Soils lab report Sample

Soils lab report Paper Observations/Data Record the observations and/or data you collected here. Describe the color, feel, and appearance of each soil sample. Sample 1: Play ground sand: khaki colored, feels rough, has more sand than rocks. Sample 2: Potting soil: black/brown-sis colored, feels some what soft, has little pieces of bark (woody stem, branches, and roots of plants. ) Sample 3: Backyard soil: Orange-red, feels lumpy, muddy look alike. What is the texture of each soil sample? Sample 1 : coarse texture because the aggregates are larger hence drains fetter Sample 2: when breaking down by soil microbes becomes finer Sample 3: smooth, and sticky when its formed into a ball Describe the way that water drained from each soil sample. Sample 1: with the sand particles being large, the water drained pretty quick Sample 2: it absorbed the water Sample 3: it took a while to drain out since it absorbed most of it @ KC Distance Learning Analysis Answer the following questions about this lab. 1. How did the feel of each soil relate to its texture? Soil relates to its texture by the type of environment 2. Based on your observations, what kind of texture led to the fastest water drainage? What kind of texture led to the slowest water drainage? We will write a custom essay sample on Soils lab report specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Soils lab report specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Soils lab report specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer How do you think texture influences a soils porosity and permeability? The coarse texture of backyard soil drained water faster. Potting soil was the slowest water drainer because instead of draining it absorbs. Soil texture and structure greatly influence water infiltration, permeability, and water holding capacity.

The Perks of Being a Wallflower Compare and Contrast Essays

The Perks of Being a Wallflower Compare and Contrast Essays The Perks of Being a Wallflower Compare and Contrast Paper The Perks of Being a Wallflower Compare and Contrast Paper Essay Topic: The Perks Of Being a Wallflower The book and the movie for The Perks of Being a Wallflower are extremely different, and I believe that the movie is much better than the book. The book is written much differently than the movie. There are lots of scenes that are in the book but not in the movie and that are in the movie not the book. The movie focuses less on the bigger, depressing topics than the book does. The characters in the movie are also much different than they are in the book. Their personalities are very different in the movie than the author described them as in the book.The movie, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, is directed very differently than how the book is written. The book is written in letters that Charlie writes to a friend. In the book, it’s harder to â€Å"get to know† the characters. Charlie describes them very well but it is harder to actually feel like you â€Å"know† the characters. Charlie sometimes narrates the movie, but it is also in 3rd per son. Because the movie is also in 3rd person, you can â€Å"get to know† the characters better. In the movie Charlie also has flashbacks. When he has them he describes himself as â€Å"getting bad again†.Because the book was written in 2nd person, Charlie never had flashbacks. In addition to the book being written differently than the movie, there are many things that were left out of the movie that were in the book. One thing that was in the book but not the movie was when Charlie caught his sister Candace and her boyfriend, Ponytail Derek sleeping together. In the movie they also leave the part out when Charlie drives Candace to get an abortion. Charlie, Sam and Patrick also smoke cigarettes in the book, but they don’t in the movie. One big thing that Charlie did a lot of in the book, but almost none of in the movie was cry.In the book, Charlie cries after he and Sean get in a fight, when Sam kisses him, when he breaks up the fight between Patrick and Brad, an d after the dare where Patrick told Charlie to kiss the prettiest girl in the room, while he is dating Mary Elizabeth, and he kisses Sam. In the movie, the only time you see Charlie crying is at the end, when he blacks out and attempts to commit suicide. There are many scenes and details that were in the book, but were left out of the movie, one thing that differentiates the movie from the book, is the change in character’s personalities and the relationships between the characters.In the book, Candace and Charlie seem like they don’t get along extremely well. Like any brother and sister, they fight quite a lot and they get in many arguments. But Candace seems like she is much meaner to him in the book than she is to him in the movie. In the movie Candace is much nicer to Charlie, and just nicer in general. Patrick is quite similar in the movie to how he was in the book, except for his personality. In the book, Patrick seems less carefree and funny. It seems like he is a jokester, but he can also be very serious at times. While in the movie he can’t be taken seriously and he always is trying to lighten the mood.Even when he and Brad were going through a rough spot in their relationship, he was still messing around and cracking jokes. Charlie was the character that is the most different in the book and in the movie. In the book, Charlie is portrayed as weak, nerdy and extremely awkward. But in the movie he is a tougher character and he seems a lot less quiet and shy. One way the movie shows that Charlie is not very weak is how he only cries once at the end. While in the book he cries all the time. The Perks of Being A Wallflower is a good book but a very good movie.If the movie had all of the scenes that the book had in it, the movie would be extremely depressing. The movie was written differently than the book, it was written in 3rd and 2nd person while the book was only written in 2nd. There are very many things that the book had, but the movie did not. Including some of the very heavy events and flashbacks that Charlie had. Some of the characters in the book were shown very differently than they were in the movie. After watching the movie and reading the book for The Perks of Being A Wallflower, I believe that the movie is better than the book.

