A funny thing happened on the way to the forum: Electronic discussion and foreign language learning

Amongst the opportunities for cross-cultural contact created by the burgeoning use of the Internet are those provided by electronic discussion lists. This study looks at what happens when language students venture out of the classroom (virtual or otherwise) to participate in on-line discussion groups with native speakers. Responses to messages and commentary by moderators and other participants on the (in) appropriateness of contributions allow us to determine what constitutes successful participation and to make suggestions regarding effective teaching strategies for this medium. A case study examines the threads started by four anglophone students of French when they post messages to a forum on the Web site of the French newspaper Le Monde. Investigation of these examples points to the ways in which electronic discussion inflects and is inflected by cultural and generic expectations. We suggest that successful participation on Internet fora depends on awareness of such cultural and generic mores and an ability to work within and/or with them. Teachers therefore need to find ways in which students can be sensitized to such issues so that their participation in such electronic discussion is no longer seen as linguistic training, but as engagement with a cultural practice.

The influence of financial participation and participation in decision-making on employee job attitudes

This study investigates the direct and indirect effects of financial participation (FP) and participation in decision-making (PDM) on employee job attitudes. The central premise is that both financial participation and participation in decision-making have effects on job attitudes, such as integration, involvement and commitment, perceived pay equity, performance-reward contingencies, satisfaction and motivation. After reviewing the theoretical and empirical literature and testing two theoretical frameworks, developed by Long (1978a) and Florkowski ( 1989), a new model was constructed to consider a combined effects of both FP and PDM, herein referred to as employee participation (EP). The underpinning of the model is based on the assumption that both ( a) the combination of financial participation and participation in decision-making ('employee participation'), and (b) participation in decision-making produce favourable effects on employee job attitudes. The test of the new model showed that employee participation does not produce more favourable effects on employee job attitudes, than does participation in decision-making on its own. The data were gathered from a questionnaire study administered in a large British retail organization that operates two types of ownership schemes - profit-sharing and SAYE schemes.

Upper and lower bounds on the learning curve for Gaussian processes

In this paper we introduce and illustrate non-trivial upper and lower bounds on the learning curves for one-dimensional Gaussian Processes. The analysis is carried out emphasising the effects induced on the bounds by the smoothness of the random process described by the Modified Bessel and the Squared Exponential covariance functions. We present an explanation of the early, linearly-decreasing behavior of the learning curves and the bounds as well as a study of the asymptotic behavior of the curves. The effects of the noise level and the lengthscale on the tightness of the bounds are also discussed.

I&R Systems on the Internet/Intranet Cites as the Tool for Distance Learning

This article considers the Internet/Intranet information systems as the tool for distance learning. Author considers the model of the 3-tier WEB based information system, the idea of the language for implementing and customized solution, which includes the original language and processor for fast prototyping and implementing small and middle sized Internet/Intranet information systems.

Learning Technology in Scheduling Based on the Mixed Graphs

We propose the adaptive algorithm for solving a set of similar scheduling problems using learning technology. It is devised to combine the merits of an exact algorithm based on the mixed graph model and heuristics oriented on the real-world scheduling problems. The former may ensure high quality of the solution by means of an implicit exhausting enumeration of the feasible schedules. The latter may be developed for certain type of problems using their peculiarities. The main idea of the learning technology is to produce effective (in performance measure) and efficient (in computational time) heuristics by adapting local decisions for the scheduling problems under consideration. Adaptation is realized at the stage of learning while solving a set of sample scheduling problems using a branch-and-bound algorithm and structuring knowledge using pattern recognition apparatus.

