International Journal of Emerging Technologies in

International Journal of Emerging Technologies in Sciences and Engineering ISSN 1923-9181

Volume 4 Number 2 July, 2011

www.ijetse.com

Volume 4 Number 1

Papersofvolume4number2issue:

01

02

03

04

05

06

07

08 09 10

11

12

13

14

Green supply chain and operations practice and performance of small scale rubber product manufacturing unit S. Kumar, S. Chattopadhyaya and V. Sharma Use of mobiles to introduce participation and feedback in a video based Distance Education course Y. M. Islam and M. Nesa Some Mechanical Properties of Doum Palm Fruit (Hyphaene thebaica) A.K. Aremu1 and O.K. Fadele Modularization Through Aspect Oriented Programming M. Banerjee and C. Kumar Effect of physical mutagens on the glucose oxidase production S. Khurshid, M.Z. Qureshi, A. Ahmed, M.U. Hassan, M.S. Muhsan, M.A. Kasmiri, M.A. Abassi. A Review on Dynamics of Hydraulic Excavator’s Backhoe Attachment B.P. Patel and J. M. Prajapati CFD Study of the Flow in a Solar Air Heater with and without thermal storage materials P.T. Saravanakumar, K. Mayilsamy and M. Mohanraj Event Driven Architecture for Wireless Sensor Networks using HTML5 Web sockets N. Swamy R. and G. Mahadevan Distributed Video Coding K. Vora, S. Maji and M.S. Sokhi Variable Input Delay CMOS Logic for D Latch Circuit A.N. Jayanthi and C.S. Ravichandran Bayesian sampling plans for multi dimensional quality characteristics K. Rebecca, J. Edna1 and S.D. Arul Development of a cleanroom based E payment: ICT means of achieving vision 2020 O.M. Alimi1, E.R. Adagunodo, B.S. Afolabi, I.P. Gambo and O.G. Binuyo Modeling and implementation of a web based government project monitoring and documenting system O. Aweh and P. Attaiyang Considerationsineconomicandpublicpolicyforbio fuelsinEcowassubregion S.O.Adelena,T.Senthiikumar,W.O.Adedji, M.A. Lasisi,A.O.Adesina

Page. 001-008

Page. 009-016

Page. 017-025

Page. 026-030

Page. 031-042

Page. 043-048

Page. 049-061

Page. 062-064 Page. 065-067 Page. 068-072

Page. 073-085

Page. 086-094

Page. 095-111

Page. 112-123

International Journal of Emerging Technologies in Science and Engineering , Vol. 4, No. 2

GREEN SUPPLY CHAIN AND OPERATIONS PRACTICE AND PERFORMANCE OF SMALL SCALE RUBBER PRODUCT MANUFACTURING UNIT Sanjeev Kumar1, Somnath Chattopadhyaya2, Vinay Sharma3 1

Research Scholar, 2 Assistant Professor, 3 Associate Professor Department of Mechanical. Engg.1, Department of ME&MME 2 , Department of Production Engg 3 I.S.M. University, Dhanbad, ISM University, Dhanbad, BIT, Mesra (Ranchi) [email protected] [email protected] [email protected]

Abstract - Currently environmental management is at the forefront of small sized enterprises especially in certain sectors (rubber product industries) where its presence is mandatory in order to operate in business. Although small sized enterprises in certain sectors are catching up on their larger counterparts in reducing their environmental impacts, which are mainly due to supply chain demands, statistics clearly show that the majority of manufacturing small sized enterprises are not incorporating formal environmental management system (EMS) into their businesses. The relationship between supply chain/operations practice and operational/financial performance has been of interest to academics and practitioners for many years. This study also aims to empirically investigate the construct of and the scale for evaluating green supply chain management (GSCM) practices implementation among manufacturers. The assessments presented are based on parts of the data and information collected through the execution of the Competitive Strategies and Best Practices Benchmarking Questionnaire from the rubber product manufacturing industries of India. In this paper, these issues are analyzed through the survey results and some conclusions are drawn. Several policy measures applicable in near future are suggested for improving the areas found in need of improvement.