Contract & Agency Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Contract & Agency Law - Essay Example This requirement created the need have the separation of power within the government. The government is created to comprise three branches. They are the legislature, executive and the judiciary (Tabalujan, 2009). The legislature is responsible for the creation of laws. It formulates and presents laws that are then implemented as laws on the land. This is done upon its interpretation of the law and what is required to be drafted as law. The executive is referred to as the ruling branch of the government. The executive lays down implementation plans of the laws created by the legislature. In general, the executive implements the laws that are created (Tabalujan, 2009). The judiciary acts as an independent body but as a creation of both the executive and legislature. The judiciary interprets the laws created and implemented. This is done by creating legal provisions that are generated from the interpretation of the laws created. In addition, the judiciary dictates the legality that may arise from the implementation process. The three branches of the government to are referred to as the separation of power. The collaboration of the branches ensures the efficient creation, implementation, and supervision of laws in a state. In Singapore, separation of power is made under the concept of constitutionalism. This is aimed at limiting the mandate and freedom of the government to exercise power. The constitution in the Republic of Singapore separates power in three function or branches of the government (Tabalujan, 2009).They are the legislature, executive and the judiciary. The Singapore executive arrangement is derived from the British government system (Tabalujan, 2009). The President is the head of state. He is a member of both the parliament and the executive. However, he has a minimized role in both bodies. The citizens of Singapore elect the President and the members of parliament but

Successful Marketing Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Successful Marketing - Case Study Example Whatever, Anything, a local Singaporean beverages product manufactured by Out of the Box Pte., has successfully met the challenges of the prospect of intense competition and has successfully penetrated into this seemingly closed market. Even though the market situation, as outlined above, communicates the impression of the beverages' market as a closed one, this is not entirely true. The key is marketing. Maoz and Tybout (2002) contend that a well-design marketing campaign is based on the accurate identification of the product's most likely consumer segment and speaks to potential consumers in their language, addressing their needs and even personality traits/quirks, A marketing campaign which subscribes to the principles of advertising and communication excellence will facilitate a new form/product's successful entry into an otherwise closed and highly competitive market. But what is excellence in marketing, communications and advertising According to Hastings and Saren (2003), the theory of excellence in marketing is predicated on the principles of social marketing and interpersonal communication or, at least, the impression of it. In order to give the impression of interpersonal communication with consumers and, as such, garner their loyalty to the product, it is imperative that both the nature of the product meet consumer expectations and demands and the campaign in question combine between public relations and social marketing (Hastings and Soren, 2003). Expounding upon the characteristics of successful campaigns, Barlow-Hills and Soren (2003) begin with the concepts of product choice and innovation. The product must address a market need or aspiration and, within the context of highly competitive markets, be innovative enough to attract consumer attention. While the fulfillment of this first requirement invaluably contributes to the market success of a product, success is ultimately predicated on the marketing and communications campaign which introduces the product to consumer and incites an interest in it, and desire for its possession. Such a campaign, according to Barlow-Hills and Soren (2003) is characterized by innovativeness, on the one hand, and the exploitation of the language and the lifestyles of its targeted consumer market segment, on the other. Whatever, Anything fulfils the two requirements for success outlined in the preceding. The product, per se, may not be innovative since, as already mentioned, the beverages market is practically saturated with drinks to suit all tastes and age groups. Anything is a group of carbonated and Whatever a group of non-carbonated cold drinks. In other words, the product is not new in itself and hardly offers consumers something which is not already present in the market. What is new is the concept behind the product. Both Whatever and Anything come in six different flavors each but are packaged in generic cans with non-identifiers. Accordingly, the customer does not know which flavor he/she will receive, bringing the element of surprise into the equation. in other words, even though the product is not innovative, its manufactures, Out of the Box Pte., imposed innovation upon it through its packaging. It is, thus, that the first requirement for successful marketing was satisfied - product in novation. The

