I Used to Live Here Once by Jean Rhys †Analysis Essay

To what lengths will someone ever remember their home and recognize the things they’ve once known? Stories have been used throughout the ages to not only create a tale that can cause to the reader great imagination and wonders, it is also common for them to hide several meanings and twists to the adventure. Through the portraits of her life, and the perils of her adventures, Jean Rhys’ has incorporated many of the paths of her life into the illustrations she had developed into short stories. These representation of her original life represent the strong and key points of her journey where she had felt abundances of emotions; many of which were transcribed into very short tales such as ‘I Use To Live Here Once’ where you may notice the precision on the details, the excess of description on the author’s view and imagination, as well as the direct correlation with herself. The following story entitled as mentioned, tells the tale of a woman returning back to a distant memory, and finds two mysterious figures that will enlighten her truth. Further opinions will be referred to as a base to the literal analysis of the story, in order to understand the feelings of the author. Jean Rhys’ includes a particular genre and writing style in this short story that is built around her personality, the author’s use of the ending helps to symbolize the connection with her life whilst using specific types of imagery and juxtaposition throughout the story. The story debuts on a quite simple scale with one description leading to another where each receive a thorough scan, to which we may notice several types of similes and metaphors used in order to express the themes and tones of the short story. The gradual increase of the ‘truth’ hidden at the end of the story can be understood as you proceed the reading through the use of these writing techniques; these reverses of ‘meaning’ give away odd particularities throughout the whole story: â€Å"She stopped and looked towards the house that had been added to and painted white. It was strange to see a car standing in front of it. (The New Windmill Book, 1994). In this passage we understand that the main character is familiar with the house to begin with and have noticed several changes, this sets a doubt to the reader where the question is raised on what is the relation between the main character and this house. There have been some interference in her writing due to personal problems work as considered by Castro (2000), these interruptions have caused Jean Rhys’ novels to be highly influenced by her perils, she had reached a period of hiatus in her writing life due to alcoholism and financial status. The story ‘I Used To Live Here Once’ has been written shortly after the author had gone back to Dominica to revisit her home to only find it burnt down and different to what she had once known. Being the only visit she had made back to her hometown, this has affected Jean Rhys’ view of her origin and roots. We understand throughout the story many of the correlation of the story with her life, as in one part where she describes the stepping-stones that the character in the story needed to step on to cross the river (The New Windmill Book, 1994, p. 57). By identifying her events and the ones in the story, we can create a relation between these stones and the several encounters with men that the author had. More relation can be made on the similarities between the main character of the story and Jean Rhys herself, such as the feeling of nostalgia shown throughout the entire narrative, especially when the woman in the story is describing the house and children by the tree. In one piece in the story, the heroin had characterized the sky as â€Å"Glassy†. We may confirm that there are some strong emphasis on this particular part of the story as the description of the sky given by the author releases information on the characters being in between two separate worlds (Brady, 2009); the implications stated behind that gap is her eventual situation as a ghost. Whilst the identification began when the explanation on the magnificent blue day was made, there is a notice on the exaggeration and contradictions between what the women in the story felt as it was immediately followed by the unusual illustration of the sky. Moreover, when identifying the nature of the other descriptions made in the story, this confirms the confrontation with the ‘glassy’ comment of the sky. This interpretation showed very strong emotions released by Jean Rhys as it may reflect some feelings of transparency and a lack of presence to the heroin even though she feels being physically present. Considering her involvement in the tale, many features in the story give up nformation on how does the story reflect on the personality of the author. For instance, by looking at the way she had described the environment surrounding the heroin in this story, we can connect through this some of the descriptions, which are majorly contained of effects of degradation and undetected figures, which have been noticed by the main character. These are several hints in connection to some of the traumas Jean Rhys had experienced in her life, as said by author Maren Linett (2005) â€Å"consider Rhys’s exploration of the dark subject of/in female masochism – not, as has been argued by some critics, as an individual psychological kink from which Rhys suffered†¦Ã¢â‚¬  these traumas has therefore raise more questions on Jean Rhys’ writing influence. Furthermore, her incorporation of the two kids in front of the house shows a lot on what and how the author thinks. As stated by herself in the biography, she finds the color black warm and gay whereas she finds the color white cold and sad (The New Windmill Book, 1994, p. 156) considering that she had lived in Dominica and that this story is taking place there, we can identify some forms of irony as she observes and desribes the skin of the children (Brady, 2009) as most of the Europeans who had been born in there had similar skin. Whilst reading the story once, the ending of the story generates a shock to the reader. There is some is some sort of a build up in this narrative, from one description to another, the descriptions that the woman makes creates images to which can imply on beauty of the day. This implies to the lecturer to reconsider the whole journey that the author had used to create symbolisms with her life. Considering the involvement of Jean Rhys’ life in the story, her point of view is revealed through the use of symbolism, to which readers can interpret the types of feelings that she is having in addition to the ones of the character in the story. From this, the sudden appearance of her death helps the reader understand the different implications of what the heroin felt, thus relaying to the connection with Jean Rhys life. As said by Myranda Grencinger (2012) the use of symbolism in this tale allows the emphasis on the ending, which had transported the theme of the narrative to the eyes of the reader; in addition, it had not only showed but also set the tone of the story. All in all, considering the author’s use of her writing style and techniques, genre and personality, we may conclude that the short story â€Å"I Used To Live Here Once† holds many secrets upon the feelings of the character. She had succeeded to include her particular techniques so that the reader can attempt to understand and reevaluate their view on a story. Whilst using specific types of imagery and juxtaposition throughout the story, Jean Rhys has been able to symbolize the connections with her life, thus showing more to the reader of the correlation between the woman and the author. However, none of these writings would create much sense and order to the story without the use of the ending revealing the true nature of the tale. Therefore, many understandings can be made on the life of the author through reading this narrative – but to which extent can an author always create portraits of their life in stories, and how clear these can be understand will eventually depend on the imagination, styles and adventures of writers such as Jean Rhys.

Research Proposal: An evaluation of risk management and corporate strategy in low budget airlines. A case study of EasyJet.

