Privacy of Social Application Essays

Privacy of Social Application Essays Privacy of Social Application Essay Privacy of Social Application Essay Essay Topic: The Social Contract Privacy of Social Application Name: Institution: Privacy of Social Application Abstract The main topic being researched is the loss of privacy within social networking applications. The first section contains the introduction that offers detailed information into the extent of privacy loss within the most popular social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter. In this section, the challenges that face increased privacy are addressed in detail. Included in this part are the description of the main issues and objectives of the research paper. The section concludes with several statistics that emphasize the extent of social networking usage as well as the consequences involved. The next section is the literature review that contains information collected from various sources on the definition, nature, characteristics and concept in social privacy. This section also contains the existing works written by various researchers on privacy in social applications such as theories and case studies. The last section covers the Platform for Privacy Preferences (P3P) analysis in de tail after which the paper concludes with a conclusion summarizing the main points. Introduction Social media has been defined by Michael Haenlein and Andreas Kaplan as â€Å"a group of Internet-based applications that build on the ideological and technological foundations of Web and that allow the creation and exchange of user-generated content (Kaplan Haenlein, 2010).† In addition, social media operates on web-based technologies and mobile applications to develop vastly interactive platforms that link together people and groups, generate, chat about, and alter user-generated material. Social introduces significant and invasive transformations in the communication between companies, groups and people. Organizations seeking bigger opportunities have turned to social collaboration devices that have transformed it into a $42 billion market. These organizations use social networking applications for nearly all functions including recruitment, advertisements and promotions and for maintaining customer relationships and satisfactions. In this paper, the hidden or complex relationship between the front end user, third party application organizations and social networking sites is elaborated in depth. With the widespread use of social media by communities, organizations and individuals, several privacy challenges have emerged. Most of these challenges were initially present but the development and introduction of Web 2.0 served to pronounce them to significant levels. Through the usage of Web 2.0, social networking sites such as LinkedIn, Orkut and Facebook have not only thrived exponentially, but they have also encouraged the development of third party developers who use the social applications to release their own applications (Politis et al., 2009). Most of the privacy challenges are caused by these third party applications as they are awarded the same privileges as the owner of the accounts. Social media networking sites have also stated in their policies that these third party applications have full access to p ersonal information. However, this has not deterred social media users for providing their full information. However, part of this behavior can be attributed to the services offered by these companies that make the access to personal information a mandatory requirement before anyone can finish the installation process. Individuals are, therefore, unaware of the large amount of information that these third party applications because of the hidden nature of the relationship. This paper also discusses the addiction and effects of excessive usage of these applications on individual’s productivity, health and privacy. Privacy issues within social networking sites have been not only identified, but also vast amount of investigations are underway to respond to the risks that accompany the provision of personal information of social networking users (Politis et al., 2009). Some of the challenges within online social networking applications include cyber stalking and tracking and disclosure of individual’s locations. Several third party applications within most social networking sites border on stalking the users that subscribe to their services. A classical example is the application ‘Creepy’ that can allow its users to track people’s location using photos uploaded on Orkut or Twitter (Ruff Winn, 2010). Advanced devices can even narrow down the location using longitudes and latitudes. This poses many possible risks to users who distribute their personal data to a large number of friends. The ‘Places’ application in Facebook works in the same way and has the same effect of exposing one’s geographical location to the rest of the followers on his or her account. Social networking applications have also been cited as being misused by data aggregation organizations that make use of the social data to make thei r own financial and administration decisions (Huijsman et al., 2012). These organizations engage in social profiling activities that are partly supported by social networks (Kaplan Haenlein, 2010). Because of the liberal subscription policies in the creation of social network accounts, most sites report numerous cases of illegal or prohibited activities that involve underage account holders. Teenagers and preteen account users in Facebook and Twitter have been the subjects of sexual abuse, indecency and theft perpetrated by corrupted users (Ruff Winn, 2010). While there are age restrictions, the implementation of these measures has been largely minimal. Lastly, law enforcement agencies such as FBI and CIA are permitted by law to impersonate different people in social networks. These privacy challenges have made social networking applications the topic of many researches and studies. Issues and Objectives The privacy tool within the social network environment acts as an important security device. There are instances when intruders attempt to mine private information from one’s profile without their permission. In such occurrences, the privacy aspect on social network applications becomes the main concern. The unauthorized intruder can access critical information such as images, contacts and names from a user’s account (Ruff Winn, 2010). Other sophisticated cyber criminals access the private information from different users and use it to engage in criminal activities. Handling the issue of loss of privacy within social networking sites is very difficult due to its nature. Globally, there are numerous social network accounts that can almost double the number of people in the world given that an individual may have an account in each site (Facebook, Twitter, Orkut etc.) (Leitch Thomas, 2012). Therefore, regulating the activities of these social networking applications is capital intensive considering the scope of the activities that include organizations, communities and individuals. There is also a problem concerning the best approach to take in handling the privacy issue in most social networking applications. This is because the purpose of these sites is to encourage networking and bring social circles closer to people. These activities demand that a user provide their information. Furthermore, social networking has been transformed into a multi-million business and this has introduced other stakeholders that have to be consulted in the process of executing any reforms concerning privacy (Kaplan Haenlein, 2010). Objectives The main objective of the paper was to discover the state of privacy within social applications and seek out ways to solve these issues thereby improving the quality of service in social networking. Many users of social media do so with the expectation that their personal information will be exposed to a limited and selected number of users. The responsibility therefore lies with the social network provider to put into action privacy devices that are both straightforward and adequately assessed to allow users to have sufficient control over whatever material they make public (Ruff Winn, 2010). Therefore, a successful privacy device has to address the following dimensions of a permissions approach, the objects exposed in the public domain, the main actors in the social networks and actions can be taken once users can acquire these objects. Contribution The advancement of social networking sites have served to open up the world to new possibilities in communication and networking. However, they have also revealed the grave setback of increased internetworking and public contact in the loss of privacy. For prominent social networking websites such as Twitter and Facebook, offering one’s identity and other personal information as a way of creating an online profile are the main activities promoted by the site (Kaplan Haenlein, 2010). This information may include an individual’s date of birth, home address, and mobile contact(s). Some social network applications even for greater information on personal preferences and activities for example, interests, pastimes, preferred literature or movies, and the status of one’s relationship. While this is true for most social applications that encourage networking, the same cannot be said for social applications such as online dating sites, where anonymity is highly desired. In these unique cases, it is difficult to link someone to their ‘online profile’. These advancements have created a culture of people who have lost all meaning of privacy and have therefore increased the amount of private information to very many people (Trepte Leonard, 2011). However, there are several issues with the provision of such sensitive information to social networking sites and these issues shall form the core of this paper. Literature Review Extensive research and investigation into issues relating to privacy in the Internet and its subsidiaries such as social networking sites has been done with excellent outcomes that have guided future decisions in handling privacy issues. The issue of security and social privacy has had the largest impact on the popular sites than smaller, less known ones (Trepte Leonard, 2011). However, it is important to separate the aspects of security issues and privacy issues. However, both types of problems are closely related when it comes to social networks. The issue of magnitude emerges when the impending damage to a user occurs in a renowned social site having many users. An example is a Facebook user having 2,000 friends and belonging to 40 groups who can be categorized as being more vulnerable compared to someone having 10 friends (Trepte Leonard, 2011). Legal Implications and Aspects of Privacy in Social Applications While the social networking and media craze continues to transform the existing environment and become the standard method of advertisements and communication for organizations, communities