge to regain positive communication methods. Applying Communication Techniques in the Health Care Environment Managers can use face-to-face communication in morning meetings to discuss the problems arising from the day before or the potential problems that will arise. Transmitting information via telephone is vital to nursing staff when communicating with physicians about patient care. Telephone communication allows questions to be answered instantly instead of waiting on a respo nse. When communicating with family member’s verbal communication retrieves the best results as well, the families will be able to receive the information they are seeking. Electronic mailing (email) can be used to transmit information between managers and other employees. It is important to insure the message sent via email is received with the intentions the sender is sending (Writing Effective Emails, 1996-2014). Written communication is a reliable communication used in some facilities. Daily team talks delivered to each  department by the department manager is a method of communicating with staff. Daily team talks can consist of the daily census, potential admits, upcoming discharges as well and safety tips, financial tips, and positive recognition of any staff member. Applying any technique of communication can have its positive or negative effects on communication between individuals. Technology and Communication With the expansion of technology use in healthcare today it can become a challenge to keep up with the growth of technology. With today’s technology computers is a major benefit in the health care industry. Video conferences used in today’s medical fields allowing for face-to-face communication via technology. Technology can be used positively and negative in communication between individuals. The lack of proper English and format can cause for negativity. Technology can also have many benefits with communication, as well. It can make it more convenient for managers to contact other staff and technology can be used in communicating with the community, as well. Conclusion Effective communication is vital in assuring the message is interpreted correctly. Listening openly, understanding the intent of the message and using proper body language in receiving and delivering the message is positive in communication. Preventing negative communication is the ultimate goal for organizations in order for them to succeed. Applying the proper techniques of communicating continues to be a challenge among organizations in today’s world. References Best practices in patient communication reduce liability. (October 2011). Retrieved from http://www.riskandinsurance.com Lombardi, D. N., & Schermerhorn, J. R. (2007). Health care management: Tools and techniques for managing in the health care environment. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons. Writing Effective Emails. (1996-2014). Retrieved from http://www.mindtools.com/CommSkll/EmailCommunication.htm

Mobile Phone Technology - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 26 Words: 7856 Downloads: 6 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Statistics Essay Did you like this example? The Potential Use of Mobile Phone Technology for Knowledge Sharing among Academics in Institution of Higher Learning Abstract The potentials of mobile phone technology are huge and it has opened possibilities and avenues for enhancing knowledge sharing activities among academics in Institutions of Higher Learning (IHLs). However, it was found that there was lack of academic research on the use of mobile phone technologies for knowledge sharing purposes in IHLs. In IHLs, technologies of mobile phones such as cell phones, smart phones, and PDAs provided with interesting features like camera, video, memory, player of MP3, internet approach and finally, presence in a device, by allowing study anywhere, anytime. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Mobile Phone Technology" essay for you Create order This paper aimed to understand academics general attitudes towards the use of mobile phone technology in IHLs, to explore the academics perceived usefulness to use mobile phone technology in IHLs, to determine academics perceived ease of use of mobile phone technology in IHLs, to understand academics behavioral intention to use mobile phone technology in IHLs, to identify how will mobile phone technologies change the work situation of academics, and to identify the possible services that, in their opinion, can improve mobile phone technology and knowledge sharing among academics in IHLs. The overall findings revealed that there were at least four factors could lead to the adoption of mobile phone technology among academics in an Institution of Higher Learning. These factors were; attitudes towards the use of mobile phone technology, perceived usefulness to use mobile phone technology, perceived ease of use of mobile phone technology, and behavioral intention to use mobile phone techn ology. Keywords: Mobile Phone Technology, Institutions of Higher Learning, Academics 1.0 Introduction In recent years, information technology (IT) usage in universities and colleges is broadly increasing for the purposes of enhancing the administration and teaching and learning efficiencies. As the population of campuses raises, so does the improvement of technologies. In Institutions of Higher Learning (IHLs), technologies of mobile phones such as cell phones, smart phones, PDAs and telephone provided with interesting features like camera, video, memory, player of MP3, internet approach and finally, presence in a device, by allowing study anywhere, anytime (Wilen-Daugenti, 2007). Junior et al. (2008) defined mobile technologies as mobile technologies are exactly what its name refers, i.e., portable technology that can be moved from one place to another without any loss. There are several advantages of mobile technologies. Few of them are the independence in learning at anywhere and anytime, faster and convenient communication as well as rapid access to variety of different sources. Moreover, the ability to conduct impossible experiments in authentic way is truly pleasant. It is safe to experiment with them because the error will only affect in simulation environment (Smidts et al., 2008). According to Naismith et al. (2005), mobile technologies are becoming more embedded, ubiquitous and networked, with enhanced capabilities for rich social interactions, context awareness and internet connectivity (p.6). Additionally, Anderson and Rainie (2008) concluded that the mobile phone technologies will be the most fundamental and compulsory connection device to the internet for everyone in 2020. 