Monday, September 30, 2019

Indias Reproductive And Child Health Health And Social Care Essay

Despite of addition in public and private health care sector outgo, the use of health care services in India has remained hapless. Issues related to Maternal and child wellness are of concern.1 For the wellness and well-being of a kid, every bit good as household and social wellbeing, prenatal and postpartum attention of female parent is necessary.India ‘s Reproductive and Child Health programme2-Sing high maternal and child deceases, authorities of India has ever aimed at turn toing these issues through concrete wellness plans. India was the first state to establish the national household planning programme. It was subsequently integrated into household public assistance programme. The International Conference on Population Development ( ICPD ) , 1994 and the Fourth World Conference on Women, 1995 held at Beijing, China emphasized on gender equity and sustainable development. These conferences suggested the generative wellness plans to look after gender issues behind the wellness jobs, adult females ‘s wellness demands throughout their life span and work forces ‘s duty to esteem adult females ‘s generative rights. ICPD helped India to explicate an integrated programme which could travel beyond the household planning and emphasis on gender equity. The generative and child wellness programme in India was so started in 1997. The 2nd stage of this programme came in action along with National Rural Health Mission in 2005, which emphasized on the betterment of handiness and entree of the health care services by the people particularly adult females, kids and weaker constituents of the society. The RCH programme covers the generative demands of adult females and work forces at all phases of life. The generative and child wellness programme of India is based on the basic constituents such as Child wellness ( child endurance and kid development ) and safe maternity ( including safe direction of unwanted gestation and abortion ) , Adolescent wellness ( gender development, adolescence instruction and vocational constituent ) , effectual household planning ( Ensuring Informed pick, Counseling, gender equality and greater male engagement ) , Prevention, sensing and direction of Reproductive Tract Infections, Sexually Transmitted Infections, HIV/ AIDS and malignant neoplastic disease of the generative system, Reproductive wellness attention of aged people. The chief focal point of the RCH programme is to cut down Maternal and Infant mortality and Entire Fertility Rate. The programme is operated all over the state through primary, secondary and third populace health care system. Decentralized attack is the cardinal constituent of this programme.1.1.2 Use of RCH services-Use of health care services can be assessed by patient ‘s every bit good as wellness professional ‘s position. The patient ‘s position can be subjective based on the services reported by the patient or the quality of services felt by the patient, or objective based on the services offered by the health care installation to the patient. The wellness professional may see towards the use of services by economic facet such as the figure of patients, figure of visits etc.3 The use of RCH services can be assessed by the use of all its constituents. Maternal Mortality and morbidity, Infant mortality and kid mortality, and entire birthrate rate are the basic indexs of handiness, use and effectivity of MCH services. Status of these indexs reflects the position of health care services in the country.5 Assorted factors are responsible for the use of RCH services, for illustration, degrees of instruction, socio-economic position, environmental factors such as entree to the wellness Centre, healthcare substructure etc. Study of use of these services, hence requires consideration of all these determiners of the health care utilization.41.2 Global scenario-The Millennium Development Goals ( MDGs ) set up by WHO for MMR is 109, for IMR is 28 and for Under-5 mortality rate is 42 by the terminal of twelvemonth 2015. High difference in these indexs in developed and developing states shows the difference in handiness and use of RCH services in developed and developing countries.6 1.2.1 MCH in developed countries- In developed states such as cardinal and western Europe, Australia etc, the use of preventative services is really high among females than males. The surveies done in early 1970ss have helped the developed states to better the wellness service use. The of import factors indentified were mean cost per visit, wellness insurance coverage, age, instruction etc. This resulted in lower maternal mortality rates, e.g. 5 in Sweden ; 3 in Denmark, Norway and Israel ( Population Action International, 1995 ) . In United States it is found that black adult females make well less usage of wellness services than white opposite numbers, due to socio-cultural factors. The addition in migratory population and their certain constructs lead to non-utilization of services in Sweden.7,8 The World Health Organization has identified Cuba as an illustration of â€Å" good wellness at low cost † achieved through policies that address the determiners of wellness and are based on just entree, catholicity and governmental control. They have focused on three major initiatives-1 ) primary attention through polyclinics, 2 ) comprehensive attack at the community degree and 3 ) feedback from community.9 1.2.2. MCH in developing countries- In recent old ages, developing states are influenced by findings in developed states, for measuring the quality of their wellness attention. Results have received particular accent as a step of quality. Measuring results is utile as an index of the effectivity of different intercessions and as portion of a monitoring system directed to bettering quality of attention every bit good as observing its impairment. In Indonesia usage of an unskilled birth attender and giving birth at place are most common among the poorest and least educated adult females. The kids of these adult females have the highest hazard of infant mortality. The infant mortality rate differs greatly by part of entree to wellness services. In Ethiopia, socio demographic features of adult females, cultural context, handiness, consumer satisfaction influenced wellness service use.1.3 Local scenario-The national rural wellness mission 2005 set up certain ends to better the wellness service use by people shacking in rural countries, adult females, kids and the hapless in India. The mark for MMR is 100, IMR 30 and TFR 2.1 by the terminal of 2012.10 The present Maternal Mortality Rate of India is 212. Infant mortality rate has declined to 49, while Under-5 mortality rate is still 64. Entire birthrate rate of the state is 2.6, which is higher in rural country i.e. 2.9 as compared to urban country which is 2.0.11 Harmonizing to NFHS-3 information, merely 44 percent adult females use the prenatal attention in the first trimester of gestation, and merely 52 percent adult females give 3-4 visits to wellness Centre enemy ANC services during the entire gestation period. Merely 47 percent births are attended by wellness forces including physician, ANM, nurse, accoucheuse or lady wellness visitant. Merely 37 percent adult females receive post-natal attention within two yearss of bringing which is supposed to be a critical period. Use of these services is different in rural and urban country. Though coverage of ICDS is high in the state, merely 28percent kids receive the services provided through ICDS. Merely 44 per centum kids are to the full vaccinated while 5 per centum kids are non given any inoculation. Percentage of kids which are taken to healthcare Centre for the Acute Respiratory Infections ( ARI ) , fever and diarrhea scopes from 60-69 in different provinces of the state. Most common ground for non utilizing public wellness installations is hapless quality of service, followed by non-availability of the health care installation nearby.12 The use of RCH services differs in different provinces of India. Nature and extent of the relationship between maternal instruction and use of MCH services differ between the North and South of India and that this difference is mostly determined by the north-south derived functions in the general socio-economic and cultural environment in which adult females live.1.4 Rationale of the study-The Maternal, baby and under-5 kids mortality rates have shown important diminution from the beginning of 2nd stage of RCH programme, which reflect the positive alteration in handiness and use of RCH services. But as compared to the MDG ends every bit good as NRHM ends for these indexs, there is farther demand to work on the betterment of use of these services. Kolhapur is the southernmost territory in Maharashtra province. It is divided in 12 talukas and five sub-divisions for administrative intents. The entire population of the territory is 35,23,165 out of which around 24,72,809 population resides in rural area.13 The organisation of RCH programme in Kolhapur territory consists of a District Hospital, two sub-district infirmaries, 18 rural infirmaries ( RH ) , 73 Primary wellness Centres ( PHCs ) and 413 sub-centres.14 Radhanagari sub-division of Kolhapur territory covers 4 rural infirmaries, 13 PHCs and 52 sub-centres. The use of RCH services in the wellness Centres based in Radhanagari sub-division is low, while there is overburden on the territory infirmary for these services. Therefore, on recommendations of Sub-divisional Office, Radhanagari and sing all the factors impacting the use of RCH services, the survey is planned to analyse the use form of RCH services, grounds for non-utilization of these services at different degrees i.e. RH and PHC and besides to propose the possible steps to better the use of services in the Radhanagari sub-division of Kolhapur territory, Maharashtra.1.5 Aims of the study-To find the use of RCH services in Radhanagari sub-division of Kolhapur territory. To happen out the grounds for utilization/non-utilization of these services.

