Thursday, November 28, 2019

Aids Descrimnation Is Bad Essays - HIVAIDS In Australia,

Aids Descrimnation Is Bad Discrimination is a concern for people worldwide because they have had personal experience throughout their daily routines. When it comes to people with aids, many people around the world have thought about the subject many times, and have developed their state of mind towards them. Also, people have learned to live with while others ignore the problem. One problem that may not concern many is discrimination to people with aids in school. The question here is; does aids influence schools to admit pupils? Does aid influence in teacher's grading methods? A survey done by Mauricio Murguia to six college students gave us a quite description of how more or less people think and feel about students with aids: Miriam Maciel from El Paso Community College answered, ? I don't think it is right for people to judge people with deceases because what happens to one, may happen to another. I act normal when I am aware that a person that surround me has aids and I also treat that person equally?. Another three students from UTEP answered the same. Rafael Brunet a student from Kettering University in Michigan answered that he does everything in his power to avoid people with aids and that he feels uncomfortable around these people and mostly if they are homosexuals. Luis Davalos from the TEC De Monterrey in Mexico answered that he hates people with aids because the have the decease because of irresponsibility. Also Luis Davalos told us that he couldn't see a homosexual because he is filled with anger. It is hard to make others think a way in which we think is correct and this is because we all have different points of view. I myself had an experience, which I think I will never forget. I was dating a girl about 15 months ago, and it was a normal relationship but after some time of seeing this girl I started to point out certain changes in her behavior. I thought it was because of me or because she was not happy with me so I talked to her and asked her what was wrong. She confessed to me that she had aids and that she did not know what to do. I was surprised with her confession but I could not talk for the moment. We stopped seeing each other for about two weeks. Finally I called her and asked her what she had done. She went to see a doctor and she was receiving medical assistance for her decease. I was calm and we never dated again but I still see once in a while. I call her sometimes, she calls me but we never loose contact. From my personal point of view I think that this was the best decision to take towards her and I am at peace to know that she is taken care of but I may confess that for a while I felt uncomfortable. It is hard to say how you would react towards someone if you encountered a person with the aids virus. You would have to live it to know, but it is important to be well informed with what is going on to be ready to make immediate decisions. How would you act? Medicine Essays

Sunday, November 24, 2019

Standard of living essays

Standard of living essays Standard of Living and the Quality of Life Todays companies should not be responsible for the standard of living and quality of life of their foreign suppliers. Many of the major companies like Nike and Mercedes-Benz have moved their factories overseas or in other countries because of the minimum taxes and regulations. For instance a celebrity was recently under fire for having her clothes made in India. They were making around 70 cents a day. Being Americans we thought they were getting ripped off and that the celebrity was taking advantage of the people working for them, in fact they probably were, but we do not know how much money you need to survive to live in India. It might be $0.05 a day or it might be a lot more. It is not right for us to tell other people in foreign countries how to live. We cant just go to India and say You need to build your houses like we do in America. The minimum wage here is $6.75, etc. It is not our right to do that. Foreign countries have a different standard of living than the Un ited States. Companies should be responsible for making and keeping their employees happy. The companies should not be responsible for their quality of living. Companies do not know how their employees would like to live. All the companies need to do is keep their employees happy in the work place. Once they are off the job they can do whatever they want to make them happy. Their employers should not be held responsible for how they live their life outside of work. ...

Thursday, November 21, 2019

A Strategic Plan to Involve School-Family-Community Partnerships via Essay

A Strategic Plan to Involve School-Family-Community Partnerships via Service Learning - Essay Example An example of this is when students in a math class volunteer to tutor younger students in a poor community, they are able to harness their mathematics skills and improve on it. If they impart the lessons that they have learned and teach it to younger kids who have no knowledge of the skill, they tend to repeat it and eventually master the skill. The mastery comes from practice rather than just having examinations or drills inside the classroom. Their retention rates also improve. Service-learning fosters social growth. Students can contribute to their community by actively participating in community projects. This could be illustrated when a group of students who just studied about recycling wastes to protect the environment initiate a project in the community and collect wastes, segregate them and recycle those which are recyclable. This project will promote the students’ social growth because they are able to interact with the members of the community and at the same time h elp make their environment clean. Students are not only the ones benefitted by service-learning. Even their parents can take part in the service-learning activities to show their support for their children. It then becomes a collaborative effort between students, school administrators, parents, community leaders and members. A specific activity where parents can show their support is by assisting their children collect old clothes, books or shoes among the affluent members of the neighborhood and distribute them to the underprivileged ones. These types of projects will foster community involvement. For those who participate in the activity, it gives them a sense of self-fulfillment because they know that they are sharing their time and effort to the poor members of the community. Students use their skills in real-life situations rather than just learning about them in the classroom. They become critical thinkers and may even suggest solutions regarding problems in their communities. One important advantage of incorporating service-learning into the curricula of students is that it hones the leadership skills of students. Students do not have to rely on their teachers to take the lead in partaking in community activities; they themselves can think of projects which they know can benefit the community. There are several service-learning activities that have been undertaken by students from different schools. One worthy project which may serve to supplement a middle-grade school class in biology is the setting up of vegetable gardens in vacant lots within the community near the school. Since the students learn how plants grew, they can try their hands at planting. What better way to practice what they learn but through creating their own vegetable gardens. In that way, they are able to put into productive use the vacant lots that are just idle. The vegetables that will be produced will then be distributed among the poor people in the neighborhood for their own co nsumption. Truly, in this type of activity, students become involved in the community and at the same time they get to learn their biology in a more interesting approach. â€Å"From Coffee to Compost† is another worthwhile project implemented by students in Bozeman, Montana (United States Environmental Protection Agency,

