How can we make India clean Essay

How true these words sound in the present context. There is so much pollution all around us today that normal breathing in itself is the greatest risk to our lives. Pollution has affected our lives so adversely that because of this, millions of people die annually. The way the environment is being polluted today stands testimony to the fact that we are irresponsible occupants of this Earth and by polluting the air; we are meticulously working towards our own destruction. According to the World Health Organisation, about 2.8 million people each year die due to indoor pollution (over 500,000 occur in China alone). These data should act as an eye-opener for all of us. Smoke emitting from industries, factories, vehicles and even cigarettes is a major source of air pollution. It is due to air pollution that a number of diseases have surfaced. There are several respiratory diseases, which affect us adversely. Cigarette smoking is not injurious to the health of only those who smoke cigarett es but also to those who come in contact with the smoke emitted from the cigarettes. What is worse is that most of us understand the ill-effects of pollution, yet we are so indifferent towards our own health that we do not avoid the avoidable. Stoves, LPG and other non-conventional sources of energy should be used for cooking and the bursting of firecrackers should be reduced. Therefore, if we prevent air pollution, we not only keep ourselves healthy but also our historical monuments. Another major source of pollution today is water pollution. Water pollution is the contamination of water by sewage, toxic chemicals, metals, oils, or other substances. Diseases like diarrhoea and dysentery are the ill-effects of polluted water. The wastes that are thrown in the rivers and lakes by us mainly pollute water. It is due to this that the water supplied to us in our homes is impure and consumption of which leads to man) dreaded diseases. The biomedical waste from hospitals is not processed properly and is thrown in nearby rivers. The waste materials from factories and industries are also disposed of in the same manner. Therefore, it leads: to high levels of water pollution. Not only this, people throw dry flower used for puja and other religious functions in rivers due to which water gets badly contaminated and unfit for use. In fact, due to high levels of water po llution, marine animals die an untimely death and are on the verge of extinction today. In a healthy water system, a cycle of natural processed turns wastes into useful or harmless substances. The cycle begins when organisms called aerobic bacteria use the oxygen dissolved in water to digest wastes. This digestion process releases nitrates, phosphates an other nutrients. Algae and aquatic green plants absorb these nutrients. Zooplanktons eat the algae, and fish eat the zooplankton. The fish, in turn, may be eaten by larger fish. These larger animals come in contact with other animals and in turn the process of biological contamination cycle continues. Another form of pollution that threatens our peace today is sound pollution. It is so irksome when music is played at high volumes in parties and vehicles. Today, the levels of sound pollution are so high that the Supreme Court had to intervene and pass orders recently to impose a restriction on the playing of bands and loud music between 10 p.m. and 4 a.m. The vehemence of music disturbs students, patients, old and other people we want some rest after a long day’s work. The sound of the bawling horns is a headache in itself. Everybody is in a hurry and therefore, the use of horns is made without much though Horns disrupt pe ace to the extent that these can be heard even in the ‘no-horn’ zones. Although noise does not poll the air, water, or land, but it can cause discomfort and hearing loss human beings and other animals. Soil pollution is also an important mode of pollution. When the ear thin layer of healthy, productive soil is destroyed where food is grown it is called soil erosion. Healthy soil depends on bacteria, fungi, and small animals to break down wastes in the soil and release nutrients. These nutrients help plants grow. Fertilisers and pesticides can limit the ability of soil organisms to process wastes. As a result, farmers who oven fertilizers and pesticides can destroy their soil’s productivity and are causing many diseases to the people. Not only this, even irrigation in dry areas without proper drainage system can lead to water logging in the fields. it can lead to famines because soil pollution will lead to a poor quality of soil, which in turn will lead to poor crops. Therefore, soil pollution is extremely dangerous. It is the responsibility of each and every one of us to control the rising levels of any form of pollution. We must get our vehicles checked regularly and if the smoke emitting from them is higher than the normal lev el, it should be repaired. Use of firecrackers should be minimized and cigarette smoking should be given up. We must take a vow never to throw any waste materials in the rivers or lakes because that water comes back to us as drinking water. We must take an initiative to  prevent others also from doing so. Hospitals must collect their biomedical wastes and dispose of them in a proper manner. Some should be done with the waste materials from factories and industries. Recycling should be made a practice and children should be taught how to recycle simple things in school. This practice will make them to recycle things rather than throw them like garbage. The volume of our music systems should be kept low so that others are not disturbed. Even in parties these should be stopped after some time to avoid noise pollution and inconvenience to others. Thus, only when we decide to do our duty to keep our dear planet clean, we can succeed in controlling pollution. Only then we can make this world’s better place to live for you and for me’.