Sunday, September 29, 2019

Developing Supply Chain to Deliver WOW Essay

Zappos.com is a privately held online retailer with an extensive product category mainly including apparel, footwear, handbags, and watches. Headquartered in Nevada, it primarily operates in the US with about 1,300 employees and revenues mounting to $635M in 2008. Thanks to its strength in offering an outstanding customer shopping experience and strong corporate cultures and values related to customer service, it was the largest online shoe retailer in 2008, with a positive growth outlook. However, in the face of possible economic downturn, its underlying insufficiencies in supply chain management and operations may pose a threat to the company’s long term profitability. Nevertheless, the opportunity of possible international expansion may well be exploited to improve sales and expand the business, but such decision still needs critical evaluation and feasibility assessment in whether Zappos can sustain its focus on outstanding customer service levels in such scenario. The online-retail industry in which Zappos operates is one in which the rivalry among existing competitors is high, as it is competing with both click-n-brick stores like Amazon, as well as traditional retail stores such as Footwear Inc which also have a strong focus on the shoe segment. However, the threat of new entrants is very low as a result of the high initial capitalization required for the start of business. There are a large number of buyers in the market. However, high price sensitivity and low switching cost strengthen the buyer`s position; continuing to attract such customers becomes one of the main challenges for Zappos during a likely scenario of economic downturn. Zappos will need to adopt strategies such as importing directly from foreign suppliers, committing to 5 day delivery through ground shipping as opposed to next-day air shipping, offering its own private label, and expanding its Powered by Zappos initiative. Company Value Chain: Problem Analysis External Analysis Porter’s 5 Forces The following is an evaluation of the external forces acting upon Zappos’ operations and their possible impact in the immediate and future performance of the company: Degree of Rivalry – HIGH: While Zappos is a pioneer player in the online retail segment, in practice it is not only competing with other online retailers, but with brick-and-mortar stores in the traditional retail sector which have substantial experience in the market. Many other players offer similar products to those carried by Zappos’. Bargaining Power of Buyers – MODERATE to HIGH: Given the many alternatives in the market, the switching cost for a customer to other retailers is very low. Consumers are becoming increasingly price-conscious, and with the small potential for differentiation in the non-fashion elite segment, the customer can easily find other similar product options, forcing retailers to offer lower pricing to remain competitive. Threat of New Entrants – MODERATE TO LOW: The barriers to entry in the industry are extremely high, based on the large capital investment required. However the online retail business is still on its growth stages, which may attract new players and investors looking to capture potential markets. Bargaining Power of Suppliers – LOW: Competition for both wholesaler / importer suppliers and direct manufacturers is intense and well established; therefore, the market itself drives the power of the many suppliers down. As discussed, there are many alternatives in the market such that no single supplier is dominant. Threat of Substitutes – LOW: There are no substitute products available for most of the products which Zappos may offer to the public, so such threat is unlikely. SWOT Analysis Strengths – Customer-Oriented Culture and Services – Zappos has strong company culture and values, which have a large influence on all aspects of the business, including the supply chain. Zappos is always looking for new ways to WOW every customer and always treat every employee like family. The employees consider Zappos a fun place to work. In addition, Zappos` commitment to customer service satisfaction is clearly demonstrated by their value propositions and represents their core differentiation strategy. These are free shipping, guaranteed 5 day delivery (WOWing the customer, where 49% of customers will receive their product within 2 days), a 365 day return policy and 24/7 customer service. Unique Products and Innovation – The core products that Zappos offers are designed to be distinctly different from the traditional shoes available in brick-and mortar stores. Zappos provides customizable product models and extensive product information to customers. For example, Zappos` site has a detailed discussion of gait that helps customers to determine which type of shoe is appropriate for them. Weaknesses – Presence Limited to Online Market – Although there are many online shoppers today and the number is still growing, Zappos is unable to reach the majority of retail shoppers by only having the online outlet channel. Relatively Low Profit Margin – The revenue of Zappos in 2008 is $635 million, but the company policy on product returns makes up 35% of gross sales. This is definitely crippling Zappos profits. High Dependency on UPS – Until 2008, Zappos has only one call center in Las Vegas and one distribution center in Shepherdsville, Kentucky. The distribution center is less than 30 minutes from the UPS hub in Louisville. This will make Zappos delivery highly dependent on UPS. Opportunities – Rapid Growth of Online Shopping – Online purchasing has grown consistently year after year; the opportunity lies in capturing new online customers and retaining them. Technology Innovation – In 2008, Zappos added more automation to its warehouse operations by installing a robotic system in which robots picked up shelves that contained the items to be picked, and brought the shelves to the workers. These new robots allow Zappos to ship a pair of shoes in as little as eight minutes. Technology advances will allow Zappos to increase the capacity and efficiency of its distribution centers, without having to build new centers. Build Strategic Alliances with Complementary Retailers – Zappos could build synergies with similar-size online retailers which offer complementary products in an effort to broaden its customer base and target audience. Threats – Economic Downturn – Customers will become more price-conscious in difficult economic times, which will ultimately drive Zappos strategy in order to remain competitive in such scenario. Competitive Rivalry – While Zappos is one of the pioneer players specialized in shoe-retailing, the trend is for established brick-and-mortar companies to start offering their products online, which may generate additional competitive pressures. Possible Security Breach for Online Retailer – Zappos must address possible security breaches to its servers. Problem Statement Based upon the previous analysis, Zappos faces two major problems which may be detrimental to the company’s long-term success. Our aim here is to synthesize them in order to formulate a series of recommendations that the company could implement to solve the mentioned problems. Problem 1: Supply Chain Management The first problem that the company faces within its organization is related to supply chain management. We have identified three different sub-issues within this topic in which Zappos has room for improvement: Imports from wholesalers as an intermediary between Zappos and the manufacturers – Due to the highly uncertain demand in the sector, having a wholesaler between Zappos and the brands that manufactures the product is a strategic problem for the company. When Zappos places an order, it is relying on the inventory that the wholesaler keeps in order to fulfill its need of supply. Furthermore, Zappos may find it difficult to secure its supply as the company grows, having no control over wholesaler import decisions. This is especially critical in a sector with unstable demand faced with global economic uncertainty. Zappos must devise supply chain-related strategies which provide the company with more flexibility in terms of profit margins in order to deal with more price-conscious customers in the future. Delivery to Zappos’ distribution centers from suppliers – The company faces a problem in relation to inefficiency of partially loaded trucks arriving to unload to Zappos’ inventory facilities. As the case highlights, significant numbers of partially loaded trucks (LTL) arrive to unload products generating unnecessary traffic in the distribution center, subsequently slowing down the unloading process. There’s a need for Zappos to address this issue, ultimately affecting its whole operation’s efficiency. Inventory Management – At this point, the company uses manual scanners to register incoming and outgoing stock from its distribution center. This may lead to inventory inaccuracies due to the high probability of human error to occur in the handling of the incoming and outgoing merchandise. It is of the utmost importance for Zappos to have accurate inventory information, not only in terms of its supply chain management, but also in maintaining customer service levels because of the potential of having inaccurate information on the website such that a customer may order a product which is actually out of stock. Problem 2: Growing the business Throughout the case it is been said that the company plans to expand. It is possible to grow the business in a national scale as well as internationally. The following issues need to be addressed by Zappos when evaluating company expansion: determining strategic locations for new facilities to store its inventory and achieve a good balance between supplier lead times and delivery times to the final customer. In addition, the company faces the decision of whether to continue having its distribution centralized in Kentucky. Moreover, Zappos needs to evaluate whether or not it is still feasible to use UPS ground shipping in the long-term. The company would also face a problem not only when trying to maintain its customer service levels and an efficient delivery, but also when trying to get new employees to share its corporate culture. Recommendations: Start Importing Directly from Foreign Manufacturers: Zappos should begin developing direct relationships with foreign manufacturers, especially with Chinese suppliers, starting by importing some products directly, instead of buying from North American wholesalers. This strategy has the following benefits: * Cost savings from purchasing the same products at lower prices, providing the company with more pricing flexibility at dealing with cost-conscious consumers in a difficult economy. * Distribution channel efficiency is increased by eliminating middlemen in the supply chain. In this sense, there is no need for products to be shipped from foreign suppliers to a wholesale distributor and from there to Zappos; Zappos can receive the product directly at their distribution center, reducing freight costs across the value chain as well as lead times. * A closer relationship with manufacturers might enable Zappos to obtain information regarding inventory levels, product availability, and or der status and timing. It is worth noting that even in cases where Zappos is still purchasing from a wholesaler (who in-turn imports from the manufacturer), the wholesaler can request the manufacturer to deliver directly to the Zappos distribution center, earning the lead time and cost benefits. Opt for Ground Shipping as Opposed to Next Day Air Shipping: Given the risk of failing to meet the next day delivery standards because of external factors, Zappos should only guarantee 5-day delivery. In this manner, the company will consistently overdeliver, with 99% of customers receiving their orders within 4 days. This strategy not only makes sense from a cost perspective, but it also goes hand-in-hand with Zappos’ culture of outstanding customer service. However, the option of next day air delivery should be made available to the customer for a premium rate. Sign a Contract with a Selected Trucking Company Specialized in Consolidation: In order to minimize LTL shipments to its distribution centers and mitigate the economic inefficiencies that LTL implies, Zappos should sign a contract with a major transportation and logistics company specialized in consolidation in order to handle Zappos order pick-ups from some of its remaining local suppliers, optimizing cargo capacity and delivering such products to the distribution center. This contract strategy would only be possible to implement in areas with high supplier concentration such as Southern California and Ontario. It is granted that such a strategy would require a long and difficult negotiation process between suppliers, the logistics company and Zappos; however, economies of scale benefits could be obtained from the large volumes to be handled and the cost savings distributed across the industry value chain. Search for Additional Partners and Expand â€Å"Powered by Zappos†: Powered by Zappos partners act as distributors of the products carried by Zappos. In this sense, finding new partners will generate additional revenues from both the fees of developing and running distributor websites and operations and from an expanded market base deriving from multiple websites offering Zappos products. Offer its own Zappos Private Label: Zappos could expand the business by offering its own private label; private labels offer the advantage of not purchasing from a third-party wholesaler which in itself is making a profit from the merchandise, allowing for more flexibility in terms of pricing and profit margins. Overall, by commercializing its own brand, Zappos can offer its private label merchandise at lower prices than the industry standards, while maintaining its profit margin. This strategy would be effective at dealing with price elastic customers in uncertain economic times. It must be noted that to achieve this, however, the company would need to develop internal design capabilities and source its private label through selected manufactures which meet their needs. In order to achieve the lowest supplier prices, supplier relationships would need to be developed through established contracts which may include exclusivity agreements. Based on the large volumes that Zappos handles through its established customer base, the strategy could also earn benefits from economies of scale and increased brand awareness. Do not Expand Internationally in the Short-Term: The huge capital investment required and the risk of affecting customer service levels makes international expansion undesirable in the short run. The company’s financial base must be strengthened further before pursuing such expansion, maintaining the focus on customer service that the company has been known for. Customer service is core to company values and culture and therefore cannot be compromised by any strategic decision. International expansion must be accompanied by the same training standards, staffing levels and passion for customer service at company call centers and order delivery must meet Zappos promise. This last factor could pose a special challenge, given that Zappos would be relying on couriers operating in different countries which may introduce a factor of uncertainty beyond Zappos control as to what levels of delivery performance can be met. Invest in an Automatic Scanning System for Inventory Control: In an environment where such accurate inventory information is required, the current manual scanning of goods entering and leaving the distribution center is inadequate. Errors in inventory control will inevitably have a negative effect on customer satisfaction in that the system may allow a customer to purchase a product that is in fact out of stock. A system which automatically scans incoming and exiting products (magnetic doorways or similar) guarantees inventory accuracy and goes hand-in hand with the core values of the company, making it a worthwhile and even necessary investment. Limitations * The capacity of the existing distribution center in Kentucky is unknown; therefore we are assuming that the current infrastructure will be enough to sustain the operations of the company to meet an increasing demand and market share in the short-term. * Suppliers which have their own fleet might be reluctant to agree to let Zappos do order pick-ups and deliver their products; however, our recommendation assumes that the suppliers are flexible in this sense. * A break-up of the company`s operational costs would be required in order to make better-informed strategy recommendations. The performed analysis is based on purely qualitative information. ——————————————– [ 1 ]. MGSC 602 Strategic Management of Operations Coursepack, Zappos.com: Developing a supply chain to deliver WOW, Stanford Graduate School of Business, Case GS-65, 02/13/09, page 276 [ 2 ]. MGSC 602 Strategic Management of Operations Coursepack, Zappos.com: Developing a supply chain to deliver WOW, Stanford Graduate School of Business, Case GS-65, 02/13/09, page 296 [ 3 ]. MGSC 602 Strategic Management of Operations Coursepack, Zappos.com: Developing a supply chain to deliver WOW, Stanford Graduate School of Business, Case GS-65, 02/13/09, page 273 [ 4 ]. MGSC 602 Strategic Management of Operations Coursepack, Zappos.com: Developing a supply chain to deliver WOW, Stanford Graduate School of Business, Case GS-65, 02/13/09, page 280 [ 5 ]. MGSC 602 Strategic Management of Operations Coursepack, Zappos.com: Developing a supply chain to deliver WOW, Stanford Graduate School of Business, Case GS-65, 02/13/09, page 276

