27. February 2009 by student.

  Have you ever been in a store and had an employee just walk right in front of you or even into you?  It seems that many employees in places like grocery stores, Wal Mart, and others like these don’t even care about the customers anymore.  What ever happened to an employee stopping and asking if they could help you find something or stopping to let a customers walk by?  This isn’t the case with everyone, but it seems to happen more often than not.  I absolutely will drive a little further if there is a store selling the same product with more courtious and helpful employees.  The Target at Coconut Point is really nice.  My wife and I have been in there a few times and the employees are very nice and helpful.  One of the things we like most about this store, which may sound stupid to some people, is their shopping carts.  We have an 8 month old baby and the carts their seem much more comfortable than others.  Instead of being hard metal, they are thick plastic and seem a lot better for a baby to sit in.  Would you rather sit on a metal wire bench, or a plastic bench?  It may not mean a lot to some people, but it makes a difference to us.
 
  Just the other day, we were shopping for a new fish tank for our baby’s room.  I won’t name the store, but I don’t think we’ll return there.  Instead, There is another pet store about 6 miles from them that will get our business.  The reason why is the cashier.  She was very rude to my wife in a few ways.  First, we told her we had a member card but didn’t have it with us.  She asked for our phone number and I began giving her my number.  My wife interrupted and said the card was under her number.  The cashier then rudely said it doesn’t matter, just give me a number and had a few other comments about it.  Then, as she was bagging our items, my wife said just to put everything in one bag that we had forgotten our reusable bags and didn’t want to waste extra bags.  The cashier said she didn’t want the bag to break, and my wife said just don’t give us a bag then, we’ll carry our things.  We only had three items.  The cashier then threw everything in one
bag, pulled four or five bags off the holder and threw them in the trash.  What’s wrong with people?  There was no need for this except to prove a point that she didn’t care about us, our business, or the environment.

  Maybe I should put the name of this company on here.  I’m sorry if any of you work here or are offended by my comments, but I feel like I should let you know where this happened.  It was the Petsmart at Coconut Point.  I was talking to a couple of people at dog park about this the other day and they said they had a bad experience with a cashier there also.  Don’t people care about their jobs anymore, especially with the lack of available jobs out there.

  My wife is planning on writing a letter to the manager to let them know what happened, but hasn’t had the chance to do so yet.  I hope you  think about this the next time you’re at work, and just remember it takes about as much effort to be nice to a customer as it takes to be rude.  You’ll leave at the end of the day feeling a lot better helping a customer than just not caring.  You may even get a raise or promotion.  I worked in restaurants for a long time as a server and a bartender, and I noticed that a little bit goes a long way.  Whether you’re being nice or being rude,  it doesn’t take much to make an impression on someone.  If I had a few customers ask to talk to a manager and had positive things to say about me, I would get better shifts, have a lunch or dinner bought for me, or just go home feeling better about my day.

Posted in Uncategorized | 4 Comments »

26. February 2009 by student.

Florida board takes up prepaid tuition agreement

By The Associated Press

Story Created: Feb 26, 2009 at 11:57 AM EST

Story Updated: Feb 26, 2009 at 11:57 AM EST

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) - The Board of Governors has unanimously approved an agreement designed to protect the future financial stability of Florida’s public universities and the state’s prepaid tuition program.

The vote Thursday is a response to expected increases in tuition at the 11 universities, now among the nation’s lowest.

Five schools recently won authority to exceed base tuition set by the state. Legislation is pending to give that power to all of them.

The agreement guarantees that for contracts sold from July 1, 2007 until final approval by the Legislature the prepaid program will increase payments to the universities by at least 6 percent but no more than 6.5 percent every year, even if tuition go up more - or less - than those levels.

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments »

26. February 2009 by student.

Green Party Leader Elizabeth May on Religion in Politics: ‘We don’t do God’

Posted: February 01, 2008, 11:12 AM by Daniel Goldbloom

Elizabeth May

The last time I checked, being a practising Anglican was not evidence of mental instability, as the National Post’s editorial board recently suggested (The bizarre Ms. May, Jan 29).

Of course, misreporting my views, and omitting the context in which they were expressed, made it easier for you to portray me as some sort of fanatic. My background prior to becoming leader of Canada’s Green party (at nearly 54 years of age) includes admission to the bars of Nova Scotia and Ontario, and being honoured as an Officer of the Order of Canada. I have been studying theology part-time since 2004. Your assertion that this is an odd interest for a politician is itself rather odd, given that Tommy Douglas was a Baptist minister and at least two current Members of Parliament are ordained — one a United Church minister, one a Catholic priest.

The safe response when religion is raised in a political context is the one used by former prime minister Tony Blair’s communications team. Whenever reporters asked questions about Mr. Blair’s religious views, they were told: “We don’t do God here.”