2.0 Mobile Phone Technologies in IHLs Academics find mobile phone technologies as their big savior when comes to managing the working tasks. Plenty of important features such as address books, devices of storage of file, cameras, recorder of video and internet added to the working flexibility in IHLs. Todays mobile phones are as influential as computers. According to Nokia (2007), Its what computers have become. Its increase to ubiquity is explained as a stealthy but rapid shift from a telephony device towards a portable, personal media hub that enables an increasing range of personalized and customized communication, entertainment, relationship management and service functions. Its reach is pervasively global and trans-cultural, possibly more so than any other media form including the internet and World Wide Web (Cameron, 2006). Nowadays, it is impossible to resist mobile phone. Each and every aspects of life demand the importance of mobile device. As the international barriers are getting smaller due to globalization, the need of communication is inevitable. Consequently, mobile phone is becoming more and more compulsory and necessary to have. All walks of life celebrate the use of mobile phone technologies, so does the academics. Undeniably, there are myriad of activities for both academics and students provided by mobile phone technologies such as; uploading and downloading of songs, movies and videos to cell phone, MP3 player, iPod, sending and receiving e-mails, instant messages (IMs), short text messages (SMS), transferring files, photos or other data , interactive games, searching for information or services on the web, making video calls, personal organizer (e.g. diary, address book), in-class surveys/questions, in-class media sharing, attendance monitor, distant privileges of library, peer locator, free or inexpensive VoIP phone as well as notification of the security. Academics who have experienced dealing with mobile technologies in working possess several reasons to continue using them. Firstly, to be able to communicate with other people, to seek information, to take pictures and create clips and sharing with others is what most people have become used to (Smidts et al., 2008). The following studies have examined some of the activities of the mobile phone in the IHLs. Corbeil and Valdes-Corbeil (2007) have explored mobile phone activities engaged in by academics and students in their study. According to their findings, these technologies can be applied in many activities such as: uploading and downloading songs/movies/video clips, sending and receiving e-mail, Instant Messages (IMs), Short Text Messages (SMS), transferring files, photos or other data playing the interactive games, transferring photos or other data, downloading Podcasts of appropriate instructive material along with audio and video lectures, reading e-books, reconsidering coursework and getting ready in exams, showing their jobs and sharing plan results, providing visual, adding a microphone to their mobile to capture material for educational use, using an MP3 player to download and listen to Podcasts and audio lectures, and reconsidering the material of courses and studying for exams, audio books and, with some devices as well as the most widely used nowadays which is recording le ctures. Furthermore, findings from studies conducted by Whilst Kennedy et al. (2008a) and Kennedy et al. (2008b), mobile phone technologies allowed users to conduct 9 activities in Institutions of Higher learning as the following: * To send pictures or movies to colleagues. * To use mobile phone as MP3 player. * To access information or services on the web. * To make video calls. * To take digital photos or movies. * To send or receive email. * To use mobile phone as a personal organizer (e.g. diary, address book). * To send or receive SMS to colleagues. * To call the colleagues or others. Besides, according to studies done by Wilen-Daugenti and McKee (2008), mobile phone technologies could be used for many applications for academics and students in both inside and outside the IHLs as example field below; * In-Class Surveys/Questions: Students may submit the answers to questions or surveys given by an academic through their mobile phones. * In-Class Media Sharing: During lectures, students are able to share interesting pictures or videos to their friends by emailing the files to the lecture halls projector. * Attendance Monitor: An academic may demand students to do a virtual roll call by transmitting a message from their mobile phones. * Course Materials: During lecture, an academic can directly send the course materials to students phones. * Remote Library Privileges: The private privileges of library are also granted to students who can use their mobile phones to search articles without need to use a proxy server Peer Locator: Based on networks accuracy, peers may be alerted when their contacts are close by the mobile phones. Free or Inexpensive VoIP Calling: Universities may offer cheaper international or local calls made within the campus for students who might really need to do so. * Position System: By sharing information contextual about the users actual place, mobile phone serves as a guide of virtual turn which assists the presence of students around the campus. * Notification of the Security / Emergency: Depending on the users location, a warning notice is sent immediately to every mobile phone via email and voicemail, by informing the best way to leave the campus or a particular building in case of emergency. Moreover, a study carried out by Duke University (2005) has outlined the major categories of mobile devices employment by the academics as follows: * The Instrument of Broadcasting of Lesson Contents- Mobile phone provides access to lessons content such as lectures, songs, historical speeches, conferences and meetings. * Tool of Classroom Recording mobile phone