Abstract

Rapid developments in technology have defined today's society. One of the most popular technological innovations is the mobile device, in the form of the tablet, phablet, smartphone or laptop. Today, millions of individual user mobile devices for various reasons, as do companies. The multiple functionalities of the mobile device in addition to its portable size has made it a highly appealing gadget that may be used for different types of transactions. Over recent years, it has been noted that users of mobile devices are challenged with both privacy and security issues. The primary security issue encountered by mobile device users is hacking, while the worst privacy violation pertains to identity theft. Ethical theories may be used to analyze these issues.

Introduction

Mobile devices have become increasingly ubiquitous as millions of users around the world (including students) find them highly appealing because of their multiple functionalities. Indeed, mobile devices such as smartphones, tablets, phablets and laptops now have greater processing powers, larger memories, and high-definition and extended screen displays, among others. Typically, mobile devices usage are cost-based and privacy-sensitive services, including, "SMS, MMS, telephony, GPRS, camera, and GPS" among others. Thus, a good number of mobile device users want to preserve their privacy but oftentimes fall into the pitfall of believing that their gadgets are secure by default. However, the truth is that many security and privacy issues have been discovered in recent times as they pertain to mobile devices, even matching the same levels as desktop computers. The most important security issue regarding mobile devices is hacking while theft of personal information is the most troublesome privacy issue. This paper presents a discussion of privacy and security issues pertaining to mobile devices, as well as the ethical theories that may be used in analyzing these issues.

Security Issues

New mobile devices, including, Apple's iPhone and iPad, Google's Android-based devices, and Samsung's Galaxy, have remarkable transformed the ways through which people access, store and use information. Businesses are also increasingly benefiting from "data-enabled, multi-network (mobile operator and WiFi enabled), always-on mobile devices" that enhance the efficiency of organizational processes and transactions. Today, mobile devices have gained functionalities that make them like mini-computers. It is unfortunate that juts like desktop computers, mobile devices have also become vulnerable to cyber attacks, primarily hacking. According to some experts, mobile devices are even more vulnerable to security issues because of their smaller size. Mobile devices have smaller screens and keyboards such that webpage address fields tend to be hidden from sight in order to accommodate content. Smaller keyboards usually mean that passwords are shorter and PINs that may be easily cracked are more often in use now. Apart from these, mobile devices have battery constraints such that users do not find it convenient to apply security technologies. In light of these, hackers have found different ways to attack mobile devices through four vulnerabilities.

The first is cellular interception, which is done by intercepting the signals being sent by the device. This was demonstrated by a mobile security analyst named Chris Paget who showed how mobile-phone data on GSM networks may be intercepted through the use of even home-made systems that detect and capture subscriber identities. The second most commonly-used entry point used by mobile hackers is Bluetooth.

Hackers use Bluetooth in three ways. Bluejacking is undertaken when a hacker sends unsolicited messages to open Bluetooth nearby and then exploits Bluetooth's electronic business card feature, vCard. Therefore, Bluetooth must always be switched off if not in use. The second is through bluesnarfing, through which the hacker uses software to steal information by accessing the Bluetooth OBEX push profile. Third, through bluebugging, the hacker exploits the same entry points of the other two methods for the purpose of actually gaining control of the mobile device. The third most widely-used vulnerability by hackers is Wi-Fi. To note, Wi-Fi signals are transmitted through the air, which is an uncontrolled space. This means to say that Wi-Fi signals can travel through walls, ceilings, and windows of buildings "to thousands of feet outside of the building walls."

Wireless LAN devices may not be secure, even their user stations and access points, such that hackers may exploit the vulnerability of the Wi-Fi network and the wired network. The fourth vulnerability that hackers exploit is the global positioning system (GPS) which the majority of mobile devices now have. A hacker can ping a mobile in order to discern the cell tower to which the device is connected. Typically, mobile phone companies triangulate a mobile device's estimated location by triangulation so that the nearest transmission mast to the hone may be determined. This is what hackers access through GPS for the purpose of finding out the user's location, even if the mobile device is off. Hackers even share this information among themselves.

Privacy Issues

The unique features of mobile devices, such as their mobility, personalization and location-awareness, are the primary enablers of privacy issues. It must be emphasized that mobile device owners use their gadgets in different transactions: from online shopping, to receiving messages from their healthcare providers, and to downloading applications for which they have to pay. In all of these transactions, the mobile owner provides personal and location information so that their transactions may be completed. Consequently, mobile users are easily identifiable to unscrupulous entities such as hackers who seek to access users' demographic data, location information, calling patterns, credit card numbers, social security numbers, and even physical addresses. In cases such as these, hackers invade the privacy of users unless the latter has excellent data protection and privacy safeguards in their mobile devices - which is often not the case. On the other hand, privacy may also violated by non-hackers, such as marketers who reach users through their mobile devices in order to attain sales of a broad range of products and services.

