Republica Himalayan Science Fair

REPUBLICA KATHMANDU, Jan 11: Himalayan Club de Scientia, an independent science club of Himalayan White House International College in New Baneshwor is organizing Himalayan Science Fair 2011. The event is taking place on January 28 and 29 from 10 am to 4:30 pm inside the college premise. Mukul Dhakal, Program Coordinator of the science exhibition and a grade 12 science student, shared, â€Å"We are organizing this nationwide science exhibition so that the students can get a platform where they will get to expose their talents.This way students who have learned science theoretically, will also get to experience it practically. † Dhakal further informed that the program is entirely a student program and is the first of its kind nationwide inter-college science exhibition where students from +2 or equivalent can participate and show their talents. The program also includes seminars, cultural programs, food festival, education fair and gaming competitions. Students participating f rom outside the Kathmandu valley will be provided room and board from January 27 to January 30.Sarin Raj Pokharel, Finance Director of the HICSCI club and a grade 12 science student, said, â€Å"Our club used to organize many events in which only the students from our college could participate. So for the first time we are independently organizing a nationwide mega event where everyone can participate and get an exposure to the practical aspects of science. † â€Å"The main reason behind organizing this event is to find and promote junior scientists. Since the demand of science and technology seems to be growing, we thought it is good to start from the college level itself in order to foster young talents,† he said.He further informed that after successfully organizing the 1st valley-wide inter-college science exhibition in 2009 where 28 colleges had participated, this year HICSCI stepped forward to organize the 1st nationwide science exhibition. â€Å"We expect 30 te ams from within the valley and 20 from outside. The event is being judged by science professors from Tribhuvan University. The first prize is Rs 25,000, second Rs 15,000 and third Rs 10,000,† informed Pokhrel. Those students and youth organizations interested to participate in the exhibition must register their team for the fair latest by Jan 20.

Resourcing talent Essay

The aims and objectives of this report are to: identify factors affecting an organization’s approach to attracting talent explain the benefits of attracting and retaining a diverse workforce describe factors affecting organizational approach to recruitment and selection give examples of recruitment and selection methods explain the purpose of induction and give a sample induction plan 2. ATRACTING TALENT 2. 1. 4 FACTORS THAT AFFECT AN ORGANISATION’S APPROACH TO ATTRACTING TALENT An organisation’s ability to attract talent from outside depends on how potential applicants view the company, the sector in which it operates and its culture. This is why BRAND IDENTITY seems to be one of the most important factors influencing an organisation’s approach to attracting talent. The top-notch candidates will always ask ‘what’s in this for me’? ‘Unless a business is a brand new start-up, they’re likely to have an existing reputation as an employer – whether this is intentional or not. Given that potential new employees make decisions about joining based on this impression, it pays to define a strategy to make sure the right (and real) messages are being heard. ’ (http://www. pageexecutive. com/insights/talent-attraction-through-employer-branding). WORKFORCE PLANNING which is company likely needs for talent is another very important factor. An organisation’s approach to attracting talent is determined by its workforce planning (WFP). This means: predicting organisation workforce requirements by taking into account: existing skills, training and development, retention, career progression, staff turnover, external factors like: economic climate, demographics, working patterns, and most importantly the demand and supply in labour market. Organisations need to have strategic approach to attracting talent and need to understand the importance of investment in human capital. Talent strategy must be as close to corporate strategy as possible. SIZE OF ORGANIZATION – A small organization cannot have same staffing practices which a large organization may have; it may not be able to attract highly talented staff. Even if it tries to do so it may increase the staffing cost. TYPE OF TALENT THE ORGANISATION IS LOOKING FOR is a very important factor in organisation’s approach to attracting potential employees. For example the level of staff required will determine the recruitment pool, low level team members will be easy to find locally whilst to find a senior manager or a director a company may have to resource internationally. Other factors influencing a company’s talent management are: type of product/services the company is delivering, recruitment tools/methods available, the labour market, national as well as international, legal factors, socio-culture factors or political influences. 2. 2. CIPD POINT OF VIEW ON TALENT MANAGEMENT HR professionals have a very important role in talent management. They have to understand the 4 areas of talent management which are: attracting, developing, managing and evaluating talent. In the current uncertain economic climate strategic approach to talent management is even more important than ever before. 3. A DIVERSE WORKFORCE 3. 1. 3 ORGANISATION BENEFITS OF ATRACTING AND RETAINING A DIVERSE WORKFORCE ‘Diversity is the art of thinking independently together’ Publisher Malcolm Forbes People need to be treated differently in ways that are fair and tailored to their needs but in ways that are aligned to business needs and objectives (The business case for diversity). There are many advantages of a diverse workforce: WIDENS THE RECRUITMENT POOL – ACAS points out that the working generation is getting older therefore people from different cultural ; ethnic backgrounds are entering the workforce. REDUCES LABOUR TURNOVER – looking at the UK labour market in the last 10 years, foreign workers are more motivated to work for lower salaries than people living permanently in the UK. They tend to stay in a job for long mainly due to their financial commitment to families living abroad. GIVES GOOD CORPORATE REPUTATION and this helps to attract talent. Organizations with high level of diverse workforce are valued by many people e. g. large supermarkets by having a diverse workforce on the shop floor help international customers to communicate with staff in their own languages. Other benefits of a diverse workforce include: it’s a key to fostering new ways of thinking, opens up a wealth of possibilities and helps to encourage creativity and foster innovation, gives bias-free people policies and working practices, helps to develop new products and practices, opens up new markets and provides due diligence against discrimination claims. 3. 2. CIPD POINT OF VIEW ON DIVERSE WORKFORCE Recognizing and valuing diversity is crucial to good people management practice. HR practitioners have important role in creating inclusive workplace. CIPD advises to companies to go beyond legal compliance with anti-discrimination laws and create diversity strategy or they will become less attractive to potential employees. Company diversity strategy needs to support business objectives and strategies. 4. RECRUITMENT AND SELECTION 4. 1. 3 FACTORS THAT AFFECT AN ORGANISATION’S APPROACH TO RECRUITMENT AND SELECTION Recruitment and selection is the process of having the right person, in the right place, at the right time. It should be affected by current needs as well as future plans (see workforce planning, page 3). One of the factors that can affect an organization’s approach to recruitment and selection is the EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES LEGISLATION. Companies should ensure that they take account of equality and diversity at all times. Organizations should monitor whole recruitment processes continuously to ensure their validity, and that they are non-discriminatory. Advice and guidance is provided by Equality and Human Rights Commission, for example wider advertising, flexible working hours arrangements or child care vouchers for employees. THE SIZE OF THE COMPANY AND RESOURCES AVAILABLE – small companies will have to use different recruitment and selection methods that the larger ones. The infrastructure and finance will determine if it’s a newspaper advert or TV campaign, for example: ‘Join the Army’ Campaign being used to recruit candidates. Also a small organisation will not be able to use assessment centres or psychometric testing due to low budget available. SUPPLY AND DEMAND The availability of manpower both within and outside the organization is an important determinant in the recruitment process. If the company has a demand for more professionals and there is limited supply in the market for the professionals demanded by the company, then the company will have to depend upon internal sources by providing them special training and development programs. Other factors include: costs, recruitment policy or unemployment rate. 4. 2. 3 DIFFERENT RECRUITMENT METHODS There are many recruitment methods available on the market including: advertising, agency, website, word of mouth, newspaper, posters, ‘milk round’, internships, head hunters, recommend a friend scheme, social media: Facebook, LinkedIn, job centre, etc. For the purpose of this exercise I will describe 3 methods in a table below: RECRUITMENT METHOD BENEFITS OTHER COMMENTS Advertising on the website Cost effective Creates employer’s branding Easily accessible Gives understanding of organization’s culture Broad recruitment pool HR managers are actively involved in recruitment and selection Recruitment agency Time effective Efficient Broadens the recruitment pool High standard UK eligibility and CRB checks done Is used to hire management level employees, mainly by larger organizations Recommend a friend scheme It’s less expensive than agency It comes with a recommendation of someone we already trust Used to employ all levels staff from waiters and chefs to senior management There is a risk of discrimination claim Source: Aleksandra Wozniak 2013 4. 3. 3 SELECTION METHODS There are many selection methods, including: assessment centres, speed networking, psychometric testing, daily trail – role practice, competency based interviews, telephone interviews/screening, group interviews/exercises or occupational tests. For the purpose of this exercise I will describe 3 methods in a table below: SELECTION METHOD BENEFITS OTHER COMMENTS Assessment centre Creates employer’s branding Time effective It’s expensive Doesn’t give understanding of organizational culture Face to face interview Time effective Efficient Cost effective Availability to see candidates’ attitude Opportunity for probing Needs good preparation Should be done by a trained and experienced interviewer Psychometric tests Gives highly predictive results Improves the efficiency of the recruitment process There is a risk of standardisation Source: Aleksandra Wozniak 2013 5. INDUCTION Induction is the process of familiarisation with the organisation and settling into the job (acas. org. uk). 5. 1. PURPOSE OF INDUCTION 1. Social welcome – employees feeling valued 2. Introduction to the Company’s culture 3. Physical orientation 4. Explanation of employee’s benefits: staff discount and pension scheme. 5. Check of eligibility to work in UK 6. Explanation of house rules – staff uniforms, reporting absences, etc. 5. 2. HOW DOES INDUCTION BENEFIT INDIVIDUALS AND ORGANISATIONS Most labour turnover is among new employees, and work efficiency is reached only after a period of learning and adjusting to the new environment. Induction benefits for individuals are: Builds positive attitude of the company Allows quick adjusting, especially for school leavers or people returning to the workforce Saves time The benefits of induction for an employer are: The chance to build on the positive attitude of the new recruit To answer their anxieties about how well they will get on with their co-workers and understand the standards and rules of the organisation Chance to welcome new employees and build on their positive attitude and enthusiasm for their new job An opportunity to familiarise new members of staff with your organisation To introduce them to their immediate colleagues and other members of the wider workforce Health and safety, equality and discrimination Case study illustrating the result of the lack of an induction process: A new employee starts on a Monday, reports to reception and no one knows he is due to start work on that day. He is sent to room 302 where 3 very surprised team members welcome him in a cold way. It transpires that the desk and computer are not ready and he has to share a desk with one of his colleagues. The new starter feels very lost and disappointed. He doesn’t know who to ask for help and find out only after going back home and visiting the web site. He contacts HR but the situation isn’t resolved until the following week. He doesn’t think positively about his new company and starts regretting quitting his last job. 5. 3. INDUCTION PLAN A copy of an induction plan should be kept by new starter to enable him to follow what is happening and will act as a reminder of anything missed or that needs particular attention. POSITION: EMPLOYEE START DATE: NAME: INDUCTION COMPLETION DATE: SIGNATURE: AREAS TO BE COVERED WHEN WHO HOW COMMENTS PERSONAL DOCUMENTATION/ ELIGIBILITY TO WORK IN UK CHECKED First day HR Take copies P45 First day HR Take copies NIN First day HR Take copies INTRODUCTION TO THE COMPANY First week Line manager Presentation Who’s who History Products/services/markets Future plans and developments TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT First day HR Written Written terms and conditions issued Contract of employment issued Hours, breaks, method of payment Holidays Clocking on/flexitime/reporting procedures Probationary period Period of notice Sickness provisions Pension provisions Maternity/paternity/parental leave provisions AREAS TO BE COVERED WHEN WHO HOW COMMENTS EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES POLICY AND WORKER DEVELOPMENT First week HR Verbal/Written Equal opportunities policy Training needs and objectives Further education/training policies Performance appraisal Promotion avenues Policy/procedures to prevent bullying and harassment WORKER/EMPLOYER RELATIONS First week Line manager Verbal Trade union membership Other worker representation Worker communications and consultation Grievance and disciplinary procedure Appeals procedure ORGANISATION RULES First week Mentor/Buddy Verbal/Coffee chat Smoking policy General behaviour/dress code Telephone calls/emails and use of the internet Canteen/break facilities Cloakroom/toilets/lockers HEALTH AND SAFETY First week Safety officer E learning Risk assessment Emergency procedures AREAS TO BE COVERED WHEN WHO HOW COMMENTS Awareness of hazards – any particular to type of work Safety rules Emergency procedures Clear gangways, exits Location of exits Reporting of accidents First aid Personal hygiene WELFARE AND WORKER BENEFITS/FACILITIES First month Section supervisor Coffee chat Sports facilities Protective clothing – supply, laundry, replacement Transport/parking arrangements Company discounts THE JOB First week Mentor/Buddy Coffee chat Introduction to manager/supervisor Requirements of new job Standards expected Co-workers Supervision and work performance appraisals Source: Induction, Appendix 3, acas. org. uk with small changes by Aleksandra Wozniak 2013 6. BIBLIOGRAPHY

Open an unusual business or service in city of Diamond Bar Research Paper

Open an unusual business or service in city of Diamond Bar - Research Paper Example Diamond bar has a total population of 55544 people based on the census conducted in the year 2010; which form total population density of 3731.5 people per square mile or 1440.8 KM2 (City-data, 2013). Notable to mention is that this numbers are much lower than the population count that was conducted in the year 2000 of 56287 people (City-data, 2013). Based on the2010 census, the total racial makeup was proved to compose of 29144 (52.5%) Asians, 18434 (33.2%) whites (with 21.3% Non-Hispanic whites), 2288 (4.1%) African American groups, 178 (0.3% Native Americans, 106 (0.2%) Pacific Islanders, 3237 (5.8%) for other races, 2157(3.9%) from two or more races and finally the Hispano or the Latino forming 20.1% 11138 people (Quickfacts.census, 2014). According to the statistics gathered in 2010, it is evident from the data that there were 17880 household in diamond bar (Quickfacts.census, 2014). Out of the entire population, it emanated that 102 or 0.2% of the households were living on non-institutionalized group’s quarters while 27 or 0% were living on institutionalized quarters (Quickfacts.census, 2014). Furthermore, basing on age groups, out of the registered 17880 households, it is only 39.2% or 7008 households that had children who were under the age of 18 and this related to 11895 children (City-data, 2013). In addition to this, it was recorded that 5590 (10.1%) people were aged 18 to 24, 13585 (2.5%) people were 25 to 44 years, 17988 (32.4%) were found to aged between 45 to 64 years (City-data, 2013). The elderly people in Diamond bar city which was composed of individuals with 65 years and above formed a population of 6486; relating to 11.7% of total population recorded in 2010 (City-data, 2013). The social status of Diamond Bar revealed that 66% or 11792 of the total population were married opposite sex couples, 2.8% (496) were mature unmarried opposite sex people, 71 (0.4%) were same

