Globalization's impact on the spread of infectious diseases Annotated Bibliography

Globalization's impact on the spread of infectious diseases - Annotated Bibliography Example ue of racism in Toronto as the people from East Asia where the virus had initiated from started being isolated and discriminated against as a result of the virus and them being different. The Asians were segregated from the Canadians and the increase in racialization spread even more and the effects are still being felt to date. The conclusion from this article is that globalization has increased the spread of infectious diseases thousands of miles away from the area of origination and this is leading to other unwarranted and unwanted effects such as racism. The race that the infectious disease originates from is discriminated against and segregated as well as blamed for the spread of the disease or infection just like the Chinese were segregated by the Canadians in Toronto even though the disease spread as a result of interaction and connectedness but leads to inequality. Brown, T. (2011). ‘Vulnerability is universal’: Considering the place of ‘security’ and ‘vulnerability’ within contemporary global health discourse. Social Sciences & Medicine, 72: 319-326. The global health standards have been and continue to be affected by the increase in the multiple threats of the infectious diseases all over the world. With global connectedness and interactions increasing, there traditional border defenses and securities are weakening and hence allowing people the movement all over the world hence continuing to spread the infectious diseases everywhere. What this does is to increase the vulnerability of the people and exposing them to more diseases, spreads the panic over the diseases and eventually becoming an epidemiological threat to the health of the people. Fighting of these diseases has become even harder for the world because of the increase in environmental degradation, intensive farming practices, rapid urbanization as well as misusing of antimicrobials. All these contribute to the humanity becoming more vulnerable to the diseases and dying in

9-11 and how it affected the United States Essay Example for Free

9-11 and how it affected the United States Essay Tuesday, September 11, 2001 was a day that devastated our entire nation and changed the lives of every American in some way. This was one of the most horrible tragedies in our nations history, because of all the lives lost and the twin towers that were demolished. The events that took place on September 11 had an outstanding effect on our country. The 9-11 tragedy was terrible yet unforgettable event. One year after this tragedy feels like a very short period of time. There was Pearl Harbor, Oklahoma City, and now 9-11 is added to the list of American tragedies. With all the deaths of 9-11 almost everyone knows someone or knows someone who knows someone that was either in the World Trade Center and survived or died in the World Trade Center. This is an extremely sad but true way to look at it. Our country now tries to move on from this terrible experience, but will never forget it. 9-11 affected everyone as a whole as well as personally. See more:Â  Social Satire in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Essay For better or for worse the September 11 tragedy changed America. Besides taking thousands of lives and knocking down the Twin Towers this tragedy has brought our nation closer together. We will now have another topic to add to the history books and pass on to prevent something like this from happening again. All Americans will remember where they were when the Twin Towers went down. Another affect anyone can see all around our country is patriotism. Everyone now has new pride in the United States. Although the events of 9-11 took so much away from us it made our country stronger as a whole.

Drinking Status, Labeling, and Social Rejection Essay -- essays resear

Drinking Status, Labeling, and Social Rejection   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Drinking has been, for a long time, a very debatable topic. In the 1920s, drinking was seen as something so bad that it needed to be prohibited completely. Alcohol consumption is still often seen as distasteful, especially in large quantities. In this study by Keith M. Kilty and Thomas M. Meenaghan, researchers looked at the drinking status of fictional people along with other factors such as age and sex and asked participants to rate these people based on such attributes. The article mentions several reasons that this study is less limited than other studies referring to labeling. Other studies have included only social distance and since this study included friendship acceptance and respect along with other characteristics of the personality such as religion and age, it explores a variety of different aspects of labeling and social rejection.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In class, we talked about labeling in terms of IQ. We looked at the effects of labeling children as intelligent or slow and how these labels changed the way children approached their education. This study looks at labeling from a different perspective. Rather than looking at the effects on the person who has been labeled, this study looks at how a label can affect someone’s perception of another person. Using the social characteristics provided, the subjects draw conclusions about the fictional person according to respect, friendship acceptance, and social distance. We also talked briefly about substance abuse and how there is a difference between addiction and dependency. This might tie into the discrepancy between â€Å"problem drinker† and â€Å"alcoholic† in the study. Different groups gave these two categories different ratings which could be seen as a relationship between addiction and dependency and how the two different labels are perc eived.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Three sample groups were recruited for the study. The first was a group of 101 males and 104 females with an average age of 44.5 years; this group was called the community group (C). The second was the practitioner group (P) with 73 males and 46 females with an average age of 27.1; they were all graduate students in the Graduate School of Social Work at Marywood College. The third and final group consisted of inmates, all male, with an avera... ... need to be in groups that have more racial and gender diversity. This would deal with a lot of the possible biases that are inherent in the study. It also might be interesting to include race or ethnicity as a description factor of the stimuli to see if that has an effect on the responses. The religions may need to be broadened in order to account for the religious diversity in our country. Although I think that the study is relevant to the topic of labeling, it might be better served in a broader context. However, too much variables would make it too difficult to decide what is causing the responses. There is a thin line between too much and not enough in this situation. I think that this study gives interesting insight into what it might be like to be labeled as an alcoholic in our society and with an updated version, I think it could be very relevant to the study of alcoholism. Reference: All the information in this paper was drawn from the article by Kilty, Keith M. and Meenaghan, Thomas M. out of the Journal of Social Psychology, 1973. The article is entitled Drinking Status, Labeling, and Social Rejection. I also pulled some of the information used from in class lectures.

Mcdonald’s Expands Globally While Adjusting Its Local Recipe

Overview: Today, McDonald’s golden arches are one of the most recognized symbols in the world, just behind the Olympic rings. While growth within the U. S. has slowed, the picture outside the U. S. has appeared brighter, until recently. However, globally, taste profiles and consumer desires are changing. McDonald’s has responded to these changes by altering their basic products (when necessary) to fit the requirements of the local markets. While not always successful, it has proven to be a winning strategy. )Identify the key elements in McDonald’s global marketing strategy (GMS). In particular, how does McDonald’s approach the issue of standardization? Does McDonald’s think global and act local? Does it also think local and act global? The popularity of American-style hamburgers, fries, and soft drinks is growing around the world. Also, the restaurants themselves offer the consumers a chance to experience for themselves a fast food legend that provi de inexpensive food, quick service, and a clean, familiar environment. Although global dietary preferences are converging (e. . fast food), a solid understanding of food-related cultural preferences is important for companies in the F&B industry. In many locations, menu items are adapted according to the customs and tastes of individual countries. McDonald’s offers an ideal example of â€Å"global localization. † E. g. Chicken Maharaja Mac was created for Indian market; local food ingredients were used in India and China, etc. With McDonald’s offering of local tastes and a combination of American fare, McDonald’s thinks globally (product adaption) and acts globally (standardization). E. g. tyle makeover of the McDonald restaurant at Champs Elysees. 2)Do you think government officials in developing countries such as Russia, China, and India welcome McDonald’s? Do consumers in these countries welcome McDonald’s? Why or why not? Despite concern s by governments and citizens in some countries about â€Å"cultural imperialism,† (e. g. French said McDonald’s â€Å"promote globalization & industrially produced food†), McDonald’s and other franchises with well-known brand names are generally welcome. Such businesses provide both much-needed jobs and employee training.McDonald’s does a good job of earning the support of local authorities and the local population by working with agricultural producers to develop local supply sources for beef, potatoes, and dairy products. And, owing to changing lifestyles around the globe, more people are embracing the whole concept of fast food. 3)The â€Å"Plan to Win† initiative is built around five factors that drive McDonald’s business: people, products, place, price, and promotion. As a student of marketing what can you say about these factors? These five factors closely mirror the four P’s of marketing: product, price, promotion, and place.For a service marketer: people and physical evidence are also added to the mix. For McDonald’s people and physical evidence are also important P’s of marketing. They are realizing the importance of creating a â€Å"modern, streamlined environment† so as to â€Å"encourage customers to stay longer and spend more†. Another thing they may consider is to improve the service quality to help with that. McDonald’s has tried to enrich its product mix by considering â€Å"What does our brand allow us to consider selling to our customers†, instead of being stuck with hamburgers.