Discussion: Application of Ethical Principles

Hacking and invasion of mobile users' privacy may be analyzed using four ethical principles, namely, Kantian ethics, cultural relativism and act and rule utilitarianism.

Kantian Ethics

Kant is among the first philosophers who emphasized human value. According to Kant, human beings have "dignity" and "intrinsic worth" making them valuable "above all price," over and beyond everything on Earth. Kant asserts that human beings are so valuable and irreplaceable due to the fact that they alone have dignity - a quality that other beings do not possess. Therefore, invading another person's privacy is a violation of this dignity. On the other hand, Kant also teaches that the rightness or wrongness of an act is not determined through consequences by whether they fulfill a person's duty. Kant explains that the supreme principle of morality is the Categorical Imperative, which identifies what human beings' duties are. One of the unconditional mandates of the Categorical Imperative is that a person should "act so that you treat humanity, whether in your own person or in that of another, always as an end and never as a means only." When an individual treats another person as an end, the latter is treated properly and respectfully. In other words, the Categorical Imperative means to say that a person should promote the welfare of others, respect their rights, avoid harming them, and generally, "endeavor, so far as we can, to further the ends of others." Thus, hacking and invasion of privacies are immoral because they show disrespect to other people, is harmful to others and treats others only as a means rather than an end.

The cultural relativist perspective holds that customs can never be "correct or incorrect" considering that all social standards are "culture-bound." Cultural relativism also states that the "right way is the way which the ancestors used and which has been handed down." A specific tradition is its own authority for observance may not be subjected to verification of any kind. Cultural relativism state that people should always respect traditions because they "contain in themselves the authority of the ancestral ghosts" (Rachels 305). Hence, the traditional moral code of a given society should be the determinant of what is right or wrong. Cultural relativism states that it would be arrogant for a person to "to judge the conduct of other peoples" because to be moral, one should respect the practices of other cultures. Therefore, if Americans consider hacking and privacy violations are immoral, Asians should not condemn Americans if they do not agree.

Utilitarianism has two major schools of thought called act and rule utilitarianism. Although both schools consider actions according to their consequences, they have differing perspectives. The perspective of act utilitarianism is that the greatest happiness to the most number of people hinges upon the appropriateness of their actions in a given situation. An act is moral if it is useful to the most number of people. Interestingly, from this perspective, if hacking and violations of privacy are useful to the most number of people, then they are not immoral act. In contrast, rule utilitarianism holds that an act can only be considered if it follows rules that will cause the greatest good or happiness to the most number of people. Rule utilitarianism is based on the belief that an action is appropriate depending on the appropriateness of its rules. When rules are followed, then the greatest happiness to the most number of people follows. In light of these, hacking and violations of privacy can never be moral actions because they break rules about privacy and security.

Conclusion

Mobile devices are now highly sophisticate gadgets that have multiple functionalities. They are like mini computers that are very useful for various types of transactions and personal uses. However, they are even more vulnerable to security and privacy issues compared to computers mainly because of their size. Hacking is the main security issue plaguing mobile devices while privacy violations have been occurring at increasing rates. To note, both privacy and security issues may be analyzed using key ethical theories.

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"What? There are students who prefer to go to summer school when they don't have to? You must be kidding! Why would any student want to stay in school all year long? That can't be right..."

The above statement is the normal reaction I get from my high school students when they ask me how they can increase the profile of their college application. This is a question normally asked by either a sophomore or junior in high school who is looking forward to applying to his first-choice university as soon as applications open in their senior year. They are usually dumbfounded by my response which is always, "Attend summer school". Although always left speechless at the thought, the next question, almost always, is "Why?"

Reviewers are always impressed by students who have a visible desire for learning and an aptitude for advanced courses. A student who desires to take more advanced courses during the regular year may not have the space in the academic year schedule to insert college prep AP and Honors classes. For these students, the best option would be summer school. No, I don't mean take the AP and Honors classes in summer school.

What I mean is, the student should consider taking a large load of regular classes during the summer. These could be the subjects that a student has the least amount of interest in but is required to study during the regular year anyway. If a student must suffer through a class he can barely stand, he might as well do it in an abridged version of the class. It will cause the least pain and suffering in a class you know you won't need in college anyway. That will leave the classes you are interested in taking, the college prep level classes, for the academic year, when the student will have more time to apply himself to reaching his full potential in the learning process of that class. If a student is interested in taking AP and honors classes, that means he already has the grades to gain early admission into college anyway. Wasting the summer just buzzing around without a true purpose means a good 2 and a half months of time is wasted that could have been used to build up a student profile for the college application.

Students who prove to be eager to learn during their high school years often turn out to be high performance college students as well. That is what reviewers are on the eagle eye out for. Someone who will be able to use all his college time in an appropriate educational manner will always help to elevate the level of student learning, challenge the university professors to keep their skills up to date, and serves to impress others thinking of attending the university that the student might come into contact with.

