Featured Post

How to Use LinkedIn Effectively Communications Networking

Step by step instructions to Use LinkedIn Effectively Communications Networking We as a whole realize that being a LinkedIn part without ...

Saturday, August 31, 2019

Descartes’ First Argument of God’s Existence in Third Mediation

In this paper, I would like to critically discuss paragraph 24 in Descartes’ third meditation. First of all, I would like to give an explanation of the proposal that Descartes’ criticizes in this paragraph. Secondly, I will evaluate Descartes’ response to this proposal. Finally, I will give considerations that support the â€Å"finite first† and â€Å"infinite first† pictures and analyze which picture I think is more plausible. Firstly, I want to give the background of the proposal that Descartes criticizes in paragraph 24. In Third Meditation, Descartes argues the existence of God for the first time.His argument is known as the cognitive causal principle and goes like this: 1) The cause of an idea must contain formally (or eminently) as much reality as the idea contains objectively. 2) My idea of God contains infinite reality objectively. 3) My idea of God is caused by something that contains infinite (unlimited) reality, eminently or formally. 4) Only God has unlimited reality. 5) Therefore, God exists. In this argument, Descartes means that the reality that exists in the world has formal reality, and the reality that exists in our mind as an idea has objectively reality.In order for an idea to contain objective reality, it has to have a cause that contains as much or more reality formally. For example, we have an idea of a chair objectively, and chair that exists in the world has to contain as much or more formal reality to cause my idea of a chair. In the case of God’s existence, Descartes’ main idea of his argument is that we can understand God exists through our idea of God, because our idea of God contains infinite objective reality that is caused by God who has infinite formal reality.Descartes’ argument is striking and controversial. By looking at this argument on the surface, it is natural to question why we should think the cause of an idea has to have as much reality as the idea being caused, a nd why our idea of God has infinite objective reality. Descartes himself may expect many criticisms to his argument, so here is how Descartes advances his argument through criticizing this proposal in paragraph 24. If this proposal is not addressed and criticized, it will cause a problem for his first argument of the existence of God.This proposal is that, the acquisition of our idea of God simply begins with our cognition of finite things. When we cognize finite things, we negate finite things and remove the limits of finite things, then we can get an idea of the infinite. Our idea of God is merely how we cognize ourselves as finite and limited, thus we come up with an imagination that there is an infinite being who is limitless, and then we have the idea of God. If this proposal is true, Descartes’ first argument of the existence of God will become unsound, because our idea of God is simply our imagination that has no objective reality.Descartes’ response to this pro posal points out we do not come up with this idea of an infinite being by beginning with our recognition of finite things. According to Descartes in paragraph 24, being able to negate finite things requires that we already see ourselves as limited/finite, which in turn that we must already have conceptions of the unlimited and infinite. In other words, in order for us to cognize that we are a limited/finite being, we must first have an idea of the unlimited. Therefore, Descartes believes that our idea of infinite being should come before our perception of us being finite beings.If we do not have this idea of God first, we may never have a cognition that we are limited and may not even be able to negate finite things. I also think what Descartes believes is not that we cannot think of ourselves without being aware of an infinite being at first. In fact, I think Descartes actually does not deny that we get access to our idea of the infinite through being aware of the finite first. Our understanding of ourselves being finite beings can lead us to our idea of an infinite being/God.I think Descartes just wants to clarify that our being able to be aware of the finite and negating it presupposes that we already have a conception of the infinite innately prior to that. Our idea of the infinite is present in us with reality but not merely a negation of the finite that begins with the finite first. Here I think Descartes suggests a substantial claim about the essence of our idea of God. From understanding Descartes’ claims, I would like to give considerations that support both the â€Å"finite first† and â€Å"infinite first† pictures for a further discussion.In the finite picture, I think it seems possible that our idea of good could merely be some extensions of our finite virtues. We do not negate our finiteness to infiniteness for the idea of God, but we extend our virtues to have the idea. For example, we have benevolence and we extend this virt ue, thinking that there may be an infinite being with infinite benevolence, and then we may have an idea of God. If this finite first picture is true, we may not have a real idea of God that represents who he is, and our idea of God is merely our imagination from finite things and thus does not contain infinite reality.I think the ‘finite first picture’ is less convincing to me, so I would like to explain this with my consideration of the ‘infinite first picture’. I think our being able to extend virtues also presupposes that we already have a conception of the infinite, because being able to conceive something greater than us also means we are aware of our finiteness/limits. As Descartes discusses, being able to cognize the finite presupposes that our idea of God is already in us prior to it. For example, we have an idea of God being infinite through realizing us being finite.On the other hand, we also can have an idea of God who has infinite benevolence t hrough realizing we have benevolence. Our being able to extend virtue is another way that presupposes our idea of God is already in us enabling us to do this. Therefore, I think the â€Å"infinite first picture† is more convincing that all of our understandings of our idea of God, which are negating the finite, extending virtues, enlarging abilities (e. g. I can read signs of human behaviors but God could read people’s mind) and etc, depends on our innate idea of God/the infinite which is already in us prior to these.To conclude, I think we can understand the plausibility of Descartes’ first argument of God’s existence (that there is an infinite being/God who has infinite formal reality causes my idea of God that has infinite objective reality) through this proposal he criticizes and his responses in paragraph 24, because it gives a sense why our idea of God contains infinite objective reality. His argument seems more plausible with a convincing claim tha t the idea of God already possesses in us prior to all of our cognitions of God. .

Friday, August 30, 2019

Azande

We are strong Catholic believers, and we know there is ore to this world than just what our eyes can withhold. Much like the Agenda, I believe that there are people who have gifts given to them at birth as well. The Agenda people know that once they are born, they are given the gift of witchcraft. Just like some people In my culture have the ability to see, talk, and hear those who are no longer living. We both believe In the aspects and lurks about death. 2. Think about the ways in which members of your society are compelled to behave in socially acceptable ways.How do these differ from one another? The way I see this is that in our society we are all mixed and in different areas. We are all forced to learn about respect, and cooperation towards one another. In our society men and women can play the same roles, have same work ethic, and children. We are such a diverse country others might see this as a dishonor or Just straight up â€Å"unusual†. There could even be those who see our life style as a freedom. The Agenda people remind me as of being â€Å"old-fashioned†. Just for the fact that the men, play the big role in the family.They are the leaders basically the â€Å"big man on amp's† but for the family. Now the women stand by their men and take care of their children. In their community they all stick together and marry within them. They aren't so diverse like us; they even have websites so they could stay connected and together. In our society we do whatever we want basically, we really do not have much to follow but government policies. Agenda people have rules and standards they must be obeyed. We don't care and they respect their living situations. 3. Do you employ logic that Is similar or different when explain negative thoughts?I am the type of person who always thinks negatively, even when the outcome turns out to be a positive one, but I do believe that some Incidents are Just accidents. Thoughts are always luring in everyone 's mind, even when nothing bad Negative either could have stepped wrong or you couldn't have been paying attention. Necessarily, Just because that occurred doesn't mean it was planned or plotted against you. The Agenda believe that the simplest injury is never Just a coincidence or an accident, either its witchcraft or someone is against you.I can understand their viewpoint, but sometimes bad luck Just happens in life. Like say for those who are â€Å"accident prone† for instant, they are Just people who can't help but get injured in their own majestic ways. It is not that they have enemies; they are just not the most careful people in the world. I do think negative a lot, but in my standing point sometimes nature Just takes its course and things happen without our control. I'm probably the most negative person out there, but I do consider the saying â€Å"accidents happen†. . Is there several different â€Å"System of logic† that may be invoked, depending upon the circumstances? If you are depending on the situation, then yes there are different logics. Accidents do happen, but from another moral they aren't always a random act of kindness. This is a cruel world, and no one is going to hold your hand. You will always have somebody who dislikes, envies you, or Just wants you gone. Then this could possibly happen, some humans in this world will go beyond the circumstance to get there way.Agenda believe in attacking their enemy with the powers and magic f witchcraft. When someone gets injured or has a medical issue we'd all like to think it was not intentional, right? That isn't always the case now. When death takes place in our society, it is usually attempt of murder, actual murder, or suicide. Getting hurt now or hurting others isn't always an act of kindness, therefore the Agenda people do have a point when they are feeling victimized by one another. Everyone has different methods of reaction when it comes to their enemies, but they are not always a â€Å"wise† choice.

