Facebook User Consent for Experiments

Facebook User Consent for Experiments Facebook Research is for the Betterment of Human Kind and as a Business they should be Free to Undertake Large Scale Online Experiments without the need to Contact their Users. Facebook and many other network platforms have used large scale online experiments, often without the consent and awareness of their users. These experiments are usually to better understand their users, in attempts to better their business and provide reasons for human actions and responses relevant to them and that industry. However, the question remains should businesses like Facebook be allowed to conduct such experimental research without receiving consent from their users? To answer this first we must understand what this research is and what are the implications of it to the users. The ‘experiment evidence of massive-scale emotion contagion through social network’ (Kramer et al. 2014, p. 8788) article explores how the emotional state of one can be transferred to another through emotional contagion. This notion is taken a step further by transferring this positive or negative emotion via networks, such as Facebook. This method faces many criticisms; one being that the experiment itself does not take into consideration the experience where a person’s positive or negative emotion is the result of an incident or an interaction rather than the exposure to another’s emotion. This criticism is more from a technical point of view. From an ethical stand point (Reid 2017) the issue is that mass research was conducted on people without their consent regarding a matter which would otherwise be considered private (their emotional response) by many. This issue will be further explored from an ethical (Reid 2017) and legal perspective, an in relevant contexts.  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚      In 2014 Facebook was in the medias eye for experimenting on its 1.3 billion users. Facebook researchers altered the newsfeed of about 700,000 of its users without informing them (Wholsen 2014). When this became public there was an outrage by many users while some other people (mainly businesses) argued that there is nothing wrong with what Facebook did or the way they went about doing it. The argument for research was supported by claims that Facebook conducts many forms of research in a variety of fields to enhance the â€Å"Facebook experience† (Wholsen 2014) for users and better the advertising and promotions Facebook offers to its business clients. Additionally, if they had asked for consent from each user it would be a lengthy, time consuming and difficult process as there are 1.3 billion users. After commencement of the emotion contagion research experiment Facebooks reported revenue and profits increased, the research being one of the contributing factors (Wholsen 2014). It is therefore evident that this research is for the betterment of businesses. However, can that be said about the betterment of mankind? The sensitivity to context ‘privacy in public’ notion focuses on users perceived online environment. Many users may believe that the research Facebook conduct was a breach of their private discussions and postings whereas others may think that it was a public act. The mix of these perceptions only aid in the difficultly of knowing what can be collected and distributed. There are three ethical concepts derived from what the basic human rights to privacy are. These are; confidentiality, anonymity, and informed consent (Eynon et al. 2009, p.188). For there to be full disclosure, consent and to be considered as an ethical means of obtaining data users, would need to know what they are consenting to and to what extent they are able to give this consent (Eynon et al. 2009, p.189) Based on this it is apparent that Facebook did not implement the informed consent aspect of this concept during their research. Additionally, Facebook didn’t submit a proposal to Institutional Review Board for pre-approval of the study. From a legal perspective Facebook asks for consent from users in their Data Usage Policy agreement during sing up. This agreement addresses that user’s information can be used for testing and research purposes (Kramer et al. 2014, p. 8789). However, this is a very weak form of consent and does not address the forms of research which can take place. This is a very broad statement and can include a lot or very little depending on interpretation. This agreement is compulsory to abide with no opt out options, if users are to use the social media program. This issue raises puts all Facebooks practices into question by its users and media including what this means for Facebook advertisements in terms of how honest they must be with what they are advertising based on the data collected. Although the Code of Practice acts as a guide to prevent many misleading advertisements including the requirement that advertisers are not to be deceptive or misleading in their advertisements and have evidence to support their advertised claims, there are still loop holes (Reid 2017). Facebook is available in more than 130 countries and not all of these countries have a Code of Practice and some have varying rules and guideline in theirs. Those countries not covered by the Code of Practice put their users at risk from misleading and deceptive advertisement, from Facebook and other businesses. There is a lack of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) by Facebook. CRS addresses many factors including quality of environment, employment practice, diversity, benefits and relationship for employees and consumer protection (Reid 2017). The policy is flexible enough to be applicable across all industries and in a range of situations. In this case, specifically addressing the negligence of the consumer protection factor. There are many benefits to complying with CSR for businesses and their customers including increase in profits in the long run, improved public image and the evasion of government interface. However, the downfall of not complying are reduction in profits and creates bad image for the businesses reducing benefits to owners/stakeholders. This is evident for many companies who have adapted this method of research and avoided transparency by not contacting their consumers. Mass scale research provides great data but brings the high risk that the data collect can be tracked back to the participant/user because the data itself is so complete (Eynon et al. 2009, p.191) Through there are billions of Facebook users the contagion research conduct is so complete that the through the likes (clicks) and their user references can allow for back tracking. Even if the information collect is anonymous there is still room for some access back to users (Eynon et al. 2009, p.192), particularly for infamous hackers. Using this situation in any other context, for example Dungons and Dragons. This online game allows it’s users to have conversations with other users during the game. This conversation can be tracked back by linking their text snippet to context of the conversation even when encrypted (Eynon et al. 2009, p.192) and like so the virtual game has had issues with piracy where they conduct research on users without consent, later exposed through a hacking incident. This is just one of the many examples where mass scale research has gone wrong because the company had failed to contact their users. Exposing users to something that causes physiological status changes is experimentation is the kind of thing that requires user consent. Informed consent is the most essential part of research ethics. It creates a trusting bond between a participant and a researcher which allows for accurate and true data to be collected without the objection from the participant or in this case the users. As a bare minimum, all businesses should disclose on their website to their users that their formation or data is being tracked anonymously. Lack of doing so a breach of a person’s privacy, at least from an ethical perspective. Therefore, this in no way will better mankind only create trust issues due to lack of transparency. In ability to trust a business is bad for the business itself and its customers, long term. If customers no longer trust a business they will slowly separate themselves from them looking for alternatives. Additionally, it creates a bad reputation for the business, as it did for Facebook who is still in the medias eye for it in a negative light despite their public apology. This negative back lash is one that will associate with the business in the long term and gradually it will (and has) caused many issue to conduct other forms of research, including Facebook having to review their privacy policy as a result of the uprise negative response from their unconsented research. To conclude, there are many benefits for undertaking large scale online experiments without user/participant consent in the sort run however long term it does not benefit anyone let alone better mankind. References Eynon, R, Schroeder, R & Fry, J 2009, ‘new techniques in online research: challenges for research ethics’, Twenty- First Century Society, vol.4, no.2, pp.187-199 Kramer, A, Guillory, J & Handcock, J 2014, ‘Experiment evidence of massive-scale emotion contagion through social network’, PNAS, vol. 111, no. 24, pp. 8788-8790. Reid, D 2017, ‘Lecture 1’, ADV20001, Advertising Issues: Regulation, Ethics & Cultural Considerations, Learning material on Blackboard, Swinburne University of Technology, May 29, viewed 9 July 2017. Reid, D 2017, ‘Lecture 2’, ADV20001, Advertising Issues: Regulation, Ethics & Cultural Considerations, Learning material on Blackboard, Swinburne University of Technology, June 5, viewed 9 July 2017. Reid, D 2017, ‘Lecture 17’, ADV20001, Advertising Issues: Regulation, Ethics & Cultural Considerations, Learning material on Blackboard, Swinburne University of Technology, July 10, viewed 9 July 2017. Wholsen, M 2014, ‘Facebook won’t stop experimenting on you, it’s just too lucrative’, Wired, 10 March, viewed 10 July 2017, .

