Palenque Royal Tomb and Temple Inscriptions

The Temple of the Inscription at Palenque is probably one of the most famous monuments of the whole Maya area. The temple is located on the southern side of the main plaza of Palenque. It owes its name to the fact that its walls are covered with one of the longest carved inscription of the Maya area, including 617 glyphs. The construction of the temple began around AD 675, by the important king of Palenque K’inich Janaab’ Pakal or Pakal the Great and was completed by his son Kan Balam II to honor his father, who died in A.D. 683. The temple sits atop a stepped pyramid of eight superimposed levels that reach a height of 21 meters (ca 68 feet). On its back wall, the pyramid is adjoined to a natural hill. The temple itself is composed by two passageways divided by a series of pillars, covered by a vaulted roof. The temple has five doorways, and the pillars that form the doorways are decorated with stucco images of Palenque’s main gods, Pakal’s mother, Lady Sak K’uk’, and Pakal’s son Kan Balam II. The roof of the temple is decorated with a roof comb, a construction element typical of Palenque’s architecture. Both the temple and pyramid were covered by a thick layer of stucco and painted, most likely painted red, as was common for many Maya buildings. The Temple of the Inscriptions Today Archaeologists agree that the temple had at least three construction phases, and all of them are visible today. The eight levels of the stepped pyramid, the temple, and the narrow stairway at its center correspond to the earliest construction phase, whereas the wider eight steps at the base of the pyramid, along with the nearby balustrade and platform were built during to a later phase. In 1952, the Mexican archaeologist Alberto Ruz Lhuillier, who was in charge of the excavation work, noticed that one of the slabs that covered the floor of the temple presented one hole at each corner that could be used to lift the stone. Lhuillier and his crew lifted the stone and encountered a steep stairway filled with rubble and stones that went many meters down into the pyramid. Removing the backfill from the tunnel took almost two years, and, in the process, they encountered many offerings of jade, shell, and pottery that speak to the importance of the temple and pyramid. The Royal Tomb of Pakal the Great Lhuilliers stairway ended about 25 meters (82 feet) below the surface and at its end, the archaeologists found a large stone box with the bodies of six sacrificed individuals. On the wall next to the box on the left side of the room, a large triangular slab covered the access to the funerary chamber of K’inich Janaab’ Pakal, king of Palenque from AD 615 to 683. The funerary chamber is a vaulted room of about 9 x 4 meters (ca 29 x 13 feet). At its center sits the large stone sarcophagus made out of a single limestone slab. The surface of the stone block was carved to house the body of the king and it was then covered by a stone slab. Both the stone slab and the sides of the sarcophagus are covered with carved images portraying human figures emerging from trees. Pakals Sarcophagus The most famous part is the carved image represented on the top of the slab that covers the sarcophagus. Here, the three levels of the Maya world--the sky, the earth, and the underworld--are connected by a cross representing the tree of life, from which Pakal seems to emerge to new life. This image has often been dubbed â€Å"the astronaut† by pseudoscientists, who tried to prove that this individual was not the Maya king but an extraterrestrial who reached the Maya area and shared his knowledge with the ancient inhabitants and for this reason was considered a deity. A rich series of offerings accompanied the king in his travel to the afterlife. The sarcophagus lid was covered with jade and shell ornaments, elegant plates and vessels were disposed in front and around the walls of the chamber, and at its southern side was recovered the famous stucco head portraying Pakal. Within the sarcophagus, the body of the king was adorned with the famous jade mask, along with jade and shell earplugs, pendants, necklaces, bracelets, and rings. In his right hand, Pakal held a squared piece of jade and in his left one a sphere of the same material. Source Martin Simon and Nikolai Grube, 2000, Chronicle of the Maya Kings and Queens, Thames and Hudson, London

The Reality Of Abstinence Versus Sex Education - 1224 Words

Clarissa Jane Fender Mrs. Presley English 11 10 April 2017 The Reality of Abstinence Versus Sex Education Do you ever stop to wonder what goes through a teen’s mind? Maybe it s the late paper that wasn t turned in for English or the worry of coming home after school to family members being high as a kite, maybe it s the plans for their significant other later on or the so called special night they have planned together. Whether it be one of the topics mentioned or some far off random thought either way sex will be on a teen’s mind at some point now, some point soon, or some point in the future. Sex is a part of everyday life and it can not go unthought about and although abstinence would be one s best bet for preventing stds and teen†¦show more content†¦They would rather just tell them to abstain from sexual activity and refuse to get them to acknowledge the methods of sexual pleasure. Politicians have different opinions than of parents and teachers however, which has resulted in cutting of federal funding for sex education in schools (Dailard, Cynthia). Parents and teachers believe they should have more say seeing how they spend every day with the children. Most politicians are older males who don’t relate well to young people at all. The average age of people in the Senate is sixty-three and the average age of someone in the House of Representatives is fifty-seven. This is the oldest Congress to take office in 2009 (Palmer, Brian). Why do we expect older men to make these decisions about our children when we are the people who see what goes on in their lives everyday? Abstinence is not necessarily valuable for teens to acknowledge because â€Å"There is no evidence that an abstinence-only curriculum maintains abstinence any longer than the regular sex education curriculum taught in most schools. Morality needs to incorporate reality, and the reality is that young people are sexually active.† (Do abstinence-only sex education programs work? ). â€Å"Another method is 100 percent effective—not to mention, popular, en joyable, and free. It s non-intercourse lovemaking, genital massage, and oral sex. But even the most liberal programs never mention it. To do so would acknowledge sexualShow MoreRelatedSexual Education : A Comprehensive Sex Education969 Words   |  4 Pagescome with sexual education in the classroom is the first step in being a comprehensive sex education advocate. To this day, we see classrooms in middle and high schools preaching about abstinence, shaming children and not being able to give proper, thorough, and informative resources and guidelines on how to approach healthy, body-positive, accessible information about sexual activity. The ideal image abstinence curriculum advocates are hoping for is all adolescents will not have sex prior to marriageRead MoreComprehensive Sexual Education Of The United States1219 Words   |  5 PagesSmith refers to the inadequate sexual education of teenagers in the United States. Sexual education is the instruction on issues about bodily dev elopment, sex, sexuality, and relationships. Comprehensive sex education teaches about abstinence, condoms, and contraceptives to avoid sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and unplanned pregnancies. As well as, the skills needed to help young people explore their own values and options. Comprehensive sexual education should be taught in the United StatesRead MoreComprehensive Sexual Education Should Be Taught1240 Words   |  5 PagesWELL.† SMITH REFERS TO THE INADEQUATE SEXUAL EDUCATION OF TEENAGERS IN AMERICA. Sexual education is the instruction on issues about bodily development, sex, sexuality, and relationships. Comprehensive sex education teaches about abstinence, condoms, and contraceptives to avoid sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and unplanned pregnancies. As well as, the skills needed to help young people explore their own values and options. Comprehensive sexual education should be taught in public schools in theRead MoreShould Sex Education Be Taught?1124 Wo rds   |  5 PagesSex is always a touchy subject, adolescents feel embarrassed discussing it with their parents or teacher and adults feel awkward answering questions. When people discuss being pregnant or breastfeed it’s often referred to as a natural thing, but when discussing sex it is a natural thing that a lot of adults feel uncomfortable confronting. There can be number of problems that can occur in the area of adolescent sexuality, but it is important to keep in mind majority of adolescents have healthy sexualRead MoreTEEN PREGNANCY PREVENTION Essay1918 Words   |  8 Pagesfight for abstinence-only versus comprehensive sex education. Although proponents of both types of sex education aim to reduce teenage pregnancy and STIs, their approaches vary greatly (Block et al., 2005). Abstinence-only advocates believe that sex before marriage is immoral and harmful; they promote abstinence as the sole option to help young people avoid STIs and teen pregnancy, mentioning c ondoms and contraceptives only in terms of their failure rates (Block et al., 2005). Abstinence advocatesRead MoreShould Sex Education Be Taught?2918 Words   |  12 PagesCarley Siegel Position Paper Midterm 10/15/14 Sex Education in Schools Minnesota is ranked number six out of all states in teen birth rate. Minnesota is ranked number three in teen pregnancy rate. The average ages for all of these results are girls aged from fifteen to nineteen. With the most recent statics, in 2012 there were 3,295 teenage girls to give birth to a child and in 2010 there was 146 million spent on teenage childbearing. The last statistic I found was there were are 18.5 births perRead MoreSex Education Should Be Taught At School1916 Words   |  8 PagesSex education can be traced back to the beginning of the 20th century. â€Å"Chicago’s public schools introduced the Nation’s first formal sex education program† which has raised controversy throughout the years. Many believe that talking about sex in the classroom raises the initiation of such behavior. Others believe that ignoring the subject keeps teens in the dark which leads them to make unsafe decisions when they become sexually active. Whether it is at school or at home, teens must be taught aboutRead MoreTeen Pregnancy and Sex Education Essay1794 Words   |  8 Pageswoman and her family, but it also has a consequential impact on society. Reducing the number of adolescent pregnancies would promote child well-being and decrease child poverty statistics (â€Å"National Data†). Increasing the number of comprehensive sex education courses would help young people learn how to better protect themselves against premature pregnancy and STDs, and in turn curtail the number of teenage pregnancies. The Facts Among industrialized countries, the United States has the highest ratesRead MoreJohn Dewey and his Idea of Learning Essay1906 Words   |  8 Pages Experience and Education portrays John Dewey’s critical analysis of the traditional and progressive education system. He believed that people, no matter their age, did not have an empty mind, waiting to be filled with the knowledge schools offered. Alternatively, he pushed a method of learning where students organized information based on facts by expanding on previous knowledge; such a situation implies that teachers must create an environment as to foster such an experience. Thus, the challengeRead MoreProblems in the Inner City Schools Essay2022 Words   |  9 Pagesattention than other does. However, when schools have no academic problems then the attention should be focused elsewhere, particularly in the inner city schools. For many years, poor communities have failed at providing students with the best education. To add to this, the crime infested neighborhood is a distraction to most young people. Hearing sirens all night long could definitely keep students from staying awake in class. The best solution to this problem is to produce more jobs in these poor

