Wednesday, May 6, 2020
Importance of Technical Education Free Essays
Technical Education plays a vital role in human resource development of the country by creating skilled manpower, enhancing industrial productivity and improving the quality of life. Technical Education covers courses and programmes in engineering, technology, management, architecture, town planning, pharmacy and applied arts crafts, hotel management and catering technology. The technical education system in the country can be broadly classified into three categories ââ¬â Central Government funded institutions, State Government/State-funded institutions Self-financed institutions. We will write a custom essay sample on Importance of Technical Education or any similar topic only for you Order Now The 65 Centrally funded institution of technical and science education are as under: IITs | 15| IIMs | 13| IISc. , Bangalore| 1| IISERs| 5| NITs| 30| IIITs| 4| NITTTRs| 4| Others (SPA, ISMU, NERIST, SLIET, NITIE NIFFT, CIT)| 9| TOTAL| 81| Besides the above, there are four Boards of Apprenticeship Training (BOATs). The Central Government is also implementing the following schemes/programmes: ââ¬â (i)à à à à à Technical Education Quality Improvement Programme (TEQIP) assisted by the World Bank. (ii)à à à à à Indian National Digital Library for Science Technology (INDEST). There is one Public Sector Undertaking, namely, Educational Consultants India Ltd. (Ed. CIL) under the Ministry. There are also Apex Councils, namely the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) and Council of Architecture (COA). IMPORTANCE OF TECHNICAL EDUCATION. Education is important for every individual in a nation. It plays a vital role to change the stare of a country. No country could bring a revolution in it unless its everybody are educated enough to meet the challenges. Education makes a man realize about himself and his goals and how to achieve that goals. Basically, Education is divided into three groups. The Education which teaches the concerns of a society is called Social Education. The Education which develops a personality inside a man himself is called Spiritual Education. The Education that concerns with the professionalism is called Vocational Education. The Technical Education comes under the branch of Vocational Education which deals practically in the field of trade, commerce, agriculture, medicine Engineering. We are living in the modern age of science where we found Technologies in every aspect of life. What makes life so brain friendly for us simply; these are the Technologies which we use for our ease and comforts. Not only in our daily life but also in the research centre, in defensive measured of a country, biological aspects etc. No nation could generate the progress unless it promotes technical aspects in its fields. The technical education produces technicians for all type of industries and it is true that the progress of a country much depend upon its Industrialization without which a handsome economy would not be possible. Using a technology is far easier than to develop it. For developing a technology, it needed high skill teams which have a high data for the theme. It also needed a high amount of time and also money. To fulfill all these, there must be technical institutes which must cover all the faculties of technological studies and also the support of government to support financially to contruct it at international level. If it would be at International level then it would be easier to students to grab data in their own state so that they could do something for their own country. Pakistan leads in the technological era. The exhibition canters in Pakistan plays a vital role in backing up the technicians to come up with more and more new technologies because it gives reflection of our technologies to the foreigners which are representing their country, which means we are reflecting our image to that world. By this we have a sense of development and prosperity that we also produce creative mind in the technological aspect. As far as Pakistans implementation in techno field is concern, we might look around and observe that in every field of life we are using high class technologies whether it is in the Industrial purpose, business purpose, agriculture purpose or defensive purpose. There has been a lot of emergence of on-line trading, which deals with high technological concerns in term of machinery and software. Pakistan Telecommunication field also deal with high-class technology. Pakistan also promises to produce best technicians of its own through their technical education centers which allow approximately all the faculties for technical development. These institutes also support the new courses of technology which are introduced at a instant so that there would be no line at which we lay behind. The most important institutes of in Pakistan which support the technical courses incorporate, NED University, GIK University, Karachi University, Mehran University and there are also some other private Universities which deal in technological subjects. These institutes promise to produce technicians who cold meet the challenges of the technological era. I feel proud when I watch the students rushing towards these technical institutes to become a prosperous technician who have a sense of responsibility for the progress of their nation. Technical education promotes the material prosperity and economic advancement. It produces the sense of self-respect and dignity. If a country has her own technical experts, she may save a lot of foreign exchange i. e. Technical Education makes a country rich, prosperous and resourceful. Our country is rich in raw material resources but the thing is, we must have enough technical information to benefit from them. How to cite Importance of Technical Education, Papers
Sunday, May 3, 2020
Effective Business Communication in Data Solutions - Free Samples
