South University Online

Posts Tagged ‘information’

North Carolina

North Carolina has an extremely user friendly tax system. For more information on North Carolina taxes, visit www.dornc.com is easy to use and complete with many different FAQ’s, and the toll-free information line (877-252-3052) has a great wealth of information for individuals looking for help with their taxes. In addition, North Carolina has steadily been increasing the number of filing options that can be carried out online. There are walk-in centers where tax-payers can go for assistance, located in many of the major cities.

North Carolina has a sales tax rate of 7%, except for Mecklenburg County, which has a rate of 7.5%, due to a higher local tax rate. Property taxes are based on varying millage rates, depending on the town, or municipality you live in. Great savings can be found here. In my “Ultimate Guide to Finding Your Best Place to Live in the Carolinas”, I compare real estate taxes for 3 different priced homes, in 90 different towns in North and South Carolina.

North Carolina has 3 brackets for income tax, starting at 6% of the first $12,750 and moving up to 7.75% of anything over $60,000. Deductions in North Carolina for state income taxes are as follows: the standard deduction is $3,000 for singles, $5,000 for a married joint return. The public pension exclusion is $4,000 per taxpayer. If you’re receiving both public and private pensions, the private pension exclusion is $2,000 per taxpayer. Social Security benefits are fully exempt. In lieu of a state sales tax on automobiles, North Carolina collects a 3% Highway Use Tax, based on the assessed value of the vehicle.

South Carolina

According to the US Bureau of the census, South Carolina has one of the lowest per capita tax rates in the country. Maybe this is why so many people appreciate the Palmetto State. One of the perks of living and raising a family in South Carolina is that parents, guardians, or students can receive partial credit on tuition fees paid to a South Carolina university, up to $850. Another favorable exclusion South Carolina tax payers enjoy is that the first $100,000 valuation of a home is exempt from paying school taxes. For more information on South Carolina taxes, visit www.sctax.org, or call 803-898-5464.

South Carolina has a sales tax rate of 5%, but local governments can approve a local tax as well. The maximum for that addition is 2%, so the maximum sales tax in South Carolina is 7%. As in North Carolina, property taxes are based on a millage rate, which varies by state and municipality. In my “Ultimate Guide to Finding Your Best Place to Live in the Carolinas”, I compare real estate taxes for 3 different prices homes, in 90 different towns in North and South Carolina. One of the perks of retiring to South Carolina is that there is a $50,000 homestead exemption on property tax for residents 65 and older.

South Carolina has 6 income tax brackets. They start at 2.5% of the first $2,280 earned, and rise to 7% of anything over $11,400. Exclusions include a public pension exclusion of $3,000 for residents under 65, and $10,000 for residents over 65. The same holds true for private pensions. South Carolina does not tax Social Security benefits.

Both states have a great quality of life, and favorable tax climates. Overall, South Carolina is cheaper than North Carolina. People interested in moving to either state should consult the sources of information listed, as well as a tax professional.

Visit www.PlacesOfValue.com for more articles on best places in North Carolina and South Carolina, relocation made easy, top retirement communities, cost of living, and designing and building your Dream Home.

To get your FREE REPORT on “Affordable Best Places In The Carolinas”, and find your Best Place to Live in the Carolinas: http: http://www.PlacesOfValue.com/page/best_places.php

Though they might never stop to give a drifter a lift on the interstate, there are many whose desire for romance will lead them to pick up the equivalent of hitchhikers online.

Instant messaging, chat rooms and online personal ads have become an unavoidable part of the online experience, but who knows who might be on the other side of the keyboard?

Keeping yourself and your identity safe when you’re looking for love online is challenging, but, not impossible, according to Paul A. Falzone, CEO of The Right One and Together Dating, the largest brick-and-mortar dating service in the world.

“For every good-hearted man or woman looking for love, there is a dangerous line-up of shady characters that includes con men, liars and the most violent of criminals. Give out too much information, or even a little, as you chat and you may find yourself a victim of a cyber stalker, harassment, identity theft or worse,” said Falzone.

According to WHOA (Working to Halt Online Abuse), an organization dedicated to educating the internet community about online harassment and abuse, 73.5 percent of online harassment/cyber stalking victims (from 2000 to 2006) were female and half of them between the ages of 18-30 years of age. Of the females harassed/stalked, 16.7 percent knew the perpetrator to be an online acquaintance.

In a recent U.S. Department of Justice report, threatening email and other electronic communications were said to be factors in approximately 20 percent of the cases handled by the Los Angeles Stalking and Threat Assessment Unit. The Computer Investigations and Technology Unit of the New York City Police Department estimated that nearly 40 percent of its caseload involved threats and harassment.

Further making the case about the dangers of online interaction, a study on the sexual victimization of college women by researchers at the University of Cincinnati found that nearly 25 percent of all respondents had been victims of cyber stalking.

Most people, thankfully, won’t face extreme cases of violence. But other dangers abound, such as identity theft, which has claimed more than 9 million victims a year according to the Better Business Bureau. And, according to the Federal Trade Commission’s National and State Trends in Fraud and Identity Theft, identity theft has been their top consumer complaint for several years.