Key words: Environmental management system, Manufacturing, Green supply chain management, Small scale Indian industry. scrutiny from diverse stakeholder groups, including end consumers, industrial customers, suppliers, and financial 1. Introduction institutions (Stephan Vachon, Robert D. Klassen,2008) [13] and also environmentally sustainable supply chain Environmental issues have become extremely important in management has emerged as an important organizational recent times due to their high level of visibility, and philosophy to achieve corporate profit and market share organizational management is forced to incorporate objectives by reducing environmental risks and impacts environmental management into corporate practices and while improving ecological efficiency of these policy.( Chen-Lung Yang , Shu-PingLin , Ya-huiChan , organizations and their partners (Qinghua Zhua, Joseph ChwenSheu, 2010) [2] . Environmentally conscious Sarkis, Kee-hung Lai, 2008)[9]. So all industry have business practices (ECBP) and management have evolved management systems in place to ensure efficient and with influences from reactive and proactive activities and smooth running of certain aspects of their business. For policies set forth by organizations. (Joseph Sarkis, example, financial systems are used to manage the finances 1998)[7]. India has emerged as a key player in global of a business and will formalise all decisions made in that business. Exports in many sectors are expanding rapidly in area, covering accounting processes, record keeping, and many sectors, and in particular in the rubber industry. auditing. Intelligent environmental management must take Supply chain management (SCM), dealing with material, a similar structure, in the form of an environmental financial, and information flows from raw material management system (EMS) (Stephen Burke, W.F. suppliers through to end consumers, is generally Gaughran, 2006) [12]. The ISO 14001 standard specifies a recognized as a key contributor to corporate performance, series of requirements that must be met by the with practices being closely scrutinized by both environmental management system (EMS) of a company, practitioners and academics. In this regard, single-country, that is, by the system used to organize and coordinate all single-industry studies play a role in assessing the strength the environmental activities and initiatives that the of these linkages without confounding national and company develops. (Javier Gonza lez-Benito, O scar industry effects. Here we study practices and performance Gonza lez-Benito, 2008) [6]. Highly resourced large (operational and financial) relating to supply chain and manufacturers have already implemented EMSs certified to operations management among rubber product ISO 14001 and/ or the eco-management and auditing manufacturing industries. Environmental management has system (EMAS). As part of ISO 14001/EMAS become important for manufacturers as they face intense

1


2

economic benefits. Their results indicated that it ‘‘pays to be green’’ and the relationship is reinforced with the existence of industry growth. Klassen and Whybark (1999) [8] explored the link between an environmental technology portfolio and manufacturing performance using a forced choice survey instrument. The EMPs used in their research focus primarily on manufacturing technologies and operational performance measures. They found that increasing the allocation for proactive pollution prevention technologies correlated with improved manufacturing performance, whereas increasing the allocation for reactive pollution control (i.e., end of pipe) correlated with worsening manufacturing performance. Historically, several methodologies have been developed for evaluating, selecting and monitoring potential suppliers (Ellram, 1987) [4] that take into account factors dealing with, for example, quality, logistics and cost. However, none of these methodologies has considered the importance of environmental factors, such as, life cycle analysis or design for environment in the decision-making process. These models and frameworks included and defined a variety of characteristics, attributes, and scales for GSCM practices implementation, yet none attempted to rigorously validate these scales for these category (small scale rubber product Indian industries) industries. The scope of sustainable supply chain management practices implementation ranges from green purchasing (GP) to integrated life-cycle management supply chains flowing from supplier, through to manufacturer, customer, and closing the loop with reverse logistics. This study aims to examine the measurement model of GSCM practices implementation focusing on its 05 underlying dimensions (factors) with set of 21 question and 03 measurement items for performance outcomes with a set of 17 questions and a measurement scale for it. These dimensions and the scale are represented in the form of questionnaire items, for measuring the different facets of GSCM practices implementation, enabling organizations to evaluate their strengths and weaknesses in the course of implementing these practices. The five underlying GSCM practices implementation factors to be confirmed in our study include internal environmental management (IEM), Green Purchasing, cooperation with customers including environmental requirements, eco-design practices.

specifications, these manufacturers must, and have been seen to, make specific demands and targets of environmental performance and assurance which suppliers, i.e., small enterprises, must meet. In order to remain ahead of the competition, small scale enterprises in these supply chains must obtain these appropriate ISO environmental standards before even being considered as contenders. (Stephen Burke, W.F. Gaughran, 2006) [12]. Using literature in supply chain (operations) and environmental management, we introduce a number of parameter that may be used to help evaluate practices in this area. Practitioners can use these scales / parameter for benchmarking, continuous improvement, and project management activities. One contribution of this study is to help small scale rubber product manufacturers understand the different facets of sustainable Supply Chain Management practices implementation and identify the strengths and weaknesses of the implementation of their sustainable Supply Chain Management practices. This paper proposes to examine the relationship between environmental collaboration in the supply chain (joint environmental planning and goal setting) and manufacturing performance.