Thursday, August 29, 2019

Importance Bookkeeping Essay

In business, there are many factors that must be considered in order to ensure that they business is on the right track, specifically in financial matters. One of these is the aspect of bookkeeping. This paper discusses the importance of bookkeeping and will discuss laws that govern accounting aspects. Importance of Bookkeeping Bookkeeping is one of the most important aspects in financial management. It is the process of recording the financial transactions made by the company and considered as the first basic step of accounting context. Bookkeeping is important because it will definitely help you in terms of monitoring how the company is going daily, weekly and monthly. It is essential since it will help the company organize the financial transaction records which include the receipts, checks, canceled, cash disbursements and sales. The bookkeeping approach makes sure that the financial aspects are organized and balanced and enables the company to know where their money and other financial matters are going. Having this kind of bookkeeping is noted to be one of the vital keys for having successful business. A lost receipt is equivalent to lost deduction which may result for more money to be paid out in taxes. Having good bookkeeping can help the business save more financially. In addition, having organized, accurate and balanced bookkeeping records also allows the company to gain more trusts from different investors and lenders in the long ran since they will be able to see complete financial data before providing you with your needs. In addition, bookkeeping records is also important to manage the financial status of the entire business and to keep track of what is happening to the company financially. Governing Laws in Accounting In order to know that accountants are doing their jobs accurately and organized with correct information, different authorities has been able to formulate and establish accounting laws which should be followed by different companies and industries. Most accounting laws aims on restoring faith from different stakeholders. Accounting laws varies on different nations and each of the government tries to impose laws to serve as a standard model for different companies in making their accounting statements. One of the laws or policies in accounting is the international accounting standards. Being able to know the significance of financial accounting and reporting, scholars have standardized financial accounting and established the International Accounting Standards committee (PricewaterhouseCoopers, 2002). The IASC known today as International Accounting Standard Board (IASB) has been able to establish the International Financial reporting Standards. The IFRS has been applied in the global contexts and Europe, US and other countries try to follow the new standardized and harmonized accounting policies. IFRS policies and laws are generated to apply to general objective of the financial statements and other financial reporting of different industries. This governing laws permits different business entities to report their financial accounting and statements with more disclosure. The purpose of these governing laws is to create fair value for all involved stakeholders in the financial statements. Reference Price Water House Coopers (2008). Online available at https://www. pwc. com/gx/eng/about/svcs/corporatereporting/IFRSforSMEs. pdf Retrieved on December 12, 2008

Wednesday, August 28, 2019

The Promotion of Unhealthy Habits through Smoking Essay

The Promotion of Unhealthy Habits through Smoking - Essay Example This essay "The Promotion of Unhealthy Habits through Smoking" outlines the negative effect of the advertising, its targets and the most influenced age group. Till as late as the 1970s tobacco companies had an almost unobstructed ride with their freewheeling advertisements. However, as more and more irrefutable scientific evidence pointed towards smoking-related health hazards, governments of more advanced nations and various other social and medical groups took up cudgels against irresponsible cigarette advertisements that could mislead people. In the United States such resistance culminated in the Master Settlement Act (MSA) signed on November 1998 between 46 states and five territories and he major tobacco companies viz. Phillip Morris Companies (now known as Altria), RJ Reynolds Tobacco, Lorillard Tobacco, and Brown and Williamson. The MSA came into effect in 1999 and curbed outdoor cigarette advertising, transit advertising, cigarette-related cartoon characters, product placemen t in the media and tobacco merchandizing (Krugman et al, 2006, pp. 197). Simultaneously, it had been made mandatory that all tobacco products carry health hazard warnings, and even more stringent laws have been enacted in states such as California to ban tobacco advertisements in youth magazines and sale of tobacco to young people. In spite of all such anti-smoking measures, tobacco companies still managed to come up with novel ways of circumventing the law and rules and use advertisements to promote sales.

Event Study Statistics Project Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Event Study - Statistics Project Example With this in mind, an event study is considered the measure of impact of an event on a security value (MacKinlay, 1993). Considering the components of an asset cost, an event study further explores the availability and access of information and the immediacy of impounding such info onto prices. Events are characterised by variables such as short-horizon event studies that consider limited period, habitually hours to weeks and particular to the event at hand. Short-run events yield small returns and facilitate time to focus on information being released. Long-horizon event studies are problematic in that they are sensitive to the modeling assumption of the desired returns. The basic setup for an event study involves the identification of an event and the window, selection of a security, specifying and estimating the reference model characterizing the normal returns (expected returns). However, in order to estimate accurately whether illiquid premiums exist, the characters of liquid premiums must be established first. Thus, in order to test whether illiquid premiums exist, this paper aims at answering the research question, do stocks with higher illiquidity earn higher returns?, by the analysis of two events involving bond buyers? The paper analyzes the factors that affect s ecurity markets and identifies conditions that promote illiquidity premiums. Considering the theory on illiquid discounts, the risk-return model, and empirical study, illiquid discount should increase with increasing trading costs; illiquidity will increase when the market is down, and assets considered less liquid have historically had higher returns (Debondt & Thaler, 1985). Considering the fair market value of a security, a premium that investors will demand only when it can easily be converted into cash is referred as liquidity premium. When the liquid premium is considered too high, then the asset is

Tuesday, August 27, 2019

The Conquest of Spain by the Moorish Empire Essay

The Conquest of Spain by the Moorish Empire - Essay Example Moors’ conquest of Spain allowed the community access to the region that had different religious and cultural practices and a transformation of culture in Spain, through assimilation of Moor’s practices and through negative response to some of the immigrants’ values, especially after recapture of Spanish territory from the Moors. The conquest of Spain, owing to the advanced level of Islamic civilization, changed the social environment in Spain. Core to the civilization was health care services and facilities that benefited Spain. Induced civilization in Spain, resulting from the conquest was development in science as well as in technology, knowledge that transformed people’s lives in Spain and extended to the rest of Europe. Establishment of learning institutions and centers such as the city of Cordoba in Spain is an example of significance of civilization that the conquest had for Europe. Development of learning institutions and significance of learning i n the entire globe further identifies global civilization that could be attributed to the Moors’ empire, its associated Islamic culture, and the conquest of Spain (McCannon 133). Moore further explains the effects of the conquest on cultural and religious practices of Europeans. Even though the Islamic religion was widely denounced in the region, it remained significant and British scholars dedicated significant time studying it. Response to other aspects of Moorish culture among Europeans also suggests possible assimilation of the Islamic religion despite the negative attitude that Europeans had. This is because even though the European fought the Moorish empire to its decline, the kingdom’s inversion established a renaissance in the region.

Monday, August 26, 2019

Final Exam Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Final Exam - Essay Example Word documents are acceptable by the system, uploaded documents can not be graded automatically and thus create major problems. Save the attachment (.doc) or copy and paste the quiz and the answer sheet to your word processor. Enter your answers directly  into your word processor version. When you have finished entering your answers, save your answers to your computer (always keep a copy of your work).   To submit your exam, please go to your Assignments Folder and click on the tab for FINAL EXAM. Copy and paste your exam answers into the text box and click on "Submit For Grading." (Attachments are acceptable but try copying and pasting first, let attachments be your last resort). Using the Rich Text Editor (RTE) will help preserve the formatting of your answer sheet; consult the Help Desk if you need help with installing or using the RTE. (In the upper right-hand corner of your screen, see Options, then Account Preferences to enable the RTE.) If you have any questions please con tact WebTycho support line! Q. 1 – 40: Objective-Type Questions (1 point per question) Please use alphabet answers where applicable. 1. D 2. D 3. A 4. C 5. D 6. B 7. B 8. E 9. C 10. B 11. A 12. B 13. C 14. D 15. D 16. A 17. A 18. C 19. A 20. D 21. A 22. A 23. C 24. E 25. D 26. A 27. D 28. B 29. D 30. A 31. L 32. J 33. C 34. N 35. D 36. H 37. I 38. M 39. F 40. K Essay Questions (10 points each). Choose and answer only six (6) essay questions. If you answer more than six, only the first six will be graded. Essay # 2 A)- Five structures present in a human knee joint are; i- Patella ii- Bursae iii- Meniscus iv- Articular Cartilage v- Joint Cavity B)- Two types of arthritis are described below: Osteoarthritis, also called degenerative joint disease, usually occurs in elderly people because of normal wear and tear. Although it appears to be a natural result of aging, such factors as obesity and repeated trauma can contribute to the disease. Osteoarthritis occurs mostly in joints us ed in weight bearing, such as the hips, knees, and spinal column. It involves breakdown of cartilage and narrowing of the joint space, with growth of bone spurs at the edges of the joints. The disease can be avoided by staying active and getting exercise to help maintain the joint and overall movement. Rheumatoid arthritis is a crippling condition characterized by joint swelling in the hands, the feet, and elsewhere as a result of inflammation and overgrowth of the synovial membranes and other joint tissues. The articular cartilage is gradually destroyed, and the joint cavity develops adhesions so that the joints stiffen and ultimately become useless. The exact cause of rheumatoid arthritis is uncertain. However, the disease shares many characteristics of autoimmune disorders, in which the immune system attacks the body’s own tissues. The role of inherited susceptibility is clear. Successful treatment includes rest, appropriate exercise, medications to reduce pain and swellin g, and suppression of the immune response. Essay # 4 A)- The nephron is the basic urine forming unit of the kidney. The nephron regulates the proportions of urinary water, waste, and other materials according to the body’s constantly changing needs. B)- The five parts of nephron are; i- Afferent Arteriole ii- Proximal Convoluted Tubule iii- Distal Convoluted Tubule iv- Loop of Henle v- Collecting Duct C)- The above mentioned parts are located in the following sections of the kidney; i- Afferent Arteriole -- is located in the renal cortex. ii- Proximal Conv

Sunday, August 25, 2019

Coursework assignment for Quantitative Analysis for Managers moudel

Assignment for Quantitative Analysis for Managers moudel - Coursework Example The manufacturing cost of Kopi Lua reduces from  £ 6.00 per kg to  £ 4.83 per kg which is 19.5% lower and since the price mark-up is 30%, the actual margin is much higher. For the Costa Rica blend, however, the cost goes up from  £ 5.00 per kg to  £ 7.15 per kg causing a loss of  £ 0.65 per kg since the selling price is 5 x 1.3 =  £ 6.50 per kg. The present method of overhead allocation based on direct labour hours results in an equal allocation of  £ 1.50 per kg to each of the two blends of coffee when it is clear that the efforts in purchasing, materials handling and quality control have to be higher for processing the Costa Rica coffee in small batches of 500 kg each compared to processing Kopi Lua in batches of 10,000 kg each. Such cost anomalies could be present in each of the 40 blends that the company makes. Another significant reason to change the overhead allocation method is that the product cost would change each time the product mix made in the plant changes. This has the impact of causing variations in profitability. Activity based overhead allocation has another important advantage over the labour hour based allocation. Each element of the overhead cost can be scrutinized to see if any reduction is possible. For example, purchasing costs could reduce if the Costa Rica coffee was bought in, say, 2 batches a year in place of 4. It is not clear why the number of setups should be three per batch when the batch sizes are so different. Reducing the number of setups for Costa Rica would reduce the allocated materials handling costs. The concept of Activity Based Costing (ABC) was first defined by Robert Kaplan and William Burns in the late 1980s. Initially ABC focused on the manufacturing industry where technological developments and productivity improvements had reduced the proportion of direct labour and direct materials costs but increased the proportion of indirect or