Question: Discuss about the Effective Business Communication in Data Solutions. Answer: Introduction: The communication audit process refers to the numerous methods of the researches that are used for the identification of the key strengths and the weaknesses that are experienced by the concerned company at a certain given point of time. The concern that is dealt with in the following essay is Data Solutions, a company that deals with the software related to the management of data. The company is located in the Australian city of Brisbane. The following essay deals with the three major issues that have been identified in the communication audit of the company. The essay deals with the qualitative significances of the various identified issues and proceeds further to put forth some recommendations for the solution of the same. The communication audit of the data management software company has revealed the fact that there are several major issues that the company has been facing in both the internal and the external affairs of the concerned organization. One of the crucial issues that the company has been facing relates to the choice of the communication medium that is being used by the various members of the workforce of the company in terms of the target audience of the communication and the addressal context of the communication. The correct form of the communication generally depends on the numerous situations that need to be handled by the various staff members of the organization. The employees of the organization might face a huge lot of misunderstandings and miscommunications with the lack of the proper choice of the communication channels that need to be adapted in order to complete the concerned communication with the target audience or fulfill the requirements of the context for the addressal of the concerned issue. The wrong choice of the communication channel might also lead to the gap in the communication, which in turn might lead to hampering of the growth of the concerned organization. Data Solutions has also been facing some serious issues that pertain to the nature of the communication that takes place within the organization. The communication audit reveals that the communication that takes place within the organization is partial and is at times limited to certain departments of the organization. The audit further states that the communication within the organization does not reach some departments within the organization. This might have led to severe communicational issues within the organization. The experts suggest that this issue of the lack in the communication might lead to various adverse situations within the organization and might hamper the overall performance of the organization and act as a demotivating factor among the staff of the organization. The audit had also revealed the fact that the inter-organizational meetings of the organization were rendered to be ineffective. The ineffective meetings might also lead to the eventual decrease in the overall performance of the concern in terms of the external affairs of the organization. The ineffective meetings might hamper the implementation of the various strategic decisions that have been decided in these meeting, within the concern thereby stalling the growth of the concern in the concerned industry. Action steps to solve the problems The company might be advised to follow certain recommended courses of action in order to combat the various major issues that have been highlighted by the communication audit that had taken place at Data Solutions. In order to deal with the issues that pertain to the wrong choice of the communicational channels on the part of the employees of the organization, the concerned management of the organization might hold the various educational sessions and meetings. The concerned management body might be advised to hold numerous presentations, seminars and workshops in order to educate the concerned workforce of the organization on the various communicational channels that the concerned staff might abide by in order to deal with the concerned target audience. The workforce is also recommended a training session on the various channels of the communication that they might implement in order to address the various issues that have been occurring at the organization. This training might help the concerned members of the staff to avail the most apt channel of communication and thereby aid the overall growth of the concerned organization. The concerned management of the concern might also need to pay a greater amount of attention to the issues that might surface due to the lack of the proper communication within the organization. In order to address these issues, the management should encourage the use of the official communication channel for all official communications. The employees must be compelled to use the official communication handle of the organization in order to communicate with their seniors, employers and the workforce of the various other departments of the concern. The management should also keep a watch out for the fact that all the official communications that take place among the various members of the organizational workforce are documented for the purpose of future references. The documented communication might help in resolving any discrepancy that might arise within the concern in the future days to come. This might also help avoid the misunderstandings that might arise among the staff of the organization regarding any particular event or occurrence and in turn help in the overall growth of the concern. The other issue that had been bothering the organization is the ineffective nature of the inter-organizational meetings that had been taking place. In order to get rid of these conditions, the concerned management organization is advised to share all the minutes of the meeting with the members of the workforce of the organization. This might aid the various members of the organization to develop a clearer notion about the set goals of the organization and thus, makes it easier for them to abide by those. This might also help them to gain knowledge about the various strategies that are followed by the organization and thus help them to contribute towards the overall progress of the organization. In lieu of the above discussion, it might be pointed out that the data management software dealer must implement the various recommended steps in order to put across a solution to the issues that have been identified during the communication audit in the organization. The implementation of the recommended steps might help the concerned members of the organizational workforce to get motivated in performing the duties that have been assigned to them by the concerned management of the organization. this in turn might lead to the improvement of the overall performance of Data Solutions, Brisbane.