Evita :: essays research papers

Evita Stereotyping is a folly that almost everyone indulges in whether they realise it or not. Of course many try to stop this by educating themselves to be knowledgeable about worldly affairs but one can only equip oneself with so much information in ones lifetime. Cofer talks about the stereotype that follow Latino women no matter where they go. On the other hand, Eva Peron (Evita), portrays how Argentinean women can rise up in life and defeat the stereotype they face. Both Cofer and Evita have conflicting views of how one should beat the stereotype that they face. Cofer feels that education is the best way a Latino woman can oust the stereotype of them being lower class citizens or as being easy. She realises that not every Latino woman has the same educational opportunities as she had and because of the majority of Latino women perpetuating the myth, the stereotype will go on. Many Latino women invite this stereotype to themselves as their behaviour and actions are of the result of their upbringing. Latino women think that it is normal to dress flashily or bare their skin. Their culture allows them to do so as they are protected by traditions and laws of a Spanish/Catholic system of morality. The main rule in their culture is that "You may look at my sister, but if you touch her I will kill you." This system has made Latino women more open and daring. Once they go out of their cultural system, they practice the same actions which often tends to be misinterpreted as being easy. Some Latino women have used this as a way to advance themselves onto higher positions in the world just like what Evita did. These women are not of the majority but almost all Latino women fall into the stereotype of being easy just because of what a few women has done. Evita is a typical example of how a woman can use her physical assets to gain higher positions in the world. Even though she is treated like a saint today, there is still a question of morality on how she has advanced herself. True she gave hope to the lower class but how she went about it is morally wrong. By treating her like a saint, it is almost saying that it is all right to use your body to advance yourself. This is what Cofer is against. She feels that women should prove themselves and get out of the stereotype by using education to advance themselves. Many Latino women fall into the term "sexual firebrand" (348)

Time Management Action Plan Essay -- essays research papers

For me it seems like there is too many tasks to complete and seldom enough time. Effective and efficient time management is something that I have room for improvement on and have great use of. I started by taking a time management survey. #1 Accept Problem My results from this diagnostic survey on time management assured me that my time management skills are low. The survey revealed that I am on the bottom of the scale of time management. There were two sections of the survey. One section measured your time management skills in an office setting and the other section measured your time management skill in your personal life. By having two sections you can compare your time management skills for the two different settings. The total score measures your overall time management skills and it also puts the score in a category. My scores of 27 points for personal life and 31 points for office settings combines to a 58 point total score. My combined score falls in to the lowest category that suggests that training is necessary and will considerably enhance my effectiveness. The first step of solving a problem is identifying it. After taking this survey I have proof that my time management skills are low. Time management has been a long time problem for me. I have always found excuses for not doing things on time or running late. My main excuse is being involved in so many things as a college student. All of this is true, but it shouldn’t be an excuse. I currently work as a lifeguard between classes, tutor nights and weekends, work at a bar weekends, I hold a vice president position in American Marketing Association, I am a member of Society for Human Resource Management, team captain for Cleveland State’s division I swim team, and I am co-president for Student Athletic Advisory Board. Good time management is needed for all these extras. If I could improve my time management skills I think I would get better in most things that I do. I would be able to enhance my grades in school and be better in the workforce. I would be more relaxed and have a feel of control. #2, Goals and Priorities The first step in effectively managing time is to develop a statement of long-range goals. This statement of goals will allow you to set short range goals and to prioritize specific activities according to how much they contribute to your goals. Setting these long-range goals ma... ...t already have the software required or a hand held organizer. For me I am using this as a last step also as a goal. When I reach this point I will allow my self to buy a hand held computer. This would be my reward for reaching this far. This step should take 1-3 weeks. Implementing   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I have many times tried to improve my time management. Every semester I start with a calendar, but about half way through I usually do not use it anymore. This semester I decided that I needed to use it all the time and I am still using it. I think that if I had used this action plan the first time I wanted to start using a calendar I would have been successful at first. Now when I will start using this action plan I am sure that I will keep using my calendar and also be able to live a less stressful life. It will stop me from my last minute studying for tests and forgetting about meetings. I will be able to live a well-balanced, goal-oriented life without unnecessary stress.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   References: Poser, B. (2003) Time Management for Students http://www.yorku.ca/cdc/lsp/tmonline/time.htm Whetten, D., Cameron, K. (2002) Developing Management Skills

The Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn :: essays research papers

E.M. Forster makes a bold statement when he declares that he would rather betray his country than betray his friend. Forster takes a very moral stand on the issue and states that a friendship is often more important than a government's actions or society's beliefs. His opinion regarding the value of friendship is a common theme shared by many authors throughout history, including Mark Twain, and Alexandre Dumas.Mark Twain's classic novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, describes a young boy torn between what he feels his country and society expect of him and what his heart tells him is right. Society believes that slaves should be treated as property; Huck, who had befriended a runaway slave, sees Jim as a person, not property. In the end, Huck Finn decides that he would rather disobey society's teachings about slavery, than betray his friend by returning him to his previous condition of servitude.Further reiterating Forster's conception of the proper order of one's loyalty is a product of English folklore, Robin Hood. According to legend, Robin Hood robbed from the rich and gave to the poor in an effort to bring happiness to the peasants of Nottingham in an otherwise dreary time under the tyrannical rule of Prince John. A childhood friend of Robin, Maid Marion places her friendship with Robin Hood above loyalty to the crown. She has numerous opportunities to betray Robin Hood, but she does not. She sees the good he is doing for the land and the lone resistance he and his band of Merry Men provide against the evil Sheriff. Had she been loyal to her country, Robin Hood would have never been successful against the Sheriff of Nottingham and the citizens of her kingdom would have had to endure even greater injustices. Sharing many of the same principles Robin Hood embodies is Alexandre Dumas's The Three Musketeers. The famous trio of noblemen battle against the villainy of the Court of King Louis XIII. D'Artagnan, Athos, Porthos and Aramis fight to preserve the honor of their Queen, Anne of Austria, against the Cardinal Richelieu. Their famous motto " All for one and one for all!" illustrates the value they place on their friendship.

