Wednesday, December 25, 2019

Disadvantages Of Sex Education - 1734 Words

Sex education helps people gain the information, skills and motivation to make healthy decisions about sex and initially assists with determining their individual sexuality. Unfortunately, when most students are done with sex education classes, they do not have a clear understanding of contraception and safe sex practices and the benefits they allow for. Almost everything revolves around sex or doing drugs and the peer and media pressure that follows is unwavering. Although we have a handful of children who aspire to be more successful, an alarming number of teenagers are slowly falling by the wayside, engaging in indecent sexual activity. Teens nowadays are starting to become sexually active at such a young age. It angers one to know†¦show more content†¦Teen mothers have poor prenatal care since they fail to attend their prenatal appointments. They are at a higher risk of experiencing pregnancy complications and post-natal depression. In addition, they tend to give birth to premature babies and low weight babies. The United States has the highest rate of teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in the industrialized world. Each year, one out of three teenage girls becomes pregnant. Although teen pregnancy rates have dropped from 61.8 births per 1000 in 1991 to41.7 births per 1000 in 2003, pregnancy ra tes in the U.S still are declining at slower rates than those in other developed nations. These sobering statistics are the basis of an ongoing battle: the fight for abstinence-only versus comprehensive sex education. Although proponents of both types of sex education aim to reduce teenage pregnancy and STIs, their approaches vary greatly. Abstinence-only advocates believe that sex before marriage is immoral and harmful; they promote abstinence as the sole option to help young people avoid STIs and teen pregnancy, mentioning condoms and contraceptives only in terms of their failures rates. Abstinence advocates feel that â€Å"Americans are not suffering from lack of knowledge about sex but an absence of values. In contrast, Proponents of comprehensive sex education and abstinence-plus-education promote abstinence as a good method for avoidingShow MoreRelatedAdvantages And Disadvantages Of Single-Sex Education1374 Words   |  6 PagesEngland, there are as many as 726 mainstream single-sex secondary schools, 378 of them are state schools (DFES, 2007). As such, there are considerable debates about the single-sex education system whether it is the best way of learning or not. Co-education (co-ed) i s an educational system where boys and girls study in the same institution, which means no segregation on sex-basis. Throughout the history of education and until the 18th century, single-sex school (SSS) was the most common type of schoolRead MoreThe Best Kind of Sex Education708 Words   |  3 Pages There is much controversy over which form of sex education should be taught, comprehensive sex education, or abstinence-only sex education. The definition for comprehensive sex education is responsible and balanced sexuality education that seeks to assist young people in understanding a positive view of sexuality, provide them with information and skills about caring for their sexual health, and help them acquire skills to make decisions now and in the future. It is medically accurate and providesRead MoreMixed Schools1386 Words   |  6 Pagesï » ¿ This essay provides a discussion between the disadvantages and advantages of mixed schools. The first part of the essay begins with the disadvantages of mixed schools, about why some parents do not allow their children to attend mixed schools and even why some students themselves do not want to attend mixed schools. These are the educational, psychological and social disadvantages of mixed schools. The second part of this essay provides the benefits of attending mixed schools by looking at theRead MoreWhy are Mixed Schools a Better Option?672 Words   |  3 PagesSingle sex school is a major problem that we face in our modern world it has advantages and well as disadvantages. Why mixed schools is better than single one?. There are many reasons to prove that idea. This essay talks about why mixed schools is better than single one with evidences and supports. This essay supports the idea of why this is a negative impacts on the society. Some people saw that single one is better and th ey have their points of view and their opinions. They also saw it improvesRead MoreSingle Sex Schools : An Old Time Idea1730 Words   |  7 PagesJordan Jackson 04/18/17 Are Single-Sex Schools really the way to go? ENGL- 10300 Single Sex Schools VS. Coed The issue that is being discussed is whether or not it is more beneficial for high school students to go to single-sex schools or coed schools. In her essay â€Å" Single-Sex Schools: An Old Time Idea Whose Time Has Come,† Diane Urbina Argues that it would be more beneficial if we had single-sex schools. The myth is debunked is that boys and girls are restricted by nature in relation to whatRead MoreEducation: Gender and Single-sex School Works1256 Words   |  6 PagesSingle-Sex Schools A time comes in every young teen s life when he or she must decide where to attend high school. As they examine which high school they want to go to, one of the factors they may come across is whether to go to a single-sex school or a co-educational school. While co-ed schools allow students to develop socially, single-sex schools have the advantage in academic success. Single-sex schools provide a conducive learning environment for students, allow teachers to teach accordingRead MoreSingle Sex And Co Educated Schools887 Words   |  4 PagesThe debate on utilizing single sex or co-educated schools has been around for far too long. However, this controversy will come to an end today. No one should look and depend on the bright side only, because single sex schools are not exactly what everyone expects. Do people really expect for a child’s grades to improve at an instant? Psychological problems will begin to increase if students do not interact with the opposite sex. Students will lack the advantages of the co-educational elementaryRead MoreAre Single Sex Schools Better Than Co Ed?770 Words   |  4 PagesSame Sex or Coed Learning Are single-sex schools better than co-ed? We must first ask ourselves what is the main purpose of educating our youth. If the answer is to simply just teach our youth the basics like Mathematics, English, Social Studies, and Sciences then the answer would be yes. However, it is paramount that we also educate our youth in these topics while also preparing them to social interact and solve issues with all races and sexes. A single sex school or classes would greatly limitRead Moreunit 202 outcome 1.1772 Words   |  4 Pageslevel 2 stls Unit 204 outcome 1.1 The equality act 2010 provides a modern single legal framework with clear laws to be more effective in tackling discrimination and disadvantages. It covers the following areas- †¢ Age †¢ Disability †¢ Gender reassignment †¢ Marriage and Civil partnership †¢ Race †¢ Religion or belief †¢ Sex †¢ Sexual orientation We also have our own policies in school to cover equality. There is- †¢ S.E.N. †¢ Racial Equality †¢ Equal opportunities †¢ These explain whatRead MoreCo Education624 Words   |  3 Pagesand Disadvantages of Co – education Co – education exists when boys and girls learn together in one school. It first existed in Greece because of the belief of Plato, a Greek philosopher, that co – education helps in the development of the personality of both men and women when they are put together in the same school or class. It is prevalent in many countries because of its advantages, but for some, they do not want it because of its negative effects. In most countries, co – education is implemented

Tuesday, December 17, 2019

The Vietnam War and Iraq - 1029 Words

During the Vietnam War, between 1955 and 1984, fifty-eight thousand Americans lost their lives, as well as over three-million Vietnamese lost theirs. The financial cost to the United States comes to over one hundred-fifty-billion dollars. The causes of the Vietnam War were derived from the symptoms, components and consequences of the Cold War. The Vietnam War revolved around America’s belief that communism was a threat to expand all over South East Asia. With this being said the Vietnam War was both a nationalist and communist movement, unsuccessful in America’s regards, comparable to the war in Iraq, a poor man’s war, led to the downfall of Lyndon B. Johnson, and overall stood as an unpopular war. Let’s take a look at what damage the†¦show more content†¦Kennedy in November 1963. When Vice President Johnson assumed the presidency, he inherited the rising crisis in Vietnam. Despite the promises to bring a smooth end to the American involvement in Indochina, Johnson steadily increased the number of U.S. troops placed in Vietnam, hoping to ensure a U.S. victory before withdrawing forces. No American president had yet lost a war, and Johnson hoped he wouldnt be the first. According to the website known as, Shmoop, â€Å"By the end of his second term as president, his approval rates had plummeted and his hopes for bringing an end to the war in Vietnam had dissolved. On 31 March 1968, at the height of the Vietnam War, Johnson announced to the American people that he would not seek reelection.† The Vietnam War destroyed President Lyndon B. Johnson’s ratings one-hundred and ten percent. The Vietnam War was not talked about by merely any souls out in the vast Universe. It was unpopular most of the years it had been being fought, but the opposition to it grew in 1968. The Viet Cong launched a massive offensive on key cities and military centers; and U.S. troop levels amplified and so did the injuries and deaths. This war had a no-win situation, meaning that many people believed that our involvement in Vietnam was not accomplishing anything as enormous numbers of our troops were dying. There were disturbing and horrific photographs, as well as videos, that were sent back to the U.S. which showed the civilian population howShow MoreRelatedThe Vietnam War And Iraq Wars1214 Words   |  5 PagesFinal Exam Paper The Vietnam War and Iraq wars have many more similarities then the common American would think. Both were fighting gorillas in a foreign land in a way that the soldiers were never trained or prepared for, against a foe that despise America as a whole. However I believe the biggest difference is the American publics view and attitude toward each of the two wars. As well as the attitude of the soldiers in each of the wars in 2001 after the September 11 attacks we had people like PatRead MoreWorld War II, Vietnam And The Iraq War1931 Words   |  8 Pagesgeo-politically vital regions, and humanitarian crises. A world of disparate actors – not all nation states – now exists. Unpredictable events will continue to cause strategic surprise. The widespread effects of past conflicts such as World War II, Vietnam and the Iraq war are still being felt and have created significant strategic repercussions. The failures of these conflicts are the result of our military and politica l leaders’ failure to quickly adapt to wartime conditions. This occurs because of aRead MoreMedia Coverage in the Vietnam War and the War on Iraq2062 Words   |  9 Pagesrole in covering the war in the most objective, bias-free and truthful manner, even if negative stories have to be reported. In this essay, the comparison of media coverage between the Vietnam War and Gulf War II has four areas to cover, which are the freedom of correspondents, embedding, the reliability and quality of the coverage. The media also plays the role of a watchdog in observing the government closely and reporting their actions. With the U.S. in Vietnam, the American peopleRead MoreEssay Similarities Between the War in Iraq and the Vietnam War831 Words   |  4 PagesSimilarities Between the War in Iraq and the Vietnam War   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  As time passes, every society endures situations which stress its very fabric. Each societies history is sprinkled with these situations. One such situation which the United States underwent was the Vietnam war. For years this particular event has been hotly debated. Hardly anyone who was present at the time agrees on any point concerning this war, except that they regret it. It has become the greatest American foreign policy calamityRead MoreA Compare and Contrast Analysis of Experiences in the Iraq and Vietnam Wars832 Words   |  4 Pages COMPARE AND CONTRAST EXPERIENCES OF IRAQ VIETNAM: Thousands were killed, and many more were wounded in the Vietnam war, a war that many are to this day still living with the consequences. The Things They Carried, written by William Timothy OBrien. The story takes place in Vietnam, during the war, sometime in the 1960s. First Lieutenant Jimmy Cross, and his unit are in Vietnam serving for the United States. Jimmy, is in love with a college woman named Martha from back home. Martha writes JimmyRead MoreAmerican Wars Abroad1567 Words   |  7 PagesDuring the Cold War the United States was involved in numerous conflicts overseas. As the Cold War progressed there were occasions where the US extended its participation beyond what was necessary by not acting in a quick and decisive manner. When dealing with crisis or conflict, America must not prolong foreign involvement. The Vietnam War and the Arms Race between the U.S. and the Soviet Union are two instances where America prolonged involvement past what was necessary. Certain aspects of bothRead MoreWars Throughout Our History and Our World Essay1377 Words   |  6 Pages There have been ongoing wars throughout history. They all have the prevailing theme, which is, this just and unjust war, or is it just revenge? Although what is the technical legal term for a war? A war is defined as, ... an actual, intentional and widespread armed conflict between political communities†¦,† (Just War Theory). Along with the statement of the definition of war, the Just War Theory also includes theories such as Jus ad bellum, Jus in Bello, and Jus post bellum. All of theseRead MoreDomestic Political State Of The Nation, Technological Advances, And Doctrinal Changes1511 Words   |  7 PagesThe Evolution of the Cost of War Analyzed through the Domestic Political State of the Nation, Technological Advances, and Doctrinal Changes Politics can be defined as the practice of influencing people through the exercise of power. The main way to control a person or a group of people is to control their finances. This is why the economy of the United States is so important. Without control of its finances, the nation is unable to exercise control internally or over other nations. There have beenRead MorePost Traumatic Stress Disorder ( Ptsd )1513 Words   |  7 Pagesmany wars since her birth as a nation. She has been known as a war machine, and the country thrives economically during these periods. The aftermath of war has affected each individual differently. Post-traumatic stress disorder is nothing new, yet it is now finally known as a condition that may not be treatable, however some has developed ways of managing it. Veterans from the Vietnam and Iraq/Afghanistan conflicts are in the spotlight now for suffering with this condition. Are the Vietnam VeteransRead MorePoliceman of the World Essay916 Words   |  4 Pagesmy opinion has taken on the role of â€Å"policeman of the world.† This role became more evident with the use of U.S. military force in international incidents like U.S. intervention in the 2011 Libyan Civil War to oust Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, and U.S. involvement in the 2011 Yemeni Civil War protesting the leadership of Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh. Despite the United States being hailed as a defender of democracy by some, their actions are usually not selfless. In both situations protecting

