Why Should We Conserve Forests free essay sample

A great variety of plants and animals exist on earth. They are essential for the survival of mankind. Today , a major threat to survival of these organisms is deforestation. We know that deforestation means clearing forests and using the land for other purposes. Trees in the forestare cut for procuring land for cultivation,building houses and factories and making furniture or using wood as fuel. Some natural causesof deforestation are forest fires and severe droughts. We know that deforestation disturbs the balance in nature. If cutting of trees continues, rainfall and the fertility of the soil decrease. Moreover, there will be increased chancesof natural calamities such as floods and droughts. To protect our flora fauna and habitats, protected areas called sanctuaries , national parks and biosphere reserves have been earmarked. Plantation, cultivation, grazing, felling trees, hunting and poaching are prohibited there. Sanctuaries are Areas where animals are protected from any disturbance to them and their habitat. We will write a custom essay sample on Why Should We Conserve Forests or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page National parks are Areas reserved for wild life where they can freely use the habitats and natural resources. Biosphere reserves are large areas of protected land for conservation of wild life, plant and animal resources and traditional life of the tribals living in the area. we should conserve forests to maintain eco system in the world, if forests are depleted continuously then global warming effect will increase and natural disasters will take place which disturb ecosystem global warming or green house effect is caused due to increase in the amount of carbondioxide in the air or atmosphere. It absorbs the heat of the sunlight and it does not let some amount of heat to go out of the atmosphere due to which ice sheets are melting continuously and amount of water in oceans is increasing day by day and floods are taking place. So its our duty to conserve forests for the future generation. save forests save life.

How to Write a Book Review Complete Guide - Paperell.com

How to Write a Book Review Complete Guide How To Write A Book Review? Most students have come across a situation where they had to write a book review. It can be quite daunting but with the right approach, there is nothing to fear. This article should set on you on the right track.What Is A Book Review?A book review is a critical assessment of a given text: a good review should include a detailed description, analysis, and evaluation of the literature. It should convey your own opinion with supporting evidence from the book. That means there should be an argument you develop as you comment on various aspects of the literature. It is not a simple description of the plot or content: think of it as entering a dialogue and a discussion with the author and the intended reader. You should criticize the writer and pointing out where you agree or disagree.. At the same time, identify where the work is exemplary or weak in its scope, argument, or structure. Your opinion on the book should be stated clearly but also invite the reader to makes their own judgments and conclusion, which might not necessarily be consistent with yours. Your task is to outline the tools that enable readers to form their own objective opinion, despite having read yours. The structure of a book review is similar to other academic writing. It should include a thesis statement formed by you, supporting body paragraphs citing the book, and a conclusion to round it off. Knowing how to write a literature review is an essential skill.A book review format typically presupposes that reviews are kept concise and focused on the task. If you look through examples in academic journals or newspapers, they seldom exceed 1000 words. However, this may not be the case for you, as it depends on your instructions: for instance, extended commentaries are not uncommon in academic writing. Generally speaking, book reviews tend to be succinct. They may vary in subject, tone, and style, but for most purposes share a common set of features:You are required to give a brief summary of the l iterature. This should include a relevant description of the subject, which is followed by a key argument, the author’s perspective, and purpose.More importantly, include a critical evaluation of the content. Introduce your general reaction to the text, identify what is noteworthy, whether you feel the writer achieved their goals and how the work improved your understanding of the issue at hand.You can also include a recommendation. It is a personal opinion on whether you would advise the book to others.Book Review TemplateWriting a book review can be a tough task, as it is hard to form an opinion on something you do not feel qualified to assess. The book might not have caught your attention either. This especially becomes a problem when we are talking about award-winning world-famous literature – who are you to express your thoughts on such a universally recognized piece of art? On top of that, there is so much critical literature on