Historical Facts from 1890's Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Historical Facts from 1890's - Research Paper Example The invention of this was seen in both male and female circles, where in its early days it was played by both males and females with a popular following in both. The game of basketball also featured in colleges after it spread from YMCA gyms in 1892 (â€Å"1890-1930 Antique Style†). After the invention of basketball, the game, and the basketball as the medium of play, the rules governing the game took shape in the 1890s, especially in 1897 when the free throw was established at 15 feet from the hoop. As a result, the 1890s saw the birth of a game that has come a long way to gain popular following in modern times. In addition to sports, the first game professional football game was held in 1895 in Latrobe Pennsylvania, where Latrobe YMCA emerged as the winners against Jeannette Athletic Club (â€Å"The 1890's - The Age of Immigration†). The result was 12-0, which was quite a thrashing by the Latrobe YMCA. The year 1895 saw the first United States Golf Open occur in Newpo rt, Rhode Island, where the event was organized by USGA in which a thirty six hole competition took place between ten professionals and one amateur. Historically, it was also the first Open golfing event to be won by a foreigner, who in this case was an Englishman. Women Suffrage In women issues, two groups or unions that were fighting for the equal rights of women merged. The two groups were American Women Suffrage Movement (AWSA) and NSWA and merged in the year 1890 to form National Woman Suffrage Movement (NAWSA) under the leadership of Elizabeth Stanton (â€Å"Women's Rights Movement†¦.†). This made the women rights movement gain popularity throughout the 1890s and into the 1900s; in 1893, Colorado became the first state to take on an amendment that approved women the right to vote while Utah and Idaho followed in adoption in 1896. In addition to Idaho and Utah ratifying the women’s voting rights in 1896, there was the formation of The National Association of Colored Women in the same year. It was formed by bringing together over 100 clubs with membership of black women and aimed at promoting equality for women, raise finances for projects benefitting women and children, and opposing segregation and racial violence. To ease women suffrage, the first safety bike was made available in the United States in 1894 to suit the needs of women. This was termed as a step towards independence as women broke the convention in riding bicycles and working outside the home, gaining physical mobility. The same 1890s, in general, saw the fashion sense for women change dramatically concerning sports. This was concerning the rethinking of the fashion sense and its practicality to the activities in which women engaged especially cycling. Cycling did not require billowing skirts and corsets, but rather rational dress forms. Political Politically, the 1890s saw plenty happen in relation to the United States, especially with the implementation of policies that affected the relations of nationals and foreign affairs. In the year 1890, congress established the Oklahoma Territory on the lands that the Indians claimed to be theirs, which broke a significant trust. This is concerning the pledge that congress had made not to invade native Indian land, but rather preserve it for them. In the year that followed, a significant landmark occurred, in which a new

Healthcare system Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

Healthcare system - Research Paper Example gans such as centers for Medicare and Medicaid services, Department of Justice besides Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General. It outlines important clauses of the contract including payments and price, conflict resolution, contract termination or suspension among other key clauses. The document ensures a smooth and efficient arrangement of terms of contract between the service providers and the local authorities who commission the contract. As a result of the massive financial losses that have been experienced from disloyal and non-abiding medical professionals by patients, a number of mechanisms and legal provisions have been laid down to curb this act of fraud by the professionals. Such mechanisms have seen the states recover huge amount of cash from the fraudulent activities. The issue was treated with much weight that it formed one of the debated issues that was given priority in the congress proceedings in the United States of America. The mechanisms that were put in place to curb the act included establishment of statutes by the federal government and enactment of strict health legislation reforms under the patient protection and affordable care act. This research paper looks comprehensively into the statutes that were put in place by the federal government and some of the amendments that were done to the them by the patient protection act in a bid to see the patients of the country not overexploited and abused. The federal government provided severe penalties such including criminal and civil penalties and excluding an individual from the health care programs of the federal government all as a way of combating fraud. This law is also known as the physician self-referral statute prevented a medical practitioner from referring a beneficiary of Medicaid and Medicare to a an entity to be provided with any form of health care services in case there are direct financial links between the entity and either the medical

Strategy management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Strategy management - Essay Example The company is leading independent oil company in Africa and they have increased the penetration of their operation in the continent by exploring new oil basins in Ghana. Average daily production capacity of the group is 78,300 barrels of oil. Production capacity of Tullow Oil plc has increased by 35% over the last one year while at the same time the company has achieved a profit after tax of $689 million in the year 2011 (Tullow Oil plc, 2013). Industry experts have pointed out that completion of $2.9 billion farm down in Uganda has helped Tullow Oil plc to achieve financial flexibility and inorganic growth. Industry Analysis The study will try to analyze the oil and gas sector of UK in order to analyze the business environment in which Tullow Oil plc is operating. Tullow group is basically a British firm hence it will be feasible to analyze the oil and gas industry dynamics of UK. ... large players who have achieved high degree of vertical integration in the field of oil exploration, oil refining, crude oil production, transportation and marketing. Buyer- seller relationship in the oil and gas industry of the country is flexible because a seller can act as buyer in particular stage of the transaction. There is a complex buyer seller relationship which decreases the buyer power significantly. There are two types of buyers such as individual buyer and institutional buyer in the oil and gas industry of UK. Generally institutional buyers such as chemical companies and independent retailers make large purchases from oil and gas companies hence loosing such a client would impact negatively on the revenue of big companies. Presence of buyers who make large purchases has forced oil and gas companies to customize product offering. Price of undifferentiated product portfolio such as crude oil and gas is dependent on the supply and demand equation created by mercantile excha nge of London, New York and Dubai, which has further decreased the buyer power. Overall the buyer power is assessed as moderate. Supplier Power Companies like Smith International, Schlumberger, Baker Hughes and Halliburton are major suppliers for large oil and gas companies in United Kingdom. Generally oil companies need technical supports such as polycrystalline diamond compact bits, measurement while drilling from suppliers in order to continue the operation (Market Line, 2012b). Supplier power is also dependent on demand and supply equation of the industry hence overall supplier power is assessed as moderate. New Entrants It is very difficult to analyze the threat of new entrant in the industry because there is a possibility that a company can work in one or more section of the value

Implementation Memo Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Implementation Memo - Essay Example Although the daycare bus runs to the elementary, they do not have a route running at the high school. The second possibility is to incorporate a daycare at the high school. A room for the children could be set aside with fully licensed daycare workers and the mothers to take care of the children. The mothers would have one hour classes and receive credit for home economics as an elective. This option is supported by the town’s school. The benefit is mothers and children will be at the same site during the day. Babies and children can ride in car seats on regular buses. Another benefit is breastfeeding mothers will have access to their children. The one hour classes a day in the nursery will also provide the teenagers with guidance on how to feed, clean, and take care of their babies. There are two groups who have voiced concern. The first is the PTA at the school. Their concern is unwed teenage mothers might influence the other girls to have babies. I disagree. If babies and toddlers are at the school, maybe regular girls without children can take the home economics class. These girls would soon realize how uncool and complicated having a baby can be. The second group that has voiced concerns is the First Baptist Church. They also feel this is setting a bad example. I would hate to remind them how many of their daughters are unwed and mothers. I would also like to point out that many of these mothers, now older did not receive an education. These women work low level jobs and live in poverty. Only a few without education have succeeded in marriage or career. They are the exception, not the rule. In the end, the federal grant allows us to have this program. The organization I have chosen will be the school system. This is the easiest choice for transportation and location. However, I believe this will be the best example on what it really is like for unwed mothers. It will also help the mothers with their high school

Health Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 3

Health - Article Example Some, with adequate and early therapy, are able to attend regular classes in school and secure avenues of employment afterwards albeit somewhat limited. Though autism is incurable and usually results in social isolation to varying degrees, various forms of treatment have proven to make a decidedly positive impact in the way autistics interact with others. Autism is the most prevalent developmental disorder affecting one in every 166 children (â€Å"How Common?†, 2006). Symptoms of the disorder can be generally described as the incapability to adequately interact socially along with a disinterested demeanor. It is an abnormality in the structure of the brain caused by genetic predispositions or from damage occurring during the development phase (Bryson & Smith, 1998). The severity of autism varies widely among individuals as does its related symptoms but there are certain aspects relating to social interaction shared by all with the disorder. Avoiding direct eye contact, distinctive body posturing and facial expressions as well as other nonverbal communication deficiencies are a common trait. Autistic children seldom associate with those of their own age-group as well as showing a general disinterest in interacting with any other people. They also do not demonstrate empathy because they lack the understanding of another personà ¢â‚¬â„¢s sorrow or pain. Deficiencies in communication skills can include symptoms such as a delay in speaking development or not being able to speak at all. About half of those with autism never learn to talk. Well-designed and personalized programs targeted to manage an autistic person’s biological disorder have proven to take full advantage of their learning potential thus lessening the effects of autism. The objective of treatment is to enhance the child’s language and social development and to curb behaviors which impede the child’s learning capabilities. A cure is not possible because autism is a chronic cognitive

Law of Contract Assessment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Law of Contract Assessment - Essay Example The competency of the parties to the contract is not under question. It is implied that there exists lawful consideration and the lawful object is the plot of land. Legal position of the seller and buyer Based on the validity of the contract, the legal position derived from the contract is fairly defined in this case. The question of building construction is extraneous to the contract, and going by the facts of the case, the performance of the contract is not contingent upon the building permission. This is also strengthened by the fact that the building permission has never been applied for. The statement of Holger made during the course of conversation with Jaki, the manager of SkyReach â€Å"of course, it [building permission by the local planning department] should be no problem. As I understand it, inner city development is a top priority here† is based on the information available to him, which could not be construed as a statement of an expert by a manager in a real est ate company who is expected to be more knowledgeable in the business. The seller of a property should disclose any material defect in the property. Concealing the information would be an act of fraud. It is only Holger’s understanding, and there is no guarantee or concealment involved. Also, â€Å"the plot is restricted to ‘educational purposes’ only† cannot be treated as defect in property as reservation for various purposes is common; SkyReach could not allege concealment of information, and the contract is also not conditional on specific use of the plot. This aspect is extraneous to the contract, and Jaki had a time of one week to verify the position before entering into the contract after his discussions with Holger. Analysis The permission has been rejected on the grounds that the use of the plot is restricted to ‘educational purposes’ only.   A close analysis of the facts of the case reveals that SkyReach has applied for building perm ission as a rightful owner of the property based on the contract, which it can’t renege. Secondly, reservation of the plot for ‘educational purpose’ exists already, which the SkyReach failed to verify. Thirdly, according to the facts of the case, the sale is not conditional with reference to the purpose for which the plot could be used. The sale of real estate property is enforceable by specific performance in the event of a breach of contract. There are defenses available against specific performance which would avoid specific performance, and the only defence that could be remotely considered as an action in equity is, ‘specific performance would cause severe hardship to SkyReach’, because other defences such as misbehavior and impossibility of performance are not relevant to the case. But, defence against specific performance is not possible due to the reasons discussed under ‘Legal position of the seller and buyer’, based on the fact s of the case and analysis. In Tamplin v James,[1]  Ã‚   defendant, the buyer failed to perform in the contract of sale on the grounds that that he expected that two pieces of garden formed part of the lot, when they were in fact held by a railway company and not the vendor. In this landmark case, the court decreed specific performance for purchase of the land. The defendant’s appeal was unanimously dismissed by the Court of

Incident Command System; Principles and Features Part I; Mitigation Case Study

Incident Command System; Principles and Features Part I; Mitigation and Risk Reduction - Case Study Example This information will all be acquired at the city council’s office or the city building authority The other important aspect of this floor plan is to get information about the infrastructure, drainages and gutters, general slope of the land, any nearby streams and rivers, underground pipes and cables and other features that are in the area. It also helps in determining the accessibility of the whole area, type of terrain, location of the safe houses and whether they can easily be accessed â€Å"The rapid needs assessment is a description of the extent of the damage that is sustained by the community. It is the general scope of the disaster in the area† (Flood plain management, 2011). This information can be acquired in the local authorities or any disaster management officials in the city, such as the Red Cross. The rapid needs assessment contains information on: Medical needs and availability of resources – This is information on the injuries, loss of lives and the number of victims that required assistance. It also states the number of medical teams that were at the scene of rescue and the facilities that are functional in the area. The availability of adequate medical equipment and supplies and the requirement for outside assistance are also documented in this assessment. Mass care – This is the mass equipment such as shelter, food and water and relief supplies that are available for the rescued group and the community in general once they are moved from the affected areas. Effect on infrastructure – This is the assessment of the amount of damage caused to the infrastructure. This is the impact on things such as buildings, roads, sewages and drainages, power generating facilities, schools and hospitals, communication lines, water pipes and distribution facilities. Release of dangerous materials – These are the materials that may have been released and can cause harm to the

