The Ethical Concerns with Data Mining Essay example -- Computers

The Ethical Concerns with Data Mining Introduction to Data Mining and Warehousing With the advent of computer technologies that can store large quantities of data, cross reference that data, and compute patterns in the data, benefits abound in many applications. However, with it comes new ethical concerns regarding the privacy and security of the persons or entities in which the information was sourced. While permission may have been received with each bit of information, which may have appeared harmless to divulge, there are issues regarding the data's ownership -- its sharability in US or globally, its combination with other data, its accuracy, its security, and its overall end use [1] -- that could contribute to privacy or security "violations", where some kind of detremental harm could potentially be presented. Many questions exist. Should there be restrictions on what data can be stored? Should permission be required to be up front? How can the data collected be shared? Should there be a mandated set of rules on data collection and use in general for all businesses, governments, to uphold if they want to use data? What are the ethical evaluations of the issues, and would it be correct for a policy to be put in place to monitor the ethical issues? In this paper I will address how some organizations are dealing with the ethical approaches, but first, here is some background on the technology, its uses, benefits, misuses, and issues. What is Data Mining? What are its Uses? Data Mining, Data Warehousing, or Knowledge Discovery and Data Mining(KDDM), are technologies that encorporate computer hardware and software to store large amounts of collected data, usually about people, and then use the infor... .../30/2004 http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/news/archive/2004/03/30/international0553EST0481.DTL 16. ACLU, "Group Calls for Investigation, New Laws to Restrict Data Surveillance", May 27, 2004, http://www.aclu.org/Privacy/Privacy.cfm?ID=15860&c=130 17. Leslie Miller, "EU, U.S. Sign Passenger Data Agreement", Associated Press, May 28, 2004, http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=514&e=4&u=/ap/20040528/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/airline_passenger_data 18. Amanda Holt, PR Ethics Resource Center 18. Amanda Holt, PR Ethics Resource Center 19. Utilitarian Ethics, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Utilitarian_ethics 20. Colleen McCue, Emily S. Stone, Teresa P. Gooch, "Data mining and value-added analysis", The FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin, Nov, 2003. http://articles.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m2194/is_11_72/ai_111496582

Who the Fools Are in Gimpel the Fool Essay -- Isaac Bashevis Singer Pa

Who the Fools Are in Gimpel the Fool When reading through "Gimpel the Fool", the reader asks who the fools really are? Throughout this paper I will use the psychological approach. I will use this to show that Gimpel's character grows more into a successful person rather than a fool as everyone knows him to be. "Gimpel The Fool" is a story written by Isaac Bashevis Singer. This story is about a simple man named Gimpel. He is measured by many to be a fool because he is naive and easily taking advantage of; constantly falling for tricks layed out by the townspeople. Gimpel is also easily persuaded by the townspeople; they end up persuading him into marrying Elka, who is known as a whore. The author's point of view is what he is trying to get across to the readers. In this story, Singer is showing that good triumphs over evil. The author shows Gimpel's good side, by showing how caring and kind he is to people no matter what way he is treated by them. Gimpel just believes if he goes with the flow of things it would be a lot easier than dealing with the townspeople. "However, I resolved that I would always believe what I was told. What's the good of not believing? Today it's your wife you don't believe; tomorrow it's God Himself you won't take stock in" (305). Gimpel says this after his wife gave birth to their second child, during that time he had not seen her for nine months. The author shows us what is inside of Gimpel by having him be the narrator. He gives us an in-depth look inside the character's personality. Gimpel states, "I was no weakling. If I slapped someone he'd see all the way to Cracow" (301). The author is showing here that Gimpel does not have to give into the townspeople, he just chooses to. Throughout thi... ...ter about themselves the way they treated him. The townspeople never really showed any morals (superego) to Gimpel or any respect. All they showed was lack of respect and ridicule. As I read "Gimpel the fool" I thought to myself is Gimpel really the fool or is everyone else? To me I personally think he was not, he is smart by not arguing with people because arguing only causes turmoil, he was just making things easier on himself. Reading through this story I noticed a lot of things. I think in actuality the townspeople are the fools for the way they treated Gimpel. He is a good caring man that could be an excellent husband, as well an excellent friend. I think even though the people see him as being rich the truly rich thing in him is his forgiveness for others. Works Cited Singer, Isaac Bashevis. "Gimpel the Fool." Introduction to Literature. 2nd ed. Ed.

The Life of Billy Joel :: Musicians Singers Biographies Essays

The Life of Billy Joel Billy Joel was born on May 9, 1949 in Bronx, New York. He moved at the age of four to a small town on Long Island. This is where at the ripe age of four he discovered the art of music. Originally a classical music fan, Billy Joel honed his skills with classical piano training. This undoubtedly has had a major influence on his life and certainly his music. Growing up Joel was a big fan of such greats as Ray Charles, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, and Otis Reading. He was greatly persuaded into a career of music when he saw the Beatles perform on the Ed Sullivan Show. Amusingly Joel's first band was inspired by the uncanny opportunity to meet girls. The band was called The Echoes, but this was not the best of times for Joel because his parents were involved in a messy divorce, which included serious financial shortcomings. Joel even began working professional music gigs at night to help support his mother. Joel's schoolwork suffered a little and he began missing school way too often. He was subsequently not allowed to graduate with his high school class due to the number of absences. After high school Joel immediately joined a very popular band called The Hassels for which he recorded two albums with. Within two years Joel was on to a new band which he named Attila, and featured heavy metal drummer Jon Small who he played with during his time with The Hassels. Despite the previous release of two albums Joel still needed to bring in more money so he worked many music related jobs and gigs. He even wrote a rock and roll criticism piece in a weekly column for a magazine. By 1972 Billy Joel was finally on to the big stage when he released his first solo album named, Cold Spring Harbor. He named the album after a small village near his hometown on Long Island's North Shore. This album began to get air time when a Philadelphia based radio station, 93.3 WMMR began playing a live version of a new song called, Captain Jack. Despite its popularity on the east coast, Joel went west in search of some notoriety. He performed in piano bars regularly under the name Billy Martin. This experience is the basis for his hit song, Piano Man. As the popularity of Captain Jack spread west Joel was offered a contract with Columbia Records where he quickly produced top 20 hit, Piano Man.

