Effective and prefessioanl communication in nursing Essay

Today, nurses and midwives in their professional practice need to communicate in many different ways, maintain an open minded attitude that will allow for superior preparation in nursing assessments and in practice and provide person centred care. They are also required to demonstrate their capacity to think critically about issues, organise ideas logically, take action and reflect on that action to implement continuous improvement in future situations. Emotional intelligence is the foundation for reflective practice; therefore the aim of this paper is to outline the importance of having a clear and concise understanding of the skills mentioned and continuously expanding knowledge throughout studies and ensures this continues into and throughout a career in the health care domain. Verbal communication is the transmitted information from one to another, or to many, in the form of spoken words or written text (Hillege & Groome, 2007). However, there are many other options to transmit information if verbal communication does not benefit the situation. Non-verbal forms such as touch, facial expressions, posture, gait, gestures, sound and a person’s subjective data are also forms of communications which are vital to the medical scope. I feel strongly towards the importance of recognizing all areas of communication and believe non-verbal communication is helpful and can bare more truth despite what the verbal language indicates. Nurse-patient interaction is the pulse of nursing (American Society of Registered Nurses, 2007). Verbal communication is used extensively when providing care, however, when verbal transitions not clear due to language barriers, other avenues of gaining information must be sourced. Awareness of this in nursing practice, together with skilled perception to decipher and piece together a patient’s source of distress by acknowledging what messages the body is convening and what is being said and with that to treat the patient effectively. Lewis & Foley (2010) stated that there are many aspects to conducting a health assessment. Two of these are preparation and collecting data. I feel that the involvement in understanding and performing these assessments correctly is more complicated than I initially thought. The patient’s biographical data, subjective data  and the equipment needed for the nurse to collect such information must all be considered in preparation for the assessment to be precise, paramount and to maintain the person centeredness towards the patient’s own self values. Nurses and midwives need to show respect to the patient’s holistic health (Blackman, 2010). By applying this concept to my nursing practice, it will help me to develop an accurate health assessment. Person-Centered care sees that the patient plays an equal part in planning, developing and assessing their care plan to make sure it is concise with their needs (Dempsey, 2009). It involves considering the patients holistic health and social determinates and putting patients and their families at the center of all decisions. I feel that it is imperative that the patient feels secure and respected by the health care professionals that have instilled trust through their own emotional intelligence. Modern day demands of nursing depend on the skills of emotional intelligence which then achieves person centred care (American society of Registered Nursing, 2007). By applying these concepts in my daily nursing practice I am working towards gaining the most positive foundation for an individuals’ care to take place with positive outcomes. Stance and expression show sincerity towards a patient. Appearance, facial expressions, attitude, ability to listen and remain silent allowing the patient to talk openly indicate professionalism and show a nurses’ demeanor to the patient (Lewis & Foley, 2010). I feel that these are important skills to develop as a health care professional. It is critical as a nurse that we are aware of our non-verbal language and that it portrays a message that complements the verbal communication. Non-verbal interactions play a vital role in nurse-patient perceptions (Blackman, 2011). Displaying neutral expression is not incorrect, rather it can allow for appropriate expression inside the zone of helpfulness. When interacting with patients in the clinical scene I now know the importance of maintaining professional demeanor towards them. Lewis and Foley (2010) stated that through stages of life, consideration and opinion of one’s self is developed through a combination of others’ attitudes and the internalised understanding of ideal self. These factors can have positive or negative effects on the development and stability of self-concept. I feel  that it is important to recognise a persons’ sensitivity to influence on both the care giver and receivers end. Influences are ever changing depending on a person’s faith, socio-economical positioning, interpersonal relationships and emotional intelligence. Emotional intelligence has grown in popularity among nurses over the last two decades, generating interest both at a social and professional level (American Society of Registered Nurses, 2007). I, as a nurse, must have emotional intelligence in order to reflect it back on patients, thus stimulating their own positive self-concept and avoiding emotional down scale which could have otherwise caused them to suffer inadequate care. As nurses and midwives we must demonstrate confidence in understanding that the specific data that needs to be collected underpins the decisions and actions in creating a health care plan for on a patient (Dempsey & Wilson, 2009). It is critical to remain free from prejudice in the clinical scene and consistently motivate an individual’s needs and put ethical principles into action. I now feel more aware that my prejudicial judgments can have acute impacts on an individual’s self-concept. Leiniger (1988) stated that nurses must acquire knowledge of the ‘others’ culture in order to provide care that is culturally congruent for the client. Freedom of prejudice enables nurses to seek new information to broaden understanding thus obtaining correct insight to tailor individual action planning that suits the needs of the patient. A nurse’s primary responsibility is conducting a health assessment and collecting patient data (Lewis and Foley, 2010). During data collection, elements of critical thinking establish the determinants for the action to follow. I feel nervous that, my initial assessment on a patient will determine the proceedings of the action plan toward the patients’ treatment and it is expected that nurses demonstrate the knowledge and ability to grow and gain further knowledge through clinical practice and reflection. American Society of Registered Nursing (2007) stated that nurses should develop skills to assess patient’s responses to the illness. Furthermore, every patient differs and has different attitudes on various issues of life and has various levels of understanding and coping capabilities. Knowing the essential elements of critical thinking that underpin nursing assessments and applying them in clinical judgments enables me as a student nurse to  have the confidence to conduct assessments and collect data correctly. Lewis and Foley (2010) pointed out that professional registered nurses or midwives are expected to be able to analyse his or her own practice through reflection. Self-awareness is the foundation of reflective practice thus identifying nurses own needs and seeking supportive networks encourages professional growth and heightened self-awareness. I feel that reflective practice is paramount for any nurse and midwife of any level of experience so that patient’s needs are always met with modern effective treatment and a high quality of care. Today, emotional intelligence is probed as an important characteristic of building successful nursing leadership and enhancing performance (American Society of Nursing 2007) and is now recognised as a requirement for formal authority to practice under the registration, therefore, vitalizing nursing conduct and reducing job related stress. Understanding the importance of reflectiveness, I can implement this practice into my studies and continue practicing into my nursing career. Nurses and other health care professionals must recognise the importance of understanding the fundamentals discussed above and apply them in the health care industry, implementing them precisely to ensure that the focus is on the patient’s holistic health. This ensures that the patient feels informed, empowered by superior communication that places them at the control centre of the decision making of their treatment and ensures that the most positive foundation for an individuals’ care is established, resulting in a positive outcome. Reflecting on that outcome, despite it being positive or negative, constructing continuous improvement and implementing those improvements in future similar scenarios further down ones career line, assists a nurse to ensure effective communication takes place at all times. References American society of registered nurses, (2007). Emotional intelligence in the nursing profession. Journal of nursing. Retrieved from http://asrn.org/journalnursing/202-emotional-intellegence-in-the-nursing-profession.html Blackman, R. (2010). Understanding culture in practice: Reflections on an Australian Indigenous nurse. Contemporary Nurse: A journal  for the Australian Nursing Profession, 37, (1), 31-34. Dempsey, J. (2009) Introduction to nursing, midwifery and person- centred care: Definitions of nursing and midwifery. In J. Dempsey, J. French, S. Hillege & V. Wilson (Eds.), Fundamentals of nursing and midwifery: A person-centred approach to care (p. 6). Sydney, Australia: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. Dempsey, J & Wilson, V. (2009) Thoughtful practice: Self-awareness and refection. In J. Dempsey, J. French, S. Hillege & V. Wilson (Eds.), Fundamentals of nursing and midwifery: A person-centred approach to care (p. 244-246). Sydney, Australia: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. Dempsey, J & Wilson, V. (2009) Thoughtful practice: Clinical reasoning, clinical judgment, Actions and the processes of care. In J. Dempsey, J. French, S. Hillege & V. Wilson (Eds.), Fundamentals of nursing and midwifery: A person-centred approach to care (p. 260-262). Sydney, Australia: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. Hearne, C. (2009). Self-concept. In J. Dempsey, J. French, S. Hillege, & V. Wilson (Eds.), Fundamentals of nursing and midwifery: A person- centred approach to care (p. 440-442). Sydney, Australia: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. Hillege, S & Groome, M. (2009). Communication. In J. Dempsey, J. French, S. Hillege & V. Wilson (Eds.), Fundamentals of nursing and midwifery: A person-centred approach to care (p. 119-120). Sydney, Australia: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. Lewis, P., & Foley, D. (Eds), (2011). Collecting subjective data. In P. Lewis & D. Foley, Weber & Kelly’s: health assessment in nursing (1st Australian and New Zealand edition) (p. 10-11). Sydney, Australia: Lippincott Williams and Wilkins. Lewis, P., & Foley, D. (Eds), (2011). The nurses role in health care assessment: Collecting and analyising data. In P. Lewis & D. Foley, Weber & Kelly’s: health assessment in nursing (1st Australian and New Zealand edition) (p. 6). Sydney, Australia: Lippincott Williams and Wilkins. Lewis, P., & Foley, D. (Eds), (2011). Analysing data using critical thinking skills. In P. Lewis & D. Foley, Weber & Kelly’s: health assessment in nursing (1st Australian and New Zealand edition) (p. 51-52). Sydney, Australia: Lippincott Williams and Wilkins.

A burglary

As I found him suspicious,l continued to monitor his movements. Seeing the man crouching close to the bushes and casting furtive glances every few seconds as he made his way to the black door. ‘ continued to watch him until he climbed over the fence and realized that he was a burglary. Racking my brains as fast as I could and I decided to call the police and my neighbor,whose name was Peter. After calling them,l told them what I witnessed in a muffled frenzy. After a short while,the police were arrived at Pewter's house. The sirens of the police car reverberated through the air. Ran down towards them and told them the burglary was inside. Just then,he was fleeing from the house. L shouted,†let is him! â€Å"the policemen hurriedly ran to catch him. The burglary ran helter-shelter as he headed to the nearest exit This proved to be a costly mistake for him as the police officers gave chase like a group of Olympic athletes. Len no time,they had caught up with him and immedi ately cornered him to one side. After seeing he was caught,I ran into the house to check. When I entered,my eyes dinned and my jaw dropped at the sight of the house.As Pewter's belongings were strewn away,the drawer and cupboard were opened and cleared of all the valuables. The robber had ransacked and rummaged his home. After he was back,l helped him to clean up all the messy and he appreciated to me for my help. Len addition,he told the security to improve the security system and he wanted to be sure that such an unfortunate accident would never happen again. In the end,when came back home and told my parents about how had handled the situation,they were full of praise for me.

