Friday, October 1, 2010

Acceptance of Technologies

We live in a time change. Gelatt (1995) stated that change itself has changed. Change has become so rapid, so turbulent, and so unpredictable that is now called "white water" change (p.10). Murphy & Terry (1998a) indicated the current of change move so quickly that they destroy what was considered the norm in the past, and by doing so, create new opportunities. But, there is a natural tendency for organizations to resist change. Wrong conceptions about the use of technology limit innovation and threaten teachers' job and security (Zuber-Skerritt, 1994). Instructors are tend not to use technologies that require substantially more preparation time, and it is tough to provide instructors and learners access to technologies that are easy to use (Herschbach, 1994).

Engaging in Computer-assisted Language Learning is a continuing challenge that requires time and commitment. As we approach the 21st century, we realize that technology as such is not the answer to all our problems. What really matters is how we use technology. Computers can/will never substitute teachers but they offer new opportunities for better language practice. They may actually make the process of language learning significantly richer and play a key role in the reform of a country's educational system. The next generation of students will feel a lot more confident with information technology than we do. As a result, they will also be able to use the Internet to communicate more effectively, practice language skills more thoroughly and solve language learning problems more easily.

How the MinuteSort Test is Administered

The Sort Benchmark Page run by ACM Turing Award winner Jim Gray sets the ground rules for the sort tests. The “Ground rules” section of the Web site states:

· Must sort to and from operating system files on secondary storage.

· No raw disk benchmarks allowed since we are trying to test the IO subsystem.

· File or device striping (RAID 0) are allowed (encouraged) to get bandwidth.

· The output file must be created as part of the sort.

· Time includes the launching of the sort program.

The Benchmark Page FAQ includes additional details and guidelines along with source code for the data-generating and checking programs to be used.

Once a year, an award is given. The Benchmark Page describes this process:

· Trophies are awarded each year at ACM SIGMOD.

· Entrants can contact any previous winner and get their result "certified" by April 1.

· Entries must include a document describing the algorithm and the hardware in enough detail so that others could reproduce the result.

The 40-GB NeoSort record was audited by Chris Nyberg, representing Ordinal Technology, the last winner of the Daytona Minute Sort benchmark award (2004). Jim Gray confirmed that 40 GB is the fastest sort for the Minute Sort benchmark to date in the commercial category.