Educational cultural analysis of language assessment rubrics: a case study of Japanese language at a British University

The standard of language assessment is considered to be similar within the same country, but it actually varies from institution to institution even within the UK. Rubrics are important for language teachers to access students' written work, and it also relates to teachers' objective or subjective marking. This paper looks at Japanese assessment criteria in a British STEM university where students study Japanese in the IWLP context. Using two dimensions from Hofstede et al.'s (2010) cultural taxonomy and Hall's (1976) concept of high- and low-context culture, Japanese language rubrics for the written assessment was analysed in 2017. The findings show that the rubrics examined in this study were under the influence of Hofstede et al.'s (2010) collectivist and strong uncertainty avoidance educational culture. The emphasis on the correct use of grammar was observed and also found that language teachers in this institution grade students' written work more objectively using quantitative method. The rubrics includes instructions which enhance the quality of grading consistent and standardise among all language teachers. This process also helps to justify the first marker's awarded marks to the second marker and also the external examiner. Recommendations are given to language teachers and managers who coordinate languages. Language teachers are recommended to inform students whether the focus is accuracy or creativity as this information affects students in working on their assessed work. It is also recommended for managers at language centres to revise periodically the definition of categories to examine if there are any duplication among the rubrics and update them. Incorporating some aspects of rubrics mentioned in this study may enhance the quality of language teachers' grading to be standardised and consistent

Ambiguity of Social Networks in Post-Communist Contexts

The paper discusses three hypotheses. First, it introduces four ideal types of networks which are combined in the category of networks as used by social scientists. Four types result from the intersection of two implicit choices made about networks – networks are assumed to be either personal or impersonal, and are viewed either internally or externally. Thus, networks are understood in terms of sociability, access to resources, enabling structure, or social capital. Second, I argue that networks function in a fundamentally ambiguous way. They operate in their capacity of a safety net or survival kit, provide a ‘beating the system’ capacity or compensate for the system’s defects. At the same time networks provide constraints such as high costs of informal contract, limits on individual action, lock-in effects and the handicaps of social capital. Third, I illustrate differences between networks serving the economy of favors in Russia and networks serving the purposes of ‘network society.

Implementation plan of health and safety processes

An auditor was asked to review an organisation’s Health and Safety procedures to assess compliance with the new legislation imposed by The Health and Safety Act 2015. Then the organisation approached an internal source to conduct a strategic plan in order to target issues of health and safety risk. An implementation plan will be designed to achieve the auditors recommendations and improve the organisation’s Health and Safety practices. Research and audit of the current policies and procedures used at the organisation must be conducted in order to gain a better understanding of the current issues and from there develop action plans and a strategy on how to reach those action plans. Current documentation of policies and an interview with management will be analysed to detail the potential action plans.Once the research has been conducted, results will be used to determine conclusions

A strategy for a university cafe during holidays

With no existing strategy for a cafe business and a highly competitive market, the organisation requires a planned strategy. This research proposes to research a café to determine the best strategy for the organisation. A questionnaire will collect quantitative and qualitative data and the organisation will be observed to determine business strategies

Identifying successful sales and marketing strategies that affect customer loyalty in a coffee shop

.Most small businesses such as coffee shops are concerned with customer loyalty and satisfaction, and increasing profitability. Marketing strategy becomes important when customer loyalty is low. The aim of this research is to identify sales that affect customer loyalty in a small coffee shop and to investigate the relationship between effective marketing strategies and customer loyalty, using a survey of customers

The implications of tax on a small business in New Zealand

Small businesses have little resources but must pay tax, so this investigation reports on the implications of tax on a small business. Literature is to be searched to identify the implications for small businesses

Innovation and Business Strategy: Why Canada Falls Short

This article compares the development of labour productivity in the Swedish and the Finnish business sectors and the role of the information and communication technology (ICT) sector in this process. The results show that the Finnish productivity level has been converging towards the Swedish level, but that there is still a significant difference. This trend has coincided with the growing importance of the ICT sector, especially since the mid 1990s. Due to higher productivity and employment growth, the Finnish ICT sector has contributed to this convergence. This is explained by the electrical engineering industry. The Nokia effect has been stronger than the Ericsson effect.Innovation, productivity, business strategy, public policy, market structure, Competition, business climate, business ambition

Rating system in Food delivery

A small business in food delivery has much competition. The organisation delivers food in food trucks at local markets. The aim of this research is to examine how a rating system will impact on the quality of goods and services and customer satisfaction levels. This research will accomplish the aim in three steps: examine the current state of food trucks, investigate the potential of a rating system, and identify further avenues to use rating systems efficiently. A survey of customers will be used to gather quantitative data and an interview to gather qualitative data

Contextual factors, knowledge processes and performance in global sourcing of IT services: An investigation in China

Copyright @ 2011, IGI Global. Copying or distributing in print or electronic forms without written permission of IGI Global is prohibited. Reuse of this article has been approved by the publisher.In this paper, the authors explore the influences of two major contextual factors—supplier team members’ cultural understanding and trust relationship—on knowledge processes and performance in global sourcing of IT services. The authors discuss a joint investigation conducted by a cross-cultural research team in China. Cultural understanding is measured by individualism with guanxi and mianzi, two Chinese cultural concepts, and trust relationship is measured by adjusting trust, a notion reflecting the uniqueness of the Chinese people. Knowledge processes are characterized by knowledge sharing. Performance is measured by the outcomes of global sourcing, which is represented by product success and personal satisfaction. Data are collected in 13 companies in Xi’an Software Park, with 200 structured questionnaires distributed to knowledge workers. The results of quantitative data analysis indicate that cultural understanding influences trust relationship greatly, as well as knowledge sharing and performance in global sourcing of IT services. Trust relationship significantly impacts knowledge sharing, whereas trust relationship and knowledge sharing have no impact on performance. This study suggests that special aspects of the Chinese context have significant direct impacts on knowledge processes while no direct and immediate impacts on performance in global sourcing of IT services.National Natural Science Foundation of China, Program for Humanity and Social Science Research, Program for New Century Excellent Talents in University in China and Brunel University's Research Development Fund