Wednesday, October 30, 2019
Challenges of factoring economic inequality into work-family programs Essay
Challenges of factoring economic inequality into work-family programs and policies - Essay Example They rely on government cash assistance, which is inadequate for providing even a minimal standard of living to these poor families. Therefore the biggest challenge for these families is that they must choose between health care and food, or between other necessary expenditures. Furthermore, many of these low-income families that are eligible for government cash or other assistance either do not know they are eligible, or find that the application process is very lengthy in receiving assistance (Mooney, Knox & Schacht, 2014). These challenges of excluding lower-income families from government policies and programs lead to certain implications. Around 67 percent of employed parents claim that they do not have enough time to spend time with their children, at the same time 63 percent of married workers complain that they cannot spend enough time with their partners (Bernstein & Kornbluh, 2015). Over half of all employees also claim that they do not even have enough time for themselves (Bernstein & Kornbluh, 2015). Such a tough routine of long working hours engenders feelings of stress and guilt that endangers the quality of family life, even as incomes rise (Bernstein & Kornbluh, 2015). Mothers reported that they spend an average of 5.5 hours a day caring their children in 1998, which is almost the same amount of time as mothers did in 1965 (Bernstein & Kornbluh, 2015). They accomplished this time with their children largely by cutting back on activities including sleep time, household work, leisure activities, and personal interest activities. In fact, it can be said that mothers who are a part of paid labour force forgo sleep equivalent to one night every week as opposed to mothers who are not a part of paid labor force (Bernstein & Kornbluh, 2015). Bernstein, J., & Kornbluh, K. (2005). Running Faster To Stay In Place: The Growth of Family Work Hours and Income (pp. 1-13). Washington DC: New American Foundation. Retrieved from
Monday, October 28, 2019
Math Anxiety and Math Self-Efficacy Essay Example for Free
Math Anxiety and Math Self-Efficacy Essay Objective: This is a descriptive-correlational study which investigated the relationship between math anxieties, math self-efficacies and math achievements of maritime college sophomores in Iloilo, Philippines. Method: This research was conducted at the three campuses of St. Therese- MTC Colleges, namely: Tigbauan, La Fiesta, and Magdalo Sites during the first semester of academic year 2004-2005. The participants of the study consisted of 316 maritime sophomores who were chosen using proportional random sampling. The data for this study were gathered using standardized questionnaires. For mathematics achievement, the mean of their grades in mathematics subjects taken in their first year were used. Basic descriptive statistics, one-way analysis of variance, t-test for independent samples, and Pearson-Product Moment correlation test were used to analyze data. Result: The study found out that the majority of the maritime sophomores belonged to the â€Å"terminal†case of math anxiety or was on the verge of becoming impatient, yet the majority had a high math self-efficacy level. Their math achievements, on the other hand, were generally poor. They differed significantly on their math achievement when grouped according to math anxiety and math self-efficacy. Finally, negative but significant relationship existed between math anxiety and math self-efficacy and math anxiety and math achievement while math self-efficacy and math achievement were positively and significantly related. In other words, those with low math anxiety had high math self-efficacy and consequently they performed better in math than those with high math anxiety and low math self-efficacy. Discussion: Results indicated that the higher math anxiety is the lower is math self-efficacy and math achievement. In the same manner, lower math anxiety results to high math self-efficacy which in turn results to high math achievement. This is consistent with studies done by previous researchers like Richardson and Suinn, (1972), and Suinn, et al, (1972) to name a few. Although three decades and cultural differences separated the studies, still similar results have been observed. This only implies that when it comes to factors related to math performance, time and culture have no bearing on the results. Conclusion: Generally, maritime college sophomores’ math achievements were poor. However, when they were grouped according to math anxiety and math self-efficacy, it showed that those with high self-efficacy had higher math achievement than those with low self-efficacy. Moreover, those with high math anxiety had lower math achievement compared to those with low math anxiety. The study suggests that math educators must look into building students’ confidence in mathematics to overcome their anxiety and thus, improve their overall performance in math.
Saturday, October 26, 2019
Revenge in Hamlet and The Revengers Tragedy Essay -- Elizabethan Reve
   In this study of revenge and revengers in two Elizabethan revenge tragedies the two plays I shall look at are Hamlet, by William Shakespeare, and The Revenger's Tragedy, by Thomas Middleton. I shall look first at the playwrights' handling of the characters of the revengers, and then at the treatment of the revengers by other characters in the plays. Although having similarities in their underlying themes, and in their adherence to conventions, these two plays present contrasting pictures of the figure of the revenger; Hamlet offering a far more complex treatment of its main character, and The Revenger's Tragedy appearing, in comparison, limited by the author's social message, and lacking in realistic characterisation. Hamlet and Vindice, the two revengers, have in common their tasks as revengers, but they have very different methods of dealing with situations, modes of thought, and instinctual behaviour. Middleton's Vindice is largely an allegorical character; his name and the names of other characters in The Revenger's Tragedy (e.g. Spurio, Ambitioso) are derived from Medieval morality plays; names which suggest the quality of near-farcical exaggeration which is a feature of The Revenger's Tragedy from the opening scene's remarkable similarity to a procession of the Seven Deadly Sins, to Vindice's simplistic association of lust with Judas and the Devil. Hamlet, in contrast, is an individual with depth, who suffers from insecurity, and a sense of absurdity. As we see him at the beginning of the play he is suffering from melancholy, not only from the death of his father, but also from "the moral shock of the sudden ghostly disclosure of his mother's true nature" (Bradley). Hamlet is psychologically real, and in my view... ...tentions in the face of a whimsical providence. Works Cited Bradley, A. C., John Russell. Brown, and A. C. Bradley. A.C. Bradley on Shakespeare's Tragedies: A Concise Edition and Reassessment. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2007. Print. Garber, Marjorie B. Profiling Shakespeare. New York: Routledge, 2008. Print. Nietzsche, Friedrich Wilhelm, and Ian Johnston. On the Use and Abuse of History for Life. Arlington, VA: Richer Resources Publications, 2010. Print. Erlich, Avi. Hamlet's Absent Father. Princeton, NJ: Princeton UP, 1977. Print. Middleton, Thomas. â€Å"The Revenger’s Tragedy.†1607. Five Revenge Tragedies. Ed. Emma Smith. London: Penguin Classics, 2012. Print. Shakespeare, William. Hamlet. New York: Bedford Books of St. Martin's Press, 1994. Wilson, J. Dover "What Happens in Hamlet" New York: Cambridge University Press, 1959 Revenge in Hamlet and The Revenger's Tragedy Essay -- Elizabethan Reve    In this study of revenge and revengers in two Elizabethan revenge tragedies the two plays I shall look at are Hamlet, by William Shakespeare, and The Revenger's Tragedy, by Thomas Middleton. I shall look first at the playwrights' handling of the characters of the revengers, and then at the treatment of the revengers by other characters in the plays. Although having similarities in their underlying themes, and in their adherence to conventions, these two plays present contrasting pictures of the figure of the revenger; Hamlet offering a far more complex treatment of its main character, and The Revenger's Tragedy appearing, in comparison, limited by the author's social message, and lacking in realistic characterisation. Hamlet and Vindice, the two revengers, have in common their tasks as revengers, but they have very different methods of dealing with situations, modes of thought, and instinctual behaviour. Middleton's Vindice is largely an allegorical character; his name and the names of other characters in The Revenger's Tragedy (e.g. Spurio, Ambitioso) are derived from Medieval morality plays; names which suggest the quality of near-farcical exaggeration which is a feature of The Revenger's Tragedy from the opening scene's remarkable similarity to a procession of the Seven Deadly Sins, to Vindice's simplistic association of lust with Judas and the Devil. Hamlet, in contrast, is an individual with depth, who suffers from insecurity, and a sense of absurdity. As we see him at the beginning of the play he is suffering from melancholy, not only from the death of his father, but also from "the moral shock of the sudden ghostly disclosure of his mother's true nature" (Bradley). Hamlet is psychologically real, and in my view... ...tentions in the face of a whimsical providence. Works Cited Bradley, A. C., John Russell. Brown, and A. C. Bradley. A.C. Bradley on Shakespeare's Tragedies: A Concise Edition and Reassessment. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2007. Print. Garber, Marjorie B. Profiling Shakespeare. New York: Routledge, 2008. Print. Nietzsche, Friedrich Wilhelm, and Ian Johnston. On the Use and Abuse of History for Life. Arlington, VA: Richer Resources Publications, 2010. Print. Erlich, Avi. Hamlet's Absent Father. Princeton, NJ: Princeton UP, 1977. Print. Middleton, Thomas. â€Å"The Revenger’s Tragedy.†1607. Five Revenge Tragedies. Ed. Emma Smith. London: Penguin Classics, 2012. Print. Shakespeare, William. Hamlet. New York: Bedford Books of St. Martin's Press, 1994. Wilson, J. Dover "What Happens in Hamlet" New York: Cambridge University Press, 1959
Thursday, October 24, 2019
Philippines Economic Growth Essay
The Philippines has a representative democracy modeled on United State’s system of government. Its republic type of government has also a presidential system of government with bicameral legislature and an independent judiciary wherein the president is limited to six years of terms. Whenever there are troubles experienced within the government of the Philippines, leaders tends to seek help and often times united States always offers help and assistance to the Philippines. Although historically speaking, they were once the conquerors of the Philippines. Both government are being attcked by terrorist which opposes the kind of leaders and leadership in the country.            Philippines is considered as one newly industrialized country located in South east Asia. It is also the fastest growing economy in Southeast Asia posting a GDP growth rate of 7.5% in 2007’s second quarter. (Hookway, 2007.p.A1). As compared to the United States the GDP of the Philippines is really far from US’ GDP rate of 88% over the past decades and until the present. United States is really a great country and is considered to be where the world’s largest gross domestic product rate is.            GDP per capita of the Philippines is estimated to be $5,700 in 2007 which is far behind the GDP per capita of the United States which is estimated $44,000 for this year.( US treasury Dept. 2007)            Unemployment rates in the Philippines is 7.9% while US is just half of it at 4.4%. This reflects how hardworking the Americans as compare to Filipinos who merely wants a simple life and simple way of living. Inflation rates in the Philippines is 2.3% which makes the economy more hopeful in the present statistics. The national government debt as a percentage of GDP rates in the Philippines is as high as $316.65 billion or 69.9% of GDP while United States only has $19billion or 0.16% of GDP. (wikipedia)            The level of technological development in the Philippines is not also as greater than in the United states. The Philippines is attracted to Japan made products and China influenced imitation of much lower quality technologies as compared to hight technological quality provided in the United States. This is one great disappointment regarding consumer decision making bf Filipinos who tends to buy more goods and commodities at a cheaper price but not of high quality. They tend to overlook the specifications of a certain of product because of high costs.            The level of infrastructural development in the Philippines is not really that far, because the country is taking its phase in cities where rises of buildings and commercial establishments are rampant. There are certain issues concerning how this infrastructures will be built because tax in the Philippines is really high thats why investors sometimes thinks twice of getting involved in dealing businesses in the country.            The high cost of materials, manpower and cost of permit is sometimes unfair on the part of investor. It becomes a gamble investing on a place where you will think twice if it will really profit once its already made and set up there. While infrastructural developments in the United States can be considerably good because in cities like New York where it is known to as the city that never sleeps, one business establishment will really profit because people keeps on going and going all day and night long.            Socioeconomic indicators that greatly affects the statistics of a certain country such as education, access to health care, clean water, etc. is also considered as one great factor in a progressive nation. For a country like Philippines, educational system can be considered competitive enough because it produces competent and skilled professionals nowadays. As far as United States education is concern because of course reality speaks that American Student are really ahead in terms of quality of education. Going back to History, American are also known as Thomasites which brought up high standards of education in the Philippines. Brain Drain is one common problem in the Philippines, after years of studying where Filipinos receive of high quality education, they goes out of the country and work for a higher salary. The tendency is the economy of such country raises and the downfall of professional statistics in the Philippines is experienced. They prefer to use the knowledge they’ve learned from their own country as a stepping stone to more opportunities abroad. Health Problems and medical assistance is also a factor in a country’s economic growth for Filipinos who lives in a country with more illness there is a bigger tendency not to perform well in school for students who are still studying and for employees who works hard int heir professions. The more persuasive you are working, the more tendency of being sick is. The sad part is that there are some instances that medical assistance is far at hand like in cases that we still need to ask help from other countries like the United States which is more medically advanced and this also results a deduction in our statistics because we need to pay for those medicines and medical experts from foreign countries. Abusing the environment is also one reason why people tends to suffer economically. Improper use of natural resources and pollution is one great threat on the Philippines Economic growth.            At present, there are many Foreign investors who wants to take risk and be involved in having business with the Philippines and this also provides greater opportunity on the countries statistics because it paves way for a more chance of paying debts and increase employment rates to Filipinos.            Talking about change, we really don’t need to compete with any other countries, we can content our economic needs by providing what it needs and at the same time going about business in supporting services and exports that have brought in much needed foreign exchange and help raising our economic status at its best. Great rates and percentage economically comes from people who strives hard and decides best in doing businesses and witty decision making. References                         Hookway, James. (2007). Wall Street Journal p. A1                         United States Department of Treasury 2007                        www.wikipedia.org