can be used as a tool to capture lectures, class discussions and feedbacks. * Tool of Supporting Study mobile phone allows academics for repetition of commercial and original audio content, such as music and audio books. * Transfer and File Storage mobile phone is able to transfer or backup all sorts of files. * Digital Portal: Both academics and students may no longer depend on physical materials. * Flexible Location mobile phone provides accessing of digital materials at anywhere and anytime which also contributes to a decreased dependency of library. * Digital Recording mobile phone allows convenient digital recording of interviews, field notes, small group discussions and oral assignments. * Convenient Tool mobile phone makes students engagement in class discussions, labs, field research, and independent plans much easier. Improved Support for Personality Knowledge Preferences and Needs In addition, Duke University (2008) has widened their outlines as follows: * Text Messaging: University may send text messages to students to notify them about examination dates for instance. * Flexible, Delivery of Mobile Content: students are able to access classes by using their mobile phones in distance learning. * Practice Exercises for Study and Review: students may be able to review the materials or quizzes created by the academics in anytime and anywhere. * Mobile Creation and Media Publication: students could use their mobile phones to capture images or videos and share them with the entire world by uploading them directly into the Internet. * Social Learning in Mobile Network: Facebook, Friendster, and other social networking tools allow users to share their life updates. Students get to interact with the members of a study group across the world. Gaming and Simulations: mobile phone is equipped with a feature to keep the academics and students in the games of simulation. * Use of Mobile Phone Technologies in the Classroom: students can select answers out of multiple choice questions created by the academics in the classroom. Subsequently, Abilene Christian University (2008) pointed out that mobile phone technologies possess many interesting benefits and have become a standard tool in IHLs. Some of the benefits are summarized as follows: * Digital Syllabus: dynamic changes of an individual, the activities of a student or status are allowed * Clicker: real-time dynamic class polling or free-form answers are allowed * Classroom Communicator: an improved flexibility in classes content and release is allowed * Document Reader: an e-Book * Internet Communicator: the aggregation of content on the sites of class is facilitated * Alert System: a receiving automated information of courses * Notes Taker: recording aggregation device for audio recordings is allowed * Location Reporter: a college grounds map with active location is reported when needed * Attendance Tool: dynamic comment about a users position anywhere anytime is given * Business Purposes: wireless communication for bill paying, ticket-buying and bookstore buying or any business related matters are enabled * Registrars Office Extension: easy course employment, communication with academic records, and dynamic scoring access are made easier Besides, benefits proposed by Cisco (2008) of a mobile system solution for colleges and universities are as follows: a) easy and convenient communication between academics and students, b) a study is developed beyond a class, by becoming more in collaboration, interactive and dynamic, c) both parties may seek new opportunities to connect resources and training, and d) academics can use context of a study based on interactive mode in managing the approach for students daily. Additionally, by using mobile phone technologies, Lefoe and Olney (2007) and Lefoe et al. (2008) reconsidered academics activities by in IHLs as follows: a) making interview with visiting speakers and return it back to the speaker for editing, d) audio comments, c) setting up mobile phone as database for others to use, d) recording interviews for re-evaluating of issues, e) collecting of thoughtful obviousness of the own teaching of academician to plan for future teaching, f) preparing and carrying the necessary articles needed, g) tutorial roles, h) easier sharing of information to students. Apart from that, Nie (2006) pointed out the potential use of mobile technologies in IHLs as follows: * Recorder: students may record their works, interviews, presentations and lectures. * Audio: students get to listen to genuine audio materials such as interview, audio book, music, speech and vocabulary. * Multimedia: students can access multimedia materials such as film, picture, snap, visual vocabulary etc. * Pre-class Resources: academics can create pre-class listening resources containing academic news, review of papers and journal articles, week activities, comments on assignment, etc. * Podcasting: allows students to share their own ideas with others. Moreover, Jocelyn et al. (2008) condemned that mobile phone technologies possess many interesting benefits in IHLs as follows: a) academics can access the internet in any time and at any where, b) PDAs enable flexible and timely access to e-learning resources which would lead to empowerment and effective learning, c) academics are enabled to access training resources any time, anywhere, d) academics may hold question and answer sessions via conferences, seminars, workshops, and e) both academics and students can get a real opportunity to make a link between field and college. Finally, BlackBerry (2006) concluded that there are potential benefits of providing mobile access to few applications used by the colleges different departments such as: a) academics may stay in touch and schedule appointments on-the-road, b) healthy data security and remote device management, c) very useful for emergency communications during university trips and d) remote network maintenance via web interface. 