Fiduciary, regulatory, and contractual Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Fiduciary, regulatory, and contractual - Essay Example For example, an individual entrusting their money to a bank to keep it safely or use it for investment purposes, in this case the bank acts as a fiduciary to the individual. In this type of relationship, an individual, in a vulnerable position, vest his or her confidence justifiably, in good faith and trust in the other person’s advice, assistance or some protection. In this relationship, good conscience needs the action of a fiduciary at any given time for the interest and benefit of the individual who trusts. To indicate that an individual is fiduciary only opens a new chapter and direction for further investigation and inquiry. To whom is the individual fiduciary? What are the obligations that the individual owe as a fiduciary? The norm of the law aims at shaping a conduct that is in existence due to imperfection. It may be used to proscribe conduct or in the calibration of incentives or even in changing individual preferences. Regulation can also be used in rule enforcement and monitoring as established by the legislation either primary or delegated (Griffiths-Baker 67). Regulations focus at creating constraints, limitation or creating a duty. It takes several different forms including self-regulation as exercised by several industries and companies through association of trades, contractual obligations that bind many parties together among others. State mandated regulation attempts outcome production that might not occur, prevent or even produce outcomes in several places to what might probably occur or prevent outcomes in several areas in different timescales that would occur. In this way, regulation is viewed as an artifact of the implementation of statements of policies. Examples of regulations include control of market entries, wages, prices, effects of pollution, approval of developments, employment of some people in various companies, standard of production for some goods.

Sap Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 2

Sap - Essay Example In allocating costs, SAP utilizes transaction based and periodic allocations. Periodic allocations are generally known as periodic reposting methods. Periodic reposting enables the user to adjust postings transferred to cost centers, business processes or internal orders. Transaction postings made under periodic reposting yield similar results to those posted under transaction based reposting (Periodic Allocations). Under periodic allocation, reposting has an effect felt only once on actual costs incurred at the end of the period. Postings are usually made on costs related to controlling, which include telephone, postal charges, and insurance costs that are all accounted for in financial accounting. These costs incurred are then posted to an allocation cost center or a specific business process. Periodic reposting widely uses distribution and assessment allocation, and indirect activity allocation method. Under distribution and assessment methods, primary and secondary costs are allocated from cost center accounting and activity based costing. Allocations can be based on costs or quantities where the user is dealing with indirect activity allocations. The costs or quantities are collected on a cost center during the accounting period and allocated to receivers according to keys defined by the user. These are the same methods used in indirect allocation method except that exchange of activities is not the basis of allocating costs or quantities. In indirect allocation, distribution and assessment methods utilize user defined keys such as amounts, percentages, statistical key figures or assignment basis provided for by the amount posted. Distribution and assessment methods define keys as well as the sender and receiver relationships only once; therefore being easy to use. Methods are also advantageous over direct allocation methods in that they can be used for cost centers (Periodic

International trade Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

International trade - Assignment Example The relatively smaller enterprises are concentrated in Baden-Wurttemberg as well as in Bavaria. The production of mechanical machineries has achieved a pivotal importance in the economy of Germany. In the second half 1990s the sector of mechanical machineries experienced slow growth. However accelerated globalization has contributed much to the success of mechanical machineries production. The employment record is best for Germany among the EU member states. The economic performance also improved significantly. The wage modernization process provided competitive advantage to the industries. The advantage of wage modernization and still productivity of labor coupled to improve the economic performance. The mechanical machineries sector is a well diversified sector. The subsector of machine tools also gained importance. Over the past decade specialization is on the process. The subsectors are closely linked with the automobile industry and gained the attention of the European Union. Th e â€Å"engines and turbine† manufacturing is one such industry that has achieved much importance. The share of contribution of this sector is volatile and it is difficult to get any clear trend from the analysis of the sector. The country offers excellent research conditions for the development of technical machineries. But one challenge that the German companies have to deal with is that of high wages as well as some structural change (Vieweg, 2012). International Trade between Germany and Canada The exchange of capital goods as well as services across the international borders is regarded as International Trade. A significant portion of Gross Domestic Product is contributed by trade. In recent centuries the significance of international trade has gained much importance in economic, social as well as political terms (UN/DESA World Economic Vulnerability Monitor, 2012). The determinants or the evolution of the patterns of trade is not incorporated in the formal models of mac roeconomic dynamics. The models generally take into account the patterns of international trade and the structure of the markets along with the factors of production. Germany is a significant partner in trade for Canada. The bilateral merchandise trade of Canada with Germany accounted to more than 14 billion dollars in 2009. In the same year Germany was the second largest destination for export for Canada among the European Union. The decade of 1998 to 2008 the amount of imports from Germany doubled. The exports of Canada to Germany comprised mostly of manufactured goods. The manufactured goods amounted to 60% of the total exports for the year 2009. The exports of Aircraft witnessed the upward rising curve since 2004 at an average of 55%. The exports of cars and car accessories combined to make up 23% of Canadian imports from Germany in 2009. The trade of resource based goods between the countries is more or less evenly balanced. Germany offers services to Canada. In the year 2007, commercial services formed the major part of exports of services. The figure below shows the data on trade of merchandises. (Holden, 2010). The following figure shows data on major exports to Germany from Canada. (Holden, 2010). The following figure shows trade data category-wise. (Holden, 2010). Socio economic indicators of Germany The socio economic development of a country is measured using the rates of GDP, levels of employment as well as with rates of literacy. The invention f new technologies and

Is the current law on murder still acceptable Assignment

Is the current law on murder still acceptable - Assignment Example It is more than any rule that is practiced or any law but it’s a complete process of legal frame work. England inherited the law of Wales, therefore when talking about the English Legal System we refer to Wales’s as well. The English Legal system is based on the common law where the judges can carry on the law themselves and the decisions from the previous cases and be made as a part of law. (Gillespie, 2007) The legal system of England and Wales is based on the common law legal system used I Republic of England and in most common wealth countries. United Kingdom is the member of the European Union, England and Wales are constituent countries of the UK. The essence of common law is that it is the judges sitting in courts applying the Law of England. 1.1 CRIMINAL LIABILITY OF A DEFENDENT ACCUSED OF MURDER As explained by Catherine Elliot and Frances Quin in the first chapter (Elliot & Quin, 2012) there are various elements necessary to prove the criminal liability of a m urder. A criminal offence is only possible when both â€Å"Actus reus† and â€Å"Mens rea† are conducted at a time. ... As stated in the English law that a person is innocent until proven guilty. ACTUS REAUS + MENS REA = CRIMINAL OFFENCE (the above diagram shows the elements of criminal offence) In the case of Woolmington v DPP (1935) the defendant had taken a gun to threat his wife (the victim of the case), that he would commit suicide if she didn’t return to him, accidently the gun went off and he was convicted of murder. Hence, it is concluded from this case that although he did it by accident but the murderer had done a criminal offence, with a guilty mind. (Roe D, 2005) 1.2 ACTUS REUS To begin with the study of any case, firstly it is necessary to prove the criminal offence. As talked about it earlier a criminal offence is a compound of both intention and action to commit the crime. Actus reus is the first element of a criminal offence. Briefly and in simple words it means intent, the intention to commit offence. The term is a Latin word meaning ‘the guilty act’. The literal m eaning explains that it is important that a physical action or movement takes place. In the case of R  v Cunningham  (1982), the victim was attacked by the defendant wrongly assuming that victim has sexual relation with his fiance. The defendant repeatedly hit the victim in his head, causing fracture and severe injuries resulting in death in a week. Although the defendant claimed that law of murder should be held to those who intent to do kill but unfortunately the decision was given against the defendant. 1.2.1 IMPORTANCE The concept of Actus reus has been derived from English common law. The principal of this concept is the application of both the elements of criminal offence to call it a criminal act. Any act that is carried on with the intention to harm anyone becomes a criminal act. In the

Real and personal property Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Real and personal property - Essay Example Property is usually divided into two aspects; the first being the personal property and the second is real property. Real property is usually restricted to matter revolving around land or what is sometimes called ‘in rem’. On the other hand, personal property revolves around chattels or what may sometimes be defined as ‘in personam’. In modern law, property can be examined under a series of models.; the first one amongst these is property as a fact. The second is property as a right and the third is property as a responsibility. In the legal system, real and personal property ownership is governed by property law rights when considering the common law system. In the civil law legal system, there is a distinction between movable and immovable property. Real property is largely encompassed by immovable property while personal property is associated with movable property. Consequently, the rights associated with these types of property are entailed in property law. (Liuzzo & Bonnice, 2005) In legal terms, the process of declaring that certain property belongs to an individual is not adequate enough to constitute property. Instead, this matter is usually all embracing when certain persons need to have their rights to chattels or land respected and enforced by the law. It is essential for one to acquire property legitimately in accordance to the law so as to seek its protection. This is usually acquired by possession of a title to that property. There are a series of differences that arise when one considers the issue of personal versus real property. The most outstanding difference among them is with regard to immobility. Usually, real property can be considered immobile while personal property is mobile. This means that the rule governing the latter’s transference are radically different from those governing the former. Real property