it already that it may appear impo ssible to add anything to it. The idea is to pretend to be an expert to your reader even if you lack the qualifications. You will not be expected to surpass the writer’s genius, but if you make a bit of effort and closely observe the text, you will gather a solid base to enable you to make your own judgments. It is quite a skill to learn to express disagreement tactfully. You have to provide evidence that will later help with other assignments. Some professional book reviews can be found on the New York Times website just to give you an idea.A good book review should follow a template like this:Subject of the book;Summary of its contents;Author’s argument;Your critical appraisal of the book and its argument;Your personal recommendation.A perfect book review is a correct balance of opinions and concrete examples. It also includes your critical evaluation based on a clearly defined rationale and a recommendation to the audience. This way your reader will get a general id ea. They would know whether to enjoy reading it or it would be of no use to them. It is also a good idea to place the book in a wider historical context to demonstrate its relevance and importance. Ultimately, this leaves the reader to make a weighted decision based on multiple factors.Having learned how to review a book, you will understand it ought to focus on opinions instead of facts or details. The first two parts should be kept to a minimum, allowing more room for arguments illustrated by specific details from the book. Seem too complicated? To get professional help with this task you can always use a book report writing service.Recommendations While ReadingThere is no better way of writing a book review than with thorough planning, which is an essential step whenever you are working on any academic writing task. It always takes some planning. When you first read specific literature, you might not have approached it as a critic, but to be successful with a book review, you mus t apply some critical thinking. Thus, it is a two-step process. While reading you have to develop your argument and taking notes that support it Having finished reading, it is important to document your findings and opinions in a structured draft. Include supporting evidence too!Some of the points to consider include:Thesis or main argument of the book – what has the author accomplished;Subject or topic of the book – the author’s approach, covered aspects;How is the author’s argument supported – is it convincing;Structure of the argument – its parts, how persuasive is it;The Book’s contribution to your understanding of the subject.It may also be useful to go beyond the work and contemplate the place of an author in society and history, as well as the book’s genre and context. Take a closer look at how some of the most popular reviews were written here.Advice On WritingOnce you have brought together your observations and assessm ents, inspect your notes and unify them into a statement that makes up your thesis. Don’t forget to include your main arguments for it as well.It is common to approach the task starting with an emphasis on the writer’s argument and gradually develop your own. How you balance it depends on whether you feel confident enough that your audience is more interested in your personal argument based on the primary evidence or it would be more beneficial to place emphasis on the author’s ideas. Â  It is up to you to find the correct balance without compromising quality.The structure of a review is standard. You should start off with an introduction that provides a brief book review outline and provides general information about the book and its author. This should include placing them in a context and describing the writer’s and your personal theses.The introduction is followed by a short summary of the content. Its length can vary depending on the assignment and whether the intended audience has read the book already. But don’t forget: analysis is more important!The main part is analysis and evaluation: each paragraph of this block should deal with a single aspect of your argument. Such structure helps you stay organized. It requires providing supporting evidence for each idea. In most cases, you should avoid organizing your argument chronologically – it makes more sense to do it by topics, the author’s methods, or other elements of the book.In your conclusion, make your final judgment without introducing new evidence. It is a sound idea to go beyond the book by relating your argument to a wider context. Balance the book’s strengths and weaknesses and make one final assessment. Additional help with article review is always within your reach.Review the book written by the author, not your image of it: be objective and constructive with your criticism; use precise language to set the correct tone for your book revi ew. Do not hesitate to express your own opinions supporting them with evidence. Your instructor is looking for you to challenge the writer and read some fresh comments. At the same time, you have to be impartial – make sure your review is not biased because the author has put in a lot of time into their work.

