Reflection

 Reflection

Well I learned a lot of stuff in this class, not just about english because I learned a lot about some interesting facts and other cultures. This class helped me a lot to be confident when talking in english, and I really appreciate that. My greatest achievement was to improve speech, because I do not have any ocassion to speak in english, almost never, just on travels or when I meet someone who is not from Costa Rica and does not talk spanish.

In professional matters the course has been so helpful for me, the most useful and complete information is in english and beside that, if I had a doubt or something most good forums are in english so I had to talk with some other people, and they only speak english, at the end english really helped me a lot in most courses.

As it has been really helpful to me, I want other people to at least try to participate in class, indeed I push them to participate so they lose the fear of participating in class. English is really important nowadays for anything, so I am always pushing friends and others to learn english, to do not be afraid of it, and I tell them how english can help them in their professional and personal life. 

Glen Urbina

Binary code

 Binary code

      Binary code is a way of representing text, numbers, and instructions in two digits, 1 and 0. It can be done by assigning a binary number to each particular symbol or instruction. So 8 binary digits have 256 combinations, and each combination can be assigned to a symbol, a letter, an instruction or just be taken as a number. For example, the binary code for the letter "A" is 01000001,"B" is 01000010 and "C" is 01000011. So essentially, binary code is translation of a language to ones and zeros.

Why binary code?
Because of the cost, decimal circuits increase the cost exponentially for every digit you have and require much more controlling circuitry, just compare the 100 combinations of decimal system against the 4 combinations that binary has. Also binary is more efficiently. If you have taken a basic electronics course you can understand easily why computers and devices use binary code.

How does it work?
Essentially, 1 means on and 0 means off. A lot of circuits recognize those patterns and send electrical signals, each combination has a different output,  path. The CPU is preprogrammed to understand patterns and how it has to respond. For example there is a pattern to turn on each pixel on a screen with a color, shape and size and that’s how images are displayed on a computer’s screen.

Binary is really useful in today’s world and it has been proven by itself through all the devices that use binary, we can almost say that all devices use binary. This language has transformed the world into a faster, clearer and stronger technologically based society with unlimited possibilities.

Sources: 

http://stackoverflow.com/questions/5165013/why-do-computers-work-in-binary

http://www.ehow.com/how-does_4759517_binary-code-work.html

Internet

   Internet

    Nowadays internet is one of the most important technologies, it has made our life a lot easier, we can find information, communicate with other people, share music and files, watch a movie, etc. Every year more and more devices are made to use internet in some way, to communicate, update information, to download media content, and others tasks. 

So how does it work?

It is easier to understand it if we look at it like two main components.

Hardware 

This category includes cables, computers, satellites, radios, modems, cellphones, etc. In others words all physical objects.

Each one of these elements is a connection, but we will categorize them in:

• End point clients:  smartphones, computers, tablets, modems and devices that uses internet and a user uses to navigate in the web, to get updates share media, etc.

• Servers: machines that have the information we seek in the internet, such as Wikipedia. They have several servers that contain all the information that is in Wikipedia.

• Nodes: they serve as a connecting point, and can be cables like the modem cables, or signals and radios like Wi-Fi and cellphone towers.

             Protocols.

      Protocols are a set of rules that machines follow to complete a task, this is why internet works. Those protocols make devices understand between them, so they talk in the same language. These protocols also provide the methods of communication.

So in the simplest way, the end point clients communicate via nodes to servers, always following the protocols. But to be connected to the internet you need to be connected to an Internet Service Provider like the ICE for example, they are a node that connects you with the rest of the web.

Sources:

http://computer.howstuffworks.com/internet/basics/internet.htm

Development Cycle

Development cycle

Every program has to start somewhere. There is the most basic cycle that we usually use to make a program:

•  Have an idea

• Define who is going to be the user

• Define the environment in which the program will run on.

• Pick  a language to use.

• Design to program, doing the basic structure of it and what it will do.

• Write the program.

• Test the program yourself and fix errors you discover.

• Give the program to people who can be a possible user.

• *With the suggestions and comments that these people will give you, fix errors and implement some of these suggestions.

•  Release the program, if there are errors repeat the last step given and give updates.*

     Something important as the program itself, is the Documentation, usually programmers do not make programs for themselves or for personal use. Users may need information about the program and how to use it, and some other important information like the limitations and reach of it. 

     Also the documentation is so important to companies or users, so if they want to maintain or improve their systems/programs and hire someone else, those programmers will need to understand what we did and how they will need to work.

