The trend of classes moving online

In a new study released by the research company Ambient Insight, it is revealed that currently 1.25 million college students take all their classes online (Nagel, 2009).The future looks to have this number tripled by 2014, making online classes the most common way of attending college. The cost of an online degree is significantly below that of many traditional universities. For example, the price of an M.B.A. at the University of Phoenix Online is approximately $23,230, one-third less than the same degree at Harvard University. However, the tuition at the University of Phoenix Online is higher than some for profit universities. A comparison between Phoenix Online and Georgia Tech indicates that the cost of an online degree is almost two times that charged by Georgia Tech. However, online students have a cost advantage over traditional college students in that they do not have to pay room and board expenses.

Online universities differ in the types of textbooks required. While some use the same textbooks as traditional colleges, others use digitalized forms of the traditional books or ones created especially for the course.

Online degree programs have benefits over the traditional degree route for a number of individuals. For many adults, online universities provide the flexibility needed to secure an advanced degree. The quality of the education offered at some online universities mirrors that of traditional brick and mortar colleges. Depending on the degree sought and the university selected, the cost of obtaining an online degree may be significantly lower. However, online universities are not appropriate for all students. Young students who value the socialization process associated with traditional colleges are unlikely to enjoy the online environment. The age, schedule, and flexibility of the student will determine which type of college education is best for each particular student.

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Herta Mueller's Nobel Prize makes a great research paper topic

Herta Mueller, tenacious and stubborn, most certainly would be the topic of a research paper worth writing! With her vivid and moving descriptions of Romania under communism, Mueller can be a research paper case study in one that truly deserves the Nobel literature prize she received. Overcoming the obstacle of being banned in her own country, Mueller managed to get published in Germany and launch her career among international controversy. Her first collection of short stories, Niederungen, illustrated the hardships of living in a tiny village in Romania under the communist dictator Nicolae Ceausescu. She followed her first publication with her brilliant work Oppressive Tango, but also received harsh criticism of the writing from the Romanian National Press.

Mueller’s work are as follows:

* Niederungen, short stories, censored version published in Bucharest 1982. Uncensored version published in Germany 1984. Published in English as Nadirs in 1999 by the University of Nebraska Press.[4]
* Drückender Tango (”Oppressive Tango”), stories, Bucharest 1984
* Der Mensch ist ein großer Fasan auf der Welt, Berlin 1986. Published in English as The Passport, Serpent’s Tail, 1989 ISBN 9781852421397
* Barfüßiger Februar (”Barefoot February”), Berlin 1987
* Reisende auf einem Bein, Berlin 1989. Published in English as Traveling on One Leg, Hydra Books/Northwestern University Press, 1992.[5]
* Wie Wahrnehmung sich erfindet (”How Perception Invents Itself”), Paderborn 1990
* Der Teufel sitzt im Spiegel (”The Devil is Sitting in the Mirror”), Berlin 1991
* Der Fuchs war damals schon der Jäger (”Even Back Then, the Fox Was the Hunter), Reinbek by Hamburg 1992
* Eine warme Kartoffel ist ein warmes Bett (”A Warm Potato Is a Warm Bed), Hamburg 1992
* Der Wächter nimmt seinen Kamm (”The Guard Takes His Comb”), Reinbek by Hamburg 1993
* Angekommen wie nicht da (”Arrived As If Not There”), Lichtenfels 1994
* Herztier, Reinbek bei Hamburg 1994. Published in an English translation by Michael Hofmann as The Land of Green Plums, Metropolitan Books/Henry Holt & Company, New York, 1996[6]
* Hunger und Seide (”Hunger and Silk”), essays, Reinbek by Hamburg 1995
* In der Falle (”In a Trap”), Göttingen 1996
* Heute wär ich mir lieber nicht begegnet, Reinbek by Hamburg 1997. Published in English as The Appointment, Metropolitan Books/Picador, New York/London 2001
* Der fremde Blick oder das Leben ist ein Furz in der Laterne (”The Foreign View, or Life Is a Fart in a Lantern”), Göttingen 1999
* Im Haarknoten wohnt eine Dame (”A Lady Lives in the Hair Knot”), poetry, Reinbek by Hamburg 2000
* Heimat ist das, was gesprochen wird (”Home Is What Is Spoken There”), Blieskastel 2001
* Der König verneigt sich und tötet (”The King Bows and Kills), essays, Munich (and elsewhere) 2003
* Die blassen Herren mit den Mokkatassen (”The Pale Gentlemen with their Espresso Cups”), Munich (and elsewhere) 2005
* Atemschaukel, Munich 2009