Oarland City Jail Closure Illustrates Naive Leadership Essay

The primary job of a city government is to ensure public safety for all its dwellers and visitors. However, the city council has refused to meet or acknowledge this critical and prime responsibility. Instead, it hands subsidies to favored developers. And swelling redevelopment empire, likewise, smothers day-to-day city services. The City of Oakland California jail was closed on July 1, 2005. One year later, the verdict is in: closing the jail was a dumb move. It appears that there are more unfavorable consequences to this city initiative than favorable ones. Hence, the aim of this research proposal is to study the effect or the impact of the closure of the Oakland City jail on communities within the city. Some news items highlighting crime statistics that have occurred in the City of Oakland California were gathered to serve as primary materials for this undertaking. For example, â€Å"Rape was up nearly 12 percent; car thefts and burglaries up nearly 30 percent; robbery up 18 percent — some of it in neighborhoods not accustomed to crime,† reports ABC 7 News (6/12/06); â€Å"Oakland’s murder rate is rising five times faster than the country at large,† (ABC 7 News, 6/12/06); and â€Å"In Oakland, a city of 400,000, the death rate is 25.6 per 100,000 people, four times higher than the national rate of 6.1, according to the Alameda Country Public Health Department report† (Mamberto, October 2, 2006) are indicative of something undesirable are happing in the area. This research paper will seek the affirmation or nullification of this hypothesis statement: The reduction of the Oakland Police Department Fiscal Year budget for Fiscal Year 2005-2007 resulting in the closure of the city jail and subsequent elimination of 89 full-time positions has negative impact on the community’s safety. A correlation of the â€Å"Independent Variable† and â€Å"Dependent Variable† will be designed and structured accordingly from which conclusions will be derived from. Appropriate statistical tools, like, â€Å"sampling techniques,† â€Å"hypothesis testing,† â€Å"measurement of central tendency,† â€Å"descriptive statistics,† â€Å"probability statistics,† â€Å"inferential statistics,† among other, will be used. Data shall come from these sources:   (1) records of the Oakland Police Department (OPD); (2) relevant literature, like, news items from TV, radio and print media; (3) periodicals; and (4) interviews. Introduction One year ago, on July 1, 2004, the Oakland City council closed the city jail. It was labeled a budget-cutting move, for an estimated saving of no more than $3 million per year. A year later, the council just finished spending a $16 million budget surplus. Oakland lost a facility permanently on the basis of fluctuating budget numbers. The jail closure has further crippled police work. OPD officers tell us: The processing time to put a detained or arrested person into the jail has more than doubled from 20 minutes to 45 minutes. In effect, the already understaffed department has lost another several police officers. Criminals are now taken to the County’s Glenn E. Dyer Detention Facility, but the sheriffs there are not happy about the increased workload. They use various legal excuses that force Oakland to take the criminal all the way out to the Santa Rita jail. When Oakland had a jail, prisoners with minor health issues could be kept there and provided health care. Without a jail, the County pushes the prisoners to Highland Hospital, where Oakland police must guard them for hours or days. In an interview of some local residents, for example, a 20-year resident of 14th Ave. and E. 27th said she never experienced or witnessed any violent crimes until October of 2005—she witnessed a man stabbed to death in front of her house; another interviewee, a 15-year resident of Grand Street, said his house was burglarized on July 2006 for the first time and a month later his neighbor was robbed at gun point in front of his house. These incidents are no ordinary occurrences in a community whose people expect continued and lasting peace and order as well as public safety. The closure of the Oakland City jail and the resultant elimination of 89 OPD personnel, it seems, have something to do with this apparent serious problem besetting Oakland City today that threatens the social and emotional well being of its residents and visitors. Where are the city council members today who made the decision to close the city jail? Are they informed about or are they reading what are trumpeted by media outlets? Do they listen to affected local residents? Have they realized the consequences of their decision lately? Do they have corrective plans to address the apparently undesirable results of their group decision? Literature Review The news items and results of personal interview of Oakland residents pertaining to the closure of the Oakland City jail will serve as initial sources of research data. Following are summaries of literature review for this undertaking (see complete literature in Appendix A and Appendix B). KTVU Channel (11/22/06) carries a report of violent crime rise of 34.2% in 2006. Oakland city â€Å"still ranks high in† crime category,† reports CRIME (n.d.). This same media reports â€Å"132 murders† committed as of November 2006 by an average age of 28 years old. The rate of killings increased to 21% from 94 in 2005 compared to 88 in 2004 and â€Å"majority of the crimes being committed occur in the East and West parts of the city.† ABC 7 News (July 11) also reports worrying crime occurrences in Oakland having a â€Å"soaring murder rate that’s almost double the number of homicides right now compared to this time last year.† And this demography can reach a â€Å"triple digit rate by end of the year,† if authorities do not start to act today. There is a stark difference of killings this time—victims are younger and their lives were pluck cold-bloodedly along populated alleys of the city. Crime statistics have now reached the attention of national level with the involvement of FBI authorities—this development maybe reassuring to some but the other side of the fence confirms something ugly about the situation. Another ABC 7 News (6/12/06) circulates a headline about Oakland’s rising murder rate to be â€Å"five times faster than the country at large.† The reason attributed in the â€Å"big jump in murder† is â€Å"readily available handguns, gang and drug activity and disrespect for life.† What’s happening? Another disturbing information spread by the media is about rape. This time, it is up nearly 12 percent. Although Oakland police establishment is trying to do something to at least contain the alarming situation including â€Å"saturating high crime neighborhoods,† but the prospect of effective prevention is far from reality. North Gate News (October 2, 2006), likewise, has another corroborating story for the day. Victims are relatively young individuals in their early adulthood of 20 to 24 and victims were identified to be African Americans. There is something contemptible about the figures reported, like, â€Å"45% [of the offenders] were actually under the care of the criminal justice system – either on parole or probation – when the murder occurred.