Why Chinese Mothers Are Superior - Kristina Lindgren

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704111504576059713528698754.html

 

This article “Why Chinese Mothers are Superior” is written by Amy Chua. It discusses the Chinese parenting styles compared to the Western parenting styles.  It talks about how both Chinese and Western parents want what is best for their child but their different approaches they take in parenting to do so.  Chinese believe in being strict and forward with their children while western parents want their children to feel good about themselves and will do what it takes to make them feel that way.  This article is very forward just like Amy Chua’s parenting style.  Some of the things Amy believes in can cause a lot of tension with mothers who do not believe in acting those ways toward your children. 

 

Questions:

1.      Do you think Amy Chua’s parenting style is too strict? Are there some aspects you disagree with?

2.      If you were raised by the typical western parenting style, were you offended when reading this article?

·         For example: western kids have it easy because their parents allow them to give up

 

3.      Amy mentions that people see Asian as scheming, callous, overdriven people indifferent to their kids’ true interests.  Do we tend to see Asian parents as this or do you now after reading this article? Or did you like the Asian parenting style?

International Mother Language Day by Patrick Paul

Would you ever put your life on line for the right to speak English or in your respective native tongue? I consider my life a pretty steep price for this and may not do so. However a group of university students in East Pakistan who spoke Bengali, thought differently in the 1950’s. They protested and four were killed which led to a day called “International Mother Language Day” celebrated every February 21^st.

Am sure that most of us have been in situations where people spoke a different language and could not understand anything. Awkward isn’t it? The thought of why can’t everyone just speak English has crossed many of our minds.

Language is an important aspect of tradition and defines who we are. Knowing your mother tongue gives you a foundation of understanding your identity and with stronger identities and healthy well-beings you are more likely to succeed in whatever you do.

 

Please think and address the following questions:

1. Have you ever been in a situation where you meet someone who spoke a different language? Describe the situation? Were you comfortable? Was it hard to communicate? Do you hesitate to communicate because it is too difficult?
2. The most difficult part of learning any language is understanding the meaning of words, and ultimately the use of slang.  Let's make a list of sayings, expressions, words that would be difficult for a non-english speaking person to decipher.
3. Are you willing to learn another language? Why / why not?  If so, which language would you choose?
4. Should we be an "English-Only" country? Organization?

http://www.earthtimes.org/politics/international-mother-language-day/2281/

Wal-Mart Bribery Scandal - Arsen Gasparyan

Wal-Mart is the world’s 18^th largest corporation and an American multinational that runs chains of large discount department stores and warehouse stores.

In September 2005, a senior Wal-Mart lawyer received an alarming e-mail from a former executive at the company’s largest foreign subsidiary, Wal-Mart de Mexico. In the e-mail and follow-up conversations, the former executive described how Wal-Mart de Mexico had orchestrated a campaign of bribery to win market dominance. In its rush to build stores, he said, the company had paid bribes to obtain permits in virtually every corner of the country.

The former executive gave names, dates and bribe amounts. He knew so much, he explained, because for years he had been the lawyer in charge of obtaining construction permits for Wal-Mart de Mexico.

Wal-Mart dispatched investigators to Mexico City, and within days they unearthed evidence of widespread bribery. They found a paper trail of hundreds of suspect payments totaling more than $24 million. They also found documents showing that Wal-Mart de Mexico’s top executives not only knew about the payments, but had taken steps to conceal them from Wal-Mart’s headquarters in Bentonville, Ark. In a confidential report to his superiors, Wal-Mart’s lead investigator, a former F.B.I. special agent, summed up their initial findings this way: “There is reasonable suspicion to believe that Mexican and USA laws have been violated.”

The lead investigator recommended that Wal-Mart expand the investigation.

Instead, an examination by The New York Times found, Wal-Mart’s leaders shut it down.

Neither American nor Mexican law enforcement officials were notified. None of Wal-Mart de Mexico’s leaders were disciplined. Indeed, its chief executive, Eduardo Castro-Wright, identified by the former executive as the driving force behind years of bribery, was promoted to vice chairman of Wal-Mart in 2008. Until this article, the allegations and Wal-Mart’s investigation had never been publicly disclosed.

This is a perfect example on how huge and powerful corporations abuse their power and let greed takes over, resulting in unethical and immoral decisions. While Wal-Mart was able to bribe its way to permits in the matter of days other local companies were waiting for their permits for years, talking about destroying communities with their size and power.

Not taking sides or anything but I personally have never shopped in Wal-Mart and never will.

Please read the article below and reflect on the following questions:

http://www.businessinsider.com/walmart-bribery-scandal-2012-4

Questions:

Do you ever shop at Wal-Mart? Could this get you to boycott Wal-Mart and if so for how long?

