Organizational Structure Annotated Bibliography Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Organizational Structure - Annotated Bibliography Example The author used to be a professor at the MIT Sloan School of Management and has a Ph.D in the subject of social psychology. His work is objective in nature because it is completely based on objective research. The opinions formed in the book are based on these researches. The author proposes that the organizational culture can be utilized as a tool for adopting and promoting change. The book even focuses on the significance of leaders and their contribution towards utilization of culture to attain organizational aims and objectives. The content of the book provides various theories that can help in identifying how different leaders use different leadership styles to promote organizational change. This information will be used in the research to identify the impact of leadership on culture and how culture can become a change driver. Vaccaro, I., Jansen, J., Van Den Bosch, F., & Volberda, H. (2012). Management innovation and leadership: the moderating role of organizational size. Journal Of Management Studies, 49(1), 28--51. The source titled â€Å"Management innovation and leadership: the moderating role of organizational size† has been authored by Ignacio G. Vaccaro and other researchers and the source is a journal article (Vaccaro, 2012). The source has been published in a journal titled Journal of Management Studies and the sources has been cited for 96 times. The Journal in which the article is published is a journal that published research regarding management and social sciences and the article is reviewed by experts of the field and if the article is relevant to the subject of journal, it is published in the journal. The research is accepted as it is scientific in nature and the findings are based on results obtained from statistical tools which make the results objective in nature. The author of the article is associated with the Department of Strategic

Healthcare Factors behind Cost Curve and Supply Curve Coursework

Healthcare Factors behind Cost Curve and Supply Curve - Coursework Example The recent scare globally is the threat of ebola, which needs special attention from the healthcare providers. Hospitals need to be ready for such emergencies to ensure safety of all citizens in the country. Secondly, affordability of healthcare services to most citizens remains to be a great issue that the federal government seeks to address. The cost of medical care continues to shoot day by day. The amounts allocated in the federal budget every financial year continues to rise despite various interventions to this sector. From the report that was recently issued by the government, it predicted that the entire spending of this sector will be close to 20 percent of the GDP by the year 2016. Policymakers have largely questioned this because increase costs does not reflect better, and quality services in these hospitals (Hicks, 2014). Further, the sector has vowed to eliminate both racial and ethnic disparities in their institutions. Trainings to all members of staff operating in these hospitals has been enhanced in oder to ensure performance excellence and improved healthcare services to all in the country. I totally agree with her arguments and findings. For instance, with the implementation of the Affordable Care Act, every citizen and employee in this industry is expected to have an insurance cover. However, most people who are insured are seeking medical care from these hospitals leading to strain on the available resources. Hence, this directly affects the cost curves. To some extend, people who are insured are normally charged slightly higher in these hospitals. Another issue that has been addressed in her essay is the number of taskforce operating in rural hospitals in the country. Generally, there is a shortage, and the federal government has to address this issue by employing more staff to work in these hospitals. Most of these hospitals operating in these areas experience a lot of pressure due to

The Economics of Speculative Construction Development Term Paper

The Economics of Speculative Construction Development - Term Paper Example The housing sector in 2010 had recorded sales of 276,000 houses in the urban and semi-urban areas. This figure in last few years has increased to approximately 454,000 (Athey, 2009). Although the housing sector has been earning steady revenues, the required rate of growth has not been satisfactory. Common people are finding it risky to invest in property by acquiring loans due to the consistent rise of interests. Post financial crisis, most of the financial institutions have established stringent policies in respect of providing housing loans. The housing sector of the U.K. however plays a major role in the development of the economy as a whole. Even though the sector has been incurring slow growths, the revenue obtained from the housing and development sector is seen to be persistently high. The demands for houses have remained high as the economy is quite prosperous. Individual in the U.K have a high level of disposable income, due to which they find it feasible to invest in proper ty (Berry and McGreal, 2003). Research and studies in this sector have indicated that the demand for houses is expected to rise steadily. Construction companies are, hence, considering it profitable to develop sites and invest in properties of the U.K (Harrison and Leitch, 2010). In order to boost the housing and development sector, foreign investors are devising different types of schemes. Since population is consistently rising, it is essential for property developers to construct more homes. A recent survey had estimated that it is essential to build at least 150,000 new homes each year so as to be able meet housing requirements of the growing population (Haveman and Sexton, 2008). In the recent years, many real estate developers from the U.S. have increased their investments in the U.K. The positive market trends and steady growth in real estate have been successful in attracting foreign investors (Berry

Describe in detail the set of religious observances known as the Five Essay