Friday, March 27, 2020
The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned the period roughly from the 14th to the 17th century Essay Example For Students
The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned the period roughly from the 14th to the 17th century Essay The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned the period roughly from the 14th to the 17th century (Renaissance History, 2008). It is a French word for rebirth. It also a revival of the classical art and intellect of Ancient Greece and Rome. The art in the Renaissance time was more life-like and contained perspective. (Interactive Schooling, 2013). It was perceived as a rebirth of ancient traditions, and later on it was a tradition. Some famous artists from the Renaissance were Leonardo Ad Vinci, Tinderbox, Ghetto, Raphael, etc. Now their painting are something really valuable and significant. The printing press was invented by Johannes Gutenberg in 1439 he changed the lives of people in Europe and, eventually, all over the world. A printing press is a device that uses pressure to transfer an image from some sort of prepared, inked surface to a receiving surface, like paper or cloth. (Weeklies, 2007). It was one of the great inventions of the modern age. During the renaissance in geography, astronomy, chemistry, physics, mathematics, manufacturing, and engineering occurred some great advances, science in those times was something that not everybody could know like now. Renaissance science spawned the Scientific Revolution; science and technology began a cycle of mutual advancement. (Winnie Whish, 2008). Some important Renaissance technologies were; mining and metallurgy, blast furnace enabled iron to be produced in significant quantities, finery forge enabled pig iron into bar iron, slitting mill chained the production of iron rods for nail making, smelt mill increased the output of lead over previous methods. We will write a custom essay on The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned the period roughly from the 14th to the 17th century specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now Renaissance artists and architects, produced some of the finest works that we know now. The Protestant Reformation during the 16th century in Europe ushered in a new artistic tradition that embraced the Protestant agenda and diverged drastically from the southern European tradition and the humanist art produced during the high Renaissance. (Art History, 2012)
Friday, March 6, 2020
Freud vs Adler Theories essays
Freud vs Adler Theories essays Sigmund Freud has held the distinction as the Founder of Psychoanalysis in contributing a revolutionary concept that emphasizes on the human unconscious (Boerre 1997). His theory on the energy sources he and his associate, Josef Breuer, called the id, ego and superego, make up the human psyche. They formulated that the id as the unconscious part that works on the eros or sexual life energy and the tanatos or anger/death energy. The ego energy source balances these energies, that is why people, in general, can function and coexist in society (Boeree). The ego is strong enough to control them. Freud and Breuer's theory, however, suggested that, sometimes, the id becomes more dominant and gets to control human behavior, such as during sleep when suppressed desires are revealed in dreams. The theory also holds that the superego is a person's mental image of his or her ideal self, which includes all the values and norms learned and internalized from the person's environment. The superego energy is, therefore, directly opposed to and by the id, and the ego endeavors to satisfy and keep both extremes balanced (Boeree). Freud also proposed that mental disorders develop in early childhood and go through the oral, anal, phallic, latent and genital stages. The phallic sub-theory that is well-known explains how sex-identity develops in an unconscious level (Boeree 1997) between the child and each parent, the boy developing the Oedipus Complex and the girl, the Electra Complex. Both concepts were unacceptable to the people of Freud's time, but his revolutionary analysis of the dynamics of the human psyche was nonetheless valued and remains popularly used (Pietersen 2004). His clinical research method has been widely applied in conversations with patients in analyzing and gaining insight into their behavioral pattern (Boeree). But Freud's theory has been criticized as not supporte...
Wednesday, February 19, 2020
Inadequate nutrition and cognitive decline Essay
Inadequate nutrition and cognitive decline - Essay Example This course study will dwell on the subject of age-related cognitive decline and nutrition as a contributing factor. The lecture will cover the normal and the non-normal aging process of individuals and in particular how nutrients add up to the neurological well-being of the elderly. The hypothesis in this discussion is that: nutritional imbalance is a resultant factor in cognitive decline. We shall review related studies and literature to support this hypothesis which aims to create awareness among all individuals to continue trying to find the nearest approach to cure and prevention of cognitive abnormalities.As the human body tends to grow with age, a certain amount of memory decline is felt which includes the minute reductions or delay in thought processing. For others though, a magnitude of reduction beyond what may be considered "normal" and are relentlessly progressive, robbing individuals of their memories, intellect, and eventually their abilities to recognize close members of their families may concurrently result to a certain cognitive decline. The increasing risk of demented elderly adults created the idea of preventing or reversing neurological disorders associated with cognitive decline. The results of the clinical investigative studies revealed according to Amador(1998) the discovery of vitamin deficiencies causing neurological and psychiatric symptoms. Further, Amador added that the potentials of Vit.B(cobalamin) deficiency has been overlooked as a treatable cause of reversible dementia. Markle(1996)critically reviewed the alteration in thought processes associated with Vit. B deficiencies and discovered several causes that contribute its loss in the bodies among elderly patients. Quadri et al(2004)further added elevated homocysteine concentration results to folate deficiency that aggravates the early risk factor for cognitive decline in elderly individuals. However Under Wright's(2000) free-radical theory of aging, he provided that the effects of "oxidative damage" are responsible for much aging particularly of the premature kind. Wright also suggested based on animal studies that diets high in anti-oxidant-rich foods may be beneficial in slowing