The cautionary story of a college student denied a degree because of a photo on her MySpace page was featured recently in a New York Times Magazine article entitled, "The Web Means The End of Forgetting." Her experience, a lesson for all users of social media, should be of particular interest to students preparing to enter the workforce, as employers increasingly examine online activity in background checks. The Mann Center last year conducted a program for Samford students on these risks and responsibilities. Concerns about online privacy are at the center of several current controversies, including the Obama administration's proposal to give federal agents power to compel employers to turn over records of individuals' Internet activity; the actions of United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and other countries aimed at preventing BlackBerry users, especially political dissenters, from sending and receiving encrypted messages; and news of Internet giant Google's internal debates about profiting from its vast collection of information on web users. Related resources: Washington Post, 29 July 2010, "White House proposal would ease FBI access to records of Internet activity"; Reuters, 8 August 2010, "Gulf activists brace as BlackBerry secrecy targeted." Wall Street Journal, "What They Know" (coverage of privacy issues).
Direct-to-consumer genetic tests are of questionable value and reliability, according to a report by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), and the marketing claims of testing companies are virtually unchallenged by regulators, as the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has little oversight of the industry. Such tests often purport to estimate one's risk of contracting various forms of cancer. Meanwhile, the United Kingdom's Human Genetics Commission this month issued voluntary guidelines entitled A Common Framework of Principles for direct-to-consumer genetic testing services. The commission's chairman stopped short of calling for more regulation of the industry. Related resources: American Medical News, 2 August 2010, "Consumer genetic testing has little value, GAO report says"; BBC News, 3 August 2010, "'DIY genetics tests' guidelines published."
Many people in sub-Saharan Africa are unaware of micro-finance lending in their communities, and most continue to look to family members for loans to start new enterprises, according to two new studies by the Gallup Organization. The fast-growing practice of microfinance refers to a variety of retail lending strategies for low-income borrowers, particularly women, in the developing world. Related resources: Data on microfinance worldwide: Microfinance Information Exchange. Gallup survey summaries: "Few Sub-Saharan Africans Aware of Local Microfinance Options"; "Sub-Saharan Africans Bank on Family for Business Loans"
Fear of retaliation is the major factor preventing U.S. employees from reporting ethical concerns to management, reports the Ethics Resource Center, a non-profit organization that conducts national studies of employees across industries. Such fear is also a driver of unethical conduct, and dampens retention, morale and performance. Retaliation may be increasing as a slower economy brings pressures to compromise ethical standards or cut corners: 15 percent of U.S. employees reported experiencing retaliation by management or coworkers in 2009, compared to 12 percent in 2007. Related resource: Ethics Resource Center, Retaliation: The Cost to Your Company and Its Employees.
Video is now online from the conference, "Civilizing the Economy: A New Way of Understanding Business?" sponsored by Princeton University's Faith & Work Initiative in response to Pope Benedict XVI's recent social encyclical on economic life, Caritas in Veritate (Love in Truth), responding to the global economic crisis precipitated by failures in the financial sector.
Chapel. One of the nation's largest generators of electricity, Southern Company is the parent of Alabama Power, Georgia Power, Gulf Power and Mississippi Power, as well as several other business units and subsidiaries.