Describe in detail the set of religious observances known as the Five Pillars of Islam - Essay Example The five pillars of Islam form the foundation of worship and dedication to the Islamic faith. They are: Shahada, Salat, Sawm, Zakat and Hajj (Ellwood, & McGraw, 2009). Shahadah is a statement of belief that professes monotheism and acceptance of Muhammad as the messenger of God (Allah) (Ellwood, & McGraw, 2009). The creed is customarily recited in Arabic during each call to prayer (Azaan) and when one wishes to convert to Islam. It is also believed that one should also recite the creed when they are about to die. Salat describes the obligatory set of prayers that each Muslim should partake in daily. It consists of five prayers that should be recited each day as defined by the Sunna (Hedayetullah, 2006). The first prayer is the Fajr that is performed at dawn just before the sunrise. The second prayer is the Dhuhr and is performed at noon after the sun has passed its apex. The third prayer is the Ê ¿Aá ¹ £r that is performed in the afternoon before the sun sets. The forth prayer is the Maghrib which is performed in the evening after the sun sets. The final prayer is the Isha which is performed at night. Each of these prayers comprises of a set amount of rakaÊ ¿Ã„ t (prescribed words and movements). All of the prayers are performed while facing the Islamic holy city of Mecca. Before each prayer, Muslims must partake in Wudu (Cleansing), achieved by washing themselves. The third pillar of Islam is fasting (Sawm). According to the Quran, there are three types of fasting that Muslims should partake in. During the month of Ramadan, all Muslims have to partake in ritual fasting. This type of fasting is mandatory and followers of Islam have to refrain from eating, drinking and other worldly pleasures from dawn to dusk during the whole period (Khan, 2006). They are also expected to be particularly attentive of other sins. The other two types of fasting are as compensation to penance and abstinent fasting. Sawm allows believers to

Coming to America, Scarface, and Borat Essay Example for Free

Coming to America, Scarface, and Borat Essay Motion pictures due to its nature, creates somehow a subliminal effect on its viewers. Certain dialogue and inherent acting can leave an impression to anyone who may watch it. These impressions have a large probability that what people see on screen could actually be real. Filmmakers on the other hand, know this effect on its viewers and create movies based on their own intention. For some filmmakers the purpose could be is to simply entertain, for others to educate. But even with this purpose in mind, some films made even though most likely unintentional, can cause a variety of reactions depending on the viewers perspective and comprehension of a specific film. A lot of these kinds of reactions may come from a twisting plot or a thought provoking characterization of its actors. The latter proves to have more reactions generated due to its social relevance, the characterization in films by the minorities of society. Since the inception of including minorities in film, a lot of criticisms were raised due to what others may deem offensive for the part of how the minorities are at times being falsely stereotyped and while others will consider it socially acceptable when analyzing it in a larger context (Sienkiewicz Marx, 2009). The purpose of this paper is to critically analyze three films namely Scarface, Coming to America, and Borat. The study will discuss the roles portrayed by the lead actors in which they are also considered as part of the social minorities. This paper will break down the stereotypes or negative images in which the film may convey and how does these films contribute to oppression of one group or another. Data Analysis Coming to America In this film, Eddie Murphy plays the role of Prince Akeem a soon to be King of his wealthy country Zamunda. The plot revolves around Prince Akeem’s motivation to find his bride, since the type of wives being offered to him by the current king his Father, seems to be like Prince Akeem’s soon to be slaves, due to their nature to obey and please whatever the Prince will desire. That part alone shows the characters of women, (in this movie majority of the women are black) especially growing out from poverty will do anything just to get married to a Prince. Although women here is not considered minority but the negative image conveyed by the film of their characters, except for the main lady Lisa McDowell (in which Prince Akeem soon married due to her distinct quality), are basically like Gold diggers and will do absolutely anything just to get rich. Another incident, in which the film portrays and intentionally to be funny, was when Akeem and his cousin went to America to find the bride of his dreams, they encountered deceit and theft mainly from black people living in the impoverished area of Queens New York. Criticisms here depends on the type of viewer perception, some may react that not all Black people are like that, and they might even add that they just did those crimes due to poverty, but others will just look at it as unintentional and as a way to create a joke, but based on a study social and political themes the proportion of blacks who resort to violence has risen substantially over the last decade (Powers, Rothman Rothman, 1996, p. 179). Also a scene worth noting, was when it showed the future Father in-law of Akeem, Cleo McDowell (played by John Amos) running his business, which have almost the perfect resemblance of McDonalds due to its signature usage of the Golden Arches, in which he calls the McDowell’s. This scene portrays another character of the black people engaged in playful deceit for the purpose of comedy, although ugh the scene naturally funny but again may create a message that in general black people are simply like that. Even on the way Cleo treats his daughter on finding the right man, he always preferred a wealthy young man to be his future son in law, thus Akeem here for his purpose to be loved by the way he is and not for money he assumed the role of a poor man, in which his Cleo totally disliked and preferred the more well off son of a rich family Daryl. Deceit lies and the motivation for money seems to be the underlying themes of this movie, although created as a comedy to somehow cover these types of elements, it was really shown clearly when the stereotyping ended on the scene when Akeem’s father the King went to New York to find his son and stop the potential marriage of him and Lisa, offered a significant amount of money to Cleo for his troubles, Cleo then stood up for his hidden principles and reacted as if it was an insult to treat her daughter like that. This could a positive affirmation and probably the filmmakers created this scene for viewers not to generalize and jump into conclusions on the nature of the black people in this film. Scarface On the movie Scarface, Al Pacino plays the role of a Cuban refugee named Tony Montana. As an immigrant Tony was depicted as a very strong character incapable of fear especially driven by his goal of making it big on a different country like America. This characterization of Al Pacino explains the American immigrant experience suggesting that crime which is the centerpiece of which is drugs cannot be disconnected from the American Dream (Sharret, 2001). After him and his best friend Manolo (played by Steven Bauer) went out the