Monday, December 9, 2019

Nursing and Midwifery Federation Standards †MyAssignmenthelp.com

Question: Discuss about the Nursing and Midwifery Federation Standards. Answer: Introduction Nursing is a noble job and there are many students who aspire to be a successful nurse in their professional career. The job of nurses and midwives might apparently seem easier but they are way tougher than it seems theoretically and hence it is important for the healthcare organisations and the students to concentrate on understanding the different key aspects of practice and make sure they abide these requirements effectively. The nurses and the midwives have to abide by the different legal obligations and the code of conduct and ethics which would help them to provide effective care to the service users. The nurses and midwives are legally obligated which means they will have to follow certain healthcare practice rules which would help to make sure that the services are provided as per the standards of health and social care laid down by the government. One of the best ways to understand these laws and to practice effectively is to do a strong professional assessment through refle ction. The present study will take an opportunity to discuss the role of the student and professional midwives and nurses, their legal obligations through case studies and reflection which would help to address the key objective of the study. In the very beginning of this case it is important to mention that as a student nurse or a midwife it is important to learn the best things possible in the placement which cannot be done once the placement or the course is completed. Facing problems practically might be a genuine problem if he or she is not faced with issues during the completion of the course. This case study is a perfect example of understanding issues at the healthcare placement and would be able to manage the practice in the best possible manner. In the present case it is clear that the colleagues working with the other student nurse is seen to be injured and are not able to perform their tasks properly which means it is important for them to inform the healthcare organisation about the present health condition effectively. It is also important to mention that given their health condition they have not been able to manage service provision which means the care users will suffer and hence it is the responsibility of the other nurses to maintain a strong balance in the side to make sure the service provision is effectively practiced (Schneider and Whitehead, 2013). In this case it is responsible for the nurse who is aware of the fact that the colleagues are injured and cannot perform the daily job effectively to bring it to the notice of the organisation to make sure proper action is taken to make sure they are cured and brought back into action. The code of professional conduct for nurses in Australia and the Code of Ethics for Nurses in Australia work together which is mainly laid down to make sure the nurses and midwives working in the organisation is able to manage each others back and provide effective service. It sets proper guidelines and rules to operate effectively and eliminate any confusion to give the best possible service. As a student one need to focus on completing the basic placement in order to complete the course but in this case the injured student nurses wouldnt be able to do that as they are injured and will not be able to care service properly (Lowe et al., 2012). As per the conduct statement given in the Code of professional conduct for nurses it is important for each and every nurse to inform the immediate supervisors about the scope of their practice including any kind of limitation. In this case the student who was aware of this condition of the colleagues is responsible to inform this to the supervisor for the health and safety of the colleagues so that they could come back fresh and do their duty properly. As stated in the code of practice that the nurses are required to perform their duty based on a particular standard which in this case is not happening. The Nursing Act 1992 takes the responsibility of implementing effective standard of practice which is important to be abided by in order to provide the right kind of care to the service users (Borbasi and Jackson, 2015). In this case when the student nurse realises that the colleagues are not able to provide effective care to the service users it is important to make sure they are prop erly escalated to the upper management so that the upper management is able to take proper actions to ensure the employees are fine and are able to perform their duties properly. The nurses and the midwives have to be up on their toes in order to make sure the need and want of the patients are properly met but if one nurse is injured as it has happened in this case it is important for the other one to take the responsibility and report it to the supervisor and the upper management in order to bring this into their notice. The possibility of making further harm on ones self is clearly impactful which shows the mental destabilisation of the nurses which would further affect their practice and hence it is important to mention that they should take professional health guidance which is extremely important for an organisation. Overall speaking from the personal point of view it is essential in this case that operating effectively abiding by the healthcare conduct practice and ethics in this case will definitely help to mitigate the pressure (Nursing and Federation, 2014). As a student healthcare professional especially when one is a nurse it becomes extremely important to make sure that all the responsibilities should be properly managed and in fact it is important that all the possible problems are faced with by the nurses in order to make sure the right kind of service is provided effectively to the service users. Workplace health and safety is an extremely important aspect and it has to be kept in mind by the nurses in order to provide the best possible result for the service users. Since the healthcare organisations are equally affected due to the shortage in staffs and hence it is important for the healthcare organisations in Australia to make sure the health status of each and every nurse and midwife to keep them fit and effective. The healthcare organisations are responsible for the health and safety of not only the patients but also for the employees which is clearly discussed in Workplace Health and Safety Act 2011 (Chang and Daly, 2015). Hen ce in order to make sure the service is properly managed and all the nurses are having an effective health status it is important to work on the information received from the peers and regularly making a check on the business. Hence to conclude it could be said since the student nurse was concerned about the health status of the peers it is essential that there health condition is reported effectively which would help to make sure the services provided are of proper standards which is at par with the healthcare practice set by the Government in the Nursing Act 1992 and strive to perform effectively with it that leads to effective service provision (Daly, Speedy and Jackson, 2017). The Australian Healthcare Practitioner Regulation Agency works in partnership with the National Health Board Australia and the main focus of this is to make sure the practice done in a healthcare organisation is strong and content. Under the national registration scheme of the nurses and midwives it is clearly stated that the students and professional nurses will only get registrations when they are not in attachment with any kind of illicit use of drugs. In this case it is clearly showed that the behavior of the registered nurses staying with the narrator is not in the clear frame of mind and there have been significant issues which have affected the service provision clearly. The entire employee working under the regular health practitioner national law all the nurses will have to follow certain procedure to get registration that opens the road to proper practice in the healthcare organisation (Fenwick et al., 2012). As per the code of professional conduct laid down by the NMBA and the healthcare Government body in Australia a person is found suitable to practice as a nurse or a student only when he or she is personally accountable for the practice and for the provision of safe and competent practice and nursing care. It is the responsibility of the nurses to make sure they not only take their own responsibilities but also take the responsibilities of the other patients and the colleagues. In this case it is very clear that the flat mate of the narrator is not in a stable health condition and has been caught possessing drugs which are clearly illegal. On the other hand it is also mentioned in the code of professional conduct that the nurses will have to practice in the safe and competent environment and personal health limitations will affect the overall healthcare service provision and hence it is important for the nurses and the student nurses to make sure they do not get entangled in illegal a ctivities and possession of drugs (El Haddad, Moxham and Broadbent, 2013). In this scenario that healthcare organisations or the education provider might have to intervene or else it will ruin the career of the student nurses and the professional nurses and the midwives. It needs to focus on the proper analysis of the employees or the student nurses to focus on the implementation of the efficient employees in the organisation. Hence it could be said that as per the Code of ethics for nurses in Australia it is important to escalate the matter to the healthcare body which would help to make sure the person is treated properly so that the service users could be provided with suitable care support. Hence overall at the present moment it is the responsibility of the colleague to report to the healthcare body or the education provider to have a proper check on the candidates effectively in order to get the best possible result from the tests and communicate the same so that the real issue could be mitigated properly to get the nurses back on track (Jones, Creedy and Gamble, 2012). It is clearly against the ethics of practice to come under the influence of alcohol as it can affect the overall development of the patient. In this case it can been seen that the students from a particular education provider have been working under the influence of alcohol which is against the ethics as the students just need to focus on providing the best possible service to the consumers and effectively manage their overall development. The case also shows that they have been withdrawn from the placement which is not a good indication and clearly means that the students are not interested in nursing. It is clearly stated in the code of professional conduct in Australia as well as in the Nursing Act 1992 that the nurses will have to be efficient and competent but this cannot happen if the students are withdrawn from placement and are not ready to learn (Hall, McKenna and Griffiths, 2012). Hence it is important to have a proper communication with them in order to make sure the entir e scenario could be understood and properly managed. It is also important to note that tainting the name of the place where one works is legally wrong which defames the organisation and in this case the students have done the same thing which clearly means that they have done it under inebriated state and hence they have to handle strictly. According to the code of ethics for nurses in Australia integrity, respect are two different important things which have been missing in this case and hence it is extremely important for the organisations and the education providers