Group Activity Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Group Activity - Essay Example The inferences and the observations that are arrived at are always in relation to the position of the head (Azevedo and Aleven, 114). There are some eye tracking systems that are attached directly to the eye and they consist of a special contact lens that has a mirror that is fixed on it or it may contain a sensor that is comprised of magnetic fields. When the attachment moves it is assumed that it moves with the eyes and the measurement are done from this. This kind of eye tracking software gives better results in terms of the accuracy of the data that is collected since it can measure horizontal, vertical and other movements simultaneously and in real time. This information is then used to judge the direction that the eye is looking and how it is moving. The number of times that the eye will be blinking and any change in the size of the pupil is also monitored. The data is then saved as a file that is well-suited with the software that is used to analyze the eye tracking. Tobii technology is the leader in the eye tracking technology and it makes hi-tech equipment that is preferred by many in the market. Tobii also develops and works with people that have one disability or another to provide for them equipment that will make their lives easier. SMI Eye Tracking also makes eye tracking systems that include portable eye trackers, hands on eye tracking, eye tracking glasses and even 6D eye tracking solutions that can be used for a variety of needs depending on what the customer will buy it for. LC Technologies uses the eyes to help develop human perception and then develops instruments that can tell how human beings are able to look at and interact with the outside world. It instruments can accurately tell what is going on with the eyes as the movement is going on meaning it does this simultaneously. The cost of a decent eye tracking software equipment ranges between ten thousand dollars and

Journal 2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Journal 2 - Essay Example Because of the debates, patient’s rights that included consent to treatment, access to information, and the ability to complain came to application under the law1. However, it took the continued effort of the Patient organizations to advocate for these rights, their realization, in popularizing their discourse in the National Health Service in Britain. The article recognizes that there were various challenges towards the realization and implementation of these patients’ rights. As such, the idea of patients having rights in relation to health care is debatable. Indeed, both supporters and detractors of the National Health Service in Britain use the patient’s rights to argue their positions. The entailed patient’s rights involves the right to access to health services, confidentiality, consent, involvement in their own health care, quality of care and the environment. They also involve right to air complaints and get feedbacks. Moreover, the introduction of the NHS Constitution significantly developed the British health care and promoted the patients’ rights. In addition, organizations like the Patients Association, the Community Health Councils, and the Consumers Association among others advocated for patient’s rights from as early as the 1960s2. The article stipulates that the language of rights has since evolved and attracted diverse applications in the 1970s and 1980s. Furthermore, in the 20th Century, there have been distinct, but overlapping, visions of health rights. These rights include health as a human right, as a citizens’ right, and as a consumers right. However, in Britain, these rights attracted no contradictions between the state and citizen. Indeed, in 1948, the United Nations made a universal declaration of human rights contemplating the right to health on a global level. In fact, health forms part of the development goals in many nations since the 1980s with an aim of tackling epidemics. However, in Britain,

Veiw from a statue Essay Example for Free

Veiw from a statue Essay As I stand here looking over the lush green foliage of thousands of trees, I glanced down toward the base of the mountain to see curvy, windy roads, weaving in and out between tiny little box houses, plotted around here and there. I can see for miles and miles, the views are breath taking. Thats mostly why people come to see me, to look out with me, to see the fantastic views. My arms are sore from standing here for about 75 years, just doing nothing but wondering. For many months I have started to think what is beyond the horizon of the sea. There could be a whole new world over the edge. Is there even an edge? Who knows? Years ago those little things climbed on my feet, just to get a better view or to pose in front of a compact box, with a blinding flash for a couple of seconds, but now there are large metallic fences at my feet. This is predominantly because I am old, weary and wearing out so I need protecting. People get here in many different ways, clear boxes which travel up and down continuously, moving stairs, or climbing 222 steps reaching the summit, exhausted. Oh yeah! I forgot to say about the odd people that walk all the way up the ridge of mount Corcovado who wear small shorts, long pulled up socks, big chunky boots, weird hats and really, really big bags on their backs. They come in there hordes, they come in all shapes and sizes; big ones; small ones; fat ones; thin ones; some are noisy; some are quiet; some just scream and laugh; some are in awe of me and gaze up at me, as I gaze out at the horizon. These people see me as a god, but if only it were true because all I want to do is just fly to the moon, to the white wonderful wide space, where I could rest my sore painful arms and legs. No one knows the pain Im in or even know I have any feelings. I remember the journey of how I came to be here. I was created by a local engineer called Heitor da Silva Costa. He made me out of reinforced concrete and layers of soap stone. Firstly I was going to be made out of steel but that wouldnt of had much of a chance against extreme weather conditions. I was built in small chunks and slowly brought to the top by a struggling train on the Corcovado Rack Railway. Then I was pieced together bit by bit, slowly rising above the ridge to embrace the people of the world. Through my amazingly large nostrils I can smell the wondrous cuisine from the land below swirling and rising up the mountain side. Just after dark the surroundings black out and all attention is drawn towards the bright lights of the city. Although no one else sees it, its not all happiness up here. I have seen many things in my life like robberys, suicides, murders, but what always happens almost every night is groups of people sell drugs and sit there injecting liquids into their arms, snorting dust and sniffing corrosive fumes of acids. The fumes are so strong even I get a headache and my heads made out of concrete! It is disgusting what they do, but it is what they want to do, and what could I do any way. As dawn emerges it makes up for the previous night. The sun rises and a new day begins. In the early morning, the mountain air is fresh and crisp; the sun rises leisurely, bringing a slow warmth to the city. The most beautiful part of the day is now, when it is peaceful and you can hear the chirping of the birds below. The heat from the sun breaks through my layers of soap stone reaching into the hard cold concrete inside.