Do you think it is ethical what Wal-Mart did and is bribery accepted by society just because it occurred in a corrupt country like Mexico?

Do you believe Wal-Mart has handled the situation well in the past? (In 2005 when it actually occurred)

What would you do now from a PR perspective in order to restore Wal-Mart’s image as well as the reputation of Vice Chairman Eduardo Castro Wright and current CEO Michael Duke?

Do you think they should be fired? Please expand on your answer. 

Attendance a Graduation Requirement - Jon Natale

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/highschool-prep-rally/ohio-baseball-player-t-walk-graduation-caring-forcancer-102922017.html

Austin Fisher is a 17 year old senior from a suburb outside Cleveland Ohio. He has been banned from walking at his graduation for having too many unexcused absences. The school district allows 14 unexcused absences to be allowed to walk at graduation and he has 16. His reason for his absences is something that many including myself believe to be heroic. His mother was diagnosed with breast cancer six months ago.

The fisher household is only Austin and his mother and when she became too weak to work Austin picked up a two jobs to help pay the bills. He also brought his mom to her cancer treatments and took care of her when she was bedridden. For some districts this could be used as an internship for home health care. But not in his district, all those days are just more absences.

1.       What is your initial reaction to this story?

2.       Would you sign the petition? If not then why?

3.       Putting yourself in his shoes as a senior, would you be able to juggle school, two jobs, and taking care of your mother?

4.       Do you think the school should make an exception to their rule considering the circumstances behind all of his absences?

Secret Service Scandal - Carolyn Perry

Secret Service Scandal

Articles Used: http://usnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/04/17/11251326-nbc-prostitutes-50-fee-for-two-agents-triggered-secret-service-scandal?lite

http://www.cnn.com/2012/04/17/us/secret-service-colombia/index.html?hpt=hp_t1

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/04/15/congress-to-probe-secret-service-prostitution-scandal/

                A financial dispute between a Columbian prostitute and two United States Secret Service Agents has triggered the beginning of a scandal. The secret service was there in preparation for President Obama’s arrival for a weekend visit to the Summit of the Americas. The two agents who started the controversy and the others involved are said to have gone to the club on April 11^th and brought these women back to the hotel. Since they have to check guests in for a $25 fee, the Embassy noted that there were 11 men who brought 11 women back. While prostitution is legal in certain parts of Columbia, it is a breach in the agency’s conduct code. When the Embassy notified officials, they were immediately flown home and stripped of their security clearances.

                Since the agents knew the President’s minute-to-minute schedule, this is was a huge safety breach. Right now the investigation is going on interviewing the prostitutes to see if they are underage, involved with drug trafficking, or terrorist groups. Also, it is said that ten American servicemen are under investigation for their involvement in this case.

  Some statements President Obama said on Sunday when leaving Columbia: "We're here on behalf of our people and that means that we conduct ourselves with the utmost dignity and probity. And obviously what's been reported doesn't match up with those standards," He expects the investigation to be “thorough and rigorous” and “will be angry” if the allegations turn out to be true.

                In the second article I posted, it seems that the White House is defending the Secret Service with Presidential Spokesman, Jay Carney stating:  "The work the Secret Service does the men and women who protect him and his family and those who work with him, is exemplary as a rule," Carney said. "They put their lives on the line, and it is a very difficult job, and he acknowledges that and he appreciates it."

1. Do you believe this scandal is more than just an embarrassment to the White House and Secret Service? Is it an embarrassment to our nation?

2. Do you find it hard to follow how Obama feels about the situation with one article saying that he will be "angry" and then another saying that his spokesperson is standing up for the Secret Service?

3. Do you feel that this situatin is being handled appropriately from a PR standpoint?

4. How do you feel about the fact that this controversy could just be the beginning of revelations about other problems the Secret Service could be having?

Facebook - Mary Fehr

Facebook Blog Post

http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2012/04/can_facebook_remain_faceless.html?awid=8770458369404808288-3271

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20202935/ns/business-school_inc_/t/job-candidates-getting-tripped-facebook/#.T4b1W470R_k

http://news.cnet.com/8301-13506_3-20110755-17/facebook-changes-creeping-out-some-customers/