Saturday, September 28, 2019

Responsible Social Networking on Campus

Responsible Social Networking Campus gossip websites were ideally intended to be used as a way to communicate with students and engage with peers in useful ways. I feel that campus gossip websites are being used unethically. Currently, Campus gossip websites are just now being utilized to start rumors and anonymously publicly bash fellow students without ramifications from school and related officials. In turn, the students have gone to new extremes with malicious comments towards fellow peers and in some cases, causing physical and emotional damage with no clarity on who all should be held liable.A waste of time and energy is spent by students anonymously involving themselves in these gossip websites who knowingly hold such power to destroy a fellow peer and yet people still use them in all the wrong ways. It is completely unethical to post a rumor about another individual on a campus gossip website. There are standards that every person should hold themselves to and in return be ab le to treat one another as you would like to be treated. College should not be a place where students are more concerned about social statuses and stressed about being publicly humiliated by peers because of one person’s post on a campus gossip website.Cruel, hurtful comments tend to follow, making campus life for the targeted individual agonizing. Ethical conduct should be carried out day to day, through out every aspect, even when socially it can be easy to stray if you are constantly subjected or surrounded around peers who chose not to. It still gives no excuse to contribute to gossips websites. It’s simple, know right from wrong and conduct yourself in that manner, posting rumors on gossip websites results in nothing but unethical. If I were to read about myself in a posting on a gossip site of course, I would first feel the need to defend myself.Depending on the severity of the information that was posted, I know my first thought would be who did this and what th is person’s intent behind doing so. The thought of having someone have such a negative opinion about you is very depressing. Everyone always wants nothing but positive things to be said when your name is mentioned. My train of thought would be to fight back, say something in response to let this person and everyone else know that what’s being said is nothing but someone’s personal attack for some unknown reason to publicly degrade me.My actions, on the other hand, would not reflect any of that. I have been in situations where I have read some harsh critics opinions and peers personal thoughts of what they thought of me and/or current status socially and acted on my first defensive thought strategy. The result never ended where my first intentions wanted to. Looking back after taking the time to calm down, reading both of our comments, I realized that I made myself look just as unethical as the person posting about me. I was getting drawn in, feeling like I had t o respond back by using personal attacks to feel justified.Not responding and by not contributing in any form is what needed to be done. Of course, my feelings would be dishearten but overall I would know what I did was right by not having to be unethical as a form to feeling justified to prove them wrong. As of right now, schools administrators and even federal law cannot fully regulate or hold certain parties responsible who are at fault for these campus gossip websites. Ethically, of course this is not right. We are taught as children, that there are consequences for our bad choices.There are laws that we are to follow and if we do not, you will be held accountable and punished. So how is it that so many people have been hurt and suffered some mental distress and in some cases unfortunately, physical harm and damage? As discussed in* a case raised question whether colleges should be obligated to intervene when one of their students are targeted on a gossip website. A very concern ed mother addressed an issue with the Dean at the University where her daughter attended because some explicit names where posted on a campus gossip website under her name.After the Mother was told nothing could be done by the University to block or remove the comments, she then decided to file a complaint with the U. S Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights stating the University was required to take action under Title IX, Federal Gender-Equity Law arguing that it interfered with her daughter’s ability to learn. After they reviewed the case, they ruled that because the comments were posted anonymously and not able to be proved students, and because the Mother did not identify her daughter by name to the University so they could properly investigate further, nothing was done.Certain steps needed to be followed like the daughter reporting the conduct to the campus police. Her representation stated it was not all a loss. The Department’s willingness to consider the complaint means that gossip websites fall under Title IX guidelines meaning in turn, more questions would have to be answered and hopefully, long term, Law and Regulations can be better stated and put into place. * Something needs to be done to hold certain parties responsible. So it is unethical that nothing is being done to stop this ongoing issue that has hindered many students.Sadly enough, cyber bullying and gossip websites has become severe enough to be lead to rape, murder and suicides. As talked about in*(http://topics. nytimes. com/top/reference/timestopics/people/c/tyler_clementi/index. html) a Rutgers University freshman Tyler Clementi committed suicide after his roommate decided to live stream his intimate encounter broadcasting on twitter encouraging to watch and revealing to everyone that he was gay. He then was ridiculed as he turned into the dorm’s gossip.Tyler, a very quiet, reserved young man never spoke of his sexual orientation so you can imag ine the extreme distress and humiliation that followed and unfortunately, 3 days later he decided to jump off the George Washington Bridge into the Hudson River in an apparent suicide. There were 2 people charged in this case and in my own personal opinion, lightly and not even in relation to the suicide but more along the lines invasion of privacy. The case questioned Hate crime due to the sexual orientation and his roommate exploiting Tyler, prosecutors stating that his roommate was homophobic.There are many more cases like this maybe some not as extreme but how is it that people are getting no ramifications, no punishment what so ever for their mean attempt to harass, mortify and viciously attack peers leading to crimes in due result of anonymously posting on a gossip website. In this case Tyler’s was documented and more publicly noted by his roommate making charges easier but still not enough in regards to cyber bullying and being held accountable and who all should be pu nished.Responsibility to crimes in due result of a posting on a gossip website first and foremost the person responsible doing the act needs to be held accountable, the victims school if proper steps were not taken by the victim to notify proper officials to try to prevent the crime, and the website host should also be held accountable for letting people post such things that could in turn, lead to something as severe as a crime as a result of. Postings should be monitored and everyone should be under certain guidelines for this reason of crimes taking place.As Technology advances, we have to be constantly changing, learning and adapting to be able to communicate anywhere we go. To be able to attend College, it is almost impossible to be able to be successful without a computer, cell phone and internet. Having such access to information, constantly online talking with peers and other social outlets has become the majority of communication. In today’s culture, people spend mor e time on a computer than anything else and as technology advances, everyone feels urged to keep up with it due to its improvements to make day to day tasks as simple as possible, instant gratification to any task at hand.This influences our culture in many ways but in the case of how it affects the overall scheme of campus gossip websites, you can only imagine how easy it is to access this information and how easy it is instantly post. I think technology advances are meant for much more then to able to get on Facebook and post what you had for lunch but having such easy access to this gives campus peers way to gossip more freely. Word of mouth takes much longer as to posting online where you know it’s going to be seen in a matter of seconds. In conclusion, campus gossip websites are unethical.Posting rumors, spreading lies regardless of your personal opinion about someone, in no way shape or form, is going to accomplish anything positive for either person involved. Having to find any information about yourself is upsetting enough but to have to deal with it on a daily basis where more concern should be about education, not about being ridiculed or embarrassed by what someone post stated. Standards and laws need to be put in place to better protect students from being put in the situation where cyber bullying and posting anonymously goes unpunished by holding schools, the posting party and web host.