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Managing Intercultural Workforce Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Managing Intercultural Workforce - Case Study Example It is an in-flight meals provider for the airline industry companies that operates in 29 countries and employs 22,000 people, making 534,000 meals per day (Profile: Gate Gourmet, 2005, n/p). However, in August- September 2005 Gate Gourmet managed to get into the headings of almost every major business newspaper or magazine. The company has become a widely-cited example of airline industry outsourcing after some of the British Airlines employees joined the Gate Gourmet's workers for strike. In this paper I will assess the actions of Gate Gourmet management prior to and during the time of the strike and negotiations with regard to aspects of communication, decision-making, organizational culture and inter-organisational politics. Effective communication is of high importance to every organisation in every industry. Nevertheless, for the going through the hard times of restructuring and strategy rethinking airline industry companies it is a factor of extreme importance. ... According to the theory of equity which provides a simple framework for understanding how people decide whether they are being treated fairly in their relationships the distributive, procedural, and interactive dimensions of justice are distinguished between Perceptions of people that constitute base for the judgments about equity differ significantly, especially in the multicultural workforce environment like one at Gate Gourmet. If Gate Gourmet's management had properly addressed the notions of the distributive, procedural, and interactive justice, it would have lessen or prevent the escalation conflict that developed. Workers of Gate Gourmet, and British Airways employees that later joined them, went on strike not only because they perceived the job cuts to be unjust outcomes (distributive justice was not in place), but also because the procedures used and communication were not regarded as adequate for the situation. The latter aspect is addressed in the organizational behaviour theory as procedural and interactional justice. It focuses not on the final outcomes, but rather on the means deployed to get them. If the methods and procedures used to arrive at and implement decisions that affect the employee negatively are seen as fair, the reaction is likely to be much more positive than otherwise (Wagner & Hollenbeck, 2005, p. 235). To minimise the accumulating tension and anger among the employees and referent groups the Gate Gourmet management should have focused on procedures used. Emphasis on their consistency across time and other people, bias suppression, accuracy, correctability, ethicality and representativeness would be extremely important. Moreover, the

Monday, November 18, 2019

Pueblo woman by Roxanne Swentzell Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Pueblo woman by Roxanne Swentzell - Essay Example The sunglasses show how the artist is blending modernism in her art work. a) Conform to the theoretical model. The artwork that fails to conform to the theoretical models fails to be recognized significantly therefore not recognized equally. The artwork must conform to the standards and this has made many artworks not to be recognized. There is a medium that the artist has used. She has endeavored to have a message in her sculpt. The artistic work shows the popular culture within the popular culture. b) Break from tradition. Masterpieces that break from the tradition of the Native American art make the work and the artist to remain anonymous. Roxanne has not observed the tradition as she seeks to pursue post modernism. This is evidenced in the carvings where she shows the how the modern woman is supposed to put on. The modern culture is shown by the use of the modern glasses and the striped swimsuit. The artist is not geared to reveal history but shows the popular culture within the Pueblo woman. c) Political boundaries. The sculptor has avoided being influenced by politics. She has endeavored in representing lifestyle and cultures, especially in the women as she exhibits modernity. There is no political representation in the sculpt but she chooses to address the conflicting cultural frameworks and the expectation of the modern woman. The artist chose to use clay as a medium to do her sculpt. It has a smooth texture and the color is blended well to show essentialism and reality of the modern lady.