Saturday, August 24, 2019

Unit 4 assesment Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Unit 4 assesment - Coursework Example Proper resource allocation enhances the performance of a project. Allocating resources for wrong ideas leads to project failure and is considered wastage of resources. In addition, Project managers should assign resources within the project in the right manner. This helps to avoid incurring losses and large operation cost. Currently, the economy is collapsing due to poor management in various financial sectors. This has led to tough competition, especially, in relation to financial resources. Most of the businesses experience increased operation cost. Therefore, there is a need for companies to limit budget for their projects. They can only do that if project manager avoid wasting or misusing any material through proper resource allocation (Gilbert & Bower, 2007). Time is one of the important natural resource for a project. Approximately, 80 percent of total projects in a company offer project managers a minimum timeline for their completion (Gilbert & Bower, 2007). The project manager should, therefore, divide all project activities on a daily basis to meet the time deadline of the project. In addition, the project manager can use critical path methods to determine the right time to allocate every project activity and ensure that they are completed in time. The project manager should not waste time. Proper time allocation, help the project manager to set a duration that each project activity will take and meet the deadline of the project even when any problem arise in the process of implementing the project. There is a need to allocate the right human resources within a multiple project environment. This assists in proper distribution of specific knowledge and skills within the project, hence improving its performance. In addition, proper allocation of human resources makes it is easier for a project manager to come up with a flexible daily plan for the project (Gilbert & Bower, 2007). Project

Friday, August 23, 2019

Discuss and evaluate the various methods available for long term Essay

Discuss and evaluate the various methods available for long term investment appraisal - Essay Example 33). It is essential to conduct any investment proposal (long-term or short-term) appraisal in order to ensure funds invested would accrue maximum gains in future. Since financial resources tend to be limited (in majority of the cases), a business firm, instead of choosing several proposals, must evaluate and select only the ones that are most appropriate for investing purposes (Sullivan and Steven, 2003). Therefore, it can be assumed that there would be certain techniques followed specifically for appraising proposals for investment. In this context, the paper will now examine various methods available for long-term investment appraisal (capital budgeting). Investment appraisal comprises of analysing a firm’s financial plans, its investments, as well as predicting the firm’s expenditure in a certain proposed project (Levy, 2002). Long-term investment appraisal in small firms often takes into account the possibility of future growth, new enterprises, and a future move into a completely new arena (ibid). Factors for long-term investment appraisal are chosen keeping the requirements of company policymakers and stakeholders in mind, and focus on long-term and sustainable growth of the firm (as opposed to short-term profits). Various methods are used for long-term investment appraisal of a firm. These are: Net present value (NPV): This appraisal method calculates the cash flows (deficit or excess), once the customary obligations are completed (Khan, 1993). All forms of long-term or short-term investment appraisals aim at deriving a positive figure for the firm’s NPV. The process calculates the total cash flow of a firm (incoming and outgoing) at a certain specific time (t), at a discount rate (i) at that particular time, which translates to: t-funds invested initially, making NPV inversely proportional to discount rates (Pike and Neale, 2008, p. 123-124). Therefore, NPVs are reduced with rise in discount values (i), while high interest rates

Thursday, August 22, 2019

Childhood memories Essay Example for Free

Childhood memories Essay Thinking about my childhood, makes me feel like I want to go back and to watch me while I was doing unexpected crazy actions, it was the funniest days ever. My childhood, sometimes it makes me laugh other times I really cry. Remembering some crazy actions that I’ve done , like jumping in the deepest part of the swimming pool while I didn’t know how to swim yet, they rescued me but, I wasn’t scared, that really makes me laugh when I remember such an action. One time, my mother was pulling me up from the swimming pool after my training, she was trying to pull me out but, actually I pulled her in water, it was really funny, I still laugh when I remember that. In other hand, when I remember my grand father I really start to cry, I was 4 years when he died, I remember him and what we did together as it was yesterday, I think remembering all memories with someone when you were 4 years old, it proves how much did you love that person and how close he was to you actually, to your heart. I wish that I can go back and to live on day from my childhood, when I was always feeling that am safe, when me and my friends living day by day and we were not planning for anything to happen in the day after. We didn’t know what’s meant by hater and, we didn’t realize black hearted people who talk bad about you in your back and, they just give a smile in your face. Even money were just papers for me but, now a days people can kill to earn money, all people now are racing for money. I really want to lay on my old bed as I used to sleep when I just put my head on my pillow I don’t care about anything, I Don’t hate any body. I really want to live just on day of my childhood, it was fun, real fun.