† And why â€Å"80% of violent crimes in the county occur in Oakland or to Oakland residents†? Killings in the area keep rising. And what is really alarming to peace-loving residents of Oakland is the admission that â€Å"We’re in the middle of a public health crisis here . . .† These news items have one thing in common: emphasis on the increasing crime rate in Oakland City after the closure of the city jail. Relevant books, magazines, and professional journals are considered to be reviewed for this research work, too. Methodologies Crime-related research data will be collected from OPD records for the period January 1, 2003 up to December 31, 2005. These crime-related data will be classified and their occurrences will be tabulated statistically using applicable statistical tools, like, descriptive statistics, measurement of central tendency, among other. Statistics made by other entities will be considered; and, thus, are planned to be gathered accordingly. A survey of residents in a West Oakland area is considered—the data to be gathered will be pertaining to their feelings of security and insecurity as well as safety in their area stimulated by recent rise of criminality which is hypothesized to be the result of the closure of the city jail. A specific methodology on: (1) how the research questions are studied, (2) how existing data will be used, (3) how new data generated by the researcher will be incorporated to existing data, (4) how the primary research will be brought to the study, (5) how survey data will be used, and (6) how a sample population will be used, will be developed accordingly prior to the commencement of the research work. A correlation between the independent variable and dependent variable (see below) will be designed and structured accordingly from which conclusion will be derived. The independent variable:    the Oakland Police Department’s Fiscal Year 2005-2007 budget reduction and subsequent elimination of 89 full-time positions (see Table 1) gave rise to the dependent variable; The dependent variable:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   a negative effect on the community’s safety. The expected or hypothesized negative impact of the closure of the city jail will be measured through the responses of respondents in a survey about their perceptions on the matter. On the other hand, the community’s safety will also be measured in the same manner as the former through survey made on the residents in which crime statistics are prevalent. Table 1. Full Time Equivalent Position Eliminated # Title/Position Number 1. Watch correction Officer supervisor 5 2. Court correction officer 1 3. Control desk 1 4. Public Representative Service 1 5. Property Correction Officer 3 6. Admitting 2 7. Floor Correction Officer 3 8. Search 4 9. Print Room (1) 3 10. Print Room (2) 3 11. Watch Correction Officer 3 12. Assistant Watch 2 13. Booking Correction Officer 3 14. 1st Floor 3 15. 2nd Floor 36 16. Jail Kitchen staffs 12 17. Jail Utility Workers 4 Total Full Time Equivalent Position Eliminated 89 Results and Findings Table 2 shows an annual data sheet that will be used to capture data from OPD. Table 2.1 is a data sheet that will be used to capture data from OPD which is related to Table 2. Table 3 is a survey question that will capture the individual perceptions of respondents about the effect of the closure of the city jail in their area. Table 4 shows a survey question that will capture the individual perceptions of respondents how they are affected emotionally by the perceived rise of criminality in the area. The data classifications shown below are not limited in themselves, i.e., other data structures are considered upon the approval of the final research proposal. Table 2. Annual data sheet (data to be obtained from OPD) Measures    Metrics from which data are derived Data obtained from OPD (Year 2003) Data obtained from OPD (Year 2004) Data obtained from OPD (Year 2005) (Research) Average processing time to put a detained or arrested person into jail (minutes/arrest) # minutes 45 minutes # minutes Average number of criminals taken to the County’s Glenn E. Dyer Detention Facility (#/per month) # per month # per month # per month Average number of criminals taken to Sta. Rita Jail per month # per month # per month # per month Average number of prisoners brought to Highland Hospital per month # per month # per month # per month Average number of guards assigned to guard prisoners brought to Highland Hospital per month # per month # per month # per month Table 2.1 Monthly data sheet (data to be obtained from OPD) Metrics from which data are derived Years, 2003, 2004, 2005    Total    Ave. J F M A M J J A S O N D Average processing time to put a detained or arrested person into jail (minutes/arrest) Number of criminals taken to the County’s Glenn E. Dyer Detention Facility (#/per month) Number of criminals taken to Sta. Rita Jail per month Number of prisoners brought to Highland Hospital per month Number of guards assigned to guard prisoners brought to Highland Hospital per month Table 3. Survey question on perception of the effect of the closure of the City Jail Survey question YES NO NOT SURE Do you think the closure of the Oakland City jail is the main cause of the rise of criminality in the area? Table 4. Survey question on how the emotional effect of the perceived rise of criminality in the area       Survey Question          Not affected at all    Mildly affected but do not feel afraid Reasonably affected that I feel afraid being victimized    Affected that I feel constantly afraid being victimized Very affected that it makes me feel nervous most of the time How much are you affected, emotionally (e.g., afraid that I will become a victim of crime) by the rise of criminality in the area? Conclusions and Recommendations: After the completion of the planned activities for the research work and the consolidation of all pertinent information that made up this research, the manner of reporting the research findings and conclusion will be given special consideration considering the contents and scope of the undertaking. After submitting my original research work to my professor, I plan to discuss the results with county officials of Oakland California and hope to be able to convince concerned local county officials to support my recommendation for the reinstatement of the Oakland city jail to its former stature. Appendices The Appendices section will contain graphs and other objects that are integral part of the research. In this Research Proposal, Appendix A contains a list of literature (news items pertaining to the city of Oakland jail closure); while Appendix B contains the results of my personal interview of some of the residents of Oakland city. APPENDIX A – List of Literature (News Items) Pertaining to the City of Oakland California Jail Closure    KTVU Channel –2 news 11/22/06 reported that violent crimes rise 34.2% this year Summary of Part 1 Crime Offenses, 2003 – 2005   Year   