An Indian’s View of Indian Affairs: A Speech by Chief Joseph

Sunju Han History 152 Document Analysis During the late nineteenth century, many changes have occurred during the Industrial Revolution. The living conditions in America were deteriorating for anyone who wasn’t in the upper social economic classes. Many complaints were arising from the masses. Of the population, two primary documents have been observed to express the point of views of particular groups they represent. One of these documents was from Chief Joseph of the Nez Perce Indians, from the Indian point of view. The other document was from the Populists Party, largely representing the farmers and working classes of the 1890s.The time period of both documents roughly range from the 1870s through the 1890s. Chief Joseph’s speech was called â€Å"An Indian’s View of Indian Affairs†. In his speech, he speaks from the Indian’s perspective of how they are treated and handled. One of the many issues he brings up is about the treatment of his people. He felt that his people are treated like animals and outlaws, being shot down or driven from country to country. The whites who have encroached on their land have driven off their cattle and horses. They also stole from the Indians. For example, whites would brand the Indian’s young cattle so that they can claim it as their own.Chief Joseph also felt the whites were causing problems on purpose in order to start a war between the whites and Indians. He pleads his case by stating how the Indians didn’t kill off the first white settlers that were having trouble surviving. Now they repay their thanks by causing trouble because they have the power to conquer the Indians. In the beginning, the Indians gave up some of their land foolishly believe they would be left alone but the more they gave, the more that was taken from them. He complains that his people aren’t getting treated like humans. Many whites saw them as savages that don’t know any other way than vio lence.In his speech he is taking an emotional approach in order to gain the sympathy of law enforcers, Congress or the President, or from the population. As Chief Joseph was stating how his people were treated, he also stated a general outline of the future he envisioned for his people. The future he envisioned consisted mainly of equality. He dreams of his people being treated like all the other men from the states. He pleads that everybody follows the same set of legislation in the land that they all share. He believes that anyone born of the earth was born a free man and should be given liberty.He wants his men to have an equal chance at life in general. The simple liberties like freedom to travel, work, trade where ever they choose, choice of teacher, or even following the religion of their fore fathers. The basic liberties stated in the very foundation of our country are what Chief Joseph is advocating for his people. He states that they will follow whatever laws set before the m if they can get a chance of being treated like a real man in this country. Joseph did indeed believe that Native Americans and whites could coexist in the United States.When the first white settlers appeared, he believed that they would all have the same set of morals and values. This was the basis of his belief in the coexistence of Indians and whites. His speech also depicts the very possibility of coexistence in exchange for equality. He believes that the Indians would have no problem or reason to cause conflict or trouble if these basic requests were met. He also believes that any man born in the same earth are all granted equal rights from the moment they were born. He states that he is simply reclaiming those rights in order to help better the living conditions his people are living in.He also believes that much of the bloodshed and war can be avoided if each party can be more honest with each other and compromise. The Populists were the first political insurgency, meaning t hat they were the first to radically go against the ideas of our nation’s political policies. They were the first political party that appealed to the farmers and the â€Å"producing class†, which included the industrial workers to the miners. They were the first party to bring up any political platform on issues that were for the general working class. Many of the other political parties would try to cover up the many problems present in our economy.They were the radicals that went against all the other political platforms, bring up issues that the big companies and industries try to overlook or cover up. The Populists believed that he nation found itself on the brink of â€Å"moral, political, and material ruin†. During those times corruption, bribery, and despotism was rampant everywhere around the whole world, not just the United States. The newspapers were bribed to be silenced, the public opinion didn’t matter anymore, and there was corruption in th e ballot boxes. The laborers were denied the freedom to form unions anymore. The currency flow was restricted by the mega-millionaires.There was no way of controlling the huge businesses to better the lives of the working class. These were some of the main issues that caused the Populists to believe that we were on the brink of â€Å"moral, political, and material ruin†. The two proposals put forth by the Populist Party that were significant were the right to form labor unions and the ownership of all transportation to the government. The right to form labor unions would become a sort of balancing process for the big companies. It would restrain the rampant companies from making their workers suffer from unfair and unjust working conditions.It would also provide a system of control that the large industries didn’t have before. The ownership of the railroads, telegraph, telephone, and post- office systems would create a universal fairness for the masses. Since it is a c rucial public necessity, a monopoly on any of these items could impact the whole country greatly. The government ownership of these systems would be for the general welfare of the people and create fees that can be affordable to the general masses and population throughout the United States. These are some of the issues and solutions stated in both Chief Joseph’s speech and the Populist platform.

Macdonals Work Force Diversity

What diversity means to McDonalds is not only who works within the organisation but goes as far as the customers who they serve. Patricia Sowell Harris, McDonald’s Chief Diversity Officer declares, â€Å"At its simplest, diversity means that your organization reflects the customers you serve and the society in which you operate. But to be effective, it’s more than counting numbers †¦ it’s making those numbers count. A truly diverse culture means that different views, opinions, experiences, educations, religions, and lifestyles are respected, where everybody is a valued and contributing member of the team, and where actions are led by insights that create success in the business. † While diversity initiatives have assisted many people in their professions and organisations in their venture to succeed, is there another side to the story; is it just a waste of time and money? For some corporations, that may be true. Cultural diversity efforts like cultural awareness could be seen as nothing more than an extravagant scheme that really does nothing to help workers feel like they are truly a part of the organization, but for the organisation to be seen in a positive light from onlookers; although this hardly seems the case for cultural diversity initiatives in McDonalds. The following was taken from the McDonalds website: Minorities and women represent approximately 37 per cent of all McDonald's franchisees; More than 65 per cent of the applicants in training to become new McDonald's franchisees are women and minorities. † Serves more than 58 million customers around the world each day †¢ Is the leading global foodservice retailer with more than 32,000 local restaurants in 118 countries †¢ Employs more than 1. 6 million people worldwide – our brand’s best ambassadors are our people †¢ Today, more than 60 percent of our glob al home office and U. S. ompany workforce are of a racial or ethnic minority, or are women †¢ Is widely recognized as a top company for minorities – also a â€Å"Great Place to Work† in more than 30 countries †¢ Ranked one of the Top 20 Global Companies for Leaders by Fortune magazine in 2007 †¢ About 80% of McDonald’s restaurants worldwide are independently owned & operated (franchised) by local business men and women (McDonalds corporation www. macdonalds. com as it exists 2/4/11) Around the world, inclusion and diversity at McDonald’s means providing equal opportunities for everyone to ucceed and contribute. We accomplish this in a number of ways, such as the integration of diversity initiatives into our daily business practices, a strong diversity education curriculum, employee business networks and external partnerships with minority organizations. Jan states â€Å"I’m proud of our industry-leading Global Inclusion and Intercultural Management team which has successfully driven our efforts to have diversity among our employees, franchisees and suppliers across the globe. Jan Fields, President, McDonald’s USA With more than 32,000 restaurants in 118 countries, McDonald’s carries a new meaning to the word diversity, bringing diversity and even change to the menus at every community it touches. Around the world, diversity at McDonald’s means providing equal opportunities for everyone to succeed and contribute. They accomplish this in a number of ways, such as bring forth diversity initiatives into their daily business practices, a strong diverse education curriculum, employee business networks and partnerships with minority organisations. To reinforce the diverse culture today, more than 60 per cent of the workforces are of a racial or ethnic minority, or are women. Inclusion and Diversity also plays an important role for the leaders of McDonalds in the future. Our management team provides regular updates on the progress in this area so they are constantly evaluating the performance to make sure they have strong diverse culture, including gender, ethnicity and nationality. In addition, McDonalds has the largest number of minority and women franchise owners in the fast food industry. The National Black McDonald’s Owner/Operator Association can be considered most successful African American business organizations in the nation, and the Hispanic franchisees fund the largest scholarship program for Hispanic high school students entering college. Furthermore McDonalds suppliers are equally diverse. On average McDonald’s spend $4 billion per year on food, paper packaging, restaurant operating supplies, uniforms and toys from minority and women-owned businesses says Patricia Sowell Harris, McDonald’s Chief Diversity Officer So whether it’s their franchisees, suppliers, or employees, their commitment to inclusion and diversity has helped make McDonald’s the company they’re today. Most importantly, this commitment allows the fast food chain to ensure that their restaurants and business reflect the customer in which is extensively diverse.