Penn Square Bank & Down Corning Bankruptcy Essay

According to Norm Bowie, â€Å"sometimes being moral enhances the bottom line rather than reduces it† (Hartman, 2005, p108). Unfortunately, in the instances of Penn Square Bank and the Dow Corning bankruptcy, that may not have been the case. The following will examine the particulars of these situations and discuss the ethical issues present for each. Penn Square Bank Penn Square Bank was a small bank that played a large role in the Oklahoma banking crisis of the early 1980s. In an effort to maximize on the profits of the booming oil industry, the upper management of Penn Square Bank cut corners in several areas of its new lending division. Documentation to support million-dollar loans became lax. Collateral valuation and revenue recognition was severely over estimated without verification of the documentation to support such claims. Loan contracts were with casual deals and unspecific terms. Credit was extended based upon unverified personal letters paid for by the client. These documentation errors led to loans not properly secured (Caskey, 1985). In addition, Penn Square was more and more money, which facilitated errors in revenue recognition as the bank accepted over estimated valuation claims without requiring loan or interest payments. Thus, on paper the bank looked successful without ever possessing the funds to support its lending endeavors. Finally, credit was extended without true verification of asset valuation or proper documentation, and re-extended when the client could not produce the payments necessary to support the lofty loans (Caskey, 1985). Each of Penn Square Bank’s actions represents a form of financial statement fraud, which led to its downfall in 1982. According to Fraud Examination, there are three ways to deter financial statement fraud: (1) reduce the pressure to commit the fraud, (2) reduce the opportunity to commit the fraud, and (3) reduce the rationalization of the fraud (Wells, 2005). However, in this instance, most if not all of the fraud committed can be attributed to demanding goals set by Penn State Bank owner, Bill Jennings. As explained by Hartman, the â€Å"driving force† of â€Å"profit maximization† created a business environment to facilitate fraud (2005). Because profit was the sole motivator, documentation was inadequate, collateral valuation and revenue recognition was overstated, and credit extension was unverified and inferior. Instead,  Penn Square Bank should have considered the following measures: †¢An oversight or review board should be been established to oversee verification of credit or collateral valuation and determine the risk associated with each loan. †¢Documentation requirements should have been heavily enforced and maintained by the review board. †¢Contract and loan deals should have been regulated to the office with strict documentation requirements. †¢Disclosures should have been made regarding the lack of loan and interest payments. †¢Asset valuation and revenue recognition should have been accurately portrayed to investors, clients, and potential buyers. †¢Upper management should have established company ethical standards and enforced these standards with strict consequences for violation without exception. Unfortunately, all the measures to deter fraud that should have been considered were undermined by the owner’s overwhelming demand for success. Thus, Jennings’ need to maximize profits and increase sales created the pressure, opportunity, and rationalization to commit each action of fraud. Dow Corning Bankruptcy Dow Corning Corporation is the big name in silicone and silicone-based material production. But in 1995, the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy to protect itself from lawsuits regarding their silicone-based breast implants. Some advocated that the action was an effort to â€Å"avoid compensating women for their injuries† (Book review, 1996, p7). However, according to Hartman, Chapter 11 bankruptcy is intended to protect companies from creditors while it undergoes restructuring in an effort to stave off liquidation. By doing so, the company continues business, pays taxes, and provide jobs but is allowed time to reorganize to triumph over its economic hardship (Hartman, 2005). The ethical challenge is to use Chapter 11 as it is intended – as a restructuring tool to avoid losing everything – rather than file for Chapter 11 as a way of cheating its creditors out of owed money. Hartman suggests that what is ethical in regard to bankruptcy is to go beyond what the laws require and uphold the debt agreements made with creditors (Hartman, 2005). Dow Corning seemed to have that same perspective. Nine years later the company emerged from bankruptcy after settling the lawsuits for a payout of $3.3 billion over the next 15 years (Arndt, 2004). During the time under Chapter 11, the company reorganized  itself to refocus silicone production to develop fabrics, materials, and pharmaceutical products (Arndt, 2004). These sales and expanding markets will help Dow Corning to pay its debts to the 300,000 women named in the settlement (Sissell, 2004). Thus, Dow Corning is Chapter 11 bankruptcy free but still upholding its ethical obligation to the wronged party and its creditors. Although Dow Corning’s actions following the Chapter 11 emergence was ethically sound, its actions leading to the filing was anything but. Problems with Dow Corning’s silicone breast implants began as early as 1984 when they lost a lawsuit claiming the implant caused medical illness such as autoimmune disease. During the investigation for this lawsuit, lawyers found evidence showing Dow Corning executives were aware of complaints from doctors, concerns about the lack of long-term testing, and cases of the implant bursting during surgery. In addition, the study that supposedly proved the effectiveness and safety of the product revealed detrimental long-term effects on the animals under experimentation (Book review, 1996). However, throughout all the breast implant concerns, Down Corning continued to advocate the safety of their product going as far as to hire high profile and extremely expensive teams of legal and public relations specialists. In addition, allegations were present of executives attempting to destroy damning internal documents suggesting upper management was trying to cover up its liability in the claims. The 1984 lawsuit found Dow Corning guilty of fraud and deceit stating the company provided inferior and incomplete information by understating the risks to make an informed decision (Book review, 1996). More important, it revealed the unethical behavior of the executives and company as a whole.

Free Essays on Ecuador

Ecuador is one of the smallest countries of South America. It lies on the west coast of the continent between Colombia and Peru. The equator crosses Ecuador and gives the country its name. Ecuador is the Spanish word for equator. The Andes Mountains rise through much of central Ecuador. About half the people live in the valleys and on the plateaus of the Andes. Quito, Ecuador's capital, lies more than 9,000 feet (2,700 meters) above sea level on an Andean plateau. A flat, partly forested, tropical plain extends west of the Andes along the Pacific Ocean. This coastal plain is developing faster than any other part of the country. About half the Ecuadorian people live there. During the middle and late 1900's, many people moved to the coastal plain to farm its rich soil. Others moved to the coastal city of Guayaquil to find jobs. Guayaquil is Ecuador's largest city. It is also the country's leading commercial center and chief seaport. East of the Andes Mountains is a large jungle. Ecuador has had more than 15 constitutions since it gained independence from Spain. Most of these constitutions provided for an elected legislature, but in many elections few of Ecuador's people have been allowed to vote. Strong leaders have suspended or replaced many of the country's constitutions in order to stay in office or to increase their power. Most of Ecuador's rulers have been military leaders or have had the support of the armed forces. About 10 percent of Ecuador's people- mostly of European ancestry- make up the wealthiest and most powerful group in the country. Indians and mestizos each form about 40 percent of the population. Blacks, whose ancestors were brought to Ecuador as slaves of the Spaniards, make up the remaining 10 percent of the population. Most Ecuadorians speak Spanish, and more than 90 percent of the population belongs to the Roman Catholic Church. The Ecuadorian government requires all children from 6 to 14 year... Free Essays on Ecuador Free Essays on Ecuador ECUADOR ECUADOR COUNTRY DESCRIPTION: Ecuador is a developing country. Travelers to the capital city of Quito may require some time to adjust to the altitude (close to 10,000 feet), which can adversely affect blood pressure, digestion and energy level. Tourist facilities are adequate, but vary in quality. Introduction Epithet after epithet was found too weak to convey to those who have not visited the intertropical regions, the sensations of delight which the mind experiences.- Charles Darwin If an argumentative group of travelers sat down to design a shared destination, they would be hard put to come up with a place that would best Ecuador. Packed like a knee-cap between Peru and Colombia, Ecuador contains within its borders an improbable variety of landscape and culture. For the mountaineer, it is bisected by an epic stretch of the northern Andes. For the jungle explorer, there is a biological mother lode within the Amazonian Oriente. The sea-minded are rewarded with miles of Pacific coastl ine, to say nothing of the living wonders of the Galapagos Islands. Not only are these regions highly defined, but excluding Galapagos they are also wonderfully contiguous. The entire country is about the size of Washington state, and it is home to some of the world's most extraordinary national parks. In a matter of two hundred miles, the traveler can penetrate all of the mainland's defining regionsthe coastal lowlands in the West, the volcanic central highlands, and the rainforests of the East, or Oriente. Ecuador's climate is equally generous to the traveler. Embracing the Pacific, Ecuador rests squarely on the equator (hence its name). Here, seasons are defined more by rainfall than temperature. A warm rainy season lasts from January to April, and May through December is characterized by a cooler, drier period that is ideally timed for a summer trip. History & Culture Ecuador's culture and history mirrors the diversity of its landscape. L... Free Essays on Ecuador The first Spaniards landed in northern Ecuador in 1526. Pizarro reached the country in 1532, and spread terror among the Indians thanks to his conquistadors' horses, armor and weapons. The Inca leader, Atahualpa, was ambushed, held for ransom, 'tried' and executed, and the Inca Empire was effectively demolished. Quito held out for two years but was eventually destroyed by Atahualpa's general: Ruminahui, rather than be lost intact to the invading Spaniards. Quito was refounded in December 1534. Today there is only one intact Inca site in Ecuador - Ingapirca, to the north of Cuenca. After the Incas were defeated, the Spanish became the new rulers of Ecuador. A creole middle class began to emerge and made several attempts to free Ecuador of Spanish rule. This would finally happen on May 24, 1822; thanks to Simon Bolivar. The first years of the Republic were marked by instability and power struggles. History evolved around the figure of the first President, Venezuelan born General Juan Josà © Flores. During this government the first constitution was written. Quito was chosen as the capital of Ecuador and Catholicism was the official religion of the State. By 1860, Gabriel Garcia Moreno consolidated the country and an era of conservatism began with support from the Catholic Church, which lasted until 1895. During the last part of the 19th Century, the country flourished economically, mainly due to cocoa exports. In the late 1800s, Eloy Alfaro led a liberal revolution that reduced the power of the clergy and created an era of capitalist development. Political instability dominated during the 1930s and 1940s. In 1941, Ecuador was invaded by Peru and lost control over much of its Amazon Territory. The border is still a matter of dispute, appearing differently on Ecuadorian and non-Ecuadorian maps. After World War II, Ecuador's economy received a boost due to banana exports. A period of peace from 1... Free Essays on Ecuador Ecuador is one of the smallest countries of South America. It lies on the west coast of the continent between Colombia and Peru. The equator crosses Ecuador and gives the country its name. Ecuador is the Spanish word for equator. The Andes Mountains rise through much of central Ecuador. About half the people live in the valleys and on the plateaus of the Andes. Quito, Ecuador's capital, lies more than 9,000 feet (2,700 meters) above sea level on an Andean plateau. A flat, partly forested, tropical plain extends west of the Andes along the Pacific Ocean. This coastal plain is developing faster than any other part of the country. About half the Ecuadorian people live there. During the middle and late 1900's, many people moved to the coastal plain to farm its rich soil. Others moved to the coastal city of Guayaquil to find jobs. Guayaquil is Ecuador's largest city. It is also the country's leading commercial center and chief seaport. East of the Andes Mountains is a large jungle. Ecuador has had more than 15 constitutions since it gained independence from Spain. Most of these constitutions provided for an elected legislature, but in many elections few of Ecuador's people have been allowed to vote. Strong leaders have suspended or replaced many of the country's constitutions in order to stay in office or to increase their power. Most of Ecuador's rulers have been military leaders or have had the support of the armed forces. About 10 percent of Ecuador's people- mostly of European ancestry- make up the wealthiest and most powerful group in the country. Indians and mestizos each form about 40 percent of the population. Blacks, whose ancestors were brought to Ecuador as slaves of the Spaniards, make up the remaining 10 percent of the population. Most Ecuadorians speak Spanish, and more than 90 percent of the population belongs to the Roman Catholic Church. The Ecuadorian government requires all children from 6 to 14 year...