Inequality in Education

Inequality in Education Is Inequality in Education Being Reduced? What Effect Does This Have on Other Aspects of Womens Lives? Throughout history, women have been repressed in many different ways by patriarchal systems within society. In Western society, women have gradually gained more power in many aspects of their lives and some (including many post-feminists) would even go so far as to say that equality has been achieved. However, in certain developing countries feminism is a relatively new idea and women may still have very few or limited rights. A common issue with patriarchal societies is gender discrimination in regards to schooling. In Europe, women have been discriminated against in education as far back as the medieval period. Girls were not formally educated, but rather learned from their mothers. Female role models within their community showed them how to perform household tasks, care for children and enforced the importance of feminine behaviour in order to attract a husband. It was in the mid to late 19th Century that formal education became available to females, in the form of same-sex colleges. Womens education started to be considered more seriously following the Representation of the People Act 1918, which allowed some women to vote in Parliamentary elections. WWII also changed attitudes to girls education, as women had been put to work while their husbands were abroad and realised that they had the potential to be more than ‘just housewives and the Education Act of 1944 ensured â€Å"free education for all from primary to secondary†, including females. In 1975 the Sex Discrimination Act was passed, and women were legally required to be given the same occupational opportunities as men. Legally, education was finally balanced between the genders, which was definite progress towards equality when compared with the uneducated females of previous centuries.However, once legal barriers preventing women from achieving in education were removed, feminists began to focus on issues of socialisation. What a patriarchal society expected and approved of in females was ha rder to combat than legislation. Sue Sharp (1976, pg 132) interviewed girls in Ealing schools, and one said that â€Å"I think men should [have careers]. If they [girls] want to they can, but I think it suits men really. Once men start on something, I suppose they go ahead, but women they always change their minds†. The girls in Sharpes 1976 study showed limited career aspirations, and put more emphasis on their desire to marry and raise a family. This attitude was reflected in the fact that in the 1970s there were twice as many males in higher education than females (Major).However, when Sharpe repeated her study in 1994 the results were different. Although girls were still likely to aspire to â€Å"Womens Work† such as childcare and beauty therapy, some showed interest in fire-fighting or mechanics. They also showed a desire to have a successful career so as not to be financially dependent on a husband in case of breakdown of a marriage, and expected husbands to help with household tasks. Also, as of 2009 Major claimed that â€Å"there are now more women than men in higher education 51% to 49% is the average†. Parents often encourage or even expect their daughters to attend university and find careers for themselves, and Darla Shine goes so far as to argue that women do not have professional careers are sometimes negatively stigmatised as being â€Å"slobs†.The number of qualifications girls get could thoroughly affect many aspects of their adult life. One of the most obvious differences education makes to an individuals life is their possible income. Graduates with the highest level of qualification earn, on average, more than twice the wage of employees with no qualifications and are also half as likely to be unemployed (Careers Scotland, 2009). Poverty can lead to health issues (due to a poor diet or low quality of heating or sleep in cheaper housing) and depression and stress. Crime is also more prevalent in low-income areas, so uneducated females may be either victim of a crime or be arrested for crimes themselves, leading to imprisonment. It is, therefore, clear that refusing women this one right to education, or somehow limiting it, can contribute to gender inequality in almost all aspects of later life. In conclusion, steps have most definitely been made towards a less male-orientated system of education. Recognising that most girls perform better in coursework than the end of term exams, many establishments have altered the assessment style to cater towards both genders. Girls are performing better than boys in school, but â€Å"gendered subjects† are still criticised as they reinforce gender stereotypes. Some organisations, such as CC4G are trying to help girls branch into male-dominated areas such as computer technology. Sharpes study and Majors article show the differences that 20 years can make, so who knows what the result of two more decades of feminist activism will be? Sociological Theories on Gender Inequality in Education Most types of feminism are based on the idea that gender is a social construct which a child is labelled with at birth depending on its sex. Therefore, any ideas of male dominance in cultures are seen to be a consequence of socialisation and not a natural and biological state of being. This leads to the conclusion that men and women can potentially have the same sets of skills, and can learn all subjects equally well in education establishments if patriarchal socialisation does not interfere. Feminists recognise that girls often choose to pursue subjects such as English, social sciences, healthcare and childcare or beauty therapies in colleges and university, whereas males opt for more technical fields of study or manual labour. Although they accept that females make this choice themselves, some feminists are concerned that this choice is subconsciously made due to a â€Å"hidden curriculum† within schools which channels the two sexes into particular roles that are expected of them by society. The subjects picked by girls rely more on emotions and femininity, whereas technical subjects lead to well-paid executive occupations or â€Å"macho† physical labour. Radical feminists argue that men consciously exploit women in society by limiting them to subjects that are seen as feminine in order to prepare young girls for their intended role as wife and mother. Oakley (1974) noted that men might approve of women who are moderately successful in their occupation, as long as they are willing to run the home as well. This is known as a â€Å"triple shift†, where the woman provides financial support by working, emotional support for the family, and keeps the home in order. Liberal Feminists also believe that society is still discriminatory against women, yet trust that progress is being made towards equality and males are generally cooperative to the cause. They believe that males have been socialised to act in certain ways which discriminate against women, but do not necessarily exploit females consciously and that some of the problems lies within womens own attitudes. They refer to the studies of Sue Sharpe, which show that girls opportunities and ambitions are improving, and are optimistic that over time equality will be achieved. Sharpe (1976, pg 66) states that â€Å"It is in the media that the most conventional and exaggerated stereotypes are found, parodying the ways in which people are supposed to live†. It is thought that because education establishments are usually run by males, with women in pastoral positions such as teachers and learning assistants, girls do are not shown that it is men who hold executive positions. New Right theorists believe that gendered subjects can have positive effects, as the traditional gender roles which they prepare young people for can strengthen nuclear families so that they are self-sufficient both economically and emotionally. Functionalists take a ‘march of progress view and say that joint conjugal roles are becoming more common in Western homes. Ferri and Smith (1996) observed that in dual full-time earner households, fathers were more likely to share in child care and domestic work. This is allowing women to pursue professional careers more easily, so young females are expected to do well in education from an early age in preparation for their adult working life. Functionalists say that a school is a positive form of socialisation which teaches females skills that will aid them in the future. Socio-biologists on the other hand, believe that gender is inherent to sex and behaviour is controlled by your DNA. They point out that the male and female hormones cause different behaviour which would explain why males and females choose different paths of education. Oestrogen creates more emotional behaviour, which links to childcare or social sciences, and testosterone creates competitive personalities which cause men to choose professional subjects which will in future help them provide for their mate and offspring. Dawkins (2006) states that â€Å"behaviour is genetically programmed according to sex and genetic differences underlie mens dominant position in society†. This theory thinks that gender roles are a product of evolution, as males and females which followed this pattern of behaviour could reproduce and raise offspring in a stable environment to pass on their genes, making gender roles a product of evolution. They note that other animals have gender roles, and it is, therefore, the natural state.In summary, most theories agree that much progress has been made towards equality for the sexes in education. The theories do however disagree on whether gendered subjects are harmful or beneficial to society. Feminists also draw attention to the fact that even if equality is gained within education, the workplace is still male dominated, and the â€Å"glass ceiling† discriminates and prevents women reaching their full potential. Equality in education is just one stepping stone on the way to completely equal rights, in all aspects of life. Bibliography DAWKINS, Richard (2006) The Selfish Gene, 30th Anniversary Edition. Oxford, OUP. ENSLIN, Penny and TJITTAS, Mary (2004) Liberal feminism, cultural diversity and comparative education, Comparative Education, 40: 4, 503 — 516 FERRI, E and SMITH, K (1996) Parenting in the 1990s. [online] Findings Social Policy Research 106. York, Joseph Rowntree Foundation. Last accessed on 12th December 2009 at www.jrf.org.uk OAKLEY, Ann (1974). The Sociology of Housework. London, Martin Robinson. MAJOR, Lee Elliot (2009) Why boys cant keep up with the girls [online] Last accessed 11th December 2009 http://www.guardian.co.uk MURRAY, Jenni (2009) British History In-depth: 20th Century Britain: The Womans Hour [online]. Last accessed 8th December 2009 at http://www.bbc.co.uk/history SHARPE, Sue (1976) â€Å"Just Like a Girl† How Girls Learn to be Women, Middlesex, Penguin Books. SHINE, Darla. 10 Golden Rules for a Happy Housewife [online]. Last accessed 11th December 2009 at http://www.juniormagazine.co.uk BLACKS ACADEMY. Sue Sharpe: Just Like a Girl. [online] Last accessed 14th December at http://www.blacksacademy.net/content/2984.html BRITISH HISTORY. A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 1: Physique, Archaeology, Domesday, Ecclesiastical Organization, The Jews, Religious Houses, Education of Working Classes to 1870, Private Education from Sixteenth Century (1969) [online], pp. 311-312. Last accessed 9th December 2009 at http://www.british-history.ac.uk/ CC4G. CC4G [online] Last accessed 10th December 2009 at www.CC4G.net CAL POLY POMONA. The Educational Legacy of Medieval and Renaissance Traditions: the Education of Men and Women [online]. Last accessed 7th December 2009 at http://www.csupomona.edu THE GUARDIAN (2006) Girls get with the (computer) program. [online] Last updated 10th January 2006. Last accessed 14th December 2009 at http://www.guardian.co.uk/educationCAREERS SCOTLAND. Key messages Qualifications and earnings. [online] Last accessed 14th December 2009 at www.careers-scotland.org.uk NATIONAL ARCHIVES. The Struggle for Democracy: Getting the Vote [online] Last Accessed 8th December at www.nationalarchives.gov.uk SPARTACUS. Women and University Education [online] Last accessed 9th December 2009 at www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk Domestic Division of Labour. [online] Last accessed 13th December 2009 at http://www.lexden-publishing.co.uk Equal But Different (2009) [online] Last updated 14th December 2009. Last accessed 15th December 2009 at http://equalbutdifferent.blogspot.com/

Journeys End by RC Sheriff :: English Literature

Journey’s End R.C Sheriff wrote Journey’s end in 1928. The play was written 10 years after the war had finished to let people’s emotions feelings and emotions about the war settle down. The play is set near the end of the war, in 1918, along the western front in France. Sheriff set the whole play in one setting so it is easier to stage, it personalizes it, and it creates a sense of entrapment. The whole play is set in the trenches, which are very confined, damp and cold. They were most likely inhabited by rats and the dugouts most likely smelled. The final scene is set in the dugout, at dawn just before a German attack is expected. At he beginning of the scene â€Å"There is no sound except the distant mutter of the guns.† But later on in the scene â€Å"There comes the faint whistle and thud of falling shells.† Towards the end pf the scene the noise from the shells being dropped intensifies and continues like this until the end of the play. R.C Sheriff uses comedy in the play to lighten the mood and to add relief from the depression of war. The party scene was a scene where everyone forgot about the war and started to lighten up. At the beginning of this scene the audience most likely expects the mood to be unsettled and things to be tense between the characters, this is because of the arguments that happened between the characters the night before. â€Å"Towards dawn, the candles are no longer burning.† Mason is framed in the doorway against the very lights. â€Å"There comes the rasp of a striking match-a tiny flame- and a candle gleams.† Mason the wakes Stanhope up. This depicting the way he is breaking the tension from the previous night’s argument and how he is lightening the mood, be it with a hot cup of tea or with his tactful handling of Hibbert later on. In â€Å"Journey’s End† the lighting is very important because it outlines what kind of mood different parts of the scene are. For example, at the start of Act 3 Scene 3, it is half past five on the morning the attack is expected. The lighting would be very dark, creating a depressing atmosphere. Near the end of the scene, as Raleigh is dying, â€Å"The faint rosy glow of the dawn is deepening to an angry red.† At this point the lights would slowly turn red, representing death, blood and pain. The audience think Hibbert is a coward, mainly because he tried to o home, complaining of neuralgia, when he was fine at the party, and he takes his time over everything he does.

The Blind Husband in Carver’s Cathedral :: Carver Cathedral Essays

The "Blind" Husband in Carver’s Cathedral  Ã‚   The short story "Cathedral" by Raymond Carver is about a woman who has a blind friend who comes to visit her and her husband. Although the husband has, technically, normal vision he is in the beginning of this story the one who is "blind." Through the husband’s words and actions when he is dealing with Robert, the blind man, we can see that the husband does not "see" or understand what Robert’s blindness means or how it changes or does not change him as a human being. At first Robert makes the husband very uncomfortable, for the husband does not know what to say or do around the blind visitor. As the story progresses, we can see a change in the husband; he seems to be able to see Robert as a person and not just as a blind man. One example that shows the husband is "blind" comes in the beginning of the story, before Robert arrives. When the husband and wife talk about Robert, the husband usually refers to him as "this blind man" (1052), and he never uses Robert’s name or assigns any human attributes to him. This shows that the husband does not really see Robert as a person, but just as a blind man who is different because he has a handicap. When Robert arrives at the couple’s house, the husband does not know what to say to him. The husband asks stupid questions about the view from the train: "Which side of the train did you sit on?" (1055). The husband knows that Robert cannot see the view, but he asks him these questions anyway. Also, the husband thinks to himself, "I didn’t know what else to say" (1055) which is a clear indication that he does not know how to relate to Robert. Both of these quotations show that the husband does not know what to talk about with Robert because he only sees Robert’s handicap, instead of seeing him as a complete human being who has emotions, thoughts, ideas, and beliefs. Not only does the husband not know how to communicate with Robert, he does not how to act around him either. A good example of this, shown after dinner, is when all three of them go into the living room. This is how the husband portrays what happens when they first enter the room: "Robert and my wife sat on the sofa.

