Negotiation Post 1 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Negotiation Post 1 - Essay Example This meant that these applications had to be keenly scrutinized so as to ensure that credit facilities were only offered to those individuals with the capability of repaying the loan offered to them. During the course of my duties as a bank sales executive, I quickly learnt that the majority of our customers borrowed long term loans due to the prevailing financial downturn. Therefore, given the bigger size of long term loans compared to short term loans, I had to be extra careful as to which customers to extend the credit and who no to. This entailed observing the credit worthiness of the customers against their information in the credit bureaus as well as ensuring that they had the ability to repay the loans, given their current state of finances. The most difficult part of it all was to negotiate the terms of the loans with the customers and also attaching an asset that would act as security over the duration of the loan. Due to the economic meltdown, most financial institutions ha d increased the lending interest rates due to the increased demand for credit in the market. Consequently, with the increase in the total cost of borrowing, borrowers found the interest rates to be too high such that most negotiations conducted stalled. In order to not lose business for the bank, I had to find innovative ways of negotiating with the customers in such a way that the bank did not lose on interest but at the same time the customers felt that they had agreed on a good deal. Therefore, during negotiations I often offered customers longer periods of paying back the loans but on the other hand maintaining the interest levels as much as possible. During the economic meltdown period, banks were being faced with huge default rate levels since most borrowers were unable to pay back their loans. Therefore it was made essential to me that all the customers seeking credit had to be vetted and adequate security obtained on the loans they borrowed. I issued credit to only those cus tomers who had assets that were correctly valued to mirror the value of their loans. Although a daunting task at first since customers found ways of putting up undervalued assets, I later found it imperative to ensure that all assets had to be valued by a professional valuer at first before credit was extended to the customer. By so doing, the customers came to me only with certified copies of the valuer’s report showing the correct value of the asset vis-a-vis the loaned amount. This experience of negotiating with bank customers came to my mind while reading Stuart Diamond’s Getting More in relation to what he terms as â€Å"getting to know what you are getting into†. Negotiation Post 2 Stuart Diamond reiterates the importance of valuing the other party as well as developing trust in Getting More. This got me thinking of an incidence that happened over five years ago when I was volunteering in an orphanage in my hometown. This orphanage gave orphaned, abandoned and other underprivileged children a place to call home. It had touched my heart since I first set foot and had vowed that I will do my best to contribute to its endeavors in any little way that I could. At the orphanage, there was a young man called Andrew who always came during the weekends to volunteer. I later came to know that he was once in the orphanage when he was 5 years old when his single mother could not afford his upkeep and gave him away to the orphanage. After a few

Usability Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Usability - Essay Example This will test whether the audience really comprehends the key steps of limestone cave formations in this national park. Also, experts in display designing can view the display and make an audit as to whether the display complies with the market demand. In this case, the display is intended to attract tourists to the said caves. It should therefore be intriguing, interesting and detailed. The perfect usability test of designing and utilizing a patio, the leads or (instructions) should be precise, brief and straightforward so that the homeowners can comprehend and handle the tasks themselves with ease. The instructions should expound on how concrete slabs or tiles are blended to come up with a smooth courtyard. It should also incorporate aesthetic beauty which will encourage the users to construct more patios. The instructions should be captivating and legible. In this case, manuals containing the instructions can be submitted to the owners then after they read through, they can be assessed as to whether they understood them by having them describe the steps they can as well be asked to design the patio without referring to the

What factors account for the current level of public indebtedness in Essay

What factors account for the current level of public indebtedness in the UK and what economic and fiscal measures can the UK Government use to reduce that level of debt in the next 5 years - Essay Example Even in the countries with no major affected of the financial crisis, the national debt rose approximately 20% in 2007 to 2009. United Kingdom is one of the five countries with systaltic financial crisis. In these countries the national debt is approximately 75%. Like the rest of the world, UK is greatly affected by the financial crisis that led to an increased budget deficit and public debt. The situation was alarming as the public sector total debt was  £1, 231 .7 billion by the end of November 2013, equal to 76.6% of GDP (ONS public sector finances, 2013). During the global financial crisis from mid 1990s, public sector debt fell to 29% of GDP. UK national debt witnessed an increase of 37% of the GDP from 2002 – 2007. Even during the long period of expansion the public debt in the country kept on increasing. The main reason for this was considered to be the countries increased spending on health and education (ONS public sector finances, 2013). Not only that the spending on social security was raised as well (Ecomincs Help, 2013). In UK the other reason behind the sharp increase in public debt are: The rescission 2008-2013 particularly affected the housing industry resulting the falling of house prices, low taxes and unemployment. The country has seen a sharp decline in the income tax receipt and corporation tax. These factors later exposed the structural deficit. Many financial institutions bailed out that included Northern Rock, RBS, Lloyds and other banks. Debt is considered to be a two edged sward. It is its use and application that can minimize its adverse effect. If utilized wisely it can no doubt be a support in the rough times, but if not it can result in a disaster. Still the importance of borrowing cannot be ignored in the present times. The role of borrowing at the public level has gained importance after the great recession and the public borrowing globally has increased

Muslims Consider Prophet Muhammad a Religious and Political Role Model Essay

Muslims Consider Prophet Muhammad a Religious and Political Role Model - Essay Example n-Arab, nor does a non-Arab have any superiority over an Arab; also a white has no superiority over a black, nor does a black have any superiority over a white except by piety and good action.† The Prophet of Allah was able to establish laws that protected animals, trees and environment. On the other hand, he encouraged trade and ethical investments and secured the workers’ rights. This is why we take Muhammad as our religious role model. With regard to politics, Prophet Muhammad is regarded as a role model because of various reasons. One of the reasons is that he married numerous wives on the basis of humanitarian reasons. Prophet Muhammad is well known for the Jihad which translates to struggle in the way of Allah. The Prophet of Allah believes that we as Muslims should struggle in the ways of Allah both within ourselves and externally. The prophet of God is against anyone who stands against Islam and therefore those opposing the struggle for Allah and oppressing Islam should be persecuted. As Muslims we regard this as holy war. This is also another reason why we take Muhammad as our political role model. He convinced people to leave alcohol, prostitution, crime, drugs and He promoted healthy living (Patricia Crone Pg