Free Essays on H. Rider Haggard’s King Solomon’s Mines, As A Perspective On Late-Victorian Imperialism

The late nineteenth century in Europe is most familiarly characterized as an age of Victorianism. Queen Victoria, the source of the term, reigning and living from 1837 until 1901, had much influence on the people of the time, as well as their cultures and lifestyles. Victorianism is described as having a sense of duty and respectability. Along with Victorianism, neo-imperialism describes the reign of Queen Victoria throughout the late nineteenth century. Characteristics of neo-imperialism and Victorianism are reflected through H. Rider Haggard’s 1885 novel, King Solomon’s Mines. Written as an adventure story, this novel serves as a window to see through to late-Victorian imperialism that outlined British and European capitalism in 1870s and 1880s South Africa. With the first Industrial Revolution in Europe from 1750 to 1850, many jobs were becoming available all over Europe. With this Europeans began to expand their territories and settle as much of the land as possible. Consequentially these countries wanted more land and more power. This idea defines the term imperialism, the tendency of countries to expand their claims to more land, with was first apparent in North and South America. In the late nineteenth century and be describes as exploring neo-imperialism, in which countries began to explore the continents of Africa and parts of Asia. European interest in Africa arose with the British missionary, Dr. Livingston, born in 1813. As a missionary, Dr. Livingston went into Africa which at the time was called the â€Å"dark continent.† This term was giving to the inner plains of Africa because at the time people were only familiar with the coasts of Africa because of slave trades. Little was known about this mysterious contin ent at this point in history. His goal in Africa was to â€Å"Christianize† the Africans. As he did this while traveling he subconsciously taught the world about Africa. Also, Livingston was obsess... Free Essays on H. Rider Haggard’s King Solomon’s Mines, As A Perspective On Late-Victorian Imperialism Free Essays on H. Rider Haggard’s King Solomon’s Mines, As A Perspective On Late-Victorian Imperialism The late nineteenth century in Europe is most familiarly characterized as an age of Victorianism. Queen Victoria, the source of the term, reigning and living from 1837 until 1901, had much influence on the people of the time, as well as their cultures and lifestyles. Victorianism is described as having a sense of duty and respectability. Along with Victorianism, neo-imperialism describes the reign of Queen Victoria throughout the late nineteenth century. Characteristics of neo-imperialism and Victorianism are reflected through H. Rider Haggard’s 1885 novel, King Solomon’s Mines. Written as an adventure story, this novel serves as a window to see through to late-Victorian imperialism that outlined British and European capitalism in 1870s and 1880s South Africa. With the first Industrial Revolution in Europe from 1750 to 1850, many jobs were becoming available all over Europe. With this Europeans began to expand their territories and settle as much of the land as possible. Consequentially these countries wanted more land and more power. This idea defines the term imperialism, the tendency of countries to expand their claims to more land, with was first apparent in North and South America. In the late nineteenth century and be describes as exploring neo-imperialism, in which countries began to explore the continents of Africa and parts of Asia. European interest in Africa arose with the British missionary, Dr. Livingston, born in 1813. As a missionary, Dr. Livingston went into Africa which at the time was called the â€Å"dark continent.† This term was giving to the inner plains of Africa because at the time people were only familiar with the coasts of Africa because of slave trades. Little was known about this mysterious contin ent at this point in history. His goal in Africa was to â€Å"Christianize† the Africans. As he did this while traveling he subconsciously taught the world about Africa. Also, Livingston was obsess...

How to Become the Leading Authority In Your Niche [PODCAST]

How to Become the Leading Authority In Your Niche [PODCAST] Would you like to be known as the go-to when it comes to getting information on a specific topic? Positioning yourself as an expert would help you build your following, increase your engagement, and grow your business. Publishing excellent content is a great way to do all of these things. Today’s guest is Nicole Kohler, the content manager at WooCommerce, an Automattic brand. She’s going to talk to us about how to score and prioritize content, improve your processes, and become the leading authority in your niche. Information about WooCommerce and what Nicole does there as the content manager. How Nicole gathers ideas for the WooCommerce site and blog, how they decide which ideas to use, and how they keep them organized. Tips for judging ideas that come in from people inside of the company, including the evaluation system WooCommerce uses. How Nicole decided that a former process for evaluating content wasn’t working and how she made the necessary changes. What a content brainstorming meeting looks like. How WooCommerce uses personas to develop engaging content that keeps readers coming back for more. Some of the results that Nicole is particularly proud of. Nicole’s best tips for someone hoping to improve their content. Links: WooCommerce Nicole on LinkedIn If you liked today’s show, please subscribe on iTunes to The Actionable Content Marketing Podcast! The podcast is also available on SoundCloud, Stitcher, and Google Play. Quotes by Nicole: â€Å"We have this culture of content where everyone’s looking for these ideas and coming to me and saying, here’s a really cool thing I saw, and we can write about that.† â€Å"You have to think about what you’re good at and what you know better than anyone else. I think the biggest mistake that some content producers make is trying to focus on everything in their particular area.† â€Å"You, whether you realize this or not, are genius about your subject. Own your genius, own your thing, and write about that.†

Summary Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 147

Summary - Essay Example He stressed on necessity to separate Islam of the Prophet Mohammad which never teaches terror from Islam Kharijites. Mustafa Ceric said war against terrorism imply a war against Islam, because terrorists proclaimed they were acting on behalf of Muslims. Tim Sebastian asked Mustafa Ceric if there too much hatred preached within Muslim tradition. Mustafa Ceric answered that hatred should be stopped both from Muslims and non-Muslims sides. Ramzi E. Khoury said the war was about oil, therefore it’s â€Å"a godless war†. He doubted that current Western authorities are religious persons. Second part basically specified panelists’ opinions while answering audience’s questions. Anas Altikriti pointed, that 9/11 changed situation and it’s no more only geopolitical, like The Gulf War was. Feisal Abdul Rauf spoke about fear West has of Islam. Anas Altikriti retorted, it confirmed that war was religious. Feisal Abdul Rauf disagreed, because Western people were just afraid of losing control on own lands. Both panelists highlighted the role of media in negative image of Islam. Second question brought a thesis, though Muslims themselves shouldn’t allow terrorists speak on behalf of all Muslims, US government and media oppose the positive image of Islam. Mustafa Ceric specified, US had enough power to change this image, therefore Muslims should stay open for dialog. Feisal Abdul Rauf specified, Muslims should â€Å"de-link† Islam and help Western people to understand Muslims. Audience asked, if a background of war change an oppression of Mus lims on West. Feisal Abdul Rauf stressed on necessity to separate reality form perception, because war can be shaped in different ways. Mustafa Ceric pointed later, that 9/11 revealed anti-Muslims views, therefore it was act against Muslims

Causes and Effects of Refugees Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Causes and Effects of Refugees - Essay Example The present research has identified that a conflict in any given area triggers massive migrations of refugees across national borders and towards other countries considered to be safe. This is evident in locations that are prone to civil and social strife such as Afghanistan, the Balkans, Sudan, and Iraq. Generally, it is due to a civil strife in one’s homeland that a person leaves it. Anti-regime rebellions also lead to the emergence of refugees due to persecution. This is in regard to violating human rights, for example, the right to freedom of expression. However, not all governments or leaders welcome the idea of political freedom, as they prefer to silence their people. Ethnic campaigns are also major contributors to the presence of refugees in the world we live in. In spite of the world holding the title â€Å"civilized†, some people still think of their superiority. This is in regard to individuals who incite chaos against people they consider to be inferior to t hem, a practice also called ethnic cleansing. It is such events that, following tribal clashes between the Hutus and Tutsis, led to massive migration of refugees from Rwanda to neighbouring countries. In addition, a refugee situation can be caused by natural disasters within one’s own area of living by virtue of being internally displaced. This is particularly so for populations affected by natural disasters and those living in areas likely to be affected by climate change, as well as people involuntarily resettled due to development projects. According to Salehyan, international conflicts also lead to the rise of the number of refugees, as they are not â€Å"the unfortunate by-products of war, but may serve as catalysts for conflict†. This is seen in cases where refugees move into neighbouring countries, which, in turn, restrict migration. This fosters hostility between countries that may lead to military action and further increase of the number of refugees. One of t he effects of being refugees in a foreign country is the loss of cultural identity. This is in spite of the suppression of their inner mental representations of many aspects of their native culture. As a result, refugees fail to integrate successfully in the society that they move into due to differences in culture and stereotypes posed by the natives of the host country. This leads to discrimination against refugees, which negatively affects the process of cultural adjustment. Health issues accompany refugees in all places they may go to; this is in the form of access to quality health services that may include health records. This is because the information provided by refugees on their health status comes directly from the refugee patient and is, therefore, not a professional viewpoint. This way, refugee agencies are unable to direct health and humanitarian services to enhance awareness and meet population-based needs. Moreover, forced migrations result in severe demographic cons equences in terms of mortality, human suffering, and displacement of populations; they also result in the destruction of social structures that destabilize a society and drive it to the brink of strife. This way, cohesion between and among families is disrupted, and the bond is weakened, resulting in the need to look for one’s way out instead of looking out for the whole society.

