High school Essay Example for Free

High school Essay * Literacy is a human right, a tool of personal empowerment and a means for social and human development. Educational opportunities depend on literacy. Literacy is at the heart of basic education for all, and essential for eradicating poverty, reducing child mortality, curbing population growth, achieving gender equality and ensuring sustainable development, peace and democracy. (Why Is Literacy Important? UNESCO, 2010) * The notion of basic literacy is used for the initial learning of reading and writing which adults who have never been to school need to go through. The term functional literacy is kept for the level of reading and writing which adults are thought to need in modern complex society. Use of the term underlines the idea that although people may have basic levels of literacy, they need a different level to operate in their day-to-day lives. (David Barton, Literacy: An Introduction to the Ecology of Written Language, 2nd ed. WileyBlackwell, 2006) * To acquire literacy is more than to psychologically and mechanically dominate reading and writing techniques. It is to dominate those techniques in terms of consciousness; to understand what one reads and to write what one understands: it is to communicate graphically. Acquiring literacy does not involve memorizing sentences, words or syllableslifeless objects unconnected to an existential universebut rather an attitude of creation and re-creation, a self-transformation producing a stance of intervention in ones context. (Paulo Freire, Education for Critical Consciousness. Sheed Ward, 1974) * There is hardly an oral culture or a predominantly oral culture left in  the world today that is not somehow aware of the vast complex of powers forever inaccessible without literacy. (Walter J. Ong, Orality and Literacy: The Technologizing of the Word. Methuen, 1982) * We expect the contradictory and the impossible. . . . We expect to be inspired by mediocre appeals for excellence, to be made literate by illiterate appeals for literacy. (Daniel J. Boorstin, The Image: A Guide to Pseudo-Events in America, 1961) * Women and Literacy In the history of women, there is probably no matter, apart from contraception, more important than literacy. With the advent of the Industrial Revolution, access to power required knowledge of the world. This could not be gained without reading and writing, skills that were granted to men long before they were to women. Deprived of them, women were condemned to stay home with the livestock, or, if they were lucky, with the servants. (Alternatively, they may have been the servants. ) Compared with men, they led mediocre lives. In thinking about wisdom, it helps to read about wisdomabout Solomon or Socrates or whomever. Likewise, goodness and happiness and love. To decide whether you have them, or want to make the sacrifices necessary to get them, it is useful to read about them. Without such introspection, women seemed stupid; therefore, they were considered unfit for education; therefore, they weren’t given an education; therefore they seemed stupid. (Joan Acocella, Turning the Page. Review of The Woman Reader by Belinda Jack [Yale University Press, 2012]. The New Yorker, October 15, 2012) * From the website of California Literacy, Inc. The literacy rate in the US has many educators in search of answers about this problem that has plagued our country for decades. Instead of decreasing, the numbers of literacy has steadily increased over the years. This raises a lot of questions about our education system, how it is ran, and why there is such a problem with illiterate people in our country. (quoted by The New Yorker, Nov. 22, 2010) Pronunciation: LIT-er-eh-see Language * Six Common Myths About Language * Key Dates in the History of the English Language * Introduction to Etymology: Word Histories Elsewhere on the Web * The National Institute for Literacy (US) * The Literacy Project * National Literacy Trust (UK) Resources for Writers * Reference Works for Writers and Editors * Grammar and Usage Advice Sites * Sites for Correcting Common Sentence Errors Related Articles * orality definition and examples of orality * illiteracy definition and examples of illiteracy * aliteracy definition and examples of aliteracy * Adult Education What Is Adult Education * Writing Degree Do I Need a Writing Degree Richard Nordquist Grammar Composition Guide * Sign up for My Newsletter * Headlines * Forum Advertisement. Related Searches achieving gender equality paulo freire education curbing population growth critical consciousness paulo freire personal empowerment Explore Grammar Composition Must Reads * What Is Grammar? * Euphemisms for Death * Commonly Confused Words * 400 Essay Topics * Introductions to 30 Figures of Speech Most Popular * What Is a Metaphor? * Writing Topics: Argument * Top 20 Figures of Speech * 400 Writing Topics * metaphor See More About: * english language By Category * Writing Tips * Business Writing * Correcting Errors * English Grammar * Punctuation Mechanics. * Composing Sentences * Words * Composing Paragraphs * Composing Essays * Rhetoric and Style * Exercises and Quizzes * Readings and Resources * Grammar Rhetoric Glossary Grammar Composition 1. About. com 2. Education 3. Grammar Composition 4. Grammar Rhetoric Glossary 5. Icon Lower Case 6. literacy definition and examples of literacy * Advertise on About. com * Our Story * News Events * SiteMap * All Topics * Reprints * Help * Write for About * Careers at About * User Agreement * Ethics Policy * Patent Info. * Privacy Policy * Your Ad Choices  ©2013 About. com. All rights reserved. The Greatest Literacy Challenges Facing Contemporary High School Teachers: Implications for Secondary Teacher Preparation Mary B. Campbell Saint Xavier University Margaret M. Kmiecik Saint Xavier University Secondary teachers face significant challenges in their efforts to increase the literacy levels of adolescents. Encouraging teachers to speak out about these challenges and to recommend initiatives that may improve literacy practices for adolescents is vital for future reform efforts. This study examines the questions: What are the greatest literacy challenges facing high school content area teachers? and What will help to diminish these challenges? The data collection questionnaire was distributed to teachers in eight high schools throughout the greater Chicago area. A discussion of the findings suggests compelling directions for secondary teachers and teacher educators. 2 Reading Horizons, 2004, 4, (1) WHILE SEVERAL REFORMS in higher education teacher preparation have made a difference in more teachers being highly prepared and qualified (Smylie, Bay, Tozer, 1999), preparing teachers to meet the literacy demands of secondary students still remains inadequate. Improving literacy learning in our nations high schools needs serious elevation as an educational priority at all levels. The 2002 NAEP (National Association for Educational Progress) Report indicates that 36 percent of students in grade 12 performed at a proficient level, indicating that only a little over one-third of our nations high school seniors can understand challenging material (Feller, 2003). This was a decline in performance from 1998 when the NAEP reported the percentage of seniors who performed at the proficient level as 40 percent (U. S. Department of Education, 1999). Additionally the 1998 report states that no more than 6 percent of the adolescents performed at the advanced level which demonstrates students ability to analyze and extend the meaning of the materials they read. The NAEP data further show more than one-third of the students did not demonstrate competence at a basic level of literacy. The International Reading Association has taken a substantial leadership role in elevating attention to middle school and secondary literacy issues by establishing the Commission on Adolescent Literacy in 1997 (Rycik Irvin, 2001). The work of this Commission resulted in the published document, Adolescent Literacy: A Position Statement (Moore, Bean, Birdyshaw, Rycik, 1999), which recommends principles for teachers to consider when supporting the literacy growth of secondary students. Still much more comprehensive work needs to be done as challenges still persist and teachers, administrators, and staff developers have asked for more examples of practices that might renew and revitalize their efforts for middle and high school students (Rycik Irvin, 2001, p.4). Teaching has greatly increased in range and complexity over the last decade. Teachers now find themselves in highly pressured environments (Pincas, 2002). Faced with the reality of overcrowded classrooms, high stakes testing, and standards-based environments, using instructional practices that move students to higher levels of thinking through more authentic forms of learning are lost. Additional factors Secondary Teaclher Literacy Clhallenges 3  that compound the situation are high student mobility, absenteeism, minimal student engagement, misbehavior, missing homework, cultural and linguistic diversity, special needs, and increasing numbers of students from poverty and single parent households (Alvermann, Hinchman, Moore, Phelps, Waff, 1998). Regardless of the number or degree of challenges, teachers still remain accountable for fostering literacy growth among all students. Efforts to improve literacy learning for secondary students must take seriously the realities and challenges persistent in todays high schools. Reform theorists who suggest improvement can be made through a series of workshops, enhanced technology, sanctions and the like, (Smylie, Bay, Tozer, 1999, p. 59) are naive at best. A new paradigm requires comprehensive and systemic change. It also requires a serious re-orientation towards broad organizational, political, and economic presuppositions on which definition and acquisition of change must be based. Moreover, it involves a commitment to putting teachers at the forefront of the reform process. Valencia and Wixson (2000) argue that it is time for the voices of teachers to be heard. Without empowered professional voices, we lose the potential for constructing serious reform. Emerging Directions If students are to achieve high literacy standards, evidence strongly suggests that what teachers know and can do is one of the more important factors influencing student achievement. (Darling-Hammond, 1999, p. 228). Research also makes it clear that if teachers are to negotiate the demands of new standards and new students, they must have access to a deeper base of knowledge and expertise than most teacher preparation programs now provide (Darling-Hammond, 1999, p.229). While several studies have looked at reform in teacher preparation