Saturday, December 28, 2019

Research on Internet Cafe - 1785 Words

An internet cafà © or cybercafà © is a place where one can use a computer with Internet access, most for a fee, usually per hour or minute; sometimes one can have unmetered access with a pass for a day or month, etc. It may serve as a regular cafà © as well, with food and drinks being served. | | [pic] Cyberia: one of the worlds first Internet cafà ©s, London, 1994 The internet cafe phenomenon was started in July 1991 by Wayne Gregori in San Francisco when he began SFnet Coffeehouse Network. Gregori designed, built and installed 25 coin operated computer terminals in coffeehouses throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. The cafe terminals dialed into a 32 line Bulletin Board System that offered an array of electronic services including FIDOnet†¦show more content†¦In the early days they were important in projecting the image of the Internet as a cool phenomena. Internet cafà ©s are a natural evolution of the traditional cafà ©. Cafà ©s started as places for information exchange, and have always been used as places to read the paper, send postcards home, play traditional or electronic games, chat to friends, find out local information. Cafà ©s have also been in the forefront of promoting new technologies, for example, the car in 1950s California. As internet access is in increasing demand, many pubs, bars and cafes have terminals, so the distinction between the Internet cafe and normal cafà © is eroded. In some, particularly European countries, the number of pure Internet cafà ©s is decreasing since more and more normal cafà ©s offer the same services. However, there are European countries where the total number of publicly accessible terminals is also decreasing. An example of such a country is Germany. The cause of this development is a combination of complicated regulation, relatively high internet penetration rates, the widespread use of notebooks and PDAsShow MoreRelatedInternet Cafe Business Plan1664 Words   |  7 PagesCHAPTER 1 THE PROBLEM AND ITS SETTING INTRODUCTION An Internet cafà © or cybercafà © is a place which provides internet access to the public, usually for a fee. These businesses usually provide snacks and drinks, hence the cafà © in the name. The fee for using a computer is usually charged as a time-based rate. Internet cafà ©s are a natural evolution of the traditional cafe. Cafà ©s started as places for information exchange, and have always been used as places to read the paper, send postcardsRead MoreInternet Cafe Time Monitoring System1488 Words   |  6 PagesPAMANTASAN NG LUNGSOD NG MUNTINLUPA INTERNET CAFÉ MANAGEMENT SYSTEM by In partial fulfillment of the Requirements for the Subject I.T. Research CHAPTER I Background of the Study Information technology at the present time is vast and progressive. It is being integrated to almost most of our daily activities. It is so progressive that one must always be informed and skilled to keep pace of the changing technology. With this reality, many ideas and improvements are designed andRead MoreThe Effect of Online Games on the Filipino Youth1653 Words   |  7 PagesCHAPTER I INTRODUCTION Background of the study The youth of today no longer seem to spend their leisure activities like in the olden days; outdoor games or playing with toys, instead, they spend their free time in their homes, internet cafà ©s or computer shops simply to satisfy their hunger; and that hunger is Online Gaming. Online gaming has such a profound impact on not only the young, but dynamically every age group as well. So far, virtually anyone is able to go on a computer and punch throughRead MoreMarketing Plan - Cafe988 Words   |  4 Pagesgoals for a planned discount internet cafà ©. Cafà © Loco, unlike a typical cafe, provides a unique forum for communication and entertainment through the medium of the Internet. Cafà © Loco is the answer to an increasing demand. The public wants a place to enjoy delicious coffee products, at discount prices; a place to socialize and share these experiences with friends and colleagues and access to methods of communication (internet, multi-purpose systems). Cafà © Loco’s marketing team will performRead MoreEssay about Marketing Plan1271 Words   |  6 Pagesprovide internet cafe services,. The information in the plan has been sourced from various textbooks and online research It has been found that the company should target the market aged 16 to 40, both single and married, and purchasing for personal use. The main point of this study is the explanation of an idea for an advertising campaign of the family enterprise. This enterprise will offer computer equipment and Internet services. The services will include selling computers equipment, Internet cafà ©Read MoreThe Personnel Plan And Hours731 Words   |  3 Pages2.4 PERSONNEL PLAN and HOURS One thing that differentiates us from other Internet cafà ©s is the fact that we will be staffed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and 