Abstract This research paper will be looking at the risk management and corporate strategy approaches taken by low budget airlines and, in particular, by EasyJet. As part of the background analysis, literature in this area will be drawn upon to identify background information that will shape the research aims and questions, as well as identifying the research methodology and timescales that are going to be applicable. Background Introduction In order to gain a background understanding, this section will look at the general strategy and corporate issues experienced by the low budget airlines, before then going on to examine the risk management and corporate strategy that is used, especially by the likes of EasyJet. Consideration will be given as to how this strategy can then be evaluated as, although delineating the actual way in which the strategy operates. Once this has been achieved there is the need to verify whether or not this strategy has bee successful and how exactly success should be defined in this context. During this research proposal one issue that needs to be delineated is why EasyJet is being looked at as a case study and why this is being done after the theoretical background has been looked at. It is contended here that choices of business strategy are theoretical and need to be understood generically before then looking at how this choice plays out in the ‘real world’ through the use of Ea syJet. Understanding the choice of strategy is just one stage of the proposal, with the main value being added by the ability to evaluate the strategy in the context of the industry and to look at ways in which the strategy could be improved or altered, in order to achieve sustainable success, in the future. For this reason, the background literature review and current understanding has been looked at here before setting out the structure for the research paper in more detail. . Literature Review 2.1The Concept of Budget Airline Strategies as Background Understanding  The UK airline industry has, as an industry, gathered considerable pace in recent years, with the number of passengers flying in the last decade increasing to a point whereby it is becoming part of day to day life, rather than an activity that is reserved for the wealthy, perhaps once a year for their annual holiday. According to the CAA Statistics there are approximately 126 million air journeys made a year from the UK This general change in the demographic of those relying on these airlines is such that it has fundamentally changed the budget airline industry. In particular, one of changes is theappearance of budget airlines, such as Ryanair and EasyJet, as well as the growth within the regional airports across the country, again supporting greater access for all. Prior to the growth of the low cost airline industry, commercial flying was something that was reserved for those in a much more financially stable situation, yet the marketing and branding of the budget industry has enc ouraged a much broader range of appeal. There is a question as to which way round this has occurred and as such this will need to be explored during the wider paper. The industry as a whole hit a particular difficulty in 2001, where the trade centre attacks meant that a variety of airlines no longer had the same appeal and a number of airlines went into liquidation (IAA, 2011)Despite this, there has been an increasing pressure on the airline industry from the low cost arena, with more and more people viewing airlines such as EasyJet and Ryanair as a viable travel option, thus attracting a broad range of individuals who will now consider, particularly local and short haul travel, as a means of enjoying cheap holidays, on a regular basis (Gross and Schroeder, 2007) . The budget airlines operate with adifferent strategy from the more traditional commercial airlines in the industry, and are thus able to make cost savings that can then be passed on to the customer base. A considerable amount of literature such as that by Doganis in 2001 has been established to look at the ways in which the low cost airlines have set themselves apart and have changed the airline industry. One of the leading arguments that is presented as part of this background research is that of Porter’s Five Forces model, in 1981, provides a conceptal tool which suggests that a company will look at the five forces on the industry as a means of creating and establishing their own strategy. These five forces are : the bargaining power of suppliers, the bargaining power of buyers, the threat of potential new entrants, the threat of substitute products and the rivalry within the industry. lThis strategic argument has also been presented by Brandenburger and Nalebuff 1995 t hat indicates game theory is used to support the success of the airline industry. ,This will be explored in considerably more detail in the research itself; however, it provides an important starting point for the discussion here and will form a key part of the ongoing analysis.Corporate Strategy employed by EasyJetEasyJet is being used as a case study in this scenario. Therefore, consideration will be given as to how the specific corporate strategy as indicated by Porter’s model, has worked within the company itself and how this can then be evaluated and the risks associated with the strategy managed, appropriately. As noted by Porter in 1996 (p.62), it was stated that: â€Å"A company can outperform rivals only if it can establish a difference that can preserve. It must deliver greater value to customers or create comparable value at lower cost or do both†. It is this approach that is used as the fundamental strategy which has been established by EasyJet (Wright 1 987). Porter, as a result of his analysis, created three generic strategies, one of which is relevant here, namely that of cost leadership. In this case, the aim is to be the lowest cost supplier and to achieve profitability based on having a strong price cost margin (Dobson, Starkey and Richards, 2004). This is an extension of the understanding established initially by Porter in 1985, where he stated at p.13 â€Å"Low-cost producers often sell a standard, or no-frills, products and place considerable emphasis on reaping scale or absolute cost advantages from all sources†. Although the discussions here were aimed at those that generically follow these strategies, they are clearly very relevant to the way in which EasyJet has formulated itself. Moreover, for this type of cost leadership strategy, it is suggested that there is a need to be offering roughly the same product as the competitors, but to do so in a way that is cheaper, thus identifying the key element of the produ ct or service that simply must be provided and to remove the frills that are perceived to be unnecessary, in order to attract the appropriate market share. Within the airline industry, it could be argued that an actual airline seat which goes from A to B is a standard commodity and that a seat will be booked in order to allow an individual to travel from one place to another and that aside from this, no substantial differentiation is necessary for the majority of the public. Of course, there are those who might desire more leg room, better food, faster check in, etc., but on the whole, this is a standard commodity which lends itself to an idea that cost leadership can be achieved and is a approach potentially taken by budget airlines such as EasyJet. EasyJet, for example, has looked at the various ways in which it can save costs, such as the cost of landing at central airports, the cost of providing meals to everyone, the cost of check in staff at the airport, all of which has been eliminated as part of its strategy. For instance, by encouraging online check in and allowing all customers to book online and to manage their booking entirely online, this reduces the number of staff required within the airport. Furthermore, the airline typically utilises regional airports, as they charge less than central airports and this then allows the company to provide cheaper flights to the region. This will, of course, reduce the number of people who are willing to travel to that region, as some will place a premium on a direct flight to the centre of the city but, in many cases, an alternative airport within a few miles will be acceptable and is a great way of achieving a cheaper flight. This will also be the approach when providing the fligh t element of cheap package holidays.Concept of Risk Management within the Budget AirlinesBased on this strategy, there are clear needs to look at risk management as a means of maintaining the strategy. When following a cost leadership approach, there is the need to consider that competitors may simply innovate to copy and to be able to do the same, so that companies such as EasyJet need to ensure that they stay ahead of the game and are constantly looking towards improving their position and cost savings and therefore gathering greater market shares. Other risks are generic to the industry, as a whole, such as terrorism or global economic decline; however, the focus of this paper is on the way in which EasyJet deals with the risks that set it apart from the others and the way that this company uses its own strategy to manage the risks that may be present. For example, if there is operational pressure, or there are fewer people looking to travel, EasyJet can look towards the notion of providing greater technological efficiencies or offering its customers to groups of the market share that may improve its position. Risk management is therefore, in this case, about creating a level of dynamism that allows the company to remain ahead of the competition and to further its own competitive strategy, in this case, cost leadership. Generic Industry Background In order to understand the role of EasyJet it is necessary to briefly understand the generic industry situation. The actual notion of a low cost airline can be seen to have emanated in the 1970s, when Southwest Airlines established itself as a cut price airline providing a very basic but nevertheless acceptable service to American internal travellers. It aimed to appeal to those who were interested in price, rather than convenience, comfort or timeframe; it was often aimed at the student market and was referred to by many as the ‘Hippie’ Airline. From this point, several longer haul efforts emerged, but never fully gathered speed in comparison to the short haul equivalents, arguably due to their inability to differentiate themselves across the markets (Porter, 1980). That said, from the late 1990s through to the current day, several short haul no frills airlines have gained considerable success. Others have failed such as Zoom, in 2008, whic h suffered from problems associated with higher costs, most notably in the area of fuel. (Zoom, 2014) Despite certain differences pursued by the various carriers, on the whole, they pursued the approach of having uniform airplanes that reduced purchase and maintenance costs, as well as sticking to those airplanes that have minimal operations requirements and can therefore retain a low level of costs. Other operational benefits are gained through the use of requiring personnel to undertake multiple roles and to ensure that there are less people required to service customer needs, both on the ground and in the air. Whilst this may somewhat reduce the efficiency and the quality of service provided, on balance, it provides a basic service at a cheap price. Certain principles are seemingly consistent across the low cost airline industry, such as the use of secondary airports which are cheaper, the removal of non essential features, the imposition of charges for any added extras, e.g. additional baggage handling, so that individuals can simply pay more for what they actually require or wan t as added extras. The primary example of this is the removal of inflight meals as standard, thus allowing flyers to purchase what they wish, if indeed they wish to purchase food at all. Again, this reduces automatic costs and also offers opportunities for added revenue to be generated through the sale of snacks. These basic principles are common across the entire industry, although certain aspects have been more readily pursued by EasyJet and will form the focus of the main discussions.Research Aim and Research Question The overall research aim is to evaluate risk management and corporate strategy in low budget airlines using Easyjet as a case study.The research will analyse the working methods of the budget airline industry and to consider its overall and generic corporate strategy and positioning as an industry, as well as to look at individual examples within the industry, such as Easyjet. The research objectives are as follows: To gain an understanding of the ethos of the no frills airline industry, as a whole, considering strategies and approaches that are being accepted as the norm within the budget airline industry. A specific consideration of the risks facing low budget airlinesTo evaluate risk management and growth strategies across the industry and identify how these can then be mitigated in the long run. To evaluate the processes and strategies operating within EasyJet . By following this approach, the aim is to look at the industry, as a whole, but then to use the knowledge gained as a means of evaluating the current approach and looking to the future for both EasyJet and others within the same industry. Recognising this will enable a rounded and directed discussion for the management team of both EasyJet and other similar airlines.Research Methodology The research methodology for the paper is considered to be important for the purposes of identifying how the overall aim of evaluating the strategies and risk management available to low budget airlines and, in particular, EasyJet can be acheived. Firstly, it is considered to be necessary to undertake a deductive approach to the literature review, whereby the basic theory of the no frills airline is taken and then explored and observed. For example, there are accepted principles which are part of the no frills airline as a generic cost leadership strategy. Therefore, by taking the essence of the cost leadership strategy and then observing the industry in light of this, it is then possible to create a further theory as to the success of the industry and, more specifically, EasyJet. At this point, it is then necessary to take an inductive reasoning approach and to use observations as a means of developing a further theory of how these approaches can be evaluated and how these can then be better dealt with, in the future, for both EasyJet and the industry, as a whole. With this in mind, there is a shift in reasoning that needs to be clearly delineated in the structure of the research paper and will be looked at in these sections, below. Introduction and Industry Background – this will form the backbone of the deductive reasoning and will take the accepted theories of the no frills airline, with the strategy that is considered to be appropriate for this industry, most notably the cost differentiation, as noted in the introductory section above. Literature Review – this will need to transcend both aspects and will involve a detailed secondary analysis of existing understanding, including the need to look at general strategies that can be employed within the commercial arena. This will then need to be applied more rigorously to the case of the budget airline and how the generic strategies work within the budget airline industry. It will also look to identify specific areas of failure and to use a more deductive reasoning to establish a new theory of how the industry can now evolve. Case Study – these theories will then need to be tested by using a case study as a further form of secondary research, which is then capable of testing the theories raised and also developing them further, with specific examples in mind. A case study is seen to be the most appropriate means of achieving this, due to the need to take theories, test them and then potentially create new theories as to how this matter can be progressed. Analysis and Evaluation – This will then pull together the various aspects of the research, to create an overall evaluation and an ongoing theory that can be used including, recommendations for the future for EasyJet as to how it can use its own strengths to create a new strategy or approach, as well as being able to evaluate its existing approach. This research methodology, which relies entirely on secondary research, may be seen to be limited, due to the lack of primary research; however, it is felt to be appropriate in this case, due to the need to gather such a broad range of opinions, if primary research were to be relied upon. With this in mind and the specific thought that consumers are likely to have in relation to the industry, it was determined unhelpful to collate a large amount of primary research. Although there is a large amount of information available in the general domain, this is not in itself going to provide sufficient depth of understanding and therefore additional databases are going to be required, in order to add the necessary value to the discussion. Economic and financial journals may also prove useful in this regard, as they are readily available in the University library and will provide the background theoretical understanding. The starting points for the references and resources to be used are contained below; however, it is anticipated that this will be increased dramatically, over the course of the first two stages of the research and, in particular, during the literature review.. Key words will include, budget, strategy, airlines and EasyJetTimescale The overall duration of this research is to take place over one academic year, consisting of ten months. This is also a large deciding factor in the determination not to rely on primary research, at all. There would need to be a large amount of primary research gathered and this simply would not be possible with the time frame allocated if a suitable level of reliabilty were to be obtained. The following time frame is to be followed, with a degree of flexibility allowed in order to ensure that all aspects of the research are completed diligently. Month 1 – set out the research question, consider the available literature as well as the access to case study information and delineate any possible limitations that may arise in terms of information available. Months 1 – 2 – establish the introduction and industry background, looking solely at literature relating to the generic theories of business development, as well as the theory of the no frills airline. Months 3 – 4 – undertake case study analysis of EasyJet, which will require detailed information to be gathered from the company, from the commentary relating to the company and from any other source that could offer guidance as to how the company has been successful or, indeed, where the company has failed. Months 5 – 6 – analyse case study, in light of the literature review and evaluation structure set, going forward. A key component of this research is to evaluate the strategy being employed and to evaluate the way that the company may manage its risk. With this in mind, the evaluation process should be considered over a long period of time and with sufficient depth, revisiting issues, if required. Months 7 – 8 – pull together all the research and revisit any areas that seem lacking or where additional questions have been raised; most notably, ensuring that the aims and objectives are fully established and any gaps have been dealt with or, at the very least identified, so as to form part of the limitations and future research statements in the end report. Months 9 – 10 – review and present findings, undertake any other final areas of research that may be required and ensure that the findings of the research paper are presented fully. Any further areas of research will be identified at this stage and laid out for future use by others. Any limitations of the research will also be established.Resources RequiredThe primary research is not being undertaken due to the required timeframe. For the analysis itself, there is a need to have access to a variety of literature data bases, including the standard academic databases and industry information relevant to the airline industry. It has been identified that sources such as Euromonitor may provide a particularly useful insight into the industry itself, but are paid for databases. However, there are certain databases that may present industry information and are provided to the University which need to be looked at, in more detail. Specific databases that are appropriate include : Datastream EconLit JSTOR Datamonitor Conclusions and Next Steps In summary, therefore, the aim is to evaluate the strategies used by the no frills industry, with particular reference to EasyJet. In this context, the next step is to undertake a reasonable amount of background reading, to ascertain the areas that are then going to be pursued as part of the literature review. The main initial stage will be to look at the various aspects of the corporate strategy and to split the areas of reading and literature into sub headings. This will then be pursued when looking at the EasyJet case study; therefore, it is necessary to establish these strands of the argument and the support for this argument, from the outset. Establishing the main aims, strands of analysis and the way in which the findings will be presented will all be part of this initial fact finding and preparatory stage. References –  Brandenburger A.M. & Nalebuff B.J. (1995), â€Å"The Right Game: Use Game Theory to Shape Strategy†, Harvard Business Review, July-August pp 57 – 71 Calder, S. (2003), No Frills: The Truth Behind the Low-Cost Revolution in the Skies, UK: Virgin Books CAA Statistics (2006) http://www.caa.co.uk/docs/80/airline_data/2006Annual/Table_0_1_6_All_Services_2006.pdf Doganis, R. (2001), The airlines business in the 21st century, London: Routledge Galbraith, C. & Schendel, D. (1983), â€Å"An Empirical Analysis or Strategy Types†, Strategic Management Journal, 4:2 153 – 173 Gross, S and Schroeder, A. (Eds.) (2007) Handbook of Low Cost Airlines – Strategies, Business Processes and Market Environment, Berlin. Hill, C.W.L. (1988), â€Å"Differentiation Versus Low Cost or Differentiation and Low Cost: A Contingency Framework†, Academy of Management Review 13:3 pp 401 – 412 IATA (2011) The Impact of September 11th http://www.iata.org/pressroom/documents/impact-9-11-aviation.pdf Miller, D. (1988), â€Å"Relating Porter’s Business Strategies to Environment and Structure: Analysis and Performance Implications†, Academy of Management Journal 31:2 pp 280 – 308 Mintzberg, H. (1978), â€Å"Patterns in Strategy Formation†, Management Studies 24:9 pp 934 – 948 Mintzberg, H., Quinn, J.B. & Ghoshal, S. (1995), The Strategy Process, UK: Prentice Hall Murray, A.I. (1988), â€Å"A Contingency View of Porter’s â€Å"Generic Strategies†Ã¢â‚¬ , Academy of Management Review 13:3 pp 390 – 400 Porter, M.E. (1985), Competitive Advantage: Creating and Sustaining Superior Performance, New York: The Free Press Porter, M.E. (1980), Competitive Strategy: Techniques for Analysing Industries and Competitors, New York: The Free Press Stabell, C.B. & Fjeldstad, O.D. (1998), â€Å"Configuring Value for Competitive Advantage: On Chains, Shops, and Networks†, Strategic Management Journal 19:5 pp 413 – 437 Treacy, M. & Wirsema, F. (1993) â€Å"Customer Intimacy & Other Value Disciplines’, Harvard Business Review, Jan-Feb pp 84 – 93 White, R.E. (1986), â€Å"Generic Business Strategies, Organizational Context and Performance: An Empirical Investigation†, Strategic Management Journal 7:3 pp 217 – 231 Wright, P. (1987), â€Å"A Refinement of Porter’s Strategies, Strategic Management Journal 8:1 pp 93 – 101 Zoom (2014) Zoom – Bankruptcy Filed in 2008 Retrieved from http://www.flyzoom.com/

Assessment of a Child with Autism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Assessment of a Child with Autism - Essay Example For children, the impact of these mental health issues is especially significant because it can compromise their development from a very early age and it can prevent them from ever achieving their expected milestones. This paper shall discuss the case of an 8-year old autistic boy, including his Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) assessment in my placement as a school nurse. The basic CAMHS assessment shall first be presented. This shall be followed by the case study, where the patient case shall be presented, including the evidence base and the assessment tool used. My actions and decisions in relation to the case shall also be evaluated based on appropriate literature support. Best practice for this case would also be included in the case study. The formulation of the study shall also be established, followed by a reflection of this case. At all times, the confidentiality of the patient was protected in accordance with the Nursing and Midwifery Code which basically requires: the respect of people’s right to confidentiality; ensures that people are informed about how and why data is being shared to those who will be providing care; and disclosing information if it is believed that someone may be at risk of harm. Finally, after all the above elements are established, this paper shall end with a conclusion which shall serve as a summary of the paper as well as an overall evaluation of the topic. Basic CAMHS Assessment In a generic CAMHS assessment, the patient’s presenting issues, history, strengths, as well as perceived needs would be reviewed (NHS Information Centre, 2012). A discussion on the services which the client would need would also be considered. During the interview with the patient, an objective feedback of the patient and his issues, as well as his treatment plan would also be discussed (CAMHS, 2009). The CAMHS also discussed that there is a need to assess children and determine if based on the standards set by the Children Order, they are in need; in need of protection; and are looked after children. Children in need are those who are unlikely to achieve or maintain standard health or development without provisions for social services; or whose health needs are significantly impaired; or who are disabled (NHS Information Centre, 2012). Those who need protection are those who are being physically or sexually abused by family or by other people (NHS Infor mation Centre, 2012). Finally, those who are assessed as looked after children are those who have been placed in care of a Trust for a variety of reasons including abandonment or physical abuse. Based on the above standards, assessments should look like general physical, emotional, social, and mental checklists on the child (Lidz, 2003). The child’s family must also be assessed and evaluated based on their relationship with the child and their interactions with the child (Carr, 2006). There is a need to establish which category the child would fit into and based on such assessment, what type of services he needs. A generic assessment must be comprehensive, holistic, and accurate (Thambirajah, 2007). It must also include an assessment of the child’s family and environment in order to determine factors which are impacting on the child’s condition. In our setting, the basic assessment is carried out by the school nurse in the community setting (NICE, 2011). Our bas ic assessment of children often comes from referrals from the teachers handling the students. These teachers often note symptoms from their students which may indicate that the child may be suffering from some form of mental health issue (NICE, 2011). After referral to the school nurse, the child is often reviewed based on the

India is similar (or not similar) to the Bodley profile of Tribal Essay

India is similar (or not similar) to the Bodley profile of Tribal Culture - Essay Example Yet certain characteristics of them all were common. For example, culture is always based on symbols which people hold in high esteem; a culture of a region is shared by the people living in that particular society; a culture is learned, that is, it is taught to everybody in the society; and lastly, culture is adaptive; in other words, as the world and times change, culture also evolves. When we speak of tribal culture we must remember that it varies greatly from place to place. Certain cultures in the Oceanic Islands (such as Fiji) would be cannibalistic, while tribal regions in India are staunch vegetarians. According to Bodley though, certain features are very much alike; for example, tribal cultures are predominantly agriculture based, with the natives producing their own food and not dependent on outside sources. By definition, a tribe generally consists of a few hundred people living together in settled villages. Their chief mode of gaining sustenance is farming (horticultural or pastorical) and hunting and their economy is simple and uncomplicated. People rely more on barter, gift swapping, and labor in exchange for goods, rather than on cash and credit. Hence comparatively, their monetary status is not as complicated as those living in more industrialized cultures. Neither, in fact, is their way of living. Tribal cultures are usually not as technologically dependent, relying mostly on simple tools for work. Their society is often divided into different lineages and ‘clans’ and most people can trace their descent to common ancestors. Every lineage and clan has a similar status in the tribe, with certain people (probably due to greater riches, or experience) are gifted with the title of ‘elders’ or ‘big men’. They are usually looked up to and have profound influence in most tribal decisions. India is one of the largest countries population-wise, and its growing industrialization is a credit to its present and