refugee camp after a tumultuous rebellion, they found themselves on having a job as dishwashers. This shows that in America most of the jobs for immigrants with little education end up as blue collared workers doing hard work and long hours. This kind of work only made Tony feels that it was nothing different from back home in which he tried anything possible to get away of the communism grip. He decided to results into what he feels he can do best. Violence and drug dealing, this has made the movie somehow more dangerous in respect to all immigrants trying to live an honest hardworking life in America, as viewers may perceive that this is the way immigrants are, due to their background on either poverty or a tough government from their own countries. Thus stereotyping again may exists, however this film offered much more than just the immigrant experience, from that foundation it went to describe the both the horrific image of drugs in the contemporary world and the violence and corruption attached to it (same as Sharret, 2001). It was not long when Tony Montana thought he had achieved the American Dream, he killed his former boss, took away his business and his wife and even his own bodyguard to work for him. This happened as portrayed, that tension occurs when minorities (like Tony the immigrant from Cuba) and his White boss tried; but failed to resolve issues and misunderstandings (Powers, Rothman Rothman, 1996, p. 180). Tony knows he cannot do it alone without the help of corrupt bureaucrats who actually assist drug traffic as part of the realpolitik of post-war foreign policy (same as Sharret, 2001). Those scenes have a tremendous negative effect on not only to the violence by an immigrant but on his ability to utilize the system of the society in America that seems to support the idea of competition and acquisition as hallmarks of success and accomplishment (same as Sharret, 2001). There was what it seems as turning point in the film, in which Tony, His Wife Elvira (played by Michelle Pfeiffer) and Manolo went to a fine dining restaurant. In this particular scene Tony now considered rich and powerful, went beyond as he insulted his wife for being a drug addict, and made a scene with the whole considered to be the elite class of the society. The film conveys the message that this kind of society only knows where to point fingers when it comes to trouble and it a lot of times it goes to the immigrants whom they perceived are the bad guys and specializes on dealing drugs and partaking in violence. This explains that those other diners may have no idea what an immigrant experience could be and possibly do not care except if it affects them directly, in this particular scene it did. A lot of people considered Scarface as an epic gangster film, due to its themes of the capitalist lifestyle (in contrast to communism) violence and effects of drugs. Borat Borat is a film, that is supposed to comedic in nature, turned out as a heavy racist context, full of offensive themes for both the Kazakhstan people and the Americans as well according to its critics. But is it really? again depending on the type of viewers’ point of view. The film portrayed the country of Kazakhstan as a medieval society in which rape and incest are cheerfully accepted, and sometimes combined, some audiences knows that this kind of joke is not on the country itself, but on the western perception that foreign cultures are backward (Ryan, 2006). The ploy is centered on the character Borat Sagdiyev, (played by Sacha Baron Cohen) Kazakhstans second-best reporter, going to America to analyze the attitude and nature of the American people. In his travel accompanied by his producer Azamat Bagatov (played by Ken Davitian), Borat tries to learn the American sense of humor by interviewing an American coach, this scene conveys that the joke in which adding the word and exclamation Not! At the end of every sentence is proudly of American Origin ( same as Ryan, 2006). The other particular scene in which Borat interviewed the Veteran Feminists of America, can be considered nothing more sophisticated than a prank at the expense of those who dont know what the joke is, or even that there is a joke (same as Ryan, 2006). But this scene in particular portrayed the seriousness of the Veteran Feminists which either way doesn’t want to be stereotyped as Borat would prefer. This somewhat immigrant experience of Borat has also led him to his infatuation to television personality Pamela Anderson. Borat then meet with a group of drunken friends ( which this scene is not scripted) and these guy showed Borat a videotape of Pamela Anderson having sex with his then boyfriend Tommy Lee, having seen this Borat feels very depressed, since in his country the belief of virginity is very important, and before he have seen the video he thought that Pamela is still a virgin, this again portrays that Kazakhstan people are primitive as well as naive. The guys who showed Borat the video claimed (since this was an actual shot) that they are unfairly represented in the film as sexist louts because of their drunken state, but during that scene their celebratory screening of the tape reveals their sexism indisputably (Metz, 2007). There a lot of scenes in the film in which can be easily concluded as racist tags or false stereotyping, but as some of the scenes which are shot are not scripted like, the scene discussed earlier, explains some of the actual nature of the Americans on how they sometimes treat an immigrant especially if they don’t have any background of a specific immigrant. The immigrant experience here shows that people in whom he interacts can be well perceived as if they are trying to understand the minority, but at the same time holding their ground if they see something is not just normal by their standards. Conclusion The influence of film on audience perception can really be significant. Especially when dealing with the social order of the society. In this study we analyzed three films on which the corresponding focal point is the immigrant experience by the main characters. They all seemed reacting on what the new society already has in place for them. For us viewers, we see these types of minorities and a lot of times we simply cannot enjoy a film as it is, due to the disturbance of the negative messages of violence, offensive jokes, racism, drugs, sexism and lot of subliminal messages the film itself conveys to us. The problem with this is clear from this study, that it indeed has an effect that can possibly create oppression for a particular group, and in this case the immigrant minorities of our society. Reference List Charles, L. (2006). Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan. United States:Four by Two. De Palma, B. (1983). Scarface. United States:Universal Pictures Landis, J. (1988). Coming to America. United States:Eddie Murphy Productions Metz, W. (2007) Shark Porn: Film Genre, Reception Studies, and Chris Kentis Open Water. Film Criticism 31. 1 Powers, S. , Rothman, D. , and Rothman, S. (1996). Hollywoods America: Social and Political Themes in Motion Pictures. Boulder. CO: Westview Press. Sharrett, C. (2001). Cinematic Drug Wars. USA Today, Society for the Advancement of Education. Sienkiewicz, M. Marx, N. (2009). Beyond a Cutout World: Ethnic Humor and Discursive Integration in South Park. Journal of film and video 61. 2 Ryan, G (2006). Thongs of Freedom: The Kazakh Ace Reporter Uncovers Uncomfortable Truths about the US. New Statesman