2. Objective of the Research The objective of this research is to investigate the operations practice and performance of small scale rubber product manufacturing industries.

3. Literature Survey Small scale enterprises are under the most strain from modern business demands from having to, comply with existing and up-and coming legislation, reduce costs, meet customer expectations/ demands, remain competitive and maintain a good corporate image (Stephen Burke, W.F. Gaughran ,2006 )[12]. The focus on environmental management and operations is moved from local optimization of environmental factors to consideration of the whole supply chain during the manufacturing, procurement, packaging, consumption, service and post disposal and disposition of products. [Sanjeev kumar, Somnath Chattopadhyay, Vinay Sharma, 2010)[11]. Russo and Fouts (1997) [10] linked environmental performance to economic performance through an analysis of 243 firms using independently developed environmental ratings. These authors posited that this relationship is moderated by the growth of the industry. Their model of the link between environmental performance and profitability was based on the resource-based view of the firm. They tested the idea that improved environmental performance resulted in a competitive advantage, which was reflected in

3.1.Competitive Strategies and Best Practices Benchmarking Questionnaire and its implementation: The Competitive Strategies and Best Practices Benchmarking Questionnaire were developed. The questionnaire consists of total 08 modules in two different categories (05 module consisting 21 question for measurement items for GSCM practice implementation & 03 module consisting 17 question for measurement items

2


3

operational performance module (Fig. 01 shows the research process of GSCM practices implementation)

for performance outcomes) with 38 questions. The model aims to explore possible near future developments in the competitive strategies of the companies by addressing their competitive priorities, manufacturing objectives and action plans. Internal environment module, green purchasing, cooperation with customers, eco-design, investment recovery, environment performance, operational performance module all serve for the assessment of where the company stands in terms of its practices and outcomes in the context of business excellence and best practices. Information is collected through the 38 questionnaire. Performance and outcome measures are asked to be reported as point values. Majority of the qualitative information is collected by asking the respondent to respond to statements. Industries performance strategies will depend upon their aggregate score. 3.2.Measurement development: To develop a measurement scale for the implementation of GSCM practices and performance outcomes, (Qinghua Zhua, Joseph Sarkis, Kee-hung Lai, 2008) [9] developed a list of 38 measurement items on GSCM practices implementation & performance outcomes that are generally deemed important for implementation by manufacturers. (See Table 01 & 02). The measurement items were developed on the basis of inputs by industrial experts and the literature ( Zsidisin, G.A., Hendrick, T.E., 1998; Walton, S.V., Handfield, R.B., Melnyk, S.T., 1998; Carter, C.R., Kale, R., Grimn, C.M., 2000)[1],[14],[16]. All the measurement items are organized into a survey questionnaire administered to manufacturers. The target respondents of our survey were requested to indicate, using a five-point Likert scale (1- not considering it, 2- planning to consider it, 3- considering it currently, 4 - initiating implementation, 5- implementing successfully), the extent to which they perceived their companies implementing each of the dimensions of GSCM practices, underpinned by the 21 individual questionnaire items for measurement & for measurement items for performance outcomes using a five-point Likert scale(1-not at all, 2-a little bit, 3-to some degree, 4-relatively significant, 5-significant). 3.3.GSCM practices implementation and the Indian manufacturing context:

FIGURE: 01 (RESEARCH METHOD) 3.4.Scenario of Rubber Product manufacturing In India: India is the world’s largest producers and third largest consumer of natural rubber. Moreover, India is also one of the fastest growing economy globally. India's production varies between 6 and 7 lakh tons annually which amounts to Rs. 3000 crores. 70% of the total rubber production in India is in the form of Ribbed Smoked Sheets. This is also imported by India accounting for 45% of the total import

GSCM has become an increasingly important management approach for Indian manufacturers to help achieve cost and service advantages. We conceptualize GSCM practices implementation as encompassing eight different modules of practices namely internal environment module, green purchasing, cooperation with customers, eco-design, investment recovery, environment performance,