to make sure it is intact and the students are properly communicated with in order to develop a strong understanding of the importance of ethics and professionalism. The students have shown unprofessional behavior posing for pictures with uniforms and hence it needs to be properly managed by the organisations since it questions their professionalism and integrity (Foster et al., 2013). As per the Gibbs Cycle reflection is the best way to learn and do things. It has six stages which are description, feelings, evaluation, analysis, conclusion and action. Based on my previous experience the Gibbs Cycle will help me to learn things and implement it in future activities which is extremely important to grow as a nurse. Description: In all the cases that I faced there are significant aspects to be defined. In the first case I was in the placement where I understood that my immediate colleagues are injured which became worse the very following day. I did not have any idea about it but realised that they are not able to properly work due to strained body and unstable mind. Feelings: I felt lonely and uneasy since I did not have any idea about what to do in such circumstances. Even though I was thinking of helping my colleagues I didnt have any idea about what to do. Evaluation: This experience exposed me into new environment in healthcare which definitely helped me to sharpen my personal skills and how I handle pressure in the future. It could be said that most of the students would support and join friends but getting experience from this experience made me hone my decision making skills. Analysis: Analysing the case scenario responsibility is an important aspect and it is important to make proper decisions. Conclusion: Concluding the case I would like to say that I was not active rather reactive and hence I feel I could have helped them in such situations but still report them to the upper management for their betterment. Action: If similar situations arose again I would obey the professional conduct and nursing ethics and will support the colleagues but would strive to make them better by taking stronger steps. Description: My flat mate was not in good frame of mind and has been caught possessing drug which is definitely against the rule of nursing conduct and ethics. Not being in clear frame of mind has been a problem. Feelings: I felt embarrassed and equally bad to see the health status of my mate and I was thinking to give support but I was too inexperienced to react on that situation. Evaluation: This experience helped me to revisit the basic learning for becoming a nurse that is to become responsible and ethical. As a nurse one should always look to act ethically but possessing drugs is an antisocial behavior. Analysis: The flat mate looked helpless and definitely needed professional support. Conclusion: To conclude it could be said that I have realised that as a nurse or an aspiring nurse it is important to be responsible and strive to contribute to the society eliminating all the personal problems. Action: If the situation arose again I would provide professional support and report my flat mate to the upper management so that my flat mate could be rehabilitated. Description: My colleagues have been caught withdrawn from the placement and have come to practice under the influence of alcohol which is ethically not right. Feelings: I felt bad and irritated with them since this is not the right way to practice. I wanted to report them but I was too young and inexperienced to do such thing. Evaluation: They were grieving the death of someone close but it is completely illegal to pose while imbibing in nurse uniform which is clearly illegal. Analysis: The entire incident was illegal and from the point of view of a nurse it was very unprofessional of them to act such a way. Conclusion: The colleagues need help and they should go back and learn code of professional conduct and ethics. Action: As a professional if I face same situation it would report them to the education provider and also support them by letting them know about the professional conduct and ethics. Conclusion The present study shows the importance of the different key aspects of nursing and midwifery practice. It is clear from the study that nursing conduct and professional ethics will have to be implemented by the students in their practice which would help them in the long run. It is also important to learn from mistakes and hence making the use of the cases and implementing them to reflect on the activities done will help the nursing personnel to make changes in their practice (Buckley et al., 2013). References Borbasi, S. and Jackson, D., 2015.Navigating the maze of research: Enhancing nursing and midwifery practice. Elsevier Health Sciences. Buckley, T., Cashin, A., Stuart, M., Browne, G. and Dunn, S.V., 2013. Nurse practitioner prescribing practices: the most frequently prescribed medications.Journal of Clinical Nursing,22(13-14), pp.2053-2063. Chang, A.M., Gardner, G.E., Duffield, C. and Ramis, M.A., 2012. Advanced practice nursing role development: factor analysis of a modified role delineation tool.Journal of advanced nursing,68(6), pp.1369-1379. Chang, E. and Daly, J., 2015.Transitions in Nursing-E-Book: Preparing for Professional Practice. Elsevier Health Sciences. Daly, J., Speedy, S. and Jackson, D., 2017.Contexts of nursing: An introduction. Elsevier Health Sciences. Davis, D., Foureur, M., Clements, V., Brodie, P. and Herbison, P., 2012. The self reported confidence of newly graduated midwives before and after their first year of practice in Sydney, Australia.Women and Birth,25(3), pp.e1-e10. El Haddad, M., Moxham, L. and Broadbent, M., 2013. Graduate registered nurse practice readiness in the Australian context: an issue worthy of discussion.Collegian,20(4), pp.233-238. Fenwick, J., Hammond, A., Raymond, J., Smith, R., Gray, J., Foureur, M., Homer, C. and Symon, A., 2012. Surviving, not thriving: a qualitative study of newly qualified midwives experience of their transition to practice.Journal of clinical nursing,21(13-14), pp.2054-2063. Foster, J., Spence, K., Henderson?Smart, D., Harrison, D., Gray, P.H. and Bidewell, J., 2013. Procedural pain in neonates in Australian hospitals: a survey update of practices.Journal of paediatrics and child health,49(1). Foureur, M., Besley, K., Burton, G., Yu, N. and Crisp, J., 2013. Enhancing the resilience of nurses and midwives: Pilot of a mindfulnessbased program for increased health, sense of coherence and decreased depression, anxiety and stress.Contemporary nurse,45(1), pp.114-125. Hall, H.G., McKenna, L.G. and Griffiths, D.L., 2012. Midwives support for complementary and alternative medicine: a literature review.Women and Birth,25(1), pp.4-12. Hartz, D.L., Foureur, M. and Tracy, S.K., 2012. Australian caseload midwifery: the exception or the rule.Women and Birth,25(1), pp.39-46. Henderson, A., Cooke, M., Creedy, D.K. and Walker, R., 2012. Nursing students' perceptions of learning in practice environments: a review.Nurse education today,32(3), pp.299-302. Jones, C.J., Creedy, D.K. and Gamble, J.A., 2012. Australian midwives awareness and management of antenatal and postpartum depression.Women and Birth,25(1), pp.23-28. Katsikitis, M., McAllister, M., Sharman, R., Raith, L., Faithfull-Byrne, A. and Priaulx, R., 2013. Continuing professional development in nursing in Australia: Current awareness, practice and future directions.Contemporary nurse,45(1), pp.33-45. Lowe, G., Plummer, V., OBrien, A.P. and Boyd, L., 2012. Time to clarifythe value of advanced practice nursing roles in health care.Journal of advanced nursing,68(3), pp.677-685. McDonald, G., Jackson, D., Wilkes, L. and Vickers, M., 2013. Personal resilience in nurses and midwives: effects of a work-based educational intervention.Contemporary nurse,45(1), pp.134-143. Nursing, A. and Federation, M., 2014.National Practice Standards for Nurses in General Practice: Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation Standards Funded by the Australian Government Department of Health. Australian Nursing Midwifery Federation. Pairman, S. and McAra-Couper, J., 2015. Theoretical frameworks for midwifery practice.Midwifery-E-Book: Preparation for Practice, p.383. Schneider, Z. and Whitehead, D., 2013.Nursing and midwifery research: methods and appraisal for evidence-based practice. Elsevier Australia.

Sunday, December 1, 2019

US And China Relations Essays - Republics, Politics Of Taiwan

US And China Relations American Foreign relations and Foreign Policy regarding China are very critical and very tumultuous. Information that China has stolen confidential information regarding nuclear weapons has now come to light. This, combined with China's restrictive policies regarding trade with America and its long history of opportunism in dealings with the U.S., has brought our past policies, as well as Clinton's present policy, for dealing with China into question. Can we trust this nation? We currently have protective relationships with nations surrounding China, and America's relationship with Japan has changed from adversarial to friendly. America must also provide Taiwan with adequate military force for their defense. Since the break-up of the Soviet Union, America has become China's greatest threat, and, now, they may have technology enough to act against us. China is progressing and growing-we can benefit from a friendly, progressive relationship with it. However, such a friendship may eventually backfire and harm America's self-interest. Does America have a choice as to whether or not it should become more positively involved with China? For the sake of our other foreign policies regarding North Korea, Russia, etc, no America has no choice. China has aided us in the past, and it could be a very valuable friend or a dangerous enemy. Taiwan is a key factor in our policies involving China. China insists that America cease to sell weapons and other military supplies to Taiwan, and it also wishes to claim the island as its own. Taiwan, however, wishes to claim independence as a democratic nation. This conflict can add to America's self-interest. If we negotiate a compromise between the two-possibly allowing them to aid one another economically and militarily, while granting Taiwan autonomy, then America once again may slide into China's good graces. A friendly relationship with China means more security for America. Should a crisis occur in China, military action on the part of the United States should be shunned. China already fears our military force as a result of our "theater missile defense" involving Japan and other nations surrounding China. Although Taiwan is not yet part of this defense system, China has posed threats to the U.S. if Taiwan becomes a part of it. Negotiations with China should provide resulting reciprocal military defense in crisis, an economic upper-hand, and political refinement regarding China's relations with Taiwan. None of these points should be sacrificed in compromise as each one is crucial to America's world status. An especially important note is that if China's economy is aided in an imbalanced manner, then it could overtake America's economic position. Military action in China by the United States should only be taken if America is threatened by China's military. If China plans any missile or nuclear attacks, then there may be no path to a friendly relationship between China and the United States. However, both nations have futures that are somewhat dependent on each other. As a result, a friendly relationship should be a top priority. In conclusion, I hope that America can lay aside cultural differences and focus on military and economic strategies to use and obtain a friendly relationship with China in order to make America an increasingly secure nation.