365 days a year. In order to be able to provide this type of service to our guests, we will charge $10.00 per month. This monthly surcharge will allow our guests to access the facility between the hours of 10:00 pm and 7:00 am. In order to be able to provide our guests with this type of access, Iced Tea Hot Coffee will have a staff consistingRead MoreIdentifying Opportunities for Achieving a Competitive Advantage in Singapore Today767 Words   |  3 Pagesknown quality. As the shop owner of a cafe in a quiet part of Singapore that serves a range of snacks, simple meals and non alcoholic beverages, the competition from these global brands may signal the beginning of the end unless aggressive marketing steps are taken today. To this end, this paper provides a review of the relevant peer-reviewed and scholarly literature to develop a marketing plan for such a cafà © in Singapore, followed by a summary of the research and important findings in the conclusionRead MoreThe Marketing Mix Essay721 Words   |  3 Pages £1250 every month. The place I chose to set up as my cafà © is a previous office block but I have been given permission to refurbish it but they will have to see the plans before I go ahead incase I do anything drastic. The place is down The Water House Water Lane so it is in the town center and because it has two floors I could place seating upstairs and have a take away service downstairs. It is necessary that I have my cafà © in town because otherwise I would not get any businessRead MoreStudy Habits1010 Words   |  5 Pageseffect of its usage would occur. It can be in our thoughts, behaviour, actions and or in other ways. Development in computer brings many things that people don’t have many years back. One of these things is online gaming that is provided by the internet. Online gaming is one of the widely used leisure activities by many students. Students who are playing online games believe that they are playing these games just for fun without knowing that there are a lot of effects of playing these games thatRead MoreEssay on Caribbean Internet Cafe633 Words   |  3 Pagesto start an internet cafà ©. 2. David is also planning to hire a manager with Jamaican restaurant experience to help him with the majority of his business activities; this could be an issue as he hasn’t found anyone yet. He isn’t considering the possibility that he will not be able to find someone to fill the position. 3. David also seems to have little business knowledge when it comes to pricing. He examined the market and found that the industry price was $90 per hour for internet service and

Friday, December 20, 2019

Amadou Diallo An Immigrant From West Africa - 1001 Words

Amadou Diallo was an immigrant from West Africa and had only two years in the United States which he knew very little English. He came to the United States to study and make a name for himself. Diallo was 22 year old male, with no criminal record. However, in the night of February 5, 1999 four New York police officers which names are Sean Carroll, Edward McMellon, Kenneth Boss, and Richard Murphy were patrolling the area looking for a serial ripest. This police officers were undercover so they did not had their uniforms and were patrolling in a civilized Ford Taurus. Diallo fit the descriptions of the serial ripest so officers stop in front of Diallo to ask him questions regarding the suspect. When the four officers got out of the vehicle and approach Diallo, they yield out â€Å"New York Police† identifying themselves to Amadon. Moreover, they also showed their badge to the suspect. However, Diallo turned around towards his house and reach for his pocket. Office Sean Carroll, saw Diallo getting out a squared item and immediately imagined it was a gun and yield gun (alerting the other three officers). With no hesitation, all four offices reach for their gun and started shooting at Diallo. Forty-one bullets were fired at Diallos direction, nineteen hit him. Diallo died instantly. After the offices stopped their shooting, they search Amadon, and realist that he was reaching out for his wallet and not a gun. It is unclear if Diallo knew if they were officers or thought that he wasShow MoreRelatedMass Medias Effects on Sterotyping992 Words   |  4 Pagesthere is need for focused study efforts on practical strategies to challenge and ultimately eradicate stereotypes. Stereotypes are generated and altered on the basis of first-hand encounters with stigmatized groups, as well as recycled information from mass media, acquaintances, as well as family. While both express and circumlocutory sources of stereotype lessening are acknowledged, the mass of the resear ch on inter-group relationships has concentrated on direct examination of stereotyping conductRead MorePolice Brutality in America1972 Words   |  8 Pagesminorities. Even though the people are happy with the police present in their community, one incident can change the way the community feels towards the Police. Consequently, the higher the crime rate in your community, the likely hood you will suffer from police brutality. Studies have shown that police brutality is and will be a part of your community. In some cases, the officer or officers will be acquitted of the charges. That message is hard to take in when you are the community and the police should