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Obama Talks Climate Change at Summit in NYC

Worries that tariffs and restrictions on tire imports to America from China would impact China’s willingness to talk global climate change were put to rest in New York this week, as China talked a surprisingly strong and encouraging rhetoric for meeting stringent carbon targets. However, in a disappointing show for the host of the summit, President Obama failed to deliver a 1-2 punch type of speech and merely reiterated the warnings against a path to failure if complacency continues. Perhaps Obama felt pleased that the talks were even taking place after China angrily retorted at the Obama administration for cutting its throat on tire imports to America. However, I would expect that the leader of one of the top industrial nations in the world and the host of the summit would take no prisoners when it comes to climate talks.

I had high hopes for Obama on the environment. An educated man with few ties to oil (a refreshing change from the past 8 years) can certainly see that America needs a boost in its effort to establish a global climate policy that leads the world. The United States typically obstructs rather than leads the world in addressing climate change, as demonstrated by Presidents Clinton and Bush. The most significant issues related to global warming include the following: 1) The costs and benefits of climate changes; 2) What actions should be taken to mitigate these changes; and 3) How the available policies may vary amongst countries over time. Some areas of North America are particularly vulnerable to potential damage, such as New Orleans, while others, such as Canada, may benefit from such climate shifts. Time is of the essence, since there are a number of extended intervals between changes.

The issue of global warming possesses a number of serious consequences for Planet Earth. The increased emission of greenhouse gases and other related concerns has led to widespread shifts in climate across the world. In North America, a number of areas have been dramatically affected, including the Great Lakes Region, which has experienced increased amounts of snowfall over the past few decades.

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Michael Duvall Compromises Self over "eye-patch underware"

How could sex, ethics, politics and the California political crisis not score with professors for a research paper topic! At Paper Masters, we are constantly trying to give our readers fresh ideas on how to approach writing research papers with fresh ideas and angles that will give professor’s something interesting to read about while illustrating a thorough understanding of the topic area. Mike Duvall is a gift from the Research Paper Gods! Last July, Duvall, a second-term California assemblyman, gets ready for a televised committee meeting, not knowing his microphone is on. The self-proclaimed christian conservative with staunch family values begins spouting off about his sexual conquests with a lobbyist and his many other triumphs of philandering, cheating on his wife and various other activities associated with bodily fluid emission.

So how would I work Michael Duvall into a research paper? Go ahead, give me any course and I’ll tell you how…

Sociology – Topic: Michael Duvall is a classic case study of Christian Conservative morals not living up to societal standards. A paradox of values that conservatives represent yet fail to live by.

Political Science – Topic: (Oh so easy!) Correlate corrupt politicians and personal life scandals with the state of affairs of the district or state they represent.

Education Majors – Topic: Does a lack of a high school diploma make one any less able to maintain a position of leadership? Does a lack of a high school diploma make one more likely to be attracted to “eye-patch underwear” and boast about sexual conquests?

And I could go on and on…Men like Michael Duvall make a college student’s job of creating interesting research paper topics so very easy.

Thank you Assemblyman…I mean former assemblyman Duvall, you provide such rich and pathetic material.