Munkapiac keresési súrlódásokkal (Job seeking on the labour market, with frictions)

A munkapiac különleges piac, jellegzetességeinek köszönhetően számos modell elemzi. Ezek közül a legismertebbek a keresési-párosítási modellek, amelyek több egymáshoz kapcsolódó kérdéskör vizsgálatára is alkalmasak. A modellcsalád által megmagyarázható munkapiaci jelenségek széles köre, a belőlük levonható következtetések, a modellek magyarázóképességéről folytatott vita egyaránt hozzájárult, hogy a modellek kidolgozói 2010-ben közgazdasági Nobel-emlékdíjban részesültek. Modelljük kiterjeszti a munkanélküliség természetes rátájának elméletét, képes a jóléti intézkedések és intézményrendszer beépítésére. A szerző e modellek elméleti előzményei, valamint egy alapmodell ismertetése után felvázolja az újabb generációs modellek alapvonásait, a hatékonyságelemzések tanulságait, az állami intézkedések vizsgálatának lehetőségeit, valamint a Shimer-kritika alapjait. / === / The labor market is a specialized market with characteristics that have produced several different models for analysing it. One of the best known is the search and matching model, which is suitable for analysis of several related issues. The broad range of labour market phenomena that can be described by this family of models, the conclusions to be drawn from them, and the debate on their explanatory capability have all contributed to the fact that three economists who made important contributions to developing them - P. A. Diamond, D. T. Mortensen and C. A. Pissar-ides - were awarded the Nobel Prize in Economics in 2010. The DMP model named after them expands the theory of the natural rate of unemployment and is capable of integrating the analysis of welfare measures and institutions. This paper follows up on the contribution of the Nobel Prize winners by examining the theoretical preliminaries of these models, a basic search and matching model, and by looking at the typical characteristics of a new generation of models, the lessons of efficiency analyses, the possibility of investigating the role of policy measures, and the foundations of Shimer's critique.

Vezetőkkel szemben támasztott munkaerő-piaci kompetenciaelvárások a Heti Világgazdaság és a The Economist álláshirdetéseinek elemzése alapján (Job market competency requirements for managers on the basis of the analysis of job advertisements in the Heti Világgazdaság and The Economist)

A szervezet dolgozói között kiemelt fontosságúak a vezetők, hiszen döntéseikkel, működésükkel a szervezet életét közvetlenül, és sokszor hosszú távra befolyásolják. Annak a vállalatnak, mely megtartani, növelni szeretné piaci pozícióját, különös hangsúlyt kell fektetnie vezetőinek kiválasztására, a későbbiekben pedig fejlesztésére. A szerző cikkében azt mutatja be, hogy a közgazdászképzettséggel rendelkező vezetők iránti munkaerő-piaci kereslet (a HVG-hirdetések elemzése alapján) milyen minőségi jellemzőket mutatott 2000–2009 között. A szerző részletesen ismerteti az eredményeket, melyek értelmezéséhez a Spencer és munkatársai által kidolgozott kompetenciamodell saját továbbfejlesztett változatát használja fel. Kitekintés céljával a magyar eredmények mellett bemutatja, hogy egy más gazdasági struktúrával, kultúrával rendelkező országban hogyan alakultak a vezetőkkel szemben támasztott kompetencia-elvárások. Az eredmények – melyeket más hazai felmérések is alátámasztanak – azt tükrözik, hogy a magyar vezetőkkel szemben támasztott munkaerő-piaci kompetencia-elvárások eltérnek a szakmai várakozásoktól és élesen eltérő képet mutatnak a The Economist hirdetéselemzésének eredményétől. _________ The thesis that the most important factor which determines the competitiveness of future companies is the quality of human resources has received increasingly more emphasis in the literature on management. The managers of organizations have a key role since they can directly influence the life of the organization by their decisions and work, often for a long term. Therefore, a company which intends to maintain or improve its market position should place special emphasis on the selection, and later on the development of its managers. In the present paper the author presents the characteristic features of job market demand for managers with qualifications in economics between 2000 and 2009 (on the basis of the analysis of job advertisements published in the economic weekly paper Heti Világgazdaság). The author gives a detailed analysis of the results using the competence model developed by Spencer et al. and further developed by the author. In addition to the Hungarian results, the paper also provides an overview of how managers are selected in a country with a different economic structure and culture. The results – also supported by other surveys conducted in Hungary – demonstrate that the competence expectations of the job market for Hungarian managers fail to meet professional expectations; the picture is sharply different from what the analysis of job advertisements published in The Economist show, and the competence expectation changed very little, though quite strikingly, over the period under discussion.