Effective Communication Skills Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Effective Communication Skills - Essay Example Effective communication skills are thus necessary to provide effective services in health care. Paul Leagans defines communication as the process by which two or more people exchange facts, ideas, impressions and feelings so that each person gains understanding of use, intent and meaning of the message (Schuster, 1999). Communication includes verbal as well as non-verbal exchange of information. It is necessary to practice effective communication skills in nursing so as to understand, empathize and support patients (Carrol and Dolly, 2008). This paper will elaborate on two elements of effective communication and the skills pertinent to these elements. It is crucial to develop effective communication skills so as to overcome the various barriers to communication. In nursing practice, barriers to communication include physiological, personal, cultural, psychological and physical barriers. Physiological barriers, for example, altered mental state may interfere with the patient’s ability to interpret information. The nurse’s attitude, knowledge and feeling towards a patient may also impede communication. Physical barriers include noise, distance and other environmental factors that may impede communication (Schuster, 1999). The elements of effective communication include the sender, message, channel of communication, receiver and feedback (Schuster, 1999). The sender (source) formulates programs and broadcasts the information, which they want to communicate. The effect of the message is dependent on the sender’s attitude, knowledge, social status and communication skills. The message is the information in physical form conveyed to the audience. The channel of communication is the media used by the source in facilitating communication to the receiver. The receiver decodes, translates the meaning and acts upon the information received. Feedback is the reaction to the information conveyed by the sender. This paper will focus on the message and the channel and the skills therein. There are various forms of message. They include words, signs, symbols and pictures. It comprises of message code, content and treatment (Schuster, 1999). Message code defines any form of signs and symbols that are structured in a meaningful format to the same people. This includes the use of language to convey information. Message content defines the material that is in the message. This is selected by the sender in putting across his information. On the other hand, message treatment shows the decisions which the source undertakes to select and arrange the codes and content. The message communicates the sender’s feelings, intentions and attitudes towards the audience (Balzer, 2007). In nursing practice, information is conveyed from one person to another within a short time. Effective communication skills are necessary to avoid errors in vital information, for example, treatment of a patient (Balzer, 2007). In effective communication, a messag e should elicit the desired action from the audience. It must be clear, timely, specific and in line with the intended objectives. This means that the nurse should ensure that the message is brief, accurate and meets the objectives of its purpose. In addition, the message should be conveyed in a language that the audience can understand. The use of complex vocabulary to explain the patient’s disease and treatment will interfere on the patient’s ability to understand as well as accept their condition. Nursing practice also involves gathering information about the patient, symptoms and their effects to the patient. The use of a common language will enhance understanding between the patient and the nurse (Christie and Robinson,

Humanities Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Humanities - Essay Example These conditions and poverty levels presented challenges that needed improved laws and law system. Consequently, the authorities’ emphasized on laws, leading to revision and incorporation of new clauses in the existing laws. The justice system continues to influence laws and school of thoughts. Ancient Greek during this time was marked with increased philosophical and medical studies that led to political, education and social changes (Covert 44). However, it is necessary to determine the factors that led to civilization. One has to determine whether geography and Greek are responsible. It is also necessary to compare Greek civilization with Eastern civilization and determine its superiority. Greek civilization, noted as Ancient Greece is a period stretching from 8th century B.C to 600AD. It succeeds the Dark Ages of Greek that was a period marked with orthodox ideas and misguided practices. The Greek civilization succeeds starting in a period called archaic period and ends wi th end of antiquity period. The beginning of the civilization features the influence of five cultures that helped shape Greece to its largely adopted culture. These cultures include Egyptian, Assyrian, Syro-Hittite and Phoenicians (Solway 3) During the onset of the civilization period, several changes began happening that made the period stand out from previous minor civilizations. Coining of the Greek alphabets from Phoenician scripts is one of the first changes. This occurred in the archaic period leading to emergence of written accounts. Water bodies characterize the geographical structure of Greek. Additionally, mountainous structures separate all neighboring community states. The coin emerged during this period that challenged the governing aristocratic regimes because the newfound trading methods led to the rise of a mercantile group that ended up desiring political power. This marks the period of societal governance change to democracy (Solway 23). The population grew in this period causing shortage of land and a deepening gap between the poor and rich. During this conflict, a social change occurred when Spartans males had to join the military whether one is an elite, rich or humble background. This is a period marred with civil wars. For example, Athens encountered land problems and agricultural misgivings that led to civil war. Law became the only solution in countering the conflicts. Initial attempt at settling the conflict failed but later succeeded after Solon reforms successfully established power to the aristocracy and improved the plight of the poor. This depicts the development of social structures, authorities and their shift with the changing economic, political, and educational aspects (Covert 3). Increased population growth led to migration and settlement into other areas that later would be collectively referred to as Greece. The migrations expanded the cultural practices and linguistic styles of the Ancient Greek. This further facilitated economy growth and adoption of the coin within the original states and overseas to the newly conquered colonies. Improvements became apparent in the people’s standards of living (Solway 34) The geographical outlook of the Greece territory was mountainous with numerous valleys and plains. As a result, numerous small communities lived separately, each with its own language, cultural practices and identity. This resulted in a larger community with diverse practices.