programs, Schwartz (1996) concluded that reform changes in teacher preparation have resulted in little more than adjusting on the margins (p. 3). Particularly troubling, in secondary teacher preparation, is the limited attention given to the challenges existing in schools in which future teachers must help students to achieve literacy, and the problems 4 Reading Horizons, 2004, 4, (1) of schooling in a broader social context. Moreover, in many states, secondary teacher preparation programs include a requirement of a content area reading course, whereas in other states there is no equivalent requirement. This has remained literally unchanged for years, even as secondary students continue to struggle with reading and writing throughout the high school curriculum. The wide-spread standards movement has made some impact in requiring newly certified teachers to demonstrate competency on specific literacy knowledge and performance indicators. However, the depth of what is needed to teach content area literacy in secondary schools requires more than one course, and/or a few standards. Connecting Two Distinct Communities Education can no longer be seen as an exclusive function, and the traditional structures cannot remain isolated from social change. Faculties in colleges and universities and the practicing teachers in secondary schools have no choice but to adjust to new paradigms. While it is now more common to find partnerships and institutional collaborations between university faculty and secondary teachers, many of these need redefinition. In many partnerships, practicing teachers have related there has not been a high level of reciprocity, as the universities are too dominant (Campbell, 2002, p. 22). Each entity must put into the equation improvement strategies that are meaningful to their respective organizations; that is, they need to identify areas where they truly need help from one another. Then institutionally and programmatically, they need to find ways to work together to make those intended improvements a reality (Howey Zimpher, 1999, p. 299). High school teachers and teacher educators alike are looking to move beyond  yet another good idea to realize reconceptualization and transformation for secondary literacy education. This means engaging high school teachers in the process of secondary teacher preparation, determining what factors pose the greatest challenges to literacy development and using this knowledge as a cornerstone for improving Secondary Teaclher Literacy Clhallenges literacy practices in schools. Failure to confront these challenges effectively will undoubtedly compromise the ability of teachers to serve as effective agents of change. Purpose The purpose of this study was to identify the problems secondary teachers face that impede literacy learning in the classrooms and to yield information that may inform the preparation of future secondary teachers. Two broad questions emerged to guide this study: o What are the greatest literacy challenges facing high school content area teachers? e What will help to diminish these challenges for current and/or future high school teachers? The Study ParticipatingS chools and Teachers The schools that participated in this study included eight high schools, seven public and one private. The researchers purposely selected the schools to ensure ethnic diversity as well as urban and suburban representation. Six of the high schools represented grades 10-12 and two included grades 9-12. The school principals granted permission to graduate students enrolled in a Masters Degree Program in Reading to place the High School Literacy Survey in the school mailboxes of the teachers. A total of 450 questionnaires, including a cover letter and a stamped return envelope, were distributed to 9-12 teachers. Two hunared and two questionnaires were returned, realizing a return rate of 45 percent. There were no follow-up attempts to obtain a higher return rate. Most respondents (71 percent) had advanced degrees beyond the B. A. or B. S. : among these were 68 percent with a M. A. and 3 percent with a Ph. D. Teachers from 18 different subject area fields responded to the survey. English (18 percent), mathematics (16 percent), and science (15 percent) teachers comprised the majority of participants. The remaining teachers represented the following subjects; art (3 percent), 5. 6 ReadingHorizons, 2004, 45, (1) business (4 percent), technology (4 percent), drivers education (1 percent), foreign language (6 percent), history (7 percent), library (1 percent), music (1 percent), physical education (3 percent), reading (1 percent), radio/television (1 percent), social studies (8 percent), special education (3 percent), theology (3 percent), and vocational education (4 percent). Teachers with more than 10 years of experience accounted for 63 percent of the sample, while 37 percent had 10 years or less. Teachers working in suburban areas surrounding the greater Chicago area comprised the majority (67 percent) of the sample population, with the remaining 33 percent coming from urban schools. Forty-four percent described their schools as predominately diverse ( 50 percent), 32 percent considerably diverse (30-50 percent minority), 17 percent somewhat diverse (10-30 percent minority) and 7 percent primarily white (less than 10 percent minority). The Questionnaire We collected the data from a survey instrument, High School. Literacy Survey, designed and constructed by us. The questionnaire requested two types of information: * objective, relating to educational degrees, content field of study, years of teaching experience, diversity of school population * subjective, relating to opinions and values in teaching and learning The subjective portion of the survey was comprised of two broad questions. The first question asked teachers to identify 5 of the 20 factors that posed the greatest challenges in helping their students to attain literacy in their subject field. Respondents wrote the numeral 1 next to the statement representing their greatest challenge, the numeral 2 next to the statement representing their next greatest challenge, and so forth through the numeral 5. (See Appendix) The twenty statements, defined as challenges, were derived from the literature on content area reading. An extensive review of the literature Secondary Teaclher Literacy Clhallenges 7 resulted in identifying twenty challenges, however, these may not represent all possible factors and they may not represent factors that teachers would have included if they were to construct the questionnaire. A space was provided for teachers entitled other for their convenience in identifying additional factors that pose as challenges. Since no specific theory was identified to serve as a foundation for the selection of factors, they represent an eclectic representation. Additionally, the factors were not defined on the questionnaire, indicating that a singular definition cannot be assumed and that the factors may represent multiple meanings in the field. The second question invited the teachers to respond openly to the question, What do you believe will help to diminish these challenges for current and/or future high school teachers? Findings Percentages were used to report the data on the high school teachers perceptions about the factors that challenge them most in helping their students to achieve literacy in their subject area. Table 1. Percentage Responses of Factors that Represent the Greatest Literacy Challenges Factors Percent 1 2 3 4 5 Total Assessment of student learning 2 1 1 2 2 8 Classroom environment 1 2 1 2 6 Classsize 4 4 6 8 5 27 Cultural and language diversity 1 1 2 among students Curriculum 1 2_ 1A _3 7. 8 Reading Horizons, 2004, 45, (1) Factors Percent 1 2 3 4 5 Total Helping students to construct. meaning from text Helping students interpret graphics in text Helping students to learn and use critical thinking skills Helping students to locate and organize information Helping students to understand concepts and vocabulary Homework issues Integrating technology for teaching and learning Selecting materials for teaching and learning Organizing and managing the classroom for learning State/district/school standards for students Struggling readers Student motivation/interest/attitudes 3 6 6 7 7 1 1 3 2 16 8 12 11 12 1 5 5 4 3 8 3 6 11 12 5 8 10 6 7 1 5 2 1 3 1 4 1 2 2 3 1 1 1 1 2 9 9 8 8 8. 33 17 17 8 7 1 5 5 5 3 19 29 7 59 18 40 36 12 5 8 6 42 82 Students with special needs Secondary Teacher Literacy Chiallenges Factors Percent 1 2 3 4 5 Total Students who lack study skills 11 13 13 13 7 57 Writing skills of students 2 8 5 7 8 30 (A ranking scale, with 1 meaning greatest challenge, 2 next greatest challenge, and so forth) The top five challenges as reported in Table 1 were: * student motivation, interests, and attitudes (33 percent) o helping students to learn and use critical thinking skills (16 percent) o students who lack study skills (11 percent) o struggling readers (9 percent). o helping students to understand concepts and vocabulary (8 percent). The least perceived challenges were cultural and language diversity among students (2 percent) and selecting materials for teaching and learning (5 percent). Examining the data of the largest responding groups of content area teachers, English, mathematics, and science, yielded similar findings. All three of these groups identified the same top two challenges as did the total group. The English, mathematics, and science teachers third, fourth and fifth rankings were: * English (3) homework issues (4) students who lack study skills. (5) writing skills of students o Mathematics (3) students who lack study skills 9 iO Reading Horizons, 2004, 45, (1) (4) homework issues (5) helping students to locate and organize information e Science: (3) students who lack study skills (4) helping students to understand concepts and vocabulary (5) helping students to construct meaning from text The teachers were also asked to respond to the following openended question, What do you believe will help to diminish these challenges for current and/or future high school teachers? Seventyseven percent of the teachers wrote responses to this question. The resppnses were grouped by similar topics from which themes emerged. Table 2 reports the percentages of the most frequently occurring responses to the open-ended question. Table 2. Themes and Percentages of Responses for Confronting the Greatest Challenges Most Frequent Responses by Theme Percent Better basic skills instruction in elementary schools 64 More parent responsibility and support 58 Mandatory inclusion of critical 39 thinking questions on all assessments Study skills classes for incoming students 33 I Iimprove teacher preparation/more methods for 28 