Wednesday, August 21, 2019

Martin Luther King Essay Example for Free

Martin Luther King Essay America was experiencing a situation of chaos in the 1950s when the African Americans and the people of color began to rise for the fight of equality and freedom, and racial differences were realized. Initially, blacks and colored were widely discriminated. There were separate restaurants for white and the colored; separate educational institutes and likewise, separate hotels and motels and other public places. Blacks were not given employments on the basis of race and color and the ratio of black working men was almost negligible. They were not even given the right to vote. Cases of police violation on blacks were tremendous. As a result, gradual frustration began bottling up in the blacks. Finally, much to their relief, a decision by the Supreme Court, Brown v. Board of Education was issued in favor of the blacks. This decision given on May 17, 1954, recognized the discrimination against blacks in the field of education and declared that separate educational institutes resulted in unequal educational opportunities. Thus, it ordered all states to combine the blacks and white into same classrooms. However, the country, particularly the Southern part of America, was reluctant in carrying out the court order and hence, many years passed but the order failed to be put into operation. That is when Martin Luther King Jr. appeared. King had been working for equality and justice of blacks for a long time and was one of the prominent leaders in this movement. In order to spring the court order into action and protest for freedom, King along with other more than 250,000 individuals led a march to Lincoln Memorial on August 28, 1963, also known as the March on Washington. This rally included many other eminent characters such as actor Sidney Poitier, and labor leader Walter Reuther. All these influential heads addressed the audience and expressed their feelings individually; however, it was King’s speech; ‘I have a dream’ marked a landmark in civil right movement history. (Wikipedia, 1) About Martin Luther King Jr Born in January 15, 1929, in Atlanta, Martin Luther King was the son of Reverend Martin Luther King, Sr. and a brother of two siblings. He earned his Bachelors degree in 1948 in sociology and then completed his Bachelor of Divinity degree afterwards. In 1955, he did his PhD from Boston University. Afterwards, he became a Baptist minister but then turned his focus towards the civil rights movement and fighting for the freedom of the blacks. He contributed to the establishment of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and also led the Montgomery Bus Boycott. He was the orator of the memorial speech ‘I have a dream’. He received Nobel Peace Price for his efforts to eliminate racial discriminations. He was also declared â€Å"Man of the Year† by Times Magazine. King was shot dead on April 4, 1968 in Lorraine Motel in Memphis. Martin Luther King Jr. Day was later established in his memory. (Wikipedia,1) Analysis of the Speech Style There is an element of emotional appeal in King’s speech. Rich in vocabulary, it is drenched in symbolism. The speech begins with an attention-grasping phrase and positive connotations. In fact, in the entire speech, whenever the future of blacks is mentioned, King has used strong and healthy words reflecting hope and an optimist approach. The first half of the speech; however, exposes the horrible reality the blacks faced. It narrates the story of thousands of blacks who were divested of their basic rights because of their coloring. King has made use of several phrases to describe the gloomy life of African Americans such as â€Å"the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. † (Alvarez, 339) King’s background as Baptist also came useful in his speech as it reminds many of the blacks’ Baptist sermons. It contains references from Bible; for example, his sentence, â€Å"It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of their captivity’ in the second stanza indicates to Psalm 30:5. Other allusions are found from Amos 5:24 and Isaiah 40:4. † (Wikipedia, 1) At the same time, the speech also reflects the Abraham Lincoln’s style in his Gettysburg Address when he uses the term, ‘Five score years ago’. (Public broadcasting service,1) Here again, the purpose of alluding to Lincoln in the commencing lines of speech is symbolic that is, he refers back to a leader who had fought the Southern states over the issue of slavery. In this way, King is reminding the whites that the slaves of in the 19th century and the blacks of 20th century shared a similar tragedy and the same repressive power. After emptying out his feelings of sorrow and despair for the African Americans, the speech then moves to the phase mirroring hope and about demanding their rights. Here, King uses the term ‘check’ to refer to their rights. (Heath, 146) His expressions such as ‘bank of justice’ and ‘riches of freedom’ compel any man of heart to melt and feel their pain. (Heath, 148) They are also an evident of his literacy exposure and knowledge which was rare in blacks at that time. Plus, these words depict a feeling of hope thriving in the speech. The way King demands for blacks’ right is purely beautiful and saintly as he says, ‘And so, we’ve come to cash this check’. (Alvarez, 352) Next, the speech emphasizes the significance of democracy and need to work together to achieve that state of democracy. Here, ‘Now is the time’ has been accentuated four times in the entire paragraph to demonstrate the critical requirement of acting promptly, without any further delay. (Alvarez, 355) He then refers this discrimination as a weakness of America that needs to be removed in order to achieve the nation’s mutual objectives. Here, King has used the technique of reaching the subconscious by using such words such as ‘children of God’ which itself defines that all blacks and whites are brothers. (Wikipedia 1) Hence, in this way, he didn’t have to say it directly and the message was also conveyed. While he talks of brotherhood and the need to put aside the differences and work together, he also issues a warning for the conflicting parties of the consequences if such circumstances failed to occur and promises the nation that they will struggle to fight and rebel until they were not granted their rights. This is evident from this sentence, ‘The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges. ’ (Alvarez, 338) Nevertheless, King was against violence and sermonized the message of peace. Hence, the main objective of King in this rally was also to communicate his message in a non-violent manner. After encouraging the blacks to continue the fight, the speech moves to its second half – the part about his dream –an American dream. Here, ‘I have a dream today! ’ is repeated at intervals to indicate that the dream must be accomplished immediately and not in some future time. The most popular phrase of this speech ‘I have a dream’ is repeated eight times. (Wikipedia, 1) In this part of the speech that is about his dream, he has offered the image of a united country; a country free of discrimination and hatred; a liberal state. This part is highly rhetorical and lulls the audience into another world the world he yearns to create. His words carry such weight that the audience is bound to share his dream even if they deny it. At the end of the speech, he has named several different states of America. The reason was to make it clear that they want respect, dignity and equality in not just some parts of America but in fact, the entire country. This point was explicitly a clear indication for the Southern states. The concluding stanzas contain a stimulating phrase, ‘Let freedom ring! ’ and ‘Free at last! ’ (Alvarez, 351) The absorbing aspect of this speech is its rhythmical flow. The speech begins with a background of the black citizens’ existing situation and the crisis they are facing. It then proposes the solution to their dilemma; followed by the explanation of the reason of why this solution should be implemented. For this part, King uses number of tools such as facts and emotional appeal. At the end, in order to provoke the feeling of urgent execution of his solution, he shares with the audience a stirring dream i. e. his vision of the ideal situation that would prevail if his proposed solution was put into practice. Techniques Used The climax of the speech is distressing yet uplifting. The beginning stanzas reveal the sad state of blacks in America but the approach of the speech is highly optimistic and inspires the blacks to continue their struggle and the whites to bury their axes and embrace their black brothers. The technique of anaphora has been widely employed. Anaphora is the repetition of same word or phrase again and again at the beginning of sentences. For example, the most extensively used anaphora, also the title of this speech, is ‘I have a dream’. Similarly, other examples of this tool are ‘One hundred years ago’, ‘Let freedom ring’, and ‘With this faith’, along with many others. (Wikipedia, 1) The speech is filled with metaphors. For instance, ‘long night of their captivity’ refers to their sufferings and ‘nation’s capital to cash a check’ points to their purpose of protest. At the same time, ‘this nation will rise up’ is again an indication of the coming revolution. Similarly, ‘I have a dream that my four children’ refers to the black community in reality and the word my gives it a personal touch. (Heath, 160) In fact, King has personalized the entire message by using the words you, my and me. The wealth of this speech is its exquisite vocabulary. Words are skillfully manipulated in such a way that they attach a new meaning to every phrase. The popularity of this speech also owns to this factor. In addition, the quantity and quality of information and words reveal King’s extensive research done before delivering the speech, plus his vast knowledge since it contains references from the Bible, The Gettysburg Address and the US Declaration of Independence. (Public broadcasting service,1) Hence, King has used various techniques and tools in this address including facts, anaphora, metaphors, motivation, visualization, arguments and persuasion. The entire speech is highly figurative and symbolic. In fact, the rally outside the Lincoln’s Memorial is symbolic in itself: they were standing outside the steps of Lincoln Memorial i. e. the memorial of a leader who abolished slavery in the Southern states. (Wikipedia, 1) Conclusion The most distinguished fact about this march was its non-violent approach and this speech is its leading example. While its majority of audience was black; its main target was the white people. While he talked of revolution; his speech contained a message of peace. It was able to answer the meaningless questions of the opposing parties and warn them of the consequences of denying the blacks their rights without any form of hostility. In other words, it instilled in the whites a feeling of guilt and humbleness which proved to be enough to achieve their objective. At the same time, it prodded the colored citizens to keep their hopes high and not to rest until they were ‘free at last! It also motivated President Kennedy to extend his support for this issue. The context of the speech and of the surroundings also became one of the reasons for the popularity of the speech. His speech articulated the feelings of all colored citizens and his voice became the voice of all black citizens. To sum up, King’s speech ‘I have a dream’ touches the depth of the hearts and captures the minds. Its words were able to bring tears in the eyes at that time and carry a captivating effect on the readers even today. With tools such as anaphora and metaphors employed, the speech holds an air of charisma. It shakes the souls of the slumbering and the unjust alike. All in all, the linguistic power of the speech is what makes it stand out from the rest and gain the status of one of the most influential speeches ever delivered. Bibliography Alvarez, Alexandra. â€Å"Martin Luther King’s ‘I Have a Dream’: The Speech Event as Metaphor,† Journal of Black Studies 18 1988: 337-57. Heath, Robert. â€Å"Black Rhetoric: An Example of the Poverty of Values† Southern Speech Communication Journal 39 1973: 145-60

Mahasweta Devi Rudali

Mahasweta Devi Rudali Amity Institute of English Studies and Research INTRODUCTION Mahasweta Devi’s Rudali centers on the two women who develop a partnership for survival. Rudali is one of the haunting stories that come from remote villages in Rajasthan. The novel depicted the struggle Sanichari oppressed against poverty, humiliation and wrecked by an exploitative patriarchal caste-basedsocial system.Damaged by their own family, community members or the ruling rich, these women either submit to a relegated existence, which became prostitutes for survival; or like Sanichari and Bikhni, challenges their subjugation. The novel represented the miserable condition of a low-caste starving family in post-colonial Indian society. It highlighted the particularly miserable position of backward class women inrural India. Mahasweta Devi was born in 1926 in the city of Dacca in East Bengal. Born into a literary family, Mahasweta Devi was also influenced by her early association with Gananatya, a group who attempted to bring social and political theater to rural villages in Bengal in the 1930s and 1940s. After finishing a master’s degree in English literature from Calcutta University, Devi began working as a teacher and journalist. Her first book, Jhansi Rani(The Queen of Jhansi), was published in 1956. In 1984, she retired from her job as an English lecturer at a Calcutta university to concentrate on her writing. Devi has been the recipient of several literary prizes. She was awarded the Jnanpath, India’s highest literary award in 1995. She is a long-time champion for the political, social and economic advancement of the tribal communities, whom she characterizes as â€Å"suffering spectators of the India that is traveling to the twenty first century†. Many of her stories are about tribal fighting oppression, resisting exploitation, rebelling against authority. She does not have connection with any school of thought yet her sympathetic portrayal of the subjugation of women and consequent revolt invariably adds a feminist dimension to her work. Woman characters in her works are stronger than that of men. Sanichari, the protagonist, is an active Dalit widow who lives in a village of Bihar, reeling under the burden of earning for her family. Without any earning family member, she faces many difficulty, feeding his family as she was cursed as a witch who has devoured the men of the house. Sanichari was alone and she finds a supporter in her long-lost friend Bikhni, another ill fatedDalit widow who was left alone by her own son. Everyone said shes led such a hard,sad life. But finding Bikhni has been a blessing (Devi.110). The two form a deep bond and a partnership for survival as they discover financial help in an different occupation as hired mourners (Rudali)to add pretension to funerals of the feudal rich in their two-faced society. The new profession gave them their first sense of mastery. But then, Sanichari suffers another blow when Bikhni dies from dysentery as given lack of basic medical care. After facing this much of loss, Sanichari is moreover shocked. But she refused to take a break and emerges revolts against her isolation. She visits the brothel to recruit a band of Rudalis all by herself from among the prostitutes, where she encounters her fiercely defiant runaway daughter-in-law Parvatia. Wishing to free them from mistreatment of the flesh trade, Sanichari motivates them on how to surpass as false mourners at funerals of the rich landlords, When you start, weep as if you have lost someone close to you, someone dear to your heart. Beat your breast and cry out with such feeling that their blood runs cold! sheteaches them. The play culminates with these prostitutes faking loud mourning at the death of the very man who pushed them into the pyre of prostitution. There is a sense of freedom from their indignant life in this alternative profession that earns them cash, food grains and goodies without having to sell their bodies. REPRESENTING MARGINS Representing the Margin is about the representation of socio cultural margins in Indian fictions, written in various Indian languages including English. The main agenda concerned in such novels are of caste and gender issues which was a prominent subject of the post and pre-independence era . The concept of marginalization means ‘to make somebody feel as they are not important and cannot influence decisions or events; or to put somebody in a powerless position’. The very opening of the story is that Sanichari be treated as a commodity and thrown away as soon as her commodified existence becomes useless to the males in her life. The tragic fate of tribal girls like Sanichari is clearly presented by Mahasweta Devi in this short story. The Indian paramilitary forces sought to subjugate the tribal people by burning their huts, by looting their possessions and killing them, and by gang raping their women. Mahasweta Devi discriminates between the civilized ordinary reader, reading a short story about the condition of the exploited tribal sitting in his or her comfortable hearth and home, and the condition of the â€Å"Ho-Oraon-Mundra girls†. When someone died in a malik mahajan household, the amount of money spent on the death ceremonies immediately raised the prestige of the family. The status of the Rudalis also rose. We can offer worship to shiva as well. after all weve managed to save up sever rupees! (Devi.73). Such is the degrading conditions in which the low caste woman is destined to live. And such women are termed as a separate caste. A caste of low caste â€Å"whore† women. It is the women who are ruined by the Malik Mahajans who turn them into whores. The Malik-Mahajan demands honor even when he is a corpse (Devi.91) But Sanichari rises to the occasion and seizes the opportunity by making it an act of revenge and expression of historical opposition .Sanichari thought that perhaps her tears had been reserved for the time when she would have to feed herself by selling them. It can also be identified as an predictable part of the advancement of the cultural politics of dissent and difference from the historically marginalized people of India. It can be justly termed as representation the culturalpolitics. CONCLUSION Sanichari was marginalized firstly as a girl child and she was forced to get married at the time of adolescence. And then her mother in law was also responsible for her marginalization, she always taunted her saying that she was born on Saturday so her name was inauspicious. She even said that Sanicharis life is full of sufferings and brought a bad luck to their family. This made Sanichari feel rebellious against her mother in law. Shanichari was compelled to go for the profession of a paid mourner (Rudali) because there was nobody to provide her with basic necessities of life. For them, nothing has ever come easy. just the daily struggle for a little maize gruel and salt is exhausting. while those people spend huge sums of money on death ceremonies, just to gain prestige†¦ (Devi.9) Lastly she turned up to be a Rudali just to earn her daily bread. Rudali is all about how to survive. She had to sell her tears which she never shed at the death of her own people but the death of the landowners so that she could earn livelihood. Works Cited Primary Source: Rudali by Mahasweta Devi Secondary Source: Rudaali. Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 11 Jan. 2014. Web. 05 Nov. 2014. Mahasweta Devi. Biography, Life History of Mahasweta Devi. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Nov. 2014. Mahasweta Devi. Author Profile, Biography. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Nov. 2014. Rudaali. IMDb. IMDb.com, n.d. Web. 05 Nov. 2014.