Outline and essay of Thomas Jefferson Essay Example for Free

Outline and essay of Thomas Jefferson Essay Thomas Jefferson I. Thomas Jefferson (1743-1836) II. A. Education- Was sent to Dover, Virginia, where he studied Latin with Reverend William Douglas until 1757. He was then sent to the school of the Reverend James Maury at Hanover, Virginia, and spent two years studying Greek and Latin classics, history, literature, geography, and natural science. In March 1760 Jefferson entered the College of William and Mary. B. Occupational Background- 1767- Jefferson admitted to the practice of law and became a successful lawyer. Also supervised the Shadwell Plantation. Was a member of the Virginia House of Burgesses. Took an active part in events that lead to the American Revolution. 1776- Jefferson took his seat in Congress as an elected delegate and wrote the Declaration of Independence. Served as Secretary of State under Washington and Vice president under Madison. III. Served two terms (1800-1808) IV. Key issues prominent in Election- federal government vs. states rights, westward expansion of the nation, Native Americans, the freedom of lower class white men. V. Opponents A. First Election (1800)- Aaron Burr (Democratic-Republican), John Adams (Federalist), Charles C. Pinckney (Federalist), John Jay (Federalist) B. Second Election (1804)- Charles C. Pinckney (Federalist) VI. Vice President A. 1st term vice- Aaron Burr B. 2nd term vice- George Clinton VII. Political Party of Jefferson- Democratic-Republican VIII. Domestic Happenings A. Louisiana Purchase (1803)- The Louisiana Territory was purchased for 15 million dollars from France. Doubled the size of U.S. secured navigation rights on the Mississippi River. Authorized purchase without making amendment, exercised the presidents implied powers to protect the nation. B. 12th Amendment (1804)- Citizens are to vote for President and Vice President separately. Prevented future electoral crises. C. Non-Importation Act (1807)- prohibited importation from Great Britain of cloth and metal articles. D. Embargo Act (1807)- Stopped shipments of food and other American products to foreign ports. Many were thrown out of work because of it. Was created to maintain U.S. neutrality. Created as a short-term measure to prevent confrontation between American merchant vessels and British and French warships and to put pressure on France and England. E. Non- Intercourse Act (1809)- passed by Jefferson in his last days of office. Reopened trade with all nations except Britain and France, and authorized the president to resume trade with Britain or France if either of them ceased to violate neutral rights. IX. Foreign Policy Decisions- Stated under domestic happenings. X. Major Conflict of Administration- A. Tripoli War (1801-05)- A conflict between the United States and Tripoli, incited by American refusal to continue payment of tribute to the piratical rulers of the North African Barbary States of Algiers, Tunis, Morocco, and Tripoli. Involved North Africa, was extension of fight about protection from pirates in Barbary States. B. Marbury v. Madison (1803)- Supreme Court of the United States established its authority to review and invalidate government actions that conflict with the Constitution of the United States. First time that the Supreme Court declared an act of Congress to be unconstitutional. Established Judicial Review. C. Burr Hamilton Duel (1804)- Hamilton publicly criticized Burr, Burr demanded for an apology and a duel resulted. Hamilton was fatally wounded. D. Republicans attack the federalist judiciary (1804)- Republicans were making every effort to remove federalist judges from power. The house was unable to impeach Supreme Court Justice Samuel Chase. Preserved the Courts independence and established the precedent that criminal actions were the only grounds for impeachment. E. The Chesapeake Incident (1807)- British ship fired upon American ship that refused to be searched for deserters. Three Americans were killed, and eighteen wounded British seized four deserters, three were American citizens. Exposed American military weakness and increased the impact of impressments on the public. Would be the cause of Embargo Act. XI. Major Social Changes- A. Peoples involvement in Politics increased. 90 percent of eligible voters cast ballots between 1804 and 1816. Political barbeques states, and new style of campaigning evolved. B. Slave revolutionist ideas began. C. American Art began to take shape. 1. Rembrandt Peale was one of most famous of first American artists. Was famous for his portraits of American presidents. XII. Major Inventions and Technological Advancements A. Robert Fultons invention the Steamboat, Clermont(1807) makes its debut XIII. Thomas Jefferson was a fairly good president and receives an overall rating of 6.5. His decisions and ideas were sometimes wise and sometimes foolish. Jeffersons main goals were to restore government to its limited role, to extend the Republicans power in the federal government, to establish republican virtues such as independence, self-reliance, and equality, and to reduce the National debt as much as possible. He also wanted to expand the nation and make it as powerful as possible. Like the presidents before him, he also wanted to maintain neutrality, undisturbed commerce, and no entangling alliances. Adams accomplished some of these goals. Initially, the national debt was decreased. Congress repealed all internal taxes, including the Whiskey Tax. Jefferson also declined to use the Alien and Sedition Acts against his opponents, and congress allowed both acts to expire. The Naturalization Act was also replaced with a much less severe one. He refused to recognize any of the appointments Adams made in the last days of his presidency, and awarded vacant treasury and judicial offices to republicans. He succeeded in his goal and got rid of the old Federalist programs he didnt like. As for expansion, the purchase of the Louisiana Territory allowed Jefferson to achieve exactly what he had dreamed of. It also prevented war with France, over the Mississippi River. Accomplishing this goal however, contradicted his goal of eliminating the National debt and strictly abiding by the Constitution. Jeffersons cabinet included Aaron Burr (1801) and George Clinton (1805-1809) as Vice president, James Madison as Secretary of State (1801-1809), Secretary of the Treasury Samuel Dexter (1801) and Albert Gallatin (1801-1809), Secretary of War Henry Dearborn (1801-1809), and Secretary of Navy Robert Smith(1801-1809). Albert Gallatin was one of Jeffersons best  appointments. Gallatin worked to help achieve Jeffersons goals in National budget. He cut the army budget in half and reduced the 1802 Navy budget by two-thirds. Gallatin moved to reduce the national debt from 83 million to 57 million. Robert Smith also had a significant influence. He oversaw the Navy that blockaded Tripoli to win the Tripoli war and also forced the Algiers and Tunis to renounce attacks against Americans. The president chose his cabinet because he believed they were the most qualified and wanted to achieve the same things he did. This was true for the most part, and his cabinet was on his side. The president and congress got along very well. The Republicans were in majority throughout his presidency so Jefferson had no problems with congress. When Jefferson declined using the Alien and Sedition Acts congress let them expire. Congress repealed the Naturalization Act, and created a new one that required less for citizenship. Congress also repealed the Judiciary Act of 1801, so Jefferson could appoint a Supreme Court member. Jefferson controlled congress through his leadership of the Republican Party. It was firmly on Jeffersons side and did everything it could to further the republican interest. Jefferson had to deal with domestic and foreign crises. The nations had built up a large debt, which could be called a crisis. Jefferson wanted to reduce the debt as much as possible. At first, he did do this by cutting funding. But with the purchase of the Louisiana Territory the debt only increased. In the seas, Jefferson was faced with a number of problems. Britain was practicing impressments. Senate passed the non-importation act but he suspended it in hopes of a negotiation settlement. Negotiations were unsuccessful so nothing changed. At the time the impressments of sailors wasnt considered a crisis, but the Chesapeake affair made everyone aware. In reaction, Jefferson did not declare war, because he knew Britain had a superior Navy. Instead, he closed American waters to the British, and issued the Non-importation and Embargo Act. War may have been avoided, but by closing all American ports Jefferson created his own new crises. Smuggling resulted and the American economy plumme ted. By issuing the Embargo Act, he hurt his own nation more then his intended targets, Great Britain and  France. Resentment was also created throughout New England, and talk of succession started. To deal with this crisis he created, Jefferson issued the Non-Intercourse Act. The new Act solved the problems created by the embargo, but didnt prevent any of the same problems that prompted it. The issuing of these acts was by far the presidents greatest failure. Although it was a failure, some good did come out of it. Americas industries grew. Forbidden to trade, Americans had to make their own products. The Embargo precipitated the Industrial Revolution. For Jefferson, the crises he dealt with are ones hed rather forget. A minor crisis which Jefferson had to deal with was Aaron Burrs conspiracy, the details of which are still unknown, either to establish an independent republic in the Louisiana Territory or to launch an invasion of Spanish-held Mexico. Jefferson acted swiftly to arrest Burr early in 1807 and brought him to trial for treason. Jefferson is not known as a good president for how he dealt with crises, it is the opposite. As for his accomplishments, the Louisiana Purchase was his greatest success. The territory was vast and benefited the nation in many ways. Not only was war avoided, but a mass amount of land was acquired. Navigation on the Mississippi River was also gained, which was extremely important for trade. This accomplishment was perhaps one of the greatest of any president and administration in American History. Thomas Jefferson was greatly respected by the people of his day. He was well known as a revolutionary leader and as the author of the Declaration of Independence. He was also known and respected as the governor of Virginia. He truly served the people, and was the first president to lead a political party. Jefferson was a leader, and everyone who knew of him saw him as one. Jefferson was frugal, simple, and fickle. From the beginning, Jefferson made it clear that he wanted to represent the average American, unlike the other presidents before him, he dressed plainly, even at his inauguration. He was frugal in that he cut spending as much as possible, internal taxes were reduced and the military budget was cut, with the exception of the Louisiana Purchase. He was fickle in that he did not hesitate in buying the Louisiana Territory, using Federal power. Jefferson was known to believe in strict interpretation of the Constitution and it did not state that the president  had the authority to acquire new territory and integrate it into the nation. The president and his administration influenced decisions made by future administrations. Jeffersons decision to exercise the implied powers the president has to protect the nation set a precedent for future presidents. Many things Jefferson and his administration did also affected the lives of future generations. The purchase of the Louisiana territory would create a whole new group of people, called frontiersman. People would settle into the area and live new lives. Purchasing the territory, although causing further debt, was the best thing for the country. It would end up being an excellent investment. Jeffersons embargo act, also had a dramatic affect on the future. He did not know at the time, but the embargo Act would enhance Americas industries, and start a whole new trend. When the president made his decisions they were thought through, although not always good ones. The decisions Jefferson made in foreign affairs were mostly correct, because the nation was not ready for war and to stay neutral was the best thing. But Jefferson should have avoided war by using methods other than economic pressure. Jefferson was fairly-open minded and would listen to others. Its hard to say precisely how open-minded he was, because his cabinet and congress agreed with him on just about everything. Overall, Thomas Jefferson was a good president. Although his results were far from perfect at times, his intentions were good.

Starbucks for or Against the War in Iraq Essay Example for Free

Starbucks for or Against the War in Iraq Essay Although it is unclear as to whether or not Starbucks ever actually refused to donate coffee to US troops fighting overseas or not, if they did it was not because â€Å"they don’t support the war or anyone in it† as the original message sent out by Sgt. Howard C. Wright claims. The Starbucks company policy regarding donations has strict guidelines regarding beneficiaries that must fall under their definition of a â€Å"public charity,† which the Military does not. Also, according to the Starbucks website, the company has not at any time taken a stand for or against the Iraq War; although they have stated that they support the men and women fighting for their country in the United States Military and the British Royal Marines. United States Marine Sgt. Howard C. Wright, who wrote the original email sent out in May of 2004, sent out another email approximately 5 months later recanting his previous statement and apologizing. The original email was sent out by Sgt. Howard C. Wright of the United States Marines after hearing by word of mouth that Starbucks did not support the war or the people fighting it. Sgt. Wright, it seems, sent the email out after hearing the story from a friend, who heard it from a friend, and then speaking to the Marine who had supposedly contacted Starbucks before first doing any research into the matter. Sgt. Wright has since received many copies of Starbucks’ policy regarding the issue to help and resolve any misconceptions there may have been. In typical rumor fashion, neither party is able to supply a copy of the original request sent by Sgt. Wright’s fellow Marine, nor a copy of the response to the request sent out by Starbucks. Since there is no written proof that this truly ever happened many have dismissed the allegation as being false and moved on. Although Starbucks made sure to post an article on the company website in January of 2005, and then update it in May of 2012, denying the allegations and confirming the fact that employees are able, and do in fact, send their weekly free coffee to the troops, bad press always travels faster and farther than good press. This leads into the fact that there are going to be people that will continue to boycott Starbucks based on the original rumor simply because they will not believe the subsequent email sent out by Sgt. Wright recanting his original statement. Even though Starbucks has a strict policy on the donation of goods only to â€Å"public charities† I believe it would be in their best interest to donate coffee to the United States Military and do it on a large enough scale to get media attention. This may put quite a dent into their earnings for the year but in turn would create a plethora of new customers because people support businesses that support our troops. January 11, 2005 and May 2012. Starbucks Support of the Troops/Military [Updated May 2012]. Retrieved February 25th, 2013. URL: http://news.starbucks.com/about+starbucks/myths+facts/militarydonations.htm August 8, 2004 and February 10, 2013. G. I. Joe. Retrieved February 25, 2013. URL: http://www.snopes.com/politics/military/starbucks.asp

