Thursday, October 31, 2019

Research paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Research Paper Example The main objective of the research was to find ways in which disability could be prevented among the older people suffering from a disease with long-term effects such as asthma and arthritis. This research enabled for the development of a program in which people suffering from chronic diseases could manage their disease with the help of the community. The research found that patients could be educated on how to cope with the disease symptoms while adhering to their medication, but most importantly keeping up with their physical mobility. It was found that exercise was fundamental in delaying the effects of disability caused by chronic diseases. The research also discovered that patients who enrolled for the â€Å"Chronic Disease Self-Management Program† (CDSMP) showed a positive progress in fighting their diseases and, in turn, reduced the level upon which they relied on health care services. As a result, each individual has a reduced financial burden and an increase in their self-reliance. This was a relief for most chronic disease patients because they cited the cost of managing these diseases as too high which led majority to fail in checking the effects. With the program developed under this research, the patients could save on cost in a healthy and effective self-assessment program. The research found that patients even changed their living habits; for example, some quit smoking because it was in line with the program. With the education given to the patients while in the program, they even reduced their alcohol consumption levels because it was interfering with their capacity to  cope with the chronic diseases. The research also found that patients adhered to a strict nutritional and health diet program, which was designed to improve their disease fighting immunity; hence, making them delays the effects of disability. The research also found that administering an exercise and fitness program to the patients led to controlled weight loss and manag ement. This exercise was also vital in regulating heart function, which was especially important in those suffering from heart failure. The research findings included a six month evaluation program among patients and several observations were made: the patients who enrolled for CDSMP showed increased levels of exercise and maintained fitness, as well as an improved capacity to handle the symptoms of chronic diseases. Another observation with the patients after six months was that the patients could communicate to their health care personnel better than before, which in turn helped the physicians to give them the right medication and in accordance with the needs of each patient. The research found that, after six months, the patients showed progress in their social activities and were able to participate more. The patients were able to control the effects of disability citing the self-assessment  as a major help in the process. The patients did not show physical or emotional stress because they seemed fit and relaxed. The program also gave the patients more energy as nutrition was administered at appropriate levels while the exercise ensured their bodies were strong. This increased energy enabled the patients to participate more in social activities and still not show signs of fatigue and stress. The research

Tuesday, October 29, 2019

Finance and Accounting of Carillion Plc Research Paper

Finance and Accounting of Carillion Plc - Research Paper Example Basing an argument on the financial information (income statement) there is a decrease in the general performance of the firm. The vital item in the income statement that outstands is a decrease in the revenue of the firm. In the 2011 fiscal year, the total revenue was  £4.9 billion which declined to  £4.4billion by the end of year 2012 then downscaled to  £ 4.1 in the year 2013. From the analysis, this shows a decrease of 10.2% and 6.9% from 2011 to 2013 respectively. The main cause of the decline from the financial report was the issue of rescaling the UK construction activities so that they make sure that they are associated in the size of their chosen market sectors (Annual Report 136). Such decrease in the revenue was anticipated as the company was trying to restructure and consequently fit the competitive advantage. However, the risk profile and overall quality improved as they remained selective in choosing contracts that they tried to bid. Secondly, from the income statement, it is clearly shown that the firm experienced a significant decrease in the expenses. The total expense in the year 2012 was  £ 11.5 million which decreased to  £ 9.5 million. From the computation, this is 17.4% reduction in the expenses. Other interest payable included private placement financing interest ( £14.3), finance lease of  £1.2 million and discount associated with lease provisions ( £1.4 million). From the investment point of view, this good sign for investors as the company has a future growth due to decreasing the costs of operation. The underlying profit of operations declined to  £214 million leading to a decrease in the overall revenue. This reduced form (2012:  £ 227.9) however; the operating margin remained at 5.6% and so investors should be concerned with the firm’s ability to generate profits.

