A Computer Virus Is a Computer Program That Can Copy Itself

A computer virus is a computer program that can copy itself[1] and infect a computer. The term virus is also commonly but erroneously used to refer to other types of malware, adware, and spyware programs that do not have the reproductive ability. A true virus can only spread from one computer to another (in some form of executable code) when its host is taken to the target computer; for instance because a user sent it over a network or the Internet, or carried it on a removable medium such as a floppy disk, CD, DVD, or USB drive. Viruses can increase their chances of spreading to other computers by infecting files on a network file system or a file system that is accessed by another computer.[2][3] The term computer virus is sometimes†¦show more content†¦Slow infectors, on the other hand, are designed to infect hosts infrequently. Some slow infectors, for instance, only infect files when they are copied. Slow infectors are designed to avoid detection by limiting their actions: they are less likely to slow down a computer noticeably and will, at most, infrequently trigger anti-virus software that detects suspicious behavior by programs. The slow infector approach, however, does not seem very successful. Stealth Some viruses try to trick antivirus software by intercepting its requests to the operating system. A virus can hide itself by intercepting the antivirus software’s request to read the file and passing the request to the virus, instead of the OS. The virus can then return an uninfected version of the file to the antivirus software, so that it seems that the file is clean. Modern antivirus software employs various techniques to counter stealth mechanisms of viruses. The only completely reliable method to avoid stealth is to boot from a medium that is known to be clean Spyware is a type of malware that is installed on computers and collects little bits information at a time about users without their knowledge. The presence of spyware is typically hidden from the user, and can be difficult to detect. Typically,Show MoreRelatedComputer Viruses Essay example758 Words   |  4 PagesA computer virus program is altering program and it replicated itself by coping itself into other programs stored in a computer. The word virus is also commonly used broadly to include computer viruses, worms, and Trojan horse programs. For example, so-called anti-virus software will remove all three classes of these malicious programs. The first virus was born in the very beginning of 1970’s or even in the end of 1960’s although nobody was calling it a virus back then. Pervading animalRead MoreThe Dangers Facing Your Personal Computer1321 Words   |  5 PagesDid you know that your personal computer might be in danger? If you do not have proper protection for your computer it could potentially be attacked or may already have a virus! There are many different types of viruses out there and the amount of damage they do can vary. I’m going to inform you about what they are, what types there are, and how they can be prevented. Computer virus is the term that defines a class of programs that illegally explore a wide variety of systems. ItRead MoreAnnotated Bibliography On The Internet1366 Words   |  6 PagesProtocol 5 URL – Uniform Resource Locator 5 Virus 6 Trojan Horse 7 Worm 7 Differences between Computer Viruses 8 Bibliography 9 â€Æ' THE INTERNET Definition Of The Internet There were so many definition for the internet but the one that stand out most to me and gave me a clear understanding of the definition was form the (Collins English Dicitionary- Complete Unabridged) - â€Å"the internet- the single worldwide computer network that interconnects other computer networks, on which end user services, suchRead MoreCyber Attacks : A Huge Problem For Online Communities1231 Words   |  5 Pagesincreasingly popular methods to infect computer machines. Malware, also known as malicious software, is used by hackers, and criminals around the world to disrupt computer activities, and gain access to private, or important information in computer systems, and to gather that information illegally. There are countless forms of malicious software, and they can be located everywhere, such as on widely known websites, advertisements being displayed, and more. Computer Viruses The first type of malwareRead MoreThe Origin Of The Internet999 Words   |  4 Pages â€Æ' Contents THE INTERNET 3 THE ORIGIN OF THE INTERNET 3 HOW THE INTERNET WORKS 3 HTML AND HOW IT WORKS 4 HTTP AND HOW IT WORKS 4 URL 4 VIRUS AND HOW IT WORKS 4 TROJAN HORSE AND HOW IT WORKS 5 COMPUTER WORM AND HOW IT WORK 5 THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A VIRUS, A WORM AND TROJAN HORSE 5 Bibliography 6 â€Æ' The internet is defined as systems of interconnected computer networks that are connect to several billions devices over the world. It is an international network of networks that consist of millionsRead MoreEthical And Social Issues Of Computer Viruses And Computer Sabotage1446 Words   |  6 PagesSocial Issues of Computer Viruses and Computer Sabotage Computer sabotage is a very dangerous form of computer crime. Computer sabotage is described as acts of malicious destruction to a computer or computer resource. Common forms of computer sabotage include the distribution of malicious and destructive programs such as that can cause damage not only to the software of a computer but also the hardware of a computer. â€Å"The computer saboteurs create tiny but destructive programs that cause seriousRead MoreEffect of Virus on Performance of Computer System1446 Words   |  6 PagesEFFECT OF VIRUS ON PERFORMANCE OF COMPUTER SYSTEM IN AN ORGANIZATION 1.0 INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND Computer is an advanced electronic device which manipulate data according to a set of instruction provided and generate the desired output, It can process both numerical and non-numerical (arithmetic and logical) calculations.. The two principal characteristics of a computer are: it responds to a specific set of instructions in a well-defined manner and it can execute aRead More Process Essay - How to Recognize and Eliminate Macro Viruses759 Words   |  4 Pages Imagine starting up your computer only to see the image on the screen melt while eerie music plays. The hard drive crunches away. What is it doing in there? Before you turn off the machine, most of your files have been deleted. Your computer is the victim of a computer virus. But where did the virus come from? It may have been that game you borrowed or, more likely, it came from an electronic document. Most viruses infect programs, but newer viruses can infect documents as well. ThisRead MoreHow Antivirus Effects Our Lives Essay examples1177 Words   |  5 Pagesantivirus is a program used to protect a computer from malware such as virus, Trojan horses, computer worms and other malicious programs. Besides from protecting a computer, the anti-virus offers many solutions to prevent new infections into your computer by scanning emails and files when they are being downloaded. An antivirus program is considered a security strategy. A computer virus is similar to a biological virus; it spreads from one computer to another just as the biological virus spreads fromRead MoreApplied Information Technology Host 1051288 Words   |  6 PagesHTTP? 