Tuesday, November 26, 2019

It’s a -(Man’s)-Woman’s World Professor Ramos Blog

It’s a -(Man’s)-Woman’s World Women in general are stereotyped in not only literature, but in film and music, making it even more frustrating when that woman is of color. Especially lately with the way American mentality has changed towards Mexican immigrants. Sandra Cisneros uses two short stories to represent main role models in Hispanic culture and how that has changed who these women became. Cisneros not only uses the two figures, La Llorona and La Malinche, to represent two women, Clemencia in â€Å"Never Marry a Mexican† and CleÏÅ'filas in â€Å"Woman Hollering Creek,† but she also transforms these roles to change the outcome of the original figures and their traditional happy endings. Cisneros metamorphosizes these women’s personalities to modernize them to a balanced, relatable scenario, so that these stories can enlighten a realistic representation of true women’s nature. In â€Å"Woman Hollering Creek,† Cisneros uses the protagonist CleÏÅ'filas to foretell a story of isolation by moving across the border to America. CleÏÅ'filas tells of her fantasies she has watched on telenovelas. Cisneros is quick to illustrate her naivety, how love can blind a person to red flags in toxic relationships. â€Å"She has to remind herself why she loves him,† showing how she tries to fit her life into the classic happily ever after scenario, even all the while her husbands abuse grew stronger and repetitive (Cisneros 49). CleÏÅ'filas tries to find excuses even though inside, she emotionally already acknowledges that something has to change. She was confused in her inner dialogue because in Hispanic culture, its taboo to be without a husband, she was scared to be judged for having children without the father. Again, Cisneros writes in â€Å"Never Marry a Mexican† to show Clemencia’s young naivety as well as she explains her affair, â€Å" I was honored that he’d done me the favor. I was that young† (76). Both these women experienced expectations of implemented Hispanic role models, but also Cisneros shows a change to these stories’ outcomes of betrayal and murder. Cisneros then remolds this naivety by expressing their awareness of these blurred fantasies with reality. Cisneros also uses certain stream of consciousness to express the complicated inner dialogue of this metamorphosis taking place. In â€Å"Never Marry a Mexican,† Cisneros writes about Clemencia’s affair with her teacher, â€Å"he took me under his wing and in his bed, this man, this teacher, your father† (76). Not only does this dialogue show her blurred perspective of boundaries, but it also offers the ultimate co-dependency these women experienced due to their naive perceptions. She shows this in â€Å"Woman Hollering Creek† as well, â€Å"this man, this father, this rival, this keeper, this lord, this master, this husband till kingdom come† (Cisneros 49). This style of writing that Cisneros uses shows the progression out of naive perspectives into strong women. CleÏÅ'filas has the happy ending instead by choosing to go home to her father and brothers. Clemencia healing after letting go of the satisfaction of telling Drew, her ex-lover of her mis deeds, causing her to regain her power as an individual. These role models, or these originally represented women, being La Llorona and La Malinche. La Llorona is a ‘weeping woman’ that lingers near bodies of water, looking for her dead children. The story begins with a woman, who is married to a rich man with two children. When their marriage falls apart, she sees him with another woman. Enraged she drowns her children but immediately regrets it. Now, for all eternity she visits bodies of water in search for her children (The Curse of La Llorona). CleÏÅ'filas represents La Llorona in the same way their marriages fell apart because of men’s infidelities; cheating, lying, and abusing. If, in the end, the doctor at her pregnancy checkup didn’t help her escape from that toxic situation, she may have had the same break in sanity. When CleÏÅ'filas in the beginning once wondered if the woman that the creek was named after was hollering from â€Å"pain or rage† (Cisneros 47). Her thinking how funny the name was at first, because she was naà ¯ve still. As her story progresses, she slowly caves into this solitude as she thinks, â€Å"La Llorona calling to her. She is sure of it†¦Listens. The day sky turning to night. The baby pulling up fistfuls of grass and laughing. La Llorona. Wonders if something as quiet as this drives a woman to darkness under the trees† (Cisneros 51). This thoughtful trance is induced after years of abuse has been endured, and her power already lost. Her mental state is almost possessed by this creek that she thinks is calling her. With this, Cisneros simultaneously creates a modern La Llorona, one with a happier ending, but also joins the protagonist CleÏÅ'filas side by side with La Llorona to show the better choices, escaping instead of staying to become murderous, that could be made. Instead of leading CleÏÅ'filas to murder herself and child, she led her to escape, and possibly create a new better life. La Malinche’s story, on the other hand, is a woman associated with betrayal and being the mother of Mexico. It’s said in folklore that La Malinche was a master of the two languages Spanish and Mayan, after her Aztec people sold her as a slave, and later as one of twenty wives, to the Spaniards. Because of her skills she often attended political meetings with the Spanish conquistador Hernan Cortes. Hernan Cortes rebuilt the Aztec Mayans into what is known as Mexico because La Malinche warns Cortes of an Aztec plot to destroy the Spanish Army, resulting in its failure and slaughter of her people. Which is why she’s associated with being a traitor and the mother of Mexico because of the Aztec empires rebirth as Mexico (La Malinche). As before, Cisneros uses Clemencia in â€Å"Never Marry a Mexican† to represent La Malinche. Clemencia abuses her power to use her ex-lovers’ son to impose revenge on her dead mother and post lover. She states that â€Å"my mothers’ memory is like†¦ if something already dead dried up and fell off, and I stopped missing where she used to be.† This goes to show that Clemencia disliked her mothers actions, of cheating on her father, causing resentment towards her. In that same way, La Malinche may have resented being sold as a slave by her own people. Yet, by Clemencia not resolving her issues with her mother, she inevitably became the mother she so disliked. One of the main things that bothered Clemencia was that her mother began to see another man, while her father was sick and dying. Still, Clemencia, as an adult, did something similar by sleeping with Drew, her ex-lover, on the night that his wife was giving birth. Clemencia felt betrayed by her mother, then by her lover who manipulated his place of power, and finally by herself by doing exactly what was done to her. In the story of La Malinche, she was first betrayed by her own people, being sold as a slave, and when her people betrayed political alliances with the conquistadors, then later she betrayed her people by fooling their plan, causing their slaughter. Yet, instead of ending Clemencia with a murder charge, she leads her to gain some power back by sleeping with her ex-lovers son and extinguishing her revenge. This may not be a traditional sparkles and glitter outcome, but its transformative nature did allow her to gain power without the complete annihilation of a mass of people. Both these women faced strong implications from traditional cultures, causing them to become the stronger version of themselves for the better. Cisneros uses tales of previous female Hispanic figures to not only grasp the need for more positive outcomes, but to also communicate the struggle of power dynamics in toxic relationships, and how certain choices can lead to happy endings that these women desire. Just not in the traditional sense of happy endings, for Clemencia to escape her abusive husband and CleÏÅ'filas to establish dominance over Drews abuse in power. Bradley, Laura. â€Å"The Curse of La Llorona: The Real Legend Behind the Horror Film.† The Curse of La Llorona: The Real Legend Behind the Horror Film, Vanity Fair, 19 Apr. 2019, vanityfair.com/hollywood/2019/04/la-llorona-real-mexican-legend-curse-of-la-llorona-movie. Cisneros, Sandra. Woman Hollering Creek and Other Stories. Random House, 1991, New york â€Å"La Malinche.† Spanish Conquest of Mexico Don Quijote, donquijote.org/mexicanculture/history/la-malinche/.