Tuesday, August 20, 2019

Comparing the Outsiders and West Side Story :: Comparison Compare Contrast Essays

The Outsiders and West Side Story    I read the book The Outsiders and watched the movie the West Side Story, they had many similarities but they also had their differences. I enjoyed both the book and the movie they were very well written. I will tell compare and contrast the book and the movie.    In the book The Outsiders the people joined the gang for protection from the Socs who liked to jump them like in the West Side Story the people join for there protection against the other gang from kicking them out but they also join to protect their place to live. They both are in Gangs for protection but unlike The Outsiders where the gangs are divided by social class, the gangs in the West Side Story are divided by race.    In the book The Outsiders the people didn't fight each other that much they stayed together for protection while the other guys attacked them while on the movie the West Side Story both the gangs attack each other. Like in the book the parents of the kids that are in the gang are either dead, drunks, or they don't care about the kid.    In the book The Outsiders they got to together and negotiated terms for rumbles, they did the same thing in the movie West Side Story. Like pony boy in The Outsiders, Tony in West Side Story realizes that fighting isn't worth it and that it got you no were. They both reacted differently though when they found it out, Tony goes and tries to stop the rumble while Ponyboy goes and fights in the rumble and still plays along while he's trying to tell others about it. In the book Randy and Cherry don't like the rumble so they decide not to go but Tony goes a step further and tries to stop the rumble.    The jets in the movie are like the Socs in the book, that they both have power. The Socs power is their money, the jets power is the cop who is racist and being the native inhabitants. In the book you see the greasers getting pumped for the rumble just as you see the jets and the sharks getting pumped in the movie.

Monday, August 19, 2019

Ambrose Bierces Ise of Flashbacks and the Supernatural in his Short Stories :: essays papers

Ambrose Bierces Ise of Flashbacks and the Supernatural in his Short Stories AMBROSE BIERCE'S: USE OF FLASHBACKS AND THE SUPERNATURAL IN HIS SHORT STORIES Ambrose Bierce is known for using both flashbacks and the supernatural in his short stories "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" and "The Death of Haplin Frayser." Bierce was born on June 24, 1842, in House Cave Creek, Meigs County, Ohio. He also disappeared in Mexico while acting as an observer of that country's civil war in January 1, 1914. Beirce's literary reputation is based primarily on his short stories about the Civil War and the supernatural. "Mancken considered him to be the "First writer of fiction ever to treat war realistically." Bierce grew up around the military, he entered a military academy in his teen years and then later on in his life was involved in war. He was involved in the U.S. Army, served with the Ninth Indiana Infantry Regiment as a drummer boy and Buell's Army of the Ohio. Many believe Bierce wrote about wars so realistically because he experienced war first hand. Many of Bierce's works are compared to Edgar Allan Poe because their stories share an attraction to death in its more bizarre forms. Bierce also worked as a novelist, journalist, poet, essayist, and a critic. Bierce has also written many other works which include The Devil's Dictionary, "The Secret of Macarger's Gulch" and "The Middle Toe of the Right Foot." In the short story "An Occurrance atOwl Creek Bridge" Bierce uses flashbacks of the soldiers in war to descibe what happened to them throught out the course of war. Many of the soldiers have scary flash backs. In the short story "An Occurrance at Owl Creek Bridge" Bierce describes exactly what the soldiers went through in battle and gives details of deaths that happened. Although Beirce's figures are not very well developed in any of his short stories, each story expresses a deep psychological trauma, one that ends in madness or loss. In war the characters become part of the military. Bierce either tells alot about the hero in his short stories or as little as he pleases. So the hero in "An Occurrance at Owl Creek Bridge" is a spy who is about to be hanged. In this short story many people take for granted the reason he is being hanged and what his beliefs are. Bierce provides the minimum of character description: Peyton Farquhar was a well-to-do planter of an old and highly respected Alabama family.

Sunday, August 18, 2019

My Philosophy of Education :: Teaching Education Essays

My Philosophy of Education As a future educator with a concentration in reading and social studies, I believe that students learn better in an environment where they are actively learning and teaching one another. I also believe children learn best through actively learning and applying the concepts they should be learning. I will hold myself to the following ethical foundations. I believe that every child, no matter who he/she is or what his/her circumstances are, deserves to receive a good education. I believe that equality for all children is absolutely necessary in the classroom., along with fairness, truth and honestly which play important roles in education. Therefore, I see myself as an existentialist in that children need freedom in education to find out who they are and to discover things for themselves. I also see myself as a progressivist. I believe that the classroom should a place where children feel comfortable and secure. I believe each child is different, and I must adapt my teaching to the way the child best learns. I believe axiology is important in education. The goal of education should not be that the child passes a test, but whether or not he or she actually learns what is needed to be known, and can use that knowledge in their life. My purpose is to guide and help them learn the things they will need for their lives and to do that with a positive attitude. My classroom will be a place where children can feel secure and equal. There will always be diversity in the classroom since no one is ever the same, but everyone deserves to have the best education possible and should not be looked down upon because of their ethnic background or race. I want the classroom to have a positive family-type atmosphere where everyone is supported and no one is put down. It will be a room that encourages the imaginations of the children and their curiosities.

Saturday, August 17, 2019

Moving Towards a Global Community Essay

With Communism finally thought of as discredited, the US believed that it could finally assume sole dominance of global political and economic affairs. The US was wrong, as Communism was replaced with a new foe – terrorism. The 1990s saw the emergence of Islamic terrorist groups, all of which have a single-minded goal to destroy the US. These terrorist organizations justify their actions by arguing that it is their duty as good Muslims to wage a war against all enemies of Islam (Halliday, 2003). Roots of the â€Å"Jihad† Most Islamic terrorist organizations came from Third World countries, where poverty and government corruption are rampant. Furthermore, majority of the countries from which these terrorist groups originated are governed by pro-US regimes. In exchange for unlimited access to the raw materials of their respective countries, the US would grant them political, economic and military assistance. The aforementioned scenario is conducive to the rise of Islamic terrorist organizations. Impoverished and desperate, many Muslims from the Third World find solace from these groups, who offer them overly simplistic explanations for their destitute state. Leaders of Islamic terrorist organizations usually brainwash neophytes into believing that the US is responsible for the political, economic and social ills in their country. Thus, as good Muslims, they must fight the US even at the cost of their very lives. The US, on the other hand, would protect itself by calling on lackey regimes to â€Å"fight terrorism† by crushing these groups, often at the expense of civil rights and liberties of their constituents (Palmer and Palmer, 2004). References Halliday, F. (2003). Islam and the Myth of Confrontation: Religion and Politics in the Middle East (2nd ed. ). London: I. B. Tauris. Palmer, M. , & Palmer, P. (2004). At the Heart of Terror: Islam, Jihadists, and America’s War on Terrorism. New York: Rowman and Littlefield.

Friday, August 16, 2019

The Banking Concept

Through Freire†s † The Banking Concept of Education,† we see the effects this concept has on it†s students and also we see the effects that the alternate concept, problem-posing has. The ‘banking† concept allows the students to become vessels of knowledge, not being able to learn at a creative pace. By using communism, seeing through how education is taught in the classroom, it is parallel to Freire†s ‘banking† concept. We can see that both ideas are similar and both were harmful to the human mind. While ‘banking† poses the threat of creative growth and power, Marxism, which applies Marx†s ideas to learning in a communistic way, it creates the threat of never being able to learn. The banking concept is † a gift bestowed by those who consider themselves knowledgeable upon those who they consider to know nothing† (Freire 213). The goal of the ‘banking† concept is to deposit as much information into the students as possible. This results in disconnected memorization without the real understanding and discouragement of creative thought. They cannot think for themselves. As Marx writes, just as there are two types of learning, ‘banking† and problem-posing, he explains that society is this way also. There is the upper class and subordinate classes. They both struggle for economic and political power and the primary way the upper class keeps its power is through their beliefs and values. They are allowed to think. The subordinate classes believe they are subordinate due to the upper classes prestige and way of thinking. Like Freire†s ‘banking† concept, education is the way to keep students down and this works because the students accept all knowledge from the teacher, just like the dominant class in Marx†s ideology, keeps the subordinate classes submissive. There are also things that make Freire†s ideas of teaching that leave Marx at a disadvantage. This is because most submissive people will eventually fight back to get their ideas heard. So therefore the ‘banking† concept has a flaw in itself. When Marx talks about the subordinate classes believing that they had to live up to the upper class, he forgot to mention that throughout time, an oppressed people will figure out that they deserve better than what they are receiving. Overthrowing a government or standing up to a figure of power allows the submissive to no longer not be able to learn. They learn through facing what they had been crushed by for so long. ‘Banking† will eventually fall to its demise, to its students. This will then pave the way to actually learning something that is useful and can be utilized. ‘Banking† and Marx both do not realize that you cannot keep something hidden out of sight, a people that can learn and live, without having to keep them subservient.