Taoism and Confucianism Research Paper Example

Taoism and Confucianism Research Paper Example Taoism and Confucianism Paper Taoism and Confucianism Paper Essay Topic: Religion Tao Te Ching The Chinese spiritual experience is a synthesis of Taoism and Confucianism. I feel it is their shared quest that humans move away from being individuals to become a part of a greater whole, whether it is Confucius society or Lao Tzus nature. However, just as they have their similarities they, like all the other religions, have their differences, theirs being the way to becoming a part of the greater whole. In their different and similar aspirations, like the Yin and the Yang, Taoism and Confucianism is a combination which balances the Chinese character. I believe the Chinese spiritual experience is when humans strive by being or doing to become a part of the greater whole. Both Taoism and Confucianism urge humankind to shed their individuality for this goal. They both contend that individualism holds the individual back as well as fragments the essence of the greater whole. When more people become a part of it, the greater whole will become stronger. As Lao Tzu asks, What happens when 10,000 people go back into the woods? I think he might have answered the woods, nature, becomes that much greater by being able to guide life in its own way. Just as Taoism and Confucianism maintain a similar direction, they differ in other aspects. One difference they come across is what the greater whole is whether it be the Taoists nature or the Confucianists society. Another opposition they have is what process one takes in becoming a part of the greater whole. Where Taoism says the way to do is to be, Confucianism disagrees saying the way to be is to do. The two religions also differ as to what actually makes the other great. Whereas Taoism says the Tao (the way) makes people great, Confucianism teaches that people make the Tao great. I believe the most significant variance between Taoism and Confucianism is what is the greater whole. Taoists believe the greater whole to be nature. However, Confucianists feel it is society. They are both correct if we looked at the hierarchy of the Chinese experience that is self, society, nature, cosmos, and the great beyond (infinity). The difference comes in how far they travel to find the greater whole. The Confucianists stop at society because they see it as synthesis of effort put forth by every human being to make life better. Taoists look to nature because they see it as our creator and being our creator we should realize our potential to become apart of it once again. How a person becomes a part of society or nature is also a point the two religions split ways. In Taoism, the way to do is to be or simply the way to be will guide us to unity with nature. Confucianism disagrees noting the way to be is to do or plainly the way to do will make us a part of society. Taoism is the guidance of the way. The way can be defined in three manners. Taoism is the way of the ultimate reality. It is where everything originated yet we can only experience. There are no words or pictures to describe it, and all we can know is it is within us, it is outside us, it is everywhere and nowhere. Taoism is the way of the universe. It is the driving power in everything which exists. It is natures orderer. It puts everything in its place without any spark of prejudice. Taoism is the way of human life. It is humans emulating water. It is humans doing by not doing. It is humans allowing nature to guide them. Confucianism follows the way of doing. Its model figure is the Chun Tzu who in our society could be likened to a moral leader. Humans strive to become the Chun Tzu (Superior Man) because they must serve others. To become a Chun Tzu, one must first follow the way of Jen by respecting themselves and maintaining a sensitivity towards all humanity. One must strive to be just to others and to be understanding of others emotions. One must also follow the Silver Rule of not doing those things they would not have others do to them. Another division between the two religions is their contrasting beliefs as to what force makes the other great. Taoists believe it is the way or the Tao that makes humans great. This is because it is the Tao by which humans are able to rejoin with nature. By rejoining nature, we are able to regain power in allowing nature to do things or things to do themselves. However, Confucianists believe it is humans that make the Tao great. This is because only through the efforts of humans can society become great. Humans make the Tao great by choosing to follow it, giving power to its force. There are opposite forces in all corners of life. There is no day without night and no good without evil. Like the Yin and the Yang, these opposing forces are halves of a greater whole. Just as these forces merge to create a vivid existence so too does Taoism and Confucianism combine to