Thursday, December 12, 2019

Interactive Management of Human Resources MyAssignmenthelp.com

Question: Discuss about the Interactive Management of Human Resources in Uncertainty. Answer: Introduction HRM initiative in big companies are often chosen or opted after the identification of some potential flaws in the inside operation of a company. The initiative is thus required to nullify the rising threat and improve the declining performances. These could be anything such as incapable performances of employees, inefficient performances of supervisors and the less capable manager. These are some of the instances, which initiate the necessity for the HRM to look on the issue and come up with some solid solutions (Armstrong and Taylor 2014). The chosen organization is an ABC lighting company in Sydney, which is not performing up to the expected level. The declining sales of the company in the recent past have forced the HRM to look into the subject matter and identify the correct reason behind the issue. The HRM of the respective company have tried to approach the higher management but could not find any appropriate reason. This is because the manager of the company is also not aware of the exact issue behind the recent declining sales of the company. However, the meeting with the CEO of the company did help in analyzing the main problem behind the declining sales. Nevertheless, the problem is in the approach of the manager, which is not open to some of the most advanced technologies, which are important for being competitive in the market. The main purpose of the assignment is tom develop a program to infuse the necessary changes in the manager, which are important for attaining the maximum competitiveness in the market. Moreover, it is also intend to analyze and evaluate the success of the manager development program. Business case is nothing but a project, which is undertaken with a view to provide maximum benefits to the organizations both in terms of customer service and in terms of its financial performance (Armstrong and Taylor 2017). Human capital investment and financial consideration Human capital investment is nothing but the expense, which the manager development program would consume. This affects the financial resources of the company especially when the targeted company has a small sized business. To those companies, which are small sized, they need to be more specific with their budget planning as minor changes in the expenses might incur some big losses to their overall benefits. In such situations, it is necessary that these companies use a portion of its past revenues and profits in the development program. This is safe under the situation of declining sales of the company. Using the percentage of sales is a useful method to be protected from the burden of a big investment costing on the development program (Aswathappa 2013). The chosen HRM initiative for the chosen ABC Company is A major manager development program. This is because of the fact that the ABC Company is suffering of some losses in business terms in recent past. The identified problem behind the losses is unavailability on the social media platform and absence of an e-commerce website. These are such factors, which are very important for a contemporary business. This is because the modern day business is also benefitted by offering some user-friendly atmosphere of shopping and connecting to the customers on the social media platforms. The particular assignment is thus intended to address the mentioned issues by communicating it effectively in the entire organization. This would help in attaining a maximum support from all the stakeholders of the company. The rising urgency in the ABC Company is related to the modernization of the existing business style. The reason behind the modernization is the declining sales of the company, which is majo rly the contribution of unavailability of E commerce website and the social media interactions. The HRM o the country has already taken some initiative to incept and introduce an E commerce website to respond to the rising urgency. This is because of the fact that the HRM is planning for a PR related activities, which they would use it to highlight the future changes. This is very important, as this would allow the company in coming closer to the customers with their new plans (Bamberger, Biron and Meshoulam 2014). Cost-benefit analysis Cost benefit analysis is a very important tool and widely used before incepting any new activities in the management to reduce a rising threat and attain the highest benefit. Jules Dupuit postulated the tool in 1840s. The tool became widely popular in the year 1950s. The