Saturday, November 23, 2019

How Many Seconds Are There in a Day A Week A Year

How Many Seconds Are There in a Day A Week A Year SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips Ever wondered how many seconds there are in a day? How about a week? A year? Thanks to Rent, we might know the number of minutes in a year (525,600), but how many seconds is that? Whether you’re trying to get even more granular about how you measure a year or you’re just trying to figure out how many seconds are left until summer vacation, this guide will teach you how many seconds are in a day, a week, a year, and beyond. Not only will we teach you how to calculate these problems, but we’ll also give you a handy chart to keep track of them. Read on to find out how to swap one unit of time for another! All the numbers on a clock represent different aspects of time, all of which come back to seconds. What’s a Second? Before we get into how many seconds there are in a day, let’s talk about what a second is. A second is our base unit of time- base, but not smallest. A base unit is a unit defined on its own terms upon which other units are based. That means that all our other units, such as minutes, hours, nanoseconds, and so on, are all based on seconds. We talk about hours in terms of minutes, but minutes are based on seconds, bringing us back to the base unit. A second used to be based on the Earth’s rotation cycle, with one second being 1/86,400 of the average solar day. Now that we know more about how the Earth rotates- and that the speed at which it rotates is slowing down- we now use a more accurate method. We base a second off of the radiation cycles of a caesium-133 atom, often called an â€Å"atomic clock.† Because our astronomical year varies in length, we also sometimes add â€Å"leap seconds† to the clock to keep better time, or we’d eventually end up with time being way off of where it should be. Adding seconds is infrequent, and doesn’t actually change the time- all it does is keep us consistent. But those single leap seconds matter, keeping us on track so that a few missed seconds doesn’t become a missed minute or hour or day over time. The hands on a clock move in seconds, minutes, and hours, which are all, in some ways, measures of seconds. How Many Seconds in a Day? Now that we know what a second really is- an arbitrary measurement of time used to calculate other, larger units of time- we can start thinking about how many it takes to make up all the other time units. How Many Seconds in a Minute The largest unit after seconds is a minute. There are 60 seconds in one minute. Why? Nobody’s really sure, but it goes all the way back to ancient Babylon. How Many Seconds in an Hour You may already know that there are 60 minutes in an hour, but how many seconds is that? To figure it out, we’ll need to multiply. 60 seconds in one minute and 60 minutes in one hour means that $1 \hour = 60 * 60$. Calculate that out and you’ll find that 1 hour = 3,600 minutes. How to Calculate Seconds Back and Forth It takes some memorization, but it’s not hard to calculate seconds into minutes, hours, days, or even years; you can even go in reverse! For example, if you know that something will take 120 seconds but aren’t sure how many minutes that is, you simply divide by 60, the number of seconds in a minute. Likewise, if you want to know how many seconds are in three days, first you’ll need to calculate how many minutes there are in three days. Three days is 72 hours ($24 \hours * 3 \days$), equivalent to 4,320 minutes ($72 \hours * 60 \minutes$), or 259,200 seconds ($4,320 \minutes * 60 \seconds$). You can do this for really big numbers, too. How many seconds are in a month? Well, the average month is 30.42 days. A day is 24 hours, so the average month is 730.08 hours ($30.42 \days * 24 \hours$). 730.08 hours is equal to 43,804.8 minutes ($730.08 \hours * 60 \minutes$), or 2,628,288 seconds ($43,804.8 \minutes * 60 \seconds$). ...in a second .. in a minute ...in an hour ...in a day ...in a week ...in a month ...in a year †¦in a decade ...in a century Seconds 1 60 3,600 86,400 604,800 2,628,288 3.1536 Ãâ€" $10^7$ 3.1536 Ãâ€" $10^8$ 3.1536 Ãâ€" $10^9$ Minutes $1/60$ 1 60 1,440 10,080 43,804.8 525,600 5.256 Ãâ€" $10^6$ 5.256 Ãâ€" $10^7$ Hours $1/3600$ $1/60$ 1 24 168 730.08 8,760 87,600 876,000 Days $1/86400$ $1/1400$ $1/24$ 1 7 30.42 365 3,650 36,500 Weeks $1/604800$ $1/10080$ $1/168$ $1/7$ 1 4.3 52 520 5,200 Months $1/2628288$ $1/43804.8$ $1/730.08$ $1/30.42$ $1/4.3$ 1 12 120 1,200 Years $1/(3.1536 Ãâ€" 10^7)$ $1/525600$ $1/87600$ $1/365$ $1/52$ $1/12$ 1 10 100 Decades $1/(3.1536 Ãâ€" 10^8)$ $1/(5.256 Ãâ€" 10^6)$ $1/3650$ $1/520$ $1/520$ $1/120$ $1/10$ 1 10 Centuries $1/(3.1536 Ãâ€" 10^9)$ $1/(5.256 Ãâ€" 10^7)$ $1/876000$ $1/36500$ $1/5200$ $1/1200$ $1/100$ $1/10$ 1 Key Tips for Time Conversions It’s not a big deal if you can’t memorize this whole table- most people can’t tell you how many seconds are in a decade off the top of their head. But the calculations are simple math- you just need to know the basics! One Minute = 60 Seconds One Hour = 60 Minutes One Day = 24 Hours One Week = 7 Days One Year = 52 Weeks One Decade = 10 Years One Century = 10 Decades It can be difficult to figure out how many days or weeks are in a month, because months vary in length between 28 and 31 days. If you find yourself needing to figure things out on a more exact basis, use the number of days in the specific month you’re looking for rather than trying to use an average. If a specific month won’t work and you just want an overall sense of the number of days in a month, for example, you know that there are 365 days and 12 months in a year. Divide $365/12$ for 30.42, the average number of days in a month. You don’t have to memorize it- just solve it out! Likewise, you can divide the number of weeks in a year, 52, by the number of months in a year, 12, to get 4.3, the average number of weeks in a month. What’s Next? Ready for more big numbers? Check out this guide to how many zeros there are in a billion and beyond! If you just want to test your calculation skills, these math games are great for fifth graders! Converting seconds to minutes and beyond requires a solid grasp of multiplication- if you need a little help with memorizing your times tables, our multiplication guide will help you out!

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Designing Production Systems Process Selection and Capacity Planning Essay

Designing Production Systems Process Selection and Capacity Planning - Essay Example It also aims to discuss some practices that made it a better or a different manufacturing company. Rockwell Automations Marion plant is located in the western part of North Carolina. The plant started its operations in 1996 with a total land area of 174,000 sq feet. Its major products include "mounted spherical and tapered roller bearings with shaft sizes ranging from 1 3_16 inches to 5 inches. These bearings go into such things as mining machinery, fans and other air-handling equipment, waste treatment equipment, forest products processing equipment, food processing machinery and metals processing equipment." (John S. McClenahen) The production floor of the plant is divided into two major areas, which has a total of 20 manufacturing cells. In the front area 16 manufacturing cells producing 351 products which comprises 80% of the plants total sales revenue. At the back are remaining 4 cells, producing items that comprise the remaining 20% of the plant's total sales revenue. This is also called the build on demand area. To date, the company still continues to help manufacturers worldwide succeed through their industrial information control and information solutions, giving them the competitive advantage they so rightfully deserve. Leading companies did not become model companies wi... And Rockwell Automation's Marion plant was never an exception. Basically, the plant is lean, with its processes and practices tailored to fir into the JIT systems. The details of their practices are described in the following context. A. Competitive Edge The practice that made Marion plant unique is in its circle of analysis and improvement of its products and processes. An article published in IndustryWeek described this process. "This cycle begins with product data analysis, moves to describing the current value stream, then to charting the future flow of the value stream, proceeds to achieving the goals by taking tools from the toolbox and comes back to data analysis again. Along the way, product and process priorities get set and action timelines are established." (John S. Mclenahen) Data and figures of the product and its processes provide very important information as to where production is heading and what areas can still be improved. However, these data and figures will only remain as data unless utilized properly. And the Marion plant people have all the tools and resources necessary, books and literature, to assist them in this aspect, especially when something comes up. Even then, these tools will also become useless if the people who have access to it do not use it or do not have the expertise and experience to use it. Marion plant employees are empowered employees. Empowered employees enable companies to reap positive rewards. In a book entitled Empowering Employees, the authors excerpted an article from Oraganizational Dynamics ("Seven Questions Every Leader Should Consider," A Autumn 1997) authored by Robert Quinn and Gretchen Spreitzer. The excerpt cited four characteristics that

Tuesday, November 19, 2019

Effective Marketing Planning Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Effective Marketing Planning - Assignment Example formation on step by step ideas and concepts required to achieve the results that are set monthly, weekly or quarterly and identifying the individuals that are responsible for each particular task; and implement, track and modify the marketing plan, this will give information on the implementation of the marketing plan and tracking all the results. The information on modification and change of the plan are derived from this step (Edwards, 2008). The effective marketing planning requires full research of the marketing environment. With an intense research on the marketing environment, effective marketing planning will obviously result. Through following the outlined market plan development above, a well thought marketing plan that have mechanisms of tracking required to modify and analyze the plan as may be needed is achieved. A market research will ensure that the company direction is identified. From a marketing environment, a marketing plan can be informal or formal, however, the r esearch identifies who the company clients are and where they access their information from, as well as how to deliver the company marketing message to the customer (Forth Sector Development 2007). As discussed earlier, an effective marketing planning requires research on marketing environment. There are therefore various considerations made in such research. Some of the things considered in marketing environment research include: insights on the reasons why potential customers may choose the company, this includes the core requirements that the company offering will meet; the target customers, this includes information that relates to the number of potential customers, market characteristics of the target clients; the company competitors, this includes the competitors that the company will... This essay stresses that the effective marketing planning requires full research of the marketing environment. With an intense research on the marketing environment, effective marketing planning will obviously result. Through following the outlined market plan development above, a well thought marketing plan that have mechanisms of tracking required to modify and analyze the plan as may be needed is achieved. A market research will ensure that the company direction is identified. From a marketing environment, a marketing plan can be informal or formal, however, the research identifies who the company clients are and where they access their information from, as well as how to deliver the company marketing message to the customer. As the discussion declares an effective marketing planning requires research on marketing environment. There are therefore various considerations made in such research. Some of the things considered in marketing environment research include: insights on the reasons why potential customers may choose the company, this includes the core requirements that the company offering will meet; the target customers, this includes information that relates to the number of potential customers, market characteristics of the target clients; the company competitors, this includes the competitors that the company will need to take the customers from; and statement of the company brand positioning for the target clients.