Dpe Paper free essay sample

That is why teachers know that individual needs, strengths and weaknesses must be considered to make the instructional process successful and geared to equip the student to achieve his optimum skills and abilities to meet the challenges of daily living. Students come with their own individual packages and no two of them are alike. Even though the curriculum is the same, no two students learn the same way. Teachers are challenged to meet the students’ â€Å"package† and to create an approach at instruction that take into consideration the students’ differing abilities, strengths and needs are satisfied. To compound the challenges of instruction, the intellectually disabled (ID) student presents additional dynamics that impact the art of teaching. This paper presents the diagnostic/prescriptive/evaluation (DPE) strategy of instruction for ID students. The DPE is not a concept. Educators have been using it for decades (Mann and Phillips, 1967). During the past 40 years it has been improved and refined (Ewing Brecht). The paper examines each of the components of DPE: diagnosis, prescription, and evaluation (Thomas, 1996). In conclusion it presents two applications of implementing the DPE with two students diagnosed with ID. The diagnostic process requires great skill and effort from the teacher. Alone the special educator cannot perform all the necessary functions of diagnosis. With the assistance of the other members of the Multidisciplinary Team (MDT) and other service personnel, they are able to determine the needs of individual learners and to specify instructional objectives that will help the student satisfy his educational needs (Eisele, 1967). During this phase the teacher is to determine the most demanding needs of the student. The entire diagnostic process depends upon the ccurate identification of these needs. The specialists on the MDT provide the teacher with the data, or means of acquiring the data, about the student that are necessary for determining the student’s needs. This takes the form of providing formal and informal testing services for testing students, supplying the data that has been acquired from the testing, and providing the testing batteries that could be used for thi s purpose (Eisele, 1967). This becomes the Present Levels of Performance (PLOP) of the Individualized Education Program (IEP). When the MDT has collected all of the significant data and determined the demanding needs of the student, then the teacher and the specialists develop the instructional goals and objectives appropriate for specific needs. These goals are selected from curriculum domains and the objectives can be selected from curriculum guides and resource units. Also the teacher and specialist can generate their own objectives. When talking to the teacher and specialists, I asked what type of instructional activities and materials they use for students with ID? The teacher and specialists stated that they prescribe instructional activities and materials suitable for the student to master his objectives. This constitutes the second step in the DPE process. Prescribed learning is based on short- and long-term goals that are established for the individual student and are based on the skills needed to be mastered. Within these goals are markers to establish where there are gaps in the learning process. Instruction that follows will teach only to what the student still needs to master to be successful. It capitalizes on the strength of the student to fill in the learning gaps. The prescriptive process can be applied to almost any subject area, academic and behavioral (Deschel, Susan, 2012). Three important teaching strategies for students diagnosed with ID: 1) tasks should be broken down into small component steps and learned in sequence, 2) teaching techniques should be experiential, concrete, visual and hands-on rather than cognitive, abstract and verbally delivered in lecture form, and 3) feedback should be immediate for the student to make a connection between his answer, behavior, or question and the teacher’s response. The third phase is the evaluation process. This is a two-pronged process for the teacher. First, evaluation is necessary to assess needs and, second, to evaluate the student’s progress toward achieving his objectives. Through the evaluation process teacher monitors the understanding and performance of students before teaching the lesson, while teaching, and after teaching the lesson. The evaluation process can inform the teacher of the effectiveness of his lessons with individuals, small groups of students, or whole classes, depending on the instruments used (Guskey, 2003). Instruction and evaluation are interactive. The teacher may evaluate student learning on the spot, or collect data at different points in time and compare progress over units of instruction. Moment-by-moment assessments allow the teacher to tap into student’s developing understandings about the objective and to enable the teacher to correct misconceptions immediately. Observations recorded over time allow the teacher to identify patterns of development and document learning gains (Guskey, 2003). This can be accomplished in many ways. Devices appropriate for the evaluating progress are data keeping, checklists, logs, standardized tests, and paper and pencil tests. Now we consider the practical applications of DPE in a classroom. Antoine is a 12 year old, sixth grader, who is diagnosed with ID and is in a special education classroom. His MDT has completed their assessments and has developed his IEP. One of his goals includes math readiness. His objective is to be able to match manipulatives to numbers expressed on cards with verbal prompting. The teacher has developed prescriptive lesson plans to enable Antoine develop the needed skills to match the manipulatives to the numbers. His first lesson is to match manipulatives to the number expressed on a picture communication symbol (PCS). He encounters difficulty in matching the manipulatives to the number on the PCS. His teacher notes the difficulty evaluating Antoine’s learning skill gap. She introduces PCS with a number of manipulatives on it equal to a number on the top of the PCS. Antoine begins to associate the manipulative with the number on the card. As he experiences success in matching the manipulatives to the number, the teacher replaces the PCS with two cards, one with the number and the other with the manipulatives. After collecting data indicating Antoine’s progress, the teacher removes the manipulative card. Antoine now begins to match the manipulatives to the number on the PCS. For the second example we meet John. John is a 15 year old with a diagnosis of ID and behavioral issues. He has recently developed the habit, when he becomes frustrated, of head butting objects and individuals. His MTD has met and analyzed the situation and has developed a plan to extinguish this behavior and have John express his frustration in positive behaviors. They have listed the times when John has become frustrated, the antecedent(s), and indicators that precede his head butting. The prescriptive element is to develop initially plans for John to identify his feeling of frustration and to express his emotion to the teacher. As the staff observes John during class times, they begin to note those antecedents that indicate John is becoming frustrated. They plan interventions with John to alleviate his build up of frustration. There is the constant interplay of the diagnostic, prescriptive and evaluation processes until John is able to identify the cause of his frustration and release it with positive behaviors. There are many specific techniques that can assist in teaching students with ID. They can be summarized into three, more, general strategies. First is to allow more time and practice for the students to successfully master the objective. Second is to embed the activities into daily living or functioning as much as possible. Third is to include the student both in the social and academic activities. Diagnostic/prescriptive/evaluation strategies have been employed in the classroom as an educational strategy to remedy learning deficits (Ewing Brecht, 1977). After speaking with a teacher about the roles and procedures that plays in the daily class, she shared with me that the diagnostic process helps the educational team define the student’s abilities and deficits. The prescriptive process provides a means to plan and teach the skills and concepts a student needs most. The evaluation process measures the learning increments of any magnitude. It enables the team to redefine the diagnostic and prescriptive as needed. The DPE strategy emphasizes and identifies a prioritized life goal curriculum planning approach to identify functional skills and concepts need by a student with ID to become as successful as possible in adult life. The DPE approach assesses each student’s abilities and progress toward those individual life goals (Thomas, 1996). References Dreschel, Susan. (2012). Prescriptive Learning. http://www. ehow. com. Eisele, James E. (1967). Diagnostic Teaching: Can the Curriculum Specialist Help? Educational Leadership, January 1967. Washington, DC. Ewing, Norma Brecht, Richard. (1977). Diagnostic/Prescriptive Instruction: A Reconsideration of Some Issues. Journal of Special Education, vol. 11. Los Angeles CA: Sage Publications. Guskey, T. R. (2003). Using Data to Improve Student Achievement. Educational Leadership. Kauffman, James M. Hung, Li-Yu. (2009). Special Education for Intellectual Disability: Current Trends and Perspectives. Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott Williams and Wilkins, Inc. Thomas, Glen E. (1996) Teaching Students with Mental Retardation: A Life Goal Curriculum Planning Approach. Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Jobs In World Wide Web Essay Example For Students