Table with emergency situations

Explain the visitors' procedures and wait for a member of management to attend. Depending on the circumstances management will call the police to report the incident. However should the intruder become agitated they will gain the attention of another staff member who will contact the police. Should the person leaves prior to the police arrival staff will take note of the direction and means of transport which will then be passed on to the reporting officer. Verbally ask the person not to return the school again whilst in the presence of the police.Review security immediately Log incident and actions as soon as possible. Missing child or young person Upon Discovering a child is Missing Notify immediately the class teacher. If the teacher is not available for whatever reason they must inform the classroom support staff if there is one, or, if there is not, the nearest available teacher. They should state the name of the child (if known) or a description of the child (if the child's nam e is not known to them), what the child was last seen doing and where, and how long since they last saw the child.Thereafter they should assist with any organized reach for the child as directed by the class teacher or the Head teacher. Conduct a search of the immediate surroundings, I. E. Indoors, in the classroom (looking under tables, work surfaces and other possible hiding places such as cupboards), adjacent work areas and classrooms, nearby cloakrooms and toilets. Outdoors – in the immediate area where the child was last seen including looking under bushes and up trees etc.The teacher should quickly arrange for another adult (e. G. Support staff or neighboring teacher) to supervise their class while they conduct any search away from the lass for which they are responsible. If this initial search does not find the child the teacher shall begin a wider search of the school buildings and grounds including searching public areas in other parts of the school e. G. Library are as, toilet and cloakroom areas, corridors, hall etc.If this search does not discover the missing child within a reasonable time the teacher must inform the Head teacher (directly or via the school office) Of the missing child and the facts surrounding the child's disappearance. The Headaches will: Take charge of the situation. If satisfied that the class is adequately supervised the Head teacher will join the teacher (and support staff if applicable) in searching the school premises for the missing child directing the teacher (and others) where to search (e. G. Hill he searches externally, the teacher searches internally) Alternatively, the Head teacher may direct the teacher (or support staff) to return to their class in order to continue supervising the class and to be a familiar adult should the missing child return to their classroom. In this situation the Head teacher will continue the search alone or with other available adults. When the Head teacher is satisfied that the chil d is not on the premises he will instruct the office staff to contact the child's parents and inform them of the situation and to enquire if the child has returned home.