3.0 Mobile phone technology and knowledge sharing among academics in IHLs The literature evidenced that mobile phone technologies playing important role in Institutions of Higher Learning. Mobile technologies have opened the door to possibilities and avenues for knowledge sharing by providing a new platform via wireless communication or other ICT applications. Mobile technology may enhance academics functionalities in Institutions of Higher Learning by supporting Externalization and Combination activities. Subsequently, mobile phone technology and knowledge sharing among academics in Institutions of Higher Learning could be demonstrated as follows: * Academics can send and receive short text messages (SMS) from each other. The great advantage of using SMS is that it offers just-in-time information * Academics can send and receive instant messages (IMs) from each other. Mobile phone offers a way to send instant messages at a much lower cost than traditional SMS messaging. Messages are sent and received by the use of the Internet means that the cost of messages depends only on the quantity of data sent * Academics can send and receive e-mail from each other. Mobile phone offers a way to send to receive emails E-mails are sent and received by the use of the Internet means that the cost of mail depends only on the quantity of data sent * Academics can share administrative information with colleague. Mobile phone technologies enhance communications among academics on campus. Through mobile devices, academics can receive administrative information such as announcements and urgent messages from faculty or university * Academics can share and listen to Podcasts/audio books with colleague * Academics can share downloads and view streaming movies/video clips * Mobile phone technology can be used as peer locators, alerting academics when their contacts are nearby. * Mobile phone technology represents a classroom communicator that enables increased flexibility in course content and delivery among academics. Academics can create pre-class listening resources containing academic news, review of papers and journal articles, week activities, comments on assignment, etc * Academics can create memos which can be sent to colleague from mobile or saved onto his/her office computer * Academics have ability to read work related documents via PDF, HTML, and Microsoft Office files * Academics can record conferences, seminars, workshops, symposiums , interviews, lectures and sent it to his/her colleague through mobile device * Academics can share e-books, journals, or other academic materials * Academics can publish e-books and e-papers * University can set up mobile phone technologies as database for academics to download documents, applications and university roles * Academics can share with colleagues research findings * Academics can use the micro web browser for conducting quick research online * Academics can stay connected to social networking sites in mobile environment * Academics can use a mobile phone technology to send pictures or movies to each other. Mobile technology provides an opportunity for the new generation of people with better communication and activities without taking into account the place and time. This section has outlined the potential use of mobile phone technologies among academics in IHLs. The benefits of mobile phone technologies have been broadly discussed in general. Additionally, this section has evidenced most studies related to the benefits of mobile phones usage among students. Ultimately, this section shows that there are a few studies to examine the benefits of the mobile phone technologies among academics. Despite the advantages of mobile phone technology are clear, only a small number of Institutions of Higher Learning are equipped with integrated mobile phone technologies in their environments (Joan John, 2007; Kim et al., 2006; New Media Consortium, 2007). Figueira (2007) pointed that as of August 2007, however, there are no universities or degree awarding programs with a website designed for downloading on a mobile device (p.1). Sufficient technological means to access mobile devices are not widely used by the academics in Institutions of Higher Learning (Junior et al., 2008). In 2007, Peters conducted a research to 29 manufacturers of mobile devices, businesses and education suppliers and found that mobile phone technologies are in general used in some commercial organizations, but found limited adoption for Institutions of higher learning use. The purpose of this study is to understand academics general attitudes towards the use of mobile phone technology in IHLs, to explore the academics perceived usefulness to use mobile phone technology in IHLs, to determine academics perceived ease of use of mobile phone technology in IHLs, to understand academics behavioral intention to use mobile phone technology in IHLs, to identify how will mobile phone technologies change the work situation of academics, and to identify the possible services that, in their opinion, can improve mobile phone technology and knowledge sharing among academics in IHLs. 4.0 Research Methodology Both primary and secondary data were collected for this research. The primary data was collected by distributing questionnaires to the academics in University Utara Malaysia (UUM). UUM is a public Institution of Higher Learning located n the northern region of Malaysia. The sample of this study was the academics that come from Public Institution of Higher Learning (PIHL). Those academics are different in terms of their academic designation: Tutor, Lecturer, Senior Lecturer, Associate Professor, and Professor. A total of 290 questionnaires were distributed to all academics in UUM. The sampling was based on convenience and 153 participants successfully responded, giving a response rate of 52.7 %. The analysis of the survey results is presented based on a valid response of 153 academics of University Utara Malaysia. Data collection for this study was undertaken during the month of May 2009. In gathering information pertaining to the study; a questionnaire was used as the main instrument for data collection in this study. a questionnaire was prepared divided into seven sections as follows: Section 1 was not containing any personally identifiable questions. The demographic and background variables used in this study are gender, status, age, designation, availability of devices, period of time in using device, academics opinion about devices price, academics opinion about devices, usefulness and effectiveness role in the work, connecting to internet through device, and academics preferences