Search and seizure Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Search and seizure - Essay Example Thus being free has its boundaries, boundaries that end when it crosses upon the right of another. The law makes it sure that everything in the social arena is kept into place and no person is below or above the system. Hundreds of laws, act, proclamation and amendments were made and approved by man in ill parts of the world so that every citizen must have something to abide by and keep them from the boundaries of crossing over the border of their freedom. With all these laws made and passed; reviews, controversies and intellectual battles took over and continuously takes over to assess and reassess the efficacy, efficiency and necessity of such law. One of the most controversial and argumentative laws ever made is the law of search and seizure. This paper is to state clearly an argument on whether search and seizure and racial profiling should be banned more than accepted in the United States. This paper will discuss briefly and will point out arguments based in the author’s full understanding of the provision of this law. Over the past years the conflicts on power and authority has been a controversy especially with incidences of abuses with the use of authority, most common example are the policemen and other law enforcing authority, in implementing order in the land. Incidences like police brutality, unauthorized search and arrest, illegal collection of evidences and planted evidences to frame up some innocent are just some of the negative feedbacks the society has over the authorities. These feedbacks can also be deemed as the reasons why an argument is posed over the law on search and seizure implementation over United States of America. On whether it is efficient, beneficial and lawful to implement just the way it was planned for or is it unnecessary, unjust and should be stopped and banned. Although it has been made to check on these irregularities on authority misconduct still some flaws have questioned its validity as a law that some people are asking to nullify it. Before going to the issues of why or why not the law on search and seizure should be banned in America, it is proper to discuss on some key notes of the said law. Moreover, search is defined in the provision of the fourth amendment as, looking for evidence or a person involved in a crime by a law enforcement officer in a place where they have a reasonable expectation of privacy while seizure is defined as taking possession of a person or object by a law enforcement officer or agent (Department of Public Safety Law enforcement Academy 2012). Search and seizure is a controversial term of legality. Going through its definition, it implies lawful examination of a person’s property and things by a law enforcement officer although it does not imply specific circumstances but rather connotes that every law enforcer has the authority to go over a person’s things without any chance of refusal because it is what the law states. And provided that something that can be regarded as evidence is seen, the authority as well has the right to seize it for legal prosecution (Department of Public Safety Law enforcement Academy 2012). The conceptual framework of search and seizure is based on good will that is to allow lawful hunt of law breakers by seeking evidences that can be available to prove that these people

Sample Research Paper Essay Example for Free

Sample Research Paper Essay The world is moving on. Everything has changed and will still continue to change. One of the major contributors of these changes is the unending discovery of new advances such as tools and information technologies worldwide, from conventional Information System (IS) to computer-based IS, even become web-based IS. These advancements have been widely absorbed to improve efficiency of the organization’s operation and effectiveness in providing service to its employees and customers for them to survive in the realm of business world. Organizations such as universities have increasingly adopted advanced technologies to automate their information systems. It includes tools that are used to create, retrieve, store, change and transmit information. Online services have been offered by universities to provide information and applications for various stakeholders such as students, parents, benefactors and school personnel in timely manner and with greater ease (Lee Kim, 2010). The Southern Leyte State University- San Juan spent considerable resources and efforts in applying computer-based information system in some transactions in school. The university has a computer-based system for accounting, enrolment and grading. Students, parents and benefactors ask for grades, schedule, statement of 2 account and other relevant information. Though the computerization automates the abovementioned processes but some of the students claimed that sometimes the releasing of requested information took hours or even days for some operations like retrieval of data since it is still done semi-automatically or manually. Aside from that, the university also collects a processing fee for grade inquiry. Truly, indeed, there is a call for improving student’s information system such as in students academic performance monitoring and billing system to satisfy the information needs of the clients. One of the responsibilities of the university is to inform the parents and/or sponsors about the academic performance of the students and it is usually done by sending grades through the post office. The problem is some of the parents and/or sponsors will not be able to receive the grades in timely manner or will never reach their hands. For any reason and maybe to facilitate decision making purposes, some of the parents and/or sponsors will personally visit the University Registrar to follow up the student’s performance. Undeniably, it is a burden to the parents to do such. That is why it is necessary for the university to find ways to aid the personnel in the Registrar’s Office in handling the student’s permanent record and to deliver accurate data pertinent to some clients. The academic performance of the university scholars has been also monitored by the school. The scholar’s grade is evaluated manually by the Guidance Counselor every semester if it still meets the qualification standards. Also, reports are to be generated for recognized private sponsors and for institutional purposes. During evaluation, the Guidance Counselor will require the scholars to submit their grades and so the students will also collect their grades from their instructors or at the registrar’s office. The thought of accessing data directly from the centralized database will speed up the evaluation process. The plus factor for university’s financial growth is how committed the sponsor an d the parents pay the fees of the students. But in the present situation, paying bills on time can never be realized for the university fails to issue statement of account to the students every after payment is made. As a result, parents or sponsors are not updated of their dues and no assurance that the students pay the fees religiously. Though the students are required to pay before midterm and final, the parents or sponsors have no idea how much are they going to pay for each term. As part of the university, it is the earnest desire of the researcher to contribute something to address the problems encountered by the clients of the university with regard to academic performance monitoring and generating of an updated statement of account. Since the problem concerns the delivery of information such as updated report of grades and billing statements to the parents and/or sponsor of the students in the university, the researcher found it helpful to have a Web-based Student Information System. The availability of Internet Service Providers such as Smart and Globe Broadband in Southern Leyte will make the designed system more accessible to the clients especially those students who are from other towns which constitute 66 percent of the total population at SLSU-San Juan. Aside from that, it will give the university personnel-in-charge in Grading, Scholarship, and Billing the capability to organize and present student information that suit the specific needs of the clients. Theoretical Background This study is based on the theory of Shelly et al (2005) which states that webbased systems are popular because they offer ease of access, cost effectiveness and worldwide connectivity, all of which are vital to companies that must compete in a global economy. Both personal and organizational processes influence a culture of innovation. In a culture of innovation, people will have a habit of constantly looking for ways to improve things (Denning, 2004). Continuous search for innovative ways has been made to cater the need of the people to access and share information resources worldwide. As what Newell and Turner (2006) said, Innovation means change: sometimes radical change and sometimes incremental change. This incremental change refers to the movement of change from traditional IS to computer-based IS and even now to the recent trend which is the web-based IS that runs through an internet technology. The explosive growth of the Internet is making available radical new means of communication that affect such diverse areas as business, entertainment and education. Network technology supports distributed systems and until today, the most popular system that is currently being used to make such systems possible is the World Wide Web and they even claim that this web technology is â€Å"fundamentally a new medium of human communications† (cited in Carstensen Vogelsang, 2001). True enough that in areas of education, Internet offers a medium that has the potential to be more responsive to students, to encourage greater participation in their own learning, and to give greater access to different sources of information than what traditional methods can offer (Brooks, 1997). The anchor theory is also supported by Young (1999) who argue that the Internet is the most cost-efficient medium for business-to-consumer dealings (cited in Voiculescu, 2005). Beller and Or (2003) also added