Jobs In World Wide Web Essay In todays fast-paced world, the high-tech computer industry offers a unique opportunity for high-paying jobs. Many people start their careers much younger than I have, so consequently I have to search for a career in a field that will offer me adequate financial rewards in a limited amount of time. I started working with computers four years ago, upgrading systems, and increasing modem speeds to enable me access to the World Wide Web. I find programming to be the most interesting area of Computer Science; there is a subculture within this area that call themselves hackers. There seems to be a negative connotation with the word hacker. This is a misunderstanding because these programmers, who consider themselves to be hackers, are not the evildoers that the media portrays them as. Some misguided souls do attack systems for profit and pleasure, but these are usually the wannabe hackers; they are referred to as crackers or cyberpunks. True hackers do not waste their time with these type s of antics. It is similar to an artist who, instead of painting a beautiful picture, sprays profanity on a city wall. There are many misconceptions surrounding the artform of hacking. Computers have made our world and lives much easier. In the past, many jobs were done by hand. Computers have replaced calculators. Word processing is now much faster and more conveienent than it was when we had to use typewriters. Not only can we type and correct errors much quicker since it can be done on a computer, but we dont even have to type at all as a result of dictation software, which allows us to speak to our computers. Computers revolutionized our world. We can communicate through e-mail with friends around the world. Research on any form or type of information is readily and easily accessible through the Internet. Computers have opened doors to people all over the world that just twenty years ago were not even dreamed of. Through all this innovation computers are, nevertheless, electronic components. They can only do what man tells them to do. This is how Alan Gauld, a computer programmer, explains computers: The logical thinking comes into play because computers are in trinsically stupid. They cant really do anything except add single digits together and move bytes from one place to another. Luckily for us some talented programmers have written lots of programs to hide this basic stupidity. But of course as a programmer you may well get into a new situation where you have to face that stupidity in its raw state. At that point you have to think for the computer. You have to figure out exactly what needs to be done to your data and when (Gauld). Who are programmers? They are people who write the software, which runs the hardware in your computer. Without the software, computer systems would be electronic components incapable of performing any useful operations. There are types of programmers, who are called ?hackers?. In the early 1960s, university facilities with huge mainframe computers, (like MITs artificial intelligence lab) became staging grounds for hackers. At first, a ?hacker? was a positive term that described a person with a mastery skill of computers who could push programs beyond what they were designed to do. Todays ?hacker?, however, comes with a negative connotation. Eric S. Raymond reveals this about hackers:There are a bunch of definitions of the term ?hacker?, Most having to do with technical adept nests and a delight in solving problems in overcoming limits? There is a community, a shared culture, of expert programmers and networking wizards that traces its history back to the decades to the first time-sha ring minicomputers and the earliest ARPAnet experiments. The members of this culture originated the term ?hacker?. Hackers built the Internet. Hackers made the UNIX operating system what it is today. Hackers run Usenet. Hackers make the World Wide Web work. If you are part of this culture, if you have contributed to it and other people in it know who you are in call you a hacker, youre a hacker. .ufa31b41a7be4d7bf5fbf07062583f676 , .ufa31b41a7be4d7bf5fbf07062583f676 .postImageUrl , .ufa31b41a7be4d7bf5fbf07062583f676 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .ufa31b41a7be4d7bf5fbf07062583f676 , .ufa31b41a7be4d7bf5fbf07062583f676:hover , .ufa31b41a7be4d7bf5fbf07062583f676:visited , .ufa31b41a7be4d7bf5fbf07062583f676:active { border:0!important; } .ufa31b41a7be4d7bf5fbf07062583f676 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .ufa31b41a7be4d7bf5fbf07062583f676 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .ufa31b41a7be4d7bf5fbf07062583f676:active , .ufa31b41a7be4d7bf5fbf07062583f676:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .ufa31b41a7be4d7bf5fbf07062583f676 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .ufa31b41a7be4d7bf5fbf07062583f676 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .ufa31b41a7be4d7bf5fbf07062583f676 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .ufa31b41a7be4d7bf5fbf07062583f676 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .ufa31b41a7be4d7bf5fbf07062583f676:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .ufa31b41a7be4d7bf5fbf07062583f676 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .ufa31b41a7be4d7bf5fbf07062583f676 .ufa31b41a7be4d7bf5fbf07062583f676-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .ufa31b41a7be4d7bf5fbf07062583f676:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Human Rights EssayKim Kamondo elegantly explains it this way:The computer-cracking culture can be broken down into four basic groups. To the general public, the term hacker has come to mean someone who gains illegal access to a computer system. However, in geekspeak, the term has a very different definition. To insiders, a hacker is merely an avid computer enthusiast. These types often do gain access to systems theyre not supposed to, but they dont do it with ill intentions. Instead, the goal of the hacker is mental stimulation, much like fiddling with a Rubics Cube. The bigger the hack, the greater the bragging rights The most obvious troublemakers in this culture are ter med crackers. These are generally misguided people with some sort of anarchist bent. They delight in breaking into systems and fouling things up. Perhaps the most dangerous contingent of the hacker corps is the one you never hear about. These people arent interested in fame or intellectual stimulation. Theyre simply in it for the money. They hack into the computer systems at financial institutions, transfer money to different accounts and then vanish. Sound interesting? So why do we seldom, if ever, read of such exploits? The answer is simple: security. Financial institutions are very tight-lipped about such breaches, fearing that any publicity will only encourage copycat offenders. Theyd rather take the hit and deal with the matter internally than trigger a potential feeding frenzy among the hacker community. THE GOOD THINGS HACKERS DO.This may be a rather long quote but its difficult to explain the good things hackers do. I can say that hackers helped created the World Wide Web, o r I could go on to say that they test financial institutions systems for the safety of our funds.But to say they hacker has gone outafter pedophilesin the better many of the Internet needs to be quoted directly from the passage for the reader to understand. Some hackers have chosen to use their skills for the betterment of society. Theirs is a higher cause. Case in point: Christian Valor, a k a Se7en. Valor spent 17 years in the hacker underground, and for most of that time he dismissed reports of online kiddie porn as exaggerated claims by overzealous lawmakers. His suspicions were reinforced when in 1996, he spent eight weeks combing the Web for child pornography and came up empty-handed. Then he discovered chat channels and newsgroups that catered to pedophiles and other perverts. That was a rude awakening for Valor. In 1997, after discovering just how low his fellow Netizens could stoop, Valor made a vow to disrupt the online activities of kiddie porn peddlers in any way that he couldlegal or not. Of course, its highly unlikely that any child pornographer would cry foul to the authorities. And if someone were stupid enough to turn this Robin Hood-like figure in to the police, Valor says hes been assured by the Secret Service that theyd probably decline to take action on the matter. Valors first target in his new crusade was an employee of Southwestern Bell. Although the perpetrator took numerous steps to cover his tracks, Valor was able to determine that this fellow was using his employers computers as home base for his kiddie porn operation. Valor claims that several days after e-mailing the evidence to the president and network administrators at Southwestern Bell, he received a message back that the pornographer was no longer employed there. Valors crusade has led other hackers to join the fight. In fact, theres even a Hackers Against Child Pornography site that encourages others to take up their keyboards and modems against online kiddie porn peddlers. Combined with a couple of large-scale multinational child pornography busts that took place in 1998, maybe these cyberspace sexual misfits will think twice about their chosen lifestyle. In the battle against child pornography, one of the authorities best allies turns out to be hackers, the ultimate haters of authority. Although police wont acknowledge them publicly, some hacking groups informally assist law enforcement agencies in both technical training and evidence gathering. Computers and Internet Essays

memory Essays (548 words) - The Bangles, Miracle Power, Hand Gloves

Find something that you value at many different aspects in your life. A pair of small round bangles was given to me as a gift from my grandmother. At the age around 80, She didn?t want to wear any jewellery and gave away all. My grandfather and mother, with whom I was so much attached mentally that my thought, belief, views all took a shape in a way that me the person who I am is partially was built by them. Their simple way of life and very simple happy everyday life influenced me so many ways whenever I see and I wear the bangles I feel I am very blessed with this very special gift. My grandmother was an illiterate woman and grew up in a very strong conservative Muslim family, early 2oth century she was born in a village grew up in a culture and time when a noble Muslim woman was not permitted walk beyond her home yard. I remember when she came to visit our home in Dhaka the capital city of Bangladesh, she wore a full body cover the black burka, a pair of black hand gloves, a pair of socks and it was very hard to see her eyes through the head Vail. I many time asked her how she could make it in a very hot humid day dressing up like that and, had a journey around 7 or eight hours. She smiled and said us ?don?t worry, time will change when you grow up, just study well, and study well so you can have a life as you desire. She knew a number of Quran verses but didn?t know how to read the Quran. She knew many poems that she learnt from her children when they studied for school. One thing she used to tell me, always be happy and satisfy what you have and be thankful to Allah for what he grants for you. When I was a kid I had problem in walking, on that time once my grandmother asked my father she had a a spiritual man who have miracle power to cure so I she wanted to take me to him , I was 12 years old and I was sent to her, when everybody fell into sleep she woke me up and we walk a long way in the middle of night ,passed through the meadow, vast paddy field and reached in a house yard that was crowed but dim lightening and the smel l of incense stick and burning candle, the place was very smoky its was like a circled meeting first with men then with women. The men was in kind of mental state he did not look to anybody but answer or sometime ask to people who are present I so wonder how a lady who never walked outside she every Thursday mid-night made alone this journey and surprising I found latter in my life she also highly enjoyed that four night walking all that long way to go and come . Only a lamp she When I feel sad or frustrated about something I think about back of my life my parents my grandmother specially her and her time. I feel very fortunate, this gift an inspiration to me.

