Cyber activism and hacktivism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Cyber activism and hacktivism - Essay Example Activism involves a range of activities from online search for information, creating and feeding data to new or already existing websites, conducting communication via internet publications or emailing of letters, forming online forums to discuss various issues or coordinating certain activities. Hacktivism activities involve virtual blockades, email bombing, hacking web sites or breaking into computers systems, planting computer worms and viruses. The activities of activism are keen on developing the internet as a useful tool for social progress and policymaking. However, hackvists activities stem from anger and seek to destroy what is created by activism. The internet offers a vast body of information that would take one a lot of time and energy to search manually. Business corporations, organizations, governments and teaching institutions avail information on the internet that is easily accessible by the target audience or any other person interested in the data. The offered information extends beyond geographical demarcation. One can access the information necessary to facilitate his mission. Researchers use this collection of information to argue or prove their theses. While an activist will use this information to improve himself or the society, a hacktivist will seek to destroy this collection of information (Denning, 1999). Various humanity groups such as non-governmental organizations, civil boards and self-help groups publish information in the internet for the public to see. Some businesses such as luxury brand companies employ this technique to promote their products to the vast body of potential customers using the internet. Depending on the organization involved, some will post or publish information on public web sites or may develop their own site where they publish information on regular basis (Denning, 1999). Private websites provoke the anger or interest of hackers who hack to phish information

Group Definition Of Cross Cultural Awareness Management Essay

Group Definition Of Cross Cultural Awareness Management Essay The purpose of this report is to add to the group slide presentation on cross cultural awareness and the training program that was formulated to tackle the issue. Within this report there will be a summary of each the points that the group focused on. The task that the group were faced with was in the form of a training program that was geared towards increasing cross cultural awareness of a group of 10 British sales managers who work for IBM. Group Definition of Cross Cultural Awareness As more companies expand globally involving expatriates, the need for culture awareness has increased. The lack of cultural awareness is the main cause of misunderstanding and conflicts because of the cultural differences and where the behaviour perception of one culture may be different for another. (Cushner Brislin, 1996). The authors gave different names to cross-cultural awareness such as cross-cultural competence, cross-cultural training, intercultural competence and intercultural sensitivity. Based on several academic literatures, cross-cultural awareness means that a good understanding of its own culture will help the individual to understand more the others cultures and then to be more successful in cross cultural behaviour. In other words, the individual should be conscious enough of their own culture in developing the managers intercultural competence. That means increasing the ability to behave in intercultural way and improving communication across cultures as the intercultural competence shows consideration for others needs and fulfilment of ones own satisfactions (Gupta Govindarajan, 2002). In addition, cross-cultural awareness enables the individual to create a self-awareness through which he can identify his own knowledge and cultural values. Importance of Cross-Cultural Awareness Cross-cultural awareness is considered an important tool that reduces the consequences of cross-cultural conflict. It helps to learn how to behave in appropriate way across different cultures and create a feeling for these cultural differences. This results in enhancing cross-cultural communication skills like listening, speaking and observing which play a vital role to build trust between people of different cultures. The improvement of partnership skills as well, that requires a greater international collaboration. In addition, it decreases the cross-cultural misunderstanding and creates a winning working environment in the workplace. It is a business benefit and cost-effective solution for many companies since it maximizes their potential globally and develops the intercultural sensitivity of expatriates by providing better results to the organisation. It has a significant importance because the expatriates would understand and accept and build a strong relationship with people fr om various cultural backgrounds. Appropriateness of Training Bush and Thomas (2000) explain that it is of a main important for developing successful buyer-seller relationship. A sales manager will have to go through special training which we can call cultural diversity training. Before going through this training Bush and Thomas (2000) argue that