that the decreasing costs of internet services, coupled with availability and convenience are likely to accelerate adoption of internet-based technologies. According to Shelly et al. (2005), Internet is a worldwide network that integrates many thousands of other networks, which in turn link millions of government, business, educational and personal users around the globe. Levine (2003) also added that internet technologies can reduce the time burden and provide easy-to-use and helpful information to the end user. These features of internet technology are vital to any organization for them to be globally competitive. Chae and Poole (cited in Brown Cooke, 2005) discussed that requirements and accountability have become more stringent and require better reporting for higher education. Additionally, mechanisms for evaluation and reporting have a growing role in university management. Traditionally, information sharing among university members has relied on a range of printed materials. Computer technology created opportunities on university campuses for sharing data and information among the staff and the students, and has been deployed since the late fifties (cited in Semiawan and Middleton, 1999). These information systems range from library systems, registration systems and financial systems, to campus-housing systems and other university service systems. Student Information System incurs such application software designed for educational establishments to manage student data. It is an application that keeps track of student records such as name, address, teacher, classes, grades and other pertinent information. Once the information is inputted into the database, it will provide the ability to quickly get information related to a particular student and print out their vital records (Freewareseek, 2009). As cited in Ngoma (2009), Barrett also encapsulates the essence of a student management information system (SMIS). He defines SMIS as â€Å"an integrated software package that maintains, supports, and provides inquiry, analysis, and communication tools that organize student accountability data into information to support the educational process†. From this so called student information system (SIS), the idea of developing a student information system specifically in academic performance monitoring and generating of statement of account for SLSU- San Juan was conceived. Student Information System development moved from mainframes to a network or workstation environment and the tools has also been changed from the traditional IS platforms to tools with support such as Gopher, World Wide Web and multimedia systems. Because of these developments, methods and procedures by which users obtain information are changing rapidly. Daily, hundreds of thousands of individuals use the Internet and Web browsers to obtain a much broader range of information than has previously been possible. According to Kitchens (cited in Brown Cooke, 2005), web-based student information systems have been widely adopted by institution to facilitate a range of operations such as grading, attendance, demographic data and reporting. Advantages of such a system is that information is accessible anywhere by using a standard internet browser; instructional management such as tracking student performance and monitoring progress can be handled through the online tool; teachers can define each assessment used in their courses and; the system makes individual student data available. A centralized web based system also enables educators to collect, analyze and communicate student information through desktop computers, however good databases also require data integrity so the information is consistent and valid. Many schools have online systems for managing classes, requesting financial aid, and performing other routine tasks. In these institutions, people can access school grades online once they enter the dashboard area where they manage other schoolrelated tasks, and the dashboard is accessed with a username and password. These types of systems can be very useful for parents who may want to keep a close watch on the progress of their children, and for students who want to keep an eye on their grades. The advantage of viewing school grades online is that it is usually possible to do so as soon as grades are received and posted. By viewing grades immediately, people dont have to wait for weeks while report cards are generated and mailed, which can relieve stress and tension. There may also be other reasons for wanting to see grades online, like wanting to check midterm grades to monitor progress in a class, or needing to know grades for the purpose of reporting them to colleges as quickly as possible. (Smith, 2008). Academic performance refers to how students deal with their studies and how they cope with or accomplish different tasks given to them by their teachers. The indicator of how well the students perform in the class is the student grades. Grade availability and immediate distribution through the use of SIS, which is called by Knievel (2001) as â€Å"full disclosure†, is of importance to concerned party mostly to the students and parents. Liao et al. (2007) asserts that SIS process within such technological sophistication does create precise knowledge edge, that such SIS application can be appealing to students and to the academic faculty as well as the parents. Student data acquired is usually used for effective decision making purposes. It is also an enduring belief in the academy that knowing one’s grade will change student’s negative behaviors or sustain positive ones (Knievel, 2001). Specifically, web-based student information systems have helped improve student records management, and school improvement plans. According to The Journal (2000), â€Å"Administrators no longer need to run from classroom to classroom or search from file to file to get the information they need, as the system (PowerSchool) provides instant access to all student records with a simple point and click†. SchoolWorks (2009) student information systems enable complete tracking and management of student data. The complete student information system includes student activities, daily attendance, period or classroom attendance, discipline, health and immunizations, grades, schedules, and more! SchoolWorks student information system manages your student data with a browser-based user interface. This allows platform independent student data entry. SchoolWorks student information system includes standard reports and allows custom report creation. The data structure is easily customized to match your state board of educations requirements for electronic submission of student data. At Westside Community Schools in Nebraska, Bird (2006) argues that there were significant improvements as a direct result of the adoption of the new SIS. â€Å"Since the implementation of the SIS, attendance at Westside is better than ever, discipline reports are down, and, instead of declining test scores that are common in schools with similar demographics, test scores are consistently above the national average and among the highest in the state of Nebraska. School administrators attribute this in good part to the SIS†. Bernhardt (2005) analyzed student demographic and perceptual data of elementary, middle, and high schools of Canyon View School District (an 8,000 student district) and concluded that fact-driven decision making can provide each district, each school, each class and each student with a reliable way to facilitate breakthrough performance and continuous education improvement. Her findings revealed that effective use of school data leads to more objective education-enhancement decisions. In North Carolina, a vast number of school teachers, administrators, leaders, parents, and students are using NCWISE to access and manage student data. NCWISE is described as a web-based, integrated, and secure tool for effectively managing student information and improving instruction in North Carolina schools. It was designed to provide teachers, principals, counselors, nurses, central office staff, and others with direct and immediate access to a full spectrum of data on a students entire career in the North Carolina school system. (Ngoma, 2009) As cited in Ngoma (2009), North Carolina Department of Public Instruction (NCPDI) report lists some of the features of NCWISE which include â€Å"the ability to move student transcripts immediately when a student transfers from one school to another; produce progress reports and report cards; share student grades and emergency information with appropriate school employees; and more quickly and accurately report student grades, attendance, and information used to support public school business processes†. The reason given for the adoption of NCWISE is that SIMS, which was the official public schools data collection source for more than 20 years and relied on antiquated technology. Let it be noted that NCWISE replaced SIMS. De La Salle University (DLSU), Manila created a My.LaSalle (MLS) university portal to extend efficient services to its clientele. Students can enroll online, thus, no more lining up at the Registrars Office. They can enroll anywhere within their scheduled period, in their preferred course and section, provided it is still