Implications of Information Technology on LAPD Essay Example for Free

Implications of Information Technology on LAPD Essay Los Angeles is one of the cities in the United States, in the year 2010; the city is approximated to have a population of four million people, with an area of four hundred and sixty eight square miles. In 1869, the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) was created to serve the area. Currently, LAPD is the third most prevalent police department in the United States. The police force faces an array of challenges Corwin, (2004), these includes governance, financial constraints, resource allocations, sustainable evidence gathering and storage, crime detections and operational priorities. Brief background of the organization Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) has been in the forefront in innovative techniques in an effort to fight crime, the technological systems proposed to be adopted by LAPD, takes into consideration the implementations which are currently in place. LAPD has adopted several Information Technology centered techniques which includes remote camera surveillance system, automatic license plate-recognition system, computer-aided dispatch (CAD) system and facial-recognition software. The information Technology driven approaches adopted by LAPD have had strategic implications on the performance of the police department Chu, (2001), considering the diverse challenges encountered by the police force; the technologies are also envisioned to offer a competitive edge, to the police force in fighting crime. The report considers and evaluates the strategic implications of information technology in the police force in future. Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) has been cooperating with several partners in implementation information technology driven solutions to fight crime. Over the past the department has utilized Information Technology in gathering watertight evidence in criminal cases and gaining public trust, the phased implementation of installation of video cameras in one thousand six hundred cars, to serve more than twelve thousand officers, to cost approximately $25 million is evidenced highlight of the utilization of Information Communication Technology. Northrop Grumman has long history with the American armed forces, the company was contracted in the year 1996 to plan and construct the Los Angeles Police Department Emergency Command Control and Communications System with subsidiary self-sufficient emergency dispatch centers, the project lasted for five years. With diverse experience, they have assisted the police to deploy computer-aided dispatch (CAD) the police boast of Emergency Communication System which integrates CommandPoint(tm) Mobile applications from Northrop Grumman and computer-aided dispatch (CAD) Discussion of Current Business Issues Governance has been a business challenge in the United States police force, Los Angeles inclusive. There has been a mix up in roles and responsibilities of the police officers, where at times the states have had mixed hierarchies confounded by bureaucratic empires and fiefdoms. Furthermore, there have been a massive amount of units, which has complicated the crime fighting due to diverse hierarchy of reporting structures. The current business environment calls for paradigm shift to increase accountability and transparency. Governance in the police force has also been an issue in waning public confidence, the current business environment favors self perpetuating oligarchy, this call for implementation of systems that favor accountability to the public. As regards financial expenditure in the police force, the police have over the years been consumers of tax, without resultant direct creation of wealth. Business wise, the police force have been viewed as liabilities to the tax payers, the fact that criminals have been advancing in technology calls for a rejoinder in form of technological advancement from the police quarters, this comes with increased expenditure. Moreover, the area covered by the Los Angeles police department is wide, with the ever increasing population means that the financial expenditure rises with time, however, the prevailing economic situations means that there are several competing needs for the funds available; this has curtailed monies allocated to the police department. The business environment also involves utilization of resources. Human resources, which in this case involves police officers and Information Communication Technology staff are the essential resources in the LAPD, currently, the legendary system requires the police department to have trained personnel to manage the network infrastructure. The systems also have the police department utilizing its own network link, which is very expensive in terms of maintenance as well as the regular training of officers as argued by Glenn, (2003), to update on the latest encryption techniques, so as to maintain the integrity of data. A crucial examination of the duties and responsibilities of all the officers has at times generated duplication of responsibilities, with several officers dedicated to supervisory duties rather than in directly fighting crime, therefore the roles of the officers have to be defined and the human resource streamlined to meet the customer demands, which in this case, is the public. The biggest challenge however has been escalating crime and solution lies in effectively detecting and avoiding crime. Some researchers have argued that senior police officers condone the practices associated with fiddling the figures, Cooking the Books also referred as gaming, to portray crime levels as decreasing, by techniques such as cuffing, stitching, skewing, nodding. The business issues are weakness in terms of evidence to charge suspects, where suspects have escaped judgment due to weak evidence mechanism, Joycelyn, (2008). Moreover, with the escalating number of criminals, officers have at time had to rely of the strength of their memories to remember all the suspects, in addition some suspects may be available in the police departments’ database, but the officers may