What Is NUMATS Should You Participate

What Is NUMATS Should You Participate SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips In this guide, I'll be discussing NUMATS or Northwestern University's Midwest Academic Talent Search Program.NUMATS provides advanced tests to younger students to find their academic strengths and weaknesses and to suggest academic supplements to help these gifted students thrive. Depending on your score on the test, you may be offered a chance to attend one of theirsubprograms. While you can read all about this programon the NUMATS website, the information can be difficult to dissect. For this reason, I’ve gathered all the necessary information and put it into this easy-to-read guide. I recommend reading the entire guide, but I’ve created a Table of Contents that lists the specific sections to help you find whatever information you need. What IsNUMATS? What Do You Do in the Program? Why Should You/Your Child Participate? How To Apply and Application Requirements How Much Does ItCost? Tips on How to Get In What Is the NUMATS Talent Search? What Do You Do in the Program? NUMATS is a program that offers advanced children above-grade-level testing to accurately measure their academic strengths. Depending on how well they perform on the tests, there may also be other programs available toparticipants. While students are already tested in school, if you or your child scores above the 90th percentile on their standardized tests, the scoreisn’t telling you what your child knows beyond what was covered on the test.NUMATS provides students with theopportunity to take certaintests years before they normally would. For example, the EXPLORE test, typically given in eighthgrade, is offered to students in grades three through six, and the ACT andSAT, typically taken in 10th or 11th grade, areoffered to students in grades six through nine. After studentstake one of thetests, theyreceive recommendationsonareas theycan improve in, and, depending on their score, theymaybe offered an invitation to participate insupplemental programs.These supplemental programs include online, weekend, and summer programs. Supplemental programs offer advanced, unique courses to students that allow them to be appropriately challenged and learn more about a subject of interest to them. Some supplemental programs last onlya single weekend while others run formultiple weeks or weekends. Supplemental programs canbe online or in-person classes, depending on the specific course. Who’s Eligible for the NUMATS Program? Students in grades three through nine who meet one or more of the following criteria can enroll in the program: Participated previously in NUMATS or another talent search program. Qualify for their school’s gifted program. Be recommend bya teacher or parent, based on their exceptional verbal or mathematical reasoning skills, consistently high level of performance on demanding coursework, or repeatedrequests for more challenging academic experiences. Meet grade-level assessment criteria in either verbal/reading or math on a nationally normed or state achievement test. What Are the NUMATS Test Dates for 2015-16? EXPLORE, SAT, and ACT tests are offered through NUMATS year round. There are test centers throughout the US, so you can participate in NUMATS no matter where you live.You can search for a test date at a test center near you through the NUMATS website. Why Should You Participate in NUMATS? When you participate in NUMATS, you’re provided with test preparation materials.After you take atest and receive your scores, you’ll get recommendations for selecting future classes and extracurriculars in math, science, social science and the humanities based on your scores. Also, you’ll receive instructional resources for use at home and in the classroom.For high scorers, there will be an award ceremony at Northwestern with scholarships presented to first-place scorers. Depending on your score on the tests, you may receive invitations toNorthwestern’s other gifted programs. As I mentioned before, these programs include online, weekend, and summer programs, and are offered to students ages 4 through 17. Through these supplemental programs, students cantakeadvanced, unique classes that allow them to be appropriately challenged and learn more about a topicof interest to them. However, ifyou live far from Northwestern, you may be limited to participating in online and summer programs. These courses can help you connect with other gifted students and will push you to rise to your full potential. In addition, you get to test out subjects you're interested in (such as playwriting or rocket science) at a young age to see if you might want to pursuea career in that field. It's great to get this exposure at a younger age rather than wasting time and money in college debating what you should major in. For students in high school, you also can get access to AP courses online for which you can get college credit. If you've never heard of AP, learn more about AP classesin our other guide. I’d highly recommend doing NUMATS if you qualify and can afford it. How To Apply and Application Requirements You apply through the NUMATS website by creating an account. The application requirements are the same as the eligibility requirements listed above. As I said before, you need to meet one of the following requirements and provide proof in your application: Previously participated in NUMATS or another talent search program Participate in the gifted program at your school Meet grade-level assessment criteria in either verbal/reading or math on a nationally normed or state achievement test Can provide a teacher or parent letter of recommendation stating you’re performing at a consistently high level in verbal/reading or math. How Much Does NUMATS Cost? The exact cost of taking the NUMATS test is $74-93.50, depending on which test you take. This feecovers the cost of taking the test and the cost of the NUMATS program (which includes access to all of the benefits listed above in the Why Participate section). Is There Financial Aid? How Do You Apply For It? Yes, NUMATS offers need-based financial aid only for applicants whoqualify for other federally subsidized programs (such as the National School Lunch Program).Financial aid can be requested when you register for NUMATS online. To apply for financial aid, you must submit a letter stating you meet the financial aid eligibility criteria. The letter must be written on school letterhead and signed by a school official. Here is an example of a financial aid eligibility letter.Submit the letter to NUMATS by your chosen test's registration deadline.Fax to 847-467-4283, email numats@ctd.northwestern.edu, or mail to NUMATS Financial Aid, 617 Dartmouth Pl, Evanston, IL 60208. Tips on How to Get a High Score You should try to score high on your NUMATS test (EXPLORE, SAT, or ACT) because if you score high enough, you can qualify for the amazingsupplemental programsI mentioned above, as well as scholarships. First place scorers are invited to an award ceremony at Northwestern and presented with scholarships. Additionally,depending on your score, you could be offered grants to participate in the supplemental programs (mentioned earlier) in partnership with theJack Kent Cooke Foundation. If you’re hoping to do well in the NUMATS program, you’ll want to do a lot of EXPLORE, SAT, or ACT prep.We’ve got great resources to help you prepare for the SAT and the ACT. You should check out online resources for EXPLORE preparation or consider buying an EXPLORE prep book. What’s Next? Learn aboutother pre-college programs such as the Emory Pre-College Program. Not sure where you want to go to college? Learn how to do college research right.Not sure how you'll pay for college? Check out our guide to paying for college. Trying to decide where to go to high school? Learn how to compare high schools using SAT or ACT score. Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points or your ACT score by 4 points?We've written a guide for each test about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now:

The Geography of Diet Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

The Geography of Diet - Essay Example One can observe a connection between ethnicity and similarity in food patterns. Food patterns are often seen as symbols of cultural identity. The affinity or dislike for a food varies across regions on the basis of origin (Food - Food And Culture, n.d). The net result is a wide platter of food for the people across the globe. The paper undertakes a study of the food culture in China. China and their cuisine China is one of the emerging economies of the world and it has a very strong economic base. The country has a large population with different ethnic groups but the Han Chinese constitutes the major group. Apart from them there are Zhuang, Manchu, Hui, and others. The country has a rich historical background which dates back to 3500 years and it boasts of being the oldest civilizations of the world (China, 2011). As the economy is so diverse it is natural that food habits of the people will also vary and accordingly the world was presented with a new type of cuisine in their platte r known as the Chinese food. The need to fulfill the growing population’s demand for food led to the discovery of dishes using new ingredients. Scarcity of meat made them adapt new eating habits which included a combination of small amount of meat and more rice and noodles. Consumption of vegetables increased and they were stir fried to conserve fuel. (Map of China, n.d.) Chinese also discovered new dishes during famines. Shortages of food compelled the population to eat anything that is edible to survive. Ingredients such as fungus, lily buds, different types of fruit and vegetable peels and shark fins were used to make delicacies in China. Unlike the dishes made in Western style, cooking of Chinese food involves both meat and vegetables. This makes the amount of calorie and fats very less and also there is no loss of vitamins and minerals. The differences in food across regions became more prominent when there was invasion from the neighboring countries and the outcome was exchange of cooking styles and customs (Coman, 2007, pp.2-3). Foundation of Chinese cuisine Chinese cuisine like their philosophy is based on â€Å"Daoist principles of opposition and change† (Kuiper, 2010, p.40). One can find that there is a balance between hot and cold, spicy and mild. Cooking in the Sichuan province is characterized by the use of hot peppers whereas one would find the use of fresh ingredients more common in the southern interior part of China. Subtle flavors and fresh vegetables are synonymous with Cantonese cooking. Foods may differ across regions but they all are viewed as an â€Å"accompaniment† to grains which is the staple Chinese diet. It is also believed that Chinese cuisine contains a high expression of â€Å"gastronomic art† (Kuiper, 2010, p.40). In ancient China one would find that a great emphasis was given to service and preparation. Supply of food in ancient time was mostly ensured through hunting and foraging. Vegetables to meat , everything was found on the Chinese platter in ancient time also. The emergence of agriculture led the development of different styles of food according to the natural resources that was available. Thus there was the emergence of different cooking styles and

Collaborative Practice for Special Needs Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Collaborative Practice for Special Needs - Essay Example According to Johnson at al (2008, 55) successful Strategic Management depends on three factors namely: suitability, feasibility, and acceptability. This means the manager must project if the plan will address the key strategic issues [suitability]; whether the resources required for it are available [feasibility]; and, whether it will meet the expectations of the main stakeholders [acceptability] (Buzzell & Gale, 1987, 44) ( Lynch, 2006, 38). On the other hand, Professor Tony Booth and Professor Mel Ainscow et al (2000) developed an index for inclusion utilized by educational institutions to ensure that the school optimizes the performance of its students, staff, and stakeholders in the educational process. The aim of such an index is to build supportive communities and foster the highest possible levels of achievement among the school staff and students. This index when used in planning that the learning system is inclusive to all those involved and does not discriminate on the basis of cultural background or academic ability, but encourages all to participate and progress to the best of their ability based on their own unique circumstances. Meanwhile, Lanchat and Smith (2005, 333-349) postulate that an accurate and relevant collection of data in schools helps the teaching fraternity to improve the performance of students. This is because they can correctly predict what will help in improving work performance based on previously recorded experience. This approach eventually results in the improvement of the overall attainment of excellence by the institution.  This interview is based on the theories mentioned above in determining the successes and challenges encountered in the process of educating child A.     