The Sarbanes-Oxley Effect Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Sarbanes-Oxley Effect - Assignment Example Major financial scandals which involved big companies such as Enron and Worldcom gave a strong impetus towards bringing in SOX act. Most of these scandals took place in companies which aggressively pursued all the common principles of accounting, hence scandals in such places were also a big set back for the market investors. Therefore a strong need was felt to bring in a stringent law that would not only keep a tab on financial reporting but also help in rebuilding investor's confidence. The main aim of SOX is to improve the accuracy and reliability of financial disclosures by corporates and to ensure integrity in their financial reporting. The act also imposes severe penalties and punishments for the CEOs and CFOs of the firms which fail to adhere to its requirements. There have been numerous studies and researches on this subject. Keeping in lieu with SOX intention of increasing financial accuracy, Cohen report of 2005 suggests a steady increase in financial accruals before SOX and a reversal in this trend post-SOX. Heflin and Hsu paper (2004) indicates a significant decline in the use of non-GAAP earning measures and a probability that disclosed earnings either exceed or meet expectations post SOX. Â  

Compare and contrast the British and American political systems Essay

Compare and contrast the British and American political systems - Essay Example The best ways are by comparing different political systems of societies from different geographical locations. Since the traditional and cultural values of each society are different, the thinking and the way of life would be very different if compared to one another. (Rabb, 2003, 45-57) Therefore, a political system to one society is likely to be different if compared to another. At the same time, western society might be unfamiliar to the ways of the eastern society and vice-versa. Sometimes as time passes, there develops new theories of new political systems by great thinkers. So we see one political system being changed to another. (Harman, 2003, 99-105) This proves that it's impossible to take just one time frame as different political systems developed at different time lines. In each society they have adopted to a mutual understanding of what's right and what's wrong. (Rabb, 2003, 45-57) For example: Howard Becker suggests "social groups create deviance by making the rules whose infraction constitutes deviance, and by applying those rules to particular people and labelling them as outsiders." (Harman, 2003, 99-102) Therefore at times, we see revolutions that bring about a whole new political system, even though sometimes althea promises that was to come with the new system vanishes somewhere. Politics cannot be pinned down to a single aspect of life, it occurs throughout society, it involves every aspect of our lives, but it is especially concentrated in the modern nation state. It is the nation state that "establishes sovereign jurisdiction within defined boundaries...the state commands ultimate power in that it stands above all other associations and groups in society; it's laws demand the compliance of all those who live within its boundaries." (McWhi rter, 1994, 36-42) In politics there is a phrase that says, power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely'. What it means is that everyone who comes by political power becomes corrupted morally from the opportunities that this power brings with it. This really applies to most people since they shape their morality in line with social pressure. In other words, at first they are scared of society's disapproval and punishment and therefore avoid immorality, however, when power makes them strong, it decreases social pressure and as a result they become corrupted. (Rabb, 2003, 45-57) Religion is undoubtfully a big influence in society but it has declined in countries like the US and UK in the past century. Capitalism is thought to be behind the reason for the decline in organised religion in the US and UK. Each of the three political systems noted above is a type of democracy. The exact nature of that democracy can vary considerably however. In 1996 an estimated 117 countries were on record as being democracies (Sussman 1996, 118-125). Even in countries as similar as the United States and Great Britain this is often the case. The way the United States views representative democracy varies in some ways from the way this concept is viewed in the United Kingdom. This variance is obvious in numerous aspects of government, especially in terms of overall governmental structure. Democracy is indeed a grand and glorious concept,

Starbucks Case Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Starbucks Case Analysis - Essay Example The firm that is analyzed in the paper is Starbucks coffee company that ventured into the market in 1971 because of three business people who had love for coffee and tea. They felt it was important for the people of Seattle, Washington to have access to their coffee. They organized themselves, and ten years later this company had four retail stores and a roasting plant selling genuine bean coffee within Seattle only. As time went by, this company expanded to other cities like Vancouver, Portland, and Chicago, and by 1991 Starbucks had more openings within airports. It had also expanded into the mail-order catalogue, then further to the state of California. Having grown this far, the company initiated distribution of successful products and brand extensions that included offering coffee to passengers on United Airlines flights. This boosted their potential that later witnessed them start offering people the option to purchase the company’s products at the comfort of their homes through Starbucks’ online services. Currently, Starbucks strategic position is to provide premier purveyor of the finest coffee around the world while at the same time maintaining its uncompromising principles as the company continues to grow. Its efforts generated by sound decision-making are helping the company attain the best quality of the products. Their main product, which is coffee, has always been of the best quality and above all made by employees who are passionate about coffee. They maintain ethical standards as they source for the finest coffee beans that are they then roast it with great care2. Regarding their market, this company has a great strategic position when dealing with their clients as they promise a perfectly made beverage that they deliver at a human connection level. Starbucks treats its stakeholders with respect and dignity hence creates a profitable place for each other. External Analysis Starbucks is facing challenges just like any other company. The most of all challenges that this company is battling now is the current financial crisis that is affecting America. Due to funds turmoil that the current state of economy is posing to companies, Starbucks has not only reduced its total expenditure, but also forced to close most of its stores. In 2008, the company announced that it was going to close six hundred stores in different parts of United States of America3. Financial based reasons like income tax, risks related to third party finalization agreements, and benefits associated with the closure of stores within the anticipated period as well as cost of saving expected led to this fatal draw to the company’s expansion plans. Additional challenges facing Starbucks comprise of dealing with competitors. Currently, there are numerous coffee shops within major cities across around the globe and are posing total threats to Starbucks, as they are all competing for the same customers. 2. Flamholtz, E. & Randle, Y. Corporate Culture: The Ultimate Strategic Asset, (California:Stanford University Press), 20. 3. Thompson, J., et. al., Strategic Management 6th. (California:Cengage Learning EMEA, 2010), 382. Some of these competitors include: Nestle, McDonalds, and Dunkin Donuts. Standing out to generate customers is important yet a hard task to perform. Therefore, in order for Starbucks to alleviate competition wisely, it is of great importance for this company to identify their competitors and know what they are currently doing and how they can be at the top of the game despite stiff competition. Internal Analysis Starbucks has internal capabilities that make its operations smooth. For instance, due to Howard Schultz’s efforts to make Starbucks a better working place, Starbucks now has knowledgeable employees who are conversant with the company’s products, prepare the company’s espresso drinks without missing any detail, motivated, skilled, deliver consistent and

Sigmund freud Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Sigmund freud - Essay Example The theory carries with it some weighty assumptions. One is that, we as individuals, know components of psyche, we know about the brain and also the nervous system. The second assumption is that we know how we act unconsciously. Hence psychoanalysis studies the suppression of some of the basic instincts (Freud 1937). According to Freud this suppression is constant and ongoing. Psychoanalysis may speed up the rates at which clients get better. It is also vital to note that, the nature of psychoanalysis creates a power imbalance, between the physician and the client. The id can be termed to be the most valuable part of the psyche. It usually contains urges that are extremely primitive. It is comprised of all the basic biological urges. A good example of some of this urges are hunger, thirst and sex. This part of psyche usually seeks pressure blindly. It does not care about the consequences; its aim is to seek instant gratification. Ego is developed from the id. It seeks to satisfy the id; it does so in a precise practical manner. It decides whether or not satisfaction is appropriate, and if favourable with the outside world. Commonly the ego is called self since it has the capability to look after itself. The superego is the third portion of the psyche; it develops with maturity. It has the sole responsibility of deeming the person’s actions good or bad. For Freud, there is a constant conflict between demands of the instincts and the demands of the society (Freud 1937). This can be caused by some of the impulses that may be hidden or even denied for lengths of time. However, this demands, in one way or another, reasserts themselves. The inner conflict is usually unknown and hence, it appears in thoughts and deeds that appear to be irrational. Psychologists that use psychoanalysis often see their patient’s problems as rooted in the unconscious part of