Friday, September 27, 2019

Genetically Modified Foods Pros and Cons Research Paper

Genetically Modified Foods Pros and Cons - Research Paper Example A proposed benefit of GMO foods is that they may produce higher crop yields. This could help in feeding more people in the developing countries. They remain cited as more economical, in spite of the initial higher price of the seeds. The logic stands that they reduce the application of pesticides and herbicides besides reducing the manpower required to successfully growing them, which should translate into better financial gains. Genetically modified foods have improved food quality as another benefit. A tomato, for example, may be engineered to have a long shelf life in the market being still fresh (Weasel 91). Yet another advantage that stays believed to happen from GMO technology is that crops may be engineered to resist weather extremes and fluctuations. This implies that they can provide adequate yields and quality despite poor weather conditions. Another benefit is that GMO foods may be engineered to possess a high content of specific nutrients that lack in diets of specific local population crowd. The vitamin A. rich, GMO â€Å"golden rice† exist as an example of a GMO food that got engineered to have high nutrient levels (Weasel 95). Similar to the advantages of GMO foods, there also exist disadvantages of that come along with the technology. One worrisome issue in GMO foods is the aptitude of food to cause an allergy in the human body. Some of the genes employed in GMO technology might be from food that triggers allergies in some individuals. Inserting that gene into a different organism could cause the hosting organism to take that allergen as a characteristic. Alternately, a new allergen may be produced when genes mixes across different species (Weasel 98). Another potential downside to GMO technology is that other relevant organisms in the ecosystem may be harmed, which could lead to a lower biodiversity level. By

Thursday, September 26, 2019

Frank Lloyd Wright Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Frank Lloyd Wright - Essay Example Due to these reasons, he frequented headlines of leading dailies. He had three marriages to his credit – with Catherine Lee Tobin in the year 1889, with Miriam Noel in 1922 and lastly with Olga Milanov Hinzenberg in 1928. Frank Lloyd Wright had Welsh descent and his birth took place couple of years after the American Civil War ended. One can easily see that his upbringing owes a lot to the Unitarian and transcendental ideologies. Since childhood, he showed a lot of interest in building blocks that the young ones played with at the kindergarten. These educational blocks were given to him by his mother. These blocks consisted of geometrical shapes and thus from the early days Frank Lloyd Wright was very clear about the geometrical sense and the same is even visible in his work. A number of his architectural works manifest the geometrical clarity which is so very important to have on the part of engineers and architects. His formal education began in the year 1885 when he enrolled at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School for Engineering. He was an apprentice for a local builder known as Allan Darst Conover which really helped his engineering skills endlessly. Soon he left the university without hav ing the degree under his belt and came over to Chicago where he joined an architectural firm called Joseph Lyman Silsbee. After that he started to work for Adler & Sullivan within a period of 12 months. He did a lot of residential design work for this firm and an unfortunate event happened when the firm came to know that Frank Lloyd Wright was accepting individual clients. This forced Frank Lloyd Wright to establish his own practice and started his work from home in Chicago. During his life long work endeavors, he completed round about fifty projects which included a number of different houses in his native land. In order to gain an economic

Starbucks Marketing Plan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Starbucks Marketing Plan - Essay Example Question 2 The main components of Starbucks marketing mix include segmentation, targeting and positioning. Using these three, strategic decisions will be made that will target the much needed potential and current customers. These strategies should be able to provide both product and customer service that will be unique from competitors (Lamb, Charles, Joseph and Carl, 267). Question 3 Factors include; Strategic marketing plan, suitable positioning of the business environment, variety and professionally exceptional service (Lamb, Charles, Joseph and Carl, 268). Question 4 The main factors are competition, unstable and changing economy, which materially influences pricing; a hugely significant factor (Lamb, Charles, Joseph and Carl, 268). Question 5 Benefits include customer satisfaction, which leads to royalty. It is more environmental friendly, and in terms of the economic returns, profits are more than losses. Some of the costs incurred include manufacturing, packing, branding and delivery (Lamb, Charles, Joseph and Carl, 269). Question 6 In business, successful selling and buying in order to attain the required profits does not necessarily mean that an industry should have more branches. Starbucks decision to close some of the stores and open up few ones is a decision that will bring about more concentration. The fewer the branches, the more the controlling power and thus the more the profits. With this, managing is much more comfortable (Lamb, Charles, Joseph and Carl, 270).

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

John Rawls' Theory of Justice Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

John Rawls' Theory of Justice - Essay Example This social contract is the basis in which people can live in harmony and is necessary because humans are social animals and the absence of any social contract will tend to destroy any society as there will be deviants in it. A theory of justice as propounded and conceptualized by John Rawls depends on two things: the original position which is highly hypothetical in that the principles of justice are selected and implemented from his so-called â€Å"veil of ignorance† in which people lack any ulterior aim or motive and therefore presumed to act in the best interests of everybody in that society. In his theory, the original position assumes everyone starts out being equal initially and gradually in turn seeks out the best possible solutions in which possible gains are maximized and possible losses are minimized (the maximin principle) in a heuristics fashion (a trial and error method). Everyone works for the betterment of everyone and disregards any probable gains for oneself (without hidden agendas or ulterior motives whatsoever). The veil of ignorance presumes a lot in a world in which men are naturally greedy and works against the principle of basic instinct in which the rule of self-preservation often prevails. I would dare say it is not a workable idea at all since it assumes complete innocence and conflates all people into one (Freyenhagen

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

Gender Discrimination in the Job Market in South Korea Term Paper

Gender Discrimination in the Job Market in South Korea - Term Paper Example Women in all countries around the world report that they are paid lower salaries than their male counterparts are. According to the International Labor Organization ILO report, women earn about 20-30 percent less than what their male counterparts earn globally (Monk-Turner and Turner, 2003). Surprisingly, a survey conducted by ILO found that South Korean women as being the worst discriminated in the labor market. The ILO researchers found that Korean men have continued to enjoy a higher economic return than their female counterparts do. For instance, a survey conducted in 1988 by the ILO found that whereas Korean men earned an average salary of 2101 won, their female counterparts only earned an average wage of 1009 won. This indicates a huge wage gap compared to the average wage gap recorded I n other countries around the world. This wage gap implied that for every 48 won that a Koreans woman earned, their male counterparts earned 100 won. This translates to 48 percent wage gap. The ILO report also indicted that, early on in 1980, for every dollar that a Korean man earned, women early only 45 cents (Monk-Turner and Turner, 1994). This was the worst ever wage gap recorded in this time in the entire world. Despite the affirmative action and labor policies that have been enacted in South Korea, the labor wage gap between South Korean men and women and women have remained relatively higher that the global average. Factors Responsible For Gender Wage Gap in South Korean Labor Market Many people fail to understand why the gender wage gap has persisted in the Korean labor market despite the increased affirmative action going on in the country. However, a number of theories exist that may help in understanding the persistence of gender wage gap in the South Korean... Currently, Korea boasts to being the home of some of the leading electronic companies in the world. Some of the leading South Korean companies include Samsung and LG. Despite the achievements that the country has made in the past few years, gender discrimination remains one of the biggest challenges facing its labor market. Monk-Turner and Turner (2003) indicated that most companies in the country discriminate against the female gender. South Korean women face different kinds of discrimination in the labor market. This includes unemployment, low salary, promotion problems, and lack of consideration for managerial position. Gender discrimination in employment remains one of the major challenges that most women face in the present day society. Even though most countries have made significant achievement in empowering women to participate in the country’s development by attaining better education and getting good jobs, women are still discriminated against in employment in many countries the world over. This is particularly so in South Korea where most employers still see women as being inferior to their male counterparts. However, it is high time South Korean employers start according women equal treatment by giving them an equal opportunity as their male counterparts. This is because women too are productive just as men. In addition, the South Korean government needs to promote the involvement of women in employment without bias. The involvement of women in employment will certainly help boost the South Korean economy.

Monday, September 23, 2019

Major depression with poly-substance abuse Assignment

Major depression with poly-substance abuse - Assignment Example He had emotional problems and would cry even for silly reasons according to his wife. He had no job, despite being a graduate. The last job he did was an year ago after which he did not try for any new employment. For the past one week, James ate very little food, was restless most of the times, had easy fatigability and complained of tiredness several times. He was brought to the hospital in view of deteriorating health status. On examination, James appeared dehydrated and confused. He appeared unhygienic, dirty and unattended. he had poor oral hygiene. Pulse rate was 100 per minute, respiratory rate was 20 per minute, blood pressure was 130/90mmHg. He was afebrile. He had pallor and icterus. Systemic examination revealed tenderness in the right hypochondriac region. James was admitted to the psychiatric ward and investigations were sent. Complete blood picture revealed mild iron deficiency anemia, liver function tests were suggestive of acute hepatitis, urine analysis was suggestive of marijuana abuse. Ultrasound abdomen revealed acute fatty liver. James has Major Depressive Disorder or MDD. The condition is a common mental illness that falls into the category of mood disorders. According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) IV, 2000, diagnosis of MDD is made as in table-1. Depressed mood, irritability, low self esteem, feelings of hopelessness, worthlessness, and guilt, decreased ability to concentrate and think, decreased or increased appetite, weight loss or weight gain, insomnia or hypersomnia, low energy, fatigue, or increased agitation, decreased interest in pleasurable stimuli (e.g., sex, food, social interactions) and recurrent thoughts of death and suicide The importance of MDD lies in the fact that it causes considerable impairment in social functioning, role functioning, employment and physical health of the afflicted person (Wells et al, 1989). Experts are of the opinion that depression is actually a