The Calling Of Isaiah Essay -- essays research papers

The Calling of the Prophet Isaiah, Chapter 6:1-13   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The prophet Isaiah lived during a very troublesome era during the years 742-701B.C.E. He preached during the reigns of four kings of Judah: Uzziah (783-742), Jotham (742-735), Ahaz (735-715), and Hezekiah (715-687). Judah faced many challenges and crises throughout those years primarily at the hands of the Assyrian Empire. Isaih interpreted the events as part of the Lord's will, and he encourages the people to trust in the Lord rather than relying on political alliances.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Isaiah is thought to be one of the greatest poets of the Bible, and his book a classic of the Hebrew language. His writing has a very concise style, effective imagery, and an equilibrium between form and content which classify the type of poetry as classical. From the theological aspect, Isaiah moves in the religious tradition influenced by David's dynasty and the election of Sion, and also contributed to the shape and expression of the messianic hopes (Obstat, p.278).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The book Isaiah contains mostly oracles from various authors, however the authentic oracles of Isaiah are found in the first part of the book. Chapters 6-12 are considered the oldest collection in the book. It includes the account of the vocation and mission of the prophet, the oracles concerning the Syro-Ephraimite War, oracles referring to the crisis of 701B.C.E., and other salvation passages (Obstat, p.278).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Isaiah chapter 6 versus 1-13 stand apart from the rest of the Bible as a unique record of how God called on and reached out to a man, and in doing so a prophet was born. Interpreting this chapter is of vital importance for the understanding of Isaiah's teaching as a whole. In it he describes a real experience which effects him both psychologically and spiritually. Through the passage it can be perceived that his ministry was initiated by a soul shaking experience of the reality of God, and it's authenticity validated by it's results and influence on the prophet's life and work (Berrtrick, p 205).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  One of the main purposes of any prophet's call narrative is to justify his right to speak in the name of God. Oftentimes a prophet's message isn't accepted of very popular with the people he is preaching to, and in the face of t... ...en to Judah and Jerusalem, which at the threat of judgment would suffer greatly. But Isaiah must have certainly seen the Northern Kingdom included as well. Verse twelve is thought to be an addition made by a later editor to show how the judgment would result in the deportation of many from the land. This situation could possible relate to after 721B.C.E. when many citizens of the Northern Kingdom were carried off to Assryia, or to Judah when many of its inhabitants were carried off to Babylon (Kaiser, p.78)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Book of Isaiah is a book full of oracles such as the one narrating Isaiah's calling to be a prophet for the Lord God. In accordance with his classical poetic style the passage is full of imagery and sensual descriptions. Concerned with the fall of the nation, Isaiah has God himself warning the people of what is to come for a stronger impact on the Israelites. As a man who lived through the reins of four kings whom throughout the book are of great importance, Isaiah sees God as a functioning king and ruler. Much of what is said and seen in Isaiah 6:1-13 relate to other events in the rest of the book and surely influence Isaiah's life completely.

Economic Contribution of Migrant Workers in Bangladesh

Introduction Bangladesh is located in South Asia. It is the seventh most populous country in the world and is mostly densely inhabited. The poverty level, however, has fallen by more than 20%, helped by its prominent agricultural sector. The Bangladeshi economy is helped by its big garment sector, which contributes more than two-thirds of the country’s trade. The major challenge to prosperous growth is the vulnerability of the land to cyclones and floods. However, even with such challenges, Bangladesh has experienced a growth rate of 5% since 1990.This growth has been helped by remittances from expatriates as well. Since 1975, there has been a two-fold increase in the per-capita GDP. During the 2008 global economic recession, Bangladesh managed to stay flexible. According to the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS), there was an increment of $62 in the per capita GDP in FY2009 from US$559 at the end of FY2008. Fiscal 2009 registered per capita income of US$621. About 25% of t he country’s GDP in 2009 came from remittances of expatriates, totaling $9. billion and garment exports worth $12. 3 billion. The increasing foreign direct investment highlights the growth rate of the Bangladesh economy and remittances from overseas Bangladeshis, totaling $11 billion in FY10, accounted for almost 12% of GDP. Scenario of migrant workers in Bangladesh is given below throw a chart. [pic] Economic Contribution of Migrant workers in Bangladesh Remittance is the life line of Bangladesh economy. Some 4. 5m nonresident Bangladeshis are working abroad, and sending home hard earned foreign currencies.It is believed that the actual number of Bangladeshi migrants, both legal and illegal, would be close to 7. 5 million. In the first 10 months of FY 2006-07, number of manpower export stood at 0. 42m, showing 83. 14% rise, compared to 0. 25m in FY2004-05. In FY2005-06, the number stood at 0. 29m, current year to year growth is around 16%. In addition to achieving higher exp ort earnings, the country witnessed a 44 percent growth in remittance earnings during the first quarter of 2008-09 fiscal year compared to the same period of the previous fiscal year.The other records of remittance earnings in a single month are $820. 71 million in July and $808. 72 million in March of year 2008. A total of 9,81,102 Bangladeshi people went abroad in 2007-08 fiscal year which is about 74 percent above the previous fiscal year figure. According to the statistics, on monthly average basis more than 81,000 Bangladeshis went abroad in 2007-08 fiscal year. The figure was 46,000 in the previous fiscal year. Non-resident Bangladeshis (NRBs) sent $2. 45 billion to Bangladesh between July and September of 2008, according to the Bangladesh Bank statistics. Meanwhile, private bank officials said the global economic slowdown, mainly in the US and European countries, is yet to impact the remittance inflow. They, however, apprehend that if the crisis continues it may have a negati ve impact on the inflow. The remittance market of Bangladesh has been showing a steady growth in terms of incoming remittance volume.Considering the current macro-economic indicators, it seems that this growth run will continue in the coming years. Central Bank predicts that our annual incoming foreign remittance will touch $10 billion in the next 3 years. The reasons for such robust growth can be summarized as: †¢ Stable macro-economic indicators including GDP growth, †¢ Steady growth in manpower export specially in the middle east †¢ Substantial devaluation of the local currency †¢ Rapid urbanization Development of new remittance corridors in Australia and part of Europe and Africa †¢ Increased focus of Central Bank and the Government to channel funds through formal channels †¢ Increased competition among financial institution to grab market share †¢ Aggressive marketing policy adopted by Banks to increase their share of wallet †¢ Expansion of branch network of various commercial banks †¢ MFIs involvement in channeling remittance funds in remote areas †¢ Participation in the UN peace keeping missions Anti-Money Laundering rules and regulations came in force However, the market is still far from perfection in terms of service quality, cost structure, and transaction risk aspects. Among all, the biggest impediment is the speed of transactions and cost of transaction. In cases, it takes more than a week to send a foreign remittance to beneficiary. Average cost is 20 SAR for a remittance from Saudi Arabia to Bangladesh. Banks drives the legal channel for remittance mobilization.Top 3 remittance receiver banks in market are given in Table 1. 1. Table 1. 1 Monthly Inward Remittances | |Sl. |BANK |August, 2008   (in USD Million) | | | |1 |Sonali Bank |104. 700 | | | |2 |Agrani Bank |66. 091 | | | |3 |Janata Bank |64. 50 | | Whilst data on Non Resident Bangladesh (NRB) remittances coming into Bangladesh are readi ly available, projections for local remittances are difficult to determine. The figures in USD given in the Table 1. 2 are approximate. Table 1. 2: Local and Foreign Remittance Comparison in USD | |07-08 (No. ) in USD |2008-9 (No. ) in USD |2009-10 (No. ) in USD | |NRB Remittances |7 million |8. million |10 million | |Local Remittances |14 million |17 million |20 million | Most of the remittances sent to our country are for various livelihood purposes, such as disbursement of Small loans, living expenses, business start up costs, medical treatment and funds for asset purchases. This highlights the importance of fast disbursement of money that e-Remittance System promises to deliver. The system will help attract new un-banked customers who have previously depended upon informal channels.At present, only a fraction of remitters send their money through banking channels. The e-Remittance system will also provide the right platform for handling the substantial market for within country remittances. Source Countries of Remittance From Saudi Arabia, over a million workers sent $1,312 million during July-March period of 2007. In the same period The United Kingdom came out as the second biggest source of remittance with Bangladeshi Diaspora sending home $657 million to their relatives at home, closely followed by $656 million from the United States of America.Non-resident Bangladeshis remitted $559 million from the United Arab Emirates and $494 million from Kuwait in July-March period of 2007. Economic Benefits Remittance has economic benefit both at macro and micro level. In 2004, the formal remittances contributed 6% of GDP. If informal channels were included this contribution reaches 9-10% of GDP. In 2004-2005 fiscal year remittance was 44. 47% of export receipt. The proportion of foreign aid was only 38. 74% of remittances in 2004-2005 fiscal year and foreign direct investment was only 13. 58% of remittances in 2003-2004.The remittance has significant macroeconomi c impact at household level. The majority of Bangladeshi migrants abroad is unskilled, and originates from rural areas and poor community. The poorer the household, the more impact or benefits remittance income can have alleviating poverty. Remittances allow the poor people to increase expenditures on both durables and non-durable products, and provide them with protection against negative income shocks. Statistics between growth of migrant workers and growth of remittances are mention bellow. [pic] Migrant workers drive economyBangladesh's economic development largely depends on remittance sent by migrant workers, which is one of the sources of earning foreign currencies. A third of the 18 lakh people who enter the job market a year go abroad for work, adding that remittance inflow will increase significantly if the figure can be increased to 10 lakh in five years. We hope the remittance inflow would cross $14 billion mark this year. The incumbent government sent about 2 million Ba ngladeshis from January 2009 to October 2012 and the country received around $44. 22 billion in remittances during the period.Expatriates' contribution to the national GDP (gross domestic product) is 11 percent. Over 30,000 female workers go abroad a year to work, and the government has been working to transform them into skilled hands to create more jobs. The government has also taken some steps, including rehabilitations of the returned migrant workers and scholarships for their children, to ensure better facilities for the expatriates and their families. Around 25 percent of the total employment comes from overseas employment, which should be increased to 50 percent in five years. Conclusion According to the World Bank, Bangladesh has achieved a growth rate of 5. % in FY2009. The country has registered significant expansion in its middle class. The consumer industry has grown considerably. The increasing foreign direct investment highlights the growth rate of the Bangladesh econo my. At present situation when political imbalance of our country, violation of law in every sector, corruption, price hiking, lack of electricity, gas etc creates thousands of problem in economy of Bangladesh, and in this situation contribution of migrant workers strengthen the growth rate of Bangladesh economy. That’s why Bangladesh's economic development largely depends on remittance sent by migrant workers.

