852 research outputs found
How Cultural Dynamics and Teacher Preparation Affect the Educational Opportunities of Minority Students
The academic achievement of minority students in this country has been an issue of debate for educators and policy makers since the origins of education in America. Education reform has failed to offer a permanent solution that does not blame the students for their failure. America’s “color-blind” attitude and it’s refusal to accept the effects of cultural differences in the learning process will lead to a continued increase in the academic achievement “gap” in our classrooms. In this paper I address the historical contributions of America’s “biased” and self-protecting mechanisms that still plaque the education system today, the effects of culture on learning, how school culture can affect learning, teacher preparation for minority students, the overcrowding of special education, and the effects of No Child Left Behind
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Enter the dragon: China's computer industry
China transformed its economy by shifting from technological nationalism to a more pragmatic strategy of developing national capabilities in conjunction with multinational corporations. Consistent with this transformation, China has revamped its industrial and technology policies to become a major producer of computer hardware and a major market for computing products. In 2000, mainland Chinese purchased more than seven million PCs, while computer hardware production grew to $23 billion. China's policies clearly drew on the developmental approach of other Asia Pacific countries that became leaders in the global computer industry through the strong support of government industrial and technology policies. China has likewise become a major force in the global PC industry, as both the most attractive growth market and as a large producer. It has done so through a combination of industry promotion and entrepreneurial energy. New challenges loom as China joins the World Trade Organization and faces more pressure to open its market to foreign competition
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Strategic use of the Internet and e-commerce: Cisco Systems
Information systems are strategic to the extent that they support a firm's business strategy. Cisco Systems has used the Internet and its own information systems to support its strategy in several ways: (1) to create a business ecology around its technology standards; (2) to coordinate a virtual organization that allows it to concentrate on product innovation while outsourcing other functions; (3) to showcase its own use of the Internet as a marketing tool. Cisco's strategy and execution enabled it to dominate key networking standards and sustain high growth rates throughout the 1990s. In late 2000, however, Cisco's market collapsed and the company was left with billions of dollars in unsold inventory, calling into question the ability of its information systems to help it anticipate and respond effectively to a decline in demand. © 2002 Elsevier Science B.V
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Offshoring and outsourcing in the PC industry: A historical perspective
Offshoring and outsourcing of manufacturing and knowledge work is a highly visible and controversial issue in the public debate over the impacts of globalization. In their efforts to expand markets and optimize production for competitive advantage, firms distribute their activities around the world through their own offshore subsidiaries, by outsourcing to other firms, or both. This pattern is blamed by many critics for job losses in the U.S., while credited by others with benefiting U.S. firms, shareholders and consumers. In reality the impacts of offshoring and outsourcing are hard to measure as they can be subtle and indirect. For instance, there is no measure for jobs that were never created in the U.S. because new products were sourced from overseas from almost their inception. However, by observing one industry over time, it is possible to identify patterns in the location of production work and knowledge work, and to qualitatively assess the impacts of offshoring on firms and workers. Production work is operations-oriented and includes activities such as subassembly, final assembly and logistics. Knowledge work is innovation-oriented and includes activities such as R&gn and development of new products and process engineering. We focus on the PC industry, which offers an important case for understanding the forces that influence U.S. firms to outsource their activities, and for identifying the impacts of those decisions. © 2009 Springer Berlin Heidelberg
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China's indigenous innovation policy: Impact on multi-national R&D
Multinational corporations seeking access to China's burgeoning consumer markets and human resources are establishing R&D centers in the country and developing ways to thread a path through its complex innovation policies. © 1970-2012 IEEE
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Environment and policy factors shaping global e-commerce diffusion: A cross-country comparison
This article examines the key global, environmental and policy factors that act as determinants of e-commerce diffusion. It is based on systematic comparison of case studies from 10 countries - Brazil, China, Denmark, France, Germany, Mexico, Japan, Singapore, Taiwan, and the United States. It finds that B2B e-commerce seems to be driven by global forces, whereas B2C seems to be more of a local phenomenon. A preliminary explanation for this difference is that B2B is driven by global competition and MNCs that "push" e-commerce to their global suppliers, customers, and subsidiaries. This in turn creates pressures on local companies to adopt e-commerce to stay competitive. In contrast, B2C is "pulled" by consumer markets, which are mainly local and therefore divergent. While all consumers desire convenience and low prices, consumer preferences and values, national culture, and distribution systems differ markedly across countries and define differences in local consumer markets. These findings support the transformation perspective about globalization and its impacts. In terms of policy, the case studies suggest that enabling policies such as trade and telecommunications liberalization are likely to have the biggest impact on e-commerce, by making ICT and Internet access more affordable to firms and consumers, and increasing pressure on firms to adopt e-commerce to compete. Specific e-commerce legislation appears not to have as big an impact, although inadequate protection for both buyers and sellers in some countries suggests that mechanisms need to be developed to ensure greater confidence in doing business online
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Determinants of country-level investment in information technology
Investment in information technology (IT) is an important driver of economic growth and productivity in the United States and other developed countries, but as yet it is not shown to be a significant driver in developing countries. Previous research suggests that IT investment and complementary assets are insufficient for developing countries to realize economic benefits. This research note examines the factors that influence IT investment in developed and developing countries to determine how greater investment might be stimulated to achieve productivity gains. We use the flexible accelerator model of investment and find that it is a good predictor of country-level IT investment. We also extend the model to include country-level variables, and find a negative relationship between IT investment and interest rates, but positive and significant relationships between investment, openness to trade, and telecommunications infrastructure. When we include interaction effects between national income levels and country variables, we find that the impacts of interest rates, size of the financial sector, teledensity, and intellectual property rights are strongest in shaping IT investment for developed countries. In contrast, we find that the impact of openness to trade is greater for developing countries, as is the size of government and education levels. © 2007 INFORMS
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