In light of recent tragedies of online dating gone wrong and the significant rise in identity theft, Falzone offers advice on how to avoid online harassment and cyber stalking as well as compromised personal information:

• Do not fill out online profiles for free e-mail accounts that you may use when chatting or instant messaging. Even the most seemingly innocuous piece of information, when coupled with the personal information that may slip out in conversation can be used to pry into your personal life.

• Be aware that an abundance of personal information can be harvested through both free and paid Web sites. Be very leery of any additional information you may post on a personal homepage or social network sites such as MySpace, Facebook and others.

• Avoid using screen names that reveal your identity or location.

• Be sure to protect your computer and your personal information by installing and keeping computer security software up-to-date to deter online thieves.

• Don’t respond to, and block, any annoying, threatening or harassing e-mail.

• When mail or phone contact is necessary, such as when using auction sites, try to use an office phone number and address or a postal box.

• Be aware of any vague or inconsistent information that a correspondent provides.

• Be skeptical of any photo they send that look too professional or “too good to be true.” It may just be an image pulled from the Net.

• If you become the victim of stalking or harassing behavior, don’t hesitate to report it to the legal authorities just as you would with such treatment offline. You may also be able to report such conduct to the offending parties Internet Service Provider.

• Be familiar with online resources intended to educate the public about such online issues. These sites include www.cyberangels.org, www.haltabuse.org and www.childrenspartnership.org.

As for online dating services, only a few do a good job of screening applicants. Unfortunately, many are open to anyone with the ability to pay the fee and post a picture (whether or not the image is, in fact, of them). Men and women alike may use the anonymity of the Web to lie about their age, appearance, marital status, name and even gender.

Whether you use an online dating or singles’ service or even one of the “brick and mortar” variety, ask questions to gauge how well they will protect and serve you. Do they conduct background checks? Are their safeguards to ensure that members are not married or have criminal records? Will they offer a guarantee? Are they in good standing with local business associations and the Attorney General’s office?

Falzone continued, “There is no way to be completely safe or secure when using the Internet as a meeting place. But by being skeptical, and using your head as much as your heart, it is possible to have fun without attracting unnecessary danger.”

Now catering to more than 300,000 members at over 60 locations throughout North America, The Right One and Together Dating are the largest brick and mortar dating services in the industry. The Right One and Together Dating offer a more consistent product, a greater number of potentially compatible mates and added value of flexibility in transferring memberships to another geographic region.

Romantic Locations

The Right One’s offices and affiliates located throughout the United States include: California (San Diego); Colorado (Glendale); Florida (Miami); Georgia (Atlanta); Kansas (Wichita and Overland Park); Illinois (Downers Grove, Rockford and Bloomington); New Jersey (Cherry Hill, Hackensack); Massachusetts (Norwell, Newton, Shrewsbury and Woburn); Nebraska (Omaha and Lincoln); Pennsylvania (King of Prussia, Pittsburgh and Monroeville); Rhode Island (Warwick); Texas (Dallas, Austin); and Wisconsin (Madison, Appleton, Brookfield).

North American locations and affiliates of Together are: California (Encino, Irvine, Los Angeles, Upland); Florida (Palm Beach, Vero Beach); Georgia (Savannah); Indiana (Ft. Wayne, Indianapolis, South Bend); Kentucky (Lexington, Louisville); Louisiana (New Orleans); Maryland (Columbia, Frederick); Minnesota (Minneapolis); Nevada (Reno); New Hampshire (Hooksett, Nashua, Portsmouth and Salem); New Jersey (Bridgewater, Clark, Colts Neck and Lawrenceville); Ohio (Cincinnati); Pennsylvania (Mechanicsburg); South Carolina (Greenville); South Dakota (Sioux Falls); Texas (San Antonio, Beaumont and Houston) and Virginia (Falls Church).

For more information about The Right One and Together Dating, please visit their websites at www.therightone.com and www.togetherdating.com or call (800) 818-DATE (3283).

Web Resources for Studying Abroad

.

Introduction

In order to study abroad, students need to find a great deal of information about the institution where they will study; the city, region, and country where that school is located; the school year; academic information; scholarship information; living expenses; exchange rates; climate; transportation; daily life; visa requirements; language requirements; proof of language proficiency; etc.

Nowadays, there are many Internet sites related to studying abroad, both for Japanese people interested in going abroad and non-Japanese people who are interested in coming to Japan. I have compiled a list of links to many of them, in addition to writing articles and learning materials for students who want to study abroad. I have made a web page “Study Abroad” http://ilc2.doshisha.ac.jp/users/kkitao/online/www/study.htm) (Appendix A)

which has links to those resources. This is a guide to show how to use the Internet effectively to find such resources. On-line resources are particularly helpful, because users can search for information, navigate through links, and look up information just by changing screens. In addition, web pages can be updated more easily than printed materials.

Though this page was made for both Japanese who go abroad to study and non-Japanese who come to Japan, it is more useful for the former, and some information is particularly intended for Doshisha University students who are planning to participate in the university’s exchange student programs.