Sunday, September 22, 2019

Heat and Dust Essay Example for Free

Heat and Dust Essay The era of the Victorian women spanned 64 years and concluded several changes in attitudes. The common thinking about women in the Victorian era was that a woman? s position was limited to domestic work and the care for her children. The stereotype of the distribution of roles was women staying by the hearth with their needles whilst men wielded their swords. Women had to bear a large family and to maintain a smooth family atmosphere whereby men did not need to bother himself about domestic matters. A gentlewoman ensured that the home was a place of comfort for her husband and family from the stresses of Industrial Britain. Victorian dresses show typical excessive style elements such as V-waists, layering of trims and bell sleeves. The Victorian head of household dressed his woman to show off family wealth. Additionally, there were great differences between members of society by the end of the Queen Victoria? s reign but the most instantly apparent difference was through the garments worn. Not only the dress code symbolized the status of a Victorian woman but also the circumstances she lived in. A wealthy wife was supposed to spend her time reading, sewing, receiving guests, going visiting, letter writing, seeing to the servants and dressing for the part as her husband’s social representative. In contrast, for the very poor of Britain society it was common to wear fifth hand clothes and to eat the pickings left over in a rich household. Whether married or single all Victorian women were expected to be weak and helpless so that they looked like â€Å"fragile delicate flowers incapable of making decisions†. Besides, if a woman took a lover it was not made public because if that became the case she would be cut by society. Instead, men could amble along to one of their gentlemen? s clubs and always find a â€Å"warm welcome†. Relationships in 1887 were quite artificial. A married woman could not own property and became a chattel of the man. A divorced woman had indeed no chance of acceptance in society again. At the end of Victorian times things changed and many women adopted the tailor made garment that showed their more serious concern to be recognized as thinking beings with much to offer society beyond being a social asset for a husband. New inventions such as sewing machine or railway and the capability to use those led to new thinking and women of all classes felt the dynamic atmosphere of change as much as men. Many women joined the Fabian Society, a group of non revolutionary thinking socialists and others sought reform for more practical dress, better education, the right to take up paid work and better employment prospects.

Saturday, September 21, 2019

Polynomial Matrix Decompositions

Polynomial Matrix Decompositions The interest and dramatic increase in demand for high-speed data transmission has exploded since the introduction of triple play multimedia services. One of the pioneering contributions is the increasingly higher data rates achievable through the use of multiple-input multiple output (MIMO) channels. A further increase in data rates is possible through a well-coordinated multiple channels. Precoding and equalization transmission blocks represent a typical coordinated strategy that enhance the channel capacity of a deterministic narrowband MIMO channel. This strategy can be derived by performing a singular value decomposition (SVD) of a channel matrix. These blocks allow a MIMO channel matrix to solve a host of special multicarrier problems using the orthogonal property of the system. It can also be exploited to approximate low-rank channel matrix by reducing the dimensionality of high-dimensional data sets. The technique referred to here as an orthogonal spatial multiplexing (OSM) method. OSM allows multiple users to use a given bandwidth simultaneously by dividing the available channel into multiple narrow orthogonal bands that are spectrally spaced. Each band is then divided into numerous subcarriers, which are structures so as not to interfere with one another. The transmit signal is then modulated onto these subcarriers. The technique exploits physical separation methods that permit the sharing of channel resources simultaneously.   Every users becomes spatially spaced far enough from each other to counteract interference.   In addition to spacing, dual polarizations are introduced to further avoid interference. When signalling over MIMO channels using an orthogonal spatial multiplexing, an SVD can be used to derive every sub-carrier/tone. In the traditional method, an increase in the number of tones also increase the complex computational load.   It is therefore the focus of this study to investigate an alternative means for obtaining an efficient decomposition. A MIMO channel can be modelled as a weighted sum of the past and present samples of transmit data. The channel considers a finite impulse response (FIR) filters that can be represented by a covariance matrix whose elements are polynomials. This study focuses on investigating algorithms that decompose the covariance matrix directly. Approximation factors can then be introduced to obtain the Precoding and equalization transmission blocks. Existing polynomial singular value decomposition algorithm is used and studied in the context of channel quality and computational complexity settings. The decomposition algorithms were shown to give decompositions of good channel quality, but if the goal is to obtain Precoding and equalization transmission blocks, the computational load is restricted with higher multidimensional channels. An algorithm for approximating direct decomposition of covariance matrices is investigated. Although we discuss simple cases resulted in excellent decompositions but analyse with numerical stability of a spectral factorization steps for large-case decompositions. For high frequency selective MIMO channels, the performance achieved by utilizing the polynomial SVD algorithm were compared to the channel capacity. It was shown that if the transmit sequences are approximated individually at the receiver, as done in the traditional approach, the performance more likely to be sensitive to errors in the decomposition. An equalizer with a spatially joint detector seems promising to achieve a better performance close to the single-user transmission. With such an equalizer, the low complexity property of the traditional approach is compromised with performance. Summarizing, this study has shown that a MIMO channel can be diagonalized in space and frequency using spatial multiplexing method in conjunction with a polynomial SVD algorithm. In order to reach better performance close to the achivable of a single-user, the computational load becomes restraining compared to the traditional approach, for channels with higher multidirectional channels.

Friday, September 20, 2019

John Locke :: Empiricists, Empiricism

John Locke's, An Essay Concerning Human Understanding (1690), was first criticized by the philosopher and theologian, John Norris of Bemerton, in his "Cursory Reflections upon a Book Call'd, An Essay Concerning Human Understanding," and appended to his Christian Blessedness or Discourses upon the Beatitudes (1690). Norris's criticisms of Locke prompted three replies, which were only posthumously published. Locke has been viewed, historically, as the winner of this debate; however, new evidence has emerged which suggests that Norris's argument against the foundation of knowledge in sense-perception that the Essay advocated was a valid and worthy critique, which Locke did, in fact, take rather seriously. Charlotte Johnston's "Locke's Examination of Malebranche and John Norris" (1958), has been widely accepted as conclusively showing that Locke's replies were not philosophical, but rather personal in origin; her essay, however, overlooks critical facts that undermin e her subjective analysis of Locke's stance in relation to Norris's criticisms of the Essay. This paper provides those facts, revealing the philosophical—not personal—impetus for Locke's replies. INTRODUCTION "Locke's Examination of Malebranche and John Norris" (1958), by Charlotte Johnston,1 connects John Locke's posthumously published treatise on the philosophy of Nicolas Malebranche to the replies he had written to an English philosopher and theologian, John Norris of Bemerton. When Locke first published An Essay Concerning Human Understanding (1690),2 Norris, aided by the philosophy of Malebranche, responded with the first critique of the Essay, entitled "Cursory Reflections upon a Book call'd, An Essay Concerning Human Understanding," and appended to Norris's Christian Blessedness or Discourses upon the Beatitudes (1690).3 Three texts: "JL to Mr. Norris" (1692), An Examination of P. Malebranche's Opinion of Seeing All Things in God (1693),4 and Some Remarks Upon Some of Mr. Norris's Books, wherein he asserts P. Malebranche's Opinion of our Seeing all Things in God (1693),5 according to Johnston, were all a direct response to Norris. Johnston's essay, which has been widely accepted, clearly shows the interrelatedness of the texts; however, her appraisal of them as a response to Norris, incorrectly devalues their philosophical seriousness by overestimating the importance of a personal quarrel between Norris and Locke. She concludes her essay with this summation: "the stimulus for these three papers came directly from Norris, from his criticisms of the newly published Essay, and still more from his personal relationship with Locke"; otherwise, "Locke's opposition to the theory of vision in God would surely have remained unexpressed, since he felt the notion to be sufficiently absurd to die of its own accord.

Thursday, September 19, 2019

Essay --

REVIEW OF DANIEL GOLDHAGEN’S ‘A MORAL RECKONING: THE ROLE OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH IN THE HOLOCAUST AND ITS UNFULLFILLED DUTY OF REPAIR’ This essay will review Daniel Goldhagen’s controversial moral inquiry, ‘A Moral Reckoning: The Role of the Catholic Church in the Holocaust and Its Unfulfilled Duty of Repair’, published in 2002. Goldhagen attended Harvard University as a graduate, undergraduate and assistant professor until he was denied tenure in 2003; this possibly indicates his limited status as an academic. Goldhagen notes that he is ‘indebted’ to his father, a Holocaust survivor, for some of his findings on the Holocaust. This personal connection to the Holocaust on the one hand allows Goldhagen to write more passionately. On the other hand, it obscures his ability to view evidence objectively, evident in this book under review. Goldhagen status rose to notoriety due to the controversial nature of his first book, ‘Hitler’s Willing Executioners’ published in 1996. This received much criticism and perhaps more importantly to Goldhagen, plenty of publicity. The contentious assertions of the book, whether academically valid or not, established the relative novice amongst historians. This is evident in the abundance of secondary literature that comments on Goldhagen’s work including that edited by F. Littell and F. Kautz. Goldhagen’s credentials as a controversial author explain the extremist content of his second book, ‘A Moral Reckoning’. Goldhagen’s academic background in political science is evident in the books emphasis on the church as a ‘political institution’ and the pope as a ‘political leader’ (p. 184). . This limits his work as a historian as he fails to fully examine the role of the individual. Goldhagen’s ... ...es are manipulated for his argument. Goldhagen’s controversial and stimulating study encourages research to continue and in 2013 Jewish leaders pressured Pope Francis to open the Vatican archives from 1939-1947. The opening of these archives will instigate more investigations in this field and until these archives are opened the historical record will not be clarified. The importance of these archives illustrates the interesting nature of historical literature. The study of history focuses predominantly around primary materials, however these materials do not provide a definitive depiction of the past. Historians analyze primary sources to deduce an interpretation of the past. The discrepancies between historian’s interpretations form historiographical debate. It would be interesting to examine the extent to which historians are perhaps just academic storytellers.