Michael Porter 6 Forces Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Michael Porter 6 Forces - Research Paper Example ma?la?inen, 2004). Entries divide the market amongst more sellers and decrease each company’s share. The technology industry attracts vast newcomers due to its appealing customer base and fast growth. However, the newcomers are threatened by the capital needed to venture into the industry due to the expensive start up infrastructure. More so, new entrants feel threatened by the existing brands especially in the line of networking service providers like Microsoft, given that the established brands posses firm customer base that is hard to overcome. Nevertheless, the other line of technology industry that produces technology devices and gadgets like the renowned Samsung Corporation could attract entrants who could chip in and invent products that exactly befits the customers taste. Competitive rivalry The technology industry is well known for its fast growth, competition and effectiveness, and this explains why new entrants do not survive because of the intense rivalry between t he existing players. However, the competition from rivals depends on the field of specialization because other companies produce technology devices while others offer networking services. ... er hand, the technology industries that produce technology gadgets or devices like Sony corporation faces stiff competition because other manufacturers are gradually inventing more efficient appliances. The field of device producing technology industry is extremely competitive due to its nature of its growth, which means that customers’ tastes and trends change fast, and the concerned industry has to frequently invent up-to-date devices to catch up the pace; hence, heightening the rivalry between the existing companies. Competitive substitute The products and services provided in a particular industry usually have the same substitutes elsewhere (Ha?ma?la?inen, 2004). This substitute products and services pose a threat because they limit the ability of a firm and their prices. The technology industry is exceptional in the fact that the competition varies in different companies that specializes in technology. For instance, the information technology service providers have no muc h threat from substitutes because customers rely on such technology to run their lives and businesses meaning that substituting this technology becomes almost impossible. For instance, Google has positioned itself towards long term success on the internet, and there is no foreseen substitute to beat the internet so far. On the other hand, other technology companies who specializes in manufacturing of technology devices faces stiff substitution competition. For instance, a computer manufacturing company like Dell could face substitution threats from other manufacturers who could offer more outstanding products. Therefore, substitution threats in the technology industry depend on the line of specialization. Supplier bargaining power Bargaining power is the ability to influence setting of prices

Analysis of a Healthcare Lawsuit Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Analysis of a Healthcare Lawsuit - Case Study Example Eric H. Holder Jr., the defendant as the United States Attorney General is directly responsible for the implementation of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of the Health Care and Reconciliation amendment passed by the US President Barrack Obama on the 23rd of March 2010 (Mead v. Holder‎, 2011). According to section 1501, it requires every American to buy a health care policy from any private company or institution if he/she can afford to do so. This clause will force thousands of American citizens to forcefully buy an insurance policy from many banks and companies and if they fail to do so and do not pass the individual mandate, they will have to face a penalty and would have to pay the government with a penalty known as the Shared Responsibility payment. This penalty may also be applicable over the individual’s spouse or dependent family members. The payment for the Health Care insurance Policy and the Shared responsibility are excluding taxes. The Shared Responsibility payment, if continued would also continue to increase every year. This law will also be forcefully applied on the 62-year old American Citizen, Miss Margaret Peggy Lee Mead, who is a self-employed Single American citizen living in the State of North Carolina. She also works part time and is not eligible for Medicare. However, Miss Mead is also not under any exemption of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and is also not exempted from the Shared Responsibility payment she would have to pay over the years to the government consequently. The Plaintiff would have to pay a Shared Responsibility Payment of around $3,895 to the government by 2020 in different installments per year if she does not opt for a Health Care and Insurance policy from any private entity as per the individual mandate enforced by the act. Miss Mead is under direct enforcement of the act and is under no exemption. This enforcement would

Educational Inequality in America Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Educational Inequality in America - Essay Example Educational inequality has been a major priority of researchers in the US. Researchers have centered on the impact of poverty, or of social class, or of gender, or of ethnicity or race on young people's personal experience of education. In a related study on educational inequality, the theoretical concept for their study pinpointed the concept of social division as a lens in understanding the link between class and gender relations in shaping the educational achievements of students from ruling-class and working-class families. Thus, the social dynamics of class relations and gender relations is riddled with numerous tensions and contradiction. These can be seen as structuring processes rather than 'systems' in which social relations is organised and disorganised through time. The interaction of gender and class for a working class signifies a relationship between processes. (Connell et al., 1982:179-81). In addition, Connell et al.'s call for reform is one which does away with the stringent academic curriculum for one which works in the interests of the majority of the population rather than the 'ruling class' minority. The study's conclusion is that certain private schools are organic to the ruling class. It a;sp sjoes-and their distressing evidence which shows the extent to which state schools are a disruptive, disempowering force in the lives of the working class-the group call for a form of schooling organic to the working class. (Connell et al., 1982:179-81).Furthermore, Connell et al. emphasize the 'doing of history' perspective at the individual, group, institutional and structural levels. The basic concepts to their approach are practice consisting of the activities of people as they live their daily lives. The situation pertains to the home, school, and to the social and cultural characteristics of the social interaction. Each level of academic experience is viewed from dif ferent aspects of the same dynamic reality and each exists in a reciprocal relationship with the others. . (Connell et al., 1982:179-81). Children from simple family backgrounds The report by James Coleman was a response to Section 402 of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which called for a survey to discuss the apparent lack of equal educational opportunities for persons by reason of race, color, religion, or national origin. Coleman's findings on the extent of the achievement gap between black and white students between and within regions, and between and within schools, highlighted the importance of families over schools for setting educational performance. (Coleman 4) Coleman sets this conclusion: "The sources of inequality of educational opportunity lie first in the home itself and the cultural influences surrounding the home. Second, they lie in the schools' ineffectiveness to free achievement from the impact of the home, and third, in the schools' cultural make-up which reinforces the social influences of the home and its immediate settings. (Coleman 10) Children from poor families deal with fewer resources in their schools Five areas are examined when building a causal argument for racial differences in academic achievement: student qualitiess and attitudes, family and home settings, peers, schools and faculty members, and neighborhood locations. Variables pertaining to students cover factors such as age and sex, attitudinal levels of the student's commitment to school, aspirations and

Recruitment and selection Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Recruitment and selection - Essay Example The process of recruitment begins with job analysis which entails collecting information about the job through tools such as questionnaires and interviews to ensure the right employees are hired for right jobs (Mullins, 2010). The results of job analysis are then used to design a job description and person specification. The job description shows the activities, duties or tasks to be undertaken while the person specification shows the requirements of the job holder and is the basis for selection (Searle, 2003). The job at hand is that of a social worker in the healthcare sector. The job description entails: providing care and interventions to promote health, conducting patient education, making patient referrals, organising support groups and counselling family members and also collaborating with other professionals so as to evaluate the condition of patients. They are also entrusted with disease prevention and ensuring access to healthcare. The person is expected to collect and reco rd information in written and electronic form concerning patients, analyse information and interpret results and ensuring it complies with standards. The person to be recruited as social worker needs to have at least a bachelor’s degree in social sciences and possess the following skills: good negotiation skills, be an active listener, be good at written and oral communication, and good in making decisions and judgements and good time management skills. The person should have knowledge in psychology, proficiency in the English language, knowledge of the law and government regulations as well as agency rules, knowledge in therapy and counselling, and good interpersonal skills. The knowledge of clerical duties such as keeping records and designing forms is an added advantage. The person should also be of high integrity and have great concern for others. He/she should be able to exercise self-control, be cooperative and be able to work under stress. Section 2: How Employment Leg islation Affects Recruitment While recruiting potential candidates, it is important to take into consideration the employment laws in place to avoid unlawful discrimination. The current employment law under Equality Act 2010 enforced by Equal Employment Opportunity Commission prohibits discrimination on the basis of gender, sex, race, age, religion, disability, sexual orientation and nationality (EHRC, 2013). This is aimed at ensuring equal opportunity in employment for all. It is very essential for the healthcare organisation to follow these laws while designing application forms or advertising jobs to attract potential candidates to avoid litigations which may destroy the reputation of the company as well as cause additional costs such as intervention fee to the company (HSE, 2013). For example, while putting an advert for a social worker, an age limit should not be stipulated unless it is objectively justifiable. The Equality and Human Rights Commission added new provisions to th e Equality Act 2010 extending a ban on age discrimination to cover services, and this has implication for social care workers. They cannot differentiate in treatment of service users in different age groups unless it is objectively justified (EHRC, 2013). Organisations are liable to third party offenders; hence, they must make sure to recruit individuals who can obey the law. In most cases, social work is considered to be

Business Aticate Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Business Aticate - Essay Example tion and bribery in Saudi Arabia is rife but it is all because the Saudis â€Å"have different way of doing business and that has also contributed to the western perception.† Giving the genesis of the complaints the westerns he says that this perception was developed in the oil boom years and in modernization drive. Actually, those were the Americans European corporations which paid the huge bribes to the well connected Saudi agent to get lucrative deals in the kingdom. The complaints have become less common as the western have grown more familiar with the Saudi ways and it is relatively a â€Å"calmer business environment.† The reason of dying out the above mentioned perceptions was the â€Å"availability of excess cash† which helped promoting wasteful consumption. In the subheading â€Å"Business Ethics† (207) Well says, â€Å" the bottom line is that what a Western observer call bribery or influencing paddling does not have the same taint to Saudi. For the Saudi, providing a personal connection as legitimate business service, for which it is natural to expect be paid. In the past, payment has meant whatever the market would bear--------- in other words, whatever you can get away with. But in recent years, the Saudi government---- sensitive to the Western cries of corruption------ has regulated agents â€Å"fee† more closely. -------- For some observes, ‘corrupt† mean departing from locally accepted norms of behavior, in which case the Saudis are merely following their own cultural traditions. Such practices, indeed, are common throughout the Middle East. You might have a less forgiving view, but that’s your business. Literally.† Well coins a phrase of â€Å"mental compartment† to explain the pattern of thinking of the Saudis. â€Å"What this means is that the Saudis tend to see a choice from only one point of view at a time, and to ignore its possible consequences in different areas.†(214) Riad is of the view â€Å"since its[Saudi Arabia] out of the former Ottoman

Summary Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 69

Summary - Essay Example India has made well-publicized progress especially in technical education, and we also see that China has not held back.  These two countries have a breathtaking level and pace of investment. As clearly observed, China reforms led to the creation of 22 million new businesses employing 135 million people who would have remained peasants. This has greatly been facilitated through creation of Special Economic Zones where foreign companies which are willing to build modern factories hire cheap labor, and are exempted from taxes, leaving it to the government to build roads and other infrastructure needed (Faigley & Jack 394). The â€Å"big elephant phenomenon† has been mainly due to the removal of barriers to the flow of capital from abroad. This has led to the rise of very effective and internationally competitive softwares and IT, together with the influx of multinational corporations like Starbucks and MacDonald’s, which have several branches in these two countries, thus elevating the country from the crisis of 77% living on 2$ a day.   These two countries have embraced the fact that technology is only one dimension of international competitiveness, and that low labor cost is one more.  We are individualists in our personal ambitions but we either follow or fail as one people in our search for economic progress (Faigley & Jack

Into A Police State Essay Example for Free

Into A Police State Essay Introduction In a time when WW2 had just finished, people were worried that communism might spread around the world, and the overall scariness of the changing world around, George Orwell wrote a dystopian novel, set in the future, in a world that changes the past to suit the needs ofcalled 1984. Orwells novel has been written to make his audience challenge the values that have been presented in the novel. The values of freedom and truth and an attitude of love have been used to make us challenge the way we think of these things. 1984 is a novel in which the world has been transformed into a society in which a group called the Party can watch every persons moves at any time of the day. Â  1984 manipulates the society into believing everything they say. Â  George Orwells masterpiece makes the audience challenge the values and attitudes of the novel. Â  Values of freedom, privacy and trust. Attitudes of anger, and love. BP1 1984 makes the audience challenge the value of freedom. What is freedom Freedom is the freedom to say that two plus two make four. If that is granted, all else follows. This quote shows that the Party controls the world so much that they have the power to change the answer for 2+2=4 to 2+2=5 (or any other number). Â  That the choice for mankind lay between freedom and happiness, and that, for the great bulk of mankind, happiness was better. Â  This quote shows that people in the world of Oceania have a choice of freedom or happiness. Because most people know the consequences of having freedom, they choose the safe option and have happiness in the Party. This leads into the next quote: Â  To die hating them, that was freedom. If you are with the Party, you will have happiness (previous quote) and if you are against them, you will have the freedom to speak out against the Party. But this means that you must die, because almost all of the haters of the Party will get caught eventually and shot or killed. Because the world that people live in has been manipulated so that people do not have freedom, we as the audience are challenged with the moral of freedom and what it means having it. BP2 Â  Orwells setting in 1984 also makes us challenge the values of truth. There was truth and there was untruth, and if you clung to the truth even against the whole world, you were not mad. Â  This is saying that the people of Oceania know their own truths, and everyone has an opinion as to what is the truth and what is not. But people are forced to believe in a truth that is untrue when they know a truth which is true. Thus people have two truths to believe or know in. The people who follow the Party and respect them will believe in the untruth and forget the real truth, and the people who are against the Party will know their truth which is the truth. So the people who are against the Party are the sane ones. Â  If all records told the same tale then the lie passed into history and became truth. Â  This is saying that if all of the novels in the world said the same things, this would become the truth. And if one thing was different from a book/magazine etc. then the Party would change it so it would become the truth. It is like saying if 10 books said that WW1 did not occur, and another book did, the Party would get that one book and change it so that it would say that WW1 did not occur. If everything in the world said that something happened, then the lie would pass into history and would become the truth. Â  Whatever the party holds to be truth, is truth. It is impossible to see reality except by looking through the eyes of the Party. Â  This is saying that everything the Party says is the truth and that everyone should listen to it. If you dont listen to the truth, then you cant see the reality of what the world is. If you want to understand the world, then you must be with the Party. The world is a blur without them. These quotes show how the Party has manipulated the truth so that the entire super state believes every word they say. By doing this everyone will do what they want. However some people are already thinking against the Party and they are the sane ones but they will be the ones that will most likely die. BP3 * Orwell also challenges the audience with his dystopian society with the attitude of love. Â  The old civilizations claimed that they were founded on love or justice. Ours is founded upon hatred. This is saying that the entire world is based around hatred. This can be backed up with the two minutes hate and the hatred that people have for the Party. * There will be no loyalty, except loyalty towards the Party. There will be no love, except the love of Big Brother. There will be no laughter, except the laugh of triumph over a defeated enemy. There will be no art, no literature, no science. Â  1984s society has been challenged in a way that no love ever exists. People are not allowed to love another person. The only way that people are allowed to marry is so that they can produce for the Party. They only believe in the Party and listen to what they tell people to do. Nothing exists anymore except that Party and everything that they do. Â  Confession is not betrayal. What you say or do doesnt matter: only feelings matter. If they could make me stop loving you-that would be the real betrayal. Â  This is saying that the only way that people in Oceania can stop loving someone is if that Party brainwash them so that they wont love them anymore. That is the only way that people can betray someone. Never again will you be capable of ordinary human feeling. Everything will be dead inside you. Never again will you be capable of love, or friendship, or joy of living, or laughter, or curiosity, or courage, or integrity. You will be hollow. We shall squeeze you empty and then we shall fill you with ourselves. Â  This quote is saying that the society of 1984 has no feeling for anything. Everyone is straight faced and just does what the Party want them to do. The line Never again will you be capable of love just says that the world can become a world has place of hatred for one another. This definitely challenges the audiences on love. Â  This novel has very little love in it and it makes us challenge what love actually is and why it is such a special thing for us as humans to have. CONCLUSION Â  These points that have been made so that the audience of 1984 challenges their values and attitudes. Â  The novel explores the values of truth and freedom and the attitude of love. Â  We see that after reading the novel how much we value these things in our world and that we should be grateful for what we have in life.