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Obama Gives Back To School Speech

Partisan politics at its best! President Obama gives a back to school speech encouraging excellence and participation in politics in students and the GOP goes nuts! Tuesday’s back to school speech included encouragement from President Obama for students to write letters on how they can help the President or what they admire about him. Conservatives in Washington went ballistic with claims that the President is pushing a liberal agenda in schools and trying to sway students to liberal politics. In light of pre-speech backlash, President Obama canceled the lesson plan that was prepared by the White House to go along with the speech, as it aired in schools across the nation. However, amazingly, the President was able to send the message of “stay in school and work hard” to the students without any Republican backlash. Whew!

With the rise of partisan politics, the possibility to consolidate support has become a defining element of citizen involvement in the political process. Individuals became fiercely loyal to their part of affiliation, and these parties in turn try to curry favor from the individual in ushering in their own choice of political agendas. In this era of the “neo-politics of party” era, we can see that this partisanship is affecting every aspect of American life. Our children can’t even receive a school lesson from the President.

Creating and acting on a cohesive goal in such an environment has been becoming increasingly difficult in an era where partisan politics is the norm and bi-partisanship the rare exception.  Many researchers have argued that the oppositional two-party paradigm has led to chronic gridlock and consistent inability to establish any type of meaningful doctrine in the presidency.  While at times in the past the two leading political parties have been able to cooperate in furthering Congress’ own agenda, those days may be gone forever.

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Baby Chick thrown into grinder

I always appeal to the intellect of the nations youth when I read stories like the one from the Associated Press on ground up baby chickens. Are omelets, eggs over easy or my once beloved Huevos Rancheros really worth it? Undercover video was shot by Mercy for Animals showing how male baby chicks are ground up alive as a means of quick disposal of the unwanted chicks. Since male chickens produce no eggs and hatchery’s do not raise chickens for slaughter due to the length of time it takes to fatten them up, what else can they do but grind them to shreds alive. Some are pushed to the floor to be swept away and die slowly with the other debris in the hatchery. So what does this have to do with you, my college aged friends?

Everything. This story of the male chick is only one of the many ethical dilemmas that will come along as you move through college life. Do you recognize that every egg you eat contributes to the industry that carelessly disregards and wastes potential life. Whether it’s life for consumption and sustenance or life for the sake of being a living creature, the waste is unforgivable and there is something you can do.
Think about how bad you need that egg next time you go to the commons and choose your breakfast. Don’t support the industry that makes common practice of grinding baby chicks alive or sweeping them away like trash to die a slow death. United States Egg farmers should know better…send them a message that you know better too and you’re not going to stand for it.
Not convinced? Take a look for yourself – Hatchery video

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Napster raised significant issues regarding copyright law when it appeared on the public horizon. Napster created nothing short of an internet revolution. In 1999, a college student named Sean Fanning wanted to find an easier way to share music files. With his uncle, he started a company that involved P2P file sharing. P2P is peer to peer file sharing. P2P does not rely on clients or servers; instead the peers function as both clients and servers. Napster was extremely user-friendly and focused mainly on MP3 music files. College students often overloaded their university’s servers downloaded free music and making mixed CDs. No royalties were paid to the owners of the copyrights.

The first lawsuits against Napster began in 2000. Metallica discovered that one of their songs had been leaked to the website before its release. They sued. Dr. Dre had also asked that his material be removed. When it wasn’t, he also sued. Madonna had originally planned to work with the website, but when one of her singles was leaked to the website before its release, she retaliated with a lawsuit as well. The irony was that the lawsuits brought more attention to the website and millions more flocked to it, bringing more copyrighted material to the website and sharing more files.

The website felt that they were doing nothing wrong. They had merely set up a website where files could be swapped. There were serious ethical issues: could two “friends” share a file? These “friends” may have never met and may be on two different continents, but in reality they were just “sharing.” Was there any difference between this “sharing” of files and two friends sharing a book? The website was nothing more than a virtual library for musical files. The inventors of the website felt that it was impossible in today’s virtual world to prevent sharing of files on the internet.