for mobile phone functions. This section was adapted from Avenoglu (2005) and Trifonova (2006). Section 2: contains questions that targeted at attitudes towards the use of mobile phone technology in Institutions of Higher Leaning. The respondents were given a list of six items to assess their opinions and attitu des to use mobile phone technology. Questions were adapted from Kurnia et al. (2008) and Avenoglu (2005). Section 3: contains questions concerning the perceived usefulness to use mobile phone technology. Five items were used to measure the respondents perception toward the usefulness to use mobile phone technology. Questions were adapted from Kurnia et al. (2008) and Trifonova (2006). Section 4: contains questions that targeted at the perceived ease of use of mobile phone technology. Three items were used to measure the respondents perception that used mobile phone technology and found it easy to use. Questions were adapted from Kurnia et al. (2008) and Trifonova (2006). Section 5: contains questions about behavioral intention to use mobile phone technology in Institutions of Higher Leaning. Four items were used to measure behavioral intention of the respondents towards using of mobile phone technology. Questions were adapted form Kurnia et al. (2008). Section 6: contains questions that are related to how can mobile phone technology change the work situation of academics in Institutions of Higher Leaning. Ten items were used to measure the respondents opinions about how can mobile phone technology increases the flexibility and the ability to work on the move. Questions were adapted form Dye et al. (2003). Section 7: contains statements that targeted to mobile phone technology and knowledge sharing among academics in Institutions of Higher Learning. The respondents were given a list of eighteen statements to assess their opinions and potential use of mobile phone technology for knowledge sharing among academics in Institution of Higher Learning. All Questions in this section were chosen from the interview with academics. A five point Likert scale type was used in this study and the academics were required to state the extent to which statements in their point of view were important or not important for them as academics. The Scale was (SD= Strongly Disagree, D = Disagree, N = Neutral, A = Agree, and SA = Strongly Agree). In this study, the questionnaire was pilot tested with 30 UUM academic staff. The table 1 shows the Cronbachs alpha coefficient for section 2, section 3, section 4, section 5, section 6 and section 7. Table 1: Reliability Cronbachs Alpha () for Questionnaires Six Sections The Item Cronbachs Alpha () Reliability Results Section 2 0.891 Good Section 3 0.840 Good Section 4 0.820 Good Section 5 0.805 Good Section 6 0.894 Good Section 7 0.883 Good 5.0 Data Analysis and Results 5.1 Respondents Profile and Background Information Based on the demographics and other personal background information obtained, out of 153 respondents 61.0 % were females. The most of the respondents were married 74 %. 36.4 % of the respondents were 41 to 50 years old and 30.5 % were 31 to 40 years old. Most of the respondents were Lecturers position 39.0 %, following by Senior Lecturers 26.0 %, Tutor 18.2 %, and Associate Professor 16.9 %. Table 2 below gives respondents demographic profile: Table 2: Respondents Demographic Profile Respondents Profile Classification Frequency % Gender Male 60 39 Female 94 61 Status Married 114 74 Unmarried 40 26 Age 20-30 33 21.4 31-40 47 30.5 41-50 56 36.4 Above 50 18 11.7 Designation Tutor 28 18.2 Lecturer 60 39.0 Senior Lecturer 40 26.0 Associate Professor 26 16.9 5.1.2 Availability of Devices The study (refer to 1) shows that 98 % of academics had Cell phone, 36 % PDA, 10 % Smart phone, and 2 % Pocket PC. The study also shows that there were more that 40 % of academics had more that one device, for instance, 33 % of academics had Cell phone and PDA device, 9 % of academics had Cell phone and Smart phone, and 3 % of academics had Cell phone, Smart phone and PDA in one time. 5.1.3 Period in Using Device The study (refer to 2) shows that 50.6 % of academics had Cell phone for more than 8 years, 30 % had Cell phone between 6 to 8 years, 13.6 % had Cell phone between 3 to 5 years, and 0.6 % had Cell phone less than one year. As well, it shows that 2.6 % of academics had Smart phone between 3 to 5 years, 5.2 % had Smart phone between 1 to 2 years, 2.0 % of academics had Smart phone less than one year. In addition, it shows that 3.2. % of academics had PDA device between 6 to 8 years, 7.1 % of academics had PDA device between 3 to 5 years, 19.4 % had PDA device between 1 to 2 years, and 6.5 % of academics had PDA device less than one year. Finally, only three participants 2.0 % had Pocket PC between 1 to 2 years. 5.1.4 Opinion about the Price In view of academics opinion about prices of devices, the general opinion was that Cell phones had reasonable price, were 77.8 % preferred that Cell phone had normal price and 22.8 % refer that Cell phone had low price. In addition, Smart phone, PDAs, and Pocket PC were considered costly price (for Smart phone 58.44 %, for PDAs 61.04 %, and for Pocket PC 64.94 %). Furthermore, a few academics had no opinion on the prices for smart phones, PDAs, and Pocket PC (for Smart phones 4 %, PDAs 5.19 %, and Pocket PC 2.60 %). 3 and shows the academics opinion about devices prices. 