Is skill in implementing coordinated information technology really a Essay

Is skill in implementing coordinated information technology really a competitive advantage for a firm Why or why not - Essay Example nt of the effective human resource and sphosticated technology establshment is simlimy intended for taking a better competetive edge or is also aimed at improving the business, operations managemnt, business managnet and corporate processes handling. This paper will analyze and assess the answer of this question. This paper will also outline differetnt aspects of information technology implementation regarding the corporate business opertions enhancment or simply taking a better competetive edge. Data are collection of unprocessed facts demonstrating events occurring in firms or the physical environment prior to they have been structured and organized into a structure that people can identify and make use of these facts. Data can include text, numbers, images and videos. On the other hand, information refers to data that have been processed or transformed into a form that is valuable and functional to human beings (Shelly, Cashman, & Vermaat, 2005, p. 6; Norton, 2001, p. 4; Laudon & Laudon, 1999, p. 7). Oz Effy (2008) states that decision making and problem solving both require information. Decision making is vital part of everyone’ life, as people perform theirs tasks, play games, communicate or do anything they need information. In a corporation gathering the accurate information efficiently, storing properly so that it could be utilized and manipulated when needed, also making use of it to assist the firm or individuals to accomplish personal or business objectives . Therefore, the main intention of information technology implementation is to facilitate and support the above mentioned areas. We can utilize and apply these understanding and information for getting the success in all the areas. In a corporation an information system (IS) encompasses hardware, data, telecommunications, activities, software, and workers. Oz Effy (2008) mentioned that, an increasing number of ISs are modules of a huge enterprise system, like ERP or SCM system (Oz, 2008; Laudon &

‘Medicalization’ in Current Health Policy

‘Medicalization’ in Current Health Policy Changing Public Health Priorities From Medicalization to Improving Built Communities Laura Schultz, Brett Weed, Ashini Fernando, Carolyn Moore,  Andrea Andersen, David Garcia Medicalization has greatly increased the emphasis on the delivery of clinical services to individuals, often at the expense of population-based solutions. We examine this phenomenon and offer an alternative that promotes public health by improving social, environmental, and physical determinants of health[HS1]. ‘Medicalization’ in Current Health Policy ‘Medicalization’ is the tendency for the practice of medicine to view a greater proportion of human behavior through a clinical lens (Zola, 1986). Among the examples of medicalization is the direct-to-consumer solicitation of prescription drugs for an arguably ever-increasing repertoire of conditions and afflictions (Frosch, Krueger, Hornik, Cronbolm, Barg, 2007) and increasing access to medical care as is evident through the initiatives implemented by the ACA[HS2]. Ever increasing amounts of money are being invested in treatment of chronic diseases, while a comparatively much smaller proportion is invested in preventing the same conditions (HHS, 2003). The United States spends more than 17% of their GDP on healthcare[HS3]. This per capita health expenditure is more than twice the average of countries of the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (Balding, 2014[HS4]), yet these numbers have translated not into better health but instead, a worsening trend in chronic diseases. US citizens also have significantly lower life expectancy in comparison (Woolf Aron, 2013). Despite these considerable investments in health care delivery, the costs associated with treating the manifestations of poor health continue to rise unabated. Over the last five years in North Carolina alone, approximately USD 80 million of the federal budget for public health was appropriated for primary care for the underserved populations (Trust for America’s Health, 2014[HS5]). Public Health Spending In contrast, public health only receives approximately 3% of the government budget and is underfunded (Balding, 2014). Nationally, 95% of health spending is for the apportionment of clinical services, while only 5% is invested in population-based solutions (Lantz, Licthenstein, Pollack, 2007). In North Carolina this division is even more extreme, with less than 1% of health spending dedicated to public health operations (Table 1[HS6]). Table 1. North Carolina Public Health Appropriations as a Percentage of Public Health Care Spending (Trust for America’s Health, 2014; Chantrill, n.d.) It is worth[CDL7] noting that the leading cause of mortality in the US, cardiovascular disease, accounts for annual healthcare costs that exceed USD $312.6 billion (HHS n.d.), yet when diagnosed early, disease progression can be addressed with non-pharmacological interventions[HS8]. In North Carolina, a mere 0.81% (~ USD 15 million, 2013) of