4 What does URL stand for? 4 Computer Infections 5 What is a Virus? 5 How it works 5 What is a Trojan horse? 6 How it works 6 History 6 Where can they be found? 6 What is a Worm? 7 How it works 7 What happens when systems are infected 7 Differences between a Virus, a Trojan horse and a Worm 8 Bibliography 9 â€Æ' What is the Internet? The Internet is a worldwide communications system that allows millions of computers to exchange information. The Internet can also be defined as a worldwide collection

Essay Sannus Story - 979 Words

A. Leprosy, caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium leprae, is leading cause of peripheral neuropathy worldwide; although it is treatable, the damage caused by the disease is irreversible. In Sannu’s case, why is there both sensory loss and muscle weakness? From the repeated injuries Sannu is having repeated nerve damage. When someone has Leprosy and it is untreated they can lose sensation in that extremity due to the body’s defense mechanism. This will cause loss of feeling in the skin and weakens muscle. B. Leprosy can affect the skin and Schwann cells of peripheral nerves. Which events of sensation processing are most likely not functioning properly in Sannu’s leprosy? Generation of nerve impulses is probably not working properly.†¦show more content†¦Slow pain because it is the type of pain referred to as chronic, burning, or throbbing pain. G. What type of peripheral receptors would be activated in a normal, intact limb to produce the sensations Sannu is experiencing in his â€Å"phantom limb†? Tactile receptors- free nerve endings in the skin are picking up the itching and burning Nociceptors- Free nerve endings that are picking up on the pain. H. Sannu has experienced two devastating events: loss of my elination of peripheral nerves and below-the-knee amputation of a leg. Sannu has been experiencing sensations in a limb that had no sensation prior to the amputation. How might this be possible? It is possible because even though the limb is not there anymore the nerve endings at the site of amputation continue to send pain signals to the brain and make the brain believe the limb is still there. I. Since Sannu has lost his leg, and since sensory input to the somatosensory cortex of the brain will be nonexistent, what might happen to the representation of his amputation leg on the somatosensory map? The representation of the leg on the map will disappear because the limb is no longer there. At the beginning after amputation the nerve endings in the site might still send signals but after that the brain will stop getting signals from a region that is not there. J. Could the loss of input from proprioceptors in the amputated leg affect Sannu’s sense of

Uber International Business Case Study - 1471 Words

Introduction Uber is an international mobile application (‘app’) available on operating systems such as iOS and Android. It uses several technology developments such as geographical tracking and payments processed through their mobile app as opposed to cash in hand payments like traditional taxi cabs. These developments match Uber drivers with customers either individually or using ride-sharing depending on their needs. This is a report that will be based on the research and findings of the case study on Uber UK and it will analyse the connections and suitability of the human resource management techniques used within the business and how they can affect the success of the business as a whole. The report will cover a number of key†¦show more content†¦Uber seems to be following the first model displayed as â€Å"separated†. This model is displaying the lack of a relationship between the organisational strategy and the human resource strategy. Although thi s model is described as out of date, countless court cases against Uber have displayed this being their human resource strategy. There was a recent case in 2016 where two Uber drivers representing a group of drivers within the company working in London fought in court that they were employed by Uber, as opposed to working for themselves (Osborne, 2016). Uber’s business model canvas (see Appendices 2) covers the basic points of Uber’s strategies used within their business including the â€Å"key partners† mentioning the drivers with their cars and the â€Å"value proposition† aimed at the drivers as well as the customers. However, this case that Uber drivers in London took up against Uber contradicts the business strategy regarding them as key partners, when in fact, drivers are claiming mistreatment by not providing the national living wage or holiday pay. Another case relevant to displaying the disregard in human resource management is the case against Uber driver Jahir Hussain (Murphy-Bates, 2017). Hussain was convicted of sexually assaulting three women in the back of his Uber car after they fell asleep, groping two women and then raping one. Referring back to the business model (Appendices 2), twoShow MoreRelatedUber s Bag Of Dirty Tricks : An Ethical Consideration1582 Words   |  7 PagesDirty Tricks: An Ethical Consideration â€Æ' Introduction/Overview: UBER is a recent startup tech company providing a service equivalent to regular taxi with better rates and faster service. The case illustrates that UBER has been using some less than direct approaches to stealing the effectiveness of the competition and limiting their overall profitability. The greater question that is born out of an understanding of this particular case is whether or not it is ok to take short rides from a competingRead MoreHow Sustainable Development Urban Areas Is Wicked Problems For Modern Share Economy Businesses Such As Uber And Dropbox1070 Words   |  5 PagesThis essay will analyse and examine how sustainable development in urban areas generates wicked problems for modern share economy businesses such as Uber and Airbnb. A wicked problem is defined as a social or cultural problem that is difficult or impossible to overcome. Some of these problems are encountered by businesses, Uber and Airbnb which are effected by complex economic, legal, political and so cial factors. The share economy is known as a socio-economic ecosystem built around the sharing ofRead MoreAnalysis Of A Recent Service