Hawaii’s Annexation to the US

History is rife with instances of nations wielding power over independent states as a means to gain socio-political or economic ends. In the case of the US, numerous factors buoyed its resolve to acquire territories during the 1890s. Foremost of these is that resource-rich countries showed promise of fueling an industrial America. On the other hand, there was the influence of naval strategists. They succeeded in expounding the overall view to American political leaders that there are vast benefits in acquiring territories and ports of strategic naval importance. Under the guise of Manifest Destiny, which rationalized dominant nations’ imperialist expansion in the mid- to late 1800s, the US proceeded to aggressively expand and take control of nations, among them Hawaii. Hawaii’s Annexation to the US The annexation of Hawaii to the United States was preceded by a sequence of events that finally led to that crucial turning point in history. Still reeling from the ruins and desolation of the Civil War, America had rapidly marshalled efforts to promote its interests and embark on an overt colonization of countries that offered it distinct advantages. Before it plunged head-on into an aggressive territorial expansion, it kept a wary eye both on foreign territories that were ideal for its commercial interests, as well as on dominant European powers that were also expanding beyond their borders and establishing colonies. Political and business leaders put forth the idea that â€Å"the rapid industrial development of the United States required the acquisition of foreign territories to gain easier access to vital raw materials† (Tindall and Shi, 2006, p. 59). The desire for new markets to be exploited economically eventually turned to coveting nations and creating an American empire, at all expense. William H. Seward, the United States Secretary of State from 1861 to1869, believed that â€Å"the United States first had to remove all foreign interests from the northern Pacific coast and gain access to that region’s valuable ports† (Tindall & Shi, 2006, p. 862) if it intends to successfully conquer Asian markets. A strategic imperialistic ploy adopted to indirectly take control over the economic life of a nation was to enter into trade agreements with them. Many years after the signing of a friendship treaty, came the sealing of the 1875 reciprocal trade agreement between Hawaii and the US, â€Å"under which Hawaiian sugar would enter the United States duty-free and Hawaii promised that none of its territory would be leased or granted to a third power† (Tindall & Shi, 2006, p. 86 3). This precipitated the next events that would lead to Hawaii’s annexation. Decades earlier, economic treaties had been offered to Hawaii by Great Britain and France, but the US had asserted itself to uphold its interests in Hawaii. The latter had actually â€Å"signed trade and peace treaties with the United States, England and other foreign nations, each recognizing Hawaii's independence† (Sforza, 1996, para. 5) and this is why on hindsight, it sees the broken agreement with the US as some sort of betrayal. In retrospect, back in 1820, American missionaries from Boston in 1820 stayed in Hawaii and soon turned out to be powerful sugar planters and politicians who served as advisers to the reigning monarchy (Sforza, 1996, para. 5). Queen Liliuokalani sought to shift power back to the monarchy, but the rapid succession of events eventually led to political turmoil â€Å"engineered mainly by the American planters hoping to take advantage of the subsidy for sugar grown in the United States† (Tindall ; Shi, 2006, p. 64). The imprisoned Queen Liliuokalani had issued a statement that pointed to the role of American diplomat, John L. Stevens in the conspiracy to overthrow the Kingdom of Hawaii. Amidst the commotion, a committee representative of the group that seized power from Hawaii’s reigning Queen Liliuokalani had shown up in the US seat of government in Washington with a treaty calling for Hawaii’s annexation to the US. President Grover Cleveland opposed the treaty and had attempted to restore the queen to power while seeking to provide amnesty to the coup instigators (Tindall ; Shi, 2006, p. 864). In December 1893, he expressed, â€Å"By an act of war, committed with the participation of a diplomatic representative of the United States and without authority of Congress, the government of a feeble but friendly and confiding people has been overthrown† (Sforza, 1996, para. 13). Party politics and other issues, however, eased Cleveland out of office. As fate and US maneuvering would have it, Hawaii was eventually annexed to the US in 1898 â€Å"at the urging of President William McKinley† (â€Å"Annexation of Hawaii,† n. d. , para. 3). The island state became a territory in 1900. Statehood was deferred â€Å"until a bipartisan compromise linked Hawaii's status to Alaska, and both became states in 1959† (â€Å"Annexation of Hawaii,† n. d. , para. 3). References Sforza, Terry (1996). Hawaii’s annexation a story of betrayal.   Retrieved September 20, 2008, from http://www.hawaii-nation.org/betrayal.html Tindall, G., & Shi, D. (2006). America – a narrative history (7th ed.). New York: W.W. Norton & Co.

The Four Goals of Psychology

I would like to talk about the four goals of psychology and if I believe they help or hare humanity. The four goals of psychology are description, explanation, prediction, and changing. I will talk about each of them in order and try to put them in as much detail as I can. The First goal I would like to talk about is description. When psychologist are describing behavior they are attempting to understand what is normal, acceptable, and if it is unhealthy or not.The behavior that they mostly try to observe is thoughts, feelings, goals, attitudes, motivations, actions and reactions to their surroundings. They use test, studies, and exc. , to try to explain human behavior. I personally think this is important for goal for psychology. If they wouldn’t try to describe human behavior they wouldn’t be able to start trying to figure out why they are the way they are. The second goal is explanation of behavior. Explanations are usually limited because most of the time it is cult urally restricted.Explanation is often determined through qualitative and quantitative observation, including explanation. I think this very important to psychology. If weren’t able to give an explanation to why someone has the behavior that they do, and there probably wouldn’t psychology. The third goal of psychology is prediction. Psychology tries to predict human behavior. They try to predict it so that they can determine how or when a person will make a good or bad choice or how they will perform in their surroundings. I think this is good and bad to have in psychology.I believe that sometimes you can predict how someone’s behavior might be based on their past history, but it doesn’t always work. For example if a student had a hard time in high school with writing papers and paying attention and then they go to college, doesn’t mean that they are going to have the same problem. Who knows they might actually be more focused in class. The last go al to psychology is changing. Modifying can be good or bad, but within ethical constraints. Psychology attempts to voluntary encourage individuals and groups to modify behaviors for a long term health gain.Personality and development theories differ in how to promote behavior change. Some behaviorists believe repetitive enforcement, while positives believe in honest cognitive discourse. Psychology can be used in education, social corrections, and organizations structures to elect preferred behaviors and attitudes for the environment. I think this last goal about changing is one of the most important goals psychology has. I believe we all have some stuff in are behavior we need to change. You might ask yourself what behavior problems do I need to change? The answer is in yourself.You are the only one that really knows your problems, even if it’s only a small problem it’s still there. When I was younger I thought there was nothing wrong with me even though I kept getting in trouble, but as I got older a had a family I had to change my hole troubled behavior around, so my kids don’t grow up like me. I think it was the best thing I have ever done and now look where I’m at. I think all the goals in their own way is important is kind of important to psychology. I told you why I thought each individual on is important, now I’ll tell you why I think they all are important together.I think if you took even just one of goals out or even replaced it with some other goal it would mess up the whole structure of psychology. Without them having these goals psychology probably would not exist or even if it still did exist would probably not make since. In my essay I am talking about psychology and its 4 goals. I am also adding rather I think they are important or not. All of these are reflecting my opinion and not anyone else’s. Opinions my Change depending on the person. I hope you learned something from this essay or it helps in you study of psychology’s 4 goals.

CONFLICT RESOLUTION Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

CONFLICT RESOLUTION - Essay Example This paper explores the application of the concept of conflict resolution in my relationship, in my life. My relationships with different people including my family members have not been beds of roses as they have been always plagued by tug-of-war issues relating to who is wrong and who is right between the other party and I. But thanks to conflict management information that I learnt in class I have sufficiently resolved the issues. The resolutions have saved me from nasty fighting side effects both physically and emotionally, for instance, I no longer feel intimidated or having given up on what I really wanted after utilizing the compromisation approach to conflict resolution in my relationship. Instead, the sense is that of a win-win situation as part of my interests are addressed as much those of the party are addressed- none of us totally surrenders their interests for the other party (West & Turner, 2012). From conflict management, I have learnt useful tips of resolving relationship conflict; avoidance of deal-breakers, best time choice, loving acceptance and benefit-of-doubt. First, I have learnt to avoid deal-breaker habits such as personal criticisms, stonewalling and sneering contempt as they hamper mutual communication. Second, I recognize the importance of picking the best time to discuss and resolve the conflict as resolutions are less effective in times characterized by stress ad hunger. Loving acceptance helps to eliminate personal defenses while promoting the urge of pleasing each other (West & Turner, 2012). Benefit-of-doubt puts off jumping to conclusions without hearing explanations from the other

Increae productivity and safety at night shift Research Paper - 1

Increae productivity and safety at night shift - Research Paper Example These problems affect the productivity of the workers working in the night shifts of the manufacturing firm. Physical and mental stress associated with the working in the night shifts increases the possibilities of errors on the part of the workers along with increasing instances of accidents. With the general habits of human beings of being more active during the day hours the performance level of the workers in general deteriorates with a change in the pattern. Moreover the workers of the manufacturing units need to work in different and more than one shift in each day and hence these poorly framed patterns of the shifts also increases the fatigue of the night shift workers. Apart from physical problems several questions have been raised regarding the security of the workers working in the night shifts more prominently for the women workers of the units. Thus study has been made in order to consider the negative effects of night shift working and suggesting possible solutions for t he problems. Both primary and secondary research methods have been used in the study for satisfying the objective. The study reveals that the productivity of the workers decreases in the night shifts with the same worker being able to work more efficiently in some other shifts of the day. Moreover there exists gender discrimination in the manufacturing units with the experienced women workers getting equal to salaries of newly employed male workers of the units. Incidents of accidents are also studied to be more in the night shifts. In regards to the implementations of certain solutions to the problems it has been suggested that the administration needs to be more aware in regards to the provision of proper medical facilities required in emergencies along with proper training to the workers. The supervisors need to be entrusted with proper evaluation of the employees in regards to their safety as well as productivity. Moreover if certain