3D Graphics Animation Technology

3D Graphics Animation Technology Abstract- In this paper a simple study to gain what is today 3D graphic animation technology has been researched. A brief explanation on the history and variety technology of 3D graphics is obtained. The design of 3D animation graphic is explained in introduction section. The inter information of the technology were discussed by referring the available internet sources. The figure of the 3D animation graphics also have been attached in this report. Index Terms 3D animation, history, technology Introduction Nowadays, everything is easy with technology. From now on we are able to sit in our homes and just look at the picture. The 3D animation was added with an extra ZING concept to make the film excitement. A long time ago, there was no concept of new technology that has developed by any creator. That day, film was used to a boring and animation just use 2D concept. Since the technology has changed, the use of this technology makes everyone enjoyable when watching the movie. In order to create a 3D computer animation, it is not an easy task. It requires extensive knowledge and technical support. It is recommended that the specialists are competent on creating animated computer graphics. Personal computer is also able to make 3D animations. To develop this 3D animation, it requires very technologically advanced workstations powered expensive. There are several types of operating systems like Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X and Linux which is the most commonly used. Other equipment, such as motion capture, video capture performance and blue screens are also used to achieve perfection. hISTORY The history of 3D computer animation can be traced from inception to commercial use. The first thing is where it was conceived, and then how it eventually wound up in our daily lives. Since there are many contributors to computer animation, 3D animation is attributed to William Fetter. William Fetter worked for Boeing during the 1960s using computers to animate and design certain models. One of his projects involved making what came to be known as The Boeing Man. It was a three-dimensional representation of the human body. After that, it was changed by Fetter using the term computer graphics. In 1976, Ed Cat mull and Fred Parke involved the use of 3D computer graphics and animation in a movie of Future world. In part from the movie, the technology of a human face and hand was animated to visually add a futuristic characteristic to the film. Since the technique has been used in many movies, and become a standard in film, television and video games. After Future world, the world was introduced to Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. The director George Lucas is applied 3D graphics to not only enhance the atmosphere of the film, but as an integral part of the entire movie. This propelled special effects in cinema to new heights. The immense success of Star Wars would lead film makers to rely heavily of animation, in particular 3D animation. The Toy Story, technology has advanced 3D animation to become a daily part of American life. It can be seen at everywhere from video games to Internet application. Then, it can even be created using readily available software. 3D TECHNOLOGY 3D Computer Graphic 3D computer graphics are graphics which use a three-dimensional representation of geometric data. It was stored in the computer to perform calculations and rendering 2D images. For instant, images may be stored for viewing later or displayed in real-time. Although these differences, 3D computer graphics depend on many of the same algorithms such as 2D computer vector graphics in the wire-frame model. Apart from that, in the final rendered display for 2D computer raster graphics. In computer graphics software, the differences between 2D and 3D is sometimes blurred; 2D applications may use 3D techniques in order to achieve effects such as lighting. Besides, 3D may use 2D rendering techniques. 3D models often offered by 3D computer graphics. Apart from the rendered graphic, the graphical data file is within contained in the model. However, there are some differences on 3D model which is the mathematical representation of any three dimensional object. Since the graphic still not display, a model is not technically a graphic. A model can be displayed usually as a 3D rendering from the two-dimensional image or used in non-graphical computer simulations and calculations. Computer Animation Computer animation is one of the arts of creating moving images by using computers. It is a part of computer graphics and animation. 2D computer graphics are still widely used for stylistic, low bandwidth and faster real-time rendering even though 3D has developed crazily worldwide. CGI or Computer-generated imagery or computer-generated imaging is the special use in films. Virtual entities may have and be controlled by variety of attributes For example, transform values (location, orientation, and scale) stored in an objects transformation matrix. The attribute over time changes in animation. The 2D or 3D graphics software will put into between key frames, creating an editable curve of a value mapped over time, resulting in animation. Other than that, there is another one method of animation include procedural and expression-based techniques. In order to create the movement that has the illusion, the image that have been replaced quickly after it was displayed on the computer screen. It was replaced with another new image which is similar to the previous image. This technique is applied in the television and motion pictures for image movement. Figure1: Computer Animation The modern technology movies Film is biggest source of entertainment. This are consists a lot of added value in modern movies to attract more people to the theaters. 3D technology has a value in most important for film. In 1844, David Brewster stereoscope is actually help the 3D with photographic images. Then, Louis Duboscq has improved this invention. It is take 3D images of Queen Victoria, and represent the photo to Universal Exhibition in 1851. 3D technology was start in training and this technology is found the way to be the better film. Now, the application of 3D technology was expand to Hollywood. Beginning at 2000, many studios have full time 3D movie. In 2003, the first film in IMAX 3D was release. It is using the latest technology through the camera system with the latest HD video camera. Thus, the technology is accepted by other Hollywood entertainer. In 2010, the 3D technology is mentioned. Many great films as Avatar, released in 3D format. Thus, it is certain that the coming days is the 3D technology. 3D Technology 3D technology is once of computer graphics developers skilled and games using high end software and machine. To create 3D and render the complex mix colors, virtual lighting and textures, workstation needed considerable processing power and memory to make figures appear three dimensional. Since 3D technology has come a long way, it increasing in the performance but decreasing in cost. PCs are less expensive and more powerful in the pass and can handle better for 3D. The way people to use 3D have begun spread from games to such activities as corporate presentation, web and product design and personal entertainment. PC maker have put 3D acceleration and many types of 3D technology into their entire computer that useful for design and architecture application. This technology is potential developing faster than other desktop computing area. 3D Games Technology 3D video gaming is coming for 3D games technology, with event of Nintendo showing their new 3D hand held system and Sonny show off 3D video games on PlayStation 3 platform. Its no surprise 3D eventually can be a part of video games. 3D games will probably make it stand in the next generation of video games because supporting television are too expensive and new just to play their games in 3D. 3D TV Show Technology 3D TV now possible to increased technological development. Now many popular movies at the theater in 3D and it can view 3D TV shows from own house, but this technology possible come without a price. A good opportunity to producing 3D TV show, 3D technology in cameras or in movie making has increase. For countries that use satellite and cable network broadcasting 3D TV show will easy to implementation to wide bandwidth frequency but cannot applied for terrestrial networks. The great news for 3D TV show like ESPN and Discovery Communications are going to launch their 3D TV network. Future 3D Movie Technology Future 3D film can be described in famous phrase from movie Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Another success was touted by Disney 3D film Hannah Montana / Miley Cyrus: Best of Both World Concert Tour. For 3D high definition are used for animated hit Kung Fu Panda at 2008 with the voice of Jack Black. With moving forward the latest technology of 3D film can be classical past indeed a goal and better get 3D glasses and set up home theater soon. 3D Graphic Animation Technology A. CGI Technology The evolution of 3D graphic design didnt transform for a very long. But what is CGI animation, exactly? A decade ago, animators were sketch pictures by using hand. Old method animation consists of a whole animators team to draw and color images on cels transparent sheets that were placed on top of a background image for create a multi-layered frame. Through this, section of an each image could change from frame to frame without the entire picture being redrawn. By manipulating the drawings in each layer from frame to frame, animators would create what many adults today recognize it as the traditional cartoon. Many movie fans still remember the hype surrounding of old films such as Star Wars, where computer animation was used. The first sections of CGI animation included 2D animation. These simply involved what animators had been doing for decades such creating multiple frames of images on each second to generate the visual effect of animation. Figure: 2D Animation The picture below is an example of one such completed animated GIF. With todays amazing CPU processing capabilities, computer animators are now able to create a 3 dimensional model to start with. This model is only somewhat like its 2D counterpart, except now computers have the ability to not only modify large parts of a 2 dimensional image as layers it can calculate and modify very small sections of an object within a 3D world. The concept of todays level of 3D CGI animation is an evolution from basic cartoon animation into a simulated world that seeks to represent realism as accurately as possible. B. Example Conclusion 3D becomes most wanted technology that needed for all aspect either animation, movie for variety function and needed such hand phone, laptop, gamer and etc.

System Requirements for Electric System for Car Rental

System Requirements for Electric System for Car Rental 1. Introduction XYZ is a car rental company located in Saudi Arabia, and has branches in all major cities. XYZ main business line is to provide rental service of small civilian cars for individuals. XYZ is planning to expand its business and to approach larger customer base by allowing customers to book from online. Also XYZ needs to automate its current paperwork processes to reduce the operation cost and increase the control over its processes. Document Purpose The purpose of this document is to describe business requirements of an Application completely, accurately and unambiguously in Technology-independent manner. All attempts have been made in using mostly business terminology and business language while describing the requirements in this document. Minimal and commonly understood Technical terminology is used. Use case approach is used in modeling the business requirements in this document Intended Audience The main intended audience for this document are the business owners of Osteoporosis Surveillance system. They must be able to verify that their business requirements have been documented here completely, accurately and unambiguously. As such, the audience can be summarized as follows: Scope Diagram: To be done by later. Project Scope: Project scope is to: Develop Major Modules Develop Web-based Application, which contains the following: Renting Car Module: This module be concerned with managing Rent and return car by customer and concerning with payment rent fees and its related penalties if violation happened. Repairing Car Module: This module be concerned with managing and tracking car repairing during its operation. Insuring Car Module: This module be concerned with managing and tracking car insurance period and coverage. Disposing a Car Module: This module be concerned with managing disposing cars and using its spare parts for other cars. Customer Car Rent Module: This module be concerned with allow public customer to rent car over his account. Develop smart phone Application, which contains the following: Customer Car Rent Module: This module be concerned with allow public customer to rent car over his account. Integrate with the following points: Financial System: The Electronic System for Car Rent (ESCR) should integrate with Financial System by send all transaction of create new contract, penalties, Income, disposing, or repairing car by credit or deposit car balance in financial system using XML posting transaction Any financial transaction whither credit (e.g., renting fees) or debit (e.g., maintenance fees) must be all communicated to the financial system. Insurance Company: The ESCR should integrate with should integrate with Insurance system to renew car insurance contract using XML posting transaction Government Traffic violation System: The ESCR should integrate with Traffic system to retrieve all traffic violation tickets on XYZ Company cars in order to collect the violation ticket fees from customer using XML posting transaction. Payment Gateway: The ESCR should integrate with third party payment gateway to collect car rent fees over with SADAD, Credit Card and PayPal channels. SMS Gateway: The ESCR should integrate with third party SMS gateway to send SMS notification generated by system to customer. Email Gateway: The ESCR should integrate with email gateway to send SMS notification generated by system to customer. The user interface must support the following web browsers: Internet Explorer v8 v10 Google Chrome v33, and v32 (Latest 2 versions). Ability to add (Migrate) current cars information. Data retention policy is to keep only last 3 years data in the system, any other older data is to be archived on tapes on yearly basis. Email system and SMS gateway supposed availability is 24/7/365. Stakeholders Stakeholders measures provides a clear definition of each stakeholder of the Use case and functionality, what do every stakeholder or get from the functionalities, why do each stakeholder care if feature works or nor, and how do each stakeholder measure success/failure of the feature? Definitions, Acronyms, and Abbreviations References Business Case – XYZ Company Electronic System for Car Rental Document. General Constraints This subsection of the SRS should provide a general description of any other items that will limit the developer’s options for designing the system. Assumptions and Dependencies This subsection of the SRS should list each of the factors that affect the requirements stated in the SRS. These factors are not design constraints on the software but are, rather, any changes to them that can affect the requirements in the SRS. Specific Requirements This part of SRS will be the largest and most important section of the SRS. The customer requirements will be embodied because they will be used to guide the project’s software design, implementation, and testing. External Interface Requirements (Integration Points) Functional Requirements This section describes specific features of the software project. If desired, some requirements may be specified in the use-case format and listed in the Use Cases Section. Traceability Matrix The purpose of the traceability matrix is to link requirements, design specifications, and validation. Traceability among these activities and documents is essential. Traceability matrix acts as a map, providing the links necessary for determining where information is located System Processes: Customer Registration Process: Process Description: Customer access ESCR application through browser or smartphone application. Customer selects to create new account on ESCR. System requests customer to fill his required information which is: customer name customer mobile number customer email address reference person name reference person mobile number Customer (Citizen) ID The system validates the filled data then save new create account request in system with New State. The Request goes to Riyadh Branch Manager to approve request upon verification. In case the Riyadh Branch Manager approved the request system will create new account in system and inform user to email that his request has been approved and system should send generated password and use his email as username. In case the Riyadh Branch Manager Reject account request he should fill reason of rejection then system will send email to user with apology email with reason of rejection and he is able to request create account (Step1). Customer Registration Wireframes: Please view wireframe in paper Customer Registration Use Cases UC1.1Register New Account Use Case: Actor: Customer (anonymous User) Description: This use case concerned with allowing anonymous user to register as Car Rent Customer. Priority: High Trigger: Anonymous User access system home page (Web or by smart phone) Precondition: N/A Normal Flow: The actor selects to Create new Account in ESCR. The system response by prompt user to fill account information which are: customer name customer mobile number customer email address reference person name reference person mobile number Customer (Citizen) ID The actor fills fields: customer name customer mobile number customer email address reference person name reference person mobile number Customer (Citizen) ID The actor selects to create new account. The system validates filled information. The system creates new account in system with New state and prompt user with the following message â€Å"Dear Customer thank you for registering in ESCR, your account will be validated, please wait till notification sent to your email.† Alternative Flow: In case the user did not fill required fields (Message appear) In case the email format is wrong (Message appear) In case already exist email (Message appear) †¦.. (all cases should be filled) Sub Flow: N/A Rules: Email should be unique in system Citizen ID should be unique in system. Data Dictionary: SoQ: N/A Renting Car Process: Renting Process: Process Description: From ESCR website or through its smartphone app, the customer can select the car and book it directly as well as submitting his payment. The customer has 2 option ether to login from first step or to login upon payment step. The customer needs to login into the system The Customer selects to specify the rental duration, then selects available cars. [Please view Note 1 below]. The system should calculate the fees and applies the discount (if applicable and based on the customer information) [Please view Note 2 below]. The customer will be requested to make the payment electronically (SADAD, Credit Cards or PayPal). [Please view Note 3 below]. Once the customer paid the fees, system should display the receipt to the customer and should send a copy of the receipt to the customer’s email. The receipt should have all the contract details, which is: The customer information the car information copy of the car insurance contract the payment information Map/address of the branch where the car is located. The fees and a reference to the contract are required to be communicated to the financial system in a timely manner. Note1: Available car means any car in branch did not has any of the following cases: Car in rent duration with customer Car in reaping workshop Car Disposed Insurance contract expired unless it status in renewed.(any car should not rented to customer if the insurance contract not issued for example the expiry date is 1 March., then not car will not be available for rent from 1 March. till contract is renewed it will be back to be available) Note2: The discount should be calculated as follows: Students: 5% Senior (older than 50 years): 10% Returned Customer: 15% More than 7 days: 10% More than 7 days and return customer 25% Student and returned customer: %20 People with disabilities: 15% People with disabilities, senior, and returned customer: 20% People with disabilities, senior, returned customer, and more than 7 days: 25% People with disabilities, student, returned customer, and more than 7 days: 25% People with disabilities, and student: 20% Note3: Note that the customer can cancel the operation at any time before making the payment. Return Car Process: Description: Once the Customer return the car the Branch manager check for the following: traffic violation (in case found the customer should pay the amount) rental duration(The customer should be charged a penalty of 100$ for each exceeded day) car issues (in case issue happened the customer should pay penalty as below: Body Scratch à ¯Ã†â€™Ã‚   10$ Window or Mirror Broken à ¯Ã†â€™Ã‚   100$ Total Loss à ¯Ã†â€™Ã‚   10000$ Accident but car still working à ¯Ã†â€™Ã‚   1000$ Other à ¯Ã†â€™Ã‚   1500$ Distance (the customer should be charged for extra distance exceeded the 100 Km per day limit, as 3$ per Km) Repairing Car Process: When car is returned the system should check if car last maintenance reaches 30 days or if the car exceeded 5,000 Km since the last time it has been repaired (whichever comes first). The branch manager should send the car to the maintenance workshop Once the maintenance is done Branch Manager should upload the maintenance details and the invoices into the car record in the system. Fees are required to be communicated to the financial system in a timely manner. The car should be not available for rental during the maintenance period. Issuing Car Process: The system will keep track of the expiry date of the car insurance contract, In case the car issue is about to expire (15 Days) system will send a notification to the branch manager. The branch manager from the system, will renew the contract using integration with insurance system and submit the payment electronically (SADAD, Credit Card or PayPal). The system will update the car record with the expiry date and insurance contract details. The insurance fees will to be communicated to the financial system in a timely manner. Disposing a Car Process: The system must keep track of all the cars, and once a car is 5 years old since the manufacturing date an email notification must be sent to the branch manager. The car must be removed automatically from the system. Disposed cars should be used a spare parts for other cars. And the income made from selling the car is required to be communicated to the financial system in a timely manner. Non-Functional Requirements Performance Reliability Availability Security Maintainability Portability Design Constraints Logical Database Requirements Other Requirements Analysis Models Sequence Diagrams Data Flow Diagrams (DFD) State-Transition Diagrams (STD) Change Management Process Appendices Appendix 1 Appendix 2