Experience Essay961 Words   |  4 Pagesvery awful experience with Uber service which makes me realize the difficulty of perfect service. I tried to call an Uber car, two month ago, to the Miami international airport. It took about 30 minutes before the driver finally showed up and she claimed that my apartment was very hard to locate. Meanwhile, I was aware that she barely speaks English. She told me she just came from Cuba one month ago and only speaks Spanish but I merely speak. According to recent study found that there are 66.37%Read MoreReview Of Lyft Me Up Entering A New Market 1249 Words   |  5 Pagesuses pink moustache as a logo in front of their service car. Finance Every business has their own capital funding. The main strategy is to offer a friendly, safe and affordable transportation. They raised a fund through the investment by the investors such as; Initial Public Offering (IPO) investment and Andreessen Horowitz and Alibaba. It has plan to use these funds for market growing in local as well as international markets. Marketing Lyft is an online based ride-sharing network that connectsRead MoreReliance Jio Case Study Solution1738 Words   |  7 Pages The case is about how Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited (Jio) rose to become one of the leading telecom networks in India. Jio has captured a large market chunk and achieved numbers that took the competition over a decade to achieve. It is India’s only network which is solely 4G and its USP is the free services that it offers. The company adopted a predatory pricing strategy to enter the Indian telecom market and offered free voice, data, and message services in the name of its â€Å"Welcome Offer† fromRead MorePublic Policy Impact On An American Corporation3071 Words   |  13 Pagesexplain the benefits affected people have due to this law and the ADA improves their way of living. In the following, I am going to give a short overview of the Californian corporation Uber and explain how the company is affected by the ADA. Regarding to this, I will conclude the pressures that the act puts on Uber and what kind of potential costs result from the compulsion. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was passed by Congress in 1990. This decree is one of the nation’s first civil rightsRead MoreGood Or Bad For The World2035 Words   |  9 Pagesworldwide melting pot for a very long time. Today, this process has been expedited through the effects of globalization. Globalization is a process of integration between different people, businesses, nations, governments, etc primarily driven by international trade, investments, and information technology. Products, ideas, culture, and many other aspects are now freely available to most of the world population. Proponents of globalization argue that it is a blessing to the world and a product of worldwideRead MoreComparative Critique Of Comparative Capitalism1214 Words   |  5 PagesCASE STUDY #4: COMPARATIVE CAPITALISM Case Study #4: Comparative Capitalism Florence F. Messi St Thomas University Miami Gardens, Florida Abstract The Merriam-Wester dictionary defines capitalism as an economic system characterized by private or corporate ownership of capital goods, by investments that are determined by private decision, and by prices, production, and the distribution of goods that are determined mainly by competition in a free market. (2015). However for an ideal capitalismRead MoreCurrent Marketing And Sales Efforts1345 Words   |  6 PagesCurrent Marketing and Sales Efforts The public passenger transportation market revenue growth is primarily achieved by winning new business contracts through a competitive procurement process. The clients in these procurements are public agencies, civic governments, and other public entities such as airports or universities who provide transportation services, and have elected to contract management of these services to a third party provider. The procurement process is very price sensitive withRead MoreFedex, An International Express Shipping Company1610 Words   |  7 PagesPage 1 Federal Express, or now known as FedEx, is an international express shipping company that ships anything from envelopes and small packages to large freight. It was the brain child of college student Fredrick Smith, when in 1965 at Yale a professor assigned the class to invent an industry. At that time the only option companies had was to utilized passenger routes to ship packages, which was not very efficient for time sensitive deliveries. Six years later after Smith left the military he

Blocking Gmos A Crime Against Humanity - 1493 Words

Blocking GMO’s A Crime Against Humanity One of the most controversial topics of our time is GM technology (GMO). Is it safe or not? The emotive nature of this topic is justified considering the fact that food is paramount to human well-being; all claims should be carefully examined. However, modern scientific studies contradict commonly held opinions opposing GMO’s which are in fact founded on myths and misinformation. There are currently 2000 peer-reviewed reports which document the safety and wholesomeness of GM foods. (Genera.2014) My goal in this paper is to help open dialogs between activists and the scientific community. Green activists and privileged world citizens deny life and health to millions when they block the progress and use of genetic modification. To achieve this goal, I have organized my paper into four sections and two sub-sections. I will begin with and brief description and summary of GMO’s and the scientific consensus on the safety and efficacy of this technology, public opinion that contradicts the science community and the origins of misinformation. Next I will talk about why GMO’s are a major component in solving food insecurity, death, sickness and poverty. In the third section of this paper involves the efforts of green campaigners who undermine science and block GMO technology. To conclude, I will provide examples of the reality of food insecurity worldwide and highlight one significant area to focus resolution efforts, Golden Rice. I

Pttls Level 3 Assessment 4 Free Essays