Wednesday, October 23, 2019
Modernism, Postmodernism
The youth culture of the 1960s represents the threshold between modernism and what, in most circles, passes for postmodernism. On the one hand, it is clearly an extension and reinvention of the historical avant-garde, and, on the other, it signals the increasing obsolescence of the (modernist) divide between elite and mass culture, between the artisanal and the mechanically reproduced.Reacting against the universalizing tendencies of high modernism (from abstract expressionism to the international style), and its dedication to seriousness, abstraction, and elegance, the new artists delighted in extending the range of art, in juxtaposing the exalted and the abject, the sacred and the profane, in being vernacular and relevant, and in rudely transgressing bourgeois norms.From the point of view of post-modern theory, the recent history of popular music can be seen to be marked by a trend towards the open and extensive mixing of styles and genres of music in very direct and self-conscious ways. Put very simply, the argument about the transition between modernism and postmodernism in pop music can be seen as the Beatles in the 1960s. The songs of the Beatles drew explicitly on diverse classical and popular forms and made a claim to what was for pop a new kind of musical and lyrical seriousness.Postmodernism first emerges out of a generational refusal of the categorical certainties of high modernism. The insistence on an absolute distinction between high and popular culture came to be regarded as the ‘unhip' assumption of an older generation. One sign of this collapse can be seen in the merging of art and pop music. For example, Peter Blake designed the cover of the Beatles' Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.Jameson (1991) distinguishes between modernist and post-modern pop music, making the argument that the Beatles and the Rolling Stones represent a modernist moment, against which punk rock and new wave can be seen as post-modern. In ‘Popular Mus ic and Postmodern Theory', Andrew Goodwin (1991) quite correctly argues that for various reasons this is a very difficult position to sustain. The Beatles and the Rolling Stones are as different from each other as together they are different from, say, the Clash and Talking Heads. In fact, ‘it would be much easier to make an argument in which the distinction is made between the â€Å"artifice†of the Beatles and Talking Heads and the â€Å"authenticity†of the Rolling Stones and the Clash' (55).Perhaps the best way to think of the relationship between pop music and postmodernism is historically. In most accounts, the moment of postmodernism begins in the late 1950s-the same period as the emergence of pop music. Therefore, in terms of periodization, pop music and postmodernism are more or less simultaneous. This does not necessarily mean that all pop music is post-modern. Using Raymond Williams's model of social formations always consisting of a hierarchy of cultu res-‘dominant', 'emergent' and ‘residual'-post-modern pop music can be seen as 'emergent' in the 1960s with the late Beatles, and the rock music of the counter-culture, as principal examples, and in the 1970s with ‘art school' punk, to become in the late 1980s the ‘cultural dominant' of pop music.It is also possible to see the consumption of pop music and the surrounding pop music culture as in itself post-modern. Instead of an approach concerned with identifying and analysing the post-modern text or practice, we might look instead for postmodernism in the emergence of particular patterns of consumption; people who actively seek out and celebrate pastiche. The notion of a particular group of consumers, people who consume with irony and take pleasure in the weird, is very suggestive.Flirtations with Eastern mysticism in the 1960s brought new influences; the success of the Beatles, and George Harrison’s fascination with the Indian sitar, increased exposu re to Indian music and to Ravi Shankar, probably the first distinct ‘world musician’, unquestionably promoting musical sounds and structures quite different from those in the West. Prior to the successes of Miriam Makeba, Ravi Shankar and Manu Dibango, the first African musician to have an international hit, and whose music helped usher in the disco era (Mitchell 1996), musicians with exceptional local and regional popularity were otherwise largely unknown in the West, because their music was unfamiliar and inaccessible, and the words incomprehensible (hence Western recording companies took little interest).The Beatles’ quest for mysticism, enlightenment and innovative sounds (which could be incorporated in Western musical structures, rather than being given a life of their own) was the forerunner of other Western performers’ similar searches for authenticity and difference. Paul Simon’s Graceland (1986) recorded English lyrics over tracks performed by black South African bands and the vocal group Ladysmith Black Mambazo.As many critics noted, rock may have been the most popular and influential art form during the late '60s, â€Å"the deepest means of communication and expression†that negotiated the incompatibility of the post-modern with the preindustrial by attempting to unite â€Å"a mass culture†with â€Å"a genuine folk culture.†In the mid-Sixties, electricity, poetry, sex, and rhythm mixed with another combustible element, drugs, to create psychedelia. Baby boomer parents worshipped doctors and high medicine and avidly ingested antidepressants and other medications to achieve altered states of mental and physical health.Likewise, baby boomers' drug experimentation aimed for transport to a new personal and world consciousness that would eliminate human barriers class, race, ideologyâ€â€dividing their parents' world. By 1965, a suite of drugs coursed through the rock community. Dylan and marijuana influenced the Beatles' Rubber Soul (1965), a folk rock record of soft edges and personal introspection. Attracting a male following, The Who, the Mod heroes, thrashed through early singles such as â€Å"Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere†and â€Å"My Generation†with amphetamine-fed punk fury.Acid rock borrowed sounds, scales, chords, and rhythms from around the world to distort space and time. The Beatles adapted Indian ragas and modal jazz to dislodge the rhythmic anchor and erase the four cardinal directions. In England, the Beatles were introduced to acid in 1965; they recorded Revolver a year later. Their variable tape speeds, tape loops, backward guitar and voice lines, and other experiments transformed basic rock and roll chords, beats, and voices into a tableau of acid-soaked sound, rhythm, and poetry. Especially disorienting was â€Å"Tomorrow Never Knows,†an early trance-rock number. Ringo Starr's bass drum figure, a human heartbeat, kicked time in reverse, while John Lennon's filtered vocals, chants inspired by the Tibetan Book of the Dead, seemed piped in from creation.In a key contribution, ‘Postmodernism, or the Cultural Logic of Late Capitalism', Jameson overviews postmodernism as the cultural expression of a new phase of capitalism, characterized by communications technologies facilitating the virtually instantaneous shifting of international capital, the emergence of new centres of capital (e.g. Japan) in a global economy, new class formations breaking with the traditional labour v. capital division, and a consumer capitalism which markets style, images and tastes as much as actual products. The commoditization of culture has resulted in a new populism of the mass media, a culture centred around the marketing and consumption of surfaces and appearances, epitomised by the ubiquity of commercial television.Despite its obvious plausibility as a general explanation of developments in popular culture, postmodernism su ffers from a number of difficulties. To heavily generalise, these are: its frequent lack of specificity; its overpreoccupation with texts and audiences at the expense of locating these within the economic and productive context within which cultural products reside; its reduction of history and politics and its ignoral of ‘traditional' sociological notions of production, class and ideology.The postmodernist view of rock music regards it as exemplifying the collapse of traditional distinctions between art and the commercial, the aesthetic and the unaesthetic, and the authentic and unauthentic. This view is most prominent in discussions of music video, with its affinities to advertising (Kaplan 1987). Popular cultural texts of the Beatles are regarded as dynamic not static, mediated both by patterns of economic and social organisation and the relationship of individuals and social groups to these patterns. This puts politics in a position of central importance, as culture is vie wed as a site of conflict and struggle, of negotiations which constantly confirm and redefine the existing conditions of domination and subordination in society.Against the backdrop of these cultural studies signposts, the construction of meaning in rock can be seen as embracing a number of factors: the music industry and its associated technologies, those who create the music, the nature of rock texts, the constitution of rock audiences and their modes of consumption, and attempts to influence and regulate all of these. The role of the music industry, in its drive to commodify rock and maximise profits, is the starting point for understanding rock.In film or in rock a certain historical logic can be reintroduced by the hypothesis that such newer media recapitulate the evolutionary stages or breaks between realism, modernism and postmodernism, in a compressed time span, such that the Beatles and the Stones occupy the high modernist moment embodied by the ‘auteurs' of 1950s and 1960s art films.Although animation was used in the early days of filmmaking and became just another form of studio production, it underwent big changes in the late twentieth century. A major break in such style occurred with the Beatles' animated film, Yellow Submarine (1968). Not only was the colour startling – a psychedelic experience of sorts, as some commented – but the animation also used a mixture of media that inspired what was later called the â€Å"blendo†style in which cels, cut-outs, clay figures – and more recently – computer graphics are blended (Cohen 1998).The application of postmodernism to popular music is primarily based on two perceived trends: firstly, the increasing evidence of pastiche, intertextuality, and eclecticism; and, secondly, increased cultural fusion and the collapsing of high-low culture type distinctions in rock. However, rock history demontrates that the first trend frequently actually reaffirms the distinctions supposedly being broken down in the second trend. Post-modern music clearly contributed to the increasingly global nature of cultural and economic linkages, mapping out new networks of commodity flow and entrepreneurial activity.At least at a surface level, all countries’ popular musics were shaped by international influences and institutions, by multinational capital and technology, by global pop norms and values. Even the most nationalist soundsâ€â€carefully cultivated ‘folk’ song, angry local dialect punk, preserved (for the tourist) traditional danceâ€â€were determined by a critique of international entertainment. The rise of rock ‘n’ roll, the success of the Beatles, alongside transitions in other cultural forms, ensured some measure of ubiquity.ReferencesCentore, F. F. (1991). Being and Becoming: A Critique of Post-Modernism, Greenwood Press: New York.Goodwin, Andrew. (1991). â€Å"Popular Music and Postmodern Theory†, Cultural Studies, 5.Jameson, Fredric (1991). Postmodernism, or, The Cultural Logic of Late Capitalism, Durham, NC: Duke University Press.Kaplan, E.A. (1987). Rocking Around the Clock: Music Television, Postmodernism, and Consumer Culture, New York: Methuen.Mitchell, T. (1996). Popular Music and Local Identity, Leicester University Press, London and New York.
Tuesday, October 22, 2019
mecbeth essays
mecbeth essays Lord of the Flies give us a clear difference between savagery and the civilized society. Goldings theme of civilization and savagery mostly revolves around Jacks character and focuses on his responsibility for the fall of rational society into barbarianism and Ralphs battle for order. Golding establishes a deserted island with a conflict between two different thoughts of pre civilized humanity and with no society, no rules, and no concerns except for personal survival, every man for them selves. Golding starts of the novel by straight away showing clear difference between savage and civilized. Ralph is playing on the beach naked and does not panic over the children's abandonment on the island. Nakedness is practised in uncivilized cultures. On the other hand, according to Claire Rosenfield it can also be a clear view of Eden which is understood as paradise. The temptation is to regard the island on which the children are marooned as a kind of Eden (2). But how does this Edenic paradise collapse? The first sign of trouble is when we see Jack and his marching choir. Jack and his choir seem strong and powerfull, with Jacks style and his choir marching in synch with one another. The group is also the first civilization on they island even though being a downbeat one. With his dark cloak and red hair, Jack seems to have a bad and evil sided impression. Jack is like a leader, he orders his choir as if they were troops. He does not allow room for neither discussion or ideas. The first role he chooses for his choir is to be hunters, which is violent, and shows savagery. However, Jack is not yet used to violence, because he had troubles in killing a pig. They knew very well why he hadnt: because of the enormity of the knife descending and cutting into living flesh; because of the unbearable blood (29). Jack is not used to violence. Golding shows that Jack must get himself to do...
Monday, October 21, 2019
antilegalization of Marijuana essays
antilegalization of Marijuana essays Dear Congressman, I am honored to be writing to you on such a significant topic of national concern. Average citizens are annoyed and just plain fatigued with the drugs and crime problems in America. These upright citizens, that contribute to the growth of American society, are being told that legalization is a reasonable alternative to dealing with these problems in their communities. Legalization of any drug is not a positive way to fight crime. In fact, there is no legitimate reason to legalize drugs. The Legalization of marijuana is the starting point of the pro-legalization of drugs movement. The issue of legalizing marijuana is truly a controversial one, and certainly one that requires a plethora of considerations at the top levels of the legislative branch. When considering the possibility of legalizing marijuana as a recreational drug, there are a number of concerns that come to mind. Is marijuana physically harmful to the user? Is marijuana an addictive drug? Does the use of marijuana lead to dependency situations? Does it act as "gateway" to more hazardous drugs? Does the notion of legalizing marijuana send an immoral, wrong message to the youth of America? Mr. Congressman, the answer to all these questions is YES. According to the DEA (1998), the supreme ruler of drug knowledge in America, there are over 10,0...