Napster led to a revolution. One company president was on vacation when he learned that “internet users were flocking to a new website and furiously downloading his artists’ copyrighted work for free. The site shut off the downloads when Hedgepath threatened to sue. But within days, the downloads were circulating on an underground, members-only website.” Mr. Hedgepath is president of Pegasus Originals, a needle cross stitch pattern company. P2P file sharing for internet piracy is not the domain of Generation Y sharing music files; it is also used for quilting circles who wish to share patterns.

The implications of copyright infringement are significant. While it may not seem significant to download a song or a pattern from the internet, it is artistic stealing. Artists, whether they are musicians, writers, or artisans who design crafts, earn a living based upon their talents. They have a right to protect their talent and expect payment for their services. While Napster argues that they are just “sharing” files, much like a library shares books; it is not really the same thing. Books are purchased for libraries; libraries are supported with everyone’s tax dollars because it is for the public good to have libraries. It is not in the public’s best interest to allow someone to steal a song or needlecraft pattern rather than pay the amount and the sales tax.

However, there is a general sense of “entitlement” to free goods on the web. In 2000, it was estimated that the recording industry would lose $3.1 billion in the coming five years due to piracy. It was not only teenagers who downloaded free music however; over half those on Napster were over the age of thirty. Furthermore, Hedgepath noticed that “the middle-aged craft crowds had begun to demonstrate the same sense of entitlement felt by 17 year old Limp Bizkit fans downloading free MP3 tunes. When Hedgepath challenged the piracy of one outfit, brazenly named PatternPiggies, the online postings in response were downright defiant. Shouted one user, ‘Ladies, this is war, and I’m out for blood.’” While ladies in craft circles have often exchanged pattern books, sharing did not constitute law breaking.

Obviously, due to the size of the internet, it is virtually impossible to stop file sharing, as Pirate Bay has illustrated. The only solution for companies is to be diligent in locating websites that distribute large quantities of its copyrighted materials and then take the appropriate legal action to stop it. If a website is distributing small amounts, a company probably needs to ask if it is worth the legal costs to sue the website. Perhaps a threatening letter from the company attorney will serve just as well. A company must do this to protect both its profit margin and the rights of its talented artists who depend upon copyright law to protect their right to earn a living based upon their talents.

Of course, technically, the song “Happy Birthday” is still under copyright. Under copyright law, royalties should be paid every time the song is sung at public engagements. Therefore, most everyone was breaking copyright law long before Pirate Bay was ever invented.

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College Students in Limbo in PA as Budget is in Stalemate

All dressed up and no place to go, maybe. The state budget impasse in Pennsylvania has left 172,000 college students wondering if they will be able to get back to school in two weeks. Without grant money, students cannot pay the tuition and fees at Pennsylvania colleges. Without students paying tuition, more state workers, i.e. teachers, will be laid off. Its a vicious cycle that has been getting Pennsylvania deeper and deeper in the murky waters of fiscal fiascoes akin to those in California.

The new fiscal year began July 1st, and still no resolution. State workers have seen pay reductions, forced days off and layoffs for the past two months. However, direct pain to the private sector has been minimal, until now. College financial aide offices have been overwhelmed with calls and concerned students and parents flooding the office in an attempt to determine if school will start for them without their finances in order.

Who is really suffering here? Those that need the help the most. The impact of this curtailment may be profound. With the “social safety net” shrinking it will become vital for social workers to leave no stone unturned in helping clients to get and retain jobs and in doing what is possible to ensure that the children of of those in need get proper schooling. There is a kind of real politik at work here. The government is not going to help those that need it most and everything must be done to ensure that they be made more capable of helping themselves.

