Michael Lemonick's Are We Losing Our Edge Essay

Michael Lemonick's Are We Losing Our Edge - Essay Example Thus, through such competition, any country that has even a little bit of ambition and grit is being able to establish itself within the rest of the world as a global superpower in terms of its trade and economy. As per the words of Shirley Ann Jackson, America is thus facing what is called, a ‘Quiet Crisis.’ (Lemonick, Michael D.) Various kinds of aspects have together helped to stem the kind of growth that American was having in the last few decades, and compared to the current levels of growth, how the same has slowed down due to processes within the government framework and structure. For example, the author writes that during the period of George W Bush, a large amount of hostility was shown towards various topics under science, which were not given ample grants or potential for research and testing. This has further led to the growth of the meltdown that the country is facing on a global scale today. (Msurjapu) The inadequacies of growth going in America have been further highlighted by the kind of slow down that has been brought about in the corporate sector as well. These industries are not being given enough government support unlike other companies around the world in other countries are receiving; furthermore, they are cutting back on their investments and production for fear of going into losses and not being able to cover their initial and variable costs. According to personal opinion, the reign under Barack Obama has done far better in trying to perfect this global meltdown that America has been going through since the time of Bush. During his time, not much emphasis was given to various sectors that were at that time waiting to explode into fully potential fields of growth and development. Since areas like nanotechnology, supercomputing and alternative energy were not given as much importance in America at the time, other countries like India and Japan were trying their best to exploit these areas and emerge as victorious superpowers in the same. The final result was that these other countries had been successful in their operations and left America a step behind in terms of such development in the fields of science and technology. By the time it was time for Bush to step down and Obama to take control and fix these factors, other countries around the world had established their own levels of competition in the global market with respect to these full of potential growth aspects of life. That is why, America has been said to be losing out on its edge; the same edge that it held over the global market earlier, due to such intolerance towards research in newer fields. This has been taken up by other nations around the world now, leading to American being put into the competition at the same level, and not a cut above the rest; a position that the country used to maintain in the past. Lemonick has made use of a number of rhetorical strategies to write his article. These are strategies used in order to make the wri ting more powerful and persuasive for the reader, and help him understand a person’s point of view better. However, each piece and kind of writing requires a different kind of strategy to be used, and not all of them can be used within the same article. Lemonick has made excellent use of exemplification within his article. This includes providing facts and

Basic Network Technology, Structure, and Protocols Essay

Basic Network Technology, Structure, and Protocols - Essay Example This is not excusable in the 21st century hence looking at the basic or fundamental things that an individual should know is imperative. Computer networks have been used in sharing resources and data as well as for communication purposes. In order for one to have optimized performance, maintenance, data protection, security and improved reliability knowing the basics of the computer networks is of utmost importance. This paper outlines most of the things that a computer user needs to know. Computer networks security For any computer network, security is of utmost importance. Computer networks are always vulnerable to a number of security related threats which could be either external or internal. These include spyware, viruses, Trojan horses, web worms, hackers, adware, intruders and root kits. These security threats have a number of negative threats. Some of them impair certain computer applications and programs while others may modify, delete or corrupt files thereby making them in accessible. They may also attack the data that you have in the hard disk causing it to crash hence necessitating reformatting. While some may not necessarily harm the system’s integrity, they will always consume the system memory thereby slowing it down significantly. In some cases, you have computer malware which reinstalls itself in the computer system even when you have uninstalled them. Evidently, computer malware would have adverse effects on the computer networks. In this case, it is always important that an individual has a clear understanding as to the ways in which the computer security could be supplemented. There are several ways in which this could be done; they include installation of antivirus software, regularly updating the anti-malware programs and having the whole system scanned. Knowing about the security of the computer networks allows individuals to keep their data and resources protected. In addition, they would keep their systems functioning in an optim um manner in which case maximization of output from the computer network will be the direct result. While there may not be a standard way of teaching individuals about the security aspect of the computer networks, I think that the best way to tech people about hem is to outline the threats posed to computer networks, the effects and the best way to safeguard the network against such threats. Computer networks connectivity issues As stated earlier, computer networking is all about communication and sharing of data and other resources. This would only be accomplished when there is the appropriate connectivity. However, many are times when the connectivity of a computer network is impeded by varied factors. Connectivity problems emanate from faulty hardware, devices conflicts, improper configurations, faulty connectors or cables and even outdated drivers of the LAN card. This would call for troubleshooting by scanning the computer for spyware or viruses, checking the LAN card configura tions and updating its drivers, properly inserting the STP/UTP cable or even replacing the LAN card then reconfiguring it. Software troubleshooting issues For any computer system, software plays a very vital role in the whole operation process. Right from the operating system to the drivers, software and programs, their importance cannot be understated. This underlines the fact that when they are not operating in the appropriate manner, the whole system