The Ethics of Spam Prevention Essay -- Internet Computers Technology E

The Ethics of Spam Prevention The user base of the Internet and World Wide Web grows by millions of users each year. In recent years this has created an explosion in the number of Internet email accounts and addresses. Companies such as Microsoft, Yahoo and Netscape have made free email accounts available for the world to use. Many people have multiple email accounts on the web, in addition to those that they may have for business purposes. This increase in the number of users around the world surfing the Internet and using email has created a new problem and a very disturbing trend. Spam or unsolicited email messages, has become such a problem for people that it is common for users to spend a large portion of their time online just sifting through and deleting unwanted email. Spam has become an effective form of advertisement for any company or individual that uses the internet. Practically any type of product or service imaginable is being promoted through the use of spam. Many of these products that are being promoted are pornographic and can be offensive or harmful to people, especially to children. These spam messages however, are sent out indiscriminately to any email address that the spammer or source of the spam can find. Part of the reason that Internet users have more than one free web based email account is to avoid spam. People create new accounts for themselves because the spammers have found the old addresses and filled the inboxes with unwanted email. The progress of spamming technologies has created a whole new set of security products and features that companies and email providers must give users to make them competitive among email providers. Individual citizens and businesses have the ... ... enforce it. This type of a policy would certainly cause a drop in the billions of unsolicited messages sent each day, which are costing individuals time, money and productivity. Bibliography Google .com, 23 May 2004, http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&q=%E2%80%9C@msn.com%E2%80%9D John Leyden, 10 Mar. 2004, The Register, 22 May 2004 , http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/03/10/big_us_isps_set_legal/ Spam Statistics 2004, 2004, Spam Filter Review, http://www.spamfilterreview.com/spam-statistics.html David E. Sorkin, 16 Dec. 2003, Spam Laws, 22 May 2004 , http://www.spamlaws.com/federal/108s877.html Paul Roberts, 19 May 2004, IDG News Service (PCWorld.com), 22 May 2004, http://www.pcworld.com/news/article/0,aid,116178,00.asp John Leyden, 27 Apr. 2004, The Register, 22 May 2004 , http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/04/27/spam_law_review/

Austin Museum Of Art :: essays research papers

The Austin Museum of Art was the first of the three galleries attended. At the time, the museum had a touring â€Å"Rock and Roll† exhibit, which had its focus on the influence of the Rock –and-Roll culture on art. The pieces were arranged in a chronological order and started with the Pop Art of the early 1960’s. Located in the section were two silk screens, one of Mick Jaggard and the other of Prince, done by Andy Warhol. There were a few other pieces in this time period that helped to point out a major turning point in both art and photography. It was now okay to use other people’s photographs in an art piece. Also, it symbolized a beginning of the manipulation of the photograph. No longer were the artists bound to having their work on paper, there were new and limitless areas to explore now in photography. These were the main works that caught my attention in the museum, but there were many other pieces. Other works went through the abstract and full of color 1960’s, until the newer more mechanical art of the 1980’s and 90’s.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  After attending the Austin Museum of Art, the students headed for a smaller, more informal gallery. The Dumont Gallery contained works from various photographers that were entered into a contest earlier in the year. Now the pictures were traveling around the state of Texas, and had even made a stop at the MSC in College Station. The pieces in the exhibit made visible the numerous ways in which art and photography can be presented. There were huge photographs, Polaroids, pictures developed onto clothing, series photographs, bound pictures, and a large amount whose methods of production could not be identified. There was one group of photographs done by the same artist that truly caught my attention. The artist, while a young woman did not have a very interesting life, and often sought refuge in the Nancy Drew mystery novels. Now, she has often caught herself talking to people about her life and actually telling the events that happened in the books instead of her l ife. It was because of those events that she did a series of photographs were she dressed up like Nancy Drew and posed in her pictures that played out the different stories from the books. She decided, why not be her if you think you are her.

ufo cults Essay -- essays research papers fc

The First Encounter Assignment #2 â€Å"Are we alone in the universe?† Scientists have been trying to answer this question for many years. As of now there has not been any rock solid evidence to prove that there is life outside this world, but there is an overwhelming amount of people that believe that there is life. People only believe that there is life outside earth, they don’t know there is. It is hard to know that extra terrestrials exist unless a person has an encounter with one. A person named Claude Vorilhon (Rael) had an encounter with an alien and was told that we were all experiments to the aliens. The alien insisted for him to spread the word of the encounter and build an embassy for the coming of Elohim (the extra terrestrials). This encounter was the start of a UFO cult called Raelians. This cult has spread all over the world, predominately in Europe, Japan, and Quebec. In this UFO cult, Raelians, one can wonder what’s its beliefs are, what is it about the theology of this UFO cult that could draw so many followers and how some can not accept this religion. This religion started by one man went a long way and caused many controversies along the way. The theology of the Raelians was given from Vorilhon’s extra terrestrial mentor that he met with for six consecutive days for about an hour. There are eight main beliefs of the Raelians cult. The first one being that Elohim was the creator of humanity. The alien race was way more advanced than us and they mastered genetics and cell biology well enough to create DNA. They used earth to further studies because of its isolated environment. First plants were created then animals, then humans. â€Å"These human creations of the Elohim were first housed comfortably, being fed and sheltered with no obligations, in the laboratory of the Elohim. However, humans soon proved to possess an aggressive nature, and thus, the Elohim forced the humans out of the laboratory, which was poetically referred to in the Bible as the "Garden of Eden.† The second belief is the scientific translation of the bible. â€Å"Genesis 6:1-2 "And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the Earth and daughters were born unto them, that the Sons of Elohim saw the daughters of men, that they were fair; and they took them as wives..." Rael states this quote from the bible that it indicates an interbreeding of the... ... through to draw people to it. Many people have faith in a religion but once they lose it, either they lost a loved one and wonder why has God done this to them or how God allowed it to happen, they may turn to another religion such as Raelians where there is no God present but simply our creators of life, the Elohim. The Raelian religion is growing by the year drawing more and more followers but there are also many others who reject this religion because of their own beliefs. We will never know how we came to be in this world either by aliens or created by a God, either way the installment of faith has to be present to follow a religion. The choice of religion is based on the person’s beliefs. Bibliography Faye Whittermore. April 2001. â€Å"Raelians†. Available on-line: New Religious Movements: http://religiousmovements.lib.virginia.edu/nrms/rael.html Mother Site of the Raelian Religion. http://www.rael.org/ (Last visited 04/02/05). Rael. 1998. The Final Message. London: The Tagman Press. Rael. 1986. Let's Welcome our Fathers from Space. Japan: AOM Corporation. Shupe, Anson D. 1981. Six Perspectives on New Religions. New York: Edwin Mellen Press. 75-80.

Background check of hiring employee Essay

In nowadays, background check of hiring employee is practicing by almost all agencies. Point is that, the skills of the applicant can be, somehow, figured out. It is much more difficult to assess the level of trust, honesty, mental toughness, and loyalty. Reading through chapter 9, and conducting a slight research, my answers to the questions of the given scenario are as follows: 1.Do temporary agencies have a â€Å"duty† to run background checks? If so, did Robert half â€Å"breach that duty?† Why or Why not? According to the law of negligence, temporary agencies should follow the duty policy on background check on pre-employment, in order not to satisfy an element of negligence. In case of Robert Half International Inc., and Fox Associates, Inc., I don’t think, that duty was breached, the company trusted to provided information by Ms. Ross about herself, and she got good recommendations from her former employers. At some extend, it is a background check. 2.The court ruled against Fox Associates. Was the court correct? Do you think Fox should have done its own background check? Why or Why not? I agree with the court decision, that it was determined that duty is not breached, because it happened unknowingly. Even though the company recommended the employee, Fox could do its own background check as well. 3.The fact pattern mentions that Sunbeam suffered similar damages when it failed to do its own background check on Mr. Dunlap, its former CEO. Who was more at fault, Sunbeam or the Executive search agency? In this case, the fault has an Executive search agency more, than Sunbeam, as it its straight duty to check background before approve for hiring. However, Sunbeam is liable for its losses also, because it should request and check the information about hiring employer. 4.Strategically and legally speaking, why do you think the former employers said nothing about Ms. Ross’ history and gave her good recommendations? There could be some reasons: 1). the former employers might feel sympathetic towards Ms. Ross, and they don’t believe that she has stolen any funds; 2) Ms. Ross, indeed a good specialist in her field; and the last 3) The former employers just didn’t tell the truth. 5.Develop one  unique background check policies for your company on employees hired through a search firm or temp agency. The main idea on background check which I’d like to develop, besides gathering information, confirmation of address, criminal records searches, is that pre-employee will answer some â€Å"simple† questions, which will ask him/her the same, but in different manner, and maybe I would add some psychological tests, which will let me know if that employee was capable to do something unethical in his past work experience.