Discuss the positive and negative effects of globalisation on China Essay

Discuss the positive and negative effects of globalisation on China - Essay Example Similarly leveraging of huge natural resources for the growth and development of the economy to be a powerful country in the world has been possible in the backdrop of globalization with economic reforms. The environmental impact due to global warming is very important from the international perspective and for sustainable development, because the economic development at the current level by exploiting the natural resources at this level is not sustainable in the long run. The Sustainable Development according Bruntland (1987) means â€Å"Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.† (The World Bank Group, 2001) Background The Chinese economy based on state owned industrial undertakings and collective communes, was ineffective in achieving the desired economic growth in the country which aspired to become a leading international power. The economic reforms introduced during the period of Deng Xi aoping in the late 1970s aimed at catching up with the developed countries gave a fillip to a system of decentralized market-based economy. Goodhart, C. and Xu, C. (1996, p. 34) state â€Å"Following the decision to open the economy, and to increase the role of market forces and reduce the burden of state subsidies on foreign trade losses (since the RMB was artificially overvalued), China began to decentralize its foreign trade and foreign exchange systems in 1979†. The country was successful in establishing the phenomenon of ‘regulated market economy’ without compromising political control of the party. Consequently the foreign direct investment into the country has grown significantly aiding the growth process over the period of time. Environmental Impact The issues related to environmental concerns such as greenhouse gas emissions and global warming in the negotiations at the international level has gathered momentum starting from Kyoto Protocol. China being t he world's largest greenhouse  gas emitter is constrained to take measures in line with the world opinion and committed to 40 to 45% reduction in CO2 emissions from 2005 level by 2020 in the recent Copenhagen Climate Change Summit in December 2009.   Finamore (2009) states â€Å"a carbon intensity target will require each province and major enterprise to measure, report and reduce their CO2 emissions and energy consumption, year-on-year, acting as a driver for greater efficiency and renewable†. The US and China as the major greenhouse gas emitters are expected by the world community to take proactive measures in containing the greenhouse gas emissions. Climate Ark (2007) states â€Å"The world faces a global warming disaster if the United States and China do not take decisive action to cut greenhouse gas emissions, a leading economist said at the U.N. â€Å" Evidence China Daily (2011) states that the new issue of the British "Nature" magazine published the first two st udies to draw definitive conclusions that human activity caused global warming is indeed global rainfall, snowfall intensity increased, an increase in natural disasters such as floods†. Unseasonal droughts, floods and other natural disasters have been closely associated with global warming. The social and environmental consequences of the industrial activities

How can website design be improved by the study of ergonomics Essay

How can website design be improved by the study of ergonomics - Essay Example This design of human-machine interface is based on the basic instincts and psychology of human like clicking an icon on a touchpad to initiate an application. Bob Boie developed the first touch screen pad at Bell Labs in 1984 that allowed the users to manipulate the graphics with their fingers. However, it is recently that electronic device manufacturers have started exploiting this technology for consumers like using finger touch to open a book and turn pages that give a feel similar to real world. In this research, three websites categories from Webby Award’s website; Charitable Organizations/Non-profit, Social Networking and e-Commerce focusing different area were evaluated for ergonomics on a number of factors including navigation, search, layout of information, quality of text and others by users of hand held devices using a 15 points questionnaire. The results indicated that websites were ratings were dissimilar for navigation and usefulness by experienced and inexperien ced users; however, ergonomics quality of the website needed improvements. For this developers, need to concentrate on web layout, structure and improvements in navigation. This would improve not only the ergonomics of the website but also the website overall impression resulting in increased frequency of website visitors. Table of Contents ABSTRACT 1 1.1 Introduction 6 1.2 Rationale and Theoretical Framework 2 2. Literature Review 5 2.1 Human Factors and Ergonomics 5 2.2 The Expansion of Internet 6 2.3 Human Computer Interaction 7 2.4 Major Web Design Mistakes 8 2.4.1 Bad Search 8 2.4.2 Online Reading of PDF Files 9 2.4.3 Colours of Visited Links Remain Unchanged 9 2.4.4 Non Scannable Test 10 2.4.5 Fixed Font Size 10 2.4.6 Pages Titles with Low Search Engine Visibility 11 2.4.7 Any Thing That Looks Like an Advertisement 11 2.4.8 Violating Design Conventions 12 2.4.9 Opening New Browser Windows 12 2.4.10 Not Answering User’s Questions 12 2.5 Web Interface Design 12 2.5.1 Plan Structure 13 2.5.2 Content Design 13 2.5.3 Consistency 13 2.5.4 Make Web Interface Accessible 14 2.5.5 Solid Navigational Base 14 2.5.6 Put User Input into Perspective 14 2.6 Ergonomics Method for Website Design 15 2.6.1 Planning of Design 15 2.6.2 Content Analysis 16 2.6.3 Organizing Information 16 2.6.4 Process Analysis 16 2.6.5 Design and Development 16 2.6.6 Designing for Global Users 17 2.6.7 Usability Testing 17 2.6.8 Conducting Usability Testing and Evaluation 17 2.6.9 Offline Usability Testing 18 2.6.10 Maintenance 18 2.6.11 Checking Website Integrity 18 2.7 Hand Held Devices and Web Interaction 19 3. Research Methodology 20 3.1 Research Design 20 3.1.1 Exploratory Research 20 3.1.2 Conclusive Research 20 3.1.3 Descriptive Research 21 3.1.4 Casual Research 21 3.2 Quantitative and Qualitative Research 22 3.3 Data Collection Methodology 22 3.3.1 Structured Interviews 22 3.3.2 Survey Questionnaire 23 3.4 Design of Questionnaire 23 3.4.1 Structure of Questionnaire 23 3.4.2 Ques tion Types 23 3.5 Sampling 25 4. Findings and Discussions 26 4.1 Respondent’s Profile 26 4.2 e-Commerce Websites 30 4.2.1 Navigation 31 4.2.2 User Considerations 32 4.2.3 Website Usefulness 32 4.3 Charitable Organizations / Non-profit 34 4.3.1 Navigation 35 4.3.2 User Considerations 35 4.3.3 Website Usefuln

How and why did the U.S. emerge as a world superpower between World Essay

How and why did the U.S. emerge as a world superpower between World War Two and 1991 - Essay Example America gained its super power status immediately after the Second World War which saw America and the Soviet Union emerges stronger from the war than before they entered. The period between world war two and 1991 saw major events take place that led to the decline of previous great powers to the emergence of new superpowers. This was the â€Å"cold war† period. Cold war was a state of military and political tension between western bloc and eastern bloc. The western bloc was led by America and its NATO allies while the eastern bloc was led by the Soviet Union and its allies who were in the Warsaw pact. The war was described as â€Å"cold† because it was marked with no large scale direct fights but with regional wars that were supported with the two blocs. Some of the countries that experienced wars were Afghanistan, Vietnam, and Korea. Cold war was defined by several events that prompted the two superpowers to demonstrate their influence in their allied countries. Some of the events that shaped this war were consolidation of the eastern states by the Soviet Union which saw America retaliate by giving financial and military aid to the anti-communist side in the Greek civil war. Other events that marked this period are the Chinese civil war, Korean War, Cuban missile crisis, berlin crisis, Suez crisis and the Vietnam War. These events shaped the cold war and hence bringing to the fore the emergence of America as the superpower with the dissolution of the Soviet Union. The subsequent paragraphs will explore how and why America gained the superpower status between the period after world war two and 1991. Most of the war was fought far away from America’s boundaries. This gave it a competitive advantage over the other powers like Britain, France, and Germany who were close or experienced the war on their soil. With the war taking place away from their national boundaries, America did not suffer major losses and destruction

Business law Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Business law - Assignment Example The guests should be in fit and able to make payments as per Section 1(3) HPA 1956. As per the British Law the innkeeper will be in the liability for safeguarding the interest of the guests in reason for the award received from the guests. The innkeepers are also bound to supply accommodation to the guests along with their luggage. The hotels have the right to allocate the rooms to their guest. The hotel authority is responsible for the safety of the guests during their stay in the hotel. The hotel authorities are in charge of taking reasonable care for the safety of their guests during their stay in the hotel. As per the British law the innkeeper’s liability for the safety of their guests is strict. The issue of liability of the hotel authority arises only if there is negligence on the part of the innkeeper regarding the belongings of the customer. In case of non delegable duty greater standard of care is required by the person or authority in responsibility but only in respe ct of those things as stated by them and not those which has been prohibited or not stated by the innkeeper (Brotherton, 2000, pp.145). Again based on exemption clause, a contract between two parties might include some limitations or exemption as per requirement. A party might be exempted from some liabilities based on some clauses (Jones,2011, p.168). Based on the rules stated above, Freda could not blame the hotel authority for the misplacement of her belongings. The hotel authority clearly stated â€Å"The Gullies Hotel and its Management would not be held liable for the safety of any valuable left in the guest's room and the Hotel has safe deposit boxes at the reception.† This is an exemption clause which limits the liability of the innkeeper in this case. Freda’s charge would have relevant if she had kept her belongings under the safe deposit box whose responsibility was borne by the hotel authority. 2. Discuss the doctrine of precedent. Give specific case example s where the court has applied this legal principle. Doctrine of Precedent or Stare Decisis is a part of common law. It is a process by which courts use verdicts made in earlier cases to assist the verdict of the case presently in consideration. The precedent is arrived by combining the verdict given in the previous court cases under similar facts. There have been many cases which came into the court room but their decisions could not be given just because there were no fixed laws prescribed. Judges often delivered verdicts in the courts based on an impulse or sentiment. To overcome such shortcomings the doctrine of precedent was framed where the law stated on a case was followed over time as judges abided by the decisions of previous cases. The judges would meet regularly and evaluate the decisions they made earlier. They would choose the most suitable verdict and apply those if any similar condition came up. The Doctrine of Precedent is subject to certain general rules. As per the binding precedent rule, lower courts are bound to follow verdicts made in superior courts. As per persuasive precedent, superior courts have an option to use the help or refer cases of lower courts in decision making. Most courts are by law bound to follow their own decisions made earlier. The verdict given by the judge has two parts. Ratio decidendi states the principle or cause for deciding the case in a particular way. It forms

Links between Taste, Consumption and Social Class Essay

Links between Taste, Consumption and Social Class - Essay Example In fact, it is clear that the views and the preferences of people in a particular social framework are aligned with the trends that the media have promoted within the specific area. It is in this context that the relationship between taste, consumption and social class would be evaluated. In the literature, different approaches have been used for highlighting the interaction between taste, consumption and social class. The views of Bourdieu on this issue are analytically presented in this paper. Emphasis is given on the perception of Bourdieu that taste and consumption are closely related to social class. The review of the literature referring to the specific subject reveals that taste and consumption are indispensable elements of human behaviour. Their relationship with social class can be strong no matter the existing social and political conditions; however, each one of these elements cannot be exist outside a consumption society, since it is only within such society that the cons umption needs of individuals can be addressed. 2. Taste, consumption and social class in theory and practice 2.1 Bourdieu on taste, consumption and class In order to understand the views of Bourdieu on key sociological objects, such as taste, consumption and class, it would be necessary to identify the methodology of his work. Bourdieu avoided using the views of a specific sociologist for explaining human behaviour. Rather, he used to employ common sociological rules. From this point of view, it would be a mistake to use the views of well-known sociologists, for instance Marx or Durkheim, in order to understand the thoughts of Bourdieu on key sociological objects (Wright 2005, p.82). Moreover, Bourdieu preferred to combine theory and research. In other words, it was necessary for his views to be tested in real conditions. In this way, the effects of the views of Bourdieu on society and human behaviour have been checked as of their relevance to real life. At the next level, the views of Bourdieu are checked using qualitative and quantitative data; this type of research methodology increases the credibility of the assumptions produced, highlighting the appropriateness of these views for the explanation of daily social phenomena. The above issues are quite important in order to explain the methodology of work in this paper: the views of Bourdieu on social class, taste and consumption are presented and evaluated, as of their relationship to many aspects of social life. At the next level, these views are tested as of their relevance to current social conditions. Examples are used for indicating the value of the theories of Bourdieu in practice, with reference especially to the social trends that characterize the modern societies. At a first level, reference should be made to the views of Bourdieu on social class. Then, its relationship with taste and consumption, as justified through the views of Bourdieu, can be understood. In opposition with other theorists who s tudied the specific issue, Bourdieu avoided making a clear distinction between classes in society (Wright 2005, p.85). This practice is explained as follows: Bourdieu did not want to relate his theory with politics, a risk which would be clear if the differentiation among classes would be used as the basis of the theory of Bourdieu. Moreover,

