Saturday, November 9, 2019
International Bonds: Credit Ratings
Why do most International bonds have high Moody or Standard & Poor's credit ratings? Credit Rating Is a social Intermediary service to provide credit Information and reference for the community. Credit rating Is alma to show the size of a credit default risk the rating object, rating agencies focus on financial conditions and historical data to give the overall valuation of object. Currently, credit rating on the issue of international bonds is the popular investment risk valuation method in the international capital market.Specifically, this is assessed on debt servicing capacity of the issue bonds in a period, its fundamental purpose is to protect the interests of investors. At present, there are about 20 credit rating agencies on the issue of international bonds over the world, Moody, Standard & Poor's are the top 2 institution all over the world. Though they are private institution, but the rating scale and guidelines gradually become recognized as Internationally accepted sample s with considerable authority. Credit rating Is the traffic permit' for bond issuer to enter theInternational bond markets. International bonds with high credit rating mastered the global Information dominance and capital allocation rights. The rating will directly affect the level of costs and interest rates of oversea companies, it also can affect the strength of a business or even the survival and development of a country. Credit rating could provide objective and impartial credit information in order to strengthen management, avoid risks, optimize investment, boost sales and improve efficiency.High credit rating can increase the international business community awareness, improve competitiveness, to expand markets, increase sales and achieve rapid development of enterprises, expanding the scope of corporate finance at the same time, promoting financing success. High credit rating also can reduce financing costs in international enterprises. Companies with high credit ratings can get more credit policy In economic exchanges, easily to expand the scale of financing, therefore reduce financing costs.Q. What should a borrower consider before issuing dual-currency bonds? What should an investor consider before investing in dual-currency bonds? Dual-currency nod is a bond that is issued in a currency and pays coupons in the currency as well. At due date, the capital is paid in another currency. The coupon rates for dual- currency bonds are usually higher than other straight fixed-rate bonds. The amount of principal would set when the bond is issued based on currency appreciate.There are many motivations for Issuing the dual-currency bond, but the core reason is due to the long-term foreign currency offered by bank are rarely more than a decade, it must be used In order to avoid the foreign exchange risk. Exchange rate uncertainty would primarily considerate for both the borrower and Investor when dealing with dual-currency bonds. Currency fluctuation will Influe nce whether a borrower or issuer will gain or loss. As for the borrower, if the issued currency appreciates or principal, thus, the borrowers will benefit.However, if the issued and coupon currency depreciate or principal currency appreciates, the borrower will suffer a loss from exchange rates. As for the investor are opposite to borrower. If the principal currency appreciates or issued currency depreciates, the principal repayment they chive will be more valuable than the issued currency repayment, thus, the investors will benefit. On the contrary, they will suffer a loss from exchange rates. Normally, coupon rate dual-currency bond is higher than the single-currency bonds.On the publisher's point of view, the repayment in different currencies may get lower risk, therefore, the bond issuers were willing to pay a higher coupon rate in order to reduce exchange rate risk, and choose to pay the dual-currency bond. Q. Discuss the process of bringing a new international bonds issue to m arket. The main international bond issuance processes are as follows: (1) The issuer will contact an investment banker and ask it to serve as lead manager of an underwriting syndicate.