Starbucks Case Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Starbucks Case Analysis - Essay Example The firm that is analyzed in the paper is Starbucks coffee company that ventured into the market in 1971 because of three business people who had love for coffee and tea. They felt it was important for the people of Seattle, Washington to have access to their coffee. They organized themselves, and ten years later this company had four retail stores and a roasting plant selling genuine bean coffee within Seattle only. As time went by, this company expanded to other cities like Vancouver, Portland, and Chicago, and by 1991 Starbucks had more openings within airports. It had also expanded into the mail-order catalogue, then further to the state of California. Having grown this far, the company initiated distribution of successful products and brand extensions that included offering coffee to passengers on United Airlines flights. This boosted their potential that later witnessed them start offering people the option to purchase the company’s products at the comfort of their homes through Starbucks’ online services. Currently, Starbucks strategic position is to provide premier purveyor of the finest coffee around the world while at the same time maintaining its uncompromising principles as the company continues to grow. Its efforts generated by sound decision-making are helping the company attain the best quality of the products. Their main product, which is coffee, has always been of the best quality and above all made by employees who are passionate about coffee. They maintain ethical standards as they source for the finest coffee beans that are they then roast it with great care2. Regarding their market, this company has a great strategic position when dealing with their clients as they promise a perfectly made beverage that they deliver at a human connection level. Starbucks treats its stakeholders with respect and dignity hence creates a profitable place for each other. External Analysis Starbucks is facing challenges just like any other company. The most of all challenges that this company is battling now is the current financial crisis that is affecting America. Due to funds turmoil that the current state of economy is posing to companies, Starbucks has not only reduced its total expenditure, but also forced to close most of its stores. In 2008, the company announced that it was going to close six hundred stores in different parts of United States of America3. Financial based reasons like income tax, risks related to third party finalization agreements, and benefits associated with the closure of stores within the anticipated period as well as cost of saving expected led to this fatal draw to the company’s expansion plans. Additional challenges facing Starbucks comprise of dealing with competitors. Currently, there are numerous coffee shops within major cities across around the globe and are posing total threats to Starbucks, as they are all competing for the same customers. 2. Flamholtz, E. & Randle, Y. Corporate Culture: The Ultimate Strategic Asset, (California:Stanford University Press), 20. 3. Thompson, J., et. al., Strategic Management 6th. (California:Cengage Learning EMEA, 2010), 382. Some of these competitors include: Nestle, McDonalds, and Dunkin Donuts. Standing out to generate customers is important yet a hard task to perform. Therefore, in order for Starbucks to alleviate competition wisely, it is of great importance for this company to identify their competitors and know what they are currently doing and how they can be at the top of the game despite stiff competition. Internal Analysis Starbucks has internal capabilities that make its operations smooth. For instance, due to Howard Schultz’s efforts to make Starbucks a better working place, Starbucks now has knowledgeable employees who are conversant with the company’s products, prepare the company’s espresso drinks without missing any detail, motivated, skilled, deliver consistent and

Assignment 5 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Assignment 5 - Essay Example These terms are known to be objective and not subjective. From this, what it means is that the doctor knows more about what the patient is feeling than the patient themselves (Norman, 2004). According to Norman, the world today needs to consider the subjective points of view and not depend so much on the expert opinions. This is ironical since most of the subjective views always come from those affected. E.g. a computer scientist would not know the kind of interface that various groups of people may want without getting their opinion on such. We have to get a more subjective point of view so as to adapt to the explorations that are available today in terms of usability. For example, computer scientist cannot completely ignore user’s subjective views as they are the final people who will use their product. For example if a computer engineer wants to come up with a new hardware, they have to study the needs of the common man and understand what they need. If computer engineers n ever thought subjectively then they would end up building products that are complex and few users would be able to use the products (Norman, 2004). Norman also believes that we have different points of observation. Every user has a way in which they see different things; a professional might see something in a more complicated way as opposed to the non technical manner that a less experienced user might see it. It is for this reason that people can have their own observation and opinions on different matters. Scientist therefore needs to leave the positivism idea and learn to accept some of the subjective opinions. From this observation, it is evident that even though scientist only believe in the objective tone, much of the subjective tone is necessary if they want to understand what people want. Otherwise they would be making products for themselves. 2 Philosophy is described as the study of reality, knowledge and existence. Most people tend to associate philosophy with books and theories that try to explain fundamental laws in physics and nothing that touch our daily lives. Philosophy has been there for thousands of years and various philosophers have existed and have been able to explain the various things that touch our lives. Just like philosophy has touched and influenced a lot of people and life, the IPod has been a great tool in influencing the lives of millions of people. The iPod is transforming the lives of millions of people every day and making them get new ideas within a click. People are listening to music of their taste and others reading social links and contributing a lot to the economy. However, have we ever taken time t o try and link philosophy with an iPod? An iPod can define an individual, the contents of a person determines the kind of things that the person likes as well as the information that is useful to their lives. Since philosophy is concerned with the social lives of people as well, it is ironic that most people would try to ev ade this important field yet it touches them in almost every angle. Most scholars have tried to link various current cultures with philosophy; computer science has however brought this even closer linking people with most philosophical issues such as graphical user interface. It is due to philosophy that a computer scientist is able to determine the type of service that people need. With the right study and understanding of people’

Research In Motion Essay Example for Free

Research In Motion Essay Research In Motion (RIM) is most famously knows for its smart phone device Blackberry. Blackberry, when first introduced in 1999, took the corporate market by storm because of its capability of storing and managing e-mails along with other professional tools. Later the introduction of Black Berry Messenger (BBM) was another successful addition and made it famous among the non-corporate user class all around the globe. From its inception to the introduction of Blackberry and until today, RIM has had various challenges in terms of safeguarding its intellectual property and took some steps to counteract those problems which I will be discussing in this paper. 1.What were some of the challenges that RIM faced to protect its intellectual property, and how did RIM handle those challenges? The first challenge for RIM was in 2001 when it claimed that its competitor Glenayre Electronics infringed on its patent and charged dilution, unfair competition, and false advertising (1). As a result RIM sued them over using its patented mailbox integration technique that was exclusive to its Blackberry smartphone device which was later settled in their favor (2). Another lawsuit filed by RIM was against Good Technology in 2002. RIM alleged that Good was infringing on four of its patents. The first is for a method and apparatus to remotely control gateway functions in a wireless data communications network. The second relates to a method and system for loading an application program on a device. The third relates to a method and system for transmitting data files between computers in a wireless data communications environment. And the fourth relates to a mobile device that is optimized for use with thumbs (3). Finally in 2004 Good Technology signed a settlement with RIM under which it will give RIM a lump-sum payment during its current quarter and ongoing quarterly royalties. Further financial details of the agreement were not disclosed (4). Later in 2006, RIM was sued by mobile e-mail provider Visto Corporation that RIM violated four of its patents. The patents in question relate to the accessing and synchronizing of information over a network and are fundamental to the BlackBerry service (5). After a long battle of three years, in 2009 RIM agreed to pay $267.5 million to settle this dispute adding to a costly series of intellectual-property purchases (6). The company spent more than $1 billion in the past two years on intangible assets, such as patents. It booked part of the cost of the Visto settlement, which gave them a lifetime license to some Visto patents and legal possession of others, as an acquisition of intangible assets (6). Another big event was the RIM-Motorolla lawsuits in 2008 when Motorolla filed a lawsuit against RIM for using its patented technology but in reply RIM sued back Motorolla. RIM filed the lawsuit for demanding exorbitant royalties on patents that were essential to RIMs business. Besides being accused of anti-competitive conduct, Motorola was also accused of violating nine different patents and for breaking a 2003 agreement by refusing to agree to new terms beyond January 2008. Adding injury to lawsuit, RIM also claimed that Motorolas licensing fees were due to declining fortunes of its handset business (7). This long battle came to an end when both companies settled out of court. Under the Agreement, Motorola and RIM will benefit from a long-term, intellectual property cross-licensing arrangement involving the parties receiving cross-licenses of various patent rights, including patent rights relating to certain industry standards and certain technologies, such as 2G, 3G, 4G, 802.11 and wireless email. In addition, the parties will transfer certain patents to each other (8). 2.What were some of the industry factors that influenced RIM? Industry factors that influenced RIM are Competition, Scale and Future (9). Patents, copyrights and trademarks help a firm safeguard its intellectual assets giving it an edge in the market and enabling to stay competitive in the market. From the lawsuits discussed above, we can see that just in 10 years on inception, RIM had over seven patent related issues for its technology. In technological field, a patent enables a firm to bank on its technology by not allowing other firms to use and produce it. So it enables the firm with the patent to have exclusive right to that technology and have a competitive advantage. When a firm’s technology is successful, patent enables that firm to exploit from it and hence expand their firms scale by securing a larger consumer base leading to a better bright future for the firm. 3.Apply as many TCOs as you can to the RIM. There are quite a few TCOs that can be applied to RIM. Competence Enhancing and Component Innovation applies very well to RIM. Looking at the introduction of Blackberry in 1999, after 14 years we still find them have a strong demand among the smartphone consumer base. So RIM has constantly been improving its blackberry phones keeping them up to date by providing new features that keep the consumer base attracted. Similarly if we look at introduction of features like e-mail service and BBM for blackberry, they are following the component innovation ideology discussed in the course. On the other hand, RIM also follows the concept Network Externalities. BBM can be a good example to support this. Anyone with a blackberry anywhere in the world can send a free message to the other blackberry user using the blackberry network. BBM is actually one of the features’ that has protected Blackberry against I-phone. Tying to BBM, RIM also follows the policy of Trade Secret because no one other than the corporation itself has access to the BBM data. RIM has gone to an extent that recently in India, even the government was not allowed to access the BBM data and after a 19 month service ban the government, RIM finally allowed them to have access but through a different server (10).