it is a requirement for sales people to be exposed to a culturally diverse encounter. This phase will lead sales managers to realise the impact cultural diversity will have on business relationship and will enable them to be really aware of its importance, instead of neglecting it. Requirements can be achieved thanks to management training games such as the BAFA BAFA game. This game begins with the creation of two teams. The sales management team will have to be split into two teams that have different languages and cultures and will have to handle with the rules of the game, and to understand each culture. This game has a long history of success and it was proved to be a good tool to make people from different background work more effectively together. Once the sales managers are aware of the benefit cross cultural training could bring to them, they can move on the proper training. Montagno,R.(1996) say this will enable sales mangers to  acquire the three main qualities needed to do business abroad such as initiate conversation and establish and maintain a meaningful relationship. Type, content and length of training Seven types of training were identified by researchers Litrell and Salas (2005). These seven approaches are identified in the appendix. Each of the seven have their meanings, for example with regards to the groups specific training program, language training means that individuals do not have to become fluent but a general understanding of common courtesies in the host language is provided. (Befus 1988; Bennett 1986) It was decided that six months would be a worthy timescale for the training to take place in order to cover the ten methods and contents chosen by the group. These ten, were sourced from the handbook of intercultural training the ten can be viewed in table 1. These link to the groups definition of cross cultural awareness because the group had identified the key words, such as sensitivity, which is linked to the content of culture sensitizer. From the ten, a table (table 1) was created, which described factors such as what the outcome of the training will be, whether the training will give them knowledge into about or across cultures, what the learning styles would be as different people have different learning styles, for example British people have a different style to American people. The ten were chosen because we felt these were most likely to fit the definition of cross cultural awareness that we produced, for example self-awareness will give employees an understanding about their own culture as well as other peoples cultures. Table 1: Training Methods Cultural Effects Yang, et al (2009) suggest that the effect of trainees cultural background could be examines by Hofstede cultural dimensions. According to Hofstede (1994), nation cultural is defined as the collective programming of the mind in a nation or region. Hofstede (2009) suggested that cultural has several dimensions which include Individualism and collectivism, uncertainty avoidance, time orientation, power distance and masculinity and femininity. The review on cultural effect to the British participants learning performance will base on Hofstedes framework. Table 2 is a summary of the participants cultural effect: Table 2 Cultural Effects in Cross Cultural Training (Sources: Geert Hofstede, 2010) Dimensions Score Effects Approaches Individualism/Collectivism 89 The UK individualism cultural have higher intrinsic motivation than participants from collectivism cultural. The UKs participants valence and training motivation are higher when training is perceived to increase the competencies of individuals. The UKs participants cultural adopt a concrete, intuitive, and inductive learning style. Uncertainty Avoidance 35 The UK participants cultural training effectiveness is associated with a lower level of valence. Short/Long-term Oriented 51 The UKs culture has an average score on time oriented dimension. As a result, the course shall take care on both long-terms and short terms benefits. Power Distance 35 The UK participants cultural is higher when the training is implemented by using a decision-making process. Muscularity/ femininity 66 The participants culture will have higher training motivation and valence when training is perceived to increase the competencies of individuals. The UK has high individualism culture, Yang et al. (2009) showed that participants from individualism cultures have higher intrinsic motivation than participants from collectivism cultures and their valence and training motivation are higher when training is perceived to increase the competencies of individuals. Therefore, the training program should focus on increasing individual performance rather than organizations competencies. Yang, et al. (2009) reported individual cultures adopt a concrete, intuitive, and inductive learning style. As a result, the course shall include elements of solid example to gain best result from participants. They also suggested lower uncertainty avoidance cultural training effectiveness is associated with a lower level of valence. Consequently, the training shall include more individual works rather than group works. They found that the participants from short term oriented will require immediate benefit from the training program. However, the participants from long