the federal budget for public health was appropriated for prevention measures of all chronic diseases (Trust for America’s Health, 2014). These funding trends appear to support medicalization of health instead of prevention through public health efforts. Rather than continue to invest in a stopgap strategy of mitigating the impact of illness, we propose to instead invest in the prevention of illness[HS9]. Addressing Social Determinants Population health investments within corporate environments have shown considerable financial success and value beyond return on investment (ROI). One corporate wellness program saw a ROI of close to 300%; another company saved an estimated $224 per employee in 2003 dollars from promoting health rather than treating a lack of it (HHS, 2003[HS10]). Applying this same per capita savings rate to North Carolina, shifting funding to prevention and health promotion could yield savings of $2.2 billion annually[3], more than offsetting the annual increases in health services expenditures. Value beyond ROI includes physical and mental health, quality of life, perceived health status and functional capacity. Workplace well-being also promotes other intangibles such as increased social cohesion (Pronk, 2014). There is an established correlation between positive social relationships and health. As Robert Putnam wrote in 2000 in Bowling Alone, â€Å"social capital† conveys the essential health promoting value of communities[HS11]. It is defined as â€Å"the social networks and interactions that inspire trust and reciprocity among citizens† (as cited in Leyden, 2003). Social isolation, independent of other lifestyle factors, is linked to premature death and decreased resistance to disease (Cohen, 2001). Beyond individual health, social capital is associated with political engagement, volunteerism, decreased crime rates and economic development (Leyden, 2003). Research has shown that when we design our communities to encourage social engagement there is a positive effect on the psychological and physical health of the residents (Leyden, 2003[HS12]). Since the advent of the automobile, the design of our communities has included limited transportation choices. Most individuals choose to travel by car because urban design has made most options for pedestrians unsafe (Vandergrift, 2004). The US, compared to other high income European countries with better health measures, have at least 25% more automobiles per 1000 people (Woolf Aron, 2013). European Countries also have policies which limit sprawl and prioritize â€Å"urban centralization†. Though difficult to quantify, these environmental factors are likely to contribute to the health disparities and disadvantages in the US (Woolf Aron, 2013). Political and social conditions and constructs, racism for example, also results in poor urban design that compound health disparities including limited access to businesses and markets, exposure to environmental toxins, and lack of opportunities for social participation. Specifically, infrastructure investment decisions, such as libraries, parks, public safety and maintenance are likely to be allocated to geographic areas populated by citizens with greater socioeconomic status and political power, which further marginalize disadvantaged socioeconomic groups (Schulz Northridge, 2004). Alternatively, mixed use, pedestrian friendly communities are based on thoughtful design and include intact town centers, multiple income residences and well linked streets that are designed for people, not automobiles (Walkable Communities, n.d.). Prioritized determinants of health, which we expect to improve because of innovative planning include increased social engagement, improved economic status and increased physical activity (Walkable Communities, n.d.). As of 2012, approximately 50% of the US adult population has been shown to suffer from chronic diseases. However, adequate physical activity has been scientifically proven to prevent or improve these chronic disease conditions[HS13]. Yet, according to a 2011 statistic from the CDC, 76% of adults did not meet the recommendation for muscle-strengthening physical activity which is a known risk for heart disease (CDC, 2014). There are states where the built environment is viewed as worthy of significant investment to improve population health. Specifically, in Massachusetts there are two examples of lower than average socioeconomic status communities where health impact assessments indicate that built environmental improvements would improve social factors and likely decrease expenses in medical intervention. In Somerville, there is a community driven planned change to a bisecting interstate. This plan, made with consideration for social health determinants of the residents includes multi use bike and walking paths with increased access to all areas of the community[HS14]. Community-wide access will provide opportunities for social interaction, physical activity and increased choices for employment (MassDOT, 2013). A community with similar demographics, Fall River, has proposed common trails for recreation and pedestrian and bicycle travel that connect residents to businesses. This is predicted to improv e every health determinant the HIA evaluated (MAPC, 2013). Based on a review of state sponsored health impact assessments in