Effects of Stress on the Immune System Research Paper

Effects of Stress on the Immune System - Research Paper Example Stress does have a profound effect on the immune system. Though stress was initially considered to exert a physiological effect in the human body, later studies have revealed that it also affects the immune system by changing the immune response to infectious agents and environmental pollutants. Further studies have shown that depending on the nature and duration of the stressful event the immune system can either be enhanced or depressed. These immune changes however, have minimal clinical consequences in healthy individuals, but the weakening of the immune system in response to aging and disease results in prominent changes in the immunity of the individual to stress. Stress has also been linked to the progression of various diseases such as tumors and autoimmune diseases. The changes in immune response are mediated by signals from the endocrine and nervous system which are the initially responders to the environmental stresses. Various stress hormones released in response to stres s play a role in the activation or suppression of the immune cells. While in majority of the cases stress has a detrimental effect on the functioning of the immune system, in some cases acute limited stress have been shown to up regulate natural immunity parameters that are useful in protection against a possible injury or infection. Stress has for long been linked to changes in the physiology of humans such an increased delivery of oxygen and glucose to the heart muscles. However, researchers have shown that apart from these physiological changes stress also affects the immune response of an individual.... The hypothalamus controls the secretion of hormones from the pituitary, adrenal cortex and medulla. When this hypothalamus- pituitary- adrenal cortex axes is subjected to chronic activation it can have a pronounced effect on the health through continued secretion of hormones. When the receptors for glucocorticoid (GC) hormones present on the immune cells are bound by GC hormones they interfere with the activity of NF-kB which in turn suppresses the secretion of cytokines by these cells. The activation of the HPA axis also causes the secretion of catecholamine’s from the adrenal medulla which also binds to adrenergic receptors on the immune cells and increases the production of cytokines and antibody which is the body’s immediate response to stress. However, when subject to chronic activation these hormones can have a similar effect like the GC on the immune cells (Padgett & Glaser, 2003). While these stress hormones make us resistant to the effects of stressors by incre asing heart rate, blood pressure and sugar levels to combat the perceived threat, they however have a deleterious effect on the immune system when produced chronically (Psychological Stress and Cancer, 2012). For example, the release of cortisol under conditions of stress has been found to have an inhibitory effect on the synthesis and activity of white blood cells. In addition it has also been found to interfere with communication of immune cells thus preventing them from providing the necessary protection to the body (Hussain, 2010). The effect of stress hormones on the immune system has been studied in great detail during the past decade. Hormones released by various glands in response to stress

Determining Causes and Effects Essay Example for Free

Determining Causes and Effects Essay The majority of blood donors are middle aged due to advertising not being effective among youth donors. Young prospective first time donors, with their long-term donation potential, are especially attractive targets for blood agencies. Youth are often underrepresented in donor pools, however; persuading them to give blood may require specifically tailored marketing communication. The first cause of not being effective in advertising towards youth is marketing communication. Blood collection agencies often emphasize altruism. Altruism is the philosophical doctrine that right action is that which provides the greatest benefit to others. Specifically, research demonstrates that established donors who have given blood several times report altruism and awareness of the need for blood as their main reasons for giving (Glynn S.A. 417). In other words, a regular blood donor gives because they want to help others in need, and they act altruistically without expectation of reward. Altruistic ads focus on the altruistic message of a blood recipient thanking individuals for giving blood to save his/her life. An appeal to self-interest may be more effective in heightening blood donation intentions among youthful donors. The second cause of advertising not being effective is not appealing to individual self-interest. Collection agencies often use a communal message strategy that you should donate because someone close to you may need it. A communal ad features blood donors asking others to join them to help save lives. This communal approach, often receives less attention from donors because people value incentives. There has been little academic research conducted in blood recruitment to further these recommendations and actually test the effectiveness of specific message types in relation to the established profiles. Another contributing cause is the selectivity model, attributes sex differences in information processing to traditional gender roles. For instance, the male or agentic gender role is characterized by concern for the self (ex., what helps me or is of interest to me?). It is associated with personality traits such as independence and autonomy. Men, who already attend to self-relevant information because of their presumed agentic gender role, should respond even more favorably to a self-benefit message that also  invokes a higher degree of self-referencing (Hupfer, 1004). The communal female role, which encompasses concern for both self and others (ex., what interests or helps both me and others?). The personality traits associated with the female are independent and giving. The female role is typified by sympathy, understanding, and sensitivity to others’ needs. These traditional role distinctions lead to sex differences in response to information that is self-relevant or other relevant (Hupfer, 1004). Gender roles, therefore, should be an important determinant of reaction to blood campaigns. They should indicate that giving blood helps me which is the agentic benefit (Fig 3). Or giving blood helps someone else which is the communal benefit (Fig 4). When an advertising message elicits attention by reflecting on negative outcomes it appears to be more favorable. When advertising message elicits attention by focusing on the positive outcomes it appears to be less favorable. One effect on the economy is when agencies paid people to donate it decreased the blood supply. Economists were skeptical citing a lack of empirical evidence. Since then new data and models have prompted a sea change in how economists think about incentives. Economists have found that offering to pay women for donating blood decreased the number of donators by half. However, letting society contribute the payment to charity reversed the effect. This psychology here has eluded economists, but it was no surprise to business owners. Rewarding blood donations may backfire; because it suggests that donor is less interested on being altruistic than in making a buck. Incentives affect what our actions signal, whether we’re being self-interested or civic-minded, manipulated or trusted, and they can imply wrongly what motivates the U.S. (Bowles) An increase in unemployment may mean people have more time to give blood, but I doubt it would cause an increase in supply. First, many blood donations are arranged by firms who agree to give employers time off work during the day. Secondly, it is possible that if you are unemployed you are likely to be stressed and don’t feel inspired to give blood. Findings indicate that when donors are eligible to benefit from the day-off incentive (i.e., when they are in paid employment) they make, on average, one extra blood donation per year, a substantial effect that represents a 40% inc rease (Lacetera). The decrease in blood supply affects those who have diseases such as sickle cell. There are more than 80,000 people in the U.S. with Sickle Cell, who require blood  transfusions. It also affects those who have cancer because chemotherapy consists of needing blood; sometimes on a daily basis. Also car accident victims can require as much as 100 pints of blood (American Red Cross). So if there are shortages of blood, there are not enough lives being saved. Hospitals haven’t had enough blood supply to care for patients with leukemia. It also affects newborns that are faced with having open heart surgery. Most patients who are hospitalized for serious complications and require transplants suffer because of the lack of blood supply in the U.S. In conclusion, collection agencies should consider appealing to young non-donors by suggesting that they give blood to make it available for themselves. Those who are capable of donating should do so with no questions asked. You never know when you will have a life-threatening event in which you need a blood transfusion to save your life. Researchers should continue to find theories on advertising to appeal to self-interest so that the blood supply in the U.S. will increase; however, the best approach in advertising is appealing to people’s emotion. If everyone would come together as one as they do in elections for blood drives the outcome would be greater. Fig. 3. Agentic Version of accident scene Fig. 4. Communal version of accident scene. Works Cited American Red Cross (2012). Blood Facts. www. Redcross.org Bowles, Samuel (March 2009). The Magazine; Harvard Business Review Glynn, S.A., Kleinman, (2002). Motivations to donate blood:. Transfusion, 42, 216-225. Hupfer, M.E. (2006). Transfusion 46(6), 996-1005, Visuals, DOI: 10.1111/j.1537- 2995.2006.00834.x Lacetera, Nicola (n.d.), Icentative Research Foundation. Time for Blood Article.