term oriented will require future benefit from the training program. The UKs culture has an average score on time oriented dimension. Therefore, the course shall take care on both long-terms and short terms benefits. Yang et al. (2009) found that the participants from short term oriented will require immediate benefit from the training program. However, the participants from long term oriented will require future benefit from the training program. The UKs culture has an average score on time oriented dimension. Therefore, the course shall take care on both long-terms and short terms benefits. They also suggested that masculinity cultural will have higher training motivation and valence when training is perceived to increase the competencies of individuals. Therefore, the training program should focus on increasing individual performance rather than organizations competencies. Evaluation The evaluation is an important stage to be considered in the implementation of cross-culture training. It aims to evaluate the effectiveness of cross-culture training by linking logically the content of measures to the training content (Kraiger et al, 1993), assess the improvement of participants awareness about cultural differences and whether the skills and knowledge learned from the training has been implemented in the workplace (Littrell, Salas, 2005) in order to provide recommendations for future cross-culture training. In order to evaluate IBMs cross-culture training, it is important for the evaluator to understand the meaning of culture awareness and sensitivity and set up success criteria for CCT program (Guzman, 2003). Only then they can evaluate participants knowledge and cross-culture training outcomes. The evaluation requires mixed methods including both qualitative and quantitative in order to increase the reliability of the findings. Thus, we will use various evaluation methods at this stage namely conducting interviews with participants in order to determine the change of their cognitive, affective and cognitive behaviour during the training, their self-maintenance and their adjustment to multicultural environment that have been also mentioned by Cross, et al, (1992) A set of congruent behaviours, attitudes, and policies that come together in a system, agency, or among professionals and enables that system, agency, or those professionals to work effectively in cross cultural situations. Th is method will be followed by pre-training and post-training survey in order to rate their competency and ability to deal with different cultures in the workplace. The return on investment (ROS) should also be used in order to measure the outcomes of this CCT program. This will help to decide whether CCT program should be modified or not and improve it in the future. Conclusion In conclusion, the pace of globalisation has raised a great attention of managers on the cross-cultural issues due to the conflicts and misunderstanding encountered in the workplace. These issues led to harsh consequences taking the form of frustrated shareholders and business opportunity losses. Therefore, there is a growing need to have an extensive interpersonal skills and knowledge than in past (Kealey and Protheroe, 1996). In other words, companies with an international growth strategy, such as our company IBM, are getting to implement a cross-cultural training for their global managers dealing with individuals from various cultures and this was an effective strategy to achieve their multicultural objectives and organisational performances. The six-month cross-cultural training implemented in IBM sales department will be a mean for our managers to increase their cultural awareness both at the professional and individual level including their communication and negotiation skills. Word Count: 1500 (exclude the tables and references) Appendix: Presentation Slides

Process of Photosynthesis :: essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Process of Photosynthesis Photosynthesis is process by which plants containing chlorophyll make carbohydrates from water and carbon dioxide in the air in the presence of light. Green plants and certain other organisms use the energy of light to convert carbon dioxide and water into the simple sugar glucose. Photosynthesis provides the basic energy source for virtually all organisms. An extremely important byproduct of photosynthesis is oxygen, on which most organisms depend.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Photosynthesis has far-reaching implications. Like plants, humans and other animals depend on glucose as an energy source, but they are unable to produce it on their own and must rely ultimately on the glucose produced by plants. Moreover, the oxygen humans and other animals breathe is the oxygen released during photosynthesis. Humans are also dependent on ancient products of photosynthesis, known as fossil fuels, for supplying most of our modern industrial energy. These fossil fuels, including natural gas, coal, and petroleum, are composed of a complex mix of hydrocarbons, the remains of organisms that relied on photosynthesis millions of years ago. Thus, virtually all life on earth, directly or indirectly, depends on photosynthesis as a source of food, energy, and oxygen, making it one of the most important biochemical processes known.