That holds true for the Green Party. We don’t do God here, either. We are a broad and inclusive party with members from many religions — and no religion. None of that is relevant to matters of policy. The policies of the Green party are developed through a grass-roots democratic process. As a party, we do not cite scripture to defend positions. As party leader, neither do I.

Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment »

26. February 2009 by student.

There was an article posted today on the News-Press website about a
Cape Coral couple that has been scammed out of a few thousand dollars. The couple received a check in the mail for $4,875 and a letter declaring them the winners of a $1.1 million dollar lottery. In order to claim their winnings, they would have to pay the applicable taxes on them first. They were to do this by wiring $3,835 via MoneyGram to a specified location. They sent the money, and shortly after, they were notified by their bank that the check they had deposited (for $4,875) was no good. They have lost their $3,835 to a scam.

As an employee of one of the nation’s largest banks, I see this scam in particular on a regular basis. Customers come into my branch with fake checks, and letters stating conditions along the same lines as the couple reported in the newspaper. Fortunately, most of my clients realize that they, in fact, don’t even PLAY the lottery, and are able to turn the check over to me so that I can forward it to our fraud department. Unfortunately, I also have clients that fall victim to the scam, and don’t notify me until it is too late. The predators that are perpetrating this scam are taking advantage of trusting individuals that are usually experiencing a time of great financial hardship. The client receiving the letter sees this lottery win as a gift from a higher being, and as the answer to all of their prayers and wishes. It’s really sad when I have to inform them that, not only did they not win a lottery, but that they have also lost their savings as well.

I was completely unaware of this method of scamming until I started with the bank. We have to undergo extensive training upon hire, and a portion of this is dedicated to being able to notice the red flags of situations like these; we have to prevent and protect our clients’ losses. I’ve found much greater use from my training than even that, though. When attempting to sell a set of furniture on Craig’s List, I was contacted via e-mail from a potential buyer. The buyer stated that he would mail me a check, and have a moving company come to get the furniture. I was able to spot the red flag immediately. Like clockwork, I received a fake check in the mail with an explanation of the overpayment stating that it was the fee for the moving company, and that I would need to forward the different by
Western Union to their account. Let me tell you, I wrote that “potential buyer” one nasty e-mail telling him how ashamed of himself he should be!

I think that major financial institutions should more widely publicize the possibility of scams like the one in the newspaper, and offer seminars and training classes for customers on how to avoid loss. Especially in times like these, the economy is prompting people to take desperate measures.

Posted in Social Problems | 3 Comments »

26. February 2009 by student.

Throughout time, there has always been a rather simple method by which adolescents have formed and maintained friendships. They have developed relationships with the individuals they are exposed to through schooling, employment, and social networking. The friendships and romantic relationships that developed this way have traditionally taken an investment of time, a discovery of mutual interests, and a commitment of loyalty to maintain. Fast forward to today – the 21^st century: young adults are still meeting friends and love interests in these traditional situations, but now there is an added layer of communicative ability that appeals to the need for immediate gratification. Social networking websites, such as Facebook.com and MySpace.com, and cellular text-messaging have allowed adolescents to develop relationships with little investment of time and minimal effort in the form of emotional risk-taking. This has caused a ripple effect in the ability of this generation to form lasting relationships with others and to communicate effectively in cooperating with a group of their peers. Society itself is also feeling the negative side-effects of these attempts to “connect” our world community.

One of the biggest effects that social networking websites and text-messaging have on the adolescent community is the damage it is doing to the relationships being established. It is now faster to make friends and build bonds than at any other time in history. However, due to the “fast” nature of these friendships, “relationships and friendships can be formed and destroyed quickly and easily” (Smith, par.3). Little more than a click of the mouse is required to end a friendship and the necessity of problem-solving and the ability to settle disagreement is now void. Communication has been reduced to the casually written word; the ability to recognize the meaning behind a change in tone-of-voice or body language has faded into the peripheral of human interaction. Nonverbal communication has been reduced to a selection of font color and the intermittent use of capital letters. In the same article quoted above, “Facebook and MySpace generation ‘cannot form relationships’ by Rebecca Smith, the claim of “an expert” is identified as the assurance that the result of these new defects in human interaction will result in an “increased risk of behaving impulsively” (par. 1). Commitment is now a thing of the past, and with divorce rates as prominent as they already are in the older generation, the MySpace youth doesn’t stand a chance in maintaining long-term relationships; they will be too quick to pull the plug at the first sign of complication due to this increased risk of impulsive activity.