A student who is plotting his future almost always recognizes the importance of summer school either to bring up a grade in a class he struggled in, or simply to allow him to complete his high school minor subjects in exchange for an opportunity to go and attend AP or Honors classes at his local high school. Some students even go so far as to attend college level classes at a university that offers such an opportunity while still enrolled in high school. Now the discussion of that other impressive student profile activity is for another essay.

The advent of computers and the Internet has provided numerous benefits to humanity. Indeed, these technologies have transformed the manners through which people transact business, obtain their education, communicate with one another, manage their health and finances, undertake research and even the means through which governments engage with constituents, among many other things. Indeed, through the widespread use of the Internet, consumers are now increasingly conducting their businesses online in what is now known as e-commerce. Unfortunately, just as the Internet and computers may be harnessed for progressive activities, these technologies have also become useful tools for malicious entities so that they could perpetrate their unlawful acts, including, online fraud.

Online fraud refers to deceptive behaviour that is perpetrated over the Internet in an illegal manner. Based on this definition, online fraud constitutes a broad range of activities that include theft of proprietary information through hacking; credit card fraud; identity theft; scamming; auction site fraud; lottery scams; cheque overpayments; false websites and advanced fee fraud. The most common motive for perpetrating online fraud is for economic gain. The adverse impacts of online fraud include monetary, loss of control over certain business processes, loss of trust between consumer and provider as well as loss of interest in e-commerce which is the source of livelihood for millions of people across the globe.

In the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), SR16 billion is lost to commercial fraud each year, with an increasing proportion attributed to online fraud. Moreover, whereas e-commerce in KSA is not as advanced in comparison to the United States or China, e-commerce is poised to exponentially grow due to the increasing ubiquity of the Internet and smartphones in the Kingdom. Indeed, the Saudi Ministry of Trade and Industry and the Saudi Interpol had long issued warnings about the dramatic increase in cases of Internet fraud in KSA.

PURPOSE OF THE STUDY

The proposed study seeks to determine the various measures that the KSA could prevent online fraud. The underlying rationale here is that online fraud exacts significant costs to consumers, businesses as well as the national economy, such that it has to be urgently addressed just like any illegal act. In light of these, the specific objectives of the proposed study are to:

1. Conduct a comparative case study on the KSA and the United Kingdom in terms of addressing the problem of online fraud.

2. Extract from this comparative case study important lessons that the KSA may learn from the experience of the United Kingdom.

Moreover, the proposed study seeks to answer these research questions:

1. How can online fraud in the KSA be prevented through legislative means?

2. How can online fraud in the KSA be prevented through the use of the human-computer interaction approach?

3. What are the security measures that online businesses can adopt to ensure that online fraud is prevented?

THE CONTEXT

The United Kingdom aggressively battles online fraud through legislation and other support systems. This is because online fraud in the United Kingdom has generated monetary costs amounting to billions of pounds such that the government wanted to address the problem once and for all through legislative measures. For instance, online banking fraud alone in 2008 cost British banks £39 million, reflecting an increase of 55% from a year earlier. Identity fraud cost the British economy an average of £1.2 billion annually, or £25 for every adult in the United Kingdom. Consequently, the United Kingdom enacted a number of laws including, the Computer Misuse Act (1990), as amended by the Police and Justice Act and the Fraud Act. The United Kingdom also created special agencies such as the National Hi-Tech Crime Unite and the Police Central e-Crime Unit. In contrast, the KSA continues to face barriers in addressing online fraud because of "a lack of clear regulations and support systems" (Arab News). Such support systems include HCI and information security capabilities.

METHODOLOGY

The proposed study will use the comparative case study design. To note, the comparative case study has three objectives. First, it aims to systematically analyze covariations between two or more cases in order to identify causal relationships (Collier 1993). Second, it investigates at least two cases for the purpose of determining a specific framework or set of concepts that are material to the cases. Third, it seeks to investigate at least two cases so that the researcher can highlight the degree to which they are different from one another so that ultimately, it becomes possible to establish a framework for the interpretation of "parallel processes of change that are played out in different ways within the context" (Collier). Thus, the KSA and the United Kingdom experiences with online fraud will be investigated for the proposed study, with lessons learned from the United Kingdom to be analyzed for adoption in the KSA.



Proposed Time Frame

EXPECTATIONS

At this point, it is expected that legislation alone will not be able to address the problem of online fraud in the KSA. Thus, the importance of HCI and security measures is emphasized.

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Introduction

Ethics is considered to be the study of morality and differentiating between right and wrong. In simple terms, it is considered to be the study that concentrates on distinguishing between moral and immoral action and behavior and concentrates on promoting the principles of morality and good ethical conduct. It is important for the human society, which has entered the age of information and technology. Information technology has changed the way human society works and has allowed scientists, researchers and academics to reach new horizons and to discover new territories. Key ethical issues in information technology domain include privacy invasion, disclosure of information, spamming, etc. The goal of this paper is to analyze ethics in information technology in the lights of broad and diverse academic resources. Furthermore, it will discuss the information technology issues in the lights of ethical theories to understand them comprehensively.