The History And Background Of Sony Marketing Essay

The History And Background Of Sony Marketing Essay Sony is one of the largest game device providers in the world. It started at 1946 in Japan. Initially, Sony was selling the electronic products and electronic devices such as television, home video, home audio, camera and others. In 1994, Sony begins to sell their first gaming console implemented by them which is Playstation (PS) 1. More versions of Playstation such as PS 2 and 3, other similar console, PS portable and PS Vita were released to meet customers higher expectations. During the past few years, Sony has put its effort on the innovation of virtual reality headgear. With the influence of movies and animation such as Sword Art Online, the public hope to interact and experience a more realistic graphics in the game. Since there is a demand for this, Sony decides to create this product. 2.0 Current Market Situation Various technologies have been developed and innovated to simplify daily tasks. One of the most significant effects of development of technology is in the gaming industry. Ever since in the 90s, companies such as Sony have been developing various gaming consoles that provide better experience to its users with each new design. From the first Playstation, to the soon to be released Playstation 4. Since the development of mobile gaming such as smartphones and tablets, the demands for gaming consoles has been declining. However, according to DFC Intelligence Analyst, New console systems from Nintendo, Microsoft and Sony are expected to help the console segment regain some momentum in the 2014 to 2015 timeframe (Cole D. 2012). It just means that, as long as gaming companies can develop a better console systems, the market will resume its growth. Therefore developing Cita-Vita is essential to place Sony back in the game. The main competitor for Sony will be the Oculus VR Inc. as they are developing a product similar to Cita-Vita which is the Oculus Rift. The Rift too provides a more realistic gameplay by allowing the user to experience a 360 degree videogame environment. In addition, Adhesive Games had developed a game, Hawken, which is said to be very compatible with Rifts gameplay. Moreover, while Cita-Vita is still in the researching stage, the Rift developers kit had been completed and will be launched anytime soon. And not long after that, the consumer version will too be released. Even so, the technology used in Cita-Vita is different from The Rift. In addition to the 360 degree game environment experience, this product consists of a new technology that allows the user to play without lifting a finger (this technology will be further explained in the product strategies). Gamers will be keen to accept this technology as it is a great improvement from the past consoles and it had only been seen in comics and animations. 3.0 SWOT Analysis 3.1 Strength After years of researching and developing and at this juncture, Sony becomes the pioneer to concept, implement, and create the world first virtual reality gaming headgear. The products objective is to promote intellectual course of events that enable users to experience different life and are suitable for anyone due to its intuitive usage. The complexity but extremely exquisite technology, which contains a 4 dimensional sensibility view function by the main core, processor XG1 with 1 THz ,and integrate with a graphic chip to project Ultra High Definition (Ultra HD) ,and the latest cloud gaming system which benefit the firms profitability. Sony could be dominant over the price strategy control in the market. 3.2 Weakness Some aspects that need attention are uncertain incidents that affect the stability of the system operation, the high cost of the parts and technology for the product, and shortage of technical staff for this system. Fatakia K., (2012) stated that the high cost of media production, especially in its television business, has affected the companys pricing strategy. Frankly, Sony lost about $6.3 billion in the past eight years due to this which lead to lose of market shares to Samsung and LG. 3.3 Opportunities Sony could penetrate into a new market of gaming consoles in gaming industry for a long term. It is because it is marketed to both novice and expert gamers and is not restricting to the age of individuals. With this technology in hand, Sony would consider having partnership with military, aero industry and space industry to create field or cosmic simulator for teaching and training purposes. Moreover, there would be an evolution in offering a platform for social networking. 3.4 Threat Several factors that concern Sony regarding the launching of Cita-Vita are the interference of competitors relating to the safety of this product causing consumers to have difficulty to accept. The impact of compliance regulations on health and safety as well as economic condition in different areas would also delay the recognition of the product and to be widely used. Even before, the companys Playstation network was hacked, resulting in leakage of customer information, such as credit-card data (Fatakia, 2012) and Sony was fined for  £250,000. Sony needs to enhance securities to protect gamers personal details. 4.0 Marketing objective With the development and production of Cita-Vita, Sony wishes to increase the market share significantly during that period which can be seen through sales. As reported by an author in Seeking Alpha, it is said that the soon to be released PS 4 by Sony will take away the market share from XBOX (Anon 2013). The new product Cita-Vita will be able to take even more shares as PS 4 is just an extension of the existing Playstation models. Sony should opt for a 70% increment for a year. This can be done by increasing the market share and customer value. The increasing in the shares value indicates that the company is having a positive prospect. By giving satisfying customer values, the revenue of the sales will increase which lead to the increase in companys standings hence, the share price. Other than that, the companys strategic planning and making decision to set appropriate recourses, business environments, and human resources, like serving customers through suitable staff and retailers , who can deal with customer more efficiently will guarantee higher customer satisfaction. 5.0 Strategies 5.1 Product Strategy The gaming headgear, Cita-Vita consists of 3 levels which are core benefit, actual product and augmented product. 5.1.1 Core Benefit Cita-Vita is a product which is specially made to provide virtual reality experience for all users especially gamers. Virtual experience can be says as the stimulation to enable people to interact with the artificial 4-dimensional visual or other sensory environment in games. It provides a 360 degree game environment experience. 5.1.2 Actual Product 5.1.2.1 Product Name The name of this gaming headgear is Cita-Vita. Cita has a meaning of other in Latvian while vita means life in Latin. This name represents the second life or another life that users will experience. 5.1.2.1 Features Cita-Vita comes in two colours which are black and white because these colours are regard as trendy by most people. The design of the headgear looks like a helmet. It has a single interface which covers the players face. This headgear stimulates five main senses of humans with high frequency electromagnetic microwave transmitter. It controls the users consciousness by redirecting the signals which the brain sends to the body to the machine itself and replace its own waves to stimulate the senses. This headgear uses electricity as its main source of power. The charger is plug-in at the socket provided on the left side of the headgear. The headgear also contains its own batteries which acts as a backup. Headgear also contains the USB port for installation of games and other software. The software or games can be installed by connecting with computer. Moreover, the headgear contains three indicators which are power (PWR), wide area network (WAN) and BLK. PWR will light up after the charger is plug-in. The other two buttons will also light up after the respective system requirements are fulfilled. 5.1.3 Augmented product There will be two-year warranty that comes with the product. The warranty covers most damages of the product except damage cause by the carelessness of the buyers such as improper handling of the product. 5.2 Promotion Strategies Two strategies are applied based on the introduction stage. Sony should use push strategy to promote product through distribution channels to final consumers. First, Sony will provide the product display stands or signs to retailers to create awareness to consumers. Trade deals which are price discounts given for meeting certain purchase requirements (Peter, Donnelly, 1997, pg156) are also offered, e.g. 10% off for 1 unit of Cita-Vita only after selling 50 units each time. For pull strategies, Sony relies on product advertising or consumer sales promotion (Peter, Donnelly, 1997, pg157) to build up consumer demand. Sony could organize events to induce consumers to try the product and give out free merchandises such as batteries if purchase is made on the spot. Another way is to use Sonys website to promote a price deal for pre-orders for limited time. Sony will use informative advertising, to introduce Cita-Vita to unaware consumers of its purposes, features and brand. Certain people are needed such as expert gamers or renowned individuals to promote the value of the product and develop desire or wants of other potential consumer that are moved by those who believed in the products value. Sony may use objective and task method for the promotional budget as Sony has large funds to achieve its promotional results globally. The advertising message of Cita-Vita is to provide life experiences. And it is executed with interesting style, format, words and tone. Medias such as television that covers mass audience and game magazines like PC Gamer which draw the readers attention and has high demographic and geographic selectivity could be use. Sony can publicize Cita-Vita and announce its release in press conference. This public relation cost lesser without including fees for time or space and has vigorous impact to the public. Medias would pick up the news and report about them. The public will have more trust in the product as it seems more credible. 5.3 Pricing Strategy As a new product being launched where competition does not exist, what price should be set for such cases? It is important to target the right customer and to develop the market growth for the purpose of being viable on the certain product. As Sony plans to introduce a new device, Sony has to set a base price level that covers the costs of sales while maintaining its reputation which is to provide high quality products. After estimating the amount to be spent on the production of this product and comparing the price of other consoles made by Sony, Sony should set the base price of Cita- Vita as $580. Basing on this, the sales of 7 million units is the break-even point for Cita-Vita where the cost of research and production is covered. As technological product are said to have a low product life cycle, Sony ought to use price skimming strategy. While taking into account psychological matter such as image pricing, higher prices which represent higher quality and odd even pricing will attract people to purchase the device. Thus it is recommended that Sony set a higher price during the first few months which is $699. Price strategies must be amended based on the market in short and long run, to retain sales. In the end, the success of the ideas is directly related to customer satisfaction. When consumers are satisfy with product, price can remain in the higher level. 5.4 Distribution strategy The last strategy to be discussed is the distribution strategy. This strategy involves looking into certain aspects such as where to make the product available and when to do so (Dibb. S, et al., 2006). There are times Sony is unable to deal with the customer personally due to reasons such as the cost, time and the geographical distribution of the customers. For this reasons, Sony ought to look for certain distribution channels that can help to sell Cita-Vita to more customers. As this is a new product, Sony is encouraged to start with exclusive distribution. Therefore, Sony should sell Cita-Vita directly via online or through a Sony Centre. Sony could start by allowing pre-orders from customers through their website. By doing so, Sony can then get a clearer picture on the type of customers who are interested and generate feedback from them. At the Sony centers, there will be expert staff that are able to explain the product functions and specifications to customers who are interested. Furthermore, Customers are certain that they can get the original version of Cita-Vita from the centers. After the feedbacks from the customers have been studied, Sony can then made final adjustments to Cita-Vita and start using other distribution strategies such as selective. Sony can sell the product in bulks to other electronic companies especially gaming centers. These retailers can help Sony to sell the product to a larger group of people all across the world. In addition, gaming centers are not only experts in this category but they as well have connections with a variety of customers and other businesses as well as understand how to deal with them well. Lastly, Sony could distribute them to internet cafes. Most young gamers go to these cafes to play computer games. By having Cita-Vita there, these young gamers are able to experience the thrill and excitement provided. This will pick their interest and it will be easier to persuade them to buy the product. 6.0 Recommendation and Conclusion Since this is a new product, there are many aspects which are still unstable as stated in SWOT analysis. Therefore, Sony has to hire more specialized workers in this and related field to make this product more secure with minimal defects. This will definitely attract more attention and develop more trust from customers to purchase Cita-Vita. In a nutshell, Cita-Vita is a highly potential product that allows Sony to maximize their sales. It has drawn the attention of many even though it is just an idea. This shows that there will be a demand and market for this product. It can be said that Sony is moving in the right direction with the development of this product. As to date, the research and development department of Sony has begun researching on this product. 7.0 Reference Anon, 2013, Top of Form Anon, 2013, Sonys PS4 Looks To Take Market Share From The Xbox [online] Available at: [Accessed 20 February 2013] Dibb S., et al., 2006, Marketing Concepts and Strategies, U.S.A., Houghton Mifflin Fatakia K., 2012, Sony Corporation: Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats [online], My Daily Finance, Available at: [Accessed date: 8th March 2013] Five Star Equities, 2012, Video Game Industry Set for Growth Global Game Market Forecasted to Grow to $82 Billion Five Star Equities Provides Stock Research on Sony and Majesco Entertainment [Press Release] 31 July 2012. Available at: [Accessed 13 February 2013] Sony Malaysia, [online] Available at: [Accessed 25 February 2013] Virtual Reality, [online] Available at: [Accessed 17 February 2013]