Sunday, October 20, 2019
PaÃÂses para obtener las visas H-2A y H-2B en 2019
Paà ses para obtener las visas H-2A y H-2B en 2019 Las visas H-2A y H-2B permiten a trabajadores extranjeros trabajar temporalmente en EE.UU. Para sacarlas es requisito indispensable ser ciudadano de determinados paà ses. Esta es la lista que aplica en 2019. Paà ses que permiten sacar las visas H-2a y H-2b A partir del 18 de enero de 2019, segà ºn ha publicado el Registro Federal de los Estados Unidos, y por validez de un aà ±o, los ciudadanos de 84 paà ses pueden beneficiarse de las visas H-2A que autorizan a trabajar temporalmente en labores agrà colas en EE.UU. Sin embargo, solamente los nacionales de 81 paà ses pueden solicitar la visa H-2B, para desempeà ±ar labores temporales no agrà colas. En el listado que sigue a continuacià ³n se listan los paà ses autorizados, con especificacià ³n de los restringidos solamente a la visa H-2A. AlemaniaAndorraArgentinaAustraliaAustriaBarbadosBà ©lgicaBrasilBruneiBulgariaCanadChileColombiaCorea del SurCosta RicaCroaciaDinamarcaEcuadorEl SalvadorEslovaquiaEsloveniaEspaà ±aEstoniaFijiFinlandiaFranciaGranadaGreciaGuatemalaHolandaHondurasHungrà aIrlandaIsla Salomà ³nIslandiaIsraelItaliaJamaicaJapà ³nKiribatiLetoniaLichtensteinLituaniaLuxemburgoMacedoniaMadagascarMaltaMà ©xicoMoldavia (solamente visa H-2A)Mà ³nacoMongoliaMontenegroMozambiqueNauruNicaraguaNoruegaNueva ZelandaPanamPapà ºa Nueva GuineaParaguay (solamente visa H-2A)Perà ºPoloniaPortugalReino UnidoRepà ºblica ChecaRepà ºblica Dominicana (solamente visa H-2A)Rumanà aSamoaSan MarinoSerbiaSingaporeSt. Vincent y GranadinaSudfricaSueciaSuizaTailandiaTaiwnTimorTogoTurquà aTuvaluUcraniaUruguayVanuatu Entre las novedades de este aà ±o destacan, por un lado, la inclusià ³n de Paraguay para las visas H-2A y, por otro, la exclusià ³n de Repà ºblica Dominicana del listado de paà ses con visas H-2B. La inclusià ³n de Paraguay fue justificada por el Departamento de Seguridad Interna (DHS, por sus siglas en inglà ©s) por el bajo porcentaje de paraguayos con visa que exceden el tiempo mximo autorizado de estancia en Estados Unidos y por la colaboracià ³n del gobierno paraguayo en los casos de deportaciones o expulsiones de sus nacionales. Por el contrario, se ha excluido a Repà ºblica Dominicana de las visas H-2B por el alto porcentaje –superior al 30 por ciento–de nacionales con esa visa que se quedaban en EE.UU. ms tiempo del autorizado. Las personas que por su nacionalidad estn excluidas de aplicar para estas visas pueden estar interesadas en considerar trabajar en un crucero, cuyas visas –C1/D– no excluyen a ningà ºn paà s. Existen agencias con buena reputacià ³n especializadas en emplear trabajadores extranjeros para cruceros y los salarios son superiores al salario mà nimo en EE.UU. Informacià ³n bsica sobre las visas H-2A y H-2B Las dos visas son muy parecidas y brindan la posibilidad de trabajar temporalmente en Estados Unidos, la H-2A en agricultura y la H-2B en trabajos no agrà colas como pueden ser, por ejemplo, hoteles, ferias ambulantes conocidas como Carnivals o resorts. Para ambas visas es requisito imprescindible que un empleador estadounidense o una agencia intermediaria que trabaja con las empresas americanas inicien la tramitacià ³n ya que deben obtener una certificacià ³n del Departamento de Trabajo y la aprobacià ³n del Servicio de Inmigracià ³n y Ciudadanà a de los Estados Unidos (USCIS, por sus siglas en inglà ©s). Es decir, no se trata de que si una persona extranjera desea una de estas visas puede solicitarla en el consulado. En otras palabras, es imprescindible obtener antes un contrato por parte de una empresa estadounidense que es quien obtiene los permisos y quien pone en marcha la tramitacià ³n antes las autoridades. Una vez iniciado este proceso ya se indicar al trabajador extranjero cundo debe presentarse a la embajada o al consulado de los Estados Unidos correspondiente para la entrevista para la visa. Cabe destacar que las empresas estadounidenses, aunque lo quisieran, no pueden contratar a todos los trabajadores estacionales extranjeros para visas H-2B que quieran. Cada aà ±o fiscal puede concederse un mximo anual de 66,000 visas para esta categorà a, 33.000 son asignadas en la primera mitad del aà ±o fiscal y las restantes en la segunda. Una vez que se llena el cupo no se pueden emitir ms visas en esta categorà a. Las excepciones son los trabajadores contratados por estos visados para trabajar en la industria de las huevas de pescado o aquellos que desempeà ±en servicios en Guam o en las Islas Marianas (territorios de los Estados Unidos en el Pacà fico). Sin embargo, las visas H-2A no tienen là mite anual y estn entre las que en los à ºltimos aà ±os han visto incrementar ms sus nà ºmeros. Los mexicanos son el 90 por ciento del total de visas emitidas en esta categorà a y North Carolina Growers Association y Washington Farm Labor Association son los mayores patrocinadores. Adems, hay el problema de los fraudes tanto en la visa H-2A como en la H-2B. Algunos patrones pagan menos de lo que corresponde. Hay que destacar que los extranjeros con estas visas pagan impuestos y que tienen derecho a cobrar, al menos, el salario mà nimo. Otra fuente de problemas son algunas agencias, que pueden ser fraudulentas. Se recomienda verificar las opiniones y experiencias de otros trabajadores con la misma visa y en el caso de Mà ©xico checar este listado de ms de 60 reclutadores para visas H-2A y H-2B. En algunos casos la organizacià ³n sin fin de lucro Contratados es una buena fuente para verificar si una agencia o reclutador cumple lo que promete. Puntos Clave: paà ses visas H-2A y H-2B Las visas H-2A permiten trabajar temporalmente en agricultura en EE.UU.Las visas H-2B permiten trabajar temporalmente en trabajos no agrà colas en EE.UU. Hay un là mite anual de 66.000 visas que pueden ser emitidas para esta categorà a.Nà ºmero de paà ses cuyos nacionales pueden obtener una H-2A: 84Nà ºmero de paà ses cuyos nacionales pueden obtener una H-2B:81Paà ses hispanohablantes que pueden optar a la H-2A: Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Espaà ±a, Guatemala, Honduras, Mà ©xico, Nicaragua, Panam, Paraguay, Perà º, Repà ºblica Dominicana y Perà º.Paà ses hispanohablantes que pueden optar a la H-2B: los mismos que en el listado anterior excepto Paraguay y Repà ºblica Dominicana.Requisito indispensable: que una empresa estadounidense inicie el proceso de los papeles directamente o a travà ©s de una agencia o reclutador. En ningà ºn caso el trabajador puede iniciar los trmites. Este artà culo es sà ³lo informativo. No es asesorà a legal para ningà ºn caso concreto.
Saturday, October 19, 2019
Efficiency of Clustering Algorithms in Mining Biological databases Research Paper
Efficiency of Clustering Algorithms in Mining Biological databases - Research Paper Example For example Hierarchical algorithms often work by either splitting or merging the groups being analyzed in order to develop a hierarchy of clusters that is based on the similarity of the sequences. On the other hand, partitioning algorithms work by partitioning the data sets being analyzed based on distance between them (Fayyad , 2003, 346). The selection of any type of clustering algorithm should however be primarily based on the nature of the sequences or clusters to be analyzed, the acceptable error expected as the availability of computational resources. This is particularly with regard to the fact that each of the categories of clustering algorithms has its own strengths and limitations and therefore suited for different tasks. Biological databases such as those involving the mining of protein or gene sequences are best analyzed using clustering algorithms because it provides detailed exploratory analysis of the sequences. This paper critically analyzes the efficiency of cluster ing algorithms in the mining of biological databases such as gene sequences. Applications of clustering algorithms in analyzing gene sequences During the statistical analysis of biological databases, the choice of clustering, the choice of clustering algorithm often depends on the nature of data sets as well as the intended application of the results. In biological data mining most of the sequences that are increasingly being analyzed using clustering algorithms include genomic as well as protein sequences. According to Werner (2008, 52), recent advances in bioinformatics have resulted in the increasing use of clustering algorithms in the analysis of both protein and gene sequences In the study of gene expressions, clustering is one of the major exploratory techniques used in the analysis of microarray slides containing hundreds of thousands of genes2. In such cases, clustering is employed to help group together similar genes and consequently enable the biologists to identify the re lationship between the particular genes as well as reduce the amount of information that is needed to be analyzed. Genes clustered together are usually co-regulated or sharing similar functions. Additionally when time series clustering methods are used, genes which exhibit similar characteristics at given times may be grouped together to indicate a possibility of co-regulation. Clustering algorithms can also be efficiently used analyze gene samples on the basis of similar expression patterns. Although expression patterns usually involve complex phenotypes, clustering analysis is one of the most effective techniques that can be used to identify arrays with similar or different phenotype characteristics. This application of clustering algorithms is particularly important in medical researches where the approach allows medical scientists to identify different pathologies on the basis of the gene expression patterns as opposed to the common histological methods. In unsupervised cluster analysis of gene expression arrays, the major assumption is usually that genes of the same biological process should be clustered together whether in condition dependent or in time series. Another important area in the mining of genetic databases in which clustering algorithms is significantly used is the analysis of gene profiles. In this regard clustering algorithm is potentially important in the analysis of sub classes of diseases as well as in the detection of genes
Friday, October 18, 2019
From civil rights to black power Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words - 1
From civil rights to black power - Essay Example Blacks, many working- and middle-class Whites themselves became angry and suspicious, charging that Blacks had already made too many gains at Whites expense. President Nixon who referred this as â€Å"the Silent Majority" of Americans who supported "law and order" and other white Americans worried about their economic prospects and their own future, law and order meant using the power of the government to keep Blacks in their place; they had already achieved too much, and now must accept their second-class status in American society.(1) From the 1970s on, conservatives, Republicans, and White Southern politicians have used code words about welfare, law and order, affirmative action, drugs and crime, teenage pregnancy, and the breakdown of the family to attract concerned Whites, who feel that Blacks are responsible for their own problems, not the government, not the of Blacks to law and order and the rights of Whites has helped shaped a White backlash against civil rights and further gains for Blacks civil rights since the 1970s. Unfortunately, this White back clash has only made young Blacks more angry, cynical, and suspicious about the government and White Society. Regarding the emergence of civil rights and black power movement we can explore a detailed study related to these occurrences. On July 26, 1948, President Harry Truman issued two executive orders, one instituted fair employment practices in the civilian agencies of the federal government; the other provided for "equality of treatment and opportunity in the armed forces without regard to race, color, religion, or national origin." This was a major victory for civil rights advocates in the quest for full citizenship.(2)Courtesy of the Chicago Daily Defender, Chicago, Illinois.)This was one beginning moment among others from which the racial sufferers gained inner strength to fight for the complete freedom. The African-American Civil Rights Movement (1955-1968) refers to the reform movements in the United
Personal and Social Relationships Research Paper
Personal and Social Relationships - Research Paper Example On the other hand, there are some who find it hard to reveal the experiences they have had before to people around them. (Lerner, 1986) When it comes to making friends, what matters is whether you have the same kind of experience the other person has and also the readiness you have to share with the other person. At the same time, you should be willing to listen to their experience because he or she might be having a different experience other than yours or nearly the same. This is very important because it makes them feel that they are recognized by the person to whom he is sharing the same experience. Because of this he or, she will al, ways be willing to share with the same friend and this, in turn, strengthens your relationship. (Kling, 1996) On the other hand, it is easy to for one to lose a friend if you don’t give him time to share out what he has to with you. If a friend listens to you it is very important that you equally give him or the same attention. Friends are ve ry important because in time of need they will always be ready to stand for you before other people. Their company also proves to be very interesting when hanging out. (In Smelser, 1963) Some people may find it difficult to relate wi, the others because they have specific interests only in particular areas. It might be because that people around them don’t share similar interests. ...They normally meet and discuss certain issues which all of them tend to prioritize. Currently, the internet has greatly contributed to grouping these people with specific interests together. Regardless of place and time they can easily interact through the Sometimes at the early stages of a relationship it may feel easy and exciting but for a long-lasting relationship, both partners must be actively involved by giving their efforts in building the relationship. Building a good foundation is very important for a relationship and this involves respect between the partners as well as appreciating wh at your partner has done for you. For example, in couples, they always tend to appreciate whatever has been done for them even if it is something small. This may also mean taking into consideration what your partner says and then giving compliments. This makes either of the partners feel that he or she is valued in a relationship. (Brody, 1994). Furthermore, the partners in the relationship may try to discover what they both have in common so that whenever they are spending time both will be enjoying the same things. As much as people are not perfect any of the partners can make a mistake in a relationship and because of this, there must be an established way of apologizing for the mistake. This is important because it makes the other partner feel that you are responsible for the actions you did. Sometimes partner in a relationship may get a topic which they will never come to an agreement and on such occasions, both have to agree to disagree and continue with the relationship. (Mar inelli, 1999).