The Information Seeking Behavior of Graduate Students

The Information Seeking Behavior of Graduate Students People seek information in different ways and using different methods to access the information they need. One individual might prefer to get the information from a news agency while another might prefer to access the latest news online or from TV, newspapers, and SMS services. Academics and students have their own unique seeking behavior and their own ways of obtaining information whether it is from a scholarly database, the web, library collections, or from their peers, therefore, it is important for us to know in this thesis how students go about seeking and obtaining their information needs taking into account their behavior. Another important factor that this research is looking at is whether the information seeking behavior of the graduate students follows an already previously established information behavioral model, and if that model can help us explain more clearly the seeking behavior and the process students go through when searching for and obtaining the information they need. From my experience as a university graduate student in Kuwait University, graduate students face problems related to how to search and seek out related information in the appropriate databases for their work. Because there is an absence of a course and a curriculum in Kuwait University that teaches the basics of information, information types, information searching process, information seeking behavior, and an information seeking guide or strategy design, the graduate students spend most of their time struggling to find a suitable way to seek and obtain the information they need correctly. This information seeking process is done on a trial and error basis by the graduate students during their coursework assignments and projects. It would be more helpful to have this kind of information incorporated in the universitys courses and curriculum especially in the first year of study to help the students improve their information seeking process. Some students also face access problems bec ause they are not given access to the databases from outside the campus by some universities. This thesis will investigate how students go about seeking and obtaining their information needs taking into account their behavior. It is also important to know in this research whether the students were satisfied with the material they found during their searching process, and whether the resources found was enough for them in which they got to a point where they stopped searching for any more materials. Another important area of investigation that this research is looking at is whether the information seeking behavior of the graduate students follows an already previously established information behavioral model, and if that model can help us explain more clearly the seeking behavior and the process students go through when searching for and obtaining the information they need. It is interesting that there arent many or enough previous research studies that study graduate students research activities and problems students faced during the information seeking process. For this reason, graduate students information seeking behavior will be examined to identify the types of search activities undertaken, and the problems they faced during their coursework and research papers. Although a number of studies have been conducted on information seeking behavior, but the issue of research activities interrelation with topic-related activities, how the results of the search activities were understood by the students, and whether the students feel that they have satisficed their information needs and achieved information fulfillment particularly in the context of Kuwait University graduate students in Kuwait, as one of the developing countries, have not been given much consideration. Also, there is a gap in the information seeking models described in the literature revi ew, whereas the models dont show the integration of students library usage or knowledge about their resources as well as citation analysis. There needs to be an integration of library use and citation analysis in these models to give a better understanding of students information seeking behavior. It is important to understand how students browse the variety of resources because it helps educators in developing and assessing courses designed to instruct their students in library and electronic usage. However, there might be a possibility that students may not be familiar with library resources, or not be aware of which resources a library might have, or how to make use of them. It is therefore of interest to us to try and understand what makes one student go out and explore library resources, while another one might not use the library for printed material but instead uses only electronic or web resources to access the material needed from a remote location such as from the working offices or from home (Waldman, 2003). 2. Related Work Since this thesiss research questions focuses on investigating the information seeking activities that are undertaken by graduate students, when students feel that they have satisficed their information needs, and did the students achieve information fulfillment, it is important to define these terms in relation to this research. There is an increasing recognition that in order to understand information seeking we need to understand the context in which it takes place and which to some extent shapes it (Allen and Kim, 2001; Brezillon and Saker, 1999; Chang and Lee, 2000; Cool, 2001; Kuhlthau and Vakkari, 1999; Solomon, 2002; Sonnenwald, 1999; Talja et al., 1999; Vakkari et al., 1997; Wilson and Allen, 1999 cited in Ford, 2004, p. 183). Information seeking within its broader context is often termed information behaviour, defined by Wilson (1999, p. 249, cited in Ford, 2004, p. 183) as: those activities a person may engage in when identifying his or her own needs for information, searc hing for such information in any way, and using or transferring that information. The notion of information behavior broadens that of information seeking by including consideration of the use of information