ARCD. Among people aged 65 and older, high vitamin C and beta-carotene levels have been associated with better memory performance. Zagaria(2002)further explained that these nutrients as explained may be markers for other dietary factors responsible for protection against cognitive disorders. In most cases when physical activity is diminished, cellular metabolism is likewise affected which results to mal-absorption of nutrients that are needed by the body. Inadequate dietary intake, intake of drugs that inhibit B12 absorption, increased cobalamin excretion that can occur according to Amador in the presence of normal hematological studies. A detailed description on the role of specific nutrients in age-related cognitive decline will be discussed which includes: Vit.B (cobalamin) an d folates; antioxidants and other food products. Vit.B(cobalamin) Andel et al (2005) noticed strong evidence of connection between the low levels of vitamin B12 and warned that this is a common nutritional deficiency in the Western world. Commonly present in meat, poultry, fish, eggs and dairy products adults over 50 are mostly lacking than most people due to atropic gastritis whereby B12 absorption in the small intestine is reduced. However, it should be noted that certain acidic elements are persistent in the stomach of the elderly despite age, it is unusually unthinkable to blame the lack of needed nutrients to gastritis. Teunisse et al(1996)related that cobalamin is an essential vitamin for hematopoiesis and the maintenance of neurologic and psychiatric health. Since it is not synthesized in the body, animals must obtain Vit.B 12 from their diet. Vit.B12 works by aiding in cellular formation and longevity. Essentially it shares in the proper digestion,
Tuesday, February 4, 2020
Critical Film Analysis Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words
Critical Film Analysis - Research Paper Example Therefore, reading the human mind is like going through a sea of feelings, emotions, behaviors and life styles developed at different point of time and age. Further, this correlates with the study of human behaviorism. As B. F. Skinner argues in his ââ¬ËTheory of Behaviorismââ¬â¢, human behaviors as demonstrated under different situations and circumstances, provide various learning perspectives for the individual in his developing years. These behaviors are shaped and developed while reflected by both internal and external environments of the individual eventually contributing to his cognitive development. This paper briefly addresses the various behavior patterns of the human mind as evolved with age and time. It mainly highlights a brief evaluation of the Freudian Psychology as well as the theory of behaviorism developed by Skinner while illustrating the behavior patterns and conflicting roles and life styles along with the character portrayal of Mickey from the movie Basketb all Diaries. Released in 1995 and directed by Scott Kalvert, the film is an American drama based on the autobiographical book of the same name by Jim Carroll, the high school basketball player who fell into the harrowing world of drug addiction to the extent of prostituting himself in order to afford his habit. The film portrays his early rise as the all-star basketball player, who loses himself in the dark world of drug addiction and eventually comes back as a survivor. Coming back to the notion of psychoanalysis, the predominant psychoanalytic theories can be grouped into several theoretical schools including Skinner and Carl Rogers. The most important psychological theory is the one developed by Freud. It adopts a systematic approach to address different developmental stages of the human mind. Psychoanalysis: Theories and issues With regard to describing the developmental phases of the human mind, Freudââ¬â¢s name comes to the forefront for his remarkable contribution to the s tudy of psychoanalysis. The Freudian psychoanalytic theory is primarily concerned with the psychological functioning and behavior patterns of the human mind. Freudian psychoanalysis discusses how the human mind develops, behaves and verbalizes thoughts including free associations, fantasies and dreams. Freud is more specifically concerned about analyzing the behavioral abnormalities of ââ¬Ëconfusedââ¬â¢ and ââ¬Ëlostââ¬â¢ adults. While explaining the behavioral patterns of abnormal adults, Freudian theory explores the connection between association of ideas and dreams. Freudââ¬â¢s psychoanalysis includes a wide range of themes and notions such as the following: ? Unconscious, repression and defense mechanisms ? Trauma, fixation, regression, sublimation ? Projection, ambivalence, identification ? Transference and the compulsion to repeat ? Psychosexual stages of development Skinnerââ¬â¢s theory on behaviorism also focuses on the functioning of the human mind. Especia lly, his theory of radical behaviorism discusses behavior as a function of environmental histories of reinforcing consequences. External environment has a strong impact on the shaping of human behavior. In this context, Skinner offers operant conditioning dealing with behavior modification the two core tools of which being ââ¬Ëreinforcementââ¬â¢ and ââ¬Ëpunishmentââ¬â¢. The character of Mickey in Basketball Diaries is a perfect
Monday, January 27, 2020
Stakeholders Involved And Related Ethical Issues Information Technology Essay
Stakeholders Involved And Related Ethical Issues Information Technology Essay We also had on a local well known blog attacks and insults of a ferocity which would never have been gratuitously made in a face to face situation. We tend to feel more unconstrained on the net and often seem to revel in the support which fellow bloggers of the same thoughts tend to give us in an immediate thread response. Examine this situation in the context of the assignment specification especially from the defamation and virtual privacy invasion point of view. Introduction Unethical behavior over the internet is becoming more common. Ranging from private discrete stalking termed cyber-stalking to public defamation, it is becoming increasingly imperative to analyze the ethical issues at stake in these situations. For a personal gain, the stalker makes use of the internet to harass and defame his victim by publicly posting private sensitive information about his victim or spreading false rumors. Facts about Online Stalking Due to the spreading of the Internet across all institutions worldwide, it has become much easier for stalking to take place. Every person probably has personal data available on the Internet, either being on a personal web page or profile; or else being available to search for in government, institutes and organizations databases. Online stalking is much easier than traditional physical stalking