The effects of writing process instruction on the writing and reading performance of students with learning disabilities

The purpose of this study was to determine the efficacy of a writing process approach for the instruction of language arts with learning disabled elementary students. A nonequivalent control group design was used. The sample included 24 students with learning disabilities who were in second and third grade. All students were instructed in resource room settings for ninety minutes per day in language arts. The students in the treatment group received instruction using the writing process steps to create complete meaningful compositions on self-chosen topics. A literature-based reading program accompanied instruction in writing to provide examples of good writing and to provide a basis for topic selection. The students in the control group received instruction through the use of the county-adopted textbooks and accompanying worksheets. The teacher followed basic textbook and curriculum guide suggestions which consisted mainly of fill in the blank and matching type exercises. The treatment group consisted of 12 students: five second-graders and seven third-graders. The control group consisted of 12 students: four second-graders and eight third-graders. All students were pretested and posttested using the Woodcock-Johnson Tests of Achievement-Revised (WJ-R ACH) for writing samples and the Woodcock Reading Mastery Test (WRMT) for reading achievement. T-tests were also done to investigate the gain from pre to post for each reading or writing variable for each group separately. The results showed a highly significant difference from pretest to posttest for all writing and reading variables for both groups. Analysis of Covariance showed that the population mean posttest achievement scores for all variables adjusted for the pretest were higher for the treatment group than those for the control group.

The effect of mastery learning on a course in accounting information system (AIS): A comparison within public and private universities in Taiwan

The Accounting Information System (AIS) is an important course in the Department of Accounting (DoAc) of universities in Taiwan. This course is required for seniors not only because it meets the needs of the profession, but also because it provides continual study for the department's students.^ The scores of The National College and University Joint Entrance Examination (NUEE) show that students with high learning ability are admitted to public universities with high scores, while those with low learning ability are admitted only to private universities. The same situation has been found by the researcher while teaching an AIS course in DoAc of The Public Chun Shin University (CSU) and The Private Chinese Culture University (CCU).^ The purpose of this study was to determine whether low ability students enrolled in private universities in Taiwan in a mastery learning program could attain the same level as high ability students from public universities enrolled in a traditional program. An experimental design was used. The mastery learning method was used to teach three groups of seniors with low learning ability studying in the DoAc at CCU. The traditional method was used to teach the control group which consisted of senior students of DoAc of CSU with high learning ability. As a part of the mastery learning strategy, a formative test, quizzes, and homework were completed by the experimental group only, while the mid-term examination was completed by both groups as part of the course. The dependent variable was the summative test, the final examination. It was completed by both groups upon the course's completion.^ As predicted, there were significant differences between the two groups' results on the pretest. There were no significant differences between the two groups' results on the posttest. These findings support the hypothesis of the study and reveal the effectiveness of mastery learning strategies with low learning ability students. ^

An organizational learning approach to expatriate cross-cultural adjustment, organizational commitment, and job satisfaction

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between organizational learning and expatriation in overseas subsidiaries as well as in organizations as a whole. In doing so, two issues were addressed--(i) the use of expatriation as firms internationalize, and (ii) the significance of various factors to expatriate success as firms gain international experience. The sample of companies for this study was drawn from U.S. Fortune 500 multinational corporations (MNCs) in two sets of related industries--computers/electronics and petroleum/chemicals. Based on the learning that takes place within organizations as they increase their involvement overseas, a positive relationship was expected between international experience and expatriation when internationalization was low, and a negative relationship was expected when internationalization was high. Results indicate a significant positive relationship between country experience and the proportion of expatriates in that subsidiary when subsidiaries were relatively young, and a negative relationship, however not significant, for more mature subsidiaries. The relationship between overall firm degree of internationalization (DOI) and the proportion of expatriates in the firm as a whole was negative regardless of stage of internationalization, but this relationship was significant only for highly internationalized firms. It was further suspected that individual, environmental, and family-related characteristics would have a significant effect on the success of expatriates whose firms were low on internationalization, and that organizational characteristics would play a significant role in highly internationalized firms. Support for these hypotheses was received with respect to certain outcomes and some determinants of success. The preponderance of support was found for those addressing the effects of both environmental and family-related characteristics on the cross-cultural adjustment of expatriates in firms with little international experience. Considerable support was also found for those hypotheses addressing the impact of organizational characteristics on the job satisfaction levels of expatriates assigned to mature subsidiaries. The relevant literatures on organizational learning and expatriation are reviewed, and a model is developed underlying the logic of the hypotheses. Research methods are then described in full detail, results are reported, and implications for theory and for management are discussed. ^