Thursday, October 17, 2019
Professionalism in Nursing Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 6000 words
Professionalism in Nursing - Coursework Example From this report it is clear that clothing and conduct for students and practicing nurses were dictated strongly by dress codes and strict disciplinary protocols developed by hospital administrators in charge of nurses. Here, personality traits may have had negligible chance to emerge from the starch white uniforms and pulled back hair donned in a white cap. On the other hand, times have changed and most nursing students today are thrilled with the independence and career opportunities that have evolved for them at numerous levels, as well as those in advanced practice nursing. As the professional nursing arena expands and new roles develop, the professional nurse is expected to demonstrate respect for the faculty by continuing to don the traditional dress. This study declares that there should be awareness to nurses that appearance makes a lasting impression on patients, contemporaries, and the general public. Although dress and appearance alone cannot guarantee success in a nursing job, they can at the same time assure letdown. This is because patients do have their own expectations of a professional, including their personal preferences and generational influences. Since health care is a form of business, successful professionals must therefore attract a steady, growing patient population in order to survive. The professional nurse should therefore demonstrate respect for patients by developing relationships with them and projecting a positive public image that will help build a deep founded practice.... But these have become loosely adhered to. As a result, one finds nurses simply abandoning their traditional trade mark white uniform and substituting it with scrub suits and colorful jackets. Since nursing is becoming a professional practice, I will demonstrate respect to my peers by becoming more aware of how my appearance, behavior, and communication can influence the first impressions of others about me. I will therefore try to follow the dress code and the behavior expected of me as a professional nurse to the letter. Faculty In the past, clothing and conduct for students and practicing nurses were dictated strongly by dress codes and strict disciplinary protocols developed by hospital administrators in charge of nurses (Jacob, 1999). Here, personality traits may have had negligible chance to emerge from the starch white uniforms and pulled back hair donned in a white cap. On the other hand, times have changed and most nursing students today are thrilled with the independence and career opportunities that have evolved for them at numerous levels, as well as those in advanced practice nursing. As the professional nursing arena expands and new roles develop, the professional nurse is expected to demonstrate respect for the faculty by continuing to don the traditional dress. This is essentially because the professional dress and appearance continue to be very important facets of the nursing image especially within the faculty (Jacob, 1999). Patients As it has already been established, there should be awareness to nurses that appearance makes a lasting impression on patients, contemporaries, and the general public. Although dress and appearance alone cannot guarantee success in a nursing job, they can at the same time assure letdown
Implementation of the Intervention Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words
Implementation of the Intervention - Essay Example This has made cancer a topic of discussion at all social institutions: religion, education, political and also at home. Cancer, been a health issue, needs an intervention program that will help to reduce the number of deaths that occur annually. Most people come to learn of their cancer disease when it is too late as they are unaware of the signs and symptoms of the disease and have no access to the right medical services. There is therefore the need for cancer awareness to be raised all over the world, especially to the people living in marginalized areas (DeVita 23). This intervention is a primary level intervention and it needs support from all groups including the government, health care centers and non-governmental agencies. The government should take first priority in creating cancer awareness all over the country. It should work in hand with health centers to learn on the regions that need quick intervention and ways that can be used to educate them about the disease. Non-governmental agencies should also take up their role as advocates for the people who do not have the required information about cancer. DeVita, V. T., Lawrence, T. S., & Rosenberg, S. A. Cancer: Principles & practice of oncology: annual advances in oncology. Philadelphia: Wolters Kluwer/Lippincott Williams & Wilkins Health. 2011.Bottom of
Wednesday, October 16, 2019
Professionalism in Nursing Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 6000 words
Professionalism in Nursing - Coursework Example From this report it is clear that clothing and conduct for students and practicing nurses were dictated strongly by dress codes and strict disciplinary protocols developed by hospital administrators in charge of nurses. Here, personality traits may have had negligible chance to emerge from the starch white uniforms and pulled back hair donned in a white cap. On the other hand, times have changed and most nursing students today are thrilled with the independence and career opportunities that have evolved for them at numerous levels, as well as those in advanced practice nursing. As the professional nursing arena expands and new roles develop, the professional nurse is expected to demonstrate respect for the faculty by continuing to don the traditional dress. This study declares that there should be awareness to nurses that appearance makes a lasting impression on patients, contemporaries, and the general public. Although dress and appearance alone cannot guarantee success in a nursing job, they can at the same time assure letdown. This is because patients do have their own expectations of a professional, including their personal preferences and generational influences. Since health care is a form of business, successful professionals must therefore attract a steady, growing patient population in order to survive. The professional nurse should therefore demonstrate respect for patients by developing relationships with them and projecting a positive public image that will help build a deep founded practice.... But these have become loosely adhered to. As a result, one finds nurses simply abandoning their traditional trade mark white uniform and substituting it with scrub suits and colorful jackets. Since nursing is becoming a professional practice, I will demonstrate respect to my peers by becoming more aware of how my appearance, behavior, and communication can influence the first impressions of others about me. I will therefore try to follow the dress code and the behavior expected of me as a professional nurse to the letter. Faculty In the past, clothing and conduct for students and practicing nurses were dictated strongly by dress codes and strict disciplinary protocols developed by hospital administrators in charge of nurses (Jacob, 1999). Here, personality traits may have had negligible chance to emerge from the starch white uniforms and pulled back hair donned in a white cap. On the other hand, times have changed and most nursing students today are thrilled with the independence and career opportunities that have evolved for them at numerous levels, as well as those in advanced practice nursing. As the professional nursing arena expands and new roles develop, the professional nurse is expected to demonstrate respect for the faculty by continuing to don the traditional dress. This is essentially because the professional dress and appearance continue to be very important facets of the nursing image especially within the faculty (Jacob, 1999). Patients As it has already been established, there should be awareness to nurses that appearance makes a lasting impression on patients, contemporaries, and the general public. Although dress and appearance alone cannot guarantee success in a nursing job, they can at the same time assure letdown
Tuesday, October 15, 2019
Essay assignment, inferencing Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words
Assignment, inferencing - Essay Example Set in the early twentieth century Ireland, the story is narrated from a third person point of view. The key conflicts that the plot of the story develops is that of Eveline’s current choices – whether to stay at her home country and continue with her life as it is currently, or leave with her sailor boyfriend and chase the promises of a different, much rewarding but still uncertain future. James Joyce employs literary historicism to depict how life was in not only Ireland, but the entire Europe in the early twentieth centuries. The story is set in Ireland just immediately before the beginning of the first defining wars of that century. The country is characterized by a breakdown in social order which forms the core reason why the protagonist is trapped in the dilemma that she is in – whether to leave her home and her country for the uncertain destination posed by the seas. The family as the foundational social pillar is in distress. It is for this reason that the protagonist wants to cut links with her immediate past by leaving behind her family in the hopes that a faraway place holds a much more promising future for her and her husband. The protagonist reflects on how his father treated his brothers and on the unenviable role that her mother played in the family. In a characteristic norm during that period, she results to blaming England and the Catholic Churc h for her current predicament. England had made unwelcomed advances into Ireland in the early twentieth century. It is also during this period that rebel groups like the Irish Republican Army to take arms against the excesses of the British. Two years after James Joyce’s fictional account in Eveline. The Irish mounted an armed uprising to force the British rule out of their country – a timely response to the wishes of Eveline. The Catholic Church had also expanded its influence from Rome to
Learning Strategies and Information-Processing Development Essay Example for Free
Learning Strategies and Information-Processing Development Essay Learning can be simply defined as the process that leads to relatively permanent change in behavior or potential change in a person’s behavior. Learning makes one change the way they perceive the environment, react to stimuli and interact. Cognitive psychology is a very important branch of modern psychology. The main focus of this approach is the memory-how information is stored and retrieved. Several theories have been developed with regard to this subject such as the stage theory (Atkinson Shriffin, 1968). The stage theory model is widely accepted since it proposes that information is processed and stored in three sequential stages i.e. â€Å"the sensory memory, short-term memory, and long-term memory†(Atkinson Shriffin, 1968, p. 90). In addition to this model other accepted theories include levels-of-processing theory proposed by Craik and Lockhart (1972), the parallel-distributed processing model and the connectionistic model. This paper examines how attention, memory, recognition and knowledge are related to various learning strategies. In addition, the paper discusses how visual-perceptual, motor and language relate to information processing development. Information processing development As stated in the introduction above, cognitive psychology forms an integral part of the discipline of psychology. The most widely used theory is the stage theory whose focus is on how information is stored in memory. Information is processed in three stages and this is done in a serial and scholastic manner. Another important theory is the â€Å"levels-of-processing†theory whose proposition is that the learner utilizes different levels of explanation as he or she processes in formation. A major advantage of the information-processing strategies is in their explicitness and accuracy in diving complex cognitive functions into distinct elements that can be easily studied. However, when it comes to analyzing cognition into its distinct parts; information processing fails to re-unite them into a general, comprehensive construct. In addition, most information processing tools such as computer models have lost touch with real-life learning experiences (Berk, 2009). Information processing approach towards cognition seeks to explain how the learner (children and adults) operate on the different types of information. Most scholars view the mind as a complex system (a type of computer) through which information flows and is manipulated. General models such as the store model by Atkinson and Shiffrin assume that information is stored in three parts of the brain for processing: â€Å"the sensory register, short-term memory, and long-term memory†(Berk, 2010, para.1). Craik and Lockhart (1972) level-of-processing model assumes that information is transferred from working memory to the long-term memory depending on the level processing. There exist several other information processing developmental models such as the Case’s theory which is a reinterpretation of Piaget’s theory of information processing model. Case views cognitive development as the increase in information processing capacity as a result of brain development which can be linked to more efficient learning strategies. Connectionism on the other hand explains information processing development as a result of learning strategies such as computer-simulated strategies which enhance; inter-connectivity of processing units that are well stratified just like the neurological structure of the brain. Siegler’s using his model of learning strategy choice argues that, learners always generate a number of strategies for problem solving, the more the experience, the more strategies are selected or discarded (Kail Cavanaugh, 2008). Attention is a critical factor when it comes to human thinking, it dictates the information that will be considered when undertaking a task. Attention is greatly enhanced during early and middle stages of childhood. Thus, improved attention makes one to be more adaptable, selective and organized. Enhanced cognitive reticence and efficacy of attentional learning strategies are pertinent to the fine-tuning of selective attention. The fine tuning of attentional learning strategies takes place in four stages: â€Å"production deficiency, control deficiency, utilization deficiency, and effective strategy use†(para.2). Whenever there is a problem with attention students would develop learning disorders. The argument here is that, when a student is learning a new concept, their attention needs to be focused on the new concept. If they fail to fully pay their attention, it means that they will have a serious problem with the learning of the new information (Kail Cavanaugh, 2008). Memory strategies are said to improve with age, as children continue to develop various methods such as, organization, and elaboration. This increases the likelihood of storing information in working memory and its consequential transfer to the long-term knowledge bank. Thus, over childhood stages and even in adolescence, students’ recall steadily improves as knowledge is continually amassed and its organization is improved effectively. Childrens metacognitive abilities usually change from passivity to activity. A more productive view of mental functioning increases with the increase in awareness of information processing strategies, cognitive aptitudes, and task variables. Self-regulation cognitively develops gradually during childhood and adolescence stages. Recently, scholars of information-processing have focused their attention towards academic learning of children (Berk, 2009). Visual-perceptual, motor and language relation to information processing development A visual-perceptual skill is simply the brain’s ability to process information as seen. Previously, most scholars had assumed that a deficiency in visual-perceptual skills was directly linked to the malfunctioning of the eye. That is having a poor physical vision or poor muscle control in the eye. However, the presence or absence of physical vision has nothing to do with visual perceptual. Instead, visual perceptual refers to the ability of the brain the receiving of visual information, its interpretation, organization, storage, and transmission Thus, if a student’s brain is not properly storing information, recall will definitely be poor. This directly affects the student’s ability to concentrate and read since he or she has a slow recall of words. The slowing down of recall can also have a negative impact on their mathematical abilities let alone their fluency in speech and reading (Smith 2004). Language and phonological processing abilities are affected by the student’s ability to store, process, and retrieve information. Usually language and phonological problems are rooted to reading disorders. Many students with reading disorders have difficulty storing, processing, and retrieving information. A normal student’s left brain hemisphere becomes dominant when they are carrying out tasks involving language processing (Berk 2009). A student’s motor skills are also an important factor when discussing about learning strategies. Children will learn from their interaction with the environment; this ability is affected hindered by a child’s motor or verbal skills, a child will learn better when their motor skills are well developed. This can be observed in a math class. A conventional practice in the learning of fractions is the use of multiplication. A student with a problem with their motor skills will have a problem with the use of manipulatives. Thus they will definitely have it rough when it comes to the learning of fractions (Berk, 2010). Conclusion This paper argues that there exist several other information processing developmental models such as the Case’s theory which is a reinterpretation of Piaget’s theory of information processing model. Case views cognitive development as the increase in information processing capacity as a result of brain development which can be linked to more efficient learning strategies. The most widely used theory is the stage theory whose focus is on how information is stored in memory. Learning strategies such as memory strategies are pertinent to the process of information development. Information processing approach towards cognition explains how the learner operates on various kinds of information. The mind is a complex system (a type of computer) through which information flows and is manipulated. Deficits in information processing skills have negative impacts on a student’s ability to learn effectively. This is attributed to the reason that all learning is relatively cumulative. Thus, problems in learning should be detected early in enough and solved otherwise; they would get worse with advancement of age.