not be able to access the data while in the field. There is therefore a need of a system which can capture and sustain evidence, while assisting the officers identify criminals hence improving security in Los Angeles. Another current issue is the operational priorities challenge where the priorities of the police force have been diversified and not in agreement with the Peelian principles, which lays emphasis on protection of life and property and the prevention and detection of crime, in this case anything else is a distraction. The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) has faced the challenge of operational priorities, where the systems being utilized have demanded the officers to concentrate on maintaining the systems; there is therefore need to implement a system which fosters Peelian principles. The current business environment has therefore a myriad of challenges, the police at all times are expected to have a strategic competitive advantage over their competitor – the criminals. The police have to adopt a paradigm shift which invilves adoption and implementation of Information Technology driven solutions, the application of not only creativity but also imagination in the approach to its adoption gives credence to the common caution to innovators that you cannot use yesterday’s tool for today’s job and expect to be in business tomorrow. With respect to Los Angeles Police Department, , LAPD cannot afford to keep using traditional methodology of detecting and fighting crime and expected to beat the criminals who are advancing with technology. Discussion of Proposed Solution The proposed solution lies in total implementation of the Emergency Communication System which integrates CommandPoint(tm) Mobile applications and computer-aided dispatch (CAD). The implementation of CommandPoint Mobile interfaces acts as a link between the command centre and the field units, improving access to the latest information by the field officers while fostering exchange of information, between the field officers, command centre and other interested police forces within the United States, such as the detectives and crime busters. The envisioned solution should in addition encompass remote camera surveillance which posses’ intelligent video competence to tenuously recognize and scrutinize apprehensive occurrences, when illegal actions transpire the police officers can be alerted. The automatic license plate-recognition system (PlateScan) involves patrol vehicles fitted with video cameras and mobile data computer, where the scanned license plates are systematically compared with existent data in databases incase the vehicle may be of need to the law enforcers. The facial-recognition software works in concord with camera surveillance system to scrutinize the captured images of human faces, then quickly and accurately judge against images contained in the database, these video cameras are deployed in patrol vehicles. This is envisaged to address the problem of identification of suspects, since suspects can be identified in shorter times. To interconnect the several disperse officers in the field, LAPD’s Information and Communications Services Bureau adopted, it is proposed that the officers utilize public network to decrease costs while improving security by increasing coverage, using public network also reduces the human resource constraint the network shall have, since the police shall not have to maintain their own network, neither to they have to maintain the network. With the implementation of the automated field reporting system and Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD), the need for mobile communication with high speed broadband was imminent, the legendary system was restricted to certain areas, while operating in low speeds of 19. Kilo bits per second, the proposed solution is to consider the existent LAPD installed Sprint Data Link where the patrol vehicles are fitted an antenna connected to an EV-DO Sierra Wireless 595 connection card in a Dell D610 laptops installed with Windows XP operating system SP2, 1 GB of RAM, a DVD drive, and an 80 GB hard disk, the police can easily access databases, crime-analysis data, photographs, fingerprints, reports and mapping data,. The fact that Sprint is a private network calls for need to increment the security measures. The proposed solution includes utilization of registered modems by the officers to avoid unauthorized access to the network; this is fostered by end-to-end encryption as well as the providers’ authentication server. Computer Aided Dispatch in combination with the proposals above provides the officers indispensable wide source of information for strategic decision making. The utilization of information technology has been fostered further by Bluetooth fingerprint scanners; currently the scanners are limited in application. However, it is proposed that every patrol vehicle to be equipped with fingerprint scanners, such that persons with clean history cannot be subjected to suspicious arrests, this addresses the issue of arbitrary arrests therefore improving the customer image of the police force, furthermore, the devices to be utilized by the officers should be GPS capable therefore the police can accurately determine locations and positions with precision. The utilization of a private mobile broadband network is intentioned to reduce the costs associated with network access since utilizes high speeds, with minimal costs, furthermore, officers are relieved the duties of maintaining the network. The laptops have to preserve the image determined for mission critical systems to guarantee dependability and security with minimal downtime without dependence on Information Communication Technology personnel; this requires the deployment of Anti-Executable and Deep Freeze as a comprehensive solution on the MDC laptops. Deep Freeze allows the users to promptly reboot the laptop to return it to its original Configuration, this has avoided the need to substitute the laptops when a problem occurs. This is in addition to Anti-Executable’s whitelist technology which standardizes the operating environment by regulating the programs