Organization of “Study Abroad”

This web page includes links to 1) a Japanese resource (which is a link to another web page which has links of web resources written in Japanese), 2) useful sites in English, 3) articles about studying abroad, 4) organizations and governmental offices, 5) resources, 6) tests, 7) institutions, reports and projects by Doshisha University students, 9) learning materials on studying in the US, 10) academic English, 11) traveling abroad, and 12) information for non-Japanese people.

1 The Japanese web page

“Ryugaku” (http://ilc2.doshisha.ac.jp/users/kkitao/Japanese/library/resource/abroad/) (Appendix B) has links to resources written in Japanese. The contents are: useful information, information about different countries, embassies, organizations for international exchange, traveling abroad, cheap international phone calls, free e-mail, university programs related to international exchange, and study abroad resources for Doshisha University students. Students can get overall information about studying in various countries, particularly about universities where Doshisha University sends exchange students.

2 Useful Sites

This section includes information on time, exchange rates, weather, Internet domains, school calendars, universities, and language schools. For students planning to go abroad, these sites include a great deal of valuable information

3 Articles about Studying Abroad

These articles were written for students who are thinking about studying abroad. There are seven articles which explain American higher education, studying abroad and the Internet, studying in an American university, using university libraries, the differences between American and British higher education, and benefits of three types of studying abroad.

4 Organizations and Governmental Offices

This section is a list of links to organizations and governmental offices related to studying abroad, such as embassies, associations of language schools, educational exchange organizations, and Departments or Ministries of Education. Students can get information from these organizations and offices. They are organized by country or region: Australia, Canada, Ireland, Japan, Korea, Mexico, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Europe.

5 Resources

This section includes various types of information which students may need. There are some general resources, such as guides to studying abroad and links pages related to studying abroad, as well as some resources for certain regions or countries. The latter has the following categories: Asia, Canada, the United Kingdom, the United States, and South Korea. This section includes commercial resources and other resources for studying and traveling.

6 Tests

Since some institutions require test scores as part of their application process, I have included links to information about the GRE, GMAT, IELTS, TOEFL, and SAT in “Tests.” The GRE and GMAT are required by many American graduate schools. Most English-speaking institutions require non-native English speakers to provide IELTS or TOEFL scores to show the English language proficiency. The United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand generally require IELTS, and American and Canadian universities require TOEFL.

7 Institutions

This section links the pages of many universities all over the world, or connects to links pages for universities in certain regions or countries. The first part of this section has the general links pages, and then there are links classified by country. There are some lists of individual institutions, which have some useful resources for people who are considering studying there.

8. Reports and Projects by Doshisha Students

One Doshisha student has written a report on her experience studying in Australia. Some students have made web pages to help people who are considering studying at a certain university in a certain country. Those are listed in “Reports and Projects by Doshisha University Students.” They are very helpful for students who are considering to study at those universities. There are more projects found at http://ilc2.doshisha.ac.jp/users/kkitao/class/practicum/.

Doshisha University students made some web pages for non-Japanese people to come to Japan to study, do business, to live and to do sightseeing. They are at http://ilc2.doshisha.ac.jp/users/kkitao/library/student/japan.htm. Also some Doshisha University students have made web pages for non-Japanese people who want to study Japanese language and understand aspects of Japanese culture, which are included in the section for non-Japanese people.

9. Learning Materials on Studying in the US

This section includes five articles which are included in our textbooks. They are explanations about an American college, taking classes a college, living in at college dormitory, and experiences of Japanese students in the United States and on an American college campus. The latter were written from the point of view of Japanese students as they experience new things in the United States, so it is easy for Japanese students to understand, and they can learn about studying abroad from the point of view of someone who had experienced it.

10. Academic English

This section is another resource I have made, which can be found at http://ilc2.doshisha.ac.jp/users/kkitao/class/material/academic.htm (Appendix C). It includes valuable information for students who want to study abroad. It includes information about how to evaluate resources, plagiarism, fields of study, search tools, study skills, research, writing research papers, writing, resources, and making web pages.

11. Traveling Abroad

This page (http://ilc2.doshisha.ac.jp/users/kkitao/japanese/online/overseas.htm) is made for Japanese scholars and business people interested in traveling abroad, particularly to the United States, the UK, and European countries (Appendix D). Thus it includes both English and Japanese resources, and probably more Japanese ones.

This web page includes very practical resources for traveling, including information about obtaining plane tickets; transportation such as trains, buses, ships, etc., in various countries; finding night accommodations and even making reservations; major airports; and other helpful information for traveling.

12. For Non-Japanese Students

This section is for non-Japanese people who come to Japan for study, business, or sightseeing. There are many Doshisha student projects to help those people enjoy staying in Japan, and study better or do business more effectively.

Those projects include information about studying the Japanese language, studying at Japanese universities, various places in Japan, entertainment, famous places, avoiding problems, eating, etc.

This section also includes links on Japanese culture and language that could be helpful to non-Japanese people to study Japan. “Japan and Japanese Language” (http://ilc2.doshisha.ac.jp/users/kkitao/online/www/japan.htm), which I made, is linked, and it covers learning Japanese language, gateways for various types of information, culture, Japanese language, Japanese literature, libraries, mailing lists, newspapers. magazines, TV and radio; movies, organizations, resources, teachers’ homepages, learning material, college associations, university Japanese programs, Japanese programs in Japan, and food. (Appendix E) These links are beneficial for non-Japanese people who live or stay in Japan.

