Sunday, January 26, 2020

The Intelligence Gathering Debate

The Intelligence Gathering Debate There has been a lot of terrorism attack patterns and behaviors since the 1990s. This prompted change from most of the organizations on a global platform in as far as how they handled intelligence. The September 11 terrorism attack on the USA soils prompted a heavy presence of change in the security measures taken to protect the country.   The events brought to light in the fact that there are many threats facing the country as technology continues to advance. It also brought to light the impact that the events had on operations and intelligence in USA. Its important to have constant and up to date intelligence in order to counter terrorism. As the USA congress reckoned in its report on national commission on terrorism, good intelligence is always the best weapon against terrorism. This means that there needs to be firm policies and dedicated leaders so as to ensure a safer future for coming generations (Karmon, 2009). The intelligence agencies like the NSA, are responsible for providing the most sensitive information that would help enhance security measures for a country. Mostly, there never seen and they have sources everywhere. This ensures success on their missions even though they are never reported. Once they succeed, they ensure vigorous prosecution, proper convictions and safety.  Ã‚   Chris Anderson Invited Edward Snowden to a debate on TED talk to talk about the revelations that earned him many titles from traitor, whistleblower and even hero. In the past, there was little knowledge as to how far intelligence agencies would go to protect the country as they say. Snowden brought to light how human privacy had been breached. This information questioned whether the existing government was a government for the people. It also raised questions on how safe personal information from bank accounts to phone calls and also email transactions was (Snowden, 2014). Snowden was working for the NSA in Hawaii as the system administrator. He would gain access to sensitive classified files which in time he would share to the media journalists. This was due to disturbance that the revelation had caused him. He believed that the NSA did a lot of good things to assist the community, some of which were necessary but also needed limitations. He believed that for some drastic measures to be taken the public had to be made aware and also asked for approval. Being that he knew things that he shouldnt have, the only way to protect himself was to expose what he knew to the journalists. Similarly, he got the information out to the American people. Section 215 of the patriot act, allows for access to metadata. This means that warrantless wire taping, mass surveillance and recording of phone calls can be done. However, that requires court approval. In the years after the September 11 event, a lot of metadata were done secretly. Also a lot of different technology companies were brought into the fishy programme, commonly referred to direct access (Snowden, 2014). Most of this programs were operated without warrants and thus most of the American people information was been looked into by many farms. This was a total invasion of privacy and obstruction of law by the same people who claimed to protect it. This was and is a potential threat to most Americans as information and data can be easily manipulated. This moves by the NSA not only managed to cause distrust amongst American people towards the government, but also managed to destroy existing and future working relationship with other countries. So, as much as the government claims to have the best interest for the country, Americans have had to pay a price that they shouldnt have (Snowden, 2014). It also question the congress responsibilities. They acted unconstitutionally. Snowden clearly won the debate because, for one most of the obtained information hasnt helped in protecting the country against terrorism and two, he helped the Americans to be more aware of the current and the future running governments. References Karmon, E. (2009). The Role of Intelligence in Counter-Terrorism. Taylor Francis Online, 1. Snowden, E. A. (2014). How we take the internet. TED, 1.