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Plant photosynthesis occurs in leaves and green stems within specialized cell structures called chloroplasts. One plant leaf is composed of tens of thousands of cells, and each cell contains 40 to 50 chloroplasts. The chloroplast, an oval-shaped structure, is divided by membranes into numerous disk-shaped compartments. These dislike compartments, called thylakoids, are arranged vertically in the chloroplast like a stack of plates or pancakes. A stack of thylakoids is called a granum, the grana lie suspended in a fluid known as stroma. Photosynthesis is a very complex process, and for the sake of convenience and ease of understanding, plant biologists divide it into two stages. In the first stage, the light-dependent reaction, the chloroplast traps light energy and converts it into chemical energy contained in nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH) and adenosine triphosphate (ATP), two molecules used in the second stage of

Personal Academic Goals

The National Center for Education Statistics did a study on pay comparison between graduate and non-graduate workers. The study indicates that college graduates get paid an average of 38% more compare to those non-graduates. Therefore, finishing college is as important and should be a goal for most individuals if not everyone. My three personal academic goals that hope to achieve as a student here at the university are to earn a degree in management, learn how it affects roductivity in the workplace and also to improve written and oral communication skills.Understanding that going to college and graduate from it is no simple task. It involves numerous moving parts and those parts need to work together in harmony to achieve personal academic goals. Some of those moving parts that need enhancing are personnel responsibility, time management, written, and oral In my 24 years of military service, I did not take advantage of communications. acquiring a formal education even though the mil itary provides the opportunities and environment to take college courses and get a degree.When I was in the military, my priorities were more focus on getting the Job done making sure that military personnel get their personal records corrected and updated, get paid correctly and on time, provide briefs, submit reports, and conduct different types of trainings. After retiring from the military, my priority changes and academic success is in the front of it. By using my military educational benefits (GI bill) entitlement to jump start my desire to pursue higher learning and hoping to acquire a degree in management here at the university.The Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) researchers at the University of Michigan Center for the Study of Higher and Postsecondary Education (Eric Dey, 2008) that in categories they surveyed; students and professionals strongly agree that personal responsibility should be a major focus of a college education. The same study also demonstrates that 40% of college students acquire or develop personal responsibility while in college pursuing a degree.To me, personal responsibility is to admit and accept that no one is perfect, will make mistakes, take ownership of my actions, seek assistance when eeded, learn from it, and correct it. Time management is also important to students' academic goals, personal life, and career success. Setting short-term and long-term goals are an integral part of time management. In the book â€Å"Becoming a Master Student† (Dave Ellis, 2011, p. 61), emphasizes that students have enough time for the things they want to accomplish.It takes thinking about possibilities and making conscious choices (p. 61). Students know that there are 24 hours in a day and 168 hours in a week, â€Å"no more no less. † By making conscious effort to write down hould help meet deadline and task. As a student, I need to recognize that procrastination is the enemy of time management; fight it , destroy it, and stop it now! Managing and following time management diligently with no hesitation is a model for success for students to follow.Another key element to personal academic success is the importance of improving one's written and oral communication skills are vital in the workplace. The utilization of computers has been the greatest force for change in the environment and activities of an organization (Uhlig, 1977). Electronic evices, such as computers have been increasingly used as a medium in written and oral communications in the world of business today. To succeed, I have to learn the foundations of basic writing, grammar, and speaking in front of people.I must also understand that communications skills are a necessity and important in the business world not only in todays environment but also in the future, In conclusion, there are no shortcuts to academic success and that graduating from college are extremely difficult and time consuming. By improving, mastering, and applying acquired skills n personal responsibility, time management, oral, and written communications can prepare me to succeed in academic settings.Investing time, attention, patience, and perseverance must be the focal point of emphasis in achieving my academic goals. It is time to learn, conquer fear, fght procrastination, and enjoy every moment of it.