Skill Requirements for IS Professionals in E-learning

Skill Requirements for IS Professionals in E-learning Skills requirements for information system professionals in the e-learning sector This research project is an investigation into the skills required for Information Systems (IS) professionals working in the commercial e-learning sector. This involved determining the perceived skill requirements for IS professionals, the actual skills held by current employees in this sector, and identifying any skills gaps that existed. The survey obtained information from a representative selection of the IS professional population. The questionnaire sample included IS professionals at all levels and grades of employment and reflected the composition of participating organizations. The table below summarises the objectives of this investigation: Identify the state of the UK IS workforce and the e-learning industry, Investigate the skills required to work as an IS professional in the e-learning industry in Berkshire, Investigate what skills gaps exist and Investigate the possible causes of these skills gaps. The main outcome of the study was a matrix of the skills required that can be used by universities and training organisations to tailor their course content to suit the constantly evolving demands of this industry. To combat the skills gaps that emerged and prevent performance problems arising, a number of recommendations need to be adopted to address the problems discovered: (1) Improve training strategies for IS professionals within the sector, majority of organisations have no set training strategy or budget; this is something that needs to change, (2) Create an annual ‘e-learning skills report’ detailing gaps and shortages, allowing education and industry to understand emerging and established skills needs. It would allow changes in demand and type of skill to be monitored. This would allow organisations to structure their internal training strategies, to eliminate skills gaps and (3) Form direct links between industry and education partners to allow course content t o be improved and improve employment prospects for graduates. The most important action is to integrate education with industry. If courses as specialist as-learning could be developed with an industry partner, the correct content would be guaranteed. 1. Introduction Many organisations have come to realise that certain new technologies can optimise efficiency and make processes more effective. Information and Communication Technology (ICT) can bring industry closer to their customers, partners and suppliers through more integrated business and communication systems, and can provide enhanced educational opportunities. â€Å"There is a well-established relationship between improvements in Information Systems (IS) skills and increased productivity.† (Dress, 2001) The opportunity to gain competitive advantage through technology has consequently contributed to demand for skilled IS professionals outstripping supply. The label used to describe this effect is a ‘skills shortage’. The Computer Services and Software Association estimate that IS skills shortages will cost the UK over  £30 billion over the next three years(e-skills NTO, 2001). There is a growing recognition that the gap in skills for IS professionals is widening. The gap in skills does not only affect the ICT (primary) sector but all other sectors (secondary)which apply information technologies in their production, processes, products or services. The E-revolution of the information industries has created a new labour force, professional IS roles are becoming diversified and a generic IS curriculum will not meet all the needs for all IS jobs in the future. It seems that in any system that has an â€Å"E† placed in front of it; e-learning, e-business, e-commerce, are the development of new skills. Never before have new skills appeared at such a rate. Even if industrial structure is only changing slowly, employers of ‘IS ‘practitioners rarely found it easy to articulate their current and particularly future skill needs very precisely. â€Å"Nearly one third of the IS skills in the market today have only emerged in the last year. Sixty seven of the one hundred and thirty three internet related skills are totally new.† Chris Bennett, MD SAP Australia (Hawking, 2002) New curricula need to be developed which consist-’of separate distinctive concentrations, which target specific roles in the job market. A new stronger relationship needs to be formed between educational institutions and companies; to allow the required skills to be taught and help alleviate the current IS skills shortages. In the rapidly changing field of IS, educational programs must be continually re-evaluated and revised. â€Å"There is presently a gap between what industry wants characteristically in it IS personnel and what academia provides to them.† Gupta and Watcher( 1998) The first step in the curriculum revision process is to conduct a study to determine the expected skills and knowledge required for IS professionals in industry. This will allow academic institutions to create programs that more accurately reflect the demands of the marketplace. At present, there is no identifiable data about the requirements of IS professionals specific to the e-learning sector. This is the gap in knowledge that needs to be investigated. This dissertation has been commissioned to do precisely that; to investigate the skills required for IS professionals working in thee-learning industry. The results can then be used as a foundation for developing a suitable postgraduate course at the University level. The main outcome of the study will be a matrix of the skills required that can be used by universities and training organisations to tailor their course content to suit the constantly evolving demands of this industry. The research carried out in this project can be used by other universities to clarify the skills required for employment in this sector, allowing course content to be tailored to suit the changing demands of industry, and improve the opportunities for students seeking employment upon graduation. 2. Aims Objectives The research will be cantered on the key area of skills gap analysis. This will involve determining the perceived skill requirements for IS professionals and the actual skills held by current employees, then determining the differences. This study aims to obtain information from a representative selection of the IS professional population, and from that sample the researcher will then be able to present the findings as being representative of the population as awhile. The characteristics of the total population will be represented justly in the sample to enable the researcher to say with fair confidence that the sample is reasonably representative. The sample will include IS professionals at all levels and grades of employment and will reflect the composition of participating organisations. The study will allow users to simultaneously score both their own self-assessment of their ability and their perceptions of the levels of skill actually required by their job. The sample population will include organizations in the e-learning sector with a history of close association with Business Link Berkshire and Wiltshire. Summary of Research Objectives †¢ Identify the current state of the UK IS workforce and the e-learning industry †¢ Identify the most important/prevalent issues from the literature †¢ Investigate the skills required to work as an IS professional in the e-learning industry in the Berkshire region †¢ Identify the skill gaps from the perceived and actual skill levels †¢ Discuss the finding and compare against those of relevant previous studies 3. Literature Review The foundation for revision of curriculum process is the review of literature and investigation into the expected industry skills and knowledge for IS professionals. In the introduction chapter an outline of this study was given. This section will focus upon academic literature related to the subject area, which will go onto further support the data already mentioned. As well as academic literature, reports are of particular importance to this dissertation, due to the dynamic nature of the industry, reports are able to offer the very latest up to date information, which may take months to be peer reviewed and published in journals. There are a number of reports, which have been consulted in the preparation of this report that have provided valuable insight into the subject area. In addition the background chapter that follows this contains greater detail into the region and industry trends, separated to avoid over-powering the critical issues highlighted here. 3.1 Background The literature in general Skills Requirements Analysis (SRA) is extensive. Related areas include Training Needs Assessment (TNA) and the broader area of Learning Needs Assessment (LNA). Recent work in the area, such as that by Sine (1998) and earlier, by Kidd (1984) in knowledge acquisition adds to more traditional texts from skills training practitioners including Peterson (1998) and Major (1988). These papers all identify skills training as one of a number of initiatives to solve performance problems in an organisation. Using the performance problems identified, how far the skills identified are present, and how big is the gap between the performance objectives and the performance resulting from actual skills in place. This process is referred to as a skills audit. The skills audit links directly to the research questions in chapter one. A skills assessment or audit has three main objectives: 1. To determine what skills are required by each employee; 2. To determine which of the required skills each employee has; 3. To analyse the results and establish the specific training needs. Authors such as Hamel (1994) openly express the increasing value of employee’s skills, leading to knowledge within an organisation. More recent articles, such as Birch all and Tovstiga (1999) describe how this knowledge manifests itself primarily as organisational competencies and capabilities, leading to that all-important competitive advantage. Onaway to increase a company’s organisational competencies and capabilities in order to gain competitive advantage is through carefully implemented training and development, Schuler (1984).Education and training provision are important strategic practices in the development of organisational competence, but without understanding the precise skills needs first, how can the appropriate training be applied? 3.2 Information System Curriculum There is extensive literature surrounding the area of IS curriculum design. Although this study will not involve any design of curriculum, it is none the less useful to have an understanding of some of the issues that arise in designing IS curriculum; if the findings of this study will be used as a foundation to develop IS curricula. A common theme in the literature is the difficulty in creating curriculum that can fulfil all requirements in an industry that evolves so rapidly. Martinson and Cheung (2001) suggest that recent developments of IS industry jobs and career paths have made understanding the knowledge/skills requirement of an IS professional even more difficult. This is supported by Latham (2000) who explains that the complexity and multi-disciplinarily nature of Information Systems makes identifying a common curriculum both difficult and contentious. Skills requirements will inevitably change over time and it is important to take a strategic view of the needs of industry. There are a number of papers that highlight the differences between industry and academia strategies, and strong suggestions that these need to be merged and greater links formed between the two. Kim, Shim, and Yoon (1999) found that, â€Å"IS organisations perceive managerial and organisational issues as more important than educators†. They also found that educators consider emerging issues more important than industry organisations. Curriculum should be developed working with corporate partners. Similar work of Srinivasan, Duane, and Wright(1999) supports the importance of this idea of improving links between education and industry. In Lightfoot’s (1999) research on IS curriculum design, it was suggested that curriculum needs to be developed to satisfy both the current and future needs of the industry at the sometime. This is impossible without the links mentioned above. 3.3 Information System Skills Although the growing demand for IS professionals is evident, the exact combination of skills required is not. This could be attributed to the scope and divergence of IS roles that are now available. Hedge (now known as Dress) highlighted that â€Å"The fast-moving technological change in 1CT and rapid innovation, mean that it is much more difficult than in the past to determine the type and combination of skills that are needed† (Dee, 1999). While the reported growth of demand for IS workers is very evident, the identification of specific skills required for the variety of positions in Information Systems is not as clear† (Noll and Wilkins 2002).Research by Young and Lee (1997) and Lee, Trough, and Farwell (1995)confirm the increasing importance of these â€Å"soft skills†, which include writing, teamwork, presenting, project management, and interpersonal relationships. E-skills NTO, the industry representative body for IT skills, recently published a comprehensive report detailing the current situation regarding the supply and demand of IT and telecommunication professionals in the United Kingdom. This survey, called e-skills 21(2002) was the most comprehensive study of IT and Telecom Professionalism the UK in history, it included over 4000 interviews with professionals at all levels and across all sectors during 2001. The results of the comprehensive e-skills 21 survey mentioned earlier are characterised into technical and generic skills. More detail into what each compromises of will be given later. Aspects of the e-skills study have been used to develop the research instrument used in this study, to allow the skills gap findings to be directly compared. This E-Skills survey revealed a consensus among the companies that there was no major skill gap among the IS workers. However the one’s that did mention about a gap, pointed out the skills gap related to operating system, application usage and networking skills. It was common opinion among most of the respondents that technology was evolving at a much faster rate than they could grasp. These issues will be looked at during the study. Several studies indicate that verbal skills, work in cross-functional groups and written communications skills were the three most highly rated qualities to seek in staff Gupta and Watcher (1998) This view is supported in a recent report (lackey et al., 2000) quotes one respondent who said that: ‘There is a real lack of people who can combine ICT and business acumen.’ The biggest challenge for technical CT staff is in understanding the dynamics of business; including sales and marketing processes, supply chain processes, and internal processes. They also need to continue to develop and evolve customer facing business systems to enhance and improve the end user experience. CT staff were also identified as a central resource in teaching skills to other areas of the business; consequently communication skills and an understanding of the organisation are essential (E-skills 21, 2001). Another requirements paper by Lewinski (2003) suggests that IS skills can be more effectively developed through on-the-job training. The classification of requirements was not as specific as the other literature mentioned, but similarities can be seen in the results. With regard to technical skills; troubleshooting was required by 97 preceptor respondents, 91 services and facilitation, 82 installation of hardware/software and configuration, and 67 expressed a need for systems operation, monitoring and maintenance. Equal importance was placed upon non-technical skills, including; good communication, analytical/problem solving, flexibility and the ability to learn quickly. The only other study to include both a perceived and actual approach to skills assessment (as this study does) is by Hay (2003). The report by Hay (2003) concludes that there are four skills that are consistently higher than perceived needs of the job; basic computer use, word processing, spread sheet and database use. The areas repeatedly below the required level were presentation and graphics software, and use of a browser. There was also a reported â€Å"clear gap in the market† in the areas of knowledge of operating systems and networking. These skills gaps are readily identifiable by the employees themselves, with over 50% of participants lacking the required skills in at least one area. There are so many papers, with so many different classifications that comparing them directly was extremely difficult in writing this literature review. The common themes that came out were the technical and generic split of skills. There is a need for combination of both sets of skills. The skills gaps appear to be entered on OS and Networking skills on the technical side, and all skills related to the generic side. The only way to breakdown the mixture of skills from various papers to be able to understand and compare in a scientific way is by using an industry standard framework. The chosen framework and a number of other frameworks are described inspection 3.5. 3.4 E-Learning Skills Any employee, in any role, requires some overall, understanding of the business within which they work. Therefore, as this study is of IS professional skills in the e-learning industry each individual employed is required to have some understanding of the basics of teaching, tallow them to function as part of an educational organisation. The skills mentioned in this section will be required, though the depth of pedagogical skills will by dependant on the individual’s role. For example, the pedagogical skills of a training professional should be considerably stronger than that of a programmer. There was surprisingly little literature in the area of IS professionals working in-learning. The most useful research found was by Massy (2000 and2001). Both these studies were critically analysed by the Scottish enterprise research report published on their website. Both the papers suggested that the skills and competencies required by on-line training professionals can be broadly categorised as technical, pedagogical and managerial. Massy (2001) pointed out that there has been a consistent shift from the importance laid on Information Communication Technologies skills requirements with increased efforts now being placed on the acquisition of the above mentioned categories. The SFIA framework appears to cover every aspect of IS skills, the area of education and training was looked at closely being of particular importance to this study, and was found to give enough detail for IS professionals in general. Although more detail was required in the design of the instrument used in this study. â€Å"In line with developments in technology generally, the impact of technology-supported learning (TSL), and in particular e-learning(EL), has given rise to new combinations of skills, featuring how people learn with a sound understanding of the available technology in the design of learning experiences.† (Massy, 2000a cited in SERR, 2005) The first survey by Massy (2000) showed some interesting differences from the follow-up survey (2001). There was a marked change in focus of skills from technical (ICT) to pedagogical skills. The key concern in2000, was that technology had become the central focus for e-learning development, appeared to have been address in the 12 months that passed before the second survey. Greater emphasis was now being placed on the managerial and pedagogical attributes required for producing and presenting e-learning. In the same 12 month period, over 60% of respondents had taken part in some informal training, and a further 30% formal classroom-based learning. The step down in attaining ICT skills was reportedly due to the basic fluency being established and the focus being directed to attaining new skills in e-learning content design. This requires a greater understanding of management and pedagogy. The study by Martin and Jennings (2002) followed the same approach as Massy. In this survey a distinction was made between users and suppliers of e-learning. Unfortunately it is not possible to make that distinction, as more often than not they are the same person. This problem of identifying groups was also expressed in the report, â€Å"Unreality, most user organisations are also providers of e-learning, such as universities.† Suppliers identified an increased interest in gaining in-depth Information Communication skills; others suggesting this were a major problem. Stronger leadership and ‘championing’ of projects is also required. The most important ICT skills identified, with regard to-learning were: To effectively utilise web-page design, including text, audio and video conferencing materials, E-mail, Bulletin boards, Discussion forums for communication with and between learners (SERR,2005). These are relatively common and well-developed skills for IS professionals. Another important issue, which has continued to braised throughout this literature review, is the need for better collaboration between industry (supplier) and academia. To aid this it is also suggested that e-learning needs to be integrated further in to university and college education. 3.5 Information System Frameworks IS management and occupational analysts in different-organisations and countries have tried to distil the structure of the industry, from the constantly evolving picture, so it is understandable that a number of different occupational frameworks have therefore emerged. The most important frameworks to this study are those that have been used for surveys. While there are broad similarities, different surveys, using different frameworks, produce different results, and although they may enrich the overall picture of the industry, they cannot generally be usefully compared. A number of academics have developed their own skills frameworks. Allot these follow the same format of grouping technical and business skills, against various levels of competency. Examples of academic frameworks developed include early research by Ashen Hurst (1972) that identified 37 skills and abilities that a student in a graduate IS program should expect to acquire into six categories: people, models, systems, computers, organizations, and society. Similarly the work of Todd et al. (1995) classified IS knowledge into seven categories: hardware, software, business, management, social, and problem solving, and development methodology. It was also reasoned that interpersonal and managerial skills are more important than any technical skills for IS managers. Nelson (1991) classified 30 skills into six groups: organizational knowledge, organizational skills, organizational unit, general IS knowledge, technical skills, and IS product. This paper found that IS personnel were deficient in general IS knowledge followed by organizational knowledge, technical skills, organizational skills, IS product, and organizational units (in that order). Lee and Gosling (1999) classified three key abilities of IS professionals: ability to learn new technologies, ability to focus on technology as a means (not an end), and ability to understand technological trends into technology management knowledge and other technology-related knowledge into technical specialized knowledge. There port classified non-technology-related knowledge into business functional knowledge, interpersonal and management skills, letting interpersonal and management skills contain some personal traits. Also included was the ability to teach others interpersonal and management skills. It was found that non-technological knowledge is now more important than technical skills. A skills framework gives organisations: A clear, well-structured view of their staffs skills; A tool for more accurate planning and management of resources; A tool for accurate development of careers, so improving retention; A better way of targeting training; A method of risk assessment for the loss of key skills; A tool for accurate and efficient recruitment (Taken From Skills Framework ). In the UK, in June 2001 e-skills NTO published a Skills Framework for the Information Age (SFIA). It provides a common reference model for the identification of the skills needed to develop effective Information Systems making use of Information Communications Technologies. It appeared to be a simple and coherent two-dimensional framework consisting of areas of work on one axis and levels of responsibility on the other (SFIA ). Previously there was no industry benchmark for organisation to measure the skill levels of their organisation. The methodology for this study will be developed to allow the results to be mapped directly onto the framework. Therefore, the findings can be compared to those of previous research carried out by-skills NTO. 3.6 Summary The literature presented has highlighted some important issues, provided grounding for this study and has helped eliminate some of the preconceptions of what was expected. The purpose of identifying skills gaps is to allow the appropriate training to be adopted, therefore eliminating the performance problems that exist. The career paths of the IS industry are no longer straight forward and the complexity and diversity of the sector makes understanding it in a scientific way very difficult. The literature suggests that as the industry is so dynamic, relationships must be improved between education and industry. The problems that exist relate to academic and training practitioners not providing the correct skills in their graduates. Research focused academia tends to provide graduates with the latest emerging technologies, these skills quickly become out-of-date, while the more fundamental technologies appear to be neglected. This is expressed in the views of many industry speakers, it is assumed that an IS professional will be capable of learning new programming languages, once the method of logical thinking has been established. It is more important to develop the established fundamental technologies, and allow the professional to develop the niche skills required as they move into a specialist area, for example e-learning. The technical skills gaps that exist are focused around Microsoft Programs; including Windows/NT, MS Application skills (especially MS Access), and Networking technologies. The generic skills gaps that exist include both written and oral communication, user IT skills, industry awareness, and problem solving. The combinations of these two types of skills gaps are from literature that investigated the whole IS industry. It will be interesting to see how they compare with thee-learning sector, which you would presume at this stage to have stronger focus on generic skills. The literature that was focused one-learning highlighted all forms of communication (e.g. oral, written, and electronic) as the most important generic skills. The most important technical skills required included web related technologies and presentation or audio visual skills. The final area to look into was to see if the focus change from technical to pedagogical was visible in this study. This could not be done in the same way as the literature by repeating the study again after a 12 month period. As different approach the structure of the instrument could be written in way to allow comparisons to be made between importance levels of the three categories of skill. The main reasons cited for skills gaps in the ICT sector are a lack of skills/experience of new technologies and organisations failing to train/develop staff sufficiently to meet their needs. This in turn causes difficulty in introducing technological change. The other effects highlighted include delays in the development of new products/services and difficulties meeting business objectives. Much of the literature suggests the most obvious actions to address the problem of skills gaps would be to provide further training and increase recruitment of direct staff. These can be included in the changing of working practices. The chapter on research methods will explain exactly what instruments are used and the approach taken. The literature was used extensively to create the instruments and followed previous research to allow comparisons of the results to be made. They follow the form set out in this review; combining technical, generic and pedagogical skills. Instruments used in the literature were modified and extended for the purposes of this study. The results chapter also uses some of the literature as a source of ideas for the descriptions and highlighting the most significant findings. This is to allow direct comparison with previous studies. The main gap identified in the literature is with regard to quantifying the pedagogical skills mentioned. In Masons work the skills are mentioned but not in enough detail. In the e-learning industry the pedagogical skills will not match that of a â€Å"normal† teacher or lecturer, as there is not only a significant difference between the methods of teaching and learning, but also in content provision. The student in an e-learning environment is a researcher, which is quite different from classroom based taught learning. There are also further technical skills that are only required in this sector that need to be assessed. This study should provide the reader with an understanding of the requirements of an IS professional working in e-learning and highlight the gaps that currently exist in this sector in Berkshire. It will be of particular benefit to persons working within the industry or closely linked to it. This study can be used as a basis to start an investigation into the requirements of an IS e-learning undergraduate or postgraduate course. 3.7 Research Hypothesis Null Hypothesis is defined as ‘The state opposite to that suggested in a hypothesis, postulated in the hope of rejecting its form and therefore proving the hypothesis.’ Hence the null hypothesis for this research may be stated as H0: â€Å"There is no skills gap among Information system professionals in the e-learning sector.† The following research hypothesis is derived from the literature and will be tested using the primary research conducted by the researcher. H1: â€Å"There exists a skills gap among Information system professional in the e-learning sector† 4. Research Methodology 4.1 Introduction An appropriate research methodology is a general plan of how the researcher will go about answering the research questions considering the sources to collect data and the constraints that one might have(access to data, time, location and money, etc.). It should reflect the fact that the researcher has thought carefully about why a particular strategy/method has been employed. Data intended for almost any study can be obtained from two sources: Primary Data and Secondary Data. This chapter describes the process of method selection and justification for the method chosen. The sample selection method is described and the design of the instrument used is included. There is an introduction into how the results were analysed before the results chapter which holds greater detail. Then there is a short description of how the methods chosen could have been improved or expanded on given greater time or financial resources. 