and individuals, it is increasingly important to deal with the legal risks linked to social media use effectively (Tang Yang, 2012). The marketing model based on the application of social media involves direct contact with and collecting vital information about, consumers and clients in order to more resourcefully and successfully deliver their promises. Highly detailed and precise data on different social media users is naturally more valuable to the company collecting it. Logically, as they collect and apply data on social media usage, companies are exposed to personal information belonging to those users. The most common areas containing legal privacy obligations are in the terms of use for specific social media platform. Social media platforms endeavor to limit privacy threats to their users against commercial parties by prescribing detailed conditions and limitations concerning the compilation and utilization of personal information. For instance, third party applications developed to be used in Facebook, companies cannot extract information from a user’s friends list outside of the application. Companies are only permitted to use the Facebook API to replicate, modify, develop copied works, share out, trade, relocate, publicly display and perform, transmit content (Tang et al., 2008). Regrettably, the failure to adhere to these privacy-related conditions of use has regularly put companies into legal difficulties. The problems can emerge directly with the social media service provider as a ban or a lawsuit concerning actions that breached the contract. Additionally, an infring ement of the responsibilities prescribed in the terms and conditions of use may be assumed as the grounds for court cases against organizations using social media (McMenamin, 2010). On a global level, several states and regional organizations including New Mexico and Utah have made the move to bar companies from forcing potential employees from giving out their social networking accounts before they are employed. Some of the main aspects in the Internet Employment Privacy Act (IPEA) include provisions that barred employers from asking for usernames and passwords and from taking unfavorable actions based on the results of their social networks (Pierson, 2012). However, in deeper analysis, the IPEA initiative was partly unsatisfactory as it gave employers the leeway to access the employee’s account in issues that affected the company’s operations for example sabotage or corporate espionage. Misconduct among employees on the social sites was also subject to inspection by the employers. The only coercive aspect of IPEA was the monetary fine of $500 that would be awarded to any individuals who felt that this law was violated in their case (Ruff Winn, 2 010). This penalty was by far a small cost that most companies could easily cover and continue violating this law. Technical Implications and Aspects of Privacy in Social Applications The invasion of personal privacy within social media applications has contributed to increased social insecurity. Social media might have entrenched itself as a dominant force, but consumers and organizations alike have intentionally overlooked the social security and privacy consequences of being part of these sites. There are quite a few security risks to consider when handling social media. One of the most apparent problems that almost all users of Twitter and Facebook experience regularly is spam mail (Ruff Winn, 2010). While spam is definitely frustrating and can lower individual productivity, spamming in itself is a form of hacking. Account hacking and data leaks contribute towards a drop in productivity, customer loyalty, or confidential data loss to the rival companies. Most individuals who have had accounts in social networking sites for long periods have definitely experience hacking attempts. This may seem insignificant but for a company account, hacking poses a great th reat to their image and data storage (Mintz, 2012). The recent hacking of the giant pharmaceutical company, Pfizer is a classical example of insecurity with the social networking environment. The Pfizer case involved a combination of a poor password composition and low accountability in sharing credentials. The hack tarnished Pfizer’s image making it look untrustworthy and disorganized (Andrews, 2012). The hacking affected their business operations especially human resource activities involving requesting customers for their opinions and preferences. A study performed by an online security company, Bit Defender revealed that over 70% of company credentials were easy to locate in the social networking sites (Andrews, 2012). Of these companies evaluated, a large number of them used the same password for their social media accounts as they used for their e-mail accounts. This made it extremely easy for rogues to make off with crucial data or taint the image of a company. Another major security threat entails social engineering and malware. While the two elements are not related, the easiest technique of spreading harmful software makes use of social engineering (Hogan, 2012). This type of intrusion normally comes in the form of a friend posting a link or an object on your account. Known as the Koobface worm, this is just one type of this type of social engineering being used. Apart from the loss of productivity when specialists have to eliminate the malware, these harmful programs can have extremely negative impacts on the data stored and the functionality of the actual machine and this results in significantly more delays and costs as these problems have to fixed (Hogan, 2012). Social Implications and Aspects of Privacy in Social Applications Loss of privacy within social networking sites has numerous effects on the social status of individuals, organizations and communities. One of these implications is the loss of reputation or standing in the public arena (Andrews, 2012). Social media mishaps can contribute to the disrepute of a company or an individual using their exponential nature of spreading throughout different social circles in a short period. Individuals have had pictures taken of them engaging in controversial activities being posted on Facebook and going ‘viral’ even though they did not post them in the first place (Andrews, 2012). There are also instances of brand attacks that are characterized by a group of people who post controversial or incriminating material on social media sites with the aim of tarnishing a brand’s reputation. Nestle was the victim of such an attack in 2010 when a hacker posted destructive content on their Facebook account page (Mintz, 2012). To make matters worse, the PR official in charge handled the matter in an uncivilized way leading to further damages fro the company. On their part, Facebook did little to offer any assistance to the public relations problem apart from offering the opportunity for Nestle to remove or turn off the negative remarks altogether (Pierson, 2012). Without a doubt, these efforts by the company to cover up the drama resulted in an increased focus on the issues mentioned by the hacker and the evolution of newer groups that lashed out at Nestle. These mishaps points toward the need for a business to develop a strong social media policy in the event that a public relations catastrophe spirals out of control. Administrators of social media should realize when the situation calls the deletion of a comment or rescinding the rights offered to followers in a page or group (Mintz, 2012). Platform for Privacy Preferences (P3P) analysis The term Platform for Privacy Preferences Project (P3P) refers to a protocol that permits websites to state publicly their planned use of data collected about Internet users. The protocol was developed to provide users with more control of their sensitive information when on the Internet. P3P is a product of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) that was launched officially in 2002. However, after the initial launch, very little has been done to improve the quality and features besides minor improvements (McMenamin, 2010). Commercially, Microsoft was the only company to incorporate the P3P protocol in their web browser, Internet Explorer. The incompatibility, expenses and lack of value were cited as the main challenges that contributed to the failure of the P3P protocol (Tang Yang, 2012). Purposes of the P3P Protocol With the transformation of the World Wide Web into a mainstream medium for the transaction of services and goods, stakeholders in the electronic commerce used different techniques to gather more information about the customers who bought their products. This need created innovations such as tracker cookies to assist in collecting consumer data. On their part, users perceived this as an intrusion of privacy and would, therefore, use proxy servers or turn off the HTTP cookies to maintain the integrity of their personal information (Trepte Leonard, 2011). The main purpose of P3P was to offer web users more control over the amount and type of information they could release to the public. From the W3C side, the main aim of developing P3P was to enhance user confidence in the Internet through empowerment using technical methods. Features and Mode of Operation P3P is a program-specific language that eases the process of data management within different websites. Websites that operate under the P3P protocol function under a set of privacy policies that display their planned use for any information they might need from the user, and any site visitor (Trepte Leonard, 2011). If a P3P protocol is being used by a client, he or she can set their own policies regarding the amount of information that can be extracted by the different websites. In the process of browsing in a website, the P3P compares the set preference by the user with that of the demands in the website. If the two match, the website will be tagged as ‘certified’ or ‘trusted’ and can be accessed by the user (McMenamin, 2010). In the event that the two do not match, P3P informs the user of the anomaly and asks if they are willing to offer more of their personal information when they enter the site. Apart from the obvious benefit of additional security, P3P possess several other benefits that make it unique and useful. Through P3P, users are given the opportunity to comprehend the privacy policies in a basic and structured fashion rather than searching for additional privacy settings in the browser’s setting or the website. Therefore, each user can determine what cookies to allow and block any cookies that they may deem intrusive (Hogan, 2012). Through the P3P Toolbox, users can regain their confidence and trust on the Internet by implementing P3P fully (Bidgoli, 2009). The Toolbox provides a detailed explanation on how individuals and companies can access private information without seeking the consent of the user. Furthermore, these companies misappropriate this sensitive information by creating unnecessary notifications, spam (junk mail) and identity theft