Cryptography and Steganography For Secure Communication

Cryptography and Steganography For Secure Communication Combination of Cryptography and Steganography for secure communication is a tool that combines both Cryptography methods and Steganography techniques for secure communication. The application is a cross-platform tool that can be effectively hide a message inside a digital video file. In the field of data communication, security has the top priority. Cryptography is one of the technique for secure plain text messages. Cryptography makes the necessary elements for secure communication namely privacy, confidentiality, key exchange and authentication but reveals the fact that communication is happening. Steganography takes cryptography a step farther by hiding the existence of the information. Steganography plays a vital role in the data communication field in the future primarily in computer security and privacy on open systems such as internet. The figure below[1], gives different applications of Steganography. Protection against detection (Data hiding) and protection against removal (Document Marking) are two major areas Steganographic methods are used. Steganographic Data hiding algorithms allows user to hide large amounts of information within digital files like Image, audio and video files. These forms of Steganography often used in conjunction with cryptography adding layers of security. The Other major area of Steganography is document marking where the message to be inserted is used to assert copyright over a document. This can be further divided into watermarking and fingerprinting. Copyright abuse is the motivating factor in developing new document marking technologies like digital watermarking and digital fingerprinting. Digital Watermarking is a way to hide a secret or personal message to protect a products copyright or to demonstrate data integrity. Digital Fingerprinting  is an emerging technology to protect multimedia from unauthorized redistribution. It embeds a unique ID into each users copy, which can be extracted to help identify culprits when an unauthorized leak is found [2]. Neither Cryptography nor Steganography is a turnkey solution to privacy of open systems. To add multiple layers of security it is always a good practice to use both Cryptography and Steganography together. While performing Cryptography we should know two formulas ( Cipher formula, Decipher formula). Rationale: To make the communication more secure in this application we are implementing three layers of security like Steganography, Cryptography and Compression. The application first compresses the word document with secret message, and then encrypts the compressed file and uses the resulted file as the secret message to hide in the digital video file generating a Stego-object. The intended receiver de-embeds decrypts and decompresses the Stego-object respectively to get the hidden message. This paper also attempts to identify the requirements of a good Steganographic algorithm and briefly reflects on different types of steganalysis techniques.The application uses Tiny encryption algorithm and Discrete Cosine Transformation-Least significant bit algorithm for implementing Cryptography and Steganography respectively. The outcome of this project is to create a cross-platform tool that can effectively hide a message (i.e. Word document) inside a digital video file. It is concerned with embeddin g information in a secure and robust manner. REVIEW OF RELEVANT LITERATURE Background to subject of study: The idea of building this tool is to make the communication is such a way that no one can detect the message inside the stego-object. Earlier we have tools for different tools for Steganography and Cryptography. In this tool we are implementing three layers of security (Steganography, Cryptography and Compression) so that the communication can be more secure and all can be done in a single tool instead of using three different tools. Steganography has came into usage in 1990s and it is still using in many ways by Governments, Private citizens, Business and Terrorist organizations for communication to share information and passwords. Cryptography came into consideration in 18th century. The goal of cryptography is to make it possible for two communication entities to exchange a message in such a way that no third party can understand the message. Cryptography has been implementing from many days, in the World war Germany and USA. They have used it in sharing messages and implemented machines to implement cryptography. Examples and critique of current research in the field: There are many tools that are implementing Steganography now a days. The SARC (Steganography Analysis and Research Center has implemented three tools in steganography like Steganography Analyzer Artifact Scanner, Steganography Analyzer Signature Scanner and Steganography Analyzer Real-Time Scanner. The Steganography Analyzer Artifact Scanner detect files and registry entries associated with steganography applications where as Steganography Analyzer Signature Scanner detect files containing steganography and extract the hidden information and the Steganography Analyzer Real-Time Scanner detect steganography artifacts and signatures in real-time over a network. S-Tool is also one of the steganography tool that is using now a days. Its free to download and hides the data in an image or sound file. It compresses the data before encrypting and hides it in a image file or audio file. PILOT RESEARCH STUDY Hypothesis: As sending the message will be easy for unauthorized persons to detect the information in the situations like passwords sharing and confidential information sharing. So for that we have methods that can make the information secure. By using Steganography and Cryptography techniques we can share the information more securely by hiding the information in other files. Even though we have some risks that are involved in these techniques we can be rectified to certain extend by using this tool. Research method: This application is implemented for secure transmission of data. In this application we have three layers of security like compression, Cryptography and Steganography. We are using different type of algorithms in Cryptography and Steganography so that the hackers cannot identify which algorithm is supposed to be used. In secret key Cryptography several algorithms are in operation like Data Encryption Standard (DES), Rivest Chipers (aka Rons Code), Advanced Encryption Standard (AES), Blowfish and CAST-128/256. In public key Cryptography we have Elliptic Curve Cryptography(ECC), ElGamal, Digital signature Algorithm (DSA), Diffie-Hellman and RSA algorithms mostly isong now a days. In hash function in Cryptography Hash of variable length(HAVAL), Tiger, RIPEMD, Secure Hash Algorithm (SHA) and Message Digest Algorith(MD) are in use. Tiny Encryption Algorithm is also one of the Feistel Cipher encryption algorithm that was designed in 1994 is used in Cryptography that uses mixed orthogonal algebraic groups like ADD, SHIFT and XOR. In steganography we are using different Steganographic methods for hiding information into a video file like LSB (Discrete Cosine Transformation-List Significant Bit Encoding). Each frame in a video file holds a piece of secret message. Cryptography use cipher algorithm for encryption and decryption of data. In the previous decades they were used ciphers like Scytale Transportation Cipher, Caesar Substitution Chiper, Zodiac Chiper and Vigenere Polyalphabetic Substitution. Both Steganography and Cryptography are data security techniques, but the cryptography is implemented to data unread and Steganography in for data unseen. Steganography can use Cryptography where as Cryptography cannot use Steganography. Steganography implemented to Cryptographic data will increase in security level. Initial Results: In this application i am implementing three layers of security to make the information more secure. There are no any tools that implementing all the three layers like compression, Cryptography and Steganograpy. We have tools for steganography like S-Tool and for Cryptography. By using one tool instead of using three tools will save time and money with more security. This is the basic advantage of this application. The help document will guide in Interface. OUT LINE OF PROPOSAL Aims of the Investigation: The aim of this paper is to describe a method for integrating together cryptography and Steganography for secure communication using a Video file. The proposed system first compresses the secret message (i.e. word document) and then implements cryptographic algorithms to the compressed message. The resulted file is used as the secret message to be hidden in the digital video file. Once the video file is embedded with the secret message, it is sent to the intended receiver. The video file should be de-embedded, decrypted and decompressed to get the original secret message hence, adding three layers of security to the communication. I am going to design a good Graphical User Interface (GUI) with help notes so that anyone can understand ahout the application easily. Research Objectives: The objective of this project is to hide secret messages (e.g. Text Phrase, word document) inside other harmless messages such as Image and Video file, in a way that does not allow any third party to even detect that there is a second secret message present in it. The application implements this by combining the Steganographic methods with Cryptographic techniques (i.e. Encryption, decryption) to make the transfer more secure. It is concerned with embedding information in a secure and robust manner. The Text file will be compressed and after that the compressed file will go on with a Cryptography and Steganography. Methodologies: Modules of the Application: The application has two modes of operation i.e. Sender and Receiver. The three major modules for Sender mode of application are Compression: The application first compresses the document to be transferred Encryption: An Encryption algorithm encrypts the compressed file and the resulted file is used as secret message. Embedding: The encrypted file is hidden in the Harmless Message (video file) using corresponding Steganographic algorithm, which generates a Stego Object, which is sent to the intended recipient. The three major modules for the Receiver mode of application are De-Embedding: The Stego Object is de-embedded generating an encrypted file. Decryption: The encrypted file is decrypted using an the Encryption algorithm, and the resulted file is given to the compression module De-Compression: The application then de-compresses the document and we have the Secret message. Steganography and cryptography are closely related. Cryptography scrambles messages so they cannot be understood Whereas, Steganography will hide the message so there is no knowledge of the existence of the message [7]. Sending an encrypted message will arouse suspicion while an invisible message will not do so. The application developed in this project combines both sciences to produce better protection of the message. Even if the Steganography fails since the message is in encrypted form it is of no use for the third party, hence the information is secure. In Cryptography we have used three types of methodologies and are implemented depending on the encryption Algorithm.They are Secret key Cryptography, Public key Cryptography and hash function. These 3 methods are briefly explained below. Secret Key Cryptography: Secret key Cryptography, also known as symmetric encryption uses same key for encryption and decryption. The sender uses key to encrypt the text and sends ciphertext to the receiver. The receiver applies the same key to decrypt the message and recover the Text. K K Text Ciphertext Text E( ) D( ) K-key, E-Encryption, D-Decryption Secret key Cryptography The above figure shows the process of secret key cryptography. The biggest difficulty with this approach is the distribution of the key. Block ciphers can operate in one of the several modes. Electronic Codebook (ECB), Cipher Block Chaining (CBC), Cipher Feedback (CFB), Output Feedback (OFB) are the most important modes. Data Encryption Standard (DES), Advanced Encryption Standard (AES), CAST-128/256, Rivest Ciphers (aka Rons Code), Blowfish are some of the Secret key cryptography algorithms [3]. Public-Key Cryptography: K1 K2 Text Ciphertext Text E( ) D( ) K-key, E-Encryption, D-Decryption Public key Cryptography Public key cryptography is a two-key cryptography system in which two keys are used in encryption and decryption for secure communication without having to share a secret key. One key is used to encrypt the text, designated the public key which can be advertised. The other key is used to decrypt the ciphertext to plaintext and is designated the private key which is never revealed to another party. This approach also called as asymmetric cryptography, because we use a pair of keys. The figure shows the process of the public cryptographic algorithms. Public key cryptography depends upon the one-way functions, which are easy to compute whereas their inverse function is relatively difficult to compute. RSA, Diffie-Hellman, Digital signature Algorithm (DSA), ElGamal, and Elliptic Curve Cryptography (ECC, are the examples of Public-key cryptography algorithms [3]. Hash Functions: Hash functions, are also called as message digests and one-way encryption. Hash function algorithms do not use a key to carry out the encryption and decryption process. Instead, the algorithm computes a fixed length hash value based upon the text that keeps both the contents and the length of the message secure. Tiny Encryption Algorithm is a Feistel cipher encryption algorithm that uses operations from mixed orthogonal algebraic groups like XOR, ADD and SHIFT. David Wheeler and Roger Needham of the Cambridge University Computer Laboratory designed TEA in the year 1994. A Feistel cipher is a block cipher with a structure known as a Feistel network. In a Feistel cipher, the data been encrypted is split into two halves. The function F( ) is applied to one half using a sub key and the output of F() is XORed with the other half and the two halves are swapped. Each round function follows the same pattern except for last round. A nice feature of a Feistel cipher is that encryption and decryption are identical i.e. the sub keys used during encryption at each round are taken in reverse order while decryption [4]. The main goal of TEA is to minimize memory footprint and maximize speed. TEA is simple to implement, has less execution time, and takes minimal storage space. TEA uses a large number of iterations rather than a complicated program. Notation: Any number subscripted with h represents a Hexadecimal number e.g: 10h represents 16 in decimal values. Notations for Bitwise Shifts and Rotations: x x >> y: denotes logical right shift of x by y bits. x x >>> y: denotes right rotation of x by y bits. XOR: In computer science, an XOR is a mathematical operation that combines two bits. It returns value is TRUE if either of the two bits is TRUE, but false if both are equal. For our cryptography algorithm, we do an XOR combining two strings of bits. Say x and y are two string patterns then XOR for x and y is denoted by xà ¢Ã…  Ã¢â‚¬ ¢y [4]. Integer Addition and Subtraction: The operation of integer addition modulo 2n is denoted by and subtraction modulo 2n is denoted by. Where x, y à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã‹â€  Z2n (The value of n should be clear from the context) The key is set at 128 bits and the key schedule algorithm splits the 128-bit key K into four 32-bit blocks K = ( K[0], K[1], K[2], K[3]). The 128-bit key is enough to prevent simple search techniques being effective [4]. Encryption Routine: The Encrypt Routine given in figure [4], is written in the C language and assumes a 32-bit word size. The 128 bit key is split into four parts and is stored in K[0] k[3] and the Data is stored in v[0] and v[1]. void code(long* v, long* k) { unsigned long y=v[0],z=v[1], sum=0, /* set up */ delta=0x9e3779b9, /* a key schedule constant */ n=32 ; while (n>0) { /* basic cycle start */ sum += delta ; y += ((z>5)+k[1]) ; z += ((y>5)+k[3]) ; } /* end cycle */ v[0]=y ; v[1]=z ; } Encryption Routine for TEA The constant delta is given as delta = (à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã… ¡5 -1) * 231 i.e. 9E3779B9h and is derived from the golden number ratio to ensure that the sub keys are distinct and its precise value has no cryptographic significance. TEA uses addition and subtraction as the reversible operators instead of XOR. The TEA encryption routine relies on the alternate use of XOR and ADD to provide nonlinearity. The algorithm has 32 cycles (64 rounds). TEA is short enough to write into almost any program on any computer. TEA on one implementation is three times as fast as a good software implementation of DES, which has 16 rounds. The figure shown below [4], gives an overview of two rounds i.e. one cycle of TEA. Key size: 128 bit key is split into four subkeys K = { K[0],K[1],K[2],K[3] } Block size: 64 bits Structure: Feistel Network Rounds: Variable (64 Feistel rounds (32 cycles) is recommended). . Represents Integer addition modulo Represents XOR Represents logical left shift by 4 bits Represents logical right shift by 5 bits Two Feistel Rounds (one cycle) of TEA Inputs for the Encryption routine: Plaintext P, Key K The plaintext is split into two halves as P= (Left[0],Right[0]) Output for the Encryption routine: The cipher text is C Where C=(Left[64], Right[64]). The plaintext block is split into two halves, Left[0] and Right[0] and each half is used to encrypt the other half over 64 rounds of processing then combined to produce the cipher text block. Each round i has inputs Left[i-1] and Right[i-1], derived from the previous round, as well as a sub key K[i] derived from the 128 bit overall K. The Output and the delta constant of the ith cycle of TEA are given as Left [i+1] = Left[i] F ( Right[i], K [0, 1], delta[i] ), Right [i +1] = Right[i] F ( Right[i +1], K [2, 3], delta[i] ), delta[i] = (i +1)/2 * delta, The sub keys K[i] are different from K and from each other. The Round function F contains the key addition, bitwise XOR and both left and right shift operations, and given as F(M, K[j,k], delta[i] ) = ((M > 5) K[k]) F Round function and K[i] key for the ith round Encryption Process for TEA The keys K[0] and K[1] are used in the odd rounds and the keys K[2] and K[3] are used in even rounds. The round function of TEA encryption algorithm differs slightly from a classical Feistel cipher structure where integer addition modulo-2 ³Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ ² is used instead of XOR as the combining operator. The above figure[4] gives an overview of the encryption process for TEA. Decryption Routine: void decode(long* v, long* k) { unsigned long n = 32, sum, y = v[0], z = v[1], delta = 0x9e3779b9 ; sum = delta /* start cycle */ while (n>0) { z = (y>5)+k[3] ; y -= (z>5)+k[1] ; sum -= delta ; } /* end cycle */ v[0] = y ; v[1] = z ; } Decryption Routine for TEA The decryption routine shown in the figure[4], is same as the encryption routine with the cipher text as input and the sub keys K[i] are used in the reverse order. Inputs for the Decryption routine: Cipher text C, Key K The cipher text is split into two halves as C= (DLeft[0],DRight[0]) Where Dleft[0]=ERight[64] and DRight[0]=Eleft[64] Output for the Decryption routine: The plain text is P, Where C=(DLeft[64], DRight[64]). F Round function and K[i] key for the ith round. Decryption Process for TEA The figure [4] gives the structure of the decryption algorithm for TEA. The intermediate value for the decryption process equals the corresponding value of the encryption process with the two halves of the value swapped. For example say the output of the nth round of the encryption process is ELeft[i] concatenated with ERight[i] then the input to the (64-i)th decryption round is DRight[i] concatenated with DLeft[i]. DCT-LSB (Discrete Cosine Transformation-List Significant Bit Encoding): DCT-LSB is a Steganographic method is a substitution algorithm used for hiding information behind Video files. Each frame in the video holds a part of the secret message. Discrete Cosine Transform (DCT) transforms successive 8 ÃÆ'- 8 pixel blocks of the frame into 64 DCT coefficients each. The DCT coefficients D(i, j) of an 8 ÃÆ'- 8 block of image pixels p(x, y) are given by the formula below Least Significant Bit (LSB) is a simple Steganographic method that takes the individual pixels of the frame and replaces the least significant bits with the secret message bits. It is by far the most popular of the coding techniques used. The process of LSB algorithm is shown in the figure below. Embed Extract LSB Process We can commandeer the least significant bit of 8-bit true color image to hold each bit of our secret message by simply overwriting the data that was already there. The impact of changing the least significant bit is almost imperceptible. Input: message, cover image Output: steganographic object containing message while data left to embed do get next DCT coefficient from cover file if DCT à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ °Ã‚   0 and DCT à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ °Ã‚   1 then get next bit from the Secret message replace DCT LSB with message bit end if insert DCT into steganographic object end while Embedding Process of DCT-LSB Input: steganographic object containing message Output: message, cover image while data left to extract do get next DCT coefficient from Stego object if DCT à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ °Ã‚   0 and DCT à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ °Ã‚   1 then Extract the DCT LSB bit from the object Copy to message file end if end while Extracting Process of DCT-LSB The above figures[5] gives algorithms for embedding and extracting secret information in video files using DCT-LSB algorithm respectively. DEFLATE COMPRESSION ALGORITHM DEFLATE is a no loss compressed data format that compresses data using a combination of the LZ77 algorithm and Huffman coding. Independent of CPU type, operating system, file system, and character set Compatible with widely used gzip utility Worst case 5bytes per 32Kbyte block[6]. Ethical Considerations: There are two possible ways of attacks on Steganography (Detection and Destruction) of embedded message. The properties of the file in which we are hiding information will differ when hiding message into it. The Steganalysis will find it and analyse the stego object. Steganalysis is the technique used to detect hidden messages in digital data like video or audio file steganographically[7]. Steganalysis is used to disrupt the steganographic elements to transfer by extracting, disabling or disrupting. Detection: Most Steganographic techniques involve in changing the properties of original harmless messages like Image and Video files and the detection algorithms concentrate on detecting these changes [8]. Detecting the existence of a hidden message will save time in the message elimination phase by processing only those digital files that contains hidden information. Detecting an embedded message defeats the primary goal of Steganography techniques that is concealing the very existence of a message [8]. The algorithms vary in their approaches for hiding information. Without knowing which algorithm is used and which Stego-key is used, detecting the hidden information is quite complex. Destruction or Defeating algorithms concentrate on removing the hidden messages from the Stego object [8]. Steganalysis techniques are similar to the cryptanalysis for the cryptography methods. As we have discussed previously. Harmless Message + secret message + stego-key = stega-object Some of the known attacks for the Steganography are stego-only, known cover, known message, chosen stego, and chosen message. In Cryptography there are many types of Cryptographic attacks. The attacks are done on the Cipher text. There are some of the ways to attack cipher text like Brute force attacks, Meet in the middle attack, Birthday attack and side channel attack[9]. Plan Time Table: Activity Nov 09 Dec09 Dec09 Dec09 Jan 09 Jan 09 Jan 09 Jan 09 Feb 09 Selection of topic XX analyzing XX Research XX Literature review XX introduction XX Rationale XX methodologies XX Initial results XX conclusion XX After the approval of the research proposal the project will be started. The dissertation will be preceded according to the steps that are given by the supervisor. Limitations and Scope: Steganography is an effective way to obscure data and hide sensitive information. The effectiveness of Steganography is amplified by combining it with cryptography. By using the properties of the DCT-LSB Steganography algorithm for video file and combining it with the TEA cryptography standards, we developed a method, which adds layers of security to the communication. Steganographic methods do not intended to replace cryptography but supplement it. The strength of our system resides in adding multiple layers of security. First the secret message i.e. word document to be transferred is compressed, encrypted and then embedded in a video file using Steganographic algorithm hence, adding three layers of security. The weakness of the system developed is the size of the secret file i.e. word document after compression should be less than the size of the Cover object i.e. Video file. Since we are using compression algorithm this happens only for huge documents. As future work, we intend to study more steganalytic techniques i.e. detecting whether a particular file contains any form of embedding or not. We also plan to extend our system so that it can hide digital files in other digital files, for example hiding Audio files in Videos files etc. Personal Development and Requirement: Regarding this research a brief knowledge on steganography and cryptography and the methods that are used in embedding and de-embedding file. We should also have a brief idea on encryption and decryption algorithms in cryptography. In this application we can also encrypt strings and document files. Resource reruirements: This Application will work on any Microsoft Operating systems and the hard disk should have atleast of 4 MB memory. The RAM should be 256 Mega Bytes or higher.