HABC LEVEL 3 PTLLS Assessment 4 By Andrew Townsend 28 December 2011 HABC LEVEL 3 PTLLS Assessment 4 Townsend 1 Explain the three main types of assessments used and fully explain how you conduct, or could conduct, an initial assessment of learners. The three main types of assessment are Initial, Formative and Summative Assessments. Each form of assessment is equally important each serving a differing purpose and each used in differing ways. We will write a custom essay sample on Pttls Level 3 Assessment 4 or any similar topic only for you Order Now The Initial assessment is the means in which to gather information about the learners and to not only assess their ability to complete the course that they are taking part in, but to enable the teacher to plan the structure of the sessions required. It also assists the Teacher to decide the pace and pitch of the sessions as well as the choice of resources to use to gain the best out of the Learner. The method most commonly used is the Pre-course Application Form / Questionnaire. This enables the teacher to assess the learner’s standard of written English and understanding. It also enables them to asses previous academic experience, in terms of qualifications already attained and will also tell the teacher when the learner was last in an educational environment. The Application form / Questionnaire can also be backed up by a telephone call. This would enable the teacher to assess the learner’s spoken communication skills. The information collected during the initial assessment should allow the learner to: †¢Be placed on an appropriate pre-vocational or vocational learning programme which matches their skills, knowledge and abilities. Work towards a level of qualification which is appropriate to their level of skills, knowledge and ability. †¢Be placed in work in an appropriate occupational area, where this is relevant to the learning programme. †¢Have all their learning and support needs identified, to enable a comprehensive individual learning plan to be designed. (Department for Education and Employment Good Practice Series †˜Initial Assessment of Learning and Support Needs and Planning Learning to Meet Needs May 2001 p10). ‘The formative assessment is a continuous method of assessment that is conducted throughout the course of tuition. (Morley and Wordsworth. PTLLS made easier. Nov 2010 p92). As a session progresses, the teacher must be able to assess that the learners have understood what they have been taught at each stage. Without continual assessment there is no way of judging whether the learners are able to move on to the next stage. The assessments can be conducted using various means such as oral question and answers, multiple choice questions or group tasks or exercises. The assessments used will enable the teacher to make an informed decision whether or not to carry on, or to re-teach and confirm as required. Often the size of the group will govern the methods that the teacher adopts to carry out formative assessment. The use of question and answers often takes time, particularly if asking each and every learner either one or two questions. In this situation it would be easier and more productive to introduce multi-choice questioning in the form of a game. For example issue each learner with a set of cards labelled A, B C and D. When a question is asked each student can HABC LEVEL 3 PTLLS Assessment 4 Townsend 2 then respond accordingly with what they consider to be the correct answer. This enables the teacher to examine all students at the same time, as well as being able to correct, if necessary the learners that have given the wrong answer. In the practical scenario formative assessment enables the learner to practice what they have learned without the pressure of a formal examination and if errors are made, then they can be rectified during the session. If several of the learners are making the same error, it enables the teacher to re-teach as required. ‘A summative assessment is a final confirmation assessment that is conducted at the end of the session or course. This type of assessment assesses all aspects of the teaching and normally, for a theory session, takes the form of a written examination. ’ (Morley and Wordsworth. PTLLS made easier. Nov 2010 p93). This enables the teacher to ask questions about the entire course in a logical order and being a written examination, once it is marked, it can be graded then filed and stored as a record of the learners progression. When used following a practical session the formative assessment would take the form of the learner carrying out the newly taught skill from beginning to end, under examination conditions without interference from the teacher. I would use a pre-course application form in order to conduct an initial assessment of learners. A well thought out and written application form would enable me to gain vital information about the learner and plan the course of study to best utilise their potential. The application form would enable me to collect the following vital information about the learner: Career preferences and suitability. Qualifications and achievements. Aptitude and potential. Prior learning and experience. Basic skill needs. Key skill needs. Learning difficulties. Interests. Learning style. Job role. Personal effectiveness. Personal circumstances which may affect learning. (Department for Education and Employment Good Practice Series ‘Initial Assessment of Learning and Support Needs and Planning Learning to Meet Needs May 2001 p39). Explain how you utilise assessment methods. Prior to any course of study I would send out a pre-course application form to all learners in order to gain as much information as possible to enable me to plan the course of study accordingly. The responses received would enable me to ensure that the learning was set at the right level for each learner to gain as much as possible from the learning and enable them to reach their individual learning goals. HABC LEVEL 3 PTLLS Assessment 4 Townsend 3 As the training progressed I would utilise formative assessment throughout the learning process. E. g. Having taught a practical element of the course, such as CPR, it is very important to make sure that the learner is able to carry out the procedures correctly. It enables me as the teacher to see whether the teaching method used is working or whether changes may be required. I would also employ formative assessment in the form of Questions and Answers or maybe even games to not only help me assess the effectiveness of the teaching, but to help me as the teacher to further embed learners functional skills. E. g. In First Aid there are several basic formulae/ratios that require to be learnt to enable the learner to carry out life saving procedures, such as 30:2 (the number of compressions to rescue breaths required to successfully carry out CPR. These various formulae also lend themselves very well to the use of multiple-choice questions. At the conclusion of a three day First Aid at work course a formal summative assessment is compulsory in the form of multiple-choice examination papers and practical examinations. This allows the learner to prove that they have reached the standard required, which in turn enables them to be certificated as qualified in First Aid. Summative assessment also enables the teacher/training organisation to keep records of the learners’ achievements for further reference, particularly if the learner