open. Students can always view the actual enrollment count per course and section. Students can also inquire through the portal, information about course schedule, account balance, grades for the term, schedules of final exams and course card distribution. However, transactions could be denied due to unsettled accountabilities such as payables in the accounting or registrar’s offices, or library dues. These records will be reflected in a student’s personal account and they are updated as frequently as needed. On the other hand, faculty members can submit final grades and request for change of grade online even in the comforts of their own homes. (DLSU, 2010) University of the East, Ramon Magsaysay Memorial Medical Center, Inc., Manila developed a UERM portal for their students and employees. The portal contains Faculty Portal and Student Portal. Faculty Portal is an exclusive gateway for UERM faculty members for online information, faculty evaluation, faculty load, uploading lectures, quizzes and other materials for dissemination to their classes. It also provides access to profound discussions among faculty about lesson and other topics for the creation of knowledge. The Student Portal is for online student information, lectures, discussions, resources and other services exclusive to UERM students. It aims to enhance and extend the students learning experience through information technology beyond the bound of the classroom. (UERMMMC, 2010) The University of Baguio (UB) E-Reservation System is an extended feature of the UB enrollment System wherein transactions are done via the internet. The student is allowed to reserve schedules and be evaluated by the college dean. Grades are available for viewing online using UB-Online Information Service. Final grades for a given term may be viewed in a Final Grade Report or in an Unofficial Academic Transcript (UB, 2010). All business transactions revolve around one thing- payments. Many ecommerce websites integrate all the possible payment gateway modes for customers choice so that payments never get delayed. Through technologies the organization business operations have become easier and fast. Billing is the process of sending bills for payment (Macmillan English Dictionary, 2010). The term E-billing is the electronic delivery of financial documents to the customer, that represents and replaces the conventional paper based document (Email connection, 2001). Universities adopt this so called on-line billing for its perceived advantages than traditional billing system. Southerns eBill offers both students and parents a number of advantages over traditional paper bills, including: students can authorize others (parents, spouse, etc.) to view and pay bills; easy to read online history of past statements and payments; ability to schedule future payments; ease of use and convenience (Southern Connecticut State University, 2009). The Students Accounts Office at Macalester College implemented a new billing process. This change in process has taken place for several reasons. One reason and advantage of the change in process is that students and authorized users may view information relating to billing accounts, statements, and account activity at their convenience. The change in process correlates directly with the leadership role Macalester College has taken in sustainability for higher education. This change also will not only save paper by not having to print statements but will also reduce the need for other paper products such as two forms of envelopes. For students monthly billing, the student and authorized users will receive email notification announcing that the newest electronic eBill statement is ready to view. All students and authorized users must go online to view the statements. If a paper statement is required, the student or authorized user must print it at their convenience (Macalester College, 2009) In San Diego State University, they used a billing system wherein student billing statements are sent out on a monthly basis when money is due to the University. Student statements will be delivered in electronic format. Students are sent an email directing them to a secure website to review their bill, so it is important that their email address be kept up to date in their Portal account. Another feature is that the student may set up a parent PIN so that in addition to the student receiving the email, the parent may also receive an email (San Diego State University, 2009). Another motivation for online technologies as emphasized by Kemelgor, Johnson and Srinivasan (2000) is that â€Å"to attract good students, educational institutions must continue to innovate.† Technology is a tool recognized by many institutions that can be utilized to improve levels of service while aiming to personalize and extend the relationship with students (as cited in Savarese, 2004). Therefore effective student systems need to be student oriented and designed so administrative requirements don’t negatively impact on the student. It is in the light of these theories and related literature that inspired the researcher to develop web-based student information system specifically on student performance monitoring and generating statement of account in Southern Leyte State University-San Juan to keep pace with the above-mentioned innovations and of course to be able to cater the information needs of the stakeholders. 14 THE PROBLEM Statement of the Problem This study aimed to analyze, design and develop a prototype Web-Based Student Information System for Southern Leyte State University- San Juan, Southern Leyte. Specifically, it sought to: 1. analyze the services provided by the university as they relate to 1.1 1.2 student academic performance monitoring and; generating statement of account; 2. determine the status of the present student information system in terms of 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 relevance; accessibility; reliability and; timeliness; 3. identify the problems encountered by the students, parents, benefactors and personnel-in-charge in the present student information system; 4. determine the features of a good Student Information System; and 5. design and develop a prototype of a Web-Based Student Information System. Significance of the Study The results of the study would benefit the following entities: Commission on Higher Education (CHED). This study will help CHED, as a governing body to all education institutions, to encourage colleges and universities to implement research and development for the purpose of delivering quality service to each of its clients. SLSU. This study would enable the university to improve their student information system. It will give them the opportunity to give quality service to their clients. Students. The developed system would benefit the students for they can inquire their information needs with regard to their academic performance and billing statements at their convenient time and place. Parents. The output of this study would allow the parents to monitor the academic status and billing account of their child by accessing the records through the internet. Benefactors. The student information such as grades and statement of account that is extracted from the system would facilitate the sponsors for their decision making purposes. Also, they would be guided constantly with their bills. Student Affairs Office. The output of this study would significantly give ease to the Guidance Counselor in performing his tasks especially in monitoring, record keeping and generating reports. Registrar’s Office. Through the system, the work of the personnel in the Registrar’s office in disseminating grades to the students will be lessened for the records are now available online. Accounting Office. The staff in Accounting Office will not be disrupted with students who constantly inquire their statement of account. This study would give an opportunity for the researcher to gain more knowledge in programming and enhance his/her skill in designing and solving analytical problems. Aside from that he/she will gain confidence from her experiences in the making of this research. Future Researchers. The future researchers would greatly benefit from this study for the findings of this study would encourage them to design an improved system. Other HEI’s. The output of this provides insights to other higher education on how to disseminate information to their clients in a better way. This study may also assist them in achieving successful outcomes in similar projects. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY The study will utilize the descriptive research method using a researcherconstructed questionnaire to gather data from various stakeholders such as students, parents, benefactors and some personnel in charge in Scholarship, Registrar, and Accounting at SLSU- San Juan. The questionnaire simply asked the respondents to examine the current information system in the university and suggest some good features of a good student information system. The data that will be collected from identified respondents will be presented, analyzed and interpreted. The results and findings of the research study will serve as the basis for the design and development of the Web-based Information System for SLSU- San Juan.