Thursday, November 7, 2019
Pro-Form - Definition and Examples in English Grammar
Pros in English Grammar Pro-form is a word or phrase that can take the place of another word (or word group) in a sentence. The process of substituting pro-forms for other words is called proformation. In English, the most common pro-forms are pronouns, but other words (such as here, there, so, not, and do) can also function as pro-forms.à The pro-form is the referring word in a sentence; the word or word group thats referred to is the antecedent. Examples and Observations: My grandmother started walking five miles a day when she was sixty. Shes 97 now, and we dont know where the hell she is. à (American comedian Ellen DeGeneres)Our father ...came back in the morning and told us he had found lodgings, and so we went there. They were east of the harbour, off Lot Street, at the back of a house which had seen better days.à (Margaret Atwood, Alias Grace. McClelland Stewart, 1996)One day in English class I passed Bill Hilgendorff a note. I love you, the note said. He folded it up and looked straight ahead. Then I whispered to him that he could live his whole life long and no one would ever love him as I did. I thought this was an amazing and daring and irresistible thing to do.à (Tereze Glà ¼ck, May You Live in Interesting Times. University of Iowa Press, 1995)We had offers to play in Hong Kong, and I always wanted to go there, but I wouldnt agree to do it because it wasnt going to add any more profit to the tour.à (Johnny Ramone, Commando: The Aut obiography of Johnny Ramone. Abrams, 2012) When the tzar was seated, everyone else sat, and so did we.à (L. E. Modesitt, Jr., Ghost of the White Nights. Tor Books, 2001)Boldly, Stein leaps from her short history of open source to the future of Canadian federalism. One might have expected her to develop her argument in the direction of scenario IV, but unfortunately she did not.à (Ruth Hubbard and Gilles Paquet, The Black Hole of Public Administration. University of Ottawa Press, 2010)Im proud of the many ways youre growing, and I hope you are, too.à (Fred Rogers, Dear Mr. Rogers. Penguin, 1996) Rogers, Does It Ever Rain in Your Neighborhood?: Letters to Mr.People cheerfully mixed the spiritual and the mundane, and I did as well.à (Gwendolyn M. Parker, Trespassing: My Sojourn in the Halls of Privilege. Houghton Mifflin, 1997) So and Not as Pro-Formsà Sometimes pro-forms represent less clearly identifiable constituents: (6) He may decide to join us next week, but I dont think so.(7) Speaker A: Will he join us next week?Speaker B: I hope not. In (6) the adverb so represents the preceding clause but with an appropriate change of operator: . . . but I dont think he will join us next week. In (7), the adverb not represents the whole of the preceding clause but changes it into a negative statement: . . . I hope he will not join us next week.à (Carl Bache, Mastering English: An Advanced Grammar for Non-Native and Native Speakers. Walter de Gruyter, 1997) Do as a Pro-Form Do is used as a pro-form when the predicate itself and all the complements which follow it are elided (Jack hurt himself fetching water, and Jill did, too). If another auxiliary is present, the pro-form do is less common (Has Jack hurt himself? Yes, he has; also, Yes, he has done . . .). Note that the pro-form do is not the same lexeme as the auxiliary do; the latter has only the forms do, does, did while the pro-form has these as well as done and doing.à (Stephan Gramley and Kurt-Michael Ptzold, A Survey of Modern English, 2nd ed. Routledge, 2004)
Monday, November 4, 2019
Modern Dance Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words
Modern Dance - Research Paper Example She did this through the gestures that she made using her body. Through her subject matter, Graham was found to have made numerous transformations in dancing. It is in the sense that most of her themes can be easily analyzed. It is as a result of these efforts that Martha graham was able to create revolutionary changes and making a lot of influence among the people who interacted and watched her dances. Therefore, it can be said that it is because of her immense attention and keenness to a number of actions that she was able to emulate and encompass in her dances to attain success. This paper will discuss her unique efforts and characters in relation to her dance and the influence that it has had in the modern dance society since its introduction. Martha Graham is recognmized as one of the greatest artists that ever existed during the 20th century. She created a language that was based on movement and the capacity of the human body to make varied expressions. This exemplary performance and element of influence has its roots from the time that she started to teach a group of dancers who had become interested in her creative works. Martha Graham had a great impact in the American society since she was a dancer who was extremely influential. She was also a teacher who additionally choreographed modern dance. Martha was able to give a new depth to dance and express her emotions in a forceful manner with the way that she came up with different creations (Kessel 42).Throughout the many decades and ages, she became widely known all over the world. She released her first debut in the early years of 1920ââ¬â¢s. She gained more and more experienced as she progressed in her career. In addition, she also became wiser in the field of modern dances. By some people though, the style that was used by Martha Graham was considered to be controversial. Nonetheless, she worked her ways through become
Saturday, November 2, 2019
Discuss these questions for The United Nation Environments Program ( Essay
