Wednesday, November 27, 2019

Are You on Google+ Users Beware!

Are You on Google+ Users Beware! I don’t know about you, but I get frightened easily. Especially by how much Google knows about me. Yesterday my office chair fell apart and so I did a Google search for a balance ball chair; in the right margin, up came an advertisement for Jockey underwear. Let’s see: I ordered from Jockey yesterday. Do they really think I need *more* underwear today? Maybe the bots aren’t smart enough to know whether I actually purchased that item or just browsed and might need a reminder to pull the trigger. Or maybe they can’t tell what items are likely to be re-purchased and which will last me the next two years? I mean, if I purchase bus tickets to Chicago I very well might need them again next week. But underwear? In any case, Google knows me well. Too well. And now they’re invading even more. As of November 11, Google is able to tell my friends, family and colleagues that I endorse certain products, unless I opt out. My picture and even quotations from me can be used in ads for these items! Here’s what Google has to say about their new policy: Here are a few examples of shared endorsements on Google. The Summertime Spas example below shows a shared endorsement displayed in an ad: Setting: Shared Endorsements in Ads This setting below allows you to limit the use of your name and photo in shared endorsements in ads. It applies only to actions that Google displays within ads; the Summertime Spas example above shows a shared endorsement appearing in an ad on Google Search. Changing this setting does not impact how your name and photo might look in a shared endorsement that is not in an ad - for example, when you share a music recommendation that is displayed in the Play Store. You can limit the visibility of activity outside of ads by deleting the activity or changing its visibility settings. So after I buy my balance ball chair, and especially if I write a review of that chair, my connections may get ads telling them that I recommend the chair. Yikes! As a businesswoman, this frightens me even more than having Jockey underwear ads pop up in my browser. I do *not* want to use my position of respect (dare I say influence?) to sell products unrelated to my field. How obnoxious! And to make matters worse, Google won’t even give me a piece of the pie if my influence leads to a sale (yes I am mercenary too). Thankfully, there is a way to opt out. But insidiously, I received no announcement from Google warning me about this change in their privacy policy. Instead, I heard about it through my networks. It will not surprise me if a petition starts circulating asking Google to have the default setting be that someone’s picture and information can NOT be used to promote products. But as of now, it’s up to me and others like me to spread the word. If you have a problem with this policy, please take the opportunity to opt out. Note: If you joined Google+ after October 15, it seems you are automatically opted out. If your account is older than that, the default is to opt you in. Beware! I may as well take this opportunity to invite you to connect with me on Google+. I happen to know that many of you have accounts, since I am already connected to you. And since I opted out of this Google+ craziness, you don’t have to worry about Brenda-endorsed Jockey ads appearing on your computer screen! Finally, if you do start getting strangely endorsed advertisements, you may want to let the alleged endorser know. That person probably wants to know how to stop the madness. Category:Social MediaBy Brenda BernsteinNovember 19, 2013 4 Comments Penelope J says: November 19, 2013 at 9:21 pm Funny, I had the same problem with Jockey underwear a year ago. Ads kept popping up when I clicked on links and blogs. All I did was check if name was capitalized or generic. Log in to Reply Patrick G says: November 20, 2013 at 5:45 pm Yep that is scary Brenda thanks for sharing the details. I recently asked Google to make some of my personal information private as it was showing up on websites that I did not give permission to. What might be even scarier is when Google forces all the millions of email users to sign up for Google+ accounts. If you do not you may face the reality of not being able to read your email. Log in to Reply donitta says: December 2, 2013 at 7:07 pm Thanks so much! My G+ account is older, so I did need to go in and opt out. I really try to limit how much of me gets out there in that fashion, so I really appreciate your warning! Log in to Reply The Essay Expert says: December 2, 2013 at 8:36 pm Youre welcome Donitta! Log in to Reply

Saturday, November 23, 2019

Letter of Recommendations

Letter of Recommendations Letter of Recommendations The letter of recommendation for any position or a promotion is to give an overall assessment of the candidates potential in excelling in the new position. In other words, the letter of recommendation is the support the candidate professional promise depending of the assessment that was done in the previous position that the candidate held. The importance of the recommendation letter is to give and highlight on the key and important areas of the student that will only show his strengths and the fitness for the position. The letter of recommendation should be well typed, clear and precise. The following qualities make the letter look more profession and well organized and this is what most recruiters look for in the letter. Is the letter focusing on the applicant? The letter of application should concentrate on the applicants capabilities and promise of his fitting to the next position. Description of the applicants record; The letter of recommendation should highlight on the performance of the applicant in his former position as this will give a hint on how well equipped he is for the next position. The letter of application should contain an overall record of the accomplishments of the applicant for this will enable the recruiter assess the capability of the applicant. The letter of recommendation should also portray characteristics that will support the applicant through giving the recruiter an easy way to predict the potential growth of the applicant. The letter of recommendation usually consists of three main parts, the introduction, assessment and recommendation or conclusion. Introduction part gives a general highlight of the applicant while the assessment gives the data or evidence of the capability of the applicant. The recommendation part recommends the applicant in the new position through the support of the assessment.

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Ethical Dilemmas in Social Work Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Ethical Dilemmas in Social Work - Case Study Example With the advent of HIV and Aids, social workers, particularly in developing countries have had to rearrange themselves to deal with the needs of an ever increasing population of people with Aids. Social workers have attended to needs of oppressed people, people with extreme mental retardations, and those living in abject poverty. Social workers uphold social change and social justice on behalf of individuals, groups, families, and communities. The practice of social work is sensitive to ethnic and cultural diversity as it seeks to strive to end society's vices such as oppression, discrimination, poverty and other forms of social injustices. Their intervention may be in the form of community organization, direct practice, consultation, supervision, advocacy, administration, social and political action, education, policy development and implementation, and research and evaluation (NASW code of ethics, 2008). In trying to enhance the people's capacity to address their own needs, social workers are faced with a variety of ethical dilemmas. Let's consider a situation where a couple has the down-syndrome disease but still want to have a sexual relationship that will lead to marriage. Such a scenario may be of particular interest to the practice of social work as it entails some multiplier effects which beg for serious ethical answers. The serious ethical dilemma ... ical dilemma that any social worker may experience in such a scenario is whether to let the couple go on with their plans to get married and have their own children. As I have already discussed, it is the duty of a social worker to facilitate the capability of people to address their own problems. But such a relationship will definitely lead to more problems for the couple as the children born out of the relationship will very likely have the Down-Syndrome disease as well as other complicated health problems which will negatively impact on their developmental abilities (Should retarded people marry, 2006). This therefore means that the chances of the children leading a normal and fruitful life will be seriously compromised. This explains the relevance of such a dilemma to social work. In social work, ethical decision making involves a process. In such an instance where a couple with Down-Syndrome disease wants to have children, simple answers may not be available to resolve the complex ethical issues that such a decision may entail. That is where the National Association of Social Workers code comes into play. The ethical dilemma here is if it is right to allow the couple to go ahead and reproduce children when in fact they know that these children will be severely handicapped and will be a burden to society. Importance of the ethical dilemma to a social worker. The ethical dilemma is of particular importance since it will directly affect the social worker's area of operation. In such a scenario, it is the role of the social worker to be an educator, mediator, negotiator, and facilitator for the couple to enlighten them and empower them with proper information so that they can make proper conclusions about their state and shelf any plans to bear children (Hick,