Courts of the Tampa Bay Area

This study involved visiting courtrooms and observing the court proceeding. I was to follow several cases and evaluate everyone’s behavior in the courtroom. During this period I visited two courtrooms, Criminal Justice Center at 14250 49th Street North Clearwater, FL 33762 and the 501 building in St. Petersburg at 501 1st Avenue North St. Petersburg, FL 33701. I visited the courtrooms on several occasions. Case observations On June 16 2010, I visited the criminal Justice center at 14250 49th street North Clearwater, FL 33762, at 2 pm. At the entrance of the courtroom there was screening.Mobile phones were not allowed in the courtroom so they were to be left at the reception desk. It was not difficult getting into the courtroom as only photo identification was required. The room was half full and so finding a sitting position was easy. It was a criminal case, where Mr. George Warren, the accused, was a suspect in a robbery at the bay harbor pool room. The Judge was Justice Earl Logan. The mood of the court was rather relaxed. The judge was calm and followed keenly. On several occasions the judge was very active, especially where the attorneys had heated arguments.The judge had to intervene and restore order in the room. As I learnt later that the proceeding was not open to the journalist and this is the reason I attracted some attention from a juror, as I took some notes. The attorneys showed a great deal of respect to their client although the plaintiff’s attorney was very intimidating. The judge did not take this lightly and cautioned the attorney against such action. The defendant’s attorney defended his client against such intimidation aggressively. He refused to allow his client to be asked questions revolving around his personal life except where they were relevant .They attorneys sought the judge’s intervention where they felt that their client was being harassed. The judge asked the clients questions where he felt was necessar y, or ordered them to answer questions if the chose to remain silent. The defendant and his attorney were active while the plaintiff appeared relaxed. This is because the evidence that was brought before the court was very strong and could earn him more than five years imprisonment. The defendant was a clerk and frequented the pool room. Both of them seemed to follow and understand the proceedings.The defendant was however very careful when answering the questions because he would take some time before replying. The disposition of the case was that the defendant was not guilty. This is because he was found near the site with some pints of wine and some change in his pocket. The evidence produced was not substantial and enough for the defendant to face any sentence. The witnesses who testified in the case did give any information that linked the defendant to the crime. The plaintiff failed to convince the court that the accused was indeed the thief.There was no finger print match and the defendant had an evident alibi. During the time of theft the defendant was at another local joint drinking. The time spent on the case was not long but was enough because there was no enough evidence to imprison the defendant. The disposition of the case was fair. There was clear evidence that the defendant was not involved in the crime, and if there was the plaintiff failed to produce it. According to the law the defendant was supposed to be set free until or unless there was more clear evidence . Analysis The courts precinct was calm.There was a serious security check for mobile phones, cameras and any form of weapons. This case was not open to the media and this is the reason why they were so strict on the issue of any cameras or recording material. This was also a security to ensure the safety of everyone in the courtroom. Being an afternoon during a working day most people were at their places of work and so most of those in the room were close to the clients. The mood was relaxed. The case had little tension and this is the reason why the judge appeared calm although he was very attentive.In some instances the clients chose not to answer questions and the judge had to intervene and force them to answer the questions. This is because the evidence tabled was not enough and any information that the judge felt was relevant had to be given . The attorneys were however very aggressive, each trying to defend the evidence produced by their clients. The plaintiff showed no signs of providing more evidence against the defendant and relied solely on the fact that the defendant was found close to the crime scene when the police were called.The defendant claimed that he had just left another drinking joint and was on his way home. This case was very sensitive and the judge had to take note of all the important details and ask questions where clarification was needed, failure to which a wrong judgment would have been made . He was able to prove his claims to the court. The fingerprints from the crime scene did not match his, clear evidence that he was just a case of mistaken identity. This made the proceedings very quick and the hearing and the proceedings did not take a long duration.The evidence produced by the plaintiff did not link directly to the defendant. The could only prove that he was a suspect because he had some pints of wine and also being near the pool room but no proof of his presence in it. The comparison The courtrooms I visited had some differences and similarities. For example in some courtrooms you were allowed to access the room with a mobile phone but it should remain switched off, while in others one was supposed to leave any electronic gadget or anything that could cause harm at the reception.This is especially in those cases that had restrictions to the media. Search for weapons was inevitable for security reasons. The judges had different reactions and moods depending on the case. If the case had a lot of pressure there were heated arguments and the