in satisfying the purposes for which it was required. But taking into account such wider context may also have a narrowing effect, since the contextual elements that broaden the focus of a model may at the same time narrow its generality, in that they may be specific to particular domains of activity (Ford, 2004, p.183). Simon defines satisficing as a decision-making process through which an individual decides when an alternative approach or solution is sufficient to meet the individuals desired goals rather than pursue the perfect approach (Simon, 1971, p. 71 cited in Prabha et al., 2007, p. 78). When individuals satisfice, they compare the benefits of obtaining more information against the additional cost and effort of continuing to search (Schmid, 2004 cited in Prabha et al., 2007, p. 78). In fact, in many organizations, problems are considered resolved when a good enough solution has been found, that is the manager satisfices as she looks for a course of action that is satisfactory (Choo, 1998, p. 49 cited in Prabha et al., 2007, p. 78). Theoretically, decision makers consider all potential alternatives until the optimal solution emerges (Stroh et al., 2002 cited in Prabha et al., 2007, p. 78). However, such an exhaustive analysis would require additional time and expenditure which information se ekers must weigh against the likelihood that they will find additional information of sufficient value to offset the cost of continued searching. The consequences of putting time and effort into finding optimal solutions can be costly; therefore, decision makers must be willing to forgo the best solution in favor of one that is acceptable (Stroh et al., 2002, p. 94 cited in Prabha et al., 2007, p. 78). In so doing, information seekers à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦satisficeà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦and choose the one [solution] that produces an outcome that is good enough' (Stroh et al., 2002, p. 94 cited in Prabha et al., 2007, p. 78) The foregoing examples suggest that users may satisfice their need for information based on what they are able to find and thus stop looking for more information. Users may also stop looking for information prematurely if the information systems are difficult or unusable. The very abundance of information makes it crucial for information seekers to decide what information is enough to meet their objectives. (Prabha et al. 2007, p. 78). Information Fulfillment can be defined as the achievement of all information needs. The provenance of the term can be traced back to the 1870s when it was used to describe the fulfillment of a commercial order. The aim of an information system is to ensure that the end user is able to function effectively within the organization and able to access all the necessary information in order to complete a task. There have been a variety of information models proposed which aim to plot the sequences of events from the initial information seeking to information finding (Burke, 2006, p.446). Seeking information is still a fundamental activity which involves searching, collecting, organizing, storing, retrieving, and using information (Abouserie, 2007). Abouserie (2007) stated that it has become easy to save time and make less effort in retrieving information on a subject or to get a information source by its title, author, subject, and date of publication through the use of information based research tools. He also explained that the tasks of making several information seeking strategies and retrieving information have been improved by the emergence of new generations of hardware and software (Machionini, 1995 cited in Abouserie, 2007, p.3). Adequate knowledge about the information needs of users is imperative for libraries in re-orienting their collections, services and activities to synchronize them with the information seeking behavior of users. New technologies have affected the information seeking process. These technologies have affected some functions and processe s in universities, schools, libraries, and information centers (Abouserie, 2007). Abouserie (2007) also described that storing, organizing, retrieving, and providing access to information are the main processes that have been positively affected. Many library materials are available in online databases. In addition, it becomes possible for many users to use each database at the same time without affecting the quality of the service or the response rate. He also stated that information seeking is a broad term that includes the ways individuals formulate their information needs, seek, evaluate, select and use the needed information. Many factors contribute to the selection and use of different information sources such as: cost, past success, accuracy, reliability, comprehensiveness, usefulness, currency, response time, accessibility, technical quality, and the format. Investigations into the information needs and information seeking patterns of individuals would help improve the current information systems and resources for providing to the continuous changing needs of their users (Abouserie, 2007). In this thesis information seeking behavior is described as an individuals way and manner of gathering and sourcing for information for personal use, knowledge updating and development (Kakai et al, 2004 cited in Ajiboye, 2007, p.546). Waldman (2003) stated that information seeking behavior is the way people search for and utilize information. It is important to understand what factors are relevant in motivating a person to seek out information. A particular focus of inquiry has been on those factors that play a role in deciding to use the library and its resources as a place to seek information, either physically or virtually, as opposed to just surfing the Internet. He also stated that it would appear that more people are using the Internet to find information they need, and information that is unmediated by the library. He stated that informed library users are aware that libraries have resources that are more comprehensive and scholarly in nature than most Web resources available on the Internet. Also, libraries may provide access to scholarly literature that is not freely available on the Web, or may not be online at all. Equally important, users become aware of libraries resources, usually while having to write research papers in their undergraduate or graduate studies. Waldman (2003) also said that it is critical to understand what makes students use the librarys resources whether (print and/or electronic) while others will not think of the library as a place to find scholarly resources for their papers. One difficulty to the use of a librarys resources, and in particular its electronic resources, is that they are not seen as being direct. In contrast to an Internet search engine, where a single keyword search will usually result in thousands of hits, no matter what the topic is, on the other hand, in the library, students have to choose a particular database and be more selective in the search words they use according to Waldman (2003). 