Wednesday, September 18, 2019

Alcohol and Drinking - America Must Lower the Drinking Age :: Argumentative Persuasive Topics

America Must Lower the Drinking Age In other countries around the world if you are under the age of 21 you can drink alcohol some countries don't even have an age limit, but in America you have to be 21 to buy alcohol. You can go to war and die for your country when you are 18, you can also vote, buy cigarettes, but you can't buy alcohol. One of the main causes of the drinking age being set to 21 was teenagers were getting into car accidents after getting drunk. I am not saying driving under the influence should be legal. What I am saying is there should be more government programs to educate and prevent people from driving intoxicated. More and more people under the age of 21 are experiencing alcohol. "A survey released by the Texas Commission on Alcohol and Drug Abuse (TCADA) found that by the time Texas teenagers are seniors in high school, more than 80% of the teens admit to having some experience with alcohol. The same study found that secondary students say it's easy to get beer, wine or liquor." (qtd. in Westbrook) Texas is a zero tolerance state for underage drinking it has some of the strictest penalties for underage drinking, and if 80% of the teenagers in Texas have had experiences with alcohol that tells me that the campaigns against underage drinking, and zero tolerance programs are not working. Teens are going to drink alcohol at one point of their lives. So instead of spending all this money to prevent teens from drinking maybe it should go toward programs, or educating these teens about alcohol so they can make a informed decision about drinking. There are programs now that educate people under the age of 21 about alcohol. These programs are being implemented in colleges around the country, and are about the choices of using alcohol. "At the University of Virginia they are taking a more of an old-fashioned approach to educating college students about alcohol use. They are using two, two-and-a-half hour courses in class rooms called "Choices". They are boasting high results from this program a total of 75 percent of participants said they planned to reduce how much they drink in the future, while 85 percent indicated they had spoken to a friend." (Altamirano). If these programs have high success rates, I think these programs should be put in high schools as well.

Tuesday, September 17, 2019

Cyber Forensics: Development of a Case Hypothesis Essay

Throughout time past, forensic science disciplines have helped solved numerous crime investigations and it has given impelling testimony in the area of court trials. In order to reduce the sagacity of siding or bias situation and avoidance in prosecuting innocent victims, it is important to analyse, validate and have proper presentation of digital evidence in the context of cyber forensics examinations. [1] (Noblett et al, 2000) in this essay we will discuss on various topics that describe, explain or illustrate on issues such as the processes that assist in the development of a case hypothesis and as well as alternative hypothesis. It will also cover the processes in which how validation check and test are conducted to determine the accuracy of the digital evidence. Furthermore, we will look into the deductive, inductive and abductive reasoning in the field of cyber forensics. Lastly, the essay will also cover on the processes that would improve the communication and presentation of case analysis to the solicitors and courts. INTRODUCTION Before the term cyber forensics was introduced in the late 1960s, most crimes are formally solved using traditional forensic science disciplines. Before the first PC computer was invented, crimes in those days were not as complicated as compared to today. In this introduction section, we will distinguish between what is forensic science and how it is different from cyber forensics. Forensic science depends on the capability of the research scientists to develop a case report based on the outcome of a scientific review. For instance , a DNA report analysis of a murder case can be undertaken without the prior knowledge of the victim’s name or exact situation of the crime.[2] (Chakraborty, R.1990) On the contrary, cyber forensics science’s main focus is driven on information discovered during the investigation. However the challenge lies in the search hunt of valid and admissible evidence in the media storage of a computer. The average storage capacity of a PC is approxima tely 300-500 Gigabytes; therefore it is tough to totally scan through every single file stored on a suspect’s computer system, let alone those computer networks. [3] [Casey, E. (2004] PROCESSES THAT ASSIST TO DEVELOP CASE HYPOTHESIS /ALTERNATE HYPOTHESIS Before  we develop a case hypothesis or alternate hypothesis, there are several procedures and guidelines that a forensic investigator must follow and do. Firstly, the investigators must construct a hypothesis of the occurrence which is based on the study of the evidence. On the other hand, the degree of rigidity of this hypothesis also relies upon the type of investigation. For instance, an Interpol police investigation would require the preparation of a detailed hypothesis with discreet and meticulous proper documentation to support specimens identified during the examination.[4] [Ó Ciardhuà ¡in, 2004]In the case of a police investigation , the hypothesis will be presented before a jury however the hypothesis drawn in a company will be handled by the management. Technically the hypothesis will be verified and an alternate hypothesis as well as supporting evidence will be presented before a jury. The investigators will need to affirm the legitimacy of their hypothesis and protect it against any critics or provocation. In the event if the challenge is successful, there will be a need to backtrack to the earlier stages to collect and search for more evidences so as to construct a better hypothesis. Talking to the experts AKA† Hot tubbing† is widely used for coexisting evidence. This process involves the court to put several expert witnesses on the stand together which will in turn saves much time and resources. Moreover, there are two main types of witnesses’ testimony at a trial, deposition or hearing. They are technical or scientific witness testimony and expert witness testimony. [5][Enfinger, 2006] As for technical or scientific witness, the investigator would need to present details of evidence that were discovered during the investigation. They would be asked to describe what was discovered and how it was acquired. During the compilation of the evidence , the investigator must ensure that the evidence collected must be legal and done appropriately with the permission of the owner and the suspect as well as a search warrant or hot pursuit. Also, it is essential that exculpatory and inculpatory evidence is presented. [6] [Cohen, 2006] On the other hand , the investigator would draft out the chains of events that have certain connections and linkage to form the chain of custody which is basically a documentation or paper trail displaying the seizure, control, transfer, analysis, custody and deposition of physical or digital. Apart from the chain of custody, there is another process known as the chain of Inference which is also referred as concatenate inferences.  These inferences between the weak and the strong ones build upon one another until they reduce the gap between the defendant and the conclusion to a manageable distance. The concatenate inferences process may be interpreted by fabricating a hypothetical scenario. The purpose of constructing a chain of inferences is to convince a fact finder that the desired conclusion is the most plausible sequence of events. On top of this, it is also vital to internalise the difference between evidence and inference before the development of a hypothesis or the reconstruction of the crime scene. With that comes the formation of crime scene timelines which is an efficient method to derive a conclusion. It is a graphical chart that illustrates the activity time line of crime scene sorted based on the sequence of events. These log entries displayed a unique chain of events that culminate in the incident which is a closer step towards proving a case. [8] [Stephenson, 2000] Another important process is testing, analysing and reporting. Testing is to ensure that all evidence both physical and electronic gathered must be verified and gone through quality check by scientific personnel to affirm the originality [without contamination] as well as how this proof of evidence would be of any aid to solve the crime. Analysis deals with what are the issues identify and intention of the crime act and for each issue how it can be addressed, documented, tested and verified. Lastly this analysis will be written down and documented as a report. [9] [Robert F. Winch and Donald T. Campbell, 1969]

Monday, September 16, 2019

Key learning point Essay

Power refers to the extent to which one can satisfy their target goals, needs or desires. Power can be used either to dominate or control the other, or can be used to work together with the other party involved. Whichever way power is used it gives one an edge over the other party in negotiations. Information provides an important source and a means of acquiring power. Reason for Selection: Informational power comes from a person’s ability to assemble data to support his positions, arguments, or desired outcomes. This resource provides an important tool in challenging the other party’s position, or undermine their arguments or propositions during negotiations. Application to a business or personal situation: A year ago, I was talking to a doctor who was new at one of the centers I am marketing my pharmaceutical products. The doctor openly rubbished my product saying he had absolutely no scope for it in his medical practice basing his argument on the position of a respected doctor in the area of medicine in which my product is applied. What this doctor did not know is that from my market survey on my product and competitor brands momentum in the market, the doctor he claimed was the top prescriber of my product in that town . I provided the evidence and within a month I received a call from my manager that the doctor had placed an LPO for my product. Action or steps taken to improve: I read widely and extensively on new trends in my area of work; undertake market survey on different issues; seek the opinion of experts; attend seminars and conferences on various topics; and in general try to keep an open mind, maintain my curiosity about life and watch informative programs. References Squidoo (2010). A goldmine of journal Writing Prompts. Retrieved on 30th July, 2010, from http://www. squidoo. com/journalwritingprompts