Sunday, October 27, 2019

Examining the strategic location of South Face Mine

Examining the strategic location of South Face Mine The strategic location of the South Face Mine, owned by Mountain Mining Canada Ltd (MMCL), catches the attention of Can-Do to make an offer for purchasing the mine. If our company successfully acquires it, the combination of better surface logistics and optimal location of new drift mines could provide an annual cost saving of up to $1.5 million for 20 years. However, MMCL has closed the mine and currently been spending on closure and reclamation of it; undoubtedly MMCL would like to transfer those costs to us. The purpose of this memorandum is to determine the walk-away point, which is the highest amount Can-Do would agree to offer in the negotiation with MMCL, with the use of data from the management budget provided by MMCL, the discounted cash flow model and sensitivity tests on various assumptions. Given the data in the MMCL management budget with removal of costs which are not transferred to Can-Do or can be internalized  [1]  , and assuming a 6% interest rate for discounting, the 15% contingency allowance used in MMCL implies an inflation rate of 2.55%. Having studied various assumptions, the sensitivity tests indicate the variance of short-term duration is the most important risk underlying as a 1-year extension of short-term costs reduces the value of acquisition by $6.6 million from $15.5 million to $8.9 million (58% of original value). A 2-year extension further reduces the value by 6.4 million to $2.5 million (16% of original value).  [2]   The recommended walk-away point would be $14 million, a value lower than the net values of acquisition calculated in most sensitivity tests excluding those with respect to short-term duration and estimated cost saving. It also means that an efficient cost control should be performed to avoid an extension of short-term cost and a failure to realize the estimated cost saving. It is also worth noting that there are large discrepancies of cost items between the 2006 and 2005 budgets. A detailed review on financial data is suggested so as to find out any hidden problems or risks. Introduction The purchase of the South Face Mine, currently owned by Mountain Mining Canada Limited (MMCL), can provide Can-Do a very large reduction in operating cost of North Fork Mine, located adjacent to South Face Mine, by an estimated amount up to $1.5 million annually for the next 20 years, attributed to the optimal location of new drift mines and the improved logistics. However, it is expected that MMCL would require us to bear the closure and reclamation costs. Therefore, the net value of the acquisition is the value of cost saving net of the value of those additional costs. By considering the data provided and computing the net value of acquisition, it comes up with the walk-away point, which is critical and crucial to our negotiation with MMCL. The remaining parts of this memorandum explain the determination of the walk-away point. In particular, the purpose of this study is to: Review the financial data provided Do sensitivity tests for assumptions with respect to the closure and reclamation costs Set a reasonable walk-away point Identify other possible risks for the determination of the walk-away point There are different types of costs, including short-term costs which will be incurred within five years and long-term costs which will be incurred during the whole reclamation period. There are also salvage values of equipments remaining on site (i.e. Inventory Disposition), and they will accrue to Can-Do. Moreover, MMCL has included a 15% contingency allowance in its calculation. From the table above, it is clearly observed that large discrepancies exist for most cost items between 2006 and 2005 budget, and this indicates a deficiency of the contingency allowance in 2005 to cover the adverse development of costs estimated from 2005 to 2006. It concerns us about the accuracy and reliability of the predictions. It is suggested a detailed review of financial data as well as other information related to the situation of the mine be conducted in order to discover any potential problems which may put our company at risk. Data Adjustment The data provided is subject to adjustments so as to calculate a more reasonable walk-away point. They include: Removing costs not to be transferred from MMCL to Can-Do (e.g. severance costs) Removing costs which could be realized from internalizing them in Can-Do (e.g. inspection costs) Analysis: Methods Assumptions Contingency Allowance Inflation Rate MMCL has included a 15% contingency allowance in its budget while has not considered the time value of cost items. Assuming the allowance is totally for the inflation, the implied inflation rate that is equivalent to the 15% contingency allowance is found to be 2.55% (using the Excel function à ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒâ€¦Ã¢â‚¬Å"goal seekà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ), after the data adjustment aforementioned. Sensitivity Tests, Risks Walk-away Point To investigate the risks underlying, sensitivity tests have been performed to examine the uncertainties associated with the assumptions of cash flow projections (all with 0% contingency allowance). Table 3: Sensitivity Tests The table consists of the net value of the acquisition under different combinations of short-term duration, long-term duration, inflation rate and discount rate (Scenario Base and #1-10). From the table, it shows that under most scenarios the value of acquisition is around $14-15 million. Therefore, it would be appropriate and conservative to set $14 million as the walk-away point. In addition, an extra sensitivity test on estimated cost saving are conducted (Scenario #11-12). When compared to Scenario #4, it demonstrates that a 10% decrease in cost saving causes the value of acquisition below $14 million. It implies a strong control is needed to monitor that the realized cost saving is close to the estimated one. As shown in the tables, the short-term duration should be the key risk factor as an increase in it leads to a tremendous decrease in value (by comparing Scenario Base to Scenario #1-2 or Scenario #4 to Scenario #5-6). Can-Do should therefore pay much attention to the extension of short-term cost projections. Conclusions and Recommendations Based upon the modified cost budget and assuming a 6% discount rate, a 15% contingency allowance implies an inflation rate of 2.55%. Also, after a study of various assumptions by sensitivity tests, a walk-away point of $14 million will be sufficient for the acquisition of South Face Mine. However, a few issues have to be highlighted: The large variances between the 2006 and 2005 budget raise concerns of the validity and reliability of the estimated values in the budget. The implied inflation rate of 2.55% is less than the lower bound of inflation rate projected by our economists. The net value of acquisition is very responsive to the duration of short-term costs according to the results of sensitivity tests. The determination of walk-away point is based on the assumption that $1.5 million can be saved annually over 20 years. A slight decrease in it can be enough to cause an overall loss for the acquisition provided that the final purchase price of South Face Mine is close to the walk-away point. For some costs including water treatment operation/maintenance costs and salaries of accountant/environmental person, they may be internalized to a certain extent; yet they are not removed for the determination of walk-away point due to their specialty. This also provides a relatively conservative walk-away point implicitly. It is recommended that a detailed investigation should be carried out to verify the estimated costs in the budget as well as to locate any other problems. It is also proposed that an efficient cost control should be established in order to keep the cost be aligned with the prediction if Can-Do successfully purchases the South Face Mine from MMCL