Friday, November 15, 2019

Impact of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) on Finances

Impact of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) on Finances Summary The objective of this research is to study the impact of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) on financial performance. The trend of CSR addresses a major challenge in providing a broader representation of the business environment, understood not simply in its economic and financial but also social, human and ecological through an operationalization and verification of the theoretical model proposed in a sample of Tunisian firms, evidenced by a questionnaire sent to 30 companies Tunisian drawn. The results are the lack of link between CSR and financial performance measured by the accounting ROA, while there is a positive if financial performance is measured by ROE. Keywords: Corporate Social Responsibility of Firms, Financial Performance, Rà ©sumà © Lobjectif de cette recherche est dà ©tudier limpact de la Responsabilità © Socià ©tale de lEntreprise (RSE) sur la performance financià ¨re. La RSE rà ©pond à   un enjeu majeur, en proposant une reprà ©sentation à ©largie de lenvironnement des firmes, entendu non seulement dans ses dimensions à ©conomiques et financià ¨res, mais aussi sociales, humaines et à ©cologiques. A travers, une opà ©rationnalisation et une và ©rification du modà ¨le thà ©orique proposà ©, au niveau dun à ©chantillon dentreprises tunisiennes, matà ©rialisà ©, par un questionnaire adressà © à   30 entreprises tunisiennes tirà © au sort. Les rà ©sultats obtenus relà ¨vent labsence de lien entre la RSE et la performance financià ¨re mesurà ©e par lindicateur comptable ROA, alors quil existe un lien positif si la performance financià ¨re est mesurà ©e par lROE. Mots clà ©s: Responsabilità © Socià ©tale de lEntreprise, Performance Financià ¨re 1- INTRODUCTION In the 1850s, the role of the company was seen as a purely economic, and bounded to the maximization of profit for shareholders. In this regard, such an approach is consistent with a classical view of the firm where management essentially concerns managers and shareholders (Friedman, 1970). Further, the company was faced increased pressure from its stakeholders (Freeman, 1984). In this regard; it should take into account the effects of its activities in the communities where it operates. This brings her back to reconsider its relations with its stakeholders and to reconcile the often conflicting objectives of various interest groups. The idea of social responsibility of business now (CSR) responds to this challenge by providing a broader representation of the business environment, understood not simply in its economic and financial but also social, human and ecological. Any company that wants to ensure its sustainability, an imperative for financial performance, but also should not ignore or largely ignore the societal benefit that is to say, to engage in a societal approach. The objective of this research is twofold , first to study the impact of CSR on financial performance. Second in a more explicit, we wish to study in the target companies in our survey, the degree of perception of the concept of social responsibility through five dimensions namely: economic, legal, ethical, discretionary, and environmental. In this part, our problem is as follows; What is the impact of social responsibility of corporate financial performance? 2. SOCIETAL RESPONSIBILITY OF THE COMPANY (CSR): TOWARDS THE EMERGENCE OF A NEW CONCEPT Being responsible is to ensure their actions and their consequences and to accept accountability. But when this term is applied to the company, it is a concept that can be understood in different ways. Nowadays, the definition and delimitation of the concept of social responsibility still the subject of controversy and conceptual differences. So, social responsibility has been the subject of increased attention by many organizations of diverse nature, the European and global institutions, professional associations and business networks, Its emergence is born with Bowen (1953) who scored in the first initiative CSR refers to the requirement for businessmen to carry out the policies, decisions and follow the guidelines spreading objectives and values that are considered desirable in our society. Subsequently, MC Guire (1963) argues in his work that the idea of social responsibility implies that the firm has not only economic or legal obligations but also has responsibilities to society that go beyond these obligations . Then, Davis (1973) emphasizes that CSR refers to the consideration by the business issues that go beyond its economic obligations and the technical equal and close to the answers that gives these companies problems. This means that CSR begins where law ends. For Carroll (1979) CSR integrates all economic expectations, legal, ethical and philanthropic society may have in respect of a company at a time. While Jones (1980) stresses the idea that companies, by then the statutory or contractual obligation to have a societal actors. Similarly, Wood (1991) anchors his discussion on the meaning of the liability can be seen that through the interplay of three principles: legitimacy, public responsibility and distinction of three levels of institutional analysis, organizational and individual. In reality, these definitions are generally content to highlight the discretionary nature of CSR, highlighting the fact that it recognized the dimensions beyond the purely economic or legal activity of the company. What brought Carroll (1979) distinguish four categories of CSR: The economic responsibility The legal liability, Responsibility Ethics Responsibility discretion. 2.1 Approaches to CSR measures Measuring CSR is a necessary condition for knowledge of their own social responsibility and thus to control environmental and social impacts. Assessing the social and environmental performance, the establishment of a steering system for the performance and accountability on these external dimensions imply the existence of metrics to assess the quality of management of the business related non-financial. In fact, the existence of these metrics is also of particular importance to other stakeholders that ethical investors who require such information to select the best performing companies on the main criteria the quality of resource management Human and respect for human rights. This leads companies to establish a legal and socio-technical infrastructure to make measurable CSR stakeholders. In theoretical terms, the extent of CSR faces similar problems to those identified to define the concept of CSR: the multiplicity of approaches and dimensions of this complex concept, difficult to r eport objectively its components more subjective often linked to an assessment based on criteria related to ethics or a social context. 2.1.1 Measuring CSR in the academic literature Among the different methods of measurement of CSR that have been used, we can distinguish five categories: Measures of speech, such as content analysis of annual reports, which are to be based on remarks made by companies to assess their CSR, for example by counting the number of lines or words dedicated to themes CSR in the annual report of a company; Indicators of pollution provided by some agencies to assess the pollution of businesses, such as the Toxic Release Inventory in the U.S., or for example measurements of the diffusion of CO2 by businesses; Measures of attitudes and values aimed at assessing the sensitivity of members of the organization (eg managers, employees) to the various dimensions of CSR and are generally administered in the form of a questionnaire; Measures of reputation, such as the indicator of reputation developed by Markowitz in the 1970s in the American magazine Fortune, which includes criteria related to CSR that are assessed by a panel of industry experts to which operates within the enterprise in question; The behavioral measures or audit, developed by the agencies that specialize in the assessment of social behavior and environmental responsibility, such as the U.S. KLD, EIRIS in Britain or in France Vigeo. 3. FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE: DEFINITION Performance is tried to rely on market efficiency that ensures the best allocation of resources and rejects any notion of corporate responsibility other than making profit for its shareholders. As a design performance based on an external view (the current shareholders and potential), often linked to the stock exchange during the action of the company. The performance measures are thus based on data from financial statements. The control and management are geared towards the minimization of costs and return on investment. It is a large building which includes questions on the financial performance within the organization. For a financial indicator, the financial performance of the organization is measured by its financial validity, such as accessibility to different sources of funding or its profitability compared to its investments, its assets or its equity. 2.1 MEASUREMENT OF FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE According to empirical studies, accounting measures provide most of the time positive correlations between CSR and financial performance. (Cochran and Wood, 1994; Waddock and Graves, 1997; Preston and O Bannon, 1997; Stanwick and Stanwick, 1998; Balabanis, Hugh and Jonathan, 1998, Moore, 2001; Rufetal, 2001). In addition, these measures from the accounts have the advantage of providing a more relevant measure of economic performance of the company and predict a more reliable the possible link between CSR and financial performance. On the other hand, the stock market measures have the advantage of being less prone to managerial manipulation. Especially since they represent scores of investors on the business ability to generate economic benefits (Mc Guire et al, 1988). However, these variables are evaluated specific investor and does not allow to reveal the economic reality of the business (Ullmann, 1985), the results that emerge from studies using measures such as stock market are mi xed, Markovitz, (1972) found a positive relationship, Vance (1975) proves otherwise, and Buchotz Alexander (1978) found a weak correlation or no. Griffin and Mahon (1997) stress that results from market-related measures are mostly negative and called for greater use of accounting measures. To better understand the financial performance and provide a more comprehensive or less of the latter, further research incorporating both measures at a time (Mc Guire, et al, 1988; Balabanis, Hugh and Jonathan, 1998, Moore, 2001 ; Seifert; Maurras and Barktkus, 2003, 2004). 