installable. This has been adopted to reduce the number of personnel required to keep the systems in performance mode, therefore addressing governance challenges. The proposed solution is not immune of challenges, considering that the operations are in data sensitive environment, the shifting of the computing environment from MDT to MDC denote new software and hardware, this introduces threats and vulnerabilities. Using more than one thousand five hundred laptops and modems introduces new threats and probable software configuration issues. Windows XP is predisposed to external threats such as spyware, viruses, and other malware. The strategic utilization of Information Technology in LAPD The future of LAPD in utilization of Information Technology has great potential. The Department has optional innovations which include empowering police on foot; horseback or bicycle patrols with high-speed data network access by facilitating handheld devices to utilize wireless data cards, the officers can effectively access the data, from the centralized station, without necessarily using patrol vehicles. Furthermore, having high definition video streamed from cameras and patrol cars to a centralized system in the station enables the police to have real-time information of scenarios as they unfold. In addition, the department can integrate GPS information into the dispatch system for mobile resource management. Recommendations Whereas the police department has been faced with an array of challenges such as the large population size and density, the bulky geographical area, and further complicated by the cultural diversity of the residents. Information technology has been extolled as the ultimate solution, while progressing efficiency of the Department. Implementation of the proposed system shall enable the LAPD reduce costs associated with networking, since they shall be utilizing public network and already available software such as Windows XP, Deep Freeze and Anti-Executable. Moreover, the system shall require fewer officers to manage, hence reducing costs while addressing governance challenges by ensuring that officers get access to all the requisite information as and when needed, hence avoiding bureaucracy in accessing information. While fostering the relationship with the customers – the public, the officers shall also be able to detect and deal with crime as it occurs, while getting substantial and immense evidences against criminals. The system also enables the officers to concentrate on their operational priority – fighting crime in Los Angeles. To protect the people of Los Angeles therefore, the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) should adopt information technology driven solutions which are anticipated to offer several merits in the next three years and beyond. These strategic impacts of the proposed system are intentioned to have a competitive advantage over criminals, these strategic impacts include enhanced coverage, faster response to emergencies, mapping capabilities and harmonization of communication among the police personnel, connectivity to the investigators and detectives as well as to the entire United States police unit – hence reducing or even eliminating crime in Los Angeles.

Security Communities :: essays research papers

Security Communities and Multilateralism 1.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The United States and Canada have enjoyed a very peaceful relationship over the past 125 years, even though they share a border that is 5,000 miles long and undefended. Shore says that ?neither side regards the other as even a potential military threat, despite the fact that interstate anarchy supposedly makes war an ever-present possibility. Conflicts materialize and are resolved without the expectation that they might lead to violence.? (Shore, 1998, 333) Because of this relationship, Shore says the US and Canada are a perfect example of a pluralistic security community.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The peaceful US-Canada relationship is largely the result of the political learning that has occurred over the past two centuries. While the United States and Canada have had their share of political problems, these problems have not been the type that can create insecurity within the region. As Shore says, the undefended border has prompted both the United States and Canada to see each other in pacific terms, even when there is antagonism and miscommunication. Specifically, the demilitarization both countries have engaged in has helped promote a climate of trust between them.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The shared values of the US-Canadian political systems has also guaranteed that a shared US-Canada identity has developed to bind the two countries? interests together, so that they have established transnational relations in terms of shared political economic, and cultural exchange. Shore notes that Canadian and American ways of life have become inextricably linked. As a result, peaceful expectations have reinforced peaceful practices, and vice versa, so that war seems absurd, and an undefended border as well as peace seem normal. Any problems in terms of political behavior have largely involved Canadian nationalism, as Canadian leaders try to get their country to follow a path that isn?t always dependent on the actions of the United States.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  There have been problems with the two countries ? economic behavior, because their economies are linked. The North American Free Trade Agreement has closely connected the American and Canadian economies, so that if one falters the other?s economy falters as well. However, there have been few economic woes since NAFTA became law, which indicates that the economic relationship between the two countries is a strong as ever. For the European Union (E.U.) there are numerous problems with their political behavior. The EU is expanding, incorporating Greece and other Eastern European countries, yet European countries are experiencing a backlash of nationalistic fervor against the immigration that the EU permits.