Coursework Questions Scholarship Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Coursework Questions - Scholarship Essay Example To rate the credibility of an opinion, it should be measured in terms of how it conform to its subject or object. Any opinion should be evaluated both objectively and subjectively so that we could identify if opinion is in coherence with reality. No, it is because truth does not easily change. But knowledge changes as a product of observations. The continuing evolution of knowledge itself leads to the discoveries of truth. Knowledge is what has been discovered, but the real truth is yet to be discovered. It does not mean that any opinion is right, but any opinion is to be accepted for the purpose of arriving to conclusion about any arguments. Everybody has the freedom to express their own opinion but should be corrected if their opinion does not conform to the reality. The right to express an opinion should not be abused by just letting anybody claim any faulty opinion as a right opinion. Philosophy is a branch of science itself. Philosophy deals with deeper understanding of any subject or object of its study by looking at it both subjectively and objectively. It is defined as a love of wisdom. It is not just observing the visible qualities of an object, but also looking at its inner nature, its relationship to the things around it, the reason of its existence. Philosophy is more deeper than other branches of science. During these levels of study, one has to de... It is not just observing the visible qualities of an object, but also looking at its inner nature, its relationship to the things around it, the reason of its existence. Philosophy is more deeper than other branches of science. What are the basic skills one is suppose to develop in school, that is, in kindergarten through the twelfth grade During these levels of study, one has to develop basic communication and analytical skills. Everyone should learn how to communicate effectively with the persons around them, learn the different forms of communication, and basic problem solving skills. What is the basic purpose of education The basic purpose of education is to educate everybody on how to deal properly with the different situations in life. Theories of different situations that commonly encountered by man are introduced for them to have a firm background or understanding of what, when, where, how these situation will likely occurs and the common ways of dealing with it properly. Giving sufficient education helps prevents problems from getting worst, or be prevented from happening itself. What is a right What are the two sources of all right Right is the legal or moral entitlement to do or refrain from doing something or to obtain or refrain from obtaining an action, thing or recognition in civil society1. Under what conditions would you be persuaded to change your mind about anything Explain your answer. Our decisions are greatly affected by things that we perceive on an actual experience. We deal with different decision making phase by making decision which we believe is right for us at the given situation. Sometimes decisions were made promptly as caused by panic, which comes out from our subjective evaluation of the situation. The impact of any