Friday, October 25, 2019

Essay --

Have you noticed that since the birth of the Nobel Prize, most of the winners are from Europe and America while no one is from China (except for Mo Yan, who won the literature prize in 2012)? As stated, the United States occupies less than 5% of the world's population, but seventy percent of the winners are from US while China that holds one fifth of the world population has only one winner educated in mainland since 1949. What exactly led to present situation of China’s education system? I think China can not foster a Nobel Prize winner because of too much homework, the unreasonable education system, and universities’ not professional enough academic atmosphere. The first reason is that the burden of students today is heavier and heavier. For example, too much homework occupies major parts of students’ spare time. Due to it, students become weighed down with the homework. What is worse, too much homework makes students be afraid of study and exams, which can result in the loss of interest of study. So we can conclude that what too much homework brings to students is not the chance to exercise themselves but excuses for them to evade study. Gradually they regard the process of doing homework as finishing an unwilling mission rather than a way to check up drawbacks in study, which limits the extra time in which students exercise the ability of thinking, querying, and practicing. If students don not have a right attitude towards homework and study, maybe they won not be serious about academic research either when they work in their own fields. Another reason is that the unreasonable education system also contributes to the present situation. Since the recovery of college entrance exam system, the concepts of education have... ... entertainment. Our politics, religion, journalism, sports, education and business are willing to become a vassal of entertainment†. When that happens, even doing the serious research will become a king of trick to attract people’s attention and then fall into jokes. In a word, these three factors contribute to the present situation of China’s education system. The downside of the Asian system is that the national standards do not do much to foster creativity Glenn Zorpette (n.d) We still have a long way to go to perfect our system of developing ability such as E.D.Hirsch Jr (1995) â€Å"higher order skills†, â€Å"self esteem†, â€Å"metcognitive skills†, â€Å"critical-thinking skills†, â€Å"mere facts† which are qualified for society development. I hope one day I can hear the news where a scientist or a writer educated in the mainland of china not other countries win the Nobel Prize.

