Notes, summaries, assignments, exams, and problems

Threat Actors: Who Are the Attackers?

Threat Vectors: How Attacks Occur

When engaging with the work of others, writers must clearly signal their position regarding the claims being reported. These linguistic resources help establish alignment (agreement) or distance (disagreement/skepticism).

Neutral Projection Language

Neutral Verbal Projection

Used when simply reporting a claim without immediate judgment:

• claim
• propose
• suggest
• indicate
• argue

Neutral Mental Projection

Includes all mental verbs used neutrally (e.g., believe, think).

Resources for Aligning and Distancing

Lesson 1: Chinese Dynasties and the Mandate of Heaven

Mandate of Heaven

• Gave emperors the right to rule.
• It was *not* a physical object.
• If the ruler was fair, they kept the Mandate.
• Natural disasters signaled they had lost it.

Dynastic Cycle:

1. A new ruler takes over.
2. The dynasty becomes strong and prosperous.
3. The ruler becomes greedy or lazy.
4. Disasters and rebellions occur.
5. A new dynasty takes over.

Major Dynasties (Since 600 AD)

• Tang (618–907)
• Five Dynasties (907–960)
• Song (960–1279)
  • Northern Song (960–1127)
  • Southern Song (1127–1279)
• Yuan (1271–1368)
• Ming (1368–1644)
• Qing (1644–1911)

Lesson 2: The Opium Wars

Opium Wars (1800s)

• Britain sold opium to China to correct trade imbalances.
• Opium proved highly addictive.

First Opium War (1839–1842)

• Lin Zexu

The Second Spanish Republic (1931–1939)

Proclaimed after King Alfonso XIII went into exile.

First president: Niceto Alcalá-Zamora; government led by Manuel Azaña.

Key reforms:

Education: More public, secular, and free schools; aimed to reduce illiteracy.

Church-State separation: Religion removed from schools (secularization).

Women’s rights: Women gained the right to vote in 1933.

Land reform: Attempt to redistribute land from large landowners to poor farmers—slow and controversial.

• Opposition: The Church, army, landowners, and right-wing groups opposed the reforms, increasing social tension.

Main Political Parties

Left-wing:

CNT: Anarchist; anti-state, pro-worker strikes.

PCE: Communist; inspired by the USSR, promoted proletarian dictatorship.... Continue reading "Understanding the Spanish Civil War: A Concise Analysis" »

The aim is to create a single market in the EU where products can move as if there were no borders. This means NO:

• Customs duties between countries
• Hidden charges (CHEEs)
• National rules that make trade harder (MEEs)
• Taxes that discriminate against foreign products

Exceptions are only allowed when they are justified (e.g., health, safety, morality, etc.) and pass the proportionality test.

Prohibition of Tariffs and Charges (Art. 30 TFEU)

Prohibited between Member States:

• Customs duties (aranceles): A monetary charge for crossing a border. Always prohibited, even if small or non-protectionist.
• CHEEs (Charges Having Equivalent Effect): An impuesto disfrazado de otra cosa (tax disguised as something else). A unilateral charge on imports/exports not linked

Understanding Power in the 21st Century

Power resources can be tangible (military, territory) and intangible (institutions, ideas, values, culture). Power is the ability to combine resources to alter others' behavior to produce preferred outcomes.

Definition of power in the 21st-century information society: The ability to affect others through the co-optive means of framing agendas, persuading, and eliciting positive attraction to obtain preferred outcomes. Attraction depends upon the mind of the perceiver.

Globalization Defined

Globalization is the increasing interconnectedness, interdependence, and integration of economies, societies, cultures, and political systems across the world. It is a multifaceted phenomenon that involves the flow of goods,... Continue reading "Geopolitics and Power Dynamics in the 21st Century" »

Washback: Concept and Implications in Language Education

Definition

Washback (or backwash) is the effect that tests have on teaching and learning. It refers to how teachers change their teaching practices and students change their learning strategies in response to a test.

Types of Washback

• Positive Washback: Encourages beneficial practices (e.g., more communicative language teaching).
• Negative Washback: Leads to undesirable outcomes (e.g., teaching to the test, increased stress, ignoring untaught skills).

Who Washback Affects

• Teachers: May adapt content, methods, and assessment styles.
• Students: May focus on test strategies over communication.
• School Authorities: May make curriculum or resource decisions based on test results.
• Educational Systems: Can

Constructing Recombinant DNA

The following steps are involved in the construction of recombinant DNA:

1. Preparation of the Gene: Gene cloning in bacteria is achieved by cleaving DNA with enzymes called restriction endonucleases, which create small fragments. Each fragment often has a "sticky end." Since eukaryotic genes contain introns that are not processed in bacteria, the DNA for cloning is usually obtained from relevant mRNA through the process of reverse transcription. In cases where nucleotide or amino acid sequences are known, synthetic DNA may also be produced.
2. Insertion into a Vector: The vector is a vehicle, such as a plasmid or bacteriophage, used to transfer DNA into a host cell. The vector is cut with the same restriction endonuclease

English Language Levels and Learning Activities

When planning activities, we must consider the students' English level, with the help of the course materials and their textbooks.

First and Second Year Students

• Encourage the use of adjectives, nouns, and general vocabulary in phrases and longer sentences.
• Writing is very limited at this stage.
• Activities: Circle, draw, match, associate.

Third and Fourth Grade Students

• Encourage greater independence.
• Activities: Complete sentences, fill in the blanks, answer questions, short writing tasks.

Fifth and Sixth Grade Students

• Expect them to develop critical thinking and use a variety of adjectives, nouns, and verbs.
• Activities: Write paragraphs, descriptive writing, opinion pieces, compare and contrast, summarize

Macroeconomics: Key Formulas and Concepts

Key Macroeconomic Formulas

• GDP Deflator = (Nominal GDP / Real GDP) * 100
• Expenditure approach: Y = Consumption + Investment (including inventory changes) + Government purchases + Net exports
• Income approach: Y = Income = Wages + Interest + Rental income + Profits
• CPI = (Cost of base-year basket at desired-year prices / Cost of base-year basket at base-year prices) * 100
• Real value (Year Y) = Nominal value (Year X) * (CPI Year Y / CPI Year X)
• MPC = Increase in spending / Increase in income (or output)
• Expenditure multiplier = 1 / (1 - b)
• Taxation multiplier = -b / (1 - b)
• Unemployment rate = (Number of unemployed / Labor force) * 100
• LFPR (Labor Force Participation Rate) = (Labor force / Working-age population)