Problem and its Background Essay

Man’s progress is measured through the advancement of Science and Technology in different fields especially in business arena. Through the years, many business establishments were built and organized to boost their business operation. Almost all types of business may it be small, medium or large scale are trying to take advantage of this technology. This means less paper works for office employees and even fewer employees for some organization seems to depend on its ability to utilize computer technology at its fullest. Presently, automation is one of the leading industry in the country today. Since technology changes rapidly and demands for machines are rising. There is a need for a basic understanding of computer technology , this understanding enables us to be comfortable in an increasing computer oriented environment by removing the fear with the unknown that many people have about the computer. One of the benefits of the system is it provides a prompt computation and accurate enough within a certain design space, especially for time-consuming manual process. New users often fret over the potential for lost data due to system malfunctions with a well designed and tested backup scheme and disaster recovery system, a computer-based record is much more reliable and less prone to data loss than conventional paper-based records. Record access can be restricted and monitored automatically. Provided that data are structured and coded in an unambiguous fashion, programs can continuously check and filter the data for errors, summarize and interpret data, and issue alerts and/or reminders. Once in electronic form a data can be linked to reference information stored and maintained locally or, via the internet. If the electronic record is integrated, then all data is immediately available to all practitioners regardless of their physical location as soon as the data is entered into the computer. The health care environment is currently undergoing a revolution. A rapidly growing cost of providing medical care are forcing hospital to merge at an increasing rate in order to consolidate the types of services offered. The cost of the new technology is also requiring a hospital to reevaluate their mission to the communities they serve. Originally no specialized users were contented with common tasks such as paper, ball pen, typewriter and file cabinet to perform their jobs. These people could satisfactorily accomplish their tasks without computer technology, but these situations have change dramatically. With the new technology, hospitals provide faster more accurate and more convenient services to their patients. Background of the study San Juan District Hospital is the only government hospital in this part of Batangas. It is a 25 bed capacity secondary government hospital that was established by virtue of Republic Act 3956. A Puericulture Center has been offered by concerned citizen of the town headed by Mrs. Marietta O. De Villa as the first hospital building. It is a two story building with a floor area of roughly 200 square meters which was . approved by the Department of Health. The National Aid Budget was first released under TW# 804-039288 dated June 11, 1975 and received on June 20, 1975 in the amount of P 105,645. 00. With this financial source, organization of the hospital was immediately approved of about 13 hospital items/positions. The hospital was opened to the public on July 1, 1975 for consultation services only, headed by Dr. Marciano Marcellana as Chief of Hospital. The catchment areas of this hospital are San Juan Rural Health Unit I & II, Rosario and Taysan. In the year 1982, the Trivino family donated one hectare of farm lot for the construction of new hospital building at Barangay Talahiban 2nd, San Juan, Batangas. The hospital then transferred to the new site year 1988. In April, 1993 with the implementation of Republic Act No. 7180, otherwise known as Local Government Code of 1991, San Juan District Hospital was devolved to the Provincial Government of Batangas under the immediate supervision of the Provincial Health Officer. In 1999 as part of the government’s computerization program the San Juan District Hospital received computers from the local government. The hospital had a payroll system on 2001. MISSION: Development of health conscious and healthy families and communities thru partnership with the people by the provision of the four ACES: availability, accessibility, affordability, acceptability and omnipotently guided health care services. VISION: A socialized medicine for the Batanguenos especially the underpriviledge. GENERAL OBJECTIVE: Further uplift the health of the people particularly Batangenyos through curative, promotive and preventive aspect of health care delivery. Conceptual Framework Feedback Fig 1. Conceptual Paradigm Examination of Conceptual Paradigm The system is â€Å"San Juan District Hospital Management System†. It is intended for the operations inside the hospital which caters Billing and Record Keeping of patients. The users include the administrator who has full access of the system. The cashier, one who receives the payment of the patients. The Billing Clerk computes for the bill of patients, Chief of Billing verifies and updates records in case invalid data was inputted and also verifies the eligibility for discount of the patients. The encoder, one who adds record concerning billing. The nurse gathers the information from the patient including the patient’s picture then it is turned over to the record officer for storage and safekeeping. The encoder is the one to add patient records. The record officer verifies and update the records of the patient. The nurse in each station could only view the information regarding the patient. In Patient’s Information the users gather the patient’s record such as the patients name, disposition, diagnosis and etc. On the other hand in Billing, the user entails the medical Transactions as well as the medical supplies consumed by the patient. All of the medical transactions as well as medical supplies consumed by the patient are submitted to the billing section. The adoptability of San Juan District Hospital Management System: Reliability-refers to the dependability and precautionary measures of the system. -The system provides accupate information on the billing of patients – The system provides useful information regarding the patient’s record – The system provides accuracy and consistency in the patient record – The system provides an accurate computerized print out of records – The system minimizes the work load of the users Security-refers to the accessibility of the users to the system. – The system provides log in and log out forms for an improved security – The system provides the ability of the admin to access all the functions of the system – The system provides user level like the administrator, record officer, cashier, etc. – The system provides restrictions appropriate for the type of user – The system provides system management the user account by using add, edit and delete functions. User Friendliness-refers to the simplicity and understandability of the system. – The system provides an easy to understand visual user interface – The system provides an interactive help system for easy usage – The system makes use of shortcut buttons for easy system navigation – The system makes use of proper colors and fonts suitable interface environment – The system provides a confirmation message for the confirmation of the action. Efficiency-refers to the competence of the system. – The system Provides a search engine for fast retrieval of informatio – The system Makes use of the add, edit, delete functions for easy information updates. – The system Speeds up the work of the users – The system Simplifies the record keeping and record handling of the hospital. – The system Speeds up the patient and hospital transactions The data gathered from the devices is then processed by the system. The devices include printer which is use to produce hard copy of receipts as well as reports. Since it is an integrated system it needs a LAN Card for networking. WebCam to input pictures of the patients. This leads to gathering of Timely reports for Billing. It also generates Patient’s Record by request. The system is insignificant if it has no benefit. The system Accelerates work in generating Bill Reports as we all know that waste of time effort in every business means a lost in their assets. It could easily keep track of information regarding the patients bills since it is presented timely and it also enhances the quality of work since the production of inaccurate reports would be lessened. It also lessens time and effort in looking for the patient’s record in a logbook and filling cabinet. The users could easily manipulate the system because it is presented in a user friendly environment. Statement of the Problem 1. What are the profile of the respondents? a) Position b) Computer Literacy 2. How do the respondents perceived the current way of retrieving