due to various reasons: The person being stalked would probably not be aware of such a fact until the stalker initiates contact with the victim Cyber stalking can be done from the comfort of the stalkers home, or from anonymous locations such as a public internet cafà © or an office environment (1). The most crucial fact is that it is done remotely and not by confronting the actual victim. The ferocity and malicious intent would probably be greater as the aggressor feels more unconstrained on the net than in a face to face confrontation. Several online technologies can be used to stalk online (cyber-stalking). For a stalker to research about the victim, traditional search engine as well as profiles on social networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace can be used. To make direct contact with the victim, the stalker may make use of Instant Messaging (IM) services, online forums, and chat rooms. Alternatively the stalker may try to elicit a response from the victim by using techniques such as publishing defamatory statements about the victim in public places such as a web site, message boards, or a fake blog run in the victims name (2). Cyber-stalking and cyber-bullying is much more aggressive than if done face to face. The term cyber-bullying is more commonly associated when teenagers are involved in stalking and bullying online, while cyber-stalking is used for stalking involving adults. Dr. Bamford in (3) explains that the anonymity of the stalker greatly reduces traditional social and contextual attitudes such as tone of voice used and relevant body language. Anonymity can be achieved either by submitting comments in public places such as forums without an ID to trace back to the poster, or else using an alias with the aim of masking the aggressors identity. Without these attitudes, social norms and constraints are neglected, and further like-minded people might participate with the stalker in harassing the victim. Anonymity can also be easily achieved by using an anonymous remailer service (4). This would be specialized software aiming to achieve anonymity in the sending of emails. It strips the originating address from an email message and forwards it to its intended destination. All header information that might be used to track the sender is removed. According to U.S. statistics in 2007 (5), the majority of stalking victims are female at 78%. On the other hand, the majority of stalkers are male at 87%. Victims of stalking can range from a single person to whole organizations. A previous failed relationship can be a motivator for harassing a single person for emotional gain, while possible financial gain is a motivator for harassing groups or an organization. It is to the stalkers advantage however if the victim is singled out, making stalking on a single person more common than harassing a group of people. The main motives of stalking, as identified in (1), are: Stalking an ex-partner of a sexual relationship even after the relationship comes to an end. This can be due to a certain party not willing to accept that the relationship is over. Stalking however also takes place during a relationship. In a research by Tjaden and Thoennes in (6), it was concluded that nearly 60% of females are stalked by their male partner, while 30% of males are stalked by their female partner. Stalking with the aim of vengeance on the victim. This type is the most dangerous as the stalker is probably premeditating a violent attack on the victim due to a previous grudge. It is to be noted that the majority of this type of stalker are male. Stalking due to mental illnesses, ranging from delusional stalkers suffering from depressions to harasser stalkers suffering from a certain attention-seeking personality disorder. After obtaining the necessary vital information, in most cases the stalker exposes it publicly to defame his victim. Such public places include chat rooms and more commonly community areas such as online profiles and forums. The stalker may assume the identity of the victim by posting inflammatory and probably fictitious information in the name of the victim to elicit a response from the community (5). This type of action, termed Masquerading, is discussed later on. There are several defamatory actions that are viewed as illegal and prosecuted, some of which, as mentioned in (4), include the sending of malicious and threatening private messages over the Internet to the intended victim, libel at the intended victim, as well as the publication of messages in public places such as on a web site that show malicious intent to commit acts of hate-motivated violence. Cyber bullying is common in adolescent teens. In a survey carried out in (7), it was reported that 43% of U.S. teens have experienced some form of cyber-bullying in the previous year. This may be due to a lack of knowledge about the reason and the ways to protect private information. The internet and virtual communication environments in general, provide a perfect medium for a cyber bully to defame the victim constantly, even after school hours. In June 2003, a twelve-year old Japanese girl ended up killing her classmate after the latter defamed her on the Internet by the posting of certain messages (3). An example of group bullying is what happened to Canadian boy David Knight (3), who was a victim of a hate campaign when school mates built an online web site entitled Hate David Knight. The website contained defamatory pictures and abuse towards the victim. The group also encouraged the global online community to join their hate campaign. Another form of cyber attacks that is common amongst teens is Masquerading (3). This term refers to either when the stalker/attacker poses as somebody else who is close to the victim, or as the victim itself. In the first case, one can make use of the victims closest friend mobile phone to send harassing messages in the name of the friend, for example. In this way, the harasser remains anonymous while at the same time confusing the victim. In the second form of Masquerading, the stalker may obtain the victims login details for personal places such as personal blog, webpage or Facebook profile. This exchange of passwords amongst teens is very common, as it is considered a sign of true friendship and trust (3). The stalker would then proceed to defame the victim by posing as the victim himself/herself, producing a creditable and real scenario for fellow online friends to witness. Suicides due to Cyber-Stalking and Cyber-Bullying The effects of cyber-stalking on the victim can be quite damaging. We analyze two such cases where victims ended up committing suicide after being stalked or harassed over the Internet. The first case is the suicide of Megan Meier, a thirteen-year-old teenager that