Sunday, October 13, 2019
Presentation Of Iago In Othello English Literature Essay
Presentation Of Iago In Othello English Literature Essay The plot of the play Othello is that the Moorish soldier Othello and a young Venetian lady Desdemona secretly marry. Her father isnt happy by this secret ceremony and warns Othello that if she can deceive her own father she might some day do the same to him. Iago later uses Desdemona against Othello in the play. He does this because he is jealous of Othello who became promoted to the job he feels he should have got. To complete this plot of his, he speaks many lies and proceeds in many incidents to convince Othello that Desdemona is being disloyal to him by having an affair with another man-Cassio. In Act 1 Scene 2 Iago starts off speaking to Othello. He is trying to gain his trust by telling Othello all the things he has done wrong and all of his regrets. He speaks about him being with Desdemona and then he goes onto saying that he thinks she is betraying him. Iago is trying to make Othello suspect Desdemona for being unfaithful to him and gives Othello images he can picture in his head (which then relates back to when Othello saw Desdemona and Cassio dancing together). Cassio then walks in, this makes Iagos plan go even better for him even though it wasnt what he planned to happen. Cassio comes in asking Othello to go to Cyprus because the duke would like to have an appearance from him. Iago then says that Othello cannot go because he is married. Shakespeare has done this so Iago can make it look like Cassio is trying to send Othello away so he can be with Desdemona. In Act 1 Scene 3, Shakespeare has revealed Iagos entire plan. He is thinking aloud so the whole plot is revealed to us. It shows that Iago wants revenge on Othello because when he is speaking to Roderigo he says: I hate the Moor; Let us be conjunctive in our revenge against him. Then later in the scene he reveals his plan, saying that Desdemona is the love of his life and that she is his only weakness. So if she is made to seem that she is sleeping with Cassio then he will go to Iago and tell him he was right all along and thank him for realising it. If Iagos plan went to how he wanted, then this would mean that out of gratefulness for realising what he couldnt see, Othello would then do anything to repay him. In Act 2 Scene 1 Iago is again alone with Roderigo, they are speaking about Desdemona, and because Roderigo is so madly in love with her, Iago can still use this to his advantage. In this scene, Iago says first, I must tell thee this Desdemona is directly in love with him. Shakespeare is still showing how Iago can make things sound and how he can use the people he is manipulating. Iago then moves on to Othello and tries to gain his trust. He is trying to get Othello to trust him so he will later believe him about Desdemona sleeping with Cassio. In Act 2 Scene 3 Iago is with Cassio and Iago is trying to get Cassio drunk so he can make Cassio make stupid mistakes so his plan will be more convincing. Iago says If I can fasten but one cup upon him, with that which he hath drunk to-night already, hell be as full of quarrel and offence as my young mistress dog. Shakespeare has presented Iago in this way because he is discreetly making Cassio drink without him taking any notice of what he is doing. Iago has now given Cassio many cups of wine and Cassio becomes aggressive towards Montano, Iago then tells Roderigo to go and report to Othello of Cassios state, this is so Othello will loose all trust in Cassio for becoming so rowdy. Cassio says to Othello I pray you, pardon me; I cannot speak Othello now thinks that now he cannot trust him because he is easily persuaded. He now trusts Iago more because he was the one who supposedly stopped him getting out of control. Later in the scene, Iago is with Cassio, and Cassio is feeling like his life is a mess. Iago tells him to go and see Desdemona because she can sort out his life. Cassio has obviously gained Iagos trust because he takes his advice and goes to see her. He is desperate to sort his life out and will do anything to get it back in order. William Shakespeare has portrayed Iago as a scheming person who will do anything in order out of spite and jealousy. Iagos character can gain any persons trust in such a discreet way, he can give them advice and they will take it. This is why Iagos plan goes right because everyone believes him until last minute when it is too late to change things. The audience is prepared for Iagos character because you see his evil side, especially when he speaks his plan out aloud to the audience at the end of Act 1 Scene 3; he announces his jealousy and hate for Othello which makes you prepared for the ending.
Saturday, October 12, 2019
The Touch, The Feel Of Hemp-- The Fiber Of Our Lives :: essays research papers
The Touch, The Feel of Hemp-- The Fiber of Our Lives Imagine how useful a Swiss Army Knife with more than 2500 functions would be if it was compact enough to be manageable. And imagine that this â€Å"knife†could help solve some very important problems that plague our environment as well as our society. Now think if the production of this tool was to be banned by the government. There would have to be some very strong reasons for the government to deny this extremely useful product to the people it governs. If the reasons for this interdiction were not very strong it would be absurd to think that the ban would last for an extended period of time. Well some people will be surprised to know that this very injustice is happening as we speak right here in our wonderful United States of America. The injustice I am describing is our governments ban on the cultivation of the hemp plant in our country. In this article I hope to inform the uninformed and reinform the misinformed on the subject of the hemp plant and how it would benefit us to encourage its widespread production. Industrial hemp is only a cousin of the drug producing plant, marijuana, but as far as the government is concerned they are the same things. Even though there is no chance a person could get high from smoking hemp, the government still prohibits its growth. Hemp does contain some THC, the chemical in pot that makes you high, but only a trace amount. To get the same buzz that a person would get from smoking one marijuana cigarette you would have to smoke twenty or thirty rolled from hemp and you would have to do in about the same amount of time. Common sense tells us that smoking this much of anything in a short amount of time would make you sick. If you smoke some industrial hemp you will only get a headache, and if you smoke more you will only get a bigger headache. The government has the same reason for the banning marijuana as they do for the ban on hemp, when hemp only contains trace amounts of the intoxicants that makes it illegal. Hemp can be compared to non-alcoholic beer, nut meg, cough syrup and mouthwash. NA beer and mouthwash contain alcohol, but nobody drinks them to get drunk. Nutmeg and cough syrup contain some psychoactive substances, but nobody uses these common products to get high.
Friday, October 11, 2019
Boyz in the Hood Essay
Boyz in the Hood is a vivid video representation of what life is like for those who live in the hood. There are two families that were the focus within the movie: The Styles and The Bakers. The director of the movie, John Singleton, wants his viewers to compare the lives of the individuals within the movie to their own lives so there could be a change in our society. He discretely expresses the importance of a good upbringing by a fatherly figure. I believe that this made the difference with the two families. It made all the difference to be brought up in the right circumstances. The two families were brought up in a lower class part of Los Angeles. The area is a low income neighborhood with the homes in need of much repair. In the movie there is un-cut grass and un-raked leaves cumbering the ground. The paint on the walls is chipped and dull. The movie shows Tre at a young age sent to his father Furious. Tre and the Bakers children, Doughboy and Ricky become good friends throughout their teen years. It is interesting that these kids would get into so much trouble by just trying to find things to keep them occupied. In one scene of the movie, Ricky took a football as they were walking around town. A group of teenagers eyed the ball and desired to take it. With a little contention they stole the ball. After a small conflict, they got the ball back. There were many differences between the two families. The Baker family did not have a male figure in the home. The mother, Brenda tended to take care of the kids on her own. In the Styles home there was no father because Tre’s mom and dad, Reva and Furious separated. Even though Furious did not live with his family, he was around to help Tre become a man. When Tre’ was in the middle years of elementary school, he made an agreement with his parents that if he got into trouble, he would be sent to live with his dad. Indeed that ended up happening and he lived with his father till he was around 20 years old. During these years, he learned many things that helped prepare him for life. There was one pivotal point within the move that helped illustrate this. On a clear, beautiful day Tre and Furious went fishing. There was an ulterior motive to spending that type of quality time. It gave Furious and Tre the opportunity to communicate. Furious could give insight and ask Tre questions. Furious states, â€Å"Black man aint got no place in the army. †He offers his fatherly council to impress Tre not to join the army. Also within the boat Furious asks Tre what he knows about sex. After a short remark from Tre, his dad says, â€Å"Only a real man can raise children. †This comment made a big influence on Tre whether he knew it or not. Through his teen years, he maintained his virtue. Doughboy and Ricky Styles on the other hand did not have the fatherly council that Furious offered to Tre. They were left to themselves to learn how to become men. Their mother, Brenda, was not the best example for them while they were children. She would call them names that I would never imagine would come out of a mother’s mouth. The lack of respect for women is a good indicator of the lack of fatherly influence for the Styles. Doughboy thought he was tough. He thought that he was superior to all around him. His attitude might have contributed to him being in jail. After getting out of jail, he had nothing going for him. He would hang around the porch with his thug buddies. Ricky was in a better frame of mind with regards to his future. He wanted to get an education while playing football for the University of California in Loa Angeles. I believe that Ricky turned out better because Tre became his fatherly figure. Ricky and Tre were best friends. They wanted each other to succeed in life and would do anything for each other. While Tre first moved in with his dad, Furious blurted a statement that came true many years later. He says, â€Å"you’re gonna see how they end up too. †He was referring to the Styles children who were young at the time. There is a fulfillment of this prophesy at the end of the movie. Both Ricky and Doughboy end up being tragically shot and killed. I really had a hard time with the fact that Ricky died. Despite his upbringing, he had things going for him. The examples that were set forth within the movie vividly gives food for thought of what we can do to make a difference. For Tre, he was fortunate to have well educated parents that showed good examples. The Styles children lacked these aspects and it played an important roll on how they turned out. Therefore, if the movie accurately portrays the outcome of such circumstances, then we need to make a difference in society by starting in the home. By raising children in an environment that will help them make wise critical decisions, I believe this will accomplish what director John Shingleton wanted to convey to his viewers.