Making the grade: The perceived impact of Florida's A+ Plan on the learning environment of one elementary school

The purpose of this study was to ascertain the perceptions of educators at one elementary school regarding the changes in the teaching and learning environment and their related effects following the implementation of Florida's A+ high-stakes accountability system. This study also assessed whether these changes were identified by participants as meaningful and enduring, in terms of the definition by Lieberman and Miller (1999). Twenty-one educators, including 17 teachers and four administrators, at Blue Ribbon Elementary school were interviewed. Data were inductively coded and categorized into four major themes: (a) teaching and learning environment consistency, (b) changes in the teaching and learning environment since the implementation of A+, (c) effects of the changes, and (d) significant and enduring change. Findings fell into three categories (a) identified changes since A+ implementation, (b) effects of changes, and (c) what participants believed was significant and long term change, which included those characteristics of the school that had been identified as consistent in the teaching and learning environment. Statements of the participants explained their perceptions about what instructional decisions where made in response to the A+ Plan including the modification of curriculum, the addition or omission of subject matter taught, and the positive or negative impact these decisions had on the teaching and learning environment. It was found that study participants felt all changes and their effects were a direct result of the A+ Plan and viewed many of the changes as being neither significant nor long term Analysis of the educators' perceptions of the changes they experienced revealed the overall feeling that the changes were not indicative of what was necessary to make a school successful. For the participants, the changes lacked the characteristics that they had described as vital in what constituted success. This led to the conclusion that, by Lieberman and Miller's definition, the majority of changes and effects that were implemented at the school as a result of the mandated A+ Plan, were not meaningful and enduring for effective school reform. ^

The effects of word prediction and text-to-speech technologies on the narrative writing skills of students with specific learning disabilities

This study investigated the effects of word prediction and text-to-speech on the narrative composition writing skills of 6, fifth-grade Hispanic boys with specific learning disabilities (SLD). A multiple baseline design across subjects was used to explore the efficacy of word prediction and text-to-speech alone and in combination on four dependent variables: writing fluency (words per minute), syntax (T-units), spelling accuracy, and overall organization (holistic scoring rubric). Data were collected and analyzed during baseline, assistive technology interventions, and at 2-, 4-, and 6-week maintenance probes. ^ Participants were equally divided into Cohorts A and B, and two separate but related studies were conducted. Throughout all phases of the study, participants wrote narrative compositions for 15-minute sessions. During baseline, participants used word processing only. During the assistive technology intervention condition, Cohort A participants used word prediction followed by word prediction with text-to-speech. Concurrently, Cohort B participants used text-to-speech followed by text-to-speech with word prediction. ^ The results of this study indicate that word prediction alone or in combination with text-to-speech has a positive effect on the narrative writing compositions of students with SLD. Overall, participants in Cohorts A and B wrote more words, more T-units, and spelled more words correctly. A sign test indicated that these perceived effects were not likely due to chance. Additionally, the quality of writing improved as measured by holistic rubric scores. When participants in Cohort B used text-to-speech alone, with the exception of spelling accuracy, inconsequential results were observed on all dependent variables. ^ This study demonstrated that word prediction alone or in combination assists students with SLD to write longer, improved-quality, narrative compositions. These results suggest that word prediction or word prediction with text-to-speech be considered as a writing support to facilitate the production of a first draft of a narrative composition. However, caution should be given to the use of text-to-speech alone as its effectiveness has not been established. Recommendations for future research include investigating the use of these technologies in other phases of the writing process, with other student populations, and with other writing styles. Further, these technologies should be investigated while integrated into classroom composition instruction. ^

The Impact of Hotel Size and Service Type on Employee Job Satisfaction

There has been no research on the impact of hotel size and service type on employee satisfaction. Yet the distinction between service types (limited service and full service) has become commonplace and the dynamics and organization of these hotels are decidedly different. This study finds that differences are evident in certain aspects of employee satisfaction based on size and service type.