name of the tool suggests that it is for measuring the cost to benefit effect of a newly added program (Berman et al. 2012). Following are the stages, which govern the measuring of cost to benefit effect of the newly added change: Brainstorming the costs and the benefits This section of the tool provides the brainstorming of the required areas, which needs financial supports. Moreover, this also allows the imagination of the benefits, which might be incurred from the tool (Bratton and Gold 2012). Costs monetary values assigning This is nothing but the giving of actual costing to the identified changes and the required resources. This can be done with the help of the first step, which was about brainstorming the total costing and the required resources that needs the identified expenditures. This is very important as it gives an utter idea about the costing of the manager development program in the mentioned company (Budhwar and Debrah 2013). Monetary values assignment to the benefits This is perhaps the most challenging task in the entire Costs-benefit analysis tool as because of the fact that benefit of the program is volatile, which is subject to vary. It depends on the market volatility and the counter actions of the changed or the developed format of the manager (Delahaye 2015). Comparing costs and benefits This is the last step of the tool, which helps in analyzing the total output of the development program. It helps decide whether the changes have outweighed the costs or vice-versa. The difference of costs and benefits can be calculated by using the following formula of Costs-benefit analysis (Flamholtz 2012): Total costs / total revenues (or benefits) = time length (the period of payback) Return on Investment Return on investment (ROI) is the widely used mantra in the modern day business, which has no such specific rule and calculation formula. Moreover, it is just calculated by comparing the outcome of the development program (Swart et al. 2012). This is an undeniable fact that ROI is very important for any of the activities, which the organizations conduct for the betterment of their socio-economic status. However, this depends on the organizational objective, which can be short-term objective or long-term objective that varies in and across different organizations. The easiest way to calculate the ROI is to check the profit number and compare it with the total incurred costs in the development program (Ulrich 2013). If the difference of both the term is in minus territory, the program can be termed as an unsuccessful venture. However, if the results are in the positive territory, the program is a success. Despite of the fact that there is no established formula of calculating the ROI, however, it still keeps utmost importance in different organizations across the globe. This is because of the fact that it supplies an utter significant way of judging the valuation of the investments. Moreover, it provides the power to analyze and evaluate the proposed program. ROI is very handful for the ABC Company, as this would provide a specific system to calculate the net outcome of the implemented changes. ROI is very important, as this would allow the ABC Company in having a control on the expenditures. Moreover, this would also help it from the high-budgeting issues in future. This is for the fact that the process encourage for returns, which is the real purpose behind the changes. Nevertheless, ROI would help the ABC Company in moving towards a more controlled way to be safe from the losses. Moreover, the purpose behind ROI is a calculative movement towards the change, which does not put any further strain on the Company (Gil-Aluja 2013). The evaluation of a development program can be evaluated with the help of many factors such as follows (Grant 2016): Analyzing the reflection of the manager development program on the manager such as by checking the changes, which the manager is making if it is there Analyzing the business proficiency by comparing the past sales to the present sales after the spending of a period post development program Analyzing the customer responses post the development program on the performance of the company Analyzing the sales figures, if it has soared then the development program is a success Analyzing the total effect of the development program on the financial performance of the company Evaluation can also be made with the help of two most widely used tools or processes such as Costs-benefit analysis and ROI (Stredwick 2013) Above-mentioned factors are very important because one of them provides a calculation method to judge the profitability of the development program and another provides a process to judge the profitable outcome of the development program respectively Apart from all the factors, which would be used for evaluating the effect of the changes, Costs-benefit analysis and ROI are the two most powerful in this context. This is because the changes are brought for generating the revenues