Sunday, November 17, 2019

The Issues Concerning Identity Theft Essay Example for Free

The Issues Concerning Identity Theft Essay Abstract â€Å"Identity theft has been around since the Internet became more than just the stuff of science fiction. The benefits of being in the Network has been undisputed but it has its drawbacks especially recently†. The increasing sophistication of hacking technology and the ever-widening use of web-based communication have made the danger of identity theft loom even larger in the horizon. Recent statistics illustrate just how serious the situation is with cyber criminals increasingly focusing on small companies and individuals, who are considered soft targets. Countermeasures are fighting a losing battle and experts state that individual vigilance is the only really effective way of stemming the flood. Introduction There was a movie in 1992 starring Robert Redford and Ben Kingsley, called â€Å"Sneakers.† They played the parts of college computer geeks who managed to hack into a government computer system as a sort of teenage prank and got caught. Later in the movie, the character of Ben Kingsley becomes a high-powered high-tech executive determined to rule the world with the use of information technology that could hack into any system in the world. At the time of the movie, such scenarios were the stuff of science fiction, but that is precisely the situation today. The dependence on cyber infrastructure has become so ingrained into everyday life that vulnerability to attacks takes on new dimensions. The consequences of this vulnerability are far-reaching, as indeed information has become the new currency in this fast-paced, Web-based world. But ensuring the security of digital information is fraught with difficulty, as hackers and programmers are coming up with smarter and more destructive ways to wreak havoc with both public and private networks. One type of malware that illustrates the increasing sophistication of malicious code uses a JavaScript tool called NeoSploit. It can attack a system using seven distinct exploits that could be customized depending on the specific weakness of the system it is currently attacking. It is double obfuscated so that it easily evades most automated detection. It is a â€Å"smart† bug and adaptable as well. [33] The concept of identity theft is not new. Anybody with a computer and access to the Internet have been warned never to reveal personal information to unverified sources and to keep avoid financial transactions online unless the site is vouched for a by a reliable verification site. But identity theft is so much more, and recently, there has been a disturbing rise in incidents of identity theft beginning in 2004. The threat to networks has become more complex, as illustrated by the distributed denial-of-service attacks in 2000 and the 2001 CodeRed worm. [30] The cost to consumers and businesses of identity theft is significant. According to the Federal Trade Commission, it has been maintained at more than $50 billion in the US alone. [18] Such occurrences are not only occurring in the US, however. In South Africa, Standard Bank local and foreign clients were choused out of thousands of rands by a Trojan installed in public internet cafà ©s which captured bank information. In France, a 2005 report described how terrorists routinely used stolen identities forged onto false identity documents. [26] The effect of such security breakdowns on e-commerce is particularly horrendous. Such enterprises rely on the trust and confidence of their clients that their confidence will be secure during online transactions. It only takes one instance of invasion for clients to shy away from doing further business. This paper investigates the issues pertaining to the technology behind identity theft, the countermeasures being enacted to prevent it and the current unresolved problems. Requirement Analysis To more fully appreciate the problem, a definition of identity theft may be in order. Identity theft was first coined as part of the Identity Theft and Assumption Deterrence Act of 1998, better known as ID Theft Act. It is defined as a criminal act to: â€Å" †¦knowingly transfer or use, without lawful authority, a means of identification of another person with the intent to commit, or to aid or abet, any unlawful activity that constitutes a violation of Federal law, or that constitutes a felony under any applicable State or local law.†[1] Because of the increasing sophistication of ID theft techniques, the US Federal Trade Commission felt it incumbent to provide more specific definitions of what constitutes an â€Å"identity† or â€Å"identifying information†, to wit: â€Å"(a) The term ‘identity theft’ means a fraud committed or attempted using the identifying information of another person without lawful authority. (b) The term ‘identifying information’ means any name or number that may be used, alone or in conjunction with any other information, to identify a specific individual, including any (1) Name, Social Security number, date of birth, official state- or government-issued driver’s license or identification number, alien registration number, government passport number, employer or taxpayer identification number. (2) Unique biometric data, such as fingerprint, voice print, retina or iris image, or other unique physical representation. (3) Unique electronic identification number, address, or routing code. (4) Telecommunication identifying information or access device.†[1] Looking at what comprises identity, it seems highly possible that at one point any one using the Internet or a private network will disclose one or more of the data above on a daily basis because it is almost impossible to go through a typical day without at least once using a network application such as an ATM machine or logging on to an e-mail service. Going to a hospital or school and it is highly likely an RFID is required in some form, whether as a school ID or a medical card. Schools are especially vulnerable to attack because security is not particularly high on the list of priorities for school districts working with a budget. The benefits that accrue from digital technology in the school setting is massive, but there has been no corresponding enthusiasm for establishing even the most basic of security measures. The fact is, cases such as the schools in California and Florida in which students themselves hack into the unsecured database for a prank or for profit, or the Ohio student who accidentally deleted student records which had not been backed up, are not unusual. Some of the most iconic movies are about tech savvy students who pull a fast one on uptight school administrators or against terrorists. However, in real life, security breaches for academic and medical records of students are carry consequences just as serious as those for government and corporate information. [43] It is not surprising that with the rapid digitization of information databases in all sectors, there are more and more incidents reported of some type of invasion. In 200 Techniques used in Identity Theft Physical methods computer and backup theft direct access to information dumpster diving, or searching trash theft of a purse or wallet mail theft and interception shoulder surfing skimming dishonest or mistreated employees telemarketing and fake telephone calls Internet-based methods hacking and unauthorized access phishing, or the use of spam and mirror sites pharming, or interception between an IP address and the target server. redirectors advance-fee fraud or 419 fraud fake IRS form keylogging and password stealing There has been such emphasis on Internet-related security breaches that the fact escapes most people that identity theft can happen physically as well as over the Ethernet. According to the Identity Theft Resource Center, there were more than 300 breaches in security in companies involving the loss of data storage tapes that contained the information of more than 20 million people in 2006. However, cyber-crimes is much harder to prevent because it can be done off-site and insiduously. It is also harder to detect because often the theft is done in small batches. Source: http://www.eset.eu/press_release_threats_march McAfee Avert Labs recently released a report called â€Å"Identity Theft† that identified keylogging, malware that keeps track of keystrokes to capture passwords and other sensitive information, as the tool being increasingly used to perpetrate identity theft. The report also tracked the occurrence of phishing attacks which increased 250% from January 2004 to May 2006. [26] In March 2007, ESET reported that the top malware threat was the Trojan keylogging malware called   Win32/PSW.Agent.NCC, followed by Win32/Netsky.Q or simply Netsky P, which has the power to replicate and to spread itself as an attachment through e-mail. In third place is Trojan Win32/TrojanDowloader.Agent.AWF which is used to download malware that creates botnets that in turn creates spam and disruption-of-service attacks. [4] The use of Internet Relay Chat (IRC) bots, a string of codes or independent program that attaches to the IRC channel of a system and appears to be just another user, by hackers has been developed to be transmitted through IM, mass mailing and peer-to-peer communication. While useful for managing channels, maintaining access lists, and providing access to databases, it has become dangerous in the hands of malicious users, who activate the bots to infect and reside in systems with a view of passing on confidential and sensitive information. It is difficult to detect and to clean because the bot is configured to disable anti-virus software and firewalls. Moreover, bots can edit registry entries to hide its presence. [44] Avenues used for Identity Theft Credit Card Fraud Individuals find themselves victims of credit card fraud when they transact with smaller merchants online merchants that utilize generic shopping cart software and failing to keep up with the latest software security patches. Web-based vulnerabilities, which provide cyber-criminals the soft patches in which to invade and infiltrate, is found in many different Web-based applications because of the failure to be vigilant. One example is that of Cellhut.com which uses third party Website security provider Hackersafe which is supposed to have passedthe FBI/SANS Internet Security Test. But experts are circumspect regarding the effectiveness of these tests as evidenced by the number of reports of fraud, which is actually only a part of the actual number of cases that actually occur. Small online companies are not required to report all incidents, making statistical data difficult to gather. [17] E-mail as a gateway In 2003, the number of spam or jank mail outstripped the number of legitimate e-mail in corporate America, indicating an unrelenting onslaught on computer defenses. Malicious code such as SoBig, Mimail, and Yaha, which wreaked havoc on personal computers and servers alike,   was disseminated through e-mail. As a reaction, companies allocated 8.2% of corporate budgets were earmarked for cyber-security but the economic lure for hackers have made them more inventive and devious as well. Phishing, the art of deceiving unwary users with cleverly disguised e-mail, has become the fastest-growing non-violent crimes against banks. One sneaky example was that of Swen, an e-mail virus that masquerades as a Microsoft security fix, complete to the last detail so that it looks authentic. The unwary unleashes the virus in the system when the message is opened or previewed. It then breaks down firewalls and antivirus, leaving the system open to infiltration. Instant Messaging, Instant Invasion Instant Messaging or IM has also become popular of late because it is, well, instant. Many companies believe they have increased productivity significantly with the use of Yahoo Messenger, Skype, MSN Messenger and AOL Messenger. However, these may bring more than messages into the picture. IM allows users not only to exchange messages but to transfer files as well, which may have malware or a virus riding on it. It also provides backdoor access to hackers because IM bypasses firewalls and gateway perimeter scans. The peer-to-peer network is especially open to exploitation because of this bypass, and the worms spread rapidly, testing at 10 to 20 seconds in some tests. Some antivirus software that work on the desktop level have some success in catching these worms, but only in restricted cases. Another way for hackers to open a portal is to hijack the connection using a man-in-the-middle attack and impersonate the hijacked user. The hacker is then in a position of trust and may solicit information from the unsuspecting person on the other end. The use of a network sniffer could also steal information from an open portal during an instant messaging session, and a trojan is not even needed. This is especially dangerous in a corporate network. [37] Voice-over-Internet Protocol (VoIP) The use of VoIP has the potential security risk as that of most data streams. While it may seem to be much like a telephone service, the architecture for VoIP is not the same as the conventional telephone line, where security is more established and any interception will require a physical presence on the specific telephone wire or PBX. VoIP transmits the voice as a data stream, similar to that of any other web-based application, and is vulnerable to the same kind of invasion or interception. The defense against such invasion is through the same combination of firewalls, antivirus and   encryption. [23] Because VoIP is comparatively new, it is still in its early stages of development, and has not excited the same attention for identity thieves as other forms of data exchange, although there are some spyware the specifically targets VoIP. Cookies Cookies are normally written by a website into the computer’s harddisk to store personal data about the user relevant to the application which stores the text-only code. Flaws