Sunday, September 15, 2019

Year One Ba-Hons Photography Image Analysis

Photographs are one of the media or instruments of visual representations. It is an embodiment of visual elements which appear as symbols and are linked together to convey several meanings. According to McLean (1973), they are pictures which have many characteristics and attributes in common with other images (quoted in Noth 1995: 461). They play an important role, along with film, in broadening the visual field for examination and analysis and in molding critical approaches to visual representation (Chaplin 1994: 80). This paper aims to present an image analysis of Nick Ut’s Trang Bang (1972). It will narrate a brief biography of the artist then it will reveal the photograph’s visual elements and their corresponding meanings. It will also identify the underlying symbols behind the image and demonstrate their impact on the society. Furthermore, it endeavors to express and to show the implication of photographs with regards to visual culture and visual literacy. Nick Ut (b. March 29, 1951- ) whose real name is Ut Cong Huynh is a Vietnamese photographer. His photography career begins when he has been introduced by his mother to the Associated Press office in Saigon; he is 14 years old then. The occurrence on the rainy day of the 8th of June, 1972, the epoch when the Americans and South Vietnamese invaded Cambodia, draws attention with his career when he shoots Kim Phuc—a nine year old girl—running and blaring naked in down Route 1 (Ut 2007); the photograph is entitled as T rang Bang. Trang Bang, a gelatin silver print, depicts the June 8, 1972 event when the children and their families run away and flee the village of Trang Bang down Route 1; their bodies are being burned and seared by napalm (Faas and Fulton n. d. ). The image encompasses five children that are running and screaming and behind them are militant troops, walking after the terrified kids. The focus of the picture is the naked little girl who is squealing. Figure 1 Children Fleeing an American Napalm Strike, Trang Bang, June 8, 1972 Her stretched arms bestow a line element in the image which illustrates balance and symmetry. The eyes of the spectator will usually fix on the dead center due to the strong and powerful expression of Kim Phuc, revealing an excruciating pain. Nevertheless, if the focus of the picture will be given to the screaming boy on the foreground whom is said to be Kim Phuc’s brother Phan Thanh Tam, technically speaking, Ut demonstrates the rule of thirds in his masterpiece due to his manipulation to the placement of the subject which is off the center; therefore the eyes of the spectator will definitely turn and fix with the other elements in the whole picture per se. He also displays a shallow depth of field in the photograph because only the subjects of interest or focus are enhanced—the shrieking and running children, the other element—the troops—is quite out of focus due to the blurry details of the figures. The black smoke on the background gives a strong contrast in the picture. The said photograph is a historical account that records and synthesizes the incident of June 1972. It analyzes and demonstrates the notion of horror and agony during wars which can be pulled out from the facial expressions of the children especially Phan Thanh Tam’s. He summarizes and encapsulates the terror, fear and affliction of the people during the Vietnam War (Pyle 2000). That image can imply a lot of things if it will be based to John Berger’s Way of Seeing theory (1972): it is seeing which establishes our place in the surrounding world; we explain that world with words, but words can never undo the fact that we are surrounded by it. The way we see things is affected by what we know or what we believe (Berger 1972: 7-8). With that, it can be hauled that whatever the interpretation or analysis of the spectators with the image, it will still be anchored on what he or she knows regarding the event that has transpired in Vietnam during the year 1972. The photograph is a representation of the reality that it portrays (Noth 1997: 46). However, Eco (1984) disagrees because according to him, a photograph can lie (quoted in Noth 1997: 461), by which Berger (1984) states that the result of the treatment and manipulation of the reality is that to a definite level, â€Å"the photographer creates the reality of the photograph (quoted in Noth: 461). Nevertheless, in the case of Nick Ut’s Trang Bang, it cannot be implied that the photographer has altered and manipulated the reality that he has documented during the occurrence in 1972 because the reproduction of the image, which have been placed in newspapers, magazines, etc. , creates a different perspective from the original photo that is taken by Ut. The reproduction delineates a cropped image of the original (Look at figure 1 and 2). Figure 2 Napalm Bomb Attack, Vietnam It shows that the original, which has been signed by Ut, encompasses other elements in the picture, for instance, the official member of the press who looks like fixing his camera, the lines on the background which probably signifies the napalm. The manipulated image appears more closely to the spectators and constructs a more focused representation of the event. Because of the reproductions, Ut cannot be blamed for the cropped photo because of the intervention of the press with regards to the dissemination of the image to narrate the historical event. It is definitely the press’ responsibility as to how they will broadcast and transmit the information with wide, visual consumers all over the world. According to Gillian Rose in her Visual Methodologies (2001), the novelty and advantage of photography branch out from its most evident potential: it is about rendering that particular moment in time (quoted Mirzoeff 1999: 67) by which Ut demonstrates in his Trang Bang. In accordance with what he said during an interview, â€Å"the girl was running with her arms out. She was crying, ‘nong qua! Nong qua! (Too hot! Too hot! ). She had torn off all her clothes. When I saw she was burned, I dropped my camera beside the road. I knew I had a good picture. I got her into our van and took her and the family to the Cu Chi hospital. † (quoted in Pyle 2000). Moreover, his magnum opus implies that photography makes achievable ways of seeing what is unimaginable then (Mirzoeff 1999: 68). It does illustrate that the language and expression of the photograph is to combine naturalism and realism. The artifact then evolves to be reality (quoted Molyneaux 1997: 80). Nick Ut’s Trang Bang may be manipulated or not, it still conveys a scheme of meanings and symbols. The implication of an image is created from an interaction of a myriad of schemes and codes. A photograph is not a realistic illustration of what is real in spite of its appearances. It is a material that has been produced in an elaborate manner and approach of production and has been dispensed, circulated and consumed by a set of social relations (Forrester 1996: 140). Burgin (1982) has argued then that a photograph presents itself as something that cannot be disagreed with in which he states as â€Å"an offer you cannot refuse† (quoted in Forrester 1996: 142). Trang Bang being an object of representation communicates with its spectator about the Vietnam War that happens in mid-1972. Nick Ut, as one of the war photographers, has to deal with the lack of viewing space for his work because he is confined and restricted to what he sees in the lens compared to other artists who can demonstrate an array of symbols and emotionally-driven and affecting scenes however, war photographers are offered with revolutionizing and altering the reality into an allegorical and symbolic masterpieces (Marien 2006: 46).

Saturday, September 14, 2019

Listening Piece Commentary, English Language and Literature Essay

My listening audience piece was inspired by the old man in Poe’s Tell Tale Heart, thought evil by the protagonist, but given no voice to express himself. My protagonist is an elderly character with a dark side, similar to Angela Carter’s in The Werewolf. To subtly reveal this hidden personality I adopted the style of Alan Bennett’s monologue Playing Sandwiches where he gradually builds suspicion of the speaker, ultimately revealing the horrible truth. I created a radio monologue told from the viewpoint of an elderly lady, intended to make the listeners think about the secrets that lie hidden behind closed doors in regular people’s lives, typical of the Gothic. The exposition of my piece introduces the lady as a kind soul: ‘I’m sorry; Miss Hawking doesn’t live here anymore’. I used apologetic politeness ‘I’m sorry’ to encourage listeners to like the character. The nonstandard auxiliary verb ‘was’ m akes her speech sound natural ‘Had herself a nice feller too; they was having a baby together’, as does the colloquial lexis ‘feller’. The visitor is a dramatic device to allow the lady to speak her thoughts. When she talks of romance, the protagonist’s language is more like a written story than spontaneous speech, ‘Then he held her that night, under the moon, with the stars all shinin’ from above.’ She uses discourse markers, lexis like a romance novel, and conventional romantic imagery of the moon and stars, suggesting that she has played it over and over in her head. Because this is a monologue, the visitor’s presence is only implied by the protagonist’s speech. Instead of stage directions my protagonist says everything needed to imply the action ‘No, no, you needn’t take your shoes off ‘. The repetition of the negative ‘No, no’ and the lack of back-channeling begin to reveal her unusual side, sounding a bit too firm with her requests while covering it with a polite tone. Cumulative word count: 317 From here I slowly reveal her darker side making listeners question her knowledge of the couple, and her mental health: ‘the milk’s been in there a little too long I’m afraid.’ To construct her mental breakdown in the line, ‘I, I, Sorry, I don’t know what’s come over me’ I used a false start to show her nervousness and fear, and the adjective ‘sorry’ to echo her opening line. Her identity is revealed when she changes from second to first person in mid-sentence ‘She loved you †¦ and you turned me into this’. I implied that she has been tracking him since he left in a series of photographs in a locked room personifying her feelings: ‘The room won’t forget’. Her change in register, ‘She was pretty, for a whore†¦ You Bastard’ with taboo lexis unnerves the audience because it subverts expectations of how an old lady should speak. Writing this piece has crystalised the difference between spoken and written language for me; in creating it I felt the need to say it out loud to ensure the voice accurately reflected the speech of an old lady. Overall I believe I did so effectively as the register change at the end is quite striking.

Friday, September 13, 2019

Critically analyze laws of comparative advantage Essay

Critically analyze laws of comparative advantage - Essay Example The theory of comparative advantage formulated by English economist David Ricardo in the early nineteenth century1. Ricardo encouraged each country to specialize in producing commodities for which it is best suited and then trade with other countries to obtain a wide variety of goods. The increased efficiency of production within each country makes greater worldwide consumption possible. This theory suggests that all nations have an interest in opposing restraints on trade. If less developed countries (LDCs) remain isolated and closed to foreign trade and investment, they lose opportunities to benefit from the technology, capital, and consumer goods offered by industrialized nations (Barry Clark, 1998). The theory of comparative advantage, of course, argues that unrestricted exchange between countries will increase the total amount of world output if each country tends to specialize in those goods that it can produce at a relatively lower cost compared to potential trading partners. Each country then will trade some of those lower-cost goods with other nations for goods that can be produced elsewhere more cheaply than at home. At the end of the day, with free trade among nations, all countries will find that their consumption possibilities lie outside their domestic production possibilities. The basic theory assumes that all the factors of production are... Further, it is assumed that perfect competition, and not monopoly production prevails and that all resources in each country are fully employed. The last is an especially important assumption, particularly for less-developed nations, since with less-than-fully employed resources, tariffs or other forms of protection (including subsidies) to block imports and to increase domestic employment could well be the preferred policy. With less-than-fully employed resources, the key allocative issue becomes an internal mobilization of domestic resources to their full use, rather than a reallocation among alternative uses. To be reasonably confident in applying the basic Ricardian analysis and its conclusions to any country or situation, it seems sensible, in practice, to inquire to what degree the assumptions of the theory conform to the reality of the economy under investigation. (James M. Cypher, James L. Dietz, 1998) While these are important considerations having to do with the validity of assumptions in practice, there are other concerns about a blanket endorsement of the comparative advantage argument and free trade recommendations for less-developed nations. Joan Robinson's comment on the real-time effect of following free trade and specialization, at least as far as Portugal was concerned in Ricardo's original example, remains provocative and presages our reformulation. (James M. Cypher, James L. Dietz, 1998) . . The imposition of free trade on Portugal killed off a promising textile industry and left her with a slow-growing export market for wine, while for England, exports of cotton cloth led to accumulation, mechanization and the whole