4. SOCIETAL RESPONSIBILITY AND FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE 4.1 CSR and financial performance: theoretical approaches 4.1.1 The existence of a relationship between CSR and financial performance The theoretical approaches to corporate social responsibility are essentially based on the current contract philosophers and sociological neo-institutionalism. They particularly questioned the compatibility between market logic and the goal of maximum profit that underpin the economic rationale of the business and societal concerns such as sustainable development, intergenerational equity, the general interest which are purposes prior to appearing foreign or contrary to the entrepreneurial logic. In other words, the exercise of social responsibility of business is it an impossible synthesis between the collective demands long-term expectations and short-term private? The theoretical basis is between two opposite poles: on one side, the neoclassical theories, based on market efficiency, reject any idea of social responsibility of business other than making profit for its shareholders (Friedman, 1970). On the other, theories that mobilize a teleological principle and argue that there i s a moral responsibility of policy makers towards future generations and a large number of societal problems. However, the only approach moralistic-ethical is not sufficient to illuminate the strategic behavior of firms in the societal area because it does not understand the motivations of corporate behavior. In this approach, stakeholders influence policy decisions of leaders and they are accountable to them about how they took into account their expectations. 4.2 The stakeholder theory From the 1980s, the theory of stakeholders (Stakeholders theory) is gradually accepted as a framework to further specify the groups vis-à  -vis what the enterprise is (or should exercise) its societal responsibilities. The work of Freeman (1984) popularized this theory by proposing to define as stakeholder all persons or groups who are likely to affect and / or be affected by the conduct of the strategy of undertaking. The theory of stakeholder theory is now the most frequently mobilized both by researchers as actors in the business. She entered the company at the heart of a set of relationships with partners who are not only shareholders (Shareholders), but players interested in or affected by the activities and business decisions. The stakeholder theory is not exempt from a normative vision and ethics but it seeks to integrate economic goals: it states that cooperation contracts establish trust between the firm and its stakeholders and provides a competitive advantage the company. One might wonder whether the inclusion of stakeholder expectations is not rather the result of traditional rules of management that the outcome of a deliberative process of integrating moral principles. Despite its omnipresence in all the literature on corporate social responsibility, this theory remains ambiguous about its theoretical basis and presents a number of limitations. On the one hand, it is part of a relational representation of the organization based on fair contracts that involve conflicts of interest may be resolved by ensuring a maximization of the interests of each group. On the other hand, it would be unrealistic to consider a comprehensive consideration of all potential stakeholders. The rationality of leaders is necessarily limited by the urgency of the problems, pressures and information systems available to them that they decided to put in place. A first theoretical approach suggests that the company is more successful socially; it is more efficient economically and financially. Instead, the company will be more economically efficient and less it will be socially. Finally, beyond these two extreme views, it is possible to consider the assumptions of positive and negative synergy that cross the different conceptual foundations. With these assumptions also added a generic assumption of neutrality of interactions: Gond, 2001) and assuming a more complex relationship. 5. CSR and financial performance: Many theoretical explanations The theoretical explanations to clarify the nature of the relationship between societal and financial performance are numerous. They can be organized into three distinct categories: explanations postulating the existence of linear relationships between these two constructs, explanations suggesting no link between the two constructs, and finally explanations assume the existence of nonlinear relationships between these two variables. 5.1 The models suggest a positive link between CSR and performance Two theoretical models support the idea of a positive impact of CSR on financial performance (Social Impact Hypothesis) and the assumption of funds available as excess resources available to discretionary managers or Organizational Slack (Available Fund Hypothesis). According to the hypothesis of positive social impact, companies with a high level of CSR demonstrate their ability to master the implicit costs and negative externalities of the organization and report to stakeholders and the quality of their management. The theory of stakeholders (Stakeholders theory) that establishes the hypothesis of the influence of social practices, has created a vast literature on the interaction between CSR and firm performance (Freeman, 1984, Cornell and Shapiro, 1987; Ullmann, 1985, Clarkson 1995, Donaldson and Preston, 1995): Satisfaction with the business objectives of stakeholders promotes the improvement of economic and financial performance (Freeman, 1984). The second model, that of Organizational Slack addresses the link between social performance and economic performance by proposing the idea that this is not the social responsibility that is the condition for obtaining a high level financial performance but, instead, the level of financial performance which allows the company to engage in socially responsible actions. Mc Guire et al, (1988) reported that financial performance could improve the level of social performance and their work has been partially confirmed those by Preston et al, (1991). The profitability of the business differential is then a condition of social behavior; Kraft and Hadges (1990) have shown that excess resources and the attitude of managers towards society strongly influence the level of responsibility social enterprises. 5.2 The models suggest a negative relationship between CSR and financial performance Unlike the two previous models, others say that companies realize the best social performance are also those with the worst economic performance and vice versa in this spirit, a negative relationship between societal performance and financial performance dominates. The literature suggests two models that assume a negative relationship between CSR and performance, distinguished by the nature of causality assumed. The first model Trade-Off Hypothesis or assumptions arbitration assumes that the inclusion of corporate social responsibility involves additional financial costs resulting therefore a competitive disadvantage (Friedman, 1962, 1970). In this perspective, any move away from socially responsible leaders of their goal of maximizing profits (Aupperle, Carroll and Hatzfeld, 1985). Drucker (1984, p.58) states that making a profit is fundamentally incompatible with the social responsibility of business 5.3 The models suggest a positive or negative synergy The typology developed by Preston and OBannon (1997) suggests two hypotheses that are based on different theoretical approaches outlined above. Indeed, in the context of a comprehensive model explaining it is possible to envisage a virtuous circle (positive synergy): a high level of social performance leads to improved financial performance that provides the opportunity to reinvest in social actions responsible (Waddock and Graves, 1997). In contrast, a low level of societal performance led to a decline in financial performance limits, therefore, socially responsible investment (negative synergy). 5.4 The models suggest a missing link The conceptual contributions of Mc Williams and Siegel (2001) lead Gond (2001) to complete the typology of Preston and O Bannon (1997) by formulating the hypothesis of no link between the two dimensions. Indeed, Mc Williams and Siegel (2001) propose a model of supply and demand for social responsibility that helps explain the lack of consensus results obtained by empirical academic studies. According to them, there is a supply and demand for social responsibility, in a standard micro, who led each of them to invest socially to meet the demand of stakeholders. Market equilibrium cancels costs and profits generated by successively supply of social responsibility. This approach leads to a hypothesis of neutrality of interactions between social performance and financial performance. 5.5 The models suggest a more complex relationship The results obtained by Bowman and Haire (1975) led Moore (2001) also refine the typology of Preston and OBannon (1997) and the hypothesis of positive relationship between more complex two-dimensional. Indeed, Bowman and Haire (1975) but also, more recently, Barnett and Salomon (2003) showed a non-linear U-shaped inverted between social performance and financial performance, indicating an optimum level beyond which socially responsible investment longer improves financial performance. The multiplicity of theoretical hypotheses advanced to explain the nature of interactions between CSR and financial performance has led to develop empirical tests to define the conditions of validity of the various mechanisms invoked.. 