3


4

The hypotheses are: H1. Operations and supply chain practice has a positive impact on market performance. H2. The importance of an operations dimension has a positive impact on market performance. H3. Operations and supply chain practice has a positive impact on operations dimension importance. H4. Operations dimension importance has a positive impact on operations dimensions performance. H5. Operations dimension performance has a positive impact on market performance. H6. Market performance has a positive impact on overall environmental performance. H7. Overall environmental performance has a positive impact on customer satisfaction performance

of rubber. The Indian rubber industry has a turnover of Rs. 12000 crores. Most of the rubber production is consumed by the tyre industry which is almost 52% of the total production of India. There are about 6000 unit comprising 30 large scale, 300 medium scale and around 5600 small scale and tiny sector units. These units are manufacturing more than 35000 rubber products, employing 400 thousand people, which also includes 22000 technically qualified support personnel, contributing Rs. 40 billions to the national exchequer through taxes, duties and other levies. The Indian rubber industry plays a vital role in the Indian national economy. The per capita consumption of rubber in India is 800 grams. (source:www.industrialrubbergoods.com) 3.5.Rubber production in India: -

India is the third largest producer of rubber in the world. It is the fourth largest consumer of natural rubber. It is the fifth largest consumer of natural rubber and synthetic rubber together in the world. India is the world’s largest manufacturer of reclaim rubber. India and China are the only two countries in the world which have the capacity to consume the entire indigenous production of natural rubber.

3.6.Rubber consumption in India: - Automotive tyre sector: 50% consumption of all kinds of rubbers - Bicycles tyres and tubes: 15% - Footwear: 12% - Belts and hoses: 6% - Camelback and latex products: 7% - Other products: 10% 3.7.Conceptual framework: With the above in mind, and taking an exploratory research route, the initial conceptual model is presented in Fig. 2 initiated by (David J. Robba, Bin Xie, Tiru Arthanari, 2008) [3] Hypothesise that practice (in both supply chain and operations) impacts the market performance of the firm, both directly and indirectly through the importance of, and performance on, operations dimensions. Considering several sources and pathways for a firm’s financial/market performance, viz., what the firm does, what operations dimensions it emphasizes, and how well it performs on those dimensions. We suggest that capability development leads to improved performance.

Figure-02

4


5

CRITERIA OF POINT: A FIVE POINT SCALE: 1- NOT CONSIDERING IT, 2- PLANNING TO CONSIDER IT, 3CONSIDERING IT CURRENTLY, 4INITIATING IMPLEMENTATION,5-IMPLEMENTING SUCCESSFULLY

GRAPHICAL RESULTS FOR MEASUREMENT ITEMS FOR GSCM PRACTICE IMPLEMENTATION

) % % ! ( $ % ( $ % ( $ % & ' & ' & ' % !" % & ' #

$% !"

Figure – 03(a)

5


6

GRAPHICAL RESULTS FOR MEASUREMENT ITEMS FOR PERFORMANCE OUTCOMES

%

%%%

*, *, *, *, *, *, *+ *+ * * * *

! .

*, *

! %

*, *, * * *

/ %

( (

Figure – 3(b)

! $% % % (

%

TABLE-02 MEASUREMENT ITEMS FOR PERFORMANCE OUTCOMES

( & % '$ ( & ( $ ( '

$

! ( % ( '.% - % %& - % & & - %

Figure – 4(a)

CRITERIA OF POINT: A FIVE POINT SCALE: 1- NOT AT ALL, 2- A LITTLE BIT, 3- TO SOME DEGREE, 4RELATIVELY SIGNIFICANT, 5- SIGNIFICANT

6


7

complex. These manufacturing units gear up the productivity as an when required by the customers. So the deadline of meeting the target for those manufacturing unit are much flexible in comparison to other two group of manufacturing industry. That is why the overall response of the small scale rubber industry is least. Some of the important suggestion towards improvement in eco-efficiency: Implement total quality environment management. Improve the cooperation with suppliers for environmental objective. Improve cooperation with customer for eco-design & green packaging. Establish environmental management system in the industry. Follow environmental legislation and regulations for industry’s operations & products. Design and develop the products that ease the disassembly, remanufacturing & recycling. Use recycled, recyclable, renewable materials for products & packaging. Provide assistance to suppliers on environmental matters in order to increase supply chain efficiency. Monitor to customer regarding environmental concern, requirements and activities. Use environmental labels on products and services etc.

! %

%%%

*, *, *, *, * * * * *, * *

( ( ( (

! ( ( / ! % !

- % - % - % ( ( !