create a brilliance in the Chinese Character. Without one the other would be greatly flawed, but their joined beliefs and practices make the one as well as the infinite greater. It is not hard to see that our western society could learn a lesson from the teachings of Lao Tzu and Confucius. Nature which we have coldly ravaged and our own streets would be safer. Politicians would actually work for the society instead of the powerful few. Even art would be supported for its value in bringing people together. However, we could never hope to attain the dedication both require because of our deeply rooted individualistic attitudes. If we followed the practices of Confucianism and we believed that serving others is great honor, then our western world would be a safer one. There would be no illegal drug use or sells for we would know this is harmful to those we live to serve. There would be no crime for we would live by sharing all that we have with others eliminating the main cause of crime, the desire to have what we do not have. Life as we know it would be transformed into a peaceful world where we care for others regardless of who they are. If politics were conducted based on Confucianism, the government would be a vessel for society. Politicians would not be indentured to private causes driven by personal gain because they would believe that their purpose is to serve society. They would be the rightful protectors of all they govern. They would also uphold the principles of Li for they would understand that they have been given a chance to make society greater and to maintain its greatness. If we followed Taoism or Confucianism, we would fully support the arts of our days. We would provide the means for artist to flourish and places to share their works. There would be no art critics for the purpose of art is to bring society together. Critics are deconstructionists and they would be a hindrance in the natural expression of art. It is in the naturalism of art that the two religions find its power of unity. Run by the Chinese religions, our society would appreciate art not because peoples analysis finds it excellent but because art is a grounds of bringing people together. We look to the stars in search of our future when we only need look at ourselves to find it. Before we can reach the stars we must be one entity. I believe this is the overall lesson of the Chinese religions that to be great we must be unified. Imagine what we could become and where we could go if we have our opposite forces working together. Once this were to happen, nothing could ever work against us.

Critical analysis paper Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Critical analysis paper - Assignment Example n of this is an extremely dynamic system of world politics that triggers massive changes for every little disturbance in virtually all sectors (Howarth 78). Referring to world politics, the recent past has seen a handful of events that is already shaping international perspectives. The Arab Spring is a key event that spurred an entire revolution in the Arab world. The Spring saw demonstrations and protests to the authorities that eventually necessitated some of them to relinquish power. Violence escalated, and the public outcry for a change in regime and system of governance could not be ignored. Quite evidently, the discomfort occasioned to the authorities as a consequence of the Arab Spring may have been hard to ignore, but again, it is not like they had any choice. A case in point is the Libyan dictator Gaddafi, who tried to ignore the revolutionary wave and was dislodged from power in very unceremonious circumstances. In a similar vein, Egypt’s Hosni Mubarak found himself facing a revolt in what came to be known as the Egyptian revolution of 2011. He however gave in to pressure and quit power. The aggressive nature of Egyptians resurfaced in 2013 when they staged protests against the then president as a result of discontent with the administration. Elections held in 2014 were touted as the most democratic in the recent past for a nation known for political instability. The current president won with a resounding 97% of the votes cast. Definitely from this figures, one can unearth a trend of dislodging individuals who are more inclined towards tyrant behavior from power, and vesting leadership rights upon those that appear to represent their wishes and aspirations fully. A sharp contrast to the above two scenarios is seen when evaluating the US and European elections. The European and U.S elections were marred with little violence, and it was more of a peaceful transition. The prevalence of peace, however, was a consequence of free and fair elections in