rackets. All these problems emphasize the importance of implementing P3P especially for regular Internet users. De spite the increase in browser use and the development of HTML, P3P has been structured to use technology to instill elements of individual preferences and data management behavior among Internet users (Drushel Kathleen, 2011). Criticisms According to studies done by the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC), the whole procedure of installing and implementing the P3P protocol was perceived as being too difficult and ineffective for regular users. The EPIC cited the level of complexity in the software and implementation process, and claimed that, for programmers and other computer experts, it was usable, but to the average user, it was not user-friendly (Agrawal et al., 2003). Most people were unfamiliar with the interface, the installation process and the updating procedures. Another related issue was that it was not compulsory for all websites to limit themselves to the P3P parameters. Therefore, P3P3 failed to take off largely because it was not needed by most websites. P3P served to work against their need to collect additional user information that would enrich their marketing and customer relationships (Tang et al., 2008). Another criticism approached the P3P proposal as being misleading to the regular Internet user. From the definitions, P3P came out as a security measure that protected people’s privacy from online parties. However, in reality, P3P only controls the data management through the websites. P3P functions by letting the user choose what they deem fit to furnish to websites. In most cases, users do not comprehend the safe level of information they can expose to websites and end up setting the P3P parameters too low and in the process, exposing themselves to predatory websites (Tang et al., 2008). Therefore, the misperception that P3P is a security and privacy measure was wrong. A New Specification for Privacy In Social Applications Increasing User Awareness on the importance of privacy Transforming the perceptions of users of social networking applications is one of the approaches towards changing the state of privacy loss currently being witnessed in the social media. This behavior change has been witnessed in several age groups, but the youngest users of these sites have offered the best example. Recent studies have shown that most teenagers and young adults (19-25) are more aware of the consequences of posting sensitive material on Facebook, Twitter and other social sites (Strandburg Daniela, 2006). Apart from watching what they post on these sites, these teenagers have also become more informed in maintaining the privacy over their information. This behavior was noticed after Facebook staff realized that most teenagers were ‘cleaning’ up their profiles by removing any compromising photos, deleting any negative comments and generally ensuring that their accounts were decent. This drastic change among the younger age group was triggered partly by t he vast information on how to make their accounts safer (Drushel Kathleen, 2011). Therefore, informing people on the best way to hide sensitive information is a workable approach. Closely related to the earlier point is the need for social media members to understand the privacy policies as well as the terms and conditions. Proper understanding of these regulations that guide the behavior of the individual, the social site provider and third party application is highly significant in lowering instances of privacy loss. While attempting to understand the relationship between these three parties may be difficult, knowing the basic roles played by each party is important. For instance, knowing the extent to which third party applications are allowed to reach concerning personal information will assist an individual in choosing whether to give that application the right to access his or her account (Tang et al., 2008). Another key element that most people overlook is that the social site providers are not responsible for the actions of the third party applications even though they collaborate in one platform (Drushel Kathleen, 2011). Knowing these and other aspects of operation greatly helps in lowering cases of privacy violation. The responsibility to disseminate these sets of information lies squarely with the social site provider. The company should be responsible for ensuring that all its users understand the risks or threats that come with exposing sensitive information on the Internet. This issue of misinformation was one of the causes of the failure of the P3P initiative (Andrews, 2012). Government Enforcement of Regulations concerning Social Sites The government should take a front seat in the fight against the loss of privacy within social media sites. This can be done through formulation and implementation of policies concerning free speech, administration of social networking sites and company activities regarding the sharing of personal data (Strandburg Daniela, 2006). Just like any other activity within the state borders, social networking is also subject to different regulations encapsulated within the communication sector. The issue of businesses that use websites to retrieve personal information without the user’s knowledge is the most urgent. Government policy should be formulated regarding the conduct of businesses particularly companies that engage in data collection for projection or marketing purposes. The policy should restore the right to divulge sensitive information back to the user. Social media providers such as Facebook should also be held accountable for the lackluster approach concerning privacy in their services. While several states in America have adopted regulations on employee-employer relations concerning social media transparency in the workplace, much has to be done to ensure that all these activities are covered under law. However, while including the government in the effort to restore privacy in social media sites, it is crucial to acknowledge that the government may fail to be effective owing to the laissez faire structure of the social media environment, as well as the magnitude of the issue at hand (Drushel Kathleen, 2011). Reforms by Social Media Providers Social media providers play the largest role in ensuring that privacy is restored to users of their services. These providers should assess whether the purposes being used for social networking are suitable. Most services offered by social networking sited are developed for communication needs but are normally used for other corrupted functions, and this changes the whole purpose of the service. For instance, Facebook has a ‘Pages’ service that has been manipulated by adult companies and other indecent organizations making it lose its meaning altogether. These providers should also stress on the importance of anonymity while using these services. While it is evident that the providers avoid any loss of privacy to the user, they offer little or no information to direct the users on anonymity (Andrews, 2012). Informing the members that their private information could be made public will be informative and helpful in averting cases of privacy loss. Conclusion Eventually, the current trends in the universe point towards an increased dependence on the Internet, computers and the social media to assist in advertising, marketing and communication. With this affirmed as a fact, it is evident that privacy and security issues will continue to plague individuals, communities and organizations within these social media networks. However, gaining information on security and privacy measures will go a long way in ensuring that an individual can shield themselves or their business from most of these negative aspects of privacy loss in social applications (Clark, 2010). The notion that businesses will continue to grapple for accounts in prominent social media sites such as Facebook, Orkut, My Space and Twitter is inevitable. It would be senseless and imprudent to write off the possibilities completely that social media can open up for a business. While making that statement, social media can also be the main factor creating losses and wastage of time for an individual or an organization given the rapid increase in privacy and security problems with the advancement of social media. In some cases, these problems are worsened by the approaches taken by social media companies making it a very insecure marketing tool. References A. M. Kaplan and M. Haenlein, The challenges and opportunities of social media, Business Horizons, Vol. 53, Issue 1 (61), 2010. A. P. Mintz, Web of Deceit: Misinformation and Manipulation in the Age of Social Media. Medford, N.J.: CyberAge Books, 2012. B. Drushel, and G. M. Kathleen, The Ethics of Emerging Media: Information, Social Norms, and New Media Technology. New York: Continuum, 2011. C. Leitch, and H. Thomas, Realistic Supervision of Technology and Social Media in the Public Workplace. Public Risk. 2012. D. Politis, J. K. Phaedon, and I. Ioannis, Socioeconomic and Legal Implications of Electronic Intrusion. Hershey, Pa: Information Science Reference, 2009. H. Bidgoli, Global Perspectives in Information Security: Legal, Social and International Issues. Hoboken, N.J.: J. Wiley Sons, 2009. H. Hogan, Social Media and the New Surveillance: Facebook and Twitter Bring with Them New Counterterrorism Tools - and New Issues for the Public. Hstoday. 2012. H. Lindskog, and L. Stefan. Web Site Privacy with P3P. Indianapolis, Ind: Wiley Pub, 2003. J. McMenamin, Risks and Benefits of Using Social Media. Disaster Recovery Journal. 2010. J. Pierson, Online Privacy in Social Media: A Conceptual Exploration of Empowerment and Vulnerability. Communications and Strategies. No. 88: 99-120. 2012 J. R. Clark, Social Media and Privacy. Air Medical Journal. 2010 J. Tang, W. Chen, and J. Wang. A Study on the P3P Problem. Lecture Notes in Computer Science. no. 5226: 422-429. 2008. K. J. Strandburg S. R. Daniela, Privacy and Technologies of Identity: A Cross-Disciplinary Conversation. New York: Springer Science. Business Media, 2006. L. B. Andrews, I Know Who You Are and I Saw What You Did: Social Networks and the Death of Privacy. New York: Free Press, 2012. L. Ruff and S. Winn. #Privacy Tweet Addressing Privacy Concerns in the Day of Social Media. Cupertino, Calif: THINKaha, 2010. R. Agrawal, J. Kiernan, R. Srikant, and Y. Xu, Implementing P3P Using Database Technology. Proceedings of the international conference on data engineering. no. Edit 19: 595-606. 2003. S. Trepte, and R. Leonard, Privacy Online Perspectives on Privacy and Self-Disclosure in the Social Web. New York: Springer-Verlag, 2011. X. Tang, and C. C. Yang, Social Network Integration and Analysis Using a Generalization and Probabilistic Approach for Privacy Preservation. BioMed Central Ltd. BioMed Central Ltd, 2012. Y. Huijsman, L. Jolanda, G. Rilana, and K. Mara. Social media for seniors: personal and business communication through social networking. [Netherlands]: Visual Steps, 2012.