in the generation of the cookie identity has been identified by Security researcher Michal Zalewski as potentially vulnerable to hacker attack because the overwrite protection feature can easily be bypassed and allow malware to remotely plant user information on another persons computer that can be accessed remotely when the user visits specific websites. [35] Malware is more than just malicious in that it is motivated by economic gain rather than any kind of grudge or misdirected sense of humor. A more appropriate term for these economic-driven malicous software is spyware. Spyware is much more focused and quite destructive because it can reside in a system for weeks or even months before it is discovered. Aside from the fact that transmits confidential information to its creator, it also slows down computers if enough of them reside in the system, even disbling some applications from working at all. There is loss of productivity as well as information. Sometimes it is simply annoying, popping up as adware or altering the home page to redirect the browser to specific websites. It sometimes masquerades as an end-user license agreement and most users just click on it as a matter of course, inadvertently allowing the spyware to be embedded in   the system. Whichever form it takes, it cuts down on productivity, uses up RAM and CPU resources. [27] Many IT professionals consider spyware the top security threat as revealed by a WatchGuard Technologies survey in 2005. Consequently, anti-spyware software is also on the rise, making it the top security technology for 2005. Since people make money from it, it is most likely that hackers would bring it up to the level of a serious enterprise. Particularly vulnerable are banks and financial institutions, such as PayPal, which was targeted by a variation of the Mimail worm. The pathogen redirected the user to a false PayPal verification window which then asked for sensitive financial information. PayPal had hitherto enjoyed a reputation for reliability, so the potential to victimize a large number of people makes the strategy particularly effective. The tendency to use a few core applications is another reason hackers are so effective: they only need to focus on circumventing the security of a few systems to ensure a good haul. [25]One of these core applications is Microsoft’s Windows. The vulnerabilities of these products are more numerous than ever, mostly because its widespread use has made it the target of concentration for   many hackers. And though improvements in the security features in the products have managed to deflect more than 100,000 variants of the malware circulating, it requires more vigilance on the part of the caretaker to maintain the system to the leading edge of the available updates and security patches.   [36] There has even been evidence that cyber-criminals have become loosely organized, expert hackers working together with spammers and fraudsters to extend the sophistication and reach of the attacks on peer-to-peer networks. The focus is now on compromising integrity rather than the random destruction of files and networks. The treasure in this hunt is for information, and since there is no immediate, discernible damage, it is only when the credit card bills come in or the security system springs an alarm that the invasion becomes apparent. In the instances that a pathogen succeeds in infiltrating a good system, more damage is done than its predecessor, and true to the nature of its name, the virus appears never to completely die, but rather to go into stasis, just waiting for the next improved bug to re-activate it in an evolved state, such as the Phatbot in 2004 which exploit known and newly-discovered vulnerabilities in multi-frontal attacks. [36] Profile of a Cyber Criminal [26] Organized crime groups The involvement of organized crime groups has served to coalesce otherwise individual hackers. The motive for the involvement is not only profit but to establish a supply of readily available identities to be used in the course of their criminal activities. Terrorists It has been established that terrorists use various identities to avoid detection by government agencies that are on the alert for their appearance in under their true identities. They acquire employment and obtain financing for their activities. One instance was reported in Spain where a terrorist cell made purchases with the use of stolen credit cards and used fake passports and travel documents to open legitimate bank accounts to finance their operations. Petty criminals These are the freelancers, out to make easy money and with no other motive but money. [26] Literature Survey of Solutions Research grants In 2002, $877 million in government grants were earmarked to fund the Cyber Security Research and Development Act and H.R. 3400, the Networking and Information Technology Advancement Act that would beef up the network security of vital infrastructure. The ATT Foundation has also made contribution by providing grants in 2004 to the University of Texas at Dallas and Syracuse University to support cybersecurity research. Similarly, National Institute of Standards and Technology gave a grant to George Mason University School of Laws National Center for Technology Law and James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Va. to collaborate on what is know as the Critical Infrastructure Protection Project. â€Å"The project is aimed at providing outreach and education, serve as a pool of knowledge, and development of special programs for small businesses and information sharing†.   [41] However, the grants are part of a reaction to 9/11, which seeks to promote research in counterterrorirsm and national security. The problem of identity theft is much closer to home, or at least need not be on the scale of national security. Generally, identity theft can occur to as small as the scale of a home computer. A report by Internet security solutions provider Preventon has shown that in the UK, approximately 67% of   the surveyed consumers manage their own security software, mostly anti-virus, firewalls or anti-spyware software. However, only 22% considered â€Å"phishing† a serious threat to their security. New Products For financial call centers, a product has been developed by EMC’s Security Division called the RSA[R] Adaptive Authentication for Phone, which seeks to provide a reliable authentication protocol for telephone banking as required by the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Councils Authentication in the Internet Banking Environment guidance. It is an offshoot of the RSA Adaptive Authentication for Web in use by 35 of the largest financial institutions and banks in the world. The system makes use of the voice biometric solution based on Vocent technology and Nuance’s voiceprint engine. It is designed to conduct a risk-based assessment by analyzing voiceprint and user behavior based on predetermined parameters during retail and commercial banking transactions. Aside from the technology, users of the product will also have access to the database of the RSA eFraudNetwork community which has fraudster profiles. [10] There has been some opinion that an overlap approach may be more effective, where a combination of firewalls, intruder protection and detection and vulnerability testing be used in concert instead of isolation. [25] A software that goes one step further is PCImmunity, which is designed to combine the security features of Norton, McAfee, SpyBot, SpySweeper, Ad-Aware, ZoneAlarm, Avast, and AVG while supplementing them with a restart feature in cases where one or more of the active applications is deactivated by a hacker or virus. One of its maintenance features is the automatic update of these software and the daily scans of anti-spyware software. [14] Two projects that are geared towards anticipating industrial-grade security measures for VoIP has been initiated by the VoIP Security Alliance, or VOIPSA, which aims to establish a â€Å"threat taxonomy† and and a list of VoIP security requirements These protocols will be of particular use for session border controllers, or SBCs, which serves as an intermediary between the unique architecture of VoIP and web-based protocol that would otherwise be incompatible with VoIP. VoIP with SBC    Source: http://www.cisco.com/warp/public/cc/general/bulletin/software/general/3001_pp/3001_p24.jpg Other functions of the SBC is to enable network address translation, VoIP peering and compliance with   the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act.   Security-wise, SBCs as the â€Å"man-in-the-middle,† is theoretically in a good position as the front-liner for any unauthorized access or interception. SBCs also serve to mask the presence of VoIP systems and softswitches and other devices. However, the integrity of its security features has yet to be rigorously tested. [40] The JavaScript malware that confounds most automated detection needs special treatment, using decoding tools such as NJS, SpiderMonkey or Rhino which separates the malware from the browser tool at the command-line level after cleaning up the HTML. It decodes in layers until the malware is completely stripped of its code. The tools are based on JavaScript and designed to be a re-entrant. It is not guaranteed, however, because such tools have limitations and it is only a matter of time before hackers find a way around it as well. [33] Another breakthrough that is a double-edged sword is a framework being developed by security expert Roelof Temmingh called Evolution. Though still in its infancy, the framework can be used as both a hacker’s tool as well as a security application. What it does is to use any identity information and extract other hidden data. For example, it can transform a domain into e-mail addresses and telephone numbers with the use of the Whois domain name lookup service, so hackers need only one type of information to get a whole slew of information. It can also identify targets for client-side attacks and war-dialing ranges. In the interest of security, however, Evolution can be invaluable in various ways. It can be used as a footprinting to identify phishing sites and identify alliances with weak security postures. In the long run, however, Evolution can be used to illustrate the future capabilities of hackers and research to pro-actively counteract such developments would be of immense benefit. [33] The important development from a security standpoint is that many companies are finally coming to terms with the magnitude of the battle before them. In a conference in Phoenix, the focus was on new products that were designed to renew the onslaught on incidents of phishing, adware and spyware spurred on by Web 2.0. Products such as NewsGator Hosted Solution allows companies to put an RSS aggregator in their websites, eliminating the need to get feed directly from the original content originator. For security compliance, LogLogic produced the appliance-based solution LogLogic 3 r2 that allows tracking of Microsoft Exchange log activity to identify security risks. [16] One product with added features was announced recently by Barracuda Networks which helps identify spam messages even if it is being sent by an apparently innocuous e-mail address. The Spam Firewall e-mail security appliance is now able to analyze sender behavior, facilitating reputation analysis. When a previously normal nehaving e-mail address suddenly stars unloading massive amounts of email, it is presumed that it has been infected by a botnet and turned into a spam server. [20] DIY Security Protocols With the rise of DIY security came the development of self-help websites that provide security tips and information as well as recommended freeware for downloads. One such website is the Gibson Research Corp. website (www.grc.com) headed by Steve Gibson. He provides three suggestions: Stealth or hide seldom-used ports, of which a typical system has 65,000 for an internet scanner to exploit. Disconnect services not in use, which Windows provides and connects by default but which only represents a vulnerability. Bind only the modem to the TCP/IP. Windows binds all network resources to the Internet by default as well, such as a shared printer, which is unnecessary and potentially dangerous. Among Gibson’s offerings that have provided some security is Shields Up! and LeakTest scans, and Gibsons DCOMbobulator, Shoot the Messenger, Socket-Lock, UnPlug n Pray and Xpdite make security a little tighter.   