Murder Forcible Rape   Robbery Felony Assault   Burglary Total Larceny Auto Theft Total Offenses 1 Year % Change 2003 109 267 2,445 2,762 4,568 12,551 5,511 28,213 -5.56% 2004 82 262 2,190 2,616 4,324 10,984 6,877 27,335 -3.11% 2005 93 293 2,590 2,543 5,646 7,087 8821 27,073 -0.96% www.oaklandnet.com       CRIME www.wikepedia.org Though substantial gains have been made as evidenced from the Uniform Crime Reports published by the FBI, the city still ranks high in California for most categories of crime. In the 2006 Morgan Quitno crime rankings, Oakland is ranked the eighth most dangerous city nationwide. Though it fared better than the California cities of Richmond, and San Bernardino, Oakland is the second most dangerous in California after Compton. As of November 2006, Oakland had 132 murders, with the majority of victims and/or murderers from an African American background and the average age being 28 years old. [14] The murder rate increased 21% from only 94 murders in 2005, compared to 88 murders in 2004 being the lowest number down from 108 killings in 2003. The past few years into the millennium saw the lowest amount of murders, compared to the 1990’s when there were known to be an average of 160 murders in Oakland each year.[15] The majority of the crimes being committed occur in the East and West parts of the city. ABC 7 NEWS Oakland’s Murder Rate Is Soaring Almost Double Last Year At Same Time   By Vic Lee July 11 – KGO – Oakland is dealing with a soaring murder rate that’s almost double the number of homicides right now compared to this time last year. Unless police can slow down the murder spike, the city could face a triple digit murder rate by the end of the year.   The graveyard display next to this church is sobering testimony. There may be more murders, but the profiles of both suspects and victims and the way they die have changed little. The killers and those killed are usually young African American men and the victims’ last breaths were taken mostly on sidewalks. Off. Roland Holmgren, Oakland police spokesman: â€Å"Most of our homicides happen on the streets and most of our homicides happen due to a gun.† Behind the trigger? The usual causes. Drugs and gangs. This year, the face of those gangs is changing. Lt. Ersie Joyner, Oakland police homicide: â€Å"Hispanic gangs are up 20 to 25 percent. The victims are also young male Hispanics.† In 1992, homicides reached record levels in Oakland. By July of that year, 106 people had been murdered, up more than 40 percent from the previous year. City officials considered drastic measures like curfews, street barricades and check points. The FBI and the state attorney general sent help to Oakland police. Likewise, federal narcotics agents have now joined forces with Oakland police who are now targeting high crime areas. Off. Roland Holmgren, Oakland police spokesman: â€Å"This strategic area command gives command the flexibility to move officers throughout the city to attack hot spots.† That strategy appears to be paying off with other crimes like rapes and domestic violence. Police have a problem in solving these crimes, which is common in other cities as well, and that’s the reluctance of witnesses to come forward. The city of Oakland is just 23 shy of last year’s record for the entire year. ABC 7 News 6/12/06 Oakland’s murder rate is rising five times faster than the country at large. What’s the reason for the big jump in murder? Law enforcement cites readily available handguns, gang and drug activity and disrespect for life. Other crimes in Oakland showed big increases too. Rape was up nearly 12 percent; car thefts and burglaries up nearly 30 percent; robbery up 18 percent — some of it in neighborhoods not accustomed to crime. Oakland police are trying a number of different strategies to fight crime including saturating high crime neighborhoods with police as they did this weekend. North Gate News Online – Reporting by the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism Murders Go Up and Oakland Tries to Understand Why By Carola Mamberto , October 2, 2006 09:56 AM OAKLAND — As murders continue to plague the streets of Oakland – Most killings took place in the West Oakland and Elmhurst neighborhoods, and often did not have a known motive, although the police department believes they were mainly gang-related. The highest rate of murders was among 20 to 24 year olds. Victims were mainly African American (77%), as were suspects (63%). The average age of suspects was 28 years. The majority of them were not employed anywhere: 45% were actually under the care of the criminal justice system – either on parole or probation – when the murder occurred. â€Å"Violent homicide and suicide take the lives of more than 50,000 people in the United States each year, and are the third and fourth leading causes of death for people under 39 years of age. In Oakland, a city of 400,000, the death rate is 25.6 per 100,000 people, four times higher than the national rate of 6.1, according to the Alameda Country Public Health Department report. More than 80% of violent crimes in the county occur in Oakland or to Oakland residents. Murders are up 21% from last year: so far there have been 20 more killings in the city compared to September 2005. â€Å"We’re in the middle of a public health crisis here, it’s very important that we look at the problem in a more comprehensive way and start addressing the root causes of violence rather than its consequences,† said Beyers. â€Å"It’s all about thinking of it as a preventable disease,† he said. So far, the City of Oakland has adopted a mixed strategy to curb violence, combining tough enforcement with more prevention-oriented projects. In 2004, voters passed the Measure Y which sought $19.9 million a year for crime prevention, parolee jobs, youth programs and 63 new police officers, all paid through increased parking fees and a 10-year annual parcel tax. The measure is still far from being implemented, city officials say, mainly because of staff shortages, especially within the Oakland Police Department. This summer, as murder rates spiraled, police unveiled a plan to trace the city’s 100 most violent residents.    APPENDIX B – Results of Personal Interview with Local Residents of Oakland City (A Prime Research Data)    Following are the results of my personal interview with some of the local residents of Oakland City, California: Mr. Yoichai who is a formal prison guard expressed anger over the closed of the jail, as a result of the closure he lost his job. Mr. Pace & Mr. Bunger who were Correction Officers that lost their job as a result of the jail closure. These two gentlemen explains that as the result of the jail closure, not enough officers patrolling the streets because most officers are spending a lot of time on the freeway stuck in traffic ( during heavy traffic hour) trying to transport arresters to the Alameda County Jail. Once they get their they have to await longer than the Oakland City Jail.   Investigators have to go all the way to the County Jail to interview inmates versus where they can just walk to the Oakland City Jail and get it done quicker and more convenience.   