Sublimation Process

Sublimation Process Sublimation is the term for when matter undergoes a phase transition directly from a solid to gaseous form, or vapor, without passing through the more common liquid phase between the two. It is a specific case of vaporization. Sublimation refers to physical changes of transition, and not to cases where solids convert into gas due to a chemical reaction. Because the physical change from a solid into a gas requires the addition of energy into the substance, it is an example of an endothermic change. How Sublimation Works Phase transitions are dependent upon the temperature and pressure of the material in question. Under normal conditions, as generally described by kinetic theory, adding heat causes the atoms within a solid to gain energy and become less tightly bound to each other. Depending on the physical structure, this usually causes the solid to melt into liquid form. If you look at the phase diagrams, which is a graph that depicts the states of matter for various pressures and volumes. The triple point on this diagram represents the minimum pressure for which the substance can take on the liquid phase. Below that pressure, when the temperature drops below the level of the solid phase, it transitions directly into the gas phase. The consequence of this is that if the triple point is at high pressure, as in the case of solid carbon dioxide (or dry ice), then sublimation is actually easier than melting the substance since the high pressures needed to turn them into liquids are typically a challenge to create. Uses for Sublimation One way to think about this is that if you want to have sublimation, you need to get the substance beneath the triple point by lowering the pressure. A method that chemists often employ is placing the substance in a vacuum and applying heat, in a device called a sublimation apparatus. The vacuum means that the pressure is very low, so even a substance that usually melts into liquid form will sublimate directly into vapor with the addition of the heat. This is a method used by chemists to purify compounds and was developed in the pre-chemistry days of alchemy as a means of creating purified vapors of elements. These purified gases can then go through a process of condensation, with the end result being a purified solid, since either the temperature of sublimation or the temperature of condensation would be different for the impurities than for the desired solid. One note of consideration on what I described above: condensation would actually take the gas into a liquid, which would then freeze back into a solid. It would also be possible to reduce the temperature while retaining the low pressure, keeping the whole system beneath the triple point, and this would cause a transition directly from gas into solid. This process is called deposition.

Labour Law (feminism) [ question in the box ] Essay

Labour Law (feminism) [ question in the box ] - Essay Example , self-employed and assumed all economic risks with respect to her earnings.1 This case reveals the complexities of the debate over the feasibility of considering sex workers who are by and large ‘service providers’ in an entertainment industry as employees and in doing so engages the feminist debate over whether or not sex workers are legitimate employees.2 The feminist debate on sex work is divided into two opposing views. On the one hand, radical feminists view sex work as nothing more than a facilitator of male ‘sexual aggression’ against women.3 Indeed the male power theme associated with prostitution is captured by those who liken prostitution with slavery and thus conjures up reflections of white slavery. However, within the European Union (EU), anti-prostitution policies are typically aimed at eliminating street prostitution and treating prostitution as a public nuisance that is primarily an involuntary career choice.4 On the other hand, post-modern liberal feminists argue that women are free to do as they wish with their ‘own bodies and sexuality’.5 Thus liberal feminists take the position that sex workers are voluntarily engaged in sex work and in should be protected as any other worker should be. Thus from the radical feminists’ perspective, sex work should be banned. From the perspective of the postmodern liberal feminists, sex work is a valid and legitimate form of work and should therefore be regulated as such.6 The radical feminists’ perspective hinges on abrogation which is influenced by dominance feminist theory which views sex work as an exploitation of women.7 Postmodern liberal feminists on the other hand propose a ‘theoretical model of sex-worker rights’.8 However, when the definition of employee is taken into account, the feasibility of sex-worker rights is questionable. This is because an employee by definition is an individual requiring protection from an employer who is in turn obligated to protect his or her