*Smith, Rebecca. “Facebook and MySpace generation ‘cannot form relationships’. 10 Nov 2008. 11 February 2009. <http://telegraph.co.uk>

Posted in Social Problems | 1 Comment »

25. February 2009 by student.

I recently started getting interested in that popular PC game World of Warcraft. So one day I search it on Google because I was bored and had nothing better to do and one of the first results was about suicide having to do with WoW. Curiousity got the best of me and I clicked it. The story was about a boy in China who was 13 years old and commited suicide by jumping off a 24 story building. The reason…..World of Warcraft.  According to the Hollywood reporter the boy jumped off the building after playing the game for 36 hours straight, he left a note saying that the reason for his suicide was so that he could join “to join the heroes of the game he worshipped.” The parents were so devestated, that they felt the need to sue Blizzard because over in China the box for the game doesn’t include the little sticker that says for children over 13 like it does here in the USA. So according to the parent’s lawyers, if the box contained a little sticker that said 14+ the boy would still be alive. But I think there are two sides to this arguement.

     I think that maybe if the parents were to pay a little bit more attention to the boy instead of letting him play a game for 36 hours straight, maybe he wouldn’t have felt the need to leap of the building.

     But theres also the child himself to think of. What if that game was his only way of escaping reality’s dark sides. Maybe he had no friends and he was picked on at school. What better place to go than to the magical lands in WoW, where anything he anted he could get, where he had friends everywhere and he probably had alot of power in that game. So he could do his own share of picking on “noobs”I personally don’t think the parents should win this lawsuit, if anything they should have a lesson on telling their kids when enough is enough. Maybe if they had told the boy to go outside and play, or maybe take a couple hours breal he would’nt have felt the need to ”join his heroes” all I know is that I started playing the game again and I can honestly say I don’t feel the need to jump. 

Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment »

24. February 2009 by student.

Human trafficking is the recruitment, transportation, harboring, or receipt of people for the purposes of slavery, forced labor (including bonded labor or debt bondage), and servitude. It is the fastest growing criminal industry in the world, with the total annual revenue for trafficking in persons estimated to be between $5 billion and $9 billion.  Human trafficking is has become a major issue in the United States and it occurs right here in Florida.  This has become a major issue in social change.  Usually victims of human trafficking  are tricked and lured with false promises such as, “freedom.”  The victims are told once they cross the border they are on a road to freedom.  Other traffickers use coercive and manipulative tactics which include but are not limited to intimidation, deception,threat and use of physical force, debt bondage, isolation, feigned love, and other forms of abuse.  In rare cases they are captured through a process called slave raiding.  Which is, an organized and intensive attack on a region or settlement, with the motive being, the taking of the areas’ people.  Trafficked people are usually the the most powerless minorities in a selected area.  They come from areas in which opportunities are limited. Trafficking is very profitable industry. In areas like Russia, Eastern Europe, Hong Kong, Japan, and Colombia, trafficking is under the control of large criminal organizations.  However, the majority of trafficking is done by networks of smaller groups that each specialize in a particular area, like recruitment, transportation, advertising, or retail. This is very financially rewarding because very little startup capital is needed, and prosecution is relatively rare. Women are usually the at the highest trafficking risk, they are usually used in sex trafficking.  Traffickers will exploit lack of opportunities, they promise good jobs or study opportunities, they then force the victim(s) into prostitution.  Sometimes these women find themselves in abusive and very dangerous situations these situations can lead to rape and even fatality.   Children are also trafficked.  This can be a result of the poverty of their parents.  Parents will sell their child to traffickers to pay off debts or gain income.  Sometimes the parents will be deceived and think the traffickers are finding a better life for their children when in actuality they are being sold to trafficking.  Trafficked children can also be the result of the death of their parents, such as AIDS in African cultures. In view of the fact that trafficking is illegal and the differences in methodology, the exact extent is unknown.  According to the United States State Department, an estimated 600,000 to 820,000 men, women, and children are trafficked across international borders each year.  About 70 percent are women and young girls and 50 percent are minors.  A majority of these individuals are trafficked into commercial sexual exploitation.  These figures are likely to be very underestimated. Thousands of trafficked humans are brought into the United States each year.  Florida is believed to be one of the top three destinations, along side with New York and Texas, according to the Center for advancement of Human Rights at Florida State University.   This is disturbing to know that such an awful feat happens right in our backyard.  According to news reports, in 2004– in Miami a Haitian couple  were indicted by a grand jury for smuggling a young girl from Haiti when she was 9 years old for forced domestic services and sexual exploitation.  She was under enslavement for eight years.  Many believe slavery is a thing of the past, unfortunately these individuals are profoundly mistaken.   This incident is living proof that trafficking violations occur on our very own soil, not a single state is immune from this terrible matter.  There are also social groups working to end events of human trafficking, such as the FLORIDA COALITION AGAINST HUMAN TRAFFICKING.  This is an issue that needs to be addressed and is growing everyday.