secondary teachers. Greater respect and support from society 20 Practical/useful staff development 11 Secondary TeachterLiteracy Challenges 11 Most Frequent Responses by Theme Percent Teacher task forces making policy decisions 9 instead of politicians and administrators Complete restructuring of the current traditional 7 education model A center at each high school for struggling readers The most common responses cited by the majority of teachers to confront the greatest challenges (Table 2) were better basic skills instruction in elementary schools (64 percent) and more parent responsibility and support (58 percent). Sample responses given by less than 50 percent of the teachers were mandatory inclusion of critical thinking questions on all assessments (39 percent), study skills classes for incoming students (33 percent), and improvement of teacher preparation with more methods for secondary teachers (28 percent). Discussion The results of this study provide insight for the continuing efforts to improve the literacy levels of secondary students. They are, however, neither exclusive nor exhaustive. They are offered with no claim for the universality or total generalizability, but they are offered as a common ground for thinking. Student Motivation andA ttitudes High school teachers identified student motivation to read, write, and do other literacy-related activities as their greatest challenge. The teachers written comments on questionnaires indicated that much of the class-assigned reading is often boring and not relevant to the students own interests and experiences. They also stated that the students who will not read are as much at a disadvantage as those who cannot. Student 12 Reading Horizons, 2004, 45, (1) motivation was ranked the greatest challenge of all for the participating teachers. The dilemma of identifying and implementing strategies to motivate adolescents is not new to literacy practice. The data from this study confirm what the research (Alexander Filler, 1976; Au Asam, 1996; Benware Deci, 1984; Collins-Block, 1992; Guthrie Alao, 1997; Schraw, Brunning, Svoboda, 1995) has documented over time: that student motivation, interests, and attitudes are indeed authentic challenges. Teaching adolescents to become active, motivated, and selfregulated learners is a continuing issue in secondary schools. It is during the adolescent years when reading motivation and attitudes appear to worsen, especially for poor readers (McKenna, Kear, Ellsworth, 1995). Serious attempts to advance literacy skills require interventions that address motivation and attitudes as much as interventions that assure cognitive changes in the learners (Verhoevan Snow, 2001). This generally does not happen. Motivational constructs are usually not given significant vigilance in relation to student cognition and thinking, and at best, are given only passing and superficial attention. A further problem is that standard reading texts and uniform curricula make life somewhat easier for teachers and administrators, but they make it very difficult for students to get involved with the material at the level that is right for them, and therefore to find intrinsic rewards in learning. In the classroom, the teacher is the key element in motivating students to learn. The responsibility is great and the ramifications even greater, yet many responding high school teachers stated they were not adequately prepared in their teacher preparation programs with the knowledge, skills, and instructional strategies to ignite the spirit of their students. These teachers indicated they want more ideas, support, and freedom within the school curriculum to take the lead, and more ways to experience first-hand, in-field, motivational issues in their teacher preparation programs. Critical Thinking Skills. Teaching critical thinking skills was the second greatest challenge for teachers. Large numbers of teachers indicated they feel underSecondary Teachter Literacy Clhallenges 13 prepared in pedagogical methods to help studenis conceptualize problems and solutions. Assisting adolescents to become proficient with these skills is a prodigious challenge for secondary teachers. The capacity for abstraction, for discovering patterns and meanings, generalizing, evaluating, and theorizing is the very essence of critical thinking and exploration. For most students in the United States and throughout the world, formal education entails just the opposite kind of learning. Rather than construct meaning for themselves, meanings are imposed upon them. Frequently, students often accumulate a large number of facts along the way, yet these facts are not central to their education; they will live their adult lives in a world in which most facts learned years before (even including some historical ones) will have changed or have been reinterpreted. Whatever data they need will be available to them at the touch of a computer key. If students are to learn critical thinking skills, teachers must teach them and engage their students in genuine problem solving discussion. Generally these skills are best, and likely only taught and assessed, through extended discourse. This is difficult to do in crowded classes where it is near to impossible to carry out extended discussions. The commitment to teaching these skills in all content areas means gaining support from the public. It also means that teachers must gain the knowledge and skills to do so through teacher preparation programs and inservice education, taking into account the real-life situations and parameters in todays classrooms. Study Skills Students who lack study skills ranked as the third greatest challenge to teachers. The importance of study skills has been documented over time in the professional literature (Flood Lapp, 1995). What is known is that many people of all ages have difficulty reading and learning, largely because they are not using appropriate techniques or good learning habits. Often, the adolescents who are dropping out of schools are doing so because they believe they carnot learn. For the majority of these students, they lack suitable reading and study techniques, which 14 Reading Horizons, 2004, 45(1) impede their growth in learning and contribute to their negative beliefs about themselves and school. Although most secondary teachers have a thorough understanding qf their subject, many responding teachers in this study indicated they lack the knowledge of instructional/study strategies by which to help students internalize the concepts. Research shows that with an organized system of study, students can increase their comprehension of subject matter up to 50 percent (Annis, 1983). As nations seek to assist adolescents in gaining higher levels of literacy, the knowledge and skills that teachers need to teach their students effective study habits and strategies may likely become central to the curriculum in secondary teacher preparation programs and in the curriculum of secondary schools. Struggling Readers Struggling readers ranked as the fourth greatest challenge to the high school teachers. Teachers responded that these students can be found hiding out in content classrooms. They frequently are passive and disengaged. , Many have found coping strategies to help (them get by, but they do not significantly improve their literacy skills or their knowledge in the content areas. I Although comprehension of text material is difficult and sometimes impossible for struggling readers, there are research-based strategies that have proven to be successful when used with struggling readers. One such strategy is instructional scaffolding, an effective strategy that gives students a better chance to be successful than if left on their own (Vacca, 2002). Pedagogy, which includes instructional techniques for diverse learners, is glossed over in many teacher preparation programs for secondary teachers. However, it is as important in the preparation of high school teachers as is cognitive knowledge (Darling-Hammond, 2000). If high school teachers are to make substantial contributions to all adolescents, it will require more knowledge of relevant instructional methodologies. Darling-Hammond (2000) found that teacher subject-matter knowledge was related to student achievement only up to a certain point. Secondary Teacher Literacy Challenges 15 Marzano (2003) asserts that the importance of the relationship between pedagogical knowledge and student achievement has been consistently reported in the research literature. Furthermore, in a study conducted by Ferguson and Womack (1993), they found that the number of courses teachers took in instructional techniques accounted for four times the variance in teacher performance and student achievement than did subject-matter knowledge. Teachers stated that more information about how to assist the struggling readers in their classrooms is sorely needed in preservice teacher education programs. Additionally they need to know that the strategies and support to assist these learners are realistic for todays classrooms. Key Concepts and Vocabulary Helping students to understand concepts and vocabulary ranked as the fifth greatest challenge. Every subject area has its own vocabulary and modes of argument, and its language is the common denominator for learning subject matter knowledge. Vacca and Vacca (2002) agree: they state, Vocabulary must be taught well enough to remove potential barriers to students understanding of texts as well as to promote a longterm acquisition of the language of a content area (p. 160-161). Teachers want more knowledge about ways to teach vocabulary and concepts to adolescents, strategies that will provide adolescents with a deeper and richer entry into the content area of study, and strategies that will work in the classrooms of today. Intriguing Findings It is a noteworthy finding that the cultural and language diversity among students in the classrooms was not identified among the greatest challenges. The majority of teachers in this study were from diverse schools, and yet only two percent ranked this to be a challenge. Equally notable was the fact that state, district, and school standards, writing skills, and integrating technology were not identified among the greatest challenges. 16 Reading Horizons, 2004, 45, (1). Of all the findings, the most revealing was that provided by the drivers education teachers: whereas every other content-area group of teachers, albeit art, music, business, foreign language, etc. , ranked student motivation as the greatest challenge, they did not. This is not surprising as it supports the findings of this study as well as long standing research in the field, as cited in Marzano, 2003. The hypothesis being that when motivated, students strive to learn.