Also the cost of gas, wear & tear of vehicles and overtime pay for those officers who get stuck on freeway and for officers who have to stay late or come in early while other officers are stuck on freeway. Mrs. Lauder who lives in 14th Ave and E. 27th for 20+ years and never experience or witness and violent crimes until October of 2005.   She witnessed a man was stabbed to death in front of her house. Mr. Pardoza who lives on Grand Street for 15+ years his house for the first time was   burglarized on July 2006 and a month later his neighbor was robbed at gun point in front of his house    Bibliography ABC 7 News (6/12/06). Bennis, W. (1989). On Becoming a Leader. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley Publishing Company. Bowerman, B. L. & O’Connell, R. T. (2003). Business Statistics In Practice. (3rd Ed.). Boston: McGraw-Hill. Brill, P. L. & Worth, R. (1997). The Four Levers of Corporate Change. New York: American Management Association (AMACOM). Cohen, A. (1993). The Portable MBA in Management. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. CRIME. www.wikepedia.org Juran, J. M. & Godfray, A. B. (Eds.) (1999). Juran’s Quality Handbook. (5th Ed.) New York: McGraw-Hill. KTVU Channel (11/22/06). 2 news reported that violent crimes rise 34.2% this year. www.oaklandnet.com. Lee, V. (July 11, 2006). Oakland’s Murder Rate Is Soaring Almost Double Last Year At Same Time.  ABC 7 NEWS. Mamberto , C. (October 2, 2006). Murders Go Up and Oakland Tries to Understand Why. North Gate News Online – Reporting by the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism: Oakland. Noe, Raymond A., Hollenbeck, John R., Gerhart, Barry, & Wright, Patrick M. (2000). Human Resource Management Gaining a Competitive Advantage (3rd Ed.). Boston, MA: Mc-Graw Hill. Scholtes, P. R. (1998). The Leader’s Handbook Making things Happen, Getting Things Done. New York: McGraw-Hill. Zand, D. E. (1997). The Leadership Triad Knowledge, Trust, and Power. New York: Oxford University Press.

How Technology Enhances Teaching and Learning Essay

Students at the Owen School’s Strategy in the New Economy seminar enter a classroom that looks like any other, except that a projection system and video screen have been installed. Their professor announces that today they will be joined by a guest lecturer, a senior VP from a Fortune 500 corporation. What makes this guest lecture unique is that the students are sitting in a Nashville classroom but the guest lecturer is speaking from his home office in Estonia, via video technology. This is an example of one of the creative ways faculty members at Vanderbilt are using technology to enhance their students’ learning. In the scene described above, Owen Professor David Owens, along with Professor Bart Victor, use video conferencing to bring an international guest speaker to their organization studies seminar. Across the University, faculty are using technology to help students master subjects from elementary and secondary school instruction to bioengineering to structural equation modeling. They are developing their own skills while making students comfortable with the technology that will help them be successful after leaving Vanderbilt. As they introduce more and more technology into the classroom, faculty are finding it raises the quality of class discussion and involves students much more deeply in their own education. The employers of today are looking for the very best employees to fill positions in their organizations. The desired traits of an employee used to be centered on experience. The more experienced an applicant was, the more likely they were to get the job for which they applied. Today, employers are not only looking for experience, they are also looking for a person that has a degree in the field. Employers have begun to realize the importance of strategic thinking and leadership skills that an education affords. Because of this shift in desired qualifications, modern adults have been unable to adequately compete in the job market. The aforementioned time and responsibility constraints, as well as the fact that they have been focused on building the experience that was previously desired has put adults at a disadvantage. Being able to obtain a college degree via technology-based education methods has greatly reduced that disadvantage. It has also had an impact on their ability to execu te the functions of the position when the  job is obtained. For this issue of the Teaching Forum, we spoke to four Vanderbilt faculty members, each of whom is using technology to enhance their students’ learning. Owen Management Professor David Owens uses videoconference links to bring in guest speakers and incorporates video and audio technology into most of his lectures. Psychology Professor Andy Tomarken teaches methods and statistics courses in a computer lab, allowing him to integrate traditional lecture with demonstration projects using the methods he is teaching. Peabody Professor Margaret Smithey guides her students in the preparation of multi-media classroom presentations including clips from the Internet, video, audio, and news archive footage. She has opened an e-conference for interns from her courses who want to stay in touch with their fellow students and professors, and she maintains a library of digitized video clips, taken from live and simulated classroom settings. Department of Biomedical Engineering Chair Tom Harris directs a new NSF-funded center focused on developing technology-based bioengineering teaching materials and curriculum. He is collaborating with several partners, including Peabody Professor John Bransford. What Technology Brings to the Classroom What these faculty members have in common, and what they share with many others across the campus, is a commitment to exploring the opportunities technology offers for improving the quality of classroom instruction. Professor Margaret Smithey describes how technology allows her to capitalize on unexpected turns in class discussion. â€Å"Yesterday afternoon my students had specific questions about classroom management, so at that point I said ‘let’s look at these scenarios that I have on a CD.’ The CD brought to life  their questions. I think seeing actual classroom scenarios related to their questions makes learning come alive for my students better than if I gave my opinion or told a story.† Professor Tomarken, who teaches advanced statistics and methods classes, says incorporating computers into class discussion can also make extremely difficult courses much easier for students to grasp. One of the challenges of teaching advanced statistics to students who often lack a strong math background is â€Å"translating theoretical stuff into a workable set of concrete analysis, â€Å"Tomarken says. â€Å"I find that it’s really important to talk about different types of models from the point of view of specific problems and that’s really where the ability in class to have stuff be on the projection system is critical.