Discuss these questions for The United Nation Environments Program ( UNEP ) - Essay Example The operations in crucial matters such as Economics, Industry, and Technology are made more favorable by situating their major offices in Paris and Geneva. Any organization, no matter the size, must have key stakeholders (Shafritz & Ott, 1996). In the same way, UNEP has major actors in its daily operations, which ensure that the ecosystem of the organization favors the objectives and that all the goals are fully achieved. UNEPââ¬â¢s comparative advantage lies in working with technical and scientific communities; in monitoring and assessing, as well as linking to environment ministries. The Committee of Permanent Representatives and the Governing Council, who are the chief formal governance mechanisms, meet on a regular basis to give adequate guidance and oversight. There are a few challenges that the environment presents to UNEP. The worst of all are the environmental disasters. Developmental and economic operations interact with components of the habitats and may probably cause the changing patterns of activities; creating severe environmental and natural phenomena (Tompkins, 2004).This is a major challenge to the UNEP as it may not be in a position to handle natural calamities, which are harmful to both the ecosystem and to human beings. Human behavior is another factor of the environment that challenges this organization. They are directly linked to various trends, such as population growth, increase in poverty, unwise land use, disturbance of initially stable ecosystems, and environmental degradation. Such factors exposed to the environment may be a big problem for UNEP to handle within a short period of time. The environment is still at the margin of socio-economic growth. Excessive consumption and poverty continue putting heavy pressure to UNEP, especially in places where awareness and action are not coordinated
Thursday, October 31, 2019
Religion and Theology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words
Religion and Theology - Essay Example Religion typically appeals to emotional values of a person as opposed to the intellectual values. Believers always tend to think that an emotional reason for believers is not worthy. A person may be identified according to his/her religion in many ways, such as the dressing codes, the speech of a person and their lifestyle. You can identify a person religion due to the way the person dresses, some religion are strict in the believerââ¬â¢s mode of dressing and therefore are against other types of dressing while others do not care about the dressing mode.the speech of a person can also make you to differentiate people according to their religion for instance Muslims usually include Muhammad in between their conversations while Christians include Jesus Christ, this can help one to differentiate between a Muslim and a Christian. The name of a person can suggest the religion of the respective person (Neusner, 304). For instance the Christians name their children according to the names in the bible. This are only but a few ways one can be identified in regard to the religion he/she belongs to. Despite the difference in religions and beliefs most people believe in on e true God. Muslim is one among the many religions. The Muslims believe in Muhammad as the messenger of God. They believe in Quran as the only revelation that is not changed with human influence. Though they agree that there are other revelation but they argue that the other revelation have been altered with time thus remaining with the Quran as the perfect one. The Muslims are tied up by various religious concepts and practices this includes fasting in various seasons such as the Ramadan and alms giving. During their fasting period they dedicate themselves in helping the poor and the needy, this is not usually considered as a charity work thus it is a religious requirement that must be respected by all Muslims. They usually take this as the best moment to be near to God and do his work. Their fasting always starts from dawn and ends at dusk at wich time they ought not to take anything even a drink, pregnant women and the sick people are usually exempted from the fasting because the y can not stay for long hours without food. They always pray five times in a day, the five pillars of worship has always been the concept of worship and they stick unto it. Their religion also insists that one must have a trip to Mecca once in a oneââ¬â¢s lifetime, at the least. The rituals done during the trip to Mecca include having a walk seven times rounds the Kaaba, if possible one should make sure he/she touches the black stone, they usually run in between mount. Safa and mount marwa seven times continuous, in addition to the above rituals a Muslim is also supposed to symbolically stone the devil in mina. They not only assemble in the mosque for their prayers but also meet there to study different things in regard to life. Children classes are also held in the mosque, Muslims always believe that a child should be taught while still young. When going to the toilet the Muslims usually carries a jerican of water to wash themselves, they do this to maintain cleanliness unlike m any religions that their believers use the tissue papers. This seems so interesting but attending their worshipping service is more interesting though not easy if you are a non Muslim to be granted the permission. The Muslims worship every Friday at 1.00 pm, before starting their worshiping session the women are separated from the men. They always have strict rules regarding fornication and hence prevent the intermingling of men and women to the greatest extent possible. This is why they usually separates them during the worshipping session to
Tuesday, October 29, 2019
War Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words