Oral Communication English Forms Functions and Strategies

Oral Communication English Forms Functions and Strategies 1.0 Introduction When we refer in the question context, oral communication in english: forms, functions, and strategies to a group of english language instructors at a local college/university, the first think in our mind is oral communication Communication is the activity of conveying information. Communication requires a sender, a message, and an intended recipient, although the receiver need not be present or aware of the senders intent to communicate at the time of communication; thus communication can occur across vast online in time and space. Communication requires that the communicating parties share an area of communicative commonality. The communication process is complete once the receiver has understood the sender. Communication as an academic discipline, sometimes called communicology, relates to all the ways we communicate, so it embraces a large body of study and knowledge. The communication discipline includes both verbal and nonverbal messages. A body of scholarship all about communi cation is presented and explained in textbooks, electronic publications, and academic journals. In the journals, researchers report the results of studies that are the basis for an ever-expanding understanding of how we all communicate. Communication happens at many levels (even for one single action), in many different ways, and for most beings, as well as certain machines. Several, if not all, fields of study dedicate a portion of attention to communication, so when speaking about communication it is very important to be sure about what aspects of communication one is speaking about. Definitions of communication range widely, some recognizing that animals can communicate with each other as well as human beings, and some are more narrow, only including human beings within the different parameters of human symbolic interaction. 2.0 The Oral Communication Process According to Shannons (1948) model of the communication process is, in important ways, the beginning of the modern field. It provided, for the first time, a general model of the communication process that could be treated as the common ground of such diverse disciplines as journalism, rhetoric, linguistics, and speech and hearing sciences. Part of its success is due to its structuralist reduction of communication to a set of basic constituents that not only explain how communication happens, but why communication sometimes fails. Good timing played a role as well. The world was barely thirty years into the age of mass radio, had arguably fought a world war in its wake, and an even more powerful, television, was about to assert itself. It was time to create the field of communication as a unified discipline, and Shannons model was as good an excuse as any. The models enduring value is readily evident in introductory textbooks. It remains one of the first things most students learn abo ut communication when they take an introductory communication class. Indeed, it is one of only a handful of theoretical statements about the communication process that can be found in introductory textbooks in both mass communication and interpersonal communication (http://davis.foulger.info/research/unifiedModelOfCommunication.htm) Shannons (1948) Model of the communication process The ecological model of communication, shown in Figure 6, attempts to provide a platform on which these issues can be explored. It asserts that communication occurs in the intersection of four fundamental constructs: communication between people (creators and consumers) is mediated by messages which are created using language within media; consumed from media and interpreted using language.This model is, in many ways, a more detailed elaboration of Lasswells (1948) classic outline of the study of communication: Who says what in which channel to whom with what effect. In the ecological model, the who are the creators of messages, the says what are the messages, the in which channel is elaborated into languages (which are the content of channels) and media (which channels are a component of), the to whom are the consumers of messages, and the effects are found in various relationships between the primitives, including relationships, perspectives, attributions, interpretations, and the continuing evolution of languages and media. It is in this layering of interdependent social construction that this model picks up its name. Our communication is not produced within any single system, but in the intersection of several interrelated systems, each of which is self-standing necessarily described by dedicated theories, but each of which is both the product of the others and, in its own limited way, an instance of the other. The medium is, as McLuhan famously observed, a message that is inherent to every message that is created in or consumed from a medium. The medium is, to the extent that we can select among media, also a language such that the message of the medium is not only inherent to a message, but often an element of its composition. In what may be the most extreme view enabled by the processing of messages within media, the medium may also be a person and consumes messages, recreates them, and makes the modified messages available for further consumption. A medium is really none of these things. It is fund amentally a system that enables the construction of messages using a set of languages such that they can be consumed. But a medium is also both all of these things and the product of their interaction. People learn, create, and evolve media as a vehicle for enabling the creation and consumption of messages. The same might be said of each of the constituents of this model. People can be, and often are, the medium (insofar as they act as messengers), the language (insofar as different people can be selected as messengers), or the message (ones choice of messenger can be profoundly meaningful). Fundamentally a person is none of these things, but they can be used as any of these things and are the product of their experience of all of these things. Our experience of messages, languages, media, and through them, other people, is fundamental in shaping who we become and how we think of ourselves and others. We invent ourselves, and others work diligently to shape that invention, through our consumption of messages, the languages we master, and the media we use. Language can be, and often are, the message (that is inherent to every message constructed with it), the medium (but only trivially), the person (both at the level of the language instinct that is inherent to people (following Pinker, xxxxx) and a socialized semiotic overlay on personal experience), and even the language (insofar as we have a choice of what language we use in constructing a given message). Fundamentally a language is none of these things, but it can be used as any of these things and is the product of our use of media to construct messages. We use language, within media, to construct messages, such as definitions and dictionaries) that construct language. We invent and evolve language as a product of our communication. As for messages, they reiterate all of these constituents. Every message is a partial and incomplete precis of the language that it is constructed with, the medium it is created in and consumed from, and the person who created it. Every message we consume allows us to learn a little more about the language that we interpret with, the medium we create and consume messages in, and the person who created the message. Every message we create is an opportunity to change and extend the language we use, evolve the media we use, and influence the perspective that consumers of our messages have of us. Yet fundamentally, a message is simply a message, an attempt to communicate something we imagine such that another person can correctly intepret the message and thus imagine the same thing. This welter of intersecting McLuhanesque and interdependencies provides a second source of the models name. This model seeks, more than anything, to position language and media as the intermediate building blocks on which communication is built. The position of language as a building block of messages and and communication is well understood. Over a century of study in semantics, semiotics, and linguistics have produced systematic theories of message and language production which are well understood and generally accepted. The study of language is routinely incorporated into virtually all programs in the field of communication, including journalism, rhetoric and speech, film, theater, broadcast media, language arts, speech and hearing sciences telecommunications, and other variants, including departments of language and social interaction. The positioning of the study of media within the field of communication is considerably more tenuous. Many departments, including most of those na med in this paragraph, focus almost entirely on only one or two media, effectively assuming the medium such that the focus of study can be constrained to the art of message production and interpretation, with a heavy focus on the languages of the medium and little real introspection about what it means to use that medium in preference to another or the generalized ways in which all media are invented, learned, evolved, socialized, selected or used meaningfully. Such is, however, the primary subject matter of the newly emerging discipline of media ecology, and this model can be seen as an attempt to position media ecology relative to language and messages as a building block of our communication. This model was created specifically to support theories of media and position them relative to the process of communication. It is hoped that the reader finds value in that positioning 3.0 Interpersonal Communication Judging from the types of interaction in communication, communication can be distinguished in three categories: interpersonal communication, small group communication and public communication in Malaysia context. What is Interpersonal Communication: Interpersonal communication is the exchange of information among persons with at least one or the other usually between two people who can immediately know. According Devito (1989), interpersonal communication is the delivery of messages by one person and receiving a message by another person or a small group of people, with different effects and the opportunity to provide immediate feedback. Interpersonal Communication is communication between people in face to face, which allows each participant to catch other peoples reactions directly, either verbal or nonverbal. Interpersonal Communication is communication that only two people, such as husband and wife, two colleagues, two close friends, teachers, students and others. Interpersonal communication is the communication between the communicator with communicant, communication is considered the most effective type of effort to change attitudes, opinions or behavior of a person, because of its dialogic form of conversation. At the launch of communications, communicators know for sure whether positive or negative communication, successful or not. If he could give the communicant to the opportunity to ask the widest. Classification of Interpersonal Communication developed a classification of interpersonal communication to the intimate interaction, social conversation, interrogation or examination and interview. Intimate interaction, including communication between friends, family members, and those who already have a strong emotional bond. Type of face to face communication essential to the development of informal relationships within the organization. For example, two or more people together and talk about the attention, interests external to the organization as a political issue, technology and others. c) Interrogation or inspection is an interaction between a person who is in control, is requested or even demanded information from the other. For example, an employee accused of taking the goods, the organization will superiors to know the truth. d) The interview is one form of interpersonal communication in which two people engage in conversation in the form of questions and answers. For example, a boss who interviewed his subordinates to seek information about a job. 3.1 The purpose of Interpersonal Communication Interpersonal communication may have several purposes. Finding Yourself One goal of interpersonal communication was found personal or private. When we engage in interpersonal meetings with other people we learned a lot about ourselves and others. Interpersonal Communication provides an opportunity for us to talk about what we like, or about ourselves. It is very interesting and exciting when discussing feelings, thoughts, and our own behavior.   By talking about ourselves with others, we provide an incredible source of feedback on the feelings, thoughts, and our behavior. Discovering The World Outdoors Interpersonal communication only makes us to understand more about ourselves and others who communicate with us. A lot of information that we know comes from interpersonal communication, although many of the amount of information that comes to us from the mass media that is often discussed, and finally learned or discovered through interpersonal interaction. Develop and Maintain Relationships The Full Meaning One of the biggest desire is to form and maintain relationships with others. A lot of times we use in interpersonal communication to establish and maintain the permanence of social relationships with others. Changing Attitudes and Behavior Many times we use to change the attitudes and behaviors of others by interpersonal encounter. We can wish they chose a particular way, such as trying a new diet, buy a certain item, see the film, wrote the book to read, to enter certain areas and believe that something is true or false.   We have a lot of   the time period involved in the interpersonal position. To Play And Pleasure Playing covers all activities that have the main goal is to find pleasure Talking with friends about our activities during the weekend, discussing the sport, telling stories and funny stories in general it is a conversation to pass the time. With that kind of interpersonal communication can provide an important balance in mind the need relax from all the seriousness in our environment. To assist The members of the psychiatric, clinical psychologist and therapist interpersonal communication in their professional activities to direct clients. We all also work to help others in our interpersonal interactions daily. We consulted with a friend who dropped out of love, in consultation with the student on a course that should be taken and so forth. Interpersonal Communication Effectiveness Interpersonal Communication Effectiveness started with five general quality to be considered: transparency (inclusive, and accountable), empathy , the attitude of support, and equality. 3.2 Openness (inclusive, and accountable) Quality of disclosure based on at least three aspects of interpersonal communication. First, effective interpersonal communicators should be open to the people who interact . This does not mean that people should immediately open up all the history may attract, but usually does not help communication. Instead, there must be a willingness to open themselves to disclose information that is usually hidden, so long as the disclosure itself is worth. The second aspect of transparency refers to the willingness of communicators to respond honestly to the next stimulus. People who live, not critically, and no response in general is a dreary conversation participants. We want people to react publicly to what we say and we are entitled to expect this. There is nothing worse than a lack aeven much more enjoyable. We show openness to spontaneously react the way for others. The third aspect concerning the ownership feelings and thoughts. Open in this sense is acknowledged that feelings and though ts that you throw is really yours and you are responsible for it. The best way to express this responsibility is the message that using the word. 3.3 Empathy Henry Backrack (1976) defines empathy as the ability to know what is being experienced by others at a certain moment, from the viewpoint of the other person, through the eyes of other people. Sympathy, on the other is the feeling of others or go to feel grief while empathy is to feel something like a person who experienced it, is in the same boat and feel the same feeling the same way. Empathic person is able to understand the motivations and experiences of others, feelings and attitudes, as well as their hopes and wishes for the future. In nonverbal, to communicate our empathy by showing (1) active engagement with people through facial expressions and gestures are appropriate, (2) includes a centralized concentration eyes, attentive posture, and physical proximity, and (3) touch or caress the proper. The attitude of support (supportiveness) Effective interpersonal relationship is a relationship where there is the attitude of support. The formulation of a concept based on the work of Jack Gibb. Open communication and empathic cannot take place in an environment that does not support. We showed the attitude to be supported by descriptive, not evaluative, spontaneous, non-strategic, and provisional, not very confident. 3.5 Positive attitude (positiveness) We communicate a positive attitude in interpersonal communication with at least two ways: express a positive attitude, and positively encourages people to interact with our friends. A positive attitude based on at least two aspects of interpersonal communication. First, interpersonal communication, if someone has developed a positive attitude toward themselves. Second, positive feelings to the situation of communication in general is very important for effective interaction. Nothing is more fun than to communicate with people who do not enjoy the interaction or does not react favorably to the situation or environment interactions. 4.0 Small Group Communication Small groups can as any collection of individuals who touch each other for a particular purpose and have a degree of organization among them. Most researchers define a small group should be composed of at least three members and no more than twelve or fifteen members. If a member of a group that fewer than 3,easy to apply and when a member of more than 12 people were the group will have trouble. In small groups, each group member must be free to interact and be open to all members of the group. Each team member must have a purpose or a common goal and they should work together to achieve that goal. 4.1 Culture The word culture is the result of combining the words Budhi and power. The word Budhi is borrowed from the Sanskrit language mediators fitness of mind and intellect, while the power is a Malay word meaning Polynesia authorized strength, power and influence. When combined the word culture is to mean power of mind, spirit or energy of moving the soul. Culture as a way of life which is made by people who are members of certain groups and include elements of social systems, organizational structures of economic, political, religious, beliefs, customs, attitudes, values, cultural tools such as those generated by community members. Generally speaking, culture is a way of life practiced by an individual or group of individuals (society). It includes various tools that are created and used, ways of thinking and beliefs passed down from generation to generation. Culture does not only refer to the heritage, ethnicity or race, but it is also determined by age, gender, age, lifestyle and economi c status. The Group is the first time in life as we join the family system, a group of friends at school, or maybe our neighbors. Most times this group provides the communication needs for affiliation (affiliation), authentication (Affirmation) and affection (affection). 4.3 Working Group This type of group on a more formal and the rewards will be received as a result of completion of a task. The group we got and learn the values and norms of behavior we are.   It a standard (standard) for us to compare ourselves. In other words, we assess our successes and failures based on results given by all members of the reference group. Reference group may be primary or secondry. Group that is accompanied by an individual. However, her participation intended to be the benchmark. Participation is simply alone. For example, individual in uniform units sometimes just to meet alone. 4.4 Gender Gender aspects are important elements in determining the value, actions and way of life. In many communities, members are given certain privileges and recognition based on gender. Thus, gender becomes a key determinant of the tasks and roles assigned. For example, in Malay society, men are given priority to be a leader or leaders, especially in families and small groups. In a small group of men usually like to dominate the group and its members, but the problems that exist in small groups are often created by men. 4.5 Practice The practice or habit is the basis of the so-called tradition. It refers to the procedure to do something that is followed by every member of the group concerned and for generations. For example, in each of the ethnic cultural groups, there are certain procedures (traditional) to celebrate births, marriages and deaths. Every human community to impose rules (taboos) to control the behavior of certain members. Taboo is actually a manifestation of what is important for each group. 5.0 Public Communication Communication is a complex process of exchanging messages through words, symbols, expressions and body language. Public communication involves the sending and receiving of messages on a large scale to and from the general public. Public communication includes mass media, public relations and public speaking, but can include any form of sending a message to a large group of people. Effective public communication is a skill that is learned and perfected over time.   Public communication is the sending and receiving of messages on a large scale that impacts groups of people. For the communication to be considered effective, the messages must be clearly and accurately sent and received with full comprehension. 5.1 Purpose The purpose of effective public communication differs based on the intention of the message. For example, a public relations representative might use mass media to repair a companys public image after an alleged scandal breaks out. In this situation, effective public communication is intended to inform the public. On the other hand, a billboards intention is to entice an audience to buy a product or service. Effective public communication is used to inform, educate, persuade and inspire the audience. 5.2 Types Effective public communication can manifest itself in different ways. Public speaking in any form is considered public communication. This can be a school assembly, a business meeting or a presidential speech at TV, radio, newspaper or any other mass-produced medium, is another type of effective public communication. 5.3 Results The result of effective public communication is the successful delivery of a message to a large group of people where each individual is impacted and moved to take action. Effective public communication is able to relate to the individual needs of the listeners while speaking to the masses. Effective public communication causes listeners to respond to the public communications message. 5.4 Considerations Effective public communication must refrain from biased words, philosophies and ideologies. For example, when the president is making a speech, his words and thoughts need to be portrayed in a universal way so that one group does not feel isolated or left out. Effective public communication keeps statements generic and neutral to gender, race and religious beliefs. 6.0 Conclusion My conclusion for Oral Communication in English: Forms, Functions, and Strategies in the Malaysian Context in short, the transmissive model is of little direct value to social science research into human communication, and its endurance in popular discussion is a real liability. Its reductive influence has implications not only for the commonsense understanding of communication in general, but also for specific forms of communication such as speaking and listening, writing and reading, watching television and so on. In education, it represents a similarly transmissive model of teaching and learning. And in perception in general, it reflects the naive realist notion that meanings exist in the world awaiting only decoding by the passive spectator. In all these contexts, such a model underestimates the creativity of the act of interpretation. Alternatives to transmissive models of communication are normally described as constructivist: such perspectives acknowledge that meanings are act ively constructed by both initiators and interpreters rather than simply transmitted. However, you will find no single, widely-accepted constructivist model of communication in a form like that of Shannon and Weavers block diagram. This is partly because those who approach communication from the constructivist perspective often reject the very idea of attempting to produce a formal model of communication. Where such models are offered, they stress the centrality of the act of making meaning and the importance of the socio-cultural context.