3. Objective of the research and the proposed methodology The aim of this thesis is to know how students go about seeking and obtaining their information needs taking into account their behavior. It also aims at knowing whether the students were satisfied with the material they found during their searching process, and whether the resources found was enough for them in which they got to a point where they stopped searching for any more materials. Another important factor that this research aims at is whether the information seeking behavior of the graduate students follows an already previously established information behavioral model, and if that model can help us explain more clearly the seeking behavior and the process students go through when searching for and obtaining the information they need. The following objectives will be used in the study to structure the inquiry and to guide the development of the research procedures and methodologies: To identify and synthesize the literature relevant to information seeking behavior. To determine the place of this research within the published literature. To select and develop a method of data collection. To examine and analyze how students obtain the information they need. To gather and represent data on the information seeking activities and strategies of students. To investigate the extent to which model of the information seeking models could explain the information behavior of graduate students. To test the applicability of a generic (Wilsons first information seeking behavior model of 1981) and a non-linear information model (Fosters 2005 information behavior model) to the information behavior of graduate students. To examine what difficulties students face and what types of behavior they experience during their information seeking process when finding or not finding the appropriate information. For this reason, an exploratory qualitative research approach with semi-structured, in-depth interviews was chosen as the methodology, because this research focuses on studying the information seeking behavior of graduate students, and the most suitable method to study the behavior of students as well as their information needs and process of acquiring information is through the qualitative method. According to Ambert et. al. (1995) qualitative research seeks depth rather than breadth, and instead of drawing from a large sample of an entire population, qualitative researchers seek to acquire in-depth information about a smaller group of persons. The aim of qualitative research is to clear about how and why people behave, think, and make meaning as they do, rather than focusing on what people do or believe on a large scale. In addition, qualitative research frequently results in discovery of new information, and new practices or behaviors rather than verification. It may also involve complete redirection, or modification of, or additions to, existing ideas or models. Qualitative methods are a set of data collection and analysis techniques that can be used to provide description, build theory, and to test theory Van Maanen (1979 cited in Shah and Corley, 2006, p.1824). The reason why quantitative method is not being used in this research is because this thesiss aims and objectives are not to develop and employ mathematical models and hypotheses concerning phenomena using calculations and statistical procedures. Qualitative research is a better method to be used for this thesis because it provides a deeper understanding of the issues and insight into the process we are studying. Researchers in this field such as George, C. et al. (2006) study explored graduate students information behavior related to their process of inquiry and scholarly activities. Qualitative method was used through in depth, semi-structured interviews that were conducted with one hundred graduate students representing all disciplines and departments from Carnegie Mellon Univers ity. Other researchers like Foster (2005) offers a new, nonlinear model of information seeking behavior, which contrasts with earlier stage models of information behavior and represents a potential cornerstone for a shift towards a new perspective for understanding user information behavior. The model is based on the findings of a study on interdisciplinary information-seeking behavior. The study followed a qualitative approach using interviews of 45 academics. The interview results were inductively analyzed and an alternative framework for understanding information seeking behavior was developed. The research approach that will be applied in this thesis will be the use of Grounded Theory (GT). This thesis and its research questions try to find an answer or an explanation to the phenomenon which is the graduate students information seeking behavior. This research has no previous theory or a hypothesis to test, but it seeks to generate a new idea, information, added value, or a theor y to previous research done in the subject of information seeking behavior of graduate students. Therefore, the most suitable qualitative data analysis method chosen for this thesis is Grounded Theory (GT). Grounded Theory is a general, inductive, and interpretive research approach which was originated in 1967 by Barney Glaser and Anselm Strauss (Glaser and Strauss, 1967). Glaser defines grounded theory as an approach that is based on the systematic generation of theory from the data collected and analyzed that is obtained from social research. Theory is generated during the actual research, and this is achieved through continuous interplay between analysis and data collection. Researchers who use GT as their research method do not test or verify any preconceived hypothesis. In contrast, researchers in this approach develop new theory based on the collected data. Instead of having hypotheses to test, researchers in GT studies have research questions to address. In grounded theory, a researcher should keep his/her mind open to any possible evidence that might exist in the dataset. In Glasers words (1992, p. 8) GT is inductively generating theory through qualitative analysis of qualitative and/or quantitative data. To define the meaning of qualitative analysis, Glaser (1992, p. 1) states that qualitative analysis entails any kind of analysis that generates findings or concepts, as in grounded theory, that are not arrived at by statistical methods. Although GT is a well-established methodology, it is an approach to research rather than a detailed research method. The general goal of GT research is to develop theories in order to understand the phenomenon under