by stopping the declining sales. Nevertheless, nothing could be better than the mentioned two methods in evaluating the changes of the program. This could be done by differentiating the organizational goals such as the short-term goals and the long-term goals. A comparative study of the financial behavior of the company and the respective returns on the investment over the mentioned period would let this know whether the program is successful. Business case summary The business case chosen was the development of the manger of the ABC Company, which is suffering a significant business loss because of its traditional style of doing business. The ABC Company is a lighting product company, which specializes in providing the cheapest pricing to the several kinds of lighting products. The company is well known for its customer service standard and the post sales service. However, the company is facing stiff competition from some of its competitors in Sydney, which is affecting its overall profit and revenues (Hendry 2012). This is because of such reasons that the HRM of the company had a meeting with the manager to know exactly the reason behind the failure. However, the manager is itself not aware of the main reasons behind the declining sales of its products. Hence, the human resource personal and the manager of the company had a meeting with the CEO of the company. They had a long meeting. After analyzing the widely spread pattern of doing busines s of other companies and their relevant success with some other tool had then enabled them in reaching to a conclusion. It was identified that the main problem behind the declining sales were its absence on the e-commerce platform and its less connectivity with the media personals (Phillips, Stone and Phillips 2012). This is because of such reasons that the manager needs to be developed on the finding tools. This is helpful in meeting up with the proposed changes. The developed manager can efficiently help its followers on how to use the e-commerce website and to interact with the media personals (Sparrow, Brewster and Chung 2016). This is very important for the company that the manager is developed with all kinds of expertise, which could encourage the manager for taking efficient and competitive ways. The traditional form of managerial expertise is needed to be mixed with the advanced business tools and platforms, which are a good source for the generation of high sales. This is n ot the only reason behind the opting of the e-commerce platform and social media interaction as these tools have more in store to provide to its inhibitors. Following are some of the benefits, which the e-commerce and social media interaction can provide to the ABC Company apart from just increased sales (Stahl, Bjrkman and Morris 2012): E-commerce helps connect to those customers who rarely visits to the shops but are active users of internet E-commerce would also help the ABC Company in analyzing the cost-effective pricing to its lighting product, which could also prove its superiority on the e-commerce platforms E-commerce is an easy way to interact to a large number of customers in and across the globe, which is never possible by being just confined to a shop Social media interaction by means of Public Relation activities are a good source to promote the product in front of a large customer base such as those who have participated in the campaign and those who are watching the campaign on the TV or other media resources The inception of e-commerce platform for providing the shopping options to the customers on the mentioned platform would certainly help the ABC Company in enlarging its customer base and enhancing its sales figures. This is very important from the perspectives of the ABC Company as the company has some unique features, which its competitors do not have (Storey 2014). The cheapest pricing of the lighting products is a feat, which its competitors have not been able to achieve. The ABC Company is directly involved in having imports from the Chinese market. The Chinese market is very cost-effective in terms of raw materials. This is because of the fact that the costing of the lighting products is cheaper and hence the selling prices are cheaper. The post sales support and the cheapest pricing to the lighting product were some of its unique strengths. Moreover, its connectivity to the e-commerce website and the integrated marketing communications might certainly take the company to anothe r level (Stone 2013). Critical reflective analysis The irrespective of the kinds of the development program takes place; its success depends hugely on outcome. The outcome can be categorized as short-term goals and long-term goals. The desired outcome can be measured both on short-term evaluation of the program or on the long-term evaluation of the program. However, this is an undeniable fact that the proposed outcome depends hugely on the customers responses. It is not necessary that the real outcome match up with