Divine Command Theory and Information Technology Issues

The Divine Command Theory has been derived from three main religions: Judaism, Christianity and Islam. These three religions believe that God is the Master and Creator of the Universe and that human beings have been created by Him. According to the Divine Command Theory, a moral action is considered to be the action according to the will of God and an immoral action is against His will. The Holy Books are used for determining morality and therefore, act as moral and ethical guide. From this theory, God is considered to be the Absolute being and therefore, human beings must obey him. He is the Creator of the universe and therefore, human beings have the obligation to abide by His rules, which He has mentioned in the holy books. God is All-Knowing and All-Powerful and therefore, ethical behavior and morality are aligned with His will.

God is the Ultimate authority and therefore, the goal of human beings is to create a society where His laws of morality will be applied. Examples of ethical issues and dilemmas in information technology include violation of intellectual property rights, invading privacy and using personal information of other individuals without their consent. Since the Divine Command Theory asserts that good action is based on the will of God and a bad action is against His will, this shows that human beings have the duty to ensure that they do not commit such acts by misusing information technology. Violation of intellectual property rights include sharing of copyrighted materials online, plagiarism, hacking emails, credit card fraud and sharing personal information of individuals online. For example, a person who takes part of in an online survey, has to give his or her email address, personal information and other data. There is a possibility that personal information can be shared to third party. In this case, the person who is sharing the data has failed to abide the rules of God and has been shared the information of another individual without his or her consent. This is an immoral action. In the same manner, sharing of a software that is copyrighted, is an unethical behavior. Following the commands of God is necessary in accordance to the Divine Command Theory and therefore, the Holy Scriptures clearly property and privacy protection to all human beings.

Ethical Issues in Information Technology

As mentioned earlier, ethics is vital for human society. With the advent of new information technology devices such as android phones, smart devices and tablets, portable MP4 players, laptops and availability of internet, the way humans live and how they interact with one another has changed completely. There is no doubt that information technology is responsible for bringing several positive changes, but it has also brought several problems with it.

Intellectual property rights are the rights that the owner has over his or her work, which may be a poetry, article, book, software, movies or songs. Intellectual property rights are frequently violated over the internet as pirated versions of movies, software and songs are readily available in the form of torrent files. In the same manner, articles or books are also readily available to students. In certain cases, students copy-paste sentences or paragraphs without crediting the original author and pass it as their own work, which is known as plagiarism. Peer to peer networks are also used for sharing of files and are used by individuals to share copyrighted material. Popular cases include Apple Computers lawsuit against Franklin Computer Stores, Sega's lawsuit against Accolade, Authors Guild lawsuit against Google Books for copyright infringement, etc. To protect intellectual property rights, legislations must protect intellectual property rights and at the same time, place a ban of sites that are engaged in copyright infringement.

Information is stored on the internet in the form of databases and includes credit card information and usage, purchasing details, etc. In other cases, individuals take part in online surveys and reveal their personal details such as name, address, phone number, email address. Information is also stored on social media networks websites such as Facebook Tags. These personal details can be used by third parties and therefore, it is an unethical practice. Although users give out their information voluntarily, this information is readily available to third parties, who can misuse them for their own commercial purpose. In this case, legislation must be strong enough to ensure that the information is not shared by third parties. If this is the case, then it is recommended that legislation is strong enough to protect sensitive information. Using private information of the user without permission must be classified as a cyber-crime.

Quinn, privacy is the "prudential right" of the individual. However, violation of privacy is frequently observed in workplaces, where employers use hidden cameras to monitor their employees. Furthermore, certain employers also monitor personal email accounts, Facebook accounts, personal details and internet usage of employees. These activities are considered to be unethical as employers violate the privacy of employees. To protect privacy rights, it is essential that employers inform their employees that they are being monitored for legal purposes.

Information technology is constantly being misused and therefore, it is essential to address such issues. On basis of Kantianism, actions must be governed by the moral laws as they are absolute and universal in nature. Furthermore, the concept of rationality and rational behavior is applied on all individuals and therefore, morality must be based on the concept of rationality. In the lights of Kantianism, logical reasoning is the basis of ethical behavior and action and therefore, it asserts that the individual has the obligation to do what is right and stop himself or herself from something that is wrong. Spamming, copyright infringement, sharing of personal details with third parties, invading privacy, etc., are all immoral actions and human beings should not engage such acts. By doing so, they are ignoring their sense of duty. On basis of Kantianism, ethical issues in information technology can be stopped and controlled if individuals realize their sense of obligation.