Holistic Therapy :: essays research papers fc

How does Buddhism differ from Christianity? 1. There Is No God Void vs. Loving God (emptiness, apathy, ignorance) In Buddhist thought, there is no supreme being, no Creator, no omnipotent omnipresent God, no Loving Lord over his creation. Ultimate Reality is an impersonal Void or Emptiness (Sunyata). Only the Void is Permanent. To a Buddhist, saying that God exists is like saying that the Void exists. Saying that God is loving and desires relationship with us is saying God is Ignorance since all desire comes from ignorance. Saying that God created us and has a purpose for our lives is saying that God is Karma, the cause and effect of our existence. Thus, in Buddhist thought, the concept of God is closest equated to the Void, Ignorance, and Karma. So who are Buddhists bowing down and praying to in their temples? Remember that Buddhism has adapted and absorbed many other beliefs rooted in animism and ancestral worship. 2. Christ’s Deity Denied If a Buddhist were asked who Jesus was, responses would likely include: a good man, a prophet, the founder of the Christian religion, a bodhisattva, the younger brother of Buddha. As it is hard for a Buddhist to understand the existence of God, it is inconceivable that Jesus is the incarnate Lord, God in the flesh. 3. Man Is Not A Spiritual Being Mankind has no soul or permanence. In Buddhist thought, an individual consists of five skandhas or aggregates. These aggregates are disassembled at death and there is no longer a cohesive unit that can be identified as an individual person. People are impermanent and transitory, perpetually facing the problem of how to escape from suffering. All life is meaningless and without purpose. The ultimate hope lies in what is permanent: The Void. Before one can find permanence, one must disappear into the Void, that is, achieve nirvana. 4. Karma Is The Iron Law Karma vs. Mercy Buddhists believe that the totality of one’s actions and the results of those actions determine one’s fate in subsequent reincarnations. This is the cosmic Law of Cause and Effect. Karma is the ultimate impersonal, unmerciful judge. Karma is unchangeable, cannot be undone, altered, avoided, or forgiven. What is done is done and cannot be undone, nor can you be forgiven or released from it. 5. Sin Has No Consequences The two systems` concepts of sin stand in stark contrast. To Buddhists sin does not have any consequences before a holy God.

M252 81mm Mortar :: essays research papers

M252 81mm Mortar INTRODUCTION: Good morning, my name is your name and my period of instruction is on the M252 81mm Mortar. We will cover some basic mortar knowledge including nomenclatures, rates of fire, and weight. We will also cover the mission of an 81mm mortar platoon and how that platoon is configured. The purpose of this period of instruction is to provide you with basic information and working knowledge of the 81mm mortar. LEARNING OBJECTIVES:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  a. TERMINAL LEARNING OBJECTIVE: To familiarize you with the main   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  components and characteristics of the 81mm mortar.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  b. ENABLING LEARNING OBJECTIVES:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  a. State the three main components of the mortar and their nomenclature.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  b. State the weights of the three main components of the mortar.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  c. State the maximum range of an 81mm mortar. METHOD / MEDIA: I will use the lecture method and the mortar you see in front of you. There will be no posttest after this period of instruction. Are there any questions about your learning objectives or the method and media? TRANSITION: Now if there are no questions for me let’s get into the nuts and bolts of this period of instruction. BODY:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  MISSION:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The 81mm mortar platoon is commonly called the battalion   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  commander’s hip pocket artillery. It is called this because 81’s are foot   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  mobile, are on target faster, and more accurate than artillery. The   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  mission of the 81mm mortar platoon is to provide continuous indirect   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  fire support to the infantry battalion and it’s subordinate elements in the   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  offense and defense.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   CHARACTERISTICS: The M252 81mm mortar is a smooth bore, muzzle loaded, high angle of fire weapon. Smooth bore meaning it has no lands and grooves like a rifle barrel. Muzzle loaded, because you insert a round into the muzzle of the cannon, allowing gravity to pull the round down, striking the firing pin. High angle of fire because it is capable of firing from within defilade, over hills, and other obstructions. COMPONENTS: The M252 81mm mortar consists of three main components, and a dovetail slot sight. They are: M253 Cannon (barrel): The M253 cannon consists of the barrel, sealed at the lower end with a removable breech plug that houses a removable firing pin. At the muzzle end is a cone-shaped Blast Attenuator Device (BAD) that is fitted to reduce noise.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   M177 Mount (bipod): The M177 mount is composed of 3 main assemblies. They are: the leg assembly, the traversing gear assembly, and the barrel clamp assembly.

Istanbul: Memories and the City: Prhan Pamuk Essay -- Yahya Kemal, Ahm

Orhan Pamuk’s Istanbul: Memories and the City represents the first twenty-two years of his life using various approaches from autobiographical details of his own childhood memories, photographs from his family album, newspaper articles, paintings and writings on Istanbul by luminaries from different walks of life. Pamuk, appears intermittently as both the narrator and author who narrates his experiences of the city. The four famous Turkish stalwarts, Yahya Kemal, Ahmet Hamdi Tanpinar, Abdulhak Sinasi Hisar and Resat Ekrem Kocu, played a prominent role in the creation of Pamuk’s Istanbul hence providing him with an Istanbul he has never seen. Throughout the narrative, he refers to various Turkish and foreign authors who have lived, visited and written about his city. Although they had different styles, what these writers had in common was the love for the city. All four were influenced by the French tradition and attempted to express their feelings for Istanbul using Western style of writing. The writings of these four writers have provided Pamuk with the perspective of an Istanbul that he did not experience even though he has been staying there since his birth. These writers, who had witnessed the fall of the Ottoman Empire and the birth of the Turkish Republic, aimed to reinvent the identity of their city. Their aim was to create an image for Istanbul to which the people of the Turkish Republic could relate. In their attempt to create a national image for their city, these writers went into the poor back streets of Istanbul. The ruins, poverty and neglect dominating those parts of the city functioned like witnesses of the adversities that the city and its people had undergone. The ruins of the Ottoman Empire were consoling memo... ...hose parts of his city like a foreigner. He can thus become his own Westerner in the old neighborhoods, where he can feel like a stranger in the city where he has lived since his birth. The foreign gaze enables Pamuk to see the city as a new one, and explore it in a very peculiar manner because now a broken building means more than it did earlier. Before he read Gautier’s book about his experience in Istanbul a broken building was just a building destroyed due to the fall of the Empire, but now it has huzun, poetry and various other things that Pamuk can add to his narrative about his city of Istanbul. Works Cited Hande, Gurses. â€Å"Out of Place in Istanbul.† London: Ubiquity Press, 2010. Web. 7 Jan. 2014. Pamuk, Orhan, and Maureen Freely. Istanbul: Memories and the City. New York: Vintage International, 2006. Print.