Effects Of Bullying On School Achievement

Effects Of Bullying On School Achievement This chapter critically analyzes extant literature on the relationship of bullying and school achievement. Many studies have been made on the development of the learning process but literature is scant on how bullying impacts upon the intellectual development of children. There is even less research conducted to determine how perceptions of educators or school staff influence the learning process in children. To provide backbone to this study, the following areas of literature were reviewed: Literature on school achievement and theories on motivation that may be applied to bullying in the school environment. Literature on bullying, its definitions, identification of bully and victim, and types of bullying behaviors. Literature on the relationship of bullying and school achievement. Literature on the role of teachers in bullying prevention. School Achievement Definitions of school achievement vary. The term itself is often used interchangeably with academic achievement. Achievement is described as performance which features routine evaluation occurs (Spence Helmreich, 1983) and skills which children learn via instruction or direct intervention (Stetson, Stetson, Sattler, 2001). Other definitions specify the use of tests to measure achievement based on accuracy of solving problems in reading, mathematics, or spelling (Buhs, Ladd, Herald, 2006). Describing achievement among children is important not only in the educational setting. Research work on achievement gaps for instance has several implications not only for the academe but for the economic and social well-being of a particular community. Being able to compare and explain achievement gaps have become an imperative because of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) (Magnuson Waldfogel, 2008). Closing the achievement gaps early on in elementary schools is an important step in ameliorat ing the impact of discrimination among minority children who grew up in the United States. At present, the achievement gap is still a reality. For instance, research has established that the entire academic advancement process earning outstanding grades, preparing for college, applying for aid, going through the complex application process for college, and obtaining good recommendation letters puts minorities such as Black and Hispanic students at a disadvantage (Downey, 2008). One way to break through the barriers of racial inequality is to close the test-score gap (Barton, 2003). Test scores account for a great percentage in determining high school graduation rate, preparation for college, and gaining a professional license in the future (Beltfield Levin, 2007). The measure for achievement is predominantly the test score on various stills such as reading, math, and vocabulary. Although the test score is just but one component and does not account for all factors related to acad emic achievement, is performs a gatekeeping function for consequential life course transitions (Magnuson Waldfogel, 2008, p. 2). For this study, school achievement is defined as a students degree of comprehension of proficiency and information with particular skills such as reading, mathematics, and spelling. The Ecological model of achievement School achievements is commonly assumed to be a cumulative function of family, school, and community experiences, and is therefore hard to measure (Rivkin, Hanushek, Kain, 2005). Since achievement is a holistic process where several factors come into play, studying achievement is an empirical challenge because complete family, community, and school histories, and such data are rarely if ever available (Rivkin, Hanushek, Kain, 2005). Efforts to understanding how achievement develops in children use theoretical models such as the Ecological model of development (Broussard Garrison, 2004). The Expectancy-Value model of development points to the influence of social contexts and interactions with other people as significant determinants of childrens achievement in the school setting (Eccles et al., 1983). The Expectancy-Value theory posits that achievement occurs upon the presence of an environment fit between childrens learning needs and their socialization experiences at various levels. Children start their early socialization within the family and soon progress into wider and more complex settings such as the school. It is in the classrooms and the school environment that children are provided a venue to pursue new life experiences which are crucial to the intellectual growth and development. When the school environment becomes incongruent to childrens needs, they may develop a low expectancy for success that may in consequence result to poor academic outcomes (Eccles et al., 1993). A poor person-environment fit may lead to rejection, frustration, violence, and victim ization. Alternatively, poor fit can lead to rejection and victimization whereby students become passively isolated from their peers. It is possible, therefore, that social experiences such as being bullied may reduce a students sense of competence for social and perhaps, academic situations. Further to the role of the aforementioned demographic characteristics, we were interested in the impact that students feelings about their school may have on their behaviour, in particular their involvement in bullying and victimization. School climate has been studied from different theoretical and methodological perspectives and with regard to a myriad of developmental and organizational outcomes (Kuperminc, Leadbeater, Emmons, Blatt, 1997). Social-ecological theorists suggest that perceptions are paramount in understanding the way in which individuals function within their environments (Lewin, 1935). This hypothesis has received support in a substantial body of research examining the role of percepti ons of school climate in a variety of important outcomes. For example, Solomon, Battistich, Kim, and Watson (1996) found that teacher supportiveness was associated with more positive behaviour in the classroom and positive perceptions of connectedness among students. In other research, Kuperminc and colleagues (1997) demonstrated that perceptions of school climate were associated with psychosocial maladjustment in adolescents, both in terms of internalizing and externalizing problems. Similarly, Griffith (1999) found that perceptions of an orderly and fair school with positive student-teacher relationships moderated both internalizing and externalizing problems among students. Students sense of connectedness to their school has been investigated as a buffer between exposure to violence and later violent behaviour (Brookmeyer, Fanti, Henrich, 2006) and the investigators found that students who felt more connected to their schools showed a reduction in violent behaviour over time. Feeling connected to school may make it more likely that stud ents will confide in teachers or peers about experiences of victimization, which may in turn help them to cope with these problems or avoid behaving violently themselves (Brookmeyer et al., 2006). In another study, Totura and colleagues (2009) found that perceptions of school climate as being characterized by misconduct or as having higher adult monitoring impacted the likelihood that students with internalizing or externalizing behaviour problems would be classified as bullies or victims by teachers. In the current study, we predicted that students who indicated feeling that their school is a fair and safe place, that they feel connected to their peers, and that they perceive their teachers as helpful and supportive would report lower rates of bullying and victimization. Furthermore, we saw these perceptions as integral to understanding the overall climate of a school. Definition of Bullying The most comprehensive and extensively used definition of bullying is provided by Dan Olweus; very few studies exist that do not cite his original work (Dake et al., 2003; Dulmus et al., 2004). This study used the definition of bullying developed by Olweus (1993), which states, a student is being bullied or victimized when he or she is exposed, repeatedly and over time, to negative actions on the part of one or more other students (Olweus, 1993, p. 9). Negative actions are further defined as when someone intentionally inflicts, or attempts to inflict, injury or discomfort upon another (p. 9). Negative actions can be verbal (including threatening, taunting, teasing, or name-calling) or physical (such as hitting, kicking, pushing, shoving, or pinching). Negative actions also may occur without verbal or physical interaction, such as making faces or gestures, intentionally excluding someone from a group, spreading rumors, or refusing to comply with the wishes of another. Different types of bullying are discussed in more detail in a later section. The definition emphasizes repeated interactions that are carried out over time. According to Olweus (1993), it is reasonable to assume that any time students are forced together within social environments where they have little choice over with whom they interact, tendencies to bully may arise. Further, some conflict among students is natural and expected. Students may come to school in an irritable mood because of a confrontation at home, or they might be tired or hungry. Students also may have a disagreement with one another that leads to a more serious altercation, though still not necessarily a bullying episode. The focus toward repeated interactions carried out over time is meant to exclude random interactions or isolated incidents that occur in a nonsystematic way. Random and isolated incidents are seen as somewhat natural, with less severe consequences for those involved. Thus, bullying is typically defined as occurring repeatedly and over time. Additionally, it is not considered bullying unless the targeted individual has difficulty defending him or herself against the bullying behavior. The overall intent is to focus on systematic victimization among participants with an imbalance of power or strength. Depending on the type of bullying that occurs strength may refer to physical, emotional, or mental strength. Differences in emotional or mental strength may be more difficult to identify than differences in physical strength. Regardless, two individuals of approximately the same physical, psychological or social strength that socially interact in an aggressive manner are not considered to be engaged in bullying behavior. There must be an imbalance in power or strength between the participants involved for the episode to be considered bullying. The next section addresses bullying in the school environment. Who bullies and who is victimized? Studies indicate that bullies often come from homes where physical punishment is used, where the children are taught to strike back physically as a way to handle problems, and where parental involvement and warmth are frequently lacking. Students who regularly display bullying behaviors are generally defiant or oppositional toward adults, antisocial, and are likely to break school rules. In contrast to prevailing myths, bullies appear to have little anxiety and to possess strong self-esteem. There is little evidence to support the contention that they victimize others because they feel bad about themselves (Batsche Knoff, 1994; Olweus, 1993). Students who are victims of bullying are typically anxious, insecure, cautious, and suffer from low self-esteem, rarely defending themselves or retaliating when confronted by students who bully them. They may lack social skills and friends, and they are often socially isolated. victims tend to be close to their parents and may have parents who can be described as overprotective. The major defining physical characteristic of victims is that they tend to be physically weaker than their peers-other physical characteristics such as weight, dress, or wearing eyeglasses do not appear to be significant factors that can be correlated with victimization (Batsche Knoff, 1994; Olweus, 1993). Victims often fear school and consider school to be an unsafe and unhappy place. The act of being bullied tends to increase some students isolation because their peers do not want to lose status by associating with them or because they do not want to increase the risks of being bullied themselves. A child being bullied leads to depression and low self-esteem, problems that can carry into adulthood (Olweus, 1993; Batsche Knoff, 1994). Bullying in the school environment An important feature of bullying is its essential public nature (Jeffrey, Miller, Linn, 2001, p. 145). Those who bully tend to do so in front of an audience of their peers. Therefore, bullying is best conceptualized as an interaction between the individual and his or her peer group, school, family, and community (Swearer Doll, 2001, p. 19). The seminal definition of bullying provided by Olweus also describes a behavioral interaction rather than an individual or a behavior. Thus, bullying interactions occur when individual characteristics of the child who is bullying are combined with the actions of their peers (including those of the individual who is being bullied), the reactions of teachers and other adults at school, the physical characteristics of the school grounds, family factors, cultural characteristics, and community factors (Swearer Doll). Therefore, propensities for bullying are the result of continued interactions between individuals and their immediate environment. Bullying has been commonly misidentified as occurring primarily in larger, city schools (Olweus, 1993). Results from Norway and Sweden show this to be invalid. Additionally, one study (Dulmus et al., 2004) done in a rural school setting reported that just over 82% of students experienced some form of bullying at least once in the three months prior to the study. Students who were called mean names, made fun of, or teased was the most common type of bullying experienced by students and being threatened or forced to do things and being called racist names were the least common types of bullying experienced. As many as 24.1% of students responded they had been threatened or forced to do things and 26.1% reported being called names based on race or color (Dulmus et al., 2004). Additional research has shown that the size of the class or the school appears to be of little importance for the amount of bullying found in the class or school (Dake et al., 2003; Olweus, 1993). There is a natural hierarchy of status in schools, commonly referred to as popularity, which exists among students. The top 15% of students can be classified as very popular, the next 45% as accepted, and another 20% as average or ambiguous (Thompson Cohen, 2005, p. 17). As a result, approximately 80% of children are not at serious risk of being bullied. On the other hand, the remaining 20% of students who are considered in the bottom of the social hierarchy are at serious risk for bullying (Thompson Cohen, 2005). Younger students also are at different stages of social development and may not yet understand that bullying is unacceptable behavior. However, recognition of bullying as unacceptable behavior is not always enough to deter it from happening. In addition, older students have generally had more opportunities to acquire the necessary skills and assertiveness to either respond more effectively to bullying or to cope with being subjected to such behavior (Smith, Shu, Madsen, 2001). Types of Bullying Olweus (1993) research initially distinguished between direct and indirect bullying. Direct