4.2 Choice of Methodology A small-scale research study of this kind can use a survey to obtain large amounts of data in a short space of time. This study has produced a statistical analysis of the skills r Skill Requirements for IS Professionals in E-learning Skill Requirements for IS Professionals in E-learning Skills requirements for information system professionals in the e-learning sector This research project is an investigation into the skills required for Information Systems (IS) professionals working in the commercial e-learning sector. This involved determining the perceived skill requirements for IS professionals, the actual skills held by current employees in this sector, and identifying any skills gaps that existed. The survey obtained information from a representative selection of the IS professional population. The questionnaire sample included IS professionals at all levels and grades of employment and reflected the composition of participating organizations. The table below summarises the objectives of this investigation: Identify the state of the UK IS workforce and the e-learning industry, Investigate the skills required to work as an IS professional in the e-learning industry in Berkshire, Investigate what skills gaps exist and Investigate the possible causes of these skills gaps. The main outcome of the study was a matrix of the skills required that can be used by universities and training organisations to tailor their course content to suit the constantly evolving demands of this industry. To combat the skills gaps that emerged and prevent performance problems arising, a number of recommendations need to be adopted to address the problems discovered: (1) Improve training strategies for IS professionals within the sector, majority of organisations have no set training strategy or budget; this is something that needs to change, (2) Create an annual ‘e-learning skills report’ detailing gaps and shortages, allowing education and industry to understand emerging and established skills needs. It would allow changes in demand and type of skill to be monitored. This would allow organisations to structure their internal training strategies, to eliminate skills gaps and (3) Form direct links between industry and education partners to allow course content t o be improved and improve employment prospects for graduates. The most important action is to integrate education with industry. If courses as specialist as-learning could be developed with an industry partner, the correct content would be guaranteed. 1. Introduction Many organisations have come to realise that certain new technologies can optimise efficiency and make processes more effective. Information and Communication Technology (ICT) can bring industry closer to their customers, partners and suppliers through more integrated business and communication systems, and can provide enhanced educational opportunities. â€Å"There is a well-established relationship between improvements in Information Systems (IS) skills and increased productivity.† (Dress, 2001) The opportunity to gain competitive advantage through technology has consequently contributed to demand for skilled IS professionals outstripping supply. The label used to describe this effect is a ‘skills shortage’. The Computer Services and Software Association estimate that IS skills shortages will cost the UK over  £30 billion over the next three years(e-skills NTO, 2001). There is a growing recognition that the gap in skills for IS professionals is widening. The gap in skills does not only affect the ICT (primary) sector but all other sectors (secondary)which apply information technologies in their production, processes, products or services. The E-revolution of the information industries has created a new labour force, professional IS roles are becoming diversified and a generic IS curriculum will not meet all the needs for all IS jobs in the future. It seems that in any system that has an â€Å"E† placed in front of it; e-learning, e-business, e-commerce, are the development of new skills. Never before have new skills appeared at such a rate. Even if industrial structure is only changing slowly, employers of ‘IS ‘practitioners rarely found it easy to articulate their current and particularly future skill needs very precisely. â€Å"Nearly one third of the IS skills in the market today have only emerged in the last year. Sixty seven of the one hundred and thirty three internet related skills are totally new.† Chris Bennett, MD SAP Australia (Hawking, 2002) New curricula need to be developed which consist-’of separate distinctive concentrations, which target specific roles in the job market. A new stronger relationship needs to be formed between educational institutions and companies; to allow the required skills to be taught and help alleviate the current IS skills shortages. In the rapidly changing field of IS, educational programs must be continually re-evaluated and revised. â€Å"There is presently a gap between what industry wants characteristically in it IS personnel and what academia provides to them.† Gupta and Watcher( 1998) The first step in the curriculum revision process is to conduct a study to determine the expected skills and knowledge required for IS professionals in industry. This will allow academic institutions to create programs that more accurately reflect the demands of the marketplace. At present, there is no identifiable data about the requirements of IS professionals specific to the e-learning sector. This is the gap in knowledge that needs to be investigated. This dissertation has been commissioned to do precisely that; to investigate the skills required for IS professionals working in thee-learning industry. The results can then be used as a foundation for developing a suitable postgraduate course at the University level. The main outcome of the study will be a matrix of the skills required that can be used by universities and training organisations to tailor their course content to suit the constantly evolving demands of this industry. The research carried out in this project can be used by other universities to clarify the skills required for employment in this sector, allowing course content to be tailored to suit the changing demands of industry, and improve the opportunities for students seeking employment upon graduation. 2. Aims Objectives The research will be cantered on the key area of skills gap analysis. This will involve determining the perceived skill requirements for IS professionals and the actual skills held by current employees, then determining the differences. This study aims to obtain information from a representative selection of the IS professional population, and from that sample the researcher will then be able to present the findings as being representative of the population as awhile. The characteristics of the total population will be represented justly in the sample to enable the researcher to say with fair confidence that the sample is reasonably representative. The sample will include IS professionals at all levels and grades of employment and will reflect the composition of participating organisations. The study will allow users to simultaneously score both their own self-assessment of their ability and their perceptions of the levels of skill actually required by their job. The sample population will include organizations in the e-learning sector with a history of close association with Business Link Berkshire and Wiltshire. Summary of Research Objectives †¢ Identify the current state of the UK IS workforce and the e-learning industry †¢ Identify the most important/prevalent issues from the literature †¢ Investigate the skills required to work as an IS professional in the e-learning industry in the Berkshire region †¢ Identify the skill gaps from the perceived and actual skill levels †¢ Discuss the finding and compare against those of relevant previous studies 3. Literature Review The foundation for revision of curriculum process is the review of literature and investigation into the expected industry skills and knowledge for IS professionals. In the introduction chapter an outline of this study was given. This section will focus upon academic literature related to the subject area, which will go onto further support the data already mentioned. As well as academic literature, reports are of particular importance to this dissertation, due to the dynamic nature of the industry, reports are able to offer the very latest up to date information, which may take months to be peer reviewed and published in journals. There are a number of reports, which have been consulted in the preparation of this report that have provided valuable insight into the subject area. In addition the background chapter that follows this contains greater detail into the region and industry trends, separated to avoid over-powering the critical issues highlighted here. 3.1 Background The literature in general Skills Requirements Analysis (SRA) is extensive. Related areas include Training Needs Assessment (TNA) and the broader area of Learning Needs Assessment (LNA). Recent work in the area, such as that by Sine (1998) and earlier, by Kidd (1984) in knowledge acquisition adds to more traditional texts from skills training practitioners including Peterson (1998) and Major (1988). These papers all identify skills training as one of a number of initiatives to solve performance problems in an organisation. Using the performance problems identified, how far the skills identified are present, and how big is the gap between the performance objectives and the performance resulting from actual skills in place. This process is referred to as a skills audit. The skills audit links directly to the research questions in chapter one. A skills assessment or audit has three main objectives: 1. To determine what skills are required by each employee; 2. To determine which of the required skills each employee has; 3. To analyse the results and establish the specific training needs. Authors such as Hamel (1994) openly express the increasing value of employee’s skills, leading to knowledge within an organisation. More recent articles, such as Birch all and Tovstiga (1999) describe how this knowledge manifests itself primarily as organisational competencies and capabilities, leading to that all-important competitive advantage. Onaway to increase a company’s organisational competencies and capabilities in order to gain competitive advantage is through carefully implemented training and development, Schuler (1984).Education and training provision are important strategic practices in the development of organisational competence, but without understanding the precise skills needs first, how can the appropriate training be applied? 3.2 Information System Curriculum There is extensive literature surrounding the area of IS curriculum design. Although this study will not involve any design of curriculum, it is none the less useful to have an understanding of some of the issues that arise in designing IS curriculum; if the findings of this study will be used as a foundation to develop IS curricula. A common theme in the literature is the difficulty in creating curriculum that can fulfil all requirements in an industry that evolves so rapidly. Martinson and Cheung (2001) suggest that recent developments of IS industry jobs and career paths have made understanding the knowledge/skills requirement of an IS professional even more difficult. This is supported by Latham (2000) who explains that the complexity and multi-disciplinarily nature of Information Systems makes identifying a common curriculum both difficult and contentious. Skills requirements will inevitably change over time and it is important to take a strategic view of the needs of industry. There are a number of papers that highlight the differences between industry and academia strategies, and strong suggestions that these need to be merged and greater links formed between the two. Kim, Shim, and Yoon (1999) found that, â€Å"IS organisations perceive managerial and organisational issues as more important than educators†. They also found that educators consider emerging issues more important than industry organisations. Curriculum should be developed working with corporate partners. Similar work of Srinivasan, Duane, and Wright(1999) supports the importance of this idea of improving links between education and industry. In Lightfoot’s (1999) research on IS curriculum design, it was suggested that curriculum needs to be developed to satisfy both the current and future needs of the industry at the sometime. This is impossible without the links mentioned above. 3.3 Information System Skills Although the growing demand for IS professionals is evident, the exact combination of skills required is not. This could be attributed to the scope and divergence of IS roles that are now available. Hedge (now known as Dress) highlighted that â€Å"The fast-moving technological change in 1CT and rapid innovation, mean that it is much more difficult than in the past to determine the type and combination of skills that are needed† (Dee, 1999). While the reported growth of demand for IS workers is very evident, the identification of specific skills required for the variety of positions in Information Systems is not as clear† (Noll and Wilkins 2002).Research by Young and Lee (1997) and Lee, Trough, and Farwell (1995)confirm the increasing importance of these â€Å"soft skills†, which include writing, teamwork, presenting, project management, and interpersonal relationships. E-skills NTO, the industry representative body for IT skills, recently published a comprehensive report detailing the current situation regarding the supply and demand of IT and telecommunication professionals in the United Kingdom. This survey, called e-skills 21(2002) was the most comprehensive study of IT and Telecom Professionalism the UK in history, it included over 4000 interviews with professionals at all levels and across all sectors during 2001. The results of the comprehensive e-skills 21 survey mentioned earlier are characterised into technical and generic skills. More detail into what each compromises of will be given later. Aspects of the e-skills study have been used to develop the research instrument used in this study, to allow the skills gap findings to be directly compared. This E-Skills survey revealed a consensus among the companies that there was no major skill gap among the IS workers. However the one’s that did mention about a gap, pointed out the skills gap related to operating system, application usage and networking skills. It was common opinion among most of the respondents that technology was evolving at a much faster rate than they could grasp. These issues will be looked at during the study. Several studies indicate that verbal skills, work in cross-functional groups and written communications skills were the three most highly rated qualities to seek in staff Gupta and Watcher (1998) This view is supported in a recent report (lackey et al., 2000) quotes one respondent who said that: ‘There is a real lack of people who can combine ICT and business acumen.’ The biggest challenge for technical CT staff is in understanding the dynamics of business; including sales and marketing processes, supply chain processes, and internal processes. They also need to continue to develop and evolve customer facing business systems to enhance and improve the end user experience. CT staff were also identified as a central resource in teaching skills to other areas of the business; consequently communication skills and an understanding of the organisation are essential (E-skills 21, 2001). Another requirements paper by Lewinski (2003) suggests that IS skills can be more effectively developed through on-the-job training. The classification of requirements was not as specific as the other literature mentioned, but similarities can be seen in the results. With regard to technical skills; troubleshooting was required by 97 preceptor respondents, 91 services and facilitation, 82 installation of hardware/software and configuration, and 67 expressed a need for systems operation, monitoring and maintenance. Equal importance was placed upon non-technical skills, including; good communication, analytical/problem solving, flexibility and the ability to learn quickly. The only other study to include both a perceived and actual approach to skills assessment (as this study does) is by Hay (2003). The report by Hay (2003) concludes that there are four skills that are consistently higher than perceived needs of the job; basic computer use, word processing, spread sheet and database use. The areas repeatedly below the required level were presentation and graphics software, and use of a browser. There was also a reported â€Å"clear gap in the market† in the areas of knowledge of operating systems and networking. These skills gaps are readily identifiable by the employees themselves, with over 50% of participants lacking the required skills in at least one area. There are so many papers, with so many different classifications that comparing them directly was extremely difficult in writing this literature review. The common themes that came out were the technical and generic split of skills. There is a need for combination of both sets of skills. The skills gaps appear to be entered on OS and Networking skills on the technical side, and all skills related to the generic side. The only way to breakdown the mixture of skills from various papers to be able to understand and compare in a scientific way is by using an industry standard framework. The chosen framework and a number of other frameworks are described inspection 3.5. 3.4 E-Learning Skills Any employee, in any role, requires some overall, understanding of the business within which they work. Therefore, as this study is of IS professional skills in the e-learning industry each individual employed is required to have some understanding of the basics of teaching, tallow them to function as part of an educational organisation. The skills mentioned in this section will be required, though the depth of pedagogical skills will by dependant on the individual’s role. For example, the pedagogical skills of a training professional should be considerably stronger than that of a programmer. There was surprisingly little literature in the area of IS professionals working in-learning. The most useful research found was by Massy (2000 and2001). Both these studies were critically analysed by the Scottish enterprise research report published on their website. Both the papers suggested that the skills and competencies required by on-line training professionals can be broadly categorised as technical, pedagogical and managerial. Massy (2001) pointed out that there has been a consistent shift from the importance laid on Information Communication Technologies skills requirements with increased efforts now being placed on the acquisition of the above mentioned categories. The SFIA framework appears to cover every aspect of IS skills, the area of education and training was looked at closely being of particular importance to this study, and was found to give enough detail for IS professionals in general. Although more detail was required in the design of the instrument used in this study. â€Å"In line with developments in technology generally, the impact of technology-supported learning (TSL), and in particular e-learning(EL), has given rise to new combinations of skills, featuring how people learn with a sound understanding of the available technology in the design of learning experiences.† (Massy, 2000a cited in SERR, 2005) The first survey by Massy (2000) showed some interesting differences from the follow-up survey (2001). There was a marked change in focus of skills from technical (ICT) to pedagogical skills. The key concern in2000, was that technology had become the central focus for e-learning development, appeared to have been address in the 12 months that passed before the second survey. Greater emphasis was now being placed on the managerial and pedagogical attributes required for producing and presenting e-learning. In the same 12 month period, over 60% of respondents had taken part in some informal training, and a further 30% formal classroom-based learning. The step down in attaining ICT skills was reportedly due to the basic fluency being established and the focus being directed to attaining new skills in e-learning content design. This requires a greater understanding of management and pedagogy. The study by Martin and Jennings (2002) followed the same approach as Massy. In this survey a distinction was made between users and suppliers of e-learning. Unfortunately it is not possible to make that distinction, as more often than not they are the same person. This problem of identifying groups was also expressed in the report, â€Å"Unreality, most user organisations are also providers of e-learning, such as universities.† Suppliers identified an increased interest in gaining in-depth Information Communication skills; others suggesting this were a major problem. Stronger leadership and ‘championing’ of projects is also required. The most important ICT skills identified, with regard to-learning were: To effectively utilise web-page design, including text, audio and video conferencing materials, E-mail, Bulletin boards, Discussion forums for communication with and between learners (SERR,2005). These are relatively common and well-developed skills for IS professionals. Another important issue, which has continued to braised throughout this literature review, is the need for better collaboration between industry (supplier) and academia. To aid this it is also suggested that e-learning needs to be integrated further in to university and college education. 3.5 Information System Frameworks IS management and occupational analysts in different-organisations and countries have tried to distil the structure of the industry, from the constantly evolving picture, so it is understandable that a number of different occupational frameworks have therefore emerged. The most important frameworks to this study are those that have been used for surveys. While there are broad similarities, different surveys, using different frameworks, produce different results, and although they may enrich the overall picture of the industry, they cannot generally be usefully compared. A number of academics have developed their own skills frameworks. Allot these follow the same format of grouping technical and business skills, against various levels of competency. Examples of academic frameworks developed include early research by Ashen Hurst (1972) that identified 37 skills and abilities that a student in a graduate IS program should expect to acquire into six categories: people, models, systems, computers, organizations, and society. Similarly the work of Todd et al. (1995) classified IS knowledge into seven categories: hardware, software, business, management, social, and problem solving, and development methodology. It was also reasoned that interpersonal and managerial skills are more important than any technical skills for IS managers. Nelson (1991) classified 30 skills into six groups: organizational knowledge, organizational skills, organizational unit, general IS knowledge, technical skills, and IS product. This paper found that IS personnel were deficient in general IS knowledge followed by organizational knowledge, technical skills, organizational skills, IS product, and organizational units (in that order). Lee and Gosling (1999) classified three key abilities of IS professionals: ability to learn new technologies, ability to focus on technology as a means (not an end), and ability to understand technological trends into technology management knowledge and other technology-related knowledge into technical specialized knowledge. There port classified non-technology-related knowledge into business functional knowledge, interpersonal and management skills, letting interpersonal and management skills contain some personal traits. Also included was the ability to teach others interpersonal and management skills. It was found that non-technological knowledge is now more important than technical skills. A skills framework gives organisations: A clear, well-structured view of their staffs skills; A tool for more accurate planning and management of resources; A tool for accurate development of careers, so improving retention; A better way of targeting training; A method of risk assessment for the loss of key skills; A tool for accurate and efficient recruitment (Taken From Skills Framework ). In the UK, in June 2001 e-skills NTO published a Skills Framework for the Information Age (SFIA). It provides a common reference model for the identification of the skills needed to develop effective Information Systems making use of Information Communications Technologies. It appeared to be a simple and coherent two-dimensional framework consisting of areas of work on one axis and levels of responsibility on the other (SFIA ). Previously there was no industry benchmark for organisation to measure the skill levels of their organisation. The methodology for this study will be developed to allow the results to be mapped directly onto the framework. Therefore, the findings can be compared to those of previous research carried out by-skills NTO. 3.6 Summary The literature presented has highlighted some important issues, provided grounding for this study and has helped eliminate some of the preconceptions of what was expected. The purpose of identifying skills gaps is to allow the appropriate training to be adopted, therefore eliminating the performance problems that exist. The career paths of the IS industry are no longer straight forward and the complexity and diversity of the sector makes understanding it in a scientific way very difficult. The literature suggests that as the industry is so dynamic, relationships must be improved between education and industry. The problems that exist relate to academic and training practitioners not providing the correct skills in their graduates. Research focused academia tends to provide graduates with the latest emerging technologies, these skills quickly become out-of-date, while the more fundamental technologies appear to be neglected. This is expressed in the views of many industry speakers, it is assumed that an IS professional will be capable of learning new programming languages, once the method of logical thinking has been established. It is more important to develop the established fundamental technologies, and allow the professional to develop the niche skills required as they move into a specialist area, for example e-learning. The technical skills gaps that exist are focused around Microsoft Programs; including Windows/NT, MS Application skills (especially MS Access), and Networking technologies. The generic skills gaps that exist include both written and oral communication, user IT skills, industry awareness, and problem solving. The combinations of these two types of skills gaps are from literature that investigated the whole IS industry. It will be interesting to see how they compare with thee-learning sector, which you would presume at this stage to have stronger focus on generic skills. The literature that was focused one-learning highlighted all forms of communication (e.g. oral, written, and electronic) as the most important generic skills. The most important technical skills required included web related technologies and presentation or audio visual skills. The final area to look into was to see if the focus change from technical to pedagogical was visible in this study. This could not be done in the same way as the literature by repeating the study again after a 12 month period. As different approach the structure of the instrument could be written in way to allow comparisons to be made between importance levels of the three categories of skill. The main reasons cited for skills gaps in the ICT sector are a lack of skills/experience of new technologies and organisations failing to train/develop staff sufficiently to meet their needs. This in turn causes difficulty in introducing technological change. The other effects highlighted include delays in the development of new products/services and difficulties meeting business objectives. Much of the literature suggests the most obvious actions to address the problem of skills gaps would be to provide further training and increase recruitment of direct staff. These can be included in the changing of working practices. The chapter on research methods will explain exactly what instruments are used and the approach taken. The literature was used extensively to create the instruments and followed previous research to allow comparisons of the results to be made. They follow the form set out in this review; combining technical, generic and pedagogical skills. Instruments used in the literature were modified and extended for the purposes of this study. The results chapter also uses some of the literature as a source of ideas for the descriptions and highlighting the most significant findings. This is to allow direct comparison with previous studies. The main gap identified in the literature is with regard to quantifying the pedagogical skills mentioned. In Masons work the skills are mentioned but not in enough detail. In the e-learning industry the pedagogical skills will not match that of a â€Å"normal† teacher or lecturer, as there is not only a significant difference between the methods of teaching and learning, but also in content provision. The student in an e-learning environment is a researcher, which is quite different from classroom based taught learning. There are also further technical skills that are only required in this sector that need to be assessed. This study should provide the reader with an understanding of the requirements of an IS professional working in e-learning and highlight the gaps that currently exist in this sector in Berkshire. It will be of particular benefit to persons working within the industry or closely linked to it. This study can be used as a basis to start an investigation into the requirements of an IS e-learning undergraduate or postgraduate course. 3.7 Research Hypothesis Null Hypothesis is defined as ‘The state opposite to that suggested in a hypothesis, postulated in the hope of rejecting its form and therefore proving the hypothesis.’ Hence the null hypothesis for this research may be stated as H0: â€Å"There is no skills gap among Information system professionals in the e-learning sector.† The following research hypothesis is derived from the literature and will be tested using the primary research conducted by the researcher. H1: â€Å"There exists a skills gap among Information system professional in the e-learning sector† 4. Research Methodology 4.1 Introduction An appropriate research methodology is a general plan of how the researcher will go about answering the research questions considering the sources to collect data and the constraints that one might have(access to data, time, location and money, etc.). It should reflect the fact that the researcher has thought carefully about why a particular strategy/method has been employed. Data intended for almost any study can be obtained from two sources: Primary Data and Secondary Data. This chapter describes the process of method selection and justification for the method chosen. The sample selection method is described and the design of the instrument used is included. There is an introduction into how the results were analysed before the results chapter which holds greater detail. Then there is a short description of how the methods chosen could have been improved or expanded on given greater time or financial resources. 4.2 Choice of Methodology A small-scale research study of this kind can use a survey to obtain large amounts of data in a short space of time. This study has produced a statistical analysis of the skills r