Notes, summaries, assignments, exams, and problems for University

Organizational Structures

Decentralized Organizations

Flat Structure: Highly flexible, with close proximity to the director.

Multi-Local: Products are adapted to the specific needs of each market.

Transnational: The same product is offered in every market.

Centralized Organizations

Tall Structure: Characterized by control and rigidity.

Matrix Structure

Designed to avoid duplication and promote knowledge and experience sharing.

Federal Organizational Model

Authority flows from the periphery to the center.

Other Key Concepts

Innovation: Can be fostered by various organizational structures.

Standardization Skills: Crucial for professional organizations.

Divisional Structure: Products are marketed within the company.

Departments: Enhance efficiency.

Improved Hierarchy:

Internet gives our product the possibility to reach a lot of people located anywhere around the world, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, without having a big budget. As is well known, years ago advertising was done by TV, radio, or newspapers; if someone wanted to publish their business or product, they had to pay. Today, the Internet is a very useful tool — it offers many possibilities to promote a business for free. The most important thing is knowing where to start to take advantage of all the benefits that the Internet gives us.

Key Advantages of Online Promotion

The Internet offers us many advantages such as saving time. The time saved can be used in other productive activities. It provides lower costs and many benefits:

• Lower acquisition

5. Readiness to Notice (means be ready prepared)

The current state of the interlanguage system (when you're studying your first SLA). What the L is ready to notice (or attend to) due to his/her internal structures or mechanisms (some Ls are going to be more able than others to noticing structures). Pieneman’s Multidimensional Model (word order acquisition in L2 German or emergence of questions in L2 English). Acquisition of word in German. EX: Capacity to place adverbs at the beginning of sentences before. Capacity to place the verb at the end of the sentence in some structures. EX. Prediction about what the L can notice: what is to be noticed refers to the next thing to be acquired: adverbs at the beginning of sentences -> verbs at the... Continue reading "Factors Affecting Second Language Acquisition: Readiness to Notice and Task Demands" »

Schmidt’s Noticing Hypothesis (Explicit Learning)

Role of Attention and Awareness

Schmidt's Noticing Hypothesis posits that learners must consciously pay attention to and be aware of linguistic input to acquire a second language (L2). This contrasts with implicit learning theories, which suggest that language acquisition can occur subconsciously.

Intake refers to the portion of input that learners successfully process and integrate into their L2 knowledge. Attention plays a crucial role in selecting intake by:

• Heightening the activation level of input in working memory, allowing it to remain available for further processing.
• Facilitating the transfer of information to long-term memory.

Long-Term Memory Functions

Long-term memory serves two primary... Continue reading "Schmidt's Noticing Hypothesis in Second Language Acquisition" »

Insolvency Proceedings: Pre-Insolvency Proceedings and Out-of-Court Payment

In Spain, when a debtor faces a plurality of creditors and cannot fulfill their obligations, the law provides a judicial process known as insolvency proceedings. Once insolvency is declared, the debtor loses the freedom to choose which creditors to pay and must request the formal declaration of insolvency.

The primary objective of insolvency proceedings is to salvage viable businesses. However, this process has its drawbacks. As an alternative to filing for insolvency, Spanish law allows debtors to notify the court of their intent to negotiate a refinancing agreement. If an agreement or out-of-court payment is not reached within three months of this notification, the... Continue reading "Insolvency Proceedings and Out-of-Court Payment Options in Spain" »

The Importance of Games in Language Learning

Children enjoy constructive play and games. They are not only motivating and fun but can also provide excellent practice for improving pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, and the four language skills. While they usually form an integral part of language programs, games are sometimes seen merely as time-fillers, and their potential for real learning is not always recognized. Children may simply become concerned with developing strategies to play the game quickly without focusing enough on the intended language practice.

In terms of language learning, teachers need to be aware of the range of language items and skills work different games can promote and the most fruitful kinds of games to use for different... Continue reading "Using Games to Enhance Children's Language Skills" »

The Aztecs

The Aztecs arrived to the valley of Mexico around the year 1218. They took refuge on the marshy lands around Lake Texcoco, where, in 1344 or 1345 they built the town of Tenochtitlan. At this time the Aztec community was composed of a small number of kinship, landholding groups called calpulli.

Aztec Imperial Expansion

For a long time the Aztec were subservient to the Azcopotzalco. But in 1428 the Aztec war chief Itzcoatl, the Texcoco and the Tlacopan joined forces to destroy the Azcopotzalco. This triple alliance led to the conquest of the valley of Mexico and much of Middle America. Gradually the Aztec got stronger than their allies. The conquest of the Valley of Mexico made it easier for the Aztecs to conquer the rest of Middle America... Continue reading "The Aztecs: History, Expansion, and Society" »

RAM (Random Access Memory)

Random Access Memory is one of two basic types of memory. Portions of programs are stored in RAM when the program is launched so that the program will run faster. Though a PC has a fixed amount of RAM, only portions of it will be accessed by the computer at any given time. Also called memory.

Scrolling

Scrolling allows lines displayed on the screen to be moved up or down by one line as a new line is added and an existing one is removed.

Shooter

A shooter is a game whose main focus is combat involving guns or other projectile weapons such as missiles.

Shopping Cart

A shopping cart is software that keeps track of what you buy on a site.

Software Engineer

A software engineer is a person that writes computer programs.

Speech Recognition

Speech

ASCII Code

American Standard Code for Information Interchange. A code in which each alphanumeric character is represented as a number from 0 to 127, translated into a 7-bit binary code for the computer. ASCII is used by most microcomputers and printers, and because of this, text-only files can be transferred easily between different kinds of computers.

Availability

A measure of how easy or difficult it is to obtain a piece of hardware or a computer application.

Backbone

High-speed lines or connections that form the major access pathways within the Internet.

Bandwidth

The capacity of a networked connection. Bandwidth determines how much data can be sent along the networked wires. Bandwidth is particularly important for Internet connections, since greater... Continue reading "A Glossary of Computer and Internet Terms" »