Thursday, October 24, 2019

The Yankee Stadium’s History

Any discussion of the history of New York City without a history of the New York Yankees would be like describing Pavarotti without mentioning his voice. And any discussion of the Yankees without including Yankee Stadium would be farcical. And when you get right down to the nitty-gritty of historical realities encompassing the Yankees and Yankee Stadium you have to include Babe Ruth. The Babe, the â€Å"Bambino,† the â€Å"Sultan of Swat,† was the reason the Yankees built Yankee Stadium, and that is why they call it â€Å"The House That Ruth Built.† The Yankees are beyond any reasonable doubt the premier team in Major League Baseball. They have been in the World Series 39 times since the American League was fashioned in 1900 – and they have won 26 of them. The teams tied for second most World Series Championships are the Cardinals and Athletics with 9. The Yankees have been in New York since 1903; previously they were in Baltimore known as the Baltimore Orioles. They started out in New York as the Highlanders, playing at Hilltop Park (today, the Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center sits where Hilltop Park was located). They played in the Polo Grounds (sharing it with its home team, the National League New York Giants) from 1913 to 1920. The Yankees became popularly known as the â€Å"Yankees† around 1904; and when the New York Herald reported on April 15, 1906, â€Å"Yankees win opening game from Boston, 2-1,† it was more or less official they were no longer the Highlanders. Meanwhile, tracing the origins of Yankee Stadium properly includes a brief recounting of how Babe Ruth got to the Yankees; he was the spark that lit the fire that put Yankee Stadium in the Bronx. By 1919, a strong rivalry had existed between the Boston Red Sox and the Yankees for several years. A young Boston pitcher who was also an unbelievable slugger, Babe Ruth, hammered the Yankees on many occasions, including Opening Day at the Polo Grounds on April 23, 1919. According to The New York Times (4/24/1919), â€Å"Babe Ruth won the game for the Red Sox in the first inning when, with Jack Berry on first base, he slammed out a lucky home run†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Final score, Red Sox 10, Yanks 0. There had been some doubt as to whether the phenomenal Ruth would even play for Boston in 1919; Ruth had been a hold-out in the spring, following a sensational season as a pitcher and slugger, and a magnificent World Series for Boston in 1918, in which he won two games (hurling 13 scoreless innings in one game) and gave Boston power at the plate. It was to be Boston's last World Series victory until 2004. In the spring of 1919, Ruth was holding out for $15,000 a year, according to a New York Times story (3/19/1919): â€Å"Ruth†¦wants $15,000 for one year or will sign a contract calling for $10,000 a year for three years.† The headline in The New York Times on December 27, 1919 read, â€Å"Ruth Talks Of Retiring†; the story said Ruth is â€Å"‘through with major league baseball' unless the management of the Boston American league Club is prepared to meet his demand for $20,000 a year.† The New York Times reported on March 22, 1919, that â€Å"Babe Ruth Finally Signs with Boston,† for a reported $27,000 for three years. Boston owner Harry H. Frazee's previous best offer had been $8,500, the Times reported. Contrasted with today's dollar value $27,000 would be worth around $540,000; and even though $27,000 doesn't sound like much compared to the $2.5 million original cost of building Yankee Stadium – or to the salaries today's players draw. (To wit, Derek Jeter's 2003 salary was around $15,000,000; he came to the plate 482 times; do the math and see Jeter earned around $30,000 per at-bat). But to the average New Yorker in 1920, Ruth's salary was a huge quantity of money. Hundreds of thousands of American boys were fighting in Europe in WWI (thousands of them dying), and 650,000 Americans had died recently due the influenza epidemic. Times were rough, to say the least. Meantime, after Ruth clubbed 29 homers in 1919, an October 12th Times article hailed him as the â€Å"mastodonic mauler†; New York obviously was in awe of this superstar. And then, to the great surprise of Gotham, the one of the biggest sports events of the century hit the headlines of The New York Times with the clout of a Ruthian grand slam (1/6/1920): â€Å"Ruth Bought by New York Americans For $125,000, Highest Price in Baseball Annals.† The story reported that Ruth's acquisition gave the Yankees â€Å"the hard-hitting outfielder long desired.