bullying involves relatively open attacks on the target and may include words, gestures, facial expressions, or physical contact, such as hitting, kicking, pushing, shoving, and pinching. Indirect bullying is more covert and less visible, generally achieved through social isolation or intentional exclusion from a peer group. This can be accomplished through different methods and will differ according to age and development (Crick, Nelson, Morales, Cullerton-Sen, Casas, Hickman, 2001). For example, in early childhood, this might be accomplished by one individual simply telling another that they do not want to play together anymore. In middle childhood and adolescence, students may not invite others to join in some activity or may ignore an individual while paying excessive attention to another. The distinction between direct and indirect bullying has been further divided into three categories: physical bullying; verbal bullying; and relational bullying, which are discussed in the following sections (Liepe-Levinson Levinson, 2005; Olweus, 1993; Ralston, 2005; Smokowski Kopasz, 2005). Physical Bullying Physical bullying refers to hitting, pushing, shoving, slapping, kicking, tripping, and other such bodily attacks, as well as damaging anothers property (Howard, Horne, Joliff, 2001; Liepe-Levinson Levinson, 2005; Ralston, 2005; Smokowski Kopasz, 2005). Physical bullying is described as action-oriented and often uses direct bullying tactics (Smokowski Kopasz). Until recently, the majority of U.S. research about bullying has been conducted as a subset of aggression and has focused primarily on physical aggression (Griffin Gross, 2004). Aggression and bullying contain conceptual similarities, but their comparison largely depends on how each has been measured within individual research studies. Due to the relatively open nature of the attacks, physical bullying is considered the most visible and least sophisticated among the various types of bullying (Liepe-Levinson Levinson, 2005; Smokowski Kopasz, 2005). Less than one-third of all incidents reported by children involve physical bullying (Liepe-Levinson Levinson). Those who engage in physical bullying may become more aggressive over time and continue to manifest bullying in adulthood (Dake et al., 2003; Smokowski Kopasz, 2005). In addition, students who are targeted for physical bullying are generally targeted for verbal and relational bullying as well (Olweus, 1993). Research also shows that physical bullying is used more in lower grades (i.e., primary school) among younger students (Olweus, 1993). Verbal Bullying Verbal bullying is the most common form of bullying according to student reports in one study, accounting for nearly 70% of all reported incidents (Liepe-Levinson Levinson, 2005). Verbal bullying includes teasing, taunting, name-calling, racial slurs, or any instance where words are used to hurt or humiliate another. Due to the ease and quickness with which verbal bullying occurs, this type of behavior often goes undetected, making such interactions more difficult to respond to for teachers (Smokowski Kopasz, 2005). Verbal bullying often is a precursor to physical and relational bullying (Liepe-Levinson Levinson, 2005). Relational Bullying Relational bullying includes such acts as ignoring individuals, social isolation, intentional exclusion from peer groups, gossiping, and spreading rumors (Liepe-Levinson Levinson, 2005; Ralston, 2005; Smokowski Kopasz, 2005). Relational bullying also includes aggressive gestures, such as staring, rolling ones eyes, sighing, frowning, sneering, and other hostile body language (Liepe-Levinson Levinson). It is most powerful and prevalent at the onset of adolescence, when children are exploring their identities and expanding their social networks, also making it very difficult to identify. Verbal and relational bullying are quite common and are relatively unnoticed by teachers as students report these behaviors occurring more frequently than physical bullying (Griffin Gross, 2004; Hazler, Miller, Carney, Green, 2001). Oddly enough, physical bullying continues to attract more attention in the school environment. This is despite the widespread attention given to longstanding emotional and social forms of bullying as precursors to school shootings and suicides. This is most likely due to the visible nature of physical bullying and its relative ease of identification. Cyberbullying Historically, bullying primarily occurred in school during school hours; however, with the common use of computers and the internet since the 1990s, on-line bullying has become an increasing occurrence amongst adolescent girls (Li, 2005). The internet offers the perfect tool for mass, covert bullying due to its anonymity, its difficulty to regulate, and the removal of traditional social rules in regards to appropriate communication (Giuseppe, Galimberti, 2003). The nature of new technology makes it possible for cyber bullying to occur more secretly, spread more rapidly and be easily preserved (Li, 2006, p. 161). Bullying is a major problem in schools, and it seems to be on the rise with the widespread use of the Internet. Cyber bullying, according to Willard (2004) as quoted by Li (2006), can occur in various formats including flaming, harassment, cyber stalking, denigration (putdowns), masquerade, outing and trickery and exclusion à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ it can lead to stalking, death threats and suicide (Li, 2006). Unlike face-to-face bullying, people often feel that cyberspace is impersonal and they can therefore say whatever they want. Further, it is reported that females prefer this type of bullying (Nelson, 2003; Li, 2006). Electronic bullying allows a persons identity to remain hidden and can pose less of a physical confrontation that face-to-face bullying. Relationship of Bullying and Academic Achievement Bullying behaviour is a social, group process that is prevalent in the school environment and there are well documented findings regarding the behavioural and health consequences of bullying behaviour at school for both direct and relational bullying profiles (Kumpulainen et al., 1998; Owens, Slee, Shute, 2000; Williams, Chambers, Logan, Robinson, 1996; Wolke et al., 2000). However, there is a dearth of research that has considered the association between bullying behaviour per se and academic achievement among primary school children. Olweus (1978, 1983) first speculated that aggressive behaviour of bullies towards peers could be considered as a reaction to frustrations and failures at school. However, data from a large sample of boys from Greater Stockholm provided no evidence to suggest that aggressive behaviour was a consequence of poor grades at school. Rather, it was found that both bullies and victims had lower than average marks than neutral children (Olweus, 1978). In a recent study, Schwartz, Farver, Chang, and Lee-Shin (2002) reported that children who exhibited poor academic performance in school tended to emerge as frequent targets of bullying. However, it was only a subset of victimised children, the aggressive victims (or bully/victims) who were likely to be characterised by poor school performance (Schwartz, 2000). What remains to be established by research studies is whether poor academic achievement leads to bullying involvement or whether being bullied leads to poorer school achievement, possibly mediated by less participation in school. Research on peer rejection has also considered the relationship to academic achievement and school adjustment. Peer rejection is predominantly assessed by standardized scores that are comparable across classes and school, but does not take into account individual bullying roles within classes. Ladd (1990) considered the academic behaviour and school adjustment of children over the first year of school life and reported that rejected children had less favourable school perceptions, significantly higher levels of school avoidance and significantly lower school performance compared to popular, average, and neglected children. While the research is clear that students with behavior problems do less well in school (Shanahan 2000; McLeod Keiser 2004; Trzensniewski et al. 2006; Allard 2007; Buchmann et al. 2008), it is unclear whether engagement in bullying behaviors directly leads to negative academic outcomes (Miller 2008). Moreover, empirical research has provided mixed support for a cross-sectional relationship specifically between bullying behavior and academic achievement (Nansel et al. 2001; Spriggs et al. 2007). On the one hand, Nansel et al. (2001) found that persons who bullied others showed poorer school adjustment, both in terms of academic achievement and perceived school climate (p. 2097). Glew et al. (2005) criticized Nansel et al.s (2001) findings because although the authors found important evidence regarding the potential detrimental effects of bullying on self perceived academic achievement and school attendance, no objective measures of academic achievement or attendance were collected (p .1026). In contrast, these authors, utilizing objective measures of school performance, found that being a bully was not significantly correlated with lower achievement scores. More recently, Spriggs et al. (2007), using the 2001 Health Behaviors in School-Aged Children survey (HBSC), found that among a representative sample of sixth to tenth graders that bullying impacts achievement. Their results also indicated that this relationship varies by race. For Whites and Hispanics, being a bully, victim, or a combination of the two, was associated with poorer academic performance. However, for Blacks, bullying was not related to academic performance (Spriggs et al. 2007). Instead, Blacks family and peer relationships had a greater influence on achievement than did bullying. This paper presents a meta-analytic review of 33 studies, with a total of 29 552 participants, that examined the concurrent association between peer victimization and academic achievement. The results revealed a small but significant negative correlation between peer victimization and academic achievement under both the random-effects model (r=à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢.12, p This study utilized a multi-informant approach to investigate the concurrent association between peer victimization and school functioning in a sample of 135 Latino children (55 boys; 80 girls) in the third, fourth, and fifth grades. The children attended elementary schools in distressed urban neighborhoods. Victimization by peers was associated with low grade point averages (GPA) and poor academic engagement. The analyses showed academic engagement mediated the relation between peer victimization and GPA. Moderator analyses indicated that the negative association between peer victimization and academic engagement was exacerbated for children with numerous friends in their classrooms. Additional moderator analyses revealed that the negative association between victimization and engagement was stronger for children with many aggressive friends. Overall, the results extend past research by investigating mediators and moderators of the association between peer victimization and school f unctioning in an understudied population (Nakamoto, 2008). This short-term longitudinal investigation focused on associations between victimization in the peer group and academic functioning over a 1-year period. The authors used a multi-informant approach to assess peer victimization, symptoms of depression, and academic outcomes for 199 elementary schoolchildren (average age of 9.0 years; 105 boys, 94 girls). Frequent victimization by peers was associated with poor academic functioning (as indicated by grade point averages and achievement test scores) on both a concurrent and a predictive level. Additionally, the authors analyses provided some evidence that peer group victimization predicts academic difficulties through the mediating influence of depressive symptoms. Taken together, these results highlight the potential negative impact of victimization by peers on childrens academic functioning (Schwartz et al., 2005). Adjustment difficulties such as loneliness and depression are less likely to occur among students who are liked by their peers and who have friends in comparison to those children who are isolated and alone (Erdley et al., 2001). Thus, peer acceptance and reciprocal friendships may pevent socio-emotional maladjustment. In the context of school bulyying, students who are bullied may not gain a sense of protection from affiliation with a group (Beran Violato, 2004). These limited social skills and access to friends increase the likelihood of bullying. Furthermore, this lack of peer support may inhibit children from seeking academic support from teachers. If children do not trust their teachers to stop the bullying, they may not seek their assistance with academic difficulties. It is likely that children who are bullied disengage from their learning, experiencing little enjoyment and low consciousness for academic work. In addition, children whose parents provide little support for their education, are likely to experience academic difficulties. When these students also exhibit behaviour problems in the form of hyperactivity, aggression, and poor social skills, they may experience learning difficulties. Other studies, however, show contrary results. Hanish and Guerra (2002) examined the effects of peer victimization on levels of academic achievement and determined that peer victimization was correlated with concurrent and subsequent aggressive behavior, inattention in the classroom, delinquency, symptoms of anxiety and depression, rejection, and low popularity among classmates. It was not however, correlated with academic maladjustment or withdrawal. (p. 85). Being bullied may have affected some aspects of academic life such as inattention in the classroom and low popularity among classmates but it did not predict low achievement (Hanish Guerra, 2002). In addition, Woods and Wolke (2004) reported achievement levels to be similar between children who are victimized and those who are not. Some victimized children may experience poor achievement whereas others may not. Role of Teachers in Bullying Prevention The basic assumptions are that changing the environment is more powerful than changing individuals, that prevention is better than intervention, and that changing the environment requires support and understanding among teachers. Teachers understand the levels of influence and recognize the power of the family, the community, and the popular culture to influence behavior. What they often do not understand is the extent or limit of their sphere of influence. When teachers are asked to identify risk factors for the development of bullying, they generally rank the family and cultural factors such as television films, and pop music as having the strongest impact on childrens development of bullying behaviors. When teachers are asked to indicate which factors they can influence, they recognize for the most part, that their influence is limited to the classroom and school environment. Teachers are encouraged to focus their energy and resources on changing the areas within their sphere of influence, that is, the classroom and the school. Because of the amount of teacher contact with students, perceptions of teachers regarding student bullying forms an important first step in minimizing this risk. Research found that teachers considered bullying the second most serious student behavior after drug use, (24)