Thursday, October 10, 2019
The Art of War
Sun-Tzu Wu is the reputed author of the Chinese classic Ping-fa (The Art of War), written approximately 475-221 B. C. Penned at a time when China was divided into six or seven states that often resorted to war with each other in their struggles for supremacy, it is a systematic guide to strategy and tactics for rulers and commanders. In doing business on the Internet during this time of rampant computer viruses and hacker attacks it may be wise for us to follow some of his tactical principles in order to insure the safety of ourselves and our future clients. Know your enemy and know yourself; in a hundred battles, you will never be defeated. When you are ignorant of the enemy but know yourself, your chances of winning or losing are equal. If ignorant both of your enemy and of yourself, you are sure to be defeated in every battle. In a chilling article entitled Big Brother is Watching Bob Sullivan of MSNBC recounts a tale during a recent visit to London: Only moments after stepping into the Webshack Internet cafe in London†s Soho neighborhood, â€Å"Mark†asked me what I thought of George W. Bush and Al Gore. â€Å"I wouldn†t want Bush running things,†he said. â€Å"Because he can†t run his Web site.†Then he showed me a variety of ways to hack Bush†s Web sites. That was just the beginning of a far-reaching chat during which the group nearly convinced me Big Brother is in fact here in London. â€Å"I don†t know if he can run the free world,†Mark said. â€Å"He can†t keep the Texas banking system computers secure. So-called â€Å"2600†clubs are a kind of hacker â€Å"boy scout†organization – there are local 2600 chapters all around the globe. It is in this environment, and this mindset, that London†s hackers do their work. They do not analyze computer systems and learn how to break them out of spite, or some childish need to destroy: Mark and friends see themselves as merely accumulating knowledge that could be used in self-defense if necessary. They are the citizen†s militia, the Freedom Fighters of the Information Age, trying to stay one step ahead of technology that could one day be turned against them. Jon-K Adams in his treatise entitled Hacker Ideology (aka Hacking Freedom) states that hackers have been called both techno-revolutionaries and heroes of the computer revolution. Hacking â€Å"has become a cultural icon about decentralized power.†But for all that, hackers are reluctant rebels. They prefer to fight with code than with words. And they would rather appear on the net than at a news conference. Status in the hacker world cannot be granted by the general public: it takes a hacker to know and appreciate a hacker. That's part of the hacker's revolutionary reluctance; the other part is the news media's slant toward sensationalism, such as, â€Å"A cyberspace dragnet snared fugitive hacker.†The public tends to think of hacking as synonymous with computer crime, with breaking into computers and stealing and destroying valuable data. As a result of this tabloid mentality, the hacker attempts to fade into the digital world, where he-and it is almost always he-has a place if not a! In his self-conception, the hacker is not a criminal, but rather a â€Å"person who enjoys exploring the details of programmable systems and how to stretch their capabilities.†Which means that he is not necessarily a computer geek. The hacker defines himself in terms that extend beyond the computer, as an â€Å"expert or enthusiast of any kind. One might be an astronomy hacker†(Jargon File). So in the broadest sense of his self-conception, the hacker hacks knowledge; he wants to know how things work, and the computer-the prototypical programmable system-simply offers more complexity and possibility, and thus more fascination, than most other things. >From this perspective, hacking appears to be a harmless if nerdish enthusiasm. But at the same time, this seemingly innocent enthusiasm is animated by an ideology that leads to a conflict with civil authority. The hacker is motivated by the belief that the search for knowledge is an end in itself and should be unrestricted. But invariably, when a hacker explores programmable systems, he encounters barriers that bureaucracies impose in the name of security. For the hacker, these security measures become arbitrary limits placed on his exploration, or in cases that often lead to confrontation, they become the focus of further explorations: for the hacker, security measures simply represent a more challenging programmable system. As a result, when a hacker explores such systems, he hacks knowledge, but ideologically he hacks the freedom to access knowledge. Political hackers are another group considering themselves modern freedom fighters. â€Å"Hacktivists†have officially moved from nerdish extremists to become the political protest visionaries of the digital age, a meeting at the Institute of Contemporary Arts in London was told on Thursday. Paul Mobbs, an experienced Internet activist and anti-capitalist protestor, will tell attendees that the techniques used by politically minded computer hackers  from jamming corporate networks and sending email viruses to defacing Web sites  has moved into the realm of political campaigning. Mobbs says that the term â€Å"Hacktivism†has been adopted by so many different groups, from peaceful Net campaigners to Internet hate groups, that it is essentially meaningless, but claims that Internet protest is here to stay. â€Å"It has a place, whether people like it or not,†says Mobbs. Steve Mizrach in his 1997 dissertation entitled Is there a Hacker Ethic for 90s Hackers? delves into this subject in great detail. He describes the divergent groups of hackers and explains their modus operandi: I define the computer underground as members of the following six groups. Sometimes I refer to the CU as â€Å"90s hackers†or â€Å"new hackers,†as opposed to old hackers, who are hackers (old sense of the term) from the 60s who subscribed to the original Hacker Ethic.  § Hackers (Crackers, system intruders) – These are people who attempt to penetrate security systems on remote computers. This is the new sense of the term, whereas the old sense of the term simply referred to a person who was capable of creating hacks, or elegant, unusual, and unexpected uses of technology. Typical magazines (both print and online) read by hackers include 2600 and Iron Feather Journal.  § Phreaks (Phone Phreakers, Blue Boxers) – These are people who attempt to use technology to explore and/or control the telephone system. Originally, this involved the use of â€Å"blue boxes†or tone generators, but as the phone company began using digital instead of electro-mechanical switches, the phreaks became more like hackers. Typical magazines read by Phreaks include Phrack, Line Noize, and New Fone Express.  § Virus writers (also, creators of Trojans, worms, logic bombs) – These are people who write code which attempts to a) reproduce itself on other systems without authorization and b) often has a side effect, whether that be to display a message, play a prank, or trash a hard drive. Agents and spiders are essentially ‘benevolent' virii, raising the question of how underground this activity really is. Typical magazines read by Virus writers include 40HEX.  § Pirates – Piracy is sort of a non-technical matter. Originally, it involved breaking copy protection on software, and this activity was called â€Å"cracking.†Nowadays, few software vendors use copy protection, but there are still various minor measures used to prevent the unauthorized duplication of software. Pirates devote themselves to thwarting these things and sharing commercial software freely with their friends. They usually read Pirate Newsletter and Pirate magazine.  § Cypherpunks (cryptoanarchists) – Cypherpunks freely distribute the tools and methods for making use of strong encryption, which is basically unbreakable except by massive supercomputers. Because the NSA and FBI cannot break strong encryption (which is the basis of the PGP or Pretty Good Privacy), programs that employ it are classified as munitions, and distribution of algorithms that make use of it is a felony. Some cryptoanarchists advocate strong encryption as a tool to completely evade the State, by preventing any access whatsoever to financial or personal information. They typically read the Cypherpunks mailing list.  § Anarchists – are committed to distributing illegal (or at least morally suspect) information, including but not limited to data on bombmaking, lockpicking, pornography, drug manufacturing, pirate radio, and cable and satellite TV piracy. In this parlance of the computer underground, anarchists are less likely to advocate the overthrow of government than the simple refusal to obey restrictions on distributing information. They tend to read Cult of the Dead Cow (CDC) and Activist Times Incorporated (ATI).  § Cyberpunk – usually some combination of the above, plus interest in technological self-modification, science fiction of the Neuromancer genre, and interest in hardware hacking and â€Å"street tech.†A youth subculture in its own right, with some overlaps with the â€Å"modern primitive†and â€Å"raver†subcultures. So should we fear these geeky little mischief-makers? The New York Post revealed recently that a busboy allegedly managed to steal millions of dollars from the world†s richest people by stealing their identities and tricking credit agencies and brokerage firms. In his article describing this event Bob Sullivan says, â€Å"Abraham Abdallah, I think, did us all a favor, for he has exposed as a sham the security at the world†s most important financial institutions.†The same two free e-mail addresses were used to request financial transfers for six different wealthy Merrill Lynch clients, according to the Post story. Merrill Lynch didn†t notice? Why would Merrill accept any transfer requests, indeed take any financial communication seriously at all, from a free, obviously unverified anonymous e-mail account? I†m alarmed by the checks and balances that must be in place at big New York brokerage firms. Rather than being a story about a genius who almost got away, this is simply one more story of easy identity theft amid a tidal wave of similar crimes. The Federal Trade Commission has received 40,000 complaints of identity theft since it started keeping track two years ago, but the agency is certain that represents only a fraction of real victims. This is a serious problem, long ignored by the industry. If fact, just last year the credit industry beat back a congressional bill known as The Identity Theft Protection Act, claiming it would be too expensive for them. â€Å"Clearly there has to be more leveling of the playing field. We have to hold banks and credit unions accountable.†Last month the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) was again warning electronic-commerce Web sites to patch their Windows-based systems to protect their data against hackers. The FBI's National Infrastructure Protection Center (NIPC) has coordinated investigations over the past several months into organized hacker activities targeting e-commerce sites. More than 40 victims in 20 states have been identified in the ongoing investigations, which have included law enforcement agencies outside the United States and private sector officials. The investigations have uncovered several organized hacker groups from Russia, the Ukraine, and elsewhere in Eastern Europe that have penetrated U.S. e-commerce and online banking computer systems by exploiting vulnerabilities in the Windows NT operating system, the statement said. Microsoft has released patches for these vulnerabilities, which can be downloaded from Microsoft's Web site for free. Once the hackers gain access, they download proprietary information, customer databases, and credit card information, according to the FBI. The hackers subsequently contact the company and attempt to extort money by offering to patch the system and by offering to protect the company's systems from exploitation by other hackers. The hackers tell the victim that without their services they cannot guarantee that other hackers will not access their networks and post stolen credit card information and details about the site's security vulnerability on the Internet. If the company does not pay or hire the group for its security services, the threats escalate, the FBI said. Investigators also believe that in some instances the credit card information is being sold to organized crime groups. Defend yourself when you cannot defeat the enemy, and attack the enemy when you can. Scott Culp in a detailed list of security precautions on Microsoft†s Web page suggests that there are ten immutable laws of security. Law #1: If a bad guy can persuade you to run his program on your computer, it's not your computer anymore. It's an unfortunate fact of computer science: when a computer program runs, it will do what it's programmed to do, even if it's programmed to be harmful. When you choose to run a program, you are making a decision to turn over control of your computer to it. That's why it's important to never run, or even download, a program from an untrusted source – and by â€Å"source†, I mean the person who wrote it, not the person who gave it to you. Law #2: If a bad guy can alter the operating system on your computer, it's not your computer anymore. In the end, an operating system is just a series of ones and zeroes that, when interpreted by the processor, cause the machine to do certain things. Change the ones and zeroes, and it will do something different. To understand why, consider that operating system files are among the most trusted ones on the computer, and they generally run with system-level privileges. That is, they can do absolutely anything. Among other things, they're trusted to manage user accounts, handle password changes, and enforce the rules governing who can do what on the computer. If a bad guy can change them, the now-untrustworthy files will do his bidding, and there's no limit to what he can do. He can steal passwords, make himself an administrator on the machine, or add entirely new functions to the operating system. To prevent this type of attack, make sure that the system files (and the registry! , for that matter) are well protected. Law #3: If a bad guy has unrestricted physical access to your computer, it's not your computer anymore. He could mount the ultimate low-tech denial of service attack, and smash your computer with a sledgehammer.  § He could unplug the computer, haul it out of your building, and hold it for ransom.  § He could boot the computer from a floppy disk, and reformat your hard drive. But wait, you say, I've configured the BIOS on my computer to prompt for a password when I turn the power on. No problem – if he can open the case and get his hands on the system hardware, he could just replace the BIOS chips. (Actually, there are even easier ways).  § He could remove the hard drive from your computer, install it into his computer, and read it.  § He could make a duplicate of your hard drive and take it back his lair. Once there, he'd have all the time in the world to conduct brute-force attacks, such as trying every possible logon password. Programs are available to automate this and, given enough time, it's almost certain that he would succeed. Once that happens, Laws #1 and #2 above apply  § He could replace your keyboard with one that contains a radio transmitter. He could then monitor everything you type, including your password. Always make sure that a computer is physically protected in a way that's consistent with its value – and remember that the value of a machine includes not only the value of the hardware itself, but the value of the data on it, and the value of the access to your network that a bad guy could gain. At a minimum, business-critical machines like domain controllers, database servers, and print/file servers should always be in a locked room that only people charged with administration and maintenance can access. But you may want to consider protecting other machines as well, and potentially using additional protective measures. If you travel with a laptop, it's absolutely critical that you protect it. The same features that make laptops great to travel with – small size, light weight, and so forth – also make them easy to steal. There are a variety of locks and alarms available for laptops, and some models let you remove the hard drive and carry it with you. You also can use features like the Encrypting File System in Windows 2000 to mitigate the damage if someone succeeded in stealing the computer. But the only way you can know with 100% certainty that your data is safe and the hardware hasn't been tampered with is to keep the laptop on your person at all times while traveling. Law #4: If you allow a bad guy to upload programs to your web site, it's not your web site any more. This is basically Law #1 in reverse. In that scenario, the bad guy tricks his victim into downloading a harmful program onto his machine and running it. In this one, the bad guy uploads a harmful program to a machine and runs it himself. Although this scenario is a danger anytime you allow strangers to connect to your machine, web sites are involved in the overwhelming majority of these cases. Many people who operate web sites are too hospitable for their own good, and allow visitors to upload programs to the site and run them. As we've seen above, unpleasant things can happen if a bad guy's program can run on your machine. If you run a web site, you need to limit what visitors can do. You should only allow a program on your site if you wrote it yourself, or if you trust the developer who wrote it. But that may not be enough. If your web site is one of several hosted on a shared server, you need to be extra careful. If a bad guy can compromise one of the other sites on the server, it's possible he could extend his control to the server itself, in which case he could control all of the sites on it – including yours. If you're on a shared server, it's important to find out what the server administrator's policies are. Law #5: Weak passwords trump strong security. The purpose of having a logon process is to establish who you are. Once the operating system knows who you are, it can grant or deny requests for system resources appropriately. If a bad guy learns your password, he can log on as you. In fact, as far as the operating system is concerned, he is you. Whatever you can do on the system, he can do as well, because he's you. Maybe he wants to read sensitive information you've stored on your computer, like your email. Maybe you have more privileges on the network than he does, and being you will