committed suicide on 17th October 2006 after being cyber-bullied on MySpace, a popular social networking website (8). A fake profile was set up on MySpace in the name of a 16-year-old boy named Josh Evans who wanted to befriend Megan. On the day of the suicide, Megan and Josh had an argument online. Some other participants also joined in and in no time, there were messages and bulletins being sent to friends and schoolmates containing false accusations about Megan about her physique and sexual tendencies. This led to Megans suicide. From this case we can see how dangerous such a situation can be over the Internet, where like-minded people join with the stalker and behave unethically and inappropriately to the detriment of the victim. The second suicide case took place in Abu Dhabi when Emma Jones, a British teacher killed herself (9) after being defamed on the social networking site Facebook. The responsible harasser was her ex-boyfriend, who posted naked photos of Emma on Facebook. Allegedly he had obtained the photos illegally from Emmas computer. This public defamation coupled with the fact that she was working in an Islamic country that is very restrictive on such issues contributed to Emmas suicide. Stakeholders Involved and Related Ethical Issues At first glance, the stakeholders in cyber-stalking are mainly the stalker and the victim. However, it may not always be that clear to identify all stakeholders. The victims near family can become a stakeholder due to the victims possible actions, such as suicide, after being the victim of a privacy invasion or of public defamation. The controlling authorities of mediums that aided the stalker in retrieving sensitive information about the victim are also stakeholders. This however cannot be stated conclusively as legislations vary across various jurisdictions. In a certain jurisdiction, an action may be considered legal while in others it may not. In a case study of internet stalking (10), a twenty-year old girl named Amy Boyer from New Hampshire was murdered in October 1999. The murderer, Liam Youens, used to stalk her on the internet by searching for her personal information. Using search engine tools that are readily available to everyone, he was able to go through online databases and learn where his victim lived, worked and other personal details. He then set up two web sites, one of which publicly exposed all of Amys private details he managed to get hold of. On the other site he explicitly described his plan of murdering Amy. In this case, Amys immediate family members are stakeholders as they have to suffer her loss. The involvement of organizational entities as potential stakeholders is subject to ethical dilemmas. For example, the ISPs hosting the web sites might have a responsibility of monitoring the contents it hosts to avoid such cases. Also, the users reading the web sites might have an ethical obligation of informing the relevant authorities and assist the victims. We can therefore conclude that it is not always a clear-cut answer when identifying the involved stakeholders. They vary according to the case as well as what we judge as ethically right or wrong. In the case where the stalker is still an adolescent, the parents and teachers are also stakeholders as they are responsible for the development and education of the person in question. When they however see the deficiencies of laws and technology to deal with such issues, they realize they are quite powerless to avoid such a situation. As regards laws related to cyber-bullying, they are ambiguous and poorly put into practice (3). One reason for this is the lack of technical expertise and resources on the parts of the authorities such as the police, which would make it difficult to actually enforce the laws. The authorities would not have a clear understanding of a certain situation if necessary education and training has not been provided beforehand to deal with such situations. If we are to ethically analyze the shareholders in various situations concerning the internet, we first have to know who supposedly is in control of a situation and who has to take responsibility (11). Internet infrastructure companies such as Cisco and Oracle are considered as shareholders by some as they provide the internet network. However although these companies may provide the backbone structure, they would have limited interest in the content on their infrastructure. One can direct the blame on the ISPs, however these host limited content. Most newsgroups and chat rooms are nowadays hosted independently not by ISPs, and are not always easy to trace. It can be argued that a paradigm shift of Internet content has occurred from locally to globally (11). Whereas previously we had specialist ISPs hosting and providing all the content, we moved on to an era where the content is provided by the general end users. Examples of this are personal blogs and Twitter feeds. ISPs cannot be relieved of all the blame though. Even though one cannot expect them to pre-check content posted by their users, they should be willingly able to help should they receive a complaint or notification about particular content they are hosting or malicious users making use of their ISP services. Roger Darlington in (11) suggests that we first should understand what the word ethics means and represents in the context of the Internet before we can conclude who is a stakeholder or not. To have a better understanding of who is responsible for what on the Internet, he suggests that: We should accept that the Internet is not a value-free zone. We should act in a civilized manner as in the end it is us (the end users) who shape the Internet when providing content and services. Our actions on the Internet should be consistent with what we do in the real life. We should comply with laws when making use of the Internet in the same way as we do practically. The author suggests that we do not invent a new set of laws and values for the Internet; instead we apply the laws we are used to in the physical world for issues including discrimination, pornography and copyrights to name a few. We should be aware that the Internet is used by people from different cultures, religions and ethnicity. Where possible we should thus try to accommodate as much of the Internet society as possible. We should be responsive and accept feedback from the Internet user community. Ethical Issues One should make a discrepancy between what is legal and what is ethical. An action might be considered legal yet unethical. There is no law stopping a divorced man from setting up an online profile pretending to be a middle-aged woman who wants to befriend his ex-wife. Most people however would consider this behavior unethical. Although ethics are only moral guidelines and are not