Another website that may bear investigation is The Human Firewall (www.humanfirewall.org) which focuses more on companies. [36] In IM, the best way to prevent identity and other information theft is to use an IM service that allow encryption. Unnecessary file tranfers via IM should also be restricted. Another suggestion is the use of Really Simple Syndication (RSS) as an alternative to joining an e-mailing list. The RSS feed is secure because here is no need for an e-mail address, it merely gets the desired material from the feed’s server. It makes the inbox and spam mail easier to manage as well as reducing the risk of spyware infiltration. [31] To confound IRC bots, McAfee experts suggests the use of IRC servers in constructing and IRC honeypot and a network sniffer. The sniffer identifies the IRC channel used by the malicious bot and the IRC honeypot routes all IRC channels to pass through it and an outbound query is allowed. A rogue bot will try to home into the attacker’s IRC server and the honeypot then issues commands to unistall the bot. [44] Enterpise Security Governance On the executive level, the Carnegie Mellon Software Engineering Institute (SEI) reports in â€Å"Governing for Enterprise Security† that the need to address information security as an enterprise-level governance concern is paramount. It identified several characteristics that define a company that employes governance in enterprice security: Security is given the same importance as other aspects of business; Security is part of the organization’s strategic planning cycle; Security is considered an integral part of all enterprise functions; Key executives and network staff alike have an appreciation of the responsibilities and issues involved in network security. Because of the prevalence of confidentiality breaches in the corporate world and the high costs involved in such breaches, an enterprise with a strong, healthy respect and care for the security of the information in their care but still with the ability to communicate efficiently and effectively with their clients will come across as a company that can be relied on and trusted. [29] ATT’s Research Labs president Hossein Eslambolchi agrees that security cannot be an afterthought, and states that the state of network security is so pathetic that hackers can bring down a whole network with very little effort. [13] Government Initiatives The US government has come to realize the real threat of security and information breach, especially when it involves government agencies. Several intitiatives deal with ensuring vigilance in both public and private enterprises that deal with network security. E-Government Act 2002, a privacy assessment mandate that is designed to protect the personal information of citizens who volunteer their data on government sites, is touted as one of the most significant privacy guidelines. The aim of the mandate is to ease the government into e-government, overcome resistance to change and to emphasize the need for cyber-security and privacy as well as coordination concerns. [21] Another government mandate is the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) which came into effect in April 2005 which regulates the use of e-mail and other Internet-based communications by health professionals in efforts to secure sensitive medical information. The guidelines are particularly focused on some key points that may arise in a clinician-patient communication. The rule of thumb is that the e-mail is mos probably not secure, and ealth professionals should not solicit confidential patient information via email, nor should patients supply such information. If it is absolutely imperative, the guidelines require tat such e-mail be encoded and encrypted. In cases of sharing benchmarking information and statistical data, it would be advisable to take out pertinent patient information as much as possible. There are 18 HIPAA Patient Identifiers that should be taken out, a list available on the HIPAA website (www.hipaa.org). [3] With regard to schools, some efforts at the district levels are being made to establish some security guidelines to protect the integrity of school records. The Consortium for School Networking, together with the Mass Networks Education Partnership in Allston, Mass., has produced the Cyber Security for a Digital District program (www. securedistrict.cosn.org) which provides administrators with an outline of what constitutes a secure database. [43] However, cost is still a major consideration for many school districts, one that has no immediate solution unless administrators and school boards alike are convinced of the importance of cyber-security in the schools. There have been some suggestions that law enforcement agencies take a more offensive take on cyber criminals and ISPs that host such activities, but this move is fraught with legal and ethical issues. Cyber crime is difficult to pin down because it is nealy amorphous in character. Unless it is proven without doubt that such a person or ISP is knowingly involved in the commission of cyber crimes such as identity theft, any law enforcement actions against what may prove to be an innocent party who may in turn be victims themselves would be ineffective. A recent development has been an unprecedented move by the US District Court in Alexandria, Va. On behalf of Project Honey Pot of anti-spam company Unspam Technologies, a $1 billion lawsuit was filed against spammers as well as those who harvest e-mail addresses for spammers. The lawsuit is the first and largest of its kind made possible by the efforts of members of Project Honey Pot who have been able to gather enough data to prosecute the alleged perpetrators with the use of the honey pot software, which identifies spam mail and IP addresses of the e-mail harvesters. The gathered data will enable prosecutors to subpoena ISP records for the involved IP addresses and its owners. The results of this litigation could well provide cyber criminals at least a pause in their activities. [28] Outstanding Issues One of main problems with countering unauthorized invasions is the lack of government spending on network security. Moreover, universities are churning out an inadequate supply of graduates with enough knowledge in network security to come up with practical and effective counters to what hackers can come up with. According to National Academy of Engineering (NAE) president William Wulf, there are perhaps about 200 serious computer security researchers in the US. Academic research is also notoriously slow in coming out with publications, much too slow to be of practical use in the rapid development of cyber-crime. Much of the brain drain is due to the demand of private enterprises, which pays a lot better than academic research, for talent to staff short-term projects that has nothing to do with security research. Purdue University Professor Eugene Spafford characterizes the attitude to security issues as most people view insurance. Software Engineering Institute’s Timothy J. Shimeall agrees as senior technical staff member of its Networked Systems Survivability Program. Not enough attention and resources is being devoted to security issues until it becomes a problem. For those who are involved in academic research in security, most are theoretical, with little or no practical basis, according to Columbia University computer science professor Salvatore J. Stolfo. [30] Another issue that has yet to be addressed is the management of the distributed-computing environment, in which the traditional, centralized concept of a security perimeter, known as the Orange Book architecture of the US Department of Defense’s Trusted Computer System Evaluation Criteria, is of little use. What is needed is long-term, systemic, non-theoretical view of the problem, rather than disaster management and short-term product cycle thinking. A survey, called the Risk of Sharing, of 300 companies in the US, UK and Australia revealed gaps in the business communications process due mainly to lack of process auditability, inadvertent exposure of confidential data, review cycle inaccuracies and resource loss through dealing with spam, amendments and approvals. [5] It has also been observed that many companies fail to make full use of the security softwar they already possess, and the reason for this appears to be data overload. When security software provides audit information for instances of attempts at invasion, it spews out a lot of information, much of it extraneous. Systems analysts must figure out which are the significant entries out of thousands of entries, and some companies resourt to outsourcing the work. [25] Conclusion The story of infected networks and compromised information has become all too familiar, a state of affairs that has begun to make itself felt with a vengeance. Of particular concern is the increasing number of incidents of identity theft. It is of concern to the individuals and corporations that are directly affected by it, but it is also a matter of national security, especially since the onslaught of terrorist attacks on the US. One side of the hackers economics is selling of legitimate identities to identified individuals who are persona non grata in the US. Identity theft is should thus be a priority for individuals, business entities and government agencies alike. Efforts by researchers to come up with defensive foils to stem the malware tide have met with mixed success as each step to successfully battling existing threats is countered by newer, more sophisticated and more dangerous threats. The economics behind the hacking industry has become huge as the world becomes more and more enmeshed in the cyber world, and the opportunities for profit is increasing as more and more industries are hooking up. However, the benefits of being connected still outweighs the drawbacks and the key to maintaining equilibrium is vigilance. On the far end of the security spectrum is government agencies that exact compliance for security regulations to deter cyber crime. Businesses follow suit as required because it is also to their benefit to do so, although many small companies have resistance because they have yet to feel the squeeze of an all-out hack attack. Big enterprises are more in the picture because they are bigger targets, although hackers are migrating more and more to softer targets whose resistance to regulations make them more vulnerable to attack. On the other end of the spectrum is the individual user, whether in the office or home setting. It is the responsibility of each user to be aware of the dangers, whether they are hooked up to local area network with the potential to infect from two to 50 other terminals because of a security suite that lacks maintenance, or the home user with an address book full of friends and family which has the potential of spreading malware with the ease of a click of a mouse. The tools to combat malicious cyber crime is available but users need to be educated about their responsibilities. Users need to be vigilant about their computer use, with their e-mails, with their IM sessions, even with their browsing behavior. As Uncle Ben said to Peter Parker, â€Å"with great power comes great responsibility.† Being interconnected has unleashed great power, and the responsibility to harness this power for the common good is very much in the hands of each user. Acknowledgment References â€Å"Bill authorizes $877 million for cyber security research.† Communications Today. December 7, 2001. Retrieved April 27, 2007 from http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0BMD/is_228_7/ai_80639935 â€Å"CinTel develops a network security solution that enables content filtering proxy.† EDP Weekly IT Monitor. August 8, 2005. Retrieved April 27, 2007 from http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0GZQ/is_30_46/ai_n14939952 â€Å"Do your e-mails comply with new security regs? HIPAA regs cover security and confidentiality.† HealthCare Benchmarks and Quality Improvement. May 2005. Retrieved April 26, 2007 from http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0NUZ/is_5_12/ai_n13759944 â€Å"Global threat trends in March 2007.† com. April 3, 2007. Retrieved April 27, 2007 from http://www.eset.eu/press_release_threats_march â€Å"New research uncovers security and audit risks.† International Journal of Micrographics Optical Technology. 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Retrieved April 27, 2007 from http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0PIL/is_2005_Sept_28/ai_n15636236 A paper that is focused on a current security research issue of your own choosing. â€Å"RSS network optimization, fraud prevention tools take demo stage.† eWEEK.com. February 6, 2006. Retrieved April 27, 2007 from http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1759,1920117,00.asp?kc=EWNKT0209KTX1K0100440 â€Å"ID thieves turn sights on smaller e-businesses: for online shoppers, security seals no guarantee that hackerts aren’t watching.† Washingtonpost.com. September 28, 2006. Retrieved April 27, 2007 from http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0NTQ/is_2006_Sept_28/ai_n16753298 â€Å"Can ID theft be solved with more regulation?† eWEEK.com. February 8, 2007. Retrieved April 26, 2007 from http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1895,2092459,00.asp Prince. â€Å"Report shows spike in online identity theft.† eWEEK.com. January 16, 2007. Retrieved April 27, 2007 from http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1895,2084453,00.asp [20]  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   C. Garretson. â€Å"Barracuda Networks enhances reputation analysis technology with behavior data.† Network World. April 17, 2007. Retrieved April 27, 2007 from http://www.networkworld.com/news/2007/041707-barracuda-e-mail-security-appliance-profiling.html Webb. â€Å"Government IT Review.† Washingtonpost.com. October 2, 2003. Retrieved April 27, 2007 from http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0NTQ/is_2003_Oct_2/ai_108454056 Chandler. â€Å"Storage services for data security: big business byte for enlightened operators.† Telecommunications Americas. August 2005. Retrieved April 26, 2007 from http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0NUH/is_9_39/ai_n15631277 Khun, T. Walsh and S. Fries. â€Å"Security considerations for Voice over IP systems.† January 2005. National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD 20899-8930. Sweeney. â€Å"Focus turns to network security: while many consider the telecoms infrastructure a vulnerable target for terrorists, the more immediate threats are attacks by individual hackers and authors of malicious code, which are presenting new security challenges for service providers.† Telecom Asia. January 2005. Retrieved April 27, 2007 from http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0FGI/is_1_16/ai_n9772934 Shein. â€Å"Spy vs. spy: companies are spending billions on network security, but staying ahead of hackers may be a pipe dream.† CFO: Magazine for Senior Financial Executives. February 2004. Retrieved April 27, 2007 from http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3870/is_2_20/ai_113051525 Paget. â€Å"Identity theft.† McAfee Avert Labs. December 15, 2006. Retrieved April 27, 2007 from www.mcafee.com McPartlin. â€Å"Somebodys watching you: spyware has come in from the cold to become corporate Americas top security threat.† CFO: Magazine for Senior Financial Executives. Summer 2005. 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