Web Portal :: essays research papers

The Problem with the Existing Architecture: The company has multiple standalone computing solutions and applications which it acquired through the purchase of provider companies. These systems are not fully integrated and are not compatible. They do not share data in real time making communication, access, and interoperability difficult. The current system does not provide a well designed and unified solution for customers. The different provider companies that XYZCorp has acquired currently have their own customer relationship management (CRM) systems. Currently, it is not possible to have interconnectivity and functionality between providers and external sources, causing customers to be unable to take advantage of and fully benefit from the range of services the company has to offer. Also, web technologies are not being used to their potential and backend applications are not integrated. A customer web portal, which can help to integrate services such as buying, selling, delivery, payment and overall customer support, is non -existent and a deterrent to overall consumer satisfaction and business growth. What is a web portal? In terms of defining exactly what a web portal is, it is important to understand its significance and role in business and technology. A portal can be thought of as a single, main gateway into an assortment of content. More specifically, a web portal is often the main starting point for an online user/web surfer. Web portals often consist of a collection of loosely integrated features with many resources and links to different services. They have become commonplace in today’s technology-driven lifestyle whereby web surfers utilize portals such as www.yahoo.com or www.msn.com. These websites are solid examples of web sites that have expanded to become a point of entry onto the information superhighway. These sites, just like many others that fall into the same category of â€Å"web portal,† provide a user with a number of features, content, and resources, such as links to information, news, and people as well as the ability to search the web. Businesses can benefit from this kind of technology by providing a web portal as the chief starting point for customer exploration and contact. Furthermore, a web portal is vital for a corporation that utilizes e-commerce. E-commerce refers to the retail, service, and business to business industries that make use of the web to facilitate the exchange of products and services between businesses, consumers, and manufacturers. A web portal can act as the starting point for a company that has introduced e-commerce into the way they do business.

Educational System in Nigeria Essay

Education in Nigeria is the shared responsibility of the federal, state and local governments. The Federal Ministry of Education plays a dominant role in regulating the education sector, engaging in policy formation and ensuring quality control. However, the federal government is more directly involved with tertiary education than it is with school education, which is largely the responsibility of state (secondary) and local (primary) governments. The education sector is divided into three sub-sectors: basic (nine years), post-basic/senior secondary (three years), and tertiary (four to seven years, depending on the major or course of study). Education in Nigeria is provided by public and private institutions. According to Nigeria’s National Policy on Education (2004), basic education covers education given to children 3-15 years of age, which includes pre-primary programs (ages three to five), and nine years of formal (compulsory) schooling consisting of six years of primary and three years of junior secondary. Post-basic education includes three years of senior secondary education in either an academic or technical stream. Continuing education options are provided through vocational and technical schools. The tertiary sector consists of a university sector and a non-university sector. The latter is composed of polytechnics, monotechnics and colleges of education. The tertiary sector as a whole offers opportunities for undergraduate, graduate, vocational and technical education. There are currently (2011) 117 federal, state and private universities accredited in Nigeria as degree-granting institutions. Information on all accredited universities is available on the National University Commission’s website. The academic year typically runs from September to July. Most universities use a semester system of 18 – 20 weeks. Others run from January to December, divided into 3 terms of 10 -12 weeks. Annually, an average of 1.5 million students take the Unified Tertiary and Matriculation Examination (UTME) for entrance into Nigerian universities, polytechnics and colleges of education. Universities have the capacity to absorb less than 40 percent of these test takers. The other 60 percent tend to go to their second and third choice categories of institutions—polytechnics and colleges of education. Many Nigerian students also apply to institutions abroad. In 2011, 40 percent of the students who sat for the UTME made the minimum cut-off grade of 200 (out of 400) for entry into Nigerian universities. There are currently various government reforms and initiatives aimed at improving the Nigerian educational system. These include the upgrade of some polytechnics and colleges of education to the status of degree-awarding institutions, the approval and accreditation of more private universities, and the dissemintaion of better education-related data, including the recently published Nigerian Educational Statistics (a publication assisted by USAID among others). However, with the recent announcement by Nigeria’s National Population Commission that Nigeria’s population is expected to hit 166 million by October 31, 2011 and that approximately 60 percent of this population will be between the ages of 13 and 45, the recent government initiatives fall far short of addressing the educational needs of the country. As a result, an increasing number of families and students are looking at alternative educational opportunities within the region and further abroad. Primary education (grades 1-6) is free and compulsory, and offered to children aged 6-12. The curriculum is geared toward providing permanent literacy, laying a sound basis for scientific, critical and reflective thinking, and also in equipping children with the core life skills to function effectively in society. In 2009, the gross enrollment ratio at the primary level was 89 percent (95 percent male and 84 percent female) according to UNESCO statistics. The net enrollment rate (as a percentage of children in the 6-12 age group) was a much lower 61 percent (male children 64 percent, female children 58 percent) in 2007 (UIS) suggesting that many students outside of the primary age group are attending primary school. In 2008, the primary to secondary transition rate was 44 percent, according to the Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) EdData Profile. Under the new Universal Basic Education (UBE) system of 9-3-4, which replaced the former universal primary education scheme of 6-3-3-4, students attend six years of primary school and three years of junior secondary, thus nine years of compulsory and uninterrupted schooling. This is followed by three years of senior secondary schooling. Until 2006 entry to junior secondary education was based on the Common Entrance Examination, but entry is now automatic. The Junior Secondary School Certificate is awarded at the end of junior secondary school. Students who pass the Junior Secondary Certificate Examination (JSCE) at the credit level (see the grading system below) in not less than six subjects may proceed to senior secondary school (grade 10) at either the same institution, or they may transfer to another institution of their choice. Core subjects at the junior secondary level include: English, French, science, technology, Nigerian language (Hausa, Ibo and Yoruba), mathematics, and social studies. Students may also choose to study a number of elective subjects. A prevocational stream is also available to students looking to pursue technical or vocational training at the senior secondary level. A majority of senior secondary school students proceed in the academic stream from junior secondary school. However, there is also a technical stream, in addition to vocational training outside of the school system, or apprenticeship options offering a range of terminal trade and craft awards. Private organizations, community groups, religious bodies, and the federal and state governments establish and manage secondary schools in Nigeria. All private and public schools offer the same curriculum but most private schools include the Cambridge International Examination curriculum, which allows students to take the IGSCE examinations during their final year in high school. It is also important to note that some private schools offer GCE A-levels, which usually serve as a gap year after graduation for students that are interested. The common core curriculum at the senior secondary level consists of: English, one Nigerian language, mathematics, one science subject, one social science subject, and agricultural science or a vocational subject. In addition students must take three elective subjects, one of which may be dropped in the third year. Students take the Senior Secondary Certificate Examination (SSCE) at the end of grade 12. The Senior Secondary Certificate (SSC) is awarded to successful candidates. The certificate lists all subjects in which the student is successful. The SSCE replaced the West African GCE O and A levels in 1989, although those examinations are still available to students who wish to take them (see above). The SSC is issued by the West African Examination Council (WAEC) or the National Examination Council (NECO), depending on the examination board used. An average grade of ‘credit’ level (C6) or better is required for access to public universities; however some require higher grades for admission. The standards of the two examinations are essentially the same. Students register for a maximum of nine and a minimum of seven subjects, which must include mathematics and English. A student must get at least a C in English and four other courses relevant to his or her major in order to sit for the University Tertiary Matriculation Examination. A student applying for admission to study medicine, computer science or accounting, for example, will be required to have a minimum of a C in mathematics as well as in English whereas a student applying for a program in history will not necessarily require a C in mathematics.