Knowledge Management in Education

KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT ACKNOWLEDGMENT I would like to take this opportunity to express my sincere gratitude to all who gave their support throughout the process of writing this Seminar paper. I would also like to thank my beloved lovely wife Edith Lisalitsa and my son Macdonald Lisalitsa for giving me humble time to concentrate in preparing this Seminar paper. I would also wish to thank my classmates and session mates for their support. Special thanks, goes to my supervisor Mr. Abanti Cyrus Makori for his underlying support, patience, intellectual support and guidance.Most of all I thank the Almighty God for sustaining me through this process and giving me good health, sound mind and strength to carry on. INTEGRATING KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS IN IMPROVING QUALITY OF EDUCATION IN TECHNICAL INSTITUTIONS By:Lisalitsa Fred Ambutsi E-mail: [email  protected] com or [email  protected] com Abstract. The new trends of use of knowledge management system in business organization have incr eased the need to integrate the knowledge management system in higher education sector.The current means used in technical institution in knowledge management is based on the experts in various fields. The creation and transmitting is through face to face interactions, mentoring, organization, and policies, routes and procedures, reports and staff development. This method does not conserve knowledge, does not allow standardization, neither does it allow uniform and maximum sharing of knowledge. Knowledge management system can be integrated in technical education in order to improve management and its utilization.Knowledge management system provides tools for capturing, organization, delivery, tracking and assessment of various types of learning and training. The knowledge management allows improved service capability of lecturers and students improve sharing of internal and external information and improved effectiveness and efficiency. The objectives of the seminar paper are: 1. To apply knowledge management system in teaching at technical institution level. 2. To examine the ways of capturing and sorting knowledge for utilization in technical institution. 3.To investigate IT support of knowledge management system and how it can be used in technical Education. 4. To investigate challenges technical institution are facing Key words Knowledge, Integrating, Systems, learning. TABLE OF CONTENTS DEDICATIONI DECLARATIONII ACKNOWLEDGMENTIII 1. 1 IMPORTANT DIMENSION OF KNOWLEDGE2 2. CAPTURING AND SORTING KNOWLEDGE2 2. 1 STEPS IN KNOWLEDGE GATHERING3 3. SUPPORTING TECHNOLOGIES6 4. TYPES OF KNOWLEDGE WORKS6 5. TYPES OF KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS7 6. KNOWLEDGE BASED SYSTEMS8 7. BENEFITS KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS9 CHALLENGES OF IMPLEMENTING KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS12 9. TYPES OF KNOWLEDGE13 10. INTERNET AND KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT14 11. CONCLUSION17 REFERENCES18 1. .INTRODUCTION Oz et al (2006) defines knowledge management as the combination of activities involved in gathering, organizing, sharing, analyzing and disseminating knowledge to improve an organization performance. Information that can be gleaned from stored data is knowledge, much knowledge is accumulated through experience is in peoples minds, on paper notes, on discussion transcripts.Knowledge management is the attempt by organizations to put procedures and technologies in place to do the following: a) Transfer individual knowledge into databases b) Filter and separate the most relevant knowledge. c) Organize that knowledge in databases that allow employees easy access to it. Barnes(2002) made the following interesting comparison about knowledge , information and data he says that knowledge as a justified personal belief that increases an individual’s capacity to take effective action.Information is data interpreted in to a meaningful frame, whereas knowledge is information that has been authenticated and thought to be true. Data is raw numbers and facts, information is pr ocessed data and knowledge is information made achievable. According to Rainer et al(2007) The goal of knowledge management is to help organization to make most effective use of knowledge. it has the following benefits are: ? Makes the best practices, which are most effectives and efficient ways of doing things rapidly available to a wide range of employees ?Enhance access to best practices knowledge improves overall organization performance. ? Improved customer service. ? Most efficient product development. ? Improved employee morale and retention. Barnes(2002) says traditionally, knowledge creation and transfer has occurred through various means such as face-to-face interactions (planned or adhoc), mentoring, job rotation and staff development. Barnes(2002) observes that the concept of coding and transmitting knowledge in organization is not new: training and employee development programmes, organization policies routines, procedures, reports and manuals have served this function for years.These traditional means may prove to be too slow, less effective and need of being supplemented by by more efficient electronics methods. 1. 1 IMPORTANT DIMENSION OF KNOWLEDGE Data: is a flow of events or transactions captured by organization’s systems that by itself is useful for transacting but little else. To turn data into information a firm must expend resources to organize data into categories of understanding, such as monthly, daily, regional or stored based reports of the total sales.To transform information ito knowledge the firm must expend additional resources to discover patterns, rules and context where the knowledge works. Finally wisdom is thought to be the collective and individual experiences of applying knowledge to the solutions of problems. Wisdom involves where, when, and how to apply knowledge. Knowledge is both individual attribute and collective attribute of the firm. Knowledge is stored in libraries, and records, shared in lectures and store d by firms in the form of business process and employee know how Laudon and Laudon (2006). . CAPTURING AND SORTING KNOWLEDGE (a) Online questionnaires: According to Oz et al (2006)[3] knowledge can be captured through the use of online questionnaires. Some of the questionnaires provide multiple choice answers, which make the input structured and easy to sort and analyze, but some of the most valuable input is in the form of free text. Knowledge can also be done by use of software such as polygamist to analyze data form (Megaputer intelligence). . A good example is Watson an application created by intellect.It is installed in a PC and embedded in Microsoft Word, PowerPoint and Outlook. It analyses and employees’ document as it is being written, creates an automatic query about the subject, reaches out onto the knowledge management program and pulls information that might be applicable to the task at hand. (b) Software Tools: Oz et al(2006) also describes that Knowledge can als o be captured by use of software tools that search for such information and derive valuable business knowledge form it. For example Online Audience Analysis software that was developed by Accenture Technology Labs.Such tools help organization add to their knowledge base especially in terms of what others say about their product and services. The tools take into account factors such as its industry, context in which an enquiry works to select and deliver the proper information. (c) Knowledge network systems: Laudon and Laudon (2006) say that knowledge network systems also known as expertise location and management systems, provides an online directory of corporate experts in well defined knowledge domains and use communication to find the appropriate expert in the company.Some knowledge network systems go further by systematizing the solutions being developed by experts and then storing the solutions in a knowledge database as best practices or frequently asked questions (FAQ), repos itory e. g. AskMe, inc offers a widely adopted enterprise knowledge net system. (d) Employee Knowledge networks: facilitates knowledge sharing through intranets. Tacit systems activates tool continuously process email, documents and other business communication and automatically ‘discover’ each employee work focus, expertise and business relation ship.This tool ‘mines’ this unstructured data to build a profile of each employee in terms of topics and interests. The goal is to ensure that two people who might benefit from creating a connection in a work place do so, so that one can learn form the expertise of another about issues. According to Oz(2006)some companies have developed software tools that search for such information and derive valuable business knowledge form it. E. g. Accenture Technology labs developed audience analysis such tools helps organization add to their knowledge base especially in terms of what others say about their product and servic es.The tool takes into account factors such as the industry and context in which an enquirer works to select and deliver the proper information. (f) A web portal: also known as a links page, presents information from diverse sources in a unified way. Apart from the standard search engine feature, web portals offer other services such as e-mail, news, stock prices, information, databases 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.Examples of public web portals are MSN, Yahoo! , AOL, iGoogle and Netvibes. 2. 1 STEPS IN KNOWLEDGE GATHERING The first challenge in the knowledge-gathering process is simply deciding what knowledge to gather. For example, while identifying the most frequently asked questions is critical for a self-service web site implementation, call centers will also need to know the m ost frequently escalated questions. Moreover, while management goals may center around ROI issues, the system must be designed with users in mind, or it will not be successful.According to paper published by eGain Communications Corporation [2004] that appeared in the internet and internetworking here is a step-by-step review of the knowledge-gathering process. Step 1: Building the team There are four roles in the knowledge management team:  ¦ Lead expert: The individual (or individuals) who decides how the knowledge base will be organized, which topics will be covered, and to what extent.  ¦ Users: Call center agents who have good performance records and can provide suggestions. Knowledge authors: Individuals who are technically trained in using authoring tools.  ¦ Project manager. The individual who keeps the project on track. Depending on the scope of the project, one person may play several roles. Step 2: Assessing the value of knowledge The best way to determine what know ledge should be gathered is to estimate what the value to your enterprise would be if every agent managed service interactions by effectively using that knowledge Step 3: Setting content boundariesWhen defining the scope of the knowledge base, the most common mistake is to try to include too much. Overly ambitious deployments almost always result in what’s called â€Å"the Swiss cheese problem†Ã¢â‚¬â€a knowledge base that is solid in places, but full of holes. This is a recipe for failure, because if users can’t find the answers they want most of the time, or get the wrong answers, they will quickly stop using the system. It is better to be thorough with a limited area than to cover a broad area superficially.For instance, for an enterprise that sells printers, scanners, fax machines, and copiers, the best approach would be to cover one product line thoroughly, rather than all products at once. Step 4: Prioritizing objectives Establishing the value of knowledge enables prioritization, but this process may involve trade-offs. For example, in a technology subscription environment like cable TV, Internet service provision, or mobile telephony, there are typically three competing goals:  ¦ Speed of problem resolution (the â€Å"right answer† focus): The shorter the average duration of a call, the ower the cost to the enterprise.  ¦ Customer retention: Educating customers about unused features can result in greater customer acceptance and lower churn.  ¦ Up-selling and cross-selling: It may be that the best solution to a customer’s problem is selling that customer a higher tier of service or an add-on product. Enterprises must match their knowledge systems and processes to the service priorities. Step 5: Setting time boundaries In our experience with many deployments, a time-boxed approach to knowledge gathering works best.If the deployment appears to be falling behind schedule, narrowing the scope of the knowledge base (to avoid the Swiss cheese problem) and finishing on schedule is the way to go. The reason has to do with ROI—the main reason for the deployment to begin with. The longer it takes to get the system up and running, the longer it takes to achieve the ROI. If the knowledge scope has been correctly identified and prioritized, the most important questions will be covered. Furthermore, it is always possible to expand the scope later.As a rough guide, a typical enterprise deployment should not take longer than three months (after planning is done), with three or four full-time people engaged. This period includes software installation, knowledge gathering, and testing both the quality of the knowledge base as well as the performance of the system. Step 6: Selecting and managing experts Obviously, the people who contribute to the knowledge base must be technically competent, but it is equally important that they not be too far removed from day-to-day customer contact.Successful knowledg e management depends as much on the questions as the answers, and it is sometimes difficult for subject matter experts to â€Å"stoop† to the level of ordinary customers who may not know complex details like the baud rate of their modem or whether their mutual fund is front-loaded or back-loaded. There is another very important issue with experts: the reluctance to share knowledge and the fear of being â€Å"replaced by a machine. † It is important, therefore, that enterprises plan and communicate how the role of the experts will change once knowledge management has been implemented.Moreover, enterprises should create incentives for domain experts to share their knowledge with the rest of the organization. Step 7: Controlling content Once the knowledge gathering process has been completed, results must be reviewed in light of strategic objectives. It is critical for organizations to set up a review process for approving the final content of the knowledge base. This inc ludes determining who (beyond the experts) should review the content, and who has the authority to make final decisions. There are good reasons for not leaving these decisions to content experts alone.For example, any material an enterprise presents to the public can have legal or safety implications. One good approach to quality control is the use of workflow authoring software where agents (or customers and partners, in the case of self-service) can suggest additions or changes, but only authorized individuals can approve them. 3. SUPPORTING TECHNOLOGIES According Laudon and Laudon (2006) major commercial knowledge management systems vendors has integrated their content and document management capabilities with powerful portal and collaboration technologies.Enterprise knowledge portals can provide access to external sources of information such as news feeds and research as well as to internal knowledge recourses along with capabilities for e-mail, chat, instant, messaging, discuss ion groups and video conferencing . Laudon and Laudon (2006) further states that companies are now staring to use consumer web technologies such as blogs, wikies and social booking marking for internal use to facilitate the exchange of information between individuals and teams. E. g. Intel COE Paul; Otellini has a Blog for conveying his thoughts.Learning management systems provides tools for the management, delivery, tracking, and assessment of various types of employee learning and training. Contemporary leanaing management system support multiple modes including CD-ROM, downloadable video, web based classes live instruction in cases or online and group learning. In online forums and chat sessions. Learning management systems consolidate mixed media training, automatic the selection and administration of courses, assemble and deliver learning content and measure learing effectiveness. (Laudon and Laudon 2006). 4. TYPES OF KNOWLEDGE WORKSOslon(2000) describes the following as types of knowledge works. a) Diagnosis and problem finding These are knowledge work because they depend heavily on knowledge and expertise of the analyst or diagnostician. The work of diagnosis tends to be semi structured and unstructured b) Planning and decision making Many people who engage in knowledge work may contribute to the decision making process. Staff professions such as financials analyst or market researchers are responsible for collecting and analyzing data before results are presented to the person responsible for decision making.Planning and decision making are knowledge work because they depend on expertise of the decision maker and manipulation of data using decision model. Highly structured programmed decision making has less knowledge work content than unstructured decision making. c) Monitoring and control Many monitoring and control activities can be structured and made fairly routine. Analysis of the meaning and of monitoring reports and analysis of variances often require expertise and judgment on the part of the reviewer, these monitoring and control activities are knowledge. ) Organizing and scheduling Organizing is critical component of knowledge work productivityand scheduling is a structuring activity which establishes a time sequence to other activities including personal activities and meetings. e) Authoring and presentation The objective of this class of knowledge to to progress from an idead through multiple media transformation to a final presentation form, whether document, diagram, or a set of visual aids for a presentation. 5. TYPES OF KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS a) Structured knowledge systems: Some knowledge exists already somewhere in the form of structures text documents and reports or presentation, and the central problems organizing this existing structured knowledge into a library and making it accessible throughout the firm. (b) Semi structured knowledge systems: Managers may also need information that exists somewhere i nside the firm in the form of less structured documents, such as e-mail, voice mail, chat room exchangers , video, digital pictures, brochures, bulletins boards.This knowledge can be stored in knowledge repository. Knowledge repository is collection of internal and external knowledge in single location for more efficient management and utilization by the organization. 6. KNOWLEDGE BASED SYSTEMS McLeod Jr(1998) describes artificial Intelligence, Expert systems as knowledge based system. He further expounds as follows (a) Artificial Intelligence: Is the activity of providing such machines as computers with the ability to display behaviour that would be regarded as intelligent if it were observed in humans.A. I represent the most sophisticated form of human reasoning. According to O’Brien(2004) Artificial Intelligence offers the following advantages of knowledge systems. †¢ Reducing training time †¢ Reducing training costs. †¢ Replication valuable expertise †¢ Reducing operation response time. †¢ Presenting valuable knowledge (b) Expert system: Is a computer program that attempts to represent knowledge of human experts in the form of heuristics. Expert system is expected to: †¢ Better performance for the firm:As the managers extend their problem solving abilities through the use of the expert systems the firms control mechanism is improved. The firm is better able to meet its objectives. †¢ To maintain control over the firms: Knowledge expert systems afford the opportunity to make the experiences employees knowledge more available to new, less experiences employees and to keep that knowledge in the firm long even after the employee have left the firm The expert system outputs through: †¢ Explanation of questions: The manager may desire explanation while the expert systems perform its reasoning.Theses is done through questions as the expert system provides the explanation †¢ Explanation of the problem solution af ter the expert systems provides a problem solution, the manager can ask for an explanation of how it ws reached. The expert system will display, each of the reasoning steps leading to the solution (c) Decision Support System: Decision support system provides information and models in aform to facilitate tactical and strategies decision making. They are information system that support management decision making by integrating: †¢ Company performance data Business rules based on decisions tables. †¢ Analytical tools and models for forecast and planning †¢ Easy to use graphical interface Decision support system tends to be used for adhoc queries rather than regular reporting. The technology varies particularly rapidly in this area and the newest development such as data warehouse attests to this Bocij (2009) (d) Executive Support Systems: provides senior management with system to assist them in taking strategic and tactical decision.The purpose is to analyze compare and highlight trends to help govern the strategic direction of accompany. They are commonly integrated with operational systems giving managers the falilitioan â€Å"drill† to find out further information or a problem Bocij(2006) (e) Hypermedia system: Provides computer based storage of documents composed of text, graphs, diagrams, sound, schematics, pictures motion, video and the link. Hyper documents include not only document but also indexes for cross references its materials Kroenke and Hatch(1989). f) Interactive Video: Is atype of knowledge system, video segments integrated via a menu processing application. Interactive video application overcome on of the biggest disadvantages of video media. The requirements of sequential access instead users are presented with video segments that they can control through a menu Kroenke and Hatch(1989). 7. BENEFITS KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS a) Improves service for students b) Improves services capability of faculty and staff c) Improve d effectiveness and efficiency of advising efforts. ) Improved ability to identify improvement efforts. e) Improved sharing of internal and external information to minimize redundant efforts and lessen the reporting burden f) Reduce turn around time for research. g) Facilitation of inter-disciplinary research h) Increased competitive and responsiveness for research grants, contracts and commercial opportunities. According to by Jillinda J. etl (2000) the benefit of Knowledge management in the area of research which is the key to learning especially in higher education is as outlined in table 1 below.Table 1: Application and Benefits of KM for the Research Process |Knowledge Management Application |Benefits | |A repository of: |Increased competitiveness and responsiveness for | |Research interests within an institution or at affiliated institutions (potential |research grants, contracts, and commercial | |Subcontractors). |opportunities. |Research results (where possible) and funding organizations (federal agencies, foundations, |Reduced turnaround time for research. | |and corporations) with easy search capabilities to facilitate interdisciplinary |Minimized devotion of research resources to | |opportunities. |administrative tasks. | |Commercial opportunities for research results. |Facilitation of interdisciplinary research. | |A portal for research administration procedures and best practices related to: |Leveraging of previous research and proposal | |Funding opportunities. efforts. | |Pre-populated proposals, budgets, and protocols. |Improved internal and external services and | |Proposal-routing policies and procedures. |effectiveness. | |Award notification, account setup, and negotiation policies and procedures. |Reduced administrative costs. | |Contract and grant management policies and procedures. | | |Technical and financial report templates and policies and procedures. | | |Overview of internal services, resources, and staff. | Jillinda J. etl (2000) also derived the following application and benefits of management as stated in table 2 below. Table 2: Application and Benefits of KM for the Curriculum Development Process |Knowledge Management Application |Benefits | |Repository of curriculum revision efforts that includes research conducted, effectiveness | Enhanced quality of curriculum and programs by | |measures, best practices, lessons learned, and so forth. identifying and leveraging best practices and | |Repository of content modularized and arranged to facilitate interdisciplinary curriculum |monitoring outcomes. | |design and development. |Improved speed of curriculum revision and | |Portal of information related to teaching and learning with technology, including faculty |updating. | |development opportunities, outcomes tracking, lessons learned, best practices, technology |Enhanced faculty development efforts, especially | |overviews, and so forth. for new faculty. | |â€Å"Hubs† of information in each disciplina ry area, including updated materials, recent |Improved administrative services related to | |publications, applicable research, and so forth. |teaching and learning with technology. | |Repository of pedagogy and assessment techniques, including best practices, outcomes |Improved responsiveness by monitoring and | |tracking, faculty development opportunities, and research. incorporating lessons learned from the | |Repository of analyzed student evaluations updated each semester for lessons learned and |experiences of colleagues, student evaluations, | |best practices for all faculty. |and corporate or other constituent input. | |Portal for new faculty with guides for developing curriculum, working with senior faculty, |Interdisciplinary curriculum design and | |establishing effective teaching styles, advising do’s and don’ts, supervising PhD students, |development facilitated by navigating across | |and so forth. |departmental boundaries. |Repository of corporate relati onships to identify curriculum design advisory task forces, | | |guest speakers, adjuncts, case study sites, and so forth. | | 8 CHALLENGES OF IMPLEMENTING KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS According to a document posted on internet by Kristy Annely (2006) Most of the challenges in knowledge management primarily stem from the types of knowledge reuse situations and purposes. Knowledge workers may produce knowledge that