Posted in Introduction to Sociology | 3 Comments »

24. February 2009 by student.

    Stem Cell Research is a huge controversy that faces today’s society. When it boils down to it, people are more concerned with ethics than the anything else; even though the research has brought promising outcomes for almost 70% of its patients. For example it saved one girls life that had acute myeloid leukemia. With a simple transplant, a girl’s life was saved. Now isn’t that something worth thinking about?

    Stem cells have the ability to divide and renew themselves for long periods of time. When they divide they create new cells, known as “daughter cells”. These daughter cells have the ability to become any specialized cells they want. This, in laments terms, means a world of possibilities. These cells can be grown for multiple things such as transplant medicine, new body parts for handicapped people, and could even allow for new drugs to be tested for safety before actually using them on humans.

    The two main sources for obtaining stem cells: adult cells and embryonic cells. For the most part there are no ethical problems with the use of adult stem cells because they are obtained from any consulting adult. No one is harmed during the process; they are extracted with the use of a needle from certain organs or tissues in the body. The most common places are the bone marrow or the peripheral system.

    Embryonic stem cells aren’t as easy to explain. For one, they can only be extracted from embryos. More importantly, only from eggs that have been fertilized during in vitro fertilization, not from eggs fertilized in a woman’s body. For the most part researchers get these embryos from IVF clinics because they were leftovers and have no real use; of course they still get consent from the donors. After the process begins they are placed in culture dishes and taken care of until hundreds of replicated stem cells are created.

    Those who believe that a human life starts at the point of conception oppose the extraction of embryonic stem cells because it requires the embryo to be destroyed. However advocates of the process argue that the embryo has no human features and therefore it should not be compared to murder. Along with ethical issues, medical issues come into play. For example, it is true that in some cases tumor cells have arisen in some patients.

    When it boils down to it, millions of people are dying every day due to diseases that can be prevented. With any scientific research, some experiments are going to fail and some patients might die because of it, but that same research will one day lead to cures for lots of common illnesses and diseases. The ethical issue will always be in the back of some peoples’ minds but in the long run these minuet problems will be overcome through years of research and experiments.  In the future we will no longer think about moral issues, as we will be too focused on all the diseases we cured and all the lives we saved.

Posted in Introduction to Sociology | 3 Comments »

24. February 2009 by student.

It was late at night and I was flipping through the channels on the TV and I came across something very interesting on MSNBC. They were reporting about this 22 year old girl who calls herself Natalie Dylan and she is auctioning her virginity to the highest bidder. She is using a fake name to try and conceal her real identity. She has a bunch of picture up online and this has been going on for a long time. People think that what she is doing is illegal, but she apparently found a way to make it not illegal because she will bring the person to The Bunny Ranch in Las Vegas and in that place prostitution is legal. She has been on the Tyra banks show and Howard Stern discussing why she is really doing this. She says that she is putting the money towards her master degree in Family and Marriage Therapy which I think is the most ironic thing ever. She says that her parents are very supporting of her and the decision. She will have to go to a Gynecologist to see if she is really a virgin. So far the highest bidder is at 3.8 million dollars.

                In her mind she is saying that this is empowering to her. This is very shocking because it looks like this is degrading her and all women because they are buying her virginity and she thinks that is ok. She does not have to go to the highest bidder if she does not want to. She reports saying that she is down for anything during the time of intercourse, so they can be creative. People are asking her that she might become attached to them and will be heartbroken, but she considers this a business transaction. There have been a lot of people applauding her for doing this and others think she is trash for doing this. It is her body and she can do what she wants with it.

                I think that what she is doing is completely ridiculous and she should be arrested for attempting to solicit prostitution. She is a lonely woman that just wants attention and thinks that this is the best way to do it. I think that she should lose her virginity to someone that she really loves and not some random guy that’s giving her millions of dollars. She thinks that this is a good decision right now because she needs the money, but when she is older and finally find someone that she actually loves she will regret doing what she did. Overall it is her decision and no one is going to change that. I just think that she will regret this even if she will be getting millions of dollars.  

Posted in Introduction to Sociology | 2 Comments »

24. February 2009 by student.

What I mean by there all the same is cops. Male cops to be exact, they really are all the same. I have been pulled over several times in my short driving career and have never recieved a ticket from a male police officer. I have absolutely no problem with this but some people do. I was just recently driving in the Orlando area and was pulled over going ten miles over the speed limit. I looked in my rear view mirror and saw the lights and turned on the tears. The police officer pulled me over and told me how fast I was going and then asked me if I had ever been to Orlando before. While crying and searching through my things I told him I wasn’t from Orlando and wasnt to sure where I was. He went to his motorcycle ( motorcycle cops are the sneakest cops) and came back to my window with a ten dollar fine. Male police officers just crumble when approaching a speeding car with a crying girl in it. Maybe they should have a police officer course for being stern no matter how hard the tears? Until then I’ll keep on cryin’.

Posted in Introduction to Sociology | 2 Comments »