War - Research Paper Example In this aspect, it can be said that the human race is one of the most successful species of the planet (Tooby & Cosmides 1). Humans have, through time, learned abilities and devised tactics to overpower their competitors. Along with the human evolutionary success came the birth of different cultures and establishment of numerous civilizations throughout the planet. Looking back to history, war is not something that occurs due to the innate ability of different societies to amass weapon stockpiles and train military men for battle, nor does it happen due to the evolutionary history of the human species -ââ¬Å"that war is the result of cultural and social processes, divorced from any individual or biological ââ¬Ëfunctionââ¬â¢ or expression of individual psychologyâ⬠(Tooby & Cosmides 1). War is the last straw drawn when two or more factions can no longer reach compromise with regards to morality, wealth and property, religion or even race. It is the last solution when all n egotiations fail and that opposing parties are obliged to concede to the notion that force is required to achieve order and eliminate the existing problem within aspects far beyond the basic need to survive (Tooby & Cosmides 1). It should be noted that although the Darwinian theory of continued existence does hold water, man as a sentient being have also learned to bargain and to deal with the terms of different agreements. History has taught us that although war is inevitable in some cases, humankind will never put it ahead in the negotiating table due to the dire consequences it will bring to both factions (Tooby & Cosmides 1). The developing equality of for womenââ¬â¢s rights has become evident through the decades. The women of today can now freely hold positions of power and authority. It is also very noticeable that there has not yet been another war comparable to that of World War II. Wide spread conflict that involves majority of the nations has not occurred for the past s ix decades. This brings into question the idea that women in power have reduced the likelihood of war (Tooby & Cosmides 1; Zur 3). Review of past research done by Ofer Zur revealed that ââ¬Å"there is a great complexity to the phenomena of war and more complexity in the differences between attitudes of men and women towards warâ⬠(Zur, 3). His study entitled ââ¬Å"Men, Women and War: Gender Differences in Attitudes towards Warâ⬠, he exposed the faulty idea of men drawn to war more than women. The research results showed that men and women will support war just as strongly as men however the grounds of which to support a war would be different. Women support war ââ¬Å"when an appeal is made based on empathy for the oppressed and vulnerable human beingsâ⬠(Zur, 3). Males on the other hand ââ¬Å"justify war according to the rational and legal criteriaâ⬠(Zur, 3). He also stated that the data indicates that men more than women, acknowledge or negate war and aggre ssion and devastation caused by war and accept stereotypical sex roles during war time. Based on these results, it can be deduced that women in power will not ultimately change the likelihood of war. Instead it will lead to a change in perspective and basis in declaring war during conflicts. The more important question that will
Sunday, October 27, 2019
Role of the First Amendment in Freedom of Speech and Social Media
Role of the First Amendment in Freedom of Speech and Social Media Freedom Speech in The Age of Social Media Summary: This paper discusses the First Amendment and its role and relevance in the Internet and Social Media. It touches base on violation of First Amendment Rights through censorship, and libel cases that were not protected by the First Amendment on Social Media. The First Amendment of the Constitution can be found in the First section, which is called the Bill of Rights, which are known to be the most significant part of the US Constitution. The First Amendment entitles US citizens the vital freedoms of speech, religion and expression. Not all countries give these rights to their citizens and this is why US citizens are so fortunate because they have the freedom to express themselves and to stand up for what they believe in or what they donââ¬â¢t. The Founding Fathers ââ¬ËFramersââ¬â¢ of the US Constitution had a vision for the United States and for its citizens to have these vital freedoms, the problem is that these amendments were written centuries ago, and with time and new technologies come many changes and the interpretation of these rights has changes because of these technologies, especially now in the age of Social Media. Most of modern interaction and conversation is now done on Social Media platforms with the help of the Internet and a problem with this is that there are very few laws that regulate what happens online. Thanks to the internet and the new technologies, most people have access to social media platforms, therefore people have access to information and opinions in the palm of their hands. The internet has proven that speech is easy on these Social Media Platforms, because most people can access the internet and basically write or speak their minds through videos or blogs. An amazing example of this can be sites like Yelp, where people are able to give restaurants and hotels ratings and they can say whatever they want and it is not considered libel. Many people take it online to rant about things that happen to them, other like to speak their mind, but recently many Social Media platforms have been banning certain words that might be offensive to others and deleting this that might affect others, this is a violation of freedom a speech. Pages such as Facebook will not let you type in certain words that otherââ¬â¢s might find offensive, or they will directly delete a comment or photograph that is inappropriate or that might hurt somebody else. Although these censorships help save peopleââ¬â¢s lives from cyberbullying or prevent people from