Safe Use Of Online Shopping

Safe Use Of Online Shopping When you use the internet, it doesnt matter where you are in person. You can view the same web pages and shop on the same online store without having to physically enter the store. This provides huge advantages for online shopping over conventional shopping. No traffic hassles, no parking problems, no fighting the crowds of people visiting in the shopping center! Before the World Wide Web, people used to shop around looking for the best gift for the best price. Now, the story is a different. You can do everything youre your own home 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. You can browse and select products; purchase and gift wrap; and even organize delivery of the goods online, anytime and anywhere in the world. But, just like any other good thingà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.there are risks that come with online shopping. You can easily become a victim of phishing, identity theft and fraud. So you must take precautions to ensure that you and your family are always safe when youre shopping online. As noted many times in this book, the most common examples of online fraud are phishing scams, auction fraud, credit card fraud and online shopping fraud. In chapter 4 we have looked a number of examples of how these scams work. If you are unfamiliar with these scams please review them before continuing. Defense in Depth is the Best Security Strategy As I have said many times, everyone has to take responsibility to protect them from online fraud. You are a wise person because you are educating yourself about internet fraud by learning and adopting simple proven internet safety practices. In chapters 16 17, we looked at protecting your home computer network using a Defense in Depth security strategy. Here, we looked at seven different layers of security. If youre not sure about this strategy then you should re-read this chapter. This is the best security strategy you can use when youre shopping online. This chapter builds on the principle taught in these chapters. Fighting Against Spam If you intend to surf the Internet, then the best thing you can do is to install an internet security suite. Many internet security suites like Nortons Internet Security have spam phishing filters as a standard features or at worst an optional downloads. The spam filters use in-built rules to detect and filter spam phishing e-mail into separate files. Spam filters also blacklist the offending mail preventing it from reaching you. If your spam filter is working well, you will never see the spam unless you locate the file in the security directory and view it. However, even if you have the best anti-spam software in the world, spam can still evade your spam filter and end up in your inbox. You also need to know how to detect spam and deal with it correctly. Here are some of the important features that you should look for when choosing the ideal spam filtering subscriptionà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.accuracy and false-positive rating. Accuracy ratings refer to the percentage of legitimate e-mails that successfully reaches the users inbox after being filtered. The accuracy of several spam filtering subscriptions are continually being tested by passing thousands of e-mails through the spam filter. Today, a spam accuracy rating of 80% is very poor. You should expect a minimum rating of 95% and some anti-spam subscriptions have accuracy ratings as high as 98% to 99%. The False-Positive rating is the percentage of legitimate e-mails that have been wrongly identified as spam. This rating should be less than 1%. Different computer publications such as PCWorld and PCMagazine offer reports on the accuracy and false-positive ratings of spam filtering subscriptions. The cost of spam-filtering subscriptions has to be measured against the services it providesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.ultimately you get what you pay for! A subscription may be expensive but it may be worth paying for its quality features, speed and control. Sometimes choosing a lower cost provider means paying more in lost time and poor output performance. A good spam filter should fit your specific needs. It should be flexible in its configuration so that it meets your needs. It should also provide automatic updates. There are some simple rules that you should follow: When you detect spam in the email box, never respond to the spammer. Avoid opening your spam messages at allà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.just delete it. Whenever a pop-up window appears from someone you dont knowà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦just delete it! They are mostly scams. Do not close your mail box or blog without signing off completely. Use usernames and passwords that are hard to guess. You should review Chapter 17 for rules about creating and using strong passwords. How does shopping online increase the risk of identity theft? Using shopping carts in unsecured websites dramatically increases the risk of you becoming a victim of identity theft. I learnt that lesson the hard way! In chapter 1, I told you my story as to how I twice became an identity theft. The first time was 1995 by people with whom I shared a residence. At the time, this was the most common method of identity theft. In 2001, I became a victim of identity theft victim a second time. Online shopping sites were in their infancy and internet security technology was not as advanced as it is today. Unfortunately, I made a credit card payment for a product sold on an unsecured website. My personal data was stolen and my credit card was charged with a number of fraudulent purchases. Fortunately, I discovered the fraud early and the bank was able to stop it and limit the damage. Be warned! There are still unsecure online shopping sites operating today. Please do not use them! In chapters 3 4 our story, our poor fall guy Victor, uses the internet for online shopping. He has no sense of security and suffers immensely. If you are not sure about what can happen to you when you are on the internet, then you would do well to reread these chapters. Learn how to read a websites privacy policy One of the most important steps to protecting your privacy is to be able to know how to read a websites privacy policy. Australian privacy laws dont enforce the use of privacy policies or the information that should be included in the policy or how it should be presented. Further there is no industry body which regulates online privacy policies. Therefore you should know what to look for when reading the privacy policy of the website you are visiting. You should expect that a privacy policy be made available to you in writing if you are asked to provide personal information. In the bricks and mortar world, financial institutions, health facilities or other businesses that collect your private information, can be asked to show you their privacy policy before you give them that information. If the company does not you with a privacy policy, then you should consider doing business elsewhere. Websites should show of respect to their customers and tell them how their information will be used. In the online world, you will find privacy policies posted on their websites. The privacy policy tells you the steps they will take to protect your identity or to inform you of how they will treat the information you provide to them. Simply having a privacy policy does not guarantee you any level of protection, at all. However, to understand what information is protected and what is shared you must read the websites privacy policy. Each website has its own criteria for its privacy policy. Some websites give full protection including encryption of passwords. Further, they will not provide your information to any third party. Other websites will tell you that your information will be shared with any affiliated companies or business they feel you would be interested in hearing from. Therefore, you must read the policy to be aware of the steps being taken to protect you. Here are some of the items to look for on a privacy policy: What Information is Collected and Why? When a business is requesting personal information from you, it is reasonable to ask what information will be collected and why it is needed. If they request information that isnt relevant the website should clearly state why they need it. If there is no explanation for the request try to avoid giving the additional information or ask them why they need it. Asking for your income or the name of your spouse is the kind of information you might question providing without reasonable cause. How is the Information Collected? While filling out paper forms are straight forward in the bricks and mortar world, providing information is very different in the online world. You need to find out from websites how the information is being collected. Information can be collected in web forms or by electronically behind the scenes programs called cookies that are automatically installed on the visitors computer. Cookies track information about the web pages users click on, how long they spend there and the web address. This information can be tracked with or without your consent. Usually it is done to facilitate the companys marketing research or to assist you by using your information from previous visits. You should be able to find out what information is automatically stored by reading the privacy policy. What is the Information used for? If the online business asks for your personal or financial information you have a right to know what it will be used for. You must know if it is only used to complete the transaction? Or will they view a purchase as permission from you to market to you again in the future? Or will they sell your private information to other businesses? This information should be available in the websites privacy policy and information on how you can opt-out if you wish. Who Will Have Access to Your Information? Will the private information you have provided be sold or rented to other people or businesses? Will the website share your name, email address or purchasing habits with other affiliated businesses? These policies should be clearly outlined in the privacy policy. If they do sell or rent the names on their list, then you may wish to limit the information you provide to themà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦or deal with them. Watch out for terms like partners, affiliates or sponsors, since you will have no idea who will be receiving your private information. How Secure is Your Information? What steps has the website taken to protect your personal information? Any transaction where you enter and submit personal information should have SSL (Secure Socket Layers). SSL will encrypt the information so that it cant be read by others during transmission. We will discuss website security in detail later in this chapter. Can You Correct Your Personal Information? You should be able to review and/or correct information that will be collected