Using “Study Abroad” Effectively

Japanese students who have just started thinking about the possibility of studying abroad should read the articles about studying abroad, particularly “Why Don’t You Study Abroad?” which explains three different types of studying abroad and their advantages and disadvantages in “3. Articles.” Other articles explain higher education in the United States and Britain. If you are interested in studying abroad, the learning materials are interesting and informative as well as giving you a chance to read English.

The Japanese resources “Ryugaku” include explanations about educational systems and universities in various countries, and they are very informative for students who are trying to decide what English-speaking country they want to study in. There are great differences among the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and Australia.

The web pages of organizations and government offices provide various resources and information, and students who are interested in studying abroad should skim this information. While you might not need the information right away, it may later be useful, so you should know what kinds of resources are available.

Choosing the institution where you study is a big and important decision. Fortunately, most institutions have well developed web sites, and you can find almost all the information you need. One way of comparing institutions is to make a chart. You can list the institutions down the left side and characteristics of the institutions across the top (for example, the size of the institution, the courses of interest to you, or whatever is important to you in choosing an institutions). You can fill in the chart with information from web pages. That way, you can choose the five institutions that best fit your priorities. Then you can send e-mails to them to collect more information or begin the application process.

“Reports and Projects by Doshisha Students” might be helpful in deciding what kind of information you need to look for. Students have made web pages with information they thought might be useful, and most of them are well done. One problem might be that some of the information might become outdated, since they will not be revised.

If you are considering getting into a degree program, you need to take TOEFL or IELTS depending on which country you are going to. You need good scores before you apply for admission. You should check the schedule, etc., for those tests, and take them as soon as possible.

After you decide to go abroad for study, I strongly suggest that you study academic English. Writing essays and research papers is particularly important, so you need to learn about doing research and writing a paper. “Academic English” section has resources that will help you in this area.

“Reference Materials for Students and Researchers” (http://ilc2.doshisha.ac.jp/users/kkitao/online/www/referenc.htm) has valuable resources. Resources for writing and search sites are particularly important for the students who are going abroad to study.

“Useful Sites” and “Traveling Abroad” have very practical sites where you can get a lot of information about traveling and living abroad. Some of these sites might be interesting for students in general. They might spark an interest in studying abroad if students use them to studying English. When students are ready to go, they can use these sites to make travel plans, etc.

For non-Japanese people, web pages by Doshisha students are interesting and informative. Keiko Schneider’s “Japanese language learning tools on Web” is very extensive, and you will find a great many useful sites.

My “Japan and Japanese Language” also has a great deal of information about that you may need to know about Japan, Japanese culture, and Japanese language. I have included some information about language and university programs as well as universities.

Web Resources for Studying Abroad

.

Introduction

In order to study abroad, students need to find a great deal of information about the institution where they will study; the city, region, and country where that school is located; the school year; academic information; scholarship information; living expenses; exchange rates; climate; transportation; daily life; visa requirements; language requirements; proof of language proficiency; etc.

Nowadays, there are many Internet sites related to studying abroad, both for Japanese people interested in going abroad and non-Japanese people who are interested in coming to Japan. I have compiled a list of links to many of them, in addition to writing articles and learning materials for students who want to study abroad. I have made a web page “Study Abroad” http://ilc2.doshisha.ac.jp/users/kkitao/online/www/study.htm) (Appendix A)

which has links to those resources. This is a guide to show how to use the Internet effectively to find such resources. On-line resources are particularly helpful, because users can search for information, navigate through links, and look up information just by changing screens. In addition, web pages can be updated more easily than printed materials.

Though this page was made for both Japanese who go abroad to study and non-Japanese who come to Japan, it is more useful for the former, and some information is particularly intended for Doshisha University students who are planning to participate in the university’s exchange student programs.

Organization of “Study Abroad”

This web page includes links to 1) a Japanese resource (which is a link to another web page which has links of web resources written in Japanese), 2) useful sites in English, 3) articles about studying abroad, 4) organizations and governmental offices, 5) resources, 6) tests, 7) institutions, reports and projects by Doshisha University students, 9) learning materials on studying in the US, 10) academic English, 11) traveling abroad, and 12) information for non-Japanese people.

1 The Japanese web page

“Ryugaku” (http://ilc2.doshisha.ac.jp/users/kkitao/Japanese/library/resource/abroad/) (Appendix B) has links to resources written in Japanese. The contents are: useful information, information about different countries, embassies, organizations for international exchange, traveling abroad, cheap international phone calls, free e-mail, university programs related to international exchange, and study abroad resources for Doshisha University students. Students can get overall information about studying in various countries, particularly about universities where Doshisha University sends exchange students.