wishes to progress further. Explain the importance and the requirement of keeping records, including those relating to assessment. Record keeping forms a crucial part of teaching; the majority of records that would be kept are summative assessments. These are often paper examinations, or audio/ video recordings. Other forms of records that are required to be kept are teaching logs, application forms and funding documentation. Records can either be paper-based or data-based; both forms require an adequate storage facility that is secure and monitored. There are several reasons why records need to be kept, such as a requirement from a college, OFQUAL or an awarding organisation, such as HSE. Records show standardisation, meeting of criteria and form a vital part of the audit chain. OFQUAL, colleges and awarding organisations employ quality assurance officers to check training provider’s records. There is normally a stipulation that they are kept for three years. The other benefit of record keeping is that you have something to reference should a past learner enquire about a previous course of tuition. They may have lost their certificate and require a duplicate copy for their records. (Morley and Wordsworth. PTLLS made easier. Nov 2010 p97). How to cite Pttls Level 3 Assessment 4, Papers

Ethical Considerations in the Research of Applied Linguistics free essay sample

However, once the human subjects being investigated, there will possibly raise potential risks and discomforts from the procedure of the research, for instance, the disclosure of privacy could be damaging to a person. A qualified researcher must place a premium on ethical considerations when doing the research planing , even if it appears to be of minimally risky to the subjects. In this paper, I tend to discuss on some prominent ethical issues concerned by the literatures of research methodology and to address some of them with a combination of the recommended solutions from the literatures and my own reflections after reading those texts. After all, as it is difficult to transact all of the ethical issues in all circumstances, to highlight some ethical dilemmas and make the tricky points noticeable to the researchers seems to be worth doing. And hopefully, every researcher of applied linguistics finds a balance point between the ethical considerations and their willingnesses of producing optimum researches. We will write a custom essay sample on Ethical Considerations in the Research of Applied Linguistics or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Anyway, whether ethically conducting the research or not also involves in the criteria for evaluating the quality of a research. 2. Researchers value As the German sociologist Weber (1946) indicated, all research is contaminated to some extent by the value of the researcher (cited in Silverman, 2004: 257). How researchers carry out their researches therefore highly depends on the value they hold. For example, generally qualitative researchers favour rich and detailed data for exploring their questions in depth, whereas quantitative researchers place an emphasis on the objectivity and generalizability of the research and the descriptive work is not seen as valuable as statistics. To conclude an ethical point of view into the content of value, on one hand, it is the researchers consideration of protecting the rights and privacy of human participants, on the other hand it is the researchers interest and responsibility to their researches. Sometimes, certain dilemma rises from the conflict of both side. Silverman (2004) notes that both qualitative researcher and quantitative researcher are impinged by such dilemma of willing to fully inform the participants with the details of the research but not contaminating the quality of their research by letting the participants know too much about the research questions. In this sense, the researchers have to ponder over some dilemmas emerged in the course of conducting their researches and to clarify the value to themselves about how to use the sample, adopting a particular method and doing what kind of research. In Cohen et al. s (2000:63) words: What is the poper balance between the interest of science and the thoughtful, humane treatment of people who, innocently, provide the data? (cited in Dornyei, 2007:65) If we can provide a precisely constructed value frame as the answer to the following questions: How much percentage should the ethical considerations take in researchers value frame and to what extent would it effect the research procedure and the results, there would have been an overall guideline for all the researcher to follow which offers them an explicit instruction on dealing with any ethical issues by a fixed principle. However, it is unlikely that even a very well-built ethical guideline could always be a proper one across various s ituations. The interpretation of the term may vary a bit across different literatures but without excluding the main elements of sufficient information, voluntary participation, and comprehensible information. These interconnected elements going with relevant ethical considerations are discussed in detail subsequently. 3. 1 Issues related to sufficient information The issues related to sufficient information can be broken down into the following three aspects: 1. the interpretations to sufficiency; 2. the conflict between preventing the research from contamination and avoiding deception; 3. he inability of some researchers to provide full information to participants. These aspects are to be elaborated via discussing the following questions. 3. 1. 1 How sufficient should it be and which elements should be included? There are different interpretations of the term sufficient information from different institutions, as what Dornyei (2007) notes: There is quite a bit of controversy about how informe d the consent should be that is, how much information do we need to share with the respondents before asking them to participate. (p69) According to Mackey and Gass (2005)s Checklist for Obtaining Informed Consent, the core elements involved in the paradigm of sufficient information are: †¢ The procedures and purpose of the research; †¢ The potential risks and benefits of the research; †¢ The method of the research or the treatment to the subjects; †¢ The contact information of the researcher; †¢ The steps to be taken for ensuring confidentiality and anonymity. Although these elements are basic requirements for obtaining informed consent, there seem to be several salient dilemmas embedded in each part. First of all, it is always contradictory to provide the participants with the details of the research. Generally, researchers are advised to give the information sufficient enough to the potential participants, but in doing