information? a) Filling Cabinet b) Index Card 3. How do the respondents perceive the current way of generating bill reports? a) Manually generated receipts 4. How do the respondents perceived the idea of having â€Å"San Juan District Hospital Management System† based on the ff: a) Reliability b) Security c) User Friendliness d) Efficiency 5. How do the respondents perceive the applicability of San Juan District Hospital Management System? Scope and Limitation of the study The system consists of computerized billing and record keeping system. Only authorized persons is able to access these processes through the use of passwords. The nurse of each workstation has limitation in using a system due to the hierarchy of authority. Each of these has data storage, data entry and report generation. It is in LAN Based. Billing System consists of the invoices of the patient. It generates timely reports as well as printing of receipts. This incorporates the laboratory charges and medical supplies used. Provided that the medicines are bought inside the hospital. It also computes for the discounts such as PhilHealh, insurance and etc. This does not include monitoring of the profit earned by the hospital. It does not include payments with the use of credit cards. Record Keeping System encloses only the In-patient and out-patient’s personal information that would be needed for the diagnosis such as the name, ailment, gender,picture and etc. It also encompasses the laboratory results of the In-patient which is attached to nurse records through the availability of computer in the laboratory. Importance of the Study Giving latest innovation with the use of computer integration, the proponents have arrived in the best possible computer integration assets by the creative minds in achieving optimum success. The system provided a design model for the better, effective and efficient processing of the system. This system intends to help the San Juan District Hospital in the processing of the needed data and documents. This system can perform tasks of an individual in an accelerated manner so it could increase job performance. It reduces manual process and so it could minimize human errors. This system is made easily for the user, so they can easily adopt. It minimizes the paper works of the person in charge in monitoring. It enhances the quality of work, since the production of inaccurate reports would be lessened if not eliminated. The processing can change the way the user operates. In addition, the system solves time and labor, the processing can lead to benefits such as improve services and control flow. The system can improve the processing of the hospital. The data can be access easily and the reports could be made available anytime the clients need it. The importance of the system primary focuses to meet and satisfy the given objectives of the system. This system is undertaken by proponents in order to adopt in a more advance techniques that are currently use in some offices and institutions. The finding of the system should be able to be of great help to the billing section as well as to other departments to take a direction towards modern computerization. Therefore, a lot of effort and time would be saved. It is a great advantage for San Juan District Hospital for the reason that the client could avail a good service and marks for the reason to help more organize and punctual to their tasks so they could do their responsible well. Definition of Terms Administrative Department- responsible for the operation of the entire institution. Anesthesiologist- a doctor who supervises the use of drugs for the relief of pain during surgery. Charge Nurse – A registered or licensed practical or vocational nurse assigned to be in charge of a nursing unit. Custodial Care – Basic care provided on a 24 hour basis that meets an individual’s basic physical needs; simple assistance or total care may be needed. District or Community Hospital- serves larger population centers such as towns and large cities. Geriatric Hospital- hospital that accommodates the older population segment. Hospital – A health care facility that has a governing body, an organized medical and professional staff, and inpatient facilities and provides medical, nursing, and related services for injured patients. Inpatient – A person who has been admitted at least overnight to a hospital or other health facility. Intensive Care Unit- unit where an intensive monitoring and nursing is provided for seriously-ill patients. Laboratory- hospital unit where tests are conducted to help doctors in the diagnosis and treatment of illnesses. Level of Security Password Access-the persons who can only access one computer. Maternity Units- hospital unit that help protect mothers and infants from infection. Medical Units- units for patients who are required treatment by drugs. Medication-treatment of an illness using drugs. Medicine card-patient medication with corresponding time. Medical Prescription-covers the doctors medical prescription to his patient. Medical Records Department- keeps records on every patient. Networked-A state of being physically connecting 2 or more computers to create a communication and data exchange system. Nurse-somebody trained to look after sick and inured people,especially somebody who works in a hospital or clinic,administering the care and treatment that a doctor prescribes. Nurse note -a form a sheet which nurses ask to record their observation and report. Nursing staff- form the largest group on the patient care system. Outpatient – a patient who is receiving ambulatory care at a hospital or other facility without being admitted to the facility. Patient Record System-covers the processing of the information pertaining to the patient. This system stores all the details about her patient. Radiologist- directs a hospital X-ray and other imaging services. Surgical Unit- hospital unit for patients necessitating surgery. Ward- a room where a patient stays while receiving treatment. Acronyms CVD- Cardiovascular Disease CBC- Complete Blood Count DR- Delivery Room FBS- Fasting Blood Sugar ICD- International Code of Diseases ID- Once Daily LAN-Local Area Network MGH- May Go Home OPD- Out-Patient Department OR- Operating Room ORT- Oral Rehydration Therapy PC- Platelet Count QID- Four times a day RBC- Red Blood Cells RHU- Rural Health Unit RX- Prescription SE- Stool Exam UE- Urinalysis SWO-Social Welfare Office CHAPTER II Review of Related Literature and Study Local Study A study states that â€Å"It generates multiple reports for every department of Kolin Plant†. (Comia, 2005) The system concentrates and focused on the development of computer-based system. The system also includes generating of reports. In relation to this study, the researchers provide a computerized Monitoring System for J07 construction supply and services. The system includes the monitoring of the incoming ; outgoing raw materials ; updating of raw materials. The system also features the capability to print out file information like the available and consumed stocks. It monitors the total number of product that are sold ; unsold ,; update sales ; record of accurately . It also serves as a feature of assigning of prices to a particular item ; automatically detecting the required products for recording . It also has features of monitoring the daily sale of market. In relation to this study, the researchers developed a computerized Monitoring System for J07 construction supply ; services. The system includes the monitoring of the incoming and outgoing raw materials and updating of raw materials. A study (Edralin, 2003) states that small company as we can see majority of the business uses computers with also included the use of computerized system in order to achieve their goal and to lessen in the manual process in the business. As they believe using computer makes the business flow smooth and faster and we can’t regret for what they believe because as far as we know it has been proven for many times in many aspects of business. It provides the data needed for automation and computerization of its sales monitoring system. It also supplies the company a better system that benefits each and everyone on the company as a whole. According to Lee (2004) In this hospital Admitting and Centralized Billing System aims to develop a system that would monitor the room availability, speed up the processing of readmittance and would decentralized the exchange of patient’s record. Included in the system is a work area that provides a faster and easier method of adding, viewing, modifying and deleting of reports. This study focuses in admitting and billing system of patient. It has own data entry and report generations. Reports include the following. In-patient bills, in-patient information and last of patient. LAN setup is notr tackled in this study. According to Rogelio D. Rivera (2006) I usually design a system design requested when there is some dissatisfaction present in the system. In the system in this book Analysis of Data Management stated that â€Å"No system can