6. CSR and financial performance: empirical approaches Clarification of the economic impact of CSR has always been a major concern in the field of study on the relationship between business and society. It is therefore not surprising that empirical work on this issue have been very numerous, there were in 2007 more than 160 empirical studies on the subject. This work focused on the nature of interactions between the firms ability to achieve a high level of CSR and financial performance by studying the interactions between on the one hand, social performance (or societal) Company (CSR) and, secondly, its financial performance (FP). These interactions have been studied mainly through two levels of analysis we will present successively: Many publications over the last twenty years have highlighted the link between social responsibility and financial performance of the company. But these studies show conflicting results do not establish clearly the existence of a positive or negative relationship between social responsibility and financial firms (Preston and OBannon, 1997; Griffin and Mahon, 1997; Mac Williams and Siegel , 2001, Margolis and Walsh, 2002). The lack of theoretical foundation and conceptual studies, lack of uniformity in evaluation of social responsibility and financial and methodological shortcomings found explain the poor results obtained. Studies most recent research (Griffin and Mahon, 1997; Roman Hayibor and Agle, 1999, Margolis and Walsh, 2003) found a slight advantage for the detection of positive links between societal performance and financial performance . The synthesis of the literature identifies 122 studies published between 1971 and 2001 with an accelerating pace of recently published (35 studies between 1997 and 2001) and far (2007) on more than 160 empirical studies on this subject, but also this research were sometimes biased in the direction of the illumination of a positive relationship. For example, the 122 education fifty and claim a positive association between social responsibility and financial performance twenty get mixed results, twenty seven indicate no ties and seven observed a negative relationship. 6.1 The hypothesis of impact-social Social Impact Hypothesis According to (Freeman 1984, Donaldson and Preston, 1995), stakeholder theory has explained the origin of the favorable influence social behavior on financial performance. Indeed, CSR is an indicator of the ability of business to effectively meet the demands of various stakeholders. This has consequently regained their confidence and thus improve profitability (Balabanis, Hugh and Jonathan, 1998). Waddock and Graves (1997) speak of Good Management Theory that there is a high correlation between good management practice and CSR, simply because an improvement in social activity entails a special relationship with Key Stakeholders Groups (Freeman, 1984), implying more performance. In addition, a review of empirical literature confirms a positive relationship between the two components (Mc Guire et al, 1988; Waddock and Graves, 1997; Preston and OBannon, 1997; Verschoor, 1998, Stanwick and Stanwick, 1998; Mc Williams and Siegel, 2000, Moore 2001, Ruf et al, 2001, Orlitsky, 2001; Kohers an d Simpson, 2002). Allouche and Laroche (2005) identified 82 research, 75 of them have found a positive link, while Margolis and Walsh (2003) who counted 54 out of 127 studies confirming the positive relationship. Hence our first hypothesis H1: Social responsibility has a positive impact on financial performance. 6.2 The Trade-Off Hypothesis This hypothesis refers to the classical theory of Friedman (1962, 1970) that CSR is an investment that increases costs and takes place at the expense of financial performance. For example a decision to invest in equipment acquisition environmentally friendly while other competitors do not, can generate a competitive disadvantage. Hence the reduction in profitability which may cause discontent among shareholders. This finding was also confirmed by Aupperle et al, (1985), the authors conclude that social activities such as donation to charity, environmental protection and community development dissipate more resources and generate additional costs, which disadvantages the company against its competitors less engaged in social actions. Searches return the negative relationship to abnormalities in particular methodological tools to measure financial performance. The negative association is due to the use of market variables as a measure of financial performance (Griffin and Mahon, 1997). In reality, the number of studies that lead to a negative relationship is very small, Margolis and Walsh (2003) identify 127 studies dealing with the subject in question, and they found that only 8 of them expect a negative correlation between the two dimensions. of where our second hypothesis H2: The social responsibility has a negative impact on financial performance. 6.3 The lack of connection between the two dimensions Some authors suggest that CSR and financial performance are both built entirely separate. Ullmann (1995) emphasizes that the link from a pure coincidence. The correlation is generated, according to the author, by intervening variables that occur in an unpredictable manner and that link the two constructs. Meanwhile, Waddock and Graves (1997) show that the methodological problems in operationalizing CSR tend to obscure the link. A multitude of empirical studies have provided no link between the two dimensions (Aupperle et al, 1985; Fogler and Nutt, 1975; Abbot and Monsen, 1979, Freedman and Jaggi, 1986; ONeil, Mark Saunders and Carthey 1989; Seifert, Maris and Barkus, 2004, Graves and Waddock, 1999). Others state that the link is weak or nonexistent (Alexander and Bchholz 1978, Cochran and Wood, 1984; Krauz and Pava, 1996; Berman et al, 1999; Balabanis, Hugh and Jonathan, 1998, Seifert and Morris Barktkus , 2003). Griffin and Mahon (1997), Balaban, Hugh and Jonathan (1998) found that the results are inconclusive: the variables selected do not distinguish between successful firms and inefficient firms. In this context, our third hypothesis H3: There is no link between social responsibility and financial performance. 7. CSR and financial performance: The effect of control variables Research has shown that the relationship between CSR and financial performance is not absolute, it must take into account the weight of the elements of each company (Ullmann, 1985; Waddock and Graves, 1997) and are likely to moderate the relationship between the two constructs. These characteristics are operationalized as control variables. 7.1 The effect risk The risk is variable, with several studies in different contexts have shown that it controls the relationship between the two dimensions. The argument assumes the risk that companies have a low risk to commit advantage in social activities, and vice versa. Companies with low risk have a stable performance model, and therefore, this situation seems very conducive to investment in social activities (Roberts, 1992). Aupperle et al, (1985) postulate that firms more socially responsible are identified as being better managed and risks are minimal. This finding is especially approved by the study of Mc Guire et al, (1988); ONeil, Mark Saunders and Carthey (1989), Waddock and Graves (1997), Graves and Waddock (1999). In contrast, Aupperle et al, (1985) found a correlation, positive correlation between CSR and risk accounting, and negative but not significant between CSR and market risk. 7.2 The effect size The argument for the size stipulated that organizations undertake major advantage in social actions; small organizations do not give importance to social activity (Waddock and Graves, 1997). Burke et al, (1986) argue that companies, as and as they grow, give more attention to external factors and better meet the demands of stakeholders, Stanwick and Stanwick (1998) found that size, measured by the volume of sales and total assets is positively related to CSR. Mc Guire et al (1988) find a positive but not significant between CSR and the size measured by total assets. 7.3 The effect sector The sector as designed in the literature is a moderating effect of CSR and PF relationship, eg the extent of the consideration of environmental responsibility by a chemical company is not the same a financial institution. A plurality of researchers took into account the control variable as in include: Waddock and Graves, 1997, Griffin and Mahon, 1997, Graves and Waddock, 1999; Balabanis, Hugh and Jonathan, 1998, McWilliams and Siegel 2000, Moore 2001, Ruf et al, 2001; Seifer, Morris and Barktkus, 2003.2004. 8. theoretical model 9. METHODOLOGY OF RESEARCH The objective of empirical research is to empirically test our research hypotheses and the theoretical model proposed. In order to test the validity of our assumptions on a sample drawn from all Tunisian companies, we proceeded by two steps the first is to measure the perception of Tunisian companies to the concept of CSR and then study the impact of this latest financial performance. Through our research, we chose the method of direct interview, and for several reasons, we conduct a field investigation, by adopting the technique of direct investigation on the basis of a questionnaire. The survey covered a sample of 30 Tunisian companies selected from different sectors. 9.1 The scale of measurement of CSR predictor For measurement of CSR, we will adopt that developed by Maignan et al (1999), which forms part of the work on measuring social performance. This scale operationalizes the concept of social performance by measuring the dimensions of the construct. In fact, two major scales have been developed in this perspective: The oldest is that of Aupperle, Carroll and Hatfield (1985) measuring the orientation of managers towards social responsibility, the latest and most complete is that of organizational citizenship Maignan et al. (1999), reused by Maignan and Ferrell (2001). These two instruments take over the traditional classification in four types of social responsibilities of Carroll (1979): economic, legal, ethical and discretionary or philanthropic organizations that are a reflection of society see the company actively engaged in its local environment and / or global defense of social causes and public interest. Regarding the scale of Aupperle et al (1985), it is intended to measure only the views of leaders on the relative importance of each of the four dimensions of social responsibility of business. While the scale of Maignan et al. (1999) is designed to gather perceptions of the social performance of the business stakeholders throughout the company (Maignan and Ferrell, 2001). Indeed, the scale was constructed from academic studies describing activities commonly accepted as citizens by the three main stakeholders ie employees, customers, stakeholders public. These authors manage this work, mainly to executives (Maignan et al 1999, Maignan and Ferrell, 2001) to have completed the questionnaire as relevant as the leaders and general information about the company cutting. Hence, our questionnaire has five dimensions are those of Carroll (1979), added an environmental dimension whose items are inspired by the Global Compact (1999). This choice is argued by the importance it attaches to the environment today, and the pressures that companies face to reflect the impact of its activities on the environment in which it operates, it is relevant namely the impact of the inclusion of the natural environment on the financial performance of Tunisian firms.