so, some of them are likely to withdraw from the study because of certain discomfortable details. Dornyei (2007) indicates that certain information could either create a bias to participate or make the respondents want to run away. For this reason, some researchers may be reluctant to reveal too much information of the nature of the study. In order to recruit a target group of favorable subjects and raise their enthusiasm to the study, the researchers may tend to hide certain information which is adverse to recruitment and stress those that the respondents may be interested in. In Brymans (2001) words: It is extremely difficult to present prospective participant with absolutely all the information that might be required to make a informed decision about that involvement. In fact, relatively minor transgressions probably pervade most social research(p481). What we need do for best dealing with this issue is to achieve a trade-off and concern the minimal level of informedness found in the literature vary. (Dornyei, 2007:69) And we have to admit a primary principle that the information related to potential risks and possible influences should never be covert to the respondents. Second, sometimes it is quite problematic in informing participants the potential risks or harms. As far as I see, according to certain types of r esearches and the methods they adopt, the researchers might not able to prevent or repair some emerging risks or harms which are actually inevitable. Bouma (1993) argues that because of the intimately interactive feature of the qualitative research, there is a great likelihood that the research will effect those been studied. The participants opinions may have unconsciously been shaped through a research. Although we could not tell the changes are negative or positive, there do present certain risks. To think of some experimental studies in applied linguistics, the participants under any particular treatments will certainly be effected. For example, in the researches conducted in a classroom setting, the researcher wants to inquire the effectiveness between two instructional models, it is predictable that one group of students would obtain less achievements due to their special treatment or no treatment. Gass (2010) argues that if we have reason to believe a treatment is beneficial, then we have to provide that treatment to those participant who did not receive that treatment after the data has been collected. However, later she points out that to make the students return for a second round is not logistically possible. Furthermore, It is tricky to inform such risks or harms for the reason that they are often invisible to the participants and what are noticeable to the researchers may be hard to interpret for the reason that in many researches the participants are actually a group of innocent people whereas the researchers are the ones who have an overall knowledge on the area they are investigating at. Seliger and Shohamy (1989) note: Frequently, for control purpose, subjects are not aware of their participation in a study, or if aware do not know the exact nature of the experiments. (p196) They suggest the participants be given that information once the study is completed. In this sense, the participants have the rights the know the theories underlying the research and it is ethical to inform them with the final result and also let them know how it comes out. . Third, it is difficult to balance the amount f benefits from a study and the sacrifice the participant made. In most researches of applied linguistics there are some benefits to the participants in return, which is a part of the respondents concerns for making their decisions of participation. Apart from the ethical issues mentioned before that the researchers might highlight or even exaggerate the beneficial points to some extent in order to attract respondents to take part in their researches, we should also notice that n ot all the researchers could find such a balance point in their researches. After all, a specific research is designed within the interest and bias of the researcher but not of the participants. Dornyei (2007) suggests the researchers take their responsibility to make cost-benefit balance as equitable as possible. In fact, it is much easier said than done. The participants always cost more than take something back in return. Not many researches can match participants interest and some may have nothing to do with their needs. As a point noticed by Holliday (2010), People will very likely have far more important things to do and think about than taking part in your research project It may be unfair to expect that the people in the research setting should understand or be interested in the research project(p105). So the people participating in researches are more like making sacrifices while they donate their time and energy on every stage of a research including understanding those information provided by the researcher in order to have informed consents. Moreover, sometimes even the researchers think doing something would be good for the participants, they could not guarantee that. 3. 1. 2 Is withholding information necessary or deceptive? In second language research there is a so called observers paradox, that is, the aim of linguistic research in the community must be to find out how people talk when they are not being systematically observed; yet we can only obtain these data by systematic observation. (Labov, 1972:209) In other words, the participants might change their usual behaviour because they know they are being studied. Hollidays (2010) words upgrade that paradox to some extent: What people are prepared to say or how they are prepared to appear in front f a researcher may have as much to do with their perceptions of the researcher as with the questions the researcher is asking. They may be researching you as much you are researching them. (p105) It seems that the research is contaminated merely by the fact that you are perceived as a researcher. In this sense, while covert observation will easily encounter ethical accusation, withholding information and even deception for leading their thoughts to the other ways seems necessary and desirable. However, the widespread condemnation of the violations of inform consent can not be easily ignored. Even if the researcher promise to reveal all the hidden information after data collection, it still has certain possibility that some withholding details discomfort the participants in the end. To cope with this issue, apart from meeting the conditions of acceptable withholding information (see Mackey Gass, 2005:30), the researchers had better arrange a survey or interview after the disclosing the information which was withheld. If any negative feedbacks from the participants arise, elimination of the data elicited from certain participants and a sincere apology are required. . 