Malaysian Undergraduates’ Perceptions of Online Approach via Skype in Developing Speaking Skills

Speaking skill pedagogy has always remained a huge enigma for English as a Second Language (ESL) educators. Despite the challenges, the need to master the skills prevail in academia. The undergraduates especially those from the technical division seem to grapple with the ability to perform well in their studies and market their products upon employment due to the inability to communicate well in English. Nowadays, there are numerous platforms available for ESL learners to improve their speaking proficiency. Thus, this paper intended to study the effectiveness of using Skype as an online platform to help students enhance their confidence in speaking in English. 100 reflective journals of first year undergraduates who enrolled in an English course were collected. Meanwhile, 10 undergraduates were randomly selected to participate in the semi-structured interview. All the participants’ reflections and views were analyzed and thematized using Transana software. Four main themes emerged: account possession; familiarity; challenges; and features. It was found that many participants were aware of Skype but did not have the account prior to the study. Majority of the participants admitted that Skype activities helped them to converse better which enhanced their motivation to speak in English more confidently and fluently.

Practising Online Approach via Skype Activities to Develop Speaking Skills among Malaysian Undergraduates

Speaking skill pedagogy has always remained as a huge enigma for English as a Second Language (ESL) educators. Despite the challenge, the need to master the skills prevail in academia. The undergraduates especially those from the technical division seem to grapple with the ability to perform well in their studies and market products upon employment due to the inability to communicate well in English. Nowadays, there are numerous platforms available for ESL learners to improve their speaking proficiency. Thus, this paper intended to study the effectiveness of using Skype activities via online approach to help students enhance their confidence in speaking in English. Reflective journals were collected from 100 undergraduates who enrolled in an English course in a public university. Besides, 10 undergraduates were randomly selected to participate in a semi-structured interview. Thematic analysis was conducted using Transana software where four main themes emerged: account possession; familiarity; challenges; and features. It was found that many participants were aware of Skype but did not have the account prior to the study. Majority of the participants admitted that Skype activities helped them to converse better which enhanced their motivation to speak in English more confidently and fluently.

Beyond rentiership: Standardisation, intangibles and value capture in global production

We examine corporate rentiership in the contemporary economy and suggest that the idea we are in a moment of step-change within capitalism may be premature. Implicit in arguments for a step-change is the claim that the present-day economy emphasises unproductive or rentier forms rather than the more productive and entrepreneurial forms of the past. In contrast, we argue that to understand our current situation we need to focus on the division of labour and most especially on processes of standardisation and the rise of intangible assets. Moving from Marx’s understanding of rent as a class relation, we re-embed rent within the circuit of capital and the realm of value distribution to investigate the class dynamics (among labour, capital and the state) through which giant firms seem to generate value out of rentierism. We argue that these class dynamics include the crucial and unexplored relation between standardisation and intangibles. We suggest standardisation within the division of labour renders people, places, and things interchangeable and that, in contrast, intangible assets differentiate them. When intangible assets emerge as new forms of property, they enable owners to generate scarcity and exert direct and/or indirect control over the wider division of labour. Through examining the combined rise of standardisation and intangible assets within the technical division of labour, we demonstrate how hierarchy within the social division of labour empowers some corporations to capture value produced elsewhere within the circuit of capital.

A systematic approach how to build, maintain and use an integrated plant model

The Technical Division “Engineering and Operation of automated plants” of the VDI-/VDE-GMA (German Association of Measurement and Automation) elaborates new approaches for an efficient engineering and operation of equipment and automated plants. Within this Division, technical committee 6.12 “Integrated engineering of automated systems” has analyzed and refined the concept of an integrated plant model over all phases of a plant’s life, since this has the potential to generate high synergy potentials by means of model reuse and early integration. Previous work of the technical committee 6.12 has addressed the changes in the value network from a business perspective. The present contribution describes how an integrated plant model should be built, maintained and used. The approach is explained in a generic way from a usage view, by the description of the system under consideration, the acting technical stakeholders and the activities that can, or must, be carried out. The approach is then elucidated by means of an example.

A ARTICULAÇÃO DOS ACONTECERES NA CONS-TRUÇÃO DOS FLUXOS GLOBAIS: NOTAS SOBRE OS CIRCUITO ESPACIAL PRODUTIVO DE MEDICA-MENTOS NA FRANÇA E NO BRASIL