Legislations and Ethical Computing

An existing legislation related to ethical computing is the Data Protection Directive, which is operational in European Union and its member states. According to this regulation, personal data of individual includes email addresses, social media activities and IP address. This directive concentrates on protecting the privacy of individual data and asserts that privacy is the basic right of the individual living in European Union. According to this directive, an individual has the right to enjoy privacy. The Directive provides guidelines for the protection of data and asserts that all individuals must be notified when their data is being collected. Furthermore, it prohibits disclosure of data without the consent of the individual. It emphasizes on the fact that data should not be used for other purposed. It prohibits the sharing of data with third parties. According to this legislation, personal data collection can only be carried if it has legal significance. Individuals or organizations cannot misuse personal data and share it with third parties in accordance to this directive as data owners enjoy protection rights as identified by the legislation. The vast amount of persona data is shared among individuals and business organizations and therefore, common legislation had been set up the European Union to protect privacy right and sharing of information of individuals.

In the lights of Kantianism, privacy is the right of the individual and therefore, it is the obligation of human beings to do the right action. In this case, privacy of individuals should not be violated and their information must not be shared by third parties. The Data Protection Directive shows that the protection of personal information and right of privacy is a sensitive issue and therefore, it's sharing and disclosure is an unethical conduct. If information is shared with third parties, the right of privacy is invaded. From Kantianism perspective, data sharing is unethical conduct.

Ethical Codes of Information Technology: Cultural Perspective

Ethical codes of information technology are considered to be frameworks that can be used by information technology users, organizations and researchers to maintain ethics in the information technology domain.

Ethical codes of information technology concentrate on identifying and addressing the ethical and unethical behaviors and ensuring that information technology is not misused. Ethical codes across culture vary from one another because of cultural background, cultural beliefs and geography. For instance, ethical codes of information technology in countries such as Saudi Arabia or Iran do not allow users to express their opinion against the government. For instance, if a user has spoken against the government on a blog or Facebook page or website, it will be banned by the government.

Furthermore, there is a possibility that individual would also be sent to jail. This suggests that ethical codes of information technology vary from one region to another. In the same manner, ethical codes of information technology in United States and United Kingdom allow free speech and therefore, allow users to express their opinion on any subject they wish to discuss.

Recommendations

There is a need to address the differences in code of ethics in the information technology domain and therefore, there is need to develop a code, which can be globally applied and accepted by all cultures.

1. To develop an international code of ethics for information technology, it is essential that the similarities of code of ethics of different cultures are brought together under one umbrella and the differences are discarded.

2. Based on similarities, the ethical conduct and actions must be identified. Ethical codes in information technology must be based on the principles of virtue ethics and to ensure that ethical actions are inspired by morality and ethical behavior.

3. Differences must be kept aside and respected.

Conclusion

Ethic is considered to be the study of morality and immorality. Popular ethical theories include unilateralism, social contract theory, divine command theory, Kantianism and relativism. Information technology ethical issues are those issues in which technology is being misused. These issues include spamming, invasion of privacy, disclosure of information and violation of intellectual property rights. Ethical legislations are needed to maintain and promote ethics in the information technology domain and to stop the misuse of information technology. Furthermore, there is need to develop an international code of ethics for information technology domain.

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For profit colleges are recent phenomena in which colleges and universities have gone from being public or private non-profit institutions to being for profit organizations that buy and sell stock on Wall Street and own massive amounts of property and other businesses. There are arguments for and against these phenomena. Some argue that for profit colleges are beneficial to students who either do not have the grades or access to the same financial aid as other students such as, undocumented aliens or students with General Equivalency Diplomas (GEDS) rather than regular high school diplomas.

PBS Frontline argues that these for profit colleges and universities are not beneficial to students. Many of them are unregulated by state and national educational boards. They offer online classes with poorly qualified professors at a high price for students. They often offer training in technical classes which need hands on rather than online experience such as, nursing or aeronautical mechanics and cater to those who do not qualify for traditional colleges for one reason or the other. They are supported by investors rather than by students and state and federal funding. He cites the example of Grand Canyon University, a for profit school supported by former General Electric Chairman, Jack Welch. (Frontline)

Frontline argues that public and private two and four year colleges are overcrowded and do not have either the funding or the staff and faculty to meet the demand student's are placing on colleges. Frontline further argues that a college diploma has become as much of a necessity as a high school diploma once was and that for-profit universities such as, the University of Phoenix have been proposed as a means of meeting the growing demands on colleges and universities. Frontline claims that while these schools do have some disadvantages (e.g. poorly qualified staff, or being unregulated) there are some advantages. For instance, many of these schools such as University of Phoenix cater to non-traditional students who are seeking degrees later on in life for reasons including, re-training after a job loss, not having attended college as a young adult, or obtaining a graduate degree. These schools offer programs for people with busy lives in the form of online classes over the computer or night and weekend classes in brick and mortar colleges. For profit schools also have the benefit of not having to wait for state and federal funds to build new classrooms, hire new professors, or improve things for the students.