Saturday, January 18, 2020

Discussion Post

Watson made a major contribution to the world of personality psychology when he introduced behaviorism. After reading this week’s selections and watching the assigned video on learning, discuss a specific area in the practice of psychology where behaviorist theory and treatment is valid in modern psychology. Describe how this theory is applied. Support and explain your opinion as to why behaviorism is valid in this specific area. Post should be at least 300 words. Respond to at least two of your classmates’ postings by Day 7.B. F. Skinner was an American psychologist that expanded behaviorism. According to Berecz (2009) â€Å"Skinner is to behaviorism what Tiger Woods is to golf he did not invent the game, raised it to a new level of excellence. † Skinner believed that for behavior to be shaped there had to be rewards as well as consequences. Skinner believed that consequences are the most important aspect of changing behavior. Skinner’s operant conditioni ng is still valid in today’s modern psychology.Skinner argued that operant conditioning is changing behavior by the use of reinforcement that is used after the behavior has been displayed. Skinner states that there are two operant responses that follow behavior reinforce, and punishers. â€Å"Reinforcer’s are any consequence which increase the likelihood of a response, and any consequence which decreases the probability of a response is a punisher† (Berecz, 2009 Pg 77). The core of Skinner’s behaviorism is the ABC’s of operant conditioning.Berecz (2009) states that â€Å"operant conditioners have repeatedly shown that if a particular behavior (B) is immediately followed by a pleasant or rewarding consequence (C), this behavior will almost increase in frequency. † For example, operant conditioning could be applied to a child in school. If a child is doing extremely well in school and brings home a good report card in operant conditioning his or her parent’s would reward and praise the child in which Skinner calls positive reinforcement. Skinner argues that the positive reinforcement will help the child to continue bringing home good reports cards.On the other hand, if the child is not doing well in school and brings home a bad report card in operant conditioning his or her parent’s would distribute negative reinforcement by enforcing an unpleasant consequence to teach the child the behavior of getting a bad report card will not be tolerated. Skinner would state that if a negative consequence would not be enforced the child would continue to bring bad report cards. Eysenck was a British psychologist that argued that trait theory consisted of three broad super factors that were universal, and each made up of narrower traits.According to Berecz (2009) Eysenck believed that personality is composed of specific responses, habitual responses, and traits all organized into more or less stable and enduring configur ations of a person’s temperament, intellect, and physiology that characterize unique adjustment to the environment. Eysenck’s trait theory spelled the word PEN. Eysenck stated that the three broad super factors are psychoticism, extraversion, and neuroticism. A person high on psychoticism shows aggressive, cold, egocentric, impersonal, impulsive, antisocial, unempathic, creative, tough-minded traits.People high on extraversion are seen as active, assertive, carefree, dominant, lively, sensation seeking, sociable, surgent, and venturesome. Individual high on neuroticism are described as anxious, depressed, irrational, moody, emotional, shy, tense, and experiencing guilt and low self-esteem (Berecz, 2009 Pg 117-118). Berecz (2009) states that â€Å"E covers normal range of traits, while N and P encompass traits more commonly encountered in clinical problems such as neurosis, pyschosis, and psychopathy. † An example of Eysenck trait theory could be used in a game o f one on one basketball.An individual that is playing a game and is fouling and being extremely aggressive and cold with other players on a daily basis would be viewed as being high on psychoticism. If the same individual would play one on one basketball on a daily basis with his friend would be viewed of having a personality of an extraversion. If an individual would be playing a game of basketball and would be extremely emotional, and tense would display the personality of neuroticism. Through evaluating Eysenck’s trait theory it is based on physiology and genetics.Eysenck was considered a behaviorist of learned behavior, but he also considered personality as a genetic inheritance. I believe that Eysenck’s theory had a lot of merits through being able to add both behaviorism, and biology. Eysenck is a legend to trait theory and made a lot of valid points is his theory the only drawback I felt was his extreme dislike for psychoanalysis. I believe that in psychology ev ery theory has some validity. Berecz, J. M. (2009). Theories of personality: A zonal perspective. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.