I saw this first article on twitter and it caught my attention. We have been talking about facebook a lot through our college years. We talk about how the school can see it and we are representing the school, we talk about how employers look at it before hiring an individual and are now even asking people to pull it up in interviews and now were talking about how your profile can get hacked and you can lose total control of your online profile. There certainly are a lot of risks to being online, and yet almost every one of us still decides to go online and document our every move.
I have been thinking a lot about facebook recently, I try to keep mine neat, deleting any picture I should not be in, ensuring that my friends are not cursing or using profanity on my wall, and not putting any status up that could get me in trouble. I try, but it sure is not easy. One thing that keeps me in line is definitely being friends with my mom on facebook. Of Course, I have blocked her from basically anything but my profile picture and my name but it still keeps me thinking. I just do not understand why we put ourselves through all this just to put up a few pictures and write a few posts!
Why do we put ourselves of getting into trouble or not getting a job for facebook? At first I thought, maybe it is so we can “creep” or update ourselves on our friends lives. Maybe we have a desire to know every detail of others lives! What didn’t seem to make sense about this, is that we get annoyed or irritated every time we see pointless statuses up or pictures of one person in their bathroom mirrors. In the last article Mark Zuckerberg explains that the “timeline” was created with the thought of everyone having his or her own personal autobiographies.

Questions to consider:

1) Are you on facebook? And if so or if you were, is it to share your story or to read others?
2) Are you willing to give up a job for facebook?
3) What methods or how do you keep your facebook safe or clean?
4) How often do you spend on facebook a day? Honestly.
5) How would you answer an interviewer if they asked to see your facebook?
6) Could you give it up this very moment?

Augusta Nationals - The Masters - Danny Smith

Mark O'Meara sure Tiger Woods is ready for next major at Masters
http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2012/apr/02/tiger-woods-masters-major

Can Tiger cap comeback with Masters triumph?
http://worldsport.blogs.cnn.com/2012/03/26/can-tiger-cap-comeback-with-masters-triumph/

Masters Odds 2012: Tiger Woods and Rory Mcllroy Take on the Rest of the Field
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1129129-masters-odds-2012-tiger-woods-and-rory-mcilroy-take-on-the-rest-of-the-field

Augusta National
The Masters
By Danny Smith

All eyes are on Augusta National, this week, and Tiger Wood’s bid to win a fifth Green Jacket at the Masters Tournament. The stage is set for one of the all-time great Masters, with so many of the world’s elite peaking for the first major of the season.
Golfers worldwide know Augusta, Georgia, for one thing: the Masters, and the Augusta National course on which the renowned tournament is played each April. The course is arguably the most famous in the world and undoubtedly the most exclusive.
Tiger Woods' victory at Bay Hill last week was his 72nd on the PGA Tour. For the 36-year-old, that’s two victories for each year of his life. The Win at Bay Hill has sparked conversation as to weather Tiger is prepared to dominate golf leaderboards moving forward.
Woods has won four Green Jackets, although his last victory came in 2005. He has played here twice since returning from the scandal that knocked his career off the rails, finishing fourth on both occasions. In the circumstances, these stand as remarkable performances, given the state of his game at the time, and the turmoil that surrounded his private life.
Woods caused some controversy recently when he cried off injured during the final round the WGC-Cadillac Championship at Doral. The former world no. 1 put paid to the predicable speculation about his general health by participating in the Tavistock Cup team event and then showcasing his well-being and excellent form at Arnold Palmer’s Bay Hill tourney, which he has now a record won seven times!
Tiger is now back up to sixth in the world rankings, his odds to win the Masters have reduced and he is the bookies' favorite. With Nicklaus’ record of 18 major victories seemingly out of reach for the newest golfing resident of Jupiter, Florida, all eyes have become more rigidly focused on those who represent the Tiger generation.
Woods' play at Bay Hill confirmed his status as the man who truly pushes the needle in terms of TV ratings, and his smile as the final putt went down showed to the world that he is where he needs to be: healthy and happy - and in pursuit of his passion of being the world’s number one golfer.

Questions to Consider:

1. Do you believe Tiger Wood’s Performance in recent events can justify how he will play under the microscope of the most prestigious golf tournament of the year? Do you feel Tiger is more prepared for this tournament due to the magnitude of the event?

2. If Tiger successfully dominates the field during the four-day tournament at Augusta and wins the Masters tournament, does this define his career as bouncing back?

3. Will a sixth Master’s win, the first since 2005, improve Tiger’s image? Tiger has been faced with scrutiny because of his personal life fumbles. Can a win at the Master’s begin to re-pave a new path for the previous number one golfer?

4. Do you feel the controversy that has surrounded Tiger Woods has been the cause for his excuses that have pulled him out of events? Tiger, before being faced with the scandal, had pulled out of events only twice due to physical purposes. Since the scandal, Tiger has removed himself from six different events due to injuries or sore muscles.

5. Will Tiger catch Jack Nicklaus’ current record of 18 major championships? Considering this is opinion based with no correct answer, please use examples to support your answer.