Thursday, September 12, 2019

Sustainable Tourism with Antalya Personal Statement

Sustainable Tourism with Antalya - Personal Statement Example The poor environmental management programmes that cause heavy damage to the natural resources are other set of issues that was brought to my focus following a review of literature and analyzing other articles on tourism. Further, a total refinement of the research took place after a discussion with my tutor who helped to stretch my imagination and comprehension. The basic approach suggested to me was to have a clear understanding about the term "sustainable development". I was asked to have a thorough analysis of book edited by Brundland that narrated what sustainable development should represent. This book, which turned out be the corner stone for all sustainable development practices across the globe, had given much needed impetus into the research process. This helped to identify the more specific aspect of the research like the impact on the socio-economic, cultural and ecological issues in the region of the study with respect to the tourism development. The reflective learning p rocess that I had with the tutor on the research process design was the important factor that contributed to the successful completion of the research activity. The research process undertaken has given a variety of learning experience besides the success that was achieved in the attaining the project objective. It varied from the realization of own capabilities, the approaches to improve my own information level, understanding the role of secondary sources for improving our conceptual understanding and equipping me to draw appropriate inferences and conclusion from any process. The research on Sustainable Development of Antalya had given me an opportunity to experience all aspect of cognitive - transformative learning and also learning from reflection (Moon, 6-7). The initial idea that I had from the intuition and imagination was the basis of the process. Though I was trying to design various courses of action in this manner, it was soon realized that that inadequate information levels caused severe problems on the design of the research structure. This was eliminated when I had discussion with the tutor and the reflection that I received from him changed the perception of the approach. It gave me more insight to the preparation of the initial road map for the entire process. Further, I soon realized that most of the interfaces that I would have made with the initial set of observation would have been more on my judgment rather than on real aspect of the fact. Similar set of experiences was also reported in the study related to the learning experience of medical students. It is reported that students who were more involved with the reflection based learning showed marked improvement in their learning skills (Andrew, 391-391, Yokawa, 44-49). Thus the reflective learning has helped me to understand the role of realty, values and action in the process of making judgments. The deep learning from discussion and experience from the other was another major learning experience that I had through this research. The importance of understanding the basis of any sustainable tourism initiatives was obtained from enquiry into reported literature on the theories proposed. Thus need for careful observation into the facts that are needed to supplement our observation and the importance

Wednesday, September 11, 2019

Reader response Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Reader response - Essay Example The report stresses on the fact that bad writing does not only mean not being able to write, rather more importantly it means not being able to convert an idea into fine words. In another article by (Fried), the importance of good writing is further stresses in the business world especially, where bad writing means a direct and instant loss in productivity and customer dissatisfaction. In the article, bad writing is sarcastically described as â€Å"stale, soggy rice cakes†, which are devoid of taste and nutrition. In an order to increase the number of customers, business people have got to rely on using writing skills that are persuasive and creative. (MBA Jargon Watch) may be considered a beneficial source in an order to build up on the type of vocabulary which is needed in the business world to create an attractive and good piece of writing that would be able to woo the customers. Many words introduced by (MBA Jargon Watch) may seem new to the business world writers and they may be ignorant of them as well, due to which bad writing comes on all geared up to spoil a company’s future. All three articles stress on the ultimate importance of good writing in the business world and appreciate the usage of creative writing

Tuesday, September 10, 2019

International security Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

International security - Research Paper Example Cyber attacks can be stated as anonymous and is launched from various sources across the globe. Impacts might be obvious and immediate, or subtle and dormant, eluding recognition for past many years. Cyber warfare results into high degree of damage ranging from personal systems to destruction of critical infrastructures. The growth of cyber threats is greatly affecting each and every individual. International security is closely knitted with the approach of cyber warfare. The vulnerability aspect is enhanced due to global dependence on technology. Increased connectivity has even facilitated security threats worldwide. Developing a comprehensive and effective national cyber security would help to counter such threats. Internet’s global expansion is considered to be the most powerful revolution in technological field. There are positive aspects related to internet growth which deals with rapid transmission of data. It can be stated that Internet has skyrocketed to 17 billion fro m 16 million. In modern world every business operations is based on advanced technology. Data transmission is a major aspect in business world but cyber warfare leads to exploitation of data. This study shall highlight different methods related to hacking procedure and its impact on various organizations. The research study would not only outline negative implications of cyber attacks but will also take into consideration different approaches that are used to prevent such attacks. A theoretical background encompassing concept of cyber warfare would reflect upon the motives behind such attacks and incorporation to growth journey of these crimes. Analytical opinions will also be included in this study in order to determine the impact caused on firms or countries due to such attacks and precautionary measures adopted to safeguard themselves from such attacks. The entire study will be based on secondary research since expert’s opinions are essential for this form of analytical st udy. The

Fortune 500 CEO of Boeing Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Fortune 500 CEO of Boeing - Term Paper Example As stated in the ‘executive biographies’, The honors and recognition he received include John W. Dixon Award (2011) from the Association of the U.S. Army, Turning Point Award (2012) from the U.S. Army War College Foundation, Semper Fidelis Award (2012) from the Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation, and National Management Association's Executive of the Year (2008). McNerney has been a big success as a strategic leader throughout his extensive career. The key aspect of his strategic leadership is the emphasis he gives to the growth of others. Unlike many other entrepreneurs, Jim gives more importance to his crew than the company’s strategy or product. He disclosed this strategy to Fortune's Geoffrey Colvin; â€Å"I start with people's growth because I believe that if the people who are running and participating in a company grow, then the company's growth will in many respects take care of itself† (Colvin). Another unique quality of this strategic leader is t hat he seldom fears change but enjoys it. Admittedly, in the current global market, the Boeing Company has numerous potential opportunities. ... This situation offers potential opportunities to the Boeing Company and its leader. The firm has a strong global network and it assists the company to spread its elements of risk. This strength also benefits McNerney to easily raise adequate resources whenever necessary. An efficient research and development department would be helpful for the organization to vie with its market rivals. Similarly, the Boeing Company and its leader face some potential challenges too. Firstly, the increasing price of titanium and aluminum is likely to threaten the market position of the organization. Referring to the law of demand, the demand for Boeing aircrafts may decline if their price increases. Hence, the company may struggle to maintain its market dominance. In addition, intense competition in the industry also affects the competitiveness of the firm. The growing competition can be a tough test for McNerney’s leadership and a major challenge to the company’s future. The company has been increasingly depending on the US government contracts. This over reliance might adversely affect the firm’s viability if the federal government terminated the contracts with the Boeing Company for some reasons. Finally, the US government has recently introduced some strict regulations on the purchase of military equipments. This change also may affect the business operations of the Boeing Company. Some major steps taken by McNerney at 3M include changes in research and development activities. Those steps gave specific focus to customer orientation. Since then the company has been focusing more on the growing Chinese market. Some changes, including strict financial control were termed

Monday, September 9, 2019

Online Consumer Behavior Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words

Online Consumer Behavior - Essay Example In the physical commercial world, the IT used for operations remains mostly in the background, invisible to the consumer. In e-commerce, however, the technology has been moved to the foreground and has become the store itself as a Web site. Such Web-based stores that use "networks and Internet technology for communications and transactions between various groups of stakeholders like businesses and consumers" have recently also been called Net-enabled organizations (NEOs). A key difference between online and offline consumer behavior is that the online consumer is generally more powerful, demanding, and utilitarian in her shopping expeditions. As a result, customer loyalty on the Web is low overall; although, as in the physical world, it is influenced by the availability of good, relevant content in an enjoyable context. Now that nearly all marketers have accepted that tapping a promotion's full potential requires strategically integrating the online and offline components, considering the differences between online and offline consumer behavior becomes important. Some professionals contend that these differences are enormous; a common refrain, for example, is that where consumer behavior offline is passive, the Web is all about engagement. But what those observers really are comparing is consumer behavior relative to advertising media; they're comparing how consumers interact with ads on television as compared with ads on the Internet. Where online and offline promotions are concerned, the differences are far less pronounced. In many cases, a Web site is really just a digitized retail store. Still, the simple insight that the exact same triggers motivate transactions both on- and offline has tended to become obscured amid the excitement accompanying the rise of online marketing. Promotions that focus on connecting the dots between in-store and online merchandising have, in fact, proved highly successful. Pepsi enjoyed runaway success with its E-Stuff promotion, which drove traffic from the store to the Web and back again. Simon Brand Ventures similarly fielded an online promotion that drove online shoppers to the company's malls, and mall shoppers to the Web. That's not to say that anyone who knows everything about offline promotions can consider himself armed and dangerous when it comes to online promotions. Some interesting, and sometimes surprising, trends and patterns have emerged with regard to online consumer behavior. One such interesting development concerns the profile of the online population: According to a recent newspaper report, the fastest-growing consumer segment on the Web is blue-collar workers---up 52% since spring 2001. A separate and somewhat contradictory report has it that seniors actually are the fastest-growing segment, even though 87% of people over age 65 don't yet have Web access. Meanwhile, a third survey found that online games, in particular, hold surprising appeal among older consumers. This survey discovered that 42% of frequent online garnets are over age 35, while just 30% are 18-to-35 years old. These groups have nowhere to go but up in terms of their online use; still, their growing ranks among the wired population point to as-yet uncharted opportunities for promotion marketers, and their online behavior bears watching. Plenty of opportunity remains among the younger set, to