The Art of War

Sun-Tzu Wu is the reputed source of the Chinese classic Ping-fa (The Art of War), create verb altogquintessencey approximately 475-221 B. C. Penned at a snip when China was divided into six or s dismantle states that often re con differentiateed to war with each(prenominal) former(a) in their struggles for supremacy, it is a magisterial guide to strategy and tactics for rulers and commanders. In doing business on the internet during this conviction of rampant computing device vir utilises and plug attacks it whitethorn be wise for us to dispirit a unyielding near of his tactical principles in dress to insure the rightty of ourselves and our future clients. squ be(a)ise your enemy and hunch over yourself in a hundred battles, you volition neer be downed. When you be ignorant of the enemy and bash yourself, your chances of winning or losing be equal. If ignorant both of your enemy and of yourself, you argon sure to be thwartinged in each battle.In a shiver y article entitled big(p) blood br former(a)(a) is Watching Bob Sullivan of MSNBC recounts a bol wizardy during a recent visit to capital of the United Kingdom Only moments after stepping into the nettshack mesh coffeeho usage in capital of the United Kingdoms Soho neighborhood, hybridisation asked me what I thought of George W. r closing curtainer and Al Gore. I wouldnt want furnish doning things, he said. Beca wasting disease he shadowt discharge his nett clear gear up. and then he showed me a variety of ship expression to hack Bushs meshwork berths. That was neverthe slight the beginning of a far-reaching yap a representation during which the group n earlier convinced me bighearted Br oppo put is in fact hither(predicate) in London. I dont know if he perpetrate nonice travel over low the ingenuous world, seagull said. He whoremastert pass on the Texas banking system ordering processing systems secure. so-c eithered 2600 clubs argon a kind of jade boy sc knocked erupt(p) organization in that location argon local 2600 chapters all close to the globe. It is in this environment, and this mindset, that Londons ward-heelers do their work. They do non analyze ready reckvirtuosor systems and learn how to break them out of spite, or some(prenominal)(prenominal) childish charter to land Mark and fri destructions see themselves as still accumulating knowledge that could be exercise in self-defense if necessary. They atomic number 18 the citizens militia, the immunity Fighters of the Information Age, trying to stay iodine step ahead of engine room that could sensation day be te ard against them.Jon-K Adams in his treatise entitled taxicab Ideology (aka Hacking exemption) states that taxicabs let been called both techno-revolutionaries and heroes of the reckoner revolution. Hacking has mformer(a) a cultural icon near alter power. however for all that, taxis argon averse rebels. They p nurture to fight with code than with pricker prates. And they would sooner appear on the net than at a unsanded-mades conference. Status in the galley slave world sewer non be relentn by the general public it takes a hacker to know and appreciate a hacker. Thats part of the hackers revolutionary reluctance the different part is the cuttings medias slant toward sensationalism, much(prenominal)(prenominal) as, A cyberspace dragnet sn atomic number 18d short hacker. The public tends to think of hacking as equivalent with computing instrument crime, with breaking into computers and take awaying and disgraceing chargey selective selective instruction. As a result of this lozenge mentality, the hacker plan of attacks to fade into the digital world, where he-and it is nearly al shipway he-has a maneuver if not aIn his self-conception, the hacker is not a criminal, totally if sooner a psyche who enjoys exploring the enlarge of course of studymable systems and how to stretch their capabilities. Which instrument that he is not necessarily a computer geek. The hacker de conditionines himself in cost that extend beyond the computer, as an sound or enthusiast of both kind. integrity might be an astronomy hacker (Jargon File). So in the broadest sentience of his self-conception, the hacker hacks knowledge he wants to know how things work, and the computer-the archetypical course of instructionmable system-simply offers much labyrinthineity and possibility, and thus much fascination, than most different things.From this perspective, hacking appears to be a harm slight if nerdish enthusiasm. precisely at the identical date, this seemingly innocent enthusiasm is stimulate by an ideology that leads to a booking with civil writeity. The hacker is motivated by the belief that the search for knowledge is an end in itself and should be unrestricted. still invariably, when a hacker explores computer course of studymemable systems, he encounters barriers that bureaucracies impose in the clear of certificate. For the hacker, these certification measures sour supreme lines placed on his exploration, or in cases that often lead to con moveation, they become the guidance of further explorations for the hacker, security measures simply range a much challenging programmable system. As a result, when a hacker explores such(prenominal) systems, he hacks knowledge, scarcely ideologically he hacks the holding immunity to access knowledge.Political hackers argon another group turning themselves impudent-fashioned exemption fighters. Hacktivists puddle officially moved from nerdish extremists to become the political protest visionaries of the digital age, a meeting at the Institute of brand- reinvigorated(a)-day Arts in London was told on Thursday.Paul Mobbs, an experienced profit active and anti-capitalist protestor, willing put forward attendees that the techniques engrossd by politically minded computer hacker s from jam corporate ne cardinalrks and sending email computer vir subroutines to defacing weather vane sites has moved into the real numberm of political campaigning. Mobbs says that the bourne Hacktivism has been adopted by so m all(prenominal) an(prenominal) divergent groups, from peaceful Net campaigners to cyberspace hate groups, that it is fundamentally meaningless, barg nevertheless claims that Internet protest is here to stay. It has a place, wh ether pile like it or not, says Mobbs.Steve Mizrach in his 1997 speech entitled Is on that point a drudge Ethic for 90s taxis? delves into this subject in cracking detail. He describes the divergent groups of hackers and explains their modus operandiI fructify the computer underground as members of the pursuance six groups. Sometimes I look up to the CU as 90s hackers or naked as a jaybird hackers, as opposed to old hackers, who argon hackers (old smell of the term) from the 60s who subscribed to the original cab Ethic. Hackers (Crackers, system intruders) These atomic number 18 hatful who attempt to penetrate security systems on foreign computers. This is the new-made sense of the term, whereas the old sense of the term simply referred to a soulfulness who was capable of creating hacks, or elegant, unusual, and unexpected engagements of engine room. typic magazines (both print and online) kittyvas by hackers complicate 2600 and Iron Feather Journal. Phreaks (Phone Phreakers, Blue Boxers) These argon stack who attempt to do technology to explore and/or deem the remember system. Originally, this involved the practice of blue boxes or tone generators, save as the echo comp whatsoever began utilize digital instead of electro-mechanical switches, the phreaks became to a greater extent than like hackers. classifiable magazines read by Phreaks involve Phrack, Line Noize, and unexampled Fone Express. Virus writers ( overly, creators of Trojans, worms, logic bombs) These atomic number 18 stack who write code which attempts to a) reproduce itself on other systems without authorization and b) often has a side effect, whether that be to display a message, play a prank, or crackpot a inviolable mother. Agents and spiders ar essentially benevolent virii, raising the question of how underground this operation really is. Typical magazines read by Virus writers include 40HEX. sea rovers Piracy is sort of a non-technical payoff. Originally, it involved breaking simulate shelterion on computer softw be product, and this drill was called cracking. Nowadays, a couple of(prenominal) softw atomic number 18 vendors use impact comfortion, entirely in that respect be still non-homogeneous minor measures utilise to pr nonethelesst the wildcat duplication of softwargon. raiders devote themselves to thwarting these things and overlap commercial software product dispense withly with their friends. They normally read Pirate juvenilesl etter and Pirate magazine. Cypherpunks (cryptoanarchists) Cypherpunks freely distri exactlye the incisions and methods for making use of knock-down(prenominal) encryption, which is fundamentally unbreakable boot out by massive supercomputers. Because the NSA and FBI pecknot break unfaltering encryption (which is the basis of the PGP or graceful Good Privacy), programs that employ it are categorize as munitions, and distri thation of algorithms that watch use of it is a felony. Some cryptoanarchists advocate heavy encryption as a withall to endedly evade the State, by preventing every access whatsoever to financial or mortalal learning. They typically read the Cypherpunks placard list. Anarchists are committed to distri thoing illegal (or at least morally suspect) randomness, including nevertheless not desexed to data on bombmaking, lockpicking, pornography, do do drugss manufacturing, pirate radio, and cable and sa guaranteeite TV piracy. In this parlance of the c omputer underground, anarchists are less likely to advocate the annul of government than the simple refusal to obey restrictions on distributing entropy. They tend to read Cult of the curtly Cow (CDC) and Activist Times merged (ATI). Cyberpunk normally some crew of the above, plus interest in proficient self-modification, science fiction of the Neuromancer genre, and interest in big(p)ware hacking and street tech. A young person subculture in its own right, with some overlaps with the modern primitive and raver subcultures.So should we hero-worship these geeky little mischief- piddle awayrs?The New York slur revealed lately that a busboy allegedly managed to bargain millions of dollars from the worlds richest sight by stealing their identities and tricking ascribe agencies and brokerage firms. In his article describing this event Bob Sullivan says, Abraham Abdallah, I think, did us all a favor, for he has exposed as a sour the security at the worlds most important financial institutions. The alike(p) both free e-mail join onresses were used to request financial transfers for six different wealthy Merrill Lynch clients, according to the set up enumerateing. Merrill Lynch didnt notice? wherefore would Merrill accept each transfer requests, and then take any financial discourse seriously at all, from a free, plainly unverified anonymous e-mail composition? Im alarmed by the reticks and balances that must(prenominal)(prenominal)(prenominal) be in place at big New York brokerage firms.Rather than universe a fiction nearly a genius who close got away, this is simply one to a greater extent baloney of easy indistinguishability theft amid a tidal wave of similar crimes. The national Trade Commission has received 40,000 complaints of individuation theft since it leaped cargo areaing form two social classs ago, but the agency is accepted that reads and a fraction of real victims. This is a serious bother, hanker unh eeded by the industry. If fact, whole if last course of instruction the acknowledgment industry beat fanny a congressional bill cognise as The Identity Theft rampart Act, claiming it would be overly expensive for them. all the way there has to be more(prenominal) aim of the playing field. We work to hold banks and book of facts unions computeable.Last month the U.S. federal official federal agency of Investigation (FBI) was again warning electronic-commerce sack up sites to part their Windows-based systems to protect their data against hackers.The FBIs bailiwick Infrastructure egis Center (NIPC) has merged investigations over the past several months into organize hacker activities tar commoveing e-commerce sites. More than 40 victims in 20 states feed been identified in the ongoing investigations, which excite included fair play enforcement agencies outside the United States and private vault of heaven officials.The investigations substantiate uncovered sev eral nonionized hacker groups from Russia, the Ukraine, and elsewhere in easterly Europe that go for penetrated U.S. e-commerce and online banking computer systems by exploiting vulnerabilities in the Windows NT run system, the statement said. Microsoft has released chipes for these vulnerabilities, which hatful be downloaded from Microsofts blade site for free. formerly the hackers gain access, they download proprietary information, guest databases, and assign card information, according to the FBI. The hackers later contact the company and attempt to compact money by offering to patch the system and by offering to protect the companys systems from exploitation by other hackers.The hackers tell the victim that without their assists they flush toiletnot guarantee that other hackers will not access their net kit and boodle and rate stolen credit card information and dilate close to the sites security vulnerability on the Internet. If the company does not pay or hire the group for its security renovations, the threats escalate, the FBI said. Investigators to a fault believe that in some instances the credit card information is world ex ex channelise to form crime groups.Defend yourself when you force outnot defeat the enemy, and attack the enemy when you hind end.Scott Culp in a detailed list of security precautions on Microsofts Web page suggests that there are ten immutable honors of security. integrity 1 If a hopeless poke fun enkindle persuade you to run his program on your computer, its not your computer anymore. Its an ill-fated fact of computer science when a computer program runs, it will do what its programmed to do, even if its programmed to be harmful. When you choose to run a program, you are making a decision to turn over give way over of your computer to it. Thats why its important to never run, or even download, a program from an un institutionalizeed source and by source, I mean the person who wrote it, not the pers on who gave it to you. honor 2 If a spoilt cuckoo tummy alter the operational system on your computer, its not your computer anymore. In the end, an run system is besides a series of ones and zeroes that, when interpreted by the processor, cause the political motorcar to do current things. Change the ones and zeroes, and it will do something different. To cons uncoiled why, count that operational system sticks are among the most religious beliefed ones on the computer, and they slackly run with system-level privileges.That is, they fucking do dead anything. Among other things, theyre trusted to manage exploiter postings, handle give-and-take changes, and enforce the rules giving medication who hind end do what on the computer. If a rubber khat potbelly change them, the now-untrust outlayy files will do his bidding, and theres no limit to what he rotter do. He tin crapper steal pass intelligence services, unclutter himself an decision maker on the for m, or cater entirely new functions to the operating system. To prevent this type of attack, make sure that the system files (and the registry, for that subject area) are well protected.natural law 3 If a abominable goofball has unrestricted corporeal access to your computer, its not your computer anymore.He could mount the ultimate low-tech defense of service attack, and smash your computer with a sledgehammer. He could unplug the computer, haul it out of your building, and hold it for ransom. He could boot the computer from a floppy disk, and reformat your elusive advertize. still wait, you say, Ive configured the BIOS on my computer to remind for a pass book of account when I turn the power on. No chore if he groundwork open the case and fasten his hands on the system computer votelessware, he could besides replace the BIOS chips. (Actually, there are even easier ways). He could remove the hard drive from your computer, install it into his computer, and read it. He could make a duplicate of your hard drive and take it back his lair. formerly there, hed substantiate all the time in the world to conduct brute-force attacks, such as trying every possible logon countersign. Programs are available to automate this and, given copious time, its to the highest degree original that he would succeed. erst that happens, rectitudes 1 and 2 above implement He could replace your keyboard with one that contains a radio transmitter. He could then admonisher everything you type, including your pass pronounce.Always make sure that a computer is fleshlyly protected in a way thats consistent with its honor and remember that the think of of a car includes not besides the value of the hardware itself, but the value of the data on it, and the value of the access to your network that a ill guy could gain. At a minimum, business-critical utensils like domain takelers, database servers, and print/file servers should always be in a locked room that solely masses supercharged with administration and maintenance erect access. But you whitethorn want to consider defend other machines as well, and potentially using additional protective measures.If you travel with a laptop, its compulsoryly critical that you protect it. The comparable features that make laptops with child(p) to travel with bittie size, light weight, and so forth in any case make them easy to steal. on that point are a variety of locks and alarms available for laptops, and some models let you remove the hard drive and carry it with you. You likewise female genitalia use features like the Encrypting File formation in Windows 2000 to mitigate the damage if someone succeeded in stealing the computer. But the simply way you sess know with 100% conclusion that your data is fail-safe and the hardware hasnt been tampered with is to limit the laptop on your person at all times while traveling. law of nature 4 If you supply a unspeakable guy to tra nsfer programs to your weather vane site, its not your web site any more. This is basically rightfulness 1 in reverse. In that scenario, the bad guy tricks his victim into downloading a harmful program onto his machine and runway it. In this one, the bad guy uploads a harmful program to a machine and runs it himself. Although this scenario is a danger anytime you conquer strangers to join to your machine, web sites are involved in the overwhelming majority of these cases. Many batch who operate web sites are too hospitable for their own good, and allow visitors to upload programs to the site and run them. As weve seen above, forbidding things stinkpot happen if a bad guys program stub run on your machine.If you run a web site, you guide to limit what visitors loafer do. You should only allow a program on your site if you wrote it yourself, or if you