† After coming to terms with the Yankees, for $40,000 on a two-year deal, the Yankee owner Colonel Jacob Ruppert soon took out a $150,000 insurance policy on the Babe, unprecedented at that time. And interestingly exactly one year to the day after the Times story hailing Ruth's arrival in New York, the Times headline (2/6/1921) rang: â€Å"Yankees To Build Stadium In Bronx.† In the article, Yankee owners Colonels Jacob Ruppert and Tillinghast L. Huston announced they had purchased 10 acres â€Å"on the east bank of the Harlem River,† between 157th and 101st Streets, from the estate of the late William Waldorf Astor. â€Å"On this terrain there will be erected a huge stadium, which will surpass in seating capacity any structure hitherto built for the accommodation of lovers of baseball,† the Times' article continued, in typical dramatic style, albeit there was no byline so the author was unknown. Excavation was to begin â€Å"in a few weeks and building will be expedited by every means known to human effort,† the article explained. The Yankees did not announce what they paid for the ten acres, but the Times had it â€Å"on good authority† the tab was $500,000, and the estimated cost of the projected stadium was $2 million. The â€Å"running time from Forth-second Street by subway is only about 16 minutes,† the story continued, and by â€Å"elevated train it will take about 2 minutes more to reach the Yankee's stadium than is necessary to get to the Polo Grounds.† The process of street-closings â€Å"will offer no obstacles,† the Times explained; and the stadium was projected to be â€Å"triple-decked,† which was made necessary â€Å"by the expectation of even greater patronage than that of the last season.† The obvious reference was to the fact that Babe Ruth is not only the greatest home run hitter in the game, but he was the biggest box office draw in all entertainment venues at that time. Prior to the decision to build the stadium on its present site, the Times (2/6/1921) reported that â€Å"until a few days† prior to February 5, 1921, Yankee owners â€Å"were inclined to favor the site of the Hebrew Orphan Asylum, between 136th and 138th streets, near Broadway.† The stadium was to hold 75,000 fans eventually, though at first it would only hold 50,000 (5,000 of them bleacher benches); yet â€Å"when the cost of building materials becomes more nearly normal,† the Times explained, the capacity will be increased to the higher figure. This â€Å"massive and most attractive structure has been designed to adorn the new playing field of Babe Ruth and his pals,† the story went on. â€Å"Concrete and steel of the finest quality available will be used†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Before any building could begin, and before contractors were to be hired to do the building, the approval from City Hall had to be obtained. And while New York City Mayor John F. Hylan first hedged on the decision for the city to â€Å"release its interest in the bed of Cromwell Avenue† in the Bronx, which ran directly through the site, he eventually signed off on the deal. However, the sub-headline on March 18, 1923, in the Times badgered the mayor a bit by shouting that â€Å"Mayor Hylan Holds Up Decision on closing of Street Running Through Site.† â€Å"I am not going to put my signature on the official document,† the mayor said in the Times, â€Å"until I find out whether everything is regular.† The â€Å"Sinking Fund Commission† had already signed off on the street's demolishment, and worried that the mayor's delay â€Å"might prevent the Yankees from playing in their new stadium in 1923,† the article indicated. Meantime, within a couple weeks, the mayor did sign off on the closing of two streets, which â€Å"came as a personal triumph for colonel Jacob Ruppert, President of the Yankees, who had labored for more than a year to obtain the necessary permission for the closing of the streets,† the Times reported in late March, 1922. [Note: the dates on the New York Times' archival documents do not always reflect the precise date of publication.] Not only did New York political bureaucracies have to be hurdled by Ruppert, the Astor family lived in England, and since it was their property that was the site used for the stadium, their consent was imperative. After official approval, the Times' headline â€Å"Yankees Call For Bids on Stadium† had a little editorial slant in the sub-headline, â€Å"If Contractor Are Rational In Prices Work Will Begin at Earliest Possible Date.