† Access to a computer-equipped classroom can also be important. â€Å"I like to get students interacting with software in the class, â€Å"Tomarken says. â€Å"I find if you just send them home to do it on their own, they run into real problems. When they follow me, typing in on their own computers, that facilitates their learning.† Last semester, Tomarken also faced another problem – the lack of a good textbook for teaching structural equation modeling to social science students – that he solved using technology. â€Å"There is no book that is perfect, that really is appropriate, for this class. There are either books that tend to be too easy or too hard or just not broad enough in scope.† Tomarken solved this problem using the Prometheus system, by placing his lecture notes on the web. This not only replaced the textbook, it allowed students to spend more time focused on the lecture and less time copying formulas from the board. â€Å"I told them, you don’t have to write anything, it’s all on the web, just listen.† Technology Changes Teaching, Not Teachers While all the faculty members interviewed for this article believe technology has great power to influence their teaching, no one feels it fundamentally changes them as teachers.  Ã¢â‚¬Å"I’ve always wanted a very interactive classroom,† Smithey says. â€Å"I want it to be very theoretically based and I know exactly what I want my students to learn. I think technology has improved the quality of what we can access.† Smithey also emphasizes the importance of technology being used for a clear purpose. â€Å"I never want to use technology just for technology’s sake but to support my students’ learning.† Professor Tomarken feels that integrating statistical software and visual models into his courses means he comes into class â€Å"better prepared† but doesn’t think it changes him as a teacher. â€Å"I usually am pretty interactive with the class.† He does, however, credit the accessibility of computers with reducing the â€Å"passivity factor† in his classes. â€Å"They have to type things in, they have to click on the mouse. I think it’s pretty lively in a lot of ways.† How Technology Enhances Learning Professor Owens, Smithey, and Tomarken all feel they can see technology enhancing their students’ learning, particularly when students use the technology directly. David Owens requires his students to do at least one group project entirely over the Internet. â€Å"They’re not allowed to do it face to face,† Owens says. â€Å"They aren’t allowed to say, â€Å"I’ll call you tonight.’ They have to do everything virtually. In this project, they have a lot to figure out about group process, what things are done best face to face, what things are done best asynchronously, what things are done best in an anonymous chat room. And they figure it out. It’s†¦so much more powerful than my sitting up there saying â€Å"the group process models show†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Professor Smithey requires her students to complete a series of computer assignments from a course CD that she has developed. Smithey values these pre-class assignments because they save classroom time and improve the quality of class discussion. â€Å"When the students complete their CD assignments, they come to class with a common context. We are able then to discuss particular class dilemmas or teaching dilemmas that everyone has watched, analyzed and reflected upon. So, we can start there and go with our class discussion rather than having to take 20 or 30 minutes of class  showing the video and asking the specific questions. They’ve done all that in the computer lab.† Technology can also improve the dynamics between teachers and students, often leading to enhanced learning. â€Å"Students can see you’re doing a lot of work to further their education and I think that there’s an appreciation factor that ultimately contributes to their own motivation,† Tomarken says. Students who may question how much their professors care about teaching can also see evidence of the time and trouble taken to prepare for class. â€Å"I think sometimes graduate students, or possibly even undergraduate students, go in with the mindset that this teachers doesn’t really give a darn about teaching and I think using technology is a real way of communicating ‘yes I do,’† Tomarken adds. Technology Brings Challenges Introducing technology into the classroom can also bring a set of challenges. First among them is finding the time needed to incorporate new technology into courses. Professor Smithey not only uses the technology herself but also requires her student to produces multi-media projects during the semester. â€Å"If you’re going to ask the students to do such a challenging project, you have to be available to them. You have to have support. There has to be some relief time to learn about the technology. You don’t have to know the details of technology but you have to understand it well enough that you can envision what your students need to know about using it.† The technology itself can fail, leaving an instructor to resort to back up. Technology also changes rapidly and it takes time to keep up with technical changes that influence how equipment and software perform in the classroom. Professor Owens points to a digitized news show he purchased from CBS: â€Å"I have the CD in here and one of my fears is that someday I’ll pop it in the classroom and it won’t work. It’s a constant upkeep.† Professors Tomarken and Owens also note that having computers in the classroom can distract students from the class itself. Teaching in a  classroom equipped with computers â€Å"actually introduces the potential for students to be doing something on the computer that doesn’t have anything to do with the class,† Tomarken says. â€Å"I occasionally go parading around and check out what people are up to,† Owens says. Some people take notes on the computer, some people try to get the lecture slides up on their screen so they can see them up close, some people do e-mail, surf the net, do whatever.† He agrees with Tomarken that students’ personal use of computers in class is an issue that needs to be examined, â€Å"through whether that’s worse than day dreaming I don’t know.† Need for University Support Support by the University for the use of technology is also critical. Bringing technology into the classroom uses resources ranging from computers to classrooms to graduate assistants, and university wide coordination is essential for ensuring an effective learning environment for students. â€Å"One element that is essential is support in the form of graduate students to help students with technology,† Smithey says. â€Å"It is impossible for one faculty member to support an entire class of students in creating innovative ways to use technology. You can continue to use CDs that you have in your own library, you can continue to connect to the Internet from the classroom, but additional faculty support is necessary to take technology use to the next level of requiring our students to use technology in a way that prepares them for using it in the future classrooms.