    When it comes to proffesional matters, the documentation should be clear, because if the program does not do something that was on the documentation used for the contract, does not do something that was advertised, or is not clear, the company or user can put a demand or generate problems.

Sources:

 http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/the-life-cycle-of-a-typical-computer-program.html 

http://noobite.com/programming/how-important-is-a-programs-documentation/

Introduction to programming

Programming

                Programming is a process in which you have to design, write, test, debug and maintain source codes of computer programs. The source code is written in specific programming language. There are hundreds of programming languages, some of the most used are:

• C#

• C++

• Java

• Visual Basic .Net

• Unix

• Python

     Some of those languages are compatible between them, others don’t. For programming are used compilers, and each language has their own specific compilers. Basically a compiler translates the source code (keywords, operations, logic matters and others) to the computer language that is often binary code(just zeros and ones, for example 100111101101). I will use Java that is one of the most used and best know languages, and on Netbeans compiler. 

    Netbeans has a package that contains several classes, main classes, and others class-like objects that have a special purpose. Each class has methods in which you can make the program to do something or have behavior, and a constructor in which you can make that class like an object, so you can have several classes with the code but have different data so you will not need to create more classes with the same code to have different data, also you can copy, move, delete those objects. Main classes basically call all other classes, but can also make those classes as objects and use the methods in them.

• Packages
• Classes and class-like objects
• Main class
• Classes
• JFrame
• JPanel
• Etc 

    There are a lot of keywords for most basic and advanced functions, and you can combine them to do whatever you want. You cannot use those keywords to identify a variable or something, and these are reserved just for programming.In this image you can see some of Netbeans keywords:

 Each one has a function, and can be used for several things, everything depends in where and with what you use them.

Sources:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_programming

       

               

Reflection of the class

My entrance to this course was really an accident, my speaking, reading and listening skills are really good. As a matter of fact my score was at the limit for English course four. So when I first entered I was really angry and disappointed that I had to take the course. My real goal was to finish the course successfully.

During class I got really bored and saw the exercises as a joke for my level of English and the level the class was supposed to have. With the passing of time I began to see that although I had really good skills I was still missing some elements of the class. Since I was a small kid I have been speaking English freely and naturally, I never paid attention to small grammatical issues or other types of issues. Issues were I think I got better during the course.

At first my commitment was not as big as it should’ve been, the disappointment of not passing the ELASH had eaten my motivation and I was really angry with myself. Even though this happened at the beginning I think that during the course my commitment kept on growing stronger and stronger.

My language issues have gone better, some things such as conjugation and vocabulary grew over the time of the course. I still feel I have to overcome some conjugation errors in things like past participle. I think the course has made me a better person and a better English speaker. I expect to do well on the course. 

Introduction and Objectives

Welcome to Glenn`s and Eric`s E-Portfolio.

     The purpose and objective of my E-Blog is to try to inform my fellow classmates at least a little about what law school is. You will find information about the new anti tabaco law passed by the Costa Rican Government, about law in the medieval era, the IRAC method, and a little bit about what prescription and expiration means in law.

Law is present in everything, law regulates the lives of human beings daily, it is really important to have at least a notion about what law is, what it does, and how it is made.

     Now, on the other hand, in the systems engineering area my purpose is to inform people about stuff about programming, the development cycle programmers use, how does the internet work and finally the binary code on devices.

    In today's world technology is everywhere and is used to make our life easier. Basically my career consists on programming computers, cellphones and several electronics devices to do a task and have a specific behavior.

    Systems engineering is always implemented or related to others careers such as electronics, or any other career to make a product like calculators, computers, communication devices, translators, compilers, video game consoles, toys, and wide variety of things. So I think is good to know how most devices work since we use them every day like computers, cellphones, and a wide variety of devices.

Students profiles

Eric Alejandro Fernandez Rosenthal

Honduran by birth.

Academic preparation: Bilingual American School since kindergarden, two periods of law schools having courses such as; Law Introduction, State Theory, Administrative Law, Criminal Law, Civil obligations, Private Law at ULACIT.

 

Professional goals and plans: I plan to become a lawyer in approximately 3 years,  when I graduate my goal is to have my own Law Firm.

Glen Urbina Cespedes

Undergraduate student of Systems engineering in Ulacit. I have been a year in Ulacit in which I have taken courses such as: 

• Electronics, Programation I and II, Files and data structure, Calculus, Probabilities and statistics, others.