*, *, *, *, *+ * * *

Figure – 4(b)

4. Result & Discussion 5. Conclusions

Here the score of the rubber product manufacturing unit is not as par the standard (Table-01 & 02, Figure-03(a),03(b) & 04(a),04(b)). Reason is small scale industries are not so much conscious about environmental rules and regulations. Employees of these category industries are not so much conscious about environmental management. There is a lack of knowledge related to environment management and other parameters. For growing these industries having ample of scope towards eco-efficiency. Even though small scale manufacturing units engaged in rubber products have also to maintain strict production schedule. It is observed that less disciplined performance found (Table-01 & 02 Figure-03(a,b) & 04(a,b)) in terms of environmental performance, green purchasing, eco-design etc. through survey instruments. Whereas the manufacturing units for small scale rubber products can relax a bit in their productivity commitment in comparison to the medium & large scale manufacturing units. In the small scale manufacturing plant the production process usually are not that much documented and stream line as in the case of medium & large scale manufacturing unit. In case of rubber manufacturing plant they have to supply wide range of customers on the products makes

Growth of the Indian small scale rubber industry over the past decade, in both domestic sales and exports, has been both rapid and sustained. The environmental performance of Small scale industries and their long term commitment to managing their environmental impacts must be increased and supported through simple, effective and strategic support systems. This study presents practitioners with a 38-item measurement scale for evaluating the different facets of their GSCM practices implementation & performance outcomes. The empirical results suggest that all 38 measurement items are critical attributes of the underlying factors of GSCM practices implementation & performance outcomes. Small scale industrialist wishing to improve their GSCM practices need to constantly monitor their implementation. The measurement scale validated in this paper can be used as a self-diagnostic tool to identify areas where specific improvements are needed and pinpoint aspects of the manufacturer’s GSCM practices that require additional implementation.. There exists a wide scope for future research on the instrumentation issues of GSCM practices implementation and performance outcomes.

7


8

References [1] Carter, C.R., Kale, R., Grimn, C.M., 2000. Environmental purchasing and firm performance: An empirical investigation. Transportation Research Part E 36, 219 288 PART 2 [2] Chen-Lung Yang , Shu-PingLin , Ya-huiChan , ChwenSheu, 2010, Mediated effect of environmental management on manufacturing competitiveness: An empirical study, Int. J. Production Economics, 123,210–220 SCM 19 [3] David J. Robba, Bin Xie, Tiru Arthanari, 2008, Supply chain and operations practice and performance in Chinese furniture manufacturing , Int. J. Production Economics , 112, 683 699 SCM 11 [4] Ellram, L.,1987. The supplier selection decision in strategic partnership, Journal of Purchasing and Materials Management, 26(3), 8–14. PART SCM 79 [5] G.und.uz Ulusoy, 2003, An assessment of supply chain and innovation management practices in the manufacturing industries in Turkey, Int. J. Production Economics 86, 251 270 SCM36 [6] Javier Gonza lez-Benito, O scar Gonza lez-Benito, 2008, Operations management practices linked to the adoption of ISO 14001: An empirical analysis of Spanish manufacturers, Int. J. Production Economics 113, 60 73 SCM 59 [7] Joseph Sarkis, 1998, Evaluating environmentally conscious business practices, European Journal of Operational Research 107 , 159- 174 SCM 78 [8] Klassen, R.D., Whybark, D.C., 1999. The impact of environmental technologies on manufacturing performance, Academy of Management Journal 42 (6), 599–615. SCM PART178 [9] Qinghua Zhua, Joseph Sarkis, Kee-hung Lai, 2008, Confirmation of a measurement model for green supply chain management practices implementation, Int. J. Production Economics 111 , 261 273 SCM 2

[10] Russo, M.V., Fouts, P.A., 1997. A resource-based perspective on corporate environmental performance and profitability. Academy of Management Journal 40 (3), 534–559. PART SCM 178 [11] Sanjeev kumar, Somnath chattopadhyay, Vinay Sharma, 2010,Sustainable supply chain management : An introduction , 2nd international conference on “ innovative practices in management & information technology for excellence” [12] Stephen Burke, W.F. Gaughran ,2006, Intelligent environmental management for SMEs in manufacturing , Robotics and Computer-Integrated Manufacturing 22 , 566 575 SCM 133 [13] Stephan Vachon, Robert D. Klassen, 2008, Environmental management and manufacturing performance: The role of collaboration in the supply chain, Int. J. Production Economics, 111, 299 315 SCM4 [14] Walton, S.V., Handfield, R.B., Melnyk, S.T., 1998. The green supply chain: Integrating suppliers into environmental management process. International Journal of Purchasing and Materials Management Spring, 2 11. PART 2 [15] Weber, C., Currenet, J., & Benton, W., 1991. Vendor selection criteria and methods. European Journal of Operational Research, 50(1), 2–18. PART SCM 79 [16] Zsidisin, G.A., Hendrick, T.E., 1998. Purchasing s involvement in environmental issues: A multi-country perspective. Industrial Management and Data Systems 7, 313 320. PART 2 [17] www.industrialrubbergoods.com