other communities, there is a significant relationship between communities with walkable pathways and health (Rails to Trails Conservancy, 2013). We propose that thoughtful environmental structure enhancements such as multi-use walking and biking paths will connect neighborhoods and businesses. In turn, we believe these changes will positively affect social cohesion, economic viability and physical activity, which are all key determinants of health that can improve with innovative public policy implementation[HS15]. Conclusion and Recommendations Evidence from state sponsored health impact assessments in other communities, indicates that there is a positive correlation between communities with walkable pathways and health (Rails to Trails Conservancy, 2013). Environmental structure enhancements such as multi-use walking and biking paths that connect neighborhoods and businesses could positively influence population health in North Carolina. We believe these changes will positively affect social cohesion, economic viability and physical activity, which are all key determinants of health that can improve with innovative public policy implementation. In North Carolina there are 31 completed Rails to Trails programs (NC Rails-Trails, 2014). This national program improves the built environment by converting former railroad routes to pedestrian and bike friendly paths. However, only 2 of the 31 completed trails are located in counties with the poorest health scores (RWJF 2014; NC Rails to Trails, 2014). Eastern North Carolina, where 9 out of 10 of the most poorly rated counties for health outcomes are located, also have the fewest trail initiatives (NC Rails-Trails, 2014). This skewed distribution of environmental improvements further demonstrates the way in which populations within poor socioeconomic communities are financially neglected, and thus likely to continue to suffer from worse health outcomes. Using Massachusetts as an example, the state’s Department of Health and Human Services has initiated a program to identify communities with the lowest socioeconomic status and assist them to â€Å"build policies, systems and environments that promote wellness and healthy living† (MassDOT, 2013). In partnership with state and county planning officials, public health leaders, and state demographers, our plan is to target lower socioeconomic communities, initially focusing on a county with the poorest health indicators, to plan and build multi-use trails. We request priority funding allocated through the US Department of Transportation via the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century ACT (MAP-21), as well as private foundation grants that prioritize state population health improvements like the Annie E. Casey and Doris Duke foundations. Our plan for advocacy is to engage community members in the trail project as stakeholders. Specifically we will encourage our members to influence policy decisions through community informational meetings, including letter writing assistance intended to exert pressure on local politicians. We intend to host community or health center â€Å"coffees† with opportunities to meet county commissioners and planners. Media coverage in the lo cal newspaper is another part of our advocacy plan. Specifically, we will engage local media in an effort to â€Å"frame† the problem of poor environmental design and how it impacts health by profiling one citizen with health risks and limited transportation options who lives on a pedestrian unsafe street, visually depicting the social isolation inherent in this environment though a photo layout[HS16]. By engaging our most vulnerable North Carolina citizens to take part in improving their quality of life and ultimately their health and longevity, we will have the best chance at community environmental improvement as a long term effort. The time is now to refocus our priorities on health investment through prevention and promotion of public health efforts rather than treatment of diseases. References Blanding, M. (2012). Public Health and the U.S. Economy. Retrieved from http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/news/magazine/public-health-economy-election/. Chantrill, C. (n.d.). North Carolina Government Spending Chart. Retrieved from http://www.usgovernmentspending.com/spending_chart_2003_2019NCb_16s1li111mcn_13l14t Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2014, October). Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/chronicdisease/overview/index.htm. Cohen, S (2001). Social relationships and health: Berkman syme (1979). Advances in mind-body medicine. 17(1):5-7. Frosch, D. L., Krueger, P. M., Hornik, R. C., Cronbolm, P. F., Barg, F. K. (2007). Creating Demand for Prescription Drugs: A Content Analysis of Television Direct-to-Consumer Advertising. Annals of Family Medicine, 5(1), 6-13. Lantz, P. M., Licthenstein R. L., Pollack, H. A. (2007). Health policy approaches to population health: The Limits of medicalization. Health Affairs, 26(5), 1253-1257. Leyden, K. (2003). Social Capital and the Built Environment: The Importance of Walkable Neighborhoods. American Journal of Public Health, 93(9), 1546-1551. Massachusetts Department of Transportation. (2013). Health Impact Assessment of the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) McGrath Grounding Study. 