Attrition Rate of Online Learning

WHAT INFLUENCES ONLINE CLASSES HIGH ATTRITION RATE by Lora Hines Bachelor of Science in Business Education December 1984 College of Education A Research Paper Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Master of Science in Education Degree Department of Workforce Education and Development In the Graduate School Southern Illinois University – Carbondale December 1, 2011 TABLE OF CONTENTS ChapterPage I. INTRODUCTION †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 1 Background†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 1 Statement of the Problem†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 6Research Questions†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 7 Significance of the Problem†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 7 II. REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. †¦.. 9 Demographics†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 10 Best Practices†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 16 Student Characteristics†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 24 III. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã ¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 32 Summary †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 32 Findings . †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 33 Recommendations†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 38 REFERENCES†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 41 VITA†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦52AN ABSTRACT OF THE RESEARCH PAPER OF L ora Hines, for the Master of Science degree in Workforce Education and Development, presented on December 1, 2011, at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale. TITLE: WHAT INFLUENCES ONLINE CLASSES HIGH ATTRITION RATE MAJOR PROFESSOR: Glen Blackstone Online education programs have grown tremendously in the past 10 years. From 1991 to 2006, online enrollments have grown from virtually 0 to over 2. 35 million students. Over 3. 5 million students, or roughly one in every six, were enrolled in at least one online course during the fall of 2006.By 2015, 25 million post-secondary students in the United States will be taking an online class. Universities worldwide are providing some type of online learning by developing courses that are available to both on-campus and off-campus students. Online education is no longer in its infancy. Students, parents, educational institutions, government, and businesses are concerned with the quality of online education. This study focuses on quality an d the relationship that exists between student satisfaction and faculty effectiveness.At issue is the question of whether â€Å"faculty effectiveness, as perceived by learners, plays a significant role in learner satisfaction† (Rehnborg, 2006, p. 1). This study reveals that students of varying age, gender, and other demographics value education differently. These differences vary among completers and non-completers, and both groups note differences in the way their instructors implement instructional practices. CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION Background There are many definitions for online education. These include virtual education, Internet-based education, and Web-based education.For the purpose of this research, the definition of online education is based on Keegan’s (1988) definition of distance education. (a) the separation of teachers and learners which distinguishes it from face-to-face education, (b) an educational organization which distinguishes it from self-study an d private tutoring, (c) the use of a computer network to present or distribute educational content, and (d) the provision of two-way communication via a computer network in order for students to benefit from communication with each other, teachers, and staff. Keegan, 1988, p. 4) Kaufman (as cited by Bates, 2005) suggests that there have been three generations of distance education. The first generation used one primary technology-print. The second generation integrated print and other multimedia such as video tapes, television broadcasts, and other forms of broadcast media. The third generation of distance education gave birth to online education. Online education is characterized by the use of the Internet or video conferencing to create two-way communications, connecting students and instructors.Bates (2005) describes this communication as more equally distributed between students and instructors than in the past. In other words, while students and instructors are still separated geographically, they now have a greater ability to communicate with each other than in past generations. Students have progressively gained the ability to dialogue and use critical thinking skills rather than simple comprehension (Kaufman, 1989). Online education is well established as a viable means of education in both the corporate and academic environments, and it has taken a remarkable pace.A survey undertaken in 2001 of online education instructors conducted by the National Education Association (NEA) indicated that 72% of online learning instructors have a positive opinion about online learning. They believe more students can be reached, learning can be customized and flexible, and interaction can increase among students (Focus, 2001). Online education programs have grown tremendously in the past 10 years. From 1991 to 2004, online enrollments have grown from virtually zero to over 2. 35 million students (Allen & Seaman, 2006).Based on reports by over 2,200 colleges and unive rsities, Allen and Seaman estimate growth in post-secondary online education to be more than 10 times that of other post-secondary markets. Over 4. 6 million students were taking at least one online course during the fall 2008 term; a 17 percent increase over the number reported the previous year (Allen & Seaman, 2010). The 17 percent growth rate far exceeds the 1. 2 percent growth of the overall student population. More than one in four higher education students now take at least one course online.By 2015, 25 million post-secondary students in the United States will be taking an online class. While that happens, the classes that are taken physically on campus will plummet, from 14. 4 million in 2010 to just 4. 1 million 5 years later, according to a new forecast released by Ambient Insight; a market research firm (Nagel, 2011). Universities worldwide are providing some type of online learning by developing courses that are available to both on-campus and off-campus students. Online education is no longer in its infancy (Palloff & Pratt, 2003; Samarawickrema & Stacey, 2007).Students, parents, educational institutions, government, and businesses are concerned with the quality of online education. Online or not online has been an ongoing debate, not only for how to preserve the value of human relations but also how to deliver course content. In a traditional or face-to-face classroom, communication and human connections are great assets for knowledge acquisition within a learning community (Allen & Seaman, 2010). When a course moves online, communication lines are altered.Non-verbal communication cues disappear, and since students converse at different times, spontaneous interaction is impossible. Even with webcams in which students and professors can see and hear each other, interactions are not the same as in a face-to-face classroom. However, taking into consideration that online education allows students opportunities to learn independently from anywhere at any time, and to construct and acquire learning at their own pace, online education provides many advantages for students beyond the classroom walls.We live in a changing population since more and more students entering college have grown up in today’s digital world, they possibly are â€Å"digital natives† whose brains could potentially be wired differently from the previous generation (Prensky, 2001). Draves (2002) lists ten reasons why online learning is more popular and, in his opinion, why it is better, cognitively, than in-person learning: †¢ You can learn at your own peak learning time of day. †¢ You can learn at your own speed. †¢ You can learn faster. †¢ You can interact more with the teacher and other participants. There are more topics and subjects online. †¢ Participants come from around the world. †¢ You can learn from the foremost authorities and experts. †¢ Online learning is less expensive and thus more accessible. â⠂¬ ¢ Internet links provide more resources. †¢ You can form a virtual community. Courses taught in an online format hold many challenges for the learner and educator alike (Howell, Williams, & Lindsay, 2003). Challenges include the need for computer literacy and navigation skills, greater electronic connection capabilities, and concerns over isolation.Within online classes students must not only learn the course material, but also the technology skills needed to participate in class. The online learning format places the burden on students to initiate the learning process, and assume primary responsibility for the learning experience. It is likely that in this tremendous movement toward online education, faculty members will be pushed to provide more Web-based courses for both their on-campus and off-campus students. Faculty members are concerned with the quality of online courses they are developing and teaching.While the 2000 NEA survey indicated a highly positive opinion of online courses, the faculty members expressed deep concern that online courses take more work, are more technologically challenging, and require more training and mentoring to develop and teach than traditional face-to-face courses (Focus, 2001). Maddux (2004) suggests that the increased competition for universities to offer online courses has caused campus administrators to put forth numerous online courses as rapidly as possible.Many professors, according to Maddux, are less than a technologic expert and find themselves under pressure to produce these courses. Faculty complain that with their workload they do not have time to get adequate training and support from those on campus that provide it. Only 19 percent of institutions with online offerings report that they have no training or mentoring programs for their online teaching faculty. The most common training approaches for online faculty are internally run training courses (65 percent) and informal mentoring (59 percent) (All en & Seaman, 2010).Of the 10 biggest myths about synchronous online teaching, faculty training focuses on technology tools and educational best practices and is of major concern to the professors (DeMaria, & Bongiovanni, 2010). Various research studies have found a higher percentage of students taking online courses tend to drop those courses when compared to students taking traditional courses (Frankola, 2001; Oblender, 2002). Some have reported attrition from eLearning as high as 70-80% (Tyler-Smith, 2005, Flood 2002. One major reason to study student satisfaction is completion rate of non-traditional students versus traditional students. . Some educators suggest that the high drop rates should â€Å"disqualify online education as high-quality option to traditional education† (Distance Education, 2001 as cited by Diaz, 2002, para. 1). Researchers cite numerous reasons for attrition in both online and face-to-face courses. Students have work, family, and social commitments. Others lack the commitment of time or technological skills necessary to persist in the online environment.Other reasons aside, this research paper focuses on quality and the relationship that exists between student satisfaction and faculty effectiveness. At issue is the question of whether â€Å"faculty effectiveness, as perceived by learners, plays a significant role in learner satisfactions† (Rehnborg, 2006, p. 1). Institutions retrieve student end-of-course data from students who persist and complete online courses. A review of the literature reveals a large quantity of material on faculty effectiveness, with numerous recommendations and conclusions drawn from that student end-of-course data.There is relatively little data available from course non-completers. A 1991 study indicated that 75% of colleges and universities use the end-of-course questionnaire as a method of evaluating the effectiveness of their instructors. Though some doubt the validity of student end-of-cour se questionnaires, most accept the fact that they are useful in providing a measurement of the instructors’ teaching ability and directly reflect the satisfaction level of students (Ramsden, 1991). Statement of the ProblemWith student diversity changing, higher education institutions are finding that it is necessary to meet the needs and demands of our nontraditional students. However, with the growth of distance learning, rates of attrition have increased significantly (Parker, 2003). Some have reported attrition from eLearning as high as 70-80% (Tyler-Smith, 2005, Flood 2002. ) Carr stated, however, that many higher education administrators believe that the completion rates of non-traditional students are 10-20% higher in online learning.Research Questions The research questions for the paper were: 1. What similarities and differences, in terms of demographics (age, gender, ethnicity), are present in non-traditional (online) students attrition rate? 2. What affect do best p ractices have on non-traditional (online) student’s attrition rate? 3. What affect do student characteristics have on non-traditional (online) student’s attrition rates? Significance of the Problem Online courses are generally the first format of course offerings to fill up during registration.Since many online courses have a high withdrawal rate, it would be beneficial for students to be placed in a course format most conducive to their learning (Dutton, Dutton, & Perry, 2002). The identification of characteristics associated with successful online students could provide the necessary information for teachers and admissions personnel to suggest or discourage a student from registering for an online course. A student mistakenly placed into a course may encounter more difficulties and have reduced changes for success compared to an appropriately placed student.With improved technology, students may find it more convenient to take classes online in order to meet their ed ucational needs. Changes in the student population as well as the delivery of the online course at the university may present challenges. Many interconnecting factors contribute to the numbers of students who drop out of distance education courses, many of which are beyond the institution’s control (Rovai, 2002). Rovai (2002) pointed out that this learning-sharing connection among students could provide the learner with a feeling of support from their fellow students.Rovai’s (2002) research also suggested that there might be a possible connection between the sense of community and increased motivation resulting in increased cognitive learning. If individual circumstances affect the ability of a student to continue in an online course and if various curricular delivery and instructional methods contribute to variable outcomes, then the development of online delivery should be researched to determine the best way to serve the needs of the student enrolled in an online co urse. CHAPTER 2REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE The advances in telecommunications and the saturation of computers into almost every home in American has drastically changed the way we communicate, the way we store and retrieve data, the way we do research, and the way we socialize. These changes in our day-to-day lives have also obliged us to rethink the way we deliver education. Public, private, and proprietary institutions have come under intense pressure to develop educational systems that are independent of time and place. Within the past 0-12 years, the growth of online course has increased tremendously. The proportion of institutions with fully online programs rises steadily as institutional size increases, and about two-thirds of the very largest institutions have fully online programs, compared to only about one-sixth of the smallest institutions. Doctoral/Research institutions have the greatest penetration of offering online programs as well as the highest overall rate (more t han 80%) of having some form of online offering. (Allen & Seaman, 2006, p. 2)Along with this growth comes the need to ensure courses are developed with some universal structure and the need for instructors to teach these courses using the best practices in the field. Student attrition is also under the microscope. The government, educators, parents, and students want assurances that online education works as well or better than its traditional face-to-face counterpart. One must understand the background and the best practices and issues that relate to student needs and satisfaction in online education. The literature review will discuss these relevant issues.What similarities and differences, in terms of demographics (age, gender, ethnicity), are present in non-traditional (online) students attrition rate? An extensive reading of the literature reveals that face-to-face instruction includes courses in which zero to 29 percent of the content is delivered online; this category include s both traditional and web facilitated courses. The remaining alternative, blended (sometimes called hybrid) instruction is defined as having between 30 percent and 80 percent of the course content delivered online.A course where most or all of the content is delivered online with typically no face-to-face meetings is considered an online course (Allen & Seaman, 2010). Universities want to improve graduation rates and attract non-traditional students by increasing online offerings (Allen & Seaman, 2007; 2010). According to the Allen and Seaman’s report, online students may not share the same demographics as traditional higher education students, thus, instructors need to understand the challenges of distance learning when designing online learning experiences.The shift towards offering more online courses will continue to affect higher education institutions in ways that are not yet understood. The benefits (e. g. , convenience for institutions, instructors, and students) and the challenges (e. g. , student retention) need to be balanced to ensure that students’ outcomes of online courses are comparable with those in traditional face-to-face courses (2010). A continuing question that the researcher must consider is among those studying online education has been the issue of student retention.Online courses typically attract students who might otherwise have not been able to attend traditional on-campus instruction, either because of work, family or other obligations. This difference in the nature of the student body has made the direct comparison of the online and face-to-face very difficult. If students tend to drop out of online classes because of work or family responsibilities, does that accurately reflect the nature of the course or the nature of the student (Allen & Seaman, 2010)? In a study completed by Dutton, Dutton & Perry (2002), the purpose was to determine how online students differ from traditional students?There were two major cate gories studied. The first class of information related to the external, observable characteristics of the students. These include such things as age and gender, work, academic and childcare commitments commute distance and previous computer experience. The second information category contains preferences or considerations that are less easily observable by an outsider but may have influenced the student’s choice of online versus lecture format. Using the demographic data that Dutton, Dutton & Perry (2002) gathered from the student records, it appeared that the gender played little role in the choice format.However, it is clear that older, non-traditional students prefer the online class. The average age of an online student’s age compared to a lecture student was more than five years greater. Nearly two-thirds of the lecture class was less than 22 years old while the same proportion of online section was older than 22. The study also determined that full-time students preferred the lecture course and the part-time students preferred the online. On average the study determined that the online students had greater outside responsibilities and that they live farther from campus.In his dissertation, Bangurah (2004) compared students with passing grades in traditional and online courses. Student’s grades were compared across courses where the same instructor taught both online and traditional formats. Within this study, 3,601 students participated and Bangurah (2004) found that in each course and context, mean GPA’s were highest among traditional students. He also noted females who were enrolled in web-based courses outnumbered their male counterparts by nearly two-thirds. This ratio of female to male students was not found within the traditional course setting.The claim that â€Å"the demographic differences between online and traditional students has been duly noted† (Diaz, 2002, p. 1) has mixed implications. For instance, while Gibson and Graff (1992) and Thompson (1998) concluded that online students are generally older, have a higher GPA, and have completed more credits than traditional students. There are several unidentified assumptions. First, these demographic characteristics portray a trend rather than a fixed number. Observing online education over time has indicated that students are getting younger and demographic populations are shifting (Allen & Seaman, 2010).The Instructional Technology Council (Allen & Seaman, 2010) has reported that in 2008, 52% of students were considered traditional age; whereas, only 46% of students were considered traditional age in 2006. The second assumption is that methods of identifying online students are universal. What constitutes an online student from a traditional student may vary from institution to institution or from course to course. Lastly, demographic characteristics vary largely across the United States and should be taken into consideration when applyi ng theory to practice.For instance, Iowa’s minority population constitutes only 9. 