Wednesday, November 13, 2019

Robbery of Freedom: The Ultimate Injustice :: history

Robbery of Freedom: The Ultimate Injustice WRONGFULLY CONVICTED AND IMPRISONED IN ALABAMA My story is told to you as honestly and as accurately as can be. Over the years, I have felt like I've had to 'defend' something, but I have realized that, as bizarre as it is, just tell the truth and let that be it! I was released in April 10,2001, and my quest for justice has only gained momentum. I am the victim of small town politics where the locals have met very little resistance in doing things their own way, regardless of the law. In fact, I am the first one who has ever been known to challenge that state court of Bullock County, Alabama (City of Union Springs) for their misconduct and gross miscarriage of justice. I feel that I must preface my story with events that led up to the conspired, bogus lie, and malicious accusation against me. My accuser, John Will Waters, whom I was never allowed to face in court, is a king pin drug lord. He operates out of that small town, but reaches as far as Colombia, South America. My parents grew up in that same town. Waters was from a long line of moonshiners and crooks. He is very liberal and seems to think money will do anything. He and my parents have always been on the opposite side of issues, i.e., they opposed the building of a state prison there, Waters was for it. They are Republicans, he's a Democrat. My father started, owned and operated a tire business there for 45 years. During the latter years, he depended strictly on out of town business, because the locals prevented county vehicles, school vehicles, and any other county business to be done there. Nevertheless, the business did very well. In 1993, my father had double knee replacement surgery. The business fell behind a few payments on a mortgage loan from a local bank. My father had done business with that bank since 1951. After very few months, the bank began foreclosure proceedings. My father immediately sold a large inventory of tires, raised $10,000. He offered the bank the $10,000 to pay the arrearage plus a few payments in advance to show good faith. Every possible attempt was made to satisfy the bank, but everything was turned down except the $50,000 required to pay the loan off in full.

Sunday, November 10, 2019

Ethical Challenges in the Media Essay

What are some of the ethical challenges surrounding the movie and music industries as they relate to the Internet? The current conflict between the recording industry and a portion of its customers who are involved in illicit copying of music files arose from innovations involving the compression and electronic distribution of files over the internet. Some of the ethical challenges associated with responses that threaten further innovation, ultimately reduce the chances of finding solutions that hold appeal for all parties. Today’s world of the online web has provided new opportunities for both the creators and the consumers of media such as music. The digital aspect of the web allows for wonderful innovations such as MP3 players but ethical personal use must be employed to avoid legal punishment. How has education affected your views about the practice of downloading or copying multimedia content in these fields? When you download music without paying for it or share it with others without their paying for it, the musicians don’t get paid for their hard work. Recording companies and their professional associations consider this stealing. The RIAA, the professional organization which represents the recording companies, (Recording Industry Association of America), has reacted with copyright infringement legal actions against schools and college students. These notices are very serious and deal with potential copyright infringement. School use or personal use copying should be limited to a respectful, ethical Fair Use of media content. Charles I agree with your post, â€Å"You never know what someone has included or sent along with a song, file, or picture. However, the music industry is now going through vast changes due to the new digital world. Now there are more legal ways for music customers to purchase their music online with services such as iTunes, Rhapsody, amazon. com, etc. There are even some legitimate free music download examples. For example, some unknown bands may provide free previews online. While other more popular bands or singers may post a sample tune for fans to hear for free. Most media exist first as businesses to make money to pay their employees’ salaries to make a living. Many of these media workers only earn a modest living wage. They are not all famous and rich! WK1 DQ2 What collaboration tools have you used in your work environment or personal life? One collaboration tool that I have used in my work is the use of a network folder on a shared drive. All documents can be stored in a central location. By using collaboration software, according to taskmanagementsoft. com, multiple team members can work on the same document at the same time. Changes made to the document can be tracked using collaboration software. This keeps everyone on the team accountable for the changes made. By having all the documents in the same place, team members in different time zones or countries can work on files and leave notes for others who work on the document next. How have these information systems benefited you? Our company benefits from information because our company have to pay for video conferencing equipment or travel expenses, when everyone on the team can be on the phone and review the documents at the same time. Using the collaboration software to save documents allows the company to save money on shipping and faxing expenses. Copies requiring approval by multiple individuals no longer have to be faxed or emailed; instead, each authorizing individual can review the document in the collaboration software and sign off on it using the software. WK1 DQ3 How does University of Phoenix work to combat plagiarism? The University of Phoenix work to combat plagiarism by requiring that both campus and online students to submit all of their written assignments electronically, instructing faculty to run the papers through an automatic plagiarism checker available online at the university’s Center for Writing Excellence. Student papers are archived to facilitate crosschecking. The plagiarism checker is not simply a punitive tool, but is also instructive, as students can run their papers through it before submission and learn whether they have borrowed too heavily from the literature or used proper citation. What other steps do you think could be implemented to deal with this problem? Another step that can be implemented to deal with this problem would be for students to seek proper plagiarism tutorial class to assist student with documenting citations correctly.