2013. Retrieved from http://www.massdot.state.ma.us/groundingmcgrath/HealthImpactAssessment.aspx. Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC) (2013). Health Impact Assessment: Quequechan River Rail Trail Phase 2. Retrieved from http://www.mapc.org/quequechan-river-rail-trail-hia. NC Rails-Trails (2014, September). Resources. Retrieved from http://www.ncrailtrails.org/web/resources. Pronk, N. P. (2014). Placing Workplace Wellness in Proper Context: Value Beyond Money. Preventing Chronic Disease 11, 1-4. http://dx.doi.org/10.5888/pcd11.140128 Putnam, R. (2000). Bowling Alone: The collapse and revival of American community. New York: Simon Schuster. Rails to Trails Conservancy. Health and Wellness Benefits. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.railstotrails.org/ourWork/trailBasics/benefits.html. Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (2014). County Health Rankings and Roadmaps, Building a Culture of Health County by County; 2014 Rankings; North Carolina. Retrieved from http://www.countyhealthrankings.org/sites/default/files/state/downloads/CHR2014_NC_v2.pdf Schulz, A., Northridge, M. E. (2004). Social determinants of health: Implications for Environmental Health Promotion. Health Education and Behavior, 31(4), 455-471. Trust for Americas Health (2014). Key Health Data about North Carolina. Retrieved from http://healthyamericans.org/states/?stateid=NC#section=3,year=2009,code=undefined US Census Bureau (2014, July 8). NC quick facts. Retrieved from http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/37000.html US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) (2003, September). Prevention makes common â€Å"cents†. Retrieved from http://aspe.hhs.gov/health/prevention/. US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) (n.d.). About Heart Disease Stroke. Retrieved from http://millionhearts.hhs.gov/abouthds/cost-consequences.html#cost. Vandergrift, D., Yoked, T. V. (2004). Obesity rates, income, and suburban sprawl: an analysis of US states. Health Place, 10, 221-229. Walkable Communities, Inc. (n.d.).Walkable Communities FAQ. Retrieved from http://walkable.org/faqs.html. Woolf, S. H., Aron, L. Y. (Eds.). (2013). U.S. Health in International Perspective: Shorter Lives, Poorer Health. Washington DC: National Academies Press. Zola, I. K. (1986). Medicine as an institution of social control. In P. Conrad R. Kern (Eds.), The sociology of health and illness. New York: St. Martins Press. [1] Rounded to nearest million [2] Rounded to nearest ten million; represents NC state and locality public health care spending [3] Based on 2013 NC Population Estimate of 9,848,060 (US Census Bureau 2014). [HS1]Nice introduction to your paper [HS2]Good examples [HS3]Is this from your Balding reference? This statement needs to be referenced. [HS4]This is listed as Blanding on your reference list. [HS5]Very nice section, your reader will have a good understanding of medicalization after reading this section [HS6]Great reference and statistics that support your premise [CDL7]Do not use this construct in this class, â€Å"it is†, â€Å"there are†, etc. [HS8]Such as implementing lifestyle changes with diet exercise. [HS9]Very good! [HS10]Impressive! [HS11]Very interesting, I will be reading this. [HS12]Great examples and points being made, excellent references. [HS13]You need a reference here [HS14]This entire section isn’t referenced. Unless this information is considered to be â€Å"common knowledge† e.g. it came from your own brain or was information you were aware of prior to writing this paper, it needs to have a citation. Please review when to cite from UNC library http://www2.lib.unc.edu/instruct/citations/index.html?section=why_we_cite [HS15]Great ideas [HS16]Great ideas and plan of action

The Internet Today: Causes and Effects

1996 was the year of Internet. We constantly saw and heard the word â€Å"Internet† everywhere last year. The beginning of the Internet was the computer network called ARPA (Advanced Research Projects Agency) which started in 1969 and was supported by the Department of Defense in America since they wanted the webbed network which cannot be severed easily. At the beginning, ARPA had been used for the military need; and when it became more commercialized, it came to be called ‘Internet'. Accordingly, you can say that the need of defense caused Internet to begin. Currently, Internet is now changing the concept of nation, the means to communicate with people and even your view of life. Then what should we do to deal with it? Can we be only a fanatic of Internet or be an anti-Internet? First, I'd like to show the positive effects that Internet has caused; then, I will move on to the negative side. Maybe you can come up with many positive effects of Internet. First, you can get the latest news on the web anytime everywhere. It must be interesting if students make a good use of the web because what teachers teach you is not always the latest thing. Even though the teacher say something to students, they can reply like this; `No, that's not true, Mr. [Blank], I asked Dr. [Know-it-all] at [Top] University just a few minutes ago on the web, and he said [Blank-sensei is totally wrong, the correct information is . . .]' You can have an opportunity to keep in touch with things new and what's happening in the world