Napoleon Bonaparte Essay -- European History Corsica Essays

Napoleone Buonaparte Napoleon was born on August 15, 1769 in Ajaccio, Corsica, and was given the name Napoleone Buonaparte. He was the second of eight children of Carlo and Letizia Buonaperte, both of the Corsican-Italian gentry. Before Napoleone, no Buonaparte had ever been a professional soldier. His father Carlo, was a lawyer who had fought for Corsican independence, but after the French occupied the island in 1768, he served as a prosecutor and a judge and entered the French aristocracy as a count. Through his father's influence, Napoleone was educated at the expense of King Louis XVI, at Brienne and the Ecole Militaire, in Paris. Napoleone graduated in 1785, at the age of 16, and joined the artillery as a second lieutenant. After the revolution began in France, he became a lieutenant colonel (1791) in the Corsican National Guard. However, when Corsica declared independence in 1793, Buonaperte, a Republican, and a French patriot, fled to France with his family. He was assigned, as captain, to an army besieging Toulon, a naval base that was aided by a British fleet, while in revolt against the republic. It was here that Napoleone Buonaperte officially changed his name to Napoleon Bonaparte, feeling that it looked "more French". It was here too that Napoleon replaced a wounded artillery general, and seized ground where his guns could drive the British fleet from the harbor, and Toulon fell. As a result of his accomplishments, Bonapatre was promoted to brigadier general at the age of 24. In 1795, he saved the revolutionary government by dispersing an insurgent mob in Paris. Then in 1796 he married Josephine de Beauharnais, the mother of two children and the widow of an aristocrat guillotined in the Revolution. Early in his life Napoleon was showing signs of militaristic geniuses and knowledge for formidable strategy. It was through the application of his skills, and a revolutionary style of spontaneous fighting styles than gave Napoleon the opportunities, which he jumped at, making his the great military leader he is known as today. Latter in1796, Napoleon became commander of the French army in Italy. He defeated four Austrian generals in succession, each at impossible odds, and forced Austria and it's allies to make peace. The Treaty of Campo Formio provided that France keep most of its conquests. In northern Italy he f... ...ropean countries. Napoleon was a driven man, never secure, never satisfied. "Power is my mistress" (VI pg. 176), he said. His life was work-centered; even his social activities had a purpose. He could bear amusements or vacations only briefly. His tastes were for coarse food, bad wine, and for cheap tobacco. He could be hypnotically charming for a needed purpose of course. He had intense loyalties to his family and old associates. Even so, nothing or nobody, were allowed to interfere with his work. Napoleon was sometimes a tyrant and always an authorian. But one who believed, however in ruling by mandate of the people, expressed on plebiscites. He was also a great enlightened monarch-a civil executive of enormous capacity who changed French institutions and tried to reform the intuitions of Europe and give the Continent a common law. Few historians deny that he was a military genius. At St. Helena, he said "Waterloo will erase the memory of all my victories." (VII pg.345) he was wrong; for better or worse, he is best remembered as a general, not for his enlightened government, but surely the latter must be counted if he is justly to be called "Napoleon the Great".