Analysis of Violence Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Analysis of Violence - Essay Example We have characters that are considered as the models who defied the violence as a means to achieve their objectives. Probably the paramount example is of Jesus Christ. Records suggest that Jesus was a pacifist and the dictionary definition of Pacifist suggest someone as opposed to the violence. There is a very famous saying associated with Jesus that if someone slaps on your right cheek, give him the left too. His teachings and methods were greatly opposed to the violence as a means to achieve the objectives. Though the political situation at that time was extremely volatile and violence would have been the most natural reaction however the same was not the case. Though evidence suggests that followers of Jesus were violent in their response to Jesus cruxification, however, Jesus himself as a prophet, as a leader and political activist. (Rational Chrastinity, 2008). The second personality which we are going to discuss is the personality of Mahatma Gandhi. Mahatma Gandhi oversaw one of the brightest freedom struggles in the World. The liberation of India from the British rule was one of the longest and bloodiest freedom struggles, however, Gandhi, by adopting the principles of HANSA, refused to adopt violence as the mean to achieve his objectives. His Sataygra or Non-Violence Movement is considered as one of the most organized political efforts of non-violence where the whole India was united in their peaceful protest against the British Occupation. (BBC, 2000). The political history of also further suggests that Gandhi, who was killed by a Hindu, stood for the rights of divided India when India was separated into two states of Pakistan and India. It was because of these reasons that he was awarded the prestigious MAN OF THE CENTURY nomination at the turn of the new century. The similarity between these two personalities is the fact they both adapted peace as the mean of achieving their objectives though at the cost of their own lives.