judge and the judges were very active. They would ask questions in some instances. In other cases the rooms had a bored mood and the judge could even fall asleep. The judge would remain uninvolved in the case. I observed this in a civil case the 501 building in St. Petersburg at 501 1st Avenue North St.Petersburg, FL 33701 on June 11 2010. The suit was filed woman and her former husband and the dispute involved the sharing of the family property. They had recently divorced and the husband decided the wife could only get a third share of the property. Unlike the first case where the judge was actively involved by asking question and seeking clarification, in this case the judge listened quietly without intervention. The judge only took down a few notes and the rest of the time he just watched and listened . The facts and evidence produced were so obvious.Those who followed the proceedings were also very bored. The disposition of this case was that the property in question was to be shared equally between the couple. The disposition of this case was so obvious and thus the quiet mood in the room. The attorneys were also very calm and did not show much aggressiveness like in the first criminal case. The only client who appeared active was the plaintiff, who on several instances had to be warned by the judge about her explosive behavior. In other instances accessing a courtroom could be very difficult.Only those involved in the case are allowed to access them. On the 17th May 2010, I attended the 501 building in St. Petersburg at 501 1st Avenue North St. Petersburg, FL 33701, where the case involved a limited company and a former employee. Only those who were involved in this case were allowed in. I however managed to convince the security team that I was a law student conducting a research and was allowed in. The restrictions were in favor of the company’s public image, which was a leading company globally and could not risk the integrity. The judge looked serious and very involved.The room had very few people and tension was high. The attorneys were very aggressive and the judge was actively involved. The Jury followed the proceedings very attentively. The defendant was accused of violating the rights of the plaintiff a former employee in it, where the plaintiff was forced to work for more hours and was fired without any definite reason. Like in the first case, the judge listened attentively and asked questions during the proceedings. The questions were to clarify the issues that could be relevant in determining the case .The reasons stated by the defendants for their action was that the plaintiff was unproductive at work and showed some negative attitude. The defendant managed to convince the court on the negative attitude of the plaintiff but failed to prove his unproductiveness. The defendant claimed that on particular occasion the plaintiff did not report to work and had no reason a claim refu ted by the defendant. Some records that showed the employees attendance were missing; they could have been some crucial evidence. The disposition of this case was that the defendant was guilty.They were to pay the plaintiff an amount that was to be discussed by their attorneys. Unlike the first two cases this case took one month to be decided. The hearing was made on the 25th June 2010. I attended all the three proceedings. The second proceeding was on the 4th June 2010. The fourth case was at the criminal Justice center at 14250 49th street North Clearwater, FL 33762. In this case the plaintiff was a young man who was assaulted by a security guard, the defendant, at a public facility. The hearing was held on July 12 2010. This case proceeding was open to everyone and the courtroom was very crowded.There was the usual security check but not many restrictions. Security checks are a must at all the court entrances but the restrictions depend on the case and those who are involved. The judge was active. Her name was Justice Rene Raymond. The attorneys were very active with instances of heated arguments like in the first and third case. The security guard claimed that the young man was disturbing the public. The evidence brought before the court and from the witnesses showed that the plaintiff had actually caused commotion in the public facility.The issue in this case was the assault. The judge argued that the plaintiff had actually caused disturbance to the people and thus the reason for the assault. Therefore the plaintiff lost the suit. This disposition was fair. There were similarities in these cases in that in most of the criminal cases the judges were very active since the involved so many details that had to be unveiled and clarified so as to make a sound judgment. The crowding of the courtrooms however varied. The dispositions were based on the evidence produced and not just mere claims.This is because in a law court everything said should be proved and a judge should not base the decision on blank claims. Conclusion The research shows that every case proceeding has its own procedures although others are similar. The issue of security is emphasized in all courts. In some cases members of the public are restricted, while others are open to everyone. The mood and involvement of the judge and the courtroom in general depends on the case. Some cases have so much pressure that the judge is very active and attentive. The decisions are based on the evidence produced before the court.REFERENCES Heumann, M. (1981). Plea Bargaining: The Experiences of Prosecutors, Judges, and Defense Attorneys. Chicago: University of Chicago press. Samuelson, P. (1984). Good Legal Writing: of Orwell and Window Panes. University of Pittsburgh Law Review 149 retrieved on July 12 2010 from http://people. ischool. berkeley. edu/~pam/papers/goodwriting. html Mauk, D. & Oakland, J. (2005). American civilization: an introduction. New York, NY: Routledge. Carmen, R. V . (2009). Criminal Procedure: Law and Practice. . Florence: Wadsworth Publishing