about you. The steps should be clearly stated in the privacy policy and should be convenient and inexpensive. Can You Opt-Out? Wherever your information may be shared you have the right to opt-out. In some cases you can click an opt-in or opt-out box when entering your information. Make sure that these small boxes havent already checked as default, since legally you are implying that you are accepting the offer even if you havent personally checked the box. The privacy policy should also give you directions on how you can opt-out if you werent given the option when you entered your information. While this list is not exhaustive these are the main features you should look for in a websites privacy policy. The other information that should always be listed in the websites privacy page is a contact name, address and telephone number. You should always be able to speak to a real person regarding the websites privacy policy. How do you detect online shopping scams? Scammers love online shopping because it is very easy for them to target victims. Shoppers have to distinguish between an honest trader and a scammer. This is not as easy as you may think! Scammers are professional sales people who use proven social engineering techniques to trick you into doing something you wouldnt normally do. For example, scammers may pretend to sell you a product online at very cheap prices; but they are actually looking for your credit card or bank account details. They may take your money and send you a faulty or worthless product or even send you nothing at all. The important thing is that when they make a sale, they have captured what they wantà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦..your sensitive data like name, address, credit card number, bank accounts etc. They have tricked you into giving them your sensitive details in exchange for a worthless product! Buyer Protection Schemes Many online businesses put a lot of effort into protecting their customers from scammers. Some websites provide buyer protection schemes that will cover you if you are the victim of fraud. Credit card companies Visa and MasterCard; payment processing companies PayPal ClickBank; and banks around the world have buyer protection schemes. If you buy something through eBay or PayPal and it never arrives, or if it arrives significantly different than originally described by the seller, then youre eligible for a full refund. Check out PayPals Buyer Protection policy, and learn how to open a dispute. If you ever see a transaction in your PayPal account that you didnt authorize, you should report it immediately to PayPal. They will begin an investigation and help you get your money back. You can learn more about this process here. You should also be aware of sellers on online auction sites. They may offer to make a deal to you outside of the terms of eBay website. This is usually a good sign of a scam. You will also lose any fraud protection that eBay may provide. You must stay one step ahead of the scammers. The SCAMwatch website provides detailed advice about online shopping auction scams, internet scams and many other scams that target you. You can learn how scams work, how to protect yourself, and report a scam via SCAMwatch. Basic Tips for protecting yourself when shopping online Here are some important safety tips for online shopping: Use your credit card instead of a debit card: Credit cards offer better protection against identity theft than debit cards. For instance, when you use a credit card, your liability for any fraudulent charges is maximum $50, on the condition that you report the fraud within 30 to 60 days and you werent party to the fraud. On the other hand, when someone gains access to your debit card, and they clean your savings account, you may not be able to recover any of money at all. Use disposable credit cards: A recommended way to use a credit card is to get a disposable credit card. This works like any gift card from a bricks and mortar shop. You load it with a specified amount of money and the card is good until that amount is consumed. Then the card becomes worthless. This will protect you from identity theft. If a disposable credit card is stolen, the criminals will only gain access to the unused amount on the card. They cannot reload the card with additional funds. Check the website security. Before making any payments online through shopping cart sites, you should check the sites security. There are different levels of security available. You can check the URL web address. This is the box in the web browser where you type the websites online address e.g. www.anystore.com. A secure website will start the URL web address with HTTPS:// instead of the usual HTTP: //. Also, you should see a small lock icon in the screen which indicates that the site is a secure. This security level means that the online stores database and data transmissions for your transaction that made over the internet have been fully secured. The transaction is locked and receiver must use the correct key to open the transactionà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.just like a key to a house! Data transmissions that should be secured include: Notification emails; Online downloads; and Payment transfers between the site and other sites. A single online transaction will access the databases of a bank, a payment processing company, a credit card company and a secure online storage company etc. Dont shop online from public computers. If you want to shop online, then do so from the comfort of your own home. This ensures that you use your own secured computer which is free from internet nasties like viruses and worms, malware and spyware botnets. Shopping online at an internet cafà © can be very dangerous because the computer and the wireless network may not be secure. Hackers can easily steal your private data from internet cafà ©s. Read and understand the websites terms conditions and privacy statements. Before buying online, make sure that you understand exactly what is involved in the purchase. The terms and conditions of your purchase should be outlined by the seller on the website. They may be located on a separate web page to the advertisement. The terms and conditions should be clear to you and outline any extra warranties or guarantees, security policies, privacy and returns. Make sure that you understand all the disclaimers of responsibility before you accept the terms and conditions. Credit Card Security codes. If you use a credit card with a magnetic stripe, then online stores will require the CVV or card verification number when you make a purchase. You will find the CVV code on the back of your credit card in the signature bar. The last 3 digits of the code are required to be entered into the website online payment page. This number is designed to prevent fraudulent purchases from someone who does not have your card but may have stolen your personal details like name; card number and expiration date. Advanced security measures. Another security feature credit card companies are using is to create a second level of security by adding an additional password. An example of this is Verified by Visa or Mastercard Secure Code. These are optional security features provided by selected websites or payment processing systems. If you activate the code and shop on sites that carry the Verified by Visa or Mastercard Secure Code logos, the check out process will require the entry and validation of additional secret password or PIN that you previously have set up. The purchase cannot be authorized without successful validation of this second password or PIN. Automatic teller machines (ATM) and point of sale terminals also have this option to enter a PIN number for magnetic stripe cards. Modern Micro-chip PIN technologies also provide a pass-over option where you dont have to swipe your card through an electronic readerà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦you just pass your card by the electronic sensor and it reads all the cards details. You then enter a PIN into the machine for verification. These technologies are designed to prevent skimming attacks by hackers  [1]  . Phishing Emails Dont Get Reeled In. Be aware of email scams designed to gain access to your credit card information. Phishing scams have been discussed at length in chapters 3, 4, 16 17 in this book. Use a secure web browser when surfing online. How you pick the best web browser to use? There are many choices in how you can experience the world-wide-web. Some popular internet browsers include Firefox, Internet Explorer, Opera, Chrome, and Safari to name a few. You should choose a popular browser is always safe but it also needs to have extra security features. By this I mean that it has additional security add-ons available. Internet Explorer has been active since the beginning of the internet. This web browser is preloaded on every computer that uses the Microsoft operating system. Unfortunately, history has proven that Microsofts Internet Explorer isnt the safest web browser available on the market. A competitor called Mozilla Firefox is quickly dominating the field. As of July 2010, Firefox has become the second most widely used Internet browser. Google Chrome, Opera and Safari are also fast becoming major players in the market. Read this review of web browsers from PCWorld. What makes Firefox special? This web browser features pop-up blocking, tab-browsing, easy to use privacy controls and an integrated Google search bar. In addition, Firefox provides you with over 1 billion add-ons and has about 120 million users. Many of its add-ons offer additional protection for a safer online buying experience. For example, the add-on Web of Trust shows a traffic-light rating based on four factors: trustworthiness, vendor reliability, privacy and child safety of a web page. McAfee SiteAdvisor is a similar add-on and Adblock Plus stops banner ads and pop-ups. Pop-ups can also carry computer viruses which can infect your system. You can also download a program called NoScript which forces web-programming like JavaScript, Java to only run from the trusted domains you have chosen. These are just a few samples of many add-on protections Mozilla Firefox offers their users for safe online shopping. They can be downloaded free from Firefoxs home page along with Mozilla Firefox. Check out the security features of Firefox here. What about other web browsers like Opera, Chrome Safari? You may think that the latest Internet browsers: Opera, Chrome, Safari, etc. are best to web browsers to use. However, theyre mostly brand new and still in the beta stages of testing. This means that not all the bugs and glitches on them have been all figured out. On the other hand Mozilla Firefox is already a proven web browser. Today, its considered a full operating web browser. In the near future, Opera, Chrome or other web browsers may overtake Firefox. Firefox is also continually updating its browser. However, for the moment, Firefox is the safest online shopping and security due to its many layers of security