2 Useful Sites

This section includes information on time, exchange rates, weather, Internet domains, school calendars, universities, and language schools. For students planning to go abroad, these sites include a great deal of valuable information

3 Articles about Studying Abroad

These articles were written for students who are thinking about studying abroad. There are seven articles which explain American higher education, studying abroad and the Internet, studying in an American university, using university libraries, the differences between American and British higher education, and benefits of three types of studying abroad.

4 Organizations and Governmental Offices

This section is a list of links to organizations and governmental offices related to studying abroad, such as embassies, associations of language schools, educational exchange organizations, and Departments or Ministries of Education. Students can get information from these organizations and offices. They are organized by country or region: Australia, Canada, Ireland, Japan, Korea, Mexico, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Europe.

5 Resources

This section includes various types of information which students may need. There are some general resources, such as guides to studying abroad and links pages related to studying abroad, as well as some resources for certain regions or countries. The latter has the following categories: Asia, Canada, the United Kingdom, the United States, and South Korea. This section includes commercial resources and other resources for studying and traveling.

6 Tests

Since some institutions require test scores as part of their application process, I have included links to information about the GRE, GMAT, IELTS, TOEFL, and SAT in “Tests.” The GRE and GMAT are required by many American graduate schools. Most English-speaking institutions require non-native English speakers to provide IELTS or TOEFL scores to show the English language proficiency. The United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand generally require IELTS, and American and Canadian universities require TOEFL.

7 Institutions

This section links the pages of many universities all over the world, or connects to links pages for universities in certain regions or countries. The first part of this section has the general links pages, and then there are links classified by country. There are some lists of individual institutions, which have some useful resources for people who are considering studying there.

8. Reports and Projects by Doshisha Students

One Doshisha student has written a report on her experience studying in Australia. Some students have made web pages to help people who are considering studying at a certain university in a certain country. Those are listed in “Reports and Projects by Doshisha University Students.” They are very helpful for students who are considering to study at those universities. There are more projects found at http://ilc2.doshisha.ac.jp/users/kkitao/class/practicum/.

Doshisha University students made some web pages for non-Japanese people to come to Japan to study, do business, to live and to do sightseeing. They are at http://ilc2.doshisha.ac.jp/users/kkitao/library/student/japan.htm. Also some Doshisha University students have made web pages for non-Japanese people who want to study Japanese language and understand aspects of Japanese culture, which are included in the section for non-Japanese people.

9. Learning Materials on Studying in the US

This section includes five articles which are included in our textbooks. They are explanations about an American college, taking classes a college, living in at college dormitory, and experiences of Japanese students in the United States and on an American college campus. The latter were written from the point of view of Japanese students as they experience new things in the United States, so it is easy for Japanese students to understand, and they can learn about studying abroad from the point of view of someone who had experienced it.

10. Academic English

This section is another resource I have made, which can be found at http://ilc2.doshisha.ac.jp/users/kkitao/class/material/academic.htm (Appendix C). It includes valuable information for students who want to study abroad. It includes information about how to evaluate resources, plagiarism, fields of study, search tools, study skills, research, writing research papers, writing, resources, and making web pages.

11. Traveling Abroad

This page (http://ilc2.doshisha.ac.jp/users/kkitao/japanese/online/overseas.htm) is made for Japanese scholars and business people interested in traveling abroad, particularly to the United States, the UK, and European countries (Appendix D). Thus it includes both English and Japanese resources, and probably more Japanese ones.

This web page includes very practical resources for traveling, including information about obtaining plane tickets; transportation such as trains, buses, ships, etc., in various countries; finding night accommodations and even making reservations; major airports; and other helpful information for traveling.

12. For Non-Japanese Students

This section is for non-Japanese people who come to Japan for study, business, or sightseeing. There are many Doshisha student projects to help those people enjoy staying in Japan, and study better or do business more effectively.

Those projects include information about studying the Japanese language, studying at Japanese universities, various places in Japan, entertainment, famous places, avoiding problems, eating, etc.

This section also includes links on Japanese culture and language that could be helpful to non-Japanese people to study Japan. “Japan and Japanese Language” (http://ilc2.doshisha.ac.jp/users/kkitao/online/www/japan.htm), which I made, is linked, and it covers learning Japanese language, gateways for various types of information, culture, Japanese language, Japanese literature, libraries, mailing lists, newspapers. magazines, TV and radio; movies, organizations, resources, teachers’ homepages, learning material, college associations, university Japanese programs, Japanese programs in Japan, and food. (Appendix E) These links are beneficial for non-Japanese people who live or stay in Japan.

Using “Study Abroad” Effectively

Japanese students who have just started thinking about the possibility of studying abroad should read the articles about studying abroad, particularly “Why Don’t You Study Abroad?” which explains three different types of studying abroad and their advantages and disadvantages in “3. Articles.” Other articles explain higher education in the United States and Britain. If you are interested in studying abroad, the learning materials are interesting and informative as well as giving you a chance to read English.

The Japanese resources “Ryugaku” include explanations about educational systems and universities in various countries, and they are very informative for students who are trying to decide what English-speaking country they want to study in. There are great differences among the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and Australia.

The web pages of organizations and government offices provide various resources and information, and students who are interested in studying abroad should skim this information. While you might not need the information right away, it may later be useful, so you should know what kinds of resources are available.

