STUDYING ONLINE

     Studying online has become increasingly popular in recent years, so much so that universities are having a difficult time filling their classrooms. Nowadays,students prefer to study online rather than attend classes on campus. This essay will discuss both why students prefer online study and what universities can do to reengage students to bring them back to the campus.

     Since the early 2000s, students have been leaving the classroom in favor of studying on their computers.First and foremost, studying online is far more convenient than attending classes on campus. Who wants to drive through peak hour traffic to attend a one hour lecture when one can simply flick a switch and watch it online? Technological advances such as live streaming mean that students can participate in the classes without having to be there in person. Avoiding the hassle of attending class, which might be located a long way away, is the major reason why students prefer online study.

      Universities have very little hope of attracting students back to their classrooms.As technology progresses and computers become more and more virtual, students will want to actually attend real life classes. In the not too distant future, it is predicted that virtual reality will enter the mainstream which means that universities are fighting a downhill battle.The reality is that students will continue to study via computer technology rather than in real life.

       This essay discussed why students prefer to study online rather than attend classes at university. In my opinion, studying online is far more convenient for students and it is only going to continue to become more convenient.Universities will not be able to compete with the forces of technology and therefore it will continue to lose students numbers.

LABOR UNIONS

                                                              

                Industrialization and globalization have brought significant changes to our lives since the industrial revolution. Yet there remains some disagreement as to whether these are favorable or unfavorable especially in terms of employees. Employees have suffered for lots of reasons throughout history and they needed to protect their rights and working conditions. Due to these reasons, they established labor unions in the four corners of the world. Labor unions are defined as a group of people that get together to get better salaries and conditions from their employers. Although labor unions are seen as appealing to many people, there are advantages as well as disadvantages.

                In the first place, one of the advantages of labor unions is that labor unions protect the interests  of employees. It is clear that working conditions have detrimental effects on employees and labor unions are responsible for reducing these negative effects. Employees are the basic dynamic of industry and they should be protected from the negative effects of industrialization such as discrimination and inequality. Thanks to labor unions, employees can (gain) access (to) better conditions such as better wages, job security, reduced work hours, and safe workplaces. In addition, labour unions proved to employees that there is strength in numbers because unionized workers have more power as a cohesive group than by acting individually. This power is important especially during collective bargaining. Therefore, due to these reasons, labor unions have numerous advantages.

                When it comes to the disadvantages of labor unions, one of the disadvantages of labor unions is loss of autonomy. It is obvious that employees may disagree with the union’s decision but they have to obey, that is to say, employees are directed by labor unions (certain policies are dictated to employees by labor..). Besides, labor unions can be costly not only to the employers but also employees because there are union dues and initiation fees. Members generally complain about these issues. Due to these reasons, labor unions have some disadvantages as well.

                All that has been said raises the issue of whether labor unions are favorable or unfavorable. It is obvious that there are both advantages and disadvantages of labor unions, as a coin has two sides. Protecting the interests of employees, reducing the negative effects of workplaces, protecting employees from discrimination and inequality, and job security can be listed as the advantages of labor union.  Losing autonomy, union dues and initiation fees are the main disadvantages of labor unions. It is vitally important to shed light on the advantages and disadvantages of an issue before making a sagacious decision.

                                                                                                                                KUBİLAY ESER

CYBERSECURITY

                                                                       

                Over the past 15 or 20 years, cyberspace has brought significant changes to our lives. Yet there remains some disagreement as to why cybersecurity is important. It is obvious that people encounter computing and communication technologies every day, that is to say,  people’s personal lives involves computing through social networking, home management, communication with(their) family and friends. The ubiquitous integration of computing and communication technologies into common everyday objects enhances their usefulness and makes life easier and more convenient. On the one hand, IT is instrumental in the day-to-day operations of companies, organizations, and the government. Besides, retail consumers depend on computers and networks.   It is an undeniable fact that cybersecurity affects several factors in the four corners of the world due to the fact that a rough definition might be that cyberspace consists of artifacts based on or dependent on computing and communications technology. There is a controversial phrase about this issue: Cybercrime. No matter how well constructed, inevitably cybersystems have vulnerabilities that bad guys can take advantage of.  Cybercrime can be defined as the use of the Internet and IT to steal valuable assets (i.e. money) from their rightful owners.

                In the first place, one point which is believed to be absolutely pivotal is the fact that threats to national security are the main reason for cybersecurity. It is important to emphasize that armed forces depend heavily on IT for virtually every aspect of the nation’s capabilities weapons system; system for command, control, communications, and intelligence, system for managing logistics, and the system for administration. As can be seen above, in the modern world or the twenty-first century, armies consist of several interwoven competencies or distinct types of sensitive data. Due to these reasons, it is an undeniable fact that national security cannot be ignored and precautions should be taken to prevent the negative effects of lack of cybersecurity.  Otherwise, countries may be confronted with the unwanted consequences like in the case of espionage, hacking, misuse of employee privileges, loss of privacy, and misappropriation of intellectual property. These attacks can be defined as one nation’s or third parties attempts to gather, identify, and record information, intelligence, trade secrets, and other product or software information. Therefore, all policies and precautions should be in accordance with Cybersecurity policies to counteract the negative effects of attacks of these types because it is clear that all pieces of information are related to national security, trade, and foreign affairs.      

                When it comes to the second point, at the heart of the matter lies another contributing factor: cybersecurity potentially has negative effects in other areas such as economics, innovation, civil liberties, etc. It is an undeniable fact that cybersecurity is related to future possibilities and it is regarded as a part of risk management with all of the demands for a share of government budgets and attention from senior policymakers but decision makers discount future possibilities so much that they do not see the need for present-day action. On the other hand, the private sector is constantly trying to bring forward new applications and technologies but attention to security can slow the process of bringing new products and services to the market, therefore, new technologies and applications are offered for general use without effective security. In addition, some measures which are proposed to improve cybersecurity for the nation potentially infringe on civil liberties, such as privacy, anonymity, due process, freedom of association, and free speech.

               

By way of conclusion, the obvious conclusion to be drawn from all these points that have been explained so far is that cybersecurity is a controversial issue due to the fact that computing or communication technologies are indispensable factors for people, governments, companies, and organizations and contain sensitive data, therefore, cybersecurity is a fundamental component of cyberspace.  It is not wrong to say that cybersecurity is the main threat to national security and has negative effects on economics, innovation and civil liberties.

KUBİLAY ESER