add-ons and customization. Before you do any online purchasing, you need to be sure your computer is secure with anti-virus software. This has been discussed thoroughly is chapters 16 17 of this book. By following these tips using Mozilla Firefox with adequate anti-virus protection will give you the confidence you need to have a safe online shopping experience. Online auction scams and how to avoid them Buying and browsing items online is a real treat and online auctions like eBay can deliver some real bargains! However, as usual there are many scams to trap you. Here are some really good tips for avoiding eBay scams and having a really great online shopping experience. Take note of the shipping prices. These can have a great effect on the total cost of the item. Some sellers will absorb the shipping costs, while others require you to pay the cost. If you have two vendors selling the same items with similar prices, then check out the best shipping offer. Check the online auction seller feedback scores: The most important precaution you should make is to check the online auction sellers feedback score. This score is vital because it is the reflection of the sellers credibility. This score tells you whether a seller can be trusted or not. If the online seller has feedback score greater than 95%, then it is most likely that the seller is reliable. You should also see the detailed feedback about the seller. Check the most recent buyers comments because they are a great hint as to how your prospective seller is like to do business with. Follow up on any negative comments and ask the complainant what the real problem is. If there are a number of negative comments about postage times, shipping, and delays, then the seller is not reliable. Keep On Browsing: Just like in real life shopping at bricks and mortar stores, there are online vendors that sell overpriced items. Prices vary from seller to sellerà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.some offering a good deal, other not so good! It is important that you browse through a number of sellers that offer the same item to get the best price. Browsing through a sellers page is absolutely free so explore your choices. This is the best thing you can do make sure that you dont get ripped off. Pay for online auction purchases through PayPal: If you want to use a secure online payment system, then PayPal would be the service to have. PayPal and the eBay auction site merged in 2002 to form the largest online auction site in the world. The PayPal payment systems are the most reliable and secure payment processing you can get. There are no extra charges to pay and payment conversion is automatic. PayPal has an excellent after sales service, particularly in resolving disputes and returns. If the seller hasnt contacted you and your item hasnt arrived, then you can go to your eBay account and fill in a complaint form. This is transferred directly to PayPal and they organize your refund. PayPal have a very quick and efficient dispute resolution system. It should only be used if your seller hasnt contacted you within a month. Ask Questions: It would be best if you ask your prospective seller questions regarding the product. This way you will not encounter any misunderstandings and will have an understanding. Questions about price, quality, quantity and shipping are important. What Are They Selling? You should always be suspicious and check out thorough what the person has been selling over time. For example, if you see that they has been selling cheap magazine clippings in the past year and now are selling Gulfstream jets, there is obviously a reason to be suspicious. How to Avoid Internet Scams on Adult Websites Adult sites are very popular but criminals use these websites for identity theft purposes? There are two ways by which identity fraud can happen on adult websites. The most common method is the scammer enticing the unsuspecting user to download a file from the website containing a virus, malware or spyware, which in turn harms your computer. You can protect yourself from this fraud by installing a good anti-virus or anti-malware program (see chapter 16 17) You can also be an identity theft victim of when you unknowingly download a keylogger or dialer program or pop-up advertisement. This allows criminals to hijack your computer and steal vital information. For example, if you shop online regularly, they can use your credit card details to make online purchases. Before you become a member of the site, make sure that the site is a legitimate site. You can check this out by reading the User Agreement and Privacy Policy carefully. They are usually long documents and will take some time to review them. You must do this check these documents thoroughly, if you want to keep safe on the internet. You can also check the ownership of a website using the free search tool on the website Whois MyDomain. This website contributes to user confidence in the Internet by promoting legitimate uses of the websites including digital inclusion and e-commerce. The site helps users to identify the persons or entities responsible for web content and online services. If other family members use the computer, limit their access to see white-listed websites. This prevents others from accidentally downloading something into the computer. If your children are alone, you need to blacklist or block adult sites so they cant visit adult sites. Most internet users wont know if the adult website is fraudulent or not. Therefore it is advisable to install a website monitoring system. This program is designed to keep a log all the programs that are installed and visited. Website Monitoring programs can also be setup to automatically enforce a no downloading policy and no unsupervised surfing policy. For example, if your teenage child visits a blacklisted pornographic website, a message will appear informing the web surfer that the site cannot be visited. This ensures that your child will not be victimized when they are online. If you use Adult websites, you should always review your credit card bill or phone bill for any charges which you knew were never made. The earlier that you report these calls, the earlier the credit card or the telephone company will be able to adjust your account. Adult internet sites are not the only websites that are used by fraudsters. Charities, auction sites and commercial websites are also being used as a front by criminal gangs. If you think the site you are visiting is not legitimate, leave the site and report it to the police. Dating and Romance scams This scam takes advantage of your romantic side by befriending you. You may be a single person looking for love and are very vulnerable to attack. The scammers are professionals who can pretend to be whatever you think they are. In the online world you are anonymous, so you can pretend to be some-one else. For example, a male scammer could pretend to be a gorgeous female who is really interested in you. Female scammers can also pretend to be some-one elseà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦and so on! The scammers know the right emotional buttons you have and form an online relationship with you. When they have your complete confidence, they often start asking you for money. Normally this type of scam happens on dating sites and online social networks like MySpace or FaceBook. Online scammers are NOT interested in having a relationship with you no matter how attractive you may be. They have only one interest and that is to take advantage of you and defraud you! Never trust anybody you meet on the web unless you know and trust them in real life. In the real world, you need to spend quite some time with a person before you get to know them well enough to enter into a relationship with them. Here is an example of a dating and romantic scam that I received in my e-mail Good day, dear! I am looking for a strong, kind, caring man. In my life I have almost everything except love. Everything I want is to be loved by a man like you. You seemed to me very interesting and different from others. And I think you are the man I was looking for such a long time. You can be sure, I will make you the happiest man in the world! I will make true all your fantasies. And I can be for you not only a perfect lover, but the best friend and good wife. We will spend all our free time together. I need you here. I need you like my lungs need air. I do not find strange that my second half is so far away, my destiny and life has been all over the world, but now that I found you, I really need you near me as soon as possible. Please write me. I will be waiting for your letter http://finebeautifulwomen.net/6184/ See you later Uli M I immediately deleted the e-mail as spam. I am happily marriedà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Online Gambling Scams There are many risks involved in online gambling. The game i

Benefits of Water Aerobics

Benefits of Water Aerobics Water Aerobics Introduction: Water aerobics is the execution of aerobic exercise in genuinely shallow water, for example, in a swimming pool. Done basically vertically and without swimming normally in waist profound or more profound water, it is a sort of resistance training. It is a type of aerobic exercise that obliges water immersed members. It is frequently viewed as a low power workout system suitable just for pregnant women or the elderly. On the other hand, it really offers numerous advantages for any wellness level. Water aerobics classes arrive in a variety of arrangements, including step, kickboxing, jujitsu, zumba and yoga. Low Impact: Practicing in water makes you feel around 90 percent lighter, reports the American Council on Exercise. When you hop or keep running in the water, your body does not encounter the same effect that these moves bring about on land. This makes water aerobics a perfect action for those with joint pain, back issues, foot or leg wounds, and knee conditions. Pregnant ladies and the hefty likewise profit by the diminished effect. More Discrete: On the off chance that you discover other gathering exercise classes scaring due to complex choreography or windowed studios, the pool offers some watchfulness. Most moves are performed submerged so just you know whether you missed a stage. Calorie Burn: Expect to burn somewhere around 400 and 500 calories every hour in a water aerobics exercise class, as per the Aquatic Exercise Association. The real sum you smolder will rely on upon your size, the force of your developments, and also water temperature and profundity. All in all, speedier developments fusing the upper and lower body in profound water inspire the best calorie smolder. Strength: At the point when exercising in water, you conflict with 12 times the resistance of air, as indicated by an article distributed in American Fitness in 1996. Just kicking and measuring the water helps add to muscle improvement, which deciphers into a higher digestion system and healthier body. Numerous water high impact exercise classes fuse equipment like water oars, noodles, single