Battle of San Jacinto Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Battle of San Jacinto - Essay Example The researcher states that many American immigrants had migrated to Mexican Texas with full backing by the Mexican government near the beginning of the Mexican Independence. These immigrants started to rise up against the Mexican government in 1835 when the government of Santa Anna declared dictatorship rule over the country. Gradually, Texans formed a provisional government and started a movement for independence. This movement for independence was supported by many Americans, who volunteered to help the Texans in this movement. An army was formed by the help of these volunteers. In 1836 Santa Anna entered Texas with his army to take back its territory and put it back under the control of Mexico. Two battles were fought at Alamo and Goliad. Both of these battles were won by the Mexican army and a large number of Texan army was slaughtered brutally. After these two battles general Houston led his army against the army of Santa Anna near the river of San Jacinto in Texas. General Hous ton proved to be a very sharp and far sighted leader. The number of men in the Mexican army was already more than that of the Texan army and Houston did not want to give time to Santa Anna to call for more troops. Due to this reason he decided to execute a surprise attack against the Mexicans. This was a major risk on General Houston’s part because in this plan most of his army would be exposed to the Mexicans. On the other hand a critical mistake was made by the Mexican leader Santa Anna, in his confidence gained by the last two wins; he did not pay much attention to this battle and failed to post lookouts for any surprise attacks by the Texan army. This surprise attack by the Texan army was conducted in the evening of 21st April. The Texan army moved forward without getting caught by the Mexican army because their approach was hidden by trees and the uneven ground. Havoc reigns on the enemy as the Texian cavalry attack their stunned counterparts with slashing sabers (McDona ld, McCord & Haas 2008). This thing worked in the favour of the Texans because Santa Anna had not sent any men for lookouts. The bridge on the river was cut off by the Texans so that no retreats or reinforcements were possible. This was for both the armies because now the only way out of this was the ten feet deep water. The Texan infantry was led by General Houston himself. It was a well planned attack and the Mexican army was completely surrounded by the attackers. The Texan army had two artillery weapons called the twin sisters which were given to them by the city of Cincinnati. These weapons were placed in the battle and were of great help. It was a completely silent attack and the Texan forces did not reveal themselves until they were a few yards away from the Mexican army camps and then charged. They charged while shouting different slogans of â€Å"Remember Goliad† and â€Å"Remember Alamo†. The Texan army started firing at the surprised Mexicans. The Mexican ar my was not prepared for this kind of attack by its opponents and was completely taken by surprise. Most of the Mexican army was resting or asleep after building fortifications. Some of them were gone to gather woods while some of the others were fetching water at the time of the attack. The unarmed Mexicans had no choice but to ran and a complete chaos was created in the Mexican

Summary Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 14

Summary - Assignment Example The concept of universality was further expounded by classifying it into two types: the substantive universals and the formal universals. As disclosed, substantive universals construct the description of language; while formal universals were deemed more abstract; yet formalized and highly structured in terms of observance to grammatical rules. Samples of different sentence structures (deep, surface, A over A convention) were presented to differentiate the concept of universality. The criteria for evaluating grammar was likewise discussed based on four syntactic structures, being that: (1) sentences are deemed acceptable to the native speaker; (2) the case of ambiguity noted to be represented by constructional homonymity; (3) alleged diversity in interpretations of sentences which appear superficially similar to be likewise represented by varied derivational histories; and (4) understanding sentences in similar manner to have been apparently represented at one level description (Tranformational Generative Grammar 5-6). Finally, the discourse differentiated between linguistic competence and performance by indicating that competence is knowledge of a particular language, while performance ensued from this competence as a production and comprehension of language (Tranformational Generative Grammar 5). Other differentiating factors were presented to expound on their disparities to include boundaries, linguistic factors, incompetencies, situational factors, and creativity of the speaker, among

Steroids in the World of Sports Essay Example for Free