Choosing the institution where you study is a big and important decision. Fortunately, most institutions have well developed web sites, and you can find almost all the information you need. One way of comparing institutions is to make a chart. You can list the institutions down the left side and characteristics of the institutions across the top (for example, the size of the institution, the courses of interest to you, or whatever is important to you in choosing an institutions). You can fill in the chart with information from web pages. That way, you can choose the five institutions that best fit your priorities. Then you can send e-mails to them to collect more information or begin the application process.

“Reports and Projects by Doshisha Students” might be helpful in deciding what kind of information you need to look for. Students have made web pages with information they thought might be useful, and most of them are well done. One problem might be that some of the information might become outdated, since they will not be revised.

If you are considering getting into a degree program, you need to take TOEFL or IELTS depending on which country you are going to. You need good scores before you apply for admission. You should check the schedule, etc., for those tests, and take them as soon as possible.

After you decide to go abroad for study, I strongly suggest that you study academic English. Writing essays and research papers is particularly important, so you need to learn about doing research and writing a paper. “Academic English” section has resources that will help you in this area.

“Reference Materials for Students and Researchers” (http://ilc2.doshisha.ac.jp/users/kkitao/online/www/referenc.htm) has valuable resources. Resources for writing and search sites are particularly important for the students who are going abroad to study.

“Useful Sites” and “Traveling Abroad” have very practical sites where you can get a lot of information about traveling and living abroad. Some of these sites might be interesting for students in general. They might spark an interest in studying abroad if students use them to studying English. When students are ready to go, they can use these sites to make travel plans, etc.

For non-Japanese people, web pages by Doshisha students are interesting and informative. Keiko Schneider’s “Japanese language learning tools on Web” is very extensive, and you will find a great many useful sites.

My “Japan and Japanese Language” also has a great deal of information about that you may need to know about Japan, Japanese culture, and Japanese language. I have included some information about language and university programs as well as universities.

Visit  www.slukvisa.blogspot.com

more info about student visa and visas.

1. Introduction

The World Wide Web is an ever-popular way to share information. Constantly emerging technologies present new ways of presenting this information. A website is a collection of information about a particular topic or organization. The website is an arrangement and collection of web pages. A website typically consists of text and images. The first page of the website is called as the home page or index page. Each web page within a website is an HTML file which is which has its own URL. After each webpage has been created they are typically linked together using a navigation menu composed of hyperlink.

Most of the educational institutes these days prefer to have a website irrespective of the type of ownership, Government, private or semi-government etc. The practice has become common for educational institutes providing higher education and also not very rare even for institutes providing secondary education. Every institute in the present age of information technology likes to publicize their information, service or facilities to millions of potential and interested students and scholars. This is an easy way by which an institute can publicize and advertise themselves in the net 24 hours a day for all the 365 days of a year. Having a web site helps the administration to diminish a lot of their workload as information about various facilities, services, results, program schedule of examinations, rules, procedures etc. can displayed in the net.  For job seekers to a particular institute the website is the convenient and reliable source of information.

 

2. Objective of the Study

The main purpose of the study is to analyze the websites located in the north east India and to rank them in order of the information content in each of the websites. As discussed earlier the purpose of a website of an educational institution is to provide information about various aspects of the university such that the queries of different people related to the institution be satisfied. The paper wants to check- to what extent these websites can satisfy their purpose. The different universities considered for study are abbreviated in the following manner Rajiv Gandhi University (RGU), Dibrugarh University (DU), Gauhati University (GU), Assam University (AU), Tezpur University (TU), Mizoram University (MU), North East Hill University (NEHU), Mizoram University (MZU) and Tripura University.

 

3. Brief Note about the Universities

(i)           Rajiv Gandhi University (RGU): This is a central university under the ministry of Human Resource Development, Govt. of India. The university has been converted into a central university by an Act of Parliament with effect from 9th April, 2007. It was formerly known as Arunachal Pradesh University. It is located at Rono Hills in Papumpare District, 12 kilometers away from Itanagar, the capital city of Arunachal Pradesh.

(ii)         Dibrugarh University (DU): It is the eastern most university of India, which was setup in 1965 under the provisions of University Act, 1965 enacted by the Assam Legislative Assembly. The university is located at Rajabheta at a distance of 5kms from the town of Dibrugarh, in the eastern part of Assam.

(iii)       Gauhati University (GU): It is the first university in North East India. It was established in 1948 under the GU act, 1947. The university is located at Jalukbari within the Guwahati city area.

(iv)       Assam University (AU): Assam University came into existence through Assam (Central) University Act, 1989. It was established in 1994. The university is located at Dorgakona, 20 kms away from Silchar, a major town in south Assam.

(v)         Tezpur University (TU): Tezpur University was established in 1994. The campus is located at Napaam about 15 kms away from Tezpur the head quarters of Sonitpur district of Assam. 

(vi)       Manipur University (MU): Manipur University was established in 1947. It was earlier a state university but of late it has been converted into a central university.

(vii)     North East Hill University (NEHU): this university was established by an act of parliament and was notified in 19th July, 1973. It is located in Meghalaya, 12 kms away from the capital city of Shillong.