be devised which is full proof against personnel which do not know or make property in developing a system, a process is set to meet the dissatisfaction of the present system, on the part of the beneficiaries such as the personnel and applicant, the new system should at least give them the ease of maintaining a fast and better procedure on handling records. A study (Augusto ,2003) wrote in this national press academic entitled â€Å"Reduce medical error requires Computerized Patient Information System† stated that to significally reduce the tens of thousands of deaths and injuries caused by medical errors every year, health care organizations must adopt information technology system that are capable of collecting and sharing essential health information on patients and their care, says a new report by the institute of medicine of the national academics. These systems should operate seamlessly. As part of the national network of health information that is accessible by all health care organization and that includes electronic records of patient’s care and secure platforms for the exchange of information among providers and patients and data standards that makes health information uniform and understandable to all. Foreign study A study (Monlb, 2002) states that the reality of today’s medical world is that cost effective, efficient management of receivables is a major challenge. Successful relationship with their client have Medical Data Systems an industry leader in revenue management Services. Specializing in secondary collection of hospital allow end professional fee billing, medical net-System has the solutions to today and tomorrows challenges. It has maintained an excellent reputation through out its 14 year history currently employing over 150 staff members at 6 locations throughout the Southeast and Southwest. We pride ourselves on or seminar-oriented, peer cooperative working relationship with a clients. The ultimate goal is to design a unique management services package to match the needs of our practice of facility. They work closely with you to assess your intimations, analyze and evaluate your specific requirements and faster solution to your need. Through over 14-year history of medical billing they have observed that professional fee-components billing is time-consuming laborious process that detracts the hospital billing staff that detracts the hospital billing staff from their more comprehensive compliance issues required for the much lower value professional claims is often not a cost effective undertaking for a medical facilitating they have developed an intermediate information system, which is utilized as a holding database between the hospital and their billing system, which screens information for discrepancies and incomplete data prior to exportation into their billing system. This yield information into their staff to concentrate on the aged receivables. The Resident Care System is a computerized medical record system designed to reduce the amount of hand written paper works required to maintain resident and nursing center records. (Moshida, 2004). It is a computerized medical record that prevents lost of productivity, improve clinical accuracy and charge captures. Experts are taking its institution’s paperless and tell the benefits of the next level of efficiency that are being delivered to the HIPAA V. DRUG Info today. All stakeholders in healthcare organization and caregivers, consumers, purchasers, payers and policy making are focused in the orientation of medical errors and weighing the health care providers involve. Thousands of people did it every year as a result of Adverse Drug Event (ADE). The result is efficient, high-quality care. In relation to this study, the system reduced paper works and avoids loss of files or manipulation of medical information/records. A study (Peters,2004) wrote the System Analysis and Design refers to the process of examining a situation and deciding whether improvements is deserved or feasible. The intent of the system investigation is to study a business process and evaluating it. Manage should be a result, not an â€Å"intent†. In developing a system, a process is set to meet are the dissatisfaction of the present systems on the part of the beneficiaries, such as the personnel and the applicant, the new system should at least give then the ease of maintaining a fast and better procedure on handling records. According to William, (2002) A system is combined with a function or purpose and each person thinks in terms of the job he or she is trying to accomplish. It is necessary to explore alternative ways of some changes to be made. Manage should be a result, not an intent. † It is impossible to set standard for handling applicant and employees records. The only matter to be considered is simply developing the best system which is set to meet the requirements of file handling and management. In this book the way of doing something to see if the method should continue as is modified slightly completely revised. A study Henry F. Korths (2003) states that: â€Å"The system should produce meaningful results quickly. This usually means action reports an a basic on immediate responses to inquiries. It does not eliminate entirely the traditional historical aspect, but it does not mean, that such reports most supplement with current oriented reports† Local Literature According to the article â€Å"Asian Hospital uses new info system for faster, efficient transactions â€Å"(Veroy Robert,2006) states that the system, called Hospital 2000, is highly-specialized software that integrates the hospital’s various systems into a single platform and one database. Hospital 2000 takes account on specially-designed programs that will facilitate the hospital’s internal transactions to better serve the inpatient and outpatient populations. â€Å"Running a modern hospital requires proper data facilitation and accurate system management to deliver efficient and real time transactions particularly between doctors and patients. That’s why with this new system, we are now at par, if not better, than any other hospital in the Asia-Pacific region,† said Pamela Robinson, Asian Hospital CEO and President. The system, according to Asian Hospital Director for General Services Joel Garcia, has three major components covering administrative, clinical and imaging activities. Furthermore, the system takes care of the hospital’s financial records, purchasing, recording functions, and on-line ordering system for the nurse’s station. Hospital 2000 was specifically made for Bumrungrad Hospital, a Bangkok-based healthcare facility, in 1998. Asian Hospital recently sealed a partnership with Bumrungrad International in an effort to upgrade its existing facilities including the hospital’s information and communications technology system. The need for efficient records management and information service in the administration of justice in the Philippines, may be addressed through IT. It is interwoven into almost every hand of the country’s social fabric and the judiciary is not exempted Chief Justice Andres Narvasce said that â€Å"the benefits of using an Information Technology in judicial system is readily apparent†. An article in Metropolitan times, Volume No. 27, states that the high court created the computerization committee tasked with the automation of the Supreme Court. The committee’s first task include the installation of a Case Administration System (CAS). The CAS links the different offices with are primary concerned with the supreme counts judicial work through a Local Area Network. According to Sacobel (2004) the progress is significant because it is capable of decongesting the back loss of cases in the courts. The chief justice believes that if the case is available and the system prepared to use it, then it becomes simply a matter of you providing the necessary logistical support. The high tribunal is currently proposing revisions in the laws in production with the objective of simplifying procedure. Though there will be substantial changes. They are intended to harmonize the rules in this area of the law and simplify the work of lawyer and judges. This would translate into faster more efficient case disposition and overall improvement of justice system. A popular author of Accounting Parsin (2005), states in his book that business organization are using computers to improve their efficiency and reduce their cost of operation. Reports are more timely and accelerate computer have manipulate and recall data to the form , all users wishes to use with the introduction of microcomputers computation of business is more affordable. He also stated that computers are beneficial to the improvement of the company. Reduce time, effort and money. Computers play a major role in every company for their improvement and giving quality service to their respective customers. According to Chua (2003) it pervades every aspect of our lives. Ti has become ubiquitous and essential for developments. The information technology embarks the passage of our time. It