using strong words, it is censorship nonetheless. Social Media and the Internet has altered the way that people communicate and as new technologies emerge people have to learn to adapt to them. Thanks to the usage of chat forms, instant messaging, picture & video sharing, social networking, blogs, image collecting boards among many other things, people are adapting more than ever. Throughout out the last 20 years, the Internet has quickly expanded and matured as new technologies are being developed. With the invention of social media platforms, the way that people network and communicate has completely changed, even the way that they read and consumer the news. Social media platforms have given individuals a freedom that they never thought was possible, they feel free to access whatever they want and to express however they want to express themselves, they even have the protection of speaking and posting anomalously, and many people hide behind their computers.à The majority of US citizens take the privilege of living in the United States, and what that the country allows them for granted. They have the privilege to go online and rant about their jobs and horrible bosses, give opinions about political candidates, and read what other people have to say about things. The reality is that the Internet allows people to express themselves, whether it is on a blog, social media platforms, or even their work email and people are constantly expressing themselves freely. This is a privilege that people in other countries do not necessarily have, countries like China, where it is prohibited to access any type of social media platform (Ferguson), or where speaking their minds could land them in jail. Although the Internet is moderately new, it has long become a part of peopleââ¬â¢s daily lives, especially those people living in the United States. The Internet has alleviated all the communication tensions people had, since it allows people to communication easily with one another and also mass communication like articles, videos, and blogs. One of the reason why the internet has become such a powerful communication tools is because it integrates several types of communication like Articles, podcasts, broadcasts, videos, letter communication among many other things (Ferguson). à Now a day most places have Wi-Fi and internet has become such an inexpensive thing to access, people can even connect to the internet in airplanes and during bus rides, mainly because ââ¬Å"the Internet has the potential to be a tremendous force for development by providing quick and inexpensive informationâ⬠(Sorensen). One problem with the Internet is that it has no country boundaries so measuring and enforcing US laws is very hard to do, since the US cannot control what other countries do or say, consequently the Internet cannot be virtually controlled by one country. What many countries do to have control over the internet is implementing thing such as filters on a server, which in the end limit peopleââ¬â¢s freedom of expression and is nonetheless censorship. Because the Internet is really a mass medium, because it can reach virtually anybody, it possesses a big threat to many governments, because anybody with internet can communicate to the mass audience. Censorship of information is in direct violation of the first amendment because it takes away peopleââ¬â¢s right to express themselves freely. There are many types of censorship over the internet, sometimes people do not even realize that content is being censored when infact it is. Many governments believe that censorship helps avoid unsafe or threatening information from spreading and that it keeps children safe from retrieving inappropriate content.à Some of these materials can be for example web-sites that promote eating disorders such as anorexia, or websites that tell people how to commit suicides or how to build home-made bombs and such things. Although many of these things are extremely controversial and may be offensive to some, in the end they are violating First Amendment, and these sites should be shielded by the freedom of speech. Some of the reasons why filter on servers are imposed make a lot a sense when it is for protection of minors, since most children know how to use a computer more than most adults, but when adultââ¬â¢s information is being filtered this is denying people a right they are entitled to. The United States has unsuccessfully made efforts at censoring offensive and/or inappropriate information and content on the internet. Firstly, was the Communication Decency Act (CDA), this act forbid people from using material online that was offensive to minors (Sorensen). The CDA directly violated the First Amendment and this why the Supreme Court overruled the act. à Their second attempt was the Child Pornography Prevention Act (CPPA) which stated the pornography, whether a video or an image on the internet of a child/minor acting in an explicit or sexual behavior. Again, the CPPA was also directly violating the First Amendment, and it was overruled by the Supreme Court. Then came the Child Online Protection Act (COPA), which is theoretically obligates Web-Site owners and publishers to guarantee that minors will not access material and content that is harmful to them on their designated websites (Sorensen). Copa was also in violation of First Amendment rights, therefore overrul ed.