imposed on us like law is, they are more worldwide in judging if an action is right or wrong. As we already mentioned, various jurisdictions have inconsistent laws about similar issues concerning private information. In some countries, it may be legal to accumulate personal data on its citizens and store them in a public repository, while this practice might be illegal in other countries wishing to protect the citizens privacy. Ethical dilemmas arise in such a case. A stalker citizen living in a country that protects privacy can use a paid service that operates in a country where there is no privacy protection to obtain information about his victim that lives in the stalkers country. The service is not illegal as it operates from a different country, however such action borders on whether it is ethical or not. It is difficult to deal with such ethical issues due to a lack of technological understanding from certain authority parties. Political parties demanding that there should be more control on hosted content such as newsgroups and chat rooms would most of the time have limited knowledge about how these are hosted. Also they ignore the fact that it is a near impossible scenario to monitor and control all the information exchange that takes place. Even when laws are not in place, a responsible party such as a web hosting company should have a moral responsibility to control the content it hosts. For example, if a company hosts a web site about how to make or detonate a bomb, it should not walk away claiming to not be responsible if such information is made use of by members of the public for malicious purposes. Roger Darlington in (11) proposes some useful solutions to prevent ethical problems on the internet such as cyber stalking and cyber bullying. Laws should be modernized to reflect changing times and to make them in context with the use of the Internet. They should take into account new crimes that are not possible in the physical world such as grooming of under-age girls in chat rooms as well as cyber stalking to name a few. Such actions should be punished by crime fighters who are specifically technically trained for such high tech situations. These fighters should possess all necessary resources to tackle such cyber criminals. As already mentioned, most of cyber stalking and bullying takes place in open online communities, where the harasser can defame and expose his victim in front of a large audience. Due to this fact, these spectators witnessing such unethical behavior should be morally obliged to take action and help the victim. In the United Kingdom, the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) runs a hotline where Internet users can confidentially report such criminal behavior or contents. These foundations would be equipped with knowledge and techniques how to deal with such situations by judging the legality of the cases and identifying the culprits. If the content is deemed illegal and is hosted within the foundations jurisdiction area, they can issue a notice to the relevant ISP hosting the material to take action by removing the content (11). Maltese Law In 2002, the Data Protection Act (12) was amended in Malta to protect private data from getting into the hands of cyber-stalkers, cyber-bullies, harassers, and all those with a malicious intent to defame or invade the privacy of a victim. The document contains a number of clause articles that help protect private data. The seventh Article ensures that when data is processed, it is processed fairly and lawfully. The data collected should be specific and used for explicitly stated legitimate purposes. This clause protects the subject from revealing more data than is necessary or required. Article nine of the document clearly states that the subject must give consent before such data provided can be processed. The subject also has the right to revoke his/her consent to sensitive data processing providing legitimate grounds for the revocation. This is specified in Article 11. Cyber-stalkers wishing to learn personal information about a subject can illegitimately pose as a third-party company that makes use of this sensitive data for marketing purposes. Article 10 of the Data Protection Act specifically protects the subject from such third-parties by having the choice not to disclose his information with such parties. Article twelve focuses specifically on Sensitive Personal Data, and states that the processing of sensitive data can only take place if the subject gives consent or else has made this sensitive data public. This latter case is one which stalkers profit from, as they make use of already publicized data to defame an individual without any needed consent from the subject in question. They would not have obtained the information illegally as it would be publicly available, for example on the victims Facebook profile. One can easily view pictures of the victim and read personal information such as locality and workplace if the victim has not adjusted his/her privacy settings accordingly. Only in extreme cases, such as if a subject is being investigated or is an issue for national security, public security or the defense should secrecy restrictions be temporarily lifted. This is stated in Article 23. The Data Protection Act also prevents third parties with possible malicious intentions from processing and accessing personal data. In fact, Article 25 specifies which persons are authorized to process data. In the previous section, we discussed whether it is ethical if a stalker citizen living in a country that protects privacy can use a paid service that operates in a country where there is no privacy protection to obtain information about his victim that lives in the stalkers country. Article 27 deals specifically with such a case, whereby the transfer of sensitive data to a third country is subject to it having adequate levels of protection for this data. So if this third country does not protect the data as resiliently as the citizens country, then the third country would have no right in requesting for such information. Ethical Analysis: Consequentialist Theory A consequentialist ethical theory is a theory that focuses on the overall general consequences arising from an action. This type of ethical theory judges the rightness or wrongness of an action by analyzing the consequences of such an action. In fact it can be defined as a general normative theory that bases the moral evaluation of acts, rules, institutions, etc. solely on the goodness of their consequences, where the standard of goodness employed is a standard of non-moral goodness. (13) Utilitarianism is an example of a consequentialist ethical theory. In Utilitarianism, an action is considered ethically right if it results in the best consequences. Jeremy Bentham, an ancient philosopher and advocate of utilitarianism, defines a right action as that action is best that produces the greatest good for the greatest number (14).