† The date on this article can't be correct (it is 1/4/1922), so it must have been in late February. â€Å"Excavation, grading, masonry, sewers and downspouts, reinforced concrete, lathing and plastering, ornamental metal work, tile work, terrazzo floors, carpentry, toilets, roofing, sheet metal, steel sash, painting and wood bleachers† all went out to bid, the Times reported. And it did seem like there was a limited amount of capital available for the huge project, because the newspaper article mentioned that bids â€Å"for the steel work have already been obtained,† and â€Å"they were fairly satisfactory†¦ranging from much below the prices of a year or two ago, but rather higher than had been hoped by the men who have to put up the money for this project.† The colonel did not plan to â€Å"get what they considered the worst of it financially† in case the bids â€Å"proved to be beyond the bounds of reason,† the story explained. Ground was to be broken around the first of March. The White Construction Company of 95 Madison Avenue was selected as contractor of the stadium, the Times reported shortly after receiving city permission to go ahead. Work was to begin â€Å"on what will be the greatest baseball plant in the world† within a week, and the Osborn Engineering Company of Cleveland was chosen as overseer of general construction; the stadium was projected to be completed by September first, at that time. The number of seats available for fans, which had changed several times, in this article (â€Å"Yanks Pick Firm To Build Stadium†) it was listed at 60,000. A â€Å"double shift of workmen† will be employed, and the Osborn company predicted in the Times that â€Å"it will smash all records in the matter of speed.† The actual construction of the stadium of course received a great deal of coverage in The New York Times. One story (4/1/1923) – headlined, â€Å"Yanks' Stadium Big Engineering Task,† pointed to the massive construction effort being put forth, in order to meet an incredibly tight deadline, and listed the materials that would go into the stadium. To wit: Thirty-thousand yards of concrete (from 45,000 barrels of cement, 30,000 yards of gravel and 15,000 yards of sand); 2,500 tons of structural steel and 1,000 tons of reinforced steel; 2 million board feet of lumber for bleachers and forms; 600,000 â€Å"linear feet† of lumber for the grandstand seats; 4 miles of pipe for railings in box seats, reserved seats and bleachers; 500 tons of iron for stadium seats; and about 500 workmen were brought in to put it all together. In a story in the archival Times dated May 4, the cost of the stadium changed again, this time to $3 million, and the attendance capacity became 85,000. But all the inconsistencies notwithstanding, the Times' story with the most pizzazz of all the archival coverage of Yankee Stadium was published April 19, 1923: â€Å"74,200 See Yankees Open New Stadium; Ruth Hits Home Run.† While 25,000 were turned away from the sold-out house, those in attendance were treated to this: â€Å"In the third inning, with two teammates on the base lines, Babe Ruth smashed a savage home run into the right field bleachers.† This shot by Ruth was made all the more dramatic because he had been quoted as saying he would give â€Å"a year of my life† to smack a round-tripper on opening day in the new stadium. The 74,200 attendance figure that was reported by the stadium was, Times' readers learned on the 20th, â€Å"merely an estimate† by Yankees business manager Edward Barrow. In fact, only around 52,000 paid to see the game, plus several thousand were admitted with passes. But the Times – obviously feeling somewhat duped – reported that the 74,200 figures â€Å"were accepted without question and were published in hundreds of newspapers in this country and in various places around the world.† In addition to baseball, many sporting events have taken place in Yankee Stadium over the years, including: boxing matches with stars like Jack Dempsey (Muhammad Ali defeated Ken Norton on July 24, 1923); indeed over 30 championship fights have taken place at the stadium, according to the Yankees' Web site; NFL games with the New York football Giants between 1956 and 1973; Army-Navy football games, religious conventions (including two visits by Popes). Lights were installed at the stadium in 1946, and in the winter of 1966-67, the stadium got a $1.5 million update, consisting mostly of fresh paint. Starting in 1973, the stadium was torn down almost totally, and rebuilt; during that period, the Yankees moved to Shea Stadium for two seasons. The stadium has been the playground for American sporting icons like Joe DiMaggio, Lou Gehrig, Mickey Mantle, Roger Maris, Reggie Jackson, and many more.