à As of today, there are no Internet Censorship Laws in the US in action, but nevertheless censorships still happen. Just as there are people who think censoring the internet is the correct thing to do, many people oppose it because they are firm believers of the vitality of First Amendment rights of free speech and expression. It is the first amendment that permits people to openly and freely discuss ideas and thoughts to other people and to society itself. It is unethical and unconstitutional for the government to take this vital right away from people, as they should feel free to express themselves in any way that they please. Along with the Internet come new ways of communication such a Social Media Platforms, which have rapidly landed in the hands of millions world-wide, these new evolutions in technology drastically change the definition of free speech, for example before nobody would knock on anybodyââ¬â¢s door to tell them their opinions, now it is on all of peopleââ¬â¢s devices from their smart phones to their computers. People are being constantly hit by others opinions and beliefs, for example that person who always share their political affiliation and beliefs on their Facebook status, it is starting to become unavoidable. One of the first cases regarding freedom of speech was in July of 1995, Stratton Oakmont vs. Prodigy. Prodigy was a type of social media platform that had a board with a chat forum, one of the users left a chat/comment saying that the CEO of Stratton Oakmont committed fraudulent acts. As a result, Stratton Oakmont sued Prodigy for online libel, the case was ruled in favor of Prodigy since it was protected by the First Amendment and the comment was left by an anonymous internet user not Prodigy itself. These things are very hard to control, because for example that anonymous person who commented might be in another country and therefore they do not fall under US jurisdiction, this is why it is so hard to control the internet as a whole. After some of these chat forums began to pop up across the web, this was the birth of social media platforms. Rapidly many websites started to launch and their focus was the public, they wanted individuals to have their profiles and for them to express themselves and engage in communication with other members. Facebook and Twitter have been the long lasting two as they both have been around for over a decade (Somerson), and they revolve around people who express themselves freely. Four months after the launch of Facebook, the company integrated a new feature in their social media platform and this was called a ââ¬Ëstatusââ¬â¢. Facebook was asking its users ââ¬Ëwhat was on their mindââ¬â¢ and allowed people to speak their minds in a maximum of 356 characters, which is now unlimited on Facebook. Twitter quickly incorporated the same feature and allowed its users to speak their minds in 140 characters, which will probably soon increase. Many people engage in ranting on socia l media, and once something goes up on the internet it is there forever, even if deleted, with ranting many people can take it as defamation or libel, but in the end, it is people exercising their free speech. In 2009, there was a town re-election for Sheriff BJ Roberts in Hampton, Virginia and six deputies were not reinstated after it. These deputies stated that they were wrongfully terminated because they supported Jim Adams that was Sheriffs Robertsââ¬â¢ rival.à They had stated that they had shown support for Jim Adams by ââ¬Ëlikingââ¬â¢ his Facebook campaign and sharing his page on their profiles. As a result, Sheriff Roberts threatened the deputies and consequently did not reinstate them. Consequently, the deputies filed a lawsuit against Roberts, claiming that they were wrongfully terminated because of their behavior on social media. In an appeals court, it was agreed that the deputies should have been terminated because they should not partake on law-enforcement politics and siding with candidates and this is violation of First Amendment rights. When this case was taken to the Fourth Circuit, it was recognized that Sheriff Roberts was entitled immunity and that he had th e right to not reinstate them (Vogel). The First Amendment does not protect all speech and expression and this was a perfect example were people were not protected by their First Amendment Rights. Another famous case that was not protected under the first amendment is Elonis vs. Unites States. In 2010 Anthony Elonis was abandoned by his wife and he quickly took the matter to Facebook and started ranting through rap lyrics, most of these sounded like threats, with everything he posted he gave a disclaimer saying that they were just lyrics and nothing real (Liptak). Elonis rapped about things like having his exââ¬â¢s head paraded like Marie Antoinette, among other horrible things. Ms. Elonis was afraid of all of his commentaries and lyrics and quickly took information to authorities. This was an extremely difficult case because Elonis argued that they were just lyrics and nothing more, that it was just a form of art and expression and that he did not intent to do anything that he rapped about. The Supreme Court stated that the First Amendment did not protect all speech and did not protect threats whether real or not, they were still treats (Liptak).à Elonis was found guilt y of violating the Anti-Threat stature and was convicted for 44 months in prison and three years of supervised release (Liptak). Many of these chat forums online like Twitter and Facebook are allowing people virtually everywhere to speak their minds and for them to express themselves in ways that they see fit. The problem is that many people are not aware of all of the consequences that their online ranting can have on their lives. Most people follow their favorite celebrities and athletes on Social Media, since this is how the engage with their fans, even President Trump engages in Social Media by his infamous ââ¬Ëtweetsââ¬â¢ on Twitter. Many brands and companies take advantage of the presence that celebrities have on social media platforms and they begin to endorse them so that the public sees them wearing their products or talking about their brands on the ââ¬Ëtweetsââ¬â¢ or ââ¬Ëstatusââ¬â¢. In 2010 Rashard Mendenhall an NFL player of the Pittsburgh Steelers