(viii)   Mizoram University (MZU): The university was established on 2nd July, 2001 by the MZU act which appeared in the Gazette of India on 25th April, 2000 as a central University.

(ix)        Tripura University (TRU): Tripura University was established in 1987, but was converted into a central university in 2nd July, 2007 by Tripura University Act, 2006. The university was located at Suryamani Nagar, near the capital city of Agartala.

 

 

 

4. Determination of Weights

For the purpose of comparison the following heads of information were considered. There were as many as nine heads like,

(i)  Admission procedure         (ii) Library facilities

(iii) Alumni Association          (iv) Students

(v) Facilities                            (vi) Faculty Search
(vii) Academic/miscellaneous information (viii) Career Prospects
(ix) Useful links to other institutes/websites

Under each of these categories many other criteria were considered, let us call them sub-categories. The details of categories and sub-categories were shown in Table 2. However, as an initial step it is important to provide weights to the categories as all the categories did not seem to be equally essential. For this purpose we asked some academicians, students, and university officials etc. to rank the 9 different categories. The most important category is to be ranked one; the second one is to be ranked two and so on.  Accordingly the ranked were averaged for each of the category. Each of the averages was than subtracted from 9. The values were then converted to a value out of ten. In Table 1 one can see the different categories along with its weights through the proposed calculations.

 

Table 1. Different categories of information and their weights

 

Avg.Rank

(i)

9 – Avg. Rank

(ii)

Weights

= (ii)x10/43.36

Admission

1.33

8.67

1.655844

Library

1.83

8.17

1.560351

Alumni

8.66

1.34

0.255921

Students

2

8

1.527884

Facilities

3.83

6.17

1.17838

Faculty search

3

7

1.336898

Academics

4.16

5.84

1.115355

Career prospects

6.33

3.67

0.700917

Useful Links

6.5

3.5

0.668449

 

 

Total = 43.36

  Total =10

5. Methodology of Scoring

Let  xijk = 1, if the ith information of jth category is present in the kth website.

             =  0, if the ith information of jth category is absent in the kth website.

Where, i = 1, 2, …,nj, where nj = number of information heads in the jth category

                                     j =1,2,…,9   (number of categories being 9)

                 k = 1,2,…,9 (as 9 universities are taken into comparison)

                                    wj = weight of the jth category.

  Next, we define Sjk, which we call the Category Score and it gives us an idea about the performance of the kth university in the jth category.

        Sjk = Category Score = Score of the kth university in the jth category

           = Sumi (xijk)                                                                              (1)

Thus, we obtain all values Sjk ( for all the 10 categories for each of the 8 universities). For combining the category scores of the universities, over various categories we proceed in the following manner:

We calculate, maxk ( Sjk)  and mink ( Sjk)  for each category (j =1,2,…,10).

Next we define,

Djk =maxk ( Sjk) – Sjk  and D’jk  = Sjk – mink ( Sjk).                  (2)

Thus, Djk is the deviation of the score of the kth university belonging to the jth category from the maximum score of any university in that category. So, if a university has smaller value of Djk than better is the performance of the university in the jth category.

Similarly, D’jk is the deviation of the score of the kth university belonging the jth category from the minimum score of any university in that category. So, if a university, has higher value of D’jk  than better is the performance of the university in that category. Then we calculate the mean of these deviations Djk and D’jk for the various categories separately.  That is we calculate

Dk=Meanj (Djk) and D’k=Meanj (D’jk)                                    (3)

          Now, for an informative website (a website performing nicely in all the categories) the values of Djk for all values of j will be low and hence will be Dk. Similarly, for an informative website, the values of D’jk for all values of j will be high and hence will be D’k. Thus, the index for comparison is taken to be                            Sk = (D’k x 100)/(Dk+D’k )                                      (4)

The more the value of the index better is the website of the university and vice versa. The maximum score that a website can attain is 100.

 6. Calculations and Results

In the Table 2 the basic information regarding the presence or absence of the information of different sub-categories in the websites is displayed. Here the rows of the table correspond to the various sub-categories and the columns the various universities.  The names of the various categories can be seen in the table having a gray background. The value 1 in the cell implies the presence of the information related to that sub-category in the corresponding university website and zero implies its absence.

 

Table 2. Presence of various sub-categorical information in different websites

                       

RGU

DU

GU

AU

TU

MU

NEHU

MZU

TRU

ADMISSION   

Prospectus                          

0

0

0

1

0

0

0

1

0

Full time course                    

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

Part time course                    

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

Fees for each course                

0

1

1

0

0

0

1

1

0

Reservation rules                   

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

Application form                    

0

1

0

0

1

0

1

1

1

Contact e-mail                      

1

1

1

1

1

0

1

0

1

Information for foreign students           

0

0

0

0

0

0

1

0

0

LIBRARY                            

 

Staff                               

1

0

1

1

0

0

1

0

0

Membership                          

0

0

1

0

0

1

1

0

0

Library layout                      

1

1

0

1

1

0

1

1

0

Contact e-mail                      

1

0

1

0

1

0

1

0

0

Rules & regulation                  

1

0

1

0

1

1

1

1

0

Collection                          

1

1

1

1

1

1

0

1

1

ALUMNI                             

 