1. 3 Whether all the researchers are able to provide the participants with sufficient information? Though the principle of inform consent requires the researches to provide as much imformation as possible, actually this is not always easy for all the researchers to do so. Manson (1996,166-7) reveals a way in which certain ethical issues impinge on the qualitative researchers: The changing directions of intere st and access during a qualitative study mean that new and expected ethical dilemmas are likely to arise during the course of your research. cited in Silverman, 2004: 257) Mansons argument reflects that fully informed consent may be not available in qualitative research due to its emergent nature. In qualitative researches, according to Dornyei (2007): no aspect of the research design is tightly prefigured and a study is kept open and fluid, the researchers can respond in a flexible way to new details or openings that may emerge during the process of the investigation(p37) but meanwhile it raises the complexity for dealing with ethical issues. Once certain details are changed or even a new question emerges during the fieldwork, those changed or new points should be informed to the participants and the consents in a second round is required. However, as the consents have already been granted, I believe some researchers will practically omit this step and continue processing their research. Anyway, as most researches are dynamic and contextual, even not a qualitative one, certain new or unpredicted ethical issues would very likely emerge in the course of research. Moreover, if the researcher is collecting data from the participants, especially he/she makes a record, the respondents have the rights to know how these data will be used after the research. At the initiation of a research, the researcher probably has no idea about the future use of the data, but what if a respondent would have decided not to participate due to the concern of the data use? Silverman (2004) points out that initial consent in some cases is not enough, it is necessary to obtain further consents to how the data might be used. My suggestion is to offer the possible future treatments of the data as much as possible at the beginning of the research and to add a further consent if it is necessary. 3. 2 Issues on protecting confidentiality When doing research using human subjects, ensuring the safety of the participants is always at the first place. It means that before the research is commenced, the researchers should make precautions to any risks, discomforts or harms that would happen after adopting certain methods, asking sensitive questions or using certain approaches of data collection. Especially in the researches based on school settings, except for the case I mentioned before that experimenting on students threatens their educational achievements, the confidentiality of data also constitutes an equivalently significant ethical consideration. As Macky Gass (2005) noted, such ethical consideration should be more seriously taken in classroom based researches, because in the reports the participants are more easily to be identified which leads to certain ramifications that might be detrimental to either teachers or students. The researchers could draw on certain approaches to address the issues on anonymity, such as changing names of the subjects or coding them by numbers which are mentioned in most research methodology books. But whatever they do, the anonymity of subjects is difficult to be guaranteed. Dornyei (2007) presents the dilemma of anonymity as following: A basic dilemma in educational research concerns the fact that although ideally our participants should remain anonymous, we often need to identify the respondents to be able to match their performance on various instruments or tasks. p65) Brooks-Lewis (2009), for example, carried out a classroom-based research which discuss second language learners perceptions to a native speaker teacher using their first language in the English class. The original data consisting of the individuals words and performance in the classes are presented in her research paper, which may easliy expose ones identity, and even those data from the learners diaries wo uld create a clue for identifying a particular individual. As Duff and Early (1996) said: In reports of school-based research, prominent individuals or focal subjects tend to be more vulnerable than others(p21, cited in Macky Gass, 2005: 28). Anther concern falls on doing researches in sensitive situations. Because of the special nature of the participants (eg. refugees, patients), the confidentiality of data and full anonymity should be ensured by providing the means for protecting the confidentiality and anonymity detailed into every step. In the researches in classroom settings or those concern sensitive area, any disclosure of participants identity would result in certain harms. Macky Gass (2005) advise researchers to even volunteer to check with the participants before using any potentially identifying information in transcripts, data, reports, papers or presentations, even when numbers are assigned in stead of names(p29). In addition, raising issues about ensuring confidentiality and anonymity are most likely related to how the information is recorded and how the records are maintained. The researchers therefore need carefully select their research methods with an understanding of the characters of the target subjects, such as considering which way of recording data would be riskless and more acceptable to the respondents: audio, video, or just observation. And they also need to inform the respondents with further treatments of the data, such as whether they will delete the data after research; if they have to keep these data, where to store and who can access to it, etc. 3. 3 Issues related to comprehensible information The principle of giving comprehensible information suggests the responsibility of the researcher to fully explain the information in terms of meaningful to the participants. In the research of applied linguistics, the second language learners and children are frequently investigated. For the former group, as the subjects especially those beginners are not competent enough in the literacy of the second language, the researchers are advised to translate the texts to the respondents own languages. For the latter group of subjects who are too young to make a decision, the researcher should obtain consent from their proper proxy. Dornyei (2007) consider that the permission can be granted by the childrens teacher for the reason that they are usually aware of the significance of legal matters. I have to point out that it is fine if the teacher has no relationship with the researcher, however if some relationship is out there (eg. They work for the same institution, they are friends or acquaintances , even the teacher has a dual identity of teacher and researcher), the consents are invalid. In addition to second language learners and children, Starfield (2010) reminds the researchers of considering a circumstance in which the participant are not literature in any language, which makes us further ponder on the question of whether we could obtain oral consents. 