they themselves reuse while working.However, each knowledge re-use situation is unique in terms of requirements and context. Whenever these differences between the knowledge re-use situations are ignored, the organization faces various challenges in implementing its knowledge management practices. Some of the common challenges resulting due to this and other factors are listed below. (a) Willingness to share Knowledge: The employees may not be willing to share their personal tacit knowledge:. This call for a scheme to reward employees who add expertise to the knowledgebase . Knowledge base must be continually maintained and updated.New knowledge must be added and old, outdated knowledge must be deleted. (b) Data Accuracy: Valuable raw data generated by a particular group within an organization may need to be validated before being transformed into normalized or consistent content. (c) Data Interpretation: Information derived by one group may need to be mapped to a standard context in order to be meaningful to someone else in the organization. Data Relevancy: The quality and value of knowledge depend on relevance. Knowledge that lacks relevance simply adds complexity, cost, and risk to an organization without any compensating benefits.If the data does not support or truly answer the question being asked by the user, it requires the appropriate meta-data (data about data) to be held in the knowledge management solution. (d) Ability of the data to support/deny hypotheses: Does the information truly support decision-making? Does the knowledge management s olution include a statistical or rule-based model for the workflow within which the question is being asked? Adoption of knowledge management solutions: Do organizational cultures foster and support voluntary usage of knowledge management solutions? e) Knowledge bases tend to be very complex and large: When knowledge databases become very large and complex, it puts the organization in a fix. The organization could cleanse the system of very old files, thus diluting its own knowledge management initiative. Alternatively, it could set up another team to cleanse the database of redundant files, thus increasing its costs substantially. Apart from these, the real challenge for an organization could be to monitor various departments and ensure that they take responsibility for keeping their repositories clean of redundant files. . TYPES OF KNOWLEDGE (i) Tacit and Explicit Knowledge The distinction between tacit and explicit knowledge is critical in appreciating the scope of knowledge mana gement and how it differs from information and data management. Nonaka8 refers to the spiral of knowledge where new knowledge always begins with the personal. For example, a researcher has insights that lead to a new patent. Explicit knowledge deals with more objectives, rational and technical knowledge. Consist of policies, procedures, guides, reports, products strategies, goals, core competencies and it infrastructure.Is the knowledge that has been codified (documented) in a form that can be distributed to others or transformed into a process strategy? Tacit knowledge is a cumulative store of subjective or experimental learning. In organization Tacit knowledge consists of experiences, insights, expertise, know-how, trade secrets, skills sets, understanding and learning. It also includes the organization culture, which reflects the past ans present experiences of the organization peoples and processes as well as prevailing and costly to transfer.It is also highly primal because is unstructured, it is difficult to formalize or codify Rainer etl (2009). Nonaka(1991) identifies four basic patterns for creating knowledge in any organization: (a) From Tacit to Tacit. When one individual shares tacit knowledge with another in face-to-face contact. (b) From Explicit to Explicit. When an individual combines discrete pieces of explicit knowledge into a new whole, such as a finance manager collecting and synthesizing information and opinions from different parts of the organization then putting this into a financial report.. c)From Tacit to Explicit. This extends the organization's knowledge base by codifying experience, insight, or judgment into a form which can be reused by others. (d) From Explicit to Tacit. When staff begin to internalize new or shared explicit knowledge and then use it to broaden, extend, and rethink their own tacit knowledge. 10. INTERNET AND KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT Blogging Himanshu (2009) says blogging is a greatest source to share things on Inter net. Slowly blogging taking place of online media; in fact Blogging is now an example of online media.Many news agencies buy news from blogging companies time to time. There are enormous advantages of Blogging. Some of the advantages of blogging which enhances performance of any blogger are: Blogging brings lots of knowledge. From Word press to blogger, server to host, blogging to make money online, resources to online tutorials, bloggers get aware of all the small to big things present on the internet. Also blogging teach people to use internet resources effectively. Why Blogging is so popular Duermyer (2008) explains that Blogging is very popular today because it llows people to interact with each other. Blogging has also become a popular search engine optimization (SEO) tool because search engines like Google and Yahoo know that a blog is frequently updated with content or visitor comments, so their spiders visit blogs frequently looking for new content to include in their index. Additionally, blog content can be delivered automatically via electronic RSS (Really Simple Syndication) data feeds. Visitors subscribe to a blog's feeds in order to stay up to date with content that's being posted on subjects that interest them.Cassanova(2007) say that blog templates are coded in a way that they're well viewed by the Google's search engines. So we can consider this as an advantage since your blog will get much traffic from google if you're using his templates. He further explains that a blogger is flexible with all kind of entries like the bookmarking tools in footers and RSS subscription like FeedBurner. Blogger also allows for easy comments moderation and posts edition. However they have some Drawbacks e. g The dot blogspot subdomain can affect the image of your blog when it comes to advertisers to choose where to advertise for their products.Actually, it's not only about Blogger but it's the drawback of having a free domain name and Unlike other Blogging templa tes themes, blogspot's aren't really beautiful. You can do a better presentation with WordPress. Moreover, the columns are difficult to manipulate; you can hardly get three columns with blogspot while it's easy with wordpress.. (a) Word Press: Site ground knowledge base defines Word Press as an open source blog publishing application and can be used for basic content management: According to an article presented in the internet it is the most popular web blogging software because it provides   Ã¢â‚¬â€œ Ease of use.WordPress is suitable for just about anybody – from the absolute novice to the advanced programmer. – Feature-rich interface. WordPress has a rich text editor with advanced multimedia support; – Expandable. WordPress's community distributes a large number of modules for almost any popular website feature; – It is Open Source. This means it is free to install, use and distribute WordPress on your site. (b) Face book: According to the web site p age on http://www. vfw. org Face book is a social networking service that lets you connect with friends, o-workers, and others who share similar interests or who have common backgrounds. Facebook enables users can join networks organized by city, workplace, school, and region. The website's name stems from the colloquial name of books given at the start of the academic year by university administrations with the intention of helping students get to know each other better. Agnes(2008)says Clients or users can make groups and conversation or discussion topics. This assemblage or group can cultivate, or be gone alone to pass away, depending on the clients or users and their involvement..Facebook is a one-stop shop or supermarket for imparting blogging, media, calendaring, communicating, sharing ideas or information and others. Facebook can provide â€Å"Cooperative Extension† abilities or capabilities to work together and construct our networks in a single place by giving one pl ace without difficulty, imparting ideas or information and discuss subject or topics of interest. Face book brings jointly more than a few online apparatus. Furthermore to being capable to impart ideas or information and pictures, you can append applications few examples are: Flickr ,   del. cio. us, Twitter, your blog, news feeds to your Facebook home. (c) Youtobe: Geller(2008) defines YouTube as an online public communications site. The site allows for registered users to upload and have available for the public their videos for viewing. Anyone who goes to the site can view the videos that are posted on this site. The videos are anything from beginner videos to more professional videos. McGrath (2008) suggest using the technology (video) to capture knowledge dumps that can be prepared and stored for distribution.Face it, a video capture of someone's thoughts and actions delivered with their passion or emotion of the situation is far better (and a lot quicker) than trying to capt ure the same knowledge in writing. More specifically, he had several great ideas †¢ Use video to capture knowledge and a YouTube-type repository for storage and distribution. †¢ Use Blogs for day-to-day capture of activities and what is being worked on. †¢ Use a Wiki for collaborative projects. †¢ Use a  delicious-style tagging system for classification.McGrath's suggesting the utilization of today's most popular technologies for knowledge management purposes is strong and useful advice. (d) Wiki: According to Tech Terms Computer Dictionary (http://www. techterms. com/ ) A wiki is a Web site that allows users to add and update content on the site using their own Web browser. This is made possible by Wiki software that runs on the Web server. Wikis end up being created mainly by a collaborative effort of the site visitors. A great example of a large wiki is the Wikipedia, a free encyclopedia in many languages that anyone can edit.Wikis can be used for a number o f purposes: †¢ On public Web sites to enable end users to easily contribute information. †¢ In teaching. Wikis can provide an opportunity to learn about team working, trust, etc. A good example is provided by Queen’s University Belfast . †¢ By researchers. Wikis are by Web researchers to make it easier to develop collaborative documents e. g. the FOAF Wiki . †¢ On Intranets, where departmental administrators with minimal HTML experience may be able to manage departmental content. †¢ Wikis can be used at events for note-taking e. g. in discussion groups . ) Flickr : Hendricks (2009) explains that An easy way to share videos and pictures of the people you love has brought about a social media networking site called Flickr. In a society of overwhelming social media networking sites, it is refreshing to find a website like Flickr with a specific purpose. Flickr was designed in February 2004 and has been growing since. It is in more ways than one a media s ite for the people. Members are able to upload their favorite pictures and videos to share. Some of the key features of Flickr not initially present but soon added are the abilities to separate your pictures.You can mark some as favorites, or separate them into groups. Tagging provides to be a helpful addition as well in order to keep the pictures organized and document people and dates. It is also possible to share your pictures with friends only or publicly. 11. CONCLUSION Technical education institutions are in the knowledge business, since they are involved in knowledge creation and dissemination and learning. Knowledge Management can transform technical schools to new levels of effectiveness, efficiency, and scope of operation. Through advancements in technology, data and information are readily available.The technical institutions lecturers and students able to discover and learn new measures, new technologies, and new opportunities, but this requires the ability to gather inf ormation in usable formats and disseminate knowledge to achieve the organization’s objectives. Knowledge Management can continually help discovering what an organization knows—codifying tacit knowledge, Data Mining, and Intelligence; continually increasing what the organization knows—organizational learning and communities of practice, and continually organizing and disseminating knowledge for use by the students and for research. REFERENCES Effy Oz and Andy Jones [2008] . Management Information Systems. Course Technology, Division of language learning, inc ,London. James a. O’Brien (6th Ed). [2004]. Management information system. McGray-Hill New Delhi Kenneth C Laudon and Jane P. Laudon (10th Ed) [2006]. Management Information System Pearson Education, Inc. New Jersey. Margrette H Olson(2nd Ed) [2005] Management information systems , Tata McGraw-Hills, New York.. Nonaka, I. [1991] â€Å"he Knowledge Creating Company, Harvard Business Review, Paul Bocij Dave(3rd Ed) [2006]. Business Information System .Prentice Hall, London Kroenke and Hatch. (3rd Ed) [1989]. 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