study. GT has been developed and also used within the field of social science, and has been successfully employed by people in a variety of different disciplines including information science. In addition, Pace (2004) states that the main and essential stages in the process of GT development involves first coding the data collected, memo writing, sorting the data, and then writing the theory. This study is also significant because the uses of information resources especially electronic resources are used by students in universities and academic libraries. Since the access and use of electronic resources is faster and less time consuming, it makes it more appealing for students than that of obtaining printed resources. This research will be applied in Kuwait University in the College of Graduate Studies by choosing a sample of graduate students to study, because students in Kuwait face problems related to how to search and seek out related information in the appropriate databases for their research papers. Graduate students in Kuwait University need a strategy to guide them in their information seeking process. New information, added value, and a theory integrated with the information seeking models will be proposed in this research paper. 4. Results of data collected The sample was drawn from the population of graduate students enrolled at the College of Graduate Studies at Kuwait University. The 24 students that were interviewed and observed in the library and computer labs were from the Information Systems, Social Sciences, and Library Departments. The data that was collected from the students transcribed interviews were coded into meaningful categories using qualitative data analysis and represented in the figure below and will be described in 8 key points that will hopefully help in answering the research questions of this thesis and address the gap or problem in this research. From the data collected it is clear that the students information seeking behavior and activities were only caused by their course-related homework and that they mainly used online resources to find information they needed for their coursework in a hope to reach information fulfillment. Also from the data collected during the interviews, the students expressed that the y dont seek information or make any research activities outside their university coursework or for personal use. Plus, so far from the data collected, the students seem to follow Wilsons first information seeking behavior model of 1981 and Fosters 2005 information behavior model that were explained in the literature review and they are applicable in their situations. The findings were summarized in the following key points, topics, or themes: types of research activities, activities interrelation with topic, library usage and role in obtaining information needs, Internet usage and role in obtaining information needs, result of search activities understood by students, support from instructors and fellow students in getting information, achieving satisfaction with information needs, and achieving information fulfillment. 4.1 Data Analysis The main approach to the data analysis involved a detailed analysis of the interview transcripts collected from the graduate students at Kuwait University. First of all, notes from each interview, made both during the interview and immediately after it, were reviewed and then highlights as well as new concepts were identified. Secondly, the transcript from each interview was reviewed and coded. Thirdly, each new interview was compared to the previous ones for confirming or disconfirming evidence. Open coding using Key Point Coding was used for coding the responses from the interviews to give P1, P2, and so on where P indicates key point (Allan, 2003). The codes are then analyzed and those that relate to a common theme are grouped together. Concepts are then grouped and regrouped to find categories. Then these concepts and categories lead to the emergence of a theory. If the data has been analyzed without a preconceived theory or hypothesis, that theory is truly grounded in the data b ecause it came from nowhere else. Preliminary patterns describing the factors that influence information-seeking behavior were developed based on concepts identified during the literature review (Mansourian, 2006). Key Points Responses from sample P1: Types of research activities Only university courses related activities from (I1 to I27). I3, I26 also researched for personal work. P2: Activities interrelation with topic Activities are interrelated with topics from (I1 to I27) P3: Library usage and role in obtaining information needs I3, I4, I6, I9, I11,I13, I16, I22, I25 P4: Internet usage and role in obtaining information needs I1, I2, I3, I4, I5, I6, I7, I8, I9, I10, I11, I12, I13, I14, I15, I16, I17, I18, I19, I20, I21, I22, I23,I24, I25, I26, I27 P5: Result of search activities understood by students I1, I2, I3, I4, I5, I6, I7, I9, I11, I12, I13, I14, I15, I16, I17, I18, I19, I20, I24, I25, I26, I27 P6: Support from instructors and fellow students in getting information I1, I3, I4, I5, I6, I7, I8, I9, I10, I11, I12, I14, I15, I16, I17, I18, I19, I20, I21, I22, I23, I24, I25, I26, I27 P7: Opinions on achieving satisfaction with information needs I1, I3, I4, I5, I6, I7, I8, I10, I11, I12,I13, I14, I15, I16, I17, I18, I19, I20, I21, I22, I23, I24, I25, I26, I27 P8: Achieving information fulfillment I18, I24, I25 Key Points are presented using the code (p) as in key point no.1 (P1), key point no.2 (P2). Responses from the sample that was interviewed are presented as (I1, I2). The code (I) refers to Individual 1, Individual 2. This thesis examines what types of research activities are undertaken by graduate students, and how these activities were interrelated with topic-related activities. This thesis identifies how the results of the search activities were understood by the students, when students feel that they have satisficed their information needs, and did the students achieve information fulfillment. Also, this thesis sets out to investigate the extent to which model of the information seeking models could explain the information behavior of graduate students, and to test the applicability of a generic (Wilsons first information seeking behavior model of 1981) and a non-linear information model (Fosters 2005 information behavior model) to the information behavior of graduate students. From the data collected during the interviews and observation, it is clear that the students search activities were interrelated with topic-related activities. Their information seeking behavior and activities were only caused by their course-related homework and that they mainly used online resources to find information they needed for their coursework in a hope to reach information fulfillment. Also from the data collected