let him do things he normally couldn't. Or maybe he just wants to do something malicious and blame it on you. In any case, it's worth protecting your credentials. Always use a password – it's amazing how many accounts have blank passwords. And choose a complex one. Don't use your dog's name, your anniversary date, or the name of the local football team. And don't use the word â€Å"password†! Pick a password that has a mix of upper- and lower-case letters, number, punctuation marks, and so forth. Make it as long as possible. And change it often. Once you've picked a strong password, handle it appropriately. Don't write it down. If you absolutely must write it down, at the very least keep it in a safe or a locked drawer – the first thing a bad guy who's hunting for passwords will do is check for a yellow sticky note on the side of your screen, or in the top desk drawer. Don't tell anyone what your password is. Remember what Ben Franklin said: two people can keep a secret, but only if one of them is dead. Finally, consider using something stronger than passwords to identify yourself to the system. Windows 2000, for instance, supports the use of smart cards, which significantly strengthens the identity checking the system can perform. You may also want to consider biometric products like fingerprint and retina scanners. Law #6: A machine is only as secure as the administrator is trustworthy. Every computer must have an administrator: someone who can install software, configure the operating system, add and manage user accounts, establish security policies, and handle all the other management tasks associated with keeping a computer up and running. By definition, these tasks require that he have control over the machine. This puts the administrator in a position of unequalled power. An untrustworthy administrator can negate every other security measure you've taken. He can change the permissions on the machine, modify the system security policies, install malicious software, add bogus users, or do any of a million other things. He can subvert virtually any protective measure in the operating system, because he controls it. Worst of all, he can cover his tracks. If you have an untrustworthy administrator, you have absolutely no security. When hiring a system administrator, recognize the position of trust that administrators occupy, and only hire people who warrant that trust. Call his references, and ask them about his previous work record, especially with regard to any security incidents at previous employers. If appropriate for your organization, you may also consider taking a step that banks and other security-conscious companies do, and require that your administrators pass a complete background check at hiring time, and at periodic intervals afterward. Whatever criteria you select, apply them across the board. Don't give anyone administrative privileges on your network unless they've been vetted – and this includes temporary employees and contractors, too. Next, take steps to help keep honest people honest. Use sign-in/sign-out sheets to track who's been in the server room. (You do have a server room with a locked door, right? If not, re-read Law #3). Implement a â€Å"two person†rule when installing or upgrading software. Diversify management tasks as much as possible, as a way of minimizing how much power any one administrator has. Also, don't use the Administrator account – instead, give each administrator a separate account with administrative privileges, so you can tell who's doing what. Finally, consider taking steps to make it more difficult for a rogue administrator to cover his tracks. For instance, store audit data on write-only media, or house System A's audit data on System B, and make sure that the two systems have different administrators. The more accountable your administrators are, the less likely you are to have problems. Law #7: Encrypted data is only as secure as the decryption key. Suppose you installed the biggest, strongest, most secure lock in the world on your front door, but you put the key under the front door mat. It wouldn't really matter how strong the lock is, would it? The critical factor would be the poor way the key was protected, because if a burglar could find it, he'd have everything he needed to open the lock. Encrypted data works the same way – no matter how strong the cryptoalgorithm is, the data is only as safe as the key that can decrypt it. Many operating systems and cryptographic software products give you an option to store cryptographic keys on the computer. The advantage is convenience – you don't have to handle the key – but it comes at the cost of security. The keys are usually obfuscated (that is, hidden), and some of the obfuscation methods are quite good. But in the end, no matter how well-hidden the key is, if it's on the machine it can be found. It has to be – after all, the software can find it, so a sufficiently-motivated bad guy could find it, too. Whenever possible, use offline storage for keys. If the key is a word or phrase, memorize it. If not, export it to a floppy disk, make a backup copy, and store the copies in separate, secure locations. Law #8: An out of date virus scanner is only marginally better than no virus scanner at all. Virus scanners work by comparing the data on your computer against a collection of virus â€Å"signatures†. Each signature is characteristic of a particular virus, and when the scanner finds data in a file, email, or elsewhere that matches the signature, it concludes that it's found a virus. However, a virus scanner can only scan for the viruses it knows about. It's vital that you keep your virus scanner's signature file up to date, as new viruses are created every day. The problem actually goes a bit deeper than this, though. Typically, a new virus will do the greatest amount of damage during the early stages of its life, precisely because few people will be able to detect it. Once word gets around that a new virus is on the loose and people update their virus signatures, the spread of the virus falls off drastically. The key is to get ahead of the curve, and have updated signature files on your machine before the virus hits. Virtually every maker of anti-virus software provides a way to get free updated signature files from their web site. In fact, many have â€Å"push†services, in which they'll send notification every time a new signature file is released. Use these services. Also, keep the virus scanner itself – that is, the scanning software – updated as well. Virus writers periodically develop new techniques that require that the scanners change how they do their work. Law #9: Absolute anonymity isn't practical, in real life or on the web. All human interaction involves exchanging data of some kind. If someone weaves enough of that data together, they can identify you. Think about all the information that a person can glean in just a short conversation with you. In one glance, they can gauge your height, weight, and approximate age. Your accent will probably tell them what country you're from, and may even tell them what region of the country. If you talk about anything other than the weather, you'll probably tell them something about your family, your interests, where you live, and what you do for a living. It doesn't take long for someone to collect enough information to figure out who you are. If you crave absolute anonymity, your best bet is to live in a cave and shun all human contact. The same thing is true of the Internet. If you visit a web site, the owner can, if he's sufficiently motivated, find out who you are. After all, the ones and zeroes that make up the web session have be able to find their way to the right place, and that place is your computer. There are a lot of measures you can take to disguise the bits, and the more of them you use, the more thoroughly the bits will be disguised. For instance, you could use network address translation to mask your actual IP address, subscribe to an anonymizing service that launders the bits by relaying them from one end of the ether to the other, use a different ISP account for different purposes, surf certain sites only from public kiosks, and so on. All of these make it more difficult to determine who you are, but none of them make it impossible. Do you know for certain who operates the anonymizing service? Maybe it's the same person who owns the web site you just visited! Or what about that innocuous web ! site you visited yesterday, that offered to mail you a free $10 off coupon? Maybe the owner is willing to share information with other web site owners. If so, the second web site owner may be able to correlate the information from the two sites and determine who you are. Does this mean that privacy on the web is a lost cause? Not at all. What it means is that the best way to protect your privacy on the Internet is the same as the way you protect your privacy in normal life – through your behavior. Read the privacy statements on the web sites you visit, and only do business with ones whose practices you agree with. If you're worried about cookies, disable them. Most importantly, avoid indiscriminate web surfing – recognize that just as most cities have a bad side of town that's best avoided, the Internet does too. But if it's complete and total anonymity you want, better start looking for that cave. The Art of War Sun-Tzu Wu is the reputed author of the Chinese classic Ping-fa (The Art of War), written approximately 475-221 B. C. Penned at a time when China was divided into six or seven states that often resorted to war with each other in their struggles for supremacy, it is a systematic guide to strategy and tactics for rulers and commanders. In doing business on the Internet during this time of rampant computer viruses and hacker attacks it may be wise for us to follow some of his tactical principles in order to insure the safety of ourselves and our future clients. Know your enemy and know yourself; in a hundred battles, you will never be defeated. When you are ignorant of the enemy but know yourself, your chances of winning or losing are equal. If ignorant both of your enemy and of yourself, you are sure to be defeated in every battle. In a chilling article entitled Big Brother is Watching Bob Sullivan of MSNBC recounts a tale during a recent visit to London: Only moments after stepping into the Webshack Internet cafe in London†s Soho neighborhood, â€Å"Mark†asked me what I thought of George W. Bush and Al Gore. â€Å"I wouldn†t want Bush running things,†he said. â€Å"Because he can†t run his Web site.†Then he showed me a variety of ways to hack Bush†s Web sites. That was just the beginning of a far-reaching chat during which the group nearly convinced me Big Brother is in fact here in London. â€Å"I don†t know if he can run the free world,†Mark said. â€Å"He can†t keep the Texas banking system computers secure. So-called â€Å"2600†clubs are a kind of hacker â€Å"boy scout†organization – there are local 2600 chapters all around the globe. It is in this environment, and this mindset, that London†s hackers do their work. They do not analyze computer systems and learn how to break them out of spite, or some childish need to destroy: Mark and friends see themselves as merely accumulating knowledge that could be used in self-defense if necessary. They are the citizen†s militia, the Freedom Fighters of the Information Age, trying to stay one step ahead of technology that could one day be turned against them. Jon-K Adams in his treatise entitled Hacker Ideology (aka Hacking Freedom) states that hackers have been called both techno-revolutionaries and heroes of the computer revolution. Hacking â€Å"has become a cultural icon about decentralized power.†But for all that, hackers are reluctant rebels. They prefer to fight with code than with words. And they would rather appear on the net than at a news conference. Status in the hacker world cannot be granted by the general public: it takes a hacker to know and appreciate a hacker. That's part of the hacker's revolutionary reluctance; the other part is the news media's slant toward sensationalism, such as, â€Å"A cyberspace dragnet snared fugitive hacker.†The public tends to think of hacking as synonymous with computer crime, with breaking into computers and stealing and destroying valuable data. As a result of this tabloid mentality, the hacker attempts to fade into the digital world, where he-and it is almost always he-has a place if not a! In his self-conception, the hacker is not a criminal, but rather a â€Å"person who enjoys exploring the details of programmable systems and how to stretch their capabilities.†Which means that he is not necessarily a computer geek. The hacker defines himself in terms that extend beyond the computer, as an â€Å"expert or enthusiast of any kind. One might be an astronomy hacker†(Jargon File). So in the broadest sense of his self-conception, the hacker hacks knowledge; he wants to know how things work, and the computer-the prototypical programmable system-simply offers more complexity and possibility, and thus more fascination, than most other things. >From this perspective, hacking appears to be a harmless if nerdish enthusiasm. But at the same time, this seemingly innocent enthusiasm is animated by an ideology that leads to a conflict with civil authority. The hacker is motivated by the belief that the search for knowledge is an end in itself and should be unrestricted. But invariably, when a hacker explores programmable systems, he encounters barriers that bureaucracies impose in the name of security. For the hacker, these security measures become arbitrary limits placed on his exploration, or in cases that often lead to confrontation, they become the focus of further explorations: for the hacker, security measures simply represent a more challenging programmable system. As a result, when a hacker explores such systems, he hacks knowledge, but ideologically he hacks the freedom to access knowledge. Political hackers are another group considering themselves modern freedom fighters. â€Å"Hacktivists†have officially moved from nerdish extremists to become the political protest visionaries of the digital age, a meeting at the Institute of Contemporary Arts in London was told on Thursday. Paul Mobbs, an experienced Internet activist and anti-capitalist protestor, will tell attendees that the techniques used by politically minded computer hackers  from jamming corporate networks and sending email viruses to defacing Web sites  has moved into the realm of political campaigning. Mobbs says that the term â€Å"Hacktivism†has been adopted by so many different groups, from peaceful Net campaigners to Internet hate groups, that it is essentially meaningless, but claims that Internet protest is here to stay. â€Å"It has a place, whether people like it or not,†says Mobbs. Steve Mizrach in his 1997 dissertation entitled Is there a Hacker Ethic for 90s Hackers? delves into this subject in great detail. He describes the divergent groups of hackers and explains their modus operandi: I define the computer underground as members of the following six groups. Sometimes I refer to the CU as â€Å"90s hackers†or â€Å"new hackers,†as opposed to old hackers, who are hackers (old sense of the term) from the 60s who subscribed to the original Hacker Ethic.  § Hackers (Crackers, system intruders) – These are people who attempt to penetrate security systems on remote computers. This is the new sense of the term, whereas the old sense of the term simply referred to a person who was capable of creating hacks, or elegant, unusual, and unexpected uses of technology. Typical magazines (both print and online) read by hackers include 2600 and Iron Feather Journal.  § Phreaks (Phone Phreakers, Blue Boxers) – These are people who attempt to use technology to explore and/or control the telephone system. Originally, this involved the use of â€Å"blue boxes†or tone generators, but as the phone company began using digital instead of electro-mechanical switches, the phreaks became more like hackers. Typical magazines read by Phreaks include Phrack, Line Noize, and New Fone Express.  § Virus writers (also, creators of Trojans, worms, logic bombs) – These are people who write code which attempts to a) reproduce itself on other systems without authorization and b) often has a side effect, whether that be to display a message, play a prank, or trash a hard drive. Agents and spiders are essentially ‘benevolent' virii, raising the question of how underground this activity really is. Typical magazines read by Virus writers include 40HEX.  § Pirates – Piracy is sort of a non-technical matter. Originally, it involved breaking copy protection on software, and this activity was called â€Å"cracking.†Nowadays, few software vendors use copy protection, but there are still various minor measures used to prevent the unauthorized duplication of software. Pirates devote themselves to thwarting these things and sharing commercial software freely with their friends. They usually read Pirate Newsletter and Pirate magazine.  § Cypherpunks (cryptoanarchists) – Cypherpunks freely distribute the tools and methods for making use of strong encryption, which is basically unbreakable except by massive supercomputers. Because the NSA and FBI cannot break strong encryption (which is the basis of the PGP or Pretty Good Privacy), programs that employ it are classified as munitions, and distribution of algorithms that make use of it is a felony. Some cryptoanarchists advocate strong encryption as a tool to completely evade the State, by preventing any access whatsoever to financial or personal information. They typically read the Cypherpunks mailing list.  § Anarchists – are committed to distributing illegal (or at least morally suspect) information, including but not limited to data on bombmaking, lockpicking, pornography, drug manufacturing, pirate radio, and cable and satellite TV piracy. In this parlance of the computer underground, anarchists are less likely to advocate the overthrow of government than the simple refusal to obey restrictions on distributing information. They tend to read Cult of the Dead Cow (CDC) and Activist Times Incorporated (ATI).  § Cyberpunk – usually some combination of the above, plus interest in technological self-modification, science fiction of the Neuromancer genre, and interest in hardware hacking and â€Å"street tech.†A youth subculture in its own right, with some overlaps with the â€Å"modern primitive†and â€Å"raver†subcultures. So should we fear these geeky little mischief-makers? The New York Post revealed recently that a busboy allegedly managed to steal millions of dollars from the world†s richest people by stealing their identities and tricking credit agencies and brokerage firms. In his article describing this event Bob Sullivan says, â€Å"Abraham Abdallah, I think, did us all a favor, for he has exposed as a sham the security at the world†s most important financial institutions.