Child Recognition of Emotions

Child Recognition of Emotions CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION Human emotions serve as a means of expression, often indicating an individuals internal conscious experience or physiological arousal. Emotions also serve as a form of communication, alerting individuals to important aspects of their environment and their relationships with other individuals. Emotions influence a persons actions, cognitions, and how they are perceived by others (Strayer, 2002). For example, emotions may influence how individuals respond to an environmental threat, as feelings of sadness may indicate a withdrawal of behavior or feelings of fear may engage the activity of flight (Strayer, 2002). The experience of emotions, in turn, provides individuals with meaning about both their internal and external environments and information about how they should respond to a social situation. The ability to develop an adequate understanding of emotions is known as emotional competence. More precisely, emotional competence is defined as a demonstration of self-efficacy in emotion-eliciting social transactions (Saarni, Campos, Camras Witherington, 2006, p. 250). For children, one way to gauge their emotional competence is to examine their ability to perceive their own emotions and the emotions of others (Saarni et al., 2006). This type of assessment allows researchers to determine an approximate measure as to childrens emotional development level. The first skill of emotional competence is for children to develop an understanding of self. Through an ability to be aware of their own personal emotional experience, children begin to develop self-conscious emotions. Feelings of shame, guilt, and embarrassment, for example, allow children to refer to themselves as having conscious awareness that they are distinct from others (Lewis, 1993, 1995; Mascolo Fischer, 1995). In addition, childrens emotional competence is developed through an ability to be aware of multiple emotions or to feel that their emotions are in conflict with their environment (e.g., ambivalence; Stein, Trabasso, Liwag, 2000). As children become aware of their own emotions, emotional development is strengthened and refined. A second important skill development to emotional competence is for children to make sense of others inner states (Saarni et al., 2006). Specifically, children learn to comprehend and interpret others behaviors and begin to realize that others are capable of forming their own beliefs and emotions (for a review see Dunn, 2000; Halberstadt, Denham, and Dunsmore, 2001). Understanding the distinction between ones own emotions and the emotions of others is crucial to emotional development in children. For instance, studies indicate that childrens ability to accurately identify emotions in self and in others may work as a gauge to assess social competence (Halberstadt et al., 2001). In these types of studies, childrens social competence is established by correlating their understanding of emotion terms, facial expressions, and elicitors of emotion terms (e.g., situational descriptions of a happy or sad event) with their social competence rating from teachers ratings or by peers sociometric choices (Saarni et al., 2006). Childrens ability to distinguish differences in emotional features in combination with how others view their ability provides a measure of their social competence. Monitoring childrens social competence allows one to identify socially disadvantaged children and implement effective coping strategies before any harmful, long-term effects manifest (Benford, 1998). Through childrens awareness of their own emotional state, in combination with the skill to discern others emotions, children begin to achieve more effective emotional processing skills. Understanding childrens emotional processing is important because it affects many social outcomes, such as childrens helping behavior (Chapman, Zahn-Waxler, Cooperman Iannotti, 1987, Miller Jansen op de Haar, 1997), aggressive responses (Harris Siebel, 1975), and self-control (Ceschi Scherer, 2003). Few studies, however, have examined how emotion affects childrens abilities to accurately identify the emotional state of others. Consequently, the present study sought to examine the effects of childrens own emotional states on their social/cognitive abilities to recognize emotional states in others. More specifically, this research sought to understand how positive, negative, and neutral emotional states of children affected performance on emotion recognition tasks that utilized different levels of cognitive complexity. By utilizing two types of emotion recognition tasks, the research examined the influence of differently valenced emotions on childrens social-cognitive abilities. Results may help to expand existing social information processing models by incorporating the influence cognitive complexity and affect may serve in childrens recognition of others emotions. CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW Understanding Others Emotions through Facial Expressions The ability for children to understand what others are experiencing emotionally develops through an interaction between the awareness of their own emotional experience and the ability to empathize and conceptualize the causes of emotions in others (Saarni et al., 2006). In addition, the more children learn about how and why others act the way they do, the more they can make inferences about the emotional state of others. Children typically rely on facial expressions to infer others emotional state (Ceschi Scherer, 2003; Holder Kirkpatrick, 1991). The face is considered the primary indicator of human emotion (Ekman, 1992). For example, body gestures are easily concealed (e.g., hiding a clenched fist behind ones back) or verbal communication can be eliminated by simply refusing to speak. Facial expressions, however, are more difficult to disguise (Ekman, 1993). Additionally, the diversity in an individuals face allows for a variety of emotional expressions, each associated with a distinct facial expression (Ekman, 1993). Facial expressions serve a dual purpose; facial emotions can indicate a persons internal emotional state or function as symbols referring to something else, such as a form of communication (e.g., deterring or placating someones actions; Lewis Michalson, 1985). Facial expressions are commonly used as a means for gauging emotion states in research. By 2 Â ½ years, children can distinguish a number of basic emotional states in the facial expressions of adults, but do not always label them accurately (Izard, 1971). At 5 years, children can accurately label 41% of the emotions depicted in a set of adult photographs (Odom Lemond, 1972). Overall, young children can recognize some of the more common emotional expressions as displayed by adults (e.g., MacDonald, Kirkpatrick Sullivan, 1996). By the ages of 11 or 12, most children recognize and verbalize that a persons expression may be both a social and an emotional response (e.g., Underwood Hurley, 1999). Consequently, children realize that a persons facial expression may indicate both the individuals internal state (e.g., I am feeling sad), as well as what the cues represent socially (e.g., I am expressing my feelings of sadness towards others). Each form of emotional expression is essential in order for children to interpret and comprehend anothers emotion (Underwood Hurley, 1999). Developmental Differences in Childrens Understanding of Others Emotional Experiences As children mature, they acquire greater abilities to make inferences about what others are feeling (Gross Ballif, 1991). Children, in an attempt to understand the emotions of others, begin to combine facial and situational cues. The ability to combine these cues, however, is strengthened and refined as children age. The easiest emotions for children to discern are positive ones (Saarni et al., 2006). Children can more