United Nations Essay Example for Free

United Nations Essay â€Å"The UN is made up of 191 nations from around the world. It is frequently called the UN. It was established in 1945 soon after the Second World War as a means of bringing people together and to avoid war. The UN logo depicts the world held in the olive branches of peace†. (CBBC Newsround) United Nations: Post Cold War Era The United Nations is considered to be an international entity that has â€Å"struggled with the challenges of globalization for several years, especially since the Asian financial crisis† (Ruggie, 2003, p. 1); it has power, according to one people, to solve the international issues such as wars; however to another group of people, the United Nations has its own certain limitations beyond which it cannot operate or seems not to be operating. The very first evidence in this regard when the United Nations is seen almost completely paralyzed despite with all its might is the Cold War era that stretched over 40 years. In this connection, Holmes (1993) informs us that â€Å"For over 40 years, the Cold War conflict between the United States and the Soviet Union paralyzed the peacekeeping functions of the United Nations. With few exceptions, the United Nations and other multinational organizations were ineffective in resolving major conflicts because of the zero-sum nature of the Cold War†. In 1993, Holmes critically reviewed the United Nations’ operation in the scenario of the Post Cold War era and that time he came up with the observation that the United Nations had a heavy hand put by the United States of America. He tells us that the United Nations operations like peacemaking, peace-enforcement, and military involvement were limited for certain reasons such as the huge monetary aid, the troops contribution by world states to back up the United Nations’ force. These limitations, according to Holms, kept United Nations a body that was not independently powerful to take actions against any mayhem going on in the world. He tells us of the U. S. policymakers that how they would look for the loopholes where they could make a way into the controlling of the United Nations so the national sovereignty could be secured: â€Å"The challenge for U. S. policy makers is to identify these circumstances and to develop guidelines for ensuring that U. S. interests are protected. The United States should, in this regard, be sensitive to three variables: (1) how a peacekeeping operation affects American national security; (2) how much it costs; and (3) the degree to which it erodes American sovereignty† (Holmes, 1993, p. 1). The kernel point to Holmes (1993) is that the United Nations is not a free body to work without pressure from a country (the U. S. ) so â€Å"if it attempts to overreach its powers, and pretends to be an independent force in international politics, the United Nations will surely fail in maintaining any kind of world peace and stability† (Holmes, 1993, p. 1). Moving ahead we witness a similar remark made by O’Brien (2003) that â€Å"The United Nations was conceived by the United States 60 years ago to express, embody and extend American ideals†; yet there is another observation by Goff (2003) that the United Nations is only as strong as is the will of the states which run it: â€Å"The United Nations system relies on the collective will of all its members. It is these member states that set its priorities. The United Nations cannot act without their consent. It falls, therefore, upon us all to make the United Nations relevant in todays world† (2003, p. 1). Frankly speaking, In practice the United Nation has not developed as was first imagined initially it was composed mainly of the Allies of World War II, largely European major countries, , and nations of the Americas and Commonwealth countries. It was imagine as an organization of â€Å"peace-loving† nations, who were uniting to stop future aggression and for other humanitarian reasons. However, Close cooperation among members was predicted; and the Security Council especially was predicted to work in relative unanimity. Hopes for necessary accord were soon crashed by the frictions of the â€Å"cold war†, which impacted the functioning of both the Security Council and other UN organs. The United Nation has played a comparatively secondary role in the most world crises, including 1973; the Pakistan-India War of 1971; the Afghanistan war and Vietnam Israeli-Arab Wars of 1967. However in the very begging of 1970s the united nation amplified its activity in the development of less dominant countries. (Schuijt, 2005) â€Å"Even as the U. N. is called on to tackle enormous problems like ethnic, state and religious conflicts and sustainable use of natural resources, the organization reflects the imbalance of power that exists between powerful and weak nations† (Schuijt, 2005) Certainly, it would be true to say that some dominant countries are using the United Nations as a vehicle for their own interest and rule over the world. David Shorr cited the great example on this thing in â€Å"world have the UN they deserve by saying that the â€Å"The UN is only as strong or as week as governments want it to be. Member states should stop using the UN as a â€Å"scapegoat† for governments’ failure to achieve international consensus. The UN cannot change on its own; the responsibility lies with governments to implement reform in the best interest of the UN†. (Shorr, 2006) Many developing countries’ leaders opine that the UN in every aspect discriminates between developing and non-developing countries. Moreover, the UN is playing a dual role for different countries in every aspect, whether politics, social norms, safety, security etc. for instance, Bahamas continues to emphasize the need for bigger and more comprehensive discussion of globalization and its effects on the well-being of concerned commonwealths, with the United Nations given a role in solving these issues. Further they quoted that, we have continuously expressed dangerous concerns over certain decisions by the United Nations or its organs that were not coherent with the aims and intentions of the Charter. However, nothing was done to right the wrong. When errors are discovered, it becomes our obligation to correct them. They further emphasized, that UN should go over the legal political basis of its own undertakings in the period of 1950s and 1960s in relation to the cardinal rights of our Melanesian sisters and brothers in the Asia-Pacific region, especially in West Papua and the UN must not in this â€Å"The United Nations cannot and must not, in this new millennium, carry on to turn a blind eye on its own past failures, which has led UN to three long, agonizing decades of injustice, tragedy and guerrilla warfare in West Papua. It is morally, politically and legally wrong to do so. The Organization has competent bodies, such as the Special Committee on decolonization or the International Court of Justice, which should look into the matter. The Netherlands -– the former colonial Power –- should recognize its share of the responsibility in helping to resolve the situation of West Papua in a peaceful and transparent manner. †(World Leaders Adopt, 2000) But on the other hand, developing countries member like the US and UK deploring this fact that they are using the UN for their own interests and they also believe that being a powerful member of the UN they have to offset things in an news paper article published in June 16,2005 in Los Angles Times US put US reforms first and declared that â€Å"United States — a veto-holding member of the council along with Britain, France, Russia and China — believes that a bigger group would not necessarily be better†. (Farley, 2005) Another example is the Republic of Paula who surely believes that the UN will strive hard to embrace the remaining non-member nations around the globe. And in this aspect, they hope that the UN will change his rigorous attitude towards developing countries. Besides this, they are confident that these goals at a certain extent are achievable like through the help of 2000 UN reforms. They further disclosed the facts that, â€Å"The United Nations has enabled smaller, developing and least developed countries, such as my own, to contribute to world peace in our own albeit small way. Whilst there have been measurable benefits from membership of the Organization, it also has the positive scope to deliver much more equitable changes†. (World Leaders Adopt, 2000) United Nations’ Reforms However, after 2000 the United Nations met severe criticism for its operations and seemingly dependence over the United States of America. Moreover, there were issues of better managing the in-organization matters such as security, funding, and so on. Thus, a series of reform episodes started making its place in the pages of United Nations’ history. It was expedited after the Iraq invasion by the United States of America as the â€Å"oil-for-food† became the household phrase of international politics. For example, President Bush’s frequently quoted remark â€Å"America will never seek a permission slip to defend the security of our country† is something that reminds us of the absolute power days when slavery was practiced. (Schaefer and B. Kim, 2004) Thus, all these mayhem led people such as Annan to come up with some solid say that would, at least on the surface, guarantee the impartial role of the United Nations in the world and the through some solid reforms. As such Annan came up with the three major areas that needed to be redefined for the better operations of the United Nations. These were: development, security, and human right. These opened up for the public in the year 2005 and â€Å"The secretary general’s report [was] based on tow earlier studies. One was done by the committee he appointed [in 2004] to propose U. N. reforms. The second study was about how to meet goals set five years ago for reducing world poverty in half by twenty fifteen. † (Gollust, 2005) Nonetheless, by seeing the US 2000 reforms one can easily understand that the US government uses the UN for their own countries political interests to a certain extent, it is believed that America and some other dominant countries being a Vito power uses UN as a scapegoat. But on the other hand American denies these facts in a news paper article â€Å"George Mitchell, a former U. S. Senate majority leader and a co-chairman of the Task Force on the United Nations, which was created by the U. S. Congress, said he had encountered objections to American sponsorship of the reforms and had tried to combat them. Its wrong to think that reform is a favor done for the U. S. , he said. I make the argument to countries that their long-range interest is served by supporting this. While we have indicated that this is an American priority that is a conclusion that they ought to be reaching for themselves. † (Hoge, 2005) Moreover, 22nd Meeting of Chairmen/Coordinators of the Group of 77 held in Geneva in 7-9 july 1997, the chirman said that â€Å"The United Nations must carry out its mandated, comprehensive role in the economic and social areas. This includes policy analysis, consensus building, policy formulation and coordination, and delivery of technical assistance to developing countries† (22nd Meeting of Chairmen, 1997) This is an area for more study, to see the Iran ongoing nuclear scenario one would easily conceive the role of the UN in Iran nuclear technology. In this regard, The Irani government countinously accusing the UN. â€Å"Ahmadinejad said while giving interview in CBC News in Sep 19, 2006 they were transparent, peaceful and under the watchful eye of United Nations inspectors. He questioned why his country was being denied its own nuclear program when others have not†. (CBC News, 2006) In January 1992, Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt assumed as the UN’s first post-Cold War Secretary General under the enormous pressure from the US and also from the lobby groups like the ICC (International Chamber of Commerce), he instantly set to work reforming the secretariat and annihilating programs that drew the acutest corporate warned by his advisors that the IMF and world bank based in Washington DC and under big influence by the United States treasury had a comparative degree of advantage over the united nation in the both macro and micro economic policy domain and that the united nation lose creditability if it for some reason did not scale back its efforts in this area. The UN secretary general’s official believes that the â€Å"UN â€Å"must change or die† and that it must reach out to â€Å"new actors† in a globalizing world, beyond the nation-state members†. (Paine, 2000) Conclusion The United Nations must abandon the double-standard and come up with the peaceful solutions to maintain the security and peace, combat problems such as environmental degradation, diseases and terrorism and guarantee a dialogue among nations. â€Å"The developing countries should be helped to reduce their foreign debt. Throughout its history, the United Nations has achieved enormous successes, including the solution of various conflicts throughout the world†. (World Leaders Adopt, 2000) In the end, I would like to say that it would be good for the world that the UN must abandon double standards between dominant and developing countries and should come up with peaceful solution for the sake both world security and safety. The first duty of the UN should assure all countries in terrorism, disease, environmental degradation and so on. Obviously, the developing countries should be giving sufficient help in unburden their foreign debts. The duty of the United Nations is to promote and develop like Somalia and other African regions. The United Nations should provide equality guarantee to underdeveloped in terms of every thing human rights to politics. References 22nd Meeting of Chairmen/Coordinators of the Group of 77 Chapters Geneva, 7-9 July 1997, Statement Of Principles on UN reform Brett D. Schaefer and Anthony B. Kim (July 9, 2004). Forging Freedom Coalitions to Promote U. S. Priorities in the United Nations CBBC Newsround | UNITED NATIONS | What is the UN? http://news. bbc. co. uk/cbbcnews/hi/find_out/guides/world/united_nations/newsid_1721000/1721851. stm Accessed, April 18, 2007 CBC News UN being abused by West: Iranian PM (Tuesday, September 19, 2006) David Shorr, March 7, 2006 World Leaders Have the UN they Deserve Ellen Paine (October 2000), The Road to the Global Compact: Corporate Power And The Battle Over global public policy at the united Nations John Gerard Ruggie (2003). The United Nations and Globalization: Patterns and Limits of Institutional Adaptation. Global Governance, 9(3), 301+ Kim R. Holmes (1993). New world disorder: A critique of the United Nations. Journal of International Affairs, 46(2), 323-340. Columbia University School of International Public Affairs Martin Schuijt (November 29, 2005). The Mother of All Coalitions. (November 30, 2005). Inter Press Service Maggie Farley, News paper article, Los Angeles Times (June 16, 2005), US Puts UN Reform First, Official Says Press Release: (8 September 2000). World Leaders Adopt ‘United Nations Millennium Declaration’ At Conclusion of Extraordinary Three-Day Summit