is necessary to adapt to response our changing needs. It corresponds to the unfolding body of knowledge which is now being sensible anywhere. Information Technology nowadays becomes a necessity, OLE to the beneficial aspect it brings in human life. It tends to keep daily routines efficient, accurate and timely to the needs depending to the needs of people. According to Simons (2006) as Information Technology continues to burst, it gives attention to different aspect of the needs of the user. â€Å"In this tech-driven age, scientific break through made practically everyday as a science and technology march forwards to the proverbial leads and bonds†¦Ã¢â‚¬ . The prolongation of this breakthrough gives convenience life to the users, which signifies the progress of computerization. It comes in different aspects in offices, hospital, establishments, even at home. Thus, computerized information system is a phenomenon to handle, for it adapts to relevant needs to different people. Foreign Literature An article entitled China’s Computer-aided Hospital Management System( Chih-Ho Yu & Ning Huang Washington,2004) states that China – Computer Hospital Management System 11/30/94 BEIJING, CHINA, 1994 NOV 30 — A computer-aided hospital management system has been developed by Xinyuan Electronic Corporation, a subsidiary of the First Research Institute of the Electronic Industry Ministry of China. The company claims that, with its user-friendly interface and flexible networking the system is suitable for almost for all kinds of hospitals. The developed system is being used by several civil and military hospitals in Beijing, China. Currently, a complete system consists of nine subsystems, including clinic management, medical record management, in-patient department management, statistic department management, price management, dispensary management, preparation manufacturing management, and general manager information system. An application system for a specific hospital can be constructed by using some or all of these subsystems. The overall system software is developed in the C programming language on Novell networks. Its database files are claimed to be compatible with Xbase’s. All departments in the hospital can input their information at workstations and share information with other members on the network. The system offers menus and help information in Chinese. The system also uses advanced multimedia techniques. For example, the system gives voice output for price information and touch-screen- operation at pharmacy departments. An article entitled â€Å"With a Sharp focus on Pharmacy Medicine Shoppe posts double –digit gains† (Earl Smith, 2001) states that medical shoppe posts double digit gains narrates that part of its success is due to the number of Pharmacy specific innovations implemented over the past year. According to Ronald Hofmeister, R. Ph executive vice president of pharmacy operations. These innovations includes automation and work flow efficiencies, a program and an enhanced prescription compounding program. Looking at the retail pharmacy today and the challenges to making a profit, Hofmeister stated â€Å"Retail Pharmacy has a tremendous opportunity to properly position and fulfill our role as the provider of true, efficient, effective and accessible health care in any government prescription drug program for seniors, if we fail to do it correctly, retail will be challenged to remain profitable with only dispensing fees related to such programs. With this, the study should put into consideration the role of the Pharmaceutics Company in rendering services to the people fulfilling its commitments to give quality services by providing the right prescription drug will also result into a true and efficient health care to its customers. According to Flamholtz (2003) still defined that records would prove continuing records for system. These records reflect the result of the â€Å"cycle play sick record†. The computerization of record means agreement is beyond reducing operating cost mean agreement is beyond reducing operating cost of bill. It cannot make a decision for the user. It only shows what is happening. It is a management system that provides records usability throughout bound, receiving, order processing, storage and shipping. This system generates loading instruction and view release orders. Almost 500 companies information a series of standard software pack as compatible software packages from the company are designed to interface automated and manual materials storage system. Millar(2003) stated in his article entitled â€Å"New Technology will enhance patient care† the Calgary health region has entered into an agreement to purchase an innovative new health information system to better manage patient information support the delivery of high-quality care and enhance patient safety in its hospital. He said that patient care information system would provide timely access to information critical for clinical decision making, help reduce the potential for clinical decision making, help reduce potential for medical errors and speed up the flow of information that can be critical to saving lives. Having access to a complete and consiste

Computer Based Learning †The Vikings Essay

The paper analyzes the effectiveness of computer based learning, factors that influence the learning process and the means of enhancing the technology towards a better instructional model. The Vikings – a learning package designed for history students is the base for this study. An evaluation of the package, its level of interactivity, the development model, its learning impact, and shortcomings are discussed in this paper. The paper also elaborates the changes in the design that will improve the learning model adopted in the Vikings package. The purpose of this paper is to establish the parameters that affect the learning process and how the computer based learning system can be used to make this learning process an enriching experience for the students. Computer Based Learning – A Brief The conventional classroom is slowly giving way to the computer based training applications that is universally accessible via the Internet. The personalized learning environment that this method offers has great potentials and can influence the learning process to a considerable degree. A successful prototype of this form of learning needs a high level of interactive media in tandem with an effective presentation of content that is simple to use and easy to relate. The market for this medium of learning has witnessed tremendous growth in the recent years with a wide variety of multimedia based learning tools available for the users. The use of multimedia and flash has not only made learning fun but has also facilitated retention and easy understanding of concepts. Many web based learning environments use innovative technologies that have revolutionized the learning process considerably over the past few years. Joyce A. Overfield and Lesley Bryan Lluka(2003) in their research article on evaluation of factors affecting computer based learning observe that computer based learning can be a valuable learning and teaching resource providing consideration is given to the nature of the student group. Availability and accessibility of computers is essential and students are unhappy if the support is lacking. These are some of the views that can aptly explain the effectiveness of the computer based learning system. This learning tool has improved learning experiences to a considerable extent as it does away with tedious conventional system of learning. The emergence of new technologies in this sector has collaborated to create a unique learning model for the students. This has not only set a new trend in learning but has revolutionized the way a student looks at his classroom project. Vikings – The Package The Vikings package is meant for students of history. The objective of the package is to impart historical facts and milestones to the students in a fun filled learning environment that makes the learning process easy and memorable. History has been labeled as a boring subject for many students and it can be a little tricky remembering facts and figures that relate to the distant past. The package uses maps and graphics to instill interest in the learner. The use of grid lines to mark specific study points and provide relevant information to the learner is a key feature of this package. The user needs to click on the relevant grid line to get details of the particular artefact related to the Vikings era. Terms used in the section are highlighted in red – a click on the highlighted term gives the user an explanation of the same. The developers of â€Å"The Vikings† claim that the package is highly interactive and excellent learning tool for students of history. The presentation of historical facts in a manner that facilitates learning is of prime importance in this application. The tool applies the concept of learning through activity and context based learning that ensures the involvement of the student throughout