†The same two free e-mail addresses were used to request financial transfers for six different wealthy Merrill Lynch clients, according to the Post story. Merrill Lynch didn†t notice? Why would Merrill accept any transfer requests, indeed take any financial communication seriously at all, from a free, obviously unverified anonymous e-mail account? I†m alarmed by the checks and balances that must be in place at big New York brokerage firms. Rather than being a story about a genius who almost got away, this is simply one more story of easy identity theft amid a tidal wave of similar crimes. The Federal Trade Commission has received 40,000 complaints of identity theft since it started keeping track two years ago, but the agency is certain that represents only a fraction of real victims. This is a serious problem, long ignored by the industry. If fact, just last year the credit industry beat back a congressional bill known as The Identity Theft Protection Act, claiming it would be too expensive for them. â€Å"Clearly there has to be more leveling of the playing field. We have to hold banks and credit unions accountable.†Last month the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) was again warning electronic-commerce Web sites to patch their Windows-based systems to protect their data against hackers. The FBI's National Infrastructure Protection Center (NIPC) has coordinated investigations over the past several months into organized hacker activities targeting e-commerce sites. More than 40 victims in 20 states have been identified in the ongoing investigations, which have included law enforcement agencies outside the United States and private sector officials. The investigations have uncovered several organized hacker groups from Russia, the Ukraine, and elsewhere in Eastern Europe that have penetrated U.S. e-commerce and online banking computer systems by exploiting vulnerabilities in the Windows NT operating system, the statement said. Microsoft has released patches for these vulnerabilities, which can be downloaded from Microsoft's Web site for free. Once the hackers gain access, they download proprietary information, customer databases, and credit card information, according to the FBI. The hackers subsequently contact the company and attempt to extort money by offering to patch the system and by offering to protect the company's systems from exploitation by other hackers. The hackers tell the victim that without their services they cannot guarantee that other hackers will not access their networks and post stolen credit card information and details about the site's security vulnerability on the Internet. If the company does not pay or hire the group for its security services, the threats escalate, the FBI said. Investigators also believe that in some instances the credit card information is being sold to organized crime groups. Defend yourself when you cannot defeat the enemy, and attack the enemy when you can. Scott Culp in a detailed list of security precautions on Microsoft†s Web page suggests that there are ten immutable laws of security. Law #1: If a bad guy can persuade you to run his program on your computer, it's not your computer anymore. It's an unfortunate fact of computer science: when a computer program runs, it will do what it's programmed to do, even if it's programmed to be harmful. When you choose to run a program, you are making a decision to turn over control of your computer to it. That's why it's important to never run, or even download, a program from an untrusted source – and by â€Å"source†, I mean the person who wrote it, not the person who gave it to you. Law #2: If a bad guy can alter the operating system on your computer, it's not your computer anymore. In the end, an operating system is just a series of ones and zeroes that, when interpreted by the processor, cause the machine to do certain things. Change the ones and zeroes, and it will do something different. To understand why, consider that operating system files are among the most trusted ones on the computer, and they generally run with system-level privileges. That is, they can do absolutely anything. Among other things, they're trusted to manage user accounts, handle password changes, and enforce the rules governing who can do what on the computer. If a bad guy can change them, the now-untrustworthy files will do his bidding, and there's no limit to what he can do. He can steal passwords, make himself an administrator on the machine, or add entirely new functions to the operating system. To prevent this type of attack, make sure that the system files (and the registry! , for that matter) are well protected. Law #3: If a bad guy has unrestricted physical access to your computer, it's not your computer anymore. He could mount the ultimate low-tech denial of service attack, and smash your computer with a sledgehammer.  § He could unplug the computer, haul it out of your building, and hold it for ransom.  § He could boot the computer from a floppy disk, and reformat your hard drive. But wait, you say, I've configured the BIOS on my computer to prompt for a password when I turn the power on. No problem – if he can open the case and get his hands on the system hardware, he could just replace the BIOS chips. (Actually, there are even easier ways).  § He could remove the hard drive from your computer, install it into his computer, and read it.  § He could make a duplicate of your hard drive and take it back his lair. Once there, he'd have all the time in the world to conduct brute-force attacks, such as trying every possible logon password. Programs are available to automate this and, given enough time, it's almost certain that he would succeed. Once that happens, Laws #1 and #2 above apply  § He could replace your keyboard with one that contains a radio transmitter. He could then monitor everything you type, including your password. Always make sure that a computer is physically protected in a way that's consistent with its value – and remember that the value of a machine includes not only the value of the hardware itself, but the value of the data on it, and the value of the access to your network that a bad guy could gain. At a minimum, business-critical machines like domain controllers, database servers, and print/file servers should always be in a locked room that only people charged with administration and maintenance can access. But you may want to consider protecting other machines as well, and potentially using additional protective measures. If you travel with a laptop, it's absolutely critical that you protect it. The same features that make laptops great to travel with – small size, light weight, and so forth – also make them easy to steal. There are a variety of locks and alarms available for laptops, and some models let you remove the hard drive and carry it with you. You also can use features like the Encrypting File System in Windows 2000 to mitigate the damage if someone succeeded in stealing the computer. But the only way you can know with 100% certainty that your data is safe and the hardware hasn't been tampered with is to keep the laptop on your person at all times while traveling. Law #4: If you allow a bad guy to upload programs to your web site, it's not your web site any more. This is basically Law #1 in reverse. In that scenario, the bad guy tricks his victim into downloading a harmful program onto his machine and running it. In this one, the bad guy uploads a harmful program to a machine and runs it himself. Although this scenario is a danger anytime you allow strangers to connect to your machine, web sites are involved in the overwhelming majority of these cases. Many people who operate web sites are too hospitable for their own good, and allow visitors to upload programs to the site and run them. As we've seen above, unpleasant things can happen if a bad guy's program can run on your machine. If you run a web site, you need to limit what visitors can do. You should only allow a program on your site if you wrote it yourself, or if you trust the developer who wrote it. But that may not be enough. If your web site is one of several hosted on a shared server, you need to be extra careful. If a bad guy can compromise one of the other sites on the server, it's possible he could extend his control to the server itself, in which case he could control all of the sites on it – including yours. If you're on a shared server, it's important to find out what the server administrator's policies are. Law #5: Weak passwords trump strong security. The purpose of having a logon process is to establish who you are. Once the operating system knows who you are, it can grant or deny requests for system resources appropriately. If a bad guy learns your password, he can log on as you. In fact, as far as the operating system is concerned, he is you. Whatever you can do on the system, he can do as well, because he's you. Maybe he wants to read sensitive information you've stored on your computer, like your email. Maybe you have more privileges on the network than he does, and being you will let him do things he normally couldn't. Or maybe he just wants to do something malicious and blame it on you. In any case, it's worth protecting your credentials. Always use a password – it's amazing how many accounts have blank passwords. And choose a complex one. Don't use your dog's name, your anniversary date, or the name of the local football team. And don't use the word â€Å"password†! Pick a password that has a mix of upper- and lower-case letters, number, punctuation marks, and so forth. Make it as long as possible. And change it often. Once you've picked a strong password, handle it appropriately. Don't write it down. If you absolutely must write it down, at the very least keep it in a safe or a locked drawer – the first thing a bad guy who's hunting for passwords will do is check for a yellow sticky note on the side of your screen, or in the top desk drawer. Don't tell anyone what your password is. Remember what Ben Franklin said: two people can keep a secret, but only if one of them is dead. Finally, consider using something stronger than passwords to identify yourself to the system. Windows 2000, for instance, supports the use of smart cards, which significantly strengthens the identity checking the system can perform. You may also want to consider biometric products like fingerprint and retina scanners. Law #6: A machine is only as secure as the administrator is trustworthy. Every computer must have an administrator: someone who can install software, configure the operating system, add and manage user accounts, establish security policies, and handle all the other management tasks associated with keeping a computer up and running. By definition, these tasks require that he have control over the machine. This puts the administrator in a position of unequalled power. An untrustworthy administrator can negate every other security measure you've taken. He can change the permissions on the machine, modify the system security policies, install malicious software, add bogus users, or do any of a million other things. He can subvert virtually any protective measure in the operating system, because he controls it. Worst of all, he can cover his tracks. If you have an untrustworthy administrator, you have absolutely no security. When hiring a system administrator, recognize the position of trust that administrators occupy, and only hire people who warrant that trust. Call his references, and ask them about his previous work record, especially with regard to any security incidents at previous employers. If appropriate for your organization, you may also consider taking a step that banks and other security-conscious companies do, and require that your administrators pass a complete background check at hiring time, and at periodic intervals afterward. Whatever criteria you select, apply them across the board. Don't give anyone administrative privileges on your network unless they've been vetted – and this includes temporary employees and contractors, too. Next, take steps to help keep honest people honest. Use sign-in/sign-out sheets to track who's been in the server room. (You do have a server room with a locked door, right? If not, re-read Law #3). Implement a â€Å"two person†rule when installing or upgrading software. Diversify management tasks as much as possible, as a way of minimizing how much power any one administrator has. Also, don't use the Administrator account – instead, give each administrator a separate account with administrative privileges, so you can tell who's doing what. Finally, consider taking steps to make it more difficult for a rogue administrator to cover his tracks. For instance, store audit data on write-only media, or house System A's audit data on System B, and make sure that the two systems have different administrators. The more accountable your administrators are, the less likely you are to have problems. Law #7: Encrypted data is only as secure as the decryption key. Suppose you installed the biggest, strongest, most secure lock in the world on your front door, but you put the key under the front door mat. It wouldn't really matter how strong the lock is, would it? The critical factor would be the poor way the key was protected, because if a burglar could find it, he'd have everything he needed to open the lock. Encrypted data works the same way – no matter how strong the cryptoalgorithm is, the data is only as safe as the key that can decrypt it. Many operating systems and cryptographic software products give you an option to store cryptographic keys on the computer. The advantage is convenience – you don't have to handle the key – but it comes at the cost of security. The keys are usually obfuscated (that is, hidden), and some of the obfuscation methods are quite good. But in the end, no matter how well-hidden the key is, if it's on the machine it can be found. It has to be – after all, the software can find it, so a sufficiently-motivated bad guy could find it, too. Whenever possible, use offline storage for keys. If the key is a word or phrase, memorize it. If not, export it to a floppy disk, make a backup copy, and store the copies in separate, secure locations. Law #8: An out of date virus scanner is only marginally better than no virus scanner at all. Virus scanners work by comparing the data on your computer against a collection of virus â€Å"signatures†. Each signature is characteristic of a particular virus, and when the scanner finds data in a file, email, or elsewhere that matches the signature, it concludes that it's found a virus. However, a virus scanner can only scan for the viruses it knows about. It's vital that you keep your virus scanner's signature file up to date, as new viruses are created every day. The problem actually goes a bit deeper than this, though. Typically, a new virus will do the greatest amount of damage during the early stages of its life, precisely because few people will be able to detect it. Once word gets around that a new virus is on the loose and people update their virus signatures, the spread of the virus falls off drastically. The key is to get ahead of the curve, and have updated signature files on your machine before the virus hits. Virtually every maker of anti-virus software provides a way to get free updated signature files from their web site. In fact, many have â€Å"push†services, in which they'll send notification every time a new signature file is released. Use these services. Also, keep the virus scanner itself – that is, the scanning software – updated as well. Virus writers periodically develop new techniques that require that the scanners change how they do their work. Law #9: Absolute anonymity isn't practical, in real life or on the web. All human interaction involves exchanging data of some kind. If someone weaves enough of that data together, they can identify you. Think about all the information that a person can glean in just a short conversation with you. In one glance, they can gauge your height, weight, and approximate age. Your accent will probably tell them what country you're from, and may even tell them what region of the country. If you talk about anything other than the weather, you'll probably tell them something about your family, your interests, where you live, and what you do for a living. It doesn't take long for someone to collect enough information to figure out who you are. If you crave absolute anonymity, your best bet is to live in a cave and shun all human contact. The same thing is true of the Internet. If you visit a web site, the owner can, if he's sufficiently motivated, find out who you are. After all, the ones and zeroes that make up the web session have be able to find their way to the right place, and that place is your computer. There are a lot of measures you can take to disguise the bits, and the more of them you use, the more thoroughly the bits will be disguised. For instance, you could use network address translation to mask your actual IP address, subscribe to an anonymizing service that launders the bits by relaying them from one end of the ether to the other, use a different ISP account for different purposes, surf certain sites only from public kiosks, and so on. All of these make it more difficult to determine who you are, but none of them make it impossible. Do you know for certain who operates the anonymizing service? Maybe it's the same person who owns the web site you just visited! Or what about that innocuous web ! site you visited yesterday, that offered to mail you a free $10 off coupon? Maybe the owner is willing to share information with other web site owners. If so, the second web site owner may be able to correlate the information from the two sites and determine who you are. Does this mean that privacy on the web is a lost cause? Not at all. What it means is that the best way to protect your privacy on the Internet is the same as the way you protect your privacy in normal life – through your behavior. Read the privacy statements on the web sites you visit, and only do business with ones whose practices you agree with. If you're worried about cookies, disable them. Most importantly, avoid indiscriminate web surfing – recognize that just as most cities have a bad side of town that's best avoided, the Internet does too. But if it's complete and total anonymity you want, better start looking for that cave.
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