Friday, November 8, 2019

Violence and Human Dignity

Violence and Human Dignity Free Online Research Papers Our society usually interprets violence in a conventional ways just as a physical harm that is done to the body or physical destruction. Even though a lot of dictionaries would suggest some sort of physical force this definition seems very simple. Moreover most of the time this interpretation is very limited. As Robert Brown suggested violence is â€Å"the violation of personhoodâ€Å" (Brown, 7) . Violation of personhood may exist in different ways. But some of those ways may be generalized into four categories. The first category is personal overt physical assault. This is very known category in which violence is done by physical force of one person is applied on the human body. For example two people are getting into a fight and at the end they start to hit each other. Another example is of Mike Bray who was an American Baptist minister and also antiabortionist. He used to bomb abortion clinics and murder abortion doctors. By doing this he justified his actions through bible in the sense that he was saving innocent unborn human lives. Second is institutionalized over physical assault. This is also a sort of an assault that is expressed by applying force on a human body but it is not done by one individual. This type of violence comes from a more powerful source like police source or an army and a very good example shown is war (Brown, 7). A huge power of a country or even more than one countries are involved in act of human destruction by killing people. The third type of violence is personal covert violence. This type of violence does not involve physical act of destruction rather it involves psychological, spiritual and emotional act. It is verbal violence. Good example is from American history when Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. After this incident almost all Japanese looking people were verbally violated at all time in public places by Americans. It may also be written or art violence. For example an article that would humiliate and dehumanize a person in a way or even better a political cartoon or some comic picture that may in fact dehumanize a human or religion by showing it as an enemy or something lesser than a human. The fourth way of institutionalized covert violence which involves institutions violating members within a society. This kind of violation would involved racism based on color like slavery or racism based on religion like during Holocaust. It would involve sexism like in eighteenth century when males were considered men, dominant figures and women were considered as their property. They didn’t have a right to vote, right to speak up or even attend particular places like gentlemen clubs. It also involves poverty because our society seems to help out poor people but, believe it or not, there are so many societies in which a person living in a poverty would not be even considered a human being and there for would be violated by all means. Conventional understandings of violence are limited because a lot of people don’t consider some of the acts that were showed as a violence. Now we understand that racism is a violence but during racism it was considered normal, now we understand that by verbal, written and art violence we could create a total dehumanization which would cause much bigger destructions but before it was not considered a violation rather an inspiration of person’s thoughts to a particular opinion. Moreover all of these violations enforce physical abuse such as blacks were physically abused, political cartoons now days enforce war in Iraq. There for without looking at different violation it call comes down to physical violence and there for its conventional understanding becomes limited. Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted on December 10th 1948 after World War II. The origin of it started in Germany during Holocaust. It was a genocide act toward Jewish religion and Jews. Around six million of Jewish people were killed just because county’s dictator did not like Jews and tried to clear his country from them. After the war United Nations raised a question of whom to protect the human rights and there for decided that the entire world has to gather and take responsibility since the state could not protect its own people. It became a necessity to protect humans against such massive destruction and to inspire other not to follow such acts of violence. There for Universal declaration of Human Rights was adopted. In it is clearly stated to respect human dignity with all its responsibilities. It stated to make each person have his/her freedom, justice and peace. Declarations clearly does not use any religious language because people around the world have different religions and some of them don’t have a religion at all. Except it explains the responsibilities of nations straight to the point. Catholic bishops of the United States explain the origin and responsibilities of human dignity from the origin of life. Christian origins of human dignity reveals four dimensions of it. It opens up the story of creation and through the story a reader has a deeper sense of meaning. First dimension is that human dignity is good because it is created and created by God. Secondly it shows that human beings are made in Gods image. This reveals that each person is given human rights and responsibilities of everything that was created by God. The third aspect explains that just by being created human beings already have dignity within themselves and that they should care for it. The last aspect is to be fruitful and multiply. Through this dimension origin of creation gives a chance to respect human dignity and enables a person transfer it to the new generation. More over bishops explained that there are responsibilities of having human dignity. From reading â€Å"The Christian Vision of Economic Life† responsibilities were described. It states â€Å"†¦to protect human life and property, demand respect for parents and the spouses and the children of one’s neighbor and manifest a special concern for the vulnerable members of the community: widows, poor, orphans, and strangers in the land† (National Conference of Catholic Bishops, 19). By protection of property was meant not to be wasting resources that were given by another human being or by nature and being able to distribute resources equally. The second was to respect parents, spouses and children of neighbor. This responsibility emphasized a respect and understanding not only of your own family but rather the family of humanity. The third aspect was to protect vulnerable members of community because they are of a lesser power and may even be lacking power at all. Through these responsibilities and actions of help it is showed our own dignity and respect. The last responsibility is justice but not a law justice. It is more a Gods justice which is dealt with â€Å"†¦rightness of the human condition before God and within society †¦manifestation of love and the condition for love to grow†( National Conference of Catholic Bishops, 22). This characteristic is more concerned with brining agreement, harmony and tranquility within a community. There for in order to achieve it there has to be some rule made that would hold the whole community within the borders of characteristics of dignity. Research Papers on Violence and Human DignityEffects of Television Violence on ChildrenCapital PunishmentQuebec and CanadaRelationship between Media Coverage and Social and19 Century Society: A Deeply Divided EraWhere Wild and West MeetInfluences of Socio-Economic Status of Married MalesThe Relationship Between Delinquency and Drug UseUnreasonable Searches and SeizuresHip-Hop is Art