4% of the student population and was ranked the fifth lowest state in terms of diversity in 2007. Thus the number of students represented by any one ethnic category is likely to be very different than population numbers from other states and vary highly from states outside of the Midwest (Iowa Department of Education, 2008). The research should consider the question of student performance and how it has also been further reviewed along lines of gender (Price, 2006; Yates, 2001). Whereas, reviously women were presumed to have an online disadvantage due to access (Kirkup & von Prummer, 1997) or family commitments (Wolf, 1998), studies have shown that enrollment is greater among females in online courses and females may in fact be more successful in the online setting (Price, 2006). In her study, Price (2006) sought to uncover gender differences in female and male students who are enrolled in onli ne courses. In order to do so, she compared the same course in both a traditional and online setting. From 2002 to 2004, 1,991 students participated in the study from the Open University.Two questionnaires were utilized to demonstrate course experience and academic engagement. From her study, Price (2006) was able to conclude that women were more likely to outperform their male counterparts in online course settings. In Aragon and Johnson’s study, they found no significant difference in characteristics of age, ethnicity or financial aid eligibility of students enrolled in online classes. Once again, they found that gender had significant association with completion and non-completion in online courses.Their findings were that females completed at a higher rate than male students in an online but not face-to-face courses (2008). Additionally, it is worth noting that the thought that online instruction is eliminating many of the barriers to education for all students in general and indicated through student interviews (2008). The interviews determined that the self-reported reason for non-completion of an online class was personal and time constraints which accounted for 34% of the reasons for non-completion of their online courses, compared to 100% of the reasons given by the face-to-face students (Aragon & Johnson, 2008).Online students often outperform traditional students when success is measured by the percentage of students that attain a grade of â€Å"C’ or above, overall classroom performance (e. g. , exam scores), or student satisfaction (Diaz, 2000). When comparing the characteristics and success of online and traditional students, Diaz found that online students received twice as many â€Å"A† grades, while traditional students received twice as many â€Å"D† and â€Å"F† grades in a general health education class. The online students were also more satisfied with multiple aspects of their course as demonstrated by their responses to an 11-question satisfaction survey.While online students generally fared better in overall grades and grades on exams, they also dropped the course more frequently: a 13. 5% drop rate for online students versus a 7. 2% drop rate for traditional students. As Diaz noted, â€Å". . . it seems very clear that students who enroll and persist in an online course will fare at least as well as their on-campus counterparts† (p. 95). While the use of surveys in conjunction with empirical data can often provide a more complete picture, surveys as a sole means of predicting student success and learning has been less than successful (Hall, 2008).Employing two different survey instruments, Hall (2008) attempted to uncover which instrument would be the most accurate in determining online student success. Two hundred and twenty-eight students participated in the study which encompassed three regional community colleges in the Midwest. These students were all enrolled in at least one online course in the following areas: business, computer information services, criminal justice, and early childhood development. Hall (2008) found that the class categories were a better predictor of student success than either of the two survey instruments.In fact, the surveys showed little than 8% accuracy in predicting final grades for these students. If online students typically possess characteristics that research has linked with academic success (e. g. , older age and more academic experience), why are they less successful in terms of persisting in a class for the full term? One possible answer is that we may have mistakenly defined â€Å"drop rate† as a characteristic synonymous with â€Å"academic non-success. † However, I believe that many online students who drop a class may do so because it is the right thing to do.In other words, because of the requirements of school, work, and/or family life in general, students can benefit more from a class i f they take it when they have enough time to apply themselves to the class work. Thus, by dropping the class, they may be making a mature, well-informed decision that is consistent with a learner with significant academic and life experience. This explanation would be consistent with their demographics while calling into question the idea that these students are academically unsuccessful or possess inferior academic abilities. In act, a case could be made that many of the students who earn â€Å"D† and â€Å"F† grades would be better served by dropping a class. By doing so at the appropriate time, some might increase the likelihood of a successful academic career. For example, they would obviate the need to retake a course immediately, and dropping the class would not adversely affect their GPA, perhaps helping them to avoid academic probation. (Diaz, 2000, p. 3) What affect do best practices have on non-traditional (online) students? An extensive reading of the litera ture reveals numerous significant approaches to improving online courses.One method is determining what may contribute or detract from a student’s success in an online course is to take a customer/business approach to the question. In other words, what is the business doing and what is the business doing that is satisfying the customer? This approach would lead researchers to look at central themes of investigation in determining the factors that contribute to or detract from student success. First the researcher must determine what aspects students perceive are important to producing success in online learning.In the customer/business approach, it is a given that a satisfied customer is the end-point from which one works backwards to build a successful business. The literature indicates that student perceptions, attitudes, and satisfaction (Biggs, 2006; Clayton, 2004; Valasidou & Makridiou-Bolusiou, 2006) are almost certainly key in the development and instruction of online courses. According to Pearson and Trinidad (2005), hearing from students is essential to learning about what works and where improvements should be made in the future.It is the business/customer model applied to online education. Secondly, the research should consider how educators are conducting their online courses. The scholarly literature reveals that researchers are finding several central factors related to student perceptions and the methods instructors are using to teach and design their courses. Palloff and Pratt (2003) concisely define these factors as (a) instructor support, (b) a sense of community, and (c) an appropriate use of technology in the online setting.However, there continues to be instructor support as well as a sense of community in the traditional classroom as well. Instructor Support The foregoing conclusion for a number of years in education is that the greater the amount of instructor support, the more successful students will be in understanding and achi eving the learning objectives of their courses. Sahin (2007), and Valasidou and Makrdiou-Bousiou (2006) all agree and suggest that a major predictor in online courses is instructor support.In the online environment, students have come to expect instructor support. As an example, data from a qualitative study conducted by Motteram and Forrester (2005) revealed that students have more or less unwittingly come to believe that because of the nature of online learning as being any-time and any-place, instructors are available on a 24-7 basis, able to respond at any hour. Students not only expect instructional support, they expect it in a more expedient manner than the face-to-face student.Another example that indicates students want and need instructor support comes from a study by Ice, Curtis, Phillips, and Wells (2007) who conducted research from Spring 2004 through Summer 2005 with 26 master’s level students and 8 doctoral students in online courses to determine if there is val ue in using asynchronous audio feedback in grading student work. The researchers were attempting to determine what effect, if any, the use of audio feedback might have on increasing students’ success in online courses.In this study, five research questions were posed to determine (a) whether students preferred audio or text feedback, (b) to what degree audio feedback is an effective replacement to the interaction that takes place in a face-to-face course, (c) how audio feedback improved a sense of community, (d) in what manner is perceived learning impacted by the use of audio feedback, and (e) what relationship exists between audio feedback and student satisfaction. The results concluded that students believed that asynchronous audio feedback gave them more insight into what the instructor was trying to onvey, students experienced an increased feeling of involvement, the instructor was perceived as more caring, and content retention improved (Ice, et al, 2007). Again, a majo r finding of this research revealed that instructor support and involvement created what students described as a caring attitude, and this caring is a key to students’ satisfaction and, ultimately, their success in the online course. Leners and Sitzman (2006) undertook a study with online nursing students by seeking their voice in defining what online caring meant.The research revealed the same conclusions that many other studies ( Irlbeck, 2008, & Keengwe, & Kidd, 2010) with online students have reported. What students defined as caring was the method and degree to which the instructors interacted with students and the timelines of the communication. Instructor support was, again, a key to student satisfaction. The body of literature exists in large quantities with reference to research studies revealing that both practitioners and researchers agree: Interaction between students and instructors is an important predictor of student satisfaction in online courses.One of the ma jor findings that Chickering and Gamson (1987) in Seven Principles for Good Practice in Undergraduate Education is just as true in online education today. It is good practice to encourage contact between students and instructors. Whether referred to as instructor, tutor, mentor, teacher or technician, students expect support and are more satisfied when they receive support from that individual. A Sense of Community Next to contact between instructor and student is the contact that emerges within what has become known as the learning community.That community represents interaction from instructor to student and from student to student. Research conducted by Motteram and Forrester (2005) suggests that students’ relationships with fellow students emerged as a prime need in online courses. When taking an online course, students often voice feelings of solitude and the fear of learning alone. A need for interaction with other students is just as apparent in the online environment as it is within the face-to-face classroom. According to Garrison and Anderson (2003), social presence has become highly important in online education.Social presence is defined as â€Å"the extent to which students can project their presence online when communicating in the textual milieu in the absence of visual or verbal signs† (Motteram & Forrester, 2005, p. 284). Kazmer puts forth that when students come into an online classroom they are really performing for each other, for themselves, and for the instructor. In the absence of visual and verbal cues that are normally found in the face-to-face classroom, students create for themselves an identity, and they need a variety of diverse media for interaction to articulate these online identities (2004).Community within the adult online learning environment may be even more important than with traditional-aged students. A great body of research highlighted by Malcolm Knowles’ (1990) theory of andragogy reveals that one way adults learn is by comparing past knowledge and experiences with current experiences. Stilborne and Williams (1996) further advance the need for community in online education when teaching adult students by suggesting that providing a means for interaction and encouraging adult students to share their knowledge is essential to their style of learning.Adult students have a lifetime of knowledge and experience to share, and finding a sense of community brings this to life. University administrators have known for some time that when students are involved in the campus community, attrition decreases. Eastmond (1995) sensed that an increased dropout rate among online students is directly related to the reduction or elimination of social and visual cures lost in an online course format; conversely, increased online community reduces the attrition rate (Rovai, 2002).Diaz (2002) and Carr (2000) report that attrition is up to 10% higher in online courses than the face-to-face counterpar t. As a course design strategy, the use of learning communities has helped reduce this attrition (Diaz, 2002), and when students persist, they become more successful in their learning and persevere to graduation. Not all students are looking for community within online courses, however. Some studies indicate that students do not necessarily desire a sense of community (Brown 2001).In some cases, Brown learned that students simply do not wish to participate or engage in community building, while others participate based on availability of time. Other studies have indicated that students feel they are risking academic rigor if they participate in social relationships or class community building. Based on these views, Liu and Ginther (n. d. ) undertook exploratory study to determine, among other things, if students feel a sense of community in online courses and if that sense of community added to the learners’ engagement and perceived learning and satisfaction.Their conclusion was that there are many positive relationships between sense of community and student satisfaction and perceived learning. No specific agreement between students and instructors emerged, however, on how community building should be undertaken. This led the researchers to further suggest that community building in online courses may not be as intuitive as the advocates of online community might suggest. In other words, community building needs to be intentional; it may not just happen. Analysis and synthesis of the literature explains several things regarding online learning communities.Many students feel that social presence in an online course is essential to reducing their feelings of aloneness and solitude while other students opted for online learning because of the solitude. Still others do not participate in community building for lack of time or fear of lagging behind academically. It may be difficult to distinguish among these groups of students, but a number of instructors and researchers believe that a sense of community helps with retention and, in cases of adult students, adds significantly to the learning and knowledge acquisition process.Diaz (2002) characterized this notion of community by suggesting that good practice would encourage cooperation and discussion among students. The literature illustrates that this principle is present in the online environment as well. Developing community will most likely require concerted design and effort on the part of the instructor. Use of Appropriate Technology Interaction among the participants in higher education, instructor to student and student to student, is generally accepted as fundamental (Liu& Ginter, n. . ). This interaction is also considered a condition to student satisfaction (Garrison & Anderson, 2003) and decreased attrition (Rovai, 2002). Therefore, as previously presented, just as a sense of community and human interaction are both expected in the face-to-face context, they are expected a s well in an online learning environment. The question then becomes, what is the appropriate technology that should be implemented to best facilitate interaction and sense of community?The two primary forms of technology that have emerged within online courses are asynchronous and synchronous interaction (Hines & Pearl, 2004). Synchronous, or real time, interaction requires that students participate at the same time. Asynchronous, or delayed time, interaction does not require students to simultaneously participate (Rose, 2006). Synchronous. Branson and Essex surveyed educators and found that instructors mostly used synchronous communication for holding â€Å"virtual† office hours, brainstorming, community building, dealing with various technical issues, and one-on-one tutoring.The shortcomings of synchronous communications is in the logistics of getting the students together online at one time, students not participating in the faster paced chats because of poor typing skills , and less reflection time for students in formulating their answers (2001). As Hines and Pearl put it, â€Å"Synchronous chats have the advantages of providing a greater sense of presence and generating spontaneity† (2004, p. 34). Synchronous communication, however, is difficult since students may be separated by immense geographic time differences.Maushak and Ou (2007) conducted a study to examine how well synchronous interaction facilitated collaboration among graduate students in their group work. The researchers concluded that students regarded the synchronous interaction with an instant messaging system as beneficial in collaborating on group projects and as very helpful in creating a sense of community. There was not a sense that synchronous interaction would be the appropriate method for communicating full class discussion