Thursday, August 15, 2019

Laura Ashley Holdings Plc Essay

1) How have changes relating to management and organisational structural affected a global organisation of your choice, over the last 75 years. Relate your findings to growth, distribution, and various external influences and strategies. 2) Undertake a SWOT analysis and explain its relevance in relation to your company and/or its sector Word Count 1250. Harvard Style Referencing. Bibliography Required. Global organisation Laura Ashley Holdings Plc has suffered differing fortunes since Bernard and Laura Ashley founded it in the 1950s. It has been involved in the designing, manufacturing, distribution and selling of garments, accessories, perfume, gift items, fabric, wall coverings, bedding, lighting, and furniture. Famed for its floral prints, the chain was highly successful during the early and mid 1980s but things changed in the early 1990s when various management and structural problems as well as those relating to growth, distribution, and various external influences such as global recession surfaced Laura Ashley herself died in 1985. There is a notable difference in the organisation up to and after this year. Up to 1985, it was a simply structured, steadily expanding organisation operating in a non-complex environment (complexity arises when there are numerous complicated environmental influences [Johnson and Scholes, 1989]). In the months and years after, many changes took place. Laura Ashley went public in flotation, acquired other companies involved in areas such as knitwear and perfume, made heavier investments in manufacturing and information technology (IT), moved towards segmentation with Mother and Child shops, exclusively home furnishing shops and unit shops (franchise operations). The organisation moved gradually away from vertical integration (it had always manufactured and delivered all goods itself) – The Guardian reported that Laura Ashley was withdrawing from manufacturing by the end of the year in 1998. In order to facilitate growth, there was a shift from the simple functional organisational structure to a more complex divisional structure (which was  re-organised with every change of leadership). The most notable chief executives of Laura Ashley who were in place whilst and after problems developed were Jim Maxmin (1991-1994) and Ann Iverson (1995-1997). Each of these people were responsible for major overhauls within the organisation. Vora (1998) states, â€Å"Laura Ashley has undergone various restructuring strategies and umpteen management upheavals, all to no avail, and all of which have decimated shareholder value and abused the brand name†. As highlighted above, the major problems of Laura Ashley began to manifest in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The first fall of profits were reported in the year to January 1989. It is important, then, to look at its success before this – from its beginnings in the 1950s to 1985. One area to naturally consider is the key success factors of the organisation for this period i.e. what specifically can its success is attributed to. Key success factors are what an organisation must do well in order to be successful, be an effective competitor and satisfy stakeholder requirements (Thompson, 1997). Bearing this in mind, the key success factors of Laura Ashley up to 1985 are identified as high quality production, innovative designs, good brand management (the ‘Laura Ashley’ name was and is strong), well placing of stores, creation of good atmospheres in stores, general design and creative competencies, staff training, creation of a vertically integrated structure and oper ation within a simplistic organisational structure in general. Also, the Group’s IT capabilities factored into the success as it was a source of competitive advantage e.g. they were an early adopter of electronic point of sale (Heath, 1996 as cited by Johnson and Scholes, 1999). These factors may also be interpreted as strategic excellence positions (SEP’s), which can be described as the capabilities, which allow an organisation to produce better than average results in comparison with competitors (PUmpin, 1987). Thompson (1997) presents a particularly useful model that can be helpful in explaining the success of Laura Ashley up to 1985. The EVR congruence model, by Thompson, considers if an organisation is being managed effectively with regards to strategy. It represents the matching of an organisation’s resources (for Laura Ashley these would include plants, vehicles, IT systems  and locations) to the key success factors dictated by the environment (external factors such as opportunities and threats, stakeholders, competition etc). A determinant in matching these is the values of the organisation (again, in the case of Laura Ashley, these would include the lifestyle they promote/project, shop designs and atmospheres, product designs, the brand, staff training policy and the ‘family’ culture). If the congruence (fit) between these three areas is great, then this indicates effective management of resources (Hamel and Prahalad [1993] comment that it is important for organ isations to manage resources well in order to achieve objectives), strategy formulation and all-round success. It can be argued that the success of Laura Ashley up to 1985 can be attributed to greater EVR congruence. That is such things as the number of shops and plants, distribution systems, stakeholders, threats (including competition), products, level of vertical integration and so on fit together well in relation to the size, structure, culture and speed of growth of the organisation then. The key success factors are also indicative of this congruence. So that they can be developed to help ensure both present and future success, it is important key success factors are recognised and understood. One particular way Laura Ashley could do this is through a SWOT analysis. This reviews an organisation’s internal strengths and weaknesses and opportunities and threats in the external environment (Cole, 1996). This may be done for a particular moment in time or as an overview encompassing the past and present. As made clear, Laura Ashley has faced much change during its existence. Opportunities and threats come about as a result of constant change and the SWOT analysis can help to identify these and internal strengths and weaknesses relevant when dealing with change (Johnson and Scholes, 1989). This SWOT analysis can be used in relation to analysing the problems faced by Laura Ashley in the late 1980s and throughout the 1990s. They can be greatly attributed to the weaknesses and threats identified. For example, fluctuations in the economy had a knock-on effect on the sale of property and hence on the sale of household furnishings. Also, high borrowing, wastage and forced discounting meant that, despite sales increases, shops were making a loss. The reorganisations in 1988, 1991 and twice in 1995 had their effect too – they were costly and highlighted inefficiency. Chandler (1977) states that structures are not adapted until pressure of inefficiency forces the change and that this change process is usually a painful one – often carried out by a different chief executive each time. Upon and after his appointment in 1991, Jim Maxmin found that the organisation lacked a core identity, clear strategies, empowered staff, thorough market research, efficient logistics , and many problems in the US such as limited growth, poor management and delivery problems. He responded with his ‘Simplify, Focus and Act’ programme. This included reorganisation, institution of a Global Operations Executive (GOE) and Global Collection Development (GCD) which aided globalisation and marketing, encouragement to empower staff, an alliance with Federal Express Business Logistics to improve delivery and distribution systems, sourcing half of the organisations manufacturing to  the Far East (rather than in-house in Britain) and management replacement in the US. Before leaving Laura Ashley in 1994, Jim Maxmin commented that â€Å"throughout the entire organisation, people has embraced the principles of the Simplify, Focus and Act programme and set about sorting out the operational problems which have plagued Laura Ashley† (Maxmin, 1993 as cited by Warnaby, 1994). Ann Iverson was appointed chief executive of Laura Ashley in 1995. She was to spearhead the rush into the US and revamp the product range (Teather, 1999). Her observations found various problems – all of which can again be attributed to identified weaknesses. It was found that the product range was too broad, there was no ‘unified’ look to match globalisation, the supply chain was inefficient and problems continued in the US. Ann Iverson’s response included strengthening the alliance with Federal Express Business Logistics, opening larger stores in the US and reviewing marketing and sales. These changes were considered to be good as Laura Ashley restored dividend payments in 1996 for the first time since 1989. Ann Iverson was dismissed in 1997, however, mainly due to continuing problems in the US and the organisation’s image (Keynotes, 1997). Each of the changes mentioned came about from the organisation’s particular strengths (as identified) at the time. For example, whilst such things as restructuring and shop closures were happening, the strong name of Laura Ashley and strong customer loyalty were greatly relied upon. Bowman and Asch (1987) comment that the strengths of an organisation are a if not the determinant in how it handles weaknesses, opportunities and threats. Opportunities open to the organisation in dealing with its various problems can be identified as the opportunities in the SWOT analysis. Opportunities change and differ over time. For example, the alliance with Federal Express Business Logistics resulted from available opportunities at the time. A possible opportunity in the early 1990s would have been a speedier move away from vertical integration for example. Laura Ashley became totally vertically integrated in the 1970s and continued  to be so though gradually moved away from this in the 1990s – completely in 1998. Vertical integration can be backwards e.g. manufacturer purchasing/owning supplier and forwards e.g. manufacturer purchasing/owning retailer – Laura Ashley was both backwardly and forwardly vertically integrated – everything from the supplying of materials and manufacturing to distribution and retail. The main benefits of this throughout the organisation’s development included greater control, greater ability to differentiate, the opportunity to achieve economies of scale (higher margins), assurance of supply and greater synergy. Despite this, there were numerous disadvantages particularly that it was costly and greatly increased operational leverage as well as the need to keep up with technological change. This tied up capital having long-term affects. It meant that there was not full concentration of key strengths (design and retail) on which key success factors are dependent (Thompson, 1997). Furthermore, vertical integration was inflexible (cheaper manufacturers could not be sourced) and sensitivity to decreases in sales increased. It was the cost aspect that had the greatest impact – particularly in the face of costly expansion (especially in the US). Warnaby (1994) comments that vertical integration was responsible for financial problems in the early 1990s. The costs of vertical integration had an impact on the organisation’s ability to successfully expand internationally. Perhaps with the exception of a distinctive product look and the adoption of a divisional structure, Laura Ashley did not expand internationally applying Treadgold’s keys/strategies – each was applied/introduced incrementally as problems arose to highlight the need e.g. it was not until 1995 when Ann Iverson felt the need for a unified product look. This is indicative that the organisation was not particularly capable of embarking on such ambitious international expansion as it did. This is highlighted by the numerous problems faced by the organisation e.g. poor marketing/marketing strategy, inefficient logistics and lack of direction and clear strategy. Additionally, the paternalistic management style was not suited to rapid expansion and this coupled with high finance demands from vertical integration, reorganisation and early acquisitions further indicate poor planning in terms of development Laura Ashley has faced so many problems throughout its existence. Problems owing to management, organisational structure, logistics and rapid international expansion continuously came and went. In 1998 bankruptcy looked imminent but an injection of ?44 million in equity capital by Malaysian businessman Dr Kay Peng Khoo (giving his MUI property company 47.5% share ownership whilst the Ashley family retained just 9% [Gibbs, 1999]). He installed Ng Kwan Cheong as chief executive who made changes including the disposal of the problematic North American franchise (retail operations were sold to a management buyout team for $1 at the end of July, 1999 [Gibbs, 1999]), targeting of younger markets and investment in e-commerce (Abdullah, 2000). However, all of these changes looked to have no major impact in the Group’s success with sales steadily decreasing from 1998. Whether or not Laura Ashley manages to achieve the sort of success it enjoyed in the early 1980s under its new management remains to be seen – as does its survival. Chief Executive Ng Kwan Cheong refrained from placing false hopes, commenting in March of 2000 – â€Å"We have a lot of things to do. All I can say is we are moving in the right direction and things are changing† (Cheong, 2000 as cited by Abdullah, 2000). REFERENCES Texts  · Bowman, C. and Asch, C. (1987). ‘Strategic Management’. Macmillan Education.  · Chandler, A.D. (1997). ‘The Visible Hand: The Managerial Revolution in American Business’. Harvard University Press.  · Cole, G.A. (1996). ‘Management Theory and Practice’ (5th Edition). Letts Educational.  · Johnson, G. and Scholes, K. (1989). ‘Exploring Corporate Strategy: Text and Cases’. Prentice Hall.  · Johnson, G. and Scholes, K. (1999). ‘Exploring Corporate Strategy: Text and Cases’ (5th Edition). Prentice Hall.  · PUmpin, C. (1987). ‘The Essence of Corporate Strategy’. Gower.  · Thompson, J.L. (1997). ‘Strategic Management: Awareness and Change’. International Thomson Business Press. Journals and Publications  · Hamel, G. and Prahalad, C.K. (1993). â€Å"Strategy as stretch and leverage†. Harvard Business Review, 71, March-April, pp75-84.  · Keynotes (1997), ‘Keynote Market Report – Clothing Retailing’, 1997 Reports, p23.  · Treadgold, A. (1991) ‘Dixons and Laura Ashley: Different Routes to International Growth’. International Journal of Retail and Distribution Management. Vol. 19(4), pp13-19.  · Warnaby, G. (1994). â€Å"Laura Ashley – An International Retail Brand†. Management Decision, Volume 32 (3). Other  · Abdullah, S.A. â€Å"Turning around Laura Ashley†. http://adtimes.nstp.com.my/archive/mar3.htm (09 December 2000).  · Gibbs, G. (1999) â€Å"Laura Ashley bids farewell† The Guardian Unlimited Archive. http://www.guardianunlimited.co.uk/Archive/Article/0,4273,3904775,00.html (18 December 2000).  · Teather, D. (1999) â€Å"Banks push Laura Ashley to quit US† The Guardian Unlimited Archive. http://www.guardianunlimited.co.uk/Archive/Article/0,4273,3855892,00.html (18 December 2000).  · Vora, K. (1998) â€Å"Lessons from Laura Ashley†. The Motley Fool: The Daily Fool, Evening Fool – Tuesday, 03 March 1998, (online) (cited 04 January 2001). http://www.fool.co.uk/DailyFool/1998/DailyFool980303.htm . BIBLIOGRAPHY Texts  · Cole, G.A. (1997). ‘Strategic Management’ (2nd Edition). Continuum.  · De Wit, B. and Meyer, R. (1994) ‘Strategy Process, Content, Context: An International Perspective’. West Publishing.  · Hatch, M.J. (1997). ‘Organization Theory’. Oxford.  · Palmer, A. and Hartley, B. (1996). ‘The Business and Marketing Environment’ (2nd Edition). McGraw-Hill.  · Palmer, A. (2000). ‘Principles of Marketing’. Oxford.  · Porter, M.E. (1980) ‘Competitive Strategy – Techniques for Analysing Industries and Competition’. The Free Press.  · Porter, M.E. (1985) ‘Competitive Advantage – Creating and Sustaining Superior Performance’. The Free Press.  · Wild, R. (1994) ‘How to Manage’ (2nd Edition). BCA. Other  · Framed-Art Wholesale. â€Å"Laura Ashley – The History† http://www.framedartwholesale.com/aboutLA.htm (20 December 2000).  · Herzog, J. (1997) â€Å"Laura Ashley closure a strategic decision†. Daily Yale News Online – Friday, 12 September 1997, (online) (cited 20 December 2000). http://www.yale.edu/ydn/paper/9.12.97/I-1lauraashley.html .  · Hoover’s Online. â€Å"Laura Ashley Holdings Plc Company Capsule† Companies and Industries http://www.hoovers.co.uk/uk?capsule/5/0,3042,90245,00.html?referer= (20 December 2000).  · Wetfeet. â€Å"Laura Ashley Holdings Plc† Company Profiles. http://www.wetfeet.com/asp/companyprofiles.asp (18 December 2000).  · Wright Investor’s Service. â€Å"Research Report: Laura Ashley Holdings Plc† Corporate Information http://profiles.wisi.com/profiles/scripts/corpinfo2.asp?cusip=C826EG930 (18 December 2000).