3. 4. Ethical issues in voluntary participation Voluntary participation requires that the subjects not to be coerced into participating the study. However, sometimes something has interfered them making a decision even if it seems that the participants take part in the research of their freewill. As the notion of voluntary participation is firmly related to the requirement of informed consent, first of all, violation of informed consent would certainly interfere the principle of voluntary participation, for example, as I mentioned before, an uninformed consent in which there is an overstated benefit for participating the research. Besides, as far as I see, at least another two factors interfere he notion of voluntary participation. 3. 4. 1 The relationships To improve the the recruitment rate and encourage a better cooperation , the researcher might tend to build a good relationships with the participants whenever doing recruitment or collecting data from them. Although recruiting the individuals or groups who is interested and affected by the research topic contribute to handling some ethical issues in an easier way, what if t he researchers intentionally do someting in order to induce respondents to make consents? One principle for ethical consideration in the Statement on Experimentation (1992) prepared by NHMRC of Australia states: Volunteers may be paid for inconvenience and time spent, but such payment should not be so large as to be an inducement to participant. (cited in Bouma, 1996: 196) Bouma (1996) argues that although it is rarely an issue in social research, other than undue payment, the researcher cannot coerce compliance by offering any enticing rewards for participation, such as giving the students who have participated in the study extra scores in final test. In addition, the close relationship of researcher and participants itself raises an ethical issue. Once establishing a intimate relationship with the researcher, it is no doubt that what the participants should do would be more than that with their previous relationship. Because the researcher has won a favorable impression from the participants and become their friend. Whether genuine or not, that friendship requires the participants obligation of helping the researcher to a larger extent which would not have been achieved if there is not such a relationship. Even if the friendship is authentic, because of its nature built on the research in which the embedded attempt would never be pure, such relationship can only be there out of the research but not the reason for requiring the participants to contribute more. Cassell (1978) points out that it is unethical for researchers to form relationships with participants, act as friends, and then leave the situation when the research project concludes. (cited in Tisdale, 2004: 27) Thus, the researcher should not ask participants to take part in the research and to meet any requirements merely by the fact that they regard he/she as a friend. Dornyei (2007) poses some relevant ethical questions: if it is ethical flirting with participants and how to end a research project without leaving the participants feeling that they were merely used(p65). Furthermore, Duff (2007) points out that seeking informed consent from the researchers current students is coercive as they are in a dependent relationship with the researcher. Sometimes the students have no choice but to participate in their teachers research. It raises an ethical issue in which the power unbalance in the relationship between teacher and students plays a role. 3. 4. 2 Power unbalance According to Bouma (1996), in some cases, the researcher may be in a more powerful position than the subjects, such as teacher to student, parent to child, employer to employee, etc. In these cases, power, sometimes invisible, imposes on the action of the individuals. If you are in a position of power over someone else, even if you havent actually forced anyone to do something, the power out there is forcing them to act as what they think that you wish them to do. Macky Gass (2005) point out: Undue influence may be exercised, even unwittingly, where persons of authority urge or suggest a particular course of action (p34). We have to note that while a teacher is asking or persuading his/her students to participate in a research, the consent of the student can be involuntary as they are in the weak side of power. As a critical ethnographer, in her critiques of teachers, Sleeter (1998) plays the role of adversary to the powerful in order to advocate for children. In this sense, we probably have to reconsider the question that who is the most proper proxy for making additional consents for the children subjects. As Trochim (2006) noted, in order to meet the principle of voluntary participation without any coercion, we need to pay more attention on where researchers had previously relied on captive audiences for their subjects such as prisons, universities. Bouma (1996) suggests that the research should be abandoned when a free consent can not be obtained. As a result, when reviewing a research proposal, we should not only examine the relationships between investigator and subjects but also look into the power relations between the subjects and the people who are doing the recruitment. Conclusions In the research of applied linguistics, like other social inquires, the major ethical considerations center around the principle of conformed consent, assurance of harmlessness, confidentiality, and voluntary participation. Nowadays ethical issues are of great concern and clear ethical standards and principles have been developed by various organizations and institutions, nevertheless, no set of standard can anticipate every ethical circumstance. The researcher might take these considerations in the context of his/her own research. Thus, there might be no specific solution but a fairly general answer to the questions raised around ethics, that is, to try to clarify ones intentions before getting started and to predict the potential ethical issues by gaining a relatively full understanding of the subjects. Anyway, from my point of view, the ethical consideration should always be set to the fore of any other respects of the research.