Public Libraries: The Way To Human Understanding Essay

A Discussion on the Process of Human Intelligence and Its Progress Knowledge is one primary reason why the human society continues to advance in terms of understanding and comprehension of advancement. This is the reason why governments around the world are already aiming to increase their competencies in terms of educational progress among their human population. It is innate among humans to be fascinated by the different things that they particularly see around them. It could not be denied then that through the years, this particular fascination within the different elements that could be seen in the human environment actually developed into the many discoveries and inventions that humans produced.   Through passing civilization of humans, it could be observed that the people were never contented with what they already have or what they have already accomplished. This is especially true in terms of science and technology as well as in arts and literature. It is indeed undeniable that people recreate the things that are already existent within their own society.   The fact that they have already been able to see what they could do regarding a certain type of field, they intend to even do better the net time that they deal with the same invention. Yes, humans never get tired of reinventing everything there is in the environment. Why is this so? Human intelligence has always been noted by philosophers as the primary factor that makes the human creation different from that of the other God-made creations. The humans’ ability to innovate their own achievements to even better results for the present generation to see, has particularly noted them to be those who are capable of reinventing themselves to be able to evolve from generations to generations. To discuss this particular fact further, take an example of the human literature. It is overwhelming enough to see that the society today is already flooded by the informations that are presented to humans through the printed pages of literature. More than that, the emergence of internet technology has paved the way even for amateur writers to make mention of their thoughts to the world for them to be appreciated and particularly affect other’s opinions as well. Literature before was primarily defined as an art of writing that follows certain rules that are strict enough to keep its standards within the classical range of reading. However, when the different generations along with the historical events covered the human generation’s development, the art of literature became one of the major process by which humans intended to express their thoughts and their predicaments about the things that are going on in the world. As a result, more and more people joined the bandwagon of writing and began to share their thoughts to the world with regards the issues that primarily concern the human society today. This particular progress in literature has primarily been further fueled by the democratic arrangement of the major governments around the world, giving a chance for the freedom of human expression. It is through this that people became more aware of the world around them, they cared more than ever with the political agendas, the social issues as well as other informations that concern their interests. True, the changing situation in the society and the demand towards progress requires that human intelligence be perfected in a way that it particularly caters to the needs of the entire humanity. The human brain’s ability to store and restructure informations that were accepted by it through the years of an individual’s life is particularly a proof that the application of humans’ intelligence could still be perfected as generations are still to come along. Public libraries are continuously assisting in the process of actually making it possible for humans to make considerable progress in terms of knowing what is present within the society that they are living in. Both young and poor are likely to have better chances of understanding the society through the existence of public libraries. Funding for these types of public institutions serve as primary investments on the part of the   different governments around the world as they are certainly to make great impact to the people, educating them with the knowledge that they ought to understand and apply in further practical actuality in the society for the sake of progress.   References: Robert J. Sternberg. (1989). Handbook of Human Intelligence. Cambridge University Press.