Korean Buddhism :: Religion Korea Religious Essays

Korean Buddhism Buddhism was first brought from China to the Korean peninsula in the year 372 CE. At this time the dominant and traditional religion was Shamanism. While Shamanism was the belief in animism and nature-spirit worship, Buddhism expressed the idea that human beings as well as nature possess spirits and should be included in the rites of worship. This had no conflict with Shamanism and so it was easily adapted. The early elementary forms of Buddhism believed primarily in cause and effect related to the path of happiness (Buddhapia). More recent applications of Buddhist monks’ time goes to solving conflicts within different sects of Buddhism or among other religions. They also devote a great deal of time to solving doctrinal inconsistencies (Charles Muller). More traditionally a basic concept of Buddhism is that of interpenetration (t’ung) in which one must move along a path that has already been opened and just needs to be traversed. This is especially relevant in that of a sage’s mind capable of â€Å"penetrating† (understanding) the principles of things. Penetration as Charles Muller says, â€Å"Is a basic underpinning of both the Great Learning and the Doctrine of the Mean, in both of which the inner and outer aspects of the person are understood to penetrate each other such that quality of the person's inner mind is always discernible in his outer appearance†. Other important aspects of Korean Buddhism are individuality, mental foundation and ideology, philosophical reformation movement, and the pursuit of harmonization and unification. Individuality is found all throughout the Buddhist culture where there are many different approaches to meditation, studying sutras and chanting. Buddhist ideology assisted in the foundation of many aspects of Korean culture including socio-political issues. Korean Buddhists devoted their thought to philosophical reformation in the overcoming of fixed concepts. Buddhism developed different levels as each one reached its level of conceptual development. A Buddhist’s final stage comes when their teacher sees that they are fit and sends them off to become a full member of the monastic community in which they will have five days of training and lectures before the actual ceremony (Buddhapia).

“Ode to an Orange” by Larry Woiwode Essay

Ode to an Orange by Larry Woiwode is an evocative essay that brought many of my memories back. I became part of the story by experiencing what the author was describing. Larry incites all of our senses with the sharp description of an orange that for most of us is simply another fruit. The smell produced when we squeeze it, and its spherical orange shape gives us the sensation of being there. This essay made me think about the different ways we look at an orange. Most of us are accustomed to the conventional way of seeing an orange. However, for some people an orange is a lot more than merely a fruit. The author emphasizes in the importance of an orange for him. One example of this emphasis is at line 10 when he mentions; â€Å"There was no depth of degradation that we wouldn’t descend to in order to get one†. This tells me that the author not only liked oranges, but that he was passionate about enjoying the flavor and texture of an orange. I think that the author feels in this way because the orange brings some of his most memorable times back. He clearly remembers the way her mother used to tease him and his brother. He emphasizes this by repeating his thoughts in the end. I enjoyed reading this story because I can relate with what the author writes. In the summers of my childhood, there was no better flavor than the originated by a cold orange juice. After reading this story, I felt a strong desire to buy some oranges and make a glass of cold juice, and the fact that is summer now; greatly complements it. Finally, this story has made me more aware of the ordinary things we have around us. Everything is an interesting topic for writing, and as the book mentions, we need to be more perceptive with our environment. Larry has a unique way to make us feel inside the story. He reminds me that before theaters and television was writing. We only need our imagination to create the most beautiful stories.

Climate Change Lab Report

I. Introductiona. In this lab, the question being investigated is, â€Å"Has climate changed over time?† b. The hypothesis is, â€Å"If CO2 levels affect climate, then the climate has changed overtime because of the increased greenhouse effect caused by higher levels of CO2 emissions.† c. Variables:1. Independent Variable: Amount of CO2 2. Dependent Variable: Climate changeII. Background InformationClimate is the weather pattern in an area over long period of time. Climate is more focused on the long term rather than day to day or week to week changes. Due to uneven heating of the Earth’s surface, climate changes depending on where the location is on the planet. Factors such as incoming solar energy, Earth’s rotation, and air and water movements all affect an area’s climate. Different levels of these factors influence the biomes on the planet.The current climate change is the warming of Earth’s atmosphere. Climate change has happened naturall y all throughout history, but never to the degree that it is now. Average global temperature and CO2 levels are rising due to human activity on the planet such as increased agriculture, raising livestock, and burning fossil fuels. Now it is known that climate change is happening for a many reasons. Scientists studying ice cores, seafloor sediment, and tree rings are all seeing how the climate change is affecting the planet.Even if immediate action is taken, there would still be lasting implications on the entire planet. Things such as rising sea levels, health implications, and severe droughts could all happen because of an increase atmosphere temperature. While some areas would be subjected to scorching temperatures, other would be plunged underwater. Warmer climate would allow for a longer breeding season for microbes and parasites. Action to stop climate change  needs to happen as soon as possible before it could get worse.III. Data AnalysisAfter looking at the data, it is clea r that the levels of CO2 in the atmosphere directly affect the temperature of Earth’s climate. As the graphs show, the higher the levels of CO2 in the atmosphere, the higher the average global air temperature is.Graph 1 shows how the rise in carbon dioxide has caused the average global air temperature to rise. For example, in 1965 the CO2 part per million (ppm) was roughly at 318ppm, and later in 2005 the CO2 levels were at about 374ppm. This clearly shows how the CO2 ppm levels have risen over time due to various human activity on the planet.In Graph 2, the average global temperature over time is shown. This graph shows how the average global temperature anomaly has risen dramatically over the course of about 120 years. In 1900 the average global temperature anomaly was -0.1, while in 2000 is was almost at 0.6.In Graph 3, the relationship between temperature and carbon dioxide is shown over very long periods of time on Earth. From 400,000 years ago until present, the lines m apping out the temperature and CO2 levels in the atmosphere have stayed almost overlapping each other the entire time. It is also shown how the CO2 levels have affected the temperature. The CO2 levels have always changed first, falling or rising, with the temperature following that same trend almost immediately after.In Chart 1, tree core data over time is shown. The growth of trees is greatly impacted by the climate that they grow in, and with warmer temperatures due to a warmer climate they will have a longer growing season allowing for thicker rings. For example, in 1600-1649 the average ring thickness on a tree has 0.24cm. Later, in 1900-1960 the average ring thickness from the same tree was 0.37cm.IV. ConclusionThe original hypothesis stated that if CO2 levels affect climate, then the climate has changed overtime because of the increased greenhouse effect caused by higher levels of CO2 emissions. The data gathered supports and accepts this hypothesis. It is shown by multiple st udies how both the CO2 parts per million and the average global temperature has risen over time. As the graphs show, the level of CO2 in the atmosphere has a direct impact on the average global temperature, causing the temperature to rise and fall as the levels of CO2 rise and fall.This lab is very important to the planet, and the everyday lives of everyone on the planet. Climate change has an impact on all life on Earth, and even just a one degree change in average global temperature could end with catastrophic results. Even with immediate action, there will still be lasting implications on the planet. People can no longer ignore the changing climate, or pretend that it’s not going to affect them. Humans have had a huge negative impact on the climate, and for the benefit of not only themselves but for life as we know it, such impacts need to be reversed.