Traditional Education vs. Online Education

Now days, with technology generously available, schools are opting to implement online classes into their traditional teaching curriculum. As a result of this our society is divided in two different ways of thinking on the education. Some believe the modern method is better than the traditional method of teaching but yet these two methods are both successful. Personally, I believe both methods should balance one another instead of attempting to substitute one another; this way their purpose of educating will be far more successful. Online education, also called long distant learning, can be defined as a new method of learning through a computer network. This modern way of teaching gives students an opportunity to take classes online. Bill Gates recently predicted that in five years most colleges will be providing online education. â€Å"The self-motivated learner will be on the Web,† Mr. Gates said, speaking at the Techonomy conference in Lake Tahoe. â€Å"College needs to be less place-based. †(Steve) Online courses allow students to access course content, including reading lists and library materials, at any time. This flexibility of online courses is primarily important for students who have young children, who are caring for ailing or elderly family members, who have full-time jobs, or who live too far from campus. Flexible hours are also beneficial because it allow students to work at their own speed; taking courses either part time or on an accelerated schedule. According to the article in the New York Times, titled â€Å"Study Finds That Online Education Beats Classroom,† the SRI International for the Department of Education, conducted a research on online versus traditional classroom teaching from 1996 to 2008. Most of the studies were conducted in colleges and adult continuing-education programs. Over the twelve year span, the Department of Education found that, on average students doing some or all of the course online would rank in the 59th percentile in tested performance, compared with the average classroom student scoring in the 50th percentile (Lohr). According to Barbara Means, the study’s lead author and an educational psychologist at SRI International, online education ultimate goal, is to provide learning experiences that are more tailored to individual students than is possible in classrooms. That enables more â€Å"learning by doing,† which many students find more engaging and useful. However, advocates of classroom learning believe the online method isolates the students from one another as well as their professor minimizing the overall value of taking the course. They also claim that students learn better when working together with their instructor and their fellow classmates. Students learn better when they are given the opportunity to ask questions, join in class discussions, and they move the process of learning forward through their participation. Face-to-face advocates firmly believe that this kind of interaction is not possible over the Internet; and for many types of education, e-learning will never meet the potential of live human interaction in the classroom. An article in the New York Times titled, â€Å"Second Thoughts on Online Education,† backs up the points made above. A recent research published by the National Bureau of Economic Research, comes to the conclusion; â€Å"A rush to online education may come at more of a cost than educators may suspect. A research funded by the National Science Foundation and the Education Department, consisted on comparing the grades of one group online, and one in classroom lectures. The 312 students were undergraduates at a major state university. The data concluded that certain groups did notably worse online. Such as, Hispanic students who took classes’ online fell nearly a full grade lower than Hispanic students that took the course in class. Male students did abou t a half-grade worse online, as did low-achievers, which had college grade-point averages below the mean for the university. David Figlio, an economist at Northwestern University and co-author of the paper, has a few conclusions as to what accounts for the differences in outcomes. The poorer performance of males and lower-achievers, he says the time-shifting convenience of the Web made it easier for students to put off viewing the lectures and cram just before the test, a tactic unlikely to produce the best possible results. The lower performance by Hispanic students online, Mr. Figlio said, might be due to missing the body language of the teacher and other classroom cues, which could be more important to a student whose first language is not English. The truth of the matter is that there are advantages and disadvantages to every type of learning environment. It is best to use the advantages that each method offers to their fullest extent. It appears from the initial studies, that a combination of online and classroom learning will be the best teaching method for educating a person for the better future of everyone. According to Judy Willis, â€Å"The more regions of the brain that store data about a subject, the more interconnection there is. This redundancy means students will have more opportunities to pull up all of those related bits of data from their multiple storage areas in response to a single cue. This cross-referencing of data means we have learned, rather than just memorized. † However, it is important to accentuate that learning highly depends on the students’ motivation to learn. So it still comes down to the effort that the students put into their education that ultimately decides how beneficial the overall experience was to their future