Several activies and courses such as:

•  Hospital de Computadoras in Ulacit.
• Worked on a project on the ICE, in Human Resources area.

My personal goal is to be a successful engineer with great knowledge about systems area. Also to work on an outstanding company, or being owner of a company.

Anti Smoking Law Article

President Laura Chinchilla on Thursday morning signed the Control of Tobacco and its Harmful Effects on Health Bill, approving wide-ranging changes to Costa Rica’s regulations on smoking. 

Her signature marks the end of a struggle to ratify stricter tobacco laws. A previous bill was written in 2009, the same year that a Health Ministry poll showed 93 percent support for stricter laws.

Chinchilla remarked that this moment should have come years ago, but she applauded those who refused to let the bill die. 

“I recognize all health institutions, which did not lower the flag and fought for the passage of this law,” the president said at a ceremony at Casa Presidencial in Zapote, in southeastern San José.

The law becomes official once it is published in the government newspaper, La Gaceta, which Chinchilla said would happen “as soon as possible.” A 90-day adjustment period then begins as officials determine reglamentos, or regulations, that explain how the law will be enforced. Health Ministry officials are working on the regulations with the Alcoholism and Drug Dependency Institute (IAFA) and the National Anti-Tobacco Network, among others.

President Laura Chinchilla scored a political victory this week by signing a tough smoking bill into law.

Alberto Font

The bill bans smoking in places such as bars, restaurants, public buildings, bus stops and taxi stands. Taxes will increase ₡20 ($0.04 cents) per cigarette. The bill mandates cigarette packs display text and photo warnings on at least 50 percent of the box. Central American neighbors Guatemala, Honduras and Panama already approved similar measures, as did six countries in South America.

After the signing ceremony, the media amassed around doctors and lawmakers who pushed for the bill in an effort that Roberto Castro, director of the National Anti-Tobacco Network, likened to David versus Goliath. The influence of tobacco companies had influenced smoking policy in the country since the late 1980s (TT, March 9).

Access Without Exclusion Party member Rita Chaves, who headed the committee in charge of the bill, called the law an “important advancement” for the country. 

“We are very satisfied,” said Teresita Arrieta, of IAFA. “And now we’re waiting anxiously for the implementation of the law.”

The battle by lawmakers to pass a stricter anti-tobacco law overcame its final hurdle on Tuesday when the Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court (Sala IV) ruled the bill is constitutional.

In a 5-2 decision, the court said the legislation did not contain any procedural errors or articles that could be deemed unconstitutional.

Two magistrates who approved the bill questioned why the Sala IV reviewed the legislation in the first place.

On Feb. 27, Costa Rican lawmakers passed the 100-percent smoke-free environment bill in a 45-2 vote, sending it to the president to sign. However, in a controversial move, the Sala IV accepted a last-minute petition by 10 opposition legislators to assess the bill’s constitutionality before Chinchilla could sign it into law.

Judges Luis Jinesta and Ana Virginia Calzada stated the Sala IV never had authority to review the bill since it already had passed the Legislative Branch. Still, tobacco reforms held up under scrutiny – and for the reasons anti-tobacco advocates had cited all along.

The judges wrote that there’s no proof the bill’s tax increase would encourage contraband, an argument made by tobacco companies Philip Morris and British American Tobacco. Smokers’ rights are not infringed upon since the law does not ban the sale of tobacco products, the Sala IV affirmed. It only limits where products can be used in an effort to protect public health. The smokers’ rights argument had been made repeatedly by leaders of the country’s Restaurant Chamber, which oversees bars and clubs in Costa Rica.

In addition, the Sala IV referenced the effectiveness of the law in other countries in regards to protecting the public. The smoke-free bill follows guidelines set by the World Health Organization, already put into practice in nine other Latin American countries.

The law’s execution faces several challenges. Health Minister Daisy Corrales said the country needs to train more police officers to monitor the law, which doles out heavy fines to offenders and could lead to the temporary closure of businesses caught violating the decree. The country also will take action to combat contraband cigarettes. 

Corrales said 60 percent of funds that will come from the cigarette tax will go toward the Social Security System to treat tobacco-related illnesses and create programs to help smokers quit.

Representatives for the tobacco industry and the Restaurant Chamber both stated to media Tuesday night that they would accept the ruling. Chinchilla told reporters she had not spoken with members of the tobacco industry or the chamber yet. The president added she’s open to discussions with them, but couldn’t see why it would be necessary.