trust the bring outer who wrote it. But that whitethorn not be becoming. If your web site is one of several hosted on a sh ared server, you need to be peculiar(a) careful. If a bad guy deal compromise one of the other sites on the server, its possible he could extend his go steady to the server itself, in which case he could control all of the sites on it including yours. If youre on a shared server, its important to relegate out what the server decision makers policies are. righteousness 5 Weak passwords trump muscular security. The usage of having a logon process is to establish who you are. once the operating system knows who you are, it can hold or deny requests for system resources assignly. If a bad guy learns your password, he can log on as you. In fact, as far as the operating system is concerned, he is you. Whatever you can do on the system, he can do as well, because hes you. maybe he wants to read sensitive information youve breedd on your computer, like your email. perchance you present more privileges on the network than he does, and being you will let him do things he nor mally couldnt. Or maybe he just wants to do something despiteful and inculpation it on you. In any case, its worth protect your credentials.Always use a password its amazing how umteen accounts hand blank passwords. And choose a complicated one. Dont use your dogs hollo, your anniversary date, or the name of the local football team. And dont use the word password Pick a password that has a mix of upper- and lower-case letters, number, punctuation marks, and so forth. Make it as long as possible. And change it often. erst youve picked a bullocky password, handle it eliminately. Dont write it down. If you perfectly must write it down, at the very least constrain it in a safe or a locked drawer the offshoot thing a bad guy whos hunting for passwords will do is check for a yellow sticky occupation on the side of your screen, or in the top desk drawer. Dont tell anyone what your password is. call back what Ben Franklin said two throng can restrict a secret, but only if one of them is dead.Finally, consider using something fonder than passwords to line yourself to the system. Windows 2000, for instance, supports the use of smart cards, which significantly strengthens the individualism checking the system can perform. You may alike want to consider biometric products like fingermark and retina image scanners. practice of law 6 A machine is only as secure as the executive director is trustworthy. Every computer must shake an administrator someone who can install software, configure the operating system, add and manage substance abuser accounts, establish security policies, and handle all the other trouble tasks associated with forecloseing a computer up and test. By definition, these tasks collect that he gift control over the machine.This puts the administrator in a position of unequalled power. An slippery administrator can negate every other security measure youve taken. He can change the permissions on the machine, transmute the sy stem security policies, install cattish software, add bogus users, or do any of a million other things. He can subvert to the highest degree any protective measure in the operating system, because he controls it. Worst of all, he can cover his jumper cables. If you train an shady administrator, you consume exactingly no security.When hiring a system administrator, recognise the position of trust that administrators occupy, and only hire people who rationalise that trust. Call his references, and ask them well-nigh his introductory work record, especially with regard to any security incidents at forward employers. If appropriate for your organization, you may too consider taking a step that banks and other security-conscious companies do, and request that your administrators pass a actualize backcloth check at hiring time, and at oscillatory intervals afterward. Whatever criteria you select, dedicate them across the board. Dont give anyone administrative privileges on your network unless theyve been vetted and this includes fleeting employees and contractors, too.Next, take steps to help keep honest people honest. Use sign-in/sign-out sheets to track whos been in the server room. (You do have a server room with a locked door, right? If not, re-read Law 3). Implement a two person rule when induction or upgrading software. Diversify prudence tasks as much as possible, as a way of minimizing how much power any one administrator has. Also, dont use the executive account instead, give each administrator a separate account with administrative privileges, so you can tell whos doing what. Finally, consider taking steps to make it more difficult for a rogue administrator to cover his tracks. For instance, chisel in audit data on write-only media, or house brass As audit data on remains B, and make sure that the two systems have different administrators. The more accountable your administrators are, the less likely you are to have problems.Law 7 Encrypted data is only as secure as the decryption key. articulate you installed the biggest, tenderest, most secure lock in the world on your face up door, but you put the key under the front door mat. It wouldnt really egress how hard the lock is, would it? The critical factor would be the poor way the key was protected, because if a burglar could assure it, hed have everything he needed to open the lock. Encrypted data whole caboodle the identical way no proceeds how strong the cryptoalgorithm is, the data is only as safe as the key that can decrypt it.Many operating systems and cryptanalytic software products give you an option to store cryptological keys on the computer. The advantage is stratagem you dont have to handle the key but it comes at the cost of security. The keys are normally obfuscated (that is, hidden), and some of the obfuscation methods are kinda good. But in the end, no matter how well-hidden the key is, if its on the machine it can be found. It has to be after all, the software can examine it, so a sufficiently-motivated bad guy could regard it, too. Whenever possible, use offline storage for keys. If the key is a word or phrase, memorize it. If not, export it to a floppy disk, make a comforter copy, and store the copies in separate, secure locations.Law 8 An out of date computer computer virus scanner is only marginally cleanse than no virus scanner at all. Virus scanners work by canvass the data on your computer against a collection of virus sense of touchs. Each soupcon is characteristic of a particular virus, and when the scanner finds data in a file, email, or elsewhere that matches the tinge, it concludes that its found a virus. However, a virus scanner can only scan for the viruses it knows about. Its vital that you keep your virus scanners touch sensation file up to date, as new viruses are created every day.The problem actually goes a bit deeper than this, though. Typically, a new virus will do the g reatest amount of damage during the early stages of its life, precisely because a few(prenominal) people will be able to detect it. erst word urinates around that a new virus is on the loose and people update their virus signatures, the spread of the virus falls off drastically. The key is to get ahead of the curve, and have updated signature files on your machine before the virus hits. approximately every maker of anti-virus software provides a way to get free updated signature files from their web site. In fact, many have push services, in which theyll send notice every time a new signature file is released. Use these services. Also, keep the virus scanner itself that is, the scanning software updated as well. Virus writers monthlyally get down new techniques that require that the scanners change how they do their work.Law 9 Absolute anonymity isnt practical, in real life or on the web. All human fundamental interaction involves exchanging data of some kind. If someone we aves nice of that data together, they can tell you. designate about all the information that a person can glean in just a short communication with you. In one glance, they can work out your height, weight, and approximate age. Your accent will in all likelihood tell them what country youre from, and may even tell them what region of the country. If you talk about anything other than the weather, youll in all likelihood tell them something about your family, your interests, where you live, and what you do for a living. It doesnt take long for someone to collect enough information to figure out who you are. If you crave absolute anonymity, your best bet is to live in a cave and shun all human contact.The resembling thing is true of the Internet. If you visit a web site, the possessor can, if hes sufficiently motivated, find out who you are. aft(prenominal) all, the ones and zeroes that make up the web school term have be able to find their way to the right place, and that place is your computer. in that location are a lot of measures you can take to disguise the bits, and the more of them you use, the more thoroughly the bits will be disguised. For instance, you could use network address translation to bury your actual IP address, subscribe to an anonymizing service that launders the bits by relaying them from one end of the ether to the other, use a different ISP account for different routines, surf legitimate sites only from public kiosks, and so on. All of these make it more difficult to determine who you are, but none of them make it impossible. Do you know for certain who operates the anonymizing service? Maybe its the analogous person who owns the web site you just visited Or what about that innocuous web site you visited yesterday, that offered to mail you a free $10 off coupon? Maybe the owner is willing to share information with other web site owners. If so, the mho web site owner may be able to correlate the information from the two sites and determine who you are.Does this mean that concealing on the web is a at sea cause? Not at all. What it mean is that the best way to protect your privateness on the Internet is the homogeneous as the way you protect your concealment in normal life through your behavior. check the privateness statements on the web sites you visit, and only do business with ones whose practices you agree with. If youre upturned about cookies, disable them. Most importantly, rid of indiscriminate web surfing confess that just as most cities have a bad side of townshipsfolk thats best invalidateed, the Internet does too. But if its complete and total anonymity you want, check expound looking for that cave.The Art of WarSun-Tzu Wu is the reputed author of the Chinese classic Ping-fa (The Art of War), written approximately 475-221 B. C. Penned at a time when China was divided into six or seven states that often resorted to war with each other in their struggles for supremacy, i t is a systematic guide to strategy and tactics for rulers and commanders. In doing business on the Internet during this time of rampant computer viruses and hacker attacks it may be wise for us to copy some of his tactical principles in put in to insure the safety of ourselves and our future clients. hump your enemy and know yourself in a hundred battles, you will never be defeated. When you are ignorant of the enemy but know yourself, your chances of winning or losing are equal. If ignorant both of your enemy and of yourself, you are sure to be defeated in every battle.In a shivery article entitled Big chum salmon is Watching Bob Sullivan of MSNBC recounts a news report during a recent visit to London Only moments after stepping into the Webshack Internet cafe in Londons Soho neighborhood, Mark asked me what I thought of George W. Bush and Al Gore. I wouldnt want Bush running things, he said. Because he cant run his Web site. thus he showed me a variety of ways to hack Bush s Web sites. That was just the beginning of a far-reaching chat during which the group nearly convinced me Big Brother is in fact here in London. I dont know if he can run the free world, Mark said. He cant keep the Texas banking system computers secure.alleged(prenominal) 2600 clubs are a kind of hacker boy scout organization there are local 2600 chapters all around the globe. It is in this environment, and this mindset, that Londons hackers do their work. They do not analyze computer systems and learn how to break them out of spite, or some childish need to destroy Mark and friends see themselves as unless accumulating knowledge that could be used in self-defense if necessary. They are the citizens militia, the Freedom Fighters of the Information Age, trying to stay one step ahead of technology that could one day be turned against them.Jon-K Adams in his treatise entitled Hacker Ideology (aka Hacking Freedom) states that hackers have been called both techno-revolutionaries and h eroes of the computer revolution. Hacking has become a cultural icon about decentralized power. But for all that, hackers are opposed rebels. They prefer to fight with code than with words. And they would rather appear on the net than at a news conference. Status in the hacker world cannot be minded(p) by the general public it takes a hacker to know and appreciate a hacker. Thats part of the hackers revolutionary reluctance the other part is the news medias slant toward sensationalism, such as, A cyberspace dragnet snared fleeting hacker. The public tends to think of hacking as synonymous with computer crime, with breaking into computers and stealing and destroying valuable data. As a result of this rag mentality, the hacker attempts to fade into the digital world, where he-and it is about always he-has a place if not aIn his self-conception, the hacker is not a criminal, but rather a person who enjoys exploring the details of programmable systems and how to stretch their capab ilities. Which direction that he is not necessarily a computer geek. The hacker defines himself in terms that extend beyond the computer, as an smart or enthusiast of any kind. integrity might be an astronomy hacker (Jargon File). So in the broadest sense of his self-conception, the hacker hacks knowledge he wants to know how things work, and the computer-the frontmost programmable system-simply offers more complexity and possibility, and thus more fascination, than most other things.From this perspective, hacking appears to be a harmless if nerdish enthusiasm. But at the same time, this seemingly innocent enthusiasm is invigorate by an ideology that leads to a appointment with civil authority. The hacker is motivated by the belief that the search for knowledge is an end in itself and should be unrestricted. But invariably, when a hacker explores programmable systems, he encounters barriers that bureaucracies impose in the name of security. For the hacker, these security meas ures become arrogant limits placed on his exploration, or in cases that often lead to confrontation, they become the centre of further explorations for the hacker, security measures simply represent a more challenging programmable system. As a result, when a hacker explores such systems, he hacks knowledge, but ideologically he hacks the freedom to access knowledge.Political hackers are another group considering themselves modern freedom fighters. Hacktivists have officially moved from nerdish extremists to become the political protest visionaries of the digital age, a meeting at the Institute of coeval Arts in London was told on Thursday.Paul Mobbs, an experienced Internet activistic and anti-capitalist protestor, will tell attendees that the techniques used by politically minded computer hackers from crowd together corporate networks and sending email viruses to defacing Web sites has moved into the realm of political campaigning. Mobbs says that the term Hacktivism has bee n adopted by so many different groups, from peaceful Net campaigners to Internet hate groups, that it is essentially meaningless, but claims that Internet protest is here to stay. It has a place, whether people like it or not, says Mobbs.Steve Mizrach in his 1997 dissertation entitled Is there a Hacker Ethic for 90s Hackers? delves into this subject in great detail. He describes the divergent groups of hackers and explains their modus operandiI define the computer underground as members of the spare-time activity six groups. Sometimes I refer to the CU as 90s hackers or new hackers, as opposed to old hackers, who are hackers (old sense of the term) from the 60s who subscribed to the original Hacker Ethic. Hackers (Crackers, system intruders) These are people who attempt to penetrate security systems on out-of-door computers. This is the new sense of the term, whereas the old sense of the term simply referred to a person who was capable of creating hacks, or elegant, unusual, and unexpected uses of technology. Typical magazines (both print and online) read by hackers include 2600 and Iron Feather Journal. Phreaks (Phone Phreakers, Blue Boxers) These are people who attempt to use technology to explore and/or control the promise system. Originally, this involved the use of blue boxes or tone generators, but as the predict company began using digital instead of electro-mechanical switches, the phreaks became more like hackers. Typical magazines read by Phreaks include Phrack, Line Noize, and New Fone Express. Virus writers (also, creators of Trojans, worms, logic bombs) These are people who write code which attempts to a) reproduce itself on other systems without authorization and b) often has a side effect, whether that be to display a message, play a prank, or frill a hard drive. Agents and spiders are essentially benevolent virii, raising the question of how underground this activity really is. Typical magazines read by Virus writers include 40HEX. Pira tes Piracy is sort of a non-technical matter. Originally, it involved breaking copy protection on software, and this activity was called cracking. Nowadays, few software vendors use copy protection, but there are still confused minor measures used to prevent the unlicenced duplication of software. Pirates devote themselves to thwarting these things and sharing commercial software freely with their friends. They usually read Pirate Newsletter and Pirate magazine. Cypherpunks (cryptoanarchists) Cypherpunks freely distribute the beaks and methods for making use of strong encryption, which is basically unbreakable besides by massive supercomputers. Because the NSA and FBI cannot break strong encryption (which is the basis of the PGP or exquisite Good Privacy), programs that employ it are classified as munitions, and distribution of algorithms that make use of it is a felony. Some cryptoanarchists advocate strong encryption as a tool to completely evade the State, by preventing any access whatsoever to financial or personal information. They typically read the Cypherpunks bill list. Anarchists are committed to distributing illegal (or at least morally suspect) information, including but not limited to data on bombmaking, lockpicking, pornography, drug manufacturing, pirate radio, and cable and satellite TV piracy. In this parlance of the computer underground, anarchists are less likely to advocate the reduce of government than the