during the interviews, the students expressed that they dont seek information or make any research activities outside their university coursework or for personal use. Plus, so far from the data collected, the students seem to follow Wilsons first information seeking behavior model of 1981 and Fosters 2005 information behavior model that were explained in the literature review and they are applicable in their situations. The findings were summarized in 8 key points, topics, or themes. The students all expressed that they always feel that they havent satisficed their information needs and dont achieve information fulfillment. They also face problems during their information seeking behavior and demanded that Kuwait University find a solution to these obstacles to improve their i nformation seeking experience. One student recommended that, Kuwait University must provide us with training courses and workshops for all types of searching that is organized with the library and should be incorporated within our courses. Also, skilled librarians should be hired who are aware of other fields and majors so that they can help us with our searching process and save us time when finding materials. Plus, the university should subscribe to more databases as well as English and Arabic journals in addition to the ones that are already available. Moreover, there should be one web page or portal to unite the access to all database web sites by entering just one username and password, because there is the burden and difficulty of entering a username and a password for each database web site. There is no portal that unites all of the universities databases where only one username and password is entered at the beginning and then you can browse all the databases. Another studen t suggested that, My information seeking process and obtaining experience could be improved by being able to download all articles from the universitys databases, because right now I face a problem in downloading some articles. Also, the university needs to subscribe to more databases so that I have a variety of resources to search for my topics. The databases that the university is currently subscribed to should work. Finally, there needs to be more organization in the university library in terms of keeping articles or books so that we can easily find them and not take so much time in searching for resources that could be lost without us knowing. Furthermore, a student said that it would be lovely to see the university, Provide me with full access to databases off the university campus. Additionally, meetings should be organized with librarians and students to help them on the ways of searching for materials, and on how to get the printed and electronic resources available physical ly at the library or on the universitys online web site. Equally important, all students suggested that the university should provide them with up-to-date software programs and good hardware devices with no technical problems or defaults. 4.2 Graduate Students Information Seeking Behavior Model at Kuwait University The following proposed model describes and shows the steps and process of what graduate students actually go through and what they do in their information seeking behavior. The boxes in the model show processes, inputs, outputs, steps, and people, and the arrows represents a mixture of information and decision making trajectories and the relationships and inter-relationships between them. First, the graduate student is given the option of choosing his or her topic to do a research on, or a topic is assigned to them by the instructor during the coursework. The topic is interrelated with the research activities or the information seeking behavior. Then, the students seek for information either from the library or from the Internet. The graduate students use mostly electronic resources from the web via Google Scholar, The Invisible Web, and from the databases that the university is subscribed to. When the students are experiencing their information seeking behavior, they sometimes get h elp, support, and advice from their instructors and fellow students or friends. Afterwards, the student gets the results of his or her search activities and the information seeking behavior might result in satisfaction and happiness to the student or non-satisfaction which then leads to lack of satisficing and information fulfillment. Finally, the satisfaction of the information should lead to information fulfillment for the student. 5. Conclusion Academics and students have their own unique seeking behavior and their own ways of obtaining information whether it is from a scholarly database, the web, library collections, or from their peers, therefore, it is important for us to know in this thesis how students go about seeking and obtaining their information needs taking into account their behavior. Another important factor that this research is looking at is whether the information seeking behavior of the graduate students follows an already previously established informatio

Color Blindness Essay examples -- Abnormal Color Vision Color Deficien

Color Blindness   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Many people refer to problems with one’s ability to see color as color blindness, however, unless a person can’t see any color at all, color vision problems should be called by another term. Common terms are abnormal color vision, color deficiency and color vision confusion. Females maybe be effected by color blindness, but usually they are just carriers. Males are more often affected. About 8% of males and 0.5% of females are effected by color blindness.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Although color blindness may be a result of another eye disorder, the majority of color blind cases are hereditary and present at birth.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The retina, is a complex nerve system which converts light energy into electrical energy that is then transmitted to the brain. This conversion is accomplished by two types of receptor cells in the retina called rods and cones do to their shape. The cones are responsible for converting the color. Each cone contains visual pigments that are sensitive to one of three wavelengths of light: red, green and blue. Normally, all colors of the spectrum are able to be matched by mixtures of only three color sensitivities. Therefore, the huge variety of colors we see are a response to different compositions of wavelengths of light. The rods are responsible for encoding white and black.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Color blindness results when one or more of the cone cells fail to function properly. One of the visual pigments may be functioning abnormally, or be absent altogether.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  ...