 “We are going to see a process that will benefit everyone,” she said.

COMMENT

Costa Rica finally passed the much needed law necessary year ago. This law is also present in many other Latin American countries. My home country Honduras is one of these countries so I have experienced the benefits of the law.

            I think the law helps conservate the health of people who don’t smoke as well as their commodity. Many of us who don’t like to smoke hate when people are smoking close to us in public spaces, they mess up our health, and that is not a “right.”

Costa Rican authorities deserve a big round of applause for passing the law even though they faced many critics, this requires courage. It is also convenient to put a big tax on the law because this way the government can pay for the expensive treatments smoking causes.  

President signs anti-smoking bill

http://www.ticotimes.net/Current-Edition/Top-Story/News/President-signs-anti-smoking-bill_Friday-March-23-2012

 Retrieved April 17, 2012

Done by Eric Fernandez

The IRAC method of case study analysis

 A Legal Model for the Social Studies

Not only did the legal profession give educators the instructional technique of case studies, but it also contributed a concomitant method of case study analysis. Although disciplines such as business management, social sciences, and medicine have extensively used the methodology of case studies, students in these disciplines were not provided with a method to analyze a case. Some of these cases required only an individual value conclusion; other cases required a specific conclusion based upon substantive knowledge of the discipline. Still others required both types of conclusions. Only in law classes are students given an unequivocal method for case analysis. According to this method, students recognize a legal issue from the facts in the case and then analyze the facts according to a legal precedent and reach a conclusion.

The underlying assumptions of teaching-effectiveness research can be applied to this topic in a social studies class: Teachers cannot assume that all students on their own will develop a method of case analysis; that initial success will motivate the student to continue the analysis process; and that the students require a clear demonstration or modeling of the case analysis method (Brophy and Good 1986). The social studies literature does not give examples of these analysis methods. Because the use of case studies in the social studies fosters critical thinking, class interaction, and personal initiative, a method of case study analysis warrants the attention of social studies teachers.

When the case study instructional technique is used in the social studies classroom, students are often required to comprehend, assess, and evaluate amounts of information that may be overwhelming. Unfortunately, students do not receive enough practice in the method of case study analysis before they are required to comprehend relationships, generalizations, and patterns. Such a situation is self-defeating for students because without acquiring the rudimentary skills of case analysis, they will not be able to contribute to the lesson at hand.

In addition, students are then expected to make value judgments about the facts, issues, and conclusions of a case study. To make an informed and coherent value judgment, students must first comprehend the facts, recognize the issues that arise from those facts, analyze the facts in relation to the definition or rule of a term, and then reach a conclusion about the analysis. To make a value-laden decision such as "I don't agree with that," the student should first say that the facts produce issue X and then analyze the facts in accordance with each element of the rule in order to make a viable conclusion about whether the issue is proved or disproved. With this procedure, the value decision becomes meaningful to the individual student and to the group participating in the case study discussion. This process of analysis is known as the IRAC method.

The IRAC Method The IRAC method is an instructional tool that can aid students in the comprehension and evaluation of information so that they can make informed value decisions. It is an acronym for Issue, Rule, Analysis, and Conclusion. Although this is a legal model used to evaluate hypothetical situations in law cases, it is by no means limited to the study of the law. Useful for case studies presented in varied mediums such as narratives, videos/films, or recordings, the IRAC method may be applied to other activities such as defining a term or demonstrating a concept, principle, relationship, analogy, or contrasting idea. Often the instructional focus is on the end result of case study discussion rather than on how to "walk through" a method or approach to be used by the students in the case analysis.

By using the IRAC method, social studies teachers can help their students acquire a process for analyzing a case study. This building block method, which starts with smaller chunks of material, develops understanding relationships. It enhances the immediate application of learning by translating theory into practice to help students enlarge their vocabulary and attain new concepts. The method demonstrates to students that the correct analysis of a case gives them an evaluation and verification tool to assist them in making meaningful value judgments.

Acquisition of a Process to Analyze Case Studies

A case study is a realistic application or demonstration of a theory or principle. The student is required to relate textbook material to a concrete situation and then make a practical judgment. Students can relate to case studies because they understand that they could possibly find themselves in similar situations.

After reading, viewing, or hearing a case, students use the IRAC method to recognize the facts that raise the issues. They then apply the elements of the rule or definition to the facts to verify or disprove the issues in the conclusion.