Of these issues it is education strikes me as the most important because it involves an emerging generation which must not be allowed the fall into the trap that is poverty. It is important that kids stay in school even though, as Kozol made clear a decade ago in his Savage Inequalities, the state of the schools is parlous; fifty years after Brown v. Board of Education, which said that “separate” cannot be “equal,” thereby overturning Plessy v. Ferguson’s “separate but equal” doctrine, education in this country is still both “separate” and “unequal”.

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Two unanswered questions stand out.  The first is, How is it that students are apparently unaware of the level of cheating that is going on around them?  Jordan (2001) found that students greatly underestimated the percentage of their peers who cheat.  Yet the literature shows that the majority of students are cheating.  Could it be that because students are aware that cheating is unethical they do not conceive of it being a widespread problem?  And if students believe they are in the minority when it comes to cheating, is there a level of guilt and or shame that they feel?  Could this be used somehow to decrease the incidence of cheating?

The second unanswered question is, Why is there so much cheating in colleges?  Jordan (2001) cites reasons such as extrinsic motivation and Stearns (2001) cites “mean” and “unfriendly” professors but cheating would not be necessary even in these cases if the students were familiar and comfortable with the academic material.  Therefore, the question becomes are students cheating because the material is too advanced for them or are they simply too lazy to put in the required amount of time and effort to write their own papers or take their own exams?  Or are there other factors involved such as the need to work to earn money to attend school or the modern day need for a college degree forcing students into college who might not otherwise have chosen to go?

Despite these unanswered questions, two very important and surprising facts are learned from the research.  First, students who cheat in college are more commonplace than students who never cheat.  And second, neither college administrators, teachers, nor the research experts know what to do to effectively stop the cheating.  My own viewpoint on this issue is that professors in each class should remind students of the dire consequences of cheating when giving out each assignment and before handing out each exam.  Students should be made to sign an honor pledge on their assignments and exams and understand that expulsion from school is the only consequence to cheating.

Given the amount of fraud one hears about everyday being committed by corporations and government officials though, it should not come as a surprise that there is so much cheating going on in colleges.  After all, the cheating students of today are the corporate moguls and elected officials of tomorrow.

Jordan, Augustus E. “College Student Cheating: The Role of “Motivation, Perceived Norms, Attitudes, and Knowledge of Institutional Policy.” Ethics & Behavior. Jul2001, Vol. 11 Issue 3, p233.

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Sonia Sotomayor's Wise Latina Comment Stirs Controversy

Now I run the risk of alienating the men who read this but really, it just has to be pointed out – What is the problem with Sonia Sotomayor?

The world is in an uproar about her comment in a 2001 speech “I would hope that a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experiences would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male who hasn’t lived that life.” Seems a no-brainer to me. A wise Latina woman is certainly going to be a far better asset to this nation than any white man or white woman, given the changing dynamics of the nations population and the need for understanding of the urgency in minority problems such as adequate health care and equality in education. Give me a wise anyone who has seen first hand the struggles of a minority that is rapidly becoming the majority and I’ll vote them in! The status quo was the Bush administration; please embrace the brilliance of change and vote in “wise”, “different”, “open mouthed” and, not to overuse this word but heck, it sums up the new era, “hope”.

And then there is the woman thing…Yes, the Supreme Court needs a bit more balance in that arena also.The “wise Latina” comment has induced some to say that Sotomayor will be biased, either for her gender or towards Latinos, because she singled them out in a speech and put a “wise Latina” on a pedestal.  Hmm…again, show me the fault in this. The problem with criticizing her for this statement rests in prefacing her reference to a Latino woman as “wise”. You just can’t criticize someone with her intelligence and track record in life experience for singling out someone as wise. We should all be listening and taking note of who is “wise” rather than worried about bias. I’m biased towards “wise” people too and I loath ignorance.

Please! Please! Put another judge on the bench that had to struggle for what they achieved. Struggling to achieve generally brings an awareness of the value of what one has. Give me a Justice that earned their seat and I’ll give you a Judge that thinks twice about abusing it.

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