Friday, January 10, 2020

Brand Name Essay

Today I’m going to talk about quality of products which we are buying and their price. I will dive into some matters which are most important for us when we have to make a choice what to choose and buy. First of all and I think prime aspect in our decision is quality of the product which is tied up with price. It is said that â€Å"you get what you pay for† and I think it’s 100% truth. When we want to buy something reliable and long-lasting we can’t economise on it because if we do, we will regret our decision some time later. We all know that half of the world is delighted of still spreading Chinese market. â€Å"Same products for half price or even less† or â€Å"Replica of original product but without margin† – these are some words of Chinese market enthusiasts. It’s nothing further from the truth. Ok, we can buy some products confusingly similar to originals but only on first glance. Fakes quality is really poor and it is impossible for them to last even half time of original products. Secondly, nothing but the brand. A lot of people buy clothes only because it’s Louis Vuitton, Burberry or Ralph Lauren, boots because it’s Jimmy Choo’s or Louboutin or electronics from Apple and some of them are paying only for the trademark but the rest is conscious that if they pay more they will have not only original product with signature that everybody will recognize but also best quality product. It’s not accidental that some brands are more expensive then other, they have renown built for long years confirmed by best quality and that’s why these brands products are value for money. Generally the best and well-known brands were established 50, 100 or even more years in the past. Thirdly, there are some other aspects which are leading us to decision like country of origin which is important for patriots and Chinese opponents. And next thing is our habits, we are still buying the same product without looking if it’s quality is still good but we get used to buying it. Summing up, we can say that the most important factors which have big influence on our decisions are price and quality but I think we can’t unanimously tell whose the â€Å"winner†. In my opinion quality beats other  factors and in the end I will only repeat the sentence which explains everything â€Å"You get what you pay for†.

Thursday, January 2, 2020

Young Learners English Fingerplay Songs

Fingerplays - Learning Through MovementHere are a number of English fingerplay songs which combine movements of the hands and fingers with key vocabulary. The act of singing and acting out on the fingers children make both a kinetic and musical connection to the new words, also known as a  multiple intelligences approach  to learning.  Fingerplays are usually chanted, although some songs also have movements which are in parentheses after each spoken line. Three Little Monkeys Three Little Monkeys can have as many verses as you like to  practice the numbers. Here are the last two verses as examples. Verse 1 Three little monkeys jumping on the bed,  (tap three fingers on palm) One fell off and bumped is head.  (one finger falls off, then hold head) Mama called the doctor and the doctor said:  (hold imaginary telephone to your ear) No more little monkeys jumping on the bed.  (shake finger) Verse 2 Two little monkeys jumping on the bed,  (tap three fingers on palm) One fell off and bumped is head.  (one finger falls off, then hold head) Mama called the doctor and the doctor said:  (hold imaginary telephone to your ear) No more little monkeys jumping on the bed.  (shake finger) Little Bunny Foo-Foo Verse 1 Little bunny Foo-Foo hopping through the forest  (raise your hand up and down as if hopping along through the forest) Scooping up the chipmunks and bopping them on the head.  (pound fist into palm) Down came the good fairy and she said:  (drop shaking hand from above to below) Little bunny Foo-Foo, I dont want to see you  (shake finger) Scooping up the chipmunks and bopping them on the head  (raise your hand up and down as if hopping along through the forest) Ill give you three chances,  (raise three fingers) And if youre not good, Ill turn you into a goon.  (raise both hands up into the sky and shake them as if frightened) Verse 2 So, the very next day...(repeat except the fairy Godmother says two chances) Verse 3 So, the very next day...(repeat except the fairy Godmother says one chance) Final Moral The moral of this story is: Hare today, Goon Tomorrow!(play on words of the common saying: Here today, gone tomorrow) Clap Your Hands 1 Clap, clap, clap your hands as slowly as you can.  (clap your hands slowly) Clap, clap, clap your hands as quickly as you can.  (clap your hands quickly) 2 Shake, shake, shake your hands as slowly as you can.  (shake your hands slowly) Shake, shake, shake your hands as quickly as you can.  (shake your hands quickly) 3 Rub, rub, rub your hands as slowly as you can.  (rub your hands slowly) Rub, rub, rub your hands as quickly as you can.  (rub your hands quickly) 4 Roll, roll, roll your hands as slowly as you can.  (roll your hands slowly) Roll, roll, roll your hands as quickly as you can.  (roll your hands quickly) Tips for Teaching Fingerplay Songs Write key vocabulary for each song on the board. Practice each movement, and check for understanding.Model the song a few times yourself. Dont be shy!Have students contribute other movements to Clap Your HandsHave different students lead the class in the songs once theyve learned the songs by heart.Ask students to create their own songs.Use  grammar chants  to help students learn simple grammar structures.