† Physical facilities are also important. Keeping the technology in working order is crucial but so are other issues such as ensuring a classroom’s physical design supports the best possible use of the technology. â€Å"You have a very real problem if you have big nice screens and nice projectors but the screen is in front of the white board; if you want to write and have slides at the same time, it’s difficult if not impossible,† Owens says. Moving Forward with Technology As the University moves towards an increasingly coordinated approach to the use of technology, several efforts  are underway at Vanderbilt to determine just how technology can be used to most effectively enhance learning. One effort is the VaNTH Center in Bioengineering Educational Technologies, a joint effort between Vanderbilt, Harvard University, University of Texas, and Northwestern. Among is several priorities is research into the value of technology, such as web-based education for teaching bioengineering. The research team is collaborating with specialists from the Learning Technology Center at Peabody and with the Institute for Software Integrated Systems (ISIS). â€Å"It’s recognized that bioengineering teaching materials are not very well developed and there is not a broad consensus on bioengineering curricula,† says Thomas R. Harris, chair of Vanderbilt’s Department of Biomedical Engineering. â€Å"We need a new way to look at bioengineering education. Why not use the modern methods that we’ve been developing in the learning sciences and learning technology, and really take a look at this from an entirely new point of view?† The result is a $10 million NSF grant for Vanderbilt and its academic partners to develop a new curriculum in bioengineering, one that utilizes fundamental principles of learning science and â€Å"is driven by technology, web based technology, simulations, slides, interactive systems, and tutoring and homework systems,† Harris says. Although the grant focuses on the development of bioengineering, the collaboration between Peabody’s Learning Technology Center and the Department of Biomedical Engineering has the potential to benefit students and faculty in all areas of the university because part of the research involves determining exactly which technological tools best enhance learning. â€Å"One of the things of concern is that in higher education a lot of people are very critical of technology as being just a waste of time and money and so forth. Well, is that right or not?† Harris asks. â€Å"If a particular piece of learning technology is no good, we’re going to be happy to identify it as such. We’d like to be able to guide the decision of  educators and administrators about what is effective and what is not. And if you can begin to show major advances for some of this, then the justification for the additional investment is there.† Another potential benefit this research offers is the opportunity to develop a much better understanding of the kinds of resources required for faculty to use technology in ways that consistently enhance student learning. â€Å"There could be a small investment that could dramatically increase our effectiveness if we do it right,† Harris says. â€Å"That’s the key. We have to know how to do it and what to do. So if we get in and do research in this center and we find out some of the mistakes and things you ought to avoid, I think that you could tailor a system that could dramatically increase effectiveness and make faculty more effective.† Harris believes that effective use of technology has the potential to transform the student-teacher relationship at the undergraduate level. â€Å"I think we’re going to see a revolution in the interaction between students and teachers,† he says. â€Å"I think the relationship to undergraduates is going to become more like the relationship to graduate students in the sense of more direct personal interaction. By using technology we’re going to be able to use the power of the person, who they are and what they are. The teacher’s inspirational role is going to become much greater.† Like Harris, Professors Owens, Smithey and Tomarken also see new opportunities to use technology in the classroom. David Owens wants to pursue his interest in virtual teams by developing a course run exclusively on the Internet. Andy Tomarken plans to continue integrating computer interaction with more traditional classroom activities. Margaret Smithey would like to use videoconference links to allow her students to observe a live classroom setting and then interview the teacher afterward, all via video. In each case, these faculty members, like many others across the University, will continue to use technology to challenge both themselves and their students.

Across Five Aprils

In the book Across Five Aprils, by Irene Hunt, is set in the 1800’s during the civil war between the Union, the northern parts of America, and the confederation, the southern parts of America. The story sets off on a farm in southern Illinois, where Jethro and his mother, Ellen Creighton, live with his 8 siblings. As the war escalates, Jethro’s older brothers and his teacher go to help the war effort. Most of his brothers join the Union but Bill, his favorite brother, goes to join the Confederation. As the story progresses each of the brothers send mails to the family describing how to warfront is doing, which was contrary to how the newspapers described the warfront. After every victory and every loss, the public opinion about the war and the Generals change from the slightest bit of news they hear. In the early stages of the war, Ulysses S. Grant early victories for the Union at Fort Henry and Fort Donelson. The family celebrates the victory, knowing nothing of how terrible the battles truly were. After General Grant’s victories, people start to doubt and compare General McClellan, who was once featured in the newspaper in the north as being a â€Å"Brilliant† General. Later on in the war, the Union forces suffer great losses and General Grant is harshly criticized by the press, who is later praised by the press and the people after the Battle of Gettysburg. This shows how easily influenced people are. They harshly criticize or overly glorify after every battle and change their opinions about the Generals. Jethro shows his distrust to the press and other people’s opinions when he is asked if he is going against General Grant. He replies by saying â€Å"No, I ain’t. Things went against him-â€Å"(Ch6 pg. 100). As the war is raging throughout the land, Jethros family receives letters from his brothers. In those letters they describe the terrors of war but try to moderate how much they put in the letter to not make the family worry. Jethro watches as people are overjoyed by the victories and angry about losses. Jethro realizes that there is great contrast between the victories described by his brothers and the victories described in the newspapers. At the near end of the war, Jethro watches as the same people who criticized grant and the Union, cheer and say that â€Å"I told you so – old Unconditional Surrender Grant is the man who will win the war. †(Ch10 pg. 168). This demonstrates how easily people are swayed and how easily they are able change their opinions.