Resumo: No presente artigo, analisamos o circuito espacial produtivo de medicamentos presente nos territórios francês e brasileiro e determinadas trocas realizadas entre esses países, mas não exclusivamente. Abordamos a combinação de aconteceres homólogos, complementares e hierárquicos na execução das ações globais que constituem os circuitos espaciais produtivos, isto é, a articulação desses aconteceres por parte das corporações e do Estado de modo a promover uma sincronia entre os chamados espaços da globalização para efetivar uma divisão territorial do trabalho global. Inicialmente, discute-se a pertinência do conceito de circuito espacial produtivo em vez de cadeia produtiva ou redes de produção global. Em seguida, a articulação entre os aconteceres para a realização de ações globais. Por fim, elegemos quatro complexos de eventos do ramo farmacêutico e o modo como se apresentam nos territórios francês e brasileiro para abordar a produção de simultaneidades instrumentais à competitividade para as empresas do referido circuito espacial.Palavras chave: Circuito espacial produtivo de medicamentos. Acontecer solidário. Simultaneidade. Brasil. França. THE ARTICULATION OF EVENTS IN BUILDING OF GLOBAL FLOWS: NOTES ON THE PRODUCTIVE SPATIAL CIRCUIT OF DRUGS IN FRANCE AND BRAZILAbstract: We analyzed the spatial circuit of pharmaceutical products in French and Brazilian territories from the flow of productive inputs to this industrial production. In order to understand the modus operandi of these exchanges, we applied the concepts of homologous, complementary and hierarchical events and their articulation by companies and the State, to identify the technical division of labor between the industries of these two countries. We were able to verify the pharmaceutical industry articulations and productive particularities of each country to increase capital accumulation. We identified this intentional combination of events by transnational companies and the State by the use of simultaneity to strengthen capitalist competitiveness.Keywords: Spatial circuit of pharmaceutical products. Homologous, complementary and hierarchical events. Space-time simultaneity. Brazil. France Résumé: Nous avons analysé le circuit spatial des médicaments dans les territoires français et brésiliens à partir des flux d’intrants productifs nécessaires à cette production industrielle. Pour comprendre le traitement de ces échanges, nous avons utilisé les concepts d’événements homologues, complémentaires et hiérarchiques et leur articulation par les entreprises et l’État, identifiant comment une division technique du travail a été réalisée entre les industries installées dans ces deux pays. Nous avons pu vérifier que les laboratoires pharmaceutiques transnationaux articulent les particularités institutionnelles et productives de chaque pays pour augmenter l’accumulation de capital. Nous avons identifié cette combinaison intentionnelle d’événements par des sociétés transnationales et l’État comme l’utilisation de la simultanéité espace-temps pour renforcer la compétitivité capitaliste.Mots-clés: Circuit spatial des médicaments. Événements homologues, complémentaires et hiérarchiques. Simultanéité. Brésil. France.

ANALISA PENERAPAN PRAKTEK REASURANSI PADA PERUSAHAAN ASURANSI SYARI�AH DI INDONESIA

This research was carried out in connection with the development of insurance business based on shari�a today is very fast and therefore very important to understand by the Muslim community, especially with respect to the mechanism of the operation of the Shari�a Insurance company. One aspect of the technical field of the insurance company is the reinsurance management unit, especially in the shari�a insurance company. then the need for research by doing "Analysis of the implementation of reinsurance practices in shari�a insurance companies in Indonesia" (the study conducted on the technical division of PT Asuransi Takaful Umum, Head Office), the first shari�a general insurance company in Indonesia. The issues raised are how to know the mechanism of Aqad in shari�a insurance company, as well as the relation of Aqad with the practice of reinsurance program. Therefore it is important to understand the application of the Aqad in shari�a insurance company as well as to understand the practices of reinsurance in Sharia Insurance Company, by combining the Aqad used in shari�a insurance company with the practices of reinsurance program which is subject to the provisions of the Law of the Republic of Indonesia Number 40 Year 2014 on Insurance and Fatwa of Dewan Syariah Nasional - Majelis Ulama Indonesia (DSN-MUI).� Metode of research used is Research Method Qualitative, the method used to analyze problems both analyzing qualitative descriptive and quantitative descriptive. By sourced from primary data relating to documents of reinsurance program of PT. Asuransi Takaful Umum in 2016, as well as data obtained by observation both through informants and interviews. Such Analysis is suggested for other shari�a insurance companies, to ensure the halalness of the implementation of shari�a insurance companies especially for Muslim community in Indonesia as it�s customers.

The nurses' work process in different countries: an integrative review

ABSTRACT Objective: To analyze the characteristics of nurses' work process in different countries. Method: We have used the integrative review method and selected 84 publications (articles, theses and dissertations) in national and foreign thesis banks and databases. We analyzed the evidence based on dialectical materialism. Results: The rejection of managerial tasks hides the singularity of nurses' work, due to the failure to understand the inseparable nature of managerial and healthcare tasks, given that it is what provides the expertise to coordinate the nursing work process and guide the healthcare work processes. The social and technical division is present in the work process in all countries studied, albeit in different ways. The nurse's position in the healthcare work process is subordinated to that of the physician. Conclusion: The characteristics are similar. The rejection of the dual nature of the work by nurses themselves due to alienation results in the non-recognition of their own work.

Land.Technik AgEng 2017

This book summarises the proceedings of the 75th conference “LAND.TECHNIK – AgEng 2017”, which took place in Hannover on November 10th and 11th following the tradition of odd years. Therefore it is a well established prelude to AGRITECHNICA, the world’s most important fair for agricultural machinery, which started on November 12th with the preview days. The conference was successfully organized in cooperation with the “Max Eyth Society for Agricultural Engineering” (VDI-MEG), a technical division of the Association of German Engineers (Verein Deutscher Ingenieure, VDI) and the European Society of Agricultural Engineers (EurAgEng). This collaboration has been accepted both by academia and industry at national and international levels. During recent years the number of participants has increased to about 1000 from more than 15 nations. The conference offered 75 presentations about the latest innovations, machine developments, and technical concepts and methods as a foretaste ...

AOAC INTERNATIONAL's Technical Division on Reference Materials (TDRM) Reference Materials Database

The Technical Division on Reference Materials (TDRM) of AOAC INTERNATIONAL recommends policy and criteria to facilitate the development and use of reference materials (RMs) in the validation, implementation, and routine use of AOAC INTERNATIONAL methods. To aid analysts in these areas, TDRM has developed a searchable online database to identify RMs suitable for use with AOAC Official Methods of AnalysisSM (OMA). RMs can be queried by analyte, by analyte and matrix, or by the selection of an OMA, based on analytes and matrixes described within the scope of the selected method. Only essential information is included in the database, to maximize usefulness and minimize the effort required to keep information current. Additional information, such as measurement uncertainty and purchasing instructions, is available through a link to the producer's Web site, when that information is available online. Data sets are solicited on a voluntary basis from National Metrology Institutes and accredited producers. Consideration of ease-of-use and ease-of-operation is a guiding principle in this database, as is cost management.