the expected outcome. The variation is evident; if it is more than the anticipation then it is a huge success. However, the positive territory of the outcome would certainly prove the development program, a successful campaign. Then the expenditures on the development of manager, the inclusion of the e-commerce website platform and the integrated marketing communications would be justified. However, it is very difficult to predict the clear cut success to the campaign. It can also be a loss to the company as well if it doe s not come out as expected. The high investments on the implemented changes would then be a constraint on the ABC Company. Nevertheless, the entire campaign is worth praising. The used tools to measure and assess the success of the development program are very handy and widely popular. The mentioned tools are effective only if the outcome is known. This is the main problem with the development program as it is hard to predict the positive outcome of the program at the very beginning. It is also not easy to predict after the completion of the program. It is only justifiable when the actual results prove to be as expected. However, the actual results would certainly take some high amount of time. I am personally not a very big fan of such tools as these tools are only effective if the results figures are known. However, I am not denying the importance of the tools; I am just telling that these tools are only effective when outcomes are evident. Nevertheless, I personally support the development programs, as these are some good ways to learn something new and challenging. The high-end working at the workpla ce should be associated with the lifelong learning experiences. This is necessary to be competitive in the market and to be equaled responsive to the changing market as like other competitors. The gradual and the regular learning processes for the managers are a good source for the motivation of employees, as the modernized manager would certainly find different ways to motivate its followers. Conclusion HRM initiatives are something that tries to find out the possible solutions to the identified problem related to the organizations and the management. This is done with the help of some necessary tools and processes that governs a smooth flow of the entire operation. In the given assignment, there was problem related to the manager of the ABC Company as the declining sales had attracted everyone towards the possible causes. The meeting with the CEO had then helped by supplying the necessary information regarding the problem. The issue was related to the style of their business, which was more traditional and less modern. The business had its no presence on the e-commerce platform and on the social media. However, the assignment has supplied some necessary tools and processes such as Costs-benefit analysis and ROI, which could actually initiate the new form of business for the ABC Company. References Armstrong, M. and Taylor, S., 2014.Armstrong's handbook of human resource management practice. Kogan Page Publishers. Armstrong, M. and Taylor, S., 2017.Armstrong's handbook of human resource management practice. Kogan Page Publishers. Aswathappa, K., 2013.Human resource management: Text and cases. Tata McGraw-Hill Education. Bamberger, P.A., Biron, M. and Meshoulam, I., 2014.Human resource strategy: Formulation, implementation, and impact. Routledge. Berman, E.M., Bowman, J.S., West, J.P. and Van Wart, M.R., 2012.Human resource management in public service: Paradoxes, processes, and problems. Sage. Bratton, J. and Gold, J., 2012.Human resource management: theory and practice. Palgrave Macmillan. Budhwar, P.S. and Debrah, Y.A. eds., 2013.Human resource management in developing countries. Routledge. Delahaye, B., 2015.Human resource development. Tilde Publishing. Flamholtz, E.G., 2012.Human resource accounting: Advances in concepts, methods and applications. Springer Science Business Media. Gil-Aluja, J., 2013.The interactive management of human resources in uncertainty(Vol. 11). Springer Science Business Media. Grant, R.M., 2016.Contemporary strategy analysis: Text and cases edition. John Wiley Sons. Hendry, C., 2012.Human resource management. Routledge. Phillips, J.J., Stone, R. and Phillips, P., 2012.The human resources scorecard. Routledge. Sparrow, P., Brewster, C. and Chung, C., 2016.Globalizing human resource management. Routledge. Stahl, G.K., Bjrkman, I. and Morris, S. eds., 2012.Handbook of research in international human resource management. Edward Elgar Publishing. Stone, R.J., 2013.Managing human resources. John Wiley and Sons. Storey, J., 2014.New Perspectives on Human Resource Management (Routledge Revivals). Routledge. Stredwick, J., 2013.An introduction to human resource management. Routledge. Swart, J., Mann, C., Brown, S. and Price, A., 2012.Human Resource Development. Routledge. Ulrich, D., 2013.Human resource champions: The next agenda for adding value and delivering results. Harvard Business Press.