or twofold floats, and kickboards to further incite quality increases. Push-ups or triceps plunges performed on the pool deck additionally help construct quality. Swimming: This type of water exercise can increment joint health, cardiovascular health and lower and upper body quality. A cardio workout in swimming is an incredible approach into working out, particularly on the off chance that you are searching for the low affect high impact movement. Swimming assists with general emotional and pulse wellbeing and unwinding. Vertical Exercise: Not at all like swimming, has vertical exercise tried to boost resistance, which brings about a center test. Therefore, it is simpler to keep those frightful midlife inches from amassing in the region where they add to breakdown metabolic and all the related infections. Water can even enhance and keep up equalization as it empties spine. This exercise type can assuage the tear and wear of joints and support you stay fit. Water Aerobics Is not Just For Elderly and the Sick: Water aerobics stimulating exercise is for everybody, particularly athletes who are preparing for a apprehension or marathon getting harmed while preparing. Lubrano prescribes for marathon runners to incorporate some running water sessions in your workout. Water based exercises can build an adaptability in mans and support anticipate wounds. Water Aerobics Help to Live Longer and Stay Fit: The reports of United States Census Bureau is amid in 2009, there were 301 million visits of swimming every year by the Americans who were beyond the six years old. Swimming positioned as the fourth most prominent games based movement in the country can lessen the occurrence of interminable ailments with more than about two hours a week, says the Unites States. Division of Health and Human Services. Water aerobics exercise is simple on joints and even can build muscle quality and continuance because of the waters inherent resistance. This type of exercise is favored by numerous rather than the more conventional form of wellness, such as exercise center, on the grounds that weight does not pull the people down same way a general workout would. Subsequently, a man can exercise longer on water than ashore without exertion additional or joint and muscle torment that regularly goes with a consistent exercise routine due to its low effect. Anti-Aging: It may not assist with wrinkles or snicker lines, but rather swimming has been indicated to cut the danger of death by about 50 percent. As per a study done by Dr. Steven Blair, Swimmers have the most minimal passing rate. The study was throughout the span of 32 years. The examination group took after 40,000 men, running from 20 to 90 years of age and found that the individuals who swam had a 50 percent lower passing rate than walkers, runners or men who got no exercise. Flexibility: Water is the best mediums in which to expand adaptability. A few rheumatologists prescribe swimming to build a mans scope of movement as well as help to increment physical action without bringing about weight on the bodys joints. Asthma Symptoms: Swimming, in the same way as other high aerobic exercises, builds your lung limit; it compels your body to work extra minutes. Since water is denser than the air, lungs need to work that much harder to the supply enough oxygen to the blood, giving lungs a decent workout and subsequently diminishing asthma indications. As per a study done at The Nutrition Center and Childrens Exercise at McMaster University, Swimming as a preparation methodology has clear advantages for the patient with asthma. These incorporate an increment in oxygen consuming wellness and a decline in asthma dreariness. Lowers Diabetes Risk: By practicing routinely, youre diminishing your blood glucose levels. Aerobic exercise and resistance preparing, alone or in blend, enhances glucose control in patients with sort 2 diabetes. It Improves Mental Health: As indicated by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, water based exercise enhances psychological wellbeing. Swimming can enhance the disposition in the both men and ladies. For people with fibromyalgia, it can be diminish uneasiness, and exercise treatment in warm water can diminish melancholy and enhance temperament. Water based exercise can enhance strength of the moms and their unborn youngsters. Individuals with sort 2 diabetes likewise have an expanded danger for coronary illness. In this way, keeping up their heart wellbeing and weight is a vital component for diabetes upkeep. In a study done by Leiden University Medical Center, a six month exercise arrangement with patients who have sort 2 diabetes was indicated to reduction cardiovascular danger components. Lose Weight: Swimming for 60 minutes can blaze upwards of 500 calories. It lives up to expectations each body part and muscle without creating strain on the body. Water additionally has more prominent resistance than air, which means strolling in water requires more exertion and at last smolders a greater number of calories than strolling ashore. Members lost a higher muscle to fat ratio utilizing submerged treadmill contrasted with area based treadmill. Security of the water: on the off chance that you despise the thought of bouncing around a room loaded with individuals in tight workout clothes, practicing submerged is an awesome option. 90% of members favored oceanic exercise contrasted with conventional area based exercise. Good for Pregnant Women: Practicing while pregnant is useful for the hopeful mother, as well as useful for the unborn child. Water exercises include no effect, overheating is impossible, and swimming face down elevates ideal blood stream to the uterus. BUOYANCY: The upward push applied by water on a body, which acts the other way of the power of gravity. Waters buoyancy essentially wipes out the impacts of gravity supporting 90 percent of the bodys weight for lessened effect and more noteworthy adaptability. For instance, a 140 lbs (63kg) man weighs just 14 lbs (6 kg) in the water. Water goes about as a pad for the bodys weight bearing joints, lessening weight on muscles, tendons and ligaments. Thus, aquatic workouts are low effect and can significantly diminish the damage and strain normal to most land based exercises. RESISTANCE: Because of viscosity, drag powers and frontal resistance, water gives a resistance which is relative to the exertion applied against it. Resistance in water ranges somewhere around 4 and 42 times more noteworthy than in air relying upon the rate of development. This makes water a characteristic and immediately flexible weight preparing machine. Not at all like most land based exercise, water gives imperviousness to the development in all bearings, which permits these headings be utilized as a part of the reinforcing procedure. Waters resistance can be expanded with pace and/or surface region, and the resistance is relative to the exertion needed to move against it. With the expansion of water wellness hardware, for example, lightness belt, webbed gloves, buoys and foot-product, resistance is expanded to reinforce and tone muscles H2O HEART RATE: The interesting properties of water empower your heart to work all the more proficiently. The hydrostatic weight of water pushes just as on all body surfaces and helps the heart course blood by helping venous return. This help to the heart represents lower pulse and heart rates, amid profound water exercise versus comparable efforts ashore. Hence, your heart rate is an expected 10 to 15 pulsates lower every moment amid suspended water exercise than for the same exertion connected on land. TREADMILL: Having the capacity to speedily come back to exercise taking after harm or an operation is significant and valuable to a speedier recuperation. Water empowers the arrival to exercise snappier than ashore. A mix of treadmill buoyancy movement permits people to walk or keep running at an adjusted and agreeable level taking strain stretch off burden bearing joints whilst profiting from the aerobic action. Hydrostatic weight, resistance and water temperature all add to building up muscle and quality in a sheltered domain. The treadmill rate extent is up to 15kph and can be controlled from inside or out of the pool. The treadmill might likewise be worked dry. Rehabilitation Water Exercises: Water rehabilitation exercise permits you to exercise and restore yourself without the shocking and infrequently agonizing background of practicing on dry area. The buoyancy of water permits you to perform exercise without a huge effect on your body, as indicated by The Stretching Institute. Water restoration exercises permit you to keep up you wellness levels and recuperate from your damage. In any case, dependably counsel your specialist before starting water restoration exercise. WALKING: Walking in water that is midsection high will help you to keep up your wellness levels and also mend harm. Water walking can be utilized for spine and lower limit wounds and joint inflammation. Walking forward and in reverse can help enhance your condition without focusing on your joints. For an included test, swing your arms or utilization water weights while you walk. Walk in the water for 20 to 30 minutes on end. SHOULDER FLEXION AND ABDUCTION: Performing arm achieves while in water can help with the scope of movement in your shoulders. Sit on the base stride to a pool or stand so water is simply over your level of shoulder. For flexion, raise straight up arms out of pool as high as you conceivably can. Gradually bring down your arms over into the water and rehash. Complete one arrangement of 10 redundancies. For kidnapping moving your arms far from midpoint of the body position arms at the sides. Gradually raise your arms with your palms down far from your body. Raise your arms to your shoulder level. Gradually bring down your arms and rehash. Complete one arrangement of 10 reiterations. LEG RAISES: This exercise can help to fortify the muscles in your legs, lower back and hips. Perform this exercise while clutching the side of a pool. For your right leg, stand with the left side confronting the pool divider. Utilize your left hand to clutch the side of the pool. Your knees ought to be somewhat twisted. Gradually swing right leg out to side. Hold it for a few moments. Bring down your leg and rehash. Complete one arrangement of 10 reiterations. Unwind and rehash with your left leg. SUPERMAN: The exercise extends your shoulder and back muscles. Advance toward water that is give or take midsection profound. Clutch the side of pool with the both hands. Your feet ought to be planted immovably on the base of the pool. Gradually push your feet far from the base of the pool. Your whole body will now be skimming on the highest point of the water. Develop your arms so that the elbows are straight. Legs ought to be stretched out also. Right now, you ought to look like superman. Hold this stance for 10 to 20 seconds. Gradually lower yourself back to the beginning position. Rehash one arrangement of five reiterations of this exercise.