Steroids in the World of Sports Essay During the 1930s, scientists discovered that anabolic steroids could help the growth of muscle in laboratory animals, which led to abuse of these drugs by bodybuilders and weightlifters and then by athletes in other sports. Ever since the beginning of sports there has been different techniques used in order to gain an edge over opponents. The question that has been most frequently asked is, which of these techniques is considered cheating, and which ones are fair game. The use of steroids is now the most well known form of cheating in recent sports history, and has drove many sports commissioners into a full investigation, that has lead to unique unprecedented punishments. Professional stars must realize that they are huge role models in today’s society, and are influencing young athletes all over the world. Any player in today’s society knows that there is a major punishment for using any kind of performance enhancing drugs. Not only do they get suspended immediately but if and when they return are often booed by fans, and are basically embarrassed in front of the entire league. Since steroids has been such a major subject of late, and such closely watched, I think anyone who tries is just asking for trouble. If an athlete in one of the major sports is caught using performance enhancing drugs there is immediate media frenzy. Many people believe that if your caught using performance enhancing drugs, any accomplishments you made during your career should be erased. You then might ask yourself, what would drive an athlete to risk their playing career by using steroids? Steroids are manufactured to enhance testosterone and are usually taken to build muscle, boost performance, and improve appearance. Often older players use steroids when they are injured because they do not recover as fast as they usually would when they were younger. In sports, size is extremely important, and that extra thirty or forty poun ds will have a major factor in how an athlete will play. One of the biggest problems with performance enhancing drugs is that scientist keep coming up with new drugs that the public doesn’t know about. All of the major sports now drug test their athletes, but since these newly developed drugs aren’t well known there is no way they can regulate the test. We have seen baseball players like Mark McGwire and Jose Conseco admit to the use of a drug called Andro. Andro is now one of the performance enhancing drugs being tested by the league. During the time that Mark McGuire and Jose Conseco were playing not to many people knew about the drug, and was considered to be legal. As the major sports try to put an end to this steroid era, we see some of the biggest stars being linked to steroid use. It is very easy to link this to the amount of teenagers in high school and college that are now using performance enhancing drugs. Over the past decade the percentage of young adults that have admitted to using steroid has almost tripled. Since most of the players being caught are major stars, it is easy for young adults to think all they need to do is take steroids and they’ll have that extra edge. The sport that has been affected most by this steroid era has been Major League Baseball. Ninety-five percent of the people who vote on the Baseball Hall of Fame agree that if a player has been associated with the use of steroids, they would never vote that athlete into the Hall of Fame. This is a very important subject because there have recently been a number of baseball players that would be a lock for the Hall of Fame if they were not linked to steroid use. It is very hard to determine the penalty for these players because nothing like this has ever happened before. Some fans believe that the use of steroids have very little effect in certain sports, and do not understand the big deal. Some have actually suggested making steroids legal, and the athletes can take them at there own risk. Although I think this idea is fascinating, I do not believe I could ever happen. The pressure for players to use steroids would be almost impossible to resist, and would lead to everyone to take them. The style of play in most sports would change from skill and technique to power and strength, which would take away from the beauty of the game. The most important reason they could never legalize steroids in sports is because of the health reasons involved with taking steroids. Steroid use is one of the most controversial subjects in today’s society because of many different reasons. There are so many supplements that are considered to be legal, but there is just as many that are considered to be illegal. Athletes must ask themselves if it is worth it to risk their careers on trying to just get an edge. The problem with this is that most people do not think of the consequences until after they get caught. The most important thing most major league players don’t think about when they use steroids is how it affects young athletes in today’s society.