Thursday, December 5, 2019

Standardized Testing free essay sample

Are you one of the many students who cram in hours upon hours of studying the night before an exam that has been stressing you out all week? You wake up the next morning nervous and full of anxiety, just to take the same test as everyone else, under the same conditions as everyone else. Sounds fair right? Well I don’t believe it is, and here’s why. Standardized tests were made to test the knowledge of a student over a particular course or subject. The ACT and SAT, for example, are composed of four multiple choice sections usually including math, english, science and reading. Well here’s the funny thing, everyone is different. Some students thrive at written tests where some students fail. Some students are better at presentations where other students are not. Because of the differences in student’s ability to learn and retain information caused by many different teaching methods and criteria covered, standardized testing has become an unreliable way to measure a student’s knowledge and should be replaced by other means such as using e-portfolios or performance based assessment. We will write a custom essay sample on Standardized Testing or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Some of the main problems with standardized tests such as the ACT or the SAT include trying to accurately measure a students knowledge over a particular set of subjects and a phenomenon involving teachers called â€Å"teaching the test†. In a 2013 speech to the American Educational Research Association, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan said â€Å"State assessments in mathematics and English often fail to capture the full spectrum of what students know and can do,† he said. â€Å"Students, parents, and educators know there is much more to a sound education than picking the right answer on a multiple-choice question† (Evans). I completely agree with Arne Duncan on this matter. On a typical standardized test you have about a twenty five percent chance of getting the answer right. Potentially, you could have a student who does not know the material at all, but could guess right on more than half the answers and get credit for it. Being a student who has taken the ACT more than once, I can honestly say I feel like the ACT was a poor representation of my knowledge over the subjects tested on. Now with the phenomenon called â€Å"teaching the test† which is where teachers center their curricula around state tests, students become subject only to material that will be found on the test. This not only causes teachers to lack creativity within the teaching of the course, but also causes students to become limited to learning test taking skills. Even though standardized testing can be harmful to student’s creativity, there are some alternatives to this problem. One alternative to standardized testing, relating to the SAT and ACT, would be the use of electronic portfolios or e-portfolios. Terrel Rhodes, vice president for quality, curriculum, and assessment at the Association of American Colleges and Universities (AACU) says that â€Å"E-portfolios provide a means for collecting assigned work, as well as students accomplishments in non-classroom settings, so that faculty, internship supervisors, and others can assess it and aggregate or disaggregate the results, depending on the purposes of the assessment† (1). Basically e-portfolios would be a collection of student’s individual work throughout the year, organized into a folder that the teacher would have access to at all times. This folder would help the teacher view how each and every student learns and give an overview on how much each student took away from the course, what not to teach in the following years and what to cover more heavily. This alternative is more effective and personal than a standardized multiple choice test because it gives the teacher a chance to personally view how each individual student is progressing throughout the year. In terms of college admissions, if your portfolio was shared with the colleges of your choice, it would allow college admissions to see your progress throughout the year. So instead of just seeing an ACT test score that a student could have potentially guessed on for more than half the answers, they would be able to see a portfolio showing how well equipped and prepared for college the student is. It would be a great way of telling if the student would be a good fit for their program or not. Given the knowledge at hand, I believe e-portfolios would be a great alternative to standardized testing. Another alternative to standardized testing is performance based assessment. â€Å"Performance assessments measure skills such as the ability to integrate knowledge across disciplines, contribute to the work of a group, and develop a plan of action when confronted with a new situation† (Brudali). This differs from standardized testing in the fact that teachers focus more on the process of learning, where standardized testing focuses on the product. Instead of using tests that are multiple choice that require a student to choose the one correct answer, performance based assessment often times uses group projects, hands-on projects, essays and verbal presentations to determine a student’s knowledge and skills over a particular set of subjects. Another advantage to performance assessment is that â€Å"Performance assessments provide teachers with more information about the learning needs of their students and enable them to modify their methods to meet these needs† (Wren). Teachers actually try to assess each and every students learning process and direct the class accordingly, letting students take away more from lectures. Having this type of assessment in high school would benefit students tremendously in college. Having experience with verbal presentations and hands on projects will provide the student a head start with skills you need for college. These skills would be used for interviews, group projects in labs and speeches given throughout the years. Performance based assessment would tremendously benefit and prepare students for college and would be a great alternative to standardized testing. Knowing that there are already proven solutions to standardized testing, let me ask you why you are still taking them? Studies have clearly proven that standardized testing is an inaccurate and unreliable way to display the knowledge of students. Not only that, studies have also proven that different methods such as e-portfolios and the performance based assessments are a more accurate and effective way of displaying a students knowledge over various subjects. So why don’t you take initiative? Join a club like student council, a club where you have a say with what goes on with your school and the decisions being made. Start a petition against standardized testing and let students get involved. Not only that, let your community get involved. Tell your family and friends about the disadvantages of standardized testing and its inability to measure students’ knowledge. There are many ways you can get involved in your school and community to have a say in the decisions being made with problems such as standardized testing. All you have to do is take initiative and act upon it. With all the knowledge at hand, I truly believe standardized testing is a terrible way to reflect a student’s knowledge and there are many alternatives that can be provided in place of it.