8


“Use of mobiles to introduce participation and feedback in a video based Distance Education course” Yousuf M Islam, Professor, Daffodil International University, Bangladesh. Meherun Nesa Assistant Professor, Bangladesh Open University, Bangladesh. Abstract: One of the distance education delivery methods used by Bangladesh Open University (BOU) is airing of course lectures on national television. One might ask, why, in this day and age of things like Web 2.0? Two primary reasons: 1. Video based lectures are thought to be helpful as they appear to retain, if only partially, the personal touch of a face-to-face teacher. 2. Many rural areas of Bangladesh still have less than 1% computers whereas national terrestrial television broadcast covers over 95% of the land area in Bangladesh. Given the education delivery challenges posed by this digital divide, BOU has recorded a course that converts the video delivery methodology into an interactive distant education classroom. This paper discusses methods of feedback and participation introduced in this pilot Virtual Interactive Classroom (VIC) that uses mobiles and learning management system (LMS) programs sitting on server along with the television/video course to introduce participation and interactivity. Preliminary results of surveying participants watching the videos together in class and those watching the course on television are presented. Introduction: Bangladesh Open University (BOU) was established as the sole distance education provider in 1992 by the Government of Bangladesh. It uses a variety of traditional educational delivery methods including print, radio and television media. To introduce interactivity and feedback the use of Internet as a communication medium has not made any significant progress largely due to the lack of infrastructure in rural Bangladesh. Given this background, to overcome the limitations, given the digital divide in distance education BOU has introduced a pilot project titled “Virtual Interactive Classroom” (VIC) following the methodology initially outlined by Islam, Ashraf, Rahman, & Rahman (2005). The VIC method involves primarily using a mobile like a classroom response system clicker (Fies, 2006) while watching a video lecture. The mobile response interacts with a server that houses learning management system (LMS) software programs. This methodology significantly differs from the m-learning approaches as discussed by Wains & Mahmood (2008). These approaches which have been titled m-learning essentially involve downloading content to the mobile device. The use of the mobile device like a clicker with a video can be understood by an analogy. The program called ‘Who wants to be a millionaire’ has a ‘life-line’ called ‘audience-poll’. To help the participant, the audience in the studio chooses responses to a multiple choice question using a clicker device. The collective answers appear on the screen in the form of a bar-graph for all to see. Now, during the show, imagine if the viewers sitting and watching from home could participate with the studio audience using their mobile devices. The viewers at home would virtually participate and see the answers on the bar-graph as well. Similarly, in the VIC classroom, students watching the video can respond to questions together with the students in the studio. This development of the VIC classroom is discussed in Grönlund & Islam (2008) as well as by Nesa & Islam (2008). While Stepp-Greany (2003) gives a good review of how technology can support language learning, mobiles are not covered. Some of the language practice features mentioned are supported by the VIC methodology.

9


As the lecture in the video is pre-recorded, any interactivity is managed 24/7 by the LMS programs sitting on the server. In addition to question-answer interactivity, other types of interactivity currently afforded by the system are: a. Learning Partners: The students have to register as a pair in the VIC class. They do this by sending an SMS as BOU LP . When the partner confirms with a similar SMS the pair is registered. Tasks are designed to get the partners to work together, e.g. partners have to send in comments on each others work. Each comment will be recorded in a database. Each comment can be counted as one mark. b. Participatory Cards: The teacher asks a question like, ‘In your opinion, how can language learning be made easier?’ The students send their opinion via SMS using keyword responses after BOU P . The opinions are displayed on a monitor as cards as they come in. The students in the studio are then able to visualize the responses and group the ideas together to come up with collective strategies. It has been found that students take ownership of the process and results. Remote student responses are stored in a database and the server sends a response. c. Reading: The students are encouraged to read and learn by sending an SMS BOU R. This returns a short