the learning process. This is in sharp contrast to the classroom learning process that is mostly abstract. A review of the two scenario presented below will make the contrast in both the learning modes clearer: Scenario 1: A teacher giving a lecture on the Vikings era and stating the facts verbally where the student has to be very attentive to relate the facts presented before him. Scenario 2: A student going through the Vikings package where a click of the mouse will give him the relevant information – pictorial description and maps on the screen relate to his cognitive senses and learning happens faster. The application uses the interactive instruction model that is designed to elicit some response in the user in the form of a mouse click. The programmed instruction with the aid of well-designed stimuli in the form of graphics acts as the user interface. A few basic factors that set the scenario 2 apart from scenario 1 are learner control, interaction level, learner motivation, collaborative learning, and navigation system that are discussed below. Learner Control Vaughan (1998) has described Computer Based Learning interactivity as empowering the end user of the package by letting them have control of the content and flow of information. The learning tool, â€Å"The Vikings†, simulates an environment where the control over learning is not completely in the hands of the student. The student decides the pace of learning but the path of learning is guided. In scenario 1 the student has to attend classes at the pre-defined timings and the teacher decides the topic of learning. In contrast the application allows the student the liberty to choose his topic of study and the sequence that he wants to follow at his own pace. It has been observed that by handing over the control of learning to the students enhances the learning experience. The advantages of learner control include greater individualization of instruction, increased sense of personal responsibility for learning, and the potential to optimize learning efficiency. (Interactivity: What is it and What can it do for computer based instruction? Terry K Borsook and Nancy Higginbotham-Wheat – Hannafin and Colamaio, 1987). A student who is a quick learner will have no problem going through the package and grasp the contents in one or two sittings. However, a slow learner will need time to grasp the information handed out – but he has the advantage of taking things slow and pacing his learning to his comfort level. The control of the learner over the entire learning process is seen as a positive reinforcement. The application should allow the student to decide his path of learning. An ideal learning application provides regulated control to the learner with the scope of browsing through the modules, set his learning objectives and pace of learning. Any additional related information or links to these should be provided to enable the student to look up on these extra bits of information. This not only enriches the learning experience but also boosts the confidence level of the learner. A systematic approach and relevant content packaged with attractive and compelling presentation will result in a satisfying learning experience. One of the concerns that have been observed is that giving too much of control over the learning experience may not be good since the learner does not know what is best for him. Borsook and Higginbotham-Wheat (1991) state that too much of control in the hands of the learner can shift the locus of control from one party to another and that diminishes true interactivity. Regulated control with guided flow of information is a better option. The Vikings package gives very less control to the student – the flow of information is directed by the package but this is one of the shortcomings of the tool. Allowing more leverage to the learner will make the learning tool more effective as this results in positive attitude towards learning and motivates them towards their learning goals. Interaction level The most effective teaching method involves a high level of interaction between the teacher and the student. A dedicated teacher is one who understands the student’s learning capacity and his shortcomings and guides him through with effective feedback. A two-way communication between the teacher and the student is very effective in the learning process. Computer based learning applications are continually striving to achieve the human to human interactivity level and have been quite successful in this venture with the aid of multimedia based technologies. The level of interactivity in the learning application tool is of prime importance for it to be effective. The representation of information through graphics and on screen presentation is the required stimuli that elicit some sort of response from the user, such as a mouse click. The application tool then responds to the user with relevant data. This process of interactivity in the application makes the learning process effective. Feedback is an integral part of interactivity. Berlo (1960) states in his work â€Å"feedback provides the source with information concerning his success in accomplishing his objective. † A classroom lecture where the teacher gives lecture to the class without class participation is quite ineffective. It is difficult to gauge in such a situation if the learning process was successful. An understanding of the student’s perception of the contents is essential. This is one of the essential features that a learning application tool should incorporate for it to be a successful learning model. The instructional design should take care that the learning model has scope to interact closely with the learner and guide him through the process for effective learning experience. The level of interactivity and feedback element present in â€Å"The Vikings† application is not substantial. A student going through the package is only following instructions that are being presented to him. Statements like â€Å"Click here to begin† and â€Å"Choose your artefact and click on the square to travel back in time† – these are some of the instructions that are provided to the student. This generates response from the student in the mode of mouse-click and the application narrates the relevant contents on the screen. The student needs to go through this text but this does not ensure learning. The application has no way of evaluating if the student has perceived the information presented to him correctly. There is no feedback mechanism that is applied in this model. This leaves the learning model incomplete. Proper feedback and evaluation gives the student a sense of his learning objectives and how much he has succeeded in this direction. Constructive feedback gives the student a clear picture of how much he has learnt, where he went wrong and what he should do to correct his mistake. Modes of interaction between the learner and the learning application model can be identified at different levels. The basic form of interaction is one that presents the stimuli to the learner and elicits some kind of response in the form of a mouse click or key press. A higher level of interaction that ensures the effectiveness of the learning process involves evaluating activities presented to the learner at the end of a module to gauge his understanding and performance level. This form of interaction gives a clear picture of the learner’s progress as feedback. The inclusion of this parameter in the instructional design of the learning application model is vital. Directing the learner to key learning points and providing links to related concepts enhances the quality of learning and promotes better understanding of the subject matter. Instances of such interactivity are problem-solving modules, puzzles, quiz, and brain twisters that ensure active participation from the learner. Engaging the learner in different kinds of activities related to the context enhances the learning process. This not only ensures that the learner has successfully grasped the contents but also increases the effectiveness of the model. One of the benefits of such activities is the interest level that is created in this type of learning environment. Learning becomes a fun activity and not a dreaded cumbersome experience that one goes through reluctantly. Once the interest level is high the learner is ready for more. He is willing to explore the unknown territories in pursuit of an in-depth understanding of the context. The learning process in such cases is unintentional and not deliberate and hence more effective. The multimedia and other high-end technology available have the potential to achieve this dream-learning model. Another key feature that determines the effectiveness of the learning application model is the quality of content. An application may provide all the features of good interactivity and presentation in terms of graphics and display, but a poor quality of content will negate all the rest. A package rich relevant content with suitable links to additional related information will