meetings. Asynchronous.The use of asynchronous interaction lies more in the form of discussion forums whereby students are allowed more time for re flection, where archiving of the discussion can take place, and where all students have the opportunity to participate at a more leisurely rate. Referred to as threaded discussions, these forums generally begin with the instructor or moderator submitting a question for discussion. Students then read the question and comment on it and the threads builds (Palloff & Pratt, 1999).Many educators report more in-depth and thought provoking discussion taking place with asynchronous online interaction (Branson & Essex, 2001) than occurs in face-to-face classroom discussions. Dede and Kremer concluded that the forums produced richer, more inclusive discussions among students but are more time consuming to mediate and generally do not provide much social interaction (1999). A synthesis of the literature shows that educators have always felt that discussion adds value.Knowledge that participants supply is often thought to add as much value to the discussin as that of the instructor (Addesso, 20 00). Knowles (1990) contends that in adult learning the value added by each student is of utmost importance. Physical anonymity in online threaded discussions, according to Sweeney and Ingram, can draw out inquisitiveness, decrease inhibition, and help to bridge the gender gap, thereby increasing interaction (2001). The analysis of the literature draws the conclusion that literature regarding appropriate use of technology in online courses reveals that it is essentially content specific.Asynchronous and synchronous interaction are not mutually exclusive, but asynchronous interaction seems to provide for a higher level of academic and intellectual communication while synchronous interaction appears to be more useful in building a sense of community in the online environment. What affect do student characteristics have on non-traditional (online) student’s attrition rates? An extensive reading of the literature reveals numerous significant approaches to improving online courses . Vincent Tinto 2008), has stated that a wide range of studies have been conducted over the last 30 years that provides definitive data as to what affects high attrition rate. As a result the university administrators have reviewed the findings and implemented a variety of changes, many in student affairs, in order to reduce the attrition rate (Tinto). However, online instruction is here to stay, and the number of online courses has increased, as have the number of conflicting discussions that have attempted to define reasons and solutions for high attrition rate among online classes (Tyler-Smith, 2005).Online students face different issues relating to high attrition rate than do their traditional face-to-face counterparts. As Rovai (2002) stated, online students seem to have very different challenges in which to overcome when attempting to complete an online course which may involve personal distractions, variations in technological abilities, learner readiness, feelings of alienat ion, the instructor, and fellow students. The research will follow these factors and determine the affects these variables have upon attrition rate in the online world.Personal Conflicts Adult students have often indicated that they were unable to attend a traditional class due to conflicts with work, geographic, or family commitments and found that online classes were more suitable to their schedule. Online courses have been designed by the educator with flexibility in mind, as the student can work at their own pace and schedule without time constraints of the face-to-face class (Galusha, 1997; Kim 2004). However, due to work commitments as well as family, many still find completion of online course restrictive (Galusha).Many administrators believe that high attrition rate is due to the fact that online learners are traditionally older and maintain a busy work and life schedule, causing students to drop classes more often (Carr, 2000). In Carr’s research he observed that man y professors noted that they frequently lose students due to work, marriage, divorce, and pregnancy’s. Carr referenced one student’s observation that older students have more clearly defined goals and seems to be comfortable working independently, rather than a younger student more ikely to drop the online class. In a study conducted by Kemp (2002), factors such as â€Å"resilience, life events, and external commitments† (p. 67) were studied to predict online attrition rate. Questionnaires were administered and compared to student records in order to determine if there was a correlation between these three factors. It was determined that resilience and work commitments were significant among the findings, but they were not conclusive due in part to an inadequate method of accumulating data and the length of the study.Parker (1999) observed and stated that many studies of attrition focus on a single factor as the cause for high attrition rate among online courses . Diaz (2002) believes that research be conducted in order to determine the varying reasons for students to drop online courses, as did Kerka (1995) who believes that students that drop online courses should not be lumped into one category, but should be grouped into several in order to recognize the seriousness of non-completion. One should not assume that the student is dropping the class because of academic problems.Since online learners are found to be more mature and experienced, it is assumed that the reason in dropping the class results from careful reflection. Due to outside influences, it may be better for the student to successfully complete the course at a later date (Kerka). Variations in Learning Readiness According to the National Center for Educational Statistics (2003) online learning presents itself with a tremendous presence in higher education which creates a greater demand for exploring learner readiness and student perceptions of online learning.More specificall y, research directs the literature review to an investigation of learner readiness, on-screen reading speed and comprehension, followed by typing speed and accuracy. With the dramatic increase of online learners, successful identification of learner readiness has become a priority (Shilwant & Haggarty, as cited in Watkins, 2005). Profitt (2008) discusses the need for an institutional, pre-assessment requirement, tailored toward learner readiness.The assessment results would not only present information to advise the college and potentially at-risk students, but would also alert students, who would in turn, use the results for self-evaluation and make the decisions if they are a good fit for online learning. However; Harrell (2008) states â€Å"There could be students for whom face-to-face is a better fit, but the online environment is their only option† (as cited in Profitt, 2008, p. 27). Based on the documented learner readiness assessment, at risk students may then contact the institution of higher learning and seek xtra orientation or support services to help prevent an unpleasant online learning experience. Hsu and Shiue along with other researchers have studied individual learner readiness as a reason one might drop an online course (2005). This is a reflection of Knowles theory of andragogy, whereby the assumption of adult self-concept is made that he or she has reached a level toward self-directed learning (Knowles, 1998). Parker (1999) approved the Internet as a method for providing the â€Å"opportunity for the self-directed learner to go where no person has gone before† (p. 1).Parker believes that in order for learning to be successful, instructional media should be carefully selected. In doing so, the online learner should take an online learner readiness quiz that assesses the ability of the student and the potential for success in an online course. READI indicates â€Å"the degree to which an individual student possesses attributes, skills and knowledge that contributes to success in online learning† (Readi. info, 2010). As noted by Willis & Lockee (2004) a determination of goodness of fit of online learning of a potential student should be assessed prior to the initiation of the distance learning commitment.Technological Abilities The revolution of technology and the rise of the Internet age has increased the ease and accessibility to learning for the online student, thereby, allowing a greater opportunity for the autonomous learning which can be defined as â€Å"self-planned, self-organized and self-assessed learning† (Peters, 2000, p. 9). Osika and Sharp (2002) concluded that without solid technical skills, students may have a difficult time succeeding in Web-based learning environments.Through a survey of faculty at a midsize regional commuter campus in the Midwestern United States, an inventory had been established of the minimum technical competencies faculty members believe students should possess to be successful in Web-based instruction. Additionally students at the same university were surveyed to determine how well they thought they met the minimum competencies outlined by the faculty. What was found confirmed the faculty's concerns that students often did not possess the technical skills required to be successful in a Web-based course.Osika and Sharp (2002) concluded that even though students are exposed to technology at a much earlier age, â€Å"this does not mean they are technically competent with the skills required to be successful with Web-based instruction† (p. 324). Muse conducted a study whereby looking at students reasons for dropping a course. He reported that many of the students found difficulties managing the software, falling behind in their course work and became frustrated and anxious, therefore, dropping the class. Today many universities have technical support that will provide guidance to the students so that they do not fall behind.Ove r half of the faculty in Osika and Sharp’s (2002) study listed computer skills such as the ability to use the basic hardware on a computer, prepare word processing task, use the Internet, and send and receive e-mails, which is a prerequisite for online instruction. Students that were polled in their study claimed that they had the ability to access the Internet and word processing, but when asked specific questions about their competency levels, they were unable to do so (Osika and Sharp). However, perceived ability, on the part of the student and instructor, may not actually meet levels of competency.Muse (2003) conducted a similar study that looked at reasons for dropping an online class. They study found that the students that had difficulties with managing the software (Blackboard, Moodle) fell behind in their assignments, therefore, making them feel anxious and frustrated. Feelings of Alienation In order for online students to succeed, they need to feel as if they are pa rt of a â€Å"larger school community† (Galusha, 1997, p. 4). This is indicative of the lack of communication that may exist in distance education, more specifically to the lack of interaction among staff, students, materials and services.In a study, Meyer (2001) observed that the student and teacher lack interaction as the Internet does not allow for it, which commonly occurs in the classroom. The feeling of alienation may give students even more reasons to drop out of the online course. Administrators conveyed that students identified that one problem in taking an online course is lack of personal interaction which they desire, but do not receive with online instruction (Carr, 2000). One student quoted by Carr, â€Å"†¦you don’t have direct contact on a regular basis with your instructor,† (p.A39) and in order to succeed, the student must possess a level of confidence that does not require immediate feedback. Galusha (1997) also reported the lack of confi dence that is required when there is a lack of immediate feedback. This is troublesome for the student, and the lack of contact was specifically identified as an area that affected the success of online students. Rovai and Wighting (2005) addressed the issue â€Å"alienation and low sense of community† (p. 101) and the relationship of student attrition in their research with a sample of graduate students at a private university in Virginia.They felt that the study yielded â€Å"a valid predictive and explanatory tool for researchers concerned with the welfare and persistence of students in higher education programs† (p. 108). Rovai and Wighting stated that, the high quality experiences that students receive in the classroom improve student retention, therefore, these findings should be considered when developing an online class. Rovai and Wighting advised that there needs to be additional research to identify how to foster community in an online classroom in order to l ower attrition, particularly among diverse cultures. CHAPTER 3CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS Summary The literature review summarized that online students have a great number of deterrents to completing an online course (Carr, 2000; Galusha, 1997; Kerka1995). Some of these deterrents include family, employment, finances, technology, instructor communication, feelings of isolation, and procrastination (Kerka, 1995). Instruction is an identifiable problem that can affect the performance of a student. There may be a problem of communication between instructor and fellow students, as well as technological difficulties on the part of the student and instructor.Rovai (2003) states that early intervention with reference to the identifiable problems stated above will better meet the needs of the students. Student’s performance suffers when there is a lack of personal contact among the instructor and fellow students. Therefore, there is a breakdown in communication that must be enhan ced when students are taking an online class. How does one enhance communication? There can be exchanges between the student/instructor through emails, virtual office hours, message boards as well as telephone communication.There is an importance among student and instructor services for online classes. Floyd and Casey-Powell (2004) recommended five student areas that are in need of development for online learner. â€Å"Orientation, development, support, transition, and evaluation are areas that the instructor and or university must provide. † Orientation should be given at the beginning of the online class. The instructor should develop those skills with the students through making assignments, and requiring students to log on to the course a number of times during the week. Colleges, such as John A.Logan College offer an orientation class to their students at the beginning of each semester. They also provide support for online students. There needs to be a gradual transitio n into the online course, as well as mid-term evaluation and an end of semester evaluation so that the instructors can learn from those evaluations. The curricular design of the online class can provide the instruction in a meaningful manner. The course welcome or introduction should include an overview of the course establishing boundaries for the course. This would also be the time that the instructor establishes a learning community.Findings What similarities and differences, in terms of demographics (age, gender, ethnicity), are present in non-traditional (online) students attrition rate? According to Allen and Seaman’s report, online students may not share the same demographics as traditional higher education students, thus, instructors need to understand the challenges of distance learning when designing and creating an online learning experience (Allen & Seaman, 2010). Universities want to improve graduation rates and attract non-traditional students by increasing onli ne offerings (Allen & Seaman, 2007; 2010).The shift towards offering more online courses will continue to affect higher education institutions in ways that are not yet understood. The benefits (e. g. , convenience for institutions, instructors, and students) and the challenges (e. g. , student retention) need to be balanced to ensure that students’ outcomes of online courses are comparable with those in traditional face-to-face courses (Allen & Seaman, 2010). Using the demographic data that Dutton, Dutton & Perry (2002) gathered from the student records, it appeared that the gender played little role in the choice format.However, it is clear that older, non-traditional students prefer the online class. The average age of an online student’s age compared to a lecture student was more than five years greater. Nearly two-thirds of the lecture class was less than 22 years old while the same proportion of online section was older than 22. The study also determined that full -time students preferred the lecture course and the part-time students preferred the online. On average the study determined that the online students had greater outside responsibilities and that they live arther from campus. We need to close the age gap, and encourage young students to take online classes. Advertisement is the key to promoting online classes. Full-time students should be encouraged during advisement to take online classes. However, at the same time, advisors must screen potential online students in order to provide proper placement of each individual student. It may be best to first introduce the traditional learning through hybrid classes. This gives them the best of both worlds. What affect do best practices have on non-traditional (online) students?One method is determining what may contribute or detract from a student’s success in an online course is to take a customer/business approach to the question. First of all, a determination of what is being done correctly, and what is not. This approach would lead researchers to look at central themes of investigation in determining the factors that contribute to or detract from student success. Secondly, the researcher must determine what aspects students perceive are important to producing success in online learning.In the customer/business approach, it is a given that a satisfied customer is the end-point from which one works backwards to build a successful business. The literature indicates that student perceptions, attitudes, and satisfaction (Biggs, 2006; Clayton, 2004; Valasidou & Makridiou-Bolusiou, 2006) are almost certainly key in the development and instruction of online courses. According to Pearson and Trinidad (2005), hearing from students is essential to learning about what works and where improvements should be made in the future.It is the business/customer model applied to online education. There needs to be more communication between the instructor and student. An instruc tor might assign group work, which will allow the student to get to know their fellow students, which will enhance the learning experience for the online student. Secondly, the research should consider how educators are conducting their online courses. The scholarly literature reveals that researchers are finding several central factors related to student perceptions and the methods instructors are using to teach and design their courses.Palloff and Pratt (2003) concisely define these factors as (a) instructor support, (b) a sense of community, and (c) an appropriate use of technology in the online setting. However, there continues to be instructor support as well as a sense of community in the traditional classroom as well. Instructor Support In an online environment, students have come to expect instructor/technical support. Educational institutions should provide online support through orientation, and staff support. A Sense of Community The student needs a sense of community. Th is is established through a good rapport with the instructor.The instructor needs to establish assignments that will bring the fellow students together through projects, discussion board assignments, and creating an environment where as the students may share their knowledge. Developing community will most likely require concerted design and effort on the part of the instructor. Use of Appropriate Technology The two primary forms of technology that have emerged within online courses are asynchronous and synchronous interaction (Hines & Pearl, 2004). Synchronous, or real time, interaction can occur through vi