Accounting Information System 5

American Journal of Scientific Research ISSN 1450-223X Issue 4 (2009), pp36-44  © EuroJournals Publishing, Inc. 2009 http://www. eurojournals. com/ajsr. htm Accounting Information Systems (AIS) and Knowledge Management: A Case Study Zulkarnain Muhamad Sori Department of Accounting and Finance, Faculty of Economics and Management Universiti Putra Malaysia Abstract This study seeks to examine the use of Accounting Information Systems (AIS) by ZBMS Sdn. Bhd. , and it’s contribution to the knowledge management and strategic role of the organisation. ZBMS is a company that registered in Kuala Lumpur and operate in construction industry.The company used automated AIS known as ‘Contract Plus – Financial & Project Accounting’ package commercially developed by a private company (ZYXW). Wide variety of people that involve in the company’s operation within and outside the organisation uses accounting information generated by this system for decisionmaking. Ba sed on input provided by operational level managers, the Contract Plus software produces monthly projects’ income statements, balance sheets and statement of changes in financial position for the strategic and tactical managers to plan, control and make decision on the resources allocation.The role-played by AIS enhanced the organisations’ accounting functions, and add information value. The automated AIS speed up the process to generate financial statements and overcome human weaknesses in data processing. The system enhances management of resources and the process of monitoring, control and prediction of ZBMS business for better future. With the advent of AIS, the growth of tacit and explicit knowledge could be seen from the intensive training of personnel at the early stage of system implementation to the development and use of company’s own manual in training of new staff and assisting the job of existing staff.Given the benefit of AIS to ZBMS, this paper re commended that the source of data should be fully automated, and the existing system should be upgraded through computerise the pre-tendering and post-tendering of projects to enable AIS integration. Keywords: Accounting Information Systems, Knowledge Management, Accounting Functions, Information Value, Financial Statements 1. Introduction Accounting Information System (AIS) is vital to all organisations (Borthick and Clark, 1990; Curtis, 1995; Rahman et al. , 1988; Wilkinson, 1993; Wilkinson et al. 2000) and perhaps, every organisations either profit or non profit-oriented need to maintain the AISs (Wilkinson, 2000: 3-4). To better understand the term ‘Accounting Information System’, the three words constitute AIS would be elaborate separately. Firstly, literature documented that accounting could be identified into three components, namely information system, â€Å"language of business† and source of financial information (Wilkinson, 1993: 6-7). Secondly, inform ation is a valuable data processing that provides a basis for making decisions, taking action and fulfilling legal obligation.Finally, system is an integrated entity, Accounting Information Systems (AIS) and Knowledge Management: A Case Study 37 where the framework is focused on a set of objectives. The combination of the three words Accounting Information System indicate an integrated framework within an entity (such as a business firm) that employs physical resources (i. e. , materials, supplies, personnel, equipment, funds) to transform economic data into financial information for; (1) conducting the firm’s operations and activities, and (2) providing information concerning the entity to a variety of interested users.Indeed, the combination or interaction between human, technology and techniques would permit an organisation to administer its knowledge effectively (Bhatt, 2001; Thomas and Kleiner, 1995). Currently, the world and human life has been transformed from informat ion age to a knowledge age (Syed-Ikhsan and Rowland, 2004: 238; Thomas and Kleiner, 1995: 22), and knowledge has been recognised as the most valuable asset. In fact, knowledge is not impersonal like money and does not reside in a book, a data bank or a software program (Drucker, 1993).Drucker believed that knowledge is always embodied in a person, taught and learned by a person, used or misused by a person. As the world moving into knowledge era, this paper will examine how ZBMS Sdn. Bhd. manages its knowledge in order to remain competitive amongst the construction industry. Probst, Raub & Romhardt (1999, p. 1) stressed that companies must learn to manage their intellectual assets (i. e. knowledge) in order to survive and compete in the ‘knowledge society’. Indeed, knowledge management is concerned with the exploitation and development of the knowledge assets (Davenport et al. , 1998).This paper seeks to examine the Accounting Information Systems (AIS) used by a Malaysi an company named ZBMS Sdn. Bhd. The paper will highlight the users of the system and the way information adds value to the organisation. Also, the paper will investigate the way knowledge is managed through the process of creating, storing, disseminating and applying and how information system plays an important role throughout the process and the AIS contribution in the organisation’s strategic role. The remainder of the paper is organised as follows. The following section describes the background of ZBMS and the use of accounting information systems.The third section provides research findings on accounting information systems employed by ZBMS. The fourth section offer suggestions for future research. The final section concludes the paper and outlines the limitations of the study. 2. The Use of Accounting Information Systems in ZBMS ZBMS is a private limited company registered in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia that operate in construction industry, where the main activities ranging from construction of infrastructure, building, power, waste water to property development as well as engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning (EPCC) in the oil & gas sector.The company used automated AIS known as ‘Contract Plus – Financial & Project Accounting’ package in their Finance Department, which was commercially developed by a private company (ZYXW). Contract Plus is a fully integrated business solution designed specifically for companies in the engineering and construction industry. The software will generate financial data to be analysed by the accountants and subsequently used by top level of management for strategic decision making, thus, these managers could identify future opportunities and limitations face by the company and industry (McCarthy, Minichiello and Curran, 1987: 243-244). . Findings As mentioned earlier in section 2, ZBMS is a company that operate in construction industry. The industry was identified as one of the most difficult to understand due to its complexity mixture of people, plant, materials, locations, technology, knowledge of the law as well as the design and valuation of work done, which are much subjectivity (Capon, 1990: 1). However, these challenges are under control with the advent of technology such as software development that allows systematic data 38 Zulkarnain Muhamad Sori processing.Therefore, it is important to understand the information flow in ZBMS in order to appreciate the usage of information within the organisation as shown in Figure 1-1 below. 3. 1. Users of AIS As shown in Figure 1-1, the finance personnel that reside at site project office (or called Project Accountants) and head office such as the Financial Accountants, Management Accountants and Finance Manager are the internal users of the system. Also, the management team that consists of Finance General Manager, Chief Operating Officer, Managing Director and Board of Directors are among the internal users of the system.On the other hand, the external users consist of government agency (i. e. Inland Revenue), external auditors and creditors. Indeed, wide variety of people within and outside the organisation uses accounting information for decision-making (Rahman and Halladay, 1988, Renau and Grabski, 1987). Figure 1. 1: Information Flow of ZBMS ZBMS HEAD OFFICE Management Team Inland Revenue ZBMS HEAD OFFICE External Auditors Finance Department Bankers Suppliers Site Office Design Team SubContractors Client 3. 2.Function of AIS The main function of AIS is to assign quantitative value of the past, present and future economics events. At ZBMS, AIS through its computerised accounting system (i. e. ZYXW-Contract Plus) produces the financial statements namely income statements, balance sheets and cash flow statement. The system will process the data and transform them into accounting information during input, processing and output stages that will be used by a wide variety of users such as inter nal and external users (see for example Wilkinson, 2000: 10-11).Wilkinson noted that an effective AIS performs several key functions throughout these three stages such as data collection, data maintenance, data Accounting Information Systems (AIS) and Knowledge Management: A Case Study 39 management; data control (including security) and information generation. Figure 1-2 summarised the transformation process of AIS. Figure 1. 2: Data Processing in Finance Department at ZBMS Input – Progress Billing Certificate, Subcontractors Progress Certificate, Suppliers’ Invoices Processor – ZYXW Accounting System Output – Financial StatementHuman Element – Finance Personnel 3. 3. Usage of Information Within AIS The construction projects undertaken by the company are divided according to the type of construction activities that comprised of five divisions, namely infrastructure, building, power, wastewater and oil and gas, where each project is treated as a se parate company. The number of projects undertaken by each division depends on the contracts being awarded to the company. As indicated by Figure 1-2, the sources of data originated from external parties such as client, subcontractors and suppliers.The Project Accountants will work closely with the Quantity Surveyors to come out with the appropriate information as illustrated below: Client – The client’s Quantity Surveyors (QSs) will evaluate work in progress (WIP) and come out with percentage of WIP to be agreed by both parties. Once agreed, Progress Billing Certificates (PBC) will be issued by Client’s QSs, which a copy of it will be sent to head office for data processing. Subcontractors – The ZBMS’s QSs will evaluate subcontractor’s WIP at site and come out with percentage of WIP to be agreed by both parties.Once agreed, Subcontractor Progress Certificate (SPC) will be issued by ZBMS’s QSs and verified by ZBMS’s Project Mana ger, which a copy of it will be sent to head office for data processing. Suppliers – QSs and Project Accountants will ensure that the materials and machineries are delivered in good condition at construction site before delivery orders are accepted. The delivery orders will be attached to supplier’s invoice and sent to Head Office for processing. 40 Figure 1. 3: Simplifies the AIS within ZBMS: Zulkarnain Muhamad Sori CLIENTSUBCONTRACTORS SUPPLIERS Site Valuation by Client Site Valuation by ZBMS Materials & machineries delivered Certified by Client Certified by ZBMS Materials & machineries delivered PBC SPC Invoices Verified & KeyPunched by Project Accountants Projects’ Accounts Receivables HQ Database (ZYXW) Head Office Maintenance Projects’ Accounts Payable Projects’ Fixed Assets Projects’ Cash Book Project Ledger Projects’ Trial Balance Projects’ Financial Statement Consolidated Consolidated General Ledger Consolidated Trial Balance Consolidated Financial StatementsThese documents will be verified and input into the system by Project Accountants. The projects’ data will be stored at Projects’ Account Receivables, Account Payables, Fixed Assets accordingly. Projects’ cashbook will be updated automatically after the data being entered to the projects’ Account Receivables and Account Payables. Any expenses incurred at head office will be stored at HQ Maintenance master file by Financial Accountant. The Contract Plus Accounting System software will process the data and produce financial statements of individual company’s projects onAccounting Information Systems (AIS) and Knowledge Management: A Case Study 41 monthly basis, which subsequently consolidated at group level. The process flow is shown in Figure 13 above. The automated AIS play an important role in the ZBMS’s operational level. As indicated by Rahman and Halladay (1988: 20), most modern organisationâ€⠄¢s operational control of financial resources depends largely on automated support. This is due to the financial statements are generated by the Contract Plus.As shown in Figure 1-4, projects financial statements are generated by the Project Accountants, while the Financial Accountant generates the consolidated financial statements. The Management Accountant uses the consolidated financial statements to prepare company’s Performance Report such as cash-flow forecasts and ratio analysis. Once the Finance Manager (operational level) approve the report, it will then be submitted to the Finance General Manager and Chief Operating Officer (tactical level) to assist them for planning, control and decision making.The Performance Report will provide the information regarding work in progress relevant information. Therefore, AIS plays very important role at operational and tactical level as the activities at these level depend heavily on the information generated by the AIS. Figure 1 . 4: Type of Information in ZBMS Strategic Board of Director, Managing Director Tactical Chief Operating Officer, General Manager (Finance) Finance Manager, Management Accountant, Financial Accountant, Project Accountant Operational Transaction Processing ZYXW Accounting System . 4. Value Added of AIS The role played by accounting functions has been enhanced with the development of AIS, which in turn contribute to the profession’s value added to organisation. In fact automated AIS employed by ZBMS expedite the process to generate financial statement and reduce the human errors compared to non-automated AIS, which add the existing value of accountants. AIS also provide information on both actual and budget data of the organisation that helps company’s management to plan and control business operation.Good management of resources and better control of cost, budgeting and forecasting enhance the well being of ZBMS to continually generated profits. The AIS also played a cr ucial role that contributes to ZBMS’s value added by providing internally generated inputs from financial statements. Rahman and Halladay (1988: 19) believed that viable strategic plan must have inputs based on history of organisation, the current assets and capabilities of the organisation, and the trends in operations of the organisation. 42 3. 5. Role of Knowledge Zulkarnain Muhamad SoriAt ZBMS, both tacit and explicit knowledge are used as shown by the extensive used of accounting information system to assist business decision-making. The ZBMS begins its computerised accounting system in 1997. During the transformation process from manual to computerised accounting system, all finance personnel were sent for comprehensive computer training. Table 1: Relationship of AIS at ZBMS and Knowledge Management System Knowledge Management System Creation of knowledge Creation of Knowledge Storing of Knowledge Disseminating of Knowledge Knowledge Conversion Explicit to Tacit Explici t to Tacit Tacit to Explicit Tacit to ExplicitDevelopment of Automated AIS Training by hands-on experience ZYXW implemented, staffs learned from vendor’s manual Staffs gaining experience; Problems and solution being recorded on paper Improvement on system; Internal manual that suits the ZBMS needs being produced; Widely used in the department; Assists learning process of new staffs Explicit to Tacit System constantly use in Finance Department to generate monthly financial statements Applying of Knowledge Explicit to Explicit As shown in Table 1, the staffs were given hands on experience on the ZYXW System.During the early stage of system implementation, finance personnel were given flexibility to explore the system due to limited experience on the software at that time, and most of the staffs depend largely on the manual provided by the vendor for trouble-shooting. At initial stage, two-way communications with the vendor were developed to solve problems arised. As the time go ing on, the personnel were encouraged to record the problems aroused. Problems that have been solved were recorded for future reference.Currently, the ZBMS Finance Department has its own ZYXW manual that suits with the department needs. The manual provides valuable information to new employees as well as to the existing personnel at Finance Department. Indeed, AIS provide the systematic recording, processing and generating of accounting information, and in the absence of AIS, information would be scattered, random and hard to access, which would become a barrier to the growth of knowledge. 3. 6. Strategic Role and AIS To analyse the AIS strategy in ZBMS, McFarlan Strategic Grid will be utilised. The McFarlan’s strategic grid would locate ZBMS to the appropriate category with respect to its information system strategy (Curtis, 1995: 61). Automated AIS is fundamental part of the strategic plan of ZBMS in 1997. It has been improved over the years of implementation and generates accurate and timely accounting information that contributes to a good decision-making. Realising the benefit brought by the AIS, the source of data must be fully automated. The existing system should be upgraded through computerise the pre-tendering and post-tendering of projects in the primary stages of the construction activities.When the system is upgraded, the ZYXW Contract Plus will integrate the two modules of pre- and post-tendering with the currently automated Financial and Project Accounting. Therefore, the most suitable position to locate AIS at ZBMS on the McFarlan Grid is on Factory Grid as shown in Figure 1-5 below. Accounting Information Systems (AIS) and Knowledge Management: A Case Study Figure 1. 5: ZBMS Location on McFarlan’s Strategic Grid 43 Low Current Dependence on AIS Support Turnaround High Factory –AIS at ZBMS Strategic Low Future Importance of AIS High 4. Direction for Future ResearchHaving mentioned the above opportunities and challenges to t he AIS, future research should investigate the AIS contribution on the organisation’s growth of knowledge. Though AIS would organise and structure the data input and knowledge, lack of understanding on the potential effect of human behaviour on the system such as human error, manipulation and work-style. In fact, Ponemon and Nagoda (1990) noted, â€Å"the most difficult problems often are caused, or are exacerbated, by those individuals who have erroneous expectations of the new system being implemented† (p. 1).The study would be fruitful with the use of questionnaire and interview survey. Perhaps, the survey should concentrate on a sample of senior managers of the top hundred companies listed on the Bursa Malaysia (Malaysian Stock Exchange), banks and regulatory bodies. These groups could contribute significantly due to their role as a decision maker in their respective organisations. Secondly, future research should also investigate the possibility to expand the use of AIS to the other areas that still did not use the system such as non-profit organisation and society.Indeed, the current level of usage shows that the benefit outweighs the investment cost. The successful implementation of AIS could save shareholder’s money and time. Finally, future research should explore issues on the information value generated by AIS to shareholders and stakeholders in making investment decisions. Case study approach on top companies would be appropriate methodology because the understanding on specific AIS model would be more valuable rather than using questionnaire and interview approach that assumes AIS across sampled organisation is identical. 5. ConclusionThis paper examines the use of Accounting Information Systems (AIS) by ZBMS Sdn. Bhd. The wide varieties of people that involve in the company’s operation get the benefits from the implementation of AIS and the use of Contract Plus software developed by ZYXW. The system assists the operati onal managers to come out with monthly reports for the top managerial level (i. e. tactical and strategic) plan, control and decide resources allocation. In addition, the paper showed that the AIS add value to information processed within the company. The automated AIS could speed up information process and overcome traditional human weaknesses.As a result, the system supports the resource management and help ZBMS pursue its projection of continuing business profit. The use of AIS indicate the growth of tacit and explicit knowledge, where personnel were trained intensively and experience and trouble shooting were 44 Zulkarnain Muhamad Sori recorded for future reference and training. Indeed, the successful implementation of an accounting information system can be described as a series of complex, interconnected activities necessitating participants to have technical and managerial skills to sort out prospective problems (Ponemon and Nagoda, 1990: 1).Note To keep the identity of the r espondent and it’s software developer anonymous, an imaginary name was used in this study i. e. ZBMS Sdn. Bhd. and ZYXW respectively. References [1] [2] Bhatt, G. D. (2001). 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