In contrast Nocera argues that for profit colleges and universities are necessary for several reasons. First, these schools focus on a population that is rather neglected by public and private non-profit school e.g. working class or poor students of non-traditional college age. Nocera argues that many of these students do not have the academic qualifications to get into more traditional colleges and universities nor do they have access to colleges designed to meet the needs of non-traditional students who have not attended school in many years and who may be juggling the duel needs of family and employers. (NYT)

Nocera further claims that laws in place to regulate these schools are complicated and difficult to navigate both for the schools themselves and for the students attending them. This creates problems in that schools may or may not be in compliance with Department of Education laws surrounding colleges and universities. Nocera states that one for-profit founder has proposed simplifying laws by putting two simple laws in place. First, if a student defaults on their student loads schools should share in the financial loss along with the federal government. Second, college placement tests should be nationalized in order to ensure students have the literacy language and mathematical skills needed to attend college. Finally, Nocera argues that with record numbers of people attending colleges more traditional institutions simply are not designed to handle the load. They do not have the staff, the facilities or the money to handle the number of students wishing to attend school.

It can be concluded that both Frontline and Nocera support the idea of for-profit colleges though for very different reasons. Frontline argues that benefits of these schools from the perspective that many for-profit schools are designed to handle the needs of non-traditional students whereas; non-profit schools are not. In contrast Nocera argues from an economic standpoint and claims that for-profit colleges may be more cost-effective for non-traditional students who may not have the time or the means to attend more traditional colleges and universities who are unable to meet needs for evening, weekend or online courses.

Works Cited

Frontline:College Inc.

Nocera, Joe. Why we need for profit colleges.

College students cannot avoid delivering an oral speech in some classes. It is part of the professional training that is given. The idea of delivering a speech is to help the student prepare for those oral office presentations which are the cornerstone of most professional careers. The problem is that writing the speech can usually be more nerve wracking than delivering the talk. Not to worry though, there are ways and means of developing a speech without getting a writer's block in the process.

Yes, there are steps you can take in developing the speech which will also help you deliver it in a highly confident manner. Do the following if you want to create an effective speech:

1. Write the speech for a target audience.

This means using speech, word references, and familiar stories that your audience can connect with. Delivering a speech for Journalism class? Make sure that you use reference words and class material references that your classmates can identify with. Use hot button topics that are popular among the students on campus. That helps the speech connect with the audience and the writer has an easier time developing the speech content for the target audience.

2. Choose the discussion topic carefully.

Know the subject of the speech aside from the target audience. Consider the main topic and choose an interesting sub topic for your speech. Remember, a journalist can write a speech that covers any of the information in relation to the main topic. Don't try to discuss the main topic alone. The professor will always approve the discussion of related sub-topics.

3. Time yourself.

A class speech is normally between 3-5 minutes. If you present a speech shorter than that, you get a lesser grade. If you deliver a speech longer than that you get a penalty just the same. Aim to deliver a speech around 4 minutes long. A speech that is timed just long enough is sure to keep the audience interested and create a speech that will be remembered by the audience.

Academic speech writing is something that can be done effectively if the proper considerations are made and addressed during the content development and practice stages. Making sure that all the required considerations are applied to the creation of the speech will result in an interesting and stress - free speech development for the writer.

The point of writing an essay is to make sure that a student reads his lessons, understands the textbook information, and can apply the lessons in a required setting. Therefore, the essay needs to be informative and direct to the point. Why then, do professors insist on 1000-word essays that clearly have no point? If a paper can be written in 500 words, why require 1000? The simple answer? It doesn't accomplish anything.

Essays are written with the intention of delivering a clear response to a given statement or discussion topic. It is not the same as a research paper that requires a student to present certain types of inter-related information to the reader based on a learning of information taken from assorted academic sources. An essay is often just an opinion paper that takes it cues from the day's lesson or assigned reading, which asks the student to explain what he understood using information coming from the given text. It isn't meant to be rocket science. Yet professors seem to insist that students write a tremendous amount of words for say, a simple movie review based on "American Chaos." An essay is a mere reaction paper. A research paper, well, that's different. A research paper needs to be written in at least 1000 words. An essay, not so much.

Having a student write more than 500 words for a simple essay doesn't make much sense. Students may not have 1000 words to say about a given topic. The longest they can stretch their statement is 500 words at the most. Anything more than that and the essay turns into a vocabulary exercise for the student instead of an analytical opinion paper.

For an English native speaking student, he would not need 1000 words to express himself. Being a native speaker, he knows how to express himself directly in English and he doesn't very much care for beating around the bush when discussing a topic. He can reflect his intelligence using a few precise and proper meaning words within an essay. This is what sets him apart from an ESL student writing an essay.

An ESL student requires familiarity with the English language. Which is why asking an ESL learner to write more English words in his essay makes sense. He needs to understand word meanings and develop a proper sentence structure. This can only be done by encouraging him to write more English words. This is the only situation when a vocabulary competition should be in place for an essay. It should not be in play for a simple class writing assignment.

Writing long essays doesn't have a point in the academic world. Unless the student is writing a scientific paper, he doesn't have much use for an extremely long explanation of a given topic. Even an analytical report essay need not be extremely wordy. Essays that use too many words tend to be boring in presentation. Readers also find it more difficult to follow such essays which take too long to get to the point.