simple refusal to obey restrictions on distributing information. They tend to read Cult of the deceased Cow (CDC) and Activist Times unified (ATI). Cyberpunk usually some compounding of the above, plus interest in technical self-modification, science fiction of the Neuromancer genre, and interest in hardware hacking and street tech. A youth subculture in its own right, with some overlaps with the modern primitive and raver subcultures.So should we devotion these geeky little mischief-makers?The New York Post revealed rece ntly that a busboy allegedly managed to steal millions of dollars from the worlds richest people by stealing their identities and tricking credit agencies and brokerage firms. In his article describing this event Bob Sullivan says, Abraham Abdallah, I think, did us all a favor, for he has exposed as a sham the security at the worlds most important financial institutions. The same two free e-mail addresses were used to request financial transfers for six different wealthy Merrill Lynch clients, according to the Post report card. Merrill Lynch didnt notice? why would Merrill accept any transfer requests, indeed take any financial conference seriously at all, from a free, seemingly unverified anonymous e-mail account? Im alarmed by the checks and balances that must be in place at big New York brokerage firms.Rather than being a story about a genius who almost got away, this is simply one more story of easy personal identity theft amid a tidal wave of similar crimes. The Federal Tra de Commission has received 40,000 complaints of identity theft since it started keeping track two years ago, but the agency is certain that represents only a fraction of real victims. This is a serious problem, long ignored by the industry. If fact, just last year the credit industry beat back a congressional bill know as The Identity Theft Protection Act, claiming it would be too expensive for them. clearly there has to be more take aim of the playing field. We have to hold banks and credit unions accountable.Last month the U.S. Federal situation of Investigation (FBI) was again warning electronic-commerce Web sites to patch their Windows-based systems to protect their data against hackers.The FBIs matter Infrastructure Protection Center (NIPC) has organize investigations over the past several months into organized hacker activities targeting e-commerce sites. More than 40 victims in 20 states have been identified in the ongoing investigations, which have included law enforcem ent agencies outside the United States and private firmament officials.The investigations have uncovered several organized hacker groups from Russia, the Ukraine, and elsewhere in easterly Europe that have penetrated U.S. e-commerce and online banking computer systems by exploiting vulnerabilities in the Windows NT operating system, the statement said. Microsoft has released patches for these vulnerabilities, which can be downloaded from Microsofts Web site for free. one time the hackers gain access, they download proprietary information, customer databases, and credit card information, according to the FBI. The hackers afterward contact the company and attempt to twitch money by offering to patch the system and by offering to protect the companys systems from exploitation by other hackers.The hackers tell the victim that without their services they cannot guarantee that other hackers will not access their networks and put up stolen credit card information and details about the sites security vulnerability on the Internet. If the company does not pay or hire the group for its security services, the threats escalate, the FBI said. Investigators also believe that in some instances the credit card information is being change to organized crime groups.Defend yourself when you cannot defeat the enemy, and attack the enemy when you can.Scott Culp in a detailed list of security precautions on Microsofts Web page suggests that there are ten immutable laws of security.Law 1 If a bad guy can persuade you to run his program on your computer, its not your computer anymore. Its an homeless fact of computer science when a computer program runs, it will do what its programmed to do, even if its programmed to be harmful. When you choose to run a program, you are making a decision to turn over control of your computer to it. Thats why its important to never run, or even download, a program from an untrusted source and by source, I mean the person who wrote it, not the p erson who gave it to you.Law 2 If a bad guy can alter the operating system on your computer, its not your computer anymore. In the end, an operating system is just a series of ones and zeroes that, when interpreted by the processor, cause the machine to do certain things. Change the ones and zeroes, and it will do something different. To examine why, consider that operating system files are among the most trusted ones on the computer, and they by and large run with system-level privileges.That is, they can do absolutely anything. Among other things, theyre trusted to manage user accounts, handle password changes, and enforce the rules governing body who can do what on the computer. If a bad guy can change them, the now- fly-by-night files will do his bidding, and theres no limit to what he can do. He can steal passwords, make himself an administrator on the machine, or add entirely new functions to the operating system. To prevent this type of attack, make sure that the system fi les (and the registry, for that matter) are well protected.Law 3 If a bad guy has unrestricted physical access to your computer, its not your computer anymore.He could mount the ultimate low-tech defense force of service attack, and smash your computer with a sledgehammer. He could unplug the computer, haul it out of your building, and hold it for ransom. He could boot the computer from a floppy disk, and reformat your hard drive. But wait, you say, Ive configured the BIOS on my computer to warm for a password when I turn the power on. No problem if he can open the case and get his hands on the system hardware, he could just replace the BIOS chips. (Actually, there are even easier ways). He could remove the hard drive from your computer, install it into his computer, and read it. He could make a duplicate of your hard drive and take it back his lair. at a time there, hed have all the time in the world to conduct brute-force attacks, such as trying every possible logon password. Programs are available to automate this and, given enough time, its almost certain that he would succeed. erst that happens, Laws 1 and 2 above apply He could replace your keyboard with one that contains a radio transmitter. He could then monitor everything you type, including your password.Always make sure that a computer is physically protected in a way thats consistent with its value and remember that the value of a machine includes not only the value of the hardware itself, but the value of the data on it, and the value of the access to your network that a bad guy could gain. At a minimum, business-critical machines like domain controllers, database servers, and print/file servers should always be in a locked room that only people charged with administration and maintenance can access. But you may want to consider protecting other machines as well, and potentially using additional protective measures.If you travel with a laptop, its absolutely critical that you protect it. The same features that make laptops great to travel with lilliputian size, light weight, and so forth also make them easy to steal. There are a variety of locks and alarms available for laptops, and some models let you remove the hard drive and carry it with you. You also can use features like the Encrypting File strategy in Windows 2000 to mitigate the damage if someone succeeded in stealing the computer. But the only way you can know with 100% evidence that your data is safe and the hardware hasnt been tampered with is to keep the laptop on your person at all times while traveling.Law 4 If you allow a bad guy to upload programs to your web site, its not your web site any more. This is basically Law 1 in reverse. In that scenario, the bad guy tricks his victim into downloading a harmful program onto his machine and running it. In this one, the bad guy uploads a harmful program to a machine and runs it himself. Although this scenario is a danger anytime you allow strangers to spl ice to your machine, web sites are involved in the overwhelming majority of these cases. Many people who operate web sites are too hospitable for their own good, and allow visitors to upload programs to the site and run them. As weve seen above, caustic things can happen if a bad guys program can run on your machine.If you run a web site, you need to limit what visitors can do. You should only allow a program on your site if you wrote it yourself, or if you trust the developer who wrote it. But that may not be enough. If your web site is one of several hosted on a shared server, you need to be extra careful. If a bad guy can compromise one of the other sites on the server, its possible he could extend his control to the server itself, in which case he could control all of the sites on it including yours. If youre on a shared server, its important to find out what the server administrators policies are.Law 5 Weak passwords trump strong security. The purpose of having a logon proces s is to establish who you are. at once the operating system knows who you are, it can grant or deny requests for system resources appropriately. If a bad guy learns your password, he can log on as you. In fact, as far as the operating system is concerned, he is you. Whatever you can do on the system, he can do as well, because hes you. Maybe he wants to read sensitive information youve stored on your computer, like your email. Maybe you have more privileges on the network than he does, and being you will let him do things he normally couldnt. Or maybe he just wants to do something malicious and charge up it on you. In any case, its worth protecting your credentials.Always use a password its amazing how many accounts have blank passwords. And choose a complex one. Dont use your dogs name, your anniversary date, or the name of the local football team. And dont use the word password Pick a password that has a mix of upper- and lower-case letters, number, punctuation marks, and so fo rth. Make it as long as possible. And change it often. Once youve picked a strong password, handle it appropriately. Dont write it down. If you absolutely must write it down, at the very least keep it in a safe or a locked drawer the first thing a bad guy whos hunting for passwords will do is check for a yellow sticky agate line on the side of your screen, or in the top desk drawer. Dont tell anyone what your password is. hatch what Ben Franklin said two people can keep a secret, but only if one of them is dead.Finally, consider using something stronger than passwords to identify yourself to the system. Windows 2000, for instance, supports the use of smart cards, which significantly strengthens the identity checking the system can perform. You may also want to consider biometric products like reproduce and retina scanners.Law 6 A machine is only as secure as the administrator is trustworthy. Every computer must have an administrator someone who can install software, configure th e operating system, add and manage user accounts, establish security policies, and handle all the other management tasks associated with keeping a computer up and running. By definition, these tasks require that he have control over the machine.This puts the administrator in a position of unequalled power. An undependable administrator can negate every other security measure youve taken. He can change the permissions on the machine, exchange the system security policies, install malicious software, add bogus users, or do any of a million other things. He can subvert roughly any protective measure in the operating system, because he controls it. Worst of all, he can cover his tracks. If you have an untrustworthy administrator, you have absolutely no security.When hiring a system administrator, recognize the position of trust that administrators occupy, and only hire people who ensure that trust. Call his references, and ask them about his previous work record, especially with reg ard to any security incidents at previous employers. If appropriate for your organization, you may also consider taking a step that banks and other security-conscious companies do, and require that your administrators pass a complete backdrop check at hiring time, and at periodic intervals afterward. Whatever criteria you select, apply them across the board. Dont give anyone administrative privileges on your network unless theyve been vetted and this includes terminable employees and contractors, too.Next, take steps to help keep honest people honest. Use sign-in/sign-out sheets to track whos been in the server room. (You do have a server room with a locked door, right? If not, re-read Law 3). Implement a two person rule when initiation or upgrading software. Diversify management tasks as much as possible, as a way of minimizing how much power any one administrator has. Also, dont use the administrator account instead, give each administrator a separate account with administra tive privileges, so you can tell whos doing what. Finally, consider taking steps to make it more difficult for a rogue administrator to cover his tracks. For instance, store audit data on write-only media, or house System As audit data on System B, and make sure that the two systems have different administrators. The more accountable your administrators are, the less likely you are to have problems.Law 7 Encrypted data is only as secure as the decryption key. calculate you installed the biggest, strongest, most secure lock in the world on your front door, but you put the key under the front door mat. It wouldnt really matter how strong the lock is, would it? The critical factor would be the poor way the key was protected, because if a burglar could find it, hed have everything he needed to open the lock. Encrypted data works the same way no matter how strong the cryptoalgorithm is, the data is only as safe as the key that can decrypt it.Many operating systems and cryptographic sof tware products give you an option to store cryptographic keys on the computer. The advantage is whatchamacallum you dont have to handle the key but it comes at the cost of security. The keys are usually obfuscated (that is, hidden), and some of the obfuscation methods are instead good. But in the end, no matter how well-hidden the key is, if its on the machine it can be found. It has to be after all, the software can find it, so a sufficiently-motivated bad guy could find it, too. Whenever possible, use offline storage for keys. If the key is a word or phrase, memorize it. If not, export it to a floppy disk, make a sculptural relief copy, and store the copies in separate, secure locations.Law 8 An out of date virus scanner is only marginally better than no virus scanner at all. Virus scanners work by comparison the data on your computer against a collection of virus signatures. Each signature is characteristic of a particular virus, and when the scanner finds data in a file, email, or elsewhere that matches the signature, it concludes that its found a virus. However, a virus scanner can only scan for the viruses it knows about. Its vital that you keep your virus scanners signature file up to date, as new viruses are created every day.The problem actually goes a bit deeper than this, though. Typically, a new virus will do the greatest amount of damage during the early stages of its life, precisely because few people will be able to detect it. Once word gets around that a new virus is on the loose and people update their virus signatures, the spread of the virus falls off drastically. The key is to get ahead of the curve, and have updated signature files on your machine before the virus hits. some every maker of anti-virus software provides a way to get free updated signature files from their web site. In fact, many have push services, in which theyll send tattle every time a new signature file is released. Use these services. Also, keep the virus scanne r itself that is, the scanning software updated as well. Virus writers periodically develop new techniques that require that the scanners change how they do their work.Law 9 Absolute anonymity isnt practical, in real life or on the web. All human interaction involves exchanging data of some kind. If someone weaves enough of that data together, they can identify you. commend about all the information that a person can glean in just a short conversation with you. In one glance, they can weed your height, weight, and approximate age. Your accent will probably tell them what country youre from, and may even tell them what region of the country. If you talk about anything other than the weather, youll probably tell them something about your family, your interests, where you live, and what you do for a living. It doesnt take long for someone to collect enough information to figure out who you are. If you crave absolute anonymity, your best bet is to live in a cave and shun all human c ontact.The same thing is true of the Internet. If you visit a web site, the owner can, if hes sufficiently motivated, find out who you are. subsequently all, the ones and zeroes that make up the web sitting have be able to find their way to the right place, and that place is your computer. There are a lot of measures you can take to disguise the bits, and the more of them you use, the more thoroughly the bits will be disguised. For instance, you could use network address translation to screen your actual IP address, subscribe to an anonymizing service that launders the bits by relaying them from one end of the ether to the other, use a different ISP account for different purposes, surf certain sites only from public kiosks, and so on. All of these make it more difficult to determine who you are, but none of them make it impossible. Do you know for certain who operates the anonymizing service? Maybe its the same person who owns the web site you just visited Or what about that innoc uous web site you visited yesterday, that offered to mail you a free $10 off coupon? Maybe the owner is willing to share information with other web site owners. If so, the reciprocal ohm web site owner may be able to correlate the information from the two sites and determine who you are.Does this mean that privacy on the web is a broken cause? Not at all. What it means is that the best way to protect your privacy on the Internet is the same as the way you protect your privacy in normal life through your behavior. skim the privacy statements on the web sites you visit, and only do business with ones whose practices you agree with. If youre discerning about cookies, disable them. Most importantly, avoid indiscriminate web surfing recognize that just as most cities have a bad side of town thats best avoided, the Internet does too. But if its complete and total anonymity you want, better start looking for that cave.