5.1.5 The Usefulness and Effectiveness Role of Mobile Phone Technologies in the Work The study (refer to 4) shows that the majority of respondents 97.4 % considered that mobile devices can play a useful and effective role in their daily work. While 0.6 % considered that mobile devices cannot play a useful and effective role in their daily work, and only 1.9 % were not sure about the usefulness and effectiveness of mobile device role in their work. These results indicate that academics had positive opinions regarding using mobile phone technologies in their work, and these results can support researchers opinion about the importance and usefulness of this study in IHLs environment, and to stand up to the factors that could help passing mobile phone technologies in IHLs. 5.1.6 Connecting to Internet though Mobile Phone Technologies 5 shows that the majority of respondents 75.3 % were connecting to internet though mobile phone technologies, and only 24.7 % were not connecting to internet through mobile phone technologies. As evidenced by various studies mentioned above, mobile phone technologies give opportunity to academics to connect to internet and to the world any time anywhere. In addition, mobile phone technologies could able to increase the range of personalized and customized communication, entertainment, relationship management and service function 5.1.7 Academics Preferences of Mobile Phone Functions The academics in this section were given a list of fifteen mobile phone functions and they had to choose one or more of these functions. The results are shown in table 3. Today mobile phone technologies provide a wide range of services. Among these services, a researcher can demonstrate; browsing the Web, MMS, games, alarm/reminder, calling, listening to music, voice recorder, chatting, calendar, camera, phone book, SMS, sending e-mail, dictionary, audio file storage. According to the findings, 100 % of respondents preferred that the function of calling was the most important function, where 98 % preferred that the second important function was SMS. In addition, the findings show that the respondents who choose calendar were 79 %, camera 77 %, alarm/reminder 75 %, phone book 70 %, listening to music 61 %, browsing the Web 53 %, games and sending e-mail 42 %, MMS 41 %, voice recorder 38%, dictionary and audio file storage 29%, and chatting 21 %. Table 3: Academics Preference of Mobile Phone Functions No. Mobile Phone Functions % 1 Calling 100% 2 SMS 98% 3 Calendar 79% 4 Camera 77% 5 Alarm/reminder 75% 6 Phone book 70% 7 Listening to music 61% 8 Browsing the Web 53% 9 Games 42% 10 Sending e-mail 42% 11 MMS 41% 12 Voice recorder 38% 13 Dictionary 29% 14 Audio file storage 29% 15 Chatting 21% 5.2 Attitudes towards the Use of Mobile Phone Technology in IHLs The respondents were given a list of six items to assess their opinions and attitudes toward using mobile phone technology. A big majority of the respondents 92.9 % were strongly agree or agree that using mobile phone technology is/might be an excellent idea (see table 4). When they asked to indicate their opinion on the statement that using mobile phone technology is/might be a pleasant experience, 81.2 % of the respondents were strongly agree or agree to this stance. Although a majority of the respondents were 87.6 % strongly agree or agree that using mobile phone technology is/might be beneficial to me. When the respondents were asked to indicate the degree that using mobile phone technology increases knowledge in their field, 50.7 % of the respondents were strongly agree or agree to this stance, while 33.1 % of the respondents were neutral to this stance, and 16.2 % were disagree with this viewpoint. This fact does not provide any clear majority opinion on this attitude. In addit ion, when the respondents were asked to indicate the degree that using mobile phone technology increases their motivation towards work, 65.0 % of the respondents were strongly agree or agree to this attitude, while 24.7 % of the respondents were neutral to this attitude, and 10.4 % were strongly disagree disagree with this point of view. Finally, a big majority of the respondents were 91.6 % strongly agree or agree that using mobile phone technology increases my communication with colleagues, while 8.4 % of the respondents were neutral to this attitude. Overall, the findings pointed out that there is a highly positive attitude towards the use of mobile phone technology in Institutions of Higher leaning (average response of 4.165 for the six items in this section). Table 4: Academics Attitudes towards the Use of Mobile Phone Technology Attitudes Number of responses (%) SD D N A SA Using Mobile Phone Technology is/might be an excellent idea. 0 (0.0 %) 2 (1.3) 9 (5.8) 66 (42.9) 77 (50) Using Mobile Phone Technology is/might be a pleasant experience. 0 (0.0 %) 0 (0.0 %) 29 (18.8) 64 (41.6) 61 (39.6) Using Mobile Phone Technology is/might be beneficial to me. 0 (0.0 %) 2 (1.3) 17 (11.0) 57 (37.0) 78 (50.6) Using mobile phone technology increases my knowledge in my field 0 (0.0 %) 25 (16.2) 51 (33.1) 34 (22.1) 44 (28.6) Using mobile phone technology increases my motivation towards work. 2 (1.3) 14 (9.1) 38 (24.7) 48 (31.2) 52 (33.8) Using mobile phone technology increases my communication with colleagues. 0 (0.0 %) 0 (0.0 %) 13 (8.4) 52 (33.8) 89 (57.8) 5.3 Perceived Usefulness to Use Mobile Phone Technology in Institutions of Higher Leaning The respondents were given a list of five items to assess their opinions about the perceived usefulness to use mobile phone technology in Institutions of Higher Leaning. Based on (Table 5) a majority of the respondents were 82.1 % strongly agree or agree that using mobile phone technology can improve their efficiency in their daily work. When they asked to point out their opinion on the statement that using mobile phone technology can save me a lot of time in general, 86.7 % of the respondents were strongly agree or agree to this stance. On average, a majority of the respondents were 82.5 % strongly agree or agree that using mobile phone technology can enhance their effectiveness in carrying out their daily work. When the respondents were asked to point to the level that using mobile phone technology enables their to do their work conveniently, 71.5 % of the respondents were strongly agree or agree to this stance, while 26.0 % of the respondents were neutral with this viewpoint. In a ddition, when the respondents were asked to indicate the degree of using mobile phone technology can increase their productivity, 54.6 % of the respondents were strongly agree or agree to this attitude, while 31.8 % of the respondents were neutral to this attitude, and 13.6 % strongly disagree disagree with this point of view. This fact does not provide any clear majority opinion on this perceived usefulness. Generally, the findings pointed out that there is a highly positive perceived usefulness to use mobile phone technology in Institutions of Higher leaning with the average response of 4.016 for the five items in this section. Table 5: Academics Perceived Usefulness to Use Mobile Phone Technology (Percent. / Freq.) Perceived Usefulness Number of responses (%) SD D N A SA Using Mobile Phone Technology can improve my efficiency in my daily work. 1 (0.6) 1 (0.6) 24 (14.6) 71 (46.1) 57 (37.0) Using Mobile Phone Technology can save me a lot of time in general. 