career. Traditional Education vs. Online Education Now days, with technology generously available, schools are opting to implement online classes into their traditional teaching curriculum. As a result of this our society is divided in two different ways of thinking on the education. Some believe the modern method is better than the traditional method of teaching but yet these two methods are both successful. Personally, I believe both methods should balance one another instead of attempting to substitute one another; this way their purpose of educating will be far more successful. Online education, also called long distant learning, can be defined as a new method of learning through a computer network. This modern way of teaching gives students an opportunity to take classes online. Bill Gates recently predicted that in five years most colleges will be providing online education. â€Å"The self-motivated learner will be on the Web,† Mr. Gates said, speaking at the Techonomy conference in Lake Tahoe. â€Å"College needs to be less place-based. †(Steve) Online courses allow students to access course content, including reading lists and library materials, at any time. This flexibility of online courses is primarily important for students who have young children, who are caring for ailing or elderly family members, who have full-time jobs, or who live too far from campus. Flexible hours are also beneficial because it allow students to work at their own speed; taking courses either part time or on an accelerated schedule. According to the article in the New York Times, titled â€Å"Study Finds That Online Education Beats Classroom,† the SRI International for the Department of Education, conducted a research on online versus traditional classroom teaching from 1996 to 2008. Most of the studies were conducted in colleges and adult continuing-education programs. Over the twelve year span, the Department of Education found that, on average students doing some or all of the course online would rank in the 59th percentile in tested performance, compared with the average classroom student scoring in the 50th percentile (Lohr). According to Barbara Means, the study’s lead author and an educational psychologist at SRI International, online education ultimate goal, is to provide learning experiences that are more tailored to individual students than is possible in classrooms. That enables more â€Å"learning by doing,† which many students find more engaging and useful. However, advocates of classroom learning believe the online method isolates the students from one another as well as their professor minimizing the overall value of taking the course. They also claim that students learn better when working together with their instructor and their fellow classmates. Students learn better when they are given the opportunity to ask questions, join in class discussions, and they move the process of learning forward through their participation. Face-to-face advocates firmly believe that this kind of interaction is not possible over the Internet; and for many types of education, e-learning will never meet the potential of live human interaction in the classroom. An article in the New York Times titled, â€Å"Second Thoughts on Online Education,† backs up the points made above. A recent research published by the National Bureau of Economic Research, comes to the conclusion; â€Å"A rush to online education may come at more of a cost than educators may suspect. A research funded by the National Science Foundation and the Education Department, consisted on comparing the grades of one group online, and one in classroom lectures. The 312 students were undergraduates at a major state university. The data concluded that certain groups did notably worse online. Such as, Hispanic students who took classes’ online fell nearly a full grade lower than Hispanic students that took the course in class. Male students did abou t a half-grade worse online, as did low-achievers, which had college grade-point averages below the mean for the university. David Figlio, an economist at Northwestern University and co-author of the paper, has a few conclusions as to what accounts for the differences in outcomes. The poorer performance of males and lower-achievers, he says the time-shifting convenience of the Web made it easier for students to put off viewing the lectures and cram just before the test, a tactic unlikely to produce the best possible results. The lower performance by Hispanic students online, Mr. Figlio said, might be due to missing the body language of the teacher and other classroom cues, which could be more important to a student whose first language is not English. The truth of the matter is that there are advantages and disadvantages to every type of learning environment. It is best to use the advantages that each method offers to their fullest extent. It appears from the initial studies, that a combination of online and classroom learning will be the best teaching method for educating a person for the better future of everyone. According to Judy Willis, â€Å"The more regions of the brain that store data about a subject, the more interconnection there is. This redundancy means students will have more opportunities to pull up all of those related bits of data from their multiple storage areas in response to a single cue. This cross-referencing of data means we have learned, rather than just memorized. † However, it is important to accentuate that learning highly depends on the students’ motivation to learn. So it still comes down to the effort that the students put into their education that ultimately decides how beneficial the overall experience was to their future career.