Essay readers only want the simplest presentation, regardless of topic complexity. Give them a subject sentence at the start of each paragraph and allow the writer to explain that topic. The reader will get the point. Use simple everyday words to help yourself be better understood as the writer. Don't try to rival Shakespeare or Plato. Just be understandable. It's not a vocabulary competition.

Long essays often fail to deliver on its message because of the focus on creative writing. Which is what happens when a student who doesn't have any real writing skills has to write a 1000-word essay. Instead of making a point, he tries to simply keep writing in the hopes that nobody will notice the lack of focus in his written work. Sadly, the professors notice, and it results in a not so ideal grade for the student on the essay. assignment. Something that could have been avoided had the professor set a more logical word count requirement for the essay discussion instead.

In the current economy, the question of whether or not a college education is necessary. Many companies have been laying thousands of employees off and rather than hiring new permanent employees have begun to hire temporary employees or to outsource the work to other countries. In this economic climate, many college graduates find themselves working the same type of minimum wage low-skilled or temporary jobs that they worked prior to enrolling in college. In this economic environment, high school graduates should think very carefully and consider all their options before taking on the additional financial costs of attending college.

One major argument is that college graduates make more money annually than people without college degrees do. Some statistics suggest that college graduates earn between 1.6 million and 2.1 million dollars per year. This is on average 20,000 to 999, 999, 99 dollars more than people with a high school diploma. (Porter) Porter further suggests that these statistics make the accumulation of hundreds of thousands of dollars in student loan repayments worthwhile. However, not everyone agrees with this point of view. Some argue that the costs of college far outweigh the value of attending college or university.

Fulton argues that students with high school educations do not necessarily make any less money than students with college degrees. Fulton suggests that as long as a high school graduate is willing to work with their hands they can make just as much as many college graduates working in fields such as, carpentry, construction, and electrical work or auto mechanics. Fulton further claims that students who enter the military and receive specialized training may not only make more than the average college graduate but they are likely to have more job stability as well. (Fulton)

Another aspect of life in which some people feel that college graduates have the advantage over non-graduates is in the social realm. Porter states that college graduates are more upwardly mobile, have better health, more hobbies and are more open-minded than non-graduates. College graduates are also more likely to be less authoritarian in their parenting and to demonstrate better consumer decision-making skills than non-graduates.

In comparison, Fulton claims that non-graduates often do not differ significantly in terms of social achievement from college graduates. In fact, non-graduates who work in trades such as, carpentry or plumbing begin training for their trades in high school and therefore have several additional years of making money and moving upward socially and economically that college graduates do not.

Another key issue is the fact that not everyone is meant to attend college. While Porter claims that students that do not complete college make less money than those who graduate she fails to mention that many of the students who leave college have discovered that college is simply not for them. This does not mean that they are not seeking education and training in other areas such as, a vocational trade or the military. So while some of the students who leave college may end up making less than they would if they had graduated, others end up making significantly more money than if they had remained in college. (Porter)

In contrast, Fulton argues that while a college degree makes a different in terms of a student's skills and interests in some fields, in others it does not really matter if a person graduates college if they are intending to go job that pays well without the expense incurred by attending college. Some students may simply not be interested in college and forcing them to attend college when their interests and skills lie elsewhere is merely adding financial expenses for the student and their family that they may not be able to afford.

Finally, another major issue of college is the cost of attendance. While Porter claims that students graduating from college only spend on average $ 9,000 dollars per year, Fulton argues that the costs of college are much higher. Depending on where you attend school, costs can range from the $ 9,000 per year cited by Porter to more than $35,000 per year to attend some private schools. The ultimate cost of college is also dependent on what a student majors in and in some cases where a doctoral or masters degree is required to obtain work in a specific field, a student may be able to earn more money without a degree.

The simple fact is that in a world where companies that used to hire liberal arts majors are outsourcing to foreign countries and hiring temporary employees, vocational education may be a better option from an economic standpoint. (Fulton) However, in terms of social benefits such as, exposure to diverse cultures, learning to be open-minded, and the ability to move upwards in terms of social mobility and income, college may have benefits for some student's depending on what field they major in and whether or not they graduate. (Porter)

By looking at Porter and Fulton's arguments one can see that deciding whether the benefits of a college education outweigh the potential problems. College is a decision that every student must make on their own. There are benefits to college such as, high social prestige and the potential to make more money (depending on the amount of money and effort one is willing to spend to obtain a degree). There are also significant disadvantages like the high cost of a college education and the potential to make the same amount of money one made without a college degree.

It is clear that many students feel pressured to attend college because of the reasons that Porter claims are the benefits of attending college. However, not every student is meant to attend college, not every student wants to attend college. Fulton claims many students attend college who would be better off attending vocational programs since the financial costs would be lower and student's would end up making more money in the long run. While students who graduate college may initially make more money, Porter has failed to take into account factors like the economy and job stability. College graduates may make more money however; people who work in a vocational field, or who enter the military may have more job stability and therefore may make more money in the end.