Students' analytical skills are developed through a systematic mastery of complex problem solving in a rational manner. Students become more aware of their own abilities and limitations and are given the opportunity to practice in a positive environment.

Another variation of this method includes informing students about the entire case-i.e., issues, rules, analysis, and conclusions-and then soliciting their input. In another method, the teacher presents two cases with all of the aforementioned elements and does not tell the students which is the correct one. The teacher then has them choose. The danger in using either of these methods is that the student is slighted. The teacher has done too much work for the students, who are not required to discover the issue, review the rule, and analyze the facts to determine the correct conclusion (Lee 19X3).

Description, brief summary:

The IRAC method is a simple and easy method for case study analysis. It helps students reach a conclusion with a simple process, briefing the issue, pointing out the rules, analyzing rules and reaching a conclusion bases on all of these elements.

This method works with other studies too, such as, business management, social sciences, and medicine. It is said to be exact only with law studies.

It is said the process or method if applied by teachers help develop a sense of analysis in the student. They learn to make value judgments and conclude based on these.

As an example a case study done by myself;

Case: 911 receives a call at 18:40 telling them that there has been an accident and that two people have died. Jaime Najera Molina seems to be the person that has caused the accident, he was taken to the hospital for a blood test and the results say that he was drunk with 0.90 grams of alcohol per blood liter. The OIJ receives a video of the accident that was recorded by a security cam of a nearby business. The video demonstrates that the driver (Jose Najera Molina) drives at an excessive speed and surpasses the rest of the cars in line and then collisions with the car of the other multiple victims killing them.

Issue: Was there negligence or guilt/bad faith in the accident?

Rule: Negligence requires that a duty was owed, that the duty was breached, and that the breach was the actual and proximate cause of damage. There’s to types of negligence, with conscience or without it.

Guilt/Bad Faith requires that the person either had de the will of committing the crime or that didn’t want to but if it happened, the person accepted it.

Analysis: As a driver on the public freeway, Jose owed a duty of due care not to pass other cars in line in a case like this. Jose had a duty to drive at a reasonable speed and without excess. Jose had a duty to dry sober under a certain grams of alcohol per liter, which was not met.

Jose had a duty not to expose other drivers to the risk of collision because of jumping places in line or driving. Jose also had the duty not to expose others to an unreasonable harm because of driving under the influence.

Jose is the actual cause of the other driver's injury. It was foreseeable that another car would be coming from the opposite direction.

Jose did not have the intention of killing someone else, although he knew that it was possible that another car could come from the opposite direction and cause an accident.

Conclusion: Jose is liable for negligence because he violated a statute of not overpassing other cars in line and not driving under the influence. He underwent a conscientious negligence because he knew that the result was possible but he had faith that it would not occur. 

Bittner, M. M. (1990). The IRAC method of case study analysis. Social Studies, 81(5), 227

Retrieve date; 2012-04-16


Done by Eric Fernandez

Criminal law in the Medieval Era

Criminal law in the medieval era starts with the fall of the gigantic Roman Empire and its vast and amazing legal structure. The XII tablets created during the Roman Empire acquire a big influence for criminal law in the medieval era. Basically after the fall of the Roman Empire anarchy ruled over the European lands and no one knew who was the authority. 

Three big authorities were present, the church, the feudalists, and the monarchy. The two biggest legal structures at the time was the ecclesiastic legal system and the Hispanic legal system. Both were full of influence of commentators. 

The Hispanic legal structure went though many different recompilations and changes without ever achieving perfection. After many years the feudalists are forced to leave power after many catastrophes surrounding the region and the legal system that was used was taken out of place.  


Done by Eric Fernandez

Prescription and Expiration in law

The work done contains information about prescription and expiration and the differences between each other. There are two types of prescriptions, negative prescription, extintive or liberatory and positive or acquisitive.

            Positive prescription is a way of obtaining property with the passing of time and other requirements established by law. Negative prescription is a way of extinguished an obligation with the passing of time and negligence from the creditor. Time in both should pass without an interruption or suspension. The monistic theory says that this difference between prescriptions does not exist, the theory has been strongly refuted by the doctrine. 

            Expiration is the time available to exercise a right or do an action. The time should also pass without being interrupted.

            Prescription and expiration are often confused in real life practice, differences between themselves are few, they are really alike given to the fact that both have as a big factor time and the lost of a right. It is important to mention that they are different.

Done by Eric Fernandez