readily identify happy reactions in a naturally occurring setting as compared to negative reactions (e.g. Fabes, Eisenberg, Nyman, Michealieu, 1991). Negative facial expressions, on the other hand, such as sadness, fear, and anger, are more difficult for children to decode. Negative emotions become easier to interpret, however, when they are paired with an emotion-eliciting situational context (Saarni et al. 2006). In addition, the causes of negative emotion are easier for children to decode than causes of positive emotion, an explanation that appears consistent with negative emotions eliciting a more intense response (Fabes et al., 1991). For example, children can easily determine the causes for their goal failures because it is an undesired consequence. Developmental differences are apparent when evaluating childrens understanding of the causes of emotions (Fabes et al., 1991). Younger children (i.e., 3 year-olds) are more prone to attribute causes of emotion to a persons wants or needs, whereas older children (i.e., 5 year-olds) make use of others personality traits to determine their future reactions to an emotional event (Fabes et al., 1991). Children aged 5 to 10 years can use a characters past experience to determine the characters reactions to a new situation (Gnepp Gould, 1985). For example, if a characters best friend harasses him, children aged 5 to 10 can infer how that character will later react to seeing the best friend on the playground. The developmental difference is evident in the quality of the response. Younger children are more likely to infer what the character is feeling solely through the current situational information (e.g., the character would be pleased to see the best friend), whereas older children are m ore likely to use the prior experience to evaluate how the character will react (e.g., the character will avoid the best friend on the playground; Gnepp Gould, 1985). Further support for this developmental difference is that younger children (i.e., preschoolers) are more likely to infer the emotional state of others when a characters emotional cues are presented explicitly (e.g., pictorial representation of the characters face) as compared to older children (i.e. school-aged) who can adeptly determine the characters response when less explicit cues are utilized (Lagattuta, Wellman, Flavell, 1997). These investigations demonstrate that by school age, children are well equipped to identify emotional expressions in others. Although there are developmental differences in childrens abilities to identify reasons for the emotional expression, by the age of 5, children generally distinguish differences in emotional cues and identify different types of emotional expressions in others. Integrating Cognition and Emotion There has been considerable interest in how children interpret, encode, and respond to social environments. One such model that attempts to explain the relationship is the social information processing model (Crick Dodge, 1994). The social information processing model assumes that the way in which children understand and interpret social situations directly influences how they respond behaviorally (Lemerise Arsenio, 2000). In turn, the social information processing model offers an explanation for how children process and interpret cues in a social situation and arrive at a decision that facilitates their understanding of the social environment (Crick Dodge, 1994; Dodge, 1986). For any social interaction, children utilize their past experiences and biologically determined capabilities (e.g., memory store capacity) in order to rapidly assess the situation (Crick Dodge, 1994). To illustrate the social information processing model, imagine a child who gets pushed on the playground by another child. First, the child must encode the social cues (both internal and external) to determine what happened (attention, encoding) and then determine why it happened (interpretation: an accident or on purpose?). In the third step of the model, the child begins to clarify his or her goal in the social situation (e.g., goal to show others he/she wont tolerate the behavior). In step four and five of the model, possible responses to the situation are generated in terms of anticipated outcomes and how those actions relate to the individuals goals (Lemerise Arsenio, 2000). The child may choose to retaliate in response to the other childs actions or the child may choose to not retaliate for fear of the situation escalating. Finally, the majority of children generally choose the most positively evaluated response with respect to goals and anticipated outcomes before the behavio r is enacted (e.g., the child ignores the push and walks away; Crick Dodge, 1994). The social information processing model has been useful in assessing how children encode and interpret social situations. The model, however, does not specify how emotion affects the processing strategy (Lemerise Arsenio, 2000). Lemerise and Arsenio (2000) argue that it is possible to expand Crick and Dodges models explanatory power by integrating emotion processing with social information processing. Before integrating emotion and social information processing, it is important to understand the relationship between the two. Emotions and cognitions may appear similar because both are types of information processing, but the way each influence human behavior makes them distinct (Lemerise Arsenio, 2000). Emotion is about motivation; cognition, on the other hand, concerns knowledge. This view is shared by many functionalist theorists, neurophysiologists, and some cognitive theorists (e.g., Campos, Mumme, Kermoian, Campos, 1994; Damasio, 1994; Oatley Jenkins, 1996). Because cognition and emotion are two distinct processes, an attempt to devise a model that integrates and utilizes the two is pragmatic. In Lemerise and Arsenios (2000) social information processing model, the researchers added and expanded to Crick and Dodges (1994) original concept. In particular, the researchers implemented other emotion processes that could influence accessing and evaluating responses. As an example of this approach, intense emotions can interfere with the steps of Crick and Dodges model where children assess possible responses to a situation (Steps 4 and 5). For example, children with intense emotions may react negatively to a social situation (e.g., becoming easily upset and running away), thereby reducing the probability that they will interpret and encode the situation from the perspective of all parties (Lemerise Arsenio, 2000). Intense emotions, in turn, can influence how a child responds in a social situation. In addition, the childs reaction to the soci al situation may be dependant on whether he/she cares about and wants that person to like him/her (Lemerise Arsenio, 2000). Emotions heavily influence this social decision making process. It is difficult to adhere to a social informational processing strategy without accounting for the influences emotion may serve. Support for the role emotions play in social information processing has been demonstrated in more recent research (e.g., Orobio de Castro, Merk, Koops, Veerman, Bosch, 2005). Specifically, researchers examined the relationship between emotional aspects of social information processing and aggressive boys. After hearing a series of vignettes that instilled provocation by their peers, participants answered questions concerning social information processing, including feeling of their own emotions, the emotions of others, and emotion regulation. Aggressive boys used less adaptive emotion-regulation strategies, attributed more hostile intent to others actions, and reported less guilt concerning their own actions (Orobio de Castro et al., 2005). For aggressive boys, anger attribution (i.e., encoding of emotions) significantly influenced the interpretation step of the social information processing model, a view that is consistent with Lemerise and Arsenios (2000) model. Clearly, emotions can influence childrens social information processing strategies. By combining emotional processing with social decision making processes, researchers can expand Crick Dodges models explanatory power, perhaps offering further insight into the influence emotion serves for childrens cognitive abilities (Lemerise Arsenio, 2000). Induction of Positive and Negative Affect Researchers examine emotional influences on social information processing and other social behaviors by experimentally inducing emotions and assessing the effects (Bryan, Mathur Sullivan, 1996; Bugental Moore, 1979; Burkitt Barnett, 2006; Carlson, Felleman Masters, 1983; Masters, Barden Ford, 1979; Stegge, Terwogt Koops, 2001). Inducing affect typically consists of an experimenter having subjects recall events that make them happy or sad before examining their responses to a variety of social and cognitive problems. These problems can range from measures of altruism, self-gratification, or delay of gratification (Bugental Moore, 1979). For this type of induction procedure, the researcher asks the child to recall and reflect upon a happy or sad past event for approximately 30 seconds to 2 minutes (Bryan et al., 1996). This type of procedure allows psychologists to examine how affective states influence individuals social and psychological behaviors (Bugental Moore, 1979). Pre-recorded videotapes or audiocassettes are another technique used to implement positive or negative affect in children (e.g., Carlson Masters, 1986; Rader Hughes, 2005). The recordings improve the reliability and standardization of the affect inductions. The recording typically follows the same procedural method as the other affect induction studies (e.g., Carlson et al., 1983; Masters et al., 1979; Moore, Underwood, Rosenhan, 1973)—the person reading the script (e.g., actor, puppet) asks the child to ruminate on a past experience that is positive, negative, or neutral for approximately 30 seconds. For any procedural method chosen, it is important to validate if the affect induction actually takes place. There are multiple methods for conducting manipulation checks. Procedures include: having two or more experimenters rate the childs mood and assessing interrater agreement (e.g., Carlson Maters, 1986); having participants use a word item check-list to indicate their current mood (e.g., Vosburg, 1998); or comparing if the performance of children in the positive or negative condition differs from those in the neutral condition (e.g., Bugental Moore, 1979; Stegge et al., 2001). As demonstrated in past research, the induction of positive and negative moods is experimentally possible. Positive and Negative Affect and Emotional Processing There are a number of experimental studies that demonstrate the influence of childrens emotional states on a variety of emotional processes and behaviors, such as altruism (Chapman et al., 1987, Miller Jansen op de Haar, 1997), aggression (Harris Siebel, 1975), and self-control (Ceschi Scherer, 2003). One study, in particular, induced positive emotional states in a group of 5-6-year-old children to examine their responses to social comparison situations where the participant was rewarded unfairly, sometimes in the participants favor, sometimes in anothers favor (Carlson Masters, 1986). Children were exposed to one of three emotion inducing conditions: self-focused happy, other-focused happy, or neutral. After the children focused on their own happy emotional experience (self-focused) or the emotional state of a friend (other-focused) or had no emotional focus (neutral), they and other players received a reward for participating in a game. Children received either more (positive inequality) or less (negative inequality) of an award as compared to the other players. Children in the self-focused happy condition did not demonstrate a reduction in generosity after receiving an inequality of rewards (Carlson Masters, 1986). The authors interpreted their results as supportive of the po sition that positive mood facilitates tolerance of aversive experiences (Carlson Masters, 1986). What these studies did not answer, however, is what influence emotion serves in other social information processes. Specifically, how do inductions of positive or negative affect influence childrens emotion recognition? One research experiment did attempt to investigate the influence childrens own emotional states has on their ability to recognize emotions in others (Carlson et al., 1983). Experimenters induced emotions such as happiness, sadness, anger, or neutral affect in eighty 4 and 5 year-old children. The children were then provided with a label of an emotion (e.g. happy) and asked to identify the correct facial expression from a group of photographs of other children who were displaying various emotions. Significant differences in accuracy across the mood induction conditions were not found, but childrens own feelings of sadness did influence their perception of sadness in peers (Carlson et al., 1983). Sad participants were not more inaccurate than happy participants when identifying emotions, but when they were inaccurate they tended to confuse sadness with anger. The induction of positive and negative mood in children appears to have an influence on childrens emotional processing. Negative affective states appear to lead to inaccuracies in the perception of others sadness, whereas positive affective states appear to help children maintain positive emotional experiences, even in the presence of aversive social situations. Influence of Emotional States on Cognition for Adults Despite the number of studies assessing childrens emotion processing ability, only a few studies have investigated how emotion-directed information processes, such as perception, attention, judgment, and memory recognition and recall, are influenced by the childs own emotional state, whether enduring or temporary (Greene Noice, 1988; Masters et al., 1979; Rader Hughes, 2005). Because of this dearth in the literature, it is useful to review studies conducted with adults. One particularly important study, which examined the role affect plays in adults cognitive performance, induced positive and negative affect through the use of a role-playing technique while participants carried out three cognitive tasks (Izard, Wehmer, Livsey, Jennings, 1965). The cognitive tasks ranged from participants generating as many possible uses for a particular object (multiple-use task), recalling sets of numbers (digit span test), and giving verbalized responses for creativity problems. Positive affect increased performance for both the multiple-use task and the creativity problems as compared to those in the negative affect condition. Some literature supports the finding that positive affect results in higher productivity and creativity (Ashby, Isen, Turken, 1999). Specifically, induced positive affect improved cognitive processes such as memory, judgment, risk-preference, decision-making, creative problem solving, categorization, and logical problem solving (Ashby et al., 1999). Other research, however, does not support the claim that positive affect improves cognitive productivity and creativity. Positive affect may actually interfere with performance on some tasks (e.g., Kaufmann Vosburg, 1997). In an attempt to explain the discrepancy in these results, Forgas (2000, 2002) affect infusion model (AIM) suggests that affect results in inattentive processing for complex tasks. As participants experience positive affective, for example, substantive processing or systematic processing may be hindered, thereby interfering with their ability to solve elaborate and complex problems. Specifically, negative moods may facilitate differentiated, analytic processing whereas positive moods may facilitate global, synthetic processing (Forgas, 2000). Negative moods may be more adaptive for cognitive tasks that require one to reduce complex decisions to a series