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Media and public sphere

The Internet is a place where people gather information, discuss issues of common concern, and coordinate political activities. At the same time, the Internet is a part of a larger communicative environment, which is connected to other parts of the public sphere as well as other parts of the uk/todd-gitlin-summary-on-media/">media industry. In other words, the Internet is a complex, multidimensional space, where a lot of different things are happening. Given this fact, what are the criteria we would need in order to decide whether the Internet is good or bad for democracy (and the public sphere)? Based on those criteria, what is your verdict for the Internet: good for democracy or bad for democracy? Internet is a major source of the information overflow in the society today. It is undeniable that it is through this particular advancement in the technology of conversation and communication that the different areas around the globe are becoming easily connected through the World Wide Web. The said nature of opened communication that society is particularly involves with in present naturally makes it easier for simply anybody to share their idealisms about several social issues through the internet. These issues include political as well as social issue-based topics that naturally raise questions in the society today. Having the capability to express ones views on certain issues and have the chance to be heard by others around the world who are naturally interested in the same issues is such a huge privilege for people of the present generation. It is undeniable though that with this particular freedom of expression, many among the population of the human society today recognize that speech could be abused as long as it tells the truth. However, the measure of truth is differently presented depending on the views of the people involved in the issue. Usually, the truth is measured by individuals through identifying how the situation that they are into actually relates to them. In this regard, the basis of the freedom that people particularly enjoy in using the different assets brought to them by the internet developments could be noted to have an impact on the social behavior of the entire human society with regards freedom and democracy. The demarcation line of what should be considered as limits of the process may not be that easy to identify anymore. This is particularly the reason why so many fraudulent informations are flooding the territories of the Internet today. It is indeed undeniable though that although these informations are known to be fraudulent, there are those who cannot differentiate the substance of the issues presented through blogging and web postings on whether they are actually true or simply a misconception or opinionated views of several individuals wanting to affect the others with their idealisms in life or on certain topics of interest as they are. Considering Jay Rosen’s comment on the issue, it could be observed that he pointed out an important fact in his article. He noted that democracy through internet measures may not be called democratic freedom as it is. At times, the situation goes out of hand and freedom becomes an unnerving result of abuse of speech. Given your research topic, how are the discussions/ conversations/ commentaries different in the Internet than they are in some other media format? What kind of data would you need to determine whether these Internet conversations are connected to the public sphere in a way that improves (or damages) democracy? Internet issue presentations are usually opinionated rather than based on factual evidences. This is because of the fact that there are numerous writers, both amateur and professional who are able to present their ides through the net. Most often than not, it is the ability of the people to concentrate on actually showing the people what position they particularly take in certain issues concerning the society that drives their motives of writing. Obviously, this process of presenting values of the events is a biased procedure of engaging with the different causes of the emerging issues on the increase of fraudulent information in the internet. In terms of being authenticated, it is naturally obvious that internet based informations may not be easily noted to be reliable at all. This is because of the fact that the sources are not merely that easy to identify to say that they are indeed of high reputation to gain the trust of the reading public. Most of the time though, readers of the net have a hard time recognizing this particular fact in the systems of internet information sharing. Hence, they fall for the snare of believing even fraudulently presented issues through the assistance of the Internet’s worldwide connection. To identify the validity of the informations, it is important for one to become balanced in viewing the bulk of informations shared through the Internet especially of the issues are based upon political topics. The idea herein is to actually assist the readers of the net in segregating the informations that they particularly meet with through the World Wide Web. How could this be done? Conscientiously integrating the presentations on the web with that of the other media systems considering the topic could be a great help. It really makes it easier for one to have a better overview of an issue if the system is much more likely based on two different points of view. Balancing the informations received would then be more efficient as the issues are to be measured as to how they were particularly shown through the different mediums of media presentation. Kerbel and Bloom’s study particularly points out that the increase of blogs and other internet based information posting never stops annually. The reason behind this increase perhaps is the fact that the people involved in these information posting also gain the confidence in presenting more and more opinionated informations which they would like to other internet surfers around the world. Words are powerful. With the use of information exchange, there had been numerous changes happening in the world. The idea is that the more words become influential, the greater strength it begins to acquire upon the ability of the human mind to segregate the information that it receives. Most of the time, the said informations are either factual or not. However it may seem, it should occur that the factuality of the informations should always be checked for the validity of the informations presented on the part of the readers. In the second question, based on research topic, after 9/11 world wide uprising tension; So now how media represents religion on the public sphere? are they use people sentiment? Because of the current events occurring around the world, like that of the situation that happened in 9/11, gaining the sentiments of the people to be able to come up with measurable strategies of fighting the supposed â€Å"wrong deeds† of those who initiated the bombings has been the main idealism of the different blogs from both the American government and other social institutions during those specific times of turmoil. Constantly seeing the vulnerability of the society to the situation has actually been the key reason why the opportunists saw the time as a basis of the basic approach that they are going to use to get the attention of the readers so as to persuade them in agreeing to the fight against the terror movements of the other side of the supposed â€Å"war†. Conclusion From this particular discussion, it could be observed that Internet has been considered as super highway of information during the 21st century. Overall, the evaluation of the informations presented through this particular route of informative issues shows that it has naturally given way to the major stratifying procedures of feeling the sense of freedom of speech even among ordinary people surfing the net. Several articles from professional writers attest to this particular fact as they are aware that there are those who simply would like to write while there are those who right for a reason. This is why it is very important for one to be aware and enthusiastic about what he reads from the net. References: Cass R. Sunstein. (2007). Is the Internet really a blessing for democracy?. http://bostonreview.net/BR26.3/sunstein.html. (October 22, 2007) Jay Rosen. (2007). In Democratic Time. http://bostonreview.net/BR26.3/rosen.html. (October 22, 2007). Matthew R. Kerbel and Joel David Bloom. (2007). Blog for America and Civic Involvement. The Harvard International Journal of Press and Politics.