What Factors Influence Internet Use Among Teens English Language Essay

What Factors Influence Internet Use Among Teens English Language Essay The Internet has become part of todays teens culture and they are very familiar on how to use and navigate in it. This paper reflects on the factors that influence internet usage among teens based on a survey compiled by Pew Internet American Life Project on a sample of over 1,000 adolescents between the ages of 12 to 17 who were interviewed randomly by phone. It indicates that 9 out of 10 access the internet regularly which is an increase of 75% in comparison to the year 2000. This high number is in contrast to the findings that only 66% of American adults use the internet. The study further showed that most teenagers first accessed the internet between the age of 10 and 12. 87% admitted using the internet regularly, with 52% of them accessing the internet daily, an increase from 42% in 2000. About 50% of these teenagers, their families used a speedier broadband connection with the rest using other means such as dial-up connections. Teens were found to use the internet for instant messaging, online blogs, initiating online chats and sending e-mails. In the survey, 75% use instant messaging compared to 42% of adults as a means of communication with their fellow age mates. The survey also indicates that 75% of todays teens use the internet to read news which is a sharp increase from 38% in the year 2000. University of Diegos technology trackers such as Susannah Stern expect instant messaging to keep growing exponentially due to peer influence. Though Teens interviewed felt that internet use was a source of indispensable fun and a means of communication and research. Amanda Lenhart, a Pew researcher who participated in conducting the study, found that Teens are very selective-theyre smart about their technology use. They use it for the kinds of things they need to do. The older teenage girls between ages 15 to 17 contrasted the myth of the tech-savvy boys since they were found to use the internet more than their male counterparts. Literature review To determine factors influencing Internet usage among the youths such as demographics and socio-economic and peer influence, a literature review of the available Pew research has been conducted, focusing on factors influencing teenagers access to the Internet or World Wide Web except for e-mailing purposes. According to the literature, students are the main users of the Internet. Jones and Madden (2002) conducted a study on high school and junior college students Internet usage. Browsing the Internet was a daily activity; 73% of these students used the Internet more than the library for research. Seventy-nine percent of the students agreed that Internet use has had a positive impact on their academic experience (Jones and Madden, 2002). Princeton Research Associates on behalf of Pew Internet American Life Project conducted nationwide phone interviews, and did an analysis on how respondents penetrated the Internet. The data results show that all 59% of the general population penetrated the Internet less than 86% of students (Jones and Madden, 2002). Study Framework and Hypothesis Development There are various factors influencing internet use among teens. This review provides a basis for this study based on the Pew Internet American Life Project survey and shall primarily test on the influencing factors such as demographic and social-economic factors. Testable hypothesis shall then be proposed. Demographic factors The particular factors of gender, race/ethnicity, location of residence and age were very crucial in determining internet usage among the teenagers in relation to their education status. There was a general increase for both students and non-students access to the internet. There was also an increase in the proportion of teenagers who accessed the internet across common races in the United States such as Whites, Blacks, and Hispanics. However, these increases have not been uniform across these groups. Most high school drop-outs were observed not to have been on the internet for the past one year with only less than 33% answering to having accessed it. This was in sharp contrast to the over 90% of junior college students who have had regular access to the internet in the age bracket of 18 to 19. Internet access tended to increase with increasing levels of education and was highly used by junior college students and post-secondary students. The widening gap between those in school and the drop-outs access to the internet is projected to rise due to increasing encouragement and facilitation of internet access points in schools. If older students already in college are exposed and encouraged more than younger students in high school, as is normally the case, age will become an important demographic factor since internet usage prevalence will be higher in older students. Internet usage was clearly greater among whites than any other race especially among males. 