of one-on-one comparisons, thus simplifying the results (i.e., analytic processing). Positive moods, on the other hand, may be more adaptive for cognitive tasks that require one to generate a wide variety of responses, often seeking out all possibilities for a solution (i.e., global processing). Following Forgas (2000, 2002) AIM model, it is clear how research supports the notion that positive and negative affect are adaptive for different types of cognitive tasks. To clarify, some studies show that positive affect facilitates cognitive performance by increasing participants creativity (Ashby et al., 1999; Isen, Daubman Nowicki, 1987; Isen, 2002; Izard et al., 1965). Other research, however, shows that positive affect results in inattentive processing, thereby reducing participants creativity and problem-solving (Forgas, 2000; Kaufmann Vosburg, 1997). These seemingly contrasting findings are explained by differences in task specificity. In the research conducted by Kaufmann and Vosburg (1997), for example, positive affect significantly inhibited creative problem solving. After the researchers experimentally induced affect, participants responded to a series of tasks presented in a paper-and-pencil format, and received no outside feedback. Contrastingly, in research conduct ed by Isen et al. (1987), they used creativity measures such as the candle-problem, which required participants to physically manipulate objects and to come up with as many solutions to the problem as possible. In addition, the participants received feedback, which allowed them to instigate further solutions to the problem. Clearly, the tasks used in each of these studies are distinct. The notion that positive and negative affect are adaptive to different types of cognitive tasks is important because it points out the need to carefully consider the type of cognitive task being performed. Positive or negative moods may facilitate processing for different types of tasks in adults; therefore it is useful to examine how positive or negative moods affect childrens processing in different types of tasks. Influence of Emotional States on Cognition for Children There are indications that the influences of positive affect on childrens cognitive performance are similar to those in adults (Rader Hughes, 2005). For example, eighth-grade students who were experimentally induced with positive affect showed greater cognitive flexibility than students in the control condition and obtained higher scores on a verbal fluency test (Greene Noice, 1988). Likewise, researchers have examined the effects of emotional states on learning (Masters et al., 1979). After the induction of a positive, negative, or neutral emotional state, children completed a series of shape discrimination tasks. The dependent variable in the experiment was how many trials it took the children to achieve perfect mastery for the task (e.g. identifying 12 consecutive trials of shapes correctly). For children in the positive affect condition, positive affect enhanced performance. Contrastingly, for children in the negative condition, negative affect hindered performance dramatically (Masters et al., 1979). In addition, positive affect increased performance for children on a block design task, a challenging cognitive task that requires the use of spatial analysis (Rader Hughes, 2005). Research also suggests a relationship between affect and childrens thinking processes (Bryan et al., 1996). Specifically, negative affective states decrease participants efforts for processing cognitive information (Ellis, Thomas, Rodriquez, 1984). Positive affective states, on the other hand, improve participants memory on various tasks, which include: mastery of a discriminatory task (Masters et al., 1979); altruism (Chapman et al., 1987; Miller Jansen op de Haar, 1997); and child compliance (Lay, Waters Park, 1989). In sum, positive affective states increase complex cognitive functions when participants are required to synthesize information in new and useful ways (e.g., word association and memory tasks, creativity tasks, problem-solving tasks; Bryan et al., 1996). Social Information Processing and Cognitive Complexity Childrens awareness of their own emotional state, in combination with their skill to discern others emotions, allows them to develop more effective social information processing skills. As children become more aware of emotions they or others are experiencing, it facilitates problem-solving (Saarni et al., 2006). In turn, when children know how to respond emotionally to an encounter, it can aid in their decision making strategy, thus influencing behavioral or cognitive processing strategies. Task complexity can negatively influence accuracy in identifying emotional expressions in others (MacDonald et al., 1996). Specifically, research has shown how incorporating contextual information for an emotion recognition task results in lower levels of performance as compared to a task where children are given the label for the emotional expression (MacDonald et al., 1996). Labeling tasks involve an extremely easy stimulus (i.e. children are given a word), whereas contextual information tasks involve integrating and synthesizing implicit information (i.e. children must derive a word from the vignette)plexity. paragraph should be eliminated. This is more relevant to cognitive processing strategies rather than levels of task. Adding contextual information to an emotion recognition task, therefore, increases the difficulty of the task, resulting in lower performance, especially for younger children (MacDonald et al. 1996). Past research on childrens emotional recognition has not adequately addressed the influence of childrens own emotional states (positive or negative) on the accuracy of the perception of emotional states in others. Research addressing the topic is minimal; only a few studies have approached the issue (e.g., Carlson et al., 1983). In addition, past research has not directly demonstrated how emotion and cognitive task complexity influence childrens ability to recognize emotion in others. Based on the information regarding childrens ability to recognize emotions in others through their facial expressions; the developmental differences in childrens facial recognition abilities; the influence of emotion on childrens emotion processing; and the influence of emotion on adults cognitive processing, researchers can devise an appropriate social information processing model. The model, in effect, should integrate emotion and cognitive processes to determine the influence affect and task complexity have on childrens recognition of emotions in others. The component of the model the present study investigated is how childrens own emotion affects their interpretation of social cues, specifically the emotional expression of others. Inaccurate interpretations will provide potential consequences to childrens subsequent social decision making processes. The Present Study The study examined the influence positive and negative affect has on childrens emotion recognition. Children, aged 5-to 8-years, participated because of their ability to identify emotions in others (Fabes et al., 1991, Gnepp Gould, 1985, Saarni et al., 2006). Because emotion processing and cognition are considered an integral part of childrens social competence (Lemerise Arsenio, 2000), the study design combined and evaluated cognition and emotional processes. Specifically, the study investigated how the cognitive complexity of the task interacted with mood effects on emotion recognition performance. In the experiment, children were individually tested. They were first exposed to one of three mood induction conditions (positive, negative, or neutral) using a computer setup with a pre-recorded audio file, a method that is consistent with a brief mood induction procedure (Rader Hughes, 2005). For the testing procedure, the experimenter utilized two forms of emotion expressing questions: label-b