The eNotes Blog Happy Birthday, Pablo Neruda Quotes about Life (andLove)

Happy Birthday, Pablo Neruda Quotes about Life (andLove) Born in Chile on July 12, 1904, we recognize Pablo Neruda 112 years later as a political activist and eclectic poet. As a Communist holding several Chilean governmental posts, Neruda  faced danger when Radical Party presidential candidate Gabriel Gonzlez Videla turned against the Communist Party. After the Communist Party was banned from Chile over the course of the next year, he traveled around Europe whilst in exile and began writing. One of his most famous works, Tonight I Can Write, was highly controversial  for being sexually explicit. In contrast, Nerudas Ode to My Socks is a great example of his  odes that celebrate and praise everyday objects. Head on over to to  ask a question about Pablo Neruda, or browse answered questions that others have already asked! Sources and further reading: /topics/tonight-can /topics/pablo-neruda-adam-feinstein /topics/pablo-neruda goodreads.com/author/quotes/4026.Pablo_Neruda

Using Readability Formulas

Using Readability Formulas Any readability formula is one of many methods of measuring or predicting the difficulty level of text by analyzing sample passages. A conventional readability formula measures average word length and sentence length to provide a grades and Observations, below. Five popular readability formulas are the Dale-Chall readability formula (Dale Chall 1948), the Flesch readability formula (Flesch 1948), the FOG index readability formula (Gunning 1964), the Fry readability graph (Fry, 1965), and the Spache readability formula (Spache, 1952). Examples and Observations: Because researchers have been examining readability formulas for almost 100 years, the research is comprehensive and reflects both the positive and negative aspects of formulas. Essentially, research firmly supports that sentence length, and word difficulty provide viable mechanisms for estimating difficulty, but they are imperfect. . . .As with many tools that work with normally developing readers, readability formulas may require some tweaking when the target population includes struggling readers, learning-disabled readers, or English language learners. When readers have little or no background knowledge, readability formula results may underestimate the difficulty of the material for them, particularly for English language learners. (Heidi Anne E. Mesmer, Tools for Matching Readers to Texts: Research-Based Practices. The Guilford Press, 2008) Readability Formulas and Word Processors Today many widely used word processors offer readability formulas along with spell checkers and grammar checkers. Microsoft Word provides a Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level. Many teachers use the Lexile Framework, a scale from 0 to 2000 that is based on average sentence length and average word frequency of texts found in an extensive database, the American Heritage Intermediate Corpus (Carroll, Davies, Richman, 1971). The Lexile Framework circumvents the need to perform ones own calculations. (Melissa Lee Farrall, Reading Assessment: Linking Language, Literacy, and Cognition. John Wiley Sons, 2012) Readability Formulas and Textbook Selection There are probably more than 100 readability formulas currently in use today. They are widely used by teachers and administrators as a way of predicting if a text is written at a level appropriate for the students who will use it. While we can say with relative ease that readability formulas are fairly reliable, we need to be cautious in using them. As Richardson and Morgan (2003) point out, readability formulas are useful when textbook selection committees need to make a decision but have no students available to try out the materials on, or when teachers want to assess materials that students may be asked to read independently. Basically, a readability formula is a quick and easy way to determine the grade level of written material. However, we must remember that it is only one measure, and the grade level obtained is only a predictor and thus may not be exact (Richardson and Morgan, 2003). (Roberta L. Sejnost and Sharon Thiese, Reading and Writing Across Content Areas, 2nd ed. Cor win Press, 2007) The Misuse of Readability Formulas as Writing Guides One source of opposition to readability formulas is that they are sometimes misused as writing guides. Because formulas tend to have just two major inputs- word length or difficulty, and sentence length- some authors or editors have taken just these two factors and modified writing. They sometimes end up with a bunch of short choppy sentences and moronic vocabulary and say that they did it because of a readability formula. Formula writing, they sometimes call it. This is a misuse of any readability formula. A readability formula is intended to be used after the passage is written to find out for whom it is suitable. It is not intended as a writers guide.(Edward Fry, Understanding the Readability of Content Area Texts. Content Area Reading and Learning: Instructional Strategies, 2nd ed., edited by Diane Lapp, James Flood, and Nancy Farnan. Lawrence Erlbaum, 2004)Dont bother with the readability statistics. . . . The averages of sentences per paragraph, words per sentence, and characte rs per word have little relevance. The Passive Sentences, Flesch Reading Ease, and Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level are computed statistics that dont accurately assess how easy or hard the document is to read. If you want to know whether a document is hard to understand, ask a colleague to read it. (Ty Anderson and Guy Hart-Davis, Beginning Microsoft Word 2010. Springer, 2010) Also Known As: readability metrics, readability test

Changes in media and its effects on personal, social and work lives Essay

Changes in media and its effects on personal, social and work lives - Essay Example However, all this came to change with the fast development of technology. Before we knew it, we had television, and all this changed everything because we could not only hear the news but could also see who was presenting it as well as videos of the news itself. It has indeed been a privilege for me to live long enough to see the development of media from its infancy to where it is today. Question: What are your feelings concerning the development of the Internet and social networking? Granddad: it is quite fascinating how the technology for transmitting media has developed and how fast that development has been. The things that we used to think were impossible have now become reality and this is something quite extraordinary. The Internet is a technology that I did not become aware of until sometime in the mid nineties when it was first introduced to me. I found it to be most useful because I could use email to send information, which I would have otherwise sent by mail, and I could find information instantly online, without having to go to a library, as used to be the case. I have come to adapt to this new technology like a fish in water, because it has made my life all much easier, especially now that I do not move around as much as I used to. I am an avid user of social networking sites such as Facebook, where I have come to encounter plenty of information as well as made many friends. I have also been able to rekindle old relationships with people whom I knew when I was younger, but life put us in different paths. Furthermore, the different sources of news have ensured that any biased news can be detected. I personally prefer watching news online and during the Iraq War, recently, I used to watch Al Jazeera and BBC to get a balanced picture of the news. Question: Which media do you think has managed to survive way into the modern times? Granddad: In my opinion, I believe that television, and most especially cartoons, have not lost the charm that kept peopl e hooked to them. When I was young, I used to love the Disney cartoons and I followed them every chance I got. I still see the same fascination in cartoons among kids today and this, I believe, is continuity. Personally, I am still a huge fan of cartoons because they not only remind me of my younger days but also make me laugh, something that I have to admit, has become extremely rare for me in other forms of entertainment. Question: What was the relationship between politicians and media, and has this relationship changed? Granddad: In previous decades, it was extremely difficult to find politicians who were open with any form of media. In fact, media was always treated with suspicion because of the belief that their main purpose was to destroy political careers by creating scandals. This, I believe, has changed since many politicians have come to embrace the media to further their own political careers. President Obama in the United States is an example of this new trend among pol iticians. He has used the media so well that he has managed to maintain his popularity where other presidents would have fallen from grace. I may add that media has come to influence change in society because without it, the Americans would not have been able to elect a black president. Essay Media has experienced plenty of changes, especially from the mid twentieth century to the present day. It has not only led to the development of better means of communication between people but has