Wednesday, November 6, 2019

How to Get a Girlfriend in College and Keep Her

How to Get a Girlfriend in College and Keep Her Dating is one of the main concerns students have (besides studying of course), and sometimes it becomes a real struggle. How to find a girlfriend? How to make a good impression on her? How to make this relationship work? These are key questions that might occur in your head. We will try to answer these questions in our guide on how to meet a girl and build a relationship with her that will be actually deep for both of you. Find Inner Confidence Make the first move Many guys feel nervous and act awkward around girls. Its normal because not everyone has the strength to approach and talk to a girl. Most of the time we can see a guy in a high school or college who is staring in admiration at a girl from a distance. That seems creepy to onlookers. Please, dont do that. If you saw a girl who you find attractive in the class or in the library or any other place, come up to her. Or, find her on social media and text her if youre shy. Its the most difficult part because it implies leaving your comfort zone, but its actually a necessary step. Otherwise, you can wait for a girl to come up to you first for a very long time. Show her that you actually exist. Dont take it too seriously Be confident and think about this situation as a part of your life experience. You have nothing to lose, even if she rejects you. Dont make a drama out of the whole situation. Eventually, she is just a person too. So, take a deep breath, calm your nerves and come up to introduce yourself. Dont try to pretend like you dont care and approach her in the sake of curiosity or boredom only. A lot of guys do that to hide their feelings and then wonders â€Å"How to get a girl to like you?† Actually, after such a move, its pretty hard to change a girls opinion. First Meeting Its hard to evaluate the perfect scenario for an acquaintance. In movies, we can see beautiful scenes of a girl in college dropping books down and a guy helping her out. Even though it might happen to you, dont actually count on such a situation. There are a lot of places where you can meet a girl in college. You can start with a compliment or a joke. Or simply introduce yourself in a polite manner. Dont stare at her like youre a crazy man. Smile and speak to her about: College courses Professors Movies and shows Favorite books Hobbies Friends Pay attention to the topics she has a lot to say on. For example, if you are talking about the new microscope that you have bought, and a girl is just nodding her head in reply, try to change the subject. Ask her about her day or what she is doing on the weekend. The best thing for you will be to take her phone number or find her on social media. If you dont speak in person, but via phone or text messages instead, you will feel less anxious. Develop Trust The more you talk to a girl and build trust with her, the deeper relationship you can develop with her. Its not only about being honest but also about making her feel comfortable and safe with you. Show her that she can tell you about her worries and you can give her valuable advice. Avoid keeping secrets and make your intentions clear. A lot of girls are not ready for serious relationships, so you have to understand and appreciate that. Dont hide your feelings. Let her know how you feel. Caution: Remember that lying to your partner is the main reason why couples split up. Be a Good Listener If a girl feels that she can share her secrets with you and speak freely about everything in the world, its a good sign. Be a good listener. Pay attention to what she tells you about her family and friends, studying and job. The more you know about her, the better communication you will have. Try to remember significant information and show her that you understand her and can relate to her problems. Be Positive No one likes moody individuals. When you talk about your problems too much, it makes a bad impression on everyone around you. Its much better when a person you communicate with can feel that you are glad to have this conversation at the moment. Keep a good mood and try to cheer up a girl if shes having a bad day. Unlike the grumpy cat, you wont seem cute when you are not in a good mood. Make an Effort When you have a relationship, you have to put some effort to make it last and prevent from burning down. When you continuously have no time for conversation or dates, it makes you look like a person who doesnt care. A relationship is a constant compromise. You have to understand that managing your schedule to find time for your girlfriend is as essential as giving her time to be on her own. A person needs to have space and time for other things besides a partner. For example, the social circle of her friends or family. Find a balance between being too intrusive and too indifferent. Be polite, confident and caring. These are the most essential components of a long and deep relationship.

Monday, November 4, 2019

Frederick Douglass style of writing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Frederick Douglass style of writing - Essay Example He suffered just as any other slave would in that period of time, from hunger, no bed to sleep on, barefoot, nothing to wear but a long shirt, no hint of affection and even separated from his three siblings. At the age of seven he moved to a couples place in Baltimore and he was more than happy for that. It was here in Baltimore that he learnt the English alphabets (Merriman). Douglass grew up to be an author, abolitionist and a lecturer and wrote three autobiographies during his lifetime; A Narrative on the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave (1845), My Bondage and My Freedom (1855), and Life and Times of Frederick Douglass (1881). As he was a brilliant speaker he was asked by the American Anti-Slavery Society to deliver lectures at various places. He became famous and was recognized as one of the greatest black speakers in America. He was the foremost to declare himself a fugitive publicly and published many newspapers, one of them being an anti slavery newspaper called à ¢â‚¬ËœThe North Star’ and most of his causes were in the name of â€Å"Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness", which was incorporated in the United States Declaration of Independence. He also served as an advisor to President Abraham Lincoln at the time of the Civil War and recommended many amendments to the American constitution, especially for the blacks. Douglass was a powerful administrator of human rights during that time in America and is still praised for his contributions against racial injustice (Merriman; Thomas). In this article we explore the amusing and powerful writing style of Frederick Douglass. Douglas was well spoken and thus his writing reflected it. Doubts had been raised about the credibility of his writing, whether he had written them or others had done it for him, but he proved that he was clean by introducing writings of well known abolitionists and personal friends, who describe his work. Two of them, William Llyod Garrison and Wendell Phillips were well known friends of his. Both of them were white, and they both of them mention the author and his credentials in the preface of the book, thereby shutting all the questions raised. Douglass also included dates in his writing and thus this proved the credibility of his writing (McNamara) Douglass had a definitive tone in his writing. It increased the rhetorical strategy and the ethos presented by him within his writing. His writing had a feel as if it was written for a definite section of the society, the upper middle class. At a time when books were not very cheap and was more of a luxury, Douglass had to establish himself on the same platform as the readers, instill in them a sense of all the wrong things happening in the society then, stir their emotions and thus influence their feelings so as to get a response in the way he wanted, that is a need for a change. He had a great choice of words sentence structures which set the tone for the extract. He awakens the reader to a new realization (Lampe, 81,101-102). Douglass’s writings have a pattern of objective and subjective styles of writing. He narrates in his autobiography, what he is and what he believed in. Objective style of writing uses facts to establish points, instead of opinions. Instances of his writing lacking emotions have also been seen. In his, at a particular point he describes Mr. Covey gave me a very severe whipping, cutting my back, causing the blood to run, and raising ridges on my flesh as large as my little finger (Moritz, 23). He describes such a scene, but then no negative emotions are portrayed by him towards Mr. Covey. Scenes

Friday, November 1, 2019

Equal access to computing technology HW Research Paper

Equal access to computing technology HW - Research Paper Example The United Nations has explicitly reaffirmed its importance: â€Å"[k]nowledge, more than ever, is power† (as cited in Best, 2004). To show their sincerity, the U.N. has made a declaration stating that the access to the Internet is one of the fundamental human rights. However, it is a wonder why the U.N. bothered to make such kind of declaration. Michael L. Best (2004) discovered certain aspect of symmetry of information rights in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. He quoted Article 19 of the Declaration saying that people have the right to â€Å"hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive, and impart information and ideas through any media regardless of frontiers† (Best, 2004). The words â€Å"seek† and â€Å"receive† refer to the access of, but not limited to, the Internet. Best (2004) claimed that those words sound like the information rights. On the other hand, the Internet seems to be perceived as â€Å"ubiquitous† in our contemporary epoch (Halpin, Hick, & Hoskins, 2000). In fact, Internet cafes can be found almost in every corner. It’s either you are with it or not (Halpin et al., 2000). It is interesting to note though about the sharp contrast between the ubiquitous appearance of the Internet and the presence of a wide digital divide. Ultimately, the difference is the asymmetry between the Internet and its access. But why is the Internet access a human right? Best appears to be puzzled by this inquiry. He then made an attempt to review the debate -- although it seems a blasà © -- connected to the digital divide. To his mind, the right to information requires the Internet â€Å"to some extent† (Best, 2004). There are three things that one could decipher on Best’s â€Å"to some extent:† (1) when books and other information materials go extinct like the prehistoric dinosaurs; (2) when, at certain time and place, information materials are nonexistent but the Internet; and (3) when ideas and information offered in the available