71.8% of white males accessed the in comparison to 50.5% of Hispanic males and 40.7% of black males. The open-ended question on where a particular teen accessed the internet was phrased and the answers tabulated using the categories of home, school, library, friends/neighbors, and other. Most teens were found to be more comfortable accessing the internet at a friends home whereby over 34.7% of males and 29.3% of the teens responded to this. Although access points such as the library were chosen by only one in eight, this was an improvement from 4.7% in 2000 to a current12.5%. Economic factors Teenagers from low income and high poverty areas have been most disadvantaged in accessing the internet. A survey carried on teen Internet usage reveals social and economic disparities (Taylor et al., 2003). A relationship between incomes, race and education was also observed. Levels of education were higher in Whites than any other minorities whereby the proportion of whites who completed high school was more. This had a direct impact on the number of internet users. Teenagers from low-income households estimated at three million, most of them black, have no access to the internet. Therefore, these kids may not find adults who would otherwise teach them on how to responsibly use the internet. Daniel Bassil, president of Cabrini Connections, notes that, Even the kids that have access dont necessarily have people mentoring them to use the information to their greatest advantage. Teens from low-income backgrounds are less likely to access the internet for services such as instant messa ging and emailing as a way of communication since most of their friends are not online more frequently. This finding may indicate a difference in choice of content creation versus content consumption in different socio economic groups (Bosah, 1998). c)Social factors Free and unlimited Internet access When freshmen register today, they get a student ID card, a meal card, and most, important, a free personal e-mail account. Theyve got no online service fees to pay, no limits to their time logged on, and computer labs open for their convenience round-the-clock. Its an Internet users dream. 2. Huge blocks of unstructured time Most college students attend classes for twelve to sixteen hours per week. The rest of the time is their own to read, study, go to movies or parties, join clubs, or explore the new environment outside their campus walls. Many forget all those other activities and concentrate on one thing: the Internet. 3. Newly-experienced freedom from parental control Away from home and their parents watchful eyes, college students long have exercised their new freedom by engaging in pranks, talking to friends to all hours of the night, sleeping with their boyfriends and girlfriends, and eating and drinking things Mom and Dad would not approve of. Today, they utilize that freedom by hanging out in the MUDs and chat rooms of cyberspace, and no parent can complain about online service fees or their refusal to eat dinner with the family or help out with chores. 4. No monitoring or censoring of what they say or do online When they move on to the job world, college students may find suspicious bosses peeking over their shoulder or even monitoring their online time and usage. Even e-mail to co-workers could be intercepted by the wrong party. In college, no ones watching. Computer lab monitors tend to be student volunteers whose only responsibility is to assist anyone who needs help understanding how to use the Internet not tell them what they can or cannot do on it. 5. Full encouragement from faculty and administrators Students understand that their schools administration and faculty want them to make full use of the Internets vast resources. Abstaining from all Net use is seldom an option in some large classes, professors place required course materials solely on the Net and engage in their only oneon- one contact with students through e-mail! Administrators, of course, want to see their major investments in computers and Internet access justified. 6. Adolescent training in similar activities By the time most kids get to college, they will have spent years staring at video game terminals, closing off the world around them with walkmans, and engaging in that rapid-fire clicking of the TV remote. Even if they didnt get introduced to the Internet in high school, those other activities have made students well-suited to slide into aimless Web surfing, skill-testing MUDs, and rat-a-tattat chat room dialogue. 7. The desire to escape college stressors Students feel the pressures of making top grades, fulfilling parental expectations, and, upon graduation, facing fierce competition for good jobs. The Internet, ideally, would help make it easier for them to do their necessary course work as quickly and efficiently as possible. Instead, they turn to their Net friends to hide from their difficult feelings of fear, anxiety, and depression. 8. Social intimidation and alienation With as many as 30,000 students on some campuses, students easily can get lost in the crowd. When they try to reach out, they often run into even tighter clicks than the in-crowds of high school. Maybe they dont dress right or look right. But when they join the faceless community of the Internet, they find that with little effort they can become popular with new friends throughout the U.S. and in England, Australia, Germany, France, Hungary, Japan, New Zealand, and China. Why bother trying to socialize on campus? 9. A higher legal drinking age With the drinking age at twenty-one in most states, undergraduate students cant openly drink alcohol and socialize in bars. So the Internet becomes their substitute drug of choice: no ID required and no closing hour!