Alumni Relation                     

0

0

0

0

1

0

0

0

0

Alumni Registration Criteria        

0

1

0

0

1

0

0

0

0

Alumni Search Criteria              

0

1

0

0

1

0

0

0

0

STUDENTS                            

Financial aid programme             

1

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

Fellowship/scholarship              

0

1

0

0

0

1

1

0

0

Award                               

0

1

1

0

1

1

1

0

0

Clubs                               

0

0

1

0

0

0

0

1

0

Student’s union                     

1

0

1

1

1

0

1

1

0

RA position                         

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

FACILITIES                          

Hostels            

1

1

0

1

1

1

1

1

1

Seat capacity                       

1

1

0

0

0

1

1

1

1

Rate                                

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

Guest house                         

1

0

1

0

0

0

0

0

0

Medical                             

1

1

0

0

1

1

1

1

1

Sports                               

1

1

0

0

1

0

0

0

1

FACULTY SEARCH BY                      

 

Name                                

1

1

1

0

1

1

1

1

1

Designation                         

0

0

1

0

1

1

1

1

1

School/department                   

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

Subject                             

0

0

1

0

1

1

0

0

1

List of  Teachers                           

0

0

1

0

1

0

0

0

1

ACADEMICS /Miscellaneous                          

 

Schools & centers                    

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

Results

1

1

0

0

1

0

1

1

1

Information about Affiliated Institutes      

1

0

1

0

0

1

0

1

1

Site Map   

1

0

1

0

0

0

1

0

0

Forthcoming events                 

0

1

1

0

0

1

1

1

0

Photo gallery                       

1

0

1

0

1

0

1

1

1

CAREER PROSPECTS                      

 

Online submission of job application

1

0

0

1

1

0

0

0

0

Application form                    

1

0

0

1

0

0

0

1

1

General instruction                 

1

0

1

1

1

0

0

1

0

USEFUL LINKS                        

 

With educational institution in India

1

0

1

0

1

1

0

1

0

Educational institution abroad

0

0

0

0

1

0

0

1

0

Search Option in Site

1

0

1

0

0

0

1

0

0

Phone no.s of important office bearers

1

1

1

1

0

1

0

1

1

 

Based on this table, which we may consider as raw data available to us, we perform the computation of the categorical score based on equation (1) and accordingly the following values of categorical scores i.e. Sjk were obtained.

Table 3. Categorical Scores of the various websites

 

 

RGU

DU

GU

AU

TU

MU

NEHU

MZU

TRU

Admission

4

6

5

5

5

3

7

6

5

Library

5

2

5

3

4

3

5

3

1

Alumni

0

2

0

0

3

0

0

0

0

Students

2

2

3

1

2

2

2

3

2

Facilities

5

4

1

1

3

3

3

3

4

Faculty search

2

2

5

1

5

4

3

3

5

Academics/ Miscellaneous

5

3

5

1

3

3

5

5

4

Career prospects

3

0

1

3

2

0

0

2

1

Useful Links

3

1

3

1

2

2

1

3

1

 

A quick look at the table gives us an idea that most of the universities in the north east do not provide much information about the alumni or their association that the institute must be having. Similar comment can also be made about the career prospects. Though maximum information is provided about the admission procedure and rules related to that but the faculty search criteria is not paid equal importance by all the institutes. Students from other parts of the country want to know the specialization of the teachers and their list of publications before pursuing their Ph. D or equivalent degree. As some of the universities lack this information and even the complete list of teachers, their contact numbers, email address etc. so it may act as a hindrance in the flow of students from other parts of the country. 

Next, based on the equations (2), (3) etc. involving the weights we make the necessary computations and the final scores were obtained. It may be remembered that the weights are provided in the column 3 of Table. 1.

 

Table 4. Final Scores of the websites of the various universities

 

RGU

DU

GU

AU

TU

MU

NEHU

MZU

TRU

Final Scores

95.81

65.91

100.00

38.23

91.61

59.10

97.78

95.81

0.00

Rank

3

6

1

8

5

7

2

3

9

 

Thus, it is found that Gauhati university wins the race followed by North East Hill University. There is a tie in the third position between Rajiv Gandhi University and Mizoram University. The worst performance is of Tripura University. Since the study is dependent on weights of the categories, so the ranking may get changed if the weights are changed.

 7. Conclusion

            Though many features were considered for comparison, but some other aspects like rate of updating of the web site, responses to email sent to the university, availability of lecture notes from subject experts from those universities etc. were not considered. This remains as another area of development for new researchers to build up new techniques to quantify the above-mentioned aspects and incorporate them in the comparison.

            It is essential to note here that comparison of this type, may become important to the universities as they can understand the exact information that they would incorporate in their web site in order to make more informative. Also such study helps the university to understand the relative score of their website compared to the best web site amongst the competing websites.  However such study should be a continuous process, because the universities keep on updating and adding more and more information to their websites.

 

Reference:

Websites of the universities mentioned in the paper.

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