Commercial vehicle safety -- technology and practice in Europe.

Federal Highway Administration, Office of Policy Planning, Office of International Program, Washington, D.C.

Technology and labor in oil and gas, extraction and commercial banking.

Mode of access: Internet.

Planning and evaluation of Business English course in compliance with internationalization in Taiwan: A case study of Tainan Women's College of Arts & Technology

In compliance with the economic internationalization movement and the development of Asia-Pacific Regional Operation Center (APROC) in Taiwan, international business has become more and more important. To sustain favorable trade balances every year and the promotion of APROC in Taiwan, more and more talent with knowledge and skills of Business English are needed. As a consequence, it is necessary to make Business English curriculum appropriate to meet the emerging needs.^ Two groups, experimental and control, received the revised or traditional Business English course to answer the question, "Does the Business English curriculum at Tainan Woman's College of Arts & Technology (TWCAT) meet the needs of students?" Ninety-five subjects were randomly selected from the commercial departments at TWCAT and then randomly assigned to the two groups. In addition, the Business English scores of the subjects' previous semester were collected and analyzed to justify the random selection and assignment. The finding was that their initial equivalence was proved.^ A questionnaire for students and another one for the business community were administered to facilitate data collection and analysis. The results of the questionnaires were used to modify the curriculum content of Business English.^ A final-term examination was given to the subjects at the end of the pilot study of Business English in early May of 1998. The resulting scores of the examination were used to determine if there was a significant difference in learning achievement between the students of the two groups.^ Using Independent Samples Test, significant results indicated that the experimental group had higher level of learning Business English than the control group. The finding supports the hypothesis of this study.^ Recommendations based on these results are that the revised curriculum be adapted and used by TWCAT because it better meets student needs. ^

An assessment of the influence of the industry distribution chain on the oxygen levels in commercial modified atmosphere packaged cheddar cheese using non-destructive oxygen sensor technology

The establishment and control of oxygen levels in packs of oxygen-sensitive food products such as cheese is imperative in order to maintain product quality over a determined shelf life. Oxygen sensors quantify oxygen concentrations within packaging using a reversible optical measurement process, and this non-destructive nature ensures the entire supply chain can be monitored and can assist in pinpointing negative issues pertaining to product packaging. This study was carried out in a commercial cheese packaging plant and involved the insertion of 768 sensors into 384 flow-wrapped cheese packs (two sensors per pack) that were flushed with 100% carbon dioxide prior to sealing. The cheese blocks were randomly assigned to two different storage groups to assess the effects of package quality, packaging process efficiency, and handling and distribution on package containment. Results demonstrated that oxygen levels increased in both experimental groups examined over the 30-day assessment period. The group subjected to a simulated industrial distribution route and handling procedures of commercial retailed cheese exhibited the highest level of oxygen detected on every day examined and experienced the highest rate of package failure. The study concluded that fluctuating storage conditions, product movement associated with distribution activities, and the possible presence of cheese-derived contaminants such as calcium lactate crystals were chief contributors to package failure.

A case study of the English language teachers’ attitudes toward use of information and communication technology (ICT) in Finland

This qualitative study was aimed at investigating foreign language teachers’ attitudes toward use of information and communication technology (ICT) in their instruction. The insight was gained through the reported experience of ICT implementation by teachers, in what way and for which purpose they refer to use of technology, what kind of support and training they are provided with, and what beliefs they express about the influence of ICT implementation. This case study took place in one of the training schools in Finland. Five teachers participated in semi-structured interviews through a face-to-face approach. The findings demonstrated positive attitudes of teachers toward integration of ICT. The teachers shared their opinions about positive influence that ICT implementation has on both teaching and learning processes. However, they also pointed out the negative sides of ICT use: distraction of the students from usage of technology and technical problems causing frustration to the teachers. In addition, the responses revealed that the teachers are provided with adequate training aimed at enhancing their qualification which is provided with well-timed technology support and colleagues’ collaboration facilitating an efficient and smooth pace of the teaching process. According to the teachers’ opinions ICT integration in education appeared to have changed the role of the teacher. Due to different alterations in the field of ICT development teachers are required to upgrade their skills. The paper concludes with the limitations of the study and the recommendations for conducting further research.

The interaction factor as a challenge for foreign language learning in the technology based education: a pedagogical reflection

The author carries out a pedagogical reflection on how the technology driven distance learning repeatedly neglects the scientific achievements of Second Language Acquisition and Language Pedagogy. Seeing communicative competence as a major goal of a language classroom, she presents the main challenges that the communicative approach poses to distance learning. To this end, a general distance learning theory by Moore is adapted to the needs of language education, through a distinction between three aspects of learner interaction – with the teacher, with other learners and with content. In this three-dimensional paradigm the learner is seen as the main actor of the process, the teacher as a facilitator, the text as a main source of communicative data and the learner autonomy as the fundament of the process.

A case study of the English language teachers’ attitudes toward use of information and communication technology (ICT) in Finland

This qualitative study was aimed at investigating foreign language teachers’ attitudes toward use of information and communication technology (ICT) in their instruction. The insight was gained through the reported experience of ICT implementation by teachers, in what way and for which purpose they refer to use of technology, what kind of support and training they are provided with, and what beliefs they express about the influence of ICT implementation. This case study took place in one of the training schools in Finland. Five teachers participated in semi-structured interviews through a face-to-face approach. The findings demonstrated positive attitudes of teachers toward integration of ICT. The teachers shared their opinions about positive influence that ICT implementation has on both teaching and learning processes. However, they also pointed out the negative sides of ICT use: distraction of the students from usage of technology and technical problems causing frustration to the teachers. In addition, the responses revealed that the teachers are provided with adequate training aimed at enhancing their qualification which is provided with well-timed technology support and colleagues’ collaboration facilitating an efficient and smooth pace of the teaching process. According to the teachers’ opinions ICT integration in education appeared to have changed the role of the teacher. Due to different alterations in the field of ICT development teachers are required to upgrade their skills. The paper concludes with the limitations of the study and the recommendations for conducting further research.

Experiences with an Object-Oriented, Multi-Stage Language

Metaphor is a multi-stage programming language extension to an imperative, object-oriented language in the style of C# or Java. This paper discusses some issues we faced when applying multi-stage language design concepts to an imperative base language and run-time environment. The issues range from dealing with pervasive references and open code to garbage collection and implementing cross-stage persistence.

Pattern-based analysis of EAI languages : the case of the business modelling language

Enterprise Application Integration (EAI) is a challenging area that is attracting growing attention from the software industry and the research community. A landscape of languages and techniques for EAI has emerged and is continuously being enriched with new proposals from different software vendors and coalitions. However, little or no effort has been dedicated to systematically evaluate and compare these languages and techniques. The work reported in this paper is a first step in this direction. It presents an in-depth analysis of a language, namely the Business Modeling Language, specifically developed for EAI. The framework used for this analysis is based on a number of workflow and communication patterns. This framework provides a basis for evaluating the advantages and drawbacks of EAI languages with respect to recurrent problems and situations.