who was endorsed by brands like Champion made a series of tweets after Osama Bin Ladinââ¬â¢s death that tarnished his online prese nce and reputation. Mendenhall tweeted that ââ¬Å"what kind of person celebrates death? Its amazing how people can HATE a man they have never even heard speak. Weve only heard one side(Mendenhall). He then continued by saying ââ¬Å"well never know what really happened. I just have a hard time believing a plane could take a skyscraper down demolition styleâ⬠. Mendenhall was consequently dropped as a Champion Celebrity and he lost his endorsement deal, Mendenhall quickly deleted his tweets and said that he was just expressing his thoughts and that they were just mere opinions. Although he was protected by First Amendment and he was in all of his right to share his opinions and many conspiracy theorist do, he lost many fans in the process. Lawsuits that come from social media are most commonly those of claims of libel or defamation. Libel is a written or published untruthful statement that directly hurts the individualââ¬â¢s reputation (MacHenry). Because many people have dedicated themselves to ranting on social media, there are typically libel. In 2015, came another quite interesting libel case in social media, known as Desert Palm Surgical Group v. Petta. Sherry Petta underwent cosmetic surgery, a rhinoplasty to be exact at the Desert Palm Surgical Group. To give Petta a little background she was a big fan of cosmetic procedures and surgeries and had underwent several in the past. After her rhinoplasty Petta claimed that she was not healing properly and that the nose did not look as the doctors told her it would, she then took all of this ranting online on Myspace and created a website just to rant about her experience. On her site and her social media page Petta ranted that ââ¬Å"the surgeons intentionally shor tened and curved her nose upward against her wishesâ⬠(MacHenry) and she uploaded images of her rhinoplasty. Consequently, Desert Palm Surgical Group started to lose a lot of business and sued Petta for libel and defamation along with 11 million dollars in damages caused by her pages. Petta pleaded that she was protected by the First Amendment right and that she was only speaking the truth about her experience with her surgery. The only thing that could have saved her from this defamation case was if what she said had been true, and it wasnââ¬â¢t most of the complications she had was because she did not take care of herself after her surgery and most things she had underwent in the past cosmetic surgeries and procedures. Petta was not protected under the First Amendment and consequently had to take down all of her post and her website and had to pay 12 million to the Desert Palm Surgical Group for all of the damages (MacHenry). Many of these libel cases that involve the use of social media as the source are repeatedly occurring and becoming extremely common and popular. The problem is that freedom of speech is not protected if there is a false statement involved, and it is no longer an opinion or a type of expression, it is a lie. Opinion in the end is not fully protected by First Amendment rights if there is a false or an untruthful statement involved, because it can have adverse effects on an individualââ¬â¢s image and reputation and it can even cost somebody money. Social media is a type of mass communications and people can easily reach mases of people, therefore when they decide to rant or to post their opinions there may be consequences since they have such a big audience. Many companies know that it is very hard to regulate was is being posted online, many companies are even going as far as creating departments to monitor their online presence (Liptak), the intent of this is for these departments to take care of things like that before they get out of hand. Many of these cases should be more known to the public, this way they can prevent something like this happening to them, being media literate and educated about how social media works and the laws of the country can prevent them from falling into trouble. In conclusion, new technologies such as the Internet and Social Media has integrated into individualââ¬â¢s daily lives. People cannot live a day without checking their social media platforms or reading the news online, people are communicating now more than ever, and many people have become reliant on it because it is so accessible. The problem is that Social Media and the Internet are still undiscovered territory when it comes to developing laws to regulate content, and a new definition for the First Amendment in regards to these new technologies should be made. The First Amendment is a grey area, because there is no right answer when it comes to how to define it, but it is very important to protect speech. Sources Chander, A., & Là ª, U.,P. (2015). Free speech.à Iowa Law Review,à 100(2), 501-549.à Hardenbrook, J. A. (2013). First amendment rights: An encyclopedia: V.1: Traditional issues on the first amendment; v.2: Contemporary challenges to the first amendment.à Choice,à 50(9), 1606-1606,1608. Holden, J. (2017).à Steelers react to Mendenhalls bin Laden tweets.à ESPN.com.à Liptak, A. (2017).à On the Next Docket: How the First Amendment Applies to Social Media.à Nytimes.com.à MacHenry, K. (2015).à The Top 10 Arizona verdicts.à Docplayer.net.à McChesney, R. W. (1998). The new theology of the first amendment: Class privilege over democracy.à Monthly Review,à 49(10), 17-34. Sorensen, K. (1996), Human Rights Watch, ââ¬Å"Silencing the Net: The Threat to Freedom of Expression On-Line,â⬠. Electronic Privacy Information Center Vogel, P. (2017).à Using Facebook like is Free Speech | Internet, Information Technology & e-Discovery Blog.à Internet, Information Technology & e-Discovery Blog.
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