MBA Admissions Essays - An Entrepreneurial Passion :: MBA College Admissions Essays

MBA Admissions Essays - An Entrepreneurial Passion    My love for business is not something I was born with. It took over a decade of experience and exploration to discover my passion. This discovery began ten years ago when I accepted a position at The Pitney Bowes Corporation. My job was to make unsolicited phone calls to prospective businesses in order to sell our base model postage meter. All that was required was reading a script, word for word, to potential buyers. Yet, after a week of working at Pitney Bowes, I still didn't know important details about the meter, like what it looked like, and how it actually operated. My manager acted a bit surprised when I asked to see the meter, but she agreed, and I took a walk to an adjacent building where I saw first hand what I was selling. It looked completely different from what I had expected, but by viewing and touching it first hand, my ability to convey to people what I was offering improved dramatically. Once I viewed the device, I felt more confident to adlib on the sales pitch. In a couple of weeks reading my hybrid pitch led to a higher rate of sales. People were more apt to buy from someone who sounded like a person and less like a robot. My sales steadily improved and in my third month I was the number one sales person out of over 200 employees. Management implemented some of my changes in the selling process and as a result, overall sales of the entry model postage meter increased significantly.    After my days of selling postage meters were long over, and I was in my senior year of college, I decided to start my own company. I wrote two books on college admission and college life and marketed them through the internet. After three month of diligent work, I sold over 500 books and expanded the company to five employees. Since selling only two books was proving so successful, I decided to branch out and try my hands at an affiliate driven superstore. I partnered with web sites like Amazon.com and Reel.com and became officially licensed to sell their merchandise. My time and effort resulted in many visitors to my on-line superstore, but sales were few and far between. The business needed a change of direction.

What is an Hypothesis?

I believe my hypothesis needs to be strengthened to be better than its rivals. When utilizing the chart on page 64 of our text I do find several areas for improvement. After going through the checklist I believe that a better hypothesis would be made after an Minimal analysis of the percentage of late payments and the minimum credit scores. A hypothesis could then be created that is more specific and testable as well as analyzed against other statistics such as the percentage of late payments for a higher, specified credit score.If research shows 70% of customers that have late payments have a credit score below 600 a stronger hypothesis would state: If the local car dealership that offers In house flagging requires a credit score higher than 600 for approved financing the percentage of late payments they receive will be less than 70%. Adequacy for its purpose I *Does the hypothesis reveal the original problem condition? I Yes, the problem is a large amount of accounts that are past due. I *Does the hypothesis clearly Identify facts that are relevant I It clearly states facts grading financing approval but does not I and those that are not?I Include any other facts. Relevant or not. I I *Does the hypothesis clearly state the condition, size, or I It only states that lenient profiles are used, this should be I distribution of some variable in terms of values meaningful I made stronger by listing a specific minimum credit score I to the research problem? I required. I *Does the hypothesis explain facts that gave rise to the need I Yes, late accounts require explanation and analysis to I for explanation? I continue to operate the equines at a profitable level.I I *Does the hypothesis suggest which form of research I Yes, a causal-predictive study would be appropriate. I design is likely to be most appropriate? I Raising the minimum credit requirement to determine if late I I payments decrease would be appropriate. I *Does the hypothesis provide a framework for org anizing I Yes, the hypothesis indicates that statistics should be I the conclusions that result? I analyzed and shown by credit scores and late payments. I Testable I *Does the hypothesis use acceptable techniques? I Yes, the hypothesis Is late payments.I *Does the hypothesis require an explanation that is plausible I Yes, a plausible explanation would utilize financial applications. I given known physical or psychological laws? I I *Does the hypothesis reveal consequences or derivatives that I The consequence is stated and does not need to be deduced. I can be deduced for testing purposes? I I *Is the hypothesis simple, requiring few conditions or I Yes, no assumptions are required. I assumptions? Better than its rivals *Does the hypothesis explain more facts than its rivals?

Benefits of the Internet

Reviews and investigation have concluded that the Internet was one of the most important inventions in the last years, and its development is growing every day. People’s lives have changed since this technology arrived.The main idea of my speech will be to explain the audience how   we benefit from the internet today, and how its development has made our lives easier. It will be an informative speech, but the idea is not to make it a technical speech with technical content, but a speech easy to understand for others. I will have to take into account that almost everybody knows about the internet, but the audience may not realize how useful it is, and how we benefit from it.I will try to give the audience some examples that will make them understand what do I mean by â€Å"benefits†, trying to make clear stories about each of the main uses of the internet, as for example how people started using email instead of regular letters, or visiting web sites instead of spendin g hours in a library. I will have to be clear with my messages and try to maintain the audience’s attention by using simple ideas because people usually don’t like to listen about technology as it seems a boring subject. The information I will use it will be based on my own experience, so that will help the speech content to have a humanized aspect.I don’t think that I will be using many kinds of visual aids in this subject, although I might be presenting some transparencies with facts about the increase in the usage of the internet and the benefits of it, and this will help to reinforce the ideas to the audience while I explain them.While I was having a conversation with my classmates that helped me choose the topic for my speech, I tried to talk to them and see what each of them did with the internet and how they took advantage of it. This will help me to more or less see what can I focus on, and on what I will have to be more specific.The interest of the audi ence will be difficult to maintain if I don’t start with a good motivation, so I will try to begin the speech with something interesting and completely new about the internet, like a future project that engineers are working on that might not be known yet, but that the audience might like for the future. It is a wide topic, so I will try to make it as clear as possible, so as to be manageable and understandable.