ensure learning effectiveness. This leaves the control of learning in the hands of the learner. An individual may wish to go beyond the realms of his subject matter and explore other related areas in this way. Simulated learning environment in computer-based interaction is another excellent tool for learning. Simulations use selected elements of some world, real or imaginary, which operate together according to rules (Greenblat 1988). In such cases the learner can experience an imaginary sequence in which he can interact and learn. This kind of learning experience is a gradual process where the learner is allowed to make mistakes and learn. Teaching the history of Vikings era using this mechanism is not only an interesting option but also a powerful learning tool. It might be adventurous to move into the Vikings era and view the events of the past unfold in front of the student. The narration of the events in the background in synchronization with suitable graphics and animation will surely captivate the student’s attention and allow for greater learning experience. But it must be kept in mind that simply viewing the events of the past as an audience is not enough – the active participation of the learner is equally important to hold his interest level and retain the subject matter. Learner Motivation Kruse (2007) states that the success of any computer based learning package depends on learner motivation and even the most sophisticated package will fail if it does not motivate the students to learn. Computer games have managed to captivate the user’s attention to such an extent that everything else is forgotten. This is a classic example of motivation and interest that this type of software generates in the user. Educational models too can apply this theory while designing the learning package. The essential ingredient that is required to hold the learner’s attention is the active role of the learner in the learning process. There are several ways of ensuring that the learner actively takes the control of learning in his own hands. The interactivity of the learning package is one of the deciding factors that motivate the learner to proceed. The system should allow the learner to steer the path of learning. Enabling the student to browse the information and guiding him through the learning process will hold the student’s interest and motivate him to learn more. Structuring the learning content into a story telling format with compelling dramatic sequence will keep the student highly engrossed. The absorption of the learning material will be faster and effective. The Vikings package does not include this feature and the presentation of facts is in form of text that the student needs to go through. The effect of presenting the same facts through narration in the background will hold the student’s attention and interest. The ARCS Model of Motivational Design by Keller provides the direction to successful instructional design in this context. The ARCS model identifies four strategic components for motivating instruction. One of the basic parameters for keeping the student interested and motivated in the subject matter is his attention. Computer based learning has an edge over other conventional tools of learning like books in this context. The visibility and presentation of information through attention grabbing graphics and multimedia tool make this a more effective learning platform. Once the attention of the student is on the learning tool the application needs to stimulate the learner’s curiosity that in turn leads to search for answers and in-depth study of the learning module. The relevance of the content is another aspect that is important in learner motivation. This is a more goal centric strategy that appeals to the objective needs of the student. The objectivity of the study needs to be defined so that the student is aware of the purpose behind this learning activity. This keeps the student focused on his goal and helps him in the learning process. The application needs to arrange the information in such a manner that the student finds it easy to approach and understand. The sequencing and relevance of the information presented to him is vital. Correlating the tasks and facts in the learning module need to be very precise. The next step in motivating students is confidence-building strategy. The goal of this mechanism is to instill confidence in the learner that he is on the right track and that his learning objectives are being met. There are various technologies available that can be effectively used to evaluate the student’s understanding level of the module and based on this evaluation effective feedback is given to the student regarding his progress. Tasks for evaluating should range from simple to challenging levels that test the student’s perception. This challenges the student to go from one level to the other and enhances the learning process. The satisfaction of the learning experience is critical for measuring the effectiveness of the overall package. The achievement of meeting the goals of learning forms the base for a satisfying learning experience. Positive reinforcement and constructive feedback mechanism are instrumental in achieving this strategy. The Vikings package will attract the attention of the user with its graphical and pictorial representation but that is not enough. It is difficult to hold the interest of the learner with only graphical presentation of information. The student will very easily get bored with the facts presented in this manner. The package needs to adopt novel strategies to hold the student’s attention for a longer period of time. Use of storytelling mechanism, simulations and activity based learning modules as discussed earlier will motivate the student and enrich the learning experience. Collaborative Learning When students are able to participate in active learning activities, they find the learning more pleasurable and satisfying than non participative events (Fry and Coe,1980). The principle of collaborative learning provides many learning opportunities and enriches the learning experience considerably. A learning environment that allows interaction between the learners is highly conducive. A classroom environment provides this kind of scope to the students where a group of students sharing the same learning goal coordinate with each other, communicate their ideas, and share their understanding of the subject matter. Jonassen (1988) has stated in his works that the effectiveness of any learning environment is based on the types and levels of cognitive and metacognitive activity engendered in the learners. It is widely accepted that learning is enhanced in instructional settings where students are engaged in processing personally relevant content and are reflective during the learning process. Another feature of this learning principle as suggested by Slavin (1997) is that the reward structures inherent in collaborative environments have been found to have a positive effect on student motivation. Computers provide a stimulus for learning by increasing social interactions and cooperation (eg. Hoyles, Healy & Pozzi, 1992). The application of this mode of learning can be effectively used in computer based learning with the aid of various multimedia and authoring technologies available. The Vikings uses one such strategy in its learning application – the principle of situated learning or situated cognition. This is defined as â€Å"the notion of learning knowledge and skills in contexts that reflect the way the knowledge will be useful in real life† (Brown, Collins and Dugiud, 1989). The application is meant for two or more students at a time with the same learning objectives. The discussion of the facts and information between the groups of learners ensures the understanding of the subject matter. The collaboration between the students and the package offer an effective learning environment. One of the discrepancies of this learning principle is that collaborative learning may not have the desired outcome if the learners do not share the learning goals. Exchange of views and ideas may not enrich the learning experience, as some of the learners may not be attentive to what is being discussed around him. History is a subject that explores the past and discovers the roots of civilization and the world. The Vikings application aims to present the facts from the Vikings era to enable the students an understanding of how things were in those times. As such the application should aim at providing facts from the past that enables a better understanding of the world today. The Vikings package can implement some more principles of collaborative learning to create and effective learning environment. Use of interactive multimedia packages that enable the application to converse with the student and provide scope for evaluating the student’s knowledge and understanding of the subject matter is one method. Other methods involve the use of audio and visual depictions that is bound to impact the learner’s cognitive senses.