à However it is not always clear how a quantitative measurement of right or wrong due to an action can be defined. Also it is difficult to compare utilities as they are subject to individual interpretations. One can argue that harm done to a man and a tree should be treated equally as bad, while others argue that harm done to a human is more wrong than harming a tree. The utilitarian theory does not state that no wrong consequences can result from an action. It is only concerned with the greater good, so if a small minority of people suffers great harm while the vast majority enjoys a small benefit, the overall action is considered as ethically right. Apart from being concerned with the consequences from an action, Utilitarianism can also be applied to laws and rules. This type, called Rule Utilitarianism is concerned with the consequences from a rule. A rule is considered good if it satisfies the majority of the people. Applying this ethical theory to the concept of cyber-stalking and harassment over the Internet, we must decide if an action is morally right or wrong by analyzing the consequences it has on the respective shareholders. The amendment and enforcement of legislation against cyber-stalking is ethically right in a consequentialist view. It harms the minority that go against it, however the majority of the Internet society benefit from having a safer environment. The same argument can be applied to the already-mentioned ethical issue about whether ISPs should monitor the contents they host and act if a complaint is received. By controlling the content they host, ISPs would be punishing those who post malicious messages or information by banning them from posting for example. The greater good is ensured though, as the Internet society as well as the potential victims of such harassers would have a safer future experience on the Internet. Ethical Analysis: Duty Theory A duty ethical theory, or Deontology, is rather different from Consequentialism. In Deontology, an action is right if it satisfies a principle or moral rule, without any concern for the overall consequences. It is the acts that determine if something is ethically right or wrong, not the consequences as in Consequentialism. Morality is determined according to rationally recognizing ones duties towards others (15). Same as in Consequentialism, Deontology can also be branched into two types: a set of ethical theories concerning actions and another set concerning the rules (15). Both sets of ethical theories however state that the good comes from our own ability to carry out our moral obligations. Kantianism, or Kantian Ethics, is an example of a deontological ethical theory which falls under the deontological set of theories concerning rules. Kant states that for one to act morally right, he needs to act according to his duty, which must be good in itself. The motives of the action ultimately determine if an action is ethically right or wrong. In cyber-stalking, the stakeholders must act according to what their duty is. Taking the ISP ethical issue, the ISP must always seek to satisfy and protect his clients, providing that what they are posting on the Internet is morally correct. We discussed many cases where the stalker or harasser hides behind anonymity to attack the victim. It is the duty of the stalker to respect the victim over the Internet and act in a consistent way as he would when face-to-face with the victim. Failing to do so will result in unethical behavior according to Kantianism. All stakeholders must perform their duty to behave ethically correct. We shall take into example the already discussed case where a citizen makes use of a detective service operating in a third country to discover information about another person living in his country. Law makers and law enforcers in both countries should act ethically and perform their duty in protecting their citizens, by amending specific laws which protect a persons privacy even online. In this scenario, it would become illegal to obtain such information using this service, thus it will be the citizen requesting information who is behaving unethically. In the Amy Boyer case, the general public who read the websites set up by Liam Youens had the duty to inform the relevant authorities such as the ISP hosting the websites. According to the Kantianism view, the complaint by these users to the relevant authorities is the correct ethical action to perform. Conclusion Cyber-stalking and online harassment is a major issue that is ever increasing as more people make use of online facilities to disclose private information. Whether disclosing the data involuntary, by filling forms with sensitive data that ends up being shared with third-parties, or voluntary by posting it on personal profiles such as Facebook and MySpace, it is becoming increasingly likely and easier to stalk a person by obtaining all necessary personal information. Such stalking often has devastating effects on the victim. We discussed several cases where acts of stalking or defamation over the Internet ended up with the victim committing suicide. In most cases, this would be because of the public humiliation suffered by the victim when the harasser and similarly-minded people behave unethically over the Internet. We showed that such people feel more unconstrained when attacking from a safe and anonymous environment than when facing the victim in the physical world. Legislations need to be devised to minimize such cases as much as possible. Locally, the Data Protection Act is one such legal document that protects sensitive data of the citizens. The problem however lies with inconsistencies between various jurisdictions in accepting and implementing such legislations. Only when a set of unambiguous and consistent rules is devised can all the relevant stakeholders in such cyber-stalking issues know what the right course of action to behave ethically is. To help us in our moral and ethical judgment and how we should act in cyber-stalking issues, we discussed and contrasted the two major theories of ethics of conduct: Consequentialism and Deontology. While Consequentialism states that the right action is the one that produces the most intrinsic good for the majority of the stakeholders, Deontology states that the right action is to perform ones duty in the circumstances. For both ethical theories, we focused on Utilitarianism and Kantianism respectively as a practical example. For each, we evaluated how the stakeholders should act when faced with the ethical issues and cases that were discussed.
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