now. This was not possible a decade ago. Second, Internet is changing the concept of organization or system like a nation, an ethnic group, a company and a network of people. Imagine you are Japanese living in Sweden†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.you can't speak Swedish, you don't have any Japanese friends living your neighboring city. Maybe you'll become nervous because you can't get any Japanese news other than the letters from your friends. You don't have enough money to call Japan since it's too expensive. Once you get on Internet account, your problem will all be gone! You can chat with your Japanese friends on the web at a low price and can get any information that you want. Actually, Chinese people living all over the world are now making a network which support them each other on the Internet. For them, Internet is a very practical means to confirm their nationality and unify them as Chinese. You can be one of them (the Chinese) wherever you are. The borders between countries are fading by Internet in this way. In case of company, the differences between the classes are now fading slowly in Japan. You can say what you want to tell your boss or a company president by sending E-mail directly. Consequently, the relationship among people in the company is changing since you don't need someone to communicate with your superior anymore. The working style is also changing; you don't have to go to the company everyday because you can do your work at home and send what you've done by E-mail. You can have more free time and can change your lifestyle as you like. Fourth, concerning a network of people, Internet helped to connect and gather volunteers after the big earthquake had rocked the city of Kobe in 1995. The homepage made by one of the volunteer posted lots of information such as what refugees in Kobe need and which shelter needs helpers. Fifth, Internet is a good means to express yourself. You can make your homepage and introduce yourself there. Then some people who saw your homepage would be interested in you or your information offered on the homepage and would contact you. It can be someone from unfamiliar country that you've never been to. Isn't that kind of a great meeting? Maybe you want to found your own company on the web. It's possible now. Internet is very useful if you have something that you want to do or express. Now I'd like to state the negative effects of Internet. First, an infringement of copyright (or piracy) on the web is one of the most controversial problem that Internet has caused. It is very hard to protect the copyright since you can get any information on the web any time. You can draw some pictures offered in someone's homepage into yours and you can copy everything that is shown on the web-which you're supposed not to do so. Second, subversive materials posted on the web is also a big problem. It's obvious that subversive materials like porno or the picture of a dead body are not good for you nor for children. It can happen that innocent kids cruising the web to find a toy company's homepage stumble across the place where many horrible pictures are posted. Though Singapore's government now started controlling and policing those obscene material on the web, there is a question to be raised: doesn't the regulation offend the freedom of speech? The same question has also been raised from the United States when the obscene pictures on the web were prosecuted. Then, how should we protect our children from those subversive materials on Internet? Is there any way to measure the degree of the obscene materials? To make matters worse, there is currently no universal law that can supervise those problems. As you know, since Internet is worldwide, all countries must cooperate to restrict something on the web; otherwise, you can do it in the country where the law is not enforced. Third, you have to be concerned about the crime on the web. Because you can offer some information anonymously on Internet, some people can also trespass upon your privacy through Internet by spreading some information that you want to private. Furthermore, a crime on the web can sometimes be very serious. If you are a computer specialist, you could steal a secret information like the military secrets of another country. It actually happened a few years ago: a guy from Brazil stole through Internet military secrets from the Department of Defense in U.S.A. Fourth, as some people say, the Internet is a box of waste since most of the information which is offered on the web is junk. All you do on the web is just wasting your time. In addition, E-mails sometimes bother people; you can't write back to a hundred mails! Some mails may even have nothing to do with you. Dealing with E-mail could waste a lot of your time. As I said earlier, Internet, which was first created for military use, causes both positive and negative effects today. Nevertheless, you just can't complain all the time about the negative effects of Internet. You know that it's too late to stop the expanding of Internet. You won't be able to live without it. What is now demanded for us is to deal with both positive and negative side of Internet–and, hopefully, to change its negative effects for the better. by Rumiko Nomura http://www.tsujiru.net/compass/compass_1997/reg/nomura_r_3.htm