Software for Decision Making

I use multiple software (databases) for decision making on the day to day basis. I regularly check weatherchannel.com checking what the future weather will be for that day or week. Also, I use google.com when I am curious about new information and need to do my own background checks on possible decisions. 


Another software used for businesses is SAS. This software is a decision manager which uses logic and contact strategies to help make recommendations to real-time interactive channels. In the long run this type of software helps improve companies and make them more profitable.




http://www.sas.com/solutions/crm/real-time-decision/

Plagiarism

From 1990 and even before the percentage of plagiarism is increasing by the year. Technology enables plagiarism tremendously considering resources are at the finger tips of all students with the click of a button. Students easily copy and paste sentences or just directly copy information from websites because of laziness and sheer ignorance ( disbelief they'd ever get caught). Colleges and universities are quickly making many adjustments to fight plagiarism and one that I am most familiar with is Turnitin.com. Instead of just printing out your papers and turning them into your professor you submit it to an online database as well where your paper is scanned with all published information for compatibility of plagiarism. I for one think it's an extreme pain since I am way to scared to copy a paper or information and possibly get into extreme trouble with the law, but understand the need for prosecution. Especially among students.



This website displays statistics from years ago if you are curious to compare the data to the most common statistics --> http://iml.jou.ufl.edu/projects/Spring2000/Overbeck/stats.html




current statistics --> http://www.plagiarism.org/plag_article_did_you_know.html

Ethics

On the day to day bases an ethical dilemma usually rises. One situation that recently stands out in my life took place at my job. I work at an Italian restaurant, and because us college kids were heading off to school my employer had to start hiring new employees. It was the fourth day my manager was training a girl who would eventually become a manager as well. On a busy Saturday night the tempo picked up as more and more customers filled up the restaurant. I walked into the kitchen after serving my tables and this new manager scolded me for not getting a table of 12's food out right away. The new manager started grabbing plates and lead me to what my table was waiting on and I guided her out to my 12 top. Meanwhile, when I make my next trip back to the kitchen my manager starts yelling at me for taking out the wrong pasta which not only set back the cooks but another waitress. At that very instant I could have easily thrown this new manager in training under the bus after she scolded me for doing the right thing ( waiting for MY food to be done) but I took the blame and the humiliation for the night. In this situation there's no clear ethical decision, or at least in my opinion. I could have stood up for myself and allowed this new manager to get screamed at in front a group of her future employees or take the blame. I like to think I did the right thing but in every case someone could look at it a different way. I believe there is no true line of ethics since everyone has their own stand point, but hopefully everyone is open enough to learn from one another. While put in a situation id hope they'd do one to others what they wish would be done to themselves.

Education Decline

It is a fact that the educational system in America is falling extremely far behind. From my own experience with the current school systems I have recently gotten a good look sitting in on the classrooms and helping out with the students over the past year. My mother is a third grade teacher for inner-city Baltimore and with a first hand look at the slow decline of the students the will to achieve and work hard to earn a grade is slowly fading. The profanity used by just third graders and their constant references to Jersey Shore are quite frightening. The children of society today are quickly finding the loop-holes in our educational system with excuses for not working hard and having parents continuously make excuse for their children behavior instead of forcing them to work to their full potential.

The Decline and Fall of American Education

 I found an article which talked about how equity is a key component to why our educational system is becoming inferior. And i very much agree! Children are beginning to be spoon fed their homework and assignment and teachers are having to make specific ways to fix each students laziness rather than everyone working hard to achieve. The equality in many cases is taking away from the students who are trying to learn and be challenged, but are set behind because of their fellow students misbehaving.