1 (0.6) 6 (3.9) 15 (9.7) 67 (44.5) 65 (42.2) Using Mobile Phone Technology can enhance my effectiveness in carrying out my daily work. 1 (0.6) 9 (5.8) 17 (11.0) 76 (49.4) 51 (33.1) Using Mobile Phone Technology enables me to do my work conveniently. 1 (0.6) 3 (1.9) 40 (26.0) 52 (33.8) 58 (37.7) Using Mobile Phone Technology can increase my productivity. 9 (5.8) 12 (7.8) 49 (31.8) 56 (36.4) 28 (18.2) 5.4 Perceived Ease of Use Mobile Phone Technology in Institutions of Higher Leaning The respondents were given a list of three items to review their opinions about the perceived ease of using mobile phone technology in Institutions of Higher Leaning. Based on (Table 6), a big majority of the respondents were 93.5 % strongly agree or agree that mobile phone technology is/might be easy to use. When they asked to address their opinion on the statement that it is/might be easy to become skillful at using mobile phone technology, 87.7 % of the respondents were strongly agree or agree to this stance. Furthermore, a majority of the respondents were 83.2 % strongly agree or agree that mobile phone technology is /might be user friendly. Overall, the findings pointed out that there is a highly positive perceived ease of using mobile phone technology in Institutions of Higher Leaning with the average response of 4.016 for the three items in this section. 5 shows the perceived ease of using mobile phone technology in Institutions of Higher Leaning. Table 6: Academics Perceived Ease of Using Mobile Phone Technology (Percent. / Freq.) Perceived Ease of Use Number of responses (%) SD D N A SA Mobile Phone Technology is/might be easy to use. 0 (0.0) 2 (1.3) 8 (5.2) 80 (51.9) 64 (41.6) It is/might be easy to become skillful at using Mobile Phone Technology 0 (0.0) 4 (2.6) 15 (9.7) 77 (50.0) 58 (37.7) Mobile Phone Technology is /might be user friendly 0 (0.0) 0 (0.0) 26 (16.9) 68 (44.2) 60 (39.0) 5.5 Behavioral Intention to Use Mobile Phone Technology in Institutions of Higher The respondents were given a list of four items to review their opinions about their behavioral intention to use mobile phone technology in Institutions of Higher Leaning. The findings were presented in Table 7 show that a majority of the respondents were 81.2 % strongly agree or agree that they intend to use mobile internet when the service becomes widely available, while 16.9 % of the respondents were neutral to this statement. When they asked to address their view on the statement that whenever possible, I intend to use mobile Internet, 68.2 % of the respondents were strongly agree or agree to this stance, while 21.4 % of the respondents were neutral to this statement and 10.4 % of the respondents were disagree to this statement. Furthermore, when they asked to show their view on the statement that I intend to use mobile Internet regardless of the price, 39 % of the respondents were strongly agree or agree to this stance, while 29.2 % of the respondents were neutral to this statement and 31.8 % of the respondents were strongly disagree or disagree to this statement. This fact does not provide any clear majority opinion in this section. Finally, 68.2 % of the respondents were strongly agree or agree to the statement that I intend to use mobile Internet if it is inexpensive, while 24 % of the respondents were neutral to this statement and 7.8 % of the respondents were disagree to this statement. Overall, the findings pointed out that there is a positive behavioral intention to use mobile phone technology in Institutions of Higher Leaning with the average response of 3.867 for the four items in this section. Table 7: Academics Behavioral Intention to Use Mobile Phone Technology (Percent. / Freq.) Behavioral intention Number of responses (%) SD D N A SA I intend to use mobile Internet when the service becomes widely available. 0 (0.0) 3 (1.9) 26 (16.9) 38 (24.7) 87 (56.5) Whenever possible, I intend to use mobile Internet 0 (0.0) 16 (10.4) 33 (21.4) 46 (29.9) 59 (38.3) I intend to use mobile Internet regardless of the price. 17 (11.0) 32 (20.8) 45 (29.2) 36 (23.4) 24 (15.6) I intend to use mobile Internet if it is inexpensive 0 (0.0) 12 (7.8) 37 (24.0) 40 (26.0) 65 (42.2) 5.6 How will Mobile Phone Technology Change the Work Situation of Academics in Institutions of Higher Leaning? Academics in this section were given a list of ten statements to indicate their opinions in how mobile phone technology can change the work situation of academics in Institutions of Higher Leaning. The findings were shown in table 8 and 5.23 were scored form the highest intensity to the lowest intensity. According to the findings, 90.2 % of respondents preferred that traveling teachers may work on the move was the most important statement, where 84.4 % preferred that the second important statement was more time to work. In addition, the findings show that the respondents gave for academics need to learn how to make use of the mobile devices 78.6%, increased flexibility work 74.5 %, classrooms can be extended to the real world 74 %, more rapid answers to the students questions will be demanded 73.4 %, place will become both more and less important 73.8 %, no clear separation of work and value time 67.5 %, academics will not be able to escape the students 61.7 %, focus on one-to-one training 59.1 %. Table 8: Academics Opinions in how Mobile Phone Technology can Change the Work Situation in IHLs by Scoring No. Statements % 1 Traveling teachers may work on the move 90.2 % 2 More time to work 84.4 % 3 Academics need to learn how to make use of the mobile devices 78.6 % 4 Increased flexibility work 74.5 % 5 Classrooms can be extended to the real world 74 % 6 More rapid answers to the students questions will be demanded 73.4 % 7 Place will become both more and less important 72.8 % 8 No clear separation of work and value time 67.5 % 9 Academics will not be able to escape the students 61.7 % 10 Focus on one-to-one training 59.1 % 5.7 Mobile Phone Technology and Knowledge Sharing among Academics in Institutions of Higher Learning The respondents were given a list of eighteen statements to assess their opinions