In conclusion, while college may offer specific benefits for motivated students looking to go into one of the fields where graduates make more money than a person would without a degree, other students may not benefit in the same way. For instance, students who are skilled in the vocational areas should not be directed towards college, as being pressured into attending college may be detrimental because it would not help them utilize their unique skills, nor would it be the best financial decision for these students. There are benefits to both gaining a college degree, and choosing a non-degree career however; this determination must be made by the individual student.

Works Cited

Fulton, Matthew. The Disadvantages of Going to University.

Porter, Kathleen. The Value of a College Education.

Freelance writers have the best job on the planet. Working in your jammies and not having to mind the clock means a freelance writer is working at his own pace. No worries about having to rush home, chores can be done while the work waits. Hey, there are only two requirements for a freelance writer, that is the deadline is met and the quality of the work is top-notch. In exchange, writers get premium money amounts into their bank accounts that push towards a retirement fund or savings for a rainy day. The ease by which a freelance writer can make money is the strongest driving force that turns most writers into workaholics.

Once the writer becomes obsessed with the work and the dollar figures that it brings in, the writer tends to sacrifice his rest time. Working straight through the weekends and not making time to do much except work, the freelance writer doesn't realize that by sacrificing his rest time, he is doing himself and his clients a disservice. There are several important reasons that a writer needs to plot a pocket of time to take time off from work, reasons that look out for a writer's professional and personal health.

The Human Body is Not a Machine

Unless you happen to be a computer that runs on a battery back-up, the human body requires an ample amount of time to recharge. While machines are designed to run without rest, the human body will break down if the writer doesn't get enough sleep. Eating out of schedule is also something that can adversely affect a writer both professionally and personally. So freelance writers need to acknowledge the importance of having at least 8 hours of sleep per night and at least 3 hours of break during the workday. All the income a writer earns will be worthless if he sacrifices his health and ends up spending all the money earned on hospital bills.

The Brain is a Complex Human Organ that Needs Rest

The brain of the freelance writer is the tool by which he completes his work. Aside from his hands, the mind that functions within the capacity of the brain in the completion of the written task. The pressure placed on the writer when it comes to meeting the deadline of a project causes stress on the mind. The sub-conscious of the brain cannot turn off even during rest hours then the stress factor can cause both physical and psychological problems for the writer's health.

A brain without rest is a useless brain. It cannot think, process what it is reading, nor translate it as a valid explanation in writing. So take the time to complete the 8 hours of sleep the brain needs to function properly. That is the only way you will get your work done faster. A rested brain is a creative brain.

Mental Health is Just as Important as Physical Health

A freelance writer does not engage in manual labor. His physical health is not always compromised because he is safely tucked away behind a computer screen during work hours. Some people will see this as another reason why freelance writing is the perfect job when actually, there is another aspect of health that a writer sometimes fails to consider, his mental health.

Freelance writers are prone to suffer the effects of Chronic stress due to the intense deadlines of the job. Chronic stress has often been linked to other illnesses such as alcoholism or drug addiction, anxiety, mood changes, and severe depression. While all of these illnesses have other underlying conditions associated with it, mental health has been seen as strong contributing factor in these instances. People who undergo stressful incidents in life, such as short turn around deadlines or difficult clients tend to look for an outlet for their stress and they usually turn to psychological enhancers to deal with their problems. Try to set up a vacation period for yourself every so often to give your brain time to relax and a chance to recharge the brain cells. Do something different to help the brain recover from the stresses of the job.

Build Personal and Business Relationships

A freelance writer tends to prioritize work over personal relationships. While most people call Friday nights the start of their weekend, to a freelance writer, Friday night is just another work night because of a deadline that needs to be met. The call of friends to come down and unwind with them normally go unheeded. When a freelance writer does not take the time to get away from work to be with real people, he could just end up tanking those relationships, leaving him alone when he really needs the company. A writer needs friends to help him get away from his job.

Freelance writers tend to become loners because of the job requirements. Turning into a hermit should not be the ambition of any person, but that is what normally happens to freelance writers. They live lives that seem hermit like because the work is never left at the office for them. The work is always at home.

Don't forget the importance of socialization. Freelance writers can still work while having fun with friends. It's called networking. A writer never knows whom he might meet while being out with friends. Exchanging electronic calling cards just may lead to a writer's next big payday.

The Real World as a Source of Inspiration

Freelance writers became writers in the first place because of their ability to see the world around them through a different set of lenses. Being out there, socializing, talking to people, observing them while having a cup of coffee, joining a weekend sports team, or attending a writing seminar will all help the writer become even better at his job.

An academic research writer must see the world, understand what is happening within it, and formulate an personal understanding of the current world we live in so that his writing will always refer to the most current opinions, research, and experiences in relation to the topic for writing.

Some freelance writers see rest time or taking time off from work as a day or a weekend spent not earning. The job should never be all about making money. A balance needs to be found between earning and resting. When the two are out of balance, it is the writer who suffers the consequences in the end.