Wednesday, August 14, 2019

Social Engineering

Identity Theft: Social Engineering December 5, 2011 Daniel Sama & Stacey Smith Sr Computer Ethics CIS-324, Fall 2011 Strayer University Identity Theft: Social Engineering December 5, 2011 Daniel Sama & Stacey Smith Sr Computer Ethics CIS-324, Fall 2011 Strayer University Abstract Social Engineering from the outset may seem like a topic one might hear when talking about sociology or psychology, when in fact it is a form of identity theft. To an information technology (IT) professional, Social Engineering is a form of voluntary, unintentional identity theft. Many victims fail to realize they are being victimized until it is too late, while many others may never know. This paper will provide a definition of social engineering as it applies to information technology while introducing some the pioneers of social engineering; those who have, essentially, written the book on social engineering. We will provide real world examples of how social engineers apply their trade and provide important points to consider with regards to social engineering attacks. In conclusion we will propose counter-measures, which individuals and organizations should take in order to guard against social engineering. Social Engineering as defined by IT professionals is the practice of deceiving someone, either in person, over the phone or using a computer, with the express intent of breaching some level of security, either personal or professional (Ledford, 2011. ) Implementing quality risk analysis solutions while maintaining data integrity is a crucial element of successful system modeling; within the context of social engineering in the workplace, there are several factors that can make implementing those solutions rather challenging. Social engineering is a type of intrusion, which relies heavily on human interaction and usually involves the tricking of other people to break normal, everyday security policies. Social engineers (SE) often prey on the natural helpfulness of other people. When analyzing and attempting to conduct a particular attack, a SE will commonly appeal to vanity or authority as well as simple eavesdropping to acquire the desired information. Social engineering, in a nutshell is a hacker’s clever manipulation of the natural human tendency to trust. This will provide the unauthorized access to the valued information, system or machine. Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake† (Bonaparte, n. d. ) This is a mantra for all successful SE’s, as they take any and all information about and from a target for later use against said target. The SE will gather as much information as possible about their target in advance, most of which is readily available online, usually , with just a few keystrokes; anything from hobbies to their favorite lunchtime meal. This information helps build a connection and instills trust with the target. With this trust, seemingly innocuous information will come flooding out of the target. Akin to fictional spies like James Bond and Michael Weston, SE’s assume a persona that is not their own and attempt to establish with their target a reasonable justification to fulfill a request. The aforementioned tactics allow the SE to maintain the facade and leave an out to avoid burning his or her information source. Bottom line; a good SE is a good actor. â€Å"All of the firewalls and encryption in the world will never stop a gifted social engineer from rifling a corporate database or an irate employee from crashing the system,† says pioneer Kevin Mitnick, the world’s most celebrated hacker who popularized the term. Mitnick firmly states in his two books The Art of Deception and The Art of Intrusion that it’s much easier to trick someone into giving a password for a system than spending the time using a brute force hack or other more traditional means to compromise the integrity of sensitive data. Mitnick who was a world famous controversial computer hacker in the late 1980’s was sentenced to 46 months in prison for hacking into the Pacific Bell telephone systems while evading the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). The notorious hacker also allegedly wiretapped the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV), compromised the FBI and Pentagon’s systems. This led Mitnick to spend the majority of his time incarcerated in solitary confinement due to the government’s fear of him attempting to gain control of more sensitive information. Mitnick states in both of his aforementioned books that he compromised computers solely by using passwords and codes acquired as a result of social engineering. As a result, Mitnick was restricted from using any forms of technology upon his release from prison until approximately 5 years ago. Kevin Mitnick is now the CEO of Mitnick Security Consulting, a computer security consultancy. Social engineering awareness is a being addressed at the enterprise level as a vital corporate security initiative. Security experts advise that a properly trained staff, not technology is the best asset against social engineering attacks on sensitive information. The importance placed upon security policies is imperative when attempting to combat this type of attack. Combat strategies require action on both physical and psychological levels. This form appeals to hackers because the Internet is so widely used and it evades all intrusion detection systems. Social engineering is also a desirable method for hackers because of the low risk and low cost involved. There are no compatibility issues with social engineering; it works on every operating system. There’s no audit trail and if executed properly its effects can be completely devastating to the target. These attacks are real and staggering to any company, which is why strong corporate policies should be measured by access control and implementing specific procedures. One of the advantages of having such policies in place is that it negates the responsibility of an employee having to make a judgment call or using discretion regarding a social engineer’s request. Companies and their subsequent staffs have become much too relaxed as it pertains to corporate security initiative. These attacks can potentially be costly and unnerving to management as well as the IT department. Social engineering attacks commonly take place on two different levels: physical and psychological. Physical settings for these attacks can be anything from your office, your trash, over the telephone and even online. A rudimentary, common form of a social engineering attack is social engineering by telephone. Clever social engineers will attempt to target the company’s help desk while fooling the help desk representative into believing they are calling from inside the company. Help desks are specifically the most vulnerable to social engineering attacks since these employees are trained to be accommodating, be friendly and give out information. Help desk employees are minimally educated and get paid a below average salary so it is common for these individuals to answer one question and move right along to the next. This can potentially create an alarming security hole when the proper security initiative is not properly set into place. A classic example of this would be a SE calling the company operator and saying something like â€Å"Hi, I’m your AT&T rep; I’m stuck on a pole. I need you to punch a few buttons for me. † This type of attack is directed at the company’s help desk environment and nearly always successful. Other forms attack target those in charge of making multi-million dollar decisions for corporations, namely the CEO’s and CFO’s. A clever SE can get either one of these individuals to willingly offer information pertinent to hacking into a corporation’s network infrastructure. Though cases such as these are rarely documented, they still occur. Corporations spend millions of dollars to test for these kinds of attacks. Individuals who perform this specialized testing are referred to as Social Engineering Auditors. One of the premier SE Auditors in the industry today is Chris Hadnagy. Hadnagy states that on any given assignment, all he has to do is perform a bit of research on the key players in the company before he is ready to strike. In most cases he will play a sympathy card, pretending to be a member of a charity the CEO or CFO may belong to and make regular donations to. In one case, he called a CEO of a corporation pretending to be a fundraiser for a charity the CEO contributed to in the past. He stated they were having a raffle drawing and named off prizes such as major league game tickets and gift cards to a few restaurants, one of which happened to be a favorite of the CEO. When he was finished explaining all the prizes available he asked if it would be alright to email a flier outlining all the prizes up for grabs in a PDF. The CEO agreed and willingly gave Hadnagy his corporate email address. Hadnagy further asked for the version of Adobe Reader the company used under the guise he wanted to make sure he was sending a PDF the CEO could read. The CEO willingly gave this information up. With this information he was able to send a PDF with malicious code embedded that gave him unfettered access to the CEO’s machine and in essence the company’s servers (Goodchild, 2011). Not all SE attacks occur completely over the phone. Another case that Hadnagy reports on occurred at a theme park. The back story on this case is he was hired by a major theme park concerned about software security as their guest check-in computers were linked with corporate servers, and if the check-in computers were compromised a serious data breach may occur (Goodchild, 2011). Hadnagy started this attack by first calling the park posing as a software salesman, peddling newer PDF-reading software which he was offering free on a trial basis. From this phone call he was able to obtain the version of PDF-reader the park utilized and put the rest of his plan in action. He next headed to the park with his family, walking up to one of the employees at guest services asking if he could use one of their terminals to access his email. He was allowed to access his email to print off a coupon for admission to the park that day. What this email also allowed was to embed malicious code on to the servers and once again gained unfettered access to the parks servers. Hadnagy proposes six points to ponder in regards to social engineering attacks: * No information, regardless of it personal or emotional nature, is off limits for a SE seeking to do harm. It is often the person who thinks he is most secure who poses the biggest vulnerability to an organization. Executives are the easiest SE marks. * An organizations security policy is only as good as its enforcement. * SE’s will often play to the employees good nature and desire to be helpful * Social Engineering should be a part of an organizations defense strategy. * SE’s will often go for the low- hanging fruit. Everyone is a target if security is low. The first countermeasure of social engineering prevention begins with security policies. Employee training is essential in combating even the most cunning and sly social engineers. Just like social engineering itself, training on a psychological and physical basis is required to alleviate these attacks. Training must begin at the top with management. All management must understand that social engineering attacks stem from both a psychological and physical angle therefore they must implement adequate policies that can mitigate the damage from an attacker while having a robust, enforceable penalty process for those that violate those policies. Access control is a good place to start when applying these policies. A competent system administrator and his IT department should work cooperatively with management in hashing out policies that control and limit user’s permission to sensitive data. This will negate the responsibility on the part of an average employee from having to exercise personal judgment and discretion when a potential attack may occur. When suspicious calls for information occur within the company, the employee should keep three questions in mind: 1. Does the person asking deserve this information? 2. Why is she/he asking for it? 3. What are the possible repercussions of giving up the requested information? If there is a strong policy in place with enforceable penalties in place, these questions will help to reduce the potential for a SE attack (Scher, 2011). Another countermeasure against a social engineering attack is to limit the amount of information easily available online. With Facebook, Twitter, Four-Square and the like, there is an overabundance of information readily available at any given moment online. By just drastically limiting the amount of information available online it makes the SE’s task of information gathering that much more difficult. Throughout all of the tactics and strategies utilized when cultivating social engineering expertise, it’s extremely difficult to combat human error. So when implementing employee access control and information security, it is important to remember that everyone is human. This type of awareness can also be costly so it’s important to adopt a practical approach to fighting social engineering. Balancing company morale and pleasant work environment is a common difficulty when dealing with social engineering prevention and awareness. It is vital to keep in perspective that the threat of social engineering is very real and everyone is a potential target. References Bonaparte, N. (n. d. ). BrainyQuote. com. Retrieved December 6, 2011, from BrainyQuote. com Web site: http://www. brainyquote. com/quotes/authors/n/napoleon_bonaparte_3. html Goodchild, J. (2011). Social Engineering: 3 Examples of Human Hacking. Retrieved November 28, 2011 Retrieved from www. csoonline. om Web site: http://www. csoonline. com/article/663329/social-engineering-3-examples-of -human-hacking Fadia, A. and Manu, Z. (2008). Networking Intrusion Alert: An Ethical Hacking Guide to Intrusion Detection. Boston, Massachusetts. Thompson Course Technology. 2008. Ledford, J. (2011). Identity Theft 101, Social Engineering. Retrieved from About. com on December 1, 2011. Retrieved from: http://www. idtheft. about. com/od/glossary/g/Social_Enginneering. htm Long, J. and Mitnick, K. (2008. ) No Tech Hacking: A Guide to Social Engineering, Dumpster Diving and Shoulder Surfing. Burlington, Massachusetts. Syngress Publishing Inc. 2008. Mann, I. Hacking the Human. Burlington, Vermont: Gower Publishing, 2008. Mitnick, K. and Simon, W. The Art of Deception. Indianapolis, Indiana: Wiley Publishing Inc. 2002. Mitnick, K. and Simon, W. (2006. ) The Art of Intrusion. Indianapolis, Indiana: Wiley Publishing Inc. 2006. Scher, R. (2011). Is This the Most Dangerous Man in America? Security Specialist Breaches Networks for Fun & Profit. Retrieved from ComputerPowerUser. com on November 29, 2011. Retrieved from: http://www. social-engineer. org/resources/CPU-MostDangerousMan. pdf