and the potential use of mobile phone technology for knowledge sharing among academics in Institution of Higher Learning. The findings were presented in table 9 shows that a big majority of the respondents were 98.7 % strongly agree or agree that statement academics can send and receive short text messages (SMS) from each other was the most important feature for their work. The respondents used the SMS function of their mobile devices more often. The great advantage of using SMS is that it offers just-in-time information. In addition, the findings show that a big majority of the respondents were 92.9 % strongly agree or agree that the second important feature was academics can send and receive instant messages (IMs) from each other. Mobile phone offers a way to send instant messages at a much lower cost than traditional SMS messaging. Messages are sent and received by the use of the Internet means that the cost of messages depends only on the quantity of data sent. Furthermore, also a big majority of the respondents were 92.2 % strongly agree or agree that the third feature ranked was Academics can share administrative information with colleague. Mobile phone technologies enhance communications among academics on campus. Through mobile devices, academics can receive administrative information such as announcements and urgent messages from faculty or university. In addition, 87.1 % of the respondents were strongly agree or agree that the forth feature ranked was Academics can stay connected to social networking sites in mobile environment. In addition, the findings show that the respondents gave for Academics can stay connected to social networking sites in mobile environment 87.1%, Academics can create memos which can be sent to colleague from mobile or saved onto his/her office computer 86.4 %, Mobile phone technology can be used as peer locators, alerting academics when their co ntacts are nearby 86.3 %.. Table 9 Academics Opinions in how Mobile Phone Technology can Change the Work Situation in IHLs by Scoring Number of responses (%) SD D N A SA Academics can send and receive short text messages (SMS) from each other 0 (0.0) 2 (1.3) 0 (0.0) 44 (28.6) 108 (70.1) Academics can send and receive instant messages (IMs) from each other 0 (0.0) 2 (1.3) 9 (5.8) 52 (33.8) 91 (59.1) Academics can share administrative information with colleague 0 (0.0) 0 (0.0) 12 (7.8) 73 (47.4) 69 (44.8) Academics can stay connected to social networking sites in mobile environment 2 (1.3) 1 (0.6) 17 (11.0) 58 (37.7) 76 (49.4) Academics can create memos which can be sent to colleague from mobile or saved onto his/her office computer 2 (1.3) 3 (1.9) 16 (10.4) 65 (42.2) 68 (44.2) Mobile phone technology can be used as peer locators, alerting academics when their contacts are nearby 7 (4.5) 0 (0.0) 14 (9.1) 51 (33.1) 82 (53.2) Academics can send and receive e-mail from each other 0 (0.0) 7 (4.5) 16 (10.4) 60 (39.0) 71 (46.1) Academics can share and listen to Podcasts/audio books with colleague 0 (0.0) 4 (2.6) 21 (13.6) 78 (50.6) 51 (33.1) Academics can use a mobile phone technology to send pictures or movies to each other 0 (0.0) 8 (5.2) 19 (12.3) 65 (42.2) 62 (40.3) Academics can record conferences, seminars, workshops, symposiums , interviews, lectures and sent it to his/her colleague through mobile device 0 (0.0) 4 (2.6) 24 (15.6) 69 (44.8) 57 (37.0) Mobile phone technology represents a classroom communicator that enables increased flexibility in course content and delivery among academics 2 (1.3) 9 (5.8) 22 (14.3) 68 (44.2) 53 (34.4) Academics can publish e-books and e-papers 1 (0.6) 2 (1.3) 34 (22.1) 58 (37.7) 59 (38.3) Academics have ability to read work related documents via PDF, HTML, and Microsoft Office files 0 (0.0) 10 (6.5) 30 (19.5) 47 (30.5) 67 (43.5) Academics can share e-books, journals, or other academic materials 2 (1.3) 4 (2.6) 35 (22.7) 50 (32.5) 63 (40.9) Academics can share downloads and view streaming movies/video clips 0 (0.0) 14 (9.1) 28 (18.2) 36 (23.4) 76 (49.4) Academics can share with colleagues research findings 0 (0.0) 8 (5.2) 34 (22.1) 44 (28.6) 68 (44.2) Academics can use the micro web browser for conducting quick research online 0 (0.0) 2 (1.3) 41 (26.6) 42 (27.3) 69 (44.8) University can set up mobile phone technologies as database for academics to download documents, applications and university roles 1 (0.6) 7 (4.5) 44 (28.6) 37 (24.0) 65 (42.2) 6.0 Conclusion The quick adoption of new technologies of mobile phone gives both academics and students anywhere and a diversity of options for anytime how they accept useful information. The Institutions of Higher Learning are in the first rank to know and to make easier the integration of technologies of next generation. Both academics and students can take more responsibility for their own work. The mobile phone technology has made knowledge and easily accessible to those who request it. New technologies also help to make easier approach to knowledge, to create opportunities for the collaboration and to eliminate lines among academics on and off the campus. Mobile phone technologies give an opportunity to provide a new generation of people with means of communication with activities without taking into account the place. This study outlines the potential use of mobile phone technology for knowledge sharing among academics in Institution of Higher Learning. The usefulness of mobile phone technolo gies has been demonstrated in recent times in most of the patterns of life for people on a personal level or generally. The study founded out that there are at least four factors could lead to the adoption of mobile phone technology among academics in an Institution of Higher Learning. These factors are; attitudes towards the use of mobile phone technology, perceived usefulness to use mobile phone technology, perceived ease of use of mobile phone technology, and behavioral intention to use mobile phone technology. The issues moved up here require additional research. Since the survey was limited to one IHL, the outcomes might not be appropriate to all the IHLs. Thus, future research should consider larger sample size from different IHLs. In addition, more studies need to be carried out using other methodology such as interviews. 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