The Story of An Hour Theme :: Kate Chopin

Kate Chopin’s â€Å"The Story of an Hour† Kate Chopin wrote a short piece called â€Å"The Story of an Hour† about a woman’s dynamic emotional shift who believes she has just learned her husband has died. The theme of Chopin’s piece is essentially a longing for more freedom for women. Chopin reflects her rejection of the â€Å"postures of femininity† through her character’s descriptions. She describes her as â€Å"young, with a fair, calm face, whose lines bespoke repression.† Describing her as young and calm are what men looked for in a wife in the 19th century. They wanted a submissive woman to tend to their needs as Chopin’s description suggests. Furthermore, Chopin says of her character Mrs. Mallard, â€Å"she would live for herself.† Her character believes she will now be free of her marriage, and won’t be â€Å"repressed† as aforementioned any longer by her husband. Wives had a natural servitude towards their husbands as husbands worked and went about their lives. All in all, Chopin displays her character as having a joyous moment after the death of her husband because she is let go of being forced into her â€Å"femininity.† Chopin displays a need for more independent women in this piece, suggesting that wronged womanhood is the simple fact that society didn’t allow them to be on the same level with men. Mrs. Mallard realizes a â€Å"possession of self-assertion which she suddenly recognized as the strongest impulse of her being.† This suggests a dying will for independence. Mrs. Mallard realizes that she can now rely upon her self for everything and it will become her number one driving factor in life. After she realizes this, Chopin says Mrs. Mallard thinks â€Å"spring days, and summer days, and all sorts of days that would be her own.† When she has days to herself, she will have no one to tell her what to do, as this line suggests her husband used to.

Friedrich Engels Essays -- Biography Communism engels Essays

Friedrich Engels During the time of the industrial era, there were many people upset over the manner in which the nations were being run. They were upset with the idea of capitol gain and how it was affecting people’s actions. They saw this era causing people to exploit each other with the intent of monetary gain. Those that were already part of the higher ranking class, the richer, would see reason to force the lower class, the working man, to spend his life in the new factories. He would be bullied into risking life and limb at the monstrous machines while hardly earning a penny. The working man suffered because the richer man owned the factory and consumed all the profits himself. Some men, however, saw a solution as well as the problem. They thought that if the power could be taken out of the hands of the strong and power hungry, then the working class would realize the rights they had all along. The constant struggle for power would be eliminated and so society would become better . Two of these men were Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. Marx had received all the recognition while Engels has been shunted off the pages of history. He did, however, still have an impact on the development of communism. Friedrich Engels was born on November 28, 1820 in Barmen, Germany. Engels began to learn the family business rather early, being the oldest son of an auspicious industrialist.1 Engels studied commerce and worked for his father as an office clerk from 1837 to 1841. But this was not his only focus. He also tried his hand at poetry as did his future friend Marx. Like Marx, his attempts did not gain him any recognition in the literary world. By his eighteenth year he had sworn off poetry all together. This was... ...e story of his life. Ann Arbor Paperbacks, 1962. 3. Mehring, Franz. Karl Marx: The story of his life. Ann Arbor Paperbacks, 1962. 4. Modern History Sourcebook: Friederich Engels: Industrial Manchester, 1844 http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1844engels.html 5. Anderson, Thornton. Masters of Russian Marxism. New York: Appelton-Century- Crofts, 1963. 6. BIOGRAPHICAL ARTICLE ON ENGELS, Brockhaus' Konversations-Lexikon. Vol. 6, 14th ed., Leipzig and Vienna, 1893. Translated into English by Progress Publishers 7. BIOGRAPHICAL ARTICLE ON ENGELS, Brockhaus' Konversations-Lexikon. Vol. 6, 14th ed., Leipzig and Vienna, 1893. Translated into English by Progress Publishers 8. Marx and Engels. Reminiscences of Marx and Engels. Moscow: Foreign Lauguages Publishing House.

Does Socrates see himself as the most important teacher in the city? :: Essays Papers

Does Socrates see himself as the most important teacher in the city? In Plato’s Apology of Socrates, Socrates has to defend himself to the city of Athens. The city of Athens is at odds with Socrates’ philosophy; it contradicted several Athenian beliefs. The city believed that Socrates was an atheist, that he was responsible for corrupting the youth, and that he made the weaker argument the stronger. Socrates believed that he was the most important teacher in the city therefore he continued to defend his actions and beliefs even when his life was on the line. He saw himself as the most important teacher after his visit to the oracle. He believed it was his mission to change the Athenians viewpoints, and he was willing to die for what he believed in. Socrates forced the Athenians to think and to question how they lived their lives. He was a great philosophizer and he knew how important he was to the city. The city did not share Socrates own view of himself as the most important teacher. They believed his philosophies were evil and they were willing to put him to death for his ideas. In Socrates’ first defense, he uses the story of the Delphic oracle. According to Socrates, the oracle once declared that no one was wiser than Socrates. At first Socrates thought the oracle to be wrong so he began to obtain evidence by conversing with wise people in order to refute the oracle: He examined the politicians, poets, and artisans and found that they were almost completely ignorant (except for the artisans, who at least knew well their own areas of expertise), and that all thought they knew things, especially â€Å"the greatest things,† but in fact they did not know them. Since Socrates was at least aware of his own ignorance, he ranked himself above them in wisdom. (18) Thus Socrates began to believe that he was the wisest person in the city. The oracle was a turning point in his life. Instead of focusing on astronomical and physical studies, he began to concern himself with moral and political opinions: â€Å"this turn to the examination of opinions brought Socrates into conflict with the city as such, for his doubt of the worth of generally accepted opinions was also a challenge to the most authoritative opinions, those which concern the city’s gods and the city’s laws†¦Ã¢â‚¬ (18). The fact that Socrates knew he was the wisest and that he began to concern himself with philosophies of the city shows that he saw himself as the most important teacher in the city.

Strategic Analysis for Philip Morris

Mehmet Burkay 251311001 STRATEGIC ANALYSIS FOR PHILIP MORRIS *PEST ANALYSIS – Political and Legal Forces †¢ The laws regulated by the governments against the cigarette companies and cigarette advertisements, since early 90s. †¢ Increasing tax rates on cigarettes especially in U. S. and Western Europe †¢ The barriers against outside producers in china, korea, taiwan, japan – Economic Forces †¢ Increasing buying power of the consumers in developing countries †¢ Incremental costs of alternative marketing strategies †¢ Compensation expenditures †¢ Shrinking old markets in developed countries Growing new markets in developing countries – Social Forces †¢ Developing social awereness against harm of cigarette †¢ Campaigns against cigarette – Technological Forces †¢ Researches on cure for cancer †¢ Decreasing costs due to the developments of new Technologies †¢ Comprising new advertisement methods through internet * SWOT ANALYIS – Strengths †¢ Company’s strong financial budget †¢ Well known brands in cigarette market †¢ Prestigious image of Marlboro †¢ Successful partners in foreign markets †¢ Strong distribution channels †¢ Essential corporate culture – Weaknesses †¢ Inadequate comunication with public Opportunities †¢ Growing new markets in developing countries †¢ Chance to use brands in different sectors †¢ Merging or forming strategic alliances with local corporations in foreign markets – Threats †¢ Aggressive marketing campaigns of competitors †¢ Social campaigns against cigarette †¢ Legal barriers against cigarette consumption and advertisements †¢ Increasing prices in agricultural products †¢ Deaths due to cigarette †¢ Probable compensations * Industry and Competitor Analysis †¢ Potential Entrants: low First investment costs are quite high and markets are quite dom inated by existing firms Bargaining Power of Suppliers: medium In many countries state is the supplier of tobacco and prices are defined by states †¢ Bargaining Power of Buyers: low Cigarette consumers have no chance to bargain on prices †¢ Other Stakeholders’ Power: high Governments have very strong power to apply sanction on cigarette firms and cigarette market. †¢ Threats of Substitute Products: low Cigarette is easy to reach and use. There is also no serious product that can substitute cigarette †¢ Competition in Industry: high There are many firms activating in industry